《Why Should I Stop Being a Villain》 Chapter 1 Storm ?The whole world was relishing the death of the most viinous man ever born, one who was titled the ''Evilest Viin'' by his friends and foes alike. Why you ask? Hemitted murders, burned people to death just because they were in his way, and tortured the families of his enemies. But one should ask, if just killing one''s enemies is wrong, then what about all those protagonists who just cruise over others like they are just bugs in their valiant paths? The world celebrates their deeds as heroic ones. In the middle of a ruined foresty a man whose body was riddled with wounds all over. There was a spear stuck in his chest, and one could guess his death was only moments away. But unlike the condition of his body, his face was calm. There was no anger, no fear, no sadness, but his eyes showed regrets. However, his regrets were not about the way he lived his life, but about the fact he could notplete the vow he made years ago. Just a few meters away stood a man with white hair who was surprisingly fine, even after that battle, surrounded by three women who looked only a bit tired due to the fight they just had with the dying man. The white-haired man spoke. "How does it feel dying? Do you feel the pain of the people who suffered from your acts!!!!" He shouted and continued, "Do you now regret being so evil your whole life, harming the people around you?" "I hate myself for being your sister. If you were never born in our family, we would never have fallen so low!!" One of the three women spoke, who had ck hair with blood smeared all over her clothes. Hearing those words, the dying man''s eyes lit up. Even in his dying moments, the killing intent he exuded was so terrifying that the ck-haired woman stepped back subconsciously, even forgetting he had no power to even move in his current state. But who can me her? The man in front of her was the epitome of fear and evil you could have found in this world. "HAHAHAH hahah *cough* you bunch of hypocrites," said the dying man, barely moving his mouth full of blood with thest of his life force. "Just leave him. He deserves to die alone, with no one with him in hisst moments," said the white-haired man whileforting the ck-haired woman. "Yes, we should leave. We need to handle a lot of work after this. We need to announce that Asher Greville was killed by Kevin so that his credibility will soar and the session will be much smoother," said the blue-haired woman. "Ya, you are right. I should not lower myself to even think that I am rted to that human," said the ck-haired woman who was leaning in the arms of the white-haired man called Kevin. Soon after this conversation, they left Asher, who was reminiscing his life. He closed his eyes to shut down his thoughts. Even though Asher was not a person who would experience sorrow or regret, if you ever met him in his whole life, you would describe him as indifferent and cold. But he could not help but remember his past and said, "Forgive me. I couldn''t keep my promise to you." He closed his eyes and to begin his eternal slumber in the darkness. Suddenly he saw a blue light with some ancient text on it saying ''Do you want to turn back time my child?'' He couldn''t help butugh and said, "Yes." ''What am I even doing? Have I gone mad from facing death now?'' He asked himself with a slight smile on a pale, white face that looked incredibly handsome, even in his dying moments. Suddenly, he saw himself in darkness, and in front of him appeared a blue screen which was hovering in the air and it said: | Fate Devourer System | [Initializing....24%....57%....80%...] [Authority :: Deus Time Control (Rank ?!?) used] [Goddess of Time wishes you the best] Chapter 2 Back In Time ?Asher woke up in his bedroom and saw that he was alive and unharmed. His bedroom wasrge and stylish, with every ornament coated in gold, silver, or diamonds. If someone saw it, they might think Asher was a king. The first thing he noticed was that he was young again - Asher had died at the age of 27, but was now back in his 13-year-old body. "HAHHAHAhhahahahaaaHAHAHahahhAHHAHAHhahahahHAHHA" Asherughed hysterically, causing his personal maid, Emmy, toe in to check on him. "Young Master, are you alright?" Emmy asked. "Don''t worry, I''m fine. Just make sure nobody enters the vicinity of my room for three hours," Asher told her so he could sort out his thoughts. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy said before leaving and making sure nobody disturbed him. As Asher watched his maid leave, he began to recall the events that had led to his current situation. Suddenly, a voice announced directly in his mind: [Wee, Host, to the Fate Devouring System] Surprised, but maintaining hisposure, Asher asked, "What are you and why am I back in time?" [The Host was selected by the Goddess of Time, who used her power to help you turn back time. I am simply a blessing from the Goddess, meant to guide you moving forward], the voice replied. "But why did the goddess help me? Is there a reason or motive behind all this?" Asher asked, keeping his demeanor cold. [I''m sorry, but I cannot share that information with the Host yet. When you reach certain milestones, you will be rewarded with knowledge and understanding], the voice said. "What is this ''fate thing'' you mentioned about the system?" Asher asked. [The Host''s destiny was altered, and your fate was consumed as a result. Even the goddess cannot intervene with the thread of fate. You were supposed to die in that forest, and your destiny would have continued on. But by returning to the time when you were young, your fate was lowered significantly. As a result, you will surely die in theing years], the voice exined. "So I''m back in time, but I''m going to die in a few years? Is this a joke?" Asher asked with a frown. [Don''t worry, the system will help you recover your fate points. Because your fate is low, you must plunder the fortune of others and take their fate points in order to recover yours], the voice said. "So I just need to take other people''s opportunities and what was supposed to be their future?" Asher asked. [Yes and no. You can also gain fate points by doing good deeds and helping others, or by defeating your enemies - either by killing them or taking their opportunities. I rmend the Host follow the path of doing good, as it will be more convenient to gain fate points that way], the voice said. "First of all, what should I call you?" Asher asked. [Just call me ''system'', as I am not a living entity. I am a part of what you received as a blessing from the Goddess, since she cannot help you directly], the voice said. Asher was still cautious of the Goddess of Time, as he knew nothing about her intentions. He was a man who trusted no one else but himself, and even in his dying moments, he did not regret not being trustful because it''s better to be cautious than betrayed. "You said I can get fate points easily by being a hero and a good person, right?" Asher asked. [Yes, Host. By following this path, you will surely make fewer enemies.] "Well, in that case, I''ll be a viin. It''s more fun that way," Asher said, shrugging. [The Host has chosen their path, but it will be filled with blood and hatred.] "I''ve lived my whole life hated by the entire world. Every path I''ve walked has been filled with blood," Asher said, staring at the ceiling and lost in thought. Chapter 3 System Details ?Asher broke out of his thoughts and asked a question he had been thinking for a while. "System, how will you help me get fate points, and what is my current amount?" [Host can say themand ''Status'' and you will get your current strength details and skill screen shown to you.] "Status." -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 0/1000) [Bloodline] : Locked? [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mortal Stage [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 11 Agility: 9 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 29 Mana: Locked Stamina: 12 Charm: 25 Fate: 14 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-] -->Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1 [Active Skill] Host can dilute the time to the ratio of 5:1 for 10 secs Cooldown: 1hr -->Ash-Sword Art (Rank A+ --> Rank D) [Passive Skill] Original Sword Art of Asher Von Raven Greville which was honed for years for the sole purpose of killing the enemy Cooldown: None --> Mana Flow (Rank C --> Sealed) [Passive Skill] Helps the host in manipting mana to his will. ----------------------------------------------------- When Asher saw the skill ''Time Dilution,'' his indifferent face changed for a sec, but it quickly returned to normal. This skill was very powerful. Just thinking about it, he realized that this means his speed will increase by 5 times at any point in the middle of a battle. This will surely be one of his trump cards, Asher decided while thinking about the future events that will change just because of this one skill. And seeing this ''lvl 1,'' he was sure he could upgrade this skill to be even more powerful. "What are these attributes based on?" Asher asked while reading the attribute part of the panel. [These are the quantized value the system has given you. For reference, the average adult has a stat of 10 in all except fate, which is at least 100 for each individual.] "Harghhh, I remember when I was young, I never bothered practicing mana control or doing the early training like other heirs," Asher said, remembering his past self for never giving enough attention to hone his powers. Asher was the heir to the Greville Family, which was one of the most, if not the richest, family in the whole world. Nobody could deny his wishes, and his parents never forced him to do anything because they thought he would train when he joined the World Academy after turning 15. They wanted their child to grow freely, unburdened by all the power struggles and harm. And in the end, that''s what happened in his previous life, but that will change now. He will change his fate with his own hands and his own methods, and nobody will be able to stop him this time. Obviously, his charm and intelligence were far above others of his levels, which helped him be the most dangerous man in his previous life. "This life I will keep my promise with you"Asher said while still looking at his status screen. Chapter 4 System Details 2 ?[ As Host''s Body constitution is low and your bloodline is not awakened yet, I have lowered and sealed the respective skill ] "Okay but tell me about level and shop part, what does it mean?" [ Host can level up by killing beasts or your enemies. You can also level up frompleting some quests ] [ Shop feature allows the host to buy several things using fate points which will help you gain power more quickly, but it''s still locked as host need to first plunder enough fate to unlock it ] [ Quests are missions offered by the system and they have penalty or rewards when you fail orplete them but Host can deny the quests as long as it is not the ''MAIN QUEST'' ] "What do you mean by Main quest are they any different or will they stand in my way? " Asher was asking this because he thought the system will force him to act a certain way by putting a leash on what he can do or what he can''t. [ Don''t worry Main Quest are part of your goals and they will not hinder your progress and they will not change your way of doing things. Host can decide however he wants to clear the quest, system will reward you ording to your sess and penalties are not applicable to Main quest because failing them itself will be a penalty to you ] Hearing this Asher was relieved because he did not want to be anyone''s puppet. He liked controlling others not being controlled himself. "What does synthesis do?" [ In you journey you may encounter several opportunities like skill scrolls. Host can merge them if they are of simr affinity and you will get a stronger version of that thing ] Hearing this Asher could not help butugh out loud. Imagine getting two Rank S skills and merging them what he will get may cause havoc but he was not a idiot who can''t see through things. "And let me guess, synthesis will also cost fate points right?" [ Yes and due to this, this function will be locked for now ] Asher understood all the function of this newly acquired system and how will he go from here on to increase his power and reach. Suddenly he heard a sound *ding*ding* -------------------------------------------- << Main Quest Issued >> Objective: Awaken your Mana Time Limit: One month Rewards: Bloodline Change [ One Time Use ] (Rank ?) Penalty: None ---------------------------------------------- "What is bloodline upgrade?" Asher asked but he was not bothered by this quest because he nned to awaken himself as early as possible anyway. [ As Host Previous Bloodline Awakened was a Rank S Mana Control but now if the host changes it you will get a new upgraded and more powerful bloodline ] ''What the fuck !!'' Asher thought in his mind. Asher''s Mana control allowed him to control his mana, his consumption and output proficiency of mana was top notch in the whole world and it allowed him to get powerful really quickly after ''that incident''. He was rxed because he can repeat those same steps now, but getting a whole new bloodline even more powerful whose Rank was ''?'' meant that it will be above Rank S which only some of the strongest hunters had and he will get a whole new bloodline ability. But he was not sure. He was a bit unsure about this because he was very well versed in his Rank S Bloodline and a new one might cause his progress a bit of a dy but he put that matter aside for now. "System as I am currently Lvl 1, what do I get when level up?" [ Host get Attribute Points and Skill Points , but you can also increase your attributes and skills yourself as well ] [ All the AP''s and SP''s are part of your blessing that you can only get gradually over the time and when you increase your fate points. System advices the host to focus majorly on self-growth as that will help you defeat the enemies in the same realm more easily. ] Chapter 5 Making Moves ?[ Host, the system will go down until you awaken your mana, as I cannot sustain in your manaless body because I am now a part of powers.] [ System wishes the host good luck... ] After a while thinking things through Asher decided to take a bath first to rx his mind a bit. So he called his maid Emmy to sort out his bath. Emmy being the diligent and loyal maid quickly but carefully did the job as she did not wanted to cause difort for her Master. Asher sat on hisvish bath tub which a clean porcin white tub with beautiful design and it screamed wealth. Rxing in the steamy bath Asher thought of how he needed arrange things to awaken himself. Awakening was really not thatplicated but you needed huge funds if you wanted to awaken privately or you can go to the World Association to awaken yourself but you needed to sign a contract with them which stated some terms to work as a government employee for some tenure depending your awakening results. But why would Asher be a dog for the Association, he was the heir of Greville Family, one of the richest family which worked in various industries and one of those was Mana Stones which was a specialty of the Greville family. As mentioned earlier you can awaken privately, but for that you needed the a Mana Gem and Mana rooms which kept a constant and pure flow of mana in it. Mana gem was a special mana stone which was only found rarely among Rank C and above monsters. And its drop rate was very low so Association usually shared a single Mana gem among thousand civilians to awaken them. But Asher can easily find a high quality Mana gem for himself with his family funds. In the past his father Arthur Von Greville, the current head of the Greville Family gave him the Rank A Mana gem for his awakening when he turned 15 before he joined the academy. Asher stood up from the bath, his smooth ck hairplementing his spotless face. Standing at 5ft 6, he was slightly taller than his peers for his age. Despite being young, his handsome face attracted many beauties, like a me to moths. But despite being so attractive, people also feared him. This was because, when he was six years old, a kid had pushed Asher into the adult pool at a social event out of jealousy over the girls around him. Luckily, Asher was rescued by one of the teenagers who were gathered there quickly. When Arthur Von Greville heard the news, he nearly killed the kid''s entire family, but was quickly stopped by his wife, Sylvie Raven Greville, whoter calmed the situation, saying it was just a child''s mistake. But nobody was relieved, as they knew Sylvie''s personality and that she never settled grudges easily. The people there were sure that the kid''s family was already done for and wanted no part in helping them, as no one wanted to be the enemy of the two powerhouses known as the Ravens and Greville. There were only a few families that could rival or oppose them. But what actually chilled everyone was the 6-year-old''s calm and indifferent demeanor after almost drowning. Asher had always carried a cold face from a young age, but people thought it wasmon for children from elite families to mask their emotions. Everyone expected him to be startled by his near-death experience, but he just coughed up the water and walked towards Sylvie, leaving the doctor who was checking on him. "Ash, are you fine?" Sylvie asked, worried. "Mom, can you tell the attendants to fix my clothes? That kid pretty much ruined them," Asher said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Other children his age around the party were already were pretty scared due to the wholemotion but even the adults when they saw his blood red eyes were taken aback with cold sweat forgetting he was only a small kid. "Don''t worry Ash, Mom will handle things here. You go and change, okay?" Sylvie said while kissing his forehead. She was a very doting mother. After this day, Asher got the nickname ''The Cold Devil'', and many people usually kept their distance, not wanting any problems with him at any social events whenever he attended them. Asher weed this change, as he didn''t like people disturbing his personal space too much either. After this incident, his parents never tried to awaken him early, but rather let him enjoy his life and grow up with loving memories because they were worried about his child''s cold demeanor towards everything. They believed that their love for him would slowly but surely melt his stone heart. Chapter 6 Calling His Father ?Asher walked out his bathroom and took out his phone and called his father Arthur Von Greville. "Hello Ash, what did you call me for" Arthur said in a surprised voice as Asher rarely called him and his mother as they always met for dinner anyways. "Dad, I want to try awakening" Asher said in his usual tone. "Oh you want to try awakening, ya i will....?*thud* Wait what? You want to try awakening? " Arthur jumped out of his chair, startling his butler who was arranging his documents for him. "Did something happened to you Asher? Tell me did somebody harmed you in anyway" Arthur said in cold voice. He never thought his son who disliked practicing martial arts and will always deny the Arthur''s Sword Training would ask to for something like this. Arthur Greville despite being a extremely loving father towards him did not wanted his son tock behind others of his age and would always try to persuade him to just watch him train but Asher who liked doing business more than fighting always denied him. He would have tried to be harsh on him but his wife Sylvie gave him a death re when he once tried to do so. "Dad it''s not like that I just found my motivation to awaken myself but if you don''t want me to do it then nevermind by..." ? "NOOO WAIT" Arthur shouted on his phone. He got the chance he always wished for and would he waste it now? Hell no, Arthur was a smart man he knew if he questioned his son anymore he would definitely lose his motivation he just found towards awakening. "I will tell Stephen to arrange everything don''t worry everything will be ready by tomorrow" Asher wrapped up the call and decided to call Emmy and ringed the bell in his room. Emmy was his personal maid who was 20 years old. She had curly brown hair and a slender figure, she was a beauty who would probably make you turn back and look at her a few times. Although she was a maid, she was also the personal guard for Asher directly appointed by his mother. She was raised as an assassin for the Raven House and came with Sylvie when she married Arthur Greville. "Young Master you called for me" Emmy asked Asher "Arrange the car we are going out for a drive after an hour " Asher asked while taking out a notebook from his drawer. "As you wish Young Master" Emmy said while going out to get things done. After Emmy walked out of his room he decided to note down some future events and relevant people that will happen in the near future. "I clearly remember what will happen in the next 14 years from now and what will happen in 3 months from now" Asher said with a smirk on his face. Asher was not the one who would change the future only a little bit so that future will remain predictable. It was just not his style, he was the person who liked chaos and peace was never an option with him. He was a viin through and through, if he didn''t have something in his control then he would probably make it so that everything was under his control. And after the one hour of him writing some stuff down in anguage which only he would understand for others it would simply seemed like some doodles of kid. He walked out of his room in a White T-shirt and ck jeans. "Emmy is everything ready" "Yes Young Master, where do you want to go" Emmy asked while signaling the other bodyguards to move to their positions. "Go to Harkins Agency, I want to buy some things" Asher while walking towards his Rolls-Royce Phantom which was of ck-Goldbination. Chapter 7 Visiting Harkins Agency ?Asher got in his car and Emmy sat in the front seat to protect him in case of any danger. The car moved out of the Greville Mansion which was quite big covering what it seem half a kilometer around it. The Greville Mansion was surrounded with gardens and security everywhere and all the servants of the house had their amodations built around the Mansion itself so they can live with their families and do their jobs at the same time. Asher was moving towards west of Soran City, Capital of Somaria. If you looked above in the skies, there were Floating Inds in the sky of Soran near its center above a huge building in which was covered with Crystal Mirror like barriers in the shape of an oval. This building was called the World Academy, the ce where Asher was looking thinking about all the chaos he was going to create. ''This time that Academy will be the ce where this world will shake under my name'' Asher thought while staring at one of the floating inds. After half an hour of drive they arrived at 50 Floored Building which was called ''The Harkins Agency''. This was where all of Somaria''s property rted transaction andnd rted auctions were done. Soran despite being the Capital City had a lot of unimednd in the forms of mountains. Most of the mountains were filled with beasts and were used as training grounds by the World Academy and the rest of the Elite Families of Soran to get them used to fighting in simr environments. Usually the mountains which were empty of any beasts for hunting purposed were sold to others for their ownmercial use. So once in a while some mountains were sold if the previous ownership wanted to sell them. And Asher was going out to buy one such property which would be one of the most problematic source for the Greville Family in his previous life. Asher arrived at the Harkins Agency and got out of his car with an entourage of bodyguards behind him. Emmy had already made a reservation so Harris Harkins who was supervisor of the Soran Branch of theirpany was already down in the hall waiting to greet the infamous heir of Greville Family. "Greetings, Young Master Greville !!" Harris asked with hurried but calm voice because he was aware of the ''Cold Devil'' and his retaliations. "Rx Mr. Harris, I am here to see some properties to buy can you show me whatnds are avable for auctions " Asher asked Harris with his same indifferent face. Harris was obviously nervous because he couldn''t read the expression of this young boy and he did not wanted to get in trouble with the Greville Family which was too greatpared to their Harkins Family so he hurriedly told his secretary to arrange the best V.I.P rooms for them to chat. " Pleasee this way Young Master Greville, I hope some of the property are to your likings" Asher followed them to the 47th Floor which was reserved for VIP only and sat down on the sofas in very cozy but professional looking room. He was served some snacks and deserts but he didn''t bother eating them which made the secretary a bit worried thinking it was not to his likings. "Mr. Harris can you show me the catalogue for the uing auction please" "Yes Young Master Greville, this is the list of properties which will be auctioned theing week. If you like anyone of them just tell me, we will give it you without auctioning it." Harris clearly being an opportunist he was, wanted to build a connection with Greville rather an immediate profit. ''What a clever man'' Asher smirked in his mind. "Don''t worry I wanted to participate in the auction anyways I was just seeing if there is any property which piqued my interest" Asher wanted to grab the opportunity from his opponents'' hand in front of them to relish their despair when theyter find what they just lost. He clearly remembered what the system has told him about fate points and he was going to do just that. Harris disliked how he lost an opportunity for expanding hiswork but he nevertheless catered to Asher in hope of making a good impression on him thinking. ''This cold devil will go big anyway so I should get some connections with him'' Asher who could see through his facade just kept his usual face and left after the chat was done. Chapter 8 Family Dinner ?Asher got back to the mansion and changed to getfortable and arranged some business rted documents. Asher in his previous life thought of increasing his power and training a tiring task, he rather liked just using his brains to flourish their business but knew that being weak was not a great thing in a world where the strong ruled. So he decided he would start his awakening and training when he turned 15 before joining the World Academy. The day ended and both the Greville couple were back home. The dinner was set on table which was quiterge for a family of four but this was amon thing for all Elite families as they would usually greet their guests at the table when they visited them. Arthur Greville was ecstatic from the sudden found motivation of Asher but Sylvie thought her husband forced Asher to try awakening a year and a half before the agreed date so she decided to ask Asher who was in front of her cutting his steak. "Asher, I heard you wanted to try awakening did your dad forced you to agree, don''t worry if that''s the case I will make sure he never talks to you" Sylvie said while ring at Arthur. Arthur almost choked on the bite he has just taken and started coughing. "Don''t worry mom I just wanted to start my training a bit early, you can say I just got some motivation to strengthen myself before joining the World Academy" "And it would not look good upon The Greville name if the heir was azy guy, now would it?" Asher cleared the issue before his father who was choking on his food got more scolding from his mother. Sylvie despite being a strong woman who was referred as a ''Demon'' from the people who knew her, was just a soft and caring mother for Asher. Her heart always wanted her son to smile and be like other children but she didn''t know what could melt the heart of her son. "If you wish to awaken I will not stop you but as you are awakening a bitter then others, you might find yourself a bit behind but don''t let it get you okay?" Sylvie said to Asher worrying he mightpare himself to others and get depressed. "Whatever results you get from awakening, don''t forget you are the heir of Greville and nobody can look down on you" Arthur said while clearing his mouth as he finished his food. "You guys don''t need to worry I know what I am doing and knowing me do you think I will get depressed?" Asher said as he was getting up to leave room as he finished his dinner while subconsciously a smile emerged on his face. Asher left the room but there was a weird silence in the room. "Honey, he smiled" "I thought I hallucinated for a second, but did we saw the same sight" Arthur told Sylvie as they were both surprised as they did not remember when they saw their son''sst smile. He always carried an indifferent face regardless of the situation he was in. "Arthur!!, make sure his awakening doesn''t go unhindered and get him the best resources you can arrange" "I don''t care about the cost, just make sure he gets the best"Sylvie told Arthur with a hint of excitement in her voice. Sylvie did everything to see her son smile, she never told no to him when he asked for something and due to this many people thought she was spoiling him too much. But for a mother whose only wish was to see her son happy, she didn''t care how the world saw her. "Did you think I would be petty after that sight, don''t worry I will make sure he gets the best of the best" Arthur said while calling Stephen, the Head Butler of the Greville Family. Stephen was man who was in his 50''s and had seen Arthur grew up as a child but he was surprised to see him so excited to do something in the past 15 years. The times he remembered his state simr to this was when he married Sylvie and when his kids were born. Chapter 9 Awakening Chapter 9 Awakening Morning arrived, and Asher got ready for his awakening, which was arranged quite quickly despite his sudden request. Asher and Emmy got in the car and arrived at a teleportation gate near the southeast part of Soran, which was quite bustling with people going around. The car stopped around the two big semi-circr shaped stones with some blue glowing carvings on them, ced with one of them behind the other, forming a circle if you looked at it from the front side. This was the teleportation gate, which was used by the people to go to certain floating inds and faraway ces. Emmy got out of the car and signaled their security group to clear the premises. Asher got out of the car and moved towards and stopped at the circr runic carvings just below the teleportation gate. Their destination was the famous Mage Tower of the Mage Association, which was located on one of the floating inds in Soran. "Why did Dad bother going to the Mage Tower for awakening? We could have done it in our mansion as well," Asher thought, remembering that in the past life, he awakened in their estate''s Mana Room instead of going to the Mage Tower. "Well, I don''t dislike it, and the Mage Tower will have a better Mana Room anyway." The reason Arthur chose the Mage Tower was that their Mana Rooms were the best in the whole world. And the awakening result would be easier depending on the Mana Quality concentrated in the room as well. "It seems like Dad got quite excited over me awakening so much so as to go to the Mage Tower for a simple awakening," Asher said when he arrived at the Mage Association''s floating ind. "It should at least be this much for Young Master. You simply deserve this!!!" Emma said in a proud voice while puffing her chest out. She always looked at Asher like a little brother who deserved everything in the world. Her mental image of Asher was of an innocent puppy whom she had taken care of since he was a five-year-old. If someone had heard her thoughts, they would have screamed how the hell this cold devil looked like a puppy to her. Asher was amused at her response. She had been quite loyal to him in the past life as well. As they were walking out, they got into another car from the teleportation gate and started driving to the Mage Tower. They reached the Mage Tower in 15 minutes as there was no speed limit on floating inds. As everybody who was there was not a civilian but above F-rank hunters. They were able to cope with and react to high-speed cars running through the ind. Asher got out of the car and saw the sight of the marvelous white tower soaring high in the sky. The tower consisted of 100 floors, all imbued with space magic, so the interior was way bigger than what it seemed outside. Arthur was waiting with Stephen, who carried a big square ck suitcase, which carried a Mana Gem that would be used by Asher to awaken as a hunter. "Asher,e here. We need to move to the 90th floor for the awakening," Arthur said while moving happily towards the lift. If anyone had seen him acting this way, they would have forgotten that he was the fearful Head of Greville, who was renowned as an S-rank Swordmaster. They moved towards, passing through several floors and finally arriving on the 90th floor. Typically, the Mana Floor of this floor was reserved for the S-rank hunters of the world. Arthur used his special privileges and pulled some strings, and with a little bit of threatening, vo, it was done. "Dad you know that this will cause some headaches in the future" Asher knew Arthur has probably pissed quite a bit of people to use these exclusive room just for an awakening. "HAHAHAhahaahah, Don''t worry this much trouble is nothing for us, and if somebody wanted trouble they can alwayse and greet my sword " Arthur said with confidence. Chapter 10 Awakening-2 ? ?Asher and Arthur arrived in front of the door, which had "Greville"belled in gold on it. It was clear that this whole floor was a luxury above others, just looking at the Mana Concentration outside the room, which wasparable to the Mana Room in their estate. "So this is your son, Arthur. Quite a dashing fellow to look at," an old man walked in front of them and said while his eyes were on Asher. "Asher, meet the old man of the Mage Association, Edward Amaris, one of the SS-rank hunters in this world," Arthur said while introducing the old man. Edward Amaris was actually one of the Mage Association Elders who was acquainted with the Greville Family and helped Arthur arrange the Mana Room for Asher. Asher gave a look towards Edward and he could feel a strong mana force emanating from his sheer presence. Seeing how only the pressure of an SS-rank hunter was capable of killing him made him remember that he was no longer one of the strongest men in the world, but he knew he could make it to that pedestal much earlier in this life. "Hello, I am Asher Von Raven Greville," Asher said while still wondering why this old man was here. "Oh, are you wondering why I am here? Ask your father about this," Edward said while smiling towards Asher. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you. Old man Edward will help you amodate the Mana Gem during your awakening," Arthur said while signalling Stephen to hand over the suitcase to him. "Let''s go inside the room first because the thing inside it is quite a shocker for this old man, too," Edward said while smiling towards Arthur. Arthur and Asher followed Edward into the room. It was a white-marble room with runguage all over the borders of the room. Even not knowing what the runes did, Asher could guess they were Mana Gathering runes and were probably some of the best ones because the Mage Association monopolized almost 90% of Rune Masters. Asher could have guessed that his awakening this time was pretty different from his previous one, maybe due to his parents being happy that he tried to awaken early or some other reason because his previous one did not require another person to help him, especially an SS-rank hunter who specialized in magic. But when Arthur opened the box, oh boy, he was shocked. What Arthur had just pulled out was an S-rank Mana Gem, which was not even sold anywhere in the world and was only used during item exchange of equivalent worth. A Mana Gem was a highly rare mana stone, which dropped when you killed monsters which were formed in dungeons and only above ranked C beasts formed a Mana Gem. People used Mana Gems for their awakening because it was a pure form of mana with less impurities than a Mana Stone, and there would be no injuries while forming your mana core during your awakening. In his previous life, he used a rare A-rank Mana Gem, which was so costly it alone could buy a couple ofnds in Soran. But despite being only one rank above, an S-rank Mana Gem was incredibly rarer than an A-rank Mana Gem because there were fewer S-rank beastspared to A-rank, and even a marginal amount of those S-rank beasts dropped a Mana Gem. So the supply was so low that even S-rank hunters had difficulty getting an S-rank Mana Gem. Asher, though grateful, could see that his father had just used his own Mana Gem, and this was pretty much the case because when you form your Mana Heart, you can increase your level in two ways. First, gradually absorbing Mana from your surroundings and consolidating it in your Mana Core increasing its power. Second, you use Mana Gems to move that mana inside your body and gently nourish your Mana Core with it. But absorbing mana through a Mana Gem is not advised because it will not allow your Mana Capacity to naturally grow; it will be filled before it could have grown bigger. Mana Gems should only be used as assistance when you reach the peak of your rank and encounter a bottleneck to cross the threshold and rank up. Arthur was already at the peak of S-rank, and this Mana Gem, along with a few more, would have helped him be SS-rank like in his previous life. But he was losing one of his S-rank Mana Gems for Asher. "Dad, I can use an A-rank gem just fine. You don''t need to waste this," Asher said, meaning what he said. It didn''t matter to him what gem was used in his awakening because his special bloodline would bnce it out. "Don''t even try to convince me. Your mother would probably beat me to death if I cheap out here," Arthur said, giving him a look that said it can''t be helped. "Sigh Okay, if that''s what you want, let''s start," Asher said to Edward, who was just smiling, looking at the soft father and cold son duo. Chapter 11 Awakening-3 Chapter 11 Awakening-3 ?Asher took off his shirt and sat in the meditation position. Arthur took out the S-Rank Mana Gem, which was a blood red, with a radiant shaped fist-sized gemstone. He ced the stone in Asher''s hands and signaled Edward to start. A normal awakening was not difficult. The person usually absorbed ample amounts of mana from the gem or the room they were in. The Mana Gem usually helpedplete the formation of a Mana Core in the heart. Civilians were generally awakened at the age of 12, as dered by the World Association formon people to follow. Formon people, the awakening process involved forming their Mana Core in the initial stages and gradually growing it over time. Depending on their talent, a person''s Mana Core could be formed between the ages of 13 and 19. The World Association would then pick talented individuals under 15 to join them and send them to the World Academy. They would evaluate their results upon graduation and scout them ordingly. Rich people, like Asher''s family, did not have to wait for their children to form their Mana Core. They could afford a Mana Gem solely for a person to use and awaken their children immediately. This was also a way for people in power to control newly awakened hunters. "Little boy, focus on my mana movement inside your body and guide the mana from the gem ordingly. Be careful not to lose focus during this, as it may damage you severely," Edward said while cing his hands on Asher''s back. Arthur was not worried about anything happening to Asher because he believed in his son''s talent and Edward would stop the awakening if something went wrong. Asher, who already knew how to form a Mana Heart, let Edward guide the mana through his upper chest area and stir it in the direction of his heart, just like normal blood cirction. Asher guided the S-Rank Mana Gem''s energy, following Edward''s guidance. Even Edward was surprised by how quickly Asher got used to his mana cirction. He was now sure another genius had been born into the Greville family after the birth of "that" monster. A milky white energy started gathering near the center of Asher''s heart and soon a grain-sized crystal formed. Asher kept giving more mana and circting the rest of the mana through his body. The awakening process had two parts. First, you needed to form a Mana Core in your heart, which was called Mana Heart Formation. Second, you needed to guide the rest of the mana through your veins and remove impurities from your body. As mana was the fuel and the body was the vessel that contained it, it was very important to make your foundation as strong as possible during the awakening. Asher wanted to improve his foundation even more than thest time. Edward saw that he had formed the initial Mana Core in his heart and was cleansing the impurities, so he stepped back and let Asher continue. ck, goo-like substances began toe out of every pore in Asher''s body. Due to the special room, the impurities disappeared as soon as they touched the floor. The process ofying the foundation was more painful the longer it took. A normal person would only endure it for 5 minutes before ending the ceremony. A genius might endure it for nearly an hour. After some time, Arthur started to worry about Asher as it had been nearly 4 hours and he was still sitting there. Blood wasing out of his pores to rece his newly formed blood from the formation of the Mana Heart. His veins were bursting and repairing at the same time. All the fat on his body was now gone. "What kind of monster is he to endure this much pain without even showing a hint of change in his expression aftersting this long?" Edward thought to himself. Thest record for the longest foundation process was held by none other than Asher''s grandfather, who was one of the 11 SSS Rank hunters in the world and endured for 4 hours and 30 minutes. They were anxious, but hoping that Asher would somehow break his grandfather''s record. During all of this, Asher was experiencing mind-numbing pain, which was familiar to him. In his previous life, the methods he chose to be strong always involved some kind of self-harming ability that caused him so much pain that he was always barely maintaining his sanity. Asher''s ability to stay calm and indifferent, coupled with his high intelligence, allowed him to keep himself sane. Chapter 12 Awakening-4 ?Asher''s whole body was now burning red, steaming out of his body. Blood was pouring out of his body, staining his pants with a crimson red. Even though the Mana Room was removing any residual that came out of his body, the stench of iron was heavy in the air. Asher was at the 4 hour, 30 minute mark. He had beaten his grandfather''s record and was on his way to set a new record. Arthur was happy to see his son''s talent. He was already thinking about Sylvie''s happy face when he told her about this. Asher, who was focusing all his attention on cleansing, finally stopped at a total time of 5 hours and 12 minutes. He opened his eyes to feel his newly set foundation and stood up to move a bit. He knew he had outdone his previous self, who hadsted only 3 hours and 20 minutes. By no means that was bad ¨C even a genius wouldst around an hour ¨C and even in his previous life, Asher would have been in the spotlight. However, there were already quite a few highly talented youths who hadsted around or more minutes than Asher. His generation was praised by the whole with the nickname of "Generation of Monsters." Nobody knew why so many talented individuals were born in the same generation. But now, Asher had outdone those talents and also broken the record of his grandfather, Nathaniel Von Greville, who was also known as the Sword God. "Congrattions, Arthur. Another monster like Nathan Greville has been born into your family," Edward said to Arthur, gesturing with his hands in a wave-like motion towards Asher. Suddenly, all the blood-stained clothes were cleaned of blood, and all of Asher''s sweat was gone. Asher nodded his head to appreciate Edward''s consideration and Edward just smiled back at him. "But it seems like I need to tell Father about this before we announce it publicly," Arthur said, taking some things into consideration. "No need to announce it. Just tell it to Grandfather. I don''t want too much attention right now. It will be a fun surprise for the whole world when the World Academy starts," Asher said with a smirk on his face while he was putting on his shirt. "And Dad, I am quite tired from all this. Let''s go back home and discuss this issue at ater date," Asher quickly said before Arthur could say anything, causing him to close his mouth. "Sigh Okay, then we will do that," Arthur said with a sad voice. He was very excited to announce his son''s heaven-breaking talent to the whole world, but he couldn''t do it if Asher was against it. "And thank you, Mr. Edward, for your help this time," Asher said, conveying his gratitude. "Oh, don''t worry. This old man also got to see your monstrous talent," Edward said whileughing. Asher left the room, leaving Arthur and Edward who were chatting happily. He wanted to call out the system, but he waited until he reached his home, where he would not be disturbed. Him and Emmy left without Arthur because he would probably head back to his office before going home. Asher reached the Greville Estate and told Emmy to make sure nobody disturbed his rest. When he got back in his room, though he was feeling very tired, he called out to check the system. "System." [Congrattions to the host forpleting the first Main Quest.] [ Do you want to redeem the reward for your quest? ] Asher was already waiting to check what he would get instead of his Rank S Bloodline Mana Control. Somewhere in his mind, he didn''t want to part ways with his Mana Control, but he knew to get stronger, he needed to sacrifice something. "Do it" [ iming reward ..................] [ One Time Bloodline Change (Rank ?) used ] [ Warning**Beeep**** ***bEeep** ................] " What happened?" Asher asked not knowing what was happening. [ Host this bloodline you will get is too powerful to assimte with your body ] [ You will experience unimaginable pain which may render your brain useless and killing you in the process ] [ Do you wish to continue ] Asher already knew his answer he thought '' Pain? I have handled it my whole life ''. "Continue" Chapter 13 New Bloodline ?[ Host, the system will create a sound barrier around you ] [ I wish you good luck ] A circr, translucent barrier formed around Asher as he sat down with his legs crossed. [ Initializing... Bone Marrow Recement... 0.9%... ] Asher felt so much pain that even his indifferent face showed lines forming on his forehead. Asher''s bone marrow went through massive changes as a ck mana erupted around him, assimting with the bone marrow tissue and changing it. [ Commencing Bloodline Injection... 1% ] A chilling, light blue energy erupted and forced its way into Asher''s Mana Heart, moving up towards his spinal cord to his brain. At the same time, a boiling red energy emerged and moved towards his abdomen, heading towards the blue energy. Asher''s brain was experiencing two pr energies that were not harming it, but the pain he was experiencing was too much. Asher thought the system didn''t take his past life into ount when it said he would need to endure pain, but he didn''t know the system had warned him after carefully assessing him. "ARRRRRRRghhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Asher screamed in pain for the ''second time'' in his life. He was no longer in a meditating position, but rolling on the floor and clutching his head so hard that blood started pouring out. He no longer maintained his indifferent expression as his eyes rolled back. His back arched off the floor and his toes ground against it. His sanity was fading with each passing minute as the system''s warning about the possibility of death during the process proved true. His mind went nk and he couldn''t even hear his own screams anymore. But just before he lost consciousness, he heard a sound: dingding* [ Bloodline Acquisition Sessful... Recalibrating Host''s Stats... ] [ Congrattions, Host. You have done a remarkable job ] "coughcough* gasp gasp" He was gasping for air. Asher was still coughing up blood as he moved to sit on his bed. His mind was numb from what had just happened, and he didn''t even hear the system notifications. His breathing was ragged. [ Removing sound barrier ] Asher saw that his wounds around his head and face were healing. It seemed that the pain he endured was worth it, especially considering his new regeneration rate. This type of healing was only found in B-Rank hunters and above, and Asher, who had just recently awakened at Rank G, was now capable of doing the same. In this world, hunters were ranked from G to SSS, with only 11 SSS-Rank hunters. They were ranked based on their ability to perform in simr Rank Dungeons and their Mana Core Rank. As you may have a Mana Core of Rank B but yourbat ability and utility were taken into consideration while giving you your ranks. After gathering his nerves, Asher called out to the system to check his new bloodline. "Status" [ Recalibration Done...Generating Status ] -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 0/1000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 14 + 70 [AP]:0 [SP]:0 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-] -->Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1 [Active Skill] Host can dilute the time to the ratio of 5:1 for 10 secs Cooldown: 1hr -->Ash-Sword Art (Rank A+ ->> Rank C*) [Passive Skill] Original Sword Art of Asher Von Raven Greville which was honed for years for the sole purpose of killing the enemy Cooldown: None --> Mana Flow (Rank C ) Lvl 1 [Passive Skill] Helps the host in manipting mana to his will. --> Absorption ( Rank S ) Lvl 1[Active Skill] Absorb highest stats of killed foes. Restriction : 1. Must be killed by the host and direct touch is required to absorb. 2. Highest stat of the other being should be greater than the host''s stat. 3. Fate points cannot be absorbed. Cooldown : 1 hr ----------------------------------------------------- "Aahaha ah ahahahahahh AHhahahaHAHAHahhah" Asher startedughing as he saw his new bloodline ability. "Truly fitting for a viin like me." But while he was looking at his newfound ability, he noticed that his previous bloodline skill, Mana Flow, was still there. "System, did you make a mistake?" Chapter 14 New Bloodline-2 ?[ No the skill Mana Flow was retained at Rank C due to your memories ] [ But your previous Mana Control was Rank S which is different from Mana Flow Rank C ] [ You retained the memory of how to utilize this ability but this not the best version of your original skill ] [As this is not your main bloodline ability you need to actually train the skill ] -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 0/1000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 14 + 70 [AP]:0 [SP]:0 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-] : Time Dilution(Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption(Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art(Rank C), Mana Flow(Rank C) ? ------------------------------------------------------------------ This was not difficult for Asher at all. Yes, the drop from initial Rank S to Rank C was big, but he can level it up nevertheless. His Mana Control was one of the best in the world in his previous life. However, now he can mask his actual bloodline ability with this. He was delighted to see that one of his "main skills" was retained for him to use in this life. It didn''t matter if Mana Flow was a passive skill, as this will affect all his skills and growth equally. This skill could also be viewed as a %buff to all his skills, increasing their power but decreasing the consumption for the same. Some of the major changes he saw were his stats, which were more than 4 times the previous ones. When a person usually awakens, they get 2-3 times stronger, depending on their talent. But Asher got more than 4 times the stats in some attributes. His charm and intelligence were also very high. However, he also noticed that his fate increased by 70 as well. "System, why did my fate increase? " While moving his arms around to see the new changes he had. [ As Host has awaken earlier than destined, you have altered some of your fate ] [ This would have been a lot of Fate points usually but your fate thread is now very thin, so Host needs to do many altercations to his destiny to increase his fate now. ] Although Asher had the idea it was his early awakening that caused his fate points to change but he wanted to get an idea how much fate he will get doing such changes to the future. He looked at his new bloodline ability which will remain a secret from others. This was too powerful, even after those restrictions and still being Lvl 1 you could only imagine what this ability will be in the future. And his new Rank SSS bloodline which he knew nobody except one guy in this world right now had such capabilities and the one guy that was none other than Kevin Whiteheart, the man who killed Asher in his previous life who had a very powerful SS Rank Bloodline. Asher''s eyes disyed a dangerous glint just as remembered that name but before his bloodlustful killing intent starteding out of his body he calmed down. Soon, a wave of tiredness hit Asher. He was very tired after awakening, and the new bloodline acquisition left him devoid of any energy. He wanted to sleep badly, so he dropped down onto his bed and closed his tired eyelids to get some rest. Under the ck-looking ceiling, you could see two figures close to each other. There were multiple bodies everywhere of people who seemed to have died while fighting someone. They were sitting in a huge altar-like ce. Near the altar, you could see those two figures saying something to each other. "I am sor cough sorry," a girl whose body was riddled with wounds was muttering something while being in the hands of a boy who slumped down carefully holding her. Her arms had multiple weapon wounds, legs burnt and her skin was ck for some reason, and with pitch-ck eyes, devoid of life. His condition was not good either. There was a sword wound in his chest, which nearly missed his heart. His hair was disheveled, and he was screaming some words at the girl. Blood tears were flowing out of his eyes. "Don cough don''t drown in revenge ... like .... me," the girl said to the boy with her dead-looking eyes, which had given up on this world. It seemed like she could not even hear the screaming young man. "ppp...promise me.. me that *gasp*gasp* that you will" *COUGH*COUGH* "Be un.... undefeated so... so that nobody could harm you,...and.... forgive me!!" Just like that, the body of the girl took itsst breath. Chapter 15 Morning Arrives ?It was 7 A.M in the morning, and Asher suddenly woke up with cold sweat. "Argh," Asher groaned as he picked himself up and massaged his head because of the headache he was getting. "CALM THE F*CK DOWN!! I can change the future," Asher shouted to himself while clutching his head with his trembling hands. It seemed like he stopped having those dreams aftering back in time, but the recent painful experience awakened his bad memories. He stood up and changed his clothes to some new casual ones and went outside to have breakfast with his family. He took the stairs down to the living room and entered the dining room. Arthur and Sylvie were already waiting for him and were chatting with each other. Sylvie saw Asher entering and got excited. "Congrattions, Ash, on your awakening. It seems like you broke the record of your grandfather," Sylvie said. "But it seems like you don''t love your mother anymore. I had to hear this news now. Hmph," Sylvie said in a sulky voice. Asherughed internally at his mother''s little act. He found it cute how his mother behaved like a young girl in front of him. In the future, he could not enjoy such interactions, but now he could. ''Times like these are not so bad,'' Asher thought to himself. "It''s not like that, Mom. I was very tired yesterday, and I told Dad to not announce this news because I don''t wish for too much attention right now," Asher said with his usual calm face as he pulled his chair back and sat down. "Yes, you should respect his wishes, Sylvie," Arthur told her while patting her back. "Okay, fine. It''s all good if you n to announce it on ater date," Sylvie said while eating her breakfast. "Did you tell Father about the whole thing?" Sylvie asked Arthur. "Yeah, I contacted him, but it seems like he is still busy exploring the recent SS Rank dungeon outbreak which appeared in the lostnds," Arthur said with a serious voice. In this world, there were a total of five countries named Somaria, Desmar, Fashia, Belvoria, and Halcyon. The was called Earth, which is at least 10 times bigger than our Earth, consisted of each of these countries, which were way bigger than Russia. Desmar was in the northwest, Fashia in the southwest, Belvoria in the southeast, and Halcyon in the northeast and Somaria, which was in the center. These countries were so big that when the first monster outbreaks happened hundreds of years ago, somend was discarded and was now called the lostnds. Thesends were deemed too dangerous by the High Council and were only cleared by S Rank hunters and above. Asher remembered clearly that the current SS-Rank Dungeon his Grandfather was exploring would be the cause of his death in theing two months. He needed to convince him somehow to stop the exploration, which was going to be a bit difficult. *ding*ding* ********************************************** Quest Issued Objective: Save Nathaniel Von Greville from dying Rewards: 100 Fate points Penalty: -20 all stats, -80 Fate points ************************************************ [ Does host want to ept the quest (Y/N) ] Asher didn''t mind the quest because he was nning on doing the same anyway. The loss of his Grandfather was the biggest reason for the downfall of the Greville Family. ''Argh, I need to convince that old man to stay home, this will cause me some headaches but I am still gonna do it '' Asher thought in his mind. *sigh* A sigh left the mouth of Asher and Sylvie noticed it and asked him: "What happened Ash? Anything troubling you?" Sylvie asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "I was thinking about meeting Grandfather on my birthday, thising month but it seems like I would not be able to*sigh*" Asher made little bit of a sulky face intentionally. ''Oh he must be missing the old man'' Arthur thought in his mind thinking he saw through his cold face. Asher purposefully did this little act so that he can trigger the emotions of his parents and they will make sure Nathan attends his birthday. Then Asher just needed to stall him for a week or more. ''System open the quest'' Asher was already thinking of ways he will approach this. ******************************************** Quest Issued Objective : Save Nathaniel Von Greville from dying Reward : 100 Fate points Penalty : -20 all stats, -80 Fate points ******************************************** [ Do you wish to ept the quest? (Y/N) ] Asher already knew his answer said ''Yes'' in his mind. [ Quest added, you can now view in the [Quest] tab ] Asher remembered about the auction he was going to attend today. "Mom, I want to start a newpany called ''Aztech'' using my personal funds under the Abyss guild," Asher said after finishing his food. "Okay, just tell Stephen about it and all the paperwork will be done. I will also provide you with some funds to start, so feel free to try your hand in various sectors," Sylvie replied as she stood up to leave for work. The Abyss Guild is owned by the Greville family, and its guildmaster is Nathan Greville. Nathan is often busy handling SS-Rank Dungeons and venturing to dangerous ces, so Arthur handles the entire guild administration and everything rted to hunters. Sylvie is the CEO of Abyss Enterprises, the industrial branch of the Abyss Guild that ventures into various sectors. The Greville family''s worth was estimated to be around 250 billion Aurum (AUR) [* note that 1$ = 1AUR ]. The Greville family controls much of Somaria''s economy, thanks to part of Sylvie''s business rted talent and her use of the Raven Family''s Information Guild to eliminate opposition. Johnathan Raven, head of the Raven family, dotes on his daughter and has allowed Sylvie to grow Abyss Enterprises to its current heights. "Thanks, Mom. I will make sure your investment doesn''t go to waste," Asher replied as he stood up from his chair. "Don''t worry. I believe in your talent, but if you need any advice,e to me or ask your father about it," Sylvie said as she hugged both Asher and Arthur before leaving. Chapter 16 Getting To The Auction ?Asher said goodbye to his parents and began typing important information rted to his newpany, Aztech, which would be his first step towards achieving his goal. "Emmy, tell Stephen to check the file I just sent him and arrange the car. We''re going to the Harkins Auction House," Asher said to Emmy, who nodded and left to make all the preparations. Asher wore a designer all-ck suit and looked dashing, with a sharp jawline and crimson red eyes. He resembled a handsome devil who would fulfill your wish, but take your life in return. His charm was very high, and stats like charm were inherited values that were mostly decided at birth. While a person could increase their charm, there were limits to how much they could improve it. However, Asher could also increase his charm using the system''s "AP." If he wished, he could spend his attribute points on increasing his charm. Asher left the mansion and got into his car. Emmy signaled the driver to head towards the Auction House. They passed through a bustling area, which caught the attention of many as they saw a group of high-end cars passing by. A kid on the road was fascinated by the cool cars and asked his mom to buy such cars as well. The mother could only smile and say that they were too expensive for them. They arrived at the Harkins Private Estate, which had been turned into an Auction House. Emmy got out and walked with Asher towards the VIP entrance. She had already arranged everything, so Asher received the best VIP room. Asher sat down on the sofa and signaled for Emmy to sit beside him. "Emmy, I told Stephen that you will handle the administrative work for my newpany. Do you mind?" Asher asked while looking at the catalog handed to him by a female assistant stationed there to assist the VIPs and make them feelfortable. "How could I refuse the young master? If you feel that I am capable of doing this, I will make sure I don''t let your expectations down," Emmy replied confidently with bright eyes. Asher was happy to see his loyal maid, who was ready to ept his sudden request. He needed to gather his own team of people to achieve his future goals and make sure most of his future actions were hidden from his family. This was one of the reasons Asher created his ownpany, so he could move more freely in the future. At the same time, outside the Auction House, two sports cars stopped and two young women and two young men got out. It seemed they were heading towards the Auction House. "Marcus, you''re sure spending big today!" the other young boy told him excitedly. "Of course, a man should never be cheap when escorting a beauty!" Marcus said while gesturing towards the two young girls apanying them. At his flirtatious words, both of the girls blushed a little. It seemed like Marcus was taking some girls on a date to the Auction House to show off his wealth. "But are you sure? It seems like we may not be able to buy anynd here," the young boy apanying Marcus spoke to him in a low voice. "Don''t worry, who would stop me? I''m a member of the Williams family. They have to give me face here," Marcus muttered to his friend whileughing out loud. Indeed, Marcus was part of one of the elite families named Williams, but he was just a son from the branch family. When Asher almost died in his previous life, the blue-haired woman who talked to Kevin was none other than the famous Heir of the Williams Family, Eva Williams, who was called the Genius Schr in that future by the whole world. In the previous timeline, Marcus Williams bought this property, and when the "opportunity" arrived, Eva Williams cleverly took the rights of thend from Marcus Williams, and her family became one of the major contenders against the Greville family. This "opportunity" was actually a dungeon. It was a low-level E-ss dungeon with low-level monsters, but this dungeon world had multiple Mana Stone caves. Even though Mana Stones were useless for awakening, they were used everywhere in the world. They were used as a power source, to enchant items, and to charge up teleportation gates. This world basically used Mana Stones as a fuel source, and Abyss Enterprises'' main industry revolved around the constant supply and distribution of Mana Stones. The Williams Family was also one of the few elite families that did simr business to the Greville. In his previous life, this dungeon cost the Greville Family around 30% of its worth of 250 Billion AUR. This time, Asher would cut off the major business opportunity for the Williams. "Come on,dies, let''s go inside," Marcus waved at the girls, who were admiring the whole Auction House. Marcus took them to a VIP room, and his room number was 6. Meanwhile, in VIP Room No. 1, Asher was sitting on the sofa, waiting for the Auction to start. After some time, Harris Harkin got on stage and said, "Wee to our Auction,dies and gentlemen. I, Harris Harkin, will be your auctioneer for today!" *Murmur*Murmur* Other guests were surprised to see Harris himself hosting today because he was usually a busy person, but it seemed like today was a special day. Harris hosted today because he wanted to increase hiswork with the Greville family, so he decided to host the day Asher wasing. Seeing the chattering of the audience Harris quickly started the introduction before wasting more time. "Today, we have several mountain ranges and two special surprises for you guys," Harris announced excitedly. This news made the people who attended the Auction happy. Marcus and his group were also happy to see this change from the usual. "This was done because we have some special guests in the VIP Room today," Harris announced. Hearing this, one of the girls got curious and asked, "Is it because of you, Marcus?" she said with shining eyes. Marcus was dumbfounded, but he saw the opportunity and decided to grab it. "Of course, the Williams Family is respected wherever we go, no matter who we encounter," Marcus said, spouting whatever came to mind. Both girls started praising him, which pleased Marcus, who was only there to show off to these girls. "Are you buying thesends?" the other girl asked. "Of course, I will buy onend and one of the surprises Mr. Harris will show today," Marcus originally nned to buy and, but decided to impress these girls more. Even the young boy was impressed by his friend Marcus. "So let''s start with our firstnd in a mountain range northwest of Soran. The starting bid will be 1 Million AUR, and the increment will be 100k AUR each!" Harris announced. People started to bid on thisnd, and Marcus also decided to y along. "1.5 Million AUR," "1.8 Million AUR," "2 Million AUR," "2.5 Million AUR," Marcus said from his VIP Room. "100 Million AUR ! " a voice came from VIP Room 1 nobody knew who was sitting there but they were shocked at the bid. Even Marcus got startled by the amount. "Going once, going twice, sold to bidder VIP Room 1 for 100 Million AUR !" Harris announced happily. Chapter 17 Auction House Chaos ?"A while ago, just before Marcus arrived with his group, Asher got curious about something and asked the system: ''System, does killing the person tied with the opportunity also give me fate points?'' [No, killing the person who would im the opportunity will not lead to any fate points unless they are themselves connected to the host''s fate.] "So, if I go around killing my future enemies, will I get fate points?" Asher asked in his mind. [Yes, but the host should not kill their future enemies with a fate value higher than their own. And I would advise you to take their fate values as much as you can before killing them. ] [ Killing such a person will cost a huge amount of fate points. ] [ Killing a person breaks their fate threads and you cannot intervene or benefit from that. ] Asher got annoyed at this exnation because some of his ns would work better if he just killed some of the people early. "What if there''s no ''opportunity'' to take from the hands of a person?" There were people who were already strong and were directly linked to his fate. There were no other ways to weaken them, apart from killing them. [The host can also increase their fate by humiliating others. If the person hates or negatively views the host and the host defeats them in any way, and you can take their fate as your own. Another situation may arise, but the host''s level is too low to ess that information.] This was a headache for Asher, but he just needed to y around with some people a little before killing them. But seeing that he could get his fate up just by making people hate him, he thought to himself: ''Making others hate me is something I was born with, but if I have more fate points than my opponent, I would just kill him to make things easier.'' ''System, can you tell me the fate points of other people?'' Asher was curious about this. [Yes, if they are in the vicinity of the host, I can calcte the value.] ''Then calcte the value of the guy that was going to buy thend. What was his name?'' Asher tried to jog his memory and remembered, ''Marcus Williams, he was the one who gave Eva thisnd as I remember.'' [Measuring Fate... ping] --------------------------------------------- System Window Name: Marcus Williams Fate Points: 2000 ----------------------------------------------- ''What the hell!'' Asher almost broke his indifferent face. His eyes rose and his breathing changed for a moment. ''System!! Why is his fate value so high?'' he said in his head. [Don''t get confused, this is the average value a normal person carries around. It''s just that the host has such a low fate. When I mentioned that every person in this world has at least 100 fate, it meant that even a dying man in hisst moments has 100 fate points.] Asherughed at himself for assuming something like this without rifying first. ''Status'' -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 0/1000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 84 [AP]:0 [SP]:0 -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C) -------------------------------------------------------------- ''And here I am with my 84 Fate points'' "System, can I get some fate points by humiliating this kid as well?" Asher asked while thinking about something. [Yes, but you will only get fate from him this time because his fate is not linked with yours except for this moment in his life. If the person isrgely involved in the host''s life, you can get more fate points multiple times.] Asher picked up the catalogue and saw all thends in the mountain range that were being sold today. He did not remember exactly whichnd it was because the Williams family bought the whole mountain rangeter when they found out about the dungeon. ''Seems like I''ll buy everything today,'' Asher thought and ordered Emmy to do something. "Emmy, go find out if there''s a person called Marcus Williams attending this auction and find out his motive as well." "Yes, Young Master," Emmy nodded at his request and disappeared into thin air. Emmy was an A-rank hunter of wind element as her main element. She was greatly talented at spying and collecting information due to her high stealth and movement speed. She could even pick up vibrations of sound waves and hear people from a far distance. Emmy arrived after overhearing the talks of Marcus and his group and narrated it to Asher, who thought of a simple n to humiliate this kid. He told Emmy to sit down and she sat down beside him. "100 million AUR," Asher said. "Going once, going twice, sold to bidder VIP Room 1 for 100 million AUR!" Harris announced happily. "Moving on, this is the secondnd of the mountain range." "Bidding will remain the same at 1 million AUR for the rest of thends as well, and the increment will be 100k AUR," Harris said while gesturing to his assistant to move the view to the nextnd. The hologram projection showed the second piece ofnd and its bird''s-eye view. The bidding started again, but the voice from VIP Room 1 said once again, "100 million AUR." The other people who attended were shocked at who was wasting so much money in this auction, but none of them said anything against him. They knew that a person who could bid such an amount was nomon man and one needed to be an idiot to mess with such a person. "Going once, going twice, sold to bidder VIP Room 1 for 100 million AUR!" Harris announced. And the next bid started: "100 million AUR." "100 million AUR." "100 million AUR." "100 million AUR." "100 million AUR." All 7nds were bought by Asher in this manner. Marcus watched this whole scene with a white face. He was angry at the person in VIP Room 1, but he also knew that a person who was capable of spending such money so easily was a big shot. "Congrattions to the person in VIP Room 1 for winning the entire mountain range for themselves," Harris excitedly said, gesturing towards Asher''s room. For other people, only an opaque ss was there, and they could only imagine, based on the voice of the bidder, that it was someone young. "Heh, wasting so much money on these worthlessnds, he sure is an idiot," Marcus scoffed angrily. He was saying these things to save face in front of the two girls. "I don''t want to use my family name to threaten them, or this guy wouldn''t even be able to buy a singlend," he said while shrugging towards his friend, who was agreeing with him. The two girls were a little put off by his behavior, but they didn''t say anything. "Let me reveal the surprise of today''s auction," Harris announced. The hologram changed, then showed two beautiful vis in Soran. They were beautifully made with expensive white marble and surrounded by beautiful flower gardens with many rare flowers in them. These vis were the dream of many men and women alike. All the guests got excited over them. "But, I would like to gift these to VIP Room 1," Harris''s words made many people angry. They didn''t like this sort of behavior because it went against the whole concept of what an auction was supposed to be. But nobody voiced their dissatisfaction first. Why? Because they needed to know who the person sitting in VIP Room 1 was before opening their mouths. They were all experienced people who had seen enough of life not to make stupid mistakes. But one young man, who clearly wasn''t one to think hard, said, "Mr. Harris, this behavior of yours is not ideal. Do you not give the Williams family enough face?" Marcus said, clearly angry. Even if the auction went on, the person in VIP Room 1 was going to win it anyways, but Marcus wanted to save his image a bit. Both the girls were excited when they saw the images of the vis and started saying how much they loved them. If Marcus let it go just like that, he would break his image of a rich young master he just created. The other people gasped after hearing the name Williams. Everybody knew they were one of the elite families and not just anyone could look down upon them. Hearing the Williams family name, some of the people also started voicing against such conduct. "It''s right, Mr. Harris, you should value the integrity of the auction," several people voiced together. Asher smiled at the situation Marcus created for him. Chapter 18 Williams Who? ?Seeing the people start chattering so much, Harris wanted to intervene, but suddenly, "Can I get the name of the person who is sitting in VIP Room 6?" A voice came from VIP Room 1. "Hahaha, of course, I am Marcus Williams," Marcus arrogantly replied. For the next five seconds, no reply came from VIP Room 1, and Marcus thought they were intimidated by his background. "Don''t worry, I wouldn''t abuse my name. Just keep the auction going and keep it fair, so..." Marcus, who was trying to impress the girls, was suddenly cut off by the new hologram that appeared behind Harris. A devilishly handsome young man could be seen sitting on a couch. He had ck hair and red eyes that seemed to threaten to devour every existence sitting there. His cold eyes and indifferent face sent a chill through the whole audience. Even Harris was intimidated by him. "You said you were from Williams, right?" Asher said while keeping his indifferent face. "Abuse your name? Why the bloody hell would I get intimidated by a kid who is just a branch family son?" "It''s Asher Greville, the heir of the esteemed Greville Family," one of the men sitting spoke. Those who didn''t recognize the young man were scared beyond belief just by hearing the name Greville. The Greville family was known throughout the world for obliterating anyone who stood in their path. Their influence was growing so strong that some other elite families chose to form an alliance so they could keep up with them. Seeing the young man, Marcus realized who he was. Every rich kid knew about Asher Greville; their parents always made sure their children never offended anyone who shouldn''t be offended. And if you made a list of such people, Asher was probably at the top. Everyone knew about him and his title, "The cold devil," which was not just for show. Asher, from the age of 10, had suggested many ideas for his mother to implement in her new business. His high intelligence helped him contend with adults who had years of experience behind their names. Even though he was known for avoiding awakenings, his acumen for business was terrifying. Marcus''s face was pale white right now. Even if he were killed by Asher Greville right here, nobody would stand up for him. He was just a branch family of Williams. "I-I -I didn''t know it was you. Forgive my-my mistake," he scaredly voiced his apology. Even his friend was scared shitless, almost thinking of escaping the room right then and there. But the girls were enchanted by Asher''s charm and had a red blush around their cheeks. Compared to Marcus, he was like a god who had descended to the mortal realm. But the cold gaze of his red eyes frightened them. "Oh, we are sorry, Young Master Greville. We didn''t know it was you in that room," one of the men who was speaking against Asher a few seconds ago was now trying to save his life. Even if Asher decided to spare Marcus, he could use his connections to kill all the people here. And nobody wanted his retaliation, so they also decided to apologize rather than test their luck. "We apologize, Young Master Greville," a lot of people said together. Emmy scoffed at the spineless cowards who were raising their voices like angry beasts moments ago and now were behaving likembs. ''Serves all of you right for underestimating our cute Young Master,'' Emmy thought with a proud look on her face. Cute? This young man was far from looking cute at this moment. Even his gaze was enough to send chills to the people who were sitting there. *ping* --------------------------------------------------------- [System Window] Rewards: 100 Fate points Rewards: 46 Fate points -------------------------------------------------------- "Enough," Asher spoke with hismanding voice. Marcus and other people gulped and waited for his next words. "Mr. Harris, I would like to leave now and I will buy the two vis for 150 million each. I don''t like free things," Asher said while standing up and leaving with Emmy. Harris could only smile bitterly as he thought that gifting those vis would be his ticket to get in the good books of Asher Greville. Asher spent 1 billion AUR at this auction, and the profit that Harris got was not small at all. Except for the vis, all thend he bought was way above their worth in his eyes. Yes, those small vis were actually 100 million AUR each. Why? Because they were located near the World Academy, the centralmost part of Soran. Asher only bought those vis because a past memory resurfaced in his mind when he saw those vis. Asher got out of the Auction House before telling the female assistant who was catering to them in their VIP Room to tell Harris to send the bills to his secretary, Emmy, not his family. He was going to register thesends under his newpany, ''Aztech.'' And for the vis, ''Seems like they suit your taste, so I bought them,'' Asher''s face had a smile, but nobody could see it as the only person with him at the moment was Emmy and his driver, who were seated in the front seats of his car. ''Status'' -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 0/1000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 230 [AP]:0 [SP]:0 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C) ------------------------------------------------------------------ He looked at his 230 fate points and thought, ''So now I am better than a dying man at least.'' Asher thought while looking at his status. Meanwhile, Marcus, who was sighing in relief after exiting the Auction House, was now depressed. The two girls who came with him decided to leave separately from the two boys, saying they needed to go somewhere. Marcus knew he had fumbled his chance and his image was thoroughly crushed, but he calmed down thinking at least he was alive and well. Asher was thinking of killing Marcus if he annoyed him one more time. But luckily for him, Asher''s mood was a bit better when he saw those two vis. Especially when he saw a particr ''decoration'' of those vis. In his past life, when he killed people, Asher felt no guilt or remorse. It was like his soul was devoid of emotions whatsoever. He never felt happy or sad; anything that annoyed him deserved death in his mind. Fortunately, his high intelligence allowed him to act in a certain way, so he seemed like a cold yet normal child to his parents and his known ones. ''It''s time to increase my level a bit,'' Asher saw his lvl 1 status and decided he should increase his level. ''Emmy, take the car to one of the F-rank dungeons under the Abyss Guild,'' he told Emmy. ''But Young Master, you have just recently awakened as a hunter. You should train for some time before fighting the monsters,'' Emmy usually never questioned his orders, but when she heard this, she knew Asher should not fight the monsters so early. "Don''t worry, I will take you inside with me. I just want the experience. Do as I say," Asher said in amanding tone. Emmy was an A-rank Hunter and she could save Asher anytime in the F-Rank Dungeon. She hesitated for some seconds but still nodded after listening to his reasons. She still sent a message to Arthur, just in case any issues arise. The driver turned the car to go to one of thetest F-Rank dungeons, which had recently been acquired by the Abyss Guild. In the whole world, 60% of the dungeons were owned by the World Association. The World Association had 3 SSS-Rank hunters. They had the most hunters in the world and could be called government officials who were there to make sure nobody could take advantage in this society where the strong eat the weak. They were responsible for maintaining public order and implementingws to keep the other elite families in check. But despite having 3 of the 11 SSS-Rank hunters, they could not enforce their words on the elite families carelessly. 4 of the SSS-Rank hunters were from different elite families. All the SSS-Rank hunters were like the pirs of this world and they maintained an equal power distribution among the authorities. This was another reason for Asher to save Nathan. His death allowed the World Association more freedom and they introduced some newws to lessen the grip the elite families had on the economy of the world. Asher''s car arrived in front of a well guarded ce filled with people carrying weapons. They were the hunters of Abyss Guild and were guarding the entrance of the dungeon. Dungeons were closely guarded and monoplized for the resources that were found in them. One of the hunters who was holding a document came up to greet them. Chapter 19 Towards The Dungeon ?The brown-haired guy came up to Asher and said, "We greet the Young Master. We have already arranged for your entry, and your Nano-Armor is arriving in a few minutes." The brown-haired guy told Asher, continuing, "You can wait for it in the lounge. We have prepared everything for your convenience." Asher and Emmy moved to the nearby lounge, where hunters usually rested or gathered before going into the dungeon. These lounges were created to encourage bonding among hunters and help them rx before entering the dungeon. Asher moved to a premium area that was clearly better than the other seating options. He was given some information about the dungeon they were about to enter. Asher took the document from the table and read it. It described that the dungeon was a blue gate and contained G-Rank wolf beasts and an F-Rank boss monster. Dungeons were generally ranked based on the rank of the boss monster and the quality of the mana present in them. There were no G-Rank dungeons in the world. The rank started at F-SSS. Dungeons were ssified into three types: blue gates, yellow gates, and red gates. Blue gates were dungeons that did not have any restrictions on entering or leaving. No matter the rank, a person could enter and leave without even killing a single monster inside. Most newly awakened hunters were brought to such dungeons. Yellow gates were simr to blue gates, but they enforced a rank restriction and only allowed a certain number of people to enter. Nobody could enter until the people inside came out. Red gates were the most dangerous dungeons. When you entered, the portal to exit the dungeon disappeared and would not reappear until the dungeon boss was killed. There was no rank restriction to enter, but until the number of people inside decreased, people outside were unable to enter. If dungeons were not cleared for a long time, the space boundary that separated the dungeon and the outside world gradually weakened. Unstable mana will increase over time and slowly corrode the dungeon. This phenomenon was known as a dungeon break. The monsters inside woulde outside. To prevent this from happening, dungeons were meant to be cleared on a regr basis. This was also the reason that every hunter, no matter their rank, was needed. If only talented individuals were in a guild or association, who would clear the rank-restricted gates? There were several academies, in addition to the World Academy, that trained people. The World Academy was the dream of every person who wanted to be strong in their field, but if they couldn''t enter it, there were other academies to choose from. After some time, Asher''s Nano-Armor arrived. This world was technologically advanced, and even though mana allowed people to create miracles, humans stillbined mana with technology to create a better environment for the masses. The Nano-Armor was one such invention. Asher was handed a ck bracelet, which was actually the Nano-Armor. It wasposed of tightly packed carbon atoms strengthened by mana. It spread throughout the body, covering the wearer and protecting them from harm. Although thin and light, the mana-enhanced atoms made it sturdy as well. While it was an expensive item, it safeguarded the wearer''s life in crucial moments and did not hinder their movements. It also always adjusted its size to fit the wearer. This was one of the inventions that reduced the casualty rate in dungeons. It was created by the Artisan''s Association, which was responsible for major technological advancements in weapons and hunting. The Artisan''s Association was one of three associations in the world and was led by an SSS-rank hunter known as the best cksmith in the world. Asher put on the bracelet and activated it with a small amount of mana. He and Emmy then approached the dungeon entrance, which was a blue gate with security devices to catch any trespasser. The entrance was in the shape of a closed gate, but one could pass through it like air. If there were restrictions, one would be blocked. Dungeons were like small worlds of their own, with their own environment and boundaries. "Young Master, we have cleared the schedule for this dungeon and you can hunt freely in there," the brown-haired man said, signaling the hunter behind him to hand over the sword they were holding. "We have prepared the best E-rank swords for you, both of which have imbued mana stones," he added. One was ck and other was blue, they were of equal sizes but different grip. Asher took both of them his hands topare them. Asher chose the sword with the ck sheath instead of the blue one. Both swords were equally powerful and a bit overkill for an F-rank dungeon.But he prefered the ck one more. The weight was just right, not too light or heavy. Every swing increased the damage done by the wielder. ? Asher and Emmy passed through the gate, with Emmy staying close to Asher and determined to protect him. Asher told her, "Emmy, don''t intervene unless my life is in danger." This made Emmy take a few steps back and stop emitting her A-rank pressure. Asher and Emmy entered the dungeon and encountered their first G-rank monster, a grey-haired wolf. Although it was one of the weakest monsters, it was still dangerous for a newly awakened hunter. Asher had an E-rank mana core, thanks to his S-rank mana gem, but his body was still absorbing the mana and his overall strength wasparable to a peak G+ rank hunter, who could rival an F-rank monster easily due to high stats. Every rank of hunter had three levels: early, mid, and peak. For example, E-, E, and E+. The monster in front of Asher was a mid G-rank monster. Asher summoned mana inside his body and the bracelet absorbed it, covering his body up to his neck in small, matte ck scales. The wolf sensed Asher and started running towards him. It jumped to capture him. Asher unsheathed his sword and jumped to his right. Bam!! The wolf missed Asher as he dodged his attack. He growled at Asher showing his killing intent. The wolf never sensed Emmy who was there because of her high stealth skills. Seeing the wolf was charging towards him again. Asher moved his right foot behind his left and waited as the wolf jumped on him again. His body dodged the wolf again but this time Asher used his footwork to slide on the right side of the wolf and swung his sword in a upward stroke. Swishh!! Thup!! He sword beheaded the wolf in clean cut. The wolf''s lifeless body was slumped down on the ground with blood flowing out where the cut was. *ping* <100 Exp Acquired> He didn''t used his bloodline ability on the wolf as Emmy was right there and although he knew, she was loyal to him but he didn''t wanted his parents to know that his bloodline ability was a different one. He wanted them to believe he recieved a Rank-S mana control bloodline. His Rank-SSS bloodline allowed him to breakthrough Ranks just by absorbing his prey. And who knows what more he will get after he upgraded it as the system told him. It was the best if nobody knew about this. And even if somebody found out, if they were not important to him, he will just kill them. Emmy was amazed by seeing Asher calm experience even after the battle was done. She remembered when she killed her first monster, her hands were trembling with fear. "Let''s go further, and leave the wolf''s body, the hunters outside will collect it" Asher said as he swung his sword downward to remove the blood on it. Emmy who was still amazed by Asher nodded back at him. ''9 to go'' Asher thought as he saw how much experience he gained after his first kill. ************************************************************ [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 1 (EXP 100/1000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 230 [AP]:0 [SP]:0 ---------------------------------------------- Chapter 20 Level Up ?Both of them moved further into the dungeon and arrived at a group of four wolves. Behind them were two paths. The dungeon was a cave with multiple paths filled with wolves. "Young Master, this may be a bit difficult for you. I can kill two of them for you," said Emmy. Although Asher had easily killed a single wolf, attacking a group of them was different. One could be attacked from behind while attacking one enemy. Experience was required to fight a group of monsters. Asher did not have any attack skills, and Emmy''s reasoning was right, but Asher was far from normal. His experience in killing was way above Emmy''s, who was an A-Rank Hunter, and mainly dealt with assassination and "cleaning." "Don''t bother with it. Let me try first," said Asher with his usual indifferent look. "If you feel like I am in danger, you can kill them, but don''t interfere unless absolutely necessary," he added. Emmy could not refuse his orders, so she nodded and removed her presence and moved a bit closer to Asher to react to any mishaps immediately. Asher moved towards the wolves, who noticed him but did not charge at him immediately. They sensed the blood of their own kind on his body, which made the human they were facing seem strong. Though these monsters do not have the mental ability to think this far, their beastly instincts allow them to sense danger. Two of the wolves started to circle around Asher to get him in the center so they could attack him together. Unlikest time, Asher did not bother waiting for an attack. He bent his knees a bit and channeled some of his mana around his legs, then jumped towards the two wolves at high speed. His speed wasparable to any F-Rank hunter despite being a G-Rank. The additional boosts of the system were showing their effects now. The two wolves wanted to dodge, but before they could, Asher reached one of them and shed his sword. The wolf immediately died, with its blood spurting out of its neck region. <100 exp acquired> Seeing one of them die, the wolves growled at Asher. Two of them charged towards him from the front, but he backstepped from his previous position. The other wolf, who was near him now, shed its w towards him. Asher blocked the w attack with his sword. The sound of the w and metal colliding was heard. shing He used mana around his arms to strengthen them and took his sword a bit towards him before pushing the wolf away. As he pushed the wolf, he immediately charged towards him and diagonally shed at the wolf, whose face was cut in half. <100 exp acquired> Seeing his brutal way of killing, the two wolves took a step back and became wary of him. Asher was quite bored with the fight; it was not enough to get his blood pumping. ''I should probably stop ying around now. Seeing a bit more will not make Emmy suspicious of me,'' thought Asher. He knew that everything happening here would be reported to his family. If Asher used his original fighting style, he would have a lot of exining to do as to how a person who detested training became such a sword expert suddenly. He immediately changed his footwork and channeled his mana into his hands and legs. He dashed forward towards one of the wolves to his right and shed its stomach as it was trying to back off from his attack. Before giving it any time, heunched his sword straight into the heart area of the wolf. He did not even wait to confirm if his attack killed the wolf or not, and sidestepped to dodge the attack of the wolf next to him. He was aware that thest wolf would try to surprise attack him and prepared ordingly. The wolf was dumbfounded, seeing that its surprise attack had missed. But before it could even turn its body, Asher shed his sword downward, and its head rolled off the body. <100 exp acquired> <100 exp acquired> He removed the blood from his de and unsheathed it whileing back towards Emmy, who was standing there dumbfounded. "How?" she muttered to herself. Emmy knew that Asher was a talented genius, and she even knew about his achievement during his awakening. But talent and experience were two different things. One could be talented in sword fighting, but if they never battled with it, mistakes were bound to happen. This was also one of the reasons Arthur allowed Asher to go into the dungeon. He believed that Asher was rushing towards things too early, so he decided to show him what it really meant to be a hunter. He was right about it, but he could never know that Asher''s sword mastery was above his as well. Though his body could not handle it right now, his sword art was truly terrifying. Asher, who maintained his usual face, just looked at his maid, who was making quite a funny face right now. "Let''s go," he said, walking further into the dungeon without waiting for Emmy. "Yes, Young Master!!" Emmy hurriedly followed behind him. They moved and found three more wolves, which Asher killed easily. <100 exp acquired> <100 exp acquired> <100 exp acquired> Blue notifications popped directly into his mind, notifying him of his rewards. He ignored them and moved towards hisst two targets. "Fuhh," Asher breathed out while moving towards them with his sword pointed at the ground. The strong stench of blood around him rmed them. These two wolves were bigger than thest eight wolves. They were peak G-Rank monsters. Emmy would have stopped Asher earlier because these monsters were the same rank as him. But seeing his battle prowess, she decided to let him fight. Asher was not bothered by the two wolves. He simply dashed towards them. swish He swung his sword at the wolf on his right, but the cut was not deep as both wolves jumped away from his trajectory to avoid his attack. "GRRrrrrr!!" Both of them growled at Asher, who saw that the wolf he ignored had already jumped towards him. He stayed calm and stretched his left foot as he crouched a bit and rotated his body clockwise, performing a low horizontal sh. *swish* He maintained the momentum and sliced the head of the wolf, which was still mid-air above him. *ping* <100 exp acquired> *thup* The body of the wolf dropped to the ground. Asher face was covered with its blood, his cold looking face didn''t make it much better. He was giving a aura of death subconsciously which made the other wolf unable to move. Even Emmy had a chill in her spine. He didn''t wait for the wolf to get out of his frozen state and immediately shed it in half. *ping* <100 exp acquired> <5 Attributes points, 2 Skill points > He ignored the notifications for the time being and said, "Let''s go back for today," Honestly he could still fight and level up more but he thought this was enough for today. He would need a lot of exnation to do if he fought more peak G-Rank monsters. As there will be more peak G-rank monsters from this point of the dungeon. ''Exining will be too much of a hassle, I will juste alone to hunt and use my bloodline ability as well'' Asher thought. His aura which he released earlier had surprised Emmy but she recovered quickly. "Cleanse" Emmy chanted the basic spell which was used by all of the hunters. As it names suggest, this spell was used to clean themselves and their equipment of beast blood and dirt. "Thanks" Asher nodded and moved towards where the portal was. They came out of the portal and told the hunters to collect the carcass of the monsters for their use. He moved towards his car and sat down and opened his status while on the way home, ''Status'' -----------------| Fate Devourer System |----------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 2 (EXP 0/2000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] ------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 230 [AP]: 5 [SP]: 2 --------------------------------------------------------- "Hmmm, I will save the points for now," Asher decided to save the points rather than using them right now. He was thinking of unlocking synthesis before upgrading his skills. ''Right, my birthday party will be the ce where all four of them showed up together for the first time,'' Asher smirked while remembering this event. "I will let this event y like it happened in the past, but this time the impact will be evenrger," he thought. He was remembering how his previous birthday party had gone. He typed some information on his phone and sent it to Emmy, saying, "Emmy, find this kid for me. And after you find him, don''t make any moves. Just inform me first," Asher told her. ''Time to return the favors of the past,'' Asher said while remembering the person he was searching for. Chapter 21 News Of Arrival ?Asher returned to the house and took a bath to rx his body. He was a bit of a clean freak. "I hope you find the kid soon..." Asher thought, remembering the conversation with Emmy in the car. It was nearly 5 in the evening and there was still quite a bit of time, so Asher decided to do his mana training while waiting for dinner. "Tell them I am doing mana training, if anyone asks," he said to his other maid as Emmy was busy with the task he had given her. Heter moved to the backyard area of the mansion. There was a one-floor building that was quite big; this was the training area of the Greville Family. It was covered with mana runes all over it. Even though they were not as good as the mage association''s ones, they were still the best you could get with money and power. Only a few people and SSS-rank hunters enjoyed this privilege. Asher sat down and moved the mana around his body. His mana was ck. His previous mana color used to be blue, but it changed after his new bloodline. The ck hue covered his whole body and started to leak into the surroundings. Asher activated his Mana-Flow skill and started to collect all the ck hue tightly to his body, covering it like armor. This was the first step in creating Aura. Aura is the mana that covers your body and strengthens your muscles. All weapon-wielding hunters practice their Aura to their limits. Even mages practice their Aura, but their application of it is different. Because Asher was still at the peak of G-rank right now, he could not hold his aura for long. But activating his passive skill allowed him to hold it a little longer than others. He was rapidly decreasing his mana core reserves and filling them from the surrounding at the same time. Although it may sound easy, without his Mana-Flow skill, nobody, even Asher, would not be able to practice such methods. He continued the same for more than four more hours and came out drenched in sweat. He immediately went to take a shower and came out after 10 minutes. "Young Master, the dinner is ready," the other maid informed him. Both of his parents were waiting for him at the table. "I will be there in a minute," Asher told her and moved to his room. He knew his parents were going to ask him to practice sword arts and train before going to the dungeon next time, but he was not too bothered by it. He left his room after changing his bathrobe forfortable clothes. He arrived at the dinner table and saw Arthur, who was grinning at him. He was very excited to see the reports of Asher given by Emmy. "I knew it! My son was a genius in swords as well," Arthur said, even though he was sad that Asher started a bitter than others. But it was still fine because his overwhelming talent could easily make up for a few years. "Ash, I saw the reports of the dungeon hunt today," Sylvie spoke up first. She had a normal expression and the usual motherly face was nowhere to be found. "I am happy to see you were so exceptional in today''s hunt, but you know that without proper training, such acts can result in major mishaps," she said. Asher listened quietly and waited for her to finish, then spoke. "Don''t worry, Mom. Emmy was with me and if I believe I can do something, it means I can do it. I''ve already proved it to you guys multiple times. Though business and being a hunter are separate fields, I know my limits well." He rested his case a bit arrogantly, but what he said was true. From a young age, he had always performed well in whatever task he took on. And his parents knew it well. "Sigh, Sylvie, don''t worry too much. We shouldn''t stop his ambitions," Arthur consoled her, looking a bit sad. But his inner battle freak side was excited to see his son''s actions. "Okay, fine. I will train if Grandfatheres and trains me personally," "and I want to enter dungeons alone after the training. I will only enter F-rank dungeons, so there''s no need to worry," Asher said before his mother could question him further. Sylvie stared at Asher for a few seconds, but then decided to settle on these conditions. "Fine. If you do your training, I will not stop you," Sylvie said, although she was reluctant to agree. She knew that in this world, only the strong ruled. Even though there werews, nobody would go after a powerful person for killing a weak and powerless one. "Okay, enough of this topic. Amelia and Damian areing back right before your birthday party," Arthur said, breaking the silence. "Coincidentally, their academic term is ending early and she performed quite well on her exams, so she can now enter the World Academy at the same time as you and Damian," Arthur told Asher. Asher smirked to himself after hearing his words. He knew Amelia woulde right before his birthday party, and some ''guests'' would being with her as well. ''How could I be a bad host and not serve my ''guests'' well?'' "Don''t worry, I will go and pick her up from the airport," Asher replied to Arthur. "Oh, Damian will be happy to see you after such a long time. I remember he was still reluctant to leave his only best friend behind to go with Amelia," Sylvie said to Asher and smiled. Asher just shook his head at Sylvie''s remark. "I didn''t mention that you did your awakening to her. She will be quite surprised to hear this news," Arthur said to Asher, remembering his conversation with his daughter. Asher finished his dinner and wrapped up the talk with his parents. He went to his room and checked his phone for some time. He opened the Picstagram app and opened a private profile. He tapped "follow" and waited for a few minutes before seeing that the person epted his request. He opened the profile and saw multiple sketches of nature and cute drawings of kids ying around. It seemed like whoever the person was, they liked this sort of art and drew it beautifully as well. Asher took his time to see all of these sketches. He messaged that person, -------------------------------------- Your art is beautiful. ok.... Will you do a sketch for me? depends... hmm, maybe a ck cat with a pink cat in azy background. I charge but.... I will pay don''t worry. pay first then --> link./pay/..... ---------------------------------------- He chuckled at the response but sent 10K AUR to the link. ---------------------------------------- give me your pay link. why? you added two ''0'' by mistake !! No, I did not. ... ....? Okay your painting will be done soon. thnx.. ------------------------------------------------- Sending thest message whoever went offline. Asherughed at the response and closed his eyes to get some good sleep. Chapter 22 Meeting Lucas ?Two weeks have passed, and Asher''s birthday is only two weeks away. It was early in the morning, and he had just woken up, so he decided to do his Mana-Training after having breakfast. He continued training for five hours and, when he came out, it was 12 in the afternoon. He found Emmy waiting outside the training grounds for him. "Young Master, we have found the kid with a nearly simr description to the one you described, but the information is not exactly the same. ording to the information you gave me, this kid was supposed to be an orphan with no family members. But he has a twin sister," Emmy told Asher. "Sister?" Asher asked, surprised by this new information. "Yes, ording to the report, this kid has a sister, although she is quite ill and usually stays at home," Emmy said while pulling out a hologram projection from her watch. "This kid hasmitted murder, theft, and many more things. Although he used all the money to treat his sister, he is quite weird. He is 10 years old and, although they live in not-so-privileged surroundings, he has managed to survive. The way he carries himself is quite simr to you, Young Master. And his eyes....ar-" "No wonder you found him quite simr to me, didn''t you?" Asher asked calmly. "Forgive me, Young Master. I don''t mean to doubt the integrity of the head of the house," Emmy got on her knees and waited for Asher''s response. "Get up. Although this kid has simr traits to the Greville Family, he is not my father''s child. But you are not wrong; he is indeed a Greville, like me," Asher responded. "How?" Emmy muttered softly to herself. Although she believed that Arthur would never cheat on Sylvie, she was a maid who came to the Greville House with Sylvie, and her loyalty to her was greater than her loyalty to Arthur. So, seeds of doubt began to arise when she saw the kid with the traits of the Greville Family. "You are forgetting that there used to be another person like my father in this family," Asher said, clearing the clouds from her mind. "No way?!" Emmy was shocked. "Yes, they are Ivar Greville''s children. We are going to go meet them. Emmy, make sure this news does not reach anyone else, no matter who, until I say so," Asher said with a hint of coldness in his voice. "Yes, Young Master," Emmy immediately replied. "Let''s go," Asher told Emmy as he moved towards his room to shower and get ready to go out. He wore a white jacket over a ck T-shirt, ck jeans, and got in his car. "Tell the security to not follow us when we are in the vicinity of those kids," Asher told her. He didn''t want any chances of information leaking out. "Should I drive?" Emmy asked Asher for confirmation. "No need," Asher said in a bored voice. The driver was ready to move out of the car, but when he heard Asher, he was a bit delighted. He was a 40-year-old man who worked to provide for his family, but he was not married and only provided money for his sister''s kids. He had been driving for Asher since he was 5 years old and was d to see that Asher trusted him enough. Asher didn''t really think much about this. His driver was the one who sacrificed his life in his previous life when he was weak and targeted by many people. He was sure that there would be no issues with him regarding information leaks. They were moving out of Soran and heading towards the border area of Soran. The people who lived there were those who could not afford city life. They were some people who had lost arms and could no longer go into dungeons to make money, or orphans whose parents died in dungeons. Althoughws were followed in such ces as well, they were quitexpared to cities. Murder and crimes were rare urrences, but unless you were caught, you were pretty much a free soul in such areas. *************************** Inside an underground bunker filled with various machinery and weapons, there were two men gathered around a person whose whole body was filled with ck veins. He looked like a mess. "His whole body is experiencing Mana Rejection. If this goes on, he will surely die," a man in a whiteb coat told the man standing beside him. The man beside him had ck hair and red eyes. He had several bandages wrapped around his waist and there cut marks on his forearms. He condition looked like he just fought a hard battle. "Nate, do you know a method to save him?" the man asked. "I can''t. Asher''s mana core is broken. He overchanneled his mana in the fight with the Association. I told this bastard to wait for a few more years to fight that man, but he never listened to me!" Nate''s voice was full of anger and concern. "Wait, I can rebuild his mana core with my bloodline ability!" the man beside him replied. "LUCAS, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?!" Nate shouted at him. "Fixing his mana core, which is already broken, will result in you emptying your own mana core until there''s nothing left. This is not like your own core where you can just rely on your ability to channel nearly unlimited mana," Nate tried to convince Lucas before he did something stupid. "Doesn''t matter. I have already experienced losing my loved ones once. Not again!" Lucas stared right into Nate''s eyes. "What do you mean by before?" Nate asked, as he knew Lucas was an orphan, and his mother died when he was too young to remember. "Shut up and concentrate on Asher now," Lucas said as he started channeling his own mana into Asher''s core, trying to fix it. Lucas''s eyes started losing focus, but he continued fixing Asher''s core. His mind was getting dizzy. Emptying your mana core meant destroying your mana heart and using up every bit of your lifespan. "Lucas, you can still stop. We can find some other way to fix him," Nate couldn''t bear to watch his friend die. "And what way? Will he live that long?" Lucas said, seeing a blurry figure of Nate. "But you know Asher is not stable. If even you die now, it will be up to me to take care of him. I am not confident that I will be able to keep Asher sane. He might just destroy this world if nobody kept tabs on his mental health," Nate said reluctantly. But he knew that Asher was no longer the same. He overclocked his mental capability to handle mana, and though it gave him immense power, his gradual loss of sanity was concerning. "Even though I met Asher long after ''that'' incident *cough*, " he stopped but continued, "You and I both know that Asher changed after that day. Maybe he didn''t change, he just unleashed his true self, but that doesn''t mean I will leave him like that sister of his!" Lucas said, barely maintaining his consciousness. Hearing the mention of that woman, Nate remembered the death of his brother. "Don''t me her too much, Lucas. My brother died that day, but if he was given another chance, he would still do it. She was just manipted by that Rothschild bitch!" His eyes burned with fury as he spoke. Asher''s body was slowly getting rid of the ck veins. His mana core was slowly fixing itself. Lucas''s body was slowly losing its color. Blood was dripping from his eyes and nose. He was going to die soon. "Nate, don''t let the world know about my death. Just destroy my body right here after my death. Asher will need time, and my existence will give him the time he needs. Even though I am still weaker than him, nobody will openly attack us until they know I am dead," Lucas muttered to Nate, his eyes unable to see anymore. He was using his senses to transfer the mana to fix Asher''s core. Nate didn''t reply, but Lucas knew he wouldply with his wishes. Asher''s body was now devoid of any ck veins. Although he was still in a deepa, his life was no longer in danger. He would still need some time to wake up. That was the day Lucas Von Greville left the world. Chapter 23 Will You Save My Sister? ?The car arrived at the outskirts of Soran, and people were startled to see such an expensive car. Many of them immediately started to disperse, not wanting to be involved with anyone of high status. Asher and Emmy got out of the car and started walking towards their destination, passing by many one-story houses packed closely together, connected by multiple alleyways. As they kept walking, Asher saw many small children running around and ying with each other. Although life was tough, these kids had already adapted to it. They eventually arrived at the end of an alleyway, where Asher saw a one-story house with cracks in its walls. Emmy walked up to the house and nodded to Asher, signaling that this was their destination. *ping* [Quest Issued] Asher saw the details and epted the quest without giving it much thought and closed the interface. Asher moved forward towards the house, but suddenly a child, who looked to be less than 10 years old, appeared in front of him. The child had ck hair and sharp red eyes, and looked a bit simr to Asher. "Do you need anything, sir?" the child asked calmly. "What is your name?" Asher asked. "My name is Lucas. Do you need anything from me?" Lucas knew that the person in front of him was rich, just by seeing his clothes and manners. He had done many crimes and knew that answering him calmly and not agitating someone like him would be in his best interest. Although he was a young child, his life and circumstances had made him mature beyond his peers. "I see. Can we talk inside your house?" Asher asked, showing no emotion on his face. Lucas was troubled by this request. If he were alone, he would have had no problem inviting them in, but his ill sister was also there, and he did not want to bring her into any trouble. Seeing his hesitation, Asher decided to calm him down. "Don''t worry, we''re not here to harm you or your sister," he said, openly letting Lucas know that he already knew about him. Hearing this, Lucas was alerted, but he did not make any moves. He knew that the other party already knew about him, and the fact that they had not attacked him yet made him believe Asher a bit. "Okay, you cane in," Lucas said, leading them inside his house. The interior of the house was covered with grey tiles, and the room was a bit hot. The walls were painted a dull blue shade, and the only window was cracked and covered with a piece of cardboard. Despite its small size, it was enough for two kids to live in. There were two beds on the edge of the room, and on one of themy a little girl with ck hair, sleeping. She had a paleplexion, and her rough breathing could be heard across the room. Lucas saw Asher and remembered what his mother had written in her diary just before she died, when he was 4 years old. She had mentioned a big family with the same hair color and eyes as him, and she had warned her kids not to look for them unless they came for them. She had said that there were many families that did not like illegitimate children, and since she had never mentioned their father, she had been pregnant with his kids before he died. She knew that her only support was gone, so she decided to raise her kids on her own rather than risk their lives by going to the Greville family. "You know that you and your sister carry the blood of the Greville family, right?" Asher asked him with his usual indifferent face. Lucas could not tell what Asher was thinking because he never showed any changes in his expression. He was nervous because of his mother''s warning, but he decided to answer him regardless. "Yes," Lucas nodded in response to Asher''s question. "Then why did you -?" Emmy started to question Lucas, but stopped when she saw Asher stop her. "You had a reason, right?" Asher waited for Lucas''s response. Lucas was quiet for a moment, but then decided to narrate what his mother had told him and warn them to be careful not to reveal their origins. His mother, while on her deathbed, had forgotten that they might not be able to survive on their own in this cruel world. Her mentality was already weak from raising two kids alone. It was very difficult for a single mother with no support to afford and protect them. She had moved to the outskirts of Soran to get away from city life, where everyone knew about the Greville family. She had always believed in not using Ivar Greville for his money and had waited for him to marry her. Although she had felt insecure about Ivar''s background and fame, her love for him had given her some strength. When she learned of Ivar''s death, the fear that her children, the only proof of her and Ivar''s love, would die scared her. A woman alone, raising two kids with her shattered mentality, never imagined that she would die early, leaving her two kids behind and alone. The fear clouded her mind, and her judgement led Lucas to never meet the Greville family in Asher''s previous life. Lucas had also been thinking about reaching out to the Greville family to save his sister, but he had decided to wait for two more months before risking it. His perspective on the Greville family was negative, as he had followed what was written in his mother''s diary from a young age. "So you decided to contact us in two months to save your sister?" Asher asked Lucas. Listening to his response, Lucas nodded his head. "But she will die in a week," Asher said with his usual indifferent voice. Hearing this, Lucas''s face turned pale. His heartbeat quickened, and his hands were trembling. He had done many things to save his sister up until now, such as killing small gangsters stealthily to rob them, stealing money and other necessities. Although he had been caught stealing a few times, he had just endured the beatings and kept doing these acts. Hearing that all his efforts were going to waste, and that his sister was going to die soon, scared the young child. "Can you save my sister? I''ll do anything you say. I can do any dirty work for you!" Lucas was heavily breathing. ------------------------------------------------------ Objective: Save Lucas''s sister Livia Rewards: 500 Fate points, Levels +5 Penalty: Lucas Loyalty will be 0 ------------------------------------------------------- [ Do you want to ept this quest (Y/N) ] "Calm down you don''t need to worry about her. Don''t forget you are a Greville, never, I repeat never lower yourself in front of anyone. " Asher told him with his eyes exuding coldness but strangely it didn''t scare Lucas. ''Even without this quest, I was going to save her anyway'' Asher thought in his mind. [ Quest added to the [Quest] tab ] *ping* ---------------------------------------------------- [ Objective ] : Get Lucas to follow you [ Rewards ] : Item Duplicate X 1 (Rank Limit None), 2500 Fate points ----------------------------------------------------- Asher smirked at the amount of fate points he recieved. ''This guy really is my lucky star'' Asher thought while looking at young Lucas. Chapter 24 Getting Back Home ?************ In the middle of a dense forest, many camps could be seen. Various structures had been built for the amodation of people. This was the temporary base of the Abyss Guild, located in the lostnds of Somaria. Various people could be seen transporting huge monster corpses through the established teleportation gate. Several people covered in armor and blood were resting after a probably tiring exploration. A mile ahead, a man in his forties could be seen resting on a big rock with a reddish greatsword resting beside him. "Guildmaster, Vice-Guildmaster Arthur has contacted you," a man wearing armor reported to Nathan Greville. "Hoh, and why has that damn son of mine, who clearly hates me for handing him all that paperwork, contacted me now?" Nathan said with his eyes still closed. "He has invited you to your grandchild Asher Greville''s 14th birthday party," the man replied. "Did nobody tell him that this old man is exploring a damn SS-Rank dungeon? Why the hell would I have any time to attend such things?" Nathan said, ignoring everything his guild member had just said. "Guildmaster, he has sent a video message for you!" the man said, ying the recorded voice. A hologram appeared, showing Arthur sitting in his office. "Father, I know you will probably ignore the invite, so I will not force you," Arthur said. ''Yeah, that''s how you should behave, you crazy bastard,'' Nathan thought. "Don''t worry about Asher, he will just be sad, so I will support him in his tough times. Please handle all the Guild work yourself because I will have to resign regretfully," the hologram said before closing. Nathan opened his eyes, which were gleaming dangerously. "This fucking brat dares to leave that huge pile of paperwork to this fragile old man!!" He said, with two veins popping on his forehead. ''How are you fragile?'' The guild member thought, not having enough courage to say it to Nathan''s face. "Tell all the guild members I will be out for two weeks and tell them to stay away from the vicinity of the dungeon for the meantime," Nathan said. Boom Nathan jumped off the big stone, leaving a crater behind. "It seems I haven''t beaten him enough to fix that battle maniac head of his!" Nathan scoffed while darting off towards Soran at an incredibly high speed. "Sigh, but you could have used the teleportation gate..." the guild member left behind said, watching Nathan take off towards Soran. **************** Lucas was overwhelmed with emotions as he saw Asher appear. He was a young 10-year-old who had experienced difficult times, and he worried that Asher and his sister might be harmed. However, when he heard Asher''s response, he was relieved. "Who are these people, Lucas?" his weak twin sister, Livia, asked as she opened her crimson red eyes. "They are people who will take us with them and treat you well," Lucas told her directly. "What?" Livia jumped out of her bed. "Don''t worry, I will exin everything to you," Lucas said as he calmed his sister. "This is my twin sister, Livia," Lucas introduced her to Asher and Emmy. "Liv, they are from the family our father was from!" Lucas exined to her so she could understand the situation. "What? But mother said to stay away from them," Livia said as she hid her head under the thin bedsheet. "Don''t worry, I am here to take you to the ce you deserve to live," Asher spoke before Lucas could exin further. However, Asher''s indifferent face did not help much in this situation. Livia was even more terrified of Asher now. She looked at Lucas, asking him for help. Lucas moved closer to her and she whispered to him. "Are you sure they will not hurt us?" Livia worried about her and her brother''s safety. "Don''t worry, if he wanted to harm us, he would have done it already!" Lucas tried to calm his sister down. Lucas was strangelyfortable with Asher, even though nobody in their right mind would think of being with Asher asfortable in any way. He always radiated an "don''t trouble me" aura, and his cold demeanor kept people from getting close to him. Livia was a bit shorter than Lucas, and her body was weak due to an unknown illness. She was a bit more normal for her age than Lucas, since most of her time was spent lying in bed and chatting with Lucas. Her eyes were innocent, unlike Lucas''s sharp eyes, which were a bit like Asher''s. Although Lucas''s face was not as emotionless as Asher''s, the way he carried himself was a bit like Asher. His rough life until now had made him let go of any emotions like guilt and remorse. All that mattered to Lucas was his goal of taking care of his sick sister. "I am Asher Greville, the current heir of the Greville Family and your cousin. Your father, as you know, was the little brother of my father and his name was Ivar Greville," Asher introduced himself in an attempt to calm Livia a bit. He did not know how to behave in front of children. "I will tell you more about your father and introduce you to the rest of the familyter. But right now, we need to leave this area. You might not know it, but your condition is quite serious and you need to be treated as soon as possible," Asher exined their situation to them. After hearing this, Lucas and Livia looked at each other and nodded, signaling their approval. Asher turned to Emmy, who was standing there watching their interaction. He told her to carry Livia to the car, as she might not be able to walk properly in her condition. Lucas followed behind Asher, keeping his distance to Livia short in order to assist her whenever she needed his help. Asher didn''t mind Lucas'' behavior and was confident that after saving Livia, she would trust and follow him faithfully. When they arrived at the front of Asher''s Roll-Royce, both Lucas and Livia were surprised to see such a fancy and cool car. They had only ever seen hunter vehicles in their area and luxury vehicles like this were new to them. Lucas sat quietly, but Livia, who was in Emmy''s arm, was looking around the car with shining eyes. She seemed to really like the car and, seeing this, Asher spoke to her, "Don''t worry, you can have even better cars from now on." His words surprised Livia, who stopped looking around the car, embarrassed by her behavior. Although she never demanded anything from Lucas, as she knew how hard he worked to take care of her, even Lucas was surprised to see his sister react this way. The car began moving in the direction of the Greville mansion, taking its time so that the kids could calm their nerves and enjoy the ride. Asher thought to himself, "I can use the Item Duplicate on the healing elixir and use it on Livia, saving the other one for future use." He remembered the rewards for his quest this time and asked the system, "Can I buy these Item Duplicate things from the shop?" [No, some quest rewards are unique and cannot be obtained again or purchased from the [Shop] tab.] Asher reminded himself, "I need to be careful handling unique items in the future." Asher called out to the system in his mind, "Status." -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 2 (EXP 0/2000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 2730 [AP]: 5 [SP]: 2 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C) ------------------------------------------------------------------ "How much fate do I need to unlock the [Shop] tab" Asher asked the system in his mind. [ Host needs to gather 10000 Fate points to unlock [Shop] tab ] "Quite arge amount to gather" Asher told himself. "And with this I can stop Grandfather from going back" Asher was relieved. Convincing Nathan Greville was really annoying task. And now with Lucas and Livia, he could use them as a purpose to stall him for two more weeks. Chapter 25 Getting In The Mansion ?Asher and the twins arrived at the Greville Estate. They were both amazed by the huge mansion. On the way to the mansion, they passed through thends of the Greville family and saw multiple gardens and other attractions that created a feeling of calm and serene environment. They noticed that, despite the estate beingrge and spacious, the security was tight and did not allow any kind of trespassing. Livia had her mouth open the whole time. The small girl sprang up on the seat with her knees bent and stared at everything they drove past on the way to the mansion. It seemed that she had forgotten about Asher''s presence. Lucas was also excited to see such things, but he kept to himself and only stared out the window from his seat. At some point, Livia finally snapped back to reality and looked back at her own actions. She became embarrassed and started fidgeting with her fingers. ''Oh god! They will think of me as an unruly girl now...'' her thoughts were racing, not even realizing that the car had stopped and they had reached their destination. They arrived at the mansion and Asher got out of the car with Lucas, leaving the embarrassed Livia in Emmy''s care. Lucas was happy to see his sister showing so much emotion. Even though Lucas tried to provide everything for her health and well-being, not having a parent figure and his absence for long periods of time had dulled her emotions significantly. She used to be very energetic when she was young, but after their mother''s early death and her own illness with an unknown disease at the age of 6, it had taken a lot out of her. She was only able to stay home and, not knowing where Lucas was for days at a time, thoughts of losing her only brother and being all alone crossed her mind often. However, she was unable to even get out of bed to help Lucas. "Emmy, take both of them for a bath and have them changed into clean clothes. Assign a maid to them and tell her to treat them as if they were treating me." Asher walked towards his room, leaving the twins with Emmy, who was taking them to guest rooms on the first floor. Many servants were surprised to see the twins and their eye color. Random thoughts crossed their minds, but nobody voiced them. They were experienced workers and knew that careless words could cost them their lives. Emmy assigned two maids to take care of the twins and warned them to serve the twins carefully and tolerate no rudeness. Lucas and Livia were wearing dirty white T-shirts and ck shorts. Their appearance was also not clean. Livia''s hair was a mess and Lucas had a lot of small wounds on his stomach and back. Although there were some scars, unless they were caused by an attack powered by mana, they could be healed with special potions. The maids took them to a huge circr bath and gave them new underwear to wash them properly. Lucas was a bit embarrassed to be washed by others in his underwear, but he did notin. Livia, on the other hand, was staring at the huge bath with her mouth open while the maid was washing her hair. She still could not believe what had happened to her and Lucas. She was scared of being in this new ce, which was so big and beautiful, even better than her dream castle, but her innocent excitement took over her fears. "Woow!" She opened her mouth at the sight of the luxurius bath. Some of the shampoo fell into her mouth and she made a weird face, which made Lucas and the other maid washing him start chuckling. Seeing their reaction, Livia was again embarrassed. The sheer number of times her face had turned red today was more than in her whole life. After a good bath, their faces could be seen more clearly now. For now, they were given Asher''s and his sisters'' old clothes to wear. Asher had already told them that he would take them shopping after today. Although the clothes were old, they still seemed too soft and expensive to the twins. It was the summer season in Soran. Asher came out of his room and changed into morefortable clothes. He called the twins downstairs to give them a little tour of the mansion so they could get familiar with their new surroundings. He saw the kidsing down with Emmy. After a good bath and changing their clothes, their inherited attractiveness was already showing. Lucas inherited his father Ivar''s facial features, and he also looked like Lucas when he was young. Asher had seen various pictures of Ivar in the family album and he could already see the simrities. Livia also looked very cute in her white hoodie and pants, and she seemed to take after her mom. Just by looking at her, you could imagine how beautiful their mother was. "Both of you look good now. Do you want to take a tour?" Asher told them. Livia was still a little bit ufortable with his indifferent look, but she nodded at his question nevertheless. She was holding on to Emmy, and her crimson red eyes seemed to stand out on her pale face. Emmy took Livia in her arms, although Livia wanted to say she would like to walk, she allowed Emmy to carry her like a small child all around. But her cheeks were still red. Lucas wore a branded T-shirt and trousers thatplemented his looks quite a bit. He and Livia followed Asher as he introduced the ground floor to them. He introduced therge kitchen with many chefs who were preparing dishes for them. Asher signaled for them to give the kids some snacks. He took them to various rooms, each with its own purpose. It took them 20 minutes to see the various ces in the manor. "This ce is so big. Even the smallest room is bigger than our house!!" Livia said to Lucas while still admiring it. Lucas just smiled at her. He was a bit worried about her health as she was taxing her body a lot, but he did not stop her. "Follow Emmy. She will show you your new rooms and will assign some maids to take care of Livia. I will introduce you guys to my parentster," Asher said while patting Lucas''s head. The twins were a bit worried about meeting Asher''s parents, but he did say he would let them live with him, so they rxed a bit. Lucas didn''t mind working under Asher as a servant as long as his sister was taken care of. "You guys can y around a bit and go to sleep. We will meet my parents tomorrow," Asher left them to go to the training ground. The twins followed Emmy and got to their new rooms. Lucas wanted to stay with Livia, but Emmy convinced him that he could stay with her until night, but he still should get his own room. "Liv, are you fine?" Lucas was worried as he heard Asher say that she would die by the end of this month. Although he did not know how Asher knew it, he believed him nevertheless. "Don''t worry, I am just a bit tired. But if they try to force you to do anything bad, we can still try and go back to our home," Livia had a little idea about her condition, but she did not want to burden Lucas with it her whole life. "I know, just get some good sleep," he said, and then left Livia alone to go to his room to sleep. As Arthur and Sylvie were busy today and woulde home tomorrow, Asher decided it would be better to inform them in person about the twins. He would have much more freedom and his actions would go unnoticed when his parents'' attention was directed to the twins. ********************** "Amelia!" a young man called out to a beautiful girl with long ck hair tied in a ponytail. "I have booked our flights, but do you really want those three toe with us?" the young man asked the girl. "Damian, they were our ssmates this semester, and making a connection with Eva Williams and Elena Rothschild doesn''t sound bad, does it?" Amelia told him. "You''re inviting them to Asher''s party. I don''t know if he will like them knowing Kevin''s personality, too!" Damian knew that his best friend Asher disliked such people. "Brother will just ignore them, just like he ignores me as well!" Amelia scoffed, but there was a hint of frustration in her voice. "His personality is a bit cold, but it doesn''t mean he hates you, Amelia," Damian tried to convince her. "Yeah, yeah... You will support your best friend anyway," Amelia said, and left Damian standing behind, scratching his head and not knowing how to respond to her. Chapter 26 Introducing Lucas And Livia ?Arthur and Sylvie arrived together at the Greville estate after long days of work. "I''m fed up with all this paperwork. It''s a waste of my talent," Arthur said while driving his car with Sylvie by his side. He liked driving his own car every once in a while to cure his boredom. "What a battle freak..." Sylvie sighed. "What do you mean, ''freak''?" Arthur gave Sylvie a questioning look. "Whatever. By the way, we need to officially announce Asher as the heir to our family," Sylvie told him. "Amelia will be a bit upset with this decision, but when she hears about his talent, I hope she''ll understand," Arthur spoke. "Don''t worry, she''s a smart girl, and I believe in my kids," Sylvie told him, trying to ease his concerns. Although they knew that Asher''s cold nature affected Amelia greatly, they still gave both of their children equal love and could only hope that time would reconcile the two siblings. A white sports car arrived at the Greville estate. Arthur and Sylvie got out and walked towards themon hall. They saw Asher sitting with two kids and were surprised to their core when they saw their eyes and hair. "Who are these kids?" Arthur asked Asher. "Oh, hello Dad. Come here and meet Lucas Greville and Livia Greville," Asher told them with a smirk on his face. Emmy was panicking, seeing Asher and his mischievous words. He had carefully said those words to corner Arthur, who was confused about what was happening. Sylvie was also confused, but she never had any doubts about Arthur''s loyalty. "Asher, can you exin this properly?" Sylvie gave Asher a stern look, indicating that she would not tolerate such jokes. "They''re Uncle Ivar''s kids. I found them while looking for something rted to my newpany," Asher casually lied, confident that Emmy would not reveal his secret. Before the couple could react... Boom! "What happened?" Arthur shouted at the strange explosion that urred outside. Something crashed into the garden area of the estate, creating a small crater. A bulky man in his 50s could be seen in the middle of the crater. A voice came from the crater. "DAMN BRAT! COME OUT AND GET READY FOR AN EMERGENCY TEACHING SESSION !!" Nathan shouted. "What the hell is that old man doing?" Arthur shouted at the ruined sight of the beautiful garden. "No! The flowers..." Livia screamed in her mind. She really liked the gardens around the mansion, but one of them had just been destroyed. "Haahh.... Emmy, get the servants to fix this mess after this," Asher told Emmy while going outside to see the ruckus. Nathan was wearing his battle suit and with his huge greatsword, he looked like a mightymander leading a war. His presence alone exuded so much pressure that Asher told Emmy to shield the kids. They were unawakened and such mana pressure could harm them. Nathan noticed the two kids and took in his pressure to not harm them. But when he saw their eyes, his anger started to emerge and he shouted, "You cheating scoundrel!! Don''t worry Sylvie, I will do my job and end his life," Nathan started walking towards Arthur. "Who are you calling a scoundrel, you senile old man? They are Ivar''s kids, ording to Asher," Arthur spoke before Nathan could start his rampage. Arthur and Sylvie were still shocked by Asher''s words and Nathan''s expression showed various emotions including shock, grief, and others. Hearing the name of his dead son reignited his memories of the past. "Asher, will you exin?" Sylvie decided to stop the chaos from escting further. Asher told them about how his uncle and Arthur''s younger brother Ivar Greville had a lover who got pregnant but didn''t know how to convey the news to him. At that time, she received the news of Ivar''s death and, in her moment of grief, took her unborn kids and sought refuge outside of Soran. He exined the story that Lucas had told him the day before. Nathan was silent the whole time and Arthur and Sylvie had sad expressions. Ivar was the youngest person to be an SS Rank Hunter. His talent was even slightly greater than his father and older brother Arthur. The world thought that he would be the youngest to reach SSS Rank within the next 10 years. But when Asher was around 3 years old, an SS Rank red-gate dungeon was formed in the city of Soran. It was a highly unstable dungeon that could have resulted in a dungeon break. At this time, Nathan and other SSS Rank hunters were clearing the SSS Rank dungeon that appeared in the lostnds. Most of the SS Rank hunters of Somaria, including Arthur, had followed them to clear it. SSS Rank dungeons were one-time dungeons but if they were not cleared within a certain time, the resulting dungeon break could have caused a lot of destruction in Somaria. Ivar was one of the SS Rank hunters left behind in Soran. The SS Rank red-gate dungeon had the unbelievable restriction of only allowing one person to enter. There were some other SS Rank hunters in Soran as well, but nobody wanted to undertake what seemed like a suicide mission. If nobody stepped up, the dungeon break would have destroyed a significant part of Soran. Dungeon breaks were not just monsters getting out. The result of a gate breaking was a huge mana explosion, depending on the rank of the dungeon, and then monsters came out of the space cracks where the dungeon gate was located. In the history of SS Rank dungeons, it was the first time a red-gate dungeon with a restriction limit of "1" appeared. Red-Gate dungeons were also a one time clear dungeons which will dissapear in some hours after the dungeon boss was killed. Ivar Greville took it upon himself to clear that dungeon and entered, but the boss of the dungeon was a 9-headed SS Rank Hydra. Although Ivar cleared the dungeon, the injuries and poison took his life soon after he exited the dungeon. His right hand was gone, with his skin having numerous purple veins and most of his back having its skin ripped off. He was hailed as a hero by the Association, but when Nathan and Arthur heard this news, they were devastated. Losing Ivar was a huge blow to the Greville family and the whole world, as he was a talent never seen before. Even though he couldn''t beat Nathan''s awakening foundation, as he missed it by 5 minutes, his speed of ranking was the highest in the world. The twins were anxious as no one was talking and the long silence increased their worry. They were worried if they would also be epted as family, like Asher did. Nathan noticed the twins'' anxiety and spoke up. "Hello, you cute brats. I am your grandfather Nathaniel Von Greville, and also one of the strongest people in the world," he smiled as he introduced himself. Although he was very old, due to his high rank, his aging was much slower than others. He looked like a fit man in his 50s. "Hello, I am Lucas, and this is my sister Livia," Lucas spoke while Livia just nodded from Emmy''s arms. "Both of you are so cute," Sylvie spoke as she looked at the twins. Arthur and Nathan then talked further with the twins, telling them about Ivan and how he died heroically. They also noticed that Livia was quite weak and ill, but they thought they would just take her for a checkup tomorrow. Sylvie became attached to Livia and ced her on herp, stroking her hair. Livia epted Sylvie''s embrace, as she felt quitefortable with her. "I need all of your attention!" Asher spoke, stopping the chatting group. "We need to cure Livia, as she is suffering from mana poisoning, and from the looks of it, it''s already in itsst stage," Asher told them. "WHAT?!" Arthur stood up from his seat, and the rest of them were shocked as well. Mana poisoning meant that a person forcefully ingested a lot of mana in their body. The mana would not pass through the core and, instead, the unrefined mana corrupted the mana veins all over the body. This method usually did boost one''s strength and power, but there was no cure for corrupted mana veins. "Her condition is serious. No doctor can save her now," Asher continued. "But how did an unawakened being get mana poisoning?" Sylvie asked while looking at Livia, who was sitting on herp listening to the conversation going on. She was very scared when she heard that no doctor could cure her. Seeing the panicking Livia, Asher exined the cure before exining the cause of her disease. "But we can use our family treasure, the [Rank-SSS Pure Healing Elixir], which was given to us for Uncle Ivar''s contribution," Asher exined to them. Chapter 27 Curing Livia ?"Why are you so sure that we cannot heal her through normal means?" Arthur was not sure how Asher knew about her illness. "She is suffering from mana poisoning," Asher told them. "But how? She hasn''t even gone through her awakening yet," Sylvie spoke this time. Nathan was quiet the whole time. He was observing Asher as, somehow, his grandson seemed a bit different from what he rememberedst time. "It''s due to her bloodline. I already sensed it because of my bloodline ability," Asher spoke without showing any emotions. "She was subconsciously absorbing the mana, but rather than forming a mana core, it''s corroding her body. The only reason I could sense it was because my current rank is low and my mana-controlling bloodline can sense such small disturbances around me," Asher told them. Arthur could now ept the reason for why Asher knew about Livia''s illness. The Greville family mainly had mana-rted bloodlines, one of the most coveted bloodlines in the world. But when a person was born with a strong bloodline, they may suffer from such implications. Usually, this problem could have been sensed early if Livia had been living with the Grevilles from a very young age. But the circumstances made it inevitable. "Hmmm, it seems like the only exnation for her illness," Nathan finally spoke after carefully assessing Livia''s body with his mana sense. "Her mana veins are utterly damaged, and if we don''t use the elixir on her, she will be a crippled person," he gave his judgement on the matter. "Then we should use the elixir on her. It was due to Ivar''s contribution that we even got it, and his daughter deserves at least this much from us," Sylvie spoke instantly while still patting her lovingly. Others in the room also nodded their heads, listening to her, and easily agreed. They would have used it on her even if it was not Ivar''s contribution that got them this elixir. Although there were only four more such elixirs in the world, three were under the World Association, and one belonged to the Mage Association. Rank SSS items or artifacts could only be achieved as a first clear reward for clearing Rank SSS dungeons, which were not so many in this world. And sometimes the World Association would take custody of them because of their higher contribution during the raid. "Arthur, open the family vault," Nathan ordered Arthur. "Sure," Arthur left them and arrived in his study room and opened a hidden room using his mana. He arrived in a room which had a small teleportation gate. This was the teleportation gate that was connected to the Greville Family''s hidden family vault, which consisted of their treasures. The only one who knew the coordinates of this hidden facility was Nathan Greville. The treasures hidden here were some of the most powerful ones, and some of them were even hidden from the knowledge of others. The room seemed like an enclosed building with no visible entrance. The only way out was most likely the teleportation gate used by Arthur. He arrived in front of a vault that was 5 meters huge and was encrypted with a blood seal rune. He took a dagger out of his space storage and dripped a few drops of blood on it. Multiple parts of the vault started moving, making mechanical sounds. The door revealed an opening which Arthur got in through. Immediately, many high-graded treasures could be seen enclosed under rigid ss frames. Although it looked like you could break these sses with normal attacks, they were also strengthened with mana. He arrived at a corner and saw a small golden vial. This was the [Rank SSS- Pure Healing Elixir]. He took it out and left the vault area, returning to his study room. When he came back, he saw Nathan and Sylvie chatting with the twins, who were getting morefortable with them. Asher saw his fathering down with a golden vial in his hand. He saw his chance and spoke, "Dad, can I see the elixir for a minute?" he asked Arthur. "Sure, take it," Arthur passed the elixir to him. ''System, can you create a copy of this item without alerting others in the room?'' Asher spoke in his mind. [Yes, but the created copy will be stored inside the system''s dimension storage if the host doesn''t want to alert others] ''Can I ess it anytime?'' He asked in his mind. [Yes, but you need to unlock the shop function fully, which will be unlocked when the host reaches Level 10 and gather atleast 10000 Fate points.] ''Okay, do it,'' Asher gave his confirmation. A bluish-green light enveloped the elixir for a moment while going unnoticed by everyone in the room. ping "Here you can have it," Asher passed it back to Arthur. Arthur took the vial and passed it to Livia, who was staring at the pretty bottle. Lucas was already thinking about the enormous worth of that small vial. He knew about item ranks and how expensive they were, but he didn''t know what the worth of this small item would be. He was already thinking of ways to repay the Greville family for this. Lucas was a cruel and clever man, but if his family was involved, he would be the most docile and kind person you could think of. He was already seeing the Grevilles as his family. "Don''t worry, drink it and you''ll be fine," Sylvie told Livia while assuring her. "But is it fine for me to use it?" Livia knew that whatever this small thing was, she and her brother could never afford it in their lives. "Don''t worry about such things from now on, you''re a part of our Greville family and carry this name with pride from now on," Nathan spoke to Livia to assure her. She took the vial in her hand and Sylvie opened it for her. She drank it immediately; the taste of this elixir was like sweet nectar, which calmed her thoughts down. Some blue mana started forming around Livia and entered her body. Her body slumped into Sylvie''s hands. "Don''t worry, she''ll wake up tomorrow," Sylvie calmed Lucas, who panicked seeing her unconscious. "Mom, I''m going back to my room and probably won''t join dinner, so carry on without me," Asher spoke. "Where are you going, brat? I heard you beat my record during your awakening," Nathan stopped him from going. He still sensed something was wrong with Asher, so he decided to have a talk with him. "Yes, I did, but I''m quite busy right now. We can speakter," Asher ignored him and kept moving to his room. "And you said this brat of yours was missing me?" Nathan spoke while veins were popping in his forehead. But he couldn''t do anything to Asher because Sylvie was sitting right there. "He''s just tired, let him rest, old man!" Arthur just shrugged Nathan. "This damn brat, follow me to the training grounds," Nathan dragged Arthur with him. Sylvie took Livia to her room and sat there with Lucas to listen to his story. He narrated his deeds without omitting anything. Sylvie just stared at him and hugged him. Lucas found the warmth of Sylvieforting. This made him remember his mother, and tears started dripping down his eyes. The night went by peacefully, and Asher left early for his training. He came out in the evening and saw that Livia was now awake and her face was not pale anymore. The Rank SSS elixir didn''t have any side effects, as normal potions and healing elixirs were deadly to unawakened people. Direct consumption of mana was deadly to normal humans. That''s why Asher said only the Rank SSS elixir could heal Livia, as any other healing elixir would not help her at all. Although her body was still weak, her mana veins had been healed and she could now awaken normally like others. Asher came into the room, drenched in sweat but still looking incredibly handsome. Some of the maids even gulped upon seeing him. His charm was deadly to the opposite gender, but he didn''t care about how others viewed him. "Asher, Amelia ising back in a few days. Make sure to clear your schedule on the day her nends," Arthur told him, and Asher just nodded. But before he could go back to his room, Nathan appeared in front of him suddenly and looked at his eyes. ''Why does his presence keep tingling my instincts?'' He thought to himself. "My dear grandson, why don''t youe train with me?" Nathan asked him. "Not now, but if you agree to train me for 2 weeks straight after my party, I might change my mind," Asher said as he kept moving past him. "But, I need to go back to work," Nathan tried to persuade him. "That''s a shame. Can''t be helped then," Asher shrugged indifferently. Nathan sighed, seeing his grandson''s behavior. He was worried about Asher and, knowing his personality, he was concerned that things could go wrong in the future given his overwhelming talent during his awakening. "Why don''t you take some rest and train him as well?" Sylvie tried to intervene between the two. Arthur, still sore from his beating the previous day, was already nning his revenge. He wouldn''t interfere between them, but he tried to provoke Nathan by saying, "Don''t worry Asher, I can train you better than his old bones and his senile mind." He ignored Nathan''s obvious reaction. "No need. Fine, I''ll train him for 2 weeks," Nathan couldn''t help but ept Asher''s proposal. Chapter 28 Meeting Amelia ?Nearly a week has passed, and Livia was fully cured now. Although she will still go through many checkups for confirmation. Today was the day when Asher was going to pick up Amelia and her friends. "Status," Asher called out to look at his updated status information. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 7 (EXP 0/7000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time (Sealed) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] ---------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 Agility: 27 Endurance: 40 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 Stamina: 40 Charm: 57 Fate: 3230 [AP]: 30 [SP]: 12 ----------------------------------------------------------- He decided to not use any attribute points until he felt it was necessary. He was sure he would breakthrough to early F Rank, i.e. F- Rank after his training with Nathan. And he was nning to use his skill points after getting a couple more skills. Asher was moving towards his Rolls-Royce and saw Lucas and Livia staring at his car collection. After staying in the mansion for a week, they were quitefortable and rxed in their new environment. "Big Brother, can we also ride these cars?" Livia asked Asher while Lucas was also looking at him waiting for his response. One of Asher''s hobbies was his car collection, although he couldn''t drive it until he turned 17, but he still liked collecting many supercars. "Not today, but when we go hunting after your awakening, then we can ride them," Asher told them without showing any emotions. The twins were already ustomed to his indifferent reaction and knew that his behavior was the same for everyone, not just them. "Okay!" the twins said together and went back in with their assigned maids. "Let''s go," Asher signaled Emmy and they got in their cars with the security following them. They were moving towards Soran Airport, it was 10 A.M in the morning, and Amelia''s flight wouldnd at 11 A.M. Arriving at the airport, Asher decided to wait in the VIP lounge. People saw him and couldn''t help but get astonished seeing his charm. Many women were thinking of approaching him, but the security around him and his indifferent face made them think against it. "Wow, look at that guy, he''s so handsome!!!" Some people started muttering among themselves. ****************************** Meanwhile, in the VIP section of a private jet, a ck-haired girl with beautiful red eyes could be seen sitting with a brown-haired guy facing three people who were enjoying the delicacies in front of them. "Amelia, you really hate traveling by teleportation gate?" the blond-haired girl asked the ck-haired girl. "I don''t hate it, but I would rather enjoy my ride back to my country than arriving back in an instant," Amelia said holding her cold drink. "Yes, those inter-country teleportation gates really give me a headache and dizziness. I really dislike that feeling, and traveling like this is much calmer," the blue-haired girl spoke while putting down her book. "Oh, seeing you reading books all day, I didn''t think you would like this sort of thing, Eva," the brown-haired boy spoke while mocking her. "Damian!!" Amelia frowned at him, but Damian just shrugged her giving his ''can''t be helped'' look. "Now now, let''s calm down everyone, no need to fight," the white-haired boy spoke, he looked handsome and his blue eyes reallyplemented his face. "Kevin is right guys, let''s enjoy the ride," the blond-haired girl spoke again. "I would have enjoyed it, Elena, if only he was as polite as Kevin," Eva told her. Herment really annoyed Damian as he didn''t like the goody-shoes acts of Kevin. He wanted to travel back alone with Amelia, but she told him they should bring Elena, Eva, and Kevin with them as well. He tried to reason with her, but ultimately gave up and agreed on the matter. "So Miss Eva thinks of me as someone polite, I see," Kevin flirted with Eva, which made Damian even more ufortable, but he would not intervene unless it was Amelia. Eva ignored Kevin, but a tinge of red could be seen on her ears. "Should we explore Soran with Amelia?" Elena voiced her opinion. They wereing to Soran to explore the city before their term in World Academy would begin in the next year. "Yes, we could-" before Amelia could finish her sentence, Damian interrupted her. "I don''t think this would be possible. Amelia is also meeting her family after 2 years of studying. You should not interrupt her reunion," Damian rudely spoke to Elena. He disliked all three of them and did not want them to spend more time with Amelia. "Don''t you think the decision lies on Amelia? Who are you to tell us all this?" Kevin replied back at Damian. Although Amelia was a year younger than everyone present, but due to her excellent performance from a young age, she entered together with people older than her. "Her childhood friend and-" Damian was going to speak again, but Amelia stopped him. "Let''s not argue more, the flight is about tond and we can discuss more after wend in Soran," Hearing her, Damian could not argue more with Kevin, who gave him a smirking look. *********************** It was 11:10 A.M, so Asher got out of the VIP lounge to pick up Amelia. He saw a group of youngstersing towards them with some security around them. He could recognize every single person in that group. And seeing this sight, a slight wave of killing intent slipped from him for a very small interval, but he reeled it in before anybody could notice it. The group of youngsters was full of attractive people, and people around them were already staring at them. They were attracting so much attention that it was difficult for Asher to not spot them. Amelia saw an incredibly handsome young man with hair and eyes simr to hers. She immediately recognized Asher, and Damian, who also noticed his best friend, said, "Oh, I didn''t expect Asher toe himself to pick you up, Amelia." He was surprised to see Asher deviate from his indifferent behavior in the past. Although Amelia didn''t voice it, she was also happy to see him pick her up. She always thought Asher hated and disliked her. ''Maybe he changed after two years I didn''t see him,'' she spoke in her mind. "Yo, Ash, long time no see," Damian held out his hand to shake hands with him. "You still look as energetic as ever," Asher said as he shook hands with him. "You''ve grown well in the two years since Ist saw you," Asher told Amelia. "Y-Yes," Amelia replied softly. "And these are your friends?" Asher gestured towards the trio behind her. All three of them were surprised to see Asher. His devilishly handsome face coupled with his cold, crimson eyes was enough to attract any woman. He was even more handsome than Kevin, who was also surprised and a bit jealous of his charm. Listening to Asher''s words, the three of them woke up from their stupor. Facing his indifferent face, even Elena, who was the most confident of the three, was tongue-tied for a second, but she still spoke, "Pleasure to meet you, I am Elena Rothschild and these are my friends, Eva Williams and Kevin Whiteheart." She introduced herself and her friends. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Rothschild," Asher said with an indifferent face. "I would like to take my time chatting with all of you, but I am a bit busy, so I will take Amelia home." He continued, "I''ve already prepared rides for the three of you, and they will take you to the hotels I''ve booked for your group." He gestured to his security to take care of them. "What? Why would they stay at some hotels? They cane back and stay at our Estate with us," Amelia protested. Elena, Eva, and Kevin were a bit provoked by his words. They were not normal people; all three of them belonged to elite families. Hearing that they had to stay at some hotel, they felt annoyed, but they waited for Amelia to fix the situation, believing that she could persuade her brother. "Do I need to repeat myself?" A wave of chillness rose in the surroundings as Asher sent a cold gaze towards Amelia. She was scared seeing his eyes and couldn''t utter a single word, but she gathered her courage and said, "But they are my friends and-" before she could finish, Asher signaled to his security to take their luggage. "I have said my piece, and this is thest time I will say it: ''Don''t make me repeat myself!''" Asher''s cold and indifferent face stopped Elena from speaking. Tears formed in Amelia''s eyes, and her head dropped towards the ground. Damian found Asher''s behavior extra cold today, as he had never been this harsh towards Amelia in the past. So, he decided to talk to himter about this. "You are being too harsh on her!" Kevin said to Asher after seeing Amelia just looking down in front of him. Hearing him, Asher arrived in front of Kevin. Kevin was a bit shorter than Asher, so he was forced to look up, but seeing his red eyes, he subconsciously took a step back. Elena and Eva were behind Kevin, but they also felt fear from him seeing Asher so close to them. "How I handle things in my family doesn''t concern the Whiteheart Family," his voice was full of coldness. Kevin was about to swing at him, everyone knew that Greville''s Young Master was an unawakened individual and he was not going to lose face in front of Elena and Eva. Seeing him channeling his mana, Emmy immediately moved behind him and put him on the ground. The other security guards were also behind the security team following the trio. They were also blocked from making any moves. Seeing Kevin pinned on the ground, Elena immediately shouted, "How dare you harm him?!" Elena was about to continue, but "Stop!" Amelia shouted, tears in her eyes. "Let''s go back home," she said, moving to sit in the Rolls Royce belonging to Asher. Asher signaled for the security team to release them. "Emmy, let him go. And Miss Elena, I rmend you go to your amodations quietly instead of causing amotion here." Asher said, before turning to Damian, who was slightly happy to see Kevin being put in his ce. "Let''s go," Asher said to Damian, who calmly followed him and sat in the car. ''This is only the start, I will end every bastard who stood against me in the past.'' Asher smirked while entering the car. Chapter 29 Meeting Amelia-2 ?*ping* A system notification popped but Asher ignored it and decided to check itter. Seeing Amelia and Damian leaving with Asher, the security also followed them. But Asher still left some of his team behind to take the trio to their hotels if they wanted to. Elena was burning with anger inside her. As the only daughter of the Rothschild family, nobody had ever threatened her like this before. But she held her anger in and looked at Kevin with a worried face. "Kevin, are you alright?" Elena helped Kevin get up. "Yeah, don''t worry. I am fine," Kevin spoke with his eyes full of anger as he wiped the dust from his clothes. As a member of the Whiteheart family, which had recently be an elite family, he had never thought that he would be humiliated like this. Seeing his emotions, Eva immediately tried to calm them down. "Let''s not do anything rash. The influence of the Greville family is very strong in Somaria, especially in Soran," Seeing her exnation, Kevin calmed down a bit. "Yes, Eva is right, Kevin. We should talk to our families about this incident before doing anything," Elena said while holding Kevin''s hands. "Okay, but that guy was too cruel. Amelia will only suffer with him," Kevin said while looking at Elena. "We cannot interfere in their family, Kevin, and we only met Amelia thisst month during ourst year group assignment. She may not like us interfering with their family matters," Eva tried to reason with Kevin. Kevin wanted to say something but he got interrupted before he could speak, "Let''s move from here. People are gathering here because of themotion earlier!" Elena said and pulled both Eva and Kevin along. "Tell your young master that we don''t need his amodations!" Elena said to one of the bodyguards Asher left behind to take them to their hotel. "Victor, book a ce for us to stay," Elena said to her personal bodyguard. He nodded at her request and went to make the arrangements for their travel. In the meantime, the three of them decided to stay in the lounge to rx their minds. The three of them attracted some people curious gazes towards them but people didn''t react for Kevin the same as Asher. As Asher, who despite being 13, looked like a 16-year-old because of his height and boosted growth due to his Awakening, Kevin looked like a 15-year-old because he was smaller and looked more like a child than Asher. Asher''s cold and indifferent face also gave an aura of maturity around him that attracted people to him. ********************* In the ck & Gold Rolls-Royce, Amelia was sitting with her head down, and Asher did not speak anything to break the silence. So, Damian decided to question Asher to help Amelia a bit. "Ash, I know you don''t like being bothered, but you still should have given them some face. All three of them are from elite families, and this might bring trouble for youter in the future." Although he liked the treatment Kevin got, he still knew the repercussions of such actions. "You think I don''t know this? I know, but I cannot allow any outsiders on our estate at this moment," Asher spoke without looking at Damian. Amelia''s ears perked up a little, listening to Asher''s reason, although she wanted to ask why, but she didn''t want to talk with Asher at this moment. "What something bad happened!? "Damian spoked immediately, he was curious why Asher answered in such a way. "No, nothing like that, you will soon realize what I am talking about," Asher gave an indifferent look at Damian. "And Amelia, I don''t know how you wasted your years studying at your academy, but it seems you still don''t have any sense of who to make friends with and who not to," he reprimanded Amelia in a cold voice. "Come on, don''t be harsh on her. Although I also dislike the three of them, they are not that bad, right?" Damian was trying to mediate between the siblings, but every effort was going down the drain. Amelia wanted to cry at Asher''s scolding, but she held her tears in. "I-I know how to judge people," Amelia spoke in a low voice. "And you want me to believe it after seeing all that? Do you think bringing those three with you on your private flight, favors will arise of Greville being friendly with other elite families," Asher told her with his indifferent voice. His manner of speaking was hurting Amelia even more, but she still thought about what he just said. "And did you even think that this behavior of yours could be an excuse for our countless enemies to join forces with each other to counter us?" His words were true. Amelia herself realized her mistake. "I-I am sorry," Amelia was about to cry, and Damian saw this and he could not handle it. "Ash, it''s enough. Why do you keep scolding her? And was there a need for you to embarrass her in front of her friends?" he tried to question Asher. Although he knew slightly why Asher would react like this, he did not know why he didn''t want them to not be back in the derivatives. ''Sigh! Only because of you I am leaving her alive.'' Asher thought in his mind. The only reason he even tried to bother getting Amelia away from those three was because of Damian. If Damian did not have an unrequited love for Amelia, his actions would not be this ''soft'' for her. "You will realize when we get home why I didn''t want to take them with us. And stop annoying me if you want to impress her," Asher did not even bother looking at Damian, who was slightly red because of being caught off guard by Asher. Even the half-depressed Amelia was looking up to see Damian''s reaction. ''Cute,'' she thought as she was distracted by Damian''s act. She was also slightly aware of Damian''s interest in her, but she did not want to break their friendship, so she decided to simply ignore it. The rest of their time reaching the Greville estate was full of silence. Nobody spoke a word after this. The car reached the mansion and they arrived in front of it. "Straighten your facial expression, if you don''t want to make a spectacle of yourself," Asher told Amelia while getting out of the car before her and Damian. "Here, take my handkerchief and wipe your eyes!" Damian handed it to her, and she obliged, wiping her slightly puffy eyes and applied some light makeup quickly on her face. She did not know what was waiting for her inside, but she did not want to embarrass herself anymore. Amelia was a very prideful person, but this pride of hers did not work on Asher, who was like a small walking trauma for her. Asher waited for both of them toe out and decided to check his system notification. ********************************** Objective : 1. Have a bad impression on Kevin,Elena and Eva. 2. Humiliate Kevin Whiteheart or intimidate him. Reward: 500 Fate points ************************************* This was the quest he epted when he was waiting in the lounge at the airport. ''So now I have 3730 Fate points still quite far from 10,000 points'' Asher spoked in his mind. *ping* ************************************* Objective : Make enemies with three elite families or hurt Elena Rothschild. Reward : 2000 Fate points Time Limit : 1 Week ************************************** [ Do you want to ept this quest (Y/N) ] "1 week hmm, it''s seems the birthday party will be more fun for me now." Asher smirked. "Yes", he said while epting the quest and saw Amelia who was nowing out from the car with Damian beside her. Chapter 30 Amelia Meeting The Twins ?Amelia emerged from the car, with Damian by her side. Her expression was nk, but the light makeup slightly concealed her puffy eyes. Although she intended to snitch on Asher to their parents, she decided to conceal it for now, as there was a guest in the mansion. Asher signaled for both of them to follow him and turned towards the living room area of the mansion. They passed through many servants who greeted Asher and the two people behind him. Although Amelia had been away for two years, most of the servants recognized her face. It was rare for the Greville family to hire new servants. To lower the chances of having a spy in the mansion, the Greville family usually allowed the families of their employees to live in their own amodation on their huge estate, which was half a kilometer in size. They arrived at the living room and saw two small 10-year-olds with their parents. Nathan was absent this time, as he was busy with his regr training routine. They were surprised to see the two kids, but what shocked both of them was their eye color and hair. "What? Who are these kids?" Amelia had multiple thoughts crossing her mind. Damian, on the other hand, was waiting for someone to exin the situation to him. "It''s a long story, but they are the kids of your uncle Ivar, and Asher found them," Arthur decided to rify before his daughter came to some strange conclusion. Sylvie just chuckled, seeing Arthur. "What? Uncle Ivar had kids?" Damian shouted. "Yeah, let me exin," Sylvie decided to exin the whole story to them. Damian''s presence was not really a bother to them. Damian''s full name was Damian Seymour, and his family, although not elite, was still a powerful family. The Seymours were close friends with the Grevilles, as Arthur and the Seymour''s Head were ssmates and best friends when they were young. Damian would frequently visit and y with Amelia and Asher. Although Asher ignored him most of the time, he found a bnce where Asher was not irritated by his presence, and he could still spend some time with him. Due to Damian''sck of nosiness, Asher eventually epted him as a friend. During Sylvie''s exnation, the twins also judged Amelia and Damian. They had already been informed of who these two were, and Lucas and Livia wanted to make a good impression on them as well. Asher, on the other hand, was on his phone the entire time, checking information for his newpany, Aztech, and otherplicated matters. "Oh! They must have suffered so much," Amelia said, her eyes watering as she listened to the story of the twins. Despite her persona of being indifferent, which she copied from Asher, deep down she was a very emotional girl. Damian knew that she intentionally hid her true self and always wore a fake mask, but he decided not to question her about it. Livia was excited to meet Amelia, but Lucas felt somewhat ufortable around her. This was not the case with Damian or anyone else in the room. He couldn''t think of a reason why he felt this way, but the difort was small enough that he could ignore it. Damian was sitting between Asher and Amelia. He saw Amelia get up and move towards the twins to hug them. Amelia didn''t remember much about her Uncle Ivar, but she decided in that moment, upon hearing their story, that she would treat them like her own siblings. Deep down, she wanted another sibling to converse with, as Asher was obviously not an option for her. This situation was ideal for her. Asher also knew that this way, Amelia was least likely to follow the previous path, and he would not have to kill her, as Damian would most likely resent him for doing so. "As long as she doesn''t interfere with my path, she will live, but the moment shees in my path, forgive me, old friend, but she would have to die," Asher thought in his mind while ncing at Damian and Amelia and remembering his past. His killing intent was about to break out, but he reeled it in quickly. These days, Asher was having a hard time killing people. His inner madness was driving him down a path of ughter. "These symptoms have begun again!" Asher said to himself. But he knew the cure for his unstable emotions going haywire and he would have to wait at least until he joined the academy. "We need to introduce their existence to the world carefully," Arthur said with a serious face. Amelia now knew why Asher had refused to bring her friends here. The chances of information being leaked were too high, and considering others'' outlooks on illegitimate children, the twins'' lives could experience many troubles in the future. She still didn''t forgive him, but her anger was gone. "We can introduce them at my birthday party," Asher spoke as he put down his phone. "Yes, and they should also go through their awakening as early as possible," Damian spoke after thinking for a while. Although Damian was also 14 years old like Asher, his thought process was a bit higher than his age group, which was one of the reasons he could stay friends with Asher. "I was also thinking about this for Lucas, but I want to ask Livia about her thoughts on awakening as well," Sylvie spoke as she patted Livia, who was sitting beside Amelia. "I also want to be strong and help Lucas!" Livia shouted, clenching her fist. She finally had the chance to support Lucas and didn''t want to waste it. Seeing her determination, Lucas decided not to stop her, as getting stronger would help her avoid troubles as well. "But you still need to rest at least for a week and get clearance from the doctor before going through awakening. Okay?" Sylvie pinched Livia''s nose while telling her. "Umm," Livia nodded at Sylvie''s request. "Good girl," Sylvie patted her head. "But Amelia, did something happen? Your eyes were red when you came in?" Sylvie lifted her head towards Amelia and asked her. Asher was not bothered about whether Amelia would lie or not. He didn''t care how others, or even his own family, perceived him. They could think of him as a demon and he would still be fine with it. "Oh, it was nothing. Just some minor problems. Leave that aside, we should go shopping with Livia and Lucas." Amelia pped her hands and decided to change the topic. Although Arthur and Sylvie could guess what might have happened, they decided not to interfere right now. They were also troubled by Amelia and Asher''s sour rtionship. "Yes, but you must be tired today. Get some rest and let Damian get some as well." Sylvie decided to go along with Amelia for now, but she would definitely question herter for the truth. Although being a doting mother, she knew frequent scolding was also required in good parenting. Damian also decided not to speak against Asher and not mention the part about him openly making enemies with three elite families'' children. "Yeah, although I also want to chat with you all and I need to leave to meet my family as well," Damian decided to leave Amelia and Asher. "And don''t worry, nobody will know about their existence until Asher''s birthday party." Although he knew they trusted him, he still decided to assure them nevertheless. "Don''t worry, you are like family to us as well, and we trust you enough to send you with Amelia," Arthur spoke while teasing him a little. Damian''s ears were red, and he wanted to leave anytime now. "Don''t tease him! And Damian, say our greetings to your parents as well," Sylvie spoke while elbowing Arthur, leaving the twins confused by this conversation, but they did not voice it. Damian said his goodbye to them and signaled Asher to follow him outside. "Asher, do you have a moment?" he asked. Asher nodded and decided to follow him outside. "I know your reasons for today''s action, but you acted a bit strange. You wouldn''t make enemies with them like that normally." He was already noticing something different with Asher. "Don''t worry about it. It''s just that their faces annoyed me," Asher decided to make a random excuse to him. Damian knew he wanted to dodge this topic. "Okay, you must have your reasons, but try to be more lenient with Amelia." Damian spoke. "And I think you should find another girl, unlike that uncultured fool you''ve been chasing for years," Asher told him with his indifferent face. "Amelia is not uncultured!!" Damian shouted but stopped immediately and looked around him to see if anyone saw him. "Yeah, yeah. Don''t worry about all this. I know what I''m doing," Asher told him and left him. Damian also felt like he couldn''t be more pushy with Asher for now, so he decided to leave in the car prepared for him. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Author''s Note- I want to mention that in the first volume, there might be more focus on side characters than necessary. However, this will change in the academy arc of volume 2, where Asher''s point of view will be the main focus. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Chapter 31 Shopping With The Twins ?It was 5 AM in the morning and Asher was meditating during his training. After Amelia said she would take the twins shopping, Sylvie told Asher to apany them, which he wanted to refuse, but he knew his mother would not take no for an answer. This was her way of getting all four of them to getfortable with each other. He decided to do his early training and get ready before the afternoon, when they would go out shopping. He was circting and sensing his mana veins when he felt a different type of energy for a moment, but that feeling disappeared very quickly. He tried to sense it again, but he could not feel it again. "System, do you know about the strange energy I just felt?" Asher asked. [ Host needs to level up the system for this information, Insufficient Authority ] He frowned but could not do anything about it. He decided to ignore it for now until he got a more clear hold on that energy. He would try by himself until he could ask the system about it. Sensing that it was time to end his training, he decided to go for a shower and dress up. He washed up, dried his damp hair, and changed his clothes for a casual outing. He came down to the living room and saw Nathan, who was chatting with Amelia. Nathan had juste out of his training in the morning. Arthur and Sylvie had already left due to their work. "Grandpa, are you super strong?" Livia asked with shining eyes. It seems after yesterday''s discussion about their awakening, Arthur decided that the twins could also train with Nathan while he would train Asher. "Of course, I am the strongest in the world. If someone troubles you, just tell me and I will deal with it," Nathan proudly said whileughing. "Don''t fall for it. Although grandfather is strong, there are 10 more people like him," Amelia tried to correct Nathan''s lie. "As if. And where is your little hamster who follows you?" Nathan decided to tease Amelia a bit. "He is not a hamster, and his name is Damian!" Amelia shouted. "Why don''t you shout like that at your older brother? It seems young people only tend to bully weak old men nowadays," Nathan said while acting pitiful. "Who said I cannot shout at him? And how are you a weak old man?" Amelia spoke hurriedly. If she could, she would have pounced on Nathan by now, but she wanted to give a reliable older sister image to the twins. This was the reason Nathan was having fun teasing her. "Don''t lie. If he was in front of you, you would be hiding by now!" Nathan scoffed at Amelia. "I am not afraid of him!" Amelia told him while slightly raising her voice. "It seems you have nothing to do except wasting your time chatting here," a cold voice was heard by Amelia, who immediately recognized it. Her heart started beating faster. She wanted to run out of this situation but her pride would not allow it. "N-No, I was just replying to grandfather," Amelia immediately tried to correct her statement. "Okay, then get ready to go shopping," Asher said, having already noticed Nathan''s little y, but he was in no mood to y along with it. "What a grumpy brat," Nathan thought, disappointed that Asher was not willing to y along. "If you''re so free, why don''t you help dad with the guild''s work?" Asher replied with an indifferent face. "Oh, I forgot about my training today. Kids, I''ll see youter, as I need to train now," Nathan said, immediately disappearing from the couch. The twins were surprised by his actions and were also fascinated at the same time. Asher ignored it and told the three of them to follow him. They got in Asher''s Rolls-Royce and Emmy was sitting in the front seat. Lucas was sitting beside Asher and Livia was sitting with Amelia in front of them. "Do we really need clothes? I mean, the clothes we have now are very soft and enough," Livia asked Amelia. She found Amelia easy to talk to than Asher, who always maintained a cold face. "Yes, now that you''re a part of our family, we also need your clothes for brother''s birthday party as well," Amelia told her and also exined why it was important for them to have their own clothes. It was more of a status kind of thing. They were going to be introduced to the world at the party as Ivar''s kids, and if their appearance werecking, others might assume that they could be easily bullied or harmed. That''s why the timing of this news needed to be controlled. They arrived at Rizal Mall, which was the biggest mall in Soran. All of the branded essories and clothes were present here. It was in the shape of a huge oval-looking building. Many people could be seen going in and out of this ce. Their car stopped at the VIP parking lot, which was reserved for the rich only. They got out and looked at the marvelous sight of the building. Many stores and brands could be seen. The building consisted of 7 floors. The twins were looking around, seeing many attractions and things. Livia was very excited seeing all these things. Lucas was also looking at many shops. The twins were wearing some ck sunsses to hide their eye color. Even this trip to the mall had some purpose behind it. They could have easily called a designer at their estate, but they needed a little spark before the fire that would be announced at the party. They arrived at the topmost floor, which was reserved for VIPs only. Many rich families could be seen here. Every shop only consisted of their premium and most expensive products. Many people recognized Asher and Amelia as the siblings were famous in Soran, especially Asher. "Look, isn''t he the famous cold devil of the Greville?" Many people started chatting among themselves. "It seems the siblings also came for shopping today," one person talked among his group. "Wow, he looks so dreamy!" Several girls were fanboying over Asher. And even some young boys were admiring the looks of Amelia, but they didn''t have the guts to say it. They knew that one slip of tongue and the wrath of the Greville family might fall upon them. "Sigh, poor boys," Ahem! "But who are those kids with them?" Many people were starting to notice the twins. But their eyes were covered, so they thought they were close rtives or friends of the Greville. Asher and the others arrived at the most expensive and premium-looking clothing store in all of Somaria, called "Levoure." This store only made custom-tailored clothes for its limited clientele, which consisted of only highly influential families. This clothing brand was owned and named after the Levoure Family, which, despite not being an elite family, was fairly rich and influential. Entering the store, a middle-ageddy came to greet Asher and Amelia. "We wee Young Master Asher and Young Mistress Amelia, as well as the esteemed guests who are with you," thedy said, already educated with the faces and names of the influential people. Although she did not recognize the twins, knowing they were with them, she greeted them with respect. "Don''t mind them, it''s their secret outing and we would like to keep it that way," Asher spoke with his indifferent look. "As you wish, what would you like to see?" thedy asked, not inquiring about the twins'' identities. "We need some branded clothes for them and a suit for our uing party next week," Amelia decided to take charge from there. She was better than Asher at such things, so she decided to choose the clothes for the twins. The store was quite big and, because it only epted limited clients, there were no other people. They could see various mannequins wearing luxurious and beautiful clothes. Lucas wasn''t interested much in all this, but Livia was looking around with a smile on her face. Asher and Amelia were given some hologram tablets, which consisted of the catalog, to go through and see some samples. Thedy called some assistants who took the measurements of Livia and Lucas. Lucas was a bit ufortable with others touching him, but decided to brace it. Amelia was already choosing the designs for the dresses and suits for the twins. After some selection and input from the twins about their favorite colors, they finally decided on a dress and a suit. Amelia and Asher already had their dresses and suits ready, and today''s shopping was only for the twins. Though Amelia also decided to get some dresses for herself. After all the choosing was done, thedy sat on the couch, which was prepared for them. "Do you have any suggestions you want to apply?" she asked Amelia and Asher. "I want you to design a tiara and crown for these two," Asher spoke. "And I don''t need to remind you, choose the most expensive gems you have at the moment for it," he told her. This was the main reason foring today. The gems that the Levoure Family had could be called some of the most beautiful and most expensive ones. Their collection of gems was a source of jealousy for many people. Only the limited customers of the Levoure Brand could purchase them. "Young Master Asher, it would cost you around 2.7 billion AUR, excluding the cost of the making of the crown and the tiara, which would add up to around 3 billion AUR," thedy quickly calcted the cost. The twins were busy trying on some dresses, and if they could hear this amount, they might have fainted on the spot. "Don''t worry about the cost and get it ready with the dresses for those two," Asher spoke and got up from his seat. "Emmy, get all the bills and necessary things done and make sure there is no dy in this," he told Emmy, who immediately went with thedy to get some things done. Amelia went back to try on some dresses. Chapter 32 Party Preparation ?"Didn''t we buy too much there?" Livia asked Amelia as they munched on snacks in the living room of their estate. "Oh, it''s not much. We might need to do more shopping when winteres, anyway," Amelia replied. Lucas, who was listening to their conversation, was frightened. He was mentally exhausted from the countless trial runs he had gone through before Amelia decided on his clothing. He wanted to ask for help from Asher, but he saw Asher''s indifferent gaze and decided not to. Amelia could never have fun with Asher so she was super excited for sibling time with the twins. She had already decided toplete her bucket list which could not bepleted with Asher. It seems there were some tough times ahead for Lucas. As for Livia she waspletely fine with Amelia. The three of them kept chatting as Asher was not there. Outside the mansion, Asher could be seen discussing something with Emmy and Stephen, the head butler of the Greville family. "Stephen, send invites to the family heads on this list," Asher said, handing him the list of people he wanted invited to the party. His parents had given him the authority to manage the guest list as they did not want someone Asher found annoying at his own birthday party. "As you wish, Young Master," Stephen replied, taking the list and adding it to the original list. "Tell Dad and Mom that I want this party to have a separate section for adults and younger people," Asher said. Stephen nodded and went back. Stephen would usually follow Arthur, but due to the party, he was staying in the estate to manage everything. The party was in four days, and the invitations were going to be sent out. The announcement of the party had already been made, and every wealthy family was looking forward to receiving an invitation. Even the other elite families who wanted to get in good terms with the Greville family were looking forward to receiving an invitation. But this party was particrly important because it was Asher''s 14th birthday, and he was the oldest and most likely heir candidate for the Greville family. Hisst big celebration was when he turned five, and this was his 14th birthday. Asher would be busy at the academy when he turned 15, so his family decided to give the party on his 14th birthday. Usually, this party was to announce Asher as the heir of the family, like in his past life. Although he was not an awakened person, his family believed in his capabilities, so they decided to make him the heir, nevertheless. This made Amelia angry because she thought that despite being azy person, Asher was more favored than her. Although their parents decided Asher as the heir because he was capable of making mature decisions and had a strong business acumen despite his young age. But as the world only favored the strong, Amelia thought the same. She was a talented person, which was the reason she was joining the World Academy at the same time as Asher. But Arthur knew that Asher was more talented than her. Asher learned his basic sword training just by watching him move. He knew his son was highly talented, but hisck of interest was the reason he was behind Amelia. But Amelia, who was clouded by her emotions at the time, could not acknowledge this fact. This time, however, it was different. Amelia was surprised when she heard that Asher had started his mana training after she arrived. "What? Brother decided to awaken himself!!?" She sprang from the couch as this news baffled her. She subconsciously knew of Asher''s terrifying talent, which was the reason she wanted a head start from him. Despite knowing about his talents, she never wanted to admit she was less talented than Asher. "Seeing this much shocked her, if you tell her about his monstrous feat she might die from the shock," Nathanughed. "What feat?" Amelia questioned Arthur. Seeing his daughter, Arthur sighed and decided to tell her the truth. "He broke the old man''s record for awakening, his time was 5 hours and 12 minutes," Arthur told her everything, thinking ''He would not mind her knowing the truth''. "WHAT?" Amelia was shocked to her core. Although her own time was around 3 hours 27 minutes, which showcased her great talents. She was already known as one of the top talents of this generation. But because she had gone through Awakening herself, she knew what kind of perseverance was needed on top of pure talent. She slumped back on the couch and had a grim expression. As it was early in the morning, the twins were still sleeping, only Arthur, Sylvie, and Nathan were present there. "Don''t get sad now, you are also talented. Remember when I told you, your hard work will never betray you?" Sylvie tried tofort her daughter. She knew that her reaction would not be good. Learning that a person who neglected hard work, unlike you, will be more powerful just because his talent was unheard of. "Yeah, you silly girl. That brat is sozy he would not even pick up a sword if the world was peaceful," Nathan also tried to cheer her up. Asher was notzy; he was just uninterested in everything. In his eyes, from the moment he was born, everything seemed more irritating to him for some reason as he grew up. To calm his thoughts down, he became indifferent and cold to everyone as his defense mechanism. Due to his unusually high intelligence from a young age, he understood that he was different from other people. And only by masking his inner self, he could live among his family. "Yeah, what if he is more talented. I will work harder than him. And don''t I also know that brother was always more talented than me and honestly I expected him to be better than me at awakening. But seeing that he even broke Grandpa''s record proves his worth," Amelia was not dumb to not know why her parents decided to tell her about Asher''s awakening. She knew that Asher was the best candidate for the heir position of Greville family. And they continued chatting about Amelia''s life at her Academy to lighten the atmosphere. Asher was already done with all of his duties. It was around midnight and he was about to sleep, but he got a text, so he decided to check it out. He opened his Picstagram ount and saw his DMs. ---------------------------------------------------- Your painting is ready. How do you want me to deliver it? Hmmm... Just send it to your nearest Package Delivery Service. I will get it from there. Okay, I will send you the details of the Delivery Service near me. [Contact.jpg] If you don''t like the painting, I can refund you anytime. I am sure I will like it. If you like it and want some more paintings drawn. Please contact me. Bye!! ------------------------------------------------------- Asher chuckled at the responses. And seeing that the ount has gone offline he decided to sleep for now. This night his inner mind was a bit calmer than other days. ********************** Meanwhile, in avish-looking room, a blond man with a beard could be seen talking to someone on his phone. His room was full of expensive antiques, and on his desk, some documents could be seen. "Father, I know that you want to have a good rtionship with the Greville''s, but I will not go to such a rude person''s party," a voice of a girl could be heard. "Elena, I don''t know why you consider that boy rude. I am already not forcing you for an engagement, but not even attending the party is something I cannot ept. I don''t care about how you feel, just attend this party and socialize a bit, then you cane back from there," the middle-aged man spoke. He was the family head of the Rothschild family, James Rothschild. "Okay, Dad, but I will take Kevin with me, and you cannot say no to me," Elena clearly told her father about her intentions. "Do whatever you want, just make sure that Whiteheart''s boy doesn''t do something embarrassing at the party," James sighed and gave in to Elena''s demand. He cut the phone call and called his younger brother. "Louis, go to Soran and attend the party of the Greville''s with Elena, and make sure she doesn''te under any harm," he said to his younger brother, Louis Rothschild. "What? You want me to go on a bodyguard mission? I am an S-Rank hunter, for god''s sake," Louis spoke, showing his annoyed expression. Listening to him, James, who was an SS-Rank hunter, released his pressure and said, "So, should I take your answer as a NO?" he asked. "Argh, I will go, no need to get mad at me," Louis hurriedly left his room. "I hope the rumors about that Asher Greville are not true, and if they are, investing in the Whiteheart family might not be as great an idea as before," he sighed and continued doing his work. Chapter 33 Before The Party ?"Do we really have to go?" Kevin asked Elena. They were staying in a private vi owned by the Rothschild Family. Every elite family, and some rich families, had their own vi in Soran, as it was the location of the World Academy. "Sigh, Kevin, now that the Whiteheart Family is also a part of one of the elite families, you need to maintain your image more carefully from now on. Going to such events, whether we like it or not, is one of our duties as members of an elite family," Eva tried to exin to Kevin, who was still against going to Asher''s birthday party. "Don''t worry, father told me that uncle Louis will apany us there, so we can leave after staying there for a while," Elena told Kevin. "That guy is so arrogant for a person who has not even gone through his awakening yet," Kevin scoffed while talking about Asher. ''But his presence was scary for some reason,'' Eva thought in her mind. "Let''s forget about it. You know, we might be ssmates when we enroll in the World Academy, so we should at least try to get along with him," Eva didn''t want a conflict between Williams and Greville, so she wanted to use this party as a chance to smooth things over. "Whatever, if that guyes to the Academy, I will show what my fists can do when there is no bodyguard around him," Kevin arrogantly said. Even though he might sound arrogant, he was considered one of the prodigies because he was close to breaking the record of Nathan Greville. His record was around 4 hours. This was one of the few reasons why Rothschild was allying with the Whiteheart family. Elena also somewhat liked Kevin, so her father didn''t mind the two youngsters spending time together, which woulde in handy in the future. Eva was the childhood friend of Elena, so she also spent quite a lot of time with Kevin and they became friends pretty fast. "Don''t worry, I am actually nning something to help Amelia, but I wasn''t sure whether tomit to my ns, but it seems fine now," Elena smiled and said to Kevin, who was confused about what she was nning. "What are you nning, Elena?" Eva asked her. "It''s a secret~!" She spoke, then got out of the room they were in while being happy for some reason. Eva knew Elena was quite a vengeful person, and whenever she nned something like this, she wouldn''t tell anyone. "I hope she doesn''t cause some huge ruckus at the party," Eva sighed and walked out of the living room with Kevin. Meanwhile, in the Mage Association Tower: "So you''re saying we should also send a person to show our appreciation towards the Greville family?" A man who looked to be in his 50s asked the man in front of him. "I mean, why not? You already know about him breaking the record of Nathaniel Greville, we might as well make a good impression on them," Edward Amaris, the mage association elder who helped Asher in his awakening, replied to the man seated in front of him. The man was the chairman of the Mage Association. One of the SSS-Rank Hunters in this world, renowned for his magic and referred to by the title of ''Archmage''. His name was Silvus Grandus, and he had silver hair with deep yellow amber eyes. Despite being such an important figure in this world, he did not belong to any family and had no rtives. He was an orphan who climbed up the ranks to be one of the most powerful people in this world. Due to him being amoner, he did not like to mingle with the elite families much and his sole focus was on managing the Mage Association. "Sigh, Although I don''t like that musclehead swordsman, that doesn''t mean his grandson would be like him. I hope not, but anyways, you can go to represent the Mage Association as this will not alert all the other powers because you already have a good rtion with the Greville," Silvus told Edward his opinion. Only Edward could talk to Silvus this casually, because he was one of the people Silvus taught and nurtured himself. Although Silvus could be seen as a 50 year old fit man, his actual age even surpassed Nathan by a few years, who was around 80 years old already. Due to their high ranks, humans could live longer, but unlike what you might think, mana did not help with the longevity of a person. It sure could allow you to perform miracles and look considerably younger than your age when stepped into adulthood, but life force never mingled with mana. Nobody knew why, despite being able to enrich their bodies with mana and even changing their anatomy, they could never free themselves from their mortal shackles. But despite that, a person with a high rank could live till 200 years old if they did not die. This world only consisted of humans, but there were records describing some other species known only to elite families and the Association higher-ups. When the world first experienced a mana outbreak, the destruction of most of civilization was inevitable. But some records of the people from the past were handed down to the next generation and were never open to the public now. Only those in power knew about such records. "I wonder why there''s so many talented people in this generation alone," he sighed and closed his eyes to do his training. He couldn''t help but think about the records that were passed down. "Who knows what the future might entail for us," he continued his training, closing his inner thoughts. "Emmy, retrieve the parcel from here before my birthday party. Use whatever means to get it before the party starts," Asher ordered Emmy to retrieve the painting he ordered. He wanted it as a gift for his birthday. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy nodded at his request and left him after getting the information needed. "Arghh," Asher groaned and held his forehead. His surroundings were getting cold due to his bloodlust leaking out. Fortunately, he was in his secluded training chambers and Emmy had left, so nobody could sense it. "Fuck, the symptoms are even worse than they were in my previous life," his indifferent face broke and a frown could be seen on his face. "Till next year, hold on...till next year," he repeated to himself. He went back to do his mana training. He was practicing his mana maniption, he needed more effort to fool Nathan about his bloodline when the time for his 2 weeks of traininges. Although the rank of his Mana Flow skill was not increasing because he was not utilizing this skill for his increase in maniption. He would not increase his Mana Flow skill level until he got into the World Academy. His rank has broken into F-Rank and from here, simple mana training alone would not help him much. But he was not in a rush until his training with Nathan, he wanted to set a solid foundation which will increase his speed of increasing his rank in the future. When a person broke into a new rank around his mana core, a ring will be formed. This ring was how their rank was calcted. But multiple factors such as a person''s mana pool, his innate talent, and his usage of skills with other factors would result in power disparity among the people in the same rank. This was the reason why a person''s rank was not calcted only based on his mana core. "Status" -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 7 (EXP 0/7000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 32 -> 40 Agility: 27 -> 30 Endurance: 40 -> 45 Intelligence: 55 Mana: 45 -> 60 Stamina: 40 -> 47 Charm: 57 -> 60 Fate: 3730 [AP]: 30 [SP]: 12 --------------------------------------------------------------- His attributes increased due to his increase in his rank. Except for intelligence, every stat had changed. He could feel his body was lighter and his mana pool had also increased. "Doesn''t seem too bad," Asher thought. He had already calmed his nerves down quite a bit. He continued doing his training after closing his status. In that way, two days passed and today was the day the party was going to happen. Many servants could be seen running around the ce. "Stephen, make sure there are nopromises in the security around the estate," Arthur ordered Stephen, who nodded at his request. Arthur did not go to work today and Sylvie was spending her time with Amelia and the twins. He was sitting in his office and was going through some documents. Knock, knock "Come in," Arthur said. "Young Master Asher has gone out without security and left a message that says he will return before the party," one of the servants conveyed the message to Arthur. Arthur dropped his pen and looked at the servant and said, "What?!" Chapter 34 Arriving At The Party ?"How did nobody notice him going out?" Arthur summoned Emmy and Stephen and asked them how Asher managed to slip past the security of the estate. "Young Master told me to let him be alone in the training chambers and requested that I remove other servants from the vicinity," Emmy told him with her head held down. "Where the hell has he gone?" Arthur was looking at the message that Asher had left outside the training hall in his phone. He had gone out without security and without his phone as well. Usually, Arthur would not panic if Asher had just taken his phone with him as he could have had it tracked. This was the reason Asher left his phone as well. "Tell the security team to search for him, but don''t let other people know that Asher is missing," he ordered Stephen. "Emmy, you go stay with Sylvie and tell her about this as well," he said, already having a headache considering if Asher somehow gotte or missed this party, it would cause him unnecessary troubles. "I just hope he doesn''t get into any trouble," he sat down on his seat and closed his eyes to calm his mind. Emmy left with Stephen, who ordered the shadow guards of the Greville family to search for Asher. They were trained hunters whose sole purpose was to guard the Greville Family and follow the orders of the family head. Even Nathan could notmand these guards to do something. Only Arthur, who sat as the sessor of Nathan, had the authority tomand them. They were people who were bound by a mana oath contract from a young age. These people were generally orphans with no backing, and only Elite Families and other High Council seat holders were allowed to bound people with Mana Oaths. Mana oaths could be broken but the moment they will alert the other party. The moment one of these shadow guards will even have thoughts of betrayal about the Greville family, Arthur will know about the oath being broken. very was not allowed in this world. No matter who you were and or how much power you held, if the world knew such person dabbled into very, they would face heavy criticism from the masses as well as other major powers. Hundreds of years ago when the first mana breakout happened, such things weremon issues. So long ago the High Council was formed. This consisted of all the major power holders in the world who enacted certain rules and regtions for everyone to follow. Meanwhile, a young boy with a ck hoodie hiding his face could be seen walking in a mountain range. This young boy was none other than Asher. He was walking along a forest path and arrived at a particr ce and stopped. "Seems like this was the ce where the dungeon will appear in a month or two," Asher felt the mana in the surroundings of the ce. He wanted to observe the phenomenon of dungeon gate forming. Nobody could do it in the world as who would know where a new dungeon would appear. He felt the mana around the ce and found nothing odd with it. "The mana is stable around here, so Gate forming is not rted to mana instability as I thought before," Although the real reason he came out of his Estate was to calm his mind and let loose in somece. He knew if during the party his bloodlust came out, others, and even his parents might suspect something strange in him. "Let''s hunt some beasts," He took out a sword from his space ring. An E rank sword he used when he had gone into the dungeon was still with him. Usually, you needed to return such weapons, but the officer there didn''t dare ask Asher to give back the weapon as he technically owned everything of the Abyss Guild. Asher channeled his mana in his eyes and legs and quickly moved past many trees. Beasts here were not as strong as peak G Rank monsters, but they could still kill a normal human. Although Asher wanted a tougher opponent, he could not enter a dungeon without others noticing him, and to calm his bloodlust, these beasts would do just fine for him. He saw a pack of 10 Wolves sitting around and jumped in the middle of them. This move was basically suicidal, as who would jump in between 10 beasts, although they were notparable to peak G-Rank wolves in the dungeon, but they were equivalent to Mid G-Rank wolves. He immediately released his bloodlust, which froze the wolves as they jumped away from Asher. He carefully released his killing intent so as to not freak out the wolves too much. "Come on puppies, don''t run now. Give me some fight!" He said with his eyes showing shining crimson red. The wolves were cautious, but because Asher was the one who infiltrated their den, they were quite mad at him. Three wolves jumped together at him. Seeing them jumping, he quickly backstepped and shed two of them at the same time. His sword traveled in a wide U path beheading the two beasts. Seeing two of their kin dead, all the wolves were ring and making sound at him. "GRRghhh" "Grgghhhrrr" Five of them rushed at him from all directions. Seeing their charge, Asher stood still and waited for a second before using his mana in his legs to jump upwards. He was airborne and seeing him that way, the wolves were waiting for him toe on the ground. He could not change his trajectory mid-air, and so the wolves only looked above waiting for him. "Whooooooooooooo" He breathed out mid-air and rotated his body, making himself turn and sh three of the wolves. Two of them died instantly and one was dripping blood all over the ce. He used the force of his sword to shift his body to the left andnd behind the three wolves which were left. He didn''t waste any time and quickly dashed towards and killing the other wolves easily. He tried to use his bloodline on one of the dead wolves. [ No Higher Stat found, cannot absorb ] "Tch, So weak," He wiped the blood off his face and moved further into the forest. All the animals in this mountain range were around below Mid G-Rank, so he hunted many such beasts, taking their carcass into his space ring. Although he did not need them, but letting them rot here was not an option as well. He wanted no one to know about his presence in this forest. He had already carefully removed his traces while going out of the estate. Even the shadow guards would not be able to trace him back. "This much will be enough for now," Asher was breathing roughly as he ran around a lot to hunt some beasts. He was soaked in blood from head to toe. He arrived at theke near the forest and washed himself before going back in the city as he would alert everybody walking with blood all over him. "Two hours more until they arrive at the fake trail I left behind," He thought as he dressed up in new clothes he had already stored in his ring before arriving here. He rested for a couple of minutes and meditated to recover his mana. After a 15-minute rest, he exited the forest and arrived at the city. He took a cab and stopped at T-point street somewhere in Soran. "I have 30 extra minutes..." He looked at the time and there was still some time before the Shadow guards would arrive here. Although they could find him quite quickly, doing it without causing amotion and making others aware of Asher''s disappearance was quite tough. He knew this and yed his card right. His personality was antisocial, and he would use whatever excuse to distract Arthur from questioning him. But he was sure after today''s party, his disappearance would be the least troubling issue to Arthur. "Young Master, we need to take you back," Asher, who was sitting in a cafe drinking a coffee, heard a voice behind him. He saw two men with ck hoodies and covered faces. Their sudden appearance rmed other customers, but Asher knew who they were, so he was calm. "There''s still some time before the party, I will go there after finishing my coffee," He took a sip of his coffee calmly, and listening to him, the two men immediately disappeared from their locations. Other customers were startled by this, but nobody wanted trouble, so they did not voice it. "Nice coffee," Asher said while slowly finishing his coffee. He had wasted so much time that it was already 7:30 PM in the evening. The shadow guards were also thinking about what to do because they would bete if he dyed it anymore. The coffee shop owner had already given him 5 cups of coffee. He was surprised by his appearance, some people even tried to take his pictures, but the shadow guards always stopped them. Fortunately, Asher got up after finishing his 6th coffee. Was he even human, drinking SIX cups of coffee??? He tipped the cafe owner, who was surprised to see the amount he tipped, but before he could thank him, Asher was already out of the cafe and left with his guards. He arrived at the Estate, which was decorated everywhere. Their cars entered from another path, which was different from the path the guests would take. He exited his car and saw Arthur, who was wearing a white suit. "Why did you leave without the guards, my ''dear son''?" Arthur smiled and asked him. Chapter 35 Party Begins ?Asher thought to himself, ''This will be annoying.'' "Dear ''son,'' could you please enlighten your father on where you went?" Arthur said, still smiling. He wanted to scold him so much, but if he did, Sylvie would probably eat him alive, saying, ''How dare you scold him on his birthday party.'' "I was feeling a bit irritated, so I wanted to roam around outside a bit," Asher said with an indifferent face. Asher obviously knew that he wouldn''t get in much trouble for going outside without security, as Arthur would not question him anymore. "But you should have taken Emmy with you, at least," Arthur said, not wanting to restrict the freedom of his kids. However, because they were a powerful family, they obviously garnered hate from others. Asher could have been targeted by people if the news of him disappearing was leaked. "Let''s not argue further. I need to dress for the asion as well," Asher told him and, with a calm face, moved past him. "Did his rebellious stage begin or what?" Arthur wondered what to do with his son. "ASHER!!... Where were you?" Sylvie immediately appeared close to him as soon as she saw Asher from the living room. "Mom, I am fine. Can you let go of me," Asher said while moving away from Sylvie''s grip, who held him tightly and was checking if everything was fine with him. "But you still need to answer my question," Sylvie met Asher''s eyes and demanded an answer. "I was just strolling around, refreshing my mind a bit. I wanted a moment alone, so I left the guards and went alone," he said with an indifferent face, showing no emotion, so even his lie was impossible to be spotted unless you somehow had means to detect a lie. "Can I go? I need to dress up as well," he looked at Sylvie, who was wearing a beautiful red dress. Coupled with red earrings, with her ck hair and ck eyes, she looked absolutely gorgeous. "Okay, my handsome son. I will not trouble you anymore, but don''t do it again," Sylvie kissed Asher''s forehead and let him go. Arthur was watching the scene between the mother and son pair with a stupid expression. "You spoil him too much," Arthur came close and told Sylvie. "I know, but I don''t want him to feel caged, so my heart can''t handle scolding him either," Sylvie told him as she looked at Asher, who was going up to his room. Asher arrived in front of his room and saw Emmy who was walking back and forth in front of his room. She saw Asher and finally let out a breath of relief. "Young Master!!" She arrived in front of Asher. "You need to get ready as soon as possible!!" Emmy urged Asher to get dressed up. Although the party would begin at midnight, but he needed to arrive early to greet the guests and socialize with them. "Calm down, Emmy. I will go take a shower and just get the suit sent to my room. I will get ready myself," Asher said to her with an indifferent face. He did not want to get dressed by others. He hated other people touching him, especially when his inner self was already that of an adult. "And make sure the gift I told you to retrieve is delivered to me during my Gift ceremony." "As you wish, Young Master, but-" Emmy wanted to say something, but she was cut off as Asher already entered his room. She sighed and gave in, and asked the maid to send the suit directly into the room. She also needed to check on the twins who were still not ready. Asher took a bath and put on his suit. He wore a ck suit with a ck shirt, and a red tie. His whole outfitplimented his ck hair and crimson red eyes. He looked extremely attractive in normal casual clothes, but wearing formal attireplimented his charm even more. "Almost forgot this thing," Asher said as he took a pair of ck gloves and put them on. He came down from his room and saw Lucas waiting for him. Apparently, Amelia and Livia were still getting ready, so they werete. Arthur and Sylvie had already gone to greet the guests who wereing. Every guest was from a rich family or represented an influential person. Nathan wasn''t going to attend the party with the others. He would be drinking with more important guests, while Arthur greeted the rest with Sylvie. "Can I go with you?" Lucas hesitantly asked Asher. Asher looked at him with an indifferent face, which made Lucas think he would reject him. He walked past Lucas and stopped, then said, "Why are you still standing there? Follow me, or you can just stay here," hearing him Lucas expression brightened and he immediately followed Asher like a duckling. They entered their cars to go to the spot in the estate where the party was going to be held. The estate was of 500 meters radius and so they took a car to go to the Vi where the party was being held. Greville had a separate vi for asions and for their family use. This Vi was even more beautiful and bigger than the Family Vi. It cost around 1 Billion AUR making the two vis Asher bought pale inparison but they, despite being smaller than this, had their own charm. This Vi was made this big to amodate various guests and some of the rooms were even enhanced with Sound Proofing Runes which was the room Nathan was staying in. It would work wonders suppressing his loud voice. Meanwhile, in a luxurious SUV, three people could be seen sitting and chatting together. "Elena, why don''t you tell me what you will do at the party?" Eva asked Elena. "It''s a surprise! Just wait and watch it!" She said while swaying her head left and right happily. "Don''t worry, Eva. I will protect her if any troublesome thing happens," Kevin said while shrugging his shoulder. "Just don''t mess things up too badly, as this could even affect our whole families," Eva sighed and ignored the happy Elena. Louis Rothschild had already arrived at the party a bit earlier than them because he needed to arrive a bit early to show respect towards the Greville family. The youngsters were not bound by such traditions, so nobody minded them arriving a bitte. They reached the venue and saw several reporters who were shing their cameras. Some media channels were invited and permitted to record outside the venue, but media was not allowed inside. They walked past the media while arranged security made sure their path was not blocked. "Look, it''s the daughters of the Rothschild and Williams families!" One of the reporters said while looking at the group of three young people. "Even the famous Kevin Whiteheart, who is rumored to be a prodigy level talent, is apanying her," the other reporter spoke. The group of three people walked past the reporters and arrived at the venue. It was around 10:30 PM. They were greeted by a bunch of maids and they passed through them after they showed them their invites. "Wow," Kevin looked around and saw many activities going on. Every guest had their own tables and a waiter assigned to them. A variety of cuisines could be seen being served. Famous artists were seen performing on the stage to keep the guests entertained. "Look, it''s Elena Rothschild and Eva Williams," many young boys started chatting up seeing the two beautiful girls. Elena was wearing a blue dress whichplimented her blond hair and blue eyes. And Eva was wearing a purple dress which looked cute coupled with her blue hair and ck eyes. Eva usually wore sses, so her no-sses look was refreshing for others to see. "Kyaa, it''s the prodigy of the Whiteheart family, Kevin Whiteheart," some of the girls were fanboying over Kevin. The trio obviously ignored others and sat together at their reserved chairs. As they were from Elite families, their seating was more near to the Artist''s stage, and two waiters were serving them together. "At least the event is good, just the guy it''s for is so annoying," Kevin spoke while sipping on the juice he was drinking from his ss. "Hush, Kevin!" Eva elbowed Kevin as many other people were keeping their attention on them, and being heard like this was not a good thing for their reputation. "Whatever, even the people invited here are annoying," Kevin saw many young boys were stealing nces at Elena and Eva, which irritated him and a frown appeared on his face which went unnoticed as he changed his expressions quickly. "Let''s just enjoy the party for now, shall we," Elena spoke and distracted the two of them. As they were talking, the music went on, and people were socializing with each other talking about recent events. Kevin just talked with Elena and Eva as they politely "refused" many people who came to join their seats. In the meantime, Asher joined Arthur who was greeting other guests, and Sylvie was talking to a group ofdies. "Herees Young Master Greville," one of the men talking to Arthur greeted Asher. Lucas had already gone to the room he would stay in with Livia and Amelia until the announcement was made. "Oh, Asher here, meet Mr. Willsberg and.." Arthur introduced every person in the group. Asher did not like to mingle with others, so he kept his greetings short. Everybody knew about his nature, so they did not feel too surprised by his demeanor. "Still the same cold devil, huh!" A voice came from a certain person, and everyone turned to watch who this person was. Chapter 36 The Gift Ceremony ?************************* Many hours ago, at the Rothschild Vi in Soran: "Uncle, you just need to cause some issues like you do everywhere. I will handle the rest, don''t worry," Elena tried to reason with Louis, who was clearly disagreeing with her. "Don''t you know that if my brother heard that I helped you like that, my life would be in a very sweet danger, my lovely niece?" Louis was clearly annoyed by Elena''s n. "If you don''t help me now, do not forget that I might just tell father about every ruckus you did behind his eyes," Elena said, giving him a look. As Elena usually attended many events with Louis, she had helped him many times by lying in front of James to save Louis. "Tch, you and your father, both of you think of me as some essory for your ns," Louis grumbled towards Elena''s reply. "Will you help me or not?" Elena pressured him even more. "Whatever, do what you want, but remember to not take things too far, okay?" Louis made sure Elena would strictly follow the n without testing her luck. ************************* Everybody turned to see who was the brave soul to say such things in front of the Grevilles. They saw a handsome-looking blond man who was holding a ss of wine and was wearing a royal blue suit. This man was none other than Louis Rothschild, the younger brother of James Rothschild, who was the head of the Rothschild family. "Oh, now don''t take it negatively, will you?" He jokingly said to the group of people. Arthur looked at him with eyes and saw Louis shrugging his shoulders. Asher didn''t react at all to Louis''sments. He indifferently looked at Louis for a moment, then ignored him. "Woah, don''t re at me like that. It was apliment only," his sarcastic voice made people gulp their own saliva, sensing the tension in the air. Louis was walking on a thin line, speaking like this against the Greville family in their own estate. "Don''t worry, we don''t take uncultured people''s words to our hearts as it only causes you a headache to argue with them," Arthur voiced his opinion. Hearing this, Louis was irritated. He was known as the troublemaker of the Rothschild family who had a loose tongue and did not respect others much. Hearing such insults made him lose control, and he leaked some of his aura in slight anger. "Who are you calling uncultured, Arthur Greville?" Louis''s voice was cold and his aura made all the adults present turn their attention towards him. Sensing his aura, Arthur released his own SS Rank aura and suppressed his presence, which made some weak people sigh in relief. Although Louis was not the opponent of Arthur, the Rothschild family was as powerful as the Greville. There were some factors that made Greville slightly more powerful than the Rothschild, but they were considered equal in the eyes of the masses. "I wonder who that person might be," Arthur''s usual carefree voice was absent. His expression was cold and he looked slightly like Asher in that moment. "Now, now, now! Cool off, gentlemen!" A different voice came and a man in his 50s entered the venue. Everybody was surprised after recognizing his identity. He was none other than Edward Amaris, the famous disciple of the Mage Association chairman and was greatly known for his exceptional control of magic. "He is Edward Amaris, the elder of the Mage Association!!" "Wait, isn''t this the first time someone from the Mage Association has attended such events?" "Yeah, didn''t the Chairman of the Mage Association dislike all the Elite families?" "But Edward Amaris had some friendly rtions with the Greville. Maybe that''s why?" Many people started muttering amongst themselves. Seeing Edward, both Louis and Arthur took their auras back. Louis was also surprised to see a Mage Association Elder, who was closely rted to its chairman, came to such social events. "Old man Edward, it''s a surprise seeing you attend this event," Arthur ignored Louis''s presence and went to greet Edward. They shook hands and Edward also talked with the other people in the group. Seeing so muchmotion, Louis decided to step back and not cause anymore trouble. He was only S-Rank and if he pushed his luck more, there was a lot of chance that Arthur''s sword will find his neck soon. "I have done as you asked, my dear niece, but I hope you can exin all this to my older brother as well. But it''s not like I didn''t try to stop you, so it''s not my fault if you cause a mess here," Louis told himself as he walked away from the group. Louis was also d that the infamous wife of Arthur was away. He was d that he only had to argue with Arthur, who would only use his sword against him, but Sylvie was different. If she heard him, Rothschild would find it quite difficult to move around Somaria after this party. Louis''s reputation was very low as he was known for his low temper and untamable attitude. This made others avoid him and he sipped his drink alone after sitting at his reserved table. The adult section was different as every Elite family had their own area reserved for them, although only some Rothschild sent someone as their representative to this party. Many high-rank hunters gathering in one area might cause issues, that''s why most people usually avoided such events. Thest happy asion for the Greville where all the Elite families attended was the wedding of Sylvie and Arthur, as this marked the alliance of Raven and the Greville. Asher also greeted Edward and Arthur, and Edward talked with each other. Almost everyone wanted to chat with Edward as he was quite a solitary person and meeting was a rare opportunity, but they didn''t want to disturb their talks so they controlled their emotions. "It''s almost time for the gift ceremony," Arthur reminded Asher and left Edward to enjoy the party. It was almost time for the cake cutting ceremony, and Amelia and the twins also arrived at the party. This was a joint event for adults and young people so they gathered in the beautiful garden area of the Vi. People were confused seeing two kids with ck sses in the night standing with Amelia. The twins instantly noticed many people staring at them, but Amelia held their hands to calm their nerves. This was their first time standing like this in front of people, so it was natural for them to be nervous at such time. Many youngsters were awestruck seeing Amelia in her white dress. Even Kevin was surprised at seeing how beautiful Amelia looked. He wanted to talk to her but decided to wait until the event ended. "As you all know, today my son Asher Von Raven Greville turns 14, and this party is to celebrate his 14th birthday," Arthur said in his speech with Sylvie standing beside him. The sound of the clock hitting 12 AM in the midnight was heard, and many magical celebrations could be seen. Young people were surprised by such delicate preparation of this event. "Happy birthday, Ash," Arthur and Sylvie wished Asher a happy birthday, which he thanked them with a calm face. The twins and Amelia also wished him. Although he was internally bored, his bodynguage didn''t show his inner thoughts. People started pping and many people arrived to give him their gifts. Damian was also one of the people who arrived to wish him and give his gifts. "Happy birthday, Ash. This is your gift from me," Damian gave him the key to a supercar, which had limited models. Some people recognized the key and were surprised by the gift. Asher had a hobby of collecting supercars, so this was going to be his second-best gift in his mind. Many people arrived and gave him various artifacts, gems, and other expensive things. It was all a pretense to forge a healthy rtionship with the Greville, so Asher just indifferently epted them. Stephen immediately took the gifts and moved them so Asher could ept others as well. "Monster boy, this is one of the Elixir treasures of Rank S which will help you when you reach D Rank soon in the future," Edward''s voice was only audible to Asher and his parents who were close to him. Sylvie did not like the word ''monster'' but ignored it as she knew Edward was one of the people who helped Asher with awakening and was in debt to Nathan for saving his life. "Thank you, old man Edward," Asher showed his basic courtesy and epted the gift. Other people were surprised seeing this gift which made their own gifts pale inparison. Many girls also tried to talk to him while giving him their gifts, but they were only met by his indifferent gaze, so they gave up soon. Atst, Elena and Louis, with Eva and Kevin, were seening towards Asher. "Happy birthday to you," Elena''s words could be considered rude, but Asher obviously ignored her and gave no reaction, which further angered Elena. "Happy birthday to the Young Master Asher," Eva, and even Louis''s greetings were normal, but Asher gave them the same treatment as Elena. Kevin was already annoyed at Asher, so he decided to greet him just like Elena, but he also forgot that Whiteheart was not the same as Rothschild, and Sylvie, who saw this, made a casual remark in her mind about the Whiteheart Family. Asher smirked internally sensing his mother''s intention. Louis presented a gift to Asher as it was the tradition for all the guests who attended the event. "Arthur''s boy, this is a rare piece of defense artifact of Rank A, hope you like it," people were surprised by such an expensive gift. Seeing people muttering among them made Elena make a smug expression in her mind. "Although it might not be much, but this is a rare Ice Stone crystal from the Williams Family," one of Eva''s servants, which were allowed only for the Elite families, passed the gift to Stephen, who held it. This Ice stone would help the person use Ice attribute magic more freely and was greatly beneficial for smithing as well. This rare stone was something only a few could afford to gift like this and Williams were capable of doing this much. "This is a Red Fire Mana gem of Rank A from the Whiteheart Family," one of Kevin''s servants handed over the gem. People were surprised by a Rank A Mana gem, which was quite expensive for even some of the people who attended there. Sensing other people''s reaction, Kevin smiled internally in his mind. "Of course, this is the might of the Whiteheart Family," he spoke to himself. Handing his gift, he nced at Amelia who was standing beside Damian for a moment and saw her excited to see her friends, which made him happy as well. "So what was the best gift ording to Young Master Asher?" one of the people spoke up. Asher stood up and looked at the three gifts he had just received, and looked towards Emmy who nodded, seeing Asher looking at her... Chapter 37 Elenas Challenge ?****************** Meanwhile, in one of the secured rooms of the vi, a few people could be seen drinking and talking with each other. Suddenly, they felt the aura of an S-Rank hunter, which was immediately followed by the aura of an SS-Rank hunter. "Did something happen outside?" one of the people spoke while putting his drink on the table. "Hahahaha, it seems the youngsters are having fun," Nathan spoke while drinking from his ss. "If Sir Nathan is fine, then it should not be a big issue," seeing Nathan''s nonchnt answer, they immediately let go of the matter. It was not because they were afraid of Nathan, although Nathan could kill everybody in the room in the blink of an eye, but they believed in him due to the fact that if a fight would happen, Nathan being a SSS-Rank hunter could stop it before they even took a step further. The people in the room were friends of Nathan who came to meet him after knowing that he was attending his grandson''s birthday party. Many of these people held a considerable amount of power in the economy of Somaria. The group continued on talking among each other, ignoring the ruckus happening outside. ******************* After the gift ceremony of a big family, it was a tradition to select the best gift. Everyone was looking forward to whose gift Asher would choose. "I think he would choose the elixir," one of the women talked among the group ofdies. "Young Master Kevin''s gift is also worthy of being the best gift," one of the women beside her expressed her opinion. "Rothschild are notcking behind either, and don''t forget the Williams are there as well," "So which Elite family would have the honor of the best gift?" People started chatting as all the gifts were presented. Kevin also could hear praising his gift. Although he disliked Asher so far, but he needed to fulfill the wishes of his family, and this gift was indeed given for making favourable connections with the Greville as they were the most powerful Elite family in Somaria. Emmy arrived soon after she left, and behind her was a maid who was holding a canvas-like structure which was covered with a ck cloth. She took the canvas and came towards Asher. Everybody present there were confused by this new development. "I appreciate all the gifts so far, but for the best gift tonight, I have chosen the most pleasing gift I have received." He took the ck cloth off and the canvas revealed a painting. Everybody was confused by seeing the painting, some were specting it could be an expensive artist''s painting, but nobody could recognize it. It depicted a far-stretched grasnd on a sunny day where a tree stood in the center. Two cats could be seen napping under the shade of the tree. It gave a calm summertime feeling. "This is by far the best gift I have received today," Asher announced. Seeing a painting of an unknown artist being more valuable than the gifts presented earlier offended quite a lot of people in the crowd, but nobody could dare voice their opinions. "Hahahaha, it seems like the Whiteheart family lost to a painting," a young boyughed among his group. Although he was immediately stopped by his parents, but Kevin, who heard his voice, could only hold his anger inside him. This was a social event, and he was representing his family here, and this meant he could only be on his best behavior, unlike the time when he tried to attack Asher at the airport. Listening to the young boy''s remarks, many of his peers started giggling among each other. They were already jealous of Kevin, as he was rumored to be a prodigy and was surrounded by two of the most beautiful girls at the party. Although they could not confront him because of his status, they used Asher as a shield to insult and mock Kevin. "It seems Young Master Asher does not put our families in his eyes," Elena noticed Kevin being insulted, so she decided to carry out her n. "How is this painting worth more than our gifts? Are you trying to mock our families?" Elena questioned Asher. ''You brought it upon yourself,'' she thought to herself. Seeing Kevin being ridiculed made her angry, and she was not going to sit around and watch Asher mock them. "So what?" Asher replied with an indifferent face. "Why should I bother with your families? It''s my party, and this is Soran Miss Rothschild. I guess you already know the consequences of what happens when somebody speaks carelessly in front of me, enough to not repeat the same mistakes again?" Asher mocked Elena in front of everyone. Many people were shocked by the way Asher ridiculed one of the most powerful families in front of all these people. Elena''s behavior could be considered rude, but Asher was inly threatening her in front of everybody. Hearing this, Kevin forgot about saving the reputation of his family and was ready to return Asher''s words and stepped forward, but he was stopped by Elena. "I heard the grandson of the Swordgod was quite talented in his sword talent. You even learnt it just by watching the person demonstrate the moves to you," Elena spoke with a smirk on her face. "What are you trying to imply, Elena?" Amelia spoke to calm the two parties. She did not want them to argue with each other and wanted to stop the fire before it spread further. "Stop, And what do you want with that information, Miss Rothschild?" Asher stopped Amelia from speaking further, his cold gazended on Elena again. "I mean, I heard about your talent and wanted to see if it was true or not. I wanted to have a friendly bout with you after the party, but-" Elena was speaking, but Asher cut her off. "Stop being annoying and tell me what you want. I don''t have so much time to entertain your tantrums." Asher''s indifference ignited even more anger inside Elena. "Why don''t we have hand-to-handbat duel right here, right now?" Elena challenged Asher. "Elena, what are you doing?" Eva tried to stop the fight. She did not think Elena would outright ask for a duel with Asher. As the news of Asher''s awakening was not spread, everyone assumed Asher to be an unawakened person. Even Eva thought of Asher as an unawakened person. "Don''t worry, I would not use my mana against you, but if you are too afraid to fight me, I would not force you," Elena asked worriedly. Although inside she was smiling, thinking of how she would trap Asher into epting the duel. Arthur and Sylvie were silent, they did not intervene slightly in this matter. They knew about Asher''s strength, so they did not see a reason to stop this. ''This might be a good way for Asher to announce himself as an awakened person,'' Arthur thought to himself. "Isn''t it bad for him to fight an awakened person?" Several people were muttering among themselves. "No need, we can have this duel. Emmy, take this painting away from here," Asher agreed to Elena''s challenge. "Oh, it seems like you are quite confident in yourself, kid, but I hope the adults won''t interfere in the duel of the youngsters," Louis looked at Arthur and spoke mockingly. "Mom, Dad, no need to interfere in the duel," Asher indifferently said and moved from his position. "If the young people want to resolve it between themselves, then what could I say," Arthur obviously knew Asher''s strength after his dungeon trip, so he was confident that Asher could beat Elena, who was known as a person following the path of a mage. Sylvie also did not speak against it. Amelia could do nothing now that her parents also agreed upon this. The twins were anxious as to why suddenly this blond girl wanted to fight Asher. Lucas, especially, found Elena and Kevin quite annoying. "Stephen, arrange for the duel to happen right now," Arthur signaled Stephen. The other guests couldn''t follow what just happened. Just a couple of moments ago, they were celebrating, and now two people from Elite families were going to have a duel. Eva could only sigh, watching her Elena, who went to get changed into her training suit as she already brought a nano-armor suit for herself. Kevin was looking forward to seeing the beaten face of Asher already. He was confident that Elena would be able to beat Asher, who was known for disinterest in awakening in hand-to-handbat. Emmy had already brought her nano-suit bracelet, so she got ready quite quickly. "Elena, don''t go overboard, okay?" Louis seriously told Elena as she was leaving the room given to her to change into the training suit. "I know. I will only mock him in this duel. Winning is not my goal. I want to see how he will look after acting so cocky till now," it seemed that her anger for Asher had already turned into hate. She arrived, seeing a square area of 20 meters where she would have a mock battle with Asher. They could not use weapons. She saw Asher, who was still in his suit and did not change into a proper training armor. "Are you backing out now?" Elena mockingly asked Asher. "Come here and fight. No need to run that mouth of yours so much," Asher stepped into the training area while other guests were spectating and guessing who the winner would be. "YOU-" Elena wanted to say something but she stopped, "Alright, let''s see this arrogant attitude of yours when you face me," Elena also stepped into the ring. Louis stood on the other side of Asher behind Elena with Kevin and Eva. Arthur and Sylvie were already sitting on their seats. Most of the young children were excited to watch this duel. Adults were the same, although nobody was voicing it. They also wanted to know how good Asher was. "Will he be fine?" Damian asked Amelia, as he also didn''t know about Asher''s awakening like the others present here. "Don''t worry, Ash is strong enough to defeat her," Sylvie replied to Damian''s question. Chapter 38 True Face Of The Greville ?Stephen stood in the middle of Asher and Elena, who were 15 meters away from each other. He stood and signaled the start of the mock battle. "3, 2, 1 Start..." Stephen disappeared from the duel field in an instant, due to him being a high-rank person as well. "I will now teach you how to behave," Elena was speaking when suddenly Asher dashed towards her. "Wait, he can use mana?" One of the guests spoke loudly. People were shocked to see Asher, who used the mana in his legs to propel himself towards Elena. Asher instantly arrived in front of Elena, who did not have the proper stance yet. He immediately threw a punch in her stomach, levitating her above the ground. "That''s why I told you to shut that mouth of yours," Asher said, not even waiting for Elena to recover. Elena, who was in pain, gathered her mana in thest moment, which helped her negate most of the pain that passed through the training suit. This suit was only for training purposes, so its damage negation was low. ''What, this kid is already an awakened person?'' Louis was panicking at this moment. This was not the n Elena had told her. For their n to humiliate Asher, him being an unawakened person was an important key. Elena only wanted to exchange some moves and defeat Asher quickly. ''But she can still defeat him,'' Louis calmed herself, remembering that her niece was not called a genius for no reason. Elena stood up and ignored the slight pain in her guts. She took a proper stance and prepared to attack Asher. Asher stood still, coldly gazing at Elena. She dashed towards Asher and side-stepped just before she reached him and threw a punch at him. Asher saw through her feints and bent his body a bit backwards, dodging her attack. Asher immediately took the chance to rotate his whole body at this moment and kicked Elena, who flew away from Asher. "Weak," Asher muttered to himself, looking down on Elena. "How dare you," Elena, who stood up, was going to argue with him but Asher did not give her a chance. Asher threw multiple punches targeting every part of her arm. Elena kept blocking his attacks, but the pain was building up. Eventually, due to pain, she put her guard down for a moment and Asher did a roundhouse kick at Elena''s jaw. Blood was dripping from Elena''s nose, she was breathing heavily while standing up, struggling to move her hands to block the next attacks. Looking like this, everybody knew that Asher had won the mock battle. Many young people cheered for him, but some fans of Elena stayed quiet. "Let me educate you on what happens when you run your mouth too much," Asher''s voice shocked Louis, Kevin, and Eva, who were shocked as well. They were shocked to see Elena lose this badly. Asher did not care about whether the quest waspleted or not, and at this moment, he only wanted to take care of the person standing in front of him more cruelly. Asher dashed, seeing which, Elena immediately panicked and closed her eyes and put her guard up. Asher did not care about her defense, he now channeled mana into his feet and punched and connected a kick to her face at the same time. The training armor could only negate so much damage, but Asher''s aggressive attacks did not give enough time for Elena to recover her stance. "Wait, why is he not stopping the duel?" One of the kids who admired Elena asked his friends hurriedly. "Yeah, didn''t he already win this mock battle?" Many people were confused as to why Stephen was not stopping the battle. "Amelia, can you stop this duel? It''s clear that Elena has lost already," Eva worriedly asked Amelia. "Sorry, stopping this duel is not in my hands anymore," Amelia told them as she gestured towards her parents who were indifferently watching the fight. "But can''t you at least try?" Kevin shamelessly asked her, as he couldn''t bear to watch Elena getting beaten up anymore. "What? Why would she help you now when Elena herself didn''t stop it when she tried to stop the duel from happening?" Damian was shocked by Asher''s power, but Kevin''s request made him snap out of it. "You-" Kevin was about to say something but, "He is right. It was you guys who started this, and now only my parents can stop my brother. Other than them, I doubt he would listen to anyone else," Amelia didn''t want to argue anymore. Seeing this, Eva and Kevin could only step back and hope that Asher wouldn''t trample on Elena''s pride anymore. But their belief that this was a friendly mock battle with only their pride on the line was shattered soon. Elena''s breathing was rough, and her face was ragged with blood smeared all over her mouth. Asher had been targeting her shoulders after messing up her face. Only a minute had passed, and everyone present was silent. Asher got close to Elena, who could not hold her right hand up anymore. Asher''s attack had made her right hand limp. He struck his elbow on her chin and immediately twisted his body,nding a kick on her face, making Elena''s whole body twist in the air, and she fell to the ground on her face. Asher stomped his leg on her face, and before he could attack her face again, "STOP THIS INSTANT!" Louis Rothschild red all his Rank S pressure, seeing Asher''s true motive. He immediately targeted Asher, not even caring about the other low-rank people around him. Eva and Kevin also signaled their guards to go and intervene right now. Many high-rank guards red their mana and were ready to fight if the Greville tried to stop them. "DON''T YOU DARE-" Louis was shouting in anger when suddenly, BAM An immense flood of pressure flooded the whole vi. Nobody could move except the Greville Family and their servants, who somehow were fine. Louis and the other bodyguards fell to their knees, blood came out of their mouths. Then suddenly, a voice could be heard, "It seems that the Greville are not feared anymore?" Nathan appeared, and Louis looked up barely and saw who it was. What he saw made his face pale. Nathan, seeing everything had calmed down, took his pressure back. His pressure was like a flooding through, eradicating everything in its path. "Nathaniel Von Greville?!?" One of the guests who was aware of the faces of important people shouted, seeing the appearance of Nathan. "We greet the Seat Holder of Greville" Several voices were heard together. Seat Holder was a special position. Nathan should have been the family head, but for some reason, Arthur was called the Family head. Why was that? It was because Nathaniel Von Greville was someone who represented the Greville in the High Council. Every person who was given the opportunity to be a part of the High Council was called a Seat Holder. Seat Holder was a title of utmost authority, and because of being a Seat Holder, Nathan passed the family head title to Arthur. "coughcough* I-I greet the seat the Seat Holder of the Greville?" Louis felt weak under the gaze of Nathan. Rank SSS was not something anybody just by efforts and time could reach. People were born to be Rank SSS. Some people still tried to break the barriers of SS Rank despite that being their potential, but the wall they met was not something they could conquer. Kevin and Eva were seeing Nathan for the first time, although they knew who he was, but seeing him up close, they felt fear for the first time in their life. All their life being protected by their families made them forget that this was a strong eat the weak type world. "It seems that the people have forgotten what we Greville are famous for?" Nathanughed and looked at Arthur, who smirked in response. "Rothschild, was it? Even your Seat Holder doesn''t dare fight me. Why are you, despite being a weakling, making so much noise in my house?" Nathan''s voice was like that of an emperor. His title of the Swordgod was given to him by his peers, SSS-rank hunters, not the masses. They knew what a monster Nathan was and nobody provoked him for one reason. The Greville family, although they may have seemed like a good family who cared for each other and treated their servants fairly, even going as far as to provide their family protection in their huge estate, in reality, they were the most feared family out of all the Elite families. Although after Ivar''s heroic death and all these years of no one provoking the Greville family, people had forgotten their past, the path they had made out of the blood of their enemies. Bam Everybody turned to see who was stupid enough to cause trouble now, and they saw Asher who had just kicked Elena and made her back hit the barrier field of the duel space. Elena, who barely got up and had her hair in front of her face which was covered with her own blood, could only lift her left hand barely. Seeing Asher approaching her awakened her survival instinct. She broke the rules of the duel and used a low-tiered fire spell. "F-Fireball," Elena muttered barely, and a ball materialized in front of her and shot forward at Asher. People subconsciously thought that the Greville family would stop the duel now, but nobody moved, nobody interfered with the duel. Even Sylvie didn''t move to help Asher. Damian was worried about his friend, but the barrier would not allow him to step in and help Asher. Eva and Kevin were still in fear of Nathan, so they did not speak, but they were d Elena broke the rule. Asher easily dodged the spell that came his way and slowly walked as he dodged the barrage of fireballsing towards him. "Stop! Don''te near me!" Elena''s previous princess attitude was now gone. The only thing she felt towards Asher was fear. She was almost out of mana now and, seeing the opportunity, Asher immediately closed the distance between them. He grabbed Elena''s neck and lifted her up. Elena struggled as she tried to remove his grip from her neck. She could only use her left hand and tried to use her legs, but everything was useless. His grip was not budging, and this made Louis''s face even paler. "Please stop this duel," Louis shamefully held his head down and asked Asher directly. Looking at Louis, Asher dropped Elena''s half-unconscious body to the side and turned towards him and said, "As I have said before, I don''t like people who use their mouth too much." His cold gaze and indifferent voice chilled the spine of many people. Chapter 39 Intoducing The Twins ?Louis was burning with anger. All he wanted to do at that moment was kill Asher. Not only had he been unable to protect his niece, a 14-year-old girl, but Asher had humiliated him in front of so many people. Louis, known as a troublemaker of the Rothschild family and nicknamed the "Untamed Beast," was now on his knees. "Get out of here," Asher said coldly to Louis. Louis was biting his teeth and controlling himself from attacking Asher. He knew that if he tried to harm Asher, Nathan would likely injure him, or worse, kill him. "Let''s just leave," Eva said, barely maintaining herposure despite the chaotic situation. "We cannot leave like this. Look at Elena. We have to-" Kevin began to speak, but "KEVIN, LET''S JUST LEAVE!" Eva shouted at him, making him shut his mouth. It was the first time she had ever yelled at him like that. "Guards, attend to Elena and heal any major injuries," Eva immediately signaled to her own guards, as everyone from the Rothschild family, including Louis, was unable to move under Nathan''s pressure. Amelia could not bear to look at Elena''s condition and decided to avert her eyes when Asher began attacking her. But the twins, Livia and Lucas, were fine. Even the adults at the party were shocked by Asher''s cruelty, despite his young age. However, Livia and Lucas remained calm and watched the duel without looking away, unlike Amelia. Lucas was used to seeing peoplemit murders and had even been badly beaten himself. Livia knew how many times he had returned to their small home with wounds all over his body. She would try to help Lucas by attending to his wounds, which was the only thing she could do before bing bedridden due to her illness. Their rough life had changed their outlook on life. At that moment, they seemed more fitting for the name Greville, iparison to Amelia. Asher looked at Eva''s guards attending to the unconscious Elena. He removed his blood-stained gloves and threw them on the ground. He indifferently moved towards his family. "Stephen, make sure our guests can find the right exit for them," Arthur stood up and spoke. Seeing his son stand up, Nathan immediately released the pressure, and everyone could finally breathe properly. The young boys who had admired Elena had been thinking of avenging her when Asher first punched her, but after seeing the whole thing y out, nobody was thinking of challenging Asher next. Kevin, who had wanted to challenge Asher, was stopped by Eva. Although he wanted to argue, he thought about his family and their reputation and decided not to challenge Asher yet. "We have an announcement to make, so everybody please move on to the hall area," Arthur spoke and addressed the guests. "Say my best regards to your families," Arthur spoke before leaving with Asher and the rest. "We will," Eva spoke as she watched Louis, who was freed now, move out with female guards carrying Elena carefully. Kevin also followed behind him, leaving Eva alone there. "As for the rest of the guests, the night is still young, so you guys should enjoy," Nathanughed and disappeared from the ce, going back to his own private room. The party kept going on, but Eva, Kevin, and Louis had already left. The media outside was not present there, so nobody captured the image of the injured Elena, but this news would be out for the world soon. This would surely be a shock for many people. Asher went to his changing room to change his suit, which had Elena''s blood on it. He was already feeling less burdened mentally. He was actually d he had gone hunting before the party, as it helped him control his bloodlust greatly today. He was sure that if he had fought Elena normally, she would have died there for sure. *Ding* ----------------------------------------------- Objective : Make enemies with three elite families or hurt Elena Rothschild. Reward : 2000 Fate points Time Limit : 1 Week ----------------------------------------------- Asher looked at his questpletion notification and changed into a new suit. He arrived in the hall, where the performances of various artists could be seen, but the mood of the party was somber. All those in attendance knew that a feud would be brewing between two elite families. Although Greville did not care about facing retaliation from their enemies, Rothschild also had a Seat Holder of their own. Asher entered the hall and caught the attention of everyone present. Arthur, who had been talking with Sylvie and Damian, greeted him. "Everyone, I am d you took the time to attend our party and I hope you have enjoyed it so far," Arthur said with a smile on his face, though his inner battle freak was proud of his son, he would not show it to Asher to maintain his stoic image. His words caused many guests to cough as they were sipping their drinks. This party was probably the most chaotic one they had attended in their lives. Injuring a person from an Elite Family badly and carrying on like nothing had happened was something only the Greville could do. Many enemies who were waiting for their chance to attack the Greville would definitely take the chance to ally with the Rothschild now that they would be in bad terms with the Greville very soon. "Although the mood has soured a bit, I have an important announcement to make," Arthur said as Stephen allowed some of the reporters who belonged to famous media channels into the hall. These people had been told to rest in the room they were given until they were called in, so they missed the chance to take proof of Elena''s condition. Although they were happy to be given the chance to even record this much, some of the reporters were surprised at the management of the party but they did not turn their cameras away from Arthur. "We will now announce my son Asher as the official heir of the Greville family from this day onwards," Arthur said and many people pped in response. All of them knew Asher would probably be the heir now that he was also an awakened person, which denied the advantage Amelia had over him. Asher nodded his head, his official heir ceremony would happen at the age of 18 when he would be an adult. This was an announcement that confirmed that Asher now represented his entire family in every step he took. "But we have one more piece of news," Arthur continued. "As you all know, my little brother, the one hailed as a hero by the whole world, Ivar Von Greville died young without any sessors," Arthur''s words made many people remember the name of the deceased family member of the Greville family. Ivar''s name was famous in the whole world, and even the young people knew who he was, as his tale was told in many academies to inspire young people. Lucas and Livia felt a strange emotion in their hearts that made them happy but was bitter for them at the same time. Even though they had never met their father, both of them held love in their hearts for their parents. Their mother had made sure that they knew what kind of man their father was, so growing up they did not grow to hate their own father. "Recently we discovered that Ivar did have children, and they were recently found by us," Arthur said, gesturing for the twins toe forward. Lucas and Livia arrived in front of Arthur and removed their ck sses, revealing their crimson red eyes. "What? The famous Ivar Greville had kids?" "I knew something was fishy about those two." "But who is their mother?" People were chatting, but Arthur''s voice stopped their discussion, "These two are the daughter and son of my brother Ivar and now they will officially be a part of the Greville family," Arthur gestured for Sylvie to continue. "Unfortunately, the mother of these two beautiful children is not alive anymore, and to respect her, we will not disclose her information to the public until the twins reach adulthood," Sylvie''s statement ensured that the twins would have enough time to be strong enough to handle any negative reactions to their mother''s identity as amoner. "So, can both of you introduce yourselves to all of our guests?" Sylvie smiled at the twins while patting their heads. "Hello, my name is Livia Von Greville, and it''s nice to meet you all," Livia said cutely, causing some women in the crowd to cheer. "My name is Lucas Von Greville, and I am her twin brother," Lucas kept his introduction short. "From now on, our Greville family has two sons and two daughters," Arthur''s authoritative voice made it clear that the twins were fully supported by the Greville family. Many people, including Edward Amaris, came up to congratte and greet the twins. Livia cheerfully replied to everyone, but Lucas, who had been influenced by Asher''s behavior, kept his interactions short with others. "If I had known about it in advance, I would have brought some gifts for you kids as well," Edward said while warmly greeting the two children. The party suddenly gained it''s energy and this made people forget about the duel that happen just now. Seeing everyone done with their greetings, Arthur reminded Sylvie about something causing her to gather the attention of everyone present her. "We have prepared a small wee gift for these adorable cuties," Sylvie said while signaling Stephen. Her statement made others curious, and the reporters, who were bbergasted by the twins'' identities, waited to find out what the gift was. Chapter 40 Ceremony For The Twins ?Everyone present at the party was baffled by all the events that had happened until now. As all the invited guests were from a rich background, they knew that if their reaction to the twins were considered disrespectful by the Grevilles, their future would be rough. Although the Grevilles could not control how the whole world would react to the twins, they were powerful enough to make sure no one influential messed with them. Nathan came into the main hall with some of the big names of Somaria. Many people were surprised to see the old men who ran major industries in Somaria walking behind Nathan. They may not have looked as young as Nathan, but the power they held made many people respect them. "It seems all the big shots are present except for the seat holders'' families," one of the guests quietly talked among his group. The main hall was quite big as multiple events were going on. "Everybody, meet my grandchildren. You have already met Asher and Amelia, but let me introduce them to you," Nathan''s voice carried his pride as he introduced them. As a father, he was naturally sad when Ivar died and his death made him spend most of his time exploring and clearing dungeons to soothe his frustration. Ivar''s death made him realize many of his regrets and mistakes, and he was going to make sure none of his grandchildren, including the twins, went through them. "This young boy is Lucas and this little cute girl is named Livia," Nathan said as the twins cutely shook hands with the group Nathan arrived with. "These two carry the same eyes as Ivar did when he was young," one of the old fellowsughed as he met the twins, who were happy listening to it. "Don''t they? My brother always had that kind of gaze," Arthur also mingled with them as he also knew most of them. "Arthur, we should start the ceremony now," Sylvie interrupted the group before their talks took off to no return. "Oh, I apologize. We should start," Arthur meekly said to Sylvie. The group of old men chuckled seeing him. "Even the sword prodigy is afraid of his wife, it seems?" the old man whomented on the twin''s eyes said again. Listening to him, Arthur just shrugged his shoulders. Sylvie arrived at the center with a drink in her hand. Seeing her, all the guests who were busy talking or enjoying the events stopped and looked at her. "As you all know, they have missed our blood ceremony that happens when a Greville turns 5 years old," Sylvie said. The blood ceremony, unlike its name, was just a normal ceremony where a crown or tiara was presented on their fifth birthday. Lucas and Livia''s birthday had already passed, so they needed to do this ceremony on Asher''s birthday party. "Although unfortunately Ivar and their mother are not here with us to present it to them, but we have decided that my father will do their crowning ceremony representing my brother," Arthur stepped beside Sylvie as he looked at Emmy who was carrying two covered items on red cushion tes. Sylvie uncovered the items in Emmy''s hand revealing the beautiful pair of a crown and a tiara. The crown had a river blue gemstone embedded in it, and the tiara had ava red gemstone embedded in it. The crown and tiara were made from tinum and had several beautiful engravings on it. Some of the engravings were runes, and small mana stones of simr color were ced on them as well. "Wow, they look so beautiful!" the girl in the hall said, her eyes shining as she looked at them. "Aren''t those gemstones and engravings the trademark of the Levoure family?" one of the women among the guests spoke. "I remember seeing the catalog of the Levoure family, but these gems are not even avable for sale," another woman replied. "Wow, as expected from the Greville family. Even the Levoure family gave them their exclusive gems." People were talking a lot about this because they knew that only a select few could actually buy from the Levoure family. For other rich people, they would go to their different branchpanies, which were also quite famous. The young people also got excited listening to their talks as they also knew about the famous Levoure family. Nathan and the twins arrived at the stage, many cameras were pointed at them, recording the whole ceremony. Arthur and Sylvie stood behind Nathan, holding a crown and tiara in their hands, respectively. Asher was sitting with Damian and Amelia at their own table. "Damn, Ash, how much did those two gems cost you?" Damian said, looking at him. "Around 3 Billion AUR," Asher told him. "What?" Damian looked at Amelia, who confirmed it. "How many cars could we have bought with that? I bet even Lucas would have liked a car more than a crown..." Damian looked sad. "This is a tradition, and we can buy him any car he wants. And don''t forget Livia. She looked so happy when I chose the design for her," Amelia said, looking a bit angry as she argued with Damian, who quickly agreed with her to avoid any arguments. "Even though Ivar is not in this world anymore, but his actions saved many," Nathan started speaking, which stopped Amelia, as everybody looked in his direction. "We may have found you a bitte, but here in the presence of all these people, I can say nobody in this world can look down on you. These crowns not only symbolize your status but your pride as a Greville as well." Nathan stopped as he took the crown and tiara and ced them on their heads. Lucas and Livia looked at Nathan as he stopped and saw many people pping for them. Although they were not used to the crowd and standing on stage, they did not let their nervousness show on their faces. Many old men, and Edward, who was also interacting with them, also pped. Asher, Amelia and Damian also stood up to congratte the twins, and the party went on. Meanwhile, in a mansion somewhere in Somaria, In a room that had bookshelves filled with different books, which looked like an office room, as many documents and papers could be seen on the table. An old-looking man, who seemed to be in his 60s, was reading a book. *Knock* *Knock* "Come in," the man said as a person wearing a butler uniform came in. His voice was authoritative, which depicted he was no simple man. "We have received news regarding Young Master Asher," the butler said respectfully to the man. This man was none other than Alfred Raven, the father of Sylvie and the Seat Holder who represented the Raven family in the High Council. Although Raven''s strength was a bit on the weaker side, the amount of information they held, due to their information guild, led to them having a seat in the High Council and earned them the respect and fear of many other families. Just like Sylvie, he had ck hair and ck eyes, but his presence was like that of a wise emperor, unlike Nathan who gave off the aura of a tyrant. He was a peak SS-Rank hunter. "Oh? Now what did my grandchild do that made youe sote and disturb my reading time?" The old man looked up at his butler as he put his book down. "Young Master Asher had a sh with Elena Rothschild and her friends, Eva Williams and Kevin Whiteheart. He had a duel with Elena Rothschild in which she was injured badly. Sir Nathan stopped Louis Rothschild a bit harshly when he tried to attack the Young Master who was beating his niece," the butler did not sugarcoat his words as he knew the man at the table did not like wasting his time on meaningless things. "Who started the fight?" He asked. "It was Elena Rothschild who wanted a mock battle, and it seems that she was confident because nobody knew of the Young Master''s awakening," his butler replied. "Then it was her fault, but just send a gift in the name of the Raven family to James Rothschild. Nathan can handle their Seat Holder. As for the Williams, they will not involve themselves in this matter, and Whiteheart are not a threat to us, so just ignore them," Alfred said as he took his book back in his hands. "Although there might be some shes as Rothschild are not weak, but James Rothschild, despite being young, has a good head on his shoulders. He will not make any wrong moves because of his stupid daughter," he stopped but then remembered something. "And don''t tell Sylvie''s mother about this for now. She is just like Sylvie, if she heard that Asher got hurt in any way, many headaches woulde my way," he told his butler. "But Master, she is the Family head, and I need-" The butler''s nervous voice was stopped by Alfred. "Oh, I am not telling you not to tell her, but tell her ter.'' I will make sure she doesn''t kill you, so don''t worry," Alfred smiled at his butler, who was already crying in his mind. "Have a peaceful night, Master," the butler bowed and left the room. "It seems that the next time I meet that kid, I need to teach him not to learn things from his musclehead Grandfather and be more like me," Alfred continued reading his book. Chapter 41 Deciding His Training ?Eva and Kevin were sitting in the car on their way back home, without Elena who was with Louis, who had taken her to their mansion to heal her injuries. Their personal teams of healers were enough to treat Elena''s injuries, as she had no internal injuries. Her broken bones could be fixed within a few days using potions. There were potions that could fix internal injuries quickly, but to withstand the mana in them, you needed to be of a higher rank. "Why did you stop me? I could have avenged Elena right there!" Kevin, who had been silent for a while, spoke up after a long time. Eva looked at him and sighed. "She can get away with it because the Rothschilds have a simr status to the Grevilles, but do you want to drag your family into this mess because of this?" Her answer made Kevin realize her point. "Kevin, I am also quite angry right now, but we can have our chance when the World Academy starts." She continued, "Elena only lost because we didn''t know that damn bastard was already an awakened person." Eva gritted her teeth. Kevin was surprised, as Eva usually never used such words, as she was always calm despite the situation. But it seemed like seeing her friend like that had made her quite angry. "Don''t worry, even if Amelia tries to stop me, I will avenge Elena at the World Academy," Kevin spoke. "Yeah, my family would also not interfere in this matter when we enter there." Eva said, as the World Academy was a gathering of talents and duels weremon there. The mood was a bit heavy, so they didn''t speak much during the ride. Louis, who was sitting on a chair beside Elena, who was sleeping on the bed, looked at her and clenched his hands so much that blood started dripping from them. "Damn, why did I agree to her n? If only I had stopped her..." He saw the maids enter to take care of Elena, so he stopped talking and stood up and left the room. He arrived in his bedroom and walked around from one end to another. His emotions were out of control as he felt his ego taking over his rationality at this moment. "How will I exin all this to James? F***!!" He threw a vase at the wall angrily. His mind was not working properly, as anger clouded his judgement. He took his phone and sent a text, [Contract for Assassination, Target: Asher Greville, Price: Doesn''t matter] ********************************* In an underground building in some unknown continent, a person received a text on his system and opened it, as it was from a VIP member. "Contract for Assassination... Hmmm, I should just send it to the boss directly," The man forwarded the message to his boss, seeing the message was from a VIP. In a gym-like room, a shirtless man with a spider tattoo on his back was practicing his reflexes against a training golem, but he stopped as he saw a text on his phone. He took his towel to wipe his sweat and picked up his phone to check it out. "Contract from a VIP, sounds like some money." Heughed and started to check the description of the job. "Target: Asher Greville.....Greville.......Greville hmmm.. WHAT THE F***?" "Who is this retard that posted this job to us?" He couldn''t know the name of the person who posted this job, as the client''s identity remained hidden for such shady organizations. He dialed a number and spoke, "Whoever sent this contract, reject it and block him. That bastard is trying to get us all killed." He shouted at his underling, who didn''t know what had gone so wrong for his boss to react so much. "Okay Boss" He immediately sent the message back to the client. ******************************* Louis, who received a text, looked at his phone. [Contract Rejected and you have been blocked] Seeing the text, Louis'' anger once again rose up as he threw his phone at the wall, breaking his phone and making a hole in the wall at the same time. Listening to themotions, some of the guards came in, but Louis, who was annoyed, just sent them back angrily. "I will return this humiliation back," Louis said as he remembered the indifferent face of Asher telling him to get out. It waste in the morning and everyone had gone back. The twins had gone back to sleep and Damian also left after chatting with Amelia and Asher a bit. Asher was in the living room sitting across the rest of his family. "Now brat, tell me how did you be even more of a battle freak than your father?" Nathan spoke. "Watch your words, old man, or next time my sword might just break those old bones of yours!" Arthur immediately spoke to defend himself. "Can we not do this?" Amelia, who was clearly tired from all this, voiced her opinion. "Yeah, but I need to say this now. Amelia, you should stay away from those kids. Seeing that they don''t even know how to respect others while attending their events shows their future a lot." Sylvie told Amelia. "But they were not like this when I met them 6 months ago back in Desmar," Amelia tried to defend them a bit. "And Asher, be a bit more moderate at the World Academy. Evem we cannot interfere with their rules," Sylvie advised him, to which Asher just nodded. "So when do we start their training?" Arthur questioned Nathan. "Let the kids rest today. Me and this brat can start tomorrow," Nathan replied. They talked some more, most of the time it was just Nathan and Arthur giving each other cheapebacks. Amelia didn''t bother stopping them anymore, as she felt this would drain more of her energy. Asher got up and decided to leave the room, but he stopped as he heard Sylvie, "Asher, you didn''t tell us who sent you that painting?" Sylvie remembered and decided to ask him. "Nothing, just a painter I came across on my Picstagram profile," Asher smiled and walked back to his room. There was a good 10 seconds of silence in the living room. "H-H-H-He smiled?" Amelia had her mouth opened as she pointed at the staircase. "Did you guys see what I saw?" Nathan was stupendously looking at Arthur and Sylvie. "He smiled for the second time now," Sylvie spoke as she was more happy than surprised then her first time. For her, it seemed that her son was finally opening his locked heart. "SECOND TIME!!?" Amelia shocked turned her head towards Sylvie. "But who was that gift from to bring out this side of him?" Arthur was curious as he thought about it. "I don''t think he would tell us, so let''s respect his wishes for now," Sylvie warned Arthur as she knew him best. Nathan was silent as he thought about many things and decided to leave the room, "I will go back to my room for now," he immediately disappeared from the room, leaving the three baffled people behind. As he arrived in his personal chambers, he sat down on his seat and closed his eyes for a while before opening them again. "He is showing emotions now, so should I teach him my own arts or not?" Nathan pondered this. He was not sure whether to teach Asher the Greville family art or the style which gained him the title of the sword god. Although Nathan, being a greatsword user, could not actually fully teach Asher his swordmanship, but the basics were the same. The only issue was Nathan being worried about Asher''s nature. Nathan always felt that Asher didn''t feel attached to anything, which made him skeptical about teaching such deadly arts to him. Although he was famous for cruelty towards his enemies and his deadly sword arts, he never let his bloodlust cloud his emotions. But seeing Asher gave him some doubts. But hisst smile unknowingly helped Nathan arrive at his conclusion. Even his movements today were the best implementations of what he watched and learned in his training when he was young. But in reality, that was not the full potential of Asher. He was skilled in attacking people with the intention of killing them in his mind, so he was holding back a lot to not target Elena''s vital points intentionally while fighting. Asher, who had just arrived in his room, walked up to the painting and looked at it for a minute before changing into more casual clothes. Unlike other members of his family, Asher disliked having maidse into his room for small tasks, so he restricted ess to his room unless it was important or he had called for someone. He enjoyed his alone time, as it allowed him to think things through. He stared at the painting for a long time and finally spoke, "Should I just interfere with everything?" Asher immediately dismissed the thought. Although he liked to get things done quickly, he knew that what he felt about the future might not be the same for others. "Let''s wait until the academy to start my n," he said as he took his phone and sent a message of thanks to the person who painted this picture. His face appeared calm, but it was not indifferent. Although slightly, his chaotic thoughts and raging bloodlust were calmer for now. It was still afternoon and he didn''t want to waste his time, so he decided to go do his daily training. Chapter 42 Start Of The Training ?It was early in the morning and Asher, who had just arrived at the training ground, spotted the twins who were also waiting for Nathan to arrive. The training ground was a huge room covered in white tiles and with a transparent rooftop. Nathan arrived shortly after. He was wearing a white shirt and pants which did not hide hisrge muscles. His sharp red eyes and his height of 6ft8 made him very imposing to anyone who saw him. Amelia, who was a mage, did not attend this session as she would not be learning sword art. The twins were going to learn basic martial arts and breathing techniques that would help them when they went through their awakening. So only Asher would learn from Nathan for the two weeks and the twins would onlye for Nathan to correct their mistakes. "Brats, get ready because my training is not soft at all," Nathanughed as he channeled his mana to make a barrier that prevented anyone from noticing what was happening inside it. This was his extra measure for safety because he was going to teach them the method that had been passed down through the Greville family for generations. The method Nathan was going to teach the twins helped mages, but it helped sword users the most. Only after their awakening would their path be decided. If a person had arger mana pool and fewer mana veins, they would choose the path of a mage. If a person had more mana veins and less mana pool, they would train their body more to increase their weapon mastery. Although several other reasons also made people choose many different paths. Seeing that the twins were excited about their first ss, Nathan looked at them and said, "This edgy brother of yours will demonstrate the basic martial art technique for you two." Nathan jokingly said, he turned and looked at Asher. The twin looked towards Asher, Lucas was the most excited to learn from Asher as he already took him as his role model. "Okay," Asher did not reject his demands and started doing various moves. He started with the basic posture and slowly moved his legs and hands. The coordination and form were truly enchanting. The twins watched him, impressed by his beautiful demonstration. Even Nathan was praising Asher in his mind. ''This brat learned this in a day, I wonder how much time will these two take?'' Nathan pondered. "Right, so you watched it, now try to move as he did," Nathan spoke as Asher stopped. "What?" The twins looked at each other and then looked back at Nathan. They only watched it once and half of the time they were busy admiring Asher so they missed what he was doing. "Yeah, you heard it right," Nathan''s aura was domineering, so the twins quietly started doing as he asked them to. Lucas and Livia tried to copy what they remembered from seeing Asher, but unlike Asher, they looked so bad that Nathan had to stop them and tell them to start again. "No, stretch your leg more. Don''t break your posture, maintain your breathing. Feel your body more and stop relying on your eyes for everything," Nathan kept correcting them many times before they got their posture and form right. He told them to keep practicing until they werefortable in that form before moving on to the next steps. "Now let''s start with you," Nathan grinned as he looked at Asher. "Do you want to spar with me first so that I can see your weak points?" Nathan asked Asher. "I have no issues," he replied with an indifferent face. "Tsk, let''s see how long you can remain this calm in front of me!" Nathan said as he picked up a wooden sword, which was not his main weapon, a greatsword. "Now pick a sword," Asher did not pick a real sword like Nathan, he also picked a wooden sword. He swung it around to get the feel of its weight and took a stance toward Nathan. "So you want me to attack first? That''s quite cheeky of you, brat, but I don''t mind," Nathan said as he prepared to hold back during the duel. He knew that even his normal strike could take Asher''s life, so he was careful as he charged toward him. Nathan kept one hand behind his back and only attacked with the sword in his right hand. Asher carefully dodged Nathan''s strikes by backstepping. He knew that blocking the attack would be pointless, so he decided to dodge it until he couldn''t. ''Let''s see what you are hiding'' Nathan was determined to clear his doubts regarding Asher. Asher stopped after going back six steps and quickly backtracked to his right and immediately attacked Nathan, who moved his sword in an unorthodox manner and sessfully canceled Asher''s strike. "Hmm, what was that?" Asher thought as he calmly watched Nathan''s move. Even he couldn''t see through Nathan''s strike. Nathan had canceled his momentum before moving his sword at an awkward angle, but the momentum was still there. Nathan started attacking Asher more vigorously. He wasn''t going easy on him at all. It seemed he was trying to confirm something with the way he was attacking. Asher knew what Nathan wanted to see, but he wouldn''t show it to him so soon. *sh**sh**sh**thud* Asher dodged three of Nathan''s strikes, but thest one was not dodgeable, so he decided to counter it. The sword''s force pushed him back and broke his stance. "What happened? Is this all you have?" Nathan mocked him as he kept striking him. He decreased the force behind his attacks so Asher could counter them. Asher was keeping his killing intent locked in, but Nathan''s ruthless attacks were not helping him at all. It was enough time for him to show what Nathan wanted to see. He knew that Nathan was suspicious of him and wouldn''t let him leave until he got what he wanted. "If you want to see it that much, I will show you," Asher thought as he immediately took a big leap away from Nathan. He channeled his mana into his legs and pushed himself away from Nathan, who stopped to see what Asher would do next. A small notification popped up in front of him and disappeared quickly. Asher stopped and let his hands go, breaking his previous stance and changing the way he was breathing. His eyes were now sharp, and his hand kept the sword pointed toward the ground. He started walking towards Nathan, who was waiting to see Asher''s next move. Asher immediately charged towards Nathan at a high speed, but Nathan''s eyes could see his slow movements easily. At the exact moment Asher''s sword was about to touch Nathan''s sword, he immediately shifted his weight and used his left leg to turn and attack Nathan from the left side. His attack was immediately followed by various side steps and relentless attacks on Nathan''s vitals. Nathan could see the movement of Asher, but he couldn''t predict it. Although his sword arts were better than Asher''s, he could counter it. He noticed that Asher''s attack not only forced him to counter it, as he always aimed for his vitals, but his grip was getting pressured. Although this small pressure could not affect Nathan, he suddenly stopped and looked at Asher, who stopped as well. "Where did you learn this sword art?" Nathan eyes turned serious as he used his pressure on Asher so he couldn''t lie. "I created it," Asher looked Nathan in the eye, and his indifferent attitude did not change. Although his breathing was fast from the duel earlier, he was fine. "How? Don''t lie to me. This sword art cannot be created by a mere 14-year-old who hasn''t even held a sword for more than a month in his life." Nathan stood near Asher and looked down, his red eyes meeting Asher''s. The atmosphere grew so cold that the twins, who were far away from the two of them, felt scared. Asher didn''t budge, as he hadn''t lied about it. Although he didn''t show it fully, this art was indeed created by him. "If you don''t want to believe me then don''t. I have nothing to prove to anyone," Asher said as he turned to leave the training grounds. "Did he really create it himself?" Nathan muttered to himself. He was sure nobody could learn this much from one month of sword practice, but he then remembered that Asher had broken even his record of awakening. "Maybe he really did it," Nathan thought. "Wait, brat. Although I still doubt it but If you have created that art of yours, you might be more suitable for the title of the Sword God," Nathan admitted that Asher might one day surpass him. Asher turned and looked at Nathan. "Although your sword seems to target a human rather than a monster," Nathan knew from the moment he countered Asher''s art. "Don''t know. Never seen somebody fight a monster. Maybe that''s why," Asher lied to Nathan, but his expressionless face couldn''t give him away. After all, he couldn''t say the truth, that he had killed more humans than beasts in his previous life. "Although your sword art is good, it''s stillcking. Maybe you can find some inspiration from my sword art," Nathan said while thinking, and continued, "Brat, if you want to learn my sword, I will teach you, but remember the training I will put you through will make every fiber of your being scream to quit. Can you handle it?" Nathan knew what his sword art could do, so he decided to warn Asher. "Don''t underestimate me too much," Asher said, as he looked at Nathan. His cold gaze met Nathan, whoughed, seeing the unwavering attitude of Asher. "Mind you, young boy, but even both your father and yourte uncle failed to learn it from me," Nathan told him. "But seeing you, I feel like you can inherit my sword, and maybe you could even improve it further," Nathan told him. Chapter 43 Sword God Training ?Seeing that Asher was determined enough to learn from him, Nathan told the twins to leave for the day. He also told them that he would lecture them on another training ground within the estate. His sword art required a strong body and mental fortitude, and the way he would train Asher would definitely harm the unawakened twins if they stayed in the vicinity. "I will train you for a week straight without stopping. Here, take this," Nathan threw a bracelet towards Asher. "This has everything you will eat during the training. You will get no sleep and only this much food and water." Nathan made the barrier around the training ground stronger. "So, what do I need to do?" Asher asked Nathan. "First, I need to push you to your body''s limits before we start anything," Nathan said as he increased the pressure on Asher. He limited the pressure so Asher could still move but doing mutiple things at the same time was a difficult task. "Whooooo! I''m ready!" Asher took a deep breath and adjusted to the pressure. They began the duel again, but this time Asher didn''t start with basic swordmanship. Instead, he used his own sword art on Nathan. Asher kept dodging Nathan''s strikes and tried to attack his vitals. Although Nathan could easily throw him, he still showed some openings intentionally for Asher to try to exploit. "Keep your mind sharp. Don''t lose focus!" Nathan increased his speed a bit. *ng* *ng* Asher kept getting pushed back and Nathan struck the sword from above, forcing Asher to block the strike. But the moment Asher blocked it, Nathan kicked him in the gut, making him fly towards the barrier''s boundary. The force behind Nathan''s attack was greater than what Asher could handle for now. *cough**cough* Asher was on the ground coughing, but he got up and took his stance. Nathan kept attacking and made Asher fall to the ground again and again. Nathan smiled, seeing Asher stand up despite being thrown around multiple times. Their duelsted for an hour. Blood was dripping from Asher''s face and he had multiple small wounds on his body. Despite being a wooden sword, Nathan''s attack was sharp. Asher was not holding back anymore, but his Rank C sword art could not handle the sword god. He was still only an early F Rank, so there were limited things he could do. "Try harder, brat. If you give up now, you''ll never learn this in your life," Nathan said as he waited for Asher to get up again. "I-I''m ready!" Asher had a calm expression but his mouth was full of blood. His arms were tired from blocking multiple attacks, making his reaction sluggish. Nathan kept attacking Asher''s blind spots to measure his reactions. Nathan was surprised to see that Asher, despite his state, could still react well enough. The floor around Asher was covered with his sweat and blood. Although this much amount of bleeding would not harm Asher much, but he would still feel weak losing so much blood during the fight. "It''s enough for now. Sit down here with your legs crossed," Nathan stopped. "Close your eyes and let me widen your mana veins with my mana. It will be painful, but don''t lose focus of where my mana is going or all this will be useless," Nathan instructed strictly. Asher sat down and closed his eyes, removing his shirt. He felt Nathan''s boiling mana flood into his body. The moment Nathan channeled his mana into Asher''s mana veins, Asher felt a huge amount of pain. But this amount of pain was bearable for him. "This? His mana veins are already widened!!," Nathan was surprised by Asher''s body. He didn''t know that Asher''s new bloodline had already recreated his mana veins to support his new abilities. Asher was capable of being both a mage and swordsman, and his huge mana pool and dense mana veins would not hinder his progress in either path. Nathan''s mana was flowing through Asher''s body, unlocking some of his blocked veins. His mana was forcibly opening the blockages, a process so dangerous that only Nathan, with the help of his bloodline''s ability to control mana, could perform it. Thin threads of mana could be seen throughout Asher''s body if someone looked through his skin. Asher''s body was releasing blood from his pores. This was different from awakening, as Nathan was disrupting the natural path of Asher''s mana cirction and creating new paths by forcibly opening the blocked veins. Many notifications popped up, but Asher carefully felt what Nathan was doing. He was sure that even his dad and Ivar could not do this. And he was right - this was only the foundation of what Nathan would make him go through before starting to teach him his sword art. After an hour, Nathan stopped and said, "Try to channel your mana the way I just showed you, but control your breathing while doing so." Nathan stepped aside as Asher, who was sitting shirtless and covered in bruises and blood, focused on channeling his mana from his mana core. He felt all the previous pain and tiredness leave his body as his stamina increased rapidly. "How?" Asher was surprised that a normal mana cirction method could achieve this. "This is not any normal cirction technique, brat. This is something only I know in this whole world, and only someone with the blood of the Greville can learn this technique without dying. Our mana-manipting bloodline abilities allow us to perform this technique without damaging our mana veins and bing cripples," Nathan exined. "But dad would have achieve this much as well," Asher knew that this was not the difficult part of the training. "You are correct. My sword art is not something you can master," Nathan knew that Asher would not be able to learn his sword art. "Though you can learn it and apply it to your own art, creating something new," Nathan, who was a greatsword user like Arthur, knew the limitations of his sword art. "What is a sword to you, boy?" Nathan asked as he looked at Asher. "A sword is a medium to reflect my inner self," Asher truthfully answered, as his sword art was an imitation of his inner madness. "Correct. A sword without intent and will is a useless piece of metal," Nathan said as he took a wooden sword and shed the air in the training ground, breaking the sword due to the sheer force of the attack. "This is what brute force will do to you, but if you reflect your own self in it, even the weakest sword could kill the mightiest," Nathan said as he took another wooden sword and shed the air again, causing a massive crack in the training ground. He waved his hands, removing the dust that rose due to his attack. "You saw it right. In our previous duel, I changed the trajectory of my sword without changing its momentum, which should have been impossible to begin with," Nathan looked at Asher, who nodded. He still couldn''tprehend how Nathan managed to do it. "Do you know the difference between a sword and a greatsword, apart from their size?" Nathan asked. "Their center of mass is different, which makes swinging each of thempletely different from one another," Asher replied. He had tried to learn the greatsword in his previous life, but eventually chose the sword because it suited him better. "That''s right. This also results in different momentum between the two weapons in each swing," Nathan added as he demonstrated his technique to Asher. He shed the sword diagonally, but at the end of the swing, his sword moved in the opposite direction without losing its original momentum. "This is the first technique of my sword, and I call it the phantom swing," Nathan told Asher, who was observing the technique, trying to understand how it worked. "Although there are other techniques, they are not suitable for you as a single-handed sword user," Nathan advised. "Do you remember the cirction technique I taught you?" Nathan asked Asher. "Try closing your eyes and sense the mana distortion in the space around you," Nathan suggested. He stepped away from Asher to give him room to sense the mana in his surroundings. "This kid, he''s a monster. He learned what took me days in just an hour," Nathan muttered to himself. Asher closed his eyes and held the sword. He tried to sense the mana particles in the space around him. He could sense millions of small globs of white particles, but the concentration required made him feel slightly dizzy. Despite feeling nauseous and his head heavy, Asher''s high intelligence stat, which was way above the average person''s, allowed him to persist for a short while. Opening his eyes he looked at Nathan and asked, "What''s next?" Chapter 44 Sword God Training - 2 ?"It seems this part of the training will be easy for you," Nathan said, not surprised, as everyone knew that Asher''s intelligence was high from a young age. "Use the cirction technique while duelling with me now," Nathan said, holding his sword towards Asher. "Okay," Asher said, taking a deep breath and focusing on controlling the flow of mana. It was a bit difficult because his Mana Flow was only rank C. Asher changed his stance, shifting his body weight to his right leg instead of his left. His crimson-red eyes were focused on his sword and Nathan. He made sure to keep his killing intent locked inside him. He would not be able to exin why his bloodlust was so high to an experienced person like Nathan. *SLASH* "Focus on your sword''s momentum, brat!" Nathan struck Asher, who tried to dodge but the wooden sword grazed him, leaving a wound due to the force behind the strike. Nathan''s control prevented the sword from breaking. "Momentum," Asher repeated Nathan''s words as he tried to understand what he meant. After three moves, Nathan allowed Asher to attack. Unlike his previous attempts, Asher changed the tempo of his sword, mixing different tempos. He was starting to grasp what Nathan was exining, but still didn''t understand how Nathan shifted the momentum without stopping it. His mind explored all the possibilities as he changed the way he swung his sword. "What your eyes may see might be an illusion, brat!" Nathan deflected his sword, pushing Asher back. "Illusion?" Asher muttered to himself, knowing Nathan wasn''t talking about illusion magic. "What if your whole strike was a feint attack?" Nathan dropped another hint. "Hmm..." Asher tried to swing his sword, trying various imitations. Even small things like this were increasing his sword expertise. Nathan was a little surprised to see Asher''s growth in such a short time. Nathan was a prodigy in sword and nobody could im the title of a Sword God instead of him. Even Asher''s talent for swords was less than Nathan but because he regressed into the past, made Nathan assume that Asher was a bit more talented than him. Even a regressor like Asher only seemed a bit more talented to Nathan when hepared him with Asher. Nathan was a true monster and this was the reason nobody in the world wanted to fight him. Although Nathan could not im the title of the strongest human alive, even the strongest would avoid him if they could. Asher''s area of expertise was hisprehension skills. He could walk the path of sword and mage at the same time, excelling in both. His talent made him unstoppable in many fights, but what was even more terrifying was his way of doing things. He used mana to dope his body beyond his limits, filling the gap between him and those far stronger. He slowly killed himself to gain power. Asher''s mental and pain tolerance was very high, and even Nathan did not expect him to remain conscious the whole time. Arthur and Ivar had lost consciousness many times during this training and unfortunately could notplete it as they were not able to handle what was about toe next. "Alright, it seems like you got the gist, but this one technique did not earn me the title of Sword God," Nathan said, demonstrating his second technique. He took a greatsword from the training grounds, which had all kinds of weapons to train with. He started swinging the greatsword, but what shocked Asher was that Nathan was cutting through space itself without using a space spell. "How? This should be impossible, your main element was wind not space!!" Asher was surprised but his calmness did not break. "Exactly but who said only space magic could cut through space itself?" Nathan questioned Asher, "What if I create a vacuum and remove the very space around my sword, what will it pass through then?" Nathan spoke. What Nathan said just now might seem easy to hear but if somebody had such mental capacity to bear such things there would be more space mages and they would not die so young due to mental exhaustion. "But doing it as a spell might be possible but adding it to your sword swing is not possible," Asher replied with what he knew from his knowledge. "In theory, if I did such swings normally within 12 such swings even my brain would explode into a paste." Nathan looked while he smiled listening to Asher''s reply. "But runes can do it." His smile grew bigger as he said those words. "But normal runes can never achieve this-, No way Ancient Runes!?" Asher''s eyes widened as he got what Nathan was implying. "Remember the secrets only we Elite Families know?" Nathan continued, "Yes, the only person with such a rune is the Principal of the World Academy, who is known for his spear arts," Asher also knew what the rune did as the disciple of this person was someone who he knew well. "Exactly, but that spear bastard is not the only one who has it. Only he was stupid enough to let the others know to open that Academy." Nathanughed. "But this rune is different from what he has, it was something my father found when he cleared an SS-Rank dungeon." Nathan removed his shirt and channeled his rune, revealing a ck dragon-like tattoo wrapping around his spine to the neck. "This is one of our biggest secret brat, and although I cannot teach my Sword art to you if you can handle this rune, you might create a sword art that is even more powerful than mine." Nathan channeled the rune and a small ckish orb appeared on his fingertips. "This orb will make you fight your inner demons for your whole life whenever you rank up and it will grow with you," Nathan exined, "But this rune is sentient and it might not ept you like it rejected Arthur and Ivar." The dark orb had some small tendrilsing out of it. "You will go into aa after you absorb it, but if you don''te out of this state even after two weeks, I will forcefully remove the rune from your body before you beatose for your entire life." Nathan continued, "The first part is a test of mental fortitude which I believe you can do but this rune will make you go through multiple mental trials. Although Arthur and Ivar failed but I did it and I believe you can also go through it," "But if you somehow were sessful to gain the rune let me warn you, every time you increase your mana core''s rank you will go through an intense illusion of your pasts but it will be fine because from a young age you don''t have many hateful memories." Nathan did not think that this small thing would be a major obstacle for Asher who had the memories of his previous life. "So what do you want to do? This is a curse and blessing at the same time and the choice is yours." Nathan looked at Asher to know his wish. ''I didn''t know there were other ancient runes but I might not get another chance like this,'' Asher thought in his mind. ''I can handle a little more madness if that''s the price to get stronger.'' His enemies were not weak and even in his previous life he was only able to kill half of them. "I will go through it." Asher agreed to assimte with the rune. "Hahahaaha spoken like a true Greville," Nathan was d. "It could have hurt my old bones to beat some courage into your mind if you have denied this," Nathan acted weak. ''Is this how the rune affects your mind?'' Asher could not help but think of it. "Clear your thoughts you ungrateful brat!" Nathan stopped his act. "Eat this pill, this will provide you with all the energy so you don''t need to consume anything for two weeks," Nathan gave him a nutritional pill and Asher immediately swallowed it. It was something that Hunters carried when they went into a dungeon. "Sit down and clear your thoughts, when I give you the rune don''t give up fighting it." Nathan instructed him as Asher sat down and closed his eyes clearing his thoughts. Nathan took the dark orb near Asher''s forehead. The dark orb got absorbed through the skin and a strange ck mark appeared on his forehead. Asher agreed when he saw there was nothing wrong in what the system detected. Suddenly Asher felt his whole body getting surrounded by cold liquid, the rune got absorbed into his brain and many unknown letters started appearing on his body. He felt like he was getting trapped inside a dark ce with no source of light in it. He lost his sense of touch and could not even feel anything around him anymore. "Good luck brat, I hope you seed..." Asher could faintly hear Nathan''s voice as he lost consciousness. Chapter 45 Rune Of Eirdin ?Asher felt like he was floating in a vast space of darkness. One by one, his sense of touch, sight, and other senses disappeared. He had no sense of time or direction, and felt as though he had been there for hours. The system detected the strange behavior of the rune. Asher suddenly felt many voices calling him. He was going through a stream of his own memories. "Hello Asher-...." "Don''t kill me please!!" "I will kill you!!" "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!" "You know I felt strange when I-" "Demon!! He is a Demon..." Suddenly, Asher heard many voices calling to him and saw faces of people he knew. Some of the memories were unpleasant and some so insignificant that he didn''t even care what he had done to them. It felt like he was exploring something within himself. Although these memories were suddenly cut short and he would remember another one immediately. It felt like he was exploring something in himself. < Energy Detection Confirmed > < Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS ? is being used > < Rune is getting absorbed > Meanwhile, Nathan, who had been observing Asher for six hours, saw many runes on his body glowing. "Is the rune epting him so early?" Nathan was surprised. "What''s happening to this boy?" Nathan was unable to use his mana to check Asher''s body as it would disrupt the bonding process with the rune. He watched as letters traveled all over Asher''s body, from his neck to his legs, eventually changing into lines that formed a path from his neck to his legs. "This is strange. I remember it didn''t happen to me!" Nathan was aware that normally, it would take at least a week for the rune to bond with Asher before the process of assimtion began. But due to Asher''s new bloodline, his ability overpowered the rune and forced it to be absorbed directly. He was right, normally Asher would have stayed in that darkspace for at least a week if the rune epted him. Only then the process of assimtion would have begun. This strange anomaly happened due to the new bloodline of Asher. The system used one of the sealed abilities of his bloodline to acquire the rune and directly absorb it. His bloodline ability overpowered the rune and forcefully absorbed it before the rune could delve deeper into his memories. Normal runes were different from ancient runes, as normal runes did not have any will of their own. Moreover Runemasters were rare and they were respected individuals. Learning runes was not a thing everyone could do and making them was even more of a difficult task. Ancient runes on the other hand were a mystery, the only known person with such runes was the Principal of the World Academy who shared this knowledge with others. This knowledge made many people covet his powers but who could harm him, he was a peak Rank SSS hunter himself moreover he was known as the strongest human alive. The ancient rune absorbed mana from Asher''s body and created a runic circle on him, allowing him to maximize the efficiency of the rune and obtain all its abilities. Normally, the ancient rune would have only given Asher one capability rted to his mana maniption bloodline, but now, with his bloodline ability overpowering the rune, its full capability was unknown. "Did he get a better mana maniption ability than mine? He even sensed Livia''s illness immediately," Nathan thought, confused. "Well, we can find out when he reaches his second year at the academy anyways." Nathan decided to dy the training of the twins, as he felt that his attention was needed for Asher. He did not want to risk leaving him alone. In the living room of the Greville estate, Arthur was being confronted by Sylvie. "He''s fine, right? I couldn''t even peek inside that barrier. Even Lucas and Livia''s training is on hold," Sylvie worriedly asked. "Don''t worry, I went through it too when I was young. He''ll be fine," Arthur reassured her as he sipped his morning tea. "Yeah, don''t worry, Mom," Amelia joined in. "Lucas and Livia, why don''t you guys do the basic training with me instead of that old man?" Arthur suggested to the twins. Lucas and Livia looked at each other, then Lucas gave Arthur his phone. A hologram projected from it, showing a video from Nathan. "You ungrateful son, if you take my students, make sure your bones are fine because I will break them to the point where you''ll sit on the Guildmaster seat for the rest of your life, doing paperwork!" Nathan grinned on the video as he spoke. Arthur was not a coward, so he came up with the idea of going against Nathan''s thinking. "This old man is just joking, huh? Do you think I''m afraid?" Arthur scoffed at Nathan''s warning in his mind. "And in case you think I''m joking, let me apologize to Sylvie. Sorry, Sylvie, I might have to cripple your husband, but don''t hold it against me, okay?" Nathan acted sad, and the video cut off. "THIS FUC-" Arthur shouted, but he stopped seeing the young twins. "Ahem, let''s respect your grandfather''s request if he wants to teach you guys personally." Arthur continued drinking his tea. Sylvie and Amelia wanted tough, but they knew better than to add fuel to the fire. The process of absorbing the runested for three days straight, and Asher felt as if he had been in that vast space of darkness for weeks. Thanks to the system helping him, some of his senses had returned, reducing the strain on his mind. On the fourth day, Asher''s whole body was covered in sweat. Multiple ck lines connected to his neck, stopping around his ears, and his upper body. The runic lines started glowing again, and they covered Asher''s entire head region. Inside the vast darkness, Asher could feel his brain being flooded with strange information. The Ancient Rune was the way knowledge was transferred, and in simpler terms, it was a medium used for transfer. Asher was absorbing the entirety of the rune without even knowing it, and Nathan also didn''t know that the whole rune was being absorbed into Asher''s mind. "I hope you make it, brat," Nathan spoke as he watched Asher''s unconscious body. At this time, apart from his sense of hearing and sight, he had regained every other sense. He could feel a unique type of mana flowing throughout his body. Inside his body, the Ancient Rune was merging the ck lines with his mana veins as the ck lines broke down into multiple small runes. These runes flowed through Asher''s body''s mana cirction path and finally stopped at his mana core, forming a runic ring around the center of the core. A floating ring of strange characters formed around his Mana Heart. The ck lines on his lower body disappearedpletely. < [Runic formation] started...> Asher could feel the stinging pain near his heart as the runes were forcefully etched onto his mana core. One by one, the strange letters were absorbed into his core. After his core absorbed the rune, he felt as if his brain was being hammered. The rest of the ck lines on his upper body started moving towards his head region slowly. Every time a rune''s information was passed through his neurons, he felt as if his head was about to explode. His body was unconscious, and he was still trapped in the vast darkness, unable to move his body and just endure the pain. Nathan noticed that Asher''s fingers were trembling, but he was still unconscious. "Hang in, brat, you can do it," Nathan spoke, but Asher had no way of hearing him. Just like that, three days have passed. Asher''s whole body was trembling in the vast darkness. He was in pain, but it was nothingpared to the pain he felt when he acquired his new bloodline. The trembling was due to his overworked neurons carrying a huge amount of information to his brain. Gaining knowledge of the rune was not like gaining information or memories. The rune imprinted its own abilities on his soul, rather than just giving him information. This meant every fiber of his being was adapting to the new abilities. It was like gaining a swordmaster''s experience and bing a swordmaster yourself without having to put in time and effort. Even if someone learned how to cast a spell, they still needed to convert that theory into something practical, which took time and effort. But the ancient rune removed that requirement. It was like gainingplete mastery over a spell just by learning it without casting it once. As the week came to an end, Asher had almost fully assimted with the rune. His body had stopped trembling and most of the ck lines had disappeared, with only a few remaining around his ears and forehead. [ Host received the Rune of Eirdin ] Asher opened his eyes and looked at Nathan, who was proudly smiling back at him. "Congrats, brat! You''ve achieved something nobody in our family has done since me," Nathan eximed, quite happy for Asher that he momentarily forgot something important he wanted to ask him. Chapter 46 Learning Nathans Sword ?Asher opened his eyes and saw Nathan, who congratted him. Feeling tired and dizzy, he wanted to rest for a bit. He tried to stand up but found his body''s reaction was dyed. "Don''t move too much for now. Rx and clear your mind until you regain full control of your body. And don''t try to use the rune right away," Nathan warned. "I have to go tell your parents about you, but your training is not over yet, brat, so don''t run away," Nathanughed before disappearing into thin air. Asher was covered in sweat, and the odor was unpleasant. After resting for a few minutes, he regained control of his body and was able to move all his limbs perfectly. He went to the shower room at the training grounds, turned on the water, and as the cold water hit his head, he moved his hair upwards. "Phew, let''s see the gains from all of this," Asher thought to himself. "System, show me my status," he called out, eager to see his progress. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 7 (EXP 0/7000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 40+4 Agility: 30 Endurance: 45+5 Intelligence: 55+50 Mana: 60+6 Stamina: 47 Charm: 60 Fate: 5730 [AP]: 30 [SP]: 12 --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C), Rune of Eirdin (New) Rank E His fate points had increased by 2000 from the quest hepleted during his birthday party. He also noticed an increase in his strength and mana stats after learning the mana cirction technique Nathan taught him. He knew he gained increased endurance stats from the whole experience Nathan made him go through. "My intelligence increased by 50?" Asher was surprised to see that his intelligence stat had increased the most. "System, can you exin what happened when the rune entered my body?" Asher asked. He had not forgotten that the system used one of his new bloodline''s sealed abilities, but as the system had told him, he should not have been able to use it until he increased it with skill points. [Insufficient Authority!!... Searching for other answers....] [The rune was trying to manipte Asher''s mind, so the system used one of the host''s hidden blessings. This was a rare phenomenon and will not happen again. The system advises caution with sentient powers in the future.] Asher was still not satisfied with the answer. He felt like the system was hiding information from him and he was not sure what it was. "Can you interfere and use my abilities without my permission like this?" The air around Asher changed and a chill spread through the atmosphere as some of his intense killing intent leaked out of his body. He hated being controlled by others. He hated bowing down to others.He did not know why, but every fiber of his being hated being forced to do something against his will. Call it arrogance, but Asher could not handle being controlled by others, no matter the circumstances. [If the host''s life is in danger or in unique situations where the host is unable to act, the system can use its abilities to assist. The system was created to assist in the journey and has no control over when it initiates or stops.] Listening to the exnation, Asher calmed down and controlled his killing intent. Although he was still upset, if the system was really helping him, he had no reason to be angry. "Argh, forget it. Exin what the rune does and why my intelligence stat increased so much," Asher said, still annoyed by his headache. He was not sure if the sudden increase in intelligence was the cause of it or if it was from the assimtion process he just went through. [The host has gained a Growth Type Rune] [Activating Rune of Eirdin....] Asher watched as a ck dragon-like tattoo appeared below his neck and traveled towards his right shoulder. He instantly felt that his headache was gone, and he could now easily use the knowledge he gained through the rune. [borating its effects...] ****************************************** [Rune of Eirdin] - Growth Type - -> Increased mastery of the space element. -> Increased intelligence -> Growth equivalent to the mana core Activation Cost: Mental Drain ********************************************* [This rune is a growth type rune, and due to the Host''s Rank SSS bloodline ability, you have unlocked the rune fully.] [The rune will grow with the rank of the Host''s mana core.] [Some of its abilities will be unsealed and the existing abilities will be strengthened as you increase the rank of your mana core.] "Increased space mastery!" Asher''s crimson-red eyes shone as a smirk appeared on his indifferent face. As the rune did not require any mana to activate, this would be one of his trump cards. His mental drain would already be low due to his absurdly high intelligence stat. One of the reasons many space element users died early was due to the drain they experienced when they used their spells. Meanwhile, outside in the living room, as the week had passed, Arthur and Sylvie were sitting and chatting when they noticed Nathan had arrived in front of them. The twins were sleeping and Amelia had gone out, so nobody except the couple was there. "Old man, what happened? Did he pass?" Arthur asked eagerly, wanting to know the result. "Sigh, control yourself, you mannerless son of mine. Asher has done what you and Ivar failed to do," Nathan said proudly. "So is his training over?" Sylvie asked, happy for Asher but wanting to confirm whether the training wasplete or not. "No, I will take one more week to train him thoroughly, but tell Lucas and Livia that they will also train with him now," Nathan continued. "I didn''t expect that brat toplete the whole process so quickly, so I will use the rest of the week to prepare him for his next dungeon run as well," Nathan said, already sitting on the dining table. Asher got out of his bath and started practicing his sword. After half an hour of talking with Arthur and Sylvie about some important stuff that had happened during the week, Nathan saw Asher training with his sword. "It seems you have rested enough if you can swing your sword like this," Nathanmented. At his words, Asher stopped his training. "I am trying to get the feel of what has changed after getting this rune," Asher said, as he saw Nathan pick up a sword near him. "Watch, brat. I will demonstrate some of my techniques which you can imitate on your swordter," Nathan said, taking his stance. Asher was surprised to see that there was no gap visible to him in Nathan''s stance, and anyone who was not more powerful than Nathan would have great difficulty injuring him. "My first technique is the Phantom Swing, which you can imitate with a sword as well when you learn itter," Nathan swung his sword in multiple directions, going opposite to the previous one without cutting the force behind his attacks. "Second technique, instead of maintaining the force of swings, amplify them into one strike," he took his greatsword again and shed slowly towards the barrier. *BAM* Even though his strike seemed weak, the barrier shook and a loud noise of shing between two hard objects could be heard. "Don''t focus on the technique too hard, get the meaning behind it and you can replicate it yourself in your sword art," Nathan moved a bit backwards. "Third technique allows me to pass my sword through matter itself, which takes the first technique, and makes it seem like a child''s y," Nathan threw a wooden sword into the air and passed his greatsword through the wooden sword as he shed it. The greatsword easily went past the sword, as if it were going through water. "This technique will require your advanced mastery in telekinesis and other teleportation space spells, andbining them together you can perform something simr to this," Nathan stopped as he watched Asher, who had his eyes fixed on Nathan''s movement. "I have a few more, but they are too destructive to teach here and they will not help you as a sword user as well. Combine your talent as a mage and apply it to your swordmanship," Nathan said, as he put down the greatsword. "Okay, that''s enough of these techniques. I''ve given you enough clues, and I''m confident you can enhance your sword art. Let me correct your basics," Nathan smiled as Asher looked confused. "My basics are perfect. I haven''t made any mistakes," Asher replied confidently. "No one is perfect, and every sword has ws. You must find those ws and exploit them to gain an advantage over your enemy," Nathan countered. "Come on, I''ll use only basic sword techniques against you." "Come at me, I will only use basic sword techniques to defeat you." Nathan controlled his power. Asher shed towards Nathan from the right, he was also fighting with his basic techniques. He saw that Nathan''s simple counter nullified his attack. He was expecting it so immediatelyunched many simr attacks on him. His shes were getting nullified and Nathan did nothing but counter him. Asher could now understand why Nathan said he could improve his basics even further, but Nathan underestimated the capabilities of Asher in his sword. His new high intelligence made him have a better control of his killing intent so he decided to go a bit serious against him. His eyes sharpened and his attacks got more precise. He immediately started to trap Nathan into his feints creating a fake pattern in his swings and after 25 such exchange of their swords he attacked Nathan from an awkward position making him take the blow on his hand as he could not use anything other than the basics of the swords. Seeing that Nathan who was defeated due to the sudden shift of pace by him, Asher gave Nathan a arrogant smirk, "This fuc**** Brat!" Nathan was holding in his anger and forced himself to smile. Chapter 47 Learning Nathans Sword 2 ?During the duel, Nathan saw that Asher was trying to attack him from multiple angles, ''Heh, brat, you are a thousand years too early to make me block you!'' Nathan thought as he countered each of Asher''s strikes. But suddenly he noticed that Asher''s behavior had changed and his gaze was a lot sharper. His gaze was simr to someone who had a lot of experience fighting others. Asher''s attacks were bing unpredictable but Nathan could still counter most of them. ''This kid is good,'' Nathan was having fun while easily countering Asher''s attack, but he needed to be careful controlling his strength if not he could have broken Asher''s arm with a simple soft counter. ''Hoh! He is following a rhythm,'' Nathan noticed the pattern in Asher''s sword, it was easy for him to sense it. ''Show me what you got brat'' Nathan spoke to himself as he pushed Asher''s sword back to him. This was the moment when Asher knew that Nathan wasfortable with fighting him and with a huge part of his attention was kept on controlling his strength. The basics of the sword they were fighting on had strict footwork and strikes so the range of motion was limited. Asher took advantage of this fact and altered his pattern and faked the swing on his left. ''Hoh, I will give this one to you brat'' Nathan let Asher hit him. He knew if the gap between them was not so huge this move of Asher would have definitely caught him off guard. Despite he could have countered that, his pride as a swordsman did not let him take this win from Asher. Asher also knew that Nathan let him win this intentionally but he still smirked at him. This was the result of him not controlling his true emotions and letting them out partially. A person could only control their true self, not change it. Masking yourself into a different person had its limits and Asher was one such person. His mocking expression annoyed Nathan. Nathan was not a saint, he might have seemed like a happy grandpa thus far but there was a reason most powerhouses avoided him. Nathan, who also had the Rune of Eirdin, was constantly tormented by nightmares. Losing many people throughout his journey gave him many regrets and hisst ascension to Rank SSS almost made him lose his mind. His way of acting silly was his escape from his nightmares and Arthur who also knew this did not mind Nathan''s constant insults and yed along with him most of the times. Greville were famous for their cruel personalities throughout their history, and Nathan and Arthur both lived up to these rumours. The only normal person in the whole Greville family was probably Amelia who was internally an honest and emotional person. "This fuc**** Brat!" Nathan dangerously smiled at Asher, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, It seems your basics are already perfect so let''s hone your sword versus my greatsword." Nathan came close to Asher and stared down at him with his red eyes. Asher looked small in front of his huge build. "Why not?" Asher was not a coward even though he knew he had provoked Nathan. He knew this was the best way for him to learn from Nathan. He already knew the fundamentals but what he wanted to learn from Nathan could only be learned by both of them dueling. "Brat, use your mana or anything you have. We will duel until the twinse for their practice." Nathan told him. Asher calmed his mind and decided to use the new mana cirction technique during the duel. He found that he could channel his mana better now. His new intelligence boost had increased hisprehension rate which helped him connect all the new paths Nathan created with the existing ones. < Mana Cirction Technique: Rank A learned > He did not know what the rank given by the system was based on but he knew that this cirction technique was better than the one he used in his previous life. Mana started coating his body and strengthening it. He focused his mana on his limbs and increased the force behind his attack. Asher dashed and attacked Nathan who disappeared from his ce and kicked him on the back. *Thud* Ashernded on the ground as he crouched with one of his hands on the ground. "Why so weak brat?" Nathan smirked back at him. Asher had a calm face but he was not going to settle down with this much. He saw Nathan who appeared in front of him and saw his greatswording towards him from above. He braced his legs blocking the force. "ARGHHH" Asher used more mana as he strengthened his limbs even more. He pushed the Greatsword back but could not move Nathan from his position. Knowing this he immediately took 2 steps back from his position. *ng* *ng* Asher and Nathan were sharing many blows but Asher kept getting pushed back because the force behind the greatsword was too much topletely nullify it. Asher was using their height difference to dodge most of the swings Nathan struck him with. Asher was timing his strikes because the reach of the greatsword was greater than his sword. "Come on brat, show me that smug expression of yours," Nathan was not going to let Asher out easily. Call him petty but he was having a st tormenting Asher and removing his escape routes every time he attacked him. Asher was panting heavily but his focus was not broken at all. He was used to fighting people while breaking his own body. This made him lose the sensation of stopping when he felt tired. They went like this for a whole 20 minutes and Nathan found it surprising that Asher was not quitting at all. He decided to stop the duel by using the force behind his greatsword to send Asher flying back when he tried to block it. Asher focused on his wrists and braced the impact but he still crashed onto the wall. At this moment he was gasping for air. But he still stood up. There was a reason even after killing numerous people, Asher was still alive until the day he regressed. Although his body was not able to keep up with his mentality. "Let''s stop brat, get some rest while I train those two." Nathan stopped as he looked at Lucas and Livia who excitingly looked at both of them fighting for quite some time. "Okay!" Asher replied while breathing heavily. "Okay, so did you two practice what I taught you," Nathan asked them, The twins looked up and replied," Yes" at the same time. "Good job brats, now I will teach you guys some other things before your awakening next week." Nathan started teaching various martial arts which would help them regardless of the result they got from their awakening. Lucas wanted to follow the path of the sword as he admired Asher but Livia on the other wanted to learn to wield the greatsword. It was odd for a girl who liked cute things to get fascinated by Nathan''s swordy. After teaching the twin and Asher getting a rest of 2 hours, they again started their duel. Nathan held back a little, unlike his previous duel where he wanted to thrash Asher around. Asher tried various techniques he came up with. The whole week, Nathan had Asher focus solely on swordsmanship training. He didn''t train him to improve his physical strength or mana. Nathan knew that there were others at the World Academy who could teach Asher better. After theirst duel, Asher went to the shower room to wash his body covered with sweat. Multiple blue and ck spots could be seen on his upper body. Nathan went ahead and made sure that Asher knew who was the boss in this family. This week even though his sword mastery had increased quite a bit, he was still working on mixing this style of sword with his current one. He knew that he would be able to invent a new sword style if he went through more battles. As the water dripped down on his well-chiseled muscles, he was thinking of what he was going to do next. He knew that the dungeon in the mountain range he purchased would appear soon. He was now free to enter the dungeons of his level alone but Emmy would still follow him to the dungeon gate. "Lucas will go through his awakening tomorrow, I can take him there with me," Asher decided to take Lucas with him as he knew what he was capable of doing. He got out of the bath and finally exited the training ground after two weeks. He went back to his room because it was early in the afternoon and he decided to get some sleep before dinner. The curtains were shut but dim sunlight could pass through them and which gave a woody vibe to the room. Asher had always disliked loud ces. He looked at the painting which stood near his bed. After his increased mental strength he was able to ce a lid on his inner madness but he was unable to control it. Looking at the painting he felt that the burden on his mind, the constant thoughts that drove him mad were gone. "I should go to sleep for now. Dinner would be too chaotic due to the dungeon explosion anyways," Asher leaned down on his soft bed feeling drowsy with his chaotic thoughts gone he went to sleep. The dungeon explosion where Nathan should have died was going to happen during the time they were having their dinner. Chapter 48 Nathans Death Prevented Asher woke up and changed into other clothes. He got ready to arrive in the dining room. As he entered the room, he noticed everyone was present there including the twins. Livia was chatting with Amelia while Lucas was keeping it to himself. "Wee Ash, you look so thin!" Sylvie got up and hugged Asher as she saw him after two week. "Hello brother," Lucas and Livia also greeted him. "Come on sit down now." Arthur who was sitting told Sylvie so that the dinner could start. Meanwhile hours before in the Abyss Guild camp in Lost Lands, "When will the Guildmaster return" One of the hunter asked his team captain. "Anytime soon, Young Master''s Party was already over two weeks ago." The team captain replied to him. "Hey, can''t we explore the dungeon a bit more on our own." One of the Hunter who was eating his meal asked him. "Don''t speak nonsense, the final authority lies with the Guildmaster and his orders were to wait until he returns. If you wanna die at the hands of higher executives go alone, don''t ask me." The team captain immediately replied. The camp was located near the teleportation gate on the outer region of the Lost Lands, allowing for a quick retreat in case of emergency. The inner region had many high-ranking beasts that were dangerous at night. Nathan had instructed the team to stop exploring until he returned, as even the SS-Rank teleportation gate couldn''t guarantee safety. Suddenly the rm system which was established into the Camp for any beast invasions at night and other threats started going off, "WARNING!!!" "MANA FLUCTUATIONS HIGH!!" "WARNING!!" "MANA FLUCTUATIONS HIGH!!" "WARNING!!" ..... "What happened?" All of them stood up as they listened to the security rm going off. "Mana fluctuations but it was a blue gate?" One of young hunter asked the team captain. "Forget it, EVACUATE RIGHT NOW!!" The team captain shouted. "Forget it! EVACUATE NOW!" the captain shouted. "Leave the equipment, take the artifacts, and hurry to the teleportation gate! HURRY UP!" The SS-Rank dungeon gate in the outer region of the Lost Lands was glowing blue with cracks visible. This was a rare event known as a Dungeon Explosion, which usually happened in red gates. If the gate was left uncleared, a Dungeon Explosion would ur, followed by a Dungeon breakout. The executives of the Abyss Guild had arrived near the teleportation gate, and as more people teleported out, the executives followed suit. The valuable artifacts and other items had already been picked up, so they could easily abandon the camp. Although there would be significant damage, the mary loss would easily be recovered. The space inside the dungeon was filled with a white light as several space cracks appeared. The mana forced itself out from the gate, resulting in a huge explosion in the outer region that covered 1 km and destroying half the camp. *BOOOOOM* The mana spread around from the dungeon, and the resulted explosion destroyed everything in its path. Bright light illuminated the dark forests of the Lostnds waking up many beasts due to the shockwaves of the explosion. Most of the ecosystem surrounding the gate had turned into a huge crater. A spatial crack was noticed in the center of the crater, from which monsters could be observed emerging. Outside the teleportation gate, one of the executives spoke, "Call the Guildmaster. We need to notify him about this immediately." The other hunters meanwhile were thanking their luck that they could escape in time. "We got so lucky!" one of the hunters present said. "We would have been obliterated if the Guildmaster hadn''t gone back," he continued. "Who could have thought that this blue gate would be unstable suddenly?" the team captain replied as he counted to make sure every team member was present. The person managing the teleportation gate was surprised to see so many hunters appear out of nowhere, but upon seeing that they were from the Abyss Guild, he did not stop them. One of the executives present exined the situation to him, while the other executives were already collecting artifacts and calcting the damage. In the Greville Estate, as they began their dinner, Stephen suddenly appeared in the dining room. "What happened?" Arthur asked his butler. "A mana explosion has urred in the dungeon where Lord Nathaniel was exploring," Stephen immediately informed him. "WHAT?" the atmosphere went cold as Nathan shouted, though he immediately regained hisposure. "The damage is still being calcted, but the guild members have safely teleported, so no casualties have been found," Stephen finished his report. "Okay, I will take care of it," Arthur stood up, needing to ensure everything was alright. "I''m going to the site directly, the monsters might cross the border, so they will need me there," Nathan immediately disappeared from the dining room. *Ding* ********************************************** Objective: Save Nathaniel Von Greville from dying Rewards: 100 Fate points Penalty: -20 all stats, -80 Fate points ************************************************ [ Recalibrating the reward.................... ] [ Reward changed into 1000 Fate points ] Asher, still sitting in the living room, spoke in his mind, "Why did the reward change?" [Fate reward is greater the more fate you have and lesser the less fate you have.] Due to the fact that Asher had increased his fate points, he gained extra fate points for the quest of saving Nathan. "Kids, you go to sleep. I will take you guys for awakening tomorrow," Sylvie told the twins as she needed to help Arthur with the current situation. "Okay," the twins nodded as they finished their meal. "Stephen, increase the security around the estate. And tell Emmy to meet me," Sylvie also left to join Arthur. The dining room was now awkward, with only Amelia and the twins sitting opposite Asher, who was calmly eating his dinner. Amelia kept quiet, avoiding Asher as she always did to avoid making more trouble with him. Thest duel with Elena was still fresh in her memories. "Brother, can I train with you?" Lucas asked Asher. Asher did not mind Lucas calling him "brother" as he got morefortable with him. Lucas had helped Asher more than anyone in his previous life, even dying for him. Asher was not an ungrateful person, so he respected Lucas because of it. "No," Asher denied Lucas. He knew Lucas was not going to follow the path of swordsmanship like him. His bloodline ability gave him a massive mana pool and his talenty in the path of magic. Asher would not change it. Handing a bow to someone with a talent for spears would only limit their potential, and he had no need for wasted potential in his future ns. "Okay..." Lucas looked a bit sad, but he did not argue with Asher and epted his decision. Amelia wanted to say something, but she decided against it. She needed her shield, Damian, before speaking with Asher. Livia, on the other hand, wanted to learn from Nathan, but he had gone outside for an emergency, denying her the chance to learn from him. She would not be able to train with him until he returned to the estate, and she did not know when that would be. Outside the Greville estate, Arthur was driving his car with Sylvie sitting beside him. No one spoke as they drove to the Guild Building where Arthur and Sylvie''s office was located. Arthur was in a strange mood, and Sylvie knew what he was thinking, but she remained silent. "Hah, that old man really dodged a bullet," Arthurughed as he drove. He could have traveled to his office using his body, but driving his car helped relieve his stress. This was one of the reasons why many powerful people in the world, who could cover long distances in mere seconds, still drove around in their cars. "It''s okay, Arthur," Sylvie said no more. Arthur knew Nathan could have died that day, and although people died in this world, losing someone close to you still made you sad and depressed. Losing Ivar was a painful experience for Arthur, which made him spend even more time battling monsters and risking his life in dungeons. Nathan, knowing this, made him the Vice-Guildmaster, forcing him to manage the work from behind his desk. Asher headed to the training grounds instead of his room because he wasn''t feeling sleepy. Amelia and the twins, however, were tired and went to sleep. The heightened security surprised the mansion''s staff, but they were ustomed to it, so everything went smoothly. For thest two weeks, the entire Somaria and inte had been buzzing about the same topic - the leaked news of Asher''s duel with Elena. Many people were specting whether it would lead to a sh between the two elite families. The result of the duel between Asher and Elena had sparked intense spection and discussion among the citizens of Somaria and the inte. The revtion of Ivar Greville having children had only added fuel to the fire. However, amidst all the chaos, one person was watching this news as a chance- the individual for whom Asher had gone to extra mile in his fight against Elena. Their identity remained a mystery, but their significance in the events toe was unmistakable. Chapter 49 Twins Awakening Arthur was upied with establishing a new camp in the Lost Lands. The camp consisted of several buildings that facilitated the daily lives of hunters. The Abyss Guild''s camp alone was worth billions of AUR, but the abundance of resources in the Lost Lands made the investment worth it. Nathan was already battling the monsters that had emerged from the dungeon break. The high level of mana in the environment attracted many beasts to the outer region, but Nathan''s goal was to defeat the Boss Monster. SS Rank Monsters had the potential to destroy cities, and while the other hunters focused on eliminating the rest of the monsters, Nathan took on the Boss Monster. Sylvie had left Arthur because it was the day the Twins were going to undergo their awakening. Unlike Asher, they would use a Rank A mana gem for the process. S Rank mana gems were highly valuable, and even A Rank mana gems were a luxury only the wealthiest people could afford. Most of the elite families used Rank B mana gems for the awakening. It was early in the morning and Livia and Lucas were in the mana training room where Asher usually practiced his mana maniption. Amelia was also present, as this was a significant day for the Twins. Livia was a bit nervous, but Lucas was calm. Asher was there out of curiosity to see how long it would take for Lucas toplete his awakening. Sylvie asked the Twins, "Do you remember how I taught you to manipte the mana?" "Yes!" Livia eximed, and Lucas nodded in agreement. The Twins werefortable with Sylvie as she treated them kindly. Without any parental figure, they were not used to relying on others. "Okay, Emmy, you help Livia, and I''ll help Lucas," Sylvie instructed. Sylvie and Emmy would only control the flow of mana until the Twins could handle it on their own. The Twins sat down wearing gym clothes, with Sylvie and Emmy standing behind them. Only Emmy and other family members were present in the mana training room. They had already arranged the Rank A mana gems, which were bright yellow and had intense mana within them. These gems could aid Rank B and Rank A hunters in their progress, but only the purity of the mana mattered in awakening. Most of the mana would be used to create a mana heart, while the rest would be used gradually over time during the awakening. Emmy and Sylvie''s role was to regte the supply of mana so that the Twins'' mana veins were not overloaded, which could cause permanent injury. "We will begin now. Focus on feeling the flow of mana inside your body," Sylvie told the Twins, who immediately followed her instructions. Asher watched as they absorbed the mana from the gem. He was surprised to see that Livia was keeping pace with Lucas''s speed in creating a mana heart. Although Asher''s time for creating a mana heart was even less, as he was already familiar with the process. "It seems I can take both of them in the dungeon if it goes like this," Asher thought to himself. He had expected only Lucas to perform well, but seeing Livia''s progress, he realized that he could bring her along as well. "Well, it doesn''t matter. I can still go all out in front of them," Asher considered. He knew that the Twins were unfamiliar with many things, so they would find Asher''s use of his bloodline strange. His only concern was that if someone experienced like Emmy followed him, it could cause some difficulties, but that would change in the near future. Asher wasn''t going to sit around and hide his powers. He knew that doing so would only create more problems in his future ns. The people he wanted to destroy were not weak, and he was only hesitant because he couldn''t control his inner mind after his regression. However, the recent boost in his stats had relieved his problem to some extent. "World Academy, huh..." Asher thought about his ns for the World Academy. The academy was located on a floating ind above Soran, and entry and exit from it was strictly controlled. However, Asher knew a way around it. Students were not allowed to leave the ind freely after enrolling in the World Academy, unless they were given a mission or there was a special event. Most of their time would be spent on the ind. This often created diplomatic issues, as various powers in Somaria could target the children of other powerful families outside Somaria. However, knowing who owned the World Academy eliminated any such thoughts. Not only was the principal powerful, but the teachers and staff were also influential figures. *************************** Meanwhile in Rothschild Estate in Desmar: "How the hell can''t you control a child?" James was shouting at Louis, and Elena was standing beside him with her head low. "I told you one thing only, DON''T MAKE A MESS THERE!" "And what I hear now? Not only did you make a mess at the party in front of all those people, but Elena also lost badly to that Greville bastard!!!" James was angry at the loss of reputation for the Rothschild family, as well as her daughter getting badly beaten by Asher. "I will take responsiblity and ukgh-"Louis was saying something, but James immediately used his SS Rank pressure on him, causing him to get on his knees. "AND DO WHAT? CREATE A BIGGER MESS?" James'' eyes were ring at Louis. "Do you see this seal right here? I''ve been looking at this for a whole week." James threw a letter on Louis''s face, and he saw the ck envelope with a golden crow''s sigil on it. "Forget Nathaniel Greville, we would also make enemies with the Raven as well!!" James shouted at him. "But Dad, I was only trying to-" Elena tried to step in to calm her father, but, "Shut up, go in your room, and you are not allowed out of your room until I change my mind." James was controlling himself a lot. "Okay" Elena had slight tears in the corner of her eyes, but she didn''t want to argue with her angry father, so she decided to leave for now. "And Louis, don''t make another mess for now, just stay low or go help with the Guild work. You are not allowed to leave Desmar until you take my permission." Listening to James, Louis quietly walked out of James''s office room. James was frustrated from the moment he heard this news two weeks ago. He immediately ordered Louis to bring Elena back to Desmar. Thest thing he wanted was Elena creating another mess in Soran. This event was a huge blow to the reputation of the Rothschild family. "Greville....." James muttered to himself as he sat back in his seat. "Hurting my daughter in public, this time you made the wrong enemy, Arthur Greville." James'' killing intent filled his room. James would not sit around and do nothing against the Greville. Although the influence Rothschild had in Somaria was not even close to what Greville had, but in Desmar, it was different. "I was skeptical of holding hands with the Whiteheart family, but it seems we were meant to be enemies anyway...." A me appeared in his hands, burning down the letter that came in the ck envelope in his hands. This was the "warning" letter Alfred Raven had sent to him. Although James knew that it was mostly Elena''s fault, but after hearing how brutally Asher had injured her, he was not able to ignore it. ************************** Livia and Lucas were still going at the 3hr 50-minute mark, but Livia stopped there. Amelia was surprised to see that Livia performed so well. Her body was red, and most of the baby fat in her face was gone, making her face look sharp. Lucas, on the other hand, was still going on. Most of their impurities had left their bodies, and Lucas was focusing on cleaning his mana veins. Lucas was surprised to see that he could form a mana core so easily and make it flow through his veins. This was due to his S-Rank bloodline ability, which was centered around controlling his core. Asher knew that Lucas had an S-Rank bloodline ability, but he did not know what ability Livia possessed. Amelia was happy to see that Livia was also a talented genius and quietly congratted her as they waited for Lucas toplete his awakening. Lucas''s whole body was red, and he was focusing on controlling the flow of his mana as he continued to consume the Rank A mana gem. Seeing that he was able to control the mana so well, Amelia also stepped back and let him continue his work. At 4 hours and 9 minutes, Lucas stopped as well. He had surpassed Kevin''s record, who was considered a prodigy of this generation. Sylvie and Amelia were happy to see that the twins were so talented, and this would help them make their own name in the future. "Congrattions, Lucas and Livia!" Sylvie hugged the twins, and they also hugged her in return. "Can I train with a sword now?" Lucas''s eyes shone as he asked this question. Sylvie looked a bit troubled, but she needed to tell him now before his hopes grew bigger. Chapter 50 First Hunt "Lucas, you have a huge mana pool, so you have the talent for Magic," Sylvie calmly exined why he could not choose the path of swords. "Okay," Lucas looked a bit gloomy. He wanted to practice and learn from Asher, who he saw as his idol, but it seemed he was not suited for the path of the sword. "Oh,e on, being a mage is more fun!" Amelia tried to cheer him up. Asher didn''t say anything as he knew Lucas would be happier being a mage in the World Academy than being a swordsman. "What path should I choose?" Livia was eager to learn about her talents. "You can choose the path of the sword, sweetheart!" Sylvie checked her mana veins and told her. This made Lucas even sadder. He wanted to be a protector for Livia, not someone who would rely on her and cast spells from the back. He didn''t like being a mage one bit. "Don''t worry, Lucas, I will protect you from now on," Livia puffed out her chest and tried to cheer up her brother. Lucas didn''t reply and just smiled back at her. He was happy to see that Livia was cheerful. "Okay, you guys go and practice now and feel the mana inside your body," Sylvie instructed them. "Livia, if Grandpa Nathanes back on time, you can learn from him, or Arthur will take some time to train you. And Lucas, you can learn from me after you finish consolidating the mana inside your body," Sylvie patted Lucas''s head. "I will see you guys a bitter. I need to inform Arthur about this good news as well," Sylvie smiled and left the room. Four talents in the same family meant that the Grevilles had even more power in the future. Although there were others who were also talented, nobody had four such talented youngsters in their household. This also meant that the moment this news leaked, many powers could try to harm these kids. Sylvie was not only going to inform Arthur but assign personal guards, like Emmy, to the other three as well. Amelia already had some security following her around, but she did not have a personal bodyguard like Emmy. Although the twins and Amelia might not feel thatfortable with their new guards, it was a necessary step for their security. "I will leave as well. You guys can carry on," Asher also left after Sylvie. "Okay, I will stay with you guys if you encounter any problems," Amelia started instructing them based on her experience. "Emmy, assign someone to keep watch in the mountain range I have bought recently, and if something happens there, inform me as soon as possible." Asher instructed Emmy. He was sure this was the month when the dungeon opened in the mountain range, and after that dungeon gate opened, Asher could finally carry out the ns he made for his newpany. "And get me a guy from the information guild, use my name for it," He knew that because Sylvie''s family owned the biggest information guild, using his own name, he could get the information needed much faster rather than going for an anonymous approach. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy left to get the tasks done, and Asher went to his training grounds to practice his sword. When he trained alone, he could perform without holding back since there was no one to watch him. The training grounds were covered with runes and only authorized personnel could enter without setting off an rm. A week went by, and Nathan returned to teach the twins. Sylvie had already taught Lucas about basic spells and what he could achieve with his current abilities. Currently, both twins were G-Rank Hunters, but Lucas had formed an F-Rank core, which would allow him to reach F-Rank earlier than Livia, who had formed a G-Rank core. ? Nathan taught the twins the mana cirction technique, but it took them some time to perform it perfectly. Nathan was patient and waited for them to master the technique before moving forward. Arthur sometimes joined for a casual spar with Nathan to show the twins his moves, but Nathan always defeated him. They limited their strength to ensure the twins could observe and learn from their fights. Asher, who was intrigued, sometimes watched to analyze their fights and identify gaps in their attacks. Asher had never seen Nathan''s swordsmanship in his previous life as he wasn''t interested in training and because of Nathan''s sudden death. He could now see why their enemies showed their true colors after his death. Although Arthur was also an SS-Rank Hunter, Nathan could easily overpower him. Asher could see the raw talent and effort behind Nathan''s strength. After learning the mana cirction technique, Nathan also taught Livia, who was interested in using the greatsword. Impressed by her enthusiasm, Nathan decided to teach her the basics. However, he was surprised at how quickly she learned, making him hesitate on whether to give her the rune. He decided to teach her a bit more and wait before making a decision. Meanwhile, Lucas focused on learning basic elemental spells to protect his family. He didn''tment his less talent for swords than magic. This continued for over two weeks. One evening, Asher came out of training and saw Emmy waiting for him. "Young Master, a Blue Dungeon Gate has appeared in the mountain range, and the mana readings show that it is E-Rank dungeon." Emmy reported. ''Finally,'' Asher thought, smiling inwardly. "I''ll use it to test my training so far. Register it under Aztech, and ask the twins if they want to join me." Emmy looked troubled. "But Young Master, it might be too soon for them to have such a scary experience." "Don''t forget what that kid did before we took him from that ce and don''t worry, tell Mom about it. She will not deny it,"Listening to his orders Emmy nodded as she left to inform the twins. She had already epted Asher as an anomaly but she was not sure about taking the twins to a dungeon. "Yes, I will go!" Lucas immediately agreed to go with Asher. "Umm, brother but the dungeon is a dangerous ce. We should train a bit more," Livia was unsure. They were only 10 years old and G-Rank hunters, so going into an E-Rank dungeon was not the best idea. "Don''t worry, just follow Asher, but don''t fight monsters above F-Rank. I''m sure you guys can defeat an F-Rank monster together," Sylvie knew that Asher wouldn''t make them fight any monster above F-Rank, so she epted his decision because the twins needed some experience to continue their training further. "Wait! I will also go with them. It will be dangerous if only the brother goes with them," Amelia decided to go with the twins. She was an F-Rank hunter herself, the same rank as Asher, so she could protect them just fine. "Okay, this will be a good bonding time for you guys," Sylvie was happy that Amelia would go with Asher, but they forgot that they hadn''t told Asher about this. Asher had only told Emmy to ask the twins toe with him, as he wanted Lucas to get the first experience of facing a monster. This would help him realize his shorings and train with a goal in mind. "Okay, you guys can go tomorrow. Emmy, follow them to the Dungeon Gate and, if you sense any irregrities in the dungeon, take the team inside to help them. And tell Asher to wear the safety device at all times," Sylvie ordered. Asher was busy with his training and didn''t attend dinner, so he was still unaware of Amelia joining them. When morning arrived, Asher got ready for his dungeon run, wearing his ckbat outfit with straps to hold his sword, a storage ring, and a nano armor bracelet. As he walked into the lobby, he saw Amelia and the twins dressed in theirbat outfits. Although he expected only Lucas toe with him, he was surprised to see Amelia, a frown appearing on his face. "Why are you here?" he asked Amelia. "I came to follow you guys and protect the twins. Just for assurance that nothing bad happens," Amelia replied quickly. Asher''s cold gaze then turned towards Emmy. "Why wasn''t I informed?" "I apologize, Young Master," Emmy said, hanging her head down. "I forgot to inform you about this." She didn''t realize that Asher wanted to keep his powers hidden and Amelia joining them was a problem for him. "Wait, don''t scold her," Amelia interjected, seeing Emmy''s apologetic face. "It was my idea, and Mom''s, for me to go with you. But don''t worry, I won''t interfere with your fights. I''m just going to help these two since it''s their first time." Amelia exined to Asher. Although Asher was already annoyed with the situation, he decided to let Ameliae with them. He had nned to take Lucas with him to get himfortable with fighting F-Rank monsters at G-Rank, but he would have to change his ns. "Fine, but exit the dungeon when I tell you guys, and don''t question my decisions," Asher said in a old voice, making everyone quiet. Lucas followed him quietly, but he was disappointed that his chance to apany Asher throughout the dungeon was ruined. Amelia and Livia also followed behind him as Emmy followed them with the security team with her. Chapter 51 Entering The Gate Asher was quiet throughout the ride and, judging from his mood, nobody disturbed him. Amelia asionally chatted with Livia, but the overall ride was silent. Their cars stopped in a forest-looking area, and everyone got out of their cars. "Young Master, we need to walk from here, inside this forest to reach the gate," Emmy informed Asher. "Lead the way," Asher told Emmy. Amelia and the twins followed Asher into the forest, surrounded by the security team to prevent any danger from approaching them. After a five-minute walk, they arrived in the middle of a patch of grasnd. A blue gate, standing 2 meters tall, could be seen there, and many people wearing ck suits surrounded it. They were officials of the World Association. If a new dungeon was found, the World Association had to be informed. Only established guilds could im the dungeons for their own, and this was the case for Asher. Although he had registered it under hispany Aztech, his name was enough to deter the World Association from iming it. "Oh, it seems someone from the Greville has arrived," one of the officials noticed the security team checking the location, which meant that Asher was near the gate. "Just get the paperwork done. We can''t im this dungeon anyway," one of the officials said, while he yawned. Asher arrived and saw some people in ck suits. "Nice to meet you, Heir Greville," one of the men stepped forward, offering a handshake to Asher. "Get done with it," Asher ignored him and ordered Emmy, who nodded at hismands. "What the hell-" one of the officials nearly said out loud but stopped, considering whom he was standing against. "Ha ha, we will not waste your time. You can ess this dungeon, and it is now your responsibility to handle everything regarding this dungeon," the official said. iming the dungeon meant that Asher would need to manage the dungeonpletely, even in the case of a dungeon breakout. "Take the team. Our work here is done," the man said, taking his team with him. They were B-Rank hunters, so they left the forest quickly. "What an arrogant brat. Without his family backing, he is nothing," one of the upset men said as they were leaving the forest. "Be mindful of what you speak here. He is famous for being cold. You are not from Soran, so you might not know it," the man said as they left the forest. Asher was standing in front of the blue gate, and he waited for Amelia and the twins to ready their weapons. Lucas had a dagger for emergencies, and Livia was carrying a greatsword, which she could hold despite her small height. Amelia wore a nano armor bracelet because she was an Augmenter. An Augmenter was a type of mage who would assist or amplify the abilities of their allies. Comprehending augmentation spells required talent, and only those with talent could even learn the basic augmentation spells. Amelia was such an individual. During her learning phase of being a mage, she found out that she had a talent for being an Augmenter, so she decided to follow this path. An Augmenter was a rare talent, and such people were always scouted by the World Association or the top guilds. "Emmy, wait here, and don''t enter unless someone triggers the safety bracelet," Asher told Emmy, who nodded towards him. The safety bracelet was a defensive artifact that would signal their team outside in the event of a life-threatening situation. It acted as a barrier that would activate if a critical attack hit either of them, holding out until Emmy and her team could arrive to help. However, Asher didn''t need it, he only wore it because Sylvie wouldn''t let him enter without it. Dungeons were unpredictable spaces and anything could happen inside. Being naive or careless could result in death in an instant. Sylvie, as a member of a powerful family, knew that preventing her children from experiencing and fighting in such environments would stifle their growth, as the world only respected the strong. "Follow me," Asher signaled to Amelia and the twins as he stepped into the gate and disappeared into it. This surprised the twins, who were witnessing it for the first time. "Come on, guys, we should go in," Amelia stepped in, along with the twins. Upon entering, they found themselves in a ce resembling bare mountain paths with multiple caves in sight. This was an explorable type of dungeon where the dungeon boss was hidden and needed to be found before reaching the dungeon altar. The twins were feeling disoriented from the teleportation and took some time to recover before noticing the dry atmosphere around them. They saw Asher standing a bit ahead, staring at the cave entrances. "It seems we need to go into those caves to find the monsters," Asher said, turning back to the group. "We''ll enter the first cave. Follow far behind me and let me assess the situation first," Asher''s face was expressionless, but his orders were clear. The three of them nodded in agreement. They walked on the rocky, sandy path and arrived at a cave lit by glowing stones in the walls. "Wow, so beautiful," Livia was stunned by the sight of blue stones glowing around her. The light from the stones allowed them to see inside the cave. "Are those manastones?" Amelia asked, also observing her surroundings. "Seems like it. Stay alert for any ambushes," Asher said as they moved deeper into the dungeon. Suddenly, Asher stopped and signaled for the others to stop as well. They approached to see what was ahead and saw monsters with big saw-teeth jaws munching on rocks. These monsters were called Rockeaters and were F-Rank. They had brown horns on their head, were slumped over, but their strength and various attacks made them a tough opponent for new hunters. Asher drew his sword and channeled mana inside his body. Seeing him unsheathe his sword, Amelia and the twins stepped back to give him room to fight. Amelia wanted to help, but Asher had already told her not to in the car, so she stepped close to the twins to protect them in case of an emergency. Asher charged forward and immediately beheaded the Rockeater, who reacted toote to his presence. Blue blood flowed from its neck as its dead body hit the ground. The Rockeaters were brown-furred, stood as tall as an adult human, but their slumped over appearance made them look smaller. They had sharp ws and teeth, which helped them survive in their environment. "GRRRGGGGHHH," a creepy sound echoed through the cave as four Rockeaters approach Asher. With their sharp hearing, they sense themotion outside. Asher sees four brown-furred monstersing towards him. Despite their scary appearance, Livia takes a small step back butposes herself and looks at Asher, who remains calm even with four monsters approaching. Amelia panics as Asher doesn''t move, and starts to form a fireball around her hand. But she stops when she sees Asher move his sword in a left-to-right curve. The action confuses the three of them, leaving them wondering what he''s doing. Asher watches the four Rockeaters rush towards him in the bright bluish light that illuminates the dark cave. He''s trying to recreate a new sword style in his current fight. He waits until the four monsters get within his range of 5 meters and dashes towards them, delivering a sh to their stomach regions and causing the beasts to grovel in pain. "Tsk," Asher is annoyed that he couldn''t perform the style the way he wanted. But to the other three, his performance is truly excellent. It''s rare for an F-Rank human to defeat simr-rank monsters so easily, furthermore Asher''s calm andposed aura makes him look cool in the eyes of Lucas, who watched him with attention. He immediately sliced the head of the rockeaters ending their life. He looked at the three who were watching him, "Defeat the next Rockeater I bring here and exit the dungeon," Asher said as he turned around, "What so soon?" Amelia was confused as to why he suddenly wanted them gone, but his earlier warning was fresh in her mind so she did not create a fuss here. Chapter 52 Using The Bloodline Ability Asher knew that he couldn''t waste any more time. He needed to go all out and Amelia was a problem, so he decided to send them out after their first kill. "Get ready. I''ll bait one here," Asher said as he moved deeper into the cave. The cave wasn''t straight, which resulted in multiple blind spots where someone could hide. Asher was using his mana to coat his feet, allowing him to move quickly and nullify the sounds he made. He saw a rock eater alone, munching on rocks, but luring it would also attract the attention of the other rock eaters. He needed to lure the rock eater without alerting nearby monsters. "Whoooooo," Asher took a deep breath and quickly dashed past the rock eater. The rock eater saw Asher and immediately became alert. It turned to see him standing in front of it, sword touching the ground, with crimson red eyes staring down at the monster. Asher released his intense killing intent, intimidating the rock eater. The monster was overwhelmed by Asher''s presence and decided to retreat from the way Asher hade. Rock eaters had low intelligence and only acted on instinct, which was telling them to run away. "Will he be fine?" Lucas asked Amelia. "I don''t know, but he has a safety device, so even if he encounters anything beyond his level, he''ll be fine. But he could still get injured," Amelia exined to Lucas. They were waiting for Asher to lure a rock eater back to their location. "Wait, I see a monster! Look there!" Livia pointed at a rock eater running towards them. "Get ready, guys. Try to defeat it," Amelia immediately took a proper stance, and the twins also got ready. "Lucas, I''ll try to stop it," Livia took her greatsword and approached the rock eater. Although she was scared, she wanted to help Lucas and bear his burdens with him. Her determination overcame her fear. The rock eater used its ws against Livia as she approached. She dodged to the right and made a wide swing with her sword, but it was slow enough for the rock eater to dodge it. "GRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHH," the rock eater growled as drool dripped from its sharp teeth. It was angry at Livia for stopping its escape, and Asher''s killing intent had triggered its beastly instincts. "Fireball," Lucaspleted his chant and a small ball of fire shot out, burning part of the rock eater''s shoulder. It turned to look at Lucas. Taking advantage of the distracted rock eater, Livia used her sword to make a cut on its leg. Blue blood poured out as she took a chunk of flesh. Lucas cast another fireball, making the rock eater retreat from Livia. "With this spell, I implore: Grant Strength," Amelia started a chant and Livia felt her strength double. "Thank you, Sis!" Livia shouted and made another swing at the growling rock eater. Her speed was the same, but every swing was doing significant damage to the monster. Lucas was casting fireballs, but he was tired and felt like he was almost out of mana. "Livia, this is thest one I can throw," Lucas said as another fireballnded on the rock eater, who was now covered in wounds and burn marks. However, it was still afraid to return to the cave, feeling threatened by Asher. Livia was breathing heavily, having used a lot of her stamina to dodge the Rockeater. She swung her weapon in a wide sh and made a cut in the creature''s gut, causing it to fall to the ground with a thud. She had finally defeated the Rockeater, but immediately fell, feeling tired. "Livia!" Amelia rushed to support her, picking her up. "Lucas, I did it!" Livia muttered, too tired to stand. The adrenaline rush from earlier was gone. "I can see," Lucas replied, smiling, despite being tired himself. p**p Asher appeared and the three of them turned to face him. "Well done," he said, and Lucas was happy to receive praise from Asher. "Amelia, take them out of the dungeon as they can''t fight anymore. Tell Emmy that I will explore the dungeon further," Asher said to Amelia. "But you might get injured. I cane with you-" Amelia started to say, but Asher interrupted her. "It would be a waste of the training I didst month," he said with his indifferent face, and then he left the group. "Okay, fine," Amelia said, frustrated but deciding not to pursue the matter further. She activated her safety bracelet, and Emmy and some other guards arrived a few secondster. "Emmy, can you help take the twins out?" Amelia asked Emmy. "What about the Young Master?" Emmy asked, looking around for Asher. "He said he wants to explore more," Amelia replied, feeling a bit angry but deciding to let it go. "Okay," Emmy nodded, and picked up Livia, while another guard helped Lucas. They then exited through the portal. Meanwhile, Asher was standing in front of multiple Rockeaters, as themotion had caused several of them toe out from the depths of the cave. "GRrrgrghhhrgg" "RGRgrgrhrr" "Time for some fun," Asher cracked his neck, as he faced the multiple ck-furred monsters with huge wsing towards him. He took a deep breath and used his movements to avoid the first two Rockeaters and cut the limbs of the one on his left. He didn''t stop and dodged every w attack of the Rockeaters. He wasn''t using mana to strengthen his body because he didn''t want to waste it too soon. "GRRRRGGgrrhgg" a Rockeater roared as he jumped towards him. Asher had already swung towards his left, leaving his back open. He sensed the Rockeater behind him and he concentrated on his sword. "Phantom sh," he muttered as his sword turned midway through his sh, prating the heart of the Rockeater that had just pounced on him. He had replicated a downgraded version of Nathan''s Phantom Swing, but it was enough for an F-Rank monster. His eyes were sharp as he dodged multiple Rockeaters. He needed to make sure he was always out of range of their ws, which were sharp enough to pierce rocks. He could only block at most two Rockeaters at the same time. *sh* His sword easily prated their bodies, creatingrge cuts. His sword was smeared with the blue blood from the Rockeaters as he detached the limbs of the Rockeaters, taking away their only weapon. He was fighting Rockeaters from all directions, and his sword was moving fast as he killed many of them. Fighting like this required focus as he was dodging and reading the movements of the Rockeaters at the same time. Slowing down would only make him an easier target for the group to attack. He finally used mana to dodge their attacks and sliced the head of the nearest Rockeater. Only two Rockeaters were left, and Asher quickly dashed and cut them in half with a wide arc of his sh. He swung his sword to remove the blue blood on it, but didn''t bother cleaning himself as he would clear more caves after this one. "Let''s use my ability on this one," he thought, as these Rockeaters were mid F-Rank monsters and he was sure their strength was a bit higher than his. He crouched and touched the chest of the Rockeater he killed. "Absorb," he said, as a reddish mana enveloped his hand and the Rockeater. He felt his strength increasing. He saw the notification and smirked. After the notification, the red mana around the dead body was gone. "So, I can only get this much?" he wondered, as the reddish mana was now gone. He put his hands on another Rockeater. "Absorb," he tried it once more. [ Warning! Ability under cooldown: 59:47 ] "So I can only get this much from these monsters," he realized. He knew because of the cooldown period, he should time this ability for when he fought the boss of the dungeon. After his experiment, he moved to the end of the cave, killing a few more Rockeaters. This dungeon had multiple caves, but he was only after the mana stone cave where the boss was. Although he would still clear other caves to test his swordmanship, they were not his goals. The glowing stones in the caves were low-quality mana stones, and the mana inside them wasn''t enough to sell them as mana stones. This was why Emmy and Amelia didn''t react much when they entered the dungeon. Only Asher knew that this dungeon was a gold mine, and he intended to capitalize on it. Asher exited the cave and gazed upon the ten additional entrances in sight. He knew that one of them was the cave he was searching for, but he could only enter and determine which one it was. "Let''s quickly find the boss," Asher stepped into another cave as he muttered those words. Chapter 53 Meeting The Boss Asher had ignored several notifications before so he decided to look at his harvest till now. *Ding* *Ding* "Status," Asher said skipping past multiple notifications. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------ [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 7 (EXP 3000/7000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) ? [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 45 Agility: 30 Endurance: 50 Intelligence: 105 Mana: 66 Stamina: 47 Charm: 60 Fate: 6730 [AP]: 30 [SP]: 12 -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E) "3000 Hmmmm..," Asher saw that he had gained 3000 XP for all the Rockeaters he had killed till now. It seemed that F-Rank monsters only gave him around 200 Exp. ''I can farm more,'' he thought as he entered the second cave. It was filled with normal mana glowstones, but it wasn''t the cave where the mana stone mine was located. This cave wasn''t as deep as the previous one. "Not this one," he muttered, but he still went in to clear it. *Munch* *Munch* The sounds of Rockeaters eating the rocks echoed throughout the cave. Asher saw two Peak F-Rank Rockeaters who turned their dark ck eyes to at his directions. These two were Peak F Rank Rockeaters and their eyes were their distinctive features. Mid F Rank Rockeaters did not have a fully ck eye. *sh* With a swift dash and sh, he cut one Rockeater in half and then crouched to sh the stomach of the other. Although his fighting style appeared cruel, it was what made him so dangerous. Asher received 200 XP for each Rockeater he defeated. Despite using some of his mana for his dash and attack, his Mana Flow skill reduced the mana usage and maximized output. "GRgrgrgrgrgrg" "Grghgrhggrgrr" Hearing the sounds of his sword andmotion he made, nearby Rockeaters starteding out towards his direction. "Let''s finish this quickly," Asher said as he bended his knee before he dashed further inside. Using the mana cirction technique during all this required lot of focus and Asher was still adapting to it. His sword moved like a wave and as he kept killing the Rockeaters that appeared. The Rockeaters only had sharp ws and teeth as weapons, making them easy targets for Asher. Asher received multiple notifications for the XP he acquired, but he ignored them as he focused on his movements. He quickly cleared out this cave and moved to the next one which was a bit far from this cave and this one was also not the one he was looking for. Asher still went inside to kill a few F+ and F Rank Rockeaters that were present in their. He didn''t bother putting their corpses into his storage ring, as the guards outside the portal could handle it. In about 55 minutes, Asher had cleared eight caves and killed over 100 Rockeaters. He was now resting on a rock outside the ninth cave he was about to enter. Some of the previous caves had 10 or fewer Rockeaters scattered deeply, so Asher had to spend some of his mana and time to find them. Although he could have easily skipped them, he had apletionist mindset and didn''t like leaving things unfinished. If he started something, he made sure toplete it fully. *Gulp* Asher drank some energy drinks from his storage ring. Although he could have used a mana potion to instantly regain his lost mana, he preferred doing it through the new mana cirction technique that Nathan had taught him. With plenty of time and no rush, a simple rest was preferable for him. "Status," Asher said, as he stored the energy drinks back into his ring. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------ [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 9 (EXP 8000/9000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] ------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 45 Agility: 30 Endurance: 50 Intelligence: 105 Mana: 66 Stamina: 47 Charm: 60 Fate: 6730 [AP]: 40 [SP]: 16 -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E) "Level 10, is not too far," Asher said as he jumped off the rock and looked at the entrance of the ninth cave. He stretched his legs and cracked his neck and went inside. "Found it," Asher looked around and saw various pathways that went somewhere deep into the cave. This cave had many mana crystals which were refined into mana stones formercial use. The entrance was dark but after going a bit inside, he could see brightly glowing mana crystals which were hanging on the ceilings, to the side of the walls. He went into the centermost path and noticed the glowing mana crystals around him. This was the gold mine that previously was in the hands of the Williams Family but now he was possesing it. Preventing Nathan''s death and preventing the economic downfall of the Greville familypletely changed how the events yed out in the previous timeline. Asher walked in for 10 more minutes as this cave was very vaste. Not a single Rockeater was present here. It was because the dungeon boss was present in this cave. From their nature Rockeater avoided the strongest among them, that was the boss of this dungeon and no Rockeater would be present in his territory. He arrived at another junction in the cave where every paths that he found at the entrance seemed to met. He saw a single entrance in front of him and he knew that this was where the boss and dungeon altar would be present. Dungeon Altar was where the first clear reward of dungeon was present. It could be an item or a artificats but low rank dungeons did not give any worthwhile items or artificats. Only Rank A Dungeons were the one where decent or auctionable artificats were found. "GRRGGRRRRRRRRR" A creepy noise could be heard as Asher went in. As Asher cautiously crept deeper into the cave, his face was indifferent and his focus was high. The towering walls seemed to close in on him, and the eerie silence was only interrupted by the soft crunching of his footsteps on the jagged stone floor. Suddenly, a putrid stench filled the air, and Asher''s grip on his sword tightened as he prepared for the inevitable confrontation. In the distance, he saw a massive silhouette, its blue glowing eyes piercing the darkness like beacons. As he drew closer, the full terror of the situation became clear - there, in the center of the cavernous arena, sat a 3-foot tall monster, its brown fur bristling, its sharp ws cking together hungrily. The Rockeater Boss was ravenously devouring the sparkling mana crystals scattered about it, its razor-sharp teeth crunching loudly in the stillness. The Rockeater Boss was an E+ Rank boss monster, more powerful than Asher, who was currently at F- Rank and close to achieving F Rank. The creature''s gaze met Asher''s, and the air was filled with a deafening growl as it rose to its full height. "ROOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" the boss monster roared loudly andunched a w strike towards Asher. Asher sidestepped and made a cut on the Rockeater Boss''s hand. The boss groaned in pain, but Asher did not give him enough time and attacked again, focusing on using his new sword style to move around the boss. Due to the height difference, Asher had an easier time dodging the boss, but the damage he was doing was still not enough to stagger the boss. "ARRGGGRGRGRGRGG," the boss growled and struck at Asher with his ws. *Bam* Asher dodged the attack and the ws made a massive sound as they shed with the walls. Asher swiftly moved around the boss and shed a few more times, using the boss as an experiment to hone his sword skills. The boss was enraged, and his eyes were shining red. He picked up chunks of rock and started throwing them at Asher, who was running all over the ce dodging them. The Rockeater Boss''s mana enveloped his ws, increasing his speed. Asher used his sword to deflect the rocks, but the boss threw another rock at him. Asher used it as a smokescreen and dashed past its trajectory, using a burst of mana around his legs. The Boss was surprised to see Asher close to his chest region. The Rockeater Boss was moving his ws to strike Asher, but Asher was already near his chest. "Pierce," Asher muttered as a small coating of mana enveloped his sword, piercing the chest of the Rockeater Boss. He immediately dragged the sword diagonally, cutting the head of the boss into two pieces. < Host has aquired 1000 Exp > < Host has leveled up > [ Congrattion, Host has finally reached level 10 ] [ Unlocking......??......] Chapter 54 Level 10 [ Unlocking System Features.... ] ? [ Segmenting the blessing... ?!?.... ] Asher didn''t noticed it, but a small green orb appeared behind him and was absorbed into his nape. Too many notifications appeared at the same time, making it difficult for him to see which notification was saying what. [ Unlocking Shop... ] [ Unlocking Synthesis... ] [ Activating System Storage ess... ] [ System Calibration started... Wait Time <00:09:59> ] "Let''s check this boss," Asher decided. Seeing that his system needed 10 minutes to calibrate everything, he decided to check out the boss''s corpse. The ground around the boss was covered in a thick blue liquid. Asher ignored the gory scene and crouched down to touch the body of the boss. "The system is offline, but will this work?" Asher wondered. "Absorb," he thought, and red mana covered his arm, stretching out to cover the boss''s dead body. Asher felt his strength increase, but without the system, he had no way of knowing how many stats he had gained. He was sure that his current stats were less than what the boss had, but based on his earlier use of his bloodline ability, he knew that he could only absorb a portion of their stats. Rockeaters were known for their strength, and the fact that he only got one Strength stat meant that either he could only absorb a portion of their stats or he needed to upgrade his bloodline ability to increase the amount. Asher got up and put the boss''s corpse into his storage ring. He didn''t want to leave any evidence of his bloodline usage, and he could just tell Emmy that he took it as a trophy. He also took the corpse of the F-Rank Rockeater that he used his bloodline ability on. "Let''s check out the Altar of this dungeon," Asher said, moving further into the cave. He could see some pedestals leading to a tray where a pendant was visible. This section of the dungeon was called the Dungeon Altar, and there was always a reward whenever a new dungeon appeared. Although, nobody knew the intention behind the structure of these dungeons. Asher wondered why these dungeons were made this way and who structured them, just like many others. *Step* Step* Asher moved forward, and the sound of his steps echoed in the empty space around him. He arrived in front of a rocky te where the pendant was visible. The pendant had a brown-colored chain with a silver-colored center piece of a unique design. One could see small runes on the center piece. These runes were used to preserve things and identify the artifact''s purpose, discovered by runemasters who studied them hundreds of years ago. Asher picked up the pendant and looked at it. "Let''s wait for the system calibration," he said. He could use the system, or, like many people in this world, have it appraised by a runemaster and they were called Appraisers. Many powerful families made their own children study runes so they could appraise it themselves. "Let''s clear thest cave," he said. There were still about 8 minutes left, so he decided to clear thest cave as well. He quickly left, using his mana to enhance his speed. Asher''s method of enhancing himself was different from Augmenters like Amelia. In the early phases, it may seem like he was better than Augmenters who needed chants to cast buffs, but Augmenters were moreplex than that. Asher was using his Mana Flow skill to actively slightly stimte his mana veins, which he knew was safe for him unless he went overboard. This was one of the methods he devised to increase his power, but now he was carefully maintaining the amount of mana he was forcing through his veins. His newly-constructed mana veins, after he got his new bloodline, were capable of handling that much. He arrived at thest cave, but he was a bit surprised to see it. "How is this possible?" Asher spoke, as he looked around. This cave was also filled with mana crystals, just like the previous one. He was surprised because the amount that the Williams provided in the market only amounted to the previous, which was quite huge. If they had this many mana crystals, it would not make sense for them to hoard it and not distribute it. "Is something wrong with this cave?" Asher went deeper into the cave. Unlike his suspicions, this cave was totally normal. This also confirmed that, for some reason, the Williams family never sold this batch of mana crystals to the market. He looked around a bit more and used his mana sense to sense if everything was right, although using his mana sense at his level took a toll on his body and mind. He bore with it, as he believed that harming himself a bit was better than getting into unknown troublester. "Everything is normal," Asher said, as a frown appeared on his indifferent face. He had a lot of knowledge of the inner workings and deals that happened after the downfall of the Greville family, but he never knew anything regarding this. "Did they trade it secretly?" Asher pondered. This was the only possibility as to why this many mana crystals never made it into the market. "But who?" he was thinking hard because this one anomaly could be an obstacle in his ns in the future. And he could not investigate the Williams either. This course of history was changed by him, and now he had no way of knowing the secret buyer. "Well, when we release these in the market, the secret buyer wille to light," Asher''s crimson-red eyes shone as the atmosphere grew heavy around him. [System Calibration Completed] [Features Avable Now] [ System Inventory is not essible ] [ Host has gained +10 Strength Stat ] [ Host has gained +5 Endurance Stat ] The system gave him the notifications about his gains from using his bloodline ability earlier. "Status," Asher muttered, -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 10 (EXP 0/10,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 45+10 Agility: 30 Endurance: 50+5 Intelligence: 105 Mana: 66 Stamina: 47 Charm: 60 Fate: 6730 [AP]: 40 [SP]: 16 -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E) [ Shop function is open ] [ Synthesis is now functional ] [ Detecting a new sword style... ] [ Synthesis possible..... ] [ Does the Host want to merge the two styles, creating a new one? ] "How will this merge work?" Asher asked the system. [ The host will gain insights into apletely new style of sword, a mixture of their own knowledge and the Rune of Eirdin, utilizing hidden features of the system. ] [ The host will gain knowledge of this sword art, but they will need to practice and increase its mastery themselves. This cannot be increased using Skill points, as a whole new, unique style will be created. ] [ Does the host wish to continue? ] "Do it," Asher knew his choice. He could always use his existing sword art, but having a more powerful one was something he would not regret. Unlike his bloodline, this was not a random roll where he could get a wasteful one. [ Synthesis: Starting... ] [ Type: Sword Arts, Merging existing arts ] [ Calibrating with ?I? and Rune of Eirdin ] "Urgh," Asher groaned a bit as his head started hurting from all the information he was gaining. It was a simr but different feeling from the knowledge he got from the Rune of Eirdin. He was in a trance-like state, and his mind drifted through many thoughts during this. A notification brought him out of it. [ Node-Art Rank SSS formed, Type-Evolvable ] Chapter 55 New Sword Art? As the System was performing the calibration, Asher felt the birth of this new sword art. It was like reading a blurred text and he could barely understand what it could do, but he felt the power behind it. In his mind, a flood of unknown information was flowing in. Asher, who was in a trance-like state, couldn''t even see the notifications of the system anymore. [ Starting Influx... ] [ Protecting Host''s mental capacity..... ] [ Temporary Increase of Intelligence ......] [ Intelligence +500 ] [ ?!? Resonating ] [ Warning! .... ] [ Sealing Host''s Mana, Activating the Blessing.......] Meanwhile, Asher felt what this new sword art was all about. Although he saw the beginning of this art, he couldn''t see the end. He felt as if he was walking on an endless bridge, and all around him were different scriptures of this art. Every step he took, more scriptures appeared on his sides. He felt as if he could walk his entire life, seeing all of this, but as he was walking, he felt a sudden pull. He wanted to resist it, but he couldn''t go against it. [ Formation Complete....... ] [ Sealing the blessing ........ ] [ Reversing Stats.............. ] [ Unsealing the Mana ... ] "Argh," Asher groaned as he opened his eyes. [ Node-Art Rank SSS formed, Type-Evolvable ] Seeing the notification, he remembered why he was like this. His mind was puzzled, but he quickly regained hisposure and stood up. [ Congralution to the Host for obtaining a new sword art. ] [ Warning..... ?!? ??! ] [ ?!? Sealing the System......... 1% ] [ Blessing Activated ......... ] "What is happening?" Asher was startled by the multiple notifications. "System?" Asher called out, but he didn''t receive a response from his system. "Status," he said, but again, nothing happened. Although his mind was still a bit hazy from the previous trance-like state, this sudden event caught him off guard. He had no idea what was happening, but before he could think about it, a notification appeared in front of him. [ System operation resuming....... ] [ Warning! sealed........ ] "System, what happened just now?" Asher asked the system. His mind was almost clear now. [ During the formation of this sword art, the System activated the blessing to help the host. This incident was due to that. And as a rebound some of the features including Shop have been sealed. ] "Can you exin more?" Asher''s voice was cold. He didn''t like whatever was going on, and more and more things were getting out of his control, which irritated him quite a bit. [ Not enough Authority... Host is advised to increase his level. ] "Dammit," Asher was annoyed with the same reply. ''I need this damn authority,'' Asher''s thoughts strayed away when he remembered his new sword art. ''Let''s focus on this for now,'' he thought. "Can you exin what this sword art is all about?" Asher knew what he had learned, but he remembered being pulled while learning more about this new sword style. [ The host has gained a Rank SSS sword art, but right now it is not at its full potential. ] [ The System stopped you when you reached the limit ofprehending this sword style. Although you have learned it, your mastery of this new sword art is not present. ] "What do you mean by ''not present''?" Asher was confused, as he rememberedprehending the early scriptures of the sword art quite well. [ Try to perform the sword art as you remember it. ] Listening to the system, Asher closed his eyes to recall what he had learned about this new sword art. However, a frown appeared on his face as all his knowledge seemed blurry to him. This was a strange feeling for him, as he knew it but couldn''t recall it at the same time. "Why is this happening?" Asher questioned, opening his eyes. [ The knowledge is still iplete, and your mental capacity is unable to hold all of this knowledge. ] [ The system has added a new mastery for this sword art, as it has no rank right now. It''s an evolvable sword art, and only the host could reveal the limits of this sword art. ] "Then why did you rank it as SSS-Rank?" Asher questioned the system. [ That was the current potential of this art whenpared with the existing sword arts of the host. Currently, you will have difficulty increasing its mastery. ] [ The mastery for this sword begins from Fundamental, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster, etc. ] [ Currently, the host is not even at the Novice level. Only byprehending this sword style can you increase its mastery. ] [ The system has named it evolvable because even the system cannot see the limits of this sword style. This is something unique that was created by the Rune of Eirdin and your knowledge,bined with some of the hidden features of the system. ] [ So, the system cannot help the host in any way regarding this sword art. ] "Okay, no big deal. Show me about this ability," Asher said. He was fine with learning the art himself, as he knew the base of it and only needed to build upon it. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 10 (EXP 0/10,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 55 Agility: 30 Endurance: 55 Intelligence: 105 Mana: 66 Stamina: 47 Charm: 60 Fate: 6730 [AP]: 45 [SP]: 18 -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E), Node-Art Rank SSS [ New Sword Art added to skill ] [-Skills-]: Node-Art Rank SSS Type : Rank SSS Sword Art, Evolvable Mastery : None Penalty : Holder of this art will not remember any other sword art. "What?" Asher was shocked reading the penalty of this new sword art. He tried to recall his previous sword style or the one he was practicing until now, but other than the basic form and footwork, everything was a nk state. "System, what is this penalty?" A menacing aura started to appear around him. [ This penalty was not something the System could foresee. Although, the Host can rx as this sword art is certainly more powerful than your previous one. ] Listening to the System, Asher knew he could not reverse his actions anymore. This art was the tradeoff of knowledge he carried with his new rune. He checked about his rune, but apart from his knowledge about the sword art, everything was fine. His memories were intact, and he could even recall all the fights he had, but despite remembering everything about his enemies, his own actions were not recable. He took his sword in his hands and tried to perform the basic movements, and he could do them perfectly. Even his footwork was wless, but when he tried to imitate the fights he had, he was unable to do so. It was like he was learning it again, by recalling his memories, but the moment he recalled them, he would forget it again. "Let''s try this," Asher gave up and epted that he needed to hone this new sword style as fast as possible, or some of his ns could get thwarted quite easily. Although, he was still sure he could beat everyone of his age just by using the basics, but his list of enemies was not limited to people of his age. Asher recalled the knowledge he gained and closed his eyes as he started to swing his sword. "A node." He recalled that the first scripture was about finding the nodes which were like small light bulbes present around the target. "Connect," The second scripture he saw was about connecting those nodes. "Execute," The third scripture he saw depicted a wave-like motion with the sword moving along the connected lines. He opened his eyes, and imagined a Rockeater in front of him, and started to duel him. As he swung his sword, a runic pattern appeared in his crimson red eyes. He could imagine different nodes on the Rockeater and around it. He moved his sword along those nodes, but he stopped after doing it once. "No wasted movement..." Asher was a bit surprised to see that his swing just now did not contain any wasted movement. Although it was difficult for him to maintain this new footwork as he moved the way he needed. Asher saw the notification, and just like he thought, replicating and understanding the scriptures he saw was the way forward. "This was easy, but the next scriptures are not clear," Asher tried hard remembering them, but every time he tried to do so, it was like he was standing in a dense fog with no way forward. "Fundamentals..." Asher muttered as he knew he needed to master them perfectly before he could move forward. It was almost like this sword art had a will which did not allow Asher to move forward before he achieved a certain threshold. Asher started swinging his sword around, fighting imaginary enemies. His handling appeared elegant, but it was also more ruthless and urate than his previous sword art. Although Asher did not remember his previous art, he could still feel the difference between them. He stopped when the mastery stopped increasing. He knew that he needed more time to properly increase it and that he needed to achieve the next level before entering the World Academy. Chapter 56 Getting To F+ Rank Outside the dungeon, Amelia was chatting with Emmy because Lucas and Livia were still resting in the temporary camp that had been set up for them. "When do you think he wille back?" Amelia asked as she ate a snack. "It''s an exploration type dungeon, so maybe Young Master will take his time exploring four to five caves beforeing back," Emmy replied. "Really? I mean, he was quite good during the duel, but fighting F-Rank monsters would take a toll on him," Amelia said while chewing on her snack. Amelia was quitefortable with Emmy because, growing up, Emmy filled the spot of an elder sibling for her. She was like a big sister to Amelia, and Emmy would be her choice whenever she needed advice about anything. This was also the reason why Emmy made a blunder of not reporting Ameliaing together with the twins. Her perspective of Amelia was greatly different from Asher''s. "Young Master defeated around 10 G-Rank Wolves when he was a G-Rank, and I believe he can do this much after his training," Emmy said proudly. "Hmm, you are quite proud of him," Amelia said as she squinted her eyes a bit. "Of course!" Emmy immediately replied. "Hmph, he is just a mean bastard. I can''t understand how you and Damian even stay around him all the time," Amelia said annoyingly. "Well, I think Young Master might act a bit cold and not like others around his age, but..." Emmy was speaking when the safety device made a noise, alerting everyone present. "Everyone, we are going in. Search for Young Master quickly!" Emmymanded as she dashed towards the dungeon gate. Following her, several guards also disappeared into the dungeon gate. Not all guards followed her as they needed to be there to protect Amelia and the twins, who were still sleeping in their tents. "I hope he is fine," Amelia said as she looked at the dungeon gate. One hour ago, inside the dungeon, Asher was still gettingfortable with his new sword art. His movements were getting more refined as he followed the scriptures that he remembered seeing. "Hmm, the penalty is not as strict as I thought," Asher said to himself. Asher knew that he was getting better at the sword art, andpleting the first mastery alone would be a great challenge for anybody who was new to swords. This meant that just like he retained his knowledge of basic swordsmanship, he still had his old instincts, which helped him correct his movements several times he imagined battling an enemy. "System, will the features that were sealed be unlocked?" Asher worded his question in a way that the system could answer him. [ Host can unlock it, but if the host wants to know anything other than this, you don''t have enough authority right now. ] Asher continued his training as he got the answer he needed. It was not that he needed the features that were sealed. He was sure that his own knowledge was enough for him to carry out his ns. But he knew that whatever the system could have offered him would have been quite valuable. He knew that going forward, the future would change a lot, and more variables would appear that could hinder him. "I still cannot remember the next scripture," Asher stopped as he noticed that his mastery would not increase any further than this right now. He needed some time for his mind to stabilize what he had just learned and master it fully to move any further. Getting ripped off of his sword art considerably weakened him. He was a swordsman in his previous life as well, and doping his mana to forcefully increase his ranks made him unable to be a mage. Asher''s bloodline ability would have made him a great mage if he had taken a natural path to increase his strength. Asher was currently an F Rank and could feel he would soon be an F+ Rank. His body was still in the process of consolidating his E-Rank mana corepletely with his body. This was also the reason Asher did not try any mana-rted techniques that would burden his body. And now, after his new sword art, he was unable to recall them. He also did not learn any mage-rted spells because he knew that learning them in the World Academy would be more beneficial for him. During his consolidation period, he could focus on his sword. His knowledge of spells was only limited to some spells which he learned during his stay at the World Academy. "Hmm, should I try the first method?" Asher questioned himself. He vaguely remembered his mana doping methods as they were strongly integrated into his sword art. He wanted to test if he could replicate them now. Also, the fact that his bloodline ability had changed made him question if the new limits he could handle now were lower or higher than before. Asher hesitated for a moment before deciding to try replicating his mana doping methods. He closed his eyes and focused on his mana core, feeling the flow of mana within him. He then tried to manipte the flow of mana, pushing it beyond its natural limits. As he did so, he felt a surge of power coursing through his body. However, he also felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if his body couldn''t handle the strain. He could feel the mana resisting him, not wanting to follow the directions he wanted it to move. This was vastly different from Mana Cirction techniques because he was forcing the mana to move outside the mana veins, and doing this was the same as injuring someone with a mana-coated dagger. But Asher had found a way to strengthen his body by making his mana veins even stronger after damaging and healing them at the same rate. He was making his core forcefully extract the mana to damage himself, and making sure the mana did not go wild inside his body, carefully maintaining the amount he was forcing outside the mana veins. This meant he was forcefully consolidating his body to his mana, while at the same time trying to strengthen the amount his mana veins could handle by making them go through a process of repairing after injuring them. His first method was not that harmful to him the first time, but repeating this would have damaged his core a little bit, and he could only replicate it because of his passive skill that allowed him a certain amount of mana maniption inside his body. [Warning Host is advised to stop!] Asher ignored the system, knowing that this much harm would heal in a month or sopletely. This method for the first time would not give him a permanent injury that would not heal. [Warning Host is advised to stop!] [Warning Host is advised to stop!] Mana around his body was going rampant, and this made the security bracelet activate itself as the mana it was reading outside the mana veins counted as a critical injury. The one who invented this safety device never considered someone who would harm themselves to such degrees to increase their power. Cough Asher spurted blood and got on his knees. The rebound he received from this made him feel weak. "Cough It seems that I cannot use this method in my current condition," Asher said as he saw the blood he coughed on the ground. "F+ Rank," Asher could feel that he had ranked up to the peak of the F Rank, and his injuries were not too critical as well. He only did this because currently, his mana core rank was higher than his current rank, and he estimated that he could handle it with his current Mana Flow skill. But the rebound was more than he expected, and this made him aware that his doping methods would do him more harm than he thought. "Status," Asher spoke, -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 10 (EXP 0/10,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E [Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 55+5 Agility: 30+6 Endurance: 55+3 Intelligence: 105 Mana: 66+10 Stamina: 47+8 Charm: 60 Fate: 6730 [AP]: 45 [SP]: 18 ? -------------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E), Node-Art Rank SSS He looked at his status, noticing some of his stats had gone up due to him ranking up. He did not get any notification because his Mana Core was currently at E Rank, so the system did not consider it a true rank up for him. "YOUNG MASTER!!" Asher heard a scream, and he knew whose voice it was. He turned his head and saw Emmy, who sensed his mana and immediately appeared in front of him. Emmy stopped as she saw Asher, who was on the ground with blood around his mouth. She was confused how Asher got hurt, but she arrived near him to check his condition first. "Young Master, are you fine? Why are you so deep into this dungeon?" Emmy questioned, but she brought a healing potion from her storage ring at the same time. "It''s fine, I hurt myself trying a new technique that I learned with Grandfather," Asher said while his indifferent eyes looked at Emmy. "But- Wait, this cave," Emmy stopped and noticed the cave she was in was surrounded by mana crystals. "A Mana Crystal Mine!!" Emmy was shocked as her eyes looked around her. Her mind was all over the ce as too many things were happening at the same time. Asher was too deep into the dungeon and he got hurt in what seemed like an empty cave, and the numerous monster carcasses she saw on the way made her wonder how Asher managed to do it. "Yes, and there are two caves inside this dungeon. I have already cleared the boss of this dungeon, so tell the guards to make sure nobody enters this dungeon." Asher got up from his ce, but he did not take the potion Emmy offered to him. "Oh, okay. Wait, what? You cleared the boss?" Emmy''s eyes widened from the shock as she looked at the indifferent face of Asher, who was clearing the mud off his clothes. "I did, and I want to rest now. Take the guards that followed you out of this dungeon. Make sure nobody does anything fishy." Asher moved past her. "Okay," Emmy said, but there were many questions in her head. However, it was not her job to ask Asher such things. She knew her limits, and the angry face of Asher was still fresh in her head from when they arrived in the mountain range. Chapter 57 Vernes?, Going Back Home ******************************** In Desmar, inside Astaria Household. A couple could be seen sitting on a huge dining table eating together. As the man was eating his food, he heard the voice of his wife. "It seems that the Greville and Rothschild will have some confrontation in the near future," a beautiful woman with blond hair and blue eyes told the man who was sitting on the same table as her. "Well, the Greville were getting too powerful, so this would make sure they don''t overstep their limits," the man with red hair replied to her. "I was thinking that I should tell n to befriend the heir of the Greville during his stay at the World Academy, but this event with Rothschild made me reconsider it," the man spoke. "ALEX!! Don''t use our son for such purposes," the blond woman shouted at him. "Use that bitch instead. No need to trouble n for such things," she spoke. "Calm down, Mia. I was just thinking about creating a friendly rtionship with the Greville, but I''m reconsidering it myself," the man calmed his wife down. "And you know that girl is useless. I mean, her face is hideous enough that it would strain our rtionship with the Greville more than better it," the man told her. "Whatever, it''s your headache, not mine." The woman stood up and walked out of the room. "Sigh," the man sighed as he saw his wife leave the table. "Tsk, this girl is so useless. But n befriending that Whiteheart boy doesn''t sound too bad as well," the man said. "Well, I have 7 months to think about it." He stood up after he finished the food and left the table as well. ******************************* Asher moved out of the cave and looked in the direction where the portal gate was present. He was done with what he wanted to achieve in the dungeon and had also acquired the new sword art, which only time could tell where it would take him. "Young Master!!" A couple of guards who were behind Emmy and searching in the cave saw Asher, so they came near him. "I am fine. I have given Emmy the orders for now. Follow what she says for now," Asher said with an indifferent face. "As you wish," the guards were used to him as they always followed him everywhere. Asher left them, as they informed others who followed them inside the dungeon in theirmunication devices. "Garreth, you take four guys and protect this dungeon until I send more people. Make sure nobody enters the dungeon until I give you guys the confirmation," Emmy told the guards with a serious face. "Yes, Team Leader!" The guards replied together. They did not question what the reason behind her decision was, as Emmy was not a simple maid that served Asher. She was a special elite that followed Sylvia, was partially trained by her, and was famous for her reconnaissance skills. This team of guards were trained under Emmy directly as Asher''s security. They were all B-Rank hunters, as this was enough for Asher who would only travel a few times. The Grevilles were sure that nobody was stupid enough to attack them in their own territory called Soran. Although Soran also had the World Academy, it was on a floating ind, and only the portal dome was present in Soran. So, the influence of the World Academy in Soran was not stronger than the Grevilles. Asher saw the portal and stepped into it, feeling a huge wave of mana rush towards him as he found himself in front of the temporary camp that was set up outside the dungeon gate. The rest of the guards had already received the news of Asher being fine, so they were not surprised to see him walk out casually. "Are you fine?" Amelia said. She was outside near the gate, so she saw Asher walking out of the dungeon gate looking almost fine. Asher looked towards Amelia with his usual indifferent face. "Yeah," Asher''s same indifferent voice irked Amelia, but she could only take his answer. "Where are the twins?" Asher asked Amelia. "Oh, I think they will wake up soon." Amelia replied to him. "Wake them up now. We are leaving." Asher said to Amelia. "Okay," Amelia turned and replied to him, but you could tell she was irritated with Asher. "Mean bastard," Amelia muttered as she walked towards the camp where the twins were resting. "Young Master, I have arranged for security to guard this dungeon." Emmy, who came out just moments after Amelia left, said to Asher. "I will tell Mom and Dad about this cave and my ns for it. Make sure news doesn''t leak." Asher''s gaze turned a bit cold, but Emmy did not seem to be affected by it. "As you wish," Emmy was saying something when she suddenly got a notification about a certain piece of information Asher was looking for. "Oh, I think we have found the person you described to me weeks ago." Emmy told Asher excitedly. "Where is his current location?" Asher asked Emmy as he knew what information Emmy was talking about. "It says that the person you described is hiding around in Vernes," Emmy replied. "Vernes.." Asher muttered. He knew that Vernes was another city of Somaria, south of Soran, and famous for being the city where the World Association tower was located in Somaria. Every continent had a building for the World Association, and for Somaria, it was Vernes. "Bring that man to Soran, and make sure that nobody gets on your trail during this mission," Asher said to Emmy. "This might be a bit tricky due to the World Association-" Emmy stopped as Asher threw something towards her. "Take this emblem of the Raven family and make sure that he gets to Soran soon," Asher said. Emmy looked at the emblem that Asher had taken out of his ring. It was the token that could only be used by VVIP members of the Raven guild. This was given to Asher by Alfred on his tenth birthday. "Okay, I will make sure that the work gets done," Emmy immediately disappeared, leaving Asher alone. Asher sat down and closed his eyes to assess the damage that he had suffered from the doping method. He channeled his mana cirction technique, and he could feel that the stinging pain was gone, but notpletely. He could still feel a bit of pain left around his chest region, but it was something that would trouble him greatly. "Not that bad," Asher muttered as he opened his eyes. He found that his condition right now did not require him to take a potion to heal the numerous small injuries that he suffered from this method. "Lucas, Livia, get up, we are leaving," Amelia said. The twins, who had rested enough, got up without creating any fuss. "Hmmm, YAWN- Did we win, Lucas?" Livia yawned and asked Lucas if they had won. She looked cute worrying about the fight, even though she was quite tired. "We did," Lucas brushed his hand on her head, making Livia giggle a bit. "Come on, Livia, get up. We need to leave now. You can rest when we get home," Amelia told Livia. "Okay, Big Sis," Livia immediately jumped from her bed as she nodded her head quickly to affirm Amelia. ''So cute,'' Amelia thought in her mind, being careful not to speak out loud. "Is bro out now?" Lucas asked with a low voice. "Oh, apparently, he also got hurt and needed Emmy to take him out of the dungeon. Not so strong after all," Amelia cheekily changed the story a bit. It was her form of petty revenge against Asher for his mean attitude. "Is he fine?" Lucas immediately asked her. "Yeah, don''t worry. He is outside, so you can see for yourself," Amelia replied to him. The twin saw Amelia leaving so they followed her. "Ash, we are ready to go!" Amelia came out with the twins and saw Asher standing there, waiting for them. As they moved towards the location of their cars, Amelia noticed that some of their security was missing. "Emmy, some of the guys are missing," Amelia turned her head and asked Emmy, who was beside her. "They are guarding the dungeon on my order," before Emmy could answer, Asher replied to her question. "Oh, is there any reason for extra people here?" Amelia got curious, so she asked Asher. "You will know soon enough," Asher sat in the car as the driver opened the door for him. "You-" Amelia muttered quietly but stopped midway and quietly sat in the car. The car left for the mansion, and Emmy also went together with them. Lucas was curious about what Asher encountered in the dungeon, so he chose to ask directly. "How many of those monsters did you kill?" Lucas''s eyes shone as he asked Asher. It was a bit weird for a 10-year-old to get excited by the thought of killing monsters, but being a Greville, being a bit insane ran in his blood as well. "Don''t know, maybe above 100, including the boss," Asher looked at him and answered. "Wait, you killed the boss? And 100+ F-Rank monsters?" Amelia almost screamed but controlled her voice. Chapter 58 Dreams Of Past "Yeah," Asher looked towards Amelia and replied, "Don''t joke with me, you are only F Rank, right?" Amelia had her mouth open as she could not believe it. Asher took out the artifact he had retrieved from the dungeon altar and threw it towards Amelia. "You really did!?" Amelia looked at the pendant, and from what she had learned until now, she could guess that this pendant was the artifact that Asher had found in the dungeon. "Emmy, did he really?" Amelia asked Emmy, who was sitting in the front. "Yeah, I found the empty Dungeon Altar, and I saw many dead Rockeaters inside," Emmy did not tell her about the missing body of the boss Rockeater. She thought that Asher took it as a trophy, as his first Dungeon Clear, as many people liked to collect their first big hunt. "Wow," Lucas muttered. "Big brother defeated those strong monsters all alone?" Livia was also surprised as she had fought one Rockeater, and it was quite difficult for her, even with Lucas supporting her. "Oh, you did well for G-Rank. Defeating an F-Rank monster at your level is something only talented people can do," Amelia patted her head. ''He might defeat Kevin and others as well,'' Amelia thought to herself. At the time when Asher dueled Elena, who was an F-Rank mage, Kevin was already a peak F-Rank who would soon be an E-Rank hunter. Being in the same academy with Kevin in Desmar, Amelia knew how strong Kevin was. There were other talented geniuses as well, but her knowledge of other geniuses was only from rumors. The car arrived at the Greville Estate, and all of them got out. Asher was going to rest a bit because his body was tired, although he appeared fine from outside, but he was in pain the whole time. He looked fine to others because he was used to worse pain than this. "Lucas and Livia, you guys rest for today, and we can practice more from tomorrow, okay?" Amelia told the twins as they stepped out of the car. "Okay," Livia replied, and Lucas also nodded with her. "I will also go now," Amelia looked at Asher. "Sure," Asher turned as Amelia left the living room. He still needed a bath because he was covered in the blood of the Rockeaters previously. Although the nano armor was designed to make sure no lingering residue was left, if not for the function of the suit, the twins would have to travel in a different car altogether. The stench of monster blood was strong and was not a pleasant one at all. Asher entered his personal bathroom and took a quick shower. Every trickle of water that touched his body made his sensitive body react due to the small injuries all over his body. Although he looked fine, his body was not used to this type of doping, unlike in the past. He could bear the pain, but the nerves made his body react due to his unusual doping method. After finishing the shower, Ashery back in his bed. It was still afternoon, and he decided to sleep until dinner. His body needed rest, and being tired, he quickly fell asleep. ****************************** "Argh," the ck-haired man lying down on a bed woke up, and his red eyes met the man in ab coat in front of him. He was in a room full of equipment and some devices attached to his body, disying his condition. "Are you feeling fine?" the man in theb coat asked him. "Argh, Fuck!!" the ck-haired man grabbed his head. "What happened? Asher, are you fine?" the man in theb coat rushed and grabbed his hand, supporting Asher in getting up. "Where is Lucas? Argh," Asher spoke still grabbing his head. The man in theb coat did not reply back to his question. "Nate? I asked, where the fuck is Lucas?" Asher looked up, and his crimson-red eyes met Nate, who was just staring towards him. "He saved you. Your core was broken, and only he could help you," Nate''s voice trembled as he spoke. His eyes looked away from Asher. "A-And doing that, he sacrificed h-his life," Nate felt something stuck in his throat. "Cough" Nate felt an overflowing bloodlust fill the whole room. He felt as if he were struck by a flood of water. He could not breathe and fell down to his knees. "ARghhghhhh," Asher screamed as his head was bursting with pain, his mana was ring, and its sheer pressure destroyed the many devices around him. BAM Asher threw the devices connected to his arm, making them hit the wall and stter into pieces. "A-Asher, wait, don''t move. Your body is still recovering," hearing Nate''s voice, the pressure on him eased up a bit, but he still could not get up. "Get Tom to get me the location of those people." Asher turned and looked at Nate. Nate was a bit intimidated by his eyes, but he needed to stop Asher. "Wait, everybody is still recovering from thest-" Nate was speaking, but, "SHUT UP!! If you want to leave, you can. I will not stop you," Asher left the room as Nate watched him leave helplessly. "I think we have made a mistake, Lucas," Nate sat with his back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was too tired as Asher required his constant watch during the recuperation period. "Too many people have died already, but I can''t stop now." Nate remembered his brother Damian. Months Later, "WAIT, SPARE MY KIDS," a woman shouted at Asher. "NOOOOO, please nooooooo," her eyes were filled with tears as she saw Asher, who was standing in front of her husband''s dead body. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH, and why would I?" Asher''s red eyes looked at the woman in front of him. "No, please leave us alone!!" The woman hugged her children, fearing the man standing in front of her. BAM A st happened, breaking one of the walls in the room, and a man could be seening out of the dust. "Asher, wait!!" Nate, who saw Asher covered in the blood of multiple people, spoke hurriedly. Asher turned, and his dead-looking red eyes looked towards Nate. "No need to kill them," Nate came a bit closer to Asher. "Stop right there," Asher raised his sword, pointing it towards Nate. Nate knew that he could not stop Asher. "Stop!! Do you think she would have been fine looking at you now?" Nate wanted to stop Asher from killing more innocent people. "ARGHHHHHHH!" Listening to Nate, a memory arose in the head of Asher, making him lower his sword as an intense headache that could kill any sane person hit him. "Sir, we need to evacuate. Two SSS-Rank hunters have been dispatched," before Nate could look at Asher, one of their organization members wearing a ck mask interrupted them. "FUCK, let''s leave," Asher turned and decided to leave. Despite the intense pain, he could hear his subordinate''s voice clearly, and he made the instant decision to leave. Hearing his voice, both Nate and the woman who was beside the dead body of her husband were relieved. "Okay," Nate also followed behind Asher as they left the mansion that probably belonged to the dead husband. "Boss, the portal is ready. We can leave now," a person in a ck mask looked at Asher and said. "Let''s leave quickly," Nate was leaving but he stopped when he suddenly saw Asher take out his sword. "Severing sh," Asher shed his sword as he turned towards the mansion, and an arc made of mana left his sword. "Noooo," Nate was too slow to stop him, and he saw Asher''s attack go through the mansion. "Why?" Nate could not help but ask Asher. "She is dead. Don''t ever mention her again. This is what I am," Asher''s cold voice was heard by Nate as he watched Asher''s back. "You can leave my side anytime you want but don''t ever try all this on me again," Asher''s cold gaze stunned even his subordinates, but Nate only had a defeated look on his face. ***************************** "Hoooo haaaa hoooo haaa" Asher suddenly got up from his bed, waking up from his dream as he breathed heavily. "Argh," he felt a slight headache, but it was gone a few secondster. Asher looked towards the painting in his room to calm himself down. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 7 PM in the evening. "I should go down," he remembered that he needed to talk to Sylvie about those mines. He got up and decided to change his clothes, as his current ones were soaked in sweat. He left his room and saw Emmy standing in the hallway. "What happened?" Asher asked Emmy. "Ah, Lady Sylvie has arrived and she wanted to meet you when you woke up," Emmy replied, feeling a bit startled by Asher''s colder than usual aura. "Okay," Asher said, as he needed to talk to Sylvie about the mines. "And the man you asked about, I think we can bring him to Soran in the next three to four days," Emmypleted her report. "Make sure this matter remains confidential," Asher instructed Emmy. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy replied. Chapter 59 Business Talks Asher walked downstairs and headed towards the living room where he saw Sylvie sitting there, wearing a ck suit. She had just arrived from the office and hadn''t changed yet. Sylvie looked towards Asher, but her mood seemed off. "Care to exin?" Sylvie''s voice was cold as she spoke to Asher. Asher looked at her with an indifferent face. "What?" he said. "I heard you defeated the dungeon boss all by yourself," Sylvie said. "Ash, I''m proud of your talent, but such carelessness could lead even a genius like you to your demise." For her, Asher was indeed a genius. His talent had shown his capabilities so far, but in her eyes, he was still a 14-year-old child. He might act mature, but in Sylvie''s eyes, he was a child who would continue to make mistakes and learn from them. It was her job as a mother to ensure Asher understood the risk. "I knew my limits, and I had the safety bracelet as well," Asher didn''t want to argue anymore. He couldn''t tell her that he wasn''t a child who would make rookie mistakes. "Sigh. Sit down. Emmy told me that you wanted to talk about something," Sylvie said, changing the topic rather than arguing any further. "Yeah, when I explored the dungeons, it was full of Rockeaters, but when I approached thest two caves, I found out that they were filled with Mana Crystals," Asher spoke. "What?!?" Sylvie''s eyes widened with surprise. "If I''m not wrong, that supply could confirm our dominance on the Mana stones market," Asher exined. "Wait, let me think about it for a second," Sylvie needed some time to think. Finding a Mana crystal mine was even rarer than an SS-Rank Mana Gem, and currently, there were only four such mines under the direct control of the Greville family, which allowed them to dominate the market. However, some elite families were worried about the increasing economy of the Grevilles, so they decided to band together to put pressure on them. This was the issue that created a headache for Sylvie. She couldn''t outright remove the Elite families, andpeting on a global scale with some elite families interrupting their business didn''t help them much. "Tell me, what do you want to do with it?" Sylvie looked up and asked Asher. "I want to break the supply 60/40 by selling 60% to the Abyss guild and keeping the rest and creating my own supply chain," Asher told Sylvie. "Make it 80/20, and you can do it," Sylvie stared at her own son as a smile appeared on her face. Her true nature as a fearsome businesswoman wasing out. She wouldn''t even allow her own son to take advantage of her in business. She was called a demon in the business world, and her acumen for business was far greater than Asher''s, who was a genius himself. "You know that I own that dungeon, right?" Asher crossed his legs. "Oh, my little boy is so cute!" Sylvie smiled at Asher, but the next moment, the motherly smile changed. "But don''t forget that your cute little dungeon is in Soran, and you don''t want to experience minor issues, right?" Sylvie was half-joking, but the Mana crystal mine was not something she would blindly give to Asher, who was still a child. She did not bat an eye at Asher spending a huge amount of 1 Billion AUR for his personal use because she knew that he was smart enough to make something out of it. She had seen her son''s intelligence in such fields as he grew up. Both Sylvie and Arthur would make Asher actively participate in their business talks during dinner and test him. "70/30, I will not lower it more than this," Asher knew the nature of his mother and her own talent in business and her capabilities as well. If he did not need some of his own independent funds for his future ns, he would have agreed with Sylvie. "Oh my," Sylvie put her hand on her mouth, acting surprised and childishly. "Sigh, s, it was true that children cut off their poor parents as they grow up," Sylvie said as she fake wiped tears from her eyes. She looked at Asher and saw his same indifferent face. He was not one bit affected by her little performance. "Tsk, Okay, you have a deal. I will send the contract to Emmy; sign it when you receive it." Sylvie ended her little charade and agreed to a deal. "Okay, I might skip dinner today as I need to continue my training," Asher stood up, and Sylvie also stood up. "Training is good, but don''t forget to rest, okay?" Sylvie walked and said as she kissed Asher on the forehead with her hands on his shoulder. "I will," Asher assured and left the room, leaving Sylvie alone. "Something was off about him, maybe because of his first dungeon run. I should give him some time." Sylvie could notice that Asher''s vibe was a bit different. She wanted to lighten up the mood, so she yed around with him like that. **************************** In a small apartment room in Vernes, a man sat in front of hisputer amidst snacks and a messy room. He wore sses, had ck hair, and an average face. He typed away on his system, muttering to himself. I am sorry, but we have decided to continue without you on board. I wish you the best and appreciate your hard work throughout. "Damn it, these fucking bastards," the man grumbled. "I worked on this project for a month, and now they cut me off like that!!" He flung a bottle at the wall. "Arghhh, I need to pay the bill this month as well." He stood up from his chair, frustrated. "This damn world can''t understand talent like me." He was exhausted from applying to numerous jobs and being rejected due to not being a hunter and a social person. *beep* He received a notification on his phone and decided to check it out. Brother, you haven''t called me in a week. Is everything okay? "Haaah, what should I even tell her?" He massaged his head as he walked around his small apartment room. Oh, I was just applying for some jobs. I might find one soon and finally get some funds for my cute little nephew. I''ve said it before, but you don''t need to shoulder all these problems alone. Have some rest. I''m sure it will get better in the future. Sara, I''ll chat with youter. I received a work-rted text. Oh, sure. But don''t forget to take care of yourself. I know, take care. Bye!! "Sigh, it''s so difficult to work for the World Association." He threw his phone on his bed. "Why did I evene to this city?" He looked up at the ceiling, remembering the time he came to find a job at the World Association. His application was rejected multiple times because he was not a capable hunter ording to their standards, and his poor background did not help him much. "Should I just give up?" He looked out of his window and saw many people happily walking around. He was a young man in his mid-twenties, but he could not enjoy his life like other people. He was jealous, but he needed to earn for his sister who was a single mother with an ill son suffering from a disease that required a lot of money and good facilities. "What am I even thinking? I should just apply for another job," he said to himself as he sat back on his chair and started scrolling through job portals. *ding* *ding* He heard the bell of his apartment and stopped typing. "Fuck, why is that fat bastard ringing my bell? It''s not even the end of the month yet," he muttered as he annoyingly got up from his chair and went towards his door. *ding* *ding* "Chill, man, I aming!" he shouted. "Sir, it''s not even the end of the month yet, and I have told you I will give thest month''s payment next--" he opened the door saying something but stopped midway. "Who are you guys?" He was confused as he saw two men with ck clothes and sses standing in front of him. "Are you Mr. Tom Gylips?" one of the men with a deep voice asked him. "Umm, yes, I am, but can I know why you need me?" He was a bit intimidated by them. "Oh, we need you toe with us," the man behind him spoke. "What are you--" Tom was saying something when he suddenly felt something hit the back of his head, knocking him out. "Don''t waste time chatting. We need toplete this mission fast," a third man with a mask on his face appeared behind Tom and was holding his unconscious body. "Come on, I had one more line I wanted to say," one of them spoke. "Make sure you delete any footage that might trace this man," the masked man spoke. "Okay!" Both men replied. Chapter 60 Meeting Tom Gylip Sylvia had discussed the mana crystal mines with Arthur. He was shocked by her announcement. Even Amelia was shocked by what she heard. Asher was not here as he was training, so he heard about it from Sylvie. "So, that''s why he left those guards there," Amelia thought. The twins were just listening and acting as per the mood around the table because they did not know the value of this mine. But they thought it must be an expensive thing if they were so surprised by it. "And you are telling me he defeated the E-Rank boss himself?" Arthur asked Amelia, who was eating her dinner. "Yeah, as per Emmy," Amelia spoke. "I already warned him to be more careful next time," Sylvie spoke. "Wait, why--I mean, good job," Arthur almost slipped up. He mistook Asher as a battle freak, so he was a bit happy. "Of course he is so talented, just like me," Arthur made a smug face in his mind but did not speak it out loud. He knew that Sylvie would not be happy about it. "But I am surprised you let him off with 30% of the mine," Arthur said. "Hmph, he would have gotten sad if his own mother bullied him," Sylvie spoke in her childish manner. Livia chuckled, seeing Sylvie like this, and even Lucas was smiling, seeing her. Amelia, who knew the nature of her mother, just shook her head. They discussed a few more things as the dinner continued. Nathan had already left and gone back for guild-rted work. Two dayster, Asher wasing out of his training, and he saw Emmy, who was waiting for him outside. "Young Master, that person has arrived in Soran," Emmy spoke. "What''s the location?" Asher removed his gear and put it back in his storage ring. "We have kept him in the Vi under the Greville name that was gifted to you some years ago," Emmy said as there was nobody present, so she could discuss it openly. "I will get ready, arrange the car but don''t take any security with us," Asher told Emmy. "Okay, Young Master," Emmy epted his request. In a big vi that was a bit far from the center of Soran, some men wearing ck masks could be seen patrolling and making sure no intruder could enter. "Ugh," Tom regained his consciousness but he felt like somebody put so much weight on his head. "Where am I?" Tom couldn''t properly open his eyes, but he tried to make sense out of his surroundings. "Ugh, what happened?" Tom squinted his eyes as he looked around to find himself in a white room. He was tied down to a chair. "What day is it?" Tom looked around for some clue. Thest thing he remembered was speaking to his sister and meeting some strange men, and now he was in this situation. "HEY, IS ANYBODY HERE?" He shouted, but nobody answered him. He had no sense of time, and he could not make sense out of this situation. "Hello! Why am I here?!" Tom kept shouting, but he stopped when he got no response. "Did they find out?" Tom''s heart was beating out loud, making all sorts of conclusions about his current situation. *Click* He heard a sound and saw a teenager with ck hair and sharp crimson-red eyesing out with a woman with brown hair following him. "Who are you guys?" Tom hurriedly asked. "Calm down, your name is Tom Gylip, right?" Asher spoke. "Yeah, but tell me-" Tom was speaking, but Asher''s cold gaze intimidated him. "It would be better if you let me do the talking, Tom Gylip," Asher''s aura was quite intimidating these days, and even Emmy could notice it. Asher knew about it, so he also skipped eating together with his family for the past few days by telling them he was busy training. "Emmy, go out," Asher turned and looked towards her. "Uh- Okay as you wish, Young Master," Emmy agreed and left the room. The room they were in was protected by soundproofing runes, so nobody could hear what was happening inside. "Let''s introduce ourselves first," Asher sat down on an empty chair that was present in front of Tom. "Tom Gylip, age 22, a tech enthusiast looking for a job," Asher read out from the information he was reading from the hologram of his watch. "Poor background, rejected by the World Association three times, no capabilities as a hunter," Asher finished and looked towards Tom, who was silently staring at him. "What do you want from me?" Tom looked Asher dead in the eyes and asked. "I know you have the capabilities of a capable hacker, and I want you to do work on certain things for me," Asher spoke. "I don''t know what you think of me, but I am a normal software developer, and I have no skills for the things you need me for," Tom tried to reason with Asher. Even in the report that Asher had gotten from the information guild, there was no mention of Tom having any skills for the work Asher was probably asking from him. "Three times you have cleared the World Association passing criteria and have gotten rejected in the interview," Asher''s words made Tom''s face go pale. "But if you look at this carefully, each time your profile was selected from the database despite getting rejected previously," Asher continued. "Not so weird if you ask me, but strangely after yourst attempt, World Association, for the first time, faced a spyware threat in their system, but luckily for them, they managed to stop it." Tom''s heart rate was going up. Sweat was forming on his forehead, and his hands were shaking. "Themon public might not know about that spyware attack, but the upper echelon was aware of it. Although World Association is still finding the culprit, the traces were carefully erased," Asher stopped. "I-I don''t know what you are talking about," Tom knew that Asher''s im could not be proven. ''I deleted everything, nobody can trace it back to me,'' he spoke in his mind. "I will repeat it again, so don''t waste my time. You will work for me from now on," Asher''s indifferent attitude and his cold gaze made Tom feel intimidated by him. "What will I benefit from working with you?" Tom decided to negotiate with Asher. "Hah," Asher breathed out and stared back at Tom. "Do you think I am ''asking'' you to work for me?" Asher said. Tom could feel that the atmosphere around him was getting a bit cold. "Sara Gylip, single mother working misceneous jobs to raise funds for her son, and her only brother, Tom Gylip, trying to get into World Association for their world-ss medical facilities," Asher kept speaking. "Time it took me to bring you to Soran was a couple of days, and trust me, for me to kill someone, all I need is a few hours," Asher''s indifferent eyes made Tom shiver. "I will do it!" Tom shouted. "I will do whatever you want, just leave Sara alone." Tom''s eyes were almost tearing up. He did not know how Asher managed to find out his secret. He had indeed made a spyware, but his limited resources did not allow him to do any damage to the World Association. He did all this because he was full of anger towards the policies of the World Association of not allowing people like him, who did not have any talent for bing a hunter. But after doing this, he was scared that he might get killed or arrested, so he decided to bury his past and find a normal job to support his sister. He desperately needed the medical facilities of the World Association because that was his only option to cure his nephew, but not being a hunter and getting rejected as an employee, he was at his lowest. He neededrge funds, and he had no way of securing them. "Let''s not do anything illegal from now on," Tom decided from that moment that he would not misuse his talent as a hacker because the risk was toorge, and he had no backing to support him. And he knew that carelessly going around speaking of his skills might attract many shady organizations that hired people like him. He knew that some of those organizations or rich families killed others after using them to make sure there were no loose ends. Asher clicked on his watch, and Emmy came in with a tablet in her hands. "Sign the contract and make sure you read all of the terms. And of course, no negotiations will be allowed," Asher got up and left Tom, who was thinking what has he done so bad to deserve to be treated like this. "Sniff I have to sign it, right?" Tom looked at Emmy, who was confused about why a grown man was tearing up like this. "Yeah," Emmy gave him the contract. ? Tom took the tablet and started reading the terms, and as he kept reading, his eyes went wide with shock. "I will get this much money?" Tom knew what amount people like him would get if they worked for them, but the amount Asher offered him was ten times that. "Yes, and we will fly your family to Soran and handle their treatment," Emmy meant that Asher would sponsor both the hospital facilities and keep watch over them just in case Tom got any funny ideas against him. "Okay, I will sign it!" Tom hurriedly signed the contract, confirming his information andpleting the required paperwork. Asher was outside, talking with one of the ck-masked men. "This might be a bit risky, Young Master," the ck-masked man said. "Don''t worry, just inform me if anything rted to it happens, but don''t let Grandmother know about it," Asher spoke. "Um, I can''t promise the Guildmaster would not know about it," the ck-masked man scratched his head. "Don''t create a mission for my request, just pass me any information rted to it," Asher said and left the man. "Strange, meeting Tom should have given me some fate points," Asher said to himself as he sat in his car. [The host does not have enough authority, but encountering something significant enough to impact your destiny can earn you fate points.] Chapter 61 After New Year In a shopping mall in Soran, two women were chatting with each other. "Oh, did your son also get selected for World Academy?" A brown-haired woman spoke to the woman standing beside her. "Yes, he did. I was so happy for him," the woman replied. "Although I am worried about him. He is very careless," the woman spoke. "Yes, so many big names are attending the same batch this year," the brown-haired woman spoke. "Exactly, I had to remind him many times to stay away from any trouble with those people," she replied. Many others like them were talking about the same thing. It was February but the weather was not too cold because there was no snow, and this was the time when most academies, including the world''s best World Academy, did their admissions. Although normal people had to go through the World Association, and they would test them if they were qualified to study at the World Academy. This process made sure no weak person attended the World Academy. If they wanted to learn, they had to enroll in other academies. "Wee to CXN News. We are filming the arrival of all the elite families in Soran," the reporter was reporting outside the teleportation gate. "Most of the elite families have arrived, and only some of them are still not present in Soran," he spoke. "This is the first time when so many talented people have almost enrolled in the same batch, and ording to the World Association, even the chosen candidates are no joke this year!" he was speaking as the Teleportation gate started shining. "It seems that the next family has arrived," the camera turned towards the teleportation gate. Out of the teleportation, many people wearing ck suits arrived, surrounding some people who were in the middle. After a while, when the security scattered a bit, between them, a beautiful girl and a man with a majestic aura could be seen. Both the girl and the man had ck hair with golden eyes, and their presence alone depicted their majestic aura. "As you can see, the Royal Family of Halcyon has arrived!" the reporter shouted as the man and the girl went past and sat in their luxurious cars and left the premise. "It seems that the King of Halcyon himself ising with the princess, and it seems that the Allister and the Everett will arrive tomorrow. For more such news, stay tuned," many reporters were saying simr things. Almost all the media channels across the world had their eyes on this batch of students in the World Academy. Some of the normal candidates were nervous and excited that they were going to meet people they could never meet normally. Inside a vi in Soran, "Haha, I am sure you will win the representative tournament of this year," James Rothschildughed as he talked with Kevin. "It seems not all the people are participating in the representative tournament," Elena spoke. "There is a lot of politics involved, sweetheart. Not all the elite families want to showcase their kids in a public event," Filia Rothschild, the mother of Elena spoke. "I don''t know, but so many talented people in one generation will make your batch quite interesting, unlike ours," James said while sipping tea. "I am sure they will be no match for Kevin, who is already an E Rank hunter," Elena cheerfully spoke. "Ohe on, Elena, you are E- Rank yourself. I am sure you or Eva will be winning your tournament this year," Kevin spoke. "I am not so sure. Amelia would be a tough candidate as well," Elena said, but the mood got a bit tense with the mention of Greville. "*Cough* You guys should eat and rest and prepare yourselves. I have heard that the normal candidates have some strong guys as well," Filia spoke. Kevin clenched his fist as he remembered the day when Elena and Asher dueled. However, as Filia changed the topic, he did notment on it. They finished their dinner and left, and Elena and Kevin went to their room as well. "James, I think we should let the matter between Elena and that Greville boy go," Filia spoke as they were moving in the hallway to their room. "That was partially Elena''s fault, and although that boy took it too far, you should not go after them blindly. It is not like the matter with the Garcia Family," Filia continued. "I know, but it''s not just us that wants the Greville''s downfall," James stopped. "It''s just that the old monster is still alive, and nobody wants a fight with him yet," he turned and looked at Filia. "James, I don''t want another bloodshed like the one with Garcia, and I absolutely don''t want to involve my only daughter in it." A frown appeared on Filia''s face. "Sigh, okay, I will not interfere in this matter until the Greville''s make another mistake like thest one," James lightly smiled at Filia. "Promise?" Filia questioned James. "Promise." James hugged Filia. ************************ Inside the Greville Estate at the Dinner table, "So, any updates from Ash?" Arthur asked Sylvie. "He told mest time that he wille before the tournament starts," Sylvie replied. "But I was surprised that he would participate in the representative tournament." Amelia spoke. "I told him to rxst time, but he seemed a bit off," Sylvie sighed. "I think he had reached E-Rank or E Rank already," Amelia said. "Yeah, but rumors are some of the powerful candidates this year will not participate. They do not want to reveal their cards for the trials," Arthur spoke. "They can do whatever they want, it''s not like they can hide themselves forever in the academy." Amelia spoke. "You speak as if you have already won the tournament," Arthur smiled at Amelia. "I don''t think anybody would be able to beat me, and as far as I know, the princess of Halcyon is not participating." Amelia confidently spoke. "Yeah, Big Sis is very powerful," Livia cheered Amelia. "Thank you, Liv," Amelia smiled back at Livia. She was happy with Livia''spliment. "Okay, we know that your sister is powerful, but don''t get overconfident," Sylvie said. "I know, mom," Amelia said with a serious face. Sylvie looked at Lucas, who was quiet during the whole dinner and seemed a bit dull. He was missing Asher, who was outside raiding dungeons and increasing his strength. "Lucas and Livia, do you guys want to go with us to watch Asher and Amelia''s tournament?" Sylvie asked Lucas. "Really?!" Lucas looked at Sylvie with excitement. "But bringing them-" Arthur was interjecting, but Sylvie kicked his leg under the table. "Ahaha, it is fine, you guys cane with us," Arthur awkwardlyughed. Originally, Sylvie would not have taken the twins to the tournament, as too many eyes would notice them. However, seeing that they might gain some confidence and experience from watching both Asher and Ameliapete might be beneficial for them. She also wanted to cheer up Lucas, who looked very gloomy these days. "Yay!!" Livia hugged Amelia as she was happy that they could go with them. ********************** At World Academy, inside the Principal''s office, "Professor Arman, make sure that the barriers are set up properly and no mishaps happen during the tournament." The authoritative voice of an old man said. "Yes, Principal," Arman replied with utmost respect. A bunch of documents started flowing around the room, all of them consisting of profiles of the new batch of students that would arrive at the World Academy. "It seems that the Academy will get rowdy once again after a long time," the old man said. "It''s inevitable with so many children with their elite backgrounds gathered in one ce. Their egos are bound to sh," Arman replied. "Well, it would be better for them to understand as soon as possible that inside World Academy only their talent matters," the old man spoke. "I wish someone worthy of my heritage would appear this time," the old man said. "Well, the boy from the Whiteheart family is a good candidate and so is the one from the Allister family," Arman replied. "I''m getting old, and it''s time I decide on a sessor who will take my mantle," the old man spoke. "Umm, Principal, you will probably live longer than some of the students who will attend our academy," Arman said. The old man raised his eyebrows at Arman and looked at him. At one point, Arman thought that he had made some kind of mistake, but as nothing happened, he was a bit confused. "Professor Arman, you should take a break and enjoy the environment sometime," the old man said. "But you rejected my leave applicationst time yourself?" Arman was confused. "Sigh, Professor Arman, I think you should go check if everything is alright in the preparations once again," the old man said. "Uh, okay. Have a good day, Principal," Arman respectfully left the room. Chapter 62 Before The Arrival Around a well-barricaded location, filled with multiple people patrolling, "Team leader, we might gette," a man spoke. "Sigh, I am on strict orders to not let anybody enter," the man with a ck coat spoke. "We should tell Miss Emmy tomunicate with Young Master," another man suggested. "Go ask her yourself," the team leader lit a cigarette. "How much time is left?" the team leader asked as he puffed out smoke. "If we ignore the starting ceremony, we have around 5-6 hours," the man replied. "Let''s wait for Miss Emmy''s confirmation. Tell other security teams to make sure the path we are taking is safe. I am sure nobody would be dumb enough to attack us, but make sure everything is fine beforehand," the team leader spoke. Emmy was sitting in the private lounge present outside the dungeon that Asher had entered. It was a D Rank dungeon with a blue gate. She had followed Asher around for months when he came in and out of various dungeons, and he did not allow anybody to enter with him. Although Asher guaranteed that he would wear the safety device at all times, Emmy could not help but worry about him. She was responsible for his safety, and dungeons were one such ce where even the strongest could die. It was only because D Rank dungeons and below were safe, and the least deviation would ur in these dungeons, that Asher was able to convince his parents to let him go in solo. *Ding* She received a notification, so she decided to check it out. "Hmm," Emmy saw a notification from Sylvie telling her about the time she needed to make sure that Asher should arrive. "Sigh, I hope Young Master does not try to fully clear this dungeon," Emmy, who followed Asher around, was used to him killing a boss monster whenever he went in. But this time around, not only did he need to participate in a tournament, but he also needed to exit the dungeon on time so they could arrive within the appropriate time. Inside the dungeon, "KEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" A screeching voice was heard. A young man could be seen covered with red blood from top to bottom. His eyes were shining red, and his hair was a bit messy as he continued killing the monsters. Asher ignored the notifications he was getting. He was chasing a monster that had fled after Asher killed a bunch of them. "sh," Asher muttered as his body dashed towards the fleeting monster and sliced the monster in half. He stopped to look at the fallen body of the monster. It was a monster with blue fur and ape-like appearance. "Hah," Asher breathed out as he indifferently looked up towards the direction he was going. Asher right now was radiating much of his bloodlust, making the monsters flee from him. His red eyes were dull, and his face was indifferent. If anybody could see him now, his appearance alone would have scared the life out of them. His whole body was covered in blood, and his bright crimson-red eyes made him look intimidating. As days went by after the discovery of the mana crystal mine and meeting Tom, Asher was having a hard time controlling his own madness. Sometimes he would dream of the past, and it would fuel his unstable emotions even more. Asher channeled a bit of his mana into his legs as he kept running forward. This dungeon was a dense forest with tall trees surrounding him. As he kept running forward, many ape monsters were forced to fight him. But despite having a number advantage over Asher, no single monster could even break his stance. *sh* Asher carefully acted around the nodes he could now see on the bodies of these Ape monsters after fighting a couple of them. *Thud* *Thud* Bodies of screeching monsters kept falling down the ground as Asher slitted their throats, taking their life. Bunches of notifications kept popping in, but Asher ignored them as he kept on killing the monsters. [ Host has leveled up ] After seeing the level-up notification, Asher stopped. "It seems that the boss is not needed anymore," Asher muttered. Although he wanted toplete the dungeon, he knew that the clock was ticking and he needed to be present at the World Academy at the correct time. Asher turned back and decided to leave the dungeon. He went through the portal and arrived outside where many members of the Abyss Guild were waiting for him. But his appearance made others a bit ufortable. "Young Master, we have arranged everything you need, the private room inside the lounge," one of the people who were waiting for him outside spoke. Asher nodded and left him to change into better clothes and wash himself. Emmy saw Asher, who was covered with blood all over his body,ing inside. "Young Master, we need to leave soon," Emmy informed Asher. "I know, let me take a bath before we leave," Asher replied to Emmy. Asher went into his personal room that was present in the huge lounge built outside the dungeon. After washing and changing into casual clothes, he came out. As they could not waste more time, Asher sat inside the car. "Have you arranged for the medical potion I asked you for?" Asher asked Emmy. "Yes, I have the potion with me. Should I hand it over?" Emmy asked Asher. "No, this is not for me. You need to deliver it to a certain someone at the tournament," Asher spoke as he looked out the window. Even at this time, he was carefully maintaining his indifferent face and controlling his voice so that he could appear as normal as he could. ******************************* In Soran, outside the hotel, a girl with pink hair on a wheelchair could be seen entering a car. The wheelchair was thetest invention so the person using it did not need any additional help from someone. "The location is World Academy portal grounds, right?" the driver politely asked. "Yes," the girl spoke. "Did someone from your family got selected for the World Academy?" the driver decided to have a small talk with the young girl. "I am the one who got selected," the girl replied to him without minding his words. She knew that people would find it surprising that someone like her, who would be seen as a liability, would attend the World Academy, which was famous for epting only strong people. "Oh, congrats," the driver got awkward after hearing the girl''s response. "Thank you," the girl simply thanked the man, keeping her straight face. The rest of the drive was silent. "Uh- You can stop there only, my caretaker would take me from here," the girl spoke. "Oh, okay," the driver stopped at the location, which was a bit far from the World Academy grounds. The girl got out of the car and saw a woman wearing a ck suit standing in front of her. "Miss Alyssa, you should see the time you are arriving. We could have beente," the woman spoke rudely as she looked down at Alyssa in her wheelchair. "Mind your words, you are just a caretaker," Alyssa got annoyed at the rude tone of the woman in front of her. ''What a rude kid, no wonder she got that ugly scar on her face,'' the woman thought in her mind. "We should go now. Your father told me to apany you to the ce where the participants will be staying before the start of the tournament," the woman said, changing the topic rather than reflecting on her tone. "And he also said that your allowance is now empty after paying the fees of your Academy session, so you need to manage everything yourself," hearing the woman''s words, anger red in Alyssa''s heart. "Not like he gave me any before," Alyssa quietly spoke to herself. She knew that her father would most likely cut her off, and this tournament was the chance for her to win and take the representative position which would make up for her allowance and help her gain some power inside the Academy for her goals. "No matter what, even if I burn myself, I will take all those people down with me," Alyssa swore in her mind. Somewhere in Soran, Alexander Astaria, who was arriving in his car with his son n, just got the message that Alyssa had arrived, and the caretaker would take her to the venue. "Tch, I thought she would give up, but she still wants to participate," Alexander was annoyed that Alyssa still wanted to participate. "What will that disabled girl do but stain our names?" n replied, hearing his father. "You should just disown her," n''s voice was full of hatred. "It''s not that easy as you think, and don''t forget she is still your sister. Make sure you don''t stain your public image over something stupid," Alexander looked at his son. "I know father," n nodded. "Many of the Elite families are attending, including us, and I don''t need to tell you to perform well, do I?" Alexander looked at n. "Don''t worry father, I am sure only some of the participants could actuallypete with me, let alone win," n confidently replied. "Hahahaha, That''s my boy," Alexanderughed and praised n to raise his spirits before the tournament. Chapter 63 Arriving At World Academy "Oh, is your son also participating in the tournament?" a man asked another man standing beside him. "Yes, but he was so nervous. Back in my day, we used to be excited about such things," heughed. "Haha, but this time there are many big shots here, unlike previous tournaments," the other man alsoughed. "I''m just happy that he will study at the World Academy. I didn''t show it, but I was so proud of him when he told me about this," the man smiled. They entered a huge dome-like building covered with opaque blue ss. Inside, there were multiple lines where people queued up for entry. Each queue had a small portal in front of it, and everyone got checked by security before they were allowed to use the portal. These portals were connected to the flying inds above Soran, and it was the only way for people who wanted to watch the tournament to enter. Each portal gate had B and even some A Rank hunters who were there to make sure that nothing suspicious could be brought in. This year, the security was even tighter because many big shots would attend. It didn''t matter really because those big shots were strong enough to defend themselves, but it would ruin the reputation of the World Academy and the principal. ********************************** In a car that had just left the Greville estate, Amelia and the twins were traveling with Damian and his little brother. Sylvie and Arthur would arrive in a different car, as the couple were talking a bit with Damian''s parents, so they decided that the young people could leave a bit earlier than them. "Are you nervous?" Amelia smirked at Damian, who was tapping his feet while they were sitting in the car. "Nervous? Me? I''m just thinking of a way so that I don''t have to face Asher," Damian replied, making a tired face. "Good decision," Lucas patted Damian''s shoulder while nodding. Lucas was prettyfortable with Damian, who would sometimes duel with him as he came to the Greville estate to meet Asher and Amelia. He already had a good impression of Damian as he was the only one who could talk with Asherfortably. "Well, I wouldn''t want to fight him myself," Amelia nodded her head as well. "So pathetic," a young voice spoke out. "Why don''t you practice harder instead of flirting?" the voice was stopped in the middle. "My lovely brother Nate, why don''t you keep your sweet mouth closed?" Damian roughly tousled Nate''s hair, who was sitting next to him. "Stop messing up my hair, or I''ll tell Mom about it," Nate red back at Damian, who had slightly red ears. "Why don''t you learn manners from Lucas and Livia? See, they are younger than you, but they still behave so well," Damian spoke. "Then be their big brother. I don''t need your lectures," Nate said, turning his face around towards the window. "Calm down, you guys. Let''s not fight," Amelia decided to step in before the matter escted. "And, Nate, your brother will bepeting in a tournament, so you should wish him good luck," Amelia spoke. "Best of luck," Nate said with a pout on his face. "Not like he''s gonna win it," he muttered to himself, but Damian could guess Nate was saying something about him, so he decided to ignore it. "When will Asher arrive, by the way?" Damian said, changing the topic. "Probably before the tournament starts," Amelia replied. "What''s your current rank?" Amelia asked Damian. "I''m E-Rank right now," Damian said with a smug look on his face. "Same as me huh, you were lucky the representative tournament is different for boys and girls or you would have tasted defeat by me," Amelia confidently replied, "Let''s see, we will have plenty of time in World Academy for me to see your capabilities," Damian said with a smile on his face. They arrived at the portal dome VIP section so they exited from their cars. The portal of this section were reserved for the Elite families and some other VIP guests and it each lead to their own personal room from where they could watch the tournament. "Wee, this your portal number." Ady weed the kids as they stepped in and she gave Amelia a token. "Nate can you take Lucas and Livia to this portal," Amelia turned and gave the token to Nate. "Okay but you guys are going to the partipants room already?" Nate asked Amelia and Damian. "Yeah, I wanted to see who would be partipating in thepetition," Amelia replied and Damian just nodded with her. Amelia and Damian left the twins and Nate left for their respictive portal with thedy who showed them their way. Behind Nate and twins were the guards from both the Seymour family and Greville family and they were extra careful right now. "This your portal," Thedy pointed at the portal in front of the kids. "Let''s go in," Nate gestured to Livia and Lucas who followed him obediently. Nate was 12 years old and he was a bit taller than Lucas. He was not a sociable kid but he could talk to others if needed to. And this helped him with talking with twins as he also met them for the first time. He had only heard about them being the children of famous Ivar Greville from his parents. They stepped in and saw a bigvish room with a wide ss window which showcased the very big tform in the middle which was covered with a opaque barrier. All around the twins could multiple staff that were present their to serve them food and drinks. There was four big screens across the huge stadium for the audience to watch the tournament. "Wee to the World Academy," A woman greeted them. "Thank you," Livia greeted the woman while Lucas also nodded along her. Nate was already sitting on one of the sofas in the room. "Sit down you guys, until mom and dad arrive the tournament will not start." Nate spoke, "We were lucky we did not meet anybody annoying while arriving here." Nate said while he picked a snack, "Annoying?" Lucas asked Nate, "Oh, you guys have not met those others kids from simr backgrounds to ours." Nate spoke, "Well, they are annoying as hell and I would rather read some books than chat with them," Nate shrugged his shoulder. Lucas knew that powerful people would always act arrogant but in thest 6 months of life he had not seen one person who had acted rude towards him or his sister. This made Lucas a bit wary of other families. If Nathan or Arthur were here they would just tell Lucas to knock them out first and they could handle the restter. After a few hours, Arthur and Sylvie arrived in their car, followed by the Seymour couple. "Oh, it seems like quite a few have already arrived," Arthur observed, noticing many luxurious cars, some even with an insignia of some sort on them. "Well, all will be fine if you don''t cause any trouble," David Seymour said. "I was not the only troublemaker back then, David," Arthur replied,ughing. "Well, your temper was the worst," David retorted. As both couples walked in, the staff respectfully showed them their portals. "Do you think other SSS-Rankers will be present?" David asked Arthur. "Well, my old man will being, but his entry will be more direct than ours. I''m sure some others areing as well," Arthur replied, but he stopped as they met a few people while arriving at their portals. "Well, well, well. I didn''t know we would meet here," James Rothschild greeted Arthur. "Neither did we," Arthur said, but no handshakes were exchanged. "Isn''t this the head of the Seymour family with you?" James smiled towards David. "Well, I would chat more with you, but my wife is waiting for me, so I must leave," James said. "Oh, you should go then. Enjoy the match," Arthur said to James, who ignored him and stepped inside the portal. "Tch, I was hoping to anger him more, but he left too early," Arthur muttered to himself. "I am surprised he is silent after all that," David said. "What will he even do? This is Somaria, not Desmar. All that little bastard could do is talk," Sylvie, who had just arrived with David''s wife, spoke. "Sylvie, remember not to speak like this in front of Livia. You will corrupt the little girl," Verina Seymour spoke. "Hahahaha," Arthurughed but stopped when he saw a re from Sylvie. Meanwhile, Amelia had arrived at the participant area and noticed that the participants were given separate rooms, with small groups of people in each one. In her room, only unrecognizable faces were present. "Isn''t she the famous daughter of the Greville family?" one of the girls spoke. "Yeah, she has the red eyes. She is so beautiful," the girls started talking, but Amelia had an indifferent look on her face and sat on one of the empty seats. Many wanted to talk to her, but thinking she may not like it, people decided against it. ******************************* "Young Master, we have arrived," Emmy told Asher. "Get the job I have told you done, and make sure no mistakes happen," Asher ordered Emmy. "Yes, I will make sure of that," Emmy replied. Asher got out of his car and looked at the huge dome-shaped building in front of him. "Time to meet you," his eyes showed madness, but he had a calm look on his face, though nobody saw it. While he was standing outside, some of the tournament ''participants'' were also waiting to meet him. Chapter 64 Before The Tournament Asher entered the portal dome and saw the staff member who weed him. A hologram signaled the entrance for the participants, different from the ones people who were watching used. "Good luck, young master," Emmy cheered Asher, who nodded at her. "He seems to be in a good mood," Emmy noticed that Asher''s aura was calmer than usual. "Let''s see, I need to find Alyssa Astaria," Emmy went towards the girls'' area. She saw one of the staff members and decided to ask them, "Do you know where Alyssa Astaria is? I have some items to give her." "Uh, I''m sorry, but you should havee with them. We cannot allow you to go inside like this," the staff denied Emmy''s entry. "Oh, what''s the matter?" A person came out wearing a suit. "Oh, good morning, Professor Arman. This person wants to enter the resting rooms here," the staff informed him. "Emmy, it''s you!" Arman said cheerfully upon seeing Emmy. "Ugh, I am here to deliver something inside," Emmy asked with a weird look on her face. "Oh, you can enter, but don''t make that face. I am not the same person anymore," Arman said. "Okay, so can I go now?" Emmy looked at the staff member. "Yes, you can. The participant you are looking for is in Room No.207." Knowing that Arman himself was allowing Emmy to enter, the staff did not obstruct her further. Emmy left the staff and Arman and entered the hallway where all the rooms were. "Quite a lucky fellow you are," Arman looked at the staff member. "Pardon?" the staff member looked confused. "You don''t know her? She is quite famous, but she is working for the Greville family, so her face is not that well-known," Arman said, but the staff member still looked a bit confused. "White Mist?" Arman spoke. "White Mist? She is the White Mist! One of the graduates of our World Academy?" The staff looked a bit shocked. "Yeah, she is quitewful nowadays. Back then, she would have slit your throat for stopping her while she was on a mission," Arman said with a light chuckle. The staff member gulped as he knew of Emmy''s reputation. Although she was not famous among the high rankers, many people below S Rank knew her name and the feats she had achieved until now. Emmy entered Room 207 and saw many girls talking with each other. They stopped talking as they saw Emmy entering. Emmy looked around and spotted a girl sitting on the edge of her wheelchair. "Umm, excuse me. Are you Alyssa Astaria?" Emmy quietly asked Alyssa. "I am Alyssa. What do you need from me?" Alyssa said as she looked up to see Emmy. She was surprised because somebody came to talk to her. "My young master wanted to send you a gift in return, so I am here to deliver a note for you," Emmy spoke. "A gift? I have no friends, so you are mistaking me for someone else," Alyssa said. "Well, you can see the note and decide," Emmy handed over a paper note, which was rare these days, as everybody just texted each other rather than writing it on paper. Alyssa disliked the attention that Emmy brought on her, but she could not outright refuse her. She decided to take the note and at least read it before rejecting the gift that was obviously not hers, ording to her. "Thanks for the painting. My birthday party went really well because of it. I have paid you already, but I felt it was not enough. I have sent you a little gift you might like. Use it well," Alyssa read through the note. "Painting? Ah-" Alyssa tried to think about it as she remembered making a painting for someone who had requested it on her alternate ount. "Wait, how did they know about my identity?" Alyssa looked up at Elyssa. "Information these days is not that hard to find as you may think," Emmy replied to Alyssa honestly, as Asher had told her to treat her politely. "This is the gift that was sent to you," Emmy handed over a vial with some bluish liquid in it. "WAIT! Who are you?" A voice of a woman came from the Room Door. "Why are you talking with this girl?" the woman who was sent by the Astaria family as Alyssa''s caretaker spoke. "Well, I had some business with her," Emmy looked at the woman and said. "What did you give her?" The woman reached out her hand to grab the vial from Alyssa''s hand, but Emmy stopped her midway through. "I said I had business with her, not you," Emmy gripped the woman''s hand. "Arghhhhh," the woman screamed, and Emmy let go of her hand. "Do you know the family I work for?" She screamed while she held her hand with a painful look on her face. "Should I care?" Emmy replied. "What is happening?" the same staff member who had stopped Emmy arrived. He arrived here to announce that the participants should get ready as the tournament was going to start soon enough. "Oh, you should get this woman out of here. Look what this mad woman did to my hand," the caretaker shouted at the staff member. "If you have any problem with her, you canin to the Greville family. Don''t bother us," the staff member gave an annoyed look at the woman who had a pale face learning about Emmy''s identity. The Grevilles were famous for their ruthless personality that even the elite families stayed away from them most of the time to not invite any troubles. And there were even rumors that even the people who worked for them were cold-blooded killers. "I think you should escort this woman out, or I can help her," Emmy said, but she could not use mana because that was against the rules of the World Academy, and she did not want to bring trouble to the Grevilles. "I will leave myself!" The woman shouted as she left the room. ''That ugly girl can take care of herself. I was not paid enough for this,'' she thought. It was true that Alexander had not even bothered to get a good caretaker for Alyssa, and this is why such a careless person was appointed to help Alyssa. "Umm, thank you for helping me there, but what is in this vial?" Alyssa, who saw the whole event and even heard the name Greville, deduced who the sender of this gift was. ''This might be my chance,'' Alyssa thought in her mind. "This is a potion that could help with mana cirction and could heal a few damaged mana veins and help to heal internal injuries," Emmy exined to Alyssa. "What?" Alyssa was shocked, but she kept her voice low so that nobody could hear what they were talking about. Emmy was standing in front of Alyssa, so the rest of the girls who were looking in their direction could neither see nor hear them. Emmy had carefully voiced herself so that Alyssa''s identity and the potion remained a secret. Although it was only a healing potion, rumors could spread, so Emmy decided to be careful about it. "I was told only to deliver it and tell you to consume it if you are serious about this tournament," Emmy said, turning and leaving before Alyssa could ask her other questions. "Who is this girl?" the girls started chatting with each other, specting Alyssa''s identity. Meanwhile, Alyssa, who had turned her wheelchair to avoid the stares she was getting, was looking at the small vial in her hands. "Should I drink it?" Alyssa looked at the potion. She decided to drink it after all, as she knew that this might be the only chance she could get to fix the current problem she was facing. Her injuries were not only the scar on her face or her injured legs. Her strange illness was even messing her up from the insides, and over the years of not consuming expensive medicines, her health was very bad. "Ugh, so bitter," Alyssa clenched onto the vial as the taste of this potion was too bitter for her. "But it feels a lot better now. I might be able topete at my fullest now!" Alyssa was happy, and her eyes shone as she looked at the empty vial in her hand. The potion was already working on healing Alyssa''s body, but her illness was not something a simple potion could heal. "Rank A potion, huh," Arman, who was secretly checking the potion that Emmy gave to Alyssa to see whether it was an item that could harm the integrity of the tournament or not, remarked. A shadow-like thing got back at Arman''s feet and got absorbed into his shadow. "Quite an expensive thing to give, and especially to that person. Heir of the Greville, huh," Arman thought about Asher. Asher, who had already arrived at his room, was sitting quietly as many other participants in his room recognized him already but stayed away from him because of his cold gaze and indifferent look. "The tournament will start soon. Please get ready," a staff member came to inform them, and all the participants stood up to leave and arrive at their next location. ******************************* "The tournament will start soon. Please get ready," a staff member informed the participants. A white-haired boy stood up. "Don''t get too cocky in there, Whiteheart boy," a boy with green hair spoke. "You''re not even my target, Sam Allister," Kevin said as he stared at Sam. "We''ll see," a smirk appeared on Sam''s face as he looked down upon Kevin. Chapter 65 Explaining The Format Asher, along with the other participants who had already been avoiding him, went with the staff member towards the stadium where the tournament was to start. Asher was already known for being cold and ruthless, but the previous incident with Elena Rothschild was still fresh in their minds. The inte was still talking about Asher and Elena, but James had carefully manipted the story into a normal duel rather than what had actually happened. James was able to fool the general public, but the guests who were present there knew the truth, and because of this, many rumours were flying around. Inside the Rothschild VIP Room, Filia sighed and said, "Louis wanted to see the tournament as well." "He needs to learn how to behave first before going out," James replied. "You could have allowed him today. Even Father is attending today," Filia said. "I don''t want to risk anything, Filia. It is better for him to stay at Desmar," James said, looking at Filia. "Okay, but you should try to talk to him more. He is your brother, James, and you should at least believe in him," Filia said as she held James''s hand. "Let''s talk about thister," James changed the topic. Meanwhile, there was another VIP Room upied by another Elite family. "Father, who do you think will win?" a girl with ck hair and golden eyes spoke. "Hmm, the Whiteheart boy or the Allister boy is known for their talent, but the heir of the Greville family is rumoured to be even more talented," the man with deep golden eyes and ck hair spoke. This man had an attractive face despite being in his 40s. He looked like a man in his 30s. He was none other than the King of Halcyon, one of the five countries in this world, King Rewilh Halcyon. Despite being a King, the Royal family of Halcyon was viewed as an Elite family. It was only due to the long history and culture of Halcyon that they still followed a Monarch Regime. The rest of the world only viewed them as another Elite family. Halcyon had a total of three Elite families. One being the Royal family and the other two spots were taken by the Duke and the Duchess of Halcyon. "It is a shame that Duke Allister is not here for his son''s match," Lishia replied. Rewilh did not reply to the question and kept quiet. "Who do you think will win the Female representative match?" Lishia asked her father. "Probably Elena Rothschild or Amelia Greville, maybe Eva Williams. But if my daughter were participating, we could have gotten a clear answer," Rewilh looked at Lishia and smiled. "Well, I have my ns for the World Academy," Lishia spoke with confidence beaming in her eyes. "You should leave such problems to us adults, Lishia," Rewilh had a strange look on his face, but he did not speak anymore nor did Lishia. Many other Elite families were discussing the oue because many big names were participating in this tournament. Even those who did not participate came here to see the performance of their future rivals. World Academy was not a peaceful academy that only focused on developing talents. Over the course of years, this academy had be the ce where many talents came from and many diminished. Only those who had studied here for years knew that this ce was meant to train those young privileged children out of their protective shells. This was the decision that was decided by the High Council itself, and the reason behind it was never revealed. *Bang* *Bang* "Wee to the Representative Tournament!" A young man''s voice diverted the audience''s attention as they looked around the stadium, amazed by the various celebrations happening. "This is the 52nd year of World Academy, and we are here at the opening ceremony to witness the future talentspete against each other!" Cheers could be heard across the huge stadium as the young man in a ck suit stood on a flying tform above the stage covered in an opaque barrier. "I am Gazil, your host for today," the young man spoke. "Every year, the male and female representatives of that year are selected by this tournament," Gazil said cheerfully. "But it seems many interesting names are participating this year," Gazil said with a big smile. "So we have changed the format of this year''s tournament quite a bit," many people were surprised at the change of events as it had never happened before. "The race format of this tournament has been changed into an entirely different format!" Gazil''s voice was amplified across the stadium. "What? Wait, why is there a change?" "My son was preparing for the race for thest month; it is not fair!!" Many people started talking with each other, and before the audience was confused even further, Gazil spoke, "Now, now, rx a bit." "Looking at the same tournament with only a little change every year got boring," Gazil continued. "So our dear Principal thought that we needed a change," Gazil carefully mentioned the principal as many voices died down hearing his mention. "So this year, both our girl and boy participants will be teleported to one location chosen by us," "In those two locations, we have scattered some tokens all across the fields," Gazil continued. "Now our lovely participants will fight for these tokens and also arrive at the final location." "Every participant will be given a token, and this means that they can also steal from others to increase their numbers," "But, but, but there is a slight twist: at the final location, there is a special zone of two meters, and the one who stands there will get +2 tokens every 10 seconds," Gazil continued as he exined the format. "The time limit is two hours, and when the time limit is over, a special barrier will activate in the custom suits, which will stop any fighting that is going on." Gazil said. "There is only one rule: no artifacts are allowed!" Gazil stopped, but the audience was still silent. "Yeah, everything else is allowed. Either you win by trickery or win by your wisdom and strength." Gazil started talking as the smile on his face widened. "Oh! And don''t worry, our instructors will activate the barrier around the students if the wound will be fatal, and once the barrier is activated, poof! you are out," Gazil spoke as he opened his arms wide. "This means that we don''t care if your injury is not fatal, so be careful!" Gazil shrugged his shoulders while making a concerned face. Professor Arman facepalmed himself because Gazil was exining the rules a bit too rashly, and his weird nature wasing out. But the audience was entertained and excited to see the tournament. "So are you guys READY?!" Gazil''s expression changed almost immediately into a bright face. "YES!!!" A scream of many people could be heard cheering. "So let''s take a look at our participants," Gazil gestured towards the barrier below him, and the barrier slowly disappeared. ******************************* Around 10 minutes ago, "Elena, I didn''t know we would be in the same room."A girl with light blond hair cheerfully said to Elena, "Same for me. I didn''t know you were participating as well, Ria," Elena replied with a smile on her face. "Well, I am just participating for fun. I know that you will win, so go easy on me, Sis," Ria spoke, making Elena chuckle. "Well, Uncle James would be happy to see you win this," Ria added. "I am not sure about winning with Eva also participating," Elena said lightly. "Well, I know my cousin will win for sure, and even Grandfather is attending today, so you have to win," Ria raised her fist for a fist bump. "I know, I have trained hard in thest few months, so I am pretty confident in myself," Elena fist-bumped Ria. The door opened, and a staff member came in, making Elena and Ria turn their heads. "The tournament is starting soon, so I need you guys to follow me to the portal, which will take you to the main stage," the staff member spoke. "Wear this suit before stepping into the portal," he showed a bracelet. "Wait, why do we need a suit for this tournament?" a girl questioned. "Well, there is a slight change in the format. You will know more about it soon," he replied. Many participants started discussing with each other at this news, as all of them thought that the format would remain the same as previous years. "Silence, please," the staff member spoke, and after he saw that the room was silent, "Now, follow me," he said as he left the room, with the participants following him to the ce where the teleportation gate were present. Elena and Ria also took their bracelets and stepped into the portal, arrived at the stage, but they could only see the silhouettes of other participants apart from the group they were in due to several barriers that separated them. But they saw another teleportation gate which was bit different from the one they used just now. "Another teleportation gate? Is it rted to the tournament?" Ria turned and asked Elena. "Maybe, let''s wait for the exnation," Elena replied. "Wee to the Representative Tournament!" all the participants heard a voice, and they listened to Gazil slowly exin everything about the tournament. "So let''s take a look at our participants," Gazil gestured towards the barrier below him, and the barrier slowly disappeared. Chapter 66 Tournament Starts The barrier disappeared, revealing the participants who were standing on the stage. "WOAHHHHH!!!" "That''s my son!" shouted one woman. The audience started cheering for the participants on stage, but the participants were still not able to see the audience or other participants who were grouped in different rooms. "What is happening? Why can''t we see the audience and others?" asked a boy. "I don''t know. First the format changed and now this," another participant replied. "Now, now, don''t panic. This smokescreen barrier allows us to see you participantspletely, but you can''t see us or other participants from other rooms," said Gazil. "And you may ask why?" Gazil raised an eyebrow. "Because we made the rules, that''s why," Gazilughed with his hands on his stomach. "This bas--" A boy nearly screamed, but somebody else held him back. "Calm down. It''s not worth it, my friend," another boy shook his head. Asher, on the other side, was calm. In the past, he had not participated in the tournament, but he knew about this change of format. He also knew who had won the previous tournament. "Okay, okay. Before Professor Arman gets angry, let me exin more about the teleportation gate, which you guys can see in front of you," Gazil said quickly, feeling a dark shadow around his legs on the floating tform. "This teleportation gate will randomly ce you guys in the location we have arranged for you. In 2 hours, you have to collect the most tokens and arrive at the final location. After the time limit is up, the one with the most tokens will be the winner of this tournament," Gazil said. "So, best of luck to you guys. And I will always say it''s never toote to qui- umm umm," Gazil was speaking, but a ck shadow covered his mouth. A shadow grew bigger and took the shape of a person, and from the shadow, Professor Arman appeared. "Woah, is that the famous Professor Arman?" One of the women spoke, and several people started chatting at the sight of Arman. "You can take the weapon of your choice from the staff members who are present in front of the teleportation gate, and each participant can only choose one weapon," Arman spoke. "All of you will enter the teleportation gate one by one, and after the bracelet changes its color from bright red to green, you will be allowed to move," Arman spoke and looked to his right. BANG A colorful stream of mana started appearing all around the stadium, joining all together to form something in the sky. "Woah," many people looked at the beautiful sight in front of their eyes with their mouths open. "Wow," Livia, who was in the Greville VIP Room, stood near the ss window and looked up at the sky. "Five...two, fifty-two!!" Livia saw the number 52 form in the sky. "This marks the 52nd year of the World Academy," Arman spoke, and people loudly cheered. And after the disappearance of the number, the staff members made the participants enter the teleportation gate one by one. "Umm, are you sure you can participate?" a staff member awkwardly asked Alyssa. "I can," Alyssa spoke. "But you cannot take this wheelchair with you. It is mana-fueled, and this can count as an artificial artifact," the staff member exined. "Why is she even participating?" one of the girls quietly said. "Yeah, my mood got worse just by looking at her face," another girl replied. "Why even participate when you can''t even walk?" another girl spoke, but with a louder voice that Alyssa could hear. The staff member couldn''t help it, as the rules were clear and no exceptions were allowed. "How did she even get in?" some girls started talking,pletely disregarding the fact that Alyssa could hear them. Alyssa clenched her fist, but she did not lose herposure. She started ring her mana. "Don''t worry, I was not going to take this in anyways," Alyssa said to the staff member. Alyssa stood up, but not exactly. Her body weight was not on her legs. She was almost floating with her feet touching the ground, but they were not carrying her weight. This surprised the staff member, but he regained hisposure. "Do you need a weapon?" the staff member asked. "No," Alyssa replied. As a mage, she did not need any weapons. "Okay, you may enter now," the staff member moved out of her way. "Two hours, I need to hold on for two hours," Alyssa said to herself as she stepped into the teleportation gate. "If she could stand up, why use a wheelchair? Is she an attention seeker?" the next girl spoke with an annoyed face. The staff member did notment because he knew that a young kid like her would not know what Alyssa did just now. Moreover, he had no obligation to tell her, so he kept silent. On another teleportation gate, "What weapon do you need?" the staff member respectfully asked. "A dagger," Amelia replied. "Whoa, I hope we are ced far from her." One of the girls spoke. "Yeah, she is so elegant and strong, but I will try my best," another girl replied. Amelia could hear some of the chatter, but she didn''t care. She entered the teleportation gate with her calm and indifferent face. While on another teleportation gate, "What weapon do you want?" the staff asked. "A spear," Kevin replied with his confident gaze. "You may enter now," the staff member said. Kevin stepped in, and behind him was Sam Allister, who also chose a spear. "Do we even have a chance with people like Kevin Whiteheart and Sam Allister participating?" one guy spoke. He was a student who came through World Association rmendation. "Well, even we have talent among usmon people," another guy who seemed like his friend spoke. "I might as well help him win this rather than have one of those sheltered geniuses win," he replied. "Who are guys talking about?" another person who probably didn''t enter through World Association asked. "Oh, there was one guy during our tryouts who had monstrous talent as well. He even signed a deal with World Association beforeing here. His name is-" He was speaking, but the staff member called his name. "Yo, tell me the name at least," the guy who asked shouted as he saw this guy rushing towards the teleportation gate. "His name is Matthew," he spoke in a rush. "Yeah, he doesn''t have ast name. Apparently, he''s an orphan, but we don''t know much about him," the other guy exined further. "Oh, thanks," the guy who asked said. One by one, all the participants entered the teleportation gate, and both boys and girls arrived at their locations. The screen switched from showing Professor Arman and Gazil to showcasing various participants standing still at their locations because the barrier in their suits was still activated. One of the screens split into two, showcasing the leaderboard, which was still empty. "We have chosen a forest environment for the locations of this tournament, as you can see," Gazil, who was now freed from Arman''s magic, said. "On the third screen, you can see the leaderboard, and the names will start appearing here as the participants collect more tokens," Gazil said with his joyful voice. "Now let''s watch the tournament unfold!!" He said as he pointed at the screens. After teleporting to some unknown location which seemed like a forest Asher looked down at his hand and found that his bracelet was still red. He noticed a barrier that made him unable to move from his position, but he waited for the light to turn green. He was wearing a ck-colored suit, which was another function of the bracelet, and it was designed well to not restrict any sort of movements. After waiting about five minutes, he noticed that the barrier disappeared, and the bracelet turned green, and a timer appeared on it. [01:59:58] Asher looked at the timer and performed some light stretches for two minutes, and after he was done, he heard some movements behind him. "Hmm," Asher''s head turned, and he dashed towards the direction of the noise. "Arrgh, these vines are so thick. How am I supposed to walk on them without losing my bnce?" a guy in a ck-colored suit spoke. He walked around, but his steps made noises as he was inexperienced walking in such terrains. He looked as far as he saw a ck-haired boy with crimson red-eyesing towards him. "Red eyes... Fuck, damn my luck," he raised his sword at Asher''s direction. "Don''t you think I am an easy target!" he shouted as he dashed towards Asher. Asher, who looked at a boy who was carelesslying towards him with so many openings in his stance, muttered, "Weak." He was stepping on various thick tree roots to increase his speed as he approached the boy. "AAAAAHHHHHH," the boy shouted as he did a wide swing at Asher. *sh* "What?" he eximed as he performed a sh, but Asher had already side-stepped and dodged after seeing the trajectory of his attack. Asher looked at the wide-open right side of the boy as he raised his kick and brought it downwards, knocking him out as he hit his skull, immediately activating the barrier. *Ding* The bracelet showed a count of +1, making his total tokene up to 2 in the first 3 minutes. "Hmm," Asher looked at the bracelet with his foot still being on top of the face of the boy who was knocked out cold with his mouth open. -------------------------------------- Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 2 2. Empty 3. Empty ---------------------------------------- A name appeared on the leaderboard as the audience was still watching other participants exploring the forest from their initial positions. "That''s right, brat, show them," an old manughed as he saw Asher''s name on the leaderboard. Chapter 67 Claiming The Leaderboard "We have the first name!!" Gazil eximed. "It''s none other than Asher Von Greville!!!" he announced. The crowd cheered loudly, as the majority were people from Somaria and supported the Greville family more than other Elite families. "Wow, brother is already on the leaderboard," Lucas said with a happy face. The screen showed other participants, but one of the cameras was now fixed on Asher. "Let''s see what our first ce is doing," Gazil said, and the audience looked on, getting mesmerized by Asher''s look. His crimson-red eyes and ck hair added to his charm, and some of the girls in the audience were already cheering for him. Asher ran towards what seemed like a cave, but he didn''t encounter anyone else after his first encounter. He arrived in front of the cave, but it was not deep at all, and he could see a token lying around. Asher went in, and as he crouched to pick up the token, a shadow with a dagger emerged beside him. A figure of a young boy who was blended in the shadows appeared and attacked Asher from his blind spot. The boy smiled, thinking how he had fooled one person already in his trap. As the dagger approached Asher at a fast speed, he turned around and knocked the dagger out of his hand with his hand coated in mana. A broken bone sound could be heard as Asher attacked the boy. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," the young boy screamed in the cave as he held onto his hand. His broken arm was also visible on the outside. As the boy screamed in pain, he opened one of his eyes to see a pair of red eyes that wereing towards him. His heart rate went up, but Asher, who did not want to waste time, knocked him out cold with a kick, activating the barrier. "Professor, this boy is a bit ruthless in his attacks," one of the test conductors said to the man who was wearing a white coat. "Well, we can''t interfere with their methods. Get that boy out and take him to the medical block after this guy leaves," he replied, but his eyes were still fixed on Asher. "He seems like an experienced fighter," he said to himself. Asher looked at the count of the token going +2, taking his total to 4. He went deeper into the forest, which was quite big, and it would take time and luck to have any encounters with others until another hour when the participants would be nearing the final location. Asher had directional support in the bracelet which showed the direction of the final location. It looked like apass, but it did not show any other directions. In another tournament location, Elena was dueling another participant. Elena quickly arrived behind the girl as she dodged the water spell that was directed at her. "Fireball," a ball of fire hovered over Elena''s hand, and she threw it towards the girl. As the terrain did not help the girl to efficiently dodge, she took the full brunt of the spell and activated the barrier. "First one down," Elena did not even look back at the girl she had defeated and went ahead as she saw the count going up by one. "We have our second name on the Girls Leaderboard!!" Gazil''s voice was heard despite the loud cheers of the audience. "We have Elena Rothschild taking the first spot!!" he spoke, and the cheers got even louder. James smiled, looking at Elena''s name, and Filia was also cheering for her daughter. But they knew that this was only the start, and maintaining that first spot would get more difficult as the time limit neared the end. In another location, a white-haired boy was climbing up a huge tree, jumping around, and making sure that he would not fall. "Nice!" Kevin smiled as he got his first token. He got down fairly easily and looked in the direction of the final location. "Can''t wait to see your face, Asher Greville," Kevin smirked as he ran towards the direction of the final location. At the same time, "What the hell? Those dumb old men at the World Academy thought that this was a good location to hold a tournament," Damian said as he was struggling to travel around with a sledgehammer on his back. His primary weapon was a shield, as he had trained himself as a tank, but using it in an individual tournament was not feasible for him at the moment. Bam "Vo!" Damian''s smile got bigger as he heard the sound of spells thrown around. He dashed forward and saw two mages fighting with each other. "Wind -" A boy waspleting his chant, but he stopped as he saw another boy who had jumped towards him with a sledgehammer in his arms. The boy wanted to dodge, but he had no time because of his attention to his ongoing duel. He put his hand forward to cover his head, but Damian''s swing was pretty powerful. Bam Damian looked at the boy with broken arms and his activated barrier from his suit. He turned towards the other mage, who had a pale face seeing Damian''s ruthless strike. "Hehe, let''s have some fun, shall we?" Damian said as he ran towards the other mage. The boy conjured many water daggers and sent them towards Damian, who almost dodged all of them despite the weight of the sledgehammer. But some of the daggers still hit his face and arms, and small cuts started appearing. The suit was carefully designed to only activate when the force of the attack was fatal or manually by the test conductors who were watching every participant carefully. If they deemed it necessary, they could activate the barrier if the strike was fatal to you, but they only did it if it was necessary. They would not activate the barrier if the wound or the injury could be treated at their medical blocks, and the students would be fine after a few days. "HAH!" Damian swung his sledgehammer wide, but the mage dodged the strike, but Damian continued his attacks. "FUCK-" The boy cursed as he saw his back against a tree trunk, and the sledgehammer struck his ribs, knocking him out of the tournament. "Haha, now this is fun," Damian said. "Wait till I meet you, my best friend," Damian smirked as he went ahead. In the stadium, "We have two new names on the leaderboard!" Gazil spoke. "Damian Seymour on the 2nd ce with three tokens," "And the third ce with two tokens is none other than Kevin Whiteheart!" Gazil said as the cheers in the audience were loud. Some of the girls were even chanting Kevin''s name as he was quite a famous talent, and his name would alwayse up when somebody would talk about some of the prodigies of this generation. "Look, Damian is on the leaderboard," Lucas said. He turned towards Nate, who was watching the tournament with a rxed face. "He''s just lucky. Don''t hype him up too much. Ouch-" Nate was saying, but Verina pinched his cheeks. "Respect your big brother, Nate," Verina narrowed her eyes at Nate. "Okay, sorry," Nate said with a grumpy voice as he held his hands on his cheeks, making sure Verina could not pinch him again. David justughed it off, while Sylvie could sympathize with Verina as she was in a simr position to hers, but she had no clue how to mend Asher and Amelia''s rtionship without upsetting one person or the other. While everyone was chatting at the Girls tournament location, Alyssa was making her way towards the final location. She had not encountered anyone, and nor had she seen any tokens. The terrain also made it difficult for her to move around as she was consuming mana every second. "Maybe I should reserve my mana," Alyssa made a decision. She decided to rest on one of the branches of the tallest tree near her. She hovered up to the branch and sat on it. "Ugh," Alyssa clenched her chest as she had a sharp pain when she hovered up to the branch. Tears formed around her eyes, and one of the tears flowed through the deep scar on her face. She breathed in and out multiple times to calm herself down. Her pink hair fell down on her face and covered it. She was getting dizzy, but after a while, she rxed and looked at the timer. <01:48:23> "Let''s move in thest hour," Alyssa decided to gamble it as she now had a better chance with the potion she had received from Emmy. Meanwhile, in another location, a blue-haired girl could be seen fighting with a girl with a sword. "Let''s see how you handle this," The girl did a wide strike with her sword. *Ting* The sword got rebounded as it hit a small barrier of some sorts. "Let''s finish this," Eva said with a calm look on her face. ------------------------------------ Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 4 2. Damian Seymour - 3 3. Kevin Whiteheart - 2 -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- Leaderboard 1. Elena Rothschild - 2 2. Empty 3. Empty ---------------------------------------- Chapter 68 Climbing Up The Leaderboard 68 Climbing up the leaderboard Eva conjured multiple small translucent barriers around herself. These octagonal-shaped barriers hovered around her, taking the brunt of the attacks. The girl with the sword could feel the wind around her feet, but before she could step back from her position, multiple barriers started hitting her. *Cling* She tried to block them, but her swordsmanship was not good enough to block thempletely. "Argh," the girl clenched her jaw as multiple wind bullets hit her. Eva smiled as the girl kept trying to counter her attack, but she knew it was useless. "You lost," Eva spoke as the girl noticed the barriering towards her head, knocking her out. *Ding* Eva noticed the +1 count on her bracelet, but she ignored it and went forward. Her name appeared on the leaderboard, but just before her, another name took the lead and took first ce from both her and Elena. Just before Eva''s duel began, Amelia went forward deep into the forest, jumping on several branches, avoiding the ground which was full of damp mud and could restrict her movements. She was looking out for any tokens in the open and also being careful enough to not let her presence be known. She had somewhat learned to mask her presence from Emmy. "A token," Amelia''s eyes shone as she looked at a token. But she noticed some muddy tracks in the vicinity, confirming another presence. "Two?" Amelia squinted her eyes as she saw tracks of two people, but no sign of a fight was present. Shended on the ground and looked around. She made herself look as if she was off guard and looked at the token. The moment she bent down to pick up the token, she heard some movements. "Sara now!!" A voice was heard, and Amelia looked around to see an arrow flying towards her. Amelia tried to dodge the arrow, but as shended on another spot, a fireball came her way. Amelia turned around immediately, barely dodging the fireball. She took out her daggers and went forward in the direction of the mage who shot at her. "Wait, she dodged that as well?" The girl looked at Amelia as her red eyes looked at her. Her gaze was intimidating enough to make her panic, and she carelessly threw another fireball at her face. Getting panicked, she threw their initial n to group up the person who woulde to pick up the token. Amelia did not let go of the chance she had gotten and said, "Grant Strength," muttering a short chant to buff herself. She struck the dagger, cutting deep into the mage girl''s arm. But Amelia was relentless enough to injure her enough, and a arrow grazed her shoulder, but there was no wound on her shoulder. Instead, it was like a scratch. The barrier activated on the wounded mage, disqualifying her, and the girl who shot the arrow shouted, "Noooo," Sara shouted, but in her attempt to save her friend, she gave her location as well. Although they were friends and decided to team up if they met each other, and by luck, they found themselves early, but they were not experienced enough to do a good ambush. Amelia turned and looked at Sara, who was loading another arrow, but she was panicking, making her dy her next shot. Amelia''s buff was still active, so she ran towards the rock where Sara was taking cover. "Fireball," Amelia shot the ground ahead, making smokee out and acting as a smokescreen for her. "Where is she?" Sara looked left and right to spot Amelia, but Amelia was careful enough to not make any noise with her steps, or she would fire another fireball, masking her advance towards Sara. As Sara looked around, a dagger suddenly appeared and came towards her neck. She closed her eyes, as the dagger was too close for her to dodge. However, just as it approached her throat, the barrier activated, repelling the attack and disqualifying Sara. Sara touched her neck to check if she was okay and breathed a sigh of relief. Many of themon people participating in the tournamentcked the experience of those from wealthy families like Amelia or Damian. They were only rmended based on their talent and potential, meeting the threshold to be admitted into the World Academy. Amelia received another notification on her bracelet and took the token. Her name appeared on the leaderboard, overtaking Elena with a total of four tokens. Gazil announced, "We have Amelia Von Greville overtaking Elena Rothschild with a total of four tokens." The crowd loudly cheered. "And we have Eva Williams taking the third ce with two tokens," he added. "Look, Big Sis is on the leaderboard," Livia said cheerfully, making both Arthur and Sylvie smile. ------------------------------------ Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 4 2. Damian Seymour - 3 3. Kevin Whiteheart - 2 -------------------------------------- Leaderboard 1. Amelia Von Greville - 4 2. Elena Rothschild - 2 3. Eva williams - 2 --------------------------------------- In another VIP room, Lishiamented, "It seems like the Greville are dominating this tournament." "It''s too early to judge," Rewilh responded. "It''s a pity that we could not witness her fighting," Lishia said impatiently. "We will see them on screen when more fights happen," Rewilh reassured her. "Oh, look, the Greville boy and Astaria boy could confront each other soon," Rewilh said, making Lishia excited for another fight. On the screen, Asher was travelling at a normal pace, while in another location, a boy with light blond hair and ck eyes was bored, unable to find anyone. He found a token lying around and picked it up, increasing his count of tokens by one. "Now let''s find the unlucky guy who will meet my sword," the boy said, smirking as he went further into the forest. However, as he took many detours to avoid the damp, muddy ground, his path towards the final location was not a straight one. While running, he encountered another participant, who stopped and turned around to face him. "Well, well, what a pleasure to meet the heir of the Greville family," n said. "You might not know, but I am the heir of the Astaria family," he smiled, gripping his sword. "You could have gotten further only if you had met someone other than me," n dashed towards Asher. Asher, who was travelling straight towards the final location, stopped when he noticed n. His crimson red-eyes stared at n as he heard him spout something, but his focus was not present. His face was indifferent, and he appeared calm. Even as n dashed towards him, Asher did not move. n thought Asher was surprised to see him, so he took a lousy stance, which was his mistake. n smirked as his sword went for Asher''s neck, aiming for an easy win. However, as his sword neared Asher''s neck, Asher moved his sword upwards, countering n. "What?" n was stunned seeing Asher''s counter. "It seems you are truly the grandson of the Sword God," n said, taking a stance for a proper fight as he did not underestimate Asher anymore. "What?" n muttered to himself as Asher still did not move from his ce. "Don''t wanna fight me?" n provoked Asher, but all he got was a gaze from his eyes. On the other side, Asher was controlling himself to the maximum, not outright killing n. He was now d that he had forgotten his own swordsmanship. If not for that, he would have cut n''s hand probably even before the barrier could save him. "It seems we have a confrontation between two people from the Elite families!" Gazilmented. "Asher Greville and n Astaria, both are swordsmen! Let''s watch who will emerge as the victor," Gazil spoke, and the audience also cheered loudly. "Whoooo," Asher breathed out and dropped his sword on the ground, closing his eyes, confusing n and the whole audience. "What is he doing?" Alexander Astaria, who was a bit surprised by seeing Asher''s counter, spoke. He was also confused by Asher''s sudden move. Even Arthur was confused by his son''s action, but he kept watching. Asher opened his eyes and looked at n, who was staring at him with a confused face. "If you want to get out of this tournament so bad, I will give you what you want," n said with a serious look on his face. He lowered his sword a bit and dashed at Asher, but before he could get into close range, he found that Asher had disappeared from his spot. n immediately looked behind him, but all he could see was a fisting towards him. Asher''s fist met the jaw of n, nearly knocking him out. n looked at his bruised face as he red at Asher, who indifferently looked at him. At thest second, he had coated his face with mana, and doing so made him waste more mana because he did it instantly to save himself. Asher cracked his knuckles and coated his feet with mana, then dashed towards n, who raised his sword to attack him. But Asher dodged every swing with his footwork. Asher ducked as he dodged n''s strike and kicked his knees, making him lose his bnce and grip on the sword. Ashernded a kick at n''s face, making him bleed from his mouth. But the barrier was not activating as n was still conscious, and none of Asher''s strikes were counted as fatal. Asher lifted n as he gripped him from his neck. n struggled to get out of the grip as he kicked around, but he could not escape from Asher''s clutches. "Umm, he is not letting him go!" one of the test conductors spoke. They could not activate the barrier to stop Asher as he was still in contact with n. "Should we intervene?" another person asked one of the professor who was overseeing the tournament. Chapter 69 Out Of Control? "It seems that the battle is getting a bit heated," Gazil didn''t know what to say after watching Asher''s fight with n just now. Asher had disyed himself as a far more talented individual than n. "Should we intervene?" The test conductor asked the professor again. "Do it-" The professor almostpleted his orders but, "Let''s see how you look now," Asher spoke to n, who was kicking around to free himself. Asher threw n''s body into the nearby tree and smashed his face on the trunk. "AHHHH," n screamed as some splinters got stuck in his face. *Bam* *Bam* Asher kept hitting n''s face into the tree, turning his face into a bloody mess. But before he could do it for the fourth time, Asher felt someone stopping his hand, and he looked back. "Enough, n Astaria is now disqualified. You have received the token for defeating him," a man with ck hair, who was wearing a coat with the World Academy insignia on it, spoke. *Ding* Asher noticed he was given two tokens which were previously in the possession of n, but now they were counted as his tokens. n''s body fell out of Asher''s hand and dropped on the ground. Asher looked looked back at the professor who was ready to disqualify Asher if he touched n again and he knew it as well. "Fine with me," Asher turned and left n''s body with the professor. "THIS DAMN BASTARD!!" Alexander spoke, and his mana red up, destroying the room he was sitting in. "HOW DARE THAT GREVILLE BASTARD HURT MY SON," Alexander spoke, as his eyes were full of anger. "Don''t make a mess here, Sir," a voice came in, and Alexander looked behind him to see Arman who was standing there. "You think amoner like you can stop me? A Seat holder?" Alexander shouted. "Maybe you are forgetting where you are standing, Sir, and I am only saying this because our principal is in a good mood today," Arman spoke without hesitation. "I agree that the heir of the Greville family did too much with your son, but we said it before that the participants can use any method to win," Arman tried to reason with Alexander politely. Alexander clenched his fist, but even he was nothing in front of the principal of the World Academy. Despite being a Seat holder like the Greville, the Astaria family had no SSS-Rank hunter as their backbone. "Take me to my son right now," Alexander ordered Arman. "That I can do," Arman agreed to Alexander''s demand. While in the Halcyon Royal family VIP Room, "This guy is crazy!" Lishia spoke. "Lishia, you should choose your words carefully whenever you are outside the walls of Halcyon." Rewilh reminded her lightly and waved his hand, creating a sound barrier. "I apologize," Lishia immediately recognized her small blunder. "Well, you might not be wrong, but we should not create unnecessary rifts with others, especially in our current situation," Rewilh spoke. "But be careful of that boy in the Academy," Rewilh spoke, and Lishia took her father''s advice as she nodded. Many other Elite families were talking about this as well, but some were thinking about how talented Asher seemed, and others were thinking about the growing power of the Greville family. "Is he in a bad mood?" David asked Arthur. "Who knows, but maybe that Astaria boy provoked him?" Arthur shrugged his shoulders. Livia remained calm, but Nate gulped upon seeing Asher''s face. Despite being Damian''s brother, he could never understand why his big brother was friends with such a scary guy. Asher was the only person Nate could not talk rudely to. "Scary," Nate thought to himself. While Lucas was praising Asher like an idol, despite his ruthless behavior just now, Asher''s actions made him believe that his past actions were not that wrong. And he seeing Asher, he thought even he could live normally like others. Lucas could seem like a cute kid to others, but he had too many things to take care of, including Livia, stealing, and harming others. Only he knew how hard he tried to make sure that he never got caught doing all of this because the location they lived in had many such people who would harm him or maybe even kill him if he got caught by them. Nathan, on the other hand, was enjoying Asher''s fight. He was a guy who believed that if you were not powerful enough, you had no right to whine about your situation. And this mentality made him reach the ce he was today. But unlike him, others did not appreciate Asher''s fight with n, but they had no reason to ally with the Astaria family. Even the audience got a bit awkward when Asher made a mess of n''s face. Even some of his fans lowered their hands. It wasmon for them to like a cold-looking handsome guy, but seeing them do things that reflected their nature made them unlikable to others. "Oh, it seems that other participants are also slowly advancing towards the leaderboard," Gazil diverted the attention of the crowd. Many names started to appear on the leaderboard, but some of them were disappearing because they were getting eliminated as the time was decreasing. Amelia was maintaining her lead by finding tokens in the forest, and Elena dueled some other participants to gain two more tokens. Other names were appearing, but the biggest change was in the Boys'' leaderboard. "It seems we have a new person in the second ce nearing Asher Greville," Gazil spoke. "Second ce, having four tokens, we have Matthew, who was the top scorer in the recent World Association training," Gazil said. The audience cheered loudly, knowing that a normal person with no background waspeting against people with so many resources to develop themselves. ------------------------------------ Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 6 2. Matthew - 4 3. Kevin Whiteheart - 3 4. Damian Seymour - 3 5. Sam Allister - 2 -------------------------------------- "But the girls are not behind at either, right now the Greville are dominating the leaderboard can somebody overtake them?" Gazil spoke as the Leaderboard showed the current rankings. -------------------------------------- Leaderboard 1. Amelia Von Greville - 7 2. Elena Rothschild - 5 3. Eva williams - 4 4. Venessa Baker - 2 5. Ria Adler - 2 --------------------------------------- Almost 30 minutes had passed and now more and more participants were encountering each other. Many others were finding hidden tokens around the forest, and one of them was Sam Allister, who had not found a single opponent yet. "Oh, seems like someone is fighting," Sam stopped and quietly went in the direction where he had heard others fighting. *Bam* It was a fight between two people, one with a sword and another boy who was using spells. "Found my prey," Sam''s eyes shone as he looked at the two other people fighting. But unlike Damian, who had jumped in carelessly, Sam was a careful person who would not act rashly without considering the consequences. It was a hard trait to have, growing up in an Elite family with so much power and authority at their hands. Kids from Elite families had this mindset of ignoring the repercussions of their decisions most of the time. But Sam was quite different from the kids his age. His intelligence was only less than Asher and Eva, who were one of the most intelligent kids at the World Academy, including other seniors. He looked at the timer, <1:25:30> "Let''s take them down now," Sam conjured a spell. A shackles of mud appeared beneath the boy with the sword, making him take the iing fireball and getting eliminated. "Fuck," he cursed as he looked at the mud shackles on his legs that were the reason for his elimination. The boy who had cast the fireball was happy receiving the notification of the token that he did not notice the mud shackles. As he was looking at his bracelet, Sam thrust his spear, but the boy sensed him, so he tried to dodge, but the spear still made a graze on his stomach, making him bleed from there. "What the hell," he touched his stomach and looked at Sam, who just smirked at him. But Sam did not give him enough time to conjure another spell. A mage at such a low rank was quite weak, so the boy stood no chance after Sam''s surprise attack on him. Only mages of a bit higher rank could fight toe to toe with others without having a clear disadvantage. *Ding**Ding* "Tch, only 2," Sam got annoyed that he had only gotten two tokens from these two guys. While in the Stadium, "Sam Allister had overtaken Kevin Whiteheart and Damian Seymour with 4 tokens!!," Gazil spoke. "But nothing is sure for now, the top 5 will keep changing, and only the person who could maintain the top spot at the end would be the winner!" Gazil exined. ------------------------------------ Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 6 2. Matthew - 4 3. Sam Allister - 4 4. Kevin Whiteheart - 3 5. Damian Seymour - 3 -------------------------------------- Chapter 70 Arriving At The Final Location The crowd cheered as time went on and more and more people encountered each other. Asher had defeated two more participants himself. Although it was a representative tournament, not many students had entered it. Many were nervous and were not adequately taught topete with those with special training. For them, entering seemed like a waste of time, and they would eventually learn and couldpete with other privileged students. The World Academy was even better than what an elite family could offer since it had all types of knowledge gathered in one ce. Elite families may have one specialty where they outss the World Academy, such as Nathaniel Von Greville, who was known as a sword god, and nobody could dare say they could teach Asher better than what he could have learned from Nathan. The total count of students, including both boys and girls, was around 100, with half of them being boys and the other half being girls. These participants were the ones who were taught or thought they had a chance at winning. Other than getting injured, which can be treated free of cost by the World Academy, there was no real risk. As the timer hit the 1-hour mark, Alyssa checked her bracelet and said, "Hmm, 1 hour left. Let''s get moving." She carefully hovered down the tree. "Let''s hope I can reach there before the tournament ends and have enough time to fight," she did a deep breath as she channeled her mana and went straight ahead towards the direction of the final location. Her eyes became a bit dull, and her skin a bit paler, but she was fine as she went deeper into the forest. The terrain was not a problem for her since she was not actually touching the ground. It was just her feet that seemed like they did touch to others if they did not look too carefully. As time went on, Asher defeated 5 more participants, bringing his total number of tokens to 17. But most of Asher''s fights were not being shown on the big screen due to the way he was defeating the other participants. After his fight with n, he was not exactly in a good mood. Not seeing Asher fighting made Lucas sad, but David, who noticed Lucas''s look, said that he would watch Asher when all the participants arrived near the final location. While most of the focus was now on Matthew and Kevin, who were like Asher defeating all their opponents quite skillfully. "It seems that the participant Matthew is giving his all and not letting Kevin take the lead for his second ce," Gazilmented. Matthew was a swordsman, and although he was not as excellent as Asher, it was enough for him to defeat other participants with rtive ease. "14," Matthew muttered as he looked at his bracelet. He had short brownish-ck hair with a decently handsome face but not enough to bepared with Kevin. He was as tall as Kevin but smaller than Asher. Matthew sat down and regained his stamina since fighting 5 people till now took a toll on his stamina. But after a few minutes, he got up and went deeper because he wanted the extra tokens that the person on the special zone in the final location would get. In the girls'' tournament, both Elena and Amelia were fighting different participants and gaining tokens. Many people were cheering and were surprised by the performance of both of them. Although Elena was actively using her mana, she was making sure she recovered enough before going further towards the final location. While Amelia was keeping both her mana and stamina in check. Elena had nowe close to Amelia with her total count nearing 18, while Amelia was at 19. They both had luck eliminating people with two or more tokens. While Eva was having a much easier time fighting as nobody she encountered had enough firepower to break her barriers, maintaining so many barriers would usually be difficult for a person of her rank. However, her superb mental capacities allowed her to achieve these results, and the fact that she had a talent in barrier-rted magic helped her greatly. The time was ticking and now only 30 minutes were left, and more and more people were getting eliminated. Some of the people got sad after their son or daughter got eliminated, but they were still happy for them for getting selected into the World Academy. In the Greville VIP room, everyone was happy as Asher and Amelia were still dominating the leaderboard. Livia was cheering and jumping around as Amelia defeated more and more people. As the tournament was going on, the leaderboard remained the same, and there were still no changes in it. *BAM* A fireball hit a tree, but it was not powerful enough to make the tree fall. "Damn it," the boy cursed. Kevin jumped around carefully, making sure that none of the spells hit him. He knew that going on the fights would get even tougher, so he didn''t want any injury that could affect his performanceter. Kevin thrust his spear, but the boy dodged the thrust. However, he could not block Kevin''s second attack as he spun his spear and hit him from the side, injuring his insides and making the barrier activate. "Huff," Kevin breathed heavily as he recovered from his fight. "I am quite close," Kevin said as he looked at the change in direction as he went forward. He stopped, knowing that he should recover his stamina a bit. "I hope nobody else has eliminated that bastard already," Kevin clenched his fist, remembering Asher. "Make sure you win, Elena," Kevin said as he leaned his back toward the tree to rest a bit. Somewhere else, "Wow, who did you encounter to end up like this?" Sam ducked down to see a participant who had a broken arm and a broken leg. The guy barely opened his eyes as he was in pain. He looked at the dark-haired boy, almost freaking out, but he saw his eyes were pale green, not red, so he recovered his breathing. "Red eyes, argh," he spoke, but his face showed how much pain he was in. "Hmm, let''s change our path for now," Sam looked ahead and changed his path a bit, leaving the already eliminated boy behind. The boy looked at Sam and closed his eyes as he lost his conciousness. The test conductors appeared right after Sam left. They were waiting for Sam to leave the area before taking the boy to medical facilities. Sam was just behind Asher''s tracks, and if he went in the simr direction, he would have faced Asher before the final location, so he changed his tracks. "Give me a good show, you guys," Sam smirked as he remembered Kevin saying something about the heir of Greville at their waiting room. He wanted to take advantage of their fights and hit them when they were at their weakest. The timer was decreasing, and Asher arrived at the final location first as he looked at the small stone tform with the World Academy insignia on it. "Special Zone," Asher muttered to himself. He looked around and saw the open field he was standing in. There was no ce to hide and attack the guy on the special zone. This meant that the only way to attack someone was to do it without any cover. It seemed like whoever thought of this tournament wanted many confrontations at the same time. This would result in people teaming together to defeat others. "It seems Asher Greville is the first one to arrive at the final location!" the camera showed Asher walking around the open grasnd. "And it seems that Kevin Whiteheart and our second-ce participant, Matthew, will arrive soon," he spoke as the screen disyed an eagle view, showing that neither of them was too far from the open field. "The girls are a bit far from their final location. It seems we will finally see some changes in the leaderboard!" Gazil spoke. "Right now, as you can see on the screen, the scores are not too far apart from each other," Gazil said. -------------------------------------- Leaderboard 1. Amelia Von Greville - 23 2. Elena Rothschild - 21 3. Eva williams - 19 4. Venessa Baker - 16 5. Ria Adler - 15 --------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ Leaderboard 1. Asher Von Greville - 22 2. Matthew - 20 3. Kevin Whiteheart - 19 4. Sam Allister - 16 5. Damian Seymour - 15 -------------------------------------- The audience is closely watched the leaderboard, and the same people have maintained their top 5 spots without getting eliminated until now. While at the final location, Kevin was the second participant to arrive, and just after him was Matthew. Kevin looked around and saw the special zone, with Asher sitting right beside the tform, not on it. "Arrogant bastard, let''s see how long you can behave that way," Kevin said as he spun his spear around and went towards Asher. Matthew, who arrived after Kevin, saw a white-haired boy going towards the special zone. "So he is Asher Greville," he spoke, as he saw a ck-haired boy sitting with his sword beside him. Chapter 71 Clash Of The Top 5 Asher looked at Kevin who was walking towards him, and from a different direction, a face he remembered, Matthew, was alsoing towards him. Asher got up and held his sword as he stared at the two peopleing towards him. "It seems we will see a sh between the top 3 of the boys'' leaderboard," Gazil spoke, and the audience cheered loudly. All three of them had their supporters in the crowd, but Matthew had the most, being from amon background, and second was Kevin. The screen showed Kevin and Matthew walking towards Asher from his left and right respectively. After they were in the range where they could attack and defend from each other, they stopped. "I don''t know who you are, but stay away from him. He is my target!" Kevin looked at Matthew and spoke. "The name is Matthew, and why should I listen to you anyway?" Matthew looked at Kevin. Asher was calm, and his face was indifferent. He was not in the same state as before when he faced n. Despite seeing the man who seeded in almost killing him standing in front of him, he was calm. It was almost like his mind was somewhere else. "Hahaha, you seem like a tough guy as you managed to arrive here so fast like me, but I will say it again: don''t interfere." Kevin red at Matthew. "You talk too much," Asher spoke as he sighed, and a wave of killing intent hit Kevin and Matthew. They got alerted as they raised their weapons at Asher. His crimson-red eyes made Matthew gulp as he felt fear from Asher. On the other hand, Kevin was cautious, but this much bloodlust was not enough to stagger him. Even Asher knew that Kevin had trained in hunting dungeon beasts like him, so he was also used to experiencing this much killing intent. Asher dashed towards Kevin immediately and raised his sword as he swung it. Kevin was surprised at first, but he managed to block his strike. However, after he felt the force behind his attack, his eyes widened. ''Why does his strength seem higher than mine? Is he already an E+ Rank!?'' Kevin thought to himself. "HAAH," Kevin pushed his spear and back stepped, getting into a proper stance. He pointed the tip of his spear at Asher, making it clear that he was now ready for his attack. Asher turned towards Matthew and dashed towards him, ignoring Kevin. "What the-?" Kevin was shocked by Asher''s move. Challenging another person while being in a duel was dumb. "This bastard is mocking me," Kevin clenched his jaw as he saw Asher swing his sword in a simr manner, but unlike Kevin, Matthew sidestepped to dodge it. Matthew immediately swung at Asher, but as his sword was nearing Asher''s hand, his sword got countered. "What!?!" Matthew immediately back stepped away from Asher, but he did not let his guard down. Kevin frowned, seeing Asher''s skill while countering Matthew''s sword. But he went ahead and dashed towards Asher to initiate his attack, spinning his spear in his right hand. He swung his spear, but Asher back stepped and dashed towards Kevin immediately, performing a sh that made a light cut on Kevin''s shoulder. The suit would have stopped any major injury, but a small one would go through it. It worked more as a protective device than armor, and it was meant to work that way. "Argh," Kevin stepped away from Asher''s range, touched his shoulder, and looked at his hand to see a bit of blood on it. Kevin red at Asher, unable to believe that he was being cornered by him even though they were two against one. It hurt his pride more than anything to see Asher''s indifferent and calm face. "Don''t you underestimate me!" Kevin said, channeling his mana as his speed doubled. ng Small sparks were produced as Asher diverted Kevin''s spear with his sword, but Kevin did not stop. He continued to attack Asher, but he was unable to break his defense. Meanwhile, Matthew was looking for an opening to eliminate Asher. He recognized Asher as a greater threat than Kevin and was not going to waste this opportunity, no matter how unfair or hical it might seem. He tried to get into Asher''s blind spot while he was busy dealing with Kevin, but Asher was not even focused on Kevin at the moment. He was just toying with him. "He is strong, but he''s going to lose now that it''s 1v2," Lishia spoke. "I don''t think so," Rewilh said, focused on the screen watching Asher. "What amazing footwork," he thought as he watched Asher counter Kevin with perfect footwork. In the Greville VIP room, Lucas was watching Asher''s duel with all his focus. Even Arthur was looking forward to seeing what Asher would do now that he was in a 1v2 situation. "Where is my dumb brother?" Nate thought to himself as Damian was shown on the screen for a long time. As Asher toyed with Kevin, who was getting more and more agitated by his unsessful attempts to breach Asher''s defenses, Asher made Kevin take a step back and felt a sword approaching his back. Asher turned and tilted his head to his left, and Matthew''s sword missed Asher''s neck. Matthew looked into a pair of red eyes staring at him, but before he could move his sword, Asher ducked and punched Matthew right in the gut, making him cough. Asher channeled his mana, coating his hands and legs, increasing his speed and strength even further. He did not give Matthew any escape as he kept attacking him, making him cough up blood. As he was performing a kick to Matthew''s face, he noticed Kevin attacking his back with his spear. Attacking someone from behind was not Kevin''s usual style at all, but he was too agitated to even think about his morals. Asher bent backwards, but Kevin was prepared for it and pushed his spear downwards. Asher pushed the ground with his legs, shifting himself to his right and dodging Kevin''s attack. Matthew wiped the blood from his mouth, channeling his mana to coat his arms and increase his strength. He tightened his grip on his sword and swung it at Asher. Both Matthew and Kevin were now attacking Asher together, which seemed a bit cowardly and made the crowd angry at both of them. More people cheered for Asher, but both of them were swept by Asher''s flow as he kept toying with them. Only those who had experience with battles could tell that Kevin and Matthew were on the losing end. "Why is Kevin losing to that bastard!" James said loudly, breaking the armrest of his chair. "It seems the rumors about the heir of the Greville family were true after all," a person sitting in one of the VIP rooms spoke. "Tell the chairman about this," he ordered his assistant, who immediately left the room. Asher countered both Kevin''s and Matthew''s attacks as they grew more and more tired. He kicked Matthew in the stomach, making him fall to the ground, and immediately blocked Kevin''s spear thrust with the edge of his sword. Both of them were now pushing each other''s weapons, but Asher had the advantage, as he was a minor rank higher than Kevin. "You are also weak, like that dumb bitch," Asher smirked, quietly muttering so that only Kevin could hear him. "YOU FUCK-" Kevin cursed, but midway through, Asher pushed his spear, making him lose his bnce. Kevin saw Asher turn andnd a round kick on his face, making him fall to the ground. Asher looked at both Matthew and Kevin, who were on the ground. But as he stepped forward, he noticed some mud shackles in between the thick grass. He dodged as he saw the shackles gripping the space where his legs were currently. He knew who used this kind of trick and turned to see a ck-haired boy with pale green eyes, Sam Allister. "Impressive, you even dodged that!" Sam spoke as he smiled towards Asher. "Hehe, looks like you got your ass beaten," Sam looked to the right and saw Kevin, who was getting up with his eyes full of anger. Sam pointed her spear at Asher and spoke, "Both of you, let''s beat this guy first, then we can decide the winner amongst uster," he said. "I don''t need your help!" Kevin shouted as he stood with a cut on his mouth from Asher''s kick. "Neither do I," Matthew spoke with one of his hands still on his stomach where Asher had punched him many times. "Well, I know I can''t defeat him, and neither can you guys, so let''s fight together," Sam spoke but he saw Asher raise his eyebrows slightly. "Took you so long?" Asher questioned with a smirk on his face, confusing Sam, who looked behind to see Damian, who had many cuts on his body,ing towards them with a blood-covered sledgehammer on his shoulder. "Cut me some ck, I am not good with directions," Damian shouted as he smiled. Meanwhile, in another final location, Amelia, Elena, and Eva were looking at each other, neither of them moving, waiting for someone to make the first move. Chapter 72 Asher Vs Kevin "We have the Top 5 of the boys'' leaderboard in one ce!!" Gazil eximed. "Asher Greville almost beat two of the top 5 alone, but what will happen now?" he asked, hyping the audience. Some minutes before Damian arrived at the final location, Elena was the first to arrive at the final location of the girls'' tournament. She looked around and saw a small stone tform in the distance. "That must be the special zone they told us about," Elena spoke to herself. As she stepped towards the stone tform, a voice came from her right. "It seems I was a bitte," Amelia said as she walked with a rxed look on her face. Elena looked back and saw Amelia, but seeing her red eyes made her instinctively take a step back. She regained herposure and red back at Amelia. Although she looked confident and was a strong contestant, she still carried the trauma of being beaten ruthlessly by Asher. Her whole life, she was treated with respect and care by others. Elena clenched her fist as she got ready for a fight, but Amelia was not the one to back down either. As both of them channeled their mana, one more person appeared. "Oh, you arrived quite fast, Elena," Eva spoke. Seeing Eva Amelia had her guard up because, after the incident with Asher, she had not talked to any of the three, and they were now pretty much strangers to each other. "It seems we havepany, though," Eva turned towards Amelia, and all three of them stopped. Nobody made a move. "This might be a bit difficult," Amelia thought to herself as she was not confident enough to take on both Elena and Eva and battle others who wouldeter. She pulled out her daggers and got ready for anything that mighte her way. As the three of them were getting ready to fight, they felt a gust of wind pass by them, and all three of them looked at the tform to see a pink-haired girl standing on the stone tform. "Who is she?" Amelia thought, as she did not recognize this girl. "Huff, huff," Alyssa breathed loudly as she looked at the three of them, and her eyes shone seeing Elena. "I am notte," Alyssa spoke to herself as she saw the timer on her bracelet, which showed <00:14:09>. Meanwhile, in the other tournament location, Sam cursed to himself, "Dammit." He didn''t know Damian well, but he didn''t expect him to arrive at the final location so quickly. "Well, it seems you were having your fun," Damian looked behind and saw Kevin and Matthew, who had been beaten down. Asher looked at Sam, who was standing between him and Damian. He raised his sword and dashed toward Sam. Sam reacted a bitte to Asher''s advance, but he immediately dodged Asher''s forward sh and countered it with a thrust of his spear. However, Asher easily blocked Sam''s thrust by striking down his spear. "Argh," Sam almost lost his grip on his spear due to the difference in their strength. Damian did not intervene. He knew that Asher didn''t want his help right now, and he would step in if he felt that Asher was losing. Sam side-stepped, and now Asher was facing Damian, and Sam was in front of Kevin and Matthew. "Let''s team up for now," Sam shouted. Kevin wanted to deny, but his anger made him want to defeat Asher at all costs. Even Matthew was convinced that he was nothing in front of Asher. He thought that the difference between him and the other kids from Elite families would not be that big. And it would have been true if he had not encountered Asher. "Listen, you don''t want to lose like this as well, right?" Sam said, and Asher let him talk without interrupting him. "Okay," Matthew agreed, as he saw no other option. "And you?" Matthew questioned Kevin, who had been silent the whole time. ''I will use it,'' Kevin thought in his mind. "I don''t need your help!" Kevin shouted. "Are you dumb?" Sam stopped and frowned as he saw Kevin channeling his mana. "Decided to bring it out, huh?" Asher said to himself, as he smirked looking at Kevin. A spark appeared around Kevin, and after the first spark, another two appeared. His white hair started floating as small sparks covered his whole body. Kevin muttered something, and his spear was coated with lightning at the tip. "Kevin Whiteheart is a lightning attribute user!" Gazil spoke, as many people were surprised. It was known that Kevin was a genius due to his record in the awakening, but his element affinity was unknown. "Hmm, this boy is quite good, but he''s too emotional," an old man who was watching the tournament spoke. "But his potential seems great, even his element," a document floated around him as he looked at it and then got back to observing the tournament. "This guy has an advance attribute?!" Damian spoke with a surprised look on his face. "Get out of my way," Kevin spoke, and Sam stepped back with a smile on his face. Kevin dashed toward Asher with incredible speed as his element boosted his agility a lot. Kevin''s spear traveled toward Asher''s face, but Asher did not stay still. He side-stepped, but Kevin followed the thrust by spinning his spear toward Asher. Asher kept dodging Kevin''s attack, but Kevin''s eyes followed every movement that Asher was making. His element not only boosted his speed but also his reaction time and all his senses. His body was reacting to every movement Asher was making. *ng* *ng* Asher countered most of Kevin''s spin attacks with an indifferent look that only made Kevin more furious. He attacked with even more intensity, causing his hands to bleed as he forced his body to match Asher''s strength. To the audience, it looked like Kevin suddenly had the upper hand. "This boy!" Rewilh closely watched Asher''s movements. "It seems Kevin Whiteheart might win," Lishia spoke as she watched the fight. "No, that Greville boy is toying with him," Rewilh said with a serious expression. "What? But Kevin is clearly winning right now," Lishia questioned, but Rewilh shook his head and gestured for her to keep watching. In another room, Nathan spoke, "Hoh, that spear boy is good. But when did this brat get this good at his basic footwork?" Nathan smiled as he watched Asher dodge every attack from Kevin, even countering some of them. Although it appeared that Asher was moving a lot, if they looked closely, he had not moved more than two steps from his initial position. ? "Let''s end this," Asher said. Kevin was confused about what Asher meant, but he soon found out as Asher''s sword slipped through his spear and made a small cut on his side. "Argh," Kevin backed away, touching his side and noticing blood. He coated his whole body with lightning so that he could attack Asher again. However, as Kevin put his spear up to block Asher''s strike, it turned out to be a feint, and Asher instead delivered a roundhouse kick to his ribs. The force behind the kick was enough to make Kevin crash to the ground. *Cough* *Cough* Kevin coughed and crouched up, but Asher did not give him any more time. Kevin saw Asher''s kicking toward his stomach. *Bam* Kevin tried to put his spear close to his chest to reduce the impact, but the force was enough to lift his body off the ground. Asher gripped Kevin''s neck, and Kevin saw a punchnd on his face. *BAM* Asher''s fist, coated with mana,nded on Kevin''s face, causing his nose to bleed. *BAM* He punched him again. *BAM* A third punchnded as Kevin''s eyes rolled back with his face bleeding and a broken nose. "That will hurt, but..." Damian spoke as he threw his hammer toward Sam to interrupt him. "I would avoid doing that," Damian said as Sam red back at him. "This bastard," Sam cursed Damian because he was about to trap Asher. But Sam and Damian did not know that these cheap tricks would not work on Asher, whose mana sensitivity was high enough to know about Sam''s attack in advance. Asher looked at Kevin, whose body had gone limp as he had lost consciousness already. "So weak," Asher threw Kevin aside and looked back at Sam and Matthew. Ding Asher''s count of tokens went up as the barrier around Kevin activated, signaling his defeat. "He has done it! Asher Von Greville has defeated Kevin Whiteheart!" Gazil spoke loudly, and the audience cheered, but Kevin''s fans were saddened by his loss. "Yay," Lucas put his fist up, seeing Asher''s win. Arthur was calm, confident that his son would win, and Sylvie and Seymour were smiling, seeing the leaderboard change. Asher looked at the timer on his bracelet. <<00:15:34>> "Let''s wrap this up," Asher said, looking at Sam and Matthew, who were nervous after seeing his effortless win against Kevin. Chapter 73 [Bonus ]Alyssa Astaria Elena looked at Alyssa''s face and frowned when she saw the scar on her face. "Who is she?" Amelia asked, and the three of them were confused by her sudden arrival. "It seems that even the girls have gathered, but someone is already on the leaderboard!" Gazil said. "It''s... Alyssa standing on the special zone!" Gazil stuttered when he read Alyssa''s name for some reason. "Look at that scar..." "She''s not even on the leaderboard" "What''s going on?" People started chattering as they were confused by Alyssa''s arrival. "I was hoping this wouldn''t happen," the old man at the office spoke as he saw Alyssa on the screen. "Why did the Astaria Family''s head allow her participation?" A sigh left his mouth. Meanwhile, in the boys'' final location before Alyssa arrived at the special zone, Asher dashed towards Sam, who thrust his spear towards him in an attempt to waste time and make sure he was not eliminated. He knew that his chances of winning were zero so he wanted to at least maintain his pride as a member of an Elite family. "I can''t lose this pathetically," Sam thought in his mind. But Asher was done ying around. He countered with his sword, breaking Sam''s stance and kicked him in the guts. Sam fell to the ground, holding his stomach and coughing blood. But Asher did not stop there; he kicked him in the head, knocking him out as his face was buried in the mud. Asher looked at Matthew, almost wanting to surrender rather than be beaten like that. "And Sam Allister was defeated by Asher Greville!!!" Gazil spoke as the audience cheered, At the final location, Alyssa met the gazes of all three of them. "Forget about winning this if you don''t want to get hurt," she spoke. "I don''t even know who you are, but it seems you are quite arrogant," Eva spoke. She waved her hand as multiple translucent barriers went towards Alyssa. "Should have stayed out of here; now you can go back," Eva spoke. Alyssa raised her finger and brought it down, breaking all the barriers that Eva had summoned. "What?" Eva was shocked to see all her barriers break one by one. Even Amelia and Elena, who knew about Eva''s abilities, were shocked. "Another advance element user!" Gazil spoke with a surprised voice. "Who is this girl?" Sylvie said as she tried to remember. "Pink hair... Ahh, she is the daughter of the Astaria family!" Verina replied after remembering. "She is that girl? Why is she participating in a public tournament?" Sylvie said with a frown on her face. "Who is she?" Livia asked. "Oh, we''ll tell you about that another day," Sylvie dodged the topic, making Lucas curious about her identity. "Some kind of space element?" Elena muttered. "Doesn''t matter, I will win this," Elena said as she summoned multiple fireballs. "Let''s see how you dodge these," she spoke as many balls of fire went towards Alyssa. "I will win," Alyssa muttered and raised her trembling finger, distorting the direction of the spells. Amelia was still watching Alyssa, and she did not want to jump in carelessly. Both Elena and Eva were doing the same. They did not want to focuspletely on Alyssa, leaving Amelia free to attack them. *Ding* Alyssa received +2 extra tokens for staying on the special zone. She would keep receiving 2 tokens every 10 seconds. This was also a problem for the other threepetitors. They did not know that Alyssa had not received any tokens until that point. They assumed that if she were this capable, she would have gathered a simr number of tokens to them. "Oh, Elena!" a girl''s voice eximed, and Elena turned to see her cousin Ria approaching. "Who is that girl?" Elena asked when she noticed Alyssa. "I don''t know, but her element is space-rted. Be careful," Eva warned Ria. Eva knew Ria as she would oftene to meet Elena in their Academy in Desmar. "Space?" Ria looked back at Alyssa. Seeing Ria and Elena, Alyssa''s anger increased. "These damn Rothschilds," she muttered to herself. She could feel that the effect of the potion was fading, and her body was slowly showing symptoms again. Another 10 seconds passed, and Alyssa received another 2 tokens, but now Elena and Eva were ready to attack her. Ria''s arrival meant that they had another person to hold Amelia if she tried to attack them. But before they could attack her, Amelia decided to attack Alyssa. Amelia moved forward with her dagger in her hand, augmenting her body. She fired a fireball at Alyssa, who diverted it like she did with Elena, but this gave enough time for Amelia to get closer to Alyssa. "Lance," Alyssa muttered, confusing Amelia, but she suddenly looked to her right side, where an icence wasing towards her. She tried to stop and dodge it, but thence still grazed her. Amelia stepped back from Alyssa before she could do another attack at her. "What?" Elena, Eva, and Ria were all shocked. "Two advanced elements?" Elena spoke. "Another advanced element, this new contestant seems quitepetent," Gazil spoke. The crowd, including many people in the VIP rooms, was surprised to see that Alyssa could wield two advanced elements. "It''s a pity, though, that she only has the space element," someone in one of the VIP rooms said. "Well, it doesn''t matter; she would never have seeded considering her past anyway," another person replied. Now, all four of them had acknowledged that Alyssa was a threat that needed to be taken down. They had no information about her, and by seeing Alyssa''s capabilities until now, she was a real threat to them. "Elena and Eva, you attack her while I take her in close range," Ria said as she unsheathed her sword. They had no problem teaming up against Alyssa since her abilities were enough for her to keep her position and gain tokens. All they needed to do was remove Alyssa from the special zone to ensure that she did not win. "Okay," Eva said as she summoned many barriers. Amelia also knew that fighting with others instead of Alyssa would be a waste of time, so she needed to support them in removing Alyssa from the special zone. "Grant Strength," she augmented herself. Ria ran towards Alyssa, and Elena and Eva got ready to attack Alyssa while Amelia was also closing her distance to her. "Why do you always..." Alyssa muttered to herself as her hands trembled. "Just die, die, die, die!" several voices shouted inside Alyssa''s head. "No!" Alyssa shouted as many icences appeared around her. Alyssa''s hair floated upwards, revealing her face and her scar. She was hovering above the ground, looking down on the four of them. "I will not lose!" She shouted as Amelia felt the gravity around her increase. "What the hell?!" All four of them were finding it difficult to move around. Alyssa''s nose was bleeding, and her skin had be paler, but she did not stop. More icences kept appearing behind her, and the increasing pressure made it difficult for them to move around. Blue veins were starting to appear around her arms, and blood was dripping from her nose to the ground. It was clear that Alyssa was going beyond her limits for this attack. "Dammit!" Amelia saw many icences appearing in the sky. She was having difficulty, despite her augmented state. "Does this bitch want to die?" Ria shouted, but Alyssa still did not stop. Eva stacked many of her barriers to protect herself, but some of them kept shattering as they were formed due to the increased gravity caused by Alyssa. "Not like this," Elena did not want to lose. She channeled all her mana and materialized a big fireball over her hands. "I will not go down like this!" She shouted as she threw the fireball, and the increased gravity was not enough to change the direction of this spell of Elena. Alyssa''s eyes were losing focus, but she looked at the fireball that Elena threw at her. A surge of anger flooded into her as she remembered her worst memory. Alyssa conjured another bigger icence seeing theing giant fireball. Multiple dark veins were appearing on her neck region nearing her face. Blood started falling from her eyes. "Descend," she spoke as all the icences fell towards the four of them, and the big icence destroyed the fireball. Amelia saw multiple icencesing towards her, but before they could impale her body, she saw the barrier around her activate. "Dammit!" She cursed as she did not like losing, but she could not do anything against Alyssa. She looked around, seeing all four of them were now eliminated by Alyssa. But instead of being happy, Alyssa looked at her arms full of blue veins, and her eyes watered. "Is this how I lose?" Alyssa spoke to herself. She used thest of her mana to hover down to the stone tform but did not have enough mana to stand. She fell to her knees as she heard the noiseing from her bracelet, informing her about the tokens she gained from the four of them. But instead of celebrating, she clenched her fist as her pink hair covered her face. She looked up and saw another participant approaching. *p* *p* "What a splendid performance," Vanessa Baker spoke. Chapter 74 Venessa Baker After Sam Allister was eliminated, Asher turned towards Matthew, who took a step back as Asher''s cold gazended on him.However, knowing he could not escape, Matthew charged forward with his sword in his hand. His strength increased as he used the mana cirction technique that he received from the World Association. *ng* "Why," Matthew thought in his head. Every attack he made was easily countered by Asher. "I was the one who should have won," he muttered. Matthew had thought this tournament would be the ce where he would show the world that the elite families were nothing without the tremendous amount of resources they spent on their children. He wanted to prove that his talent alone was enough to ovee the barrier, but Asher was not someone he could even fathompeting with. Asher indifferently kept countering but decided to end it. Matthew saw Asher shing down with his sword, and the force behind the attack made Matthew''s sword cut into the ground. Before he could remove his hand from the hilt to guard himself, Asher kicked him in the face, immediately activating the barrier. Asher looked in another direction towards the forest. "Tsk," he got annoyed that the test conductors had activated the barrier before he could mess Matthew up more. Asher looked behind to see Damian, who was cracking his knuckles. "You wanna start?" Asher asked Damian, knowing what he wanted. "Of course, I wanted to test the gap between us," Damian spoke. Asher did not reply. He just quietly stared at Damian before he sighed and dropped his sword. "You are still a fool," Asher thought in his mind as he remembered a certain event from the past. Damian saw Asher dropping his sword as he got ready for hand-to-handbat. "Hehe, don''t go easy on me," Damian dashed as he swung his fist at Asher. Asher simply blocked his fist, but Damian''s strength and endurance were a bit lower than Asher''s. Damian saw Asher doing an overhand right, but Damian ducked as he tried to do a jab at Asher''s stomach. Damian thought he could connect his jab, but Asher knee kicked him, making him lose his bnce. "Argh, *spit*," Damian spat out blood. Despite knowing that he would lose to Asher, Damian was smiling. His goal was not to win, and Asher knew what Damian wanted to show by this brawl. "Asher Greville has confirmed his spot for 1st position, but it seems Damian Seymour is now challenging him," Gazil spoke. This duel was happening before Alyssa''s arrival, but it was pretty much clear for everyone who would win now. "Another monster in the Greville family, the future high council will get affected by this," a man in one of the VIP rooms spoke. Many people became more cautious about the growing power of the Greville family. Damian took a deep breath as his eyes focused on Asher. He dashed towards Asher but stopped his punch and did a roundhouse kick on him. Asher blocked the kick as he grabbed Damian''s leg. "Too slow," Asher grabbed Damian''s leg and threw him towards the stone tform. Damiannded on the ground as he looked at Asher who wasing at him. "Strong," he muttered as he got up. Damian changed his stance and started to punch him, but Asher was dodging every strike that Damian sent his way. Asher instead of dodging thest punch tilted his body to the right and sent an uppercut on Damian. Damian felt the punch and lost his bnce, but Asher grabbed his head and lowered it as he kneed him in the face. Asher kept kicking Damian in the face, but after five solid knee hits, Damian stopped thest one with all his strength. He pushed Asher''s body and tried to grapple him, but Asher shook his grip off. "Huff, huff, huff," Damian looked messed up, but fortunately, all the screens shifted to show Alyssa''s fight after she showed her space element. Damian barely opened his left eye and looked at the blurry figure of Asher. "It seems I am still too weak," Damian muttered as he fell to the ground, and the barrier activated, giving Asher all his tokens. Asher''s indifferent face looked at Damian, who was now unconscious. "Only if you were not obsessed over her, but who am I to say this," Asher muttered quietly to himself. Meanwhile, in the girls'' tournament, Venessa was watching Alyssa fight the others. She had arrived just after Ria Ardel, but she did not rush into the situation and decided to watch them fight. "Pink hair," Venessa squinted her eyes to see Alyssa. "Another advanced element?" Venessa was surprised to see Alyssa use ice magic. She saw Alyssa as she floated above the ground and summoned many icences. She saw all of Alyssa''s struggles and her winning against all the participants. *p* *p* "What a splendid performance," Venessa Baker spoke. Alyssa looked up as she red at Venessa. *Cough* *Cough* She coughed, and blood came out of her mouth, covering her pale face and hands. "You are so strong!" Venessa told Alyssa. Alyssa thought that Venessa was making fun of her. ''I tried my best then, why? Why? Why?'' Alyssa thought as her hands gripped the ground. "You would have all of their tokens, right?" Venessa spoke. "I will protect you until the end of this tournament then," Venessa spoke as she proudly put her hands on her chest. "Huh?" Alyssa looked at Venessa, who took her sword out and stood beside her. "Why?" She asked, ignoring the pain she was feeling right now. "Oh, a fortune teller helped me today. He told me to help someone pink, and it would help me in the future," Venessa spoke as she tried to remember the face of the fortune teller, but she couldn''t remember it. "Strange, I met him today, but I don''t remember his face!" Venessa tried to remember as she sat beside Alyssa and put her hand on her head. "Purple... Yeah, his eyes were purple," Venessa pped her hands and smiled brightly as she looked at Alyssa. "Ehh? Venessa Baker is doing something... strange?" Gazil tilted his head as all the audience were confused why she was not attacking. "I don''t deserve this..." Alyssa muttered. She wanted to win but with her own efforts. Having that potion made her think that her body would be able to hold on for a bit more, but she overused her mana due to herck of experience. "What is she doing?" the audience got confused. "Is she her friend?" Many people were discussing the reason Venessa was just sitting beside Alyssa. "Why is this girl even here?" James spoke as he was angry from Elena''s loss while Filia was silent and kept watching. "It would be better for her to lose," Sylvia sighed, seeing Venessa not eliminating Alyssa. She was bitter that Alyssa defeated Amelia but she knew that it was Amelia''s own fault for being weak. Livia was sad Amelia had lost, and she wanted Venessa to eliminate Alyssa. "Oh, I don''t know, but my instincts say to believe in the fortune teller," Venessa shrugged her shoulders. Alyssa did not know how to reply to Venessa. Her whole life growing up, she was alone and discriminated against everywhere she went. Getting help from others was not a concept familiar to her. "Why is she helping her?" Ria said with a frustrated voice. "Don''t know, maybe they are friends?" Elena replied. She looked at Alyssa as she tried to remember where she had heard about her. "Doesn''t matter, she defeated us all," Eva said, but her frustration was visible on her face. But among them all, Amelia was silent. She just watched Alyssa and remembered who she was finally. "How did I lose to this girl?" Amelia thought in her mind. She remembered how she thought that she could win this easily and got eliminated by a girl like Alyssa. Her pride did not allow her to ept her defeat. They all hadmon thoughts about losing to Alyssa as they could not ept their loss by a girl who could not even stand on her own. The timer kept decreasing the whole time; Alyssa and Asher were almost confirmed for their 1st spot. Alyssa looked at Venessa, who just stood there and even defeated three participants who arrived at the final location. Alyssa raised her hand after her mana recovered a bit. She looked at Venessa who was fighting with another participant. "Lance," she spoke as an icence appeared behind her and attacked another participant. "Whew, thanks for the assist," Venessa raised her thumb at Alyssa. "Why is she helping me?" Many doubts arose in the head of Alyssa regarding Venessa, but she did not voice it. Winning this was her only chance to execute her ns, and if she was indebted to Venessa for it, she didn''t mind it. "I will repay this debt," she thought, looking at Venessa. Chapter 75 Winning The Tournament The timer hit <00:00:00>. "And we have the winners of this tournament!!!" Gazil spoke as the crowd loudly cheered. Many people got upset by the results, but this was a tournament where only your own strength could secure you the win. The leaderboards were removed, and nobody could see them when the timer hit 00:15:00. So, people were excited to see the final score of both Asher and Alyssa. Alyssa and Venessa looked towards a maning towards them with a white coat. He was one of the professors who was in charge of this tournament. "So you won," he said to Alyssa with a disgusted look on his face. Alyssa knew why he made such a face, but she knew that this was her fate, and she could do nothing about it. "And you, if you have no spirit to win, don''t participate in such tournaments," he spoke to Venessa. "It''s my choice, what do you mean-" Venessa wanted to argue, but Alyssa, who could now hover and stand, stopped her. "Was there any rule that refrained her from doing that?" Alyssa asked. The professor looked at Alyssa. "After all, blood does not lie," he muttered, but Alyssa could hear it, making her clench her fist. "There is the portal that will take you to the stage outside for the winning ceremony. Step in it," he spoke and turned. "What a rude guy!" Venessa said as she showed her tongue at his back. "By the way, my name is Venessa, Venessa Baker," she reached out her hand to Alyssa. "Alyssa," Alyssa replied and shook her hand. ''Not an Elite family,'' Alyssa noticed that from Venessa''s surname she was not from an Elite family. "Thank you for letting me win," it was shameful for her, but Alyssa still bowed towards Venessa. "Ah! No, don''t do it, I told you before, but if you didn''t show such performance against those Elite family kids, I would not have helped you," Venessa replied truthfully. "But still, this win was very important to me," Alyssa said as she remembered the paper she has signed just before joining this tournament. **************** While she wasing to the tournament waiting room, she was told by the caretaker to sign some documents. "What are these documents?" Alyssa asked the woman who was her caretaker for today. "You have to sign it, these documents state that after today, you have no legal connection to the Astaria family, and your conflicts are your own. The Astaria family will not be held ountable for your mistakes," the caretaker exined with an annoyed look on her face. "So they will disown me?" she asked without reacting much to this news. She expected her father to disown her sooner orter, and she was lucky enough that she had the chance to attend the World Academy. "Yeah, and you will have no shares in the property of the Astaria family," she exined. Although Alexander said it was difficult for him to disown Alyssapletely because she still had the blood of the Astaria family, he wanted to remove any chance of her iming any of the assets of the Astaria family. "And what if I don''t sign it?" she red at the woman. "You cannot attend the World Academy without signing it," the woman smiled at her. "I will sign it," Alyssa took the paper and signed on it. She knew that what the World Academy could offer her was better than getting the money from the Astaria family. There was a reason why children of the Elite families attended ****************** In the boy''s final location, another professor appeared in front of Asher. "Congrattions on winning the tournament, you can now pass through that portal." The professor informed Asher. "Your performance was wonderful, even your swordsmanship was perfect," he praised Asher. "You truly live up to the expectations of the grandson of the Swordgod," he spoke. "Can I go?" Asher asked with an indifferent look on his face. "Oh, yeah, yeah." The professor scratched his head and smiled as he made way for Asher to move. The test conductors were taking the injured students to the medical facility and also retrieving those who were still in the forest. Alyssa and Venessa appeared on the stage and saw the huge amount of people sitting in the stadium cheering loudly for them. "Our winners of this representative have arrived," Gazil spoke. Alyssa looked to her left as another person stepped out of the portal. She looked at the boy who wasing out with blood on his hands and his armor that was given by the World Academy. She stared at the boy with ck hair and crimson red eyes that seemed like they wanted to devour everything. She kept looking at him but she came out of her trance as Venessa spoke. "Wow, he is so handsome," Venessa spoke as she looked at Asher who came out of the portal. Amelia, Elena, Eva, and Ria also stepped out after Alyssa as they stood a bit away from her. Elena looked at Asher, who was covered with blood. Her body started trembling remembering the incident at the party. "Where is Kevin?" She looked around to spot Kevin. "Stop, Elena!" Eva lightly shook Elena, who was panicking not seeing Kevin. "I think Kevin lost to him," Eva said with a sad look on her face. They did not think that Kevin would lose to Asher, knowing that he was capable enough to go to E-Rank dungeons and hunt F-Rank monsters. "We have the winner of this year!!" Gazil spoke. "For the first ce of the Boy''s tournament, we have Asher Von Raven Greville!!!" he spoke. "With the total of 92 tokens, setting a new record with the previous one of 60 tokens," Gazil spoke. "For the first ce of the Girl''s tournament, we have Alyssa Astaria," Gazil had to speak the full name here because of the rules of the ceremony. "With the total of 88 tokens, setting a new record with the previous one being 58 tokens," Gazil said, but instead of cheering, the crowd went silent. "Astaria?" "Wait, didn''t they only have a son?" "Is she the daughter of his first wife?" "What about Garcia''s blood?" Noises started appearing, but they got silenced as Arman quickly appeared and took the mic. Alyssa knew the reaction, but it still hurt her as she let her head down. "As you all know, the rules state that the winner of this tournament will be the representative of the first-year students," Arman spoke. "So we will have Alyssa and Asher Greville as the First Year head students," Arman spoke. But instead of cheering, a voice came from one of the participants who stood on the stage. "How could a person with Garcia''s blood be our representative?" Ria Adler shouted as everyone looked at her. "This is the rule, and I cannot change it," Arman firmly replied. "So you are saying we should now follow themands of this ugly Garcia''s girl," Ria spoke, and many other students on the stage started agreeing with her. "Yeah, how could they allow a Garcia''s child in the World Academy," a boy spoke. "Just look at her. She is so ugly, just like her blood," the girl spoke. Even the crowd started hurling insults at Alyssa. "Die, Die, Die, Die, Die," voices saying to kill herself started to appear in Alyssa''s head. She started having trouble breathing, and pain in her chest started to rise up due to increasing stress. "No, no," she started muttering. Venessa got confused by the situation and could not even look at Alyssa, who stood beside her. "Why is this dumb bitch speaking so loudly?" Asher spoke as he looked at Ria Adler. Everyone looked at Asher, but Alyssa still had her head down. "Excuse me?" Ria shouted at Asher, not expecting him to insult her in front of so many people. "Can''t you hear me?" Asher''s cold eyes intimidated Ria. "Why do I need to say it again and again for your family to understand not to speak too much," Asher''s cold voice made Elena tremble as she lowered her gaze. "This bastard," James red up his mana, but Filia stopped him. "Does speaking so loudly run in your filthy blood?" Asher spoke, but as a sudden wave of pressure downed the whole stadium. "Do you want to die, boy?" A 50-year-old-looking man appeared in front of the crowd and looked down at Asher floating in the air. His blond hair floated in the air, and his deep blue eyesnded on Asher who looked above. "Grandfather!" Elena looked at the man floating in the air. "No way, Dalton Rothschild," a person eximed. "The SSS Rank hunter of the Rothschild family," another person spoke. Asher recognized the person as he was none other than the grandfather of Elena, Dalton Rothschild, who was one of the 11 SSS Rank hunters in the world. "It seems nobody taught you the consequences of your actions," Dalton said as cracks started to appear in the barrier that separated the stage and the crowd. Arman almost stepped in to calm Dalton Rothschild down, but another flood of pressure was felt a bit greater than Dalton. Unlike Dalton''s aura, which made you look up to him in awe for his strength, the man that appeared instilled fear in others. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," Nathanughed. "When did a Greville start to fear the consequences?" Nathan looked at Dalton. "Do you think you rule this world?" Dalton said as a blue-hilted sword appeared in his hands. "It seems like people have forgotten about me!" Nathan said as the space around him turned redder, and a reddish-ck greatsword with a gem on the hilt appeared in his hand. "Fuck, this old man might kill us all," Arthur panicked after seeing Nathan take out his greatsword. Arman raised his hand as he and the other professors struggled to shield the audience and the students on the stage from the sheer pressure emitted by Nathan and Dalton. Chapter 76 Ending The Tournament Every single person in the audience was terrified by Nathan''s sheer presence. "Is this the strength of SSS Rank hunters?" a participant trembled. Arman was sweating as he pushed back the aura of two SSS Rank hunters who weren''t even trying to hurt others. The difference between SS and SSS Rank was huge. This was why SSS Rank hunters were so revered throughout the world; they were the ultimate powerhouses of humanity, needed to counter the rare urrence of SSS Rank dungeons. "Ar-Are they gonna fight?" a girl stuttered. The crack kept gettingrger around the barrier as all the present high-rank professors tried to stabilize the situation. "You think I am afraid of you?" Dalton spoke. "I always got irked by odd numbers," Arthur said as his mana kept ring, "But today, you gave me a chance to change it," Arthur said as he gripped his greatsword. Lucas, Livia, and Nate were being shielded by Arthur, Sylvie, and the Seymour couple. Livia looked at Nathan''s greatsword with awe. She and Lucas, unlike Nate, were almost fine despite the aura of fear Nathan was passively releasing in his surroundings. She was more excited to see Nathan fight, not knowing that if Dalton and Nathan did fight, her own life would be in danger. "Watch your words, Nathaniel Greville!" Dalton spoke as he red at Nathan. Dalton was a proud man and previously ignored the incident between Asher and Elena because Elena was the one who instigated it. But today, Asher had directly insulted his family in front of the whole world. "Try me," Nathan said as he raised his sword, while Dalton did the same. "Can you two gentlemen stop?" an old man spoke as he appeared between Nathan and Dalton. As the old man appeared, both Nathan and Dalton''s pressure, which was releasing due to their presence alone, was suppressed. Everyone, including the professors, could now breathe, knowing the man who had appeared. "Hah," Arman breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the old man. "Finally, the principal has arrived," a professor spoke as he looked at the old man. Nathan and Dalton both looked at the old man, who had greyish hair and ck eyes, wearing a white suit. He had a short beard, and looking into his eyes, you could see the wisdom behind them. He looked older than Nathan and Dalton, but his presence was like a dragon. Although he appeared to be weaker than Nathan, he was the current strongest human in the whole world. "Tch," Nathan clicked his tongue. "If you want to fight, do it somewhere else. This is my Academy, and I expect you to remember the rules that were dered by the high council," the old man reasoned with Nathan and Dalton. "So, I request that you go back to your rooms or leave this ind and carry your little fight somewhere else," he smiled as he looked at Nathan and Dalton. Nathan and Dalton both took their weapons back and disappeared. "And, Miss Ria Adler, am I right?" the old man looked down, making Ria look up. "The rules of this tournament were clear, and it is your own fault for losing!" His calm voice made the crowd, who were scared by Nathan, feel a bit more rxed. "And if you will get your chance next year topete again," he spoke. "And if anyone else still has problems with Miss Alyssa Astaria, they can leave the World Academy," he spoke. Alyssa was still looking down, with her illness still messing with her thoughts. "Professor Arman," the old man looked at Arman. "Take both of our winners to their rooms and give them their gifts," he spoke. "And I announce the end of this tournament. To the new students, we will meet again at the opening ceremony in the next two days when you will enter the World Academy," the old man spoke and disappeared into thin air. Professor Arman quickly signaled Gazil, who was still digesting what had happened just now. "Ah, so I hope you enjoyed the tournament!" he spoke. "You guys follow me," Arman said to Asher and Alyssa, who were still in their messed-up state. "Miss Alyssa?" Arman called. "Hello, Miss Alyssa!" he spoke a bit louder. "Alyssa, Alyssa," Vanessa spoke to her while touching her shoulders. "Ah-yeah?" Alyssa immediately looked up as she breathed heavily. "Please follow me," he repeated as Alyssa and Asher quietly followed Arman. "I hope she is fine," Vanessa looked at Alyssa, not knowing what to think of her. "It will be tough for her inside," Vanessa sighed as she saw another staff who was guiding them to another exit. Ria clenched her fist and stood next to Elena and Eva. "Even if she won, why should we listen to her?" Ria muttered. "Who told you we should listen to her?" Eva replied. "What do you mean?" Elena was the one who questioned her. "You are forgetting who is the president of the current Student Council, Elena," Eva said. "Yeah, she would definitely help us against both that Greville bastard and that ugly bitch," Ria smiled as she remembered who the current Student Council president was. "Do you think so? Don''t forget he is the heir of the Greville family!" Elena spoke. "Outside of the World Academy, inside we are just first years same as the others," Eva smiled. They spoke more about the topic as they left the stage. "Woah, this tournament was indeed quite different from the others," Lishia spoke as she stood up to leave with Rewilh but stopped seeing Rewilh, who was still sitting deeply thinking about something. "What happened, Father?" Lishia asked. He looked at his daughter and thought about something. "Lishia," he spoke. "Yes?" Lishia replied. "Make sure you stay away from the factions inside the World Academy," he spoke to Lishia with a serious look on his face. "Okay," Lishia replied quickly. "I am speaking as the King of Halcyon, not as your father," Rewilh repeated. "Yes, Your Majesty." Lishia bowed. But joining one of the factions was her n, but if her father was so against it, she could not do it. Rewilh stood up and left with Lishia. In another VIP room, "Matthew didn''t perform that well," a person spoke. "Well, what could he do in front of that monster of a kid," another replied. "Tell the chairman about all of the events that happened," he spoke. "We can help the Rothschild against the Greville if everything works out," he continued. In the Rothschild VIP room, "Now we have no reason to back down, Filia," James looked at his wife and spoke. "Sigh, I wanted to avoid this, but don''t involve the kids in this," Filia looked at James. "Don''t worry, this will not turn out like it did with the Garcia family," James assured her. James opened his phone and typed something while they left the room. The arrangements were done for them in the way that when they took the teleportation portal, they would not meet other VIPs. In the Greville VIP Room: "Good that the principal stopped them," Verina Seymour said. "That old man is just crazy, but I don''t know why Asher stood up for that girl," Arthur said, confused by Asher''s actions. "Maybe he wanted to help her," David reasoned. "Hmm, knowing his personality, I don''t think so," Sylvie said, speaking of Asher in a rare negative manner. She did not want Asher to be involved with Alyssa. "I think we should warn him, Arthur," Sylvie said, looking at Arthur. The twins were confused as to why they were thinking so much about Asher helping one girl. Even though Livia did not like Alyssa defeating Amelia, she did not like people demeaning her so much. Lucas, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. While everybody was looking at Nathan and Dalton, he was closely watching Asher. He was the only one who was watching him at that moment among all the people present. The whole time, Asher was only looking at Alyssa with a gentle look on his face that Lucas had never seen before. But what was even more strange was that he could see a weird purple light near Asher''s neck region which disappeared shortly after it appeared. However, he did not pay much attention to it. He was more surprised to see Asher''s face, which was different from his usual indifferent expression. He wanted to talk about it, but he didn''t know if Asher would appreciate him discussing all of this without even knowing why both Arthur and Sylvie were so concerned about Alyssa. Asher and Alyssa were following Arman through a long corridor without speaking. Even Arman was ufortable due to both of them not asking him anything. They arrived at the room and entered after Arman and they saw two sofas and a table with some snacks and a special drink. "Have a seat," Arman gestured towards the sofas and Asher and Alyssa sat on opposite ends. "Take this special drink, this will help your guys, especially you," Arman said as he looked at Alyssa. Chapter 77 Greeting Her Alyssa hesitated for a moment, but Asher took a sip without hesitation. The liquid was cool and refreshing, with a hint of sweetness and a subtle tingle on the tongue. "First of all, congrattions on your wins," said Arman, as he pressed on his phone, and a hologram appeared. "I am Professor Arman, and I teach about the ck element, as you might have heard. But moving on, as you know, this tournament was to decide the first-year student representatives." A hologram appeared on his palm from his bracelet, disying the World Academy''s insignia, a shield-shaped emblem with intricate golden designs etched on a deep blue background. In the emblem, there were 22 golden small stars representing the number of seats in the high council. Arman took out two blue rings with golden designs on them. "Take these," he said as a ck shadow took the rings and ced them on Asher and Alyssa''s palms. "These rings will represent your status inside the World Academy. And only by wearing them, you can use the privilege of being the first-year representative," he said. "Having them makes you part of the student council, but your role and position will be decided by the student council itself," Arman exined. "The student council has their own authority inside the World Academy, which can rival some professors but not all of them. You will learn more about this once you join officially," he added. "And don''t worry, these rings don''t have any function that will jeopardize any kind of information about you to us or anybody else," he looked at Asher. "What are the privileges exactly?" Asher asked, and his voice made Alyssa, who was in deep thought staring at the ring in her hand,e back to reality. "As you know, once you enter the World Academy as a student, you are not allowed to leave the floating ind unless the Academy needs you to leave for some assessment or something else," Arman said. "But if you have these rings, you can leave, but you still need toe back within a week, or you will recieve some sort of punishment," Arman exined. This was another reason Asher participated in this tournament. For some of his ns, he needed to leave the academy, and doing so was only possible if you were part of the student council. "And you might have heard about this, but inside the World Academy, most of the facilities do not use AUR. Instead, we use our own point system, which grants you GP," said Arman. "GP stands for Grade Points, although you can still buy around 1000 GP monthly using real money or exchange them from other students as well," he added. This was done to ensure that normal students could livefortably and earn their facilities. This also made sure thatpetitiveness amongst students was high. But no matter how anyone tried to bring down the social status to an equal level, there would always be some sort of inequality present. So they allowed students to buy GP monthly, but the conversion rate was high to discourage this behavior. One GP costed around 1000 AUR, although you could still get it cheaper by exchanging it for something from students as well. "And as first-year heads, we give you around 1000 GP monthly, and you can spend it however you like. If you climb to a higher position inside the student council, you might get even more," Arman said. This statement grabbed Alyssa''s attention, but it didn''t matter much to Asher, who had the funds and ways to get any amount of GP he wanted. "Remember that although this position gives you some authority over students, you cannot force or threaten others," Arman said. "Right now, you might feel like you are the first ranker, but this could change in the assessment test that will happen in two months," Arman said. "And if you are not in the Top 5, we will remove your status as the Year Representative," Arman spoke. "And the assessment test will judge all your strengths and weaknesses," Arman looked at Alyssa. "I saw your performance, but you also know that you would not have won if they had not underestimated you," Arman spoke as he looked directly at Alyssa. "This time nobody knew about your bad health and your condition, but that will change the next time you get into such a situation," his words made Alyssa a bit nervous as she looked down. "But you don''t have to worry; the assessment test will be a team match, not a solo one, although I will not tell you more about it. And don''t forget there will be a written test which can help or stop you from achieving your spot in the Top 5," he said. "Why tell us in advance?" Asher said as a frown appeared on his face. "Don''t worry; count this as one of the privileges. Having good impressions on your professors will help you greatly," Arman said as he smiled. Although Arman had another reason for treating Alyssa a bit nicely, he saw Emmy helping her in the waiting room, and he remembered that it was Asher who sent her there from the conversation he overheard. But he was not lying when he said that having a good or bad rtionship with professors could impact your life inside the World Academy. "Although we make sure that nothing bad happens to the students inside the World Academy, we mostly do not intervene if the rules are not broken," he said carefully. "This means that students can find a loophole around our rules, and we are aware of it, but just like outside life, the World Academy is also not fair," he continued. "But what we can guarantee is that no outsider will touch ''you'' while you are inside the World Academy," he said. And Asher knew that very well as he was one of those people who used those loopholes inside the World Academy in his previous life. "But that will be all; we will talk more, but it will be inside the World Academy three dayster, and I need to leave now. You guys can get to know each other and leave whenever you feelfortable," Arman said and disappeared from the room. Alyssa was a bit surprised, but not enough to make her flinch. She looked at Asher, who wore the ring and looked at her. "Hello, I am Asher Von Greville, the heir of the Greville family," he brought his hand forward. "Ah, I am Alyssa," she got a bit surprised by his actions as until now, he looked like a person who did not like to interact much with others. She brought her hands forward, and as both of their hands touched, time stopped, and some chains made of something unknown appeared around their hands, wrapping their whole body. [ WARNING!!! ] [ A harmful energy is intruding host''s body ] [ Using blessing-------- Cannot use ] Time had stopped, so neither Asher nor Alyssa nor anyone else in the whole world could sense what was happening. ************************************ Far from earth in the vast universe, in a ne where nothing moved everything was at stall. The woman sat in a ce beyond time itself, a ce where the universe around her was frozen in stillness. Her face was covered with a fog like veil only leaving her eyes which could be seen but they were closed. Despite the stillness of the world around her, the woman seemed to be at ease. She appeared to bepletely in control, as if time itself were a mere tool for her to shape and mold as she pleased. She opened her eyes revealing her dark ck eyes with green pupils. As she opened her eyes everything around her that was paused started moving. A small purple crack appeared in front of her and she stood up. "Law of chaos is weakning," She spoke as she looked around her. "I listened to you and granted him a chance," She spoke as she looked at the purple crack that kept getting bigger. "I told you that destiny is not something you will be able to fight," "I have given him a blessing as you asked but it will be useless now," She spoke. The crack got bigger and a purple hand emerged from the crack and it came for the neck of this woman. But as it got close chains appeared stopping it from harming her. "You cannot interfere with the true will," She said as she looked at the chains which protected her. The chain kept strangling as the hand broke into multiple pieces and disappeared. The crack opened, and inside it was a space full of darkness; not a single speck of light could be seen in it. A purple light grew bigger as it shaped into a smile, and the crack disappeared. "This will be thest time I intervene," she waved her hands as a bright green wave went out and disappeared from her space. She sat down again, closed her eyes, and made the space around her freeze in stillness again. Chapter 78 Curse Of Fate [ WARNING!!! ] [ A harmful energy is intruding host''s body ] [ Using blessing--------Cannot use ] The chains tightened around the two of them as strange greyish energy started to corrode the chainsing from Asher''s body, but it could not keep up as more chains kept appearing. [ SYSTEM FAILURE!!!! ] [ Host in mortal danger!! ] [ Source: Alyssa Astaria ] [ FORCE QUEST INITIATION: KILL ALYSSA ] [ Using Emergency System function ] But out of nowhere, the greyish energy that was corroding the chains started to move itself towards Asher. [ Host in mortal danger!! ] [ Source: ??!??!?!??!? ] The time was still as the system was using the hidden function that was only meant to be used when Asher was near death. The system was detecting multiple sources of energies, but it had already used all the functions it was supposed to use. Suddenly, greenish energy flooded the room and wrapped itself around both their bodies. The chains started to disappear gradually as the green energy took over. [ Cancelling Quest!!! ERROR!!! ] The green energy had managed to counter the chains, but the greyish energy was still attacking and damaging the system''s traces inside Asher. A purple spark appeared, and multiple runes started to appear in thin air. [ ADMIN ACCESS GRANTED ] [ System Modification Started ] [ Removing Force Quest Function ] [ Removing Host takeover ] [ Removing Soul Tampering ] [ Updating System.... ] Many traces of the system inside Asher were disappearing, but the purple spark kept producing multiple unknown runes. [ Removing Fate limitation ] [ Warning!!! Continuing this will decrease the host''s fate umtion rate ] [ FORCE ADMIN OVERRIDE ] [ Giving Host full ess ] [ Restricting Information..... ] [ Adding level restriction!! ] [ System Update Complete.... Removing Admin traces ] A voice appeared out of the purple spark. "Trial--" But it stopped. The chains had nowpletely disappeared, and the greenish energy turned around and attacked the purple spark, but before it could, the spark disappeared. ******************* In another dark space, an mutliple sparks of purple energy appeared. They joined together and took the shape of a man. "My time to leave hase," it spoke as the chains appeared inside the dark space, trying to capture the purple energy. "This system was a failure, so I will give you full control," the voice echoed in the huge dark space. "Hehe, crazy guy he is," the voiceughed. "But still, he is not evil enough," the voice spoke as the purple energy went rampage inside the dark space, hitting the uncountable number of chains that were eating the dark space. "But I truly wish you win," it spoke as the chains were overpowering the purple energy. "But in the end," "Your end will just be less miserable than mine, HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA," the voice went crazy as it disappeared from this world forever. ******************** Inside the room, Time resumed as Asher''s face went a bit pale. "You fine?" Alyssa spoke as she removed her hand. "What happened?" Asher questioned because he was feeling a bit strange. "You look pale," Alyssa replied. ''Why am I talking so much,'' she wondered, as she never had talked to another person thisfortably. "Pale?" Asher brought out his phone to look at his face, which was indeed paler. [ Warning!! ] He saw a system notification but as he was with Alyssa, he decided to check it outside. "Let me go wash my face, I wille back in a minute," Asher stood up before receiving Alyssa''s answer. Alyssa just saw Asher who left the room. "Wait, I forgot to ask him about the painting," Alyssa remembered. She tried to stand up, but suddenly, "Argh," she clenched her chest as her pain started to appear again. "I should wait for him," she sat on the sofa again, bearing with her pain. Asher went out of the room and travelled a bit far into the empty space in the hallway. Looking around and sensing no one was present, he decided to look at the notification, which appeared all together in front of him. [ Warning !!! ] [ You are getting inflicted with a curse ] [ Your blessing was removed as it could not overpower the curse ] [ All your skills have remained and could still be used ] ''What is happening?'' Asher questioned the system in his mind. [ Host''s contact with Alyssa Astaria resulted in Host getting cursed ] [ Many of the functionalities of the system has been removed due to this ] [ And if I am not wrong, Alyssa Astaria is also cursed just like Host ] Asher''s eyes went dull as he heard this, and his aura changedpletely. "Tell me about this curse," he muttered with his cold voice. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 17 (EXP 1000/17,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E+ [Quests] [Synthesis] --------------------------------------------- Curse of Fate (Rank - Doesn''t Exist) 1. The one who bore this curse is fated to die. The bearer of this curse will usually get hated by others. 2. ???? [ Level Too low for more information!! ] ---------------------------------------------- Asher looked at his status where the blessing had been changed into the curse. [ Both of must have been cursed but the impact is muchrger now due to Host''s inteference in his destiny. ] [ It seems that your destiny is not something that was meant to be changed. ] [ Changing destiny just by devouring fate is not possible and this curse is the proof of that. ] "Curse of Fate? How will I remove this?" Asher asked. [ The system doesn''t know how to remove this curse ] [ But the host will get an opportunity in theing years ] "What about Alyssa?" Asher asked the system. Him getting cursed was not an issue bigger than Alyssa''s. [ Her curse and yours are strangely connected ] [ Fetching Alyssa Astaria''s status.......... ] -------------------------------------------- System Window Name - Alyssa Astaria Cursed - Curse of Fate (Active) Fate points - 150 :: Asher Von Raven Greville ---------------------------------------------- [She had a very low number of fate points that would result in her death in theing years.] [But due to this curse, your and Alyssa''s fate points are now connected.] [The moment one of your fate points reaches 0, both of you will die, and nobody can stop it.] [But strangely, this curse has connected your fates, so she has the same number of fate points as the Host.] [But your fate will not bring you any luck as it would have previously. You need the fate points to survive, but you will not receive any benefits like others who have greater fate.] [The system has more information, but it will remain sealed for now. The Host will be able to ess it in the future.] Asher was not following everything that was happening right now. His brain was already calcting all possibilities, and he came to the realization that this must have been the reason for Alyssa''s death in his previous life. There were multiple times that Asher had tried to protect Alyssa, but he thought it was due to his low fate that he could not prevent her death. However, learning that both of their fates were low, and her suffering was also because of this curse, made a lot more sense to Asher. [But the system has received great damage, and for now, you cannot receive quests and their rewards.] [But the hidden quest system is fine, so the Host can still continue with his n, and if they meet the conditions, you will be able to gain the rewards.] [Quest Rewards :: Generating....] [Both questspleted.....] *********************************** Quest Completed Objective : Win the tournament Reward : 1000 Fate points ************************************ Quest Completed Objective : Dominate Kevin Whiteheart Reward : 2000 Fate points ************************************ [ Curse of fate reducing the rewards.......... ] [ Total Fate points earned changed....] [ 3000 --> 1500 ] "Dammit," Asher cursed. "I should kill them all." His killing intent was rising, and he wanted to strangle everybody who was involved with Alyssa and him in his previous life. "Argh," he rubbed his forehead, knowing that the moment he openly killed anyone from the Elite families, even his own family, despite being so powerful, would not be able to save him. The immunity of being inside the World Academy was the rule decided by the high council, and breaking it resulted in a death sentence. This was the reason why kids from enemy families were studying in the same academy without killing each other. [The Host can now fight and kill others with greater fate, but remember that you will not gain any fate from them. But you will also have no penalties for killing them.] "Of course, because I have already gained the penalty," Asher was annoyed with the random variables that kepting his way. He took a deep breath to calm down his mind. Asher''s face changed as a smile appeared on his face. "I have a lot of time to y and kill them all slowly," Asher''s eyes were full of madness, and his true self wasing out slowly. He knew that he would get enough time to carry out his ns and get stronger while being inside the World Academy. And the main reason he was attending World Academy was to stop the death of Alyssa that was bound to happen in the future. "I am still short on fate points," Asher saw that his total had still not reached 10000. "A bit more," he said. Asher turned and went back towards the room. Chapter 79 Introducing Each Other Asher arrived back in the room and saw Alyssa, who was gripping the sofa tightly, trying to calm herself down. "Are you fine?" he asked as he sat down on the opposite sofa. "Yeah, don''t mind me," she said as she looked at Asher. Like others, Alyssa found Asher''s face to be very handsome, and his cold personalityplemented his looks greatly. But she was not in a position to appreciate such small things. "As you already know, I am Alyssa Astaria, well not anymore though," she said. Asher tilted his head, acting confused. "Oh, I am not officially part of the Astaria family now, so I would rather avoid using their name," Alyssa exined. She might have looked friendly with her conversations, but her thought process was a mess. "I don''t really care about your family," Asher said as he looked at Alyssa. "Well, I just wanted to tell you because we will meet each other a lot," she spoke, but her face and eyes were dull. If anyone else looked at their expressions, they would have thought both of them wanted to leave the room. "But what I wanted to know was why the esteemed heir of the Greville family gave me that potion," Alyssa decided to cut the small talk and ask Asher directly. "It was a return gift for the painting," he replied casually. "You bought that painting; I did not gift it to you," Alyssa said as her expression turned serious. "That painting was quite beautiful for the cheap price I bought it for, so that potion was thepensation for it," Asher looked Alyssa right in her eyes as he spoke. "I will be straightforward with you," Asher said. "I don''t care if you have Garcia Family''s blood or any other family." His words made Alyssa grip the sofa even harder. "People call me ruthless, cold, and many other things, but I don''t care about them," Asher continued. "The potion I gifted you was honestly nothing to me. It might be a big deal for you, but not for me," his words were honest. "I see. I will repay you for that," Alyssa did not want to offend Asher, so she decided to y it safe. "And how?" Asher questioned. "What do you want in return?" Alyssa spoke. "I have nothing right now, but it will change in the future. I don''t want to make any guarantees, but I will at least repay the amount of that potion," Alyssa spoke with no emotions on her face. "I think we have talked enough. I will leave now and not waste your time," Alyssa said as she stood up, and her hair floated due to her using the space element. "Wait," Asher''s voice made Alyssa turn. "Take this," Asher threw a keycard at Alyssa. "What is this?" Alyssa asked, looking at the keycard that stopped beforeing near her and kept floating in the air. "I want to create an independent team of hunters under me. You have talent, and I have the resources," he spoke. "This is the location of one of the hotels where the top floor is booked under mypany name," Asher spoke. "So?" Alyssa asked, not fearing Asher''s cold demeanor one bit like others. "I want to recruit you," he told her directly. "I will be your sponsor, but you need to work for me from now on," Asher said. "Look, Mr. Greville, if you think the whole world can be bought by money and status, you are wrong," Alyssa said as the room''s temperature began to drop. Small kes of frost started appearing inside the empty sses, and Asher looked at Alyssa. "Are you suggesting that I''m weak like those people you defeated today?" Asher said, using his own mana to push Alyssa down. Alyssa stood her ground, but she could sense that Asher was equally or more powerful than her when she could harness her full power. "Listen, I''ll give you some advice: your family won''t be able to save you from every mess you create," Alyssa told Asher. "Even if your grandfather is the Sword God or your family owns the Abyss Guild and the Abyss Corporation, everyone in this world has to face consequences," Alyssa continued. "And you should distance yourself from me for your own image," she added. Although this was what Alyssa wanted, she needed to create an image that she did not want to intervene with elite families. If she looked desperate, maybe Asher would have lost interest in her and stayed away. "It''s my independent team, and we''ll only work together until the end of the term at the World Academy," Asher replied. "Well, go rest at this hotel free of cost and think about my offer," Asher said as he moved past Alyssa. "I can''t assure you that I''ll ept your request," Alyssa replied. Asher touched the door and stopped. "My personal maid, Emmy, will take you to the hotel without anyone knowing. I''ll keep it a secret that you work with me for now," Asher said before leaving the room. "I didn''t think he would offer me a job. He didn''t seem as cold as people said on the inte," Alyssa spoke to herself. "Greville and Rothschild are already enemies after today''s event. I just need to pit him against others and kill them," Alyssa thought. Asher, who was in the hallway, had already notified Emmy to pick Alyssa up, and she had already gone to take Alyssa to the hotel Asher mentioned. Asher went out, and the staff member took him to the portal that would take him back to the portal dome at Soran. As he left, Asher saw that his car was already waiting to pick him up. The driver opened the door for Asher, who sat inside and closed his eyes as they drove towards the Greville Mansion. While in his car, Asher remembered his past life and the events that had happened. In his previous life, when Amelia arrived in Somaria, she took Elena, Kevin, and Eva to the Greville Mansion, despite Damian telling her not to do so. She arrived at the mansion, hoping to see her family, when she saw Asher, who had arrived home after following Sylvia around to her meetings in the afternoon. His eyes were dull, and his face was indifferent when he saw Amelia. His gaze was not cold but of a person who had lost attachment to his life. "Hey Ash, how have you been?" Damian greeted Asher before Amelia. "Fine, What about you?" Asher spoke. "Well, not so great without you, but meet them. They are Amelia''s friends she met during this semester," Damian looked at Asher and spoke. "Hello, I''m Elena Rothschild," Elena greeted Asher, surprised to see his handsome face. "I''m Kevin Whiteheart," Kevin was a bit surprised seeing Asher''s face but he greeted him normally. "Hi, I''m Eva Williams," Eva also greeted him. "I''m Asher Von Greville, the eldest son of the Greville Family," he spoke and looked at Amelia. "I''m tired, so I''m going back to my room. You can entertain your guests yourselves," Asher said as he left them. "Ah, Amelia, don''t mind him. He is just not good with new people," Damian tried to soothe Amelia who was annoyed at Asher''s carefree response towards her and her friends. "Why do you always take his side?" Amelia said with a frustrated voice. "Rx Amelia, it''s his birthday soon, and I don''t want to dampen his mood," Damian tried to exin. "Ah, Dad is calling me, I need to leave soon," Damian''s phone rang, so he left the mansion. "Woah, your brother is quite... Aloof," Elena spoke while she touched Amelia''s shoulders. "Ah, don''t mind him," Amelia spoke. After some days during the birthday party, "I would like to announce Asher as the heir of the Greville family," Arthur spoke as many people raised their sses. "What? Why him?" Amelia spoke while she was sitting with Elena and others at a table. "Yeah, why would they make a guy who is not even awakened the heir of your family?" Kevin spoke. Amelia was frustrated and thought that their parents liked Asher more despite him being so unwilling to be an awakened person and train. "Wait, I have a n," Elena said as the gift ceremony began. "What n?" Eva questioned her as she did not like Elena when she became excited like this. "Just wait," Elena shushed her. As multiple people presented their gifts, Elena came up with her gift. "Before I show my gift, I wanted to see the capabilities of the new heir of the Greville family," Elena said as she smiled. "What do you mean?" Asher questioned her with a bored look on his face. "Let''s have a friendly duel between me and you. We will only use basic martial arts and no mana," Elena spoke. "I am a mage, so I will have no upper hand over you," she challenged Asher with a smile. Due to her challenge, many guests started gossiping with each other. "Miss Rothschild, it seems you have no manners on how to behave at a party," Asher spoke. "I don''t want to entertain such stupid requests. You can take your gift and go back," he said with an indifferent look that annoyed Elena. "I think this is enough," Amelia said quietly to Eva as she did not like where this was going. "Let her," Kevin spoke, stopping Eva from calling Elena back. "Wow, are you afraid of me? A girl?" Elena giggled. *Tap* *Tap* "Know your limits, girl," Sylvia said as she tapped on the ss of wine in her hand. Elena knew about Sylvia''s nature as she had heard about her a lot from her mother, so she decided to go back quietly. "Haha, that guy is so weak. He will not survive a week in the academy like this," Kevin chuckled as Elena sat at her table with a smug expression on her face. But Sylvia, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed by Amelia, who did not stop her own friend from ridiculing her family. Amelia was a bit nervous, knowing what Elena had done, but she could not do anything now. Asher opened his eyes as he saw that he had arrived at the Greville mansion, and some cars were already there, so it meant others had also arrived. Chapter 80 Preparation For World Academy Asher entered the living room and saw both the Greville and Seymour families sitting there. Nathan was absent, as he was attending a tournament in his busy schedule, and the incident with Dalton Rothschild had caused some people to move. "Oh, here he is," David spoke when he saw Ashering in. Damian lifted his hand, waving towards Asher as he smiled, but the bandage on his face made him look a bit silly, and Nate quietlyughed at him. "Congrattions on winning," Verina spoke first. "Thank you," Asher replied politely. "Congrattions on winning, brother," Lucas spoke as he sat on one of the sofas with Nate. Livia was not present as she was with Amelia, who wanted to spend some time in her room. She allowed Livia to follow her but rejected everyone else. This defeat had demotivated her a lot. She thought she was powerful enough to stand beside Asher and be a proud member of the Greville family. "Asher, do you mind sitting here for a moment?" Sylvie spoke, but her mood was serious. Asher did not mind and sat down on one of the empty sofas. "Can you tell me why you helped that girl?" Sylvie spoke as she took a sip from the cup of tea in her hand. "Why does it matter?" Asher''s face became cold, making Sylvie frown. "Do you not know what I am talking about?" Sylvie put the cup on the table. "Sylvie, I think we should talk about thister," Arthur tried to calm Sylvie down. "Be silent, Arthur," she turned to Asher, "Now tell me why did you help her?" It was rare for Sylvie to be so against and strict with Asher. She would usually take a more peaceful or calm approach, but this time it was different. "It is my choice what I do, and I did what I feel was right," Asher said as his crimson-red eyes stared at Sylvie. The air around Sylvie became cold, making every adult present a bit nervous. "You are the heir of our family. There are some things you need to be careful of when you are in public," she red at Asher. "What if I get involved with her?" Asher challenged Sylvie. "Asher, go to your room," Arthur decided to intervene before the matter escted further. "I am still talking-" Sylvie tried to speak, but Arthur put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Asher stood up and started going upstairs. "Damian, can you go to his room and talk with him?" Arthur told Damian. "Ah, yeah, Uncle," Damian got up and went after Asher. "Arthur, we need to tell him to stay away from that girl," Sylvie spoke. "Sylvie, but he actually did a good thing helping her," Verina tried to reason with her. "Verina, I know, but even though that girl was innocent, I will not allow my son to get involved with her," Sylvie said. "You have already seen his talent. He would definitely be an SSS Rank hunter," Sylvie continued. "You are correct, but you should not pressure him too much," Verina spoke. "He will be joining the World Academy soon, so let''s not make the mood gloomy, right?" Verina pped her hands. "I guess you''re right, but I hope he stays away from her," Sylvie sighed. Listening to all this talk made Lucas remember the look on Asher''s face, but he kept silent and did not tell anyone else about it. Asher was walking in the hallway when Damian caught up to him. "Yo, Mr. Winner, be happy you won," Damian caught up to Asher and started walking with him. Asher noticed Damian, but he kept walking silently. They passed many servants who also greeted them. Damian remained silent until they arrived in Asher''s room. "Wow, thest time I went into your room was when we were kids and I was hiding from my parents because I wanted to y with you and Amelia," Damian chuckled. "Well, you ratted me out pretty quickly," Asher said, sitting on an empty chair. Asher went to his wardrobe, which was full of expensive clothing, and took out a T-shirt to change into. "I heard things went crazy on the stage," Damian spoke. "Yeah," Asher replied. "It sucks that Amelia lost. She seemed pretty sad about it," Damian said as he looked around the room. "It''s her fault for being weak," Asher said as he put on the T-shirt. "Well, I didn''t expect you to achieve E Rank already," Damian said. "What''s your current rank?" he asked. "E+," Asher replied as he took out a jacket from the wardrobe. "Really?" Damian was surprised. "I think you will have the highest rank among all the first years," Damian said. "But what rank was that girl who won?" Damian wondered. "E- Rank, probably," Asher replied. "Well, I need to watch the recording of this tournament to find weaknesses of others," Damian said as he opened his phone. "You going somewhere?" Damian asked as Asher put on the jacket. "Yeah, I need to go to mypany office," Asher told him. "Oh, wait, if you are going, can I ride one of the supercars in your garage?" Damian asked. "Ask one of the drivers to take you," Asher looked at Damian. Damian got up, ready to leave the room. "Make sure you take the driver. I have broken enough bones for today," Asher repeated as Damian shuddered. "Ahaha, of course," Damian said as he scratched his head. Asher and Damian went out to the garage, which was on the opposite side of the living room, and Damian chose one of the most expensive supercars to ride in. "Vorgas 799, phew," Damian spoke as he looked at the shining white-colored supercar. "Excuse me, can you take me for a drive in this car?" Damian asked one of the servants present for maintenance. Asher nodded, confirming Damian''s request, so one of the servants took out the keys, and the doors of the car opened up. "You can enjoy this. I am leaving," Asher told Damian. "Bye," Damian said as he sat in the supercar, enjoying its interior with his eyes wide open. Asher sat in his car and told the driver to go to the headquarters of the Abyss Corporation. He had gotten five floors in the building of the Abyss Corporation under the name of hispany by Sylvie. He arrived at the location of the Abyss Corporation and stepped out of the car, seeing a 70-floor-long building. He entered the building, and the receptionist immediately recognized him. "Wee, young master," she stood up from her seat and greeted Asher, who just nodded indifferently. Many people also greeted Asher respectfully, as they still remembered when more than half a year ago he used to visit this building with Sylvie almost every week. Asher entered the lift and looked at the screen in front of him. "Iris scanpleted. Wee, Asher Greville," the robotic voice said as the panel to choose the floor appeared in front of him. The lift he was using was a VIP-only lift that only a select few could use when they entered this building. Some of the floors were not even essible from the normal lifts, and only people who were registered in the Abyss Database could enter them. Asher looked at the multiple numbers that were present on the screen in front of him. He pressed the button that said Floor 57. He was given Floor 56-60 to run hispany for now. The lift shortly arrived at the 57th floor, and he stepped out and saw many roomsbeled for different teams. Asher walked towards a certain room and saw a man who was typing something as multiple screens with the profiles of certain people could be seen on the screens. This room was filled with multiple high-tech devices. "Oh," he got shocked as he saw Asher entering his room. "Eeeh," he spilled the hot coffee on his sleeve, but the cloth prevented his skin from burning. "Hello, boss," he stood up and bowed immediately. "Stop this foolish behavior and tell me about the information you have gathered until now," Asher spoke to him with his indifferent face. "Ah, yeah." He typed and opened a screen that showed photos of multiple people on this. "I have found out that the Allister family is constantly in touch with the Chairman of the World Association, but they share every single piece of information in a physical manner, making it impossible for me to know their dealings," Tom replied. After signing his contract, he had worked for Asher for almost a month, and he had gotten prettyfortable with his life for now. "Hmm, did you find the people I told you about?" Asher asked Tom while he was still looking at the photos of multiple masked men exchanging briefcases. "I have, but I think your n is a bit too much. I can find some dirt on them, and we can get them in jail," Tom said, gulping as he saw Asher''s face turn towards him. "I''m sorry," Tom immediately apologized. "Getting multiple explosives near this area is easy. I can hack the database and tamper with real-time security," Tom said as footage of Vi could be seen. "Carry out this n after the end of my first semester and make sure nobody can trace it back to us," Asher spoke. "Keep looking out for the people I have mentioned, but don''t get too greedy and underestimate those old foxes that are staying still for now," Asher spoke. "And keep targeting the reputation of the Allister family on a small scale in Halcyon," he told him. "Okay," Tom turned and looked at the mess he had created by spilling the coffee and started cleaning it. Asher left Tom in his room and went up to the 60th floor where his main office was. He sat down and opened theputer in front of him and started looking into multiple social profiles of some of the students who were already attending the World Academy. "Poor kids," his eyes went dull, and a smile emerged on his face. He was already looking forward to his days at the World Academy. Chapter 81 Entering The World Academy "Did you see the representative tournament?" a boy spoke. "Yeah, honestly, those guys were so strong. I am so nervous about being ced in the same ss as them," his friend replied. "Yeah, I don''t want to get entangled with them either," the boy said. "But why did they allow that ugly girl as our representative?" his friend said with an annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, I couldn''t believe they even let her live. I thought the whole family was exterminated a decade ago," he said as they walked down the road towards the portal dome situated in Soran. "But the award ceremony was crazy," his friend changed the topic. "Wasn''t it the first time SSS Rank hunters got so close to fighting each other on a public stage?" he questioned. "True, their presence was so scary. I talked to a guy who was on the stage. He said he couldn''t even breathe properly," his friend replied. The portal dome had many people who gathered there to send off their children to study for four years inside the World Academy. The students could only return home for one month of holidays each year inside the World Academy. Many parents and older siblings could be seen hugging their kids before they went inside the portal dome to teleport to the famous World Academy. In another section that was not crowded at all so that VIP or famous people could enter easily, many expensive cars and a lot of security could be seen. But there was another section in the portal dome that was reserved for the children of the family that had a seat in the High Council. This section had less security, but each security guard was a high ranker. A car arrived at this section, and a young boy who seemed like 15 or 16 years old stepped out. He had light green hair with ck eyes. "Young Master, you should behave properly inside the World Academy," said a man with a butler uniform and sses. "I know, I know," replied the young boy as he looked up at the huge portal dome. "Please get acquainted with Leonard Tarvian, he is in Second Year. The family head is trying to have good rtions with the World Association Chairman," he said. "And be careful while interacting with other Elite family children," the butler continued. "And if you have any issues or conflicts, notify the family immediately. Did you even listen to what I said?" the butler spoke hurriedly as the boy kept looking around. "Chill out, I am not a kid," the young boy replied with augh. "Please don''t make trouble for the normal students there, and also make sure nobody gets any proof of your wrongdoings," the butler said. "Take it easy, I just need to avoid other influential people. I will only mess with those who can''t do anything to me," he innocently smiled back at the butler. "Ahh," the butler sighed as he put his hand on his forehead. "Okay, bye~" the boy said as he turned and entered the portal dome. The World Academy security was too far to listen to their conversation, and spying on a member of an Elite family could even cost them their life. They knew that all they had to do was to make sure no harm was done to anyone present there. Half an hour ago at the Greville Estate, "Stephen, let Emmy be in charge of Aztech. I have given her the tasks," Asher said. "As you wish, Young Master," Stephen replied. As Arthur and Sylvie were both busy today due to their work, Stephen was handling all the arrangements for Amelia and Asher to go to the World Academy. In the couple of days, Sylvie still hadn''t had a proper talk with Asher about Alyssa. She took Verina''s advice and let the matter rest for now, thinking that Asher had already understood what she told him. "Also, do a separate arrangement for another building for mypany," Asher said. "And charge it from whatever is left in my budget that was given to me," Asher said. Both Amelia and Asher were to be given 10 billion AUR when they turned 17, but Asher had asked Sylvie for that money early for establishing Aztech. Sylvie did not mind, as Asher had a good brain for business and their personal family assets were around 250+ billion AUR. Although Abyss Corporation was worth more than a trillion, that money was not the personal asset of the Greville family. That also did not include the secret family vault that only Nathan and Arthur could ess right now. As an Elite family, they had many restrictions that were ruled out by the High Council so that no Elite family could fully control the flow of economy and power in the country they were from. And Abyss Guild was also under many rules and restrictions they had to follow, but because an SSS Rank hunter was the guild master, the restrictions were a bit loose because Nathan''s authority in Somaria was equal to one of the three heads of the World Association. "Is your son in third year or fourth year?" Asher asked Stephen. "He is currently in the third year, and he has already applied for the Abyss Guild, despite me being against it," Stephen said as he sighed. "He saidst time he wanted to be a bodyguard for you rather than being the head butler," Stephen said. "But if you need anything, you should tell him; he will be able to help you greatly inside the World Academy," he spoke. "Let him follow his dreams," Asher told Stephen as they arrived outside. "Where is Amelia?" Asher looked around, but he didn''t see Amelia anywhere. "Ah, Sir Damian took Lady Amelia in one of your cars, Young Master," a guard replied to Asher. "Damian?" Asher spoke. "Ah, he told me that you had allowed him to use your cars three days ago, so I didn''t stop him," the guard got nervous as he thought he had angered Asher. "Leave it, did the security team follow them?" Asher asked because Damian was the one who was driving it. "Ah, yes," the guard nodded. "Stephen, make sure the car gets back in the garage and don''t allow anyone else in there from now on," Asher said as he sat in his car. Stephen stepped back a bit and saw the car leave the estate. The security team followed Asher as Emmy was not present today. She was busy with the work Asher had given her. And Asher was the heir now, Emmy was his personal assistant. Although Asher knew that now that he was the heir, Emmy would not inform his parents about his actions, he was still careful by only giving her ns that were business-rted. Only Tom knew half of Asher''s ns. At first, he didn''t want to take part in it, but remembering that his life and his sister''s life were in Asher''s hand, he quietly did as Asher told him to do. And his current mission was to find some people that were part of Asher''s organization in his previous life. Many Elite family kids were traveling towards the portal dome, and many had already entered it. At the VIP section of the portal dome, some rich kids saw a ck supercar with a bunch of cars behind it arriving there. "Wow, there are only 5 models of this car in the world," a boy saw the car and got surprised. Some adults also got curious about the identity of the people that had just arrived there. Damian got out of the driver''s seat, and Amelia stepped out as well. Both of them attracted the attention of many people, but Amelia got recognized pretty quickly due to her eyes. Her beauty made many boys stare at her, but nobody could gather the courage to talk to the daughter of the infamous Greville family. "See, I am a good driver," Damian said as he smiled. "Sure, but you should be more worried about my brother right now," Amelia spoke, making Damian cough. "He is my best friend, surely he won''t mind... right?" Damian was confident when he took the car, but now he got worried thinking about Asher''s reaction. "Well, you already got beaten to a pulp by him, so he might just leave you alone." Amelia joked. Damian smiled seeing that her spirit was back as she was pretty depressed for the past few days about her loss in the tournament. He wanted to cheer her up, so he decided to amuse her a bit by pranking Asher a bit. "Let''s go in, I hope we are in the same ss," Damian said as both of them walked towards the portal dome to enter the World Academy. At the same time, at the reserved section of the portal dome, Sam Allister got out of his car. He touched his stomach as he got out. "Fuck this," his face was pale, and his expression changed when he touched his ribs. Two hours ago, "Father, I tried my best, but..." Sam was speaking but stopped as he saw his father throwing a ss of wine towards him. Sam winced in pain as he felt the sting of the ss shards piercing his skin. He quickly opened his eyes and assessed the damage, thankful that the ss hadn''t hit him directly in the face. "Why can''t you be like your big brother, you useless bastard?" his father screamed. He stepped closer to Sam and kicked him in the ribs, causing him to hit the wall and bleed from his head. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry," Sam started repeating his words, fearing his father''s beatings. "Listen, just live a quiet life inside the World Academy. Your brother is already working with Leonard Tarvian, so just live like you have for thest 15 years," his father shouted at him. Sam got irritated remembering his interaction with his father. "Why do I need to suffer like this?" he said as he stepped into the portal dome. Chapter 82 Opening Ceremony Asher arrived at the portal dome and stepped out. If he had arrived 10 minutester, he would have beente. He saw that the reserved section was empty, which meant that all the kids of the elite families had already arrived and entered the portal dome. He got near the entrance of the portal dome and saw the staff members running in a hurry towards him. "You arete! Let''s go, we need to hurry up!" the staff member told Asher with panic on his face. Asher indifferently looked at him and kept walking at the same pace. The staff member was fidgeting with his fingers because of Asher''s behavior. "Excuse me, as the Year Representative, you are supposed to give a speech!" the staff member tried to make Asher hurry to the portal. "So?" Asher spoke as he kept walking. "There are two representatives," Asher said, making the staff member a bit awkward. In the opening ceremony, both representatives would give their speeches, but this time, due to Alyssa''s involvement, they wanted Asher to speak first, and then they would have told Alyssa to not do it due to some issues. Asher smirked and kept walking slowly. ''So obvious,'' he thought to himself. Asher knew that the future had already changed considerably from the moment he interfered in all these events. Many events could happen earlier than expected, and he was prepared for it. Even Arthur and Sylvie did not know that Asher was not out of the Greville estate for only training in the dungeons. He remembered that in his previous life Alyssa had somehow won the Year Representative tournament in her second year, but the faculty council raised many issues, and she had to step down. Right now, the official rankings were not out, and Alyssa and Asher were still considered rank 1 for now. The faculty council could not make Alyssa step down by undermining her credibility. The argument between Nathan and Dalton put even more pressure on them. So, they wanted Alyssa to voluntarily step down from her position by pressuring her considerably before the assessment test began. Asher arrived at the small teleportation gate and slowly stepped into it, and after him, the staff member also stepped in. Asher came out and saw a clear blue sky and felt the sun shining brightly in the sky. The temperature was a bit warmer than it was in Soran, and the air felt a bit fresher. Asher looked and saw the huge architecture in front of him. The World Academy was a vast academy that covered almost 30 percent of the floating ind, which was quite huge in itself. The academy itself was separated into many blocks for different purposes and years. But the architecture was very carefully nned to make it huge but still aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Even Lishia, being a princess, found the World Academy quite amusing to look at. Despite the technological advancement, the look of these buildings made it look a bit like a huge castle. "RICHARD!" a man came shouting. "I told you to hurry. Why are you sote?" he shouted. Asher looked at the man who was wearing a white-colored robe with the World Academy insignia on it. He was bald and looked like a middle-aged old man. "Umm, Professor, it is not my fault," Richard, who was a staff member, stuttered a bit and signaled at Asher. "So, you are Asher Von Greville," he looked at Asher, but his face did not show his annoyance at Asher. He was an assistant professor, so he was personally present to take the children of Elite families and guide them to the opening ceremony. "And what if I am?" Asher replied with his indifferent face. The bald guy became even more annoyed at Asher''s attitude, but he knew that Asher''s social standing was far above his own, so he could not do anything to him. "Okay, move fast, we need to be at the opening ceremony. The speech for the Year Representative will start soon," the bald man turned and started walking. "Use that hoverboard and follow behind Richard!" he instructed. World Academy was quite huge, and the distance between one building and another was quite significant. Students were given hoverboards as a means of travel in the outer side of the World Academy, which consisted of buildings or ces that were rarely used. No hoverboards were allowed in the inner premises as that was the ce where all the student dorms and the sses were held. "Please follow me for now," Richard said as Asher followed and stepped on the hoverboard. The hoverboard was not that fast. These hoverboards were used by making use of runes that engraved the wind element and otherplicated stuff in it. This was the product of Magic Engineering. The outer side of the World Academy was empty today as most of the students were in their dorms or were attending the opening ceremony. But despite that, a few senior year students could still be seen walking here and there. There were many who stopped to look at Asher due to his amazing facial features but also due to his family background. "Wait, wasn''t that guy Asher Greville?" a guy wearing the uniform of the World Academy pointed at Asher. "Maybe, but he is the representative for the first years, right? Why is he sote?" a girl replied. They kept traveling as they arrived at the checkpoint where the inner area of the Academy was located. Asher looked at the security gate that he needed to pass through and register as the student as well. "Can you stand there?" Richard pointed at a tform that was present in front of the oval-looking gate. Asher walked onto the gate, and his body was scanned to see if he brought anything other than what was allowed inside the World Academy. "Please ce any special storage device on the scanner," a robotic voice was heard by Asher as a green square-shaped board came out. Asher ced his spatial ring, and the contents inside it were scanned. "Checkingplete, you can take it back," the robotic voice said. Asher took the ring back and looked straight ahead as light scanned his eyes. "Identity confirmed, Student Name- Asher Von Raven Greville, First Year." "Wee to the World Academy!" a robotic voice was heard by Asher as he looked at the oval gate that opened. The bald guy looked at Asher, who stepped in and walked through the gate. Asher looked at the vast garden, and many students could be seen walking there. But Asher did not seemed like he enjoyed the beautiful view in front of him much seeing his indifferent face. "Why are you guys sote?!" A female professor came in and looked at the three of them. "Whatever, we need to get you ready and take you to the auditorium as well," the professor spoke hurriedly. "Do you have the uniform in your spatial ring?" The female professor questioned him. "I do," Asher replied. "Great, let''s hurry to the auditorium first, and you can have a look around the academyter!" she told him. Asher quietly followed the female professor and did not speak a word the whole time. A couple of students noticed him and started talking about him. Asher was quite popr due to his performance at the tournament, and many people got excited seeing him. After a while, Asher found himself in front of a quiet building, which was the auditorium hall where the opening ceremony would take ce. The professor took him to a room behind the stage where he needed to change from his casual attire. "Please be fast," the professor said as she left him. Asher stretched and took out his ck-colored uniform that had many golden designs and the insignia of the World Academy on his upper arm area. Normally, the student uniform was white, but the student council wore a ck uniform that differentiated them from normal students. Asher changed into his uniform and looked at himself in the mirror. His indifferent face and his red eyes gave him quite an intimidating look, but his charm value was quite high, making him look good in almost any clothes. The uniforms were only mandatory during the official sses, and during their free time, students wear the clothes they like. Asher stepped out and saw Alyssa, who was standing wearing a simr ck uniform with the same ck coat and ck pants. She was a bit pale, and it made Asher frown. "Why are you not sitting in the auditorium?" Asher questioned her. "The professor told me to go with you," Alyssa replied, remembering that the bald guy had told her to wait for Asher and not go alone. Asher frowned but did not say anything else. "Okay, but don''t overuse your mana every day. I don''t want a useless person on my team," Asher said to Alyssa. "Don''t worry, I know my limits," Alyssa replied. They got in through another door and saw a huge number of students filling the auditorium. However, since the lighting was quite dull, nobody noticed them enter and sit in the front row. Asher and Alyssa both sat on the left side of the stage''s front row, which was currently empty. "Attention!" Professor Arman spoke as he appeared on stage. Upon seeing him, the crowd of students became quiet and looked at the stage. Arman stepped back, and an old man appeared on stage. His presence alone was quite heavy, making some students feel as if they were holding weights on their shoulders. However, many of them were fine because the old man was suppressing his powers. A lot of students were excited to see the old man as he was none other than the strongest human in the world - the famous SSS Rank hunter and principal of the World Academy. "Wee to the World Academy," he spoke. Chapter 83 Opening Ceremony - 2 "Wee to the World Academy," The old man said. *p* *p* *p* The sound of pping reverberated throughout the whole auditorium. The principal''s white coat was a magnificent sight to behold, embellished with intricate golden decorations on his shoulders. It exuded an aura of wisdom and authority. The prestigious symbol of the World Academy was emzoned proudly on the back of his coat. "Stormscale Armor," Asher thought in his mind as he looked at the old man on the stage. "As many of you already know, I am Farnus Calmort, principal of the World Academy," the old man smiled. He looked older than Nathan and Dalton because he was a lot older than Nathan. "I am one of the 11 SSS Rank hunters," he introduced himself humbly. "I founded this World Academy with a dream to make a ce where all talents could learn equally." "You might find our curriculum a bit harsh, but it is necessary to train you guys to be the best." "The world might seem a bit peaceful, but you never know when another cmity might fall upon us." "This Academy was made as my dream to nurture your spirits as well as your strength," Farnus''s words ignited a fire in the hearts of the youth. "That will be all from me. I will let Professor Arman exin the rest," Farnus spoke as he disappeared into thin air. Many students wanted to hear more from Farnus as it was not everyday they could hear or see the strongest man in the World. "I am Professor Arman, and I teach ck Element," Arman introduced himself to others. "The World Academy does not hinder you from fighting each other, but you all must follow the rules," he raised his hand as a hologram appeared behind him. "As you see here, we have five sses each year, and each ss consists of 200 students," the hologram showed sses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. "Right now, you will be distributed ording to your evaluation by the faculty council. But you will have no individual rankings until the Assessment Test which will happen in a few months," this made many students look at each other and start talking. "You will soon get an Assessment System like your seniors here, and your ranks are everything here," he spoke. "Beforeing here, you were given your Dorm Keys. In your Dorm Rooms, you will find the device that will help you follow up with everything in the World Academy," the hologram changed to show the various facilities on the floating ind. The World Academy had everything you needed, from entertainment, food to knowledge. "You will find out about your ss and the schedule you have for now," Arman said. "Each ss will have one Professor as its proctor, and they will exin everything to you in more detail," Arman said. "And make sure you avoid your seniors for the first month before you learn everything about the rules of the World Academy," Arman joked, and it made a few seniors cough who were sitting on the right side of the stage. "Next, I would like to invite the winners of the Year Representative Tournament for the first years!" Arman said as the crowd started pping, but not all of them were excited to see them. "Let''s have some words from Asher Von Greville," Arman said as he looked at the seats where Asher and Alyssa were sitting. "Wasn''t the girl representative supposed toe first?" one of the seniors questioned among his friends. "Idiot! Did you forget who the Girl Representative for this year is?" his friend hit him on the head lightly. Asher did not stand up and looked at Alyssa, "You go first," he spoke and closed his eyes. "But I am not the one he called," Alyssa said, with no emotions on her face. She could not guess what Asher was thinking with his indifferent face, which confused her a lot. However, she did not mind him like others. Additionally, the fact that Asher was the only person she could use for her revenge made her cooperate with him. "I don''t want people who can''t stand for themselves," Asher did not even look at her. Alyssa stared at Asher and stood up as she remembered a certain event from the past. She hovered to the podium making everyone confused. "Umm, Miss Alyssa," Arman did not expect Alyssa toe up first. He could not send her down now she was already on the stage. "This will anger the faculty council surely," Arman sighed as he talked to himself. "I am Alyssa.., your year representative," Alyssa spoke, but all the students started booing towards her. "I won the tournament by my own strength, and I will continue to do so," she spoke with confidence. "If you want to hate me, you are free to do so," she ended her speech, but the booing did not stop. She quietly stepped and sat beside Asher, who opened his eyes. His eyes were shining red, and his aura was a bit cold that even Alyssa, who barely knew him, felt something odd. Step Step Unlike Alyssa, Asher slowly walked up, and seeing him walk, the booing stopped. Who in their right mind would even openly confront the heir of the infamous Greville family? He came up to the podium and looked forward. His crimson eyes made many students nervous, even some seniors got affected by his gaze. His cold and indifferent face made it impossible for someone else to know what he was thinking. "I am a person who doesn''t like to repeat things I say," he spoke. "I hate annoying people," "And I don''t care about all you pathetically weak people sitting here," his words enraged many students, but nobody could oppose him openly. "The only reason I am at this Academy is for the ''Trial Grounds''," his words perked up some people''s ears in the audience. "And don''t forget this floating ind is still in Somaria," his words were targeted towards certain people, and they knew Asher was talking about them. Many students were cursing him, but what they could do. Even the children of elite families did not want to mess with him. All elite families have specifically told their children to avoid the Greville family. [ Hidden Quest Completed ] [ Quest: Be the source of hatred for the first years. ] [ Reward: 1000 Fate points ] Asher smirked as he stepped down and sat beside Alyssa quietly. Nobody pped, and the hall auditorium was silent. "Ahem, the opening ceremony is finished. Please go to your dorm rooms. The staff outside will help you all," Arman took over and ended the ceremony. Asher''s words were very bold. He had challenged the authority of every person of the elite family present in the World Academy. Even the fact he was here solely for the Trial Grounds would make the topic of discussion for the Top Rankers inside the World Academy. Alyssa did not say anything to Asher and sat quietly beside him. Arman appeared in front of Asher, and Asher looked up at him. "I would advise you not to provoke others like this," Arman told Asher. "What can they even do?" Asher questioned Arman. "Don''t make yourself the target of everyone''s hatred," Arman advised Asher. Asher stood up and looked at Arman, while Alyssa was also waiting for Asher''s reply. "I know my strength and limits well, professor," Asher spoke. "And I think you should know best about what we Grevilles are capable of doing," Asher reminded Arman of a certain someone. Arman frowned, remembering the person Asher mentioned. "Now, if you will excuse us, we need to go," Asher turned, and Alyssa also stood up and followed after him. Arman was silent, and he appeared in front of Farnus, who was sitting in his office. "This boy is like watching young Nathaniel Greville, but that guy wore his emotions on his face," Farnus spoke. "This will create some chaos in the Student Council and among Senior Year students," Arman spoke. "Leave him. Did you make the changes I told you to make in the ss arrangement?" Farnus asked. "Yes, Principal. I have ced Kevin Whiteheart in a separate ss from Asher Greville," Arman replied. "What do you think of Asher Greville?" Farnus asked, as he was curious. "His talents remind me of Ivar, but he is different from him," Arman honestly replied to Farnus. "Well, I think we will have two more Grevilles in the World Academy soon," Farnus spoke. "What?" Arman was confused. "Well, the whole High Council knows that we are taking Silvus Grandus''s grandchildren for a special ss because of his favor for creating this Academy," Farnus spoke. "Recently, Nathaniel Greville and Alfred Raven both used theirbined authority to enroll Ivar''s kids with those two as well," he said as a token of Greville and Raven family floated in front of him. "Those two old foxes used their decades-old authority now, because they know they have four geniuses in one generation," Farnus said lightly. "Well, our job is to teach them. They will arrive next year, and four of them will be ced in a Special ss for a course of four years," Farnus spoke. "Make sure this news does not fall into other ears," Farnus looked at Arman. "Okay,"Arman nodded with a serious face. Chapter 84 Getting In Class 1 "Ah, this boy is quite gutsy," a man with a long beardughed upon seeing the speech in front of him. "That is just stupid," a woman retorted. "Professor Dahlia, you need to handle the matter of that girl carefully," a man with sses spoke. "I agree with Professor Gillson. Tell the student council president to control these two properly," another professor spoke. "Thinking you can control a Greville? What a joke," the man with the long beard scoffed. "Professor Neymon, I think you are forgetting that we, the faculty council, are still above the students," the woman replied to the man with the long beard. "Hoh, well, I don''t want any ruffle with the elite families, so count me out of it," Neyman shrugged his shoulders. From what Neyman had seen, he could see that Asher was trying to divert the attention of the crowd of students towards him from Alyssa. ''This boy was not like thisst time,'' Neyman thought when he saw Asher''s behavior. "You guys can continue this useless meeting. I will head out," Neyman said as he stood up and left the room. Seeing Neyman leave, some other professors present also left the room. "I heard that Professor Neyman had taught Asher Greville for a week before," a professor spoke in the meeting. "Then shouldn''t he be the one that should mentor that boy?" another professor spoke. "Well, we cannot force Professor Neyman anyway," Gillson spoke as he fixed his sses. "Let''s wait until the assessment exam," Gillson proposed in front of the faculty council. Outside the room, Professor Neyman was recalling his past interaction with Asher. He remembered how hard he had tried to make Asher learn Rune magic and other stuff but he could not make him do it. "He certainly is not a type of person who agitates his enemy before striking him," he thought in his mind. Neyman was a highly intelligent person, being the head of the Rune Department of the World Academy. He had met Asher when he was 9 years old after his parents wanted someone to try and teach him. Neyman remembered he would asionally try to take Asher''s outlook on some stuff, trying to figure out his thought process. He had done this because Asher was not a kid who showed emotions like others. But Neyman himself was amazed by the insight of the young boy. "Surely he is not protecting that girl," Neyman had thought but gave up on that quickly. He was sure that Arthur and Sylvie would definitely stop him if he had shown his interest in Alyssa. But all the events he had heard about Asher and his impulsive acts were not something that aligned with Asher''s personality ording to Neyman. But again, Neyman had only taught Asher for a week before even he himself gave up on him. If a person did not want to ept knowledge, then even the best teacher in the world could not help that person. And that person was exactly what Asher was in his previous life. Only Asher could know the reason behind it. Neyman let go of his thoughts because he had no way of knowing what was going on in Asher''s head. ******************** Asher and Alyssa got out and saw a staff member who gave them a key to their dorm building that was specially made for the first-year student council. The staff member showed them the way, and they both arrived at a ten-floor building that was separated into two halves with a unique design. This type of architecture was only possible due to highly advanced magic engineering. Normal buildings would easily fall if made like this, but it was not a normal world. "This is the building that was made for the top rankers among the first-year students," the staff member exined. "Right now, it''s empty, but the top ten students will stay here after the assessment test." He gestured with his hands as a ck door with blue designs opened. "That block is for boys, and this one is for girls," he exined. "But what if there is an unequal number of boys and girls?" Alyssa questioned, wondering why the blocks were made of five floors each. "That''s where the fun part is. Actually, the building of the top rankers can move around the floors depending on the gender of the person that lives on that floor," the staff exined as he looked at Asher, ignoring Alyssa. Asher was quiet because he knew about it. He was a ranker in his second year of the World Academy in his previous life. "So if the Rank 1 is a girl, that floor will change from the right block to the left. This will make sure the girls get their privacy as well. Right now, both of you will live on Floor 5 of your respective blocks. As the floor goes up, the facilities in them also increase, but all the floors are better than what other students will live in." He did not need to speak about this because just looking around, you could see that this sort of architecture was a luxury that only a select few could get. "But after the assessment test, depending on your rank in the top 10, you can go higher or lower from floor 5," he said as the lift arrived. They were currently present in the lobby room, which was amon area for the top 10 rankers to interact with each other. "Your ID bracelets and other stuff are already present in your rooms, so you can now go and rest," he said as he left the building. Asher looked to his right as both the lifts arrived at the same time. He did not speak to Alyssa as both of them quietly went and got into their lifts. Asher saw the lift stop at floor 5 after doing a retina scan and confirming his identity. Asher saw a huge room that screamed luxury, but him being the heir of one of the richest families, this was not a big deal for him. The huge living room and some ck doors with golden design could be seen all around the room. There was a kitchen but most of the food willl be served by the chefs so Asher did not care much about it. He saw the Mana Training room and went past it. Right now he was at the E+ Rank and would soon breakthrough to D- Rank. His speed was even faster than Ivar Greville but it was all due to the extra stats he had consumed during the hunt he did in the dungeons. He had also experienced it in his previous life, so he knew where everything was. He entered the living room and saw a bracelet with a box beside it. He picked up the bracelet and wore it. This was the identification card that would be used for daily life inside the World Academy. He touched a blinking red spot on the bracelet, and a hologram appeared in front of him. This was an all-purpose device used inside the World Academy for everything, including trading grade points to seeing your progress and rank. Even the schedule of your ss could be essed from this device. Asher touched his name on the hologram, and it revealed the content inside it. ------------------------------------------- Student - Asher Von Raven Greville ss 1 First Year Representative Current Hunter Rank - E+ (Not confirmed) GP : 1000 ---------------------------------------------- "ss 1?" Asher asked as he looked at the ss he was assigned to. In his previous life, he had been in ss 3 with Kevin, Elena, and Eva. Alyssa had been ced in ss 1 as a result of Asher''s efforts to change events. It was a wee change for him. "Trying to save your little sessor," Asher thought, knowing that it was Farnus Calmort, the principal of World Academy, who had made the decision. Only Farnus had the authority to interfere in such matters. Even the faculty council could only make suggestions; Farnus made all the decisions. But there were bigger targets than Kevin that Asher needed to eliminate. Everything he had done so far was to ensure that Alyssa would choose him as the medium for her revenge. He knew from his previous life that stopping Alyssa was impossible. She would rather die than give up on her revenge. "I wonder how those bastards will react," Asher muttered, thinking of the Student council. They were the only problem that he needed to deal with carefully. No first-year students were considered a threat, but it was different for senior-year students. They were more powerful and experienced than the younger students Asher had fought so far. But it wasn''t too difficult for him. His n had already begun. Asher slumped on the couch and looked at the box in front of him. He smiled and said, "Let the show begin," as he closed his eyes. //////////////////////////// If you want to support me. https://ko-fi/raos_ioi https://paypal.me/raosWN /////////////////////////////// Chapter 85 First Day In The Class It was the day after the opening ceremony, and many students were wearing their uniforms. The uniform waspulsory only during theory sses, and students were allowed to wear whatever they wanted outside those sses. The schedule was already distributed among all 1,000 selected students for this year. Some students were unhappy to learn that they were not in the same ss as their friends. Each ss was made so that no ss had too many or too few talented individuals. World Academy actively encouraged its students topete with each other and instilled the idea that they should always try to be better than others. Although there were many students who would reach the limit of their potential while at World Academy and eventually ept that they could not progress any further. If two individuals put the same amount of hard work into something, the person with more talent will always win. If your potential was low, no amount of hard work could ce you on a simr pedestal as a genius who put a simr amount of work into their skills. World Academy was a ce for elites to grow and understand the nature of the society they lived in. Despite the fact that individuals with so much power roamed the world, every country was mostly peaceful and free from criminal activities on a public level. But where there was light, darkness would also be present. In a world where your strength determined your social standing, there would be people who would misuse their powers for the worse. "Well, it''s a shame that Asher is in ss 1," Damian told Amelia as they went towards their ssroom. There were five blocks that were separated for sses 1 to 5. Currently, Damian and Amelia were walking through Block 1 to Block 2 for their ss. "What''s fun with being in the same ss as my brother?" Amelia spoke with a frown on her face. "Oh,e on, you know he wasn''t speaking about us in that speech," Damian spoke, barely stopping himself fromughing. Amelia looked at Damian''s face as her face turned red. "Remove that memory from your mind," Amelia said as she grabbed Damian''s cor. Both of them were wearing a white-colored uniform with a grey-colored bracelet on their wrists. "Don''t get angry, but pffgh," Damian could not handle it and startedughing loudly in the hallway. Amelia tightened her grip as her face grew even redder. "Huff, huff, okay, okay, I will not tease you anymore," Damian tried to calm her down before she got even more angry at him. He wasughing, remembering yesterday evening when they met Asher to chat a bit. They had arrived early, and Amelia was still annoyed by Asher''s speech, which even targeted her as she had also lost in the tournament. She was ranting about Asher with Damian as they were sitting in a fairly empty area, which was the park of the VIP Dormitories where they were living with other fairly influential kids. Unfortunately for her, Damian had not told her that he had invited Asher as well. "I am here just for the trial ground," Amelia imitated Asher''s voice, making Damianugh, but he stopped and closed his mouth immediately. "And did you see him when he said, ''Don''t get in my way''?" Ameliaughed, making fun of Asher. "Oh, really?" Asher spoke as she touched Amelia''s shoulder. "Kyaaaaaa~" Amelia jumped, and her face got pale, like Damian''s, as she saw Asher. "Having fun?" Asher questioned with his indifferent look. "No-no... It was him who started it byughing at you," Amelia pointed at Damian, selling him out. "Wait, what?" Damian hesitated, seeing Amelia''s pleading face. "Whatever did you guys call me here for?" Asher changed the topic, seeing that they were doing something stupid again. "Yeah, what ss are you in? We are in ss 2!!" Damian spoke. "I am in ss 1," Asher told him. Listening to him, Amelia sighed in relief knowing that they were not in the same ss as Asher. "Any issues?" Asher frowned at Amelia. "N-No, nothing," Amelia spoke. "I remember I needed to sort my room a bit so I need to leave. Bye~." Amelia hurriedly left Asher and Damian alone. "So what did you really call me here for?" Asher sat down beside Damian. Coming back to the present, this was the reason Damian was still teasing Amelia. She would rarely show any emotions, so it was pretty embarrassing for Amelia. "Oh, why is there so muchmotion here?" Damian looked over Amelia and saw many students standing outside the ssroom. Amelia turned abruptly, releasing her grip on Damian''s cor. "What''s happening?" She spoke as some students turned towards both of them. "Oh, it''s Amelia Greville," One of the girls spoke, gathering the attention of other students. "Maybe she can help," she said. Amelia and Damian walked up to them and asked for the reason behind them gathering at the door. "A fight is happening!" A girl replied nervously as she pointed inside the ssroom. "What?" Damian said and he went to the door and saw a boy kneeling down in front of a pink-haired girl. Amelia came closer to see what was happening and she saw the same scene. "Now what were you saying?" Alyssa spoke. "Argh," the boy couldn''t speak due to the pressure of gravity on him. "Release him," Amelia said, causing Alyssa to look at her. Alyssa stopped her spell, and the boy finally rxed and crawled a bit away from her. "What are you doing?" Amelia asked. "He challenged my authority as the first-year representative," Alyssa replied as she put the metallic mask that was on the table on her face. The half-mask covered half of her face below her eyes. It didn''tpletely cover her scars, but its main purpose was to maintain a constant supply of oxygen for Alyssa. She had received it for signing the deal with Asher. At first, she wanted to refuse, but seeing that it would also help her panic attacks, she easily agreed to use it. The rest of the students also left, seeing that the fight was resolved. "But using mana outside of duels is not allowed," Amelia said to her. "I am part of the Student Council and I did not break any of the rules," Alyssa replied calmly. "Yeah, why are you speaking so much when he was the one who wanted to fight first?" Venessa said. "He was the one who was shouting and saying that she did not deserve to win the tournament or whatnot," Venessa exined, annoyed. Amelia was confused why a nobody was talking so rudely towards her, fully knowing her background. "Okay, let''s calm down. There''s no need to fight over this," Damian interjected so that another fight didn''t begin. "Amelia, let''s leave them alone. We will bete for ss like this," Damian reminded Amelia. "Haa, never mind, let''s go," Amelia said, leaving the ss with Damian. Alyssa did not act rudely towards Amelia, knowing that she was Asher''s sister. From her perspective, she wanted to avoid anyplications with Amelia. She didn''t want to let go of her only chance of taking revenge by offending Asher. "Should I apologize?" Alyssa thought as she sat down, but her inner hatred did not allow her to bow down to anyone, especially people from Elite Families. Five minutes ago, the boy had challenged Alyssa, cursing her about her blood. "Do you not know that she won the tournament?" Venessa said from her seat. "Won? It was just a fluke," the boyughed, making other students talk with each other. "Where did you get this mask from? A mask will not hide your ugly blood," he said with disgust on his face. "Go back to your seat," Alyssa turned her head and spoke. "What an ugly bitch like you can even do? You are just like that filthy mother of yours," the boy spoke, but he immediately felt the pressure increase upon him. Venessa, who was about to throw a punch, stopped upon seeing Alyssa use her mana. Alyssa removed her mask, and her eyes looked down at the boy. "I wonder what I can do?" Alyssa spoke as she gradually increased the pressure on the boy. "Wait, what are you doing?" Another student stood up from his seat and tried to stop her But as he spoke he saw an icence started forming above Alyssa. "Any issues?" Alyssa red at him. "Ah, nothing!" He immediately got back to his seat without causing anymore ruckus. Other students who had just arrived also stopped at the doorway. They were afraid that a crazy girl like Alyssa might hurt them, so they did not want to get involved. The boy coughed as he struggled to breathe properly, but Alyssa heard Amelia''s voice and stopped what she was doing. Going back to the present, the boy was sitting in the back, and some students were evenughing at him for making a joke out of himself. But the boy did not care much about it. "Ipleted your task," he typed a message on his phone while coughing a bit on his seat. "That bastard, I will make his life hell in the duel ss," Venessa muttered as she cracked her knuckles. Alyssa looked at her left and found it weird that Venessa was not avoiding her despite knowing her identity. It was the first time that something like that had happened to her. "Don''t mind them much. They are just jealous of your strength," Venessa said as she put her head down on the desk. Many students were now afraid to talk to Alyssa because of her strength. Their hate and disgust for her were high, but her skills and power made it difficult for others to openly mess with her. The fact that she was part of the student council made others avoid her. Asher, who had just gotten out of the lobby in his building, looked at the message on his phone and put it back in his pockets as he transferred 100 GP to the sender of that message. Chapter 86 Class 1 Professor Every student who was entering the ssroom was avoiding sitting anywhere near Alyssa. They did not wanted their name to be associated with her in any way. Around 60 percent of the students at this academy came from amon background, while others were from either a rich family or were part of elite families. Students with amon background saw studying at World Academy as a chance to not only improve their strengths but to also make connections with rich and influential people. This was the reason there were many small factions among students inside the World Academy. It was almost time for ss to start when Asher entered the ssroom. Seeing him, all the students stopped talking. Asher''s reputation was not that good in the World Academy either. His duel with Elena and his way of eliminating students in the tournament was criticized by many people. But what could they do to Asher other than avoid him at all times? Asher looked at the front two rows on the leftmost side of the ssroom where Alyssa and Venessa were sitting together. Asher frowned in his mind seeing Venessa sitting with Alyssa. He walked up to Alyssa and sat a row behind her. Alyssa also didn''t react much to his presence either. She saw Asher as an opportunity and a person who was helping her on his whims. Although she appreciated his help, that was it. Alyssa had long forgotten how to trust others. She was not a person who could now be friendly with others. She was very much like Asher, but her hatred was mostly centered around her enemies, unlike Asher. Asher''s inner madness made him unstable and hate almost everything around him. It was a wonder how he was able tomunicate with others like a normal person. This was one of his biggest problems in his previous life, which led to him avoiding interacting with others. But now he did not see it as a problem or weakness. He had long embraced his madness as a part of himself, or maybe without realizing it, his madness had already taken over him. Seeing Asher sit quietly, the other students started to talk quietly among themselves. Asher himself sat near the window, ignoring everyone in the ss. "He looks so handsome," some girls started talking among themselves. Other girls were also stealing nces at Asher from time to time, making some boys jealous. Those boys could only look at Asher with envy. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman came in through the door. She was wearing an overcoat with an insignia of the World Academy. Seeing her, all the students stopped talking and looked in front. She walked up to the table in the middle and sat on the seat, and looked at the students. "First of all, congrattions on making it to the World Academy," her voice was warm, and it made some students have a good impression of her. "My name is Elsa Robles, and I am in charge of ss 1," Elsa introduced herself. Hearing her name, many students got surprised. She was one of the SS Rank Hunters in the world. She had orange-colored hair with ck eyes, and despite her calm personality, she looked like a person with a high temper. "Some of you might know me, but for those that don''t, I am one of the SS Rank hunters in the world," Elsa spoke as she produced a ball of me in her hands. "And I specialize in fire magic," she spoke, and the me in her hand kept changing colors from orange to yellow to blue to green. Students kept looking at the me with curiosity. Fire magic was one of the easiest magic to learn, but controlling it gets harder and harder as theplexity of the spell increased. So, seeing Elsa''s control over the spell surprised many students. "For today''s ss, I will be exining to you some rules and other things that you need to know about the World Academy," she spoke as the me died down in her hand. "As you know, there are five sses for the first years, and right now, all of you are unranked," she said. The big white screen behind her showed a circle divided into five parts. "This is the first-year building. We have five blocks for each ss," she pointed towards the screen. "And we are in Block 1 right now. You all have received the bracelets in your dorm rooms, right? Click on the green light that is present on the bracelet," she spoke. Listening to her everyone in the ss clicked, and information about them was presented in front of them. "This bracelet is your ID card, which will be used in almost everything inside the World Academy," Elsa spoke. "Your schedule is also present there if anybody wants to check it." "Now the main part: Inside World Academy, aside from somepulsory subjects, each student is required to choose at least 3 subjects from the list in front of you," Elsa said as the students saw many subjects. "Each year, all five sses have 3mon subjects: Mana Maniption, Beast Theory, and the Duel ss," she said. "Aside from them, you need to choose other subjects on your own depending on the path you want to take," she exined. World Academy does not force students to take a certain path. Each student can decide the path they want to walk on. "But be careful while choosing subjects to take. Once you choose a subject, you have to attend that ss for at least a week. Each student can change their chosen subject at most 3 times." "So think carefully before choosing those subjects." "You will have to study a total of 6 subjects, and if you wish to take more, you can. But remember that your performance in those extra subjects will also affect your ranks at the end of your first year," Elsa said, looking at all the students. "Coming to the ranks, but before I exin about it, who can tell me about grade points?" Elsa asked, seeing a few hands raised. She pointed to a girl in one of the middle rows. The girl stood up and spoke, "It is the points that we can use for various facilities in the World Academy. We use it as a currency instead of using AUR," she exined, making Elsa smile as she gestured for her to sit down. "Correct, grade points, also known as GP, will be the money you will earn inside the World Academy. GP can be earned in a ss test, during a duel, or by trading with others." "There are many ways to earn GP, but the most effective is by having a good rank." "As you know, we have a different dormitory for the top 10 rankers, and currently, your year representatives are living there," Elsa pointed in Alyssa and Asher''s direction. This invoked jealousy and envy among many students, which was what Elsa wanted. "Only the top 10 among the 1,000 first years will get the privilege of living here," she pointed at the screen, which showed the dormitory that Asher and Alyssa saw yesterday. "Wow!" "So cool!!" Everybody was surprised seeing the building, but Elsa brought their attention back. "But only the top 10 can live here. However, this is not the only reason for having a good rank," Elsa said, confusing many students who were still looking at the beautiful building in front of them, imagining what living there would feel like. "Depending on your rank, starting from Rank 1-10, you get 1000 GP monthly. And 11-100 will get 500 GP, and 101-500 will get 250 GP, and the rest will only get 100 GP each month." "You use these GP not only to buy your food but also for everything. There is a certain amount of GP needed to be paid." Many students got nervous because that meant if they did not score a good rank, their life would be even more difficult. "Any questions?" Elsa asked. "What if we have 0 GP?" a boy asked. "Good question. If any of you ever hit 0 GP, you can ask your friends for a loan. This is why you can trade GP at the trading center," Elsa spoke. "Some seniors even post some quests for the juniors or their peers for a certain amount of GP," she said, making the nervous expressions of the students rx a bit. Asher knew about this very well because he was also one of the people who used this function to make others do his tasks in his previous life. Alyssa kept listening carefully, but she was now d as she looked at 1000 GP in her ount. She was quite sure nobody would have loaned her any amount of GP, making her life hell inside the World Academy. "One of the things where you can spend your GP is the Duel Arena by challenging others for a certain amount of GP," Elsa said, making some of the boys excited at the thought of fighting others for money. "Even reading books at the Library requires GP, and some of the sections are restricted depending on the year you belong to. But if you are in the top 10, i.e., if you are a ranker, you can ess them," she added. "Any other questions?" Elsa asked. "Depending on the subject, will we attend lectures with other sses?" a boy asked Elsa. "Yeah, although you all are in different sses, you will still attend those sses together," Elsa replied. "And if you are wondering what the point is of having five different sses, let me tell you that each ss will have a different ranking. It is formed in such a way that all five sses will have simr strengths," she said. "After the assessment test, you will work towards the end-term examination. Depending on your ss ranking, you will receive certain benefits," her words made many students excited. "Wait, we will never lose if both of those monsters are in our ss," a boy whispered to his deskmate, pointing towards Alyssa and Asher. Other students also had simr thoughts in their minds, but Asher, on the other hand, was not even interested in such talks, and Alyssa was the same. "Well, I will give you a day to think about your subject choices. Tomorrow, you need to tell me your elected subjects," Elsa said as she concluded the ss. "This is all for today, you guys can explore and look around the World Academy for today, and Asher Greville, Alyssa Astaria, both of you follow me to my office," Elsa said as she turned to leave the ssroom. Chapter 87 Student Council? Alyssa stood up and took out her wheelchair from the spatial ring she was carrying. "Pfft, look at that cripple," a girlughed as she whispered to her friend. She made sure that no one heard her. Asher also stood up and walked up to the door. It was surprising that he was not reacting despite the fact that he knew people were mocking Alyssa. "Should Ie with you?" Venessa asked Alyssa. But Alyssa shook her head, denying Venessa. Although she was grateful to Venessa and would repay her debt, it didn''t mean that she trusted her. She had seen her own father turn his back on her. In this world, Alyssa knew that the only thing she could trust was her own strength. Asher kept walking behind Elsa, and Alyssa did the same. They passed through the block 1 exit and walked toward the next block, which was the exchange sector. The exchange sector was the building avable for students from every year. This was the ce where small distance teleportation gates were ced to go to other facilities inside the World Academy. "Good morning, Professor Elsa," a staff member greeted Elsa as she nodded back. Elsa traveled to the faculty block portal and stopped. "This is the exchange sector. From here, you can ess many facilities, but as you are the Year Representative, you can ess all the portals present here, except two," Elsa exined. "Well, follow me inside," Elsa said as she entered the portal and disappeared. There was a step before the portal, but Alyssa''s wheelchair was made in such a way that she would not be hindered due to the difference in terrain and environment. Unless she was in an extreme environment, her wheelchair would not malfunction. She followed Elsa, and after her, Asher did the same. After a sensation of a tiny bit of dizziness, Alyssa found herself in front of a massive building, which was the faculty block. Elsa saw Asher and Alyssa looking up at the building. "Huge, right?" Elsa spoke, making Alyssa look toward her. "This building consists of the office of all the professors inside the World Academy, and depending on their status, some professors, like me, have their own floors as well," Elsa said with a smile on her face. "Status?" Alyssa muttered. "Yes, even us professors are not equal inside the World Academy," Elsa said as they started walking toward the building, which had around 50 floors. "Notice the stars near my insignia?" Elsa said, pointing at the overcoat she was wearing. Alyssa noticed that there were three stars underneath it. "Depending on your importance, the World Academy gives stars to the professors starting from 1 to 3. Well, the Head Professor and Vice Principal have 4 stars, and our Principal has 5," Elsa entered the building. "Most of the professors will have 1 or 2 stars, but because I am an SS Rank Hunter and my specialization is Fire Element, I was given 3." Three of them walked towards the lift area where Elsa put her hands on the identification scanner. "Wee, Professor Elsa Robles," the robotic voice spoke, and the lift opened. "Let''s go," she said as all three of them entered the lift. Alyssa saw the lift go up and stop on floor 29. "This is the floor that was given to me," Elsa said as the lift''s door opened, and many staff members carrying stuff were all around the floor. "Good morning, Professor Elsa," many people greeted Elsa. "Peter, bring me my schedule and other stuff after 10 minutes," Elsa called out a thin-looking guy who quickly nodded at her request. "Let''s go into my office," Elsa said, and they walked up to a room which had Elsa''s namete above the door frame. The door opened automatically, and three of them entered and looked at a room which had a table in the center with some documents on it. Elsa, instead of going to her table, sat on one of the sofas and gestured for both of them to do the same. Asher and Alyssa quietly sat down on the sofa, and Alyssa took her wheelchair inside her spatial ring. "As I told you just now, every professor has a different status, and because you guys are now part of the student council, your authority is more than that of a 1-star professor but less than that of a 2-star professor," Elsa started exining. "Only the Student Council President and Vice-President have the authority simr to that of a 2-star professor," "But the Student Council as a whole has simr authority to a 3-star professor, and that means they can challenge a single 3-star professor over some issues," Elsa spoke. "What happens after that?" Asher questioned Elsa. "Well, then we take four votes on that matter," Elsa replied. "The first three votese from the Principal, Vice-Principal, and the Head Professor, and thest onees from the Student Council itself," Elsa said. But Asher questioned her again. "What happens when a draw urs?" "Well, as you know, there are multiple factions inside the World Academy. Some are necessary, while others are made by and for the influential people inside the World Academy by the students," Elsa said. "Well, there is one faction that holds the power to vote when such a situation urs, and that is the Blood Faction. They only take members of the family that have the voting right in the High Council," Elsa said. "Well, forget about that for now. What I want to discuss is regarding your position in the Student Council," Elsa changed the topic. "You both have the right to be in the Student Council, but there have been some issues over you, Miss Alyssa," Elsa looked at Alyssa. "Well, I, in particr, do not care about your family, but that is not the case for others. Despite being from the Astaria family, you do carry the blood of your mother," Elsa spoke, making Alyssa re at her. "Calm down, girl. I am neither your enemy nor your friend. I am only here to personally guide you because of this guy right here," Elsa pointed at Asher. "His mother is a good friend of mine, and she told me to make sure that you, Miss Alyssa, in particr, do not be a hindrance for him," Elsa said, with a serious look on her face. "Professor Elsa, can you get to the main point?" Asher interrupted Elsa. "Beware of the Student Council President and the Blood Faction leader," Elsa said as she looked at Asher. "In fact, your actions during the tournament and the opening ceremony in particr... I know the Greville family is really powerful and one of the Top 3 Elite families, but don''t forget that your family cannot protect you at all times," Elsa saidpletely seriously. "As per my contract, I can only hinder a little bit to support your actions, but make sure you stay out of trouble," Elsa said. "That is all I wanted to say. You can go back and be ready to meet the Student Council after this," Elsa said, pointing at the door that opened. Asher and Alyssa both went out of the room without saying anything. "Sigh, both of your kids are troublesome," Elsa said as she massaged her forehead. "But I don''t think your daughter willst long enough, Liz," Elsa muttered. While on her way, she had used her mana sense to probe into Alyssa''s body, and what she saw made her a bit sad. Asher and Alyssa were being escorted by a staff member to exit the building. At the same time, inside ss 1 of the first years, "Is he a senior?" "Oh, a Student Council member," Everyone started gossiping with each other, but they stopped as the guy spoke. "Hello, juniors. Do you know where your year representatives are?" A kind-looking guy wearing sses asked. He was wearing a ck uniform, which meant he was part of the Student Council. "Oh, they followed Professor Elsa to her office," a guy in the front row replied. "Ah," the Student Council guy frowned a bit, making the student who replied a bit nervous. "Oh, my bad. I didn''t mean to scare you," the guy smiled again and took back his aura. He went out of the ssroom, making everyone in the ss a bit relieved. Despite his kind looks and gentle face, his aura was quite oppressive. "What happened, Jack?" another person in the ck uniform asked. "They are in the faculty block," Jack replied with a frown on his face. "Let''s go wait for them at the Exchange sector," Jack said as the guy followed behind him. As both of them left, the people in the ssroom were still talking about Jack. "Who was that senior?" a guy questioned. They were confused by Jack''s sudden visit. On the other hand, Vanessa, who was sleeping until Jack''s arrival, frowned. "These Allister bastards are sure creepy," Vanessa said with a look of disgust on her face. She knew about the children of other Elite families because her father had told her about all of them and had told her to avoid them the best she could. And Jack Allister was one of the people who were in the Top 5 of that list. Chapter 88 Meeting The Student Council - I Asher and Alyssa came out of the building and were heading towards the exchange sector to go back. Alyssa was quiet as they got inside the exchange sector, and after their identification, they stopped in front of the portal. Alyssa stepped in, and after her, Asher did the same. They wereing out of the exchange sector when they saw two people in ck uniforms waiting outside the entry of the exchange sector. Jack looked at Asher, and seeing his red eyes, he immediately knew who Asher was. Asher''s face was indifferent, and he did not react at all after seeing Jack and the guy behind him. Jack walked up to Asher and greeted him while maintaining his kind appearance. "Hello, I am Jack Allister, and I am from the Student Council," Jack introduced himself. "I need you guys toe with me because our president wanted to meet you guys," he smiled as he looked at Asher. Alyssa was ignored by both Jack and the guy behind him. Asher''s eyes met Jack, and he stood there without saying anything. "Umm?" Jack got confused after getting no reply from Asher. ''Why is this bastard staying quiet?'' Jack thought in his mind without a single change in his facial expressions. "Tell her, I am busy," Asher replied. "Excuse me?" Jack got confused by Asher''s reply. His reaction was like this because the Student Council was a symbol of authority, and being a member of the Student Council, many students respected and feared him. But the person who called Asher and Alyssa was not a normal senior student; it was the Student Council President herself. She was one of the most talented individuals inside the World Academy, and being a beauty, everyone admired and respected her. After the professors, the most authority lied in the hands of the Student Council president, and it was a very rare urrence when someone denied her orders. If it were a Senior Student who was in some faction, it would make sense, but it was a freshman first year who rejected her invitation tantly. "I don''t want to be rude, but you can''t reject our President''s order," the guy behind Jack spoke with an annoyed look on his face. His voice showed his arrogant nature. Maybe it was the fact he was one of Jack Allister''sckeys, he somehow got the confidence to speak up against Asher. ''This idiot,'' Jack thought in his mind. "Oh really, and who are you to tell me?" Asher got closer to the senior student. Asher''s killing intent started leaking, and the senior year got frozen just by feeling Asher''s bloodlust. He was a second-year student who got lucky to get in the Student Council by following Jack around. He was a D Rank hunter, and for a second-year student, this was considered only moderately good. He was not a genius, but not all members of the Student Council were geniuses. The Student Council was abination of many types of students who had their own worth, and unfortunately for this guy, strength was not exactly his main quality. "Repeat your words," Asher got closer, but Jack immediately interrupted him. "Don''t go overboard, Heir Greville," Jack spoke with a serious look on his face. "And you apologize to him," Jack turned and looked at the second-year student. "Ah- I am sorry," he immediately apologized to Asher. "He might have been rude, but he is indeed right; you cannot outright reject the president''s summon," Jack tried to exin it to Asher. "Are you deaf?" Asher looked straight into Jack''s eyes. "Tell your president that we will meet her tomorrow," Asher said, ignoring Jack''s advice and forging ahead. Alyssa quietly followed Asher, as she would do what Asher wanted for now, instead of going against him. "Wait, Jack, can''t you pressure him to go with you?" the guy finally spoke out, seeing that Asher was a bit far away now. "Come here," Jack pointed at the guy, and as he came near Jack, he saw Jack punch him in the stomach. "Urkkk, cough cough," the guy coughed as he held his stomach with both hands due to the pain. "Don''t talk in between when I am talking," Jack said as he red at the guy. His face hadpletely changed, and his kind appearance was not present at all. If anybody could see his face, they would not even think that he could have a gentle aura around him. "S-Sorry," the guy apologized as he coughed up a bit more. Jack got annoyed with Asher''s arrogant nature, but due to the fact that his idiotckey had acted arrogantly, he could not force Asher toe with him. "My reputation will go down in front of the President like this," Jack muttered as he pushed his hair back. But for now, he needed to inform the Student Council President about Asher''s response. "Even that pink-haired bitch ignored me," Jack''s blood was boiling, seeing that Alyssa also got away with Asher. "Oh, isn''t this Senior Jack?" Jack heard some voices as some students came out of the exchange sector. His appearance changed immediately as he picked up the guy and gave him a shoulder. His face had gone back to his usual gentle look. "Did some fight happen here?" the students talked among themselves as they saw Jack helping the guy. "Don''t make a fuss here," Jack whispered, making the guy quietly act like he was injured. "Senior Jack looks so cool and kind. Isn''t he a perfect student?" a girl talked. "Keep dreaming; he will never be your boyfriend," her friend teased the girl. Jack had carefully maintained his good reputation around the World Academy as a kind person. Only a few people knew about his true personality. Jack was the perfect example of people who will weaken to strong and strong to weak. And due to the fact that he came from an Elite family, not many students could harm him. While in apletely different building, a girl with long white hair and light blue eyes was looking at the documents in front of her. "Did Jackplete the assignment I gave him?" She asked the guy who had juste in. "Umm, President, actually, that Asher Greville has rejected your invitation and told Jack that he wille tomorrow," the guy nervously told the girl in front of her. "Hoh," the girl looked up, and a smile appeared on her face. "I didn''t think that somebody would reject my invitation, and a first-year as well," she said as the room got a bit heavy. "Let''s do the meeting tomorrow then," a guy replied, who was also present in the room. "That boy is the heir of the Greville family, and we should avoid conflicts from our side," he suggested to the white-haired girl. "Eva and Elena told him about his rotten personality, but I didn''t think he would be this rude," the girl spoke. "Sigh, let''s do the meeting tomorrow, but we need to teach our juniors how to respect their seniors a bit," she said as a cold smile appeared on her face. After the first ss, there were no other sses, so the students were mostly exploring the World Academy. It was evening, and Asher was sitting in his living room, using hisputer to gather information about the outside world. After doing this for about half an hour, he got up and removed his t-shirt, exposing his well-chiseled body. He then changed into gym attire. He walked up to the room that said "Meditation Chamber" and opened it. This room was covered with white tiles, with a ck spot in the middle. He wanted to break through to D- Rank, as he had been at the peak of E+ Rank for a week now. This was one of the reasons why he did not ept the invitation of the Student Council President today and wanted to meet them tomorrow. He waited to break through inside the World Academy because he could see Alyssa most of the time without forcing her to meet him. Alyssa was like a cure for Asher. He was controlling his inner madness because of the fact that he could see Alyssa. He himself didn''t know why he felt calm around Alyssa, neither in his previous life nor in this one. He remembered the warning Nathan gave him regarding the Rune of Eirdin and how he would have to fight his bad memories whenever he ranked up. So, after getting inside the World Academy, Asher decided to finally break through to D- Rank. He had wasted enough time at E+ Rank, and he knew that he needed to be stronger faster than in his previous life to actually change his destiny. He went and sat around the center and crossed his legs, sitting in a meditation pose. After a while, the mana around the room started to flow inside Asher''s body. Instead of flowing inside his whole body, the mana was trying to circle around the mana core and the rings around it. This was a delicate step that needed to be performed carefully, as implications during the ring formation could greatly affect the rank up. Chapter 89 Remembering The Past - I In the VIP Dormitory, Elena, Eva, and Kevin were talking in the lobby while munching on some snacks they took from the cafeteria in the VIP dormitory. "Did you get any reply from your sister?" Eva asked Kevin. "No, and I don''t need my sister to handle that bastard either," Kevin got annoyed remembering Asher''s face. "It was only because I was careless and due to him being above me by a minor rank," Kevin said as they sat on the sofas that were present in themon lobby. "I was told that some people from the student council came to ss 1 but it seems like that guy rejected the invitation," Elena said. Although Asher''s presence instilled fear in her heart, Elena Rothschild was not a weak girl either. She knew that beating Asher was not possible for now, even Kevin, who was a prodigy in her eyes, was defeated by him. But she was not going to let Asher humiliate her the second time. "It seems there are already some people here," a voice made all three of them look back. It was Damian who hade down to get some snacks for himself. "What do you want?" Kevin frowned and asked Damian. "Me? What, what would a loser like you give me?" Damian provoked Kevin with a smirk on his face. Kevin got angry and he stood up, but Elena stopped Kevin by grabbing his shoulder. "You are not invited here, Damian Seymour!" Elena said as she looked at Damian. "Hahahaha, you guys are too funny," Damianughed, and hisughter annoyed the three of them even further. "Oh no, don''t re at me like this," Damian acted funny, seeing three resing his way. Just as all this was happening, another guy showed up in the lobby. It was Sam Allister, who hade down just now and saw Damianughing loudly. ''What''s happening here?'' Sam thought in his mind, but he just left quietly as he was in no mood to get in any quarrels. "You have got guts to mock three people from the Elite families," Eva said with a serious look on her face. "I would give you one piece of advice, don''t let your friendship with that guy get to your head." Eva warned Damian. "Exactly, do you think those Greville bastards will stand up for you?" Kevin mocked the whole Greville family, which surprised Elena and Eva. It was quite bold of him to say something like that, but they did not correct Kevin. Their hatred for Asher had grown quite a bit, and all three of them pretty much hated the Greville family. "Who are you calling bastards?" Amelia said as she came down. Her face was cold, and she looked directly at Kevin. This made Kevin a bit awkward because he did notpletely hate Amelia; on the other hand, he still wanted to be friends with her despite his feud with Asher. "Do you have a problem?" Elena spoke as she looked at Amelia. ''I did what you wanted,'' Damian muttered in his mind as he looked at the situation in front of him. Meanwhile, Asher was trying to break through to D-Rank while all this was happening. The mana inside Asher''s body was running amok as he tried to force it to revolve around his mana core. During the rank-up of an awakened person, it was necessary to increase the density inside the core, which was the mana heart and also sessfully form a ring around the mana core. Both of these steps were crucial factors in deciding the increase in strength a person would get due to their rank-up. It was evident that people in the same rank did not have simr strength at all. Both of these factors were linked to the substantial increase in the overall strength of the person. Asher''s body was full of sweat, but his expressions were calm. This process was not a painful one, but it required immense concentration. Asher felt as if his body was submerged deep inside ake due to the increasing concentration of mana all around his body. He was not moving the mana around his mana veins, so the excess mana was forming a thin shell all around Asher''s body. Inside Asher''s body, a thin thread of dense mana was circting around the mana core as it was getting into a circr shape forming another ring around his mana core. Suddenly, a wave of mana went around the whole room. Asher had sessfully formed a mana ring around his core. He had sessfullypleted his first step, and all he needed to do now was to increase the density inside his core. Due to the formation of the ring, the mana was gradually filling the core, but the pressure from the rings around it prevented the ergement of the core. The ring formation was done first so that the existing rings could exert enough pressure to increase the density of mana inside the mana core while also maintaining its size. The mana kept filling the core and had reached its limit now. But Asher did not stop; he wanted to test the limit of his mana core a bit more. He forced a bit more mana inside his core. At first, the mana was getting repelled, but due to Asher''s constant use of force, thest bit of mana went inside the core. Asher finally stopped pushing his limits. His body was sweating a lot, and his whole body was heating up. Asher used his mana cirction technique and connected all the mana veins, increasing the overall strength of his body. The connection of his mana veins was cutoff until now, but now that his body could finally ess his mana core, Asher could feel that his strength was rising. He heard a sound of notification, and he had expected it to show soon enough. [ Host had increased his from E+ -> D- Rank ] [ Rune of Eirdin is activating ] [ Host''s intelligence is negating the side effects!! ] [ Side effects partially negated ] He remembered that the Rune of Eirdin somehow could make the bearer of the rune fall and experience their worst nightmares. But due to his high intelligence stat, the side effect was mostly negated, leaving him to just see a glimpse of the past. Asher felt as though he were in a dreamlike state, but he couldn''t remember when it had started. Suddenly, memories of his past life came flooding back to him. ********************************** From a very young age, Asher felt an urge to kill everything around him. It was as if something inside him wanted to destroy everything in sight. As a result, he found it difficult tomunicate with others normally. "Arghhhh," he constantly groaned, gripping his head due to the voices he kept hearing. After his birthday party, his condition was getting even worse. He avoided interacting with others because he was aware that he was not like others. One or two weeks after his birthday party, news of the sudden death of Nathan Greville spread to the whole Greville family. p¨£§ád¨£ §«?¦Í¨º1,§ã¨°§® The world had lost an SSS-Rank Hunter, and it was a great loss for all of humanity, but for some people, it was the greatest blessing they could ever get. It was only an hourter when Arthur received this news. He red his mana and ran with his sword out towards the lostnd. He arrived there after using the portal at their Guild Headquarters, but all he could see were countless monsters and a huge crater in the ground due to the mana explosion. Arthur could still see monsters eating the remains of the other Guild members that were outside and far from the dungeon. "Vice Guildmaster," a member of the Abyss Guild shouted upon seeing that Arthur had gone berserk as his mana ran wild, making it hard for others to approach him. Arthur usually had a carefree aura about him. After the death of his brother Ivar, he started behaving a bit more cheerfully as a way to cope. But upon hearing the news of his father''s death, his mask shattered, and his ruthless nature emerged. Although other S Rank hunters from the Abyss Guild were present, no one had the courage to step in and stop Arthur as he wildly killed one monster after another. He was consumed by his rage and sadness as he continued to y beast after beast. Arthur was a peak S Rank hunter who could even rival some early SS Rank hunters. Even for other S Rank hunters, stopping Arthur in his current state was an immensely difficult challenge, as he was consumed by his rage. They were waiting for SS Rank hunters to arrive and somehow stop Arthur. "Stop, Arthur," Sylvie hugged Arthur, who was breathing heavily and looking for his next target. Sylvie ced her head on his back. Hearing her voice, Arthur finally came to his senses, but his heart was still full of sorrow and anger. "It''s enough, let''s go back," Sylvie spoke, but approaching Arthur resulted in her getting badly hurt due to his rampant aura. Arthur did not move, nor did he reply, but after a few seconds, a roar of man could be heard near the vicinity of the lostnds. Sylvie did not let go of Arthur, despite the fact that she had multiple cuts on her face and hands. She knew he needed her the most right now. Even the Abyss Guild members could do nothing as they let their heads down and mourned the death of their guildmaster. And this was the day when the first step towards the eventual downfall of the Greville family was taken. "Chairman, Nathaniel Greville has died," a man hurriedly informed the man sitting in front of him. "Hahahahahaaha," the man sitting in the seatughed crazily. "Here I was thinking how to handle that old bastard, but it seems even the gods are on my side," his words made the man who reported the news in front of him shake a bit. "Tell the Allister family, we will begin with our ns," he said as the man bowed and left the room. It was a week after the death of Nathaniel Greville, and the atmosphere inside the Greville estate was quite gloomy. Arthur and Sylvie were busy because the fall of Nathan was the signal for many hidden enemies to finally bare their fangs towards each other. Chapter 90 Remembering The Past - II It was two weeks after Nathan Greville''s death that his funeral was held. Many influential people, including most of the High Council, attended the gathering. Even the principal of World Academy, who rarely left the floating ind where the academy was located, came to show respect for the deceased SSS Rank Hunter. Amelia had moist eyes and was sitting with Sylvie, while Asher was sitting with Arthur, but unlike his family, his face was indifferent. It was as if he didn''t care about the current situation. Some people who noticed Asher''s expression insulted him for being so cold to his own family. But unlike others, Arthur and Sylvie did not mind Asher''s expression. They knew their son the best and had long epted his cold nature. Sylvie was more worried about Asher now because she felt he was avoiding people even more than before. Arthur was busy meeting others. David Seymour helped him a lot by greeting people on his behalf. David was an SS Rank Hunter, and his support greatly helped Arthur. But the Grevilles were not that weak, and the biggest support came from Sylvie''s family, the Raven Family. As soon as Alfred got the news of Nathan''s death, he informed his wife, the Guildmaster who was under the Raven family. Normally, the Grevilles would have faced many assassination attempts on their important executives, but it was Sylvie''s mother who had given the highest degree order in their Guild. In a week alone, many people were dying in Somaria, and most of them were people who were trying to oppose the Grevilles. "Guildmaster, the World Association has given us a warning to stop the hunt," a man spoke with his head bowed down. In front of him was a woman who looked old, but the man knew her true strength. She was one of the reasons none of the Elite family had tried to weaken the Grevilles openly. "My daughter is quite busy these days. Tell that old fool of the World Association that I will stop if those stupid pests stop bothering my little girl," she spoke, but her voice alone chilled the spine of the man. "As you wish," he bowed again to show his respect and immediately left the room. A month had passed already, and Asher''s condition was getting worse. Asher had stopped attending dinner with his family, and most of the time, he spent it in his room or the library in their estate. Sylvie was getting worried for her son because she wanted him to do his awakening a bit early, but seeing Asher who was even more distant now, she did not force him. Damian hade to talk to Asher many times, but even he could feel that Asher was acting strange. Amelia only talked to Damian a bit more, but after the incident at the birthday party, she found it incredibly difficult to speak with Asher anymore. Even living in the same house, Amelia rarely saw Asher, and she kept thinking that it was due to the fact she might have angered him at the party. But she waspletely wrong. Asher, who was in his room, was staring at himself in the mirror. Unlike the new Asher, the previous Asher was lean, but he had no visible muscles. He still looked handsome and quite charming. Asher got back to his bed. His room was devoid of light, and he had shut down all curtains and told everybody to stay away from his room. "Why am I so different?" Asher could not help but ask himself. From a young age, Asher had noticed that he was quite different from other people. In his eyes, the world was always grey, devoid of any colors. No matter what happened to him or others, his emotions were never shaken. Seeing Arthur emotionally agitated after Nathan''s death, he started to think that something was wrong with him. He had never seen his parents so emotional before. He was quite young when Ivar died, so it was his first time seeing them in a vulnerable state, even if thatsted only a couple of days. Arthur had epted his reality and was now gathering multiple gems to rush himself to rise to SS Rank soon. "Arghhhh," a sudden headache made Asher groan on his bed. This was getting more frequent these days. He was getting this urge to destroy everything around him. He had tried to take many pills to calm himself down, but their effect was decaying. And he thought that it was better for him to stay away from others until he managed to find a way to calm himself down. Asher suddenly stood up and walked up to his drawer, took out a sharp object, and stabbed himself in his arm. He clenched his teeth as he endured the pain. He took the object out and drank a lowest-rank healing potion, then wrapped his wound with some bandages. This was the only thing he had found that helped him suppress his urges. Yes, by injuring himself so that the pain would overwhelm his urges. From a young age, Asher could feel that he had some kind of madness inside him. It was controble when he was young, but as he learned the basic martial arts, he found it much harder. Asher concluded that he had some kind of mental illness and stopped training altogether. He wanted to get himself in control first before he got consumed by his madness. He had rejected a teacher that Arthur brought who wanted to teach him runes and other basic stuff for the same reason. People around him misunderstood that he wanted to bezy, but the teacher did not think the same. "I think that boy wants to avoid getting stronger for some reason," Neyman told Arthur, who was sitting in his office drinking tea with Neyman. Arthur nodded slowly. "I understand what you mean. Asher has always been... different. It''s something that Sylvie and I have epted about him. But seeing him like this, it''s hard not to worry." "I think you should let him do as he wants for now. I found that boy''s views quite interesting for a 9-year-old," Neymanughed. "Although he asked me to find fault in his ideas, I could not find fault in them. He is quite an intelligent fellow, Arthur, but his thoughts are unlike those of a child." In the end, Arthur thought he should let Asher do whatever he wants for now, and Sylvie told him that she would take care of Asher and teach him about her work instead. Asher agreed to Sylvie''s proposal as he thought that it would be a good way for him to learn how to imitate others and appear more normal. And this was how Asher impressed Sylvie with his talent in business and his great insights. But, unlike what Asher thought, stopping himself from increasing his strength did not help him at all. He had confronted Sylvie in the past once and asked if she thought he was normal or not. But as a mother, Sylvie always cheered him on instead of finding faults in him. For her, Asher only seemed like a calm boy with great intelligence. "You are so smart, how could mommy find you weird?" Sylvie said with warm look on his face as she kissed the young Asher on his cheeks. "You are my pride," She hugged him with a smile on her face. Sylvie thought that Asher had heard something negative about him and asked her about it. However, Asher still asked the doctors of the estate for a checkup on his body, and all of them told him that he was perfectly healthy. He had researched his problem and found that no solution worked. He tried to act like a friend to Damian, but even after many years of friendship, Asher did not feel a connection with Damian or any other person whom he often met. Asher was studying many calming reagents in the library of his estate, but unfortunately, there was no cure for mental illness in this world, despite having mana and technology. If they had something that could help with such problems, the space element would have been the greatest element in the whole world, but it was not. The space element was powerful, but the mental strain it gave made it impossible to have any space mages who lived more than 27-30 years, and given that they did not use the space element often in their spells. It was two days before the World Academy would begin, and Asher had finally gone through his awakening. Arthur had given Asher an A Rank Mana gem for his awakening, and Asher did great as his awakeningsted for 3 hours and 20 minutes. Arthur was happy to see that Asher was talented, but Asher was calm and was observing himself with even more caution. He was concerned about how he would fare now that he was finally awakened. A day before his awakening, he had gotten the news that his sister had won the Representative tournament, and the other winner was from the Whiteheart family. Damian was the most depressed as he had lost to Kevin. Matthew, another talented individual, was defeated when Sam fought him, but even Sam Allister could not defeat Kevin in the end. Kevin had won without even showing his advanced element. But the most interesting thing that happened was the duel between Elena and Alyssa Astaria. "Did you know a girl from the Garcia family attended the tournament?" Damian said as he was spending some time with Asher who had just awakened. Asher was practicing some of his basic sword movements and getting a bit more familiar with it. "She was allowed?" Asher asked, but his expression was indifferent as he did not care about it. "Yeah, but apparently, she used two advanced elements," Damian spoke as he kept watching Asher move around with the sword. "But she ran out of mana and was badly beaten by Elena Rothschild but she took down some other girl that was assisting Elena. Honestly, I was surprised that Amelia won against Elena and Eva," "Good for her," Asher replied as he stopped and wiped the sweat from his face. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" Damian asked, his expression filled with concern. He was feeling that Asher was not normal these days. Especially after his awakening, Damian was feeling that Asher was not only cold, but his aura had be a bit intimidating as well. "Probably," Asher said with an indifferent look on his face. Chapter 91 Reaching D- Rank ****************************************** In a deste ce, a man with a ck sword could be seen sitting in front of multiple dead bodies. There were some people kneeling in front of him, paying respect to him out of awe and fear. The man stood up and wiped the blood off his face, revealing his handsome looks and shining red eyes that were the cause of nightmares for many people in this world. He walked up to one of his subordinates and spoke, "Did you find the whereabouts of Nate?" Asher spoke in a very cold manner. His voice was devoid of any emotion, and his eyes disyed his craziness. "B-Boss, we are trying but-" Before he could speak, a bone-chilling killing intent made him unable to breathe. "Find him," Asher red at the man kneeling in front of him. "Where should we go next?" A man with a white mask asked Asher. Unlike other men who were kneeling, he was standing a bit behind Asher. Just by looking at that, anyone could guess his ranking was high enough to talk to Asher like that. "They have situated all of the SSS Rankers equally in all continents," The man in the white mask spoke. He was none other than Tom Gylip. "Any news regarding those ck dungeons and those towers?" Asher turned and asked Tom. "Two of them have appeared in Halcyon, so many of the high ranking hunters are busy closing it, and World Association is really not letting any information slip out regarding the second ones," Tom replied respectfully. "Boss, you are only a step away from reaching the peak of SS Rank. If we just wait-" Tom was trying to convince Asher, but he stopped as he saw Asher gesturing him to do so. "We have apany," Asher looked at the blue sky in front of him and two men appeared in front of them. "ASHER GREVILLE, WE ADVISE YOU TO SURRENDER!!!" The man shouted, making all the people who were kneeling until now brandish their weapons at those two men. The man heard the voice in his ears and looked at Asher, who was looking at him with no emotions. ''Fuck, are they really telling me to keep this monster busy?'' Unlike his confident face, this man was shaking with fear. "Boss, their backup iste," Tom said as he looked at his device and told Asher. "Snake steps," Asher muttered as he disappeared from his position and appeared behind the two men in the air. "What-?" Before they could react, both of their heads were cut off from their bodies. Asher hovered down and looked at two headless bodies in front of him. He walked up and crouched as his men started to prepare for their departure from this ce. Asher saw the device they were using tomunicate with their backup. "They are dead, Leon," Asher said with a mocking tone. A scream of a young man could be heard from the device. "Why don''t youe out from your little shell and bring that Kevin as well," Asherughed, knowing full well they would never confront him. Asher destroyed the device and appeared in front of Tom immediately after. "Did you find their location?" Asher asked. "They are in the capital of Fashia," Tom replied, "But those mana wavelengths were quite weak, so I am not sure where exactly." Tom said, but as they were getting ready to move out of their location, a sudden pressure came, and in front of them was a man with blond hair and sharp eyes, holding his sword and looking directly at Asher. "D-D-Dalton Rothschild...!!" a man muttered with fear as he saw the famous SSS Rank Hunter in front of them. But Asher just looked up with his indifferent face changing into a crazy one. His eyes were shining red, and small ck veins started to form around his fingertips. "HAHAHAHAHAHHA," Asherughed as he saw Dalton, who was looking down at him with a calm look on his face. In a matter of one second, Asher and Dalton both disappeared and shed with each other, making a huge crater on thend below them. *************************************************** [ Congrattions Host has reached D- Rank ] Asher opened his eyes and saw his body covered in sweat. He stood up and clenched his fist, feeling the increase in his strength after his breakthrough. But he was immediately hit with a flood of memories, as if experiencing a lucid dream. Asher touched his forehead and frowned as fragments of multiple memories assaulted him, some pleasant and some infuriating. [ Rune of Eirdin is now stable ] [ Rune of Eirdin reached Rank D ] Asher took a deep breath but still had a slight headache. The air around him changed and his demeanor became cold. It was as if he was returning to his old self, the one who instilled fear in the minds of all Seat Holders of the High Council, the man feared more than the current Greville family. Asher took a deep breath and reined in the killing intent that was oozing out of him. "Status," he muttered and his status appeared in front of him. -----------------| Fate Devourer System |------------------ [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 17 (EXP 1000/17,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D- --------------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 75 Agility: 62 Endurance: 70 Intelligence: 110 Mana: 86 Stamina: 60 Charm: 65 Fate: 9230 [AP]: 80 [SP]: 32 ---------------------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS Asher saw that his stats had increased significantly since he had acquired his sword art. Each stat had gained more or less than 20 points, and he had be stronger than his previous self at the same rank. This was the result of all the new skills Asher had gained this time, which he didn''t have in his previous life. "Rune of Eirdin..." Asher muttered as he noticed that the [Rune of Eirdin] had increased to Rank D from E. During the months of practicing, Asher had asked if he could increase the rank of [Rune of Eirdin], as the benefits he would receive would also increase. [ Host can increase it, but the will be more powerful than what the host''s mana core can handle. And the side effects and mental drain cost will increase tremendously. ] Hearing this, Asher had no choice but to put increasing the [Rune]''s rank aside for now. But now that he had reached Rank D, he could feel the presence of the [Rune] inside his body more clearly. He could understand why the [Rune of Eirdin] was an extremely powerful but dangerous [Rune]. Asher was surprised that Nathan appeared fine despite having such a [Rune] inside his body. This made him think that Nathan might be even more powerful than what he had imagined him to be. Asher walked out of the meditation room and went to take a shower. As he walked out, he saw a notification on his phone. Asher walked up to his phone while wiping his face with a soft towel. He picked up his phone and saw that Damian had sent him a message. He put the phone down and went to his bed to sleep and recover his body as he needed to rest due to the mental fatigue he was experiencing right now. While Asher was sleeping, Damian and Amelia were in the hallway discussing their recent quarrel with Elena, Kevin, and Eva. "Damian, don''t provoke them again," Amelia said with a serious look on her face. Unlike her and Asher, Damian was not from an elite family, and she didn''t want him to get caught in the crossfire that might happen in the future. "Oh, you worry too much. I am a very brave person," Damian said whileughing. "Yeah, you are..." Amelia rolled her eyes, seeing Damian bragging about himself again. "Woah, I was the only one who fought Asher despite knowing I would lose," Damian spoke out, defending himself. "That''s just you being dumb," Amelia said while crossing her arms. "But still, I didn''t think those guys were so arrogant. I mean, it''s Asher''s fault for hitting her, but she was the one who started it," Amelia said with a frustrated look on her face. She was thinking of mending her rtionship with the three of them so that they would forget the incident at the party. But after today, Amelia saw that the chances of that happening were very low. "Don''t worry, Asher and I will protect you if theye for you," Damian said with a proud look on his face. "And why would I need protection?" Amelia squinted her eyes. "Oh, I still remember you going ''Kyaaa~''," Damian imitated Amelia while barely holding himself fromughing. "YOU!!" Amelia''s face got red, and she tried to punch Damian, but he slipped past her punch. "You''re ten years too early to defeat me in closebat," Damian said as he ran into the lift that went towards the boys'' dormitory. "Wait-" Before Amelia could catch him, Damian had already escaped. It was nighttime, so the ess of the opposite gender was not allowed in the dormitories. "Wait till I see you in the morning," Amelia stomped her feet on the ground and went back to her room. It was the next morning, and Asher woke up to his ID Bracelet. He got a notification of a meeting of the Student Council that was called by the Student Council President herself. He wore the ck uniform and went out. Because he was notte this morning, he saw Alyssa, who was in the lobby as well. She was taking a snack from the machine present in the lobby. Alyssa saw Asher and immediately hid her snacks. She thought that Asher was the type that was alwayste, so she was surprised to see him so early in the morning. "Why hide it?" Asher asked Alyssa. "I got surprised, nothing else," Alyssa replied with no emotions on her face. A very awkward silence followed as two people who didn''t talk much just stared at each other. Asher turned and left first and went out of the lobby room. Alyssa kept staring at his back to confirm that he went out and took out the chocte bar she hid and started to eat it. At first, she was surprised to hear a voice calling her out, but when she turned, she saw Asher, but something was different about him. "Was he in a bad mood?" Alyssa thought but dismissed her thoughts quickly. She could feel something off about him, but strangely it didn''t bother her, so she didn''t think about it much. Chapter 92 [Bonus ]Meeting The Student Council - II It was early morning, and the ssroom was sparsely popted. Asher quietly made his way to his seat from the previous day. The ssroom had been abuzz with chatter, as students got to know each other and talked about exploring the World Academy. However, now, the silence was deafening. After a few minutes, Alyssa also entered the ssroom. Asher knew that Alyssa always arrived early to avoid meeting people on her way, and it appeared that she was doing the same this time around. The ssroom gradually filled up, and Vanessa sat beside Alyssa, which made some students re at her. They couldn''t understand why anyone would want to associate with Alyssa. Many students wondered if Vanessa was stupid for sitting next to her, but no one spoke out. Why? The answer was simple: the assessment test hadn''t happened yet. No one wanted to pick a fight with someone who might turn out to be a top performer. A Ranker was not only a person with the most GP but also the person with the most facilities and resources. Most of the students that were from a normal background understood this very well enough to not do something stupid. While some of the wealthy students may have sought out trouble, no one wanted to disturb Asher, who was sitting with his eyes closed. *Step* *Step* All the students heard a step as Professor Elsa entered the ss. The chattering inside the ssroom quieted down as they turned their attention towards her. Elsa surveyed the ss, her gaze stopping briefly on Asher, her subtle change of expression went unnoticed by the other students. She calmly sat down and addressed the ss. "Today, we will have your first ss about mana and other rted topics. It will cover basic theory, but if you have any doubts, feel free to ask me," she said as the screen behind her changed to show a mana core. "A mana core is where you store and channel your mana from," Elsa began exining. "Every person has a different core, and it all depends on talent and hard work," the image changed, and many rings appeared around the mana core. "As you know, to rank from one major rank to another, you need to form a ring around your mana core, but does anyone know why?" Elsa asked, leaving the students a bit confused. They only knew that a ring was formed during ranking up from one rank to another, but they didn''t know why. "It''s actually simple. Despite the vast difference in our mana cores, their size is the same," Elsa pointed at the rings and spoke. "These rings keep your mana core stable and maintain the density of the mana inside your core. Normally, we just call it a mana heart, but both mana rings and the mana core are essential and important factors that determine your strength and other things as well," She continued her exnation, and some students who were confused didn''t hesitate to ask for rification. At first, they were afraid due to Elsa''s stern look, but as they listened to her speak, they realized she was quite calm and friendly. The lecturested for an hour, during which Elsa also exined what to look for while forming the mana ring and other basic things. Asher already knew all that, and it was the same for all the privileged students as well. "Well, that''s all for today. You guys don''t have any sses, so I suggest you go to the library and read more about mana theory," Elsa said, standing up and leaving the ss. "Starting tomorrow, your joint sses will begin, so try to expand your knowledge as much as you can before then." "You going somewhere, Yawn~" Venessa said to Alyssa as she stretched out her hands. Alyssa was diligently taking notes during the ss, while Venessa was just pretending to pay attention, unlike Asher, who had his eyes closed the whole time. Alyssa looked at Venessa, "I have a student council meeting," Although it was awkward for her to talk normally like this but she still replied to Venessa. "Oh, goodluck," Venessa said as raised her thumb cheering her. Venessa''s actions invited a lot of hatred from other students, but she didn''t seem to care. Asher stood up, making some students who were still ring in their direction flinch, but he quietly left the ssroom without causing any trouble. Alyssa followed him as the Student Council meeting was about to start soon. Asher and Alyssa went together to the exchange sector. Asher looked at the message he had received on his ID bracelet. ¡´ Student Council Meeting || Time : 11 AM || Portal : Block 1 - Facility Sector ¡µ The Facility Sector was where the Great Library and all the other facilities used by both the professors and students were located. Even the various clubs formed by the students were present in this sector as well. After teleporting, they arrived in an area where many students could be seening in and out of various buildings. Some were chatting with their friends with bright faces, while others were carrying multiple books in their hands, looking tired. Both of them attracted a lot of attention, but forpletely different reasons. "Isn''t she that girl?" Many students could be heard whispering when they saw Alyssa. "Wow, the heir of the Greville family, he looks so handsome~" Others were whispering about Asher. Before the crowd of students could grow any bigger, some students wearing ck uniforms came towards Asher and Alyssa. "The Student Council Building is the far one on the left," the senior-year student said, pointing them towards a building that looked more like a mansion than a regr building. In fact, many of the buildings in this sector resembled European castles, but it didn''t really matter much. Only the Great Library, which was a huge castle-like building with multiple pirs and many engravings on it, stood out among them all. The rest were quite pale inparison. It didn''t take long for both of them to arrive inside the Student Council building as nobody really bothered anyone from the Student Council. The senior student guided them towards a very big hall, which was filled with various seats mostly on the sides and a few in the center. "You guys can sit there," he said respectfully, knowing Asher''s status. Asher and Alyssa quietly sat on their seats. This hall was the main meeting hall, and multiple photos of past Student Council presidents could be seen hanging on the walls. The room was brightly lit, and a chandelier could be seen above the center table. It seemed as though Asher and Alyssa had arrived early or were called ahead of schedule, as no one had shown up in thest five minutes. The atmosphere in the room was tense, with the present guy feeling quite nervous. He was following the orders of the Student Council President, who had instructed them to wait for the rest of the Student Council. However, if he somehow offended the heir of the Greville family, his future would be in jeopardy. Being from a normal family, he knew that he couldn''t refuse either of them. He silently prayed that Asher wouldn''t lose his patience and take it out on him. Time ticked on as 30 minutes have passed, and the hall remainedpletely empty. Asher and Alyssa remained quiet the whole time, with Asher keeping his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and met the gaze of the senior year student, who flinched in fear. But luckily for him, Asher did not call him out, he was fervently praying for the Student Council President''s arrival. The sooner they would arrive, the sooner he could exit this damn hall. As if the gods have answered his prayer outside in themon area outside the exchange sector, a group of students d in ck uniforms walked with a sense of purpose,manding the attention of their peers. Their attire exuded an air of authority and status that couldn''t be ignored. Amidst the group, one particr student stood out from the rest. It was a tall girl with long, flowing white hair that cascaded down her back in waves. Her crystal blue eyes were framed by long white eyshes, and her beauty was undeniable. It was none other than Raelyn Whiteheart, the Student Council President. As Raelyn made her way through themon area, students couldn''t help but stare in awe of hermanding presence. Her confident gait and warm smile were enough to put anyone at ease, and she made sure to greet each student she passed with a friendly wave. "Wow, every time I see our president I fall in love again," A guy said to his friend while still looking at Raelyn. "As if she would talk to the likes of you," His friend mocked him. It wasn''t just Raelyn who was attracting attention from their peers; the Vice President, Tyrone Martell, was also turning heads and stealing hearts. As heir to the Martell family, one of the 15 Elite families, Tyrone''s presencemanded respect and admiration. His sharp ck eyes coupled with his short ash brown hair, and his handsome face was entuated by a strong jawline and chiseled features. Tyrone''s tall stature and broad shoulders only added to his impressive appearance, making him a force to be reckoned with. The group finally arrived in the center hall, where they noticed two first-year students sitting quietly in their seats. Raelyn had a mischievous grin on her face, clearly satisfied with the prank she had yed to get back at Asher for his disrespect towards her the day before. Tyrone, on the other hand, was puzzled by the sight of the first-years and couldn''t understand why they were there so early. However, seeing Raelyn''s smug expression, he quickly realized what had happened. While he didn''t voice his dissatisfaction with the situation, he knew better than to let Raelyn create unnecessary conflict with Asher. Tyrone was someone who always looked at the long-term results of things rather than the short-term gains. He understood that creating unnecessary tension with Asher could potentially lead to more significant problems down the line, so he had supported Asher the day before. "Let''s hope things don''t escte," Tyrone muttered to himself as the group settled into their seats. Raelyn and Tyrone took the central seats while the rest of the group sat around them, awaiting the start of the meeting. Chapter 93 Meeting The Student Council - III "Good morning, everyone," Raelyn said, smiling at the attendees as she was the first to speak. Even though some seats near Tyrone and Raelyn were empty, she started anyway. "As this is our first meeting since the new first-year students have joined us, could you both introduce yourselves?" Raelyn asked Asher and Alyssa. "Asher Greville," Asher replied, causing a brief hush to fall over the hall. "Alyssa," Alyssa raised her hand to introduce herself, though her presence alone caused irritated looks on the faces of many students present in the hall. "Firstly, congrattions on being elected as the Year Representative," Raelyn''s authoritative tone rang out,manding the attention of everyone in the hall. Although Raelyn may have appeared gentle and kind with her smile, she was one of the most powerful students in the academy. "This year''s first-year students are quite special, I must say," Raelyn stated, ncing at Alyssa. But Alyssa met her gaze with confidence. The girl in front of her was from the family that took the ce of her mother''s family in the High Council. The Whiteheart were chosen to be an Elite family because of the fall of the Garcia family. From their looks alone, it was clear that neither of them liked each other. Unfortunately for Alyssa, the whole Student Council was in full support of the President. "It wasn''t much, especially considering that I only encountered worthless pests," Asher spoke out. His words shocked many people in the hall as he was directly calling out Raelyn''s brother Kevin with provocation. "Well, it''s not their fault if their family simply had no resources," Asher said as he looked directly at Raelyn with his indifferent face. His words directly mocked the Whiteheart family, which became part of the High Council a decade ago, and the amount of influence and power they had was nothingpared to families like Greville, who had maintained their spot for a long time. "Aren''t you being too rude, Asher Greville?" A voice of a student spoke out, and everyone turned to see who it was. "Let''s not agitate each other, shall we?" Jack said as he looked at Asher. Others were d that someone like Jack, who had the backing enough to equally talk with Asher, pointed out his rude remarks. Raelyn''s reputation inside the Student Council was quite high, and nobody liked that Asher was being rude to her. "Eight minutes," Asher said with an indifferent face, confusing the students sitting in the hall. "Wrap this meeting in eight minutes because after that, I will leave." "What do you mean? The meeting had just started," one of the guys sitting who admired Raelyn secretly decided to speak out. Tyrone knew where Asher was taking this conversation, and he stepped in before the matter escted. "It was my mistake. I sent them the wrong time," he decided to take the me instead of Raelyn. Asher raised his eyebrows at Tyrone, seeing his little white knight act to defend Raelyn. "Enough," a pressure was felt by all the members as they saw Raelyn, who was looking at Asher. "Raelyn!!" Tyrone stood up, but Raelyn gestured for him to sit down. She had only targeted Asher with a little pressure, not using her entire strength, and Asher was unaffected because this much was nothing for him. But this was not the case for Alyssa, who was clearly resisting the pressure by using her own. "It seems you have forgotten my standing inside the World Academy," Raelyn said. "You are just a first year, so don''t mistake others being polite, that they are afraid of you," Raelyn''s expression was cold. "It seems being polite nowadays is taken too lightly. I will move to the main issue of this meeting, and that is you, Alyssa," Raelyn said, taking her pressure in. "You have used mana outside of a duel without justification towards your ssmates," Raelyn looked at Alyssa. "Is that true?" Raelyn asked. "Yes," Alyssa admitted it. "And may I ask why?" Raelyn looked at Alyssa. "He was disrespecting me," Alyssa spoke. "Student Council is allowed to use mana but not for such reasons," Raelyn said. "You will be fined 2000 GP for your offense if you do it again," Raelyn passed her judgment. Alyssa red at her, but she couldn''t do anything. 2000 GP would mean that she would need to survive next month without her GP. "But you used mana on me just now," Alyssa retorted with a calm look on her face. She had expected that the Student Council president would make it difficult for her, but she just needed to maintain her Year Representative position, and then even Raelyn couldn''t remove her from the Student Council, until Alyssa broke one of the major rules. "It seems you are not getting my point. Your spot in the Student Council is not permanent until you secure your ce as one of the first-year rankers," Raelyn replied. "And for you both," Raelyn addressed Asher. "I, as the President, have the power to call a vote to request your removal from the Student Council," Raelyn warned Asher. "Oh really, so why don''t you try?" Asher mocked Raelyn. It was true that Raelyn could kick Asher if 70% of the Student Council agreed on the vote. "Raelyn, stop," Tyrone finally intervened. Removing Asher from the Student Council was the worst thing they could do right now when their own authority was in jeopardy. "Start the real meeting," Tyrone looked at Raelyn with a serious expression. There was a huge reason why Tyrone did not want to remove Asher from the Student Council. In fact, he was d that it was Asher who won the tournament, not Kevin. Seeing Tyrone''s expression, Raelyn gave up on her n for now. "Well, it seems everyone has arrived," Raelyn said as the door opened and many people with distinct features and attractive faces walked in and sat on the seats closer to Tyrone and Raelyn. "Wow, why is the atmosphere so gloomy?" a girl said in a cheerful voice as she sat on one of the empty seats. The seats were filled, but one guy did not sit down and stood behind Asher. "Eric, why are you standing there?" Raelyn asked, frowning. "Why would I sit above my Young Master?" Eric asked Raelyn with a confused look on his face. Asher smirked at Eric''s behavior. Nobody knew that Eric was actually the son of Stephen, who was the head butler for the Greville family, so this confused the whole council. "Sit here. Such things don''t matter inside the World Academy," Raelyn was not liking where this was going. Asher stood up and looked at Raelyn. "Eight minutes are over. Eric, handle everything," Asher stood up. "Sit down, Asher Greville. I will not repeat this for the second time," Raelyn said, and the atmosphere around the room got heavy. This time Raelyn was serious. Raelyn had been trying to take it easy on Asher, but remembering how he had beaten Kevin and the brutal fight he had with Elena, as narrated to her by Kevin, had already made her develop a strong dislike for Asher. "Take your aura back," Eric red all his mana as he threatened Raelyn. Eric was a guy who was fullymitted to serving Asher. His family had served the Greville for generations, and he wanted to do so as well. Seeing Eric''s huge aura, others also red their mana. Asher found it annoying because it was easy for him to handle such aura, but it was not the same for Alyssa, who was clutching her chest. Before anybody could move, a chilling killing intent took over the hall, chilling the spine of all the second years. The third years were fine because they were used to such bloodlust, but it was not the same for the second years. "Eric, get me and her in yourmittee and manage everything," Asher said and left the room, with Alyssa following behind him. His killing intent had surprised the whole council. "D Rank," Tyrone muttered, as he could feel that Asher''s rank was in the D ranks already. ''He can''t join Leonard,'' Tyrone thought with a serious look on his face. "Eric, do you think I will let you leave scot-free?" Raelyn said as she unleashed her aurapletely. "Urk," Eric struggled, but he wasn''t going to back down. "Enough, Raelyn. You have done enough," Tyrone finally unleashed his aura and pushed Raelyn back. "Nice save," Eric showed his thumb towards Tyrone, who saved him from Raelyn. "Everyone leave," Tyrone said, and apart from themittee heads who had arrived just now, three of them were left in the room. "I will give you the application form for two students from the Duel Committee," Eric said as he left as well. Eric Herod was the current Duel Committee head, and they managed all the duels. They also had some authority over the Trial Grounds. "I didn''t know that Eric guy was rted to the Greville family," a girl spoke up with a serious look on her face. "I will leave as well. I don''t want to involve in this," the guy who was the head of the disciplinarymittee also left. Committees under the Student Council were independent units that were part of the Student Council, but they operated independently. Each head had the authority simr to the Vice President of the Student Council, and this was why Eric could openly oppose Raelyn to support Asher. Butmittees could align with other factions as well and could weaken the authority of the Student Council. That''s why Raelyn did not fight Eric right now. If she was serious, Eric would have been on the ground. That was the true might of the Student Council President. "Tyrone, I will not allow this," Raelyn red at Tyrone. "No, don''t get entangled with the Greville for now. We need to deal with Leonard Tarvian''s growing influence as well. Let''s leave the first years for now," Tyrone advised her. "Don''t worry, Raelyn. I will support you," the girl tried to lighten the mood. "Fine, I was too hasty this time," Raelyn admitted that this time she had made a mistake and swore to herself that she would definitely crush Asher''s pride herself. But she didn''t know that this was just the start of her downfall. The current her could not even imagine what the future entailed for her. Slowly but surely, a fall of many giants wasing that would shake the foundations of this world, and the cause of this was one young man. Outside the Student Council building, Jack Allister was messaging a certain person, seeing the dispute between Asher and Raelyn. "Leon would be happy with this," Jack smiled as he sent the message. Chapter 94 Choosing The Subjects Asher parted ways with Alyssa, who had gone back to the Ranker''s Dorm. Right now, he was walking with Eric, who was exining to him about themittee. "Young Master, I have dealt with the guys you told me about six months ago," Eric said as he showed Asher a list of some students who were part of the Duel Committee. "They are under our full control. I can remove them anytime now." Asher looked at the list and saw that it had all the names he had given to Eric half a year ago when he hade back in time. These students were part of the faction of many people that were Asher''s targets. "Remove them, and you will soon receive an invite from Leonard Tarvian. Tell him that I will personally meet him," Asher told Eric. "As you wish, Young Master," Eric bowed and left Asher. Asher was going to his room in the Ranker''s Dorm when he received a reminder on his ID Bracelet that was sent to all first-year students. It was for the selection of three or more subjects they wanted to choose. Asher chose three subjects he actually wanted to learn and sent them. He didn''t need to enroll in sword arts because it was a waste of time, and practical application sses would not begin until after the Assessment Test. For this test, parties of four students were formed, and they wouldpete in other tests that the World Academy would present for them. He was going to spend less and less time in sses in the future, but he still needed to wait until the Assessment Test to leave the World Academy and go back to Soran for the rest of his ns. The sses Asher had enrolled in were [Runic Theory], [Elemental Theory], and [Aura Creation]. The sses for specific elements were only avable after the assessment test, which would happen soon. He didn''t need to attend sword arts or any of the Weapon Arts subjects, so he decided to train himself to increase his magic mastery, as it was something needed to increase the proficiency of his SSS Rank sword art. Today was the ss for [Elemental Theory], and it was a joint ss with students who had opted for it. Only 100 students had enrolled in it. Only mages studied this subject, and the number of mages among the hunters was lower than other paths. Amelia, Elena, Eva, Alyssa, and Lishia were also present in this ss, as all of them were mages, but Amelia was an augmenter. She still needed to choose this subject toter study with the Professor that taught about augmentation. [Runic Theory], on the other hand, only had 50 students, and they were all people who wanted to either pursue a career in Rune Arts or be artifact readers to earn money. It required high intelligence, so only a select few could actually study this subject. Only Asher was present in this course among all the Elite families. Even Eva had not chosen this subject because Runes were something that were not that beneficial in battle. And thest subject, [Aura Creation], was a ss where only the Elite families and other students that had reached E Rank could attend. As the name suggests, it was a ss that taught Aura materialization to the students. But this ss only had 50 students, as all the other students had not reached E Rank yet. Themon subjects, apart from Duel ss, were not joint sses. There was only [Duel ss], in which all 1,000 students would gather and learn battle arts and other important stuff. There were more advanced subjects, but they could only be opted for after the assessment test was done. It was the next morning, and Asher looked at his schedule. Today, he had only two sses: Elemental Theory and Beast Theory. For Elemental Theory, Asher needed to go to Mage Art Block through the exchange sector. There were five such blocks in the World Academy: Mage Art Sector, Weapon Art Sector, Research Sector, Artisan Sector, and Arena Sector. Each of these sectors was ten times the size of all Blocks 1 to 5bined. These sectors weremon ces where all students from different years could be seen. Asher used the exchange sector and teleported to the Mage Art Sector. He went ahead alone because he was sure that Alyssa would have gone early, especially today, to avoid meeting senior year students. First-year students would avoid her, but that was not the same for second-year and higher students. Asher saw massive buildings, but he went to the building where the ss was going to be held. He entered the room, which was more than enough for 200 students, and these buildings had spatial runes to increase the size in case of extra students joining in. Asher saw Amelia, who was sitting alone, and Elena and Eva, who were avoiding his gaze. From their expressions, it seemed like both of them were in a bad mood. The first-years were not informed about this, but the news was spreading like fire among the senior year students. It was apparent from their expressions that they did not think that even Raelyn would be able to deal with Asher. The rumors were a bit exaggerated, but it still was not a favorable oue for them. "What is he doing here?" Eva asked Elena, because Asher was a swordsman, so he didn''t need to attend this particr subject. Asher calmly walked in as he saw each desk had a transparent orb in front of them, and only two were present on each seat. Alyssa was sitting alone, and behind her, Amelia was also sitting alone. Alyssa was being avoided due to her reputation, but nobody approached Amelia as they were repelled by her indifferent and cold gaze. Amelia''s face changed when she saw Asher as she herself was surprised why Asher was here. She was going to stand up but stopped as Asher walked up to her and sat beside her. Although Asher did not want to sit near Amelia, it was better than sitting with Alyssa for now. Until the assessment test, he was not going to openly favor Alyssa. "Ah, why are you here?" Amelia asked with a low tone. "Do you have any issues?" Asher''s expressionless face made it even more confusing for Amelia. ''Do as you want, rude bastard,'' Amelia cursed in her mind and kept looking out of the window. Both of the Greville siblings were wearing an indifferent look, but as the ss started to fill, all students were avoiding sitting near Asher, but one girl went and sat in front of him. It was the daughter of the king of Halcyon, Lishia Halcyon herself. As she walked down the room, the students couldn''t help but turn their heads to catch a glimpse of her beauty. Her long ck hair swayed elegantly with each step she took, and her golden eyes attracted a lot of attention. But there were three more beauties like her in the ss, and all of them made the hearts of all the boys present in the ss flutter. "Lishia Halcyon," Amelia muttered with a low voice as she saw her sitting in front of her. Whispers of students could be heard in the whole ssroom, but most of them were targeted at Alyssa. She was the only student who had two advanced elements, and as a mage, nobody could say she was below anyone else. Alyssa ignored all the whispers and kept reading the book in front of her. She found it calmer to focus her mind on something else instead of listening to all the bad things others said about her. The voices died down as Professor Elsa walked into the ssroom. She was going to start the lecture soon but noticed Asher sitting with Amelia. "Asher Greville, why are you in this ss?" Elsa questioned. "Do you think that World Academy is qualified to teach me about swords?" Asher replied with a question. His words made many students widen their eyes in shock. It was the only time they had seen a student being this forward with a Professor. Elsa saw a headacheing as Professor Erwin, who was in charge of the Sword Art ss, would be enraged if he listened to Asher''s remark, but she knew what Asher meant by his statement. "Do as you wish," Elsa stopped as she saw a guy who was a bitte enter the ss. "Gavin Neville, right? Why are you sote?" Elsa asked the green-haired boy who had just arrived. "Sorry, Professor. I woke up a bitte today," Gavin lied, but Asher, who was looking at Gavin with an indifferent look, knew the real reason. "Go sit," Elsa said as Gavin quietly went up and sat in one of the front seats. Asher looked at Gavin, more urately the tips of his fingertips, and saw a bit of blood as he focused mana in his eyes. He smirked inwardly as there had been no change in Gavin''s behavior until now. "Well, I will start today''s ss," Elsa began. "As you know, each spell is categorized into an element: Fire Element, Water Element, Lightning Element, Wind Element, Earth Element, ck Element, and Space Element," Elsa exined. "Any spell a mage will use can be categorized under these elements, but apart from these, there are also advanced elements." Meanwhile, another ss was taking ce at the same time: the [Sword Arts] ss. "Where is Asher Greville?" asked a man with slightly brownish hair. His tall stature and broad shoulders gave him quite an intimidating look. He was Professor Erwin, responsible for teaching Sword Art to the students. He was confused because the best swordsman among the first and second-year studentsbined was not present in his lecture. "Is he sick?" Erwin could not think of any other reason. "It can''t be. The ns would fail," he muttered to himself as he thought of the worst possible oue. The right to choose subjects was given to the students, and even the professors only knew about their future students on the first day of ss. Even Matthew, who was present in this ss, was waiting to see Asher once again. Chapter 95 Classes Continues "Advance elements are the higher form of the basic element, but lightning and space elements, despite being basic, are still considered advance elements. Anyone knows why?" Elsa asked the ss. Eva raised her hand, making the whole ss turn to look at her. "Yes, Eva Williams," Elsa gestured her to stand up. "Out of all the elements, those two can only be learned by people who are born with the affinity to use them," Eva answered precisely, making Elsa smile and sit back down. "Exactly, but there is one more issue with the space element. Alyssa, will you exin?" Elsa ordered. "Using the space element is killing yourself. The amount of strain on the mind the spells put is considerably higher than other elements. That is why there is no mage alive that has reached SS Rank with space element affinity," Alyssa calmly answered, as she knew about the space element the best. Some students evenughed at Alyssa, calling her a mad b*tch and whatnot. It was one case she didn''t know the consequences of using the space element, but she used it like normal. The reason nobody was messing with her was that her acts were like a crazy person who didn''t care what happened to them. "Silence. You can sit down. As she exined, this is the reason why spatial magic is only used with runes inside magic engineering and artifacts. There are still spatial mages, but nobody has lived past 30 years in all of our history," Elsa exined. "Nowing back to Advance elements, there are several such elements like Ice, lightning, Mist, etc. Normally, a B Rank Hunter who is a mage can also cast Ice magic, but this doesn''t mean that he was born with an innate talent to cast that element." "Advance elements are all about Innate Talent. For example, I was born with Innate Talent for the magma element," Elsa raised her hand, and a ball of fire that turned into moltenva shortly after appeared in her hand. The small ball was enough to raise the temperature of the whole room as students could feel the heat waves hitting their skin slightly. But Elsa removed her spell shortly after. "Then, apart from elements, there is a subcategory called Misceneous Magic. This type of magic does not fall under any type of elements and is the rarest and most versatile form of magic you can have. But, sadly, unlike elements, only people who are born with them can use such magic." "The best example is two of your ssmates who are present here, Amelia Greville and Eva Williams," Elsa pointed them out, making them stand out. Amelia had her augmentation magic, and Eva used barrier magic, but that didn''t mean that there were no others who could use Misceneous Magic. Asher knew that there was one more person here with such abilities. "As you see, there are some transparent orbs in front of you. These are called affinity orbs which disy all your major elemental affinity. Each of you will now put your hand on these orbs, and it will tell me which element suits you the best," Elsa said as everyone started to put their hands on the palm-sized orb in front of them. Many already knew their elements, and the mostmon element that everyone hadpatibility with was fire, and then water and so on. There were no students with the lightning element, but some had rare elements as well. Elena surprisingly had affinity with all elements except the ck element and the space element. This shocked Elsa a bit, but she didn''t show it. Eva had affinity with three elements - fire, earth, and wind. Alyssa waspatible with fire, water, and space, which Asher already knew. Gavin Neville was an oddball who was the only one who didn''t have fire element affinity but had an affinity for some of the other elements. Amelia waspatible with fire, water, and wind, which was amon result, but it didn''t matter to her, much like Eva. Asher put his hand on the ball, and the ball showed a murky grey color then turned ck. He knew he waspatible with the ck element, but then the orb turned a bit purple, making others a bit surprised as this was the color for the space element. "Woah, wait, he also has the space element," this made many whisper around the ss. Elsa''s face turned into a frown as she saw Asher''s result, but she kept quiet. Alyssa was different because she had a minor space element that was gravity, but Asher''s element affinity was pure space element. People with pure space element affinity had a hard time controlling their emotions, and they were generally unstable, but Asher had always been indifferent and cold. "It doesn''t make any sense," Elsa couldn''t think of any possible answer. And thest result was from the Princess of Halcyon, who was sitting in front of Amelia and Asher. Her orb was also ck like Asher''s, and then it turned into a bright orange, disying her affinity with fire. She had only two elements, which surprised others as she was considered to be a rival of Elena Rothschild from rumors. "Wait, that''s it, is there something wrong with the orb," such words could be heard as students started whispering. "Okay, moving on, I will teach you about the flow of mana as a mage, which is simr but also different from other hunters," Elsa said as a diagram of a human inner mana cirction appeared behind her. "As you guys know, to emit strength, a person usually emits the mana through these channels to amplify and dense their aura," Elsa pointed at the outermost part of the mana veins. She started exining how a mage used the simr mana circuit, but the usage of application was different. The main emphasis was on spells, or simply the structure of the magic needed to perform. "As for a fireball, the easiest to cast, it has three steps. First is finding the element needed, second is visualizing the spell itself, and third is using mana to weave that structure." "Each step requires some calctions that you need to do in your mind, like predicting the amount of mana supplied and the output that you need, and the output you get." "As you increase the difficulty of the spell, for example, turning a fireball into a firestorm which only a B Rank Mage could do, it is impossible to do that in 3 steps. Complexity of the spell will increase with the increase of the power it can emit," Elsa said, but Asher knew that this exnation was not true. He had already seen a mage who could perform such spells with ease, shortening the amount of calctions andplexity to a minimum. Asher had seen the true power that a mage could emit. But Elsa was not wrong; it was just that the guy Asher was talking about was simply a genius. And Asher could see that his mana veins had changed vastly from what a normal human could achieve. He knew that he could both emit aura and perform a spell together without decreasing the efficiency of either of them. "But there is one other way to cast a high-tier spell without doing it yourself. You can use an artifact, although the amount of mana required is lower than doing it yourself, you cannot control the output of the spell," Elsa kept exining other things that made some of the students a bit sleepy, but others were attentive. < Magic Mastery Unlocked -> Novice Rank > Asher did not mind the novice rank because he knew the way to shorten theplexity of the steps required in each spell. Although he could not produce simr results, it didn''t matter to him that much. What he actually wanted was to increase the mastery of his sword arts, and he knew that he would soon break to the next rank. It was his instincts that were telling him that he was quite close to opening the next gate of the mastery of his sword art. [ Node Art is Resonating with Magic Mastery ] The ss was over, and Asher was heading back to Block 1 with Alyssa. [ Beast Theory ] was amon subject and was not a joint ss. "Alyssa, how did your ss go?" Venessa said as she sat beside Alyssa. "Normal," Alyssa said as she sat down on her seat. But before Venessa could say anything else, a man wearing formal clothes entered the ss. He was wearing sses that were coated with gold. "I am Professor Gilson, and I will teach Beast Theory for this year," Gilson said, making the whole ss pay attention to him. Gilson looked over the whole ss and saw Asher, who had his eyes closed. Gilson could feel that Asher was practicing mana cirction in his lecture. Although it infuriated him, he did not have enough authority to do anything to him. Gilson was a 1-star Professor, so his authority was equal to the Student Council members. But as he saw a pink-haired girl who was wearing a metallic mask, he was even more frustrated. Although his authority was not much in World Academy, Gilson was from a fairly influential family himself. But now that his authority was below Alyssa, who was rted to the Garcia Family, he felt insulted. "Before we start, let''s talk about the structure of our world," Gilson started a lecture as a map appeared behind him. "There are 5 Continents: Somaria, Desmar, Fashia, Halcyon, and Belvoria." "Somaria is known for its summer and grasnd climate, and the infamous lostnds." "Desmar is famous for its winters." "Fashia is famous for its desernd and their famous underground cities," "Halcyon is famous for having the most dungeons, but they also share the lostnds with Somaria," "Andst but not least, Belvoria, also known as the Water Continent," "As you know, each continent has 3 Elite families that represent their continent, and we have a total of 15 Elite families," "They are part of the High Council, but can anyone tell me what the High Council is?" A boy raised his hand, and Gilson allowed him to answer his question. "High Council is the gathering of 22 Seat Holders," he answered. "Yes, 15 Seats for Elite families, 3 for World Association, 2 for Mage Association, 1 for Artisan Association, and thest was given to our principal," "Originally, the High Council only had 21 Seats, but when World Academy was created, 1 Seat was given to our principal," Gilson said, but the students were confused why they were talking about this in Beast Theory ss, but Gilson ignored their confused faces. "High Council decided most of the rules and is called the Ruling Authority of our world. Each Elite family has the voting power of 1/2,pared to the Associations and our Principal. This was done to maintain the system of our current society," Gilson exined. "Now, you must be confused about why I was talking about Elite families. It''s because we will be studying Dungeons and we will also be discussing bloodlines, which are generally found in the members of the Elite families," Gilson''s spoke and his words made Alyssa frown. Chapter 96 Dungeons And Bloodline An image of a gate appeared on the screen behind Gilson. "The first Dungeon appearance is assumed to have happened thousands of years ago. In the records, it was said that humans have never used mana like we do now," Gilson said. "Mana Core Formation was found toote, and the first dungeon breakout exterminated 90% of humanity at that time. Although we are not sure if all those records are true, we have assumed that as the truth," he continued. His words were quite intriguing as students from amon background didn''t know much about the old records. "But, Hunters were born, and humans learned about their dormant powers. Although we are still improving till now," Gilson added. "Moving on to the dungeons, there are three types of Dungeons: Blue, Yellow, and Red," Gilson raised three fingers. "Each Dungeon is said to have its own unique environment. Although it is said that Dungeons are the epitome of space element, we can''t really assume such theories when those Spatial mages can''t even live long enough," Gilson threw a remark at Alyssa. "But Professors, if Dungeons keep appearing, wouldn''t the world be full of countless Dungeons one day?" a student asked. "Good question," Gilson replied. "Well, even I don''t know the answer. But what we do know is that Dungeons only appear in highly dense mana regions. Not like the artificial ones we create using runes and mana stones but the natural ones," he continued. "But this theory is only valid for Blue Gates. Except for blue gates, both Yellow gates and Red gates are considered one-time dungeons. The equilibrium has been maintained throughout human history, but Yellow Gates and Red Gates are the anomaly that breaks it," Gilson exined. Gilson went on to exin some other things regarding the dungeons and how each of those gates was different from each other. "Coming to Bloodline," Gilson''s words perked many ears as they were excited about this part. "Bloodline is a special ability, or you could say innate talent that is passed by blood. In today''s world, only elite families and people rted to them are said to carry high-ranked Bloodlines. Although very few people actually have bloodline abilities, only some of them carry high-ranked bloodline abilities," he continued. "Only our Principal has the artifact that can rank the bloodline ability of a person, and it was one of the artifacts that are part of the foundation of World Academy," Gilson said proudly. Asher opened his eyes as the talk of the artifact came. ''Scripture of Thoth,'' he thought in his mind. was an SSS Rank Artifact that was found by Farnus, Principal of World Academy himself. It was said the 10 Rune Masters worked for days on this artifact to exactly know its workings. Despite its name, was simply a red-colored book that disyed the rank of bloodline one carried, but it couldn''t name the exact ability the person possessed. Most bloodline abilities worked like passive abilities, like Asher''s previous one, where he could control the mana flow inside and outside his body. Each person as they Ranked up could innately feel their ability, but they could never know the rank of said bloodline. Asher was surprised when he saw his SSS Rank Bloodline ability because it was an active skill, unlike others that behaved passively. Gilson further exined that each second-year student had to take the test, and it was a great opportunity for those who wanted to make a name for themselves in big guilds. If they possessed a high-ranking bloodline, some influential families even took such children as a member of their branch families. Gilson''s words made some students happy. If they possessed a high-ranking bloodline, it would be their shortcut to sess. Gilson wrapped up his ss and went out, leaving many students who were now stretching their arms and talking to each other. ss 1 was behaving like a normal ss because of fear of Asher alone. Usually, a young master with an ego would pick a fight, but nobody wanted to intrude on the scary red-eyed devil who appeared calm until now. His recordings of his brutal beating of n were still spreading like crazy. n . . . . . . . . . Speaking of which, in the hallway outside ss 3, a boy with a decently attractive face, with his light blond hair, was sitting with a deep frown on his face. "Dammit, all because of that bastard," he clenched his fist and cursed in his mind. From his childhood, n had developed a prideful personality. He was praised wherever he went, but now everyone was looking at him with pity. Although it was not a bad thing, n took it as an insult to his pride. He would behave more impulsively if not for Alexander''s advice. He wasying low for a while, but he could not stand how everyone looked at him. What frustrated him more was that Alyssa had won the tournament. He had always thought of her as a worthless trash born as a strain of Astaria family''s name. Matthew, who was with Sam, saw n Astaria outside the hallway as it was not that crowded right now. "He stilles to the Academy?" Matthew muttered with a genuine look of surprise on his face. He thought that n would have been traumatized by the way Asher had beaten him, but seeing him still attending the Academy normally surprised him. "Pftt, don''t tell him that to his face," Samughed as he looked at Matthew''s expression. Sam in public always maintained a bright look on his face despite his feelings, but he had somehow be friends with Matthew, who was talented but came from a normal family. Usually, Sam would not associate himself with Matthew, but getting beaten ck and blue by Asher together made a special bond between them. As both of them were in ss 5, they were just walking through the hallway of ss 3 to go to their dorms. Sam wasughing when he saw a green-haired boying out of ss 3. He was Gavin Neville, and Sam could see he was messing with another one of his ssmates. But Sam just ignored it, so did Matthew. "Sadistic bastard," Sam thought in his mind, looking at Gavin. Although Gavin was a lot weaker than Sam, he was smart enough not to mess with people with more influence than him. He would carefully pick his targets that did not have a simr or rather powerful backing. Matthew, on the other hand, could stop Gavin, but he didn''t want to mess with a person from an elite family. He had a secured contract with World Association, and all he needed to do was join the Blood Faction made by Leonard Tarvian, who was the only son of World Association Chairman, Osbert Tarvian, one of the 11 SSS Rank Hunters in the world. "Tomorrow is the Aura Creation ss, right?" Matthew asked as he got up from his seat. "Yeah, did something happen?" Sam asked Matthew. "Nothing much, Professor Erwin was mad when Asher Greville didn''t show up to ss. Apparently, he had chosen elemental theory," Matthew replied. "I mean, why would he learn from Erwin when he can just learn from his Grandfather?" Sam shrugged it off, as he didn''t care what anyone else did if it didn''t involve him. His father had specifically told him to live inside World Academy without causing any sort of trouble, and he didn''t want another session of scolding again, so he was avoiding anything that sounded like trouble to him. The next morning, Asher woke up and saw a text message from Tom. Asher closed the message after he sent a reply to Tom to carry on with the n. Right now, Asher''s focus was to take out the Elixir by umting 10,000 Fate points. p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® Asher got up and tried to imitate his sword art. Every time he did so, he would need to imagine an imaginary opponent to see the nodes on their body. "I need real targets," Asher sensed the wall he needed to surpass. He needed that slight push, and he would reach the next level of mastery in his sword. Although didn''t sound great, Asher knew that it was far more powerful than other sword arts. *Ping* He stopped as he received an announcement on his ID bracelet. He touched the bracelet, and a notification popped up. ¡´ Change in ss schedule: Duel ss will happen together with Aura Creation ss. ¡µ ''Chance,'' Asher thought in his mind. Although not much, he could use this as a chance to gather some fate points. He just needed 770 more fate points to take out the SSS Rank Pure Healing Elixir. Two hourster, In the middle of a big arena, Asher was standing in a stadium as Kevin, who was on the ground, red at him with eyes full of anger. It was not just Kevin, but various students including Sam, Matthew, and other male students were on the ground just like Kevin. "Asher Greville has won the duel," the referee announced. Suddenly, a voice came that surprised everyone. "I heard that you are not attending the Sword ss. Do you mind if my friend here has a friendly duel with you?" The identity of this student shocked all the first-year students. "Student Leonard, he is a Third-Year Student. You cannot-" The referee was speaking, but he was stopped by Professor Erwin. "Why not allow it? It''s just a friendly duel, isn''t it?" Erwin said with a smirk on his face. Chapter 97 Aura Creation Before Duel Class Aura Creation, as it sounds, was a method of coating aura onto your weapon and your whole body, enforcing yourself with your mana, and carefully spreading that aura outside your body into your surroundings. Aura was the first step every E Rank Hunter would learn and improve gradually as they ranked up. "Yawn~, why did they arrange sses three days in a row? I want to sleep," Venessa said to herself as she walked into the Weapon Arts Block. She went in and saw Kevin Whiteheart, Sam Allister, Matthew, and other E Rank students who were also present there. "This ss smells of trouble," Venessa thought as she took one of the empty seats in the back. The ss was more like a Dojo Room than a ss, and it made sense considering what they were going to do in this ss. Asher came five minutester, just before the ss was about to begin, and as he stepped in, he saw many eyes staring at him like hawks. The moment Asher stepped in, consciously or unconsciously, every single person in that ss except one person had acknowledged Asher as the strongest. Even Matthew, who had quite a big ego beforeing to World Academy, was intimidated by Asher''s presence, but the one who was trembling the most was n. "Shit," he muttered to himself as he tried to stop his hands from trembling. n had decided that one day he would take his revenge and kill Asher, but facing him, all he could do was shake in fear. Even Sam shuddered a bit seeing Asher''s face up close as Asher, despite being the most handsome, had a cold gaze that always intimidated others without fail. But there was one person who was just ring at Asher with no fear in his eyes. Pure anger and pure hatred could be seen in Kevin''s eyes. He had heard rumors about Asher disrespecting his older sister, Raelyn, in front of the Student Council. Right now, all Kevin wanted to do was beat the hell out of Asher and avenge Elena and Raelyn with his own hands. But what he couldn''t realize was that both times, it was Elena and Raelyn who instigated the fights with Asher. However, Asher wouldn''t have left them alone in this life, even if they had behaved differently than in his previous life. He was no saint, he was no hero, and certainly not a person with humane emotions for others. If he had even an ounce of such things in himself, he would not havemitted those atrocities he had done in his previous life. Asher saw Damian, who was half asleep in one of the empty seats, and sat beside him. "Hello," Damian said as he greeted him with a drowsy look on his face. "Just wait two minutes; his eyes will fall out of his eye socket," Sam told Matthew, making a serious expression on his face as he pointed at Kevin. "You!!" Kevin red back at Sam as he listened to what Sam just said about him. "Sit down, Kevin Whiteheart," a 40-year-old-looking man came into the ss, and the whole ss went quiet. His presence was quite heavy, making some students even have difficulty in breathing. "I am Xander Demarcus, and I am your teacher for Aura Creation," Xander said as he looked over the whole ss and saw Venessa avoiding his gaze with sweat covering her forehead. Xander was Venessa''s uncle, and he had always advised her to stop her shenanigans ande out as the official daughter of the Demarcus family, but she would always dodge the topic. "Father didn''t tell me Uncle Xander would be teaching the first years!!" Vanessa was getting angry at her father for not telling her about this sooner. Although Xander was the eldest son of the Demarcus family, he had given up his responsibilities to his younger brother, Vanessa''s father. Xander was not a normal professor at World Academy; he was the Vice-Principal of World Academy, who had a 4-Star Authority that was just below Farnus Calmort, the principal himself, who had 5-Star Authority. "I am the Vice-Principal of World Academy, and I don''t usually teach the first years, but the Principal requested me for this because this year''s batch is a little special," Xander looked at Asher for a second but moved on. Asher looked at Xander, who had a quite tall stature with his slightly grey hair and ck eyes. Xander looked a bit intimidating, but Asher knew him the best. In fact, it was Xander himself who had taught Asher personally in his previous life, seeing his immense talent, but that was not the only reason he did that. However, he had a disagreement with Farnus over something and had left the World Academy after he lost a bet he made on Asher. Soon, the news about Xander Demarcus dying was all over the news. It was quite a shock that a man as powerful as Xander, who was an SS Rank hunter, died overnight. "I dislike wasting time, and your duel ss with Professor Erwin will start soon, so let''s start your aura training," Xander said as he raised his finger, and a blue light started covering his finger. "Aura is the external manifestation of your mana. Try to draw out your mana to the tip of your fingers," Xander instructed. p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® Everyone, including Asher, did the same, but their result was different as only a blob of mana on the tip of their finger formed, which was different from Xander''s that covered his whole finger. "What you all are doing is manifesting mana, but it''s not Aura." "Some of you might already be able to strengthen your body by coating it with mana," Xander said as he looked towards Asher. He had also seen the tournament but was surprised by Asher''s control over mana and his wless battle techniques. A couple of staff members came into the ssroom, and all the students saw them cing a square-shaped container with crystal blue liquid in it. The liquid smelled delicious so much so that some students wanted to taste it. "Don''t even think of tasting it if you don''t want to die," Xander shut down the thoughts of those curious students rather quickly. "What is in front of you is highly diluted liquid mana, and World Academy is the only ce where you can get this liquid mana because only our Principal, Farnus Calmort, knows the method to create this form of mana," Xander exined. "I want you all to dip your palm and do the mana cirction technique and absorb the mana, but don''t do it mindlessly," Xander said with seriousness. "Cling to the feeling of mana sticking to your palm. You all have one hour before you will run out of your liquid mana," "This is your only chance before the Assessment Test to form your Aura," Xander emphasized as each student present there got focused and tried to do as Xander instructed. "Try to focus your mana in the middle of your palm and spread that mana gradually till your fingertips," "Spread that sensation around your entire palm and create a thin coating of mana that covers your whole palm. Then, extend it over your entire arm before you run out of liquid mana," Xander spoke in amanding voice. This method was one of the things Farnus had sacrificed to share with the students of the World Academy to form the current World Academy, which gathered all the elites from all over the world. Asher dipped his hand, and Damian beside him did the same. He could feel a cold, sticky feeling of liquid mana around his palm and the back of his hand. As for Asher, he actually didn''t need liquid mana to form his aura. After reaching D+ Rank, he could have done it himself as he remembered how he formed his aura. But for others, only when they reached at least C Rank could they form an aura around their body, and it would be only a thin aura. However, students of the World Academy had the privilege to form their Aura at E Rank, which made them a lot stronger than other hunters in the world. As Asher started to absorb the mana from the liquid mana, he could feel the temperature of the blood around his right hand slightly increasing. Asher took the mana around his fingertips and started connecting the mana flow inside his fingertips with each of his fingers. Asher''s mana started to form a small cluster of thinyers inside the mana veins in the palm of his right hand. The thinyers started to multiply and gradually started to be bigger, but they were still too small to be seen with the naked eye. [ External Mana Manifestation detected ] As the system said, the mana that was coated outside the body would react with elements present in the surroundings and form a shell. Mana inside the mana core was the purest form of mana, but the natural mana consisted of all the elements, which was why it took time to increase your rank naturally. Only two minutes had passed, and a whitish-blue film of mana had started to form around Asher''s palm. [ Aura is being formed ] [ Passive Skill Aura Force is formed ] But Asher didn''t stop there. Right now, he could use the remaining liquid mana to absorb it and strengthen himself as well. [ Host''s mana is increasing +2 ] [ Host''s mana is increasing +3 ] [ Host''s mana is increasing +2 ] [ Host''s mana is increasing +3 ] Xander squinted his eyes at Asher, who was gathering mana from the liquid mana, and it was depleting quite quickly. Normally, nobody would be able to absorb liquid mana this quickly, but Xander was not shocked. "Greville bloodline," Xander thought in his mind as the reason for Asher''s insanely high speed of mana absorption, but he was a bit disappointed. "He should have created his Aura instead of absorbing mana from it," Xander could not help but feel a little disappointed by Asher''s action. He had thought that Asher had mistakenly absorbed the mana due to his bloodline. "I will help himter," he thought in his mind, but Asher opened his eyes. He stood up and started walking up to the door, but Xander stopped him. "Where are you going, Asher Greville?" Xander said with amanding tone in his voice. The staff members in the big room got scared as Xander did not like those who behaved impudently in front of him, even slightly. His personality was so strict that some people even avoided interacting with him. "To practice my aura in the duel arena," Asher replied while indifferently looking at Xander, not getting pressured by Xander''s presence at all. "Aura?" Xander frowned at Asher''s word. Asher raised his palm and Xander''s eyes widened as he saw a thin blue film around his fingers. "How?" Xander could not believe what had happened here, 3 minutes, it was the time Asher took to form his aura while others were struggling to even hold the mana in the center of their palm far from forming an aura. Chapter 98 Duel Class Begins Xander was shocked by Asher''s speed in Aura formation. Even a genius would take at least 30 minutes to form their aura, but then again, their aura would be unstable in its initial stage. Aura was simr to Mana Maniption, which gets better the more control one has over it. This was the reason nobody could match Greville''s in terms of swordsmanship due to their absurd control over their auras. "Can I go now?" Asher asked again, bringing Xander, who was in deep thought, back to reality. "Yes, you can go to Duel ss," Xander agreed as Asher was already done with the ss. "But can we talk outside for a minute?" Xander''s words surprised the staff member as he was rarely this polite with others. Asher nodded, but he also knew what Xander wanted to talk about. "Is it true that you have not chosen Sword Art as a subject?" Xander asked Asher as they were walking in the empty hallway that led to Duel ss. "Yes," Asher replied with his usual indifferent tone. "Can I change your mind?" Xander asked Asher, while looking forward. "Vice Principal Xander, I think you are forgetting that you are one of the people my father hates the most and would probably kill if my grandfather didn''t stop him," Asher replied. "Sigh, I can''t erase the past, and I respect Arthur the most in this world," Xander said, with a solemn look on his face. "But you are the best swordsman I have seen, even better than Ivar. I don''t want you to waste your talent," Xander stopped in his tracks and looked directly at Asher. "You know that learning the space element is equivalent to decreasing your lifespan. No human can handle the mental strain thates as the aftereffect of using that element." His words were true. Despite being considered the strongest element, space element was like a double-edged sword that hurt its user the more they used it. "I am a swordsman, not a mage. You don''t have to worry about me stopping on the path of swordsmanship," Asher replied with an indifferent look. "I see. You may go now," Xander allowed Asher to leave, but he kept looking at his back until he turned at the end of the hallway. "He is different from Ivar and Arthur," Xander could not put his hands on it, but something about Asher intrigued him. Xander''s senses were telling him that Asher was not what he seemed like on the outside, but he was willing to help Asher however he could. Perhaps it seemed like a lifetime ago, but Xander was determined to ease the burden of guilt that had weighed on him for decades, carving a deep hollow in his heart. Asher arrived in the Duel ss, which was, unlike its name, a big hall with multiple training equipment in it. This time, only the people who had gone through Aura creation were allowed to enter the Duel ss, but it was big enough to amodate 1000 students at once. Asher walked up to the training rooms that were meant to be used by rankers, but one could use them by spending GP (Grade Points), and Asher had already umted around 2000 GP. His current amount was 1900 GP. "ID CONFIRMED - ASHER VON RAVEN GREVILLE" "TRAINING ACCESS GRANTED - COST NONE" Asher had chosen one of the best rooms in the Duel Facility for training, and due to him being the Year Representative, he could use them for free, but others would have to pay the hefty price of 100 GP for each use. Asher and Alyssa were the only ones who had the privilege of being Rankers before the assessment test. Duel ss was where such authorities were used the most. In World Academy, you could challenge others for a duel for something you wanted or due to disagreements, but challenging others also had its limit. Only Rankers could challenge other Rankers, and after the assessment test, other students needed to wait for the End Term Evaluation to change the rankings. Asher went in and saw the room brimming with mana, and multiple facilities were also amodated in this room. Even Asher''s dorm room did not have such an amount of mana, but he knew that the Top 1 of the year and the highest floor of the Rankers'' dorm had the best facility that were even better than this. Asher changed his stance and started moving around by swinging his sword. Asher could feel that his strikes were now sharper, and the power behind them had increased significantly. "Let''s add aura," Asher''s mana started to run rampant, but he controlled it quite fast. The pressure around his surroundings kept increasing, and a thinyer of blue started to form around Asher. [ Aura is enforcing Host''s body ] Asher started to move and use his sword art while maintaining the very thin aura around his body. Aura was not a simple defense mechanism, but it was a crucial part of the capabilities of any weapon user. Unlike mages who used their mana to sense their surroundings, using aura was much better because less mana was used to perform simr tasks. Also, each sword art had techniques that could only flourish once the person had unlocked their aura. [ Mana Core is reacting to Aura Force ] [ Host''s strength is increasing +1 ] [ Host''s strength is increasing +1 ] [ Host''s strength is increasing +1 ] Asher could feel that his aura was nourishing his body, and this was the headstart that every student of World Academy had over other hunters. Unlocking Aura early meant higher stats in their early stage. Asher started to perform his footwork and kept increasing his speed of his swings and dodging imaginary attacks. If someone could see him right now, they would be amazed by it. [ Host''s agility is increasing +1 ] [ Host''s agility is increasing +1 ] [ Host''s agility is increasing +1 ] ... ********************************************** While Asher was training, a whole 40 minutes had passed, and all the students from Elite families were already done forming an aura around their hand. "Woah, I feel like my punch will do more damage now," Damian spoke as he tried to punch the air in front of him. For a moment, Damian had forgotten his role as a tanker, but it was not exactly his fault. Seymour family was famous for their hand-to-handbat techniques, and David Seymour was an SS Rank Hunter who didn''t use any weapon and only used his body and fist as his weapon. Kevin was looking around to see Asher, but he was nowhere to be found. Others, including Damian, were thinking the same, but Xander cleared their confusion quickly. "If you are looking for Asher Greville, he has formed his aura in the first 3 minutes and has already gone to the duel ss." Xander said, but his words shocked others. The one who was most shocked was Kevin. His whole life, others have hailed him as the prodigy of this generation, and some people even said that he had the potential to be an SSS Rank Hunter. But this was the first moment that Kevin realized something he wanted to ignore this whole time; maybe he was not the best, perhaps he was not the prodigy everyone imed that he was. This was the moment when Kevin had acknowledged that Asher was, quite frankly, a lot stronger than him. But upon seeing their look, especially Kevin''s, Xander remembered the real reason Farnus Calmort had sent him for this session. "His time was better because he is already in D-Rank, but he is still the fastest person to form his aura in such a short time," Xander said. Kevin felt a bit relieved that the difference in rank was the reason why Asher was quicker, but then he realized something and suddenly felt awful. Was he seriously finding excuses as to why Asher was stronger than him? Kevin realized that Asher was truly better than him. "I will defeat him," a fire was born in his heart, and Kevin made Asher his end goal, his target that he needed to defeat in order to avenge Elena and Raelyn and for himself. But the person in question was looking at his increased stats, while his red eyes were glowing. Asher could feel the intense urge to kill others, and he could see that increasing his stats so rapidly was affecting his mind much faster. "System, put 10 points in intelligence," Asher finally decided to use the AP that he had been saving until now to calm himself down. [Intelligence +10] Asher could feel the burden on his mind had decreased a lot, and he could feel a cool sensation around his head. After 20 more minutes of practice Asher stopped as Duel ss was about to start. "Status," Asher said as a blue screen appeared in front of him. ----------------------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 75+10 Agility: 62+10 Endurance: 70 Intelligence: 110+10 Mana: 86 Stamina: 60+5 Charm: 65 Fate: 9230 [AP]: 70 [SP]: 32 ---------------------------------------------------------- Hidden Quest Compelted Objective : Be Kevin Whiteheart''s sworn enemy Reward : 500 Fate points ----------------------------------------------------------- "Me, his enemy?" Asher''s eyes showed his madness, and his suppressed killing intent ran rampant. Asher could not believe that people who had always hidden in fear and never came to fight him were making him, the man who was once feared by this whole world, their enemy. Asher quickly controlled his killing intent as he was fine with extra fate points, and his increased intelligence helped him calm himself much sooner. His face had gone expressionless, and his gaze became colder than ever. Nobody but Asher himself knew what was going through his head right now. He came out of the training room after 20 more minutes and saw that the vast room of Duel ss was filled with 50 students and Xander and Erwin, who were talking with each other. Erwin turned and looked at Asher, who wasing out of the training rooms, and a frown appeared on his face, but his expression turned to normal pretty quickly. "Vice Principal, why don''t we ask the person in question if he will agree to the duel or not?" Erwin asked Xander with a respectful tone. Chapter 99 A Challenge In Duel Class? Following Xander, all 50 students entered the Duel ss, which was a huge hall with multiple machines and weapons that could be used. It consisted of everything that people could utilize in duels, but the most important thing was the training rooms. This whole big facility was a gym for awakeners and was used by first-years only. Each year had its own duel hall, which consisted of better facilities to amodate their greater strength than the first years. "Vice-Principal Xander!" A man with slightly brown hair and a tall stature greeted Xander. "Professor Erwin, you may begin with your lecture," Xander replied. "Where''s Asher Greville?" Erwin looked around but could not find Asher. "He is using one of the training rooms," Xander replied. "Is there anything the matter?" Xander asked Erwin. "Oh, I wanted to convince him to drop out of Elemental Theory," Erwin replied with a straight face, but Xander could tell he was lying. He had heard rumors that Erwin was involved with Blood Faction and the World Association, but he could not take action without evidence that went against the rules of the World Academy. A professor could show favoritism, and it was allowed in the World Academy, but depending on their ss''s performance and results, it would affect their authority. Multiple factors were considered before the professors were given more stars. "He will not be joining Sword Arts," Xander said with a convinced look on his face. "Eh?" Erwin got confused why Xander, of all people, would allow such a thing to happen. The most strict individual he had met in his whole life was allowing someone to y around and not focus on the things they were talented in. Wasn''t this type the people Xander hated the most? ''Shit, I need to convince this bastard,'' Erwin thought to himself. "But don''t you think it''s a waste of talent, Vice-Principal Xander?" Erwin said, pointing at the students. "What if we have a duel with the students here, and if he wins, we will allow him to do whatever he wants?" "I know I can''t teach him better than Sir Nathaniel Greville, but we should not casually allow such things to happen," Erwin said, with a smile on his face. "Do you think any of them can defeat Asher?" Xander said, but his words frustrated everyone except Damian, who knew that Asher was better than him. Even Vanessa wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth shut, fearing Xander''s punishments. "I know. I have seen the Year Representative tournament, but what if all of them attacked him together?" Erwin said, but it made Xander frown. "How is that fair?" Xander asked with a stern look on his face. "I heard he had reached D-Rank, so he can fight all these students here, right?" "Well, life is not fair as well, and if he wants to venture into the mage''s path, then he should prove that his weapon arts talent is high enough to defeat all first years," Erwin said while shrugging his shoulders. "There is no need for all this. Students can choose whatever path they want to choose." Xander denied Erwin''s request, making Erwin a bit restless. At that moment, Asher came out of the training room, and his gaze was even colder than before. Erwin saw a chance, so he decided to act on it. "Vice-Principal, why don''t we ask the person in question if he will agree to the duel or not?" Erwin asked Xander with a respectful tone. "What do you want?" Asher asked Erwin with no respect. Erwin was an S-Rank Hunter and a reputable person, but Asher''s words made him frown further, although he kept it in. He remembered the order he had received from a certain person, so he carried on with his acting. "Asher Greville, if you don''t want to participate in the sword art ss, why don''t you defeat everyone here and prove that you are better than all the first years?" Erwin challenged Asher. Other students were confused by Erwin''s action. Each student could decide the subject they wanted to study, and nobody could deny them until they failed that ss. Asher could simply refuse, and Erwin would not be able to do anything. "Sure, why not?" Asher said with an indifferent look, which made Xander raise his eyebrows for a bit. This time it was different. Nobody knew about Asher''s capabilities back then, and he was against 50 students together. "I will drop out of this," Damian spoke out, bringing attention to him. Erwin got annoyed as Damian was one of the candidates who had the most skill in closebat, but because he wanted to be a tanker, he had decided not to train closebat as his main profession. Following Damian, many students dropped out, and only 20 students, including Kevin, Sam, n, Matthew, and Venessa, remained standing. The majority of these students were those that disliked Asher''s attitude and his arrogance that he could take on all of them alone and wanted to crush him for once. Xander was not a person to interfere now that Asher had given him his approval, so he decided to watch the match. "You see, this guy doesn''t like to team up like smart people, so why don''t we attack him together?" Sam asked Venessa while mocking Kevin. "Hoh, a young master wants amoner''s help?" Venessa made a surprised face. "Why not? You had formed aura at the same speed as us, right?" Sam shrugged his shoulders. He was the type to use every resource he had to reach his goals. "I will cooperate," Kevin said, which surprised Sam, but he just smirked as he had another variable to crush Asher. Sam didn''t hate Asher like others, but he wanted to give back the beating he received back to Asher for once. "Okay, we have three rules to follow," said Erwin as 20 students started to form a circle around Asher, who was standing alone in the center of that circle.please visit "All of you will use practice weapons but you cannot target vital spots, nor inflinct a lethal injury." "No use of mana." "You cannot attack an opponent who is on the ground." "This is purely a physical spar," Erwin said and brought out some bracelets from his spatial ring. Erwin made everyone wear a mana-restricting bracelet, which made it impossible for them to use mana in this duel. Each of them chose a weapon they liked, and nobody was worried about getting any lethal injury as an S-Rank hunter like Erwin could stop the duel any second he wanted. | Mana Restricting Bracelets | | Rank C - Restricts mana for mana core less than Rank C- | Asher saw the information about the bracelets due to his system, "Beat them all up!!!" Damian cheered Asher loudly. In this duel where only physical strength mattered, all of them thought they could defeat Asher by just tiring him out. Asher was moving the sword in his arms around to get adjusted to the weight of the weapon. "Three... two... one... START!!" Erwin shouted, and Kevin was the first one to dash towards Asher. It was not only Kevin but Sam, Matthew and Venessa rushed at him from all directions. "It was you who wanted this fight, not me," Sam smirked, as he and Kevin were the first ones to strike their spears towards Asher''s torso. Despite his mana being restricted, Asher''s base stats were much higher than all of them. Before their spears could connect with his body, Asher immediately ducked down and spun around as he kicked both of their feet. "Shit," Sam cursed as he lost his footing. And so did Kevin, but unlike Sam who just fell to the ground, Asher grabbed Kevin''s hand and threw him towards Matthew who was creeping behind him. *sh* Venessa struck Asher, thinking that she was in his blind spot, but she was utterly wrong when she saw the de in Asher''s hand tilt and strike near the hilt of her sword. Asher''s strength was enough to make Venessa lose her grip over the sword. ''Too good,'' Xander was watching Asher''s movements and his quick judgment, and he could not find a single w in his decisions. Asher had an indifferent look the whole time, which made others hesitate in rushing him, but Kevin''s shout made them move. "Go attack him! Don''t stand there like idiots," Kevin shouted, which was unlike him, but it was sessful as over four students rushed at Asher. Asher dodged the first three strikes and blocked the fourth one. Most of these students were only doing basic attacks that Erwin had taught them yesterday. Weapon Arts were not something they could master in a day or so. Asher took his sword and he could see the nodes present on everyone''s body, but all of them were vital spots. If he hit them there, it was instant disqualification for him, but he didn''t need to do that. All of them were wearing special clothes for duel ss that reduced the chances of them getting cut a lot. *Bam* Asher''s sword shed and made an impact on the ribs of one of the students, and the sheer force was enough to knock them out on the ground. *Cling* *Cling* He parried two other students while pushing them back and dodging the attack from a student that came from behind. But before he could counter-attack, he saw Matthew, who had closed the distance between them, and Kevin, who was ready to attack him as he countered Matthew. ''Weak,'' Asher thought in his mind, and his gaze was bing colder. The effect of Rune of Eirdin was still fresh, and he didn''t have total control over his madness. His quick nce with his crimson red eyes intimidated Matthew, and he made an error in his timing, and Asher spun his sword into arge sh which Matthew could not block, but the impact made him fall to the ground meters away from Asher. Kevin, who was about to connect his spear towards Asher''s back, saw Asher turning his hand behind his back as his sword diverted the spear to his left. Asher turned quickly and raised his left foot and kicked Kevin''s jaw, knocking him out on the ground. "What the hell is this monster?" Venessa saw Kevin getting knocked out in a single attack and stopped in her tracks. All of them were fighting without mana, and Asher had a clear advantage as long as they could not protect themselves using mana to strengthen themselves internally. Chapter 100 Glimpse Into His True Self ''She has grown quitecent,'' Xander saw Vanessa hesitating whether to attack Asher or not. However, it was not her fault. Her whole life, she was better than her peers, and even in World Academy, she was on the level of rankers. But Asher was not a person she couldpare herself to. Reaching D-Rank in the first few days of joining World Academy was unheard of. It was only at the age of 12-13 when one''s mana core would start to show growth. As Kevin got knocked out, Asher could see that nobody was attacking him and carefully observed his surroundings. Asher looked around and quickly took nces at all the students. He dashed towards the nearest students to his left. Seeing Asher move, Vanessa came out of her stupor and went ahead to help them. "Argh," the guy who tried to block Asher''s sword groaned in pain due to the difference in their strength. "What are they doing?" Erwin was getting restless seeing students helplessly trying to beat Asher. All of them were closebat-oriented hunters, so they could swarm Asher and only fight four at a time, but there was no teamwork between them. Asher was continuously abusing their pure timings, and his agility was already a lot higher than theirs. *Cling* Asher blocked the spear to his left and saw Sam, who nced at Asher''s right. "Now!!" Sam shouted, but as Vanessa struck at Asher, Sam thought his little n had worked. Unfortunately for him, Asher turned towards his right as he pushed Sam''s spear back and used the t side of his sword, making Vanessa''s sword slide and miss his body. It happened so quickly that most of the students couldn''t even keep up with Asher''s speed. ''How the hell are we supposed to defeat him?'' many of them were thinking the same. Asher caught Vanessa''s wrist and twisted it, making her twist her body to save her wrist. But Asher threw her against Sam, who was trying to dash towards him. "Sh*t," Vanessa said as she fell on Sam. Sam caught her, but before both of them could regain their bnce, Asher had dashed towards other students. A student tried to swing his staff at Asher''s leg, but Asher kicked his staff to the ground, making the student lose his grip. Asher shed most of the attacks, and the difference in strength made it impossible for them to resist his physical might. "Tire him out," a student shouted, but only eleven students were standing. "Yeah-Yeah, I can defeat him now," n thought as he calmed his trembling hands. Matthew charged with n and two other students, but Asher easily dodged the first two strikes and made Matthew defend the attack of his ally. But n, who had a desperate look on his face, was not so lucky as Asher took his sword and shed it down at his hand, making him scream in pain. "Arghhhhhh," n screamed and clenched his teeth on the ground as he held his broken arm. It was not a lethal injury, but it made others fear Asher considerably. ''Let''s surrender, can''t we just surrender?'' Thoughts were popping into their heads. It was better to lose than feel so much pain for a meaningless duel that didn''t benefit them in any way other than fueling their pride. "Move," Vanessa shouted as she tried to strike Asher again, but this time she was a bitte. Asher could focus on her attack, and despite putting all her strength in that one strike Asher countered it easily. His stamina was no joke. Asher was the one who was moving the most, and taking on so many enemies at once required experience, and Asher had plenty. He had forgotten his sword art, but his battle instincts were still there. His awareness and his high intelligence made it possible for him to focus on so many things at once. "Genius!" Students who were spectating could not help but say when they saw Asher. It was like they were seeing seasoned hunters fighting newbies and training them. But even for someone like Erwin and Xander, Asher seemed like a genius. When all of this was happening, a student wearing a ck uniform who had light brown hair and deep blue eyes was watching Asher, and the look on his face was not good. "This is not good, isn''t it?" Leonard said to himself. He could not believe that a first-year could move like that, and he was pretty sure that even he himself in his first year was not like Asher. Right now, he could defeat Asher, but it would be purely due to their difference in strength. Skillwise, he could not see himself winning against Asher. "Leon, we should take him in Blood Faction. There are rumors about his fight with the Student Council President," a guy behind Leonard spoke. Unlike Leonard, he was wearing a white uniform, but just like Leonard, he also had a crest of Blood Faction on his shoulder. "Do you think you can win against him?" Leonard asked, ignoring the question. "Ah, of course! How would I lose to a first-year?!" The student behind him said with full confidence. No matter what, he was C-Rank. There was no chance he would lose to a first-year.please visit Leonard, with the guy who seemed like his subordinate, entered the duel hall and started walking towards Asher. Meanwhile, the referee wanted to stop the duel, but neither Xander nor Erwin had told him to do so. So he couldn''t intervene right now. Right now, only three students were standing, and the rest of them were on the ground lying because they couldn''t get up or they didn''t want to get up. "Huff! You take left, I take right," Venessa said to Sam as she dashed towards Asher''s left side. Matthew just charged from the front, but all three of them were tired and felt weak in their grips. Asher, on the other hand, was fine. His face was the same, but sweat could be seen dripping from his hair. But he was not out of breath. He was calm and saw three people rushing at him. Suddenly a thought came to Asher''s mind. "Can''t I just kill them?" It was a sudden thought, but Asher focused on the current fight. Fighting while calming his urges was a huge task for him. This was not simr to dungeons where he could fight however he wanted and kill whoever he wanted. Asher dashed at Matthew, who tried to block the iing strike but turned it was fake. Asher struck his elbow region with his sword, breaking a few bones and making Matthew fall on the ground. Sam, who was almost at his right, and Venessa, who was at Asher''s left, were about to strike. But Asher disappeared in front of them, and their weapons met empty ground. For them, it seemed he had disappeared, but others could see Asher doing a fast backstep. Asher dropped his sword and raised his hand as he smashed both of their heads on the ground, knocking them out. He stood up and saw all the students on the ground, including Damian who was cheering for him loudly from a bit far away. Only some of the students, including n, were conscious; the rest were knocked out cold. "Asher Greville has won the duel," the referee announced. Suddenly, a voice came that surprised everyone. "I heard that you are not attending the Sword ss. Do you mind if my friend here has a friendly duel with you?" The identity of this student shocked all the first-year students, including Damian, who were spectating until now. "Student Leonard is a Third-Year Student. You cannot-" The referee was speaking, but he was stopped by Professor Erwin. "Why not allow it? It''s just a friendly duel, isn''t it?" Erwin said with a smirk on his face. He thought that if Leonard himself brought this student, there would be no implications. Leonard''s social standing was simr to Asher''s, as he was the son of the World Association Chairman himself. Asher, who was quiet after winning a duel, was calming his urges when he heard a familiar voice albeit a bit young, but he remembered it vividly. A voice he would never forget. Leonard was waiting for Asher''s answer, but something unexpected happened. [ Warning !! Host''s emotional state is unstable ] *BAM* A very thick amount of bloodlust flooded Asher''s vicinity. The amount was not ordinary at all. "Blergh!" n, along with other students who were closest to Asher, were vomiting. For them, it was like someone was choking them; they felt like they were going to die right there. But only Damian and others were watching something different with their eyes wide open, because of the distance they didn''t feel the killing intent fully so they could see. They could see Erwin who had his sword touching Asher''s neck, with blood dropping out of Asher''s neck due to a very small cut made by Erwin. Fortunately, it didn''t prate any further than that, thanks to Xander, who was holding the sword with his bare hand, making the blood flow out of his hand. "Professor Erwin, do you know what you have done?" Xander carefully released his SS Rank pressure at Erwin, whose face was pale. Erwin had no way of exining what he had just done. The amount of killing intenting from Asher was enough to make Erwin move due to the fear of Asher killing Leonard right then and there. He could not tell Xander why he had done this, why he had prioritized his life over Leonard. He looked towards Leonard Tarvian''s direction, but what he saw was Leonard, who had taken a few steps back in fear. But the third-year student behind him was already on his knees. Asher turned and touched his neck and saw blood due to the small scratch made by Erwin''s sword. [ Warning !! Host''s emotional state is unstable ] [ Warning !! Host''s emotional state is unstable ] Asher ignored the situation and looked at Erwin dead in his eyes. "Do you want to die?" Words came out of his mouth, but Erwin could not reply with anything. His life was over. He had broken the rule of the World Academy by attacking a student, and that student was Asher Greville. He was sure he would die, but what he feared more was that he would be killed by Osbert Tarvian first rather than the Greville family. Chapter 101 Turmoil In World Academy Erwin got on his knees as Xander released the pressure of the SS Rank Hunter overpowering him. But the deed was done. Though it was only a scratch, Erwin had attacked Asher with the intent of killing him. "The ss is dismissed. All of you leave. Staff, carry these children to the Medical Block," Xander ordered the staff members, who immediately started carrying the unconscious students. "ASHER!!" Damian dashed towards Asher using mana and arrived near him. "Are you fine?" he asked, but Asher just nodded. "Asher Greville, follow me. It will be a long day today," Xander said, turning and leading the way. Asher followed him. "Dammit, I should inform Amelia about this," Damian scratched the back of his neck, thinking about his next move. "Leonard Tarvian, you can leave as well, and you should know that third-years are not allowed here until after the assessment test," Xander gave Leonard a stern look, but thetter just smiled. "Of course, I will pay the fine. Don''t worry," Leonard said, as his eyes shifted to Asher. "I would like to have a more casual meeting, but it seems today is not the day," Leonard said and turned, grabbing the guy who was on his knees, still trembling with his cor, and stood him up. "Ah, Leon, my bad--" The guy tried to justify his situation, but Leonard red at him, so he could only stand with his head down. Xander brought out Rank S Mana Restriction bracelets and made Erwin, who was quiet the whole time, wear it. Asher was told to wait as he sat on a sofa in Xander''s personal office, thinking about what happened just a few minutes ago. Asher leaned back and massaged his head. He didn''t think that he would have no control over himself. Although it was a serious issue to exin how he carried such bloodlust, Xander would probably stay away from asking him about this, but he wanted to suppress his urges as much as he could for now. *Ping* A system notifications brought Asher out of his thoughts. --------------------------------------------- [ Hidden Quest Completed ] Objective : Get Professor Erwin out of the World Academy Rewards : 500 Fate points ---------------------------------------------- Not only would Erwin have to leave, but he would also mostly be killed either by Greville or the Raven or the person because of whom Erwin attacked Asher. "Finally," Asher thought to himself, but he was calm. [Host haspleted all the requirements for System Inventory] [Unlocking System Inventory....] [System Storage Unlocked] Asher thought of the SSS Rank Elixir, and a small golden vial came into his hand. This was the first step Asher would take to truly change his destiny and the advent of chaos in this world. But was destiny truly such a fickle thing that a mortal could try and change? Nobody knew, neither Asher nor the thing that helped Ashere back in time. But Asher was determined to change his destiny, and destiny was determined to destroy him. ********************************************* Farnus Calmort was sitting and looking at the documents in front of him when he saw a staff member urgentlying into his office. Usually, nobody would disturb him this early, but the look on the staff''s face made Farnus confused. "What happened?" Farnus asked, but the staff''s next words made his eyes widen. Farnus regained hisposure quite quickly. "Pass the judgment, no need for the council," he said. The punishment was clear, and Farnus saw no need for the council to debate what should happen to Erwin. "Erwin will be expelled from the World Academy," Farnus said. He knew what he was doing, and he didn''t mind it one bit. He was basically giving Erwin openly to Greville for them to do whatever they wanted. Somaria was literally the territory owned by Greville and Raven. Even the Demarcus family was a neutral family that didn''t oppose Greville in any way. But given their rtions, Demarcus was an ally to Greville as well. Ten minutester, Xander had entered his office to see Asher, who was sitting quietly on the sofa. But in Xander''s eyes, he couldn''t forget the killing intent he felt from Asher. "How does this boy have so much killing intent?" Xander had many theories, but he could not openly ask the heir of another family such questions. "Erwin will be expelled. Do you want any other actions?" Xander asked, although his authority was not above Farnus. But nobody else had more authority than him in the World Academy. "Entry to trial grounds?" Asher asked with an indifferent look despite knowing the answer. "We could only do anything that''s within World Academy," Xander replied as he sat opposite Asher. "You should know clearly what High Council dictated when World Academy was created," he said. "Then I shall leave," Asher stood up.please visit Neither Asher nor Xander spoke anything. Both of them knew that they were not in a position to speak so casually with each other. Xander saw Asher leave and looked at his hand where a small cut was present. Xander''s aura alone was enough to negate damage from Erwin''s sword, but for saving Asher, he activated his Aura a bitte. But the cut was not deep enough, and it would heal with some high-level potions. "I don''t know what the Principal is thinking," Xander remembered Farnus''s order not to interrogate Erwin. Xander had found Erwin''s action a bit strange. Although Xander did not talk much about the vast amount of killing intent that came out of Asher, he wanted to know why Erwin moved to save Leonard. But as Farnus had dered his judgment, he could not ask Erwin any questions, and he remembered Erwin didn''t speak anything defending himself either. It was strange for a guy who talked so much to go so quiet. Meanwhile, Damian was telling Amelia about the incident, "What is he fine?" Amelia got shocked and got up from her seat and tried to leave, but Damian stopped her. "Wait, he is fine. Vice-Principal Xander took him for something, but he was fine," Damian exined to her, and it helped calm Amelia''s heart, which had almost stopped thinking that Asher could have died if not for Xander''s intervention. Despite not liking Asher, she had always seen him as an older brother that appeared calm and collected no matter the situation. She had looked up to Asher, but their rtionship had gone a bit sour. But she still didn''t hate Asher at all. "I should inform Mom about this," she said and typed something on her phone. "I''m d he''s fine," she muttered. "d your big brother is fine?" Damian teased Amelia to calm her down. "Shut up, that mean bastard is still the heir of our family. I don''t care what happens to him either way, I just care about my family," Amelia said as she red at Damian. "Okay, okay, calm down," Damian chuckled a bit, which annoyed Amelia even more. But there was one person who was not happy at all, in fact, he was raging with anger. "I-I am sorry," a guy who was beaten to a pulp apologized again and again, fearing that he would get beaten up again. "Shut him up," Leonard said as he turned, and more people started beating that student. He was the same guy who had followed Leonard, but he had no idea why he was getting punished so hard. "Hey, it seems too much," one of the guys who was beating him said to others. "Shut up, don''t let Leon hear you say this, otherwise it will be your turn," another student advised him. In another room, Leonard was walking as he punched the wall, which was enforced with mana, but his punch was strong enough to damage it. "Dammit," Leonard cursed. "Father would not like this," he had not only lost Erwin, the pawn that was nted by them inside World Academy. But Leonard didn''t think that the heir of the Greville family would be this outstanding. Leonard was a B Rank Hunter and was in his third year, but he was sure that Asher would at least be able to reach B Rank in his second year, considering his speed. "I thought I only needed to look after that Whiteheart boy, but this will be difficult," Leonard could not see a way to trap down Asher. Among the elite families, there were some families that were considered the most powerful among all the elite families. These were those families that had maintained their spot in the High Council from the start, unlike others who had reached this pedestal by stepping over the fallen families. The first were the Greville family. The second were the Hargrave family. And the third most powerful family was the Cranston family. Among all the elite families, these were considered the strongest families that had SSS Rank Hunters and were present from the beginning of High Council. Halcyon Royal Family was also present from the start of High Council, but their standing was not so strong due to them having no SSS Rank hunters in their families currently. "I need to find his weakness," Leonard thought in his mind. Currently, Asher knew nothing about him, but seeing that killing intent, he was confused why Asher reacted in such a way. Maybe it was due to his pride or something else, but that killing intent was not normal. Leonard was thinking to exploit Asher somehow, but he didn''t know that Asher was already aware of his moves. And even the moves he could pull in the future. A lot of things were happening around the world at the same time, chaos was brewing. Chapter 102 A Long Night The news of the incident between Erwin and Asher was spreading among the professors. Many were surprised that a guy like Erwin would do something like that. Xander did not report Asher''s extreme killing intent, so the me on Erwin was bigger. "What? They are expelling him today?" one of the professors was talking with a staff member. "Well, it''s his fault anyway," he didn''t care about Erwin one bit, so his reaction was natural. "But I don''t think he will survive," the man chuckled, knowing Erwin''s fate. There were three reasons why nobody ever messed with the Greville family inside Somaria. First was Nathaniel Greville himself, the SSS Rank Hunter known as the Sword God. His immense strength alone was enough to repel any ill intentions towards the Greville family. Second was Abyss Corporation, which was owned by Sylvie alone and had a huge monopoly on mana crystals. Most of the financial giants of Somaria, and even other four continents, were invested in Abyss Corporation, which increased the financial might of the Greville family among other elite families. The third reason was Helena Raven, mother of Sylvie. If someone were discussing the most feared woman in this world, Helena Raven was the name that came to their mind. She was a peak SS Rank Hunter and the Guildmaster of the Information Guild, Moonlight, whose capabilities were on par with the World Association. She also had the unique bloodline ability to read the memories of people. However, it was her extreme control over ck element made her one of the strongest SS Rank Hunters in the world. It was even said that only SSS Rank hunters could kill her in a duel. The reason Asher could go around disrespecting others was that he was greatly favored by his grandmother. However, Asher''s strongest backing and resource was the same person he did not wanted to meet in person. Right now, Helena Raven was sitting in the Greville Estate, talking with Sylvie. "So, these are Ivar''s children?" Helena asked Sylvie with a smile on her face. Despite being old, Helena didn''t look a year above 45, and her appearance was simr to Sylvie. "Yeah," Sylvie answered with a chuckle. She saw Livia and Lucas, who were sitting on Helena''sp, but Lucas''s face was getting red. Normally, only Livia would get such treatment because she was cute, but it was his first time somebody treated him like that. "Lucas, Livia, she is my mother, Helena Raven, and my role model as well," Sylvie said with a smile as Livia and Lucas both greeted Helena. "You can call me Grandma Helena," Helena said with a smile. Helena was out of Somaria due to some issues with her guild, Moonlight. When she heard about the news about Asher''s talent and the findings of Ivar''s children, the first thing she did when she came back to Somaria was meet with Sylvie. "Well, I heard there were some issues with the party and in the Tournament with the Rothschild," Helena was speaking calmly, but Sylvie knew that she would have done something by now if not for her father, Alfred, stopping her. "Nothing much," Sylvie changed the topic quickly, but Helena didn''t mind it. She already knew what had happened and wanted to see what her daughter''s intentions were regarding those incidents. If she was fine, Helena was not going to interfere much. Helena let the twins go down, and Lucas could finally escape from the embarrassment he was feeling. "It''s time for your ss, so I will not waste your time," Helena said as the twins left for their sses. Sylvie asked, "Mom, did you find what you were looking for?" as she picked up the tea from the table. "I don''t exactly know who was behind it, but I saw the same evidence that was seen when the Garcia family was purged," Helena''s words made Sylvie''s expression a bit serious. "But I could not find anything when I tried to read their memories. It seems a very strong artifact hindered my bloodline ability," Helena told Sylvie. "Do you think the same thing will happen again, likest time?" Sylvie asked, remembering the incident that happened more than a decade ago. "Not really, the mana reactions were not even half of what we saw back then," Helena was speaking when she saw Sylvie receive a notification. "Who is it?" Helena asked. "Oh, it''s Amelia," Sylvie stopped, and her bloodlust started to leak as she saw what her daughter had typed. Helena disappeared and appeared behind Sylvie, taking the phone from her hands. She read the message. "Nightwing," she muttered some words as people wearing all-ck outfits with masks on their faces emerged from the shadows. "Hunt this Erwin guy from World Academy and bring him to me alive," she said, and all of those people disappeared in an instant. It was alreadyte in the evening, and it was getting darker outside. A man with slight brown hair was running away from Soran; it was Erwin, who was expelled from the World Academy. Fortunately, Farnus had not held him for trial, so Erwin still had the chance to flee from Soran. He didn''t understand why Farnus did it, but he needed to escape as this was the only way he could live. He was running through the mountain ranges that were present in Soran when the presence of a person made him stop. "Who-who are you?" Erwin stuttered. "Be grateful to the Chairman that you are allowed to live," a woman''s voice could be heard, but her words made Erwin rx. "Really?" Erwin could not believe that he would be able to live. As they were talking, they sensed the auras of multiple S Rank Hunters. The woman grabbed Erwin hurriedly and brought out a teleporting artifact as they quickly teleported away. Inside the Rankers'' Dorm, Alyssa was sleeping. On a huge fluffy bed, a pink-haired girl with a pale face, which had a huge scar, could be seen sleeping, but her face had a frown. "No-no, no, leave," she muttered in her sleep. ***************************************** In the garden, the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers filled the air, while a little pink-haired girl ran around, herughter echoing through the space. Spring had just arrived, and the weather was perfect for enjoying the beauty of the garden. A woman with cherry blossom pink hair and light pink eyes followed behind the little girl, watching her with a loving gaze. "Alyssa,e back here," the woman called out to the girl, her voice full of affection. "Okay, Mom," Alyssa responded with a grin, running back towards her mother. "Can I have a candy, please?" the little girl begged, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes. "My darling, you already lost one of your front teeth. If you eat too much candy, the rest might fall out too," the woman said, her tone serious. "Not even one?" Alyssa pleaded, hugging her mother''s leg. "Liz, let her have one more candy," a man with short pink hair said, joining them in the garden. Alyssa ran towards him with joy in her eyes. "Uncle!" Alyssa eximed, as he picked her up. "Brother, don''t spoil her too much," Elizabeth said, shaking her head as she watched her brother give in to Alyssa''s demands. "Don''t me me. Look at how adorable she is," the man replied, grinning. "Okay, Alyssa. If you bring Mom a rose, I will give you a candy," Elizabeth said with a smile. Alyssa jumped out of her uncle''s arms and ran to the garden, searching for the perfect rose for her mother. She remembered her mother loved blue roses, and so she searched for one. But as the little girl reached the garden, she saw the blue rose starting to wither. She was shocked and looked around; the scenery around her had changed. All the flowers that were once full of life were now withering,ying lifeless on the ground. The flowers, once the pride and joy of the garden, had lost their luster and vitality, leaving behind a deste and drearyndscape. She tried to run towards the mansion but what once had been a beautiful ce but had turned into a mess with debris all over the ce. "Mommy," Little Alyssa shouted while her hands trembled. "Mommy, where are you?" She ran, but she could not find her anywhere. The little girl kept running, but she fell, and her knees started to bleed. "Mommy, I will not ask for candy," tears were forming in her eyes. "Mommy!!," the brave little girl stood up again to find her mother. With all the debris around her, she could see multiple corpses of people who were once working happily at this beautiful mansion. Fear was clouding the mind of the little girl, but she kept running despite falling multiple times. Her knees were bleeding, and her hair and clothes were a mess. "Alyssa," a voice made the little girl turn as she ran towards the voice, and she saw Elizabeth sitting on the floor. "Moooom," the little girl ran into the embrace of her mother and started crying. "I am sorry, Mom, I will not ask for candy. Don''t leave me," the little girl was saying something, but she didn''t get any reply. Little Alyssa looked up and saw her mother was gone. She turned and saw her mother begging in front of some people. "Please, she is innocent. Leave her alone," the helpless cry of a mother was echoing throughout the ce. A white-haired man and a slightly brown-haired man with deep blue eyes were standing on the bodies of two men. "Uncle, Grandfather!" the little Alyssa screamed, as she knew the two men who were now lying dead in front of her. "Please just leave my daughter alone. She can''t hurt anyone," Elizabeth was pleading with her eyes full of tears. The little girl started to run towards her mother, but no matter how much she ran, the distance between her and her mother kept bingrger. She saw her mother turn, and a drop of tear left her pink eyes. "MOOOOOM," Alyssa woke up and shouted; her breathing was rough, and her hands were trembling. She looked around and saw she was in her bed. Her heart was beating fast, and she could feel the pain around her chest. She tried to calm herself down, but there was no one to hug her like her mother did. There was no warmth in her life anymore, just lonely cold nights, and once again, Alyssaid back on her bed. She hugged her knees and started crying. She promised it was thest time she would cry, but she also knew that it was a lie. She kept crying as memories of her childhood kept ying in her head. "Why me?" She kept saying the same words again and again. Chapter 103 Prepration For Assessment Test "It was a new day at World Academy, and every person was either saying or hearing Asher''s name being mentioned again and again. "Woah, the first Student Council President, now a professor," a third-year guy said to his friends as they were walking to their sses. "Well, when do you think they will activate the effect of that artifact?" another guy asked, clearly not interested in the gossip. "I don''t know, maybe after the assessment test of the first years. I am near my breakthrough, and I don''t want to spend my GP on those meditation rooms," a guy sighed. "You are speaking like you will be able to beat any of the rankers," his friendughed. "They are just people with more resources. Look at the Student Council President; she couldn''t even control a first-year," he replied with an annoyed look. "Well, most of the influential students are joining the Blood Faction, but still, I would prefer it if Student Council wins the bet," he said. Simr talks were happening, and inside the Student Council room, Raelyn was sitting on her seat while Tyrone was also present there. "Did you ask Kevin what really happened there?" Tyrone asked as he was curious about yesterday''s events. "He doesn''t know, and Vice Principal Xander had closed the mouths of other students as well," Raelyn replied with a frown on her face. She had not expected Kevin to lose to Asher so many times, and what surprised her even more was that Asher won against more than 20 students. "Don''t you think we should treat him carefully?" Tyrone suggested, but Raelyn red back at him. "Do you want me to cooperate with that bastard?" Her words made Tyrone sigh. He had heard about the incident that happened at Asher''s birthday party with Elena, but it was Elena''s fault for challenging Asher. "Only if Reece were here, we could have more support among the fourth-years," Raelyn said with a defeated look on her face. But hearing Reece''s name made Tyrone''s expression change a bit, though it came back to normal pretty quickly. "Raelyn, even Williams will not help you against Greville," Tyrone said. "Leave Williams. No sane person would go against Greville openly. All the Elite families stay away from Somaria because of that reason," Tyrone said with a serious look. "And considering your family-" Tyrone stopped as he thought he was going too far. Judging by Raelyn''s expression, he was right. Hearing that her family was not capable of standing against someone was not the most pleasant thing for Raelyn. In fact, she hated being looked down upon. Just because Whiteheart was the newest addition to the Elite families, she didn''t receive the same respect as other Elite family children. Raelyn worked hard and became the top of the third-year with her efforts, even iming the Student Council President''s seat for herself. She took pride in her efforts and her family, but listening to Tyrone, she thought if only her fiance Reece Williams were here, things would have been much smoother. *Knock* *Knock* "Come in," Raelyn said, but as she saw the person, her frown deepened. "Don''t greet me like this," Leonard said as he sat down on one of the sofas. "What''s the reason for your visit?" Tyrone came and sat in front of Leonard. "Woah, I am also a member of Student Council, aren''t I?" Leonard chuckled. "Leon, no need for jokes. What''s the reason behind your visit?" Tyrone''s face waspletely serious. "Tsk, I wanted to see how the big sister was doing because her little brother isn''t doing well at all," Leonard''s words made Raelyn re her mana, but she didn''t move from her seat. "You also want to get rid of the heir of the Greville family, right?" Leonard smiled, but Tyrone spoke out. "Are you afraid he will stand with us?" A sudden thought came to Tyrone''s mind, so he decided to gamble it. "Didn''t he fight with our Student Council President here?" Leonard shrugged his shoulders. ''Did this bastard catch on to my n?'' Leonard thought in his mind. "Well, I don''t know, we don''t have any issues here," Tyrone spoke, which made Leonard a bit frustrated, but he didn''t show it on his face. "We clearly have some issues, but not major ones, and should the son of the World Association''s Chairman be saying such words?" Tyrone replied, and Leonard stood up. "I wanted to help you guys, but never mind. I look forward to the Year End Tournament," With a smirk on his face, Leonard left the room. "Why did you stop me?" Raelyn asked finally now that Leonard Tarvian had left the room. Previously, Tyrone had signaled Raelyn not to speak anything when he was moving to sit in front of Leon, so Raelyn didn''t reply to anything Leon said until now. "Trust me, Raelyn, just ignore the first years for now," Tyrone always believed in his gut feelings, and something inside him was telling him not to go against Asher. "Do you have enough GP for the next auction, though?" Tyrone changed the topic. "I don''t, but I can ess Reece''s funds, so I have enough to bid on thest artifacts," Raelyn replied. But as Tyrone was speaking, he suddenly got a notification in his ID Bracelet. He opened the hologram and saw a message from a certain person. He quickly closed the hologram, so Raelyn thought it was some useless message. "I will go practice for a while," Tyrone told Raelyn, and Raelyn waved her hand, thinking everything was normal. The next month went by, and World Academy was peaceful, not exactly peaceful, but nothing major happened after the Erwin incident. There were some changes to the First Year subject, such as the Duel ss being shifted from amon ss to a normal subject. The Sword Arts ss was taken over by Xander for now. Until they choose a new Professor for it, Xander was personally handling that ss. This made many Second Year Students jealous as only the first years could enjoy learning from Xander, who was a famous swordsman amongst the SS Rank Hunters. "So your Assessment Test is scheduled next month, so start preparing for it," Elsa told her ss. "Professor, can you tell us about the structure of the test?" a girl asked Elsa. ss 1 had gotten prettyfortable with each other, and it was the most peaceful ss amongst all five sses. At least that''s what all the students from a normal background felt. For influential students, this ss felt like jail. There were some students who had thoughts about standing up to Asher, but when they heard about Asher''s duel with 20 students, nobody even dared to step up to him to say anything. Power and a strong background were everything in this world, and Asher was born with both. "For the written test, everything basic that you are taught and could learn from the library could be asked in the test," Elsa said, but her words made some students even more anxious. "So better start reading some books if you don''t want to fail," Elsa shrugged her shoulders. "For the practical test, it will be physical test scores and clearing a dungeon with the random teams we make for you guys," Elsa said, but she noticed a hand from one of the students. "Can''t we make our own teams?" a boy asked. Getting into a dungeon with random students was not entirely favorable. "You can, but we will up the dungeon rank to make it fair. And if you step out of the dungeon without achieving enough points, it will be your own fault," Elsa''s words made the boy sit down. Nobody was dumb enough to up the dungeon rank and gamble points which would affect their rankings. "It will be an E Rank Dungeon, but if you want to make your own team, you will have to challenge a D Rank Dungeon," Elsa said. "So, anyone with any intentions of teaming up with others, do tell me. Increasing the challenge means more points to your names," Elsa exined. "Each team will consist of three people at most. But if you want to team up with your friends, each team will have two people only." "This is an assessment test. So after it, in all dungeon explorations, you can make your own teams." Her words made others rxed as they could still be together with their friends after the test. "Your experience after the assessment test would changepletely," Elsa said with a smile on her face. And Asher also knew exactly what she was talking about. These starting months were merely a chance for students with normal backgrounds to try and catch up to people like Asher, but only a few could handle such burdens. "So this month, you will have various Beast Theory sses. And you could also enroll in the temporary ss for those who have never ventured into the dungeon," Elsa finished her lecture. The same discussion was happening in other sses as well. But each ss had a different reaction to this news. In the faculty block, a meeting was happening among the faculty council. "So, what team should we put this girl on?" A profile of Alyssa was on the hologram. "What if she teams up with someone?" a professor raised a question. "Who would team up with her? But even if they did, hunting a D Rank boss is near impossible for the current level of students. And even if she performs well, we can just reduce her rating, can''t we?" The professor replied. "Are you suggesting tampering with student records?" a female professor frowned. "No, I am just saying judging her on the same level is being unfair to other students," the professor replied. "Her space element is like poison. And if somebody is gaining strength through suicidal methods, will you give them the same grades, Professor Dahlia?" the man asked with a smirk on his face. "Well, it seems nobody is against my decision," the man said, and the meeting was concluded. Their n was simple. Even if somehow they could not send Alyssa to a bad team, they could just tamper with the result. And she would have no choice but to step down from the student council. Chapter 104 Assessment Test Incoming Almost three weeks went by, and first-year students were preparing for their Assessment Test. The first part of the test was a practical test where the several limitations of each student were measured, and a rough estimate of their strengths was done. This physical test would be consideredte when your rankings and teams were being formed. Unless you teamed up with someone, one of your teammates would have low practical scores. Although it was not advantageous for some students, it was better for them to fight F Rank monsters and hunt an E Rank Boss, rather than go to a D Rank Dungeon where there would be normal E Rank monsters and a D Rank Boss. They were told that starting from D Rank, the boss of the dungeons became extremely powerful, and it was impossible for Hunters to clear the dungeon alone. Even a talented D Rank Hunter would not be able to clear a D Rank dungeon without any artifacts. As no artifacts were allowed, they could not take external help, and this made the challenge quite difficult for normal students. But there were some students who still wanted to try and team up together. It was obvious that ying E Rank Beasts would give them more points than F Rank beasts, and they would still umte more points than others even if they didn''t kill the Boss of the dungeon. For safety reasons, C Rank Senior Students would apany the first years inside the dungeon and take them out if they could not go any further. Inside ss 1, "Sir, is there a reason why monsters are more powerful than the hunters of the same rank?" a boy asked Gilson as he was teaching about some of the beasts to the ss. Including Asher, many students were not present in this ss as this was an extra ss that was done to help students prepare for the Assessment Test. "Although it is because of their anatomy and the way monsters use mana, which is quite different from humans, or that''s what we have assumed," Gilson replied. "As you know, monsters can use mana, and till to this day, we are not able to replicate the way they use their abilities, which is far different, or to say more crude than humans." "The second reason is Mana gem, but it is only found in Rank C and above monsters. But above Rank D, the monsters be far more powerful and vicious, and multiple hunters are needed to clear a single dungeon," Gilson said as he brought multiple holograms of different monsters. "The third reason is the climate inside the Dungeon. It is found that every dungeon above Rank D, and some Rank D as well, has a very unique climate or environment inside them which is almost unbearable for hunters without proper defense armors and artifacts," Gilson said. "And the urrence of Dungeon Defects increases as well, but you don''t have to worry about them in Rank D dungeons. Only some Rank C dungeons have shown defects, but the urrence of such defects increases as the Rank of the Dungeon increases," his words made students a bit anxious. Defects inside Dungeon were known as the phenomenon when a Blue Gate would change into a Yellow Gate or a Red Gate. Although it only happened with new Blue Gate dungeons, throughout the records, the stats had shown that the Dungeons that had remained stable for at least a week would not show such defects. The ss went on, and the stress around the first-year students was increasing. Rankings were everything inside World Academy, and having low rankings meant low resources. This was the time for them to show their talents and secure a good rank to have a smoother life. But not all students shared the same idea. Some of the first years that were from a richer background were quiteid back. They only joined World Academy because it was the best ce to study. Having a low rank initially would not set them back as they could still use money to buy GP a few times and have a smoother life. Andter in the end term examinations, they would try harder and get a good rank. But those with such mindsets were people that were never going to make it. At the Ranker''s Dorm, Alyssa was sitting in themon lobby area still wearing the World Academy uniform. Ping She received a text and saw a message from Venessa Baker. She was a bit surprised that Venessa wanted to team up with her, but she immediately denied her help. "Friends," she muttered as she clenched her fists. It was a sour topic for Alyssa. She had seen the face her mother made in front of her ''friend'' and begged for her life. Although betrayed, her mother still prioritized Alyssa''s life more than revenge. Alyssa didn''t hate Venessa, but she didn''t wanted to be betrayed like her mother. But a part of her epted Venessa because she was from amon background. ''She is different than those elite families,'' a small thought went through her head. Alyssa heard a step and turned to see Asher, who was wearing a casual outfit. Asher''s charm was enough to make girls worship him secretly, but Alyssa wanted to know the reason why Asher had called her downstairs. Although she found him attractive, except when she remembered her mother and did her paintings, the rest of the world looked dull to her. Asher walked and sat down in front of her and brought out a golden vial from his spatial ring. "Do you remember the contract?" Asher asked. They had signed a contract beforeing to the World Academy, and one of the uses had mentioned that Alyssa would get potions for herself from Asher, but she needed to be part of his faction that he would create inside and outside World Academy. One of the reasons Alyssa wanted to join Student Council was to earn enough GP to buy healing potions for herself. Her father had never bothered to get any sort of healing material for her, leading her to be a disabled person for the rest of her life. But Alyssa believed that she could fix her issue if she earned enough to buy a high-level potion or get some sort of medicines that could help herst long enough to carry her motives. "Yes, I do," Alyssa nodded. "Good, you will be teaming up with me for the assessment test, and I will give you this potion," Asher said. "All I want is 2500 GP from you," he added, giving her a deal. Alyssa agreed almost immediately. She didn''t care if the potion worked or not, but she didn''t want to lose Asher''s support. From what she had observed, he had garnered hate from many Elite families, and by siding with him, she mightplete her revenge. "Drink it in your room and practice your mana cirction," Asher instructed as Alyssa took the small vial. "And take this," Asher handed her a spatial ring. "Use the item inside after you drink it," he said as he stood up and left. "I will go then," Alyssa said as she used her wheelchair to go back to the lift which would take her to Floor 6, where she was currently residing. She entered her room, which was full of half-finished paintings. Alyssa had started making money for herself by selling her art online under an alias from a year ago. This was her way of escaping from her cruel reality and immersing herself in art. She went straight into the meditation room, which was simr to the one Asher had in his room. She took out the small golden vial, although she had never seen such potion on the market. She expected it to be quite expensive. But what she didn''t know was that this potion was not something anyone could buy with money at all. As Alyssa drank the small amount of liquid inside the vial, the intense mana hit her mouth with a burning sensation. The liquid felt like it was on fire, and the heat quickly spread to her throat, causing her to gasp for air. Livia had taken this elixir as an unawakened person but Alyssa was an awakened being. Alyssa''s skin began to feel like it was melting, and she clutched her throat as the burning sensation intensified. She tried to scream, but no sound came out, and she felt like she was suffocating. As the darkness began to creep into the corners of her vision, Alyssa felt like she was losing control of her body. Her muscles began to spasm, and she convulsed on the ground, writhing in agony. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and she could feel every nerve ending in her body on fire. It was as if every part of her was being consumed by the burning sensation, and she couldn''t escape it. She wanted to beg for help, but her throat was too raw to form words. All she could do was endure the pain and hope that it would eventually subside. But in that moment, she didn''t know if it ever would. **************************** A weekter, ss 1 was present to have their practical test done and everyone was waiting to see what the rankings would look like. There was a meeting happening inside the faculty block. "I don''t think we need to push that girl down anymore," a professor said, looking at various test scores. "With these results, she would barely ce in the top 10," another professor spoke out. "She is teaming up with Asher Greville, though," a third professor said. "Well, even if they beat the D Rank Boss, we can still give the credit to Asher Greville. He is confirmed for Rank 1 anyway," the second professorughed. They had achieved their goals, and it was almost settled that Alyssa would have to leave the Student Council. This would calm down the public image of World Academy, and even other influential families who were not happy with Alyssa studying at World Academy. Chapter 105 First Test "Alright, is everyone present here?" Elsa looked around and counted the students. Having confirmed that everyone was present, she signalled to a staff member, and a big crystal orb twice the size of an average adult''s palm appeared, along with various machines. Above, a huge screen on the front wall disyed real-time rankings for the other sses, as the test was happening at the same time. "The criteria we are testing are first, physical," Elsa pointed at the machine that measured the strength behind one''s punches. "Second is mana," she then pointed at the big crystal orb. "Third is your best strike, or in simple words, your best attack you can perform," Elsa said, looking at her students. "We will measure the strength behind your strength and rank you against the 1000 first-year students who joined this year. Is everything clear?" She asked, but as no one asked any questions, she started calling out names. "Venessa Baker," she called out. Venessa came forward confidently, and Elsa made her wear the mana cuffs, which blocked her mana. "Go do your best punch," she smiled and told Venessa. "Let''s see," Venessa stood behind the machine. She stretched her arms a bit, and most of the ss was waiting to see her results. The current leaderboard, which was the total of three tests, was showing: ----------------------------------- Rank 1 - Jamey - 549 Rank 2..... ----------------------------------- Many knew this was not much, as the practical test had only started a few minutes ago. Venessa took a deep breath and concentrated on the object in front of her, repeating the motion of straightening her arm a few times. She soon got the hang of the timing and after five seconds, she finally punched the object. *bam* A loud noise was heard, but all of them could tell that her punch packed a lot of strength behind it. "Nice," Venessa smiled, feeling good about her punch. She took off the mana cuffs and put them on the tray next to the machine. "Now test your mana," Elsa said, and Venessa walked over to the orb, putting her hands on it. Venessa closed her eyes and tried to channel her mana into the orb, and soon, the orb lit up. "You can remove your hand," Elsa instructed. "You have your weapon, right?" Elsa asked, and Venessa nodded. "This is the Dummy which can handle even a B Rank Hunter''s attack, so attack it, and your final score will appear there," Elsa said. Venessa took out her sword and started to swing it around. Her mastery of swords even amazed some students, but most of them had seen Venessa''s fight in the tournament. "Aura!" a student eximed, as Venessa could coat her aura on her de. Although very thin, her sword had a bit of blue glow on it. *sh* Without wasting any time, Venessa struck the dummy, and her speed amazed many students. They thought Venessa was somewhere in the top 100, but they didn''t expect her to be this strong. "How did I do?" Venessa enthusiastically asked Elsa, who pointed at the screen. The rankings had changed, and Venessa was at the top. ----------------------------------- Rank 1 - Venesssa Baker - 1980 Rank 2 - Jamey - 549 Rank 3.... ----------------------------------- "Yay," she cheered for herself. After her, many students came, but nobody had broken her record. However, after the 49th student, the rankings finally changed, and another person took over Venessa. ---------------------------------- Rank 1 - Lishia Halcyon - 3420 Rank 2 - Venessa Baker - 1980 Rank 3 - Carmin Joseph - 840 Rank 4... ---------------------------------- "Woah, the Princess of Halcyon has taken the first spot!" many students eximed, surprised by therge gap between Rank 1 and Rank 2. Venessa was annoyed, as she had thought she had performed well, but it seemed that Lishia was better than her. The rankings kept changing, and after the 150th student, Rank 1 was again overturned, but it was a name everyone had thought would be in the top names. ---------------------------------- Rank 1 - Kevin Whiteheart - 4230 Rank 2 - Lishia Halcyon - 3420 Rank 3 - Matthew - 2970 Rank 4 - Damian Seymour - 2860 Rank 5 - Sam Allister - 2800 Rank 6 - Amelia Von Greville - 2790 Rank 7 - Elena Rothschild - 2700 Rank 8 - Eva Williams - 2657 Rank 9 - Venessa Baker - 1980 Rank 10 - n Astaria - 1950 Rank 11 - Ria Adler - 1670 Rank 12 - Gavin Neville - 1660 Rank 13.... ---------------------------------- "Alyssa Astaria," Elsa called, and everyone turned to face the girl sitting in a wheelchair. Her skin was pale, as usual, and she was still wearing her mask. Everyone''s face turned sour, thinking that Alyssa would obviously score higher. Due to the mana cuffs, she had to take the physical test sitting in her wheelchair, which made the crowd of students giggle and make fun of her. Insults were thrown, but Alyssa gave her best physical punch she could do currently. After removing those cuffs, she could finally stand, and seeing her hover, the crowd that wasughing went silent. The orb glowed white like the others, and Alyssa floated towards the dummy. "Give it your best shot," Elsa said as Alyssa summoned an icence, but unlike her usual Ice Lance, it was a bit thinner. Only Elsa could notice this difference, but she thought that it was Alyssa''s illness that was influencing her. *Shatter* The icence shattered as it attacked the dummy. None of the attacks, including Alyssa''s, made even a scratch on the dummy. Everyone looked at the leaderboard, but they didn''t see any change in the top 5, which was surprising, even for Elsa. ---------------------------------- Rank 1 - Kevin Whiteheart - 4230 Rank 2 - Lishia Halcyon - 3420 Rank 3 - Matthew - 2970 Rank 4 - Damian Seymour - 2860 Rank 5 - Sam Allister - 2800 Rank 6 - Amelia Von Greville - 2790 Rank 7 - Elena Rothschild - 2700 Rank 8 - Eva Williams - 2657 Rank 9 - Venessa Baker - 1980 Rank 10 - n Astaria - 1950 Rank 11 - Ria Adler - 1670 Rank 12 - Gavin Neville - 1660 Rank 13 - Alyssa Astaria - 1600 Rank 14.... ---------------------------------- "What the hell?" The ss was confused because they had expected her to ce a bit higher. "Did she get weaker?" "I mean, look at her, she looks barely alive to me," a girl made a face full of disgust while looking at Alyssa''s pale skin. But Alyssa just sat in her wheelchair and went back to her spot. Venessa''s face looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn''t say anything. "Useless ugly b*tch," the same people who couldn''t even appear in the Top 20 were cursing Alyssa. Although not much, this leaderboard showed that ss 1 didn''t have many talented people other than Asher, Alyssa, and Venessa. Elsa kept calling names, and one by one, students woulde up, but the rankings were not changing for the top 20 people. "Next is Asher Greville." At the end when Elsa called out Asher''s name, and the whole crowd went silent. Although previously they were disappointed to know that their ss ranked among the weakest, Asher was the only person who could change it all. In other sses, especially in ss 4, where Kevin, Elena, and Eva were waiting for the leaderboard to change. "Well, knowing you, if you beat the best record of the first-year practical test, you can win 10,000 GP," Elsa told Asher, who nced at her and kept walking. Asher wore the mana cuffs and walked up to the machine. He closed his eyes, put his right foot forward, and turned his body a bit. Everyone was looking at him; some girls were even silently cheering for him. With one deep breath, Asher punched the machine, and the loudest noise was heard amid the total silence. *BAM* Wasting no time, Asher removed his mana cuffs. He rubbed his wrists a bit as he proceeded to put his palm on the crystal orb. White light glowed out of the crystal orb, and Elsa told him it was enough. When Asher took out his sword, some of the students present here remembered the duel and stepped back subconsciously. Asher''s presence was intimidating for others, as his indifferent face and cold gaze were one of the reasons. Asher looked at the training dummy in front of him, focused, and he could see a few nodes on it. Nodes were the representation of the weakness Asher was able to perceive from the dummy in front of him. Asher was standing with his de pointed at the ground. Suddenly, a faint blue glow enveloped the whole de. Asher''s aura was a lot denser than what Venessa could muster on her sword. ''Node Art, Swift Strike,'' Asher said, and in an instant, the sword that was pointing at the ground could be seen pointing at the ceiling. "What was that?" Others could not understand what happened. In a month, Asher had not stepped into the next realm of mastery, but he formed a sword attack that he was mastering to the fullest. A soft-looking strike, but it was the sharpest strike Asher could perform right now, and the most lethal one. A very small cut had formed on the dummy due to Asher''s strike, but due to the difference in theirposition, there were multiple cracks on Asher''s sword. Everybody looked at the leaderboard to see what the score was, but not only the students, even Elsa was surprised. ---------------------------------- Rank 1 - Asher Von Greville - 9530 Rank 2 - Kevin Whiteheart - 4230 Rank 3 - Lishia Halcyon - 3420 Rank 4 - Matthew - 2970 Rank 5 - Damian Seymour - 2860 Rank 6 - Sam Allister - 2800 Rank 7 - Amelia Von Greville - 2790 Rank 8 - Elena Rothschild - 2700 Rank 9 - Eva Williams - 2657 Rank 10 - Venessa Baker - 1980 Rank 11 - n Astaria - 1950 Rank 12 - Ria Adler - 1670 Rank 13 - Gavin Neville - 1660 Rank 14 - Alyssa Astaria - 1600 Rank 15.... ---------------------------------- "Congrattions on breaking your uncle''s record," Elsa said as she smiled at Asher. "The previous record of 7300 is now broken by you," she said, but the whole ss was stunned. "Monster," a single thought came into everyone''s mind. "Dammit," Kevin muttered to himself, seeing the huge gap between him and Asher. He had practiced a lot these days, even borrowing GP from his sister to use the training rooms in the Duel Hall. But the result was in front of his eyes. "Well, now that we have the results, all of you can go back and rest. You have your exams from tomorrow, so I hope you all perform well," Elsa said as she dispersed the rest of the students. "And for your reward, you will get it by this evening," Elsa told Asher. Chapter 106 Flashbacks Of Past It was time for the theory test for the first-year students, and most of them were busy borrowing books from the library. Apart from special books, each book could be borrowed using an ID bracelet, and each student was given 100 GP only for library use when they joined if they didn''t buy GP with money. Amelia was helping Damian in his studies. They had five exams over five days, covering basics to advanced theory parts of what they had studied for two months in their sses. Apart from a few carefree souls, most of the students were anxious and stressed about covering the whole sybus. The advancement of technology had not only increased the difficulty of the subjects but also meant they had not even started studying the toughest part of the curriculum inside the World Academy. Currently on Floor 5, Asher was practicing his mana cirction, a crucial step for him to continue on the path of bing a semi-mage, so that he could increase the mastery of his sword art. It was 3 PM in the afternoon, and he hadpleted the practical test today. He had no problems with the theory tests because he perfectly remembered all the questions and was probably better than all of the third-years right now in those subjects. His madness was under control because these days he was meeting Alyssa a lot. *************************************** "You have reached Rank G+ pretty fast," Damian said. Both of them were wearing casual clothes as it was the opening ceremony for the first-years. Asher was quiet as he listened to Damian, who was exining something to him. The opening ceremony began, and after Farnus Calmort introduced himself, Professor Arman called Amelia on stage. A beautiful girl wearing a ck uniform thatplemented her ck hair and red eyes walked up to the stage. Damian was appreciating her confident look that she was portraying against others, but he found her yful side more attractive than her current one. "Hello, I am Amelia Von Greville, and I am looking forward to the rest of my four years in the World Academy," Amelia did not say much and walked down the stage. But many male students were going crazy for her. Sounds of pping filled the huge auditorium, but then Kevin Whiteheart was called, and he did a simr presentation to that of Amelia. Although Damian didn''t like that Amelia was close to Kevin, especially after the party incident where they were rude to Asher, but he didn''t say anything to her. It was normal for her to talk with Kevin because both of them were the Year Representative. "Let''s go to the dorm," Damian said as both of them walked to the VIP dorms. "Hey, wasn''t that Asher Von Greville, the heir of the Greville family?" Many students recognized Asher, and his extremely attractive facial features were attracting a lot of attention from others. Asher disliked interacting with others, so after parting with Damian, he went straight into hisrge room where he received his ID bracelet and other items. "ss 4," Asher muttered as he looked at what ss he was in. The next day when Asher walked into ss 4, he saw Kevin, Elena, and Eva, who were already present in the ss. Kevin just smirked, thinking that Asher was a weakling, and Elena and Eva thought the same. For them, Asher seemed like a person who was not brave enough to be a hunter and was not worthy to be the heir of the family instead of their Amelia, or that''s what Kevin was thinking. Kevin went back to his ss after talking with them. He was ced with Damian and Amelia in ss 2. Seeing Kevin and Asher in the same room, the rest of the students startedparing them. Asher was more attractive than Kevin, and some girls were even secretly simping for him. However, Asher quietly sat down far in the back in the empty seats. He disliked the attention he was getting, and seeing his stoic face, nobody approached him. "What do you think his rank will be?" Eva asked Elena. "Maybe in the top 200 if he catches up quickly, but I doubt it. I wonder who will save him from a duel in World Academy," Elena chuckled a bit. Meanwhile, in ss 1, the atmosphere was not exactly peaceful. "Wait, isn''t she your sister?" one of n''s friends asked. n was not in a good mood as he had lost to Kevin in the tournament. Seeing that Alyssa was ced in the same ss as him, his mood got even worse. Seeing that Alyssa had two advanced elements made him jealous and angry. "Sister? That bitch is from the Garcia family. We disowned her a long time ago," nughed loudly, and everybody in the ss could hear it. Venessa was also in the same ss, but she was sitting a bit far from Alyssa. She was surprised by Alyssa''s double advanced elements, but that was it. One of the few students stood up and walked up to Alyssa, who was sitting with her face down. She was wearing a mask around her face, but despite it being ufortable, she didn''t remove it. "Who allowed you to sit here?" one of the boys asked. Alyssa''s lifeless eyes looked up and saw a few mocking faces looking at her. She was used to it, and losing the Representative Tournament made her life even more challenging. Looking back, she thought she was really naive to think that she could beat others in a fair battle. "It was empty," Alyssa replied. "Hahahaha, move from here," another boy said as he tried to touch Alyssa. But before he could do so, Venessa grabbed his arm. "Stop it," she said, staring at the boy who got a bit intimidated by her grip strength. "What are you helping a member of the Garcia family?" he shouted without showing any fear. "Was she the one who did this? She was only 4 years old when it happened anyway," Venessa could not guess why they were making it so difficult for a helpless-looking girl like Alyssa. "So are you saying the whole city that was sacrificed because this bitch''s family and their human experimentation, and we shouldn''t me her?" he shouted, and some of the students stood in favor of the boy. Venessa found herself in an awkward position. She was just trying to stop the apparent bullying, but why was everyone turning on her? Before the fight grew bigger, Elsa entered the ss and saw everyone standing near Alyssa. It didn''t take long for her to understand the situation, so she dispersed the ss. But even she didn''t reprimand anyone. Weeks passed, and simr scenes happened in ss 1, where people would try to gang up on Alyssa. But due to the difference in their strengths, eventually, it died down quite a bit. However, there were still some bullies who marked her desk and cursed her every time they saw her. It was nothing new for Alyssa, and she would ignore it, but the fuel of revenge was burning in her heart. Her desire for revenge was growing stronger day by day. There was another case of bullying that happened, but this time it was some influential kids who tried to mess with Asher because they got jealous that all the girls were giving him too much attention. "They thought that due to the death of their Seat Holder, Greville had be weak." "Hey, do you think you rule everyone here?" a ck-haired boy shouted at Asher. It was abined ss for all the Weapon Arts students. "What?" Asher stopped his training and looked at the boy, but his expressionless face intimidated the boy a bit. But thinking that he didn''t want to get embarrassed as his crush was watching him due to how loud he shouted at Asher. "Do you think just because your grandfather was the sword god, you are too good?" He smirked and mocked Asher, but his words didn''t make sense to Asher. "What are you trying to say?" Asher was holding himself and tried to ignore some stupid boy who came up to him. "I am telling you to not act so haughty around me, you bastard," his words made all his friendsugh at Asher. "What if he is from the Elite family? We are better than him," a thought came to their mind. "Haaah," Asher took a deep breath, but theughter didn''t stop, and it caught the attention of all the students. Asher used mana, as Arthur had taught him himself, and he dashed towards the boy and grabbed his head, mming it on the ground. His sudden action caught the boy off guard, and he was knocked out cold. His actions resulted in him injuring the boy as blood started toe out of the back of his skull. Kevin, who also heard themotion, came to see what happened, and he saw Asher standing on top of the body of one of the students, and saw the blooding from the back of his head. "You!!" Kevin judged that it was Asher''s fault and started to run to help the boy. "Using mana outside of duels is prohibited, even for you, Asher Von Greville," Kevin red at Asher who stared back at him. ''Annoying, everything is annoying,'' his head was hurting, but he felt a bit relieved from his urges when he attacked that boy. Asher tapped his ID Bracelet and transferred 2000 GP to the student council for breaking the rules. Although it was everything he had, he could just buy more GP from the trade center. Asher showed him the hologram and walked out of the big hall like he didn''t care at all. Kevin kept ring at Asher, but now that Asher had paid the fine and it was his first mistake, and Asher''s status didn''t allow Kevin to pursue the matter any further. Asher walked down the empty hallway, as he had left he ss a bit earlier than scheduled. As he turned a corner, he noticed a girl in a wheelchair heading his way. He couldn''t help but notice her pink hair and mask, and he could deduce the identity of that girl. As they approached each other, Alyssa looked up and locked eyes with Asher who showed no emotions on his face like Alyssa. She could recognize him due to his distinctive crimson red eyes but it was a short nce. They passed each other in silence, both of them didn''t care about the other to think much of it. Chapter 107 Assesment Test - Entering The Dungeon The theory test went by quickly, and many students were disheartened due to the exam''s toughness. They did not expect that the questions would be so tricky that answering them perfectly without thorough knowledge was impossible. "Eva, how did you do?" Elena asked, looking tired. Both of them were in Eva''s room waiting for Elena''s cousin Ria Adler toe and spend some time together. All three of them were good friends. "Not perfect, but I will be the top scorer," Eva smirked, but Elena had a defeated look on her face. "Sigh, I hope it doesn''t affect my rankings too much," Elena said. On the other hand, Amelia was sleeping in her room due to the all-nighters she pulled to help Damian. But Damian was full of energy, and he was in Ranker''s dorm going to Floor 5 with Asher. He had already seen the Ranker''s dorm before, and thevish architecture became his motivation to be a Ranker no matter what. "Whoa, your room is even bigger than mine," Damian looked around Asher''s room. Unlike others, Asher didn''t customize anything in his room, and it was pretty clean as well. "Don''t sit around," Asher opened the training room and told Damian toe in. "Go easy on me," Damian said with a smile on his face. As Amelia and Damian teamed up to challenge a D rank dungeon, like some others, including Asher and Alyssa, Damian had asked Asher for a spar, and Asher agreed to do so as there was no harm in training Damian. "Closebat?" Asher asked and took out a practice weapon. "No, I want to practice my tanking skills," Damian said as he brought out a shield. Asher looked at Damian''s stance, and he could spot the mistakes almost immediately. The current Damian was not even close to the Damian in his memories. It made sense because his current rank and experience were low, and he did not have the same drive to improve like the Damian in Asher''s memories. Asher''s eyes gazed at Damian''s elbow joint and footwork and swung his practice sword a few times to make Damian get used to Asher''s speed. Damian frowned due to the strength behind Asher''s attack. Unlike monsters, Asher''s attacks were refined to make the most of their opponents'' weakness. It was a long and difficult spar for Damian, but he realized that he was far from a good tanker. His stamina was good, but his hands kept going numb and heavy as the spar kept going on. "Huff, huff, I can''t move anymore," Damian said, lying on the floor with his body drenched with sweat. "Wash up," Asher said while he put the sword back. "How is your stamina better than mine?" Damian looked at Asher, but thetter just shrugged his shoulders. ************************************ Early in the morning, the teams were told to go to their respective portal points. < Portal Point 103 > Asher looked at his portal point and went out of the Ranker''s dorm. He saw Alyssa, who was waiting for him in the lobby. Alyssa looked at Asher, and both of them quietly went to the portal point. Neither Asher nor Alyssa talked much with each other, but as they were close to the portal points, they looked and saw some familiar faces. Asher was calm, but someone was not. Alyssa''s eyes were ring at a certain white-haired man and the girl next to him. She grabbed the edge of her wheelchair but controlled herself. Asher noticed her reaction, but he didn''t react to it. Kevin and Elena were teaming up, while Eva teamed up with someone else. Kevin found it difficult to choose between the two as both were his friends, so Elena and Eva decided between themselves. "Asher Greville, Alyssa Astaria, you are to go to that portal," a staff member checked and confirmed their identity. "Please wait until we get all of this ready," the staff member said as he left them. Kevin was having a hard time holding his temper seeing Asher. Elena, who was standing behind Kevin, also had mixed feelings. Although she still carried trauma, most of it was converted into hatred for Asher. Eva was standing a bit far from Elena, but she could sense that the mood around Kevin and Elena was not good. Williams did not want to be in enmity with the Grevilles, so Eva was strictly told not to act on impulse. As the heir of the Williams family, Reece Williams, Eva''s older brother, was getting better from an ident, and they wanted to avoid any further trouble. Although Eva wanted to support Elena and Kevin openly, she was smart enough not to drag the Williams family into the middle of all this. In the faculty block, Xander was in his office handling the files rted to the sudden disappearance of Erwin. Although Farnus was quick to expel Erwin, Xander wanted to know the reason behind Erwin''s sudden action. "Doesn''t make sense," Xander said to himself. The whole thing didn''t make sense to him at all. Even if Erwin was a mole nted in World Academy by someone, he would not attack Asher but rather defend the person he was working for. And the look on his face after he had attacked Asher was a look of fear and shock. *Knock* *Knock* Noticing that someone hade, Xander left the matter for now. **************************** At Portal Point 78, Venessa was waiting for her teammate to arrive. Like some other people, she had chosen to enter a D Rank dungeon. She was confident that with someone''s help, she could kill E Rank monsters. She only needed to kill more than ten such beasts toe in the Top 15. As she was confident in her theory test, her goal was to be in the Top 10. "Where is that girl?" She had no idea why her teammate waste. While waiting for her teammate, she saw Sam Allister, who was teaming up with Matthew, talking with a green-haired boy. "Teaming up with such people, you truly are nothing much, Sam Allister," Gavin mocked Sam, who was ignoring him. "Say that after the rankings are revealed," Sam said and ignored Gavin, who did the same. Although Neville and Allister were friendly with each other, it was not the case for Sam. He was not respected by Gavin and his brother Jack Allister. But as they didn''t care about him, Sam himself didn''t care much about them. His father had told him not to interfere in his brother''s ns, so he was going to do what he wanted for now without getting entangled with them. Venessa turned her head and saw a girl running towards her. "Ah, I''m so sorry, I woke upte today!" the girl started panicking while talking to Venessa. Seeing that the girl was apologetic and she was the only one who wanted to team up with her in the whole ss, she decided to leave the matter alone. Due to the fact that Venessa sat with Alyssa, she was also ignored by the rest of the students. But due to her fiery personality, no one really tried to mess with her. "Don''t worry, we still have time," Vanessa said as both of them went to their portal points. "You are entering a D Rank dungeon. You can choose one of the swords from here," the staff member pointed at the weapons. "And if you want, you can take more high-quality weapons, but they will cost GP," he said. "Give me a sword for 500 GP and a mana-gathering locket for 400 GP," Asher said, and the staff member quickly gave him a good quality sword that he could use. A mana-gathering locket was a must-have for all mages. Usually, high-ranking mages would make big staffs or rings that helped them output their mana better, but some preferred having an external source of mana to fuel their spells better than them. Unlike staffs and rings, such lockets were used by beginners or people with less experience in weaving a spell and handling multipleplexities at once. "You can step in. Your safety advisor is already present in front of the dungeon," the staff member said as Asher and Alyssa both stepped into the portal. After using the portal, both of them found themselves in rather dry terrain, but it was still in Somaria, as long-range teleportation was not possible with those portals. "Asher Greville and Alyssa Astaria," a 1-Star Professor saw both of them and gave them a bracelet that was the nano armor, which would act as a defensive armor for them. "This can handle at least two attacks from the D Rank Boss Monster, but I would still advise not to fight such monsters as they are far more powerful than E Rank beasts," he said, looking at Asher. "A senior year student would apany you guys inside the Dungeon, and if he deems the situation dangerous, he will act and kill the monster, and you will stop the exploration at that point." He exined. "We will look at the monster''s corpse you collected to make sure that both of you get the rankings you deserve," he said and turned back, starting with the senior year student and exining to him some stuff. "Let''s go in," Asher and Alyssa wore the bracelet. Alyssa stood up and hovered in the air, and the Professor''s expression showed that he disliked Alyssa clearly. Asher, with a sword on his waist, entered as Alyssa entered the dungeon. "Go with them and make sure that girl-" the Professor was saying something, but he turned towards the blue dungeon gate immediately. His face went pale. He immediately dashed towards the gate, but his entry was denied. "Dammit, Yellow Gate, inform the Principal immediately. Bring someone who could read runes," "Tell me the requirements immediately!!" His words made the staff member run in panic. "Who was the damn bastard that didn''t check that this Dungeon Gate was fresh?" He was cursing his luck that the Dungeon Defect happened to the one dungeon where the heir of the Greville family had entered. It was a moment of crisis as it meant that this dungeon had be a C Rank Dungeon, and if they could not rescue Asher, and the worst happened, this would be the biggest crisis for the World Academy. Chapter 108 C Rank Dungeon?!? Asher and Alyssa stepped into the portal, but as they did, a huge turbulence of mana urred, and both of them felt pushed out of the portal. "Cough Cough," Alyssa coughed, feeling such mana turbulence for the first time. [ Deviation of Fate Detected ] [ Resonance with Curse of Fate Detected ] ''System, what happened?'' Asher asked the system as he looked behind him, but the portal gate was gone. [ Bearer of the Curse of Fate can experience such things ] [ Right now, this Dungeon has be a C Rank Dungeon ] [ ording to Host''s memories, this is a hybrid between Yellow and Red Gate ] "C Rank," Asher muttered, and Alyssa noticed him. "Should I remove the artifact?" Alyssa asked Asher. "Yes," Asher said, and Alyssa touched the metallic mask on her face, removing it. She touched her jaw, and suddenly her pale skin turned into a healthy color, and her scars disappeared as well. Her lifeless pink hair turned into beautiful cherry blossom pink, and her eyes turned into a light shade of pink. Alyssa stepped on the ground and stopped hovering. From the mana turbulence, she knew that they had encountered a Dungeon Defect. In her hand was a white mask with a hollow space for eyes and mouth. "Keep the mask in your spatial ring for now," Asher said as he looked around the environment in front of them. A huge cavern with signs ofva on the cracks of the walls opened up before them. From the heat alone, this was a habitat for monsters aligned with fire elements or those who could survive such a harsh environment. "Treat this as a red gate from now," Asher pointed behind them, and Alyssa could see that the portal to go back had disappeared. Asher was frowning because C Rank Dungeon was not easy, even for him. He could easily deal with D Rank monsters, but Dungeon Defects increased the possibility of lower C Rank monsters. And the boss of this dungeon would be a challenge for Asher. But Asher looked at Alyssa, who was already studying the environment around her. In his previous life, he had never looked at the full potential of the cured Alyssa. He knew that she was extremely strong even in her half-broken body, which was taking away her lifespan, but he wanted to know what she could do now. Weeks ago, when Asher had given the golden vial, he had given her a special artifact in the spatial ring as well. ''I hope it works,'' Asher was notpletely sure, but there was a chance her illness could be rted to the curse of fate. Asher was waiting for Alyssa''s reply when he noticed a message from Alyssa. Asher agreed and told her to meet in the Resting area on the ground floor. This was one of the areas where only those with Ranker''s authority could enter, and they could talk privately. An hour ago, on Floor 4, a girl was lying down on the floor with ck blood around her body. "Argh," Alyssa opened her eyes and smelled the pungent smell around her. "Blergh," The smell was so strong that she immediately puked on the spot. She coughed repeatedly, but as she grew more aware and her senses returned, she was shocked. She could feel her legs again. "What?" She spoke out and tried to stand up. Her legs gathered the strength to stand up, but she soon fell down stumbling. Her body was cured, but it didn''t have enough strength. "No way!!" Alyssa''s eyes started to tear up. She had given up on her body. All she wanted was to somehow stabilize the mana inside her, which was always uncontroble for her. She tried to gather her mana, but she immediately felt weak. "What''s happening?" she tried to gather more mana, but she found it quite hard. Her meridians were repaired, but the damage was so bad in her previous state that the way she circted her mana was not working for her current self. The room was full of a nauseating smell, but she tried to gather the mana around the room. She could feel that although it was painless, it had be a lot more difficult for her to gather mana. But soon, it kept bing a bit easier, and she could see the improvement. Right now, her body was devoid of any fat, but it was utterlycking in proper energy to sustain herself. She stood up, but her legs kept shaking. It was the first time, after such a long time which felt like eternity, she could walk again. She could be like other normal people. Maybe she could experience a normal life like others did. Slowly and steadily, she reached the bathroom and saw her face. *Drop* A tear dropped from the clear skin of Alyssa. She could see the resemnce she had from her mother. She had always believed that her mother was the most beautiful and caring person in the world, and now she looked like her. Tears kept dripping, but they were not of sadness like countless ones in the past. No matter how much Alyssa kept a stoic face, but every time someone cursed her, called her names just because she was different from them, just because they hated her family, it hurt her. But her heart had grown to handle such words, but it hurt her every time. "I should thank him," Alyssa said to herself. Until now, Asher was an anomaly for her who piqued her interest, but right now, she was genuinely d that he helped her so much. Whatever it was, Alyssa knew that it was not a normal potion. Asher had used a high-ranking potion for her. Alyssa swore to herself that apart from her revenge, she would side with Asher, even if the entire world stood against him. She showered quickly, but she kept touching her face. It was new for her to breathe so properly, have no pain, but regaining her strength, the fire for her revenge had increased a lot. "I have a chance to take them all down," Alyssa said to herself. After an hour, she met Asher, but she had worn a hoodie and her metallic mask and used her gravity magic to meet him. Entering the resting area after identity confirmation, she saw Asher, who was sitting with an indifferent face. Alyssa walked up to him, and seeing that Asher knew that the potion had worked. "Thank you," Alyssa bowed towards Asher and looked at him, removing his mask. p¦Á§ád¦Á`no¦Í?1`§ão§® Asher''s eyes widened a bit as he himself had never seen herplete face. It was new for him to see this Alyssa, but he was d nheless. "Do you have the artifact?" Asher said without breaking his indifferent face. "Ah, yes," Alyssa''s tone towards Asher had changed a bit. She took out the mask, and due to the system, Asher could see the info of the mask. | Mask of Illusion - Rank S | | Morphs the person''s body into what they imagined | | Passive Effect - Cannot be detected with mana | | Limitations - Cannot increase the mass and size | | Limitations - Only one change could be used by this mask. Once chosen, it will never change | This was the artifact that came out in the Auction that happened inside World Academy half a year ago, and Asher used a lot of money to make Eric buy this mask for him. He remembered somebody had bought this mask, sold it in theing auction a few months ahead. "Do you still want to carry on with your revenge?" Asher asked Alyssa. "I will," Alyssa told him with a serious look. For her, avenging her mother and killing them all was above her own life. "But I will repay this help, even if I have to work my whole life for you," Alyssa said, basically stating that she would be a ve for Asher. It was a bit surprising for Asher as well, but he didn''t show it. He knew her hatred for elite families, and he had seen it enough in his previous life. "Wear this mask and hide your identity for now," Asher told her. "And stay low for now. There''s no need to overperform in the physical test, just do the bare minimum in all tests except the mana reading one." Asher stood up. "That''s all," he said and left Alyssa behind in the resting area. He wanted to know what Alyssa would do once she had the choice to live a normal life, but when he asked her that question, he could see in her eyes that she was not ready for her revenge. Maybe she might even give up in the future, realizing it was useless. But it was different for Asher. Unlike Alyssa, who was born with a caring personality, Asher was theplete opposite, and now even Alyssa was not enough for him to contain his bloodlust. He had realized that although his obsession with her was still present, from the moment he had returned, he was gradually epting his true self. He had seen what happened to him in his previous life where he tried to live like a normal person, but it was impossible for him to change. He was exactly what others thought about him. A monster. *********************************** "System, how many points are needed to level up mana flow to Rank S?" Asher asked as he touched the wall of the cavern and realized something. [ Host will need all his skill points, but for Rank A, we can do it in 20 Skill Points ] "Do it," Asher said after thinking a lot. Just from the environment alone, Asher could judge what kind of monsters were present in this Dungeon. He could feel that this dungeon would need all his strength to clear it. [Adding 20 SP in Mana Flow Rank C] [Mana Flow Rank C ¡ú Rank B] [Mana Flow Rank B ¡ú Rank A] Asher could feel the mana around his body a bit more clearly, and his control over his aura had increased a lot. Going from Rank C to Rank A increased the chances for him to defeat the C Rank Boss Monster by a lot. "ROAAARRRRRR!" The deafening roar of a monster startled Alyssa, and she got serious, looking towards the end of the cavern which was lighting up. "Get ready," Asher told her as he unsheathed his sword. What seemed like the end of the cavern from Alyssa''s angle was just a sharp turn. But from that turn, a 3-meter-long monster with glowing eyes that seemed like they were made ofva came out and turned to look at Asher and Alyssa. Seeing them, the monster once again roared, making Alyssa start to conjure her icence. "Don''t waste your mana on this," Asher said as he started walking towards the monster. Alyssa nced at Asher, but he suddenly disappeared from his spot. She turned immediately to look at Asher, who was in front of the monster. His sword was glowing deep blue, and he was standing in front of the beheaded corpse of the hideous D Rank monster. His aura had changed, and he was looking at the corpse of the monster. Alyssa was surprised by Asher''s speed but looked at him as he crouched to touch the zing hot corpse of the monster. "Absorb," he said. Chapter 109 D Rank Monsters Asher touched the in monster, and a red aura, like mana, came out of his hand. Alyssa was confused by Asher''s action, but she kept looking at him. The red mist started wrapping around the body of the monster. In a few seconds, the mist subsided and returned to Asher. "What was that?" Alyssa was confused but didn''t want to pry into Asher''s matters, so she didn''t say anything. Monsters were greatly different from humans; they did not have precise control, but the strength they possessed was far greater than humans. But around D Rank, when the mana core would grow, the difference between each Rank grewrger than lower ranks. That''s why Asher was taking all this so seriously. Right now, the C Rank Boss Monster could very well kill Asher. This was the reason Asher was not rushing into higher-level dungeons and increasing his strength carelessly. But the Curse of Fate made him realize something else as well. Dungeons were still the best thing Asher could use to gain strength faster than others. But he needed to wait until after this Assessment Test, but the current situation was a curse and blessing at the same time. Asher smirked, thinking what would happen if he managed to get out alive from here. "This is a C Rank Dungeon," Asher turned and told Alyssa. She expected it to be a C Rank Dungeon, but the monster in front of them was a mid D Rank Monster. Encountering it so early meant that the monsters ahead were far more powerful than this. [Host has gained 500 Exp] [Host has gained +10 Endurance Stats] "This monster is called Hyelther," Asher said as he sliced the body of the monster. "Their skin is tougher than other D Rank Monsters, but their weakness is their neck, eyes, and their back," Asher exined. Hyelther were Rank D monsters who were three meters tall, with eyes that looked like moltenva. Their skin was brown, and it was quite hard to prate if you didn''t know their weakness. "But expect to see other types of monsters as well," Asher said, but he had an idea of what kind of beasts could live in such an environment. The monster''s red blood was filling the ground beside Asher, and the stench was going to alert other monsters as well. "I will be the distraction. Aim for their eyes if we encounter more Hyelthers," Asher said while looking to his right. Alyssa joined Asher as she looked at the turn where the Hyelther hade from, but the view shocked her a bit. Moltenva leaked out from the cracks in the walls, but what surprised her even more were a few ponds of water. In this heat, the water should have evaporated, but it was present, and there were four-legged beasts sipping the water from the pond. As they were far from them, the beasts did not notice the two humans. "Kirons, their agility is the best among D Rank Monsters," Asher said as he knew about the beast. Kirons were four-legged beastsrger than wolves, but their faces resembled those of foxes. What was even more interesting were their crystal grey eyes and their fur-coated bodies, which didn''t match the environment around them. "Is that water?" Alyssa asked. "It''s a special type of liquid that''s useful in making potions, but it is not water. Treat it like poison for now," Asher said as he stared in front of them. "Let''s go down." They had no choice but to go forward and find the portal gate. They walked on a downward slope without making any noise. As they got closer to a rock, "I can dy their movements," Alyssa suggested, and Asher nodded without looking at her. "Right now, he was calcting the optimal path to take to kill all the Kirons. Unlike huge and hideous monsters like Hyelthers, Kirons looked more majestic, but they were far more ferocious than Hyelthers. Alyssa stood up and red her mana. As they walked closer to the Kiryoons, the four-legged beasts turned to look at the human standing in front of them. Sensing the presence of Alyssa, the Kirons started to run after her. But before they could move, Alyssa raised her hands and brought them down. "Descend," Alyssa muttered as the gravity above the Kirons greatly increased. "RoaaRRRR," the beasts roared at Alyssa, but before they could adjust to the sudden increase in gravity. "Now," Alyssa said as she released the gravity on one of the Kirons. *Dash* Asher dashed towards one of the Kirons, and he could see the nodes on the back of the ear of the Kiryoons. Before the beast could even turn his head to his right, a sharp sword decapitated its head. [Host has gained 500 Exp] "Icence," Alyssa conjured an Ice Lance on top of her head with a chant and pointed her fingers at the group of three Kirons. *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* As the Ice Lance attacked the beasts, the difference in temperature made mist arise from the ground. After the mist subsided, three beasts could be seen with their bodies prated by a huge Ice Lance. Asher looked at Alyssa, and he was a bit surprised that despite being on E+ Rank, she could deal with D Rank beasts like Kiryoons this easily. "Release the gravity," Asher said, and Alyssa removed the increased gravity around the remaining three Kirons. "GRRRRRROOAH," the beasts howled as they tried to dash towards Asher. "Node Art: Swift Strike," Asher muttered as his sword drew an arc. In Asher''s eyes, he could see many nodes in the air around him, and his body could instantly perceive the efficient path and move around. Asher''s body was in full sync with his mind, and in his eyes, his sword drew an arc from his leg to the neck of the Kirons. But in Alyssa''s eyes, all she saw was the quick movement of a sword, and all three of those monsters were beheaded instantly. [Host has gained 500 Exp] [Host has gained 500 Exp] [Host has gained 500 Exp] Asher turned and looked ahead. His increased mana sense allowed him to sense a certain distance ahead of him, and he was not liking what he was seeing right now. The terrain already made it hard for them, but due to Alyssa''s Ice Element, there were still ways to counter it. But unlike previous dungeons, C Rank and above dungeons always had different types of beasts in them. What''s worse was that most of such monsters were around the environment that suited them the most. ************************************** "Grant Strength," Amelia chanted and sliced the dagger into one of the wolves. "AAh," Damian shouted as he pushed back the three wolves that had pounced on them. "Fireball," Amelia said as she materialized a ball of fire and sent it towards the three wolves, but they dodged the attack, making it useless. "Take this," Damian took the shield and bashed it into the skull of the wolf nearest to him. "Behind you," Amelia shouted as a wolf pounced on Damian''s back. Damian immediately turned with his shield and defended himself from the wolf''s ws, pushing it back before it could do anything else. Two short daggers prated the wolf, ending its life. Thest wolf died as Damian pushed it away from Amelia, who charged another fireball that managed to hit the wolf, burning its fur and wounding it. The wolf howled in pain, but its life was also quickly ended as Amelia threw a dagger into its skull. "Phew, how many E Rank Monsters have we killed?" Damian asked, breathing heavily. "Around 8. Should we rest a bit?" Amelia was also tired from fighting and using this much mana. Both of them sat down and saw the girl, who was their safety advisor, sit down near them. "You guys are really good," she said while both Amelia and Damian took out an energy bar to eat. "Should we challenge the boss of this dungeon?" Damian suggested, feeling confident. "We still have the whole day. Let''s hunt more E Rank monsters to increase our points," Amelia replied. "If we had time, we could try, and she will save us if things go south," she said while the senior student nodded with confidence. The girl was from a normal family, so she wanted to make a good connection with Amelia, who was from the Greville family. "How many E Rank Monsters do you think Asher had killed until now?" Damian said while eating his chocte bar. "Maybe around 15? I think he will kill the boss monster as well," Amelia said, but the senior year girl was thinking the opposite of what Amelia said. "Do they really think that hunting D Rank monsters is this easy?" she said in her mind. Although she also knew about the infamous Asher Greville, she had fought against many beasts, so she knew how ferocious and strong D Rank beasts were. The difficulty increased so much that parties were a must when going into such dungeons. Outside the dungeon gate in which Asher and Alyssa had entered, there were a few people looking closely at the gate. "Only Rank C and below can enter this dungeon," the runemaster told the professor. "And the limit is two people!" The runemaster was shocked. This made it impossible for anyone to enter the dungeon unless Alyssa or Asher died inside. "I hope that Garcia''s bitch dies. We can''t let the heir of the Greville family be harmed inside," the professor was panicking. But what worried him even more was the fact that none of them hade out of the dungeon despite feeling the dungeon defect. It was strange for them not toe out, unless the portal gate was not near them. Seeing the gate was yellow, it meant that the portal gate was somewhere in the dungeon, but the professor was praying that they could somehow find the portal ande out. There was still a chance that the gate might be near the boss of the dungeon. "But if that''s the case, both of them will die," the professor let go of his thoughts, it was better for him to not think about the worst case scenario. Chapter 110 A Strange Monster Appears "How many more such attacks before your mana runs out?" Asher asked Alyssa, turning to face her. He needed to know everything before moving forward. "I am not sure, but about 100 if I don''t use my gravity magic," Alyssa replied. Her skills were still not polished, unlike Asher''s, so she didn''t have that precise control over her mana like Asher did. In the long run, Alyssa was not powerful enough to deal with all the dungeon beasts being at E+ Rank. Each Icence required her precise calction on how dense the ice would be and how sharp she could form it. The D Rank monsters required a lot of mana per icence, so there was not much she could do without resting and recharging her mana levels. The fact she had not learned any other spells was also another factor that her arsenal was not as strong as Asher''s. But it was the same for Asher. Like Alyssa, he also didn''t know any spells or magic about his major elements. There was a reason he never tried to learn them because his previous body was not capable of wielding magic. But hepensated for that weakness by having an immensely powerful body that could handle his sword skills. But right now, he could only rely on his new sword art, which though powerful, was still in its early stages. While Asher was forming a strategy to go forward with, a sudden voice in his head interrupted his thought process. [I rmend the host to increase your level by hunting beasts] The system advised Asher. It was the first time the system had directly advised Asher like this. ''Status-Level,'' Asher said, and a screen with only his level appeared in front of him. -----| Fate Devourer System |----- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] - 17 (EXP 3500/17,000) -------------------------------------- He was currently at D- Rank, and seeing that mid D Rank Monsters gave him 500 XP, there was a chance Asher could raise his level a few times considering the amount of monsters high rank dungeons had, and he also had his bloodline ability, which was currently on cooldown. [The host can gain many things if you raise your level, and the most important is Authority] ''Authority,'' this word piqued Asher''s interest as he wanted many answers regarding his regression. [There is a high chance of many features returning if the host''s level goes higher] Although Asher didn''t know what those levels were because despite him going from F+ Rank to D-, his level only increased with killing beasts. No matter how much he increased his stats, they did not affect his level. The current system was not something that Asher really used apart from checking his status. But he could gain more by leveling up and understanding about the system and what was the purpose it was given to him. "If we rest in between, I can gather my mana pretty quickly," Alyssa spoke out. She thought that her answer was not good as Asher had not said anything, so she proposed another option. She knew that the current her was not powerful, but she was confident enough to face D Rank monsters and help Asher. "We can''t," Asher said, pointing at theva. Alyssa noticed that the amount ofva around the cracks had increased a bit. A bit moreva was flowing out of the cracks. A frown appeared on her face as a sudden realization urred to her; dungeons were not a ce where the environment was meant to suit humans. "We need to go further into the dungeon," Asher said as he picked the corpse of the Kirons into his spatial ring. "Take the beasts you killed as well," Asher told Alyssa. "Okay," Alyssa did as Asher had told her. They walked a bit and passed by the strange-looking ponds. The amount of food they had was only enough tost two days, and due to the constant fighting, they would need a constant source of energy apart from mana. As they walked further into the dungeon, they saw a narrow bridge made of stones over the pool ofva beneath it. Small embers of fire could be seen a few meters up in the air emerging from theva. Asher used his mana sense and felt the outline of the dungeon in his head, as well as any presence of monsters. This was the skill that was greatly strengthened when he upgraded Mana Flow to Rank A. "Cross it first," Asher told Alyssa, who nodded at him. The bridge was not wide enough for both of them to cross together, so one of them needed to step in first. Alyssa took a step, and the bridge was pretty strong. But Asher had already checked whether the bridge was a trap or not, so she didn''t need to fear anything. Following her, Asher also crossed the bridge. They soon made it past the pool ofva and saw the strange biome in front of them. Several small pools ofva were present in the wide space, but what was even more terrifying was various Hyelthers that were present there. Asher used his mana sense and saw that apart from a few Hyelthers, there were no other monsters in the vicinity, at least not the ones that Asher had initially sensed. "Remember my words?" Asher asked, looking at Alyssa, who nodded at him. Although this experience would have terrified any normal person, Alyssa was calm. She had experienced much worse than this when she was very young, and that deeply etched memory was far more fearful than the beasts in front of her. "I will be the distraction. Aim for their weakness," Asher said as he took out his sword. Asher stepped forward, and his presence alerted a few Hyelthers that were near the pool ofva. Seeing Asher, the Hyelthers immediately became enraged, and one of them roared very loudly. He mmed his hand on the ground, andva around the pool flowed beneath its feet. Theva did not harm the Hyelthers; in fact, it didn''t even bother them. But it made it more difficult for Asher to move around between them. "RROOOWRR!" A deafening shout of the monster could be heard. With their bare hands, a few Hyelthers tried to jump on Asher, but they missed as the agile human disappeared below them. Asher dashed forward but turned towards the Hyelthers and used his aura to strengthen his legs. He pushed the ground and leaped. His aura covered his sword. The Hyelthers were turning, but before the first could turnpletely, Asher, who was currently mid-air, turned and shed theva-like eyes of one of the Hyelthers. The Hyelther cried out in pain and mmed its hand, harming other Hyelthers. Monsters didn''t have the same intelligence as humans, but their battle instincts made them quite dangerous. A Hyelther who was a bit away tried to grapple onto Asher, but before it could reach him, Asher turned and shed its throat. [Host has gained 500 EXP] But a Hyelther who was about to attack Asher was killed instantly as an Ice Lance prated its neck. Alyssa''s attack made the monster turn towards her, and Asher didn''t miss it. He took the chance to use the body of the Hyelther as a surface to jump towards the other Hyelther. Before the Hyelther could realize it, Asher was already behind its head and cut the head in half from top to bottom, instantly killing the Hyelther. [Host has gained 500 EXP] Another Hyelther mmed its leg, and a few drops ofva came towards Asher due to the impact made by the monster. Asher was about to dodge it, but Alyssa was quicker, making theva fall to the ground instantly. "Descend," Alyssa said, getting used to Asher''s movement. It was rather difficult for someone her age to get used to Asher''s movement, but it disyed her talent to analyze the situation quickly and help Asher. Alyssa''s brain was capable of multitasking, same as people like Eva and Asher. This was the reason she could handle the mental strain that came when using spatial magic. Asher looked at theva on the floor and a few Hyelthers who were approaching him from opposite directions. "I will handle the left," Alyssa shouted, and Asher immediately went toward the Hyelther on his right. *ng* The Hyelther tried to smash Asher, but his fist got repelled by Asher''s sword. Asher''s strength was almost on par with a mid-D Rank monster, but using his Aura on his sword made it possible for him to repel the Hyelther''s attack. The Hyelther lost its bnce, and Asher used the chance to dash forward and plunge his sword into the heart of the monster killing it instantly. [Host has gained 500 EXP] But not resting, he turned to the half-dead beast on the ground that had an Ice Lance make a deep wound on its back, changed the grip on his sword, and dashed forward passing by the Hyelther''s body. Asher turned calmly with blood dropping from the edge of his sword. The struggling Hyelther stopped moving as its head got detached from its body, and blood kept flowing out of the beast. On the other hand, Alyssa had already killed another Hyelther that had turned its attention towards her. [Host has gained 500 EXP] In a short amount of time, they had killed more than 7 mid-D Rank monsters. "SCREEEEEEEEEEECH," A sharp sound of a monster was heard as Asher turned his head and looked at the monstering towards them. There were a few Hyelthers that were running in fear from something, but their lives ended instantly as bursts of fire made holes in their heads. "What is that?" Alyssa got serious and red her mana, she was feeling a bit threatened that wasing their way. Asher looked at the end of the dark cavern, where a humanoid monster with burning hands pierced the chests of the Hyelthers, took their hearts out, and started eating them. Taking a bite, the monster turned its face, revealing fourva-colored eyes with a very wide jaw that was eating the heart of the dead Hyelther. Blood dripping out of the corner of jaw as he chewed on the heart of the dead Hyelther. "SCREEEEEEEEECH," A simr sound came out of the mouth of the monster as it looked at its new prey. ''C Rank,'' Asher said in his mind as he covered himself with his aura. What he didn''t want had happened. It was not impossible for high-ranking dungeons to have simr rank monsters in them apart from the boss monster sometimes, but it was quite rare in B Rank and below Dungeons. A/N : For such fights I will add the Experience Counter in the Authors Note below at the end of every chapter during this dungeon run. Chapter 111 Fighting A Vialmir Alyssa could feel that her life was at risk facing such a monster. She was at the peak of E Rank, but even with her special elements, she was sure she would not be able to kill this monster. "A Vialmir," she knew about this monster because it was one of the trickiest C- Rank monsters that could appear in a dungeon. "Stay back and support me," Asher said, fully knowing what this dungeon had in store for them. A Vialmir was a C- Rank monster, but it was one of the trickiest monsters to hunt in a dungeon. The fact that these monsters never appeared outside the dungeons that had biomes suitable for them made it difficult to kill. Although it was fortunate for them they had only encountered a single Vialmir, as it was a C- Rank dungeon, higher level dungeons had groups of Vialmir. A monster that could switch into medium to closebat easily, and whose strength could rival mid C- Rank monsters, was a notable factor why they were so dangerous. A monster taller than 2 meters, with long hands and a body covered in a hard shell, and with its hands covered in fire. The fact that they had four eyes not only increased their field of vision but also allowed them to dodge any surprise attacks as well. Alyssa was a bit nervous, but she knew that if she made a mistake, both of their lives would end here. ''Not like this,'' she told herself. She had just gotten a ray of hope in her life that was full of darkness. She had finally gained a chance to exact revenge on her enemies. Alyssa calmed herself down and looked at Asher, who was staring at the monster with an indifferent face. The Vialmir finally moved as its creepy eyes looked at the two humans in front of it, and the monster shouted again. "You know their weak points, right?" Asher said as he swung his sword around. His eyes were focused on the Vialmir, but there were only a few nodes he could see on the monster. "Yeah," Alyssa said as she summoned 10 Icences above her head, ready to shoot any time. Humans had ventured into dungeons for a long time, and the knowledge allowed the current generation to know every weakness of almost all the monsters that were present in the dungeon. The Vialmir dashed towards Asher, as it had perceived him to be a bigger threat to its existence than Alyssa. From its burning hands, whip-like things made of zing hotva came out and extended towards Asher. Asher''s speed was enough for him to see the zing whips, so he sidestepped from his initial position, and saw the whipnd on the empty ground making an impact on the ground. Seeing Asher had dodged its attack, the monster shouted in anger. "SCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEECH," the Vialmir dashed towards Asher. The whips went back into its arms, and small, sharp-looking ws could be seen beneath the burning hands of the Vialmir. Asher raised his sword to block the attack of the Vialmir, but the strength of the Vialmir pushed him back a bit as they were locked into their position. Asher''s body was covered with aura so he could handle the heating out of the Vialmir''s body. The monster''s eyes stared into the crimson eyes of Asher. Despite Asher suppressing his killing intent, the monster could sense dangering from Asher. But it was too focused on Asher, and it made himpletely ignore the Ice Lances that came towards its head. *BAM* The impact of the Ice Lance shook the neck of the monster, and Vialmir lost its grip on Asher''s sword. Asher did not miss his chance and immediately pushed the monster back. "Swift Strike!" Asher''s sword changed its trajectory from a horizontal blocking position to a downward sh. During his attack, Asher could see a few nodes around the hard stone-looking shell that covered the monster''s body. His sword, which was covered with his aura, managed to cut Vialmir''s body. The monster instantly dodged backward, sensing danger, but it was toote as Asher had already managed to wound it. Vialmir''s eyes saw the cut below its chest region. ''Shallow,'' Asher knew that the attack was not enough to seriously injure the monster. "SCREEEEEEEECH," Vialmir was seriously enraged as a weaker human was harming it. Despite sensing danger from Asher, the monster still dashed towards him, but its speed was faster than before. Vialmir''s w-like legs started burning with fire, and Alyssa again attacked it with a few more Ice Lances, but the monster easily dodged them while still running towards Asher. There was a reason why fighting Vialmir was dangerous, and those who had fought simr monsters like it could see the change in the monster. Monsters like Vialmir used the strength of the surroundings, likeva, to burn their bodies and produce more energy. Although it was a short boost, the dungeon environment allowed such beasts to get more and moreva or simr elements that could increase the times they used such skills by several times. That''s why to fight such a dungeon, a water element-aligned mage was needed, and Alyssa was filling that spot for Asher right now. Asher''s eyes looked at the iing beast, but as Vialmir almost approached him, Alyssa used her gravity magic to slow down the beast. "Descend," she focused on holding it back, but it was difficult for her. The Vialmir was confused, but it was enough for Asher, who could see the nodes more clearly now. His sword got covered in his deep blue aura as he shed the approaching monster. But even for Alyssa, it was difficult to slow down Vialmir any further than 20% of its current speed. The difference in rank was too much for her to handle. Her previous attacks were distractions to make the monster approach Asher. She saw Asher, who instantly closed the gap between him and the Vialmir and removed her gravity magic. Sensing the pressure was gone, the monster raised its ws to cut down the human in front of it. Asher ducked a bit as he swung his sword in an upward arc. Asher''s eyes could see that his sword was faster than Vialmir''s approaching w. His red eyes were staring at the monster in front of him. There was no fear in Asher''s eyes; he had fought more terrifying monsters than a mere Vialmir. *sh* Asher''s sword travelled cutting through the gap in the shell on Vialmir''s arm, slicing it down. But before the monster could writhe in pain, it saw Asher''s body turn and his right hand twisting the sword''s direction. Asher turned his sword and concentrated his aura on the tip of it, thrusting it into the throat of the monster, which was the only part not covered in a hard shell around Vialmir''s body. "You did it," Alyssa said as Asher''s sword prated the throat of the monster, making its way out of the head of the monster. [ Host has gained 5000 EXP ] Asher looked at Vialmir, whose eyes were staring at him, as blue blood kept flowing onto his sword from the monster''s throat. He removed his sword and swung it to remove the blood present on his de. Asher saw Vialmir''s body slump on the ground as the fire on his body died down, revealing its w. Asher wanted to try and absorb Vialmir''s stats, but his skill was still in cooldown, so he took the corpse and ced it in his spatial ring. Asher crouched down and sat on the ground as he took a few deep breaths. His previous fight had drained a lot of his stamina to keep up with the monster. "Huff," Asher saw Alyssa approaching him. "Are you fine?" She extended her arms to lift Asher up. Asher stared at her hand and eventually took it. "Yeah," Asher said while looking in the direction where Vialmir came from. "This is not good for us," Alyssa said while taking the body of Hyelthers in her spatial ring. Although they had managed to defeat the C-Rank Vialmir, she remembered the important thing she had read about them. Vialmir''s existence meant that there was not a single Vialmir, but multiple ones. This dungeon was a perfect ce for Vialmir to exist. But hoping that it was a C-Rank dungeon, she knew there were at least 5-6 more Vialmirs in this Dungeon. And if they encountered two at the same time, it was not looking good for them. "Let''s rest for 10 minutes," Asher''s voice made Alyssae out of her thoughts. "Okay," she nodded as she thought Asher needed to rest a bit, given he had defeated so many monsters himself. But Asher was not that tired to stop and rest; what he was waiting for was the cooldown of his bloodline ability. Right now, he needed more mana to sustain his aura, and Vialmirs were the perfect monsters to get such stats from. Asher used his mana sense to see how many monsters were ahead of them, and he could see the presence of two more C-Rank monsters far ahead of them and many D-Rank Monsters before them. This dungeon would take them a lot of time, and Asher wanted to find the Portal Gate, but he knew that it would be somewhere near the boss of this dungeon, which was still an unknown monster for now. ************************** *KNOCK* *KNOCK* "Come in," Farnus said as a panicked staff member came in front of him. "What happened?" Farnus said while still looking calm. "P-Principal, there is a dungeon defect in the first-year Assessment Test!!" The staff member hurriedly reported. "What?" Farnus''s face changed into a frown, but he still remained calm. "Who is inside?" He needed to know who was stuck inside the dungeon before finding fault in the person who picked that dungeon. "I-It''s Asher Von Greville," Farnus''s eyes went wide because this was the worst scenario that could happen right now. From a Professor attacking him to him getting stuck in the Dungeon defect due to their mistakes, the aftermath of this incident could cause a scenario that Farnus wanted to avoid at any cost. "Don''t let anybody know about this until I say so," Farnus stood up and his aura alone was enough to shake the staff member. "I will go there myself," Farnus said as he disappeared from his office. The staff member immediately made sure that the order was followed. Apart from Farnus, nobody was informed except for a few staff members who were managing the assessment test where Asher was. He quickly informed the principal''s order to those who knew about the news. The strongest human in the world was on the move, knowing what the death of Asher could cause for them. Chapter 112 Getting Vialmirs Stat "Elena, handle the one on the left. I will handle the rest of them," Kevin said as little zaps of electricity wrapped around his hand and the tip of his spear. Kevin''s speed wasparable to that of a D-Rank Hunter as he dashed towards a giant spider that was half his size. *Thrust* His speed was enough to overpower the low E-Rank Spider Monster as he thrust the spear into its body. At the same time, Elena chanted multiple fireballs in her hands and sted them towards the monsters. Currently, they were in a D Rank Dungeon, and they were hunting E Rank Spider monsters. "Kevin, above you!!" Elena shouted, noticing a spider creeping on the ceiling above Kevin. Whenever Kevin used his advanced element, lightning, all his senses were greatly enhanced so he could sense the silent movements of the spider above him even before Elena shouted. Kevin backstepped as the spider jumped down on him and threw his spear towards the spider. Losing contact with Kevin''s body, the aura on the spear dimmed greatly, but the little sparks of lightning were still present. The spear was strong enough to impale the spider''s body even without aura, so Kevin managed to defeat the spider efficiently, leaving the senior who was observing them shocked. "So, that''s the famous Kevin Whiteheart," seeing both Elena and Kevin in action, the third-year boy could not help but ept that Kevin was quite talented. ''But if he is this strong, then what sort of monster Asher Greville is?'' the senior-year boy questioned himself. Right now, Elena and Kevin had killed a total of 30 E-Rank Spiders in a matter of three hours. Going by their speed, there was a chance they could try to take on the boss monster of this Dungeon as well. "Elena, ssh a water spell there," Kevin pointed at the ground ahead of them, making Elena chant a basic water ball spell. For her, who had an affinity for all elements, it was quite easy for her to use the basic spells of all basic elements. *SPLASH* The water sshed as the ground got wet, and three spiders crawled out from behind the spot where the water ballnded. Kevin''s heightened senses allowed his vision to be more clear and precise than other humans near his rank, so he could spot the ck spiders despite the spot being dark. Kevin took his spear and carefully coated it with electricity. He was focusing all his lightning on the spear, and after a certain amount, he threw it very fast at the ground where the water was. Combined with water, the lightning electrocuted the spiders, but it made the mana inside Kevin''s body go down by quite a huge amount. "Huff, nice," Kevin, who was breathing heavily, fist-bumped Elena. "Let''s aim for the Dungeon Boss as well," Kevin looked at Elena and told her. "I am ready!" Elena said confidently, and she took a small hand towel from her spatial ring and handed it to Kevin. "Oh, thanks," Kevin thanked her while smiling at Elena, making her blush a little as he took the towel and wiped the spider''s blood off his hands. These low-level spiders were not poisonous, but their bites could sting an E-Rank hunter. So it was better for them to remove the monster''s blood from their bodies. "I wonder how that bastard would be doing," Kevin was quite confident, thinking that both Elena and he were doing great considering they had killed a total of 33 E-Rank monsters. And the fact they had a chance to kill the dungeon boss as well made him confident that his performance was quite good so far. But what he didn''t know was that, instead of E Rank monsters, Asher and Alyssa were hunting D-rank monsters and had even fought a C- Rank Vialmir and defeated it already. ********************* "You can eat," Asher said to Alyssa, who was sitting silently beside him. "Okay," she replied. Alyssa looked at Asher, who had no emotions on his face. He was simr yet different from her. For her, masking her emotions was the only way she could live until now. Although the SSS-rank potion had fixed her physical body, Alyssa was even more scarred mentally. But Asher''s indifference was a bit different from hers, but it didn''t intimidate her strangely. "Keep your energy levels high," Asher stood up. "I will go scout for a bit," he said, while Alyssa nodded at him. Asher went ahead to look if any monsters were attracted to their presence. Despite theva and heated climate around them, there was still enough oxygen for them to breathe. The fact that Kirons, which also breathed oxygen, were present in this dungeon was enough proof for them not to worry about oxygen levels for now. But the heat was affecting Alyssa a bit more than Asher. Her body had be a bit more sensitive now, and the headache from using the spatial ability was affecting her. Until now, she had masked it, but the moment Asher left, she grabbed her head. She summoned small ice shards around her to cool the air around her a bit. Asher, on the other hand, took out the corpse of the Vialmir in his spatial ring. He looked at the dead monster and put his hand on its body. "Absorb," Asher said as a red mist came out of his body. When he had hunted E-rank dungeons beforeing to World Academy, he had stopped receiving any stats from them because low-level monsters didn''t have simr stats to humans. But it was different for higher-rank monsters. The disparity grew bigger if the monster was the boss of the dungeon. The boss was always a bit more powerful than the regr monsters of the same rank as itself. The strange mist covered the body of the Vialmir, and Asher could feel that his mana was increasing. [Host has absorbed a low C- Rank monster] [Host has gained +17 mana stats] ''A portion only,'' Asher confirmed his theory about his bloodline ability. He was not sure about low-rank monsters, but he was sure that the difference between his and the Vialmir''s mana pool was greater than 17 stats. He was only absorbing around 50-60% of the difference in their stat of the Vialmir, whose mana pool would have been around 120-130. Although it was a rough estimate, but from his rank A mana flow, which increased the level of his innate mana sense, he couldpare the stats of the Vialmir to himself. "ROAAAAAAAAAAAARR," a scream of Hyelther made Asher turn as he took out his sword immediately. Although still far, Asher could notice the Hyelther running towards their direction. "Might as well," Asher covered his sword with his aura. He ran towards the direction of the Hyelther, and after half a minute, he could spot three Hyelthers that were slowly walking towards him. Asher increased the amount of mana in his leg and ran towards the Hyelthers, the three of them had came out of a big crack in the wall which was probably the direction they would need to go towards to get further into the dungeon. *DASH* Before the first Hyelther could react, Asher had already shed its right leg in half, making the monster lose its bnce while it writhed in pain. Not stopping here, Asher changed the direction of his left foot and used the ground to propel himself towards the Hyelther to its right. Unlike the previous monster, this Hyelther was ready to attack Asher, but Asher turned his body a bit, making the monster miss its attack on the airborne Asher. The Hyelther''s neck was within Asher''s reach as his sword swiftly made a huge cut in the Hyelther''s neck. But using the Hyelther''s body to slow his momentum, Asher rotated mid-air as he connected the two nodes behind and in front of the monster''s face, slicing the head in half. [Host has gained 500 EXP] Asher''s eyes were glowing in red as his killing intent started leaking out of him. Unlike low-level monsters, D Rank and above monsters never ran away from such bloodlust, but it affected their rationality. The Hyelther, whose leg was cut, tried to jump on Asher to kill him. But he could not reach Asher as thest Hyelther of the three jumped on the monster on the ground to attack Asher in a frenzy. Seeing the monster run towards him roaring, Asher sidestepped as he shed off the hand of the Hyelther. Alyssa was not here, so she could not see the way Asher truly fought. Not minding the blood that covered half of his body, Asher saw the Hyelther using his other hand to smash Asher, but the monster could not even reach Asher''s body as Asher disappeared from his spot and sidestepped, cutting the huge wrist of the Hyelther. Seeing the two Hyelthers writhe in pain, Asher dashed towards them, beheading them both. [Host has gained 500 EXP] [Host has gained 500 EXP] Asher''s killing intent subsided, and his eyes became cold as he looked at his hands covered in blood. It was refreshing for him to finally let himself loose. Dungeons were the only ce where Asher could let himself be free. His endless urge to kill everyone felt sated whenever he would kill a monster. He took the Hyelthers in his spatial ring as he turned to get Alyssa and go further down in the dungeon. Three days was the amount of time before Asher needed to somehow clear this Dungeon. Their food wouldst around two days, and venturing deeper, he was not sure there would be many such ces to rest and stop due to the biome of this dungeon. And the fact that there were at least 6-7 Vialmirs roaming in this dungeon was a major concern for him as well. If he could absorb all of them, his mana could rise to the level of D Rank Hunter. He knew that the mana he could absorb from them would gradually decrease, but that was his only chance to defeat the unknown boss monster somehow if they didn''t find the gate before the boss room. Chapter 113 Abrupt Decision Asher returned to Alyssa, with half of his nano armor covered in murky red blood. "What happened?" Alyssa stood up and asked. "I just met some Hyelthers," Asher said. "Are you done eating?" he asked. "Yeah, I have recovered most of my mana," Alyssa replied. The food they received was specially enriched with mana and other nutrients that not only helped them recover their mana but also replenished their energy. Alyssa followed Asher as he walked forward. For her, Asher was strange. Unlike others, he didn''t hate her, but he also didn''t try to get along with her like Venessa did. She came to the spot where Asher had defeated the three Hyelthers, and she could see blood on the ground, some of which had dried up due to the heat. Alyssa was using her mana to actively protect her body from the heat, and Asher was doing the same, but he was utilizing aura instead of mana. For mages who never used their physical might, aura was useless, so they used their mana to shield themselves from situations like this. Asher looked at the big crack in the wall, which was wide enough to let the three-meter-tall Hyelthers pass through it. Using his mana sense, Asher stepped out of it, and the view changed slightly from the previous part of the dungeon. They could seeva pools on the edge, and around 15 Kirons were sitting near them, chewing on the few dead Hyelthers whose hearts had been ripped out. ''Vialmir,'' Alyssa thought in her mind. It was strange, but Vialmir never hurt beasts like Kirone. Some people had a theory that there was a hierarchy among monsters, but it was never proved as a lot of inconsistencies arose when they took SS or SSS Rank Dungeons into ount. The higher the dungeon level, the moreplex and intricate the inside would be. "Should we do the same?" Alyssa was speaking, but Asher raised his finger to his lips and pointed at theva pool. Alyssa squinted her eyes as she saw something moving in theva pool. A Vialmir. She didn''t think that the Vialmir would be present in the pool ofva, and knowing that there were at least 15 Kirons in front of them and a Vialmir, this was not a fight that was advantageous for them in any way. The fact that the Vialmir had the source ofva so near him would make it highly difficult for them to defeat it. Asher stepped back, and Alyssa quietly followed him. Coming a bit farther from the previous position, Alyssa finally spoke out. "I will try and fight the Kirons, and you should focus on the Vialmir." No matter what, Alyssa could not think of a better n than this. It would be extremely hard for her to fight against 15 Kirons, but if Asher could somehow handle the Vialmir, they had a good chance of winning that battle. Asher thought for a bit. Alyssa''s idea was decent, but only if she was a D-Rank like Asher. Right now, at E+ Rank, her attacks were not that powerful either. "How many Ice Lances can you throw at the same time?" Asher asked Alyssa. "About 35-40," Alyssa replied. Asher exined his n to Alyssa, and thinking about it for a second, Alyssa agreed to it as well. Although it was a bit risky, it was still a better idea than hers, but it depended a lot on Asher. Both of them walked a bit and reached the point from where they could easily see the Kirons and the hidden Vialmir who was probably sleeping after eating the Hyelthers. Asher masked his presence as much as he could. He softened the sound of his feet by applying mana to them. Although it required delicate control, his Mana Flow Rank A allowed him to do this quite easily. "Bring forth, I call upon Ice," Alyssa materialized a few long rods around her. Channeling her mana, Alyssa made the Kirons notice her, but the Vialmir hadn''t moved for now. Alyssa threw around 15 Rods that were twice the size of Ice Lance, making a fence-like structure to trap 10 Kirons behind the fence, but the rest 5 were still out and now they were running towards Alyssa, who was breathing a bit heavily. "Ice Lance," although it was difficult to chant twice like this in session, their life depended on this. The rest of the Kirons were attacking the Ice Fence to break it, and slowly few shards of ice were breaking onto the ground and melting into water. "Swift Strike," Asher dashed in a zigzag motion, cutting through 5 Kirons at once. Making Alyssa the bait for the Kirons and elerating himself by using mana, he managed to outspeed the Kirons. [Host has gained 500 EXP] [Host has gained 500 EXP] [Host has gained 500 EXP] [Host has gained 500 EXP] [Host has gained 500 EXP] The moment Asher red his mana, the Vialmir woke up. Alyssa was still far, and the Kirons'' senses were sharper than the Vialmir, so they could spot Alyssa easily. Still, Vialmir only noticed Asher when he used mana to kill 5 Kirons at once. The 10 Kirons were still trying to breakthrough the Ice Rods, but Alyssa had given around 70% of her mana to make them sturdy enough, so it needed some time to break. However, the heat of the environment was also affecting the Ice Rods, which would surely break in 2 minutes. "SCRREEEEEEEEEEECH!" After the ear-deafening cry of the Vialmir, a whip ofva came out to attack Asher, but he dodged it quite easily. A four-eyed monster with a wide jaw was burning more than the previous Vialmir, which meant this Vialmir had a lot of reserve than the previous Vialmir, and his bursts would be even more powerful. Asher boosted his Aura to the maximum. It was the first time he had red his mana this much, but he needed to finish that Vialmir as fast as possible. Asher''s crimson eyes were shining through the deep blue hue around him. The Vialmir dashed with his ws out, but Asher did not move from his position. His eyes focused on the node in front of him. "Swift Strike," Asher said as he dashed towards the rushing Vialmir, closing the distance abruptly. The Vialmir saw the deing out towards him, and a sense of danger arose in its mind. The Vialmir dodged Asher''s attack as all his limbs started burning furiously. The moment the Vialmir had taken Asher as a threat to his existence, he brought out his full power to kill Asher immediately. The whips extended out of his ws, making Asher dodge repeatedly as the strikes made a deep cut on the ground. *bam* *bam* Seeing that the human was faster than it had expected, the Vialmir bursted fire around its limbs as it dashed towards Asher. Asher used a lot of mana to suddenly burst forward and collide with the Vialmir. He turned his hand and covered the de''s edge with denser aura. As the Vialmir approached near him. *ng* The Vialmir''s hand bounced off Asher''s de but it couldn''t push the monster back. This was not what Asher wanted either. He twisted his right hand as he raised his sword above the Vialmir''s chest. The Vialmir raised its ws and brought them upwards, aiming to attack Asher''s head and rip it off. "DESCEND!!" Alyssa used the most gravity magic she could at the moment, maintaining the Ice Lance above her head. Asher could feel the heaviness above him but it also increased the weight of his sword considerably. He pushed the sword downwards to the Vialmir, which was about to hit Asher''s head with its w. *SLASH* Blue blood spurted on Asher''s face as he shed through the shoulder of the Vialmir with his sword, cutting the monster''s body into two parts, ending its life. [ Host has gained 5000 EXP] *Boom* However, as they were fighting, the fence around the Kirons broke due to an attack simr to a fire arrow, breaking the Ice Rods that had stopped the rest of the Kirons from attacking Asher while he fought the Vialmir. The sudden explosion took Alyssa''s attention as she stared at the smoke where the Ice rods were broken. "What?" Alyssa said, her eyes going wide. The sight she saw made her face frown greatly. "SCRREEEEEEEEEEECH!" "SCRREEEEEEEEEEECH!" The deafening cry of two monsters could be heard as Alyssa saw the Kirons running towards Asher, and behind them were two Vialmirs. Their jaws were wide open as one of the Vialmirs dashed faster than the Kirons present there. "GET BACK!!" Alyssa shouted as she fired all her Ice Lances to somehow save Asher. The second Vialmir noticed Alyssa''s presence, and its w came out as the Vialmir got ready to attack Alyssa, who was busy firing her Ice Lance. ''Is this how we die?'' A thought rose in her head. Her senses went into hyperfocused mode as a few of her Ice Lances managed to hit a few running Kirons, but she saw that Asher was not moving from his spot. "Time Dtion," Asher muttered as he disappeared from his spot. Asher looked around himself as everything was moving slower than him, even the sound of the monsters was reaching him slower. But his senses were still sharp. His eyes went towards the second Vialmir, and he dashed towards it. Two Seconds. In two seconds, Alyssa saw all the monsters fall to the ground. Suddenly, she felt a presence near her and saw that Asher was standing beside her. He was covered in blue blood, but his crimson colored eyes were shining. She noticed Asher, who was staring forward, looking at nothing. She could not see it, but there was a green glow around Asher''s neck. She looked back at the ground and saw a pool of blood in front of her. Every single monster in front of them was beheaded, with even their limbs detached from their bodies. "What...?" This shocked her. What had happened? How were all the monsters dead? How was Asher standing beside her? She didn''t know the answer, so she turned towards Asher. One... Two... Three... Four... Getting no answer from him, she was about to speak out when Asher clutched his heart and fell to his knees, coughing blood immediately. He was about to fallpletely, but Alyssa grabbed him immediately, not knowing what was happening to him. Chapter 114 Level Up When Asher killed the Vialmir, using Alyssa''s gravity magic as a boost to his strike, he was about to rush and kill the Kirons caged behind the long Ice Rods. [ Host gained 5000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Although this was not a good oue for Asher as he had used quite a bit of his mana, the cost was considerably reduced due to Rank A Mana Flow. If not for this ability, it would have been impossible for Asher to even move after killing the Vialmir. *BOOM* Asher saw the Ice Rods fall, and he could immediately deduce that another Vialmir hade. But he was proven wrong when he saw two of them together. He wanted to save this card for the boss monster, but knowing that he only needed to wait for a one-hour cooldown, he decided to use the skill finally. Asher was really skeptical about using system-given abilities until now, even his bloodline ability. For him, it was weird for anyone to help him, especially a god. A goddess helping a man like him? When he first saw the message that took him back in time, heughed, thinking that his time hade. When he actually regressed, heughed. But he knew that whatever actually helped him had a motive or something that only he could give. Or that was what Asher thought. "Time Dtion," the moment he muttered those words, time seemed to slow down for him. The ratio 5:1 sounded too good to be true for a skill with a simple one-hour cooldown. This meant that his speed would increase five times what he could reach right now. Currently, Asher''s speed was what he could achieve when he reached the peak of A Rank in his previous life. But this was only what others who could see him would feel. For Asher, it was not him that was fast, rather everything else other than him had grown slower. Asher''s eyes wandered as he looked at all the monsters running towards him with their jaws open. Asher dashed past the Kirons and killed the second Vialmir first. It was the first time he had used this ability, and only five seconds had passed for Asher when he channeled his aura and sliced through the shell of the Vialmir, beheading it. [ Host gained 5000 EXP ] Not minding the Kirons, Asher turned his body as he dashed again towards the remaining Vialmir. The Vialmir could not even see Asher right now. [ Host gained 5000 EXP ] Ten seconds had passed when Asher turned towards the Kirons. One or two of them died to Alyssa''s Ice Lance, but the rest of them were killed ruthlessly by Asher. Asher could feel that something heavy was ced on him. It was almost as if the weight of his soul had increased rather than his body. He could move normally, but he was feeling more and more burdened by the moment. Asher immediately dashed towards Alyssa and stood beside her. [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] ... A total of seven Kirons were killed by Asher. He was watching the notifications with an indifferent face. He could see some wordsing out of Alyssa''s mouth, but they sounded weird to him. Seconds kept passing, and Asher stood still. [ Time Dtion is ending ] The duration of the skill ended and Asher felt weak all over his body. It was not as if he was injured, but his body failed to handle the transition when the skill duration ended. Asher fell to his knees as a terrible headache and sudden pain ran rampant near his mana core. Asher spurted out blood, but the heaviness he felt was still there. He clutched his heart not because the pain was too much for him to handle, but he was feeling as if his mana core would explode. "Are you fine?" Alyssa asked, grabbing Asher. But right now, he was not exactly in the state to answer. [Host should not use Time Dtion until your body gets used to it] [Right now, your body is holding the burden of using a power too great] If this was a simple agility boosting skill, Asher would have been fine. But what he used just now was him delving into a realm that was under the rule of only one entity. "When can I use it next?" Asher in his mind, still suffering from the terrible headache. [Host should not use it for a week, but if you can use it one more time] [But it is highly likely the Host would lose consciousness the next time you use it] "I am fine," Asher muttered. Alyssa removed her hand when she saw Asher could sit normally on his own. She was confused about what had happened just now. ''Is it his bloodline ability?'' This was the only possible exnation for Asher''s action. "How much mana do you have?" Asher asked Alyssa. "Not enough, but I can protect you until you recover," Alyssa said. She was almost out of mana, so the most she could do was protect Asher from a mid-D Rank monster if any appeared. She knew her current limits very well, and she would rather not give false hope in such situations. "We will rest. If any mid-D Rank monsterse, try to kill them," Asher said as he closed his eyes. Alyssa saw Asher meditating in a dungeon and recovering his mana. ''Greville,'' Alyssa thought, standing up. Asher was not simply a genius. If what she saw right now was true, he was also capable of defeating the Top Rankers of the Second Year students and some rankers of the third year as well. "Why is he helping me?" doubt arose in Alyssa''s mind. From the strange connection she felt from Asher to all these strange abilities he was using, she got curious about him. At first, all Alyssa wanted was to somehow use Asher as a shield while she fulfilled her revenge, but questions started arising in her mind. Alyssa''s eyes went dull thinking about her revenge. She looked at the corpses of the monster and thought about how much she needed to increase her strength if she wanted to catch up to people like Asher. All the blood and corpses around her managed to bring out some memories she didn''t want to recall. The moment she left Asher, simr thoughts that had haunted her for years returned. Strange voices that had impacted her so much throughout her life began to resurface once again. She felt rather calm around Asher, just as Asher felt near her. Asher was meditating when he used his mana sense to probe inside him. His mana was all over the ce inside him. His core was almost empty, but he was regenerating his mana quite fast. Two hours went by as Alyssa killed a few Kirons that came their way. It was hard for her, but she was getting a hang on how to reduce her mana consumption. It was not on the level of Rank C Mana Flow, but she was learning from her battle experience. ********************************* Outside the Dungeon, 7 hours ago, Farnus had arrived, and the Professor was kneeling in front of him. "I-I am sorry, we didn''t know that the Dungeon Gate was fresh," he repeatedly apologized. Although it was not his fault, the man he was kneeling in front of was the strongest human in this world. In the current situation, pointing fingers and making justifications could have dire consequences for him. It was not his fault but it was the way that the world worked. "How much time has passed?" Farnus''s words made all the people present tremble a bit. "An hour has already passed," a staff member replied. Farnus stood up and went near the gate. When he touched it, the gate repelled him simrly to how it had repelled the others. "Make sure nobody gets the news about this. If any student asks about them, tell them their dungeon exploration was dyed so they are still in the middle of their exams," Farnus said, turning around. All of the people nodded quickly, not daring to go against his order. Farnus touched the white robe he was wearing as he thought about something. In a second, he disappeared from his ce and arrived at his office after a short while. He touched the metal engravings behind his seat, and a majestic golden spear got revealed as he released his mana on the engravings. "Let''s hope the worst does not happen," Farnus said as he looked at his spear and took it inside his spatial ring for now. A weird blue pattern around his right shoulder started glowing as Farnus disappeared again from his office. *********************** Inside the dungeon, very far from where Alyssa and Asher currently were, a huge beast was sleeping. Lines ofva were running around its body like they were its veins. The monster opened its eyes as a Vialmir came into its sight. The Vialmir tried to flee from the strange beast, but it only took a second for the beast to rip the Vialmir in half. The strange monster revealed its jaw asva started to drool out of its mouth. The powerful C-Rank Vialmir, in an instant, was turned into food for this strange monster. After a few seconds, the monster noticed a strange amount of mana, but it was too small for him to care about it. The monster turned as it went back to the Dungeon Altar, where a strange yellow-colored portal was. Chapter 115 What Awaits Them In The Boss Room? 2 Hours had passed and Alyssa was breathing heavily. She had defeated around 10 mid D Rank Monsters while using sneak attacks. It was hard for her, but fortunately, none of the Kirons she hunted came in groups. "Huff, huff, huff," Alyssa wiped the sweat off her face. She sat down on one of the rocks to rest for a bit. For her, this was the least she needed to do right now while Asher was recovering his mana from whatever he used during his fight. "You can rest now," Asher came and saw Alyssa resting on the rock. "Okay," Alyssa replied, but the heat in the dungeon made it difficult to restfortably. "I will go further into the dungeon," Asher said as Alyssa nodded. He turned to go further in, but Alyssa''s voice stopped him. "I will join you in 2 hours, so don''t go too far," There were no expressions on her face. Nobody looking at her would think she cared about Asher when she said this, but a smirk appeared on Asher''s face as his back faced her. "Sure," Asher walked off to go deeper. Alyssa touched the mana gathering locket as fresh mana kept swirling around her. She had not used it the entire time so she activated it now to quickly recover her mana. Asher had recoveredpletely, but he could still feel the heaviness around his mana core. It was weird, but he was sure that the skill he used did not use mana at all. Asher dashed off to the corpse of one of the Vialmir as he touched it to absorb it. "Absorb," Asher muttered. [ Host has absorbed +8 Mana stats ] Asher could feel the mana around his body increased once again. There were two more corpses, so he took them in his spatial ring like other Kirons. Asher spread his mana sense as he dashed off further into the dungeon. He saw multiple Kirons with many small Ice Daggers around their neck region. ''She improved,'' Asher thought in his mind. Although Icences were the easiest thing she could make, smaller ice objects required greaterplexity as encasing them with mana was moreplex. Mana maniption was something mages needed to excel at to properly conjure higher-level spells. Asher dashed forward, using mana to elerate himself. "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRGG," There were some Kirons left in the area that sensed Asher''s presence. "Swift Strike," Right now, for Asher, it was not hard to handle mid D Rank monsters as his mana was on the higher side. [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Asher saw the dead Kirons and took their dead bodies inside his spatial ring. He could feel that his mana level has grown higher than what his current core was able to handle. The mana flow Rank A skill was the only reason he was not feeling the aftereffects of having high mana without the properly trained mana core. Mana Flow was very different from Mana Cirction Rank A. Unlike thetter, mana flow didn''t intervene with mana inside his body, but it controlled the output the core produced and mostly the external mana around him. The major advantage Asher had because of mana flow was to suppress his own mana, making him almost undetectable unless he went into closer range of the monsters. Right now, he was exploring the middle part of the Dungeon. Between checking many paths, Asher found that most of them were not filled with monsters. He was continuously using his mana sense to see if there were any Vialmir present nearby. He could fight one of them and emerge victorious but two of them would be a problem for him. Two hours had gone by, and Asher cleared some of the paths while killing monsters like Kirons and a few Hyelthers around them. Asher went back to see Alyssa, who was meditating with her eyes closed. She had used her ice around her to lower the temperature so she could focus on gathering her mana. Usually, it would have taken much longer to fully recover mana without an external source of mana, but the mana gathering locket worked fine for her. *Step* *Step* Sensing Asher''s footsteps, she opened her eyes and looked at the young man walking towards her. Almost Asher''s whole body was covered in dried blood of the monsters. "Should we move?" Alyssa asked as she stood up. Asher wanted to clear this dungeon as soon as possible because if he got a bitte, then his ns would go down the drain. This dungeon environment was not a major problem for him. He could endlessly hunt monsters and absorb them until he couldn''t and then properly challenge the boss, but his motives were different. Both of them left, and as Asher guided Alyssa to the path he had scouted ahead, from his skills alone, Alyssa could not think of Asher as a novice. She thought that it might have been because of his family that he was so knowledgeable as she never personally had the chance to use Astaria Family''s resources like n could. As they moved further into the dungeon, they encountered various monsters like Kirons and Hyelthers. Some of them were grouped together, so Alyssa took on a bunch while Asher finished them off. His style of fighting became more refined as he moved with Alyssa. He felt calmer with her, so he didn''t have the reason to calm his madness by killing the monsters brutally. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] "Status-Level," Asher said as his sword prated the heart of the 3-meter-tall Hyelther. -----| Fate Devourer System |------- [Name]: Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -19 (EXP 8,500/19,000) --------------------------------------- "ROAAAAR-" Another Roaring Hyelther died as multiple small shards prated its neck and eyes. Alyssa was still getting used to maintaining the structure of the Ice Shards. Little errors would make them unable to harm a D Rank Monster. The pools of mana had be lesser, but the heat had significantly increased. Now, even Asher was sweating a lot. "Let''s go back for now," Asher said as both of them turned. It would be useless to go further as both of them needed a bit of rest. They had been travelling through the dungeon for six hours. Alyssa was quiet as both of them sat down on the corner farthest from theva pools. "I will generate some ice," Alyssa said as a circr ring of ice appeared on the ground around them. "We will rest for four hours, then we need to find the boss room," Asher told her while wiping the blood off his sword. They didn''t talk much during their rest. It was aforting silence for both of them. Asher talked about a few strategies, and Alyssa gave her input on areas where she might not be helpful to him. "I will try, but I might be useless in front of the boss monster," Alyssa said. "Don''t worry. I will deal with it, but just follow the n," Asher knew that her damaging a C Rank Boss would be nearly impossible, so he came up with another n. "But let''s deal with Vialmir first," Asher said, sensing a monstering their way. Asher and Alyssa stood up. "Let''s try it on the Vialmir," Alyssa suggested as she raised her hands and created several Ice Shards. Bringing her hand downwards, one by one, the Ice Shards hit the ground and but they kept breaking because they were brittle. Alyssa''s sudden attack generated a loud sound that attracted the Vialmir. "SCREEEEEEEEEECH," a monster''s cry was heard as the Vialmir quickly came toward them. Alyssa muttered a chant, as he focused on creating the spell. Asher moved as soon as he heard Alyssa chanting. He red his mana, which attracted the Vialmir, causing it to move toward him. After a few seconds, a creepy monster with four eyes became visible as it marked Asher as its prey. The monster ran towards Asher but it suddenly stopped in it''s track as a heavy pressure stopped him from moving for a single moment. "Shackles," Alyssa muttered as various Ice Shackles emerged from the water below the Vialmir, which had just stepped on the water. The Vialmir looked at its leg, which was getting encased in ice. But before it could break it, Asher moved from his spot. "Swift Strike," Asher''s speed closed the distance between the two quickly. But instead of aiming at the gap between its hard shell, Asher''s sword connected with the monster''s mouth, splitting its upper and bottom jaw, killing the beast instantly. [ Host has gained 5000 EXP ] Alyssa, who was grabbing her knees with her hands, saw Asher defeat the Vialmir and felt d that herbination magic of two elements had worked fine. Although Asher had exined how to do it theoretically, she had implemented it quite well. Asher instantly touched the beast and said, "Absorb." [ Host has gained +5 Strength ] Thest stat he gained from the Vialmir was +3 mana, which meant that the difference between the Vialmir''s mana grew less than the difference between their strength. Absorbing it, Asher immediately took the Vialmir''s dead body inside his spatial ring. He turned and saw Alyssa, who was grabbing her knees. If she managed to do something simr, there was a huge chance that Asher could defeat the Dungeon Boss without getting heavily injured. "Let''s move. I am fine," Alyssa walked toward Asher, maintaining a stoic face, but her head was hurting a bit. Her confirmation meant they could venture toward thest path they had left unexplored among all the paths. Walking down for six hours straight, defeating a few Kirons, they reached a huge ground. In front of them was a huge gate that was half open. Fortunately for them, not a single Vialmir had appeared near this path, which probably led to the boss room. The temperature had increased quite a bit. This heat was unbearable for a normal human, but both of them looked fine. Although it increased their mana consumption, it was something that could not be helped. *Thump* *Thump* Alyssa could feel a feeling of dangering from the thing behind that door, but she calmed herself but her heartbeat was not calming down. It was different from the Vialmir. The monster behind that gate was increasing her nervousness. She was nothing but an E+ Rank Hunter. An E+ Rank Hunter should have been dead long ago to mid D Rank monsters like Kirons, but she was standing in front of the C Rank Dungeon''s boss monster. But unlike Alyssa, Asher''s eyes had turned deadly cold, as he probably sensed what exactly the boss monster was. "VAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGHHHHHHHH," a loud roar that vibrated through the walls could be heard as the beast woke up again. Chapter 116 First Injury? The walls vibrated as the beast roared. There were nova pools near the Boss Room, but the temperature had increased quite a bit. ''Status,'' Asher said, as he looked at his status. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -19 (EXP 18500/19,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 90 Agility: 72 Endurance: 80 Intelligence: 120 Mana: 114 Stamina: 65 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 75 [SP]: 14 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill ---------------------------------------------- Asher could feel that his mana core had increased from D- to D rank, meaning he got extra mana stats and stabilized it with the help of Mana Cirction Rank A. "Wear your mask," Asher said, and the density of his aura around his body increased slightly. Alyssa took the white mask out of her spatial ring, and the moment she touched it, her skin went pale, and the scar returned. Even her hair became duller than before. "Stay back, and I will get its attention," Asher said as Alyssa calmed herself down. A single mistake from Alyssa could prove lethal for both of them. If Asher, the only one among them with a chance to battle the boss, got harmed, both of them were as good as dead. Asher stepped forward, and they both walked towards the boss room, downhill on a slope-like structure. The roar had stopped, and a deathly silence took over the Dungeon. As they entered through the door, they were hit by a wave of intense heat. Lava flowed freely from the walls, casting an eerie glow over the room. Alyssa''s eyes became wide as she saw the sight in front of her. In the center of the chamber sat the monster, its massive form dominating the space. It was a four-legged beast three times the size of a Hyelther that radiated an intense heat from itsva-like veins. The tworge horns on its head glinted menacingly in the light. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. It looked simr to Kiron, but it was nothingpared to this beast. Many monster carcasses could be seen around the beast, which opened its eyes again, revealing a menacing re towards the two humans in front of it. Alyssa saw the ring yellow eyes of the beast staring at them. "VRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH," another roar went through Alyssa''s whole body. The beast stood up again, seeing another meal in front of it. But its hand turned, as the huge beast felt a killing intent stronger than itself, and turned its head towards a human who was looking at it with a cold gaze and crimson red eyes. "What is this beast?" Alyssa didn''t know, but Asher did. It was a Fiarmince, but not a normal one. Although they looked like Kirons, they were beasts that could live insideva, and they were one of the monster species that required long-range attacking hunters to hunt them efficiently. But the one they were standing in front of was a Boss Fiarmince, which would surely have other abilities that differed from a normal Fiarmince. The boss of the dungeon was basically the caretaker of the Dungeon Altar that could be seen behind it. Without killing the boss, the runes around the artifact, or whatever item was on the altar, were useless. Some people tried to steal artifacts without killing the boss monster, but the runic formations destroyed those artifacts if the boss monster was alive. But behind the runic formation of the Altar, there was a yellow portal that could only be essed if Asher could somehow manage to kill this boss. [Host is under the effect of Peak C Rank Monster] [Dungeon Environment will affect your mana cirction] This was the effect that many hunters experienced when they fought higher-rank boss monsters. Their mana control would go out of control if the boss was higher ranked than them. But it only happened in the boss room. Some people theorized that the Boss Room was the domain of the monster, but some said it was due to the runic formation that kept the artifact safe until the boss died. Asher could handle the mana cirction penalty due to his high-ranking skill, but Alyssa would have a hard time fighting this monster. "Don''t go near it," Asher told Alyssa as he dashed towards the beast, emitting enough killing intent to capture the attention of the Fiarmince. The monster opened its mouth, revealing its massive jaw, and emitted a stream of fire. Asher changed direction and dodged the fire attack, but the boss was a Peak C Rank Monster with better stats than Asher. Seeing him clearly, the monster turned its eyes towards Asher and dashed towards him. Asher used a small burst of mana on his leg to dodge the rushing boss monster. The Fiarmince hit the dungeon wall, making a few stones fall from the ceiling asva poured over the monster''s head. Despite the burningva, the beast was fine and turned towards Asher. The beast''s ws, which were glowing orange, grew bigger as it dashed and shed towards Asher, not giving him a chance to retaliate. Enraged by Asher''s killing intent and their rank difference, the Fiarmince did not even care about Alyssa, who was in the middle of a chant. Asher increased the aura shrouding his sword as he propelled himself towards the limb of the Fiarmince. Despite the aura shielding his body, Asher could feel intense heat as his body turned redder. "Swift Strike," Asher struck the limb, but the monster was quick enough to escape with only a graze. "VRRRRRRRRAUAGH," the beast roared again, making the room vibrate, but Asher did not miss the chance as he closed the distance. He gripped his sword tightly as he saw a few nodes that were very dim around the leg of the beast. Slipping past its head at high speed, Asher sliced a big cut on the beast, but his sword was getting dull. It was not enough to handle a beast like a Fiarmince. The beast was about to strike Asher with its w, but Alyssa''s attack on its eye interrupted it. "Ice sh," Alyssa muttered as a small dagger flew towards the beast''s eye. The Ice Dagger was rotating at a high speed while it''s sharp side managed to thrust into the monster''s right eye. *Splurg* "VRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGHH," the beast shook its head intensely as the heat around its body increased. But the damage was done. Alyssa''s normal attack would never be able to pierce the body of a Peak C Rank monster, but shebined it with her gravity magic to elerate it. It took a massive chunk of mana and mental strain, but she did it. Asher saw that Alyssa had managed to do her part of the n as he looked at the beast, which was mming its legs furiously. It was a short time frame, but Asher needed to use it well before the beast dashed towards Alyssa, killing her instantly. With blood flowing through its one eye, the beast turned its yellow eye towards Alyssa, making her heartbeat faster. The pressure of the C Rank beast was getting to her. But before the beast could attack Alyssa, Asher jumped into the air and turned its body. The Fiarmince''s body was toorge for Asher to cut its neck, but his target was its horns, which were one of its weaknesses. "Node Art: Swift Strike," Asher''s body turned as he sliced off one horn from the boss monster. His attack made the boss monster turn furiously, but he was already on the ground. Asher dashed away from the beast as it roared again. Its whole body that was brown was bing more orange as the heat inside its body increased. The blood flowing through its head and one eye made the beast look even more terrifying, but Asher was staring at it indifferently. Asher dashed again to turn the beast''s attention, but the beast had finally used mana around its body, making its ws sharper. The beast dashed towards Asher, who stopped to sidestep, but the beast was learning from Asher as well. Currently, Asher''s sword art was still novice, and he was maximizing it, but his speed was not enough to outrun the peak C Rank beast. As Asher sidestepped, the beast noticed and raised its leg to strike Asher, who got hit and was sent flying into the dungeon wall. Alyssa''s eyes went wide, her heartbeat racing, but fortunately, Asher was not sent flying towards theva. However, the impact with the stones injured him. "Cough Cough," Asher came out of the smoke with a slight bleeding wound on the side of his head. At thest moment, he used all of his aura to shield himself from breaking all of his bones due to the difference in strength between the beasts. *Drip* *Drip* Blood started dripping from his head. It was the first injury he got in a serious fight since his regression. Asher''s madness took over him as his killing intent ran rampant, and the beast refused to lose to a lower-ranking existence, just like Asher. His inner madness went rampant as his face turned cold and his eyes stared right towards the boss. A small smile emerged on his face, but it was not gentle at all; it was menacing. Even Alyssa could feel the thick killing intent. He was even more overwhelming than the boss monster itself, but she could not see Asher''s expression right now due to the smoke around him. [ Warning!! Host''s emotions... ] Asher ignored it as he removed a small sharp stone that had prated his left hand despite his nano armor. The beast roared again, sensing even higher killing intent, and opened its jaw to breathe fire. Asher raised his sword, but his left hand was badly broken as it went limp. Chapter 117 Can They Survive? "Is he fine?" asked Alyssa, unable to see Asher through the smoke in front of them. The monster opened its jaws and breathed out fire. *BOOM* Alyssa tried to distract the boss by hitting it, but apart from a few Ice Daggers, none of their attacks managed to pierce the monster''s body. Alyssa looked around for Asher but saw a person in the air above the Fiarmince. A few seconds ago, Asher had used a burst of mana in his legs to propel himself into the air. His feet touched the wall behind him as he burst forward, appearing above the boss monster. His eyes shone red as he jumped onto the head of the monster, plunging his sword into the wound that appeared due to the broken horn. "VRRRRRAAAAAUGHHHHHHH!" The monster writhed in pain as Asher took its head and pushed it onto the wall. Before the monster could headbutt the wall, Asher had jumped off the monster. His feet were a bit burnt due to standing on the monster directly. His eyes were shining with bloodlust as he didn''t care about his body like his previous self. *Bam* Lava spilled onto the ground as the enraged boss turned over, using its head with a huge cut to strike Asher. Asher anticipated the attack and dashed forward, causing the ground to rip off due to the strike from the boss monster''s w. Its eyes tracked Asher below as it backed away to strike again. But as the monster backed away, an Ice Dagger pierced its face, just missing the left eye. Alyssa was breathing heavily as she did not have much more mana left. The monster''s pressure was affecting her mana cirction, wasting much of her mana on such attacks. The monster became annoyed by Alyssa''s constant annoying attacks, but the moment its attention shifted, Asher jumped towards the Fiarmince once again. "Noo!!" Alyssa shouted, not knowing why Asher would go near the ming hot body of the Fiarmince. "Swift Strike," Asher muttered as he pierced the skin near the boss''s chest region, but the heat started affecting the de. Asher had transferred much of his aura to the de to make it handle the heat, but the downside was him getting a bit burnt badly. Various burns started appearing on his arm that was holding the de and his legs as the nano armor failed to protect him. It was not made to handle the attacks of a peak C Rank Monster. Asher pulled out the de quickly, but his bnce was off as he couldn''t use his right arm. Taking the sword made the boss move suddenly, causing Asher to fall to the ground. *Bam* He used his aura to protect the back of his head and his spine, but the Fiarmince didn''t let go of its chance. The monster was wounded a lot now, as it was bleeding heavily due to various shards that had prated it long and due to the wound near its broken horn. The monster once again tried to do a w strike on Asher, but he barely survived as he rolled over to the side. "Ice Shards," Alyssa did a few attacks, seeing Asher backed into a corner. Her eyes became red, and her hands started trembling. Her constant use of gravity magic was putting a lot of strain on her, and in this environment, where the heat was also affecting her thought process, it made her suffer a lot. But she didn''t give up because if she couldn''t help Asher right now, their only chance to defeat the boss monster would go away. Asher''s eyes saw the figure of Alyssa who was frantically trying to save him by distracting the boss. Seeing her face again, a memory that he didn''t want to remember resurfaced in his mind. His killing intent became even denser, but it focused only on the boss, who was about to turn towards Alyssa, but his sudden action made it focus on him once again. Asher stood up, not minding his left hand which was bleeding. Not only was he losing a lot of blood, but if he got attacked once again, he would lose his chance to even damage the monster. The monster got enraged as it struck towards Asher with its ws again, but Asher kept dodging in an unpredictable manner. He was trying to stay closer to the boss because their size difference made himpensate for theck of speed he had. His nano armor was breaking apart as he tried to close the distance, but he didn''t care about it right now. The boss had jumped back and opened its mouth; its horn was glowing, so Asher knew that the Fiarmince was about to do a wide-range fire breath. "Node Art: First Step," Despite his uncontrolled state, Asher managed to perform the first step that was part of the Novice Mastery. Although it was not perfect, his body moved on its own. His subconscious, which had experienced doing this motion, tried to replicate the move. Asher disappeared from his spot as he appeared on the left side of the boss. The Fiarmince turned its head, ready to attack, but the human disappeared once again. Asher was hyper-focused, so he could not really control his actions, but he could feel that his legs moved in a veryplex manner. It was different from his Snake Steps, which he created, but although not as powerful, it was enough to close their distance. His mana flow around his leg has changed as he dashed towards the monster. Asher threw his sword upwards in the air while he used both his legs to jump upwards. His body was not exactly bnced, so he threw the sword in the air and used both of his legs. Some of his leg muscles got damaged in the process, but he managed to make it near his sword as he reached out his right hand to grab it. A stream of fire could be seen below Asher, but the boss soon saw Asher, who was in the air now. The Boss saw another chance to finally strike the human who was airborne in front of him helpless. The Fiarmince was much faster than Asher, so he raised his w to kill Asher, as it was the perfect chance. "Time Dtion," Asher muttered as he saw the w that was approaching him in an insanely high speed slow down considerably. Asher fell to the ground and saw that the beast was now slowly moving its eyes to see his previous motion. He dashed forward and jumped onto the monster''s back. The Fiarmince was about to jump, but Asher was already on its back. He ran forward, but the slowed-down time also reduced the heat that could travel to his body, preventing his feet from burningpletely when hended directly on its back, which was glowing the most. With a sword in his right hand, he reached the head of the Fiarmince. d in his sword with all of his aura, the sword had many areas where it was chipped due to him using it on monsters that it was not made for. If not for his aura, the de would have melted or bent due to the heat alone in its body. Asher thrust the sword with his right hand. The boss had moved its head a lot, and in a few more seconds, Asher would certainly lose his footing. But not wasting any time, he plunged the sword through the face of Fiarmince, cutting it in half. He made his way downwards as he split the face in half with his sword, and blood was slowly emerging from the wounds. Alyssa was running towards him with her eyes wide open and her hands ready to attack the boss monster with herst possible attack. Asher sliced off its head, but not stopping there, he used his grip tounch himself up again to reach the head once more. His eyesnded on thest horn, and he dashed as he poured all of his aura towards that one punch. *BAM* Despite having no support from his left arm, his punch was enough to crack open the horn, but he punched it again. *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* The horn came off as blood was slowly spurting outwards, and his time dtion was about to be over as well. [ Host has gained 25000 EXP ] [ Host has levelled up ] [ Host has levelled up ] Seeing the two notifications, he knew that he had managed to finish the boss, but all of his strength was leaving his body. His consciousness was fading as well. Asher closed his eyes falling down as his world faded to ck, but he had done it. He had defeated the Firamince despite the odds against him. [ Time Dtion has ended ] Alyssa ran towards Asher, who was falling. She used gravity magic to make Asher fall away from the massive Fiarmince''s body. She ran forward with all her strength and caught Asher using the gravity magic as the pain in her head grew bigger. Overexerting herself, Alyssa''s eyes were red and blood was drippin from her nose. A few burns appeared on her hand due to massive heat that came off the dead beast but she looked at Asher who was unconscious in her arms. "You did it," she said, relieved that both of them could survive. *Crack* A cracking sound appeared from the walls of the dungeon as a violet space got revealed. "What is happening?" Alyssa got suprised as she looked around to see the Dungeon walls were breaking. She could see a Violet energy behind the walls but monsters started to step out of the Violet energy. "ROAAAAAAAAAAR," a few Kirons came out of the broken walls of the dungeon making Alyssa grabbed Asher''s body closer to her. She anxiously looked around as she saw at least 4-5 Kirons walking towards her and Asher with their jaws open. "How?" Alyssa questioned, as she had never heard of such things happening after defeating the Dungeon boss. She looked down at Asher who was bleeding in her arms, and she didn''t have enough mana to defeat more than 2 Kirons herself. "I... We will not die here," Ice started to envelop around Alyssa as he brought Asher close to her chest, but she could not perceive the hidden looming danger that was about to step into this Dungeon. If she could, she would have gave up her hopes on getting out of this dungeon alive. Inside the Violet energy was a terrifying monster whose pressure alone was enough to kill both Asher and Alyssa. [ Warning!!, Curse of Fate is Resonating ] [ Warning!! An S Rank Boss monster is appearing from the spatial crack ] Asher was getting multiple system warnings, but he was unconscious, so he could not see them. [ Host, evacuate immediately! ] [ Calcting Host''s survival rate....... ] System notifications continued to pop up. [ Survival rate: 0%...... ] [ Checking Host''s system ess ] [ Full authority found, unlocking..... ] [ Requirement not met.!!! Partial Requirements Met : Host''s Level has reached 21 ] [ Emergency!!! Unlocking the System''s true form ] [ ?!? is being released ] [ ?!? is awakening from its slumber ] [ System is materializing..... ] Neither the monsters nor Alyssa could see ?!? materializing, something that did not belong to this world was finally showing itself. A eye revealed itself from the huge shadow that was emerging behind Asher. Chapter 118 System?.... A huge shadow started to appear behind Alyssa, who was holding Asher. Alyssa brought Asher closer as various ice daggers started to revolve around her; blood was dripping from the edge of her eyes right now. Numerous small ice shards shot out, killing two or three Kirons, but something weird happened. Due to her intense headache and pain, Alyssa could not even see around her. She buried her head in Asher''s hair as her hands trembled while she used all of her mana to somehow kill the monsters. Normally, the Kirons would have dodged those attacks, or at least a few more would have survived, but no monster was moving even an inch. An ominous presence permeated the air, and the monsters halted in their tracks. From the inky ckness of the shadows, a single colossal eye emerged, the vibrant, blood-red hue of its iris piercing the gloom. The eye''s elliptical pupil narrowed, exuding an air of mystery and an unsettling aura. The unblinking stare held a terrifying and menacing quality that seemed to paralyze the monsters in fear. As the eye surveyed the dungeon, the creatures trembled, recognizing the entity as a force beyond theirprehension. The true form of the enormous shadow remained hidden; its power emanating from the shadows caused even the most ferocious beasts to cower. The once-rampant monsters now stood frozen, their instincts warning them of the futility of challenging this ancient, enigmatic being. The eye moved towards the violent energy, sensing a presence more powerful than the worthless monsters in front of it. The S Rank boss monster trembled in fear as it realized something far more powerful was present on the other side. Its instinct told it to run rather than die to the unknown presence. But before anything could react, the darkness with the shadow started to wrap around the violet energy. It permeated through the violet energy and strangled the S Rank Boss monster that could not escape the clutches of the strange darkness. [ ?!? is absorbing the S Rank Monster ] As the shadow devoured the S Rank monster, not even leaving any trace of the fearful monster behind, it turned towards the violet energy, but before it could even try to devour it, strange chains started appearing to reject the shadows, making the eye re at those chains. [ ?!!???! is interfering ] Before the chains could move further, the second eye opened as well, and the darkness took over the whole dungeon, including the violet energy. The violet energy grew smaller and smaller as the strange presence retracted the darkness around it. And in a few seconds, the strange violet energy disappearedpletely, leaving no trace of its existence. The eyes turned and looked at Asher, who was unconscious. [ ?!? recognizes its host ] [ ?!? does not submit to the host ] But strange purple runes came out of Asher''s body, taking over the darkness and making the darkness a bit smaller as a result. [ ?!? questions its existence ] The massive red eye came closer to Asher''s body behind Alyssa''s back. Fortunately, Alyssa could not see the darkness that was wrapping around her and Asher. [ Checking Full ess Permission.... ] [ Host has full ess ] Whatever the true form of the system was, it was truly confused about why Asher wasmanding over it. [ ?!? will get partially absorbed by the host ] The eye disappeared as it got absorbed into Asher. Alyssa didn''t know, but a small ck tattoo appeared on Asher''s back and disappeared soon after. Alyssa was trembling, but she kept hugging Asher to protect him. *Cough* She started coughing as she looked around her to see that those Kirons were dead. "We are alive..." She muttered as blood kept dripping around her eyes and nose. She was so tired right now that she wanted to sleep, but this was not the time. She stood up andid down Asher carefully; the floor was quite hot, but due to her unstable use of her mana, a shell of ice had formed under and around them. She broke the thin ice with her pale hands as she walked over and took the boss inside her spatial ring, and turning, she did the same for the Kirons that died due to her ice attacks as well. She turned her face as she looked above the Altar where the artifact was present and beyond that was the portal gate that would take them out of the dungeon. Each step was making her even more dizzy, but she kept walking as she reached Asher, who was lying down with his eyes closed. A certain memory popped in her mind as she remembered the events that happened earlier. Alyssa kept looking at Asher''s face for a few seconds before she crouched to pick him up. Both of them had multiple small burns on their hands and near their necks and faces, but this could be treated with medical attention outside in the medical facility of the World Academy. Now the boss was dead, Alyssa could finally use the mana-gathering locket she had. Regaining a small amount of mana, she picked up Asher with his arms around her shoulders. It was difficult for her, but she kept walking on the steps of the Altar as they reached the highest step, and she saw a ring on top of a stone b. She took it in her spatial ring, as the dungeon would probably close soon after they left. This was the case with Dungeon Defects that resulted in Yellow or Red Gates. And when both the artifact and boss were defeated, such dungeons would soon disappear, so she needed to leave with Asher, or they would be trapped inside this dungeon forever as it would disappear from their world. Her eyes were getting heavy, but looking at Asher, who was bleeding, she needed to get out as soon as possible. She dragged herself while holding Asher with her shoulder and saw the Yellow gate in front of her. **************************************** Outside the World Academy, Damian and Amelia both were long done with their Dungeon Exploration, although it was tough, they had almost managed to kill the Ice Wolf. Although it was more due to Amelia, who boosted herself and Damian to withstand the attacks. Right now, Damian was arguing with a staff member outside the portal points. "What do you mean his Dungeon Exploration got dyed?" Damian asked the staff member. "I wanted to ask what boss he fought," Damian turned as he got back to Amelia. "What did they say?" Amelia asked Damian. "His test got dyed, so he wille out a bitte," Damian replied as both of them went towards the VIP dorm. They were both tired, and Amelia wanted to take a short nap as well so they went back. At the Dungeon outside, the Professor was patiently waiting as he kept staring at the dungeon portal while biting his nails. He was wishing somehow Alyssa died, so they could save Asher quickly, but there were no signs of it. A long time had passed, but looking at the dungeon still closed meant both of them were alive, so he kept praying for Asher''s safe return. Suddenly the professor''s eyes went wide as he saw the sight infront of him. "Wait, the gate is changing!" The Professor shouted as every staff member, including the senior-year student who was sitting there like a hostage, looked at the dungeon. Through the dungeon, a girl who carrying a young man stepped out. It was not hard for them to recognize Alyssa, as her looks were simr to her previous appearance due to the artifact she was wearing, but everybody was shocked as she carried Asher, who was bleeding and unconscious. Seeing that she had finally stepped out, Alyssa''s eyes grew even heavier, and she fell down, causing both of them to fall. "Take them to the Medical Facility!" The professor shouted with urgency. "Inform the principal!" He shouted at the staff member beside him. In a minute, both of them were taken to the medical facility urgently. Currently, the extent of their injuries was unknown, but seeing that they had survived was enough. The professor fell to the ground as his legs gave up. The stress he had experienced in the past few hours was something he never wanted to go through again. He was sure that if Asher didn''t return alive, he would be the one used as the scapegoat and probably would die. Farnus was still present in his office, but on his hands, various rings were visible. He was looking for some documents when the staff member urgently knocked on the door. The door opened as the staff member came in with a delighted look on his face. "Sir, Asher Greville hase out of the dungeon alive," he reported. Farnus''s eyebrows raised as his fingers tapped the desk two times. "Is he in the medical facility?" Farnus asked. "Yes, our doctors are treating him, so he should be able to recover soon enough," the staff reported. "Dy the ranking announcement; we will do it after both of them wake up," Farnus said without a single change in his expressions. As the staff member left, Farnus removed the rings on his hands. He stood up, looked outside the window, and remembered his talk with Silvus Grandus, the Mage Association Chairman, long ago. "What do you think of the records of the past?" Silvus asked Farnus, who looked like a 40-year-old man. "Hmm, for some, they handle them like a legacy; some handle them as a source of information. It depends on how you look at them," Farnus replied. "I think something different. Remember the guy who mastered the runic arts and was said to be the creator of the Trial Grounds..." It was a conversation that happened long ago, but Farnus was strangely remembering it now. Chapter 119 Strongest Human... So What? It was already the next day, but Asher and Alyssa were still unconscious. Rumors spread instantly that Asher Greville got hurt in the D Rank dungeon, making many people ted in the World Academy. "Kevin, you have a good chance to gain the No. 1 spot now," Ria said to Kevin with a smile on her face. "Don''t be so happy, Ria. His score in the physical test was still too good," Eva replied while sitting down on one of the sofas. "Yeah, but our professor told us that most of the marks are given based on your performance in the Dungeon Exploration," Ria said as she took a snack from the table. "Serves him right, who told him to be so arrogant," Ria said, looking at Elena. "I don''t care much about rankings right now; he is already D-Rank," Kevin said with an annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, we should work on ourselves for now. But I am d that girl will step down as the Year Representative," Elena walked over and sat beside Ria, speaking with a confident look on her face. She didn''t like the fact that people alwayspared her to a cripple like Alyssa. Although, after the physical test, nobody really thought Alyssa would be able to maintain her Top 10 spot. But the fact that both she and Asher were in the medical facility, most people, including Elena and Kevin, assumed Asher and Alyssa probably made a mistake in the D Rank Dungeon. *************** "Why can''t we meet him?" Damian was arguing with a staff member when Professor Elsa came out of the medical facility. He had heard the rumors but couldn''t believe that Asher would get hurt in a D Rank Dungeon so much that he would have to stay in the medical facility. What they didn''t know was that Asher and Alyssa hade out of the dungeon a long time ago. "Both of you can go back for now; he is fine," Elsa said, but Damian was still not budging. "Okay, we should go, Damian," Amelia pulled Damian''s hand and took him away from the building. She knew about Elsa Robles, who was her mother, Sylvie''s friend, and a famous SS Rank Hunter. Elsa looked at both of them go and sighed in relief. ''Why does every bad thing involve him?'' Elsa looked back at the huge building behind her. First, the incident with Professor Erwin, and now this. Although she herself didn''t know what had happened and why her student was in the medical facility, she had been told that their test got dyed, and they got a bit injured. Farnus had carefully controlled the information and made it so that nobody except the people present there knew about the Dungeon Defect. Inside the Medical facility, "His body is healthy, but he is showing no signs of waking up," The Doctor respectfully reported to Farnus, who was standing in front of the room Asher was staying in. "Did the girl wake up yet?" Farnus''s presence was heavy for some of the low-ranking doctors. "Ah, no, actually, she would wake up, but it seems she is mentally drained," The Doctor replied hesitantly. "Get her to wake up and tell us what happened inside," Farnus was turning when one of the junior doctors shouted. "Ah, Asher Greville has woken up!" He informed making the head doctor stepped inside the room quickly. Only a few doctors were allowed to heal Asher and Alyssa, and all of them were picked by Farnus himself. The old man didn''t want anybody to learn about the incident that happened as it would greatly affect the image of the World Academy. Asher''s head was still dizzy as he opened his eyes, but the bright light in the room made him squint. "What happened?" Asher thought as he stood up and looked around. But as he stood up, he could feel that his left arm was a bit painful. Although it was fully healed, the aftereffect was still present. The pain made Asher instantly remember the moment he had defeated the boss and found himself unconscious. "Don''t move much for now," a man''s voice wearingb clothes resounded in his ears. "Are you feeling fine?" The head doctor asked while looking at the monitor. "Yeah," Asher stood up from his bed. "Wait, don''t move around too much--" The head doctor advised, but he saw the indifferent expression on Asher''s face. "You can leave," Farnus appeared behind the head doctor and ordered him. "Yes, as you wish," The doctor bowed his head a bit and left Farnus and Asher alone. Asher saw an old man wearing a white robe with a few designs on it. It was attire he remembered very well. "Do you want to talk in my office or here?" Farnus still had his usual look that showed his endless confidence. "In your office, but first I would like a few things," Asher said as he looked around but turned his face to look at Farnus''s eyes. "My and Alyssa Astaria''s spatial rings," Asher said as Farnus took out both his and Alyssa''s spatial rings. These spatial rings were specially given to the Year Representatives, and their owners could open them with their own mana. He tossed it towards Asher, who caught it with his hand. "You can give it to her when she wakes up," Farnus said as he disappeared with Asher as well. It was one of the artifacts that Farnus possessed that allowed him to teleport to certain locations he had marked with a few people as well. As the location could not be changed once chosen, it was a Rank S Artifact. "What does the heir of the Greville family want to talk about?" Farnus sat on his chair behind his table, which was neatly organized. His words and actions did not reveal even a single speck of hesitation or anxiousness about the incident that happened yesterday. Asher sat down on the sofa; he could feel that his body was still tired from the aftereffect of using his skill, but he looked calm right now. "A dungeon defect happening due to the World Academy''s fault, a professor trying to kill a student. I wonder what you want to talk about," Asher said with an indifferent face. Normally, a hunter on the same level as Asher would have been trembling due to the pressure from his body alone, but he was calm. Farnus raised his eyes as a amused look appeared on his face. "Are you saying it''s our fault?" Farnus didn''t give in to Asher''s provocation as smiled maintaining his demeanor. Farnus Calmort, the strongest human in the world and one of the wisest as well. He was known for his great intelligence and insights. No matter what, for Farnus, Asher was only a young boy who still didn''t know much about how the world worked. "idents happen in dangerous ces like dungeons; you cannot me us," Farnus replied. "Well, if that''s all, I should leave," Asher was about to stand up when Farnus tapped his finger on the table and spoke again. "Well, from the way you are speaking to this old man, it seems like you want somepensation," Farnus could guess that the young man was not like others his age. He was trying to convey that he was ready to conceal the information about the dungeon defect, but he needed a price. "Well, what can the Principal of the World Academy offer me?" Asher sat again and looked directly at the Principal. "Hahahaha, young man, do you want to bargain with me?" Farnusughed again. "What do you want? Tell me the price. For World Academy''s peace, I wouldn''t mind a loss either," Farnus gave an open choice but didn''t specify any offers himself. He wanted to know what Asher wanted before he would slowly pressure him down to a good deal. What Farnus wanted was Asher to admit that he willingly challenged a C Rank Dungeon and eliminate the possibility of the Dungeon Defect happening. "Token of Carti seems like a fair trade," Asher''s indifferent eyes stared at Farnus. "Hahahahahahahaha," Farnusughed. "Asher Greville, you may leave. You are free to try and do whatever you want," Farnus smiled while provoking Asher. It was true that conflict with the Greville family and few other elite families was troublesome but he could still handle them. It would have been different if Asher had died but he was alive. He didn''t know that the young man in front of him would have the audacity to ask for one of the greatest possessions he held. For him, the future headaches were better than giving up on that token. It was not an artifact nor a special mana-rted item, but it held significant value that both of them knew very well. Asher''s eyes ventured towards the robe that Farnus was wearing. "Well, a full robe would have suited you more, right now it''s rather dull." A smirk formed on Asher''s face. A heavy pressure loomed in the room, as Farnus''s expression turned serious as he looked at Asher. "What do you mean, young man?" Farnus asked while looking directly at Asher. "Just an opinion, nothing much," Asher stood up, ready to leave, but before he got closer to the door. A white-colored token with a few delicate designs on it floated in front of Asher, whose eyes were cold right now. "Does anybody else know about it?" The old man asked as he suppressed his thoughts to kill Asher. "Well, if nobody knows that I possess this token, nobody will know about that as well," Asher said with an indifferent voice. "Very well, you may leave, and Vice Principal Xander is in charge of the rankings. Both of you need to provide proof of your kills inside the dungeon," Farnus said as Asher left the office. Farnus clutched his fingers as various cracks started appearing on the wall of his office room. ''How did he know?'' Farnus had only one thought in his mind. It was a known fact that Farnus possessed an ancient rune, and one of the students with great talent with a spear would get his legacy. But what was even more coveted was the armor that Farnus possessed. An SSS Rank Armor, one of the most powerful armor artifacts that came out of a dungeon. But despite being coveted, it was appraised as a blood-bound artifact, so nobody other than Farnus could possess it. But Farnuster discovered another ability that the armor possessed, and that was his ability to pass half of the armor down to someone and protect them from death. If the inheritor of that armor was about to be killed, Farnus would be able to teleport to save them. It also allowed Farnus to know the location where the other half of the armor was. This phantom armor would only activate in the face of death, but the problem was that Farnus had already used it on someone. Nobody knew, but Farnus had already taken Kevin Whiteheart as his sessor and secretly gave him the armor. Only the family head of the Whiteheart family knew about this, even Kevin himself didn''t knew that he possessed such armor. The biggest secret of the Principal of the World Academy, one he never wanted the world to know. As Asher was being escorted by a staff member his face went cold, but he still didn''t knew about a weird ck tattoo appeared again while he was talking with Farnus but dissapeared shortly after. Chapter 120 How Did He Kill Them? Farnus made a wave with his hands, and a screen revealed the training room where Xander was standing could be seen. He wanted to know what sort of monsters Asher had fought toe out of the C Rank alive. Farnus guessed that it was around 20 D Rank monsters, and Asher got injured while running towards the portal. He had assumed that this Yellow Gate dungeon was a bit special, as the portal would have appeared somewhere in the dungeon, forcing them to explore and hide from the monsters. Even in his wildest thoughts, Farnus did not assume that Asher had fought all the monsters inside the dungeon. And the fact that it was a special environment dungeon was still not known by anyone other than Asher and Alyssa. As Asher entered the training room built for Professors, he saw Xander standing there in his formal clothing. Xander was already aware of the Dungeon Defect, but due to Farnus and the mana oath he took for the secrecy of the World Academy, he could not take action until Asher disclosed this fact. The mana oath was a simple contract-like spell that informed the other party whenever the pact was broken. The moment Xander told anyone, he would break his oath. "Do you know why you are present here?" Xander spoke out, looking at Asher. Xander was a strict man, and even though he favored Asher for some reasons, he would not be biased in his evaluation. This was one reason, despite being part of an elite family, Xander was respected as the Vice Principal of the World Academy. "I just need to provide enough proof of the monsters I killed?" Asher asked while he took out his spatial ring. If he didn''t have the dead bodies of the monsters, Asher would have to prove his strength in other ways. It would then be up to Farnus and the evaluation team to give him his rankings. "Yeah," Xander nodded as Asher wore the ring on his index finger. Asher paused, wondering if Alyssa had stored the boss monster or not, but only she could answer that question. His mind had numerous thoughts, but he was not too worried about Alyssa; he knew she was capable enough to handle the mental drain she experienced. Asher put his mana into the ring, and many huge dead bodies started to pile up in front of Xander, who was looking at the increasing number of monsters with an amused expression. Bit by bit, more than 25 monsters appeared out of his spatial ring, but they were all D Rank Monsters. "Hmm, your result is remarkable," Xander said while looking at Asher. But he noticed that some of the monsters had dagger-like cuts on their bodies. "You used a sword, right? So who killed those?" Xander was confused but didn''t want to believe an E+ Rank Hunter had killed a D Rank monster. "There were only two of us there, so it''s quite obvious, isn''t it?" Asher said. "But there are more," Asher said, making Xander look at him with a confused expression on his face. ''Did he kill even more D Rank monsters?'' Xander thought in his mind. But Asher brought out a few corpses of four-eyed monsters with wide jaws, and as soon as Xander''s eyes recognized the monster in front of him, he was surprised. For a moment, he could not believe that Asher had managed to kill a C- Rank monster like a Vialmir, and what was even more shocking was that he had killed more than one. "How?" It was Farnus who could not believe what he was seeing. Watching from the screen, he had also expected a few more D Rank monsters, but seeing a Vialmir shocked even an old man like Farnus greatly. ''Did I make the wrong decision?'' Farnus was rethinking his decision to give Asher that token. "You can see rest of the monsters when she wakes up," Asher looked at Xander, who was still looking at the Vialmir. From the sword wounds alone, he could see that Asher had defeated it, but despite seeing it himself, it was something he had a hard time believing. "And then you can leave for now, I will give you both your evaluation ording to your results," Xander said, knowing that Farnus was watching. It meant that he would take control over the rankings, and Farnus didn''t mind it either. He was right now thinking about how Asher managed to get hold of the information he presented in front of him. Asher turned, but he was still feeling a bit weak; he knew that he still hadn''t recovered properly from the usage of that skill. After 15 minutes, he reached outside the medical facility after taking a trip to the Rankers Dorm for a bit. As he reached the floor he was on, he saw one of the Junior Doctors talking with a nurse. The nurse noticed Asher immediately as she signaled the man who was talking with her. "Ah, did you need something?" The Junior Doctor asked respectfully. "Where is Alyssa Astaria?" Asher asked, but his indifferent face made it difficult for the doctor to judge what he was thinking. But the doctor didn''t have enough authority to refuse Asher, and how the principal had given them strict orders, he misunderstood Asher as someone favored by Farnus Calmort himself. But he was wrong; in fact, far from being favored, Asher was probably the one human Farnus would have killed if not for his mana oaths he himself made in front of the High Council. His oaths had various restrictions that didn''t even allow Farnus to try and hire someone to kill Asher. It was simple: why would Elite families send their own children to someone who could potentially be their enemy without any sort of safety mechanism to protect them? This was one of the reasons Asher used the one threat he had to corner Farnus even further. Not only was this the worst time for the World Academy because the news about thepromise in Asher''s safety would leak, which would turn almost two-thirds of Somaria''s power against the World Academy, but if Asher also leaked the secret he used as a bargaining chip was big concern for Farnus. The old monster could not even make a mana oath with Asher because of his restrictions. But Asher himself knew that he had no benefit in leaking that information right now. Why would he give someone else the chance he could have for himself? "It''s the room on the left," the doctor said as Asher made his way past him. Asher stepped in front of the door as the door opened up and he saw Alyssa still had the previous appearance due to the artifact. The mask was almost undetectable, but it also had a fatal w: if someone attacked her face, and if the power behind the strike was enough, the mask would break. Fortunately, none of the medications and the tests the doctors did required them to strike her face. With his indifferent face, he sat beside Alyssa as he looked at her. Bringing a potion out of her spatial ring, which was a bit more special and something only he had, he poured it inside Alyssa''s mouth as he used his fingers to open her jaw. Asher sat down on one of the seats present in the room and closed his eyes. He was tired as well, and the potion he used would also take some time to help Alyssa. He leaned back on the seat as he closed his eyes. There were many things that were pending; he still hadn''t asked the system about the Curse of Fate, he didn''t even know about the whole Violet energy breaking out. Even the fact there was a strange ck tattoo on his back. He was up for a big surprise tommorow, but right now, sleep took over the Asher, but a certain someone in Soran was tiredly working inside a dark room that was illuminated by the dark screens. Cups of coffee and other snacks were on the table; overall, the room was cluttered with simr things. "When will the bosse out of the World Academy?" Tom said as his tired eyes and dry fingers kept working. He was currently working on one of Asher''s ns, and honestly, he would have escaped, but he knew that he would die either way, so he chose to work for Asher and get paid a lot of money instead of running all his life to die in some random corner in the world. "Still, no changes. Why do I need to check these spots?" Tom said with a tired voice. He kept checking on various live footage of random ces in the world; some were in Somaria, some in Desmar, and other continents as well. He was checking the next image when he got a certain notification. "What? They are extending the date?" Tom frowned, but he needed to inform Asher about this quickly. Two dayster in the World Academy. The tension was high, as most of the first-year students were anxiously waiting for the results of their rankings. In the big seminar hall, all the first-year students were filling the seats. "Sit down, you''re blocking the view," an angry boy shouted at a student in front of him. "Oh, they are about to reveal the Top 50s!" a girl spoke with her fingers crossed. Many eyes were on this announcement because things were about to start in the World Academy, and all of them began after the Rankers Ceremony. Chapter 121 Unknown Beast As A Reward? It was 6 A.M. in the morning when Alyssa opened her eyes. Strangely, it was the first time she did not have her nightmares. She felt refreshed, but her memory was cloudy. As sunlight came into the room, she found it hard to open her eyespletely, but after rubbing them a few times, she looked around and saw Asher, who was sleeping peacefully. Seeing him, the memories of the time they had spent in the Dungeon and how she had made it out alive came rushing in. She immediately looked at her arms and saw they still looked pale. "Haah," she breathed in relief. She hadn''t thought about it at the time, but if the doctor had noticed her disguise and found out that she was fine, many problems would havee her way. She raised her body to sit on the bed, and the sound woke up the young man sleeping on the chair in her room. Asher slowly opened his eyes as he saw a familiar face in front of him. "I didn''t mean to wake you up," Alyssa said as she noticed that Asher was awake. "It''s fine," Asher stretched his neck. "Do you have my spatial ring?" Alyssa asked Asher. "Yeah," Asher took out the ring from his pocket. Although you could store lifeless things inside the spatial rings, living things and other items with simr functions could not be stored inside them. "I have the boss monster''s corpse and the artifact in this ring," Alyssa said. "Give them to me after you''re discharged from here," Asher handed her the ring and stood up, getting ready to leave. There were no other words exchanged between the two of them, unlike normal people who would have said some stuff, made some jokes, or had a light talk with each other after such an experience. Alyssa looked at Asher''s back as he left, and a thought came to her mind, but she let it go. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling as she got lost in her thoughts. *************** It was early morning, but many students could be seen here and there. Many students noticed Asher as he walked towards the Rankers Dorm. The medical block was in amon area that linked various sections in the huge World Academy, so it was obvious that people would notice Asher. Many eyes stared at him. Various rumors and his recent incident with Professor Erwin were still something many students liked to gossip about. Taking the exchange portal, Asher arrived at the Ranker''s dorm and went to his floor, which was soon about to change. He decided to take a quick shower, anding out of the shower, he went straight to the meditation room. "System," he called out as he had not received any notifications from the system until now. [ Host has crossed Level 20 ] [ Amount of Authority increases ] Seeing this particr notification intrigued Asher. "What was that dungeon defect?" Asher started with the first question in his mind. [ It''s a result of your Curse ] [ But Host does not need to worry about it for now ] "How so?" Asher asked. [ Even if you''re cursed right now, it is not possible for Destiny to intervene so directly like this time ] [ ording to my calction, it will take a year or more for such a thing to happen again ] "Weird," Asher thought it was somewhat strange. Even if it was a C Rank Dungeon, was destiny so weak that only this much intervention would harm it? [ You could learn more if you cross the next threshold, which is Level 40 ] [ But you have gained one of the features this time as well ] [ It is an authority that you should have gotten around Level 50, but you have gained it early. ] [ To unlock itpletely, you need to cross Level 30. ] Right now, there was something that the system didn''t mention, and that was the appearance of the S Rank Boss monster, and that was one of the reasons it revealed itself. It was still not clear what exactly the system was and what its true form was. [ But Host can look at the status screen to learn a bit about it. ] "Status," Asher said, as he wanted to look at his status for now. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -21 (EXP 2500/21,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 90 Agility: 72 Endurance: 80 Intelligence: 120 Mana: 114 Stamina: 65 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 75 [SP]: 14 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill [-Beast-] : Locked ---------------------------------------------- "Beast?" Asher asked the system. [ Think of it as a reward from the system. Right now, your current authority is too low to know more about it. ] It was confusing, but none of the things that had happened until now made sense. Like the bloodline ability he got, the skills, and many more things. But a beast was something that he was looking forward to seeing. In the history of humanity, there were no cases of humans having monstrous beasts as pets. There were still a few animals that did not form a mana core and were seen as normal. That included cats, birds, dogs, etc. Apart from such harmless animals, most of the animals would evolve with mana to be a Rank G beast and higher. And taming them was impossible. *Ping* A notification on his phone caught Asher''s attention as he saw a message from Tom Gylip. It was a short message, but it was a bit of a setback to his ns. But he had expected some changes, and it was not too bad for now. Asher replied for Tom to wait for now; it would be soon that he would be able to leave the World Academy. He had already solved the biggest issue that was hindering him from leaving the World Academy, and that was Alyssa. She was not someone who needed his protection, but now that she was cured, it gave Asher more time to spend outside the World Academy. A couple of other notifications caught his attention, but he had received them at least 6 hours ago. Typing the same message, Asher put down his phone as he stood up. Still feeling weak, he knew that there was still something wrong with his body. And the fact that he needed a weapon was one of his priorities, but he knew where and when to get one from. However, until the Ranker''s announcement, the Auction that was about to happen in the World Academy would not begin. It was something that Asher was waiting for as well. After 8 hours, a notification was heard by all the first-year students in their ID Bracelets. *sh* Asher stopped after performing hisst sword movement, with the footwork he remembered doing in hisst battle. He was trying to recreate it, but it was still fairly difficult for him. His sword art was something he wanted to improve before leaving the World Academy. Asher looked, and he knew Alyssa had already shown every monster she had except the artifact and the boss monster. He had already gotten the message from Alyssa, that she was ready to give the boss to Asher and the artifact as well. Turning again, he got back to his training. It was something he had no reason to be concerned about, but a huge wave of excitement and anxiousness was all over the first years. ************** In the Faculty block, "What do you mean that Vice Principal Xander will do all the changes?" A professor asked while mming his hands on the table. "It was something the Principal himself agreed upon," another female professor replied while shrugging her shoulders. "What''s the point of giving us authority to mark students when we can''t even decide," the angry professor spoke with an annoyed look on his face. "Why don''t you say this to Vice Principal Xander, Professor Algas?" Professor Dahlia said. "W-What do you mean by that, Professor Dahlia?" He stuttered for a bit. "I mean if you want to go challenge his authority, you can do so." She said while the other professors kept watching. "Professor Dahlia and Professor Argas, this meeting is not about both of you fighting over such things," another professor spoke out, he was nearly as old as Nathan. And the way Argas and Dahlia went quiet meant they respected the man enough not to argue with him. "Our job is to teach and assess the students, leave the other things to our Principal," he said. "Yeah, if Professor Joseph is fine with it, why argue about this," Elsa replied as she was also present in the meeting. This meeting was a bit special as it revolved around the change in structure of sses they wanted to implement this year. "It seems I have arrived a bitte," an old-looking fellow with a long beard came in with a smile. "It''s fine, Professor Neyman, we still haven''t started yet," Joseph replied. "Let''s start with our first issue: The vacancy in the Sword Arts ss..." The meeting started, and a few of the professors were happy as they would see the results of their nning tomorrow. Right now, most of them were quiet because all the professors that were talking right now were people who had 3 Stars and were some of the most respected individuals in the World Academy. Chapter 122 Rankings Announcement "Professor Arman, you have the list, right?" a staff member asked the man standing before him. "I do, but Vice Principal Xander is announcing the rankings, right?" Arman said while texting someone on his phone. The staff member nodded as Arman disappeared and appeared in a big temple-like building. As he stepped in, multiple security protocols activated and started scanning him. The robotic voice said as the doors opened, revealing a path for him. In the Seminar Hall, Students were flocking into the Seminar Hall, from ss 1 to 5, every type of student trying to find a seat for themselves. A mix of emotions could be seen on the faces of the students present in the Seminar Hall; some were excited, some were anxious, others were calm, and some didn''t care about the whole thing. "Hey, let''s go sit in the back," a student said to his friend, who was looking for some seats in the front. "What? But there are empty seats in the front rows?" his friend asked. "Dumbass, do you want to sit near those elite family''s kids and invite unnecessary trouble?" he replied. "Now, take those seats with me before they get taken," he dragged his friend before the seats filled up. Many other students thought simrly, and a particr pattern could be noticed in the seating arrangement in the Seminar Hall. Those from a reasonably good background were in the middle, and those from ordinary backgrounds were in the back rows. Most of the high-profile students were sitting in the front seats, but some oddballs didn''t care about such arrangements either. The Seminar Hall was divided into 5 columns representing each ss, and various familiar faces could be seen sitting in them. "Can you stop tapping your feet?" Ria Adler said with an annoyed look on her face. "Oh, sorry, didn''t mean to annoy you," n smiled, but he was pretty nervous. He hadn''t performed too well in the Dungeon Exploration Test, and the biggest reason for his poor performance was Asher himself. His fear of Asher had increased quite a bit for a young person like him, getting brutally beaten and then experiencing such chilling killing intent. If he were not trying to impress Ria, Elena''s cousin, he would even avoid being in the same space as Asher. But despite being this nervous about Asher, he didn''t want to lose his chance to spend time with Ria, his crush. Unfortunately, Ria didn''t hold the same sentiments regarding n; previously, she had thought that n was a fairly powerful talent, but his performance was not impressive. She was in the same ss as Gavin Neville and n Astaria, but for her, both of them were not impressive at all. Elena, Eva, and Kevin entered together, making many students chatter among themselves. They were people who were guaranteed to be in the Top 10, and for them, the only thing that mattered was their cement in the rankings. Elena was entering when she saw Lishia Halcyon also walking past her to go to the ss 2 column. Lishia was in the same ss as Amelia and Damian, so she tried to go to her seat, but Elena interrupted her. "Hello, Lishia," she greeted her, but Eva and Kevin had already reached their seats, so she was the only one that greeted her. "Hi, Elena," Lishia greeted her back. Though they were not close friends, those from elite families knew about the family members of each elite family and a few other influential people as well. "What rank do you think you will get?" Elena asked with a smile on her face. It was rare for her to meet Lishia, who was said to be her rival or a better mage than herself. Although she had another n for why she approached Lishia, ,she was only trying to be friendly with her right now. "Let''s see, I am not sure," Lishia calmly replied. She was the Princess of Halcyon, and faking smiles was something all influential people knew. It was something everyone used to appear as friendly as possible. "Oh, I will not take your time. Let''s meet again sometime," Elena said as the crowd of students grew bigger behind her. Both of them came from an elite family, so many students hesitated to interfere with their conversation. Noticing this, Elena quickly wrapped up her talks with Lishia, who also nodded back at her. Lishia sat down as she noticed Amelia and Damian already sitting together, but she ignored them both. She had taken her father''s advice seriously, who told her to stay away from the Greville family as much as possible. The seminar hall kept filling out as Damian also noticed Asher and Alyssaing in. Their entrance made the seminar hall burst with chatter all over the ce. Some girls, secretly interested in Asher, were cursing Alyssa for being a burden and getting him injured. None of them could imagine that the girl in the wheelchair they were mocking had enough power to kill every single first-year student in a one-on-one duel. Except for Asher, even Kevin could not defeat Alyssa now that she was cured. Even Amelia was one of the people who saw Alyssa in a simr light. She didn''t know why Asher would bother to harm his 1st Rank to help a girl like her. Although she would have talked with Asher, knowing his personality, she decided not to. But unlike Amelia, Damian did not view Alyssa in a simr light. Instead, he sensed something weird about the way Asher handled situations around her. In 5 minutes, everyone had sat in their seats, and now the entrance to the seminar hall was closed, soters couldn''t enter even if they wanted to. Venessa was one of those people who was not sitting in the front seats of ss 1 despite being powerful enough to sit in those seats. Despite her outgoing personality, she disliked doing stuff that gathered attention towards her. A man with broad shoulders, tall stature, slightly grey hair, and ck eyes walked on the stage, gathering the attention of everyone present in the seminar hall. "Hello, I am Xander Demarcus, the Vice-Principal of the World Academy," Xander introduced himself. The way he carried himself with pride and dominance, and his image of being strict, was evident from looking at him. A big screen behind him showed his face to the people in thest rows. "I am here to announce and reward the Top 10 Rankers among the First Years of the World Academy," he said as the sound of pping was heard. Multiple professors were present here, and they were also looking forward to seeing the rankings as well. "Apart from the Top 10 people, the names of the Top 50 students will be disyed on the screen behind me," Xander said as 10 blocks appeared behind him, numbered 1 to 10. "But before I announce, let me show you the prize that the 1st Ranker would get," Xander raised his hand as a crown appeared in his hands. "This is one of the SSS Rank Artifacts that we give to the Rank 1 of each year to use," Xander said as Asher looked at the crown like many others did. His eyes focused on the crown, and the system notification popped up. [ Analyzing Artifact....] | Fallen''s Crown | | Rank SSS - Increases the Comprehension Rate of its wearer by 50 % | | Passive Effect - Intelligence +100 | | Limitations - Only works on beings below A Rank | | Limitations - Only works for 2 minutes the first time you wear it and bes useless after that | | Limitations - Needs Recharge Period of One Month | "This Artifact is one of the rarest artifacts that increases yourprehension rate and gives you a considerable boost in the path you choose for yourself," Xander said seriously. Many students started to think about having such an artifact, but they would never be able to use it. "As it has a recharging period of 1 month, we cannot use it for all the students," "So only Rankers can use this Artifact, but the one who uses it first will have a clear advantage over the others," Xander''s words made Kevin a bit happy and nervous at the same time. ''I have a good chance to get this,'' he thought in his mind. "I will start to call the names of the Top 10 Students, soe on the stage one by one," Xander looked at the front rows of all columns, making the whole seminar hall look forward to it. "In the Tenth ce, we have Venessa Baker," Xander said as she stood up from the middle rows to go up the stage. Her name shocked many students, and among them were the ones sitting in the front rows. She walked up to the stage and stood on the spot Xander pointed at. The whole time, she avoided looking at Xander''s eyes but looked at Alyssa, who was also looking at her. "In the Ninth ce, we have Damian Seymour," Xander said as Damian stood up, and Amelia pped for him among many students as he walked up and stood beside Venessa. Although Damian wanted a higher rank, he was still content with being a Ranker. "In the Eighth ce, we have Eva Williams," Xander said as Eva stood up to walk up to the stage as Kevin and Elena cheered for her, along with others. Many boys cheered for her as well because she was among the most beautiful girls in the first years. "In Seventh ce, we have Amelia Von Greville," Xander looked at Amelia as she proudly walked onto the stage with a confident yet sharp look on her face. Damian smiled as she took the seventh spot beside Eva, who got a bit angry at herself for losing to Amelia. The rankings were moving up as many people awaited the next 6 spots, but the most confused person was none other than Sam Allister, who didn''t know what was happening. ''How did I not get Seventh or Eighth ce?'' Sam asked himself. If others knew what Sam was thinking, they would have thought he was making a joke because Sam Allister was a person that was predicted to secure fifth ce or higher. Chapter 123 Taking Rank 1 Xander watched as Amelia stood in her ce, and he looked forward as he spoke the next name. "In sixth ce, we have Elena Rothschild," Xander looked at ss 4 Column. ''Did Sam Allister get outranked?'' Elena stood up gracefully as she walked up to the stage. Many students and most of the boys from ss 4 were pping for her. ''Who the hell is in the top 5 then?'' Sam pondered further. Elena walked past Amelia with a smirk on her face as she stood at the 6th ce. But unfortunately for her, Amelia didn''t care about it that much. She knew that her true abilitiesy in a supporting role rather than as a battle mage like Elena. "Now, before I announce the top 5, I need to tell you that the top 5 are different from the rest," Xander said. His words made students confused because they didn''t know about this. "This is the new structure we are implementing this year," Xander said as Asher looked at him. ''It started a bit early,'' Asher thought in his mind. In his previous life, this distinction happened in the second year of the World Academy. "The top 5 will be able to ess the Trial Grounds at the end of their first year if they want to," Xander''s words made many people chatter among themselves. "And we have introduced something called the immunity of ranks," he said. "There will be a council for each year, and before duels, the Council of Rankers will need to approve of the duel, and unless they do, Rankers will not be able to duel with other rankers," Xander said with a stern look on his face. He saw many students were confused, and even the ones standing on the stage were slightly confused. "That''s right, if the voting among the 10 who will stand here happens to make any changes, but at the end of the year examination, you can outrank others easily," Xander said, as many ideas were popping into the heads of certain people. And one of them was Elena Rothschild. ''I can take over the majority,'' she thought. ording to her estimate, the only people she could not ally with were Asher, Amelia, and Damian. However, others could easily be persuaded to form an alliance against the Grevilles. "There are more changes, but all of them will be told to you guys next week when your sses will resume," Xander said as he resumed the list. "The person taking the fifth ce is Lishia Halcyon," Xander announced as Lishia stood up. A confused look could be seen on the people standing on the stage. And it was visible as most people standing on the stage looked in Sam''s direction. ''How is this even possible!!'' Sam spoke to himself. Among all of the students, he was the most shocked. Lishia was one of the most beautiful girls in the first year, and her golden eyes, the distinct feature of Halcyon''s royal family, were quite alluring to most people. Even Kevin admitted that Lishia was as beautiful as Elena, Eva, and Amelia, but he never had the chance to meet her personally. And it was the same for other people as well. Lishia was a person who never tried to mingle with others. Even the people from her continent, like Sam Allister and the senior student from Everett, still hadn''t met with her. "For the fourth ce, we have Matthew," Xander was a bit surprised to see a kid who was an orphan to be so talented and for him topete with others of such resourceful backgrounds. "You outranked me?" Matthew said to Sam as he stood up, but Sam just shook his head. But Matthew could not talk with him anymore as he made his way to the stage; many students were pping, but almost all of them were those with ordinary backgrounds. ''Was Sam Allister this good?'' Elena thought to herself as she saw Matthew standing beside Lishia. She knew about Matthew, as he was a fairly powerful rookie that the World Association had chosen to participate in the World Academy, so he was expected to be a Ranker. "And now the Top 3 of First-Year Students," Xander said as he looked at the broad Seminar Hall. "In the third ce, with their outstanding performance, we have Alyssa Astaria," Xander said. The crowd was about to burst with cheers and ps, but a sudden silence took ce. Then, finally, Alyssa hovered up from her wheelchair, and she floated a bit above the ground to reach the stage. As she walked past, many shocked, surprised, and angered faces could be seen. "What?" "How is she top 3?" "Did they make a mistake?" The voices in the Seminar Hall started to erupt, but they fell silent suddenly. "SILENCE!!" Xander''s pressure took over, and even Elena, who was about to speak, was shut down before she had the chance. Everyone missed it, but a dangerous glint could be seen in the dull eyes of the girl who walked past seven students to float above the 3rd spot. "I will not tolerate any sort of disobedience in this ceremony," Xander''s stern look made the voices die down, but confused looks were still present on their faces. ''Didn''t they get injured in the D Rank dungeon?'' Eva thought in her mind. It was weird, and remembering her physical test score, it would have been impossible for her to even stay in the Top 10, but she was now standing at the Top 3 spot. The most shocked ones were the professors that nned the downfall of Alyssa and her removal from the Student Council. But Xander''s word made them unable to openly dispute Xander''s decision. "The person who is taking the second ce with their exceptional performance is.." *Thump* *Thump* Xander was saying as Kevin''s heart was beating very fast; he didn''t care if Alyssa took the top 3; for him, he wanted to hear Asher''s name, but unfortunately for him, it was not meant to be. "Kevin Whiteheart," Xander announced as people started pping, but most of them were sitting still. ''Doesn''t this mean that Rank 1 is..?'' A thought came to their minds. The one person they were mocking because he got injured after his daring speech and daring acts, but now that person was Rank 1. Most of the students were openly praising Kevin and supporting him so they could impact the influence Asher was gaining, but it fell into shambles. The handsome young man with his white hair stood up as he walked past Elena, who had a sad look on her face. She could see that Kevin was not happy. He was her childhood friend, and Elena couldn''t bear to watch Kevin so sad in front of her. Eva''s thoughts were simr but not as extreme as Elena''s. She also wanted to cheer him up, but now was not the time. "The Rank 1, who will gain the most authority among the First-year students and the status that is just below the Student Council President, is none other than Asher Von Raven Greville," Xander said as a few students pped. Still, knowing the young man''s status, the ps grew louder. Although few people admired Asher, most hated his guts, but out of fear, nobody could oppose him. And nobody even wanted to oppose him either. Why make problems with the heir of one of the most powerful families in the World because of their petty reasons? But the loudest ps wereing from ss 1; they were students that, although they hated being in the same ss as Asher, it was something they bragged about a lot. ss 1 somehow became the most feared ss due to just one person. The grins on the students of ss 1 grew wider as the young man stood up and walked up to the stage. His indifferent face and crimson red eyes were the sources of the nightmares of students who fought him in the Duel ss, and the most scared person right now was n, who was sweating all over his body. Asher walked past as Damian cheered him up, but others just kept watching silently. Asher walked past Kevin, who was clenching his jaw, and took 1st ce. "And as the Rank 1, you can have this crown for now," Xander took the crown, and Asher took it in his hands and stored it in his spatial ring. "Excuse me, Vice Principal Xander," a professor finally stood up when he could not stand it anymore. "Yes, Professor Argas," Xander looked down at the professor sitting in the center rows with other professors, but three stars could be seen on his clothes, revealing his authority. "It''s fair for Asher Greville to take the 1st spot, but I don''t think that girl deserves the Top 3," Argas openly pointed at Alyssa. Alyssa''s face was covered with a metallic mask, so only her dull eyes were visible right now. "Yeah, we also agree with Professor Argas," some other professors also stood in unison, seeing that Argas was leading the march for them. Right now, most of them were so annoyed and frustrated that they forgot the man Xander Demarcus indeed was. "These idiots!!" Elsa facepalmed as she saw some mere 1-star and a few 2-star professors raising their hands toward Xander. Asher was calm, as he knew about Xander Demarcus almost better than anyone. The only man Asher thought of as a teacher figure after Arthur and the one who inspired him to create the mana doping methods. Xander Demarcus, or the title that most people had forgotten due to how long it has been since Xander retired. "They have done it. They have provoked the Demarcus''s Blood de," an old-looking man with a long beardughed as he watched the ceremony, albeit in a hidden way. Chapter 124 Who Are You To Question Me? "Yeah, we also agree with Professor Argas," some other professors also stood in unison, seeing that Argas was leading the march for them. "This is a clear misuse of authori-" Another professor chimed in, but he got interrupted as he saw blood stter before his eyes. A few seconds ago, Xander saw many professors rising against him, and due to his personality, he despised people who ndered him. "Snake Steps," Xander said as he disappeared from his spot. Asher looked at Xander as he saw him perform an altered version of Snake Steps that Asher used a lot in his previous life. In a second, a shining white de appeared out of Xander''s hand, but nobody could notice the speed he was moving except a few. Apart from Professor Argas, the one with 3-Star Authority, all the other professors had their hands cut by a clean stroke. Xander was already back on stage as his long overcoat fluttered due to the disturbance in the air around him. A beautiful white de stained with blood disappeared from Xander''s hand as he looked in front of him. "AAHHHH," a cry of multiple professors was heard in unison as the first-year students also noticed the act. "My hand, noooo!!," a professor screamed. "W-What?" Argas looked around him, and everyone except him, who had raised their hand against Xander, had their left hand cut as blood kept flowing around. *Snap* Xander snapped his fingers as multiple guards appeared around him. "Take them out," Xander said, looking at them as guards took the professors out of the Seminar Hall. The guards Xander had just called were special hunters that were under him, and they were responsible for safety around the Floating Ind and maintaining peace if any conflicts happened. Xander saw many first-year students averting their eyes from the scene, but his voice could be heard clearly in the whole Seminar Hall. "If this much is enough to make you lose your will, then perhaps give up on being a hunter," Xander said, "Your past two months might have been fun and eventful," Xander looked over the crowd of students before him. "But World Academy is not a ce where you have fun. This is a harsh ce where we train you to be the best hunter with the best facilities," Xander said. "And before I answer Professor Argas''sint, does anyone have the same question as him?" Xander looked around, but nobody raised their hands. Xander''s eyes drifted down at Argas, who trembled a bit again, but he knew that Xander would not harm him unless he provoked him further. "For your question, the answer is pretty simple," Xander said, making the whole crowd curious about it, including the one on stage. "Unlike everyone else, Asher Greville and Alyssa Astaria had taken on a C Rank Dungeon," Xander''s words made everyone open their mouths in shock. "What?" Even Elena could not help but speak out. "They have given me and our Principal the proof of their kills, so I would ask you again, Professor Argas," Xander looked down as his eyes stared at Argas standing with blood all around him. "What ce will you ce a student who has defeated a D-Rank monster while being E+ Rank? So, does anyone else have a problem with my decisions?" Xander looked at other professors that did not speak against him but had simr thoughts. Most of them would have spoken if the other party was not as powerful as Xander, but right now, they could not do anything. "What the hell? A C Rank Dungeon?" Whispers started emerging throughout the Seminar Hall, but none of them could even imagine that Asher and Alyssa had also fought a Vialmir, a C- Rank monster. "I-I have no issues," Argas said as he sat on his seat without saying anything else. He ignored the blood around him as he worried more about Xander''s reaction. "Anybody else?" Xander looked at the stage, but no one spoke up. Even Elena didn''t speak out. Unlike the professors, they wouldn''t receive such a harsh reception from Xander, but she didn''t have the confidence to challenge someone who cleared a C-Rank Dungeon so openly. "So this is why he was injured," "Make sense," Many students talked among themselves. Amelia was also surprised, but Damian just smiled, as he knew that Asher would not get injured in a D-Rank dungeon. Suddenly, everything had grown so chaotic that everyone had forgotten about one person. "Wait, then he isn''t even in the Top 10? How?" Matthew was the one to speak out, but he immediately stopped as everyone''s attention turned toward him. Even Vanessa was surprised that Sam Allister was ranked lower than her. She knew she was strong, but Sam was stronger than her, so it was hard for her to think that he ranked lower than others. "Now that the Rankers are announced," Xander interrupted everyone''s thoughts about Sam as he announced. "Our Auction will happen soon, and various items and artifacts will be present there. If you have enough GP, you can buy some artifacts for yourself," Xander said. "The Artifacts brought from the Dungeon are the only ones students are allowed to use, so make sure those who want Artifacts or other things have enough GP to buy them at the Auction," he continued. "And now the clubs and other activities will finally be opening, and the Senior Year Students will interact with you guys more and more from now on," Xander exined. "From now on, the World Academy will officially begin, and one of the SSS Rank Artifacts, and one of the most famous ones as well, will soon be activated," his words excited the first years. They had heard about this one Artifact that was under Farnus Calmort''s possession, and it had a very simple but effective function. The moment the Artifact was activated for the next 10 months, it would increase the mana quality of the whole floating Ind on which the World Academy was built. "And behind me are the names of all the Top 50," Xander said as names started to appear on the screen. "Another list will be disyed that shows the top three scorers of each test," Xander said as he turned. "And congrattions, you all are now Rankers, and I hope you all will not ck off and improve your abilities using all the resources you get," Xander said as the crowd pped for the Rankers. Matthew was still looking at Sam Allister, who was in the 11th position; below him was Ria Adler and some other person. Gavin Neville, who was in the 14th position. And n Astaria, who was in the 21st position. Sam noticed Matthew looking at him, but he turned his head, whistling and pretending not to notice him. A Month ago, before the theory tests began, "What do you mean?" Sam asked the young man standing in front of him. "Don''t you want to kill your father?" The young man asked. Sam nervously gulped as the cold gaze of the crimson-red eyes looked at him. "Why would I destroy my family, Asher Greville?" Sam pretended that he didn''t care about Asher''s offer. "And you are good, but destroying Elite families isn''t that easy, you know, right?" Sam scoffed at Asher''s offer, but his next word made Sam even more cautious of the man before him. "So you don''t want to save your mother?" Asher asked, making Sam frown. "My mother is fine why would she even need my help?!" He replied, but Asher brought a picture of ady with various devices wrapped around her hands and appeared quite sick. "It''s a fair trade, Sam Allister. Just work for me, and you will get your real mother out of your father''s clutches," Asher said as he indifferently looked at Sam. "How did you get this information?" Sam asked Asher with a nervous look on his face. "Just perform a bit worse on your theory tests and the Dungeon Exploration to get somewhere around 7th or 8th position. Not too tough, right?" Asher said. "And in return, I will give you a position in my faction. And not the childish ones in the World Academy. You will be part of my own group of people," Asher tossed a badge with a special design engraved on it. Sam understood what Asher was trying to say, but he was not ready to take such a risk. "Will you help me get my mother, despite making enemies with all three Halcyon Elite families?" Sam asked with a serious look on his face. Asher tapped his fingers on the table and stared at Sam. "Just do what I tell you, don''t ask so many questions," Asher said, while his killing intent leaked a bit, making Sam tremble a bit. "Okay," Sam stood up and went back to the VIP Dorms. ''Should I really believe him so easily?'' Sam asked, but it was not a bad deal. He was aiming to get a lower rank as well, so it was perfect. But Sam didn''t even know what kind of faction Asher had made him join until five monthster. Asher looked at Sam, who left his room and the Ranker''s Dorm. Asher smirked as he looked at Sam, who had believed him so quickly. "Why would I ever let you kill your father," Asher muttered. "I wonder how many stats I would be able to get from an SS Rank Hunter in the future," Asher muttered as he thought of his ns. "Now, how should I handle those Professors..." Asher spoke out as his eyes went cold. ******************** Xander walked off the stage and looked at the staff member, who was panicking a bit. "Call the Faculty Council meeting immediately," Xander said as he took out his phone and looked at a certain piece of information he had gotten a month ago. "Time to deal with some pests," he muttered to himself. In another part of the Seminar Hall, a long-bearded manughed as he knew Xander would have only injured the Professors, not cut their arms, but if he did so, he had a proper reason behind it. *Ping* The old man got a notification about the faculty meeting that required every single professor under 3 stars to be present and all the free 3-star professors as well. "Hoh, sounds like a fun meeting," Professor Neymanughed as he disappeared from the Seminar Hall. Chapter 125 Culling In The World Academy "What do you think this meeting is for?" A professor asked, but most of them had already learned about the recent incident in the Seminar Hall. "Let''s wait for the Vice-Principal toe himself," another professor replied. The atmosphere was a bit tense, as this was the first time such a thing had happened. "Hoh, all of you arrived quite early," Professor Neyman entered and sat on one of the seats. But before the discussions could begin, Xander entered the room, stopping anyone from talking any further. "You all might be confused as to why I have called this meeting," Xander sat on his seat and looked around him. "A month ago, I received rather peculiar information from an unknown source," Xander continued, looking around at all the professors. But he was interrupted by one person, the only person who had the power to interrupt him like this. "Is that rted to your recent offense, Sir Xander Demarcus?" The man didn''t call him by his title of Vice-Principal, which Xander had earned with his own contribution. The man who could talk like this was the Head of Security of the World Academy and an SS Rank Hunter who was quite popr in the upper echelon of society. "Well, if you look at their crimes until now, you might change your mind, Sir Zemil," Xander replied, looking straight into Zemil''s eyes. Their auras were leaking, making some of the professors quite ufortable. "Well, we should let Vice-Principal Xander present his case before arriving at any conclusions," Professor Neyman said, and both Zemil and Xander stopped because he was older than them. Neyman was a respected person, not just in the World Academy but among the elite families as well. He had good rtions with the Artisan''s Association''s Chairman and was the best at teaching Runic Arts. Xander touched a button on his unique bracelet, and a hologram popped up with various faces on it. "What?" Zemil was the one who spoke out. "This is!" Other professors also got surprised. "Those bastards!" Zemil mmed his hand on the table. What Xander had presented just now was proof of some of the professors epting bribes and trying to tamper with the results of students from quite a few families. They had even gone as far as to supply GP to them for money. Each professor was given some GP to award their students to increasepetitiveness and the desire to improve, but selling them was against thews of the World Academy. "Do you know the source, Vice-Principal Xander?" Neyman asked with a curious look on his face. "I don''t, and that''s why I took my time to look into this matter personally and ensure that all this data was true," Xander replied. The meeting continued, and apart from Professor Argas, many 1 Star Professors were removed from the World Academy. Although it didn''t matter until they didn''t know, someone unknown having this information created a situation where the reputation of the World Academy was at stake. It was not like most 3-Star professors didn''t know about some of this, but they chose to ignore it. And if Xander himself had found out about this, he probably would not have removed those professors immediately, but some lighter actions would have been taken. This was the way society worked in this world, where injustice was ignored until the awareness about it grew so much that it could not be ignored any further. Argas''s name was not present in Xander''s report, so he was safe, but this sudden purge created chaos in the World Academy. ************************ In front of the Ranker''s Dorm, "I wee all of the Rankers to the Ranker''s dorm," the staff member weed the 10 students in front of him. Asher and Alyssa were not present, as they had already gone in and were getting the key to the new floor they would stay in. "This is your key," the staff member gave a golden-colored card to Asher, and his ID Bracelet lit up as Asher''s name got all the ess that came with Rank 1. "And this is yours," He turned and spoke. Alyssa took a simr card and got ess to her new floor just like Asher got his. "There will be a meeting for the Rankers, and you will be informed about the privileges you get and the schedule when it''s done," the staff member said, stepping aside to allow Asher and Alyssa to go their ways. Asher stopped before the lift as his body and ID bracelet were scanned. The 10th Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm was the most privileged, with all the facilities. The lift opened up as Asher stepped in, and it went up to the 10th Floor. Outside the Ranker''s Dorm, "As you can now see, the floors can change their blocks from male ones to female freely," the staff member pointed out. The Seventh Floor and the Tenth Floor started moving. Kevin kept looking at the highest floor, which could have been his, but all he could do was watch with a bitter taste in his mouth. Elena, Eva, Lishia, and Amelia had simr thoughts as they saw the seventh floor move. For them, a girl like Alyssa, who was seen as a cripple, had surpassed them despite having numerous resources to their names. But there was another guy who was beyond frustrated by all this. "F*ck this," n mmed things in his room. "How is that b*tch better than me!" He shouted, his face turning red. Being the heir of the Astaria family, he knew very well how many resources he was given and that Alyssa was never given anything. He had always seen her as a stain on his family. "She can''t be better than me!" He kept muttering the same thing. n''s mental health was not good at all; whenever he slept, he would get nightmares about Asher, and it started affecting his life as a whole. But a smile erupted on his face as he remembered that the Clubs and Factions would open for the first years, and the duel for rankings would open as well. He could climb up and slowly make his way to the top. "Yeah, she just got lucky!" n told himself. ****************** Arman walked up to a strange-looking artifact, which was present in front of two massive gates with several runes on them. Theplexity of the runes on those two gates was so high that even several Runemasters could not correctly decipher their functions. "Let''s start this," Arman stepped forward, taking a key-like structure and putting it in the hole before him. *Click* As he turned the key, the artifact started glowing, and w-like structures came out of the artifact, going down toward the ground. "Let''s leave now," Arman muttered as he left the ce. The artifact started changing its shape as it transformed into a flower, but unlike natural ones, it looked like it was made out of silver. The strange flower had seven petals, and after a minute, a single petal dropped to the ground and got dissolved immediately, sending a wave of mana all around the flower. On the 10th Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm, Asher looked around the 10th floor, as it was his first timeing to this floor. Even in his previous life, he had never gotten first ce, but looking around, he could see why this floor was so coveted among all the Rankers. This room was perfect for him to absorb mana; the density was much higher than any other floor in the Ranker''s Dorm. He turned and looked at the Training Room, which had the best equipment for him to train without having to step out of the building. As he was talking, a wave of mana pulsed throughout the whole floating ind, and Asher looked in a particr direction. "In a week, huh," he thought. That was the time it would take for the artifact to fully activate. Seven pulses - it was the first pulse that began the count for the special week every senior year student was waiting for. After this week, seniors would be allowed to meet with first years, and moreover, all the Clubs and factions would finally start recruiting talents and members for themselves. "Time to go out," Asher said as he texted Alyssa. After the rankings were out, they were allowed to leave for up to 5 days, so Asher was going to use this time to get some work done outside the World Academy. After an hour or two, Asher was looking into some stuff on hisputer, but he stopped as he heard a noise. *Ping* It was a notification on his ID Bracelet from Professor Elsa Robles. It was a simple message, and Asher knew what it was all about. Ignoring it, Asher looked at the list he had sent to Xander through Tom about some professors. "Now, what will you do, Leon," Asher smirked as a certain person, who was still unaware of this purge, was in a meeting. ********************** "I want at least all the Elite family students in the Blood faction. Is that clear?" Leonard said as he sat around the table with other third-year students. "But there will be a problem with Kevin Whiteheart and his friends, and Elena Rothschild and Eva Williams would probably join Raelyn as well," a guy spoke out, gathering everyone''s attention. "It doesn''t matter, Gavin Neville is already confirmed as our member," Jack Allister spoke out, making Leonard smile at him. "What about your brother?" a guy asked. "Him? Don''t worry about that bastard, he will move as I order him to," Jack smiled and replied confidently. "What about Lishia Halcyon? Can you convince her?" Leonard asked Jack. "Convincing her is a bit difficult, but I will try," Jack replied. Although the meeting was going on, there was something else going on in Leonard''s mind. ''How should I deal with that guy?'' He thought to himself as he remembered the face of Asher. Chapter 126 Gathering Of The Top 10 All of the top 10 students made their way to themon lobby area, which was quite big. "Hey, I didn''t expect you to get such a high rank," Venessa said to Alyssa, who was sitting in her wheelchair. "Thanks," Alyssa replied with a dull look in her eyes, but Venessa just nodded her head. Certain groups had already formed, with Damian and Amelia sitting near Asher; Kevin, Elena, and Eva together; and Venessa and Alyssa. Matthew and Lishia weren''t close to anyone here, so they were just sitting alone, but the tension was high. Neither Elena nor Eva were talking with each other, as they hated being in the same ce as Asher. Asher didn''t mind the constant stares he was getting from everyone present in the lobby. Right now, he was looking at some stuff on his phone. "I wanna go back to my room," Matthew muttered. He wasn''t used to sitting with such high-profile people, so he looked at Venessa to see how she was dealing with the situation. To his surprise, she seemed quitefortable. Matthew questioned whether he was too awkward or if she was just an airhead who didn''t know how to behave around such people. But, of course, he had no way of knowing that Venessa had a simr status as the other elite family children. Seeing no one was talking, Elena took the chance to speak with Lishia. "Do you wanna hang out with us?" Elena asked Lishia, making some people look at her. "Hmm, where?" Although she would usually avoid it, Lishia decided to hear her out. "Apparently, the outer facilities will open for the first-year students after a week, so you can hang out with us," Elena said with a smile. "Yeah, you shoulde with us if you''re free," Kevin said with Elena. He looked at Lishia with a smile and waited for her answer. "I rarely go out, so I might note, but I will inform you if my mind changes," Lishia smiled. "You cane with us as well," Elena looked at Matthew, who was counting the lines on the floor. "Ah, what?" Matthew replied as he missed Elena''s question. "Do you want to hang out with us?" Elena asked again, barely maintaining her smile. "No, I''m fine," Matthew politely replied, not wanting to mingle with them too much. Sam was fine because he didn''t behave like other elite family children, and he could connect with him as a friend. But Elena and the others were different. "Pft," Damianughed while keeping his eyes on his phone. "What''s so funny?" Kevin was annoyed with Damian as he remembered their previous dispute. "Your face?" Damian said while staring at Kevin''s face with a focused look. Although Kevin was trying to hold it in, he was almost at his breaking point. Elena noticed Kevin''s expression, and she didn''t like Damian either. "You speak too much for a guy barely making it to the Top-" Elena started to say, but Asher raised his eyes and looked at her, making her close her mouth. His cold gaze was enough to silence her. Seeing that it was quiet again, Asher returned to his phone and continued looking at some stuff. The whole time, Alyssa looked at Elena, Eva, and Kevin''s group with a strange expression. Nobody except Asher knew what kind of thoughts were going through her mind. Kevin didn''t like how Asher threatened Elena, so he was about to speak, but Professor Elsa arrived, stopping him from doing so. "It seems everyone is present here," Elsa said with a smile. "So, I am here to tell you guys about some of the privileges you get for being a Ranker," Elsa said as she took a seat, gathering the attention of everyone here. "As Vice Principal Xander has already told you about it, the Top 5 are allowed to challenge the Trial Grounds afterpleting their first year," she said as she brought a few special badges. "We will award you these badges to the Top 5 when the year-end examination happens; some changes in rankings might ur," she exined. "You all know about the extra GP you get for being a ranker and the fact you can use the crown as well, but that''s not all the things you can do," Elsa told them. "Well, you know that the Auction will happen soon," Elsa asked. Some of them nodded, answering her question. "Well, I will advise you all to get some good artifacts for yourself," she said. It was true that artifacts helped to fluctuate the rankings a lot, but those artifacts could only be bought with GP and not with real currency, so it was difficult to bid on them like an actual auction. And there was only one item in that Auction that Asher wanted. "Well, there are some new things like immunity, but I am sure you guys have understood it, right?" Elsa asked, and seeing that no questions were asked, she moved on to the next topic. "It''s not official yet, but there will be a change in the structure of sses as we want more practical experience in the outside world," her words were enough to grab their attention. "And, there will be many times we might take students to the three associations or some other ces of value," Elsa said, surprising many of them. "You, as rankers, hold the highest authority over other first years," Elsa said, but not many knew what the authority was. "Although it''s not something I like, but unless fatal or something that could lead to an injury, Rankers are allowed to use mana," her words surprised people like Matthew and Alyssa. "And yeah, this means your seniors can also use mana on you to pressure you guys if it doesn''t lead to injury," her words made Venessa frown, but for others, it was not much of a problem. "Well, and then there is the fact you guys can use the top-notch facilities without spending any GP, but for limited hours per week," Elsa looked around. There were some authorities that Elsa exined carefully as it required her to exin how the Student council worked and other things like different stars that the professors were allotted. She kept exining other stuff rted to them joining clubs and factions and other things they get as a Ranker. But, it was not something too grand for Asher, as he had already gotten the thing he wanted, and that was the crown. "And that''s all. Your sses will resume in a week, as you might have noticed a wave pulse of mana. It is one of the SSS Rank artifacts, and when it''s fully activated, you will be able to enjoy the World Academy fully," Elsa wrapped up their discussion as she stood up to walk out. "Do you wanna spar?" Damian asked, but Matthew also heard it. Although he wanted to avoid Asher, sparring was the one thing he wanted to do with Asher. Matthew used swords, so he wanted to learn from Asher, who was the grandson of the Sword God, Nathaniel Greville. But, unfortunately for him, the sword art Asher was learning was not something anybody in this world could learn or was capable of learning. So even if Asher wanted to teach someone else, it would be pointless, as they would never understand its principle. "Not now, next week. I will leave tomorrow to go to Soran," Asher replied. "If you meet Lucas and Livia, say hi to them from me," Amelia quickly spoke as Asher looked at her. "If Nate is there, tell him I said hi as well," Damian said. "It''s unlikely I will go home, but if I do, I will tell them," Asher said as he turned. Asher went back to his floor, and as he stepped in, he could also feel the difference in mana in the living room. He took out the SSS Rank Artifact and looked at the crown in his hand. Asher could feel that he was close to breaking through to the Novice Mastery of the SSS Rank Node Sword Art. However, he was still at the Fundamental Mastery, and every time he tried to remember the scriptures in his head, only a blurred image would form in his mind. ******************** An hour ago, Xander was talking with Neyman, Zemil, and a few other Professors in a room. "Vice-Principal Xander, I still think giving such a high rank to that girl is not a good decision," Argas once again spoke, but he was more polite and careful this time. "They fought a C- Rank monsters in a dungeon, and you say my choice is incorrect?" Xander looked at Argas as he spoke. "What?" Most of the people sitting here were shocked. "Although it was evident that it was Asher Greville who killed them, I could notice that she did great supporting him just from the wounds on the monsters," Xander said, but all of them were still shocked. "How?" Zemil said, but Xander just shook his head. "Logic doesn''t work in people like the. Take Ivar Greville, for example," Xander said, making them remember a certain person who was not as good as Asher but was the closestparison to him. "I heard Ivar''s kids were found by the Greville family?" Zemil said, and Xander nodded. "Well, Arthur-" Zemil was about to say something, but he realized his mistake. "Don''t worry, I don''t mind it," Xander said, but the atmosphere around the room had be awkward. Only a few knew about the feud between Arthur and Xander and how much Arthur hated him. Zemil only talked about Arthur in front of Xander because they were talking about Ivar, who was the only person who acted as the bridge between the two of them. "So, any other questions?" Xander said as Argas raised his hand, "Well, but it was still Asher Greville who killed those monsters. We can-" Argas was speaking, but Xander stopped him. "Your point is that her abilities are not beneficial in the long run, right?" Xander said, and Argas nodded. "Then you can tell your students to change the rankings in the Year-End Examination, and I have already taken confirmation from the Principal about this," Xander said as he wrapped up the discussion. Chapter 127 Increased Mastery --------- | Fallen''s Crown | | Rank SSS - Increases the Comprehension Rate of its wearer by 50 % | | Passive Effect - Intelligence +100 | | Limitations - Only works on beings below A Rank | | Limitations - Only works for 2 minutes the first time you wear it and bes useless after that | | Limitations - Needs Recharge Period of One Month | --------- Asher looked at the artifact''s stats, and the system could decipher the runes on it perfectly. The golden-colored crown had seven colored jewels all around it. "2 minutes," Asher noted the limitations of this artifact. It was the only artifact in the world that affected someone''s mental capabilities, but unfortunately, even the SSS rank artifact couldn''t boost the intelligence of a being permanently. This was the only reason Asher was unwilling to use his attribute points on any other stats. Monsters in this world clearly did not have higher intelligence than human beings, and most importantly, Asher was sure that very few humans had a higher intelligence stat than him. There was a chance that his intelligence had surpassed the human limit, but he was not sure about it. Intelligence was a veryplex stat, as it increased the burden your mind could handle at once. Increasing intelligence didn''t mean he would learn something without knowing it. But, like the artifact worked, people with higher intelligence had a rtively easier timeprehendingplex stuff. It was obvious that if this artifact did not have the time limitation, it would have been the most coveted thing a spatial mage required. Taking the crown, Asher entered the training room, which was a bit special. The walls were reinforced so they wouldn''t get damaged even if an A Rank hunter attacked them. Although the full strength of an A Rank Hunter would still damage them, it was enough for the first years to practice without worrying about damaging their surroundings. Before wearing the Crown, Asher checked his status screen. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -21 (EXP 2500/21,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 90 Agility: 72 Endurance: 80 Intelligence: 120 Mana: 114 Stamina: 65 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 80 [SP]: 16 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill [-Beast-] : Locked ---------------------------------------------- Looking at skill points and attribute points, Asher tried to perform his movement during the boss fight without using the crown. "Swift Strike," Asher imagined a Vialmir as he tried to move his swords around. *sh* *sh* *sh* *sh* *sh* Asher''s sword kept changing directions with each sh. As a result, his movement became unpredictable, but he was in full control, and no wasted movements were made. ''Not enough,'' Asher knew this much was not enough to break through the fundamental mastery. Feeling that he needed to step up, he decided to twist his right foot as he focused mana on his feet. "Node Art: First Step," Asher disappeared from his spot, but as he appeared 2 meters to his left, he lost his bnce. The sudden burst of mana and following a line that he could only imagine being present on the ground he was standing on resulted in an error in his execution. "First Step," Asher kept using the same step. The principle behind the first step wasplex, but Asher already had the general gist of the movement. His feet would get covered with mana, and a single burst and focusing that burst to gain momentum and move unpredictably made him a tough target. Although it might have sounded simple, his body could even perform this movement because his subconscious mind remembered the scriptures from which he learned the sword art. In addition, his eyes had be something special that could see such nodes, making it possible for him to copy the scriptures easily. ''One more time,'' He decided to use more mana than usual. Bam Asher crashed into the wall due to hisck of control; he had used mana to cover his head so he was not hurt. Although it was a failure, he stood up again as he knew the threshold of mana that he could not control for now. "Node Art: First Step," He said, but this time before moving in any direction, he decided to perform a sh with his movement. He disappeared from his position and appeared a few meters forward as his sword traveled a diagonal path. ''This is not perfect,'' Asher sensed that the power behind the strike had decreased significantly. It was not like when he fought the boss; right now, his mind ispletely focused on mastering this skill. It was simr to the time when Asher was experimenting with the mana doping methods that made him stronger. But this time, the sword art was not something he needed to make up on his own. Instead, it was somewhere in his mind, but he needed to master it slowly. After numerous failures, Asher stopped as he had done the same thing for over 2 hours. His arms had bruises due to him crashing into the walls, but his breathing was calm. He learned from his numerous fights that breathing was the most important part. If he maintained his breathing technique while using an extreme amount of mana in his skills, he still would not be too tired to move around. Asher had long lost the sensation of feeling pain; his level of pain tolerance was insane. But this didn''t mean his sense of touch was dull, and it was something that made him different from others. His brain had grown used to ignoring the pain and not impacting his judgment. He walked to a corner and sat on one of the seats in the training room. [ Host has gained strength +1 ] Although Asher was not doing any specific exercise, just swinging his sword around and enduring the pain, his strength naturally increased. Right now, his mana core, which was at D Rank from D- Rank, was trying to nourish his whole body with mana and increase his strength slowly. After 5 minutes of rest, Asher stood up and sat down in a meditating pose. Then, he took the crown in his hands and put it on. The moment he put it on, the jewels lit up dimly as Asher tried to remember the scriptures. [ Host has used Fallen''s Crown ] [ +100 Intelligence Stats : Temporary ] Asher looked around his subconscious as he appeared in a familiar yet strange-looking ce. Around him was an environment barren of life, with a single bridge made of red stones. Below it was a space full of darkness. Then, above the bridge, a space covered in thick fog began to scatter, revealing giant scriptures as Asher''s eyes fell upon them. He could see the two scriptures that portrayed various variations of his Swift Strike and the First Step, which he had failed toplete multiple times. Looking at the iplete scriptures, Asher noticed the fog around them was clearing up. Soon, three more scriptures were revealed, but all the scriptures were too big for Asher to read all at the same time. But right now, hisprehension rate was increased, so he could better understand the sword art. A strange pattern appeared in his eyes, and he could feel that the nodes he was seeing were not simple guiding points. Asher''s mind was consuming the information from the scriptures at a tremendous rate, but as he was using the crown, the light in the first jewel faded. For Asher, it felt like he was staring at the scriptures for minutes, but only ten seconds had passed. "First Step, it''s not a movement but a stroke you perform while aligning the nodes.." Asher kept muttering the things he was understanding. [ Mastery in Node Art is increasing ] His perception of nodes changed from simple, transparent white dots to something more special. "Nodes are parameters.." Asher muttered again. His fundamental knowledge of the nodes was changing as his mind worked at a crazy speed toprehend the meaning behind his words. The lines he could see on the floor made up of several nodes, were the parameters that told him the amount of mana and many simr pieces of information that were needed to perform it perfectly. "Then what is this?" Asher turned as the bridge-like structure he was standing on moved. The fog was scattering as it revealed the huge fourth scripture. Strange movements andplex patterns filled Asher''s brain as he tried toprehend them, but he was too busy grasping the meaning behind them. It was much moreplex than the Swift Strike and his movement technique. "After the first step came the second, but it got suppressed by the third," Asher said as he kept looking towards it. [ Mastery in Node Art is increasing ] He kept looking at the scripture, but the next technique was iplete. However, Asher didn''t stop at it. He knew that this was the answer he needed toplete Node Art: First Step. In a stream of multiple thoughts that his brain was processing, he finally understood theplete fundamentals of this sword art. [ Novice Mastery Achieved ] [ Comprehension Rate: 0.01% ] Notifications kept popping up, but he could not see them right now. It was at this moment that the light of two more jewels faded. A minute had passed in real-time, and Asher was still figuring out the next step in the Novice Mastery. In the strange realm, Asher tried to look past the fog for a moment and see the next scriptures. He could feel the extreme pressure from that direction the moment he did. *Drip* The effect could also be seen on his physical body as blood came out from his nose as the mental strain increased. It was a signal for him that whatevery in the path of his sword art was not something ordinary. The end of this sword path was unknown, and the current him was not ready toprehend whaty beyond. Chapter 128 Going Outside The Academy Asher moved his gaze towards the fourth scripture, realizing he needed to fullyprehend the fourth one before going further. "First Step: Mir," Asher muttered without really knowing why he did so. [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 1.9 % ] His novice mastery was increasing at high speed, far greater than what he had achieved in thest 7 months. ''Right leg like this,'' Asher was adjusting his stance. The red stone bridge was big enough for Asher to move around freely. He advanced forward, but unlike the normal First Step, this new one was far moreplex, as it required a specific way of mana usage and the correct timing. Any slightest mistakes would make Asher lose his bnce and most likely fall or crash into the walls like before. Asher started from the basics as he performed the swift strike, which was perfect. There were no mistakes, but he also did the basic First Step. His body could be seen moving from one spot to another, and for low-rank hunters, it would seem as if Asher was teleporting. But in reality, it was short bursts of mana in a highly controlled manner that allowed him to gain such effects. Only those with heightened senses could notice his movements, but even then, they would have difficulty targeting him. ''This iscking,'' he thought, knowing there was more room for improvement. ''What is it,'' Asher kept looking for it in the scriptures to find precisely what he was missing. [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 2.67 % ] [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 4.57 % ] At this moment, the fog around the fifth scripture also started fading, but instead of movement art, it was sword-rted. "How does this even work?" Asher could not fully understand what the scriptures were about. At one moment, the sword attacked, and the next moment, it was used as a defense. There was no flow present in whatever Asher was seeing right now. His crimson red eyes were trying to slowly look at all that was present in the fifth scripture, which was still covered with fog. Only a specific part was revealed, but Asher''s time was running out. At first, Asher had thought about using his Time Dtion skill to maximize the effect, but after actually using it, he knew that the skill was not something his body could handle right now. The effects were still present in his body, and he could feel the weakening effect until now. And he still remembered the feeling of his existence being crushed by the skill, which he did not want to use right now. Asher was correct but wrong at the same time. Even if he had used Time Dtion, it would not have helped him significantly. Although by instinct, Asher had avoided looking past the first scriptures, even if heprehended them in a state where his intelligence was being supported by external factors, the moment the temporary effect was gone, he would have paid the price. The system would have told Asher if he had forced himself to learn it, but his instincts helped him this time. Gaining mastery in his sword art meant that even his basic movements would have be quiteplex and mentally draining. The higher his mastery went, the higher the intelligence he would have needed to perform this. Inparison, his sword art was now simr to how the space element worked. Those who tried to use it would pay the price of slowly burdening their brain and dying early. Asher had experienced hours in his subconsciousness, and he had managed to finally learn ''Mir.'' [ Host has gained ''Mir'' ] Mir was the First Step, and after countless tries, Asher could finally understand the structure of this unique movement art. However, First Step now seemed like only a part of another bigger movement art. Although he was still far from mastering Mir, he had finally taken the First Step toward learning this special movement art. "A Mirage, then what are those?" Asher looked at the first three scriptures again. But a strange thing happened as Asher turned to look at them. [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 10% ] [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 12% ] [ Novice Mastery ¡ú 19% ] Right now, he could feel that he had misinterpreted the meaning of those attacks. He felt that he had gained a new understanding of the attacks, but they were simr yet different from the one he glimpsed in the fifth scripture. In the outside world, 6 gems on the crown had already faded, and thest one was also fading. In 3 more seconds, thest one faded too. Asher turned as he saw the bridge crumbling and the fifth and fourth scriptures starting to get covered with fog. "Is it time?" Asher could feel that he could stillprehend more, but he felt that his current self was not ready to take it in. It was strange, but without help, Asher had only learned more than his current intelligence could handle. Although he still could not gain the particr skills or sword techniques in the fifth scripture, it was something he would acquire soon. Asher opened his eyes and looked at the series of notifications he had received from the system. [ Host has gained Novice Mastery in your sword art ] [ Current Mastery Rate is at 21% ] [ Movement Art, First Step will evolve to Mir Steps ] [ It is a sub-skill of the Rank SSS Node Art, so it cannot be enhanced with skill points ] Asher knew already, as everything about his sword art was something even the unknown system could not handle. "Let''s try it," Asher stood up, but his bnce was slightly off. His mind was still adjusting to the sudden leap in intelligence he had experienced. Asher picked up his sword and tried the previous swift strike, but he attempted to perform it with his new movement art. "Swift Strike," He could already see the w in the swift strike due to him gaining another sword attack. Asher''s right foot moved, and he appeared 5 meters forward from his location. He could see his movement and control was better. A smirk appeared on his face as Asher looked behind him. Before arriving at this spot, Asher had already performed the swift strike midway through. Right now, controlling the path was not something Asher could do simultaneously, but he would be able to do it soon. Finally getting the result he wanted, Asher left the training room as he was mentally drained and needed to sleep. But before going to bed, he messaged Alyssa to prepare to leave the World Academy tomorrow morning. ****************** "Did Helena find out somehow?" Farnus was still thinking about how Asher had found out about one of his secrets. His best guess was Helena Raven, Asher''s maternal grandmother, and the SS Rank Hunter, famous for her bloodline ability, which could read the memories of others. But it still didn''t make sense to Farnus as to why Asher would know about this. If Helena had this information, she would have used it differently to pressure Farnus. *Knock* *Knock* "Come in," Farnus said as Arman entered his office. "What''s with your sudden visit, Professor Arman?" Farnus asked, raising his eyebrows and maintaining his calm look. "In the faculty council meeting, we decided to invite some people to the World Academy for a special lecture of sorts, so many professors wanted to invite people through your connections," Arman replied politely. There were many changes, but many of them required the Principal''s permission before they could go forward with it. "Hoh, I can arrange for a joint ss at the Mage Association, hmm," A sudden thought came to Farnus''s mind. "Why don''t I invite Helena Raven to help you with a special lecture on ck Element?" Farnus said, but Arman became suddenly nervous. "But a person like her would never agree!" He tried to maintain his calm. "Why not? Her grandchildren are here as well, and I am sure she would like to meet them too," Farnus said, and Arman could only nod at him. "I will invite her myself," Farnus said. He wanted to see how Helena would behave in front of him if she also knew about the secret. But, of course, Farnus would take a different approach if that was the case. He could not believe Asher based on his words alone, but if even Helena didn''t know about it, it meant that Asher''s source was different. "Then I will leave," Arman said as he left the office. Farnus looked at the documents in front of him. "So, who is the mastermind behind it all..." He started guessing some names, but until he confirmed who they were, he could not move. "Less than four years left. It will end quickly, Asher Greville," the old manughed slightly. It was when Asher would graduate from the World Academy, and Farnus would be released from his restrictions that didn''t allow him to harm the students while they were studying at the World Academy. "It''s a bit sad that such a talent made the worst mistake of his life," Farnus put on a sad face. **************** The next day, Alyssa was waiting in the lobby for Asher. She hade down a bit earlier than nned, and as usual, she was sitting in her wheelchair with her disguise on. Asher came down after a few minutes and saw Alyssa, who was waiting for him. They both went to the exchange portal and took the one that led to the Outer Area of the World Academy. In a few minutes, they reached the special area used for teleporting people out of the World Academy. Security was tight, and after having their identities checked, Alyssa and Asher arrived inside the facility containing the teleportation gate that would lead them to Soran. "Your stay outside is limited to a maximum of one week," the staff member told Asher as they stepped into the teleportation gate. Chapter 129 Absorbing The Boss Monster Outside the Portal Dome situated in Soran was a single ck car with a woman standing in front of it wearing formal clothing. It was Emmy, who was waiting for Asher to arrive at the Portal Dome soon enough. Currently, she was working for Asher, and because he was the heir of the family, she no longer reported his activities to his parents. That was one of the rules in the Greville family that made them a bit different from other elite families. The heir of the family was allowed to move on their own, but Arthur and Sylvie could still get information about Asher''s movements if they wanted to. However, they would not ask Emmy about him because he was in World Academy. Asher stepped out of the portal dome and saw Emmy waiting outside his car, with his driver still inside. Alyssa was following Asher in her wheelchair, but she was wearing a hoodie that concealed her pink hair. It was not apparent, but social media had gone crazy when they saw a person rted to the Garcia family attending World Academy. But the news died as the sh between two SSS Rank hunters took over. Emmy looked at Alyssa but didn''t react at all. Her job was to assist Asher, not advise him, so she just nced over Alyssa''s existence without reacting unless Asher did it first. "Emmy, take us to the Vi," Asher said as he directed Alyssa to sit in the car with him. This was not one of the Vis that Asher had bought in the Dungeon, but a different one he had purchased anonymously using his connections. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy opened the door for Asher and Alyssa to get in, and the car moved towards the Vi. "Is Tom already there?" Asher asked Emmy as he brought out aptop from his spatial ring. "Yes, Young Master," Emmy replied from the front seat. It was an hour''s drive to reach the Vi, but not much conversation happened in the car. "The room you requested is the right one from that hallway," Emmy pointed as she stood at the entrance of the Vi. They went to the hallway when Alyssa heard a strange voice that sounded like a person, but she ignored it as it only appeared once. She didn''t notice Emmy manipting the wind to cut off the noises, so she thought she had misheard something. "Let''s move in," Asher said as Alyssa entered arge roomparable to the boss room she had seen in the Dungeon. It was an underground facility built specially to store monsters, and usually, only Guild halls or buildings made to harvest monsters had such rooms. "You can ce the boss monster there," Asher said as he pointed to the middle of the room. "Yeah, this is the artifact I got from the dungeon," Alyssa said as she brought out the ring-shaped artifact. Asher looked at the ring, and the system started analyzing it. [Analyzing the Artifact...] | Zixtor''s Ring | | Description: A ring adorned with intricate runes that enhance the wearer''s affinity with the spatial element. Having been exposed to the ebbs and flows of spatialw, the runes have captured a minuscule essence of this enigmaticw within the ring. | | Rank B: Increases Spatial Mastery | | Limitations: Doesn''t work for spells above Rank B | ''Spatial mastery?'' Asher looked at the strange ring in his palm. Apart from the unknown runes carved on it, it was simr to other artifacts, but there was no such artifact that increased your mastery of the spatial element. Despite not giving any intelligence stat, this ring was helpful for both Asher and Alyssa. But Asher had a way of increasing his intelligence, and his sword art also depended on it. However, for Alyssa, this artifact was something that would help her a lot in reducing the mental drain she was experiencing. But what was more surprising for Asher was that a Rank B artifact hade out of a Rank C dungeon. Usually, rune masters would test the artifact to assess its rank if they could not decipher it from the runes alone, but the system could do it for Asher easily. ''Was it because of the curse?'' A thought came to his mind, but he could not confirm it. "You can take this ring," Asher told Alyssa, but she was slightly surprised. "I don''t need it, and it was you that killed the boss anyway," Alyssa replied, thinking that it was something that Asher had earned himself. "It will help your gravity magic, and I don''t need it anyway," Asher tossed the ring to Alyssa, who caught it by slowing it down using her gravity magic. These days, Alyssa was practicing utilizing her gravity magic more urately to merge both elements to create a stronger attack. Due to her getting the Rank SSS Elixir, she had no problem using her mana, but the mental strain was a slight problem for her. But it was not big enough to hinder her progress, so she ignored it the best she could. "Then I will take it. I will put the boss there," Alyssa said as she stepped forward, and a huge dead body appeared before her. The majestic figure of the dead Fiarmince still exuded pressure that made it clear that it was a powerful boss. "I will practice here for now. I have arranged some things for you. Ask Emmy, and she will provide them," Asher turned and told Alyssa. "Okay,..." Alyssa wanted to say something else but decided not to after thinking about it. Alyssa left the room shortly after saying that, making Asher turn and walk toward the dead boss monster. Asher raised the palm of his hands to touch the boss monster, and some words came out of his mouth, "Absorb," He muttered as a thick, red-like aura started covering the beast, and at this moment, a strange tattoo on his back appeared. [ Host is absorbing a C+ Rank Monster ] [ Host has gained +20 Strength stats ] [ Only partial absorption was possible due to a significant difference in stats ] ''Partial,'' This was something Asher had already noticed in his Dungeon runs when he had asked Emmy to bring a higher rank monster in front of him and let him kill it. At that time, Asher could not absorb a single stat, but now he had gained a lot of strength, which he could feel right now. If Asher didn''t have the high intelligence stat he did, he would have had many issues recalibrating his body to feel natural when gaining power through such manners. The ck tattoo was still present, but it disappeared as the red aura also vanished from the monster''s body. Asher looked at the monster''s corpse in front of him as he decided to pierce the heart of this monster. He had a slight hunch about something as he coated his sword with his aura. His increased strength made it easier for him to pierce the skin of the boss monster as he made a considerable cut around the heart region. ''Should be here,'' Asher''s eyes looked for a certain mana gem as he brought out an orange-colored mana gem, which was probably at C Rank from the amount of mana Asher could sense from it. It was apparent that the Dungeon was unique, but the rewards make up for the increase in difficulty in Asher''s mind. Although the system told him that even fate could not meddle in such a direct way to harm Asher, the price it paid was in the form of a cooldown that meant such an event would not happen anytime soon. Asher stood up because this was not the only thing he needed to do today. Although absorbing the boss monster was one of the reasons, there were other reasons Asher hade out of the World Academy. Asher exited the room and saw Emmy standing at the end of the hallway. "Did you give her the items?" Asher asked, and Emmy nodded. "Stay here and make sure nothing happens until I return," Asher said, but Emmy''s expression changed. "But your security?" She spoke out because leaving Asher alone was dangerous for him. "It''s not needed; we will meet in the Abyss Corporation''s building, so there will be no issues," Asher said, but it was not where he was going. "I will not repeat my order," His indifference made it hard for Emmy to refuse, but she could only nod her head. Asher moved out as he saw Tom, who was sitting in the living room while sipping on some coffee, as he was pretty tired from working all the time. "Good Morning, Boss," Tom stood up to greet Asher. "Did you find the locations?" Asher asked, and Tom nodded as he tapped something on his phone. "I have found 2 of the guys you were looking for," Tom said, but looking at his haggard eyes, one could imagine how difficult it was for him. "Only 2, huh," Asher looked at the profiles of the people Tom had sent him just now. ''Time to form ZEPHYR again,'' Asher thought in his mind. If Aztech was thepany he opened to operate in the light that was visible for the whole world to see, then ZEPHYR was something that only Asher and its members would know about. A lot of his ns were not something even his family would appreciate if they learned it through Emmy, so he needed his own subordinates different from the people in the Greville family. It was not difficult for him to do so as well. He just needed to gather the guys that joined him in his previous life. "They were the only ones I could find in Somaria," Tom said. Although he could go meet them now, Asher had other stuff to handle right now. "Did you schedule the meeting with those people?" Asher asked. "Yeah, but they don''t know your identity for now," Tom replied. "Doesn''t matter. They don''t have a choice either way," Asher said as both of them moved toward the car that was waiting for Asher. Chapter 130 A Slight Detour In a mansion near the border of Soran, three old men were drinking some wine as they chatted a bit. "Why don''t you tell us why we have gathered here, Darren?" Another old manughingly said while looking at the man sitting in the middle. Although it took months, Darren had arranged this secret meeting about 8 months ago. "Ah- Nothing much, I wanted to introduce both of you to a new friend." Darren replied as he kept tapping his feet on the ground. He looked like a man in histe 40s, and all the other men gathered here were of a simr age as well. "New friend? Hahaha, does he have simr tastes like us?" The manughed as he lifted his ss. "Yeah, that''s why I invited him to our club," Darren said. "But, it was surprising that you told us to meet in Soran. All our meetings happened outside of Somaria," the man said. Judging by the essories in their hands, all three of them appeared to be people with fairly rich backgrounds. "When will this new friend arrive?" The man who asked Darren previously spoke out. "Soon," Darren said with a straight face. "That''s a shame, I wanted to introduce a new product I got my hands on," another old man spoke out as he pulled a syringe from his coat. "Is that the new drug you told me about, Gemard?" The third man asked. "Yeah, apparently it''s a booster, and it''s going tond in the market soon." Gemard replied with a smirk. "Guess who is behind this, Robert," Gemard asked. "Who?" Robert asked with a curious look on his face. "There are rumors that some higher-ups of the World Association are involved, but it was quite hard for me to get my hands on this," Gemard said with a smirk on his face. "But why bring it here?" Darren asked, as this was supposed to be a casual meeting. "Actually, I received a little news a week ago," Gemard started speaking. "As you all know, most of us are somehow rted to the Abyss Corporation, and they have nopetition in Somaria," His words made Darren frown. "What if you switch sides next year? This product will take over the market in the next few years, and we can ride on this train early and make big money," Gemard said with a confident look on his face. "Have you gone mad, you bastard?" Darren shouted, making everyone look at him. "Do you know what will happen if what you said leaks?" Darren''s reaction made others a bit surprised. Most of them were already involved in shady stuff, and that was the reason they all were rich. "Calm down, Darren, I''m just suggesting an idea, don''t make a big deal out of it," Gemard replied, but he was also surprised by Darren''s sudden actions. "And when did you, the most corrupt bastard among us, be such a loyal dog?" He asked, and Robertughed as well. "Give up on-" Darren was speaking when the doors to the room opened. "Oh, did the new member you were speaking about arrive?" Robert asked, but his eyes went wide when a handsome-looking young man entered the room. His crimson eyes drifted to see the people present in this room. "Red eyes, no way," Gemard''s eyes went wide as he realized the identity of the young man. Others did as well and stood up from their seats immediately. "What is the meaning of this, Darren?!" Robert shouted but stopped when he saw Darren, who was shaking in front of the young man who walked and took a seat on the empty sofa. "Why stop, continue your fun meeting," Asher said, but nobody stopped. "Young Master, I¡ª" Darren tried to speak but stopped as Asher looked towards him. "Is the job done?" Asher asked Darren. "Yeah, I have done as you said, just spare my son," Darren fell to his knees in front of Asher. "What is happening? Why is the heir of the Greville family here?" Gemard got nervous, as did Robert. Both of them didn''t know what was happening, but seeing Darren kneeling, they could guess the situation was not good. Although all three of them were C to B Rank hunters themselves, knowing the identity of the man sitting in front of them, they didn''t dare to move. "Sit down, Mr. Darren. Why don''t you exin what you have done for me?" Asher said as Darren, whose hands were shaking, got up. His heartbeat was going crazy, but he looked around him. "I have poisoned both of them as you wanted," Darren looked at Asher as he replied. "I have done it, please spare my son," Darren begged in front of Asher. Tom, who was behind Asher, kept looking at the scene in front of him. A guy who looked like a 16-year-old was making a man more than twice his age tremble in fear against him. "What? What do you mean by poison, you bastard?" Robert dropped his ss to the floor. "Sit down, all of you," Asher said as his killing intent took over the room. Only Tom was fine right now, but others'' faces went pale as they faced a thick killing intent. They quietly sat down, but Gemard was trembling the most here. "What is the meaning of all this?" Gemard decided to speak out as he looked at Asher. Asher looked at all three of their faces and smirked in his mind. All of them were fairly rich people with connections spread all over the world, but here they were sitting without any security. "It''s bold of you to assume that you can ask me questions," Asher''s indifferent face made Gemard nervous. "You bastard, tell me what you have done," Robert shouted at Darren, who was not looking at them. "Tom, give them the documents," Asher said as Tom moved and passed a single sheet of paper. "What is this?" Gemard looked at the sheet, but it was filled with all the crimes and illegal stuff Darren hadmitted, but strangely, their names were not present in the documents. Darren was a person who was one of the executives for the Abyss Corporation. "You cannot do this to us, Asher Greville. We have our connections as well," Gemard tried to threaten Asher. "Wait, Gemard. Young Master, can you spare us? We were not involved with him," Robert stopped Gemard from doing something stupid. But in a second, Gemard started to feel a strong burn around his heart, and so did Robert. "Aargh, what is happening?" Both of them grabbed their chests as the pain grew bigger. "Well, let''s get down to business," Seeing that the effects were kicking in, Asher decided to talk finally. "I know that you are working with the Allister family," Asher said as Gemard''s face went pale. ''Did the information get leaked?'' Despite the pain he was experiencing, Asher''s words shocked him. "You want us to work for you, right?" Robert asked. "I will betray the Rothschild family as well, just give me the antidote," Robert was smart enough to understand the meaning behind Asher''s words. ''Poor old man,'' Tom pitied the man in front of him. "I need time, argh, but I will give you the information you need," Gemard said as he tried to look up. Both Gemard and Robert were involved with shady stuff that could damage the business of both the Rothschild and Allister families. "Mir Steps," Asher disappeared from his seat. He appeared behind Darren, who was surprised by his speed. "You want your son alive, right?" Asher asked Darren. "Yeah, please, he is innocent," Darren pleaded, but Tom''s face changed. ''Your son is innocent?'' Tom got disgusted by Darren''s tant lie. "Kill both of them and I will spare your son," Asher said to Darren, who was a B Rank hunter. "W-What, what the hell, bastard, arggg¡ª" Gemard tried to speak, but the poison was making it harder for him to breathe. "I will do a mana oath, spare me, I have a family, they will die without me," Robert pleaded while barely looking up. ''Family, what a joke,'' Tom looked at Robert. All three of them were nothing more than human scum in Tom''s eyes. "I-I can''t¡ª" Darren stuttered, but Asher brought out a hologram screen that showed his son sitting in an empty room. "Well, then he will have to die," Asher said, but Darren stood up immediately. "No, no, I will do it," Darren said again as he turned to face Robert and Gemard. "Wait, why kill us? We can have a deal," Robert shouted with tears in his eyes. Asher''s eyes looked at the two men pleading at him. A certain face of a man popped into his head. "You are not worth it," Asher said as Darren moved with his trembling hands. "No, no, Darren. Stop, don''t kill me. We have been friends for years," Robert said. "So-Sorry, I can''t let my son die," Darren said while his hands were trembling. "Darren, you bastard!!," Gemard shouted as Darren plunged the dagger into Robert''s chest multiple times. ************************** Asher came out of the mansion while none of the security that worked for Darren stopped him. Tom looked at Asher with a strange look on his face. He couldn''t believe that a young man like him could witness a murder so calmly as before. ''But those men deserved it, so it doesn''t matter to me,'' Tom said to himself. "Boss, should we go meet those guys?" Tom asked Asher. "Yeah, we have prepared the gift already," Asher said with a smirk as he sat in his car with Tom. In another city in Somaria, two men were moving as they ran away from a bunch of people. "Damn it, I told you that it was not a good idea to kill that guy," one of the two men shouted. "Shut up, just keep running," the other replied as he smiled. Chapter 131 Strange Duo *********** 4 months before joining the World Academy, Asher wasing out of an E Rank Dungeon with Emmy, who followed him around every dungeon. "Young Master, I have brought that guy," Emmy pointed at Tom, sitting in the lounge waiting for Asher. "Wait here; we will move to the next dungeon immediately after I am done," Asher said as he entered the lounge. "Ah, Boss, I heard you called me?" Tom asked, but he was still notfortable around Asher. "I need you to find some dirt on Darren Marks; he is one of the executives for the Abyss Corporation," Asher said to Tom, who started finding the basic information about Darren. A hologram depicting Darren''s image with his family appeared before Asher. ''So this was the guy who leaked the information to the Williams,'' Asher knew there were a few moles in the Abyss Corporation, but Darren was the biggest one who profited off the loss of the Greville family. He was personally given a spot in the newpany in a joint coboration introduced 2 yearster by Leonard Tarvian. It was apany that Leonard made together with Reece Williams, who was Eva''s older brother and the heir of the Williams Family. "Strange," Tom muttered, which made Asher raise his eyebrows. "Did you find something?" Asher asked as Tom presented some other faces. "Darren Marks did some shady stuff, but I still can''t find something that can be used against him. However, he was in contact with these guys all the time when he moved out of Somaria," Tom replied. It was easy for him to find information rted to Darren as Asher had allowed Tom to use the Abyss Corporation''s informationwork that contained information on all the executives and below for himself. "Hmm," Asher looked around to find familiar faces. He was ruling out people he didn''t remember killing. There was a time when he had killed many of the top executives that worked for Leonard and Reece himself. "Find out more about them," Asher pointed at two people. "Them... Found it, this man is Gemard Ratliff, and he is Robert Willis," Tom pointed them out as he looked into further details. "Keep digging about them. I need details of their every move," Asher said. After 3 months, Tom finally found the information he needed, and Asher could eventually move. In his office at the Abyss Corporation building, "So this is his son?" Asher said while looking at the information Tom had found. "Yeah, and he was involved in kidnapping people, mostly girls," It was apparent what Tom was trying to say. "He is a D Rank hunter and currently is 20 years old," Tom said while Asher looked at the other information regarding Gemard and Robert. "That Darren guy had invested a lot of money cleaning his son''s mess, but there is still some proof we can expose them," Tom exined, but Asher looked at him indifferently. "Why do you think I will expose them?" Asher asked. "He is a bad guy, and we-" Tom was speaking, but he realized that Asher had got him to work simrly. If Asher wanted, Darren would have been removed from his position due to the amount of authority Sylvie had in Abyss Corporation. No one who knew about Abyss Corporation underestimated her. *** Two weeks before joining the World Academy, In a mansion, "What! Where am I?" The 20-year-old young man shouted as he saw he was cuffed to a chair. But his eyes went wide as he saw Asher entering the room. "You''re Asher Greville, right?" The young man spoke, but Asher looked at him with an indifferent look. ''Did one of my victims have a connection to him?'' The 20-year-old kept thinking of reasons why Asher would kidnap him. "Wait, I''ll give you money. My father works as an executive in Abyss Corporation; you might even know about him-" He was speaking when Asher dashed forward and plunged his sword into his heart. [Host has gained 5000 Exp] [Host has leveled up] "So, I get experience for killing humans as well," Asher smirked. Asher left the room and saw Emmy, who was waiting outside. "Send the video you recorded earlier to Tom; he knows what to do with it," He said as Emmy disappeared to clean up the dead body. ** "What? Why do you have my son?!" Darren shouted as he never imagined that his only son would get kidnapped. "I''ll give you money-" He spoke but realized that the man in front of him wouldn''t need money from him at all. "Just arrange a meeting for me and a simple task," Asher said with a calm look on his face. "And you''ll get your son back, simple, right?" Asher said as his eyes stared at Darren. Even through the screen, Darren got nervous, staring into his eyes. "I''ll do it. Just tell me. Don''t hurt my son," Darren had no choice. The man who threatened him had the power to kill his son and not get punished. In a simr way, he had saved his son countless times. The authorities wouldn''t even dare point at Asher Greville unless it was a huge crime. Asher smirked as the video turned off, and he stood up from his table inside the World Academy. He had lied about Darren''s son still being alive and well. Darren had no way of knowing about it as well. "Now, bring those guys inside Soran," Asher muttered to himself as he looked at his next targets. Gemard and Robert were people who worked for the Allister and Rothschild families and were deeply associated with some of their illegal activities. ************* Asher was traveling to the ck Market in Maxzil, a city between Soran and Vernes in Somaria. They took the teleporting gate to cut the distance, and both Asher and Tom arrived in Maxzil with Asher''s entire security team behind them. Most of them were B Rank hunters, and a few were early A Rank hunters. "Garreth, we''re going to the ck market. Make all the arrangements," Asher said, looking at one of his bodyguards. "As you wish, Young Master," Garreth replied as a car arrived for Asher. "Keep looking for those two," Asher said as Tom got in as well. The ck-colored car moved through various buildings as Asher thought about his next move. ''Let''s see what James Rothschild will do now,'' Asher said in his mind. Robert was not a normal person who was a simple businessman. He was involved in the business of the Rothschild family, and his going missing out of nowhere would surely confuse James. But the biggest target was Gemard, who was working directly for the Allister family and was involved with the Tarvians as well. Although Asher could have used both of them to his advantage, this was not his n. Most of the Elite families had many special artifacts and items with immense value. Just like the Greville family had their secret vault that only the family head knew about. But apart from the Greville family, most of the other Elite families allied with each other, so even if Asher targeted their businesses, it wouldn''t matter much. And the amount of impact Gemard and Robert could have had was not so high. ''Let''s see if they take the bait,'' Asher thought in his mind. ************ In a broken-down building on the outskirts of Maxzil, two men were covered in blood, sitting close to each other. "I told you we shouldn''t have killed him," A man shouted at his partner. "Now we have the whole Spyder hunting for us," He was annoyed because they were having difficulty escaping. "What choice did I have anyway?" His partner replied as he drank a potion to heal himself. "That guy would have killed us anyway, and you know the real reason I joined Spyder," His eyes were filled with anger. "Dane, do you think we can defeat an SS Rank hunter and kill him? We should just give up," The man said with a frustrated look on his face. "I will break through S Rank soon; we just need to escape and stay low," Dane replied. "But what should we do about them?" Dane smiled innocently as he looked around at multiple dead bodies around him. "I will burn them; can''t have the World Association on our tails," The man said with a shrug. "Hehe, that''s my partner," Dane said as he wiped the blood on his face. "Did they have any money?" Dane asked as he touched the body of one of the men. "Not even a single spatial ring and the artifacts are marked as well; we can''t even sell them," His partner kicked the ground in annoyance. "It''s fine. I will stay with you even if you are poor. I''m not so mean as to leave you in these tough times," Dane replied as he acted like an innocent person. But his act didn''t hide the fact that half of his face and his clothes were covered with blood. "Crazy bastard, before the Spyder kills us both, I might kill you myself," His partner held the urge to beat the hell out of him. ************ At the famous ck Market of Maxzil, "Milson, there will be guestsing for a deal with Mana Crystals," A man spoke to the man before him. "Make sure that you get the best price; there was a sudden demand for mana crystals," He exined as Milson nodded at him. "But who requested it, though?" Milson asked, but the man''s re made him close his mouth. "You don''t need to know that, and don''t try to guess the identity of the guests either," The man spoke as his aura started leaking, making Milson tremble a bit. The man turned and disappeared from his spot. "Why is he so harsh on me," Milson picked up a white mask and put it on his face. He was one of the managers that worked at the ck Market, and they had got information that somebody wanted to trade a huge amount of Mana Crystals. Chapter 132 Making A Deal Asher''s car arrived in front of a huge building, and many people could be seening in and out of it. "Boss, here''s your mask," Tom said as he brought out a ck mask. It was a tradition in the ck Market that deals would happen with total anonymity. Most stolen artifacts and illegal trading would ur in the ck Market, but only a few knew how to enter it. The ck Market was led by an independent group of high-ranking hunters not part of the elite families. As it was a simple ce for trading goods, even the World Association ignored them. Most clients who used the ck Market were from prominent families. Asher took the mask and wore it; it was a special mask that modted the voice and changed eye colors. This was one of the man-made artifacts, just like the nano armor. Wearing the mask and formal clothing, Asher looked like a typical 20-year-old due to his height. Garreth and Tom wore simr masks, but their clothing differed from Asher''s, depicting the hierarchy between them. Asher entered the building, and they ignored everyone and stepped into one of the lifts. "I will enter the code," Garreth stepped forward and started pressing the floor numbers in a specific order. "5-15-4-3-8," Garreth muttered as he carefully pressed each number. Soon, the lift closed and started moving downwards. The lift opened as they stepped in front of the big room, which had multiple portals leading to various sections of the ck Market. "Which portal would you like to take?" A man wearing a white mask stepped up and asked them with a respectful voice. Everyone who could enter the ck Market was influential, so they treated everyone with respect without judging them due to their ranks. "VIP Section - ck Chamber," Asher said, and the man was slightly surprised. Every elite family member who used the ck market usually had a ce where they would do all the dealings, and for the three elite families from Somaria, the area was called the ''ck Chamber''. But some special people like the Seymour family, who got ess to use the ck Chamber from the Greville family, could also go in there. There were a total of 5 such chambers representing the 5 continents of this world. "As you wish," The man became even more respectful, thinking they were connected to one of the three elite families of Somaria. Asher''s eyes followed the movement of the man wearing the white mask. The man walked up, removed his gloves, and touched a part of the white wall, and suddenly a runic engraving was revealed, which opened a path. "You may enter from here," The man respectfully pointed at the path that appeared in the wall. "Let''s go," Asher said as Garreth and Tom followed him. They arrived at a particr ce blocked by a metallic door, and Asher brought out a ck card with golden engravings used to ess the portal leading to the ck Chamber. ''What a ce,'' Tom looked around, assessing everything around him. Apart from Abyss Corporation, he had never seen suchplex security. His brain was already working on bypassing the protection of the ck Market. Asher noticed it and smirked. This was one of the reasons he appointed Tom so early. No matter how earnest and honest Tom wanted to be, his true self differed. This was proof because Tom was one of the people in his previous life who never questioned Asher''s actions and only acted as he was ordered. In front of them were portals that led to the ck Chamber, and all of them led to different sections of the ck Chamber. They wanted to go to the meeting area where the deal was supposed to happen. As they stepped in, the scenery changed, and avish room with multiple sofas and machinery could be seen. A man wearing a ck suit and white mask at the center table could be seen. ''So they are the dealers,'' Milson, wearing a white mask, saw three men walking towards him. "I wee our esteemed guests," Milson respectfully said as Asher sat, and Garreth and Tom stood behind him. ''Should I check their rank?'' Milson tried to increase his mana sense. "I would advise against it," Asher said with a strange voice as a thick killing intent overtook Milson, who stopped immediately. "I apologize. I didn''t mean to do that," Milson immediately apologized, realizing that the one sitting before him was a high ranker. Such killing intent was only found in experienced hunters, so he gave up on finding their identities. But Garreth was shocked when he felt Asher''s killing intent. He didn''t know that Asher could exude this much bloodlust at such a young age. "It seems that the ck Market has forgotten their values," Asher''s voice made Milson nervous. "I don''t think we can make a deal in such a scenario," Asher said as he unfolded his legs and tried to stand up. "No, I apologize for my mistake. I can promise you that such a thing will not happen again," Milson said nervously, finding himself in the wrong spot right from the start. ''I can''t let this deal go,'' Milson remembered his earlier conversation with a higher-up of the ck market and how important this deal was to them. Asher kept tapping his fingers on his legs, making Milson even more nervous. ''Who is this guy?'' He had never remembered meeting anyone resembling the man sitting before him wearing a ck mask. "I heard you wanted to sell Mana Crystals," Milson regained hisposure, but he had already put himself in a disadvantageous situation. "Correct, and for the right amount," Asher said, looking straight into Milson''s eyes. Right now, his eyes were not red but ck, and his voice was also altered to sound like a 25-year-old man. "I can offer 5 Billion for 2 tons of mana crystals," Milson said as he put his right hand above his left and folded his legs. "20 Billion for 1 ton, and it''s a one-time trade," Asher offered. "20 Billion is not possible. There are a lot of procedures we need to maintain to transfer mana crystals," Milson exined. "I have given my offer. After that, it''s up to you," Asher replied. ''I can''t lose this deal,'' Milson was strictly instructed to ensure this deal happened at all costs, but the price was too much. If Asher had asked for 10 Billion, Milson would have offered him at least 8 Billion AUR or 10 Billion if they were establishing a constant supply of mana crystals. But 20 Billion was too much for him; this was not an amount he could give Asher for a one-time trade. He tapped the bracelet on his wrist as he looked toward Asher. "I can give you 6 Billion AUR for 1 ton, but 20 Billion is impossible," Milson said as he waited for a reply from his superior. "Then it appears we''ve reached an impasse. I have named my price," Asher replied calmly. Asher did not need to sell the mana crystals through the ck Market, as money wasn''t his primary objective. Instead, his true goal was to uncover the identity of the individual orchestrating this order. A sudden notification caught Milson''s attention as his superior instructed him to push the limit to 15 Billion AUR, which was their upper limit. "I can go 10 Billion AUR for the amount you have quoted," Milson replied to Asher, still trying to bargain. If he had not made the initial mistake, he could have called prices more freely, but his small error made him approach Asher very cautiously. "I have given you the offer," Asher said. ''No, he will reject it'' Tom was losing his mind. He had never heard of suchrge numbers being used for trades, and seeing that Asher was not decreasing the price made him anxious. But what Tom didn''t know was that in such trades, desperation and urgency were the factors that made people lose money. And Asher was neither desperate nor in any hurry to sell the mana crystals. For the money, he could just sell the extra crystals being mined to Abyss Corporation and could have quickly made around 15 Billion AUR, which was the market price. The Artisan''s Association bought most of the mana crystals in the world. However, there were rare moments when an independent buyer would ask for a considerable amount of mana crystals. "If you raise the quantity to 1.5 tons, we can do 15 Billion AUR," Milson gave his final price, and Asher smirked under his mask. "15 Billion AUR, 1 Ton, and the infamous Shadow Card," Asher replied, but Milson stood up. ''Shadow Card, hmmm,'' Milson started thinking for a second. It was a special card that allowed anonymous transactions with a group withouting to the ck Market, and most of their holders were illegal organizations that worked like mercenaries. "Let me ask my superior," Each Manager had one Shadow Card, which they could allot to somebody, and luckily Milson was one of the rare managers who had never given his Shadow Card. After 2 minutes of waiting, Milson stood up and brought out a nk white card with no engravings, which looked like a regr white card. But before giving it to Asher, he took the ck ring he was wearing and made an impression on the nk card. In a second, the white card turned ck, and the silver text saying ''M.S'' was engraved on it. It was a special technique to apply unique mana imprints. "We have a deal," Milson stood up to shake hands, and Asher did the same. "I will send the mana crystals to the ck Chamber," Asher said as Tom stepped up to give Milson the ount information. "We will send the money when we receive the mana crystals," Milson replied as he looked at Asher. Chapter 133 A Stay At The Hotel "But they are the first batch, right?" Milson confirmed. "Pure Mana Crystals: 97% Density Rate," Tom replied as he brought out the sample mana crystal. Seeing the mana crystal with his eyes, Milson nodded, and Tom took the mana crystal back into his spatial ring. Pure Mana Crystals were the first batch of mana crystals that came out of the mana mine and cost billions. Among them, those with a density rate higher than 90% were sold at 15 Billion AUR a ton. There were only 5 tons of these pure crystals that Asher had managed to find in the Dungeon. Regr mana crystals in the market were those with 40-60% density to hold mana in them. Such mana crystals were sold for millions as they were still pretty useful but couldn''t bepared to Pure Mana crystals. "If you want, we have some items that might catch your eye," Milson offered. "Perhapster," Asher said as he turned to leave the room. Garreth and Tom followed Asher as Milson watched the three men wearing ck masks leave. Asher''s answer made Milson guess the identity of the people sitting in front of him who offered such an amount of pure mana crystals, which were pretty rare. Most of such crystals were either in possession of the Artisan''s Association or some of the big corporations involved in this business. "Probably not someone from the elite families," he muttered. Usually, young people from these families didn''t hesitate to spend big in the ck Market, and as a manager there for some time, Milson knew about it as well. That''s why the ck Market held auctions to reel in people who would spend big. He ruled out people like Asher, who had be famous for spending much money in such ces. The news about the mana crystal mine was still not out, so Milson had no way of knowing where these Pure Mana Crystals hade from. "Only if they didn''t pressure me," Milson was annoyed. He was considered one of the best managers in the ck Market and its various branches spread all over the continent. But he was not able to get the best price because he was told to secure this trade. ***** Coming out of the building, Asher sat in his car with his mask still on. "Garreth, did you arrange the two S Rank Hunters I asked for?" Asher asked. "Yes, Young Master," Garreth replied. "They will arrive soon at the hotel we are staying in for now," he said while looking at his phone. "Tom, did you find a clue about their locations?" Asher asked. "Not for now, but there were reports that some World Association Officers went missing," Tom replied. Soon, Asher''s car arrived at one of the most luxurious hotels in Maxzil City, and he stepped out of the vehicle. His mask was still on, so nobody recognized him, but they were still gathering the attention of many people. "Wow, looks like a rich guy," a guy standing with his friends looked in Asher''s direction. Asher''s security team followed him as they left the ck Market, so it was evident they would garner so much attention from the people around them. Garreth walked forward and went to the manager standing in the lobby. "Is our floor ready?" Garreth asked. "Yes, and we have made sure that your stay will befortable," the manager said with a smile on his face. Many employees were surprised to see the manager talk so politely to someone. "Even that jerk is polite. Who are these people? Any idea?" the receptionist asked the male employee beside her. "No, but we are told to stay away from the top floor unless we are called," he replied, making the woman even more curious. "I will show you the way," the manager said as he walked towards the lift. Asher and his security team followed the manager as he took them to a lift that was big enough to get all of them in. Nobody was talking in the lift, so the manager was fidgeting with his fingers a lot. Even he didn''t know the identity of these people. He had gotten a call from the hotel owner to make sure that Asher''s group was given the best treatment. "Some of our men will be downstairs, so I hope there will be no issues," Garreth said. "Oh, there will be no issues," the manager replied. The lift arrived at thevish floor, and Asher stepped out. The manager was about to step in as well when Garreth stopped him. "We will find our way; you can go back now," his aura leaked, making the manager nervous as he stepped back immediately. "Y-Yes, if you need anything, just call me," the manager replied, but he got a bit anxious as he looked over Garreth''s shoulder. Asher ignored whatever was happening behind him; his team was thoroughly trained to make sure nothing happened to him. They were some of the best hunters and were specially trained by the Greville family. Asher''s security would have been higher, but because he was in the World Academy, his S Rank security was given to Lucas and Livia. The security team following him was hunters that were under Emmy and were now working for Asher. "I will meditate for an hour; make sure nobody disturbs me," Asher said as he entered his room while the security team stood outside. Tom was also tired, so he decided to sleep as well. He went into a room and saw thevish-looking room, which made him a bit ufortable, but he was too tired to care about it. "Ah, I will keep the alerts on," Tom tapped on hisptop as he put it on the table. "Let''s get a good sleep," Tom slumped on his bed. ***************** "Dane, I am telling you we should just leave this city," a man said, sitting in an empty alley. "We need money, dude," Dane replied with a confused look on his face. "You idiot, the World Association would catch us for sure," the man tried to convince him. "Come on, during myst task in Maxzil, I heard that there was a stash of money on the top floor," Dane said as he pointed at a particr hotel. It was quite a tall building, so it was really easy to spot it. "And it''s an illegal stash as well, so less security," Dane said with a smile. "You''re saying as if there will be no security," his partner frowned. "I will kill them. You help me remove our traces, and then boom easy money," Dane said with a smile on his face. "Come on, you know we are best in these kinds of jobs; even in Spyder, we were best in such missions," Dane tried to convince him. "How much money are we talking about?" his partner asked. "Millions; we will be set for years," Dane said with a smile on his face. "Sigh, let''s do it," he replied, and Dane''s smile got wider. ***************** Half an hour earlier, in the Abyss Guild Building, "What? But we were supposed to go to the dungeons today!" a man wearing armor said with a frustrated look on his face. "The request came from the Greyhounds. Don''t ask stupid questions," his team leader replied. Greyhounds was the term used for the special hunters that were trained by the Greville family, like Garreth and Emmy. "Both you and he will go to Maxzil; I have sent the instructions to you already," he continued. "I don''t want anyints and don''t make trouble with those guys. Unlike us, those guys are connected to the Greville family, who are hired through contracts," he exined, but the two men were already annoyed. Today they were going to try to clear a dungeon they had prepared for a long time, and it got called off due to the sudden request. "Sure, let''s go, Corey," the man replied as he turned, but the look on his face didn''t change. He was an S-Rank hunter who was only 28 years old. He was also quite famous in the Abyss Guild, and this Dungeon clearly would have made his name soar considerably. ''I am not their dog,'' he spoke to himself. "I expect you and Corey to create no problems ande back as soon as possible," the team leader said as he saw the two men leave the room. Both of them were young and talented; they had reached S Rank before hitting their 30s, which was considered quite good. However, such talents were rare, and so they were treated fairly well in the Abyss Guild. "Man, this is such a bummer," Corey said as he sat in the car with the other guy. "We would have gotten promoted in the Guild after today''s run as well," he said as they approached the portal. Both of them didn''t know that they were being called because of Asher, and if they had known, they wouldn''t have acted in such a manner. Despite being an S Rank, they were nothing in front of the elite families. Even SS Rank Hunters in the Abyss Guild respected Arthur, who was the Vice Guildmaster, not just because of Nathan. Despite being an S+ Rank Hunter, Arthur could hold his own against an SS Rank hunter. Also, there were not many SS Rank hunters in the world. And most of them chose to align themselves with one of the strongest families or Associations. "Honestly, those Greyhounds are nothingpared to us," the man said, making Corey nod at him. "At least we don''t live with a leash on our necks," he could only say such things because he was with his trusted friend. Chapter 134 Robbery At The Hotel? At the teleportation gate in Soran, the guards stationed there saw two men approaching them. "Sir, we need your identification," the guard asked, as traveling through the teleportation gate was strictly recorded. "Take it," Corey pulled out his Guild Card. Seeing the card, the guard''s eyes widened as he realized the two men standing before him were from the Abyss Guild, one of the most powerful guilds in the world. "You may go," the guard politely smiled as he let the two men pass. "Let''s go, Zach," Corey said to his partner. Both of them were suppressing their mana so that people around them would not feel intimidated. It was notmon for S Rank Hunters to stroll in the city like this. Most of them were busy either clearing dungeons or practicing and improving themselves. In a matter of seconds, both Zach and Corey arrived in Maxzil City, where two men in ck suits were waiting for them. "Mr. Zach and Mr. Corey, right?" one of the men asked. He was only a B Rank hunter, but he felt threatened by the S Rank hunters in front of him. "Yeah, tell us what''s the matter. We''re not as free as you might have assumed we were," Zach replied annoyedly. The two men ignored his tone, as teaching him how to behave was not their job. "You have to go to this hotel and meet Sir Garreth there. He will tell you about your mission," they replied. "Yeah, yeah, we''ll go," Zach said as he noticed some women eyeing him. He was a tall man with a decently attractive face, as was Corey. A smile appeared on Zach''s face, but Corey just shook his head. "Zach, we need to go to the hotel first," he reminded Zach. "Oh,e on, we''ll reach there in a minute if we use mana anyway," Zach replied as he walked over to talk to the group of three women. "Sorry for him, we''ll go there soon," Corey just smiled at the two men who were looking at them with straight faces. If they could, they would have just told them that Asher, the Greville heir, called for them, and they would not have wasted so much time. But this trip was a secret even from Emmy, their team leader, so they didn''t know if they should tell them. Asher didn''t take Emmy with him because he needed someone strong and capable enough to stay with Alyssa while she was outside the World Academy. Alyssa was safe in the World Academy because not many people could harm her directly, but things were different outside the academy. At the same time, at the hotel Asher was staying, Garreth was in themon lobby area waiting for the 2 S Rank Hunters he had called from the Guild. "Where the hell are these bastards," Garreth was getting annoyed because they should have arrived by now. "Even Miss Emmy is not here," Garreth was unsure about Asher''s safety because he was among the few A- Rank Hunters present there. Although they were verypetent in their work, he was d that Asher had called for S Rank Hunters. But they were taking too much time. Garreth messaged the two men who were waiting outside the teleportation gate, and when he saw the reply, he was fuming with anger. "Just wait. I will surely report this matter," Garreth was annoyed but could not leave the hotel. However, he made a mental note to report them to the Leader of the Greyhounds, who was an SS Rank Hunter and was highly respected in the Abyss Guild. Apart from the Greville family, he had the highest authority and was famous as the right-hand man for Nathaniel Greville. Garreth was busy, so he didn''t notice two men who looked like middle-aged men with sses walking past him, who were looking at him. "Kai, these guys are trained professionals," Dane said with a strange voice. "Shush, don''t use my name here," Kai replied while looking forward and acting like an average middle-aged man. "Let''s go there," Dane said as they went to the washroom that was present on the ground floor. Arriving there, Kai used a soundproofing artifact that he had. "What the hell is happening here," Kai''s face changed to his original one, and the same thing happened to Dane. "Maybe some big shot is present in the hotel," Dane replied. "Dammit, why is our luck so bad these days," Kai said as he walked back and forth in the washroom. "Come on, we can still pull this off. We just need to reach the highest floor, and with your bloodline, it will be quite easy," Dane persuaded Kai. Kai, who was an A Rank Hunter, had a unique bloodline ability that only Dane knew about, despite their working together in Spyder, the organization they had previously been a part of. Nobody was aware of Kai''s extraordinary bloodline ability, which allowed him to help people blend seamlessly into their surroundings, making them effectively invisible. In addition, he could also morph his own appearance and that of others. It was a unique illusion-type bloodline ability, but it had its own restrictions that didn''t allow him to freely use it. For example, Kai could not change the appearance of people who were of higher rank than him, and the fact that he could remove his presence didn''t help with devices that detected mana. "We''ll take the appearance of the staff and ride the lift while we remove our presence, and if somehow we get caught, we can tell them we are just staff. And if pushes to shove, we can just kill them and run." Dane exined the n with confidence. "Okay, what was the room again?" Kai asked as they needed to just steal the money. "It was Room 05, on the highest floor," Dane replied. Kai nodded as he channeled his mana and touched Dane''s head. Both of their appearances changed into one of the staff members they had noticed whileing into the hotel. The process was slow because Kai needed to focus a lot on changing Dane as well. This was another shoring of his bloodline ability. ************ At the World Association Building in Vernes, "Sir, we have lost contact with the team that was pursuing some criminals," a man said, looking at another man who wasing in a while rolling his sleeves. "What rank were they?" the man asked as he squinted his eyes. "They were B Rank Hunters; the suspects are assumed to be A Rank Hunters," the man replied with a respectful tone. "Maxzil, was it? I will go there myself. You have their mana traces, right?" he asked. "Yes, Sir, we have gotten these mana traces from an anonymous source, but they are real," he brought out a device. "But it will only work one more time before the suspects notice the chips in their bodies," he exined. "No need to worry about it; I have permission to use weapons, right?" he asked with a smile on his face. "In case of battle, we have permission to use mana," the man replied. "So, should I give this mission to your team?" he asked the man standing in front of him. "Of course, we will handle it easily," the man said as he turned and took out his phone. Maxzil was a peaceful city that didn''t have that many Dungeons around it, so it was rare for so many high-ranking hunters to gather in this city. In Room 01, on the highest floor, Asher was meditating with his eyes closed. He was practicing his mana flow skill, which he could feel was slowly improving. He opened his eyes, stood up, and walked to the balcony area. From there, he could see almost half the city. He looked around to his sides, and after a while, he turned and walked out of his room. The security team was alerted by this. "Young Master, do you need anything?" A guy asked. "Where is Tom?" Asher asked. "Sir Tom is sleeping in Room 05. Should I go wake him up?" he asked. "No need," Asher said as he turned. But before entering his room, he stopped and looked back. "Did the S Rank Hunters arrive yet?" Asher''s indifferent face made the guy quite nervous. "N-Not yet, but Sir Garreth is waiting for them in the lobby," he answered, unsure how Asher would react. "Tell Garreth to make sure theye quickly; send them directly to this room," Asher replied as he entered Room 01. ******** After a while spent flirting with others, Zach came back and saw Corey, who was frowning. "What?" Zach smiled. "Let''s not dy any more; we need toplete this fast," Corey said. Zach just shrugged him off. He was a prideful person, and for him, his own time was more important than others. He thought that they were called because they needed them for some task that required two S Rank hunters. "Come on, you know who I am. We are not some normal people, Corey. We are S Rank hunters for the Guild, not like them," Zach said as he pointed at the two men who were still present there. But seeing that the two men didn''t react much to his words, Zach got a bit annoyed. For him, it was like they were looking down on him. "Zach," Corey said with a serious tone because Zach was behaving quite rudely now. "Okay, okay, let''s go now," Zach replied, but he still didn''t care if they got a bitte. Chapter 135 Got Caught At the teleportation gate present in Vernes, "Hey, look over there," a man pointed at people wearing ck suits with a logo on their shoulders as they walked past them. "Wow, they are from the World Association," another man replied as he recognized the famous logo. Everyone knew about this logo, which belonged to the World Association, considered the most influential association in the world. The fact that the World Association had three SSS Rank hunters leading it was enough proof. "They look like high-ranking hunters, so cool!" a kid shouted among the adults. "Father, I wanna join the World Association when I grow up," he looked at the man beside him. The father just ruffled his hair, not breaking the little kid''s dream so early in his life. Getting into the World Association was not easy at all. Only those who attended the World Academy and a few others were lucky enough to join it. Listening to the people praise the team of hunters, they smiled proudly. This was the general reaction they got whenever they ventured through cities. "Don''t grin too hard, Henry," a woman said to her team member. "Come on, it''s my first time in Somaria, ra," he replied, ignoring her. "And our leader is not saying anything, so let me have my fun," Henry replied, waving his hands toward some people. "Okay, we have some criminals to catch. Let''s finish this assignment quickly," the man standing in the front replied. He was a middle-aged man, but his whole team respected him. He was a high-ranking person in the World Association and a peak S Rank hunter. "See, even the team leader doesn''t want to deal with you, Henry," ra mocked him as she giggled. "So, Maxzil, was it?" another team member asked. "Yeah, and don''t use mana unless a fight breaks out; we will avoid any civilian casualties we can," the team leader said as they stepped towards the Teleportation Gate. In this team alone, there were two S-Rank hunters like, Henry and ra, with other peak A-Rank hunters. And their team leader, who was an S+ Rank hunter. Although this was too much firepower for A-Rank hunters, it was better to have such teams for low casualties and damage. From their previous teams, they had confirmed that the mana traces device was legit, so they could now finally move with a qualified team to apprehend the criminals. ********** Kai and Dane came out of the washroom, but they were invisible to others right now. Only an S-Rank hunter or those with high sensitivity to mana could sense them in their current state. Kai had changed their appearance in case they were caught due to some security measures. It was an extra precaution due to their line of work. In fact, they only did it because of the special security they spotted in the hotel lobby. Dane and Kai were professionals who took some shady missions from Spyder. So, it was easy for them to spot a man like Garreth among ordinary bodyguards. Especially Dane; it was because of his extraordinary intuition that Kai followed him, regardless of the crazy things he did. Dane could sense if a person was dangerous or not. Call it intuition or talent, but it helped him climb the ranks in Spyder. "Let''s behave normally," Dane signaled Kai, who nodded. They went to the lift as it opened up. The highest floor was not essible from the standard lift, but opening the VIP lift would alert others. One hotel staff opened the lift, and Dane and Kai got in. The hotel staff had no idea that two A Rank Hunters were standing behind him, ready to take his life if he noticed them somehow. "Room 402," the staff member muttered as the lift stopped, and he stepped out. Dane nodded as they pressed a button in the lift that took them to the 55th floor. Above that were the VIP floors, and Dane knew how to infiltrate the highest floor because he had done a simr mission before. The lift stopped on the 55th floor, but no one was there to notice the empty lift opening. "Why is the lift going to the 55th floor?" a man noticed the abnormality in the security cam. He pressed a button nearby and spoke, "Hey, check the lift and find out why it went to the 55th floor," he notified security to check it before any malfunctions happened that could ruin their image. "Let''s move fast," Dane dashed with Kai as they saw a man leaving his room. They could see each other, so Dane just needed to signal Kai to follow him. The man was closing his door but didn''t notice the two A+ Rank Hunters who entered his room. "Are you sure this is the correct way?" Kai asked as they made their way to the balcony area. "Trust me, that over there is Room 05. I confirmed it during myst mission," Dane pointed above to higher floors. Kai knew that Dane had the habit of doing such useless things during his missions, so he believed him without further questioning. "Now, how will we go up there?" Kai asked as he looked down from the 55th floor. Falling from this height would make them use their mana to protect themselves. And this much would have been enough to gather the attention of the security. So Kai looked at Dane, who was smiling with a wide grin. "It''s quite easy; I will throw you up there, and you will pull me up," Dane exined with a grin, but Kai''s face darkened as he realized what Dane was making him do. "Oh,e on; we can''t chicken out now. And even if you fail, there are no high-ranking hunters here. So we can escape easily," Dane tried to persuade Kai, who finally gave up. "Okay, do it," Kai said as Dane grabbed him by his stomach. "On the count of three, okay?" Dane said as Kai nodded. "Three," Dane said as heunched Kai, whose eyes went wide as he could feel the air against his face. He wanted to look down and beat the hell out of Dane, who was looking at him with a grin on his face, but reaching that specific balcony was more important. Usually, that height was something Dane and Kai could reach if they propelled themselves with mana, but that would have made so much noise that their n would have failed before they even reached the highest floor. *Grab* Kai used aura around his fingers to pincer the metal of the building as he reached the balcony and finallynded there. He turned and looked down at Dane, who was waving his hands like an idiot. "This idiot," Kai immediately took out a gauntlet-type weapon and pointed it towards Dane. A ck wire fired through the gauntlet in a second as Dane caught it with his hands. Right now, they were invisible, so nobody could even notice a man floating towards the highest floor with the help of a rope. Kai''s eyes were looking around to see if anybody had noticed them or not. In 6 seconds, Dane also arrived at the balcony of Room 05. "Nice, now we just need to search for the money," Dane said, but Kai''s face turned into one of shock. "What do you mean search? You told me you knew where the money was," Kai whispered. "I did, and this is Room 05," Dane also whispered, but seeing that Kai''s anger was about to burst, he stopped pushing his limits. "It''s somewhere in the bedroom area; don''t worry, I will find it quickly," Dane assured Kai. Dane looked at the balcony window, which was made of a unique material that would not break easily. He covered his hand in the aura and made a thin cut at the edges of the window carefully. "Done," Dane whispered as he carefully removed the ss. They knew that the person on the highest floor was some kind of big shot, but they needed this money as soon as possible. Despite the risk involved, they had no choice. In their previous conflicts, they had already killed a team of B Rank hunters sent by the World Association. But now, both were sure that the World Association would soon send their high-rankers for them. What they didn''t know was that the teaming to hunt for them already knew about their locations due to the chips in their bodies. Dane stepped in, and they saw a man snoring loudly, sleeping on the bed. "Shh," Dane pointed at Kai. "Should I kill him?" Dane asked Kai, as he was not sure whether to kill the man who was sleeping or not. Right now was the best chance to kill the man on the bed, as the guards outside would not notice. "Do it," Kai was not ready to take another risk for now. Whoever this person was didn''t matter to them, as both could not recognize his face. In their jobs, they had learned about certain people that were not supposed to be harmed in any manner by their organization, and the man sleeping on the bed was definitely not on the list. Tom, who was sleeping peacefully, had no idea that he was about to be killed right now by two A+ Rank hunters. The guards outside couldn''t notice them due to Kai''s unique ability. *Step* A noise of a step came from behind, and Dane and Kai were about to turn when an overpowering, sinister killing intent enveloped them, stopping them in their tracks. Despite working for years in a job that required killing people and meeting those who killed others, they had never felt such killing intent. *Step* *Step* The noise of the steps grew nearer as both Dane and Kai were too shaken to even turn to see who was the person behind them. The fear clouded their judgment as their hands trembled. With each step they heard, their heart rate went up. "I would advise against killing that man," the duo heard the voice of a young man filled with coldness. "If you don''t want to die, that is." A/N : A little announcement in the Author''s note for the privilege readers. Chapter 136 S Rank Hunters Arrive A couple of minutes ago, before Kai arrived at the balcony area of Room 05, Garreth was waiting for Corey and Zach, the two S Rank Hunters, to arrive. Then, just as he was about to call his team members again, he saw his men entering the hotel with two other men. He instantly recognized the identity of the two men, as he had already received information regarding Corey and Zach. Zach, who was looking around the hotel, saw a man walking towards him and could sense that this person was an A- Rank hunter. "Are you the person who called us?" Zach said as he saw Garreth standing in front of him and Corey without a shred of fear. "Care to exin why you guys werete?" Garreth asked as he tapped and signaled all his team members about the arrival of the S Rank Hunters. "Oh,e on, just tell us what the task is so we can go back already," Zach looked down at Garreth because he was just an A- Rank hunter. His tone was informal, and from his behavior, it was clear that Zach didn''t have any respect for Garreth or the other security team present. ''Wasn''t he part of the security team?'' Corey could recognize Garreth slightly as he had seen him with Emmy, who was quite famous in Abyss Guild. ''But why would he be here?'' Everyone knew that Asher and Amelia were in World Academy, and the top greyhounds escorted the twins. Even Amelia, during her time at Desmar, was surrounded by S Rank Hunters. It was only when she came to Soran that the security became lighter. Being an S Rank hunter, Corey could not sense the presence of any other S Rank hunters in the entire building. Another man with simr clothing as Garreth came down as he walked towards Garreth, who was about to say something to Zach but stopped as he saw this man. "They are the S Rank Hunters, right?" He confirmed with Garreth, who nodded back. The men were gathering the attention of the people in the lobby, and Zach didn''t like it. Right now, he was waiting for orders from men weaker than him. "Young Master has ordered them to meet him as soon as possible," the man told Garreth. Zach wasn''t listening actively. "Hey, I don''t have all day for your¡ª" Zach began to say something, but Garreth''s words made him stop. "Young Master?" Corey was the one who raised the question. "Don''t talk out loud," Garreth reminded Corey with a serious look on his face. "What? What do you mean¡ª" Zach was about to say when they sensed a heavy killing intent, shortly followed by the sound of a st happening on the highest floor. *Boom* "What?" Corey looked up at the ceiling. "Go to the highest floor RIGHT NOW!!" Garreth shouted as he rushed towards the elevator. "Zach, we''ll go from outside," Corey quickly assessed the situation and rushed out. "What?" Zach was confused by what was happening, but he still followed Corey. *Dash* Both of them dashed outside the hotel, breaking the entrance in the process. After hearing the word ''Young Master,'' Corey knew that either Lucas or Asher was on the highest floor somehow. The rest of the security was also rushing towards the highest floor, making the other people panic as multiple people red their mana. But the most significant impact came from Corey, who had dashed outside and nced at the highest floor. Then, enveloping his legs with mana, he propelled his body toward the highest floor. Zach also followed after him, but both his and Corey''s jumps made the ss around the lower floor shatter. Even the civilians outside were panicking as they saw two small craters present in front of the most famous hotel in Maxzil. "What happened?" The manager came running out as he saw the destruction in the lobby area. "W-We don''t know. A st happened on the highest floor, and then all those people started running around," the man at the reception tried to exin, but the manager''s face went pale. This incident could cost them their reputation if the VVIP guest on the highest floor was injured. Corey, who had reached the highest floor, dashed inside one of the rooms as he broke down the walls. In front of an S Rank hunter, such a level of enforced materials was nothing. Zach soon arrived, seeing Corey spread his mana sense and dash toward the left. *Bam* With a single punch, a view into a room opened where a man was trembling on the bed with aptop in his hands. Corey turned around, and his eyes went wide. ************** Minutes before all this happened, Asher was meditating in his room. He was spreading his mana sense, amplified due to his Rank A Mana Flow skill, and he could sense the presence of every person on this floor. Mana Sense was a method that worked like a radar, where one could spot mana-filled beings and other objects around them. Depending on their sensitivity to mana, each person had a different aptitude for mana sense. But the Greville family, due to their special bloodline, had the best mana sense among all the hunters in the world. This was another reason why such a bloodline was coveted by people hunters who worked as assassins and found it nearly impossible to catch such people off guard. Having a body that was highly sensitive to mana made it far easier to perceive attacks and the presence of people around them. Asher took a deep breath when he sensed the presence of a person around Room 05. He opened his eyes and stood up. "So, I was right," he muttered as he walked towards his balcony. He could sense the presence of two people to his right, where Room 05 was situated. Looking to his right, Asher stepped on the railing without looking down. For a D Rank Hunter, falling from this height would result in heavy injuries even if they protected themselves with mana, but Asher was not worried about this at all. One thing Asher was best at was his fine control over his mana. Even with losing his S Rank Mana Maniption bloodline, he still had Rank A Mana Flow, which was a cheaper version of his bloodline ability. Gathering his mana around his feet, Asher looked forward. Making this long jump was easy for him. "Mir Steps," Asher muttered as he disappeared from his spot. His short burst of mana bent the railings, but he sessfully arrived at Tom''s balcony, where he saw a broken window. *Step* He stepped down from the railing and could sense two people in front of him. Asher was familiar with the two men present in front of him; after all, they were the people who had followed Asher all around the world and helped him destroy many people. One of the Top Executives for his organization ZEPHYR, the one-handed reaper, Dane, and the illusionist Kai. And Asher knew the best way to control such people because he had also done it previously. Asher let go of his thoughts as he allowed the madness in his mind to run free, releasing a vicious amount of killing intent. If Asher''s intelligence was not so high, such a feat would not have been possible. "I would advise against killing that man," the duo heard the voice of a young man filled with coldness. "If you don''t want to die, that is," Asher muttered as his eyes looked down at the two humans in front of him. Dane and Kai slowly moved their heads around to see the person behind them, and Kai was the first one. He could see a young man with an insanely attractive face and his cold crimson-red eyes moving towards them. But despite clearly seeing the face, Kai had difficulty gathering his thoughts. A killing intent so intense. Kai could see Asher''s eyes that were looking at him, but his gaze was filled with bloodlust and coldness. A normal person would have lost consciousness by now, but Dane and Kai were fine. But their disguise hade off as Kai could not keep up the rhythm of mana he needed to maintain the disguise. "A-Asher Greville?" Kai somehow gathered his thoughts as he could recognize the young man in front of him. Kai spread his mana, and he could sense that Asher was only a D Rank Hunter, which didn''t make sense to him as to how a person as young as him could already be at D Rank. "H-He is dangerous," Dane spoke as his eyes looked at Asher. Dane had a simr feeling when he had met some of the SS Rank Hunters, but the feeling right now was even stronger and different. "Hmm?" Tom woke up due to the noise around him. Dane and Kai looked at the man who had just woken up and was looking at them. Asher reeled in his killing intent, but the small amount of killing intent was enough to shake Tom, who grabbed hisptop and looked at Asher. But before looking back at Asher, he looked at Dane and Kai again, and then his eyes squinted. "Boss, these are the guys you were looking for!" Tom shouted as he pointed at them. "I know," Asher muttered as he red his mana. "Mir Steps," Asher muttered as he disappeared, and his sudden move made Kai panic. "Wind st," Kai shouted. "No!" Dane was about to stop him, but it was toote. Kai shot a massive Wind st that sted the entire balcony area of Room 05, but Asher was not present in his spot. Asher, who was standing behind them, smirked as special ck armor started covering his body. "Bind," Asher muttered as ck armor appeared around his body, and chains made of mana came out of it that grabbed Kai and Dane as the spikes on it dug around their body. All of this happened so quickly that neither Dane nor Kai could react. It was as if there was something wrong with their senses. *Boom* The room wall was sted by a single punch as a man entered the room. Chapter 137 Emergency Call "Right there," Corey sensed the presence of two A+ Rank Hunters and dashed in that direction. With a single punch, he broke many walls and immediately arrived at the room where he saw Tom, who was holding hisptop and trembling on his bed. Waking up to Asher''s killing intent affected him more than Dane and Kai who felt most of it. But as he was not the target of Asher''s killing intent, he didn''t suffer much. Corey quickly turned to see two guys screaming in pain on the floor as weird ck chains strangled their bodies, and due to the small spikes on the chain, many cuts and wounds appeared on Kai and Dane''s bodies. Corey turned his face and saw Asher calmly standing there, looking at him with stoic eyes. "Young Master," shouts from the guards came as they arrived in Room 05 as well. But Corey was faster than them because he was an S Rank hunter. "What?" Zach arrived just behind Corey, looking at the scenario before him. "Stop," Asher muttered, looking at Zach, who was about to attack Dane and Kai. "Ah?" Zach turned to look at Asher. His words stopped Zach and the entire security team that was about to attack Dane and Kai. "Move," Garreth shouted as he had just arrived. His heart was beating out of his chest as the consequences of Asher getting hurt were not something he ever wanted to face. "Arggg," Dane and Kai grunted on the floor as their blood spread on the floor. Right now, half of Asher''s body was covered in ck armor from which a chain-like thing came out. Asher looked at the chains and the notification that was floating in front of him. ----------------------------- | Tiamur''s Chain Armor | | S Rank Artifact | | Description: An invisible armor that will appear at the wearer''s wish. In the armor lie chains that were meant to torture their foes. | First Ability: Negates damage below S Rank by 70% | | Second Ability: Chains made of mana wille to strangle your opponent below S Rank | | Third Ability: Within 30m of the wearer''s presence, all beings below S Rank will have highly dull senses for 1 minute. | | Limitations: A huge amount of mana is needed to use the secondary ability, and if the mana supply is cut, the chains will disappear | ----------------------------- Unlike World Academy, where Asher could not use artifacts, this was the outside world where he could use such high-ranking artifacts. This was the S Rank Artifact that Alfred Raven had gifted Asher for hisst birthday when he became the official heir of the Greville family. This was one of the rarest S Rank Artifacts that worked like armor but could still be used by a low-ranking hunter, apart from its secondary ability, which Asher could only maintain for 5 seconds with his current mana pool. "Capture them alive," Asher said as the chains disappeared. Dane and Kai were trying to get up when Corey appeared behind them and used his hands to m their bodies to the ground. "I apologize, Young Master. We are ready for any punishments," Garreth bowed, as did the other security guards, as they had failed at their duties. Although it was not entirely their fault, as they could not have anticipated Kai''s unique ability, which helped him and Dane infiltrate the highest floor so easily. Only peak S Rank hunters or above were the people who could sense Kai''s presence when he used his ability, so unless such a person was present, it would have been impossible to detect them. But none of it mattered now; they had made a severe mistake guarding Asher. "Forget it, but why were these guyste?" Asher asked as he looked at Garreth. "Ah," Zach wanted to say something but then closed his mouth. ''Shit, shit,'' Zach was panicking a lot in his mind. Although Zach had huge pride in front of people like Asher, who was from the Elite family that basically made the rules of this world, people like him were nothing. If the Greville family wanted, Zach and people rted to him would disappear without a trace. "They were busy strolling around," Garreth said while still bowing. Corey looked up, but even he was nervous. One word from Asher and both of them would be kicked out of the Abyss Guild, no matter how rare S Rank hunters were; they were not worth more than the heir of an Elite family. "I apologize, Young Master, we didn''t know it was you who called us," Corey said as Zach was too stunned to speak. Asher''s cold eyes looked at Zach and Corey, making them nervous. But he turned and looked at Garreth. Right now, he had another question in his mind, which was more important than bothering Zach and Corey. "Did you use the emergency call?" Asher asked, and Garreth flinched. "Y-Yes, I apologize," Garreth replied with a stuttering voice. Not only had Garreth failed to protect Asher, but he also disobeyed his orders that mentioned his stay at Maxzil should remain anonymous. Asher looked at Garreth as if he was an annoyance, and his emotions didn''t change for Zach and Corey either. All of them were ipetent, which was why Asher didn''t want to use them for his future ns. From the corner of his eyes, Asher looked at Dane, whose eyes were observing everyone in the room. Even in this situation where he and Kai would have been killed normally, Dane was still figuring out a way to escape with a calm mind. ''Annoying,'' Asher thought in his mind. Although he had ordered to bring S Rank hunters because he remembered that it was around this time that Dane and Kai tried to rob this hotel, and he wanted to catch them before World Association did. But now Garreth had used the emergency call, which was given to the security guards that followed Asher and Amelia and the twins. Its only function was to inform the high-ranking hunters of the Greyhounds, which was the group of people trained by the Greville family. Due to Garreth using this call, a group of high-ranking hunters was on their way to Maxzil at this moment. And this obviously meant that both Arthur and Sylvie would receive the news about Asher being in Maxzil. ''What the hell happened when I slept,'' Tom looked around, but nothing made sense to him. ******************** The team from the World Association entered Maxzil a minute ago. "Activate the tracer," their leader said as ra took out a device. *BEEP* "What''s the location?" the team leader asked with a smile on his face. The sound in the device meant that the suspects were still in this city. ra tapped on the device, and a 3-D map emerged. "In this hotel," she replied. "Time to move," the man replied as they red their mana. "Don''t go overboard," He said onest time as they dashed towards the direction of a particr hotel. ***************** In an underground facility, which was the base of the most infamous organization in the world, seven men could be seen sitting in the room, waiting for a certain person to arrive. "How many mana gems have you guys gathered?" Lucas asked with a stoic look on his face. Seeing his face made most of the people in the room nervous, as his red eyes and ck hair matched a certain person. Although that person was their leader, it didn''t change the fact that most people here feared him as much as they respected him. "We have gathered seven S Rank mana gems, but that was all I could find at that ce," Kai replied, raising his hands. As the atmosphere around the room was getting too cold, Nate, who had the second-highest authority like Lucas, spoke out. "I always wonder how you lost your hand, Dane?" Nate asked, and Dane looked at him and spoke. Dane had a grin on his face as he was not bothered to exin his past to Nate. "It''s a funny story," Dane started exining his story. "When we escaped Spyder, both Kai and I were looking for money," he said with a grin on his face. "And so we tried to rob the most famous hotel in Maxzil City. It was a great n, but I didn''t know that those Spyder bastards had nted mana chips in us," Dane''s bloodlust started leaking, but nobody minded it. "And then we got caught by the World Academy, and in the fight, those bastards managed to cut my left arm when I tried to escape," Dane said, but Kai knew that he had left many things that had happened to them. It was a past that Kai didn''t want to remember, but that past was the only reason why both he and Dane were part of this group. "What happened after that?" a man asked the room. "It was-" Dane said but stopped midway through as he looked towards the door. A young man with an extremely attractive face entered the room, holding a pitch-ck sword in his hands that was covered with blood. Seeing that man, everyone in the room stood up, and Dane did the same. "Wee, Boss," five men said the same thing. "Wee, brother," Lucas said, and Nate was quiet. "Sit down," Asher said as he removed his coat, which was smudged with blood all over it. Asher''s heightened senses allowed him to overhear Dane''s tale, but he had no interest in prolonging their idle chatter. Asher''s presence was dominating for everyone apart from Lucas, who was not bothered by it. Chapter 138 Arrest Who? In the Greville Estate, "So, it moves like this?" Lucas was practicing his mana control with a teacher that Arthur himself brought for Lucas. Unlike Livia, who was currently learning directly from Nathan himself. He had seen that Livia had the aptitude for learning his sword art as she could grasp the basics of the Greatsword a bit better. Oddly, her physical strength was also getting stronger since the moment she had awakened. The previously weak and ill Livia was long gone, and a more cheerful and stronger Livia had taken her ce. Usually, Sylvie would have felt a bit lonely as this time Asher was gone with Amelia as well, but the twins'' presence kept her busy. "Yeah, focus on controlling the mana, but keep increasing the power behind the spell," his teacher said as he patiently taught Lucas. In Lucas''s room, two men were standing, watching the teacher and protecting Lucas simultaneously. Unlike Asher, the twins were more likely to be in danger because they were Ivar''s children. Arthur and Sylvie didn''t want to take any chances with the twins'' safety, so most of the Greyhounds, the hunters trained by the Greville family, were guarding Lucas and Livia at all times. But the ones present with Lucas were S Rank hunters. Even among the Greyhounds, there were only three SS Rank hunters. The first was the leader of the Greyhounds, and the second person was personally guarding the twins. The third one was out for a mission given by the family head, Arthur. The leader of the Greyhounds was a person who only moved with Arthur or Nathan or otherwise was responsible for training the new hunters. Right now, the leader of the Greyhounds was meeting with the other hunters he had trained himself. "This is the target we have to be careful about," a photo of a woman was on disy, and every person present was paying their utmost attention. "We can''t rely on the intel alone; spread your team members in Soran and report any suspicious activity to me," the leader said as he looked around. *BEEP* Their bracelets were shining red with a loud noise, and they all knew the meaning of this message. ************ The entire room was dead silent, and all the men were waiting for a D Rank Hunter to speak. All of them were stronger than Asher, except for Tom, who had caught on to what might have happened but was still confused. ''What?'' Zach couldn''t understand what Garreth was apologizing for. He didn''t know about the emergency call that Asher was talking about. He wanted to get out of this messy situation right now. "Who are you guys?" Corey threatened both Dane and Kai as they grunted due to the pressure Corey was applying to their heads. Asher turned as he wanted to know if Dane and Kai would react in this situation. The Dane and Kai he knew were people that were broken when they met Asher, so they helped him do all that stuff in his previous life. But he wanted to know if their mentality was the same right now or not. "A thief?" Dane said with a crazy smile on his face. ''Idiot,'' Kai wanted to punch Dane right now, but he had no control over his body. "Tell me your motives right now!" Corey increased his pressure as both Dane and Kai found it hard to breathe. "What a brute," Dane said while his head was cemented to the ground. Corey was losing his patience with both of them, but he had heard Asher''s order clearly. Asher had clearly mentioned that he wanted both of them alive. Dane heard that clearly as well. He didn''t know why the crazy heir of the Greville family, who was famous all over the inte, was interested in them. But he did know that he didn''t want them dead right now for some reason. It was an opportunity for both him and Kai to have a chance to escape if they yed their cards correctly. Meanwhile, Kai was thinking exactly the opposite of what Dane was thinking. He didn''t know about it earlier, but now he knew that Asher was a D Rank hunter; nothing made sense to him. How could a young man like Asher intimidate professional killers like them? And the fact that even Dane said he was dangerous, and he knew that Dane never said that unless he felt threatened by the other party. ''Not bad,'' Asher could see that although not perfect, there were simrities in their behavior. "Use mana cuffs on them; I will take them for interrogation," Asher said to Garreth, who nodded immediately. Garreth walked up to Corey and used the S Rank Mana Cuffs that could be used to cut off the mana of an A Rank hunterpletely, but their physical strength would still be present, although it was significantly reduced because their mana got cut. Right now, both of their white shirts were stained with their blood that was still flowing. This is because the chains made the wounds, and they were such cuts that could not be healed in such a short time. "But it might get dangerous," Zach suggested, as he wanted to score some points with Asher. "I can help you escort them," Zach said with a smile on his face. He thought Asher was still young, so if he acted nicely in front of him, he could make a good impression in front of the future head of the Greville family. Zach wanted to see the reaction on Asher''s face, but he got none. He was not sure what the young man in front of him was thinking. *Boom* A sound of a st was heard as three men appeared on the broken balcony that was destroyed by Kai''s attack. "What do we have here?" Henry said while looking around at all the people in the room. He could not see Asher behind the security team trying to capture Dane and Kai, who couldn''t resist much right now. "We got some tough guys here," ra said as she looked at Zach and Corey. They could sense that Zach and Corey were also S Rank Hunters, just like them. "What should we do, Team Leader," ra asked as the man in the middle stepped in. "We are from the World Association, and I am Kayden But, an S+ Rank hunter," Kayden introduced himself. "The criminals we were looking for are present at this location," Kayden said as he looked around and saw two men down on the floor with mana cuffs on their wrists. "And for vandalizing this hotel, we need all of you toe with us while my team finds the criminals," Kayden announced. "What do you mean by that?" Zach asked, a bit flustered. The World Association was the most powerful association and had the most hunters in the world aligned with them. So he didn''t want to mess with someone who looked like a higher-up in the World Association. "There seems to be a misunderstanding--" Zach spoke, but a voice stopped him. "Arrest who?" Asher came forward, and the security team made way for him. Kayden''s eyes went wide, and so did Henry and ra''s, as they saw a young man with crimson red eyes in front of them. "Red eyes," ra immediately noticed his features. ''Asher Greville?'' Kayden was almost sure that the young man before him was Asher Greville. His footage of beating n in the Representative Tournament had gone viral, so most people knew his face now. And for a man like Kayden, who met influential people due to his work, it was obvious that he knew about Asher. "You can go back now," Asher said, but Kayden frowned, and so did Henry and ra. Even the people in elite families treated S Rank hunters of the World Association with a bit of respect, but they had never seen someone so young use an authoritative tone on them. "It seems you are mistaken, Heir Greville," Kayden said as the rest of his team of A+ Rankers also made their way up top. "We are from the World Association, and we have permission to search for the criminals," Kayden replied, which made Henry and ra smile. They were happy that Kayden was stepping in front of Asher. "And we need to do mana scans of every A Rank Hunter present here," Kayden said with a stern look on his face. Corey was about to step in and mediate between Kayden, but before he could do so, serious pressure fell on Kayden and the rest of the World Association members. Kayden''s face turned pale as he looked up. The hotel roof started to turn into dust, and the whole ceiling disappeared in a matter of 2 seconds. It was a unique type of magic that Asher, including the security team, was well familiar with. "It seems you have a problem with our Young Master," a man spoke, but from his presence alone, Kayden could feel that he was an SS Rank hunter. But what shocked Henry and ra, even Zach and Corey, was the fact that there were 10 S Rank Hunters and an SS Rank Hunter floating in the air. "But I am sure a wise man like you will understand that it was you who had a misunderstanding," a man with ck eyes and grey hair looked at Kayden. ''Woah,'' Dane could sense the oppressioning from these people, telling him they were strong. ''Dammit,'' Dane said to himself, as he had no way of escaping now that so many high-ranking hunters were present here. Chapter 139 Going Back Home "What?" Henry got nervous as he looked around and saw multiple S Rank hunters, but the biggest source of his fear was the SS Rank hunter. Kayden was the only S+ Rank Hunter from the World Association, and Henry and ra were still S- Rank Hunters. Apart from them, their whole team was filled with A+ Rank Hunters. Coming here, they had thought that this team would have been enough to safely catch two A Rank criminals, but never in their wildest dreams had they imagined the oue they were facing right now. "Hassan Trevino," Kayden muttered as he recognized the old SS Rank Hunter, who was standing proudly in the air, looking down at him. Hassan Trevino, an SS Rank Hunter, was known as the right-hand man of Nathaniel Von Greville, the sword god himself. But inside the Greville family, he was famous as the leader of the Greyhound group. Apart from Emmy, who was not part of the Greyhounds, all other hunters, including Garreth, were trained under Hassan''s guidance. "I am too old now to remember any rules, but surely you can tell me," Hassan came down, as did the other S Rank hunters. Although they were calm right now, they just needed one order from Hassan to kill every World Association Hunter present. Even Kayden was notfortable with fighting two S Rank hunters at the same time. And in the presence of an SS Rank Hunter like Hassan, he was not foolish enough to do so. Henry and ra gritted their teeth as they felt humiliated by the Greville family since they were not from Somaria. They hade here from Desmar, and none of the Elite families that were present there behaved as oppressively as the Greville did. "Sir Hassan, I respect you, but all we need are the two criminals that we came for," Kayden spoke out, making his team''s expression brightened. In all honesty, Kayden wanted to leave right now, but doing so would not only damage his reputation, but he would not be able to live with the shame of being called a coward by his own team. He already knew that they would go back empty-handed, so it was a useless attempt to show that he was slightly unwilling to go back right now. "But attacking our precious heir during his hotel stay, that''s going a bit too far, right?" Hassan said with a gentle smile on his face. He looked much older than Arthur, as he was closer to Nathan''s age, and in his words and manners, he was more patient than other young high-rank hunters like Zach and Corey. He had seen a lot in his life, and one thing he had learned during his lifetime was that the one who lost his calm first was the first one to lose in battle. ording to him, if you were not the strongest, you were unqualified to be arrogant in front of others. There were only a few men he respected in this world, and Nathan Greville was one of them. "What do you mean we did?" Henry shouted, but Kayden raised his hand a bit to make him stop. "We didn''t do it, Sir Hassan," Kayden said, but Hassan could see the nervousness in his eyes. Hassan turned to look at Asher to see what he wanted to do. Even though Hassan was an SS Rank Hunter capable of killing Kayden on the spot, he represented the Greville family, and without confirmation from someone from the Greville family, he would not move. Hassan internally smiled as he saw no nervousness in Asher''s eyes. It was surprising that only the youngest person present here was the most fearless one. "What does Young Master want?" Hassan spoke while looking at Asher. Asher''s indifferent gaze looked at Hassan. "Wrap this up; we will go back to Soran," Asher said. "And the emergency call was a mistake from Garreth," Asher said, looking at Hassan. Asher made sure that Hassan would wrap this matter up as fast as possible without wasting any more time. "You heard our Young Master; now it''s your choice," Hassan looked at Kayden with a calm smile. ''What choice, you bastard,'' Kayden cursed Hassan in his mind. They had no choice but to fall back, as Kayden couldn''t take such matters into his own hands. If there was an SS Rank Hunter from the World Association present here, there was a chance that Hassan would have given him some face, but even then, it likely resulted in a simr manner. Apart from some people in the World Association and other influential names, no one could stand equally before the Greville family. "Okay," Kayden turned. But he looked back at two people on the ground, Dane and Kai, and remembered their faces. "Let''s go back," Kayden said while gritting his teeth as his whole team backed away to go back to Vernes. Seeing the World Association members go back, everyone rxed as they looked back at Asher, waiting for his order. "Take these two to Emmy," Asher said to Tom as he turned back. "Ah, me?" Tom pointed at himself as every single gaze fell on him. "Ah, yes. These two are with us, haha," Tom scratched the back of his head, acting all silly. But his nervousugh wasn''t helping with the acting. Even Dane looked up from the corner of his eyes and looked disappointed in Tom''s poor acting skills. But Kai was still cautious as to why the heir of the Greville family wanted them alive. ''Did he make a deal with Spyder?'' Kai said to himself. But he removed the possibility because they would not have gone to Greville for it even if their organization wanted them dead. There was a reason that Dane and Kai were running around in Somaria, and only the World Association team was on their tail. But organizations like Spyder and other criminal organizations needed approval from the Elite families from that continent. But it was only in Somaria that, apart from organizations that ran the ck market and a few smaller ones, no big organization dared to set their base in Somaria. It was a known fact that all three Elite families of Somaria were full of a bunch of crazy people. "You help them; take these guys to Emmy," Asher told Garreth. "Young Master, you need to follow us," Hassan said with a smile. Asher looked at him with no emotions on his face. Whether the emergency call was fake or not, it was called, and it was Hassan''s duty to take Asher back home. It was something that Asher would not be able to avoid either way, and it was better to go back and exin the stuff himself. Because if he didn''t, that would result in Arthur asking Emmy about all of his activities. And it was something that Asher wanted to avoid for now. But now that he got the perfect people for the jobs, he could finally move and carry out his ns. "Sure," Asher replied as all the S Rank Hunters stepped into the room. Tom got out of his bed, and when he stepped on the floor, the tiles cracked as the damage inside the room was already significant, and all it needed was a little push to shatterpletely. *Crack* "Shit," Tom immediately removed his feet, and below his feet was a brick that looked like it was made up of gold. "Hoh," Hassan smiled as he could guess what that was. "I guess we can pay for the damage done," Hassanughed lightly. Dane and Kai cursed their luck as they observed the scene before them. If only their timing had been different, all this money could have been theirs. ********** At the World Academy, "So you wanted to talk about something?" Elena asked Eva, who had asked her toe down to the lobby. "I heard that Asher Greville was gathering GP," Eva said as she looked at Elena. Elena thought for a while before she finally spoke up. "Does he want to enter the Auction?" Elena asked with a smile on her face. "I think so, too," Eva replied with a nod. "Whatever, he will not be able to buy anything good anyway," Elena said as she knew that all the better artifacts were in the hands of the Senior year students who had arge amount of GP with them. "I am not sure, but I got the news that Leonard will give Asher Greville a loan for GP," Eva said, making Elena frown slightly. "But why would he?" Elena asked. "I am not sure, but he wants to keep Asher Greville in his faction," Eva replied, sharing what she had heard from her sources or, more clearly, her older brother''s sources. They were correct that Leonard wanted to loan a huge amount of GP to Asher, but it was not in good faith. Chapter 140 Arriving At The Greville Estate "Sir Kayden, we can call the head--" Henry was saying something, but the expression on Kayden''s face made him drop his words. "Just go back. We don''t need anyplications with the Greville family," Kayden said, looking forward. "Who was that guy, though?" ra didn''t know about Hassan, so she was curious about who the old man was. "Hassan Trevino, SS Rank Hunter," one of their team members exined. "You are not from Somaria, so you might not know much about him, but he is the right-hand man of Nathaniel Greville," he said as ra nodded. "What about the report then?" Henry asked. "Just tell them that we got stopped by the heir of the Greville family." Kayden was in no mood to hold this discussion any longer. Henry and ra thought Kayden was angry, but in reality, he was just terrified of Hassan''s presence. There was some information that only people like Kayden, who had worked long enough in high positions, knew. And most new S Rank hunters like Henry and ra didn''t know about them. And he was one of the fortunate ones who knew about Hassan and his powers. Greville had stayed in the high council for a long time, and they were the only ones among the Elite families that nurtured their servants themselves. Most families feared that wasting resources on other people different from their own blood could lead to their own downfall, so they never tried it. However, only the Grevilles were crazy enough to have people like Hassan swear their absolute loyalty toward them. ''At least it was old man Hassan this time,'' Kayden breathed in relief, as Hassan was known as the calmest one among the three SS Rank Hunters that worked for the special group of hunters they called ''Greyhounds.'' If one of the other two hade, there was a chance a few of his team members would have died before they even got a chance to speak. *** "What is happening?!" A woman shouted with fear. There were simr reactions from other people present in the hotel at that time. They hade here to have a peaceful stay, but out of nowhere, windows were breaking, and there was a heavy pressure in the air due to the mana of the S Rank hunters that were present there. "Two of you, go and exin everything to them," Hassan told two S Rank Hunters to move. They disappeared as they looked for the hotel manager, who was shaking in the lobby area on the ground floor with fear. Hassan turned as he looked at Corey and Zach, who were just standing there. "And you two are from the Abyss Guild, right?" Hassan asked. "Yes, Sir!" Both of them replied instantly, as they knew about Hassan. Corey was slightly nervous about being punished, but Zach was the one who was most anxious here. He knew that if Hassan got to know about how he had talked about the Greyhounds, even his life could have been in danger. He was just praying that they would somehow gloss over this incident. Hassan knew there was something off about this incident, but he couldn''t question Asher about it. It was not his job nor his right to question him about what he was doing here. "We should move, Young Master," Hassan said as he looked at Asher. All thismotion had attracted many people around the nearby street, who were recording the whole scenario. Fortunately, Hassan was careful that none of their faces were spotted, which was not good for their public image. Before the hour passed, Asher was back in Soran and was traveling to the Greville Estate. Most of the S Rank Hunters had returned, as in Soran, Asher didn''t need this much security. Tom was taking Dane and Kai, who was being restrained by Garreth and a few of his men. Asher had already given Tom all the instructions for Emmy long before arriving at the hotel, so he didn''t need to worry about Dane and Kai escaping. Even if both of them were good enough in front of Emmy, it wouldn''t matter. She was one of the best trackers in the world, and even S Rank hunters would notpete with her in that field. Asher''s car stopped as he stepped out of it and looked at therge Mansion in front of him. Asher went inside, as there was still some time left before Sylvie and Arthur woulde back, and he would have to answer a few questions. As he stepped towards his room, the strange tattoo on his back appeared for an instant and disappeared again. "Wee, Young Master," many servants greeted Asher as he approached the training grounds. Asher stepped into the training facility when he heard a sound, so he went in that direction. "Fireball," Lucas chanted as a fireball appeared in both of his hands. Asher was looking at the young Lucas, who had gotten slightly taller, practicing his spells. "Huff, huff," Lucas breathed heavily as he looked at where his fireballs had hit. "Still off," Lucas muttered to himself. But when he turned to pick up his towel, he saw Asher, and his face brightened up. "Brother!" Lucas said as Asher walked closer to him. "Are you on your vacation?" Lucas asked Asher, as Sylvie had already told him about how Asher could leave World Academy for a few days. "Yeah, and I will return in a few hours," Asher replied. "Okay," Lucas was not disheartened by his reply, as he already knew he would join the World Academy next year. Though it would be in a special ss, he could still meet Asher every day. "Keep practicing," Asher turned, but he saw a little girl who was a bit shorter than Lucase into the training room holding a greatsword in her hand. The greatsword was specially made for her, considering her size, so it was not too big for her. "Oh, big brother is here," Livia came in, as it was her time to practice as well. She was surprised that Asher was present there. Asher looked at Livia, but his gaze was still indifferent. "Are you alone?" she asked. "Yeah, Amelia will note here till the next break," Asher replied, which made Livia a bit sad. "Lucas, are you still free for a spar?" Livia asked her brother. "Ah, yeah," Lucas replied as he waved at Asher. Asher turned as he was leaving the ground floor to train his mana to the second floor, but he sensed a familiar aura and stopped. "They arrived early," Asher stopped as he sensed that Arthur and Sylvie were back. At the entrance of the Mansion, "So it was a wrong call, ording to him?" Arthur asked Hassan, who nodded back. "What do you want to do, Sylvie?" Arthur asked. "Let''s listen to his side of the story first," Sylvie replied, and Arthur nodded back at her. They entered the living room and were about to call a servant to inform Asher, but they stopped as they saw Asher arriving at the living room himself. "You have grown stronger," Arthur was surprised that Asher had hit D-Rank already. "Yeah," Asher replied as he sat opposite Arthur and Sylvie. "Congrattions on bing Rank 1," Sylvie said with a smile on her face. "Thanks," Asher replied with a calm face. "So, I assume you know why we called you here?" Arthur asked. "For the emergency call, right?" Asher replied, and Arthur nodded. They first wanted to hear his side of the story beforeing to a decision themselves. "It was just a short trip to the ck Market in Maxzil," Asher replied truthfully, as he knew that hiding things now would not do him any good. "How does that rte to you using that armor on two unknown people?" Arthur asked as he had already heard everything from Hassan. Asher exined the story, but he mixed it a little. Arthur and Sylvie listened to him for a full 10 minutes as Asher warped the storypletely. "So those two were hired mercenaries?" Arthur asked. "Yeah, and I was testing the artifact on them," Asher replied. "And all this happened because of the two S Rank Hunters that came from our guild?" Sylvie asked, and Asher nodded at her. Sylvie was still a bit sad about her previous quarrel with Asher, which involved Alyssa, so she didn''t want to argue further. "Okay, but make sure you always take the guards with you. I expect you know the consequences of such actions," Arthur said, but both of them knew that Asher was smart enough not to do things like this. "I will," Asher replied, but he didn''t mean what he said. "Okay, are you staying today?" Sylvie asked. "I will go back as I have some work rted to my newpany," Asher replied as he got up. "The twins would have loved a dinner together," Sylvie said, but Asher shook his head. "Okay, you can go," Arthur said as Asher got ready to leave the Mansion in his car. After two minutes, "You think he told the truth?" Arthur asked. "I think so. From Hassan''s exnation, everything aligned with what he said," Sylvie replied. "Well, he will be returning to the World Academy, so we don''t need to worry about such things for now," she said. As the incident happened in Somaria, they were not too worried about it. Asher''s eyes went dull as he entered his car. He acted as normal as he could before Sylvie and Arthur because he didn''t want them to get involved in his activities. Almost everything was set, and Asher could finally make his moves. ''Level up, huh,'' Asher thought in his mind. Chapter 141 Making The Team In a mansion in Soran, Alyssa was sitting in the meditation pose, absorbing mana from a C Rank Mana Gem. There were three of them avable in front of her. This was the gift Asher had given her for ranking up to D Rank. Unlike weapon users, mages ranked up purely based on the amount and quality of their mana. It was easy for a mage to rank up and be an S Rank hunter but difficult for a sword user to be an S Rank hunter purely by using mana gems. People who chose the path of a mage needed strong mana meridians and a good flow of mana inside their bodies. But those who chose the weapon path needed a stronger body to withstand their mana. This was why, despite having so much mana, Asher still needed to expend that mana to increase the power of his physical body as well. Mana cirction techniques helped with that. Due to this long and hard process, ranking up was a difficult task for most people. Ranking up without proper resources was almost impossible. A bit far from her room, Emmy was pacing back and forth, nervous due to the emergency call that had happened earlier. Although she had received the message that it was nothing, she was more confused about Asher going to Maxzil suddenly when he told her he was going for a meeting with Tom. Although she didn''t want to report Asher''s activities, if Arthur insisted, she would have to tell them about all the activities that had happened so far. She looked back at one particr room in the mansion. ''How should I exin that?'' Emmy didn''t know what to do, but she decided to wait until she was called for. She noticed a sound as she went outside to see, and she saw Tom with Garreth and a few others carrying two unknown men who had their hands cuffed with mana-restricting bracelets. "Who are they?" Emmy asked Garreth with a frown on her face. "Ah, I-" Garreth didn''t know about them, so he looked at Tom. "You guys can go back now, and Boss has said to take them to that room," Tom looked at Emmy and replied. Emmy frowned, but she nodded back at him. "You can go back," Emmy told Garreth, and Dane and Kai looked at all the security team leave. "What is this ce?" Dane asked Tom with a smile on his face. "Hehe," Tom just gave Dane a smallugh. "Hey, why did heugh at me?" Dane whispered to Kai, who shook his head. They didn''t know why they were sent here and what kind of room they were being sent to. Emmy walked behind their back. "We can walk ourselves-" Dane was saying something when he felt a chop near his neck. He wanted to say they would go themselves, but Emmy had already made them unconscious with a single strike before he could. "Better now," Emmy grabbed both of their bodies and took them to that special room. "They are the future members of the new team that Boss is making," Tom said as Emmy restrained them while putting them in the special room. "And where are they from?" Emmy asked. "I can''t really say; maybe you can ask Boss about this," Tom replied while being polite. Emmy might look like a harmless woman, but he had searched her records in his free time, and he didn''t want to annoy an A+ Rank hunter who could kill him within a second. Emmy stared at him for a second before leaving the room. Asher had told Emmy not to harm Tom unless he tried to flee or do something fishy. Although Asher was sure Tom was smart enough not to do something like that, he didn''t want to take any chances. Unlike Asher, none of the previous members of his organization had the same hatred as they did in his previous life. But knowing that they were among the best for the work he wanted them to do, he decided to recruit them anyway. 1 Hourter, A car arrived outside the mansion, and Asher stepped out of it as he looked at Emmy, who was standing at the entrance. He walked up to the entrance. "I have handled everything, so make sure everything stays hidden," Asher said, and Emmy nodded back at him. He was sure Arthur and Sylvie would not pressure Emmy to speak about his activities for now. "Where are those two guys?" Asher asked. "In that room," Emmy led Asher to Dane and Kai, who had opened their eyes and were talking with each other. Asher entered the room, and both Dane and Kai looked at him. ''Weird,'' Dane was still getting the same vibes he did earlier. And looking at Dane''s eyes, even Kai was sure that the heir of the Greville family was not as normal as people thought. "You can leave now and tell Tom toe here," Asher told Emmy. "As you wish, Young Master," Emmy replied as she left the room. She was sure that Dane and Kai could not harm or even touch Asher, so she could leavefortably. "Before we start talking, I have a few rules," Asher walked up near Dane and Kai, who was restrained to the chairs they were sitting on. "Don''t lie," Asher said, looking at Kai. "Don''t try to act smart," He turned to look at Dane. "And no unnecessary questions," He said as both of them nodded. Dane and Kai were smart enough not to judge Asher by his age. In their whole life killing people and doing shady stuff, they had developed an instinct for when not to mess with someone. Unlike the leaders of those groups, people like Dane and Kai had to fight and survive every single day. "Tell me your names," Asher knew already, but he still asked them. "I am Dane," "Kai," Both of them answered quickly. "Ah, I heard you called for me, Boss?" Tom asked as he entered the room. "You have the items, right?" Asher asked, and Tom nodded as he walked to him. "So both of you are wondering why you are here, right?" Asher asked, and both of them nodded back at him. "I have an offer for you," Asher said. "Work for me, and you will get paid for it," Asher said, but Dane was confused. ''Why would he need people like us?'' Dane could not understand why the heir of one of the most powerful Elite families was recruiting them. "What kind of work?" Kai understood what Asher was trying to say. There was only one type of work that people like them were used for. "You will work for me on a few ns, and I will pay you 20 Million AUR for each sessful mission, plus your sry," Asher said as Tom brought out a paper-like thing. Dane''s eyes widened as he heard what amount of money Asher offered them. It was way above what they had earned in Spyder. "Sign this mana oath with your mana imprints if you want to work for me," Asher said, but Dane looked at Kai. "What if we reject it?" Dane asked. "Then both of you will die here," Asher replied, and he was serious about it. People like Dane and Kai were dangerous, but not right now. If they couldn''t work with Asher, then he didn''t want people like them to interrupt his ns in the future. "What choice do we have anyway," Dane said, and Kai nodded back. ''We can still escape,'' Dane thought in his mind. Mana oath was just a method to know when the oath was broken. There was no significant damage for it, and if both of them escaped out of Somaria sessfully, Dane was sure they could hide from the Greville family''s reach. Asher looked at the two men in front of him. "Take out the artifact," Asher said as Tom brought out a stamp-like artifact with a weirdpass on its handle. "This is a tracking artifact, and both of you will know about it," Asher said as they understood their position. "This mana oath prohibits you from talking about my ns, actions, or words to anybody," Asher said, looking at them. His face was indifferent, and his crimson-red eyes had no emotions in them. "The moment one of you breaks this oath, both of you will die," He said. "So what do we have to do?" Kai had epted his fate, and working with someone like Asher was better. "He will be your team leader, and I assume you understand what that means," Asher said as Kai and Dane nodded. "So just follow whatever he tells you to do," Asher said as Tom smiled. Tom was just happy that he was not the only one to suffer here now. Chapter 142 Returning To World Academy - I Dane and Kai exchanged nces before reluctantly nodding in agreement. As much as they disliked the idea of being under someone else''s control, the benefits of working for Asher seemed to outweigh the risks. Plus, they knew that their chances of escaping were slim, especially with the tracking artifact and the mana oath in ce. "Alright," Dane said, finally giving in. "We''ll do as you say." Asher took out the mana oath paper and used his mana to make an imprint on the bottom of it. "Call Emmyter and make sure they sign it, one by one," Asher replied as Tom took the stamp-like artifact near Dane''s arm. Tom pressed the artifact on his arms, and after a second, he removed it. "That hurts," Dane muttered as his expression changed a little. On Dane''s arm, a white sigil appeared and disappeared soon after. It was simr to the sigil that the artifact had, and on top of it, a white needle appeared, pointing toward Dane. Doing the same thing, Tom did the same thing to Kai, but his sigil was brown in color, and a brown needle appeared that was pointing at him. "Give the artifact to Emmy," Asher said as he looked at Tom. "She will give you guys the contract, and I hope you both are smart enough not to cause trouble here," Asher said, looking at Dane and Kai. "Don''t worry, we will not do anything dumb," Kai replied as Dane nodded as well. "Good," Asher replied, his expression unchanged. "Tom will fill you in on the details of your first mission." Asher left the room, leaving Dane and Kai with Tom. Emmy was standing outside the room in which Alyssa was meditating. "Is she still meditating?" Asher asked, and Emmy nodded. Asher still had days left before returning to World Academy, and he wanted to properly rank up to D Rank before returning. And the fact he needed to practice his sword art was a significant issue as well. "I will be training for two days, and if she is done, take her to the Portal Dome," Asher said. "Okay," Emmy replied as Asher turned and walked along the long hallway to reach another part of the mansion. "Mhmmm," a weird noise could be heard, but Asher ignored it. Asher entered the room, which was quite spacious, and he could practice his sword art properly there. "Let''s start," Asher took off his shirt as he picked up his sword. He closed his eyes as he imagined an opponent in front of him. Asher raised his right hand as he followed a series of motions that were required for the technique he saw in the scriptures. Multiple steps were needed to sessfully perform this technique, so Asher started with the first one. The first step was to coat the weapon in his hand with aura, which needed to be uniformly distributed upon the weapon''s surface. "Not perfect," Asher could see his aura was a bit denser on the de than on the other part of the sword. He repeated the same process again and again. Finally, after more than 30 tries, Asher somehow managed to distribute the aura on his de uniformly. The second step was even moreplex than the first one. The next step required Asher to create a thinyer of mana around the sword between his aura and the sword. It was ayer that was meant to separate them. If the manayer had been created before the aura, then the aura would not have been stable. It was a weird technique that required the person to have the talent of both a mage and a swordsman. The more Asher learned about this sword art, the more he could see that it required him to have excellent control over his mana, just like a mage did. Unlike weapon users, mages used their arsenal of spells to make up for the difference in their powers. Unlike low-level hunters, high-ranking mages could even control the mana around their surroundings and even change the flow of mana near them. And the amount of versatility a mage had was something a weapon user would not be able to achieve. A single high-ranking mage could even handle multiple people simultaneously if they had the mana pool to support their spells. Asher closed his eyes as he spread his mana sense to sense the environment around him. He needed to make sure that the mana coating he did was between the aura and the sword because if he failed and a gap appeared, the mana would either spread into his surroundings or change the density around the sword. Asher started with a single ce as he tried to slip his mana around his body under his aura. It was a very difficult task to do even when Asher was fully concentrating on it, and pulling this move in a fight would be even more challenging. But it was a technique that Asher wanted to master because it increased the power behind his attacks and was mainly used as a defensive technique. And this was the one thing Asher wascking right now. Due to him losing his previous sword art, he had lost every single defensive technique he came up with. Asher tried, but the moment he tried to spread the mana across the sword, the density of his aura would change, making it a failure. "I am missing something," Asher was sure he was making a mistake. He was sure that the second step was something he needed to achieve before moving to the third one, which seemed impossible for now. Asher closed his eyes as he tried to visualize the movement of his mana inside his body. He could feel that his mana meridians were fine, and there was no issue. He tried to do the second step again, but now he could see what the issue was. The amount of mana that was being released at once was greater than he imagined it to be. Due to the new mana meridians he gained when he changed his bloodline, Asher could see that his mana was being released in bursts. The bursts were small and controlled, so they looked refined to him now, but for the technique, Asher wanted to learn, he needed perfect control over the release of his mana. Asher had his mana flow skill, which allowed him to control such things easily, but the amount was so small that if not for learning this new technique, Asher wouldn''t have noticed this issue. Asher kept focusing on his mana for hours and hours. Three days had passed already, and Asher and Alyssa were still meditating in their rooms. Emmy was standing outside the hallway, making sure nothing weird happened. She turned as she saw Alyssa, who wasing out of the room. Right now, she was walking fine, but her mask was still on, so Emmy didn''t know about her being cured. ''D-Rank,'' Emmy said to herself. She was surprised that Alyssa was so talented, and her ranking speed wasparable to Asher, who was close to D Rank already. ''Is that the reason Young Master recruited her?'' Emmy didn''t know anything about Asher''s view of Alyssa. She guessed that Asher had signed her as a member of his personal team he was building due to her talents. However, Emmy was reluctant to have Alyssa close to Asher, as it could ruin his image as he was the heir of the Greville family. But Emmy knew her job was to follow Asher''s orders and not question them. And for Emmy, Alyssa was not someone she hated anyway. For Emmy, Alyssa was just a person she didn''t care about. She could simply kill Alyssa if Asher wanted her to die. There was no reason to feel threatened, as Alyssa did not have a strong background. "Do you want food?" Emmy asked Alyssa, who looked at her with dull eyes. "Yeah," she replied, but her voice was monotone. Her eyes had be more emotionless, and her gaze had be simr to Asher''s. Emmy looked at her for a moment. "The breakfast is this way," Emmy guided her, but she was being careful of every move Alyssa made. It was a strange feeling, but looking at Alyssa, Emmy felt threatened for a moment, but it was only a fleeting moment that disappeared instantly. ''Was I wrong?'' She kept looking at Alyssa but didn''t sense anything from her anymore. Chapter 143 Returning To World Academy - II Alyssa saw the breakfast made from the meat of monsters with a lot of mana in their bodies. Unfortunately, not every monster was edible, and some were even poisonous, so such food was very expensive and rare for other people. But Alyssa didn''t have a surprised expression on her face. Being in the Ranker''s dorm for months, she also had simr dishes, which helped young hunters a lot. Emmy didn''t speak a word as she let Alyssa eat peacefully. After some time, finishing the breakfast helped her recover some of her energy, which was spent ranking up to D-Rank. She had spent a lot of energy creating another mana ring, so she needed such food to replenish her body quickly. In the practice area at the end of the hallway, Sweat was dripping from Asher''s head as he was breathing heavily. Training for three days straight was not something people his age did. His body temperature was quite high as he had used his mana cirction a lot in the short span of three days. Andbining it with various techniques increased the strain on his mana meridians. [ Mastery in Node Art is increasing (21% ¡ú 23%) ] Asher moved his sword upwards as the aura around his sword grew bigger. He had finally mastered the second step that was needed in the technique he was trying to master. A thin coating of mana started to envelop the sword below the aura as a shell was created. He looked at the dummy target before him, moving his sword to strike the dummy. But he didn''t move his sword fully. Despite reaching halfway through, his aura had already struck the target. [ Host has learned Phantom Strike ] [ Mastery in Node Art is increasing (23% ¡ú 27%) ] Asher''s eyes looked at the dummy, and he saw a small cut on it. The principle behind the technique was to mimic an aura attack while making a pseudo sword using your own mana as a shell. But this was just a product of the second step; it was not a powerful attack but added versatility to Asher''s attacking skills. Asher dropped the sword on the ground as he sat, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Huff, huff, huff," His breathing was out of order because this one strike took a lot of practice for him to sessfully pull off. There were simr attacks like his new Phantom Strike, which used aura to create a medium-range attack, but pulling off such a thing using much less mana and at his current rank was only possible due to his unique sword art. But despite the simrity, he could feel that it was not the true potential of this skill. "It''s iplete," Asher felt this technique was iplete. Something felt off in his attack; there was no essence behind his strike like he did with Swift Strike. The fact that he could change his feints into actual attacks, but if their damage was low, it would not work against stronger beings. "Is this rted to that scripture," Asher thought of that one scripture that he could not seepletely. But he stood up again as the defensive technique was still iplete, and it had one more crucial step that Asher needed to do correctly. The third step, which was needed to perform this defensive technique, was a tricky one. Asher needed to control the mana outside his body and use that mana to move his aura around the air to create a barrier of sorts. This special technique allowed him to form a shield with a single sh of his sword, but the third step had tremendous difficulty. Even now, performing the first and second steps in continuation took a lot of effort from Asher, and he needed to return to the World Academy, so he decided to stop for today. Asher stood up and went to the shower in the training facility. Most of his body was red due to the amount of mana he was trying to control both inside and outside of his body. After a couple of minutes, he left the room and went to the hallway, where he saw Alyssaing out with Emmy. "Young Master, your breakfast is ready," Emmy said. "You are done with your training, right?" Asher asked Alyssa, who was looking at him. "Yeah," she replied. "We will leave for the World Academy soon, so you can rest in the meantime," Asher said as he went to eat his breakfast. Unlike Alyssa, his body was almost out of energy. He not only needed a good amount of food, but his body also needed rest due to the extreme pressure it was under for the past 3 days. "Make sure that nobody enters this mansion," Asher told Emmy, who was serving him his food. "Any movements from the Moonlight guild?" he asked. "Not for now," Emmy replied. "If Tom asks for money, use the funds under Aztech," Asher told her. After the quick breakfast, Asher stood up to leave for the World Academy. He had already achieved his goals, so there was no need to stay outside the World Academy any longer. He would have gone to a dungeon to increase his level, but he had a time limit before they needed to return to the World Academy. He stood up and saw Alyssa, who was standing near the entrance lobby of the mansion. He could see that she was wearing the ring-type artifact she had received from Asher. "Let''s go," Asher said as Emmy opened the door, and their car was already ready. Alyssa was wearing a hoodie, so nobody could recognize her with Asher. Alyssa looked at Asher briefly before stepping into the car but quickly averted her gaze. ''Why am I calm with him?'' Alyssa questioned herself but she had no answer for it. In thest three days, she spent forming her mana rings to reach D-Rank, her nightmares had worsened. Even when she came out of the room, all she wanted to do was kill all those who had be the source of her nightmares and avenge her mother. Asher noticed Alyssa''s gaze but didn''t react to it. Only those two knew what was going on in their heads. In less than an hour''s drive, they had reached the Portal Dome. Emmy checked for a second if it was safe and then opened the door of Asher''s car. Asher and Alyssa exited their car and entered the Portal Dome to return to the World Academy. As Alyssa stepped out, her hair color was briefly revealed. *Click* *Click* A man examined the photos he had just captured from a nearby building close to the Portal Dome. "Who is that?" Although the man couldn''t identify the girl, a name crossed his mind. "It can''t be her," He doubted that Asher Greville would associate with a girl connected to the Garcia family. "This should be enough. Time to send this message," He muttered, preparing to leave the building. He had been hired by an anonymous individual to spy on Asher Greville and was provided with the schedule of when Asher left the World Academy. "The payout will be huge," The man grinned, thinking about the money he could make from these photos alone. "Let''s go-" His words were cut short as his eyes widened in shock. Looking down, he saw a dagger piercing his chest. *sh* The man died instantly as his body slumped to the ground, and his camera got sttered with his own blood. A mist enveloped the surroundings, obscuring the corpse and the camera. Emerging from the mist, a woman picked up the camera to examine the photos stored in it. The corpse had already disappeared from the ground, and even the blood was disappearing. "Only two," Emmymented as she browsed through the images. She had already noticed the man, so killing him had been easy. Then, swiftly, she crushed the camera with her hands, destroying itpletely. "Idiot," Emmy said with a stern look on her face. At first, when she noticed the man, she couldn''t believe someone would be bold enough to spy on the Greville heir in Soran. Seeing it herself, she didn''t know whether tough or be angry at the audacity of this man. With that, Emmy turned, and the mist dissipated from the surroundings. **************** Inside the Portal Dome, Entering the portal dome, Asher looked at Alyssa. "Don''t reveal your rank until necessary," he advised her. Alyssa nodded back at him. "Any other tasks for me?" Alyssa asked, knowing the amount of resources given to her. She knew that she needed to show her worth in some way to repay the amount of resources that Asher had spent on her. "Not for now," Asher replied, as Alyssa was not needed for his current ns outside the World Academy. Until the stage was ready, there was no need to bring Alyssa into his ns. Both of them showed their special rings that were given to them by Arman and used the portal to go to the floating ind where the World Academy was built. Alyssa went ahead of Asher as he was going in a different direction. Asher saw Alyssa''s back, and his eyes went cold as he looked in a specific direction. He tapped on his ID bracelet, messaging a certain person about something. Chapter 144 New Structure It was thest day of the week and tomorrow, sses were said to be resumed with a new structure that was still being implemented. Although Asher mostly knew what they would introduce, in his previous life, it happened in the second year, not the first. It was not hard for him to guess that his involvement with Erwin''s expulsion and Alyssa still being in the Student Council had resulted in cracks in the structure of the World Academy. Today, a particr ss was called so that the First Years could be informed about the changes at World Academy. "Why do you think they have called us?" A guy asked in his ss. "It''s rted to the new ss structure, maybe. But I don''t really know much about it," his friend replied. It was ss 2''s ssroom, and the noise of students chatting with each other could be heard outside the ss. "Hey, why are you making such a face?" Damian asked Amelia. "Why can''t we leave the World Academy as well?" Amelia replied with a bored expression. "You wanna meet the twins?" Damian asked. "Yeah, all this is too boring," Amelia replied. She didn''t know that Lucas and Livia would enroll next year. Arthur had only told Asher about it because he was the family''s heir. He was sure that Asher would not spread the information, as he knew the consequences of such an action. Right now, many enemies of the Greville family were staying quiet because the twins were still far from reaching the age where they would join the World Academy. However, if the news that they were joining next year spread, there would be many cases where some people would try to harm them, despite the risk of dying. Many families disliked the Greville family''s growth, which had significantly increased after their alliance with the Raven family. "Well, the yearly vacation is too far, so you must wait just like others," Damian replied. Many students here missed their families, as they lived in an unknown ce where their actions were being graded, and their future depended on how they utilized this opportunity. The situation was fine for people like Damian and Amelia, as nobody messed with them due to their status. However, it was different for others who came from an ordinary background. "Silence," a man with formal clothing entered the ss with a stern look on his face. The ss went silent as they saw the man walk into the ssroom. It was Professor Terrence, who was in charge of ss 2, which included Amelia, Damian, and Lishia Halcyon. ss 2 was one of the most powerful sses after ss 1, as they had 3 Rankers and tied with ss 4, where Kevin, Elena, and Eva were in. "This is not an official ss; all the First Years are called so that we can inform them of the new changes that will happen in World Academy''s academic structure starting this year," Professor Terrence said as he looked around the ss. "We have changed mandatory subjects, and from now on, students can decide whatever ss they want to enroll in," he said, surprising the ss. "But each subject will be given a difficulty rating on a scale of 10, and depending on whether the student has chosen easy or hard subjects, their grading will differ," Terrence said as he saw a few confused faces around the ss. In ss 4, at the same time, "Professor, wasn''t the previous structure better?" A guy raised his hand and asked Professor Dahlia, who was in charge of ss 4. "Well, it was something we weren''t going to implement, but after thorough discussion, we thought it was necessary," Professor Dahlia replied. "And the reason for it was the scores of a certain student we received in the Theory test this time," she said as the list of Theory marks was revealed behind her. Some students just looked away, as they didn''t want to see their marks, but Eva looked at the top scorers as she saw herself at Rank 2. "And the reason behind the decision should be pretty apparent if you look at Rank 1," Dahlia said as they all looked at a particr name. "100 in all subjects??" A girl said out loud, but everyone in the ss had simr reactions. But apart from Eva, who couldn''t believe that Asher had scored full marks in every single subject. She knew that Asher had scored Rank 1 in all three tests, but she didn''t know that in the Theory Test, he had scored full marks in every single subject. "This structure will allow students to remove easier subjects and choose higher difficulty ones to get better grades," Dahlia exined. "In our history, there was only one student before Asher Greville who had managed to score a simr score like this," she said, making everyone curious about who the student was. "This structure was in discussion ever since that time, but we finally implemented it with many new things," Dahlia said. Kevin just ignored the part, as he was sick of hearing about Asher''s talent. Everyone was talking about Asher Greville, and he was tired of hearing his name. He had never experienced this feeling of not being noticed by others, as he was praised as a prodigy since his awakening. In ss 1, a simr discussion was happening, "And it was Sylvie Greville who was the one that scored a perfect score in theory," Elsa said with a smile while talking about her friend. Everyone looked at Asher and thought it made sense that a son of a genius would also be a genius. But Asher didn''t care about this much. Even in his previous life, he had scored Rank 1 with a perfect score in theory, but it was not the reason for them changing the grading structure. It was due to Asher achieving Rank 1 in all three tests that they implemented this new structure one year earlier so people like Eva and other students who focused on theory more could overtake Asher. This change only focused on people who were more focused on theory, so they could choose those subjects and increase their ranks. It was a structure that would be implemented next year anyway, but considering Asher''s actions since his first day at World Academy, they thought they needed to implement it now. "Well, even now, you can choose more subjects, but keep in count what difficulty they fall in," Elsa said. "If you choose high-difficulty subjects, that may affect your time that could have gone into training, and it will ultimately affect your rankings," Elsa advised. "Well, that''s only a minor change," Elsa said. "There will be special sses in the future for the respective subjects you choose, and it will be discussed by the Professor that teaches those subjects," Her words made the students guess what the special sses could be. "And the most important thing is the formation of your teams," she said. "There will be two teams that you will be able to form: first, teams from your own ss, which will have at least 3 students and at most 5," Elsa exined, "All of thepetitions that will happen with other sses will involve this team," she said. "But as we are intent on increasing your Dungeon Experience and monster hunting skills as well, you will need to form a Hunting Team, which will consist of at least 6 people and at most 10," Elsa said, and this was the standard size of parties that were formed in Guilds all over the world. "You will be able to form your hunting teams, but we are still discussing whether to allow you all to form teams with students from other sses, so we will inform you about it soon," Elsa said as many students got excited. Forming teams with other sses meant they could form teams with some of their friends. Each ss had different number of students that speciliaze in one thing. This was why the faculty council was discussing whether they should allow formation of teams of students with other sses. "And Duel ss will be a permanent subject because it is deeply associated with the Rankings," Elsa exined. "That''s all we can tell you now, but there are a few more changes, and you will learn about them soon enough," Elsa said. "And there is a little announcement about the Auction that will happen in two days," Elsa said, as many students got excited at this announcement. Chapter 145 Learning About The Auction When Elsa mentioned the part about the Auction, many students cheered up, as they had heard that they could bid on artifacts through the Auction. After those auctions, some people even sold those artifacts at the Trade Center. "As you know, at World Academy, we don''t allow you to bring artifacts inside, but throughout history, the presence of artifacts was significant," Elsa said. "Even though some of you might call artifacts fake strength or not even consider them in the rankings, nobody can undermine their impact and value to society," Elsa''s words were true. Despite being an external power source, many hunters, including the highest-ranked hunters, used artifacts. Going to a dungeon without proper equipment and artifacts was even considered suicide by the high-ranking hunters. All kinds of artifacts were discovered in the dungeons, and they could be used for various purposes. "There are three kinds of artifacts that are present in the auction," Elsa raised three fingers as she spoke. "First are the dungeon artifacts found in dungeons in the outside world and bought by World Academy," she said. "Second, the artificial ones are the mostmon ones in the Auction. They are made by humans and have a variety of uses, and these are the ones that you should aim to bid on," Elsa said. These man-made artifacts were the ones that upied most of the items in the Auction. "And the third ones are the artifacts that your seniors register in the auction because they are useless to them," she finished and looked at the ss, seeing one girl raise her hand. She gestured for her to speak, and the girl stood up from her seat. "But Professor, we don''t have enough GP to bid on them," a girl said, as many others also nodded. They were just first-years, and apart from a few, none had yet managed to cross the 1000 GP mark. "As you know, you are only first-years, but from tomorrow you can visit the Task Center, which works like a Guild Task Hall where you can find various tasks from which you can earn GP," Elsa replied. "Apart from assignment tasks that will be given to you each month, you can do many other tasks to earn GP at the Task Center, which are posted by some of the professors and even some seniors," Elsa exined. The Task Center was another facility that some students and professors used to spend their GP. It was a ce where small tasks like being a sparring partner and helping seniors with their work could be done for a small amount of GP. Some first-year students purchased GP even to learn and get help from the senior-year students. It was the way students could circte the amount of GP they had with each other. "What if we buy GP from the Trade Center?" a guy asked, as he came from a reasonably wealthy family. "Well, if you can find enough GP in the Trade Center for the auction, very well, go ahead," Elsa said with a smile on her face. The Trade Center was a facility that allowed students to sell and purchase almost anything in the World Academy that they owned. And only senior-year students had the most amount of GP with them. Therefore, a very small amount of GP was avable in the Trade Center, which was insufficient topete in the Auction forter bids. For example, among the third-year students, most of the GP was distributed to Leonard Tarvian, Raelyn Whiteheart, Tyrone Martell, and people like them. It was distributed among the top rankers of each year, and Asher already knew about it. Even if Asher bought most of the avable GP at the Trade Center, he still would need more GP topete in the Auction. It was simply an advantage for the senior-year students, and it would take Asher months to umte an amount that couldpete with the second year. "But don''t focus on artifacts too much; we only allow A Rank and below so that a huge gap doesn''t appear between students," Elsa said as many students breathed in relief. Even if Elsa said this, she knew that having an artifact was an advantage for the students regardless if that advantage was big or small. Those with normal backgrounds could only try to save enough GP to buy the Artifacts in the next Auction that would happen when they reached their second year. "Many of you have the Artifacts you found in the Dungeon Exploration, and we allow those artifacts, so you can use those," Elsa replied. But many of them were still unhappy because most of those artifacts were useless to them, and most teams had decided to sell them at the Trade Center for GP. There was a simple way to identify if a student carried Artifacts. Each Artifact had a particr mana wavelength that was unique to them. Due to the runes written on them, even man-made artifacts like nano-armor had a unique mana wavelength to them. There were many wavelength detectors ced all around the World Academy. But unfortunately, apart from Professors and a few staff members, no one was allowed to register Artifacts for themselves. This mana wavelength could be recorded from the Dungeon Gate itself, so the Artifact from the C Rank dungeon that was currently with Alyssa was already registered in the database around the World Academy. It was a loophole Asher abused, which allowed them to use a B Rank Artifact without anyone knowing. A Runemaster needed to study the ring closely for hours to determine anything about the rank of the Artifact. So Alyssa could openly use that Artifact after the Auction. Many low-rank ring-type artifacts would appear at the Trade Center soon after the Auction. "Well, that was all, and tomorrow will be the day the mana density increases in the whole floating ind," Elsa said. "You will be given a choice to choose the subjects, so take the whole day, as the sses will start after the Auction," Elsa said as she wrapped up the ss. "I would advise that you take some time to think about what subject you want to choose," Elsa said as she stood up. "You can go back now," She said, leaving the room soon after. Asher also stood up to leave the ss, and everyone watched him quietly as he left the room. "Are you attending the auction?" Venessa asked Alyssa as she stood up. Alyssa, who took out her wheelchair to sit on it, looked at Venessa and shook her head. "No? I was going, so if you change your mind, you cane with me," Venessa talked with Alyssa as they left the room. The students of ss 1 looked at Venessa, who was talking with Alyssa, and their faces had a frown, but none dared to step up and speak to them. Nobody wanted to mess with two rankers, and Alyssa was in the Student Council, and they had heard that rankers were allowed to use mana outside of duels. **** In ss 4, Professor Dahlia had just left the room after giving a simr exnation to Elsa''s. "You are lucky, Kevin; you will get an artifact from your big sister," Elena smiled at Kevin. "Oh,e on; you know she will get you one as well," Kevin looked at Elena. "Well, Eva, you are the luckiest one among us," Kevin said. "Yeah, your brother would use most of the GP to get you one of the best artifacts," Elena said as Eva just smiled. "Will hee back soon though?" Elena asked. "His treatment will end in a few more months, so he will join after 5-6 months," Eva replied. They were talking about Reece William, who was currently getting treated in the Williams Household due to one of his injuries while ranking up. "Well, if you asked him, Reece would also get you one. Surely, he wouldn''t deny his brother-inw," Elena teased Kevin as Eva giggled. "Do you want me to ask?" Eva asked. "Don''t tease me,e on," Kevin said with a smile. ''Should I tell them about it?'' Kevin thought for a second but decided not to. "So, what subjects will you be choosing?" Elena asked Eva. "Not much, but I will add some difficult theory subjects," Eva replied. "Why don''t both of you ask my sister about it? She can help you with a few suggestions," Kevin offered Eva. "Sounds like a good idea," Eva replied as they approached the Ranker''s dorm. Chapter 146 A Day Before The Auction In the Faculty Block, "How many students do you think will enroll in your course this year, Professor Neyman?" A man in his thirties asked as he picked up some books. "They changed the grading system a bit, but I don''t think it will make any difference," Neyman said. "I heard it was because of Asher Greville''s score that they implemented this a year earlier than nned," his assistant said. "It''s useless. I met that boy when he was younger, and I can confirm that his intellect is way higher than his peers," Neyman replied, but his assistant looked doubtful. "Well, but this will surely be beneficial to boost the rankings of those students who are academically gifted," Neyman said. This new structure was made so that students who were not practically gifted atbat and mana-rted abilities couldpete equally among others. Even though society only praised strong people, there were still people like Tom Gylip who were gifted in a unique field. Neyman supported this cause for many years, but the idea was rejected, as, at the end of the day, only strong hunters could defeat dungeons and maintain peace. "Well, it''s not like many students are interested in Runic Theory anyway, and among those who will join, there aren''t many that will excel in Rune Arts," Neyman replied as he looked at his assistant. Despite being hard to learn, a person still required a certain amount of talent to excel at Runic Arts. Learning it was impossible if you didn''t have the knack for it. And that was the reason many people stayed away from Runic Arts. It was better to waste their time learning another course that could help them somehow, even if they failed. "They don''t understand that learning under you is a privilege only a few get," his assistant replied instantly. "I am just an old man; even in the Artisan''s Association, there are still a few more that are better than me," Neyman replied as heughed a bit. ''But those old geezers don''t even like teaching others,'' the assistant thought. Neyman smiled at his assistant as his thoughts were visible on his face. "When should I schedule the first ss?" the assistant asked. "Do it one week after the Auction," Neyman replied. *** In a temple-like building in World Academy, A particr silver-colored flower was present on the ground shining brightly, but only one petal was left. The flower started withering as thest petal fell on the ground, and after a second, it dissolved into the ground. The ground started shining, and an intense mana wave flowed from that one spot, covering the whole floating ind. In Ranker''s Dorm, Asher had justpleted his training as he came out and sat on his sofa. He touched his ID Bracelet, and the Course Selection screen popped up in front of him. Asher knew what subject he would choose already, so he didn''t need to waste time like others. He touched 5 Subjects on the hologram, and they got added under his name. Duel was the permanent subject, so he needed to choose at least 5 subjects. His first two choices were obvious. As his main elements, he chose Space and ck Element sses. And Space Element had a 7 rating on the difficulty score out of 10; for ck Element, the rating was 6. Both were elements that needed a lot of practice and knowledge to master them. These sses had strict criteria that only allowed those with their affinity to join that ss. Even the Fire element only had a difficulty rating of 6, simr to the other elements. His third choice was Runic Arts, as he wanted to learn more about them. It was a necessary step he needed to do. Runic Arts had a difficulty score of 8. His fourth choice was Spell Weaving, which was a ss that only those who wanted to improve their talents as a mage would attend. It was a standard ss for all mages, so its difficulty rating was 6, which was simr to sses that taught elemental magic. His fifth andst choice was Beast Mastery, which was the advanced version of Beast Theory. Typically most people would not choose this subject as it was on the easier side, but it was the best one for Asher. Although not sure, Asher knew that this course would have a slight change, and Monster Hunting would be introduced as part of this course. And many students who wanted practical experience against monsters would enroll in it. It was done immediately in his previous life, but he was sure they would change this course to a more practical one in a month or two. He confirmed his selection as he didn''t need more than 6 subjects. As he was about to be done with this selection, Asher felt a huge mana wave going past him. "Is it done?" Asher looked in a particr direction. [Host is experiencing an Artifact''s effects] [Identifying the changes....] [Mana density around the environment has increased by 20%] Everyone on that floating ind could feel the increase in the mana density as the air got easier to breathe, and their bodies felt refreshed. Normally such effects could only be gained inside special rooms that were made with mana-gathering runes, but the famous SSS Rank artifact that only World Academy possessed could do this without any runes. Asher looked at his ID Bracelet as a few notifications appeared on it. It was a standard message for the first years who would be experiencing this effect for the first time. Many students could not handle this sudden increase, so to help them, they were called to the medical facility to get certain medications that helped with mana cirction for a short time. It was a simple announcement to inform students about the Auction, as the Trade Center was closed a week before the Auction, so that sudden transfer of GP was impossible. ****** Tom entered a room as three doctors were operating on Dane and Kai. "Are you sure we should stay awake?" Dane looked at Tom. "Don''t worry, they will not cut you open... probably," Tom replied. "Wait, but you can just make us faint," Dane looked back at the man standing near him. "Sir, we don''t need to cut; we can destroy the tracking chips by sending certain mana waves," the doctor replied. "So I will live with a broken chip inside me?" Dane looked at Kai, who was lying down quietly. "Dane shut up and let him do his job," Kai red at Dane. "Don''t worry, Sir, your body will destroy the chip once it bes useless," the doctor replied. It was obvious that A Rank hunter''s body would be different from an unawakened human''s. They just needed to destroy the mana casing around the chips, and Dane and Kai''s bodies would get the job done. Tom came out of the room as he looked at the tracking pattern he had copied from the information he got from the chips. "Will they work inside Mana Crystals?" Tom was not sure, so he was experimenting with different things. Asher had given him a clear objective, which he needed toplete within weeks so their ns could go forward. Tom went into his room so he could tweak the tracking chips more perfectly so they could work around potent mana crystals. "Oh, right, almost forgot to check on the footage," Tom muttered as he opened a particr footage of the building. "So the route is still the same," seeing that nothing had changed, Tom continued his work. ****** In the Student Council Room, Tyrone entered the room and saw Raelyn talking with Kevin and his friends in a hologram. "I will talk to you guys in a bit," Raelyn said as she cut the call. "Raelyn, you have the funds of all Student Council, right?" Tyrone asked. "Yeah, apart from their personal GP, I have enough GP for thest bids," she replied. "Well, did you get any information about the ranks of the artifacts?" Raelyn asked. "Not much, but I heard Leon was trying to loan GP to Asher Greville," Tyrone said as he observed the expression on Raelyn''s face. "Haha, why is that guy getting so concerned about a mere first-year," Raelyn said, but Tyrone didn''t believe her. She was the one who was keeping tabs on Asher Greville the most since the day Asher had injured her brother Kevin in a 1v20 duel. Raelyn stood up and took out a few artifacts. "We will put these artifacts for the second years, so you can go submit them," Raelyn took out a few artifacts. Chapter 147 Talks In Blood Faction "Do you think we will win theter bids, Leon?" A guy asked Leonard, who was looking up at some stuff on his ID Bracelet. "Well, considering Reece gave them his money, we can at least take half," Leonard replied. "Why are the fourth-year students interfering? They should just focus on their graduation," a guy spoke irritatedly. Unlike third-year students, almost all the fourth-year students were busypleting their assignments and exams required for graduation. Most were outside of World Academy and no longer interested in artifacts presented in World Academy''s Auctions. Unlike other first to third-year students, the final examination of the fourth-year students didn''t allow the use of artifacts, so they didn''t need to waste their GP''s in the Auction. "Well, she is his fianc??e after all," Jack replied, and many guys frowned. Raelyn was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the World Academy, so it was apparent many boys here also admired her secretly. Some were even from Elite families, but they couldn''t even approach her because she was engaged to Reece Williams, the heir of the Williams family. Reece was the Rank 2 student among the fourth-year students and among the most infamous names in the World Academy. He was pretty famous in the World Academy, but only a few students from influential backgrounds knew about his true personality. The only reason no one was cursing him here was because of Leonard, who was known as being good friends with Reece Williams. Although right now, Leonard was basically going against Raelyn, both he and Reece were still good friends. Leonard''s Blood Faction was challenging the Student Council, which all happened after Reece returned to his family to recover from an injury. This confused many others outside the Blood Faction, thinking Leonard and Reece were no longer friendly with each other. However, only top members of the Blood Faction knew that Leonard was still in contact with Reece. "Don''t worry, he hasn''t given all his GP''s to Raelyn," Leonard said with a smirk on his face. "He knows the limit, so we will have a fair chance," Leonard assured them, but their faces were still doubtful. "Considering the amount we spent in thest Auction, we are currently low too," a guy spoke, and he was the Rank 1 student in the Second Year. "Come on, you are the richest here after Leon anyway," Jack said as they all startedughing. "What about Asher Greville, though?" A guy raised a question. "Well, he will not have enough funds anyway, so we can just ignore him," one of the members replied. "I heard that Eric Herod from the Duel Committee is his underling," Jack said. The news about Eric Herod being Asher''s servant was already out, and they all knew about it. And all of them ignored him because a person like Eric wouldn''t be able to stand against them himself. Most of their peers were avoiding him because of Asher now, as harming him was the same as saying they didn''t respect the Greville family. It was well-known that everyone who served Greville came from families that lived on their estate. "You don''t have to worry about him," a guy sitting beside Leonard replied. "What makes you so sure?" Jack asked. A smile crept on his face as he stared at Jack. "Come on, you know we keep tabs on the flow of GP," he said with a smile. Jack looked at that guy, remembered what kind of person he was, and chose to ignore it. Leonard noticed Jack''s expression. "Don''t worry, I will take care of him," Leonard said, and nobody objected. Only a few people could stand against the Greville family without backing out, and Leonard Tarvian was one of them. Although he would never directly go against them, he had no need to step back either. Seeing that Leonard was taking on the task himself, nobody stopped him. Although they all gathered here as allies, none trusted each other. If Leonard wanted to mess with and create trouble for the Greville family, they would just sit and watch. Each of them came from an influential family, and stuff like this mattered more to them. Leonard knew about it and took this chance to show them that he could deal with Asher. The meeting ended soon, as all of them went their way, and Leonard was left alone as he looked at some information. "No response, huh?" He looked at the fact that there was still yet to be a response from the information agency he had hired to keep tabs on Asher when he left the World Academy. "This is getting annoying," Leonard looked at the recent list of expulsions that happened. Most professors were working with him to provide information about students, but now most were expelled. So only a few were left, and their positions were not high enough to give him reliable information. "Let''s see how long it will take me to find your weaknesses," Leonard smiled as he kept looking at all the information he had gathered. From the day he saw Asher''s duel against 20 students, he had deemed him too dangerous to be left alone, but unlike him, many others didn''t share the same view as him. ********** In Ranker''s Dorm, "Why don''t we go shopping?" Amelia asked Damian over a phone call. "But you have your dress ready already, don''t you?" Damian asked. "I do, but exclusive dresses will be presented today, and maybe we could buy those," Amelia replied. "But shouldn''t we save GP for Artifacts?" Damian replied with an awkward look on his face. "I will not spend that much;e on," Amelia pouted as she looked at Damian. The artifact they got was suited towards Damian, so Amelia still needed one for herself. So Damian gave his majority of GP to Amelia for her to buy an artifact for herself and kept the one they found for himself. "Are you sure?" Damian asked again. "Yeah, meet me downstairs," Amelia said as she cut off the call. "Sigh, I should have told her it''s not a good idea," Damian muttered after the call was disconnected. Damian had always said yes to whatever Amelia wanted, as he didn''t want her to look sad all the time in the past, but now it had be a habit for him. Damian picked up his jacket and went downstairs to the lobby, which was currently empty as most Rankers were training. He waited for a few minutes, but as he was waiting, he saw someone enter the lobby and turned to see Asher, who wasing inside the Ranker''s dorm. Seeing him, Damian decided to go talk with him. "Did you go somewhere?" Damian asked. "Yeah," Asher replied as he looked at Damian. "I am waiting for Amelia; we were going shopping. Do you want toe?" Damian offered, but he knew that Asher would mostly reject it. "Sorry for the wait!" Amelia said as she came out of the lift and saw Damian talking with Asher. She walked near Damian, and from her eyes, Damian could see she wanted to ask why Asher was there. "You are going shopping?" Asher asked, looking at Amelia. "Yeah, but we are not spending too much there. I just wanted to look around and see some stuff," Amelia replied. Asher looked at her with an indifferent look but didn''t stop her. "Do whatever you want," Asher said as he walked past them. Amelia kept looking as she saw Asher enter the lift. She didn''t think that Asher would easily allow her to spend GP like this just before the Auction. "See, he is not that bad of a person," Damian said, but Amelia just turned her head. "Let''s go now," Amelia said. On the 10th Floor, Asher walked into his room and went into the training room. He had just finished his preparation for the Auction, and he was ready for it. Going inside, he was about to start training when he received a notification from Emmy. Asher looked at the dead bodies of several men and the information they were gathering about him just before they died. "So you started moving, Leon," Asher muttered as intense bloodlust came out from his body, and his eyes turned cold. He had predicted that Leonard would try something like this soon, so he was not too surprised that he had started already. Asher closed his eyes as his bloodlust disappeared. Chapter 148 Auction Night - I The night of the Auction had arrived, and many students could be seen dressed up to attend the Auction. It was one of the most significant events in World Academy, and apart from the fourth-year students, the rest of the students would attend the Auction. Many students still didn''t go to the Auction, and most of them were from the second and third years. They knew that going to the Auction unless you were going to buy something was a waste of time. Some of the artifacts would even appear at the Trade Center after the Auction, so there was no reason for them to attend and watch those with GP buy all the artifacts. In front of the Ranker''s Dorm, Kevin, dressed in a white suit, was going to the Auction with Elena and Eva. Elena wore a soft shade of pastel blue dress thatplemented her blond hair, and Eva wore a soft yellow dress. "You two look beautiful today," Kevinplimented Elena and Eva. Both were wearing high-ss jewelry they had bought from the Outer Sector of the World Academy. "Thanks," both of them replied, but Elena had a blush on her face. "Let''s go find Ria; she is waiting for us," Elena quickly changed the topic. They quickly moved towards the Special Teleportation Gate that was opened for students to arrive at the venue so that huge crowds didn''t form. "There she is," Elena spotted Ria standing there. "Is that n Astaria?" Kevin spotted n, who was standing near Ria. "Is he with you?" Elena asked Ria. "Ah, yeah," Ria replied with an awkward look on her face. n had asked her countless times if she wanted to go with him, but she ignored it the best she could. But seeing him still trying, she couldn''t help but ept his invitation once. n was also from an elite family, and Ria was from a branch family of the Rothschild family. She didn''t want to create problems for the future, so she decided to give n this onest chance, so he would stop bothering her. So she invited him to join with his friends, with a little n in her mind. n, who was too happy that he seeded once, forgot that Kevin would be present in her group of friends. And seeing him, n didn''t feel toofortable. After Asher, Kevin was considered the most handsome first-year student, and now that he was wearing a suit, his attractiveness had increased a lot. Even now, some girls kept turning to stare at him a few times. n was an attractive young man, but he became a bit paler inparison to Kevin. "Hi," n greeted them with a smile on his face. He had recovered his confidence quite a bit, so his demeanor was simr to that of n, that participated in the Representative Tournament. Kevin also greeted him, but it was in formality; he wasn''t a bit interested in n, even though he was the heir of the Astaria family. Ria signaled Elena, who nodded back at her. "Kevin, we should not make your sister wait any longer," Elena said. "Oh, yeah, my bad," Kevin replied. "Wait, you guys are sitting with the Student Council President?" n asked as he was familiar with Raelyn Whitheart. "Yeah," Kevin replied. "Is there any problem?" Ria asked, but internally she was smirking. "Nothing. I think you should go ahead," n said. "I was invited to sit with someone else, so going there will create issues," n said, looking at Ria, but he was regretting his choice. "Oh, don''t worry, we don''t mind it," Kevin said as they turned. "Dammit," n cursed, but he had no other choice as he had joined the faction that was openly against the Student Council. Kevin and his group were walking towards the nearest teleportation gate for the Auction House, and they saw Sam Allister, who was standing there with Matthew and Venessa. The three of them were waiting for the Teleportation gate to open. "Why are you guys standing here?" Ria asked, looking at Sam. Sam turned and saw all of them, and a tired look appeared on his face. "We are waiting for the Rank 1," Matthew replied. "What?" Kevin said as he didn''t know anything about this. "Oh, this portal is near Ranker''s Dorm, and we don''t open it until the Rank 1 arrives here," The staff member replied. Initially, it was just Matthew and Sam, but Venessa also arrived after them. She also learned that this teleportation gate only opened after Asher arrived. She didn''t like it, but it was better than going all the way to the other teleportation gates where all the students were entering from. "This is-" Kevin was about to say something, but he stopped. Many such conditions made people feel the difference in Ranks, and it was intended to do so. Farnus wanted to ignitepetition among the students so they would try to overtake the person ranked above them. "There he is," Matthew said as all of them turned. Asher walked towards them, wearing a ck suit thatplimented his ck hair. Even Venessa looked at Asher with wide eyes; his attractiveness was no joke. It was rare to see Asher in a suit dressed up, as he mostly wore casual clothes. But even with a cold attitude, his charm affected others nevertheless. Damian was walking on his right-hand side. He was wearing a royal blue suit. And to Asher''s left was Amelia, who was wearing a ck dress and ruby-colored gems she had bought yesterday for her dress. She looked beautiful, and even Kevin was staring at her, but he quickly collected himself as he saw the indifferent face of Asher, who was not even looking at him. Damian looked at them with curiosity, but both Amelia and Asher ignored their existence. Amelia would have greeted them normally, but after their little fight in the VIP Dorms months ago, she was not on good terms with them. Asher walked past them as he looked at the staff member, and his crimson-red eyes stared at him. "You may walk in now," The staff member replied with a smile as he turned on the teleportation gate. Asher stepped into the Teleportation Gate, and Damian and Amelia did the same behind him, leaving all of them behind. Kevin was silent the whole time as he stared at Asher''s back, disappearing into the portal. "Let''s go as well," Sam told Matthew as both of them stepped in as well. Venessa also stepped in after Sam and Matthew. "Let''s go, guys. If we gette, your sister will get angry," Elena said as she brought up the mood, and Kevin smiled at her as they stepped in. **** Asher stepped inside as he saw many staff members waiting for them. One of the staff member stepped forward. They were in the Auction''s VIP Section reserved for the rankers. "The special room for Rank 1 Student is ready," The staff member told Asher. "Are both of them with you?" He asked Asher to confirm that Damian and Amelia were with him. "Yeah," Asher replied as the staff nodded. "Let me guide you," The staff member said as he took them to a particr room. Inside the Auction, there were special rooms given to some students. Like the Student Council and Blood Faction and Rankers, all had their rooms. And there were simr special VIP rooms for Rank 1 students of all years, and they could invite their friends inside those rooms. Unlike other Rankers, Asher had his own room to bid and enjoy the Auction from. They walked briefly as the staff member opened a particr door, revealing thevish room. "Everything you want will be served here," He told them. "Looks good," Damian said as he looked around. Asher walked up and sat on the middle sofa, and Amelia and Damian sat on the remaining couches. In front of them was a big ss window, and they could see a big stage and giant screens that were present for thousands of students sitting in the vast stadium-like building. A bit far from them, n entered a room and saw Leonard Tarvian sitting in the middle with many famous names around him. "Oh, you are n Astaria, right?" Leonard turned as he stood up. Leonard walked up and shook n''s hand. Seeing that a man like Leonard was greeting him personally ted n, who was regretting his choice but now didn''t feel that bad foring here. ''Yeah, it is better to stay with people that respect,'' n convinced himself, but he didn''t realize it was all a mask that Leonard presented to all people he could use. The door opened again as another individual entered the room. n turned and saw Gavin Neville, who was entering the room. "Yo, Gavin," Many people present there greeted Gavin, who smiled and walked up to Leonard. "Wee, Gavin Neville. I am d you came here," Leonard said. "He is also in this faction?" n didn''t know about it, so he was a bit surprised. "Yeah," Gavin replied with a smile, which made him look like an innocent boy. "You two are in the same ss, right? So I expect you to get along," Leonard shook Gavin''s hand. "Is Jack not here?" Gavin asked. "He is a bitte," A guy sitting on the couch replied. n saw that the reception Gavin received was much better than his. He clenched his fist behind his back, controlling his expression, but it was easy to spot for Leonard. Chapter 149 Auction Night - II "You both can sit there," Leonard said as he walked back to his seat, and both Gavin and Neville sat on their seats. "Right now, all of our members are not present here, so you can meet them after this Auction," Leonard said as he sipped the drink. Most of the Top Members of the Blood Faction that were present in their previous meeting were absent. "Are they participating separately?" Gavin asked. "Leon doesn''t restrict our freedom like the Student Council does. We are allowed to spend our money as we want." A third-year praised Leonard as he looked at Gavin. Leonard didn''t reply to thosements, as he was used to peopleplimenting him all the time that he had be numb to these small praises. "When will the Auction start?" n asked as the stage in front of them was still empty. "In 10-15 minutes, probably," A guy replied. Outside the teleportation gate, Sam and Matthew were heading towards the Rankers Room, and Venessa was behind them. But as they were about to reach their rooms, Sam stopped as he looked at a familiar face waiting outside the room. "You go first; I will be a bitte," Sam replied. Matthew looked back at Sam, but seeing his eyes, he did as Sam told him and quietly went inside his room. Venessa didn''t care much, so she did the same, but she turned to look back once before she also entered the room. "What do you want?" Sam asked, and the man in front of him smiled. "Is this how you talk to your big brother?" Jack Allister asked. ''Brother? What a joke,'' Sam thought in his mind. Not once in his own life had Jack thought of Sam as his brother. "Lower your eyes, bastard," Jack''s face changed from an innocent look. Sam lowered his eyes, as it was better to do as he was told than to create another mess. Jack smirked as he looked at Sam. "Remember your ce," Jack came closer to Sam''s ears. Sam kept listening to Jack without replying, as he had gone through this many times in the past. It was better to just ignore and silently listen. Even though Sam was more talented than Jack, his father, and half-brother Jack treated him like this just because he was born from a different mother. "Don''t apply for Student Council, and don''t you dare join the Blood Faction," Jack told Sam. He was worried that Leonard might take a liking to Sam, who was more talented than him, so he wanted to stop the possibility of this happening in the future. "Am I clear?" Jack asked, but Sam remained silent. Sam wanted to kill Jack right now and end it all, but he remembered what would happen if he disobeyed Jack. *p* Jack pped Sam on his face as he red at him. "AM I CLEAR?" Jack asked again, and Sam nodded at him. "Nice, why didn''t you reply sooner? I would not have pped you like that," Jackughed. "Now go back and pick some trash artifact so that you can at least be a ranker," Jack tapped his shoulders as he left him alone. Sam touched his cheeks, which were stinging a bit, but he had used mana at thest second to protect himself, so there was no mark on his face. Sam entered the room where Matthew and Venessa were sitting on different sofas. This room was big enough to amodate 50 people easily. Matthew was the one who invited Sam to sit with him because they had be good friends now. "You fine?" Matthew asked as Venessa also looked at Sam. "Ah, yeah, I was just talking with my brother," Sam''s usual face was back, so nobody could even guess what kind of talk had happened outside. ******* "So, what kind of artifact are you buying?" Damian asked. "I will wait for one that catches my eye," Asher replied, but he already had a single artifact he wanted to get no matter what. Even if he had to go to the extreme for it, Asher would dly do it. It was a single thing that he had carried throughout his previous life from his First Year at World Academy. Even when he regressed in his moments of death, it was there with him. It was something he was going to get from this Auction no matter what. "What about you, Amelia?" Damian asked. "Maybe something that boosts my mana gathering or some sort of defensive artifact," Amelia replied. "That will be hard to get," Damian said. These types of artifacts were the choices of all mages, and for an augmenter like Amelia, it was a significant boost to her abilities. "Get abat one instead," Asher suggested. "Ah? But why would I need abat one?" Amelia was confused. "Yeah, she is an Augmenter, so a defensive artifact would make more sense," Damian asked. Asher looked at them as they were still young and hadn''t reached the realm of above S Rank yet; they didn''t know about this like Asher did. "You wouldn''t be able to buy any B Rank artifact that will actually help you, and even the C Rank ones," Asher said. He went silent as Amelia started thinking for a bit. She had yet to consider the mana-gathering artifacts and defensive ones bing useless as she and others would rank up. But part of her still didn''t want abat-type artifact. Asher didn''tment any further because he didn''t need to do it. It was just a way of ensuring that history would not repeat itself. He looked at Damian, and a question arose in his mind. ''Let''s keep him out of it,'' Asher said to himself. He was sure that Damian was the type of person that would not follow Asher in what he was going to do. ''I don''t need them anyway,'' Asher thought. And Asher was right that he didn''t need Damian and Amelia to support him in any way. The people he needed were already working on the first mission, which would be where Asher was sure he could level quite quickly. He was waiting for all the sses to happen so he could take a leave from World Academy for a week allowed per month. So he just needed to attend each ss once, and he could take a week off, which was the privilege he got being the Rank 1. He looked straight at the VIP room in front of them. It was the Blood Faction VIP room, but it was too far away for them to see each other. ''I wonder what you will do,'' Asher thought, staring in that particr direction. ***** In the Student Council Special Room, This room was way bigger than others, and it had unique gold engravings that made it pop up more than other rooms from the outside perspective. Tyrone was sitting on one of the sofas, and most Committee heads, excluding Eric, were also sitting there. Apart from them, only a few regr members were present in the room. Most of them sat in the Ranker''s room or with their friends. World Academy had threemittees: Duel, Disciplinary, and Management. Apart from them, all the other work was scattered under these threemittees. Right now, both the head of the Disciplinary Committee and Management Committee were present there. "I want a proper artifact for myself~," A girl spoke, and she was the head of the Management Committee. "Why don''t you give me a present," She turned towards the guy on her left, who was the Disciplinary Head. "Buy with your own GP," He replied with a serious look on his face. "You are always so strict!" She said with a frown on her face. "Okay, stop, Zoie," Raelyn said before she went and started another fight. "You are the cheapest guy I have ever met," She muttered to herself, making the guy a bit angry. "Raelyn, your brother wasing here, right?" Tyrone asked, making the white-haired beauty turn her head. "He wille soon," Raelyn replied. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Raelyn stood up as she saw Kevin entering with Elena, Eva, and Ria Adler. Everyone in the room turned their head as they saw a handsome young man with white hair. "Now, how is my lovely little brother," Raelyn smiled as she finally met Kevin. Chapter 150 Auction Starts Raelyn stood up and hugged Kevin, who hugged her back. She ruffled his hair a bit. "And who do we have here?" Raelyn looked past Kevin and saw Elena, Eva, and Ria. "Long time no see," Elena said as she hugged Raelyn. "Well, it''s been a long time since we met in person," Raelyn joked. Raelyn turned and hugged Eva and Ria, as she knew them because they were Kevin''s friends. The rest of the people in the room looked at them as Kevin walked towards the sofa. He saw Tyrone, who was bigger than him, sitting on one of the sofas. "Hello, I am Kevin Whiteheart," Kevin said as he looked at them all. "I am Tyrone Martell, Vice President of the Student Council," Tyrone shook his hand, and the rest of them nodded as well. They greeted each other as Zoie, who was the management head, got busy talking to the girls. "Okay, calm down. The auction is about to start," Raelyn sat in her seat in the middle as they all took a seat. They looked at the center of the stage, where a man appeared. The lights dimmed as all of them concentrated on the man standing in the middle. "Wee to the first auction of this year," the man announced as the pping sounds reverberated in the stadium. "I am Gazil, your auctioneer for today," Gazil said, "You might remember me from the Representative Tournament, and I am here to announce the items for today," he said with a wide smile on his face. The excitement grew bigger in the auction as many were ready to finally see the artifacts. "First of all, inside your ID bracelet, we have installed the function to bid on the auctions," Gazil instructed as many touched their ID bracelets. "You will find the function to bid, and nobody can bid more than the amount they have in their ount currently," Gazil said. It ensured fake bids were not made, and people could not add their GP at thest moment to buy something. "I hope everyone knows the rules for the auction," Gazil said. "There is a function installed in all the VIP rooms, and those who wish to buy one single item may contact each other through hologram calls and discuss with each other," he spoke. "This auction is divided into two sections: first are the artificial artifacts, and the second one is the real deal," he exined. "SO LET''S START THE NIGHT," Gazil said as the crowd cheered loudly. The security was decent, and they didn''t need much security either. The auction was happening inside World Academy, which waspletely safe. Only a few security teams and staff were managing everything. Almost all the professors were either busy preparing for their sses or trying to fill the gap that the recent expulsion of many professors had led to. "We will first start with the batch of 500 E Rank Swords, and the highest 500 bids among all the bids will be taken," Gazil said as a few first-years got excited. "Remember, all artificial artifacts are of the highest quality, so they might even be better than some artifacts." He mentioned. "We will bid for 15 seconds, and at the end, those in the top 500 will win," Gazil said. "Now let''s start with the bidding," he said as his voice could be heard all over the stadium. In Rank 1 Asher''s VIP Room, "What the hell? Who are these idiots that are paying 50 GP for this?" Damian spoke. "Don''t they know how much those points are worth?" Damian facepalmed. "Let them bleed their GP. It''s better for us," Amelia said. "Time''s up," Gazil spoke. Damian looked at the prices of thest person among the Top 500 who had paid 31 GP for these swords. "Idiots," he couldn''t help but say that people who bought those swords at such high prices either had too much GP or were simply dumb. "We will send these swords to your dorm room after this auction," Gazil announced. "Now for the next item, we have 500 E Rank Spears..." Gazil started putting more weapons. As more and more weapons came up, the prices dropped a lot from the first item, so the price right now was quite reasonable. "And wee to the D Rank Weapons," Gazil said as the first years got serious. Most of them wanted D Rank Weapons, as the second years would take C Rank weapons. Asher was not concerned with this, as he didn''t need them anyway. None of the VIP rooms had bid on a single item, and they were not interested in them either way. Therefore, the auction was the cheapest way to buy these weapons, as they were four times the price outside of this auction. The unspoken rule of World Academy was that those in VIP Rooms would not bid on these weapons so that not-so-rich students could also afford these weapons without spending all their GPs. But some students outside of VIP Rooms still had enough money to buy GP but still bought weapons from the auction. As there was a rule that a person could bid on one weapon, they could not entirely hoard them. Gazil kept selling as the weapons came up to B Ranks, and this was the point where the VIP Rooms were ready to bid. Each B Rank Weapon cost around 10,000 GP, so many were looking to get at least one for cheap. "We have 500 B Rank Swords," Gazil announced, and the bidding went wild. They were moving quickly, and the highest bid was already at 4,900 GP. "And time''s up," Gazil said as Damian looked at the 500th position, and that person bid a total of 4,400 GP. "You didn''t buy one?" Damian asked Asher. "Nope," Asher said, as he wasn''t interested in these weapons. Even in case, he wanted to, he wouldn''te to the auction just for that. Gazil finished the A Rank weapons as well, and it concluded the first part of the auction, which had artificial artifacts. "Now, onto the main event - We will start from E Rank Artifacts," Gazil said. "We have 100 E Rank Artifacts, and all their lists and possible usages are given in your ID Bracelet," Gazil said. "Starting from D Rank Artifacts, we will start manual bids instead of the current ones, so make sure you use this chance to have random E Rank Artifacts," Gazil said. And as he said, the artifacts given were random. Even today, Runemasters had difficulty identifying the artifact; even if they did, they couldn''t tell a detailed description like the system did. This was why nobody realized the actual use of the A Rank artifact Alyssa was using. But unfortunately, some artifacts were like that, and even the Runemasters failed to identify them correctly. "I will bid 400 GP on this," Damian said as he clicked on his ID Bracelet. Asher was not interested, so he didn''t do anything and kept to himself. The real show hadn''t even started yet. The bid ended in 15 seconds, as Damian saw he got a weird artifact since he was in the Top 30 bidders. "The description says this will produce an E level water spell," Damian said with a disappointed look on his face. "I will put this on the Trade Center," Damian said as he looked at the stage. "Now it is time we put out manual bids, and for this, you can enter your bid, and it will appear on the screen here," Gazil said, looking at the VIP Rooms. "If you want to make an alliance, you can contact other VIP Rooms with the device present in your room," Gazil said as many people approached the stage. "Apart from the Rankers and Student Council, the rest of the students will be called by the three-digit number next to their name," Gazil informed them. It was done to create a bidding war between those sitting in VIP rooms. Asher''s eyes were focused on the stage as he looked at the various artifacts present there. They were holding big tes covered with a cloth, and the items were underneath them. "For the first D Rank Artifact, we have a shield," Gazil said as a medium-sized shield was revealed. "It decreases the damage of D Rank and below attacks by one-third of the original attack," Gazil said. "Do you want me to buy you this shield?" Amelia offered Damian, who was looking at the shield with wide eyes. "Ah, not really. I already have one, so use it on yours," Damian denied Amelia''s offer. As much as he wanted to buy that shield, he was sure he could also get decent ones from the Trade Center. "1st Bid is from Asher Greville with 500 GP," Gazil announced, and Damian turned towards Asher, who was touching the hologram that came out from his ID Bracelet. Chapter 151 Leonards Offer "Wait, if you are buying this for me, there is no need--" Damian was saying something as Gazil announced the sessive two bids. "600 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," "800 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said, looking at the screen before him. "I am not buying it," Asher said as he tapped on the screen before him. "1500 GP from Asher Greville," Gazil announced. "2000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said. "Wait, are they targeting Asher Greville?" One of the students in the crowd said. "Whoa, it''s a bidding war," another student cheered. It was not their money, so they didn''t care who was spending and who was getting bullied. It was a free show for the audience sitting here to see the battle of the Senior Year students. In Blood Faction''s Room, ''Yeah, now what, Asher Greville,'' n clenched his fist as he saw Leonard, who was bidding casually while taking a sip from his drink. He was now d that he had chosen to join the Blood faction. "Leon, don''t bully the first year too much." A guy said whileughing. His words made n smirk a little as he realized that Asher Greville was not as invincible as he had thought him to be. Meanwhile, in the Student Council''s room, "I thought Leon was helping this guy?" Raelyn smirked as she realized Leonard Tarvian''s true intention. "I heard the rumors he was joining Blood Faction, too," Ria spoke, and Elena nodded with her. "Well, I guess that''s what arrogance leads you to," Raelyn spoke. "2500 GP from Asher Greville," Gazil said. "3000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil immediately saw the bid increase. "What? 3000 GP for a mere D Rank Artifact?" The crowd of students couldn''t believe it. "Any more bids!?" Gazil asked. "3000 GP...1, 3000 GP...2, 3000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to Leonard Tarvian!!" Gazil said, and the crowd loudly cheered. But Leonard was not smiling in his mind. ''He didn''t bid anymore, huh,'' Leonard was confused, as Asher was known as a hefty spender in the auctions. Some of the first years were cheering for Leonard as they were fed up with Asher''s actions. His extraordinary talent also invited envy from others, but they could not confront him themselves, so they took satisfaction in seeing him lose at someone else''s hands. But there were certain students in the crowd that were booing for this kind of behavior. They were the students of ss 1, and most thought of Asher as their leader or something. Moreover, it allowed them to act arrogant, as ss 1 was ced as the strongest ss due to Asher and Alyssa alone. "Let''s go; the next D Rank Artifact is a Bow," Gazil said. "It has the effect of enhancing the arrow''s damage by some amount." It was a vague exnation, but this was the limit of the Runemaster who studied these artifacts. Only top-level Runemasters who spent days on one artifact could exin more about these artifacts, but the World Academy didn''t want to do that. This produced a risk of getting a useless artifact with a limitation that disadvantaged you. "No.178 bids 300 GP," Gazil said. "No.187 bids 310 GP," .... "Sold to No.178 for 410 GP," Gazil said as the crowd pped for the winner. "Next is a D Rank Sword," Gazil removed the cloth revealing a sword with a ck de. "This is a weapon artifact that increases sharpness more than other swords of its rank," Gazil exined the description, but it didn''t sound too appealing to others. "200 GP from Sam Allister," Gazil said. Sam''s name surprised others, but the bid kept increasing slowly. "Still not bidding," Leonard muttered. But he was ready to trap Asher as he would be forced to bid sooner orter. Sitting in Ranker''s room, Jack didn''t care either that Sam was bidding. "Sold to Sam Allister for 370 GP!" Gazil said. "Next is a Locket Type Artifact," Gazil announced. "This is said to increase mana gathering speed in your body," His words made all the mages happy as they got ready to bid on it. "Do you want this?" Raelyn asked Elena, who nodded back at her. And in the Blood Faction Room, "You were a mage, right Gavin?" Leonard asked. "Yeah," Gavin replied with a smile on his face. "I will gift you this artifact if Raelyn gives up on it," Leonard didn''t promise, but knowing him, Gavin was assured he would get the D Rank Artifact. "No.1057 bids 500 GP," "Another bid from Leonard Tarvian for 1000 GP," "1500 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gavin was announcing the bids quickly. "10,000 GP from Asher Greville!!!" Gavin announced. "What? That''s too much," Amelia told Asher, who turned his face. "Are you increasing the bids?" Damian asked. "But they will do the same when you bid seriously," Amelia said. But seeing that Asher was calm, Amelia got silent. Then, finally, she decided to observe Asher. She knew that Asher was always called a genius at business, and even Sylvie, who was quite strict with her work, praised him a lot since he was young. "11,000 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazin said. "Raelyn, we will overspend if we go like this," Tyrone said, but Raelyn raised her hand. "Don''t worry, we have enough GP to teach this guy a lesson," Raelyn said. "15,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said. "20,000 GP from Asher Greville!" Gazil said. "Whoa, how much GP does he have?" The students started to predict. Suddenly the Auction had be a bidding war at the start of the D Rank artifacts, and it was not supposed to happen untilter bids. "25,000 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazil said as the name changed on the big screen above him. "25,000 GP...1, 25,000 GP...2, 25,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to Raelyn Whiteheart for 25,000 GP!" Gazil announced, but the crowd was silent now. 25,000 for a D Rank artifact was too much. And only some C Rank Artifacts and very few B Rank artifacts were sold at that price. Anyone could see that it was a loss, and previously those who were mocking Asher about losing a bid were now silent. Of course, they knew that he had the money and even more than them, but it didn''t matter now that two people who probably had the most GP here were targeting him. After half an hour, all the D Rank Artifacts were sold, and there were only a few times that Asher had bid on something. Each of those times, either Raelyn or Leonard had taken the artifacts. Gazil was presenting C Rank Artifacts when another Sword Artifact came out. "C Rank Sword Type Artifact," Gazil said as a beautiful white de could be spotted by the whole crowd. "It increases the strength of your Aura and the power behind your strikes," Gazil said as most Second Year sword users looked at the sword with their eyes wide open. "This Artifact has a minimum bid of 1000 GP," Gazil said as he started the bid for the sword. "40,000 GP from Asher Greville!!!" Gazil said, and the amount was enough to shake even the Second Year students. "Got you," Leonard smiled as he picked up the device that was used to call others. "41,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said. In Asher''s VIP Room, "You have 40K GP?" Amelia almost stood up from her seat. "45,000 GP from Asher Greville," Gazil said. Asher saw a hologram request and allowed it. "Oh, it seems a discussion is going on in the VIP Rooms," Gazil said as he paused the bid. "We will wait for 30 seconds before we resume the bid," Gazil said as everyone looked upward, but all they could see werevish rooms. A hologram appeared on Asher''s table, and all three of them could see Leonard, who was sitting with a smile on his face. "It seems you want that sword," Leonard said, knowing it was worth 35k-40k GP. An Aura-enhancing sword was a rare and expensive item. It had been at least 2 years since such a weapon had appeared at the Auction. Normally, if they appeared, they would be around E or D Rank, which didn''t help people much when ranked up, but for Asher, it wouldst him two years. "What if I do?" Asher said with an indifferent look on his face. Leonard didn''t know why, but Asher''s indifferent expression irritated him, although his smile didn''t disappear from his face. "I have an offer for you," Leonard said. "And what would that be?" Asher asked. Chapter 152 Loss Amelia looked at their conversation with a confused expression on her face. She knew why Raelyn would interfere with Asher''s bids but didn''t know why Leonard Tarvian was doing this. Only Damian knew about the 1v20 Duel and Leonard going back quietly, so he guessed maybe something happened between them that caused this situation. "I don''t want to make things too difficult for you," Leonard said with a smile. "Honestly, all this was just to make Raelyn think we are against each other," Leonard said. "I will give you this sword and all the help you need against the Student Council," Leonard offered. "And what will you get from it?" Asher asked. Seeing that Asher was getting convinced, Leonard smiled. "Your support. Why wouldn''t I want the support of the heir of the Greville family himself?" Leonard replied. Hearing his words made sense to Damian and Amelia why Leonard would want to ally himself with someone like Asher. However, as an opponent, Asher would be a worst nightmare for any first years and even many Second Year students in their viewpoints. "And you just need to join the Blood Faction, and I will even give you the Top Seats," Leonard said, but his words made n widen his eyes with shock. ''Why is Asher Greville more important than me?'' He started tapping his feet repeatedly as his anxiety kicked in. He had joined the Blood Faction to get revenge on Asher Greville, but now Leonard Tarvian was inviting Asher to the Blood Faction and giving him the top position despite being a first-year. Gavin didn''t care much because he would have offered the same to someone like Asher. He was a person who didn''t go after those stronger than him, and Asher was thest person he would go against on his own. "Well, your offer is quite generous, Leonard Tarvian," Asher said, and it made Leonard smile. "You can call me Leon," he said, thinking that Asher had agreed to his proposal. "But you are not worth my time," Asher said as he cut off the call. "..." Leonard didn''t understand what had happened. Neither did the people sitting there. They had been bootlicking Leonard for years and still hadn''t achieved the Top positions of the Blood Faction. So only a few people were given the Top Position of Blood Faction. "Why did you do that?" Amelia asked with a serious expression on her face. Unlike her previous questions, this time, she was serious. "There was no need to provoke Leonard Tarvian; he was being nice to you-" She spoke as she felt Asher''s cold gaze. But she kept looking at Asher. She was a bit scared, but this could bring problems for the Greville family as their rtionship with the World Association, which had been bad, would worsen even further. "Ah, let''s not talk about it. Focus on the bid!!" Damian distracted both of them as he saw that the atmosphere had be a bit serious. It was mainly to protect Amelia, as something in him told him that it was not good for Amelia to provoke Asher any further. "I know what I am doing," Asher told Amelia as he turned to look at the stage. In the Blood Faction room, Leonard was silent, and the countdown of 30 seconds was about to end. It was the first time someone had spoken to him like that in his whole life. ''If you want war, I will give you war,'' Leonard thought in his mind. "And we will resume the bids," Gazil said. "And we have 55,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Asher looked at the bid and smirked in his mind. "56,000 GP from Asher Greville," Gazil announced, "70,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said, "70,000 GP...1, 70,000 GP...2, 70,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to Leonard Tarvian!!" Gazil said The whole Blood Faction VIP Room was silent, as Leonard didn''t have a smile on his face. They were familiar with this side of Leonard Tarvian and hoped they would not be the target of his anger. Only n was d about the conversation between Leonard and Asher. ''Yeah, he is the enemy,'' n looked a bit relieved as he stopped tapping his feet. In the Student Council Room, "Leonard paid too much for that," Zoie said. "I agree, but at least we know his limit now," Raelyn said as she smirked. "But do we need to do that?" Tyrone asked, as there was no point in going into a bidding war with Asher. "Don''t worry, I will use my own funds," Raelyn assured. She was more confident now that Leonard had just wasted a lot of GP. "Well, that was a heated bid war," Gazil said, He announced a series of C Rank Artifacts, and Asher didn''t bid on a single one. "Now we wille to the B Rank Artifacts," Gazil said, and most people got excited. Only a few people had bid till now, but now everyone woulde out and bid for the B and A Rank artifacts. "The first B Rank Artifact is a Spear," Gazil introduced the long Spear with many designs on it. "Increased power potential, and other abilities which were not deciphered," His words made many people aim at this Spear. Raelyn looked at Kevin, who was staring at the Spear, and smiled. "I will buy it for you," Raelyn said as Kevin smiled at her. But before she could bid, a huge bid appeared on the Spear. "60,000 GP from Asher Greville!!!" Gazil said, but he could not believe where this huge amount of GP hade from. His amount was equal to the amount of GP the third-year rankers had, and even Raelyn''s personal fund was only 65,000, and the rest of the GP was from Reece, and it was to be used for the Student Council as a whole. Leonard was already out of his personal fund; all he had were the funds he had taken from the Blood Faction members. Unfortunately, most of the top members were from elite families, and they would never give up their GP''s to Leonard, so he only had 70K GP left with him that he could use right now. 60K was the amount used to bid on A Rank Artifacts, and Asher had forced him to use more than that on a C Rank Sword. "65,000 from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazil said, "You don''t have to buy it for me," Kevin said, knowing that this was a significant amount for Raelyn. "Don''t worry about it, it''s nothing," Raelyn acted cool andposed, but she was angry at losing her chance to get an A Rank artifact for herself. But she was d that even Leonard''s personal fund would have disappeared by now. "How did you get so much GP?" Damian asked. "Money," Asher replied, but Damian got even more confused. "Did you take it from Eric?" Amelia guessed, "Do you think Eric would have this much GP," Damian replied, as he also knew about Eric. "Young Master, you are showing too much GP," Eric, who was sitting in the Rankers Room of the third year, was a bit nervous. Even though he didn''t know where this amount of GP hade from, Asher had instructed him not to bid a single time, no matter what. This was the reason Eric was patiently watching the auction happen. In the Second Year Rank 1 Room, "Leonard made a mistake," the young man sitting there said, "Well, we should get an A Rank Artifact for ourselves," another young man said with a smile. Both of them were Rank 1 and 2 for the Second Year Students of the World Academy. "Well, he should have asked you to deal with Asher Greville," he said, looking at the guy who was Rank 1 in the Second Year. "I am part of the Blood Faction, but I have told him not to rely on me, anyways," the guy replied. "Well, the Cranston Family is equally powerful as Greville, so you are the best person to pit against Asher Greville," his friend said. "I will not mess with the Greville in Somaria, but out of Somaria, you never know," he smiled. Although he said he could deal with Asher, he would never confront him because he was not the heir of the Cranston family. His older brother was the heir, and he knew what his family would do to him if he caused unnecessary problems with the Greville. ''But Leon will deal with him,'' he was not worried about Asher at all. He himself knew what Leonard was capable of after he had experienced it himself. There was a reason most students like him, who were rankers, joined the Blood Faction, and it was all due to Leonard''s careful trap that they all fell in. They wereughing as Gazil started the bidding for the A Rank artifacts, "Atst, now I can bid," he looked at the stage. "There will be only 5 A Rank Artifacts, so choose your pick wisely," Gazil said. Chapter 153 Auction Ends Chapter 153 Auction Ends Asher was waiting for the A Rank artifacts toe out. Amelia had already bought a C Rankbat spell-rted artifact, but she still didn''t know what kind of spell it was. Damian hadn''t bought anything, as he was still fine with the artifact he had received in the Dungeon with Amelia. Asher looked forward to thest bids, as he wanted to get one artifact from them. "The first A Rank Artifact is this Armor," Gazil said. "We will not disclose anything about the A Rank Artifacts, so you can start the bidding in 5 seconds," Gazil told the whole crowd of students. This was the most awaited artifact that all the Senior year students wanted, and they would pay the highest price for it. "Why did they put this first," Raelyn frowned, as this was not favorable for them. Normally, people would only be able to im one A Rank artifact, as they would lose most of their GP''s purchasing one by outbidding others. But this armor was the most wanted artifact, so most people would go all out for this single piece of armor. "We got 50,000 GP from ke Cranston!" Gazil said, as most of the Second Year students started cheering. ke Cranston was the Rank 1 student among the Second Year students, and he was very famous due to the fact he came from one of the strongest Elite families in the world. "We got 60,000 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazil said. "I can''t go more than 80K," Raelyn was hoping to get this armor, as this could greatly boost her chances of winning. "75,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil announced. Leonard wanted this armor, but that was all the GP he had, and if anybody outbid him here, he would lose this armor-type artifact. And all this happened because of one person. If previously Leonard was not fully focused on Asher, after this day, bringing him down would be his main focus. "80,000 GP from Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazil announced. In the Second Year Rank 1 room, "Well, I can''t go above that," ke said. "That could have helped you a lot," The Rank 2 said. "80,000 GP...1, 80,000 GP...2, 80,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to Raelyn Whiteheart!" Gazil said. In the Student Council Special Room, "I think I have messed this up," Raelyn said, as she spent most of the GP on her brother and herself. "Well, it was your decision," Tyrone replied. "Oh,e on, we can get the Artifacts in the next Auction. And it will happen before the End Term Tournaments," Zoie replied, trying to cheer Raelyn. Kevin was a bit awkward, and so were the other three. All of them, except Kevin, had gotten D and C Rank artifacts and were not even part of the Student Council yet. Gazil took out the second artifact, which was a ring. "Ring-type artifact, A Rank," Gazil said, and nobody knew what the ring could do. "The bidding will start now," Gazil said. "20,000 GP from ke Cranston." "25,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian." "30,000 GP from ke Cranston." "35,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian." "40,000 GP from ke Cranston." "45,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian." Both Leonard and ke refused to give up on it, but they didn''t want to spend too much on an unknown ring artifact that could be useless to them. "50,000 GP...1, 50,000 GP...2, 50,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to ke Cranston," Gazil announced. ke was just hoping that his investment was worth it. The third artifact was revealed, and it was a sword again. Leonard''s eyes shined as he looked at the dark blue sword. "The bidding will begin now," As soon as Gazil said this, Leonard dropped all of his GP. "75,000 GP from Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said. "75,000 GP...1, 75,000 GP...2, 75,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "Sold to Leonard Tarvian!!" Gazil said. Asher only had 60K GP on him, so he couldn''t outbid Leonard, who used all his GP to cut off anypetition, even if there was one. So making such a high bid was his way of saying to stay away from that sword. "This year, everyone sure is spending big," Gazil said as he introduced the fourth artifact. Seeing that, the eyes of all mages went big, as it was a rare staff-type artifact. "Dammit," Many cursed themselves for spending their GP previously. Even though Elena was looking at that staff, she knew she could not buy it. "The bidding will start now," Gazil said. "30,000 GP from Asher Greville," Gazil announced, as everyone thought Asher Greville had taken this artifact for sure. But they were incorrect, as another bid came in at thest moment. "50,000 GP from Jodie Everett," Gazil said, surprising everyone. "Wait, isn''t Senior Jodie in Fourth Year?" Again, students were confused as to why a fourth-year was bidding. "60,000 GP from Asher Greville," Asher increased his bid as he waited for Jodie. "80,000 GP from Jodie Everett," Gazil said. And after counting to 3, no extra bids came in. "Sold to Jodie Everett," Gazil announced as he came to thest artifact. "As for thest artifact," Gazil removed the cloth himself. The crowd looked at the small finger ring armor with three ck gems on it. Asher looked at it and was determined to take this artifact this time. In his previous life, somebody else had taken this artifact and ruined its value, but he would use it this time. "This is thest A Rank artifact, and you can bid now," Gazil said. "10,000 GP from Asher Greville," "20,000 GP from ke Cranston," "25,000 GP from Asher Greville," "25,000 GP...1, 25,000 GP...2, 25,000 GP...3," Gazil counted. "SOLD TO ASHER GREVILLE," Gazil announced as the crowd started pping. Asher took the final artifact at one of the lowest prices, as no one was left topete with him. "Your artifacts will be delivered to you in Two Days," Gazil said. "And there is an after-party for all people in the VIP Rooms, so you can go enjoy yourself," Gazil said, but the mood was dull in two of the most important rooms. Raelyn and Leonard''s faces could tell what they were thinking. Even though they had purchased a single A Rank artifact, most of their money was used. This meant that at the next Auction this year, there would be many with equal or a bit more GP than them. Even Asher had not used more than 25,000 GP himself, and he made others overspend their money on items that were not worth it. "I don''t wanna go to the after-party," Amelia stood up, as she wanted to go back and train. There was also the fact that she disliked social parties as it tired her out. And she knew that Damian and Asher disliked such parties, so she would rather go back. "Yeah, you''re going back, right?" Damian asked Asher. "Yeah," Asher replied. He had done all he wanted and had no interest in going to a party full of people he wanted to kill. His bloodlust had increased significantly over these days, and he wanted to return to the Ranker''s Dorm quickly. And just like him, many people chose to go back rather than go to the after-party. But many people still went, as it was the best way to socialize with others. Kevin, Elena, Eva, and Ria were among them. Raelyn insisted that they should go and enjoy their night, as it was their first Auction. Kevin wanted to help his sister, but seeing that she could deal with it herself, he decided to go and enjoy himself with his friends. "Should we go look for a weapon tomorrow?" Damian asked Asher. "I have one already," Asher replied. "But you bought a ring armor," Damian said, but Asher didn''t reply. "I will see it in the next spar anyways," Damian didn''t pursue the matter any further. Chapter 154 New Sword and Rune Pen Chapter 154 New Sword and Rune Pen The next day after the Auction Night, news about the auction was already spreading like wildfire throughout the entire World Academy. Leonard was in the third-year student''s Ranker''s Dorm. He was sweating profusely as he swung his sword in his training facility. He tightened his grip on his sword as he swiftly performed the special sword art that he had learned from his dad, Osbert Tarvian, Chairman of the World Association. His mood was worse, but he looked at the sword artifact he had received. A deep blue sword, which shined as if it were made out of a gem, but Leonard could feel its power and knew it was a good investment. But he looked back at the White de that had cost him 70,000 GP, and it was all because of one man. This C Rank sword had cost him way more than it was worth. "But I wonder how your normal sword will perform against an artifact," Leonard was sure that Asher''s performance would go downpared to Kevin, who had gotten a B Rank Spear from Raelyn. "Let''s see how long it will take me to destroy you," Leonard said as a smile crept onto his face. Meanwhile, Sam Allister was waiting outside the Ranker''s Dorm. It was nearly 11 AM, and he was waiting for Asher toe down. "This does look good," Sam said to himself as he looked at the building. The architecture of Ranker''s Dorm was enough to attract many people, and Sam was no exception. "I could have been here, huh," Sam thought for a second but removed his thoughts from his mind. Right now, he was here to deliver something to Asher. "When will hee down?" Sam had already messaged Asher, so he waited for him toe down. Just as he was about to message again, he saw Ashering down in his casual clothes. "Did you bring the sword?" Asher asked, and Sam nodded. "Do you want your GP back?" Sam said as he took out a ck-colored sword from his spatial ring. "No, keep it," Asher denied as he took the de. ''Finally,'' Asher feltplete as he was reunited with his sword. "I will go back now," Sam said as he turned to go back to the VIP Dorms. Asher went back to the 10th floor and entered his room. He took out the D Rank Sword again and looked at it. This was the artifact that Asher had carried till hisst battle in his previous life. It was the same sword that struck terror when people saw it. This ck de had drunk so much blood in his previous life that Asher didn''t even remember the count of people he killed. Asher already knew that Leonard would try to interfere with his bids and propose an alliance. He had known him well enough to guess his moves and how he thought. Although Asher had a questionable amount of GP, it was still not enough to safely bid on the sword in case Leonard was set on interrupting his bids. The solution was simple for him. Exactly the day Asher and Alyssa returned, Asher called Sam to meet him in the Outer Sector. It was in front of the Trade Center in the Outer Sector. "Where is he?" Sam looked around to see Asher and saw him standing near the building. Sam walked up, and Asher saw him. "So, what do I need to do?" Sam asked, not wasting any time. "It''s quite simple; you just need to buy me an artifact," Asher told Sam, but he made a confused face. "I will give you 10,000 GP for the task and make sure you buy the sword at all costs," Asher said with an indifferent look on his face. "Okay, can you describe the sword for me?" Sam didn''t know how Asher could have knowledge about the artifacts in the Auctions, as the World Academy made sure the information didn''t leak. "It will be a pitch-ck sword, and its description will be about its sharpness," Asher didn''t have any other details. "Okay, anything else?" Sam asked. Asher thought for a second and decided to tell him one more thing. And on the day of the Auction, Sam did exactly as Asher told him to do and bought the sword for him. But he was still confused about why he would choose this sword over others when he had so much GP with him, which he still didn''t know how Asher managed to get. Asher looked at the sword, and the System started analyzing it. [ Analyzing Artifact..... ] ----------------------------- | Sword of Chaos | | Rank | : D Rank Sword | Description | : Crafted by a mysterious individual possessing extraordinary runic wisdom beyond humanprehension, this sword finds itself shackled by the very hands that brought it into existence. It yearns for its rightful owner to unshackle it. | Abilities | : Increases sharpness in each strike by 15% | Abilities | : Made by a metal that will not be harmed by attacks below SS Rank. | Passive | : Grows to the peak of its owner''s potential (Sealed to D Rank) | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock ----------------------------- The moment he scanned the sword, the strange tattoo behind his back appeared for a few seconds and disappeared. Now, seeing the sword with the System''s description, he could understand more about it. But he also knew about the fact that this sword needed a key, and in his previous life, that key was already broken, and only the first of the three seals were lifted. The first seal allowed the sword to be an SS Rank Sword with no other abilities, but itplemented Asher so well that he never reced it with other swords. "Now for this," Asher took the finger ring armor artifact that he had bought, which was actually the runic pen that was the key to unlocking the Runic seals on this sword. [ Analyzing Artifact..... ] ----------------------------- | Rune Encrypter | | Rank | : A Rank Artifact | Description | : Crafted by the one who bound his own masterpiece, within it lies the key to unleash the true potential of this sealed creation. Embedded in the piece are three ck gems, each harboring the unique means to unlock the enchanting power concealed within. | Limitations | : 1. The one who wears it and imprints his mana will be marked as the owner, and only that person could try to unseal the Runic Seals. 2. Each failed attempt will permanently destroy the gems. ----------------------------- Because of this limitation, Asher wanted this finger ring armor, a runic pen bought by one of the students who identally imprinted his mana on this artifact. And due to that person''sck of knowledge in runes, Asher could never unlock his sword''s true potential. But now, he had the time to learn rune arts himself and be the owner of this artifact; he could take his time to unseal his swordpletely. Asher unsheathed the sword from its ck scabbard, revealing the dull ck de, which would change when its first seal was unlocked. He checked the schedule for Runic Theory, and it showed that his sses would start next week. It was time for First Years to finally interact with the Seniors, and most clubs and small factions, including the most prominent faction, the Blood Faction, would start their recruitment. But Asher was not interested in joining these clubs and factions as they added no real value to him. However, he was still interested in one club. It was the same club he had joined in his previous life, and it was the same club where Alyssa and Asher first talked. ''Not the time yet,'' Asher knew the best time to go to that club. Asher received the notification he had been waiting for. Asher looked at the message. From tomorrow, his sses for the Mage Course would start, and after attending thest Runic Theory ss, he could leave the World Academy. He replied and looked at his sword, especially the de, which was still a dull shade of ck. "Soon," Asher muttered. His next priority was the mission that he needed Dane and Kai for, and reaching level 30 to learn more about the System and the beast reward that he still didn''t know anything about. Chapter 155 Where did he get the money from? Chapter 155 Where did he get the money from? In the faculty block, a man could be seen pacing back and forth in his office. "What if they found out..." the man muttered. "No, surely they wouldn''t trouble him after all those incidents," the man kept talking to himself. Sweat was forming on his face, and his heart was racing with anxiety. *Knock* *Knock* The man turned towards his office door as his thoughts were going wild. "Professor Argas, I have brought the documents you asked for," a man''s voice came from behind the door. Argas breathed in relief as he changed his expression. "Come in," Argas allowed him to enter. The staff member entered his room with some documents in his hands. "We have fixed your schedule for the next three weeks," he said, "But you should still confirm your timings with other professors in case of ast-minute change," he said, but Argas''s mind was absent. "Ah, yeah, you can go now," Argas spoke as he told the man to leave. "Okay, tell me if you need anything else," the man said as he left the room soon after. "Dammit, what should I do," Argas was not having the best day of his life. He had heard the rumors about Asher Greville having nearly 60,000 GP, and everyone was surprised by the amount of GP he had acquired. Everyone was busy guessing how Asher had managed to get such an amount, but only Argas knew the source of all that GP. It was Argas''s money or the GP from the past few years for not rewarding the students in his ss who came from normal backgrounds. It was exactly after the meeting that Demarcus called after the Ranker''s Announcement, Argas wasing out of the room, and his expressions were normal. ''My name was not there,'' Argas sighed in relief as he reached the lift to get to his floor. Although he was a bit nervous when Demarcus started the meeting, his name was absent among the corrupt professors'' names. "Hahaha, you will never find the evidence against me," Argas was sure. He was cautious while manipting the supply of GP that 3 Star Professors were given, and he had made a lot of money in the outside world through this. "Professor, a student wants to meet you," he said, "Send them back; I have no time," Argas said with an annoyed look. And the best part was that he never used his own identity for trading GP and always used students from normal backgrounds to sell his GP for him. He made sure that the student he targeted had no special connections and that his family could be targeted easily. But during the meeting, he was still a bit nervous, even though he tried to look like he was not involved. In a few hours, his assistant came into his office, "Professor, a student wants to meet you," he said, "Send them back; I have no time," Argas said with an annoyed look. "Ah, it''s Asher Greville," his assistant told Argas, "Asher Greville?" Argas looked up, and his assistant nodded. "Send him here then," Argas told, as it was not favorable for him to deny Asher Greville. "What does he want with me?" Argas had no idea. "Does he want to gain my favor?" Argas guessed as he was one of the 3 Star Professors. In a minute, a young man with crimson-red eyes entered the room. The assistant closed the door, and Asher sat in front of Argas. "So what''s the reason behind your visit, Heir Greville," Argas said with an amused look on his face. "How did the meeting go, Professor Argas," Asher answered with a question. "What meeting?" Argas didn''t know what meeting Asher was talking about. Asher looked at him with an indifferent face. "How does it feel to not get expelled from World Academy?" Asher said. It made Argas frown as he didn''t understand what Asher was saying. "See this. Maybe you will understand what I am trying to say," Asher clicked on his ID Bracelet, and a big hologram appeared. "What? H-How is this possible?" Argas''s eyes went wide with shock as there were multiple pieces of evidence about him abusing his students while threatening them. ''But I made sure there was no evidence!'' Argas couldn''t believe it, but he collected his thoughts. "What do you want?" Argas knew that Ashering into his office to show him this meant he wanted something from him in exchange for keeping things quiet. "It seems to teach in World Academy for so many years has made you forget about the outside world, Professor Argas," Asher said as he clicked on his ID Bracelet. Then, many pictures of Argas''s family and his sons could be seen. "You should not forget that your family lives in Somaria," Asher told him as Argas''s face went pale. He had destroyed many students'' families by using them, but despite being this corrupt, he loved his family more than anything in the world. "Now be a nice little puppet for me until graduation, and we can forget this ever happened," Asher proposed an idea, and Argas had no way of denying his request. Argas was the one who had used all his GP that he had saved by his corrupt methods, and the total came out to 60,000 GP. ''Yeah, I just need to hold on for 4 years,'' Argas thought. Asher''s threat only worked on Argas because he had enough evidence to remove Argas from World Academy. In addition, World Academy offered family protection for all their Professors so that students with backgrounds like Asher could not threaten them. Currently, Argas''s family was living in a very safe area in Somaria that was near the headquarters of the World Association, and the security of his family was confirmed. If Soran was considered Grevilles Territory, then the entire city of Vernes was under World Association. So even for Asher, it would be difficult to target Argas''s family. Even getting Tom, who was just a civilian from Vernes, required him to contact the special team from Moonlight Guild that were experts in such jobs. ******** In Ranker''s Dorm, Asher was training his mana for 5 hours. [ Host has increased mana +3 ] His progress slowed because his body was trying to stabilize his current mana. His meridians absorbed most of his mana, so till now, all his stats except intelligence and charm had gone up by 5-6 stats. Asher stopped as he got up to get ready for his sses. He saw that his ck Element ss was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and today he only needed to attend a spell weaving ss, which was the mandatory course for all mages. In a particr ssroom, "It would be my honor if you coulde to teach here," Arman spoke to the person in the hologram with a respectful tone. "I would have turned it down, but I want to meet my grandchildren, so I guess I can help you guys," Helena replied with a smile on her face. Asher still didn''t know that Farnus had invited Helena to World Academy, and his first-ss would be with Helena Raven herself. She was the only person in this world he wanted to avoid the most. "Thank you, I will inform the students about your visit," Arman said. "No need. I want to surprise that little boy," Helena replied. "Okay, as you wish," Arman bowed as he was talking to the strongest woman in the world, who was evenpared to the SSS Rank Hunters. The call was finished, and Arman looked at the paperwork before him. He still couldn''t believe that Farnus had invited a person like Helena to World Academy. Although he was sure that Farnus would keep tabs on Helena, as she was a very dangerous individual due to her special bloodline ability, he still wanted to ensure that the students unrted to ck Elements stayed far from the ss. "I guess we can have our ss here," Arman picked an arena that was present in the Outer Sector of World Academy. He stood up to get permission from Farnus because such changes required his approval. In the Raven Family Mansion, Helena was sitting in her office. "World Academy sounds fun," Helena smiled. It was also surprising for her that Farnus had invited her for a special lecture. "I wonder if that boy still sees the world around him the same way," Helena remembered the young Asher. She had used her bloodline ability to see Asher''s memories when he was young. She was surprised as Asher interpreted everything around him differently than others. Her bloodline ability was stronger if the target was much weaker than her. Shest tried to see his emotions and memories when he was 6 or 7 years old. "I would need to see it myself," Helena smiled. It had been long since she had met Asher, so this was a great excuse to meet him at World Academy. Chapter 156 Mage Course - Spell Weaving Chapter 156 Mage Course - Spell Weaving Professor Elsa Robles was sitting in her office, looking at the list of students attending the Spell Weaving ss, which was part of the Mage Course. "There are more mages this year," she noted, seeing that the number of mages was greater than in previous years. Mages were rarer than swordsmen because even without talent, a person could train in swordsmanship, but without talent, one could never be a sessful mage. She stood up as it was time for her ss to start. Asher checked the location of the ssroom he was going to attend. Then, he entered the ss and saw many students staring at him. Rumors about auctions were going wild, and many thought that Asher was trying to offend the senior-year students. They couldn''t guess why Asher would try to do that because now the seniors could interact with the first-year students and wouldn''t like people like Asher who disrespected them. Although Asher''s background made it extremely difficult for any senior to go against him in any way, there were still people inside World Academy that could make his life difficult. And Leonard Tarvian was one of them. The reason Leonard got angry at Asher was quite simple: being the son of the World Association Chairman, not once in his life had anyone dared to question his worth. On the contrary, even heirs of elite families treated him with equal respect. Asher had not only disrespected him once but also made him lose like an idiot in the auction. But most believed that Leonard wouldn''t let this matter go easily either. There was a reason Leonard treated everyone he met with respect while hiding his intentions. Asher walked to several empty seats in the back and sat in one of them. Most people in close vicinity were averting their eyes to avoid trouble with him. Amelia arrived a few minutester and saw Asher sitting in one of the seats. She walked up to him and sat beside him. Unfortunately, Damian was not in the Mage Course, and Amelia hadn''t made any friends either because most people were afraid of approaching her due to her background and Asher. Soon after, everyone began appearing, including Elena, Eva, Lishia, and Gavin, who were in the room. However, most were sitting in different rows than Asher and Amelia. Amelia turned to look at Asher, who was staring out the window. Seeing everyone talking with each other, she felt a bit lonely, and Damian''s face popped into her mind. "This is boring," Amelia muttered, tapping her finger on the table. The voices in the ss died down as Elsa entered, followed by several staff members carrying various books. Elsa entered the ssroom and looked in front of her. "Wee to the Spell Weaving ss," Elsa said with a smile. "As you all know, this ss is the very basic and most important part that makes you a Mage," Elsa said, and the screen behind her changed. "Now, before I start teaching you about spells, does anyone here know the difference between a mage and other hunters?" Elsa asked, and many people raised their hands. "You," Elsa pointed out a brown-haired girl who stood up. "Mages are people who use their mana core as storage for their mana and use it to nourish their spells instead of their bodies," she replied. "Yeah, but that''s not entirely true," Elsa said as she told her to sit down. "Even though mages are considered physically weaker than, for example, a swordsman, it doesn''t mean our physical bodies are not nourished by our mana," Elsa said as an image of a Mana Gem appeared behind her. "Let''s start with the basics of ranking up," Elsa said as she made a ball of mana in her hand. "This is your mana core," Elsa pointed as she made a circr motion with her fingers, and multiple rings started to hover around her. Many students were surprised she could handle mana in such a refined and delicate manner. It was extremely difficult for anyone to use mana freely to make shapes like this, so most people used spells to shape that mana into elements. "These rings are the symbol of ranking up from one rank to another. So treat them like a band of energy that binds the massive amount of mana in one ce," Elsa said as the rings started rotating. "Now, a mage doesn''t use this mana to nourish their bodies, but it''s because our mana meridians are more suited for the travel of mana than the absorption of mana," she said. "But then again, we have mages like Augmenters, who can still buff their own and others'' bodies to increase their strengths," Elsa pointed at Amelia. "If we look at just the fundamentals of awakening as a Hunter, the mana core is the same for all human beings," Elsa exined. "But then a distinction among them appears that makes you choose a path ording to your talent," "As you know, to be a mage, you need to have different mana meridians than a swordsman, which helps you construct a spell rather than absorbing that mana to form an aura," Elsa said. "As I said, I am an SS Rank Mage, but my speed doesn''t fall below most of the other S Rank Hunters. So, why, despite being a mage, is my speedparable to an S Rank hunter?" Elsa raised a question. "The answer lies in the mana core and rings. As I said before, the ring formation symbolizes ranking up. It is theorized that the ring formation around the mana core does not happen until your bodies reach a certain threshold," Elsa said, and students started nodding. "But then again, Mages are naturally weaker than the hunters of the same rank, but an SS Rank Mage is considered more powerful than an SS Rank Swordsman in most cases. And why is that?" "And why do we consume more Mana Gems for ranking up than non-mage hunters?" She questioned the whole ss. "Because, unlike non-mage hunters, we use most of our mana in our spells and to form the mana pool, which fuels those spells. Unlike non-mage hunters, our ring formation is different, and this is the reason mages need more mana gems to rank up than non-mage hunters," "And this is why non-mage hunters can never be as strong as mage hunters of the same rank, and doing so is useless because it is how our bodies are structured," she said as she looked at Asher. All the students were looking at Asher, and they felt he was disrespecting them as mages, thinking it was easy to be a mage. "Although there are people with special bloodline abilities that help them, a natural mage will always be better at spell casting than a non-mage. And this difference will only grow bigger in the upper ranks where the spells be the embodiments of your thoughts," Elsa said while looking at Asher. "Any questions?" Elsa asked as one boy raised his hand. "Yes," Elsa spoke, "Professor, couldn''t people with more mana gems simply rank up faster than those without them?" He asked, "Then why do you think that some people in the Elite families are stuck at S Rank for their whole life despite the number of resources they have?" Elsa asked, but the boy had no answer. "Mana Gems are a pure source of mana that most hunters use to rank up and increase their strengths, but that alone will not help you rank up," Elsa turned, and the image on the screen changed to a human body. "You all know about mana cirction techniques, right? So each Mage uses those techniques to circte their mana and fill their mana pool. And each of you has your unique threshold that needs to be filled, and some have bigger thresholds, and some have smaller thresholds depending on your talents," Elsa said. "And seeing them is very easy, as people with bigger thresholds will rank up faster than their peers. And this is why those who reach higher ranks at a young age are considered stronger and more talented than those in simr ranks," Elsa said. "But that doesn''t mean they needn''t meet the thresholds either. Without proper resources, even a talented individual will rank up slowly, and even with resources, they still need time to hone their bodies until they''re ready for the next rank-up. That is where people use Mana Gems," Elsa said. "Using mana gems at breakthroughs is advised, as it will affect your threshold, and especially in mages, you can increase your mana pool a bit as well," Elsa said, "But let''s put this topic aside for now. Let''s start with Spell Creation for today''s ss," Elsa said as she pointed at the books she had brought. Chapter 157 Spell Casting - I Chapter 157 Spell Casting - I Elsa pointed at the books, and the eyes of the students drifted to the books with a unique red cover on top of them. "This is the special book I have written, as it contains all Tier 1 and 2 spells," Elsa said. Each element had multiple spells; to this day, some people would enhance or even create new ones. But each spell was judged in tiers. There were a total of 6 tiers in which all magic spells were ced. 1st Tier Spells were spells like Fireball, etc. Each hunter could at least use 1st Circle spells even if they were not mages, but even 1st Circle spells required a lot of effort to learn. The distinction in spells was made ording to the difficulty of the spells. However, this difficulty didn''t depend entirely on the mage''s rank but rather on whether the person could construct and execute the spellpletely. In other words, a spell''splexity was not solely determined by the mage''s rank but also by their ability to understand, create, and perform the spell effectively. But this doesn''t mean an E Rank Mage could perform a Tier 4 Spell just because they were talented enough to do it. Such spells required arge amount of mana, and if a low-rank mage used a higher-tier magic, it would cost them more mana. 1st to 2nd Tier Spells were mostly performed by E and D Rank Mages, but if the D+ Mage were talented, they could try and perform a few Tier 3 Spells. But mostly, B to D+ Rank Mages could use Tier 3 Spells. Tier 4 Spells were only used by B+ to S+ Rank Mages, and Tier 5 spells could only be used by SS Rank Mages. The only one in the world who could try and use Tier 6 spells was currently Silvus Grandus, an SSS Rank Hunter known as the Mage Association Chairman. These tiers were assigned by the level of mana andplexity a spell required. The path of a mage was more evolving than a swordsman''s, but it depended heavily on whether you had the affinity and talent for a mage. But still, there was a big w for a mage against a swordsman, and that was speed. The issue of speed arose because although it got easier to cast lower-tier spells as they ranked up, it didn''t mean that higher-tier spells could be cast quickly. Although mages have worked on reducing the time for spell casting for years, theplexity of the higher-tier spells was so high that it was impossible to enhance them. There were also Space Element spells, in which the world had never seen a spell above Tier 4. And even casting Tier 4 spells in the Space Element was a big taboo because the risks were too high. And then there were misceneous magic types, which were unique to a person, and each of those unique elements had their own spells. But some of them never reached beyond Tier 5 or 4. "I will give them to you one each and make sure you don''t lose them, as I will grade your spell creations from these books each month," Elsa said. The staff members started distributing those books, and each student got one. Asher looked at the thick book with the red cover and special gold engravings. He could see ''Elsa Robles'' engraved on the book. Unlike the books in the Great Library, which were written by Great Mages of the past and still used today by students and professors to understand and develop new spells, Elsa''s book focused more on teaching an efficient way to cast Tier 1 or 2 spells. "Open the 4th page of the book," Elsa said as the students opened the book and turned the page to reach page number 4. "We will take the Fire Element as an example," Elsa said as a small fireball appeared in her hand. "This is a Tier 1 spell; casting it is fairly easy. Of course, there is a bit of imagination involved, but it doesn''t take much time to cast this spell," Elsa said as the Fireball disappeared. "But if we notch up theplexity of the same spell, we get this," Elsa said as a small tornado of fire started to form over her palm. "Can someone tell me the fundamentals of constructing a basic spell?" Elsa asked. Eva raised her hand, and Elsa allowed her to answer. "Imagine, Shape, and Execute," she said as Elsa smiled. "Correct, you can sit down now," Elsa said. "First is visualization, the most important factor needed before even trying to think of a spell," Elsa said. "Shape, or what we call the step where we make or construct the spell itself, and thest step is using mana to bring that idea and use elements present all around to perform the spell," Elsa exined. "On the page you are seeing right now is the step written for constructing a revolving fireball, which is aplex version of a Fireball," Elsa said. "And if you turn the pages, there are multiple variations you can apply to a single fireball," Elsa spoke, and many students started turning the pages. Asher turned the page as he saw various fireballs and their uses in a fight. His brain could easilyprehend these concepts, but the others struggled to understand every part. For Asher, who had reached higher ranks in his previous life, his visualization was strong as his mind still remembered the sensation he felt back then. This was why his magic mastery was already at Novice Level - 84%. "First, let''s start constructing a Tier 2 Spell for today''s ss," Elsa said. "The spell we will be creating is a ring of fire around your hands," Elsa raised her hand, and a small ring of fire formed around her arms. "Remember that your mana doesn''t hurt you until you lose the connection, so concentrate hard, and if you feel like you cannot continue, cut off the mana supply and stop the spell," Elsa warned. There was a possibility of them burning themselves or others. "We will make a small ring of fire, which is the easiest version of the Tier 2 Spell Ring of Fire," Elsa described the spell''s name, and many people noted the name. Such spells were named so that the students could find books regarding the spells in the Library to help with their spell casting. She used chalk as she started drawing a small circle with a few special characters in between them, connected with lines. "This is what we call the ''Spell,''" Elsa pointed at the drawing before her. "Now try to move the mana around mana rings to shape the flow represented here," she pointed at the lines. "The characters you are seeing are the chants that will help you cast the spell perfectly," Elsa said. Although it was possible to cast without chanting, it required a more delicate spell construction near your core. Many people even used their hands for spell construction, which was the easiest thing to do. But with finer control, the spell could be performed within the mana core itself. Asher looked at the spell drawn in front of him. He could already see that he could remove the chant, as it was the easiest example Elsa had taken so that everyone could do it easily. "Repeat this chant; we will start from here," Elsa said as she pointed out students. One by one, the students stood up as they raised their hands, and started pronouncing the chants they had learned about. Some students failed, but some seeded after taking their time. Elsa was patient; this ss helped her gauge each student''s potential. "Now, Elena, can you try this spell?" Elsa looked at Elena, who stood up. "Here," Elena raised her hands, and without a chant, a ring of fire formed around her wrist like a bracelet. "Wow, as expected of Elena Rothschild," some students praised her. "Well done," Elsa smiled, as she could see Elena had a lot of potential to be a high-ranking mage. She then asked Eva, who used the chant, but her spell formed quicklypared to others. After some time, Elsa finally picked Asher, as she wanted to show him that this ss was not meant to be a joke. Even though she was Sylvie''s friend, her pride as a mage made her see Asher in a negative light. She thought that Asher was mocking what a mage could do. She knew his talent for swordsmanship was high and that he could have been bored studying swords under others. "Now, Asher Greville, can you show us what you can do?" Elsa said as the whole ss saw Asher stand up. Asher looked at Elsa''s drawing, and then his crimson red eyes turned towards Elsa, who was looking at him. Chapter 158 Spell Casting - II "Now, Asher Greville, can you show us what you can do?" Elsa said as the whole ss saw Asher stand up. Elsa was waiting to see Asher''s spell casting, as she needed an excuse to make sure Asher shifted his courses. Asher was her friend''s son, and she didn''t want him to waste his potential. It was a perfectly normal thought, as no one could excel in both sword and mage paths. Humans were simply not built to have a mana meridian of a mage and form Aura as well. Asher raised his hand as he saw the structure of mana flow drawn on the board. His mind could easily form that structure of the spell, but he could see useless things in the spell that wasted mana. This kind of observation was only possible because he had a higher rank in his previous life. The mana near his core started to swerve around as he formed a spell near his mana heart. It was one of the methods new mages used, as controlling the mana near the core was easiest. Although casting at outer body parts was the fastest way to chant, execute, or even do silent spells. Everyone in this ss formed the spell near their mana hearts, as only people like Elsa, who had reached the pinnacle of human magic, could cast spells instantly and form them even outside their bodies. It was an extremely difficult task, but it was possible for mages who had spent years and years learning about a single element. Asher could feel the ring structure was weak and had no near purpose. Moreover, the spell was only made for demonstration, so it had no offensive capabilities. But in Asher''s mind, such a spell was wed. He tinkered with the spell enough to change it and could feel the mana rotating around his arms as the ring of fire formed. Asher looked at the massive ring of fire twice the size of the original spell. Elsa could even notice that Asher''s ring of fire had a lot of power behind it despite its size. Amelia backed up a bit as the ring of fire''s heat grew. Elsa was surprised by Asher''s innovation, so she was about to tell Asher to stop the spell. But the next moment, she saw him point a finger towards her. "Release," Asher muttered as a huge fire vortexunched toward Elsa. His sudden attack made many students stare at him with wide eyes. A student attacking a professor was something unheard of. The vortex originated from his ring of fire, and it was something Asher had enhanced as he gotfortable with spell construction. Elsa was a bit surprised as a fire vortex came toward her. ''What a joke,'' Elsa thought in her mind. She was known as the Fire Maniptor and one of the best mages who could control the fire element freely. Elsa didn''t even move a finger as the fire shooting toward her stopped and started swirling around her. It was easy for an SS Rank Hunter like her to take over his spells and alter the mana that formed the spell itself. This showed Elsa''s huge talent as a mage. Asher looked at Elsa, who took his attack quite easily. "Can I know what you are doing, Asher Greville?" Elsa spoke, looking directly at Asher''s eyes. "Attacking me with your spell, do you know what consequences such actions could have?" Elsa asked Asher. "It was a demonstration, Professor," Asher replied. "So attacking others is now a demonstration?" Elsa said. Asher didn''t say anything else, as he knew Elsa wouldn''t take action against him since there were no rules prohibiting students from challenging a professor. Asher had only demonstrated a simplified version of the fire vortex spell. "But I willmend you for using such an approach for this spell," Elsa said, but Elena raised her hand. "Yes, Elena," Elsa said as Elena stood up. "Professor, wasn''t that spell apletely different one?" Elena asked. "Even I can do a fire vortex," Elena said confidently. She was sure of her skills as a mage and saw an opportunity to bring Asher down. She was convinced that what Asher used was not the same spell anymore. She was confident that she could create a Fire Vortex as well. "Well, what''s your answer, Asher Greville?" Elsa turned and asked Asher. Although she knew the answer to Elena''s question, she wanted to see what Asher thought about his spell. Furthermore, she wanted to see whether he was serious about studying as a mage. "Do I have any reason to exin my understanding?" Asher asked Elsa. "Sure, but if you do, I will reward you with extra grades for this month," Elsa offered. "But you need to redraw this spell to a simr one as yours here," Elsa pointed at the board behind her. Asher left his seat and walked to the board as many eyes stared at him, particrly his face. Even Alyssa looked at him, curious about how Asher had changed the spell. She had performed simrly to Eva, so she wanted to see how Asher would exin himself. Reaching the board, Asher saw the spell drawn in front of him. A circle-shaped spell connected together to form a circr formation that brought out the power of particr elements. "These two lines here have no value," Asher said as Elena and Eva started to watch him erase lines. "And there''s no need for this line to connect at this junction," he pointed at a junction of six lines and removed one of them. He made a few more changes to the fundamental structure of the spell, then drew the spell he had used just now. "This is absurd," Elena voiced out. "This spell uses too much mana for a Fire Vortex," Elena said as a few students agreed with her. But most of them were too scared of the young man standing before them to speak out with her. "Why should I care if you don''t have enough mana for this spell?" Asher said as he stared at Elena. "I am using the spell, not you," he said, his indifferent eyes making Elena a bit nervous. Elsa quietly watched the whole ss. "Well, Elena Rothschild, you''re saying this spell uses too much mana for an E Rank Mage, right?" Elsa asked, and Elena nodded. "But let me ask you, did I ask you all to do a perfect spell for a D Rank Mage?" Elsa questioned her. "Producing a fire vortex from this spell, do you think you can do the same?" Elsa asked, but Elena had no answer. "You can go back," Elsa said to Asher, who returned to his seat. "Well, I want you all to think about whether you can perfect this spell to suit yourself," Elsa asked. "Do you think you can cast the fire vortex this fast?" She questioned the whole ss, but no answer came. "But this is what we will study," Elsa said. "The path of a mage is about creating and modifying the spells to suit you, and I want all of you toe up with your variations of this spell within a month," Elsa said. "Even a low-tier spell that is enhanced and reconstructed can be stronger and faster than a higher-tier spell," Elsa spoke. "Well, it will be impossible to enhance and change the structure of higher-tier spells, so I want you all to practice this on Tier 1 and Tier 2 spells," Elsa instructed. "Well, you can sit down now if you got your answers," Elsa said as she looked at Elena. ''What a showoff,'' Gavin thought as he looked back at Asher, jealous of Asher grabbing everyone''s attention. "Well, as I promised, I will count this as your monthly assignment," Elsa said as she looked at Asher. "That''s all for today. You will be notified about your next ss, so we will meet next week," Elsa said, but Asher wasn''t interested. He would be out of the World Academy after his Runic Theory ss. Although he had attended this ss, he wanted to learn about the elements themselves. ''ck Element,'' Asher thought, looking at his next ss tomorrow. It was a ss involving the seniors, and most of them would be present there. Elsa turned as she saw some students waiting at the door. "Professor, we wanted to make an announcement," a senior-year student asked. "Well, my ss is over, so you can go in now," Elsa replied. "Thank you," the senior-year students entered. "Hello, first-years. I am Zoie, the head of the Management Committee," a girl spoke as she looked around the ss cheerfully. Chapter 159 Surprise Visit? Elena looked at Zoie, the Senior Year student she had met in the Student Council Room. Zoie looked at Elena and Eva as she winked at them with a smile. "Did something happen?" The first-year students started asking each other. "Okay, listen to me," Zoie grabbed everyone''s attention. "I am Zoie, a Third-Year Student, and I am the head of the Management Committee," she introduced herself. Her exuberant nature attracted the attention of many students around her. "We are in charge of managing all the student activities and events, and I am here to make an announcement for all of you," Zoie said. "As you know, the seniors will start interacting with you guys and invite you to their clubs and factions," Zoie exined. "But first, you all need to understand that factions and clubs are different," she said. "Factions are formed when a group of students works under one name, and there are many small factions, most of them are made around influential personalities," Zoie said. "The most famous faction currently is the Blood Faction, which is under Leonard Tarvian," she didn''t need to exin it as most people already knew about Leonard and his faction. "But clubs are different; each club is made for a gathering of people with simr motives, and you need to get permission from a professor to supervise that club," Zoie said. "There are multiple clubs inside World Academy, and many seniors will approach you guys to invite you to the clubs, so join one if you like them," she said. "Is itpulsory to join them?" A guy sitting in the front row asked. "Not really, but I would still rmend joining one as it''s better than joining none," she replied. "There are multiple varieties of clubs, from casual ones to serious ones, so take a look and see what fits you best," Zoie said. "And you will see more Senior Year students from now on, and there are some sses where you might attend together with senior-year students," Zoie said, but some students'' faces didn''t look good. And most of them were from ss 3. There were many rumors that you should avoid some seniors. "Okay, so you might see some second or third-year studentsing to your ssrooms to inform you about their clubs," Zoie said. "That''s all; have a good day!" Zoie waved her hands as she left the room. ******* In the Raven Family Mansion, Helena was sitting as she was talking with Sylvie on the hologram. "So, you are going to World Academy?" Sylvie asked. "Yeah, they asked me for a special lecture," Helena said with a smile. Sylvie frowned as Helena was one person they would not want to invite to World Academy. However, she could not guess why they had invited her. It was true that there was nobody better than Helena at ck Element, but it was still not worth it. ''They will keep an eye on her anyway,'' Sylvie thought. She didn''t think too hard about it. "Wait, are you going to check his memories again?" Sylvie asked with a serious look on her face. "Maybe. I want to see if he has changed or not," Helena replied. "It doesn''t matter; I believe in him," Sylvie said, but Helena did not reply. It was a conversation of years ago that Sylvie didn''t want to talk about, and neither did Helena push her. Years ago, when Asher was around 7 years old, Helena was visiting the Greville Estate. "So, where is my cute grandson?" Helena asked, but she saw Sylvie thinking about something else. "Uh, he is in his room," Sylvie noticed that her mother was looking at her, so she quickly replied. "What happened?" Helena asked as it was rare for Sylvie to be this absent-minded. "It''s about the party that happened months ago," Sylvie told Helena about the incident where Asher was pushed into a pool of water. And how he didn''t react much. "Why don''t I check his memories?" Helena said. "There is no need for that, Mother," Sylvie said, but Helena had already decided. Helena went up, opened the room door, and saw a young little boy sitting at his table reading a book. The little boy looked up to see Helena as his crimson-red eyes stared at the middle-aged-lookingdy who had just walked in. Then, seeing simr features to his mother, the little boy easily guessed the person''s identity. "Hello, Grandmother," Asher said, but his face didn''t show much emotion. "Hello, cutie," Helena got on her knees as she looked at the little boy before her. "What were you reading?" Helena asked as she looked at the book. All the books around him were rted to human emotions or something that helped with those things. ''Why is he reading these,'' Helena thought in her mind. These books were presented to most elite family children, but they rarely used them as they rarely cared about manners and other things. But it was the first time Helena had seen a 7-year-old reading such a book. "They help me understand others," Asher replied truthfully, but his voice was monotone. "That''s very smart of you," Helena raised her hand to ruffle Asher''s hair. The moment Helena touched Asher''s head, her eyes turnedpletely ck, and Asher closed his eyes as the memories and emotions of the 7-year-old were being seen and felt by Helena. She could see the world from Asher''s point of view, and everything appeared dull. It was almost as if the world in Asher''s eyes was devoid of color and life. He felt nothing, unlike many other people Helena had used her bloodline ability on. "What is this boy thinking," Helena was shocked to see Asher''s memories. It was almost unthinkable for her to see a 7-year-old feel that he was different from others. He felt no emotions for others. It seemed that the boy had struggled to connect with others, unable to understand or share his emotions. She saw the memory of the boy who felt nothing when he looked at his own mother, but he noticed that he was different and tried to change. It was the effort of a 7-year-old who wanted to understand other normal people and act like them. She didn''t sense the inner madness in his mind, as it began sometime after Helena''s visit. Instead, it was something that warped the way he looked at the whole world. ''What should I tell Sylvie?'' Helena didn''t know. She had never felt such a thing in another person before, and it was the first time she felt such distant emotions that were almost non-existent. But Helena decided to hide this from Sylvie, as she didn''t want her daughter to think her son was emotionless and felt nothing for her. She also saw his memories about the ident at the party, but she didn''t feel fear when Asher was almost drowning. Instead, it was as if his emotions were numb to an extreme point. Helena removed her hands as the little Asher turned his head to look at her. "Continue your study. I will go downstairs now," Helena said as Asher nodded back. He saw Helena go back and open another book that he was nning to read. Helena went downstairs and saw Sylvie, who was about to leave. "What did you see, mother?" Sylvie asked. "His view of the world around him is a bit more emotionless than others, but I feel like he will grow and learn eventually," Helena lied. "Of course, he is different; my baby is smarter than others," Sylvie said with a smile. Helena didn''t tell her then because she thought maybe it was due to Asher''s high intelligence that he was like this. The result might have been different if she had seen his inner madness. ******** It was the next day already, and Helena was about to leave for the World Academy. Asher, who was training, still didn''t know about Helena''s visit, but he had received the message that Arman was taking the ss in the outer sector without any senior-year students. Instead, it was a ss only for the first-year students. Asher stepped out of his training room, his indifferent eyes, now strikingly different from the young Asher in Helena''s memories, fixated on the screen before him. His screen disyed the current condition of the share market around the world. "The effect of killing them will soon be noticed," Asher recalled Gemard and Robert. He closed the screen in front of him. It was the data that Tom sent him daily, so there was no chance of him receiving incorrect information. "The timings will ovep," Asher thought of his ns for next week. Asher stepped onto arge balcony with an excellent view of World Academy. He looked in a particr direction where the famous Trial Grounds were located. It was a ce Asher wanted to visit because he had missed it in his previous life. This was the reason why most Elite families sent their children to World Academy. Chapter 160 Helenas Visit Outer Sector of World Academy, "Why were so many staff members present there?" A group of students going to the inner sector talked with each other. "I don''t know, maybe they are working on something," a guy replied. "There were no announcements for any events, right?" a girl asked. "I don''t think so," another guy replied. It was rare for this many staff members to be together in one ce unless an event was happening. They didn''t know anything about it, as Arman had not notified anybody other than Farnus about Helena''s surprise visit. The special security team was gathered in another part of the World Academy. "Why did Sir Zemil call us?" Even they didn''t know about Helena''s visit. They were called by Zemil, Head of Security of World Academy. He was an SS Rank Hunter, and his team was responsible for ensuring no harm came to the academy. "We will know soon," a guy replied as Zemil was about to show up. The door opened, and they saw Zemil enter the room, looking around at his team. "Sir Zemil is wearing his armor?" His team was confused. Zemil wore a blue-colored armor specially made for him by the Artisan''s Association. His armor was famous, so it was evident that his team knew about it as well. But it was odd for Zemil to wear armor like this unless he was entering a dungeon or fighting someone more powerful than him. They had never seen him wear the armor inside World Academy. "I will keep the meeting short," Zemil looked at his team members standing upright. "We have a special visitoring to World Academy," Zemil said. "Recently, our Principal decided to hold special sses for the students, and the first visitor is a special one, so I need all of you to stay on guard," he said. "The Shadow Empress, Helena Raven, ising to World Academy, and I want all of you to make sure that she doesn''t interact with any students outside the ss," Zemil ordered. Although Farnus would watch Helena, they couldn''t be careless and leave any openings. The security team was surprised when they heard Helena''s name. They couldn''t believe the Principal would let someone like Helena visit World Academy so casually. But they didn''t know that it wasn''t for a special ss, but Farnus wanted to know if Helena was the one who told Asher that piece of information. Typically, they would have taken their time to organize the ss outside World Academy with the consent of every student, but this time it was unterally decided by Farnus. "Will the Pirs gather?" one of the members asked. Pirs were the special team of security not directly under Zemil. The Pirs were SS Rank Hunters, and they only listened to Farnus. Their only job was to guard the Trials Ground. "No, they will not unless the situation calls for it," Zemil replied. Helena was an invited guest, and she was famous for her mannerisms. Despite possessing a bloodline ability that made her the worst person to visit World Academy, they were confident she wouldn''t do anything against the rules. The meeting was over quickly, and the security team members began to disperse. Zemil looked in a particr direction and disappeared from his spot. Outside World Academy, The Guildmaster of the Moonlight Guild was traveling in a car, and behind her was her special team of shadows, all trained by her personally. "Guildmaster, are you sure we shouldn''t go with you?" a female voice was heard inside Helena''s car. "No need, I was the only one invited," Helena replied, and there were no further questions. The car stopped, and one of the shadows opened the door for Helena. She exited the car as she looked at the Portal Dome and a familiar face in front of her. "It''s been a long time, Demarcus''s boy," Helena said as Xander Demarcus stood before the Portal Dome waiting for her. It was normal for Helena to know Xander personally, as he was once the heir of the Demarcus family but had given up his spot to his younger brother. "Wee, Lady Helena," Xander said as he looked at all the shadows behind Helena. He knew that all of them were hunters trained by Helena herself, and they followed her order without fail. "Don''t worry, they will wait here," Helena said as she looked at Xander. Helena wore a ck overcoat with the Moonlight Guild''s insignia. The same insignia was present on all the shadows. "Should we enter?" Helena asked, and Xander made way for her to go ahead. ********** Asher exited the Ranker''s Dorm and went to where Professor Arman had told his ss to gather first. As he entered the room, he saw a few students and Lishia Halcyon, who was already waiting there. The room''s atmosphere went quiet as Asher quietly sat in one of the empty seats. They were waiting for Professor Arman to appear in the ss. The wait was over soon, as they saw Arman appearing in front of them, looking at all the first-year students that appeared for today''s ss. "Wee to the ck Element ss. You already know me, but I am Professor Arman, who teaches ck Element," Arman introduced himself. "Today''s ss is a bit special; as you all know, we have decided to have special sses to broaden students'' horizons and give them a chance to improve themselves even further," Arman said as the whole ss looked at him. "We have invited a special person for today''s lecture that will happen in the Outer Sector," Arman''s words made Asher look at him. "And I am sure all of you already know about this person. She is known as the strongest woman in the world and the best in ck Element, Lady Helena Raven," Arman''s words made Asher frown. "This is only for first-year students, and you have the opportunity to learn from the best, so I hope all of you will keep your minds in the ss," Arman said. "I need to go back, but the staff member there will guide you to the Outer Sector, where the ss will happen," Arman said as he soon disappeared. The students, including Lishia, were excited to meet Helena, but only one person didn''t want this to happen. Asher was thinking about what to do next, as he could not avoid meeting Helena. He stood as everyone was getting ready to move to the Outer Sector. "I can''t let her check my memories," Asher said to himself. He didn''t want to repeat the incident that happened in the past. However, he was already thinking of ways to stop Helena from doing so. There was a special condition for Helena''s ability: she needed to touch the target whose memories she wanted. ******** In the Outer Sector, An elderly man stood before the teleportation gate, watching as it glowed and Xander Demarcus and Helena Raven emerged. Zemil also appeared instantly as he looked at Helena Raven, who had entered World Academy. "I''m grateful that you epted the invite," Farnus said, looking at Helena. "Well, I did it partially to meet my grandchildren," Helena replied, but she didn''t look intimidated by Farnus. "Would you like to have a cup of tea?" Farnus offered. "We can do it after the ss," Helena refused. She was a resolute individual with little tolerance for putting off tasks or responsibilities. Helena''s eyes looked at Zemil, who was wearing his armor. A smile appeared on her face as Zemil got a bit nervous. "So where is the ss going to be held?" Helena asked. "Zemil, guide our guest to the stadium where Professor Arman scheduled the ss," Farnus said as Zemil nodded. Farnus and Xander disappeared, but both kept their eyes on Helena Raven, who was guided by Zemil. ''She didn''t react much,'' Farnus thought to himself. He was carefully watching for any reaction from Helena, but nothing seemed off. However, he still had enough time after the ss to talk with her and confirm his doubts. Soon they reached the fully-covered stadium, and Helena could sense the presence of various S to A Rank Hunters around. It was obvious none of them were beingcent, and they took her presence seriously. "Professor Arman is inside," Zemil respectfully said. "You should rx a bit," Helena said as she walked towards the entrance. Zemil was still being cautious as he looked at Helena''s figure. "Being too strict on yourself will restrict your vision so much that you won''t sense the danger looming beside you," Helena said, but Zemil was confused. Zemil squinted as he didn''t understand what Helena was trying to say. "I will take your advice," Zemil said, but he didn''t mean it. But Zemil''s eyes widened as Helena''s figure disappeared in front of him. He was about to re his mana to look around him, but he stopped as he saw Helena standing beside him. "Rx," Helena said with augh. Zemil looked at Helena, who got so close to him. He couldn''t believe that they were both SS Rank hunters. Helena entered the huge stadium and saw Professor Arman, who came out to greet her. Chapter 161 Misunderstanding In the Outer Sector, Zemil disappeared from the proximity of the Stadium, but he had heightened his senses to the maximum. Farnus was present there to watch over Helena himself, but he still wanted to do his duty as the Head of Security. "So, Professor Arman, what should I teach today?" Helena walked with a smile on her face. Arman felt pressured just by being near her. Each step she took pressured Arman as he stood before the woman who had mastered the ck Element to the highest level humanity had ever achieved. "I wee you, Lady Helena," Arman said as he bowed respectfully. She was the only person after Farnus that Arman would bow towards with respect. He was known for his talent for the ck Element, so much so that Farnus offered him to teach at the World Academy, but he knew that he still wasn''t anything in front of Helena Raven. "Don''t feel too pressured by me; I am only doing a simple lecture," Helena spoke. She had only agreed to do a simple session with the students to help them understand the ck Element, but she would not teach them any of her techniques. She only agreed to do this because she wanted to check on Asher and Amelia. "I was told my grandson is in this ss, right?" Helena asked as they moved to the area that was arranged for the ss. "Yes, Asher Greville has performed exceptionally well among all the first-years," Arman replied. "Is he better than Ivar?" Helena asked Arman. "Yes," Arman replied, but his expression changed slightly when he heard the name Ivar. It was a name that Arman didn''t want to remember, but at the same time, he couldn''t forget it either. "Well, I will see that for myself," Helena said. ****** Asher and all the students in the ss, who hardly came up to 20, were traveling to a particr stadium in the Outer Sector. Asher was lost in his thoughts, but they soon arrived near the entrance of the Stadium. All the students entered the ss as they saw the huge Stadium. They were looking around and saw Professor Arman, who was standing with a woman with ck hair, wearing a ck overcoat with a special insignia on it. Asher could immediately recognize the woman, who looked like she was in her early 50s, the aura around her was so powerful that the students could feel it from that far. They all walked a bit as they saw Helena Raven looking towards them, but she was looking at Asher. She looked into his crimson-red eyes, but he seemed slightly different. She couldn''t ce her hand on it, but she felt that his vibe had changed greatly from what she had seen thest time she met him. She wanted to talk with Asher, but currently, she was here as a teacher for the students, so she decided to introduce herself first. "I am Helena Raven. I am the family head of the Raven Family and the Guildmaster for the Moonlight Guild," She introduced herself, but everyone already knew about her. They were excited to meet one of the most influential people in the world. Even Lishia was excited to meet Helena Raven, who she looked up to as her role model. "I am here for the special lesson about the ck Element, but it is a normal lecture, so we will not go too deep into the topics," She said, but they were already happy they could interact with Helena. "You can start," She said, looking at Arman. "As you all know, the ck Element doesn''t work like other elements," Arman began the lecture. "Usually, we only see the ck Element as shadow magic, but it is more than that," Arman said. Arman started to exin various uses of the ck Element rted to manipting shadows and darkness. The ck element had various uses, but most were rted to shadows and darkness. Arman stopped as he had said enough for the introduction, and now Helena could take over. "Before I give you my insights about the ck Element, you should experience the might of the ck Element yourself," Helena said as she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, darkness came from beneath her feet, enveloping the entire Stadium and covering it in darkness. Then, with her other snap of fingers, the empty ck sky turned into a night sky with a moon shining above them. "Wow," the students looked around, shocked by Helena''s magic. Even Arman was slightly surprised by Helena''s control over the ck Element. He had only heard about her, but it was the first time Arman had seen her magic with his own eyes. "This is only an illusion created with the ck Element," It was one of the major spells that messed with others'' senses and created a fake environment like this one. "And this is what we call Shadow Movement," Helena disappeared from her ce. It was almost as if her body had merged with the shadows around her. But, then, she appeared at another ce in a second, making the students look at her with surprised expressions. "This will be the spell or technique every ck Element user needs to master first," Helena said. "And the third topic we will speak about is Fear," Helena said as she snapped her fingers again. At that moment, darkness wrapped around the students'' eyes as they found themselves in front of the things that scared them the most. Helena looked at Asher, who had dodged her spell by backstepping from his ce at thest moment. "It''s no fun like this, boy," Helena said as Asher looked at his grandmother, who snapped her fingers and hands came out from the ground below him, locking him down in one ce. Asher could not move anymore as he saw Helenaing towards him. Arman was busy manipting his shadows as he watched over the students experiencing their fear, so he didn''t mind Helena talking with Asher since they both were rted. "Your eyes have changed," Helena said,ing closer to Asher as her ck eyes stared at him. Just like Nathan had felt something different from Asher on the first day he met him, Helena could also feel it. They could see in his eyes that they didn''t belong to a simple kid his age. Asher looked up with indifferent eyes, "Is there a need for this?" Asher asked as he looked down at his legs that were shackled in one ce. "I''m just checking on you, don''t worry. It will be over in a second," Helena said as her eyes turned pitch ck, and she raised her hands to touch Asher''s head. Asher didn''t expect Helena to forcefully check his memories, but he couldn''t stay still. However, he was not worried about the worst oue anymore. Helena''s magic took over Asher as he closed his eyes. 5 minutes ago, As Asher left the ssroom, he thought of ways to escape this problem. Just then, he got a system notification, [ If Host wants, the System can prevent any sort of mental infiltration if your Intelligence stats are high enough ] ''How much should be enough?'' Asher asked as he kept moving toward the direction of the Stadium. [ If Host reaches 180 points in Intelligence, you can prevent any abilities that can affect your mind. ] ''180,'' Asher thought in his mind. His current Intelligence was 120, and he had exactly 80 Attribute points, so he needed to invest 60 points in his Intelligence. ''Do it,'' Asher had no choice but to do it. Despite not liking the idea of increasing his Intelligence through the System, as he was unsure about the consequences, he had no choice. [ 60 AP used ] [ Intelligence: 120¡ú180 ] A stark pain in his mind was felt as he experienced a massive headache, but the pain soon subsided as his mind grew clearer. However, he still felt a bit off. He could feel that his urge for destruction, which was always present within him, had be stronger. Although he could still suppress it, his inner madness had grown. He wanted to feel it more clearly, but then he reached the Stadium and saw Helena looking at him. Asher didn''t know then, but his eyes had be much like those from his previous life. This was the reason Helena forcefully tried to read his memories. Helena touched Asher''s head as she attempted to look into his memories but was blocked. ''Hmm?'' Helena''s pitch-ck eyes looked at Asher with confusion as she couldn''t read his memories. She removed her hand and canceled all her spells. Most of the students were still trembling in fear with the hallucinations they had gone through in a few seconds due to Helena''s magic. Asher, finally able to move, opened his eyes and looked at Helena, who was still fine. ''So it didn''t happen,'' Asher thought in his mind. Helena smiled as she watched Asher. There was only one case where she had failed to see the memories of a person with a lower rank than her. Chapter 162 Lesson From Helena? As Asher opened his eyes, he saw a new notification in front of him. [Hidden Quest Completed] ----------------------------- Objective: Change Helena Raven''s Destiny Rewards: 1500 Fate Points ------------------------------ Seeing this notification, Asher could guess that he had averted a certain incident that happened in his previous life. ******************* In the Greville Estate, Sylvie was looking at Asher, whose eyes were dead, lost of life, as he stared at her. "Asher, tell me what happened inside," Sylvie asked with a stern look on her face. But Asher didn''t reply. He wasn''t ignoring Sylvie, but his mind was not present at the current moment. "Sylvie, stop for now. I will talk with him," Arthur finally decided to step up. "Sigh," Sylvie sighed. Although she wanted to believe Asher, the proof was in front of her, and seeing that Asher was not defending himself, she realized that the usations were true. "Mother ising, so wait for now," She said as she turned and returned. "Tell me, did you do it?" Arthur asked again. But seeing the same dead look on Asher''s face as he stared at him frustrated him. "I asked something, damn it," Arthur shouted a bit, but Asher did not react. "We will wait for your grandmother to arrive," Arthur spoke, seeing that he could not get his answers from him right now. After two hours, Helena arrived at the estate, and the look on her face could tell the situation around them was not good. "Where is he?" Helena asked Arthur before he could speak anything. "There," Arthur guided Helena, who entered a room and looked at Asher. ''I thought this day would nevere when I will check his memories again,'' Helena thought. Asher had be normal as she saw him, so she never checked his memories again. ''Maybe I could have stopped it at that time,'' She remembered the time she had lied to Sylvie, thinking Asher was only a bit different than others. "Boy, I will check your memories, so don''t struggle against it," Helena said as her eyes turned ck. Asher didn''t move; more like he didn''t want to. Unlike what Arthur and Sylvie thought, Asher was not shocked due to the incident that happened. They were wrong. The time had finallye when his struggles with his inner madness had stopped. His inner madness was finally freed as Asher chose to embrace it. Helena touched Asher''s head as she peeked into his memories, but she saw a single young man standing before her. In a pitch-ck ce, a young man with ck hair and crimson-red eyes stood, looking at something beyond the eternal darkness. The space started to light up around the young man. "What is this?" Helena looked around, as she had never seen something like that. Suddenly, the young man turned to look at Helena, and it was Asher. Strange chains appeared around Asher, but a grey-colored energy erupted from Asher''s hand. The chains were instantly destroyed. "What are you doing?" Helena asked Asher. The young man turned to look at her as he opened his mouth to say something, but Helena could not hear it. "What?" Helena asked as she was confused. But before she could do anything, Helena fell to her knees. A huge pressure dawned over her as she looked at Asher, but he had disappeared. The darkness around her was getting purged as a grey light took over. Helena felt like her head was about to burst. Suddenly, she felt the connection between her and Asher was cut off. "Mom!!!" Sylvie shouted as Helena barely opened her eyes, which were full of blood. She found that she was in Sylvie''s arms as she looked at herself. She touched her face, which had a few wrinkles, and discovered that her eyes, nose, and ears were bleeding. Sylvie shouted, but Helena looked at Asher, lying near a wall, as Arthur checked on him. "What happened?" Helena asked weakly, but she could feel something was wrong with her. A few minutes earlier, Sylvie entered the room and saw her mother checking on Asher''s memories. "How much time has it been?" Sylvie asked. "She just started," Arthur replied, as both of them were waiting for Helena to finish and tell them what happened inside. They waited for a few seconds, but something strange started to happen. "She is bleeding?!" Arthur said as his eyes went wide with shock. Everything was normal when suddenly, blood starteding out of her nose. Both of them were confused, but suddenly Helena''s mana started to go rampant as her eyes started bleeding. "Stop!" Sylvie immediately dashed to remove Helena''s hand from Asher''s head. Asher was not powerful enough to face Helena''s mana, which could hurt him badly. But before she reached it, Helena''s mana pushed Asher into the wall. Her body was also pushed back, but Sylvie caught her, and Arthur dashed to save Asher, who had nearly crashed into the wall. Sylvie shook Helena, who opened her eyes barely, but the blood kepting out of her eyes. "What happened?" She asked, but Sylvie herself didn''t know anything. Sylvie''s eyes went wide as she looked at Helena. "Mother, your mana-" Sylvie couldn''t even speak. "What?" Helena asked, but she felt even weaker. She checked her mana, but she was having a hard time gathering mana. "Your mana has dropped to S Rank," Sylvie could not believe it. She could see how Helena''s skin got paler and felt that her mana was dropping rapidly. "Argh," Helena felt a sharp pain in her head as her consciousness slipped away. **************** Asher remembered that when she had checked his memoriesst time, it resulted in Helena bing ill to the point she went into aa. It was the start of a critical point in Asher''s previous life, which turned him into the man he was today. "It seems I have a second person who has surpassed me in the affinity with the ck Element," Helena said with a smile. She had always believed that Asher was quite a talented person. However, she still doubted whether he was truly as powerful as Ivar Greville, the only person she had met that could surpass her affinity in the ck Element. Only one person she thought could surpass her in the ck Element, but seeing that Asher also had a simr talent, she was ted. Despite seeing that Asher had no emotions as a child, she found his talent very interesting. Moreover, he was the firstborn of her daughter, so Helena favored Asher from a young age, and she was very happy for him. But it was her misunderstanding; it was due to his high intelligence that Helena could not check his memories. Intelligence was a stat that increased the strength of his mental barriers, making him less prone to mental attacks. And Asher had enough Intelligence stats to make Helena''s bloodline ability useless. He still hadn''te to terms with increasing his intelligence in such a way, but seeing the effects now, he could deduce that the intelligence stat was not as simple as it sounded. He could feel his thought process had be clearer, but the feeling was different than when he got stats from his bloodline ability. "I was thinking of doing a normal lecture, but now I got this opportunity. Having a special ss with the Rank 1 student doesn''t sound bad, does it?" Helena said, looking at Arman. "Uh?" Arman got confused. "Yeah," Arman replied because he could not stop her from teaching anyone she wanted to. "Don''t worry, it will be an hour session only, and I had already asked for some time to spend with my grandchildren," Helena replied. She had already asked for time to meet Asher and Amelia before returning. "But let''s start by seeing what you specialize in," Helena said, looking at the ss. Not all students could use all the abilities of the ck Element. Helena was sure that Asher had a simr specialty to her: Shadow Movement and Control. Chapter 163 Learning New Spell Shifting her attention from Asher, Helena looked at the whole ss. Of course, she would favor her grandson, but this visit was formal, so she didn''t want to appear too partial. "As you all know, each person with ck Element affinity has a different specialty," Helena said. "But let''s sit down first," Helena snapped her fingers, and various ck-colored chairs appeared for each student to sit down. The students were surprised as they looked at the ck-colored seats. They appeared hard and ufortable, but they didn''t find them ufortable when they sat on them. Arman himself was looking forward to Helena''s lecture as he looked up to her. "Do you know why we call this element by the term ''ck''?" Helena asked. Asher was quiet, but the other students looked confused. Even Lishia found it hard to answer correctly. "Let''s go back to the basics," Helena said as she summoned a ck orb. "Although only Lightning and Space elements are considered advanced elements, I consider ck Element a pseudo-advanced element," she said. "Although we named this element ''ck'' maybe just because of the color associated with most of the abilities derived from this element, that was not the only reason such a vague name was given," Helena said. "As I said before, each person with an affinity for ck Element has a different specialty," Helena said. "As for mine, as you can see, it is control over the shadows, or what we term Darkness," The orb in her hand dissipated. "But that''s not the only specialty in ck Element; movement techniques, inducing emotions in enemies, and what I did earlier was Illusion," Helena said. "Although I can do all of them, you will never go beyond Tier 3 outside of your specialty," she said. "Now,ing back to my question, the term ''ck'' was given due to the nature of all abilities of this element, regardless of your specialty," Helena exined. "As you know, every element has a counter element to it that helps neutralize it," Helena said. "But ck Element is the only element that is not affected by other elements and can be used against them, but the downside to using it is the extreme mana cost and needed control," she exined. Although all elements could be used against the ck Element, the abilities gained through ck Element were independent of other elements. "But despite that, don''t underestimate other elements," Helena said. "I have seen many with advanced elements lose to those with just basic elements," Helena reminded them. After all, it was all about mastery of the element itself. Even a person with Fire Element affinity could beat someone with an advanced element because they could conjure higher-tier spells. "And ck Element is one of those elements that people never reached the realm to create Tier 6 spells," Helena said. Tier 6 spells were equivalent to many special weapon techniques in this world. Even Silvus Grandus, who was given the title of the Archmage, was the only one who could achieve Tier 6, but it was only in the Basic Elements. Helena had only a few Tier 5 spells, which were quite mana-consuming, considering the element she had mastered. "So the first step for learning ck Element is finding your specialty, and it can only be done by trying out various spells," Helena said. "So I think you will be able to find your specialty after learning more about spell weaving and ck Element after a few months," she said, and this was the only way to find your specialty. Helena looked at Arman, who nodded at her. "This will be your first assignment. Find the books in the Great Library and try to learn all the Tier 1 spells on your own, and if you cannot find your specialty, I will help you in the next ss," Arman said. Helena started showing various Tier 2 or 3 spells, nothing too much that could harm the students. After that, it was a long 2-hour lecture where the students listened to Helena, who talked about various theories that helped them as mages. "This is all for today. I hope you all can find something meaningful in this session," Helena said. The students thanked Helena for the session; meeting and learning from her was an excellent opportunity. "You can stay behind for now," Helena said to Asher. Asher looked at Arman, who clicked on his phone and confirmed Helena''s schedule here. "I will wait outside the arena," Arman said as he looked at Helena. He knew that Helena would have wanted to teach Asher something, so he didn''t want to stop her. Farnus, watching their interactions, didn''t interfere because he could not tell Helena not to teach Asher about the ck element. The World Academy was there only to teach the students, not restrict them. "First, let''s cut off the eyes on us," Helena snapped her fingers as a ck barrier formed around them. Asher could easily see through the barrier, but from an outside perspective, someone couldn''t hear or see them unless they broke it. "Why are you trying to be a mage?" Helena asked, knowing that Asher was brilliant at swordsmanship. She had seen his recorded footage of the Representative Tournament, so she could see how talented Asher was in swordsmanship. "I am just trying it out," Asher replied as Helena stared at him. At first, she wanted to tell Asher to change his course back to Swords Art, but due to her misunderstanding, she thought Asher''s talent in ck magic was higher than hers. "It''s a pity that you were born a swordsman just like Ivar, or you might have surpassed me," she said. "But let''s not focus on what we can''t control. You know about the Great Library, right?" Helena asked. "Yes," Asher replied. "You will find many books, and knowing that you are Rank 1, you can ess all those books. I will teach you the spells you can practice now, but try to learn from them." Unfortunately, Helena''s schedule was too busy to teach Asher personally about every single spell she mastered. Learning from books was a significant part of a Mage''s life, and she wanted Asher to experience it himself. Listening to Helena, Asher didn''t tell her that his body could be a mage. "You probably have the same specialty as me, so try to learn the Tier 2 spell, [Shadow Control], for now," Helena said. Helena raised her hands as ck shackles erupted from the ground. "You have reached D Rank, so this spell will be perfect for you," Helena told him. Asher looked around him and could feel Helena''s perfect control over her spells. "Give me your hand," Helena said as Asher took his right hand. "This spell is something I created, and it will help you learn from spells and even create ones in the future," Helena said. "I will weave the spells on your palm; try remembering this feeling," Helena red her mana slightly. Asher could feel theplex lines Helena''s mana was drawing. His mind started toprehend Helena''s spell. He followed each step Helena did with his mana, replicating the spell. "Remember to control your mana so that the spell doesn''t break," Helena was slow in her demonstration. She estimated that it would take Asher at least days, even with his talent, to fully master this spell and hours to learn how to do it. "I will give all the possible variations I have made for this spell," Helena said as she started disying various spell structures she had created herself. In 40 minutes, she had shown more than 58 variations of the same spell and how she used them to improve her control. She removed her hand as she looked at Asher, who stood still, trying to move his mana in that order. [ Host has learned Shadow Control Rank D ] It was easier for Asher to follow through Helena''splex spell due to his high intelligence stat. Asher opened his eyes as he looked at the power behind this Tier 2 spell,parable to many Tier 3 spells. "Should I demonstrate the spell one more time?" Helena asked. "No, it''s fine," Asher replied. Although Helena doubted Asher could learn this quickly, she had all the time in the future to teach Asher if he failed now. She had even made ns to train, especially when the First Year Vacations woulde. Helena didn''t teach him much right now because she was still skeptical whether Asher would continue learning as a mage. "I will go talk with the principal for a bit. Tell Amelia I will meet her before returning," Helena said as she removed the barrier. Chapter 164 Talk With The Principal Helena went outside as she saw Arman, who was standing with Zemil. "Lady Helena, the Principal has invited you for tea," Arman politely said, and Helena nodded. All of them disappeared from their spots instantly, and she appeared right outside the Faculty Block. Zemil was being extra careful because they were in the inner sector. He and all of his team were focused on making sure no students came near Helena''s vicinity, especially the ones from the Elite families. "We will take the special route," Arman said, looking at Zemil, who nodded back at him. Arman guided Helena to the special entry reserved for only some people whom Farnus allowed. It was a direct entry to the topmost floor of the Faculty Building, which was dedicated for Farnus himself. "I will go back from here," Arman said as he opened the special lift covered with security runes. Helena stepped inside, and she went up to the topmost floor. The lift opened, revealing Demarcus, sitting with Farnus, waiting for Helena. "Wee, Lady Helena," Farnus stood up to greet Helena. Despite being the strongest human in the world, Farnus knew how much power Helena held. Everyone in the Elite family knew about the amount of information the Raven Family possessed. Most of the Raven Family descendants had been adept in the ck Element, so this work had be their legacy. But the Raven Family had always remained neutral, so no Elite family wanted their existence to be gone. However, it was after Helena took over as the Family Head and changed the neutrality as she allowed Sylvie''s marriage to Arthur. There was a lot of bacsh, but nobody acted because it was toote. ck Element was considered one of the hardest to master, but Helena had reached the realm between SS and SSS Rank due to her sheer mastery of this element. What the Raven familycked was the existence of an SSS Rank Hunter, but Helena was able to fill that spot partially. However, it was apparent that many people hated the alliance of the Greville and Raven families. "I am happy you agreed to give this special lecture," Farnus said. Helena sat on the couch and picked up the tea before her. "It was not much; I was rather free today, so the stars aligned perfectly," she replied as she stirred the tea. "So, how are my grandchildren doing in the Academy?" she asked. "Well, Asher Greville''s talent has shocked many," Farnus said as he picked up the tea. "What do you think about that, Vice Principal Xander?" Farnus asked. "I think his talent surpasses Ivar''s by a lot, but he is different from Ivar," Xander replied honestly. "Well, I think Ivar''s humble nature was his only w," Farnus said while Helena listened. For them, Ivar was the only person in the Greville family who behaved differently from all of them. And his nature was what led to his demise, but nobody could deny that his talent surpassed everyone present. "Well, there are Ivar''s kids as well," Helena said. Farnus was observing Helena''s words. "I still don''t think they can surpass Asher''s talents," Xander replied. He had never seen anybody like Asher. It was obvious that he didn''t know that apart from his immense talent, Asher already had the knowledge that others his agecked. "It''s a pity that he is not into spear arts," Farnus spoke. Helena looked at Farnus. "Are you still looking for your sessor?" Helena asked, and by the look on her face, it didn''t seem like she knew anything regarding Farnus Calmort''s secret. "I am getting old, so it''s time to think of the future," Farnusughed a bit. "I heard you were interested in Kevin Whiteheart?" Helena asked as she wanted to know more about Farnus''s next move. "Well, he is still in consideration, but I will not give up my mantle this easily," Farnusughed. "If those kids want my legacy, they would need to prove that they are worth it," he said, but his senses focused on Helena''s reaction. ''Does she really not know about it?'' Farnus started to doubt his conclusions. But apart from Helena, he didn''t know how this information would get leaked. "Well, I have an interesting suggestion," Helena said as she put down her tea. "I know that there are Dungeon Rank restrictions on First Year students," Helena said. "Why not remove it for Asher and make it simr to the Second Year students?" she suggested. "It''s a waste for him to be a D Rank Hunter and hunt in, at most, D Rank Dungeons," she said. "Many of the students have reached E Rank, and they will soon reach D Rank too," From her words, it seemed that Asher had kept his word about the C Rank dungeon to himself, or she would not have been talking like that. "I think he should practice against D Rank monsters," she said. "I will think about it," Farnus neither agreed nor denied Helena''s request. Their talk went on for a few more minutes, and most of their discussion was about the next High Council Meeting that happened every two years. It was scheduled to ur after the end-term tournament of the World Academy. ****** Asher, who went to the Ranker''s Dorm, texted Amelia about Helena''s visit. After that, he would no longer meet Helena anytime soon because being around her was too risky. This time, Helena was too focused on Asher''s talent that she didn''t notice the personality changes he was trying to suppress. But he wanted to avoid such meetings after interacting with Nathan, who found out something was weird when he saw Asher. He entered his training room and looked at the new spell he had gained. [Shadow Control] | Rank D - Control the darkness to shape it into desired shapes | It was still Rank D, and from Asher''s understanding of the ck Element, it would take some time to increase its rank to make something out of it. "Shadow Control," Asher muttered as his shadow stretched. A rope-like structure started forming from his shadow. Asher could feel that the mana consumption was high, but it was manageable due to the Mana Flow skill. Asher focused on controlling the rope as it shifted from side to side. It was a great skill for D Rank Monsters, but against someone above that, it would be hard to bind someone or hurt them with this skill. So it was still not good enough, but he could see the potential in the spell, which could be honed even further. Asher received a notification. He touched his ID Bracelet to see what it was. Asher looked at the notification, which worked in his favor, as he wanted to leave early next week. However, he had an idea that the ss would be dyed. Not many people taught Space Element, and even in the World Academy, only a theory about it was discussed. ********** Helena was waiting for Amelia, who appeared together with Damian. She was sitting in a cafe in the Outer Sector. Although Xander offered her to sit on one of the topmost floors of the Faculty Council, she refused. "Grandma!!" Amelia said as she entered. Helena smiled while Damian waited outside, as he always avoided Helena. It was due to the small prank that Helena tried to do on him that made him avoid Helena. ''My thoughts will remain with me,'' Damian would not take any chances by letting Helena read his memories. It was due to the joke that Amelia made once in the past when Helena was present. "Grandma, why don''t you check if he really thinks of me as a friend," Amelia asked Helena. "Should I?" Helena smiled, looking at Damian. "Nooooo!!" Damian shouted as he ran out of the room. It was a funny scene for the adults in the room, but Amelia didn''t like it, and she ran after him to drag him back to her grandmother. But Damian went directly to Asher''s room to hide, so she couldn''t find Damian. Amelia had even forgotten the incident, as it was a few years ago. However, Damian still remembered, so he stood outside and waited for them to finish their conversation. Farnus, who was still observing Helena, was in doubt about the person behind Asher. ''Who is behind him?'' He questioned himself again. Talking with Helena made it clear that she didn''t know about it. But, knowing Helena Raven''s personality, she would have taken this chance to increase her influence through Farnus. But Farnus could never guess about Asher''s regression. It was simply unfathomable for him. Because the one who gave the information to Asher was none other than the person Farnus had given his armor. And that person was meeting with Leonard Tarvian right now. Chapter 165 Deal Or No Deal Kevin was walking towards a particr building in the Third Year area. He stopped as he looked at the massive building and entered it. "You came here to meet Leon, right?" A third-year student asked, and Kevin nodded at him. "You can use the entrance from there," He pointed at the hallway. It was probably soon after the duel ss in which Asher beat him that Leonard contacted him with an offer to meet him. ''This feels wrong,'' He thought while walking in the hallway. He knew that Leonard opposed Raelyn, so he didn''t want to appear friendly with him, but part of him still wanted to hear him out. Leonard had only messaged him once, which was about both of them not liking Asher. He offered Kevin to chat with him when the area restrictions were removed and the First Years were allowed to interact with each other. Kevin opened the door and saw Leonard, who was ying with a crystal-like thing in his hand, sitting on a couch. "Oh, wee to Blood Faction. Why not sit down here," Leonard offered. Kevin sat on the couch. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Kevin asked. "Well, slow down, my friend," Leonard chuckled a bit. "We are not exactly friends," Kevin reminded him. "Are you talking about me being against your sister?" Leonard asked with a curious look on his face. "Don''t worry too much about it," Leonard said. "What do you mean by that?" Kevin frowned. "Rx, this is just an academy. I am doing all this because I was just bored," Leonard said as he stared at the crystal in his hand. "Bored?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, I just felt like the existence of the Student Council was too strict, so I wanted to stir things up as only two years are left, and we all will leave World Academy anyway," Leonard said. Kevin listened to him, and his impression of Leonard had been positive so far. ''Maybe I was wrong about him,'' A doubt appeared in his mind. "And you know your sister''s fianc¨¦ is my best friend, so I know my limits. And wanting trouble from Reece is thest thing I will do," Leonard joked around. In a matter of seconds, Leonard had changed the vibes between him and Kevin, appearing like a typical third year in his mind. "But still, why did you want to meet me?" Kevin asked, but his tone had changed a bit. "It''s about Asher Greville," Leonard said as his face turned serious. "I will be honest with you; being the son of the World Association Chairman, I have a strong sense of justice, and the Grevilles are one of the few families that I dislike," Leonard spoke. "Why them?" Kevin asked as he wanted to appear neutral right now. He was not with his friends, so he didn''t want to sound like he was against the Greville family. It was one thing he didn''t get along with Asher, but he had already received his lecture from his father when the Party Incident reached the ear of the Whiteheart Family''s Head. "Is it even a question? Look at their history; it''s not too hard to judge how they have maintained their spot in the High Council," Leonard said. "And looking at the current heir, do you really think it would get any better?" Leonard asked. Kevin squinted as he did not realize what Leonard wanted to say. But he agreed that Asher was not a good choice as a Heir candidate. "I will not ask you to join the Blood Faction, but after graduating, Reece and I will start a newpany," Leonard spoke. "Why don''t you join us?" He said. Kevin was surprised that Leonard openly invited him and Reece to join him. Although he would not join Leonard, seeing that his sister''s fianc¨¦ was also present made it worth thinking about. "But why me? You could have asked any other people from the Elite families," Kevin asked. Leonard smirked internally, but his face didn''t show it. "You were the only one who stood against that guy; it shows that you are brave enough to stand against people like that," Leonard said. "Most people in Blood Faction would not go against him, and the reason is the amount of power the Greville family has right now," Leonard exined. "I heard about the Party Incident that happened. Do you think any other family would have treated you guys like that?" Leonard sighed. Remembering the incident, Kevin got a bit angry but controlled himself. "I will give you enough time to think about it, but tell me your response before graduation," Leonard said. Leonard talked a bit more with Kevin and made himfortable around him. "I will think about this deal," Kevin stood up but didn''t give a clear answer. ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom But this much was enough for Leonard, who watched Kevin leave his room. As soon as Kevin left, a smirk appeared on Leonard''s face. "It seems that the Whiteheart family didn''t put much effort into teaching him enough about this stuff," Leonard thought of his conversation with Kevin. "I was wondering if it would be too hard to use Elena Rothschild through him," Leonardughed. He wondered how to use Rothschild against the Greville, as James Rothschild was a very crafty individual who would not move unless he was sure he would win. "But every man has a weakness," Leonard muttered. Despite his crafty nature, his unconditional love for Elena Rothschild, his daughter, was pretty straightforward. And Leonard knew that Elena was a good friend of Kevin. Even if Kevin didn''t agree to his ns and refused outright, he had other ways to make sure Elena Rothschild went against Asher Greville, but using Kevin was still a better option for him. *Ring* Leonard''s face turned serious as he picked up his phone, and a hologram appeared. Then, Leonard saw the familiar face in the hologram. "Hello, Father," Leonard greeted the man. It was Osbert Tarvian, the Chairman of the World Association. "Is everything going on smoothly inside World Academy?" Osbert asked as he looked directly at Leonard. "I encountered a problem with Asher Greville, but I will deal with him soon enough," Leonard replied. "Good, don''t rush into things. I expect a lot from you. The project will go into its final phases soon," Osbert reminded him. "Use Allister and Neville properly; even if you go a bit overboard, I will handle things from my side," Osbert said. "Let''s wait a bit, but I wanted to get some information about his movements," Leonard asked. "Not right now; that stupid bastard attacked him, and now Greville and Raven are on high alert. Let things cool down a bit," Osbert replied. "The Auction will happen soon, and you will attend on my behalf," Osbert reminded him about a particr Auction. "Gather as many artifacts as you can; I heard that a few rare ones have been found but are still being analyzed by the experts from the Artisans'' Association," He said. "When will it happen?" Leonard asked. "In a few months, you will receive the dates soon," Osbert said. The dates for this special G were still not out. It was an event that required confirmation from all VIP guests, as it was a huge gathering of elite families and those rted to the High Council. Many other influential families were also invited. However, most families attended because it was the most significant auction every three years, where the rarest artifacts would be presented. "I will warn you again; don''t let that Old Fox have his attention on you," Osbert said as he soon disconnected the call. "You worry too much, Father," Leonard said as he yed with the crystal again. "Soon, you will be under my feet," Leonard said as he remembered Asher''s face. ************** Two dayster, Asher was heading to the Runic Theory ss, thest ss he would attend before he left the World Academy for a week. Helena had already returned the day she arrived, and the news about her arrival surprised most students. The most jealous ones were the senior-year students studying ck Element. Asher entered the ssroom, which had very few students, and most of them were shocked to see him join this ss. Most of the kids from influential families avoided this ss as it didn''t help them much with theirbat abilities. "Why is he here?" A student whispered to his friend. "Shush, let''s stay away from him," his friend stopped him. Although they were far from the seat Asher had chosen, they still didn''t want to take the chance and create trouble with the most infamous first-year student of World Academy. Chapter 166 History Of Runes - I Asher sat down, looking at his wide desk filled with unique papers used for practicing runes. Even in his previous life, he hadn''t joined a Runic Theory ss. Instead, it was his connection with Professor Neyman, who taught Runic Theory and took an interest in his sword, that introduced him to runes. It was Neyman himself who discovered the Finger Ring Armor, which was the key to unlocking the seals on his sword. But this time, Asher wanted to unlock his sword himself. He was sure he could unlock the sword''s seals if he learned about Runes Theory. After a few seconds, an old man with a long beard entered the room. "Hoh, it seems there are a bit more people thanst year," Neyman said aloud. The students in the ss felt awkward and started rethinking their decisions about joining this ss. If even the professor knew how boring this subject was, how would they handle it? Although everyone was allowed to take any number of subjects, most preferred not to go above 6-7 each year. Most students would rather spend their time learning about one subject rather than juggling multiple. "Well, who do we have here?" Neyman smiled as he looked at Asher. "It''s been years since anyone from the elite families attended my ss," Neyman joked as he sat down. Despite teaching for years, Neyman had a very carefree outlook on his knowledge, which was one of the reasons he was not liked in the Artisan''s Association, full of people who loved and respected their craft. But despite his views, Neyman''s talent in Runic Theory wasparable to the best in this world. Although, against the SSS Rank Hunter, who was the Chairman of the Artisan''s Association, his talent paled inparison. "Well, I will be honest with you. Runic Theory is a considerably hard subject with very limited uses," Neyman began. "And even then, if you don''t have the knack for it, you will most likely fail at it," he said. "So, take your time in this first month to decide whether or not you want to continue," Neyman looked at every student present in the ssroom. Although Neyman appeared carefree in nature, he only taught those who truly wanted to learn, and his behavior remained the same for all students, regardless of their status. Professors like him were almost nonexistent at World Academy. "For today''s ss, let''s not delve too deep but rather study the history of Rune Art," Neyman said. "Knowledge about runes was not always present in the world. And before that time, nobody could even guess what the artifacts were capable of," Neyman exined. "Makes me wonder if people identally died because they didn''t know what the artifact could do," Neyman mumbled to himself. "Ah, sorry, it''s my bad habit," Neymanughed it off, but the students were now seriously rethinking their decisions to join this ss. "It might not be correct and urate, but I will tell you, guys, what I believe happened," "The story starts hundreds of years ago and is rted to the making of the High Council and the Trials Ground," Neyman began, telling the story. "The current society, maintained by rules andws, was not present in history. Back then, only the strong ruled over the people, and human casualties were quite high," Neyman said. "The tale started with the birth of a certain man with amethyst-colored eyes. Despite his massive contribution to society, not much is known about him." "His name is recorded as Raziel Kyrios, and he is known as the Creator of Rune Art." The entire ss silently listened to Neyman''s story. "Before his birth, nobody even knew how to read runes." "It was said that even in the era where the strong ruled, he rose up with immense talent and reached the realm of SSS Rank." "It was not hard to guess what he did from there." "Raziel opposed the rules of that era and created the High Council. Many people at that time tried to oppose him, but in the end, they couldn''t do anything against him." "It was said that he was the one who dictated that 15 people should be given rights to govern the world and the rules they made should be followed by others." "The rules were made so that each human was considered important, and even those who were not as talented as others could live their lives peacefully." "He even proposed that the number should increase when those worthy to be in the Council appeared, but until today, only 21 seats are present in the High Council from the initial 15." "The concept of Elite Families started from that time, but Raziel himself was never part of the High Council. And it was said that Raziel never had any descendants that shared his blood, and this is the reason there is no one with the surname Kyrios in the world," "After the creation of the High Council, many people at that time got interested in Raziel''s knowledge, and after many discussions, he decided to teach the people at that time about Rune Arts, and that was the beginning of what we will learn today," p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® "ording to many records, many people at that time said that Raziel had reached a realm that we considered the peak of SSS Rank." "But even then, his powers remained a mystery to the world. His magic, which involved runes, had no counter at that time." Neyman "Even till today, there are theories that say Raziel had managed to turn Rune Arts into something that was simr to elements, but it is just a myth." "For several years, we have tried to do something simr, but at the end of the day, we reached a conclusion that runes only work with elements and are not an element in itself," Neyman denied the Theory. Runes were used to create artificial artifacts and many other technologies, but their primary use was to bring and hold other elements in one ce and use those elements to do something. This was why the Theory about runes being an element was demolished. Asher knew about the records of the past because they were present with most of the Elite families or families that have existed for a long time. They were still being kept as a legacy of sorts, but he had rarely heard the name Raziel mentioned in those records. Although his name was associated with the creation of rune arts, the High Council, and a certain ce, apart from them, anything else about him was missing. Most people even thought that Raziel was not a person but a group of people who came together but didn''t want their real identities to be exposed. "Well, the story has many different versions, but there were three facts that remained the same in all of them," Neyman said. "First, he was the one who taught people about the Rune Arts," "Second, he was the one who created the High Council in that era, and even today, there are proofs inside the castle where the High Council meetings were held," "Apart from all the seats, there is an empty seat that is carved with stone in the castle, and it is said that it was made for Raziel if he ever wanted to join the High Council," "And third and the most important one. The only reason that his name has not faded in the passage of time," Neyman said, "He was the one who created the most coveted ce in the world and the reason all elite families send their children to World Academy," "Raziel was known as the creator of Trial''s Ground," Neyman''s words confused some students. All of them vaguely knew about the Trial''s Ground as it was the reason that World Academy was created, but they couldn''t fathom the thought of a human making a ce like that. Chapter 167 History Of Runes - II "Raziel was known as the creator of Trial''s Ground," Neyman''s words confused some students. "It is said that after the creation of the High Council, Raziel started working on creating the ce that became the most desired thing in the world many yearster," he exined. "He disappeared, saying that he wanted to create something special. Although people tried to follow him, all of them were rejected." "But after Raziel''s disappearance, people searched for him for years," "Many believed that Raziel perished as there was no news about him for years," "But their doubts turned into reality when they found the Trial''s Ground," "His creation first attracted the then High Council, who discovered the existence of the Trial''s Ground," Neyman said. "As you know, there are only a few floating inds that have existed throughout the history of mankind since the first dungeon breakout happened," "It is believed that those pieces ofnd float because they were exposed to the Space Element of the highest tier during the first SSS Rank Dungeon Breakouts that almost caused mankind''s extinction," Neyman spoke. "And the famous Castle where the High Council was situated was one such ind," "There was a simr ind above the skies of Somaria, and it was thest ce where Raziel was spotted around," "Those people then started searching that particr floating ind and found what we now call the Trial''s Ground." "And that floating ind is the same one we are on currently," Neyman spoke. "And this is the ce where they found what is known as the Epitome of Runic Creation," Neyman tapped on his wrist, and the picture of a temple-looking building appeared on arge hologram behind him. "Trial''s Ground, the only ce where a person could improve their innate talent," Neyman described. "But some call it the Eternal Maze of Illusions," a smile appeared on Neyman''s face. "Only people below the age of 20 could enter it, and those who did, suffered through unique trials that were made of illusions," Neyman said. "Although we still don''t know how but every single person who entered the Trial''s Ground gained a better understanding of their own skills," "It was almost like their innate talent itself had increased. Some mages found motivations to create spells, and some even created unique sword arts," Neyman said. The eyes of all the students lit up when they heard that their talent could increase further. This was the only reason everyone wanted to enter World Academy. And why every single person from an elite family attended the World Academy. Suddenly a student raised his hand. "Yes," Neyman said. "Professor, why don''t we study the runes used to create it?" he asked. It was a genuine doubt. But, if Trial''s Ground was such a coveted ce, why had no one tried to study the runes used to create it? "It''s not that we didn''t try, but we simply couldn''t," Neyman replied. "It is a creation made by runes that even we, to this day, cannot decipher at all," "If we could study those runes, do you think the Artisan''s Association would have left such a ce alone?" Neymanughed. If learning about runes from the Trial''s Ground was possible, then those people at the Artisan''s Association would have shed blood just to monopolize it. "Whoever even tried to do it couldn''t even understand the runes visible on the entrance of the Trial''s Ground, let alone the ones inside it," Neyman said. "But why?" the student asked. "The answer is very simple: the runes Raziel, who we assume created the ce, used the same runes that dungeons had," Neyman replied. "Even to this day, Runemasters can only decipher the intent behind the runes but not their workings," Neyman said. "And we created the current society based on that very Rune Arts. Look around the World Academy, for example. You will find all kinds of runes being used to make sure everything runs smoothly," he said. "But the ones on Trial''s Ground were even moreplex. Not only could the runes on the entrance not be deciphered no matter who tried, but the ones inside were not even visible," he exined. "The moment you enter Trial''s Ground, you are thrown towards various trials that judge you," "Nobody knew why Raziel created such a ce and even more so how he was able to create it," "Everyone who entered it never saw a single rune inside, and most Runemasters believed that Raziel used his special knowledge about runes that he didn''t share with the world to hide those runes from sight," Neyman said. "This is the reason why, despite being the creator of Rune Arts, Raziel was never once praised by people who study Rune Arts," "Call it ungrateful, but those who truly learned this beautiful subject were deeply hurt when they realized that Raziel never shared the True Rune Arts with others," Although Neyman didn''t have such strong hate towards Raziel, it was not the same for others. Even Asher thought this was why Raziel''s name was ultimately removed from the records of the past. "But many still are grateful that he at least showed the basics of Rune Arts, which had evolved quite a bit during those hundreds of years," Neyman said. "Although many still im that Trial''s Ground was not something built by Raziel but was a natural urrence just like a dungeon," Neyman spoke. There were various theories that people came up with regarding Raziel, but nobody knew the correct answer. No proof clearly said that Raziel created the Trial''s Ground, but knowing him and his greatness, people in the High Council named him as the creator of this mystical ce. "Well, you will know more about the Trial''s Ground when the timees. Let''s start with the ss," Neyman stopped his story. He could speak on this topic for days, but he still needed to teach them for now. ''Ah, I wanted to know more,'' many students had such thoughts. Going from a story about a mysterious person they didn''t know much about to the Rune Arts was a letdown for them. But Asher was waiting for the ss to start. He knew that Rune Arts was something only those with a talent for it could learn. And the most essential part of that talent was yourprehension rate, and Asher was confident about it. "Let''s start with the very basics of the Rune Arts," Neyman spoke as he stood up. "Don''t think of Rune Arts as aplex thing that we learn to create and identify artifacts or whatnot," Neyman said. Many students tried to think that Rune Arts was a veryplex thing, which skewed their thinking. "Treat it as a beautifulnguage that helps you create and enhance other things," Neyman said. "We will learn the basic symbols for today," he said as a series of weird symbols popped up on his screen. ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom "The symbols you see in the first four rows represent the four basic elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and they are the easiest ones you can use with runes," Neyman said. Asher looked at the runes as he memorized the various runes'' shapes. "All of you have special paper in front of you; try to write these runes perfectly with the special pen beside you," Neyman instructed. "But be careful. You will need to use your mana to create runes and try to infuse your intent together with your mana," Neyman said. "Infusing your intent is the very first step you need to master if you want to be somewhat decent at Rune Arts," Neyman reminded them yet again how different rune arts were from spells. Unlike spell weaving, Rune Arts had no shortcuts or ways to simplify them. The moreplex thing you wanted to do, the moreplex the runes got. And even before that, imprinting your intent on mana was much different than imagining and constructing a spell. A Runemaster thought like a mage but used his intent like a swordsman, resulting in pure Runemasters being weaker than both. Runes were not made forbat purposes, so most Runemasters first focused on either the path of a mage or weapon user and then incorporated their knowledge into their creations with the help of runes. Even the Artisan''s Association''s Chairman was not a pure Runemaster; instead, he was one of the strongest weapon users in the world. Neyman signaled all of his students to start. Asher picked up his paper as he looked at the special quill Neyman had provided them. Imprinting his intent on his mana was one of the easiest things for Asher to do. His body might not be as strong as his previous one, but his mana control was simr to or even better than before. ''Let''s start,'' Asher said to himself as he picked up the special quill to draw those runes. Chapter 168 Class Over Asher drew the symbol that represented the Fire Element on the paper. He used the special quill and poured his mana as ink with a clear intent behind it. The symbols didn''t work without mana and intent. If even one of them was absent, the runes became an ordinary design with no purpose. The Runes Neyman had given his ss were the most basic ones, used to call an element or use the runes as the medium to utilize the element itself. Asher moved the quill around the paper, which could bear his mana without tearing it apart. It was a special paper used to write runes on. The other students struggled to draw the symbols perfectly, as even one wrong stroke would mess up the rune. "Remember, if you mess up your runes, depending on the element, you might have a small st happen in front of your face," Neyman casually spoke. His words pressured the students even more, as no one wanted the piece of paper to explode in their faces. "Once you have written your rune and your intent was clear, the runes will finally appear on the paper," Neyman said. "And if the final appearance is the same as the one shown here, it means you were correct in your approach," he exined. Asher moved the quill around as he made the first symbol. Knowing the rune was for the Fire Element, Asher''s intent was clear. ''me'' this was the word that was written on the hologram behind Neyman. Asher mixed the intent of a me into his rune as he finished it, and an orange rune appeared on the paper. "Your sessful result will appear in a color of orange," Neyman spoke. "These colors in runes ur due to the presence of the elements. Although there are times when these colors get mixed with each other due to theplexity of the runes," Neyman''s exnation cleared some doubts for those who wanted to know the reason behind this. "We have a sessful result here," Neyman said as he looked at Asher''s rune. "I am surprised you perfectly performed this rune on your first try," Neyman said as the students turned to look at Asher. "Now, let''s use this rune," Neyman wasn''t going to do it today, but seeing a sessful try on the first day, he saw no reason not to do it. "There are two ways to use the runes. First, by using your own words, and second, is using Runes to make it an independent working rune," Neyman said. "Independent Runes is something you will learn in the future, so we will only do Vocal Runes for now," Neyman said. "The intent of the Rune was made by the word, ''me.'' So use the same word to create the me," Neyman said to Asher. Asher took the paper and ced it on another desk beside him. "me," Asher said as he looked at the paper. Suddenly a small me appeared on top of the paper. "As you know, despite stacking multiple runes, the direct effect of the Runes is not suited towardsbat," Neyman said, and most students understood. A fireball was more powerful than the me they saw just now, but Runes didn''t require mana after their creation. Those with low mana often tried their hands in Rune Arts, as it was one of the few subjects where arge amount of mana was unnecessary. "This is your assignment for today: memorize these symbols and try to make sessful runes," Neyman said. "Don''t worry if you fail because you will learn what not to do each time you fail. And if you find this is not for you, you can inform my Assistant that you want to change to new sses," Neyman said. Although most of the students were thinking of leaving this ss, they wanted to at least try it. But still, some students could never learn this, no matter what, and Neyman allowed them to change their sses earlier than they usually could. "And seeing that you are done with your first rune, why not try the rest of the runes," Neyman pointed at the three runes. "Okay," Asher replied and picked up another sheet of paper. [ Runic Mastery Unlocked: Fundamental ] A system notification popped up as Asher started working on a few other runes. He had grasped the fundamentals of the Rune Arts but was still far from perfecting it. His motives for learning Rune Arts were obvious. He just wanted to learn until he could try and unlock the seals on his sword now that he had finally gained fundamental mastery. Asher sessfully created all four runes, surprising Neyman, who praised him. p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® "Well, that''s enough for today. I would rmend certain books you can read that can help you improve even further," Neyman concluded his ss. Asher stood up first, as he needed to leave. ''I knew this boy was talented,'' Neyman told himself as he saw all the students exit the ss. ********* After 2 hours, Asher was inside the Faculty Block and met Professor Elsa, who was in charge of his ss. This time it was not an official vacation, so he needed to get confirmation from Elsa first to leave the World Academy. Asher used his Year Representative Ring to gain ess to Elsa''s Floor. Elsa was currently sitting in her office and reading the reports she had created for all the students. "It''s a pity that he is a swordsman," Elsa said to herself. She had never seen a first-year be this good at reconstructing a spell into something else without changing the original foundation of the spell itself. Knock Knock Elsa looked up as she saw her Assistante into the room. "What happened?" Elsa asked as she put down her reports. "Professor, Asher Greville wanted to meet with you," her Assistant informed her. "Let him in," Elsa said as she removed the reports from her table. ''What happened this time?'' Elsa said to herself. From the moment Asher had joined the World Academy, all sorts of things were happening. This year was the most chaotic one Elsa had witnessed in all her teaching experience at World Academy. Asher entered the room and looked at Elsa, who was looking at him. "So what does our Rank 1 want?" Elsa asked. "I wanted to apply for a week''s leave," Asher said, but it made Elsa frown. "This early?" Elsa asked. "Am I not allowed?" Asher questioned her. "No, you are allowed, but you might miss some of the sses," Elsa reminded him. "I know," Asher replied. "Well, you can avail up to 10 days each month, but you should try and return by the end of the week," Elsa told him. "But these 10 days are only given to you because you were Rank 1 in all three criteria, and it is something that the Principal himself had allowed to happen," Elsa told Asher, who already knew about it. Helena had told him she had talked with Farnus regarding allowing him to take on a simr difficulty as the Second-Year students, so he could guess why Farnus would allow him some extra days. However, instead of allowing him topete with Second Year, Farnuspromised and gave him additional days if Asher needed to learn from Helena. "Okay," Asher confirmed. Elsa took out her ID Bracelet as she opened the Student List and allowed Asher to leave the World Academy. "I will remind you again that it is better if you focus on World Academy," Elsa gave onest piece of advice as Asher left. Asher just nodded and left the room. Exiting her room, Asher''s eyes turned cold as he touched his ID Bracelet. He sent the confirmation message to Tom to get Dane and Kai ready for their first mission, which he would take part in. He had gotten what he wanted from the auction, and that was his sword, so he could finally go on with his ns. Without knowing, Farnus had given more time to Asher instead of allowing him topete with Second-Year students. It was his way of slowing Asher''s growth while allowing Kevin to have a chance to grow and catch up to him. None of Farnus''s oaths were broken, as it was an extra favor. Unfortunately, it would have been much better for Farnus if he had allowed Asher to grow stronger instead of letting him run free outside the World Academy. Chapter 169 We Are Going To Do What? Hours before Asher met Elsa to take a leave from the World Academy, Tom was waiting for Dane and Kai to arrive to discuss their first mission with both of them. "What do you think he did to get tied up like that?" Dane spoke,ing inside the room. "Shut up, Dane," Kai said, ignoring him. Tom turned around, sitting on his chair. "Does he even sleep?" Dane whispered to Kai, pointing at Tom. Kai looked at Dane with a weird expression on his face. He couldn''t believe that Dane had forgotten Tom was the very guy they were going to kill. It wouldn''t be hard to think that Tom was traumatized from his previous experience at the hotel and had trouble sleeping. Tom stretched his hands as his tired eyes looked at Dane and Kai. It was not that he had trouble sleeping, but he simply couldn''t sleep as his work didn''t allow him much rest. He had to keep track of multiple things, as Asher didn''t want a variable to arise and ruin his nning. "So, what''s the mission?" Dane asked as he looked at Tom. "A simple heist," Tom replied. "Heist?" Kai found it odd that they were being told to go do a robbery when it was the very thing that got them caught in this situation. And what confused him even further was why someone so rich as Asher, the heir of the Greville family, would want to rob something. "I know, I know, that you guys aren''t too good at robbery, but the Boss will go with you guys," Tom said. "He will?" Kai questioned as he ignored Tom''s previous remark. Asher was a D Rank Hunter, and despite him being so talented, Kai didn''t understand why he would want toe with them. Kai was sure he and Dane could escape most situations if multiple S Rank or higher ranks were not involved. "Yeah, I''m not sure when, but he will return from the World Academy," Tom said. "So, what is the thing we need to rob?" Dane asked without thinking much about it. Unlike Kai, he didn''t think much about why Asher wanted to do this. He only wanted to know where they needed to go. Likewise, unlike Kai''s cautious nature, Dane was more careless but meshed well together. And this was one of the reasons Kai always stayed with Dane, no matter what they went through. Kai knew that sometimes Dane''s simple thinking was the thing that helped them get out of many crises. Tom looked a bit troubled about how to tell them because he thought that this mission was absurd. "Boss wants to rob an artifact that will appear at the Kalvas G''s Auction," Tom said as he looked at both Dane and Kai''s eyes, going wide with shock. "What the hell?" Kai almost shouted, but he controlled his tone. "Wait a minute." Dane raised his hands and took a deep breath. "So, Boss wants to rob an artifact?" Dane asked, and Tom nodded. "And that artifact is the one that will be sold at the Kalvas G?" Dane asked again, and Tom nodded again. "Sigh, if you wanted to kill us, why make it soplicated," Dane spoke as he looked at the building, but a sudden realization hit him. "Wait, did you say Boss is alsoing on this mission?" Dane spoke as he looked at Tom. "Yeah," Tom replied. He didn''t think that Dane and Kai''s reactions were over the top because he reacted simrly when Asher told him to keep track of when a particr artifact would be transported. "Don''t worry too much about it," Tom said. "Tell me this is a joke, right?" Dane asked, but seeing Tom''s face, he realized he was not joking. Kalvas G was the gathering of every family from the High Council and a few others who were influential enough to participate. It only happened once every three years and was one of the biggest events in high society. Not only was it the ce where elite families gathered, but the world''s biggest auction also happened at Kalvas G. "But even S Rank Hunters wouldn''t be enough to steal from them. So what will two A Rank and a single D Rank Hunter do against them?" Kai asked. In his mind, stealing the artifact that would be delivered for Kalvas G''s Auction was impossible. At that auction, every elite family attended, and many SS Rank Artifacts were sold. Stealing from such an event would make them the target of every single elite family. They simply couldn''t understand why Asher, the Greville family''s heir, would take such a risk. "I will tell you the overall n, but the final discussion will happen with the boss," Tom said as he opened arge map that showcased a particr path. ****** Asher had just left the World Academy and saw a car waiting for him. Nobody knew about his trip this time, and that would stay like that for at least a day. Until the next day, apart from Elsa, nobody would know that Asher was out of World Academy. He saw the car, and the one driving it was Kai, who was wearing a mask. "Wee, Boss," Kai spoke as he looked at Asher. Asher sat in the car, and Kai drove it to the mansion that they were using. Emmy was absent here, as she was busy with other work and didn''t even know about Asher''s trip outside the World Academy. He had already nned all this to cover his tracks, even if someone wanted to know about his whereabouts. The car soon arrived at the mansion, and Kai opened the door for Asher. During the drive, Kai tried to gauge Asher''s personality, but he got no answers despite the long drive. Asher showed no emotion, and a certain aura around him made Kai a bit cautious about him. He remembered what Dane had felt from Asher, so he was not underestimating him anymore, despite Asher being only a D Rank Hunter. They entered the mansion and entered a room where Dane and Tom were waiting for them. Asher looked at all the items he had told them to gather beforehand for this mission. "Is everything I asked for here?" Asher asked as his crimson-red eyes looked at Tom. "Yes," Tom replied quickly. Asher was looking at all the items before him when he noticed Dane fidgeting with his hands. "You have something to say?" Asher asked as he looked at Dane. "Y-Yes, I''m not sure if our chances of sess will be great," Dane replied. It was rare for a person like Dane to doubt his chances, but this heist was one of those things that was absolutely crazy. There was a huge chance they could be killed, and knowing that Asher wasing with them also made them think their chances of escaping were low. Asher looked at the three of them and knew why they would think doing all this was simply insane, but for Asher, it was nothing. He had done more crazy things that almost got him killed. "Don''t worry, there''s a good chance no S Rank Hunter will be avable there," Asher replied. But this was not the only reason Dane and Kai hesitated about this mission. If they were going to do a heist like this, it was obvious that they would have to kill some people. And looking at Asher, who appeared to be a 17-year-old now, they knew he was just a young man from an elite family who probably hadn''t killed a single human ever in his life. They knew nothing about Asher, so their worries were not unfounded. But for Asher, this was the first task they needed to do, which would make the world know about the existence of his shadow organization, ZEPHYR. It was a name that terrified many in his previous life and would not change even in this life. "You used the Passkey I gave you, right?" Asher asked Tom, who nodded at him. "I have ess to the Temporary Vault and the path they will take to transport the Artifacts," Tom replied. "Follow the initial n; Tom will be our guide inside that ce," Asher said as he looked at Dane and Kai. "Meet us around the coordinates I sent you," Asher told Tom. "Both of you will follow me," Asher ordered Dane and Kai. They both shrugged off their worries, as they had already sealed their fates. Tom left the mansion in one of the cars, and Asher sat with Dane and Kai. Since nobody outside World Academy knew about Asher leaving the World Academy, they were going to a dungeon owned by the Abyss Guild. This was going to be his alibi for this trip. Chapter 170 Leaving Somaria "Boss, are you sure about this?" Dane asked one more time while Kai drove the car. Kai looked at Dane, and it was strange for him to speak so politely to someone, but remembering that his instincts were so sharp, he knew Asher was not a simple person. Asher, who had been silent the whole ride, looked up towards Dane, who turned his head from the front seat. His crimson-red eyes looked at Dane. "Do as I say," Asher said. Seeing that Asher would not change his mind, Dane gave up on convincing him. He just decided not to care anymore. Unlike Kai, who nned everything out, Dane had a tendency to go a bit extra in his missions when he was working with Spyder. This was one of the reasons nobody other than Kai liked to work with him. They soon arrived at one of the Dungeons that was under Abyss Guild, and Asher was going to create his alibi there. Although it was not necessary since nobody would be able to trace it back to him, he didn''t want any loose ends. "Both of you know the n, right?" Asher asked as he stretched his neck. "Yes," Kai replied. Asher got out of the car as Dane and Kai started following him. Outside the Dungeon, "Listen, I want both of your teams to clear this Dungeon," one of the guys standing outside the Lobby spoke to the two men. But both of them were interrupted. "Manager, we have an issue," one of the hunters there spoke. "What is it?" the manager asked with a frown. "It will be better if youe with me," the guy said as he looked around. The manager was confused but decided to go with the guy since he knew him personally. The manager entered the Lobby and saw a young man standing, and behind him were two guys. It was not hard for him to guess the young man''s identity. "Young Master, did you need anything?" the manager asked with a smile. His previous confident demeanor was gone as he stood in front of the Heir of the Family that ran the guild he was working for. It was not hard to say that Asher would be the Guildmaster of Abyss Guild after seeing his performance in the Representative Tournament. "I want to practice in that Dungeon," Asher said. "Oh, you can; we can send our best teams with you," the manager replied. "No, we will hunt alone. No need for your teams, and I don''t want anyone to enter the Dungeon until we are done," Asher said. Asher had be a D Rank Hunter, so his presence was much stronger than before, and even the manager could feel it. "But going with just two is a bit...," the manager said. The Dungeon was a C Rank Dungeon, so it would make sense why he was worried. Although he could sense that Asher was a D Rank Hunter, he was unsure about the other two hiding their mana. Hearing him, Dane and Kai red their mana to show their ranks. "Oh, if they are A Rank, then it is fine," the manager replied as he noticed their ranks. e¦Áglesn?¦Íel He was a B Rank Hunter, so it was not hard for him to guess what rank Dane and Kai were. "We will spend a week inside, but don''t let the information about me being here spread," Asher said. "Don''t worry, I will do my best to ensure nothing happens," the manager confidently replied. "Clear the area around the dungeon," Asher said, and the manager left the room immediately to ensure Asher could enter the Dungeon. A few minutester, Asher was standing before the Blue Gate Dungeon as he was about to enter when Dane spoke up. "Young Master, I received the confirmation about that matter," Dane said. The manager looked at Dane but didn''t think too much about their conversation. "He will be enough for this dungeon; you can go back," Asher said as he looked at Dane. The manager watched Asher and Kai enter the Dungeon. "Are these the mana detectors?" Dane asked the manager. "Yeah, these are some of our finest ones," the manager replied. "Will they be fine if I go through them while using my mana?" Dane asked. "They can handle up to an A Rank Hunter''s mana, but the reading might not be urate," the manager replied. "Good. Make sure that no one enters the Dungeon while Young Master is inside," Dane said with a serious look on his face. "Yes, of course," the manager replied confidently. Seeing his reply, Dane red his mana. *Beep* A sound of a beep was heard. "Okay, I have checked them," Dane replied as he looked at the manager. "Told you," the manager replied with a smile. Dane quickly went outside, took the car, and drove a bit far from the Dungeon. Finally, arriving at a ce where no one could be seen, he stopped the car and stepped out of it. "Your driving is awful," a voice came from his right. Dane looked at Kai and Asher, who appeared in front of him. "Well, my acting was great, though," Dane replied. The moment Asher and Kai entered the Dungeon, Kai used his special ability to make them invisible, but they still had the issue of the mana-reading devices outside the Dungeon Gate. To counter that, Dane used his mana to mess with the reading for a second, and it was enough for Kai and Asher to leave the premises. "Wear the items in your spatial ring," Asher said as he took out a mask and a ring from his spatial ring. "You have the coordinates, right?" Asher asked Kai as he wore his mask. "Yes," Kai replied, seeing a special nano armor covering Asher''s body. This special nano armor was something only A Rank hunters of major guilds used. Kai took out his mask and armor, which differed from the one Asher used. Kai and Dane were using the nano armor built for S Rank hunters, which was very expensive. Both of them could handle the mana consumption of this armor, but that was not the case with Asher. Although he wore it, he would need to use a lot of his mana, but he was not worried about it. They sat in the car after they wore the masks. The ce they were going was not something that was essible to a lot of people. Although Kalvas G happened on different continents every time, the vaults they were going for were not in Somaria. And for reaching there, they needed to leave Somaria. But the problem was that all the continent-wide Teleportation Gates were strictly monitored, and if they traveled through them, their records would be stored. But there were other ways to travel between continents, although most took time. The ce they were going to was a special series of portals that the ck Market owned and used, and only those with Shadow Cards could use them. Asher also had one, which he received for making a deal with Pure Mana Crystals. In the middle of a forest, Tom was waiting in a vast camp full of shady people. He was also wearing a mask to hide his identity. Interestingly, people around him wore simr masks. In fact, he hadn''t seen a single person not wearing a mask to cover their identity. "When will they arrive?" Tom muttered to himself, growing more impatient. The atmosphere around him was far fromforting. Asher had told him to wait there, but now that he was in the middle of it, he wanted to leave already. His worry was understandable. A ce used for illegal travel between continents was not where you''d expect to find pleasant people. Despite this, nobody seemed to bother him, and for that, he was thankful. Although he was the only unawakened person there, unspoken rules governed the area. Most of the people there were involved with illegal organizations, and none of them wanted to cause trouble with others. Even if the person they argued with was weak, there was no way of knowing who was behind the trade. They knew they had to follow these rules to ensure this ce ran smoothly. Tom didn''t know about this because he hadn''t found any information on the subject. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a message from Kai telling him they had arrived. With a sense of relief and excitement, he quickly stood up. Chapter 171 Plan Starts : Arriving At Desmar BM12 Campsite, "Destination?" a man in the white coat asked. "Fashia," a masked man replied. This ce was built by the ck Market for the teleportation of goods and people for various illegal organizations worldwide. Only those with a Shadow Card could use these, and the number of such cardholders could be counted on one''s fingers. Most elite families didn''t need such a way, as they had their own Teleportation Gates for such matters. But Asher wasn''t going to use the one that the Greville Family used. The number of Shadow Card holders was limited. Milson gave Asher the shadow card because he was trading Pure Mana Crystals, which were challenging toe by. If the sudden demand from the higher-ups of the ck Market hadn''t been so high, getting a Shadow Card would have been tough. But Milson gave him the Shadow Card because not only did Asher trade Pure Mana Crystals, but he also used the ck Chamber for his trade. This meant that Asher had good connections with the elite families, so they had no doubt that giving Asher a Shadow Card could be troublesome for them. This was because all of the Shadow Cardholders knew their limits. They only did things that allowed them to stay out of the radar of the most significant powers in the world. This was also the reason Louis Rothschild''s request was denied. There were few families, even among the elite families, that such organizations stayed away from, and all of them had an SSS Rank Hunter in them. But Milson had no way of knowing that Asher would destroy the unspoken rule maintained by organizations like Spyder. Even if he did, he would not try to stop Asher. In his eyes, if any of the Shadow Card holders did something like that, it was their fault for whatever consequences would fall on themter. "And where should we go from here?" Dane muttered to himself as he surveyed his surroundings while Kai stopped the car. Dane and Kai stepped out of the car, and Dane opened the door for Asher. All three of them were wearing ck masks and armored clothing. Kai looked at his surroundings; they were in the middle of a forest outside Soran. As the three of them were walking, many men wearing masks on their faces appeared suddenly. Asher looked at them; most were A Rank Hunters, with a few S Rank Hunters. "Identity," a man spoke, looking at them. Hearing him, Dane brought out the Shadow Card as he raised his hand and showed them the card. The man who asked for their identity walked near Dane as he brought out a particr device. Seeing that the card was real, he stepped back and pointed in a particr direction inside the dense forest. After pointing once, all of them returned to their initial positions, not bothering the three. Dane and Kai were familiar with such things, as they had seen one of the higher-ups of Spyder use a simr card. "Let''s go," Dane said as he looked deeper into the forest. The actual campsite was 2 km away from the security checkpoint, and all of it was covered with security runes that didn''t allow anyone to enter unless they had a Shadow Card. Asher had the original Shadow Card, and the one that Dane, Kai, and Tom were using was under his Shadow Card. The three of them ran in that direction. Dane and Kai matched Asher''s speed, but it was surprising that Asher could move that fast for a D Rank Hunter. "So this is the ce," Dane said as he looked at the huge campsite before him. Many people wearing masks could be seening in and out of it. Dane looked around as he saw a guy walking back and forth. And looking at the mask he was wearing, it was easy to know that it was Tom. "Yo," Dane waved his hand to make Tom notice them. Tom turned as he looked at the source of the voice. He could see three men standing together, and by looking at their masks, he instantly knew who they were. "Are we leaving now?" Kai asked as he looked at Asher. "Yes," Asher replied as he moved towards the Teleportation Gate avable in front of them. "Did things go well at the dungeon?" Tom asked Dane, who raised his thumb in response. They arrived at the Teleportation Gate as a man wearing a white coat walked towards them. "What''s your destination?" he asked. "Desmar," Asher said, but due to the mask, his voice was fake. "Okay," the man didn''t ask any further questions. "Use the portal over there," he pointed at the teleportation portal far to the left. Asher went ahead as he entered the portal, and all three of them did the same behind him. This was not a direct portal, so they would have to use a series of Teleportation Gates. Asher exited the Portal Gate and found himself in an underground facility with a single teleportation gate. These portals were ced in various underground facilities owned by the ck Market. After doing so a total of 8 times, they finally arrived at another abandoned location, but this ce was also filled with a few masked men roaming around. Asher took a deep breath, and his eyes turned cold underneath his mask. They had finally arrived outside at Desmar, home to three elite families: the Rothschild, Williams, and Whiteheart. And it was once where the Garcia family was situated. Tom took out a device and opened a small hologram map. He was looking for their next destination, which they needed to settle beforemencing their mission. "How much time will it take before we reach here?" Tom asked Kai. "If we use the things we brought, it will take around 17 hours," Kai replied as he judged the distance. "First, let''s get out of here," Asher said as he red the mana at his feet. Dane grabbed Tom, who was the only unawakened person there. "Don''t scream," Dane reminded him as they immediately dashed to exit the vicinity of this particr camp. e¦Áglesn?¦Íel While they were moving out, Asher looked around the terrain and noticed the people there. In 10 minutes, they climbed a hill and looked around towards the massive city before them. But this was not their destination. Kai used his spatial ring to bring out three ck-colored motorbikes specially built to run using mana crystals as fuel. It was something Asher purchased from his personal funds that he had acquired from the mana crystal mines. "Our destination is this abandoned building that is around 2000 km away from here," Tom pointed at the map, but he was finding it hard to stand still in one ce. He was still nauseous from being carried like a bag by Dane throughout the forest. "I must do my setup here before we begin the mission," Tom exined, as he needed a ce to assist them. "Boss, from my calctions, they will move the artifacts 3-4 dayster," Tom looked at Asher. Asher looked at their destination, and it was the ce where Tom would stay and guide them from. He was unawakened, and taking him along was nothing but a burden for them. "Let''s reach here first; I will discuss the n there," Asher said as he moved and took one of the bikes. "Take the route that he had sent to the GPS," Asher said as he leaned over the bike. Tom had already calcted the routes they could take, which would avoid them being spotted as much as possible. "You can sit with me," Kai told Tom, who was wondering which bike he should sit on. "Okay," Tom replied. He got on as they started the engine. They moved from the hill to the path that would take them to their next destination. ''This will be tough,'' Kai thought as he was driving. Not only would they infiltrate a facility that housed some artifacts for the Kalvas G, but he also needed to watch out for Asher''s safety. For him, a D Rank Hunter could not go on such a mission. If Asher had only told him and Dane to move, then Kai would have at least thought they had a chance, but there was a reason why he wanted to go there himself. He needed to analyze the artifact with the system''s help to ensure they got the correct one. But Kai didn''t know about it, so he was unsure about Ashering with them. Chapter 172 Plans Done It was nighttime when Asher and the rest arrived at their destination. Dane looked around; it was just an abandoned camp used by some guilds. He could guess that much by seeing the architecture of the houses around them. They were single-story houses mostly used for storing equipment and not for living. Most of these houses were built if multiple dungeons appeared in an area far from the main cities. Tom looked around as he pointed at one of the houses in the center. "I will do my set up there," Tom said. "Should I scout around?" Kai asked, looking at Asher. Even though this was an abandoned ce, there were still chances of peopleing here. "Don''t go too far; we will only stay here for a day or two," Asher replied. Kai nodded as he quickly dashed away. "I will help you set all this up," Dane said as he went inside the house with Tom. Asher decided to stay in another house in the meantime to practice his mana cirction. He had already reached D Rank, and his body had also adjusted to D Rank. Tom was setting up all the devices he needed to help them in their heist. It took him around an hour to set everything up. Shortly after he was done, Asher and Kai entered the house and saw Tom working on something. Dane was sitting behind him, looking at his work with a surprised look. He had worked with many people like Tom in his career, but he hadn''t seen someone as talented as Tom. Now he could understand why Asher had brought someone like Tom to help them in this mission. "Is it finished?" Asher asked. "Yes, I will show you the footage I found," Tom said as he turned and tapped on his device. A hologram popped up from the device installed on the ground, revealing a facility with guards all around it. "This facility is currently under one of the Kalvas G''s Heads," Tom said. Kalvas G only happened once every three years, and every time it happened, seven new heads were chosen from the attendees to manage the next G. From the theme of the G to the management, everything was done ording to the seven heads. And some of them were responsible for delivering all the artifacts that would be put in the Auction to the special Vault. In the upper society, it was considered a great honor to host the G. And this time, one of the Seven Heads was the Family head of the Whiteheart Family, one of the three from the Seven Kalvas G''s heads responsible for the safety of the artifacts. The artifacts sold in the Auction were either put up by the Elite families who wanted to sell them, or others were found in the Dungeons by independent Hunter teams. As an SS Rank Dungeon was one of the most dangerous dungeons, there were many times when Guilds would work together with other guilds or the World Association to clear them quickly. And that was when the Artifact found was ced in the Kalvas G. Apart from Monster materials and the mana gems found in these dungeons, artifacts were the only things that were very hard to distribute. So, in most cases, those Artifacts were sent to the Kalvas G, where the bid money would then be distributed among the teams that cleared the dungeon. Only a few guilds, like Abyss Guild and others, could clear SS Rank Dungeons independently. But even then, there was an issue of Dungeon Ownership, which sometimes forced them to work with others. And the Artifact that Asher was targeting was one that would be delivered to the Special Vault for Kalvas G. Stealing from that Vault was pretty much impossible for his current power. However, the artifacts that the Whiteheart Family''s Head was going to transport were still in the facility owned by the Whiteheart family. "Do we have to infiltrate this facility?" Kai asked, but Tom shook his head. "This is just a cover-up for the real facility that could only be essed from this point," Tom highlighted a specific area. "There is a lift used by Authorized Personnel, and it is the only way to reach the artifacts without alerting anyone," Tom said. "But even when you go inside, the underground facility is divided into 5 Levels, and the artifacts are stored in the lowest level, which is the 5th one," Tom exined. "This means that we will have to engage inbat sooner orter during the infiltration," Kai spoke. "But if we make a mess here, the backup from the people will arrive, and we will be trapped in the middle," Dane added. "That''s where you are wrong," Asher interrupted them. "We will move through the 1st Level and eliminate all the people there," Asher said. "And you will secure the security room on the 1st Level," Asher looked at Dane. "And both of us will go to Level 4 together while he has control over the only security room that can call the backup," Asher said. "But there will still be many people inside the lower levels," Kai said, and he was right. "Don''t worry about that; for some reason, all of their S Rank Hunters are not in the facility, and they will note here until the end of this week," Tom replied. "As he said, we will only encounter A Rank Hunters or lower ones," Asher said. "This is where I will split from you; the 5th Level will have no security, so I will be the one who will go down from the 4th level," Asher said. His n was clear, and he had already assigned roles to Dane and Kai, knowing what suited them best. "Well, here is the course you will take," Tom exined their roles. After Tom''s exnation, Kai had one question in mind. "Do we know which Kalvas G''s head is behind this facility?" Kai asked, looking at Tom. "Ah, it''s the Whiteheart Family," Tom replied. Kai''s eyes went wide when he heard about this person. And the reason behind his reaction was that among all the Elite families, the Whiteheart Family, despite being the newest one, had taken a firm spot in the High Council. Many people were surprised when the Whiteheart family took the empty seat in the High Council, but there was not much opposition to this matter. And the reason behind that was the Family Head of the Whiteheart family, known for his ruthless nature. So not only were they targeting their facility, but what''s worse was the fact that they were in Desmar. If they messed up their n, it was not wrong to assume that the hunters working under the Whiteheart family would act very quickly to arrive there and handle the situation. eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "Get some rest. We will move tomorrow evening," Asher said as he turned, leaving Kai and Dane lost in their thoughts. "Are you sure that their backup will not be present there?" Kai asked Tom for one final confirmation. "No, there is a Dungeon Breakout that happened a few days ago, and it will take them some time to return," Tom replied. ********** In a training room, a 45-year-old man could be seen swinging his spear around, and with each strike, the air around the room was shaking. The man kept repeating the moves until he sensed a presence at the entrance of his training room. Then, finally, the door opened, and his butler came inside. "Is the situation at that Dungeon stabilized yet?" The man with white hair and blue eyes asked. "We have sent the S Rank Hunters as you ordered," The butler replied. "Tell them to settle the situation without wasting time," The man said. "As you wish, Master, but about the security around the facility..." The butler spoke. "That will be settled, so forget about it for now. Any news from the Williams family?" The man asked. He didn''t need to worry much about the facility as he was sure no one was stupid enough to mess with him inside Desmar. "Not yet. They are not giving any clue regarding Reece William''s condition," The butler replied. "Any news about Raelyn and Kevin?" The man asked as he ced the spear on the handle. "Nothing after the Auction happened," The butler said. "You can go now," The man said, and the butler soon left him alone in the training room. "It seems my son is doing well inside the World Academy," A smile appeared on his face. He was sure that Kevin would easily be able to surpass anyone in the World Academy when the Second Year began. ''Ah, I should send something good to the Rothschild for this favor,'' He thought as he wore his robe. Chapter 173 Breaching In Many people wearing nano armor could be seen patrolling the huge facility. Inside the facility, two men were conversing. "So, we will ship them four dayster?" one man asked. "Yes, and make sure there are no slip-ups during the transportation of all the items," replied another man wearing a suit. "I don''t want to upset the Whiteheart family over this," he said. This facility was owned by the Whiteheart family and was used for personal purposes. This time, the Family Head of the Whiteheart family used his facility to store the artifacts meant to arrive at the Kalvas G. Most of these artifacts were gathered through various teams and other sources in Desmar and other continents. The reason for storing them in his personal facility was to ensure that if any situation arose, they could fix it quickly. In addition, the thought of someone breaching the vault was not on their minds, as it was deemed impossible to ess. Unless an SS Rank Hunter himself attacked the facility openly, there was no way to enter that vault. And if such an impossible situation did arise, the family head himself could handle it directly. "Any updates on the S Rank Team?" he asked. "They will arrive in a few days if everything goes as nned," the man replied. "Okay, go now and ensure nobody is cking off." Their discussion ended as the men left the room. The facility covered a vast area, most surrounded by walls adorned with security runes. There were only two entrances, one on the north and the other on the south. A total of 20 B Rank Hunters guarded the facility''s close proximity, with 10 B Rank Hunters maintaining security at the North and South Entrances. Most security was focused inside the facility, where various A Rank Hunters were stationed. At the North Entrance, Three B Rank Hunters were watching the North Entrance but quite rxed. It was close to midnight, but the whole facility was well-lit. Although the facility was far from the city, they had a perfect connection and energy source. "This is boring," one of the guards spoke out. "Why do we need to be here when there are so many security runes anyway?" He was jealous of the people working inside the facility. Unlike them, they were in afortable environment and enjoyed themselves asionally. "Don''t vent your frustration with me," another man replied. "I am tired, but I don''t want to piss off the team leader." They were told to maintain high security for a whole month, but nothing happened. But none of them actually wanted to leave this job. Unlike going to the dungeon, where losing lives was not so rare, guarding a facility was better for them. Many people liked going to dungeons, but some would rather do something that didn''t involve the risk of dying. The three of them were busy chatting, so they didn''t notice three pairs of eyes looking towards them from a hill a bit far from there. "The security is not that tight in that ce," Kai removed the special sses that allowed him to observe things quite far away. "Breaching from that entrance will not be an issue," Kai turned towards Asher, who was still observing the facility. Asher removed his sses, put on a ck mask, and saw Kai and Dane do the same. Although Kai and Dane were unsure about Asher''s participation in this mission, when they heard Asher''s n, they thought this heist might be possible if everything went as nned. "We will enter from that entrance; both of you will take out those three," Asher said. "Make sure not to kill anyone until we enter the facility and secure the First Level," he reminded both of them. Each guard patrolling outside the facility had a special wristband that reported their life signs to the security room inside the First Level in the real facility, which was under the facility they were seeing right now. If even one of them was killed, the whole security around the facility would be alerted about their presence. "Tom, you are connected to the Security System, right?" Asher spoke. All three of them could hear Tom''s voice in their ears through the device they were wearing. "Use your ability," Asher ordered Kai, who nodded back at him. Kai red his mana as he concentrated hard to conceal all three of their presences. Normally it was quite hard for him, but Asher had already given Kai suitable mana-rted artifacts that allowed him to shorten his cast time. In under 7 minutes, Kai was done and took a deep breath. All three of them were invisible, but they could still see each other, which was why Kai''s ability was much better than a normal illusionist-type mage. Asher saw a truck going towards the facility, and it was a cargo truck needed to restock the supplies inside the facility. "Let''s move," Asher said. All three of them dashed towards the truck but didn''t enter it yet. Asher took a mana crystal, tossed it inside the cargo truck, and they started following the truck without being noticed by anyone. The cargo truck soon reached the entrance, and one of the B Rank Hunters walked near it, tapping on his bracelet. "Information matched. You can enter now," he said after checking the face of the driver with the information he had on his wrist device. The driver drove the truck inside but stopped when he heard something. BEEP "Stop!" The B Rank Hunter immediately spoke, and the other two also walked towards the driver. "Are you carrying any mana-rted items?" he asked. "No, there were no such items on the list," the driver replied instantly. "We will need to search this," the man said as they searched the whole cargo truck. After 5 minutes, the B Rank Hunter found a mana crystal inside the truck. "How did this get here?" He grabbed it and tossed it to the other guard. "Did they mess things up at the Guild?" the other guard said. "Well, we can have this for ourselves," he smiled, looking towards the driver. "Ah, I didn''t see anything," the driver immediately understood the meaning behind his smile. ''Greedy bastards,'' he thought in his mind as he drove the truck inside. "How much money do you think we can get from this?" They startedughing. None of them could notice that three individuals had already breached the entrance when the mana crystal was detected. Due to Kai''s special ability, none could see or sense their presence. Unlike Asher, who had a skill like Mana Flow and incredibly high senses, they didn''t possess any such abilities. And below S Rank, it was impossible to detect Kai''s ability unless they had skills like Asher. "That was easy," Dane whispered as he looked at Kai and Asher, who were standing near a wall of one of the warehouses. Tom could ess the drone footage by breaching the security system, but he still didn''t have enough ess to control them. Dane and Kai both moved swiftly as they heard Tom''s instruction. It took them 10 seconds to arrive at the warehouse when Kai spotted two guys guarding it. ''I hope this works,'' Kai took out a small sk of green liquid that Asher had given them, and Dane did the same. It was a special poison that paralyzed even A Rank hunters if it was injected into their bodies, and only Asher knew the recipe to make it. He had made it for himself when he reached S Rank, and it got hard for him to control himself. He used this poison to calm his body, which was supersensitive to mana. It was his only way to counter the side effects that came with the mana doping methods he used to grow stronger. Kai and Dane immediately appeared behind their backs. They took out syringes and injected them into the guards'' bodies as they grabbed their necks with one of their arms. It was to make sure they couldn''t scream. "Mhmmm." The muffled screams of the guards were not noticed, as even the drones were not watching that area. Thud The effect of the poison was immediate, and in 4 seconds, their bodies fell to the ground. Their consciousnesses remained intact, but they simply couldn''t move their bodies. Even moving their eyes was impossible. Tom instructed them as the drone was about to return to that spot. Both of these guards were about to start their patrol over to the next warehouse, and the people inside the facility would not notice anything weird for another 10 minutes. And this meant that the three of them only had 10 minutes to securely enter the Security Room. Chapter 174 Getting Inside The Underground Facility Asher looked around as Dane and Kai sessfully hid the bodies of the two guards. [00:09:57] Tom reminded them as Dane and Kai moved towards Asher, who was heading towards the Central building inside the facility. From this point on, they were supposed to follow the n that Asher hadid out very carefully. Even one mistake would alert the whole facility, and their ns would be ruined. Asher looked at numerous guards standing in front of the Central Building. Tom was monitoring multiple drone footage from the house he was sitting in. He was under a lot of stress because he couldn''t afford to make a single mistake. "You will need to circle around the Central building before you spot a red-colored gate," Tom said, looking at the facility''s blueprint. "It will be opened when the guards change their shifts. You have 50 seconds to make it in time," Tom instructed them. He couldn''t see them on the footage because of Kai''s ability, so his instructions needed to be very clear. As the three of them were running around, suppressing their sounds, Kai couldn''t help but observe Asher''s movements. ''Did elite families train their children like this?'' He couldn''t help but notice how calm Asher was in this situation. It was simr to how professionals in his field behaved. But, first, they needed to maintain a certain breathing pattern to suppress their presence entirely. Although Kai had told Asher how to do it, it was not easy to master. Moving around while using a definite amount of mana, making minimal movements, and suppressing your breaths took years to master. This made Kai think that Asher was trained like this from a young age. ''So all that talk about Greville''s Heir being unawakened until 14 was false,'' Kai concluded from his observation. Asher''s eyes scanned the various B Rank hunters present there. He had three motives foring here himself. Although everything was going ording to his n, the existence of the System and various mysteries around his regression were bothering him. At first, he was going to make the first appearance of Zephyr around his second year in the World Academy, but he decided to do it a lot earlier. In 40 seconds, they arrived at the Red Gate, which was going to open in 10 seconds for the shift change. "I told you that bastard was lying," one of the guardsughed loudly as his group walked towards the red gate. They didn''t know that at this moment, three people were standing just behind them, walking with them. The gate opened when one of the guards used his key to gain ess to go inside. Asher saw the gate opening and revealing a huge facility inside where a bunch of hunters could be seen standing, waiting for their shifts to begin. "Did the supplies arrive?" one of the hunters asked. "I got the confirmation, but it''s your shift now, so not our problem," one of the guards who had just entered shrugged his shoulders. There were 10 B Rank Hunters here, but none noticed the three people that slipped past them and were inside the Central Building. Asher was walking behind Dane and Kai, who were quietly making their way toward the ce where they could enter the Underground Facility from. Tom said as Dane and Kai looked around the hallway, which was clear. Not many B Rank Hunters would be present on the Ground Floor, apart from those who would be changing their shifts soon. It was midnight, so most of the staff were already sleeping, apart from the Hunters. Asher looked at the only entrance to the upper floors, which was the lifts present there. The Central building was full of workshops and items rted to the Whiteheart family, so most of the B Rank Hunters were stationed there. "Should we wait or call the lift?" Dane whispered. The problem was that there were only 8 minutes left in the timer Tom had given them. "Call it," Asher said, spreading his mana sense over the building. "Clear the 3rd Floor," Asher said, and Dane pressed the button. The lift arrived shortly, and all three of them stepped inside. On the 3rd Floor, "Who is using the lift now?" One of the two people standing in the 3rd Floor hallway spoke. "Did the Team Leader call someone?" He was confused, "I don''t know, we can ask them," the other guard casually replied. Although the third floor was not restricted, it was rare for the guards toe there, and as it was the time of the shift change, they didn''t sense anything weird with it. Ding! The lift arrived, and the doors opened. "It''s empty?" They were alerted as they saw the empty lift. But before reacting to the situation, they felt a hand on their mouths as they felt a syringe prating their neck region. Thud! Their bodies soon fell to the ground. Kai looked at the effect of the poison Asher gave them, and he had never seen anything like this before. The effects of the poisonsted around 10 hours, and their consciousness remained intact the whole time. ''Who the hell made this thing?'' Even Dane was having simr thoughts. They wanted to ask, but both of them refrained from doing so as it might be something that was rted to the Greville family. But they didn''t know that the drug that Asher had given them was a diluted version of the one he used in his previous life. "Clear the whole floor," Asher said as Dane and Kai dashed. It would take them around 4-5 minutes to clear this floor and neutralize everyone present there. Asher already remembered the blueprint of the building, so he navigated himself through many hallways and arrived at a special room. Spreading his mana sense, he could sense a presence of a C Rank Hunter drinking inside the room. It was the room of one of the managers that handled the things inside the Underground facility. Tom had already shared information about such people, and he was Asher''s current target. Knock Knock "Huh? I told you, bastards, not to disturb me when I am rxing," the manager shouted annoyedly. The door creaked open, but the manager squinted his eyes as he saw no one. "What the hell are you-" He spoke when he felt a stinging pain near his neck. But his senses were not focused on the pain. Instead, he sensed an immense killing intent from the man behind him. "Wha-" Before he could make any sense of what was happening to him, he lost all control over his body. Asher looked at the body of the manager. Then, crouching down, he grabbed him by his cor and dragged him to another room not far from there. On his way, he could see various guards lying on the floor, unable to move. Some could see that the manager was dragged by something invisible, but they couldn''t do anything. He opened the door, and a huge room with a single door inside it was revealed. As soon as Asher stepped inside the room, a robotic voice resounded inside the room. Asher grabbed the manager''s head and put his eyes near the scanner. Thud! After throwing the manager''s body aside, Asher saw the dim light around the special door before him shine. < ess Granted: You can proceed> Asher looked back, and within five more seconds, Dane and Kai had arrived in the same room as him. "Was there any issue?" Asher asked, but both of them shook their heads. Dane''s eyes noticed the manager lying there. Seeing that Asher had managed to take down a C Rank Hunter by himself, he was assured Kai could protect him. Listening to Tom''s instruction, Dane brought out a blue-colored chip they needed to insert into the Security System. Tom reminded them because the entire underground facility was built to track unauthorized weapons and artifacts. Ping! Tom updated the path to the security system, and all three could see blue lines showing the way inside the holographic map. "Let''s go," Asher red his mana around his feet. ''Mir steps,'' Asher muttered as all three of them disappeared from their spots. Chapter 175 Taking Over The Security System Inside the Security Room, Underground Facility. A man stood up as he picked up a device and connected it to the system before him. "Did you save the data from yesterday?" He asked the person sitting in the chair. "Yeah, yeah," The man in the chair tiredly replied. Various people inside the Security room could be seen, and they were in charge of maintaining the security of the entire Facility without fail. "Don''t ck off," another man said, "Why are you guys worrying so much? We have the best protection, and that," He pointed at the screen. It was footage from the lower levels of the underground Facility. "And it''s not like anybody appointed by the Family Head would be stupid enough to do anything foolish," He said. "You know what they do to people like that," He said, and their faces turned severe. At the Entrance of the Underground Facility, Asher, Dane, and Kai passed through the hallways and moved toward the Security Room. Many times they passed by some B Rank hunters, but they could pass through them easily due to Kai''s ability. Maintaining this ability, however, was taking a strain on Kai. Concealing three people at once was not easy, especially Dane, an A+ Rank hunter. They would reach the Security Room in a minute, so both took out a transparent sk. They remembered Asher''s n clearly. Hours ago, at the abandoned building, "So after entering the underground facility, we will go towards the security room?" Kai asked, looking at Asher. "Yes, and securing this room is our first goal," Asher said, "And to do that, everyone in the Security Room will be eliminated. And Dane will stay behind in case someonees to that room." Asher told them. That room not only controlled the whole security of the Facility, but it also had ess to almost every device that was used at the Facility. "But there will be a few A Rank Hunters inside that room," Dane reminded them. "And chances are there will be more than 3," Dane said. Although Asher had told them to use the poison he would give them, in front of more than 3 A Rank hunters, Dane and Kai were bound to get spotted. And if, by any chance, one of the people present in the security room used something to alert the whole Facility, their nning would go down the drain. "Don''t worry about that, take this," Asher took a few sks from his spatial ring. "This is simr to the previous poison, but it will significantly numb their reaction time," Asher said. They were still skeptical about the items Asher had given them, but they took them anyway. "Failure is not an option," Asher reminded them, his indifferent eyes looking at Dane and Kai. Currently, Dane and Kai were moving with those same sks in their hands. The mask they were wearing would prevent them from inhaling whatever was inside those sks. [00:03:13] Tom reminded Dane and Kai once again. Dane''s eyes reached full focus, and so did Kai''s. The vibe around him changed, and Asher could notice it. Their best performance came out when they were under pressure, which was why Asher wanted to recruit them. Asher looked around and saw a few hunters around the hallways and lobbies. It was a vast facility, and most of the stuff hidden from the World was stored there. But this was one of the many facilities that the Whiteheart Family owned. Dane noticed they had reached the security room when he saw a guy leaving it. Dane looked at Kai as he signaled him with his hands. Kai nodded back at him as he brought out the poison syringe and increased his speed as he captured the man. In an instant, Kai injected the poison into his body. Dane noticed that the door was about to close, but he immediately held onto it with his hands as he threw the sk inside. *Shatter* A white, mist-like gas started to spread inside the room. "What the hell," Many people sitting there stood up. But before they could move much, they found their movements were slowing down, and they found it tiring to keep their consciousness intact. Apart from the A Rank hunters, the rest had already fallen unconscious. Dane didn''t give the remaining A Rank hunters time to respond as he moved behind them and injected the poison into their bodies. He looked to his left side, where Kai had already cared for the two A Rank hunters. "Huff, huff," Kai was breathing heavily as he was quite drained from using his unique ability. Ignoring Kai, Dane looked around the vast Security Room full of multiple screens and devices. "Where the hell am I supposed to put this chip?" Dane asked as he kept looking around. Tom instructed as Dane looked around and found the golden device that Tom was talking about. ''Now, which side will this chip go in from?'' Taking a few seconds to check out the chip, Dane finally put it inside the device. He stepped back as he saw various red alerts on the screen. Back in the abandoned building, "Finally," Tom looked in front of him as he was gainingplete ess to the Facility. He typed rapidly as he configured everything and performed various resetmands over the security system. "Nice," Tom said, He had finally turned off the system that detected the artifacts. "Now the rms," Tom muttered. Dane and Kai were silently observing the multiple screens that were now returning to normal, but they knew that Tom was taking over the system. Tom said as Dane looked at his spatial ring. "This is tricky," Tom still had some trouble as the system he was trying to breach was not that easy to infiltrate. Without using the chip, in which Tom had installed various programs that aided him directly, it would have been an almost impossible task to take full control of the Facility. It took him around 20 more seconds to finally take over the system and disable the life-tracking system used to monitor the entire Facility. "I have turned off the rms-" Tom was about to say something but stopped as he heard a voice through Dane''s mic. "What the hell happened here," a B-rank hunter shouted. Dane and Kai were immediately about to attack the source of that voice, but they stopped. Their eyes looked at the man that was standing near the door. "Intru-" The B rank hunter was about to shout, but he stopped as he looked down at his chest. "Keep quiet," Asher muttered as his figure started to appear, Kai''s abilitypletely removed. The hunter noticed a ck sword piercing his heart, and he slowly lost his life as his body fell to the ground. [ Host has gained 15000 EXP ] Asher looked at the notification before him and then at Dane and Kai. Both of them hadn''t noticed the presence as they were too focused on Tom''s voice and due to the various mana-blocking runes that were present in the Security Room. "Clear this mess," Asher said, looking at Dane, who nodded back at him. But both of them were still surprised by Asher beingpletely normal after killing someone. The gas from the sk that filled the room was still flowing out. Asher ignored the blood as he looked at the empty hallway. He swung his sword to remove the blood. Now he could finally move freely, and they could start the main part of this heist. Chapter 176 Small Mistake Kai looked at Asher, who crouched to touch the body of the B- Rank hunter. "Absorb," Asher muttered as red mana came out of him and took over the hunter''s body. Kai looked at Asher''s weird ability, but he did not know what it was, nor did he intend to know about it. [ Host has gained +30 Agility Stats ] As the red energy entered Asher, he felt an overwhelming burden on his mana meridians and core. Asher endured it, but the overflowing power was much harder to maintain. Asher was sure he could handle a B-Rank hunter''s higher stats than the C+ Rank Boss Monster. But it turned out to be a very hard task. "What happened?!" Tom asked, still in the process of regaining ess to the cameras. Asher listened to Tom''s voice as he swung his sword around. "Nothing. Do you have full ess?" He asked. Before moving out of this area of the First level, they needed Tom''s confirmation. "Yeah... Wait, I messed up," Tom stuttered. "What happened?" Asher asked. "I think they are particrly using different systems for the fourth level," Tom said. Thest time he had checked, this was not the case. It was an unexpected situation for Tom. Not only had Asher given him all the time to study this facility, but also enough resources. "I am sorry, Boss, but I still have ess to the fifth floor," Tom said. It was thest floor where the artifacts were stored. Asher frowned at Tom''s reply. He was sure that Tom was not a person who would make such mistakes. ''Why the change?'' Asher thought. "But I can take over it in 10-15 minutes," Tom reassured. "We will move as we nned," Asher spoke, looking at Kai. "Take out the artifacts you have," Asher instructed Kai, who nodded back at him. Asher had given Dane and Kai enough artifacts of all A Rank or above. Kai got the ones that most S Rank mages used in Abyss Guilds. The major w of Kai''s ability was the mana drain he had to go through, but the current artifacts Kai had fixed that w somewhat. "We will move towards the Second Level entrance," Asher said. Before moving forward, Asher walked towards one of the paralyzed A Rank Hunters. The A Rank Hunter could see a masked man approaching him, but apart from his legs, he couldn''t see anything when Asher came closer. Asher coated his sword with Aura and swung it immediately, shing the A Rank Hunter''s head off his body. He saw the head roll over the floor, but he got no notification from the System about him gaining any experience from that kill. ''So only those I paralyze myself will give me experience,'' Asher thought. He got his reasoning from the fact that the semi-poisoned B Rank hunter still gave him the experience. Asher had made the drug inside the sk, but the poison inside the syringe was something he got someone else to do. He wanted to test it because he needed the experience to level up from here on. It was one of the goals that was the reason for Ashering to this mission himself. As Asher was thinking, Dane and Kai watched Asher''s action with wide eyes. ''It seems my worries were in vain,'' Dane grinned. Even Kai had simr thoughts. Seeing that Asher had no qualms about killing people would help him a lot going forward with this mission. A moment of hesitation is all that mattered in a fight between A Rank hunters to end someone''s life. "Let''s go," Asher turned. Kai stopped as he looked at the Security room. Most people in the Security Room were relieved that they were safe as Asher didn''t kill them. "I will clean this ce for you," Kai said, looking at Dane. "Thanks," Dane replied with a carefree voice as he pushed the person sitting on the chair. Dane looked at Kai, who was raising his right hand in the air. "I will make it less painful for you guys," Dane said excitedly. He took out his silver-colored sword, "What a nice sword," Dane said, moving his hands in a particr pattern. "Chain Cut," Dane said as a figure disappeared from his spot momentarily and then returned to it. "You can go," Dane signaled Kai as he sat on a seat. Everyone in the room was dead with a single move from Dane. Kai looked at the room, now full of blood. He squinted his eyes as Dane had made his task harder due to all the bloodstains. "me Storm," Kai muttered the spell as fire engulfed the whole room. Dane looked at Kai''s control over his spell. The mes spared most of the equipment and Dane alone as they burned the corpses of everyone in the security room, including the ones that Asher had killed himself. Kai turned immediately and followed after Asher, leaving Dane alone in the room. "So, what should I do now?" Dane asked Tom. Tom reminded him again. Outside the security room, Asher walked towards the next part of the underground floor. "How many people are present if we choose to go, right?" Asher asked Tom as he found himself in a hallway. "We should avoid them for now," Kai said, as taking on 4 A Rank hunters would be difficult for him. Asher looked at the map. If they chose the path from the left, it would dy their arrival by at least 5 minutes, assuming they went at Asher''s full speed the whole way. "You have ess to the First Level, right?" Asher asked. "Trap them at the junction ahead and iste them in pairs," Asher said. "Use your ability," he ordered Kai. After a while, Kai and Asher were invisible as they took the path on the right. The underground facility was huge, and without taking particr paths, it was impossible to reach the entrance to the lower level. Ahead of Asher and Kai, four A Rank hunters were moving towards their positions. "Did you guys get the permission to go to the fourth level?" a guy asked. "Do you think that bastard would allow us to go near there?" another guy asked. "Well, our team leader does know how to take advantage of an opportunity," another one said. "Bootlicking others? Hahaha," the fourth oneughed. "Oh,e on, you''reughing like we would be any different," theyughed together. There were 20 A Rank Hunters in this facility, and most were on the Second and Third level. As the two of them continued walking, they suddenly heard a voice. Before they could move, a mana barrier formed between them, separating the four of them into pairs. "What?" a guy said. "What are those guys in the security room doing?" one of them spoke. But before they could do anything, a metal door closed in front of them, denying them the vision of either side. "Can you guys go check the security room?" they heard the voice of their colleagues. "Yeah," one of them replied. They turned and started to move toward the security room. Kai looked towards Asher, and they saw two A Rank Huntersing in their direction. Asher signaled Kai to take out the one on the left. ''Should I trust him?'' Kai doubted, but he still followed Asher''s orders. Kai dashed towards the hunter on the left. "What-" the hunter on the left shouted as he felt someone grab his head. "st," Kai whispered as fire emerged from his hands, blowing off the head of the A- Rank Hunter. Another A Rank hunter, who had gathered his thoughts, was about to swing his fist in Kai''s direction, but before his fist neared Kai''s vicinity, Asher arrived behind him. "Swift Strike," Asher performed one of his sword techniques. His ck de was coated in his Aura as it moved through the neck of the A- Rank Hunter. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] He ignored the notifications as he looked at the two lifeless bodies before him. ''As expected,'' Asher thought to himself. He knew this was the best way to gather experience to level up. Unlike monsters that had extremely hard skin that was hard to pierce, humans were an easier target. Although it took a lot of his Aura to cut through the body of A Rank hunter, it was still easier than a monster. An unaware human was a far easier target than a monster, and it was something Asher knew well. Chapter 177 Entering The Second Level It was a shame that both of them were A Rank Hunters, so Asher couldn''t absorb their stats. But it was fine because he had absorbed stats from the B-Rank hunter. ''Status,'' Asher said as he saw the status screen. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -22 (EXP 16500/22,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 115 Agility: 80+30 Endurance: 85 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 119 Stamina: 73 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 20+5 [SP]: 16+2 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mir Steps [-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike [-Beast-] : Locked [-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-27%, Magic [Novice]-84%, Rune Art [Fundamental]-80% ---------------------------------------------- Asher could see the increase in the stats from the time he had used his bloodline ability on the Boss Monster. "What are the positions of the guys behind the barrier?" Asher asked. Listening to Tom''s reply, Asher looked at Kai, who nodded back at him. They needed to get to the Second Level fast, as the more they dyed it, the higher the chances of something unexpected happening. Asher and Kai moved toward the direction of the rest of the two A Rank hunters. "Shouldn''t we go to our positions?" One of the guys asked. "Let''s wait for a bit," The other replied as he looked at the metal door before him. They heard a robotic voice as they looked at the metal door opening and revealing the other side. "Did they mess up something?" One of them was confused by the sudden activation of the barriers. It was one of the security systems installed all over the facility, and it was very rare that they were activated. "Let''s go. They will join uster anyway," One of them said as both of them turned to leave. But they could never have known that the moment they turned their backs was theirst. "Fire w," Kai said as he ruptured the heart of one of the A-Rank hunters. "Earth Bind," In another instant, he bound the other A-Rank hunter as Asher arrived behind him and moved his sword through the skull of the A-Rank hunter. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] This time Kai had helped, but his experience was the same. ''So this much level of assistance is allowed,'' Asher concluded, looking at the system notifications before him. He wanted to see if Kai supported him even more, would his experience be affected as the next target was also an A-Rank hunter. "Did you find that room," Asher asked Tom. The room they were looking for was the same ce these two hunters were heading towards. It was the room where the air management devices were stored. "I will go to that room, find the entrance to the Second Level, and open it," Asher said as Kai nodded and disappeared. Apart from the hunters, the entire underground facility was empty and would remain so until they used the fifth level to store the Artifacts for the Kalvas G. The Family head didn''t want any extra presence in the Underground Facility besides the hunters. This made Asher''s task easier as he had fewer people that he needed to deal with. Their mission had been going rtively smoothly until now because of Kai''s ability. However, Kai was about to reach his limit soon, and Asher wanted to arrive at the Fifth Level before that happened. Asher examined his body, which had be visible again, as Kai removed the effects of his ability to ensure he could use it for longer on the rest of the lower levels. Asher turned as he traveled through multiple hallways, ignoring most rooms where items rted to the Whiteheart family were stored. Most were used to store monster parts such as horns and other items sold for a high price in the market. Despite running at his top speed, reaching the room took him a few minutes. < ess Granted: Opening Air Management Room > Tom opened the room for Asher, and he had no difficulty entering the room, which only a few could ess. Asher examined various containers and gas tanks filled with oxygen to ensure the airflow inside the facility remained stable at all times. His eyes scanned the vast room as he reached to touch one of the installed gas cylinders supplying air inside the whole underground facility. After Tom''s confirmation, Asher picked up a simrly sized cylinder. However, this container was filled with a drug simr to the one in the sk that Dane and Kai had used in the security room. Asher reced the next tank set to be used with the one he had. It took him 20 seconds to do so. "Change the airflow settings to maximum," Asher ordered Tom. Hearing Tom''s reply, Asher immediately left the room and went towards Kai, who was currently in the room where the entrance to the Second Level was located. It was arge metallic door, simr to the one they used to enter the First Level. The problem was the runes that surrounded it. Although Tom could take over the Security Systems, runes were not something he could handle unless he could see them. "So, I just need to destroy these runes, right?" Kai asked once again. Destroying them was not an issue for Kai, but doing so without making much noise was difficult. He needed to cast a spell powerful enough to destroy the rune in one go, but at the same time, he needed to ensure that the noise was low. "This should work," Kai used a Tier 3 spell. "Floor of mes Rule thy..." He began to chant a spell. At the end of the chant, he could see the floor around him heat up slightly. Kai looked at the runes that were fading in front of him. Just then, he made a circle of mes with his hands and pushed them against the runes. "Burn," Kai muttered as he focused his mana to remove the runes. At that moment, Asher arrived behind Kai, who turned back to look at him. "Wait for 30 seconds," Asher said, wanting to wait for the effects of his special drug to permeate the entire underground facility. "Use your ability and take as many as you can," Asher said. This time, Asher didn''t tell Kai to move with him and go all out to kill all the hunters present on the second level. Kai nodded at him as he red his mana and used his ability to conceal both his and Asher''s presence. "Finally," Kai muttered. He had to hold back a lot as Asher was close to him. Although he always told Dane about his recklessness, Kai was not much better than Dane when it came to fights. There was a reason Dane and Kai were both people that nobody inside Spyder liked to work with. They heard a robotic voice, but Asher''s eyes were focused on Kai''s hands, which were engulfed in mes. There was a reason that Kai mostly used closebat spells. He could conceal the spells with his special bloodline ability. This was why he earned the title of ''Illusionist'' in Asher''s previous life. "I will go ahead," Kai said as he disappeared before Asher. Asher looked at another path different from the one Kai took, with 2 A-Rank Hunters on it. Asher moved towards that path, but Kai didn''t know there were 2 A- Rank hunters on the other path that Asher was taking. This was something that Asher had ordered Tom not to disclose to them. Chapter 178 Toms Troubles "But Boss, you are D Rank, and even with this n," Tom was shocked when Asher told him the original n. "I can handle it. You don''t need to worry about it," Asher said. Tom couldn''t help but think it was a bad idea, but he followed through with it as Asher instructed. And right now, he was looking at Asher while regaining ess to the Fourth Level. "Even with that drug..." Tom was still not fully convinced that it was something Asher should do. The entire Second Level and Third Level were much smaller than the First Level, but they were still so massive that it took time for Kai to reach his first target. Kai was moving quickly but not so fast that his presence would be sensed. There were a few A Rank Hunters on the third level, but no A+ Rank hunters like him. He was fully confident in dealing with anyone below his rank, and with the current artifacts amplifying his abilities considerably, he was confident that he could stealthily kill them all. "Fire w," he ruptured the heart of an A- Rank hunter. And he dropped the body to the side. "I will get it done in 6 minutes," Kai muttered as he moved on. In a few seconds, he came across a group of three A- Rank hunters. It was an arduous task, but unlike in the security room, he didn''t need to worry about not damaging the surroundings anymore. "Mirage," Kai said as the A-Rank hunters saw an image of Kai approaching from another direction. "Who the hell is this," one of them shouted as he red his mana. But he felt a bit different; his senses, his mana flow was sluggish. But he didn''t think much about it. All three of them took out their weapons and saw a masked face approaching them. But unfortunately, that was just an illusion Kai made, and before they could notice it, all three of them had their backs to Kai. "Sea of mes, gather in my hand," Kai finished his chant as he performed one of his wide-ranged skills. "What-" Before they couldprehend what happened, their bodies got engulfed in hot mes. Although under normal conditions, they would be able to react to Kai''s attack much earlier, right now, the very air they were breathing was filled with an odorless drug that tampered with their senses and mana flow significantly. No one could sense it unless they used their mana, which was why most of them were still unaware of what was happening to their bodies. Kai threw out three daggers at their heads, and none of them could even muster their auras to defend themselves as they were still under the pain and shock of Kai''s previous attack. In an instant, Kai had dealt with four A- Rank Hunters. "4 more," Kai said as he left the burnt corpses of the A- Rank hunters behind. He moved towards the direction of the entrance of the Third Level as he knew the positions of the rest of the guards. But he had no idea about the 2 A- Rank Hunters that Asher was approaching. Asher went ahead as he stopped and looked at 2 people chatting with each other as they stood near the hallway. His crimson red eyes were focused on their weapons, and he could see that both were mages as they had no weapons. It made it even easier for him as mages were most affected by the poisonous drug that Asher had filled the air with. But he waited a few more minutes as he watched the two of them. ''10...9...8....7....6...,'' Asher started counting. Finishing his count, Asher gripped his sword as he started moving towards the two A-Rank hunters. He controlled his breathing, and his eyes were focused. Although he had a chance to quickly kill one of them, the moment he did, the second hunter would be alerted. And if he made a single mistake, even a weakened A-Rank hunter was enough to kill him. Both of them were chatting, not noticing Asher''s presence. "Hahaha," one of the huntersughed loudly. But the moment heughed, Asher moved behind him. "Swift Strike," his sword traveled through the neck of one of them, instantly killing him. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] The blood spurted onto the other mage''s face as his expression changed instantly. In a single moment, the person he was talking to was dead. He couldn''tprehend what had just happened. Asher didn''t waste a moment as he looked at the dumbfounded mage. ''Mir steps,'' his body disappeared and reappeared near the mage. Asher swung his sword toward the mage. "What?" he spoke out but immediately red his mana. He dashed away from his position and looked around him. He raised his hand to touch his neck, and he found he had received a wound. A thin line of red bloomed at the base of the mage''s neck, showing where Asher''s de had grazed him. "Where the hell are you? Show your face, bastard!" the mage said, but his senses grew sluggish. The more he used mana, the more he could see that his mana control was not exactly how it used to be. He wanted to raise a mana barrier, but he couldn''t. In front of an invisible opponent, that was thest thing he wanted to happen. Not only was he experiencing the drug''s effect, but even the armor that Asher used on Dane and Kai was showing its effect. It was the same armor that weakened the person in close proximity to Asher. ''Mir Steps,'' Asher said as he dashed towards the mage. He was not going to waste this precious chance that he had received. The mage red all his mana to increase the pressure in his surroundings. He was sure whoever attacked him was of a lower rank than him. He could deduce this much from the fact that he was still alive. Asher squinted his eyes as his grip tightened. His movement slowed, but he pushed his body nevertheless. The mage''s response was right, but he couldn''t think that Asher''s movement technique would allow him to close the distance between them so quickly. It was toote. If he had managed to do this a couple of seconds earlier, it would have dyed Asher enough so that the mage could gather enough time to increase the distance. But in his weakened state, he was not capable of doing so. Asher could see that his strike was slowed due to the sudden mana pressure he was enduring, but his sword still reached the neck of the mage as he sliced his body from the edge of his neck. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Asher looked at the bodies of two A-Rank hunters as he took a deep breath. Tom, who had stopped for a second to look at Asher''s fight, was amazed beyond belief. He had just seen a D-Rank hunter kill two A-Rank Hunters. Even though his presence was concealed by Kai''s ability and the weakened effect of the drugs in the air, he could not think of a single D-Rank hunter who could do something simr. He could not sense it himself, but he was sure the mage had used his mana to suppress him, but he still failed. Tom was still in the process of taking over the fourth level, and because he had no idea about the fourth level, he advised Asher to skip it altogether. "Okay," Asher replied. While Asher was moving, Tom grew more confused as he needed to take over the Fourth Level. The path that Asher was taking was different from the one on which Kai currently was. He traveled through the path, passing by various rooms which he ignored. He soon arrived at the room where the entrance to the Third Level was, and when he entered the huge room, he saw a body badly burnt. As Asher entered the room, he could see Kai standing in a room full of marks formed due to his attacks and fire magic. "Ah, these ones were quite good," Kai said as he looked down at two bodies. Judging by the fact that Kai had to use such spells, Asher could deduce that thest two guys were at least A Rank hunters. Asher''s eyes turned as he looked at the half-opened metal door that was the entrance to the Third Level. "Oh, that. I got a bit reckless with my spells," Kai said, scratching his head. Asher knew that Kai would reach his limit soon as casting all the highest-tier spells he knew would slowly take a toll on him. "Let''s go. We will directly go to the Fifth Level from here," Asher said as both of them entered the Third Level. Chapter 179 Nearing The Fifth Level Entrance The air inside the underground facility was beginning to fill with the drug that Asher had brought with him. Following Asher, Kai pondered deeply about Asher and his actions up to this point. He''d never heard of any such poison that affected a person''s mana flow in such a manner as the one Asher had given him. This was the first time he had seen such drugs. Defeating A-Rankers this easily was not a simple task for him. Typically, Kai needed Dane to deal with this many people, and even then, it would still take more time than it did for Kai alone. "What path will we take?" Kai asked as he peered at the holographic map. "We will eliminate people on this floor first," Asher said, as their priority had shifted. He was not rushing to the Fourth Level as they were heading straight to the Fifth Level, knowing it was a one-way entrance and they would still need to pass through the Fourth Level again to leave this facility. He aimed to iste the fourth Level and eliminate any possibility of reinforcements arriving. Dane was ensuring that no one entered the B-Rank facility and that none of the bodies of the people they''d paralyzed were spotted. "Take this time to gain ess to the fourth level," Asher reminded Tom. Both moved forward, leaving the half-destroyed area behind them. Fortunately, the materials used to build this facility were sturdy enough to ensure that the impact of Kai''s spell wasn''t heard by the hunters on the Third Level. Unlike the previous levels, there were only five A-Rank hunters present, and most of them were stationed separately from each other. And they were positioned around specific blocks of the third Level to guard various storage rooms. Asher and Kai moved through the third Level, observing various security devices. But all of them had been rendered useless by Tom. Asher spread his mana sense and detected the presence of the nearest hunter. "I will take him," Asher said, leaving Kai slightly confused. He didn''t understand why Asher wanted to confront and kill these hunters. But just in case, Kai prepared a spell in the event Asher missed his opportunity. Asher used Mir Steps, and Kai watched Asher''s figure moving from one point to another. ''What is that technique?'' Kai wondered as he''d never seen anything like it before. He had seen various A-Rank and S-Rank hunters, but none used such a technique. Most of them were fast enough to outpace Asher, but he was certain no D-Rank hunter moved like him. Asher moved quickly, but he didn''t forget to conceal his presence. If he used his mana without concealing it, even with Kai''s abilities, his presence could be sensed by an A-Rank Hunter. As the mage guessed, Asher was near him after his first attack, but he couldn''t do much due to the drug that filled the air. Asher propelled himself from the ground towards the hunter, preparing to strike with his right hand. ''Isn''t he afraid?'' Kai thought as he saw Asher dash toward their next target. In his eyes, Asher was talented, but his actions seemed too reckless. Even Dane, in his view, was not as reckless as Asher. And he was correct. Unlike Dane, who avoided anyone he deemed dangerous, Asher was different. He had fought tougher battles in his previous life, where no one would have thought he could win. Even though his possibility of winning was low, his methods allowed him victory. But everything had a price, and damaging his body was one of them. But for now, Asher was not using his mana doping methods. Instead, this was what he was capable of with his current abilities. He moved his sword, which was bing coated in his aura, and his eyes indifferently regarded the A-Rank hunter in front of him as if he were nothing. Asher tilted his sword slightly as he moved past the A-Rank hunter, who didn''t know what had happened to him. "Eh?-" Thest words came out of his mouth as his head fell off his body. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Asher turned as he saw another notification. In a short span, he had gained three levels. ''Status,'' Asher said to himself. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] -25 (EXP 4500/25,000) [Bloodline]: Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed]: Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 115 Agility: 110 Endurance: 85 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 119 Stamina: 73 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 35+5 [SP]: 22+2 ---------------------------------------------- He had already reached level 25, and he was confident that there were enough A-Rank hunters here for him to kill. "Let''s move," Asher was not stopping here. Upon hearing Tom''s voice, Asher moved through the hallways. As Kai followed him, he noticed many storage rooms he was certain were storing valuable goods. He was sure that if Dane were here, he would have attempted to rob some of these rooms. They stopped at one of the turns where an A-Rank hunter was standing in front of a room that appeared like a storage room, much like many others they had passed on their way here. Asher used his movement technique to close the distance to the unsuspecting A-Rank Hunter. ''Swift Strike,'' In a single moment, Asher shed his sword through the neck of the A-Rank Hunter. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] Asher didn''t stop and headed towards the Portal they needed to take to enter the Fifth Level, where the ''Vault'' was situated. As time passed, the chances of someone noticing the anomalies with their mana flow increased. Asher was aware of this, so he was moving at full speed without conserving his mana. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Killing another A-Rank Hunter, Asher and Kai arrived at the core sector of the Third Level. "We have a metal gate in front of us," Kai reported to Tom. "You can handle one more Tier 3 spell, right?" Asher asked with an indifferent voice as he spread his mana sense. He could see the faint outlines of mana from 2 people standing a bit far from this gate. "Yes, but using it will make my ability run out sooner," Kai replied. His ability was taking a toll on his body. "Just take care of the one who will arrive after the first one," Asher said. "Shoot it straight the moment I kill the first one," His voice was indifferent and authoritative. They walked towards the Metal Door. < Permission Granted: You can enter now > The robotic voice was heard as Tom granted manual ess to Asher and Kai. Sounds of heavy metal colliding with each other could be heard as the metal doors started opening bit by bit. Kai could see that this door alone would have taken a few Tier 3 spells to break through it. "Get ready," Asher said as he dashed towards the entry that had just opened. Kai raised his hands as his eyes started to shine. "Call Forth, Arrow of...." Kai started chanting as an arrow began forming in front of him. But this arrow was also affected by his ability, as it disappeared shortly after it appeared. Using Mir Steps, Asher had covered some distance, and he could see a man wearing special armoring in his direction. Judging from his speed alone, without using mana, Asher knew he was an A-Rank Hunter. "Who could it be," The hunter muttered as he moved towards Asher. His senses and mana control had grown dull to the point that sensing Asher and Kai''s presence was impossible for him. Asher looked at the armor the man was wearing and knew it was A-Rank Armor. However, there was one part of his body that the armor did not cover: his face. Asher focused his aura, which gathered around his sword''s tip. Taking a deep breath, his eyes focused on one spot. They were only 2 seconds apart from each other. Asher turned his sword as he, changed his grip, and pulled it a bit behind his back as he thrust the de into the skull of the A-Rank Hunter. His aura greatly strengthened his hand and sword as the de pierced through the skull of the A-Rank Hunter. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] The moment he killed the A-Rank Hunter, he could sense another presence of an A-Rank Hunter just ahead of him. Judging by his Mana Flow skill, he could sense that the A-Rank Hunter was ring all his mana that he could. Chapter 180 Entering The Vault 10 Seconds Ago, "Is somebodying into the restricted area?" The second A-Rank Hunter asked himself. "I should go greet them," he decided, knowing that only a few officials could enter this area. Although it was also part of the security protocol, he moved in that direction. "What is this?" he frowned. He was nning to use a bit of mana to reach where Asher and Kai had entered from, but he felt something was off with his mana control when he tried to use it. Nheless, he didn''t stop. Instead, he used a bit more of his mana to chase after the first Hunter, as his senses were telling him something was amiss. However, considering no alerts had been sent from the team in charge of surveince in the security room, he didn''t think much of it. He was heading in the same direction the first Hunter had taken and quickly caught up, but the sight in front of him shocked him. "What?!" he shouted, seeing a sword pass through one of the people who were guarding the Third Level with him. Immediately, he activated his mana but could feel that his body''s response was considerably slower than he was capable of. He unsheathed his sword, ready to charge at whoever had just killed one of the guards responsible for the Third Level''s security with him. Asher didn''t draw his sword when he sensed the presence of an A-Rank Hunter nearby. Feeling the A-Rank Hunter rushing towards him at high speed, Asher quickly grabbed the Hunter he had just killed. He pulled the body of the Hunter towards himself as he leaned backward. This was Kai''s cue to prepare his spell. Since the spell was nearly invisible and was in the blind spot of the A-Rank Hunter charging at them, it was virtually impossible for the second Hunter to detect it. Kai noticed Asher leaning backward and could now see an A-Rank Hunter approaching Asher. The arrow he had crafted was a special spell he was confident could prate most A-Rank armors. He immediately shot the arrow, and Asher could feel the heat of the ming arrow in front of his face. Unfortunately, the second Hunter couldn''t sense the Tier 3 spelling toward him. The arrow collided with the wall behind the Hunter and dissipated soon after, leaving a deep mark on the wall. Thud! Asher''s eyes fixed on the second Hunter, who now had a massive hole in his chest and was falling to the ground. "Phew," Kai said as he observed the impact of his spell. He had used a spell that didn''t cause much destruction. "Let''s go," Asher said, pulling his sword out of the Hunter''s skull. Asher and Kai headed towards where the entrance and the portal to the Fifth Level were. It took them about 2 minutes to reach the exact hallway they needed to enter. However, Asher stopped and looked toward the entrance of the Fourth Level. There was still one more A-Rank Hunter left, and he wanted to take care of him before proceeding to the Fifth Level. This time, Kai didn''t question Asher''s intentions and followed him. Despite not knowing why Asher wanted to take out the people himself, he prepared to assist him in case things went south. Asher saw the entrance of the Fourth Level and, standing in front of it, a single A-Rank Hunter with a carefree look on his face. Asher eyed the A-Rank Hunter and extended his mana sense, but he couldn''t probe beyond a certain distance in the Fourth Level. Most of the security devices that Tom had disabled until now were still active on the Fourth Level. Asher gripped his sword as he dashed towards the Hunter. Unlike the previous kills, this one was the easiest so far as the A Rank Hunter who was standing there was too carefree. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Asher looked back at the metallic entrance and the various runes that were still active around it. But he ignored them and walked out of the room. They entered the main hallway and saw a special room with a unique design. On the metallic door, a white-colored, heart-shaped gem was embedded. The moment Asher and Kai stepped near the room, they heard a robotic voice. < You have entered the highest level restriction area. Identity Confirmat-!#@# > < Identity Confirmed: Kamden Whiteheart > Asher recognized the name. It was Kamden Whiteheart, the Seat Holder for the Whiteheart Family, and Kevin''s father, a SS Rank Hunter. Kai grew a bit nervous as the realization hit him again. Things were going so smoothly that he had forgotten they were robbing the Whiteheart Family. The door opened, revealing a special area where a single portal, shining in blue light, was present. Asher heard Tom''s voice. "You can remove your ability now," Asher said as Kai immediately lifted his ability. Both of them becamepletely visible again. "Are you sure using this portal is safe?" Kai asked. The portal in front of them was a connecting portal, not an actual teleportation gate. It acted as the medium for two teleportation gates to connect with each other. This method was used to connect teleportation gates through mana-blocking barriers that were present all around the Fifth Level. Due to the mana distortion caused by such barriers, there were high chances of failure during the teleportation. Such issues never happened withrge Teleportation Gates that could overpower the mana distortions, but such Teleportation Gates were only used for transportingrge numbers of people. Portals like these acted as the third dot between two dots, fixing the path that could be taken and removing any possibilities that could bend the path. But the downside was that such portals could only be used as one-way portals. And the destination was always fixed. For this portal, the destination was the Fifth Level. It was something that Tom found when he studied the structure of the Underground Facility. Far from this facility, Tom was still working on the security of the Fourth Level. "How did the Boss manage to get this passkey?" Tom was genuinely impressed. The Passkey Tom was talking about was a special code that must be entered into the security system to gainplete ess. He was sure only the family head would know about it. He didn''t know how Asher managed to get this Passkey, but he was impressed by whoever aplished that task. ''Even I am not sure that I can do this,'' Tom always thought he was one of the best in his field, but seeing the amount of information Asher had given him, he was sure that Greville had someone better than him. But he never knew that the information that Asher had given him was something he had discovered in his previous life as Tom Gylip. Tom thought Asher wanted to avoid his family knowing about his actions, so maybe that was why he was using him. He confirmed this theory because the way Asher found out about his attempts to hack into the World Association Database was something only a person even more talented than him could discover. "Well, doesn''t matter. I am sure I can reach that level," Tom muttered, not knowing that his unknown rival was himself. "This is tricky," Tom said as he looked at the information. "Why the hell are they using apletely different system on the Fourth Level?" Tom said with a frustrated look on his face. Breaking into the previous system took weeks of preparation, but he was now working with apletely different system. "Should I just force my way in?" Tom muttered. But that method had various risks that Tom was unsure whether he should take now. So in the end, he decided not to do it. It was better not to take unnecessary risks. "Finally," Tom said as he looked around the Fourth Level. "What?" His eyes widened as he nearly sprang up from his seat. Three minutes before this happened, Asher had entered the portal as soon as they arrived at the Fifth Level, with Kai behind him. The sight in front of them surprised him. "So this is one of the 7 Vaults of the Kalvas G?" Kai looked at the massive sight in front of him. "Yeah," Asher replied as he approached the Vault. Chapter 181 New Problem? When the Kalvas G happened, seven new heads were chosen who were responsible for organizing the next one each time. Three of them were responsible for the Auction and were given special vaults like these that only they could open. These vaults were special because they ensured that every item that went inside and was taken outside was recorded. It was to ensure that none of the three chosen heads took the artifacts for themselves. Kamden Whiteheart was given this Vault, and only he could enter it. "But how do we unlock this?" Kai asked as he looked at the various designs on the Vault. It didn''t take him long to recognize the inordinate amount of runes present on this Vault. "Should I try to destroy these runes?" He asked. "If you want to notify every single Kalvas G''s head and all the authorities behind the G, sure, go ahead," Asher replied. His words made Kai feel a bit embarrassed as he knew that breaching into this Vault would not be easy. Asher knew the entry to this Vault was given to the person who held the Mana Imprinting Key. Each of the three heads was told to make their unique key by using mana on the runes on the Vault. These vaults were some of the finest creations of the Artisan''s Association, and even an SS Rank Hunter would have a hard time opening this Vault with brute force. For S Rank Hunters, it was almost impossible to even try to breach this Vault. Apart from the runes present for security purposes, special runes that required a unique mana flow to open the Vault were on it. A unique pattern was decided by the one responsible for this Vault. But Kamden Whiteheart was not the only one who knew about the unique mana pattern that unlocked this Vault. And the only one who knew about that mana pattern besides Kamden was Asher because he had seen Kamden unlock this Vault in front of him with his own eyes. It was something that Asher remembered quite clearly because he had attended the Kalvas G in his previous life when he was in his first year at World Academy. ************ The Kalvas G was nearing its end, with the announcement of the new seven Heads only a few days away. Two men stood before a remarkable structure carved from a distinctive dark blue stone. "So, a Greville has been chosen as one of the Heads?" Kamden asked the older man standing behind him. "Yes, and the Seat Holder of the Greville Family is about to arrive," the old man responded, ncing behind him. Shortly after, Arthur Greville entered the room, apanied by Asher, who was looking at the magnificent Vault before him. "This is one of the three Vaults of the Kalvas G, Heir Greville," the old man exined, mistaking that Asher was interested in the Vault. He was one of the individuals who assisted the Heads of the Kalvas G and managed the Auction. Given his knowledge of everyone from the Elite families, it wasn''t surprising that he recognized Asher immediately. "Pleasure to meet you, Head Greville," Kamden Whiteheart said, looking at the pair of crimson-red eyes. From his confident demeanor, it was clear Kamden didn''t consider the Grevilles superior to him. ''So, he is Kamden Whiteheart,'' Asher thought, observing a man who appeared to be in his thirties. Asher could see the resemnce between Kevin and Kamden Whiteheart. However, hisck of interest in the Whiteheart family was obvious from his eyes. "The pleasure is mine," Arthur returned Kamden''s greeting, though no hands were shaken. Kamden noticed Arthur had changed significantly since theirst meeting. The reason was clear to everyone: the loss of Nathaniel Greville was a devastating blow to the Greville family. "So, this is your son?" Kamden asked, looking at Asher, who met his gaze. ''Interesting,'' Kamden mused, noting Asher''sck of nervousness around him. Being among two SS Rank Hunters would make most people his age jittery, especially knowing that the Heir of the Greville family had remained unawakened until he joined the World Academy. "Yes," Arthur confirmed. The old man beside them felt a touch of awkwardness. He could see Arthur Greville was not in the mood for casual conversation or exchanging pleasantries like the other Elite families. "Let''s conclude the formalities," Arthur said, turning to Kamden. "Okay," Kamden agreed, raising his hands. Asher observed Kamden, who manipted his mana in a certain pattern, and soon, the Vault opened. He could discern the flow of Kamden''s mana, a talent stemming from his bloodline abilities. Asher was still limating to his bloodline skill, and perceiving mana so vividly was one of his capabilities. "You can imprint your mana now," Kamden stepped back, addressing Arthur. "I will take my leave," Kamden announced, promptly exiting the room. Much like Arthur, Kamden''s greeting was a mere formality, an etiquette that the upper society strictly adhered to, followed by every individual in the High Council and the elite social circles. "You can imprint a unique pattern that you desire," the old man suggested, turning to Arthur. Unbeknownst to everyone present, the young man standing there could see the mana imprints and the pattern both Kamden and Arthur created. At that moment, Asher was not particrly interested, but the pattern was etched into his memory. ***************** Currently, Asher was relying on his memory to open this Vault. Kai saw Asher walk towards the Vault and touch the walls of the massive Vault in front of them. Subconsciously, Kai prepared for the worst-case scenario. He was unsure how Asher would open this Vault, but he readied himself in case things went south. Only the Fourth Level was left uncleared, and Kai was confident he could eliminate the remaining A Rank Hunters left on this level. Asher''s palm touched the walls as he closed his eyes and mimicked the movements of mana that he remembered Kamden performing in front of him once. He knew that opening this Vault would consume half of his mana, but the cost was reduced due to his Mana Flow skill. As he expected, he needed a significant amount of mana to activate the special runes and create a specific pattern. Kai saw a bright blue light flow throughout the Vault, and he noticed many runes moving toward the center of the Vault, gathering around it in a circr shape. Multiple lines around the Vault lit up as Asher channeled his mana to flow through them. *nk* A loud sound of metal colliding with each other echoed when Asher removed his hands. The light shone once again as all the runes lit up, and the door soon opened, revealing the vast space inside it to Asher. "What a sight..." Kai muttered as he saw the Vault open up and unveil the massive space within. There were multiple spatial element runes painstakingly created to construct this Vault. Inside, a plethora of artifacts were stored in ss cases and various Mana Gems that were likely S Rank and above. Asher stepped in, and Kai followed behind him. At this moment, a wave of mana enveloped the entire fifth level, and a robotic voice was heard. But Kai and Asher were too far from the source of this voice. They didn''t know that their connection with Tom had been disconnected. Exactly three minutes ago, when Asher had entered the Fifth Level... Inside the Fourth Level, two men could be seen in conversation. "Interesting," a man with blonde hair murmured to himself. "I didn''t notice this before, but something feels off in the air," he concluded. The man standing before him questioned his im, considering that their Security System covered all the facilities rted to this Underground Base. "Do you think I am joking?" The blonde man became slightly irritated. "No, Sir, how could I dare think of you in such a manner," responded the Team Leader of the Guards working in the Underground Base. Chapter 182 Who Is On Fourth Level? Asher went inside the vault, observing numerous artifacts divided into various sections. Each of them was encased in ss structures. Kai frowned as he saw the ss used to encase the artifacts. "How many runemasters are working for them?" Kai said aloud. Each piece of ss had runes on it, distinct from those present at the entrance of the vault. "Thousands," Asher replied, continuing to walk around different sections of artifacts. The vault''s interior was lit with blue lights powered by various mana stones and runes. It was a self-sufficient creation, functioning almost akin to a spatial storage device. Each section was grouped by the type of artifacts ced there. None of the artifacts here were below S Rank. Kai remembered their meeting when Dane asked a question while Asher exined the n. "What if we take all the artifacts?" Dane proposed. Listening to Asher''s idea, he thought their chances of seeding were very high, so he obviously wanted to make the most out of it. "Not possible," Asher immediately rejected the idea. "The moment we break the encasing around the artifacts, an alert would be sent to everyone rted to the security of the vault," Asher exined. He knew this well, listening to conversations between Arthur and the old man present when Arthur took ownership of the vault from Kamden Whiteheart. "And the vault will shut down immediately after 20 seconds," Asher added, quelling any fanciful ideas in Dane''s head. Currently, Asher was searching for a specific artifact he had taken all this risk for. Last time, it had fallen into Leonard''s hands. ''Maybe even that artifact will be here,'' Asher wasn''t sure but kept reviewing various information popping up before him. He passed by numerous artifacts that could fetch millions of AUR at auction, but none of them piqued his interest. At the moment, he was in front of a special section where various unique artifacts were stored. But, these couldn''t be grouped with other artifacts due to their unique shapes, differing from typical artifact forms. His wandering eyes soon stopped on a specific artifact. A metallic-looking card with an eye-shaped jewel in the center could be seen in the transparent ss casing. ''Found it,'' Asher thought, examining the information about the artifact. The question was, how would Asher extract this artifact, along with the other item he was after? Tom, who had been working on cracking the security system of the fourth level, finally managed to seed. Still, the sight that met his eyes shocked him. "What?" His eyes widened as he almost sprang from his seat. He had just gained ess to the fourth level and saw a blond man with distinctive blue eyes moving to a specific part of the fourth level. "L-Louis Rothschild??" He stuttered in shock. "Why the hell is he here!?" He couldn''t believe what Louis Rothschild was doing there. But he didn''t know that James Rothschild had sent Louis himself, so he could stay at the underground facility to help Kamden Whitheart. James knew that the S Rank Hunters of the Whiteheart family were working on a recently formed special dungeon. The other reason was to ensure that Louis stayed in a ce away from people. Known as the Mad Dog of the Rothschild Family, he had earned this nickname due to the trouble he caused wherever he went. "I need to inform the boss about it!!" Tom immediately tried to contact Asher and Kai. "WHAT?" Tom didn''t understand what happened but concluded that Louis Rothschild had somehow taken control of the fifth level. Unsure of what to do, he immediately began to investigate the matter. But first, he needed to inform Asher and Kai about this. They were still inside the Fifth Level, unaware that Louis Rothschild had already sensed something wrong. "No, no, I need to do something," Tom panicked. Louis Rothschild was said to have achieved S+ Rank, and Tom was sure that even Dane and Kai together wouldn''t be enough to take on Louis Rothschild. "I need to get him out of here," Tom muttered as he kept looking for ways around the problem. Inside the Fourth Level a minute ago, "I will activate the Security Protocol," Louis said with a serious look. "What?" the team leader asked, confused. "Try to use your mana, idiot," Louis retorted, clearly irritated. The team leader of the guards used his mana, but something felt extremely wrong with his mana control. "How?" He was confused as he looked toward Louis. "Activate the Security Protocol," Louis repeated. This time the team leader immediately nodded, pressing something on the bracelet he wore on his right wrist. It was connected to the system they were using on the Fourth Level. "Connect me to the other levels and contact the teams positioned there," Louis instructed as he turned. "Ah, my ess was denied," the team leader reported slowly. His face was horrified, and he immediately tried to use his team''smunications. "Team A1?" he asked, but no reply came. Louis''s face turned serious as he realized something had gone wrong. "Check which level the protocol was implemented on!" Louis shouted at the team leader, who was nearly shaken by the amount of pressure Louis was exerting. He clicked his bracelet, and a holographic 3-D map of the underground facility emerged. All levels, except the fourth and fifth, were red. "No way," the team leader muttered. He was only here to build connections with the famous Louis Rothschild, but he hadn''t expected this. "Where is the footage of the Fifth Level?" Louis immediately asked. "In the Management Room, where we uploaded the system you wanted to implement on this level," he replied. Louis knew the direction of the room, so he turned and immediately headed toward it. He held his breath, knowing the air wasced with an unknown drug. Although it wasn''t that effective on an S+ Rank Hunter like him, he didn''t want to take any risks regarding this. While Louis was going to review the current footage, Asher found the second artifact he hadn''t expected to see here. ''So this was here as well,'' Asher thought, examining a ne-type artifact. He remembered this artifact very well. But, unfortunately, it wasn''t as powerful or useful as the artifact he initially came for. He didn''t need it, but he decided to take it anyway. It was closely connected to the incident that hadpletely changed Asher. "I have nted it," Kai said to Asher as he returned to the vault. "So, how are we going to take them out?" Kai asked, still unsure of the method Asher intended to use. "Let''s go outside first," Asher replied. They left the vault, but Kai was still eager to learn how Asher would deal with the runes. Asher walked around the vault, touching one of the lines of runes on the corner. ''Second time, huh,'' Asher thought to himself. Only once in his previous life had this vault been breached, and his organization had done it. But the scale of that heist was muchrger than the current one. At this moment, he didn''t know about Louis Rothschild''s presence, and Louis didn''t know about Asher''s existence on the Fifth Level either. But both of them were about to meet soon. And now, Tom was panicking quite a bit, as encountering Louis was a guaranteed death sentence for them. Chapter 183 Intruder Alert As Asher traced the runic lines along the vault, he searched for where the spatial runes were connected. He sought the structure of the runes that triggered the rm, the one that was connected to the vault itself. Unless the vault was opened, it remained concealed. In his previous life, this rune was discovered by Tom, who studied the vault''s structure for years on end. Although Asher remembered how Tom had done it, he stillcked the knowledge toprehend suchplex runes. With his current understanding, it was impossible for him to deactivate the entire system, but he could iste a few elements. That was what he intended to do. "Step back a bit," Asher told Kai. Asher studied the runes scattered all around the vault. Theirplexbinations formed a high-level security system nearly impossible to breach. However, Asher knew a way. Every rune structure like this had multiple focal points where the structural integrity was weakest. But no one could detect these faults in something like this vault because it was designed to minimize these focal points. Only the creator could know these focal points, but even they could make mistakes leading to creating such focal points. Finding these focal points could have taken years, but Asher already knew about them. As Asher traced the lines of the runes, he recognized a familiar formation. "This should do it," Asher said. "When I say go, retrieve those two artifacts," Asher instructed Kai, who nodded in response. "You will have exactly 4.5 seconds before the runic formation reverts to normal," he said. "And after that, the Vault will remain closed for 24 hours," Asher said. Listening to Asher''s instructions, Kai harnessed all his mana, increasing his focus to his maximum. Of course, it would have been better if Dane were here, but reaching the fifth level this easily was impossible without Kai. "I''m ready," Kai announced, his eyes fixated on the two artifacts Asher had indicated. He took a deep breath and waited for Asher''s cue. Meanwhile, Asher was coating his finger with an aura and concentrating it on one spot. It was the focal point where the mana stream of the runes was at its weakest. He took his index finger and touched the runic lines, attempting to disconnect them. If an S Rank or above hunter were here, Asher could have seized every single artifact, but that was not the case. So, he chose to tamper with the runic lines, giving Kai just enough time to bring the artifacts outside. Suddenly, the blue lines around the vault turned a pale yellow. Kai saw the tform where the artifacts were located glow red. He didn''t understand what Asher had done but was awaiting the signal to proceed. "Go," Asher said loud enough. *boom* A sound of a small st echoed as Kai used a substantial amount of mana to enter the vault. 4.... He reached the first artifact, which resembled a card. He immediately snatched it up and spun around. 3.... He propelled himself towards the second artifact, sensing the vault doors beginning to close. 2..... Upon reaching the area of the second artifact he needed, he swiftly seized the ne-like artifact, then turned to see the revolving door closing. ''Shit,'' Kai realized he didn''t have much time left. He exerted all his strength into his legs, leaping towards the entrance. 1..... He was almost at the entrance but only had 1.4 seconds left, so he extended his hand behind his back. "FIRE BLAST," he cast the spell behind him. It was the final push he needed, but his entire back would have been burnt if he hadn''t been wearing the armor that Asher had provided. *ng* The vault closed, and Asher removed his finger from the rune formation, noticing blood dripping from his finger. His gaze fell on Kai, who had crashed against the walls of the Fifth Level. Kai coughed a couple of times as he took a deep breath. He stood up after a few seconds, looking at the now-closed vault. Despite this, he had secured the two artifacts that Asher needed. Asher walked towards him, checking the information on the two artifacts. They were the correct ones. "Here," Kai said, standing up and handing the artifacts to Asher. Asher put both artifacts in his spatial ring. They still needed to exit the facility, but Asher wanted to reach Level 30 before returning to World Academy. "Is your work done?" Asher asked Tom. But no response came. "Tom," Asher repeated but still got no reply. It didn''t take him long to figure out what might have happened, and his eyes fell on the path where the entrance that connected the Fourth and Fifth Level was located. "You can use your ability, right?" Asher asked, but his eyes were fixed on the entrance. "Yeah," Kai replied, but he still didn''t understand what had happened. "Use it. We will move to the fourth level," Asher said as he looked around. Kai looked around, and he could feel a force field. It didn''t take him long to identify what this was. A high-grade mana jamming device that could block all sorts of connectionsing into the Fifth Level. But even more problematic was that this device made most artifacts useless for a short time. Kai immediately used his ability to hide his and Asher''s presence as they headed toward the entrance of the Fourth Level. And Louis Rothschild saw the figures of two masked men in the footage he was looking at. "How did they get there?" He shouted in rage. But what was even more shocking, they had opened the vault that only Kamden Whiteheart could open. The Footage was before they activated the device, so Louis still didn''t know about Kai''s ability because he had activated the Jamming Device. "From the mana readings we have detected, they are below S Rank," a person said. "Lock the Fourth Level and open the entrance of the Fifth Level," Louis shouted at the team in the Fourth Level. "As you wish," they replied, but the team leader was unsure. "But we need Master Kamden''s per-" He said something when Louis grabbed his neck and mmed him against the wall. "I am in charge here, not you, bastard," Louis looked at the man who was struggling in his grip. He released his grip as the team leader started coughing. "Forgive me," he said. He had forgotten that Louis Rothschild didn''t behave like other people from elite families that greatly cared about their image. "The entrance will open in 1 minute," one of the people working in the management room said to Louis. "We have locked the Fourth Level, and nobody will be able to leave," he continued. "How long will the jamming device work?" Louis asked again. "For 1 minute, we can block all themunication inside the Fifth Level, but its effectiveness will drop significantly after that, so maximum 2 minutes," The man replied respectfully. "Enough time for me to kill them," Louis said as he left the room and headed towards the entrance of the Fifth Level. Louis didn''t know how the intruders had opened the vault, but he would kill them. James had clearly told him not to make a mistake while being present here. The Kalvas G was around the corner, and this was a big event for the Whiteheart Family. But something unexpected happened in the Management Room, "Someone is trying to take over the security system," a guy said as they got multiple alerts on their screens. In the Abandoned Building, "This should be enough time for me to warn them," Tom knew that taking over the entire fourth level would take too much time. So he decided to gain ess to a small pseudo-level between the Fourth and Fifth Levels. He needed to dy Louis Rothschild somehow and warn Asher and Kai simultaneously. "It''s do or die," Tom decided to risk it all. **************** At the Fifth Level, Asher saw the entrance to the Fourth Level open in front of him, The entrances to the Fourth and Fifth Levels were not directly connected. In the middle was a space filled with various security devices. It was neither part of the Fourth nor the Fifth Level. They heard a glitching voice. Those were thest words they heard from Tom before the connection was cut off. "Lo child?" Kai didn''t understand what Tom was trying to convey. "Louis Rothschild," Asher said as he spread his mana sense. And he sensed a powerful S+ Rank Huntering towards them. Kai''s facepletely changed when he heard the name. "N-No way," He tried to deny the possibility, but sensing a powerful presence ahead of them, he knew that Asher was correct. A/N : This arc had extended a bit more than required and I have taken all the suggestions so I will improve on my writing skills. Chapter 184 Encounter In the management room, "The attacks have stopped," one of the men announced as the alerts ceased. "Don''t growcent now. What''s the status of our Hunter Team?" a man in a suit inquired. "They reached the third level before we locked down the fourth level," the man replied. Upon hearing that the security system had beenpromised, Louis Rothschild''s initial response was to dispatch his team of A Rank Hunters from the Rothschild family to the upper levels. "Try to establishmunication with them. Can we contact the outside world?" he asked. "Not until we regain control of the first level," the man responded, shaking his head. Although Kamden appreciated that James Rothschild had sent Louis Rothschild himself, he was not prepared to cede them too much authority in his territory. This was why only the fourth level was under their control. To contact anyone, they had to go through the main security system, which was currently under Tom''s control. Control would remain with Tom until Dane could prevent anyone from entering the Security Room on the first level. For this reason, over ten A-rank Hunters were advancing towards the first level. "So, you''re saying that I need to eliminate ten A Rank Hunters, right?" Dane asked, stretching his hands. Tom replied hastily. He knew that asking Dane tobat ten A Rank Hunters was not a feasible choice; this time, the enemy was prepared and even drugged, increasing their chances of oveing Dane. "It won''t work. Louis Rothschild is not someone they can defeat," Dane stated, rising from his seat. Working in Spyder had provided Dane with extensive information about individuals like Louis, and he was certain that Kai wouldn''t be able to handle him. "I''ll try to get there myself," Dane proposed. "Just inform me of their locations," Dane requested. After a silent five seconds, Tom finally confirmed. Dane smirked, gripping his sword. He was growing bored sitting idle while watching Asher and Kai eliminate every guard. On the fifth level, "What should we do?" Kai questioned. "We move forward," Asher decided. "But-" Kai began, but then he nced behind them. With the Vault at their rear, they had no option to retreat. If an S+ Rank Hunter engaged inbat here, they would quickly be defeated. Asher led the way, taking the stairs to the Pseudo Level and surveying the surroundings. "Locate the Mana Source," hemanded. Realizing that this was the Pseudo floor, he knew that Tom would soon be able to seize control, even if he couldn''t manage it for the fourth level. However, a Jamming Device was currently hindering him. They dashed towards the right side, where Asher could sense the Mana Field originating. If the source of the Jamming Device was there, its source would not be far away either. It didn''t take him long to arrive at the special room filled with mana stones that were being used to generate the entire pseudo level. This was a pseudo level, so the power source could be reached, unlike other levels where it was sealed. The purpose of this level was simply to bridge a gap between the fourth and fifth level. "Which one is the correct one?" Kai muttered as he examined various connections. Kai was in a hurry because they could encounter Louis Rothschild at any moment, and he was certain that Louis Rothschild would be able to detect their presence. "Move," Asher said, and Kai stepped back. Asher observed theplex connections in front of him. They could destroy the whole thing, but doing so would eliminate all the power of this level. However, one of the mana stones glowed, and they could sense that the Jamming Field had be slightly weaker. <.....> Still, they could neither hear Tom nor use their artifacts. The effects of the previous jamming field would linger for some time. "Is it this one," Kai asked. "Yeah," Asher said as he lifted his sword. He coated his sword with aura and struck against one single point in the Power Source. Sparks were generated as his sword hit a single mana crystal. Destroying the mana crystal would result in an explosion due to the property of the mana crystal, so Asher only made a small crack in it, just enough to lower the mana level of the crystal. "Let''s move," Asher said as he prepared to leave the room. But at this moment, they heard a robotic voice. Louis Rothschild was here, and Kai prepared himself, taking a deep breath. Although the Pseudo Floor was stillrge enough that it would take some time for Louis to find them. "Which path should we take?" Kai asked. Asher recalled the blueprint of the entire underground facility. He formed a n, but it was risky. Still, it was their only chance of getting out alive. The n relied heavily on Tom and his abilities. He was certain that Tom still had ess to the upper levels and that Dane would be descending soon. Dane and Kai were strong, but not enough to stand against Louis Rothschild. It didn''t matter whether Dane could reach here or not. Asher opened the holographic map on his device, showing Kai their next destination. "We will move here," Asher said. "But we will get blocked here," Kai replied. And it was true; he was not wrong in his assumptions. "Just follow me," Asher said. Trusting Asher''s judgment so far, Kai decided to blindly follow him. They left the room and headed towards the destination Asher had indicated. It took them 30 seconds to reach their current position. <...!!..> Kai heard a noise in his ear. Asher looked at the entrance on the opposite side of where they were standing. "You remember what I mentioned about this level, right?" Asher asked. "I know what I am doing," Asher interrupted Tom. Getting confirmation from Tom was enough; he didn''t have time to exin his intentions. "Ready your strongest attack," Asher said, looking at Kai. "And make sure it doesn''t miss," Asher turned his head as he sensed the presence of the S+ Rank Hunter growing stronger. Kai calmed his nerves as he began to chant. "Great Fire, Born of Earth...." Kai closed his eyes, needing a bit of time to prepare. After 10 seconds, Asher looked at the entrance opposite them. *Step* *Step* *Step* He could hear the footsteps of a man; his senses were at their peak. Asher watched a man in a white suit emerge from the entrance in front of him. "Not here, huh," Louis Rothschild said as he looked around. The drug hadn''tpletely affected him, but his senses were a bit duller, so he couldn''t detect Kai and Asher''s presence 100 meters ahead of him. Therge empty space between them started to shrink as Louis Rothschild moved towards Kai, who waspleting the final chant of his spell. Louis Rothschild was moving when he stopped and raised his hand, intercepting a dagger that came from his right side. "What a pest," He immediately destroyed the dagger. He red his mana, extending his senses to his right, but the man who had attacked had moved. "Interesting ability, but," Louis smiled as he coated his fist with mana. "You can''t run from me," He mmed his fist to the ground, sending out a wave of mana. Asher was soon caught up in the mana wave, and Louis looked to his right side, spotting his hidden prey. But just then, as Louis focused on Asher, a giant vortex of fire emerged underneath him. "Firestorm Fehrin," Kai said. Chapter 185 Trap When Asher noticed Louis entering, he immediately moved around the room, took out a dagger, and threw it at the back of his head. He knew that Louis would easily sense his attack as he was entirely different from the A Rank Hunters he had dealt with until now. The moment he saw Louis grab the dagger, Asher immediately used his movement technique and changed his position. Asher''s cold gaze fell on Louis, who was about to m his fist on the ground, and he immediately braced himself for the impact. Wrapping his body in his aura, Asher tried to shield himself from a single wave of mana that emanated from Louis. But his position was revealed when Louis sensed the presence of a person to his left side. The moment he turned his face to look in Asher''s direction, Kai hadpleted his chant. "Firestorm Fehrin," Kai said, raising his hands above his head. The air around him heated up as his eyes focused on the target in front of him. A giant vortex of fire emerged where Louis was standing, and his body got enveloped in the massive firestorm revolving around him. Due to the fact that Kai had used all his focus to conceal this spell as much as possible, and because of the effects of a drug, Louis noticed the spell a second toote and got caught up in it. Boom! An explosion happened due to the sheer power of the spell as Kai looked at the firestorm in front of him. "me Cage!," Kai said, bringing his hands down and causing the vortex of fire to start descending to the ground. It formed a cylindrical cage around Louis, and the temperature inside the vortex increased even further. "Huff, huff, huff," Kai almost copsed, as this spell had drained a lot of energy from him. And due to this, his unique ability was lifted, and both Asher and Kai became visible again. Asher''s ck mask shimmered as it reflected the lighting from the enormous vortex of fire that had just engulfed Louis Rothschild. However, Asher immediately looked around as he noticed the ceiling above therge open space in which they were standing. He could see that the blue lines on the ceiling had already started to glow. Asher lowered his gaze to the center of the firestorm, unlike Kai who was waiting to see how much damage his spell had caused, Asher already knew the oue. Each rank progression creates a considerable difference between the two different ranks, due to the presence of additional mana rings around one''s mana core. Kai controlled his breathing as he stared at the firestorm. Even Kai knew that this spell alone would not harm Louis Rothschild. "DO YOU THINK THIS MEAGER SPELL WOULD WORK ON ME?" A voice echoed, causing Kai to frown. In an instant, a heavy pressure filled the room, and fortunately, Asher had already stepped back far from the firestorm, so he didn''t bear the brunt of Louis''s power. A blue light emerged from the firestorm as another explosion urred, and this time a man wearing dark blue armor could be seen stepping out of the firestorm. Louis''s suit was burnt, but his armor had activated, so he waspletely unharmed. "Is that all you''ve got?" Louis asked, dusting the ashes from his shoulder. Louis''s eyes fell on Kai and Asher, both wearing ck masks, their identities unknown. It wasn''t hard for him to guess that the mage was around A+ Rank, and the other was B Rank or below. Asher unsheathed his sword and Kai gathered his mana once again. "Before I kill you, who helped you enter here?" Louis asked. "And how the hell did you open the Vault?" Louis took a step, increasing the pressure in the room. He wanted to know how these two masked men had managed to not only infiltrate this underground facility but also unlock the Vault, one of the greatest creations of the Artisan''s Association. The pressure made it hard for Kai to stand properly, but he was still standing. Unlike Kai who was standing on his own Asher had to m his sword in the ground and use it as support. Asher heard Tom''s voice as his eyes turned to the ceiling. He could see all the blue lines up there forming special interconnected patterns. Louis, who was about to take another step, halted as various metal rods came his way, attempting to trap him. His face turned into a frown as he immediately dodged all the attacks. The speed was not so high that Louis would have much trouble avoiding them, but the attacks served as a distraction. Louis heard a robotic voice, and before he could even react, various walls that were part of the security system protecting the vault mmed down all around him, forming a cage. "What?" Kai was surprised, his eyes taking in the sight in front of them. "Now move," Asher said as he dashed towards the entrance of the Fourth Level. It was the same entrance that Louis Rothschild, who was currently trapped, had entered from. "What happened?" Kai asked Asher as they were running towards the Fourth Level entrance. "That''s the purpose of that level," Asher replied. That level was thest stronghold of this facility, designed to stop any intruders and to iste the Vault from the Fourth Level. "Then the Vault..?" Kai asked. "Sealed," Asher said, but it wasn''t entirely urate. Rather, there had been a shift in the coordinates where the Fifth Level was located, and the Security Protocol that Tom had initiated made it so that the Fifth Level became inessible for anyone who came from the Fourth Level. Unless someone used the direct portal that only Kamden Whiteheart should have been able to use, entry to the Fifth Level was impossible for now. Tom told them as they almost reached the entrance of the Fourth Level. As soon as they entered the vicinity of the Fourth Level, theirmunication was cut off. At the Abandoned Building, "Shit," Tom muttered. He wanted to ask Asher something, but themunication had been cut. He still didn''t know what Asher was nning, and leaving the Fourth Level in time was currently their only option. "It should hold, right?" Tom looked at the massive metal gate that was containing Louis Rothschild. His eyes shifted towards Dane when he saw that he was going to meet the A Rank Hunters team soon. "Be careful, there are 6 Hunters and you will meet them in 5 minutes," Tom warned Dane, who was moving at top speed. Tom heard Dane''s reply, but he was still growing anxious. Louis Rothschild''s presence was something they hadn''t expected. If another S Rank Hunter instead of Louis was here, the situation would have been a bit better. Not only had the Rothschilds brought their best hunters, but due to Louis''s status, it was far easier for him tomand all of them. And without them, Tom would have had no problem taking over the Fourth Level. Inside the Metal Cage, Louis touched the cage, gauging the strength needed to break out. Raising his fist, Louis coated it with S+ Rank Mana and mmed his fist into the metal cage. *BOOM* An explosion sounded, audible even to Kai and Asher who were nearly at the entrance of the Fourth Level. ''Shit,'' Kai thought to himself as he heard the sound. He knew what would happen if even one of those fists hit him. The sound alone let him imagine how powerful Louis Rothschild truly was. "Keep moving," Asher said to Kai, Unlike Kai, who was growing anxious, Asher remained calm. "Yeah," Kai replied as he shifted his focus from Louis, They still had a chance to escape, and with this thought, Kai nurtured a sense of hope that they could make it out alive. Tom saw the numbers detailing the damage received by the device that was keeping Louis Rothschild confined. "What kind of monster is this," Tom eximed, The damage from Louis''s single punch was enough to drain the mana level of the cage. Unlike regr metal, this cage was crafted from metal that was being charged by the Mana Stones present on the Pseudo Level. And it operated on the principle of a special barrier that wouldst until the mana stones werepletely depleted. But looking at the numbers in front of him, things were not looking good for them. Meanwhile, Dane stood over the bodies of two A Rank Hunters as he drove his sword into the heart of the third. "Come on, I''m runningte, let me go already," Dane said, smiling as he finished off the third hunter. Chapter 186 Arrives 2 Minutes Ago, Taking the path Tom had given him, Dane traveled through the Second Level, holding nothing back. Unlike Kai and Asher, who didn''t expose their mana while descending, Dane let his mana flow freely. "Let''s start this," Dane muttered, gripping his sword. He sensed the presence of multiple A-Rank Hunters ahead. Although he yearned to bypass them and directly reach Kai and Asher, he couldn''t ignore the probability of these hunters reaching the First Level and regaining control over the Security System. If there was something they needed to avoid in their already doomed situation, it was losing control over the security system. The potential reinforcements were limitless in Desmar. Almost all Elite families were essentially invincible within their respective continents. "Damn it, my mana control is a mess," a mage among the team of huntersined. "Shut up, we''re all suffering," another replied tersely. None of them anticipated encountering any enemy here. Their senses were also affected by inhaling the drug present in the air ¡ª a shock for them since A-Rank Hunters possessed a robust immunity system. "Remember, Sir Louis, will not appreciate further dys," the lead hunter said. Hearing Louis''s name, they all fell silent, and the arguments ceased. They recalled Louis''s instructions and his clear directive toplete this job as quickly as possible. "We''ve reached the Second Level," the lead Hunter announced as they entered the Second Level. "Let''s maintain the pace and be caref¡ª" His voice halted as a sword pierced his chest. "Woah, you need to stop right here," Dane said, withdrawing his sword as the remaining nine Hunters halted. "NOO!!" One of them bellowed as they witnessed the hunter''s death. He rushed toward Dane, dagger in hand. However, it was easy for Dane, who was unaffected by the drug, to evade the attack. Instead of dodging, Dane ducked, positioning his sword upward. Instantly, he leaped toward the hunter, killing him as his sword shed through his neck. "Eight more," Dane smirked beneath his mask, his sword dripping with blood. Dane red his mana and appeared behind the closest mage. "Save Jack," a spear-wielding Hunter shouted, but it was toote. Dane kicked the mage, separating him from the rest of the hunters. In a fight with multiple opponents, mages were the most formidable enemies. Not knowing their specialized spells could pose a problem for Dane. But, as a professional contract killer for Spyder, he knew how to manage situations like these. The mage used a mana barrier to mitigate the damage, but it was futile as Dane relentlessly drove his sword into his heart, killing him instantly. "Come on, I''m runningte. Let me pass," Dane said, smirking under his mask. But as he spoke, multiple vines erupted from the ground. Dane swiftly backstepped as the vines smashed the area where he''d been standing. "Come on, they were your friends!" Dane taunted the mage. He was skilled at manipting others'' emotions during fights, and his personality yed a significant part. Unless Dane felt a threat from someone, he wouldn''t even consider losing to them. And right now, none of the hunters before him induced such a sense of danger. "SHUT UP, YOU MURDERER!!" The mage yelled, casting another spell. It was an earth-based spell, with spikes emerging from the floor. Dane dodged the spikes while simultaneously spotting a spear flying his way. Dane dipped his upper body and used the hilt of his sword to strike the wrist of the hunter, The force nearly broke the hunter''s wrist. Physically, Dane was stronger than all of them; he was at the peak of A Rank, and none of them matched his strength. Their only advantagey in their numbers, but the drug had not only weakened them but also thrown off their timing. Dane knew that fighting this way would be time-consuming, a luxury he couldn''t afford. He shed the spearman''s body. He coated his sword with aura, using the walls around him as springboards tounch various attacks from all directions. His attacks were swift and precise, and even if they raised their guard, it was impossible for them topletely counter Dane''s onught. His current speed was too much for the A Rank Hunters, who couldn''t anticipate where the next attack woulde from. One of them pulled out an artifact. Dane''s eyes locked onto it, and he immediately changed his stance to propel himself towards the man. sh "That''s not fair," Dane said, pulling his sword from the hunter''s body. But as he prepared to move, another hunter charged at him, sword in hand. Meanwhile, Asher and Kai were advancing in the Fourth Level. The team in the Management Room was oblivious to their presence. Using the Jamming Device rendered the cameras around the Entrance of the Fifth Level useless. Knowing that Louis Rothschild himself had gone to deal with the invaders, they were all focused on regaining control over the security system. "I will take the lead," Kai said as he moved ahead of Asher. He couldn''t use his ability now, so protecting Asher became his priority. Asher remained silent as Kai moved slightly ahead. Their priority was the Management Room and regaining control over it before Louis Rothschild broke out. They navigated through multiple hallways and various inactive security devices, currently disabled due to the still-active Jamming Device. But they halted upon encountering a man in front of them. "How did you guys get past Sir Louis?" The Team leader asked, confused as he saw them. Knowing that Louis himself had proceeded to apprehend the intruders, their presence here didn''t make sense. "H-How did you escape?" The Team Leader became slightly nervous around them. In his mind, the only way they could have bypassed Louis was by killing him. This assumption amplified his fear. "Handle him," Asher instructed Kai, veering off his course. "Okay," Kai instantly agreed, aware that eliminating this man with his already low mana would be time-consuming. The Team Leader wanted to flee, but he understood that if he did, he would fall at the hands of the Whiteheart family. As the person in charge of the Underground Facility, until the S Rank Hunters returned, he knew the consequences of not confronting Kai right now. Girding himself, he activated his unstable mana. Then, he drew out a hammer and hoisted it over his shoulders. Kai observed the man before him as he channeled a spell into his hands. ''This will be tough,'' He acknowledged that defeating the man before him would be challenging due to the strain on his mana meridians. And the artifacts he had been using to enhance the flow and control over his mana remained ineffective due to the high-grade jamming device. On the other hand, Asher was heading toward the Management Room. Although there was a possibility of another A Rank Hunter being present besides the one they had encountered, knowing Louis''s character, he was confident they would have already been dispatched to the first level. He knew Louis Rothschild was impatient, and his aggressive temperament made him a poor leader. With this knowledge, he was confident that no A Rank hunter would be in the management room apart from the staff. And he was right: at his destination, the Management Room, only D Rank individuals, and a single C Rank person were present. Getting past multiple rooms and hallways, it took Asher 30 seconds to arrive in front of what seemed like the management room. Taking his sword out once again, Asher spread his mana sense and he could see 7 people inside the room. ******** Meanwhile, at the Whitheart Family Mansion, Kamden Whitheart was seated opposite a certain individual as they discussed something. "So, are the dates for the G finalized?" Kamden inquired as he took a sip from the cup in his hand. "Almost, but we will be moving out the Vaults this week," The elderly man opposite Kamden replied. "But I am here for another purpose," The old man dered, "We were considering granting you the privilege to inaugurate the G this time among the seven heads," The old man disclosed. His words prompted Kamden to raise his eyebrows, as it was a significant honour to open the G. Kamden was somewhat thrilled by this news but he concealed it. "Well, that would be an honour," He replied, maintaining hisposure. "But why would you not choose the Hargrave family over us?" Kamden queried, "Well, it''s due to Lady Casie of the Hargrave Family," The old man responded. Kamden recognized whom the old man opposite him was referring to. The younger sister of the Family head of the Hargrave family who had turned 30 this year, but he didn''t understand what the issue was. "But what''s the reason?" He probed, "That I can''t disclose," The old man replied with a smile and shook his head. He couldn''t inform Kamden that the reason they were not choosing the Hargrave family was because the family head of the Hargrave family himself had requested it. He himself was unaware of the motive behind this sudden alteration, but he had a few spections. The old man soon rose, and Kamden followed suit. "This is the Seal for the Vault, we will initiate the process for teleportation at the end of this week," The old man stated. Chapter 187 Taking Over Security System *Knock* Inside the Management Room, a knock sounded on the door. "Did that guye back?" One of the staff stood up and used his card to open the room. The Team Leader, who had just left a few minutes ago, was assumed to have returned. The thought of an enemy knocking on the room didn''t even cross their minds considering that Louis Rothschild himself had gone to catch the intruders. < ess Permitted > The door soon opened, and the staff member turned to go back to his seat. But he stopped, dropped the card in his hand, and looked down to see a ck de protruding from his chest. Drop! "WHAT?!" A man shouted as he saw a masked mane inside the room while their colleague was killed in front of their eyes. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] Asher ignored the notification as he looked at the C Rank Hunter, staring his way in disbelief. "Damn it, kill him," the man in the suit shouted as several staff members stood up to attack Asher. However, most of them were D Rank Hunters, and almost all of them couldn''t even channel their mana properly. Moreover, unlike the A Rank hunters, the side effects of the drug in the air were much worse for them. It wasn''t difficult for Asher to fight multiple weakened D Rank Hunters. But he wanted to avoid any possibility of damaging the management room with any random attacks. ''Mir Steps,'' Asher used his movement technique. With a burst of mana, he dashed away from the hunters and reached the mage, who had just stood up and was chanting a spell. ''Swift Strike,'' His sword moved, forming an arc around the mage''s neck. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] "Die," One of them swung a spear at Asher, but he was too slow. Asher sidestepped and raised his leg to lock the spear on the ground. The hunter looked at him in horror as he saw the ck sword drive into his throat, killing him. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] "Go together!" The man in the suit shouted, but the space around them wasn''t enough. Asher was more agile than them, and their surroundings made it harder for them to attack together. But two of them pulled out their daggers as they approached Asher, who looked at them and backstepped to dodge the first attack. Then he dashed forward, breaking the second man''s attack. He shed his sword through the second man''s chest, rotated his body, and thrust the sword into the first man''s heart. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] Seeing theirrades die at the hands of Asher, they rushed at him in the heat of the moment, but it was a futile struggle. Asher used his movement technique, disappeared from his spot, and appeared in the middle of the people rushing at him. He could see multiple nodes through his eyes, and his sword flowed through them, killing multiple D Rank Hunters simultaneously. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] "Dammit, move," The man in the suit brought out a strange w-type weapon and rushed toward Asher. He pushed the man, who was too scared to move right now. He dashed towards Asher, striking down with his weapon. However, Asher sidestepped and dodged the attack. Asher raised his sword, but the C Rank Hunter backstepped, realizing the masked man before him was dangerous. He charged once again, this time utilizing the scant amount of aura he could muster. His expression altered as he saw Asher directly block his weapon with his sword. *ng* The man tried his best to overpower Asher, but Asher swung his sword in a circr motion, the de grazing the edge of his throat, killing him shortly after the attack. [ Host has gained 5000 EXP ] "You," Asher raised his sword towards the other man in the room. "Ah," The man tried to speak but found no words. Fear had seized his mind, and he could not formte a response. "Sit and open your Security System," Ashermanded. The man hesitated momentarily, but understanding his imminent death, he followed Asher''s orders. "Open it," Asher repeated. The man promptly opened the Security System while Asher surveyed the various permissions. "Move," Ashermanded, and the man shifted behind him. Asher started fiddling with the settings, aiming to allow Tom the chance to take over the system. He was absorbing all the information he saw, using it to break the security system. The man standing behind Asher could understand his intent. However, he knew that even if he aided Asher, he might still die at the hands of Louis Rothschild. This realization made him shudder, his hands shaking. Seeing Asher''s exposed back, he thought he might defeat Asher, believing that Asher had dropped his guard. Consequently, the man summoned his sword. Just as he was about to close in on Asher, he saw a ck de lunging toward his chest, impaling his heart. "How?..." The man copsed. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] He did not know that Asher''s sword art permitted him to attack from and at any angle from his initial position. "Let''s disable this first," Asher dered. It didn''t take him long to locate the control of the Jamming Device, which he then disabled. Tom inquired, sensing that his connection with Asher and Kai had been re-established. "Yes, what else do you need to take over this floor?" Asher queried. Asher rose from his seat and moved towards where the C Rank Hunter had been standing. Just by observing his surroundings, he was able to discern the location of the Data Piece and retrieve it. He removed the data piece and stored it in his spatial ring. "When will the Metal Cage break?" Asher asked, Before going forward with his n, Asher wanted to know how long they could hold Louis Rothschild there. Tom ryed information about the damage the metal cage had sustained thus far. Inside the Metal Cage, Louis observed various spots he had pounded, his patience waning. He intensified the mana in his fists, striking the metal cage again. His mana shed with the barrier, and intense sparks could be seen. Every single impact of his fist made a loud sound. *BAM* His fists relentlessly hammered the metal cage surrounding him. Louis did not pause, knowing that the intruders'' chances of escape were increasing. Even though he had already dispatched his team of hunters to the First Level, he was desperate to break free from the metal cage. *BAM* Tom watched as the damage figures rapidly decreased, Louis Rothschild nearing the moment when the Metal Cage would fail. "We need more time, damn it," Tom eximed, monitoring the health. Taking over the Fourth Level would take him approximately 2 minutes, but he predicted that Louis Rothschild would escape the Metal Cage in less than a minute. Currently, he was essing the cameras on the Fourth Level and saw Kai struggling somewhat with an A Rank Hunter. Aware of Kai''s situation, Tom opened hismunication line to Dane. "You''re finished, right?" He queried Dane. <...Yeah> Tom heard the scream of a man in the background as Dane replied. "Proceed to the Fourth Level," Tom instructed. Chapter 188 Final Confrontation - I Dane had already killed eight Hunters, with only two remaining. However, both of them were injured due to Dane''s previous attacks. ''Shit, how is he so strong?'' one of them thought. Despite losing eight of their teammates, the two managed to injure Dane slightly. He got a few cuts previously on his shoulders and back while trying to simultaneously dodge and counter multiple people. They had expected Dane to be more reserved in his attacks after he''d been injured, but his tempo never changed. Unlike Kai, who had a unique ability making him a valuable asset, Dane''s talenty in fighting in such situations. Even though he was at the peak of A Rank, multiple artifacts Asher had given him had significantly boosted his strength. "Chain Cut," Dane muttered as he looked at thest two hunters. This was the same attack Dane had used in the Security Room to kill all the paralyzed hunters at once. As Dane disappeared from his spot, multiple cuts appeared on the bodies of the already tired hunters, who tried to defend themselves. But Dane kept changing the direction of his attacks. He drove the sword through the chest of one of the hunters, killing him immediately, then looked at thest hunter who was charging at him. At this moment, Dane heard Tom''s voice but didn''t reply, focusing instead on the hunter charging at him. He sidestepped once and cut off his arm. "ARGGHHHH," a hunter screamed in pain, but not for long. Dane immediately plunged his sword into the hunter''s heart, killing thest one standing. "Yeah," Dane replied as he turned, leaving the bloody mess behind him. Standing in the Management Room, Asher saw various alerts that kept popping up on the screen due to Tom''s infiltration into the system. The data piece he had just removed was the Security System, customized and applied on the Fourth Level by the technical team apanying Louis Rothschild. Seeing no further need for his presence in this room, Asher turned and exited. He was running back to the ce where he had left Kai and the security guards'' team leader to fight. "Damn it," Kai muttered as the man before him dodged his attacks. In a normal situation, the team leader would have been faster than Kai, but the effects of the drugs had made him a bit sluggish. However, Kai was also not at his best. Although he had enough mana for onest fight, he was trying to conserve it, knowing Louis Rothschild was just behind them. ''Was he not the one?'' the team leader thought as he maintained his distance. His initial fear of Kai was fading as he dodged one attack after another. At first, he hesitated a lot about whether to attack Kai, but he tried to face him nevertheless. But now that he was actually facing him, he realized that Kai was not too strong for him. Although his spells were still potent enough to injure him, he could dodge them if he remained careful. Kai knew that the longer he dragged this fight, the more mana he would have to use. "Burst me," Kai used another spell. The Team Leader saw various bursts of meing his way but kept dodging them one after another. Kai was carefully observing his path and waiting for his opportunity to arrive. He wanted to end this with one single attack, but he wasn''t getting the opening. Seeing Kai''sbored breathing, the Team Leader knew that his opponent was not at his peak. So he decided to prolong the fight. He knew he was weakened due to some unknown drug, and his only option was to drag out the fight until he could finally kill his opponent. Boom After dodging thest burst, some of which grazed his shoulder, Kai was about to attack the team leader with another spell. But he stopped momentarily when he heard a voice through themunication device. It was Asher''s voice directed towards him. Kai immediately switched the way he attacked and raised his hand in the air. "Rising mes," he spoke, as mes started appearing on the floor towards the Team Leader. But the Team Leader wasn''t bothered by this spell. He could easily counter it with his aura. He raised his hammer in the air and mmed it on the ground. *BAM* The force of his strike easily quelled the mes, as the two attacks were of different magnitudes. Kai had only used a Tier 2 spell, leading the Team Leader to assume that he was finally in a position to go on the offense. At this moment, Asher had already spread his mana sense and could sense the two A Rank hunters fighting each other. Asher had taken another path and was now behind the Team Leader. Asher took a deep breath, controlling his breathing to erase his presence as much as possible. He changed his grip on his sword and used Mir Steps to get closer to where Kai and the Team Leader were fighting. It didn''t take him long to arrive behind the Team Leader, who was about to charge towards Kai. However, Asher was not invisible, so he carefully approached the Team Leader, moving from one point to another without making a sound. This was difficult for him, but his regr practice of the movement technique allowed him to use the burst of mana and move silently simultaneously. The Team Leader, who was too focused on Kai, didn''t sense the small amount of mana behind him. Seeing an opportunity to finish off Kai, he got a bit careless. Due to the effect of Asher''s armor and the drug, Asher managed to close the distance between them. "What!" The Team Leader sensed a presence behind him, but it was toote. "Swift Strike" were thest words he heard as a sword shed through his neck. Thud! The body of the Team Leader fell to the ground as Asher went over it. [ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] Kai looked at Asher, breathing heavily. He was about toment on their situation when they sensed a massive wave of mana from behind them. Immediately, Kai turned in that direction with a worried look on his face. Asher did the same as his indifferent eyes gazed toward the direction where they had trapped Louis Rothschild. *BOOM* A loud explosion followed the wave of mana. Kai could even feel the vibrations from the explosion. Although he knew what might have happened, he didn''t want to believe it. Knowing that Asher had returned, he could guess that Asher had finished taking over the management room or whatever else was needed for Tom to take control of the Fourth Level. They were so close to escaping the Fourth Level. He hoped it was something else, but Tom''s words confirmed his fear. "Shit," Kai muttered. Instead of chasing them, Louis had gone directly to their only escape point. "Open the Fourth Level Entrance the moment you gain control over it," Ashermanded. Tom replied, but even Kai could hear the uncertainty in Tom''s voice. He, too, harbored simr thoughts. They were fortunate to have trapped Louis Rothschild once, but this time he was certain that such tricks would no longer work. Chapter 189 Final Confrontation - II Inside the Metal Cage a few seconds ago, "Hah, this is annoying," Louis''s impatience was growing. He had hit the metal cage countless times, but he was still trapped. He could have gotten out of the metal cage long ago, but to do so, he needed to use one of his strongest attacks. However, doing so would greatly harm the facility he was sent to protect. He thought about it for a second but arrived at his answer soon enough. ''This damn Jamming Ray,'' Louis cursed. Although he was the one who had his team fire it, he now regretted his decision. He didn''t think that the Intruders would be able to trap him, so he hadn''t thought much when he used it. But now, the jamming device''s effect was also hindering him. Even though the jamming device was turned off, the jamming ray still lingered in the area, rendering all sorts of artifacts within its range useless. If he could use one of the artifacts he had, getting out of this cage would be easier. Communication with the outside was impossible in the Underground Facility. "James can handle it," Louis had enough as he closed his eyes. Although he feared his brother, he would rather damage the facility a bit than let the intruders escape. The mana around Louis''s body started rising as he began floating in the air. The aura around his body got brighter and became concentrated around his fist. The technique Louis was using was part of thebat art of the Rothschild Family. ''Did he give up?'' Tom thought. The number was not going down anymore, and seeing this, Tom was a bit relieved. ''We can do this,'' Tom assured himself. Asher had taken over the Management Room, and Tom was about to take over the security system soon. Tom started working, but suddenly he got another alert, and his eyes widened. A few seconds ago, Louis Rothschild, floating in the air, opened his eyes as he gathered arge amount of mana around the fist. He raised his fist as he looked at the barrier that was present all over the metal cage. *BOOM* His fist connected in an instant. Mana sparks appeared as the barrier tried to resist, but the barrier was destroyed instantly, and his fist made a massive hole in the metal cage. He immediately stepped outside the metal cage. The moment the barrier was broken, the room where the mana crystals were supplying the mana was overloaded, and the crystals broke. Because they were almost fully depleted, a huge wave of mana was sent throughout the Fourth and Third Level instead of an explosion. Louis turned as he disappeared from his position, leaving a dent in the metal floor. He knew the only escape point was the Fourth Level entrance, and they needed to cross it. And he was right. Asher and Kai needed to escape through that entrance once Tom opened it. Louis already knew the route to the Fourth Level, so it didn''t take him more than 7 seconds to arrive there. "Still closed, huh," He looked at the entrance, which was still closed. At this moment, Tom saw the security footage around the entrance, Louis Rothschild, who was standing in front of the Fourth Level Entrance. He immediately contacted Asher and told him about the same. "Open the Fourth Level Entrance the moment you gain control over it," Asher said. Hearing his words, Tom reluctantly agreed as he could only do as Asher said. But, unfortunately, he himself didn''t know any possible ways to help them in their current situation. "Boss, what do we do now?" Kai asked as he controlled his breathing. "Dane," Asher touched themunication device that was finally working. "Attack Louis Rothschild the moment you enter the Fourth Level," Asher said. "Maintain your distance and try to take his attention so we can cross over to the Third Level," Asher turned and looked at Kai. "You can fight one more time, right?" Asher asked. "I will not be of much help," Kai replied. He knew that overestimating himself in such a situation would harm themter, so he replied honestly. "Try your best," Asher said. "Let''s go," Asher said, and Kai followed him. But he didn''t fail to notice that the vibe around Asher had changed a bit. It was simr to what he had sensed the first time he met Asher at the Hotel. Asher''s eyes went cold as he prepared to confront Louis. It was the only way they could try and escape, and even though they had no chance of beating Louis, they had to escape from here somehow. Louis was standing, waiting for the intruders, as he knew they had toe here. Knowing that one of them had a strange ability to turn invisible, he stood before the Fourth Level Entrance. His eyes were focused, and he had spread his mana sense wide across the room. "So you guys are finallying out?" Louis smirked as he sensed the presence of two people. "I was growing tired of waiting," Louis said as he stepped down the stairs near the huge locked entrance behind him. It had been more than a minute since Louis had been standing here, and he finally saw the masked intruders once again. "I wanted to kill one of you first, but," Louis said as he tilted his head and smiled. "I will keep you guys alive, but it will be a bit painful," He said as he cracked his knuckles. The pressure in the air was increasing, but Louis had changed his motives this time. Seeing that they had ess to the security of this facility confirmed that they were not alone. He needed both of them for interrogationter. A robotic voice came from behind when Louis turned with a frown on his face. ''Is that their backup?'' Louis thought. But he didn''t have to guess much when he saw a single swordsman dash towards him. "A single man?" Louis said as he sidestepped immediately, dodging Dane''s strike. He raised his foot as he spun and kicked Dane''s body, sending him flying into the wall behind Asher and Kai. "Guess three will be better than two," Louis said as he looked at the intruders. At first, he thought there would be more of them, but seeing that only one guy came for them, he became sure he needed to catch them all alive. "Dammit, he is strong," Dane said as he got up. He had used his best speed, but seeing that Louis easily dodged his attack made him realize the difference in their strengths. "This will be difficult," Dane said as he failed to take Louis''s attention and give Asher and Kai enough time to move over to the third level. "Try to stay alive," Louis said as he disappeared from his ce and appeared before Dane. Louis didn''t care if he left them in a half-dead state. As long as they were alive, he could have the answers to his questions. Dane squinted his eyes, dodging Louis''s fist that mmed the ground he was previously standing on. "Two A Rankers and one below B Rank. You guys are too foolish toe here," Louis removed his fist from the ground as he looked at them. Dane side-nced towards Kai, who nodded back at him. "Will of the mes, Come to...." Kai started chanting as Louis noticed him. "Don''t ignore me, bastard," Dane said as he dashed towards Louis, grabbing his attention. He turned his sword to his side as he shed at Louis. Even though he was weaker than Louis, Louis was not at his maximum potential due to the drug. But instead of dodging, Louis charged toward Dane, closing the distance between them. Louis punched Dane in the stomach before Dane could connect his strike, sending him flying again. But this time, Dane thrust his sword into the ground, preventing himself from crashing into the wall. Then, stopping at one spot, he looked at Kai, who had just finished his spell. "me Carnage," Kai said as multiple chains of me appeared beside Kai, and he became paler. This was one of thest spells he could conjure right now. Louis looked at various chains approaching him as he dodged the first three that went past him and damaged the walls behind him a bit. But even while dodging, he was mindful of all of their movements, which was why Asher was not attempting to go over to the Third Level. Because the moment he did, Louis would attack him instead of Dane and Kai, and taking even one strike from Louis was enough to severely injure him. Suddenly Dane''s attention shifted from Louis as he turned his head to his right and looked at Asher, who was moving towards Louis. He remembered what Asher had told him just before arriving here. Although it didn''t make sense to him, he knew he couldn''t disobey him. ''I was thinking of avoiding using that,'' Asher thought as his indifferent eyes looked at Louis. Chapter 190 Ending The Fight While Louis dodged the me chains Kai directed towards him, he saw the third masked person, who wore a ne around his neck,ing his way. Asher exuded his mana as he dashed toward Louis, who didn''t even bother acknowledging his presence. ''D Rank? Is this a joke?'' Louis thought as he dodged the final me chain. He saw the D Rank Hunter advancing towards him and felt annoyed at such a weak person challenging him. Yet, Louis disregarded the D Rank Hunter, turning his attention to Dane and Kai¡ª the only ones he deemed worthy of caution. Asher knew that Louis Rothschild would dismiss his existence. D Rank hunters weren''t worth his time. Louis could kill Asher with a single move, so it was apparent he would shift his attention to Dane and Kai until Asher attempted to escape the Fourth Level. A distance of only 20 meters remained between him and Louis Rothschild as Asher took a deep breath. He was about to unleash his killing intent, but first, there was one more thing he needed. [ Host has activated Time Dtion ] Everything around Asher slowed down, and Louis''s movement became visible to him. On the verge of dashing towards Dane, Louis stopped immediately as he sensed a tremendous killing intent that shook him internally. He turned to see who it was but saw the same D Rank Hunter appearing behind him. *ng* "What!?" Louis eximed as he blocked the ck de heading for his neck with his forearms. He was shocked by Asher''s sudden increase in speed. Unaware of Asher''s strength source, Louis immediately created a distance between them. He nced at the armor on his forearm, which remained unscathed. It was special armor crafted for him, considering Louis preferred closebat battles with his hands. Louis''s blue eyes sought Asher, who had disappeared again from his spot. He looked around him and saw Asher appear in one ce after another. ''What is that movement technique?'' Louis wondered, scanning his surroundings. [ Host is using Mir Steps with Time Dtion ] The fact that Asher was using his unique movement technique in this state equalized his speed with an S+ Rank Hunter. Louis turned his head to the left as he saw the ck de approaching him. Both of them were fighting so swiftly that Dane and Kai missed some of their actions. "How...?" Kai gazed at Asher in shock. But unlike Kai, Dane recovered from his stupor as he remembered what Asher had told him before they came here. "Hey, let''s go!!," Dane shouted, grabbing Kai, who was too fatigued to move. Dane used all his mana to cross over to the third level for a single burst. Asher had instructed him to take Kai and run towards the Third level when he stepped towards Louis. He didn''t understand how they would be able to cross over safely, but witnessing it firsthand, he immediately followed Asher''s advice. Time had slowed for Asher, and his eyes tracked every movement Louis made. Seeing that Louis had created a distance between them, Asher used Mir Steps to close the gap. Having battled multiple high-rank hunters, he knew how they executed their attacks. Louis''s defense was not a challenge for him. However, despite his speed, the force behind his attacks wasn''t enough to kill Louis. Not only was he wearing special armor, but he would cover his body with the aura the moment he perceived the attack could harm him. Fifteen seconds had already passed for Asher, so he knew he needed to move and cross over to the Third Level. Asher swung at Louis''s right hand but changed his attack midway through, using Mir Steps to appear on his left. ''Swift Strike,'' His aura-enveloped sword targeted Louis''s neck. Asher''s abrupt change in the attack took Louis off guard, but he managed to sense his presence in time and backed away from his attack. He could only detect a single node on Louis Rothschild, indicating his attacks were insufficient to kill him, but they could still wound him. However, Louis Rothschild was unaware of this. All his attention focused on Asher. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of allowing Dane and Kai to pass through the Fourth Level Entrance. Asher noticed this, and for him, 30 seconds had already passed. Therefore, he had only 20 more to cross the Fourth Level Entrance before Time Dtion ran out. Earlier, he was merely attacking as a distraction, but now he needed to dy Louis Rothschild for at least a second to make it to the other side where Dane and Kai waited. He amassed the mana around his legs and used Mir Steps to close the distance towards Louis Rothschild. But this time, Louis Rothschild was ready. He hadn''t anticipated Asher''s sudden boost earlier, but now he was prepared. And Asher could see that as the single node disappeared, and he had no means of injuring Louis Rothschild now. Louis saw Asher vanish from his spot, got ready, and raised his guard. He was luring Asher to bridge the distance between them. And he achieved his objective when he saw Asher appear on the left side and raise his fist instantly. But Asher saw his strike and used his movement technique again to slip past Louis''s strike and appear on his right. He was using all his mana at this point, so it was his final attempt before Time Dtion ran out. Louis turned his eyes as he saw a ck de heading his way. He twisted his torso and shifted the momentum to his left hand to strike Asher, who was currently on his right side. But noticing Louis''s movement, Asher halted his strike midway through as Louis had predicted and backed away from his position. Then, something strange happened, as Louis felt a sword nick his right cheek, leaving a thin cut. Asher saw Louis, who was shocked due to his new sword technique, Phantom Strike. ''Now,'' Asher vanished from his spot once again, and Louis instantly raised his guard to counter the next attack. He was puzzled how Asher had managed to hit him even though he had already retreated. But the next moment, he saw that the D Rank Masked man was nearing the Fourth Level Entrance. "STOP!!" Louis shouted, sending a mana wave to attack Asher with a fist strike. Asher turned his body at thest second, dodging the attack, but part of his mask was destroyed around his eyes. Louis attacked Asher, thinking he was an S Rank or higher, but if this attack had hit Asher, he would have died. Some pieces lodged into his face injuring him, but he used his momentum to dash away toward the entrance. "DAMMIT," Louis rushed towards the Fourth Level Entrance and saw Asher''s back, closing his distance towards Dane and Kai. Simultaneously, Louis pressed the artifact on his waist that Kamden had personally given him formunication. [ Time Dtion has ended ] Asher received the system''s notification, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over him. His face was bleeding due to the mask pieces embedded in his skin. But he didn''t care about that at this moment. He exhausted all his mana to reach Dane and Kai, grabbed them, and his ne began to shine. "Don''t move," Asher ordered them. "Eh?" Dane saw Asher clutching both of them by the nape of their necks. But his cold gaze, visible from the broken area of the mask, made it impossible for Dane to question Asher''s decision. Now outside the Jamming Ray''s area of effect, Asher could use one of the artifacts he had looted from the Vault. [ Inputting Random Coordinates ] *Boom* He saw the system''s notification as he turned to see Louis, who had just emerged from the Fourth Level Entrance behind him. "WHAT?" Louis halted in his tracks as he saw the broken mask and a single crimson-red eye staring at him. It was the same gaze he hadn''t forgotten till now. The gaze that looked down at him when he bowed his head towards the Greville. The same indifferent gaze looking at him. Asher observed the stupefied Louis, who was gazing at him. Louis snapped out of his daze as he dashed towards the same D Rank Hunter he had initially ignored. He wanted to confirm his suspicions. His hand was about to grab Asher, but at that moment, all three of them were enveloped in a strange violet light and vanished in front of Louis, who crashed into the wall behind. He immediately got up and looked around, but there was no trace of Asher, Dane, or Kai. He spread his mana around to notice any signs of mana, but there were none. His rage started to boil up as he realized his current situation. "SHIT!!" Louis smashed the ground he was standing on. Chapter 191 Mark Of Zephyr At the Whiteheart Mansion, It waste at night, and Kamden Whiteheart was reviewing some documents for their uing ns. Suddenly, he was alerted by one of the stone-looking artifacts as he looked up. "Louis?" He stood up immediately. He remembered when he asked James Rothschild for a few S Rank hunters for the safety of the Vault, even though it was only for a few days. So instead of a few S Rank Hunters, James sent his younger brother, Louis Rothschild. Because Louis was an S+ Rank Hunter, Kamden didn''t say much and allowed him to manage the security of the fourth level. However, he provided Louis with amunication artifact that could be used if something happened. He knew Louis would likely not need it, but he still gave him one. Now that Louis was using this artifact, he immediately picked it up. This one-way signaling artifact was used in extreme environments within high-ranking dungeons to locate allies. Seeing the stone lit up, Kamden immediately tried to contact his security team in the Underground Facility, but no reply came. He quickly grabbed his coat, which was lying on the couch, and left his room. ''What''s happening,'' Kamden Whiteheart immediately went towards where he had ced the portal to directly enter the facility. Inside the Underground Facility, Several minutes had already passed, and Louis was standing alone in one spot. After contacting the mansion, he also contacted James Rothschild using another artifact he had. "What did you say!?" James asked in a loud voice. "I failed," Louis spoke, then threw themunication artifact. "LOUIS!!!" James''s voice came out of the artifact, but he ignored it. His mind was scattered, unsure of how to describe the situation to Kamden, who was on his way here, and James, who would probablye. --------- Far from the Underground Facility, three masked figures appeared out of nowhere near some mountains. "What?" Dane looked all around him; they were in some kind of forest. "How?" Kai, struggling to stand, muttered. But Dane immediately turned towards Asher, who was on the ground, breathing heavily. "Boss!" Dane tried to help Asher but was stopped. "No need," Asher muttered as he sat on the ground. He felt the same heaviness he had experienced the first time he used this ability, and it was a sensation he didn''t like. "Your face...." Kai said but he stopped midway. Touching his face, Asher removed broken pieces of the mask with his hand. Then, he took out an A Rank healing potion and poured it on his face. His face started burning as the mana inside the healing potion began to heal the multiple wounds on his face. Tom''s loud voice echoed in their ears. "We are fine," Dane replied, though he himself was confused. Thest 2 minutes hadn''t made sense to him. A D Rank Hunter fighting an S+ Rank Hunter and teleporting to this unknown ce was beyond hisprehension. He wanted to ask Asher but wasn''t sure if it was the right time. Both of them had felt the killing intent emanating from Asher during his fight with Louis, and it wasn''tforting. Kai now understood why Dane would have found Asher dangerous. If Asher could fight an S+ Rank Hunter, it made sense. "Where are we, Tom?" Asher asked, ignoring the pain on his face. Tom immediately traced themunication devices on them and delivered his answer. Asher looked up at the sky as he heard Tom''s voice. "Both of you go back and bring the bikes and Tom here immediately," Asher ordered. "But..." Dane was unsure if he should leave Asher in his current state. Asher looked at Dane, his eyes shining in the moonlight. "Okay," Dane agreed, somewhat nervously. Though Kai was tired, Dane could carry him, and he would recover quickly. "We''ll go," Dane said as he hoisted Kai onto his back. Asher watched as the two of them disappeared. He then brought out his phone. "You removed the footage, right?" Asher asked. "Okay, destroy the security system and remove all traces of your activity," Asher ordered before switching off hismunication device. He closed his eyes as hey down on the ground in the middle of some unknown forest in Desmar. "It''s just the beginning," Asher muttered. This mission was merely to make the presence of Zephyr, the name Asher had given his group, known. He looked at the ne he was wearing. | Escape of Nightdream | | Rank SS - Mass Teleportation Artifact | | Description: This special ne allows the wearer to teleport to engraved coordinates. | | Limitations: Can only teleport up to 10 people | | Limitations: Coordinates must be engraved on the back of the ne to teleport to that location | | Limitations: Can only be used twice a week | Asher gripped the ne in his hands. Although it had helped him greatly, part of him wanted to destroy it because it was connected to a very important memory from his previous life. But he didn''t. This time, it was in his hands. Just like the other artifact he stole. This heist was crucial to dismantling the Whiteheart Family reputation and diverting their attention from Asher''s future ns. "I wonder how you will exin my presence," Asher thought about Louis. He was sure that Louis could guess it was he whom he had fought, but he would not be able to prove it. And Asher didn''t care if Louis knew about him because it made Louis easier to control going forward. The people he wanted to bring down were currently those sitting at the top of society. But, unlike his previous life, where those people knew they were fighting him, this time, they didn''t. Asher was an unknown enemy to them, and he was going to use this to his advantage. "Kamden Whiteheart, it''s a pity I can''t see your expressions," Asher spoke to himself. "But I hope you like the gift I left," he said as he closed his eyes. His inner madness was calm right now. Asher had killed many people during this mission, so he could rest peacefully for now. This was the start of the chaos Asher was about to bring to this world. ************ Within a few minutes, Kamden arrived inside the Fifth Level, where he saw the Vault was still present. "What happened here?" He looked around and saw that the fifth level was under emergency lockdown. Kamden Whiteheart tapped on one of the devices he had brought with him. He heard the robotic voice as he took control of the Security System. Tom didn''t interfere in this, as Asher had told him to remove all his traces. So far, Kamden hadn''t found anything strange. He went towards the Fifth Level Entrance, where he saw the broken Metal Cage. He immediately spread his mana around the facility and sensed Louis standing on the Third Level. It didn''t take him long to arrive in front of Louis, and while doing so, he saw many corpses of people that belonged to the Rothschild family. He was confused but knew that his answersy with Louis Rothschild, and he soon arrived in front of Louis Rothschild, who was standing on the third level. "What happened?" Kamden asked, and Louis looked at him. "I apologize," Louis said, knowing the fault would be ced on him. "The Vault was looted," His words made Kamden frown, as only he could open the Vault. *Boom* "Are you sure-" Kamden was speaking when he heard the sound of a sting from the fifth level. It was thest gift from Asher to Kamden Whiteheart: a rune-destroying bomb that he had brought for the Vault and another special item beside it. Kamden immediately rushed towards the Vault, but when he arrived, he only saw a single word engraved on the wall next to the Vault. "Zephyr?" Kamden said as he read the text, but this was not his primary concern. He turned his face, his expression turning grim. The security runes on the Vault had been triggered, and now the authorities of Kalvas G were on their way to this ce to question him about this. Chapter 192 Aftermath At the facility owned by the Whiteheart family, many SS Rank Hunters were present. Most represented the authorities behind the Kalvas G, but one of them was James Rothschild, who was looking at Louis right now. "So, you''re saying some A Rank Hunter and some D Rank bastard looted the vault?!" He shouted at Louis. "No, it was Asher Greville. I am trying to tell you that bastard injured me-" Louis said, but James Rothschild released his mana pressure and brought him to his knees. "Have you gone senile?" James shouted. Not only he, but others present there had the same thoughts. So not only was the underground facility breached, but Louis was ming the kid who was supposed to be at World Academy right now. "Sir Louis, are you saying that a D Rank Hunter managed to injure you?" One of the SS Rank Hunters stepped forward and asked Louis. "I-I..." Louis didn''t know how to exin what had happened to all the men present there. "Just believe me, I don''t know how he got the strength, but I remember those eyes-" Louis spoke, but he stopped when he felt James''s killing intent. "Hah, they could have used some sort of artifacts. Your usations make no sense to us," The SS Rank spoke and turned towards Kamden, who was standing therepletely silent. "Lord Kamden, if I am not mistaken, you were the only one who knew about the unique mana pattern of the vault?" He asked. Kamden stared at the SS Rank Hunter, standing fearlessly before him. "Yes, and what are you trying to imply?" Kamden asked, and the tension between the people present there grew. "Personally, I refuse to believe that some random A Rank Hunters opened the Vault that is considered one of the masterpieces of the Artisan''s Association," Another stepped in. He was wearing sses and a ck suit, and he was one of the higher-ups that worked closely with the seven heads of the Kalvas G. "And they managed to take out some artifacts without even triggering the security runes," He said. Kamden stared at the man. Then, finally, he stepped forward and looked him in the eye. "Are you saying that I orchestrated all this?" Kamden spoke as he red at the man wearing the sses. "And killed all my A Rank Hunters present here? And for what reason?" Kamden asked. "Calm down, Lord Kamden, we are not using you, but nothing Sir Louis said makes sense to us as well," He replied, looking straight at Kamden Whiteheart. The man in the sses turned as he saw one of his team membersing back towards him. "What did you find there?" He asked. "There was text engraved that said ''ZEPHYR'' and some traces of rune-destroying bombs," The man replied. "Kameron, I think we should discuss this issue with all the seven heads," A man stepped up and spoke to the man in the sses. "But I am still not done here," Kameron replied. "You were talking about some drugs that affected your mana, right?" Kameron asked Louis. "Yes," Louis replied. "Search for any traces of poison or drugs and take the samples," Kameron instructed his team. But this search was useless. The drug had already disappeared by now as theponents that made the drug had dissipated into the air. And those injected with the poison in the syringe were going through the same phenomena. It was a drug that was made to dissolve in the mana present in the air or the mana present in the body. It was one of the reasons Asher was rushing to escape from Louis, who would recoverpletely after some time. Even with Time Dtion, there was a chance that Asher would not have been able to fight Louis and escape from him. "And Sir Louis, you have toe with us," Kameron said. James wanted to deny Kameron, but the current situation did not help them at all. Even Kamden would have let this situation slide, but the triggering of the Security Runes alerted the authorities, and now this incident would be known by everyone. Not only did it affect the reputation of the Whiteheart family, but even the Rothschild Family''s name would be dragged down by this incident. "And we will take all the guards that were present here as well, and you try to retrieve any sort of information you can from the security system," Kameron paused and turned towards Kamden. "And I hope the Whiteheart Family will cooperate with us," He said. "Yeah, we will," Kamden replied. But internally, he was full of rage. He couldn''t believe that years of hard work in increasing his family''s reputation would go down the drain due to one incident. At one point, Kamden wanted to kill Louis for this blunder, but he stopped himself as he knew that the Rothschilds were their best allies after the Williams. After a few more hours, a bunch of people gathered there, all of whom were rted to the Authorities of the Kalvas G. "Do you think Louis Rothschild is lying?" One guy asked Kameron, who was standing far from the facility. "Of course. Do you want me to believe that a 15-year-old managed to fight an S+ Rank Hunter and escape at the same time?" Kameron replied. "And we have already confirmed that two artifacts are missing from the vault," Kameron said. "If Kamden Whiteheart had no hand in this, we need to find out who those guys were at all costs," He said. Knowing that the vault was practically impossible to steal from, he understood that whoever those intruders were, they needed to be found soon. "We have locked every teleportation gate around all the cities near here," The guy replied. "But we need to report this situation to the World Association as well," He said. Blocking the teleportation gate in such a manner required permission from both the World Association and the Elite Families. And they only needed to inform the World Association about this incident. But unfortunately for them, the ck Market Teleportation Gate was still operational, and their intruders were heading towards that very teleportation gate. "Should we look into those organizations?" The man asked. Kameron understood what organizations he was talking about but knew it would be futile. "It will be useless. We left them alone for a reason," Kameron, being an SS Rank Hunter, knew what kind of powers those illegal organizations held. Even though it was notparable to the Top Elite Families, some of them had power simr to some Elite Families that were not as powerful. But he knew none of them would be foolish enough to do something like this, which garnered the hatred of every Elite Family. The Kalvas G was the gathering of the families that held a seat in the High Council and a few other influential ones. And stealing the artifacts and even leaving a name was a mockery to those who attended the G. And he was correct. The information about the word ''ZEPHYR'' would spread among the Upper Society. And if anybody knew or was on the same side as this group of intruders, they would know how badly they had messed up. It was one thing if Asher had looted the personal items of the Whiteheart Family, but the Vault of the Kalvas G was an entirely different matter. Asher was on a motorbike, traveling towards the campsite where the Teleportation Gate was located. Kai was using his ability on them again to ensure no one could spot them. Finally, he had recovered enough, and the artifacts were functioning, so he could use his ability again. After many hours, they arrived at the campsite and, showing their shadow cards, they safely entered. "Wait, stop there," a voicemanded as Asher and his group halted. They were almost at the Teleportation Gate. Dane, Kai, and Tom grew nervous, thinking that news of their heist might have reached this location and that they were being stopped because of it. "What?" Asher, who remained calm, asked. "That teleportation gate isn''t working. Use another one," the man informed them. Dane, Kai, and Tom felt relieved hearing his words, as it wasn''t what they had feared. "Which one?" Asher asked, and the man pointed to one on the left. They entered the indicated teleportation gate and soon found themselves in Somaria. "Phew," Tom exhaled deeply. The realization that they had arrived safely finally calmed his nerves. However, unlike Dane and Kai, he knew about the next ns Asher had shared with him and was already feeling impending doom. "Return to the mansion, and we''ll head to the dungeon," Asher instructed Tom, who nodded in response. They had only spent around three days on their journey, so they still had some time left. ''Let''s hit Level 30,'' Asher thought, reflecting on his failure to achieve Level 30. ''Status,'' Ashermanded, examining his current status. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 29(EXP 8,000/29,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank D ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 115 Agility: 110 Endurance: 85 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 119 Stamina: 73 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 40+20 [SP]: 24+8 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mir Steps [-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike [-Beast-] : Locked [-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-27%, Magic [Novice]-84%, Rune Art [Fundamental]-80% Chapter 193 Level 30 At the dungeon owned by the Abyss Guild, "Young Master is still inside, right?" Dane asked, standing in front of the Manager. "Yeah, we haven''t disturbed them," the manager replied. He had no clue that Asher was not even present inside the dungeon this whole time. "Good job. I will go inside now," Dane said as he red his mana. "The mana readings will be a mess¡ª" The manager tried to tell him, but he was already inside the dungeon. "Dammit, these hard-headed guys," the manager told himself as he went to check the mana reading device. "Phew," Dane looked behind him as Asher and Kai became visible. "Should we go back?" Dane asked Asher. Their mission was done, and Dane wanted to rest for a bit as he had a few injuries himself that needed time to heal. The damage done to his body, which took direct impact from Louis, was greater than what Asher had endured. Unlike Asher, Dane''s speed was not enough to dodge Louis''s attack, and this resulted in him taking multiple hits from Louis. "No, I will clear this dungeon," Asher replied, but the tiredness was hitting him. This made Dane and Kai confused, but they couldn''t ignore Asher''s orders. "But we will rest for a day before I clear this dungeon," Asher said, looking at Kai and Dane. He knew that even though they were professional killers, they needed rest and Asher was in no hurry as well. He needed multiple D Rank Monsters to raise his level as well. And judging by his current condition, he needed rest as well. Time Dtion was not like other skills that Asher used in his life. Even though fighting for long tired your body, the fatigue came from his physical body. It was not something simple like regenerating your mana by using your mana cirction technique. What Asher was feeling was that his whole existence was tired. His thoughts, his body, his soul¡ªhe could feel the burden on all of them. It was the only downside of using this skill that Asher knew. It was not something he would ever use in a prolonged fight. It was a trump card he only brought out if the situation had gone out of hands and his chances of winning were too low. ''It''s better than mana doping,'' Asher thought in his mind as three of them turned to leave. The aftereffects of mana doping affected his whole body, breaking it down slowly the more he used it. They stepped out of the dungeon and saw the manager who was looking around the mana reading device, but he stopped immediately as he saw Ashering out of the dungeon. "Wee back, Young Master," he greeted Asher with a smile on his face. "We will use the dungeon again after resting for a day," Asher looked at the manager. "Ah, yes, as you wish. I will make sure nobody enters until you are finished," he replied, but seeing Asher''s emotionless face made him a bitfortable. The three of them went towards the VIP lounge that was not far from here. Asher arrived at the special room that was quite big, and he immediately removed his shirt and went for a shower. Although the manager didn''t notice because it was normal for Hunters to smell of blood, Asher was reeking of blood right now. Kai had used water magic to cleanse Dane, but he didn''t perform it on Asher who denied it. ********* "You keep saying the same goddamn thing!!" James shouted at Louis. "Did encountering that Greville bastard make you so miserable that you cannot differentiate reality from your delusions?" James said. Louis just held his head down the whole time. He knew that nobody would believe him. "I looked into your interactions the past 6 months," James spoke, and Louis immediately raised his head. "I saw that you interacted with the younger sister of the Hargrave Family head," his words made Louis clench his fist. "And your little attempt to send spies to Somaria, do you think I am dumb?" James said. He already knew that Louis was still not over the embarrassment he had received at the party hosted by the Greville. James was a clever man, so he made sure that he kept eyes on the movement of the people close to him. Knowing his little brother, and how much hecked self-control over his emotions, he knew that Louis would do something stupid. But knowing that he was not doing something too openly, he had ignored it until now. But seeing that he was ming his own inability to protect the facility on someone like Asher Greville made him angry. After a few hours, Louis was currently with Kameron and they were trying to send this news to all the remaining six heads of the Kalvas G about this heist that happened. "So Sir Louis, do you remember anything else than what you have already told us?" Kameron asked Louis. They were sitting in an empty room that only had one single exit. Knowing Louis''s status, Kameron could not arrest him usually, but the matter was grave enough that James himself allowed the interrogation to happen. "No," Louis replied. ''You bastards wouldn''t believe me either way,'' he said to himself. But even Louis was thinking over his ims right now. At this moment, he was not 100% sure that the gaze he saw belonged to Asher. Even to him, he had no clue how Asher had managed to match speed with an S+ Rank Hunter. The interrogation ended shortly after, and Kameron left the room. He was on his way to the Whiteheart Mansion with the people that managed the Kalvas G. They needed to question Kamden, and many more things were also going to happen. ********* It was the next day, and Asher wore his nano armor as he stood up to go inside the dungeon once again. Although not fully recovered, he was sure he was ready to reach Level 30 today. Entering the dungeon with Kai, as Dane was still resting, Asher went inside and started killing the D Rank Monsters. This dungeon was filled with four-legged beast-type monsters that were less agile than the Kirons he had previously faced, but they were more powerful. However, for Asher, they were not too hard to defeat. He only needed to defeat 42 such monsters to reach Level 30, but Asher was not rushing it. Each time he killed a monster, he would absorb their stats with his bloodline ability. It was a great chance to reach the peak of D Rank, as he was close to bing a D+ Rank Hunter. His mana and strength stats were close to 120, which he believed were the stats of talented D+ Rank Hunters. He based that assumption byparing his current strength with what he had achieved in his previous life. His agility was also not far from 120, so he knew that he had almost be a D+ Rank Hunter, except his body was still a bit behind as his other stats like endurance and stamina were below 100. But he knew that they would increase gradually as his body absorbed all the mana that his core produced. It was a slow process, but due to his multiple mana-rted skills, his growth was much faster than his peers''. And that was also the case in his previous life. Even though he had lost his S Rank Mana Maniption Bloodline, he still retained the Mana Flow Skill. Asher touched the first beast he killed, and he saw the notifications on his screen. [ Host has absorbed 2 Strength Stats ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] Some of the beasts were not peak D Rank so they did not give him any sort of experience. And when Asher asked the System, it replied that only beings that were above the current rank of the Host would give experience. Even if it was a minor rank, Asher needed to defeat Peak D Rank Monsters 42 times to reach level 30. ''It will take me a day,'' Asher thought in his mind. [ Host has absorbed 2 Strength Stats ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has absorbed 1 Strength Stat ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has absorbed 3 Endurance Stats ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has absorbed 3 Endurance Stats ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has absorbed 2 Endurance Stats ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has absorbed 2 Endurance Stats ] ..... After many hours of hunting in the dungeon, Asher finally reached Level 30. He knew he was close to bing Level 30, so he had already sent Kai away from his position. And knowing Asher''s strength, Kai easily obeyed hismand. [ Host has reached Level 30 ] [ Beast is unlocked ] Asher felt a feeling of unknown energy appearing around his body, moving from one ce to another. He could feel it and it stopped around his arm as a ck tattoo appeared in front of it. "A snake?" Asher muttered as he saw a snake tattoo. He hadn''t expected the beast to be a snake, but he didn''t know it was not any ordinary snake. "How will ite out?" Asher asked the system. [ It will take 1 week for the beast to materialize ] [ And System will go under maintenance for a week ] Asher squinted his eyes as this was not something he had expected when he thought of reaching Level 30. He had thought that he would instantly receive his rewards, but looking at it now, it seemed it was not the case. Chapter 194 Returning To World Academy Looking at thetest notifications from the system, Asher moved further into the dungeon. He didn''t know why the System needed time, but he didn''t mind waiting. Asher killed the monster, blood spurted all over him. Feeling that he had reached the peak of D Rank, and as a D+ Rank Hunter, he could finally begin to advance to C Rank. ''It would be better at the World Academy,'' he thought, turning to leave the dungeon. Though he could reach C+ Rank outside of the World Academy, the mana quality and environment were superior there. Hence, it made sense to postpone it until he arrived at the World Academy. There were still some days left in his allotted time outside of the World Academy, but Asher decided to return now that he had aplished everything he nned to do. Staying outside no longer served any purpose to him. "I should work on the ck element," Asher muttered, exiting the dungeon. Although he still had one skill that Helena had taught him, there was much more to the ck Element present in the Great Library. That was his next goal. In his previous life, he had felt it was a waste of his potential that he never really learned any techniques rted to his Element Affinity. Even his sword art didn''t involve any element at all. For example, Nathan used a bit of Space Element in his sword art, but most of it was Wind Element. However, Asher had never used the elements he had an affinity for in his previous life. Instead of elements, Asher used pure mana in each of his sword techniques. Although he couldn''t recall now, he still remembered the inspiration behind it. Asher exited the Dungeon with Kai and saw Dane waiting for them. ''What did they do inside?'' the Manager thought, noticing Asher covered in blood. ''I guess he really gave it his all inside the dungeon,'' the manager concluded. In his eyes, Asher, being a D Rank Hunter, would have had a lot of difficulty hunting in a C Rank Dungeon because it was filled with D Rank Monsters. A party full of D Rank Monsters would be needed to kill all those D Rank monsters. "We''re done here, he''ll give the monster corpses to you," Asher said, pointing at Kai. "Okay, Young Master," the manager politely replied. Asher headed towards the car with Dane, and Kai looked at the manager. "Here, there are 115 Monster Corpses in this spatial ring. Where should I put them?" Kai asked. "You can put them in the Storage Room,e, I''ll show you," the Manager said, although he was initially confused. ''Did he kill most of them?'' the manager wondered but refrained from asking. In his mind, a D Rank killing around 115 D Rank Monsters in 5-6 days was impossible. But he had heard about the talented Asher Greville. Hardly a person in Somaria didn''t know about him. The rumors about Kevin Whiteheart being the prodigy of this generation were thwarted the moment clips of the Representative Tournament went viral. This assumption led the manager to think that Asher had a solid chance of killing around 50 such monsters on his own. Inside the car, Asher was searching for any news regarding the heist they hadmitted. ''So they''re hiding the information from the public,'' Asher thought. Even though the mey with the Whiteheart Family, such news was enough to cause unrest and question the capabilities of the Elite Families. It was obvious why news about this incident was not made public. Even now, only the Seat Holders in the High Council were informed about this heist and the word ''Zephyr''. Asher had predicted such an oue after the heist, after all. He wanted the name ''Zephyr'' to be an entity opposing everyone standing at the top of this world. Unlike his previous life where ''Zephyr'' was a source of fear among others, this time he aimed to go a step further. It didn''t take long for Asher to arrive at the World Academy. Before stepping out of the car, he returned the artifacts he had acquired to Kai and Dane. However, he still had the one artifact shaped like an eye with him. It was the very artifact that Asher himself had gone on this mission for. He was confident that this artifact wouldn''t be detected by the devices nted all over the World Academy. The source of his confidence came from examining the description of this artifact. Right now, the system wasn''t responding to him, and the strange snake tattoo on his right arm had also disappeared after appearing once. He still had many questions, and he knew that some would be answered the moment his system became operational again. ********* Inside the World Academy, far from the VIP Dorms, "Please, I have given¡ª" A boy was saying something but he was interrupted when somebody kicked him in the stomach. He grunted in pain as he rolled on the ground. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a green-haired boy looking down at him. At this moment, he wanted to kill this boy, but he was powerless against him. The person beating him was not only stronger than him, but the family he came from was not something he could oppose. "Now, now, don''t cry like that..." Gavin said with a smile on his face. He crouched down, grabbed the boy''s hair, and pulled his face up from the ground. "Why me..." The boy asked, "Why, you ask?" Gavin tilted his head with a confused look on his face. "I don''t know, maybe because I felt like it," Gavin replied, acting like he was thinking hard about it. ''This crazy bastard,'' The boy thought to himself. He wasn''t the only one that had suffered such treatment at Gavin''s hands. There were many others who had endured the same treatment he was getting, but it was the first time Gavin had targeted someone outside his ss. The boy he was beating was from ss 1. "Hey Gavin, you should leave that guy now," One of the seniors standing behind Gavin finally spoke up. Although they were there to support Gavin, as they were ordered to, looking at the boy''s condition, one of them became worried. He knew that if Gavin kept beating the boy like that, things could go wrong for them. "Heh?" Gavin looked back as he dropped the boy he was holding. "Did I ask for your advice?" Gavin said with an annoyed look on his face. These seniors were following him because he was doing a task that Leonard had given him. But seeing that one of them spoke up against him made him irritated. "Well,ing back to you," Gavin turned towards the boy, smiling. "Tell your friends to give me enough GP for this month, okay?" He said. ".....Okay," The boy had no choice but to agree to whatever demands Gavin had for him. Gavin stretched his hands as he left the boy who was wounded all over his body from Gavin''s physical attacks. He didn''t use mana-induced attacks, so it wasn''t against the rules. ********** In an underground facility, "How is the experiment going, Wagxon?" A man looking around 50 years old with light brown hair and slightly bluish eyes, wearing a ck suit, asked. An older man wearing a long whiteb coat with silver-rimmed sses looked at the man on his right and replied, "I have been able to increase the efficiency of the mana core by 40%, but the fusion is unstable and its intelligence is also subpar," "We just need more humans. I need at least someone on the C Rank level¡ª" Before Wagxon couldplete his sentence, the strange creature in front of them started to bloat everywhere. "Dammit, another failure," Wagxon said with a disappointed look on his face, raising his hands. Suddenly, the bizarre creature stopped moving as water droplets fell from its eyes. "Forget about getting new subjects for now. It was so difficult to gather your current subjects, and don''t forget we cannot repeat the same method that we used with those Garcia bastards," The man wearing the ck suit said to Wagxon. "I know, I know, but great things require great sacrifices," Wagxon looked at the man beside him as he raised his hands. "I have secured enough Pure Mana Crystals to continue the current experiments," The man replied. "Well, the boosters are almost ready, and we can send them into the markets in theing year if you want," Wagxon replied. "Where do you want the supply of the Mana Crystals to go?" The man asked. Wagxon thought for a second. "I think our base in Fashia would be the right choice," He replied. "But when will the supply arrive?" He asked politely. "Depends, but in half a year, depending on the negotiations with the ck Market," The man spoke as he stared at the massive facility in front of him. Chapter 195 Start Of Unrest "So you are Rank 657?" a senior-year student asked. "Yes," the first-year student replied. "Sorry, we have no openings," the senior said. "You are kidding, right?" the student spoke up. He was a first-year student from ss 3 who was trying to enter one of the clubs in World Academy. "You heard me right. We have no spots, sadly," the senior replied as he stared at the first-year student. "Not again," the student said to himself as he turned to go back. He had received a simr response from most private clubs that were also popr inside the World Academy. And he was not the only one; many students from the first years were getting simr responses from the seniors. At first, they thought entering the clubs would be easy, but most popr clubs were picky about their members. "Tch, why are we getting these useless people toe up all the time," one of the senior year students said. "Let''s wait for one more hour and if we don''t get any good members, let''s go back," the other replied. While Asher was outside the World Academy, the First Years were finally allowed to ess the entirety of World Academy. And most of the First Years went to the Club Registration Areas to look around for specific clubs for them to join. A club was a gathering of like-minded people with simr hobbies or goals. The concept was to promote extracurricr activities among students. Not every student was part of a club, but most students were. Clubs were the best options to know Senior Year students and increase their social connections. Most people, from elite families to rich families, would join such clubs. And most students from amon background did as well. "Well, at least we ain''t as bad as the Blood Faction or the Student Council," one of them muttered quietly. In the Outer Sector of World Academy, Asher entered the World Academy, and various devices scanned him for any unauthorized items. After getting past the security, arriving at the Ranker''s Dorm didn''t take too long. Arriving at his room, the first thing he did was contact Elsa about his arrival. He connected the video call to Elsa Robles, and after a few seconds, he could see Elsa''s face inside the hologram projecting in front of him. "Oh, you arrived early?" Elsa asked Asher. "Yes, and I will be using this week to increase my rank," Asher spoke. "This early?" Elsa asked with a confused look. It was already absurd for Asher to reach D Rank at his age, but trying to reach C- Rank was impossible for him in Elsa''s mind. "Listen, boy, I know you are talented, but rushing such things is not beneficial," Elsa said with a serious look. "It''s a try, and I would like to proceed with it," Asher replied, using an important keyword in his statement. ''Try'' was a word hunters used when they felt like they touched their threshold and used that chance to try and level up. Even if they failed, they would find a new threshold to reach next time. Ranking up was a process of increasing the overall power of one''s body. It was a gradual process where you yourself needed to know thresholds and limits. "Still, you should wait for some months before doing this," Elsa tried to sway Asher''s mind. "I have made up my mind," Asher replied. ''Is his bloodline the source of his confidence?'' Elsa thought as she stayed silent for a couple of seconds. "Well, you can have two weeks for your training, and we will send you a C Rank Mana Gem for your rank up," she finally gave Asher consent. Each student could take two weeks from their mana core progression every two months. "Okay," Asher disconnected the call as he stood from the table. He went towards his room and touched his ID Bracelet, opening the various articles that were being published in the World Academy. News Club, which was partially under the Student Council, was responsible for covering various news inside the World Academy. As the students were living far from society, it was obvious that they would be interested in what was happening worldwide. ''So the club recruitments are still going on?'' Asher thought in his mind as he nced over several pages. He could see nothing major had happened over the days he was gone. He saw the notification pop up. It was the schedule for the Space Element ss, and Asher could imagine why it would take so long for them to schedule this particr ss. It was known that those who continued to practice the Space Element would eventually harm their minds so much that their emotions and actions would be uncontroble and unpredictable. No single sane person was among those who took researching the Space Element seriously. And this was why it was hard to find a teacher among such people. Despite the Space Element being such a self-harming element, there were always people who believed they could master it. Onemon thing among the people who had an affinity for the Space Element was their confidence in their own ability. After waiting many hours, the C Rank Mana Gem finally arrived on his floor through automated delivery, and he took the small case inside the mana meditation room. He was shirtless right now as he opened the case, and a shining blue gem-like crystal was in front of him. But it was much duller than the S Rank Mana Gem he had used during his awakening. Unlike awakening, where most of the pure mana inside the mana gem was wasted and only used to form a core and open your mana meridians, a normal hunter used this mana gem as a mana source. And Asher was going to do the same thing. However, due to the effect of the SSS Rank artifact that made the mana density around the ind much thicker, he only needed this Mana Gem as an extra assurance. He closed the case for now, as it wasn''t the time to use it. Instead, his priority was to strengthen his body and increase his stamina. Stamina was one of his lowest stats, and the reason for this was histe awakening. Even though he had ranked up pretty fast, his body had only recently started getting used to such high amounts of mana. And it was one of the stats that could only be increased over time and by training it regrly by pushing your body to the limit. And for the first week, until his system returned, he would focus solely on strengthening his body. ''It''s time,'' Asher thought as he red his mana. From the day of his awakening till now, he had made sure that his body strengthened slowly till he reached the peak of D Rank. It was one of the reasons that his Stamina and Endurance stats were behind the others. His mana core formed when he awakened was an E Rank Core much higher than normal people. Due to this, his mana meridians were overworked from the start, but his new bloodline decreased the strain over time. But now that he had finally reached D Rank, he could feel the tension around his mana core had stabilized significantly. His body and mana core were finally bnced, and now he could focus on improving his stamina and endurance alone. And he started it by spreading his mana around the room and absorbing the mana in his surroundings simultaneously. He mimicked the pattern of mana absorption that would happen when a person was fighting. Of course, it was impossible for a normal human, but Asher, who had knowledge from his previous life, could do it. He had already experienced what his body went through during all those battles, so mimicking the mana absorption in that particr state was not that tough for him. He could feel the pores around his body, and his muscles could feel the constant flow of mana around his body. Both his mana-rted skills were helping him right now. It was a slow process that would take him days as he would slowly temper his body. And the environment around him was perfect for this kind of training. ********* "Keep targeting the people in ss 1," Leonard said with a bored look. "And make sure they feel the source of their suffering is Asher Greville," he raised his eyebrows as he moved a chess piece before him. "But how will that help us against him?" Jack Allister asked as he looked at the chessboard in front of him. Jack made his next move and looked back at Leonard. "I want to see how he will react when he bes the source of hatred for everyone around him," Leonard replied. "Keep pushing him until I find the things he reacts to," he replied, moving his knight. "It''s only a matter of time," Leonard said. Chapter 196 System Comes Back Three days had passed since Asher had arrived at the World Academy, and news about ''Zephyr'' and the breach at Kalvas G had spread among all the people with the highest standing in Society. "So you''re telling me that the Vault, which was supposed to be the best creation of the Artisan''s Association, was looted?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows. "Yes, and we''ve informed all the Seat Holders about this and the words that were left behind by the intruders," the man on the hologram showed Nathan the image of the text ''Zephyr''. Nathan had an amused look, imagining the reaction of an old friend who was one of the 11 SSS Rank Hunters now. ''That guy will be pissed,'' Nathan knew this incident would make many people point fingers at the Artisan''s Association. "Thanks for your precious time," the man bowed through the screen as the connection was cut off. "Inform Arthur about this as well," Nathan told the man standing slightly farther from him. "As you wish, Guildmaster," the man replied, leaving the room. "Zephyr, what kind of stupid group is that?" Nathan pondered about the text for a moment. Being old, he knew about all the capable illegal organizations that existed in the world. He was sure none would be foolish enough to leave a name like that. This certainty came from the fact that even if the old man of the Kalvas G ignored the disrespect and mocking that the intruders left, the maker of that Vault would certainly not sit idle. Although the entire Artisan''s Association was behind the creation of the Vault, the main contributor to its creation was the Chairman of the Artisan''s Association. Dexter Wright was the only person who had mastered Rune Crafting and reached SSS Rank while honing his talent in smithing. Even the sword that Nathan was carrying was made by Dexter Wright. But right now, instead of being furious, Dexter Wright was surprised. In a room filled with various mana crystals and many mana gems, a single man was concentrating on the Runic Formation he was creating. He stood 6ft 8 tall, with broad shoulders, ck hair, and hazel eyes. "The Seven Heads are requesting a meeting," a man wearing a long coat spoke respectfully, stopping the man in the middle. "Tell them I am busy," he replied with a raspy voice. "As you wish," the man turned immediately, knowing how short-tempered Dexter Wright was. "These fools, nagging me when they failed to protect that damn Vault themselves," Dexter muttered as he examined the runic formation before him. It was the same runic formation he had sent one of his assistants to analyze and bring what it looked like. He was informed about the heist the day it happened, and knowing that his creation was being mocked, he was extremely furious at first. But after looking at the runic formations before him, he could see that it had not been breached. "Is Kamden Whiteheart lying?" He had his initial suspicions, but seeing that none of the major security runes were triggered made him realize that was not true. "Then how," Dexter asked himself as he raised his hands, and various runes started floating in the air before him. He was intrigued by the method those unknown intruders used. Normally, he would be working on his next project, but he stopped everything to study the method Asher had used. But he was making a fatal mistake in his analysis, which was the fact that Asher already knew about the Unique Mana Pattern that only Kamden would have known about. At the Ranker''s Dorm on the Tenth Floor, Asher was no longer sitting; he mimicked his battles and used the mana to push his body to its limits. But doing this required a high level of control over his mana. If Asher made even a single mistake in his mana cirction, his mana meridians could be damaged. Such risks arose because Asher was using a lot more of his mana than required. But, slowly, his body was bing attuned to his D+ Rank Mana Core, and he could feel that his Stamina and Endurance were nearing the 100 Stat Points. The fourth day passed, and the fifth and Asher did not stop to drink or eat anything. His body was tired, but it didn''t matter. Unlike his Mana Doping Method, this way of training didn''t leave any permanent damage to the body, but he could only do this because his Mana Core was strong enough to supplement such energy. Finally, the seventh day was over, and Asher stopped, looking at his body, which was red due to the constant emission and absorption of mana. In addition, his blood pressure and body temperature were high. And he could feel pain all over his body because he was exerting more pressure than his body could handle. "This should be enough," Asher thought as he clenched his fist. Even without the System, he could feel that he was ready to reach C- Rank now. He could feel that the tension around his mana core had stabilized a lot, and he could finally expand it and form another ring of mana around it to reach C- Rank. As he was about to leave the room to take a shower, he stopped when he saw a ck Snake Tattoo appear on his right arm. [ System Calibration Done ] He saw the text appear in front of him. [ Beast Option Unlocked ] Asher saw ck smokeing from his arm as he observed a shadow-like creature take the shape of a small serpent. "What is this?" Asher questioned as he looked at the Snake that was only the size of his foot. The Shadow opened its eyes, revealing two blood-hued irises, and looked at Asher. Asher didn''t know right now that the creature he was looking at was the true form of the System or was supposed to be the true form of the System. Unlike normal snakes with scales, its whole body was covered with cloudy shadow energy. [ Host has unlocked the Authority of Unlocking System''s Sentient Form ] "Sentient?" Asher asked as he looked at the text in front of him. [ This is a shell of the System''s True Powers which will grow with the Host ] [ Although you were not supposed to have it until you reached Level 50 and weren''t supposed to know about it until you reached Level 40 ] The System truthfully informed Asher. Asher was still confused as he looked at the Snake before him. ''Weird,'' Asher thought. [ For Unlocking the Authority so early, you will also receive a skill that is a part of your Bloodline Ability ] As the System informed him, he could see the Shadow dissipate as it returned to his arm, and he could feel ck cloud-like energy shielding his Mana Core. [ Mana Conceal Gained ] [ Mana Conceal: This is not a skill but an ability that allows the Host to mask and lower your True Mana Core Rank by 2 Major Rank ] It was an ability with no rank, meaning that it was simr to a trait that a being possessed. At the same time, Asher looked down at the floor. The Snake materialized again before him, its eyes staring at Asher. But this time, the strange creature looked past Asher for a moment. It was still formed from strange, shadow-like energy and was very different from any snake-type creature Asher had ever seen. But before Asher could examine it more, the shadow energy disappeared. [ It will take some time for the Beast to properly materialize before the Host ] Putting the beast reward aside, for now, Asher looked at the Skill he had gained. ''This is interesting,'' Asher thought in his mind. *** At the same time, the System materialized on the same Floating Ind inside a temple-like building. Behind the big doors covered with strange runes, deep inside a ce that no being of this world had ever reached, a figure opened its eyes. "Did I sense that correctly?" A voice came out of that figure. "It disappeared....." The figure closed its eyes once again and fell into slumber. Chapter 197 Step Towards Next Rank "What''s the limit?" Asher asked, looking at the skill. "Will it work on anything?" He queried. Although the skill itself was good, as it allowed Asher to hide his true Rank up to two major ranks, it was a well-known fact that concealing your mana did not work on hunters of a higher rank than you. This meant that Asher could hide his mana core rank from Damian, but he would fail in front of anyone who was C Rank and above. The techniques that Asher knew about concealing his presence became useless if he was not using them every time he met someone higher rank than him. It was simply not feasible to do, as he could not conceal his presence at all times to hide his true rank. Even in that case, such techniques stopped working on S Rank Hunters and higher because their mana sensitivity was way higher. However, this skill would work even if Asher was standing in front of an SSS Rank Hunter like Nathan Greville. [If Host is talking about Dungeon Restriction, Yes, you could enter such areas as well] [Unless you expose your mana yourself, it will be impossible to recognize your true rank] "So I can stay at D Rank when I reach C- Rank," Asher muttered. Even though he was ranking up at an insanely high speed, he knew that he could go a bit faster, but doing too much could draw people''s attention. "Status : Attribute," Asher said, ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 30 (EXP 0/30,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank D+ ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 118 Agility: 110 Endurance: 105 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 119 Stamina: 99 Charm: 65 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 60 [SP]: 32 ---------------------------------------------- Asher didn''t question the system anymore as he went to take a shower. He needed to give his body a bit of rest before he decided to start the process of ranking up. Taking a shower, Asher went and took some healing potions that were B Rank to heal any sort of injuries that might have urred in his body during the process. Asher went and ordered some food from his ID Bracelet as he needed to eat something before he continued training. It waste in the afternoon, and his food arrived shortly after he ordered it. Sitting down at the table, Asher took a bite out of the meat dish in front of him. Every food that was served to the students of the Ranker''s Dorm came from expensive herbs and C Rank or above monsters. Asher finished his dish and removed the tes from in front of him. Normally, Rankers could have Staff Members serve them, and some of them used such facilities, but Asher avoided it. He wanted to keep people away from his floor as much as possible. After that, he went inside the room and finally opened the small case where the Mana Gem was. He took it out and ced it in front of him. The process of ranking up was simple, he just needed to form another ring of mana around his Mana Core, and at the same time increase the density of his mana core to the maximum amount his mana rings could handle. It was a slow process that would take a few days as one needed to be very careful in this process. But Asher had another problem, and it was the effects of Rune of Eirdin. As Asher closed his eyes and started the process, the mana from the Mana Gem came out and started to revolve around Asher''s body slowly. Asher knew that his body was still a bit tired, so he was not pushing it too much right now. The initial process was something he could slow down until he felt he was ready for it. Taking that mana inside his body, and moving it towards his mana core, Asher started the ring formation process first. Asher began the process as he encased his body with his aura and pressured the mana to obey him. The threads of mana revolving around the Mana Core came together as they formed a circr shape around the mana core. Unlike D Rank, going to C Rank and above required more time as the mana pool increased, and so did the amount of strength in your body. It was not only a process of increasing the rank of your mana core but also strengthening your whole body at the same time. In C Rank and above, a harmony between the Mana and Body of the Hunter was required. It was a basic principle that was taught to everyone. And it was especially useful for Non-Mage Hunters. Unlike the previous time when the increasing amount of mana was overwhelming his body and he felt like he was submerged in ake. This time he was using his Aura to strengthen his body and hold that mana inside him. This was evident as Asher was absorbing a lot of mana at that moment. Not only was he forming a new ring, he was strengthening the existing one as well. The amount of pure manaing from the mana gem was immensely helpful as there were no impurities in it. Asher disconnected his senses from the outside world and started focusing on the mana that was circting around his body. Hours went by as Asher''s body kept absorbing the mana inside the C Rank Gem. He wasn''t wasting any amount of mana, and due to the fact that his body was strengthened by his aura, he could handle this for so long. Not only was his Aura strengthening as well, but it was also helping him increase the quality of the ring formation that was taking ce. It was the morning of the next day when Asherpleted forming a ring around his mana core. Now, he moved on to the next step, which involved filling his Mana Core to its limit while strengthening his body. [ Host''s Mana Heart is strengthening..... ] Sitting down with his eyes closed, Asher was pushing arge amount of mana inside his mana core while trying to increase its density. The Mana Rings around his mana core started to revolve even faster as he focused on pushing his mana core to its limits. The effects of the Rune of Eirdin were going to start soon, as Asher was nearing thepletion of his Mana Rings. Chapter 198 Dust Of Past - I The room was filled with mana as Asher kept trying to force his Mana Core to consume more pure mana from the crystal. [ Host''s Mana Heart is strengthening..... ] He had received several such notifications till now. It was already the second day, and Asher could feel that he was nearing thepletion of his mana core. His whole body was feeling the burden from his mana core and the amount of mana all around him. [ Host has increased his Mana Core from D+ ¡ú C- Rank ] [ Rune of Eirdin is activating ] [ Host''s intelligence is negating the side effects!! ] [ Side effects partially negated ] It was a simr but denser feeling thanst time. Lost in his concentration, Asher felt multiple memories sh towards him. But due to his high intelligence stat, the effect of Rune of Eirdin was partially negated. However, Asher was still experiencing parts of his life as memories kept flooding in. *** "Rank 1 goes to Kevin Whiteheart!" Xander announced as a handsome, white-haired boy walked up to the stage. The top ten were: 1. Kevin Whiteheart 2. Matthew 3. Lishia Halcyon 4. Elena Rothschild 5. Sam Allister 6. Amelia Greville 7. Eva Williams 8. Damian Seymour 9. n Astaria 10. Venessa Baker Many of the students present cheered for him. Kevin was well-known for his good personality among the first-year students. "So, these are the First Year Rankers," Xander announced as he briefly looked towards a boy sitting in the front rows. With ck hair and crimson red eyes, it was easy to distinguish Asher from other students. Asher noticed Xander''s gaze but he ignored it. He looked at the stage where the Rankers were standing, and among them were Amelia and Damian. ''It''s boring,'' Asher thought as he stood up. "Is he mad?" Some of the students started talking among themselves. "I mean, even his younger sister is a Ranker..." Talks like these were happening, but Asher ignored them. "But he still managed to im a spot in the Top 15!" One of them said. For someone who had recently awakened, it was impressive for him to secure a spot in the Top 15. "Where is he going?" Damian muttered as Amelia''s attention shifted towards Asher who was walking out of the hall. She was going to congratte Kevin, Elena, and Eva but stopped as she looked at Asher. She felt a bit awkward seeing Asher leave the room, and like others, she also thought that Asher was not feelingfortable seeing her and Damian on the stage, unlike him. She was about to speak with Damian about this but Elena''s voice stopped her. "Amelia, congrattions!!" She held Amelia''s hand as Eva and Kevin also approached her. "Yeah, you too," Amelia replied with a courtesy smile. "We were going towards the Ranker''s Dorm, do you want toe with us?" Kevin asked Amelia with a smile on his face. "Ah, but," She turned and looked at Damian. "I am going outside for a bit, but if you want to go with them, then it''s fine," Damian replied as he went after Asher. "Come on,e with us," Elena saw the opportunity and grabbed Amelia''s attention before she could talk with Damian any further. Outside, the Hall Damian was going after Asher when he saw Asher standing in front of a pink-haired girl who was in her wheelchair. Seconds ago, Asher was leaving the Hall when he saw Alyssa who was going back to her Dorm after seeing the Ranking List. She was in the Top 20 so it was a good thing, but her goal was to be a Ranker. But seeing herself fail, broke her a bit. She had failed to win in the Representative Tournament and now she didn''t make it in the Top 10. "Is this all I can do," Alyssa said to herself as tears were forming in her eyes. These days had been tough for her, constantly being belittled by n and other students, and sometimes even the Professor would treat her like the rest of the students. Anger and frustration were building inside her, but she couldn''t do anything at all. Voices in her head kept screaming at her. It was getting difficult for her to even sleep properly as nightmares kept haunting her. A drop of tear fell on her knees when she noticed Asher who was standing beside her. "W-What do you want?" Alyssa asked after clearing her throat. Asher''s emotionless eyes kept staring at Alyssa who was confused as to why Asher Greville was staring at her. She knew about him because he was the Heir of the Greville Family and many people, even her ss, talked about him. "Nothing," Asher said as he turned and went his way. She looked at his back and saw a brown-haired boying his way. Alyssa kept looking at his back for a few more seconds before she went her way. "What are you thinking?" Damian, who had caught up to Asher, asked. "That girl was weird," Asher muttered but Damian heard it. "Wasn''t she Alyssa Astaria?" Damian said as he looked back. "Did she say anything to you?" Damian asked but Asher didn''t reply as he kept thinking about something. Hours went by and Asher was in the VIP Dorms and started training. ''Weird,'' Asher described his thoughts when he saw Alyssa. He had only recently found a way to suppress his inner urges and it was when he went for a Dungeon Exploration Test where he had killed various monsters. His headache calmed down a lot and he felt relieved when he killed those monsters. Notpletely but it helped him greatly. Every time he would look at someone he would feel nothing about them. It was a strange feeling but that made him feel that he was different from everyone around him. Something in his instincts told him that he was meant to be alone. His life would remain grey as it had been. And this was the reason he had left the Hall, because he was not finding it interesting, and his inner urges and headaches would increase so he simply left as he felt that it was a better choice. And when he saw Alyssa who was crying alone, it felt strange to him. He didn''t notice itpletely but his mind became a bit clearer, and he was not getting that estranged feeling from her that he got from everyone. ''This was the start,'' Asher''s consciousness that was seeing these memories thought. The memory changed and it was the ssroom where Professor Dahlia came in and announced the Three Test Results. "What, Asher Greville is Rank 1 in theory?" Many students were shocked but the one who was most shocked was Eva. "And you all have chosen your subjects so..." Professor Dahlia started her ss. ''How?'' Eva clenched her fist as her mind got distracted from the ss. She had always thought that academics were her strongest point. Kevin and Elena saw that Eva was a bit upset with her results. When Professor Dahlia left, Eva stood up and went towards Asher who was about to leave. "I will beat you next time," She said to him and Asher looked at her. "Can I go?" He asked as he stood up and looked down at her. Asher had realized that he was different from other people so he avoided people as much as he could. Taking Asher''s word as mocking, some students started giggling making Eva feel a bit embarrassed. "Why are you being so rude to her?" Kevin asked as he went to defend Eva. Asher''s emotionless eyes stared at Kevin for a short time. ''Annoying...'' Asher thought. "Don''t waste my time," Asher went past Eva and Kevin, ignoring their questions. Chapter 199 Dust Of Past - II *** "Why is Dalton Rothschild here?" one of the masked men asked. "Get ready to leave," Tom shouted out loud. "But what about the Boss..?" one of them asked. "Don''t think about things that you cannot help with," Tom replied as he ordered them to retreat to the ce where they could set up a temporary Teleportation Gate. In the air, Dalton saw a ck de collide with his blue sword. "This damn sword," Dalton muttered as he could feel his aura depleting. Asher''s bloodthirst was spreading all around him as he looked at Dalton. "Do you think you can defeat me?" Dalton asked as he pushed Asher back. Asher didn''t reply as his indifferent eyes stared at Dalton. "This will be your end, boy, and I will end this filthy bloodline with my own hands," Dalton said as he raised his sword in the air. Fortunately, they were far from the actual site where all of Zephyr''s members were, so his attack wouldn''t harm them. "Do you think you can kill me?" Asher asked as he looked at Dalton. "I will," Dalton replied as water droplets started forming around his sword. He was conjuring one of his Elemental Sword Techniques that was so powerful that he could even destroy cities with one of his attacks. "Ruler of Mana," Asher muttered. "What is this skill?" Dalton got alerted as he could feel the changes happening around him. "You want to end my bloodline?" Asher asked as he smirked. Dalton, who was in the middle of executing one of his techniques, felt weird as the mana around him was not responding to him properly. Being a SSS Rank Hunter, he could feel this much more clearly than others. He was in Fashia when the World Association asked him to help them kill Asher Greville whose whereabouts were just spotted on this continent. ''This can''t be?'' Dalton refused to believe that such a bloodline ability woulde out of the S Rank Bloodline that Asher had. Every piece of information about Asher and his known abilities was made public as he was one of the Most Wanted Criminals in the world. "Your ability is powerful, but sadly, I am not a mage," Dalton gripped his sword as he conjured his aura, which formed a shell around his body. "I will show why we SSS Rank Hunters are called humanity''s pirs," Dalton said as he disappeared from his ce. Far from their fight, Tom was looking in the direction where the noises of explosions wereing from. Whenever their swords struck each other, the ground below them would shake. "I hope he doesn''t use that..." Tom knew about Asher''s abilities so he was hoping that he wouldn''t use it. "Shit, where is Nate," Tom kicked the ground. After three hours, Asher, who had wounds all over his body, was walking towards the temporary teleportation gate. "Is it ready?" Asher asked, looking at Tom, who was still waiting for him. "Yes, Boss, but did you.." Tom spoke as he looked at Asher''s condition. "Dead, they will like my gift," Asher spoke, but his killing intent was making it hard for Tom to even breathe right now. Tom looked at the ck veins that were reappearing on Asher''s hand. ''I need to find Nate, he cannot die yet,'' Tom had his own reasons for following Asher. They were entering the teleportation gate when Asher looked back and felt the presence of another SSS Rank Hunter, but it was much more powerful than Dalton. "You werete," Asher smirked as he entered the teleportation gate. The moment both of them entered, the teleportation gate exploded, as Tom had set it to destroy itself so that nobody could trace their coordinates. "This can''t be," a man with silver hair and deep amber eyes spoke. "S-Silvus?" Dalton weakly spoke as he recognized the voice. His hands and legs were already cut off and his own sword was piercing his heart. It was a miracle that he was still alive in this condition. "Did he reach SSS Rank?" Silvus asked. "N-No," Dalton couldn''t see anything as his eyes were filled with his own blood. "H-He is killing himself...." Dalton muttered. "We made the wrong choice, tell OsberUGH....." Dalton couldn''tplete hisst words, but Silvus looked at his condition. "You made the wrong choice, everyone did." Silvus couldn''t help but say it. "I warned Farnus before that the Records of the Past were warning us," Silvus muttered. Until now, Asher Greville was only considered an SS- Rank Hunter, so Dalton going after him was enough. But him seeding in killing a SSS Rank Hunter was something nobody had thought would be possible. *** The memories shifted from when Asher defeated Dalton to the time he was still bidding at the auction. "Do you like that de?" Damian asked as they were sitting in the Ranker''s Room. Asher was invited by Damian to attend the auction with him. "Yeah," Asher replied, but he bought it without thinking much about it. It was one of the things he thought were worth the investment. The auction came to thest bid, which was a ring finger armor-looking artifact. "Things got heated," Damian said as the bid war between Leonard Tarvian and Raelyn Whiteheart was quite long. "I will go back," Asher said as he stood up. "Okay, I will join Amelia then," Damian got up as well. Amelia was attending with the Student Council as she was the First Year Representative. Asher was walking out, but he was stopped by one of the senior year students. "You are Asher Greville, right?" The Senior asked with a polite gesture. "Yes," Asher replied. "Well, Leon wanted to meet you for a small conversation," he said, looking for Asher''s reply. ''Leonard Tarvian?'' Asher thought in his mind. "Not now, maybeter," Asher replied as he was not in the mood to chat with another person right now. "Okay," The Senior knew that he didn''t have the status to stop Asher so he couldn''t do anything about it. The memories changed again as Asher was sitting in front of Leonard who had invited him to the Blood Faction building after the auction had ended. "Pleasure to meet you, Heir Greville," Leonard greeted Asher. "Pleasure is mine," Asher returned the greeting with his emotionless face. "I wille straight to the point, as you look like someone who doesn''t want to waste your time," Leonard said, "Would you like to join the Blood Faction?" He asked with a smile on his face. "I would like to reject," Asher replied immediately. "May I ask why?" Leonard didn''t give up just yet. "I don''t feel like joining yet," Asher replied as he got up. "I will provide all the support you need inside World Academy, even Kevin Whiteheart, I can help you overtake him," Leonard said. "Why would I want to overtake him?" Asher asked. "He can stay at Rank 1, I don''t need it," Asher said as he left the room. Leonard smirked as he saw Asher leave. "So he will not take the bait, interesting," Leonard said to himself. "Well, I am in no rush either," Leonard said as he remembered the n his father had told him when he joined the Academy. Asher was heading towards the Research Block, as he had taken a subject that was rted to potion crafting, and research around various ingredients that were used in it. It was a subject that none of the first years chose; only people in their third or fourth year would choose it, and that was only if they were going for a subject to increase their theoretical grades in. Asher entered the room and saw a pink-haired girl who was sitting alone in the ss with a book in front of her. ''Did she choose this ss as well?'' Asher thought as he took the seat closest to him. Both of them were sitting in the empty ss far from each other, waiting for the Professor toe. Chapter 200 Dust Of Past - III The professor entered the ss and saw only two students present. "Asher Greville!" The professor was surprised by Asher attending a ss that no first or second year student usually attended. "Well, I am Fernando, and I teach Potion Crafting, as well as the formation of items or drugs from various nts and other substances," Fernando introduced himself. "But as you know this is a research subject so you have to study independently from the books I will give you, and perform tests in the examinations," he exined, looking at Asher. Like many other professors, he was also ignoring Alyssa''s presence. "So, I will give you the recipe for this Healing Potion. You can make it from these ingredients, you just need to form a report about it," he said. "Remember, no practical work until second year. Only those who pass the theoretical part at the end of the year can learn practical aspects from us in their next year," he rified. "So for the two of you, I will first exin..." The ss went by as Asher and Alyssa learned about various properties of nts and monster parts used when making a potion or drug. "And this is all we will learn today. The next hour you will be making notes and choosing your research topics," Fernando said. "It''s notpulsory, so it''s up to your own decision," he added. "You can discuss among yourselves or work independently. Move to the next ssroom where all the books you will need are already present," Fernando concluded the ss and left the room. Initially, he was uncertain whether to leave the heir of the Greville family with Alyssa but, seeing that he hadn''t mentioned it, Fernando exined the rules as they were. Asher was the first to stand, heading into the room full of books containing information about various nts. But he wasn''t interested in those books, he was searching for something else. He was trying to create a calming drug, something that would numb his mind. He had discovered that killing monsters helped, but it wasn''t a sustainable solution. As the heir, he knew his responsibilities were heavy. As Asher searched for books, Alyssa entered the room as well. ''Why is he here?'' Alyssa''s dull eyes observed the tall figure perusing the books. It was strange for someone who could afford all the potions in the world and hire people to create things for them to take such a subject seriously. She initially waited for Asher to return and take a seat but, seeing that he was still leafing through various books, she decided to select one for herself as well. "Erk," Alyssa clenched her teeth, channeled her gravity magic to lift herself up. But doing so was painful for her body, and this was the reason she joined this ss. Knowing that she hadn''t be a Ranker, she wanted to research the potions that could aid her. If she made it to the advanced course, students were given extra budget and supplies for their own research. In the vast room filled with bookshelves, the two of them were quietly looking for things to help themselves. Asher selected three books and moved towards the reading area to study them. He had done a lot of research before joining the World Academy so he was pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. ''This will not work,'' Asher thought, looking through various properties of these nts. Some of them were grown, but some were only found in specific dungeons. Such materials were also very expensive, but that depended on their uses. Alyssa sat across the table with two books, one about healing potions, and the other about pain-killing drugs. Days passed without either of them speaking to each other. Both were focused on their own research. But Asher would asionally nce at Alyssa, and he started to notice that, strangely, his inner madness subsided whenever he was near her. But it was not only him. Even for Alyssa, seeing Asher was strange. ''Kill, Die, Kill her,'' such voices kept echoing in her head. But oddly, whenever she was near Asher, the voices slowly started to fade, the closer she was to him. Unlike Asher, who was perfectly fine and could perceive these changes clearly, this was not the case for Alyssa. Her body would suffer when she used her mana, and even mana cirction was a huge issue for her. But it was her will to avenge that kept her enduring it. Even though she would hear people mock her and her mother''s family, she remained quiet and held herself back. ''It''s not the time,'' Alyssa would always remind herself. She knew she wasn''t powerful enough to exact her revenge yet. But her determination was enough to endure the excruciating pain she felt whenever she went through the process of ranking her mana core up. Alyssa was turning the page of the book when she heard a voice. "It''s useless," Asher stated. It was the first word he had said after attending the same ss repeatedly. Alyssa looked up and saw a pair of emotionless eyes staring at her. "What do you mean by that?" Alyssa got a bit defensive but she knew her limits. She had experienced such situations enough to know what would happen. Knowing Asher''s background, she knew that even if he taunted or insulted her, she could do nothing to him. She clenched her fist, controlling her emotions. Asher noticed her reaction, preparing to reply. "The book you are reading, it''s useless," he pointed at the book. This was the first time Asher had shown interest in what someone else was doing. His whole life, he hadn''t cared about others'' actions. His life had remained monotone, but this time something felt different. And Asher wanted to explore exactly what was ''different''. Alyssa looked at the book, a bit confused. It was the first time she had heard him speak to her after he had seen her crying. "But you don''t even know what I''m researching," Alyssa retorted. "I can guess from the books..." That was their first conversation. Asher didn''t know why he intervened, and Alyssa didn''t know why she could talk like this with Asher. It was the first time she had conversed like this with anyone inside the World Academy. And that person was the heir of the Greville Family. Alyssa despised elite families, and it was obvious that she wouldn''t like the heir of one of the strongest elite families in the world. Weekster, Asher would converse with Alyssa a few times, but it was always about the subject. Their conversations always remained topic-centered and never went beyond that. Their sses and courses were different. Except for this ss, Alyssa never encountered Asher within the World Academy. After three months, Professor Fernando transitioned the ss to purely self-directed research until their next examination. Around this time, Xander approached Asher. "So, you want to train me?" Asher asked as he stood in front of Xander who had called him over. "Yes, knowing your father will not approve, I would like to keep this private," Xander said. "And I am offering you this chance because you have the potential to achieve Rank 1," Xander continued, showing one of the duels that had urred in the Duel ss. "Your swordsmanship is impressive, and even the footwork is perfect," he said, "And you have reached the peak of E Rank already," "Okay," Asher epted Xander''s offer. It wasn''t a bad proposition for him. Learning from one of the best swordsmen in the world was an opportunity not many people could enjoy. He didn''t know why Xander approached him, but if he could enhance his swordsmanship, he didn''t mind it. He still hadn''t found a solution for his inner madness but he knew he needed to grow stronger if he wanted to hunt more monsters. Months passed, and Asher stood in front of Xander, observing his techniques. "Are you sure you want to show me all this?" Asher asked. His eyes remained emotionless, but Xander could sense his potential. "It''s not as easy to learn as you might think," Xander replied with a stern look. Yet, he knew that Asher would master it, having seen his talent grow before his eyes. "If you think it''s so easy, then try to imitate this movement technique," Xander suggested. Asher''s crimson red eyes started following Xander''s footwork. "What''s this technique?" Asher asked, showing interest. "Snake Steps," Xander replied as his sword stopped at Asher''s neck. In an instant, he had covered the distance between them while suppressing his mana. "Try to imitate this," Xander challenged him. And as the months slowly passed, the end of the year tournament drew near. Chapter 201 Two Sides Of The Same Broken Coin "That mixture will never work," Asher said, sitting in front of Alyssa. As the end of the year approached, he''d had multiple small conversations with Alyssa. He didn''t know what kept him going. This was the first time, apart from his family and Damian, that he had been talking with anyone else this long. Asher turned the page and slid the book across the table. "Look for this," Asher said, his eyes meeting Alyssa''s. "Okay," Alyssa responded as she epted the book and his advice. At first, she resented conversing with Asher because she thought he was mocking her, but he would only correct her when he saw her doing something wrong. Their conversation never became personal or extended beyond the confines of therge, empty room filled with countless books. asionally, Alyssa would nce up to observe Asher. ''Why, why do you have those eyes?'' Alyssa wondered as her frustration grew. It constantly irked her that Asher had those lifeless eyes, just like hers. ''You have everything! Power, money... family.'' Thoughts like these kept returning in her head. ''Nobody hates you, nobody mocks you,'' ''You don''t have to deal with a sickness like mine.....'' ''Then why...'' Asher had everything Alyssacked and wanted, but despite that, his eyes appeared emotionless. The voices in her head, constantly repeating these words, led her to develop a slight resentment towards Asher. Her mental strength was deteriorating due to the environment at World Academy. Still, she continued to observe and converse with him. Alyssa channeled her mana with a bit of pain and went to get another book. She came back and sat. When she looked up, she saw Asher watching her with a light smile on his face. For the first time, he had smiled. "So you can smile?" Alyssa asked, marking the first time their conversation strayed from the books they were reading. Asher raised his eyebrows and tilted his head a bit. He touched his lips, realizing he was indeed smiling. "Why?" Asher muttered, confused as to why he had smiled. He had never found anything amusing before. In the grey world he inhabited, nothing had ever piqued his interest. He only behaved in a way that he deemed normal for someone of his status. Beneath his cold exterior, unlike others, resided a boy that was gued with headaches and had the urge to destroy everything around him. His smile soon faded, and he looked back at Alyssa. His interest in Alyssa grew further. Neither of them knew what drew him to her, and it was the same for Alyssa. They were unaware of how his smile had surprised Alyssa, who had never seen him smile or show any emotion during their months of acquaintance. She returned her attention to the books she had brought to the table. As she flipped through the pages, she didn''t notice that the voices in her head had stopped. Their interaction was indeed strange. Several weekster. "You know who I am, right?" Alyssa asked. "Alyssa Astaria?" Asher replied. "Not that, my mother''s family..." Alyssa trailed off, looking at the book in front of her. "Garcia," Asher supplied. "Then why.." Alyssa began to ask something but stopped herself. "I''ll go now," she announced, channeling her mana to stand, and Asher watched as she left the room. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to hear Asher''s answer, but rather she was afraid of it. All this time, she had subconsciouslye to appreciate these small moments with Asher, but she was scared that if she asked the question, the answer might disappoint her. It was a strange feeling for this lonely girl, but in a world filled with hatred, these moments with Asher were her only peaceful refuge. The scene changed, and Asher found himself standing in front of many students. "The teams have been formed. This is a C Rank Dungeon, so I want you to try and clear it as much as you can," Professor Elsa announced, surveying the randomly formed teams for this Joint Dungeon ss between the five sses. The teams wereprised of the top 60 students from the first year. Asher looked around, noticing Amelia, Kevin, and Elena standing beside him. "I will lead," Kevin said staring at Asher. "Okay," Asher responded, turning his head and ignoring Kevin. His eyes scanned the crowd for Alyssa, noting which team she was in. Amelia noticed Asher''s search. "Yo, you''re with Amelia," Damian approached, tapping Asher''s shoulder. "What''s your group?" He asked, and Damian pointed to a spot where Matthew, Alyssa, and Ria were gathered. Asher looked at Alyssa, who was using her mana to hover and stand on her own. ''She will run out of mana,'' Asher thought. His mana sensitivity had been improving daily due to his bloodline ability. These days, Asher found himself questioning his actions and thoughts that revolved around Alyssa. "I want you to make sure she doesn''t get hurt," Asher told Damian, pointing at Damian''s group. "You mean Ria Adler?" Damian asked quietly. Asher shook his head. "That girl?!" Damian was a bit surprised, but he didn''t draw anyone''s attention. "If you want, I can," Damian replied. It was the first time Asher had asked him for help. ''Why is he getting involved with the Garcia girl?'' Damian pondered. He didn''t know why, but he agreed to Asher''s request nheless. Turning, Damian looked at Amelia, who was chatting with Kevin and Elena, and a strange look crossed his face. "I''ll go now," Damian said, swiftly heading towards his group. Asher didn''t miss the look on Damian''s face. But at the moment, instead of focusing on others, he was busy trying to figure out why he was so interested in Alyssa. Shortly after, Asher was inside the dungeon. This time, he wasn''t eager to hunt monsters. Being with Alyssa had taught him to calm himself significantly. Whatever drove him towards madness, it calmed when he was around Alyssa, and the symptoms kept reducing the more time he spent with her. One conclusion Asher drew was that his interest in Alyssa stemmed from the fact that she alleviated his strange ''illness'' that only he knew about. Asher moved with Kevin, who was leading the group. Their formation was arranged so that Asher handled the rear while Elena and Amelia were in the middle. "We''ll rest for now," Kevin announced, looking around at the bodies of various monsters that littered the area. They had been fighting for hours straight, with most of the creatures killed by Kevin, supported by Amelia and Elena''s magic. They erected small tents they had been given and created a resting spot. Kevin sat down with Amelia and Elena. Asher observed them and their interactions around him. He could tell that Amelia felt a bit awkward around him. Both Elena and Kevin refrained from engaging him in conversation, a situation he didn''t mind at all. This time, his madness was subdued due to Alyssa''s presence, but before he met her, he wasn''t sure he could maintain his sanity around others. This was why he avoided Amelia after his first realization of his internal madness. "One of us has to remain on guard duty to ensure monsters don''te too near," Elena pointed out. "Oh, I can-" Amelia began to volunteer, but Kevin interrupted her. "No, you and Elena are crucial members of the team. It''ll have to be either me or him," Kevin said, looking at Asher. "I''ll go," Asher stood up, understanding the direction the conversation was taking. Amelia wore an awkward expression, her rtionship with Asher having remained uneasy since the party incident. "Okay, we can switch between us two after 12 hours," Kevin proposed, watching as Asher headed deeper into the dungeon. "Phew, now he''s gone," Elena sighed in relief. "I wouldn''t have feltfortable around him without you," Elena confided in Kevin. "I can understand how you feel about him. I mean, look at his eyes," she said to Amelia. "It was fine," Amelia responded. "You don''t have to bear all this alone. We''re friends, after all," Kevin said with a smile on his face, "You''re a Ranker and he''s not; this clearly shows the talent gap between you two," Kevin asserted. Elena observed Kevin and Amelia''s expressions closely, asionally joining the conversation. While they were chatting, Asher was advancing deeper into the dungeon. ''Somebody''s here,'' Asher thought, crouching down at the sight of some human food in the dungeon. ''Could it be the instructor?'' he pondered, but quickly dismissed that possibility. ''Mana Spread,'' Asher thought, extending his mana throughout the dungeon, detecting arge amount of mana concentrated in one area. "What is that?" Asher frowned, unsheathing the ck de he had obtained from the auction. He hadn''t sensed any human presence yet, but he could feel an enormous amount of mana in one ce inside the dungeon. **** While Asher was reliving his memories, the snake figure materialized once again, its iris of blood-red hue locked onto Asher. Shadow-like energy floated towards Asher as the snake began to coil around his neck. [ System is blocking Rune of Eirdin ] [ Reducing the negative effect ] This notification hovered around Asher, who was unaware of it. [ ?!? is experiencing the negative memories instead of Host ] The peculiar beast moved its head to face Asher, who sat with his eyes closed. "Why...do...you...hate...this...world?" The snake queried in a strangenguage, continuing to delve into Asher''s memories. [ ?!?''s bond is increasing ] Strangely, the beast found its existence simr to Asher''s. Chapter 202 Understanding Asher was spreading his mana sense, and he could now clearly feel the presence of many D Rank Monsters grouped together. "I should go back," Asher decided, turning around. Asher had just reached D- Rank, while Kevin was a D Rank who was nearing the peak of D Rank in his first years. Both Amelia and Elena were D- Rank Hunters as well. Asher returned and saw the three of them chatting. But their smiles faded away when they saw Asher approaching. "Why did youe back so soon?" Elena asked, frowning. Asher''s emotionless eyes observed the three of them. "Many monsters are grouped together ahead, and it doesn''t look natural at all," Asher said. "What''s unnatural about it?" Kevin asked. "It doesn''t make sense for these monsters to stay in a huge group normally," Asher replied, remembering reading about the traits of these monsters. "It seems to me like you''re just afraid of going inside the dungeon," Elena chuckled. "Aren''t you the Heir of the Greville family?" She asked Asher. Asher''s emotionless eyes stared back at the three of them. "Haaah, do whatever you want," Asher turned and started walking away. "Wait," Amelia stood up, calling Asher back. She was about to tell Elena to not take it too far. "Let him go. He''lle back soon when he realizes the difference in our strengths," Kevin stopped her, watching Asher disappear deeper into the dungeon. "I will go after him," Amelia decided, standing to follow Asher. Kevin grew frustrated, seeing Amelia chase after Asher. He had thought she didn''t like Asher at all. "Wait, then I wille with you," Kevin rose abruptly, halting Amelia. "Elena, are youing?" Kevin asked. "Why not? If she wants to help him, I don''t mind." Elena stood and joined Amelia. Amelia smiled faintly, appreciative of their help. She looked in the direction Asher had gone, but he had disappeared long ago. Asher was currently dashing towards the spot where he had spotted signs of people inside the dungeon. There were multiple paths in the Dungeon, and he had chosen the one away from the grouped monsters. But he soon stopped when he sensed the presence of people ahead. ''Why are these people inside the dungeon?'' Asher thought, observing two second-year students standing before him. Judging by their mana, they were all D Ranked Hunters. "Will this even work?" One of them asked nervously. "Shush, they just need to kill her," the other replied. But Asher sensed something was wrong with their mana; something felt off. And the artifact they were holding. "Nobody will know it was us who did it, yeah¡­," they repeated these words. They seemed almost insane. As Asher moved, his foot stepped on a stone, drawing the attention of the pair, who saw a young man standing before them. "A-Asher Greville??.... Wait, did he hear us?" One of them eximed. "Who are you guys?" Asher asked, walking towards them with his crimson red eyes staring at them. "Crimson, Kill Crimson," one of them muttered to himself. Asher noticed something odd about their behavior. "Yeah! Let''s kill him, he''s seen our faces anyway," one of them dered, staring at his partner. They turned to face Asher, brandishing their weapons. The next second, Asher saw two D Rank Hunters charging towards him. Asher quickly backstepped, dodging the first attack with ease. Both were intent on killing him. "Severe sh," Asher muttered, lowering his body as his sword passed through one of the students. He quickly dispatched the other. "I felt nothing," Asher observed, standing over the bodies of two dead humans. At that moment, he noticed that his inner turmoil had quieted as he killed the pair. This was the first time in his life he had killed someone, but he didn''t feel any emotion. The moment he sensed their murderous intent, his body moved, and he killed them. Both were only one minor rank above Asher, but their techniques were wed. The strangest thing, though, was their behavior and movements. They were too sloppy for second-year students at World Academy. Their thoughts and movements seemed out of sync. BOOM The sound of an explosion caught Asher''s attention, and he cast his mana sense in the direction of the noise. He quickly moved toward the source and arrived just in time to see Kevin battling some masked people. There were five masked men. "You will not leave," one of them shouted, attacking Amelia. Amelia was caught off guard, about to raise her dagger to block when suddenly she saw a ck de pierce the head of the man attacking her. The man died instantly, and Amelia turned to look at Asher. "Y-You killed him?" Amelia stammered, looking at Asher with a strange expression. Asher ignored Amelia''s reaction and moved towards the other masked men. He saw that Kevin was prolonging the fight, having no intention to kill the attackers. But Asher, knowing about the massive group of monsters that would soon be attracted by themotion, knew that they could not drag this fight out any longer. ''Kill them, you are a monster anyway,'' Asher''s consciousness whispered as he recalled these memories. His memories shifted, showing him standing in front of a girl with long ck hair and crimson red eyes. "Just turn yourself in," Amelia said, looking at Asher. "Is this what you came here for?" Asher asked, looking at Amelia. Tears welled in her eyes. "Kevin told me that he will make sure your punishment isn''t too severe," she said, looking at Asher. "Punishment? Did those guys send you here?" Asher asked with a strange smirk on his face. "How can youugh right now??" Amelia asked, unable to understand his calm demeanor. "Mom, Dad, everyone died because of you!!" Amelia shouted at him. Asher''s indifferent eyes met Amelia''s. "Just for that girl, what did you even see in that ugly-" Amelia began, but Asher was in front of her in an instant. A heavy killing intent began to radiate from him, and Amelia flinched, stepping back. But he stopped as a memory shed in his mind. "Can you protect Amelia? It seems I can''t," Damian asked with a smile, his eyes growing dull. "Try to treat her better," Damian said, closing his eyes. It was Damian''sst request, and Asher refrained from attacking Amelia. "Go away, and tell your ''friends'', next time I see their faces," "I will kill them," his eyes bore into Amelia''s. "Till then, don''t get in my way," Asher said, turning as a masked man appeared in front of them. Amelia didn''t notice, but behind the mask, another pair of crimson red eyes were staring at her. Unlike Asher''s indifferent gaze, his eyes held only contempt when he looked at her. They both disappeared from that ce just as Amelia felt the presence of multiple SS Rank Hunters all around her. "What?" She looked around in confusion as a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared in front of her. "Were you alright, Amelia?" Elena asked. "What is this? I only told you because I trusted you wouldn''t reveal-" Amelia started, but Elena shook her head. "I will exin everything to you, trust me," Elena dodged her question as an SS Rank Hunter approached her. "Lady Elena, they used a Teleportation Artifact, but we''re tracing them," he said with a respectful tone. "Keep searching. Make sure he is apprehended," Elena instructed, turning back to Amelia. "Kevin didn''t know about this. I only informed the authorities because I was worried about you, Amelia," Elena said, a worried smile on her face. "That man is not your family, he even used Damian as a-" Elena started, but noticed Amelia clenching her fist. "Stop, I need a moment alone," Amelia said, turning to leave. Elena watched as Amelia stepped outside. "It seems he noticed our trap," Elena said, a frustrated look on her face. Meanwhile, outside... "I will not forgive you," Amelia wiped a tear from her eye, looking up at the empty night sky. *** [ Mana Core increased to C- Rank ] [ Rune of Eirdin has increased from Rank D to Rank C ] Asher, who had been immersed in reliving countless memories, slowly opened his eyes. The strange beast had disappeared long before he woke, leaving no trace of anything unusual. He stood and felt his strength had indeed increased significantly. But having revisited his memories so closely, his indifferent eyes surveyed the area around him. "I should stay here for now," Asher told himself. He sat down again, back against the wall, and closed his eyes. He was not confident in controlling his bloodlust when faced with certain people, so he decided it was better to remain alone in this room until he felt able to restrain himself. He took out the artifact that he had stolen during the recent heist. "So, it was all because of this artifact, huh," Asher said, opening his eyes to examine the artifact. Chapter 203 New Stats Asher could still feel the memories of his previous life shing before him as he stared at the artifact in his hand. "H-He killed them," Elena told Elsa, who was calming her down. "What happened? Tell us exactly," Elsa, who had entered the dungeon, saw the scene before her. Many dead masked men were lying on the floor, and many burnt bodies of the D Rank Monsters could be seen. But most importantly, a young boy with blood all over his armor stood beside the wall with a ck de in his hands. "We were attacked by these people," Kevin told Elsa. He exined what had happened to them and how Asher had joined them and killed them all. As Kevin had pressed the emergency button the moment they were attacked, Elsa arrived shortly after with other staff members. "It''s fine. Please go back. We need to investigate what happened here," Elsa told everyone to leave except for Asher. "Can you tell us what happened here?" She walked up to Asher, who casually looked at her. ''His hands are not shaking,'' Elsa noticed Asher''s bodynguage. She could see that there was no remorse, guilt, or fear, despite him killing almost all the people present there. "It was good judgment to kill them, seeing that they were prepared to die here," Elsa said, looking around at the headless corpses all around them. The moment they died, their heads exploded due to some sort of runic device that was imnted in their bodies. The scene changed, and Asher stood before the Faculty Council, where even Farnus and Xander were present. "So, you are telling us you killed those two senior-year students that allowed the intruders to enter the dungeon?" one of the professors asked. "Yes," Asher replied, his eyes emotionless. "You could have spared one of them; we could have known who the attacker was!" Professor Erwin shouted. Asher knew Erwin, who was the sword instructor responsible for the first-year students, including him. "Professor Erwin, don''t cross the lines," Xander said as he looked at Erwin. "You are talking to the heir of an elite family. Do you think he should have spared someone when his own life was in danger?" Xander asked as all the faces turned towards him. "But - I apologize, I got too emotional," Erwin apologized and sat back down. "Student Asher Greville, you can leave now," Xander announced, and Farnus didn''t interfere in his decision. Asher turned and left the room. "I don''t know what everyone else thinks, but this is a major breach in the security of World Academy," Xander said. "Enough, Xander," Farnus finally spoke. "I will handle this matter," Farnus looked at Xander, who was frowning at him. And this was how rumors about Asher being a ruthless killer started circting inside the World Academy. The incident was framed as Asher killing people that Kevin, Elena, and Amelia had already cornered. But nobody knew who was behind this incident, as all the people involved in the attack were dead. And most of them were killed by Asher. "It was all because of this, huh?" Asher said, looking at the Card Shaped Artifact in front of him. It was a strange metallic card with a single eye-shaped gem in the middle. | Eye of Pretender | | Rank SS | | Description : Held by the False Rulers, it was used to fuel the emotions of those it was used against, but its root remained impure. | | Ability : Instigate Negative Emotions of a person against someone or around certain words | | Limitations : Blood of the person is required to Activate the Artifact | | Limitations : The effect dulls if the Intelligence of the User is too high | | Limitations : Can only be used for up to 20 people | | False Artifact : This artifact will remain mana-less until it is used and activated first | This was a hypnotic artifact that was won by Osbert Tarvian in the uing Kalvas G. Although it could not control the person, it was capable of amplifying negative emotions like hatred, fear, etc. But this time, it would never fall into the hands of Osbert Tarvian. "Up to 20. That''s why he stopped using it," Asher muttered. If anyone was standing beside Asher at this moment, they would feel the chilling killing intent that was emanating from him. Asher closed his eyes, sitting there as the day changed. He could feel his inner madness returning as he grew stronger. But it seemed like his intelligence stat was still helping him ward it off. Night came, and Asher finally opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Status," Asher said, wanting to check something. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 30(EXP 0/30,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank C- ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 118+38¡ú156 Agility: 110+35¡ú145 Endurance: 105+25¡ú130 Intelligence: 180¡ú180 Mana: 119+30¡ú149 Stamina: 99+31¡ú130 Charm: 65+5¡ú70 Fate: 10230 [AP]: 60 [SP]: 32 ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mana Conceal [-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike [-Beast-] : Unnamed [Level 1] [-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-27%, Magic [Novice]-84%, Rune Art [Fundamental]-80% ---------------------------------------------- His stats had increased significantly, with his strength being the highest after intelligence. His mana was still low, but it would grow much more easily as the newly formed Mana Rings would easily hold the mana that would slowly umte in his mana core. "145," Asher noticed his agility stat and started contemting it. Previously when he fought Louis, he could see that his speed matched Louis''s, and Louis was an S+ Rank Hunter. This meant that his agility, which should have been equal to 550, wasparable to an S+ Rank Hunter. He could see that his stats right now were of a C- Rank Hunter, but he was more powerful than others as almost all his stats crossed the threshold of C- Rank, which was around 130 ording to Asher''s estimations. "So B- Rank would be at 190-200 then, and next will be 270-300, and S- Rank would be around 420," Asher thought. He was basing these stats onparing himself to his previous life and Louis Rothschild. It might not have been urate for an average hunter, but Louis was a fairly talented individual, so he was above other S+ Rank Hunters. But Asher didn''t ount for such errors. His opponents were even more talented and powerful than Louis. Asher closed his status. "Is the beast ready?" Asher asked, seeing a notification in front of him. There was one thing Asher needed to check again. It was the feeling he got when he saw the beast, simr to but different from what he experienced when he first met Alyssa. [ Beast Materialization ready ] [ Calibrating Levels ] [ Telepathic Link Formed ] Asher saw multiple notifications before him as he saw the strange beast form once again in front of him. The blood-red iris stared at him once again. "What...are..you?" The strange beast spoke as it stared at two indifferent eyes that were staring at it. Asher could hear broken wordsing from the snake, but he heard them inside his head. Chapter 204 Strange Beast Moments before Asher awoke from the Rune of Eirdin, the beast continued to stare at him. However, his body still required rest, and Asher fell asleep shortly after showering. Red energy started to emanate from the beast. [ ?!? is restricted from using its full powers ] [ ?!? is Soul Linked to the Host ] The snake stared as purple runes resembling shackles appeared beneath the shadow-like energy. The snake turned as it sensed a powerful life force rivaling its own existence. Though it was sealed deep within, it could sense the force, just as the powerful entity sensed it. [ ?!? used Level 100 Authority ] The shackles around the beast loosened as it stared at Asher. "So, he is my master," it spoke in a strangenguage. [ ?!? is using itsst power before full restriction ] [ Are you sure you want to proceed? ] A mark appeared on Asher''s back as the shackles around the beast grew stronger and tighter. [ Sealing ?!?''s memories until the Host reaches Level 100 ] [ ?!? is separating itself from the System ] [ ?!? is reducing itself to Level 1 ] "I shall acknowledge you for now," the beast spoke in a strangenguage as it disappeared, transforming into a strange, shadow-like energy that returned to his arm. *** "You can talk?" Asher stared at the strange snake before him. He had never encountered a monster intelligent enough tomunicate with other beings. Yet, oddly, he heard the snake''s words in his mind, despite it not speaking aloud. [Host canmunicate with it as it was formed by the System] [ Unlike normal beasts, it canmunicate with the Host] While Asher read these notifications, he noticed the snake also turn its head to examine them. "Can you read them?" Asher asked the snake. "...I...can.." The beast responded to Asher through telepathy. [ It is possible because the beast is part of the System] The System informed Asher. Asher reached out to touch the beast, hoping to confirm something. But he felt nothing when his hand contacted the shadow-like energy surrounding the beast. It was as if his sense of touch had disappeared. [ The beast has its own abilities, and that is one of them ] "What exactly are you?" Asher asked the beast, turning to face it. His killing intent began to seep out, and the snake sensed it, but it stared back at Asher without showing any fear. Asher amplified his killing intent, focusing on the beast, but received no response. "...Don''t..know," Asher heard the telepathic voice of the snake. The voice was simr to a boy''s but didn''t sound like human speech. Yet, despite the oddnguage, Asher understood it. [ Host can understand thenguage due to the telepathic connection between the Host and the beast ] "..What...am...I?" The snake questioned Asher. [ What would you like to name the beast ] Asher saw the notification soon after hearing the snake''s question. "Rifir," Asher said after considering for a few seconds. "..Rifir...," he heard the snake''s voice again. [ Rifir - Level 1 ] | Species - Serpent | | Abilities - Locked | | Passive - Perfect Conceal | Asher saw the details about the snake, but unlike his, most of its abilities were locked. "So, how will you level up?" Asher asked the System. "..Hungry.." Instead of the System, Asher heard Rifir''s voice. [ Unlike the Host, Rifir will need to consume other beings, but his consumption has its limits ] "What limits?" Asher asked. He was strangely invested in the beast that he had just encountered. It was the first time he had met an entity that had not reacted to his killing intent. [ Mana Gems. Only such a high-potency source of energy will help him Level Up ] [ It can level up from defeating and consuming monster corpses, but only if they contain mana gems in their bodies ] Asher stared back at the snake, which continued to stare at him. "How do I unsummon it?" Asher asked. [ The Host can simply think the instruction in your head and try tomunicate it with the bonded beast ] ''Go back,'' Asher thought, and he watched the serpent disappear. Shadow energy flooded back to his arm, forming a snake tattoo, which quickly vanished without a trace. "Is that his ability?" Asher asked the System. [ Yes, Perfect Conceal allows it topletely hide its existence until the Host wishes for it to reappear ] [ The Host will need to properly nurture the beast for it to reveal its full potential ] "Where does ite from?" Asher asked. [ Not enough Authority] [ Level 90 Authority Required ] It was the next change that urred in the System, and Asher noticed it. "Why was I chosen as your Host?" Asher asked. [ Level 80 Authority Required ] "Who is the Goddess of Time," Asher asked, [ Level 80 Authority Required ] ''So this beast is even more intriguing than the Goddess of Time, whoever she may be,'' Asher mused. ''Level 40, wasn''t it?'' Asher recalled that the first Authority would open at Level 40. [ Depending on the Host''s knowledge, the Authority may change ] Asher saw another notification, but it was currently irrelevant to him. Most of the questions he wanted answers to pertained to topics he knew little about. But there was one thing that he did know. "Do you know about the ck Dungeons?" Asher asked the System. [ Level 40 Authority Required ] "Do you know why Dungeons appeared?" Asher asked a question that many sought answers to. [ The System doesn''t know about it ] [ No information regarding this was added to the System] Asher stood up and left the meditation room, intending to take a shower before doing anything else. While Asher had just reached C- Rank, Alyssa was struggling to reach D Rank. Having recently achieved D- Rank, she was eager to train further. "This is not enough," Alyssa murmured, looking into the mirror. She didn''t wear her mask in her room, allowing her to see her unscarred face. "It''s not enough to kill them," she said, touching the mirror as her reflection reminded her of her mother. Now that her body had healed, she could perceive mana more clearly. Although her performance during the First Awakening was unremarkable, her current speed matched Asher''s, who used his abnormal bloodline ability. In the past, her mana meridians were irreparably damaged. However, with the help of the SSS Rank Elixir, she hadpletely recovered, and for the first time in her life, she could use mana without further harming her body. *** The following morning, Asher was practicing his sword art. He stopped when he received a notification from Eric, the son of his Head Butler, Stephen. Asher read the message and instantly knew who was responsible. He responded to Eric''s message, instructing him to continue reporting such urrences. The first ss on Space Element was happening today, and Asher nned to attend it. The first ss was set to begin, so apart from Alyssa, only a few other students curious about the space element were expected to attend. Asher left the tenth floor and arrived in the lobby room, which was empty. He exited the Ranker''s Dorm and headed towards the Mage Arts Block. The ss will begin an hour from now. However, there was another ce he wanted to visit before going to ss. He was heading towards the Free Area, where most first-year students would roam before and after their sses. It was a vast area filled with special flowers, and the environment had been designed to help students rx. But it was also famous for another reason. Since this area was only meant for students, it had be the perfect ce for certain people. "Didn''t I tell you that I need you to collect GP from your friends?" a green-haired boy demanded, his hands gripping the hair of the first-year boy he was talking to. "B-But they refused. It''s not my fault--" The first-year boy tried to speak, but Gavin punched him in the face. "Are my words a joke to you?" Gavin started digging his nails into the arm of the first-year student, causing blood to seep out. Chapter 205 Bullying Inside World Academy "Are you done with him?" Jack, standing beside Gavin, asked. "Aww, you disturbed my flow," Gavin turned and pouted at Jack. ''This bastard is even more sadistic than me,'' Jack thought, looking at the green-haired boy. For now, Jack ensured that no one came near this area. ''Leon didn''t tell you to do all this,'' Jack was growing impatient with Gavin and his habits. Leonard had only told them to ensure that most First Years, especially those around Rank 500-600, were under their control. Most of their targets were students from weak families. Leonard aimed to ensure that most first-year students fell under his control. But he made sure to only use people like Jack, Gavin, and n for such work. It was to ensure that none of the students even thought of rebelling against them. They chose their targets carefully, and most of those students were those without a powerful or influential background. Most of these students were trying to form social connections and gain power, so they never reported the bullying as it hadn''t gone too far until now. But currently, Gavin''s habit of hurting others was making things a bit problematic for Jack. "It''s enough; stop now," Jack grabbed Gavin''s hand as he looked at the first-year student. "And you, if you want a good life in and outside of World Academy, do what you''re told," Jack red his mana to pressure him. "A-Alright," the student immediately replied. "Wait, one more thing, I almost forgot," Gavin turned, crouched, and smiled at the first-year boy. "W-What?" The first year stuttered, scared that Gavin would harm him again. "Tell your friends to spread rumors about a certain person," Gavin whispered. "Asher Greville bullies people in your ss," he remembered that this guy was in ss 1. "B-But," "What? Did you not understand what I''m saying?" Gavin asked with a sad look on his face. "Sigh, should I re-educate you again?" Gavin gave him a worried look. "NO! I will do it, yeah, I will do it," the first-year student reassured Gavin. A bit far from there, Asher was standing, and using his mana sense, he could see Gavin and Jack with another student in an area hidden from in sight. "Hey, don''t take things too far. It will be troublesome for us..." Jack continued speaking as they left the secluded area. Asher, standing in another sector, sensed them leave. "Only this much," Asher muttered as he turned back. Asher remembered Gavin Neville, who would be a major supporter of the Blood Faction. Even outside the World Academy, the Neville family was allied with the Allisters and Osbert Tarvian. So it was no surprise that Gavin had be a supporter of Leonard. He remembered that Gavin had an even more twisted personality than he currently disyed, but he never showed it to others. Knowing that he came from an elite family, Gavin always ensured he never left evidence that could taint his image. What Gavin was doing right now could be considered bullying, but he was not breaking any rules inside the World Academy. Gavin never used mana to hurt others. Instead, he threatened them so they wouldn''t use their mana to protect themselves. And none of the students could prove that Gavin had bullied them, as he always isted the targets he bullied. The first-year student got up and kicked the ground. He was the same student who had called out Alyssa on the first day of ss and was humiliated in front of everyone. "Should I really do this?" He was uncertain whether to follow the orders he had been given or not. Messing with an elite family was tantamount to dering to the world that you didn''t want to live anymore. As Asher returned to ss, he could hear other students talking about him. His senses had increased, so he could hear them whispering about the rumors circting about him. Something simr happened in his previous life, but during the Dungeon invasion incident. This time, rumors were still mild as nothing major had happened, and most people assumed that Asher didn''t have a great personality due to his cold demeanor. But people were still talking about him. Many such people in the World Academy engaged in simr activities like bullying. Still, unlike them, Asher was a renowned personality who was Rank 1 and was already known as the greatest talent of his generation. The more influential or famous someone was, the more their demise and downfall were anticipated. Although Leonard had seen enough to guess that Asher was not one to be affected by such things, he wanted to see if it truly was the case or not. But even in his previous and current life, Asher didn''t care about what others thought about him. ''Keep your attention on me,'' Asher said as he arrived in the Space Element ss. He sat down in one corner of the ss, arriving early. Asher kept tapping the desk in front of him. The next big event was the Kalvas G, which was meant to happen soon. The ce where all the Elite Families gathered, and some of the SSS Rank Hunters would attend as well. But Asher''s actions had caused a dy, and the Kalvas G would be postponed until the Seven Heads fixed another date. Time passed as the Space Element ss was about to begin. The first one to enter the ss was Alyssa, who was using her wheelchair. She entered the ss, and her eyesnded on Asher. But she didn''t stare at him for too long. Instead, she took a seat far from Asher. Nobody could guess that they were acquainted with each other from how they acted. Asher''s indifferent eyes drifted toward Alyssa for a moment, but he soon removed his gaze as he saw a few other students entering the ss. All the students took their seats and avoided both Alyssa and Asher for two different reasons. Soon, a professor entered the room, and with him, the Security Team of World Academy also entered the ss. "Hello, I am Adam Rivas, and I will be your Professor for the Space Element," The Professor introduced himself as his eyes quickly scanned the students in the ss. "Oh, and these here are the special hunters that work for the World Academy," Adam spoke with a wide smile on his face. Asher looked at Adam Rivas, meeting him for the first time. "They will be present here for the whole lecture," Adam said with a smile. His words convinced the other students, but some, including Asher, knew the real reason. "And if you can''t guess why they are here, I can say you aren''t meant to learn about the Space Element," Adam''s face turned serious immediately. Those Hunters were not here to observe the ss but to handle Adam in case he went mad or got out of control during his lecture. His change in emotion made the security team a bit wary. All of them were S Rank Hunters, so they could react easily if Adam tried anything unusual. Chapter 206 Space Element Class Adam looked at the first-year student before him, his eyes finallynding on Asher Greville. "Wow, why is the famous heir of the Greville Family in my ss?" Adam asked Asher. "Aren''t you aware of the consequences of learning the Space Element?" He questioned. "I am," Asher replied, his indifferent eyes fixed on Adam. "Hmm, interesting," Adam murmured to himself. "Well, for those who don''t know, learning the Space Element essentially means decreasing your lifespan," Adam stated, examining the students'' reactions. His words impacted all the students except for Alyssa and Asher. "Many, including me, consider the Space Element the strongest Element," Adam dered as he extracted a pen from his storage ring. "It involves tampering with the Law of Space that pervades everything around us," Adam exined, a peculiar violet energy materializing before him. "And leveraging that space to effect changes," He demonstrated, passing the pen through the violet energy where it reappeared in his left hand. "Only those endowed with an affinity for this element can even contemte learning it," Adam affirmed as one student looked confused. "You!" Adam pointed at the student. "If you want to ask something, then ask," Adam instructed, frowning at the student. His sudden action caused the student to hesitate momentarily. "Ah, you just mentioned that it decreases your lifespan. So why would anyone want to learn it then?" The student questioned. "Good question. The answer is simple," Adam responded, a smile gracing his face. "Who wouldn''t want to explore the strongest element, even if it might kill you?" Adam grinned. Asher studied Adam, aware that most individuals who learned about the Space Element behaved simrly. Their emotions were exceptionally unstable, and their faith in their abilities made them impossible to deter midway. "And how do you think the world would have functioned without Teleportation Gates?" Adam queried. "A Space Mage assisted in that regard. Even though this element may harm its wielder, it remains fascinating, regardless of what you might think," Adam spoke, passion resonating in his voice. "Now let''s talk about Dungeons," Adam tapped the screen behind him, and a Blue Dungeon Gate materialized. "This is a Dungeon Gate, but ording to many theories, Dungeons are nothing but a more advanced form of Spatial Magic," Adam posited. "Many, including me, believe that Dungeons represent what we could achieve through Spatial Magic if someone could learn it like other elements," Adam conveyed. "But sadly, we are not here to learn about such things," He cut himself short. "My job is simply to caution you all that learning the Space Element isn''t for everyone," Adam rified. "It''s a known fact that the more Space Element Magic you use, the more it will harm your mentality and physical well-being," He borated. "The World Academy will teach you up to Tier 2 Spells. Tier 3 Spells are considered forbidden to use unless you are willing to risk your life," Adam stated as a student raised his hand. "Professor, have you ever used a Tier 3 Space Element Spell?" A girl asked. "No, I am a Space Element researcher, not a user," Adam responded. "That''s one of the reasons I''m qualified to teach at the World Academy," Adam exined. "Most Space Element Users work under the supervision of the Mage Association. So even though it''s a dangerous element, we still have many Space Element users who are alive. However, most don''t survive past the age of 30," Adam conveyed. "Let''s examine one of the major side effects of using Space Magic," Adam tapped on his desk. "Unstable Emotions, basically people like me. Most of these symptoms can be observed early in life if you have a strong affinity for the Space Element," Adam shared. "And Mental weakness. This appears when a person uses Space Magic: severe headaches, hallucinations, etc." Adam''s words discouraged most students from pursuing the Space Element. "Well, if you''re lucky, and you have the Subset Element, like Gravity, those side effects will diminish substantially," Adam directed at Alyssa. "However, even then, you''ll still experience them, as all of us do," Adam stated, but Asher knew that wasn''t urate. He was confident that he could manage the mental strain that came with Space Magic due to his high Intelligence stat. Adam continued exining other concepts as he produced a book. "This is the Tier 1 spell, Blink. In this book, I have detailed all the inner workings of this spell and how to perform it." Adam borated. "This will be the only spell that we will teach you. If you wish to learn more, use the Great Library," Adam announced. The World Academy prohibited students from delving deeper into the Space Element. However, they could still read books from various schrs throughout history if they were adamant about it. Unlike other elements, Adam was not allowed to freely teach about the Space Element. Adam snapped his fingers, causing books to appear before each student. "This is Blink. It uses objects for small-scale teleportation. Try to understand the basics of it," Adam instructed. "And for Miss Alyssa Astaria, you can study the books on Gravity Magic to learn more about your Advanced Element. Until then, work on the Blink Spell," Adam rmended, directing his attention to Alyssa. Her Advanced Element was an extremely rare one, so not many people knew spells about it. The only way to learn was to get permission from your professor of that element and ess the books inside the Great Library. "This ss will meet once a month, and most of the time, we will only discuss this spell," Adam concluded the ss as his eyes rested on Asher Greville. ''Is he faking his affinity?'' Adam pondered why someone as indifferent and expressionless as Asher would possess a Space affinity. Ultimately, he assumed that Asher only had a slight affinity for the Space Element. Asher studied the spell as he turned the pages, examining various factors that needed to be addressed before someone could perform Space Magic. ''Sensing Space,'' Asher recalled the first step Adam had exined. Visualizing and incorporating the space into your spell was a confusing concept. It was impossible to aplish unless you had an affinity for the Space Element. Asher closed his eyes as he tried to sense the Space Element from the mana that was present all around them. It was a faint feeling, but he could sense it. [ Rune of Eirdin is Assisting the Host ] [ Magic Mastery is Increasing ] Asher kept chasing that faint violet light that appeared all around him, but it was too vague for him to actually feel it. [ Magic Master Increased to 95% ] But Asher stopped as he lost that feeling. The result was astoundingly fast; Asher had managed to sense the Spatial Energy that took others months. But, even for Alyssa, it took months before she could sense the Spatial Element that aided her gravity control. It took her years to master that one spell, a feat she achieved on her own. However, Adam only taught this spell as a Tier 1 spell. The Tier 2 Blink that Asher wanted to learn allowed short teleportations within your field of vision. This spell was incredibly useful, augmenting his Combat Ability. Asher opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. Alyssa was the only other person in the room. Alyssa was seated in her wheelchair. "I want to spar with you," Alyssa said, looking at Asher. Asher''s indifferent eyes met Alyssa''s gaze. "You will lose," Asher replied. "Doesn''t matter. I want to test my new spells," Alyssa responded. "Meet me on my floor," Asher stated, to which Alyssa nodded in agreement. Chapter 207 Asher Vs Alyssa In her eighth-floor residence, which belonged to the Rank 3 Student, Alyssa wore the ring-type artifact they found in the C Rank Dungeon after Asher defeated the C Rank Boss. There was a reason she had requested a spar, one of them being her inability to fully exert herself in front of others. Asher had told her not to reveal that she was fully cured, and she also understood that doing so would not be beneficial to her. Even though she had two powerful advanced elements, one would eventually lead to her death. Given that she consistently used Gravity Magic and her frail health, it was evident she was not destined to live long. Nobody approached her because everyone assumed that Alyssa couldn''t maintain her rank for an extended period. This prevented her from practicing with others, as doing so would expose her true strength. *** Asher was standing in the Training Facility present on the Tenth Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm. He was waiting for Alyssa, who wanted to spar with him. Alyssa arrived after a few more minutes as Asher was swinging his sword. Then, Asher received a notification that a guest had requested entry to the room. After clicking on his ID bracelet, the elevator opened, and Alyssa ascended to the topmost floor that belonged to Rank 1. Asher proceeded to the lobby and saw Alyssa waiting at the entrance. "Come this way," Asher said, and Alyssa followed him into the training facility. Upon entering the Training Facility, Alyssa removed her mask, revealing her facial features again. Her previously lifeless pink hair transformed into a vibrant cherry blossom pink, and her eyes turned a light shade of pink. "I am ready," Alyssa announced, looking at Asher. "You can go all out on me," Asher replied, revealing his mana. ''C- Rank!!'' Alyssa was both surprised and shocked. Achieving a C- Rank at this age was astounding, considering that even those considered prodigies were still striving to reach D- Rank. "I was not going to go all out, but," Alyssa materialized two ice daggers around her. And Asher unsheathed the ck de he wielded. If he were sparring with Damian, he wouldn''t have used an actual weapon, but doing so with Alyssa was different. He knew her current goal was revenge, but she also realized she wasn''t ready for it. However, there was another reason she requested this spar. ''I will confirm it this time,'' Alyssa told herself. She threw the dagger toward Asher, but they changed the trajectory as the daggers got affected by her Gravity Magic. *ng* *ng* Asher blocked both daggers and destroyed them as his aura covered his de slightly. "Ice Spears," multiple spears appeared around her, visible to Asher. Asher dashed towards her, not giving her time to react. "Descend," Alyssa waved her hand to the right. ''So she took the advice,'' Asher felt the gravity around him shift to his left. It was one of the moves that Alyssa learned in her Second Year, but she had already mastered it. In his previous life, Alyssa didn''t spend much GP on the great library as it was extremely costly for those who weren''t Rankers or Year Representatives. But this time, Asher had advised her to visit the Great Library if she wanted to learn more about Gravity Magic. ''But this is not enough,'' Asher thought as he used mirror steps to change his position. Alyssa quickly scanned her surroundings, seeing Asher, who had moved outside the altered gravity zone. "Ice Bind," Alyssamanded as various spikes emerged around Asher. Asher quickly backstepped as Alyssa increased the distance between them. She knew it would be over if Asher got close to her, but she wasn''t finished yet. Asher saw arge needle-like structure forming above Alyssa. Alyssa''s hair started to flutter as a light shade of violet energy materialized around her arms. "Pierce," Alyssa gestured downward, and the ice needle darted straight for Asher. "This will be useless," Asher dered as he adjusted the grip on his sword. And Alyssa recognized this skill; she had seen him perform a simr attack on monsters enough that it was etched in her memory. ''Swift Strike,'' Asher''s sword met the Ice Needle, but just as they were about to touch, "Shatter," Alyssa used gravity energy to fragment the needle into multiple small shards. "Spiral Attack," countless shards sprung from the ground, assaulting Asher. Alyssa was so focused that she forgot that such an attack could have severely injured any other student. ''Mir Steps,'' Asher used a burst of mana to change his location. And as Alyssa watched him disappear, the gap in their ranks became apparent. Asher''s speed was significantly higher than what Alyssa could currently handle. "Lighten," Alyssa lightened the gravity around her body. Then a w-like structure began to form around her hands. She looked up and saw Asher approaching her at a great speed. ''Descend,'' she used Gravity Magic to slow down Asher just before his next Mir Step. And she herself entered that Gravity Zone. "Change Shift," As she stepped in, she altered the direction of her gravity toward Asher while doing the same with the Gravity Zone around her. This allowed her to drastically increase her eleration, boosting her speed to that of a D+ Rank Hunter for a brief moment. The Ice ws reaching toward Asher''s neck halted as Asher used his sword defensively once again. Alyssa''s eyes locked onto the ck de breaking through her ice ws, and she was now within Asher''s range. She had taken a gamble, but now she was utterly defenseless. But at thest moment, the violet energy around Alyssa amplified, and its shade darkened. "Spin," Alyssa murmured as Asher felt the ground beneath him disappear. Alyssa had closed the distance enough to utilize her current most potent Gravity Magic. She altered the entire gravity around them, causing Asher to lose his footing, which is crucial for Mir Steps. But she was still a D- Rank Mage and was already pushing herself. "Encase," she touched Asher, and he could feel ice beginning to encase his body. ''It''s not enough,'' Alyssa knew that Asher could still attack her. So she manipted gravity to pressure Asher further, immobilizing him. Bam! Suddenly, both crashed into the ceiling as Alyssa lost control over her gravity. But at thest moment, Asher grabbed her hand, pulled her closer, and saved her from crashing into the wall. Alyssa regained control of her magic and altered the gravity as she slowly floated both down. "My bad, I lost control," Alyssa admitted as a mild headache formed from her use of Gravity Magic. Asher used his aura to melt the ice encasing his body. "Do you want to continue?" Asher asked. "No, thanks for your time," Alyssa responded, "I will leave for now," After expressing her gratitude, Alyssa wore her mask once again before exiting the Training Facility. Asher watched Alyssa leave his floor and went back to his room. He reflected on the duel he had with her. ''She is improving,'' Asher thought. ''We could have had a proper duel if she was C Rank as well,'' *** Alyssa entered her room on the eighth floor and looked at the nk canvas before her. "He is weird," Alyssa mused as she picked up her brushes. She hadn''t noticed it when she first met him, but she could feel it from the moment she was cured. "Is it his eyes?" She questioned herself. His eyes resembled hers when she looked in the mirror. She started to paint on the canvas, attempting to capture what she felt during that duel. Chapter 208 Forming Teams Two days had passed since Asher and Alyssa''s spar, and right now, Elsa was giving a special lecture to ss 1. "So, as you know, we will be forming two teams in the new structure of World Academy," Elsa said as she looked at the ss. "One of them will be a ss Team consisting of three students, and the other will be a hunting team consisting of 6-10 students for Dungeon Exploration that will start for the First Year Students as well," she said. "But we have already decided on the students in the ss Team," Elsa said. Her words upset some students, as they had thought they could form teams with their friends. "Except for one, we were told to form teams while matching your talents, ranks, and overall scores," Elsa said as she looked at Asher. ''D+ Rank, already,'' she was surprised that he had reached D+ Rank. ''But it''s good that he realizes that ranking up is not that easy,'' she could sense that Asher''s mana core was D+ Rank. Even though D+ Rank was shocking, it would have shocked many people if Asher had reached C- Rank. This kind of talent would not only have attracted the world''s attention, but people who despised the Greville Family would have be even more worried seeing such a monstrous talent grow. Asher noticed Elsa''s gaze and was currently using his Mana Conceal skill to make it seem like he was still D+ Rank. He was ready to show his C- Rank, but it wasn''t bad for now if he could hide it. "Each Professor from ss 1 to 5 will choose one team representing the whole ss," Elsa said. "From our ss, it will be Asher Greville, Alyssa Astaria, and Venessa Baker," Elsa announced to the team. "In ss Exclusive Events, or Matches that will happen in the future, you will work in these teams," Elsa said. "But the most important teams will be Hunter Teams, and this team will participate in all the Dungeon Exploration, and we are giving you a choice to form your own teams," Elsa said. "Hunter Teams will be formed for your Mid Term Examination only, so choose carefully who you pick in your team," Elsa said. "Previously, we would only make a random team of four people for First Year students, but we have decided to change it into what an actual Hunter team is like," Elsa exined. "As you know, exploring dungeons means your life is on the line, and your team is crucial to that exploration. A decently built team can even outperform a group of talented people who were grouped together without much thought," Elsa said. "As most of you will be working in Guilds or the Associations of your choice, we are making sure you understand the importance of working in a team from Year One," Elsa said. "You can have people from other sses. Of course, we will not impose any restrictions if you want to build a team with high-ranking students only, but," Elsa tapped the bracelet on her wrist. "Be prepared, as we will increase the difficulty ording to the team you build," Elsa looked at the faces of the students. Most of them nned to group with high-ranking students to score better, but doing so had its own issues. "But you will be given an individual rating depending on your performance in your team," Elsa reminded them. Each Hunter Team will be given assignments toplete, and if their team were better, their assignment would be even more difficult. But that didn''t meanpleting them would give them the same grades. Your own individual performance on your team mattered a lot in such cases. "Your Mid Term Examinations will be Team-Based, and End Term Examination will be based on Individual Duels," Elsa exined the format for the First Year. "So score as much as you can on your teams if you want to boost your rankings when you go to your Second Year," Elsa concluded the ss. "That''s all. Form your hunter teams and tell the group leader to send me your team details," Elsa said as she concluded her ss. She left the ss as the students started talking with each other. Asher stood up from his seat and left the ss. "Do you want to join our team?" Alyssa asked Venessa through the metallic mask she wore to cover half of her face. She remembered that Asher had given her the choice to invite Venessa if she wanted to. He had already told her about the potential people joining the team. "Yeah, but what about the others," Venessa asked, as she knew not many people would join due to Alyssa''s reputation. Alyssa brought out her ID Bracelet and tapped on it to show the list of people that Asher had told her about. "These two make sense, but why him?" Venessa said as she looked at Sam''s name. "Well, he wasn''t half bad in the Duel ss," she muttered. *** Some hourster, While in ss 5, Sam Allister was talking with Matthew. "So you will join Kevin Whiteheart''s team?" Sam asked with a bored look on his face. "Did Leonard Tarvian tell you to join his team?" Sam asked, knowing Matthew had joined the Blood Faction already. "I don''t have much of a choice, and he is Rank 2," Matthew replied. They had be surprisingly good friends, but Sam didn''t want Matthew to join Kevin''s team. But knowing that Matthew had joined the World Academy with World Association''s Special Rmendation, he knew that refusing Leonard was not good for him. Jack, who was in the Blood Faction, didn''t tell him to join Kevin''s Team because he knew the chances of the Princess of Halcyon being on Kevin''s team were high. "What team are you joining?" Matthew asked. "I have joined one already, and you will probably lose to us," Sam replied as he shrugged his shoulders. Matthew squinted his eyes as having Rank 2 Kevin with him meant that his chances of winning were very high unless Sam was in a particr person''s team. "Wait, did you join Asher Greville?" Matthew asked. "Yes, and don''t tell anyone," Sam reminded him. At first, he wanted to refuse Asher, but he decided to join them when he remembered Asher''s promise. Knowing his circumstances, Sam knew that Asher would probably not make it difficult for him. ''Kalvas G ising as well,'' Sam thought. *** "What are you doing, Kevin?" Elena asked as she saw Kevin looking through his phone. They were sitting in the Lobby area, waiting for someone to arrive. "I was trying to contact my Father, but the Head Butler told me he was busy," Kevin replied. "Maybe it''s because of the Kalvas G," Elena replied as she remembered that Kamden Whiteheart was one of the Seven Heads of the Kalvas G. "Did you need something from your father?" Elena asked, "It was nothing much. I just wanted to confirm certain things," Kevin replied with a smile. He couldn''t tell her he had epted Leonard Tarvian''s offer, but he wanted to consult about it with his father. Kevin looked back at his phone, but Elena kept noticing Kevin''s behavior. It was not hard for her to notice that he was trying to dodge her question. ''Usually, he would tell me everything,'' Elena thought. She kept thinking about what might have been bothering Kevin, but their conversation stopped when she saw a ck-haired girl with golden-colored eyes walking toward them. "Sorry to keep you waiting," Lishia said as she sat on one of the couches. "No, we arrived just now as well," Elena smiled. "So you wanted to talk about something?" Lishia asked. "Yeah, we were forming our Hunter Teams, so we wanted to see if you would join us," Elena said as she looked at Lishia. "Hmm, it''s not a bad offer. I don''t mind it," Lishia replied after thinking for a second. "Who is on your team?" Lishia asked. "It will be me, Elena, Eva, Matthew, and you for now," Kevin replied, putting his phone away. "And the sixth person?" Lishia asked. Although her father had told her to avoid children from Elite Families, she could notpletely avoid them. "It will be my cousin, Ria, mostly," Elena replied as she avoided mentioning Sam''s name. She knew there were issues between the Royal Family of Halcyon and Duke Allister, and having an Allister on her team might make things a bit ufortable for her. "Seems good. I don''t mind it," Lishia replied. ''She''s smart,'' Lishia thought in her head. Elena had already researched enough about the Halcyon family and how to have Lishia on her side. *** While all this was happening, Asher was going towards the Great Library. He had visited this library countless times in his previous life, but most of his visits concerned his research. But this time, he was going for the special Spell and Runic sections of the Great Library. Asher entered the vast building with multiple giant pirs at the entrance, and on each of those pirs, the names of schrs from history were present. Chapter 209 Great Library "What, but I was only one dayte!" A voice of a student was heard by Asher as he entered the library. "The fine will be 150 GP. I will not say it again," one of the librarians at the main desk replied. "B-But, fine, but can I reissue this book," the student started discussing. Seeing from his clothes, it was obvious he was a senior year student. And not just him, many students could be seen here and most of them were senior year students. Reading books at the Great Library cost GP if you were not one of the rankers or the student council members. Asher entered through therge hallway and he arrived at the main desk. The receptionist looked up and recognized the person before her. "I want to enter the restricted area," Asher said, looking at her. "Ah, yes, I need to create an entry for you," the receptionist quickly started working. Asher''s presence attracted many eyes. "Is that him?" Some people started recognizing him but nobody approached him. "Your entry is done, you can use your ID bracelet to enter the restricted area," the receptionist replied. Asher turned as he passed through an area filled with big rooms, that had various shelves with numerous books. Most of these books were avable to all the students that were studying at World Academy. They could be read easily, but spending time required GP and this made many people use their time in the Great Library efficiently. Most people present here were either busy reading, or if they had enough GP, they would take the books to their rooms to read them peacefully. But there were two areas of the Great Library that were only avable to certain people. VIP area: this area could only be essed by the top 50 students of each year and the professors of the World Academy. And then there was the restricted area, where only the Rank 1 student, or the Student Council president, including the Three Star professors, could enter. Most of the professors that were either 1 Star or 2 Star were working at World Academy for years to get promoted to 3 Star so that they could enter this particr section of the Great Library. Apart from old elite families, not many people held the various documents from the history of mankind. Not only those, but books written by various people who had achieved great things were kept in this section. In his previous life, Asher didn''t get to enter the restricted area because he never reached Rank 1 and he didn''t need to as well. The restricted area of the Great Library only held books that either had records or journals of the past, or research papers of various people. But Asher was only concerned about medical journals and all of them were avable in the VIP section. World Academy didn''t need to restrict ess to such books as potion making, herbology, etc. The restricted area was made to hold knowledge that was judged that only a few should see. Most of this research was gathered from fallen elite families throughout history and those people that wanted to share their knowledge with the future generation. Asher looked at the white stairway that led to the third floor where the entrance of the restricted area was situated. He walked on the stairway and soon arrived at the third floor. This floor was empty as no one had entered it at this moment. Asher arrived at the third floor and he could sense that every staff member present here was at least an A Rank hunter. He walked on therge third floor, as it was also part of the VIP section, but this part was only essible by the rankers. Asher arrived at the old-looking man who was sitting in front of a peculiar gate that stood out from the various bookshelves that were present there. The old man closed the book in his hands as he looked up and saw Asher, who was standing in front of him. "ID," the old man asked Asher. Asher showed his ID bracelet, and the old man pointed at the crystal that was present in front of the gate. Asher then pointed the ID bracelet at the crystal as he heard a robotic voice. "Remember, you can only read the books inside. Taking them outside is prohibited and you can only spend 120 hours inside each month," the old man said. "And each book has a protection charm so make sure you don''t damage them, as strict actions will be taken against you," he exined. "You can enter now," the old man waved his hand as he picked up his book again. He was the head librarian of the Great Library, so his job was to make sure that all the rules were followed. Asher stepped forward as the runes lit up from the crystal and the door opened, revealing a pathway to the restricted area. Walking through the straight pathway, Asher could see that not much technology was used in this section of the Great Library. But the abundance of runes that were present showed how strict the security was. Asher soon arrived at the end where he saw various staircases that hadbeling on them. From Magic Spells to Sword Arts, to Records of Events in the course of History. Various sections held various books that held great information inside them. "Rune Arts," Asher muttered as he saw the staircase that took him towards the particr section of the restricted area. Soon Asher arrived at a massive room that had books all around him. "So one of these books holds the rune that unsealed my sword," Asher said as he looked around him. He remembered the time during the end of the first year, when he was training with Xander Demarcus. Professor Neyman entered the training facility as he wanted to talk with Xander. "Vice Principal Xander, it seems you are busy right now," Neyman said with a lightugh. Xander stopped his lecture with Asher as he looked at Neyman. "The lesson stretched more than needed," Xander replied, as he hadn''t noticed the time. "It seems you are enjoying teaching," Neyman said, but Xander just gave him a strange smile. Neyman noticed Xander''s expression, but his eyes drifted towards Asher who was leaving the room with a ck sword in his hand. "That''s an interesting sword you have, mind if I take a look?" Professor Neyman asked. Asher had a calm look on his face. He remembered Neyman, as he had once tried to teach him when he was young. "Sure," Asher handed Neyman the sword. "Hmmm," Neyman gripped the hilt as he started observing the dull ck de. "Did you get it at the auction?" Neyman asked. "Yes," Asher replied. "Interesting, these are the same runes," Neyman''s eyes widened. "Can I have this sword?" Neyman asked as he looked at Asher. "Of course, not for long, just a week," Neyman changed his words, thinking Asher might refuse. "You can, but what do you need it for?" Asher asked. It was not hard to notice Neyman''s serious expression when he was observing the sword. "It''s rted to a book I read recently about runes," Neyman replied. Chapter 210 Searching In The Library "Sure," Asher replied. "I will call you after the week," Neyman said as Asher soon left the room. "Hmm, oh, I almost forgot why I came here," Neyman said as his face turned serious. "We can go to my office. This is not the ce," Xander said, looking at Neyman. A weekter, Asher was standing in front of Neyman who was still looking at the sword. "Would you believe me if I said this sword could be improved?" Neyman asked Asher. Asher looked at Professor Neyman, but his eyes were drawn to a certain senior year student standing in the room with them. "Oh, ignore him for now. What about my offer?" Neyman asked again. "How?" Asher got straight to the point. His sword was an artifact and not a normally forged sword. Improving it was almost impossible as artifacts were not upgradeable unlike man-made ones. "Remember I told you I found an interesting book in the Restricted Area? There, I found some new runes and I saw familiar ones on your sword," Neyman exined. He had found an old book in the Restricted Area, but the study was interesting so he continued reading it. He then exined to Asher how he was going to use the method devised in that book to improve his sword. "So, that''s where this young manes in," Neyman said, pointing at the senior year student who was feeling a bit awkward in this situation. Out of nowhere, he was called by Neyman when he was showing his useless Ring Armor artifact to someone a month ago. Now he was called again but this time, even Asher Greville was present in the same room as him. Asher''s emotionless eyes looked at the senior, who became a bit nervous when he saw his crimson-red eyes focused on him. "Well, he has another piece that is needed to recreate the method I''m talking about," Neyman said. He exined how he had found simr runes on this artifact as well, and by inspecting it for a month, he found out the artifact was actually a tool to inscribe runes on the de of this sword. It took him months, but judging by the information, and his knowledge of runes, it was obvious why he came to those conclusions. "But there is a slight issue," Neyman said as he looked at the senior year student. "This artifact is bound to the one who used it first, and it can''t be used by anyone else than him," Neyman said, looking at the senior year student. "So, he will perform the runic arts on your sword," Neyman said. "But I don''t know anything about runes, and-" The senior year student was about toin why he should waste his time for Asher but he stopped. He forgot that the person he was talking about was the heir of the Greville Family. "Don''t worry, I will tell you which runes to draw, but it will require preparation," Neyman said. And after a month, just before the End Year Tournament, which was the final examination for the first-year students, Neyman finally called both of them again. "S Rank Mana Gem!" The Senior shouted. "Yes, this will be needed to supply the energy for these runes. I will guide the energy; you will draw them," Neyman said. "Don''t worry, I won''t charge either one of you. This is my own research," Neyman assured the guy in case he got nervous. "I will pay for it," Asher spoke. He was the heir of the Greville Family, and he couldn''t ept favors from others casually. And Neyman knew he would respond like this. If any other student his age was in his shoes, they would have epted it for free but knowing that nothing came without a certain price, Asher told Neyman that he would pay. Both Neyman and the senior year student started working on the rune. Neyman told him to draw certain runes on the sword. He was guiding the mana from the mana gem himself but the pressure was getting to the Senior. And that''s when the mistake happened. At the end, where Neyman had thought the rune would finish, a problem urred and the runes started to be unstable. "This should not happen," Neyman frowned as he looked at the unstable runes. From his research, this should havepleted the job. "Shit," the senior year student cursed as he lost his concentration and the broken runes were applied to the sword. "Did I mess up?" He asked Neyman, worried. "Well, not really, but it seems we made some mistakes," Neyman said as he took the sword in his hand. "This is iplete," Neyman said. "That was a failure, but not this time," Asher muttered. This time, he had the Ring Armor Artifact, the pen needed to draw the runes and unseal his sword. And unlikest time, he was going to perfectly unseal the first seal on his sword. Neyman had told him that his sword had more than one seal, but the book he read was either iplete or he didn''t understand it fully. But Asher remembered the power in his sword. Although due to the broken runes it never went above S Rank, it struck terror into the hearts of many people. Asher looked around; he could see many books, some looked decent but most of them were very old. All of them had protective runic charms on them to make sure they didn''t get damaged. He picked up one of the books and started reading it. His highprehension made it easy for him to understand what was written but what he was looking for was a specific book. He still remembered the runes that Neyman made the student draw, and he was searching for them specifically. He took out many books from the lower shelves as he skimmed through most of them. Most of these books were written by famous runemasters from history, and they contained records of their understanding of runes. But it was still not what Asher was looking for. "Journey of the Runic Master. Not it," Asher put the book back after skimming through it for 10 seconds. Most of the titles were weird as people wanted to leave their own impression on their works. "Scorch Family''s Record..." He picked up another book. ''Probably a fallen family.'' He guessed it might have been an elite or famous family in the past. Most of these books were either retrieved from such families, or they were individual works left behind by certain people. The World Academy wasn''t the only ce that held these books. Most of them were donated to the World Academy by the order of the High Council. As the current powerhouses never revealed their own techniques, it was decided that knowledge from the fallen families, which was in possession of various families, would be donated to the World Academy. Although some hesitated, all such books, or records, were donated except for the ones exclusive to those families. And one of those families was the Greville Family. Asher remembered that they still had the ''Records of the Past'' that were present with almost all the Elite Families. "None among these ones," Asher concluded after an hour of searching through the lower shelves. Asher had skimmed through at least 360 such books and journals. Chapter 211 Found It "Not this," Asher kept picking up book after book. And as he reached higher, he noticed that most of those books were damaged. He understood why Neyman had mentioned the specific book he''d read might have been iplete. Most of these books had only been preserved when they were brought to wealthy families or to the World Academy. So it made sense why most of them were damaged or in poor condition. Some books were even hundreds of years old, but not as old as the Records of the Past, held by certain elite families. Their existence was only known by the High Council. But not much importance was given to them. Most of those records were assumed to be broken texts, and they were only preserved because they had be a relic of the past. Those who had them cherished them as they increased their status among others. Asher picked up another book as he reached the highest shelves. He had skipped past the middle portion, as he decided to look at the highest portion first. And the highest shelves had the most books. Most of them had knowledge that was not useful for the current era. Unlike magic, runes have progressively improved as more people researched them. So it was obvious that looking at old books about them wouldn''t be very useful, and most people like Neyman would look at the middle part. But Asher remembered what Neyman had once said in his previous life. "Reading the history has its own benefits, doesn''t it?" He had joked once when discussing the sword with Asher. This made Asher believe that the book must be among those old ones, and Neyman must have picked it up randomly. He stepped on another step that formed under his feet with the help of runes. "Records of Mazilion..." Asher read the title of a book with a greenish cover. Looking at the pale brown pages, he judged that it was quite an old book. "It''s about basics," Asher stopped at the first page when he saw the book was about the basics. He kept turning the pages and his understanding of rune arts increased. Despite being old, this book was written by someone from a family named Mazilion, but the full name was never found as some pages were already faded. [ Understanding of Rune Arts is increasing ] He saw that the person had exined about runes in a very simple manner, and it was easy for him to understand what was written. It had all the fundamentals written in it. Asher was going to skim through it, but he stopped and read it diligently. He was going to read more about rune arts, but he found a book that was quite easy to read. He kept receiving notifications that his understanding was increasing. Asher kept turning the pages, and he soon turned thest page when he saw a new notification in front of him. [ Rune Arts has increased to Novice Mastery ] He had increased his rank of Rune Arts which was at 80% at Fundamental Mastery. It was a small increase but he could learn more about it in Neyman''s next ss. It only took him around 30 minutes to fully read the book. Asher put it back inside, as he looked at the next book. This book was even more dull; its cover hadpletely faded to a dull grey, with parts of it that still appearedvender. "Diary of Lizare," Asher read the title that was written in golden letters but most of it had turned dull. Asher flipped the page, skimmed past a few pages, and stopped on a particr one. "This is it," Asher said as he looked at the book. He had finally found the book that Neyman had talked about with him. Asher turned to the first page of this book, and found it was empty. He turned to the second page and read the first line. "Creation with Runes is the only exciting part of this dull life," Asher read through the only lines written on the second page. As he turned to the third page he saw symbols of various runes that Neyman had used in front of him. He kept reading through them, but surprisingly his understanding of the rune arts wasn''t increasing. He didn''t recognize the runes, but judging by how Neyman had put them together he arrived at the middle part where another set of runes was exined. Each of their workings was different. As exined by the writer of this diary, none of these runes were meant for creation. It was strange for someone who talked about how they loved creating something to write about runes that weren''t used for creation. It was mentioned again and again that these runes could only be used as a way to free something. Asher could see that his sword was the ''something'' mentioned here, but it didn''t make sense for a person from the past to know about his sword which came out of the dungeon. He kept reading through the book and became more confused. Nothing about the runes was exined except what they would do if joined together. It was mentioned that they were useless when used on anything other than the specific object. "Did this knowledgee from an artifact?" Asher muttered as he kept looking through the book. It had been three hours since he had started reading it but he kept going back to the first page after reading a bit of the book. It made sense if the writer had gained the knowledge about his sword from another artifact but this was only a guess. "Unless..." Asher''s mind drifted through a specific thought. He arrived at the secondst page and saw the sequence of runes that Neyman had used in his previous life. And reading through all of it, Asher could guess why Neyman thought this sequence was the answer. He turned to thest page where some letters were written but he could not understand thenguage. [ An unknownnguage detected.... ] [ Does the Host wish to trante it? ] A notification from the system caught Asher''s attention. "Will it cost fate points?" Asher asked. [ Yes ] "How much?" Asher queried once more, his indifferent eyes scanning the system notification. [ 1500 Fate Points ] Asher nced at the sum, noting that it was a substantial portion of his current fate. "Go ahead," Asher authorized the system, eager to decipher the text before him. [ Deciphering thenguage ] The text started appearing before Asher, identical to the script penned in the book. The Systemmenced the trantion of the enigmatguage for him, unveiling the words one by one. Finally, the cryptic text revealed itself, prompting Asher to delve into its reading. Seek not in lines that straightly flow, A secret awaits where the roots grow. The key to lock, in reverse is found, Turn me over, truth will abound. Inpleteness, this bookcks, Seek the missing in the talent''s tracks. Amidst the Creation of Runes, the finest art, There you''ll find the missing part. "What is this?" Asher eximed, staring at the tranted text. Chapter 212 Solving It Asher looked at the text that appeared in front of him. "So, I need to solve this," Asher studied the text, then he grabbed the book again. He pored over many pages, noting every rune sequence, but he didn''t understand their meaning yet. Even Neyman had spent months on this research, yet he could not discern the true meaning of these runes. Runes were a peculiarnguage that could manipte mana just as hunters did. Most people referred to it as the study of mana and considered runes the key to manipting the mana, especially the elements. "Roots, lines..." Asher kept deciphering multiple meanings of these words. "Reverse," Asher noticed one keyword that stood out. Runes were usually written from left to right, but he started reading them from right to left. He changed the sequence, yet he felt the new sequence was still incorrect. Each page of the book exined how these runes worked together. From that knowledge, Asher saw that the series of runes remained unstable. He flipped the book upside down, and viewing those runes from this new perspective, Asher started memorizing the patterns. "Now if I reverse them," Asher began to arrange those runes in reverse. He kept rearranging the sequence in a way that satisfied both the ''reverse'' and ''upside-down'' criteria. In front of him, strange runes formed a unique new sequence that was entirely different from the one mentioned on the penultimate page of the book. Memorizing all he was seeing, Asher unsheathed his sword. Next was the Ring Armor Artifact he had purchased at the auction. "This rune won''t require any extra mana, unlike in my previous life," Asher remarked, studying the new rune sequence. In his previous life, Neyman had used an S Rank Mana Gem to forcefully etch these runes onto his sword. However, ording to the book, after he had flipped it upside down, this rune didn''t require much mana. As Asher had observed in the Artifact information, his sword only needed unsealing runes. Thus, it shouldn''t have required an S Rank Mana Gem. Neyman had misinterpreted these runes. He had believed them to be runes that upgraded his sword, but in reality, they were only unsealing the artifact. Asher donned the Ring Armor and descended to the ground. Moving a bit away from the bookshelves, Asher examined the ring armor he was wearing. ----------------------------- | Rune Encrypter | | Rank | : A Rank Artifact | Description | : Crafted by the one who bound his own masterpiece, within it lies the key to unleash the true potential of this sealed creation. Embedded in the piece are three ck gems, each harboring the unique means to unlock the enchanting power concealed within. | Limitations | : 1. The one who wears it and imprints his mana will be marked as the owner, and only that person could try to unseal the Runic Seals. 2. Each failed attempt will permanently destroy the gems. ----------------------------- He looked at the small ck gems present on this ring armor, and he feel the resonance between his de and this ring armor. Even though he hadn''t started inscribing the runes on the de, he could feel the energying out from the ck gems. In his memories, Asher remembered when the runes became unstable, he saw the all three of these ck gems shattered and be dull. He looked at the information of his sword once again. ----------------------------- | Sword of Chaos | | Rank | : D Rank Sword | Description | : Crafted by a mysterious individual possessing extraordinary runic wisdom beyond humanprehension, this sword finds itself shackled by the very hands that brought it into existence. It yearns for its rightful owner to unshackle it. | Abilities | : Increases sharpness in each strike by 15% | Abilities | : Made by a metal that will not be harmed by attacks below SS Rank. | Passive | : Grows to the peak of its owner''s potential (Sealed to D Rank) | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock ----------------------------- "Let''s try it," Asher resolved to apply the runes to his sword. He had disregarded the second paragraph of the text, but he had an idea of what the text was referring to. To confirm his suspicions, he first needed to attempt this new runic sequence and etch it onto his sword. "Haah," Asher''s crimson-red eyes focused on his sword. His mana started to surge, but he was cautious not to harm any runes present in the restricted area. Even though he had already moved far from the book room, he remained vignt. Asher nced at the book once more. He raised his index finger, on which he was wearing the ring armor. Using the tip of the artifact, Asher began to inscribe the runes onto his sword. After etching the first two runes, he noticed that the shining ck gems required his mana to function. Utilizing his own mana as fuel, Asher started carving on the sword he had wielded in numerous battles in his previous life. Following the first two, he employed the next pair. Inscribing them was consuming a lot of his mana, but he observed that the ck gems were assisting him in forming the runes. "So they embody the intent behind these runes," Asher mused as he inscribed the fourth one. This meant that these ck gems possessed the true key necessary to form these runes in the first ce. And utilizing them without the help of the Rune Encryptor implied that they would never function. He heightened his concentration as the remaining runes were quite intricate, and making a single error could lead to failure. But as Asher was etching the sixth rune, something unusual urred: his ring armor began to morph, and he felt a small needle prick his index finger. Blood started to drip from his finger as Asherpleted the sixth rune. However, Asher didn''t halt; the next two runes were linked with the sixth rune, so stopping would disrupt the runic sequence. Asher persisted in carving the runes onto his dull ck de, which began to emit a golden glow. His blood started to seep into the runes, and Asher let it flow. He needed toplete a total of 16 runes, and he was only on the seventh one. Drops of his blood continued to mingle with the runes, as the runes began to orbit the dull ck de. The more runes he etched, the more they covered the de, and by the time Asher was on the 13th rune, the whole de was enveloped by them. He had the final three runes left to inscribe. Asher began writing them, but his eyes remained focused on the de. ''Last one,'' Asher used his finger to draw the final rune. When hepleted it, the golden runes began to encase his sword. "It didn''t shatter this time," Asher noted, observing the runes that were swirling around his sword. The runes began to fade, getting absorbed into the sword. Asher''s gaze fell on his sword again, and this time its appearance resembled what it had looked like in the past. A long de that shined darker than moonless nights, with a ck hilt featuring small golden engravings. [ Analyzing the artifact.... ] Asher noted the system notification as he grasped his sword. And he could sense a familiar sensation emanating from it. There was a reason Asher was regarded as a highly dangerous individual in his previous life. Part of the reason was this sword alone, a single S Rank sword that had shed against those considered the Pirs of Humanity. Asher noticed the unique ability that set his sword apart from others. | Sword of Chaos | | Abilities |: Absorbs the Aura of the Enemy and strengthens the Aura of the Owner of the Sword "It''s still the same," Asher remarked, studying this particr ability. But he could discern the changes that had urred when he utilized the correct Runic Sequence. Chapter 213 Sword Of Chaos "So, this is what it was capable of," Asher looked at the infromation about his sword. | Sword of Chaos | | Rank | : D Rank Sword | Description | :Marked by the blood of the Host and the Host became the True Owner of this sword. | Abilities | :Increases sharpness in each strike by using your aura. | Abilities |: Absorbs the Aura of the Enemy and strengthens the Aura of the Owner of the Sword | Property | : Evergrowing - Absorbs the aura of the enemy to strengthen the sword itself | Passive | :Will grow with the Host''s Potential [ No Limit ] | Passive | : Locked, requires the enchantement from the Second Gem | Passive | :Locked, requires the enchantement from the Third Gem In his previous life, his sword grew while absorbing his aura and the aura of those he killed, but it halted at S Rank and never progressed further. "A sword that only grows stronger the more people I kill," Asher said, examining the information. Aura was a power unique to humans; monsters did not possess it. Only Weapon Masters could harness this power. His sword required a different type of aura from that used by others. While it absorbed Aura from others, it strengthened itself with the aura surrounding the Mana Core. The strongest and purest Aura was found near the Mana Core of the Hunters, and the only way for his sword to absorb it was to plunge it inside their mana hearts. Asher''s gaze fell upon two abilities disyed before him. In his previous life, his sword absorbed the aura of its victims but failed to enhance its own power beyond S Rank. Therefore, Asher had to expend his aura to bolster the sword, ensuring it couldpete with higher-ranked des. "So this property was wed," Asher noted, examining the Evergrowing attribute of his de. He noticed his finger still bled, yet the needle from the ring armor had vanished once the runic sequence waspleted. "So I am the owner," Asher dered, gripping the sword and making a light swing. He could sense that, though it remained D Rank, it had already improved significantly. It felt more familiar, but two of its abilities were still locked. "And the clue lies here," Asher said, returning the sword to his spatial ring. "Show me the second paragraph again," Asher requested, and the system disyed the tranted version of the unknown text from the book. ------------------------------ Inpleteness, this bookcks, Seek the missing in the talent''s tracks. Amidst the Creation of Runes, the finest art, There you''ll find the missing part. ------------------------------ From the moment he read the second paragraph, he had a hint about the text. "The best runic creation," Asher reread the lines. In human history, one thing was often brought up when discussing the best rune creation: the Trial''s Ground, one of the most coveted ces in this world. This ce allowed people to enhance their talents, a method superior to using artifacts for self-improvement. Regardless of the path you chose, talent was a constant. You were either proficient in mana handling, or your body was built to be a Weapon Master. However, some were better than others. Even individuals with the same elemental affinity could have stronger or weaker affinities. Like Helena Raven, reputed to have the strongest ck Element affinity among all people. That affinity was also a talent. Before the creation of the Trial''s Ground, it was believed talent was fixed, but that notion changed after its introduction. "It will be easier to retrieve it," Asher mused. He didn''t know why the missing part of the runic sequence was in the Trial''s Ground, but it simplified matters. The Trial''s Ground was the primary reason for the establishment of the World Academy. It was also why Farnus made so many mana oaths, intending to be the protector of the Trial''s Ground. "It''s about time," Asher said to himself, returning the book to its shelf. It was around this time in his previous life that Arthur reached SS Rank. He''d received the news from Sylvie, who informed him and Amelia about Arthur''s impending attempt to break through from S+ Rank. Arthur had been at S+ Rank for years, but his breakthrough required a massive amount of mana. Those in the Greville family who inherited the Crimson Red Eyes were all associated with Mana-rted bloodlines. Arthur possessed an S Rank bloodline, making his body require an SS Rank Hunter''s mana amount at S Rank. While this slowed his ranking progression and required him to spend a lot of time at SS Rank, it also meant that if Arthur ever reached the peak of SS Rank, he''d be the only person in the world capable of holding mana simr to an SSS Rank at SS Rank. In his previous life, Nathan''s death had caused some concern about the Grevilles regaining their power during Arthur''s rank-up. However, aside from his family, no one knew about Arthur''s bloodline ability. *** At the Mage Association Tower, Two old men sat in the highest room of the tower. "Why is the Seat Holder of the Greville family here?" Silvus inquired, his amber eyes meeting the crimson ones. "I''m just passing some time," Nathan replied. "Why are you revealing your presence in the entire area surrounding my association?" Silvus asked. "Don''t worry, Silvus, I''ll leave as soon as my sonpletes his rank-up," Nathan reassured him, holding Silvus''s gaze. "Do you think someone would harm your family head in my presence?" Silvus challenged. Nathan''s implication was that he didn''t trust Silvus or his abilities. Arthur was currently using the Mage Association''s Mana Rooms, considered the world''s best and reserved for the Seat Holders of the High Council. "And what?" Nathan countered, releasing his mana towards Silvus. At Nathan''s provocation, Silvus also released his mana. Unlike Nathan''s dominating aura, Silvus had a distinctive silver-colored mana. Silvus, known as the Archmage, had a mana color famously known as Silver Mana, different from the typical blue mana color. However, both of them were cautious with their mana use. "I''ve already allowed Arthur to use your Room; don''t test my patience," Silvus warned. In the next moment, both men retracted their mana simultaneously. Neither was interested in fighting. Silvus had always maintained neutrality with all the Elite Families. He had shown support only once¡ªfor Farnus, when he advocated for the World Academy''s construction. "I will retract my presence, but I''ll stay here until hepletes his rank-up," Nathan retorted, his eyes fixed on Silvus. Nathan''s face hardened as he looked at Silvus. ''This is troublesome,'' Silvus thought. Nathan''s behavior confirmed he was serious about staying until Arthur''s rank-up wasplete. **** Days ago at Abyss Guild Headquarters. "You''ll stay there for a week. Do you think the Chairman of the Mage Association will permit that?" Arthur challenged Nathan. Silvus was known to dislike members of the elite and influential families. "Why do you even want to apany me?" Arthur questioned, puzzled by Nathan''s sudden desire to join him. "You''re taking my Mana gems, right? Why don''t I reim them?" Nathan responded, arching his eyebrows. "When did they be yours?" Arthur protested, mming his hand on the desk. Nathan refrained from voicing his concern about the many families that might disapprove when Arthur ranked up. The power they were amassing was enough to threaten numerous elite families. With Ivar''s children¡ªonce known as the Greatest Talent ever born¡ªand Asher, who was currently breaking records set by Ivar, Nathan was aware of potential repercussions. But his main worry stemmed from the Dungeon Explosion that urred more than nine months ago. Nathan didn''t believe it was a natural event, a conclusion drawn from his excursion into the dungeon and his high mana sensitivity. ''It can''t be natural,'' Nathan thought. Despite his suspicions, hecked proof of who was behind the attack. There were too many individuals who would benefit from his demise. Although he was aware that creating Dungeon Explosion artificially was impossible but he had been inside too many dungeons to believe that his instincts were wrong. "Just follow my instructions," Nathan said as he grabbed Arthur''s shoulder. "Or I will drill somemon sense into your brain," He used his mana pressure. ''This damn old man,'' Arthur said as he gave in to Nathan''s demands. And this was why Nathan was present in front of Silvus right now. He was intent on ensuring that no one would interrupt Arthur''s rank-up, because if someone were indeed behind the Dungeon Explosion, Nathan surmised they held enough power in this world to execute such a n. He didn''t want to gamble with Arthur''s safety, despite his certainty that Silvus wasn''t the perpetrator behind the incident. For now, Nathan wasn''t prepared to take any risks. "I will leave once hepletes his rank-up," Nathan confirmed to Silvus. From his attitude, Silvus inferred that Nathan was not going to take no for an answer. Chapter 214 Discussion Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Nathan shifted the conversation. There were two reasons why he was present at the Mage Association. The first was to ensure that it was not Silvus Grandus who could have been behind the incident. The genius mage, who had invented his own mana technique and from what Nathan could sense, had mana sensitivity rivaling the Grevilles. It was a known fact that the Grevilles had the highest mana sensitivity, but most of them never became mages. If they did, however, they were in a league of their own. ''But he will not gain anything,'' Nathan thought to himself. It didn''t make sense for Silvus, who stayed away from elite families and their social circles. Silvus was an orphan who reached the top without relying on familial status. One of the elders in the Mage Association had seen Silvus''s talent when he was young and allowed him to enroll in the Mage Association. But he only offered him a role as a beginner mage in the association. It was Silvus himself who worked hard and gradually climbed to the top. Many people tried to connect with him when he reached SS Rank, but he ignored them. He absolutely despised those who reached the top merely due to innate talent. He had been challenged throughout his life, and finally, when the previous Chairman passed away, Silvus took over the Mage Association. He had garnered enough status in the Mage Association to seed, but it was only when he reached SSS Rank that he gained true authority. Previously, he could only move freely within the Mage Association, which made it difficult for others to approach him, but reaching SSS Rank made it impossible for others to pressure him. And that''s why Nathan was confident that someone like Silvus would understand the consequences of disturbing the current bnce. But he wanted to ensure that if Silvus was involved in the Dungeon Explosion, he wouldn''t try anything unusual. The second reason was that Lucas had alsoe to the Mage Association and was currently on the 70th floor where the VIP area for observing the workings of the Mage Association was located. And Hasan was currently escorting him. "Well, my grandson is also enjoying himself here as well," Nathan said with augh. Silvus was familiar with Nathan''s carefree behavior. He had the most unpredictable personality among all SSS Rank Hunters, but he was also the most dangerous one. Because of his high sensitivity, Silvus could sense it. Being an SSS Rank Hunter, Silvus was the epitome of what hunters could achieve, but there were very few existences that made him feel threatened. One was Farnus Calmort, and the other one who induced this feeling was Nathaniel Greville. Farnus was the strongest SSS Rank Hunter, he was closer to the peak of SSS Rank, and Nathan was at the middle stage of SSS Rank like Silvus, but he felt a simr sense of danger from him as he did from Farnus. "You would understand how I feel about them, seeing how carefully you treat your own grandchildren," Nathan said with an amused look. "I just worry for their safety. I want them to grow stronger without any external influence," Silvus replied with a stern look on his face. It was a known fact that Silvus never allowed his grandchildren to leave the territory of the Mage Association and he would never attend functions like the Kalvas G with his family. This was to ensure that others stayed away from his family. "Why did you reveal their existence?" Silvus asked a question he had long intended to ask. Nathan could have concealed Ivar''s children''s existence, but announcing their presence to the world was not beneficial for them. "They are the children of my family, they deserve the same treatment that Asher and Amelia received," Nathan replied. Nathan also understood what Silvus was trying to ask. The power the Greville family would have in the near future could even rival the World Association, and many would not sit quietly and let them grow strong. "And who would dare touch them while I am alive?" Nathan asked as he looked at Silvus. "Well, it is your own family, so I won''t say much about it," Silvus said. "And about your stay," Silvus said as he looked at Nathan. "You can stay here but make your presence less noticeable," Silvus gave his final offer. On the 70th Floor, "Livia would have liked this," Lucas said, looking at the various facilities he was exploring. At first, he thought that being a mage wasn''t much fun, but seeing many magical things all around him as he watched people casting all sorts of spells made him realize that it was fun after all. Lucas was only here for a single day and then he would go back to the Greville Mansion. "Grandfather is meeting the Chairman of the Mage Association right now?" Lucas asked. "Yes, Young Master," Hassan replied with a smile. ''Is he trying to copy Young Master Asher?'' Hassan smiled as he looked at Lucas, who was acting like Asher. But he could see on his face that his eyes would always wander around watching multiple people casting spells. Currently, they were watching many mages demonstrate their newly researched spells. Their research would be scored and this affected their standing in the Mage Association. But as Lucas was moving, he was also attracting a lot of attention. However, nobody approached him as Hassan was careful to ensure that nobody approached Lucas. It was a strict order from Nathan, that regardless of their status, nobody should approach him. "Is he the kid Father was talking about?" A young girl with silver hair asked. "Yes," Her attendant replied. "Hmmph, he doesn''t look that strong anyway. I bet we can easily beat these twins," She turned and left. At first, she wanted to meet Lucas but her attendant didn''t let her. "I am sorry, it''s the chairman''s order. We can''t really.." Her attendant tried to raise her mood. "I know, I know, Grandpa and his rules," She kept pouting as she left. "Sigh, we dodged a bullet," One of her guards replied. Hassan noticed that the presence of many S Rank guards disappeared as they left, and he could guess who the girl was. Silvus had a grandson and a granddaughter who were twins. And judging by the amount of security the little girl had around her, it was not hard for Hassan to assume that she was indeed the granddaughter of the Chairman of the Mage Association. "Well, this is better anyway," Hassan said to himself as he looked over Lucas who was sitting calmly and was watching the presentation. Even if it was the Chairman''s granddaughter herself, Hassan would still have followed the order Nathan had given him. Chapter 215 Why Would I? While Arthur was set to reach SS-Rank soon, Asher was nning to start the next phase of his ns. "Let''s start with that guy," Asher had received a clue about his sword, and he didn''t want to spend more time in the restricted section. He soon left the Great Library but nned to visit it again to learn about spells the next week when he had no sses. In the Blood Faction Building, Many senior-year students were gathered in the room as Leonard had called all the important members of the Blood Faction for a meeting. "I am bored. Why is a meeting being called? I still need toplete that damn assignment," a second-year student spoke, but nobody interrupted him. "Calm down, ke. I will tell you soon. Let everybodye," Leonard replied. None of the First Years, including n and Gavin, were called as this was something that Leonard wanted to share only with the most important members first. "Hey, do you think I have too much time," ke said as he stared at Leonard. Only he could exhibit such an attitude in front of Leonard as he was from the Cranston Family, one of the three strongest Elite families. Leonard just smiled and didn''t reply, but ke understood the hidden meaning behind his smile. It was a subtle signal not to act too rowdy around him. Even though ke had a status simr to Leonard''s, he was not the Heir of the Cranston family. Unlike Asher, the Heir of the Greville family, ke was the second son of the Cranston Family. "And where is Jack?" ke asked, as Jack was not present at the meeting. "He will being soon," Leonard replied. And soon, thest three members, including Jack, entered the room. "What''s the meeting about?" one of the three asked. "Settle down. I will exin it to you guys," Leonard said. "As you know, I gave the task to you guys to ensure the majority of First Years support Blood Faction, willingly or unwillingly," Leonard said as he looked around the room. Most people here were either from influential families or Elite families. Their influence was so strong that Leonard had about 60% of the Second Year on his side. But it was not the case for the Third and Fourth Years. Most of the Fourth Year didn''t follow Leonard, and even those that were close to Reece Williams, most of them were on Raelyn''s side. Even though Reece was Leonard''s friend, he would not let Raelyn, his fianc¨¦e, lose her position and authority. Reece and Leonard''s partnership was only about matters outside of the World Academy, but he had already told him that inside World Academy, he would support Raelyn instead of him. "Jack, how many people are feeling the influence," Leonard asked. "Ah, not much, but in a couple of months, when we will give them support against other students, it will change," Jack said, but he didn''t mention Gavin''s rash actions. "Tell Gavin and n to continue what they are doing," Leonard said, and Jack nodded. "Why do we need their support? We just need to win at the End Year Tournament," ke said annoyedly. "I know, but we are in a strange spot right now," Leonard said. "The Tournament format is still not out, and only simr-year students can go against others," Leonard said. "Right now, only the Second Year Victory is confirmed for us," Leonard said, knowing that ke Cranston was the Rank 1 Second Year Student. "Of course, but you should have no problem winning the Third Year Matches, right?" ke asked. "Are you forgetting that our matches may not be duels," Leonard said. While all this was happening, outside the VIP Dorms, Gavin was going to a specific ce where the student he threatened had called him to give the GP he demanded. It waste evening, and the lights were on, so everything was visible. The ce where Gavin had told the student toe was the Training Facility in the Duel room. "I should y around with him," Gavin said as he smiled and went toward the Duel rooms. Gavin always bullied his targets to the extreme. He asked them for GP, but he didn''t care about GP at all. He could buy it with money, and he did get monthly GP for being in the Top 20. Gavin entered the Training Facility, which was currently empty as it was only used by VIP Dorms students. And currently, nobody was present there. "Where the hell is that guy?" Gavin was looking around, but he heard some steps, and he turned and saw Asher standing behind him. "Hmm? Why are you here?" Gavin asked with a confused look on his face. "Oh, did you see anyone else around here?" Gavin asked with a smile on his face. His attitudepletely changed as the person he was interacting with changed. Gavin would never talk rudely with those with enough status to stand up against him. Asher looked around the training facility and spread his mana sense to see if anyone was around. "I have a gift for you," Asher said as his indifferent eyes looked at Gavin. ''What does this bastard want with me?'' Gavin was feeling ufortable around Asher. "Oh, what is it?" Gavin asked, maintaining his innocent face. "Check it," Asher tapped on his ID Bracelet, and Gavin received a particr video on his ID Bracelet. He clicked on it and saw multiple videos of him bullying students and the recent one with the ss 1 student, where Jack was present with him. "W-What? How did you get this?" Gavin red at Asher. He was sure that for privacy reasons, no recording devices were allowed in the World Academy except for the ones faculty had ess to. And Gavin had always chosen ces where no surveince was present. Most of the time, these were the training rooms where people sparred and trained. It was one of the few ces where only your entry was recorded. "Let''s discuss it there," Asher pointed at the training room. "Sure," Gavin had a nervous look as he followed Asher. "Listen, I guess some guy recorded this. If you can tell me who it is-" Gavin was speaking as he entered the room, but he stopped as he felt a killing intenting from Asher. Asher walked closer to Gavin as his indifferent eyes stared at him. "W-What are you doing?" Gavin managed to speak. Asher looked at the trembling figure of Gavin, and this was the reality of who he truly was. "Let''s see if you can handle all this right," Asher grabbed Gavin by his throat and mmed him against the wall. "ARGGGHHH," Gavin screamed as his head was smashed against the wall. Asher grabbed his green hair and pulled his face upwards. "This is just the start," Asher said as he smashed his face into the ground. BAM "Why?" Gavin said as tears starteding out of his eyes. He didn''t understand why Asher was beating him. Although he disliked Asher, he had never behaved rudely with him. "You will understand soon," Asher grabbed Gavin''s face and took out a healing potion. Asher forcefully opened Gavin''s mouth as he poured in the healing potion that made his injuries heal quickly. Blood stopped flowing as Gavin took a few breaths, but before he could talk, Asher threw a punch straight into his gut, but he didn''t use mana. But the difference in their ranks was too much. Gavin was still at E+ Rank, and Asher was already at C- Rank. Asher kept beating Gavin and giving him a healing potion just before his injuries worsened. This process continued for 2 minutes straight, making it the worst moment of Gavin''s life. Not once had Gavin experienced a beating even remotely simr to this. Although he liked to bully and torture others, he had never been on the receiving end. After the same process repeated and Gavin''s blood was sttered all over the room, Asher stopped and gave Gavin another healing potion. "Ahh, please, no, no," Gavin kept mumbling as his eyes were full of tears, and his nose was full of blood. Seeing that Asher had stopped, Gavin immediately dropped to his knees. "I will stop bullying others and never harm anybody else!" Gavin said, thinking that Asher was punishing him for his actions. But he was wrong. "Why would I want you to stop?" Asher said, and Gavin looked into the crimson-red eyes staring at him. At that moment, Asher seemed no less than a monster to Gavin. Right now, all he wanted to do was run away. "W-What do you mean?" Gavin asked, Wasn''t he getting punished for his actions? Hadn''t Asher beaten him to stop his acts of bullying innocent students? "I want you to continue what you were doing, but instead of Leonard, you will listen to me from now on," Asher said. "If you want to live peacefully," Asher''s indifferent eyes stared at Gavin as his killing intent made breathing harder for him to breathe properly. Chapter 216 Gears Are Turning "Eh?" Gavin was confused. ''What does he want with me?'' Gavin''s heart was beating too fast. His mind was so clouded with fear that he was unable to understand what Asher might be implying. Gavin, who was on his knees, saw Ashere closer and speak again. "Keep doing what you do," Asher said. "But you will not work for Leonard now," Asher''s indifferent eyes looked straight at Gavin, who was trembling a bit. "I-I don''t work for him," Gavin replied. Apart from his family, nobody knew that Gavin was supposed to maintain friendly rtions with Leonard inside the World Academy. It was the Neville Family Head, Gavin''s Father, who told him to make sure he worked together with Leonard Tarvian. It was obvious that most Elite Families stayed away from interacting with Associations, especially the World Association. The World Association was created solely so that the rules of the High Council were obeyed and the structure of the entire world was maintained. The Association was established to work for the public masses and to ensure that no one from the Elite Families abused their power. The World Association alone had three seats in the High Council, which was the highest among all other Associations. "Don''t test my patience, Gavin Neville," Asher grabbed Gavin by his throat and lifted him up. BAM Asher threw Gavin to the side, causing him to crash into the wall. Gavin, who was coughing from pain, saw Asher walking towards him once again. "Please listen, if it''s about rumors about you, it was just me being a bit jealous," Gavin hurriedly spoke as Asher came even closer. "Do you think the Neville family would protect you the moment this video goes public?" Asher said, causing Gavin''s eyes to widen. Asher knew that the current head of the Neville family would cut off his own son if the damage to their reputation was too significant. They had always controlled Gavin''s behavior so it didn''t be a big deal outside the World Academy. Apart from the servants who served him, Gavin didn''t mess with any other people, knowing that he might get caught. Although his father ignored his behavior, Gavin knew how he would react if his actions were to tarnish the name of their family. "Don''t think too hard. It''s either you betray Leonard or get abandoned by your own family," Asher said. ''No, Father would not abandon me,'' Gavin thought in his mind. ''But,'' Gavin knew that the video Asher had was enough to ensure that he at least got expelled from the World Academy. "W-What do I need to do?" Gavin asked, looking up at Asher. Asher saw Gavin''s eyes, which were full of fear at the moment. "Leonard asked you to increase his influence, right?" Asher asked, making Gavin even more nervous. This information was not something that people other than the top members of the Blood Faction knew. "Yes," Gavin replied to Asher. "Keep interacting with students just like you do now," Asher said as he looked at Gavin. "Keep targeting students as a Blood Faction member," he continued. "Make sure they know it was the Blood Faction that targeted them," Asher said, making Gavin even more nervous. "B-But then they-" Gavin tried to negotiate with Asher, but he could feel that saying anything more was dangerous. ''He is a monster,'' Gavin looked into Asher''s indifferent eyes. He could not see any emotions inside those eyes, and the killing intent surrounding Asher prevented Gavin from thinking clearly. "That''s all for now," Asher said as he looked at Gavin. "What?" Gavin spoke out of confusion. Was that all? Was this the whole reason he was beaten so badly? But right now, Gavin couldn''t feel anything except fear for Asher. Even though he knew that Asher was basically forcing him, all he wanted to do at the moment was get away from him somehow. "You can go," Asher stepped aside as Gavin looked at the door behind Asher. "R-Really?" Gavin asked for Asher''s confirmation. Seeing no response, Gavin stood up while his legs were still shaking. He took one step after another slowly, watching to see if Asher made any movements. ''I can leave,'' Gavin thought as he neared the door. As freedom seemed closer, Gavin regained the ability to think more clearly since Asher had removed his killing intent for now. Many thoughts came into his mind, but first, he needed to get out of this room. "And don''t try to act smart and report anything to someone else," Asher''s voice made Gavin stop immediately. He turned back and looked at Asher once again. "No, no, I will not do so," Gavin tried to assure Asher. Even if he had any thoughts about that, they vanishedpletely, and Gavin immediately replied. "Trust me," Gavin forced a smile onto his face. "I have sent you a message about everything that you need to do," Asher said. "Read it once you get back to your room," Asher told Gavin. "O-Okay," Gavin replied. Asher watched Gavin leave and a smirk appeared on his face. He was looking forward to seeing if Gavin would behave like he told him to. He wasn''t anxious about Gavin telling all this to Leonard because he knew Gavin would never do so. He remembered how much of a coward Gavin was while he bullied multiple students throughout his stay at the World Academy. And it was because he was a coward that he felt the need to harm others to prove that he was stronger and more powerful than them. Right now, Asher had only told him to do a small task, that was to behave normally and mess with Leonard''s n a little. Even if Gavin bullied a few students, the impact on the reputation wasn''t too big. He wanted to control Gavin slowly, as the pride of a person from an Elite family was significant. Unlike people from normal families, even a coward like Gavin might gain enough confidence to betray Asher and disobey his orders. And that''s why Asher didn''t tell him the things that he actually wanted him to do. Right now, Gavin was thinking that Asher was only controlling and ckmailing him because he was against Leonard. But in reality, Asher''s current target was not Leonard, but the Neville family itself. "Kalvas G should happen soon," Asher muttered. "It will be interesting," Asher left the training room. At the VIP Dorm, Gavin was sitting in his room, looking through the text that Asher had sent him. "So I just need to act like an unruly member of the Blood Faction," Gavin read through the first lines. He just needed to act like a bully but, unlike previous times, instead of his own personal enjoyment, he needed to portray that it was the Blood Faction that made him do so. "Should I contact Leon about this?" Gavin thought out loud while biting his fingers. As he read more lines, he read the warning that Asher had put in the text. ''If you think anyone can help you, you are free to try,'' ''But make sure you are prepared for the consequences,'' ''Next time, it will not be hands around your neck but my sword,'' Gavin''s face grew paler the more he read the warnings that Asher had put in the text. "No, I should follow him until I can be free of him," Gavin said. Most of the orders were not extreme, and so it made Gavin think Asher was just trying to make things difficult for Leonard, just like Leonard was doing for Asher. "So I just need to target these people," Gavin looked at the new list that Asher had given him. There were many students, and most of them were in the Top 200 of the First Years. They were people that Gavin normally would have avoided but he didn''t need to do anything extreme with them. The instructions were clear; he just needed to act as he did with others while not going extreme like he did with the ss 1 boy. *** In a room with eightrge screens, an old man stood in the middle. "I am against postponing the G too much," the person in the first screen spoke. This was a meeting of the Seven Heads of the Kalvas G, and the old man standing in the middle was coordinating the meeting. "Postponing it means that we acknowledge the threat of this unknown group," the person in the first screen said. "I agree with him. Even though the Whiteheart failed in their duty, it doesn''t mean we all are like that," the woman in the third screen spoke. "Don''t go too far," the man in the fourth screen spoke in favor of Kamden, who had been silent until now. "We can''t me the Whiteheart for that; the Vault was breached," he said. "Okay, by the judgement of the Seven Heads, the Kalvas G will happen two months from now," the old man standing alone in the room concluded the meeting before it grew heated. Kamden Whiteheart was silent during the entire meeting. When the meeting was over and the connection was turned off, he stood up. "Zephyr," Kamden repeated the name that had caused his reputation to plummet to rock bottom. "I will kill them all," he muttered, his eyes shining and his aura causing cracks in the room. Chapter 217 Avoid Him "Did you find a team for yourself?" one guy asked while sitting at his desk. "Not really," his friend replied. Currently, first-year students were still forming their Hunter Teams. Apart from a few, the majority of the students were still considering various options. "But I heard all the rankers are spread in two teams!" a girl suddenly interjected. "Well, we''re notpeting for the top spot anyway, but it would be fun to be on that team," the first guy mentioned. "What fun? I don''t want to be near those guys, too much trouble for people like us," his friend replied, frowning. "Personally, I would be happy to be on Kevin''s team," the girl sighed. "Not Asher Greville?" the first guy asked. "Ah, him, he''s too scary for me," the girl replied. "Well then you would lose," the first guyughed while the girl punched him lightly. It was true, Asher''s image among all the first-year students was that of a monster. He was not as friendly as others so approaching him was out of the question. At the moment, Asher was standing in the Duel ss where all the Top 200 students among the first years were gathered that day. "As you know, today will be a joint ss with your seniors from the second year," Dahlia said, looking at all the Top 200 who had gathered. However, Alyssa was not present. She had informed Dahlia that her health condition was poor. Skipping Duel sses affected your grades, but Dahlia had granted Alyssa a one-ss leave because rankers were allowed to use such reasons to skip sses. And she had skipped because, at that moment, not only first-year but second-year students would also be present. Nobody messed with her from the first year, but second-year students were a different case. And if someone pushed her too far, she might reveal her strength in front of others, so she just skipped the ss for that day. Asher had already told her to use her leaves on such sses as they were informed of these sses in advance. "Don''t worry, only a few rankers will train with you, and most of them will be friendly spars," Dahlia said, as some students had nervous looks on their faces. Previously, Erwin was in charge of the Duel ss, but Dahlia was temporarily given this ss, and she was continuing the tradition that had continued inside the World Academy. Each time, after the first years had adjusted to the environment of the World Academy, they would spar with the second years so that they knew the difference between them and the second years. This was done so that these students, who were the top talents of their batch, would perform even better. "But wouldn''t we just lose?" one of the students asked. Dahlia looked at the student who had asked the question. "It''s a spar, it doesn''t matter if you lose, learn from it," Dahlia said. "Learn to spot your own mistakes, and train yourselves so that after each fight you be stronger," Dahlia added. "Not every time will you find someone who would help you correct your mistakes," Dahlia continued. "If you can''t even improve your battle instincts in a controlled spar, what will happen when you fight monsters?" Dahlia looked over the students. She raised her voice a bit so that everyone understood why such spars and learning from them were important. Even though they had instructors who taught them, it was up to them to learn and improve themselves from that knowledge. "I will assign most of you to people from the second year," Dahlia announced, pointing at 20 senior-year students who were standing there. ''Dammit,'' Sam thought, noticing that Jack was also present among the people that Dahlia had called over from the second year. But knowing that they were in a public setting, he was sure that Jack would not go too hard on him. "Isn''t he ke Cranston?" Kevin asked Elena quietly. "Yeah, he is the Rank 1 among the second-year students," Elena replied. Kevin looked towards ke, who stood confidently among the second-year students, and he could feel that ke was a C Rank Hunter. He could see why ke was the Rank 1 student in the second year. Reaching C Rank while being a second-year student meant that he was a very talented individual. But he noticed that ke''s eyes were fixed on a particr ce, and following his gaze, he saw Asher standing with Damian and Amelia. "I will assign each of you 10 students; you have to spar with each of them," Dahlia said, looking at the 20 second-year students. "And remember, don''t go overboard, or I will deduct your grades," Dahlia reminded them once more. She turned and announced the groups, andstly, all the rankers were ced under ke, who was the Rank 1 student. Most of the 20 students belonged to the top 100 students of the second-year ss. "All of you will spar with ke, but we have one less person in the rankers," Dahlia said, as Alyssa was not present. Her mention irked many students who disliked her, but they were too busy going to their assigned seniors. "Ria Adler, you join them," Dahlia took Rank 11 student, Ria, and ced her in the same group as the other rankers. "Hello, I am ke Cranston, as most of you might know about me," ke introduced himself. "Professor, do I have to spar with every one of them individually?" ke asked, looking at Dahlia. "What do you want to do then?" Dahlia asked. "Let them form a team of three and attack me. It will give them a fair chance as well," ke proposed. "Are you sure about this?" Dahlia asked. "Okay, apart from Asher Greville, all of you will form a group," Dahlia told the 10 first years in front of her. She could sense the mana of a peak D Rank Huntering from Asher. ''What a monstrous talent,'' she thought while she excluded Asher from teaming up. Not only her, but ke could also sense that Asher was already at the peak of D Rank. At his pace, it was possible that Asher might even reach C Rank, which was the same as ke, by the end of the year. "Well, who would be first?" ke turned and surveyed the group. In his eyes, everyone could see the arrogance. It was obvious that ke could act arrogant as he was not only more powerful than them, but he also belonged to the Cranston family. The only one who was not irked by ke''s mocking stare was Asher. "Kevin, Elena, and Lishia will form one team," Dahlia said. "Amelia, Damian, and Matthew will be in another team," she continued. "And Ria, Venessa, and Eva willprise the final team," Dahlia announced. She had specifically chosen ke so that all of them could go all out and learn from their mistakes. Two other star professors were observing the other duels, ensuring that nothing went awry. "As you guys will be attacking as a team, you are not allowed to use Aura orunch lethal spells. Remember, this is a spar," Dahlia reminded them. ke had also been instructed not to use aura and avoid targeting critical areas. "So, which one of you wants to start first?" Dahlia asked. Kevin was about to raise his hand, but Asher spoke first. "I will go," Asher said, looking at Dahlia who nced back at ke. He nodded to confirm. "Remember, don''t use aura. I will end the spar the moment you do," Dahlia reminded them as both Asher and ke took their positions. Asher picked up the practice swords that were given to them, as ke was also a swordsman. Asher observed ke, who stood there confidently, his gaze locked onto Asher''s indifferent eyes. ke differed from other Elite Family kids; the Cranston family had always used harsh training methods on their children. ''Leonard told me to avoid him, but I don''t really care,'' ke thought, recalling the advice Leonard had given during thest meeting. It was well-known that Asher had chosen the mage course, despite being a swordsman, which made ke think that Asher was overly confident in his skills. Their fight attracted many curious onlookers. A significant number of students turned to look in their direction. This was a spar between two Rank 1''s, and it was going to be an interesting watch. "Let''s start this show," ke announced, adjusting his footing. "Is he using his family''s sword art in a spar?" Kevin observed as he noticed a change in the air around ke. Asher regarded ke, who had taken the first stance of the famous sword art that belonged to the Cranston family. ke adjusted his footwork as he watched Asher. "Nowe at me," ke taunted, staring right into Asher''s eyes and smirking. ''So he wants to out-duel me in swordsmanship,'' Asher deduced, seeing through what ke wanted to achieve. Chapter 218 Spar Ends Upon seeing ke''s signal, Asher adjusted his grip on his sword. At that moment, not only were the students present, but even some Professors, including Dahlia, were eager to witness the prodigious talent of the First-Year student as he went up against ke Cranston, the top-ranking Second-Year student. ke shifted his weight onto his left foot, preparing to receive Asher''s strike. Asher darted towards ke, his sword slicing through the air in a shing motion. *ng* ke blocked Asher''s initial strike, taken aback slightly by the force behind it. Shoving Asher back, ke altered his stance and charged toward Asher. "Try and block this," ke asserted, employing a movement technique passed down within his family. "Impressive," Dahlia mused, observing ke''s graceful maneuver. Despite moving towards Asher, he remained in full control of his momentum. This was a unique technique imparted to ke by his brother, the Heir to the Cranston family. ''Let''s wrap this up,'' ke resolved, determined not to show any mercy to Asher. He might have sparred more yfully if it had been anyone else, but not with Asher Greville. He desired to demonstrate to Asher the disparity between them, and it was a matter of pride as the top-ranked student. ke''s sword targeted Asher, who could now discern the technique ke was executing. In Asher''s view, he could perceive various nodes indicative of ke''s vulnerabilities. Asher quickly sidestepped to his right twice and raised his leg to kick ke, but ke, alert to Asher''s move, took a step back at thest moment. This evasion was possible due to the special movement technique that enabled him to counteract such sudden attacks. "Not bad," ke acknowledged, rushing towards Asher once more. Asher noted ke''s sword raised to attack his right side but failed to detect the subtle change in ke''s footwork. Though most people might not have caught on, Asher was already familiar with the pattern of his opponent''s movement technique, unlike his own Mir Steps, which Asher could freely adjust. ke''s movement technique followed a specific sequence, allowing him to swiftly shift his momentum. As ke lifted his hand to strike Asher on his right side, he suddenly pivoted on his right foot to alter his momentum. This rapid shift to the left side happened so swiftly that most students didn''t even register it. None could react to ke''s speed except for Asher. From the corner of his eye, Asher saw ke''s real attacking. ''Swift Strike,'' Asher engaged his sword technique. "What?" ke''s surprise was palpable as Asher''s sword, which had been in midair to dodge a feint attack, changed direction and descended with lightning speed. *ng* ke hadn''t anticipated Asher striking from such an unusual angle, and the force behind Asher''s strike caused ke to momentarily lose his footing. This gave Asher the opening he needed. While Asher''s sword pinned ke''s to the ground, Asher twisted his body to deliver a kick to ke. He reinforced his strike using mana to intensify his attack, escting the danger for ke. ''SHIT,'' ke identified Asher''s kick aimed at his face. At thest moment, ke pivoted backward, yanking his sword back, causing Asher to miss his attack. Or so he thought. However, Asher abruptly halted his attack midair, brought his leg down, and struck ke''s chest. *BAM* "WHAT?!" Many students spectating the duel were left with their mouths agape. Even Kevin watched the unfolding spectacle with a surprised look on his face. But the most shocked were the professors, including Dahlia. Asher''s movements seemed far beyond that of a typical student. "Damn it," cursed ke, who had barely managed to parry Asher''s attack. Using mana, he quickly distanced himself from Asher. He looked at Asher''s indifferent gaze, his fist clenched in frustration. He realized he would have lost if he hadn''t managed to block Asher''sst strike. The hall fell silent, all eyes on ke as he stared down Asher. The top-ranking Second-Year student had nearly lost to the top-ranking First-Year student. Such an event would have been deemed unbelievable had anyone suggested it before the match. They understood why Asher was unbeaten amongst the First-Year students, but against ke Cranston, it was a shock to their belief systems. ke felt the weight of their stares, feeling as though his pride had taken a blow. ''No, I cannot lose to him,'' ke resolved, summoning the mana within his body to execute the first Sword Art technique his brother taught him. ''Is he using his sword art?'' Asher noticed the change in the mana around ke''s body. He recognized this Sword Art, a modified version of the Cranston Family''s Orginal Sword Art. The one who improved it was the current Heir of the Cranston family. Dahlia noticed ke raising his mana but didn''t halt the duel since the condition was not to use aura. ke gazed at Asher, his brother''s advice echoing in his mind: to not use the family''s swordsmanship openly until necessary. Asher could sense the mana circting around ke''s sword; the technique was still potent even without aura. One of the 20 Second-Year students who had recentlypleted his spar recognized ke''s attack. ke lowered his body to the left and charged toward Asher. His aim was Asher''s neck, and his speed was now twice as fast as it had been. His sword was now surrounded by a strange turbulence of mana. "Shit, is he trying to injure him?" A Second-Year student recalled the aftermath of ke using that attack against a monster in a dungeon. The monster had been torn apart by the strange technique ke had employed. The scene had been too gruesome to witness. He was shocked that Professor Dahlia hadn''t stopped the spar. Such an attack would be virtually undefendable for a First-Year student, but Dahlia was keen to observe Asher''s response. Asher''s impassive gaze fell on ke, who had closed the gap between them instantly, his sword drawing a significant amount of mana towards it. ''Mir Steps,'' Asher invoked his movement technique, subtly altering his position rtive to ke. He saw ke''s de advancing toward him. ke''s eyes zed with a fervor to defeat Asher, but in the next instant, he found himself on the ground, inverted, with his right wrist in Asher''s grip and his sword directed at his neck. "What?" ke gazed up at Asher in disbelief. He was certain his strike was about tond, but now he was on the ground. It wasn''t just him. The other students also failed toprehend what had transpired. "The winner is Asher Greville," Dahlia announced, her gaze fixed on Asher. She saw it. She noticed Asher''s movements but struggled to believe that a First-Year student could move like that. Asher nced at ke, who still didn''t understand what had transpired. How had the technique he learned from his brother been countered? Asher released his hold on ke''s wrist and turned towards Dahlia. "Can I leave now?" Asher asked. "Wait, what happened just now?" Some students didn''t understand, resulting in confusion. ''Is he that fast?'' Aside from Dahlia, the only person who had caught Asher''s movements was Kevin. Kevin had used his lightning element to amplify his senses for thest 10 seconds of ke and Asher''s spar. "How?" Kevin murmured in disbelief. Even after witnessing what Asher had done, he was certain he could never devise such a counter to ke''s strike. Chapter 219 Hurt Pride "Yes, you can leave," Dahlia replied to Asher''s question. "As expected from the grandson of the Sword God," some students whispered among themselves. They couldn''t believe what had just transpired. Most of them were too stunned to speak, including all the rankers. Even Damian, who would usually cheer for Asher, was awestruck by his friend''s talent. "We will stop the Next Spar for a moment," Dahlia announced, making her way toward ke. She had seen what Asher had just done. At thest moment, when ke''s sword was nearing Asher, Asher employed a strange movement technique unknown to her to shift slightly backward. It wasn''t much, but enough to throw off ke''s strike. What happened next left her speechless. Asher used Mir Steps to appear just to the left of ke, moving so fast that ke, who was focused on his sword, didn''t notice. In the next instant, Asher grabbed ke''s hand, twisted it, and pulled his body backward using only his strength, halting his momentum instantly. It was hard to believe that all these refined movements urred instantly, but countering ke''s Sword Art wasn''t difficult for Asher. It wasn''t hard because he had done it once before. It was a spar, so Asher didn''t push things too far and ended the duel before it became dangerous. The memories from the Rune of Eirdin were still vivid in his mind. It was safer for him not to stay around others for too long. Even with Gavin, he had difficulty refraining from killing him outright. ''Let''s just go back,'' Asher thought, walking past Damian, who was trying to approach him. Seeing this, Asher shook his head and advised Damian against it. "Focus on that," Asher pointed at the sparring spot where ke was getting up. "Oh, right," Damian waved his hand and returned, forgetting that the ss was over. Asher was heading towards the exit but altered his path slightly as he walked past Gavin, who had observed the entire duel with his eyes wide open. "Choose your sides carefully," Asher whispered to Gavin as he left the Duel ss. Gavin didn''t react noticeably, so no one realized that Asher had spoken to him. But Gavin had heard Asher clearly. Initially, Gavin had hoped that ke would teach Asher a lesson, allowing him to negotiate with Asherter. But now, having seen what had just urred, all his hopes and ns were dashed. Like him, n, who had watched the whole duel, struggled to control his trembling hands. No one noticed it, but when Asher defeated ke, his gaze fell on n. It was only momentarily, but n knew that Asher was looking at him. Seeing that indifferent look once again brought back memories of the Representative Tournament. "Isn''t that guy too strong?" Venessa casually mentioned to Amelia. "Ah, yeah," Amelia responded, puzzled as to why Venessa spoke informally to her. "ke, do you want to continue with this spar?" Dahlia asked, looking down at ke, who sat on the floor with his head hung low. ''Did I just lose?'' ke pondered. ''No, it was because I couldn''t use aura,'' he reasoned. ''I can''t lose to a First-Year, no,'' ke''s mind was in chaos. "ke Cranston!" Dahlia called out loudly, causing ke to look up. "Do you want to continue this spar?" She repeated her question. She understood why someone like ke would be so unsettled by his loss and acknowledged that she would probably react simrly in his position. However, she had to continue with the ss. ke looked around and saw the faces of all the students present. He could sense their mocking stares. "Yeah," ke responded, his gazending on Kevin and the other rankers. He could tell that they all believed they could beat him. He hadn''t experienced this kind of scrutiny in a long time. Being the top-ranked student who had always triumphed over others, being perceived as weak wounded his pride even more. Upon hearing ke''s response, Dahlia allowed the three teams she had formed toe forward and spar with ke. ''I need to show them,'' ke thought, growing even angrier. "We can defeat him," Elena said to Kevin. She believed that if Asher could do it, so could they. Kevin shared her sentiment. If Asher could do it, perhaps it was ke who wasn''t that strong. It wasn''t just them. Apart from the second-year students, all the first-year students med ke for being too weak. "Ah, Leon won''t like this," Jack, who had watched the whole duel, realized what kind of news would spread across the World Academy. It wasn''t the sort of news Leonard would want to hear right now. ''It''s a good thing I joined him,'' Sam noted Jack''s expression when Asher defeated ke in the spar. He felt as if he had made the right choice. Despite joining Asher, he wasn''t confident that Asher could help him. ''Maybe he can really save my mother,'' Sam thought. "Begin the next spar," Dahliamanded as Kevin, Elena, and Lishia stepped forward. "I will attack him, and you two can support me," Kevin said, and Elena nodded in agreement. Three minutester, Kevin was on the ground, as were Elena and Lishia. "These fools think I''m a loser?" ke spat out, his eyes gleaming with anger. Kevin looked up at ke while blood trickled from his mouth. After Asher''s spar, kepletely changed his fighting style. The other second-years could tell he was serious now. This was the ke Cranston they knew, but it only further emphasized what kind of monster Asher was. And this was confirmed again when ke defeated the next two teams, including Amelia and Damian. Joining this ss, his only motive was to go easy on everyone except Asher to reduce his fame around the World Academy. But nothing went ording to his n. He clenched his fist, feeling the mockery still directed at him. "You can leave now," Dahlia instructed, noticing ke''s behavior. Even though he hadn''t vited the spar''s rules, these were more like duels than spars. ''It seems his ego is bruised,'' Dahlia surmised, sensing that the defeat was messing with ke''s head. ke turned to leave the Duel ss, heading straight for the Second Year Ranker''s Dorm. *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* ke relentlessly struck the walls in his floor''s training area. *BAM* *BAM* "Dammit," ke cursed, continuing to hit the wall until his hands began to bleed. He was too enraged to calm down. He could feel all the respect and fame he had earned crumbling down. Even though he had defeated everyone else, losing to Asher in a one-on-one spar was too much. "Brother won''t like this," ke thought as he finally stopped. The Cranston family was very strict, and he knew they would not react favorably to this news. "Shit, shit, shit," ke cursed under his breath. Meanwhile, Asher was in his room, looking at the information Tom had sent him for today. "So, they''ve tracked him down," Asher muttered. Tom had told him that some people had attacked Darren Marks, and he was killed soon after. Darren Marks was the same guy that Asher had ckmailed into killing his two friends, Gemard Ratliff and Robert Willis. He knew it would have happened sooner orter, as both Gemard and Robert were involved with Rothschild and Allister''s business, which wasn''t open to the public. It was only a matter of time before Darren would have been found, and seeing now that he had been killed meant they knew both Gemard and Robert were dead. "He''ll be upied for now," Asher said, thinking about James Rothschild. First, the incident at the Kalvas G involved Louis Rothschild, and now one of their moles in the Abyss Corporation turning on them. He would be busy until the Kalvas G. But he knew that the one who sent the assassin was probably from the Allister Family. Everything was going as Asher had nned. It was enough of a distraction to keep many people busy until the G took ce. Right now, the name Zephyr was still not enough to shake the foundation of the elite families. But that would soon change. "The G should be interesting," Asher said, his eyes turning cold. Chapter 220 Chaos In World Academy "So, are we hosting the G as nned?" Kameron asked the same old man who managed the meeting of the Seven Heads. "No, it will be pushed ahead by 2 months, but it shouldn''t matter as the dates were never announced," the old man replied. As the G was not announced yet, they could postpone it just enough to maintain the pride of the Elite families. The security issue with the Vault was not a minor one that could be overlooked. Even now, half the manpower of the Authority was working with the World Association to find traces of the unknown group, Zephyr. "Did the resultse in?" the old man asked while sipping his tea. "No sorts of drugs were found, but Louis Rothschild did say that the drug or whatever poison the intruders used affected their mana cirction," Kameron replied. "I can''t even trust what that guy says," Kameron said as he grabbed his forehead. Nothing that came out of Louis''s mouth made sense to them. An unknown drug that could affect the mana of an S Rank hunter and below. Only three people below S Rank managed to escape a peak S Rank Hunter. "Wasn''t there an incident that happened with Louis Rothschild during the party of the Heir of the Greville family," the old man said as he remembered the rumors around that time. "Is he holding a grudge for that long? I can''t even do anything extreme because of his status," Kameron said with an irritated look on his face. "His delusions are the reason our search is not going anywhere," Kameron spoke. They had no clue about the intruders, and the statements they got from Louis didn''t make sense and were not helping them at all. "Kameron, sometimes it''s not good to overlook things," the old man said. "So, what should I do? Interrogate the heir of the Greville family who is still in his first year at the World Academy?" Kameron replied. "Hey, I heard you fought and escaped an S+ Rank Hunter?" Kameron said. The old man justughed seeing Kameron''s antics. He himself knew why Kameron was behaving like that. The pressure to find the identity of this unknown group was high, and even the Chairman of the Artisan''s Association got involved as the Vault''s security was breached. "Well, I am d that only two artifacts were stolen," Kameron said. After searching and verifying, it was found that only two artifacts were missing. But they didn''t know what they were as most of them were not analyzed by a Runemaster. They were meant to be auctioned and the difficulty to analyze such high-ranking artifacts was too hard. "So are we announcing the G this week?" Kameron asked. "Yes, after confirmation from the Seven Heads and after we decide who will inaugurate the G this time," the old man said. "Whiteheart are not a good choice anymore," he said. "And Hargrave''s Head doesn''t want to be the one to do it," the old man sighed. "Why?" Kameron asked. Opening the G, and being the Main Host was considered a great honor so it didn''t make sense to him. "Let''s just forget it," the old man said with a tired look. And it was his hint to Kameron to not dig any further. "And make sure you deliver the estimated dates to the World Academy in advance," the old man reminded Kameron. "Ok, then I will go back," Kameron understood the orders and stood up. Seeing the old man nod, Kameron left the room. "Well, it''s a good thing they only did such little damage," the old man said to himself. He was thinking about Zephyr, and the people behind it. And he knew that their movements would be extremely difficult knowing that many forces were searching for their tails. "Well, that''s what you get for going against the Elite families," he muttered. He was sure that none of the existing illegal organizations were behind this attack. And if they were, things would get extremely difficult for them considering the crime this time. In the World Academy, "What? ke Cranston lost a spar against Asher Greville?" A second-year student asked. "Don''t you know, almost everyone knows about this," his friend said. "But how?" the second-year student asked. "It doesn''t make sense. You''re telling me that the ke Cranston we know of lost to a first-year student," he had a shocked look on his face. But it was not just him, this news had spread like wildfire inside the World Academy, that even the Professors knew about it. Something like that had never happened in the history of World Academy. There were times when a first-year student would defeat their senior but defeating the Rank 1 student was an entirely different thing. Not only was ke the most powerful student in the second year, but he was also known for attempting the most dungeons out of all second-year students. He had the most battle experience out of all second-year students, so him losing to a first-year student was an insane shock to the second-year student. "Hey, doesn''t that mean a first-year student is better than the whole second year?" One of them said as many eyes turned towards him. "Wait, why is everyone ring at me?" He noticed the stares. It was obvious why people were reacting like that. Knowing that a first-year student who had just joined was better than all of them was not the best feeling in the world. "But, it was just a spar anyway," one of them spoke. "It''s not like they used Aura or lethal moves," he continued. "Can you beat ke Cranston in a spar? He never lost a single spar in the Duel ss. Almost all of his spars were a win, and few were a draw, never a loss," one of the students spoke out. ke Cranston, was not a simple guy either. The second son of the Cranston Family who had all the resources and the rough training of the Cranston Family. Inside the Ranker''s Dorm, Leonard was sitting in front of ke and Jack. And his expressions right now were not bright at all. Usually, Leonard would maintain his smile, and mask his true intentions all the time but right now he couldn''t control the frustration he was experiencing. "How?" Leonard asked. ke was clenching his fist as he knew what Leonard was asking, and he felt that answering it was too embarrassing for him. "In one day, your one loss will result in almost half of the people that we brought on our side crumbling and stepping back," Leonard said. "If you can''t even win against a first-year student, how were you so sure about winning the End Year Tournament?" Leonard asked while staring at ke. "Haah," Leonard was controlling himself from losing his temper but it was hard to do so. But even though he wanted to strangle ke right now, he couldn''t act too rudely against ke knowing that he was from the Cranston family. "I will duel him again," ke said looking at Leonard. "Last time, I focused too much on Swordsmanship, but in a duel, it will be different," ke replied. "No need, just forget about Asher Greville for now, and this time follow my orders," Leonard red at ke. ke wanted to deny but seeing the look in Leonard''s eyes he stopped. "Let the Midterm Examination happen, I will handle matters regarding Asher Greville," Leonard said looking directly at ke. "Just focus on regaining your image, challenge people to duel from the third year, I will give you the names," Leonard said. "And clear your reputation a bit," he said. "And Jack, spread rumors that ke went easy on Asher Greville and it was not an actual spar," Leonard said, and Jack nodded at him. Right now, losing influence was not something Leonard wanted. Most of his influence was there because of the top members of the Blood Faction. "And tell n and Gavin to increase the speed of the task we gave them," Leonard spoke after thinking a bit. "Make sure most of the people lean over to the Blood Faction''s side rather than the Student Council," Leonard said. ''This is getting annoying,'' Leonard thought as he leaned back on the chair. ''Everything goes wrong around Asher Greville,'' Leonard thought. Since the moment Asher entered the World Academy, everything went wrong for him. And this made Leonard even more aware of Asher''s existence. "I need to be careful around him," Leonard muttered to himself. He became even more focused on Asher, as he was the only one Leonard couldn''t read properly. ''That guy would be a good card,'' Leonard remembered Kevin and the deal he made with him. Although Kevin made it clear that he would always side with Raelyn in matters concerning the Student Council, he epted the proposal that Leonard gave him. Now all Leonard needed to do was to make sure that Kevin, who was estimated to be the Rank 1 student, would be able to stand against Asher Greville. "Right, the G will be announced this week," Leonard said, looking at Jack and ke. "Make sure all things I said will be done before the G happens," Leonard reminded them. Chapter 221 Condition In the duel room of the Ranker''s Dorm, Amelia was sparring with Damian, who was just defending against her attacks. She used a fire spell that Elsa had taught them, and Damian defended by using his aura, moving and pushing her back. "It''s my win this time," Damian said, stopping just ahead of Amelia. "Hmph, the score is still 8-5, and I''ve won 8 times," Amelia retorted, looking at Damian''s smug expression. They were sparring because the defeat from ke was still on their minds. Although it was an expected loss, it didn''t feel good for them. After Asher left, ke didn''t hesitate to show nopassion in the spar. He showed them why he was the strongest second-year student, but doing so didn''t help hide the fact that he had lost to Asher. "But I am improving though," Damian said, putting the shield to the side. "Why are you even choosing to be a tanker?" Amelia asked. "Didn''t Uncle David also insist you choose the other course?" Amelia asked. Damian just looked towards the wall and dodged the question. "Hey, are you ignoring my question?" Amelia looked at Damian. "Come on, don''t nag me like my father," Damian replied. Seeing Damian''s face, Amelia knew that their conversation wouldn''t go anywhere. ''He should choose Combat Arts instead of this,'' Amelia thought as she looked at Damian. In her perspective, it was a waste of Damian''s talent to be a tanker, whose main role was to act as a defensive line instead of being aggressive. Although notparable to Asher, Damian was amongst the top candidates if judged purely on battle instincts. The Seymour Family was famous for its Hand-to-Hand Combat skill, and David Seymour was among the best, if not the best hand-to-handbat hunter. Their skills and family techniques were all molded to achieve the best possible way to attack using their bodies. And David wanted the heir of his family to carry on with the same tradition, but unfortunately, both of his sons didn''t want to do it. Nate dered that he wanted to go more towards the academic side instead of focusing on being a strong hunter. David Seymour''s biggest headache was that he didn''t want his sons to not carry on their legacy, but seeing that Damian still had the resolve to be strong, he decided to let Damian choose whatever he wanted to be, on the condition he learned all the techniques from him. This was something that Amelia didn''t know, as David had told Damian to hide this fact from others. He didn''t know why, but the day after Damian discussed that he wanted to choose something other than Hand-to-Hand Combat, David told him not to tell anyone that he was also learningbat arts. It was a strange request, but David told Damian to hide the fact from everyone, including his own family. Even his mother and his younger brother Nate didn''t know about this. At that time, Damian came to the conclusion that his father insisted on this condition because his mother would not have liked the pressure that would fall on Damian to learn twopletely different techniques at the same time. But that was not the only reason why David chose to do so. There were many things about the world that they saw with their eyes that they didn''t know about. Most of the ugly truth about the true nature of a society where the strong were always preferred over the weak was still hidden from the eyes of the privileged students of the World Academy. "I heard that the Mid-Terms are scheduled for the next 2 months," Damian said, picking up a bottle of water. "They''ll conduct them before the G, as most of the elite family children here would attend it," Amelia replied, picking up a towel to wipe her face. "I heard from seniors that they''re increasing theplexity of the exam," Damian said. "It won''t be a simple Dungeon Expedition anymore," he continued. "Isn''t our current team still the best?" Amelia asked, and Damian thought the same. "But why do we have Alyssa Astaria on the team? Many negative rumors will flock towards us," Amelia said, remembering the list that she saw. In Asher''s team, there were five other members including him: Amelia, Damian, Alyssa, Venessa, and Sam Allister. "Well, she is the third ranker so it''s fine, nobody would say anything because we picked a strong ranker," Damian said. "Is it because of Asher?" Damian suddenly questioned, looking at Amelia. "Do you think they changed theplexity of the exam because we would have won just because he was on our team?" Amelia asked. "Didn''t he defeat ke Cranston in the spar?" Damian reminded her. "Yeah, but we will be graded individually so why would they do so?" Amelia asked. She knew that the chances of them winning were high just because her brother was on the same team as her. But the Mid-Term Examination was a team-based exam and all of them would have been graded individually anyway, so it didn''t matter that Asher was on their team. They still would have to perform well in whatever the Mid-Term Examination was to ensure they got good scores. "Makes sense, but Asher is good in both theory and practical tests, so what can they even do?" Damian said. "Forget about him, why don''t you worry about your own theory exams?" Amelia said. "Hmm, I did take the courses that were fairly moderate, and you can help me anyway," Damian casually said. "What makes you think that I would help you this time?" Amelia said, tapping her elbow. "Ohe on, don''t be mean," Damian tried to act pitiful, but it wasn''t working on Amelia. While both of them were chatting, Asher was on his floor, and Sam was present there as well. "So, why did you want to meet me?" Asher asked, staring at Sam. Out of nowhere, Sam wanted to meet Asher to discuss something. Sam was a bit anxious as sitting in front of Asher wasn''t at allfortable for him. It was the first time he had initiated a conversation with Asher, so he had thought a lot before saying what was on his mind. "Umm, I wanted to ask how you would help me?" Sam said. "Didn''t I tell you not to worry about that?" Asher said. "Yeah, but my-I want to know when you''ll be ready," Sam asked, but this time his face was full of resolve. Previously, Sam didn''t want Asher to spread news about his mother''s existence, so he went ahead and did as he said, but if Asher was serious about helping him, he wanted to know when. ''I can''t wait for 10 years,'' Sam thought. Thinking about the current matters in Halcyon, Sam wasn''t confident that his mother would remain safe. Asher looked at the impatience in Sam''s eyes, which made it easier for him to control Sam even more. "Remember about my group," Asher said, looking at Sam. "Yeah, the faction you want to create outside the World Academy," Sam replied. "I will let you meet the other members of the group and introduce what we will be focusing on," Asher said. "After the Kalvas G. And then I will tell you the answer to your question," Asher said. "Can''t you tell me now-" Sam started, but stopped midway. "Okay, I will wait till then," Sam said, standing and leaving the Tenth Floor shortly after. At that moment, Sam didn''t know that the group he was about to join would be the infamous organization Zephyr, whose existence was only known to a few people in the Upper Society. "I wonder if you have the resolve to save your mother," Asher said, thinking about the conversation he had with Sam. He wanted to know whether Sam would join him, knowing what he wanted to achieve. Asher knew Sam Allister''s only weakness. To save his mother wasn''t his objective but Sam''s, and everything had a price. Sam needed to pay the price to Asher. Sam, who was leaving the Ranker''s Dorm, was still lost in his thoughts, and as he raised his head, he saw Lishia, who wasing towards the entrance of the Dorm. "I greet the Royal Princess," Sam greeted Lishia with a light bow. Lishia was from the Royal family, while Sam was from the Allister family. Despite both of them belonging to the elite families, he needed to follow the etiquettes that had been followed in Halcyon for generations. Lishia looked at Sam and just walked past him. "Well, at least it''s better than meeting that bastard brother of mine," Samughed it off as he walked towards the VIP Dorms. **** In the Student Council Room, "What''s the current state?" Raelyn asked Tyrone. "Not much. The news about ke Cranston losing to Asher Greville is still the most talked about topic," Tyrone replied. "Why are the timings so bad?" Raelyn mmed the documents on the table. Tyrone looked at Raelyn and it was obvious why she was in a bad mood. "We can''t put off the nomination of the Student Council members," Tyrone said, looking at Raelyn. "Yeah, let''s call the meeting. We can''t dy it further," Raelyn said as she massaged her head. Chapter 222 Choosing Sides "So, these are the people rmended for the Student Council?" Raelyn asked as she looked at Tyrone. "Yes, most of them were rmended by our members, and a few were rmended by Professors," Tyrone replied as he looked through the documents. They looked at a list of students rmended to join the Student Council. Joining the Student Council was only possible with a rmendation from an existing core member or a 3-Star Professor. And Raelyn and the other Core members needed to choose who would join the Student Council this time. The Student Council was split into two parts. First, the Core Team worked solely for the Student Council. However, while all Rankers had the right to join the Student Council, they would not be epted into the Core Part, where all authorityy. Leonard Tarvian and ke Cranston were among them. Apart from Jack Allister, all the Blood Faction''s top members were not part of the Core Team of the Student Council. "This time, we will only choose 6-10 members for the Core Team. It will be enough," Raelyn said, looking at Tyrone. "I think that will be fine. So, should I call the Meeting and invite all these students?" Tyrone asked. There were threemittees and the Main Student Council. Only the heads could decide who would join them, and this Meeting was also meant for this purpose. The Blood Faction would also be present at the Meeting as they were the only Faction in the World Academy. "So, I will invite the Three Heads first," Tyrone said, noticing from Raelyn''s expression that she was still not over the previous Meeting. Raelyn watched as Tyrone left the room soon after. She tapped on her ID Bracelet, and another list of students opened. All of them were the First Year students who were rmended, but it was a more detailed list that included their backgrounds. *** Tyrone was sitting in a room with a few seats for all the Committee Heads and for him and Raelyn, the Student Council President. He looked at two more seats reserved for two people. One of them was Leonard Tarvian, the Head of the Blood Faction. And thest seat was for the current strongest student in the World Academy. The Rank 1 student from the Fourth Year. These were the only reasons this Meeting couldn''t be postponed further, as most fourth-year students didn''t have much time. They were busy entering dangerous dungeons andpleting tasks to ensure they graduated from the World Academy. Tyrone looked at Zoie, the head of the Management Committee, enter first as she walked in with the Head of the Discipline Committee, who had also arrived. Behind them were a few students from their Committee as well. As they would be choosing the next members of the Committee, they were allowed to bring a few people from theirmittees to attend this Meeting as well. "I hope this meeting goes well," Tyrone sighed, thinking about the rest. Right now, the whole academy was in chaos with Asher defeating ke Cranston, and soon this news would be revealed outside the World Academy as well. And he saw the Hall start to fill as all the First Year students who were invited started to enter. Among them were all the rankers and many others. The total number of students gathered here was about 150, and they were part of the top 200 students in the Rankings. And soon, everyone was settled. Tyrone looked at Raelyn, who entered as well. The next one to enter was Leonard Tarvin. Raelyn looked towards Kevin, Elena, and Eva sitting in the Hall, and she smiled at them. Many students noticed this interaction, and it was obvious as the Student Council President was the older sister of Kevin Whiteheart. Both of them took their seats, and Raelyn started talking with Zoie. The Head of the Discipline Committee ignored their conversation. Tyrone took his seat as he picked up the document on the table, and a simr one was present in front of all seats. Right now, all of them were attracting many stares from the First Year students as almost all had a significant status outside the World Academy. But the ones gathering the most stares were Raelyn and Leonard Tarvian. Both of them were extremely attractive individuals. The next moment, Asher entered the room with Eric behind him, all eyes moving toward him. "Right, he is the Head of the Duel Committee," Some students started whispering among themselves. The recent incident with ke made many forget that Asher was the head of one of the threemittees. Asher walked towards his seat and sat down with Eric standing behind him. Asher looked at Damian, who was waving towards him, and Eric, who was standing behind Asher. "He''s still the same," Eric said with a smile. He remembered seeing Damian a lot when he would visit Asher and Amelia. Normally, people like Damian would ignore Eric as he was only the son of the Head Butler, but Damian didn''t mind the status gap between them. "Silence," Raelyn spoke out as the mana pressure of a B Rank Hunter took over the Hall. "We will start the meeting soon, so I expect you all to behave properly," Raelyn''smanding voice made the chatting the First Year stop. Leonard just smiled seeing Raelyn, but internally, the timing around this Meeting bothered him just like Raelyn. But this timing was the worst for him. The Student Council was still in a better position than the Blood Faction, which had lost much respect and admiration. "Who is the empty seat for?" Some students looked at the empty seat beside Raelyn. But their doubts were soon over as the door opened, and two fourth-year students entered the room. And behind them was a person who was very famous outside the World Academy. The Rank 1 student in the Fourth Year and currently the strongest student in the World Academy. "Isn''t he the Heir of the Hargrave Family?" One of the students spoke as they saw an extremely attractive young man with brown hair enter the room. With a smile on his face, the strongest student entered the room. Asher''s indifferent eyes met his. "Come on, don''t get so serious out of nowhere," He joked, looking at the atmosphere in the room. But everyone in the room could feel the strength of an A Rank Huntering from him. "As you know, I am your senior from the Fourth Year," He spoke, "And I am Jayden Hargrave," He introduced himself, "I am the current Rank 1 student in the Fourth Year," He smiled and sat beside Raelyn. "I am here to judge the process, so don''t mind me," He said. Seeing Jayden''s friendly behavior, everyone rxed. They almost forgot that Jayden belonged to the Hargrave Family, and currently, he was the only one with a status rivaling Asher equally. ''So he is Asher Greville,'' Jayden''s eyes looked to his left. ''Interesting,'' Jayden smiled. But they didn''t know the true nature of Jayden Hargrave, and seeing Leonard, who was not smiling anymore, it was obvious that Jayden was not as friendly as he seemed. "Well, you can start the meeting," Jayden said, looking at Raelyn. Leonard, who was sitting beside Jayden, maintained his neutral face. Jayden was someone he knew very well. "As you all know, this meeting was called so that we could select a few among you to be our members," Raelyn began the Meeting. Her words made many students nervous, as most wanted to join the Student Council. "Apart from the Rankers, none of you are part of the Student Council yet," Raelyn said. Being one of the Top 10 Rankers meant you were allowed to join Student Council the moment they became Rankers. "And we are here to announce the names of the people that I have chosen to join the Student Council first," Raelyn said as she looked back at one of the student council members. One by one, the member used the list and announced the 40 members allowed to join the Student Council. Many students were disappointed as their names were not on the list. A rmendation didn''t mean they would be epted, as many factors, including their ranks, were also considered. Only those rmended by the professors were allowed to join directly through rmendation. "And those who were not chosen need to submit their application to the heads present here at the end of the Meeting. Some of you might get epted that way," Raelyn said. Only 48 students were selected. "And among the mentioned 40 and the 8 Rankers," Tyrone took over from Raelyn as everyone looked at him. "You are part of the Student Council, but you cannot use the authority of the Student Council unless you are inside the Core Team," Tyrone exined. "There are threemittees, the Student Council Core Team and the Blood Faction, which is a new addition," Tyrone said. "Each head will announce the people they want, and you can choose whether or not you want to join," Tyrone continued. "Well, what will be the order?" Tyrone asked Jayden, who had been sitting there silently. "Hmm, why not start with the Head of the Duel Committee," Jayden suggested, causing Leonard and Raelyn to frown. Chapter 223 Deviation "Hmm, why not start with the Head of the Duel Committee?" Jayden suggested, and his suggestion made Leonard and Raelyn frown. Usually, one of them would have been selected to choose first, but this time it was Asher Greville. "Well, you can start with your introduction," Jayden looked in Asher''s direction. He was the one in charge of this meeting, and he could decide the order in which each of them could introduce themselves. Listening to Jayden, Eric started exining what the Duel Committee was. "As first years, you have not experienced it yet, but most of the quarrels or differences in opinion are handled by duels," Eric said. "After your midterms, you can challenge others for duels for their ranks, or something that you both disagree on," Eric said. "Every duel needs confirmation from ourmittee," Eric announced. Asher currently held the power to decide whether people could duel to change their ranks or not. He could even single-handedly force someone to ept the duel, regardless of what they wanted. "Althoughmitteese under the Student Council, we act independently from them," Eric said. Anybody from the Duel Committee held a lot of power, and the onlymittee that held simr power was the Discipline Committee. There were only 30 members in the Duel Committee, and most of them were the top 30 rankers of their respective years. One of the Student Council members stepped out as he spoke. "Those who wish to join the Duel Committee can raise their hands," he announced. Some of the people raised their hands, and this was due to a recent incident that happened. Usually, they would have chosen the Core Team of the Student Council or Leonard based on their status, but Asher''s fame made them rethink their decision. "So, who will you choose?" Jayden asked Asher, looking for his response. Asher tapped his fingers on the table as his indifferent eyes looked at all the students who had raised their hands. "Amelia Greville, Damian Seymour, Sam Allister, Venessa Baker," Asher said, but they were only four. "We will not ept any more members, so don''t waste your time applying," Asher said as he looked at all the First Years present before him. Jayden was confused about why he refused to bring in more members, as the hierarchy between themittees was maintained by their members. Soon the turn changed as Asher had announced his decision, and nobody could tell him to change it. ''It''s only two of them,'' Leonard looked at the two people that Asher had taken. Sam Allister and Venessa Baker were both rankers, but it still made things easier for him. ''Thanks for the chance, I will use your arrogance wisely,'' Leonard smiled. "Now the Blood Faction can choose," Jayden said after the Discipline Committee epted the members. Surprisingly, Lishia was the only ranker that entered the Discipline Committee. "I am Leonard Tarvian, the son of the Chairman of the World Association," Leonard said. "As you know, I am the head of the only faction in the World Academy," Leonard introduced himself. "We want to change the system in which one person in the Student Council holds all the power, and to change it, we only need those who are strong enough for this purpose," Leonard said. He exined the benefits of choosing the Blood Faction and how many clubs were under his authority. But the recent incident with ke showed his effect, as not many students raised their hands. It irked Leonard greatly, but he had expected it. But he still gained a powerful hand, and it was Matthew who basically had no choice but to join Leonard and the Blood Faction. And there were others like Gavin Neville and n Astaria, and a few others who were quite strong. "Let''s see now, Raelyn, you can choose the Core Team members, and then we will distribute them equally among the four groups," Jayden said as he excluded the Duel Committee, as Asher didn''t want to. Even before many people knew, the choices of the Student Council President were going to be. "Kevin Whiteheart, Elena Rothschild, Eva Williams, Ria Adler, Kelsey Ward," Raelyn announced the names, and they were all rankers except thest name, which belonged to the 16th rank girl. After the names were decided, Jayden looked at the list and neutrally distributed the others so that no side had more power than another. Jayden''s presence made it difficult for both Leonard and Raelyn to gather more students to their side. The meeting soon concluded as the first years were told to leave. And now only themittee heads with their few members and Jayden were present in the hall. Leonard put the document on the table in front of him and looked at Jayden. Jayden noticed Leonard''s gaze and smiled back at him. "My work is done here, so I should leave," Jayden stood up. Jayden left with the other fourth years, and none of them tried to stop him. ''Seems like it failed,'' Leonard noticed Jayden''s action. Unlike Asher, who was still a first year, Jayden was a fourth year student, so both Raelyn and Leonard treated him more carefully, knowing he was the current heir of the Hargrave Family. Seeing Jayden leave, Asher also stood up. "Let''s leave," he told Eric, who nodded and followed Asher. "Isn''t it great that Jayden Hargrave supported us?" Eric said to Asher as he followed him. "He is not someone who supports others, just ignore any requests from his side," Asher said, and his words confused Eric. Didn''t Jayden Hargrave just support Asher against people like Leonard Tarvian and Raelyn Whiteheart? ''Well, if Young Master says so, I can''t really do much,'' Eric thought and didn''t mention the topic anymore. Asher noticed Eric''s confusion, but he didn''t correct it. Most of the time, people hid their true selves, and Jayden was one of those people. And Asher didn''t want to ally with Jayden, as doing so would make him lose the next person he was going to recruit in Zephyr. ''Last time it was Kevin Whiteheart who got his support,'' Asher remembered his previous life. *** In the Fourth Year Area, Jayden was going towards the Rankers Dorm. "Why did you support Asher Greville there?" one of his friends behind him asked. "Why not? We at Hargrave believe that the strongest Hargrave bes the heir of the family, and I live by that belief," Jayden replied. "And the Grevilles are gathering more power, it won''t hurt to ally with them," Jayden added. But Jayden didn''t reply truthfully. His actions were not because he was simply impressed by Asher''s talent. If anything, Asher''s terrifying talent made him more cautious about the Greville family. He only showed his support openly because it was better to keep such people as his allies. "What is that brother of mine doing?" Jayden asked, remembering his brother. "I heard he''s still maintaining his Research Club, so not much has happened," his friend replied. "Hmm, tell Leonard Tarvian that I won''t consider the deal," Jayden told him. "What deal?" his friend became curious. "Don''t stick your nose where it isn''t needed," Jayden warned him with killing intent. "I-I''m sorry," his friend replied, lowering his head. Seeing Jayden being casual, he forgot that there were times when Jayden was quite scary. "What''s our next assignment?" Jayden asked. "It will be an A Rank Dungeon in Fashia''s capital," his friend instantly replied. *** Asher left Eric in the Third Year Area as he went towards a specific ce where Damian, Amelia, Sam, and Venessa were waiting. "Oh, here hees," Damian, who was talking with Sam, looked at Asher. "Did Eric go back?" Damian asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. "So, will we have no extra people on the team?" Amelia asked. "No," Asher replied. "I want you all to practice with each other and improve your synergy," Asher said. "Practice with each other and spar, but make sure you know your strengths," Asher said. "What about you and that Astaria girl?" Amelia said as Asher stared at her. "You can ask her, but I won''t be joining you for the practice sessions," Asher said. After telling them, Asher soon left, leaving them to discuss the rest among themselves as he went to the Rankers'' Dorm. Sitting in his room, Asher looked at the current state of his magic. "This much should be enough to implement that technique," Asher sensed his current mana, which was enough to implement the technique that Lucas in his previous life had told him about. It was his way to ensure that he could cast various spells in session, but only he could do so because of the massive mana pool he had. But Asher could replicate the technique with his current mana pool, which had increased sufficiently. Ping! He looked at his ID Bracelet as a notification arrived. "Two months from now," Asher saw the dates, and it was a month before the Kalvas G would happen. Chapter 224 Mid Term Announcement As the students received the announcement about the Mid Term Examination, a meeting was ongoing in the Faculty Council. "So, are we going through with this format?" Elsa asked Xander. "Yes, for others, we don''t have to think much, but these two teams have many Rankers," Xander replied. "We will increase the difficulty ordingly but make sure you guys follow them at all times," Xander looked at the chosen instructors for this Mid Term Examination for the First Years. This meeting discussed how the Mid Term Examination would be carried out and how they would grade the students. There were many variables in a Dungeon Run, so they needed proper nning before they went with the format they were aiming for. "Make sure that the difficulty is enough for this team especially," Xander said, pointing at Asher''s team. Many professors looked at the name, and in front of Asher''s name, it was stated that he was a D+ Rank Hunter. "But doing too much will affect the rest of the team," Professor Neyman said, and many agreed. They couldn''t increase the difficulty too much for Asher as that would make others in his team that were behind him in Rank suffer. "That''s why we will split the Examination into two parts, with a Dungeon Exploration and the test we discussed," Xander said, looking at Neyman. They wanted to prepare a test that ensured both teams couldpete equally and they could grade them at the same time. While the Faculty Council was busy with the meeting, Asher was again heading towards the Great Library. He had generated enough Mana to practice his spells much more freely, and he could learn more now. Asher entered the Restricted Area again, and the old man allowed him to enter as Asher had not used his total time for the month yet. "I should learn about the ck Element," Asher remembered Helena had told him to use the Library to learn about various spells. And the Restricted Area was where various powerful magic and knowledge about the theory behind them were stored. And right now, his priority was learning about a few ck Element spells he could use. Asher entered the ck Element section and looked at various books. He could see mentions of various types of ck Element magic. "Something that works with this," Asher looked at his hand, which got covered with a ck shadow. [ Host has used Shadow Control Rank D ] Asher used the same spell that Helena had taught him, which worked well with him. The ck Element has various elements, and learning all of them would take time, but right now, he wanted something that wasbat-rted. "Theory of Control," Asher muttered the name of an old book and picked it up. Unlike Runes, old books about magic could contain more powerful spells than the current ones. Magic depended a lot on a Mage''s talent, so the spell created by one person was often not used by others as they simply couldn''t. And such cases increased as the difficulty of the spell increased. Right now, Asher was looking for Tier 2 Spells, which he could cast freely without worrying about his sword art, which also used a lot of Mana. "Understanding the ck element," Asher read through a few pages, and the first instruction to learn anything was to understand the basics of the element itself. The ck Element was a highlyplex element but not asplex as Space. All the spells derived from this element were used to curse or induce fear in your opponents or use it as abat spell. Casting illusion-rted magic was also possible with the ck Element, but illusion magic was not limited to it. [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] Asher kept looking at various ways a spell could be implemented, which increased his understanding of magic. [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] Asher kept turning pages when he saw another spell simr to Shadow Control. Shadow Control skill that Helena taught him was the most basic spell of the ck Element that she created herself and used as a base for all her spells. Not only did she give her own spell to Asher, but she showed all the variations she created for that one spell alone. It was a spell that was greatly rted to Asher''s understanding of magic and the ck Element. Shadow, which was what people named the energy, was simr to shadow and darkness and was one of the uses of the ck Element. The energy was corrosive to others, but unlike other elements, it moved with the wish of its user. Unlike Fire Element, where the spells would surely hurt others if they touched it, ck Element did not follow the same rules. And this was one of the reasons ck Element mages were highly regarded, as they could be reckless with some of their spells without harming their allies. "This should be a good spell," Asher looked at one of the Tier 2 spells mentioned in the book. Shadow Bind, a tier 2 spell that was used to restrict your opponent, could restrict even B Rank Monsters if you could maximize its use and supply enough Mana. But what interested him, even more was one of the variations that Helena had shown him. "This should work," Asher started analyzing the spell pattern that was exined in the book. It was a difficult spell to cast as the structure had to be maintained for a long time, but Asher didn''t want to be a pure mage. He wanted spells that couldplement his Sword Art, and he could remove the current bottleneck that was hindering him frompleting the technique he couldn''tst time. "Shadow Steps," Asher looked at the next few spells, some of which were masking spells. The ck Element was mostly used by those who delved into Stealth Magic, and it allowed many Hunters to safely ambush monsters in the Dungeon or kill people. But unlike Kai''s ability, the ck Element didn''t make people disappearpletely but allowed them to mask their presence. And the number of movement techniques used in the ck Element was numerous. [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] Asher kept using his Mana to replicate those spells, and then he would try to change them to suit him. It was not as if the spells were not good enough or their exnation was not good, but Asher was not a pure mage. He didn''t want to constrict himself to casting such spells the way they were meant to. "This should work," Asher imagined the ck Element and tried to form a chain-like structure. "Shadow Bind," Asher muttered, and various ck chains emerged from the floor. But they soon dissipated as Asher canceled the spell. "This is not good enough," Asher noticed the mana consumption, and it was too high. "Let''s use his technique," Asher remembered a certain person from his previous life. The only person that Asher felt could rival him due to the nature of their bloodline abilities and the person who sacrificed his own life to save Asher. Lucas Greville, who was known for his endless Mana, and the only person who could counter Asher''s original Bloodline skill, Ruler of Mana. Asher stopped his mana flow momentarily and used his mana core to attract the Mana inside his body. It was a strange process that could not work without his Mana Flow skill, allowing him to control his Mana like this. But unlike Lucas, who had his bloodline ability to assist him, Asher was changing the method to suit him. [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] [ Host understanding of magic is increasing ] [ Host has reached Intermediate Mastery in Magic ] Asher was deconstructing the spell to the basic while making his Mana Core attract the Mana around him. He had stopped the mana flow that made his body feel tired. It was almost like the energy around his body had halted in one ce. This technique differed from his Mana Doping Methods, as this only allowed Asher to cast spells differently than other mages. And there were no harmful side effects from using this technique. Unlike others that used their Mana to fuel the spell, he was going to use the Mana around him to fuel some part of the spell but doing so required him to attain the feeling ofmanding the Mana around him. And he was replicating that feeling with his mana core which was dense enough to hold a lot of Mana. "Now let''s form the spell," Asher muttered as he started to form the spell formation around his mana core, using the Mana around his mana core to make part of its structure. This time, shadow energy erupted from the floor, and chains started forming, but the speed of the spell was much quicker than before. And the mana consumption was lower, but the power behind it remained the same. [ Shadow Control has increased to Rank C ] [ Shadow Bind Rank C is learned ] [ Host has reached Intermediate Mastery in Magic ] "Good enough," Asher looked at the results, and forming spells in this way allowed him to create a spell that required less concentration to maintain itself. Chapter 225 Practicing Asher continued sifting through various books, but all the other spells housed in the Restricted Section were Tier 3 or higher. After going through a few more books, Asher turned his attention to more foundational works and the research conducted by various people concerning the ck Element. Most of the research rted to magic was housed within the Mage Association, and apart from them, only the World Academy had records about various magic research that hadn''t been shared with the rest of the world. Some of these books were donated to the World Academy by Silvus Grandus himself. However, none of them were about the ck Element. Asher was engrossed in the books when he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw Professor Arman enter the Restricted Area. Arman, the youngest 3 Star Professor in the World Academy, often visited the Restricted Section to read various books. "It seems you are quite a diligent student," Armanmented, surprised to see Asher in the restricted section. "But I would rmend you also try learning in the VIP Section, as the books here are very hard toprehend, and the limited time might hinder you," Arman suggested, approaching Asher. Asher closed the book he was reading and returned it to its ce. Unlike the Rune Section, other sections were considerablyrger. "It''s fine," Asher replied. Arman got the impression that Asher might not have taken his advice to heart, but he couldn''t force a student from an elite family to follow his guidance. He was correct; if it were anyone other than Asher, they would have a hard time learning from these books. All of them were veryplex, and even professors would spend weeks on a single book. It was clear why Arman suggested that Asher visit the VIP Section, where simpler books more suitable for beginners were avable. ''Well, he can do as he wants,'' Arman thought as he went to pick out the book he had been readingst time. Asher watched him leave, then exited the ck Element section, done for the day. Increasing Magic Mastery was only possible through understanding more about magic and improving mastery over the element you were working with. The current sses were only about the basics, where most spells were only exined at a fundamental level. The first year was when the World Academy''s subjects were tailored to suit the majority of the students who had not previously received any training. Meanwhile, on the 9th Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm, six people were gathered together. "I don''t know what the pattern of the Mid-Term would look like, but it will involve Dungeons for sure," Eva said. "And Professor Dahlia already told us that they will score all teams, so we should prepare to increase our synergy," Eva added. At that moment, she was discussing the strategy for the Mid-Term Examination with her team, which consisted of Kevin Whiteheart, Elena Rothschild, Lishia Halcyon, Matthew, and Ria Adler. "We have 3 mages and 3 weapon users, so I think we are pretty bnced," Elena noted, looking around. Eva, herself, and Lishia were mages, Kevin was a spear user, and Ria and Matthew used swords. "Kevin and Matthew will be in the front while Ria assists you. We will ce Eva in the center with me and Lishia around her," Elena suggested. "Seems good. I can manage to protect you guys, and we can increase our efficiency as well," Eva replied, thinking that Elena''s idea was sound. "We can perform really well with this team," Kevin said, looking at Elena. Elena smiled, hearing Kevin''s response. "I heard they have five Rankers on their team as well," Matthew said, drawing everyone''s attention. "So?" Kevin asked. "I''m just saying that Asher Greville''s Team is also quite good. I''m not sure we can take the first ce," Matthew voiced his honest thoughts. "But this time, the test will be about clearing the Dungeon, not killing monsters for evaluation likest time," Lishia said, looking at Matthew. "She is right. We don''t need to focus on them. Instead, we should work on our synergy," Eva said. But Matthew wasn''t convinced. Ignoring Asher, he knew that Sam wasn''t at his real rank. He had sparred with him several times before the Rankings were out, so he knew Sam was somewhere around the Top 5 or 6. And just like them, a meeting was happening in Damian''s room where everyone on their team, except Asher and Alyssa, was present. "So she declined to practice with us?" Amelia asked Venessa. "Not exactly. She said that her presence wouldn''t help us at all," Venessa tried to put it nicely, but it was obvious that Alyssa didn''t want to attend the practice. "Well, then it''s just us four," Sam said, trying to lighten the mood. "Then we can spar in teams of two," Amelia decided, not wanting to waste their time, and decided to ignore the current situation. She had been pondering how to get along with Alyssa, but her absence from the practice solved that issue. "Me, Damian, and you two together," Amelia proposed, looking at Sam and Venessa. There were only two months until the Mid-Terms would start, and they needed to practice as much as possible. The next day, Asher was in the Runic Theory ss. Neyman was standing in front of Asher at that moment, observing him with an amused look. "Hmm, you''ve learned a lot, and your intent is very clear despite the rune you use," Neyman analyzed Asher''s work so far. He looked around, noticing that the number of students had dropped, and even those still attending had difficulty controlling and creating runes. "Well, these are only Basic Runes, so you need to perfect them before you move on toplex runes," Neyman advised the ss. "We will conclude the ss for now," Neyman announced, much to the excitement of some students bing frustrated by repeatedly working on the same runes. "But remember, my exams are not easy, so don''t expect to pass my subjects easily," Neyman smirked, stroking his beard. His words made many students nervous and anxious, as this could affect their overall scores in the end. Mid-Terms were crucial, as they were the only exams apart from the End-of-Year exams that affected their grades. Throughout the year, Mid-Term and End-of-Year exams were extremely important. They could affect your rankings going into the Second Year. Even though Rankings could change with Duels, you could only challenge a person ranked 100 spots below you. However, even if you changed your ranks, your score at the end of the year affected your rankings going into the Second Year. Climbing to lower ranks was useless if your grades were not up to par with your ranks. The World Academy''s Ranking system was fairly urate, making it nearly impossible for anyone, apart from the Top 100 students, to climb the ranks easily. Most changes happened within the Top 100 ranks. Asher stood up and left the ss, and while going towards the Ranker''s Dorm, he received a message from Sylvie. "It happened couple monthster this time," Asher said, looking at the message. *** Five Days Ago at the Mage Association, Nathan was standing outside the room that Arthur was using. "This brat really made me wait this whole time," Nathan grumbled as he sensed the changes happening due to Arthur''s ranking up. ''I should mask his mana. I can''t let that mage bastard sense it,'' Nathan thought, aware of Silvus''s mana sensitivity that rivaled theirs. He wanted to mask Arthur''s mana to keep Arthur''s Bloodline ability a secret. While watching his son reach the SS Rank, Nathan was reminded of Ivar. He recalled that Ivar would always joke around with Arthur when he reached SS Rank before Arthur. "I couldn''t protect you, but I will protect your kids," Nathan vowed as he noticed the mana emanating from Arthur''s room. Nathan red his mana as Arthur''s mana kept rising until it reached near the peak of SS Rank. Nathan smiled, his eyes shining, as he sensed the powerful mana emanating from Arthur. At the top floor of the Mage Association, Silvus was wondering. "So he has reached SS Rank, but why is that old guy ring his mana? Is he trying topete with his own son?" Silvus wondered, not understanding why Nathan was showing his mana. But he shrugged it off. It didn''t matter how Nathan and Arthur behaved with each other. Now that Arthur Greville was done, Nathaniel Greville would leave as well. "I wonder how the others will react," Silvus mused, looking at the Kalvas G invitation sent to him. The SSS Rank Hunter, known as the Pirs of Humanity, was given the first invitations. After a week, all the Elite families would receive their invitations separately. Silvus studied the letter, undecided about whether to attend or not. Part of him was concerned about his grandchildren who had grown up without experiencing the upper society. He didn''t want his grandchildren to get involved in the scheming of the Elite families, so he arranged a special ss for them at World Academy. But he didn''t want to deprive them of experiences that could help them deal with people from Elite families. "Well, I''ll think about itter," Silvus decided, setting the letter aside as he looked at the documents on the table. Chapter 226 News From World Academy Somewhere in a mansion in Fashia, In a vast room filled with weapons, many people stood watching a duel between a young man with light brown hair and an old man defending against the young man''s sword attacks. Judging from the impact of their strikes, both of them were S Rank Hunters. "Young Master is so powerful," one of the hunters watching the duel said, The duel ended as a draw as the old man looked at the young man. "You have grown even more powerful, Young Master," he said, "Still, I can improve a lot," he stored his sword inside his spatial ring as he noticed his family''s Butler waiting for him. And noticing the expression on the Butler''s face, he could sense that he wanted to report something. "You guys, carry on with the practice," he ordered as he approached the Butler. "What happened?" he asked as the Butler bowed before him. "Young Master, we received news from World Academy," the Butler said, looking at the Young Man. "Is it about ke?" he asked. "Yes, Young Master. ke lost to Asher Greville in a spar, and the rumors about this are spreading throughout the World Academy," the Butler reported, but he could feel the killing intenting from the young man standing before him. It was apparent why the young man reacted like that. After all, he was ke Cranston''s older brother, the heir of the Cranston Family, which was considered amongst the 3 most powerful Elite families, Cade Cranston. "Wasn''t the heir of the Greville family in the First Year?" Cade asked the Butler. "Yes, Young Master, Asher Greville is the Rank 1 student in the First Year," he replied. Listening to this, Cade''s anger was increasing, and so was his killing intent, but he controlled it. "Let''s move to my office," Cade said, and the Butler followed him. They entered the Mansion, and Cade entered his office and sat on his seat. "Did Father or Grandfather hear this news yet?" he asked the Butler. "Not yet. I informed you first, as both of them were busy," the Butler replied. Cade put his hands on his head. ''How?'' He couldn''t think of a way ke could lose to a First-year student in a spar. ''Does this mean my swordsmanship doesn''t win against Nathaniel Greville,'' he clenched his fist. He had developed his family''s sword art even further and taught the improved sword art to ke because he was his younger brother. But hearing that ke lost, Cade was growing even angrier. After a moment of silence, while the Butler kept waiting for Cade''s answer, Cade looked up. "Tell ke that I will meet him during the Kalvas G," Cade said, "And cancel all the Guild work rted to me for the next two months," Cade said, and the Butler nodded at his request. This was what ke was afraid of happening. He knew his older brother Cade wouldn''t like it when he discovered he had lost to Asher in a spar. "Tell Father and Grandfather that I will deal with this situation myself," Cade replied, but his facial expression made the Butler slightly nervous. "Control the media and make sure that news doesn''t spread in a way that harms our reputation," Cade looked at the Butler. "As you wish, Young Master," the Butler replied and left soon after. He knew that there were two things that Cade put above all: his swordsmanship and his pride as a member of the Cranston family. Meanwhile, Arthur sat with Sylvie and the twins in the Greville Mansion, discussing the iing Kalvas G. "Did you inform both of them about your rank up?" Sylvie asked Arthur. "Oh, I forgot about it," Arthur tried to smile his way out of it, but Sylvie''s re made it impossible. But Sylvie softened her look as she knew that reaching SS Rank was different for Arthur. And it was one reason Arthur was spending his time with Lucas and Livia for the past few days at the Greville estate instead of the Abyss Guild Headquarters. "I will inform them now," Sylvie said as Arthur nodded at her. "Well, you can do thatter," Arthur said as he turned to Lucas. "Do you guys want to go to the G?" Arthur asked Lucas and Livia. "G?" Livia asked, as she wasn''t informed about it. Most of their time was spent training or learning aboutplicated stuff rted to the Elite families. "It''s a gathering of all the Elite families and other people that have a very powerful status in the World," Arthur exined in simpler terms. "Even though nobody would dare to disrespect you guys, there will be a lot of eyes on you," Arthur said while looking at the twins. Before deciding for them, he wanted to know whether they wanted to participate. "Umm, I don''t know. I don''t really mind," Livia looked at Lucas. "I don''t mind either," Lucas replied. He had learned a lot about Elite families and, most importantly, the standing of the Greville family amongst other Elite families. Nathan made sure that the twins knew that being a Greville, they needed to behave in a way that showed their authority so that no one could look down on them. He didn''t want them to avoid the Upper Society. Sylvie looked at the two cute little kids behaving confidently, but she knew that the Kalvas G was not just a celebration or auction. It was a ce where each family looked and gathered information about the others. "Will Big Brother attend it as well?" Lucas asked, knowing that both Asher and Amelia were in World Academy. "Yes, World Academy gives a leave to the Elite Family and students that have families that attend the Kalvas G," Arthur replied as Lucas''s face brightened up. "So Big Sister will be present as well?" Livia jumped up on the sofa, and Arthur smiled at her. Their conversation continued, and sometime after that, Sylvie informed Asher and Amelia about Arthur reaching SS Rank. "It happened a couple monthster this time," Asher said, looking at the message. He was waiting for this news as Arthur''s Rank up would attract many people inside Somaria. "They will be busy for a while," Asher said as he approached the Ranker''s Dorm. Arriving at his floor, he opened contacted Tom. "Yes, Boss," Tom replied through a hologram. "Did you finish finding out about the locations I sent youst month?" Asher asked as he looked at Tom. "Umm, Not all of them, but it should be finished by the end of this month," Tom replied, but he was a bit scared about Asher''s reaction. He didn''t know that the task Asher would give would be this difficult. "Inform Dane and Kai about their next mission," Asher said, but Tom had a nervous look on his face. "Boss, should we really do this?" Tom asked, but looking at Asher''s indifferent eyes, he got his response. "I will inform them," Tom said, and Asher disconnected the call. "Sigh, How should I tell them about this," Tom looked at the screens in front of him. Right now, Dane and Kai were just training to reach S Rank with the resources that Asher had provided for them. And for quite some time, their moods have been quite happy. "Well, nothingsts forever," Tom prayed for both of them. "I can''t refute Boss''s order, so don''t me me," Tom told himself as he stood up. He tapped on his phone to inform Dane and Kai about an urgent meeting so they could meet him. Chapter 227 Zephyrs Next Mission? "The underground facility in this mansion rivals ours in Spyder," Dane told Kai as they approached the meeting room. "I can feel that I am close to reaching the next rank," Dane said with a silly smirk on his face. They didn''t know, but many mansions under the Greville family had such facilities, and Asher had chosen this mansion for that particr reason only. "Whatever," Kai ignored Dane, who had been having a fun time training all this time. Kai was more focused on the various research and books that Tom had sent him, and he was figuring out how to improve his capabilities as a mage. ''Living like this isn''t too bad,'' Kai remembered the old days, and a smile appeared on his face. Both of them entered the room and saw Tom sitting in the center. "Sit down. I have called this meeting to discuss the next mission," Tom said as he watched Dane and Kai enter the room. "Shouldn''t we wait a bit? The authorities are on full alert after the previous heist," Kai said as he sat on one of the seats around the table. "It''s the Boss''s orders. I can''t do anything about that," Tom replied as he tapped on his phone. A hologram erupted in the center with various red dots in the center. "Let me give you the rundown about the next mission," Tom said as he looked at the two of them. "So, it''s like this..." Tom started exining the n that Asher had told him to work on. As Tom exined various parts of the n, Kai and Dane''s faces changed from confident to horrified. Being involved in an organization like Zephyr, it was rare for them to react like this, but seeing their current reaction, both of them couldn''t believe what sort of absurd mission they were being sent to. "Wait, wait, wait, the Boss won''t be joining us on this mission, right?" Dane asked. "Yes, this time, it will be only the two of you, and I will be coordinating you guys likest time," Tom replied. "Hey, did we do something wrong on the first mission?" Dane asked with a serious look on his face. "No," Tom shook his head. In fact, he was d that both Dane and Kai hadn''t done anything stupid on the mission, even though many unknown variables got involved in that heist. "Isn''t this basically telling us to die?" Dane asked, looking at Tom, "No, I wish you guys sessfully performed this mission," Tom replied. Dane looked at Kai, who was just frowning right now. He was looking at the map that Tom had shown them. "Forget about the other locations. We will get killed before we even move out from here," Kai said, pointing at the first red dot. "Don''t worry, my role in this mission is to make sure you guys don''t die," Tom said, ''Or try to make sure you don''t die,'' Tom thought. He wasn''t sure whether Kai and Dane would survive andplete the mission. "Take these tokens," Tom took out various tokens with the symbol of Zephyr, which was the letter ''Z'' with a special design around it. It was a pitch-ck token, and the message it was trying to convey was pretty clear. "We will use the teleporting artifact that we brought out of the heist," Tom pulled out the ne that Asher had given him. "How does it work?" Kai asked. Not all teleporting artifacts worked properly, and he rarely saw a teleporting artifact that could teleport multiple people. "I''ve gotten a person to inscribe the coordinates on the back of the artifact," Tom said and showed it to them. He exined to them the workings of the artifact as Asher had done for him. Tom didn''t know why Asher could describe it so precisely, but he didn''t question him. "Wait, this is one of those artifacts that also works in a dungeon?" Kai asked with a shocked look. "Yes," Tom replied. This made them a bit nervous as they looked at the artifact. The teleporting artifact, which even worked in a dungeon, was a priceless treasure. This meant that people could even escape Red or Yellow Gate dungeons. Something like this would be coveted by all the people in this world. "There''s a good chance with this artifact that we''ll survive the first two locations, but surely you know what kind of security is present at the third," Kai said as he looked at Tom. "Don''t worry, we''ll n it together," Tom continued the meeting, but it was hard for him to make them believe this mission was possible. ''The deadline is the G. We can''t miss it,'' Tom remembered Asher ordering him to ensure their mission waspleted before Kalvas G began. "Kai, you need to improve your bloodline ability by the end of this month," Tom reminded Kai, something Kai was already working on. "I''ve increased my limit by 15 minutes, but I think this is my limit," Kai replied. "Still, try to increase it as much as you can. I''ll give you all the Mana-rted artifacts that the Boss left us," Tom said. Kai nodded, but the atmosphere in the meeting room wasn''t good. Dane and Kai left the room, and as they were walking in the hallway, Kai looked at Dane, who had been silent throughout the meeting. "What are you thinking?" Kai asked. "Nothing, I was just thinking of the mayhem we''ll cause if we seed at this mission," Dane said as he smiled, looking at the Zephyr token. "Crazy bastard," Kai muttered as he saw Dane''s smile. ''Why am I always stuck with such people?'' Kai thought in his head. At the World Academy, Gavin walked down the hallway to his ss. He could see several students avoiding him out of fear. However, he didn''t derive the usual satisfaction from their reaction this time. At present, he was following Leonard''s order to increase their influence by continuing his extreme actions, as suggested by Asher. And now, Leonard and the entire Blood Faction were working to restore their reputation, which had been damaged due to ke''s loss. Meanwhile, ke was sitting in his room, scrutinizing the message he had received from his family. "How did they get the news so fast?" ke asked, a nervous expression on his face. He had received a message from his family''s butler, rying that Cade, his elder brother, hadmanded him to attend the Kalvas G without fail for a discussion. "Damn it, if only it wasn''t someone from the Greville family," ke cursed his luck. Ping! His attention shifted to the message he had just received from Leonard. "So, these are the people I need to defeat?" ke scrutinized the list of third-year students. Leonard had already begun to manipte the rumors, and many people were starting to believe that ke hadn''t exerted his full strength against Asher. It was difficult, however, to convince those who had witnessed the duel firsthand. Still, the majority remained skeptical, as the idea of a first-year student defeating a second-year rank 1 student seemed too absurd to believe. A week passed, and Asher stood in the Mage Theory ss, where Elsa exined various spells. The topic of the day was Dual Casting. Dual Casting involved a mage simultaneously casting two spells. The next level ofplexity was Multi Casting, a skill that required a lot of practice and talent. Only Alyssa and Eva, first-year students, were capable of Dual Casting. Other contenders close to mastering the technique included Elena Rothschild, Amelia Greville, and Lishia Halcyon. "Listen carefully, and ensure your fundamentals are strong," Elsa reminded them as many students struggled with Dual Casting. "Try to make two Spell Structures at the same time and allocate enough mana for them separately, it will be hard, but I expect you guys to excel in Dual Casting, which is a much-needed skill of a good Mage," Elsa exined. "Some of you are also learning an Advanced Element," Elsa said, her words directed toward students like Alyssa, who had mastered the Space and Ice Elements. The Ice Element, in particr, was a formidable force with high destructive capabilities; its effectiveness depended on the mage''s mastery level. "Chants are only necessary for higher Tier spells or if you cannot Silent Cast a spell," Elsa rified. "If you want to learn Dual Casting, make sure you can cast these spells without chants," Elsa instructed. While the students practiced on the dummies before them, Elsa focused on a few students demonstrating exceptional talent in her subject. Her problem, however, was that the top student in her ss wasn''t supposed to be a mage at all. Asher Greville was the student Elsa wanted to send back to the Sword Art ss, but she couldn''t find a legitimate reason to remove him. "Exceptionalprehension, insanely sharp observation," she noted these traits as she observed Asher. These observations were used to grade students in ss, and Asher was currently outperforming all his peers. This fact became an issue for those who were pure mages, and they found it hard to ept that a swordsman was surpassing them. One of these students was Elena herself. However, she chose to ignore him as the midterm exams were not far away, and the information regarding the exams was limited. Asher stopped when hepleted the assignment that Elsa had given the ss. "Those who havepleted today''s task may leave," Elsa announced upon noticing Asher. Apart from Asher, though, the others were far from finished. Ping! Asher looked at the message he had received on his ID Bracelet. Chapter 228 Discussion With Xander "So, what did you want to discuss?" Xander asked as he looked at Asher, who was standing before him. He had received a message that the Rank 1 First Year Student requested an official appointment. However, knowing that he had given Asher an easier way to meet him, he found it odd that Asher had used a formal contact method. ''Is it because of Arthur?'' Xander pondered. It was highly likely that Asher might harbor negative feelings toward him due to the strained rtionship between him and Arthur Greville. "I want to get approval to use the Beast Grounds on this Flying Ind," Asher said as he looked at Xander. "Beast Ground? Those are only essible to second-year students or above," Xander informed him. "But we will be adding a Duel Course against beasts and monsters soon, after your Mid Terms," Xander added, aware that this information was only known to a select few. "But that will be a duel. I want ess to the Giant Forest," Asher specified, raising Xander''s eyebrows. The Giant Forest was an area on the Flying Ind where all sorts of monsters were present. Apart from a few dungeons, this forest was filled with beasts ranging from D to A rank and even some S rank monsters. Most of these creatures wouldn''t leave the boundary of the forest due to the presence of various SS Rank Hunters around the World Academy and the security runes that would alert if any beast crossed the border. This Giant Forest was the hunting ground where, starting from the second year, students would go and defeat the beasts within. "Is it because of your spar with ke Cranston?" Xander asked, curious why Asher wanted to tackle challenges beyond a first-year student''s capability. "Even if you can outperform your peers, we can''t bend the rules to favor a single student," Xander replied sternly. He might have shown a bit of favor towards Asher, but it was due to his past. "However, if your teams take first ce and you maintain your Rank 1 in all subjects, I might discuss this issue with the rest of the council," Xander suggested. "Okay," Asher said as he turned to leave. "Won''t you ask about the Mid Terms?" Xander asked, curiosity etched on his face. "I don''t need to," Asher exited the room. "Hmm, confidence is a good, young man, but overestimating yourself will only lead to regrets," Xander mused, reminiscing about his younger self. Xander was involved in preparing and suggesting the Mid Term, but the final decision on its format would be made by Farnus. "Well, this won''t be easy for you guys," Xander remarked, reviewing the information he had received from Farnus regarding the exams. A Week Later, Amelia and Damian were sparring with Sam Allister and Vanessa. "You focus on her. I''ll handle him," Sam instructed as Vanessa directed her attention toward Amelia. Amelia noticed Vanessa''s aggression and used various spells to obstruct her advance. "Mana Barrier," Amelia chanted the basic barrier spell they had learned from Elsa. Unlike Eva''s moreplex and powerful barrier magic, Mana Barrier was a mage''s mostmon defensive tactic inbat. While Vanessa attacked Amelia with her sword, reinforced with her Aura, Sam advanced toward Damian, armed with a shield. Sam spun his spear as he attacked Damian, who deflected his assault. After being pushed by Damian, Sam retreated and charged towards Amelia. He baited Damian, but Amelia noticed Sam advancing on her. Amelia began chanting a spell, but Sam didn''t detect any magic. "Behind you," Vanessa warned. Sam turned and saw Damian preparing to strike him with his shield. "Damn, this augmenting magic," Sam cursed as he braced for Damian''s impact with his spear. "It''s over," Damian dered, observing Sam''s vulnerable position. "Okay, you win," Sam conceded, snapping his fingers. Damian offered Sam a hand, helping him up. "Well, the score is now 12-8," Damian said, smirking. His smirk irked both Sam and Vanessa, but they conceded that both Damian and Amelia were superior in terms of synergy. "Hmm, this should be thest spar I will participate in. The theory exams are only four weeks away, so I will focus on that," Sam said as he grabbed Damian''s hand to rise. "We''ll probably do the same," Damian agreed. The theory exams were based on the subjects they had taken, and they all aimed to reach D Rank before the exam. "I heard that Kevin Whiteheart is already preparing to reach D- Rank," Sam shared what he had heard from Matthew. "Hmm, I feel like I could push to D Rank, but I''m notpletely sure," Damian admitted, a sentiment shared by the others. "But we have six weeks before the Mid Term Exam starts, so it will be fine," Amelia reassured them, receiving nods of agreement. The SSS Rank Artifact that increased mana density on the whole ind allowed students to rank considerably faster than others. Two Weeks Later, Professor Gilson was teaching Dungeon Theory and exining some of the most dangerous ces in the world. "So remember, apart from the five continents, there are various inessible territories," Gavin instructed, disying pictures of the Lost Land, one of the most infamous dangerous locations globally. "For a long time, clearing these areas has been a problem for us due to the presence of various SSS Rank Monsters," Gavin exined, presenting a chart. "Sometimes, when an SSS Rank dungeon explosion urs, the climate and even the environment adapt to amodate these terrifying creatures," Gavin listed some off-limits locations. "Although we still hunt in these ces, we generally avoid confronting the monsters unless necessary," Gavin continued as a student raised his hand. "Why can''t we hunt them? Don''t we have 11 SSS Rank Hunters?" The student asked. Gavin adjusted his sses and tapped on the screen, revealing a graphparing Hunter''s Strength to Monster''s Strength. "The reason we avoid them until we are forced to fight is simply that losing a SSS Rank Hunter is the worst-case scenario for us," Gavin responded. "You may not have witnessed a SSS Rank confrontation, but even multiple SSS Rank Hunters are sometimes needed to kill a SSS Rank Monster, depending on its abilities," Gavin borated. "And thesends are not so valuable that we need to conquer them," Gavin added. "So, we focus mainly on dealing with appearing dungeons rather than conquering the Lost Lands," Gavin concluded. Asher was also among the attendees of this ss, primarily because after the Mid Terms, this ss would introduce Monster Battle, in which students would face monsters and learn to battle them. ''If I don''t get approval to enter the Giant Forest, this should work,'' Asher contemted. "I''ll conclude the ss now, but make sure you revise everything you''ve learned here," Gavin instructed. "We could ask about any minor detail in the exam, so try to broaden your knowledge this month," Gavin suggested. Asher rose to leave the ss, drawing many watchful eyes. The rumors were circting, and Asher was perceived as a dangerous first-year student. Many students deliberately avoided looking in his direction; some would even refrain from speaking in his vicinity. Most of these students were from ordinary families and didn''t want to get entangled with the heir of the Greville family. At the moment, Amelia was receiving simr treatment. "Everybody avoids you," Damian observed, turning to Amelia. "It''s not my fault that I''m the sister of the Rank 1 First Year," Amelia retorted, ring at Damian, which made him avert his eyes. She had hoped to make friends, but her status and Asher''s reputation made it difficult for people to approach her. "At least you get along with that Venessa girl," Damian remarked, but Amelia responded with an elbow. "She''s just a rude girl," Amelia retorted as Damian rubbed his side. He was enjoying teasing Amelia as they were on their way to go outer sector of the World Academy to eat something nice. "Should I invite our team members for lunch as well?" Damian suggested. "Not a bad idea," Amelia said after thinking about it. "Okay, I will send a message to all of them," Damian said as he messaged everyone, including Asher and Alyssa. In the Great Library, Professor Neyman was in the restricted section of the Great Library, "Maybe I should read some old books," Neyman looked at the vast collection of books. He had finished the preparations for his test, so he had a lot of free time till the Mid Term Examination, so he decided to use that time to read some books in the Restricted Section. "Hmm, what is this book, Diary of Lizare?" Neyman picked an old book, and he opened the book, but all the pages were empty. "What?" Neyman looked at the book again as he flipped every single page. "Why is there an empty diary in the Restricted Section?" Neyman was confused. "Did they make a mistake while cing this book?" Neyman concluded as he put the book back in its ce. "Let''s see, I should find some other interesting book," Neyman start looking at the books around the empty diary. Chapter 229 Outing Asher was heading to his room to train when he received a message from Damian. "Hmm?" Asher nced at the message. Then he received another one. Asher looked at Damian''s invitation but couldn''t help but reject it. If it had been his previous life, he might have epted the invitation because it was something normal people did. But now, he was not the same person. In his previous life, hecked emotions but improved slightly when he met Alyssa. But the current Asher felt only one thing: hatred. Hatred towards everything that stood against him in his previous life. Hatred towards the world itself. He was in control because his inner madness was suppressed by a high intelligence stat, but it had been long since Asher had lost the ability to live like normal people. ''It would be better for them if I am not there anyway,'' Asher thought as he declined Damian''s invitation. His indifferent eyes looked at the training room, and he stepped forward, entering it. ''This suits me better,'' Asher thought as he drew his sword. "I shouldplete that technique," Asher said, feeling his connection to mana had grown stronger. With his increased Magic Mastery, he could finally work towardspleting the Sword Technique that he had previously been unable to master. At the Outer Sector of World Academy, "So he''s noting?" Amelia asked, and Damian nodded. "Well, what about others?" She asked while walking with Damian. "Except Asher, everyone agreed toe," Damian said, and Amelia looked at him with a surprised expression. "That girl ising?" Amelia asked, and Damian nodded. "Ah, did I make a mistake?" Damian asked in a roundabout way. "No, it will be better for us if we have a talk at least," Amelia replied. They chose one of the famous cafes in the Outer Sector, and Amelia looked at the staff, who immediately recognized her. "We''ll book the Third Floor," Amelia said, and the staff nodded as he received her request. She took her ID Bracelet and paid the GP needed to book the entire Third Floor. Sam and Venessa arrived shortly after, as all the sses for the day were done. "Hmm, only Alyssa''s missing," Venessa pointed out as she sat. It was strange for her to be with people like Amelia and Damian, but because of Alyssa, she joined the team and did her best to get along with all of them. As they were discussing, a girl with dull pink hair entered the restaurant, causing some students on the first two floors to re at her. Some were Senior Year students, but none moved when they saw Alyssa wearing the ck Uniform, symbolizing she was part of the Student Council. "Here," Venessa waved her hand, calling out to Alyssa. Alyssa was using her wheelchair, so she used her magic to take a seat at the table where the four of them were sitting. Venessa was the only person who could interact with Alyssa normally, as all three felt awkward around Alyssa. And Alyssa could notice, her dull eyes taking in her surroundings. She hade to this gathering because she felt the need to show that she was not avoiding the team. ''This doesn''t suit me,'' Alyssa thought, her eyes observing the vibrant vibes of the restaurant. She couldn''t rte to the casual conversations happening around her. "So, is he noting?" Sam asked, and Damian shook his head. "Well, this is just a casual lunch, so you guys can order whatever you want," Amelia said as two waiters approached them. "I am fine," Alyssa said, looking at Amelia. She was wearing a mask right now, and she knew they wouldn''t appreciate her appearance while they were eating. "Um, it''s fine. You can eat," Venessa tried to converse with Alyssa, but she felt she was forcing Alyssa to do something she didn''t want to do. "Okay," Amelia said, and the four of them ordered for themselves. It was a bit awkward, but they thought it was better to get along with Alyssa as she was the only one who refused to attend the Spar other than Asher. ''I knew it. I shouldn''t havee,'' Alyssa could feel it. Even though they tried to fit her in, she was unlike other people her age. But she wanted to see if she would have felt the same calming effect around people who were close to Asher, but sitting here, it was clear that was not the case. She still remembered the res that came her way when she arrived on this floor. ''At least it''s better than that ce,'' Alyssa recalled the Astaria Household when she was eight years old. "Don''t show me that ugly face of yours, it makes me want to kill you," Alexander Astaria shouted at the young girl who was looking down at the floor. "And don''t even think you are rted to the Astaria family in any way, be grateful that I even kept you alive," he shouted again, annoyed by Alyssa''s presence. "O-Okay," the young Alyssa replied. ''Should I just leave this house,'' the young girl thought as it felt too suffocating in that big mansion. Nobody liked her; even those who were supposed to be her family disdained her. ''I will make all of you suffer the same feeling,'' Alyssa clenched her fist under the table while her eyes remained the same. *** At the Astaria Household, "Alex, do you realize that our son isn''t even a Ranker while that girl is Top 3," a woman with light blond hair and blue eyes shouted. "I know, but we can''t do anything," Alexander replied, looking annoyed. "He doesn''t even respond to messages anymore," n''s mother shouted. "If only you had listened to me and disposed of that girl long ago," she said. "DO YOU THINK I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!!" Alexander shouted at his wife, scaring her. But he controlled his anger, seeing the frightened look on his wife''s face. "Listen, she won''t live long anyway, while n will sher," Alexander said. "He''s just oveing the incident that happened with Asher Greville," Alexander clenched his fist as he remembered the scene where his son was brutally defeated by Asher Greville. He was already fed up with various people tying Alyssa''s name to theirs. He had already removed her name from the family, but most people still didn''t know. It was during theter years that Alexander was going to announce n as the heir. "I will just kill her off, even if she survives," Alexander said. If someone overheard him, they wouldn''t believe it was a father talking about his own daughter. But this kind of treatment was what made Alyssa leave her home and live alone, earning her own money by selling her art. It was her way of surviving until the World Academy started. Alexander also ignored her, knowing that her frail body would die anyway, so he didn''t bother to dirty his hands. "I don''t know, I want to see my dear son," she said as Alexander looked at his wife. "Kalvas G ising, so you can see him then," Alexander reminded her, slightly brightening her mood. *** Asher was training his sword technique. It had been hours, and he was nearing thepletion of the technique. "A bit more," Asher kept repeating the Phantom Strike. He was trying toplete the final step required to master the skill. It was getting tiring as he swung his sword again, and a film of his aura appeared in the direction of his sword, forming a small shield. This was the skill Asher couldn''tplete. Aura Shield, a skill that allowed him to form a shield out of his aura. It was a highly useful sword technique that enabled Asher to block attacks while being aggressive at the same time. [ Host has learned Aura Shield ] All these skills, like Aura Shield, and his sword strikes, didn''t have a fixed rank. They were techniques that would be stronger the more powerful Asher became. Chapter 230 Examination Starts "So this is the test site?" Neyman asked as he stepped out of the Teleportation Gate. "Yes, and I need you to secure the area with runes," another professor responded, ncing at Professor Neyman. "Sigh, this old man needs rest sometimes, you know," Neyman joked, making the other professor a tad awkward. Both of them were selected to oversee the Test Site and ensure that nothing went wrong, but Neyman was the only one capable of securing arge territory urately due to his proficiency in Runic Arts. Neyman noticed his fellow professor''s reaction, but he merelyughed lightly. "But it seems they''re ramping up the difficulty considerably," Neyman observed, looking at Xander, who was also present. "I don''t mind these changes. They will help the students prepare for unexpected situations," Neyman stated. "Well, but I still feel like it''s too much for a first-year student, though most of them won''t be affected by it," the other professormented, following Neyman. Three weeks had passed, and exams for various subjects were currently being conducted. "I wonder how many students will pass my exams," Neyman mused, remembering the challenging test he had devised. This time he had amplified the difficulty slightly, making scoring high in his subject no easy task. And the reason? He was curious about the limits of the infamous Rank 1 student, Asher Greville. At the World Academy, "Attention, students!" the instructor shouted. "We will give you various tasks and a sheet. Create these runes and record your answers on the sheet at the end," he exined. "We will evaluate both your creations and answers when grading all of you," he added, signaling for distributing the test papers to the students seated in the ss, including Asher. Asher scanned the paper. None of the questions seemed too challenging. Some would take some time, but he knew how to tackle such problems. "So, it''s aboutbining two elements into one rune," Asher deduced that the most difficult questions revolved aroundbining elements into a single rune. It was aplex task that demanded substantial concentration and thought. Boom Small explosions echoed as some students failed their tasks, attempting tobine the fire element with the wind too hastily. It was a known fact that Mana was the only energy that could hold all the elements together, serving as a medium or fuel when used. "Three students have failed. You can leave after recording your answers," the instructor dismissed any students who had failed their creations. They had only one chance, so most approached the runes slowly and carefully. Though a safe strategy, taking too long meant the instructors would note this, which could negatively impact their grades. Elsewhere, a young man with white hair sat before a lone professor. "Do you think you can answer all the questions?" the professor asked with a smile. "I heard you spent two weeks reaching D- Rank," he mentioned. "I will try my best," Kevin replied, looking at the question. He was taking the examination on the Lightning Element, a subject only he among the first years had, and the professor in front of him was the one teaching the Lightning Element ss. "Your affinity is strong, so ensure you score high marks," the professor reminded Kevin. He perceived Kevin as a highly talented individual, but his thought processes were currently too narrow, and the professor understood why. Onceuded as a prodigy of his generation, Kevin was quickly forgotten when Asher began demonstrating his capabilities. ''He could reach the highest peak if he focuses on himself,'' the professor thought, monitoring Kevin''s progress. It had already been two weeks since he reached D Rank. He onlycked experience, which he would gain gradually. "Don''t worry. You will need to show your progress in the practical part of this exam as well," the professor reminded Kevin, who was still focused on answering the questions. This practical aspect was necessary for the exam, as professors would make the students demonstrate their capabilities to evaluate their understanding. However, most of the grading was done by analyzing the performance of the student in clearing dungeons and hunting monsters. The purpose of the World Academy was to train exceptional hunters who could provide stability to the world. However, due to the existence of elite families and social statuses, World Academy was not a simple academy anymore. Every student enrolled here had a n for what they wanted to achieve while studying. Some had straightforward goals, while others didn''t think too hard about it. Yet some had moreplex motivations for studying here. The power struggle between elite families persisted over the years, and World Academy became a ce where theypared the uing generation. It became a matter of pride for some people. But there were also others whose motives were not simple at all. One of them was Leonard Tarvian, who was rallying many people to the cause of his faction, the Blood Faction. Many believed it was simply to oppose the Student Council, where only one student, the Student Council President, held all the power, but it was all a ruse. Not even those close to Leonard knew what he genuinely wanted to achieve by doing all this. Only he and his father Osbert were privy to their real n. Unbeknownst to them, another person at World Academy knew about their schemes. "Yes, Father, I have controlled the rumors," Leonard told Osbert. "Don''t bother controlling idiots, Leonard. They will be the reason for your downfall," Osbert advised his son. "I understand, father," Leonard replied. "What about the World Association? I heard rumors about some issues?" Leonard queried. "It''s nothing significant. A new pest that is bothering the Upper Society has appeared, but we don''t need to focus on them," Osbert assured. "Don''t rush into things without a n, and ignore Greville for now," Osbert directed, causing Leonard to raise an eyebrow. "What n?" Leonard inquired. Osbert''s sharp gaze looked at his son for a moment before he opened his mouth. "No need to worry about it. Attend the Kalvas G. I''ll exin there," Osbert said before disconnecting the call. "Haah, even though he''s my father, he is scary," Leonard admitted, feeling slightly cold. But he smiled, knowing that his father''s influence was the reason nobody challenged him. Even those from the elite families didn''t dare disrespect him, knowing he was the son of Osbert Tarvian. "It''s not enough. It''s not fun this way, Father," Leonard smirked, looking at the chessboard before him. While Osbert preferred to move with a n and eliminate any threats, Leonard enjoyed toying with his prey. "I will take it from here," Leonard dered, moving the knight forward on the chessboard. "I know what card you want to y, but they won''t move easily," Leonard remembered the message he received from Jayden Hargrave about rejecting the deal he had offered. A week went by as the examinations kept going on. "Why are the questions so hard this time," A student grumbled on his way to the Dorms. Some people who had chosen hard subjects werementing their choices, but a few, like Eva Williams, were confident in their academic abilities. "Only one more exam that we have, the main part of the Mid Term Examination," One student reminded them. "Hey, don''t talk about that. I am too stressed right now to think hard about that," Another replied, rubbing his head. Unlike Asher and Kevin''s team, most other teams didn''t spend much time practicing together. And that was because the teams kept changing till thest second. "Did you hear the rumors that Blood Faction''s members bully normal students like us?" One of them said, but others started frowning. "Stop saying all this crap, and focus on your exams," His friend pped his back as he shook his head. "Why would they bother with us?" His friend said as they stepped towards their dorms. Chapter 231 Mage Test "Yeah, don''t feed my brain all this drama; instead, tell me something meaningful," the one stressing about his exam said. His words made themugh, and they forgot the topic. Every day a new rumor would appear in World Academy, and most of the time, it would not be true. And right now, not many people are in the mood to spread or listen to such rumors. It was the next day, and all the Mage Students were called to the Stadium at the Outer Sector of World Academy. The Stadium was huge, and in the center, Professor Elsa, Professor Dahlia, and Professor Arman were present. "Isn''t it different fromst year? I heard thatst time it was a simple spell demonstration," one of the girls asked her friends, but they were equally confused. "Is it different this time?" Amelia asked Asher, who was sitting beside her. "Maybe," Asher replied as he kept looking at the Stadium. ''So, they integrated the Beast Theory Course here first,'' Asher noticed the change due to him. In his previous life, this sort of exam for Mages was introducedter after he was nearing the end of his Second Year. "Everyone, attention here," Armanmanded, and all students started to look at him. Right now, the three most popr professors of World Academy were standing together, so many eyes full of admiration were looking at them. All three of them looked like they were in their early 30s, and their features were attractive, so it was obvious why young people liked them more than the other old professors who were more strict. And also, the fact that all three were 3 Star Professors made them popr even outside of World Academy. "Many of you might be confused about why we are here for the practical exam of the Mage Students," Arman said. The theory part was already done, and this was thest exam that was scheduled, and after that was the Mid Term Examination, where all the Hunter Teams will move together. "As you all already know, as a Mage, the most important thing is to remain calm while casting your spells," Arman said as he looked at the more than a hundred students before him. "But a Dungeon is a ce where even the experienced and veteran might lose theirposure," Arman said. "We have changed how we test you guys from now on," Arman announced as many eyes looked at him. "Unlike dummies, now you will cast spells at real monsters," Arman said, pointing his hand to his right. With the movement of his hand, the wall was removed, and a teleportation gate appeared, along with a big screen that showed a room with multiple monsters captured from the Lost Lands. And those that escaped after a Dungeon Break. "Let me remind you, even though they are chained, they are well within the attacking range, and I want you guys to defeat the monsters or injure them enough," Arman said as he pointed at the monsters that were desperately trying to escape. The simple sight scared many students as some of them only moved behind a cover of someone and cast spells from a safe distance. "First, ovee the fear induced by the Bloodlust of these monsters," Arman reminded everyone, as it was a crucial step. He knew that the students were Mages, and they were the ones that were often not on the frontline, and this meant some of them had never felt a monster''s bloodlust from close. Unlike weapon masters who would face these monsters closely, Mages would support or attack from a distance, and that sometimes became their weakness growing stronger. Such fears were hard to remove as you grew with them. "We will call you guys one by one, and you will choose a monster from the ones we give you," Arman announced as he looked at Elsa. "And remember, those that defeat the monsters will receive much better grades than those that only injure them," Elsa said with a smile. Some of them were nervous, but this was not the first time they would encounter a monster. "First is Elena Rothschild," Dahlia called Elena first as everyone looked at the beautiful girl standing up with elegance as she walked down towards the center of the Stadium. ''D Rank!'' Elsa noticed Elena had reached D Rank. "These are three monsters, all of them are Early D Rank Monsters," Dahlia gave her a choice. "I will choose the 3rd one," Elena chose the beast-type monster as she entered the teleportation gate, and she appeared in front of the chained monster and people standing around to make sure any mishap didn''t happen. "Let''s see the future archmage candidate," Elsa looked forward to Elena''s performance. She was the only student in the World Academy with an affinity for all the basic elements. And all of them were extremely strong affinities apart from the ck Element, which was on the weaker side. "GRRROWWL," The beast howled as it sensed the presence of a being of simr strength. It had two eyes, four horns, and wide teeth, twice the size of Elena. Its ws were sharp enough to cut any E+ Rank Hunter in half, and it was an extremely dangerous beast. "Bind of Great Earth," Elena started her first spell as a stone from the ground emerged, trying to capture the beast. "de of Wind, Fire Stand above all, Cyclone," Elena dual-casted as she used her spells freely, and herbination was extremely good. Binding her target and using a wind spell to block the escape path. Lastly, she used a Tier 2 Spell that created a fire vortex. Her chants were so quick that before the beast could react, it was caught up in the Wind de that made severe cuts on its body. But what came next surprised many as a huge fire vortex engulfed and burnt the beast to death. Elena stepped back and returned to the teleportation gate. She arrived back at the Stadium as she saw multiple students pping at her performance. "Good job, Elena Rothschild. You may go back to your seat," Elsa said with a smile. "Thank you, Professor," Elena said as she returned to her seat. Elsa was d that Elena gave such a nice performance as it made others after her think before choosing the monsters and the spells they needed to perform. Elena had set the bar with her performance, and many students that came after couldn''t exceed that bar. Most students chose an E Rank Beast because none were D Rank. ''Not half bad,'' Elsa thought as she looked at the students'' performance. Some failed, but others kept calm and injured the monsters. Some even managed to kill them, but their execution of spells was poor, which affected their grading. But Elsa knew these people had just started learning about Spells, so their growth was still quite good. "Why is this monster still alive," Some shouted with frustration as they had difficulty defeating the Monster. Not all of them picked an excellent choice of monsters, either. Everything was a test, and currently, the option Elsa was giving was also one of them. Sometimes students were too focused on the Monster''s strength that they forgot what they had studied about them. "Eva Williams," Dahlia called out the next name as she graded the previous student. "Good Luck," Elena cheered Eva as she went to the Stadium. "Pick your choice," Elsa said, and Eva also picked an early D Rank Beast. Unlike Elena, who had reached D- Rank two weeks ago, a week after Kevin, Eva was still an E+ Rank Mage. "Are you sure about your choice?" Elsa asked, and Eva nodded back at her. Elena kept smiling because she knew that Eva was not like other mages. Her special magic, which revolved around barriers, allowed her to fight monsters of a higher rank than her. Elena only chose an early D Rank to disy a perfect performance, but Eva was just here to defeat the beast. It was a simr beast to the one Elena had hunted. Eva raised her hand as the beast immediately rushed at her. "Barrier Magic: des," Eva chanted the spell while a big barrier appeared between the beast and her, stopping it from moving further. And then, a set of invisible des appeared around her that only she could control. "Die," Eva focused on the small but powerful des that appeared from constructing small barriers. It cut the beast multiple times, as Eva made two walls like a barrier and trapped it in its ce. Right now, she was fighting alone, so she didn''t have to consider others and could freely use her magic. "It''s done," Eva said as she looked at various des prating the beast''s skin. She took a deep breath as she had used a lot of mana to care for the beast of a higher rank than her. Her performance shocked many people, but most were just too astonished to see her special barrier magic. ''We can''t see the barriers she makes,'' some of the students thought as they witnessed the might of the genius prodigy of the Williams family. After talking to Elsa, Eva returned to her seat, where Elena high-fived her and congratted her on her victory. As both of them wereughing, the next name was called, and it was the Princess of Halcyon. "Lishia Halcyon, you are next," Arman said as he looked at the ck-haired girl with golden eyes. Chapter 232 Difference Lishia stood up, drawing many eyes as she approached Elsa. "I will also choose Early D Rank," Lishia decided, picking a monster simr to Elena''s. She was the Rank 5 student, above Elena, who was Rank 6. Up until now, aside from Eva, none of the students hade close to Elena, so many were expecting something interesting. "Let''s see the famous Princess of Halycon," Elena said, staring at the screen. Eva nced at Elena''s face and merely shook her head. She knew that Elena took great pride in her mage abilities and aspired to be an exemry mage. Elena watched as Lishia stood before a giant monster, massive in both body and arms. But the monstercked eyes. Instead, it had extraordinarilyrge ears and a keen sense of awareness, sensing Lishia the moment she entered the room. "VAAAAARGHHH," the monster bellowed, moving in Lishia''s direction. "Mana Barrier," Lishia deployed a protective barrier around herself while simultaneously casting another spell. "Firestorm," Lishia summoned a storm of fire, a Tier 2 spell. Her spell usage was on par with Elena, and her calmness in the face of a massive monster was admirable. Elsa smiled as she observed the Princess of Halycon effortlessly controlling the mes while chanting another spell. Lishia had affinities with Fire and ck Elements. Seeing her control over the Fire Element, Elsa was also impressed. The Firestorm Lishia employed was among the more difficult Tier 2 spells, in terms of a Mage''s control over it. While anyone could cast it, controlling the me in such a precise manner was quite impressive. "Shadow Pierce," Lishia cast, and a sharp pole emerged from the monster''s shadow, piercing its heart and killing it. Upon confirming the beast''s death, Lishia turned towards the teleportation gate to exit the room. p p Numerous students apuded Lishia''s performance, and Elsa offered her congrattions as well. Lishia returned to her seat, and the test resumed. One by one, students descended to face a monster. "Nothing too special about them," Armanmented, grading the student who had just returned, his hands trembling. The choice of monsters and beasts with high bloodlust was intentional, meant to provoke fear among the students. Oveing such fear and hesitation was a must for a hunter. "Amelia Greville," Arman announced the next name. Elena and Eva turned their gaze to Amelia, who walked down to the center and chose a monster for herself. Asher watched Amelia, who chose an E+ Rank Monster. She was currently at E+ Rank but was on the verge of advancing to D- Rank. Currently, due to Asher''s intervention, the Kalvas G was postponed and the Mid-Term examination was conducted two months earlier than in his previous life. Usually, the World Academy would dy the Mid-Term examination to ensure it didn''t coincide with the start of the Kalvas G. "Go ahead," Elsa told Amelia, who then entered the room. Elsa observed Amelia, who had a rare talent. She was an Augmenter, not a normal mage. This meant she was one of the few who could cast spells that amplified the strength of their allies. Augmenters were highly coveted in any Hunter teams as they were the most desirable support one could ask for. Asher noticed Amelia begin to chant augmenting spells on herself, significantly increasing her power. Her crimson red eyes focused on the Chained Monster in front of her, a creature with multiple horns and eyes locked onto their prey. The monster became agitated as it sensed Amelia''s mana, and it dashed towards her. "Crescent Strike of the Wind," Amelia chanted, silently casting augmentation magic on herself. Upon finishing her chant, a wind de appeared and decapitated the monster in an instant. Maintaining herposure, she turned to exit the teleportation gate. Internally, however, she was pleased with the results. Despite their supportive role, Augmenters were far from weak. "Good job, Amelia," Elsa congratted Amelia, who acknowledged her with a nod. "You can go back," Elsa instructed as she looked at Arman, who had finished writing Amelia''s score. With not many students left, the next one Arman called was Alyssa, who was sitting a bit distant from Asher. She navigated her wheelchair to the center and looked at Elsa. "So, what monster do you want to choose?" Elsa offered Alyssa multiple options. "I will choose a Mid D Rank beast," Alyssa replied, meeting Elsa''s gaze. "Are you sure?" Elsa asked again. Elsa sensed that Alyssa was nearing Mid D Rank, which showcased her talent. However, she also knew that all of it might be in vain as Alyssa wasn''t cut out for the lofty ambitions many Hunters possessed. Merely looking at Alyssa''s condition, one might question her capability to fight. "Yes," Alyssa responded, her dull eyes fixed on Elsa. "Okay, you can enter," Elsa permitted, tapping her ID Bracelet. The teleportation gate lit up, and Alyssa entered the room. Before her stood a Mid D Rank beast. The beast''s eyes gleamed as it eyed Alyssa, who was hovering in the air. "Can she even beat that?" one of the boys asked. "Let''s hope she fails; nobody wants to see her win," one of them replied with a look of irritation. Alyssa regarded the beast, which was pacing its territory, ready to attack her. It was a cautious beast, which made it even harder to kill. But not for Alyssa. ''This much should be enough,'' Alyssa thought, ring her mana, which alerted the beast. "GROWWL," the beast growled, trying to leap at her. Asher watched Alyssa, knowing that in her current state, she could defeat a C- Rank Monster. "Halt," Alyssa murmured, raising her hands. "Wait, why did the beast stop?" Some students watching the screen voiced their confusion. However, Elsa and the other professors and staff guessed that Alyssa had employed her gravity magic to freeze the beast in ce. Halting a Mid D Rank beast while being a D- Rank was noteworthy. "Descend of Ice Lance," Alyssabined her two spells to create new Ice Spears which, aided by the heavy gravity surrounding the beast, fell and killed it. Many students silently watched the screen, but no one apuded. They were surprised to see Alyssa easily kill a Mid D Rank beast, one that no one had dared to challenge until now. But unlike the previous students, none of them apuded after her performance. Elsa noticed this, as did the other two professors, but they couldn''tpel the students to cheer for someone they disliked. Alyssa''s situation wasplicated enough that even the professors didn''t want to get involved. Unsurprisingly, Alyssa hadn''t expected any cheering directed at her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Elena and Eva watching her. But she didn''t react to them. She was careful not to appear too strong but she didn''t wanted to lose to others as well. Alyssa used her wheelchair to return to her spot, which was mostly empty as no one was sitting around her. Elsa continued calling the remaining students to choose what monsters they wanted to fight against. "Die," one boy shouted, using almost all his mana to kill the beast. "Why is it so hard?" another girl reacted simrly. Not all of them were having an easy time defeating the monsters. Then there was Gavin, who didn''t perform too well, especially when he noticed Asher''s gaze on him. "Last one, huh?" Elsa said, looking at the list of students who were left. "Asher Greville, it''s now your turn," Elsa called out. Asher rose from his seat and walked forward, standing before Elsa. "Now, choose the monster you wish to fight," Elsa said as she looked at Asher. Chapter 233 A Better Mage? Asher looked at the various D+ Rank Monsters listed on the hologram that Elsa had shown him. "I will choose a Mid C Rank Monster," Asher dered, looking at Elsa. "C Rank?" Professor Dahlia spoke up. "Is that a problem?" Asher inquired, turning his gaze to Professor Dahlia. "Remember, although we consider the ranks of the monsters, if you fail to kill it, you won''t score well on this test," Dahlia rified. It wouldn''t matter if Asher chose a C Rank Monster if he couldn''t defeat it. "It''s fine," Asher replied, returning his attention to Elsa. "Sigh, do as you wish," Elsa retorted, adjusting the list and selecting the monsters designated for Second Year Students. "You may enter now," Elsa directed as she adjusted the coordinates to the room where a Mid C Rank Monster was held. "C Rank?" "Is he really challenging a C Rank Monster?" "But he did defeat ke Cranston," "He was using a sword back then," "Yeah, do you think C Rank Monsters are a joke?" All the students began whispering among themselves. The purpose of this test was to gauge the student''s progress as mages. However, every time Asher fought someone, he always used a sword. "Even with a sword, this is a fight against a monster, not a spar," Elena remarked, peering at the screen. A massive monster, chained to the wall with threerge horns and ws at the ends of its hands, came into view. Seeing the size of the Monster, they could gauge how powerful it was. "He''s overestimating himself when he isn''t even a mage," Elenamented, visibly annoyed. She felt her pride had been wounded when Asher chose the Mage Course over Sword Arts. It was clear that many, including her, felt mocked but could still not outperform Asher in all the sses, fueling their frustration even more. Asher noticed the unrest among the students as he stepped into the teleportation gate. Within seconds, all their thoughts and attention were now focused on him. Upon entering the teleportation gate, he saw a monster half the size of the Boss of a C Rank Dungeon, a Peak C Rank Boss Monster. Unlike thest time he had to use his most potent ability, time dtion wasn''t necessary now. Asher stood with his hands at his sides, and it was obvious that he couldn''t use his sword now. "Let''s try the magic I learned," Asher contemted, visualizing all the spells he had formted in his head. He had requested this Monster because he wanted to test the spells he had learned from the Restricted Section of the Great Library. The Monster was about to roar when it felt a terrifying sensationing from Asher. It was in the middle of charging toward Asher, but it stepped back instead. The Monster''s instinct didn''t register this fear as emanating from Asher but rather from the entity near Asher. [Rifir wishes to devour the Monster] Asher noticed the notification pop up in front of him. "Not now," Asher dismissed it. And the Monster felt the sensation of fear disappear. "Did the monster step back?" one of the students queried. The professors, the staff, and the students were all confused by the Monster''s reaction. But in the next moment, the Monster let out a deafening roar. "VARGHHHHH" The Monster mmed its fist on the ground, its eyes glowing blue. It charged towards Asher, who remained motionless. "What is he trying to do?" one of the staff members inquired. They noticed that Asher wasn''t chanting any spell. Elsa and Dahlia noticed this too, but Arman was scrutinizing Asher closely. As the Monster''s arm extended to seize Asher, ck chains materialized out of thin air, restraining its arm. The Monster realized its hand was trapped and opened its jaws, revealing sharp teeth. But in the next moment, more and more chains appeared, immobilizing the Monsterpletely. "What is that spell?" Elsa asked Arman, who was equally perplexed how a single restricting spell confined a C Rank Monster. "Could it be because he learned from Lady Helena?" Arman spected. Yet, their eyes were glued to Asher, who started approaching the beast. "This should suffice," Asher noted, his mana beginning to re. Suddenly, the Monster started screaming as the chains burrowed into its body. "Is he strangling the monster with a restricting spell?" one student remarked, looking shocked. In a matter of seconds, the C Rank Monster was in, its neck strangled and severed due to the tremendous pressure exerted by Asher''s spell. [Host has used Rank C Shadow Bind] [Host has used Rank C Shadow Control] [Host has gained 1500 EXP] The Monster''s blood sttered, somending on Asher''s face and clothes. The staff around the room were stunned by the sight unfolding before them. "Is that really a first-year student?" one of them questioned as they watched Asher exit through the teleportation gate. "It''s good enough," Asher observed, evaluating the damage his spells had caused after using the method that Lucas had utilized in his previous life. He noted that the destruction he had inflicted was not on the level of what Lucas, a pure mage, could achieve. Lucas''s Bloodline Ability perfectlyplemented his method, making replicating the exact result impossible for anyone other than him. But doing this much was already impressive because Asher didn''t have the same Bloodline ability as Lucas. Elena clenched her fist as she witnessed Asher''s performance. It was challenging to watch a non-mage outperform every single one of them. "Could it be because of the Bloodline ability that all Grevilles have?" Eva wondered aloud. "Perhaps," Elena responded. "Professor Arman, could you replicate something like this?" Elsa queried Arman. "No, I would have to use a higher-tier spell to emte that result," Arman replied truthfully. "He didn''t chant, so it was a Silent Cast as well," Dahliamented as she concluded grading Asher. "Do you think he will disclose the spell he used?" Elsa inquired with a smile. "Ah, probably not," Arman responded, suspecting that Asher was using a spell Helena had taught him. They were unaware, however, that Asher was using different fundamentals in spell construction. He could only achieve this result because he still possessed the Mana Flow Skill, allowing such precise control over mana. Elsa watched Asher emerge into the stadium, half his face smeared with monster blood. The sight of his indifferent crimson-red eyes and blood-covered face made many students uneasy, but they apuded nheless. Unlike Alyssa, whom they could openly mock without repercussions, Asher was an entirely different matter. Seeing his talent, more people wished to curry favor rather than create enmity. "Clean," Dahlia incanted a water-based spell, removing the Monster''s blood from Asher''s body. "Do you mind sharing the spell you used?" Elsa requested, not hiding her intentions. "You can find them in the Restricted Section," Asher responded. "Hmm, are you already delving into those lengthy books?" Elsa asked. "You can go back now," Elsa directed, and Asher returned to sit beside Amelia. "Your performance wasmendable," Amelia said to Asher, her gaze fixed forward. She remained silent after that. Although she felt a touch of difort, acting normally around Asher. "Okay," Asher replied, focusing on the stadium''s center. "And this concludes the test, but we still have one more announcement for all of you," Elsa said, looking at all the students present. "It''s about the final and most important part of the Mid Term Examination," Elsa continued, capturing everyone''s attention. "For most, it will be Dungeon Exploration, but for two teams with Rankers among them, we have chosen a different test," Elsa revealed. "While the other teams will also experience the changes we''ve implemented, these two teams will face a different test to increase the difficulty level. So, prepare ordingly," Elsa concluded without providing further information, leaving many in suspense. "We can''t really tell you more than this, so make sure you ry this information to your teammates and friends," Elsa said. Chapter 234 Gather Your Team Everyone began standing up, and Asher and Amelia did as well. "You can go back. I''m going to train with Damian," Amelia said, turning to leave. Asher headed towards the exit as well, but they each took a different path. Amelia was on her way to meet Damian on the Ground Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm, and she was thinking about Alyssa''s performance. "She is strong," Amelia muttered. Of everyone present there, only Amelia''s mind lingered on Alyssa''s performance. The reason for this was their team meeting, where Alyssa had also been present. Throughout the entire meeting, Alyssa had barely responded to anyone. Most of the time, it was Venessa who asked her things. Back then, Amelia had thought that perhaps it was Alyssa''s background or her scars that made her behave in such a manner. But she hadn''t thought that Alyssa was that strong. "Her elementalbination is powerful," Amelia muttered. She remembered asking what elements Alyssa feltfortable using. Alyssa''s response was just Ice Element and Gravity Magic, which surprised others. Most people with a Space Element affinity would often choose to learn other elements instead. This caused Amelia to be a bit skeptical about Alyssa''s potential. "It''s only until this exam, so it will be fine," Amelia recalled what Sylvie had told her when they arrived at the World Academy. "Make sure that Asher stays away from that girl," Sylvie instructed Amelia. "But Mom, why do you think he will listen to me? You should ask Damian instead," Amelia retorted, hugging her pillow. It was nighttime, and Sylvie was spending some time with Amelia, who would soon depart for the World Academy. Unlike Asher, she hadn''t seen her daughter much as Amelia was studying outside of Somaria. "I asked him first, before you," Sylvie said, struggling to hold back herughter. "Mom, don''t make fun of me," Amelia eximed, throwing her pillow. "Okay, sweetie. But listen, I don''t want any harm toe to your reputations, okay?" Sylvie said as she used her mana to ce the pillow back on the bed. They talked a lot more, and Sylvie didn''t bring up that topic again. "Yeah, it''s better to have her on our team," Amelia muttered, remembering the way Alyssa fought in the Representative Tournament. Alyssa didn''t care about her own well-being, overusing her mana despite having a weak body. There was a reason most students, even seniors, didn''t challenge Alyssa to a duel. Many people began calling her crazy due to her fighting style. They didn''t want to spar or duel with such a person. "I should train harder," Amelia said to herself. She felt that her progress had slowed down slightly. This insecurity arose from the monstrous talent that Asher exhibited. The rankings of everyone besides the top 3 were quite close, but the difference of all the rankers from the Rank 1 was huge. This was thest test before the final part of the Mid-Term Examination, and many students were training intensively for it. A simr atmosphere pervaded all three years, except for the Fourth Year, which didn''t have any sort of examination. Apart from the Final Exam, they had no exams until the end of the year. Asher was on his way to the Great Library to learn more about other spells that could assist him. Originally, he had nned to use this time to enhance his swordsmanship, but seeing that his progress was advancing with his increased knowledge about Mage Art, he decided to spend his time in the library. Since the month was about to end, it made more sense for him to spend his time reading those books. Upon entering the Great Library, he noticed that it wasn''t crowded with students. Most of them were busy training for the exams. Even Mage course students would spend this time training, as learning from books was a lengthy process. Not everyone was like Asher, capable of reading a book and understanding the meaning and thoughts behind it. And if they did, they needed to spend a significant amount of time restructuring the spell to suit them. "You''re back again?" The old man outside the restricted section asked. "Is there a problem?" Asher asked. "Not really, but there will be a few professors inside, so you might run into them," he reminded Asher, as this was a time when most professors had some extra time to continue their research. "I don''t mind," Asher replied as he went inside. The section he was intending to visit probably wouldn''t have any professors in it anyway. He nned to read some books in the Space Element Section of the Restricted Area of the Great Library. This was the only ce that housed spells deemed too dangerous or forbidden because they could harm the caster. However, considering that some professors might want to research them, the World Academy ced such books in the Restricted Section. Upon entering the Space Element section, Asher noticed that there weren''t many books there. Unlike the previous sections he visited, this one didn''t have half the number of books. "I don''t need to read this," Asher noted, seeing that many books were about the principles of the teleportation gate. He didn''t want to read those books. "This should be fine for now," Asher decided, picking up two books rted to his area of interest. Though his movement art was quite fast, Asher wanted to learn the Tier 2 Blink Spell to expand hisbat abilities. "I should find that spell in these books," Asher mused, ncing at the titles of the books. Rather than books, they were stored research papers from a deceased Space Element Mage who had researched these spells. Most of the work present here was like these two books. Asher turned the pages, going through the theories and spells mentioned in the books. Each of those spells wasplex, and even the author mentioned how harmful using them could be. Despite knowing that they would die in the process of their research, Space Mages still proceeded. [Host''s Magic Mastery is increasing] A single notification popped up as Asher continued reading through the pages for hours on end. After 30 hours, Asher was still engrossed in those two books. In his mind, he was reconstructing those spells to suit him. But the mana usage of those spells was quite high. Even for the current him, executing more than ten Tier 2 Blink Spells would have cost more than half of his mana. This was also considering that his Sword Art required a significant amount of mana as well, as did his aura. Ping! Asher stopped reading as he received a notification on his ID Bracelet. "This should be enough," Asher said, closing the books and standing up. Walking back to the ce from where he had picked the books, he checked his ID Bracelet for any additional notifications. Aside from frequent messages from Damian, he hadn''t received any news from Tom in the past couple of days. "They should have started the mission," Asher recalled Tom''sst message. Asher decided to leave the Great Library and return to the Ranker''s Dorm. He had studied enough so he was nning to spend the rest of his time training his mana. Chapter 235 Special Examination Multiple groups of students, d in armor and holding their weapon of choice, stood before the teleportation gate. "Woah, look at them," one guy said, capturing the attention of many students. "So all these Rankers are on one team, I envy them," another guy said. Just then, Kevin''s team was entering. Everyone on the team was a Ranker, with the exception of Ria Adler. Their allure attracted considerable attention from the students. However, seeing theirpetition, some students grew even more anxious. This examination was designed to grade the Hunter Teams. Some of them were really striving to score well, and having half the Rankers on one team stirred a bit of envy. Usually, only two or at most three Rankers would be on a team, as previous mid-terms took ce in teams of 4. But this time, World Academy increased the team limit from 4 to 10. This led some students to lose hope, as they stood no chance of winning against the two teamsprising all the Rankers. Reliance on others'' abilities to win wasn''t ideal, but they couldn''t help feeling that the top 2 spots were already decided. "The professors aren''t here yet?" Ria asked, scanning the area. It was 7 A.M., and all the first-year students were instructed to assemble before this time. But only students had gathered here with their teams. Around 130-140 teams had formed. Almost all the teams were bnced, except for a few ready for the increased difficulty of having top-ranking students on their teams. "Attention Students, we''ll start soon, so if your teammate hasn''t arrived yet, gather them immediately," a professor announced. Some people began using their ID Bracelets to hastily call their tardy teammates. At another portal gate, Asher''s team stood, with Dahlia ensuring that everyone on her given list was present. "It was true, that girl is indeed on their team," some students whispered among themselves. Seeing Alyssa confirmed the rumors, but no one dared to speak too loudly. "But did he really outperform all the mages?" one guy asked his mage teammate. "Yeah, and it was a C Rank Monster as well," his teammate replied with a nod. "But isn''t he a swordsman?" a girl in their team asked. "Yeah, he was supposed to be a sword user, but I don''t even know at this point," their team leader replied. Each Hunter team had a team leader responsible for guiding them in the test and managing the team. "Let''s just hope we don''t have to face them," he said. "I don''t think we''ll directlypete with other teams, so we''ll be fine," the girl replied. "Yeah, she''s right, some of the professors hinted that it''ll be a dungeon-based test," the mage of their team chimed in. "Then ourposition should work," the team leader responded. Most Hunter Teams adhered to the pattern of having a few mages and weapon users for protection. Each team consisted of 6-8 students, with some having even 9 or 10, but most didn''t. Having too many people on their teams meant that their grades would decrease, so most teams opted not to have 9 or 10 students. "Listen carefully, apart from this team, all of you will bepeting in the dungeons we have prepared for you," Dahlia announced, pointing to Asher''s team. "We''ll take you to the dungeons, and you have seven days to clear them. If you can''t do it, you will fail this exam," Dahlia''s words made some students nervous. "So there will be no one following us likest time," one of them muttered. Everyone understood that this time they wouldn''t receive any external help. But Dahlia didn''t mention that two instructors were told to go inside the dungeon much earlier than the students to prevent the situation that urred with Asher and Alyssa. Farnus didn''t want to take any chances now, so he personally chose all of them, who were A Rank Hunters that could ensure the safety of the students while maintaining the fairness of the test. "So we''re not going with them?" Damian asked, raising his hand. Dahlia looked at Asher''s team. "No, I''ll take you to the ce where your test will be held separately," Dahlia said. "Due to the fact that two teams have all the Rankers, we''ve given them a much higher difficulty than all of you," Dahlia mentioned to all the students, in case anyone thought it was unfair that they were not going inside a dungeon. "What kind of test will they go through?" Some students wondered, whispering among themselves. "Everyone, exit through that portal in the order your team is called," Dahliamanded, eager not to waste time on trivial matters. Teams began moving towards the portal, entering as their names were called. "As for you guys, we''ve prepared a Maze Type Dungeon with special traps. You need topete with the other team traversing the same dungeon," Dahlia said, approaching where Asher and his team stood. "Maze Dungeon?" Venessa asked, puzzled. "It''s a dungeon with multiple starting points," Amelia replied, having heard about it. "Exactly, consider it as a race, but we''ve altered the structure of the dungeon by cing monsters that we want you topete against," Dahlia exined. "Also, there will be numerous traps we''ve ced to slow you down," Dahlia added. "So what''s the winning condition?" Asher asked. "You need to reach the center where there will be two medallions. Take one and exit the dungeon, then race against the other team to reach the final destination and ce the medallion on the final spot," Dahlia exined. "We''ve anticipated that both your teams will ce in the top 2 ranks, so we''ll determine the positions with this test," Dahlia mentioned, not fully exining the difficulties they would face. Asher realized they intended for them topete with Kevin Whiteheart''s team, but this still didn''t make sense as even in a race, Asher could help them win by clearing all the monsters himself. "Are the monsters we''ll face different?" Asher asked. Dahlia raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised that Asher had already grasped the structure of the exam. "Yes, but it''s done to ensure that you guys take this test as a team," Dahlia replied. ''She didn''t mention the traps,'' Asher thought to himself. He figured that the traps they would encounter would also differ from what Kevin''s team would face. The fact that they''d ced external monsters indicated they''d carefully selected monsters that would force them to act as a team. The same was true for Kevin''s team, who were receiving a simr exnation from another professor. Maze Type Dungeons were different from regr dungeons; the center of the dungeon was always the Boss Room, and every 5 minutes, the starting point would shift to one of the four edges. This was the basic rule followed in every Maze Type Dungeon. "Is the medallion apass?" Asher asked one final question. Dahlia smiled, realizing Asher understood the true nature of the test. It didn''t matter if they reached the center first; the real test was outside the dungeon. "Yes, and Professor Neyman is present there, so he''ll exin the rules to you guys there. Now, enter the portal," Dahlia instructed, ncing behind. All the teams had entered, so the ce had be empty. "Now, good luck," Dahlia said. Asher turned towards the portal, while the rest of the team remained silent. "So what should we do?" Damian asked. "Should we change our formation?" He asked Asher, who was leading them. Their previous formation was designed to clear a dungeon by killing monsters, but now the test was a bit different. "No, we''ll follow the same formation," Asher replied, "Well, if you say so," Damian said, surprising the whole team with his casual interaction with Asher. Even Sam was taken aback like the others on their team, seeing Damian talk so naturally with Asher. Only Amelia, who had known Damian from a young age, was aware that he was the only one who could talk to Asher so casually without feeling awkward. Most people, including Sam and Venessa, found it difficult to interact with Asher, who always carried an indifferent look on his face. It was hard to know what he was thinking while his crimson red eyes stared at you. This made most people avoid engaging in conversation with Asher since they couldn''t discern his thoughts, given hisck of facial reactions. Chapter 236 Entering The Maze Dungeon As they all arrived on the other side, they were greeted with a sight of a mountainous path inside arge forest. "Is this Fashia?" Amelia asked, noticing the environment around them. "Yes, wee to Fashia," Professor Neyman said, as Amelia turned to see a huge camp where the people of the World Academy were staying. "And this is your test site," Neyman said, signaling a guy toe near him. "This man will take you to the dungeon entrance, but before that, I need to exin the rules of this test," Neyman said with a smile on his face. "As you know, the dungeon you will be entering will be a Maze Type Dungeon," Neyman exined, "So both the teams are supposed to enter at an interval of 5 minutes each." This was crucial because the dungeon''s starting point would change every five minutes. Although the dungeon had four such starting points, only two teams werepeting, so they didn''t need to wait any longer than 5 minutes. "The rules of this test are simple: don''t execute any lethal attacks on the opposing team," Neyman cautioned. "You can fight them at any point in the test, but don''t take the fight too far," he added, ensuring everyone understood his point. "You can use all sorts of tricks, but none of you can leave the dungeon before you secure the Medallion, which will be present in the Boss Room," Neyman exined. "Can we use our artifacts?" Damian asked, since his shield was an artifact. "Yes, artifacts are allowed," Neyman replied. "Remember, this is a test, so make sure to work as a team," Neyman advised. "We will monitor all of your performances and grade you ordingly," he added. "Wait, wouldn''t the team that enters first have an advantage over the team that goes in second?" Sam queried. "Don''t worry, we will give you tracking rings to ensure something like that doesn''t happen," Neyman assured him. "Any more questions?" Neyman asked. They all shook their heads in response. "Well, this old man will go and rest. Best of luck to you guys," Neyman said as he turned to leave. "Follow me, I will take you to the dungeon," the staff member stepped forward after Neyman ended his conversation. On their way, except for Asher and Alyssa, all of them were observing the ce they were in. Although they were told it was Fashia, they didn''t know where in Fashia they were, and the course of the race could be affected by that information. "I hope we''re not in the South of Fashia," Sam expressed with a frown. "Why south?" Venessa asked. "Although there aren''t any deserts in the south of Fashia, if this is the south, we need to be careful about the nts around us," Damian exined. "Some of them are very poisonous, and the terrains house many small beasts that share these characteristics as well." Damian was aware of this because his brother Nate would always be engrossed in reading books that mentioned such things. By spending time with Nate in Soran, he had heard about these aspects numerous times. As they were following the staff member, Asher was walking at the end, with Alyssa ahead of him, using her wheelchair to navigate. The path to the dungeon had already been cleared by the World Academy, so Alyssa didn''t have to use her magic to float. After a few minutes, they arrived in front of arge Blue Gate Dungeon, where Kevin and his team were already waiting. "Oh, they arrived before us," Damian remarked, observing Kevin''s team. The tension in the air thickened when Kevin noticed Damian''s mocking smirk. Sam observed Damian''s behavior and began to understand the kind of person Damian Seymour was. Damian was always nice with Asher and Amelia, but most people who interacted with him found him infuriating. ''Is he trying to provoke them?'' Sam wondered. Although Damian was essentially good-natured, his mischievous streak often led others to believe he wasn''t that decent. However, his reputation was still better than Asher''s, who was avoided by almost every student in the World Academy. Even senior-year students didn''t want to get involved with him. "Okay, everyone is gathered here," Xander said, scanning the crowd. "I assume that you all already know the rules of this test," he continued. "This is a C Rank Dungeon, but we have ced the monsters of our choice with various traps inside, so don''t try to predict the monsters based on the environment inside the dungeon," Xander warned. "Both team leaders, step forward," Xandermanded as Kevin and Asher walked to the front. They stood facing each other. "Kevin Whiteheart''s team will go first in 20 seconds from now," Xander dered, ncing at the timer on his wrist. "Let''s go," Elenamanded, striding towards the entrance of the dungeon. Eva followed her, while Ria cast a re at Asher''s team. Matthew was the only one who didn''t care about such theatrics. He merely needed to follow Leonard''s orders and give his best to ensure their team won. He examined the amount of artifacts their team had and concluded that their chances of winning had significantly increased. Apart from Eva, who had already received the artifact that her brother Reece had left for her, everyone was given artifacts from Kevin''s sister, Raelyn Whiteheart. The spear that Kevin was holding was the same one he had won at the auction. Matthew didn''t know about Asher and his team, but he knew that Sam was only using a Rank C Spear, which he had purchased recently, and no other artifact. "Damn, they''re trying so hard to win," Damian said in a voice loud enough to carry. "Look at all those rings," he added in a mocking tone. Amelia understood that Damian was trying to rile up their emotions before the match began, but she shook her head. ''He is enjoying this too much,'' Amelia thought to herself. Though she was confident, she didn''t want to underestimate the others before securing a win. Elena was about to retort, but they needed to enter the dungeon now. "Remember, you cannot move until the ring we gave you lights up," Xander instructed as he watched Kevin''s team enter the dungeon. Kevin entered the dungeon, but he couldn''t help but feel angry at Damian''s mocking stare. "They will regret their words," Kevin muttered as he turned back to look at his team. His confidence came from the fact that more than half of his team had already reached D Rank. Elena, Lishia, and Matthew had reached D Rank, with Kevin being the first to achieve it on his team. "So, are we following the same n?" Lishia asked, looking at Eva. "Yeah, this is a race, so we just need to reach the final position first. It doesn''t matter how," Eva replied with a smile. They started discussing their strategy while outside the dungeon, Asher and his team were still waiting for their turn to enter. Xander was talking with one of the instructors about the safety of the exam. This time, they had taken extra steps to ensure the exams urred safely, without any incidents. They were unaware, but Xander and Neyman had control over all areas within a 20 km radius of this dungeon, and security runes were ced to alert them if anything went awry. The rumors about Zephyr had also reached the World Academy, but they didn''t care much about it as the Elite families would handle it themselves. "It''s time," Xander told Asher. "Enter with your team," hemanded as Asher stepped towards the dungeon entrance. The rest of them followed, casually strolling towards the dungeon gate. "The moment you enter, the test will begin, so don''t waste any time or you will be left behind," Xander cautioned, watching as Asher and his team entered the dungeon. Xander floated above the ground, observing the course from a higher vantage point. He decided to wait there and supervise the test himself. He didn''t need to worry about what was happening inside the dungeon as four professors were already there, monitoring the activities of the two teams. Communicating with the outside world from inside the dungeon was impossible, with only a few artifacts possessing such capabilities. So, four professors were sent inside the dungeon a lot earlier than the two teams, and they were going to grade the teams based on their performances. Inside the dungeon, "Professor Neyman worked hard for this," Armanmented, looking at the projection in front of him. Neyman used various runes and connected them in a way that allowed all the professors to monitor the teams simultaneously. "Don''t lose focus," Elsa reminded Arman. "But aren''t these traps too difficult for the first-years?" another professor asked. "Well, given the talents we''re dealing with, I think it''s fine," a fourth professor replied. As the four professors conversed, Asher moved inside the straight path that led them deeper into the dungeon. ''So they are monitoring us,'' Asher noticed various runes, thanks to his incredibly high mana sense. ''Hungry....'' A voice echoed in Asher''s head. ''Don''t worry. You will get your food,'' Asher mentally replied. It was the voice of Rifir. He had already confirmed that Rifir would bepletely invisible if he used his Perfect Conceal ability, and he nned to use this dungeon to feed his beast. Chapter 237 Who Will Reach The Boss Room First? "Why is the lighting here so dim?" Venessained as she stepped on a dead monster''s skull. "It shouldn''t be like this originally," Sam replied. "Maintain the formation, and stay behind me," Asher said, interrupting their conversation. He didn''t want them to step out of line and stumble onto some rune formation that would trigger a trap. "Hmm, these guys are doing well for first years," the fourth Professor said as he watched both teams. In Kevin''s team, the one leading was Elena, followed closely by Kevin. Although notparable to the Greville, the Rothschild''s Bloodline ability made it easier for their descendants to umte and ept mana in their bodies. It was a bloodline that affected their affinities with mana instead of granting them control over mana. The Greville family was unique in having a bloodline that allowed a person to control mana as they wished. And due to this, Elena had the highest mana sensepared to the whole team. Kevin was the only person who couldpete with her in terms of Mana sense, but it required him to use his lightning element. So, instead of wasting his energy, Elena suggested she take the lead. The reason Asher and Elena were leading their teams was to avoid Rune Formations set in the Dungeon. Unlike monsters, they didn''t know what the rune formations would do to them. In this race, they needed to be more aware of the runes than the monsters they would face. And just like that, Asher''s team began moving inside the Dungeon. But they were maintaining their pace and not rushing toward the center. "Are you okay?" Venessa whispered to Alyssa. "Yeah," Alyssa replied as she kept floating in the air. If her body had not been healed, Alyssa could only have maintained floating in the air for an hour, making her the worst teammate in Dungeon Exploration. But currently, her body was healed, so she could maintain floating for 6-7 hours. The only reason to stop would be the intense headache she would get as a side effect of using Gravity magic. ''I can''t sense all the runes,'' Asher spread his mana sense to cover a lot of distance ahead of them. ''Did he do this knowing I am a Greville,'' Asher thought. "Stop for a second," Asher raised his hand as everyone halted. "Did something happen?" Damian asked, standing in the middle. Their formation was Asher and Sam at the front, while Amelia and Alyssa were in the center, with Venessa holding the rear. "I need to check something," Asher picked up a bone of a dead monster that was nearby. "Is something wrong with this monster?" Sam asked. "Aren''t these the monsters that World Academy''s Hunters hunted to clear this dungeon," Damian said. "No," Asher replied. There was no reason for the people who cleared this Dungeon to leave the monsters nearby like this. Every monster was a valuable resource despite the abundance of Dungeons present in this world. It wouldn''t make sense that they would leave a dead monster corpse here. "This monster doesn''t belong to this Dungeon," Asher said, his eyes staring further down the dimly lit path. "Really?" Amelia asked as she looked at the few dead monsters around them. Suddenly a thought clicked in her head. "Are these the monsters that they ced inside the Dungeon?" Amelia asked. "But why are they dead?" Damian asked. "Fireball," Asher summoned a ball of fire as he lit up their surroundings even more. Currently, Amelia was casting the light ahead of them, but Asher''s fireball illuminated the area even more. "Are these burn marks?" Amelia noticed the ck stain on the walls. "These are the traps from the Rune Formations," Asher replied with an indifferent look. "What?!" Damian and Sam eximed at the same time. "You mean.." Damian began, both he and Sam looking ahead into the Dungeon with nervous expressions. "Isn''t that too much for a trap, though?" Damian said, looking at the monster''s corpse. "This doesn''t make sense," Amelia spoke out. "Monsters would sense such a formation easily," she said, bringing their attention to a key piece of information they had forgotten. It was established that monsters could sense the mana from the runes, so they could actively avoid traps made from runes. This was also one of the reasons that made a Runemaster much weaker inbat. Even if they made a trap, the monster would sense that and avoid it. "Not unless they mask the Rune formation with another," Asher said as he concentrated on his mana sense. Suddenly mana red around his eyes, making his crimson-red eyes glow. Alyssa could sense Asher''s mana. ''Don''t they notice it?'' she wondered as she saw that no one other than her reacted to Asher''s mana sense. From the moment her body was healed, her mana sensitivity had increased significantly. She was even able to sense the minute differences in mana when people around her rank used spells. "Did they figure it out so early?" Arman said as he looked at Asher''s team. It was one of the clues they had purposely set, and they wanted to see if the students were aware of it. "Well, it''s not like Professor Neyman ced any lethal traps for them," Elsa replied. "But they would be out of the race if they get caught in those traps," the third Professor said. "That''s on them. We can always treat them back to their best conditions," the fourth Professorughed. ''These guys,'' Arman thought. Both of them were respected professors who were three-star, just like him and Elsa. But the difference was that they only taught third and fourth-year students. They were present here only to grade the two teams as this kind of test was different from what World Academy did before. ''But he is sharp,'' Arman noticed that Asher was incredibly sharp for someone so strong. It was often seen that those gifted in talents as a hunter often neglected such crucial details. It was the experience they gained in theirter years that helped them gain the eyes to notice such small details. "Well, the first step to being a good Hunter is studying your environment to gather knowledge about the enemies even before you face them," the fourth Professorughed as he said this. "Let''s focus on the test," Arman reminded both of the old men to concentrate on the test. "What do you mean by ''mask''?" Damian asked as he crouched to touch the bones of the monster. Asher''s eyes moved around as he sensed a faint feeling of mana around the corner of the wall they were about to pass through. He immediately threw the bone toward the wall, creating enough pressure to activate a rune hidden behind it. BOOM! An explosion urred in front of them as Amelia instantly cast a mana barrier to protect them from the mes. "Warn us before doing something like this," Amelia said as she looked at Asher. Asher didn''t look back, but he started walking toward the spot where the explosion had urred. Sam, who was beside Asher, had just witnessed an explosion happen in front of him. If not for Amelia''s mana barrier, he would have had to use his aura to defend himself at thest second. Even then, he was sure that due to hisck of awareness, he would have gotten a few burns. ''This would have been enough to stop my mana sense if it wasn''t Rank A,'' Asher thought as he looked at the masking runes that were visible to him. It was something that only high-level Runemasters could do, but masking the runes was indeed possible. Although it reduced the effect of the original rune that was masked, it was mainly used for security measures against Hunters below Rank A. ''It will be difficult to spot them in the middle of a fight,'' Asher could see that Neyman had used the special walls of this Dungeon to increase the masking of the runes. These walls were special as they would slowly absorb the mana around them, making the rune hidden behind the wall. On top of that, it was masked, so unless the wall was impacted by enough pressure, the runes would not activate. "Let''s go," Asher said as he looked behind him. But as they were moving through the narrow, dim path, Asher could sense the presence of many Rank D monsters that were ahead of them. "Get ready to fight," Asher told them as he red his mana. As he said that, all of them became alert as their rxed eyes turned sharp. As they moved through the path, they arrived at an open area that was quiterge. Looking around, they saw various D Rank Monsters. "Fire Wolves?" Amelia recognized the beasts. These were special wolf monsters that had a blue me around their tails, and their eyes shone blue in the dim lighting. "You guys fight them," Asher said as he looked at another couple of D Rank monsters lurking in the Dungeon''s shadows. ''Don''t show your presence,'' Asher reminded his beast. He had noticed itst time, but his strange beast somehow made a C Rank Monster step back in fear. At the time, it happened because Rifir faintly showed his presence as it looked at the Mid C Rank monster as its food. But this time, he didn''t want the monsters to run away. As it would only waste their time if the monsters avoided them. Chapter 238 Towards The Next Challenge "Okay," Damian replied as he raised his shield. "There are a total of 10 Fire Wolves," Sam alerted them as he noticed the enraged wolves looking at them as they growled. He didn''t know why Asher had told them to deal with the Fire Wolves alone, but he knew that he needed to kill enough monsters to increase his individual scores. That was what was on everyone''s mind. Asher had dashed away using his movement technique, but the wolves ignored him, as their attention was focused on therge group of humans before them. Meanwhile, Kevin''s team also encountered their first monster, but it was only 7 Fire Wolves with no other monsters present. It was clear that the difficulty level for Asher and Kevin''s team was different, and it had been arranged to make the Dungeon equally challenging for both of them. "I will handle the Fire Wolves," Kevin said as he raised his spear. Having reached D- Rank, he wanted to test his strength against a monster, so he took the lead. Matthew also raised his sword, but, knowing Kevin, he didn''t intervene in the fight. Instead, he stuck to the role of defending the mages from a sudden attack. "Chain of Depth," Lishia used a restricting spell while Eva made a barrier towards their back. Elena used a water spell to amplify the effect of Kevin''s lightning element. In a few minutes, Kevin used his aura to defeat multiple Fire Wolves while Ria and Matthew managed to kill one themselves. ''Should I kill more?'' Matthew wasn''t sure. He could have participated and killed more, but Kevin was the team leader, and if there was one thing that Matthew had learned growing up, it was easy to hurt the egos of those with higher standings in society. Unlike Asher, who had an unapproachable aura, Matthew found people like Elena, Kevin, and Leonard much harder to deal with. Although he was talented enough to be a Rank 4 student, he was still a person with no background. Thest thing he wanted was to make things harder for himself while studying at World Academy. Even right now, his task was to guard Lishia, who had taken on the role of casting restricting spells when they were dealing with monsters, and that''s why he was sticking to his role. But unlike their team, Asher''s team was actively fighting the Fire Wolves as they had 10 to deal with. While Sam and Damian dealt with 5 Fire Wolves, Alyssa dealt with the others alone. "Ice Lance," Alyssa called, floating in the air. "Her abilities are impressive," Sam noticed the Ice Lance falling on one of the Fire Wolves and instantly killing it. He had thought that the only monster on their team was Asher, but it seemed that Alyssa was someone to watch out for as well. Vanessa dashed toward the Wolves that were startled by Alyssa''s attack. But except for one, the Fire Wolves dodged Alyssa''s attack. ''Should I increase the force?'' Alyssa noticed that the Fire Wolves were incredibly agile. But she didn''t want to show too much during this examination. She wasn''t too worried about using her abilities as she knew that there was someone on their team who could easily overshadow her. She looked at Asher, who was walking towards the darker area of the Dungeon, as she noticed a couple of beasts around that direction. She had also sensed the monsters, but it was only after she saw Asher walking in that direction that she realized once again how sharp Asher''s senses were. ''This should be enough,'' Asher noticed the pair of shining blue eyes appearing through the darkness. He had approached the area, and right now, all the Professors were wondering how he was going to deal with the monster ahead of him. Asher took out his sword as he saw a unique type of monstering toward him. A Crystal Leer, a monster that was twice the size of a human with crystal-like armor all over its body. They had holes around their cheeks that were used to create a fog-like mist that disrupted the vision of others. Their eyes werepletely blue as they shined through the darkness they were lurking in. There were 3 Crystal Leers, and they were a monster that was extremely hard to deal with without a team. Due to their crystal-like armor, it was hard to damage them, but their strange ability to create a mist-like fog and trap their prey inside was their main threat. Only they could see inside the Fog, so it was suggested that a group of Crystal Leers should always be fought with a team, not alone if you couldn''t overpower them. "Professor Arman, make sure to help him if things go south," The Fourth Professor said as all of them were watching Asher. Although they found Asher''s approach to this problem wrong, they needed to see if he could handle the situation he had created. Suddenly a fog appeared all around Asher as he saw the Crystal Leers dash toward him. It would be hard for someone to see in that Fog, but he didn''t need to see them. Just by sensing the movement around him, even without his mana sense, Asher could counter all attacks directed at him. But this time, he wanted to use these monsters to feed them to Rifir. And they were perfect as they somewhat interrupted the vision of the Professors. ''Eat the first monster I kill,'' Asher raised his aura as it covered his Sword. But unlikest time, his sword shined as it absorbed the aura of its owner. "VRAAGHH," The sound of the Crystal''s Leers could be heard all around Asher, but he twisted his leg to his right. His sword moved incredibly fast as it sliced through a monster that wasing towards him from the right. As the other two Crystal Leers sensed one of their own had been killed, they stopped attacking Asher immediately. This was another reason why Crystal Leers were difficult for hunters to deal with because they would always try to attack from your blind spots. As Asher killed the first Crystal Leer, small crystals of armor dropped around him. He immediately used Mir Steps to jump out of the Fog, and he could see the two monsters from above. "He''s good," The Third Professor praised Asher, but as their attention was on Asher, they failed to notice the hole that appeared around the chest of the monster. Asher noticed that his snake was feeding on the monster, so he immediately shifted the attention of the Professors that might have been watching him as he used Mir Step in mid-air. One thing that Mir Step required was a tform for Asher to step on, and that seemed impossible until now. But Asher made a ck tform using his Rank C Shadow Control to dash towards the two monsters as his sword impaled through the opened mouth of one of the Crystal Leers. Instead of stopping, Asher looked at the other Crystal Leer as ckish chains appeared out of nowhere, pinning the monster to the ground. Asher used his sword, coating it with his aura, and used Swift Strike to slice the monster in half. The experience he gained was too low because he was already at C- Rank, and the monsters he was fighting were at D+ Rank. And while Asher finished his fight, he looked at his team, who were dealing with thest two wolves. While he moved back, Kevin''s team had already finished defeating thest Fire Wolf, as Eva created a barrier to negate the fire the wolf threw at them. "Let''s go. We should not waste any time," Elena said, looking at Kevin, who removed his spear from the dead wolf. ''He is strong,'' Matthew admitted as he looked at the 5 Fire Wolves that Kevin had defeated. Although Elena and Lishia had assisted him, looking at Kevin''s abilities, Matthew knew that Kevin was capable of killing them on his own as well. "Their team is ahead because of the test''s difficulty for both of them," the Fourth Professor said. "It was something that we decided in the meeting. This way, we can see the potential of both teams," Arman replied to the Fourth Professor. "Hmm, they need to deal with more monsters until they reach the center of the maze," Elsa said as she looked at both teams that had passed through the first part of this Dungeon. In total, there were four parts to this test, and the final part was in the center. They needed to deal with two more challenges that were in store for both teams. [ Rifir has consumed a monster ] [ However, it''s not enough to increase his level, a higher-rank monster is needed ] Asher saw the notifications as he walked towards Damian, who was holding the wolf back while Sam and Venessa were finishing the other. Chapter 239 Rune Traps Overall, the passage is understandable, but there are some minor grammatical errors and redundancies that could be improved for rity and fluency. Here is the proofread version: "DIE!" Sam shouted as he propelled himself towards the Fire Wolf using his mana. His spear prated the D Rank monster''s body, his attack amplified by the use of aura. As Sam turned to observe the fallen wolf, he noticed another, severely wounded but still alive, lunging for his leg with its jaws wide open. "Watch out," Damian shouted. But Venessa, being closer to Sam, acted quickly, shing off the wolf''s head with her sword. "Oh, thanks," Sam said, looking back to see Venessa had saved him from a potentially serious injury. "Don''t lose focus," Venessa warned him, turning towards Alyssa, who had already defeated four wolves single-handedly using her Ice Magic. She hadn''t needed to utilize her Gravity Magic for anything other than levitation. ''My grading will drop because of this mistake,'' Sam thought, turning his attention back to the situation. He had made a mistake intentionally, wanting to avoid the spotlight of the Rankers. Sam didn''t want to draw Jack''s attention if he somehow managed to make it into the Rankers. Everyone knew that the Mid Terms contributed heavily to the rankings, second only to the End Year Exam, which was always a duel. "Wait, what did you fight?" Amelia asked Asher, noticing the spots of blue blood on his armor. "You''ll see them ahead. Let''s go," Asher replied. All of them followed Asher and soon came across several Crystal Leers. "Crystal Leers?" Amelia murmured, shocked. Seeing the three in monsters, everyone turned to look at Asher, except Alyssa, who knew that Asher had defeated even stronger monsters before. ''Did she not know?'' Alyssa looked at Amelia''s expression, puzzled. She had assumed that as his sister, Amelia would have known about Asher''s bloodline ability that allowed him to face a C+ Rank Monster. But she was unaware that it was actually Asher''s Time Dtion skill, not his Bloodline ability, that had aided him. Asher stored the monster''s remains in his spatial ring, not wanting to leave any trace of Rifir. "Be careful from here," Asher warned, sensing an abundance of Rune Traps ahead. "Follow my steps," he instructed, his emotionless gaze fixed forward. They were navigating through the Dungeon, which had begun to widen, but they maintained a straight line to avoid all the rune traps. Kevin''s team, however, got caught in a few traps but managed to escape, thanks to Eva''s barrier. Only Asher had such a high level of mana sense that he was able to dodge all the traps. "How is he avoiding all the traps?" The Third Professor wondered aloud. "Some of them are hidden so perfectly that even I can''t detect them," he admitted. This wasn''t how they had nned the test to unfold. They wanted to assess the teams'' teamwork and their response to unexpected situations. "Why aren''t we encountering any monsters?" Amelia wondered aloud. "Perhaps we''re on the right path," Damian replied. The maze-type Dungeon had many paths, and right now, Asher was leading them down the most difficult but shortest path. His reason was simple: he didn''t want to waste too much time-fighting ordinary monsters. Suddenly, an explosion echoed throughout the Dungeon, causing them all to stop in their tracks. "Did a monster trigger a trap?" Damian spected. Asher extended his mana sense but didn''t detect any monster near the triggered trap. ''Are they increasing the difficulty for us?'' he wondered. "Let''s see how you react to this," The Fourth Professor mused, triggering a trap deliberately. The noise attracted nearby monsters. "We''re about to face a horde of monsters," Asher informed the group, drawing his sword. A group of monsters were racing towards the noise, leaving them with no option but to fight. "We need to pick up the pace," Asher stated, ring his mana. Noticing this, the others did the same. "I''m ready," Damian stepped up to stand just behind Asher, with Sam standing behind him near the mages. "Should I use my spells?" Amelia inquired. "Not on me. Use them on these three," Asher instructed, "And keep using illumination spells." He then propelled forward using his mana. After a minute of running, they arrived at a fork in the path. They could all feel the vibrations through the walls. "How many monsters could cause such vibrations?" Damian wondered aloud, making everyone a bit nervous. ''Are they testing our resolve to fight?'' Asher considered. He could tell that there weren''t enough monsters to cause such vibrations. Instead, it was the work of the runes producing spells that mimicked that effect. "Get ready to fight," Asher instructed, focusing his aura on the edge of his sword. They heard a chorus of monstrous roars in the distance. The anticipation of not knowing what kind of monster they were about to face made them a bit nervous, but they were ready for it. Each of them prepared to attack the moment they saw the monsters. "What kind of beast is that?" Sam asked, confused at the sight of several four-legged beasts with three tails and three eyes charging toward them. Behind the beasts, four massive monsters followed. "Are these wsen Monsters?" Amelia guessed, looking at the three tails and eyes, a characteristic of two types of monsters known to live together. The wsen were therge monsters behind the beasts, which were called Sensips. "Aim for the knees of the big ones. The beasts are vulnerable to fire spells," Amelia shouted, rying their weaknesses. Sam heard her and nced at Damian, who had coated his shield with aura. "I''ll take the lead," Asher said, confusing Damian. With a technique called ''Mir Steps,'' he dashed toward the group of wsen monsters. Seeing Asher, two massive wsen conjured ws made of earth elements on their hands. ''Swift Strike,'' Asher thought, creating another tform in the air with Shadow Control and dashing towards the nearest wsen monster. "Is he really a First Year?" The Third Professor wondered, watching Asher. The monster tried to smash Asher with its hand but was too slow. [ Host has gained 200 Exp ] Asher''s sword cut through the wsen monster, the brown-skinned creature slumping to the ground as its head rolled to the side. "Spiral Lance," Alyssa chanted, using her Ice Element Spell. Multiple spikes of ice emerged from the ground, impaling the monster''s chest from all sides. The monster shrieked in pain. But the Sensips all around them were still a significant problem. Even though Asher was dealing with the wsen monsters, the Sensips themselves were challenging to handle. Their three eyes improved their vision and field of view. "Grant Strength..." Amelia started chanting as Sam and Damian felt a surge in their power. A Sensip lunged at Sam while Damian managed to halt three of them with his shield. "These beasts are so creepy," Sam said, looking around at the three-eyed beasts staring at him. Due to the dim light, they couldn''t ascertain the exact number of dark grey-skinned Sensips. "Move!" Venessa shouted, shing the neck of the Sensip in front of Sam. "I''ll stay in the middle," Sam decided, leaving Venessa near Damian to fight off the Sensips. Alyssa noticed they were getting overwhelmed by the Sensips, so instead of killing the next wsen, she targeted a group of Sensips, closing in on Amelia. "Should we begin the third part for them as well?" The Third Professor suggested. "Let''s do that after they''ve taken care of most of the monsters," Elsa intervened. They were ramping up the difficulty for Asher''s team quite significantly. "By the way, the first team has already moved past the second part," Elsa said. At that moment, Kevin''s team was nearing the center of the Dungeon much quicker. "But unlike them, they''re not taking the fastest route," Arman pointed out. Only Asher''s team was on the shortest route to the center, while Kevin and his team were still figuring their way through. Chapter 240 Reaching The Center ?Proxy Connection Failed! "I wanted to save that artifact forter," Kevin said, looking back at the group of annihted monsters. "Well, we saved a lot of time with that," Elena told Kevin. "And we need you to conserve your mana forter," Elena added, looking at Kevin. "Yeah, I will support you guys from this point," Kevin affirmed, turning to Matthew and Lishia. "Okay," Matthew responded, unbothered. They had just encountered multiple wall crawlers in the narrow path. True to their names, these were human-shaped monsters withrge limbs that helped them crawl on surfaces. Elena, however, used a fire spell C Rank artifact, annihting all 15 Wall Crawlers that were rushing towards them. As they were early D Rank monsters, they all got burnt to death by the artifact''s power. "We can''t use it for now," Elena announced, putting the bracelet inside her spatial ring. Unlike before, the red gem on the bracelet had be dull, indicating that it needed time to recharge. "Which path should we choose now?" They questioned, looking at four different paths. "Hmm, let''s go with the one on the left," Kevin suggested. Elena nodded, and Kevin stepped back, moving with Eva. Meanwhile, Matthew took his ce as they delved deeper into the Dungeon. "How much time do you think it will take for them to reach the center?" The Third Professor inquired. "We have sent them on the two shortest starting points out of the four," The Fourth Professor replied. "If they take more than 15 hours to arrive there, I can''t say I wouldn''t be disappointed," he confessed, adding, "After all, this is a cleared dungeon, an uncleared Maze Dungeon takes weeks to clear." Currently, the Boss monster was dead, and the Dungeon relic was removed, so the Maze Dungeon wasn''t at its peak difficulty. If it were an uncleared Maze Dungeon, a lot of conditions would need to be met and, of course, the paths kept changing. All these factors made Maze Dungeons a nightmare for hunters. Their attention shifted towards Asher''s team that had defeated the Sensips and all the wsens. "Should we slow down a bit?" Damian, who was breathing heavily, asked Asher. He had noticed that Asher was the one who had defeated most of the wsens monsters, but their whole team would tire out soon if they maintained their current pace. Asher surveyed his team and, apart from him and Alyssa, all of them were breathing roughly. Using so much mana in such a short amount of time wore their bodies out quickly. "We can slow down for an hour," Amelia suggested. She proposed this duration because it would take them hours to reach the center and, being a race, they couldn''t afford to take a full rest. This was not a Dungeon Clear mission that would allow them to rest for long hours to recover. "Okay," Asher agreed, turning his gaze deeper into the Dungeon where various rune traps awaited. He was certain that many traps would be intentionally used on them. As Asher was dodging all the rune traps, the professors in charge would manually activate them. This test was designed to measure a student''s wits, resolve, and endurance. They needed to counter the monsters with their weaknesses using the knowledge they had gained at World Academy. Also, the extreme situations resulting from numerous monsters and rune traps could cause them to lose courage and be anxious. Having enough resolve to make it to the center was necessary. Andstly, there was endurance, as this was a race you needed to traverse the dungeon quickly while maintaining your mana to respond to any situation that arose. Amelia, with the Greville blood coursing through her veins, was the only one who recovered the fastest. During their journey, they encountered various traps of different elements. "Should I keep casting the mana barrier," Amelia asked as the barrage of fire arrows ceased. "No, I will alert you about traps," Asher replied. ''This should be enough for them,'' Asher spected. The number of traps they had faced in thest two hours was quite high, from a barrage of arrows, various spells, to ces where the walls copsed. If Asher hadn''t alerted them beforehand, there was a high chance that one of them would have surely been caught in those Rune Formations. They encountered various groups of monsters, with Asher defeating a few of them and leaving the rest to his team. Ignoring the system notifications, Asher continued moving deeper into the Dungeon. "At this point, Kevin Whiteheart''s Team will reach the center first," The Third Professor announced, observing the progress of the two teams. "Well, we can''t interfere from this point on," Elsa added. "Those guys got lucky that the longest path didn''t have too many difficult monsters for them," The Fourth Professor remarked, ncing at Kevin''s team. "Well, they still need to pass the final part in the center of the Maze as well," he added. They watched as Asher''s team fought various types of monsters. "It''s been 8 hours already," Damian dered, finishing off thest monster with his shield. "We should be near the center," Venessa added. "Hope so, we need to fetch the medallion quickly," Sam chimed in, leaning on his spear. The team had grown somewhat morefortable around each other, except for Alyssa who kept her distance. She detested all Elite families, but she tolerated her presence in Asher''s team. This was the least she thought she could do for Asher, as he had helped her greatly for reasons unknown to her. Alyssa''s dull eyes fell on Asher, whose armor was stained with blood. ''Is he trying to hide his strength as well?'' she wondered. She was well aware of Asher''s capabilities, and even now, as he seemed to be at the peak of D Rank somehow, Alyssa spected that Asher could potentiallyplete this race on his own. It was rare for a swordsman to have so much mana, but his unwavering endurance reflected in his physical and mental strength. Throughout the ordeal, Asher hadn''t sat down once while his entire team, including Alyssa, had rested for at least 5 minutes. ''1 hour away,'' Asher could sense that the center of the maze was near. A significant amount of mana gathered at that ce. ''Is that the final test?'' he pondered. ''This has taken longer than needed,'' he thought, studying the path ahead. "We will run at full speed from here," Asher instructed, turning to his team. "What about the rune traps?" Damian inquired. "Don''t worry about them," Asher replied. Knowing Asher, Damian got up. Asher was the team leader, and they had been following his decisions so far. Venessa avoided questioning Asher directly, so she would only discuss their ns with Sam and Damian or with Amelia and Alyssa depending on the situation. Even though other students might have felt awkward among Elite family''s kids, Venessa was herself from the Demarcus Family, so she feltfortable conversing with them. "Well, you should go forward, I will handle the rear," Venessa told Sam as she moved towards Alyssa. They fell into their formation, with all eyes on Asher. "This should be enough," Asher announced, ring his mana as he picked up a few rocks. And one by one, Asher started throwing the stones he had picked up, each coated with his aura, and most of them hit the traps, activating them. Suddenly, a wave ofrge explosions and triggered spells washed over them. The impact and noise of the traps were felt by everyone behind Asher as they observed the spectacle unfolding before them. "Isn''t that number of traps a bit too much?" Sam questioned, an awkward smile on his face. "I agree," Damian replied, lifting his shield protectively. Looking at Asher, who was now dashing forward, he followed suit, as did every other team member. As they traversed the paths, they noticed a few dead monsters scattered around. "Was he picking all those stones earlier for this?" Sam mumbled, recalling how he''d seen Asher collect stones and put them into his spatial ring without understanding the reasoning behind it. Currently, Asher''s mana was ring as he threw powerfully charged projectiles, each coated in his aura. It was a practical application of a new skill he''d learned from his sword art. Though it was fundamentally a defensive skill, with a little modification, it could be used in a way that allowed Asher to strengthen an object with his aura, even when he was no longer in contact with it. After running straight for 40 minutes, hearing various traps going off around them, the team was astounded by Asher''s uracy in pinpointing the traps. Asher was currently using a significant amount of mana to increase his mana sensitivity significantly. As they neared the center, Asher spotted a group of beasts simr to the Sensips they had first encountered. Rather than wasting time, Asher dashed forward. Not even bothering to draw his sword, Asher used his hand, coated with his aura, to seize the beast by its jaw and m it into the ground, killing it instantly. "Shadow Bind," he spoke, and chains materialized, strangling all the other Sensips surrounding him. Ignoring the shrieking monsters as they were strangled to death, Asher turned his attention to the center of the Dungeon. "So, it''s behind this gate," Asher dered, reaching the center of the Dungeon. Chapter 241 Take The Medallion While Asher and his team had just reached the center, Kevin''s team had arrived 15 minutes earlier, but they were still unable to secure the Medallion. The reason? The Third Professor standing in their path. "You all are quite talented, but to take this Medallion, you need to get past me," he told them. "How are we supposed to take on an S or above Rank hunter?" Ria asked, irritation evident in her voice. However, the Professor ignored herment. "This test can''t be impossible," Kevin said, eyeing the two medallions positioned behind the Professor. They had been trying to bypass or attack the Professor for the past 15 minutes, but they had not seeded in securing the Medallion. "Let''s not lose hope," Elena shouted, grabbing everyone''s attention. "They have still not arrived, so we''re still ahead of them," Elena pointed at the Fourth Professor, silently observing them. Surveying the four gates surrounding the room, it was evident that both teams needed to bypass the Professors somehow and secure one of the two medallions. The issue, however, was that they were merely D Rank Hunters, and the Professors before them were SS Rank Hunters, significantly more powerful than them. "They can''t use their skills, so use that to our advantage," Eva reminded them. She had noticed various patterns the Third Professor followed while impeding their progress. "Right, he is only using physical attacks," Kevin realized, sparking an idea. "Hey, can you grab his attention for a second," Kevin asked Matthew. "Okay," Matthew responded as he gripped his sword. "I will move after your attack," Matthew told Lishia in a polite tone. Even amidst the battle, Matthew was conscientious about how he addressed his teammates. Unlike him, everyone on his team had a background substantial enough to deal with an orphan like him. Lishia nodded at him, preparing a series of spells. While Elena unleashed another Fire spell, followed by des of Wind, the Professor easily dodged them all. The Third Professor smiled as he watched the First Year students desperately try to bypass him. ''Well, you need to show your strength,'' he thought to himself. Kevin''s team had used a plethora of artifacts to clear through the monsters. Using Eva''s barrier, they managed to ovee most of the Rune Traps, but Elena and Matthew still suffered a few hits. Despite all this, all four professors concluded that their team needed further testing so they could score them individually. The Dungeon segment was the only part where they would be graded, so they needed to be strict with their evaluation. "These flimsy attacks won''t harm me," the Third Professor taunted Matthew, hoping to provoke him. Matthew didn''t respond, merely shing at the Professor, who deftly dodged again. Kevin''s eyes shone blue as he red his mana, alerting the Third Professor to his presence. "Elena, use an earth element spell when I reach there," Kevin whispered to Elena, who nodded in understanding. She grasped Kevin''s intention and focused on the opportunity. "I will help him," Ria dered, dashing towards where Matthew stood. "Take this," Matthew swung his sword as he ducked, but the Professor suddenly caught him and flung him into the wall. "What?" Kevin halted midway as he saw Matthew sent flying into the wall. "Did you think I wouldn''t attack, only defend?" The Third Professor smirked, enjoying their shock. Seeing them halt, the Fourth Professor shook his head. "These guys aren''t working as a team," he said, critiquing their teamwork. They weren''t employing their strengths as a team, instead focusing on supporting one member and relying on him to seize the Medallion. While this was not inherently a poor strategy, executing it required exceptional teamwork, something Kevin''s team was sorelycking. Matthew carefully followed Kevin''s orders as the Team Leader while Lishia struggled to synchronize with Elena and Eva. And Ria, who should have been working with Matthew, was instead coordinating with Elena. "They still need a lot of time to be proper hunters," the Fourth Professor mused, shaking his head. It was about time the Third Professor lessened the difficulty and allowed them to take the Medallion. "So, how are we supposed to get past you?" Kevin asked. "We told you guys to form a team for a reason," the Third Professor hinted. "Is it our teamwork?" Eva murmured, realization dawning on her. "Hey, I have a n," Eva called them as Kevin went to assist Matthew. The Third Professor allowed them to regroup and strategize once again. "Let''s see if they learned anything," he mumbled to himself. "Have you noticed that the Professor has not moved from that area the whole time we fought him?" Eva asked, to which Kevin nodded. "I wanted to take advantage of that, so I sent Matthew first," Kevin replied. Recognizing their mistakes, Eva devised a new n and discussed it with the entire team. Initially, they hadn''t thought it through while battling the Professor, but now she knew what needed to be done to seize the Medallion. "So, you guys are ready," the Third Professor announced. "But it seems the other team has arrived as well," he added as the Fourth Gate to the Boss Room opened. Emerging from it was a solitary young man with crimson-red eyes. "Don''t lose focus; we should concentrate on obtaining the medallion," Kevin reminded them, and they all nodded in agreement. On the other side of the gate, "Damn, what was that spell?" Damian was taken aback by Asher''s magic. "It was the spell I told you about," Amelia reminded him. Sam, clueless about their conversation, inferred they were discussing the Mage Exam that took ce a few days prior. Following Asher, they saw Kevin''s team in a confrontation with an old man donning a robe adorned with the World Academy Emblem. "So, you guys have finally arrived," the Fourth Professor addressed them. "This is the final test in this Dungeon," he exined. "Get past me and secure that Medallion," he instructed, smiling. ''Will they make the same mistakes as them?'' he pondered. Just as the other team was mobilizing around Kevin, this team had Asher, who was even more talented than Kevin Whiteheart. "Is he a Professor?" Damian questioned, noting the symbol of the World Academy on the man''s robe. "What kind of test is this?" Vanessa asked, looking at the other team engrossed in their battle with the opposing Professor. Her question, however, went unanswered. "Get ready," Ashermanded, brandishing his sword. "Treat him as a monster we need to kill," Asher dered, his face indifferent. "That''s too harsh. I''m a beloved professor that all your seniors adore," the Fourth Professor quipped. "I ask Grant Strength, Szephelm," Amelia activated her Tier 2 Spell, a shorter version of the original Szephelm Spell, a Tier 3 Spell. Their entire team, including Asher, felt a surge in their power. "This feels nice," Vanessa noted as she experienced the increase in strength. While Amelia felt weak from the extensive use of her mana, she significantly boosted her team''s power to face the Professor. Asher observed the effect of Amelia''s spell. It was more potent for the others as they were D Rank or below. As they prepared to move, they noticed Ria holding onto the Medallion as the Professor was overwhelmed by Matthew and Kevin from both sides, with Elena and Lishia providing cover. Eva used her barrier magic to limit the Professor''s movements. "Well, you guys need to exit the Dungeon now," the Third Professor announced. The next second, Ria tossed the Medallion to Kevin, who immediately caught it. "Let''s go!" Kevin shouted. He nced at Asher''s team, which had just arrived, as they exited the room. "Looks like you guys are behind them now," the Fourth Professor observed, smiling. But in the next instant, he stepped back as Asher''s sword swung for his neck. "Resorting to lethal attacks," the Fourth Professor said, looking into Asher''s eyes. ''Damn, these eyes remind me of that old monster,'' he thought, reminded of Nathaniel Greville as he observed Asher''s indifferent gaze. Asher didn''t hesitate, swinging his sword at the Professor again. The gap in skill between them was considerable. Asher''s movements were easily dodged by the Professor, yet even he could see that Asher''s swordsmanship was on another levelpared to the other students. Even Final Year students had ws in their movements, but he could not identify such shorings in Asher. ''He is making the same mistake as them,'' the Professor thought. Just like Kevin''s team, Asher was also charging in alone. "Let''s go!" Damian yelled as Sam and Vanessa moved to support Asher. Meanwhile, Alyssa hovered above, eyeing the Medallion. She raised her hand to attract the Medallion, but she noticed a rune formation that neutralized her gravity magic''s influence on the Medallion. Seeing that Gravity Magic was not working, she changed her target. "Lance," Alyssamanded, summoning various Ice Lances to momentarily trap the Professor, creating an opening for Asher. While Sam tried to sneak out to reach the Medallion, the Professor disappeared and reappeared to halt Asher''s advance, redirecting his own attack towards Damian. "Do you think SS Rank is a joke?" the Fourth Professor asked them. He was hell-bent on causing them to lose 5 minutes, just as the other team had wasted an entire 16 minutes attempting to secure the Medallion. "Swift Strike," Asher calmly dived toward the Professor, who managed to grab his hand. "Go rest for a few seconds," He flung Asher away, but at that moment, Asher created a mid-air tform to perform Mir Steps. Using all his mana, Asher made a dash for the Medallion, but the Professor caught on to his n. "Not today," He extended his hand to snatch Asher once again. "Aura Shield," Asher twisted his body and swung his sword. He activated a new skill that he had learned from his Sword Art. As he swung his sword, a thin aura shield materialized in its path. Changing his open hand into a fist, the Professor attempted to break through the strange aura that had materialized in front of him. But at the same time, Asher created another tform in an instant to use Mir Steps again. In response, the Professor vanished from his spot, reappearing beside Asher in an attempt to halt him. "Aura Shield," Asher dered, once again swinging his sword. The shield materialized again, but Asher''s sword changed direction in mid-air this time. "Swift Strike," Asher''s sword passed through the Aura Shield he had created easily, aiming straight for the Professor. The Professor found this skill a bit strange as Asher''s sword passed through what appeared as a materialized aura, but it was not enough to catch him off guard. "Useless," The Professor used the back of his hand to deflect Asher''s sword. The strength behind the Professor''s blow was enough to cause Asher to lose his grip, sending the sword flying. "Shadow Bind," Asher raised his hand, and multiple chains appeared as ck energy surged from the ground, causing the Professor to smile at Asher''s attempt. "Use your team. You cannot win alone," he advised Asher as he shattered the chains with a mere flick of his fingers. "The test has ended, Professor Zacram," Arman suddenly intervened, halting the test. "What do you mean?" The Fourth Professor asked Arman, confusion etched on his face. "They have the Medallion already," Arman pointed at Alyssa, who floated down gracefully, clutching the Medallion in her hand. Chapter 242 The Race Begins "What?" Professor Zacram blurted out, a confused look on his face. "Hahahaha, Zacram, you''re getting old. You didn''t even notice this young man''s trick," The Third Professorughed as he observed him. Instead of asking them, Zacram looked at the spot where the Medallion was ced, situated above a Runic Formation that prohibited spatial magic or other spells from passing through it. It was designed in such a way that the Medallion could only be taken by physical touch. Zacram''s eyes widened as he noticed a ck sword embedded in the ground where the Runic Formation was present. "Blink," Asher recited the spatial spell, and the sword disappeared from the ground, reappearing in his hand. Arman noticed Asher''s usage of the spell, but Blink was a basic space element spell that was deemed safe to use, so he didn''t speak out against it. "Let''s go," Asher dered, turning back to hispanions. Alyssa tossed the Medallion towards Asher, who caught it effortlessly. "Well, it seems like I''ve been outsmarted by him," Zacram muttered, confusion still present in his voice. "But how did a normal sword manage to destroy the runic formation?" Zacram asked Arman. To destroy a runic formation, unless it was made of highlyplicated runes, one would need aura or destructive spells. Such formations would then break easily. Neyman hadn''t used any such runes, as they weren''t necessary for such a task. "I sensed a faint hint of aura on that sword when I saw itnd on the Runic Formation," The Third Professor mentioned. As the swordnded on the Runic Formation, it shattered it, and immediately Alyssa used the Blink spell to retrieve the Medallion. That was when Arman halted the test, as they had sessfully acquired the Medallion. "Aura?" Zacram echoed. "Yes, I don''t know how though," The Third Professor replied. Using aura outside the body was fine, and even the stones that Asher had coated with aura were understandable if he had trained his aura enough to sustain it. However, with the sword, he needed to maintain that aura to the tip, to destroy the Runic Formation. It was precisely this controlled aura cement that baffled everyone. "Did his grandfather teach him that technique?" Zacram questioned. "Well, we can''t really ask him that," The Third Professor replied. "Anyway, I''ll just me Neyman for this," Zacram decided, shaking his head. It wasn''t as if he didn''t know where Asher''s sword was headed. What he hadn''t expected was that it would result in breaking the Runic Formation. "Why not ept that an SS Rank Hunter got outsmarted by a D Rank Hunter?" The Third Professor joked. Both of them were professors who only taught the Senior Year students. Zacram specifically taught Fourth Year students, and asionally, he would instruct the Third Year students as well. In the Fourth Year, Zacram was well-known among students for one thing - his strategies to clear the Dungeons. The first three years at World Academy were dedicated to teaching students various aspects about mana, instilling knowledge needed as a hunter. The Fourth Year, however, was strictly for implementing what they had learned over the past three years and improving it before graduating from World Academy. This was why he was assigned to grade the two teams. "Well, we have judged their capabilities enough," Zacram stated, letting go of the issue. "The real race will begin now," Zacram dered with a smile. The exam was never meant to be fair for both teams. At that moment, Kevin and his team were retracing the lengthy path they had previously taken. The only difference was that some of the monsters from the other path had arrived, lured by the smell of monster''s blood, and they had to fight their way through. "We should hurry up," Elena suggested, creating a small spiral of me that obliterated many monsters. Currently, Kevin''s team were a full minute ahead of Asher''s team. They hadn''t expected Asher''s team to seize the Medallion so quickly. But even so, none of them were taking any chances. "Kevin, you conserve your mana, we''ll clear the dungeon for you," Elena reminded them of the strategy they had nned outside the Dungeon when they learned of the test they were to undergo. "Okay," He agreed, watching Matthew take the lead. Meanwhile, outside the Dungeon, Xander awaited the teams'' emergence. His eyes scanned the course they had prepared for the race. As night fell, he floated in the air, eagerly waiting for the teams to surface. "Hey, isn''t that Xander Demarcus?" Two masked men passing through the forest paused as they noticed a man levitating in the air. "Why are the people from World Academy here?" One of them grumbled, annoyance etched onto his face. "Ignore them, I''ll maintain my invisibility for now. We need to move 500 KM from here," The other advised. "Haah, we got lucky on the first mission," The other replied. Their appearance was rough, and their bodies bore several healed injuries, with only a few scars left. "We have eight more destinations left," A voice in their earmunicated. "But really, are you sure about this?" One of them questioned. "Even though I consider myself a psychopath, I wouldn''t do this," He remarked, "Don''t waste time. If you miss the timings by even two seconds, the next destination might be your grave," The voice in their ear reminded them. They resumed their journey, and Xander didn''t notice them as they were already 10 KM away from where Xander was hovering. The only reason they spotted him in the air was because of the overwhelming mana presence they felt from Xander, an SS Rank Hunter. He wasn''t suppressing his mana, ensuring no monster would dare approach this territory by sensing his imposing presence. Five hours went by, and the sun rose. Xander observed the first team exiting the Dungeon - it was Kevin Whiteheart''s team. "So they came out first," Xander noted as he suppressed his presence. "Let''s see who will win," He mused, disappearing from his spot. Outside the Dungeon, "Did we arrive first?" Ria asked, gasping for breath. Not only her, everyone except Kevin, had exhausted a lot of mana to quickly traverse the Dungeon. "Where is the Medallion pointing?" Eva asked Kevin. "It''s pointing towards the north," He answered. They were taking a 2-minute break because everyone on the team was recovering their mana. "Take out the mana recovery artifact. It''s time to use them," Eva instructed, and everyone produced a ring. These rings were given to Kevin by Raelyn, and he had distributed them among his teammates. A staff member appeared soon after they activated the rings to boost their mana recovery. "Congrattions, you''re the first team to arrive here," He announced. His words ignited hope in their eyes, indicating that they had a head start in the race. "Follow the direction of the Medallion to reach the finish line," He guided them. "How far is the finish line?" Elena inquired, but the staff member shook his head. "We can''t tell you that," He responded. "We should start moving in that direction," Kevin proposed, and everyone nodded in agreement. They began traversing the forest, and seven minutes after they embarked, Asher''s team arrived at the Dungeon''s exit. "Haah, haah," Damian was panting heavily, using his shield as support to stand. "Why did we encounter so many monsters?" Heined, visibly annoyed. Everyone on the team, except Alyssa and Asher, were in a simr condition. Asher emerged, his armor drenched in blood, just like the rest of his team. "And why the hell did they put Early C Rank Monsters in the Dungeon for?" He protested. Asher looked at Damian but didn''t reveal that he had deliberately chosen the path and activated all the rune traps to attract all the monsters. ''This number of monsters should be enough,'' Asher thought about Rifir. Since acquiring Rifir, he had decided to use this opportunity to hunt as many monsters as possible. However, even in this dungeon, he and Alyssa could only hunt down five early C Rank monsters, which they killed effortlessly. "Your team has arrived second, so I advise you guys to follow the direction shown on the Medallion," the staff member said, looking at Asher. "So, they arrived before us," Damian kicked the ground, looking annoyed. Damian stored his shield back into his spatial ring. "I don''t think we can keep up with you guys at full speed to catch up with them," Damian admitted, ncing at Sam who was just as exhausted as he was. "You guys can proceed at your own pace, I''ll go ahead," Asher replied, ring his mana. His objective in the Dungeon was alreadyplete, and he was confident that their grading was finished already due to the number of monsters he had forced them to confront while exiting the dungeon. "I will go after them," Asher said, vanishing from his spot as he used his movement technique. "Wait, he has the Medallion!" Amelia shouted. "Don''t worry, he already gave me a tracking device," Damian reassured, tossing a device to Amelia that disyed Asher''s location. Chapter 243 No Need "And it will be much faster for him to go alone," Damian said, and Amelia understood the point he was trying to make. "Well, we should move as well then," Amelia told Damian as she looked around and found Alyssa was missing. "Where did she go?" Amelia asked Venessa. Throughout the time in the dungeon, Alyssa hadn''t uttered a single word. She would only asionally assist them or focus on killing the monsters. The only one on the team who had conversed with her was Venessa, who would asionally strike up a conversation with everyone except Asher. "She went ahead the moment he did," Venessa said, noticing Alyssa use her gravity magic to move towards the forest. "Ah, okay," Amelia replied. Far ahead on the path, Kevin was running with his team trailing behind him. "Did the direction change again?" Elena asked as Kevin changed course. "Yeah," Kevin said as he leaped over a bunch of vines. "The rocky terrain will start from here," Eva informed them, noticing the change in their environment. As they didn''t know the exact final location where they needed to ce the Medallion, all they could do was follow the direction it indicated. While traveling, they noticed a bunch of broken trees and driednd. "Do you think we''ll encounter any monsters?" Lishia asked Elena. "Maybe, but I''m not sure. Let''s keep our guards up though," Elena said as she spread her Mana Sense to continuously check if anyone other than them was nearing. At that moment, Elena was pleased that they were in the lead and that Kevin had sufficient mana that would aid themter. But she didn''t let down her guard yet. It was too early for them to think they had won. After all, such premature celebration had backfired too many times for her to not learn her lesson. She was not going to underestimate Asher, so she crafted a strategy that could lead them to victory with Eva. "Start it," Xander said, observing the race with the other professors who had just left the dungeon after Asher''s team. "Okay," Elsa responded as she tapped her ID bracelet. They were looking at the rocky terrain, which was part of the race, but they had created a special path for themselves. Elena, who was running while using the mana at her feet, suddenly stopped as she noticed Kevin halt. "What happened?" Elena asked Kevin. "It changed direction, but it''s pointing at this mountain," Kevin said. Elena approached and took a look at the Medallion, confirming Kevin''s observation. "Do we need to go over it?" Elena queried, eyeing the small mountain in front of them. "No, look, a path is opening," Eva pointed out, noticing a faint light in the middle of the mountain. "Do we have to enter that?" Ria asked. "It seems like it," Eva responded. "Let''s go then," Kevin decided, leading the group inside. Meanwhile, 5 km behind them, Asher was navigating through the forest, noticing signs of recent footsteps. From the corner of his eye, he spotted many stealth drones following him at all times. He assumed these were the drones being used to monitor this test. "Is this the speed of a D Rank Hunter?" One of the staff members questioned as they watched Asher move through the forest terrain without pausing once. Xander didn''t react much as he was preupied with observing theplex movement technique Asher was using. Asher''s figure would disappear from one ce and appear at another. It was almost like he was using a spatial spell, but Xander could see the intricacies of the movement technique Asher was utilizing. But trailing him, Alyssa was also traveling at high speed. Unlike Asher, she was using her Gravity Magic to elerate herself. Yet, neither of them was utilizing their full capabilities. In two minutes, Asher exited the forest. He surveyed the mountainous path and the unusual opening that the Medallion pointed at. ''Is this the path they created?'' Asher guessed as he entered the cave, which was starkly different inside. Despite being illuminated, the terrain was filled with various Rune Traps visible to the naked eye. It was designed to force people to slow down. But they ended soon. Asher avoided them and traveled towards the narrow road that could only allow one person to run on it at a time. But as he was passing through the road at the end, numerous Sensips appeared, noticing Asher. "VAAAAAAARGH," The beasts roared upon seeing him. Asher looked at the cages that had opened when he started running on the narrow path. ''So they''ve already passed through the trap,'' Asher observed the other empty cages that had been opened by Kevin''s team. Asher eyed the five Sensips as his gazended on them. ''Shadow Bind,'' He thought in his head, and chains erupted from the ground, strangling the monsters. Right then, he didn''t want to waste any time. "I should increase my speed now," Asher said as he red his mana. At the moment, he was only using his movement technique to maintain his speed. ... Five such notifications shed in front of him, but Asher ignored them. Asher suddenly disappeared from the footage, leaving Xander and the other professors watching in suspense. "Is he trying to brute force through the traps?" Neyman frowned. The traps were designed to slow them down and make them choose their paths carefully. Asher was only a kilometer away from Kevin''s group as he noticed the path filled with Rune Traps. The only way to cross it was to go through the narrow paths or a single rope while under the threat of encountering monsters. Boom! Boom! Explosions erupted as Asher passed through them, wrapping his body in Aura and negating the shockwaves emitted from those rune traps. His current speed was enough to evade the traps, but doing so required his full concentration. Asher tilted his head as he saw a fire arrow whizz past him. "What is this kid doing," Neyman observed Asher''s reckless maneuver through the rune traps. "Shouldn''t we stop him," Arman looked at Xander. But Xander remained silent, not answering them. Meanwhile, Kevin was dodgingva traps around him, and the others behind him were doing the same. "Those monsters slowed us down a lot," Kevin said as he swung his spear, taking down a D Rank Monster. His eyes were glowing blue. He had stopped conserving his mana and was leading them instead of Matthew, who was quite exhausted by now. Kevin jumped up, spinning his spear to deflect stone daggers that sprang from the Rune Traps. He looked at a monster eyeing him and hurled his spear, a Rank B weapon. In an instant, the spear decimated the monster and destroyed the ground around it. Kevinnded and jumped onto a rock, crossing the path first. "I should save this forter," Kevin muttered, looking at the blue bracelet he was wearing. BOOM He heard an explosion, and everyone, including him, looked in the direction from which they hade. After a few seconds, they saw Asher emerging from there. "How did he get here so fast?" Kevin wondered, frowning. "Kevin!!" Elena shouted, catching his attention. "Follow the n," she reminded him, and Kevin nodded. Even though he wasn''t keen on the idea, he decided to go along with Elena and Eva''s strategy. ''I will win this race for us,'' Kevin resolved as he red his mana, which was nearing that of a mid D Rank Hunter. He immediately dashed towards the exit, holding the Medallion in his hand, leaving Asher behind with his team. Asher watched Kevin disappear. He looked around as Elena and Eva crossed theva path, with the others following suit. "Use the terrain to our advantage. We need to stall as much as we can," Elena instructed. She knew they couldn''t stop Asher entirely. But she just needed to dy him long enough for Kevin to win. He had the perfect affinity for this type of test. Lightning Affinity, which made him the fastest and the second rank among all first-year students. Asher observed them, noticing theva pool in front of him. "Barrier Magic," Eva chanted, erecting a barrier to ensure nobody could get affected by the spell Asher had demonstrated in the Mage Test. "Lishia, try to restrain him, while I push him back," Elena instructed. Meanwhile, Matthew and Ria raised their swords, standing as thest line of defense. "This boy is too reckless," Zacram said, ncing at Neyman, who couldn''t believe anyone would dare navigate the Rune Traps so recklessly. "I purposely made them non-lethal for this part of the test. He must have recognized it," Neyman mumbled. "But he''s cornered now, and the Whiteheart boy hasn''t used his Lightning affinity till now either," Zacram added. "Well, let''s watch what he does," Elsa said, curious to see how Asher would handle the situation. "Blink," Asher disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind Elena, who was standing at the back. His indifferent gaze fell on Elena. While everyone was puzzled by what had happened, Elena sensed a presence behind her. But she was toote to react. Before she could turn her head, Asher raised his leg and kicked her, breaking through Eva''s barrier and sending her flying to a wall far to her left. Everyone turned around, looking at Asher in disbelief. "How did you learn that teleportation spell?!" Eva stuttered, her eyes wide as she guessed what Asher had just done. "You don''t need to know," Asher replied, disappearing from his spot. Eva immediately raised her guard, but Asher''s target was behind her. It was Matthew, who raised his sword, but to no avail. He tried to stop Asher''s attack, but even while blocking, the force behind Asher''s strike was too much for him to handle. Asher was about to push even more, but he halted as he sensed a particr person approaching them. ''She can handle them now,'' Asher thought, using the Mir Steps technique to exit the ce and follow the direction that the Medallion was indicating. Chapter 244 Finish Line "What happened here?" Alyssa, who was using Gravity Magic to elerate herself in the air, looked around. Broken ground, dead monsters, destroyed cages. No matter what, she couldn''tprehend how all this had happened. The traps that Asher had triggered affected the whole route, breaking the path here and there, but Alyssa was fine as she floated above. "Found them," Alyssa muttered as she sensed the mana of multiple people. At that moment, Asher sensed Alyssa''s presence while he was chasing after Matthew. Knowing she was there, he didn''t need to waste time anymore. "Mir Steps," Asher disappeared from his spot, and Eva looked in his direction with a worried look on her face. She tried to create a barrier to dy Asher a bit, but in an instant, she felt that all her barriers, which were protecting her, had been destroyed as well. She looked back, as she felt a massive burden on her body, the result of the Gravity Magic Alyssa was using. "Eva, he escaped," Ria shouted to alert Eva. "Should I-," Ria started, but Eva shook her head. "Kevin will have to handle the rest; we need to hold our positions," Eva reminded her while she red her mana to counter Alyssa. But the difference between E+ and D Rank was quite significant; it didn''t help her much. Eva nced at the me st near one of the walls, and she felt the mana of a D Rank Hunter. "So she was fine," Eva breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Elena, who was ring all her mana. Elena created a st to remove the rubble around her as she looked at Alyssa, who was floating in the opposite direction. And Alyssa did the same. ''Kill her, Kill her, Avenge your mother,'' voices in Alyssa''s head started to scream. ''You will die just like your mom,'' The voices kept bothering her as Alyssa''s eyes locked onto Elena''s blue eyes and blond hair. Alyssa clenched her hand so hard that blood started to drip, but she controlled herself. "It''s not time yet," Alyssa whispered to herself. "I should help him first," Alyssa remembered meeting Asher''s gaze once before he left, and she knew what she needed to do. "Ice Cage," Alyssa used a lot of her mana to create a cage around the entire room with her Ice Magic. Unlike Asher, Elena didn''t show any reaction to Alyssa. ¡¤?¦Èm For Elena, Alyssa''s existence was not worth her trouble. After all, she was doomed to die sooner orter. And knowing that, Elena didn''t consider Alyssa a threat. ''She doesn''t care, you are not worth it,'' The voices kept getting louder. Alyssa could see that in their eyes; they didn''t care about the suffering Alyssa had experienced throughout her life because of their families. "One day, I will have my revenge," Alyssa muttered, but nobody knew anything, as she was wearing her mask that covered half her face. The hatred she carried was not small enough to disappear after defeating the people in front of her. She looked down as she saw Elena summoning multiple Fire Vortexes to counter her Ice Magic, but it was useless. She could defeat Elena, but that was not her goal. She just needed to trap them here for some time. There was no need for her to show her true strength. "Restrain," Lishia raised her hand as she looked at Alyssa. This was the first time Lishia had faced Asher in a fight, but she was relieved she was not his target. In the Representative Tournament, she had the worst impression of Asher when she saw him beat n Astaria in a brutal manner. But when she looked back and saw his emotionless crimson-red eyes, she understood why people avoided him. Even when charging at Matthew, Lishia aimed to cast a spell on Asher to stop him, but she was scared when she felt the killing intent from Asher. ''Both of them are dangerous,'' Lishia was getting the same feeling of killing intent from Alyssa as well. But this was something that only she could feel, after all, this was the bloodline ability that ran through all the Halcyon Royal Family''s descendants with the Golden eyes. Out in the rocky terrain, a white-haired young man was running towards a specific direction. "It''s a cliff!" Kevin noticed as he looked in the direction he needed to go. He turned his head to the left and noticed a bridge, but it was a bit far, and it would cost him many seconds to take the longer route. "I have time-," Kevin was talking to himself when he felt a presence behind him. "Did he already defeat them all?" Kevin said. He was confident that this presence belonged to Asher Greville. And his suspicion was confirmed when he saw the Crimson Red eyes looking in his direction. Asher noticed Kevin, as he used Mir Steps to close the distance between them. But as he was nearing, Kevin started running straight towards the cliff. And in the next moment, Asher noticed sparks of electricity appearing around Kevin, as his white hair started to flutter in the air. ''So he learned it,'' Asher recognized the technique that Kevin was using: Lightning Aura. Although not everyone mixed elements with their aura as it didn''t benefit them and it damaged their bodies if they were not careful, the lightning element was different. It was an advanced element that helped its user not only increase their physical potential but also their senses. But the effects became entirely different if the element was integrated into your aura. Kevin could do it because he had the Bloodline Ability that made his body perfect for learning Lightning Aura, and the legacy of Spear Art that Farnus Calmort had made. In the next instant, the distance between them doubled as Kevin''s speed increased, and he went straight towards the cliff. "I need to reach the finish line fast," Kevin said, his eyes shone blue, and multiple sparks of lightning started appearing around his body. Right now, Kevin had beparable to a C- Rank Hunter, but it was only possible because of the artifact he was wearing. It was one of those rare artifacts, just like Alyssa''s ring, that boosted and affected their mastery with specific elements. But even with that, Lightning Aura was a special technique that Kevin could not use for long. Right now, he was gambling it all on the fact that he would reach the Finish Line in time. He ran towards the edge of the cliff, crouched down, tilted his body forward, and jumped. In the next moment, Asher saw that Kevin had already crossed the cliff. "This generation is truly talented," Zacram said as he looked at the screen before him. Everyone was focused on spectating the final struggle between Asher and Kevin, but right now, it was obvious that Kevin was in the lead. The Lightning Aura he used made even Zacram a bit surprised. Xander was silent the whole time, from the moment he saw Asher use the Tier 2 Blink Spell. Using Space Magic wasn''t forbidden, and this was the reason they had stored those books in the restricted section, but he still didn''t want a talent like Asher to venture too much into the Space Element. But Xander didn''t have the power to stop him either. "Isn''t this race over?" One of the staff members said as they noticed the distance between Asher and Kevin and the final location where they needed to ce the Medallian toplete the race. But something unexpected happened, as Asher slowed down a lot and stopped as he looked at Kevin. "What is he doing?" Zacram said. Even Xander frowned as he saw Asher give up chasing Kevin, who was increasing the distance between them. "Blink," Asher disappeared from his ce as he crossed the cliff in an instant. Asher red his mana to the very peak of C- Rank, but his mana concealing ability made it appear like a D+ Rank Core. In the next instant, Asher disappeared as he chased after Kevin using Mir Steps but this time, each ce Asher stepped on, a small crater would appear due to the impact of his mana. His speed increased so much that the distance between them began closing in, and Kevin noticed it. He looked back and saw Asher nearing him. "Damn it," Kevin muttered as he pushed himself even more, but the strain on his body was increasing. His mana was depleting at a high rate, but he looked ahead, and at the far end, he spotted a big stone with the Emblem of World Academy visible on it. It was the finish line, where all he needed to do was put the Medallion in and win. "I can do this," Kevin said, using his lightning element even more as his mana kept depleting. Asher''s indifferent eyes looked at Kevin, who was trying his all to win the race. "Shadow Bind," Asher muttered. Kevin immediately sensed a surge of mana beneath his feet and turned his body to use his Rank B Spear to deflect the ck chains. He red at Asher, who used the spell against him. Kevin wasn''t ready to fight a person who could use both Mage and Weapon Art, as nobody had taught him to do so. It was impossible for a person to have aura and be a mage at the same time. "Lightning sh," Kevin swung his spear while deflecting the chains and sent an arc of lightning towards Asher. He turned immediately, as he couldn''t waste time fighting Asher. Asher brought out his sword and cut through the lightning sh that Kevin had used against him. His sword absorbed the aura in the attack, and Asher could feel it. In the next instant, Asher used a surge of mana to close the distance between them even more. ''How much mana does he have?'' Kevin sensed that Asher was much closer than he had thought. ''Just a little more,'' Kevin thought as he saw the finish line just 200 meters ahead. Kevin tightened his grip on the Medallion as he raised his hand to put the Medallion in a circr cavity on the Stone in front of him. "Do you think you can win?" Asher asked. As he closed the distance enough to run beside him, Kevin spun his spear at Asher, but before he could do so, Asher disappeared. Kevin looked ahead but all he could see was the palm of Asher''s left hand, which grabbed his face. "No!" Kevin shouted as he red the lightning around his body. Doing so, the entire nano-armor around Asher''s hand got burnt, but his hands were fine as the difference between their aura was too significant. And in the end, Kevin felt the strength in his body leave him as Asher mmed him on the ground. Kevin''s eyes saw the Finish line that was only 20 meters away, but he couldn''t do anything as he felt his consciousness fade away. Chapter 245 Winner "Haha, am I really watching some First Year Students?" Zacramughed, but everyone else in the room was surprised. The rest of the staff were just shocked and they couldn''t believe what had happened. "Overpowering someone with a lightning aura, do the Greville only give birth to monsters?" The Third muttered with disbelief. "Sigh," Xander sighed. This made Zacram, who was standing closer to him, a bit confused. ''Is he not happy with the result?'' Zacram misunderstood what Xander was thinking. Arthur Greville''s bad rtionship with Xander was known to most people in the upper society, and most families were rather d that it remained that way. If not for that, the alliance of the three elite families in Somaria could have be a lot more troublesome for everyone else. Xander looked at the screen as he watched Asher remove his hands from Kevin''s face and turn to ce the Medallion in the Stone. Asher walked towards the grey stone structure and ced the Medallion in the cavity. Just as he did, a rune formation was triggered and the Medallion started shining. And just like that, an announcement came from all the members of both the teams. It was Xander''s voice. Alyssa, who had been countering Eva''s Barrier Magic and dodging Elena''s spells, stopped using her magic and levitated down towards the ground. The whole time, she had been using the enormous Ice Cage that was all around them to her advantage but she hadn''t tried too hard. "What?" Elena had a shocked look on her face, And the reaction of everyone on their team was simr to hers but not as drastic. Apart from Elena and Eva, none of them were confident in winning because they hadn''t seen Kevin use his Lightning Aura even once. They knew that Kevin had a lightning element which made him a lot stronger, but this technique was only known to Elena and Eva, as Kevin didn''t tell anyone else about it. "Ah, we arrived a bit toote," Damian said as he saw Elena and the rest of Kevin''s team. "But it seems like we weren''t even needed," Damian said as he grinned. Alyssa went behind all of them, as she didn''t want any more attention. Her performance today was enough to show that she was worthy of Rank 3, but she was careful in not showing everything she knew, unlike when she sparred with Asher. From the start, only Alyssa knew that Asher was a C- Rank Hunter, not a D+ Rank Hunter. Knowing that Asher didn''t reveal his true rank the whole time, Alyssa also maintained a low profile and didn''t disy anything too shocking for others. Even while dealing with Elena and the others, she merely wasted time by dodging and dispelling their spells. Xander concluded his message as he dered Asher and his team the winners of this exam. "All four of you, pleaseplete the gradings and submit them by the end of this week," Xander said, looking at Zacram and the rest of the three Professors. He looked at the staff team that was hurrying towards Kevin, to take him to the medical center they had already set up. Asher, who was standing in front of the Circr Stone, turned as he looked around the rocky terrain. "They should be in that direction," Asher muttered. As he turned, he noticed various people that were part of the staff team that was here to manage everything. One of them hurried towards Kevin while another approached Asher. "Do you have any injuries?" He asked Asher, "No," Asher replied, "Then please follow them back to the Central Path," He told Asher. Asher turned back as he noticed various medical professionals helping Kevin. He nced to his side. "Check his Mana Levels, feed a potion to him.." "See if there are any inju..." Asher ignored it as he went ahead. On the way back, Asher saw Damian and the rest of his team waiting for him. "Damn, you really won," Damian said with a smile on his face, "Well, it doesn''t feel like we helped at all though," Amelia said. "A win is a win, I don''t mind," Damian shrugged his shoulders. "Let''s go, we should receive our rewards now," Damian said as all of them turned to leave.I think you should take a look at Arriving at the Central Camp, they spotted Xander standing there already. Looking around, Elena and the others were already absent, which meant that they were sent back to World Academy. Only Kevin was present here, as he was still getting treated and was still unconscious due to the overuse of Mana. "Congrattions on Winning," Xander said. "Thanks," Damian, Venessa, and Amelia replied at the same time. "As you are the winning teams, you will receive the reward for it as well," Xander said, as Damian''s eyes lit up. He knew that World Academy would not gift them anything that they could get with money. After all, why would someone like Asher, Amelia, and Damian want anything they could buy themselves? "The rewards are a visit to the Sanctuary of Mages or a request for a weapon from the Artisan''s Association, and Dexter Wright, The Chairman of the Artisan''s Association, would himself work on it," Xander gave them two choices to choose from. The Sanctuary of Mages was just like the Great Library but instead of theory, it was where the research of hundreds of years of thousands of mages was present. From a normal mage to the previous Chairman and even the research and contributions of Silvus Grandus were present in the Sanctuary of Mages. "What really?" Damian said, looking at Xander. "Yes, choose carefully," Xander said and he nced briefly at Venessa who was trying to act casually. ''Damn, Uncle don''t stare too long, they will notice it,'' Venessa shouted in her mind. She didn''t want her connection to the Demarcus family to be exposed. "We will ask for your response by the end of this week so think hard about what you want to choose," Xander said before he left, Damian immediately turned and looked at Asher, "What will you choose?" He asked. "Sanctuary of Mages," Asher replied instantly. "What!?" Damian said, "We can get a weapon from Sir Dexter Wright himself," Damian said, "You would have to wait until you be the Head of your family to even request him to make a weapon for you," Damian said. But looking at Asher''s face, Damian gave up and looked at Amelia. "I am choosing the Sanctuary of Mages as well," She replied. "I will choose the second option," Sam replied when Damian looked at him. Even Venessa decided to choose a weapon as they weren''t mages so going to the Sanctuary of Mages wouldn''t help them at all. At the World Academy, Elena and Eva were going back to the Rankers Dorm but both of them were quiet. "We even tried our best," Elena muttered as she clenched her fist. "Why can''t we defeat him?" Elena said, and Eva quietly followed her. Even Eva''s mood was not good as she didn''t think that they would lose after such a lead in the race. On the other hand, Lishia was sitting with Matthew and they were getting themselves checked. It was a mandatory procedure, and Elena and Eva had already finished it. "You don''t seem as sad as them?" Lishia struck up a conversation with Matthew. "Hmm?" Matthew raised his head with a confused look on his face. He didn''t know why the most quiet person on the team was speaking with him. Knowing that Lishia was a princess, Matthew had assumed that she wouldn''t talk to him because of his status. After all, she rarely talked with Elena and Eva the whole time, maintaining her distance from them. "You were the only one who didn''t react much when the announcement that we lost came," She said. "You were observing me?" Matthew said as he pointed at himself. "...." Lishia was caught off guard by his question. "No, I looked at everyone at that time," She corrected her words. "That, I didn''t expect to win in the first ce," Matthew replied politely. "Okay," Lishia said and their conversation ended. The only reason Lishia struck a conversation with Matthew was because her father only told her to avoid people from elite families, but Matthew didn''te from an elite family so she was thinking of having a friendly rtionship with him early on. Knowing he was Rank 4 and above her, she knew that it was not bad to make good connections with him early on. Matthew didn''t know why the Princess of Halcyon was talking to him, when she hadn''t done so the whole time from the moment he joined the team. A few days were still left, as all the students were undergoing their Mid Term Exams. And the invitations to Kalvas G were spreading among the elite families. The G was going to happen soon, and many people were looking forward to attending this g. Chapter 246 Feeding Rifir "Where am I?" Kevin woke up and looked around. "You''re in the medical facility of the camp set up by World Academy," one of the doctors who had been monitoring Kevin''s health replied. "Huh?" Kevin tried to sit up, but he felt pain all over his body. "Don''t move too much; your body is still recovering from the shock of using Lightning Aura," the doctor advised. "What about the race?" Kevin asked, his memories still fuzzy. "The other team won," he replied. Hearing these words, Kevin remembered thest thing he saw before he lost consciousness. "Damn it," Kevin punched the bed he was lying on. Observing his behavior, the doctor stepped outside, giving Kevin some time to gather his thoughts. "I gave everything," Kevin said, looking down at his hands. Every time he had lost to Asher, it was during duels where they hadn''t used their full potential. But in this exam, Kevin had not only used all the artifacts given by Raelyn but had also deployed the Lightning Aura technique. Originally, he had nned to hide this ability until the end-of-term examination, using it only if necessary. The Lightning Aura was currently Kevin''s strongest technique. It allowed D-Rank Kevin to beparable to a C-Rank Hunter, but only for a short time. It was the first time he had felt so defeated in his life, but this feeling fueled his urge to defeat Asher even more. "No, I can''t go down like this," Kevin remembered what his father had always told him. Kamden had ensured that Kevin and Raelyn grew up in an environment suitable for them to be strong individuals who could hold their own in high society. Kamden hadn''t achieved his current status through power alone. While Kevin was finding his motivation, Elena was in her training room, practicing alone. But it was less of practice, more of her venting her anger. Casting multiple spells all around her, Elena stopped as she felt her mana depleting rapidly. "This won''t work," Elena said to herself. All this time, she had believed that one day Kevin could surpass Asher with her help, but it was time for her to face reality. The gap between them had grown sorge that she felt somewhat powerless. "We need to get stronger," Elena said, her eyes turning sharp. While the losing team were finding their resolve to be stronger, everyone on the winning team was happy, but most of them had gone straight to sleep. Except for Asher, who was standing in the training facility looking at his spatial device. "Come out," Ashermanded, and a ck shadow formed, a serpent appearing before him. "Take these," Asher offered 20 corpses of Peak D-Rank monsters to Rifir. Rifir examined the monster corpses spread around him. In the next moment, Rifir began wrapping around various monster corpses, devouring the energy in their bodies. Asher felt the mana in the monsters'' bodies deplete rapidly as Rifir took his time to devour them. "Not enough," Rifir''s voice echoed in Asher''s head. Asher nced around, noting that Rifir''s level hadn''t increased at all. ''Are these not enough?'' Asher wondered, surveying the corpses now devoid of mana. Although he wasn''t sure, Asher had estimated that the strange beast he owned wouldn''t find D-Rank monsters appealing. After all, he knew how Rifir''s presence alone made the monsters step back in fear. "Take these, then," Asher said, offering the C-Rank monsters. The next moment, Asher felt a surge of ck energy around Rifir as he began devouring the C-Rank monsters Asher had acquired from the dungeon. [ Rifir is devouring C-Rank Monsters ] [ Rifir''s Level has increased to Level 2 ] [ Rifir''s Level has increased to Level 3 ]I think you should take a look at [ Rifir''s Level has increased to Level 4 ] [ Rifir''s Level has increased to Level 5 ] [ Rifir has unlocked a new skill ] Asher saw a new notification as Rifir finished devouring all the monsters. The notification mentioned that Rifir had unlocked a new skill, which was different from the previous Perfect Concealment. "More," Asher heard a voice in his head. As Rifir gained levels, Asher noted his speech was much improved. [ Rifir has gained Shadow Travel ] | Shadow Travel | [ The skill allows the beast to return to the host no matter where it''s from. The beast has imprinted itself on the host, so it will return to you no matter where you are. ] "Absorb them as well," Asher told the serpent, giving it a few more C-Rank monsters. Their blood spilled onto the floor of the training facility. However, whenever Rifir absorbed them, even the blood would disappear. The serpent''s Blood Iris stared at Asher for a moment. Then it returned to the task Asher had given it. Asher left the training facility, leaving Rifir to feed on the monsters. But after eating so many C-Rank monsters, the experience gain had significantly decreased for Rifir. This was apparent, as Asher had received only a single notification from the system. [ Rifir''s Level has increased to Level 6 ] After that, the notifications stopped. Soon after, Asher saw the serpent emerge from his shadow and disintegrate as it returned to the strange tattoo on his right arm, which also disappeared. Seeing this, Asher stood up and decided to take a shower. In arge mansion in Belvoria, also known as the Water Continent: "Has Jayden returned?" asked a woman in her mid-thirties. The servant responded, "Not yet, mydy." The room was filled with the strong scent of a particr perfume, but the servant had grown ustomed to it. "Did he not receive my message?" the woman said, maintaining her calm gaze. But the servant was not fooled; he had worked for the Hargrave family for many years. "We have sent the message, so Young Master Jayden should arrive soon," he replied, struggling to breathe in front of this woman. "Is her forgetting, by whom''s help he became the Heir of this Family," The woman said she tapped the edge of her desk. Even now, the servant didn''t dare meet the eye of this woman. "Go back," the woman said, and the servant carefully stepped backward so as not to make any noise. Once outside in the hallway, the servant took a deep breath. He had already contacted Jayden Hargrave multiple times, but it he had not responded to the message. "Why was I chosen to serve her?" he wondered, cursing his luck. Many people sought to form connections with members of elite families, and being the younger sister of the Hargrave family head, it was strange for the servant to feel this way. Even though his status had increased as he worked for the family members of the Hargrave family, there was one problem. Thedy he served was not the kindest soul in this world. In fact, rumors circted that anyone who offended the youngdy of the Hargrave family would soon meet their end. And the fact that the Hargrave family head turned a blind eye to all these rumors made it harder for people to me her, as no evidence was ever found. "I''ve waited for this g, finally," the woman said, pouring wine into a ss. There was a hint of killing intent seeping from her. Chapter 247 Invitations Of The Gala "So you still haven''t gotten the rights over that dungeon?" Jayden said, an annoyed look on his face. "Young Master, we are trying, but the World Association is attempting to im it as well," his personal secretary replied. "So what?" Jayden retorted. "If they are not backing down, use the name of the Hargrave Family," Jayden instructed. His secretary looked worried. "But Young Master, doing that might not be the best op-," The secretary stopped midway as Jayden rose from his seat. Jayden began walking towards his secretary, stopping a meter away and looking down at him. "Choose your words carefully," Jayden warned, his mana pressure beginning to increase. "You are standing in front of the Heir of the Hargrave Family," Jayden reminded. "I apologize, Young Master," the secretary immediately apologized. Seeing his secretary''s expression, Jayden retracted his mana pressure. "Go handle that problem. I don''t care what you do, but I need that dungeon under my control," Jaydenmanded as he returned to his seat. "As you wish, Young Master," the secretary replied, stepping out of the room. "A bit more and my position will be solidified," Jayden mused, considering the number of people he had won over to his side. "Nobody deserves to be the next head of the Hargrave Family more than me," Jayden muttered, ncing at the message he had received that morning. "Is she still looking for me?" Jayden examined a message from his Aunt, who wished to meet with him. Jayden had ignored his Aunt''s summons for some time, but he knew that prolonging this evasion wouldn''t be beneficial. After all, his Aunt was one of the key yers who had helped him be the Heir to the Hargrave Family. The Hargrave Family had a rule stating that only the strongest in the family would ascend to the position of Family Head. Because of this tradition, the heirs were selected from among the children with the most potential. Jayden had been named the Heir for this reason. Instead of his younger brother, who was the son of the current Family Head, Jayden, the nephew of the Family Head, had been selected. Despite the tradition of the strongest bing the heir, maintaining his position as heir was not easy for Jayden. To solidify his position, he required significant support from others to ensure that no one could threaten his position. One of these supporters was Casie Hargrave, the younger sister of the Hargrave Family Head. "Should I visit her?" Jayden found himself in a dilemma. Out of all people, he, being closest to Casie after the Family Head, understood what kind of person she was. "Why is she moving so much?" Jayden considered the information he''d received from his secretary about Casie''s recent activities. For more than a decade, Casie had done nothing more than stay at her mansion. asionally, she would venture out to vent her frustrations in a dungeon, but apart from that, she rarely left her home. Jayden didn''t fear anyone outside his family, understanding the extent of his power as a Hargrave. This was precisely why Jayden kept a close eye on those who were allied with him. Casie was the reason Jayden had been dered the Heir of the Family. Her mother, who was Casie''s younger sister, had somehow managed to secure Casie''s support for her son. Typically, Jayden would have needed to demonstrate his strength before the whole family and gain the approval of everyone, including his grandfather and the current Family Head. However, due to Casie''s influence, he was made the Heir when he attained Rank 1 in his first year at the World Academy. Such was Casie''s influence within the Hargrave family, despite her years of istion. After much thought, Jayden finally decided to personally visit Casie at her mansion. Although he disliked being manipted by others, he didn''t want to be enemies with his Aunt.I think you should take a look at It took him an hour to reach her mansion, where he saw very few servants. All of them were undeniably loyal to Casie Hargrave, whether out of sincerity or fear. Jayden understood how difficult it had been to glean information about his Aunt''s movements. "Tell Aunt Casie that I havee to visit," Jayden instructed a bowing servant. "As you wish, Young Master," the servant replied. After waiting for two minutes in the lobby, Jayden saw the servant returning. "Young Lady has given her permission," the servant informed him politely. "Lead the way," Jayden instructed, following the servant to a garden brimming with roses. The intense scent made him frown slightly, but he ignored it as he noticed a beautiful woman dressed in a long gown, seated in the middle of the garden. "It seems my nephew doesn''t bother replying to his Aunt anymore," Casie remarked as she closed her book. "You''re mistaken. I was just a bit busy because of my assignments," Jayden exined, feeling somewhat intimidated by Casie''s presence. "Do you see these flowers?" Casie inquired, plucking a rose. "Yes," Jayden replied. "They are so beautiful and full of life. But the moment we stop watering them, they be lifeless and unattractive," Casie reflected as the rose in her hand instantly withered. Jayden understood the underlying meaning of her words. The rose was symbolic of him, and the water represented Casie''s support. Her words served as a reminder that even though he was the Heir, he was not superior to her. "But you like these roses, so you wouldn''t stop watering them, would you?" Jayden asked, turning her analogy around. "Of course not. But the moment these thorns hurt me, I might just burn this garden down," Casie retorted, the withered rose in her hand igniting into mes. "Well, I know you''re in yourst year, so I won''t waste your time anymore," Casie said as she pulled out a letter from her spatial ring. "It''s an invitation to the Kalvas G," she informed, but her next statement caused Jayden to raise an eyebrow. "I''ll attend the Kalvas G," she announced. "What?" Jayden questioned. "Is it strange for me to go there?" Casie inquired. "N-No, it''s fine," Jayden stammered, taken aback. Casie Hargrave, who hadn''t attended a single event and even skipped family gatherings for over a decade, suddenly wished to attend the Kalvas G. It was no wonder Jayden was taken by surprise. "I was going to tell my brother myself, but I thought you might be a better choice," Casie exined. However, her decision to have Jayden deliver her message had a double meaning. Firstly, it served as a reminder to Jayden of his ce in the family. Secondly, it was an opportunity for Jayden to demonstrate that Casie Hargrave, who was finally re-emerging in society, was backing him. "I''ll do it," Jayden confirmed. Although he needed to show her respect, gaining her support when she was about to reenter society was a chance he didn''t want to miss. Two hourster, Jayden was back at his ce and immediately called for his secretary. "Did you call me?" the secretary asked as he entered the room. "If it''s about the Dungeon, I''m still trying--," he was cut off mid-sentence by Jayden. "Call back all the people keeping an eye on Aunt Casie," Jayden ordered. The secretary was taken aback by Jayden''s abrupt decision but didn''t challenge his instructions. "Yes, I will call them back," he replied, before exiting the room. A/N: Casie Hargrave is currently 35 years old. I have corrected the error in the Heist Arc. Chapter 248 Results "So, he is Rank 1 in all the tests?" Damian asked Amelia, who nodded in response. "How is that even possible?" Damian eximed. He could understand that Asher was powerful, but him achieving first ce in all the tests was a bit surprising. They knew how challenging the theory exam was. In the theory exam, Eva came in second, scoring 12 marks less than the total. But Asher had achieved a perfect score, shocking Damian. Apart from them, many students failed to get passing marks. "Should I also spend more time studying?" Damian pondered as he looked at his score. While it was better than average, it wasn''t anything too outstanding. Even Amelia was in the top 10, while Damian was hovering somewhere around the top 200. "Focus!" Professor Terrence interjected, silencing everyone in ss 2. "You can discuss all you wantter, after I make this announcement," he stated. "Next month, we will not have any sses because the Kalvas G will be happening," he announced, brightening many students'' expressions. The World Academy had resumed sses right after midterms, granting only a two-day break to the students. Many of them were quite tired. Learning that they would enjoy a week-long break was enough to lift their spirits. All four years were informed about this. Apart from a few people, many elite families, and those from invited families were happy they were going to attend the G. Among those not excited about the G was Sam Allister. The G was the ce where all the elite families of the Halcyon Continent would gather, including his father. Given a choice, Sam would have chosen to stay at the World Academy, but he couldn''t defy his father''s will. At the Greville Estate, Sylvie was seated in therge lobby where many servants were standing, multiple dresses and suits in their hands. "Hmm, what do you think about this one, mom?" Sylvie asked Helena, who was seated there as well. Helena nced at the twins trying on their dresses for the G. "Let''s ask the kids. I am old; they might not like the clothes I choose," Helena whispered to Sylvie. Sylvie turned to the twins, asking them which clothes they preferred from the ones the servants were disying. "I think this one is fine," Liviamented as she tried on her fourth dress. From the looks alone, Livia could tell all these clothes were expensive, and considering the number of clothes she already had in her room, she didn''t want to spend too much on these outfits. "This one will be enough," Lucas decided, choosing a suit for himself. "You need at least seven tost the whole G," Sylvie informed, causing Livia to tilt her head in confusion. "The G willst four days, Livia," Sylvie rified, helping both twins understand why they were trying on so many dresses. "By the way, did you choose a partner for my grandson?" Helena inquired, as the twins struggled with the plethora of clothes they had to try on. "Ah, that. I didn''t," Sylvie admitted, causing Helena to frown. "Well, ask him about it," Helena advised, not pursuing the matter any further. "By the way, the number of annoying people in Soran has increased," Helena noted as she sipped on her tea. "We''ve dealt with most of them, but we expected this much after Asher showcased his talents," Sylvie replied while observing the twins. "After the G, it will increase even more," Helena warned her. "Well, I can handle that. I am your daughter after all," Sylvie responded with a smile. Helena smiled, knowing that Sylvie was intelligent enough to tackle these problems. The number of people growing wary of the Greville family''s increasing power was not low. Consequently, many were sending people to Somaria to gather information on the Grevilles. "Do you know who''s hosting the G?" Sylvie asked. "ording to the information I received, it''s the Levoure Family," Helena replied. The Levoure family was one of the non-elite families that had sufficient influence and status to host the G. After the Hargrave Family had refused, they needed to choose a non-elite family as the host, so they selected Levoure. "Can''t I just pick these seven?" Lucas asked Sylvie, pointing at the first seven outfits he had tried on. "Nope, we''ll have to choose the best for you. So keep trying," Sylvie said with a smile, rejecting Lucas.I think you should take a look at ''I want to train though,'' Lucas thought, begrudgingly going back to try on the next suit. *** In a vast desert, a single man was hiding behind a ridge. "Hey, are you sure we won''t die?" Dane asked Tom through themunication device. "Well, probably not," Tom replied. "At least lie and say we will survive," Dane said, but he didn''t raise his voice. "Where''s Kai?" Dane asked. "He''ll reach your position in a minute, so be ready," Tom responded. Dane took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Soon he saw Kai running toward him. Dane stood up and took out the ne that was the teleportation artifact. "Why''s he taking so long," Dane muttered, watching Kai approach. "ACTIVATE IT!" Kai shouted as he reached Dane and jumped. Without hesitation, Dane activated the artifact, grabbing Kai''s hand, and they both disappeared from the location. As soon as they vanished, a massive explosion obliterated everything in therge area they had been in, leaving nothing behind. "Hey, did you escape safely?" Tom asked, his voiceced with worry. "We did, luckily," Kai replied, touching hismunication device. "Only half the locations are left, so keep up with the pace," Tom advised. Both Kai and Dane were exhausted, but they stood up anyway; time was not on their side. In their previous location, they had spent more time than necessary, and they were now behind schedule. "You can rest for today; I''ll update the boss about our progress," Tom informed them before disconnecting themunication device. In his room, he reviewed the many locations they had visited. "How does he know all this?" Tom was unsure how Asher could provide such precise information. "Is the informationwork of the elite families this strong?" Tom pondered, starting to inform Asher about their progress. His task was critical. Although Asher had provided all necessary resources, a single mistake could jeopardize their mission. "It should be fine now," Tom muttered, looking at his shaking hands. Dane and Kai were ustomed to high-risk missions, but Tom was an ordinary man before Asher recruited him. However, the stress of the situation was getting to him. What Asher was making him do could lead to severe repercussions from the authorities. Nevertheless, with the stress came the thrill of the job, pushing Tom to move forward. Until now, Tom hadn''t made a single error like he did with the Heist Mission. "Time to move from here," Tom mumbled after typing his message. He stood up and packed his equipment back into his spatial ring. This was a special spatial ring that even individuals like Tom could use. Upon reaching the hotel lobby, he prepared to check out. "Mr. Jason, you wish to check out?" The receptionist asked. Tom was currently wearing a mask that altered his facial features from his original looks. "Yes," Tom responded in a different tone than his original voice. "Thank you for your stay, sir," The receptionist replied. Tom surveyed the hotel, searching for transportation to his next location. Their missionprised two parts, both of which needed to be fulfilled within a month. They had nearlypleted the first part, but the second part was challenging due to the heightened security. This was because the World Association was hunting for traces of Zephyr. Although the second part wasparatively easier, it also required Tom to be extra cautious to avoid capture. Chapter 249 Kalvas Gala A month had passed in the World Academy, and right now, Asher was standing in front of Xander who had called him to his office. "So, I''ve gotten clearance from the Faculty Council," Xander said as he looked at Asher. "But I have a condition before I hand it over to you," Xander added, with a stern look on his face. "What is it?" Asher asked. "It''s simple, stop using the Space Element; you''re strong enough without it," Xander said. It was obvious why Xander suggested such terms; after all, using the Space Element was extremely harmful for the caster. If it were someone else, Asher would have outright denied them, but he knew that Xander was different from others. "You don''t have to worry about it," Asher said. "What if I tell your family that you''re using the Space Element?" Xander asked, fully aware that the Kalvas G was about to happen. "You can, and they won''t stop me," Asher replied. "Okay," Xander said, stopping his persuasion of Asher. From this conversation alone, Xander could deduce that Asher could use the Space Element without much harm, and it was rted to his family. He knew where the limits were in asking such things from Asher. "You can enter the Great Forest, but don''t go beyond the Blue Area," Xander said as he handed a token to Asher. "This is a special token that you can use to enter and exit the Great Forest," Xander exined. He kept his word and persuaded the Faculty Council to allow Asher to enter the Great Forest. Usually, the Council would have opposed such decisions as it looked like they were favoring one student, but Zacram and Neyman also showed their support to Xander, which quelled the opposition. The fact that Asher could fight C Rank Monsters and had managed to defeat ke Cranston in a spar helped Xander secure the rights for Asher to enter the Great Forest. Xander nced down at a message he had received from his younger brother. He immediately read it, called his brother, and a hologram appeared. On the other side was the current head of the Demarcus Family. "Brother, aren''t you going to the Kalvas G this time either?" He asked, "No," Xander replied. "Why don''t you worry about your daughter who keeps messing with others with her words," Xander said. "Wait, did Venessa cause any problems?" His younger brother asked with a worried look on his face. "I have handled them quietly, but tell her to behave like a student from a normal background if she wishes to stay hidden," Xander said. "Umm, I will tell her," The Demarcus Head replied, but from his expression, it was clear he wouldn''t say anything. After all, he knew how indulgent his younger brother was when it came to his daughter. Xander looked at the golden letter that he had received, the invitation to the Kalvas G. For thest 20 years, Xander hadn''t attended a single G. *** There were 10 sites where the Kalvas G was held, but the final location was only disclosed when the invitations were sent. The previous location was set in Desmar, but after the previous heist, they changed it as the head of the Levoure Family, Cristina Levoure, decided to host it in Somaria, on a Flying Ind. There were multiple flying inds across Somaria, and this one was far from Soran, and closer to the City of Vernes, where the World Association Headquarters were located. "We have arranged the amodations for the Elite Families," The Manager reported to Cristina Levoure, who herself was present on the Flying Ind. It was a week before the Kalvas G would open, and as the host, Cristina could choose to change the theme and a few other things with the approval of a select group from the Small Association that managed the entire G every year. Most of them were individuals that were recruited by the joint decision of the High Council, ensuring they remained neutral at all times. Cristina looked at theyout, and it was exactly she had told them to make it to be. ''Yes, keep these people away from each other,'' Cristina thought in her head. The Levoure family was incredibly respected among the upper society, and that was because of their connections to the elite families. That''s why they were given full authority to customize the G to their liking. But there was another reason why the Levoure family was so respected: Cristina''s husband was the son of one of the Vice Chairmen of the World Association.I think you should take a look at The power structure of the World Association was distributed among three SSS Rank Hunters. The first was Osber Tarvian, who was the Chairman of the World Association and held the most power. However, there were two others who also worked to keep him in check. These two Vice Chairmen oversaw the two factions within the World Association. One faction was responsible for maintaining peace and stability over the world. The second faction, the one to which Cristina''s father-inw belonged, was responsible for managing the Dungeons throughout the world. All three of them had their own authorities and power they wielded over the World Association. "Gather all the people responsible for greeting the guests," Cristina instructed as she turned and looked at the majestic castle that was the venue for this Kalvas G. All the 10 locations had castles, theiryouts were simr, but the designs werepletely different. Preparations went into full swing as Cristina Levoure personally changed the way this G needed to be presented. "I will make sure this G is memorable," Cristina dered, unaware at the time that even without her extra efforts, this G would be something people would never forget. At the World Academy, Asher looked at the C Rank Mana Gem he had purchased from the Trade Market of the World Academy. He had purchased two of them. "Take this," Asher tossed one of them in the air as a ck shadow came out of his right hand and wrapped itself around the mana gem. [Rifir has absorbed the Mana Gem] [Rifir has reached Level 9] Asher looked at the small snake which had grown a bit bigger. "Can I get more?" Rifir asked, its blood iris eyes staring at Asher. "No," Asher rejected Rifir as he wanted to use the C Rank Gem for himself. He was about to step inside his training room when he received a video call from Sylvie. He epted the call, and Sylvie''s face appeared on the hologram. "So how is my lovely son doing," Sylvie asked with a smile on her face. It was hard to contact Asher as he spent most of his time training. "I am fine, mom," Asher replied as he put his sword back into his spatial ring. "Were you training?" Sylvie asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. "Don''t push yourself too hard," Sylvie reminded Asher. "Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted us to choose a partner for the G," She asked. "No," Asher replied. "Well, if you change your mind do tell us, and Amelia told me you are not leaving on the First Day?" Sylvie asked. "I will arrive after the Auction," Asher said. "Inform Emmy before you leave the World Academy, she will arrange everything," Sylvie told Asher. "You can go train now," Sylvie said with a smile as she disconnected the call. Sylvie''s smile faded away as she looked at the list of people from the Abyss Corporation that were found to be selling information to outsiders. After the death of one of their executives, Sylvie received a report about the executive selling information of Abyss Corporation. "Kill them all," Sylvie said as she handed the report to her secretary. "As you wish," The secretary took the report and left the room. It was obvious that removing all the moles was not possible as some would still survive, but her actions would instill fear in those that wanted to betray the Abyss Corporation. Sylvie looked at Arthur who was sitting in her office, casually looking at the reports of people that worked in the Abyss Corporation. "Who is handling the guild work?" Sylvie asked. "The old man, of course, I deserve a vacation sometimes as well," Arthur said with a smirk on his face. "Should I also go and train to be SS Rank?" Sylvie asked as she looked at Arthur. "Wait, then who will handle the Abyss Corporation," Arthur asked. "Of course you," Sylvie replied. "Sure, but don''tin if I mess things up," Arthur replied as he shrugged his shoulders. Chapter 250 At The Greville Estate Before The Gala "Big sister!" Livia ran towards Amelia who had just arrived from the World Academy. She jumped as Amelia caught her and hugged her. "You''ve grown so big, and cute," Amelia said as she rubbed her cheeks with Livia''s. Livia startedughing as Amelia closely hugged her. "Hello," Lucas said to Damian, who awkwardly nodded his head. The difference between the greetings was so stark that Damian felt weird. "Asher wille to the G directly in the night," Damian said to Lucas who was looking around. "Oh, okay," Lucas replied, stopping his search for Asher. Seeing Lucas a bit down, Damian thought of cheering him up but his own experience with his younger brother wasn''t much help. Damian was an energetic person, while Nate always preferred to read books and stay indoors. The Seymour brothers weren''t the bestbination. ''But he likes Asher, maybe so,'' Damian thought. "Do you want to spar with me?" Damian offered. Livia, too, overheard. "I will do it!!" Livia raised her hand while she was in Amelia''s arms. "Cute," Sylvie chuckled as she looked at Amelia and Livia. Amelia immediately red at Damian. "Eh?" Damian was confused, feeling as if Amelia was warning him not to hurt Livia. "I train with Grandfather all the time, but he is super busy and nobody spars with me," Livia said, pointing at the servants who became a bit awkward. "You train with grandfather?" Amelia asked, and Livia cutely nodded at her. Amelia knew that Livia was learning the greatsword and Nathan was helping her, but she didn''t know he was training her as well. "I also want to spar," Lucas said, looking up at Damian. "Yeah, I think I''ll spar with Lucas. Why not spar with Amelia, Livia?" Damian suggested, making another faux pas. He felt Amelia''s re had grown even more powerful. ''Are you telling me to hurt my cute little sister?'' Damian could almost hear Amelia''s thoughts at the moment. "Will you spar with me?" Livia tilted her head back to ask Amelia. "B-But," Amelia was at a loss for words, turning to her mother for help. "Oh, that''s wonderful. We still have a few hours before we leave," Sylvie chimed in, looking at Amelia. Amelia, unable to refuse Sylvie, agreed to spar with Livia, albeit not seriously. However, she was about to learn why the servants of the Greville Family didn''t want to spar with little Livia. Lucas, sitting beside Damian, watched the duel between Amelia and Livia unfold. Livia took up a greatsword, aical sight given her small build. She immediately dashed towards Amelia, who wielded a dagger. Amelia used a water spell to create a soft shield to repel her attacks, but Livia sidestepped and jumped in the air. "What kind of fighting style is this?" Damian muttered, watching Livia. "Oh, Grandfather told her to fight like that to make her sparring partners take her seriously," Lucas exined. "Especially against Big Sister and Uncle Arthur," Lucas added. "He didn''t tell her to do it against Asher?" Damian asked. "No, he told us to spar with Big Brother with getting injured in mind," Lucas said, recalling Nathan''s instructions. "Oh, yeah he is right," Damian agreed, remembering his own sparring experiences with Asher. Even though it helped him improve, he always got severely injured. Amelia was trying to avoid Livia, but Livia kept pushing herself onto Amelia, forcing her to use more spells. Their spar went on like this but in Damian''s eyes, it looked like one person was enjoying it, while the other was regretting it. "Haah, you are so strong Livia," Amelia said, looking at Livia who was panting as she sat on the floor. "But Big Sister is stronger," Livia responded with a smile, melting Amelia''s heart. ''So cute,'' Amelia thought. Damian and Lucas stood up to spar, as Lucas prepared multiple spells in his hands. "You can multi-cast?" Damian asked, looking surprised.I think you should take a look at "Yeah," Lucas replied. Though he was not keen on bing a mage in the begining, his talent also surprised his teachers. This was the reason Nathan brought him to the Mage Association, to help him realize that being a mage wasn''t bad at all. Lucas prepared multiple fireballs in his hands, his eyes focused on Damian. ''They give a simr vibe,'' Damian felt a resemnce between Asher and Lucas. Although it was small, he could feel it in the way Lucas carried himself. Their spar was less intense as Lucas knew that his spells wouldn''t work on Damian due to their rank difference. He had just reached F Rank, so he was still below Damian. Lucaspressed the fireball in his hands and ran towards Damian, who wasn''t using a shield right now. Damian was fighting with his bare hands since using a shield would make it impossible for Lucas to harm him at all. They exchanged various attacks, with Livia cheering loudly for Lucas while Amelia just watched and enjoyed the spar. They were about to leave in an hour, so neither of them pushed too hard. "We''ve prepared your baths," a maid came to inform Amelia. "Let''s go, Livia," Amelia said, and Livia nodded. They needed to get dressed, so they left while Lucas and Damian continued sparring. At the World Academy, Asher finally emerged from his room after a five-day long training session with his sword art. "It''s increased quite a lot this time," Asher noted, looking at the total increase in his mastery. [ Node Art ( Novice ) : 62% ] And Asher could feel that he could push it to 80% with another week''s practice. However, he stopped as the day of the G had arrived. Though he wasn''t going to attend the Opening Ceremony, he nned to attend after the auction when everyone would gather for a dance. He had something important to do before arriving at the G. "Time to invite her," Asher said as he messaged Alyssa. At the mansion in Soran, Tom had already arrived while Dane and Kai were on theirst mission, which was due to conclude soon. Tom couldn''t assist them any further as the location they were in disabled any form of outsidemunication. "This is the most crucial part. I hope they seed," Tom said as he looked at the data he had gathered over the past two months. Outside the Portal Dome in Soran, arge number of S Rank and SS Rank Hunters were present. They were there to escort the children of the Elite families and those who were invited. Normally, the presence of so many hunters would have rmed the people around Soran, but the whole world was aware of the Kalvas G. "So, they''re here," Ria said as she noticed the Hunters of the three Elite families of Desmar standing there, waiting for them. "Let''s go, we should enjoy the G," Ria said to Elena. After the Mid Term, it took them weeks to regain their motivation. "Yeah," Elena replied, but she also knew about the true nature of this G. For them, they would just enjoy the G, but for the adults, that ce was where each family kept a watchful eye on the others. The Auction was the biggest attraction for the Elite Families, as this was the only ce where SSS Rank Artifacts could be found. SSS Rank Artifacts were typically passed down within families, with older ones only surfacing at these auctions. *** At Mzelm Flying Ind, The Castle, where the Kalvas G was going to be hosted, was surrounded by loads of photographers waiting around the entrance where the Teleportation Gate was located. "Who''s going to arrive first?" A man asked his group. "I don''t know, this time the timings are all messy for some reason," one of them replied. None of them knew about the heist conducted by a group named Zephyr, as this information was suppressed by the Elite Families. Only a few were aware of this, which is why the reputation of the Whiteheart family was only affected among the upper echelon of society. "Hey, the first person has arrived," one of them announced, and the cameras began pointing at the glowing Teleportation Gate. The first guest of the Kalvas G had arrived and stepped out of the Portal. "Why is it night here?" a little girl asked as she peeked from behind her father. "It''s Illusion Magic," her father responded as he patted his daughter''s silver hair. In front of them stood an old man whose presence was a shock to all. After all, this man was known for not attending any social events and he would always send his representatives to the G. Chapter 251 The Gala Begins "It''s Silvus Grandus, look at that hair and those eyes," one of them spoke out as they noticed the silver hair and amber eyes. "And are those his grandchildren?" They noticed the twins who were walking behind Silvus. The cameras started shing, taking pictures of Silvus and his family. This was the first event Silvus had attended and none of them were going to miss out on reporting this news to the rest of the world. "We greet the Seat Holder," the servants at the entrance of the g greeted Silvus. "Please let us guide you all to your amodations," one of them stepped out and Silvus nodded. His family walked inside the entrance where only invited people were allowed. "This is so beautiful," Silvus'' granddaughter remarked as she looked up at the night sky. Though somewhat obstructed, she could still see the majestic castle of Mzelm Ind. After Silvus entered, the next to arrive was the Martell Family. Apanying the patriarch was his son Tyrone Martell, the Vice President of the Student Council. As he was the heir, he walked beside his father with the rest of the family trailing behind them. Tyrone looked around, noticing the night sky and the decorations adorning the entrance, crafted by various mages. However, nothing surpassed the sight of the glowing white castle in the distance. The auction would start in the evening and end at 10, when the night party would begin. The first day of the auction only featured S rank artifacts, so it was not too heated. After the Martells, the Watson Family from Fashia, one of the elite families, arrived. If one needed to ce a family in fifth ce among the elite families, it would be the Watson Family. The fourth position was taken by the Rothschild Family, and the rest of the rankings were considered meaningless, as nobody could truly rank the elite families. "Another Seat Holder," theymented as they saw an old man with grey hair and orange eyes enter. The imposing aura of the elite families, and their personal guards, made it difficult for reporters to get too close. One by one, a few other invited families that were famous in the world also entered through the entrance. All were guided to their amodations. The next elite family to enter was the Demarcus Family, with the Demarcus Head taking the lead. ''Venessa would have liked this,'' the Lady of the Demarcus Family thought as she admired the beautifully decorated g. She didn''t me Venessa, even though she was an illegitimate child. The rtionship between her and the Demarcus Head had deteriorated, but they still behaved like a normal couple in public. Following them was the Neville Family. Gavin entered with his father, their striking green hair immediately revealing their identities. "You''re capturing their photos correctly, right?" one of the reporters asked the cameraman. Some families were bringing their heirs or other children to the g for the first time, but most reporters were waiting for one particr family. The Greville Family, more urately the children of Ivar Greville. While it wasn''t confirmed whether they would attend, much of the world was eager to see the offspring of Ivar Greville, also known as the Hero of Soran. This curiosity wasn''t limited to reporters; many among the elite families were keen to see the children of the prodigy from the previous generation. "Who has entered till now?" Cristina asked a servant. After two hours, many families had arrived. "Apart from Greville, Hargrave..." the servant began listing the names. "All of them will arrive within an hour, so get things ready," Cristina instructed as the maids finished her makeup. "You look beautiful, Lady Levoure," one of her personal maidsplimented. "Stop ttering me. Ask Carson to get ready to open the g with me," she instructed, rising from her seat. At this point, at the entrance, the Greville Family had arrived. Every person paused as they felt the imposing aura of Natheniel Von Greville who stood in front with Arthur beside him. Damian was with Amelia, while Lucas and Livia partnered up with each other. "Are they the twins?" Some started whispering. However, the imposing aura momentarily made a few of them forget to take a picture. "Why are they looking at us like that?" Livia whispered to Lucas. "Ignore them," Lucas advised, gripping Livia''s hand tightly. He had taken Arthur''s advice not to let anyments affect them, as people might try to manipte them. Lucas was prepared to face any challenges, but he wanted to protect his sister from such things.I think you should take a look at "Asher Greville isn''t with them. Is he noting?" someone murmured in confusion. They couldn''t understand why the heir of the family hadn''te. Amelia, apanying Damian, simply kept her gaze forward, used to such situations. Following the Grevilles were Helena and Alfred. It was the first time both had attended together. Normally only Alfred attended, but this time even Helena Raven hade to the g. From Silvus to Helena, many people who usually didn''t attend were present. This made those in attendance excited to see how the g would unfold. After the Raven Family, the chairman of the World Association made his entrance, apanied by his twopanions. Leonard was just behind them with the daughter of one of the vice-chairmen of the World Association as his partner. Unlike with previous arrivals, the reporters rxed as the World Association was seen as the face of themon people. Thus, all were very excited to see the entrance of the people leading the World Association. All the other families arrived one after another: the Whitehearts, the Rothschilds, the Williams, and the three families of Halcyon, which included the Royal Family, the Allister Family, and the Everett Family. Only the Hargraves were left. "Why haven''t the Hargraves arrived yet?" Some people were confused with only half an hour left before the g would open. But their expressions quickly changed when the Hargrave Family arrived. The Seat Holder and the family head of the Hargraves came in with a singledy between them. Many were confused, not recognizing the woman. But when someone identified her, everyone soon understood the identity of thisdy being escorted by both the Seat Holder and the family head of the Hargrave Family. It was Casie Hargrave herself, the most loved daughter of the SSS Rank Hunter, Xarax Hargrave. The one person who hadn''t attended any social events for more than a decade. Spection began to buzz around her arrival. "Is it because of the Grevilles?" some murmured, but no one knew for sure why Casie had chosen to attend the g this time. "Wasn''t she the one that was engaged to Ivar Greville?" one whispered, but no one dared speak any further on the matter. Casie carried herself with confidence, as if she was used to the social atmosphere surrounding her. Even Jayden, following behind, was surprised by her confident demeanor. No one knew what was going to happen. This uncertainty was the reason the Hargrave Family Head wanted to avoid hosting the g. "Don''t worry, nobody would dare look down on my daughter," Xarax Hargrave reassured, as Casie smiled in response. There was a reason why Casie had the most say in the Hargrave Family after the Family Head himself - she had the full support of Xarax Hargrave, the SSS Rank Hunter, and the Seat Holder that represented the Hargrave Family in the High Council. After 21 minutes, all the servants called the representatives of all the invited families to the White Castle. There were a total of 40 invited families, and Cristina Levoure was standing with Carson Levoure before the entrance of the White Castle, whose huge gates would mark the start of the Kalvas G. Arthur, who hade with the Greville Family, put his hand on the ss ball as they poured their mana in. "For the honor of hosting the G, the theme for this G is the Eternal Night," Cristina announced with a broad smile. As mana was poured in by the 40 representatives, a massive white bird made of mana appeared and traveled across the Mzelm Flying Ind. The dark night theme was lit up as the bird shattered and turned into numerous stars, and some of the blobs of light cast the illusion of a full moon appearing in the sky. "So beautiful," Ameliamented, looking at the sky with Livia sitting beside her. This was the first time such things were done, and Cristina wanted to be the first one to do it. "As expected of Levoure," Filia Rothschild acknowledged as she gazed at the sky. "This G is different from the others," Elena observed with a smile, noticing the effort put in by the Levoure Family. "They are the best at creating beautiful things," Filia agreed, ncing at her daughter. Meanwhile, at the World Academy, "So, do you want to go to the G with me?" Asher offered Alyssa, who was confused by his invitation. "Why?" Alyssa asked, although she didn''t outright reject him. "I will tell you the reason when we arrive there," Asher responded. "Don''t worry, you will wear an artifact that changes your hair color and eyes," Asher assured her. But the Kalvas G was one ce where Alyssa was unsure if she could handle herself. After all, the killers of her mother and her family were the ones enjoying the G to the fullest. ''Should I just ept his request?'' Alyssa pondered. After all, she had received a lot from Asher. Chapter 252 Talks Before The Auction Starts The schedule for the G was divided into three sections. The first was the opening ceremony of the G, during which the invited families would spend their time in the mansions allotted to them. The second was the Auction, set to begin in the evening, followed by the a quite a Night Party where mostly the younger generation would dance with their partners. The Night party was 6 hour long event which was done to entertain the guests that attended the Kalvas G. It was filled with various events and the Dance was the ending event for the Day 1 of the G. This tradition has been upheld for many years at the Kalvas G. Arthur looked around and noticed many eyes fixed on him, particrly due to his new SS Rank. To them, Arthur reaching SS Rank was not good news. "You seem to be attracting quite a lot of attention," David remarked, standing at the Seymour Family spot. "What can I do, I''m just that attractive," Arthur shrugged his shoulders. David merely smiled and returned with Arthur. The Auction was about to start, and half of the SSS Rank Hunters had gathered in the Special Room designed for their assembly. "It''s been a long time, Nathaniel Greville," the SSS Rank Hunter of the Hargrave Family greeted Nathan. "Looks like you''re still alive," Nathan responded with augh, but none of these SSS Rank Hunters were friendly towards each other. After all, only an SSS Rank existence could kill another SSS Rank existence. "Seems like you and Dalton are still not on equal terms," Xarax Hargrave noted as his eyes fell upon Dalton Rothschild. "Spare me your games, Xarax," Dalton countered, shutting down Xarax. These rooms were made from the most robust materials to withstand the SSS Rank Hunters; they couldn''t sit with anyone else. "A lot of people are attending this time; I wonder why," Osbert Tarvian mused as he entered the room. His gaze shifted to Silvus, who was already seated. This room had only 11 seats, each ced far from the others. After Osbert, the two Vice Chairmen of the World Association also entered the room. "So you did attend the G, Sir Silvus," one of the Vice Chairmen said as he took his seat. Despite all of them being SSS Rank Hunters, a few, like Silvus and Farnus, were noticeably older than the rest. "I just wanted to educate the younger ones about the world," Silvus replied calmly. In their eyes, they saw potential enemies. Even amidst friendly conversation, none of them were ready to expose their weaknesses. Another SSS Rank Hunter entered; this time, it was from the Cranston Family. Joseph Kimir Cranston, the Seat Holder of the Cranston Family. The number of SSS Rank Hunters in the room now reached 8. Soon, the SSS Rank Hunter of the Watson Family also made his entrance. The only remaining SSS Rank Hunters were Dexter Wright and Farnus Calmort. "I''ve heard about your grandson''s talents," Joseph said, looking at Nathan. "That kid is quite talented," Nathan confirmed with a wide grin. "But what about him?" Nathan asked, his once vibrant energy taking a more sinister turn. This was the Nathaniel Greville they all knew well. One rule was upheld at the Kalvas G: no family could attack another during the G. Only one family in history had ever broken this rule and survived: the Greville Family. And the one who had broken the rule was Nathan''s Great Grandfather, who had severed the hand of a man who had insulted his daughter. The Greville family had always behaved this way, but back then, there were only five SSS Rank Hunters, and Nathan''s Great Grandfather was one of them. At that time, nobody could challenge the Greville Family, but people felt less threatened in the present with 11 SSS Rank Hunters around. "Let''s not get too worked up," Osbert interjected, halting their conversation. "Do you, the Chairman of the World Association, wish to impose rules here as well?" Xarax Hargrave asked as he turned to look at Osbert Tarvian. As one of the three strongest families, the only entity maintaining the bnce and holding the Elite Families back was the World Association. "When have I ever done that?" Osbert retorted. "I only abide by the rules set forth by the High Council," Osbert stated as he returned Xarax''s gaze. "If you insist," Xarax said, choosing not to extend the conversation further. It wasn''t time yet for their talk to be threatening. After all, the SSS Rank Artifacts they were all waiting for would only appear on thest day of the auction. In another room, the seven heads of the Kalvas G were gathered, with Cristina from the Levoure Family also present.I think you should take a look at "So, who will host the Auction?" the Martell Family Head asked the old man from the authority managing the Kalvas G. The old man pointed to Kameron, who was standing behind him. "Good luck," another head chuckled, aware of how intense the Auction could be on the second and third days. "Well, our duties are fulfilled, so when will the next seven heads be announced?" he asked. "Perhaps on thest day, we''re still waiting for the final confirmation from Lord Dexter," the old man replied. Dexter Wright was still working on the vault, trying to decipher how the intruders had breached it. The conversation irked Kamden Whiteheart somewhat, but he could do nothing about it. This was the final meeting between the seven heads; the titles would be passed on to the next chosen seven among the remaining 33 invited guests. Back at the Soran Mansion, Asher arrived, stepping out of his car with Alyssa and Emmy, who had ensured that no one saw them leave the World Academy. "Take her to the room on the second floor," Asher instructed Emmy, who nodded in response. Alyssa had agreed to apany Asher to the Kalvas G, but she was unaware of his intentions. Instead of heading to Tom''s room, Asher stopped at a room from which a strange sound emanated. Asher opened the door to find Erwin inside. The same Professor Erwin who would have killed Asher if not for Xander''s intervention. Erwin''s eyes widened upon seeing Asher. "It''s been a while," Ashermented as he approached Erwin. Erwin tried to move, but he was unable. He had survived the past months without any food or water, but he had been constantly fed a drug that Asher had instructed Tom to administer. However, he hadn''t received anything for the past two months. If Erwin were not an S Rank Hunter, he would have died long ago. Even now, his body was thin, and odd ck veins were appearing all over. Erwin recalled when he fell into Asher''s trap. "I''m d that the Chairman didn''t abandon me," Erwin said, looking at the woman who had saved him. He quickly surveyed the surroundings of the ce they had arrived at. However, in the very next moment, the woman approached him. Unbeknownst to Erwin, she swiftly injected a drug into his neck. The action was too swift for him to react. Having just escaped the jaws of death, Erwin was unprepared for the woman''s attack. His sudden rxation made him an easy target. "WHAT!!" Erwin immediately pushed the woman away. As he touched his neck, he felt his connection to mana disappear. ''It works,'' Emmy thought as she observed Erwin wobble on his feet. She had received instructions from Asher to trap Erwin by using the word ''chairman''. Somehow, Erwin trusted her immediately without questioning her identity. "Go sleep for a while," Emmymanded, knocking out Erwin and applying Mana Restraining Cuffs. She didn''t know why, but Asher told her to capture Erwin no matter what, before his grandmother could get to him. Since then, Erwin was locked in a room at the mansion, while Asher experimented with his drugs. "Be grateful, your time to be useful hase," Asher said, pulling out a dagger and stabbing it into Erwin''s heart. Erwin attempted to move, but he was linked to mana restraining devices and didn''t have enough power to gather even a small amount of mana. [Host has gained 120,000 EXP] ''As expected,'' Asher thought as he read the notifications. As the factors that led to Erwin''s weakness were due to the drugs that Asher concocted himself, he received the full experience for killing an S- Rank Hunter like Erwin. ''It would have been better if I could have controlled him,'' Asher thought as he received a message from Tom. At that moment, Kai arrived at the mansion using the teleportation artifact. He promptly made his way to the room Asher was in. "May I devour it?" Rifir asked Asher, the tattoo on his right arm materializing. "Not this one," Asher responded. He had other ns for Erwin''s lifeless body. As the tattoo receded, Kai stepped into the room, catching sight of Erwin''s lifeless form. Tom had already briefed him on this part of the n, so Kai was prepared to transport Erwin''s body to the location where Dane was waiting. "You have full control over it, right?" Asher asked Kai, resting the dagger atop Erwin''s corpse. "Yes, Boss," Kai responded as sense of satisfaction washed over him. They had nearlypleted their mission, and they were both still alive. The past two months had been grueling; they had cheated death several times. The numerous injuries riddling Kai''s body were a testament to the danger they had faced. Chapter 253 Auction Starts At this moment, the auction was about tomence. Although all guests could enter the White Castle, none would do so until the Night Party, except those attending the auction. No rule prevented them from entering the castle, but those invited chose not to until after the auction concluded. "These taste so good," Liviamented, ncing at Amelia. "Of course, at this g all the delicacies from different continents are served," Amelia responded. Currently, servants from the Association that managed the Kalvas G with the Seven Heads were attending to them. Given the high status of the guests, the food was meticulously checked multiple times. After all, almost every Seat Holder of the High Council that managed this world and the Society were present here with their families. "Lady Greville, Lady Levoure wants to meet with you," one of the maids informed Sylvie. "Tell her to meet me in the garden outside," Sylvie replied as the maid went to deliver the message. "Amelia, take care of the twins," Sylvie instructed, to which Amelia nodded in acknowledgment. While nobody would dare harm the Grevilles, caution was still prudent. Sylvie was well aware that half the elite families despised the Grevilles, but they were powerless against them. This had remained unchanged for centuries. "Does Aunt Sylvie know Lady Levoure?" Livia inquired. "Well, she once told me that she knew her personally, but I don''t know any further details," Amelia replied. Sylvie went outside, looking at the woman with long ck hair and greyish eyes. Her beauty was on par with Sylvie''s, but Cristina stood up to greet her. "Pleasure to meet you, Lady Levoure," Sylvie said, taking a seat in the garden surrounded by magical orbs that illuminated their surroundings. "The pleasure is mine," Cristina replied with a smile. "You have made this g quite beautiful," Sylvieplimented. "I just did what I know best," Cristina responded, maintaining her smile, despite feeling intimidated by Sylvie''s aura. Everyone in the business industry knew the true nature of Sylvie Greville. "So, what brings you here?" Sylvie asked, picking up a cup from the table. "I just wanted to have a chat with you. After all, not many people get the chance to meet the CEO of Abyss Corporation due to your busy schedule," Cristina said, producing a ck gemstone. "Is this the Midnight Gemstone?" Sylvie asked, recognizing the stone. "Quite beautiful, but I still want to know the real reason for your visit," Sylvie said, returning the cup to the table. "Sigh, alright. But please ept this gift from the Levoure Family," Cristina said. Seeing that Sylvie didn''t refuse her gift, she decided to reveal the true purpose of her visit. "You might have heard that Lady Casie is attending the g as well," Cristina began, but didn''t notice any change in Sylvie''s expression. "I have, but she is free to do so," Sylvie replied. She could guess what Cristina was about to say. "Let''s not be so formal, Cristina," Sylvie finally dropped the formal tone, realizing why Cristina, her friend, had gone out of her way to meet her. "I hope you don''t mind my saying this, but you shouldn''t have brought those two here." "It''s obvious why Casie Hargrave hase to this g," Cristina pointed out. "You should mind your words, Cristina. There''s no need to make an enemy of the Hargrave Family," Sylvie spoke. "Oh,e on, don''t dodge my question," Cristina countered. She hade here because she was friends with Sylvie, though it had been a long time since theyst met like this. While their conversation continued, the auction started. Currently, Arthur was sitting with David beside him. "As the esteemed guests know, in this auction you cannot use real money," Kameron announced from the center of the room, feeling the heavy gaze of many powerful people. ''So this is what the old man was telling me about,'' Kameron thought, feeling the presence of the influential people around him. The massive auction hall was designed in such a way that all 40 spots were separated from each other. I think you should take a look at However, the tension was high as enemies sat under the same roof. Among them was James Rothschild, who sat away from Arthur. James was distracted, aware of the stares he was receiving because of the blunder Louis had made. Kamden Whiteheart, sitting with the head of the Williams family, felt those stares the most. But they died down as Williams Family Head and Kamden sat together. After all, the eldest son of the Williams family was engaged to the eldest daughter of the Whiteheart family. Their shared seat symbolized an alliance between the two families. "As you know, we will use Teal bs that you all must possess," Kameron said. In this auction, real money was not epted, as many of the artifacts were priceless. Instead, attendees used Teal bs earned through selling items at the auction. If a person submitted an S Rank Artifact, they would gain a certain amount of Teal bs based on the type of artifact, and the number of Teal bs would increase as the ranks of the artifact increased. As the Elite Families had economic restrictions, this system made it possible for them to buy such artifacts. The restrictions were not applicable to entities like the Abyss Corporation or Abyss Guild in the case of the Greville Family, as neither were fully run by the Greville family alone. "We will start with the S Rank Artifacts," Kameron announced as many decided to participate in the auction. "You didn''t bring Damian along?" Arthur asked David. "Do you think I''d let him see these artifacts?" David retorted. "Well, it''s not like he will misuse these artifacts," Arthur reasoned. "I know, but it''s better for him not to know about such things until he gets stronger," David responded. The artifacts auctioned at the Kalvas G were different from those auctioned elsewhere. This attracted the Elite Families to the g almost every time. But all the artifacts followed a single pattern: they were used either for absolute destruction or absolute healing. Every artifact here required a lot of mana and could cause significant destruction or provide intense healing, such as an SSS Rank Healing Elixir, capable of saving a highly injured SSS Rank Hunter. The G ensured no single family could amass all the artifacts; to bid at the auction, you needed to submit artifacts that passed the criteria first. Still, the World Association would collect most of these artifacts as they operated thergest guild in the world. Other guilds, run by the Elite Families, were powerful but couldn''tpare to thebined might of the World Association, with headquarters in all Five Components. All three associations were formed to oppose the Elite Families if needed. "This is the first artifact," Kameron announced, presenting a bracelet adorned with orange runes. "Capable of using a Tier 4 Fire Spell," he described. "The guests can start bidding now," Kameron said. A single guest raised their hand. "Five Teals," the head of the Watson family bid. "Not a bad choice," Arthur mused to himself. After all, the Watson family was known for producing many fire mages and individuals with a strong affinity for fire. Seeing the Watson Family Head bid, no one else did; they didn''t need the artifact that badly. The auction had just begun, and no one wanted to rush, especially since the much-anticipated SS Rank Artifacts had not yet arrived. While these powerful individuals were excitedly anticipating the auction''s start and the powerful artifacts up for grabs, they were blissfully unaware of the chaos that was about to descend soon enough. In the garden outside the mansion where the Greville family was residing, "I hope you''ll consider my advice," Cristina suggested as she stood up. "I know, but no one will belittle those children," Sylvie firmly stated, a clear indication to Cristina that she was unyielding on this matter. "You won''t be able to prevent the inevitable criticism that will be directed at them," Cristina pointed out as she made her exit. Indeed, since the biological mother of Lucas and Livia remained unknown, it was almost certain that the higher echelons of society would cast their scorn upon them. This was one of the reasons why the head of the Demarcus family agreed to conceal Venessa''s true identity until she felt ready to adopt the Demarcus family name. However, the circumstances surrounding Lucas and Livia were distinctly different from others. The very reason that Cristina went out of her way to converse with Sylvie was because she recognized that the existence of these twins could significantly enhance the future strength of the Greville family. Moreover, there was a high probability that, for the first time in history, two SSS Rank Hunters might emerge from the same family. Such a prospect was something that many did not wish to seee to fruition. Chapter 254 Stand Up The auction was in full swing, with more and more artifacts being brought up for bidding. Bidding wars were rare, urring only a handful of times. "You''re not bidding on anything?" David asked as he won the bid on a gauntlet-type artifact. "Not really, we don''t need them in the Abyss Guild," Arthur replied. Even if one were not aware of the resources the Greville family had, it would be easy to imagine the wealth they must have amassed over hundreds of years as an Elite Family. This was why Arthur was in no rush to purchase anything that didn''t catch his eye. Most bids were from people procuring artifacts for their guilds. Like the Abyss Guild, many Elite Families had formed guilds to expand their power. While economic constraints varied among Elite Families, they all could extend their influence through the formation of guilds. Yet, everyone present understood that such economic limitations had no bearing on families like the Greville. Sylvie had sessfully turned the Abyss Corporation, mainly dealing with Mana Crystals, into a corporation worth trillions of AUR. This was possible because the Raven and Greville families decided to coborate, with the Raven Family owning a significant share in the Abyss Corporation, which was unmistakably under Sylvie''s control. Moreover, the Seymour family was closely tied to the Greville family. As a result, the Greville family managed the Abyss Corporation while adhering to any imposed restrictions. But as simple as this arrangement seemed, Sylvie faced considerable opposition when managing the Abyss Corporation. In Somaria, however, none dared to openly challenge the Greville family due to the feared presence of Nathaniel Greville. Unlike other Elite Families, the Greville were known for their ruthless behavior and actions. Their image only shifted after Ivar''s death. Upper Society, however, remained unaffected. "Well, the real action will start on the third day," David said as Arthur smirked. "Of course, I know," Arthur replied. Certain items like Mana Gems above S Rank, and SSS Rank Artifacts were not bought with money alone. The number of SSS Rank Dungeons appearing was generally one or two at most within a five-year span. But to clear them, at least four SSS Rank Hunters would enter the Dungeon, apanied by multiple SS Rank Hunters. That''s why no single person could im the artifact, leading the World Association to submit the artifact to the Kalvas G. But there was something even more valuable than an SSS Rank Artifact, a reason why all these SSS Rank Hunters attended the G. It was the SSS Rank Mana Gem, the only thing capable of enhancing their power that had hit a teau. This time, a SSS Rank Mana Gem was set to be auctioned off at the Kalvas G. "Osbert, are you sure you want to submit all these SS Rank Artifacts to the G?" One of the Vice Chairmen asked Osbert Tarvian, after they had left the White Castle and were sitting in one of the mansions arranged for them. "You underestimate the funds of these Elite Families," Osbert replied. "Well, if you say so," The Vice Chairman stood up and left the mansion. "Where is Leon?" Osbert said as he disrupted the sound barrier around him. The servant immediately entered and bowed before Osbert. "Young Master Leonard is in his room," the servant replied. "Tell him toe meet me," Osbert replied as he stared at the sky above them. In an instant, he cast another sound barrier around him. "Does he think he can get the Mana Gem?" Osbert smiled, understanding the Vice Chairman''s concerns. After all, among the three SSS Rank Hunters, as the Chairman, Osbert held priority. It had been 15 years since a SSS Rank Mana Gem appeared, and Osbert had no intention of surrendering it without a fight. "I have failed once, but luck won''t favor you twice," Osbert mused, reviewing the information he had gathered thus far. The only concern was Erwin, the professor he nted in the World Academy to assist Leonard with his ns. Osbert didn''t want to leave any loose ends that could create problemster on. He needed to confirm that Erwin was already dead. He was confident that nobody could make Erwin betray him. Erwin wouldn''t dare move against Osbert, as doing so would cost him his life. "But she should be enough to keep them busy for a while," Osbert smiled, contemting his next move. Osbert lifted the sound barrier for a moment to allow Leonard to enter his room.I think you should take a look at Meanwhile, at the mansion where the Rothschild family was staying, "I didn''t see your sister?" Ria asked Kevin, who was sitting on the couch with Elena and Eva present in the room. "You don''t know?" Kevin asked Ria, who seemed puzzled. "Oh, I forgot to mention it to her," Elena said, "Eva''s brother Reece ising back, so she''ll arrive with him after the Auction," Elena informed Ria. "So, they are on a date?" Ria asked, ncing at Eva. "Wait, does that mean he''ll be returning to the Academy?" Ria asked Eva, who nodded in response. Kevin was sitting there because Kamden didn''t allow him to apany him to the Auction. "By the way, did you guys coordinate your outfits?" Ria asked Elena and Kevin. "Ah, not yet," Kevin admitted, scratching the back of his head. "What!?" Ria was taken aback. "How could you let him be sox? You guys will be dancing in the main hall," Ria admonished Elena. "He was busy training," Elena defended Kevin, but Ria''s re didn''t lighten. "We still have time, and I''m sure Aunt Filia would have coordinated your dress," Eva said to Ria,ughing at the awkward situation Kevin was in. The Formal Dance, the main event of the Night Party on the first day of the G, was solely for the younger generation, who would dance with their partners. Ria and Eva were also asked out by multiple guys, but both of them turned them down. Elena was delighted that she would dance with Kevin, and seeing that, Kevin was slightly relieved as after the mid-terms, Elena spent all her time training. He still felt guilty for not being able to keep his promise and defeat Asher. Meanwhile, at the mansion where the Allister family was staying, Sam looked down, a hand on his shoulder. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain. "Don''t embarrass our family at the G, okay?" The Duchess of the Allister family said, looking down at Sam. Sam tolerated it, knowing that antagonizing her would only exacerbate his problems. They wanted him to look good, as the Formal Dance of the Night Party was broadcast to the world. They didn''t want Sam to look bad as he was still considered the son of the Duchess of the Allister family. "Go back to your room, and make yourself more presentable," She told him, turning to Jack who was sitting on the couch, watching Sam. "I heard that the heir of the Greville family defeated ke Cranston," She said, lifting her dress to sit on the sofa. "That did happen, but it was just a spar. ke wasn''t serious," Jack replied, a bit nervous under his mother''s gaze. She had been strict with Jack and his training, ensuring that he outshone Sam and all the other children from the Halcyon, Elite Families. "Your father told you to support Leonard Tarvian, not be his subordinate. Remember that," She advised Jack. Sam, on his way back to his room, looked back; his eyes momentarily cold. This woman was the reason he had suffered so much humiliation over the years. ''I will kill you with my own hands one day,'' Sam swore, retreating to his room. "Why isn''t he here yet?" Sam muttered, learning from a servant that the heir of the Greville family had yet to arrive. "Well, at least my father will be preupied with the Auction," Sam thought, finding a smallfort. It was better to endure a few harsh words than face his father. But there was another person who wasn''t as lucky as Sam. "Stand up," Cade Cranstonmanded, staring at ke whoy on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth. "Should we stop them?" one of the servants asked the head butler, who was himself worried. He knew that Cade wouldn''t let ke off easy, but the G was happening and they couldn''t afford to have ke appear injured in front of everyone. Chapter 255 Advice "Stand up," These were the words that ke heard, but he didn''t want to stand up again. Whenever he would stand up, Cade would make him block his strike with his sword. But the result was always the same, with ke being defeated multiple times. And it would remain this way because, no matter what ke did, the difference between a C Rank and an S Rank Hunter was too big. He had expected to be severely punished, but he didn''t think Cade would do it at the Kalvas G. "I will train harder, brother," ke said as he crouched. "I didn''t ask you to make excuses, ke. Stand up," Cade said as he looked down at ke. ''I shouldn''t have asked him to teach me,'' ke clenched his teeth as he regretted his choice. Cade Cranston had spent all his years after graduating from World Academy honing his sword skills. His only motivation was to create a sword art even more powerful than what the Sword God, Nathaniel Greville, used. And hearing that his brother, who he had taught his sword art to, had lost to a First Year - and that person was Asher Greville - Cade was not at all happy. He felt like it was him who had been defeated instead of ke. "Young Master," The Butler finally intervened as Cade turned his head. "Young Master ke will be attending the Dance Hall, so it wouldn''t look good if he wasn''t in his best condition," The Butler said. The Dance Hall would be broadcasted to the whole world, and it was a way that elite families and other High Council Members showcased themselves. If ke was injured or not fully well, it would affect the reputation of the Cranston Family. "We can give him all the healing potion he needs," Cade said as he looked at the Butler. "But he might not be in the best mental condition," The Butler said as he bowed his head a bit. Seeing the old butler who had served his family for years, Cade considered his suggestion as he looked back at ke. "Alright, but don''t think your lesson is over. After the G is over, we will begin from where we stopped today," Cade said as he turned back and left with the Butler. As soon as Cade departed, the Butler signaled the other servants to take care of ke. Each family was allowed to bring 10 Servants to the G, but those servants couldn''t enter the White Castle. Only the Seat Holders, like Nathan and Silvus, were allowed to bring two of their people inside the White Castle during the Night Party with them. This was to ensure that all the servants in the White Castle serving the guests were from the Association that managed the Kalvas G. At the Greville Mansion, Lucas was spending his time with Nate, who was getting along with Lucas quite well. "I heard you reached F Rank," Nate said as he jumped on the bed. "Yeah," Lucas replied as he looked at the book Nate had just given him. "This is the General Theory behind spell construction. I have read it already so you can keep it," Nate said. Because Lucas had a quiet nature, and he didn''t bother Nate like other kids his age, Nate got along with him quite well. Even though they only met once or twice a month, Nate would usually bring over things he wanted to give to Lucas. But most of the time they would spend together with Nate telling him about how useless and annoying their family members were. David had already told Nate to treat the twins as people who were not aware of the Upper Society and how its people behaved. Knowing that his youngest son acted more responsibly than his oldest, David thought Nate would be a good friend for Lucas. "I will read itter," Lucas said as he turned a few pages. "Are you still reading that book?" Nate asked Lucas. "I havepleted it halfway," Lucas replied, and Nate was surprised. "Really?" Nate spoke. "But isn''t it crazy how many families that were in the High Council disappeared over time," Nate said. It had been hundreds of years since the High Council was first created, and it was not hard to see that many of the Original Families were still present today. The reason was simple. Not all families could have a genius or a capable Hunter as their Family Head every generation. And that made the power of those Elite Families decline as they eventually fell and were removed from the High Council. A new Family would then be chosen.I think you should take a look at The only absolute seats in the High Council were reserved for the three associations, and the leaders of these associations were chosen by the members of those associations themselves. The seat that was given to World Academy originally belonged to Farnus, as he was an SSS Rank Hunter. But he proposed to change it to World Academy itself, so that the next Principal of the World Academy could take that position. And thus, the Fourth Absolute Seat was made in the High Council. "I only read up to the part about the Carti Family, which was the First Head of the High Council," Lucas replied. "Yeah, but after the fall of the Carti Family, all the seats became equal with no leader," Nate said. "But these books really don''t go into detail about why such a thing happened," Nate said as their conversation continued. "Haah, I just want this G to be over," Nate said as he looked at the ceiling. "You don''t like these events?" Lucas asked. He had heard from his tutors that the Kalvas G was the biggest and one of the most beautiful events that everyone wanted to attend. But hearing from Nate, it didn''t sound like an event you would want to go to. "Like? I would rather stay at home," Nate replied. "Do you even know how many times my mom told me to make sure I greet all the people at the G," He said. "And the number of times I was reminded to behave appropriately," "But even if I do so, it doesn''t change the fact that more than half the people here would want others to mess up so that they would look good," Nate said as he tried to exin it to Lucas. "And I heard Dad say that as the Auction goes on, it only gets worse and I should be careful around others as well," Nate said. Although what Nate said was somewhat true, part of his dislike of going to social events made him exaggerate it a bit to Lucas. The only people among the younger generation where all eyes were focused, were the heirs of the Elite Families or the potential ones. It wasn''t hard to say that the current heirs would one day sit in the High Council, so many people wanted to see what those kids were like. Gaining information on the heirs of the Elite Families was incredibly hard due to the existence of World Academy, and the fact that the Elite Families always blocked most of this information from leaking. "When will the Auction end?" Lucas asked Nate. "I heard from my brother that it will end in three hours," Nate replied. "Three hours, and the Party will begin at night, right?" Lucas asked and Nate nodded. ''So my brother woulde at night,'' Lucas thought in his head. He wasn''t too bothered about people going after him. But he still listened to Nate, as he didn''t want Livia to experience anything like this. But Lucas right now was not aware of how things worked in situations when so many powerful figures gathered in one ce. Unlike his past where people openly showed their hatred, that was not the case here. The Greville Family had protected them in such a way that not even a single word that condemned them was heard by the twins. Although it was good for the twins, it made them vulnerable and naive to things that could and would happen in the future. It was impossible to shield them from the world forever, and that was why Nathan wanted them to experience this themselves. At the mansion in Soran, Emmy was waiting outside the mansion as per Asher''s orders but she didn''t feel right bringing Alyssa with them as well. After all, she knew that if Asher was seen close with Alyssa, it would spark rumors that could harm his reputation. Right now, there were many people who were looking for a way to condemn the heir of the Greville family, as Asher''s talent was threatening to many people. "I should just follow his orders," Emmy told herself. After all, she had decided to follow Asher, and Emmy believed that Asher knew what he was doing. But if the situation arose where Emmy had to abandon Alyssa to save Asher, she would not think twice about doing so. Inside the mansion, Asher removed the mask from his face, as Tom lifted his hands from his setup. "If nothing goes wrong on their end, the mission will be a sess," Tom said as he looked at Asher. "Make sure to hide your tracks, the eyes on us will increase to such an extent that you''ll have a hard time covering thingster," Asher said. Chapter 256 Auction Ends And The Night Begins "We havee to thest five items of the auction," Kameron announced. "The fifth item is 20 S Rank Mana Gems," Kameron said. "Not bad," Arthur remarked. David looked at Arthur''s wide smile and knew what he was about to do. "30 Teal bs," Arthur said as he ced his first bid of the day. Instantly many eyes turned to the spot, recognizing that it was Arthur who had bid for this item. ''Is he doing it again?'' Some of them had such thoughts in their heads. Until now, everyone had gotten what they wanted, with a few bid wars urring. They were relieved that Greville hadn''t participated yet. After all, they were aware of Arthur Greville''s habit of inting the prices of items he wanted if he couldn''t obtain them easily. "No wonder Greville has so many enemies," David muttered, and Arthur ignored hisments. "50 Teal bs," James Rothschild said, entering the bid war himself. "So it was true, the friction between these two families had increased," the Hagrave Family head noted, witnessing James''s bid. "60 Teal bs," another voice came, the Cranston Family Head. S Rank Mana Gems were extremely useful for S Rank Hunters and below, even some SS-Rank Hunters would use them. Knowing that his son, Cade Cranston, was an S Rank, it wasn''t hard to see why the Cranston Family Head was bidding on this item. From the start, Arthur only bid because he wanted these Mana gems for Asher, but knowing that others would bid as well, Arthur wouldn''t let them get these Mana Gems too easily. "70 Teal bs," Arthur said, pushing the bid. Normally, these S Rank Mana Gems were worth around 80 Teal bs, and Arthur was not going to let anyone have them for less than 100 Teal bs. "90 Teal bs," the Cranston Family Head said. Seeing the Cranston Family Head, James immediately stopped bidding as he didn''t need to interfere anymore. Out of everyone present, the Cranston family was the one that always tried topete with the Greville Family. And having heard the news of the second son of the Cranston Family losing in a spar with Asher Greville, it was clear why the Cranston Family Head didn''t want to lose these S Rank Mana Gems. "100 Teal bs," Arthur said. "110 Teal bs," the Cranston Family Head spoke out again. "120 Teal bs," Arthur increased the bid. At this point, no one else was joining because they knew doing so would be futile. "You seem eager to buy these Mana Gems, Arthur," the Cranston Family Head said, revealing his SS Rank Presence. "What if I am," Arthur retorted, showcasing his own SS Rank Presence, which surprised a few. Not everyone knew about Arthur''s rise to SS Rank, but he had a reason for revealing his rank. Arthur would have kept his rank a secret if he wanted to hide it, but doing so would only give others the idea they could band against the Grevilles. Hiding your strength only gave others the impression they could oppose you, and Arthur didn''t want that oue at all. "130 Teal bs," the Cranston Family Head said, increasing the bid. "140 Teal bs," Arthur said, pushing the bid. David shook his head, knowing that Arthur wasn''t going to buy these S Rank Mana gems for 140 Teal bs. Instead, he was trying to pressure the Cranston Family Head to bid more. "150 Teal bs," the Cranston Family Head said after some thought. "If you want them so badly, you can have them," Arthur said, ceasing to bid. "You really push your luck too much," David said, looking at Arthur. "I would have bought these Mana Gems, if not for that old man telling me not to spend too much on other things," Arthur replied. Nathan had told him not to overspend as he wanted to obtain the SSS Rank Mana Gem that would be auctioned on the third day. Kameron brought out a few more artifacts, and one of them was an All Elemental Damage Ne which James Rothschild bought for 120 Teal bs for Elena in the future. That ne was known to boost a caster''s damage, while capable of unleashing Tier 3 Spells of all basic elements engraved on it. Thest item was a SS Rank Spear, which people thought that the Allister Head or the Whiteheart Family Head would buy, but neither of them bid on it. As Sam Allister and Kevin Whiteheart were both spear users, many thought that they would bid to secure such a spear for their children. After all, there were not too many weapon type artifacts, and even if there were, it didn''t mean that it would be a spear. "With this, we conclude the auction for Day 1, but this is only the start," Kameron announced. "The night party will begin in a few hours," Kameron said as the servants arrived behind him with the items that were auctioned today. "We will deliver these artifacts to your amodations," Kameron said as all 40 of them stood up. As Kameron finished speaking, the White Castle began to glow as various mages cast magic, causing numerous light-inducing orbs to float throughout the White Castle.I think you should take a look at Preparations for the night party began as the servants started arranging tables and all the things needed for the events that would unfold. At this time, all the guests returned to their amodations to get ready for the g. "Damian, did you check on Nate?" Verina asked as the maids put an expensive ne made of blue gemstones around her neck. "I did, mom, he''s getting ready with Lucas," Damian replied while sitting on the couch. "Make sure that you don''t mess up your dance," Verina said, smiling at Damian. "I don''t mess things up, and I practiced--" Damian stopped midway, feeling embarrassed. "Silly boy," Verina muttered, causing the maids to giggle and make Damian even more embarrassed. "I will check on Dad!" Damian said, standing up and leaving the room. Meanwhile, in the Greville Mansion, "How do I look?" Livia asked Lucas, showing him her dress. She was wearing a cute ck dress with golden engravings and a belt of thin, crimson velvet cinched her waist, matching perfectly with her eyes. She had a matching dress with Lucas''s ck suit that had simr golden engraving around the cuffs. "You look good," Lucas said with a smile. But the maids were getting nervous as Livia kept moving from one ce to another. They were trying to do light makeup on her, but her energetic personality made it difficult for them. As Livia recovered, she transformed from a sickly person to a child with endless energy. "Why don''t you get ready with Big Sister?" Lucas suggested, noticing the maids'' struggle to dress Livia up. "Oh, yeah, but I wille back to check on you," Livia said as she left the room. Lucas turned to look at Nate, who was sitting casually in a light blue suit. Nate and the twins were going with the adults, while there was a different section for younger people like Damian and Amelia. "By the way, look at this," Nate called to Lucas, "What is it?" Lucas looked at Nate, who was showing him a video. "It''s my idiot brother practicing dancing, I recorded him," Nate said,ughing. ''You''re going to get beaten again,'' Lucas thought as he saw Nateughing, "Don''t tell him I have this, though," Nate said, to which Lucas nodded. The night party was about to begin, and everyone was getting ready to attend. On the way to the Kalvas G, "Did you enjoy my present, Raelyn?" a young man asked the person beside him. "Well, it was nice to spend a day like that," Raelyn replied as they sat in the car. "So are we going to the g now?" Raelyn asked. "Yes, I''ve already arranged a mansion near the teleportation gates, where you can get ready," the young man said. "But you didn''t tell me that your injury had healed," Raelyn said. "Well, my father didn''t allow me to, but I''ll make sure to inform you beforehand next time," he replied. This young man was Reece Williams, the heir of the Williams family and Raelyn Whiteheart''s fianc¨¦. "By the way, I didn''t bring up the topic earlier, but I''ve heard a lot about Asher Greville," Reece said, noticing a change in Raelyn''s expression. "Is he really that talented?" Reece asked, maintaining his calm demeanor. "Although I don''t want to admit it, the rumors you''re talking about are true," Raelyn replied. "Interesting, I''ll meet him at the g anyway," Reece said, smiling. "Do you dislike him?" Reece asked, noticing Raelyn''s expression. "Of course, after what he did to Elena and the fact that he beat my brother, it would be weird for me to say that I don''t dislike him," Raelyn told Reece. Reece didn''t say anything more, because he already knew everything about Asher, as Leonard had told him about it earlier. ''Well, let''s pretend to be friendly with him,'' Reece thought, He knew that Leonard was aware of his actions, but letting his emotions get riled up by Asher Greville had thwarted his ns. That''s why Reece was going to change his approachpletely. After all, even if Reece managed to suppress Asher''s influence in World Academy, everything would change the moment Asher graduated. Asher''s talent was a significant variable that could affect their ns. Chapter 257 Manipulation - I "As you all know, we will cover the main part of the G that will start soon," the reporter spoke, looking at a camera that was floating in the air. "In the meantime, we can see the famous White Castle of Mzelm Flying Ind," he said as the camera turned towards its right to showcase a beautiful sight of the White Castle glowing in the night. Many reporters were filming the castle as they were not permitted to film the guests unless it was the Main Dance. Most people were looking forward to the first day of the G. They were excited to see the attendees who were from the families that managed the whole world. The White Castle had one main entrance but everyone''s entry time had been confirmed already. This was to ensure that no two guests entered at the same time. One by one, the other invited guests entered with their family, all of them were dressed in luxurious clothes and gemstones. The entrance of the White Castle had various illusions of colorful mana strings floating around, creating a vibrant atmosphere as the guests entered. At first, all the Non-High Council guests entered one by one with their families. These were people who had much control over High Society, but they were still below the Elite Families. Each of these families was supporting one of the High Council members that attended the G. "Wow, this is so beautiful," a few youngdies that entered the White Castlemented. Each staircase would lead you to different sections of the Night Party. The most important fact was that they could see that all the cultures of the Five Different Continents were respected. The Kalvas G showcased the unity of the High Council to the world, but in reality, it was a ce where enmities would start over the auctioned items. "Make sure to talk to the people I told you about," some parents told their kids. Even if they were invited to the G, it didn''t mean that they were strong enough to stand against the Elite Families. That''s why most of these families would have their children make connections with the young generation of the Elite Families, in order to ensure that the future of their families remained ''bright''. Soon the guests arrived at their own reserved sections, as the time for the High Council Member''s Families began. The White Castle consisted of a Main Hall which wasrge enough for multiple events to happen at the same time. The Main Hall had a big screen ced there so that the Host could say a few words and the Main Attraction of the Second Day Auction would be revealed. After the Formal Dance would end, they would disy thest 10 items apart from thest two that would be presented on Day 2, allowing people to decide earlier what they would bid on. As the guests entered the Main Hall, there was another entrance but it was for the First Floor of the Main Hall. All the adults would stay on the Second Floor that connected to the First Hall with a massive staircase in the middle. Even children who were below the age of 14 would stay with their parents as the First Floor was only there for the children above 14. Soon many young men and women started to enter the First Floor, where a sitting arrangement was also set up for them. As the First Floor was reserved for young people, it wasn''t hard to see them observing each other openly. Unlike the adults, who didn''t reveal their intentions openly, these young people were still a bit immature in that regard. Not all of them were trained and educated as some Elite Families would have their children go through, so they could learn how to act in High Society from a young age. And one by one, the Elite Families started entering, with several eyes falling on the people that were entering now. Each of them exuded a powerful aura, and their confidence showed that they wereaware of their positions and how much power they held. The first three Elite Families to enter were from Halcyon, and as they entered, the entire Main Hall turned vibrant green, reflecting the color of the Royal Family''s insignia. But people also noticed that King Rewilh Halcyon entered alone, without the Queen apanying him. Instead, apanying Rewilh were Archduchess Everett and Archduke Allister with their families trailing behind them. Jack and Sam entered from the first floor, along with Lishia Halcyon, who entered alone without a partner, and to her left was the fourth-year student of the World Academy, belonging to the Everett Family. Next were the Families of Fashia Continent, with the Watson Family entering first, followed by Alexander Astaria entering the White Castle, and the Cranston Family enteringst while Cade also ascended to the second floor. The second floor was sorge and divided into many sections that it was difficult to see one person from one end to the other.I think you should take a look at The light illuminated a bright yellow, representing the hot climate of Fashia that prevailed most of the year. Next, the light turned sapphire blue, hinting at the entrance of the Elite Families from the Desmar Continent. "Lady Levoure has made this G truly beautiful," Filia said as she looked at the entrance of the White Castle. "Did you like it that much?" James asked, and Filia nodded as they both entered together, "It''s the Rothschilds," one of the people sitting there informed their kids about the identity of this couple. Next to enter were Kamden Whiteheart and his wife. "Rx, Kamden, you don''t need to be so cautious," the Lady of the Whiteheart family said, "I know," Kamden replied as he entered the White Castle. Meanwhile, on the first floor, everyone was surprised to see Kevin Whiteheart and Elena Rothschild entering together. "They look so gorgeous," a girl said to her partner, who was also stunned while looking at Elena. Usually at the World Academy, Elena and others would wear uniforms or training suits, but this was the first time they were seen in matching attire. Kevin was wearing a white suit, with light blue cuffs, while Elena donned a white dress, entuated by a sapphire ne. Eva and Ria entered together behind them, as the four of them took their seats. "I would love to dance with him," a girl said, looking at Kevin. She was one of the few girls who hade without a partner. In high society, Kevin was still more famous than Asher, who rarely attended social events. Most people only knew Asher from the Representative Tournament, but Kevin had frequently appeared at social events. The lights turned light blue and the mana orbs started to flicker. It was time for the Elite Families from Belvoria Continent to enter. The first was the Martell Family, with Tyrone entering the first floor alone. His tall stature attracted many gazes, but he quietly took his seat, not wishing to draw any more attention to himself. "Is he shy?" Ria thought as she looked at Tyrone. Next to enter the White Castle was the Neville Family, with Gavin apanying one of the girls his father had advised him to partner with. However, the most shocking moment came with the entrance of the Hargrave Family. Leading the Hargrave Family, and walking in front of the Family head, was Casie Hargrave. Her crimson red dress and stunning beauty mesmerized many people seated on the second floor. But within moments, they recognized Casie''s identity, and a single thought upied their minds. Looking at Casie''s dress, they were certain that the reasonfor her attending a social event after a decade was due to the Grevilles, or more urately, the twins. "It seems this night will be fun," the Neville family head smirked, discerning the expression on the Hargrave family head''s face. From his expression alone, it was clear how much he had tried to stop Casie, but in the end, he couldn''t. "It would be fun if she meets them," the Neville family head murmured, ncing at his wife beside him. "Are you forgetting how that woman is?" his wife retorted, "No, but that''s why I am looking forward to it," he replied. After all, many people here knew about Casie''s habits and her nature. It wasn''t hard for them to predict what was going to happen next. Chapter 258 Manipulation - II Even though many people were shocked, none of them reacted even a little bit. Most of these individuals had experienced such events before and had learned how to maintain a facade and hide their intentions. But quite a few couldn''t help but nce at Casie more than once. The Hargrave Family moved together as they approached their assigned section. On the First Floor, Jayden entered with a partner arranged by Casie herself. She had instructed him to partner with the daughter of one of the 40 invited guests, apart from the High Council Families, who were based in the Belovria continent. Jayden confidently walked in, carrying the pride of being the Heir to the Hargrave Family. It was apparent that he attracted everyone''s attention, with many youngsters present hoping to socialize with him. Finally, the lighting around the hall turned a faint red as the Families from Soran began to enter. The first to enter the Hall were Helena Raven and Alfred Raven. Their arrival made some people ufortable, as Helena Raven''s presence was slightly intimidating. Alfred didn''t mind it, allowing his wife to act as she pleased. A servant guided them to their section. Next to enter was the Demarcus Family, but the guests were eager to witness the arrival of the Greville Family. Soon after, thest to enter among the Elite Families were the Greville couple, who were walking with their two children. "If someone troubles you guys, just tell me, okay?" Arthur advised Lucas and Livia, "Okay!" Livia cheerfully replied, looking forward to entering the White Castle. On her way, she noticed beautiful mana strings hovering around them. But the glowing White Castle was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The Castle was designed in such a way that it suppressed the mana in its vicinity, and also lowered the ability of the people inside. This was done to ensure that the young children wouldn''t get hurt by the vast amount of mana that many people carried here. They soon entered the Main Hall. Sylvie and Arthur felt gazes directed towards them. All the attention was on the twins, Ivar Greville''s children. The Greville Family had ensured that no information regarding Livia and Lucas was leaked, so this was the first time almost everyone here was seeing them. Livia didn''t notice the stares, although Lucas did, but he acted normally. Sylvie looked at the seating arrangement and noticed how Cristina had ced the Seymour Family closer to them, and other families further away. Part of this was because Cristina didn''t want her old friend to face any trouble, but also because it was the Levoure Family hosting the G. Even though she knew that by Day 3, tensions among families would increase, she still aimed to create the best possible experience for all the Elite Families. The Levoure family''s biggest strength was their economic might, but Cristina wanted to use this opportunity to garner even more reputation. After Arthur and the twins sat down, it was time for the World Association, the Mage Association, and the Artisan''s Association to enter. Osbert was not present on the Second Floor, as all the SSS Rank Hunters would stay on a higher floor. As Silvus had brought his family, they also entered, marking the first time anyone in Upper Society had seen the grandchildren of the Archmage. "So this is the Night Party," one of the twins with silver hairmented. Both twins were following their parents, who were confidently navigating the social event as they had attended several on behalf of Silvus before. However, this was the first time they had brought their children with them. At this moment, Leonard was entering the First Floor with the daughter of one of the Vice Chairmen of the World Association. Osbert had proposed they enter together, and the Vice Chairman had agreed. ''So he is fine,'' Leonard observed ke sitting at his table. Aware of Cade Cranston''s personality, Leonard found it easier to control ke, who was afraid of creating trouble for his family. "He isn''t here?" Leonard muttered as he scanned for Asher. He moved towards his arranged seat as the lighting dimmed. The floating screen present on both floors showed Cristina, who was about to start the Night Party. "As the host for this G, let''s start the Night," Cristina raised her ss of wine. The adults raised their sses in response, as they watched a group of mages lift the Illusion spell around the whole castle. "It changed," Livia observed, as the entire design morphed, with music performers appearing on both floors. "You both remember, right?" Sylvie asked, and the twins nodded. It was a tradition of the Kalvas G that thedies and gentlemen would gather at separate tables for a discussion before the Formal Dance began. "Yes," they both confirmed, and Sylvie patted their heads. "If you get bored, you can go to the First Floor, but return here before the Formal Dance starts," Sylvie reminded them. "We''ll return soon, so you won''t have to wait too long," she added. Arthur stood first, offering his hand to Sylvie, who took it and rose from her seat. Presently, over eight servants attended to each section, serving the guests. Livia looked around and saw various people standing at a distance. Each section had a sound barrier that prevented outsiders from hearing the conversation inside. The only way to call them was using the device present on the table. While the twins enjoyed the music performance, Sylvie went and took her seat at the gathering. "It seems Lady Greville is also here," a womanmented, observing Sylvie.I think you should take a look at Verina Seymour also joined the gathering, taking an empty seat beside Sylvie. "I sent Nate to spend time with Livia and Lucas," Verina whispered, to which Sylvie smiled. The table filled with people conversing, the purpose of this gathering was to facilitate a sharing of thoughts among the guests. The conversations paused as a particr woman entered the gathering. It was Casie Hargrave who took a seat opposite Sylvie, who didn''t bother to acknowledge her. "It seems everyone has forgotten about me," Casie said with a smile. "How could we forget the Flower of Hargrave," one of the women responded. "What flower? I am too old for that name," Casie replied, bing the center of attention. "I think you are still beautiful," Sylvie added, looking at Casie, who returned her gaze. "Thank you for thepliment, it feels nice to hear good things after all this time," Casie replied, her face tired. ''All this time''. Everyone understood what Casie was referring to. The fianc¨¦ of Ivar Greville, who hadn''t appeared at any social events after his death, had suddenly surfaced when Ivar''s children were discovered. However, Casie halted her conversation as she noticed Filia Rothschild and the Lady of the Williams Family entering together. ''Let''s start this,'' Casie thought, a small smile appearing on her face. She turned to one of the women, who noticed her. "Your dress is quite beautiful," the womanplimented Casie. Sylvie understood what Casie was trying to aplish. "Well, what can I say, it''s my favorite color," Casie responded, touching the fabric of her dress. "What about you, Lady Greville, your dress looks beautiful too," Casie said, turning to Sylvie. "It''s Lady Levoure''s work, so of course, you will find it beautiful," Sylvie replied, smiling towards Cristina. "I personally worked on that design," Cristina replied, capturing everyone''s attention. Hearing this, many were surprised, as getting Cristina''s personal work wasn''t even possible with money. However, knowing Sylvie''s status, they could understand why Cristina would have made an exception. "On that topic, I don''t think this color suits you, Lady Casie," Sylvie said with a concerned look on her face. Casie''s smile faltered a little at this, as she looked at Sylvie. ''It''s useless,'' Sylvie thought. No matter what Casie nned to do at the G, the Grevilles were not so weak as to be unable to protect the twins. Sylvie wasn''t worried about anyone harming the twins at the G; after all, Nathan was keeping an eye on those around them. "Sigh, I think you''re right," Casie replied, her words surprising many people. ''Is this really the Casie Hargrave I know?'' Filia Rothschild wondered silently, listening to their conversation. After all, the Casie Hargrave they remembered was so obsessed with Ivar Greville that no woman would dare approach him. "I was trying to move on and leave my past, but when I think about it now," Casie said. "Don''t you think the Greville family was unfaithful?" Casie retorted, looking at Sylvie. "What do you mean, Casie Hargrave?" Sylvie asked, as the tension around the table rose. "Exactly as you heard. Aren''t those two children enough proof?" Casie responded. "But let''s stop here; what happened has already happened," Casie interjected before Sylvie could reply. "My feelings from that time have faded away," Casie said, a small smile appearing on her face. "I did attend this G for a personal reason," Casie confessed, confusing everyone, including Sylvie. "Although the agreement between the Greville and Hargrave families was broken a decade ago, why don''t we try it once again?" Casie suggested, smiling at Sylvie. "I''ve heard your son is not engaged, and my brother''s daughter is also unengaged," Casie continued, revealing her intentions. "What about them getting engaged?" Casie proposed. Sylvie''s face turned cold at this. Verina noticed her reaction and grew a bit nervous. After all, Sylvie usually remained calm, regardless of the situation, but her children were her weak spot. "Is she even worthy of my grandson?" Helena said as she entered the room. Casie''s gaze sharpened as she saw Helena enter the gathering. This was Helena''s first visit to the Kalvas G in many years, so most of thedies grew a bit nervous. "It seems Xarax''s daughter is forgetting about the talent my grandson possesses," Helena said, taking the empty centermost seat. "I see. But aren''t you forgetting about the promise made by my great-grandfather and the Greville head of that time?" Casie countered, ying her second card. After all, that very promise was the reason why she had been engaged to Ivar. Chapter 259 Manipulation - III "I guess you''re right," Helena replied, but her face remained calm. "But you are forgetting that the promise was between the Greville and Hargrave," Helena said as she looked at Casie. "And he is my grandson. What if I say I will make him the heir of the Raven family?" Helena said, looking at Casie. Helena''s words made the whole table silent. Deciding on changing the heir of the family, Helena had the power to do so, as Sylvie was the only daughter of the Raven family. "After all, he has an affinity with the ck Element, just like me," Helena said, looking at Casie. Casie clenched her fist but her facial expressions remained the same. She hadn''t expected Helena Raven to use the fact that Asher carried the blood of the Raven family to break the promise between the Hargrave and Greville families. Casie was about to say something, but she looked into Helena''s eyes and got a bit nervous. However, she rxed as she had already achieved her target, and it was fine if she couldn''t push the Greville into the corner anymore. Nobody knew why Casie would speak to Helena Raven like this. Even Xarax Hargrave, the Seat Holder of the Hargrave Family, despite being an SSS Rank, didn''t act arrogant in front of Helena. Casie stood up as everyone looked at her. "Well, I only came here to talk about this, but I need to go back," she said, maintaining her smile as she looked at Sylvie in particr. "Take care, Lady Hargrave," a few of them told Casie as she left the gathering early on. ''What is she nning,'' Sylvie thought, as she didn''t expect Casie would leave like this. "By the way, the heir of the Greville family is still not engaged," one of the women spoke out. "Yeah, there are many good candidates here, Lady Greville," the Lady of the William family spoke. Suddenly, the whole conversation shifted towards Asher, as many women there became interested. After all, Asher was now considered someone even more talented than Ivar Greville. "Well, I will let him decide his future," Sylvie ended the conversation before anyone could take it further. Sylvie was well aware why they wanted to connect with the Greville family. Right now, the Grevilles were considered the strongest family, with Arthur, who had finally reached SS Rank. No matter how many enemies they had, Sylvie knew that these people would not think twice before extending their hands to be allies with them. But unlike this gathering, the men''s gathering was getting a bit heated as each Family Head wanted to maintain their pride over the others. "I don''t mean it in a disrespectful way," the Neville family head said as he looked at Kamden Whiteheart. They were talking about the recent developments when the issue about the vault being breached came up. That was when the Neville Family Head made thement about it being the Whiteheart Family''s fault. "Well, I would worry about other things if I were you," Kamden replied. Arthur was enjoying the back and forth between these two, as he noticed that Alexander Astaria nced towards his direction. ''Is he still holding a grudge?'' Arthur spected. But he didn''t care much as the Astaria family were not strong enough to trouble him anyway. "By the way, I heard about your son defeating the Cranston Family''s second son," the Neville head spoke as he looked at Arthur. "He probably defeated your son too," Arthur replied, making a few men hold back theirughter. "It was a spar," the Cranston Family Head spoke. "If you count a spar as a win, then I could care less about your opinion," he said, looking at the Neville head, but the message was meant for Arthur. At this time, on the second floor where the twins were staying, Nate had alsoe to join them. "Should we go to the first floor?" Livia asked Lucas. "Ah, but we can go after Uncle and Aunte back," Lucas replied, but Livia got a bit gloomy. "Can we go?" Lucas asked, looking at Nate. "Umm, we can go. There shouldn''t be any problem," Nate replied as he looked at Lucas. As far as Nate knew, nobody would harm them at the g, as it was against the rules. "So can we go?" Livia asked Lucas excitedly. "Okay," Lucas replied. As Sylvie and Arthur had told them that they could visit the first floor, he agreed to Livia''s idea. Nate pressed the device on the table, and a servant entered. "Can you guide us to the first floor?" Nate asked, and the servant nodded.I think you should take a look at "Let''s go," Nate said as he jumped out of the big couch. Livia and Lucas did the same as they started following the servant. But as the three of them were moving, they went further towards the center, and at that moment, Lucas looked at a woman wearing a crimson dress staring at them. "Are you both Ivar''s children?" Casie asked as she walked towards the three of them. Her voice made the three of them stop, as Nate looked at Casie but he didn''t recognize her. "Yeah," Livia replied confidently, but she was a bit affected by the heavy perfume that was present on Casie. Casie''s face changed a bit, but it was only for a brief moment. "Do you want something?" Lucas asked as he stepped forward to look up at Casie. Casie''s eyes changed a bit as she looked at Lucas, who looked a lot like a young Ivar. "What would I want from lowborns?" Casie said as she looked at Livia. Nate frowned as he didn''t like this woman who approached them first. But he looked at Lucas and Livia and both of them were calm. They had heard worse things so Casie''s words didn''t affect them. "Who even are you?" Nate asked as he looked at Casie. ''I will tell Mom about this woman,'' Nate thought in his head. "Well, I was the fiancee of their father," Casie replied. Nate thought a bit as he remembered hearing about someone called Casie Hargrave who was engaged to Ivar. But Livia got confused, and so did Lucas, but he didn''t show it. "Oh, is that Lady Casie?" A few women that were not attending the gathering came towards Casie. "Tsk, why did the Greville bring such children here?" One of them spoke out loud enough that the twins could hear her. "By the way, it''s an honor to meet the Young Lady of the Hargrave Family," the women greeted Casie. Livia got a bit angry but she controlled herself. Lucas didn''t show a single response. Unlike other children their age who would feel intimidated by the presence of these adults, Lucas and Livia were a lot different. "Hey, let''s go," Nate told Lucas. Casie saw the twins leave, focusing on Livia the most. ''I wonder if I would feel better if I kill her right now,'' Casie thought as her eyes shone. When Casie first saw the twins, the only thought in her head was to erase their existence. But she didn''t act on her thought. After all, she was aware of an SSS Rank Hunter that was watching over them. ''I will get a lot of chancester on,'' Casie thought as she turned to talk with thedies who came towards her. There was still a lot of time, she could meet them again after all; the Kalvas G was meant tost four days. ''They are doing better than I thought,'' Nathan thought as he noticed Lucas and Livia not getting scared of their interactions with such situations. As they grew up, they would face even more people pointing at them. These small interactions would help the two of them learn. "Was she really the fianc¨¦e of my father?" Lucas asked Nate, "Ah, I don''t know much about that time," Nate replied. "But I heard Mom say in the mansion that your father was engaged to that woman without much choice," Nate said. "But I don''t know the full details, so I might be wrong," Nate added. At the Mansion Soran, "Clear the path, and make sure no surveince is present on the path," Emmy ordered her team through hermunication device. "We will be moving in 20 minutes," Emmy said as she looked at the mansion. She had made sure that Alyssa''s eyes and hair were disguised and she wore a few artifacts, but she wasn''t sure about what Asher was doing. Inside the Mansion, Asher looked at the information that Tom was showing him. "Do I still need to monitor these ces?" Tom asked Asher. "Yes, and ry it to me if you see any sort of changes," Asher said as he looked at the views of five different locations in the world. Tom didn''t know why Asher had him watch these specific areas from the start, but now he didn''t think too hard about it. Asher stood up as he needed to get dressed as well. After all, he couldn''t wear the same suit he was wearing right now. Chapter 260 Night Party Unlike the adults, the first floor was mostly filled with young people interacting with each other. Among them was Leonard Tarvian, standing amidst a group of youths. "By the way, how is the World Academy?" one of them asked Leonard. "It''s fine," Leonard replied, maintaining his smile. Osbert had made sure that his son knew how to act in every social event. No one would look at Leonard and think he would be scheming their demise while smiling and conversing with them. Leonard''s friendly nature was one of the reasons Kevin decided to join him when they would leave the World Academy. Although Reece being friends with Leonard was a significant factor for Kevin joining them. "By the way, I heard Reece Williams will being to the G as well?" one girl asked Leonard. "He told me that he woulde," Leonard replied. While Leonard continued conversing with these young people, who hailed from families powerful enough to be invited to the Kalvas G, he made sure to pick out people that could be useful for him. "I heard your family found a new way to use certain artifacts," Leonard asked one of the boys standing there. "Oh, it seems the word got out quite fast," the boy replied, pleased that his family was being praised. "But our research is still focused only on support type artifacts, and it will take years until it can be implemented," the boy added. While Leonard was conversing, other elite families'' children were sitting with their own groups. At one of the big tables, Damian and Amelia were talking with each other, sizing up the people they were seeing. Amelia was chatting with Damian when she saw Lucas and Liviaing down to the first floor, guided by a servant. Livia cheered up as she spotted Amelia, who was sitting at the table with Damian. Both twins and Nate headed towards their table and sat with them. Their arrival did not go unnoticed as a few people were looking at the twins. "Did you get bored?" Amelia asked Livia as she sat beside her. Damian was smiling, but he noticed Nate''s expression. "Did something happen?" Damian asked. "We met some woman named Casie Hargrave who was rude to them," Nate said with an annoyed look. "Casie?" Amelia echoed. ''Is it Uncle Ivar''s fianc¨¦e?'' Amelia remembered hearing about her once. "Big Sister," Livia said as she poked Amelia''s hand. "Yes?" Amelia answered. "Was that woman really engaged to our father?" Livia asked Amelia, looking slightly saddened. Lucas looked at Amelia, as he too wanted to know the answer. Even Amelia didn''t know the full details about it, but she knew that it was not better to hide things from the twins. "If I remember correctly, Uncle Ivar was forced into an engagement with Casie Hargrave because of a promise between the families," Amelia said. "It was only a verbal agreement as Uncle Ivar didn''t want to marry that woman," Amelia continued. "But even I don''t know the full details," Amelia said as Livia took a deep breath. Even Lucas felt a bit happy without knowing why. But Damian knew a bit more about this topic as David had once told him during their training session. ''I should keep it to myself,'' Damian thought as there was another reason Ivar couldn''t break off the engagement even if he wanted to. As the promise was about one Greville marrying a Hargrave, there were two people that fit the bill. One was Arthur and the other was Ivar. "When you guys go back, make sure to avoid that woman," Damian said, looking at the twins. "Okay," Lucas replied while Livia just nodded with a smile. ''I think they don''t understand why I am saying this,'' Damian thought as he looked at the facial expressions of the twins. Even Amelia wasn''t that worried because she didn''t know much about Casie Hargrave, but Damian did. David would usually tell Damian about Ivar, as he grew up and this made Damian very curious about Ivar. And that curiosity made Damian realize how dangerous the rumors about Casie Hargrave were. But he decided not to tell them until he asked his father about it. As they were conversing, Amelia ordered various treats for the three kids, and they were enjoying their quality time when a few people starteding their way. "Are these the famous Ivar Greville''s children?" one of the guys asked as he looked at Lucas and Livia. Amelia looked up and saw they were the same people that were conversing with Leonard Tarvian previously.I think you should take a look at The guy nced at Amelia and admired her beauty. "Hey, I am -," He was going to introduce himself but Amelia spoke first. "We didn''t invite you here," Amelia said, her cold gaze falling on them. "Uh?" The guy was confused by her reply. "Okay," He said as he turned to leave, causing the others to leave as well. Amelia squinted her eyes, as she noticed all of them were looking down on the twins. It wasn''t hard to guess that they only used the twins as an excuse to get closer and talk with Amelia, who was one of the most beautiful girls present there. And seeing a group of four guys going back as soon as they arrived, a few others with simr ideas gave up the thought of approaching them as well. Amelia continued talking with the kids as they watched various artists perform. Many of them even amazed Lucas and Livia. As this floor was only meant for young people, Cristina made the music and performance cater to their tastes. "I think we should go back," Lucas told Livia, who was happily spending her time with Amelia. He looked at the time and the formal dance was about to begin in half an hour. "Okay, but take care. Mom and Dad would havee back from the gathering as well by now," Amelia said as she called two servants to apany them back to the second floor. The twins and Nate waved goodbye as they returned to the second floor. Amelia had already messaged Sylvie about sending the twins back and included the fact that they had encountered Casie Hargrave. At this moment, Reece and Raelyn had entered through the portal and were making their way to the White Castle. "This is different than I expected," Raelyn said as she observed the colored waves of mana traveling throughout Mzelm Ind. Reece was also a bit surprised with Cristina''s work, as the previous G he attended wasn''t like this. "Let''s take the portal to the White Castle," Reece suggested, looking at Raelyn who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don''t want us to be toote," Raelyn replied. With a smile, Reece extended his hand to Raelyn, who epted it as they walked together towards the portal. *** At one of the operation towers built by the World Association, a man was sitting in one of the surveince rooms, recording the mana readings around the surrounding area where the building was located. "Make sure that the connection with the Kalvas G remains stable," the Head Chief said, looking around. "With so many SSS Rank people gathered in one ce, the mana connectivity might be unstable," he reminded them. The formal dance would be shown to the whole world, and it wouldn''t reflect well on them as they were responsible for maintaining the channels where the broadcast would be held. "I have set the mana sensitivity, we just need to get permission from the people at the Kalvas G," one of the men working on a device spoke. But as they were speaking, the man in charge of surveilling a certain area squinted his eyes. "Why are the mana readings increasing?" He muttered in confusion. Instead of decreasing, the mana readings did not stop at all; they kept rising to ridiculous heights. Seeing that, the man''s hand began shaking with fear, as he knew what this meant. "H-Hey," As he was trying to gather other''s attention he turned his head, but the sight he saw shocked him. "WHAT?!" He shouted as he saw a single masked man killing everyone in the room. "Shush," The masked man spoke as he put his finger on his lips. The man tried to reach out to a certain button but he died before he could even move his hands forward. "I got the control over this room," Dane said as he looked around a room full with dead people. Dane heard Tom''s instructions and he started messing with the controls. "Is it done?" Kai asked as he carried the dead body of Erwin. "Yeah," Dane replied. Kai surveyed the mess Dane had created in the room, but it was necessary for their n. After all, bringing Erwin here using the teleportation artifact was part of their strategy. Tom reminded them. "Okay," Dane and Kai replied in unison, now at ease following Tom''s instructions. After all, Tom''s guidance had saved their lives too many times, leading them to believe that Tom was as much of a professional as they were. However, what they didn''t know was that the source of Tom''s advice was Asher. Chapter 261 Entrance "What happened to your mood?" Arthur asked as he came back from the Gathering, "Nothing, just some leeches asking to marry my son to their daughters," Sylvie replied. Arthur got a bit nervous because Sylvie would always be like this whenever someone would think of exploiting their kids. "Well, he doesn''t need to think about it right now," Arthur replied, "He can choose his partner for himself," Arthur replied, but he felt a bit odd saying this. "Even if it means he will be the Heir of the Raven Family?" Sylvie asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I don''t think the old man will follow the promise, especially now that we know of Lucas and Livia''s existence," Arthur replied. "That''s why he is hellbent on getting the SSS Rank Mana Gem," Arthur said as he took the ss of wine from the table. "Sigh, let''s not think about it, but he can''t join the Formal Dance without a partner," Sylvie said, "Well, it is his choice," Arthur said, as they didn''t want to push their ideas on Asher. "But aren''t you d? No one would approach him," Arthur replied as Sylvie frowned, looking at him. "What do you mean by that?" Sylvie asked, making Arthur look the other way. And just in time, the twins arrived with Nate. "Did you enjoy the First Floor?" Arthur asked Lucas, who nodded back at him. Arthur quickly changed the topic before he made Sylvie even more angry. "Nate, Verina, and your father will being here, so you can stay here," Sylvie told Nate as many guests sat together as the Formal Dance began. Not all of them would, but some Families that were allied with each other would sit together to watch over the Formal Dance and the ceremony that would be hosted after, where one pair would be picked among all the people that entered the Formal Dance. After all, there was a reason this Formal Dance was broadcasted to the world, with the winning lighting the Mana Torch near the Center Stairway, marking the start of the Kalvas G. And that pair would then take out the Mana Torch on Day 4 to mark the end of the G as well. As it had no value, instead of fueling the pride of the Elite Families, Arthur, and Sylvie didn''t tell Asher to bring a partner for him or arrange one for him like many others. "I heard about what happened with Casie Hargrave," Sylvie said as she touched Livia''s cheeks. "There might be some people that would like to drag you down, but you must learn to ignore them and move forward with your life," Sylvie told Livia. "Okay," Livia nodded her head as Lucas took his seat. Meanwhile, the Formal Dance was about to begin in 20 more minutes, and it was at this time when Reece and Raelyn entered together on the First Floor. "Oh my god, is that Raelyn Whiteheart?" One of the girls talking with their group stopped as she looked at a certain pair entering the First Floor. "And even Reece Williams hase with her," One of the boys noticed Reece. As Raelyn was the Student Council President, she was quite famous among the young people. And the same went for Reece Williams, who was the Rank 2 Fourth Year, just slightly below Jayden, who was Raelyn''s Fiance. Most of the young men here didn''t like Reece for the same reason, but they couldn''t undermine his talents and, most importantly, his status. "So he ising back to the Academy," One of the boys sitting near Tyrone Martell spoke, but they failed to notice Tyrone''s expression changed when he saw Reece. But Tyrone controlled himself as he changed his expressions quickly. Leonard saw Reece enter, and he smiled as he stood up from his seat and went towards him. "Took you long enough," Leonard said. "Yeah, I needed to make up for the time I was not in World Academy after all," Reece replied. "But I heard you are making trouble for my Fiance," Reece said with a smile. "Well, I told you that we will not bring our friendship in matters pertaining to the World Academy," Leonard shrugged his shoulders. "Fair. I will being back to the Academy anyway, so you might need to up your game," Reece said. "I will go meet my Sister first," Reece replied as he looked around. ''Is he not here yet?'' Reece thought as he only saw a single person with Crimson Red eyes, and that was Amelia. "Let''s go," Reece told Raelyn, who didn''t intervene with Reece when he was talking with Leonard. Reece had already told her about his deal with Leonard, more importantly, the Tarvian Family, and it was because of that he needed to be on friendly terms with Leonard. "You are not happy to see me?" Reece said as he walked towards Eva and the rest of the group. "Not really," Eva replied, and Reece shook his head.I think you should take a look at "And you have grown stronger since I saw you," Reece looked at Kevin as he stood up to shake hands with him. "Also, thanks for keepingpany to my dear Sister," Reece said as he looked at Elena, who smiled. They knew each other well, as their families were from Desmar, and they would meet a lot whenever Eva came to their Mansion. And Kevin knew Reece well enough because he was Raelyn''s fiance. Although the family did the engagement, they were told to spend some time together to see if they really liked each other. "By the way did you see the view from outside," Elena asked. "We did. It was truly beautiful," Raelyn said as she sat down. Elena and Eva looked at Raelyn with a bit of a surprised ,as this was the first time they had seen her in a dress after such a long time. And right now, Raelyn was wearing a pink dress with a soft sapphire ne wrapped around her neck. Even though Elena and Eva were both quite beautiful, they were still amazed by Raelyn''s appearance. "By the way, is Asher Greville not attending the G?" Reece asked Kevin, but Asher''s name made everyone''s mood go down. Reece looked around, and he could guess that all of them were not on good terms with Asher seeing that mentioning his name was enough to get this sort of reaction. "I don''t know, honestly. Nobody has seen him, so he might not attend," Kevin replied as he broke the silence. "Oh, and here I was hoping to meet him," Reece said, "After I wanted to see why everyone is talking so much about him," Reece said with a smile. "Enough about him. What were you doing all this time away from the World Academy," Elena asked. "Even Eva didn''t know, as your family refused to tell anyone about it," Elena said. "It was just a small injury, and it wouldn''t have looked good on our reputation, so they hid it from everyone," Reece replied. But as Elena and Eva squinted their eyes, Reece just shrugged his shoulders as he couldn''t tell them much about it. After all, his stay at his Family''s Mansion was simply not because he was injured or sick. But it was the reason why Williams was coborating with the Tarvian family. Usually, Reece wouldn''t haveereturned to the World Academy until the End Year exam, but the ''schedule'' got pushed, and his father suggested going back. ''Well, I will go back once we gain all the Mana Crystals required,'' Reece thought, but he didn''t tell them about it, "Well, looks like many people want to meet you guys," Ria said as she looked around, and many people were looking at Reece. "Do you want to stay here?" Reece asked Raelyn, "No, I will go with you," Raelyn replied as she stood up. Reece and Raelyn went to chat with others as the Formal Dance was about to begin. Both of them were famous inside and outside of World Academy, as they were present in a lot of Social Events because they were the oldest sibling. At this time, the reporters outside the Portal were standing still. "Let''s wrap this up. Nobody wille now," One of them said as they looked at the time. Formal Dance was about to begin, and the Broadcast would start. "Hey, the Portal is glowing," One of them pointed it out as they pulled out their cameras. They were curious about who entered thiste, but their expectations were not low as thest pair were Reece Williams and Raelyn Whiteheart,. At the next moment, they saw a young man with Crimson Red Eyes, and they instantly recognized him. But what surprised them was in fact his partner, as they had never seen such a person in the High Society. "Do you know her?" One of them spoke out, but he got no answers. But they didn''t miss a chance to take all the photos, and the young man didn''t care. Because, after all, his entry in the G would be thest thing to be mentioned everywhere. "Can you tell me now why I am here," Alyssa asked as she kept looking forward. "Don''t worry, you will know when we get there," Asher replied as his indifferent eyes looked at the White Castle. Every person who had entered Mzelm Ind was surprised by the White Castle''s beauty, but both didn''t seem to care about it. Chapter 262 Dance Of Chaos - I An hour ago, at the mansion in Soran, Emmy arrived to help Alyssa get dressed, but was taken aback when she saw Alyssa''s healed face. "How was she cured?" Emmy murmured as she beheld Alyssa''s face, free of any disguise for the first time. She recognized Alyssa by her hair, which now seemed full of life, unlike before when it looked lifeless. Asher, who had called Emmy, noticed her reaction. "Don''t tell anyone about it, not even someone in my family," Asher said, his eyes meeting Emmy''s. Emmy nodded immediately at Asher''s orders, yet she wasn''t sure how someone like Alyssa was cured. But even more shocking was Alyssa''s face which hadpletely changed: herplexion had improved and her scars were nowhere to be seen. Even Asher was surprised when he saw Alyssa''s face for the first time. So this was enough to shock Emmy, making her even more worried. If Alyssa was cured, that meant many people who had been ignoring her existence woulde back to hunt her down. This could potentially involve Asher as well. "Do I have to wear this?" Alyssa asked as she looked at Asher. "Yes," Asher replied. After arranging everything, Emmy escorted both Asher and Alyssa to the Kalvas G. She was relieved that her identity was concealed by an artifact that altered her hair and eye color. "Nobody will be able to recognize her now," Emmy muttered as she looked at the portal. She was confident that no one would suspect that Asher''s partner was Alyssa Astaria. While Asher and Alyssa made their way to Mzelm Ind, the formal dance was about to begin. "Is that the broadcasting lens?" Damian asked, looking at a specific mirror globe floating above the center of the first floor. "Yeah," Amelia replied, noticing the globe. "By the way, is he noting?" Damian asked Amelia. "He told us that he woulde, but I don''t know," Amelia replied. Suddenly, arge screen appeared on the first and second floors, disying footage of the center of the first floor where the formal dance would ur. Right now, it was transparent, but as soon as the broadcast began, it would turn on and footage of the dance would be reflected back. The dance was about to begin and the castle entrance would remain closed until the torch was lit by the chosen pair at the end of the dance. "Did you get the confirmation signal from the Operation Tower?" Kameron asked, ncing around the security room. He was making sure everything was fine and there were no issues regarding the broadcast. "We have checked and received the confirmation," the man replied. Kameron looked up as he saw the footage of the first floor. "Tell Lady Levoure that we are ready and she can start whenever she wants," Kameron told one of the men. With everything ready, all they needed was for Cristina Levoure to announce the dance. Outside the White Castle, two people were making their way toward the entrance. Alyssa looked at the glowing White Castle but felt nothing except hatred for it. Had it not been for Asher''s request, she would never have stepped foot here because everything here represented the power and wealth of the elite families - the very people Alyssa sought to exact her revenge upon - enjoying themselves at a party. Asher noticed the look in Alyssa''s eyes but said nothing, as it wasn''t the right time yet. "Which pair do you think will get chosen?" one girl asked her friends. "I would say Raelyn Whiteheart and Reece Williams," a boy replied. "I think Leonard Tarvian will win," one girl added. Both Leonard and Reece were attractive individuals, so there was a lot of spection about who would be chosen. "Let''s not forget the Kevin Whiteheart and Elena Rothschild duo," one girl reminded them. They were discussing this because they knew their chances of being chosen were slim. At each Kalvas G, one of the High Council Family''s children would be selected to mark the start of the G by lighting the Mana Torch. "Maybe the winners will be Amelia Greville and Damian Seymour?" one of them added a new name to the list. Everyone kept suggesting possibilities but all had a particr name in mind. "Aren''t you going to talk to him?" Jayden''s partner asked as she saw him looking in Reece''s direction. "Nah, I''m good, let him have his moment," Jayden said, but he wanted to know why Reece Williams had taken such a long break from World Academy to return to the Williams Estate. Even though people were told that Reece was injured, Jayden wasn''t convinced and thus his eyes were fixed on Reece. "Attention everyone, as the time has arrived, we will start the formal dance soon," Cristina''s face appeared on the screen. At this time, many pairs stood up, including Damian who extended his hand towards Amelia. Simultaneously, Asher and Alyssa paused just outside the entrance of the White Castle''s first floor which was about to close. "Do you want to take your revenge?" Asher asked, looking at the White Castle. "What if I do?" Alyssa retorted. "Do you have the power to do so?" Asher asked, his indifferent gaze fell on Alyssa.I think you should take a look at Alyssa stared at Asher for a moment. "One day, I will have the power to do so," she replied. Just by standing here, she could feel the reduced mana pressure from the runic formation. "What if the whole world stood against you?" Asher asked. "Then I have no choice but to go against the world," Alyssa replied. For Alyssa, her entire life, only one thing had kept her alive through enduring the pain and voices that screamed in her head. And Alyssa was prepared to do everything to fulfill that desire. Asher heard her response, then took a step forward. Alyssa did the same and they moved towards the entrance. At this moment, the broadcast was opened to the entire world, showcasing the stunning first floor of the White Castle on Mzelm Ind. A ce where only a select few could ess, as it was reserved for the G. "Shall we go ahead?" Reece asked as both went towards the center of the first floor. And just like them, the other pairs were also moving towards the center, which was quite big enough for them to stand away from other people. "Hey, isn''t that person Asher Greville?" One person who was looking at the entrance saw a pair enter. His words made many people turn, as their eyes went wide when they saw Asher, who was wearing a ck suit with a red tie that matched his emotionless crimson-red eyes. But what stunned even more people was the girl beside him. "Who is that?" Reece asked, looking at a very beautiful girl walking with Asher as they both entered the first floor. Raelyn turned and looked as her eyesnded on the girl who had instantly captured the attention of the entire floor. Beside Asher stood Alyssa, her ck hair cascading down her back like a midnight waterfall, providing a stunning contrast to her cerulean dress. It was elegantly simple, with a high neckline and flowing skirt that fell to just above her ankles with a special silver embroidery that was done using a unique material that made Alyssa stand out among others. "Who is that girl?" Ria asked Eva, as they had never seen such a beautiful girl at any social events until now. The adults watching the ceremony were even more confused. "Do you know her?" Verina asked Sylvie, but she shook her head. Every single person was mesmerized by Alyssa and Asher''s pair, and they forgot to hide their surprised looks. But they were not the only ones, even the whole world was looking at the entrance of Asher Greville and his unknown partner. "Did I miss something?" Damian muttered, but Amelia felt something simr. None of them could guess that the girl, whose beauty shocked them, was the same girl from the Garcia family that almost everyone hated. But even the girls who wereparing Reece, Leonard, and Kevin could see that Asher was above them. ''Is this right?'' Alyssa thought as she noticed many gazes pointed at her. Although she had agreed to attend with Asher, she was not sure how he was going to exin her identity to his family, and others. But before anyone could think more about it, the lighting dimmed as Cristina appeared on the central stairway. The time to begin the formal dance hade. "I request everyone take their positions," Cristina said as Asher and Alyssa moved towards the center. Asher took Alyssa''s hand as many people were still staring at them. Even Kevin was surprised by Asher''s partner just like Elena was, but they didn''t look anymore because right now they were representing their families in front of the whole world. However, there were a few people who weren''t exactly thrilled by Asher''s arrival, namely Gavin and n. Unlike Gavin, who managed to conceal his displeasure, n couldn''t help but feel intimidated by Asher''s presence. Despite this, he tried his best to control his reactions in order to avoid embarrassing his family. "Now this is absurd," Kameron said as he looked at the screens in front of him. The broadcast of the Kalvas G was streamed over multiple channels on different tforms and people were shocked by Asher''s entrance. ..... Every channel was filled withments and questions about Asher Greville and his partner. For the first time, the world was seeing Asher in a event like this, so all the attention easily shifted to them. ''Four minutes,'' Asher thought. Chapter 263 Dance Of Chaos - II Cristina watched as various pairs took to the Center Stage, which began to glow as the Runic Formation created a magical effect, causing numerous small orbs of mana to float around the stage. Everyone looked on in awe as they felt the mana rising around them. "As per the tradition of the Kalvas G, the dance shall begin," Cristina announced, pping once. The lighting around the First Floor transformed. "I want to know who she is," Amelia murmured, ncing between Asher and Alyssa. "Well, we can do that after this," Damian said, extending his hand. Near the center of the stage, Alyssa regarded Asher. "I might mess this up," she admitted. "It won''t matter by the end of this," Asher assured her. Alyssa didn''t understand the implication of Asher''s words, but she recalled the videos of Formal Dance that Emmy had provided when she was preparing. She had never learned the etiquette of the Elite Families throughout her life. Alexander Astaria didn''t feel the need for her to learn all this, as he had no intentions of presenting her at such events. Apart from basic education, everything Alyssa learned was self-taught. Although she''d reviewed the videos multiple times, this was her first real dance. Despite being in such a beautiful ce, coveted by many rich families, she felt only disgust. Without her careful control over her breathing, she would already be struggling to draw breath. And the voices in her head were louder than ever. ''They killed your mother!!'' ''You will also die,'' ''Kill them all,'' Yet being near Asher helped Alyssa. She suppressed her thoughts, not wanting to ruin whatever Asher had nned. ''It''s fine, I just need to get through this,'' she assured herself, managing to calm her emotions. She took Asher''s hand, and as they made contact, the voices in her head quieted. As Asher guided Alyssa by the arm, she carefully synchronized her steps with his, and the music started. Cristina pped once more, changing the surroundings with her magic. Through illusion magic, the ceiling transformed into a starry night sky, and moonlight illuminated the entire Center Stage, further enhanced by the glow of the floating mana orbs. Asher led withposed assurance, his every movement meticulously controlled. Alyssa matched him step for step, her movements disying an icy, elegant discipline. Their eyes met - two calm pools amidst the rhythm and chaos - yet a connection existed, as cold and silent as the stars above. Although many pairs were present, spectators couldn''t help but focus on Asher and Alyssa, who stood out from everyone else on the Stage. Even those watching the broadcast were entranced by them. "And here I thought no one could match his charm," Helena''s words made Alfred raise his eyebrows. "Who is she?" Helena queried, watching her grandson dance. Alfred smiled, having never heard Helena praise anyone whenpared to Asher. "The girl dancing with big brother is so pretty," Liviamented, eyes glued to the screen. "Yeah, she is," Sylvie agreed, but she was confused. Just like Arthur, and the Seymour couple. They hadn''t seen Alyssa before and were puzzled about her identity. ''I will ask right after this,'' Sylvie thought. On the Center Stage, while the other pairs smiled as they matched each other''s steps, Asher and Alyssa''s faces remained impassive, their eyes locked onto each other. The music quickened, and Alyssa elegantly followed Asher''s lead, who was ensuring Alyssa could keep up with him. No one would guess that they hadn''t practiced together beforehand. "Do you think you''re strong enough to get your revenge?" Asher asked, gazing at Alyssa. "I have to. It''s not a choice for me anymore," Alyssa replied. "You can sense it, can''t you? The power of those above us," Asher said. Alyssa didn''t respond, but she could sense the colossal amount of mana above them. When she spread her senses further, the amount of mana she detected was simply terrifying. And those were the mana signatures of the SSS Rank Hunters. "Do you think you can defeat them?" Asher probed. Alyssa''s step faltered for a moment, causing a brief error, but Asher smoothlypensated, rendering the mistake unnoticeable. But Asher could see a change in Alyssa''s gaze, a look he had seen before. "I will," Alyssa asserted. ''Even if I die doing so,'' she resolved silently. She remembered the reason she had struggled all these years. Despite the pain and the hatred her younger self had endured. Alone, without any support, while hearing the voices that urged her to end her own life. She persevered. Just for revenge. Although she knew deep down that she might not be able to avenge her mother, the idea of dying without inflicting some pain on those who had taken everything from her was unbearable. "Do you realize what will happen the moment they discover you''re cured and could be a threat to them?" Asher asked, his expression unreadable. "I know," Alyssa answered, holding his crimson gaze. She understood perfectly that her survival up to this point was due to everyone''s belief that she was destined to die without bing powerful. "I won''t ask you to support me. You''ve done enough for me already," Alyssa said.I think you should take a look at She was profoundly grateful that Asher had given her the potion that cured her. She wouldn''t mind if Asher didn''t want to support her further; he''d already given her so much. "I will honor our contract," Asher assured her. "Then I''ll lend you my strength in any way you need," Alyssa promised. She vividly remembered the contract she signed before entering the World Academy. Initially, she had signed it to leverage Asher''s status, but now, she was d she did. She also remembered the use that stated she would follow Asher Greville after the World Academy. But there was one thing she wouldn''tpromise: her revenge. That was the only condition she added to the contract. "What if I told you that it''s not the hunting team I wanted you to join?" Asher asked. "Then what is it?" Alyssa inquired, as Asher led her in a turn. Asher didn''t answer, waiting for the music to change again. They continued to dance, but Alyssa was still awaiting Asher''s reply. "Do you remember what I told you on the way here?" Asher asked. "Not to use magic under any circumstances," Alyssa recalled. "Correct," Asher affirmed. At that moment, Tom watched a timer ticking down to ''00:00''. "I''m going to start it soon, so prepare to leave the Operation Tower," Tom instructed Dane and Kai. Once the timer hit zero, Tom initiated the process. "I don''t feel good about this," he confessed to himself. But it was toote; he''d already activated the sequence, and now he could only watch the results unfold. "Let''s make sure I haven''t left any traces behind," Tom decided, desperate to ensure that no evidence could lead others to them. After all, what they were doing now was far more significant than the heist. At the White Castle, The music changed, but suddenly the chandelier, hidden due to the illusion magic, began to glow faintly. It wasn''t the chandelier itself but a small ball attached to it that was glowing. ''It''s time,'' Asher thought. BOOM! Suddenly, the chandelier exploded, and shards of mana-reinforced ss showered down onto the Center Stage. The incident was so abrupt that no one was prepared for it. Alyssa noticed the ss flying toward her face at thest second, but she refrained from using her magic, adhering to Asher''s instructions. Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her face, and a shard of ss dug into it slightly. "Kevin! Are you alright?" Elena asked as Kevin covered in thest second as few ss pieces dug inside his right arm. Only the people like Leonard, Raelyn, Reece and Jayden that were above C Rank were fine. Unlike normal explosion, the chandielier bursted and the peices flew downwards at a very high speed which didn''t gave anyone a chance to react to it. Kevin looked up with as he grabbed the piece of ss out of his right arm, and he could see the illusion magic was removed as the ce where the explosion happened be visible. At the Second Floor, "What happened?!" Arthur shouted as he stood up, and so did the others. The chandelier was made from Rank C material, so apart from a few, many others sustained cuts from the exploding chandelier. But something even stranger urred when the footage on the screen changed, revealing a man sitting in a chair wearing a ck mask and a white suit. "Hello," the man said in a slightly robotic voice. "I am Zephyr," the man on the footage introduced himself, catching off guard the entire world that was watching the broadcast due to this unexpected turn of events. "It seems like the previous incident wasn''t enough, so I decided to use this method instead," the masked man said. People watching the broadcast were left baffled. Everyone was confused, but Kameron, who was handling the broadcast, was the most stunned. "CALL THE OPERATION TOWER!!" Kameron shouted. "Sir, we can''t connect to them," one of the men replied. "Then turn this off!!" Kameron yelled. The man tried, but his attempts were futile. "We don''t have control to turn it off," the man informed Kameron, looking back at him. "Yeah, someone has hijacked the entirework connected to the Operation Tower," another person added. Kameron stood up and pulled out hismunication device. "Call the people near the Operation Tower, tell them to secure the whole tower as quickly as possible," Kameron instructed the person on the call. "Who is the guy on the broadcast?" the man asked. "Just do what I''m telling you right now," Kameron said with a sense of urgency. "Understood." The man on the other end acknowledged, realizing the seriousness of the situation. "I have a small message for the world and a small gift," the masked man spoke, as a snake formed around his neck. Chapter 264 Against The World "What the hell is this?" Xarax Hargrave said, frowning. "I expect many people don''t know about Zephyr," the masked man said as the snake traveled towards his right hand. "I thought that stealing from the vault under the Whiteheart Family would be enough," he continued. "But it seems I was wrong," the masked man added. "How is that possible?" Silvus asked, his eyes fixed on the screen. He was shocked by the sight of a human taming a monster like the masked man they were watching. "I don''t think it''s real," Dalton Rothschild stated, understanding Silvus''s reaction. "Well, unfortunately, it seems the Elite Families don''t want the truth to be announced," the masked man said. "Vault, Zephyr? What the hell is happening?" Ria Adler asked, turning to look at Eva, who seemed even more shocked. "Did you contact Sir Kameron?" Cristina asked via themunication device, her intent to stop the broadcast clear. Every single person in the White Castle was confused. In the history of the Kalvas G, such a situation had never urred. The masked man tilted his head, his right finger caressing the snake''s head. "So I decided to give the whole world a gift that will etch our name in your minds," the masked man announced. "Pirs of Humanity," he continued, "I have a little challenge for you all." "This world has remained peaceful for far too long. People have forgotten the things they should fear," the masked man said. "So to make it a bit more interesting, I have presented a little challenge from my side," he added. At that moment, the bracelets of the three SSS Rank Hunters of the World Association started glowing red. Osbert Tarvian immediately reacted. "Chairman!!" The man on the hologram shouted, shifting the attention of every single SSS Rank Hunter. "We have heard the news that the Cmities have awakened," he announced, a pale look on his face. "Which one?" Osbert asked, his question causing every single person on the third floor to frown. "It''s not o-one b-but multiple-" the man stuttered, but the connection cut off before he could finish. Osbert''s bracelet then started disying footage of the masked man. "You might have received the message, but for those who didn''t, let me tell you about it," the masked man said. "The challenge is quite simple. I have awakened a few cmities around the world. Your task is merely to survive," the masked man dered. "Just until our Pirs of Humanity arrive and save you all," he added. The word ''Cmities'' was enough to silence the entire White Castle. "What are cmities?" Livia asked, not understanding what was happening. "I-I will tell youter," Sylvie responded, looking just as shocked. "As I have announced the gift first, let''s talk about the message," the masked man proposed. The chat around the streaming tform went crazy. < IdkArsc : Hey, is this some sort of prank? > < Hareth1234 : Vault? Whiteheart? What is he talking about? > < Lilyflower : Hey, this is a joke, right? He''s not talking about the Cmities we know, is he? > < WtcJason : How did they gain ess to this broadcast? > "I am sure that many of you are not satisfied with the current way society functions," the masked man dered. "But we can''t really do anything against the Elite Families. It has been this way for far too long," he added. Suddenly, the snake turned, its blood-red iris staring into the screen. "Those who wish to join us, even those who have hidden themselves due to circumstances, you''re wee," the masked man said. "TURN THIS OFF!" Osbert bellowed, his clenched fist causing the room to shake. "Turn against this world. Join Zephyr," the masked man said, a small me appearing in his hand. "Burn along with the world, or be the one that burns it," the screen changed, showing footage from Operation Tower. "This can''t be real," James Rothschild muttered, staring at the screen. "I need to go meet father and the others," James dered, standing up as Filia nodded her head. A simr scene unfolded as all the seat holders and family heads moved towards the third floor, where all the SSS Rank Hunters were present. The twins were left alone with Nate, gazing at the footage, unsure of what it meant.I think you should take a look at "Do you know what the Cmities are?" Lucas asked Nate. "Of course, there''s only one thing considered as Cmities," Nate replied, catching Livia''s attention. "SSS Rank Monsters that were hiding in thends left deserted for hundreds of years," Nate exined, causing Livia''s eyes to widen. "Is that very bad?" Livia inquired. "Yeah, there''s a reason those monsters were left alone and thosends were deserted," Nate said. However, he himself didn''t know what kind of disaster SSS Rank Monsters represented. As he had never fought them, only those in SSS or SS Rank who had encountered these monsters could trulyprehend the gravity of the situation. "This is what I wanted you to join," Asher told Alyssa, looking at her. "Well, it''s time to go back. There will be a car waiting for you," Asher said, his eyes still on Alyssa. Alyssa looked at the screen, which had now turned ck. "Burn the world..." she muttered, realizing what Asher was asking of her. "I will join you," Alyssa replied, meeting Asher''s gaze. "Don''t regret it," Asher warned as he moved aside, allowing Alyssa to leave. Asher nced around, spotting Gavin standing alone in shock. A little further away was Sam, sitting in his seat while Jack stood on the center stage. Suddenly, Sam received a message on his personal device. < Asher : Meet me at the Greville Mansion > Sam looked up to see Asher heading towards the center stairway. "What''s happening?" Sam wondered aloud, not understanding the situation. While the whole White Castle was steeped in confusion, those who had seen the broadcast began contacting various authorities and filling the inte with questions. But more importantly, instead of curiosity, their queries wereced with a palpable sense of fear. Deep in thends near the border of Fashia, "Hey, how much further until we reach that dungeon?" a man carrying weapons asked the guide. "Be patient. Do you think that an Illegal Dungeon would be near the border? We''re not at a ce where we can encounter any SS Rank Monsters," the guide responded. "How can you be so sure?" One of them challenged. "Ask your organization. I''ve traveled to this Dungeon for thest 35 years and I''ve never seen or heard of an SS Rank Monster near this region," the guide retorted. These men were associated with organizations that dealt with illegal activities, and they were headed towards an S Rank Dungeon that was not under the jurisdiction of the World Association or any other guild. "Strange, we are so deep in these abandonednds, I was sure that we could encounter an SS Rank Monster," one of them mused. "Be d. We get the same money for a ce less dangerous," the guide said. "This is much better than working in the cities where the World Association or other forces are always on your tail," one of them responded with augh. Far from them, in the deepest corner of the Abandoned Lands, a monster that had remained dormant in its surroundings for thest 600 years had awakened. The behemoth of a monster stood up, causing thend to shake. Its eyes shone red as it looked in a particr direction. BOOM! An explosion urred around the massive monster, further disrupting the mana region around it. The monster nced at the explosion that disturbed its mana region, which only served to enrage it more. SSS Rank Monsters didn''t like to venture outside the region where the SSS Rank Dungeon they originated from had exploded, as the mana was much thinner there. But various explosions around the mana veins in its region started urring, further enraging the monster that had stayed still for hundreds of years. "VRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAARRRRRR," the monster roared, and the sound of its roar demolished the surrounding area, crushing trees and breaking mountains. Many kilometers away from the monster, a group of S Rank Hunters, who had been on the move, suddenly felt something but it was already toote. "Wait, what-" Before the man could finish his sentence, Including him, the rest of the people around him felt their skin being ripped apart as their bones were crushed, killing them instantly. There was a reason the area around here was avoided by the SS Rank Monsters. They knew about the existence of the SSS Rank monster that would devour them, as SS Rank monsters were the only creatures that could satisfy an SSS Rank Monster''s hunger. The rest of the time, it would stay inside the Mana Region and sleep because other monsters were not worth the effort for it to step out. Chapter 265 Uproar "This can''t be true, right?" Some people started talking with each other. These people were the guests invited due to their financial status. None of them had the power that elite families and guilds possessed, so they were oblivious to what was happening or about to happen. Even Cristina was worried because all her ns to make this g a memorable experience had gone down the drain. But there was someone in an even worse mood than her. And it was Casie Hargrave. Currently, she was staying behind while her brother and a few others went to meet her father, the SSS Rank Hunter, Xarax Hargrave and the other SSS Rank Hunters. "Who are they?" Casie asked as she picked up a ss of wine. She had heard about a group of thieves called Zephyr, but now she wasn''t sure about this new group bearing the same name. She had carefully chosen this g as the ce to nt seeds about Asher Greville, and unrest against the Greville Family. She was going to use this to her advantage, but for that, the g needed tost until the third day. Crack Casie''s mana made the ss, crafted from special material, start to crack. Wine began seeping out onto her hand and falling down. "It seems that I need to contact them again," Casie muttered. It had been a long time since she had been in contact with the organizations unknown to the world. Their existence was known only to a few, and they only epted tasks in exchange for artifacts or precious items. On the third floor, "This can''t be real, right?" one of the men following James Rothschild spoke out. "We''ll know if it''s real or not in a second," James replied as they continued towards the third floor. In the main hall, there were 21 seats, two of which were vacant, and the family head and other elite family members took the seats arranged for them in front of these 21 seats. These seats were for the Seat Holders of the High Council. "Osbert, have you confirmed how many Cmities have awakened?" Silvus asked. "Two have been confirmed in Fashia and Desmar," Osbert replied, maintaining hisposed look. "This isn''t good," one of the Vice Chairmen spoke out, "Let''s forget about the Cmities for a second. That provocative message will incite many people to emerge and cause chaos in society," he exined. "But who are these people? Zephyr? We''ve never heard of this name before," Dalton said, visibly not in a good mood. He had just received news that an SSS Rank monster had awakened in the Forgottennds near Desmar. This meant that he needed to take charge to defeat that monster. "We can address that issueter," the SSS Rank Hunter from the Cranston family interjected. "Focus on the cmities for now," he advised. Humans could be controlled by many things, and they were aware of that, but monsters had only one motive: to wreak destruction all around them. Suddenly, Osbert''s bracelet shone again. He pressed it and a high executive of the World Association appeared in arge hologram. "I greet the Seat Holders," the High Executive said, and each of the SSS Rank Hunters nodded. "What''s the situation?" Osbert asked, as the High Executive turned the camera. Osbert frowned at the sight of every single person in the Operation Tower dead, with a separate dead body sitting on a chair bearing a ''Z'' logo. "But we have a bigger issue. We have taken the mana readings and there are not only two Cmities that have awakened," he announced,I think you should take a look at "The total number is four. Except for Somaria and Halcyon, each continent will have to face an SSS Rank Hunter, while Belvoria will face two," the High Executive disclosed, leading to Xarax mming his hand onto his seat. "What do you mean, two!?" Xarax shouted, his mana causing unrest. "Calm down, Xarax," Dalton intervened, stifling Xarax''s rampaging mana. "Two SSS Rank Hunters. Half of Belvoria would be destroyed if we can''t defeat them in time," Xarax said, making everyone in the room a bit anxious. But hearing that Halcyon was not a target, Rewilh Halcyon breathed a sigh of relief. ''It seems luck is on our side,'' Rewilh thought, as Halcyon was the only continent that currently had no SSS Rank Hunters. "Why are you guys forgetting the purpose of this meeting," Nathan finally spoke, drawing all eyes to him. "Isn''t this meeting to decide which one of us will go fight those monsters?" Nathan asked, his smile widening. Even though the whole world was in chaos, Nathan saw the opportunity that was present for him. Even Arthur understood what his father, Nathaniel Von Greville, wanted to convey. ''This old man is crazy,'' Arthur thought, smiling at Nathan. "What do you mean, Nathan?" Silvus asked, frowning. "I will not participate in hunting those monsters, as simple as that," Nathan dered. Instantly, the rampant mana caused the walls to crack as many SSS Rank Hunters became riled up. At that moment, one of humanity''s pirs had dered he wasn''t going to help, so their reaction was understandable. "Do you think you can force me?" Nathan asked, his dominating aura crushing all the other auras and mana around him. "ENOUGH!!" Silvus interjected, his silver mana rising around him. Seeing Silvus riled up, everyone retracted their mana. "Are you really serious about your decision?" Silvus asked calmly, looking at Nathan. "Now, I didn''t say that I wouldn''t help you guys at all," Nathan rified. "But for me to step in, I would need somepensation," Nathan stated. "Give me the SSS Rank Mana Gem, and I will assist you," Nathan proposed, looking at all the other SSS Rank Hunters present in the room. "You''re asking for too much!!" Osbert eximed, losing hisposure. All his ns had gone down the drain, and now even the thing he coveted most was at risk of being taken too. He wasn''t going to let that happen. "We agreed to defend humanity in such situations," one of the Vice Chairmen dered. "That was the case if all this happened in Somaria," Nathan countered, looking at the Vice Chairman. It was indeed true that the title of Pir of Humanity carried responsibility, but Nathan''s responsibilities only extended to Somaria. "And I''m not saying I won''t pay the price," Nathan added. "I will give double the amount that the Mana Gem was sold forst time," Nathan proposed. His statement created a silence throughout the hall. Nathan was one of the few SSS Rank Hunters needed to counter the four SSS Rank monsters. If they couldn''t secure his help, it was likely that many cities and people would perish as a result. After all, one SSS Rank human was never sufficient for a single SSS Rank monster. Unlike other monsters, these cmities were capable of even altering the environment around them. "You''re asking for too much," Dalton Rothschild interjected, eyeing Nathan. Though the world was in uproar, human greed made them reluctant to let Nathan acquire the SSS Rank Gem. Chapter 266 Discussion "I hope you realize the choices you are making, Nathaniel Greville," Xarax said as he looked at Nathan. "Hahahahaha," Nathanughed as many people watched him silently. Although they might have hated the Grevilles and would sometimes try to provoke Arthur or someone else from the Greville family, Nathaniel Greville was different. An SSS Rank entity that could kill anyone below SSS Rank in an instant. Behind hisughter was a killing intent thaty dormant, waiting to burst out. Nathan''s eyes shone as he looked at Xarax. The mana around the White Castle began to behave strangely. ''This ability,'' Kamden noticed how the mana around them started behaving unusually. "Where were these morals a decade ago?" Nathan asked, his smile disappearing. Just a single push right now would be enough for the anger, the hatred that Nathan had held in for so long, to burst out. And all of the SSS Rank Hunters were aware of it. "It wasn''t us that time. If it had been me, I would have gone inside the dungeon myself," Xarax replied with confidence. The current situation was not one in which they could argue and provoke Nathan. "HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA...," Nathanughed. But suddenly his smile faded once again. "Sure, seems like you are right," Nathan said. His words led people to believe that he had agreed to help them without any conditions. "But, let me awaken one of those atrocities in the Lost Lands of Somaria as well," Nathan said. "I want to see who will be the first one to step in," Nathan said, looking at Xarax. "It seems you guys are forgetting about the main issue here," Alfred finally decided to step in. All faces turned towards Alfred, who held the seat in the Raven Family. Hearing Alfred, Nathan calmed down, and the mana around them returned to normal. "The SSS Rank Monsters are not the only threat we have to face," Alfred reminded them. "A huge monster tide ising, and even the Halcyon Continent won''t be safe from it," Alfred turned towards the three elite families of the Halcyon Continent. "I see what you''re saying, Sir Alfred," The Archduchess of the Everett family responded. She looked at Rewilh, who thought about it for a second. "If it''s not the SSS Rank Monster, we can handle the monster tide ourselves," Rewilh Halcyon, the King of Halcyon, announced. He dered in front of everyone that they didn''t want any external help. But only they could do so because none of the awakened cmities were targeting or near Halcyon. Everyone there understood that Rewilh didn''t want to be indebted to any other elite families. The Halcyon Continent had always remained a bit closed off from the rest of the world, and this was especially true for the royal capital of Halcyon. This also meant that any information regarding them was hard to find. But it was not impossible. "And we don''t even know what abilities those awakened cmities possess," Alfred said. This was the reason none of the SSS Rank Hunters were stepping forward to face those monsters directly. If it were a single SSS Rank Monster, a few of them would have been enough, but having to face four SSS Rank Monsters at the same time was not feasible unless they all came together. "Many people will die until you decide who will go or not," Silvus said, looking at Xarax. The reason they wanted Nathan to go and fight one of the SSS Rank Monsters right now was because he had the greatest chance to use his powers freely being outside the dungeon. Nathan''s destructive power was considered close to Farnus Calmort''s andparable to Silvus''s. It was obvious why the rest of the SSS Rank Hunters wanted Nathan to step up and help them. Almost all of them were at the early SSS Rank, while Nathan was considered a mid SSS Rank Hunter. Only Farnus had reached a level above that, but even he himself had stated that he had not reached the peak. The human limit was obvious, but they didn''t know about the cmities that had awakened. Nathan looked at the faces of people looking at him, but he was not going to give up on the Mana Gem. Especially after the existence of the twins and the recent incident at the dungeon, he was pretty skeptical about everything that had happened until now. An organization hade out of nowhere and managed to throw the whole world into chaos. ''As if I would believe that,'' Nathan thought to himself.I think you should take a look at He was sure that someone behind the scenes was pulling the strings, and he was not going to leave unless he got the SSS Rank Mana Gem in his hands. "Let''s vote it out, if we want Nathaniel Greville to join us or not," Alfred suggested, but everyone here knew that he was on Nathan''s side. "The choices are clear. Those that don''t want him to get the Mana Gem can vote against it," Alfred suggested. "Those who don''t want Nathaniel Greville to participate can raise their hands," Alfred changed his wording in a way that made a few rethink their decision. The head of the Allister family raised his hand, but neither Rewilh nor Archduchess Everett did. Nathan''s crimson-red eyes fell on the Archduke Allister, who became nervous under Nathan''s heavy gaze. Osbert raised his hand, while only one of the Vice Chairmen of the World Association raised his. Osbert looked at the third SSS Rank Hunter of the World Association and knew that getting him to vote against Nathan in this situation was impossible. Silvus didn''t raise his hand, as it didn''t matter if Nathan got the Mana Gem. He was aware of the fact that he had already reached his limit, just like Farnus. The only people who wanted the Mana Gem were the other SSS Rank Hunters. Dalton Rothschild, Xarax Hargrave, and a few others like Neville Head and the Astaria Family, including Kamden Whiteheart, raised their hands. But the majority was not on their side, as the decision was made by all the seat holders. But surprisingly, Williams Head didn''t raise his hand, just like the Watson and Cranston Family''s SSS Rank Hunters. "It seems we can see what everyone wants now," Alfred said. Osbert didn''t show it, but he was barely controlling himself. The amount of resources he had pulled to get the Mana Gem was not small. And the amount wasrge enough for Osbert to be sure that he could get the Mana Gem for sure. It didn''t matter even if Hargrave, Greville, or the Cranston Family pushed him to his limits. The amount he was going to give was four times more than the previous bid. ''How is everything falling apart like this,'' Osbert said to himself. All the things that he had been nning for years were now failing. ''I havee this far, I can''t stop now,'' Osbert thought as he calmed himself down. Instead ofmenting his situation, he was going to find an opportunity in this for himself. While the meeting was going on, another person had decided to change their n. Casie Hargrave was making her way to the section where the twins and Nate were situated. Her hand jewelry stained with wine, her eyes changed as she took in the area where the Grevilles were seated. The look in her eyes would make any person fear for their life. Right now, every servant was on the first floor, tending to the injured. "You can''t me me now," Casie said, recalling her brother''s orders. ''Don''t make a scene in front of the Grevilles, or do anything to provoke them.'' "They''re not here after all," Casie mused as a sinister smile graced her face. Currently, she wasn''t even attempting to hide her murderous intent. "What do you think will happen now?" Livia asked Nate. "I think the SSS Rank Hunters will handle it," Nate replied. "Yeah, I think so too. Grandpa is super strong," Livia happily responded to Nate''s answer. "What happened?" Nate turned to Lucas who was looking towards the entrance. "Umm, nothing," Lucas replied, also turning to the entrance. He thought he had seen something, but nothing seemed amiss. Unbeknownst to the children, a sound barrier had formed around them, with Hassan Trevino standing between them and Casie Hargrave. The moment the meeting of the Seat Holders was convened, Nathan instructed Hassan to guard the twins. He didn''t want to take any chances with the twins'' security. The presence of so many SSS Rank Hunters around him could easily divert his attention from the twins. "Do you know whose path you are obstructing?" Casie asked Hassan. "Of course, I do," Hassan replied politely. He had seen Casie years ago when there were discussions about her engagement with Ivar. "But this isn''t the Hargrave''s table," Hassan said, looking down at Casie. "Is a mere servant daring to stand in my way?" Casie retorted, her face revealing a hint of anger. "I only answer to one person, and I would advise that you don''t force me to act unfavorably," Hassan replied. "And to remind you, I''m not afraid of death," Hassan asserted, making his intentions clear. He had already sensed Casie''s killing intent. Had it been anyone else without the backing of an SSS Rank Hunter, Hassan would have killed Casie on the spot. "What''s happening here?" Amelia arrived on the scene, noticing Hassan blocking a woman in a crimson red dress. "Who are you?" Amelia asked, as Casie turned to look down at her. "Your ''rude'' servant will fill you in, youngdy," Casie retorted as she moved away. However, her eyes briefly flicked back towards Amelia. A smile crept onto her face as she returned to the Hargrave''s section. Chapter 267 Vote Nathan looked around as he won the bid, but he knew that the real problem was far from over. "Well, then I need the Mana Gem first before I step out," Nathan said as the Kalvas G''s Officials stepped forward. None of the people sitting in the room raised a concern as the decision was made. One of the Absolute Rules of the Voting of the Seat Holder was that once the decision was made, no one shall question it further. As the votes were already in, the majority had won. This Absolute Rule had some exceptions; when the person that wanted to oppose had evidence that could convince the High Council to change their votes. But until then, they had to follow this rule. Although this was not an official High Council meeting, everyone still followed the rule. "But who will handle the Monster Tide?" the Williams Family head raised a concern. "Exactly, we can''t handle it if there are multiple SS Rank Monsters in the Horde," Kamden replied. The votes were done, and Kamden Whiteheart had shown his support to Dalton and Osbert, but now they needed to address the issue they were facing. "I will get the SS Rank Mages from the Mage Association. I hope the other people and their Guilds could do the same," Silvus said. "Abyss Guild will cooperate," Nathan replied. And every other person nodded their head for confirmation, but Osbert looked at Nathan. "What about the Greyhounds?" Osbert asked. Nathan looked at Osbert and he knew why he was asking such questions. After all, Greyhounds were the Greville Family''s personal hunters, raised to bepletely loyal to them. Unlike the Guild, these people only moved and worked for the Greville Family. And their existence was one of the things that made it very difficult for anyone to get a single spy into their family. "Do the Greyhounds work for the Guilds? I don''t think so," Nathan replied. "I ask you gentlemen to stop this argument," Silvus intervened before another back-and-forth could start. They didn''t have time for such mundane talks. It was clear that the threat was so big that some people could die as well, and everyone wanted the casualties toe from their enemy''s side. "Issue a warning about them first," Silvus said, pointing at the hologram of the Masked Man. "I would suggest we issue the highest level alert for them," Alfred rmended. No one disagreed. "Inform all the Guilds about it. I hope others could cooperate as well," Silvus said, looking in Helena Raven''s direction. If this threat was as significant as they imagined, then they definitely needed Helena''s ability to trace where this unknown group had originated from. "Assume the rank of the Masked Man as SSS for now," Silvus stated, making many people raise their eyebrows. "Do you really think that man was an SSS Rank Hunter?" Xarax looked at Silvus with a frown on his face. "I don''t think anyone other than us SSS Rank Hunters could manage to bring out this many SSS Rank Monsters from their mana region," Silvus said, and nobody could counter his statement. "He might be a pseudo SSS Rank, like Lady Helena," Osbert said, as many people thought that this was more believable. "It would be safe not to pursue him thinking he is an SS Rank," Silvus said. "We don''t know anything about the enemy; it''s safe to assume that level of danger when encountering them," Silvus added. "We should just trace back those criminal organizations. Those guys must be connected to them somehow," the Martell Head said as everyone seemed to agree with him. There was no way an organization capable of doing this appeared out of nowhere. "But before this, there is one more thing," Xarax interrupted their conversation as he looked at the Kalvas G''s Officials present in the Meeting Hall. "How the hell did they manage to get explosives into the White Castle?" Xarax asked, his mana creating an incredible pressure over the men. "We don''t know anything about it," they all repeated the same thing, but the old man in the front remained silent. "What do you have to say about this, Sir Calvis?" Xarax asked, looking directly at the old man. Kameron clenched his fist. He didn''t want the old man, who had supported him half his life, to be treated this way. But the situation was not good for them at all. "Many of those children were hurt, but that was only the case because the explosive was not that powerful. So answer me, Calvis," Xarax asked again. "I will allow Lady Helena to check my memories if anyone doubts my integrity, but neither I nor the others have broken the Mana Oath," Calvis said, keeping his head down.I think you should take a look at "Enough, Sir Xarax, you don''t need to take it out on them," Alfred said. "We don''t have answers for any of their capabilities, do we?" Alfred asked. "He is right," Helena finally spoke up after thinking about it a lot. "Even though that Snake was small, it was a monster, and that man could control it," Helena said, looking at the Masked Man. "And awakening so many SSS Rank Monsters, at the same time, how is that even possible?" Helena asked a question that left all of them confused. She was right. How did Zephyr manage to awaken FOUR SSS Rank Monsters together? Before anyone could answer, two holograms popped up simultaneously. The holograms were of the Artisan''s Association''s Chairman and the Principal of the World Academy, Farnus Calmort. "Did you get the news?" Silvus asked as he looked at the hologram. "I did," Farnus responded. "I expect that I would need to step in as well?" Farnus asked, and Silvus nodded. Without Farnus, it would be impossible to defeat these cmities in time. Although Farnus was relieved of his duty as a hunter, he needed to step in to help the moment the World was in danger from SSS Rank dungeons or any unexpected situation. A situation just like this. Farnus had never stepped out of the World Academy for more than an hour since the Academy was founded. "By the way, don''t underestimate these guys," Dexter said as everyone looked at the second hologram. "I have studied the method they used to break the Vault, but even I can''tprehend it after so long," Dexter said. "If even Sir Dexter Wright can''t, that means..." Someone muttered, but everyone was thinking the same thing. "We need to eliminate them as soon as possible. If a situation like awakening the cmities is within their capabilities, there is a chance that it could happen again," Farnus spoke up. Farnus Calmort was going to step out of World Academy, and that was enough to assure many people around the world, as the strongest man of humanity would step in to save them. "If he is so eager, why not go to Belvoria? I will handle the SSS Rank Monster in Fashia with him," Nathan said as he looked at the Cranston Family''s SSS Rank Hunter. Farnus looked at Nathan, but he didn''t say anything. "If that''s what you want," Farnus replied. "But before that, I want everyone except the Seat Holders to leave this room," Farnus said with a serious look on his face. Upon hearing this, everyone except the Seat Holders stood up. They didn''t know what Farnus wanted to talk about, but they were certain it was something they couldn''t discuss freely. *** At the Greville Mansion, Asher reached the Greville Mansion and was greeted by the servants of the Greville Family. Each of them recognized Asher immediately and everyone greeted him cordially. "Young Master, your hand," one of the servants noticed Asher''s hand that was smeared with blood. "It''s fine," Asher said with an indifferent face. "Sam Allister wille to visit me. Send him to my assigned room," Asher instructed one of the servants as he made his way to his room. "Let''s see if you are willing to join me or not," Asher muttered, contemting whether Sam would join him or not. Ping! Suddenly, he received a message from Gavin Neville. Asher replied to the text and turned off his phone. "Work hard," Asher thought as he looked at Gavin''s message. "For your own demise," he said after a moment. Chapter 268 Offer As soon as the members of the elite families departed, only the Seat Holders remained in the room. Even Helena left, as the discussion was rted to the Mana Oath they had all taken. It was not possible to reveal this to the world. Although Helena already knew about most of those matters since Alfred had permitted her to peer into his memories. The Mana Oath only restricted him from speaking or telling someone about it. "I recall these guys first appeared when they intruded into the Vault under the Whiteheart Family," Farnus inquired. "That''s right," the Neville Head agreed as he looked at Kamden. "And the Artisan Association still hasn''t figured out the method they used, correct?" Farnus asked. "I have examined the rune conditions, and I can''t understand how they bypassed the Mana Signature that I personally developed," Dexter replied. Everyone was puzzled by Farnus''s numerous questions. The time they were wasting here was time that the monsters were drawing closer to the three continents. "What are the chances that Armax Prison might not be the next target?" Farnus posed, shifting the atmosphere in the meeting hall. They hadn''t considered that possibility at all. Armax Prison was where ordinary or heinous criminals whomitted unforgivable acts were sent. Almost all of them were exceedingly powerful criminals. It hadn''t concerned them until now because escaping Armax Prison was deemed impossible. No one who was thrown into Armax Prison could ever escape in their lifetime unless their sentence was over. But nothing that was happening now fell within their spections. "If they were able to invade the White Castle of Mzelm Ind, the chances of them heading to Armax Prison are high," Farnus dered. "Should I return then?" asked the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter, who was responsible for overseeing Armax Prison. "I would suggest so, since we are uncertain whether that guy is dead or not," Farnus said, reminding everyone of the most notorious prisoner in Armax Prison. "He would be long dead by now, Farnus," Silvus assured. "We have deprived him of any mana for 40 years; you don''t need to worry about him," Silvus continued. "But the possibility exists. Even if we believe he''s dead, the remaining criminals there will pose a threat to society if released," Silvus pointed out. Most of these criminals were serving their sentences. Not all their crimes warranted death, but their ranks and power made it impossible to detain them in regr facilities. That''s why they were imprisoned in Armax Prison. "We need you to fight the cmities," Xarax implored, not wanting Watson''s SSS Rank Hunter to evade this crisis. "Why not let my wife handle that ce? I will assist her as well," Alfred offered. "If it''s them, we can trust them," Silvus agreed. "Then it''s settled," Silvus dered, standing up, with others following suit. For the first time in hundreds of years, the SSS Rank Hunters were about to unite. Even the SSS Rank Dungeon didn''t necessitate their collective action. Calvis turned his attention to the officials who brought arge cube adorned with numerous runic formations. "It seems my reward has arrived," Nathan said, disappearing from his ce and reappearing in front of Calvis. Osbert eyed the item that he was eager to get into Nathan''s possession, feeling far from pleased. ''Let''s see how long your lucksts,'' Osbert thought, looking at Nathan. "Well, don''t destroy the weapons I made for you all. I won''t ept any requests at the moment," Dexter reminded them. Farnus, who was sitting at the World Academy, rose, and once again, drew out his spear. "Drawing it twice in a single year, it seems like I am returning to my past," Farnus reminisced about the times he spent battling numerous monsters. Some might think that not fighting for so long had rusted his skills, but that wasn''t the case. As soon as he grasped his spear, he remembered the familiar sensation. "Xander, you heard it right?" Farnus turned and looked at Xander Demarcus, who was sitting in his office. Every single person had seen the unknown masked man''s message. "I''ll leave the World Academy in your and Zemir''s care," Farnus stated as he removed his robe. Xander saw the most coveted SSS Rank Armor, the one that had made Farnus the strongest human in the world. "I''ll try to return as soon as possible," Farnus did not specify any dates, as the battle with the SSS Rank Monster could take considerable time. Even he wasn''t sure of walking away unscathed if the monster exceeded his expectations.I think you should take a look at This fear was even more pronounced in the other SSS Rank Hunters, except for Nathan Greville and Silvus Grandus, who had confronted quite a few SSS Rank Monsters in their lifetimes. Meanwhile, at the Greville Mansion, Sam arrived at the entrance. "Ah, Asher Greville invited me here," he promptly stated as the servants of the Greville Family looked at him. "Let us escort you," a few bodyguards offered, leading him through the mansion. On Asher''s floor, no servant was allowed unless specifically summoned by Asher. He quickly reached Asher''s room and entered to find Asher engaged in a conversation via hologram. "Did I disturb you?" Sam asked as Asher turned his head. "No, sit down," Asher directed as he observed Sam taking a seat. "So, you remember me telling you about my faction?" Asher queried, his gaze fixed on Sam. "Yes, but is this the right timing?" Sam questioned. "You mean themotion happening outside," Asher assumed, and Sam nodded in confirmation. "Leave that aside, this is the organization I want you to join," Asher said, tossing an item to Sam. Sam caught a ck object and opened his hand to reveal a ''Z'' symbol. Sam furrowed his brows, and his eyes widened as he recognized the same symbol the Masked Man had disyed. "Are you working for them?" Sam nervously asked, looking up. "Working?" Asher echoed, gazing at Sam. Suddenly, a ck smoke enveloped Asher, and a snake materialized around Asher''s neck ¨C the same creature that Sam had seen in the broadcast. Sam instantly stood up, adopting a defensive stance to counter any attacks Asher might initiate. "Calm down, Sam Allister," Ashermanded, his emotionless eyes scrutinizing Sam. "H-H-How? Are you that guy?" Sam stammered, ring his mana in his confusion and nervousness. "Of course, you''re going to join Zephyr as well," Asher dered, observing Sam. "Do you not fear that I will reveal this to the whole world?" Sam threatened, watching Asher. "Go on," Asher responded nonchntly. "But can you save your mother that way?" Asher countered, causing Sam to halt his train of thought. "What if I betray you?" Sam questioned. "Every action has consequences," Asher warned, and Rifir vanished from his neck, only to appear near Sam. A ck shadow began wrapping around his body, immobilizing Sam. "Hey, what is this?!" Sam eximed, but he couldn''t move an inch. Thump! Thump! Thump! His heartbeat quickened, his hands beginning to tremble. He could sense the peculiar creature coiling around him. "Make your choice, Sam Allister. Choose me, and live while I help you save your mother. Or leave this room, betray me, and I''ll leave the consequences to your imagination," Asher warned as Rifir disappeared, freeing Sam to move. Sam hade here thinking that he would join the faction of the future heir of the Greville Family, but what he ended up joining was the organization that had thrown the whole world into chaos. Do or die. This was the choice he thought Asher was giving him, but Sam decided to think about it a bit more. He remembered the treatment he had had to endure for so many years. If he joined Asher, he would be a criminal, but did he have any other choice? Did he have a way to save his mother without joining Asher? The answer was something he was well aware of. "But why are you doing this?" Sam asked, as he couldn''t understand. Asher looked at Sam with his indifferent eyes. Chapter 269 Getting Ready To Leave "It would be better if you didn''t concern yourself with those things," Asher replied as he stared at Sam Allister. Sam looked at the ceiling with a helpless expression on his face. Whatever path he chose now, his future seemed bleak. "Okay, I will join you," Sam replied after a few seconds. It was a tough decision for him. But the glimmer of hope that he could save his mother made him cling to Asher, knowing that it might not be the right choice. "What do I need to do?" Sam asked. "You don''t need to do anything, just follow my orders. When I tell you to step out, you will," Asher replied. Sam nodded, giving up on the idea of resisting Asher''s proposal. He was still shaken from seeing Rifir, but he maintained the courage to converse with Asher. "But what is that thing that looked like a snake?" Sam asked. "That''s my beast. You will see it more in the future, so get used to it," Asher replied. Strangely, Asher had already epted Rifir as his beast. Sam had a plethora of questions about what Asher was doing. How he had acquired this strange beast, or the fact that he was the leader of the group that had thrown the whole world into an uproar. ''Wait!'' Sam suddenly thought of a wild assumption. "Are the Grevilles behind all this?" Sam asked, looking at Asher, It was much easier for him to believe that it was the entire Greville family moving the organization named Zephyr. "No," Asher replied. "And nobody except the members shall know about us," Asher warned Sam. "Ah, alright, I was just asking," Sam replied with nervous hand movements. Below the Mzelm Flying Ind, Alyssa got into the car that Emmy had arranged for her. Emmy made sure that nobody saw Alyssa leave so that they couldn''t track her. "Team Leader, did you see the news?" A voice came from Emmy''smunication device. "I heard about it, increase the security around the Manor," Emmy said as she closed themunication device. "Haah, I''m rather d that something like this happened," Emmy muttered, looking at Mzelm Ind. After all, exining Alyssa''s identity could have put Asher in a tough spot. And due to the chaos that had ensued, everyone had forgotten about Alyssa. Emmy just shook her head, her eyes sharpening as she spread her mana to see if anyone was nearby. She opened the car door and took the driver''s seat, as she couldn''t allow anyone else to drive Alyssa back to the Mansion. Asher''s orders were clear and Emmy was determined to ensure that Alyssa reached the mansion as quickly as possible. Alyssa''s eyes were cold, as she remembered Asher''s final words. ''But did he join Zephyr?'' Alyssa was confused as she still didn''t know that Asher was the masked man. At the Mansion in Soran, "You guys did a good job escaping there," Tom said, looking at Dane and Kai who were sitting on the floor. "In the next two minutes, a total of 16 S Rank hunters arrived there," Tom said as Dane and Kai smiled. They had done it. The mission that was nearly impossible, where they had almost been killed multiple times. "Who would believe that we were the ones who unleashed those cmities?" Dane smiled, but his body ached. They hadn''t stopped for proper rest in the past two months. "But you did a good job nting that bomb at the G," Dane looked at Kai. "It wasn''t that difficult; this artifact bypasses all spatial restrictions," Kai said, looking at the ne-type artifact in his hands. Tom stepped back and took a few vials of drugs that Asher had told them to give Dane and Kai. "Take this, it will help your body recover its previous state," Tom said. "Ah, finally, it hurts a lot like this," Dane looked at his arm, full of ck veins. These were symptoms of mana poisoning, caused by the mana their bodies had absorbed during their mission. "But I wanted to catch a glimpse of the monsters we awakened," Dane said. Kai looked at him with a shocked expression. "Do you want to die?" Kai asked. "Alright, take your medicines, and rest," Tom said, but their next mission was already in the works. He wanted them to rest a bit though, as even he felt that they deserved a proper break. "So lucky they get to rest," Tom said as he looked at the screen. He could see numerous people trying to trace him, with alerts shing left and right. "I should have known this would happen," Tom said with a somewhat frustrated look on his face. Even though he had hidden and erased all the traces, there were still people trying to locate them, but Tom easily redirected and misled most of them.I think you should take a look at "They should worry about those monsters first," Tom said. After all, neither Tom, nor Dane and Kai, knew what kind of monsters they had awakened. The method they used was so peculiar that Tom was puzzled as to how Asher knew all about it. At the G, Nathan took the SSS Rank Mana Gem, and he headed towards the Mansion where he had told Arthur to gather with everyone else. Alfred and Helena were with him, discussing something of importance. "It will take some time until I return," Nathan said, looking at Alfred. "Are you confident?" Alfred asked. "Haha, do you think I''ll lose to a mere monster?" Nathan asked, not directly responding to Alfred''s question. But he was confident, even more so than others. After Farnus and Silvus, Nathan was the only one among the SSS Rank Hunters who was powerful enough to face an SSS Rank Monster alone. "But I have one request," Nathan said as they walked towards the Mansion. They could have arrived in an instant, but they decided to walk towards the Mansion. Right now, the portal to various continents was being prepared, and Nathan had nine minutes before he would leave with the other SSS Rank Hunters. "Protect those twins. I might return sooner than expected, but I''m not feeling good about this situation," Nathan said. "So you also think that someone is backing them?" Alfred asked. "I heard they''re still investigating the body that was left in the Operation Tower," Alfred replied. "I will have the Shadows assist your people in Soran," Helena responded. They soon arrived at the Mansion and saw a young boy awkwardly greeting Arthur and Sylvie. "Ah, I greet the Seat Holder, I am Sam Allister," Sam introduced himself, feeling a bit strange. A moment ago, he was talking with Asher, the masked man who caused the uproar, but now he needed to meet all these people. It was a bit strange for him. "Why is he here?" Damian asked, but Amelia shook her head. "I just came to meet Asher, and I''ll be leaving," Sam said as he went outside. "Who is he?" Livia asked Amelia. "Ah, he''s a friend from the World Academy," Amelia replied. "Arthur, I''ll leave the Greyhounds behind," Nathan said as he went inside and saw everyone in the lobby. David and Verina were also there, but Nathan didn''t mind their presence as they were close friends. "Send a few teams from the Guild to Fashia, but don''t overdo it," Nathan said, and Arthur nodded in response. Livia found Nathan''s serious tone unusual. The change in demeanor from his typical jovial attitude indicated the gravity of the current situation. Nathan caught sight of the twins'' expressions and moved toward them, crouching to meet their gaze. "Grandpa will be away for a bit, but I''lle back to teach you moreter, okay?" Nathan said, looking at Livia and Lucas. "Okay," Livia replied, hugging Nathan and nodding. "And young man, don''t ck off," Nathan added, ruffling Lucas''s hair. Suddenly, everyone''s attention turned to Asher as he descended from the staircase. His piercing crimson eyes locked onto Nathan. ''So he got the Mana Gem this time,'' Asher observed, sensing the remnants of a powerful mana gem''s aura around Nathan. Everyone had forgotten about Asher and his partner amidst the recent events. Yet, seeing him again, the questions re-emerged. However, now was not the time, as everyone implicitly understood, and they refrained from asking Asher anything at the moment. "I''ll be heading back. I''ll see you guyster," Nathan said, ncing at Amelia and Asher. "Arthur, join me for a moment," Nathan requested. Arthur nodded and followed him outside. "I would have loved to chat with you all, but we need to depart as well," Helena said, turning to Sylvie and the rest of the children. "It''s okay, Mom," Sylvie responded with a smile. "I need to leave too," Asher announced, directing his gaze at Sylvie. "What?" Sylvie questioned. He had only just arrived, and she had many questions she wanted to ask him. "The G won''t continue, right? I''ll go back and train," Asher answered, shifting his attention to Lucas. "Do you want to join me?" He asked. "Ah, yes!" Lucas immediately replied with an enthusiastic look on his face. "I want to go too," Livia chimed in, raising her hand. "Then I''ll apany her," Amelia decided, joining the group. Sylvie studied the expressions on all the children''s faces. "Alright, I''ll ask Sir Hassan to escort you back," she conceded, shaking her head slightly. With the G now in disarray, it was better for the children to return to the Greville Estate. It was a much safer environment for them. Chapter 270 Calamities "Get the Hunter Teams ready!" the Team Leader shouted. Multiple Guilds were assembling all their hunters who were outside the Dungeons to handle the Monster Tide. All Hunters below A+ Rank were tasked with maintaining the security of the cities, ensuring that nothing would go awry. "ANNOUNCEMENT: PLEASE GET READY TO EVACUATE THE CITIES IF THE ALERT IS ANNOUNCED." Announcements echoed through the cities closer to the borders where there was a risk of monsters invading. Feelings of terror were seeping into people''s hearts as the name Zephyr became etched in their minds. At the same time, "Did you see the posts on the inte?" Ria asked, ncing at Elena. "It''s not the time, Ria," Elena reminded her as they both looked at Kevin and Raelyn who wore expressions of concern. "Sigh, I will have some people control the media, so don''t worry about it," Reece assured Raelyn. Ever since the Whiteheart''s name hade out in the broadcast, people were ming them for not stopping this unknown group called Zephyr. In this moment, people were searching for someone to me, and currently, that someone was the Elite Families. Many were even exploiting this situation to instigate the masses towards certain groups. They were sitting in the Whiteheart Mansion, waiting for Kamden to arrive and provide rity. "By the way, is your hand okay now?" Reece asked Kevin who nodded back at him. Kevin had saved Elena at thest moment, injuring his hand in the process. Before they could delve into the matter further, Kamden entered the Mansion and sensed the tense atmosphere. "What happened?" Kamden asked, observing the room. "We are concerned about the news that''s circting," Raelyn replied as she rose to her feet. "You guys are still kids, so don''t worry too much about all this," Kamden reassured them. "Just focus on your studies and getting stronger, we adults can handle these things," Kamden advised, looking at Raelyn. "I will be heading out, so I will arrange your transportation and security for now," Kamden announced before making his way to his room. Time was of the essence, as they needed to make their presence known. Dalton Rothschild and many others had already departed for Desmar, and Kamden didn''t want tog behind. He needed to manage things in Desmar swiftly and watch out for anyone who sought to seize this opportunity. At the Neville Head, "Are you sure, Father, that this artifact will keep me safe?" Gavin asked, causing the Neville Head to frown. "Why are you questioning the artifact that I gave you for yourst birthday?" He responded. Unexpectedly, Gavin interrupted him to ask something urgent. He had assumed it was rted to the Academy, or the fact that he had told him to work with Leonard Tarvian and maintain a friendly rtionship. Still, Gavin was asking about an artifact. "I don''t think this dagger will be enough?" Gavinmented, showing him the dagger. "It can cut even my skin if I don''t protect myself with Aura, what else do you need?" the Neville Head queried. He was an SS- Rank Hunter, indicating that the artifact was at least an S Rank Artifact. "Will it really work on you?" Gavin questioned, leaving the Neville Head perplexed by his son''s behavior. He was familiar with his son''s habit of bullying others, but this was the first time he had seen Gavin so preupied with something like this. ''Did the attack at the G scare him?'' The Neville Head felt a twinge of pity, thinking that his son might have been intimidated by such an event. "Hand it over," the Neville Headmanded, using his mana to pull the dagger. "See this," He said, shing a part of his palm. Blood began to seep out.I think you should take a look at "You don''t need artifacts inside World Academy, and you have such a powerful artifact. Don''t bring shame on my name, Gavin Neville," He admonished in a slightly angered tone. "Ah, I am sorry," Gavin apologized as he reached for the dagger. ''He''s taking this dagger?'' The Neville Head became suspicious of his son''s movements. Typically, Gavin would have had someone clean the dagger, but the Neville Head didn''t have enough time to ponder this. "I''ll be leaving now, so make sure you follow the security and go directly to the World Academy," the Neville Head instructed as Gavin carefully took hold of the dagger. "Okay, Father," Gavin replied, watching his father depart. "Will this be enough?" Gavin wondered, observing the remaining droplets of blood on the dagger. Far from Somaria, near the borders of Belvoria, A massive monster,parable to a 50-story tower, stepped onto thend. The ground around it began turning ck and lifeless. The monster opened its mouth, devouring the mana around it and leaving the surroundingnd utterly barren. Any monster or beast, anything that lived off mana, felt as though they had been stripped of their life essence and died. A single horn grew on the monster''s head as it turned back towards its mana region. This SSS Rank Monster was currently absorbing mana to prepare itself adequately to venture out. Not all cmities behaved the same. Some were aggressive, some were not. And this particr monster was gradually replenishing the mana it had lost over hundreds of years. Though it had already absorbed the mana around its region, only one horn grew out of its head. The monster raised its head, looking in a particr direction where it could sense the presence of another awakened SSS Rank Monster. Suddenly, the mana around them began ring. The SSS Rank Monster erased its presence, the ck energy causing it to disappear and merge into the barrennd it had created not long ago. This SSS Rank Monster sensed that the other SSS Rank entity was somewhat stronger, so it concealed its presence. Both of these cmities had be aware of each other but chose to ignore each other for the time being. With their mana regions broken, they required a source of mana to feed from, and they could sense a significant concentration of mana at a distance from them. The SSS Rank monster started devouring the surroundingnd, as the full moon shone upon the barrenndposed of ck soil. At this time, Belvorian citizens were instructed to evacuate from the Border Cities, as the risk was simply too high. Their only piece of good fortune was that the awakened cmities were from thend, not the sea that surrounded the Belvoria Continent. In the Main Teleportation Gate of Belvoria, a solitary man stepped out and instantly disappeared, floating above the city. Farnus nced behind and sensed the presence of multiple SSS Rank hunters following him. To assist Belvoria, Osbert Tarvian, Xarax Hargrave, the Watson Family''s SSS Rank hunter, and one of the Vice Chairmen of the World Association had arrived. "It should start now," Farnus predicted, looking in a specific direction as he saw a faint red light beam shooting towards the sky. One of the cmities had noticed their presence, despite the significant distance separating them, as they were making no effort to conceal their presence. Everyone flew towards Farnus, who was gripping his spear in his right hand. "I only need one of you; the rest of you can handle the other one," Farnus dered. They had decided which SSS Rank hunter would take charge of what Continent. Nathan and the Cranston Family''s SSS Rank Hunter were in Fashia, while Dalton Rothschild and Silvus Grandus were teamed with the third SSS Rank Hunter of the World Association. "Make sure that you keep the fight away from the cities," Farnus reminded them. Each of them possessed the power topletely obliterate an entire city within a few seconds. If they weren''t careful, the aftermath of the battle might be disastrous. Chapter 271 Questions "Lucas was following Asher, as was Livia, as they were returning to the Greville Estate. "By the way, who was that girl?" Damian asked, his curiosity mirrored by Amelia. "We''ve never seen her before!!" Damian questioned excitedly. It was evident why he was so intrigued, but Asher avoided his question. "I will go to the Greville Estate after making a detour," Asher informed Hassan. "Ah, that might be a bit challenging," Hassan responded. The current situation was precarious, and Hassan didn''t want to take any chances with Asher''s safety. But how could he predict that the individual he was concerned for was the very same person who had plunged the entire world into chaos? In his wildest dreams, nobody could even imagine that the masked man named Zephyr was none other than Asher Greville. "Does he want to hide her identity?" Damian whispered to Amelia. "I think so too," Amelia nodded. The whole world was in turmoil, but these two were more curious about Asher''s partner, who had already departed. ''It can''t be someone from the Academy,'' Amelia deduced, as almost everyone from first-year to third-year students avoided Asher. "Emmy will take me there," Asher said. Hassan nced to his right, and a car appeared with Emmy stepping out. "Okay, if it''s her, I can trust your safety in her hands," Hassan replied, looking back. Lucas watched Asher, confused. "I''ll return to the Estate after a few hours," Asher replied. Lucas smiled, finally getting the chance to spend time with Asher and learn from him. ''It''s time you learn the techniques you created,'' Asher thought. Asher noticed Lucas''s expression as he turned to enter the car, where Emmy was waiting. Asher climbed into the car, removed his suit, and looked at the tablet in the car. "Is she at the Mansion?" Asher asked. "Yes, I have escorted her safely," Emmy confirmed. Relieved, Asher opened the tablet and received Gavin''s message. < Gavin : I have secured the drops of blood but why do you need it? > < Asher : Just send them to me when you reach the World Academy > Asher observed that the first prey had already fallen into his traps. He didn''t need to do anything else as nothing unexpected happened during this mission. He was prepared to deal with unknown variables, but this time, nothing of that sort urred. ''And Ipleted some quests as well,'' Asher thought, looking at the notification. | Hidden Quest Completed | | Objective : Make Nathaniel Greville get the SSS Rank Mana Gem | | Reward : 2000 Fate Points | This was the first quest hepleted when Nathan earned the possession of the most coveted Mana Gem in the world. | Hidden Quest Completed | | Objective : Prevent the Kalvas G | | Reward : 1000 Fate Points | It had been a long time since he had received any hidden quests, but that was expected because he hadn''t made any significant changes until now. ''Casie Hargrave,'' Asher pondered on the new variable that had surfaced at the G. And he knew it was rted to the twins. He didn''t know much about Casie, so she was one of the few people he wanted to thoroughly investigate. After all, Lucas was one of Asher''s strongest cards for the future. Even though he had recruited Dane and Kai, both of whom were extremely powerful hunters, Lucas was unique, surpassing both Dane and Kai despite being nearly half their age. "What do you know about Casie Hargrave?" Asher asked Emmy, who was taken aback by his question. "Ah, she was Sir Ivar''s fianc¨¦e," Emmy replied. "Though I''m not entirely sure if it''s urate, she wanted to marry Sir Ivar, but he refused her," Emmy added,I think you should take a look at "Then the Hargraves used the Promise to force Master Arthur to break his engagement with Lady Sylvie or allow her to marry Sir Ivar," Emmy elucidated. "Although it wouldn''t have happened if she didn''t have her father''s support," Emmy told Asher. Xarax Hargrave was the reason that Casie had such power and freedom in the Hargrave family. Some people even suggested that she might have taken the position of Family Head if she hadn''t pursued her marriage with Ivar. "I heard that many women who tried to court Sir Ivar were killed on her orders, but no evidence was found against her," Emmy added, It was not hard for the Hargrave family to suppress such incidents, but Casie had one more card in her hand¡ªher connection with the underground organizations that epted requests from only a select few. "Since the day Sir Ivar died, Casie Hargrave has secluded herself in her mansion, but perhaps because of the existence of young Master Lucas and young Lady Livia, she came to the G," Emmy concluded as Asher listened attentively. Asher could already sense that her target would be the twins, but he was still unaware that Casie had already nned to present marriage proposals to the Greville family for Asher. She wanted to ensnare the heir by choosing Asher''s partner and turning him into her pawn. After half an hour of driving and using a teleportation gate as well, Asher arrived at the mansion. Emmy stood outside as per usual, following Asher''s orders. Asher entered, and he saw Alyssa, who was wearing her mask, reverting back to her scarred look. "Follow me. I''ll introduce you to the rest of the members," Asher said as Alyssa rose to her feet. Asher had already told Dane and Kai to assemble in the meeting room with Tom, as Asher wanted Alyssa to be aware as well. "Hi Boss," Dane greeted as all three of them rose when Asher and the masked girl entered the room. Asher took the center seat, while Alyssa took the one opposite where Tom and the others were seated. "Firstly, you should know about this," Asher said as he summoned Rifir. "I saw it in the video, but it''s real?" Dane questioned, his face a picture of shock, He had never seen anyone tame a monster, and it even stunned Kai, who had thought the snake was fake or an illusion. Rifir studied everyone as its eyesnded on Alyssa, who returned its gaze. "So, you''re that masked man?" Alyssa asked while maintaining a calm demeanor. "Yes, and now you are also part of Zephyr. We have one more member, but he won''t join us for now," Asher said, referring to Sam Allister. He was not ready to let Sam join just yet. "You won''t join any of the missions yet," Asher dered. There were two reasons Asher did not want Alyssa to participate in Zephyr''s activities yet. One was the fact that she was not ready or strong enough to handle the difficulty of the missions that Asher would assign Dane and Kai. Secondly, when dealing with elite families, Asher had no idea when Alyssa might lose her self-restraint. "Okay, should I go back to World Academy now?" Alyssa asked. "Wait for a few days before going back," Asher instructed. Alyssa stood up. "Ask Emmy to take you to your room," Asher said, and Alyssa nodded at him. She exited the room, leaving Dane and Kai to watch the interaction in silence. It was the first time someone had spoken with Asher without changing their expression. Both of them were highly inexpressive, so this made for a strange sight. "As for you guys," Asher turned and looked at Dane and Kai, "I have already sent the payment for this mission, and Tom will give you the details about the next one," Asher dered. Dane and Kai''s faces changed slightly at this news. "Don''t worry, it''s only a tracking mission; you''ll be safe," Tom interjected, providing the details of the mission. "Ah, if it''s a tracking mission, then it''s fine," Dane replied, ncing at Kai who was the best person for this job. "Also, start targeting the business of these Elite Families," Asher passed Tom a device that had few names on it. And one of them was the Neville Family. "Ruin their public image, and do it before this situation calms down," Asher told Tom. At the Kalvas G, a certain individual seemed a bit pleased with the current situation. "Found it, your weakness," Leonard smiled as he gazed at the image of Asher''s partner. "She''s not from the World Academy," Leonard asserted, confident in his knowledge of every single student in the World Academy. "Let''s see how long you can hide her," Leonard challenged, his eyes fixed on the image of Asher and Alyssa dancing together. Chapter 272 Step It Up In the Artisan''s Association Tower, "Will you go there as well?" a middle-aged man asked, "If they call for my assistance, then I have to move," Dexter replied, shifting the runes across the room. In his quest for answers about the breached vault, he discovered several new things, currently engrossing him. However, if the SSS Rankers called him, he had no choice but to help them. Unlike the Elite Families, the Association held more power and authority, but this came with the responsibility for the whole world. Dexter couldn''t ignore the summons like Nathan did as it contradicted the Oath he took when he became Chairman of the Artisan''s Association. "The request for weapons has increased a lot, we can raise the prices," the man began, but Dexter''s re silenced him. "Making money isn''t bad, but now isn''t the time," Dexter said. He had made considerable money crafting armor and weapons for various people, and many Elite Families were requesting him to produce more. Still, he denied them all. The Artisan''s Association was thergest trading hub for hunters'' equipment. The current situation had dramatically increased the demand for such items. Right now, they could exploit many people, but it contradicted Dexter''s morals. "I apologize," the man apologized, understanding Dexter''s orders. Runic Art users weren''t among the top hunters, so it was obvious that many in the Artisan''s association disliked guild hunters. Only a few could be Rune Experts capable of forging weapons and artifacts and were highly regarded, like Dexter Wright. The man, not wishing to bother Dexter further, left the vast room filled with various machines and technology. Dexter raised his hand, and a hologram appeared, full of news featuring the moment the explosion happened at the Kalvas G. "These guys sure talk a lot," Dexter said, turning towards the new Runic formation he was creating. The entire inte had gone mad with theories about Zephyr, and the reputation of Elite Families was plummeting. But amidst this chaos, some people heard the speech of the Masked Man and considered opposing the rich and powerful. Numerous small groups were forming worldwide, but they were not acting hastily. The World Association had already warned that any criminal activity would result in severe punishments. A Rank Hunters were called to patrol the cities and ensure nothing was going wrong, and various people trying to align with Zephyr were arrested. Those people were petty criminals trying to exploit the situation but failed. As all the Seat Holders instantly agreed to provide support, the World Association was managing the cities, ensuring peace was maintained. And all those powerful enough to cause significant disruption wereying low, unsure about joining this unknown organization. In the Fashia Continent, "Get away from this area," one of the Team Leaders shouted. They were already informed that Joseph Kimir Cranston and Nathaniel Greville, the Sword God, wereing to the Fashia continent to deal with the awakened cmity. The problem was that the result of a fight involving an SSS Rank could destroy cities, so they needed to retreat. "So, are we going to avoid the monstersing from this direction?" an A Rank Hunter asked. He was a novice who had just joined his new Guild and was already participating in such a mission. "Don''t worry about them," the Team Leader replied.I think you should take a look at "Those monsters will change their direction soon, just evacuate from here," he repeated as everyone started to leave. In a few seconds, two individuals appeared in the sky, looking over towards thend beyond the border. Various dots could be seen by them and they were the aerial monsters running away from the awakened cmity. Some of them were S Rank Monsters that could wreak havoc in cities if they entered. Even fighting a single Aerial S Rank Monster required multiple S Rank Hunters, and most of them were mages. "Do you want to deal with it?" Joseph asked, looking at Nathan who was wearing his heavy ck armor with his famous greatsword in his hand. Nathan''s eyes shone as he red his mana, making his presence known. Not to these monsters, but the SSS Rank entity far from them. "Don''t tempt that monster toe near here," Joseph said with a frown on his face. He didn''t want to lure the monster even a bit closer to the border. "Sure," Nathan said as he raised his greatsword. He shed it downward, but nothing happened, confusing some of the SS Rank Hunters behind them. But in the next instant, they felt the mana behind them rush forward as they saw a sleek red line travel forward, and in the next second, all the S Rank Monsters in the air were dead. "Is that the power of SSS Rank Hunters?" one of them muttered in disbelief. Although they were not weak themselves, some of them, despite being SS Rank, had never seen an SSS Rank Hunter fight. They knew only an SSS Rank hunter could kill an SSS Rank, but seeing it with their own eyes, they understood the difference between them and the two monsters in front of them. "Let''s go," Joseph said as Nathan red his mana and disappeared instantly. Simrly, other SSS Rank Hunters were also moving towards the cmities. "So, did you find out who this guy was?" one of the World Association officials asked. "His name is Erwin," the man replied. "ording to our database, he was a Professor at the World Academy," the man said. "World Academy?" The other officials appeared confused. "He went missing ording to thetest information we received about him," the man said as he removed his hand from Erwin''s face. "Report this news to the Seat Holders," one of the officials instructed. It was decided that all the information about Zephyr would be shared among the Seat Holders without fail. This meant that the World Association also had to continuously report such matters to the Seat Holders or the Families they represented. "Gather all the information about his background, and check the database to see if his face appeared anywhere in the past couple of months," the official instructed as he turned to leave. They had already cleared all the dead bodies around the Operation Tower. "Did you find the backup security footage?" he asked one of his assistants. "None, everything has been destroyed, there are no traces left," the assistant replied. "Dammit, find anything. We can''t send an empty report," the official said with a frustrated look on his face. There was not a single clue about the people who had thrown the whole world into chaos. Chapter 273 Reaction "So, do we have any information about the masked man called Zephyr?" a reporter asked during an interview with the officials of the World Association, who were seated alongside James Rothschild and the head of the Williams family. They had called a press conference to assure the public that the situation was under control. "Not at this moment, but we will capture them soon," one official replied. "How soon? They have awakened the cmities, doesn''t that mean that these people are quite powerful?" another reporter queried. "First of all, all the SSS Rank Hunters are handling the cmities, so you can rest assured about that," James intervened, stopping the World Association official from responding. "A sneak attack doesn''t necessarily indicate they are powerful," James argued, his dominating aura silencing the room. "If they were as powerful as you assume, why not confront the elite families openly?" James''s speech resonated not only with those in Desmar but across the globe. This was the first statement issued by the World Association or the elite families. "All this will be handled soon," James assured. "But what about the explosion at the G?" a reporter asked. The broadcast was interrupted just as the explosion happened, so they were aware of the attack on the Kalvas G. "Just as you can see, none of the people there were hurt," James lied. Many young people were injured, but they received quick treatment. "It was a pathetic attempt by them to instill fear in others," James remarked. "Can you exin the issue regarding the Whiteheart family and Zephyr?" another reporter asked. This was a question many wanted to be addressed. And after discovering that the elite families had withheld this information from the public, many people grew curious and began ndering the Whiteheart family to uncover the truth. "The incident was minor, merely an attempt to steal from the vault. But as you know, the auction happened at the Kalvas G, so you can specte on what might have happened." James offered, but this was another lie. The world didn''t need to know that two artifacts were stolen under the nose of the Whiteheart family. The only ones aware were the seat holders and a few others who were part of the upper echelon of society. This information was not only detrimental to the Whiteheart family but would have harmed the reputation of other elite families. Naturally, if James had spoken the truth here, Kamden wouldn''t have let that slide, as he would have exposed that it was Louis Rothschild who had failed. Williams noticed James''s lie, but he didn''t react to it. After all, just like him, James was also looking to maintain a good rtionship with the Whiteheart family, as it had been for years. "And this is where we will end this conference," James announced, standing up along with the others. "All disturbances around the world will be settled down soon," he said as he turned to leave. The other officials followed suit as the reporters diligently captured their departure. The head of the Williams family smiled, appreciating that James Rothschild was the perfect person to calm the public in such a scenario. The Rothschilds have maintained their image so well that people always looked up to them, given the family''s involvement in many sectors like entertainment and a few others in Desmar. "What are you going to do now?" the Williams head asked. "We will first deal with the Monster Tide," James replied. However, he was aware of what was toe after handling all of this. "I have sent my team to investigate Zephyr," the Williams head informed. They stopped at the exit where two cars were waiting for them. The Williams head left first, stepping into the car with his butler at the wheel. "Sir, the Tarvian family mentioned a dy with the item you requested," the butler informed him. "We can''t do much now, huh," the Williams head murmured. "Tell Reece to return to World Academy now. We can have his treatment done after he graduates," he instructed, to which the butler nodded. ''Now, who are these guys,'' the Williams head wondered, looking at the information he had gathered from his sources. A group had appeared out of thin air, and neither their actions nor their methods made sense to anyone. ''Sigh, I''m too far in to back down now,'' the Williams head mused. In Soran, all the elite families had sent their children back so that they could attend World Academy, one of the safest ces for them, given the robust security there even without Farnus''s presence. "Can''t you stop him?" Amelia asked Damian, worry evident on her face. "It''s a spar, and Lucas and Livia wanted it," Damian tried to reassure her, but he himself was uncertain whether the twins could handle sparring with Asher. "Hey, don''t hurt them too much," Damian called out, capturing Asher''s attention. Asher nced back at Lucas, who was staring up at him, ready to attack, with Livia holding a greatsword. ''So, she has enough talent to learn that sword art,'' Asher observed Livia''s stance. Although he had forgotten the essence of Nathan''s sword art, he recognized it nheless. Nathan''s sword art was special as even Ivar and Arthur couldn''t learn it because they failed to ept the Rune of Eirdin.I think you should take a look at Yet, the weakest-looking person here had endured the Rune of Eirdin, as Nathan teaching her his techniques was proof that she had obtained that rune. "I will go first," Livia announced, dashing towards Asher with all her strength. Asher looked at Livia, sensing that Lucas was preparing a spell to cut off his escape route. Asher lowered his body, adjusting his sword downward, and swung it, prompting Livia to block it. However, the impact of Asher''s strike sent Livia flying towards Lucas, who panicked and tried to catch her. Asher disappeared from his spot and wrapped his sword around Lucas''s neck. "You lost," Asher dered as Lucas caught Livia. "Ah, but I was..." Lucas started. "Start again," Asher interrupted as Livia got up, her eyes even sharper. "Let''s do it again," Livia told Lucas, who nodded. The same scene repeated itself, with Damian and Amelia watching the twins continuously losing to Asher. Still, they were learning from their mistakes and adjusted their approach rapidly. "They''re quite good," Damianmented, but Amelia remained focused, ensuring Asher wouldn''t hurt them too severely. ''She''s too serious,'' Damian thought, shaking his head as he noticed Amelia. But then he remembered how all of Asher''s spars ended. And it made Damian pay closer attention so he could stop the spar if it went too far. "Why don''t you train like them?" Damian asked Nate, who was reading a book next to them. "Mind your own business," Nate retorted, ignoring Damian, who was annoyed by Nate''s reply. "How rude, I am your older brother," Damian retorted, grabbing Nate''s head. Nate tried to remove it, but Damian was too powerful for him. "Hey, don''t bully him," Amelia scolded, smacking Damian''s shoulder. "I was just teaching him," Damian defended, removing his hand from Nate''s head. ''I should just release that video online,'' Nate contemted. But thinking about Damian''s reaction, he felt that it might be pushing his luck too far. ''Sigh, I will forgive you this time,'' Nate said as he shaked his head. "Don''t get distracted by her," Asher warned, sending a small fireball at Lucas who narrowly dodged it at thest second. The issue with Lucas was that he was operating as Livia''s support, and this was not what Asher had envisioned for him. In Asher''s memory, Lucas had already lost Livia, leading him to function as a solitary mage. This ultimately resulted in the creation of techniques that merged with his bloodline ability, making him one of the most potent mages, if not the most potent. "Enough, you can rest now," Asher interjected, observing Livia whose hands were shaking from withstanding all of Asher''s strikes. "Okay," Livia agreed, heading towards Amelia. She recalled Nathan''s advice to avoid pushing herself too hard during spars. Nathan noticed that Livia had a fervor to grow stronger, but her proactive nature sometimes led her to overexert herself. Asher turned his attention to Lucas as he stowed his sword back in his storage ring. "Our next fight will be as mages," Asher dered. He continued to prod Lucas while ensuring that he became aware of his Bloodline ability. "He has an exceptional amount of mana for his rank," Damian noted, watching Lucas spar with Asher. However, Damian''s observation was incorrect. Lucas didn''t possess an excessive amount of mana; rather, his bloodline ability allowed him to utilize surrounding mana to a greater extent for his spells. Even if it seemed rudimentary, Asher noticed that Lucas was already somewhat employing the technique, at least in its core principle. Their sparring session continued for another half an hour before Lucas became too fatigued to continue. "Did I do well?" Lucas inquired, looking up at Asher. Considering Asher his role model, he was curious about his performance. "Yeah," Asher responded, but he had nothing more to add for Lucas. He answered in a way that he thought would please Lucas''s present self. "Young Master, the documents are ready," Emmy reported, turning to Asher. "Have you listed the names of thosepanies?" Asher asked. "Yes, but I''m not confident they will agree to this sum," Emmy responded. "Just send them this offer a weekter," Asher instructed, to which Emmy nodded. "If they reject the proposal, it doesn''t matter," Asher added, ncing at the notification he received from Tom. ''So, they''ve started their fight,'' Asher thought as he looked at the notification. Chapter 274 Clash Of The Strongest - I "You should rest more," Tom said to Dane who was standing behind him. "I was getting too bored, don''t mind me," Dane replied. ''What a weird guy,'' Tom thought. But considering their mission, it was better that Dane was like this. "But how did you know that exploding thosends would awaken those monsters?" Dane asked. Half of their mission involved going deep into thends that were abandoned and safely nting explosives that Tom provided at certain locations. Doing so, there were multiple times when their presence would alert the S Rank or SS Rank monsters in the vicinity. There were multiple times where both of them were killed just reaching that location, but the teleporting artifact helped them a lot. "Ah, don''t ask for too many details," Tom replied as he couldn''t disclose that it was Asher who told him to mark all these locations. "Be grateful that the mana didn''t damage your mana meridians too much," Tom said. Dane and Kai had recovered from the mana poisoning, and the small ck veins on their bodies had disappeared. "Well, I can feel mana properly now," Dane said as he tried to cover his hand with aura. It was strange for him, as he had never withstood such an amount of mana with his own body. Unlike the mana in the air or in the mana gem, that wasn''t pure mana, but the mana that umted in thosends due to the presence of monsters. That wild mana was present there only due to the mana region that was spreading beneath thend, absorbing the mana in the surroundings. This made Dane recall the mission given to them. A month before the Kalvas G, In thend beyond the border of Fashia, Dane and Kai were standing above a cliff. As they looked downward, all they could see was a current of mana. "Do we really have to go down there?" Dane asked. "Y-Yes... do it... don''t waste time," Tom''s voice was getting a lot of interference due to the mana field that was all around them. Dane looked at Kai who nodded back at him. "These mana currents are even more powerful than the one in Desmar," Dane said as he touched the device around his arm. "But what the hell are these? I haven''t heard about anything like this in these forgottennds," Kai asked, but both of them were clueless. They had heard that cmities existed in the forgottennds, but such things were hidden from most people of the world. Right now they were so deep inside the Forgottennds that even the biggest guilds didn''t venture this deep. Even the SSS Rank hunters only ventured inside thesends when arge dungeon like a SS Rank or SSS Rank was found near the borders. Although Nathan had made the Abyss Guild venture quite far into the Lostnds, he ensured that their exploration only happened where the Dungeon was avable. "Let''s hope this armor holds on," Dane said as they jumped off the cliff near the stone tforms. Descending down near the mana current, Kai stopped as he took out a special explosive which had runes all around it. It was a fist-sized ss ball that started floating along the mana current. "Ah, this feels like shit," Dane said as he kept dropping the explosives. He could feel needle-like things poking all around his body, but that was only the wild mana that was forcing its way inside his body. "SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH," Various flying monsters that were S Rank started flying above where Dane and Kai were standing. "Shit, let''s hide for now," Dane pulled Kai back towards the wall as they hid themselves. Their eyes were looking at the sky as Kai made both of them invisible, but his magic was unstable. This made some parts of their bodies visible, but Kai was still trying to hide them properly. Dane pulled out his sword just in case they were spotted by the monsters above them. "We only need to drop 20 more," Kai said as he stepped forward. "I''m ready to use this," Dane suggested as he grabbed the ne. Each of the explosives was transparent and full of runes that made them float on the mana current, and they went with the flow, disappearing from sight. They were told that these explosives would somehow reach the SSS Rank Monsters, but they didn''t know how. But right now, leaving the ce alive before their control over mana became unstable was the priority. This was not the only mana current that they needed to drop explosives on; they needed to go around various ces. "But you should still rest and recover yourselfpletely," Tom made Dane snap out of his thoughts.I think you should take a look at "Okay," Dane said as he went back to his room. Tom looked at the screen, remembering Asher introducing Alyssa to the team. ''What is he trying to achieve?'' Tom asked himself, but he couldn''te to a single conclusion. Nothing about Asher made sense to Tom. ''She looks simr to the Boss,'' Tom thought as he recalled seeing Alyssa''s eyes. But Tom also remembered the fact that Alyssa was rted to the Garcia Family, which made him skeptical of what Asher was trying to achieve. Tom had discovered so many things about the Elite Families that he couldn''t believe were hidden from themon public. And this made him think deeply about Asher''s purpose. "Well, let''s start with thesepanies," Tom said as he pulled out the database that was collected by Dane and Kai in the second part of their mission. Surprisingly, most of the information they found was hidden in the files Tom managed to retrieve from the database that was present in the data hidden under Osbert''s authorities. This breach of data was not known, as Tom hid it behind the hacked broadcast, and while covering their tracks, he made them think that Zephyr only took ess to the broadcast. But due to the short amount of time Dane and Kai had to exit the building, only a portion of that data was taken by Tom. "They''ve issued the warning?" Tom looked at the screen as he noticed the warning signals from various guilds. "I should inform the Boss about it," Tom said as he informed Asher. The SSS Rank Hunters had started approaching the cmities, and the Guilds were told to hold off the monster tide away from the cities. In Desmar, "Do you sense that presence ahead?" Silvus asked, and the rest of the two nodded. "Make sure that it doesn''t move towards the border," Silvus said as Dalton took charge ahead of him. "Can you guess the type of monster it is?" The Vice Chairman of the World Association asked Silvus. Both of them knew that his mana sensitivity was high, so he could somewhat guess the power of the monster much better than them. "The mana ahead is too chaotic; we will learn about it as we fight," Silvus said. They had no choice but to learn about the monster as they fought, and this was why multiple SSS Rank hunters were joining hands together. Also the reason why Silvus, Nathan, and Farnus had gone to different continents. Soon, all three of them stopped as they noticed a yellow-colored monster, the size of a building, looking at them. Scales covered its skin, from which a green-colored aura was leaking out. "I will start first," Silvus said as various tornadoes appeared all around them. "Srusphrem Tezel," Silvus uttered, and hands made ofva appeared from the ground totch onto the SSS Rank monster. It was the highest-tier Fire Element spell, capable of devouring an SS Rank Monster. "HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR," The monster roared, looking at the sky. The green aura seeping from its skin red, destroying the spells that Silvus had cast. Dalton took out his blue sword, and the aura began to destroy thend beneath him. The Vice Chairman unsheathed his sword as well. Both were swordsmen, and Silvus was there to assist them with their fight. However, they were waiting for Silvus to get serious, and it didn''t take long for them to notice a silvery mana around him, which distinguished him from other mages. Suddenly, pirs made of stone erupted from the four sides, and Silvus raised his hands, causing the air around him to tremble. The pirs started shining as Silvus created a barrier, cutting off the mana connection of the SSS Rank Monster from the Mana region. The monster noticed these pirs and turned its tail to hit one, but before it could, Dalton disappeared and blocked the massive tail with just his sword and aura. He could feel that his aura was struggling against the monster''s green aura. Before the monster could push Dalton, the Vice Chairman raised his sword, sending a massive aura arc towards the monster''s face. The monster used its strange green aura to block it. Right now, they were fighting a creature more powerful than them, so they could only buy time for Silvus to freely attack and end this monster. Meanwhile, in Fashia, "Don''t stand too close to me," Nathan reminded Joseph, who was flying with him. It was a reminder that Nathan possessed the most destructive power among the SSS Rank Hunters, apart from Farnus Calmort. Even Silvus was slightly below Nathan in pure destructive abilities, but this also limited Nathan''s options in a Dungeon. Thus, he created his special Sword Art, which allowed him to maximize his strength in a confined space. However, this was not known to anyone in the world except those Nathan had taught himself. All the SSS Rank Hunters thought that in restrictive space, Nathan wouldn''t be able to use his abilities properly. But they didn''t know that it wasn''t only Farnus who had an ancient rune. The Rune of Eirdin allowed Nathan to amodate space element in his sword art, without having to suffer the side effects of it. Chapter 275 Clash Of The Strongest - II ?275 sh of the Strongest - II Joseph increased the distance between himself and Nathan, but both of them needed to suppress the SSS Rank Monsters and, if they couldn''t, they needed to hold on and fight until more SSS Rank Hunters could arrive to help them. As Nathan saw Joseph moving away from him, he ramped up his mana control even further, causing all the mana to swirl around him. Themand over mana that Nathan possessed was the strongest in the world. Even Farnus and Silvus couldn''t control mana like Nathan could, but that was due to his Bloodline ability, which allowed him to exert such dominance over mana. Through the rough summer climate of Fashia, Nathan could see demolished forests and mountains, leaving nothing but dust in the distance. Nathan stopped, and so did Joseph, as they sensed a massive surge of mana just ahead of them. "Seems like this one is quite angry," Nathan said as he surveyed the destruction around them. Soon, a behemoth of a monster emerged from beneath the sand. As it stepped onto thend, sand started falling from its rough skin and glowing red horns. BOOM Even before fully emerging, the monster sent a sonic wave towards Nathan and Joseph. Both of them dodged it, but "VRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAUGGGHHHHHHH," the monster roared, and Nathan felt the creature''s mana shing with his armor. Nathan was wearing a heavy ck armor that covered his whole body, except for his head. It was crafted by Dexter Wright himself. This was an artificial artifact, replete with various runic enhancements and durable enough for Nathan to wear against an SSS Rank monster. Unlike Farnus, who had the SSS Rank armor, most SSS Rank hunters wore custom armor made from an alloy of many strong materials. This armor could withstand and strengthen itself from an SSS Rank''s aura and mana. Although the consumption was quite substantial, SSS Ranks could withstand that, so these types of armor could only be worn by them. Throughout Nathan''s armor, there were various glowing red lines of runes that increased the strength of the armor as Nathan used his mana to fuel it. Nathan raised his greatsword and brought it down, sending a red line arc from his de, but the monster, sensing the power of the attack, dodged instantly. Nathan''s attack formed a wide crack on the ground. Joseph unsheathed his sword, which was slightly longer than usual but still a single-handed weapon. Both of them were waiting for the monster to show its power as neither Nathan nor Joseph intended to charge in first without knowing what the monster was capable of. Especially not Nathan - he was not going to lower his guard in this battle at all. Even more so, Nathan was currently very cautious of any traps that could have been set for him. He still had some suspicions about this whole thing, as he didn''t believe that a new SSS Rank or a Pseudo SSS Rank hade into existence. Hiding such a talent was extremely difficult, given the surveince capacity of the World Association and the other elite families. It was only possible if one of the Seat Holders was involved in all this chaos, and Nathan didn''t trust anyone. This was one of the reasons he had Hassan Trevino and the other two SS Rank Hunters stay back in Soran to protect the family. But what Nathan didn''t know was that it was his grandson, someone he believed would eventually surpass him - Asher himself - who was responsible for all this chaos. The monster stepped forward and mmed its leg on the ground, creating a mana pulse, and strangely, the environment around Nathan and Joseph changed. From the sunny vista of the dry climate of Fashia to a red sky with a cknd filled with multiple cracks. "Is it a spatial skill?" Joseph immediately distanced himself from the monster. Joseph created an energy point on the tip of his sword, raised it to the sky, and the energy shed with the false sky. But his attack was absorbed. "What?" Joseph was confused. His attack should have been able to break anything, considering the amount of concentrated aura he had used, but instead, it was absorbed. Joseph noticed the monster''s horn glowing slightly blue. "Did it absorb my attack?" Joseph asked with a frown on his face. "Hahahaha, does this thing think it has trapped me?" Nathanughed as his crimson red eyes began to shine. Suddenly, the monster raised its head to look at Nathan. At this moment, Nathan took control of the mana around him and began absorbing it. This was Nathan''s bloodline ability. Unlike others who couldn''t absorb wild mana, as that would lead to mana poisoning, Nathan was immune to it. His bloodline ability allowed him to ept any type of mana into his body, but he couldn''t use that mana to replenish his mana heart. Instead, Nathan could only use it to enhance his aura. This was something that nobody, except Nathan, possessed in the entire world.I think you should take a look at As long as Nathan didn''t take that mana to his core, he could manipte it with his mana maniption abilities. Nathan couldn''t use that mana to increase his rank and absorb it, but he could use that mana to exert dominance over others'' mana control, and it worked on both humans and monsters alike. This was what the monster was experiencing as it felt a dangerous sensation from Nathan. It was an instinct, but it was only faint. Nathan looked at Joseph, who met his crimson red eyes. Suddenly, the air around Nathan began to tremble. Joseph understood what Nathan wanted to do and immediately retreated as far as he could. The strangend beneath Nathan started to rupture as he raised his sword and assumed his stance. Nathan was about to use his first technique, a legendary sword art that instilled fear in anyone who witnessed it. Suddenly, the space around Nathan began to tremble, though Joseph barely noticed. Nathan disappeared from his spot, and the monster looked up to see a pair of crimson red eyes shining brighter than the red sky above. In the next instant, Nathan''s sword followed an unusual path, and the monster felt the space around it shake as various cuts appeared on its body. "Shatter," Nathan muttered, and a massive amount of mana surged from the ground. His sword''s aura descended on the monster, causing an explosion within the spatial trap that the monster had created. Unbeknownst to it, it wasn''t Nathan who was trapped in the spatial ability, but the monster itself. "Why did this damn monster create a restricted space?" Joseph asked, annoyed. Currently, Joseph couldn''t assist Nathan since most of his destructive abilities did not distinguish between friend or foe. Nathan looked down and saw a massive wound on the Monster''s back. It seemed okay, but was clearly enraged. Both of them could feel a shift in the mana around them. The temperature began to rise as the mana around the monster swirled, and the monster''s wound started to heal, but only up to a certain point. Nathan''s attack had caused his mana to linger on the monster''s wounds, stopping the bleeding. "Let''s take this slowly," Joseph reminded Nathan as he raised his sword and dashed towards the monster. Nathan also disappeared from the sky and moved towards the monster. The monster''s horn started shining as Joseph spotted massive fireballs appearing in the sky. False Mana Region, this was the monster''s creation, an ability to absorb the attacks that touched the boundary of the false mana region. The efficiency wasn''t quite like a true mana region, but the monster had high control over its abilities, making it even more formidable. This was going to be a long fight if Nathan and Joseph hoped to defeat this monster. Meanwhile, in Soran, Leonard was sitting with Reece, discussing their future ns. "Will the treatment be dyed any further?" Reece asked. "The ck Market will send the mana crystals when my father returns. The loss we will face won''t be insignificant," Leonard replied. "This is not good," Reece calmly replied, moving a pawn on the board. "Well, you don''t need to defeat Jayden Hargrave," Leonard told Reece. "After all, once we establish our business, we''ll be far ahead of the likes of him," Leonard said, moving a knight. "I''m not so sure about that now," Reece replied, catching Leonard''s attention. "Are you talking about Zephyr?" Leonard asked, and Reece nodded. "Don''t worry, my father will handle that," Leonard replied. "After all, his new card, Casie Hargrave, failed to make any headway at the G," Leonard added. "He won''t let those guys get away with ruining his ns," Leonard assured Reece. "Our current focus is the World Academy," Leonard reminded Reece. "And I''ve heard that you can''t even handle Asher Greville," Reece''s words irked Leonard, but as he considered Reece an equal, he didn''t react. "Are you suggesting that you could deal with him easily?" Leonard asked. "With the rate he is growing, it will not be easy," Reece replied. "But not everything needs to be resolved through a fight, am I right?" Reece said with a smile. Chapter 276 Belvoria In Trouble? ?276 Belvoria in trouble? "Keep repeating what I told you, and you will eventually be able to do it," Asher told Lucas, who nodded with an excited look on his face. Asher had taught him a Mage technique that Lucas himself had created. Although the chances were high that Lucas could recreate it, it would take an enormous amount of time. So, Asher found it more efficient to teach him the technique under the guise of sparring and training. And apart from Lucas, no one else could truly use this technique. Only Asher was capable of somewhat imitating it. "Are you going back to the Academy?" Lucas asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. He nned to return to the World Academy soon, as there was no longer a need for him to stay outside. After all, the main reason Asher awakened the cmities was to move Farnus out of the World Academy. "Rest now," Asher said as he turned and headed towards his room. The servants gave Lucas some hand towels to remove the sweat from his face. "Where is Liv?" Lucas asked one of the maids. "Young Lady is on the Second Floor," she replied. ''I should take a shower,'' Lucas thought, feeling his body drenched in sweat. Amelia and Damian had left with Livia when Asher began teaching Lucas about his mistakes. In his room, Asher changed his clothes as he examined the card-type artifact that he had taken from the Heist in Desmar. "Time to use it," Asher said. Asher could activate this artifact at any time, but doing so would prevent him from bringing it into the World Academy. Therefore, he needed to add this Artifact''s mana frequency to the World Academy''s system. However, the security surrounding the World Academy''s data system was too robust for Asher to breach. Even Kai, with his bloodline ability, would be unable to enter. The moment he stepped foot inside, Farnus would sense their presence, and what awaited them was only death. Farnus hadplete freedom to kill anyone, no matter who they were if they entered the World Academy without permission. And the fact that Farnus never left the World Academy made it impossible for Asher to ess that data system without escaping Farnus''s gaze. One of the reasons Asher had awakened all those cmities was to force Farnus to leave the World Academy for the first time in years. "Your own method helped quite a lot," Asher muttered as he reviewed the information Tom had sent him about the Tarvian Family. The method to awaken those SSS Rank monsters was not something that Asher discovered himself. Instead, it was a technique found by the World Association, thanks to thebined efforts of all the Seat Holders. Asher called Tom, whose face appeared on the hologram. "Leak the information about the four cmities," Asher instructed as he looked at Tom. Apart from the Seat Holders and a few others, the number of cmities awakened was kept hidden from the world. At that moment, everyone assumed there were at most three cmities. But the people in Belvoria were oblivious that their continent was facing two SSS Rank Monsters. "And about thosepanies?" Tom asked. "Let them fight each other," Asher replied. "We don''t need them all." Asher''s emotionless gaze made Tom uneasy. Right now, Asher''s words alone were deciding the futures of people who held significant power in various continents'' economies. "I will release this information to the news sources first," Tom said before Asher disconnected the call. Asher gazed at the world map, on which all five continents were visible. "Well, I wonder if anyone will die," Asher mused, looking at Belvoria. Even he himself didn''t know which monsters he had awakened; he only knew about the method. In his previous life, he remembered that any information about all this was strictly restricted. The only thing he was certain of were the monsters in Desmar and Fashia, having seen the files about those monsters in his previous life. *** "Sir, look at this!" an assistant told a man in a suit, who turned to see what was happening. "What''s wrong?" the man asked as he came closer to look. "This can''t be!" the man eximed in shock. "Did they provide any proof?" he asked. "Not for the number of cmities, but the presence of SSS Rank Hunters in Belvoria and other continents can confirm the news," the assistant exined. "As for the second part, they have provided sufficient information." "What are we waiting for, then?" the man asked. "Regardless of any pressure from them, publish the news. We can''tg behind others." "But what if they ask us to take it down?" the assistant questioned, realizing the sensitivity of the situation. "We can remove itter, but we must publish it first," the man insisted.I think you should take a look at "Announce it in the broadcast. I will handle any issues that arise," the man said, especially emphasizing the second part as a smile appeared on his face. "We can use all this to secure the top spot," he said as he clicked on his phone. "But don''t push it too soon. I will confirm a few things first," the man reminded his assistant as he quickly turned to leave. All the news sources had received simr information and none of them wanted to fall behind in the race. In an instant, all the news sources were covering it. "Breaking News, the number of cmities in Belvoria is said to be two!" the news anchor dered. "No way!" A middle-aged woman who was watching the news expressed her shock. Not only her, but the expressions of everyone in Belvoria changed as they heard multiple sources reporting the same thing. At the World Association Headquarters in Belvoria, "Who the hell is spreading this information?" the executive shouted. They had just managed to calm the public unrest and were monitoring for any criminal activities in the meantime, but out of nowhere, crucial information had been leaked. "Contact these bastards and tell them to stop all this nonsense," the executive said with an angry look on his face. "Sir, the information has spread across the inte, suppressing it will be useless," one person said. "Ah, then just spread rumors that the news is false," the executive said. "Do anything to calm these people down," he said, but everyone in the room was confused as they couldn''t think of any solutions. They were already suppressing all sorts of articles or news about Zephyr, but now they had to calm the public down as well. The current situation was not at a level where it could be controlled anymore. In Belvoria, at the mansion where Casie was staying, "So you''re telling me none of those organizations have a single clue about this Zephyr?" Casie asked. "That''s what we got as a reply," the man nervously replied. All the servants in this mansion were worried as they could sense that Casie was quite annoyed since she returned from the G. Every single servant was avoiding going near Casie as much as they could. "Go back and tell them to keep looking for clues," Casie said. A maid was standing beside her as Casie tapped on her phone and a picture of Lucas and Livia popped up. It was from the news sources that were going crazy over the Ivar''s children, so it was obvious why such headlines were made. If the Zephyr incident hadn''t happened, Lucas and Livia would have been the highlight of the news along with Asher and his partner who shocked the world. "What do you think about these two?" Casie asked the maid standing beside her. ''This could be my chance,'' the maid thought in her head. She had been serving the Hargraves for years, but it was the first time she had been this close to Casie Hargrave. "Aren''t these two the illegitimate children?" the maid said. "Just by looking at them, anybody can see they don''t belong in such a ce," the maid said confidently. "Right, just by looking at them, their filthy background is so obvious," Casie said as a smile appeared on her face. "I heard some rumors that their mother isn''t even alive," the maid shared what she had heard from other servants. Casie''s smile didn''t disappear but if Lucas and Livia''s mother was still alive, Casie would have tried to kill her, disregarding any thoughts about the consequences she might face. "Just by looking at them, it''s so obvious that that man didn''t suit our Young Lady at all," the maid started speaking, thinking that Casie was enjoying it. "He might have been just as filthy as their mother, and ignoring our young-," Before the maid could finish, she felt the mana pressure of Casie. The maid got nervous when she saw Casie standing up anding towards her. "I-I am sorry-" She didn''t know what she did wrong but she apologized. Before she could finish her sentence, Casie grabbed her face, her eyes looking down at her. "Did you say that he is filthy?" Casie asked, and the maid started crying. Casie forced the maid to open her mouth as a ball ofva formed just above her fingertip. The maid couldn''t move and a scream was heard by the other servants, as Casie pouredva into her mouth. The other servants heard a scream but they chose to ignore whatever happened inside Casie''s room. It was better for them to just avoid the area. After a few minutes, Casie stepped out of her room, noticing the empty hallway. She went towards her bedroom, in which a single portrait of Ivar Greville was present. She approached it, looking at the portrait. "They will pay the price," Casie said as she touched the portrait, a smile appearing on her face. Chapter 277 Clash Of The Strongest - III ?277 sh of the Strongest - III "How many S Rank Hunters are on the border?" the official asked in a meeting with various high-ranking members of different guilds. "We have sent a total of 27 S Rank Hunters from our side," one Guild Representative replied, "We have sent 32 S Rank Hunters," another added. One by one, other guilds also reported the number of S Rank Hunters they had sent to handle the Monster Tide. "We have confirmed the security of the three continents," the official concluded the meeting. At the border of Fashia, "They keeping!" one man eximed, his spear piercing a monster, "We are still better off than them," another responded. Currently, they were only dealing with monsters that weren''t too powerful to defeat. Right now, the World Association, united with the Guild under Joseph Kimir Cranston and the Abyss Guild, were confronting the monsters that posed the real challenge. Hunters d in ck clothing bearing the Abyss Guild insignia were seen delving deeper into thends, bing the first line of defense. Unlike other guilds, therger guilds trained their hunters to handle the lostnds asionally. Among them, the training process of the Abyss Guild necessitated every high-ranking hunter to enter the Lost Land and fight there. This resulted in the Abyss Guild killing the most monsters, making a significant impact in saving Fashia. However, their problems were not diminishing. Joseph and Nathan were still battling, and the sh of their mana with the SSS Rank Monster made even the SS Rank monsters move towards the border of Fashia. "If only Sir Hassan were here," one of the SS Rank hunters of the Abyss Guildmented as he killed an S Rank monster. "Don''t ck off, the Guildmaster will not let us off if we let even a single monster past this ce," another SS Rank Hunter shouted, ensuring that every single hunter in the Abyss Guild could hear him. "Earth Wall," mages shouted as they conjured a barrier to block the monsters from getting past them. As the hunters were fighting, another wave of A Rank Monsters emerged, but one person, Cade Cranston, charged forward. His sword shone as he cut through the wave of monsters. The hunters of the Cranston family followed him, dealing with the monsters in his wake. "Don''t lose to others," the Cranston family hunters roared. Blood soaked the ground as monsters kept dying, and amid the explosions of mana, various S and SS Rank hunters continued to fight. The environment around them was constantly being destroyed, but the mages were managing that so others could fight freely. Cade looked at the other monsters as his sword effortlessly prated the hard skin of the A Rank Monsters. As the heir of the Cranston Family, he had ced himself at the frontline, while the Cranston family head was managing the situation inside Fashia. His presence greatly boosted the morale of the other hunters. "Hold on, this will end soon," Cade shouted, but little did he know, the two SSS Rank Hunters were still battling the awakened cmity. Nathan appeared behind the monster, but just as he was about to attack, the monster lifted its body into the air and unleashed a violent st of energy. "This bastard moves too much," Nathanined, instantly shifting his body to a different location. "Serim sh," Joseph attacked the monster, but it raised its w as Joseph''s sword shed with it. Joseph tried to push in, but the monster pushed him backwards. Nathan, however, seized the opportunity and dashed forward, descending his greatsword onto the monster''s head. The monster tilted its head, pushing Joseph to the spatial boundary and attempted to eat Nathan, but it felt a dangerous aura from Nathan''s greatsword. Instead of biting Nathan to death, the monster used its horn to try to kill Nathan. Instead of pushing Nathan back, though, the monster felt its horn sh with the greatsword. It tried to push Nathan back, but it was futile. Veins bulged around Nathan''s neck as he withstood the strength of an SSS Rank Monster. His greatsword began glowing with the mana he was manipting, and surprisingly, in this potentially fatal situation, Nathan was smiling. *Crack* The next moment, a crack appeared in the monster''s horn and it cried out loudly. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR," the monster roared. This made the whole spatial boundary shake, and while it shrank in size, its horn also diminished but started to glow more brightly. "Spatial Shift," Nathan muttered as he suddenly disappeared from his ce and reappeared a few steps forward, his body shifting downwards.I think you should take a look at Nathan rotated his body as his greatsword shed the back of the monster''s head, behind its horns. Even though the strike was far from the skin, the monster felt a massive cut on the back of its head. Nathan felt danger and immediately stepped forward, evading the massive stream of mana around the monster, which cried out in pain. The monster was beyond enraged by Nathan''s attack. The behemoth turned towards Nathan,pletely ignoring Joseph''s presence. Nathan''s gaze looked down at the monster, waiting for it to make a move. He didn''t have to wait long, as Joseph saw multiple spikes erupt towards them from the spatial boundary. "Dammit," Joseph muttered as a spike narrowly missed him. Strangely enough, these spikes were made of extremely violent mana which would make wounds inflicted by them almost irreparable for a long time. They wouldn''t be able to treat a wound from one of these spikes with a healing potion. Right now, Nathan and Joseph had a slight advantage over the SSS Rank Monster, primarily because of Nathan''s sword art. But the moment they got hurt, the tide of the battle would shift. Presently, both Nathan and Silvus were somehow keeping up with the SSS Rank Monsters. Far from Desmar''s border, Silvus summoned multiple chains while Dalton attacked the monster alongside the Vice Chairman of the World Association. "Bloom of Ciarzelm," Silvus chanted, causing a massive nt to appear. Its vines started wrapping around four stone pirs. Silvus created a barrier that trapped the monster while using another high-tier Earth Element restriction spell. The vines started wrapping around the monster, which tried to break free. However, the coordinated attack from the others made it difficult. When Silvus had someone that could keep the foe busy, no one could stop him as his mastery over magic was the best in the world. The SSS Rank Monster was currently suffering from the talent of the Archmage. However, everyone was cautious. Silvus''s use of different elemental magic caused the weather to change, clouds forming and the smoke from his fire element subsiding as rain started to pour. From unknown abilities to any unforeseen variable, a single moment was enough for them to lose the upper hand in battle. But the situation in Belvoria waspletely different. "Stay away when he attacks, Osbert," Farnus instructed Osbert Tarvian, an SSS Rank Hunter who had apanied him. The SSS Rank Cmity they were facing wasn''t a behemoth but a smaller monster about three times the size of an adult human. Covered in shiny red scales with brown fur around its neck and head, the monster had three eyes and stood on two legs. A faint orange aura could be seen traveling through the cracks of the red scales. Farnus disappeared, leaving a trail of bluish aura as he revolved his spear. The air swirled violently around him, as lightning erupted from the ground. From a distance, Osbert observed as Farnus Calmort, the Spear God, charged towards the cmity. Farnus, donned in Stormscale Armor, held his spear that glowed with the traverse of lightning across his body. Unlike typical lightning, Farnus''s element destructively impacted everything itnded on, leaving numerous craters across the battlefield ¨C each a testament to Farnus''s strength. However, the problem arose; the monster was not a standard one. It was notably shorter than any other SSS Rank monsters they had encountered, and its speed could rival Farnus. Farnus''s lightning element provided him with an edge over the monster, but this insight didn''t permit Osbert to recklessly attack the monster. "Lightning Descend," Farnusmanded, bringing his spear to the ground. Lightning began to converge near the monster''s legs, erupting and assaulting the creature. Osbert''s sword started to glow red as mes materialized around his arm. Fire being his primary element, he dashed towards the monster, which took a step back after enduring Farnus''s attack. Osbert''s ming sword cut through the air, attempting to prate the monster''s back. Reinforcing his grip on the sword, Osbert strained to push it further into the creature. In the next instant, Farnus materialized, and his spear pierced the monster''s gut. The impact from Farnus''s strike alone was enough to shake Osbert''s entire arm, even though he only felt the impact through the monster''s body. The monster''s white eyes cast downward as it twisted its abdomen. But rather than writhing in pain, the monster''s body started to heat up. Osbert noticed the scales began to melt, the wound started healing, and from the molten red scales, a massive w and a skeletal armor formed on the SSS Rank monster. "What the hell is this monster?" Osbert muttered, a frown creasing his face. "It can heal, but there seems to be a limit," Farnus observed, noting the diminished fur around the region he''d attacked with his spear. Farnus''s hair fluttered in the wind as he raised his mana. His spear began to glow blue, and golden runes materialized along its length. Osbert could feel the disparity in their strength, but he understood why Farnus was growing serious. This SSS Rank Monster was at least a Mid SSS Rank Monster. Chapter 278 Failure ?278 Failure While the fight of the SSS Rank Hunter was ongoing, rumors about Zephyr and the awakened cmities spread far and wide across every continent. However, these rumors were bing exaggerated, creating a problem as maintaining public safety in such a situation was nearly impossible. "What are you thinking about?" Sylvie asked Arthur. Both of them were preparing to leave Mzelm Ind and return to Soran. All the families and guests had returned to their respective continents, and the Kalvas G was halted. Even the auction was stopped, the vaults were sealed again, and they were sent to the Artisan''s Association. Not wanting to risk it any further, the vaults were sent to be kept under the eye of Dexter Wright, the only SSS Rank Hunter that had not gone to face the cmity. "Ah, nothing," Arthur replied. But in his head, he waspiling a list of people who could be behind Zephyr. Regardless, this situation wasn''t benefiting anyone in the Elite Families. Their reputation was being tarnished, and the resources that would be lost or used in stopping the Monster Tide were significant. "You seem eager to go back home," Arthur said, changing the subject. "Of course, I still have many questions for my son," Sylvie replied. Arthur remembered the Night Party, particrly Asher''s entrance. "I almost forgot about it," Arthur said. "I want to ask him, who is that girl?" Sylvie said. Arthur could understand why Sylvie wanted to know about that girl first before making any decisions. Arthur understood that aside from being the Heir of the Greville Family, Asher was considered to potentially be the strongest hunter of this generation. His talent was even said to surpass Nathaniel and Ivar Greville. It wasn''t hard to realize that the number of people wanting to take advantage of this situation was not low. In a private vi in Soran, "So, did you find any clues?" Leonard asked a middle- aged man. The man was the assistant of Osbert Tarvian, so Leonard could freely contact him. "I can''t use the World Association database, but from my personal investigation, I didn''t find any substantial results," the man said. "Keep looking, I want to know who that girl is," Leonardmanded, and the man immediately nodded. "And the formalities about ourpany are ready, right?" Leonard asked. "We have contacted all the possible people that we could merge with in this project, so it won''t be an issue," the assistant replied. "I want all the major businesses, distributors, everyone on our side," Leonard stated. "Ignore Somaria, just focus on the other four," Leonard added with a calm look on his face. Leonard was already informed that all their spies and moles in the Abyss Corporation were killed, and some didn''t dare betray the Abyss Corporation anymore. Without the support of any of the Elite Families of Somaria, it was nearly impossible for them to enter the market of Somaria. "We don''t have to worry about them¡ª" The assistant was saying something but stopped midway. Leonard raised his eyebrows as he noticed the assistant''s behavior. "What the hell?" The assistant eximed as he watched the news. "What happened?" Leonard asked, confused. "The news, it''s.." The assistant was too shocked to articte. Leonard himself tapped on his phone, and the news broadcast popped up. Many news sources were covering stories about corruption and misuse of power among manyrge and small corporations. It waspletely unexpected, and both Leonard and the assistant were shocked as they couldn''tprehend how such a thing had happened. The reactions of those exposed were full of horror, while others were full of expectations. "So he was telling the truth," one of the owners of apany that was going to sign a contract with a big uing corporation, said to himself. He had received insider information about multiple people being used of various crimes, data he wasn''t even aware of. But the current situation was not exactly convenient for them to manipte the media. Even in this situation, those in the business industry were looking for a way to profit. A simple strategy was to crush the people who were being mentioned all over the news. "I cannot believe that these people were like this," a middle-aged woman said as she watched the news. From corruption to harassment, and even worse things were being reported. This caused quite an uproar, as families of those implicated were being discussed all over the inte. "Hey, who the hell leaked this video footage!" an old man shouted at a room full of people.I think you should take a look at "We don''t know, Sir, we''re trying to find out," a young man spoke up. "Dammit, those bastards won''t let this opportunity go," the old man said irritably. The empire he had built his entire life was about to crumble. As he had predicted, various other people who were not exposed were attacking theirpany. "This should be enough," Tom said as he sent half the information he had to news sources. "Now, just as the boss said, they will do the rest of the work," Tom said as he rxed in his chair. Asher''s n was to cripple the economic support they had for the future corporation that Reece and Leonard were going to lead. But doing so required too much time and effort if done the conventional way, and time was something they didn''t have. So the best option was to let those people handle each other while trying to survive themselves. Asher, who was on his way to the World Academy, saw the news making headlines. The same officials of the World Associations were pushing this news. They had found a way to distract people. ''It should be done before he returns,'' Asher thought to himself. The timing needed to be perfect, as Osbert''s return would resolve this issue. All the people being exposed had one thing inmon: they had a contract with a business corporation set to introduce itself to the world in theing years. The list that was exposed to the news sources had only 11 names on it, but all those people were heavily invested in the business n that was being made by Osbert Tarvian himself. Currently, they were being attacked by the same people who had contact with the Tarvian family and the Williams family''s heir. The opportunity to remove yourpetition was too enticing for certain individuals to resist betraying these people and worsening their cases. Public scrutiny was high, as Asher noticed thements people were making about the whole situation. All these people were trying to figure out how this leak urred and who had betrayed them, but they could never imagine in their wildest dreams that their current predicament was a result of Osbert Tarvian''s actions. Osbert was a type of man who didn''t trust anyone, even with a mana oath. He wanted something more under his control so that if someone went against him, their traces could be removed. All this information was found in the leaked data under Osbert''s name. Soon, Asher reached the Portal Dome, and it was time for him to enter the World Academy before Farnus could return. "Remove their names," Leonard said as he thought about it calmly. "But Young Master, the loss would be too great on our side," The assistant replied. "Just do as I say," Leonard responded, his face calm. "I will handle whatever Father says about this," Leonard said, and the assistant nodded. This whole situation had cornered them deeply, and now this leak had forced Leonard to make this choice. If Osbert weren''t away, he could make all these people sit down calmly, but his absence had made the situation much worse. Inside the World Academy, "Why did I agree to all this?" Professor Argas said as he tapped his fingers repeatedly on the book cover. He was getting anxious, after all, he was asked to breach the data system and authorise illegal artifacts into the World Academy. This was a crime that could cost Argas his life if he was caught, but he had no choice but to follow Asher''s orders. After all, if he didn''t, the result would remain the same. It didn''t matter where Argas leaned; both sides had only cliffs, and he was bound to fall. "Yeah, the Principal is away; I can get away with this," Argas tried to convince himself. Even though Farnus was away, the security of the World Academy was not a joke, but Asher had told him to only go as far as the data system. Argas had the authority to enter there, but tampering with it would raise rms, and he would end up getting caught. He didn''t understand why the Heir of the Greville Family was so keen on bringing the artifacts inside. "Shit," Argas cursed. "Why is he making me do this?" Argas muttered. Asher was the most powerful in the first year; he didn''t need those artifacts. But despite that, he was making Argas do something that could expel both of them from the World Academy. Chapter 279 Trouble ?279 Trouble Asher got out of his car as he saw the Portal Dome in sight. Due to the recent situation, the security around the Portal Dome had been increased tenfold. The Portal Dome was the only way to enter the Flying Ind of the World Academy, and if someone wanted to force their way in, they needed to be at least Peak SS Rank Hunters to withstand the spatial pressure all around these Flying Inds. The security guards moved to allow Asher to enter. Going in, Asher took out his ID Bracelet, which confirmed his identity. "You can go in," the security guard said as he opened the gate for Asher. Inside the gate was the Teleporting Gate. Asher could easily see the amount of Runes that were present around it. If anyone tried to force their way to use this Gate, the people at the World Academy could easily activate this runic formation which would shift the coordinates of the teleportation device. And if they were fast enough to enter it, their mana would leave an imprint on the detection runes, alerting the people at the World Academy. Asher went in and arrived at the Flying Ind shortly after. Someone handed Asher a hoverboard to go to the Inner Sector where the World Academy was situated. The outer sector was almost empty as even the students at the World Academy saw the Broadcast of the Kalvas G. Almost all of them were stuck inside their room, watching all the events being posted on the inte. Many people were even contacting their families, as they were quite confused by all this. Asher took out his ID Bracelet and contacted Professor Argas to inform him that he had arrived at the World Academy. "Time to get things done," Asher said as he traveled the outer sector with the hoverboard. He entered the Inner Sector, which was just as empty as the Outer Sector. Only a few staff members could be seen. Asher first went inside the Rankers Dorm to change his uniform. He was waiting for Argas''s confirmation, as entering the ce where the Data System was stored was not easy. They needed to be precise with their timings and ensure nobody could catch them. Argas was waiting for that opportunity as well. In the Faculty Building, "Yeah, I think I will change my course a bit starting next year," Argas said to his assistant. Argas''s eyes looked around, making sure that he created as many alibis as possible. Despite needing to follow Asher''s absurd request, he wanted to create as many backup ns for himself as possible. The only reason he was cooperating with Asher was to save himself. "Did you inform Sir Zemil about my visit?" he asked. "Yes, we have received confirmation from them," the assistant replied immediately. "Here is the card we received from them," the assistant pulled out a card that allowed Argas to enter the ce where the professors registered their artifacts. Mostly all these artifacts were shown to the Security Team of the World Academy first, so that their use could be monitored. Argas had already obtained permission from Farnus, and all he needed to do was wait to register the mana frequency of these artifacts, whose entry was already approved by Farnus himself. All the 3 Star Professors had the authority to bring their own artifacts if they gave a valid reason for their use. Even while teaching at the World Academy, all the 3 Star Professors were allowed to have artifacts that helped them increase their ranks or with their personal training. A separate training facility had been made for them so that teaching at the World Academy wouldn''t hamper their growth. ''That bastard got lucky with this timing,'' Argas thought in his head as he remembered Asher telling him to submit his request to Farnus to bring him some mana gathering artifacts. Argas was hoping that Farnus would reject his application, but it got epted. This made Argas anxious, thinking that someday he would need to allow Asher to infiltrate the Data Center. But he was relieved that luck was on their side, and all the ruckus in the Outside World made their n easier since Farnus was no longer present at the World Academy. "Can you call Mark for me," Argas told his assistant. He nodded and left the room. Argas took out his ID Bracelet and contacted Asher, informing him it was time and they could begin their n now. Asher, who was in the Ranker''s Dorm, saw this message and took out the card-type artifact. He stood up to leave the Ranker''s Dorm and head to the Faculty Building where Argas was waiting for him. At the Security Room of the World Academy, "Did any newse from the Principal?" Zemil asked. "None of the SSS Rank Hunters have responded yet," a man replied. "So it will take more than a week before we hear any news," Zemil muttered.I think you should take a look at Zemil was hoping that the news was false and Farnus could return earlier. But knowing that whatever the masked man said was real, Zemil could deduce the time it would take for Farnus toe back. Even the Dungeon Raids of SSS Rank Dungeons took a couple of months at least for the team of a few SSS Rank Hunters and other SS Rank Monsters to clear them. "Keep capturing the footage near the Portal Dome," Zemil instructed. "And are all the Portals turned off?" Zemil asked. The man nodded. The portals that were temporarily made for the midterms and for the professors to inspect the examination sites were all closed. All of the Security team were too worried about the Outside threat that they didn''t even think that someone from inside could create a problem for them. In half an hour, Asher was sitting inside Argas''s office with another assistant named Mark, who was confused why Argas called him. "You can take his ID," Argas said, but Mark was confused. "Don''t think too much about it," Argas said, and Mark became quiet instantly. Mark was aware of Argas''s misuse of his power and had helped him many times, but he was confused as to why Asher Greville was sitting there with them. However, Mark wasn''t stupid enough to question Argas. He knew that Argas could have him expelled from the World Academy with his authority. Mark didn''t want to make trouble for himself. Mark walked towards Asher and gave him his ID Bracelet, but he was confused. "Give him the spare clothes that I made you bring as well," Argas said. "Ah, okay," Mark took out a coat and white shirt, along with a ck pant. "You can change there," Argas said, careful with his tone. After all, the person sitting in front of him held his career in his hands. Asher took the clothes and went to change into the formal attire. "Mark," Argas said. "Yes, Professor," Mark replied. "Make sure you stay here and don''t open the door for others. You will be Asher Greville for a few hours," Argas said. Mark was confused, but Argas continued anyway. "I will tell them he came for some extra lessons and stayed to practice a few things," Argas said. "What if someonees in?" Mark asked, bing nervous. He didn''t know why, but something was telling him he was in trouble. "Nobody wille in, and ensure that no one sees you here," Argas said as he exerted his mana pressure on Mark. "Ah, yes, Professor," Mark replied instantly, afraid of upsetting Argas. He knew how problematic it could be if Argas got in a bad mood. Argas briefed Mark on a few things that he needed to bear in mind. Argas stood up as soon as he saw Asher emerge from the room, dressed in clothes simr to Mark''s. Despite the matching attire, the two of them bore no resemnce to each other. "Let''s go," said Asher as he took Mark''s cap and sses as well. Argas opened the door to find his office practically deserted; he had sent most of his staff to spend some time learning about the unfolding situation outside. The chaos outside had fortuitously made Argas''s task of hiding Asher significantly easier as they prepared to make their way to the Data System Room. Argas was certain that nobody would see Asher as the entrance to the Data System room was through the elevator on his floor. All he needed was the ess Card he got from Zemil, and he would be able to ess the Data System Room. This room was a ce where all professors had their approved artifacts scanned, and their mana frequencies entered so that these artifacts didn''t set off the rms of the World Academy. "Please stay behind me, just in case," Argas advised as he nced at Asher. Asher positioned himself behind Argas in the elevator. His indifferent gaze was fixed on Argas, whose nervousness was all too apparent. Argas often yed with fire by using students to his advantage, but he always ensured he was careful with his ns and the targets he chose. "Listen, both of us will get into trouble if we do this," Argas stated,ing to a stop. He had pulled out the ess card butcked the courage to use it. For thest time, just as he had over the past couple of months, Argas attempted to reason with Asher. Chapter 280 Entering The Data Room ?280 Entering the Data Room "Don''t push your luck, ''Professor'' Argas," Asher said, his indifferent eyes looking at Argas who was standing still. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Asher asked. "No," Argas replied, cing the card near the scanner. Asher was standing behind Argas, so he couldn''t see the expression of anger etched on Argas''s face. Never in his life had Argas imagined that he would be forced to obey another''s orders, his whole life and career hanging on another person''s whim. The robotic voice was audible to both of them as the elevator began to ascend. Their destination was two floors below the topmost floor, where Farnus always stayed. Farnus asionally used his floor to practice his mana cirction, so he evacuated everyone from the five floors below him. That was why there were no guards directly safeguarding the Data System Room. The security system and Farnus himself were sufficient to keep unwanted intruders out. "I will remind you again, you will not be able to register your artifacts," Argas stated as the elevator doors opened to reveal a vast room. Argas moved forward and Asher, donning a cap, followed suit. Argas noticed various security devices scanning the ID bracelets on their wrists. The robotic voice echoed in the room, heard by both Asher and Argas who continued walking towards the center where a massive cube was situated. This was where every artifact was ced and its mana frequency recorded, while those that possessed them used them. "I want to record the Mana Frequency," Argas dered, halting in front of the cube. The robotic voice guided Argas as a hologram appeared. After an inspection by the Security Team, the artifact''s information was recorded by the team, and Argas only needed to enter the room and record the mana frequency. This was why he had told Asher it was futile, as he couldn''t register his own artifact. "If you ce your artifact there, it will scan for the specific details recorded by the Security Team," Argas exined, producing a ring, the artifact he had permission for. "Only if you have a simr artifact can you record it here," Argas stated. But deep down, he yearned to see the look of defeat on Asher''s face. He had beenpelled to bring Asher here, but he knew it would be fruitless. Even if Asher possessed a ring-type artifact, that artifact would be registered under Argas''s name. For Asher to use it, he needed to purchase it via the trade center, which was impossible as the artifact Argas had brought was an S Rank artifact. And a student couldn''t possess an artifact above A Rank at all in the World Academy. It made sense for a person like Argas to use an S Rank artifact, as an A Rank artifact was useless for him due to his rank. Farnus would have rejected it. He had exined this to Asher, but Asher told him not to overthink it. His only task was to bring Asher here, which he had aplished. Now he wanted to see what Asher could do. ''Now this bastard will see how wrong he was,'' Argas thought, maintaining his neutral expression. He didn''t want to agitate Asher and make an enemy out of him, as Asher still possessed all the evidence against Argas. If Asher weren''t from the Greville family or any influential family, Argas would never have allowed someone to control him like this. He couldn''t ovee Asher''s status, so his only option was to obey Asher''s orders. Asher stepped forward upon seeing the cube, crouching down to ce his hand on the robust metal structure. Asher stood up, circling the cube.I think you should take a look at "If you''re done, we should head back," Argas suggested, aware that cameras were continuously recording the room. But the only person with ess to this footage was Farnus himself. And typically, Farnus wouldn''t go out of his way to review the footage, as his mana sense was adequate to know what was transpiring in this room. All the professors were cognizant of this. If Farnus hadn''t left the World Academy, Argas would have brought Asher here with the pretext of satisfying Asher''s curiosity due to losing a bet against him. That way, even if Farnus had detected and stopped them, he could have found a way out, as he didn''t bring Asher here covertly like now. But that also implied they would be caught anyway. Argas had brought Asher here as Mark because Farnus wasn''t present. However, he didn''t want Asher to linger here any longer. "Make a cut here," Asher directed, pointing at a particr part of therge cube. "Huh?" Argas responded in surprise, confusion evident on his face. "Hey, we can''t do that; it will alert the Security System. The runes here..." Argas moved closer to prevent Asher from tampering with the cube. But he halted when he saw Asher coat his fist in aura and punch a specific part behind the cube. "No!" Argas hastily approached the cube, but Asher''s punch hadn''t damaged it nor triggered the Security System. "Cut a narrow line here to create an opening," Asher instructed, observing the anxious Argas. Argas almost panicked when he saw Asher''s punch. He was about to use his mana to push Asher away but restrained himself. He didn''t want to add harming the heir of the Greville family to his list of crimes. "Do it if you don''t want to get caught here," Asher said as mana started flowing out of his hand and onto the big cube. Argas was confused, but Asher didn''t give him time to contemte anything. Crouching down, Argas fashioned a de from his aura and made a square cut to remove a section of metal from the big cube. Asher peered into the opening, revealing aplex system of circuit boards that controlled the cube''s functions. Asher produced a chip, a device Tom had constructed after extracting data from the Operating Tower. The cube was a device used in certain areas of the World Association''s Main Headquarters. Tom had spent hours studying it, identifying potential points of data breach and maniption. Because Asher had told him in advance about the data he wanted to input, it was rtively straightforward for Tom to design a program that could help Asher, provided that Asher could ess the Recording Table itself. The Recording Table was the big cube that stood before Asher and Argas. Following Tom''s detailed blueprint of the board functions, Asher crouched down and slotted the chip into one of the boards. Everything had been carefullymitted to Asher''s memory, making the task effortless. "Wait, what are you putting inside?" Argas asked, panic creeping into his voice. A robotic voice announced, prompting Asher to rise to his feet. This left Argaspletely bewildered by the unfolding events. Asher advanced towards the front, brandishing a card- type artifact. He ced it on top of the cube, then extracted a small vial of blood and dripped its contents onto the card. The card''s embedded jewel gleamed as the artifact activated. To register it, Asher needed to activate the artifact. A force field enveloped the card as Asher watched the jewel illuminate. Subsequently, a mark was engraved on the top-right corner of the card. Chapter 281 Flaw ?281 w "Do you understand what I am saying?" James asked. "I do, brother," Louis responded. "Not a single mistake or anything that could bring harm to our reputation," James repeated himself. At that moment, Louis was preparing to leave for the border of Desmar to manage the situation of the Monster Tide. Each elite family was dispatching representatives to maintain their image, and James had chosen Louis for that task. Although Louis was prone to anger and challenging to control, James couldn''t deny that he was superior to the other S Rank Hunters. However, recent events had driven Louis''s credibility to rock bottom, but James refrained from ming him now that the Zephyr were proving a bigger problem than previously anticipated. Initially, everyone who knew about the heist med Louis for his ipetence, but subsequent events caused them to reconsider their judgment. "Good, I expect a lot from you," James said. Louis then left the room to head towards the training facility in the Rothschild Manor to retrieve his weapons and armor. Moving down to the basement, passing through several security measures that verified his identity, Louisid his hand on his armor. But unexpectedly, he started feeling angry and irritated with his situation. "Now they all think it wasn''t my fault, huh," Louis muttered, a strange irritation oveing him. However, this was not a natural emotion but something forcibly induced in him. At the World Academy Data System Room, Asher observed the card as the mark appeared, suggesting that it had already started working. He had managed to collect Louis''s blood when his sword had grazed his cheek, causing a minor cut. And the moment Asher teleported away, he secured the sword and stored the blood in a small vial specifically designed for preservation. ''He will be a good puppet,'' Asher thought as he removed the card from the cube-like structure. Argas was bewildered but more concerned about triggering a security rm, so he didn''t interrupt the process and remained still until Asher was done. "This should be enough," Asher muttered as another artifact was registered by him. It was a Rank SS Artifact, ''Escape of Nightdream,'' a ne-type artifact that allowed up to 10 people to teleport to any location, provided the coordinates were etched on it, and it could be used only twice a week. There were other teleportation artifacts, but all of them had issues as they couldn''t be used inside a dungeon. From the moment Asher acquired these two artifacts, his goal was clear. First, to make Farnus leave the World Academy, which would have been impossible unless a threatrge enough to move the strongest hunter was introduced. Second, he nned to record the mana frequency of this Rank SS Ne artifact and get Tom to add it to the chip that would be used to interfere within the Data System Room. Argas, standing still, didn''t know what he had done and what the consequences of this action would be. In front of him, he thought that Asher was illegally going to use an artifact to make his life easier at the World Academy, but he waspletely wrong. He had given Asher a way to leave the World Academy and return anytime, as the Rank SS Escape of Nightdream was already in the database of the World Academy. There was a reason why no teleporting artifacts worked on the Flying Ind. The gravitational and spatialws around them interfered with the artifacts if they weren''t S Rank or above. Only Teleportation Gates powered with enough energy were used to move in and out of the Flying Inds. They were the only method that guaranteed safe travel between two points. Any artifact below S Rank had the tendency to disrupt the teleportation process. But that was not the case with the artifact Asher had. It also allowed Asher to leave the World Academy, and even if he was inside a Dungeon, he could return to the World Academy. However, there was one slight problem. Bringing in Artifacts from outside was not possible, as Tom had told Asher to wait for months until the data would be integrated with the Security System outside the World Academy.I think you should take a look at As students were asked to leave without any artifacts or to dere them when leaving, bringing an extra artifact was impossible. The only feasible way was for Asher to go back outside and use the Artifact to teleport inside the World Academy. But that would make no sense as his presence would confuse the people who managed security, as he was supposed to be outside the World Academy. The system that the World Academy used was so cut off from the outside world that Tom had no way of instantly controlling the whole security system, even if he wanted to. Unlike the World Association and Whiteheart family, where Asher had given Tom a lot of his own knowledge that he remembered perfectly from his previous life. This allowed Tom to easily gain ess to things that would have been impossible in such a short amount of time. But Asher could wait for the artifact, as the main thing he wanted was already in his hands, and that was a card with a glowing red gem. The next person to experience the effects of this artifact was already decided. The person who was unknowingly bringing that to Asher was Gavin Neville, oblivious to the fact that he was helping Asher destroy his own family. Beyond the Borders of Belvoria, BOOM An explosion urred as Osbert Tarvian swung his sword and immediately backed off. Blood dripped from Osbert''s left arm as a wound appeared, but it gradually healed itself. The regenerative abilities of SSS Rank Hunters were absurd. Unless an attack inflicted a wound that couldn''t be healed - in a case where the monster''s mana overtook their own - they werepletely fine, slowly healing. "Don''t rush in too much, Osbert," Farnus reminded him as he floated in the air. His armor started shining, Farnus''s eyes began glowing, and his SSS Rank armor ensured that Farnus remained unharmed throughout the fight. However, the cost of this security came from the considerable amount of mana Farnus was using to maintain this armor. The monster spread its w into the ground, raising the wholend beneath it as Farnus''s spear rained lightning on it. In an instant, the entire surroundingnd was getting destroyed, but no clear results could be seen so far. Osbert''s aura began to increase as his sword started glowing, and the area beneath his sword began to melt due to the sheer amount of heat. But even though Osbert was ready to attack, he didn''t charge in first. He knew he had to use Farnus to his advantage. However, the condition of the other SSS Rank Hunters in Belvoria wasn''t much better as they were fighting an equally strange monster. "Where the hell is it now?" Xarax eximed as he made a significant crack in the ground with his sword. All these SSS Rank Hunters were fighting a monster that kept disappearing into the shadows, making it incredibly difficult to harm. A monster that used the ck Element was the worst kind for them, as its ability was still unknown to them, "Don''t let it get too close," the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter warned as he shed the ck w behind him. Suddenly, the environment around them changed asva appeared beneath them, but it was all an illusion. The Vice Chairman of the World Association used his hammer to smash the ground, breaking the spell. "This bastard is annoying," he said, as the Monster refused to engage them properly. They had to constantly use their aura to protect themselves, as the corrosive property in the ck Element made it impossible for them to withstand the ck energy with their own bodies. "Keep wasting time; it''s impossible for us to kill it without Silvus or Farnus," Xarax dered, knowing they were ill- matched against this monster. None of them had any restriction technique or an artifact that could counter the ck Element, making them unable to handle the strange monster that kept darting in and out of the shadows. The massive monster made the entire area around them submerge into a ck energy, creating its own domain, and Xarax was aware of the dangers of fighting the monster in this environment. But Silvus was still confronting the monster in front of them, and it would be some time before he would finish. "Schere sh," Xarax announced as a pale bluish aura began to overtake the ck energy. ''Only a week,'' Xarax thought. That was the amount of time in which he could hold back this monster using his full powers. Chapter 282 Moving Forward ?282 Moving Forward "What have you done?" Argas asked, a frown on his face. He could hear the robotic voices, but what he wanted to understand were Asher''s intentions. "You don''t need to know," Asher said, cing the Card Type Artifact inside his spatial ring. "ce your artifact and we will leave," Asher instructed, turning towards the elevator. Argas didn''t reply but his mind was already exploring possible advantages to his situation. As he put his artifact on the cube, he nced back for a moment. ''Surely if I pressure him a bit, I can free myself,'' Argas thought as he picked up his artifact. He was ufortable with his whole career being in Asher''s hands. "I have done what you wanted, now we are even," Argas dered as he entered the lift and looked at Asher. Asher stared back at Argas. "We will both preserve each other''s secrets," Argas suggested. "I think you''re confused," Asher responded, removing his sses. "I am the Heir of the Greville Family," Asher stated. "Even if I get caught, the worst that would happen is me getting suspended or expelled," Asher continued. "But do you think it will be the same for you?" Asher challenged, his presence bing intimidating. "Can you survive making my family your enemy?" Asher asked, Argas''s expression shifting. The lift arrived at Argas''s floor and the doors opened. "Think carefully. It''s you who needs to be careful about your decisions from now on, not me," Asher warned as he stepped out of the lift and headed towards Argas''s office, leaving Argas still in the lift. Argas clenched his fist, understanding his precarious position. Until now, he had controlled others for profit, but now he was the one who needed to follow every order from Asher. The gap in their statuses was toorge, and he knew that making an enemy out of an Elite family was thest thing he wanted. After all, if Asher were exposed, Argas would be expelled as well since he had allowed Asher into the Data System Room. The worst punishment Asher could receive was expulsion and public defamation. For Argas, it was different. Once he was expelled, he would lose the protection of the World Academy, and he would need to find a way to protect himself from the Greville Family if they chose toe after him. Argas understood the workings of high society well enough to know that even if he was powerful, a person like him had no way of standing against the Greville family. Inside the office, "Take it," Asher tossed the ID Bracelet towards Mark, who caught it immediately. "Where is the Professor?" He asked, confused. His question was soon answered as Argas entered the office, his face back to normal as he didn''t want to antagonize Asher. Asher entered a room and changed back into his usual uniform, then put on his ID Bracelet. "Do you need anything else?" Argas asked as soon as Asher came out. Mark had already been dismissed by Argas, so only the two of them were present in the room. "Not for now," Asher replied as he walked towards the door and exited the room. Argas had done enough and Asher didn''t need him anymore. In a few hours, some people had already returned to the World Academy, but most were still out. All sses were on halt because of the Kalvas G, so all students were eagerly waiting for any news popping up. A group of men, each from a different continent, gathered in a virtual meeting. "What do you mean you''re going to back away now?" one man shouted, but his agitation didn''t help his cause. "It''s not us who are on the news right now," another person replied. "Every single news source has shifted to showcasing your deeds to the public," he added. "I have contacted a few people to see if anything can be done, but don''t expect anything," another person chimed in. "Dammit," the first man disconnected the call furiously, throwing his device against the wall. "Where the hell did they get all this information from?" he questioned. Information about hispany''s stock plummeting and various messages from others irritated him.I think you should take a look at It wasn''t just him, many economic giants were facing simr bacsh. In a normal situation, their money and connections could have limited the damage, but that wasn''t the case now. At the Rothschild Mansion, "Just dere that we will deal with them publicly," James instructed his butler, who brought him information about all the people currently in the news. "But doing so might offend some of our supporters," the butler cautioned. "Right now, what we need to maintain is our reputation and status. These people can be reced," James responded, ncing at the list. Simrly, a few other Elite Families were thinking along the same lines. If Osbert wasn''t preupied, he would have stopped all the media with his authority as only he knew that all the people currently being targeted were part of his future ns. James didn''t know that by taking this action he was making Asher''s job easier as all the Elite Families turned their backs on these people. But there was another person who knew about this but chose not to intervene. And that was the head of the Williams Family. "So, Reece contacted you?" he asked his butler. "Yes, Young Master was asking if anything could be done to calm down this situation," the butler reported, a smile forming on the face of the head of the Williams Family. "It seems he''s still not ready," he mused. "Tell him to just watch from the side. We will not be interfering in any of this," he instructed. The butler nodded in response and left the room. "I wonder who is pulling the strings in all this," he mused, pressing a button to make the information about the project he was working on with Osbert Tarvian visible. Even though he had coborated with Osbert, he felt no need to handle things that weren''t his responsibility. He knew how many people were going to jump on this bandwagon ande out on top while the current ones were buried. And he didn''t want Reece to join in either. "I need to tell that boy not to get too involved this early in all this," he muttered. Two days went by and there was no news from the SSS Rank Hunters, but reports of explosions and massive mana readings in those areas allowed everyone to know that the fight was still ongoing. And the Monster Tide hadn''t stopped either. It wouldn''t stop as the monsters kept moving away from the presence of the SSS Rank Monster, continuously rushing towards the Border. Even Halcyon was suffering from a few monstersing over to their side, but Halcyon and Somaria were the only continents that didn''t have to deploy too many resources. Outside Armax Prison, A huge tower stood in the middle of an isted piece ofnd that was covered withva and rune traps. The only entry point was a bridge. "It seems that whoever these guys are, this prison is not their target," Alfred said as he floated in the air alongside Helena. Their presence was mostly concealed by Helena''s ability as they were keeping a vignt eye on Armax Prison to prevent any untoward incidents. "Did you contact Sylvie?" Alfred asked Helena. "She is a smart girl, if she needs me, she will contact me herself," Helena replied. "Well, you are right," Alfred responded with a smile on his face. Helena''s predictions seemed urate as Soran remained mostly peaceful. However, the tension was high as many hunters were protecting the children of elite families. This was Greville''s family territory, so they were being extra cautious. "Should we go back?" Elena asked Kevin, who was engrossed in his training. They had already spent two days outside the World Academy and needed to return soon. "Yeah, but..." Kevin paused, unable to finish his sentence. He was still worried about his family''s situation; they were currently being targeted more than any other elite family. Many press conferences were held and broadcasts were made to calm the public down, but the cmities were still ongoing and there was no news about the SSS Rank Hunters. No matter what the officials did, the rumors kept escting. "Yeah, let''s go back," Kevin said after some thought. Kevin understood that in his current state, he was of no help to his father. It would be better for him to focus on training. Raelyn had already advised him not to worry too much, so he decided to take Elena''s advice. "I will tell Ria and Eva to move as well," Elena said, leaving Kevin to train alone for the time being. She didn''t want Kevin to get too distracted with all these things, as their current focus needed to be on getting stronger. Chapter 283 Confusion ?283 Confusion "This bastard," Nathan grumbled, his gaze fixated on the behemoth monster still standing despite multiple injuries marring its body. The ground beneath was stained with its blood, yet the creature showed no sign of fatigue. Nathan''s armor bore a few cracks, but he himself was still uninjured. However, the same could not be said for Joseph Cranston, who bore the brunt of his own attacks. Yet, this was not the only thing causing Nathan worry. Another concern was his dominating mana, which weakened him slightly as they battled in a confined space. The aura surrounding Nathan turned a deep, menacing red, his sword vibrating, disturbing the air around them. The more intensely Nathan fought, the less aware he became of his surroundings, creating problems for Joseph. Boom A shockwave pulsed through the air as the monster mmed its leg into the ground, the surrounding space shimmering in response. Nathan and Joseph steeled themselves, prepared to handle whatever came their way. Joseph immediately moved behind the monster, leaving Nathan to charge his sword as mana swirled around him. Then, without warning, the monster''s eyes began to glow, small red fragments materializing in the air around them. The creature''s blood began to evaporate, revealing a wound, while the small shards hardened, the monster''s eyes ceasing their glow. The space filled with countless sharp objects, a vortex forming near Nathan and Joseph. Inhumanly fast, these shards hurtled towards them, yet Nathan wielded his greatsword with extraordinary speed, parrying every shard. sh sh sh sh sh sh Joseph responded in kind, though the monster seemed more intent on Nathan. Nathan''s sword darted in all directions without losing momentum, his sword art enabling him to do so. While countering the iing shards, Nathan kept his eyes on the monster. He noticed it was absorbing mana to heal itself¡ªsomething he couldn''t afford to let happen. Nathan''s mana erupted around him, obliterating all shards within a 10-meter radius the moment they entered his range. "One with space," Nathan muttered. The rune of Eirdin became visible beneath his armor. Nathan''s greatsword, now coated in his aura, traced an upward arc. He made a vast horizontal sh between him and Joseph, destroying all the shards and creating a temporary film that blocked Joseph''s view. Nathan vanished from his ce, appearing directly beside the monster in a fraction of a second. His eyes narrowed in focus, and his mana erupted even more violently. Alerted by an unknown attack, the monster braced itself, its mana creating a protective shield. But when Nathan swung his sword, it disregarded the surrounding mana, and a vacuum of space was created - the fundamental aspect of the sword art Nathan tried to teach Asher. His sword pierced the monster''s skin, and countless cuts appeared, all inflicted by a single swing of Nathan''s de. As the red film subsided, Joseph saw Nathan closing in on the monster. "What did he do?" Joseph frowned, but he didn''t squander the opportunity that Nathan had created. At present, the monster had sustained numerous injuries, providing them an opening to strike before it could recover. So engrossed was Nathan in his attack, he disregarded the shards erupting from the monster. Some managed to pierce his powerful armor, but none could prate his body. Joseph was hit by a few shards, the cuts burning from the violent mana of the monster mingling with its blood. ''Is he nning to end this?'' Joseph thought as he dodged the monster''s tail and noticed Nathan battling the creature head-on. The mana Nathan was releasing was sufficient to terrify even an SSS Rank Cmity. Joseph inferred that Nathan intended to finish this fight quickly. Despite its size, the behemoth-like monster was far from slow. It held its own against both Nathan and Joseph, but Nathan''s consistent attacks and his bloodline ability gradually weakened the monster as the battle progressed. Nathan stepped back as he attacked the monster''s horns, forcing the behemoth to retreat due to the sheer force behind his strikes. While Nathan and Joseph were entering the final stages of their fight, things were not as straightforward for the rest of the 3 SSS Rank Monsters. "Mear Storm," Silvus chanted as a strange silvery energy started to wrap itself around the monster. "me Guide," Silvus cast abinational spell that he had crafted himself to suit his unique mana technique. A blue me appeared, enveloping the monster, yet it didn''t harm the other two SSS Rank Hunters. Five days had passed just like this, and the unease among the masses was escting daily. This was due to the fact that no news about any of the SSS Rank Hunters hade in, and until it did, there was no real way to assuage the fear of those concerned about the aftermath.I think you should take a look at If an SSS Rank Hunter died, it represented a massive loss for the entire world, as it meant the odds of clearing an SSS Rank Dungeon, if one appeared, went down. There had never been a single instance in history known to the current world where 4 SSS Rank Monsters or Dungeons had appeared at the same time. This made people even more frightened as they had seen the records of what happened when an A Rank Dungeon explosion urred. Just S Rank Monsters were enough to destroy a city, so they couldn''t fathom what an SSS Rank Hunter was capable of. "Professor, will this affect the World Academy?" one of the students asked. sses had resumed in the World Academy, and many students were curious about what was happening in the outside world. Although they were safe, the same couldn''t be said for their families, and not all of them came from rich or privileged backgrounds. "You guys don''t have to worry about it," Elsa reassured them. "Just focus on your studies, things will return to normal soon," Elsa stated, though even she wasn''t certain about what the future held. However, as a professor, she couldn''t share information that could distract them from their studies. After all, Xander had instructed all the professors to handle any confusion in the best way possible. "sses have resumed, so concentrate on learning," Elsa said, "But Professor, there''s still no news about the perpetrators," one of the boys questioned. "As I mentioned earlier, it''s something we don''t need to think too much about that," Elsa responded. "The World Association and various authorities will handle this situation properly," Elsa reassured, and she was correct. Not only the World Association but various authorities and even the elite families were searching for any clues about this unknown group. But no traces had been found. "Okay, enough of these questions, ss is over. You all can leave," Elsa announced as everyone stood up, They didn''t know that the man who currently held the most notoriety in the world, The leader of the infamous Zephyr, was sitting among them. Asher stood up and went towards Elsa, who was waiting for him. "Vice Principal Xander told me about the permit," Elsa informed Asher. "But I would advise you not to venture too deep into the Great Forest," Elsa warned as she tapped on her ID Bracelet. "The map has been updated in your ID Bracelet, so make sure to only hunt in the areas that are permitted for you," Elsa reminded Asher. This was the first time a first-year student had been allowed to enter the Great Forest to hunt monsters. Even many senior-year students avoided this area as the Great Forest housed numerous types of monsters. Although the information about almost all of them was provided to the students, the risk of getting injured was high in the Great Forest. Asher exited the ssroom and saw Amelia and Damian waiting there for him. "Hey, Mom is still asking me about that topic," Amelia spoke out as soon as Asher arrived. Sylvie had returned a bitte, and Asher had already left for the World Academy. So she had asked Amelia to tell Asher to contact her as soon as possible, but Asher had ignored all the messages he had received till now. "She keeps asking me about that girl," Amelia stated with an irritated look on her face. "I will talk to herter," Asher replied, but Amelia wasn''t convinced. "Hey, I think we should set this matter aside for now," Damian whispered, believing Asher didn''t want to disclose this information at the moment. "But, what... Okay, I will just tell Mom that he doesn''t want to talk about that," Amelia said, giving up on convincing Asher. Chapter 284 No Clue ?284 No Clue Sylvie, who was sitting in her office, received a message from Amelia, but a frown appeared on her face. The reason she was asking Amelia about this constantly was that she had already tried to get information about the girl who was Asher''s partner at the Kalvas G. But the problem was, no information about this girl existed when she tried to search for her. "Who exactly is this girl?" Sylvie wondered as she looked at the photo of Asher and Alyssa dancing just before the incident urred. Sylvie deduced that whoever this person was, they were using some kind of artifact to alter their identity. "Should I ask Emmy about this?" Sylvie pondered for a second but, knowing that Asher was smart enough not to fall for other''s tricks, she gave up on it for now. But it was only for now. She wanted to hear about this directly from Asher. Forcing Emmy was one thing she could do, but they had already positioned Emmy as a personal servant for Asher, and she didn''t want to go back on her words. Even Arthur had told Sylvie not to think too much about it as he didn''t want to intervene until Asher came to talk to them first. "Am I overthinking this?" Sylvie couldn''t help wondering. But as she was pondering this, she received a message from Asher. Seeing the message, Sylvie just sighed. "So he doesn''t want to tell me about it," Sylvie said, feeling a bit sad. In his message, Asher only wrote that she didn''t need to worry too much about it. It was a simple message that implied that Asher was aware of what he was doing. "I guess it''s better than what I was worried about," Sylvie thought. When Asher spoke at the representative tournament, some people thought that he was defending Alyssa Astaria, but the rumors were carefully suppressed. Sylvie thought it was better if Asher''s public image changed because of this, so she stopped for now. Knock! Sylvie looked at the door, where her assistant entered the room. "Did you get all the information?" She asked her assistant. "Yes, but the source is unknown," The woman wearing office attire replied as she presented a file to Sylvie. "Hmmm...Unknown Source, and so many people getting targeted at once," Sylvie muttered, "Well, give a few of them the offers that I mentioned," Sylvie said as she closed the file. "But no need to try too hard," She put the file away. But rather than an offer, it was a tant takeover as Sylvie wanted to take full advantage of their current downfall. But she was a bit behind as a singlepany had offered a secret contract and the deals were currently underway. Tom was currently in contact with multiple people as he presented himself as the representative of Aztech. "So we just need to sign this deal?" One of the five in the current video call asked. "Yeah, we will stop the News Sources of Somaria from broadcasting anything about it," Tom replied. "I heard that your Aztech is owned by Asher Greville," One of them said, "It wouldn''t look good if the public found out that the Elite Families are offering such contracts," He said. "Well, if you don''t want the deal you can leave, I only act on the instructions I was given," Tom replied. Normally, none of them would have epted this contract as they would have other options that could save them, but somehow it wasn''t the case. "You can see even right now, more than 10 people like you all over the inte, and if you don''t want to ept the contract then you can leave the call," Tom responded.I think you should take a look at Tom had sent them the details he gained from data breach and he was using the status of the Greville Family to mask the truth that he was the one that spread all this information. All of them were thinking that this information was gained from the news sources, and the actual person that spread all this news was someone else. ''I wonder why we didn''t offer all those people this same deal,'' Tom didn''t understand why Asher destroyed so many people when he could have offered them a simr deal. But he didn''t know that all the people who were suffering the most right now were the people who were involved with Osbert and they would never betray Osbert Tarvian out of fear. But the current people Tom was offering these contracts to were the future supporters that helped make thepany that Leonard and Reece introduced into a huge corporation that took over the Hunter market in 5 years. He remembered the conversation he had with Asher regarding this before Asher left for the Kalvas G. "Boss, if we also make them join us, it will benefit us more," Tom said, "No need, they are useless for us," Asher replied. Not a single person on Tom''s list would join hands with them, knowing that they would be openly betraying Osbert. For them, the Chairman of the World Association was far more terrifying than the Heir of the Greville family. That''s why his target shifted to the others who were coerced in by Leonard and Reece in theing 5 years. What Asher wanted was control of the economy in Belvoria and Fashia. Even if it was notrge enough, it didn''t matter to him for now. Each of the people that would fall would be consumed by someone else pretty soon. The important factor was that those who gained the most were under his control. "But even if Osbert Tarvian is away, isn''t Leonard Tarvian enough to move the World Association?" Tom asked, "They are not Elite Families," Asher replied. The answer to the question Tom asked was simple. The World Association was not under a single family''s control. Without Osbert Tarvian, Leonard had no actual power to move the World Association''s officials. Unlike Asher, who couldmand the Greyhounds at his will, Leonard was not in a simr position. Unlike Asher''s fixed position, the Chairman of the World Association was determined by a different council. The World Association''s hunters had no obligation to follow Leonard''s orders unless they were explicitly directed to do so by Osbert himself. ''And he will not do anything especially with this,'' Asher thought as he remembered that the whole business thing remained quite secretive even after they introduced their products in the market. Tom remembered Asher''s words so he was sure that all this would go as nned until Osbert Tarvian returned. "We need some time to think about it," One of them said. "Take your time, but remember the conditions might change the next time we speak," Tom said, making a few of them think hard about this. But eventually, all of them left the meeting. "I knew they wouldn''t ept this outright," Tom said as he looked at the contract which was basically them agreeing to be a ve for Asher Greville in a way. The only reason they didn''t outright reject the idea was because their options were very limited. The thing they were hoping for was the fact that this whole cmity would be resolved and they could find other ways to safeguard themselves. Ping! A sound came from Tom''s system as he observed the slowly increasing progress of the program he had designed for Asher. Tom was working diligently to create a hole in the Security Wall as soon as possible so that Asher could get the artifact inside the World Academy. Meanwhile, in the Outer Sector of the World Academy, Asher was heading towards the Great Forest. His goal was to enhance his level, but he was constrained by the restrictions on his ID Bracelet. This meant he couldn''t ess areas inhabited by stronger monsters, and his time in the Great Forest was also limited to 20 hours per week. The furthest he could venture was to ces inhabited by a few Peak C Rank Monsters. Despite these limitations, which were a bit harsher and stricter than those for senior year students, Asher was allowed to enter the Great Forest as a first-year student. Asher had three motives for venturing into the Great Forest. The first was to level up and absorb those monsters to bolster his strength. The second was to feed Rifir, and the third was to enhance his mastery in his sword and mage arts. Chapter 285 Great Forest ?285 Great Forest Asher arrived at the junction connecting the boundary of the Outer Sector and the entrance to the Great Forest. A few senior-year students wearing armor could be seen exiting. Their tired faces told a story of hard-fought battles. "I told you that you should stay near the mage," one of the students said as he walked towards the scanning device. "Whatever, I still killed more monsters than you," his friend replied. Most people who entered the Great Forest were seeking to improve their teamwork. The Great Forest was designed to make students adept at fighting multiple monsters at once and adapting to the environment. "Excuse me, we want to exchange these monsters for GP," a student said to the staff member as he passed over a ring. And this was why many people visited the Great Forest and the dungeons that would form within it: GP, the currency of the World Academy. Students could earn GP by entering the dungeons inside the Great Forest. Sometimes there would be a request to clear a newly formed dungeon, but this could only be done when apanied by an advisor. Asher stopped at the entrance area, where he first needed to gain approval to enter. "Can you put your ID Bracelet near this device?" the staff member asked, pointing at a lens. Asher raised his hand, and a red scanner read his ID Bracelet. Hearing the approving voice, the staff member entered Asher''s details into the database. Every student who entered the Great Forest was tracked with an ID Bracelet, and they were strictly instructed not to venture too deep. Mana sensors were ced in the Great Forest to detect if any high-rank monster breached the area. In such cases, it would alert the security team, which could then act to save the students. "You are only allowed in near the Outer Area, and the map on your device has been updated," the staff member informed. "If you need any armor or weapons, you can purchase them with GP," he added. "No need," Asher replied as he pulled his hand back. Asher proceeded down the hallway to a heavy metallic door, which opened to reveal a dense forest. Asher nced around him, noting multiple cameras recording the surrounding area. Touching his ID Bracelet, a map disyed the area where he was permitted to enter. With his sword in hand and mana umting near his legs, Asher dashed further inside the forest, away from all the surveince. Once inside the forest, he saw various monsters in the nearby area, but they were mostly E Rank or D Rank monsters. He was searching for C Rank Monsters that could provide enough experience to make a difference. Arriving at an area with very tall trees, he stepped atop one, standing on a branch. Moving in such terrain was not easy. One needed to be careful with their surroundings, and not everyone possessed the same Mana Sense as Asher. He could sense even a faint mana around him, which made it much easier for him to navigate the forest freely. "Come out," Asher said, and Rifir materialized around his hands. In the Great Forest, Asher was confident that he was out of sight. "Go in that direction, and you will find monster corpses," Asher instructed Rifir, pointing in a particr direction. Rifir dissipated around Asher, and the ck energy disappeared. If Asher couldn''t go deep into the forest, that didn''t mean Rifir couldn''t.I think you should take a look at And the direction Asher had pointed Rifir to was a specific ce where a lot of monsters would die. This was one of the zones where students would lead particrly strong monsters and use the surroundings for ambush. Normally all the monsters that were hunted here were submitted for GP, but sometimes students would leave the monsters there ande back for them the next day. The Great Forest was an excellent way of earning GP, but it also meant that there were times when some students were forced to earn GP for higher-ranking students. Because of their status, such students wouldply with these requests, hunting monsters and submitting the GP they earned for the day to the person who asked for it. This resulted in some students hiding the monsters they killed, returning the next day to submit them and earn the GP for themselves. It was a way for them to maintain good connections without offending those who asked for these favors. Most of these hunters were average kids that were in the lower or middle rankings of their years. While most of these students didn''t mind giving their GP to others if they promised them something in return, some didn''t like the idea of giving others their hard- earned rewards, resorting to such tactics. Asher also sent Rifir to this specific spot. It wasn''t far from his position, as he could sense the lingering mana of a powerful lower B Rank beast, but it was still beyond the area he was allowed to enter. Asher looked down, then jumped, the loud sound alerting many nearby monsters. Asher red his mana, but his mana core and presence were still like that of a peak D Rank Hunter, attracting a few C- Rank monsters. The soil near Asher started to move as vines erupted from the ground. "Swift sh," Asher swung his sword, cutting the vines. As he did, several wooden-bodied monsters with glowing bluish eyes leaped at him from the nearby trees. Using Mir Steps to change his position, Asher used Swift sh to pierce the skins of these strange monsters. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] He didn''t stop, using a ck Element spell to create a footing in the air as heunched at the other monsters and dispatched them as well. [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] [ Host has gained 500 EXP ] ... It didn''t take long for Asher to quickly kill six of these creatures. These were fairly weak C-Rank Monsters, suitable opponents for someone of Asher''s D+ Rank, and they were within the region assigned to him. Asher ced the corpses into his spatial storage ring, and proceeded further into the region. As he ventured deeper, Asher was careful to keep a safe distance from any monster corpse he sensed too closely. He was still waiting for Rifir to absorb the monster and return, but he stopped at a certain point and conjured a fireball in his hands. "This should be enough to lure them," Asher said,unching the fireball at the fruits of a particr tree. As soon as the fireball collided with the fruits, a small explosion urred, the noise of which was enough to alert many monsters. "CREEEEEEK," the call of monsters echoed from a nearby area. Chapter 286 Status ?286 Status "Status," Asher said, ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 33(EXP 2000/33,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank C ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 156 +21 Agility: 145 +22 Endurance: 130 +16 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 149 +32 Stamina: 130 +15 Charm: 70 Fate: 11730 [AP]: 60+15 [SP]: 32+6 ---------------------------------------------- Asher had gained three levels just by killing Erwin, and his attribute and skill points increased ordingly. Every one of his stats had improved due to his relentless training, propelling his Mana Core to already reach Rank C. Examining his stats, Asher estimated that his current strength was nearing that of a C Rank Hunter, but his progress had decelerated due to the significant amount of mana he required to progress further. Around C Rank was when a Mana Gem became essential for a Hunter to absorb pure mana and enhance the strength of their Mana Core. As Asher''s strength increased, the restraint on his madness loosened, but his high intelligence stat still enabled him to maintain control. The Great Forest was the sole ce where Asher could reduce his bloodlust and calm himself down. "It''s not enough," Asher realized, acknowledging that his current level was insufficient to calm his inner turmoil. However, his current level of control was significantly improved from his previous life, where he struggled immensely to maintain his sanity. As Asher moved forward, simr monsters, drawn by his D Rank Mana Core, attacked him. Yet they all met the same fate, sliced in half by Asher''s sword. [ Rifir''s Level had increased to Level 7 ] [ Rifir''s Level had increased to Level 8 ] [ Rifir''s Level had increased to Level 9 ] A notification caught Asher''s attention as he stopped, noticing a shadow materializing near him. Rifir, who had grown slightlyrger, appeared in front of Asher, using his Shadow Travel skill to return to Asher from any location. "Can I eat them?" Rifir''s voice echoed in Asher''s mind. Initially, hearing Rifir''s voice in his head was odd for Asher, but he had limated to it and proceeded to hand over the monster corpses he had gathered earlier. "You can take them," Asher replied, settling down on a nearby rock. He observed as ck energy enveloped the corpses, and each time Rifir absorbed one, his Red Iris would flicker momentarily. After consuming more than 13 C-Rank Monsters, no notification appeared, but Rifir reappeared near Asher. Ping! A sound emanated from Asher''s ID Bracelet as he received a message from Gavin. The requested item had been sent to his Dorm Floor. The countdown continued, and Asher had only 21 more hours to spend in the Great Forest before he would have to leave.I think you should take a look at These restrictions were applied weekly and would persist until Asher entered his second year or formed a party with other Senior Year Students to visit the Great Forest. Over at the Neville Mansion, "Is this information urate?" The Neville Head queried, tapping his table pensively. "Yes, we have verified everything with the World Association Officials," the servant replied. "Dismissed," he waved his hand, and the servant bowed before exiting the room. "Erwin, wasn''t he Osbert Tarvian''s nt?" The Neville head spected, furrowing his brow. "What''s his connection to Zephyr?" He pondered but could find no clear answer. "Is he concealing something from me?" The Neville head wondered. Despite his coboration with Osbert Tarvian, he remained wary and distrustful of him. The entire situation surrounding Zephyr already seemed suspicious, as it was evident that someone influential and powerful was involved. "But he couldn''t be connected to these people," he guessed. Regardless of anything else, Osbert had only lost from the emergence of the masked man who identified himself as Zephyr. "But didn''t he tell me that guy could never betray him?" He muttered. If Osbert were not battling elsewhere, this misunderstanding might have been resolved, but that was not the case. This situation fostered a burgeoning sense of distrust and caution within the Neville Family Head. The prerequisite for using the Eye of Pretender, the card type artifact in Asher''s possession, was that the targeted person already harbored such emotions. The artifact merely amplified these feelings to suit the user''s desires. Even if it was a passing thought or a fleeting feeling, if it existed, it could be magnified in such a way that a minor dislike for someone could escte into hatred using the Eye of Pretender, a Rank SS artifact. The Neville Head twirled the ring on his right finger, contemting various possibilities. Among the other Elite Families, each head had received the information about Erwin and each reacted differently. The news of a professor attacking the heir of the Greville Family, being stopped by Xander Demarcus, and then somehow bing involved with Zephyr, was kept private to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the World Academy and the Elite Families. The World Academy was regarded as a dream destination for aspiring hunters. A scandal involving a professor assaulting a student, especially an heir of an elite family, was information that couldn''t be disclosed without first discussing it with Farnus. After 19 hours of hunting, Asher stood amid a swath of forest littered with the corpses of numerous C-Rank and even some D-Rank Monsters. Luring the monsters wasn''t difficult, but the umting stench of monster blood deterred others from approaching Asher''s vicinity. Asher watched as Rifir devoured all the corpses one by one. It had already leveled up quite a while ago. "Don''t like," Rifir halted his feasting after consuming multiple C-Rank Monsters. When Rifir declined to devour it, Asher stepped forward to employ his Bloodline ability but to no avail. His stats didn''t increase because the monsters he encountered were weaker than him. Furthermore, none of these monsters could possess a Mana Gem inside them because they were too weak. "It should be enough for today," Asher dered, heading towards the direction from which he entered the Great Forest. Each student was given a map to navigate the Great Forest with ease, so even if Asher didn''t remember the direction, he could always rely on his ID Bracelet. It took Asher half an hour to reach the exit. Upon his arrival, the staff member asked for his Spatial Ring to scan and verify Asher''s scores. Additional points were awarded if the students hunted monsters in the Great Forest. However, these points were based on the ranks of the monsters and the time students spent inside the forest. These points would then be added to the result, but they didn''t significantly alter the rankings. Mostly, the students ranked between 700-1000 were the ones who truly benefitted from this system. "Do you want to convert monster corpses into GP?" The staff member asked, "Yeah," Asher responded as the staff member passed over the spatial ring, and another person handled the process of removing the monsters in a massive underground room. The procedure didn''t take long, as the only corpses remaining in the ring were those that Rifir refused to consume. After retrieving his spatial ring, Asher returned to the Ranker''s Dorm. It was already the next morning, and Asher had two sses to attend today: a Space Element ss and a Mage theory ss. However, before attending his sses, he needed to utilize the Eye of Pretender one more time. Chapter 287 Rifirs Strength ?287 Rifir''s strength Entering the lift, Asher removed a card-type artifact. As he reached his floor, he noticed a parcel near the entrance. He picked it up and used his ID bracelet to gain ess, arriving in his living room. Inside the box, Asher discovered an opaque vial. Opening it revealed a few drops of blood. This vial was something Asher had given Gavin, as it was designed to preserve the liquid within. cing the card on the table, Asher poured the blood onto the card''s red jewel, which began to shine. Holding the card, Asher envisioned the effects he wanted to impose on the blood''s owner. A mark appeared just beneath the first, and Asher examined it with indifferent eyes. He took out his phone to confirm with Tom about using the artifact and to monitor the movements of the Neville Family. Asher was confident that Gavin wouldn''t give him someone else''s blood, but he acknowledged the possibility. He was not going to proceed without confirmation that the head of the Neville Family was indeed affected by this artifact. "This should be enough," Asher said, stowing the card back in his personal spatial ring. With four hours left until ss, Asher decided to use the time to train. "Come out," he ordered, and ck energy swirled around his right arm as Rifir appeared. "You can fight, right?" Asher asked, his indifferent gaze locked on Rifir. He nned to utilize Rifir more efficiently, knowing he''d soon receive a teleporting artifact allowing him to leave the World Academy freely. Until then, Asher needed to train, and he recognized that Rifir was not a weak entity. "Yes," Rifir responded, baring its fangs. "Then try to attack me," Asher said, heading towards the training room. "Why attack you?" Rifir asked, tilting its head in confusion. "Can it not attack me?" Asher asked the system. [Rifir will follow the host''s orders, but as a young beast, it needs time and exnation to understand certain things. However, at its current level, Rifir can indeed attack the host but cannot intentionally harm the host.] Since Rifir was bound to Asher, harming Asher would equate to harming itself. "Then use your abilities to attack me," Asher instructed Rifir, who remained motionless for a few seconds before understanding Asher''s intention. It disappeared and reappeared in the training room, surrounded by denser ck energy. Its presence was much stronger, which Asher felt. Rifir charged at Asher who didn''t use his sword, instead coating his fist with an aura, and tried to punch through the ck energy. But Rifir wrapped itself around Asher''s arms and tried to bite his neck. Asher managed to catch Rifir before it could, but Rifir evaded capture, disappearing as a mist, and Asher felt his strength diminish slightly. Observing this, Asher changed his approach. "Shadow Bind," Asher used his restraining spell, but Rifir''s speed outmatched it. Asher then focused on Rifir''s red iris, coating his hand with an aura and using Mir steps to appear beside Rifir. He tried to punch it, but Rifir opened his fangs as it barely dodged his attack. "Okay, it''s enough," Asher halted the spar, gauging Rifir''s current strength. The current Rifir could easily defeat a D Rank monster, but a C Rank was its limit. Its speed wasparable to an early C Rank Hunter, yet still less than Asher''s. "Tired," Rifir replied, retreating into the tattoo on Asher''s arm. Meanwhile, far from Asher''s location, deep within a temple-like structure, a man sat with closed eyes. "What a peculiar guy," the man murmured, his voice causing existence of all around him to tremble. "I wonder when I will meet him." As he spoke, purple energy erupted around him. The man sensed it and his presence faded within the energy. As he disappeared, his eyes briefly opened. He tried to sense the outside world, but purple runes erupted around him. He didn''t resist, insteadplying, and disappeared entirely. "So, you want me to tell them not to use Space Element too much?" Adam Rivas asked Arman via hologram, who frowned slightly. "I just want you to advise them to think about it much more carefully," Arman rephrased his request. "Okay, I''ll see what I can do," Adam agreed, albeit annoyed. He noticed a security team of S Rank Hunters awaiting him. "Let''s go," he instructed, heading to ss. Arman, on the other side, prepared material for his senior year ss. He was going out of his way to convince Adam to teach more about the Space Element, especially its dangers, at Xander''s request. Shortly after, Adam arrived in the ss, where only six students, including Asher and Alyssa, were present. "Well, I hope you guys have learned the Blink Spell by now," Adam began, taking out a few ss orbs and cing them on the table. "If you''re confident you can use it, demonstrate it in the ss," he instructed.I think you should take a look at "Blink," Ashermanded, making the ss orb appear in his hands. Alyssa did the same. "Fantastic," Adam said. "But I do want to remind you all that using the Advanced Space Element will not be as simple as this spell," Adam continued. "It will slowly drain your mental power, and you''ll gradually feel the consequences," Adam exined, his gaze fixed on Asher in particr. However, Adam had no way of knowing that the Rune of Eirdin enabled Asher to use the Space Element much more easily. Moreover, Asher''s high intelligence meant he didn''t have to suffer the mental drain that many who used the Space Element experienced. "Today''s ss will be about strengthening your connection with the Space Element," Adam said, as he unveiled a diagram on the board. The diagram depicted aplex rtionship between space and mana. "Just like mana is present everywhere, so is space. But ultimately, Space is an element that we canmunicate with through mana," Adam exined. "Like other elements, we can manipte the space around us using mana," Adam borated, pointing at the figure. "The shifting of space is the very foundation of all Spatial Spells," Adam said, demonstrating by using blink to move several objects onto his hand. "But mastering the Space Element involves controlling that shift," he added. A student raised his hand, and Adam paused. Over a few sses, these students had started to understand Adam a bit better. Initially, they had considered him a bit entric, but when discussing the Space Element, Adam provided insightful answers to their queries. "What if we lose control of this shift in space?" a student asked. "That''s why we stick to predefined spells," Adam replied. "And I advise you against treating the Space Element like any other element," Adam warned, "If youck confidence in controlling and sensing the shifts in space around you, don''t experiment with the spell¡ªstick to the instructions. Thoroughly." "Now, focus here," Adam redirected attention back to the diagram. "This represents the current ne. But if you wish to shift an object, or even something else," Adam paused, picking up a ss orb, "Without a spell, I''d need to incorporate the intent of shifting this object''s ne, and controlling that shift to the desired location," he elucidated. He continued lecturing about the Spatial Element while Asher observed, feeling his mastery over the Space Element gradually improving. All this was due to the Rune of Eirdin, which had now advanced to Rank C. Asher could sense the space around him more vividly, a task made significantly easier for him, as the sensation of Mana Sense had a simr yet distinct feeling. The ss went on for another hour before Adam paused, looked around, and distributed another book that exined the shifting of nes in greater detail. Not every student was like Asher, who could keep up with andprehend concepts as they were introduced. Others needed weeks, or even months, to understand the concept of nes, as it wasn''t something they could visually perceive. They had to sense something not physically present before them and then control it. The concept was difficult to grasp, and without an affinity for the Space Element, sensing the space around you was impossible. The speed of this learning process depended on one''s affinity with the Space Element. Asher, on his way to the Mage ss, paused upon receiving a message from Tom. "So, they managed to defeat one of them," Asher muttered as he read the message Tom had sent him. The first cmity had been vanquished, and the earliest to return were Nathaniel Greville and Joseph Kimir Cranston. Tom asked Asher, not having anticipated that a Cmity would fall so quickly. Asher nced at the date, and even he hadn''t expected Nathan to defeat the Cmity so swiftly. Nevertheless, it was something he had ounted for. ''It doesn''t matter even if they manage to defeat all of them,'' Asher thought as he proceeded towards the ss. He had already aplished what he intended to achieve by orchestrating all of this. Chapter 288 News About The Calamities ?288 News About The Cmities A few hours before the news broke out, Nathan''s sword shed with the monster, sending a high mana wave rippling around them. The Spatial Barrier had shattered, and at present, the beast was severely weakened. However, the same was true for Joseph, who had suffered from the monster''s blood- infused attacks. Nathan''s eyes were glowing red, but his armor was starting to wear out and break apart. Regardless, Nathan dismissed the damage. Right now, the monster was at its weakest, and if they allowed it time to recover, things would turn dire. "Fifth Sword," Nathan altered his stance, causing his aura to explode as he descended toward the monster. His sword met the skin of the monster, but each strike could only slightly wound it. Thebined power of the three SSS Rank entities was devastating the surrounding area, with tremors felt even in cities near the Border. Each time the monster unleashed an attack, the earth would quake, enough to unsettle any normal man. Usually, SSS Rank Hunters would never fight; all the skirmishes would ur inside a Dungeon. However, this was the first time the people of Fashia had experienced anything like this. The monster''s horns fell as Joseph lodged his sword around the nape of the beast, and Nathan sheared off the horns with a broad arc of his greatsword. The monster tried to shake its head free, but a m from Nathan''s leg forced it to kneel as blood soaked thend beneath them. Mana waves erupted from the monster as it tried tounch another attack, but this time, Nathan didn''t give it a chance to move. He descended with his Greatsword at an extraordinarily high speed and pierced the monster''s skull slightly. "DIE!!" Nathan shouted as immense energy erupted from his greatsword. Joseph instantly floated away from Nathan as he watched the Monster''s final struggle. But Nathan withdrew his sword and hovered in the air. Despite its skull being pierced, the monster continued to struggle, but it ceased as Nathan gathered his energy, and his sword descended in a slow arc. "Eighth Sword," Nathan murmured as his sword descended through the air. In an instant, the monster''s neck was severed, the earth below splitting apart as Joseph observed the destruction Nathan''s sword art had wrought around them. Both Joseph and Nathan remained motionless as they waited for the monster''s mana to dissipatepletely. And soon enough, it did. Nathan descended, but thend beneath them was scorched and torn apart. What was once a dense forest filled with mountains had be a t, burntnd marked by numerous massive cracks. No life forms could be seen kilometers away from the two men standing in front of a massive monster carcass. "Damn, this monster took a long time to die," Nathan said as he thrust his greatsword into the ground. He began walking toward the monster, intent on confirming something. As he proceeded, Joseph appeared in front of him. "What are you doing, Nathaniel Greville?" Joseph asked, his armor half corroded from the monster''s bloody attacks and his skin still healing. "What else but iming my reward?" Nathan replied, meeting Joseph''s gaze. "We haven''t decided what to do with these monsters," Joseph said, preventing Nathan from advancing further. "HOH," Nathan''s eyes widened as his mana red anew. "Do you truly wish to stop me?" Nathan asked, staring at Joseph. "Don''t be unreasonable," Joseph retorted, his eyes growing cold. "Step aside, Joseph Kimir Cranston," Nathanmanded as their mana began to sh. Nathan wished to investigate if the SSS Rank Monster had a mana gem. Joseph opposed this, but knowing the difference in their injuries, he couldn''t prevent Nathan from taking the Mana Gem. And Joseph realized that Nathan was serious about his threat. At the moment, if Nathan and Joseph shed, Joseph knew his odds of winning were slim. "Even though you helped here, I was the one who killed this beast, right?" Nathan asked, his aura intensifying. "I''ll just check for one simple thing, and if I don''t find it, all of this will be yours," Nathan proposed, and Joseph began to consider it. Nathan stepped forward as Joseph stood still, looking straight at him. Even though Joseph didn''t seem that strong against the monster, it didn''t mean Nathan could easily overpower someone as potent as Joseph. That''s why he offered Joseph something he couldn''t reject without consideration. The corpse of an SSS Rank Monster was invaluable as it could be used in various ways. Joseph knew he couldn''t stop Nathan if he was truly determined to im the monster.I think you should take a look at "Fine, remember your words," Joseph stepped aside. He was aware that Nathan was looking for a Mana Gem, and the chances of this monster having one were low. Joseph took the gamble. An SSS Rank Mana Gem was priceless and was only sold within the Kalvas G. All the dungeons were cleared with two or three SSS Rank Hunters or more, depending on the dungeon. So if a Mana Gem was found, it was sent to the Kalvas G, and the monster''s body was divided among the participating SSS Rank Hunters. This was the first time that a dormant SSS Rank Monster was challenged and ownershipy with those who defeated it. Nathan moved closer to the massive body casting a huge shadow over thend and touched it. He spread his mana sense and sent a mana wave inside the Monster''s body. Due to his high mana sensitivity, Nathan always felt that the monster harbored dormant mana. Pulling his hand back, Nathan smiled and threw a punch. On seeing Nathan''s expression, Joseph''s countenance turned cold. He had realized that Nathan had found a Mana Gem, and this was not good news. At this moment, Nathan possessed not one, but two SSS Rank Mana Gems. The monster''s flesh broke open as Nathan materialized his mana and pulled therge Mana Gem towards him. Though it was a bit smaller than the one he got at the Kalvas G, it was still a powerful SSS Rank Mana Gem. "You can have it," Nathan offered, but upon sensing Joseph''s killing intent, he disappeared from his spot and retrieved his Greatsword. BOOOOM In the next instant, Joseph''s sword and Nathan''s Greatsword shed. But Joseph could feel the power emanating from Nathan, who was smiling as he looked at Joseph. "I don''t mind killing you right here," Nathan threatened as their mana started shing violently. But after a few seconds, Joseph stopped, and Nathan also withdrew his Greatsword as he saw that Joseph had changed his mind. "You are pushing your luck too far," Joseph warned as he stowed his sword in his spatial storage. "Tsk, and here I thought I could finally kill one of you," Nathan retorted as he turned towards Fashia. His expression changed immediately. ''So, he might not be the one,'' Nathan concluded in his mind. He had chosen Fashia for a reason, wanting to test Joseph Cranston first. Joseph would benefit the most if Greville were to fall. But their previous sh made it clear that Joseph''s animosity was straightforward, and he was not the type to plot behind others'' backs. Nathan put the SSS Rank Mana Gem back in his spatial ring, but he soon needed to find a container for it before deciding to use it. "Now you can have all of this," Nathan dered as he started to float away. Before leaving, Joseph dropped a rock-like cube. A barrier formed that severed the mana of the dead body of the SSS Rank Monster and concealed its presence. He didn''t want his possession to be a feast for other SS Rank Monsters that might happen upon it. They needed to return to Fashia to announce to the world the fall of the first Cmity. They soon arrived in the Capital City, leaving the SS Rank Hunters who were d to notice their arrival and were even more excited to end the Monster Tide now. "So, can we expect you guys to go support other SSS Rank Hunters?" One of the reporters asked. "No," Nathan replied, "I have done my duty, and they will do theirs," Nathan said. Not a single person dared to question his decision, Joseph gave a simr response. They would not go hunting other SSS Rank Monsters. "Do you think fighting an SSS Rank Monster is a joke?" Nathan asked. "I don''t know about this guy here, but I won''t move until I am needed there," Nathan replied. "I am only responsible for Somaria, not every single continent," Nathan stated as he rose to his feet. Not a single person attempted to stop him. And just like Nathan, Joseph also stood up to leave. Even though they wanted to question them, the tremors from the SSS Rank entities and the sight of Joseph and Nathan''s broken armor led them to conclude that the fight had not been easy at all. The entire Fashia rxed, feeling safe after the SSS Rank Monster was defeated. However, this was not the case for Desmar and Belvoria. Chapter 289 Problems Arise ?289 Problems Arise The interview with Nathan and Joseph was made public, but sections were omitted due to heavy filtering by the Officials of the World Academy. The only portion that was shared revealed that Nathan and Joseph had declined any involvement in other continents unless their presence was needed. Nathan had onlymitted to dealing with one SSS Rank Monster, and just like Joseph, he had fulfilled his duty concerning the issues in Fashia. Unlike Associations, the SSS Rank Hunters of elite families didn''t need to inconvenience themselves with matters concerning other continents. This time, Nathan wouldn''t have budged if he hadn''t been promised an SSS Rank Mana Gem. The problem wasn''t merely that an unidentified SSS Rank Monster had unknown abilities. Throughout the fight, both Nathan and Joseph kept a wary eye on each other due to mutual distrust. This sentiment of distrust was shared by most of the SSS Rank Hunters. "Order everyone to move out after a week," Nathanmanded. "As you wish, Guildmaster," the man replied respectfully. With the SSS Rank monster now defeated, the Monster Tide would cease in a week, and Nathan didn''t want his Guild to linger in Fashia for long. Hovering in the air, Nathan gazed towards the Border of Fashia. "I will be heading for Somaria. Handle everything here and contact me if necessary," Nathan directed, vanishing shortly afterwards. The man merely nodded, entered his car, and all the hunters of Abyss Guild began to evacuate the area. Meanwhile, at the World Academy, "Keep casting different spells, and we will alternate the elements every time you sessfully chant one," Elsa instructed the students. "Don''t fret over the power of the spell, as most elements will not align with your affinity," she added. These were basic spells, and Elsa''s intention in having students use every single Basic Element was to ensure they formed a connection with all elements. A proficient hunter had to be knowledgeable about each element, even if they didn''t use them all, as there were instances when Dungeons would spawn monsters with a specific elemental strength. Tobat such monsters, a Hunter neededprehensive knowledge about all elements, an area where Mages often fell short. Every individual found that learning beyond their affinity was tiring and less rewarding than strengthening their preferred element. However, the World Academy ensured that its students were proficient in the knowledge of all elements, and this training was not exclusive to Mage Hunters. Even Kevin, who was studying the Lightning element, was expected to familiarize himself with all the elements over his four-year course. The curriculum at the World Academy was designed to produce graduates who were strong and knowledgeable enough to tackle any situation. "These spells aren''t difficult, so don''t take too long toplete this," Elsa advised the students, who were assembled in arge room, each with a dummy target. Most students found it challenging to cast these spells as, unlike Basic magic, these spells required the user to have a clear sense of the element involved. If casting the spell was too easy, it would undermine the whole purpose of the lesson. However, some students like Elena, who was fortunate enough to have an affinity for all Basic Elements, and her peers, Eva, Amelia, and Asher, didn''t struggle with this task. Asher, in particr, had little difficulty as he could sense all elements more keenly than others. Having ascended beyond the realm of S Rank, the sensation was still fresh in his memory. Though slightly slower, Alyssa alsopleted the task, just behind Lishia Halcyon, who managed to cast all elements within 3 minutes. "Those who have finished may leave," Elsa announced as a significant number of studentspleted the lesson. Allowing students to leave once theypleted their task motivated others to do the same. Merely learning was not sufficient to be stronger. They also had to absorb mana using Mana Cirction techniques, a process that required time. A bnce was needed between learning and practicing so that all the students could elerate their progress. Asher was on his way out when he overheard a group of students discussing a hot topic. "Hey, did you hear that an SSS Rank Cmity has already been defeated?" one of them asked. "I heard it was Fashia," he added. "Really, I was really concerned about my family since we live near the Border," another replied.I think you should take a look at The news had already spread, and everyone was relieved that Fashia was safe, but this led to further discussion as news from other SSS Rank Hunters hadn''t arrived yet. "Well, I think they will vanquish all the SSS Rank Monsters just like this," one of them responded cheerfully. However, the jubnt atmosphere onlysted a week, as news of the second Cmity''s fall reached the public. A week had passed, and the SSS Rank Monster was finally defeated by Silvus and two other SSS Rank Hunters, but the Vice Chairman of the World Association was severely injured in the process. This news was closely guarded, known only to a few key individuals. It wasn''t something that could be easily disclosed to the world. Upon learning that only Nathan and Joseph had returned, Silvus also refrained from sharing any information. Until the situation was under control and they had formted a n to handle Zephyr, it wasn''t prudent to spread the news of a heavily injured SSS Rank Hunter. Only a select few within the World Association were privy to the Vice Chairman''s condition and involved in his treatment, all of whom were bound by a Mana Oath. "Hah, so they are still fighting?" Silvus asked an Elder from the Mage Association. "Yes, we''ve confirmed that the battle is ongoing, but we can''t approach to gather any information," the Elder replied, looking somewhat concerned. Silvus understood why they couldn''t get closer - the sh of powers between SSS Rank Hunters and simr entities could significantly harm an SS Rank Hunter. And the worst-case scenario was suffering from Mana Poisoning, an incurable condition that could only be managed over time as the individual grappled with the wild mana harming their Mana Core. This was a Hunter''s worst nightmare - having their mana core weakened. "Inform Dexter that we''re heading to Belvoria immediately," Silvus directed, but the Elder looked apprehensive. "But are you okay?" the Elder asked. "Don''t worry, the fight was intense, but I''ve recovered half of my strength, and we don''t have time to waste," Silvus reassured him. Silvus was troubled by the fact that Farnus hadn''t neutralized the SSS Rank Monster yet. It didn''t make sense as Farnus was the only person in possession of an SSS Rank treasure and the Ancient Rune, making him the strongest Hunter in the world. Silvus had to witness the situation first-hand, but he couldn''t go alone, hence the request for Dexter''spany. With Nathan and Joseph having returned, Silvus was confident that they would manage any issues in their own continent if things went south. And Dalton, who was slightly injured, would recover soon, ensuring Desmar was also taken care of. The only problem was Belvoria, which was confronting two Cmities simultaneously. Within the Artisan''s Association, Dexter was engrossed in his work on a new rune in the forge when his ring began to glow red. "Huh, did something go wrong?" Dexter mused, touching the ring. The face of an Elder from the Mage Association soon appeared as a hologram. It was a visage Dexter recognized, having seen the group of Elders apanying Silvus on several asions. "Lord Dexter, Chairman Silvus has urgently requested your presence in Belvoria," the Elder informed him, his tone respectful. "What''s happened?" Dexter inquired, waving his hands. As he did so, the red glow of the runes dimmed and the forge doors started to open. "We''re in the dark about the situation in Belvoria. Chairman Silvus only instructed us to contact you," the Elder responded. Dexter didn''t find it difficult to specte why Silvus might need his assistance. "Assure him that I''ll be there soon," Dexter responded, and the holographic transmission ended. "I wonder what on earth they''re grappling with that''s causing such a dy," Dexter muttered as he exited the forge. He picked up a giant, rune-inscribed axe-like weapon. "Activate the portal," Dextermanded. A door in the floor swung open, revealing eight teleportation gates. "Inform the others that I''ll be heading to Belvoria, and my floor is off-limits until I return," Dexter instructed before stepping into the fourth teleportation gate and disappearing from the Tower of the Artisan''s Association. Meanwhile, Silvus had already arrived in Belvoria and was awaiting Dexter, who showed up shortly after. "Hmm, seems like they''re in quite the battle with these monsters," Dexter noted, feeling the pulses of mana from the sh of SSS Rank entities in the distance. "Let''s go," he dered. Chapter 290 Emergence ?290 Emergence Three days prior to Silvus and the other SSS Rank Hunters'' return, "Descent of Lightning," Farnus muttered as lightning erupted to the ground, altering the weather of the ce. Osbert stayed away while Farnus and the SSS Rank Monster exchanged blow after blow. He was looking for his opportunity rather than rushing towards the SSS Rank Monster, which was stronger than himself. Farnus''s eyes glowed blue as his body absorbed the lightning around him. Currently, Farnus was utilizing the Lightning Aura, which made his senses sharper and his speed began to surpass the speed of the SSS Rank Monster. Despite this, each sessful strike only chipped away bits of the monster''s skeletal armor. This monster was inevitably one of the strongest SSS Rank Monsters Osbert had ever faced in his life. Its ability to heal itself made the process of defeating it much slower. "Move away," Farnus said as Osbert hovered in the air, charging his next attack. Farnus braced his spear on the ground as the monster opened its wide jaw and a thinner beam of bluish energy left its mouth. The monster''s molten red scales started to glow as it dug its feet into the ground. Thend around them began to dry out as Osbert descended with his sword aimed at the monster. They had faced countless abilities of this monster. This particr attack was something only Farnus could divert. However, the result of that process was massive damage to the surrounding area, resulting in huge craters and explosions. TING! The sound of metal shing echoed as the monster''s w halted Osbert''s sword. The sound wave alone was enough to kill a low rank Hunter. Two of Osbert''s rings started to shine as crystal-like chains began to appear around his body,tching onto the Monster. Soon, those chains started to melt and corrode the monster''s skeletal armor. These rings were powerful artifacts that Osbert possessed. But the monster rotated its body, and the ground beneath them started to shift with it. The monster''s mana dispelled the crystal chains. This monster was a difficult match for Farnus. His lightning could only damage it bit by bit. To sessfully kill it, Farnus needed to use his full potential, but for some reason, he was not doing so. "AAAAAAH," Osbert poured his strength into the monster as small craters began forming below them. The monster''s white eyes rotated as it tilted its mouth back, attempting another attack on Osbert. But Farnus halted it as his spear came charging in, chipping a part of the monster''s mouth. "Not so tough from inside," Farnus muttered, remaining calm. Seeing Farnus attacking, Osbert immediately intensified his aura around himself and propelled himself into the air, eyes fixed on the monster. "CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEK," The monster lunged at Farnus, who dodged the attacks and attracted his spear towards him. BAM The monster''s w managed to hit Farnus, but it was repelled by Farnus''s armor, nullifying the attack. Still, the monster continued to charge, its hits strong enough to ravage a city in seconds. On the Border of Belvoria, "ANNOUNCE THE ALERT, EVACUATE THE CITIES," An official in the Camp announced to the people via hologram. But even before he could, the citizens near the border began to evacuate. The teleportation gate and the roads were flooded with people trying to increase their distance from the border. The constant tremors and mana waves were extremely unhealthy for non-awakened individuals, and the fear of a monster tide entering the city made people evacuate as quickly as possible. At first, people believed the situation would be handled since Farnus Calmort himself had arrived in Belvoria. But after weeks without news, the people grew increasingly tense and anxious. "We need 10 more SS Rank Hunters here on the border," the manmunicated to those on the Hologram. The borders of Belvoria were not only onnd. The majority was towards the ocean, but fortunately, both the cmities were onnd. The mana waves of SSS Rank entities were causing monsters to appear all over Belvoria''s extensive borders, regardless ofnd or water. "What''s the damage to the Hunters stationed here?" an Executive asked. "The Hargrave have handled everything here, but the area we need to defend keeps increasing," the Official replied. "The chance of a breach in the line of defense is around 32% if we don''t increase our manpower here," the official added. "We need to abandon these five areas to prioritize the safety of the citizens in the worst-case scenario," the official suggested. "Have you lost your mind?" an executive shouted. "Do you know how much that area is worth? Keep protecting it, and all the others as well." "Enough, we can''t make such a decision as none of the three leaders are here," an older executive intervened.I think you should take a look at "If necessary, we will abandon 40% of these areas, but more than that will significantly impact the economy." No one among the executives opposed him. "Ask the Hargrave, Martell, and Neville for reinforcements, and we will send those stationed in Fashia to Belvoria as soon as we can," he added, concluding the meeting. Meanwhile, the battle became even more intense as the monster grew increasingly enraged. But the problem arose when it tried to head towards Belvoria instead of fighting Farnus and Osbert. Farnus immediately blocked its escape. The skeleton armor around the monster made it difficult for Farnus tond a direct hit. Each time Farnus damaged the armor, the red scales around the Monster would melt and reinforce it. Two days passed as Osbert and Farnus were engrossed in the battle. On the day Silvus and Dexter arrived, Farnus had almost broken all the armor that the monster possessed. Osbert''s chest bore a wound, but he disregarded it. They needed to finish off this monster as quickly as possible. ''Is this old man still not going to use his rune?'' Osbert wondered during the heat of battle. Not for a single second had Farnus fought this monster with his full strength, and Osbert could notice it during the fight. "A bit more, don''t lose focus," Farnus calmly said as he nced at Osbert. ''This cunning old man,'' Osbert thought as he reentered the battle. They had almost defeated the monster, but things were not looking good for the other three SSS Rank Hunters fighting the massive monster far from them. "This damn thing," Xarax grumbled, observing the ck scratches on his right hand. "Baris Meria," the Vice Chairman of the World Association dered, as the pendant on his neck started shining. ws made of moltenva arose from thend that was streaked with ck energy, mming into the ground to create a pool ofva. "GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH," a monster''s scream echoed as a dome of ck energy appeared around them. "Den, deal with the monster; we will handle this Dome," the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter directed the Vice Chairman of the World Association. Swiftly, he and Xarax Hargrave attacked the dome of ck energy, starting to break it down, while Den confronted the beast emerging from the shadows. "This damn beast," Den muttered, charging at the creature. Yet the ck energy prating his body was sapping his strength bit by bit. He changed his stance, but despite his attacks, the monster would always dodge or dematerialize, hiding in the ckened ground beneath them. However, Den had used one of his powerful artifacts, transforming the environment around them into a pool ofva. Crack Den struck the monster, causing cracks to form on the ground. Spikes shot up from beneath, one piercing through Den''s shoulder. He swiftly retreated into the air, panting, and removed the spike with his hand, blood staining his armor as it corroded from the monster''s ck energy. "Is Osbert not done yet?" Den wondered aloud. His expression lifted as he sensed the presence of another SSS Rank Hunter ¨C it was Dexter Wright, who hade to aid them, and Silvus, who had gone towards Farnus and Osbert. "What a mess," Dexter remarked, surveying the area that now looked more like a dungeon than a part of Earth. A massive hammer materialized in Dexter''s hand, as golden runes fluttered around him. He mmed the hammer into the ground, sending a wave of golden energy throughout the in. The monster materialized before the runes could ensnare it in the shadows, sensing a threatening aura from the runes. It was a restricting-type rune that was amplified by the SSS Rank Bracelet Dexter wore on his left hand. The monster''s eyes began to shine as it gazed in the direction of the other SSS Rank Monster, whose presence had noticeably dimmed. This indicated that it was on the brink of defeat. "What an arrogant monster," Dextermented as he dashed towards the creature, swinging his hammer. Unexpectedly, the beast''s heart started to glow. Dexter turned his gaze towards it and attempted an attack, but he was toote. The monster dissolved into the ground, its formidable presence vanishingpletely. "What the hell happened?" Xarax asked as he descended. "Did it kill itself?" Den queried, observing that the presence had disappeared entirely. However, they were mistaken. As Farnus was about to impale his spear into the severely wounded monster, something entirely unforeseen urred. Suddenly, a ck stone emerged from the ground, turning the surrounding soil ck. Farnus quickly retreated, but the ck stone attached itself to the monster''s head as ck energy began to envelop the beast. "Nemur''s Gravis," Silvus chanted, causing water to form around the monster. "Lavas," Silvusmanded, and the water turned silvery, then solidified. Farnus immediately charged with his spear, aiming to bring the monster down. But an explosion urred, and from the smoke emerged a new creature ¨C a Peak SSS Rank Monster. Chapter 291 Trouble? ?291 Trouble? Xarax and Den, who were confused, instantly sensed a dreadful presence far from them. It was the most powerful presence they had ever sensed from a monster. A Peak SSS Rank Monster - apart from the records of them appearing a few times inside a dungeon, there had never been a case where a Peak SSS Rank Monster appeared in thest 200 years. "This can''t be happening," Den said as he poured a healing potion on his wound. ''This is not good,'' Dexter thought as he headed in the direction where Silvus had gone when they had split up. Despite being injured, the other three SSS Rank Hunters didn''t stop. They went after Dexter, not wasting any time. If what they sensed was correct, it was better to group up than to individually face such a monster with less numbers. At the location, Osbert looked down at the ck figure that had a ck stone on its forehead. Its presence was corrupting thend around it. The stature of the monster was simr, but it was an entirely different monster. Each SSS Rank Monster had an ability that made them worthy of the title ''Cmity''. Unfortunately, the beast that Xarax and the others were fighting had the ability to absorb monsters and strengthen itself. Right now, the two most affected by this situation were Farnus and Osbert. ''My decade of nning will not fall here,'' Osbert thought as he took out an orb-like artifact and crushed it. Instantly, a faint glow appeared around Osbert''s hand and it moved on, covering his whole body. It was an extremely powerful SSS Rank artifact that Osbert had obtained years ago. But unlike Osbert, Farnus was not in the most convenient spot in this fight. As a peak SSS Rank Hunter, Farnus would have the highest chance of defeating this monster with his SSS Rank Armor and the Ancient Rune he possessed, but for some reason, he didn''t want to use it. In an instant, Dexter, and after him, Xarax, Den and the SSS Rank Hunter of the Watson Family also gathered in thend that was being affected by the ck Element that the Monster possessed. Seven SSS Rank Hunters had gathered in one spot to fight a single monster, but all of them were being careful while facing this monster. "Be careful, his attacks sap your energy," Xarax said as he floated downward. With a single nce, ck marks were visible on their arms and the broken areas of their armor. Just by that fact alone, Silvus could sense that this monster might not be as easy to deal with as he had thought. Even if it was a Peak SSS Rank existence, they had a total of seven SSS Rank hunters on their side. It wouldn''t take long for them to defeat it as together they were much more powerful than a Peak SSS Rank Existence. But judging from the fact that even three of them couldn''t defeat it on time made him realize that the threat was much bigger than he thought. The monster looked around calmly as it sensed the presence of many powerful beings and locked eyes with Farnus, who was standing in the center. No one was moving as they were waiting for the monster to make the first move. Its eyes started burning with blue fire as the molten red scales became etched with ck and five horns grew on the head of the monster. Just as the monster stepped forward, a ripple was created with its step. Suddenly, the area around them was covered with a simr ck Element Entrapment, but this time even the most powerful people on Earth couldn''t react to stop it. All sources of light disappeared as they found themselves standing inplete darkness, but none of them needed light or vision to sense the presence around them. "This damn monster can create a domain outside a Dungeon?" Dexter said as Silvus closed his eyes and started chanting spells. A huge ball of fire appeared above them as Silvus created a source of light. Floating in the air, a silvery mana bubble surrounded Silvus, whose cloak started fluttering as the monster locked eyes with him. But before it could charge towards Silvus, Farnus grabbed his spear as he unleashed his mana at near full strength, causing the monster to divert its eyes toward Farnus. "Keep it away from Silvus," Farnus said, disappearing the next moment. BAM A shockwave appeared all around the ck domain, as the Beast stopped Farnus''s spear with its ws. The ck Stone glowed and a ripple was created beneath them. "Did it just absorb his attack?" Dexter frowned, noticing that almost the entirety of Farnus''s attack was absorbed by the Entrapment domain they were stuck in. Farnus didn''t stop as he turned his spear to attack once again, and again, and again. The shockwaves from their battle were enough to keep the other SSS Rank Hunters from interfering. They were waiting for the opportunity that Farnus would eventually create, but they were all confused. "Why is he not using his Rune and that armor''s ability?" Xarax muttered. None of them knew, but they believed that Farnus had something in mind by not using his full strength. Farnus''s spear struck the ground, causing ripples to start appearing all around the ck globe they were stuck in. The monster easily deflected all of Farnus''s attacks, but Farnus didn''t stop. His eyes were focused on the ck Stone on the monster''s head. He could see that the monster would always react more aggressively whenever his spear would target the stone, but despite his Lightning Aura, Farnus couldn''t outspeed the Monster. "Luminis Ras," Silvuspleted his chant, and a silver light pir appeared all around them. Xarax and others felt the ck energy inside their bodies diminishing. But the Dome of ck Energy wasn''t affected at all, despite Silvus''s Tier 5 Spell countering the Monster''s ability. The reason was clear: this Entrapment Dome was created by a Peak SSS Rank Monster, and it wasn''t something that Silvus could easily destroy. The monster deflected Farnus''s spear, and the gap between them widened. The next instant, bluish fire started covering the beast. The monster looked around as it opened its mouth to roar loudly. The ck energy from the Dome rushed into its body. At that moment, not waiting for Farnus''s signal, each of the SSS Rank Hunters attacked the monster with their weapons. Mana shed where the monster was standing. But a Shield of Fire stopped their attacks from harming the monster. The ck Stone dug further into the Monster''s head. It grewrger than before, looking down at Farnus, who was standing with lightning traveling all around his body. Instead of attacking Farnus first, the Monster targeted the other SSS Rank Hunters, and its first target was Den, who was the most injured one there. But before it could connect, Dexter appeared and brought down his hammer on the monster. Instead of pushing the monster back, the Monster stopped the hammer itself. Dexter smiled as golden Runes erupted from his hammer,tching onto the monster that disappeared from its ce. But it didn''t matter; explosions happened due to the Runes that Dexter had used. Den raised his sword, knowing that the monster would target him soon, but Osbert''s words distracted him for a second. "Hey, old man, why aren''t you using your Runes?" Osbert asked Farnus, who was standing still on the ground. But before Farnus could answer, the monster roared, and the Dome started moving. The Monster disappeared into the ck Energy. The next moment, it appeared just beneath Den, its ws immediately attacking Den''s foot. He dodged it at thest second, saving himself from the Monster. Silvus, having finished his chanting, stepped on the ground. A red chainy on the ground as his highest Tier restricting spell was cast. The chains made it impossible for the Monster to appear from below as they broke the connection of the Mana from the ground. None of them waited as the Monster appeared in the middle and went after one SSS Rank Hunter after another. Right now, they didn''t have time to question Farnus further. Even a single second of mistake could make them the prey of this monster. Dexter stopped the w of the monster with his hammer, but fire around the monster erupted, slightly burning his hands despite the protection of his aura. "This damn domain," Xarax said as he shed towards the Monster, freeing Dexter. All of them could feel that their mana was being heavily restricted inside this domain, but Farnus was having the most difficulty among them. He was the only one the Monster was really going after, as all the other SSS Rank Hunters were merely bait for Farnus to move. Each time Farnus moved, the monster would disappear and emerge behind him, trying to pierce its ws through his heart. ''Do I really have no choice?'' Farnus thought as he blocked the monster once more, and it disappeared into the ck dome above him. Chapter 292 Power Of The Strongest - I ?292 Power of the Strongest - I The monster soon disappeared into the ck Dome above them, and its presence spread evenly into the entire dome. It was as if the domain around them was the monster itself, making it impossible for anyone to predict where the monster would reappear next. However, the monster soon reemerged directly above them in the air,unching itself towards Silvus, who was at the center. Silvus''s gaze fell on the monster speeding towards him with insane velocity, but despite being a Mage, he remained calm as a Mana Shield erupted around him. A massive soundwave erupted as the monster''s hand began shing with the mana shield, slowly beginning to prate the shield. Still, Silvus didn''t need to worry about it at that moment. His role was to support the other hunters, not fight alone, and he was not about to waste his mana doing anything useless. Thisposure is what made Silvus the strongest mage in the world. A mage needed to remain calm in most situations to cast insanely difficult spells and modify them instantly, depending on the situation. And the level of concentration required to cast Tier 5 Spells, the highest-tier spells, was something only a few could manage. Dexter descended with a hammer as the monster dodged, leaving Silvus alone. "This damn thing," Dexter raised his hammer as a spiral of Runes appeared around him. One by one, each of the six SSS Rank Hunters, except Silvus, started attacking the monster, while Farnus took the lead and kept it distracted. Even though they were under the monster''s entrapment spell, the mana waves they created were not absorbed by the strange dome surrounding them. ''Does it only absorb the force behind the attacks?'' Silvus questioned while multiple magic circles started appearing behind him. And Silvus was right. The mana waves from their battle escaped the entrapment spell, causing problems for Belvoria. "Raise the barriers," a man shouted, as over a hundred mages created barriers to shield the cities from the destructive mana wave. "Permission to use SS Rank Defensive Artifacts is granted," an executive dered on the hologram, as multiple artifacts were ced on the ground. "Handle the monsters!" another SS Rank Hunter shouted,unching himself towards the monster. Despite their efforts, the mana waves from the sh of SSS Rank beings managed to reach the cities. Buildings began to crack, and several awakened people started passing out. Although thin, these mana waves were still very destructive. The power that eight SSS Rank beings could generate was enough to destroy the massive Belvoria Continent. Known as the Water Continent, Belvoria, one of the most beautiful ces, was now a breath away from destruction. A significant number of SS Rank Hunters were shielding the cities from the mana waves, but they couldn''t hold out for long. "Why did it get so intense all of a sudden?" an executive questioned, but no answer came. All mana-reading devices were destroyed, and they could only hope that whatever battle was going on could end fast enough before their line of defense fell, and the cities were destroyed. "Hey, Old Man, why are you holding back?" Osbert asked as he attacked the monster. Farnus didn''t reply. He was in a position where he didn''t want to use his full powers, but the situation didn''t allow him to do so. Osbert intentionally said it out loud because Farnus had done the same with the previous monster they were fighting. But this time, he knew that the problem was too big for Farnus to hold back. The fight continued on, with Farnus taking the lead once more. Lightning started getting absorbed into his body, increasing his speed. Farnus'' spear started moving in an unusual way, with each of his strikes matching the monster''s. ''A bit more,'' Farnus thought as his iris began to shine blue. His mana meridians were getting reinforced by the lightning aura that he exuded. But as he was attacking, Farnus sensed danger and immediately dashed back. A blue fire emerged on the spot as one of the monster''s eyes dimmed. Farnus''s gaze turned cold as he felt the monster''s killing intent. It had been a long time since he had felt something like that - a feeling of danger. But this single attack changed Farnus''s mind. The ck stone on the monster''s head submerged, causing the monster to grow further. ''It seems that I have no choice,'' Farnus thought, feeling cornered. If he held back any longer, he could see that even he might have a hard time surviving. The monster had marked Farnus as the prey instead of going after other SSS Rank Hunters. In the next instant, ck energy erupted from the ck stone. Two new creatures with the strength of mid SSS Rank monsters appeared, their foreheads marked with two eyes made of blue fire. The ck stone waspletely absorbed as a pair of fully ck eyes appeared. The monster roared loudly. While this was happening, Dexter and Osbert both tried to attack the monster, but the ck energy from the stone stopped them. Farnus lowered his spear, giving up on holding back any longer. He could feel the danger from the monster that was looking at him, ignoring the new SSS Rank Puppets created by the monster. Soon enough, blue runes appeared all over Farnus''s body, causing his armor to shine. Tremendous powers of the lightning element started coursing through Farnus''s body. Simultaneously, the strange rune began to light up, absorbing the surrounding lightning element. Within mere seconds, Farnus''s presence had be significantly more powerful than before. Silvus looked at Farnus who was using this ability after many years. It was an ability that made Farnus the strongest and could potentially turn the situation in their favor. The lightning around Farnus stopped as his armor started shining. It changed into the true form of the Stormscale Armor. "Lightning of the Thousand Storms," Farnus said, his armor changingpletely into stark white, surrounded by golden and blue lightning, and a crown made of deadly lightning aura appeared on his head. "Sigh," Farnus sighed, knowing that all this might be for nothing. But the more he thought about it, the more enraged he got, his killing intent bing visible. "Die," Farnus said, disappearing from his spot, as did the monster. Both of them shed in the air, their power forming cracks in the entrapment spell above. It was rare to see someone like Farnus, who usually remained calm andposed, getting angry like this, even while fighting for his life. But Farnus couldn''t stop himself from getting enraged. All his preparations for the future had gone down the drain. His spear started shining as Farnus changed the way he attackedpletely with his spear traversing through air with an insanely high speed. Exchanges of shes from the peak SSS Rank Existence caused the space around them to shake. Farnus''s spear began to glow as the pure lightning element harmed the monster''s body each time they shed. In an instant, the monster''s w reached Farnus''s elbow. As Farnus thrust his spear, the monster''s w was deflected by his armor. At the World Academy, Kevin was sparring with Eva and Elena, who were attacking him. "Don''t hold back," Kevin told them, and Elena increased the intensity of her attacks. Eva kept creating barriers to stop Kevin, who was using his lightning aura. The purpose of their sparring was to increase the efficiency of his lightning aura. At that moment, Kevin was dodging attacks from both Elena and Eva. But as he was about to dodge Elena''s fire bullet, he suddenly felt a lot of his strength fading. He paused for a moment, and it made Elena''s fire bullet hit him directly in the chest. Bam! Kevin crashed into the wall. Elena''s face turned pale. "Kevin!!" Elena shouted, rushing to him. His armor stopped the impact from harming him much, but he was still injured. "Why didn''t you dodge?" Elena asked, supporting Kevin who was clutching his chest. "What happened?" Eva also came close, looking worried. A mistake like this wasn''t something Kevin would make, and they didn''t know what happened to him at thest moment. But the next moment, Elena felt her heart drop as Kevin lost consciousness, and her hands started shaking. "Elena, let''s take him to the medical facility!" Eva immediately said, but Elena was too scared to move. Her hands were shaking. She felt that she had done something terrible to Kevin. "Elena!" Eva shook Elena, who looked at her with tears forming in her eyes. "We need to take him to the doctors," she told Elena, grabbing her shoulders. "Ah, yes, yes," Elena managed to reply, standing up. Both of them helped Kevin up. They didn''t know what happened to Kevin, but they took him to the medical facility as quickly as possible. Chapter 293 Power Of The Strongest - II ?293 Power of the Strongest - II "So he finally got serious," Dexter said as he looked at Farnus, who was pushing the monster back with each of his strikes. The Lightning Element was not simply an element of destruction. If used correctly to form a Lightning aura, it boosted the user''s strength, simr to how an Augmenter''s magic worked. But unlike Augmenting magic, it amplified the senses of the person who sessfully used the lightning aura. Even a D Rank Hunter like Kevin could perform this, and although it was a powerful effect, the mastery of lightning aura that Farnus had was far from weak. His lightning aura made it possible for him to nullify the effects of any mana that wasn''t his around him. This was the very essence of the Ancient Rune that Farnus possessed, making him the most powerful hunter in the world. Although he would face the brunt of the power, the essence and intent in that mana would get nullified. However, that Ancient Rune had its limitations. He needed to constantly supply pure lightning to keep the Rune active, and that was where the Stormscale Armor came in. Each of Farnus''s items and powers meshed together to form a bnce. The SSS Rank Stormscale Armor was not simply a defensive armor type artifact; it had a lot of offensive abilities as well. But instead of unleashing that lightning on his enemies, Farnus absorbed it with his Ancient Rune, creating the most powerful aura, something considered the most powerful aura in the world. Even if it was temporary, Farnus could, at that moment, face all the 6 SSS Rank Hunters alone. "Golden Lightning, huh," Osbert muttered, sensing the power behind Farnus''s aura. Golden Lightning Aura was the term given to Farnus whenever he used his Ancient Rune with the Stormscale Armor. The old man, usually exuding a sense of calmness and serenity, now had the most powerful presence. Yet, there was one thing that didn''t allow any of them to rx: despite Farnus going all out and pushing the monster back with his strikes, this was a battle with a peak SSS Rank Existence. They were certain the Monster wouldn''t go down easily. They were right. As soon as Farnus engaged in a one-on- one battle with the monster, the other two monsters that had emerged from the one Farnus was fighting started roaring loudly. The cracks in the Entrapment spell began to heal themselves as the monsters looked at the other SSS Rank Hunters, their killing intent visible. All the SSS Rank Hunters charged at them, intent on finishing these strange monsters first so they could then focus on the one that Farnus was fighting. These monsters were quite simr to the Peak SSS Rank Monster with their ck bodies, but they had no horns and only a single, burning eye. Strangely, since their appearance, the effect of the Entrapment spell had strengthened and started to heal itself. It didn''t take long for all the Hunters to realize that these monsters needed to be killed as soon as possible. Even though Farnus was currently pushing the monster back, if the effects of these strange domains became stronger, there was a chance that Farnus might not be able to continue his assault. Dexter jumped in the air, bringing his hammer down on one of the two SSS Rank Monsters. However, it dodged at thest second, and the impact was absorbed by the entrapment domain. The Monster charged towards Dexter, but Xarax intercepted, shing his sword and creating a small cut near the monster''s gut. But the cut disappeared soon as the monster charged toward Xarax, while the other monster engaged with Den and Osbert, who were working together. "Damn, does this one heal as well?" Osbert asked as his ming sword cut through the shoulder of the Monster. The rate at which they were healing was much higher than the Monster that Farnus and Osbert had fought for weeks. "Aim for their eyes," Silvus advised as he floated in the air, Silver Mana coursing around him. He could sense that all the mana in those monsters were concentrated near the eye, and the body was nothing but a vessel for those two burning eyes. Silvus began chanting one of his strongest spells, and with each word he uttered, the mana around him trembled. "I will abolish this domain; keep them busy," Silvus said his final words before closing his eyes and encasing his body in a crystal of Silver Mana. The protection of the Archmage''s mana allowed Silvus to chant a spell without interruption from any outside factor, but that didn''t mean it couldn''t be broken. But for now, Silvus''s Mana, previously running rampant, became calm and steady. The monsters tried to move towards Silvus, but they were stopped as the other SSS Rank Hunters intercepted them. Meanwhile, the spikes on the crown above Farnus increased to three, the number proportional to the amount of lightning element his Rune had absorbed. The Crown of Light was the name that Farnus had given to the ability of his Ancient Rune. Each spike that appeared indicated an increase in Farnus''s power and his Golden Lightning aura. Farnus''s limit was six spikes, but the current version of him could only conjure three of them, as the Stormscale Armor he had was only half its original self. The monster paused, retreating slightly as a ck Element spell structure formed behind him. These weren''t just magic that could be used by mages, even monsters could cast them, but their magic was much different from a real spell. Their spells had no intent behind them, making them useless for any human who would try to mimic them. Hence, these were called abilities that the monsters innately possessed, and to cast them, no intent was needed. Even the strongest monster, a Peak SSS Rank Monster, didn''t possess the intelligence required to form intent in a spell. Farnus''s eyes shifted above as whips of ck energy appeared all around, but as they tried to reach him, his aura demolished all of them. The only way to counter Farnus''s aura was to make an attack strong enough to destroy his aura, considered the strongest among all the hunters in the world. Farnus spun his spear, deflecting all the other whips that targeted his face. His power was increasing, but he could soon feel that he was reaching the limit that he could currently push. Without the other half of the Stormscale Armor, it was impossible for him to summon all the six spikes he was capable of. This was why he used the other option: he recovered the full part of the Ancient rune that was present on the other Stormscale Armor and left the armor alone. Without it, Farnus wouldn''t be able to maintain the Golden Lightning Aura for long, and he didn''t know how much time it would take to kill this monster. The ck Element was the worst element a monster could possess out of all elements. Although other elements were equally terrifying if used by a Peak SSS Rank Existence, the ck Element was the worst for long-drawn battles. Fortunately, the monster didn''t possess the illusionary power of the ck Element, but only the curse entrapment ability that was used by many ck Element mages. However, it wasn''t as powerful when used by monsters. This entire entrapment domain diminished the power of all the Hunters while amplifying the power of the monster. If it weren''t for that, the monster wouldn''t be able to match Farnus''s speed so equally, as it was doing currently. "Thousand Spins," Farnus dashed and appeared behind the monsters. His spear traveled in a strange path as it shed the monster multiple times. "GRAAAAAAAAAAUR," The monster roared as a massive wave of energy went around, pushing Farnus back a little bit. Instead of stopping, Farnus charged once again. His path was untraceable, even by an S Rank Hunter. Despite the massive power Farnus possessed, he didn''t waste any of it. It was handled gracefully as he attacked the monster. And that was the Spear Art, the skill all spear users aspired to learn. The power to use mana in such a way was something only Farnus could do, as his Ancient Rune amplified the effect each strike would have on his enemy. "Get down," Farnusmanded as he brought the monster down with a hit of his spear on the creature''s ws. Despite crashing down, the monster recovered immediately and lunged towards Farnus in an enraged state. Farnus stopped the monster''s attack with the tip of his spear. He spun his body and shed the monster''s stomach, causing it to bleed a ck liquid. Despite the damage, he could see that the monster was still alive with no effect on its strength. He needed to find the weakness of the monster before his aura ran out. He was still trying to figure out a way to deal a critical blow and end this battle soon. Chapter 294 Destruction ?294 Destruction "Alert! Please evacuate if you are in the city," announcements could be heard across the city. Some of the buildings had already fallen, and the damage just kept getting worse. Medics were dispatched to the city to identify any awakened individuals who had been hit by the Mana wave. Although most people had evacuated, there were still some residents remaining who needed to be rescued. Amidst the chaos, important areas within the cities were being separately protected to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation. "We have raised the Mana Barriers over the cities," the announcement said. "After 24 hours, we willpletely seal this city with Mana Barriers!" The announcement was repeated. The alert was sounded across three cities to warn even awakened individuals of D Rank and below to evacuate. The iing mana wave carried rampant mana, which could damage the mana core of many people. Over time, this could lead to mana poisoning, killing thousands if they absorbed this mana wave. "Instruct the A Rank Hunters to retreat; only S Rank or above will stay at the borders," the Executive announced as they received multiple reports. The intensity of the mana wave beyond the Mana Barrier had a chance to damage the Mana core of an A Rank, which led to the recall of all A Rank and below hunters from the borders. While maintaining the Mana Barrier, the SS Rank Hunters fought the beast to keep the Monster Horde at bay. Inside the Entrapment Dome, which had a radius of half a kilometer, Den, the Vice Chairman of the World Association, was battling with Osbert. However, a shoulder injury made his attacks somewhat weaker. The effect of the Entrapment Domain was also impairing his strength. Both Osbert and Den, familiar with each other''s fighting style, took turns attacking the puppet monster. BOOM A massive explosion happened in the air as some saw a monster flying towards the sky and getting absorbed into the ck Dome. Farnus used a lightning st, converting the energy of his spear into a massive explosion that could be directed wherever he wanted. The physical force behind the attack was absorbed by the dome, but Farnus was sure that he had inflicted some damage on the monster. His keen eyes noted that the monster had attempted to evade the attack and had taken shelter in the ck Dome. Farnus''s armor began to glow, lightning thundering all around him, all emanating from the Stormscale Armor. A bluish rune appeared around Farnus''s neck, forming a certain pattern and amplifying the golden lightning surrounding him. Farnus moved his spear, the lightning tracing its path, his crown of light brightening and his aura intensifying. The monster lunged out of the dome, its ck eyes focusing on Farnus, who it deemed to be the most significant threat. But instead of charging directly at Farnus, its w extended and ck whips unfurled, chasing Farnus who skillfully dodged them. Boom Rather than maintaining his distance, Farnus rushed forward, causing a massive soundwave as he dashed. But now, the problem for the other SSS Rank Hunters grew more substantial as the two SSS Rank Monsters kept regenerating their wounds. Even as they aimed their attacks at the blue fire burning in their eyes, the monsters would dodge or use their bodies as a shield. Osbert shed at the ground where the Monster stood, but it evaded his attack. "This damn thing," Xarax cursed as he felt his strength ebbing. He had been fighting for nearly a month, and his mana was far from its peak. This made even these SSS Rank Monsters a challenge for them. If not for Dexter, who was cornering the monster each time, he wouldn''t have managed to fight this long without suffering a critical injury. At the World Academy, "He is suffering from Mana Rebound," the Doctor informed Elena and Eva who were waiting outside the medical room where Kevin was ced. "Was he absorbing any kind of Mana Gem?" The Doctor asked. "No, we were only sparring," Eva replied. "Strange, our analysis shows that the mana instability is the major issue," The Doctor responded. Kevin wasn''t just any ordinary student; he was from an Elite Family, which made the doctors pay extra attention to him. However, nothing that Eva and Elena said matched with their diagnosis for why Kevin had fainted. "Well, he will be fine, but we need to monitor his mana more closely," the doctor advised. "We will stay here for now," Elena dered, and the Doctor had no choice but toply with their decision. The students before him were the daughters of two different Elite families, and he couldn''t simply tell them to leave. So, he went back inside, leaving Elena and Eva still anxious about Kevin''s condition. "Did this happen because of me?" Elena mumbled, her voice shaky. She was ming herself for Kevin''s unconscious state but was unaware of the true cause of the incident. Only two people knew what had happened to Kevin: Farnus and Asher himself. Currently, Asher was inspecting the Hidden Quest reward he had received and could easily surmise why it might have happened. | Hidden Quest Completed | | Objective: Limit Kevin Whiteheart''s growth | | Reward: 1000 Fate Points | The prompt had appeared out of nowhere while Asher was mastering Node Art. He paused, specting that this could only mean one thing. "So my assumption was correct," Asher muttered upon receiving confirmation about Kevin Whiteheart''s admission into the medical facility. He suspected that it was rted to the other half of the Stormscale Armor or the Ancient Rune that Farnus possessed. "So, it will end soon," Asher mused, looking at the number of people that Tom had sessfully brought under Aztech. He knew that all the cmities would soon be resolved, but he was unaware of the peculiar urrence of the Peak SSS Rank Monster. In his previous life, the SSS Rank Monsters that were forcefully awakened did so one at a time, not simultaneously as Asher had initiated. Ignoring the current situation, Asher soon returned to his training. "Is the old man still not finished?" Den shouted, referring to Silvus who was still chanting his spell. But the burden on them was increasing; the Domain''s power was affecting them more and more over time. They were protecting Silvus, who was in the midst of casting a spell. "Keep your eyes on them," Osbert reminded Den as he parried the Monster''s attack with his sword. Pushing it back, he nced at Den who was the most injured of all the SSS Rank Hunters, even more so than Xarax. BOOOOOOOM A massive explosion urred, drawing all eyes upwards to see Farnus standing amidst the sts, his spear impaling the throat of the monster. "So this is your weakness?" Farnus queried as he saw his spear miss the ck Stone inside the monster''s head. He was about to pierce the monster''s head, but it twisted its body, allowing Farnus to impale its jaw instead. However, instead of recoiling, the monster grabbed the spear, its ck eyes beginning to exude ck energy. The other SSS Rank Monsters below them turned their heads towards the sky. The next instant, they levitated towards Farnus, who nced sideways. But Dexter and Osbert prevented them from ascending further as they battled in mid-air, positioned below Farnus and the Peak SSS Rank Monster. "Stay down, you damn thing," Dexter shouted as he smashed the monster''s w, forcing it down. But Farnus felt that something was amiss, despite being so close to him, especially his Golden Lightning Aura, the monster was taking the damage as it aura kept nullifying the ck Element of the Monster. He felt that the monster was overly aggressive and was causing more harm to itself in the course of the fight. Rather than waiting, Farnus amplified his aura and spun his spear, forcing the monster to release its grip. He then redirected his spear towards the monster''s head. There was only one thing Farnus didn''t know all this time, and had he been aware, he would have never used his Ancient Rune or summoned the Crown of Light at all. Just as they were running out of time due to their mana being depleted by the domain, the monster wasn''t much different. It wasn''t an original Peak SSS Rank; the strength it had gained was temporary, and the more it absorbed the ck Stone''s energy, the stronger it became. However, this power was not permanent. To consolidate its strength, it needed years to truly be a Peak SSS Rank. But for now, it had the power of a Peak SSS Rank Monster, and although it would soon end, the most significant threat when it weakened was Farnus. Therefore, it was hell-bent on killing Farnus first before chasing after the other SSS Rank Hunters. If only Farnus had known this, he would have chosen to risk the chance of getting critically injured in a fight rather than wasting the efforts he had put in for thest 15 years. "GRAAAAAAAAAAUR," The monster roared at Farnus, and the ones below became even more aggressive. "Do it fast, Silvus," Dexter muttered as he shed with the SSS Rank Monster. Shatter! The Silver Crystal shattered. Silvus, who had his eyes closed, became visible, and upon opening his eyes, a massive Silver Spell Circle appeared on the ground. "Finally," Dexter thought as he repelled the monster. Chapter 295 Battle ?295 Battle Aplex, silver-colored spell structure materialized on the ground as Silvus raised his hands. The structure began to multiply, replicating its pattern all around them. To their sides and above, spell circles filled their view wherever they looked. Silvus sped his hands together. A wave of mana pulsed from him, each spell circle responding in kind with a simr wave of energy. "..... Dispel," Silvus muttered atst. The ck Dome, unaffected thus far by the shes between the monster and Farnus, began to absorb into the silver spell circles. Many of the radiant spell circles began to turn grey, but their efforts against the Entrapment Spell were sessful. Silvus''s bright eyes dimmed, drained from using so much mana for this spell. He hadn''t fully recovered his mana from the previous battle, but he had enough to cast a spell powerful enough to shatter even a Peak SSS Rank Monster''s entrapment spell, a feat only he could aplish in a world without another SSS Rank Mage. He had crafted this ultimate Mana Dispelling spell himself after researching the unique abilities of his own mana. The pulses of mana could be felt by everyone present, their mana cores vibrating in response to Silvus''s spell. But this was not an offensive spell. Silvus designed this particr spell for the specific purpose of dispelling spells or entrapment spells. Knowing that the Entrapment Spell didn''t absorb mana, Silvus deduced that by severing the connection throughout the ck Dome, he could sessfully shatter it. Crack Cracks began to appear in the pitch-ck domain, signaling its imminent destruction. The Peak SSS Rank Monster sensed the shift. Suddenly, the fiery eyes of the puppet SSS Rank Monsters below red intensely, their body structures growing rigid. BOOM BOOM Both monsters targeted Osbert and Dexter, their attacks more aggressive than before, ck whips emerging from their bodies. "This feels much better," Dexter said as he pushed back the monster with a swing of his hammer. Thanks to Silvus''s still active spell, the effects of the ck Dome were diminishing, and they could feel some of their strength returning. Crackle The sound of crackling lightning and sparks appearing in the air reached all the Hunters present. As their strength surged, so did Farnus''s. His power increased, intensifying his Golden Lightning Aura and causing sparks to fly around him. His eyes turned a clear blue. The Peak SSS Rank Monster stared at Farnus as its ck energy started bing even more threatening. Recognizing its adversary had grown stronger, the monster drew more power from the strange ck stone. The ck stone was the Mana Core of the SSS Rank Monster that Xarax, Den, and the SSS Rank Hunter from the Watson Family were battling. It was this monster''s ability to absorb or consume nearly dead SSS Rank Monsters, which were slightly stronger than itself, that had transformed it into thepletely different monster it was now. Roaring, the monster''s ck energy seethed out from its body, floating around it, making its intentions clear. The Entrapment Spell had not been lifted yet, causing the monster to be enraged as it sensed a threat to its life. Farnus charged, his spear countering the ck energy, but their sh was a stalemate. Neither of the two Peak SSS Rank beings yielded as they fought in the same space, teleporting from one location to another. Farnus charged his spear, determined to target the ck stone within the monster. He was certain that the ck Stone was the monster''s weakness. The monster''s efforts to protect it were proof enough for Farnus to draw this conclusion. Despite this, Farnus was wary of getting too close to the monster. He knew that his Golden Lightning Aura could deflect the ck element, but if he got too close, his aura might not be able to withstand and neutralize the ck energy. Even if Farnus had abandoned his 15 years of efforts, he wouldn''t summon all of it back at any cost. Despite the threat, he had no other option but to use his Ancient Rune and half of the Stormscale Armor. Hence, his Crown of Light only had three spikes instead of the six he could usually produce. His spear traced the same path over and over, but Farnus would randomly change its trajectory, making it impossible to predict his attack. The only way to counter Farnus''s spear art was to react quickly whenever he made his move. If Nathan was hailed as the Sword God, then Farnus was recognized as the Spear God. His spear art was sought after by elite families for their heirs, but Farnus turned down their offers. He announced he would only teach his technique to his sessor at the World Academy, and this person would be chosen from among its students. "No point in struggling," Farnus muttered as he switched the spear to his left. He mmed the spear down in midair, a wave of lightning spreading around them and sparks swirling in the air. Some sparks made contact with the monster, burning its body upon contact. Although the damage was minor, it was one of Farnus''s skills that allowed him to slow down his enemy''s senses and nerves. It was a unique application of the lightning element. However, the lightning element alone wasn''t enough to harm an SSS Rank Entity. That''s where his Ancient Rune came into y. Comparing Farnus''s lightning to normal lightning was a slight to Farnus''s legacy and his strength. Those who had faced Farnus or fought against him at some point knew how different it felt to battle him. Initially, everyone thought it was Farnus''s bloodline ability, but when Farnus proposed the creation of the World Academy, he revealed his secret. One of the things that people could never have imagined existed. The Ancient Rune, the source of his Golden Lightning. Silvus, who was floating in the air, lifted his hands as the cracks on the ck Dome continued to widen. He nced down, his amber eyes settling on the two SSS Rank Monsters below. He raised his eyebrows as he noticed a mana connection forming between the two monsters. When he looked above, he saw that it was connected to the monster Farnus was currently fighting. Eye of the Archmage was a unique ability that only Silvus possessed among all the mages and hunters. This unique ability, which he could only use for a very short time after pushing his Silver Mana to the extreme, allowed him to see mana, or more specifically, threads of mana. Every single thing, living or nonliving, had a trace of mana inside it. But the pure mana that turned into elements was different from the mana that was present all around the world. The Eye of the Archmage allowed Silvus to see that world with his naked eyes, a world only high-ranking Hunters could sense. All SSS Rank Hunters could sense this world, but seeing it with their eyes was apletely different experience. And right now, he could see a connection, albeit faint, between the monsters. "What is it trying to achieve?" Silvus muttered, frowning. "Kill them," Silvus instructed the other hunters, summoning countless fireballs around them. "Easier said than done," Xarax replied as he tried to sh the monster with his sword, but it dodged his attack. "Don''t lose focus now," Dexter said as he reminded them, and cast another rune around him. "We can end all of this soon," Dexter added. The Silver Spell Circles all around the ck Dome had turned murky grey, and the Entrapment Spell was about to lift off. All of them would soon be freed from the effects of the spell that had made them weaker. Farnus nced below as he could see that Silvus was almost done breaking the ck dome, and he knew he needed to corner this monster as soon as possible. If somehow this monster were to recreate the entrapment spell, it wouldn''t bode well at all, considering nearly everyone was running low on mana. The battle was entering its final moments, and it would soon decide who would survive in the end. Unbeknownst to Farnus, he was fighting a monster that would soon run out of power derived from the ck Stone. They were rushing the battle that could have been their win if they hadn''t assumed the Monster to be an actual Peak SSS Rank Monster. And if only... Farnus Calmort had been fighting at his full strength. Chapter 296 Is It Over? ?296 Is it over? Xarax and Dexter charged together to corner the monster, while Osbert and Den were doing the same with another one. The Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter also took to the air as he started looking for his chance to strike. Killing an SSS Rank Existence wasn''t an easy thing at all. One small mistake and one of them could get injured, and despite the result of this battle, their injuries would make them weaker than all the other SSS Rank Hunters. None of the people present here trusted each other, and all of them were fighting while making sure that their guard was up the whole time. It was the only way they could work together, but right now this became a major struggle as, to kill the two monsters, they needed to take a risk. Silvus was the only one here who was ready to take the risk, but he was already busy maintaining the countless Spell Circles that were draining and destroying the ck Dome. shes after shes took ce, and the monsters kept dodging, attacking a few times if any one of them made a single mistake. Monsters, unlike humans, weren''t afraid of hurting themselves in order to feed on their prey, and these puppet monsters that were made from the power of the Peak SSS Rank Monster, or to say they were part of its power, weren''t even considering the attacks of the SSS Rank Hunters to be harmful, unless it was aimed at their burning eyes. The bluish me was something that the monsters didn''t let any of them get close enough to. But as the ck Dome was losing its strength, these monsters weren''t enough to endure the attacks of so many SSS Rank Hunters. "Huff, huff," Xarax was breathing heavily as he blocked the ws of the monster and backed away. "Don''t get tired, old man," Dexter said as he went past Xarax and smashed his hammer towards the monster. "Who are you calling old, dammit?" Xarax replied as he stepped forward and rushed between Dexter and the monster. There was a question that woulde to everyone, and it was about the rankings of SSS Rank hunters individually. But there was no correct answer; nobody knew about each other''s true strength, as each SSS Rank Hunter never revealed their trump cards when they fought together. Just like Nathan hid the fact about the Rune of Eirdin, each of them held something that wasn''t known to anyone in the world. Apart from Silvus and Farnus, who were considered the most powerful out of all SSS Rank Hunters, mostly because of the time they lived. They were the oldest of all SSS Rank Hunters. Xarax pushed the monster backward, and in an instant, the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter appeared behind it, his sword aimed at the head with incredible speed. He was looking for an opportunity, and he found it, but the monster''s burning me eyes turned to the side as it tilted backward. Their body structure didn''t have any sort of rigidness, and they could move at almost all angles. It made their ability to react much faster than any other SSS Rank Monsters. Unlike a gigantic monster, which had destructive power but was easier to hurt and find openings toward. But the sword passed through the empty air, leaving a mark, and it was the unique ability of the Watson Family. Something that made the SSS Rank Hunter of the Watson Family responsible for Armax Prison. A line of sorts appeared in the air as he kept swinging his sword at the monster, not stopping at all. The monster kept dodging and attacking, but the lines kept appearing in the empty air, one by one. Suddenly he stopped, and the lines started vibrating. Countless invisible lines that he had made during their battle started bing visible, as Xarax looked around. ''What a unique ability,'' he thought, despite seeing it many times before. "Hundred Eyes," the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter muttered. As he closed his own eyes and charged towards the monster. His speed increased, and his swordsmanship became very aggressive. Something that could be called reckless by some, but those who knew about the Watson Family''s bloodline ability knew that it wasn''t a reckless way of fighting. Spreading their senses in the space around them, an ability to dominate the space around them if they could manage to mark the area around them with their mana. It was something much moreplex than the Mana Sense that Asher used, but the Watsons used it in exchange for their senses. In that space, if you weren''t way faster or stronger than him, it wasn''t possible to surprise attack him at all. Xarax entered the battle once again, while Dexter went towards Osbert and Den, who were shing with the monster. Meanwhile, Farnus was charging and nullifying the ck element that was all around the monster. "HAAAAAH," Farnus cried out as he swung his spear downwards, and an arc of devastating lightning went downwards. The monster barely dodged it, but it burnt half of its face, revealing a ck stone inside its head once again. It started healing, but its anger began to rise as well, and it was visible as the monster became much more aggressive towards Farnus. The lightning around Farnus kept bing stronger, little by little, as the effect of the Dome was disappearing. With the movement of his spear, the lightning itself moved in the way that Farnus desired. A control over an element that could even put mages to shame ¡ª that was the level Farnus was at. And his control was simr or even much stronger than the control that the monster had over the ck element. All because of his rune, which yed a major part in Farnus bing the strongest SSS Rank Hunter in the world. Farnus''s eyes traveled all over as he kept pushing the monster back, giving it no chance to even think about anything. With Silvus''s spell all over the ck Dome, the monster had lost the ability to hide in the ck Dome or even run because the moment it did, it could feel that Farnus''s spear would impale its head. The moment one of these two showed weakness was the moment they would die, and both of them understood that. And Farnus kept getting more aggressive, as just like the monster, even his time for using the Golden Lightning Aura was running out. Their shes kept sending mana waves, which were even greater than the ones that all other SSS Rank Hunters were producing. Crack... The cracks around the ck Dome became even bigger as the Monster became even more enraged. ''Almost,'' Farnus thought as he felt the monster bing a bit slower than before. Bam.. Bam... Bam Bam Bam His spear connected with the monster, with each strike getting stronger than before, as Farnus kept changing the direction his spear would strike from. Aplex art, but it was something possible only because he possessed the Lightning Element Affinity. While Farnus was about to strike again, he noticed the Silver Spell bingpletely grey, and finally, it happened. The Entrapment was broken as ck energy started descending down like fumes, and the monster roared so loudly as its ck energy started running rampant. It was so much that even Farnus stepped back as the Hunters below were shielded with the Shield that Dexter created with Runes, and Silvus was the one who converted one Spell Circle above their heads. He wanted to iste the monsters from the Peak SSS Rank Monster even now. And all the others kept pushing the monsters. The fight wasn''t over, and it finally entered itsst moment as the monster saw sparks of golden lightning from the cloud of ck energy that surrounded its vision. In the next moment, it saw a spearing its way, towards the ck Stone. And the old man became visible again, with lightning wrapped all around him and his eyes focused on the monster. The eyes that carried a tint of anger, frustration. "Die," Farnus said as he pierced the ck stone. But at thest moment, Farnus''s eyes changed as he finally realized. His grip on his spear became loose as he felt a wave of frustration boiling over him. But the puppets below started burning with blue fire suddenly. Suddenly, Silvus shouted something, but Farnus didn''t hear it. With the truth in front of him, Farnus was holding his anger and frustration inside of him. Suddenly the ck stone that had almost shattered melted into liquid form as the monsters below exploded, and two mes appeared in the middle of the sky with ck liquid in the center. "FARNUS, MOVE!!" Silvus shouted, amplifying his voice with mana. Farnus''s eyes looked below as his eyes went wide. He ran in the opposite direction as soon as possible, and so did the other SSS Rank Hunters. The mana core of two SSS Rank Monsters, mixed into one, was about to explode. The power behind that explosion was enough to kill even an SSS Rank Hunter. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! All of them turned as they unleashed their mana out of their core and formed a mana shield. A mana shield to stop this explosion from destroying half of Belvoria. Chapter 297 Price To Pay ?297 Price to pay Seconds ago, Silvus, who was watching Farnus, who was going to pierce through the ck stone and end the monster, suddenly felt a strange mana connection between the two burning mes and the monster be unstable. It was as if the mes were being attracted towards the monster. The flow of the mana instantly got reversed, and Silvus immediately looked upwards, all he saw was Farnus holding his spear without moving. Due to his mana sensitivity, Silvus felt the presence of the Peak SSS Rank Monster disappear seconds ago, as soon as he saw the strange mana connection with the Eye of the Archmage skill. It disappeared as if it was an illusion the whole time. It happened so suddenly that Silvus didn''t bother to think too hard because, the next moment, the Puppet Monsters suddenly exploded. And the result wasn''t good at all, as Den and Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter, being the closest ones, suffered due to the instant explosion. Both of them tried to step away, but it happened all too quickly for them to move. But Dexter came in between and used a rune shield; the damage was done as he looked at the half-torn leg of the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter. Blood wasing out, and the bones became visible, and the remnant of blue me was visible on the wound. A excruciating pain took over, but they had no time to react as even Den, who had multiple burns and a wound near the side of his stomach, looked above as they felt a concentrating amount of mana in one ce. The fumes started gathering as they all could guess what was about to happen. Core explosion was the term given when a being tried to overload its mana core and cause an explosion of thepressed and dense mana. Only a monster would do it as ast resort if they felt they were about to die. Doing so wasn''t possible for any human because of the way their bodies work. And the amount of mana that a human and a monster possessed was way too different for it to work the same way it worked for the monsters. And forcing your mana core ultimately led to excruciating amounts of pain and damaged mana meridians, making the hunter a cripple for life. The explosion that happened wasn''t too big, as most of the energy from the mes was transferred above. Silvus saw countless dense mana threads wrapping around themselves as he saw the ck Stone, which Farnus broke with his spear, melt. "Move from there!" Silvus shouted, alerting everyone. "It''s a core explosion," Silvus said as his amber eyes shined. Hearing him, Osbert grabbed Den, who was too injured, and Dexter did the same for the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter. Xarax and Silvus were moving away as well when Silvus looked upwards and saw Farnus still standing, still lost in his thoughts. "FARNUS, MOVE!" Silvus shouted, amplifying his voice with mana. All of them were running away from the center of the Core Explosion, as stopping the rampant and chaotic energy in that area was impossible. Your strength needed to be more than double that of the monster to be able to suppress the core explosion altogether. Hearing Silvus''s amplified voice, Farnus came to his senses when he saw a ball of ck energy form beneath him. His eyes widened as he realized what was going to happen. But it was a little toote as Farnus was the closest one to the center point of the Core explosion. "Block it," Dexter said out loud as every single one of them turned. Right now, most of them were exhausted, as they had fought for more than a month, only Dexter was the one here that had the most mana. And so he used almost all that remained, as all of them blocked it from six different directions. A mana shield that was wrapped with the aura of 5 SSS Rank Hunters, Silvus''s mana that was encasing the auras was keeping the ck energy that was about to devour everything in its path from leaking out. But the problem happened with Farnus, who was too close to the explosion, as he turned, he was the only one who was closest to the sphere of ck energy that had blue burning mes flowing all around it. He stretched his hand forward as his Golden Lightning Aura started getting absorbed by the explosion. To stop this explosion, they needed to suppress it with their own mana and absorb the explosion right there. Because even if they lived by escaping, half of Belvoria would get destroyed, and it wasn''t an option. Farnus''s Rune started glowing as he felt its power draining quickly, and his eyes became much duller than before. The Crown of Light started to break as small cracks were appearing all around it. He was about to run out of energy soon enough, and he needed to hold on till the explosion was taken care of. CRACK! Cracks started appearing in the Encasing Shield, and ck energy started to seep out, and Farnus, being the closest, became vulnerable to that energy. His aura was nullifying the ck energy, but it wasn''t normal energy that could be nullified so easily. It was pure destructive ck energy that started seeping through his aura slowly. It wasn''t much in the beginning, but as all of them held on, Farnus noticed the ck energy seeping through his fingertips. Farnus increased his mana and pushed himself even further as he pushed back the ck energy and started strengthening the encasing shield. "Hold on," Dexter shouted, as they couldn''t let this energy explode outside. They needed to brace the impact themselves and make sure they themselves didn''t get hurt, but the amount of power they had left wasn''t much. A few were even thinking of leaving, and one of them was Osbert. ''Should I use it?'' Osbert thought as his hair fluttered as he kept using his aura just like the others. Even if Belvoria was destroyed, the threat to their lives, which were the SSS Rank Monsters, were already dead. And a few more had simr thoughts, but they were waiting, as they couldn''t leave too early. They still had the chance to handle this situation, and that was why Osbert didn''t outright leave first. Because if he did, the consequences of doing so would make him the enemy of other SSS Rank Hunters. And that is why he was waiting. Waiting for the situation to get even worse, and he could escape, saying that it was hisst resort. "Push it back," Silvus told them, as he increased his Silver mana, and his hands started to shake. And it wasn''t just him; many of them were holding on as they were pushing themselves to pour out even more mana. Multiple artifacts appeared on their wrists, fingers, and necks, as they used them to increase their mana slightly. It wasn''t a situation where they could hold off and hide their artifacts. Crack..... "Little more," Dexter said as his runes wrapped around therge ck sphere. All of them were safe, but one man was paying the price for his carelessness. It was none other than Farnus. Farnus''s eyes looked at both of his wrists that had gotten affected by the ck energy. His skin started to turn darker as he could feel the pain running through his body. His mana was trying to fight the ck energy, but he was too busy handling the sphere that he couldn''t properly protect himself. His rune started to shine as lines and symbols appeared on his hands, and it made the growing ck energy slower. Knowing that the damage might be too much, Farnus decided to remove his right hand and use only his left to attract the ck energy. The ck sphere startedpressing a little as all Seven SSS Rank Hunters poured their mana and auras to suppress it. Little by little they were pushing it, but the cracks kept appearing and more energy would be needed to fix them. ''Just a little more,'' Silvus thought as he controlled his trembling hands. His mana right now was healing the encasing shield, and he was making sure that the cracks were getting healed. And it happened: as they started suppressing the ck sphere, the moment of explosion came as it became smaller. And the ck energy became much calmer than before. Suddenly the rampant energy had calmed down, but it was the silence before the storm. It became much slower as every single one of them got ready to embrace the impact. Boom The small blob of ck energy suddenly erupted as a massive mana wave went out, and all of them tried to contain the main explosion, ignoring the mana wave. The encasing shield started to crack as the ck energy shot out and even shed with some of them, but they ignored it and tried to embrace the impact. Several wounds appeared on their bodies, but they kept holding on. And they were sessful, but they paid the price as almost all of them had severe injuries, and it was done by the energy of two Mid SSS Rank Hunters''bined cores. These types of wounds weren''t something that could be healed easily either. A silence fell on the battlefield as all of them descended down, or more clearly, fell to the ground as they didn''t have the energy to float in the air anymore. Only Farnus and Dexter were the ones that somehow managed tond on their feet. Chapter 298 Victory? ?298 Victory? It was a win, but none of them were celebrating as they all stood, ignoring their bodies that were bleeding and riddled with various wounds. Silence fell among them as their eyes looked at each other. With themon enemy gone, each of them was standing in their vulnerable state. And the feeling of distrust grew stronger between them as all of them maintained some distance from each other. Even with the Cmities in and the major threat having disappeared, it didn''t mean the real threat was gone. Zephyr, the masked man, and the people who started all of this, and all of them could guess that someone among the 11 SSS Rank Hunters was involved. It wasn''t possible for such a group to rise out of nowhere and threaten the whole world, and awaken the cmities together in such a way. The only one among them that they knew wasn''t behind all this was Farnus Calmort. With the amount of restrictions that Farnus had with all the Mana Oaths he took, it was impossible for him to be the one that started all this. And Farnus had no reason to do any of this, as without his help, they wouldn''t have been able to defeat these monsters either. But above all things, even ignoring Zephyr for a moment, almost none of them got along with each other, and the existence of other SSS Rank Hunters was simply a threat to them. And this would have been the best time for one of them to step up to do something like that. And this was the reason why this silence prevailed on the battlefield. Dexter looked around, and till his eyes could see, all thend was utterly destroyed, and he could guess that the borders weren''t looking that great either. After a massive mana wave from the explosion traveled through them, it was enough to cause some destruction. As Dexter put his hands on his hammer, all eyes looked at him, and a tense atmosphere was created. "Let''s calm down," Dexter said as he put the hammer on his shoulder. Watson Family SSS Rank Hunter, who had half of his leg torn, was the most vulnerable one here. He took out a powerful healing potion and drank it immediately, and poured the rest on his legs and chest that had multiple wounds. They needed to recover their strength first to counter the wild mana that was disrupting their natural healing abilities. But there was only one person whose mind wasn''t here at all. It was Farnus who looked at his left hand that was contaminated with ck energy up to his elbow. But the thing that he was regretting the most was his decision in this battle. ''It seems I have made a mistake, boy,'' Farnus thought as he tried to clench his left hand but found it difficult. All of them stood up as they took out potions and healing elixirs one by one and drank them. None of them were moving as they would leave together to ensure nothing foul would happen to one of them. Right now they were in the worst condition, and it would have been the best time to attack one of them. Dexter brought out a ring as he informed his subordinates about the victory, but he felt weird calling it a victory. It wasn''t even close to a victory. All of them were injured, and it wasn''t easy to guess how long it would take for each of them to recover. He turned his eyes to the side where the monsters were fighting with them, but there was nothing but a gigantic crater with not even a single body of an SSS Rank Monster. Even the Mana Gems they might have obtained became the source for the Core Explosion, and he could guess that the mana waves would have damaged the cities near the border for sure. And he was correct; thest manawave was even something that the SS Rank Hunters with numerous artifacts felt hard to block, and the result was nothing other than the destruction of various cities. The amount of casualties wasn''t known as they had evacuated the citizens already, but there were chances of some people remaining in the city. But more importantly, the oncevish cities of Belvoria had turned into a mess. "At least it''s over," Dexter muttered to himself. "I will leave first," Osbert said as he floated in the air. "I will leave as well," Xarax stood up, but his injuries were visible. Osbert nced at all of them. Some thoughts came to his mind, but right now, he needed to go back and make sure everything was working fine, especially his ns. But Osbert was yet to know what sort of crisis had fallen and the mess that was created when he was absent. Farnus moved near the crater, and Silvus looked at him. He didn''t know what Farnus was thinking, but Silvus looked at the sky. ''I should go see the kids,'' Silvus thought in his mind. Being so close to death reminded him of his family. ''Sigh, the bnce will break now,'' Silvus thought as he knew that the injuries sustained by some of them weren''t small at all. A wave of chaos wasing, and he knew that this incident was the mark of its beginning. "Zephyr...." Silvus muttered. The cause of it all, and the people behind it. Whose identities were unknown, but their capabilities were too shocking for even Silvus, who had lived a long life. Being at the SSS Rank, Silvus knew a lot of things that other hunters didn''t, and even with his knowledge, he knew that the enemy this time was far more dangerous. From outshining Dexter Wright, who was the first Runemaster to ever reach SSS Rank, by using strange runes that even he didn''t know about. And controlling monsters like the snakes and awakening cmities. Whoever was behind them, Silvus knew that he needed to get ready for the future. While the whole Belvoria was anxiously waiting for the news while experiencing dreadful mana waves and warnings to leave the city, the news about the victory of the SSS Rank Hunters came. "The Cmities have been defeated!!" Multiple news sources were reporting the news just after 10 minutes after the fight ended. People were eagerly waiting for the words of the SSS Rank Hunter, but no news about the SSS Rank Hunters was shared. The only thing that was ryed to the media was the defeat of the cmities. Even the people in power, including the Executives of the World Association, didn''t know what had happened on the battlefield. Soon, the World Association''s Top Executives were called by Osbert''s Personal Assistant. Osbert had juste back and he immediately went to heal himself, and Den did the same. The purpose of this meeting was for the Top Executives to receive the order of the Chairman who had just returned. "What, all three of them are injured?" One of the Top Executives shouted as he stood abruptly. If this news got outside, it would spark a few people to rise up, as the power holders of the World Association were spending their time healing themselves. "The Chairman is fine, but it will take him weeks toe back," the Assistant said as all the Executives listened silently. All of them belonged to the three different groups of the World Association, spread between the 3 SSS Rank Hunters of the World Academy. "Did he say something else? What about Vice Chairman Den Cartis, how much time will it take for him toe back?" One of the people aligned with Den spoke out. "I didn''t receive any information about this," the Assistant replied. Half an hourter at the Mansion in Soran, "So it''s over," Kai said as he looked at the news, standing behind Tom. "Yeah, and we can start the next mission whenever the ck Market does their transaction," Tom said as he turned towards Asher. "So we don''t need to go to Belvoria now?" Kai asked. Tom had told them that in case of any problems with the business contracts, they might need to visit Belvoria to ''fix'' a few things, but now it wasn''t needed. Just by essing the news channel of the Elite Family that was essible to Tom, due to the fact he was using it under Aztech''s name, he could see the damage that was done in Belvoria. Even the cost of deploying so many SS Rank Hunters, using countless mana crystals and artifacts, and the destroyed cities, all of this would soon affect the economy of not only Belvoria but all other continents as well that were hit by the cmities. Due to the rise of SSS Rank Monsters, the monster tide would stop, but it wouldn''t halt the frequent movement of monsters near the border. Although the major threats were gone, the effects that they left would mark these continents for years, and that was what they were truly after. The whole world was celebrating the defeat of the Cmities, but now questions about the man behind it all, the masked man Zephyr, were being raised. But they didn''t know that the man behind all this chaos was learning normally among the students of World Academy. "So try casting all these defensive runes, and show me your progress in the next ss," Professor Neyman said. He left the ss, leaving the confused students behind who were still looking at their paper, seeing the faults in the runes they had drawn. Asher stood up as he looked at the notification of his Rune Mastery going up. [ Rune Art''s Mastery has increased ] Chapter 299 Consequences ?299 Consequences It had been 17 hours since thest cmities were defeated, but none of the SSS Rank Hunters came out and gave any sort of assuring statement to the public. The World Association and Elite Families gave their own statements about how the situation was now under control. These announcements made the public calm down, and people were able to go back to their cities like before. But in Belvoria, the cities were destroyed as buildings fell, and it was extremely hard to handle the reactions of the citizens of Belvoria. Even the Executives and other higher-ups of the World Association wanted the SSS Rank Hunters toe out and give some words and direction on what they were nning to take in the future. If the strongest people said something to the public, it would be much easier to shift public opinion in the direction they wanted. But this was not the only problem they were facing. Apart from the destroyed cities, the economy of Belvoria was going to be affected, as the Mana Waves and the Monster hordes had affected key areas responsible for producing various resources. Just the cost to rebuild the whole city and the cost of deploying the highest-ranking hunters with various artifacts and technologies was immense. And this much was calcted excluding the casualties that had urred in the past month. This was not an SSS Rank Dungeon that they had cleared, which would have given them resources from the monsters inside it. The Cmities, which were the SSS Rank Monsters that had hidden themselves, were spared in the first ce because going out to kill them wasn''t worth it. If given enough time, those monsters would sleep eternally, and even if one awakened for some reason, they could deal with it. But this time, it was done intentionally, and the loss that all the Associations and the Elite families needed to pay was quite high. And there was a loophole in this system: the Elite Families from Somaria and Halcyon were spared from giving or spending any money to restore their continent, as it was not affected at all. But the Associations didn''t have that leverage. The High Council made such rules so that if somebody tried to overthrow an Elite Family, the cost they needed to pay would be too high. Even the High Council majorly didn''t like having changes, as it introduced new variables and alliances within the High Council. Also, the reason why the economic sector of each continent was independent of other Elite Families. This meant that although the Greville were rich, they didn''t have control over the economy of Desmar, Hargrave, etc. At the Mage Association Tower, At the highest floor, within a room that Silvus built for himself as his personal training space, he could practice his spells and rebuild them without breaking the whole ce. But even then, he needed to control his strength while doing so. There were no facilities where the SSS Rank Hunters could use their powers without worrying about destroying everything around them. This was one of the reasons Nathan kept going into the dungeons; it was the only ce where he could go all out without worrying about his surroundings. "Can you feel your hand at all?" Silvus asked Farnus. "Not really," Farnus replied as he tried to summon more of his lightning aura. But even with that, all he could feel in his left hand were very faint sensations. "It wasn''t like you to get distracted like that," Silvus said as he used mana from his fingertip. Slowly he took his finger across his shoulder to his forearm, where he had made a small cut, and he removed the ck energy that was present in his body. The other SSS Rank Hunters were also doing something simr as they needed to remove the wild mana from their bodies to increase their healing speeds. "What happened that made you like that?" Silvus asked. Both of them were old friends, and Farnus also had trust in Silvus, but this was something that he hadn''t told anyone about. "Maybe I have gotten too old," Farnus replied as he looked above and saw the clear transparent ss roof. Silvus disliked close spaces, so he made his training room in such a way that he didn''t feel too restricted by his surroundings. "The Farnus Calmort I knew would have answered it differently," Silvus said, his face remaining calm. "Well, I should return to the World Academy," Farnus said as he stood up instead of answering Silvus. "This will not get any better anyway," Farnus said, looking at his left arm. Silvus had tried to remove the ck energy inside his arm, but doing so would damage his mana meridians a lot. Farnus had no choice but to live like that until he could counter this mana with his own mana. But for Farnus, it was impossible to do so. He had hit his limit and was aware of that fact, but even knowing that, Farnus had no reaction to his hand''s current condition. Silvus nced at Farnus, who was walking towards the edge of the room near the massive ss that oversaw the entire flying Ind. ''What is he thinking that is more important than that?'' Silvus thought. He knew that the way Farnus fought was not even simr to the way he had remembered him. The calmest man among all SSS Rank Hunters, and also known as the wisest, making such mistakes as getting distracted, wasn''t something that Silvus would envision Farnus doing. He knew something was up, but ultimately he didn''t push Farnus for any answers. Both of them had their own priorities, and as long as his views didn''t sh with Farnus, Silvus didn''t mind whatever Farnus was doing. Farnus, on the other hand, looked at his hand as he tried to clench it slowly. The response was slow, as the ck energy was interfering with his nerves, and just trying to move his hand was enough to produce pain due to the mana shing with each other. "It might be good if you appear and give a speech to settle down the distress around the World," Silvus suggested. Both of them knew that other than them, all the 5 SSS Rank Hunters wouldn''t appear too soon, and their presence was needed to keep the calm around the world. Various rumors that even went as far as to say a few SSS Rank Hunters had died started appearing out of nowhere. At the World Academy, Asher was sitting in his room while a hologram was present in front of him. Right now, Tom was contacting Asher directly to discuss a few things, because now that Osbert was back, there were many things Tom needed to keep his eye on. As most of the people connected to Osbert were already destroyed, theirpanies and businesses were being absorbed by other people. "But wouldn''t the economy go back to normal, as the World Association has dered they will interfere directly, with other Associations also backing them?" Tom asked. With Asher''s ns for the future, there were chances that even with the contracts they had signed, a few of those people might try to betray them. "Don''t worry, they would have no time to focus their attention on our activities," Asher replied. But Tom''s face was filled with confusion. Now that the cmities were defeated and the search for Zephyr had increased a lot, what Asher was saying didn''t make sense to him. "What do you think will happen when you remove weights from one side of a bnced scale?" Asher asked. "One side will go up," Tom replied. "That''s why they will have no time," Asher replied. As he had seen the effect of killing those SSS Rank Monsters in the future, Asher knew what was going to happen next. "Multiple Dungeons will appear much more actively near those Continents," Asher replied. As theories of the connection between Mana and Dungeons were made, one of the most discussed things was the rtion between the density of mana present in the world and the appearance of dungeons. As the number of dungeons had increased over the course of time and became stagnant at a certain point, new dungeons were appearing frequently but at a controble rate. "Ah, are you sure?" Tom asked nervously. It was simply a prediction from Asher, and Tom didn''t know whether they could go on with such predictions. "Just do what I have told you, and report any sort of unknown variables that appear," Asher said. Tom nodded immediately as he disconnected the call. "Well, I can only follow the Boss''s orders," Tom shrugged his shoulders as he continued with his work. He knew that Asher had much more knowledge than them, and whatever he had told them had always been correct. So even this time, Tom believed what Asher told him without thinking too hard about it. Chapter 300 Change ?300 Change "Can we know about the condition of other SSS Rank Hunters?" An old reporter asked Farnus respectfully. A press conference was called by the Mage Association, with the World Association arranging everything, and it was being broadcasted around the world over a very securework. This time, nobody wanted the same incident that happened with the Kalvas G to repeat itself, so the security of the Operation Towers was also substantially increased. "They will be fine, but everyone needs rest after such long fights," Farnus replied, his presence quite heavy in the room. Due to battling to the extreme, his mana core was quite unstable, and his presence was spreading out so much that the only reporters in the room were all A Rank hunters. For safety reasons, nobody lower than A Rank was allowed to enter near the vicinity of Farnus. "Can we know about what happened during the battle?" Another one asked. "We won, and only that matters. I have done my duty, and so did the others," Farnus replied. His answer made it clear that they were not going to get any information about the damage or what happened in the battle that made the other SSS Rank Hunters present in Belvoria not appear on camera at all. Another old person stood up and asked a question that was being raised all over the inte. "What steps will be taken against Zephyr, and the organization they have formed?" The man asked. Everything about the masked man was a mystery, and people''s trust in the High Council was falling. If they could do such things, the future looked bleak, and it made people question the authorities about their intentions and what sort of progress they had made until now. "Once their identities are found, they will be purged without doubt," Farnus replied. "And even those that join them will be considered as enemies," Farnus said. None of the Executives dared to correct Farnus, as only the other 10 SSS Rank Hunters had the power and authority to question the strongest hunter in the world. "Will you stay back or go back to the World Academy?" one of the reporters asked. "Everyone has their duty to do; mine is to see over those students that are practicing each day to be the best Hunters out there," Farnus said. "And I don''t think my presence is needed anymore," Farnus continued. "But if needed, which I don''t think will happen, I wille to assist them," Farnus said. After all, with the cmity dead, Farnus had no reason to stay out of the World Academy. And it was better for him to go back to the World Academy and check the situation with his own eyes. Farnus stood up as the conference was finished, and he had given enough answers that would calm the rumors that were spreading all over the inte. Right now, Farnus was wearing a robe that covered his body, so his left side wasn''t visible at all, and he didn''t want to show it to anyone either. At the World Academy, A few professors were gathered on the top floor of the Faculty Building, waiting for Farnus to arrive. Not all the 3 Star Professors were called, but Farnus sent a message that he wanted to discuss the future ns for World Academy. When Farnus was getting treated at the Mage Tower, he knew that his actions had greatly shifted the ns he had, and he needed to do something topensate for it. "So even we don''t have any news about what''s happening out there?" Dahlia asked Elsa, who shook her head. Dahlia turned towards Xander, who shook his head as well. "You will know soon, when the Principal arrives," Xander replied. The Teleporting gate far from the room they were sitting in was lit up as a heavy pressure descended, and all of them could guess it was none other than Farnus. After a while, an old man, wearing a robe, entered the room, and everyone stood up to give their respects to him. "Sit down," Farnus gestured with his hands as he walked and took the centermost seat. Across the table were Professor Neyman, Professor Arman, Professor Elsa, Professor Dahlia, and Professor Argas as well. Xander was sitting closest to Farnus, and he could guess easily that Farnus wasn''t at his full strength right now. Being an SS Rank hunter, he knew that Farnus was exuding this much pressure without wanting to because of his recent battle. He had simr experiences himself as he had challenged multiple difficult dungeons and monsters himself in his lifetime. "I will not waste much time, as I have a single announcement to make," Farnus said as he looked at everyone. "From today, I will be busy with my training, so I have a few things that I want to happen until Ie back," Farnus said, as all of them got surprised. From the moment World Academy was made, Farnus hadn''t taken a single break, and him telling them this was surprising for them. Farnus knew that his hand would remain like this, and due to him recalling his Ancient Rune, the effect that had umted for 15 years had gone to waste. Although the people present here wanted to ask what happened that made him take a break like this, they kept their curiosity to themselves. "How much time would it take?" Xander asked. Farnus nced at Xander. "A few months at least, but this news will be only known to a select few," Farnus said. "There will be a few changes for the End Year Tournament and the Trail''s Ground we previously announced," Farnus added. "But, changing it so suddenly..." Arman spoke up. "Don''t worry, nobody would raise any questions, and I will handle any issues that arise myself," Farnus replied. With things gone so astray and with new unknown threats appearing, Farnus knew he needed to change something. He had a feeling that something wasn''t right, and he needed to change the way things were going to go in the future. Maybe it was his intuition, but he could feel that something was pushing him towards his own demise. With the cmities to the Peak SSS Rank Monster, something didn''t add up at all. "I will give you the changes I want to make, so make sure you can work on that as soon as possible," Farnus stood up. Nobody, including Xander, stood up against Farnus, because Farnus had the power to make any changes to World Academy that he wanted. Until unless he broke his Mana Oaths, no one had any issues with Farnus. "And make sure that no rumors spread across the academy," Farnus said as he started walking towards the exit. "I don''t want the chaos outside to affect this environment we built for those children," he said as he left the room. "Sigh, it really might be a serious issue with even the Principal acting like that," Arman muttered, and everyone heard him. Students were not the only ones that were interested in the news about the outside world and especially Zephyr. Even Professors like them wanted to know what was happening and how a threat like that appeared out of nowhere. Nighttime arrived, and Farnus was sitting in his office, looking at the report of everything that happened from the moment he was away from World Academy. He flipped through files, and one of them contained the information about Professor Argas registering an artifact for himself, and Farnus skipped past it. A lot of things were on Farnus''s mind, and he didn''t bother looking too deep into Argas''s files, where all the recordings were present. "So, he got unconscious," Farnus muttered as he saw the report about the incident of Kevin Whiteheart. The timing matched exactly with the time he used his Ancient Rune to its fullest. Farnus disappeared from his office as he went to the Medical Facility of World Academy. He was in front of the room where Kevin Whiteheart was being treated. Even though it had been more than a day since he fainted, he still hadn''t woken up, and Farnus went inside as he had the authority to pass through all the doors inside World Academy. Farnus went near Kevin as he looked down at him, specifically at his mana core. He could feel the disturbed mana turbulence inside his mana core, and it was obvious what the reason behind this was. "I can''t give it to you until you are ready for it now," Farnus muttered, but Kevin couldn''t hear him. Farnus ced his right hand on Kevin''s chest as he used his mana to absorb the excess lightning element inside Kevin''s Mana Core and attracted it towards its source. The Ancient Rune, something that shouldn''t have been present in Kevin, had left its marks inside his mana core and was the reason why he was unconscious right now. "Don''t worry, you will soon receive it back," Farnus said with his eyes that had be cold. Chapter 301 Woke Up ?301 Woke up He had made a mistake once, but it wouldn''t happen twice. Not once had Farnus thought that a situation would arise in a way that he would need to leave the World Academy, and even if it did, he didn''t need to go all out to fight against the monsters. Farnus turned around as his work was done; the next morning Kevin would wake up normally without feeling anything odd inside his body. There was just one thing missing, and it was the mark of the Ancient Rune that had been taken away by Farnus. But Farnus was d that the other piece of Stormscale Armor was still with Kevin, and it was thest thing that Farnus wouldn''t sacrifice no matter the cost. This was something that Asher hadn''t nned, but he knew that Farnus had made Kevin Whiteheart his sessor, and the mastery that Kevin had with his Ancient Rune didn''t look like that of a novice. People assumed that Kevin was a prodigy who could master it so quickly, but they didn''t know that Farnus had allowed Kevin to mature the Ancient Rune inside his body, making it one with the lightning element. But now that the rune was separated from Kevin''s body, the mana went rampant inside his mana core and caused him to lose consciousness. Farnus moved towards his training room that he had built far from World Academy, in another part of the flying ind. "This could be a good opportunity," Farnus muttered as he sat down and closed his eyes. If the threat of this new Zephyr grew, it could allow Farnus to increase the speed of his ns and use it wisely to gain what he wanted much more openly. Even though Farnus wanted to kill Zephyr and the people that caused this, he knew that it was a good chance to move his ns without breaking his oaths. With Farnus in seclusion, there was one more person that was d with the oue of this situation, and it was none other than Nathan Greville. With two SSS Rank Mana Gems in his hand, Nathan could finally use one of them and try to increase his strength that had remained stagnant for thest decade. "Hassan," Nathan said as Hassan appeared before him. Right now they were sitting in the Abyss Guild Headquarters on the highest floor. "I will use the SSS Rank Mana Gems, but to do so, you know what''s needed, right?" Nathan asked. "Yes, My Lord," Hassan replied. There was a reason why Greyhounds were made from only people tied to the Greville Family, and despite talented people outside the Greyhounds, they were never invited into this group. You could be part of the Abyss Guild, but being part of the Greyhounds was impossible unless you were born into the families of one of the Greyhounds. "I will wait until the twins join the Academy," Nathan said as he looked at the news he had received about the injuries of other SSS Rank Hunters. "But spread the news that Nathan Greville has gone into training," Nathan said, and Hassan understood his intentions. Hassan went outside, and Nathan opened the file that Alfred had sent him about multiple different sources that had tried to approach assassins and a few groups to attack the twins. Asher and Alyssa were in World Academy, and the best targets to bring down the Greville were none other than the twins. "I will need to clean up a few things before I can focus on my training, tsk," Nathan said with an annoyed tone, but his facial expressions were different. His room was filled with his killing intent, and a small smile crept on his face. "I wonder who will make the first move," Nathan said as he looked at the information Alfred had sent him. Right now, apart from Somaria and Halcyon, a lot of chaos was happening inside the other three continents. From Elite Families to scandals that wereing out. This made people who had allied with each other for years turn their backs on them. And this was the perfect moment for someone to take advantage of all the mess and aim their arrows against others while hiding perfectly. And this was why Nathan wanted to make sure that before he would increase his strength and push towards the peak of SSS Rank, there would be no harm to the family. He knew that him hoarding two SSS Rank Mana Gems would make other SSS Rank Hunters move against him together. At the World Academy, "Ugh," Kevin grunted as he felt a bit of pain near his chest, and he squinted his eyes due to the light around him. "Where am-," He was speaking as he felt someone hugging him. "You finally woke up!" Elena spoke as she hugged Kevin immediately. "Ah, Elena?" Kevin said, but he was confused about what was happening. Thest thing he remembered was him practicing with Elena and Eva, but he didn''t know what happened after that. "What happened?" Kevin asked as he put his hand on Elena''s shoulders. "That we- we were practicing, and I-I hit," Elena was speaking, but Eva interrupted her. "Don''t me yourself, Elena. It wasn''t your fault," Eva said, as she knew that Elena was still ming herself. "You stopped midway, and Elena''s spell hit you, and you were unconscious for more than two days," Eva exined. Kevin tried to remember, but he only remembered up to the moment he asked Elena to increase her intensity of attacks. "Excuse me, you should go outside. We need to perform checkups to make sure everything is okay," The Doctor intervened. "Let''s leave for now," Eva said, and Elena, although reluctant, left the room. Arriving outside the room, leaving Kevin with a team of doctors, Eva took out her phone and messaged Raelyn about this. Due to the recent issue outside, lots of students wanted to contact their families, and many other issues made the Student Council busy. Although Raelyn hade to the medical facility to see Kevin yesterday, she couldn''t stay beside him the whole time. As the Doctors had told them that Kevin was fine, he would wake up soon. Kevin was confused, but he didn''t even know that he had lost a very valuable thing that he didn''t even know he had. But right now, everything inside aside from the pain around his chest area looked normal. His mana core was stable, and his mana meridians were not damaged at all. Neither he nor the doctors knew why such a thing happened, as they could never guess it was due to an Ancient Rune. "We will run a few tests, so tell us if you feel ufortable at any time," The Doctor told Kevin, who was gathering his thoughts right now. "Yeah," Kevin nodded as the team of Doctors began their tests. Meanwhile, Leonard was sitting with Reece Williams, discussing their ns and the situation outside. "So did you contact your father?" Reece asked. "No, I was told he is unavable right now," Leonard replied. Reece took note of Leonard''s expressions as he moved a piece on the chessboard. "Do you think you made a good choice?" Reece asked. "Even if we wanted to, with the amount of information that was floating around, it would have been near impossible to even interfere in all that," Leonard replied. Even though Leonard knew that they had suffered major losses due to the recent incidents, it was better for them to stay away. They had no way of controlling all the information being spread over the inte. Only Osbert could have swayed the World Association in his favor; it wasn''t something Leonard could do. But s, Osbert and the other SSS Rank Hunters hade backte, and even now, none of them were making any sort of public appearances. "We can take it slow for now," Leonard said as he moved the rook. Reece didn''t reply, but a smile appeared on his face. Leonard''s words meant that all those people were disposable, and they could find others to rece them, but it wasn''t as easy as they had thought it would be. The people were chosen carefully by Osbert, who made sure that he could control them whenever he wanted. And those individuals that Leonard wanted to involve in their ns in the future were already under Aztech''s influence. However, all the deals happened privately, so nobody knew about them at all. "Apart from that, you were saying that you had a n in mind. What about that?" Leonard asked. "Don''t worry, I will not hinder your Blood Faction," Reece replied, moving his knight. Leonard looked at Reece for a second and then proceeded to y the game with him. Both of them were business partners outside the World Academy, and they had their own goals to achieve within the World Academy. Reece''s goal was to achieve the top spot upon graduation from the World Academy, whereas Leonard had ns of his own. ''So, when should I approach him?'' Reece questioned himself. After all he still wanted to attempt the n that he hadn''t been able to at the Kalvas G. Chapter 302 Turned ?302 Turned It had been two days since Farnus had returned to the World Academy. The tense and gloomy atmosphere in the World Academy was lifted when the news that all the cmities had been defeated came. With the return of the SSS Rank Hunters, the World Association started to move the media in their favor. They couldn''t stop the public outburst, but they handled it well enough to make sure everything remained under control. Even then, there were cases of some people who came out and started causing an uproar, iming they wanted to join Zephyr. Most of these people were those who just disliked the Elite Families and other powerful people hoarding everything in the World. A simple speech was enough to make them move, but these people were being caught quickly as the World Association handed out notices about Zephyr. Zephyr was put on the highest level of Criminal Status, with people who provided information about them being heavily rewarded. In a month, an unknown name had be the most wanted Criminal Organization in the World. Such extreme measures helped the people calm down, as they believed that if the members of the High Council were going this far, those people would soon be punished and stopped. But that was only the case for those who weren''t knowledgeable enough about monsters and the academic aspect. Anonymous articles exining the potential threat of a person who could control monsters were being spread all over the inte. Because of Rifir''s appearance in the Masked Man broadcast, many assumed that Zephyr had the ability to influence or even control monsters. "Look at this one," Damian said as he showed the articles to Amelia. "Potential threat? What''s next for the World?" Amelia read the headline of the article. "What''s this about?" she asked. "It''s all about Zephyr and how he might be the strongest person in the World," Damian replied. Amelia looked at Damian''s face for a while. "Ohe on, I know they are not true, but the way they word it, it''s so intriguing to read," Damian said. "Why don''t you put that much focus into reading what they taught in the sses," Amelia said as Damian looked at her immediately. "Oh, from ss! I remember Professor Terrence said that there might be changes to the End year exam," Damian said to Amelia who had juste from her Mage Theory ss. Right now, both of them were going towards the Great Library, as Damian wanted to get Amelia''s help for some books. "Do you know what they are changing?" Amelia asked. Damian shook his head, as there was no real confirmation about this news either. Apart from Xander and a few other people in the Faculty Council, nobody knew about the new changes that Farnus himself had applied and changed. Farnus had the power to make any rules or changes in the World Academy as he wanted, because most of his Mana Oaths prevented him from doing anything that the Elite Families didn''t want. Because of that, they had no qualms about giving Farnus full authority over the World Academy. "What sorts of books are you looking for?" Amelia asked as she pulled out the list of Books that she wanted from her ID Bracelet. Damian thought for a while, and the books he needed were all about strengthening his aura and defensive Shield techniques. He shared his list with Amelia, who saw the topics. They had arrived at the Great Library, and Damian was talking with Amelia when somebody collided into him. Damian immediately looked ahead, and he saw a student on the floor with books on the ground. "Oh, I am sorry," the student said as he started picking up his book. Damian crouched to help him get his books, and that was when he noticed that the cuffs on his hands were different. ''A third-year student?'' The student that crashed into Damian was a third-year student, but from his looks, he didn''t look like other powerful third-year students. He quickly stood up and left, leaving both Damian and Amelia confused, but they ignored it and went inside the Great Library. At the Faculty Building, "He is going for another Rank up this early?" Elsa looked at the request she got from Asher. Each time a student would try to increase his rank, they would take a break and use the mana gem. Due to the time that would be spent doing that, it was mandatory for the students to inform their Proctors about it. But what was surprising for Elsa was that Asher was trying to hit C- Rank while he had only hit D+ Rank recently. Just like others, Elsa also didn''t know that Asher was already a C Rank Hunter, and this break was nothing but a way in which he could enter the Great Forest a bit more. The only thing that was stopping him from entering deeper into the Great Forest was nothing but the Rank restrictions that Xander ced on him. Elsa was surprised, but she epted the request, and it was put through the system with her approval. And with that, she also epted the request for the Mana Gem that Asher submitted. An average student could never request a Mana Gem like this, and most of them could only ess a C Rank Mana Gem until they reached the C Rank themselves. But there was a choice to ess higher rank mana gems, given that you had the GP needed to purchase it. It was still cheaper than purchasing the Mana Gem yourself, as World Academy decreased the cost of resources drastically for normal students. But even then, only those who could earn the GP needed for them could purchase those resources. At the Ranker''s Dorm, Asher arrived at his floor as he saw the Mana Gem box in the mailpartment. It was a B Rank Mana Gem, but Asher hadn''t asked for that mana gem for himself. Right now, Asher was a C Rank Hunter, and to reach C+ Rank, he needed to train a bit longer before he could try to achieve B Rank. A ck energy appeared around Asher''s arm as Rifir appeared and looked at the Mana Gem. Rifir had reached Level 13 from all the monsters that he had devoured, and his progress had stalled because Rifir didn''t get anything from absorbing C Rank Monsters anymore. "Can I eat it?" Rifir asked. "Go ahead," Asher said as he took the box inside the training facility and put it on the ground. Rifir''s eyes shined as a B Rank Mana Gem was much more delicious for him than a Peak B Rank Monster. Disappearing from his ce, Rifir wrapped around the mana gem and lifted it with his ck energy, and the mana started seeping inside the ck energy into Rifir''s body. Asher arrived in the middle of the Meditation Room where he rxed his body. For thest month, Asher had spent it perfecting his Sword Techniques and movement art, and minimizing the loss of mana due to excess movements. "Status," Asher called out as he wanted to see his mastery stats. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 33 (EXP 2000/33,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank C ---------------------------------------------- [-Skills-]: Time Dtion (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Cirction (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank C), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mana Conceal, Shadow Control Rank C, Shadow Bind Rank C [-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike, Aura Shield [-Beast-] : Rifir [Level 13] [-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-67%, Magic [Intermediate]-82%, Rune Art [Novice]-90% ---------------------------------------------- His Node Art had increased from 27% to a total of 67%, and his Magic Mastery had also risen from 29% to 82%. In a month, Asher had mastered the magic taught in ss, as well as what he read in the Great Library, practicing it all the while inside the Great Forest. Rune Art''s mastery was also close to reaching the intermediate level. Asher looked over in Rifir''s direction. Rifir was still absorbing the Mana Gem, and since there was no notification from the system, Asher knew that it would take a while before Rifir couldpletely absorb the mana gem. Asher sat down, cing his sword to his left, and closed his eyes. With his Node Art being close to 67% and his Magic Mastery having increased significantly, Asher wanted to finally try and push his sword art further. Right now, he knew he was powerful, but he also understood that this level of strength was not enough. Chapter 303 Limits ?303 Limits Sitting down and closing his eyes, Asher felt the mana around him. C Rank was considered the rank where hunters could start enhancing their mana senses, but Asher had achieved this way before he reached C Rank, due to his Rank A Mana Flow Skill. Mana swirled around his body as Asher dived into his subconscious mind. This process was extremely hard for someone like Asher, who had to deal with his madness all the time. But his urges were suppressed because he had been hunting many monsters recently. Appearing in the same realm, with a blood-red sky and a single bridge with scriptures hidden behind the fog, Asher looked around. He could see that the scriptures that were visible had be easier to read. Maybe it was because of the increase in his mastery, but he could see that it didn''t strain him to read them anymore. Previously, evenprehending them took a lot of mental strain on Asher''s mind, and it was done under an artifact that enhanced his intelligence stat a lot. The bridge started shaking as the scriptures began moving, and the fog in front started to settle. Asher''s eyes drifted towards the scriptures being revealed, but they were notpletely unveiled. Asher started moving towards them, as the red stone that the bridge was made of trembled every time he took a step. Above him was the red sky, and below was what seemed like endless darkness. Right now, Asher''s face had gonepletely indifferent, with nothing but coldness in his gaze. With each step Asher took, the bridge trembled and fog settled down, and he was approaching the sixth scripture, which he couldn''t see thest time. But suddenly the bridge started disappearing, and the path was nothing more than a few stones hovering in the air, and on the sidey the Sixth Scripture. Asher looked below, and there was nothing but darkness, and the only way to go to the other side was to use those stones as tforms. Asher tried to use ck Element to form a tform below to use Mir Steps, but there was no response. "So, I can''t use it here," Asher thought as he looked at the path in front. The Sixth Scripture was not meant to be reached unless someone improved in Mir Steps and mastered it to move without slowing down at all. "Mir Steps," Asher said as he disappeared from his spot and appeared with his left on the first stone. But the moment he stepped on it, the stone started turning into dust. Without wasting even a moment, Asher kept stepping to the next stones that were ced in awkward angles. Mir Step was essentially a movement art that allowed the user to move in each direction, and mastered perfectly, Asher could maneuver even moreplex patterns than the current one he was doing. Asher kept going forward, but suddenly the pressure on his body was bing heavier as he kept getting closer to the Sixth Scripture. Each stone he stepped on disappeared, and Asher had no way of going back now. The only way was to go forward or fall into the darkness below him. He was moving at full speed with his eyes drifting and forming a path that he needed to follow. The distance was narrowing down as Asher stepped on the next stone, and only ten of them were in front of him now. But some of them were ced so high that Asher needed tond on them upside down, propelling himself towards the one a bit below the one he stepped on just now. Due to the fog, the visibility of the stone was limited, but with thest ten stones within his vision, Asher instantly formed a path in his mind. Instantly, he stepped on one after the other, reaching the other end of the bridge, and he felt the pressure had gotten ten times heavier than when he was on the stones. It was so much that he needed to use his aura to even move under that pressure. He lifted his head and looked at the scripture that contained somethingplex. It looked like a sword technique, but all he couldprehend was about movement. He read it again, and it changed, as it seemed like a movement technique, but when he tried toprehend it, it turned out to be a sword technique. Asher kept reading, but no system information came about himprehending the Node Art or any sort of increase in his mastery. Something was wrong, and Asher looked around, and he could see that there was fog all around except on the path he took and the way the Sixth Scripture was ced. Asher tried to move towards the side, but he could only take each step slowly. He was using his full strength, but it was even difficult to move, and the mental drain was starting to appear. But his suspicions were correct as the fog lifted gradually, and smaller scriptures floating in the air became visible. [ Host has found a shard of a Sword technique ] [ Comprehension not possible until more shards are obtained ] Despite beingpletely visible, the small scripture didn''t make any sense when Asher tried to focus on it. Asher turned his head, and as he moved a bit to his right, he slowly reached the other corner, as the fog liftedpletely revealing another small scripture. [ Host has found a shard of a Movement Technique ] [ Comprehension not possible until more shards are obtained ] With a simr message, Asher looked at both the small scriptures, but it didn''t look like they were going to be helpful for now. "Two different ones," Asher thought in his head as he started walking towards the opposite side. If his guess was true, then there needed to be more small scriptures around this area. But due to the heavy pressure on Asher''s body, it wasn''t easy to reach the other end. A distance that he could cover in a second seemed like it was taking forever. The time Asher could spend in this space wasn''t much, but unlikest time, Asher wasn''t looking past the Sixth Scripture. He only attempted doing that thest time because of the Fallen''s Crown artifact that boosted hisprehension rate and intelligence. And without it, Asher was sure that anything beyond the Sixth Scripture wasn''t something he could touch right now. Step Step With each step taken slowly, Asher reached near the other side of the Bridge, and the fog that was disappearing revealed another small scripture. [ Host has found a shard of a Defensive Technique ] [ Comprehension not possible until more shards are obtained ] And seeing this notification, Asher knew that all this was rted to the fifth scripture. "But what''s thest one?" Asher thought. Mir Steps, Swift Strike, and Aura Shield, all of these techniques fitted the description for the shards he had obtained till now. But the moment Asher took another step, the pressure increased slightly but not a lot to make Asher stop. But it increased again with the next step he took. Asher looked above as he could see a faint outline of another scripture, but to approach it got more difficult with each step Asher took. His body started feeling the pressure, and his aura was fighting against the pressure, but it got more difficult the more he moved. The distance was closing, but Asher could start to feel the mental drain that was tiring him. It wasn''t his physical body holding this pressure. But the more he moved, Asher understood why moving towards this scripture was difficult. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] So, it''s something I haven''t learned yet,'' Asher thought. The previous three techniques were things that Asher had spent a lot of time practicing, and he had increased his mastery in that way. The fog became clearer as Asher reached the scripture that looked different from the ones he had read. It was cracked and barely readable as Asher looked at it, and his eyes got stuck on the scripture. [ Host has found the Last Shard ] [ Must beprehended first to unlock the Sixth Scripture ] The system notified him, but Asher didn''t see these notifications, as his brain was already processing the information that he saw on the small scripture. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] Multiple notifications popped up, but Asher wasn''t interested in them; his eyes were focused on the scripture that barely made any sense, with cracks hindering anyone from understanding it. While Asher was doing this, Rifir, who was absorbing the mana gem, got alerted as his Blood Red Iris looked at Asher. It was his instinct as a beast that made him feel a sense of danger from Asher. The original form of Rifir wouldn''t have even felt something, but the current Rifir wasn''t strong enough, and its senses alerted it for a moment. But it closed its eyes, as the feeling went away, and continued absorbing the mana gem. It was a very strange thing that Rifir felt such a thing from Asher. Chapter 304 New Mastery ?304 New Mastery The notifications popped up as Asher was trying to understand the small scripture. The first thing Asherprehended was a strange technique that halted his movement art. The second thing was the technique to counter his swift strike, and the third was the counter to the Fifth Scripture that taught Asher about the Aura Shield. [ Understanding of the Shard is increasing ] In this scripture, the ways to counter all the things that Asher had learned were described. But even then, Asher couldn''t understand what the scripture was trying to portray. As he processed all that information, the fog became clearer, and the pressure on him started reducing. These counters originated from the very fundamentals of the Sword Art itself. This scripture was filling the gaps made by the previous scriptures, while revealing the weakness of the sword art itself. "It shouldn''t be this," Asher muttered. There was something that didn''t make sense to him, and he knew that the scripture wasn''t as simple as it seemed. His brain processed every single counter in his head, and he could feel that his fundamentals were bing even stronger. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] "Something else..." Asher said to himself. There was something else to the scripture than what he hadprehended thus far. And suddenly, it clicked as everything started to make sense. What hadn''t made sense a moment ago was now visible to him. [ Understanding of the Shard is increasing ] [ Understanding of the Shard is increasing ] [ Understanding of the Shard is increasing ] [ Host has found the origin of the shard ] "Negation," Asher muttered as he understood the meaning of this scripture. [ Sub Skill Rank S Negation (Passive) has been learned ] The essence behind this unknown shard and the counter it was presenting wasn''t its true intention, but a method to teach another skill or technique called Negation. Suddenly all the small scriptures started moving towards the big Sixth Scripture and began mixing into it. Blood started dripping from Asher''s nose as he felt a massive burden on his body when the Sixth Scripture revealed itself. But Asher didn''t look at the whole scripture right then. He looked at the first part, which was about Negation, particrly the essence of Negation. The skill that could find the weakness of an attack and could negate it if Asher could understand the essence behind it. It was aprehension-based skill that allowed Asher to negate the attack if he could understand the foundation behind it. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] [ Node Art has increased to Intermediate Mastery ] His eyes started glowing as he could feel that his sense of seeing nodes, the waypoints, had increased drastically. He had reached the next mastery after novice, and he could feel that his understanding of the Sword Art had grown, but the massive change was the way he could see the nodes that were the essence of this sword art. But this was where it ended. Asher opened his eyes, touched his face, and saw that his eyes were bleeding. He hadn''t even seen the Sixth Scripture entirely, having only seen the first part of it, and he couldn''t remain there. A massive headache struck Asher, who remained calm, but his head hurt a lot. Asher''s pain tolerance was inhumane to the point that if his current pain was inflicted on anyone else, they would have rather died than suffer through it. Physical pain wasn''tparable to the pain that mana doping did to his body and his mana core. The feeling of his meridians being torn apart, and his mana enhancing his senses to the point that even breathing hurt him tremendously. If Asher hadn''t had extreme control over mana in his previous life, he wouldn''t have been able to endure that sort of pain. Asher frowned as he felt the pain increase, but it started subsiding as he channeled his mana to calm his body down. The mental strain wasn''t something that could be calmed down, and he could only wait for it to settle. Asher nced over to the side, and his indifferent eyes looked at Rifir, who was still in the process of absorbing the mana gem. Standing up, he went to the bathroom, took a shower, and removed the blood stains on his body. As the cold water fell on his head, Asher closed his eyes as he imagined an opponent from his previous life''s memory in his mind. He wanted to know if his perception of nodes had gotten better or not, and he could see that there were more nodes visible around the imaginary opponent he saw with his eyes closed. "What is that skill?" Asher asked the system. He knew the fundamentals behind Negation and even how to use it, but he wanted to see the System''s exnation for this skill. [ Negation is a Rank S Sub Skill of Node Art ] Rank S - Negation Limitations: Comprehension Ability: Negate the attack you haveprehended fully A skill that was only limited by the ability of its user, and it wasn''t something that could be used freely. Every attack had its own structure, withplex magic and sword art, which would be almost impossible to replicate unless you could see through it. This was a skill that was more than a simple counter; even when countering, you would feel the impact, but Negation nullified the force behind it. The only issue was, Asher couldprehend the sword technique of someone below S Rank, but above it, just a simple nce wasn''t enough. And there were techniques that even Asher didn''t know how they worked. "So I can''t see that," Asher muttered as he opened his eyes. There were many things that took people years to understand and even more time to master. Even now, Asher didn''t know the workings behind the Ancient Rune that Farnus possessed or what waster seen with Kevin Whiteheart in the future. There were even some Tier 5 spells whose origin and working were extremelyplex, but even when Asher didn''t understand the structure of those spells, it wasn''t an issue for him. Ruler of Mana, the ability that Asher possessed with his original bloodline ability, allowed him topete against multiple Mages at once. Asher went inside the Training Room and took his sword with him as he began to practice his sword art once again. Seeing the ws in his own techniques gave him the idea of how to improve them and merge the learning of the four Small Scriptures before he once again tried to learn the Sixth Scripture. The day passed, and Asher was still inside his room, swinging his sword and moving across the room without stopping. His movement had be more refined, and he even gained a 5% increase in intermediate mastery, but that was where it stopped increasing. It didn''t budge despite Asher bing faster and sharper in his strikes. "Swift sh," Asher said, but the sword didn''t move. Instead, an arc of his aura was struck due to Asherbining the effect of Phantom Strike with Swift sh. And while doing so, Asher kept gaining extra momentum with his movement technique, which increased the strength behind his strikes. The second day went like this, and so did the next four days. Asher didn''t stop, as he felt the restrictions on his swordsmanship were lifting, and he could learn even more. While doing this, he tried to use the Negation Skill, but there wasn''t anything to attack him. Asking Rifir, who was still absorbing the Mana Gem, was useless as it wouldn''t help at all. The requirement to use Negation was understanding the attack itself, and that was the reason Negation wouldn''t work on Rifir''s attack. Because Asher had fought with Rifir, and he could see that the ck energy that Rifir used wasn''t the ck Element but something else. Asher questioned Rifir, but it couldn''t answer and simply tilted its head. Even the System didn''t have the answers, as questions about Rifir were at the highest level restrictions. [ Rifir''s level has increased to 15 ] [ Rifir has unlocked a new skill ] Asher stopped midway through his strike, as he looked at a snake-like figure materialize from ck fumes and appear before him. Rifir had gotten bigger than before, and its fangs had be sharper, but it regained its original size in a moment. [ Two new abilities are unlocked for Rifir ] Asher looked at the new abilities that allowed Rifir to change its size and removed the distance restriction that allowed Rifir to move away from Asher and return whenever Asher wanted. This new ability made Asher think about a certain possibility. "Can it carry an Artifact?" Asher asked. [ The energy around Rifir might cause the artifact to break ] [ When away from the host, the restrictions of the mark on your hand are decreased, and it can''t control the effects of the energy around its body ] Asher was thinking of having the artifact as early as possible, but it seemed like it wasn''t possible. "Sleepy..." Rifir said as it went inside the tattoo on Asher''s arm. Ping! A notification arrived on Asher''s phone. Upon hearing it, he went outside and looked at the message that was sent by Tom. Asher sent Tom a message while he searched for news about the World Association cing economic restrictions on the Three Continents. "It seems he noticed it," Asher muttered. Osbert had returned, and it had been over a week. It wasn''t strange for him to notice the mess that was created in his absence. Chapter 305 Movement ?305 Movement In the Medical Facility of the World Association, a team of 100+ doctors and mages was working on controlling the mana of the three SSS Rank Hunters and treating them. Apart from Osbert, Den and the other Vice Chairman of the World Association were badly hurt and needed rest. Many healing artifacts were being used to heal all of them, and the situation was somehow under control. Osbert opened his eyes and removed the mask from his face, then walked out. "What''s the damage?" Osbert asked as he sat on a bench with various devices connected to his body. "21% of his Mana Meridians have been damaged. Recovery will take 3 months, and you cannot overuse mana, as there is a chance of permanent damage that could cause mana poisoning," a person wearing ab coat replied. He was talking through a hologram, as being near Osbert wasn''t possible at the moment. The mana fluctuations inside the room were too high, and they could harm any weak Hunter who got too close to Osbert. This was the reason SSS Rank Hunters avoided injuries whenever possible, as only SSS Rank Elixirs worked on them, and they were extremely rare. "Close the test and delete the data," Osbert replied. "As you wish, Chairman," the man replied. The hologram changed as Osbert''s personal assistant became visible. Osbert''s deep blue eyes looked at him, and his face turned cold, making the man extremely nervous. "Exin," Osbert spoke. "After all the SSS Rank Hunters were deployed, suddenly..." the assistant began exining what had happened until now. Osbert listened as the assistant exined the news sources covering all this and the chaos in the economic sector, along with how certain people took the chance to take over those who had fallen. Everything was a mess, and he exined that he had no authority to step in and fix the situation. The usations were too severe, causing the already anxious public to direct their anger towards them. The assistant couldn''t do anything, as those people were indeed connected to Osbert, but this wasn''t known to anybody. "Track down the source of this news," Osbert ordered. "And call the Executive meeting," Osbert said. The assistant bowed and closed the hologram, leaving Osbert alone. He was more scared of Osbert''s reaction, but he fortunately avoided the worst-case scenario. The heat in the room increased as Osbert''s killing intent started leaking out, his eyes turning cold. After all, everything that had been leaked was the information he had collected to control those people and discard them when needed. Osbert stood up, and as the devices around his body started to melt down, his skin remained unburned. Though there were still wounds on his body, it would take months for them topletely heal. The meeting started 20 minutester, as all the Executives were summoned and couldn''t disobey the Chairman of the World Association himself. Each of them sat down obediently. It was rare for these people, who had a lot of pride, to sit silently waiting for a single person to arrive. Then, the door opened and Osbert entered, with his Personal Assistant following him. The tension in the hearts of the executives grew as they saw Osbert sit in his chair and silently observe them. "This meeting is called to enact a new rule that will ce restrictions on the Economic Sector of these three continents," the Assistant said as the map of Belvoria, Fashia, and Desmar was disyed. All the executives became confused. While the economy was extremely unstable due to the destruction caused by the Cmities'' awakening, Fashia and Desmar weren''t affected as badly as Belvoria. "But, there might be opposition from some people," one of them raised a question. Osbert looked in the direction of the man, who was a bit intimidated but managed to keep hisposure. There were three factions in the World Association, and not all of them followed Osbert. Usually, the meetings that were called weren''t like this. But the absence of the other two Vice Chairmen of the World Association changed the situation. There was no equal to Osbert Tarvian here, and this meant that Osbert''s words had the final say despite opposition. The meeting continued, and the restrictions on the economic sector were ced in the name of restoring the damage. The World Association also dered that they would be working on restoring the cities of Belvoria, and they announced both these things together to shift public attention in their favor. These restrictions were made to slow down the takeovers that were happening. Sitting in his office, Osbert opened his private database and looked at the progress of the secret projects that were ongoing. "Contact the Head of the Neville Family, and tell him what I told you," Osbert said as the Assistant nodded and left the room. In the World Academy, Asher and the rest of his team, who had won the Mid- Term Examination by cing Rank 1 among all the teams, received a message from Xander, who was in charge of the World Academy for the time being. Currently, his authority was cut in half, as Farnus left strict instructions that needed to be followed. Due to the situation right now, their rewards were dyed, and they couldn''t visit the Artisan''s Association and the Mage Association until the process wasplete. "His growth might be a problem," Xander looked at the message he received from Elsa about Asher Greville already reaching Rank C-. Xander now had no choice but to decrease the restrictions that Asher had in the Great Forest. He was more worried about the disrupted bnce in the World Academy. A First Year almost catching up with the Rank 1 of Second Year wasn''t something that had happened in the history of the World Academy. And Xander knew from experience what would happen when a very talented individual appeared. "At least he doesn''t have Ivar''s personality," Xander muttered as he remembered the old days. He was rather d that Asher didn''t have Ivar''s caring personality. Putting this aside, Xander looked at the report he had received from his own sources. It was about Erwin''s body, found where thest traces of Zephyr were present. This made Xander doubt certain things, but he wasn''t sure whom to point the finger at. At first, he had his assumptions about who might be behind Erwin, but the entry of Zephyr made him confused. But he wasn''t the only one thrown off by Erwin''s involvement with Zephyr. Currently, the Head of the Neville Family was in his office, looking at the reports about Zephyr. "Is he lying to me?" he muttered, a frown appearing on his face. He knew that Erwin was a pawn nted by Osbert to assist his son with certain things. However, seeing the reports, the seed of distrust that had appeared in his mind began to grow. There was no way that Erwin could disobey Osbert, and he was sure about it. It was impossible for Erwin to disobey Osbert''s orders. It didn''t make sense for an S Rank Hunter to appear in the operation tower. But now something clicked in his mind. "It isn''t easy to ess that tower without having the information about it," he muttered. It made sense if Erwin was the one who showed them the way, and there were traces of battle on his body, with evidence of a fight happening inside that room. There were many loopholes in this story, but his mind was clouded by something¡ªsomething that even he didn''t know was influencing him. In a normal situation, he wouldn''t have started doubting Osbert for it, but right now it was exactly what he was doing. And it was then that he received a message from his Butler, indicating that a certain person from the World Association wanted to deliver a message directly to him. "Let''s see if you''re ying the same game you yed more than a decade ago," the smile on his face grew even bigger. At the same time, an announcement was made by the news sources of Belvoria, Fashia, and Desmar that Aztech was donating 10 Billion AUR towards the reconstruction of the cities and the welfare of the affected people. And it was after this announcement that people began to uncover the identity of the person behind Aztech. None of the Elite Families hade out openly to support themon people. However, seeing the young heir of the Greville Family taking this step led to a sudden shift in public opinion. s, they didn''t know that they were receiving help from the very same people who were responsible for the destruction and chaos happening all over the world. Chapter 306 Cunning ?306 Cunning "Aztech, apany from Somaria, has decided to donate 10 Billion AUR towards the citizens that were affected from the three continents," a news anchor covered the news. Behind the cameras that were recording, a man wearing a suit and luxurious watches was overseeing everything. Behind him were the people that were in charge of the studio, standing upright, waiting for the response of this man. "Don''t release too much information, and highlight that not many people have stepped up till now," the man said, He was the owner of the News and Broadcasting Company that was the top contender in Fashia, Desmar, and Belvoria. Tyler Preston, the owner of this verypany that was considered one of the best broadcastingpanies, but his real business was hidden from public sight. Information Trading in the ck Market and other shady business that was maintained under the guise of this verypany. His face right now wasn''t one that particrly showed that he was happy. After all, he knew that he had be a puppet after signing the deal. But there wasn''t anything he could do, after all, the information that Tom told him he possessed was about him manipting evidence and falsely framing people. Illegal Trades, and betraying a few of his partners and even trying to gather evidence against a few people of Elite Families in order to gain favor in the future and the list goes on. "Is this fine?" Tyler asked as he looked to his side. The atmosphere in that room was tense. "Good enough," Dane replied as he stood there, making sure that Tyler Preston moved as they wanted. Asher had told them to make sure that those people knew that even if they were in other continents, the consequences that woulde with betraying him. "Keep the work like this and all of us will be happy," Dane said as he looked around at the bodyguards of Tyler Preston. A few of them were S Rank Hunters but most of them were A Rank Hunters. Tyler stood up as he looked down at Dane calmly. He had been in this business for years, and he wasn''t someone that would back down with a simple warning, and if someone other than the strongest elite families had threatened him, he wouldn''t have behaved like this. Tyler made sure that he remained out of the radar of the Elite Families, because he understood the dangers of getting close to the people that ran the World. Even the information that he had gathered against Elite Families, was something he wanted to use when the situation was in his favor and absolutely needed to. Tyler left as his bodyguards made sure the distance between Tyler and Dane was maintained. Sitting in his car, Tyler took the watch on his hand as his Secretary was sitting in the front seat. "Gather some information about the Heir of the Greville Family," Tyler said. "Umm but it might be difficult," the secretary replied. "I know, we are not in any rush, just keep digging until you find something," Tyler said as he looked at his phone. ''As if I would let anyone control me,'' a smirk appeared on Tyler''s face. He was only obeying the contract until he had enough power to break free and somehow gain the upper hand against Aztech. "You really want to die?" The Driver said and Tyler and the Secretary''s eyes went wide. "What the hell are you-" the Secretary was shouting but stopped as a dagger came near her neck as the driver stopped the car. Tyler looked in the mirror, and the face of the Driver changed and it was Kai who was sitting there. A hologram appeared as Kai ced a device near the gap of the two front seats, and Tyler''s face changed as he saw Asher Greville on the other side. "This is yourst warning, Tyler Preston," Asher said. "Next time, you wouldn''t be alive to correct your mistakes," Asher''s crimson red eyes stared at Tyler. The hologram closed before Tyler could reply and Kai opened the car door and he left the dagger inside the car. "Forget what I said a moment ago," Tyler said as heposed himself. "Yes," the Secretary nodded but her hands were trembling. Both of them felt at that moment that Kai would have killed them in a second. "Did you finish?" Dane asked as he waited near an alley. "Yeah, that guy understood much more easily than the previous ones," Kai replied, There were a few bloodstains near Kai''s sleeves as they hade after ''correcting'' a few people that assumed that now the situation would return to normal. "Let''s go back," Kai said as Dane took out the ne. Tom, who was sitting in his room, found Kai and Dane appearing through the door, as they tossed a data drive on Tom''s desk. "We got the thing you wanted," Dane said as he took one of the chairs present there. "Good job, now I can rest as well," Tom said as he started typing rapidly. It was the next day, and Asher was in his room looking at the reaction of the public to the news that was broadcasted earlier. There were articles praising thepany for doing such a thing, but a few people started finding out the identity of the person behind it. And that was where Asher''s name came in, and many started praising him. Asher''s motive here was not about improving his public image. He didn''t care how people perceived him in the first ce. It was to create a chain reaction. When people were given help from a distant person, they expected better from those closer to them. And when people of Fashia, Desmar, and especially Belvoria knew about it, their expectations from the Elite Families of their continent increased. But the issue arrived as the economic restrictions that were ced by the World Association didn''t allow massive fund transfers unless they were regted by the World Association first. Osbert made that rule to stop the takeovers that were happening, and to give himself enough time to fix the situation. And this restriction started bing the excuse for certain people to improve their public image. With the restriction, those funds couldn''t go past the World Association, until their clear purpose was stated. Right now, the World Association was under a lot of attacks from the citizens of these three continents, especially Belvoria, who wanted those funds but couldn''t get them. The timing with the decision and Aztech''s donation was bad and it made the World Association lose favor with the citizens. And it was the one thing that supported the World Association. Unlike Elite Families, the restrictions on the World Association were bigger, as they were supposed to be an association that maintained thew and made sure normal people''s lives were secured. And this restriction started bing the excuse for certain people to improve their public image. With the restriction, those funds couldn''t go past the World Association, until their clear purpose was stated. Right now, the World Association was under a lot of attacks from the citizens of these three continents, especially Belvoria, who wanted those funds but couldn''t get them. "We need to lift these restrictions or at least make some changes," One of the Executives said, but all of them were silent. They wanted to change it but they couldn''t oppose Osbert without the other Vice Chairman showing up. Right now, Osbert was observing the reports as he looked into Aztech first, and he found out that it was under Asher Greville. And they had arranged these funds a week ago, before he made such a restriction. This made Osbert assume that it was just bad timing, but the fact that Greville once again became an obstacle in his path irritated him a lot. "Release the restrictions on relief funds, handle it so that this matter calms down," Osbert told his assistant. The assistant left the room, leaving Osbert alone. "Greville," Osbert muttered the name. ''Soon,'' Osbert thought in his head as he closed his eyes and started regting his mana. The chaotic mana was still present in his body, and it needed time to bepletely nullified. What Osbert wanted was not achieved, but he had at least gained certain control over the economy of Belvoria and Fashia. But the damage was done, and the pawns he had arranged for the future were nowpletely useless. Even Osbert knew that it was now better to discard them and try to meddle in this mess. Right now, he had bigger problems than this stuff already. And it was Zephyr. Chapter 307 Decision ?307 Decision The biggest problem to Osbert''s ns right now was Zephyr. An unknown factor that appeared out of nowhere and managed to injure so many SSS Rank Hunters with his n. It was not a small issue for the High Council at all. The amount of power and control the World Association had ensured that if such a person with capabilities appeared, they would take care of that person and bring them under the World Association. That was how normal students were sent to the World Academy. Even before the World Academy, there was a program called Hunter Training, which was mandatory for all people that managed to create a mana core before 15. This surveince program was initially created to avoid talented individuals slipping off the World Association''s radar, thereby bing a problemter. But right now, a person with the ability to outsmart Dexter Wright''s rune and control monsters appeared. Many people were sure that this individual had backup, possibly someone within the High Council or of simrly high status supporting them. However, there were no leads to trace Zephyr, as all investigators couldn''t find a single clue that could help them trace Zephyr''s tracks. That''s why Osbert was contemting whether to address the situation with his pawns that were taken from him or to deal with Zephyr, whom he had no clue about. Then, there was another problem: Nathaniel Greville. ''It should have been mine,'' Osbert thought, his murderous intent beginning to emerge. The preparations were perfect, and Osbert was confident he would win the Auction at Kalvas G, as the funds the World Association had were greater than what a single family could amass. The World Association was just as old as the Greville Family, but it had always been operated by three powerful hunters, who were trained within the World Association and rose slowly through its ranks. The World Association had its own resources reserved for their Chairman and Vice Chairman. With Den''s support, who wanted the Mana Gem for himself, Osbert had the majority of votes to use those funds. Recalling the moment when he had to forfeit the Mana Gem, Osbert''s anger surged but quickly subsided. Soon after, Osbert collected himself, sensing that something was amiss with the events around him and in the world. It wasn''t just Osbert''s strength that aided him in taking the Chairman''s position in the World Association. Osbert Tarvian was a shrewd individual, and his instincts told him that something was off. He couldn''t pinpoint the problem, however. Everything had gone ording to his ns for decades, but now, during the final and most critical phase, everything was falling apart. Osbert retrieved his privatemunication device and essed the contacts, where only a few names were listed. One of them was Wagxon. At the World Academy, There was another wave of shock, as the fact that Asher Greville had reached C- Rank was spreading around the World Academy. It was shocking for a First Year to achieve such a feat, and it also troubled some people. And one of them was Jayden Hargrave who, including the other Fourth Years Student were present in the World Academy. Due to the gravity of the situation that was happening outside, for the security of the students, all the Fourth Year students were summoned back to the World Academy. Some of them were still inside dungeonspleting their assignments and missions but as soon as they were finished they were sent back to the World Academy. "What a monster," A fourth year said within his group. He was a B Rank Hunter himself, but knowing that a First Year had achieved C- Rank was shocking to them. They had spent four years learning, and training themselves while fighting monsters and going through multiple duels, but not even all of them had reached A- Rank yet. Most fourth years student were in the B Rank category, with a few higher rankings ones near B+ Rank. It was due to the artifact in World Academy, that increased the mana density of the Floating Ind that they were able to increase their strength so quickly. But after B Rank, that mana wasn''t enough, and Mana Gems became a requirement as only through a huge amount of mana they could push through their thresholds. Currently, some of them were in the Fourth Year Duel Area, watching people duel with each other. It wasn''tmon for Fourth Year student to be in World Academy at this time. And right now, some of the Top 50 students were requesting spars with Jayden Hargrave, the Rank 1 student among the Fourth Year. But as expected, no one was able to push him back as Jayden stood there like a immovable mountain. Hargrave had the traditions to make the strongest among the family the heir, and Jayden was the strongest Hargrave of his generation. It was obvious that his strength was far above his peers due to the amount of resources he had ess to due to his status. Jayden was both the source of envy and admiration for people in the Fourth Year. "You got even more stronger than ourst spar," The student told as he braced his legs on the floor to reduce the impact of Jayden''s strike. "Don''t lose focus now," Jayden said as kept striking without giving any chance to his opponent. Many instructors were present, but none of them were worried about any person injuring each other. These students were the one that had faced dungeons, monsters and even criminals and they knew when to stop. Unlike the First and Second or even Third Year students, the Fourth Year werepletely different. At this point, all of them knew what they wanted to do after they got out of World Academy, so thepetition among the ranks reduced and only people stillpeting were the Top 100. While the spar was going on, Reece Williams with a couple of his friends entered the Duel Hall and atmosphere changed as people knew that Jayden and Reece would alwayspete with each other. Reece was the Rank 2 Student, and their overall scores were pretty close to each other, so even Jayden didn''t underestimated Reece. For Jayden, maintaining Rank 1 was a necessity to root his Heir position in the Hargrave Family. *Bam* Jayden striked with sword created a wave to due to the sh of the sword. "I give up," The Student muttered as he used all his strength to block Jayden''s sword. The instructor raised the card towards Jayden who removed his sword and went back to his bench. His eyes looked at Reece who was sitting a bit far from his position. But Jayden ignored him, as Reece was not the issue right now. "Did you contact him?" Jayden asked. "I tried to, but it''s very hard to contact him," The Fourth Year student replied, "Keep trying, he might be busy stabilizing his mana right now," Jayden said as he looked forward where a new duel had began. ''It''s better for him to join me,'' Jayden thought in his head. But there was one big issue that stopped Jayden from using this approach. It was his aunt, Casie Hargrave. He still remembered the look on Casie''s face, and even he got scared and maintained his distance from her. But Jayden needed Casie''s support and he needed to follow her orders. "By the way did you got any news from you Grandfather?" A girl asked Jayden. "That''s something I can''t say," Jayden replied with a smile. "Awwe on, give us something at least," Another girl chimed in. "Don''t worry too much about it, those people will be soon taken care of," Jayden replied confidently. "I knew it, I will tell all my friends about it," The girl said with a smile on her face. Jayden was a credible source of news for them, as he was the Heir of the Hargrave Family, and with all the information that was being concealed about Zephyr, they knew that Jayden would know about it. Meanwhile, in the Great Forest, the very same masked man that they were talking about was killing one monster after another. But Asher stopped as he faced an issue. "No monster here either," Asher said as he looked around. Due to the recent increase in his strength, Asher''s aura became more powerful and his presence became sharper. And due to him constantly fighting in the Great Forest, his killing intent was leaking. He was in control of his madness, but the it couldn''t suppress his killing intent, and it was making the monsters avoid the vicinity of Asher. Chapter 308 New Problem? ?308 New Problem? Surrounded by tall trees with sunlight filtering through, Asher moved towards the next location to confront more monsters. Now he could encounter more C Rank Monsters in the Great Forest since the limit had increased. This also enabled Asher to send Rifir to distant parts of the forest now that Rifir''s new skill allowed it to travel much farther from him. Whenever Rifir encountered a monster too powerful for itself, it simply returned to Asher. However, such instances were rare. Only A Rank Monsters posed a threat to Rifir; he could easily evade a B Rank Monster with his current strength. Asher halted abruptly, his eyes fixed in a specific direction. In an instant, he vanished, using his enhanced Mir Steps to dash forward. Drawing his sword mid-air, he pushed himself downwards as his sword tilted slightly and de was pointed towards the monster. The monster below sensed his approach, but it was toote: Asher''s ck sword pierced through it, ending its life. [Host has received 1000 EXP] The other monsters near the dead monster got alerted as they were about tounch themselves towards Asher but the thick killing intent stopped them. It wasn''t something that Asher was doing intentionally, but the more he gained his strength, the less control he had over his madness. Although now due to the intelligence stat was helping him, his killing intent was leaking out due to the constant fighting. It was only for a small moment, but it was enough for the monsters to get wary of approaching Asher, but due to the fact Asher had killed one already. The others also rushed towards Asher, together, but they met their end as Asher moved his sword to the right but after killing one monster his swift sh changed it''s direction and he moved it to his left side. His speed made it look like he killed both of them at the same time, but it was due to his increased mastery and improvement he made in the ws he saw in his own technique. "This should be enough for today," Asher looked around him. He was standing in the middle of the dead monsters all around him. With blood on his clothes, Asher''s indifferent eyes would have instilled fear in the mind of any student if they saw him. The news about Asher being granted the ess to Great Forest was already spreading in the World Academy. Some students saw him entering and leaving, and they spread the news everywhere. And currently, there was a discussion going on in the Student Council Room where Raelyn and Tyrone were standing with Reece in the room. On the couch, Kevin and Elena and Eva were also sitting there and right now they were discussing about this thing. "But why is he been given the permission to enter the Great Forest like this?" Elena asked Raelyn. The answer was something they all knew but it wasn''t something they wanted to admit. "Hmm, he has the strength of a C- Rank Hunter, so it make sense he can enter there," Reece said maintaining the smile on his face. Tyrone stood there silently, as he didn''t wanted to participate in this conversation. And Kevin did the same, but the reason was different from Tyrone. Since his return from Medical Facility, Kevin has been practicing alone but he still didn''t find out what the reason was behind him feeling like his strength was fading. And listening that the person he wanted to defeat has reached C Rank already messed his mental. Raelyn on the other hand noticed, Kevin''s face and she knew that it was better to not discuss about this issue. "Well, let''s not focus on this we have work to do," Raelyn changed the subject. They hadn''t gathered here for discussing about Asher. Raelyn was only spending some time with Kevin and others, but she called Reece here because she wanted to discuss something. Noticing, Raelyn''s thoughts Reece looked at Eva who nodded back at him. "Let''s go," Eva told Elena and Kevin as they stood up to go back. "I heard that there might be a few changes in the End year tournament?" Reece asked and Raelyn nodded. Tyrone sat there silently, as Raelyn exined him a few things she heard herself. "You know that I need this win right?" Raelyn looked at Reece. "If the format changes and it bes only a Third Year thing, you have a good chance," Reece told as he nced at Tyrone. Raelyn and Tyrone were both third year Rankers, but so was Leonard Tarvian. "I will help if this involved Fourth Year, and looking at it now, there might be a chance fourth year might get involved," Reece said. Due to the fact that Fourth Years were summoned back and the situation might not change in the near future, there was a chance that they would have to stay in World Academy. And right now, a lot of Fourth Year Students were entering the Great Forest. "I know but I need to win this," Raelyn said. And it was true that she needed this win even more now. Whiteheart''s name was being muddled with harshments from the citizens and Raelyn didn''t wanted to lose her position now. Her winning would establish her position as the Student Council and also the current tradition of having only one Student President, not a whole Council of Seven, which was the agenda that Leonard Tarvian was pushing. Nobody knew why Leonard was so adamant on creating this new rule and changing the whole Student Council because he would in Fourth Year soon. But this also made some First Year and especially Second Year support the Blood Faction. As the World Academy, was all about ranks but being part of the Student Council gave others a lot of power over other students. The power of student council was so much that even someone like Alyssa was being avoided due to the fact she was inside the Student Council. Many students simply ignored or avoided messing with her due to the fact that she had the authority and freedom that came with being in the Student Council. Tyrone right now was looking at the news because of the whole issue with Zephyr also affected him as Martell family was heavily invested in weapon trade. And he frowned as he read articles of multiple dungeon breakouts happening and the rate wasn''t something that was like it had been till now. Dungeons appeared and that was how new resources were collected. Just as Asher had told Tom, when the bnce shifted with the death of the SSS Rank Monsters, it would bepensated in some way or another. He had seen it himself in his previous life, but with him making 4 SSS Rank Monsters dead, it was obvious what was going to happen now. The dungeon were appearing, most of them were blue with some yellow and a very few reports of Red Gate appearing. The news that Tyrone was getting came from a private channel that was only avable to those connected with the Hunter News system and mostly high ranking hunters or those with connection had ess to this channel. And this same issue was being raised in the multiple Guilds right now. "We don''t have enough people to handle this area!" A man shouted. "So what? Are you telling me to give the rights to some other goddamn guild!!?" Another shouted. Everything was a mess. "Just give it to World Association for a time being," Another man said. "We lose so much money if we did so!!" The first man tried to convince them. "Why don''t we hire some hunters," Another man suggested. "We can have the profit, while spending some of that on hiring those guys," He added. "But what about the team synergy, we can''t send those guys with someone they don''t trust," Another man added. "Stop it," The one in charge intervened. If this discussion went like this, no one would reach any conclusion. "Let''s give up those extra dungeons to World Association for the first two months," He decided. "We don''t know anything about those dungeons and we can buy the information from the team sent by the World Association anyways," He said. "Sounds good to me," A middle aged man said. Simr discussions were being held in multiple Guilds, but only the Top Guilds were unaffected by this whole issue. Chapter 309 Mess ?309 Mess The increase rate of dungeon appearance was mostly affecting the region around the Three continents, and Somaria was the least affected out of all the Five Continents. At the Mage Association Tower, Some of the Elders were having a meeting, about this very scenario right now, where one of the reputed mage was giving his opinion about this. "Isn''t this situation a proof that mana density and its bnce is closely rted to appearance of the dungeons," He proposed his idea. Mage Tower was highly invested in researching about dungeons, which were one of the biggest mystery in the history of mankind. Even now, nobody could predict why Dungeons appeared and why they had specific gates like Blue, Yellow and Red. "Maybe it''s just a coincidence, we have seen a few shares of Dungeon Breakouts over past 100 years," One of the Elders spoke up. Edward Amaris, one of the Elders was also present here, as due to the dungeon breakouts, some Guild requested a team of Mage of different ranks for support. And Edward was discussing this very matter in the meeting, when the discussion drifted of from the main issue to the reason behind this situation. "But if we just take the bnce into equation, the dungeons appearing aren''t S Rank or above," Another person spoke up. "Well, that I don''t know, but this situation is enough to prove that the disappearance of those SSS Rank monsters is responsible for the situation we are facing right now," He replied. "We are drifting too much from the original reason we are having this meeting," Edward intervened as the meeting was going off rail from the topic they gathered to discuss. "Chairman is busy with recovering his mana, so we need toe to decision how much mages we will send," Edward added. As the Dungeons were mostly ranged below the S Rank, the need for higher rank mages decreased greatly. "If the Guild has contribution to the Mage Tower, we can send the support but we can''t spend too much resources when we were just done with the Monster Tide," Another Elder suggested. A bnce was needed to maintained so that the Mage Tower itself remained operational no matter the situation. The amount of resources that was consumed in Mage Tower were very high, as all Mages needed quite a lot of things for their research and training. And sending those mages to Dungeons had its own pros and cons. Depending on the support sent by the Mage Tower, the profit from the Dungeon would be shared and sometimes, Mage tower would even take the artifact forpensation. Normally, smaller guilds would avoid asking for assistance from any of the associations but right now, theycked the people to actively go inside the dungeon that were appearing. The meeting went on, with some on of the Elders that were against sending too many mages out so suddenly. Dungeons were always a risk, and there was always a chance of a hunter dying inside. A single mistake could cost the whole team''s life. Not all the Hunters were taught in World Academy, with the finest of resources and Professor''s and most of them weren''t close to the strength level that the Students that graduated from World Academy had. All these students would go into some of the Top Guilds, while most of the students with average background would join World Association. From the outside, joining World Association was a better deal, as Guilds like Abyss Guild or the Moonlight Guild had an established Hierarchy that was hard to climb. Your talent and strength was the only thing that mattered in a Guild. The meeting was over, and Edward left towards his personal library, that he was provided on one of the Higher floors due to his status within the Mage Tower. Arriving in his room, he looked at the mess that was present on his table and it was all about his personal research and due to the work he needed to do with the absence of Silvus for the time being. Edward just like many others that had a good position and informationwork knew that all the SSS Rank Hunters that went to Belvoria hadn''t came out and were training and recovering. "So much problem, all because of this," Edward sighed as he looked at report that was about Zephyr. It was the first time, such a thing had happened where someone challenged the whole High Council in such a way. "And there was the trip from World Academy as well," Edward looked at the permit documents that he received from World Academy. The reward for the Rank 1 team was dyed and he needed to send this permit so that once the situation was calmed down, the students that wanted to use their reward could do so. At the World Academy, Asher inside in his room, as he was observing the data that Tom had sent him, and it was about the reaction of every single person that signed a contract with Aztech. Now that he had those guys under control, it was time for him to slowly step in that market without being too intrusive. Aztech was nothing but a forefront for Zephyr, and it would be a shell for Zephyr to operate. "What about the deal with the ck Market?" Asher asked as they were yet to transport the whole amount of Pure Mana Crystals. "We have sent thest batch, and if I am correct they will do the entire transaction in this month," Tom replied as he looked at the information on his screen. "Suddenly, their movements became faster, as if the client they had are rushing them." Tom said. "Keep the original n, tell me if the situation change," Asher said he disconnected the call. With Tom confirming, that the deal was almost done, the next mission for Dane and Kai was nearing, and Asher could start focusing on other things now that everyone was busy with the current mess. Even Asher knew that people like Alfred, Helena and other High Council members would be able to sense the disrupt in the flow around them. It wasn''t hard for them notice that something was wrong, and while they figured out what was happening, Asher could move freely. "He might be a variable I need to watch out for," Asher muttered as he remembered about Nathan. Nathan was the only person, Asher had no clue what his next actions would be. But Asher knew that Nathan would use the Mana Gem in the near future and depending on his progress, some part of Asher''s ns might change. "It should be enough to keep them upied," Asher muttered as he looked at the number of Dungeons that had appeared suddenly. This much was enough to keep the Guilds focused on the Dungeons, and some sh between a few guilds were bound to happen. Guilds like Abyss Guild and the Moonlight Guild, were unaffected by this, but smaller Guilds would target the new dungeons as a lot of money were involved if a Dungeon had a rare resource or a valuable artifact. Ping! Asher received a notification, but wasn''t something official but a message from a certain person. His eyes looked at the name and it was Reece Williams, that wanted to have conversation with him. Asher looked at the message, as he told Reece the time and the ce to meet. In the Fourth Year Area, "So he took the bait," Reece looked at Asher''s reply. He was sitting in his training room in the Fourth Year''s Ranker''s Dorm. Reece wanted to wait more before contacting Asher, but the current situation where he might not get a good chance, he decided to go for it. "Let''s see what got Leon so worked up," Reece said as he put his weapon aside, and left the training room to get ready. Around the Outer Sector, in a Private Meeting Area where only people that wanted to discuss a trade or Assignment met, two young men were sitting in front of each other. "Let me introduce myself once more, I am Reece Williams," Reece introduced himself maintaining his calm look. "Asher Greville," Asher replied. "I know, I know, I guess there is nobody in the Whole Academy that doesn''t know your name by now," Reece said with a small smile on his face. "So why did you wanted to meet me?" Asher asked as his indifferent eyes looked at Reece. For the first time, Reece felt pressure while conversing with person around his age. He only felt like this when he saw his Father talk with others. "Now, now Let''s not be too hasty," Reece said. "I have a few things I want to talk about," He continued. Chapter 310 Enough? ?310 Enough? Asher looked at Reece who was sitting before him. For a moment, he found it hard to control his madness, as it almost took over his thoughts. But Asher managed to suppress his killing intent. He didn''t wanted to alert Reece about his intentions, as he had different ns for him. In his previous life, Reece never returned to World Academy until the End Year Exam of the Fourth Year Students. And even then, Asher never interacted with Reece within the World Academy. His interaction with Reece Williams happened after Asher had became a wanted person, who was leading a criminal organization. "I heard about the incident that happened with Elena and all the others till now," Reece spoke. "What about them?" Asher asked. "I am not ming you because it wasn''t as if those guys weren''t at fault," Reece replied. "But, I don''t want such small things to affect our Family''s rtion with each other," Reece added. Reece was aware of the bad blood that happened between Asher and Kevin over the past year and he knew because of that, he wouldn''t have good chance of having a proper conversation with him. "Is that all?" Asher asked. In front of Asher, the current Reece was nowhere near the one he confronted in his previous life, but he knew why he was acting like that. There was one particr thing that was affected Reece''s attitude against Asher in his previous life and the current one. It was the existence of Greville Family, and their growing power. "Not really, but I want clear any misunderstandings that could have been formed between our families," Reece said. "I even heard you had a dispute with my Fiance," Reece said as he looked at Asher. "But I will make sure that Raelyn doesn''t go overboard from now on, she just got sensitive because of Elena and Kevin," Reece added. "I don''t really care about them either way, so you are free to do as you please," Asher replied. "That''s good then, I wanted to have casual conversation with you putting all that stuff aside," Reece smiled. He knew that rushing like Leonard did was not the right move. Reece was ready to wait until he had gained enough trust from Asher to make his move. That is why, he wanted Asher to think he was here only to clear misunderstandings that happened in the past. "I care a lot about my Sister and my Fiance, so I don''t want you to carry any ill feelings about them," Reece said. Asher silently listened to Reece, as he wanted to see what he wanted to get out of him. "Why do you think I will care about anything you have said?" Asher questioned. Reece''s smile faded as he looked at Asher. "Because it''s better to not have too much enemies, and take it as an advice from your Senior," Reece said as his smile faded. The atmosphere became tense, and Reece knew what he was doing. In such talks, there was one thing his father had told him and it was to always make sure that during any conversation, the other person doesn''t look down on him. Stand above them, or on equal terms, because if you don''t the conversation will never go in your favor. "Sigh, let''s not get too worked up by all that," Reece changed the topic. "Let''s end this chat here for now, we can have a chat another time," Reece stood up as he put his hand forward. Asher stood up as well, as he shaked Reece''s hand while his Crimson Red eyes looked straight at the blue haired boy standing before him. Reece saw Asher, leave and the conversation that he held with Asher didn''t exactly went the way he wanted. He knew about Asher''s personality but he didn''t thought that the whole meeting would end this soon. ''But it should be enough for now,'' Reece thought in his head. The way Reece talked wouldn''t make the other person think he was plotting your demise while having apletely normal conversation with you. It was one of the reason, Leonard got along with Reece, because Reece was just like him, a bit different but they had simr habits like this. It was also the reason, Leonard trusted Reece as his business partner forpany they were about to set up in the future. "Quite a arrogant fellow," Reece muttered as his mana spiked around his body but it died down soon. "Well, I can have some fun alone," Reece sat down as he looked at the food that was on the table. He had said enough to Asher to think of Reece as a reasonable person, and once he gained a bit more trust he could execute the n with the help of Leonard. But he didn''t knew that Asher didn''t care about anything he said, the only reason he agreed to meet Reece was to check on one certain thing. In his previous life, Reece Williams defeated Jayden Hagrave at the End of the Fourth Year, but the current one wascking from the Reece Williams he saw. "It matches the time," Asher muttered as he was going back to the Ranker''s Dorm. He was guessing if his interference with the G and the takeover the Mana Crystal mine of the dungeon that appeared in Soran was the reason. But, Asher knew that Reece''s growth was rted to the William''s possession of the Dungeon in Somaria. When Asher was reaching the Ranker''s Dorm, He saw Kevin and Elenaing out, as they wanted to go the Great Library together. Kevin who was chatting happily with Elena stopped as he saw Asher, and Elena also turned her head. They hadn''t seen him in most of the sses, and hearing the rumours they knew that Asher had gotten stronger, but they didn''t knew that Asher had long became a C- Rank Hunter, long ago. Kevin ignored Asher as they passed each other, and Asher didn''t mind their presence either. Elena nced at Kevin, and she was relieved that Kevin wasn''t affected by Asher''s presence. But Kevin had something different in his mind. He could sense the mana of a Rank C Hunter, and it made him bit angry as he felt he was not good enough against Asher. It was worst feeling Kevin had gotten, but he knew it was better to suppress it rather than show his emotions openly. "I think I will skip on the books today," Kevin stopped midway as he told Elena. "Ah, but we made ns," Elena said. "I wanted to continue my practice a bit more," Kevin replied. "But you still haven''t properly recovered," Elena tried to convince Kevin. "I am fine now, trust me, I want to spend some time training," Kevin said as Elena stopped convincing him, She knew that Kevin wouldn''t change his decision so she nodded at him. "I will pick out a few books for you then," Elena said as Kevin nodded and both of them went there separate ways. "Is it not enough?" Elena asked herself. She always tried to be a support for Kevin, but seeing him like this and especially after the recent incident Elena was ming herself. On the other hand, Kevin went to towards the Training Facility in the Duel Hall and picked most advanced one and entered. "It feels a bit off," Kevin told himself as he tried to summon his lightning. He didn''t felt weaker anymore, but he felt that his progress had became much slower from the moment he had copsed. Kevin started moving his spear as the lightning produced around him, start to trigger his lightning aura slightly. After each strike and a spin, Kevin''s speed started increasing, as Kevin kept going on as his speed kept increasing. But Kevin stopped at one point where he felt he had hit a wall. Normally, Kevin wouldn''t experience such a thing, but he felt his connection the element had became weaker, which affected his progress. And with his new problem, and Asher''s insane progress, he was pushing himself while trying to rank up. But surprisingly, he never felt like that his progress had became slower. He didn''t knew it was the effect of losing the Ancient Rune, which essentially increase Kevin''s affinity and even increased his understanding of the element itself, which increased and boosted Kevin''s progress. Chapter 311 Grow ?311 Grow "Kevin,..... Kevin!!" Elena raised her voice a bit as she called out to Kevin. Kevin, who was engrossed in his training, stopped when he noticed Elena standing near the door. It had been 10 hours since Elena had left Kevin. When she returned, she messaged him, but she didn''t get any response. She kept messaging him, but after receiving no responses, she decided to check the Training Hall where they sometimes practiced. Kevin had added both Elena and Eva''s names to the ID Bracelet System, allowing them to enter with him. Because of this, Elena entered easily and saw Kevin swinging his spear. His focused eyes didn''t seem to notice her. Initially, Elena thought Kevin was deeply engrossed in his training and was almost about to leave. However, she noticed that Kevin was making small mistakes in his movements and didn''t seem to correct them. From a young age, Elena had been taught about weapon users. Being a mage, she needed to understand the fundamentals of each weapon before she could form a counter against them. Elena paused, realizing that Kevin''s training appeared more like him venting his frustration. ''Is it my fault?'' Elena wondered. For the first time, Elena deeply regretted opposing Asher during the party. Seeing Kevin in this state made her believe she was the reason for Kevin''s strong feelings against Asher. She tried to speak, but felt as if she were bing more of a burden to Kevin than a pir of support. This situation brought back memories of when she first met Kevin. She was young then, and her father, James, had wanted to introduce her to a particr boy. The first time she met Kevin, he soon became her best friend. "Hello, I am Kevin Whiteheart," said a younger Kevin, extending his hand. Back then, Elena hadn''t interacted much with children her age, being the sole daughter of the head of the Rothschild Family. Her status made it difficult for anyone to approach her carelessly, and her family made sure she was always in a protective environment. She initially felt shy meeting a boy her age, but quickly warmed up to Kevin, who put her at ease. Over the years, Elena found herself spending more and more time with Kevin. Initially, James Rothschild introduced Kevin merely as a family friend. However, upon recognizing Kevin''s impressive progress and innate talent, he never deterred Elena from spending time with him. James believed it was beneficial for his daughter to maintain a close rtionship with someone as promising as Kevin. Furthermore, James surmised that Kevin''s abilities were unparalleled in their generation. After all, no one else had achieved what Kevin had during his First Awakening. As memories of their carefree childhood days together resurfaced, Elena was consumed by guilt, thinking the current predicament was her fault. Mustering her courage, she tried to get Kevin''s attention, but he didn''t hear her initially. She persisted, and Kevin, upon hearing her raised voice, looked up in surprise to find Elena in the room, noticing her downcast expression. Setting his spear aside, Kevin walked over to Elena with a concerned frown. "What happened?" Kevin inquired, his voice tinged with worry. Seeing Kevin''s genuine concern for her, Elena felt a mix of happiness and sadness. "Nothing. Just... what were you doing?" she asked, setting her concerns aside for the moment. She realized she had to be Kevin''s anchor, not his anchor''s weight. "Ahh, that," Kevin replied, a bit sheepishly, aware he''d been taking out his frustration. Typically, Kevin wouldn''t waste any training time, but today, he needed to vent. "I am sorry," Elena whispered, lowering her gaze. "What?" Kevin responded, taken aback by her words. "It''s because of me that you''re pushing yourself so hard," Elena admitted, not meeting Kevin''s eyes. "Hey!" Kevin eximed, taking hold of Elena''s shoulders, causing her to look up. Their faces were mere inches apart, making Elena''s cheeks flush. "It''s not your fault," Kevin reassured her. "And don''t fret. Minor setbacks like this won''t phase me," he added confidently. Seeing Elena so concerned for him rekindled Kevin''s dwindling resolve. Without even realizing it, she had helped him find his way again. "Did you find Kevin?" a female voice inquired as the door opened. Eva entered, her face reddening upon seeing Elena and Kevin so close together. Unsure of how to react, she hastily exited the room. "Wait!" Elena called out, realizing that Eva might have misinterpreted the situation. Kevin seemed to share her concern. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to..." Kevin began, but his voice trailed off in embarrassment. "We should exin things to her," Elena asserted. Kevin nodded in agreement, and they left the room together, seeking out Eva to rify the misunderstanding. In the Rankers Dorm, On the Third Highest Floor, Alyssa was practicing her mana and meditating to strengthen her connection with mana as she got closer to reaching D+ Rank. Her speed was a bit faster than Asher''s during his previous life. But unlike ordinary people, Alyssa''s fingers kept trembling as whenever she would close her eyes, specific memories would appear in front of her. The memories that she didn''t want to see, but they were the reason that Alyssa kept pushing herself her whole life despite having a body that was incapable of living long. Alyssa opened her eyes as she looked at her hand, which was still trembling, and anger and hatred rose inside her. She hated that she was still scared and weak to the illusions of her mind. She had lived throughout her life experiencing worse memories and constant headaches that would make any sane person insane. Nobody would have thought such a young girl could hold on that long and keep going on for a purpose, which she knew she wouldn''t be able to do. "I have a chance now," Alyssa clenched her fist. "I will get my chance," Alyssa kept reassuring herself. Everyday Alyssa didn''t forget to remind herself, why she was going through all this. She didn''t wanted to forget her only purpose in her life. She was waiting for her chance, and the time wasing when her powers would be revealed. It would be during the Year-End Examination, and she had no choice but to fight to maintain a position in the Top 5. She aspired to enter the Trials Ground, which was reserved only for the Top 5 rankers after the final rankings of the Year-End Examination. The Year-End Examination was an event where many, including members of the High Council, attended to observe their own children or potential students they might recruitter. She was aware that she would attract much attention because of her background, and even her father and his family would be present. But they wouldn''t be there for her; they''d be there for her half-brother, n Astaria. Alyssa wasn''t sad that Alexander had abandoned her; it had been a long time since she considered anyone in the Astaria household as family. She understood the challenge before her: to secure a spot in the Top 5 without revealing her full strength, though that wouldn''t be easy. She was also aware that the other rankers were formidable opponents. Unlike Asher, who had years of experience, Alyssa was just a young girl. Most of her experience came from observing others or from the asional practice sessions she attended in Duel ss. But what Alyssa didn''t know was that the faculty members, who had strongly opposed her bing the Year Representative, were now too preupied with implementing the orders left behind by Farnus to give her any thought. "Isn''t it too sudden?" one of the professors asked his colleague. "What can we do? It depends on the Principal''s decision after all," he replied. "But still, I didn''t think it woulde this soon," the first professor said. "Come on, everyone knew this was bound to happen someday," the other responded. "Given the state of the world outside, I can understand why the Principal made such a decision," he added. Only a handful of professors were privy to this information because Farnus had bound each of them with a Mana Oath not to reveal anything about it until his return. The changes Farnus made were known only to a select few, all of whom were bound by their Mana Oaths not to disclose the details until Farnus returned. Even Asher was in the dark, unless someone dared to break their Mana Oath and risk being expelled from the World Academy. Currently unaware of this information, Asher was sparring with Damian and Amelia. Initially, he had wanted to decline, but he agreed to Damian''s request after some persuasion. However, the oue was predictable. Damian and Amelia had just reached Rank D- and were no match for Asher at his current level. The purpose of this spar wasn''t victory, but rather self- improvement. In just a few months, the End Year Examination would take ce, an event the entire world watched closely. It was an asion where the prides of elite families shed with one another. "It''s enough for today," Asher said, stopping to look at Damian and Amelia whoy on the floor after the spar. "He really doesn''t hold back at all," Damian muttered, feeling pain throughout his body. Even Amelia felt sympathy for Damian since he spent half the time getting injured while trying to protect her from Asher''s blows. Using his shield for support, Damian slowly got to his feet and gave Asher a weary look. "I heard they''re allowing you guys to visit the Sanctuary of Mages next month?" Damian asked both Amelia and Asher. "That''s what I was told," Amelia replied. Asher''s thoughts drifted; the Sanctuary of Mages was a ce he''d never visited in his previous life. He didn''t need any weapon other than his current sword, so this visit was the only reward that would benefit him. Chapter 312 Puppeteer ?312 Puppeteer Before going to the Sanctuary of Mages, Asher had a lot of things he needed to do. What was happening inside World Academy didn''t concern Asher, as none of the students, even those in the Fourth Year, posed a threat to him. The only people Asher would have to go all out against were Jayden Hargrave and some of the other Fourth Year rankers like Reece Williams. He wasn''t going to use Time Dtion in front of everyone; it was an ability he would employ only when facing an adversary far too powerful for him. Just as with Louis Rothschild, Asher had used Time Dtion solely to escape from him. Even the current Asher would struggle against a Peak S Rank Hunter, even if he used Time Dtion. At that time, although Asher was only at peak D Rank, he had caught Louis off-guard and left him in a state of confusion. "Sigh, my reward was dyed, so I can''t even get a weapon for myself," Damian muttered. Dexter Wright was not only preupied with tending to his own needs, but with many SSS Rank Equipments damaged, his hands were full. This meant that only those who chose the Sanctuary of Mages could visit it for now. Asher removed his safety braces that restricted his mana to D Rank. Although his physical capabilities were of a C Rank Hunter, his mana output was limited to the peak of D Rank. Asher nced back, seeing Damian and Amelia in conversation, discussing their errors. Without a word, Asher departed and returned to his room. Upon arrival, Asher entered the living room where he activated the hologram on his ID Bracelet. Several news articles and rumors, posted by various individuals, began to appear. Asher scrolled through them, wanting to see if his artifact''s usage had garnered any significant attention. He stumbled upon one particr anonymous article that hadn''t received much notice, and it was about Louis Rothschild. "The Troublemaker of the Rothschilds is at it Again" was the title of the article, and it wasn''t surprising to see such articles about Louis. However, this time, no one, not even Louis himself, could have imagined that his actions were being influenced. Due to his status and James''s interference, Louis Rothschild''s name had never been associated with any major scandals, but his public image left much to be desired. Inside the Rothschild Manor, James gazed at Louis, who sat across the room, eyes fixed on the floor. "Do you realize the magnitude of problems your actions could''ve caused if they were exposed?" James eximed. Louis remained silent, listening. "Answer me!" James demanded, his mana ring up. "He mocked me," Louis finally responded. "Mocked?" James echoed incredulously. "I know everything, Louis. He was merely discussing the matter concerning Zephyr," James rified. Louis felt humiliated, his fist clenching in frustration. Yet, he didn''t act against James. From a young age, James had asserted his dominance over Louis, ensuring that thetter always knew his ce. This was why Louis never dared to challenge James and his authority. After all, James was an SS Rank Hunter, while Louis was only a Peak S Rank Hunter. The power gap between them was evident, especially since James had ess to the family''s assets, including the artifact bequeathed by Dalton himself. "Reflect on your actions," James advised, trying to reign in his temper. "I don''t want to hear of any further incidents from you. And don''t you dare bring further shame upon me," James warned, his words cutting deep into Louis. ''So he still mes me,'' Louis mused, swallowing his rising anger. Just like James said, the Hunter whom Louis had beaten severely had been discussing the night the Vault was breached. His tone had led Louis to believe he was being ridiculed. After facing James''s reprimand, which included serving in the Guild until further notice, Louis exited the room. However, his role was not as a Team Leader, but merely as a regr member. Due to James''s order, Louis had lost his position within the Guild and now he had to work his way up until his punishment period was over. ''Only because he is older,'' Thoughts like this started popping inside James''s head. ''All this is happening because of that bastard,'' Louis thought as he walked the empty hallway. He remembered the gaze, and he still suspected it belonged to Asher Greville, but he had no proof. "One day, I will prove it myself," Louis muttered as his eyes went cold. It wasn''t possible right now, but he knew one day he will meet the Heir of the Greville Family. Far from Rothschild Estate, inside the Williams Family''s Mansion. A fairly middle aged man was looking at the reports he was given when a particr ring on his hand started shining. He frowned as he knew what this privatemunication line was used, and it had been years since he had used it. He touched the ring and three faces appeared in front of him, and he was familiar with them. "What happened?" he asked. "We called this meeting to discuss an important issue," One person spoke up and rest of them including James went silent. After all, this man wasparable to Dalton Rothschild himself. It was Osbert Tarvian. "It seems Vincent Williams is not as busy as I heard," Another man spoke and he was none other than the Neville Family Head. "Why don''t we stop for a second?" Allister Head interrupted. "I have a question that is bothering me for a while," He said. "Did you see the report and the person, Erwin whose dead body they found there," Allister Family''s Head spoke as Osbert silently listened. His words made Neville raise his eyebrow, as he wanted to know the answer. For the past few days, the seed of doubts had been growing inside his mind, and he got alerted when this question was asked. "I did and it seems he was captured," Osbert replied with authoritative tone. His words made the other three a bit ufortable but with him saying it like this, Neville Head had no other way but to ept his words. "You don''t need to worry about that at all," Osbert added. "What about the Product?" Vincent asked while maintaining his calm face. The only reason he was present in this meeting was because of the partnership deal that Williams and Tarvian had agreed upon. And the product they were going to release and the project that Osbert was working on more than a few decades. "Wagxon will deal with it," Osbert said. "And I only called this meeting because of this new problem Zephyr," Osbert said. "Somebody in the High Council has to be involved with them," The Allister Family''s head said. "And it can be one of us as well," The Neville Head said but everyone went silent. Yes, one of them could be rted with Zephyr, and it was a possibility that all of them were aware of. "Are we here to point fingers at each other?" Vincent asked. "And where the hell such a person came from out of nowhere?" Vincent asked another question. "You are the only person here, that would do such a thing," Allister Head said with annoyed look on his face. "After all, it didn''t took you long to switch your colors a decade ago," He scoffed. "Enough," Osbert stopped their conversation. The reason he called this meeting was to make sure that the recent incident hadn''t made any of them back down on him. If he sensed even a hint of betrayal from one of them, he was ready to take actions. And it wasn''t if all of them didn''t knew that Osbert was trying to see who was still with him on the idea they worked on for decades. "The product wille out next year, and I believe everyone will do their part," Osbert said. Seeing that there was no disagreement, Osbert came to the next thing that he called this meeting for. Zephyr and what to do with them. Having someone like Zephyr, was a good cover for them to do certain things, but there existence was equally dangerous for them. "His actions thus far seemed like he wanted to damage the High Council," The Neville Head spoke first. One by one, they all keep giving their opinion and at the same time judging each other in their conversation. Chapter 313 Disturbance ?313 Disturbance In a distant space, disconnected from the worlds where everything seemed frozen, nothing moved. Stillness prevailed. The only existence there, a being resembling a woman, waspelled to open her eyes. A greenish energy surged within her ¡ª an energy so powerful that it could be one of the most strongest forces, if not the strongest. It struggled against chains that bound her. The being opened her eyes, and the stillness faded, revealing her deep ck eyes with green pupils. "The price has been paid," she dered, noticing how the chains resisted her power. "It will revert itself," she murmured, closing her eyes once more. A pulse of green energy emanated from her, causing the chains to disintegrate into dust and vanish from existence. However, these chains, whatever their nature, didn''t react aggressively like they had to the purple energy that had appeared earlier. Bnce had to be maintained, and anything altered needed to return to its original state. *** At the Neville Estate, The head of the Neville Family reflected on a recent meeting. It was the first time he had witnessed their ns go awry. It wasn''t just a few years of nning that had been thwarted; it was decades of preparation. He was acutely aware of the machinations behind their actions. Not everyone was privy to their covert alliance. The Neville Family had always kept its distance from other elite families, except for those in Belvoria. Tap! Tap! His fingers tapped the table incessantly, the thought of betrayal ever-present in his mind. "Let''s wait for a bit; I shouldn''t rush this," he murmured to himself. He had instructed Gavin to maintain his friendship with Leonard, Osbert''s son and he still had other cards to y. But he didn''t know that his very own son was operating under the influence of another, working against Leonard Tarvian. The End Year Tournament was drawing near, as was the gathering of the High Council. "Let''s step away for now," he decided, allowing his distrust to grow within him. Osbert didn''t possess the influence akin to that of the Elite Families, who enjoyed significantly more freedom than the World Association. Thispelled him to rely on others, and his choices were the Nevilles and the Allisters. The head of the Allister family struck a deal with Osbert. Even the head of the Neville Family wasn''t privy to the details, but he could surmise the nature of the agreement. The Neville Family was presented with what they currentlycked the most: power. They had influence and resources, but they were in dire need of power. None of the three Elite Families in Belvoria ¡ª Martell, Hargrave, and Neville ¡ª were allied with one another. Hargrave boasted Xarax, the SSS Rank Hunter, while Martell had ties with the Artisan''s Association. This positioned him in a spot where Osbert''s offer seemed particrly appealing. The amount of power he had umted until now appeared to justify the alliance. However, he was also aware that despite their towering achievements, their foundations were fragile. Just as it had happened a decade ago, it could all crumble in an instant. Foundations built on betrayal were destined to copse. "I guess after that n failed, this was bound to happen," he muttered. It had been a year since their ''Grand n'' faltered at the first step. Far from the Greville Estate, "Allow me to clean this up," Hassan said, ncing at Nathan. Nathan looked to his side and nodded. Lying around them were the dead bodies of hunters, ranging from S Rank to a few SS Rank. Nathan wasn''t bothered by the blood on his greatsword; he was ustomed to it. Yet, a frown marred his face. He recognized that those who hade were targeting the twins, especially since he had sensed the presence of an unknown S Rank Hunter near his estate. What puzzled him was that none of these attackers tried to retreat, even though they were clearly outmatched and bound for death. Fear was evident in their eyes, yet they resisted. It was a bizarre sight, something Nathan hadn''t encountered in his entire life. Their movements were fearless but he could feel that they were terrified to fight him. All met their demise swiftly, having self-destructing artificial artifacts ced near their hearts. Initially, Nathan intended to keep them alive, evident from how swiftly he disarmed them by severing their limbs upon confronting them. Nathan''s personality around his family and others often made people forget how cold-blooded he was. Hassan, who had spent years beside Nathan, knew about this. He knew how terrifying the person he served could be. But he didn''t know that the Rune of Eirdin also made Nathan so much more numb to such humane emotions. Nathan departed, leaving the grisly scene for Hassan to manage. Upon arriving at the Abyss Guild''s Headquarters, Nathan made his way directly to his personal chamber, a space tailored for his stay and training. He was careful not to train too close to the Estate, wary that his mana might inadvertently endanger the twins. "I might miss their tournament," Nathan mused, recalling the uing End Year Tournament a few months away. If he chose to utilize the SSS Rank Mana Gem, regardless of the oue, his return would take months. During that absence, he wanted the twins to be at the World Academy. Although he had reservations about Farnus, he recognized that the World Academy was the twins'' safest haven when he wasn''t around. Due to his Mana Oaths, Farnus was bound to protect every student from any external threat. However, if the threat came from within, such as from the students themselves, the twins would receive no assistance from him. "That brat can handle it anyway," Nathan remarked. He trusted Asher to safeguard the twins within the World Academy. Having witnessed Asher''s prowess firsthand, Nathan altered his original ns. Had Asher not disyed his exceptional talent to the world, Nathan wouldn''t have intended to bid for the Mana Gem in such a way, making himself a target for every SSS Rank Hunter. Yet understanding the potential oues in three years'' time, when Asher would graduate from the World Academy, Nathan realized he had to ready himself for future challenges. This decision solidified the moment he observed Asher sessfully inherit his Ancient Rune. "That brat has me doing so much extra work," Nathanmented. With a talent surpassing even that of Ivar, Nathan was aware that those who had been passive for years would soon be active. Two months passed in tranquility. There were no updates about Zephyr or any other disturbances. Initially, even the World Association suspected that several factions might emerge after the inmmatory deration from the masked man. Oddly, everything returned to its usual state, almost as if Zephyr had never existed. However, this didn''t mean that people becamecent. Even the authorities remained vignt. Zephyr was pped with the highest criminal charge, and a decree was issued stating that anyone affiliated with Zephyr would be arrested on sight. Some spected that, following his failure, Zephyr had gone into hiding to escape the World Association''s fierce retaliation. "I told you, these people are mere troublemakers who vanish when pursued," a young man remarked to an older gentleman. "Concentrate on your tasks," Edward advised, ncing at the novice Mage apprenticing under him. Several other mages were also training under Edward Amaris, an Elder of the Mage Association. "Forget them. You should be working on your research paper," a female mage reminded the young man. "Don''t worry, I''ll surpass yours this time," he replied confidently, but she merely shook her head in response. Edward paid no heed to their banter, engrossed in crucial preparations. A delegation from the World Academy was due to visit, and Silvus had instructed Edward to guide them to the Sanctuary of Mages. Upon receiving details of the visiting students, Edward was taken aback by the first name. "He''s a mage?" Edward murmured, noting Asher''s name. His bewilderment was so profound that he overlooked thest name on the list of three: Alyssa Astaria. The Sanctuary of Mages wasn''t a ce even Edward could ess freely. It was significant that Silvus permitted someone outside the Mage Association to visit without any contribution to the Mage Association. While some Elders voiced their opposition, they were quickly silenced upon learning the visitation was requested by Farnus Calmort, a name with enough clout to quell any dissent. As far as Edward could recall, every video of Asher Greville that was circting, and all the rumors about him, praised his sword art. So he didn''t understand why a swordsman would seize this opportunity to visit the Sanctuary of Mages. Chapter 314 Visit At The Mage Association ?314 Visit at the Mage Association "Remember, you will have one day to study there, and you can take out up to 5 copies of any books you find," Elsa said, looking at the three students before her. When the announcement was made that Asher, Amelia, and Alyssa would be visiting the Sanctuary of Mages, many students, and even some professors, felt envious. The Sanctuary of Mages wasn''t a ce anyone could simply visit. Even elite families couldn''t attempt to enter, unless they were prepared to wage war against the entire Mage Association. Only by making significant contributions to the Mage Association and by participating in annual meetings for many years was someone granted the privilege to enter the Sanctuary of Mages. Even Elena and Eva were envious about missing this opportunity, but they refrained from speaking up due to the recent incident with Kevin. Elsa reiterated the rules and etiquette primarily for Alyssa''s benefit, as she believed that Asher and Amelia would likely face little difficulty during their visit. Both of their statuses ensured that even the Elders of the Mage Association treated them with respect. However, this wasn''t the case for Alyssa. Given that it involved the Mage Association, Elsa took extra precautions to brief Alyssa on several matters. Except for Amelia, both of them wore the ck Uniform, symbolizing their position on the Student Council. "Now, follow me," Elsa instructed, turning to enter the teleportation gate. Ordinarily, a 3-Star Professor wouldn''t be assigned to guide them, but Xander insisted that Elsa escort them to the Mage Association. This was not just to manage affairs at the Mage Association but also to ensure the safety of the trio. Aside from Elsa, only a few assistants were present, as there was no need for additional security. The teleportation gate directly linked to the Flying Ind, where the Mage Association was located. Amelia and Alyssa stepped through first, followed by Asher. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a fleet of cars and a security team ready to escort them. Elsa quickly surveyed the surroundings before entering a car, gesturing for the others to follow suit. Throughout the journey, all three students remained silent. Amelia felt particrly out of ce, sandwiched between two individuals who were not conversationalists. ''Why is he browsing these articles?'' Amelia wondered, sneaking a peek at Asher''s phone. ''Both of them are so peculiar,'' she mused, mentally contrasting Asher and Damian. She recalled how Damian would often share articles he found intriguing. It didn''t strike her as unusual that Asher had a simr habit. However, she couldn''t discern the type of articles he was reading. Unlike Damian, Asher was observing the effects of his ns unfold. The cars came to a halt, and the security personnel opened the doors. Everyone exited the vehicles and followed Elsa through another entrance. This special entryway was designed to lead them directly to the floor right beneath the topmost one, where Silvus resided. As they proceeded, an elderly man approached to greet Elsa, prompting her to pause. Two individuals were with him. The deep crimson hue of their eyes immediately revealed their identities. Even without this telltale sign, the old man was already acquainted with two of the students. "Sir Edward Amaris, a pleasure to see you," Elsa greeted, extending her hand to Edward. Edward returned the gesture with a smile. His gaze drifted to another girl, who donned a metallic mask and was seated in a wheelchair. Recognizing the name Astaria, it took a moment, but he remembered who this girl truly was. "Likewise," Edward responded with a light chuckle. "Let''s converse as we proceed, and I''ll brief you on the Sanctuary of Mages," Edward suggested, leading the way to an elevator. "Consider that ce apendium of knowledge from every mage who has served the Mage Association since its inception," Edward summarized. Research and the practice of magic weremonce within the Mage Association. So, when a mage innovated a new spell or made a groundbreaking discovery, this knowledge was documented and archived in the Sanctuary of Mages, credited to their name. From the Chairmen or the various Elders that were part of the Mage Association to the current one. Each one of them had their research and knowledge stored there. It was a record of all the Mages that had ever worked in Mage Association. "Although you will see countless records but I would advise you to think about a thing you want to excel at," Edward said. "Because the amount of information in that ce is too much for even me, despite the amount of times I have entered there." Edward said. Despite being a Elder, Edward could only enter the Sanctuary of Mages two times each year. Arriving in the lift, Edward started speaking about the rule inside that needed to be followed. "Don''t tamper with any of the recorded books or research papers as they are all protected under multiple spells," Edward said. "There will be a few ces that are not to be essed as only Elders and some are so secretive that only the Chairman could visit there," He said. Although the Sanctuary was vast, they wouldn''t stay for too long. It was better to tell them to look for things they really wanted to know about as the information present in the Sanctuary of Mages was priceless. It was a library that contained the record of magic that had developed over hundreds of years. And many people knew the worth of the knowledge that was stored there. Even some people from the Elite Family often tried to contribute in the Mage Association with their own research papers to just have the ess to visit that ce just once. The lift opened as they arrived at floor that was covered with runes all around it and in front of them was a huge gate that had golden and ck engravings. "Wee to the Entrance of the Sanctuary of Mages," Edward said as he pointed at the huge door. Amelia was looking at the gate with surprised gaze as she could feel the amount of manaing out of there. "Some people even call this a paradise for a Mage," Edward said with a smile as they walked near the gate. Edward took out a badge and it started floating near the gate and after rune inspection process the gate started moving and a opening was formed. "Well, as you know you guys have only a day so make the most out of your time," Edward said but he didn''t tell them onest thing. Although all people could try and enter the Sanctuary of Mages, there was a special spell that was ced on the entrance itself which would take the person to ce of their strongest element. The Sanctuary was in an entirely different ce on the Flying Ind and its location was only known to the Chairman of the Mage Association and those that will take that position it in the future. Elsa stayed behind as she saw the three of them enter one by one. "You didn''t tell them about the part that they will enter different locations, not the ones they wanted," Elsa said as she looked at Edward who was smiling. "It''s the same for all the others who enter it for the first time, it was the same for you as well," Edward said as Elsa remembered the first time she entered this ce. "With that said, I hope they can find what they were looking for but I have a question," Edward said looking at Elsa. "Why is the Grandson of the Sword God here?" Edward asked. "Don''t ask me, but that boy wants to learn magic," Elsa replied. Edward frowned and Elsa could understand the reaction. Edward was a teacher himself and he thought that their response to Asher''s decision was not good as he was meant to be Aura user not a mage. But he could guess that World Academy wouldn''t intrude on the Student''s decision as well. Although there was one thing he didn''t know and it was the fact that Asher was also the strongest even in the Mage ss, despite not using even a ounce of his swordsmanship. Only Alyssa was the one in the whole ss that stood a chance against Asher in a pure Mage fight. And at that moment, some other Elders entered that ce as well, and Elsa could guess what they wanted just by looking at their faces. "How the hell could you allow that Garcia''s girl to enter this ce," One of the Elder shouted and Edward let out a sigh. ''It will be a long day,'' Edward thought. Chapter 315 Sanctuary 315 Sanctuary As Asher stepped through the gate, he felt the presence of the space element around him. However, the spell was tooplex for even him to fathom. After all, this wasn''t a spell crafted by a solitary mage. Employing Runes, Artifacts, and many Mages with an affinity for the Space Element, the founding members of the Mage Association had constructed this Sanctuary. "Wee to the Sanctuary," an elderly man''s voice greeted Asher as he entered a courtyard-like space. Just by setting foot there, Asher sensed the rich concentration of mana enveloping him. There was a reason why the Sanctuary of Mages was hailed as a paradise for mages. "Step forward and enter the ce where you''ll find what you need," the aged voice instructed. By merely observing his surroundings, Asher surmised that it was a recorded message from one of the founders of the Mage Association. This was one of the ces Asher had never been to in his past life, and he had no reason to visit it then. Only a mage would deem the effort required to gain entry here worthwhile. Asher moved ahead, observing multiple runes illuminating beneath his feet. He recognized a few, but there were also several potent runes unfamiliar to him. He pressed on, reaching a hallway that culminated in a solitary door. Unbeknownst to Asher, he had been transported to the ce he needed, not necessarily what he sought. The design of the Sanctuary ensured that during one''s initial visit, only a designated section of the Library would be essible. As Asher approached the aged wooden door and swung it open, he was met with a vast collection of records and books. Each floated beneath texts disying the names of the mages who had contributed to or authored them. Unlike the Great Library, this repository held records of the most brilliant minds, including all the previous Chairmen of the Mage Association. However, as Asher surveyed the titles of the records, he realized that none of them pertained to any element other than Space. Presently, Space was Asher''s most potent element, a strength he owed to the Rune of Eirdin residing within him. While Asher explored the Space Element section, Amelia and Alyssa were teleported to other sections distinct from the Common Area of the Sanctuary of Mages. At that moment, Alyssa stood in the Advanced Element section dedicated to Ice Magic, a very rare affinity possessed by only a few. Alyssa''s eyes looked vacant as they moved from one record to another. The area contained spells, theories, and books penned by renowned figures from the World Association. Anyone deemed worthy of entering the Sanctuary of Mages was undoubtedly an exceptional mage. Hundreds of unique spells resided here; though some might be deemed inefficient, their uniqueness warranted their ce. Alyssa wasn''t using her wheelchair; upon entering, she had used Gravity Magic to levitate. However, recognizing that there was nobody to observe she chose to walk normally. As she delved deeper into the Sanctuary of Mages, amotion arose outside involving several elders who were visibly displeased. "She won thepetition and was part of the Rank 1 Team," Elsa proimed, facing the Elders. Many of them frowned, recognizing the woman before them. With her fiery orange hair and piercing ck eyes, Elsa Robles was regarded as one of the few individuals globally with an unparalleled affinity for the Fire Element. As an SS Rank Hunter, her influence and status were formidable even beyond these walls. "Regardless of her achievements, how could you permit such an individual to enter the Sanctuary?" an Elder interjected. Edward was aware that the Garcia family''s history cast a shadow over the Mage Association. Therefore, he had anticipated their reaction to Alyssa''s presence. "She has entered, and if you have any issues, you can speak with our Principal," Elsa said, invoking Farnus''s name, which made some of them hesitate. "Are you favoring that girl because of your past?" One of the Elders inquired. Instead of a straightforward answer, they felt Elsa''s mana intensify, and she gave them a cold stare. "Have you forgotten that I represent the World Academy here?" Elsa retorted as another Elder exhibited his SS- Rank mana. However, it was evident that Elsa was more powerful than him. "Enough," Edward intervened, his mana dominating and suppressing both of theirs. Edward had impressive control over mana, a skill that made Silvus keep him close. "No one can question this decision. We agreed to award the privilege of entering the Sanctuary to students from the World Academy," Edward stated. "The identity of the student doesn''t matter; we shouldn''t concern ourselves with it," Edward continued, though the other Elders remained unsatisfied. "And if you cause such an uproar, what you fear might transpire," Edward warned. Given their aggressive reactions, rumors about Alyssa were likely to circte, tarnishing their public image. Edward''s words seemed effective as some Elders began to lower their mana. "And you, Professor Robles, remember that this is the Mage Association," Edward addressed Elsa. "I apologize; I got carried away," Elsa replied, though her face betrayed no genuine regret. Edward understood Elsa''s aggressive stance after all Alyssa''s mother and Elsa had once been close friends and it was a known fact among many people that knew about Elsa Robles and the Garcia Family. "If anyone else has concerns, we can address them in the next meeting with the Chairman," Edward proposed. His statement made the Elders finally relent, with one turning to depart. ''Why do I have to deal with this?'' Elsa thought as she took back her mana. She felt a headache wasing as she would need to clean any mess that would ur here. But the words that the Elder said made her remember the past, especially her old friend. Inside the Sanctuary, Asher was walking as he picked a book about Tier 2 and Tier 3 space magic spells. These were spells that were made by people that even died doing these research each of them were extremely valuable sources of information that couldn''t even be bought with money. This information that had gathered here for hundreds of years as many crazy space element mages researched on it. "It seems weak," Asher muttered as he looked at the first spell that was mentioned in the book. Due to the fact there were very less Space Element mages, and the amount of difficulty that came with learning it, there weren''t many powerful spells stored here. Even Asher with his current understanding of Space Element could see the ws in the spells but all Space Element spells were somewhat wed. Asher didn''t knew if it was because of Rune of Eirdin, or his own talent but he could sense the ws that was in the foundation of the very spells that he read till now. The only wless application of Space Element that he had seen was from a non mage Hunter and it was Nathan. Nathan''s sword art that he created himself was revolved around his use of Space Element with the help of Rune of Eirdin. "Maybe there is more to this rune than this," Asher said as he realized that Rune of Eirdin was not a simple. It was something he had expected after all he had seen the full potential of another Ancient Rune with his own eyes. As Asher made his way towards the next books, he could see all the books were quite thin. And all over the page, random things were written. These books seemed less about spells but more like a diary of a mad person. Various descriptions about the greatness of Space Element, and other such things such as the ims about what they could possibly do by mastering this element. But all the books were short simr to the lives of these mages. All the spells that Asher read make him see another aspect of Space Element that he had missed or never considered. Even if the spell itself was wed the theory behind it made Asher realize a few things that took many such mages years. [ Host''s magic mastery is increasing ] A system notification popped up as Asher kept reading the books calmly. Asher looked around as he ced the book back to the shelf and he could see how many books were there for even for an element like space. It just showed why Sanctuary of Mages was such a coveted ce by all mages. 1 Chapter 316 Desolate Wind ?316 Deste Wind "How am I supposed to understand this?" Amelia questioned as she looked at the book. Fortunately for her, Augmentation Magic, despite not being counted as a separate element, was a form of pure mana spell. To cast augmentation magic, your mana core needed to attract pure mana, which was then used to weave the augmentation spell. Just like affinity, if your mana core didn''t have the affinity to attract pure mana on its own, you couldn''t be an augmenter. The only reason augmentation magic wasn''t considered an element was because of the principles behind it. But that didn''t mean the ones who created the spells of the Sanctuary of Mages didn''t factor in such possibilities. Although rare abilities like Eva''s barrier magic, or even Kai''s Illusion Magic that was part of his bloodline ability, wouldn''t be detected by this spell, for Amelia it wasn''t the case. Thus, she was fortunately transported to an area where a variety of books were ced, and all of them were either about pure mana or augmentation magic. However, she wasn''t having as good a time as Alyssa, and especially not as good as Asher. "I need to choose carefully," Amelia told herself as she meticulously tried to understand each of these books. "The professor mentioned a few names; let''s look for them," Amelia murmured as she started flipping through the pages before setting the book aside. All of them had received a few suggestions from Elsa, but she didn''t mention the fact that they could only visit a particr section. There were two reasons the Elders didn''t outright protest the students from World Academy entering the Sanctuary of Mages. The first reason was that they would only read the books rted to their strongest affinity. This meant that a plethora of information and legacies passed down by generations of Elders in the Mage Association would remain safe. The second reason, which simplified the whole process immensely, was this: The Chairman of the Mage Association had the right to grant direct disciples, and two of their family members, ess to the Sanctuary once each. After that, they needed to earn that right by contributing to the Mage Association. Farnus used his ''favors'' with Silvus to arrange a visit to the Sanctuary of Mages, as Silvus had no official disciples he taught. Silvus''s position in the Mage Association was distinct from previous Chairmen. There was a reason he was given the title of Archmage, among many others. Furthermore, while Silvus was considered one of the most powerful mages in the history of mankind, this im was never officially confirmed by anyone. Even Silvus himself never imed to be the best mage ever born, though many believed otherwise. Amelia''s eyes sharpened, her determination clear; she was intent on maximizing this opportunity. A year ago, she was regarded as the best in the Greville Family, but suddenly Asher''s overwhelming talent overshadowed hers. She didn''t want to surpass Asher, recognizing the gap between them, but that didn''t mean herpetitive spirit had waned. Moreover, she had a new motivation: to be a role model for Livia, who looked up to her. While Amelia was full of energy and eager to read the books, Alyssa approached the task with a quieter zeal, selecting a new book. This book detailed methods to augment the structural strength of ice. Ice was an advanced element. The room she was in housed works of numerous renowned mages from history. Some books even explored Tier 4 Spells, which were currently beyond Alyssa''s grasp. Alyssa''s gaze, somewhat listless, scanned the words. She began to grasp various methods to implement a superior spell circle and strengthen the formation even more. The technique was intricate. The individual who discovered these spells also emphasized the considerable amount of mana required to execute them. She set the book down, not having finished it. She recalled Elsa''s advice, which emphasized understanding the fundamentals of each book and identifying what one needed before selecting the five books to take. Completing even one of these books could take months, and fullyprehending their theories required even more time. Yet they had only a single day to choose the research papers or books they needed. However, among the three of them, there was one who wasn''t strictly adhering to these guidelines. [ Magic Mastery is increasing ] Another system notification appeared as Asher voraciously consumed the content of the books, his mind exploring various adaptations using the knowledge he acquired. For Asher, the Restricted Section of the Great Library and the Sanctuary of Mages were the only ces where he could obtain higher-tier Space Element spells. There were specific items Asher sought in the Sanctuary of Mages, with the space element being his primary focus. Therefore, possessing the Rune of Eirdin allowed him to ess this particr section of the Sanctuary of Mages. Because of the Greville Bloodline, if Asher entered the Sanctuary of Mages in his previous life he would have been teleported to the Pure Mana section the first time he entered this ce. His bloodline made it possible for his body to attract mana, which was one of the traits of an augmenter. This would have resulted in the spell determining that Asher was more suited as an augmenter even if he was not. But luckily, he neither had the Greville Bloodline, and the presence of Rune of Eirdin made the spell bring him here. "This is also wed," Asher said as he dropped the book. He had read much of that book, and his brain processed all the information, but he could see the fundamental ws in the spell. He could fix it, but the power would decrease substantially if he did. Grasping the spatial elements around was a challenging task that not many mages could do, even if they had an affinity for it. Even if they could master it, the constant mental drain and the effects of using Space magic made it impossible for researchers to stay sane throughout their studies. Many of these books deviated from their intended path as the researchers got lost in their work and perished beforepletion. The only reason the Mage Association permitted such studies was because of the power of the element. It was clear that if they made any progress in this field, it would be beneficial for the entire world. The High Council also allowed people to learn Space Magic, but they made sure that everyone pursuing the path of a hunter understood the consequences of such decisions. Asher read a spell, raised his finger to mimic it, and a ball of violet energy formed at his fingertip. The spell was designed to gather spatial elements, but it was described as extremely difficult to implement. However, for Asher, this wasn''t the case. The Rune of Eirdin enabled him to perform such tasks with much greater ease. Having witnessed the effects of the Rune of Eirdin firsthand, Asher was convinced that the swordsmanship Nathan had demonstrated to him paled inparison to what he could achieve at his level. Because the power of the Rune of Eirdin increased with the rank of the mana core, this suggested that Nathan''s Rune of Eirdin was of SSS Rank. Outside the Sanctuary, "Did you tell that girl about the books inside?" Edward asked Elsa. "No, but if she was teleported to the section of her advanced element, she might find them," Elsa replied. "Then it''s fine," Edward said. Elsa understood Edward''s inquiry and had no reason to inform Alyssa. In Elsa''s opinion, it was better if Alyssa remained unaware. However, unbeknownst to them, Alyssa was already in the know. Inside the Sanctuary, as Alyssa perused multiple names, her steps halted upon spotting a particr one: Elizabeth Garcia. This was the only location where records or documents bearing this name could be found. It was the sole remnant of her mother''s existence in this world. Elizabeth Garcia had been one of the most aplished mages in the advanced Ice element, and she was Alyssa''s mother. Alyssa''s gaze fixed intently on the name, standing beside the only remaining testament to her mother''s legacy. Due to the purge of the Garcia family, anything associated with them had been expunged, including their achievements and possessions. Sanctuary of Mages was a ce that had remained untouched by thew of the society and even High Council didn''t interfere with it. It was meant to be a ce where the knowledge gathered, and it didn''t matter what the person who wrote it. The status and power of the individual behind the research didn''t matter; if their work was of merit, their name would be forever preserved in the Sanctuary of Mages. Chapter 317 Remnant ?317 Remnant *Drop* A single tear fell from Alyssa''s seemingly dull eyes when she saw the name of her deceased mother. Once, she was a mage praised for her prowess and remarkable abilities. Now, however, her name only invoked hatred in people''s hearts. Images of her departed mother flooded Alyssa''s mind, while the screams from her nightmares echoed in her ears. The tear thatnded on the book evaporated, protected by a spell, but it was the only tear Alyssa shed. "I am not weak anymore," she muttered as she turned the page. "I promise you mom," Alyssa said with her emotionless eyes. Despite her appearance, from the inside, her emotions were a wreck. She was having difficulty controlling herself, but she knew she had to do it. She knew that if she crumbled here, it would be a waste of all the opportunities she had received until now. Outside the Sanctuary, The elders who had just left were returning, but the expressions on their faces were far from pleasant. "I can''t believe they allowed a child like hers inside such a ce," one of them said. "It''s such a disgrace that we''ve allowed all this to happen," he added. However, one of the elders with them didn''t share the same sentiments as the others. Still, he went along with their views because letting Alyssa into the Sanctuary of Mages tarnished their reputation. The Mage Association primarily consisted of individuals from ordinary backgrounds who worked for and contributed to the association. All three Associations were structured in such a way that regr citizens could climb the ranks if they possessed the necessary talent and capability. Allowing someone rted to the Garcia family in was tantamount to inviting public animosity. The current state of affairs already had people raising questions about some of the Elite Families. Recently, even the World Association faced scrutiny until they abruptly altered the rules they''d established. ''Sigh, if only she wasn''t her child,'' the Eldermented. While he felt sympathy for Alyssa, he also harbored resentment towards the Garcia family. He understood why the other Elders strongly opposed letting someone like Alyssa in. Their animosity wasn''t aimed at Alyssa, but her mother, Elizabeth Garcia. She had been offered a position as an Elder in the Mage Association but had turned it down due to her marriage. Had she epted, she would have be the youngest Elder in the association''s history. There were whispers suggesting she might have been a strong contender to seed Silvus in the distant future. Her academic achievements earned her disdain from some elders who believed much of Elizabeth''s sess stemmed from her influential background. Even though she didn''t possess a monstrous talent like Ivar Greville, Elizabeth was exceptional in Magic Research. Having her work housed in the Sanctuary of Mages stood as testament to her profound understanding of magic. Just like Alyssa, Elizabeth also possessed the Ice Advance Element. ''Making a child suffer because of their own mistakes,'' the Elder mused, shaking his head as he walked alongside the other Elders. Meanwhile, Elsa stood near the gate, with Edward present as well. Edward knew that Elsa would remain there due to her duty, but he had many responsibilities demanding his attention elsewhere. "Unfortunately, I must leave. However, if you have any queries, don''t hesitate to contact me," Edward remarked. Elsa nodded in acknowledgment. As Edward departed, Elsa turned her gaze back to the gate. "I wish things had gone differently for both you and her," Elsa whispered. From the moment Elsaid eyes on Alyssa, she recognized her identity. Upon closer observation of Alyssa''s condition, Elsa discerned that Alyssa''s days were numbered. With damaged mana meridians and the use of Gravity magic, Alyssa''s fate seemed sealed, destined for an early demise. She would either sumb to physical deterioration or the mental strain associated with wielding the Space Element. A memory from the past resurfaced. "I wonder what it''s like to have a child," a radiant young woman in her early twenties with cherry blossom pink hair mused, gazing at her friend. "Dummy, you''re too young to be thinking about that," her friend replied, yfully flicking her on the forehead. "Ouch!" the young woman eximed, rubbing the spot. "Elsa, you''re so mean!" she protested, eliciting a giggle from her friend. "How will you handle all those grumpy old men in the Mage Association if you can''t even handle this, Liz?" Elsa asked with a teasing smile. "Hmmph, I''ll simply show them my talent. Who would dare bully the daughter of the Garcia Family?" Elizabeth retorted with a smug expression. "And my brother already promised he''d deal with anyone who tries to bully me," Elizabeth added. "As if you''ve ever asked for his help," Elsa said, shaking her head in amusement. "Do you recall how often we could''ve avoided trouble if you''d just leveraged your status a bit?" Elsa asked. Despite her proud references to her family, Elsa knew that Elizabeth seldom used her family''s name to get out of sticky situations. "Come on, it''s not like I don''t have my best friend to lean on," Elizabeth said, yfully grabbing Elsa''s arm. "Spare me the drama. I''d rather stay out of the messes you make for yourself," Elsa replied with a tired look on her face. "Sigh, my best friend would abandon me," Elizabethmented yfully. Suddenly, they felt someone jump onto their backs and wrap their arms around their shoulders. However, this unexpected gesture didn''t startle Elizabeth or Elsa in the slightest. "Don''t worry, if Elsa won''t help you, I''ll be there to rescue you," the girl chimed in, clinging to their backs. "Thank you, Filia," Elizabeth responded, cing her hand atop Filia''s and offering a warm smile. Taking a deep breath, Elsa refocused. The past she was reminiscing about was of no consequence now. The present wasn''t the bright future they had envisioned, but there was nothing she could do now. There was no way to save Alyssa. Elsa wasn''t even sure if she wanted to, considering how Alyssa''s life might have unfolded if she weren''t in her current condition. "It''s better for you to find peace in your life, at least in what''s left of it," Elsa murmured, shutting out her thoughts. Hours passed while Elsa waited for the trio, but within the Sanctuary of Mages, an unforeseen event was unfolding. "You''re saying you can enter that ce?" Asher inquired, ncing at Rifir, who gave a slight nod in confirmation. Asher''s gaze drifted to arge white door, adorned with the insignia of the Mage Association and a slot for a specific badge. Judging by its shape, Asher surmised that this was one of the exclusive doors only Silvus could ess within the Mage Association tower. For the past two months, Asher had dedicated much of his time to hunting and providing Rifir with mana gems he purchased using his own GP. Rifir reached his limit once his level hit 20. Not only did his size increase, but Asher also sensed a growth in Rifir''s abilities. The systembeled these as "Innate Skills" and indicated that upon reaching Level 20, Rifir possessed certain unique skills. It borated that some of Rifir''s abilities stemmed from his innate instincts and could only be developed further over time. What Asher didn''t knew was that Rifir wasn''t gaining new abilities but was instead recalling them, consuming the beasts and mana gems to regain his original power. The reason for Rifir''s self-imposed limitations remained a mystery, known only to the strange beast. However, due to sealed memories, the massive beast, which could strike fear into even the most powerful beings, had transformed into the smaller snake beast it now appeared as. "Try, but don''t break anything," Asher instructed, watching the ck energy appear from the tattoo on his hand and move toward the door. Chapter 318 Hidden? ?318 Hidden? Rifir moved towards the door as ck energy began covering it. His blood-red iris shone, and the energy slowly started to pass through the door. This wasn''t a regr door that could be passed through so easily. Each door led to a different location, utilizing a unique spatial spell and runes that enabled it. Yet, Rifir''s energy managed to prate that spell without getting entangled with the spatial energy. Rifir''s form disintegrated as he moved to the other side, leaving Asher alone in the room. Asher approached the door and saw simr ck energy forming a cloud-like figure in front of it. When Asher touched the cloud, the ck energy immediately wrapped around and enveloped him. He didn''t feel it, but he vanished from that room and reappeared inside another. The skill Rifir had just used was closely rted to the skill known as Shadow Travel. Given the link Rifir shared with Asher, with close contact, Rifir could summon Asher to him. "Too tired," Rifir murmured, his blood-red iris fixing on Asher before disappearing into Asher''s right arm. Asher observed the fading ck tattoo on his arm, but quickly turned his attention to the room. Instead of being in a typical room, he was in a space where only a few books were stored. He stepped forward, scanning the area and noticing some books in poor condition. "So, it''s also about the Space Element?" Asher wondered aloud, noting the limited number of books. This meant that this particr door was a location only Silvus could ess. He wondered why Silvus had books about the Space Element when he knew Silvus Grandus had never delved into it. Yet the books before him suggested Silvus had indeed explored the Space Element. "Or, maybe he didn''t," Asher mused aloud, answering his own query. He was skeptical, but picked up a book. As he''d anticipated, there was no author''s name, and it didn''t seem particrly ancient. It appeared to be 60-80 years old, give or take. Flipping a page, Asher wasn''t greeted by standard theories, but by ounts of various feats of Space magic. The initial pages made it sound like a diary of a mage consumed by Space Magic. However, if this book were trivial, there would be no reason for Silvus to protect it so meticulously. Even the Chairman of the Mage Association couldn''t prevent others from reading books not authored by them, unless bound by the mana oath. Only under specific circumstances, like when a text was deemed too dangerous for public knowledge, could they intervene. The criteria for what constituted "dangerous" were explicitly outlined in the Founding Rules of the Mage Association. Only if the Chairman genuinely believed that a work posed a significant threat could they restrict ess. Asher''s skepticism stemmed from the idea that ordinary research couldn''t possibly threaten an SSS Rank Mage. As he continued reading, he realized the research must belong to a mage of at least SS Rank. However, there were no known records of a Space Element Mage attaining above an S Rank. It was known thing that only a few mages that had the affinity for Space Element, lived long enough to reach S Rank in theirte twenties, and all of them died in their early thirties. Even in his previous life, where Asher amassed knowledge of various sectors, there was no record of such a mage that could use Space Element, and was above S Rank. The reason why Asher already concluded that the author of this book, had to be a SS Rank Hunter was because of the way that Mana and it''s form was mentioned along the crazy lines that were written on this book. Asher himself had reached the realm where he could sense mana much better than anyone else, even with his body half dead due to his doping technique, Asher could still recall the sensation of mana that was engraved in his mind. It wasn''t something that could be taught. One needed to reach that ce and see it for themselves to understand what was being described in this book. But nothing too shocking was present in this first few pages of this book. But it changed after Asher reached the next few pages. As Asher read through, he felt for the first time, that a correct representation of Space was present in the spell, but it was also a bit off but not too much. Due to the Rune of Eirdin, Asher''s perception of Space was much different from other mages, and it was because of that very reason that Asher and Nathan could use Space Element, without having to suffer through the consequences that came with it. Asher could feel the space around him naturally, which was something he couldn''t do in his previous life. But before reading it through Asher remembered something. There were only 17 hours left from the time they would immediately be teleported back to the entrance of the Gate, as the the badge that was used to open the Sanctuary for them also mentioned the time they would stay behind. And taking this book out was not an option. Due to the fact that Silvus had hid this book instead of leaving in the Sanctuary of Mages, meant that if it left this room there would be a spell that would detect such thing. So the only way for Asher to deal with this situation was to store every single text in the book in his head. It wasn''t too hard for Asher, but that he needed to only cram the books knowledge without actually learning it. And the time was ticking and the way this book was written was absurd. A normal person wouldn''t have even found that something was being taught through this book, but Asher could see it because of the way he sensed the space through Rune of Eirdin, was a bit simr to the way it was depicted in this book. One by one, Asher started reading through the texts that sometimes exined something, butter on became worthless texts. Instead of learning through this book, Asher was only focusing on remembering all this text because it was the only way he could have the information inside this book even when he left the Sanctuary. There were a total of 12 such books, and Asher only had 17 hours in total to retain every single thing in his mind. But he knew it was worth his time to do this instead of the books outside that were also quite valuable. But even while reading through it, Asher felt that all the information was aplete mess. Even if he wasn''t trying to understand it, it felt as if this information iplete. With the way this book was written, there a chance that the other 12 books might have the answers to the things that were absent in this book. Chapter 319 A Clue? ?319 A Clue? "This is strange," Asher said, having already gone through four books. Three hours had passed, and after reading the first book, Asher had assumed the subsequent books would fill in the missing parts, but that wasn''t the case. Even though Asher found the depiction of the Space Element much more precise and intriguing, there was nothing else written in there. This felt less like a book and more like a journal with no clear purpose. Hours passed as Asher flipped through the pages, immersed in absorbing all the knowledge before him. In the vast, empty room, where only 12 booksy, Asher was certain there had to be a reason these books'' existence was so restricted. But the more Asher read, the stranger the situation became. It was nearing the end, with only one hour left, when Asher set down thest book, which was noticeably thinner than the rest. "Hmm, there''s nothing in it," Asher remarked, his indifferent eyes surveying the book. Even though he had fully understood its contents, from what he remembered of the outline, he reached this conclusion. However, one thing stood out after reading all 12 books. Despite perusing them in a peculiar sequence, he noticed the erratic writing and nonsensical words were more pronounced in some books than in others. All the sentences extolled the greatness and depth of the Space Element. This was a typical trait among those who delved into and wielded Space magic. Often, these individuals would get lost in their own thoughts while researching, which is why they were closely monitored. If someone wished to study the Space element, they had the options of joining the Mage Association or the World Academy. Before the World Academy was established, the Mage Association was the sole haven for Space Mages, and they were monitored ordingly. "37 years are mentioned throughout these books," Asher noted as he returned the books to their original spots. From his calctions, the author of these books was around 50 years old, but that didn''t make sense. And that''s because Asher himself knew what the effects of mental drain felt like. In his previous life, he had spent years, even during his time at the World Academy, trying to find a remedy for his own growing madness. But there was no cure. He only found his peace around Alyssa, but there was no solution to his madness. Simrly, there was no cure for the effects of using the Space Element, at least not in the past. However, there was evidence of such a person''s existence, if Asher''s assumptions were correct. Things didn''t make sense until Asher arrived at a conclusion that seemed utterly absurd. He found it peculiar that the implementation of Space magic was the only aspect portrayed inurately in these books. The sensation of space and its usage were vividly described, but the actual implementation was wed. A perfect spell didn''t exist, and even today, mages seek ways to streamline the spell structure or modify it for enhancement. From Asher''s perspective, it wasn''t odd that the implementation might have been off. Even in his previous life, when he didn''t have the System to enhance his abilities, Asher could assimte knowledge instantaneously. Back then, Asher would havee to the same conclusion, although it would have taken him considerably longer. Currently, various theories were forming in Asher''s mind. A person who could provide such lucid depictions of Space, exhibiting all the symptoms and side effects, yet falter in its actual implementation raised questions for Asher. And Asher reached some conclusions. Either, Silvus wanted to erase the identity of this person. So their work was hidden like this, despite having no clear depiction of any magic that was powerful enough for Silvus to do such a thing. Second conclusion, was about the person itself. "Maybe they didn''t had Space Affinity," Asher spoke as he ced thest book on its ce. If somebody would have heard Asher''s statement, they would have called him stupid, but Asher had his own reasoning for reaching such an absurd conclusion. But at the end of the day, it was only the assumptions that Asher had. Due to the fact that Asher never heard about such a thing, in his previous life despite the amount of information he had amassed made him think that finding anything about this was not possible right now. There were far more things that needed to be done, and with the End Year Tournament approaching, Asher knew that things would get busy. He had just received the news that the ck Market was finally moving the Mana Crystals, and Kai and Dane had began their next mission. While all the attention was on Zephyr, the amount of eyes that were ced on World Academy had decreased and the End Year Tournament would bring that attention back. And it was finally time when the twins would enter the World Academy as well. And with the twins gone, both Arthur and Sylvie would be freed from maintaining the security of the twins. Right now, Asher had operated Aztech however he wanted, and Sylvie didn''t look too much into it. But he knew when the name Aztech was announced, Sylvie was the first one to look over the trade history of Aztech. But she stopped after a while, not going too far and allowing Asher that freedom. And that happened partially due to the twins, and amount people that wereing after the Greville Family after the Kalvas G. Twins were not the entire reason, why such people were gathering around Soran. Nathan taking the SSS Rank Mana Gem, was also the reason why such people were being sent. And Asher wanted to finish everything rted to Aztech within that time frame, and this ck Market trade was a must. Sensing Asher''s current thoughts, Rifir came out and went towards the door again to create a gateway for Asher to pass through from. It was almost time when their visit would end. There were still five books that Asher needed to chose, and there multiple of them for him choose from. But the five books Asher chose were all about spells and structure of Space movement spells. After an hour passed, Elsa who was waiting at the entrance saw the Door shined and one by one she saw theming out with five books in their hand. Amelia looked around as she Alyssa who was hovering and holding books that were quite big, but so were hers. After spending so much time, Amelia found something that could help in the long term as well as short term. The End Year Tournament was near, and Amelia wanted to make choice wisely. Asher was thest one toe out, with books that were not big as Amelia or Alyssa''s and Elsa looked around at the cover of their books especially Alyssa. The moment her eyes fell on the topic Ice Magic, she had a thought that Alyssa might have chosen Elizabeth''s work but after looking at the names, she rxed seeing it was not present. Whether Alyssa didn''t find or chose not to bring out those books, it didn''t matter to Elsa. She was just d that no issue would raised if the books chosen by Alyssa were not the ones that were associated with Elizabeth Garcia. ''Frost magic,'' Elsa nced as she looked at one of the books. Frost magic was an extremelyplex and hard magic to learn as it required precise mana control and understanding of both Ice and Water Element. Looking around, Elsa frowned as she looked at Asher''s books. This was the oue she didn''t wanted either. She was hoping that Asher would have been teleported to the ck Element section, but seeing the result she wasn''t d. ''I should talk to himter,'' Elsa made remark in her head to talk Asher to stop delving into Space Magic. His future was bright, but Elsa wasn''t pleased with the way Asher did things from the day he joined the World Academy. "It seems you havepleted your trip from Sanctuary of Mages," Edward entered with a smile on his face. "I hope you chose wisely, because I have seen many people mess up on their first visit," Edward said. Edward turned towards Elsa, as he one thing he wanted to mention right now. "I forgot to tell you, but the Chairman has returned and he has invited all of you there for a couple of minutes," Edward said as Elsa raised her eyebrows. It was rare for Silvus to invite someone personally given his personality, and even Elsa herself have only met Silvus on rare asions. Asher maintained his calm face, but he also wanted to see Silvus himself. He had only heard about the fact that all the SSS Rank Hunters were injured, but he wanted to see what the extent of those injuries were. Due to the status of Silvus, even Elsa couldn''t ignore such a request so she epted it easily. "It wouldn''t take too long, and you might be able to ask him a few questions," Edward said to make everyonefortable. Chapter 320 Meeting Silvus ?320 Meeting Silvus "Is it fine for her?" Elsa asked, walking beside Edward as he guided them to the highest floor of the Mage Association. Edward replied, "There were no extra instructions, so I think it''s fine." They were a short distance from Asher, Amelia, and Alyssa, allowing them to conversefortably. Elsa wasn''t sure why Silvus wanted to meet them. However, given the rtionship between Silvus and Farnus, she felt confident the meeting would proceed smoothly. Even Edward wasn''t certain about Silvus''s reasons for the call, but he guessed it might involve Asher and Amelia. After all, the previous event at Kalvas G had been a disaster, leading to its cancetion. Given the widespread rumors of Asher''s talents, it wasn''t surprising that Silvus wanted to see the young prodigy for himself. Asher nced around as he entered the elevator. It ascended, and they soon reached the Mage Association Tower''s pinnacle. Upon entering, they felt a surge of mana. This sensation was a characteristic feature of the top floor, maintained by numerous mana crystals supporting a runic formation that concentrated the mana. "You can meet him in that room," Edward said, pointing to a door some distance away. Elsa led the way, and the others followed. Inside, they encountered an elderly man with amber eyes and silver hair. Upon seeing Elsa, Silvus received a slight bow as a sign of respect. Amelia and Asher did not bow, and Alyssa remained still. "You''ve grown much stronger since your time here as a mage," Silvus remarked, looking at Elsa. "Thank you," she responded, taking a seat. Asher and Amelia did the same, while Alyssa stayed in her wheelchair. "I assume Edward informed you of the purpose behind this visit," said Silvus. "As you''re aware, given the Sanctuary''s significance to the Mage Association, your time here is limited," he exined. "This was something I discussed with your Principal, and he agreed to it." Silvus noticed, the girl on the wheelchair and he already knew her identity as he had received the list of the students that were going to visit here beforehand. But the reason he was present here was not Alyssa Astaria, but it was Asher. And by seeing with his own eyes, even Silvus was surprised to see a First Year at World Academy being C- Rank Hunter. "But I had a question, and it is specifically for you," Silvus looked at Asher, "You are a swordsman so why are you spending your time learning magic?" Silvus asked. He was genuinely curious behind the reason why the Grandson of the Sword God, who was extremely skilled at Swordsmanship was learning magic. "Because I want to," Asher replied with a calm face. It was straight forward answer. He didn''t needed to exin anything to Silvus, and he was sure that Silvus would never be able to know about how his new Bloodline granted him the ability to use both Mana and Aura. "Hmm," Silvus didn''t say much but he looked directly at Asher''s eyes. Being in the presence of such a powerful person, anyone including powerful S Rank Hunter would have felt the pressure but Asher''s eyes remained the same. ''I have heard he is calm, but I didn''t expect this,'' Silvus thought in his head. Due to his mana sensitivity he could sense when people would be nervous in his presence due to the mana movement inside. ''Interesting,'' Silvus thought. "Well, everyone has the right to choose their own path," Siluvs said. "But, I would advise you to not chase after something that is not achievable," Silvus said. His words made Asher feel irritated for some reason. And he felt that his madness was close to break out, and it wasn''t getting difficult for him to control it. Such a reaction, didn''t happened to Asher since the moment he had returned to the past, but it was happening right now. Asher''s nced at Alyssa for a moment and confirming that she was present there, he felt his madness calm down. ''Is this the effect?'' Asher thought in his mind about the certain thing that the System had told him in this past month. And it was about the increase of his strength that making him closer to his madness. But this reaction didn''t happen due to Silvus''s words or the reason that the System had warned Asher about. On the Flying Ind where the World Academy was present. Inside the depth of the temple like building, a being opened his eyes. "Is it reverting back?" The being questioned. The changes was felt by the being. "But it seems like its still not the time we will meet," The being muttered. His words made the space around his shake, and power above his existed within that small space. Confirming the changes, the being closed his eyes, as the time hadn''te yet. But before disappearing, the being opened his mouth. "I shall go with your ns for now," Leaving this words behind the being disappeared. At the Mage Association, Silvus talked with Asher a bit more asking him question about magic in particr. "So, tell me the fault in this spell," Silvus created magic circle that floated before him. He wanted to see if the young man before him, was truly serious about magic or not. Asher who had regain hisposure in just a few seconds, was behaving as usual now. Looking at the spell, there were multiple answers in Asher''s mind. But there was no need for him to prove his worth in front of Silvus. "Change the first formation Circle, it''s tooplex for a spell that doesn''t need it," Asher replied. "Correct, it seems that you really did study the fundamentals," Silvus replied with a smile on his face. Elsa was not surprised because she had seen Asher''s answers before and they were always perfect. Even she herself tried to find some faults but there were none that she could find. Silvus talked with Amelia as well, questioning a few things about her learnings from the Sanctuary of Mages, and when he tried to talk with Alyssa all he got were one word answers. Silvus in particr didn''t hated or had negative opinions regarding Alyssa. But the same could not be said for the Garcia family. But most of his questions were to judge the characters of the students sitting before him. Elsa was questioned as well, but the questions she got were tooplex. Because of his own background, Silvus find it easier to talk normally with people, unlike the Elite Families and the others in High Council that always hid their intentions behind their words. "Well, you can leave now," Silvus said after he talked with them for half an hour. Amelia had a tired look on her face, and Elsa could guess that it wasn''t easy for her to answer all the questions that were asked by Silvus. "I thought you spent most of your time training?" Amelia asked Asher while they were going out, "I do," Asher replied maintaining his calm demeanor. "Really?" Amelia asked once again. "So why is your theory is so perfect, even I spend 5 hours each day studying mage theory," Amelia muttered. Chapter 321 Intentions ?321 Intentions Silvus looked at them leaving thinking about his discussions with them. "Doesn''t look good," Silvus said to himself, All this time when he was asking Asher all those questions, his true intent was to gauge the personality of the young man whose talent was nothing but monstrous. Silvus had lived long enough to understand people''s personalities by just talking with them. But he had never seen someone like Asher in his life. Being able to remain calm andposed despite being in his presence was something Silvus didn''t think Asher could do. Even Alyssa and Amelia were affected by the massive presence that flood the whole room. Although Alyssa''s didn''t react much like Asher, but it was visible that she was being affected by Silvus''s presence just like Amelia. It was just Asher, who had no reaction, or even a single hint of hesitance while conversing with Silvus. All these time, Silvus had stick to his ideals of staying away from the Elite families and people with status like or bit less than them. But he was getting old, and he was not the once independent man he was currently. Born a orphan, Silvus had climbed to the top with his own strength but now he had kids and even Grandchildren. And the previous incident in the Kalvas G, where the children were hurt by the bomb that was nted on the Dance Hall, at that moment Silvus didn''t thought much of it but the image of his own family getting hurt made him rethink his own decisions. Till now, Silvus had the stayed away from interfering outside of Mage Association, but after witnessing the recent battle against a Peak SSS Rank Monster all that changed. He was not worried about the present, but the future which was uncertain. And that is why he took the initiative to talk with Asher. If he could see the thoughts and personality of those that will lead the world in the future, he could predict where to ce his bets. But his recent conversation made him rule out Asher as the one he would ce his bets on. It was true that even Silvus acknowledged that he had never seen such a sharp,posed mind even in the most genius and talented mages he had seen in his life. And knowing that the young man had already reached C- Rank, it was not hard to say that Asher was the strongest in his generation. "He is too dangerous," Silvus muttered. He had seen those indifferent crimson eyes once before in his life, and it wasn''t a time that Silvus wanted to recall. He didn''t knew about why Asher had such eyes, that looked distant and detached from the world. Suddenly, Silvus sensed a presenceing towards his room sneakily. His facial expressions changed immediately. His face became warm, and his smile became soft, nothing like the way he behaved in front of Asher and others. It was his genuine smile. Suddenly, a head popped out from another that was an entrance to the room, and from their a Silver Haired, girl with bright yellow amber eyes peeked. "What are you doing?" Silvus asked as he looked at the girl that was around 11 years old. "Oh, I heard there were some guests so I didn''t wanted to disturb Grandpa," The girl replied as she rushed towards Silvus. Silvus turned his chair as the girl hugged him and looked above towards his face. "Acting so sweet, it seems you want something from me?" Silvus asked. The girl pouted as Silvus had seen through her n. "I just wanted to go outside, but mom and dad said it would be too dangerous," She said while looking a bit sad. "You will go to the World Academy soon, so wait a bit more," Silvus said as he patted her head. "Okay," The girl replied while pouting and looking away. Although she was happy that she and her brother could go to the World Academy, she didn''t wanted to show it to Silvus. She only heardst year that she and her brother would attend World Academy, and it made her very excited as she thought that she would only learn in the Mage Association. Some of her tutors had already told her about how only the best would study at the World Academy, and all students from different continents join together to study at one ce. Due to her sheltered upbringing, she was quite excited to step out and learn in a ce like World Academy. Silvus wasn''t worried about the safety of his grandchildren inside the World Academy, as he had made a deal with Farnus to teach them in a special ss. It was one of the favors that Farnus gave in the High Council, to a select few and Silvus used it for his grandchildren. And Alfred and Nathan did the same for Lucas and Livia, although it was not known yet. Outside the Mage Association, "You guys can wait in the car, I willplete the paperwork," Elsa said as Asher, Amelia and Alyssa went towards their car. All of them had already stored the books in their storage rings. These books were the copy of the original ones present in the Sanctuary of Mages, and it can only used by the one who took it outside. When someone was exiting the Sanctuary of Mages, they needed to make an mana oath to not distribute the information inside these books without getting the confirmation from the Mage Association. And if they did, the Mage Association would request them to return the books, and strip them of their rights to re enter the Sanctuary of Mages ever again. Asher calmly sat in the car, and he was thinking about the conversation he had with Silvus. ''So he is ready to step into all this,'' Asher thought to himself. During the time Silvus was asking Asher all those questions, he wasn''t aware that Asher was somewhat aware of his intentions. The bombing in the Kalvas G wasn''t just to damage the reputation of the High Council, but it was to make Silvus Grandus, someone who was stern on not stepping inside the politics of Elite Families, move. There were far too many variables that were bound to appear as Asher disrupted the future heavily, and that''s why he needed the double edged sword named Silvus. ''So this skill can even fool his eyes,'' Asher thought in his head. His mana core right now was a Rank C Mana Core, but seeing that Silvus had addressed him as C-, was the evidence that this skill was enough to disguise his strength from anybody. Asher knew that Silvus had eyes that could see mana, and now that he had confirmed that both Nathan and Silvus couldn''t gauge his true strength, he was confident in using this skill. Closing his thoughts, for a second Asher remembered about the time during his conversation with Silvus that he almost lost his control. At the World Academy, Leonard was looking at the information that his people have gathered till now. "No record?" Leonard said with a frown on his face. During all this time, Leonard hadn''t give up on finding the partner that Asher came with at the G. And looking how there was no information, it made his doubts even stronger. But to this day, there was no information about that girl. Asher had already made sure to tell Emmy, to not leave any traces behind. And due to Alyssa''s identity, Emmy outdid herself erasing all the clues. The End Year Tournament wasing near, and Leonard wanted some definitive information to y his cards ordingly. "Sigh, should I give up on this for now?" Leonard said to himself. Things have went bad since the Kalvas G, and Leonard needed to focus on more important things. Even Osbert had told Leonard to focus on Graduating from World Academy. But Leonard wasn''t satisfied by leaving something he started midway. He had spent a lot of time, building the Blood faction and gathering all the information about the key people inside the World Academy. ke Cranston was one of the examples of such people. Getting irritated with his situation Leonard threw the board in front of him to the side. But in an instant he calmed himself down, and his anger went away. "Hmm, let''s focus on the tournament," Leonard muttered. He was in no rush as the timings for their n had changed, and he could wait for his time toe. He had just received the news that Asher had went to the Mage Association to enter the Sanctuary of Mages. "It''s good that he is wasting his time," Leonard said with a smile on his face. Leonard had many cards to y, but he chose to stay still for now. But he didn''t wanted to wait too long either. Chapter 322 Power

Chapter 322 Power

?322 Power In the Faculty Building of World Academy, Xander was looking at the reports he had received. Because Farnus was absent, Xander assumed the responsibility of overseeing World Academy. However, Farnus had not granted him theplete authority. Before departing, Farnus made certain tomunicate his ns and the tasks that were to be executed. At the moment, Xander was addressing one of them. Suddenly, his phone rang. On the other end was his younger brother, the current head of the Demarcus Family. "Did you get the information?" Xander inquired as a holographic image of the Demarcus head appeared. "Not much. There''s no exnation for why that man''s body was found there," the Demarcus head replied. "What is the World Association saying?" Xander asked, ncing at the report. "The investigation was conducted, but there''s no data following his disappearance shortly after he was expelled from World Academy," said the Demarcus head. "Why are you involved in this?" He asked but Xander remained silent. "Don''t overthink it," Xander remarked, steering the conversation elsewhere. Without tangible evidence and personal verification, Xander wasn''t going to make any decisions. There were many things Xander found suspicious but the appearance of Zephyr, messed most of his conclusions. Even now, the Demarcus head could sense that Xander was deep in thought, yet he respected his elder brother''s discretion. "By the way, is Venessa doing well?" he asked. "She''s doing more than well," Xander affirmed. "That''s good to hear," the Demarcus head responded with a smile. The call disconnected, as Xander put the report aside and leaned back into his chair, as his eyes looked at the ceiling. "Something doesn''t make sense," Xander muttered. "Well, there is more than one thing to worry about," Xander said as he looked at the particr thing he was handling personally. And the prize that on there, was something that would cause waves in both inside and outside the World Academy. It was already announced that there would be some changes in the End Year Tournament, for the first three years, and it also included the match between the Student Council and the Blood Faction. But there was no further boration, as the End Year Tournament was a very big thing that many people looked forward to. Elite Families, the three Associations and the major guilds that woulde to see and scout the talents. And due to the fact that this tournament was broadcasted to the whole world created a few problems for Xander. Not only, he needed to maintain the image of World Academy by controlling the students so that they behaved appropriately in the tournament, but there was one big issue about this tournament. It was none other than Alyssa, and also the fact that her ranking would also create trouble that Xander didn''t wanted. End Year Tournament, was a very important event for all students because of the fact that this was the chance to take big leap in rankings, and among the Top Rankers, the prize was also very big. The ess to the Trail''s Ground for the Top 5, was an very alluring reward and End Year Tournament was the only way Top Rankers could change there ranking. Rankers were not allowed to fight for their ranks unless a majority vote was done by all the Rankers. This particr rule was introduced because of the amount of Elite Family students that were present in the First Year. Although World Academy, promotedpetitiveness but they didn''t ignite hatred among students that could very well sit in the High Council in the future. But this also made the rank in the First Year stagnant, as Elena and Eva couldn''t challenge anyone due to the fact that there was no majority among the Rankers. At the Rankers Dorm, Damian was waiting for Amelia and Asher to arrive so he was just spending his time in the lobby when he saw Kevin enter the Lobby as well. ''Seems like he ising from training,'' Damian thought as he noticed the equipment he was wearing. It wasn''t hard to guess that Kevin was most likely duelling with Senior Year Students to gain more experience, and Raelyn was helping him in that. Kevin noticed Damian who was sitting on one of the sofas casually, and their eyes met for a moment. It was very obvious that both of them disliked each other. Kevin turned his face as he didn''t wanted to start anything but a smirk on Damian''s face made him irritated. Despite knowing each other for some years, Damian and Kevin didn''t get together at all. At first, Kevin didn''t mind Damian''s presence as he always considered himself stronger but due to Asher, Damian''s presence became bigger. And the feeling of dislike was mutual, and the reason was pretty obvious. At first, Kevin wanted to be friends with Amelia, but Damian was the biggest issue. There was not a single time, he would found two of them separated and even while Amelia was in their group, Damian would be still together with Amelia. For Kevin, Damian was nothing but a thorn that he didn''t like around him. But the situation now hadpletely changed. At first, Amelia wanted to maintain neutral attitude towards Elena, Eva and Kevin due to the fact they belonged to three different elite families. She didn''t like the idea of creating unnecessary animosity with other Elite Families, but all this changed when Damian had an argument with Kevin and Kevin mocked the Greville Family. It was at that moment that the remaining friendship that they had build over the previous year brokepletely. When she heard the friends she had spend time while studying mocking her family, shepletely changed her opinion about them. ''Looking back, everything went wrong because of this bastard and that guy,'' Kevin thought as he frowned. But despite his irritations, he avoided any confrontations with Damian and went straight to his room. There was a rule that prohibited students to use mana or fight with each other when the time of End Year Tournament was near. And it also included the Student Council. It was to make sure that fairness of the Tournament could be maintained, and anyone who broke this rule was removed from the Tournament. And not participating in the Tournament meant that despite your efforts in the whole year, you will be cedst. And it was thest thing any student wanted, and none of them wanted to create a situation that could potentially lead to a fight. And this was the reason that Kevin ignored Damian''s smirk. "He didn''t take the bait," Damian smiled as he looked back. "That''s too bad," Damian said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Hmm, how much time would it take for them toe back?" Damian thought as he noticed the time. He had received the message from Amelia that they had left already from the Mage Association, so he was waiting for them toe back as he was free. At distant ce in the deserts of Fashia, "Are you sure that the tracker is pointing there?" Kai asked as he looked at the endless desert in front of him. "Ask Tom if you think I am wrong," Dane replied as he wiped the sweat from his face. Both of them were travelling in the extreme heat of the most hottest region of Fashia. Both of them heard Tom''s instruction and they were doing well for now but the asional monsters in the Desert didn''t made their life easier. Also the fact that the Signal would only appear for a split second and would take minutes before it appeared, made the journey even longer. "I still don''t see anything, where the hell are they taking those Mana Crystals?" Dane said as he looked ahead. But all he could see was the endless desert. If not for the fact that they would get the signal in every few minutes, it was almost impossible for someone to track something in these conditions. "Probably a hidden facility," Kai replied. "Well, we just need to confirm the location, so let''s finish this mission fast," Dane replied as he remembered the content of the mission that Asher gave them. And Asher only told them to confirm the location and do nothing about it. At first Dane and Kai were confused but they agreed to it pretty quickly. After all, they were being paid well for a simple tracking mission, and the risk they had to take was not even close to what they faced during their previous mission. Chapter 323 Confrontation ?323 Confrontation Upon arriving at the World Academy through the portal, Elsa gazed at the trio. "Don''t do anything else for today. Go back to your rooms and spend your time thinking about what you learned," Elsa said. "I''ll give you guys a five-day leave, so use that time wisely," Elsa told them, her attention shifting as one of her assistants approached. Elsa hoped they would remember everything they had learned at the Sanctuary of Mages. They were permitted to take only five books, but there was no limit to how many they could read while there. She was about to share more when the voice of assistant interrupted her. "Professor, these are the papers you requested," the assistant said, handing Elsa three files. She epted them but chose not to open them immediately. "You can all head to the Rankers Dorm now," Elsa directed, heading towards the Faculty Building. Amelia took out her phone, texting Damian to inform him they were inside the World Academy. Asher stood there as he opened his ID Bracelet to message someone as well. Alyssa quietly went ahead as well as wasn''t feeling too well right now. Although she had behaved normally, but her internal emotions were a mess. And there was an important thing she needed to do, so she went ahead towards the Rankers Dorm. There wasn''t many Students in the path that Alyssa took. Even in any student saw her, they would just turn their faces with a disgusted look on their faces. But Alyssa didn''t notice those stares at all. She knew that the current her wasn''t powerful enough, and her whole life she had learnt how to avoid things that could lead to a bad oue but leaving the only remnant of her mother behind wasn''t easy for her. But she knew that it was the best decision for her. After all, she still remembered the moment when her mother asked for her to be spared. The only reason, nobody came after her life was because she wasn''t a threat to anyone. And ''they'' didn''t consider a 5 Year Old girl, that was almost crippled to be a threat at that time. Chances of Alyssa living past 20 were slim, and even if she did, her strength wouldn''t grow past a certain limit. As Alyssa was fighting her thoughts, a certain person''s voice made her stop. "Damn my luck, now I have to see this bitch," A Young man said as Alyssa looked up and see saw a familiar face. A face that she had seen quite a few times when she was young, but there were no good memories attached with this person. Light blond hair and ck eyes, features that resembled Alexander Astaria who had red hair and ck eyes. It was n Astaria. "What are you looking at?" n said with annoyed look on his eyes. Alyssa remained quiet as her lifeless eyes looked toward n. "Hah? Do you think you are above me or something?" n said as he raised his eyebrows. Alyssa noticed the surroundings, and she was in ce that was one of the route that was shared by VIP Dorms and Rankers Dorms. But due to the distance, it was rarely used and due to that Alyssa picked this path to return to Rankers Dorms but she didn''t think she would encounter her half brother. Usually n would nevere across Alyssa due to their schedule and different sses, but now he was standing before her, the look of disgust was visible on his face. Unlike other Rankers, n didn''t consider Alyssa a threat. "Listen well, you are supposed to live as if you don''t exist," n said as he looked down at Alyssa. Seeing no reaction from Alyssa made n even more irritated. But n knew he couldn''t attack or injure Alyssa right now due to the restrictions. But that also applied to Alyssa as well. n didn''t knew he would encounter Alyssa like this. He was only going to meet someone in the Senior Year, but seeing Alyssa made his blood boil. Currently n was not in the right mental state, he would still have nightmares sometime but he had gotten a bit better as he focused on improving his rank. And he was even close to reaching D- Rank, and this was also the reason he was going to meet a Senior Year Student that was part of the Blood Faction. n didn''t know why but after the Kalvas G, Leonard met with him and Gavin a few times and invited them to a few meetings as well. But seeing that Leonard Tarvian was supporting him, n felt a bit more powerful and he was regaining his confidence. But Asher was not the only thing that affected n during his time in World Academy. During his whole life, n was told that Alyssa was nothing but a disgrace to Astaria Household''s name. And not only the Servants but even listening to Alexander and his mother''s conversation n developed disgust towards Alyssa from a young age. n was taught about different things that was needed as he was already made the Heir of the Astaria family. Having so much power in his hands, it was easy for him to bully a crippled girl that he thought only brought hatred towards the Astaria Household. Alyssa moved out to avoid that environment at a young age, and n didn''t bother going after her as he thought that someone like her would die one day or another. But now that same girl not only was learning inside the World Academy with him, she was a Ranker as well. Despite the fact that everyone hated Alyssa, the fact that n lost towards her half sister that couldn''t even walk on her own made many people mock him. Ofcourse, nobody said it to his face due to his status but from the video of him getting brutally beaten by Asher and the fact that Alyssa outshined him, made his confidence drop to its lowest. And seeing Alyssa in front of him, made him feel nothing but anger. "Ofcourse, a daughter born from a bitch is also a bitch," n said as he saw Alyssa going past him on her wheelchair. "Tsk," n clicked his tongue as he got reaction from Alyssa. n turned as he felt that if he stayed there for even a single more second, he would find it hard for him to control his anger. But he didn''t knew that his decision almost save his life. Currently, the lifeless eyes of Alyssa wentpletely cold, as she moved forward in her wheelchair barely holding herself back from killing n on the spot. Right now, Alyssa was in the worst ce mentally, and listening n insult her mother made her almost lost herself in rage. She clutched her hand so hard that her nails digged into her skin and made her palms bleed. ''Kill Him'' ''Kill Him'' Voices screamed inside Alyssa''s head and she barely held herself from forming Icence and killing n on the spot. "W-Wait, th-the time hasn''te yet," Alyssa muttered as he looked at the ground. n on the other hand didn''t notice the dense killing intent around Alyssa as he went ahead. Arriving at the Rankers Dorm, Alyssa stood up as went to the bath room and looked at her uniform that was covered in her own blood. And her hands that were still bleeding. She had freezed her hand to stop the blood flowing out of her hand, but she removed the spell when she stepped inside the Ranker''s Dorm. Due to that, there were multiple blood stains across the room till she reached the bathroom. Washing her hand, Alyssa looked at the wound, but the pain that she was feeling was almost numb. Normal wounds didn''t even hurt Alyssa anymore due to the amount of pain she had endured during the time that her mana meridians were damaged. The water flowed through her hand, as Alyssa looked at herself in the mirror, and all she could see were her lifeless cold yes. She touched the mirror with her bleeding hands. "Soon," Alyssa muttered. During her time inside the Sanctuary of Mages, Alyssa only read the books that were written by Elizabeth, and reading them made her recall the memories of her younger self, when Elizabeth was still alive. But looking at herself in the mirror, Alyssa could see that the once bright girl in her memories was nowhere present. The one standing there with her palms bleeding, was nothing alike the bright girl she was once in the past. Chapter 324 Learned ?324 Learned Washing the wound, Alyssa poured a healing potion that she had over her hand and it started healing soon. Due to the fact it was only a physical wound, it was easily healed by that potion. The only wounds that required higher ranking potions were the wounds inflicted by mana. But instead of resting, Alyssa went into her training room, which was a bit different from the one Asher had. The difference between Rank 1 and Rank 3 was somewhat big, as the mana density around the room was much thinner, but it was still the better than what other Rankers had. Only Kevin''s training room and meditation room was better than Alyssa due to the fact he was Rank 2. Alyssa removed her mask, as she put it aside, and the scars on her face disappeared. Standing in the middle of the room, Alyssa recalled her time inside the Sanctuary of Mages. Because she knew that taking out Elizabeth''s work would cause problems for her, she decided to leave it there. But this didn''t meant she was going to leave behind what her mother left in the world. And that was her knowledge of Ice magic. All records of achievements of Garcia family were erased, as the punishment was given by the High Council. But Alyssa still remembered a few things when she was 5 years old. Although, it didn''t do well for when she tried to remember that time, as the headache would only grew and controlling her emotions would be even harder. But she still tried to remember one day, when someone in the Garcia Household, told Alyssa how impressive Elizabeth was as an Ice Mage. Ice magic was one of the powerful advance element that a mage could possess due to offensive and defensive capabilities that the element had. But those with high affinity didn''t stop at Ice Magic alone, they developed it further making it even more powerful. And Alyssa wanted to do this as well, and turn her magic into the higher tier one which was the Frost Magic. Manyplex Ice Element spells were regarded as Frost magic, due to their capabilities and sooner orter Alyssa would have to learn about it either way to improve her spells. Currently, she was using Ice with Gravity magic, to create an extremely aggressive way of fighting but she couldn''t do it in the End Year tournament. Alyssa understood, the amount of eyes that will be on her that day, it wouldn''t do her any good if she outperformed everyone. ''Why not just kill them?'' ''End it, End your pain!!'' ''Are you not going to avenge your mother?'' ''Give up, you are useless!'' Voices in her head kept screaming, but Alyssa didn''t look like she was affected by them at all. Her lifeless eyes, looked at her hand. Despite being in this situation, in which her emotions were a wreck, Alyssa remembered the ns she had made for year. Alyssa knew about her body the best, and she knew the chances of her finding a cure were extremely given that she would never receive any kind of support. She had long given up on the possibility that Alexander, her father would even bat an eye even if she died. Her being alive was just a burden to the Astaria Household, and the only reason Alexander didn''t do anything to her was to direct all the hatred towards Garcia family towards Alyssa. There was another reason as well, and it was Alyssa''s affinity with Gravity Magic. She knew that she was just a sacrificial piece for people like Alexander who can throw her away any time they wanted. In the situation, where even her life was not guaranteed thinking about revenge was absurd. "I just need inflict them the same pain, I have suffered," Alyssa muttered as she remembered the vow she made long ago. This was what exactly she wanted years ago. Killing the people that destroyed her entire life, was almost impossible and she knew that she would never live long enough to stand against them. She had her hopes about curing herself at that time, and that hope was World Academy, where she could research ways to cure her body. But the situation changed now, due to Asher''s interference. Alyssa now could use her body without having to go through that pain where even gathering mana felt like hell. This also meant, that she no longer needed to ce limits on her revenge like before. Hence the reason, why Alyssa didn''t wanted to stood out too much in the End Year Tournament. On the Tenth Floor of the Rankers Dorm, Asher had just arrived in his room after texting Tom about a few things that he needed information about. He sat on a seat, as he looked at the record of people that entered Mage Association with the affinity of Space Element. It was highly unlikely that he would find anything, but he wanted to try at least. It took him 20 minutes to go through the lists that Tom found after messing around with the database of Mage Association that was avable in the files they stole from World Association''s Database that Osbert had. "So no records," Asher said as he looked at the whole list that contained thousands of people that had Space Element affinity and they entered the Mage Association in thest 80 years. Matching the death of all these people, there was not even a single person that had survived for longer than 30 years. And this list was not something that anyone could get ess to. This belonged to the personal database of the Chairman of World Association. Due to the fact that the three Association worked together, it was obvious that World Association kept track of mages that went to the Mage Association. "Should I look more into it?" Tom said through the hologram that wasing out from Asher''s phone. "No need," Asher told Tom, as his eyes drifted towards the books he had chose to take with him. Asher knew if Silvus had gone all the way to hide those worthless books, this also meant that any record regarding the person that wrote them would have been destroyed. "Leave this aside, did they found the location?" Asher asked. "Both of them are still following the direction, so I expect they will find the location soon," Tom replied. "But due to the fact that they are concealing themselves, is making the progress much slower," Tom said. "Keep it that way, and make sure they leave right after finding the location," Asher said with his indifferent eyes. "Okay Boss," Tom said as the call was cut. Asher didn''t wanted to alert whoever was in the ce that was ordering the mana crystal so it was crucial for Kai and Dane to hide their presence properly. Standing up, Asher walked over to the living room, as he opened these books to read them. These five books were the ones that Asher didn''t had time to look at, so he picked them up as the contents of others were stored in his mind. He didn''t needed to take them outside, as he already remembered the huge amount of words and spells and theories that was presented in those books. Despite having ws, Asher could fix them, and create a improved version of those spells, or even create an entirely new spell depending on the Mastery he had over magic. But despite reading these books, his mastery had stopped growing from the moment he had read the book that was hidden behind the door that only Silvus could ess. The days went by like this, and all three of them spent their days focusing on the things they have learned in Sanctuary of Mages. But Asher stopped reading the books on the second day, as those books didn''t have much to offer now. If someone would have seen his actions, they would have been shocked as the books despite being thin had the research that were worthy of being ced inside the Sanctuary of Mages. And it meant that the difficulty of understanding them were very high. And this was exactly the problem that Amelia and Alyssa were facing. Due to the fact that the people who wrote these were of higher rank, their way of describing things were very different. Half of the concepts were something that a Hunter below B Rank wouldn''t even be able to imagine due to the fact that they have never experienced those things that were mentioned in these books. But Asher was different, and he could understand andprehend these works much easily than any other person due to his talent and his experience. And currently, Asher was sitting inside the Training Room, practicing his sword art which was increasing very slowly. Rifir had also came out and he was absorbing another mana gem that Asher had bought for him. Asher noticed it but due to the fact that Rifir had gotten much stronger, the amount that was needed to feed him also increased. But Asher had no difficulty feeding this strange beast that would endlessly devour anything that was presented in front of it. After absorbing the entire mana gem, there was no notification of Rifir levelling up and Asher had expected this to happen. He needed even more B Rank Mana Gem, to even increase Rifir''s strength and soon there will be a limit to what he could feed Rifir. And so he needed to maintain Rifir''s growth as well. Despite being the Heir of the Greville Family, Asher himself couldn''t buy multiple S Rank Mana Gems just so he could feed them to Rifir. Trades of such items were strictly regted and if he did purchase multiple S Rank Mana Gems, despite the fact that they were extremely expensive and rare, there was a high chance that Arthur or Sylvie would notice it. Till now, they hadn''t stepped in because they trusted that Asher knew what he was doing. This was the reason why he created Aztech in the first ce, and it was to secure his owns funds which he could use to trade such items discreetly. Chapter 325 Tournament Annoucement

Chapter 325 Tournament Annoucement

?325 Tournament Annoucement "Isn''t this a bit unfair?" a third-year student spoke up. "What can we do? This is the way they decided to do things," another replied. Currently, the Blood Faction members were meeting, and the announcement about the End Year Tournament was the topic of discussion. "But this isn''t what we asked for," the third-year student said, frowning. Everyone present understood his sentiment, but they felt they had no choice but to follow the rules. "What do you think about this, Leon?" one of them asked Leonard Tarvian. "No need to overthink. Just focus on winning," Leonard replied. The answer was simple since they couldn''t change the format. However, epting this truth was challenging for everyone there. If they lost, the Blood Faction would disband, as it was formed specifically to challenge the current Student Council. Thus, after the victor of the tournament was dered, the Blood Faction would dissolve regardless of the oue. The Blood Faction''s goal was to change the power dynamics within the Student Council. After this tournament, there would only be two possible oues: change or no change. "The second year is in good hands because of ke, but our real concern is the first year," Leonard observed. All of them nodded their head as First Year was the biggest problem right now. The new format gave the chance to decide the winner of the tournament to Rank 1 of First, Second and Third Year Students. And thest vote came from the collective vote of all the Students in those three years. Only the Fourth Year student were exempted from participating due to the fact that after this tournament they will be leaving the World Academy. They were pretty sure that ke would win again. Despite the humiliation ke suffered through these months, he was the strongest in the Second Year and the chances of him losing were very low. Leaving the Third Year aside for now, the problem was the First Year. The winner of that tournament was going to be Asher Greville, and they all knew that. And currently, Asher was not allied with either the Student Council or the Blood Faction. The format of the End Year Tournament remained the same as it was in a Duel format, but anything other than that was not shared. "But why are they merging this with the End Year Tournament," ke said as he broke the silence. "No one here has that answer," Leonard responded. "We only need to focus on the third year and first year; they''re the unpredictable variables," Leonard pointed out. Given that many of the third-year students were closely matched in skill, predicting a winner for their duels was a challenge. "Let''s conclude our meeting for now. We''ll regroup next week to strategize," Leonard said as everyone rose to leave. The tournament dates had already been announced, and students were expected to intensify their training and enhance their ranks. At the Faculty Building, the professors were in session. "Isn''t this announcement a bit rushed?" one queried. "It''s the Principal''s decision; our hands are tied," Professor Arman responded. Some wanted to argue that it seemed unfair, but they all understood that the ultimate authority rested with Farnus. Xander wasn''t present; he was in a discussion with Zemil, the Head of Security, regarding the Tournament. Given that Xander was in charge in Farnus''s absence, Zemil coborated with him to ensure the event''s security. Following the incident at Kalvas G, Xander took it upon himself to oversee everything closely. "Given the dy of the End Year Tournament, we''ll also postpone the next student recruitment by a few months," Arman added. The circumstances surrounding the Kalvas G incident made the dy unavoidable. "We will also forego the Year End Break to minimize disruptions to the schedule," Arman stated. Certain professors, particrly those with 1 and 2 stars, expressed their reservations about this decision. Both students and professors valued the break. However, considering the reasons Arman presented and the current dy, it was an oue they anticipated. Thepletion of the new course, as well as the construction of the new monster-fighting arena, was on the horizon. Both were set to be revealed at the End Year Tournament. "If anyone has any issue they are free to send a letter to Vice Principal Xander''s office," Arman said. The changes of a few Professors changed as the name of Xander was mentioned. Some of them hated the idea of facing Xander due to his stern personality and the fact that incident of Xander cutting the hands of the Professors that were caught was still fresh in their mind. Arman noticed some of them flinching at Xander''s mention and he also understood why they might feel that way. It was not only Xander''s strength but the status he had that made them react in that way. Everyone knew that Xander Demarcus had given up the seat of the Family Head and the seat in High Council. But the fact that he could still influence the Demarcus family made them remember how powerful of a figure Xander was. Due to him staying away from the Upper Society, some people easily forgot about Xander. And even Xander himself wanted to keep it that way. Neyman just sighed, at their reaction as he knew their thought process. "Please inform all the students about this, and the sses will end this week so ensure that everything ispleted and if anything is left, you can take a week more but no more than that," Arman said as he concluded the meeting. While the End Year Tournament wasing near, the invitation were being sent to all the influential people. "So it''s about to start," Helena said as she hovered in the air. Behind her was the infamous Armax Prison, and she was still protecting the prison with Alfred who had gone back for managing the guild and the family for a few days. Due to the absence of the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter, Helena was given the responsibility to oversee the prison. And she was the only one after the SSS Rank Hunters that was qualified to look over the ce that harbored multiple dangerous people. She looked behind, her and hundreds of extremelyplex runes were visible to her and it was something that Dexter had himself done after healing his injuries. He didn''t wanted to the scenario of the Vault Heist to repeat so he changed everything and made aplex rune structure that even Helena doubted that she could pass through easily. "He outdid himself," Helena muttered. "He sure did," A voice of a old man came and Helena looked calmly to her side where Alfred was present. "Are the twins fine?" Helena asked. "That guy is taking care of it, and honestly the mess he created was hard to wipe," Alfred replied. Helena raised her eyebrow a bit, as she understood what Alfred meant and he didn''t expected such a extreme reaction from Nathan. But knowing how the Greville were, she knew it wasn''t strange what Nathan did. As they were talking they sense a powerful presence and the turned to see a single man standing before them. It was the SSS Rank Hunter of the Watson Family. Helena and Alfred''s eyes changed as they looked at the man. "It seems I have made you two wait for too long," He said as he looked at Alfred and Helena. "It''s fine, " Helena replied. Helena and Alfred already knew that the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter was going to return to oversee Armax Prison so they were expecting him. The Guards of the Armax Prison came out to greet all three of them, and Helena brought out a bracelet that originally belonged to the Watson Family''s SSS Rank Hunter. The Bracelet floated towards the man in the air. A voice came out of the bracelet as the identity of the man was confirmed. The bracelet was an artifact that was connected to the entire Armax Prison, and it worked as the surveince device. Marvin went towards the Center of the Armax Prison, toplete the process while Helena and Alfred nced at him. "It seems he hadn''t fully recovered yet," Alfred said with a interesting look on his face. Suddenly the whole space around the Armax Prison was covered in a bluish light a big faint cube was made. It was the special bloodline ability of the Watson family that made them responsible for taking care of the Armax Prison. Both Alfred and Helena went out of the cube like space immediately, as the watched over the space that was covered by Marvin''s ability. "Still makes me wonder, how that ability works," Helena said looking at it. Chapter 326 A Special Class ?326 A Special ss Marvin, on the other hand, stepped out and looked at Helena and Alfred. His expression had rxed. "The Watson family will remember this favor," Marvin replied, his gaze fixed on them. Having fulfilled their obligations, both Alfred and Helena vanished; their presence was no longer required here. "Is your condition really okay?" A 45-year-old man appeared on the holographic screen in front of Marvin. "Don''t worry, these wounds will heal in time," Marvin assured, but the man remained unconvinced. He was the current head of the Watson family and Marvin Watson''s son, so his concern for his father was evident. "Don''t let rumors spread," Marvin advised, his eyes on the Armax Prison. Rumors about Marvin being severely injured were circting, yet there was no definitive evidence to back them up. However, Marvin wasn''t perturbed. When he battled the Cmities, he couldn''t fully harness his Bloodline ability. But even now, while recovering from injuries to his leg and hand, he remained immensely powerful. Yet, he sought to prevent any potential threat to his family, sensing the escting tension around. "What about the call from Osbert Tarvian?" his son inquired. "We don''t need to concern ourselves with that man''s actions for now," Marvin responded. "We will not step in for now," Marvin said as the call disconnected. He wasn''t worried about monitoring the activities of other SSS Rank Hunters. His greater concern was the unwanted favor he had received from the Raven Family. After all, even individuals like Marvin stayed away from Helena Raven because of her abilities and her informationwork that spanned the globe. However, Helena wasn''t the only person Marvin needed to be wary of. Alfred Raven, the current Seat Holder, was the one Marvin was truly concerned about. "Favors with that man don''t end well," Marvin muttered as he vanished from the spot. There was a reason that, despite the protests of other Elite Families, Sylvie was able to marry Arthur without any direct threat to her or her children. Of course, Nathaniel Greville was a significant reason people avoided entering Somaria. Yet, even when Amelia studied in Desmar, not a single threat to her safety emerged. This wasrgely due to Alfred Raven manipting situations and leveraging his influence to ensure she could reside therefortably. Even during the incident with the Rothschilds, Alfred swiftly sent a ''letter'' to James Rothschild. This alone was sufficient for James to overlook what had transpired with his daughter. Nathan and Alfred were pr opposites in every sense, which initially led people to believe that an alliance between the two was unlikely. A weekter at the World Academy, Asher sat in ss while Professor Elsa exined the End Year Tournament and the format they would be following. Asher listened intently. There were already a few changes introduced to this tournament. Notably, there was the new addition of the Monster Arena, which was aponent of the Beast Theory and other rted courses. However, Elsa didn''t provide much detail about how they would utilize the Arena, even when the students inquired. Moreover, there were certain aspects she chose not to share with the students, and the other professors did the same. Midway through her exnation, Elsa directed her gaze to where Asher, Amelia, and Venessa were seated. "Due to the seeding, most of you won''t participate in the early rounds," Elsa stated. She then addressed the entire ss. "Understand that prominent figures attend these tournaments. For some of you, this could be an excellent opportunity to showcase your abilities," Elsa emphasized. Aside from those who hailed from influential families, many eagerly anticipated this opportunity. "Although it''s only your first year, if you perform well, there are individuals who might scout you early on," Elsa pointed out. "Your rankings and your future hinge on your performance. I want ss 1 to outshine the other sses," Elsa dered, though she was well aware of the situation. ss 1 was considered the weakest among the five sses. Its superiority over the other sses was primarily because Asher was a member of ss 1. Despite this, the morale in ss 1 was very high, as they wanted to make the most of their situation. "Everyone may leave, but Asher Greville, Alyssa Astaria, and Venessa Baker should stay behind for a bit," Elsa said as the students began to rise and exit. Elsa waited for the ssroom to empty before addressing the three remaining students. "Remember when I mentioned the new arena? I can''t divulge too much, but I want you three to perform exceptionally and score well in that particrpetition," Elsa stated. "And if you need any support or resources, feel free to message me," Elsa added. "What about our reward from the Midterms?" Venessa inquired. "Unfortunately, you''ll only be able to im that reward once the Chairman of the Artisan Association bes avable," Elsa responded. Dexter Wright was already preupied with projects that involved repairing the armors and weapons of several SSS Rank Hunters, including Nathan. He had previously declined the idea of addressing the students'' requests anytime soon. "Topensate, we''ll offer you the choice of a weapon below B Rank to utilize," Elsa rified. Venessa simply nodded at Elsa''s response, though she was somewhat disappointed that she couldn''t acquire the weapon she had in mind at the moment. "Furthermore, I need both of you to be mindful of your boundaries during the Duels, for two separate reasons," Elsa continued, her expression growing serious. "There have beenints from other professors about the manner in which you spar in Duel sses," Elsa said, directing her gaze to Asher. "I''ve overlooked it for now, but I''d prefer if you avoided such behavior in the Tournament," Elsa advised. She was already familiar with Asher''s reputation, especially after the video of him brutally defeating n Astaria was broadcasted. She hoped to avoid a repeat of such incidents. Due to her own friendship with Sylvie, she didn''t want Asher''s reputation to suffer because of his actions. As the heir to an Elite Family, Asher had to maintain a certain public image, but she had observed little effort from him in this regard over the past year. She wasn''t sure if he would heed her request, but she voiced her concerns nheless. However, her reason for advising Alyssa simrly was different, yet paralleled Asher''s situation. One way or another, Alyssa would likely garner disdain from the audience, and there was little they could do to prevent it. Still, Elsa wanted Alyssa to understand that it might be best for her to remain out of the spotlight. While she couldn''t outright tell Alyssa this, Elsa hoped her sentiment was clear. Ultimately, the choice to follow Elsa''s guidance was up to them. Elsa had no intention of imposing her beliefs on them. She recognized the importance of making one''s own decisions and learning from personal mistakes, but she aimed to provide a nudge in what she believed was the right direction. "Now, you all may leave," Elsa announced as she rose from her seat. "And for rity, I''ll cover the cost of resources if that''s a concern," Elsa added, directing her message particrly at Alyssa and Venessa. Elsa was aware that Asher had the means, but given the backgrounds of the two girls, there were constraints on their resources. After Elsa''s departure, Asher also rose to leave. "Sigh, why are they making everything so serious?" Venessamented, resting her head on the desk. Alyssa nced at Venessa but remained silent. "By the way, have you considered my offer for sparring?" Venessa quickly turned to Alyssa, seeking an answer. At first, Alyssa intended to decline, but she eventually nodded, causing a bright smile to spread across Venessa''s face. "But only a few times," Alyssa rified. "That''s fine. I just need some practice against strong mages," Venessa responded, clenching her fist in anticipation. Alyssa observed the jubnt Venessa. The primary reason she epted the sparring offer was that Venessa stood by her side when the rest of the ss isted her. No one dared confront Venessa due to her fiery demeanor, but that didn''t mean they made efforts to befriend her either. Agreeing to spar was Alyssa''s way of showing some form of gratitude towards Venessa, but she had no intention of assisting her beyond that. In Alyssa''s mind, she was wary of forming close bonds with others. Her past experiences had shown her the pitfalls of such rtionships, and she was determined to sidestep the mistakes her mother made. ''She will betray you.'' ''Kill her.'' ''They''re all the same!'' ''It''s all a lie.'' Unbeknownst to Venessa, who wasughing and sharing a moment with Alyssa, these rming thoughts echoed loudly in Alyssa''s mind. Chapter 327 Invitation ?327 Invitation "Did you determine the cause?" Osbert inquired, standing next to a dissected corpse. "We''re trying, but prolonged weakness or pushing the body to its absolute limits are the only reasons we can deduce for the body''s current state," replied the man in a whiteb coat. He was the head of the Medical Department of the World Association and was investigating clues rted to Zephyr. "We''ve confirmed the identity. It''s Erwin Gerwell, who was expelled from World Academy," the man added. Osbert''s expression remained stoic. To an observer, his indifference to Erwin''s corpse would suggest no prior acquaintance with the deceased. "Keep me updated," Osbert directed, fixing his gaze on the man. "Of course!" came the immediate response. Osbert left shortly after, and the man could finally take a deep breath and turn his attention to the report he was crafting. "He was an S Rank hunter, but..." the man muttered. In the reports, it was clear that Erwin''s body was so severely weakened that even his mana meridians were damaged. Outside the room, Osbert was making his way to his personal quarters. Currently, his attention was entirely focused on Zephyr, mainly because they had ties with Erwin. "It''s impossible to reverse the effect, so how?" Osbert pondered aloud as he entered his office. While settling into his chair, Osbert''s eyes drifted to a specific invitationid out on his desk. It was the invitation to the End Year Tournament of World Academy, extended to all Seat Holders and numerous others. However, Osbert wasn''t the least bit interested in that invitation. He had other pressing matters to attend to, but that didn''t mean he wouldn''t make an appearance at the End Year Tournament. Even those who hadn''t attended previous tournaments were nning to be present this time, drawn by the list of high-profile participants. Not only were the Elite Families eager to watch, but the three Associations were also keeping a close eye on this tournament. Over the past decade or so, few students had astounded the world with their talent. However, this time was different. The World Association had be stable, and Osbert''s actions were somewhat limited once again when the Vice Chairman ¨C the one who had departed with Silvus and Dalton ¨C returned after recovering from his injuries. With someone who could now match Osbert in terms of influence, the Executives found themselves divided once more. While this shift favored the World Association, with power dynamics stabilizing against both internal and external threats, it certainly wasn''t good news for Osbert. "Contact Wagxon," Osbert murmured, causing the ring on his hand to gleam. At the World Academy, Professor Arman was sifting through student data to finalize a report that would be integrated into the Student''s Overall Assessment Report. Many professors were engrossed in simr tasks,puting both theoretical and practical scores. Once the Tournament standings were announced, new student rankings would be derived. "His affinity might be even stronger than Ivar''s," Arman said, a grave expression crossing his face. The student record he was currently perusing belonged to Asher Greville. But even having witnessed Asher''s advancements firsthand, the figures before him seemed almost unbelievable. Throughout his teaching tenure at the World Academy, it was evident that no student he had ever taught hade close to Asher''s achievements. Typically, such performance from a mage wouldn''t be out of ce. But the fact that Asher was a swordsman made the scenario all the more staggering. "It feels like history is repeating itself," Arman mused, memories of Ivar resurfacing. Much like Asher, Ivar''s entry into the World Academy was like the arrival of a wild storm. Yet, the primary distinction between Asher and Ivary in their respective personalities. Arman vividly recalled his defeat to Ivar in the End Year Tournament. It wasn''t a memory he cherished, but that moment marked a significant beginning for him. "Well, his children will also being here, so I can make it up to them," Arman mused, ncing at another sealed document on his table. With Farnus away, Arman was the only one aware of the Greville Twins'' enrollment, apart from the grandchildren of Silvus Grandus. "This tournament will be a shock for many people," Arman remarked, leaning back into his chair. He was in charge of managing the entire tournament, and given the unpredictable circumstances, Arman couldn''t foresee the oues of the End Year Tournament, which was only a month away. "Well, I should concern myself with other matters," Arman decided, refocusing on sorting the reports. This particr End Year Tournament was unique since almost every Elite Family had their offspringpeting. Fast forward three weeks, "Did you get in touch with him?" Amelia inquired. "I did," Damian confirmed. "What did he say?" Amelia pressed as they walked into the sparring room. "He said he was going to the Great Forest," Damian informed, stretching his arms. "Well, he has the luxury to roam freely," Amelia remarked, taking her position. To Amelia, Asher, a Rank C- Hunter, was unrivaled among the First-Year students. Thus, she felt it was inconsequential if he spent his time in the Great Forest. "You''ve achieved D Rank too, haven''t you?" Amelia asked, eyeing Damian. "Yeah, but I couldn''t advance beyond that," he admitted. Both had dedicated weeks to utilizing the mana gem to enhance their ranks before the tournament. However, once they felt they''d reached their peak, they stopped their efforts and decided spend that time training. Damian was freed three days ago, so when Amelia became avable today, she immediately asked Damian to practice with her. Venessa and Sam would have joined them, but both were still training in their rooms. "Well, he did say that he would spend about a week there, or something along those lines. I think he received permission a few days before he entered," Damian replied. "Is he a fighting maniac?" Amelia asked Damian. Damian was going to decline immediately, but after a moment''s thought, the idea began to resonate with him. He quickly shook his head, not wanting to entertain such thoughts about his friend. "Maybe, unlike us, he doesn''t have someone to spar with," Damian suggested, but Amelia just shook her head. "Wait, seriously, I mean, I''d get bored too if I had no one to spar with," Damian tried to rify to Amelia. But he stopped when he saw Amelia suppressing herughter. It irked Damian slightly, prompting him to raise his shield against Amelia. "Well, why don''t ''we'' begin our spar as well?" Damian inquired, his irritation evident in his tone. "You asked for it," Amelia retorted, conjuring a wall of fire around them. She had gleaned many insights from the books she acquired from the Sanctuary of Mages. Although she hadn''t finished even one, they had been tremendously helpful. At this time, in the Great Forest, Asher was sitting in the middle of the forest. His limit inside the Great Forest were increased again, so this time, there were chances of Asher meeting some peak C Rank Monsters. "This is not enough," Asher said as he looked at his sword. From a few days ago, Asher sensed that his Sword Art had gotten stronger. And with the few encounters where he almost gave in to his urges, Asher had to stop training his sword art. Although his Sword Art wasn''t enough to hurt A Rank or above hunters if they had a good Sword Art themselves, but it wasn''t the case for people he was going to fight in the tournament. Asher wasn''t confident in the fact, that he would be able to hold himself back in the tournament, so he was decreasing his urges while hunting in the Great Forest. But these monsters weren''t enough for Asher, as he could easily kill them now. Only peak C Rank Monsters were the ones that put in a fight, and even the experience he was getting was reduced quite a bit. D Rank Monsters and below didn''t even give him any experience at all now. There was another option, that could suppress his madness but it was something that Asher didn''t wanted to rely on too much. Using the system, was thest thing Asher wanted to do, and the only options that were left were to use his killing intent and drain his bloodlust here. "Will you be able to disable it?" Asher asked. "Yes, I can freeze the tracking device on ID Bracelet for 2 hours." Tom replied. "Do it," Asher said. Although Tom didn''t have the full ess of the Security System of the World Academy, but he was able to tamper the ID Bracelet that Asher worn, and also mess up the tracking device that detected his location. The only issue was the detecting runes in the boundary that divided territories of higher ranked monsters. But it wasn''t the issue for Asher right now, after all he could just use the new version of Blink he made, from putting together the knowledge he gained from all those books. He stood up, as he looked behind at the dense forest and started sensing the space around them. "It''s done" Tom''s voice came out of the Communication device and in the next instant, Asher disappeared from the spot, leaving behind numerous monster corpses that he hunted the past days. Chapter 328 Returns

Chapter 328 Returns

?328 Returns Only three days are left. "What is he doing?" Amelia asked Damian. "I don''t know. I contacted the person who manages the entry to the Great Forest, and they said he extended the time," Damian replied. "He''s getting too confident," Amelia remarked. "Well, we can''t really stop him," Damian said, shrugging his shoulders. Most people avoided assignments that involved dungeons or monsters near the end-of-year tournament because their chances of getting injured in those situations were higher. BAM Suddenly, a shockwave of mana swept across the entire ind of World Academy, jolting everyone outside the dorms and buildings. This put Amelia and Damian on high alert. "What the hell happened?" Damian eximed. < Warning! Mana Exposure detected > < Security Protocol Initiated > Shielding measures across the Rankers Dorm, VIP Dorms, and all facilities where people increased their rank and practiced mana meditation doubled, alerting the entire World Academy. Although it was just a shockwave generated by mana, it jolted everyone outside the protected areas. Before anymotion could erupt, a voice echoed across the World Academy. "I am your vice principal, Xander Demarcus. This shockwave was caused by the principal, so remain calm," Xander''s voice assured everyone. The staff, initially startled, rxed upon hearing Xander''s voice. Outside the Faculty Building, Xander floated in the air, with Zemil, the Head of Security, by his side. Both were looking in the direction of where Farnus was. "Thankfully, it was just a shockwave," Zemil observed, eyeing the activated shields across the World Academy. Given the number of students practicing mana meditation, a released mana wave could potentially harm them. Luckily, it was only a shockwave, likely a result of Farnus''s immense power. Some distance from the World Academy, surrounded by white walls, numerous mana gems, and hundreds of pure mana crystals, an elderly man sat, with a peculiar orb of bluish-golden sparks floating before him. Farnus opened his eyes as he looked at the orb. "It''s done," Farnus muttered. He was calm, but the mana around him was running rampant, and if not for him controlling it to the extreme, this mana would have leaked outside this ce. Farnus extended his arm as the orb got absorbed, but a mark of strange symbols made of dark blue appeared on the back of his hand. There was a circr symbol on his back that started breaking in half as the other half disappeared. And that energy traveled to the symbol on the back of his hand. "How many years have I lost now? Farnus asked, but the answer remained unknown. But he didn''t regret his decision. "I hope you make the most out of this opportunity, boy," Farnus said. The mana was still running rampant, but Farnus waved his hand, and that mana rushed towards his body as the room became silent and the rampant mana disappeared. Farnus stood up as the white robe appeared on his body, and it was the transformed appearance of the Stormscale Armor. Before leaving this ce, Farnus looked at his arm, which was still affected by the ck energy of the Peak SSS Rank monster. It was still numb and barely moved, but Farnus didn''t care as he had mostly healed the mana meridians around his hands. Farnus still considered his current condition good enough, as his hand hadn''t bepletely useless. He stepped outside and looked at the direction of his office, and he could sense that two powerful SS Rank Hunters were standing outside the Faculty Building, and the Shielding System of the World Academy was activated. "Let''s see what has happened in the time I have been gone," Farnus muttered as he disappeared from his ce. Farnus Calmort has returned, and he was going to see the progress of things he had nned for the end-of-year tournament. At the Great Forest, Asher was sitting in the middle of the forest, and he also felt the shockwave. Due to the shockwave, the monsters were alerted, and they went deeper into the forest. But unlike other monsters, Rifir was fine, as he was calmly absorbing the mana gem that Asher gave him. "So he came back in time. Asher stood up as he sensed the overwhelming mana going in a certain direction. Asher didn''t know the extent of the injuries to Farnus and other SSS rank hunters, but knowing how much time it took Farnus toe back, it was not a normal injury. "I don''t need to clean up my tracks anymore," Asher muttered. The number of monsters that Asher had killed in the deeper zones of the Great Forest was not small, and due to the disturbance he created, the chances of other monsters gathering near those zones were high. If a lot of monsters gathered at one ce, it would make the staff members check the area of the Great Forest. The corpses of those monsters were not present there, as Rifir devoured them all, but the traces of battle were still present. Due to the fact that students hunted in these areas, the management was quite strict about responding to any anomalies and investigating them. But due to the shockwave, the monsters were going to go deeper into the Great Forest. Humans couldn''t sense it, but monsters could sense that the shockwave came from a powerful being. Due to their instincts, all of them fled deeper into the Great Forest. Asher originally nned to hunt in different ces so that the monsters wouldn''t gather in one ce, but now he doesn''t need to do it anymore. And because the monsters have gone deeper, there is no point in him staying inside the Great Forest anymore. "It should be enough. Asher looked at his hands with indifferent eyes. He was not sure, but it seemed enough for now. It was time to return to the ranker''s dorm as the end-of- year tournament began in a few days. At first, Asher wanted to spend as much time as he could in the Great Forest, but it wasn''t possible now. At the Greville Estate, Nathan was sitting in the meeting room of the Abyss Guild, and a few people, including Arthur, were present there. "I will be gone for months, so handle everything ordingly," Nathan said, looking at Arthur. The rumors about Nathan going to secluded training attracted a few people in Soran, but they met their ends as Nathan killed them all. Quite a few of them were powerful SS rank hunters, and it made sense that only with that amount of manpower would they try to attack the Greville family. "Not many people know, but the twins will be attending the World Academy two weeks from now," Nathan announced, and it was a surprise to a few people that were present there. "This means that the three of them will be freed from their current ''responsibilities''," Nathan said, looking at the three SS Rank Hunters of the Greyhound, which included Hassan as well. The current responsibility of Hassan and the other two was protecting Livia and Lucas, but after two weeks, they didn''t need to do that anymore. "Arthur will handle the guild, so I want the rest of you to focus on other things," Nathan said, and everyone listened quietly. "You can leave now," Nathan said as all of them stood up and left the room. All of the people present in that room werepletely loyal to the Greville family. Arthur was present in that room, and when everyone left the room, he finally opened his mouth. "You created a lot of work for Sylvie," Arthur said, putting down the file he was reading. The amount of cover-up that was done was enough to even make Sylvie call Alfred, which she rarely did. It meant that even Abyss Corporation wasn''t enough to fix the mess that Nathan created. It doesn''t matter even if they know; the hands of all these people are already dirty," Nathan replied. "Those bastards cane towards me all they want," Nathan said with a smirk on his face. "This old man," Arthur said, barely suppressing his anger as veins popped around his head. "At least don''t teach Livia these things," Arthur said. "You are too young to tell me that I am wrong," Nathan replied, raising his eyebrows in a mocking manner. "Attend that event, and look what the hell your brat is up to nowadays," Nathan said. "I heard that ''old bastard'' will also be going to meet him; don''t let him teach him anything weird," Nathan said as he stood up. "Sylvie would like to hear what you said right now," Arthur said as he stood up and tried to leave, but a hand appeared on his shoulder. "Behave like a good son," Nathan said with a smile, but Arthur barely kept his straight face, enduring the pressure that Nathan was applying. Haha, right," Arthur replied as Nathan removed his hand. Chapter 329 Edge

Chapter 329 Edge

?329 Edge On the Ninth Floor of the Ranker''s Dorm, Kevin opened his eyes and looked around the room. He had reached D+ Rank after spending weeks absorbing B Rank Mana Gems. His progress was abnormal for a typical First Year. "It feels fine now," Kevin muttered, trying to create lightning around his body. Unlike a spell, this was pure lightning. Non-mage hunters didn''t structure spells, but summoned the element ording to their affinity. By merging it with their techniques, they utilized and incorporated that specific element. A Mage had the freedom to manipte elements at will and impose their imagination onto the spell. Merging elements was possible for a mage, but it was more challenging for an Aura user. Kevin felt slightly slower in his casting of the lightning element, but after progressing from D- to D, he no longer felt that sluggish sensation. Although Kevin had lost the rune that enhanced his affinity, its absence only affected potential future gains. It didn''t influence Kevin''s current capabilities. Kevin stood up when he noticed multiple messages on his phone. Among them were messages from Elena and Eva. Both had reached D Rank, and Elena was close to D+ Rank. Kevin was the only one, except for Asher, in the entire first year to reach D+ Rank by the end of the First Year at World Academy. A smile appeared on Kevin''s face when he saw that Elena and Eva were both doing well. However, that smile quickly faded. Kevin wasn''t entirely satisfied with himself. He had achievedmendable results, but they weren''t sufficient. He still wasn''t ready to confront Asher, rumored to be at C- Rank. What he didn''t know was that Asher had already reached C Rank and could easily attain C+ Rank in a few weeks, had he not deliberately slowed his progress by feeding Rifir most of the monsters he hunted. Among the messages Kevin had received so far, two stood out: one from Kamden Whiteheart and the other from his sister, Raelyn. Both messages offered advice: to take things at his own pace and perform well in the tournament. Kamden''s message was somewhat formal, while Raelyn was more effusive in cheering Kevin on. There was also a message from Leonard Tarvian. Kevin hadn''t expected a message from Leonard, given the tensions between the Blood Faction and the Student Council, but he got one nheless. It was an offer. Leonard was offering Kevin some C and even B Rank artifacts that might assist him. Kevin didn''t understand why Leonard chose to make this gesture, but Reece had also advised Kevin not to be overly concerned about Leonard. This advice made Kevin morefortable epting Leonard''s gifts. B Rank artifacts weren''t trivial; such artifacts could easily sway the oue of a match. "I''ll read the restter," Kevin thought, setting his phone aside. He wanted to bathe after sweating for several hours. He needed to rest up for the tournament, ensuring his body limated to the mana flowing within him. Unlike Asher, who had both a Rank A Mana Flow and Mana Cirction, others required time to adapt to the augmented mana levels in their bodies. Outside the Rankers'' Dorm, Matthew was on his way to his room when he noticed Lishia Halcyon conversing with another girl who was slightly taller than her. Instead of lingering, Matthew quickly entered the dorm, not wishing to interrupt their conversation. After the Mid-Term Examinations, Matthew had limited interactions with Lishia. They had met a few times and even sparred together, but they weren''t friends. The Princess of Halcyon rarely mingled, even with others of her status. Matthew simply assumed Lishia preferred her solitude. Wishing to avoid unnecessary entanglements with high- status individuals, he generally kept his distance from such people. The only exception seemed to be Sam, with whom Matthew surprisingly got along well. Lishia briefly looked in Matthew''s direction as he entered the building before refocusing on herpanion. "I assume he''s the Rank 4 student, Matthew?" the taller girl inquired, to which Lishia nodded in agreement. "He appears strong, but I''ve heard he''s involved with Leonard Tarvian. It''s wise for you to keep a distance from such individuals, Princess," the girl cautioned. Lishia sighed, "Why must you be so formal with me?" The girl in front of her was the Heir Candidate of the Everett Family, that was one of the Elite Family in Halcyon. Lishia had known her from a young age, and both of them could be considered friends but due to the ''etiquettes'' that they learned, Lishia couldn''t interact with her casually in public. In terms of status, Lishia was a bit above her, but both needed to respect each other. The girl replied with a smile, "Given our positions, I hardly have a choice, do I?" "Regardless, please consider my advice about what we talked earlier. And take this," she added, extending a spatial ring towards Lishia. "There are some B Rank artifacts inside this ring," she informed Lishia, who gratefully epted the gift. "What about you?" Lishia inquired, aware that B Rank Artifacts would be valuable even for someone of her status. "I have sufficient artifacts for myself. As Fourth Years, we''re only allowed three artifacts during the tournament, and I''ve already registered the ones I intend to use," she responded. Their conversation was drawing to a close when they spotted a familiar figure approaching the Rankers'' Dorm. Both instantly recognized the distinct crimson-red eyes. It was Asher, returning from the Great Forest. His recent activities, involving constantbat with monsters, left a residual aura of killing intent around him that put the two on alert. As Asher''s indifferent gaze met the pair, the girl conversing with Lishia disyed a frown, disliking his demeanor. ''Kiara Everett,'' Asher identified internally, recalling the girl beside Lishia. Kiara Everett, the heir candidate for the Everett family, also held the title of Rank 3 among the Fourth Year students. Tamping down his killing intent, Asher continued past them, only to be halted by Kiara''sment. "You''re rather rude for a First Year," she remarked, with Lishia subtly positioning herself behind her friend. Asher paused, casting a backward nce at Kiara. "You might want to learn some manners," Kiara retorted, her gaze fixed on Asher. Although the rule prohibiting the use of mana against others remained in effect, preventing Kiara from leveraging her mana pressure to intimidate Asher, she feltpelled to vocalize her disapproval. Raised within the esteemed Everett Family, Kiara had been instilled from a young age with the importance of upholding the family''s dignity through proper behavior. Seeing Asher''s behavior towards her and the Princess of the Halcyon Family ruffled Kiara''s feathers. Unbeknownst to Kiara, a peculiar monster began to manifest just behind them. ''Stop,'' Asher mentallymanded as Rifir immediately reverted to Asher''s grasp. Due to Rifir''s impable concealment abilities, he was invisible to all except Asher, who could sense his presence. At the moment, Rifir reacted based on Asher''s recent activities in the Great Forest. To Rifir, there was no distinction between the monsters and the two girls before him. Everything, with the exception of Asher, was either food or simply background noise to Rifir. "Let it go, I don''t mind it," Lishia intervened, preventing the situation from escting. She vividly recalled her father''s admonition during the Representative Tournament: specifically, to steer clear of Asher Greville. Asher was in the same category as Leonard Tarvian and Jayden Hargrave, whom Lishia was told to generally avoid. So she advised Kiara to stop before they began arguing with each other. Seeing Lishia''s stern expression, Kiara just shook her head and decided to let it go. Before she could turn, Asher had already turned his back to enter the Ranker''s Dorm. ''What an arrogant guy,'' Kiara thought, but she was well aware of Asher''s standing. Although she was raised in Halcyon and held it in high regard, she understood the power of other elite families. "Sorry, Princess, I might have caused trouble for you," Kiara apologized, her emotions having gotten the better of her. She is graduating this year, and Lishia will be on her own at the World Academy, so Kiara''s actions could pose challenges for her. She had also heard the rumors about the heir of the Greville Family and his violent nature, which made Kiara somewhat concerned about the future. "Don''t worry about it," Lishia said, observing Kiara''s expression. While Kiara remained silent, she felt slightly uneasy about her behavior, especially knowing the current issues within Halcyon involving its three elite families. "If anything happenster on, let me know. I have a few juniors in the Third Year who can assist," Kiara offered. However, she recognized that Lishia was formidable in her own right and would likely be fine handling minor issues. Chapter 330 End Year Tournament - I

Chapter 330 End Year Tournament - I

330 End Year Tournament - I On the Flying Ind of World Academy, there was arge arena where people who hade to witness the End Year Tournament of the World Academy sat eagerly, waiting for it to start. Most of them were Hunters belonging to different guilds and even Hunter Groups looking to recruit the students. However, some were from other Hunter Academies, mainly the top 10 ones other than World Academy. Each of those 10 academies would send 10 teams that wouldpete with the students of World Academy in a friendly manner during the first two days of the Tournament. Those that performed well would get the chance to enter the Trial''s Ground. But most of the time, only a few students from these academies would get that chance, as defeating the students of World Academy wasn''t easy at all. "The security check was so tiring," a middle-aged man said, sitting on his seat. "How do you think our students will perform?" Another man asked him as they took their seats. "I don''t expect much from them; it would be good for them if some of the recruits here sign them," he replied. All the people here belonged to powerful factions in the world, and they only wanted those students who were the best and had the most potential as well. But the major recruiters of this tournament were the three Associations and the big Guilds of the Five Continents that were under the Elite Families. For Somaria, the biggest Hunter Guild was the Abyss Guild, and there were a few Hunters from Abyss Guild sitting in a different section reserved for special people. From their dress and insignia, their identity was quite clear, and the people around them were of high status as well. "It seems the Abyss bastards arrived quite early," a man entered the reserved section. The Hunters from the Abyss Guild nced at him, and they ignored him. It was usual for arguments to ur among different guilds, so such situations happened every time at the End Year Tournament. "Tsk, no fun," the man clicked his tongue as he and the rest of his team of evaluators went to their area. These people were from the Haven Guild, which was the biggest Guild in Desmar, and their Guildmaster was none other than Dalton Rothschild. The Haven Guild had three different factions within the Guild itself. These factions belonged to three distinct Elite Families: Rothschild, Williams, and the Whiteheart Family. Among the top Guilds, the Abyss Guild was unique, as its power wasn''t distributed among other Elite Families. The Demarcus Family remained distant from both the Raven and Greville Families due to their past. Even before that, they maintained a neutral stance in Somaria. The Raven Family always controlled the Moonlight Guild. The only family involved with the Abyss Guild was the Seymour Family. They had their own teams and factions working under David Seymour. However, the hierarchy within the Abyss Guild was clear- cut. Nathaniel Greville was at the top, followed by Arthur Greville. The remainder of the power was distributed based on contributions and ranks. Another group, distinguished by a specific scarf around their necks, entered the area and quietly found their ces. They were recruiters from the Royal Guild of Halcyon, primarily built around the Royal Family of Halcyon with the Allister and Everett Families as their supporting pirs. There were two groups of Recruits already present, simr to the Abyss Guild. They were from the Celestial Guild and the Asura Guild. The Asura Guild had Joseph Kimir Cranston as their Guildmaster, while the Watson family wasn''t highly involved in the Asura Guild. The Watson Family was responsible for Armax Prison, so they had an independent faction in the Asura Guild. Marvin Watson wasn''t involved in the Asura Guild, as he spent most of his time guarding Armax Prison. However, there were times when Marvin would leave for dungeon raids with Joseph or his own team, leaving Armax Prison unguarded. On this asion, due to the threat of Zephyr, the Raven Family was asked to guard Armax Prison while Marvin was absent. Thest among the fivergest guilds was the Celestial Guild, situated in Belvoria. Xarax Hargrave was the current Guildmaster of this guild, with power distributed between two factions: the Martell Family and the Neville Family. Apart from these, many other recruiters belonged to other semirge guilds and even covert factions like the ck Market. These independent factions were also invited to the End Year Tournament as they often dealt with Elite Families and had numerous connections. While these individuals were recruiters and held respectable positions within their guilds, they weren''t at the pinnacle. As such, none of them initiated any disputes that might hold them ountable for subsequent repercussions. A few words were exchanged, but that was the extent of it. However, the atmosphere in the VIP Section was different, where a few Elite Families and other leaders who hade to observe this tournament were present. Normally, all of them wouldn''t be present but they were present to showcase the World and the public that everything was under control. Outside the World Academy, the team from the Mage Association was standing outside with the few Elders standing there looking after two kids. And all of them were careful how they treated them, because they were the cherished Grandkids of the Archmage Silvus Grandus. "Jen, we should go inside now," The boy told his twin sister. "Shut up Jacob, let me look around," His sister replied as the 12 year old went towards the Shops of Soran. It was her little trip to the World Academy, so she wanted to have as much fun along the way, and the Elders were just following them around. Due to their innocence, both these kids didn''t realise how difficult the things were for the people that were managing the shops were being due to their presence. After all, two powerful SS Rank Mages, ring towards you wasn''t exactly a pleasant experience, but Jacob who sensed it tried to tell his sister but he was shut down immediately. "We should really go to World Academy, if we gette Chairman will get worried," One of the Elder told the girl. "But.... fine let''s go," She pouted a bit but she decided to go to the World Academy now. Jacob followed her, while they entered the car as the two elders finally took a deep breath as they managed to get the twins inside the car. Silvus wasn''t entering with these twins because he wanted them to take a tour of the World Academy first beforeing to the Tournament. While the Grandus Twins were on their way to the World Academy, Lucas and Livia were also getting ready to go to World Academy. And right now, Arthur was talking with Hassan about a few things. "You have grown a bit since Ist saw you," Alfred said with a smile on his face. But the recipient of those words weren''tfortable at all. "Father, stop bothering them," Sylvie told as Alfredughed a bit. "You must be joking if one of three leader of the infamous Greyhound will get bothered by this old man," Alfred said. But the one he was talking about could still feel the pressure behind those sharp eyes. Alfred was much more calmer than Nathan, but he was also a dangerous person, and those that were involved in the Elite Families and their work knew it. Lucas was a bit nervous around Alfred, but Livia was fine as she was talking with Helena at the moment. Alfred''s gaze felt like he could read his thoughts, which made Lucas a bit nervous and he could understand why one his teacher that was very strong was reacting like it. Alfred''s demeanor felt like Asher''s because of how calm he remained but it didn''t seem like Alfred was indifferent to things around him. Instead it felt like his eyes was keeping track of everything that was happening around him. "Well, I have to leave now so you cane with your mother," Alfred stood as he fixed his suit. "Okay, take care," Sylvie replied as she hugged Alfred. Alfred was going first to represent the Raven Family and Helena was going with Sylvie, as she wanted to spend some time with her daughter. ''Let''s see how that boy is doing now,'' Alfred thought as he looked at the twins. Lucas and Livia were still getting ready as the Maids fixed their clothes, and they were given spatial storage rings. It was decided that there Special ss would start as soon as the End Year Tournament would end. Chapter 331 End Year Tournament - II ?331 End Year Tournament - II "The First Matches are beginning," Thementator announced as the first match began. "We have Rank 998 of First Year vs Rank 894 of First Year," Thementator said and the students loudly cheered. "We have Rank 996...." Thementator announced rest of the duels as well. The format of this tournament was a simple duel between two students that were seeded against each other by drawing their names. Even though luck was involved but the match ups were done considering the Ranks, power and performance of the student. And the matchups were quite fair for the students early on in the Tournament. But due to therge numbers of student, there were 10 Duels that were happening at the same time, and it would remain that way until the numbers became low. Only the Students and the Recruiters that wanted even the lowest ranking member of the World Academy, watched these matches keenly. At the Fourth Ranker''s Section, Jayden Hargrave was sitting in the Rank 1 Room, while observing the tournament. "Look at the odds against this guy," One guy behind Jayden said as he showed the stats of the Betting Site he opened. Jayden nced at the stats, but he was not that surprised. "It''s to be expected, he has reached Rank C- already," Jayden said. The current prediction of Asher Greville winning was around 97%, which was an insane number that was never seen before. Usually these numbers would appear if someone like Jayden was fighting someone in the Rank 100, but Asher''s predictions were for the Rank 1 spot. Even though the guy with Jayden wanted to try his luck and bet against Asher, but he knew he would only lose money. When the Fourth Years returned to the World Academy, the fact Asher beating ke Cranston starting spreading like fire among the Fourth Years, and some straight up thought that it was lie, but after some time they got to know that it was actually the truth. But Jayden wasn''t concerned about Asher right now. Right now, his eyes were on someone else. "When is his match?" Jayden asked. "It will be probably start once 50 Matches are done, so it will startter in the Day," The guy replied. "Hmm, keep eyes on him," Jayden said as he stood up. Most Rankers, even the ones in the Top 50 were not watching the first few matches. Due to the fact that only the Rank 1 of all three years would decide the oue of Blood Faction vs the Student Council, it didn''t matter how the members performed anymore. Both Leonard and Raelyn didn''t like this method, because of the fact that all their investment in their members till now was not worth it anymore. Each Match on the First Day was onlysted 5 minutes, and if the Students failed to reach a conclusion, the Referee and a Panel of Judge would decide the winner of the match. Till the count of remaining students reached to 250 for each of the Year, the Top 50 would not participate and it was the privilege they got for maintaining that rank. Each of the Professor were also sitting in their own rooms. The Arena was made in such a way that all the Professors had their own rooms, and some of them were not watching the current matches due to the work that was piled up. It was announced that the Vacations were cancelled and it made the workload on the Professors increase as they needed to prepare for the Next Term in time. "Even the ones that are Ranked 700, are quite powerful," One guy said as he was wearing a different uniform that didn''t belong to the World Academy. "If they are this good, I wonder how good are the Rankers," Another said. While the tournament had started, slowly the Guests were arriving, but the main ones would only arrive on the Second Day except Alfred Raven and Silvus Grandus that were invited for the First Day. To represent High Council, two of the Seat Holders would always arrive on the First Day. It was an tradition that was followed since World Academy was made. As the First Round of Duels ended, suddenly the Tournament was paused as the Commentator stopped and the screen changed to show Farnus Calmort who was standing in the Center most area of the Arena. Where 13 Seats were ced behind him. Many people got excited to see him as it was Farnus''s first appearance since the Cmities were defeated. The Student cheered loudly as they saw the Principal, and even the Students of the other schools looked at Farnus with admiration, and he deserved it. Even the students that had just finished the duels, stopped as they looked at Farnus. "With the First Round done, I am sure the rest of you are looking forward to your matches," Farnus said as his voice resonated in the whole Arena. "I want to encourage each Student to give their all, and showcase their potential to the whole world," Farnus spoke. "And to witness your strength, two important guests are arriving," Farnus spoke as the Portals behind opened. The screen changed to focus on the two Portals. A Old men wearing an very expensive suit entered first. "Alfred Raven, the Seat Holder of the Raven Family," Farnus as Alfred came forward as he looked at the Arena and student started cheering. "And, the Chairman of the Mage Association, Silvus Grandus," Farnus spoke as Silvus stepped out. Both of them were quite popr among people due to their position, and many students were excited to see the Seat Holders with their own eyes. Alfred stepped forward fist as ced his hand on the Stone Pir in front of his Seat as his Name was recorded in the Record of World Academy, which was a big stone made of runes that recorded all the achievements and major events of World Academy. And Silvus did the same, as his name was also recorded. Not only the End Year Tournament was something that could decide these student''s future, but if they performed good, some of them has the chances of leaving their names on that Stone. "Let''s resume the tournament," Farnus said as the screen changed and the Commentator took over. The students were excited, but the pressure on some increased equally, as not only their families but the whole world was going to watch them. For some this was thest opportunity to secure a good future, and for some it didn''t matter. But there were people like Jayden, Reeve that were fighting for the pride of their families and it wasmon in all Elite Families. "There a lot of talented kids this year," Alfred spoke as Farnus and Silvus took their Seats. Silvus didn''t minded Alfred, but he didn''t like him either, as Alfred could be seen as the person that followed the etiquettes quite strictly. Even people from other Elite Families looked upto Alfred and respected him for his charisma and the way he handled himself. "There will be a lot of interesting battles," Alfred said as looked at the Stage where the next duel started. "Look forward to it," Farnus said. "But you would have to wait for the interesting ones," Farnus replied. Alfred and Silvus were not only here to observe but also for the announcement of a Special ss that was being made for just four children that were not even 14 yet. Alfred remained quite as he looked at the arena where the students were sitting, and he didn''t see Amelia nor Asher present in the Arena. Farnus was sitting quietly with a small smile on his face, as he was waiting for the tournament to progress a bit more before he made his announcement. While Silvus and Alfred had arrived, the Grandus Twins were at the Portal Dome, in Soran and they were about to enter as Professor Arman himself was there to approve their entry. Due to security reasons, the Grandus Twins were allowed to enter with Two Elders apanying them, but it was only until the Tournament was being held. And their movement inside the World Academy would be restricted as well. "So big," Jacob said looking at the Portal Dome. "I wonder how the World Academy is lie," Jacob turned towards his Sister who was also looking around. "Well, you can see for yourself, meanwhile I will take to the Teleporting Gates," Arman said looking at the Grandus Twins. At the same time, in the Inner Sector of World Academy, Asher was meditating in his room, while his ID Bracelet showed the estimated time for his first match, which was around 7 hours. Asher opened his eyes as he received a message from Arthur, and it was about the Twins arriving at World Academy, in the next 5 hours. Farnus allowed both Grandus and Greville Twins to enter the World Academy from the Portal Dome, and enter the Inner Sector of the World Academy. But the only condition was that they could only bring at most two guards with them, and no family members to maintain the neutral atmosphere in World Academy. Chapter 332 End Year Tournament - III

Chapter 332 End Year Tournament - III

332 End Year Tournament - III Arman was standing in the Portal Dome giving orders to the Staff while waiting for someone. "And make sure ry the message to the Medical Facility that-," Arman stopped midway through as he sensed the arrival of a powerful SS Rank Hunter. "Just ry what I told you for now," Arman said. The Staff member nodded as Arman went outside and saw many cars. The Security Teams from all those cars stepped out as a single man exited the car in the middle, and opened the door for two kids, that looked like 13 year olds. "So these are Ivar''s children," Arman muttered as he saw the Crimson Red Eye. When Arman first saw Lucas''s face, he found it very simr to Ivar''s and he had no doubt that they were truly Ivar Greville''s kids. There were a lot of rumours surrounding the twins, but Arman knew that these two were in fact Ivar''s children. "Young Master, Young Lady, follow me," The man said as he noticed Arman standing wearing the World Academy''s Insignia and the 3 Stars across his shoulders. Lucas noticed Arman, and he remembered his face from the Representative Tournament. "Wee, I am Professor Arman," Arman introduced himself. Arman looked up to the man''s face, and he recognized the man that was guarding the twins. One of the three SS Rank Hunter of the Greyhound Group, Kark Sermon. "I will be the one guarding them," Kark said. Arman nodded. "Follow me for now," Arman said, looking at Lucas and Livia. This was the second time Lucas and Livia had been to the Portal Dome, but now they would be heading to the World Academy, of which they had only heard tales. They arrived at the Portal Gate. Arman signaled the staff to activate the Teleportation Gate. It opened instantly. Arman nced at Kark, who positioned himself behind Lucas and Livia. Lucas and Livia stepped forward into the teleportation gate, and Kark followed closely behind. "They are quite calm. I wouldn''t expect any less from his children," Armanmented as he turned away. On the other side of the Teleportation Gate, Lucas found himself at the entrance of the World Academy, taking in the expansive view. "It''s so big," Livia eximed, looking around. "I can finally meet Big Sis," she remarked, ncing at Kark. "Yes, I will escort both of you to the Inner Sector," Kark confirmed. Lucas and Livia nodded in response. "By the way, did you know that professor?" Lucas inquired as they moved towards the Bridge Area. Kark''s facial expression altered momentarily, but he quickly regained hisposure. He hadn''t expected Lucas to pick up on such a subtle change. "He was in the same year as your father," Kark answered honestly. "Were they friends?" Livia asked, her interest piqued by the mention of Ivar. "Hmm, not really," Kark responded. "Oh, I see," said Livia, as Kark continued to trail behind them. Lucas didn''t ask any more, but he didn''t think both of their reactions were simple. Lucas was extremely sensitive to how people reacted around him, and his observation skills were so good that they even surprised some of the tutors the Greville Family hired. But despite his suspicions, he didn''t force Kark to tell him more about the topic, as his mind was focused on meeting Asher and watching the tournament as well. They soon reached the security checkpoint where the Security Team of World Academy joined them to keep an eye on Kark, who was there to protect Lucas and Livia. "Will we use them to travel?" Livia asked as she looked at the hoverboards. "Yeah, you just need to channel your mana and control it," Kark responded. Lucas and Livia stood on the hoverboards, and they got used to them in a few seconds. "This is fun," Livia said, looking at Lucas as she moved around on the hoverboard. The staff members were a bit surprised, and it happened twice for them. First, when the Grandus Twins came and now with Lucas and Livia. They didn''t expect some 12-year-olds to get used to the hoverboards, which were quite tricky to handle for someone not used to manipting mana. "Let''s go," Livia said as she immediately rushed towards the Entry of the Outer Sector, and Lucas hurriedly followed her. Kark did the same but followed them from a distance, allowing the twins to explore the Outer Sector and various buildings made for the students. Because of the End Year Tournament, the Outer Sector was mostly empty, as even the employees of various stores were watching the tournament. "Liv, don''t go too fast," Lucas said as Livia looked back. "Don''t worry, Lucas," Livia assured, but it didn''t ease Lucas''s worries. However, he was as excited as Livia, even if he didn''t show it. When he first heard from Arthur that both of them would be joining the World Academy, he couldn''t believe it, as all the tutors had told them they would only join the World Academy when they were around 14-15 years old. So when Lucas found out he could learn and spend time with Asher as well, he was very excited. Soon, they arrived at the Entrance of the Inner Section, where Kark stopped as this was as far as he could apany the twins. A staff member was also present there and quickly guided the twins, instructing them on how to confirm their identity. Kark stood there, ensuring no one disrespected the twins. His aura even made the staff member a bit uneasy. Livia and Lucas stayed still as a ray of red light scanned them, called out their names, and the door opened revealing Amelia and Damian on the other side. "BIG SIS!!" Livia rushed in, and Amelia hugged her, lifting her into the air. Lucas looked around but didn''t see Asher. Damian noticed Lucas''s behavior immediately. "He''s in the Ranker''s Dorm," Damian said. "Don''t worry, we''ll be going there," Damian added, and Lucas nodded in acknowledgment. Amelia noticed Kark on the other side of the open door. Kark bowed his head slightly in respect, and Amelia nodded back. With the twins now with Amelia, Kark felt at ease. "I can''t believe Mom and Dad didn''t tell me you guys would be joining the World Academy," Amelia said, setting Livia down. "We didn''t know either," Livia replied. Livia admired the beautiful garden at the entrance of the Inner Sector of the World Academy, clearly impressed by its beauty. "Amelia, we should go to the Rankers Dorm before Asher leaves for his match," Damian reminded Amelia. "Yeah, let''s go. We''ll watch the tournament from there," Amelia replied. "We have our matches around the same time, so we''ll tour the Academyter," Amelia said, looking at Livia. "So we''ll watch you fight?" Livia asked, and Amelia nodded. But before they could proceed, Professor Elsa appeared before Amelia, looking at the twins. "Professor?" Amelia asked, surprised by Elsa''s sudden appearance. "So these are Lucas Greville and Livia Greville?" Elsa inquired, and both Lucas and Livia nodded. "Don''t worry, I''m just here to give them their ID Bracelets," Elsa exined, noting Amelia''s confusion. "After all, every student needs one, right?" Elsa remarked, producing two bracelets, one for Livia and one for Lucas. Some faculty members already knew about the twins'' arrival, but many were surprised to learn that the Greville Twins would be joining the World Academy, along with the Grandus Twins. The announcement hadn''t been made yet, but Farnus had told Arman to begin preparations, and Elsa was among the few professors in the know. "And I''ll count on you guys to exin all the rules to them," Elsa said, looking at Amelia and Damian. "Yes, Professor," Amelia and Damian replied as Elsa left. "Who was she?" Livia asked, tugging on Amelia''s uniform. "That was Professor Elsa Robles, and she''s a very powerful mage," Amelia answered. "Yeah, and from what we''ve heard, she''s one of the more lenient professors at the World Academy," Damian added. On their way to the Ranker''s Dorm, Amelia and Damian pointed out a few important ces to Livia and Lucas and exined the basic rules of the World Academy. Amelia was quite pleased to see Livia, as she had been disappointed when she found out vacations were canceled. She had been looking forward to spending time with them, and the vacation announcement upset those ns. It was only yesterday that Sylvie informed Amelia about their admission to the World Academy. "And this is the Ranker''s Dorm," Amelia said, stopping in front of the impressive building designed by some of the best architects in the world. "Wow, is this where you live?" Livia asked Amelia. "Yup," Amelia replied with pride. Lucas was also taken aback by the design of the Ranker''s Dorm. "Let''s go inside for now," Damian suggested, and the twins followed them into the Ranker''s Dorm. They began to explore the spacious lobby, which was also quite stunning. Ping! Suddenly, Damian received a message on his ID Bracelet. "It seems the timings have changed a bit," Damian mentioned, ncing at Amelia. Chapter 333 First Match

Chapter 333 First Match

333 First Match "What do you mean changed?" Amelia asked. They were supposed to meet Asher here, and spend some time showing the twins the Ranker''s Dome before their matches started, which 2 hourter from now. "Apparently, a lot more than a few matches ended too quickly, so they started Top 100 matches a bit early," Damian said while scratching his head. Because End Year Tournament was a Seven Day tournament, each day a certain number of matches needed to be held, and it was made in an order in which Rankers would fight each day. It was make the matches interesting to watch and also disy the strength of the top ranking students in World Academy. But for some reason, this time the matches were happening too quickly due to the reduced time limit per match. It made the students go all out from the start, and the matches ended too quickly. "At this rate the tournament will end too quickly," Amelia said as she looked at her ID Bracelet. "Maybe they have something in mind," Damian replied as he gave up on thinking too much about this issue. If they were rushing things a bit, maybe they had something nned but he didn''t wanted to waste his energy thinking about it. And their assumption was right, Farnus did make the matches end faster to make time for his surprise. "Well, let''s go to the Arena first, we can take the Portal in the Lobby Area," Damian suggested. "Asher''s match will start in 15 minutes so he should be already in the waiting area, we can meet him after the match," Amelia looked at the twins as she exined them the situation. Especially Lucas, Amelia knew that Lucas looked upto Asher a lot. But despite this news Lucas was excited to see Asher''s duel. At the Seat Holder''s Area, Silvus and Alfred was watching over the duels but they hadn''t seen anything too interesting till now. "This year there are a lot of talented kids even in the Mid Ranks," Silvusmented after seeing the performance of a few mages. "I am sure those Guilds will be fighting over a few of them," Alfred spoke, "I am sure you will be surprised by the Top 100," Farnus added. "But these kids are too impatient," Silvus added. "This generation have too many talented kids, so they feel the pressure topete with them," Alfred added. "I remember thest time such a thing happened, was when my Daughter was in World Academy," Alfred said as he remembered the old days. Around this time, Amelia and Damian entered the VIP Section that was made for the Rankers to watch the matches. Each of the Rankers were given seperate room to spectate the match from and they could invite people in their rooms as well. As soon as they entered, thementator announced the ending of the current matches. "We will now move towards individual matches," Thementator announced. "For the very first match, we will start with the Rank 1 of First Year, the Heir of the Greville Family, Asher Von Raven Greville!!" Thementator announced and the half of the crowd cheered loudly while half of them were silently praying for the victim that has to go against him. "And for the opponent, the Rank 24 Carl Mearson," Thementator announced as two students stepped out to the Center Stage, which transformed into a single stage from the previous multiple one. "Goodluck Carl, give it your and try to survive, it''s your best chance to get the most marks," His friend cheered him on, but even Carl himself was nervous going against Asher. Due to the way End Year Tournament worked, if you performed better against someone far above you, your chances of ranking up were higher, then the person who defeated the person one rank above him. "So he is Asher Greville," The students from other academies were also excited to see the infamous Rank 1 of the First Year fight. And not only them, but every single person was focused on the match. "It seems your Grandson is attracting quite the eye," Silvus spoke as Alfred just smiled. It had been a long time since Alfred had met Asher, and he could see how much the young boy had grown. Even the Rankers of All four years had came to witness the match, and gauge the potential of Asher Greville with their own eyes. "The rules remains the same, Don''t attack someone who is on the ground, and if you don''t stop on my call, we will forcefully separate you guys," The Referee said as Carl and Asher took their ces. "The Match willst for 10 minutes, and the winner will be decided by the Judges if no clear winner is found," The Referee said as he raised his hand and Carl and Asher took their positions. Asher''s de was pointing the ground, and his guard wasn''t up at all, on the other hand, Carl was gripping his sword tightly. ''Just a few minutes!'' Carl repeatedly said to himself. The result didn''t matter for Carl, but he wanted to make the most out of this match. The Crowd felt silent, as the Referee raised his hand and Carl channelled his mana to get ready while Asher kept looking at Carl with his indifferent eyes. He covered his sword with aura, and kept himself calm despite getting nervous by looking at the indifferent crimson red eyes that were looking at him. Just by looking at Asher, he was feeling pressured and it was obvious for the spectators as well. "Go!" The Referee said, as Carl and Asher both didn''t move for a few seconds. Asher looked at Carl with his indifferent gaze, as he could see that Carl wasn''t going to initiate an attack on him. "Don''t waste my time," Asher said as disappeared from his spot and appeared mid air in front of Carl who was holding his sword covered with his aura. Carl didn''t even saw Asher move, but he was already in front of him. Asher rotated his body as the ck sword in his hand striked Carl''s sword but instead of holding his position, it immediately broke through Carl''s Rank C Sword, which was covered by his aura. Due to the sheer impact of Asher''s strike, Carl was sent flying towards the ground outside the stage ending the match in a second. "Ah, Asher Greville has won the match!!" The Referee stumbled upon his words, but he still announced the winner of the match. "He won!!" Lucas stood up from his seat to cheer for Asher, but the whole crowd was silent. They expected the Duel tost at least 10 seconds, but it ended just like that. Asher had already turned to leave even before the Referee announced the results. The crowd started cheering after the match ended, but some people in the VIP Sections, didn''t look happy with the results. "Your grandson is attracting a lot of eyes," Silvus said to Alfred. "Well, he is talented enough to attract those eyes," Alfred replied maintaining his calm face. But he was impressed by Asher''s performance as well, even if he didn''t show it. Farnus remained quite, while Silvus was thinking on his evaluation of Asher Greville. "He is so strong!" Livia said looking at Amelia. "Yeah," Amelia replied awkwardly. Even she didn''t expect the match to end just like that. "Well, my match will half an hourter so we can meet Asher with the twins," Damian suggested. Amelia nodded, while she looked at her match schedule which was after Damian. In the other VIP Section, "Do you think you can fight him?" Sam asked Matthew who had invited him to his room. "Defeating him is impossible for me, but I can react to that speed," Matthew replied honestly. "What about you? " Matthew asked, He had sparred with Sam, he knew that Sam was much more stronger than his rank showed. "I honestly would rather go against Kevin or you instead of him," Sam replied. "But for my situation, he might be the better choice," Sam replied while shrugging his shoulders. Matthew didn''t knew why Sam was not increasing his rank, but after noticing what Jack his brother did to him, he could guess there were few things that Sam was hiding from him. And Matthew didn''t wanted to step in if Sam didn''t wanted him to. After all Matthew knew despite being strong, he didn''t have any power to help Sam in his family situation. Chapter 334 Meetup

Chapter 334 Meetup

334 Meetup As he walked through the waiting room, Asher noticed every student kept their distance from him. After all, various rumors about Asher were circting, and these students didn''t want to draw his attention. And after witnessing how Carl had just been defeated, their astonishment grew. His performance led some to believe that the rumors about Asher Greville might mostly be true. "You''re telling me he''s a first-year?" A recruiter eximed with a shocked look on his face. Meanwhile, the recruiters from the Abyss Guild wore proud smiles. Even delegates from other academies were too stunned to speak. After all, they had just witnessed someone shatter a sword enveloped in aura using sheer physical strength. The disparity was evident, and such a disy of strength was typically associated with third-year students. In the VIP section reserved for fourth-year rankers, Kiara stood watching the match. It was her first time seeing Asher inbat, and she was left speechless. "So the rumors were true," Kiara murmured, gazing at the stage. She recalled the advice her mother had given her before she joined World Academy, and she was fully cognizant of its implications. "But the bnce you spoke of might fall," Kiara whispered to herself. But Kiara couldn''t think of such stuff at the moment, for other Years this was just a tournament, but for the Fourth Years, this was the chance to leave their names behind. Asher had already received the message from Damian so he was going towards their room. But before going he looked at the area of the Third Year waiting rooms. Asher turned his head, as things were going exactly the same as his previous life at least till now. Arriving at the VIP Section, after getting his Identity Confirmed by the Security System, Asher entered the room where Amelia, Damian and the twins were sitting. "Nice match!" Damian raised his thumb as he congratted him. "It was a good match," Amelia also tried congratte Asher. But Livia looked at Asher, and immediately asked him. "Can you teach how to move like that?" Livia asked. "Aren''t you learning from Grandfather?" Asher asked as he took his seat. He knew about Livia''s training and Arthur even told Asher, how Nathan himself said that Livia was fit to learn his sword art. And this meant that Livia had already received the Rune of Eirdin, just like Asher, but in her case she had the talent to wield the Greatsword just Nathan did. At first, Livia wasn''t in Asher''s ns but knowing how she got the Rune of Eirdin, that both his Father and Late Uncle, couldn''t do, made him think about it. "But Grandpa always said that he will teach me more when I grow up," Livia replied. She had gottenfortable around Asher''s emotionless look especially after theirst spar. "You will only waste your time learning this," Asher replied. She couldn''t learn Mir Steps that were part of the Node Art, and she didn''t need to learn his movement technique. After all, Livia was the only one that was capable of fully inheriting Nathan''s swordsmanship that nobody in the entire Greville Family could. Asher knew nothing about Nathan''s sword art as he had never confronted him, but just from the foundation that Nathan told him, Asher was sure that it was very powerful. "What about me?" Lucas raised his hand. "I wanted to learn about the technique you taught mest time?" Lucas asked. "Sure," Asher replied. There was no need to reject Lucas. Asher wanted him to be stronger, and the best way for Lucas to get that knowledge was to learn from Asher. It was not perfect, as Asher couldn''t replicate the whole technique, but he was sure that Lucas would find the way around it. Lucas smiled as Asher epted his offer, and due to the fact that Lucas barely showed this much emotions, Amelia thought he was very cute at the moment. "I don''t why he looks up to him so much," Amelia muttered with a jealous look at Asher. Damian who heard her, just chuckled and looked at Lucas. "He is like a stray cat," Damian told Amelia. "Wasn''t it Asher who found them, so he likes him the most," Damian wasughing when he Amelia kicked his knees. "Ouch!" Damian spoke out. "Don''t make fun of him," Amelia said as Damian shutted his mouth. Livia was confused as she didn''t hear the conversation, but Asher just ignored it. "Well, I will go for now, my match will start soon," Damian stood up. "Good luck," Amelia said. "Good Luck!!" Livia and Lucas said at the same time. While Asher just nodded at him. Early matches were nothing for the Rankers, but going forward the matches would only get more difficult. And Asher''s next match wasn''t going to happen soon, as his next match was going to be against a ranker, or someone from Top 15. Ping! Asher got a message in his ID Bracelet and he opened it, and saw it was from Eric Herod. Eric Herod, who was the Son of the Head Butler of the Greville Family, the same Eric that was the head of the Duel Committee. Asher closed the message as he looked at the matches that were going on now. Even Livia and Lucas were watching the matches closely. At the Fourth Year VIP Section, "Make sure to give his opponent the artifact he needs," Jayden replied. He was there to see Asher''s match, after all Asher Greville was someone that wouldter be someone that would stand against him. Hargrave and Greville were both one of the Strongest Families, and Jayden knew that when he would take over the Family Head position, Asher Greville would be one of the problems. But right now, there was no need for Jayden to be against Asher, or the Greville family in general. "Maybe, he might even help me with my Aunt''s problem," Jayden muttered after thinking about Asher''s personality. "Those two kids, will be an eyesore for him as well," Jayden said with a smile on his face. Jayden didn''t knew that the very kids he was talking about, were inside World Academy, and they were sitting with Asher and Amelia at the moment. From outside perspective, Lucas and Livia were only a threat to Asher and Amelia''s position, and even if that wasn''t the case, people assumed that Arthur''s children might not like the twins at all. After all, it wasmon in Elite Families, when the one in the Heir Position didn''t like the presence of their cousins and siblings. Just like in Hargrave Family, there was a tradition of the strongest person to be the Heir, there were times that such things happened in other Elite or even some other highly reputed families. "Well, I can deal with thatter," Jayden said. "They can mess with each other for now," Jayden said. ''They'' he was talking about were Asher and Leonard, and he knew that Leonard Tarvian was nning something that involved Asher Greville. But they could do whatever they wanted, and it wasn''t Jayden''s concern. Right now, he had another thing he wanted to watch out for, after all right now his Heir position was not solidified, and his trust in Casie Hargrave wasn''t much. He knew how crazy of a woman she was, and Jayden wanted something stable to rely on. Like his own strength and achievements, and for that there was two paths he could take. To be the strongest in World Academy, and show a performance that would make his position firm in the Hargrave Family, or take down others who could be a threat to him. Eric who was sitting in the Waiting Area watched two Fourth Year student walk out of the room and he ignored them. His target was inside, so he entered the room and he looked at one of the guys in specific. Everyone here recognized Eric, as he was one of the Rankers, but Eric sat down beside one of the guys as he looked him in the face. "These artifacts look fine," Eric said with a smile on his face. "Huh? Why are you talking to me?" The Third Year student got surprised and Eric grabbed his shoulders making him sit down forcefully before more attention was drawn towards them. "Let''s be civil here," Eric said with a smile on his face. After a ''friendly'' talk for 5 minutes, Eric proudly exited the room. "I should inform Young Master about this," Eric said as he remembered to update Asher about this. "And done," Eric sent the message to Asher as he went back to his room. Eric could partially guess what Asher wanted to do, but it didn''t made much sense to him, but he was taught to not questions or think too much about their superiors orders. And he simply did the task, and went back not thinking too much about it. Chapter 335 Reaction ?335 Reaction Soon enough, it was Damian''s turn on the stage, and his opponent was the Rank 28th student. Unlike Asher''s fight, Damian''s duelsted a good 28 seconds. Damian was a Shield User, so in a duel, he was naturally at a disadvantage. However, instead of being defensive, Damian was extremely aggressive, which threw his opponent off. After the fight went on for a bit less than half a minute, the opponent made a mistake by trying to use a feint attack. Damian noticed a gap in his footwork, providing an opportunity for him. ''His son is quite good as well,'' Alfred thought as he watched the match. Damian''s ability to react to any fighting style was so impressive that Alfred could discern where he had learned it. David Seymour was a great fighter himself and one of the few Hunters who fought barehanded and didn''t use any weapons. "It''s a pity he''s using a shield," Alfred said. "It''s their choice; we can only guide them," Farnus replied. World Academy was structured in a way that encouraged students to pursue what was best for them and where their talentsy. However, there were a few anomalies like Damian and Asher, who didn''t choose what was best for them for various reasons. After Damian''s match, two students from the second year were called, and the tournament continued. Recruiters were also scouting among the first and second years, wanting to evaluate these students early on. A guild needed talented hunters. Even the Abyss Guild would have been limited if there were no good hunters besides Nathan and Arthur. New talent was always needed, especially since hunters were at risk of dying if a mishap urred. Venturing into dungeons was perilous, as there were instances when a single mistake by a hunter caused the entire team to perish. This was why, at World Academy, students were exposed to dangers like monsters and taught by the best instructors in the world how to react in such situations. However, the matches that most guild representatives were keenly watching were those of the third and fourth years. The names of several students were already highlighted on their lists. Most of these guilds, except the top ones, nned to offer these students contracts, which the students couldter decide upon. While some students pursued the top guilds for their renown, others did not. Due to the nature of these elite guilds, more missions and greater danger were inevitable. Many students would graduate andter join the Mage Association, while others might join one of the two other associations. This tournament held different significance for different people. People like Jayden and Reece werepeting for the First Rank, for the pride of their elite families, just like other children from the Elite Families. "I will go now," Amelia announced as she stood up. "Is it your turn?" Livia inquired. "Yes, my match should start in 15 minutes," Amelia responded. All students were required to report 15 minutes prior to their matches. "I''ll be back soon," Amelia said, giving Livia''s head a gentle pat. Amelia was eager to conclude her match swiftly, show the twins around World Academy, and spend quality time with Livia. Without further ado, she left the room, leaving Asher and the twins behind. Livia and Lucas sat together, intently watching the next match thatsted a full 2 minutes before a winner was dered. Near the stage, thementator nced at his list, prepping himself to announce the next contenders. At that moment, Damian had made his way back to the room where Asher was seated, and he too turned his attention to the stage. "Next match is between Rank 467, Garmen Smith, and Rank 501, Vin Hargrave," thementator dered as the two students made their entrance. "That''s Vin Hargrave?" Damian observed, focusing on the young man who was stepping onto the stage. He remembered bumping into this guy outside the Great Library, but he hadn''t thought that this guy would be Vin Hargrave. "You know him?" Asher asked Damian. Asher already knew about Vin, but he was curious about Damian''s reaction. "I bumped into him outside the Great Library. I thought he was just some average Third Year. I didn''t realize he was from the Hargrave Family," Damian replied. "I see," Asher said, ncing towards the stage. Vin Hargrave was the son of the current family head of the Hargrave Family, and he was expected to be the heir. However, he couldn''t be the heir for one reason: his weakness. It was rare for children in elite families to be in the mid ranks since they had ess to vast resources from an early age. Yet, Vin Hargrave was one such individual. Despite being in his Third Year, he was only a C Rank Hunter, not skilled inbat. "It seems our dear Young Master''s turn," some Third Year studentsughed as they watched Vin. They wouldn''t dare mock him to his face due to his status. Still, many students resented that someone like him was born into the esteemed Hargrave Family. To them, Vin was squandering the resources avable to him, and their disdain had a basis. Vin wasn''t just an average guy striving to be strong but held back by his limited talent. It was true that Vin didn''t possess the talent that individuals like Asher, Kevin, and other rankers had, but he wasn''t weak either. The reason he wasn''t named the heir and Jayden took that position was primarily due to Vin''s deep passion for research and studies. He held the Rank 1 position in theory during his Third Year and also served as the President of the Research Club, which he managed for his own personal research projects. Currently, two individuals observed Vin, each harboring differing opinions of him. One was Jayden Hargrave, who viewed Vin as nothing more than an obstacle he wished to eliminate. The other was Asher. Vin assessed his adversary, positioning himself on the stage. While his opponent wielded a sword, Vin was a mage. "Start!" The referee signaled the beginning of the battle, and Vin''s opponent lunged forward with his de. "Wind Barrier," Vin whispered, conjuring a barrierposed of wind in his opponent''s path. "Windspin," he invoked another spell without missing a beat, and des of wind swirled around him. His opponent acted swiftly, raising his aura ¡ª for he too was a C Rank Hunter ¡ª and deflected the wind des with his sword. This forced him to retreat a couple of steps, during which Vin swiftly invoked another spell. "Fallen Embers," he murmured, causing tiny yet intensely hot embers to manifest throughout the stage. "Do you think this will stop me?" Vin''s opponent attempted to mock him, but Vin remained unfazed. The spell he had employed was a Tier 2 Spell, meant merely to divert his opponent''s attention. Yet, that wasn''t his ultimate objective. Vin didn''t have the massive mana pool like some other people so he used his knowledge instead. Vin took out his Dagger, as chanted another spell that made fire burn around the dagger and he threw it at his opponent. ng! His opponent easily swung his sword to deflect that dagger but on the moment of contact, the fire bursted out covering the field of view and making him squint his eyes. Vin took advantage of this opening, and chanted a powerful Tier 2 spell. "Windstorm," Vin muttered as the air around his opponent started to collect itself, and it fueled the embers that were all around the stage. Due to thebination of these two spells, a huge firestorm was made and his opponent was engulfed in it. "Wind de!" Vin did another spell which struck his opponent, and he was forced to use his sword to defend from the Wind de. "The Winner is Vin Hargrave!" The referee announced as the Mages around the stage immediately stopped the firestorm. And the opponent was on his knees and he used a lot of his aura to defend against Vin''s spell. The crowd cheered for Vin, who was taking heavy breaths as he barely had any mana left after using so many spell in session. Vin had a small smile on his face, as he left the stage but someone''s face didn''t look good right now. "Useless," Jayden muttered. "How the hell that guy lost with the artifacts we gave him?" One of Jayden''s friends muttered. "Do better next time," Jayden said as his mana pressure took over the room. "Y-Yes, I will make sure this doesn''t happen again." One of them replied immediately. They didn''t wanted to anger Jayden, so it was better for them to admit their mistakes and correct them. "He used a good tactic," Damian said. "For a guy on Rank 500, he was quite decent," Damian spoke. Chapter 336 Give Up ?336 Give up "I really won, huh?" Vin said to himself as he left the waiting room. No one approached Vin; they all maintained their distance. However, Vin was used to this treatment from his fellow ssmates and other students. After all, he was the only one in the entire academy who ran a research club focused solely on studying herbs and making medicines. He explored the effects of differentbinations and crafted items that had new functionalities. His work was unconventional, but Vin didn''t mind. Even if no one joined his club, he enjoyed what he was doing. ''Why did he give me all that advice?'' Vin wondered on his way to the dorms. He had met Eric the other day, the very same Eric Herod who was a ranker. Eric was famous in the third year as the Duel Committee President, but he had resigned at the start of the year. Vin hadn''t interacted with Eric much, except asionally due to ss arrangements. ''Well, if he''s looking for favors, he''s asking the wrong guy,'' Vin thought as he made his way back. ''I''m just a disappointment,'' Vin said with a faint smile on his face. He had long epted the fact that he didn''t have the qualities to be the heir of the Hargrave Family. In the Hargrave Family, the strongest ruled. And even though he tried for a long time, there were abilities he just couldn''t master. Hard work could only take him so far, and even if he gave his best, others would surpass him in less time. Vin was the only son of the head of the Hargrave Family, and he was expected to take over the family legacy in the future. But everything changed when his talents were unveiled. As a mage with a low mana pool, Vin knew that even with the vast resources of the Hargrave Family behind him, he would never be the strongest. "I am just someone who ran away from all that pressure," Vin said to himself. He didn''t enjoy fighting. Instead, he found sce in his research, reading books, and crafting new potions. He much preferred that over battling monsters and bing one himself. But the Hargrave Family didn''t ept his inclinations easily. As he headed towards the Third Year VIP Dorms, Vin noticed some youngsters in the Third Year section. He narrowed his eyes. Their silver hair and bright yellow- amber eyes drew attention, and he wondered why they were there. ''Those must be the Grandus Twins,'' Vin recognized them instantly. Although he wasn''t the designated heir, he had been educated as one from a young age. He remembered that Silvus Grandus had two grandchildren, twins to be exact. Seeing them at the World Academy was a surprise, but he assumed they had gained permission to attend. "Well, not my problem," Vin said as he continued towards the dorm. "Why don''t we head to the Tournament Arena now?" suggested the third-year student apanying the twins. "But I wanted to explore more," Jennifer protested. "I really want to see it, Jen," Jacob countered. The third-year student apanying them was a rtive of the elders assigned to guard the twins. Their duty was to both protect the twins within the World Academy and give them a tour. Jen pondered for a moment. She was keen on exploring the World Academy further, but seeing Jacob''s eagerness to watch the tournament, she decided to relent. "Alright, let''s go," Jen said, turning to the third-year students behind them. "Please, follow us," one of them replied politely as they set off towards the arena. ''I wonder where he is...'' Jen mused. She recalled spotting a young boy at the Mage Association with distinctive crimson red eyes, but she hadn''t had the chance to meet him. While Jacob was solely interested in the tournament, Jen had another motive. She wanted to meet Lucas Greville, the son of Ivar Greville. Being a mage herself and having been tutored by Silvus from a young age, she had inherited his unique Silver Mana. Silvus had painstakingly trained her over the years, ensuring she harnessed it effectively. Her intrigue about Lucas deepened after she overheard the elders discussing the future of the Greville Family. "I''ve heard rumors that Ivar Greville''s son is a mage. Can you imagine? A mage with the Greville bloodline would be immensely powerful," one elder remarked to another. ''I will see from myself,'' Jen thought but she instantly got distracted as saw a big building towards the East. "What is that?" Jen asked immediately. "Ah, that''s the Great Library," One of the Third Years answered. "Do you want to go thereter?" He asked. "NO! I will not touch books for a whole month," Jen immediately shouted making the guy awkward. ''Does she hates studying?'' He thought. "Okay," He awkwardly replied as Jen looked at the other direction immediately. She refused to look in that direction entirely as if denying any possibility of going near that ce. They went towards the Arena, and they purchased a VIP Section Ticket, for the Grandus Twins, to watch the match from. It was possible to watch the tournament privately, but a lot of GP was needed to buy those tickets. But the VIP Section they were given, was coincidentally near the First Year Ranker''s VIP Section. The Third Years chose to avoid the Third Year and Fourth Year sections, to avoid any troubles. But as they were going towards their Section, the door to one of the VIP Rooms opened, and someone stepped out of the room. The two 12 years old got surprised as they noticed a pair of Crimson Red Eyes, looking down at them. And emotionless gaze, made them a bit scared. ''Silvus Grandus''s grandchildren huh,'' Asher thought as he looked at the twins. But immediately the two Third Years appeared in front of the twins to created a barrier between the kids and Asher. Among all people they could have encountered, they had to meet Asher Greville who was the most unpredictable person in the whole World Academy. Asher looked at them and at first they were nervous but both of them were C+ Rank Hunters. Asher just turned his head, and left the hallway going around them. "Who was that guy?" Jacob asked as he confirmed that the scary guy and was long gone. "Oh, he is the Heir of the Greville Family, Asher Greville," One of them replied. "Come on, let''s go," One of them said brightly. But this encounter scared the two twins as they have never have seen someone looking at them this way. There were a lot of times people look at them with eyes full of Envy, or respect, or even fear but this was the first time for them they had encountered someone like Asher. ''Grandpa was right, he is a bad guy,'' Jen thought as she slightly turned her head to confirm that Asher was gone. ''Hmmph, when I get powerful I will show them what I can do,'' Jen told herself. As they reached the room, they looked at the Grand Scene of the Stage other side of the Arena and the Center part where Farnus, Silvus and Alfred were sitting. "Jen! Look there!" Jacob grabbed Jen''s arms and pointed at the Center of the Arena. "Look Grandpa is sitting there," He said as Jen looked up and she could see Silvus sitting with two old mens. "Oh, the one in the Center is our Principal, Farnus Calmort," The Third Year told them. "And the one of the right of him, is Sir Alfred Raven, the Family Head of Raven Family," He added. "It seems the next match is about to start," The other third year said. "Isn''t that the guy we saw at the Kalvas G," Jacob pointed at the Stage. "Oh, the one with White hair," Jen looked down and saw Kevin Whiteheart standing on the stage. "Oh, Kevin Whiteheart, he is Rank 2 in the First Year, and he is quite strong as well," The Third Year told them. "Who is the first then?" Jacob asked. "The Rank 1 is Asher Greville, the guy we met in the Hallway," The other Third Year replied. Jen looked at Kevin and she remembered her mother showing him Kevin and others from a distance. It was after all themotion had taken ce, so she didn''t see anybody other than them. "So, he is that guy," Jen looked at Kevin. "What a show off," Jen just sat down on her seat. The third years were surprised by their reaction, but Jacob didn''t say anything so they just thought that the twins might have met Kevin somewhere. Jen just remembered the time they were leaving, and their parents urged them to follow them to meet a few of the guests at the Kalvas G. And she remembered meeting Elena Rothschild and Kevin Whiteheart that were attracting a lot of attention from others while they were leaving. Jen didn''t attend a lot of Social Parties, so her first impression of Kevin was person that liked a lot of attention, due to the way they were interacting with other guests. Jen and Jacob were given a lot of attention in Mage Association, so having that attention taken from her didn''t make her too happy. Silvus also yed a role in Jen''s view of Kevin. Silvus already told them that the people from Elite Families always covered their intention behind a smile, so she needed to be wary of such people. Chapter 337 First Day Ends ?337 First Day Ends "Why are people cheering for him more than for my brother?" Lucas asked Damian. The crowd of students were cheering for Kevin Whiteheart, and his poprity in all other years was also evident. "Eh? That''s a bit..." Damian scratched the back of his head. He couldn''t outright say that Asher was one of the most hated people in World Academy, especially among First Year students. Those who followed Raelyn Whiteheart, the Student Council President, also hated Asher because he was disrespectful to her. The same went for those who supported Leonard Tarvian, except Leonard didn''t let others know that there were rifts between him and the heir of the Greville Family. "If you call everyone useless on the first day at World Academy, this is what happens," Amelia, who had just entered the room, said. Livia looked back and smiled at Amelia because she had also won easily; her match was with someone in Rank 41. "It''s just that he is too strong, so people get jealous," Damian tried to sugarcoat Amelia''s words. Lucas looked at Damian and then at the stage. He didn''t like Kevin, Elena, and Eva due to their behavior at the party that happened a year ago. For Lucas, Asher was someone who changed his life and saved his sister whom he tried so hard to save. Amelia just shook her head, looking at Damian, who was trying to save Asher''s image. Though the main reason was their personality, there were other reasons as well why people tried to connect more with Kevin than with Asher. Kevin was friends with both the Rothschild Family and the Williams Family, which made people think of making connections with the Whiteheart Family that was still rising because they became an Elite Family more than a decade ago. Greville were the strongest, and not many people were able to get close with them due to their personalities and the way Greville handled things. At the Main Spectator Area, ''He doesn''t look too bad,'' Alfred judged Kevin by his stance and demeanor. ''If not for Asher, he would have been the strongest of this generation,'' Alfred admitted just by looking at the way Kevin was handling his mana. Due to the fact he possessed the lightning element, one of the strongest offensive elements and from the looks of it, his affinity with that element was high as well. Even Silvus shared the same opinions, while Farnus''s expression didn''t change. He wasn''t showing any reaction to Kevin, as he simply observed the match. Kevin''s match was the Rank 26th Student, and the match started with the student rushing at Kevin to close in the distance. But Kevin didn''t react to the student and he stood on his ce, and as the distance between them got smaller, he stepped to sides, as he rotated his spear and connected the edge of it on the Student''s stomach. "Arghh," The student groaned in pain but stood on his knees. Without giving him anymore time, Kevin rushed to the side of the Student making him raise his sword to his right, but at moment Kevin used his spear to shift his weight to left surprising the student as appeared right in front of him. Kevin tilted his body backwards as he raised his right leg, and kicked the student standing him flying out of the stage. "The Winner is Kevin Whiteheart!" The Commentator announced as the Referee stopped the match. Kevin turned as he left the stage smiling. But that smile soon changed as he entered the waiting room, and was not visible to the Crowd in the Arena. Kevin was not going to be happy with just this much, and his goal was the first ce and he knew how hard it was to get Rank 1. Defeating Asher, was not possible until unless he reached C- Rank as well, and even then Kevin still didn''t had a good counter to Asher''s swordsmanship. Asher''s style of wielding sword was very weird and his movement was unpredictable as well. "Not too bad for the first day," Alfred said, "But I am waiting for the next three days, when the ''real'' matches will start," Alfred said. Silvus agreed to his words as well. Right now, none of the top students were going against each other, and the pressure on these students was going to increase as on theter days many people from the Elite Families, and the Seat Holders would be here at this Arena witnessing these matches. After 3 hours more, and thest match was finished, the First Day of the End Year Tournament was done. After the match was done, a magical veil appeared in front of Alfred and Silvus as their portals were opened. "It was a interesting day so far," Silvus told Farnus with a smile. "Same for me," Alfred replied. "I am d both of you liked it," Farnus replied. Both the Greville Twins and Grandus Twins were going to stay in the ce that was made for them, but Greville Twins were allowed to stay in the Rankers Dorm. There were already rumours of the Grandus Twins and the sighting of some kids with Amelia Greville was going around, and all of this was going to be cleared on the Fourth Day when Farnus was going to announce two important things. Exchanging a few more words, Alfred and Silvus soon left leaving Farnus alone. Instantly Arman appeared behind Farnus as the ck mist gathered behind him. "Are preparations done?" Farnus asked. "If we conduct the matches tomorrow the same way, there would be enough time for that to take ce," Arman replied. "Then, keep it the same way," Farnus replied. "But would the other Seat Holders agree?" Arman asked. Even though Farnus was going ahead nning all this, he had many restrictions on him that stopped him from doing whatever he wanted. "Don''t worry, human greed and ambitions are much bigger than you think," Farnus replied with a smallugh. "When you have lived long enough like me, you would understand such things more clearly," Farnus said. Arman nodded his head as learned from Farnus, but he was still a bit doubtful whether things were going to go as nned. But he could only look forward to the Fourth Day when everything was going to be announced. There were many things that students were looking forward to in this tournament. Getting new and better ranks, the reward for the Top 5 Rankers of the First Year that was the Trial''s Ground. The decision of the battle between the Student Council and the Blood Faction. And Farnus was going to add something in the midst of that was going to be shocking for everyone. But Arman and other Professors that knew about this could only follow Farnus''s orders. ''Well this day was going toe soon,'' Arman said to himself as stopped thinking about it. Although it was a bit rushed, it was going happen soon and Arman had somewhat predicted it. At the Ranker''s Dorm, Asher was sitting his room as got a notification from his ID Bracelet about confirming the entry of 4 people. Asher gave the confirmation, and the door opened revealing the Highest Floor, and thevish rooms that were given to the Rank 1 Student. "It''s so big," Livia looked around as they entered the Tenth Floor. Due to the fact the day had ended, Amelia decided to show the twins Rankers Dorm for now. And she asked for Asher to allow them to visit his floor as well which he did. Asher who in his room closed theputer and different documents he was looking at before going out. He had left early, and it was because Tom had some new information that he wanted Asher to look at. And he was looking around that until Amelia''s message came. "When you see his training room, you will even more amazed," Damian said as he noticed Ashering out. "There so much mana," Lucas said as he felt the mana around the World Academy. "It''s because of a special artifact that makes the mana richer on this flying ind," Amelia told Lucas. "And also his room has the most mana out of all rooms below," She added. This was the benefits of the Rank 1, and something that even Damian and Amelia were envious of. "I wonder what they will do for you guys though," Damian said as he looked at twin. Amelia had informed him that it wasn''t only Lucas and Livia, but the Grandus twins as well that were enrolling here. "Because wepete to get these facilities but you guys will have a special ss so wonder how they will arrange all that," Damian said thinking out loud. "Putting that aside, let''s show them you training and sparring room," Damian said excitedly. Amelia looked at Damian, who was more excited to enter Asher''s training and sparring room than the twins themselves. ''This guy,'' Amelia shook her head, as Damian tantly used the situation to his advantage. "Go ahead," Asher told them as opened the ess to all rooms for them. The robotic voice said as all the room were opened, and now anybody without Asher''s permission could enter them. The twins looked amazed by all that as Damian guided them to the rooms of ''his'' choice. Amelia noticed that Asher was going back to his room, and she didn''t say much knowing he didn''t like staying with others much. ''Maybe he''s not that bad,'' Amelia thought as she went after the twins. As Asher noticed them going inside, he went to his room. Ping! He received a voice message from Tom, and he opened it. "Boss, what should we do about those guys?" Tom asked waiting for Asher''s answer. Chapter 338 Diversion

Chapter 338 Diversion

338 Diversion "Kill them all," Asher replied. "They were given the time to choose their sides," Asher said in the voice message. There was no need for people that couldn''t make their minds in time. Tom replied. Tom asked. "Go forward with it," Asher gave hisst reply. The reason for Tom''s hesitation was the fact that this time they were not using Zephyr''s name. Asher wanted to use Aztech''s name which meant he wanted to use his own identity for this making Tom a bit worried about the repercussions. Although Tom was aware of power that Greville had, but this time they were meddling outside of Somaria, and if things went wrong there was a chance that the people they managed to control till now might think of betraying them. But Asher reached this conclusion after reading all the information that Tom had sent him. The documents that Asher was studying were about the hierarchy of various Criminal Organization, and involvement of Elite Families in them. And some of them were even rted to Neville and Allister Family. Usually such connections could not be traced, as the Elite Families usually kept their hands out of such organizations, but there were frequent exchanges. To maintain power for so long, the number of dirty tactics and illegal things that were done were numerous. Not every Elite Family was stable like the Greville Family. Internal and External fights were far toomon. Being the Heir of an Elite Family was a powerful position, but that also meant the number of threats on your life increased. There were some families like the Levoure that were quite rich and had status, could have simr issues as well. That''s why some Elite Families didn''t announce their heir until the suitable candidates turned 18 or above. "It will be interesting," Asher muttered as he remembered Leonard. This tournament was going to decide the Power Hierarchy among students, and Leonard wanted to change it. Although it looked like Leonard wanted it to make it fair for every student, to have a group of Individuals sitting at the Top of the Student Assembly, not a single person making every decision. He wanted to introduce something simr to the High Council in World Academy. The power of Student Council was quite big in the World Academy. It was made so that part of Faculty Council was not above the Student Council, and all the power was currently inside Raelyn''s hands. In his previous life, Leonard had managed to win the Tournament, as the method ofpeting was a simple voting of the Top 100 Students in all four Years. Fourth Years voted for the Student Council, while Third Year was surprisingly a tie, and the Second Year was on Blood Faction''s Side. But it was the First Year voting that supported the Blood Faction. But this time, due to Asher''s actions the format was changed entirely and Asher knew the Awakening of the Cmities was part of the reason why such a change was introduced. At the time nobody knew what Leonard wanted, but Asher found outter what the real motive behind the Blood Faction was. "It''s a shame," Asher said standing up. Either way, Blood Faction and Student Council but had their advantages and disadvantages but Asher didn''t care about the power structure of World Academy anymore. His position as the Rank 1 and the President of the Duel Committee made it difficult for Raelyn to do anything, and the same went for Blood Faction. "There are so many devices here," Lucas looked around. "Yeah, most of them are upgraded to suit his needs so some of them are specifically for C Rank Hunters," Damian replied. "Well, let''s try that one," Damian pointed at the humanoid puppet that was made for reflex training. "I will turn down the settings for this one," Damian said as he lowered it to Peak D Rank difficulty. He stood against the puppet as he put his guard up, and got in closebat position. "Let''s start," Damian said as the puppet lit up. In an instant, punches that wereparable to the speed of an average D+ Rank Hunter was being thrown at Damian. Damian covered his body with mana as he dodged all the attacks. The speed was so high that Livia and Lucas couldn''t even see Damian. And it was obvious because they were only at F+ Rank right now. They needed a lot of more time for their mana core to grow bigger and denser with mana to reach the next E- Rank. Their bodies was still getting adjusted to the mana, and they were slowly getting stronger. After the First Awakening, the body of a human went under many changes, and the mana slowly strengthened every single part of the body. That is why the twins were still stuck at F Rank, and it would remain the same for now even though they were in the World Academy. Bam! Bam! Bam! The puppet kept punching towards Damian targeting his body but Damian was extremely quick while reacting. "The main thing to dodge is the footwork," Amelia said looking at the twins. "Even a mage is needed to learn basic martial art to master footwork," Amelia told Lucas who was carefully watching Damian. Livia had learned a bit from Nathan, but her rank limited the things she could learn and implement. For a few more hours, Damian had his ''fun'' showing and mostly using everything training equipment that was present there. Amelia just kept watching Damian while Asher joined them for a few minutes, and Damian''s fun time ended with a spar with Asher. Lucas was excited to watch Damian spar with Asher, but the spar ended quickly with Damian on the ground. Part of the reason was Damian was already tired but the gap between Asher and Damian was big. "I got one punch in," Damian looked at Asher while lying on the ground. Asher scratched his forearm, that was a bit red due to Damian''s punch, but Asher was unaffected by it. But it was impressive for Damian to hurt Asher in a spar but that one punch came at the cost of him receiving a high kick his face. ''He is improving at a faster rate,'' Asher judged as he turned to drink some water. He could see that Damian and Amelia both were improving themselves a bit faster than his previous life. Their little trip ended as Amelia decided to intervene and told Livia to sleep in one of her rooms and Lucas to stay here with Asher. Asher didn''t minded as there were many empty rooms and he even gave Lucas the ess to the meditation room if he wanted. The Second Day of the Tournament began, but today most of the matches were from the Second and Third Years. While there would be few matches from the First Year and the Fourth Year. And for today another Seat Holder was present and it was Dalton Rothschild that also made his first appearance after a long time. While the crowd was cheering, Alfred and Dalton were sitting at the opposite side. And the reason was obvious, Rothschild and Greville didn''t had the best rtions right now, and Raven Family also supported Greville. It was obvious that their rtions were also not the best. Farnus deliberately made such an arrangement, and Nathan was also supposed to attend today. But it didn''t happen as Nathan was already in his secluded training. Although it would have been perfect for Farnus, but it was fine either way after all one of the unpredictable people were not attending this time. "I heard that the Grandus Twins would be attending the World Academy," Dalton asked Silvus. "They are, and they must be looking around the Academy right now," Silvus replied. Dalton heard Silvus''s answer and he had already told James to contact Elena so that she could make connections with the Grandus kids. It was no secret that Silvus was quite protective of his Grandchildren, and the way he sheltered them and also used his favor from Farnus Calmort for those kids. Dalton and many others, saw this as an opportunity to make Silvus ally with them. Silvus wasn''t unaware of such things, but he knew that it was part of life and those kids needed to learn who to trust and who to not. He had given them ample advice and knowledge and it was up to them to utilize it and spend their time at the World Academy. But what Dalton didn''t knew was that the Greville Twins were also enrolling in World Academy. "It seems the Rothschild are pretty interested in the Mage Association," Alfred said. Dalton nced at Alfred. "My Granddaughter is a Mage, I am just looking out for her," Dalton replied. Part of it was true as Dalton wanted Silvus to take Elena as his disciple. Silvus didn''t like the Elite Families, but he didn''t turn his back on a good mage with lots of potential. It was his responsibility as the Head of the Mage Association to make sure the future of the Mage Association was in good hands. "There are easy routes in the path of magic," Silvus said. "These young kids, need to forge their own path, and people like us can only guide them," Silvus spoke. It was a polite to rejection to Dalton''s proposal, but Dalton didn''t seem to be affected by it. Dalton was confident in Elena''s potential. With his resources, and connections, making Elena get a high position in Mage Association wasn''t an issue for Dalton. "Guidance is enough," Dalton said as the match on the stage started. Chapter 339 End Year Tournament - IV

Chapter 339 End Year Tournament - IV

339 End Year Tournament - IV The second day of the End Year Tournament was dominated by matches from the Third and Fourth Year students, who gave their all. These matches differed from the First Year''s, as these older students had beenpeting for much longer and thus had significantly more experience than their younger counterparts. Their bouts were exhrating to witness, given the increased challenge. Many First Years also benefited from observing their seniors in action. Several individuals from the elite families had turned up to spectate, though the majority hadn''t. Among the early arrivals were mostly the younger generation; however, Cade Cranston was notably present. Surrounding him were peers from other influential families. "When will ke fight?" a girl questioned Cade, bubbling with anticipation "Being Rank 1, he might only fight once today, if at all," another boy interjected Turning to Cade, he inquired, "Who do you reckon will win in the Third and Fourth Year matches?" "Hmm, it''s a tough call," Cade mused. Being the heir to the Cranston Family, Cade''s opinions held weight, a fact he was well aware of. "Thepetitors for Rank 1 and Rank 2 are closely matched in both years," he added. "But I''ve heard Reece Williams is recovering from some injuries," the girl remarked. "I also believe Jayden Hargrave might clinch another win," another guy responded. Cade, however, remainedrgely silent on the subject. His primary objective was to scout future talents and identify individuals he might need to be wary of in theing years. Cade scrutinized the swordsmanship of various students, but none caught his eye. "I wonder who the best swordsman currently at the World Academy is," someone mused aloud. "Cade would have the best insight on that. After all, he was the genius in swordsmanship when we attended the World Academy," another remarked. "Thinking about it, I''d say Jayden, Leonard Tarvian, and Asher Greville," Cade responded after a moment''s thought. At the mention of Asher''s name, several people around Cade disyed evident interest. They were all too aware of Cade''s obsession with mastering swordsmanship. For them, Cade acknowledging Asher''s prowess was significant. To Cade, there were scant few individuals worldwide whom he recognized for their exceptional swordsmanship skills. "Don''t be overly critical of your brother ke. He''s quite strong as well," someonemented while looking at Cade. However, Cade remained impassive at the mention of ke. In Cade''s perspective, ke was an immense letdown who had made a mockery of the sword techniques he had imparted. Yet, he wouldn''t allow others to perceive ke in such a light. ke was, after all, a Cranston. And Cade was resolved to uphold the family''s reputation, regardless of personal feelings. "Ugh, I lost my money," one of Cade''spanions groaned. "I warned you. You backed the wrong horse," another teased. These individuals hailed from affluent families connected to the Cranstons and other elite ns. For them, this tournament was an opportunity for some casual betting. The entire betting system was orchestrated by figures from the ck Market, and even key ck Market officials upied the VIP area of the arena. The VIP area was divided into three sections: One reserved for the students, another for those affiliated with families in the High Council, and a third for those who leveraged their connections to acquire tickets. The highest wagers were on matches involving yers like Raelyn Whiteheart and Leonard Tarvian, among others. Significant money was at y, and the ck Market wasn''t one to miss out on such lucrative opportunities. "The real heart of the tournament will begin tomorrow, after all of today''s matches conclude," a girl in the groupmented. Given the tournament structure, the majority of mid-tier matches would finish today, leaving only the top contenders. "But don''t the matches seem to be wrapping up a bit quickly?" someone observed. "I''ve heard they''ve introduced a time limit, which means yers are giving their all right from the outset," another rified. This pace was unprecedented for the End Year Tournament, but it added an element of excitement and unpredictability to the contests. "Up next, we have a duel between First Year''s Rank 3, Alyssa Astaria, and Rank 19, Lark Meren!" thementator dered. The atmosphere in the arena grew tense, as Alyssa Astaria''s reputation preceded her. Both Lark and Alyssa took their positions on the stage. Alyssa, donning a mask, floated above the ground. The crowd jeered, and recruiters conspicuously showed their disinterest, understanding Alyssa''s ties to the controversial Garcia Family. Regardless of her power, no one wanted the baggage of affiliating with someone so divisive. "On the count of 3... 2... 1... Begin!" shouted the referee. Lark, brandishing a spear, charged at Alyssa. However, midway through his charge, a powerful force weighed down on him. Alyssa had activated her Gravity Magic, a skill she had significantly enhanced through studies in the Great Library. Struggling against the overwhelming pressure, Lark persisted. Alyssa, raising her hand, conjured Pirs of Ice around him. With another gesture, she used her Gravity Magic to m the ice pir into Lark, who managed to ground himself using his spear and aura. "ARGH!" Lark grunted, attempting to push against the pir, but it was a herculean task for him. The duelsted only 39 seconds, with Lark being forced off the stage, unable to even get close to Alyssa. Throughout the match, Alyssa primarily relied on her Gravity Magic and scarcely employed her Ice Magic. In the VIP Section, "So she''s from ''that'' family," Jen observed, to which a third-year student nodded in affirmation. "People usually steer clear of her because they think she''s crazy and knowing her background, it''s better to avoid her," hemented. Alyssa wasrgely ostracized because of widespread rumors painting her as crazy and her background being rted to the Garcia Family only helped those rumours. Yet, there were a select few who didn''t ignore Alyssa''s existencepletely. One of them was Leonard Tarvian, who observed from the VIP section. ''She could make for a useful scapegoat,'' Leonard mused. Though her reputation was tarnished, Leonard recognized that manipting someone as unpredictable as Alyssa would be a challenging endeavor. Mainly because all people that used Space Magic, were insane and crazy and the rumours around her also confirmed such behaviour from her. But what Leonard didn''t knew that the person behind those rumours was Asher himself. The best way to keep trouble away from Alyssa was to use her bad reputation and the hatred against her as a shield to iste Alyssa from other students. And even right now, Alyssa was following Asher''s advice on how to show her strength in this tournament. ''Well, I will think about it after this tournament,'' Leonard thought. There were many things he was busy with, but right now Blood Faction took priority especially when they had lost their initial footings in the Market of Fashia and Belvoria. "Did you get the information I asked for?" Leonard said to the guy standing behind him. It was not a student, but a staff member. "The people around Jayden Hargrave are contacting a few third years and giving them artifacts," He replied. "And most of those Third Years are possible opponent of Vin Hargrave," He added. "Hmm, you can leave," Leonard said and the man left the room. "Despite being that strong, he is quite insecure," Leonard thought as a smile appeared on his face. "But he is hard to control," Leonard said as his smile vanished. Controlling ke was already difficult but he managed to do it because Leonard knew the rtionship between ke and Cade Cranston. It wasn''t hard to manipte ke to join him, but the same wasn''t true for Jayden. "I can only rely on Reece now," Leonard said to himself. Leonard knew that approaching Vin wasn''t worth it, because even in his eyes Vin was worthless. "Or maybe that woman might help," Leonard thought about a second. "Casie Hargrave.... I should find a bit more about her," Leonard muttered. What Leonard wanted was the support of Hargrave, because it was one of the families that could help them enter the market of Belvoria. But he knew convincing Jayden would be too hard, because of how sharp he was. He had already rejected his proposal, and even the bait he gave him didn''t work. So Leonard thought of the card that Osbert used which ultimately failed. Ping! "So my match starts tomorrow," Leonard muttered. The matches were happening very quickly, and it was a bit surprising for even Leon, that the Ranker''s match were starting tomorrow. Something that should have happened on the Fourth Day was happening on the Third Day. Chapter 340 End Year Tournament - V

Chapter 340 End Year Tournament - V

340 End Year Tournament - V The second day progressed with Asher observing all the matches, looking for any signs of something unusual. Given the many changes, Asher aimed to detect any new variables that might arise. It was clear that this life was vastly different from the one he''d known before. Even if things were unfolding as Asher hoped, he couldn''t forget the warning the System had given him. Upon reaching Level 35, Asher found that the System regained some of its functionalities. The first thing the System rified to Asher was the current influence of his fate on others, and theirs on him. [ Host can go against a person with higher fate, but due to their high ''fate'' a high change in variability might ur ] [ This variability will happen as Fate will always try to follow the predestined path ] Asher had somewhat guessed that it will happen knowing how things went during the Heist. He knew that the two artifacts that he stole from the Vault were extremely important, and due to the fact he was changing something that was close to someone else''s fate, he faced against a great threat like Louis Rothschild. He had navigated simr challenges in his past life. Even when everything seemed to be under his control, unpredictable factors could emerge,plicating his ns. Back then, Asher hadn''t paid it much heed since he felt powerful enough to disregard such disturbances and face any adversary. ''Not much has changed,'' Asher reflected, rising from his seat. Reflecting on the day''s events, other than Alyssa''s victory and a few other nuances, the duels remainedrgely unchanged. However, one notable difference was the tournament''s pacing. "Tomorrow the Duels between the Rankers will start," Damian said looking at Asher. "I wonder if we will go against each other," Damian wondered. The match ups of the Top 50 were all done secretly and the Students will only get to know that it''s their turn 2 minute before the match starts. Lucas and Livia were excited to see all three of them. "And Nate will being tomorrow so you guys can join him," Damian said looking at Lucas and Livia. Most of the Elite Families, and their representative would be present tomorrow, and that meant that Arthur and Sylvie would being as well. "Okay," Lucas replied. He already knew that Nate would being as a few weeks ago he told Lucas with a grumpy voice how he was being forced to leave his room to watch a tournament. Lucas followed Asher as he was going to sleep at Asher''s floor and Livia followed Amelia and Damian to go to the Outer Sector. At one of the Hargrave Mansions, "We can''t use anymore of our people," The man with a mask told as he stood before a woman wearing a red dress. "Are you saying you will be abandoning the request of the very person that helped your organization," Casie said as her killing intent started filling the room. She swirled her wine as her eyes stared at the masked man. "Two SS Rank Hunters were killed without a chance," The man spoke. "You must know who can kill SS Rank without even giving them a chance to escape," The masked man told Casie. The edge of the ss started breaking as small broken shards fell in the wine. Ofcourse, Casie knew who could do such a thing, and it could only be a SSS Rank Hunter, but she didn''t expect the rumours to be false. It was said that Nathaniel Greville was in secluded training when Casie used her connections to strike the twins. "And there is a new rumour," The masked man said looking fearlessly at Casie. "The Greville Twins will be joining the Grandus Twins to study in World Academy," As soon as the man uttered those words the ss in Casie''s hand exploded. Her killing intent started rising making the man standing in the room a bit nervous. They were a big criminal organization, and Casie was one of their VIP Clients, that were given the utmost priority because she was the Daughter of Xarax Hargrave. Normally they would never take a mission to assassinate someone from the Greville Family, but Casie was not the only one that gave them huge amount of money for this task. There were multiple people that wanted the same thing, and Greed made them choose to go against the Greville Family. But what happened was their strongest hunters being killed without even given the chance to run. Once again the underworld was reminded of the True Face of the Greville Family. "Discard the mission," Casie said and the man bowed and disappeared. "End Year Tournament was it?" Casie muttered. It was the Next Day Morning, and the Start of the Third Day of End Year Tournament. And also the day where most people were excited to see the matches, and even those that havee to watch them. And also the mana barriers were ced as the today many powerful hunters would gather to watch the tournament, and many Important figures would being here. The sound of people chatting with each other stopped as at the Center Area where Farnus and others were sitting many Portals opened up and two new guests arrived. "Is that the Chairman of World Association?" One of students said out loud. "And it''s the Seat Holder of Hargrave Family," All of them got excited. Xarax looked around, and he looked very imposing because of his big stature but Osbert calmly walked to seat maintaining his elegance. "Is Nathaniel Greville not attending?" Xarax asked as he looked at Alfred. "Who knows," Alfred replied with a smile. His question made everyone think about the possibility that Nathan was in secluded training, with the very Mana Gem that he had received if front of them. Osbert was the most affected by this question but he didn''t show it at all. Thementator started exining things about the Tournament but these people were busy conversing with each other. And in the VIP Section, Arthur and Sylvie entered with Helena sitting with them. She wanted spend this time quietly. The twins were already at the room, and Nate was in this VIP Room as well following behind David Seymour and his mother. While all the participants were given a seperate room to wait until they were called. The previous duels were made after considering the choice that were given to the students. They were given the range or a ce that they wanted or they think they deserved, and all the duels were matched considering that, and their own performance. That''s why some of the Rankers fought students Ranked in 30''s and even 20''s because that''s how the match ups were made. But the match ups today was done solely by the World Academy. "It seems quite a lot of people are here," Helena said as she sat on her seat. She could sense the presence of many SS Rank Hunters, and strong ones at that and it meant a lot of people from other Elite Families hade to watch this Tournament. This was the first time when so many people gathered to watch the End Year Tournament, and part of the reason was because of how many talented kids were in this generation. The first match began and the start happened with studentsing one by one as each duel was announced. The start was slow, but slowly the ranks were decreasing and soon the First Year were around the 30th Mark, and it meant the Rankers of the First Year would soon fight. Lucas was just waiting for Asher, while the others were enjoying the match. "And the Next Duel if from the Rank 2 Leonard Tarvian vs Rank 11 Harris Kenley," The Commentator announced. "It seems your Son is next," Xarax looked at Osbert. Leonard walked on the stage and he attracted a lot of people to him, as the crowd started cheering for him. Leonard lowered his sword as he looked at Harris who was ready to fight as well. The duel started as both of their swords shed with each other, and both of them were Rank B Hunters but Harris had just hit Rank B-. The difference between them was obvious, as Leonard kept deflecting all of Harris attacks. "You are too slow," Leonard muttered with a smile. Harris got agitated by Leonard''s taunt, and he tried to push him back, but Leonard slided Harris''s sword downwards by rotating his hand a bit. "It seems he learned a lot from you, especially your Sword Art," Xarax said. Leonard''s sword style consisted a lot of defensive techniques, and it was perfect to tire out any opponent. It was the same Sword Art that Osbert used, but there was a different between Osbert and Leonard. While Osbert had an affinity with Fire, but Leonard didn''t and he changed this Sword Art to suit him. Something, that made Osbert realize how talented his son was. A smile appeared on Osbert''s face as he looked at Leonard. ''It seem he had hidden it well,'' Osbert thought. Seeing how he was fighting, Osbert knew that his son has improved enough to hide his bloodline ability. A lot of people didn''t knew what exactly was Osbert''s Bloodline ability, but Osbert was careful enough to make sure to teach Leonard how to hide it as well. *ng* Leonard deflected Harris''s sword and aimed his sword at his neck with a smile on his face. "I lost," Harris surrendered as the Referee announced the end of the Duel. "It was a good match," Leonard said as he left the stage. "He is so good!!" People in the Crowd started cheering for Leonard. "And he was so respectful as well," Another one said. Chapter 341 Disappointment

Chapter 341 Disappointment

341 Disappointment "Next up is Vin Hargrave, Rank..." Thementator began. However, Vin, waiting in his room, found it hard to concentrate. "I should have lost sooner," he murmured. He was pleased to have progressed this far in the tournament, but he was acutely aware of his limitations. A defeat felt imminent. "Well, my luck ends here," Vin dered, getting ready to step out. When Vin''s name echoed through the venue, a frown marred the face of the Hargrave Family Head. "Isn''t he your Son, you should be happy that he got this far," Casie spoke. "Am I supposed to be happy?" He asked ncing at Casie. Casie remained silent. Although she was the cherished daughter of Xarax, she understood her boundaries. The man beside her was not just her elder brother, but also the Family Head of the Hargrave Family. The duelmenced. From the onset, the oue seemed predictable. Vin''s opponent ranked in the mid 300s, and Vin was clearly outmatched. Jayden, watching from a distance, couldn''t help but grin at Vin''s public disy of inadequacy. His smile broadened as he observed Vin barely withstand an attack from a mere C Rank Hunter, using his mana barrier. "Remember your ce," Jayden muttered, taking pleasure in Vin''s defeat. Meanwhile, Asher, watching the duel on the screen in the waiting room, didn''t show much of a reaction. He hadn''t expected Vin to win every match, knowing Vin''s talent wasn''t primarily inbat. "Arghh," Vin groaned as the power of his opponent shed with his mana barrier. He didn''t have the mana to sustain a prolonged fight against a C Rank Hunter, and sensed his imminent loss. However, a part of him desperately wanted to win. He didn''t wish to be perceived the same way he had been for the past two years, but reality was proving otherwise. As Vin raised his hand to cast a Wind de, his opponent vanished, then reappeared behind him, mming Vin''s face into the ground and causing him to lose consciousness. "The winner is..." Seeing Vin Hargrave''s defeat, Alfred nced at Xarax, whose face showed no reaction to Vin''s loss. Observing that, Alfred deduced that Xarax still held to the Hargrave tradition of valuing strong above weak. "You don''t look affected by your grandson''s loss," Dalton said to Xarax. "We only respect the strong. I don''t have time to worry about weaklings," Xarax replied. However, the fact that someone bearing the Hargrave name had lost so pathetically made Xarax''s blood boil, though he kept his feelings hidden from those around him. Vin was carried off the stage, and the next duel was announced. Several hours and many duelster, the Rankers Duel that everyone had been waiting for began. After a few duels between Rankers of the Second Year and Third Year, matches urred between Rank 9 and those below Rank 15. There were some unexpected oues, with Rankers, especially Rank 9 or 10, losing to those in Rank 12 or 11. People were shocked, but they understood that the End Year Tournament could significantly change the rankings. At the judging panel, some of the professors were discussing various matters. "Should we really do this?" the one in charge of the tournament asked. "We can''t bend the rules," another professor replied. "We''ve already confirmed this list with Vice Principal Xander, so it should be okay," one of them added. "The next duel is between Rank 3 Alyssa Astaria vs Rank 14 n Astaria," thementator announced. This matchup surprised many, but the most taken aback was Alexander Astaria, the head of the Astaria family, who was in the VIP section. Alyssa once again took her ce on the stage, aware of the hostile gazes directed at her. Yet, she remained silent. n ascended the stage, a frown marring his features. Unlike the other Rankers, he wasn''t intimidated by the prospect of facing Alyssa. Perhaps he mentally regarded Alyssa as inferior, but his confidence in fighting against her was evident. Leonard, ensconced in his room, smiled as he noticed n donning all the artifacts he had bestowed upon him. ''Show me your worth, n Astaria,'' Leonard mused internally. Regardless of the match''s result, Leonard considered it a victory for himself. "Take your positions," the referee instructed. Both contestantsplied, standing opposite each other, poised forbat. Online, viewers were abuzz with excitement and disbelief, never having anticipated a duel between the Astaria siblings. The majority rallied behind n, rooting for his victory. However, a minority doubted n''s ability to ovee Alyssa. Farnus had personally verified the list of matchups, and thus was privy to this impending sh. Given that n had voluntarily chosen to challenge Alyssa, his self-assuredness was presumably bolstered by the powerful artifacts in his possession. With the bracelet on his right arm, that created a barrier around the wearer that decreased the effect of Ice Based magic. And an armor that increased his resistance to magic, and the sword that could pierce any sharp object till Rank C. This type of artifacts were something that only Rankers of Third Year could afford. And n obtained them from Leonard, and it was specifically for Alyssa. Leonard knew that n was feeling inferior to Alyssa, so he used his feelings to make go against Alyssa and gave him all these artifacts. "The Match will start in 3...2...." As Alyssa heard the Referee talk, she wasn''t focused on the match. She could hear the voices of student cursing and telling her lose. She could feel the gazes of hatred and disgust, but above all she could see the gaze of a certain man sitting far from her. The same deep blue eyes, and those brown hair that she saw countless times in her nightmare, and one of the person that was responsible for eradicating Garcia Family and killing the Head of the Family himself. ''Osbert Tarvian,'' Alyssa muttered the name. But the match had already started and n dashed towards her and seeing she wasn''t moving. n smiled thinking she was affected with all students booing her. He covered his sword with aura, and dashed towards Alyssa but at the moment he his sword was going to make contact with Alyssa, an Ice Pir emerged from the ground stopping n''s sword which pierced halfway through the pir but stopped. n immediately created a distance as noticed the flyingnces in the airing towards him. Right now, he had every advantage to counter Alyssa''s Ice Magic, but the problem was her Gravity Magic. So wanted maintain some distance and slowly make Alyssa fall. ''This bitch can''t even, soon you will be out of mana,'' n thought. In everyone''s eyes Alyssa was half crippled, someone who couldn''t even stand on her own. And n knew that Alyssa had difficulty using mana, as he had seen it with his own eyes when they were young. He knew about Alyssa''s weakness so he wanted to drag this fight longer. "You will lose," n shouted as he dashed again. But this time, his armor had strange glow around it. It was an armor artifact with a skill, and it was a Rank C Artifact, which was something that would even work against Second Year Rankers. Alyssa used gravity magic to slow down n and created distance between them. "Don''t keep running," n shouted as he went through the Field of Gravity regaining his Speed. But he misunderstood what Alyssa was doing, right now the person she was fighting with wasn''t n. But herself, and the voices that were shouting. She knew that Osbert Tarvian would be present at the End Year Tournament, but seeing that same face and that gaze one more time, she was filled with endless hatred. "Don''t lose focus," A voice was heard in Alyssa''s ears. It belonged to Asher, and it came from the earring artifact that Alyssa was wearing, which was amunication artifact. Something that Asher had given to Alyssa. He had expected this situation, where Alyssa would find it hard to control herself, and might expose her true strength. Hearing Asher''s voice, Alyssa''s clouded eyes regained rity as she noticed, ning towards her with a sword. ''This should be enough,'' Alyssa thought as she suppressed the voices in her head. She created multiple Ice Spears, and also another Gravity Field and used it stop n in his ce. Seeing n''s armor, she intentionally made the Ice Spears weaker, as n looked at multiple Ice Spearsing her way. n got anxious and tried to exert all his mana, falling into Alyssa''s trap and at the moment when he dodge backward he couldn''t control his strength as the Gravity Field was gone. Chains of Ice appeared behind n, as he fell into them, and before he could even do anything, Alyssa mmed the Ice Pir on n three times. *BAM* Suddenly a SS Rank Pressure erupted from one of the VIP Rooms, but the barrier were enough to suppress it. But everyone knew who that belonged to. ''It seems that the Astaria Head is not happy,'' Alfred thought in his head. But on the other hand, n was knocked out on the stage while he could barely move and the chains were wrapping around n quite tightly. Alyssa turned to leave, as the whole Arena was silent seeing the dominant performance from Alyssa Astaria. Chapter 342 End of the Third Day

Chapter 342 End of the Third Day

342 End of the Third Day If he could, Alexander wanted to kill Alyssa right now for humiliating his son in front of everyone. But he couldn''t do anything to her, and he immediately calmed himself down because there were a lot of eyes on him. "I TOLD YOU!" The woman sitting beside Alexander was even more angry. "We should have killed her." She was speaking, but midway, Alexander raised his hand, signaling for her to stop. But what stopped her was not Alexander''s signal, but his re. But she couldn''t sit back and see her son humiliated in such a manner in front of everyone. "His wrists are all broken," the medic who was examining n said. "Let''s take him to the ward first." The professor in charge there spoke, and they immediately moved. Everyone missed it, but Alyssa broke both of n''s wrists while she was mming the huge ice pir on him. And there were multiple wounds all over n''s body that were caused by her chains rather than the Ice Pir itself. Nobody noticed it because Alyssa didn''t manipte her mana to move the chains; it was done with the help of gravity magic that was all around n. She masked her attack while mming that ice pir on n''s body. But Alyssa''s eyes were still emotionless. "Sorry, I went overboard," Alyssa muttered while her eyes remained unchanged. Asher didn''t reply as she didn''t showcase all of her strength, and just like he said, she used more gravity magic than anything else. Almost all of the matches of the first year were done, and only the rankers and a few in the top 15 were left. Asher and Kevin were ced in the higher bracket, and more rankers needed to fight to challenge them because both of them held the Rank 1 and Rank 2 positions. "The next duel is from Rank 7 Amelia Von Greville vs. Rank 12 Ria Adler," The Commentator announced. The crowd cheered up again after being quiet, and the mood changed. Livia was the most excited to see Amelia fight, but there were many people cheering for both Amelia and Ria. Amelia walked up the stage as she looked at Ria, who was walking out confidently. Even if not from the main family, Ria was connected with the Rothschild family. After they were positioned, the referee started the countdown, and the duel began. And it started with Amelia charging ahead first with the dagger in her hand. Despite being a mage, Amelia had been trained to use daggers efficiently. *ng* Ria''s sword shed with Amelia''s dagger, but it was obvious that Ria had more strength than Amelia as she used her aura. Amelia smiled as fire emerged where Ria was standing, and she immediately stepped backwards. The way Amelia was fighting wasn''t something other mages could do. Only because she was an Augmenter could she fight this way. With all the augmented spells she could use on herself, for a brief moment, Amelia could go on par with a weapon master. Ria already knew that Amelia was a tough opponent, and that''s why she decided to go all out in front of her. It was known how good the Greville were at controlling mana, and she knew dragging the fight would do her no favor. Tilting her body, she dashed towards Amelia, who expected something like this. *BAM* A mana barrier emerged in front of Amelia as Ria''s sword shed with it, and sparks wereing off. Ria squinted her eyes as the Mana Barrier started to crack, but she didn''t expect it to crack this easily. She widened her eyes as she realized what was happening, but she didn''t have the time to react as Amelia made chains of fire emerge behind Amelia''s back. "Persule Varese," Amelia chanted another spell, and the chains that were wrapping around Ria exploded. Ria, who got baited by Amelia, couldn''t react to the augmented spell that Amelia used, which was much more powerful than its original version. "The winner is Amelia Von Greville," The Commentator announced. "Quite a clever trick," Silvusmented. Alfred smiled as he also saw how Amelia made a weak mana barrier to chant another spell at the same time, as she knew that Ria wasn''t powerful enough to break her mana barrier in a single attack. "She won!!" Livia said, looking at Lucas, and he smiled at her. She was happy to see Amelia win, and Sylvie and Arthur were smiling as well. But the next match started immediately after, and it was between Sam Allister and Gavin Neville. It was obvious that both of them were close to each other''s rank, but Gavin was careful, as he knew that Sam Allister was a cunning guy. The match started, and Gavin was expecting a tough duel, but he was confused as he saw Sam Allistering close to him in a matter of seconds. Immediately, Gavin created a wind wall to stop Sam, who, in response, made Shackles of Earth appear around Gavin''s feet. "What the hell?" Gavin was surprised, and he almost lost his footing, but he used his mana to destroy those shackles. Sam smiled as he purposefully made those weak enough for Gavin to break. After all, he wanted this match to look as close as possible so as not to stand out too much. When Sam was closing towards Gavin, he saw him summon des of wind, which he dodged, stopping himself from using his spear. It was easy for Sam to stop them, but Gavin was a bit startled by Sam''s speed. ''Wasn''t he only a few ranks above me?'' Gavin questioned. But he didn''t have much time to think, so he used the Ring Artifact to summon a blob of water above his head that started to get bigger, and Sam noticed it. "I wonder what that does," Sam muttered as he ignored the ball of water and dashed towards Gavin. If Gavin was knocked out of the stage, it was a win for him, and he didn''t need to wait for whatever that artifact was capable of doing. "You are so stupid." Gavin smiled as Sam noticed a barrage of bullets made of watering his way. Gavin summoned a fireball and threw it on the ground around Sam, and when the water met the hot ground, mist started appearing. Sam could have dashed at Gavin and ended this match, but he would have exposed his strength, so he decided to dodge the bullets. Due to the constant fireballs from Gavin, steam started covering the stage, and Gavin made multiple wind des and sent them towards Sam, who was unaware of the attack. One of them hit Sam, who was sidestepping, and a wound appeared on his shoulder. Gavin was smiling as he was chanting another spell, but suddenly, through mist, he saw an object getting bigger, and he immediately summoned a mana barrier. But Sam was quicker, as before the mana barrier could cover everything, Sam mmed his leg on the ground, and a vine appeared below Gavin, covering him up. Due to him being disrupted, the Mana Barrier broke, and Sam arrived close to Gavin, and he swung his spear to knock Gavin out of the stage. "The winner is Sam Allister!" Everyone started cheering for Sam, and he even impressed a few people with his performance. Gavin grunted his teeth as he red at Sam, and as the medics approached him to heal him, he stood up on his own. He took the healing potion and left with a sour mood. Matches were going on as Sam, who was back in his room, watched the screen, and on the stage were Venessa and Elena. "She is doing good against her," Sam muttered. He knew Venessa was a bit weaker than him, but she was a good match against Elena Rothschild, and she had a chance to win. "But she can''t win," Sam muttered. Although Venessa was quite good, there was a main difference between her and someone like Elena. The artifacts that Elena was carrying were more powerful, and Venessa was an equal match to Elena Rothschild. But he didn''t know that Venessa could have fought Elena equally if she used her bloodline ability, but she didn''t. And the match result was obvious: after dueling for 5 minutes, Venessa was forced out of the stage, and she didn''t regret it as she looked at Elena Rothschild, who had three cuts that were still bleeding. "The winner is Elena Rothschild." The crowd was a bit shocked by Venessa''s aggressive fighting style, which didn''t involve much defensive technique. "She managed to push Elena Rothschild that much!" "I didn''t think she was that powerful." Students in the arena were chatting, and the recruiters immediately noticed that Venessa Baker was not from a big family. "Contact her after this tournament ends." Most of the recruiters, including the top 5, were saying simr things. "It seems there are a few rough gems this year," Alfredmented. Elena, on the other hand, couldn''t believe she got pushed so far against someone like Venessa, who she didn''t think was much of a challenge. After all, even in the midterm examination, it was Asher and Alyssa that gave them trouble, not others. But with this match, Sam, Amelia, and Elena were in the next bracket, and only one match was left. It was between Damian and Eva, and the winner of that match would then fight with one of the top 5. Chapter 343 End Of The Third Day - II ?343 End of the Third Day - II In the VIP Section, "This is not the ce to discuss such things," Alexander reminded his wife. "But what about n?" she said, raising her voice. "He can handle it," Alexander replied, shutting her down. He was irritated, and thest thing he wanted was attention on them. However, seeing Alyssa humiliate n like that made it hard for him to control his anger. He already regretted not taking ''care'' of Alyssa properly and educating her about a few things before disowning her. But just like others, in Alexander''s eyes, Alyssa was going to die sooner orter because of the state of her body, even if she stopped using Space Magic. Being crippled, she was forced to use Gravity magic to move herself around. Because of that, it was even more annoying to see n lose like that, as they hadn''t expected Alyssa to be this strong. Unlike the Elite Families, the public watching the tournament weren''t happy with Alyssa''s victory. People werementing and making posts about how they disliked that a person from the Garcia Family was given such an opportunity to even attend World Academy. Alexander had carefully made people associate Alyssa only with the Garcia Family, making sure on several asions to rify that Alyssa didn''t belong to the Astaria family. At first, he lost hisposure as the image of Asher beating n brutally came to mind when he saw Alyssa repeatedly thrust the Ice Pir at n. Fortunately for him, he didn''t know what Alyssa had actually done to n''s wrist and other bones. "Go back for now," said Alexander as he looked at his wife and the portal behind them. His wife wanted to retaliate, but seeing Alexander''s cold face made her a bit scared, and she stood up to leave. "Now, for the next match, we have Rank 8 Eva Williams Vs Rank 9 Damian Seymour!" This was thest match to decide the Final Bracket of the First Year Students. And the final match was between Damian Seymour and Eva Williams. From the cheering alone, many people were rooting for Eva, and even the odds were in Eva''s favor. "It''s a tough match," David said, looking at Damian. He was sitting with Arthur, and both of them were discussing who would win this duel. Despite being from a well-known family, Damian never felt pressured by David to live up to certain expectations. On the other hand, Nate looked irritated, noticing that Damian was still using a shield. Nate had watched Damian and David practice a few times and knew that Damian''s talenty in closebat, just like their father. However, Damian chose to use a shield instead. On the stage, Eva remained calm, contemting ways to defeat Damian. In contrast, Damian was smiling as he descended the stage. The smirk on Damian''s face irritated Eva slightly. She narrowed her eyes, recalling the times Damian had mocked them. "This guy," Amelia said, looking at the screen and shaking her head. She was aware of Damian''s bad habit of taunting others, something she had warned him about numerous times. The referee signaled them to take their positions and raised his hand to start the countdown. "Start!" As soon as themand was given, multiple translucent barriers appeared in front of Eva. She manipted them to encircle Damian. Damian, meanwhile, brandished a shield and a hammer. Both his shield and hammer were artifacts. He also wore a ring that increased the rate at which he could release his aura. Both Eva and Damian were defensively oriented as a Mage and Hunter, respectively, making it challenging to predict the victor. But Eva had the ability to form barriers from pure mana, and it was a special ability just like the one Amelia had. In front of a hunter below her Rank, if they didn''t had any powerful techniques there was no way of breaking Eva''s barrier until she ran out of mana. And mana wasn''t a problem for her and even handling so many barriers and manipting them was something that Eva excelled at. Reece was watching her Sister''s match from the VIP Room, and he smiled seeing that Eva was being more proactive and taking risks. She didn''t bother creating a shield near herself, and went aggressive first to push back Damian. "Why isn''t he using Close Combat Martial Art like his father?" Xarax said. "I thought so too," Dalton added. Both of them remembered David Seymour, as he was a powerful ally of the Greville Family, and also one of the best closebat hunter they have seen. But seeing Damian not use, his Family''s Combat Art confused them. Alfred just smiled as he found it funny that none of the Seymour Children wanted to learn Close Combat Techniques that made the Seymour family famous. Damian who was on the stage covered his shield with his aura, as the cube made of Eva''s barrier shed with his shield, as Damian felt the mana around him. Due to the fact that most of Eva''s attack were not that visible, he was sensing any change of mana around him and reacting to it. It was the best counter to Eva''s attack, but Eva didn''t stop at this. She created to barriers around Damian, and narrowed it down stop Damian from dodging to his sides. Immediately seeing those barrier emerge, Damian rotated his body and swung his hammer to one of the sides, making crack on the armor. He had also reached D Rank, so he was powerful enough to break the barrier. But Eva smiled, as she lowered her finger and a barrier formed above Damian, as it came crashing down on him. Damian immediately raised his shield upward as he was forced to bend his knee a bit due to the pressure behind that barrier. "Can''t move now," Eva spoke as shifted the barrier to the side. But before she could struck Damian, he looked at Eva as he lifted shield a bit. Damian''s physical strength was the highest in the First Year, not including Asher but he could fight Asher in a spar who was a C Rank Hunter, which showed how high his strength was. The force that Eva applied wasn''t enough to stop him. As Eva tried to change the structure of the spell, it gave Damian the opening to make his move. He pushed the Shield upward with a burst of his aura, shattering the barrier and the moment he was freed from the pressure he charged at Eva. His hammer came towards Eva, who hurriedly made small octagon shapes around her, that absorbed the impact of Damian''s strike. But Damian didn''t stop as he rotated his body to strike multiple times. His strength surprised many people, as he was swinging a hammer that was quite big, and looked heavy. But people were amazed the Eva''s small barriers could hold on the barrage of attack that Damian was doing. Bam! Bam! Loud noises of the hammer striking the Barriers were being heard. "Not too bad," Arthurmented. David smiled as he saw that Damian had improved from thest time he had trained with him, but the stalemate between him and Eva was still not broken. Damian smiled as he attacked Eva, but Eva gritted her teeth as it was hard to manage these barriers and the ones she was creating. Just focusing on defense would waste too much time, and Eva wanted to keep the upper hand in this fight. But Damian didn''t care if Eva was creating another barriers or another spell, if he could break the defense she would be forced to stop. Cracks on the barriers appeared as the octagons absorbed Damian''s attacks but at the same Damian could feel some mana gathering above him. And he noticed a small globe of wind that gathering everything in one ce. "You sure have a lot of mana to do all this," Damian said as he noticed many small barriers in the air and behind them were Arrows made of wind. And the globe of wind element above his body started to descend on him, with Eva lowering her hand and the arrows of wind mmed down as they pierced the stage. Each arrow digged through the stage and Damian dodged everyone of them. It was a powerful Tier 3 spell, that could pierce through heavy armors of even C Rank. Damian''s speed despite carrying a shield and hammer was enough to dodge but the globe of wind was making it harder for him to move. It was like a vacuum that attracting the air around him, and even Damian could feel the force of attractioning from the globe. It was not a simple spell, but Damian didn''t have enough time to think of a counter to Eva''s spell. He needed to break her defences first before he could think about anything else, so he thought of a wild idea to rush towards Eva while disregarding the Wind Arrows. *Dash* Eva was bit surprised seeing Damian who was backstepping suddenlying towards her. "What a idiot," Eva said as she increased the speed behind the arrows. Small Barriers appeared around her, but they started spinning at a high speed, this was another one of Eva''s spells that utilized her barrier magic. But it was enough to counter attack Damian who was rushing towards her. The idea was to force Damian to use the shield for the arrows and damage him with the de like barrier that could pierce through his aura. But Damian ignored the Arrowspletely shocking Eva as he took an arrow on his hand and ignored it, while focusing his eyes on the des. "What is he doing?" Everyone were confused by Damian''s charge. But Damian smiled as he reached a certain distance and flung his shield towards Eva''s direction blocking her vision. Chapter 344 End Of The Third Day - III ?344 End of the Third Day - III "What is he doing?" Some of the students were confused by Damian''s approach. But the Small Barrier Shard collided with the shield, but some of them managed to damage the shield. Eva could control the density of her barrier but to create strong ones and manipte them was difficult. She didn''t had Gravity Magic like Alyssa, so she couldn''t move the existing barriers too easily. Although her barriers were powerful, she needed time to create and manipte them. And this was why she was strong against mages, and weaker against weapon users. Damian who hadrge wound on his arm, was already away from Eva''s field of view. And the Shield that striked with Eva''s powerful barrier shards created spark which took Eva''s attention. Damian used the burst of aura on his feet as a loud sound shifted Eva''s vision and she noticed Damian''s approach a bit toote. Eva immediately raised her elbow and multiple barriers appeared to stop Damian''s attack. But Damian had used all of his aura in a single strike of his hammer. The sh of Eva''s barrier and Damian''s hammer made huge impact on the stage, but despite Eva''s efforts, the power behind Damian''s attack couldn''t be stopped. "This Bastard!!" Kevin shouted in his room as he saw what happened next. His weapon connected with Eva''s elbow and she was sent off the stage as Medics immediately approached her. "What an asshole!!" "No wonder he is friends with Asher Greville," Some students that were cheering for Eva didn''t liked the way Damian won, but it was a win regardless. "And the winner is Damian Seymour," Listening to this Damian smiled but he immediately noticed peopleing towards him. Medics approached both Damian and Eva, and both had serious wounds. Damian''s whole arm was covered in his blood, while Damian''s attack broked Eva''s bones. "He is too reckless!" Verina Seymour spoke as David looked away immediately. "He fights just like you," Arthur spoke whileughing making David''s situation even worse. "He is just as dumb as father," Nate said making Arthur''sugh even louder. "You are getting too brave boy," David looked at Nate. Nate averted his eyes to not anger David anymore. "Calm down Verina, he will be fine," Sylvie tried to calm Verina down. The medics gave them both a healing potion, and as both of them could stand they left the stage with the Medics. But Eva was taken to the Medical Ward, while Damian was getting treated in his room. In one of the VIP Rooms, Reece who was looking at the match, wasn''t too happy with the result after all his Sister just got defeated. But the End Year Tournament wasn''t a normalpetition and such situations happened all the time. Until the injury wasn''t vital and could threaten someone''s life, no teachers would stop the match until one side got defeated or surrendered. "With this we will enter the Final Bracket of the First Year, but the matches will start after the Matches of the Second, Third and Fourth Year End," The Commentator announced. Kevin on the other hand wasn''t happy with the way Damian defeated Eva, and he wanted to against Damian himself. But today''s matches would end before anyonepeted with him and Asher. And only on the Fourth Day''s the SemiFinals for all the Years would happen. Including the Finals of the First and Second Year. The matches resumed and with deciding matches of other Years started. "The Winner is Jayden Hargrave," The Commentator announced. But nobody was excited as it was the Third Match of Jayden that ended with the opponent surrendering. "It seems nobody wants to fight your Grandson," Alfredmented. "Well, he is too strong for them," Xaraxughed. "Or they remember how he foughtst year," Osbert added making Xarax frown. And it was the truth, whoever fought Jaydenst year ended with lots of injuries and nobody wanted to have a repeat of what happenedst year. Chances of them winning were zero against Jayden, and it wasn''t worth to affect their careers when they were so close to graduating. Almost all the Top 400 Students of Fourth Years had multiple contracts from different guilds or factions in various Associations. Only those rted to Elite Families, or some other big power were without contracts as they didn''t needed one. "Losing is the part of life, they are just too scared to even fight," Xarax said but his own words contradicted what Hargrave family was truly like. Alfred just smiled, while Osbert remained calm. Silvus didn''tmented while Farnus was silent. He didn''t care if these guys fought with each other, as it was beneficial for him, the more difference of opinion was there between them. After constant duels of Four Hours, and many matchester, the First Year matches were about to start again. Amelia was standing with Damian who had bandage over his right arm. "See, I told you it was nothing," Damian moved his arm around. "Yeah, yeah," Amelia looked at Damian. "I am telling, getting hurt by this hurts less than Ash''s attacks," Damian said. And Amelia remembered the Representative Tournament and the image of beaten Damian made her confused whether to say he was stupid or pity him. But she just shook her head. ''I don''t understand how are they friends,'' Amelia thought in her head. Ping! Amelia got a notification, about her match. "Who is it?" Damian asked. "Elena Rothschild," Amelia replied. "Best of Luck," Damian said looking at Amelia. "And you are against Lishia Halcyon," Amelia said looking at the list. "That would be tough," Damian said. "Yes, with that injury it will be tough for sure," Amelia said. But the first match was between Sam Allister and Matthew who was Rank 3. "Who do you think will between these two," Amelia asked. "Of course that Matthew guy, he is quite strong," Damian replied. "But Sam that guy is not that weak either, he could have been a Ranker," Damian said. And Amelia had heard Damian say that once before and she also was suspicious that Sam was hiding his strength. But it everyone had their own reasons, and it didn''t matter to her what Sam Allister did. "But he wouldn''t win against Matthew," Damian said. And it was from experience that he was saying this. He had seen Matthew spar and he had heard that he was the most talented person in the Sword Art ss. "Even the Seniors are jealous that guy is learning swordsmanship in Vice Principal Xander''s ss," Damian added. "With his talent, it''s obvious that would be quite good," Damian said. Despite being this talented, Matthew was overshadowed under Asher''s name. After all, his own swordsmanship was nothing against Asher. "And the next match is between Rank 12 Sam Allister and Rank 3 Matthew," Thementator announced. "Hey Jack, your brother is fighting the guy under Leonard," One of the Third Year told Jack who was sitting in the VIP Area as Second Year Matches for today had ended. Jack maintained his neutral face, but he didn''t like Sam getting so much attention. ''Why is he making things difficult for himself,'' Jack thought. Sam walked on the stage, and so did Matthew who was ready to fight Sam. Although they were friends, Matthew wasn''t going to easy on Sam. Sam saw the look on Matthew and he could guess how this match was going to go if he went through with it. "Both sides get-," Referee was speaking but he got interrupted. "I surrender," Sam said out loud. Referee was surprised by Sam''s decision, as going with the fight was more advantageous for him to improve his ranking. "Are you sure?" Referee asked. "Yes," Sam said and the crowd started booing. Jack on the other hand was happy with Sam''s decision. "Rank 3 Matthew is the Winner," The announcement was made, as Sam went back to the stage. "Doesn''t feel good," Sam muttered to himself. He had resolved to surrender because of his situation, but it didn''t feel good when he did. But it was better for him to do so, then escte his situation at his family. Standing out wasn''t good for him, and not being a ranker also made his family ignore him just like Asher told him. And now Sam had something to believe in, he wasn''t hesitant to put his reputation on the line for it. "I hope he keeps his promise," Sam said as a sigh left his mouth. Author''s message: Mass Release : For the Next 7 Days 4 Chapters each Day! Chapter 345 Intentions - I ?345 Intentions - I "The next fight will be Rank 5 Lishia Halcyon vs Rank 9 Damian Seymour!" "Princess of Halcyon!" Some students from the Halcyon Continent cheered. After all, it had been a long time since someone from the Royal Family of Halcyon had attended the World Academy. Lishia waspared to other talented mages like Elena, and some even held her talents above Elena despite Elena having an affinity with all the elements. "Jodie, did you give her the staff?" Kiara asked the girl who entered her VIP Room. "I did," Jodie replied. She was Kiara''s cousin, the same age as her, and also a Ranker in her fourth year. Kiara was the daughter of the Archduchess of the Everett Family, while Jodie was her uncle''s daughter. "A princess!" Livia said, looking at Lishia. She had learned a bit about all the Elite Families and other important people as part of her training, but seeing someone from a Royal Family for the first time made her excited. Lishia had long ck hair and striking golden eyes, which were the features of the Halcyon Royal Family, adding to her beauty. Damian walked onto the stage and saw Lishia''s familiar face; after all, she was his ssmate. But despite being ssmates, they hadn''t interacted much. Lishia avoided almost every single person in the ss. Only a few people like Kiara Everett and others from families loyal to the Royal Family were seen with her. Unfortunately, nobody from the Halcyon Royal Family was present here, and Lishia was aware of it. But this didn''t mean that they didn''t care about Lishia, or that Lishia''s standing in the Royal Family was low. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Given her talent, Lishia had a fair chance to reach the peak of SS Rank in the future. Even the Seat Holders, watching from the Central Section of the Arena, were keen to see the famous Princess of Halcyon fight. "Get into your position," the Referee spoke as Lishia took her position. ''He''s using the same shield,'' Lishia noticed. Having watched Eva''s match, she wasn''t underestimating Damian. She was prepared to expect and react to anything Damian might attempt. But for Damian, this was a challenging match. Firstly, there was a disparity in power between them, and secondly, he was injured. Despite treatment, his arm remained numb as it hadn''t fully healed. Healing such injuries took time, and during the End Year Tournament, students weren''t permitted to use any potions or items above A Rank. Only in medical emergencies, where the student couldn''t continue their matches, would doctors use such potent healing items. In front of Amelia, Damian acted as if he was fully recovered, but he was aware that his damage potential had diminished significantly. "3...2...1... Start!!" Upon hearing those words, Lishia employed the same strategy Eva had: pushing Damian back and preventing him from getting closer. However, there was a key distinction between Lishia and Eva in terms of the magic they utilized. While Eva employedplex barrier magic, Lishia harnessed powerful ck Element magic. "Her affinity isn''t too bad," Helenamented. Sylvie looked up at Helena''s remark. It was rare for Helena toment on others, especially if they weren''t family. She had seen many people in the Moonlight Guild never get such words out of Helena''s mouth despite the efforts they put in. Helena''s eyes turned pitch ck as she observed Lishia''s maniption of the ck Element. Unlike mana, Helena could discern all spell forms involving the ck Element, indicating her profound affinity with it. ''It seems she learned quite bit from my demonstration,'' Helena said in her mind. Lishia conjured ck smoke around Damian, and from them came multiple strikes from all directions. Damian immediately turned to defend from one, but the second one woulde instantly. The strength behind those strikes were weaker than Eva''s attacks but Damian was using it all to focus on not letting Lishia''s magic attacks touch him. ''Not too bad, he is aware of it,'' Helena was a bit impressed by Damian''s decision to block and not dodge the attacks. He was maintaining his ground and not letting Lishia push him back, and making big steps which could lead to an opening. ''But he is exposing his weakness as well,'' Helena smiled as saw a mistake in Damian''s approach. Although it was good defense against someone that used ck Element, which could wound a person badly if it managed to go past their aurayer around their body. Helena noticed David tap his fingers, and everyone else except the children in this room had noticed that. Each time Damian would defend against Lishia''s strike, a slight second dy would happen in his movements, making it obvious that his hands weren''t stable. ''I was right,'' Lishia thought as she made a wave emerge from the ground made of mist the came of her spell. Damian noticed it, and he mmed his shield on the ground sending a wave of his aura around him, breaking that wave, but behind it Lishia took out a Staff which some students instantly recognized. "Isn''t that the Staff that came out in the First Auction of this Year," One of them said, They recognized this staff, and so did Damian. An A Rank Staff, that even the Fourth Year students would want was something that Damian didn''t wanted to be used against him. A Mage could use Spells on their own, but doing so with a staff was much more convenient and rapid. But the same staff could be a hindrance instead if it was too weak to handle the power of the mage. It was rmended to always use a Staff a rank above you or more so that if you used a spell too powerful it wouldn''t get affected by the Staff itself. It was this reason that Sylvus didn''t use any Staffs to caste his magic, because his magic was simply too strong. But in the hands of Lishia, right now this staff was her biggest advantage, and Damian soon felt it as Lishia started targeted her ck Element strikes that came from the ground. Big shadow formed on the stage, and the whole stage was now Lishia''s domain and Damian couldn''t find a single moment where he could go from defense to attack. Damian was a essentially a tanker so he could defend the whole time, but this was duel where he had no one to take advantage of Damian''s efforts. "Stagnant," Lishia uttered the word as the Staff lit up and the ground underneath Damian became sticky as he found it hard to move or lift his legs. Due to his Aura, he was able to still move but his speed was greatly reduced, and Lishia got the opportunity she needed. "It''s over," Dalton spoke and the others thought the same. The difference got way too big the moment, Lishia took out that staff and Damian had no chance now. But David and Arthur weren''t thinking the same as them. In their eyes, a duel must be taken to extreme before the result could be announced, and because of their reckless nature and love for fighting, their days in World Academy constantly revolved around Duels. And they would fight each other a lot, although David got much calmer and reasonable when he married Verina, and it was the same for Arthur. They couldn''t get reckless due to the responsibilities they had, but it wasn''t the same for their kids. As Damian started getting pushed back brought the Hammer to the ground shattering the part of the Stage he was standing on. David simply smiled, as he was happy that Damian wasn''t that reckless to win. The moment he stepped back, Damian made the decision, and the duel was decided. Lishia, immediately used a spell where the ck Element started gathering around Damian, with bubbles appearing from the ground. "Certes Burst," Lishia chanted as all the ck Energy and the mist immediately gathered in one ce, Damian raised his shield in front and used his aura, but he felt his hands go weak. "Effect of ck element," Helena spoke to the Twins, "He can''t move his arm because of the Mist," Helena told the twins. Immediately, that ck Energy bursted in front of Damian as a huge hole was made on the stage, while Damian defended against the attack, part of his body still got wounded, and his Shield was cracked. It was powerful attack, but Damian was still fine, but he lost because he was out of the stage. "The Winner is Lishia Halcyon!!" Chapter 346 Intentions - II

Chapter 346 Intentions - II

346 Intentions - II Lishia looked at the crowd cheering her, and it kind of reminded her of Halcyon where she would get simr treatment. "Well done, Princess," Kiara said from her room with a smile on her face. "She is quite strong for a First Year, using that spell without wasting mana is quite impressive," Jodie added. Amidst the pping and cheering of the crowd, standing up Damian felt a bit sour losing, but he was wasn''t unhappy with his performance. His fight was over the moment he felt the strength in his arm fading, and if he got more reckless he was sure there will be a few people that would get quite angry. The Professors fixed the stage with their magic and restored it for the next match. "Isn''t that magic too powerful!" Livia asked looking at Helena. "It is if you stay exposed in it for too long," Helena answered. "He was forced to stay on that stage and she used it for her advantage," Helena added. "And he was already injured, so his arm got affected by it much quickly," Helena said. There were various things that were possible with ck Element, and one of them were curses. If someone had the affinity to cast such a magic, they could drain their opponent, and weaken them by using the corrosive property of ck Element. "There are few ways you can counter it," Helena said looking at the twins. "Move out of the range of the spell, or possess higher affinity of ck Element than your opponent," Helena said with a smile. "There other ways, but you can start learning about them while studying here," Helena added. She gave Livia the answer she needed, but not theplete answer. "Although, he could have tried to push her further, but it was better to stop right there," Helena said. "It''s good he is not reckless like some youngsters I remember," Helena said making Arthur and David ufortable. Nate just shook his head, as he was d that his brother still had a brain left in his head. Lishia walked off the stage, and her disy of strength attracted many eyes, some were out of admiration but some were not. Lot of talks were happening especially in the Third VIP Section, and among them were the people from ck Market. "Seeing this, I don''t think that the rumours about the Royal Family are true," A middle aged man said. "You think there has been so much movements and friction in Halcyon for nothing?" Another man asked. "Enough, this is not the ce to discuss such things," An old man said stopping them at once. But not talking about it doesn''t meant that the doubts disappeared, and the old man knew that very well. Although the group behind ck Market was tied with the Elite Families and the other powerhouses but they maintained their distance from them. Getting too involved in something would only make things difficult from them. "What are the odds for the next match," The old man asked. "It is close," The middle aged man replied. "The Next Match is between, Rank 6 Elena Rothschild vs Rank 7 Amelia Von Greville," As the next match was announced, a lot of people got excited as the two families had an open dispute with each other in the Representative Tournament with Nathan and Dalton going against each other. "It will be a interesting match," One of the guys sitting in the Student Section spoke. "I heard they were friends until things went wrong between their families," He added. "Yeah, I heard that Amelia Greville studied with Elena Rothschild when she was in Desmar," A girl spoke out. "Doesn''t look like friends to me though," One of them said pointing at the stage. "I said, ''were'' idiot," The guy said but it was hard to believe that two people with a cold expression on their faces were once friend. Amelia didn''t like Elena the moment she insulted her family, and Elena changed her opinion when Amelia had an argument with Kevin. And seeing her Crimson Red Eyes, reminded her of Asher, the one guy she hated the most in the World. Alfred and Dalton both went quiet as the others didn''t say anything. ''It''s better that he is not here,'' Sylvus thought thinking of Nathan. He could only imagine what would happen if Nathan and Dalton were present at the same time while this match was happening. "You seem quite confident," Elena said walking to her position. "I am," Amelia replied with her indifferent expression. While the Referee was about to start the match, Livia was cheering for Amelia. Both Elena and Amelia got ready as they red their mana. Amelia wasn''t overconfident because she knew Elena was powerful and so did Elena. Unlike the previous fight, they were fairly matched except the fact that Elena was bit more powerful than Amelia as pure mage. But in a duel, Amelia had the advantage as she could increase her strength using Augmentation Magic. "3...2...1 Start!!" Boom! The moment the match started, Elena immediately used Fire Magic to create explosion around the area Amelia was standing. But Amelia had casted her mana barrier so she was fine, and in response Amelia made a ring of fire appear around Elena. "Ignite," Amelia augmented her spell, making it much more powerful. Elena made water emerge around her, shing with Amelia''s spell. "Spike," Elena said as Amelia noticed spear like spikes appear from the ground. She dodged backwards as she a fireball emerged in her hand and soon 5 more appeared. She shot them towards Elena, who made a shield of Fire that absorbed Amelia''s attack. "Is this all you got?" Elena asked as she made spear of fire appear by raising her hand in the sky. Her bracelet started shining, as Amelia felt a glow around her feet. "A Restriction artifact," David said looking at the Stage. Suddenly a barrier appeared around Amelia, making it impossible for her to move. "Dodge this," Elena said as she sent the Fire Spears towards Amelia. Amelia frowned but she made a mana barrier, but Elena''s attack were more powerful than she anticipated. ''Is it another artifact,'' Amelia thought. Bam! Bam! Bam! At third hit, the barrier shattered making Elena smile as her n worked. The ring that Elena was wearing increased the intensity of her Fire Element spells, and also slightly increased her damage output. It was a B Rank Artifact, that she received only recently. But as the Fourth Spear of fire made its way towards Amelia something strange happened. Sylvus focused his eyes on Amelia, more importantly the spell she was chanting. Suddenly the arrow that travelling towards Amelia, dissipated as soon as it got near her. It was strange thing, but Elena was confused by this until she realized that Amelia had destructured her spell by forcing the mana around her to absorb it. It was special technique a lot of mages used, but it also drained quite a lot of mana and strained their mana core in the process. But Amelia who had the Greville Bloodline managed to pull it off, but despite being surprised by this Elena immediatelyposed herself. Amelia couldn''t do this endlessly, and Elena still had time until the restriction spell on Amelia faded. But Amelia made a wave of fire appear in front of her with the motion of her hands, and it acted as a shield against Elena. Suddenly the match that appeared to favor Elena became stalemate, as Elena''s fire spears were absorbed by Amelia''s spell. "They are taking their time," Elsa who was watching the match muttered. She knew that both of them knew more powerful spells, but they needed time and opening to cast them. And till then, they could only corner each other using such spells. ''It seems she learned a bit from those books,'' Sylvus noticed that Amelia was utilizing her knowledge from the books she took from her visit in Mage Association. Meanwhile Farnus was smiling, as he hoped this match to go in a certain direction. Nobody was aware of his intentions, and even his faint smile went unnoticed by others. Chapter 347 Fourth Day Awaits

Chapter 347 Fourth Day Awaits

347 Fourth Day Awaits "Firestorm," Elena chanted, and a storm of fire appeared between her and Amelia. It was powerful enough to melt part of the stage where it appeared, but Amelia remained calm. To counter a spell, you needed to respond with equal or more powerful magic. However, there were many factors that affected how effectively you could counter a magic spell. One of these factors was understanding the structure of the spell used and finding a weakness in that structure. It was difficult to do unless you had studied the spell yourself. If you didn''t understand the structure, the only way to counter was to use even more powerful magic against it. Up to Tier 3, all spells behaved predictably, meaning some elements were naturally stronger against others. But this changed from Tier 4 onward, where magic became moreplex. No one in the First Year, including Asher, could cast a Tier 4 magic. Even the Tier 3 spells that some of them used were simpler versions of the original Tier 3 spells. They restructured these to suit their needs. And aplishing such feats was only possible for a few talented individuals with guidance from teachers like Elsa. "Reverse Wind: Tempest Art," Amelia chanted, augmenting the spell. Chanting while augmenting was one of the techniques she had learned from the knowledge she gleaned from the books she had read. After all, the books that Amelia had read were written by famous mages whose names were noted in history. Before going to the Sanctuary of Mages, Amelia asked Sylvie for suggestions. In response, Sylvie provided Amelia with the names she needed to search for. That''s why Sylvus was able to recognize Amelia''s methods instantly; he himself had read those books. Because some of them were closely rted to Augmentation magic, Sylvus couldn''t learn much from them. Wind around the stage started flowing in the opposite direction, and Amelia''s magic shed with Elena''s Firestorm, making it unstable and soon it started to scatter. Soon, the restriction of the bracelet was gone and Amelia was freed and she immediately augmented herself physically. Amelia made her way towards Elena while a dagger appeared in her hand. Elena smiled as she made tilted pir made of stone appear in order to hit Amelia. Amelia''s eyes looked to her sides as she saw multiple pirs appear towards her. Her Crimson Red eyes focused on pirs as Amelia sidestepped but the stage started rumbling as Elena lifted her hands. Crack! Amelia looked at the cracks that were appearing right below her. ''I need to dodge,'' Amelia thought while looking around. But the whole area around her was affected by Elena''s spell making it impossible for her to make out of it in a normal way before Elenapleted the spell. She immediately jumped on one of the pirs but as soon Ameliand on one of the pirs, she saw ball of fireing towards her. "She can dual chant already, not bad," Xaraxmented. Dalton looked proud at his Granddaughter as the battle was in Elena''s favor. The fireball was about to hit Amelia but she saw vines with thorns appear from the cracks so she couldn''t fall back. Taking a short breath, Amelia eyes narrowed on the fireball as she jumped towards the fireball. At the same time Vines emerged from the stage, but Amelia was already mid air, as he took out her dagger while covering it mana. She shed the fireball with it, but her hands were burned in the process, but her mana broke the spell making the impact much less. But the fireball exploded surprising, Amelia as Elena clenched her hand. It was the ability of the ring artifact she possessed and it was to control fire and burst into explosion a few times. "It''s over, Amelia," Elena said as the Vines started travelling towards Amelia who was falling from her position at a high speed. "No!" Livia shouted as she saw Amelia was falling into the Vines. Amelia shifted her body towards the ground, and her eyes started chanting as Alfred smile but a frown appeared on Dalton''s face. Her Crimson Red Eyes were glowing, and it meant she was using her Bloodline ability. "Lir Burst," Amelia muttered as bluish fire covered the ground beneath her burning the vines immediately. Amelia made a mana barrier on the ground to safelynd and immediatelynding, she dashed towards Elena, who saw Amelia''s glowing red eyes which made another image ovep on Amelia''s face. Remembering that, Elena stopped chanting for a second, which was enough time Amelia to get close to Elena. Amelia manage to make on Elena''s arm before she took a few steps back as she red at Amelia. But Elena was angry on herself, for making such a mistake. ''If the distance was bit shorter..'' Elena thought to herself. The match would have ended, if Amelia was a bit closer and her dagger made its way near her neck. "She made a mistake," Tyrone who was sitting with Raelyn spoke. "It''s fine, the match hasn''t ended yet," Raelyn said. Amelia''s right hand had burn injuries but Elena''s arm was bleeding as well. But both of them unfazed by it. Even some of the students were surprised by the level of their fights as they haven''t seen First Years fight like this. Elena raised her left hand to send condensed ball of fire, which Amelia had no choice but to dodge. Amelia was using a lot of mana to augment herself, so she was able to dodge them easily, but some of them could explode due to the power of the Artifact Elena had. Their exchange of magic started, and both of them responded with equal or sometime powerful magic. Despite using augmented magic, Elena was still able to use powerful enough spell to counter Amelia''s attack. "I think I underestimated them a bit," Lishia said. Currently she was present in Kiara''s VIP Room, with Jodie being present there as well. "Will you lose to them?" Jodie asked. "No, I can win," Lishia was confident. Kiara smiled seeing her confidence, and she was d that she was like that. "But who do you think will win?" Lishia asked Kiara. "I don''t know, their magic is equally powerful but Amelia Greville has a good chance if this battle drags on," Kiara replied. "And it seems she is aiming for that to happen," Kiara said as she pointed at stage. Elena closed her eyes, as the ground around her started to shake and stone pebbles started to form multiple daggers around her. Amelia didn''t do anything, as she started chanting as well, as drops of water started circling around her. Both of them have activated their mana barrier, and were chanting to create a powerful spell. Stone daggers were formed, as Elena zed them on fire, but this time the fire was highly condensed and hot. But the stone didn''t get affected by the heat, as Elena controlled her mana. Elena opened her eyes as she sent the stone daggers towards Amelia but the water droplets became bigger as an entrapment spell appeared between Elena and Amelia. Elena frowned as the water drops started to catch the daggers slowing them down while Amelia moved towards her. It was a defensive spell, which took a lot of mana to maintain but for Amelia, the mana cost to cast such an spell was low. ''Both brother and sister are a problem,'' Osbert thought looking at Amelia. Nobody targeted Amelia, because there were rumors in rift between the Greville Siblings, and people wanted that rift to get bigger. But seeing that how Elena Rothschild and Amelia Greville were not on friendly terms, Osbert confirmed that the things might have changed now. Amelia who was rushing towards Elena, waved her hands to create wall of fire behind Elena to stop her from retreating. Elena sensed the heat emerging behind her, and she had only once chance to end this match. She could sense that prolonging this battle would do her harm than good. She had a lot of mana left, but she was sure that she would be the one to run out of mana first. It was already impressive that being at the D Rank she could multicast so many times, without wasting her mana, but in front of someone of the Greville Bloodline, having a battle of mana was pointless. Amelia also knew that if she pushed Elena, she would try to end this match in one go, and to do so she needed to use something closer to a Tier 3 Spell. "Ceres Ignite," Elena muttered as her eyes closed. "Is she forcefully using a Tier 3 spell!!" Some of the Professors got worried but they didn''t move just yet. Amelia on the other hand threw her dagger at Elena, that got absorbed in the globe of Fire that appear in front of Elena. "Is she trying a half chant?" Xarax said and Sylvus nodded. A Half chant, was using half the structure of a spell, to quickly use a spell but it would be very unstable and maintaining it for long was impossible. The globe started glowing as huge explosion was about to happen and Amelia charged towards it. "The match is over," Sylvus said as Dalton smiled. But Sylvus didn''t meant it the way Dalton thought. Because he sensed what Amelia was doing he knew the oue of this match. The explosion happened, as huge dust appeared on the stage the students were confused both the Professors were standing shocked seeing, Amelia on the edge of the stage, with wounds on her body, while Elena who was slightly out of the stage. But her condition was even worse than Amelia. "How?" Elena muttered looking at Amelia, who barely standing. Even some professors didn''t recognize the method Amelia used. "She learned quite a trick from her trip," Elsa said while smiling. "Amelia Greville is the Winner" The winner was announced. The third day had ended, but while everyone were confused or shocked by the result, one man was waiting for the next day to begin. ''Tomorrow will be quite a day," Farnus thought as he looked at the stage. Chapter 348 Fourth Day Starts

Chapter 348 Fourth Day Starts

348 Fourth Day Starts "How did she win?" Lishia blurted out, and both Kiara and Jodie shared her confusion. In the VIP Room, "Will she be alright?" Livia asked, casting a worried nce at Sylvie. "She will be fine," Sylvie patted Livia''s head. "How did she win, though?" Lucas asked while looking at the stage. He was curious, and Helena looked at the look on the young boy''s face and smiled. "The answer is in front of you," Helena said, but Lucas was confused. "Look at those wounds. Do they look like wounds from an explosion," Helena asked, and Lucas looked at the footage of Amelia winning that was being reyed, but those wounds were from cuts, not an explosion. But it confused Lucas even more. "She used another spell at the center of the explosion to push her opponent out of the stage," Helena said. At thest moment, just before approaching the globe that was about to explode, Amelia forcefully generated a powerful Wind st Spell that produced des of wind and spread them all around. She then augmented that spell to finish before Elena''s spell. Both of them used a half chant, but Amelia used one of the many techniques she learned, which was using her own mana to manipte and ce her spell inside a space that was dominated by another person''s mana. It wasn''t a feat to achieve at her level if not for the Greville Bloodline she had, and that was why Sylvus was impressed by this battle. "She is used one of the Principals of Mana, something you have learned as well," Helena added. "But the method she used was something only an augmenter can do," Helena said. And on the Center Area, Farnus stood up to announce the end of the day. While the other Seat Holders did the same, Dalton was surprised by the oue, but he didn''t let it show on his face. "Although there were many exciting matches, the Third Day ends now, and the next match will start tomorrow," Farnus announced as every student in the Arena stood up. Kevin, on the other hand, rushed to look at Elena''s condition, but the Staff member told him she was being taken to the medical ward. He arrived at the Medical Facility soon, but the Doctors stopped him from entering as Elena was being treated. "I hope she is fine," Kevin said as he sat down on an empty seat. He was not worried about Elena''s physical condition. He was worried that this loss might have affected her more deeply, emotionally and mentally. After waiting for 10 minutes, he was allowed to visit Elena, and he saw Elena sitting on the Bed with her head on her knees. Her body was wrapped in bandages, and Kevin was d that she was fine, but he didn''t know how to approach her at the moment. "I am fine," Elena muttered while not facing Kevin. "It''s fine, Elen-" Kevin was speaking, but he stopped as Elena shouted, "Kevin, I am fine. I just need some time alone," Elena said, raising her voice, "I don''t want you to see me like this," Elena said as Kevin stopped midway and took a step back. "Okay," Kevin muttered as he left the room soon after. Elena raised her head as she saw the door close, but her eyes were filled with tears, which she wanted to hide from Kevin. She didn''t think she would lose like this, not after all the training she did. But losing to the Sister of the person she hated the most made it even worse. "I can''t believe I lost to her," Elena muttered as she clenched the bedsheet. Amelia, on the other hand, was taken to a Separate Medical Facility, and Livia and Lucas hade to visit her with Damian. "And you were calling me out for being reckless," Damian said as he looked at Amelia, who was hiding under her bedsheet. "I won, so it doesn''t matter," Amelia replied as she peeked out of the bedsheet. "Are you really fine?" Livia asked as she looked at Amelia with eyes full of worry. "I am fine, I just got a bit carried away while fighting," Amelia replied, "Excuse me, you should let her rest for her now," The Nurse came in and politely told Damian and the twins. At first, the Medical Staff was surprised by the twins, but the rumors about the Grandus and Greville twins were spreading, so they didn''t stop them or anything. "You can enter my Floor. I have given you ess to it," Amelia reminded Livia as she was about to leave. "Ok!!" Livia nodded her head as she pushed Lucas and Damian to leave the room. "She needs rest to hurry up!" Livia said as she pushed both of them. Amelia chuckled. "Eek," Amelia said as she felt the pain in her wounds. It was better for them to heal naturally if they had the time, but this time, she consumed a bit of healing potion that increased the speed at which her wounds healed. But it would take at least a day for her topletely heal herself. After all, mages didn''t possess aura, so their natural healing rate was slower than those who possessed aura. And to her advantage, the wound that hurt her came from her own spell, so she could recover much faster. Although Amelia was happy that she won, she wanted to show a better win to the twins, as their older siblings. Although the day had ended, for the whole world that was watching the tournament, lots of things were happening. From Alyssa''s win to people criticizing World Academy for allowing someone from the Garcia Family to even attend such a prestigious ce. Each Continent had its own favorites, as Lishia was for Halcyon, and Kevin''s group was for Desmar. But Elena and Eva''s defeat today made people question if their previous assumptions were true. Due to the fact that not much information about World Academy leaked outside, the End Year Tournament was the one ce where people judged these students. Normally, the speed of the tournament was much lower, so these matches wouldn''t have happened on the same day, but now they did. People were questioning whether they were right in cing their bets on Rothschild or the Williams family. Amelia looked at the door as she let go of her thoughts. "He really didn''te," Amelia muttered. She thought Asher would visit her like Damian and the twins did. "I should go to sleep," Amelia shook her head. *** The Arena was filled with students and other people who were in the VIP or Guild Section, and everyone was looking at the Main Area, where many portals were opening. Farnus was the first to step in, as were Silvus, Alfred, Osbert, Dalton, and Xarax, and after them, there were some new guests. And the first of them was Dexter Wright himself, who hade out of his busy schedule to see these matches. And the second one was Joseph Kimir Cranston. Some of the invited people this year who didn''te were Nathan and Marvin Watson and the third SSS Rank Hunter of the World Association. "It''s a shame that some of the Guests couldn''t attend," Farnus said as he took his seat. Dexter had a stern look on his face as he sat on his Seat while Joseph maintained his calm face. He was the only one who knew that Nathan was in possession of two SSS Rank Mana Gems, but surprisingly, he didn''t spread the information to others. Even Nathan expected Joseph to do something like this because there was no alliance between the three strongest Elite Families. All of them sitting here were the Seat Holders, and their influence was quite huge on the World. "Why I am seeing all your faces so many times this year," Dexter said as he looked at the stage. "Don''t worry, you will see us again on the day High Council gathers," Xarax said, but Dexter was just annoyed by all this. First, the Kalvas G, now the End Year Tournament, and then High Council Meetings. It was rare for the Seat Holders to see each other so often, and Dexter wasn''t happy because he had a responsibility to attend such events. "I am more surprised that the Chairman of Mage Association is less annoyed than me," Dexter said. "I have my reasons, Dexter," Silvus replied. Dexter was the only one who had connections with everyone, but he didn''t take any sides. His excellence in his craft was essential for every single SSS Rank Hunter, as making weapons and armor that could withstand their power wasn''t an easy task. "Well, let''s not get distracted. The Tournament is about to start," Farnus said. "Wee back, everyone, to the End Year Tournaments'' Fourth Day," A man standing on the stage said as everyone got excited. "There are a lot of interesting matches today, but we will start with the First One," Gazil said as many students cheered up. "And for the first match, we have," Gazil opened his list, and even he was surprised. "It is between Amelia Von Greville vs. Rank 1 Asher Von Greville," Gazil said as many people were surprised. "Hoh, a match between siblings, how interesting," Dexter said out loud. And even Osbert raised his eyebrows as he didn''t expect something like this. ''This old fox,'' Osbert thought as he nced at Farnus. He knew something was up with the way Farnus had changed the Tournament, and with the rumors about Grandus and Greville Twins, Osbert was waiting for it to be revealed. Amelia stepped out of her room, and so did Asher, and after a few seconds, both of them approached the stage. ''Let''s see what will happen,'' Farnus thought in his mind. Asher stepped onto the stage as his indifferent eyes looked at Amelia. Nobody knew, but the moment the End Year Tournament began, everything had worked as Farnus wanted. The rest of the 8 Chapters that were missed yesterday and Today wille in 6-7 hours one by one. Updater''s advice: I wouldn''t rmend getting your hopes up. Regardless of whether the promise is fulfilled or not, I will upload it after 10 hours, so let¡¯s read other novels first. Chapter 349 Expectations 349 Expectations Asher stood on the stage with the same indifference in his eyes. Amelia walked onto the stage, and just as the Referee was about to start the match, she raised her hands. "I will forfeit," Amelia dered. Many weren''t surprised but hoped to see a battle between the two siblings. "And here I thought every Greville was a battle maniac," Xarax remarked with a disappointed expression. He wasn''t the only one curious about the rumors of the two Greville siblings not being on good terms. However, with Amelia admitting defeat so quickly, perhaps the rumors weren''t true. Osbert began tapping his finger on his elbow, reflecting on the same thoughts. "It seems you are disappointed by this?" Alfred inquired, ncing at Xarax with a smile. "Haha, I just wanted to see a good fight. What did you think I meant?" Xarax retorted, the smile fading from his face. "If you insist, then it must be true," Alfred responded, shifting his gaze to the stage. Alfred''s nonchnce irritated Xarax. Alfred was the sole SS Rank Hunter among all the SSS Rank Hunters sitting here. "I hope everyone remains peaceful," Farnus interjected before Xarax could react further. Xarax backed down, seeing Farnus''s warning as he didn''t want to escte the situation, but it was true that he wanted to push Alfred into a corner. After all, he had never seen fear in that man''s eyes, even after sitting between so many SSS Rank Hunters, and every single one of them was at odds with each other publicly, at least. Dexter and Silvus were neutral, while Farnus stayed out of the picture, and the rest were publicly at odds with each other. Farnus looked at Xarax as he backed down without creating a fuss. ''Don''t get riled up now; there will be an opportunityter,'' Farnus mused. Onstage, Asher was dered the winner since Amelia had relinquished her intent to fight him. Some of the first years could fathom her reluctance, as facing Asher Greville was daunting. Asher had a reputation of being someone best avoided¡ªsomeone even the Student Council struggled to manage. Yet, someone in the VIP Room was particrly relieved the siblings didn''t sh. "Thank God they didn''t fight," Damian eximed. It was clear Amelia would lose, and Damian suspected that Asher wouldn''t have shown her mercy. There was a deeper reason for Damian''s apprehension about their potential fight, even though he often sparred with Asher. "He''s changed since the past," Damian murmured. He had been thinking about it for a year, but somehow, he felt that Asher had changed greatly from the Asher he had remembered before going to Desmar with Amelia. He knew that Asher didn''t express himself like others, but he felt something different when he saw Asher''s eyes. They remained normal when he interacted with Asher, but sometimes, he would nce at Asher, even if he felt a bit scared. But Damian didn''t want to think about Asher like that, so he never confronted Asher about this. "I hope they can just talk it out," Damian sighed as he looked at Amelia and Asher leaving the stage. "The next fight is between Rank 3 Alyssa Astaria vs. Rank 5 Lishia Halcyon," Gazil announced as he pointed at the stage. Lishia walked towards the stage as she looked at Alyssa, who was hovering above the ground wearing a mask that covered half her face. Alyssa took her position as the Referee and started the countdown. Lishia was prepared to give it her all because this match and tournament were important for her. "Start!!" The Referee said out loud. "It''s a pity that a certain someone is not here," Xarax said as he looked toward a particr VIP Section Room. Everyone sitting there knew that Xarax Hargrave was talking about the VIP where Alexander Astaria was present yesterday. "It seems you are missing Astaria Head too much," Osbert asked looking at Xarax. "Hahaha, maybe I am," Xarax replied, looking at Osbert. This was the way all the SSS Rank Hunters interacted with each other. The situation that involved Cmities was dangerous enough to make them work together, but internally, all of them were vary of each other. "Just watch the fight," Dexter spoke out as both of them turned towards the stage. ''What a cold-hearted guy,'' Xarax smiled as he found the situation funny. After all, the man who killed an entire elite family in a single night was sitting here calmly, seeing the only survivor of that night''s fight. Alyssa summoned 10 Ice Spears behind her, and Lishia summoned a wave of fire all around her. Lishia had two affinities; one was ck Element, and the other was Fire Element, and she would use her Fire Magic as a defense against Alyssa. "Defeat her!!!" "You can do it, Princess!!" Students were cheering against Alyssa, and although Lishia didn''t like how she received the attention, it was the best situation she could have asked for. Alyssa was the source of hatred for many, and if Lishia could gain favor by going against her, she didn''t mind that. Alyssa was unfazed by the loud cheering as she sent the Ice Spear towards Lishia, who defended by creating a wall of extremely hot fire from the waves around her. "She is using a lot of mana from the start," Elsa said, looking at the match. Today, she was in charge of the matches with a few other S Rank Professors. Lishia made the whole area around her ck as the same ck mist started to cover the area around her. But Alyssa had already watched the match yesterday, and she simply shifted the gravity to the left side as the mist started to gravitate towards the left. Lishia felt the pressure on herself, but she covered herself with mana, making it easier for her to stay in one ce. Lishia cast a restriction spell as a chain appeared from the huge ck shadow, and they went towards Alyssa, who simply pointed her finger downwards. Bam! The chains fell on the ground, creating a loud noise while Lishia didn''t stop as multiple small fireballs approached Alyssa. All Alyssa did was slightly shift the gravity around her to dodge them, but she was constantly using Gravity Magic for it, which required quite a bit of mana. But most people weren''t happy that Alyssa was showing such a performance against Lishia. Lishia raised the staff in her hand as the number of Fireballs increased by five times. She targeted Alyssa''s current location and every other ce she could dodge back to. Now, Alyssa had no choice but to use Ice Magic to nullify the fireballs, but it was hard to do so if the numbers were so high. But she knew that there was a limit to what she could showcase her power here. ''Just enough, Just enough,'' Alyssa was repeating these words in her head. "Ice Lance," Alyssa muttered as Lishia noticed multiple Lances in the air, and all of them wereing her way. "Merge Globe," Lishia chanted with the help of her staff as the shadow of ck elements around her turned into a globe that covered her from Ice Lances. It was a defense spell that most ck Element mages used, but people needed good control over the element itself to pull this off. "Not bad," Silvusmented. There were rumors that said that Lishia Halcyon had a better talent as a mage than Elena Rothschild, but nobody could confirm those rumors. Elena had the potential and the versatility to use multiple elements, but Lishia had high control over her own element. But in Silvus''s eyes, right now, Alyssa was performing much better than Lishia. To make so many Ice Structures withoutpromising the strength of the structure itself required a lot more than talent. And the fact she was constantly using Gravity Magic was indeed impressive. ''She might be the second strongest mage of this generation,'' Silvus thought, but he wanted to see the end of this duel beforeing to a conclusion. Suddenly, Lishia chanted a big spell that she had learned recently, and she took inspiration from her meeting with Helena Raven. Suddenly, a lot of ck energy started to appear behind Lishia as the chains from the Restriction spell started dissipating. Alyssa looked ahead, and she could feel the mana Lishia was putting in her spell. Alyssa raised her hand and used Gravity Magic to interrupt Lishia, but the spell didn''t work as Lishia''s mana was covering the small area around her. ''Should I use more?'' Alyssa asked herself. "Counter it," Asher''s voice came inside Alyssa''s ears. It was to follow the n they made, and Lishia made it easier by using a Pseudo Tier 3 Magic instead of a half chant. The Globe burst as a translucent ck cylinder barrier appeared around the stage, and it was increasing Lishia''s power as Lishia''s air started fluttering with all the rampant mana around her. Suddenly, that barrier faded, and Alyssa felt something heavy on her body. "Chase the Mark that Shadow left behind.." Lishiapleted her chant as a big hand appeared from the massive ck energy. It was an undodgeable attack, something that marked the opponent, and it chased them in the entire area that the Cylinder barrier covered. Suddenly, Alyssa summoned a huge Ice Needle that had a purple spark around it as she influenced it with Gravity Magic, and her spell surprised many people as the Large needle went towards the hand. Even Lishia was shocked by therge needle, and due to Alyssa using Gravity Magic, it went towards the ck hand as Lishia immediately summoned a mana barrier in case Alyssa destroyed her spell. But she didn''t know that Alyssa could do something like this. But suddenly, the ice structure was destroyed as it shattered into pieces, and Alyssa, who was in the air, fell and hit the stage. "Wait, what?" Lishia panicked as she could not stop her spell that was going towards Alyssa. It happened so quickly, and most students were confused about how Alyssa''s ice structure shattered instantly. Updater''s Note: The author is making no promises today, just like nothing happened yesterday. This is good. Chapter 350 Puppet

Chapter 350 Puppet

350 Puppet As the ck Hand was about to strike Alyssa''s unconscious body, Elsa appeared in the middle and flicked her finger. A light blue fire emerged, destroying all traces of ck Energy without harming Lishia. She then turned to Alyssa, who was lying there unconscious, and touched her hand. "She pushed herself too far," Elsa muttered. Apart from the high-ranking Hunters, everyone else was unaware of what had happened. Those who did know only saw Alyssa as someone who had tried to do something beyond her abilities. "It''s a wonder she can bring out so much mana from that body," Elsa said, sensing an absolute wreck of mana inside Alyssa''s body. However, this was all an illusion created by the A Rank artifact Alyssa was wearing. Since it was Alyssa''s own body that the mask copied, it served as a perfect disguise, concealing her healed body both externally and internally. "The winner is Lishia Halcyon, as Alyssa Astaria cannot continue," Elsa announced as the match concluded. "Yeah, I knew it. How could she handle magic like that?" one of the students eximed. "She''s just a crazy b**ch." "I knew she wasn''t muchpared to other Top Rankers." Elsa heard what the students were saying, but she simply carried Alyssa to the Medic Team, knowing the situation could worsen. "Get her to the Medical Ward immediately," Elsa instructed the Medics. "ce her in Level 4 Emergency," Elsa said, and the Medics promptly took Alyssa from her arms. ''Why go this far? Sigh,'' Elsa pondered. She had witnessed everything: the moment Alyssa''s mana burst from her body. Elsa was aware that Alyssa''s body was in bad shape, and it was nearly impossible to mend due to the nature of the injury. Still, Elsa had assumed Alyssa would see her limits and wouldn''t go past them. "What happened? Why did the spell break?" Lucas inquired. "She couldn''t muster the mana needed for that spell," Helena responded. "What was the first lesson you learned afterpleting your awakening?" Helena asked, directing her question to the twins. Helena was somewhat familiar with the lessons given to the children of the Greville family, especially because their bloodline influenced and enabled them to manipte mana. "Taking in more mana than needed is as harmful as pushing out more mana than we''re capable of," Lucas replied. This was the first lesson both of them had received during their official training. "Correct. That''s what happens when someone, who has already injured their mana meridians, tries to push more mana than their body can handle," Helena said, ncing at the stage. "That''s why, as a Hunter or a Mage, you should never rush to increase your Mana Core''s rank," Helena advised, turning her attention back to the twins. "Waiting is better than limiting your potential by your own actions," Helena told the twins. Both Lucas and Livia nodded in acknowledgment of Helena''s advice. Helena smiled, recognizing that the twins were impressively level-headed for their age. ''Is it because they grew up in a different environment?'' Helena mused. Ordinary people didn''t have to worry about absorbing more mana than they could handle, as it was impossible for their bodies to contain such vast amounts to begin with. But due to the Greville bloodline, they could forcefully exceed the limitations of their mana core. However, the subsequent damage would be severe. Hence, beforemencing their training, the twins, just like Amelia and Asher, were educated about the risks associated with their unique bloodline ability. Those risks decreased as one ranked up and their mana cores became denser and stronger. However, in the initial stages of their mana core, the mana meridians of an Awakened Human were fragile enough to sustain damage. A strong mana core who The stage was restored swiftly since Elsa''s me only affected Lishia''s spell and nothing else. Such mastery over an element was what qualified her to instruct at World Academy and be acknowledged as a 3 Star Professor. Silvus, who had been observing the duel, concluded that despite Alyssa''s evident talent, she would never grow stronger. ''The gap will only widen,'' Silvus reflected. For now, she was indeed formidable enough to be a ranker, but he foresaw that in the near future, she would reach her limits. But this also made Silvus realized that in the future who among the mages held the most potential. ''They should do fine here,'' Silvus said to himself as he thought of his Grandkids. He had hidden it carefully but both Jacob and Jennifer were quite talented themselves. Especially Jennifer, who had learned many things from Silvus himself. In his Room, Asher looked at the match with no change in his eyes. After all, he was the one that nned everything and even gave Alyssa the strange medicine that messed her mana up. Or it seemed like it did. Mana Fluctuations, was something that Asher learned when he was creating his own Doping technique, and in his previous life, he also came across a drug that could replicate that. He needed it to suppress is his mana meridians that were overloaded with mana and that drug did just that by breaking the mana in the body. For someone with a damaged meridian taking this drug was extremely painful, but if they didn''t the most that would happen was that they would remain unconscious for day or two. "Well, that was quite a match, but the next match is something you don''t want to miss!" Gazil said taking everyone''s attention back. "The winner of the previous duel Rank 5 Lishia Halcyon VS Rank 4 Matthew!!" Gazil announced. "The match will start in half and hour and winner will thenpete against Rank 2 Kevin Whiteheart!!" Gazil said as the crowd cheered loudly. A lot of first years got excited as Matthew was someone that got popr among those that didn''t have the big background and status. It was rare for such a talent to appear that couldpete within those that have all the resources in the World. The Guild Recruiters looked at Matthew and he was one of the students that they had their eyes on but couldn''t recruit. World Association had already made a contract with Matthew before he even joined the World Academy and that meant that he could join any other other faction other than World Association. Matthew who was in his room a minute ago received a message from Leonard Tarvian. "Try to defeat her as quickly as possible," Matthew read the message. "He is telling me to go all out in this match," Matthew muttered. Matthew didn''t what Leonard Tarvian wanted by doing all this, but he didn''t wanted to ask any questions. "Let''s just quickly get this over with," Matthew said to himself. Leonard was the Son of Osbert Tarvian, and Matthew knew how much power they had in the World. It was better to obey him than create problems that could affect his entire life. Leonard''s order meant that he wanted Matthew to fight with all he had in the next fight and not saving his energy for the match after it when he won. "Well, Rank 3 doesn''t seem bad," Matthew said looking at ceiling. At this time, the Second Year Matches started and until the three of them were being held, Lishia Halcyon was gathering her mana with Kiara Everett by her side. Chapter 351 No Choice

Chapter 351 No Choice

351 No Choice "Your next match might be difficult," Kiara said. "I''ve heard he''s in Vice Principal Xander''s ss," Kiara added, to which Lishia opened her eyes and looked at her. "I know he''s strong, but just being in his ss doesn''t necessarily mean he''s better than others, right?" Lishia asked. "It''s because Vice Principal Xander only teaches the Third Year students, and that''s only for a month," Kiara replied. "I learned a lot from him. And from what I''ve heard, that Matthew guy is under Leonard Tarvian," Kiara continued. "Don''t worry about me; you have your own matching up, right?" Lishia said, ncing at Kiara. "I know. It''s not that I''m not trying to win, but those two are obsessed with taking Rank 1," Kiara said, an annoyed look crossing her face. Kiara was strong, but she wasn''t obsessed with achieving Rank 1, mainly because she didn''t want too much attention on herself. "But can you defeat them?" Lishia asked. Meeting Lishia''s gaze, Kiara sensed the seriousness behind the question. "In a fair fight, my chances of winning stand at 35%," Kiara replied candidly. Lishia smiled, understanding why Kiara had specifically mentioned a ''fair fight'' in her response. She knew Kiara Everett was quite famous both inside and outside of World Academy. The only one who rivaled her in fame was Raelyn Whiteheart, the Student Council President. "Now, enough with the questions, Princess. You only have ten minutes," Kiara said as she turned to leave the room. Lishia took a deep breath after Kiara departed, continuing to gather her mana in preparation for her impending duel. "With the Second Year matches concluded, we will now begin the match between Rank 4 Matthew and Rank 5 Lishia Halcyon," Gazil announced. Both Matthew and Lishia stepped onto the stage, assuming their positions. The Referee signaled the start, and they readied themselves. Lishia was equipped with her staff and various other artifacts for the fight. Matthew presented a formidable challenge; after Asher, he was reputed to be the strongest sword user among all the First Year students. Lishia had witnessed his prowess firsthand. "He''s remarkably talented, given his background," Dalton remarked, observing Matthew. "Exactly, it''s no surprise that the World Association recruited him," Josephmented, casting a side nce at Osbert. "It''s our duty to nurture talents thatck the resources others possess," Osbert responded. However, Osbert''s true motive was to view individuals like Matthew as pawns. He was intent on recruiting Matthew to his faction. Even within the World Association, power was apportioned among the three SSS Rank hunters, and Osbert was keen to consolidate his internal influence. Recruiting people like Matthew, who came from humble backgrounds, was ideal for his ns. Thus, he had instructed Leonard to keep Matthew under close watch. "Of course, isn''t that the very purpose of the three Associations?" Xarax interjected. Such interactions were precisely why Silvus was averse to these gatherings; every participant seemed driven by self- interest. Being an orphan himself, Silvus regarded Matthew with a sense of kinship. He viewed himself as a beacon of hope for individuals like Matthew. However, Silvus was also aware that his own sess was attributable to the excellent guidance and opportunities he had received, which others might not be as fortunate to have. The same couldn''t be said for someone like Matthew, who was about to venture into the World Association, where ascending the ranks was no simple feat. After all World Association was the power that kept other Elite Families in check, and it meant that their rtionship with all of them was bad. One of the reason why Silvus supported Farnus to make this World Academy, was to create ce where these children could understand each other, and the constant struggle of power lessened. At the stage, the countdown started. "Start!!" The Referee said. And immediately Matthew covered his whole body in aura, which was quite densepared to most first years. He took out his sword and got ready to face Lishia who created the same mist that she did against Damian. Matthew dashed at Lishia who chanted another spell as chains erupted from the ground as Matthew dodged them from stepping towards one side to another. His speed was quite fast, but Lishia back stepped as the mist started umte on the ground bing denser. Matthew felt his feet getting heavy, and it was the effect of the mist. Lishia knew that injuring Matthew would be hard, so she decided to restrict his movements. This kind of spell couldn''t be used with a group as it affected the people around them but it was good option to use in a One on One situation. Matthew lifted his sword as he pointed it towards the ground and mmed it into the ground creating a wave of aura that remove the mist around him. His movement changed, and he charged towards Lishia who created pirs of fire around Matthew. Matthew used the first sword technique he learned in the ss, and merged it with the one he found in the Great Library. He twisted his sword and shed it sideways creating a gap in the spell and used it to escape it. "Let''s end this," Matthew muttered. But he suddenly felt somethinging from above as he looked at ck mist appearing in the sky. Daggers made of mist and ck energy started dropping on Matthew as he raised his swords to deflect most of them. He didn''t knew much about this spell but he felt a sense of dangering from the daggers. It was instinct to deflect or either dodge them. And he was right, the moment this spell wounded Matthew that part of his body part would be numb. But the strange thing was that the moment those dagger hit the ground they would be part of the shadow that growing bigger. Fighting a ck Element Mage in limited space was simr to giving them the chance to utilize all kinds of spell on you. ''He will move carefully,'' Lishia assessed Matthew and she knew that he wouldn''t want to get injured even if won this fight. But there was a slight mistake she made, and that was thinking that Matthew was fighting while thinking about the next fight. Lishia made multiple fireballs that were size of a tip of finger appear and she sent them towards Matthew who was deflecting the fireballs. The strange ck mist above and the fireballing his way, Matthew knew that if he wanted to end this fight early this was his only chance. Instead of dodging or deflecting, Matthew bursted his aura out and charged towards Lishia as multiple Fireballs hit him, and even a few daggers managed to strike him. "What?" Lishia was confused by Matthew''s moves. "But why?" Lishia muttered as she immediately summoned restrictive chains. ''Dammit,'' Matthew thought as he saw the chains. He didn''t expect for Lishia to chant this quickly, but he had no other way than this. He had taken the gamble, and if he lost this match would have been over, something that he knew Leonard didn''t wanted at all. "Feather Steps," Matthew side stepped twice as the aura at feet bursted giving him a boost while his sword smashed the chains that appeared in front of him. He tilted body a bit while cutting the chains directly with his sword. Aura could counter spells, but there was limit to the aura person could use. It was much more denser than mana, but it originated from mana itself. But Aura was something that could only be recovered over time, and something like mana that could be absorbed from the surroundings. Matthew''s power was increasing as his aura intensified, but that also meant he was overusing it. Overusing aura had no side effects, and some people even said that using Aura in strong burst was more useful than using it in a prolonged battle depending on the situation. BAM!!! Matthew''s sword shed with Lishia''s mana barrier that started to crumble instantly. That was how powerful Matthew''s strike was, and Lishia knew it would be over the moment that this shield broke. Suddenly the shadow''s started umting under Lishia, and Matthew noticed them as his sword starting to crack the Mana Barrier more and more. "Craft of darkness gather around," Lishia chanted as Matthew saw the shadows started to envelope his feet. He lost the sense of touch on his foot, and he didn''t even felt the ground. ''It had to be now,'' Matthew thought. Chapter 352 Anticipation

Chapter 352 Anticipation

352 Anticipation Right now, he couldn''t make a single movement. Slowly, the shadow was crawling up, and if he moved even a little, he knew that his footwork would suffer greatly. Lishia''s face grew paler as the spell she used consumed a lot of mana. She had resorted to it because she was on the verge of losing. "Just a few more seconds," Lishia told herself. That was all she needed to make Matthew lose his sense of touch and render his entire lower body numb. "Why is he rushing so much?" Several of the professors were perplexed. Matthew had a good chance to win if he took his time and didn''t force Lishia into a corner like this, but they couldn''t fathom his decision. Shatter! However, the moment Lishia was waiting for never arrived, as Matthew''s sword shattered the mana barrier, shing the ground beside Lishia, creating a huge cut. Lishia evaded the attack, but as Matthew swung his sword, she had no choice but to step back. Every time she conjured a spell, whether it was fire or a ck element, Matthew interrupted her, forcing her to retreat. The only spells she could cast instantly were Tier 1 spells, but they were ineffectual as Matthew could easily cut through or deflect them with his sword. "It''s over," Matthew whispered to himself, dashing towards Lishia, prompting her to unleash a burst of fire. But Matthew just charged through, his aura shielding him from any harm. In the nick of time, Lishia managed to conjure a small mana barrier, but the force from Matthew''s sword blow sent her flying off the stage. "Huff, huff, huff," Matthew gazed at Lishia, now off the stage. However, assessing his own condition, he realized he couldn''t feel half of his leg or his right hand. On top of that, he was extremely tired because using Aura was taxing on the body, and using it consecutive burst was even more tiring. The effects were bound to linger for a few hours, as low- level potions couldn''t counteract the aftermath of ck element magic. Lishia examined her arm, finding several cuts caused by Matthew''s de. She hadn''t expected him to fight with such intensity. "The winner is Rank 4 Matthew, who will now face Kevin Whiteheart!" Gazil announced. The crowd cheered with enthusiasm, yet their reactions bore hints of bewilderment. The result of the uing bout appeared clear-cut; for Kevin, besting Matthew would likely be even more straightforward. Matthew withdrew, as the subsequent hour was reserved for the Third Year Matches. In this set, Eric was matched against Leonard. But instead of shing, Eric simply surrendered as he had won his match against Rank 6 of the Third Year already. Meanwhile, other top fighters, Raelyn and Tyrone, faced off but were defeated. Clearly, those three held a significant edge over other rankers, making such ouesrgely anticipated. Now, the penultimate match for the First Year Students was on the horizon. As Matthew exited his practice room, Sam was stationed outside, awaiting him. "Why did you fight like that?" Sam inquired. Aware of Matthew''s typically careful andposed nature, Sam was puzzled by his rash tactics, especially since they diminished his chances to face Kevin Whiteheart at full strength. "I had no other option," Matthew responded, and Sam raised his eyebrows as he understood what might have happened considering Matthew''s situation. Yet even with that understanding, Sam felt powerless. He was ill-equipped to assist others when he himself was trapped in a situation which he couldn''t escape from. "It''s alright. I''ve secured my Rank 3 position," Matthewmented, cing a reassuring hand on Sam''s shoulder. "Good luck in your fight," Sam offered as he watched Matthew depart. Deep down, he sensed that Matthew''s decision today might usher in unforeseenplications. Especially with the Princess of Halcyon. If she took offense at her manner of defeat today, there would be consequences that Matthew would need to face. The intent behind such a fight strategy was evident: to humiliate her. "That Leonard bastard, why is he meddling with Halcyon?" Sam pondered aloud. He was aware that his father had always advised him to maintain a favorable rtions with Leonard Tarvian. Yet, thankfully, Jack had no desire for Sam to associate with the Blood Faction. Thus, Sam had steered clear of them until now, leaving himrgely uninformed about their objectives. "They wouldn''t disclose their ns to me even if I were close," Sam murmured. "At least those Everett sisters are graduating," he added. "Well, it''s his decision," Sam remarked, giving a resigned shrug. A part of him was reluctant to involve himself in Matthew''s affairs, but another part felt the exact opposite. Matthew walked up to the stage to roaring apuse, with Kevin following suit. They assumed their positions. Kevin carefully observed Matthew''s stance and the grip on his sword. ''What a fool,'' Kevin mused internally. Regardless of Matthew''s strategy, Kevin''s priority was to wrap up the duel swiftly, and the current circumstances seemed ideal. "3...2...1...Begin!" announced the referee. Matthew adopted a defensive stance, while Kevin, wielding his spear, lunged straight at him. All the Seat Holders intently observed the white-haired contender, recalling how just a year ago, he was touted as the most promising talent of his generation. "His footwork is impable," remarked some of the Guild Evaluators watching the duel. "True to the legacy of Kamden Whiteheart''s son," another voice chimed in. Despite the significance of the day, no one from the Whiteheart Family was present at World Academy. Both Raelyn and Kevin were aware of this, and it was evident that not all Elite Families attended the End Year Tournament. Kamden Whiteheart was swamped with the escting number of dungeons in Desmar, as were other Elite Families. The rise in dungeons prompted recruiters to presentrger contracts to students, aiming to attract as much talent as possible. However, due to Asher''s exposure of numerous corrupt businessmen, many guilds lost their investors, making recruitment challenging. Even after disappearance of Zephyr, they were still suffering from the aftermath of defeating the cmities. This chaos was precisely what Asher sought. The more these guilds depleted their funds, the more capital they''d need. The primary purpose of a guild was to consolidate hunters and generate revenue. Without profit, these hunters would explore alternative opportunities. What Asher created was a false sense of urgency among the Guilds. However, not everyone was going to act on their impulses, and that was fine. Shaking a foundation that had been built over years was no easy task, but it wasn''t impossible either. "You can''t even move properly," Kevin said, his spear colliding with Matthew''s sword. Matthew was pushed back slightly. Kevin then spun the spear and swung it towards his left side, forcing Matthew to raise his sword in defense. In terms of speed, Kevin had the upper hand over Matthew. Creating distance between them was already challenging, and Kevin hadn''t even activated his lightning aura yet. Had Matthew been in his usual condition, the fight might havested longer. ng! ng! ng! Despite blocking every attack, Matthew was pushed back each time. Even with his aura, Kevin was stronger, and Matthew''s footwork waspromised; he still couldn''t feel the ground beneath him. He would attempt to sidestep, but his timing was off, forcing him to block Kevin''s subsequent strikes. Each of Kevin''s strikes made Matthew take a step backward. Gradually, he was being forced toward the edge, with Kevin effortlessly pushing him back. "He''s not bad," Xaraxmented, acknowledging Kevin''s strength for his age. Dalton smiled, feeling validated that his past decisions had been worthwhile. There were few people whom, just by observing, one could predict had the potential to achieve SSS Rank. Kevin was certainly one of them. But Kevin''s genius made many anxious about someone potentially more talented than him. This was why the majority of the student crowd cheered for Kevin. "It''s over," Kevin dered as Matthew braced himself. But Kevin''s next strike wasn''t like the previous ones. His spear radiated sparks of lightning, moving too swiftly for Matthew to block. Despite being ten steps away from the edge of the stage, the force behind Kevin''s strike sent Matthew flying off, leaving a mark on the tform from the sheer power. "The winner is Rank 2 Kevin Whiteheart!" Gazil announced. As the crowd cheered, Farnus wore a pleased smile, anticipating the announcement he was about to make. "But before we continue, our Principal has an announcement," Gazil informed. The crowd, which had been cheering loudly, fell silent. Even the Seat Holders were surprised except Silvus and Alfred as they knew that admission of the twins was going to be announced today. But they didn''t know that wasn''t all Farnus had nned for today. Chapter 353 Successor

Chapter 353 Sessor

353 Sessor Farnus stood up and he appeared above the stage flying as he gathered everyone''s attention. "There are some announcements that needed to be made today," Farnus spoke. Right now, not only the students but the World was watching this broadcast. "As you know, World Academy was created with the approval of the High Council," Farnus said. "But at that time, Silvus Grandus, the Chairman of Mage Association, helped me a lot to build this ce for all of you guys," Farnus said, gesturing his hand at Silvus. "As a reward, I gave him a favor," Farnus said as apart from a few not many were surprised. It was known that the Chairman of the Mage Association was one of the few that supported and made the High Council approve the idea of World Academy. "So, for that favor, I, as the Principal of World Academy, have epted his Grandchildren for a special ss in World Academy," Farnus said, and many students were surprised. "Aren''t they around 12 years old?" "Special ss?" Many students, including the guests sitting in the Arena, were confused, but Farnus smiled as the time hade when he would start his n. "It''s a special ss that will take those kids and will be a Five-Year course, but those kids are not the only ones in that ss," Farnus said. "The Greville family just found the children of Ivar Greville, who was one of the most exceptional students that left World Academy," Farnus praised Ivar. In the public''s eye, especially in Somaria, Ivar was no less than a hero, and even outside of Somaria, people still praised Ivar Greville for his talents. Listening to this, there were a lot of raised eyes and confusion. ''So, the rumors were true,'' Osbert said to himself. Osbert hid his dissatisfaction, as there was no point of going against Farnus Calmort. After all, for the restriction they have ced on him, made Farnus hadplete freedom to run World Academy as he wanted. Till the restrictions on Farnus were not broken, nobody could interfere with his decision, and when the World Academy was formed, it was obvious that someone like Silvus would use his favor with Farnus for something simr like this. Back then, only 7 People Supported Farnus initially, and surprisingly Greville and Raven family including the Demarcus family was one of them. Due to the fact that all the Elite Families of Somaria were in support, and the Flying Ind was within Somaria, they didn''t mind the existence of World Academy. Trial''s Ground made a lot of Elite Families invade Somaria for their personal gains, and the only thing that was keeping things peaceful in Somaria was the fear of the Greville Family. There was reason why people hated the Greville family, and the yearlong grudges were still present to this day. "As I gave Seven favors at that time," Farnus said. "So those kids will attend the same Special ss with the Grandus Twins," Farnus said. Nobody questioned his decision, even the Seat Holders were quite but this was not a good news for many people. World Academy was an absolute safe ground which meant no power could invade it as all the Teleportation Portal were under strict eyes every second. Even for Asher, invading the World Academy was not possible even in his previous life. The presence of Farnus Calmort, with powerful SS Rank Hunters like Elsa Robles, was enough to deal with any sort of invaders if they miraculously managed to enter the World Academy. And this was why those that were targeting Lucas and Livia would be shocked by this news, as that time was enough for the twins to catch up with others and be stronger. And in the meantime, the Greville could focus on expanding and consolidating their current power. "To clear any doubts, these kids will not participate in the Ranking System, but to graduate and use the Facilities that all of you work hard for they will have to prove themselves," Farnus exined. The ces that every student in World Academy wanted to enter, such as the Trials Ground or ces like Great Library. As all the facilities were rted to the Ranking System, they needed to make new rules that didn''t disturb the existing flow of World Academy. "The integrity of World Academy will be maintained, and those kids will only be allowed to participate in the Ranking System once they have grown enough," Farnus said. Some of the students were jealous of this opportunity, but they were sure if Farnus himself was iming to maintain the bnce, it wasn''t a problem. "All the other rules will apply to them as well," Farnus said. But Alfred had a frown on his face, and the reason behind all this was the words that Farnus chose. It didn''t matter if those 4 kids were receiving special privileges, as this was something that was already discussed before World Academy was even made. Although Silvus was fine with it, as he trusted Farnus but that wasn''t the case for someone like Alfred. "But there is another announcement that I want to make," Farnus said. "I am sure that all of you remember what happened a few months ago, the fight with the cmities," Farnus said as all the Seat Holders and people sitting in the VIP Section frowned. ''Why is he bringing it up,'' Osbert thought even though he didn''t expect Farnus to bring out the topic that they wanted to avoid. "Although we handled it easily, at that time I was reminded that nobody could be certain of what could happen in the future," Farnus said with a serious look in his eyes. All the Seat Holders, including Xarax and Osbert, had a serious look on their faces, and their mana started to rise. Farnus noticed, but he chose to ignore it. "At that time, it reminded me that despite being old, I have still not chosen a sessor," Farnus said as everyone was shocked. Sessor! The one who will inherit the knowledge as well as the ownership of the World Academy. "Is it finally happening?" Some students got excited. Asher, who was sitting in his room, looked at the screen. "So he decided to start his show," Asher muttered. He was aware that everything that Farnus was about to say was a lie. "What a joke," Asher said as he wanted to see what was going to happen next. Sessor? There was nothing like this in Asher''s previous life, and he knew that the Sessor was already decided. A lot of people were shocked, and some eyes were filled with excitement as something huge was about to happen. "Is that why this tournament was going so fast," Leonard said with a serious look on his face. "This might create some problem," Leonard muttered. Out of all things, he hadn''t expected Farnus Calmort to do this. The Legacy of the Spear God, and the Seat of the Principal of World Academy was something that gave the next Sessor the chance to be a Seat Holder. And among them were all the artifacts that Farnus owned, as they would be given to the Sessor as well. "I need to win this damnpetition," Leonard said he clenched his fist. Chapter 354 Opportunity

Chapter 354 Opportunity

354 Opportunity "But it''s too early to decide someone that could take all these responsibilities," Farnus said. "That''s why I thought of a way to judge and give the right person a chance to inherit my legacy," Farnus''s words confused even the old Seat Holders. "As you have noticed, the Tournament was going much faster than in Previous Years because, on the Seventh Day, there is something I have nned," Farnus said as he brought out his spear. For some people, it was the first time they saw the mighty spear that gave Farnus the title of the Spear God. "On the Seventh Day, there will be a tournament that anyone can participate in," Farnus announced. "Among all years, but they would need to use their Spear Art only without aura or mana and under other restrictions to make it fair," Farnus said. "And the one who will be the winner will be a Candidate to be my sessor," Farnus said as he continued. "And the winner will have the chance to learn my Spear Art that I have honed for so many years," Farnus said with a smile on his face, but suddenly, huge mana erupted, and it was from Xarax Hargrave. "Is there any issue?" Farnus asked as he looked at Xarax. Xarax wanted to oppose the probability of this happening, but he could not outright do it. Too many eyes were on him, so he needed to approach this differently. And that was when Osbert Tarvian stepped in. "Isn''t it a bit too abrupt to decide such an important position like this," Osbert said as his voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the Arena. Xarax smiled internally as Osbert Tarvian was the perfect individual to bring down Farnus right now. Osbert was the face of the World Association, so if he opposed Farnus, then people wouldn''t think against the Hargrave family for fighting against this. "I am not being abrupt. I am taking my time to choose my Sessor," Farnus replied. "And the winner would only learn my Spear Art and nothing more," Farnus said. "They will be the first candidate to the Seat of my Sessor, and Each year, I will hold this tournament again to choose the next one," Farnus said, but the faces of the Seat Holders didn''t change. Even Silvus was a bit surprised by how Farnus chose his Sessor, but he could see why he would see the need to do so. ''But the time is not right. It will break the bnce,'' Silvus thought. "You are going against your oath!!" Xarax said as he stood up. Alfred remained quiet because he knew that Farnus Calmort shouldn''t be underestimated. He was like a cunning fox under the friendly persona he showed. It was better to let someone like Xarax take charge until he found something to go against Farnus. "I am not," Farnus replied. "The Oath was to choose the Sessor that had 1/3rd vote of the High Council," Xarax pointed it out. His words were being broadcasted worldwide, and he was aware of it. "You answered your question, the Sessor will be decided when I choose one of the Candidates and they can then appear in front of the High Council," Farnus said. "But that candidate will receive the right to learn your Spear Art," Osbert interjected. "In my oaths, my Sessor was defined as someone that would Inherit my power and position," Farnus replied. "It''s true, the oaths didn''t cover that," Dalton spoke out in support of Farnus. Xarax frowned, but he knew Dalton would indeed support Farnus in this case. "I am announcing this because I believe that in recent times I have seen what happens when us in power remain careless," Farnus said with a look of sadness on his face. "Our carelessness brought unnecessary destruction," Farnus said. The faces of the students, especially from Belvoria, changed as they remembered the destruction of many cities that happened just because of the sh of SSS Rank beings. Some were from those cities, so they were affected even more. In a moment, Farnus had spun the whole thing against High Council and that the destruction happened not because of Zephyr but because of their own carelessness. At first, Farnus wanted nothing but to destroy Zephyr and the people behind it, but that changed when he thought about using them to get what he wanted. To do what he had nned secretly for over a decade, much more openly and without restrictions. ''What a blessing in disguise,'' Farnus thought in his mind. "So this is what it meant by Fate not diverging from its original path," Asher said to himself. The System had told him what would happen when Asher tried to change the fate of those strongly favored by fate. Zephyr''s name alone right now was problematic for the World Association and the Elite Families, irrespective of their involvement in helping the public or cities that have suffered. "But why a student? Let''s make the scale bigger," Alfred spoke up with a smile on his face. Farnus looked at Alfred as he finally decided to step up. "Because my Spear Art will be useless for someone that has already mastered their own," Farnus replied. "Right now, these students, even the ones Graduating, are still in the process, and they can change their path," Farnus said. It was the perfect argument because nobody other than Farnus himself knew about his Spear Art. If he said it was impossible to learn, they must believe it. And there were some weapon arts that couldn''t be learned after a person mastered another one to a certain degree. And Farnus wasn''t entirely lying about his Spear Art. It could be learned only by a young person still developing their aura, not Spear Art. Just like Nathan''s Sword Art had a requirement of Rune of Eirdin simrly, Farnus''s Spear Art required two things. His Rune and a person that hasn''t reached a specific point with their aura. Although that point was around A+ or S Rank, Farnus had no need to tell them about it. "Not a bad decision," Osbert said, and Xarax frowned. "I, as the Chairman of the World Association, will support your decision," Osbert said, and his words confused Xarax. Farnus smiled as he knew Osbert Tarvian would support him even though this might not be the best choice for him. Seeing that Osbert Tarvian had backed down, Xarax had no choice but to step back and let Farnus carry on. "And I am sure that we should not go against the freedom of choice Principal of World Academy has," Osbert said, looking at Alfred. Alfred nced at Osbert, and he could see why Osbert Tarvian would want to support that decision. "If that''s the case, then go ahead," Alfred said with a smile. "I have no reason to go against his wishes," Alfred said. As it bugged him, Osbert was a bit concerned by Alfred''s nonchnt response. ''There''s no way that he doesn''t know,'' Osbert thought in his head. He was sure that Alfred Raven, out of all people, could see things in the long run, but seeing him back away like this wasn''t very clear. Joseph remained quiet as he had no need to go against Farnus''s decision. ''This might keep the Greville in check,'' Joseph thought. It was the exact reason Osbert chose to support Farnus, apart from the fact he had no choice but to support him even if there was no benefit. "But I have a question," Dexter raised his hand. "Does the Candidate have your support inside or outside the World Academy," Dexter asked. It was an important question, and even Silvus was thinking of the same thing. "No, they will just learn from me. I will remain neutral in all situations," Farnus said. Dexter didn''t care about what Farnus decided, but such a thing would surely make big changes outside the World Academy. And he wanted to stay away from it. "Don''t worry, the tournament will be done while wearing mana-restricting bracelets so everyone will have a fair chance to win, but the condition is to showcase their talent in Spear and win," Farnus exined. "Now you can begin the match," Farnus said as he appeared back and sat on his seat. "Are you really fine with this?" Alfred asked without looking at Farnus. "Is there any issue, Alfred Raven," Farnus asked. "Whoever wins will be the target for quite a few people," Alfred replied. "Is that a warning?" Farnus asked with a smile on his face. "No, I am rather d that it happened," Alfred replied with a smallugh. "Well, that was quite a lot in our principal''s announcement," Gazil said as he looked a bit pale. As he was near the barrier, some of the SSS Rank Pressure affected him, but other Professors managed to block most of it. The Students and the VIP Section were fine, but he was rather unfortunate to be near Farnus at that, so Gazil got hit by it. "But let''s not forget that it''s the start of the Final Match between Kevin Whiteheart and Asher Greville," Gazil announced. But not a lot of people were focused on the match. All the excitement about the match was gone since Farnus made his announcement. Half the crowd was shocked and was in the process of understanding what had just happened. The Strongest Hunter was finally epting a disciple since the creation of World Academy. The opportunity that many people waited for was finally there, and some of them had a chance to take it. Chapter 355 Worthy

Chapter 355 Worthy

355 Worthy Just a moment before Kevin was about to step out of his room, he saw a blue-haired girl running at him. "Whoa, Eva, what happened," Kevin stopped Eva, who was breathing heavily. "Y-You ah, heard the announcement, right?" Eva barely got her words out. "I did, but take a moment. Did you rush from the Medical Facility in such a short time?" Kevin asked, He was a bit worried about Eva, but suddenly Kevin heard Gazil starting to talk, and that meant his match was about to begin. Eva took a deep breath before she let go of Kevin. "That announcement, you have the highest chance to win it," Eva said, looking at Kevin. She was giving Elenapany when both of them heard Farnus''s announcement. And when she heard the second part, Eva immediately understood what Kevin needed to do. "This is a chance," Eva said, looking at Kevin. "A chance for what?" Kevin asked. He was still looking out towards the exit as Gazil was announcing his name. "Listen, you have to do as I say..." Eva touched Kevin''s shoulders as she looked up at him. At the Stage, Asher walked out as he looked at the other side, which was empty. Ignoring that, Asher started climbing towards the Stage, but due to the announcement, not many people were focused on the match. Asher looked around the Main Spectator Area, where the Seat Holders were sitting, and he saw a smile that he hadn''t seen in years. It was Alfred Raven who was looking at him. Turning his head, Asher stood on the Stage while he looked at the other side. And Kevin had just arrived as he started walking up the Stage. ''Is that what he was aiming for,'' Asher could see most of the crowd was chatting among themselves. Farnus''s shocking announcementpletely stole the shine out of this match. Farnus himself was smiling, looking at Asher, who was standing at the Stage. At first, Farnus had no n of involving himself with Asher, but the moment Asher talked about the ''armor,'' this situation was bound to happen. ''Your biggest mistake was not using the card in your hand correctly,'' Farnus thought in his head. He could see Asher was incredibly talented and smart, but not enough. ''If it was me, I would waited for the best moment to use it,'' Farnus thought in his head. Arrogance, that''s what Farnus saw in Asher. ''I wonder who is using the Heir of the Greville Family as their pawn,'' Farnus asked himself. "This is the fight that will decide the winner of the First Year!!" Gazil spoke with excitement. "Hey, he has the best chance, doesn''t he?" A First Year boy asked his friends. "Maybe, but did you see the Senior Year fights? Do you think he can win against them," His friend replied. But there were a lot of people seeing Kevin Whiteheart as a potential candidate. Even if he lost this year, he could be one the Next Year. Instantly, the number of people in favor of Kevin Whiteheart started increasing. If Kevin, who was already this strong, got to be the Strongest Hunter''s Sessor, wouldn''t he be even more powerful? And for others in the VIP Section, this tournament was nothing but chaos. "Don''t tell me, the Farnus Calmort got scared by those Zephyr or whatever bastards," One of the people belonging to the ck Market spoke out. "Do you think those people at SSS Rank fear anything?" The old man asked. "Make preparations. We may need to make some changes," The old man told them. There was a reason why Xarax was not happy, and so were many others who had quite some power in their hands. The bnce between various powers that were already on the verge of breaking due to the growth of the Greville Family would surely eitherpletely break or be even stronger, but nobody could predict it. ''This might actually be good,'' The old man thought. Kevin Whiteheart was already considered to be the best choice for a Sessor for Farnus because of his talent, but that could only happen when the High Council agreed with it. That was the condition that was given to Farnus Calmort to make sure the chosen Sessor was someone who didn''t pose a threat to them. ''I wonder why Osbert Tarvian, of all people, is siding with the Principal of World Academy,'' the Old man thought. But internally, even he thought that this was a rather good decision to stop the growth and influence of the Greville Family. ''Sigh, it seems we should stay out of it,'' The old man thought this was the best decision for now. Especially when the Masked Man was still not captured, and the hidden battles that were constantly happening with other Elite Families. "And here I thought that I would live a peaceful life when I get old," The old man muttered, confusing his subordinates. "Let''s begin the match that will decide the strongest First Year," Gazil said as both Asher and Kevin took their position. "The result is obvious," Xarax said while looking at the Stage. They could sense that Asher was a C Rank Hunter, but Kevin was only Peak D Rank. But at the Stage, Asher was thinking about something else. Rifir, who was in the presence of so many SSS Rank Hunters, viewed everyone as his enemy. If not for the perfect concealment ability Rifir possessed, it would be hard for Asher to hide his existence. But Rifir was also influenced by Asher''s thoughts. Even though Asher looked indifferent, being on the Stage surrounded by so many people that made him remember his previous life, it was hard to control the urge to kill everyone. ''What is he doing?'' Asher looked at Kevin, who was taking a defensive stance. The match was about to start, and Kevin was going with defense instead of offense. Asher tilted his head with his emotionless eyes as he looked at the entrance where Kevin walked in from, and seeing Eva Williams standing there, Asher concluded why Kevin was fighting like this. "Start!!" The Referee said as everyone was ready to see the sh of Rank 1 and 2. But they were surprised as Asher was walking towards Kevin with the sword in his hand. Kevin frowned as he saw Asher casuallying towards him, and he felt the urge to attack him. ''No, I need to follow the n,'' Kevin said to himself. But the fact that it was humiliating didn''t change. Asher''s strange choice made the attention of peoplee back to the match as they were confused as to why one person was walking and the other was standing on his spot. Kevin''s grip on the Spear tightened as he felt the anger rise inside of him. If not for what Eva said to him, he would have rather charged at Asher and not felt humiliated like this. Farnus noticed the young girl standing at the entrance, and he could guess what Kevin and Eva might have discussed. ''But it''s not the right answer,'' Farnus thought in his head. ''I haveid the path for you, but you have to walk on it yourself,'' Farnus thought, looking at Kevin. Kevin''s current growth was good, but Farnus could see that Kevin was too influenced by Asher Greville. Asher was walking, and they were only ten steps away from each other, and Kevin was still standing on his spot. But suddenly, Asher disappeared in front of him, and Kevin frowned as he turned his body to the left, barely managing to block the ck swording at him with his Spear. Because of the impact, Kevin was immediately pushed near the end of the Stage. "Is he going to lose just like this?" Some students got worried, But then something strange happened, as Asher appeared behind Kevin, who had lost his footing. Kevin barely saw Asher disappear for a moment, and he was already behind him, but it was hard to shift the momentum of his body. But instead of pushing him out of the Stage, Asher sent him to the center of the Stage. "What? Why didn''t he end the match?" Eva spoke as she was confused, Her entire n was to make sure the match was dragged for too long, and even if Kevin was defeated, it appeared to be a decent match. It was a brilliant idea to make sure that Kevin Whiteheart didn''t lose much, even while losing to Asher. But there was one w that Eva failed to counter for. What if Asher didn''t let him lose easily? All the matches that Asher had yed till now ended as soon as they started, so seeing him drag this out made her realize her fault. "Dammit," Kevin said as he wiped the blood on the edge of his mouth. He had used Aura at thest second to minimize the impact, but he could still feel the pain from the Kick. "Isn''t this crazy," Xaraxughed while other Seat Holders were silent. "Must be happy to see a monster like thise out of your family," Xarax said, looking at Alfred. But Alfred just smiled at Xarax''sment, not sharing his opinion. Chapter 356 Difference

Chapter 356 Difference

356 Difference Helena smiled upon seeing what Asher was doing. Initially, she was frustrated with the way Farnus had made that shocking announcement, which diminished people''s interest in the match. Helena nced at Lucas, who was visibly excited about Asher''s match. All the previous matches had concluded quickly, so he was eager to observe and learn from this one. ''Is it good that he admires him so much?'' Helena thought as she observed Lucas. It was unusual to see someone from the Greville Family behave in such a manner, especially since they were known for their ruthlessness. For this reason, Helena initially opposed Sylvie''s marriage to Arthur Greville. But witnessing their interactions firsthand made her realize that the Grevilles deeply cared for their own family. It could be attributed to their bloodline or perhaps something else, but Helena was relieved to observe a positive rtionship between the twins and Asher and Amelia. However, seeing Lucas''s admiration for Asher also made her slightly concerned about the influence Asher had on him. Helena had viewed Lucas and Livia''s memories to verify certain details, although Lucas was unaware of this. Through Lucas''s memories, she had seen the hardships he endured at such a young age. While most children his age retained their innocence, Lucas already had blood on his hands. Helena didn''t me Lucas; it was the only way a kid like him could survive in such an environment. This was precisely why she hoped Lucas wouldn''t idolize Asher. Even though Helena held affection for Asher, she couldn''t overlook the emotionless nature of his memories. Helena''s gaze returned to the match, where Kevin was shooting a hostile look at Asher, standing tall. Eva appeared anxious at the entrance, as the match wasn''t unfolding as anticipated. Eva wanted Kevin to make the fight lookpetitive, intending for him to lose merely by stepping out of the stage boundary. She recalled their conversation and how difficult it was to persuade Kevin to agree. "Are you asking me to lose, Eva?" Kevin asked. "I''d rather lose than admit defeat to that bastard," Kevin said. Eva noticed Kevin''s displeasure, but she stood her ground. "I wouldn''t have told you this if you were also on C Rank, but the difference is too big," Eva said. "And you know his personality," Eva said while clenching his fist. "He might even try to injure you seriously, and you will decrease your chance for Tournament for Sessor Candidate," Eva said, making Kevin think over it. "Please, Kevin, just this once, do as I say," Eva said as she grabbed Kevin''s hand. It was the first time Kevin had seen Eva talk so desperately about something. Usually, she would just say a few words or remain silent and observe things. "I can''t guarantee it, but I will try to follow what you told me," Kevin said as he turned to leave towards the Stage. "That would be enough," Eva smiled as she had managed to convince Kevin. Kevin recognized the advantages of being chosen as the Sessor Candidate, especially given his proficiency in Spear Art and sharing the same elements as Farnus Calmort. In his youth, many even spected he would be the most likely sessor to Farnus Calmort. However, purposely losing was contrary to Kevin''s nature, yet he couldn''t deny the truth in Eva''s words. Each encounter with Asher left him with significant injuries that took days to heal. He pondered if enduring such pain was worth it, especially when the odds of victory seemed so slim. Ultimately, Kevin chose to follow Eva''s strategy but resolved that it would be thest time he''d act against his principles. This promise was a way to uphold his pride, a silent admission that he might not stand a chance against Asher. But now, circumstances had shifted. Those same indifferent, crimson-red eyes gazed at him as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Asher started walking again, which pissed off Kevin even more than before. This time, however, Kevin was resolved not to employ his prior tactics. Lightning crackled around him as he summoned the Lightning aura. "Is that the lightning aura?" Observers witnessing this disy for the first time expressed their astonishment. After all, the lightning aura was among the most formidable forces ever known. ''No wonder that guy sided with that old fox,'' Xarax mused, observing Kevin. Dalton Rothschild supported Farnus''s decision because of the fact that the Rothschilds were close to the Whiteheart family. And seeing the lightning aura, Xarax could see the shadow of Farnus in Kevin. ''He might be the most likely one to inherit Farnus''s legacy,'' Dexter thought the same, looking at Kevin. ''Too bad that his opponent is a monster,'' Dexter said to himself. Kevin''s talent was acknowledged by everyone present here, but their attention was on the opponent he was facing. With rapid agility, Kevin lunged his Spear, following a straight path. The speed of his attack was so swift that many First Year students couldn''t discern his movements. Asher, however, perceived it clearly. Asher loosened his hold on his de, sensing the sword''s desire to absorb the aura. He swiftly intervened, enveloping his weapon in his personal aura, a tactic meant to conceal its unique capabilities. ng! To Kevin''s astonishment, Asher''s ground-pointed sword swiftly rose, redirecting Kevin''s Spear toward the earth below. Retreating a step, Kevin narrowly evaded the counter- swing Asher executed immediately after deflecting Kevin''s Spear. ''I dodged it,'' Kevin internally eximed, having narrowly avoided Asher''s strike. Having studied Asher''s sword techniques extensively, Kevin hade to recognize Asher''s peculiar mastery of counterattacks, capable ofunching them spontaneously from any direction. Such an unconventional swordsmanship style led many to believe it was taught by Nathan. Since Nathan never fully disclosed the intricacies of his own sword art, none of the Seat Holders, Alfred included, were aware that the technique was Asher''s unique creation. To create your own sword art, one needs years of experience and talent. Cade Cranston was one of the few individuals who created his own version of his family''s Sword Art, but that wasn''tpletely his. While Nathan recognized Asher''s talent, his initial assessment had been based on Asher employing the Sword Art from his previous life. Nathan was still unaware that Asher had essed an entirely new Sword Art through the System. ''Mir Step,'' Asher disappeared from his ce as he appeared right in front of Kevin. Despite being in a state of heightened senses, Kevin only saw half of Asher''s movement, but it was enough for him to react to it. Kevin tightened his grip as he raised his Spear diagonally, making an arc with his Spear to strike at Asher, but instead of connecting, his Spear collided with Asher''s sword, making it rebound to his right and creating an opening. sh! Capitalizing on this opening, Asher swiftly struck the edge of Kevin''s torso, drawing blood. It forced Kevin to create distance between him and Asher. "So fast," one student murmured. "What just happened?" another eximed in confusion. Many students were confused as it was the first time they had seen someone switch the position of their sword from a sh to a block in a single moment. In the VIP Section, Cade Cranston''s interest peaked as he found himself unable to discern the essence of Asher''s sword art. ''Show me more,'' thought Cade, eager to uncover the depths of this unfamiliar style. ''It would be disappointing if that''s all there is,'' he silently mused. Nobody was too shocked by seeing Asher''s swordsmanship because he was in the early stages of Node Art, and he hadn''t even gone above Novice. So, although it looked extremely refined, it was still within the expectations of the Grandson of the Sword God himself. But right now, topare it, Kevin was high intermediate in the Spear Art he learned from Kamden Whiteheart. It was quite good for a First Year, but unlike many others, Kevin had the resources and the right people to teach him from a young age. Asher observed Kevin, who ramped up his lightning aura to slow the bleeding. Kevin''s Spear spun in his hands, its tip glowing brighter as it absorbed his aura. It was a Rank B Spear, which he received from Raelyn, and because of this, he could counter Asher''s attack. Asher''s sword was still at Rank D as the condition to increase its strength couldn''t be fulfilled inside World Academy. "Is that all you got?" Asher asked Kevin. The taunt was enough to make Kevin rush at Asher. In Asher''s eyes, there were multiple nodes in front of him. Node Art was sword art that showed Asher how to kill people, not defeat them. It was hard for him to control his urge and change how he used his sword to ensure he didn''t kill Kevin. That''s why Asher spent all those days in Great Forest, to minimize his bloodlust the most he could do. He even forced himself to stay at C Rank because he remembered the stronger he got, the stronger his madness became. ng! ng! Kevin shifted his weight as he used his speed to attack Asher from a different direction. Even most second- rankers would have difficulty stopping Kevin''s attack, but right now, each attack was getting deflected. But the faces of the students in the crowd changed as Asher''s was not just deflecting Kevin''s attack. With each of his strikes, they could see a cut would appear on Kevin''s body. They couldn''t see Asher''s movement, but for others that could, it looked like careful use of the opening Asher would create while deflecting Kevin''s attack. Kevin knew it, but he could feel the moment he tried to step back, it would be more dangerous. Right now, even while enduring those attacks, he didn''t allow Asher to use the full range of his sword. But even taking a step back, Kevin felt a sense of danger. His instincts told him it was better to fight while enduring the counterattacks, looking for an opening, and then stepping back. Next Chapter in 2 Hours Chapter 357 Winner

Chapter 357 Winner

357 Winner "Why is he taking all these attacks?" The students in the crowd were confused. Although the earlier wounds were shallow, Kevin had taken a lot of attacks, and his blood was dropping on the stage. But despite that, Kevin was not stopping his attack and falling back. Those who didn''t have the eyes to see it couldn''tprehend Kevin''s decision, but others were excited to see such a level of mastery from these two youngsters. Not a lot of First Year, even most Second Year, could deduce the danger Kevin was in currently, so Kevin being able to do so showed his talent. But the bigger shock was the one who created this situation. Although it seemed like the Spear and Sword were shing with each other and Kevin was attacking, Kevin was just reacting to Asher''s sword. To create a scenario where Kevin had no way to initiate his attack and trap him like this. "Has he reached Advance Mastery already?" Xarax muttered, and everyone else was thinking the same. Even Farnus was slightly surprised while watching Asher''s fight as he evaluated him and Kevin. Even the Third Year and Fourth Year Rankers were surprised by the level of this duel, but instead of being impressed, they wereparing themselves with Asher. But nobody came close to him. Right now, it was true that they were more powerful than Asher, but in a few years, it was obvious how the situation would be. ''If I step back, I can''t defend the next attack,'' Kevin thought as he initiated the next attack. All this time, he minimized his wounds by staying in the current range. Even though the spear gave him range, it was still not enough for him to stay away from Asher''s counterattacks. It was not a simple difference in physical power but how Asher hit the spear. Node Art was not just about killing living beings and sensing their weakness. Asher could even see the nodes on the Rank B Spear Artifact that Kevin possessed. The only reason it was not breaking was because of the difference in rank between the two weapons. Asher''s sword was Rank D. It wasn''t enough to destroy a Rank B artifact, but each attack was deflected with Asher moving his sword to hit the nodes. Even if Kevin changed the direction of his attacks or shifted his weight to change how he attacked, it was all useless. CLANG! Kevin lunged the spears as he pushed them toward Asher. ''I will push you back if I can''t go back,'' Kevin said to himself. Small sparks around Kevin turned bigger as his eyes started glowing, and his body was getting lighter. The more the lightning merged with his body, the faster he got, but there was a limit till which he could do so. His mana core was at the peak of D Rank, and so was his aura, but still, he couldn''t push back Asher no matter what. "He is stabilizing his body, not bad," Dextermented as he the way Asher was standing. All the impact was wasted as Asher would always adjust himself so the impact would go towards the ground. There were a lot of ways to do so, but depending on your sword art, it was different for each person. "I haven''t seen anyone this young pull it off," Dexter said out loud, and nobody denied his views. Nobody said it out loud, but the result of this match was pretty obvious. "Kevin..." Eva muttered as she looked a bit worried. She knew Kevin wouldn''t have liked her n, but she still went ahead and suggested it. Seeing Asher''s reaction, Eva realized he had understood their n. "Maybe I shouldn''t have interfered," Eva said, regretting her decision. But Eva still believed that the Sessor Candidate Tournament was more important than this match for Kevin. Right now, Whiteheart Family''s standing was a bit shaken, but Kamden Whiteheart had managed to make it stable, but Whiteheart wasn''t that powerful. And that''s why Eva suggested this n to Kevin and also why Kevin agreed to it. Kevin, who was in the middle of the duel, looked at the edge of his hand, where a strange bracelet was present. This bracelet looked normal During the whole duel, but right now, it started glowing as an orange pattern appeared on it. ''Time to use it,'' Kevin thought as he finally stepped back. As soon as he did, Asher shifted his body as his sword traveled incredibly high, aiming at Kevin. He was in the middle of the motion to step backward, even if he could block it; it would been bad for him as his feet were barely touching the ground. "Hmmm," Asher said as he felt his sword was blocked. As he saw, a fire shield emerged around the right side of Kevin, blocking Asher''s attack. "An artifact, huh," Asher muttered as his aura became stronger. "Works fine," Kevin nced at his hand as he looked at the still-glowing bracelet. ''Can''t believe I am using it,'' Kevin said to himself. This Rank B defensive artifact was given to him, Leonard and the deal was to make his match with Asher look as close as possible. Something simr to what Eva wanted, but Leonard didn''t care how many injuries Kevin needed to take for it to happen. And now Kevin was using it. He had only one choice, which was to go with his promise. Instead of waiting for Kevin to attack this time, Asher dashed towards him as he struck with his sword. With the power of a C Rank Hunter, a shield of fire appeared again, blocking his attack. Bam! Bam! At that moment, Asher attacked two more from two different directions, and Kevin was fine. But before he could see the third one, Kevin turned and spun his spear around, summoning lightning all around them. "Wall of Shadow," Asher muttered as he used shadow maniption to discard the lightning falling on him. While doing so, Asher saw Kevin, who had regained his confidence and began attacking him. As if he didn''t care about his defense, he increased the strength of his lightning aura by pushing himself to increase his speed. But something unexpected happened as Kevin saw Asher disappear in front of him, and once again, he was behind him. "One," Asher said as he attacked, and the fire shield appeared. But this time, Kevin was pushed to the other side of the stage, but Asher used Mir Steps to appear in front. "Two," Asher did the same horizontal sh with the power of a C Rank Hunter. It made Kevin go to the other edge. But before Kevin could make sense, the same thing repeated itself. "Three," "Four," "Five," "Six," "Seven," Asher kept counting as he did the same, and the crowd cheering for Kevin stopped. Kevin''s mouth was full of blood, and even though the shield was blocking Asher''s sword, the impact of force still made its way toward Kevin''s body. Even if the defensive artifact could block the aura or mana behind the attack, the impact was hard to avoid, especially when Asher repeated the same thing multiple times. "Eight," "Nine," "Ten," "Eleven," On the eleventh strike, Asher stopped Kevin in the center of the stage as he saw the orange bracelet shatter as its energy waspletely used. It was a defensive artifact with limited use, but Asher broke itpletely in just 15 attacks, It was a Rank B artifact that should take a Rank C Hunter at least 20-25 powerful strikes before it broke, but Asher did it in 15. Kevin roared out as the energy of lightning element seeped out of his body. He did this to ensure that Asher didn''t get too close to him while still recovering from the damage he had received until now. Lightning around Kevin intensified as it struck everything around him, making marks and holes in the ground. Instead, he had a ck swording towards him, as he felt a big cut that went through his armor. "Do you think your little spark can stop me?" Asher asked as he kept attacking Kevin, who was instinctively dodging most of Asher''s attacks. He was in pain, but the Lightning aura numbed it and allowed him to move and react for others. It was shocking to see that Kevin could still fight in this state. "You need to stop," Eva said as the match was going on for too long. Kevin would need a lot more time to recover if it went like this, but Asher wasn''t allowing him to leave the stage. ng! When Kevin used his spear to block, his hand didn''t have enough strength to grip it, and he saw the Spear flung into the air. And in that moment, Kevin saw the moment Asher''s hand was going back. He could predict that the next attack would not be a sh, but that ck sword would make a big wound, big enough to make him unable topete. "I surrender," Kevin muttered as he saw Asher''s swording his way. Ting! Elsa appeared instantly as she stopped Asher''s sword with her finger and pushed back Kevin a bit, who was barely standing up with slumped shoulders and blood dropping on the ground. But despite that, his eyes hinted at rage and hate as he looked at Asher. "The Winner is Asher Greville, the Strongest First Year!!" Gazil announced. Half the crowd cheered, while half were silent from the match they witnessed. Chapter 358 Doubt or...

Chapter 358 Doubt or...

358 Doubt or... "Good choice, you stopped there," Elsa said as she patted Kevin''s shoulders. The Medical Staff came as Kevin got off the stage, but he felt ashamed of his loss. Farnus appeared on the stage as he looked down at Asher. "Impressive match," Farnus said as a globe appeared on his hand and a golden-colored ring. "Congrattions on winning," Farnus said while maintaining a smile. It was a gentle smile that could fool anybody, but Asher wasn''t fooled by it. After all, there was no way Farnus Calmort would let go of someone who knew one of his biggest secrets and even took something from him to keep quiet about it. Even Asher knew that Farnus would most likely have killed him if not for the fear of breaking the oaths he took. "Rank 1, Asher Greville. This ring contains all your rewards and the Token to Enter Trials Ground," Farnus announced as his voice echoed in the entire arena. Although it was not the official ceremony, as it happened at the end of Seventh Day, the rewards were given by the Principal as soon as the match ended. This time, the rewards included the Token to enter the Trials Ground, which only Second Year Rankers received at the end of their year, and the rest had to gather enough GP to buy the Token for themselves. And for that, they were given the whole Third and Fourth years to gather the required amount of GP. Asher took the weird globe in his storage and wore the golden ring. The staff member took out a cape with a Single Sword drawn, portraying the First Year. Asher wore the cape as everyone, even the Seat Holders, pped, but most were in deep thought. Most of them were thinking of the future when this kind of person was allowed to grow even stronger. Greville were already an issue, but if someone with Asher''s personality was allowed to grow stronger, all of them could imagine what kind of impact it could have on the world. But the ones celebrating the most were Damian and Lucas. "We now have the First Winner, but there will be three, and now the rest of the matches willmence," Farnus announced. Farnus returned to his seat, and Asher was getting off the stage. At this time, Alfred Raven spoke up. "I think I will take this time to chat with my Grandson a bit," He said, looking at Farnus, "I will arrange for it, Zemil will guide," Farnus said, and Zemil appeared as bowed towards the Seat Holder. At the same time, Asher was informed that Alfred Raven wanted to meet him, so he needed toe to the Private Room. Alfred couldn''t go outside this Arena, but he could meet Asher here and wanted to speak with him after such a long time. Asher looked at the message as he removed his cape and stored it inside his ring. At this same in the Faculty Building, Xander had just watched Asher''s match, although he wasn''t surprised because he was closely observing Asher to see his progress for a long time. At first, Asher''s decision made Xander think he was insincere towards his talents. Because Xander had made such a mistake himself, he knew that whaty ahead was nothing but regret. "But it didn''t feel like a duel," Xander muttered. "I wonder if that boy knows what he is doing," Xander said as he looked at the window. He knew that Asher was smart, but his methods attracted too much attention and even made people hate him. He hadn''t gone to the Arena to watch the matches at all, as he didn''t feel right being present there. "Well, it isn''t my ce to interfere in such matters," Xander sighed as he continued to do his work. But as he was surfing through the files in the Security System, he felt a bit of staticing from the AI system, but it was gone in a moment. "Is there a problem?" Xander said aloud, but everything was fine when he tried to ess the security system. Xander ignored it as it didn''t look like a major issue to him, but someone outside World Academy was very happy. "Finally!!" Tom said as he pushed his chair away from the chair. He leaned back and stretched his hand. His eyes had dark circles, but there was a look of satisfaction on his face. After so many months, he had finally gained ess to the Security System of the World Academy. Although it wasn''t the entire system, it was enough for what Asher wanted to get done. "I should update the mana frequency just in case," Tom went back towards the table as he opened the Artifact Section and essed it. "Boss will be in the middle of the tournament. I will update himter, yawn~" Tom said as he felt a bit sleepy. "I am sure he would want to rest as well. After all, everyone in that tournament will be quite powerful," Tom said as his eyes were gettingzy. He had been so busy with far too many things that his own rest was not his current priority. With Dane and Kai still away on their mission, Tom had to take everything rted to Zephyr on his shoulders. "I hope you like our arrangement," Zemil said while bowing his head towards Alfred a bit. Even though he was also an SS Rank Hunter, the one before him was one of the 21 Seat Holders of the World, and Zemil was careful not to disrespect him. "Rx, I just want to chat with my Grandson," Alfred said as he entered the room. The room was covered with sound-preventing runes and various other security runes to make sure nothing said inside leaked outside. Only Seat Holders were allowed to use such a room to meet someone from World Academy. After some time, Asher entered the restricted Area as the Staff member guided him, and Zemil stood there. "It''s this room," Zemil said, pointing at it. Not wasting time, Asher entered the room as he saw an old man wearing a suit sitting on the couch reading a book and sipping on tea. Seeing Asher enter the room, Alfred closed the book as he looked at him. "Long time no see," Alfred said with a smile. "I heard you wanted to talk," Asher asked as he sat on his seat. "It seems you were not excited to meet me," Alfred said, looking at Asher. This was the first time since his previous life that Asher was meeting Alfred. But in this life, it had only been three years since Asher had seen Alfred, so that was the reason why Alfred asked him this question. "Putting that aside, congrattions on winning," Alfred congratted him. "Thanks," Asher replied, but eyes remained the same. "You must be wondering why I have called you," Alfred said, putting down his cup. "Are you intentionally trying to stir up trouble?" Alfred asked, looking at Asher. His smile faded as his face turned serious. Alfred wasn''t someone who overlooked things, even if they were small. But he knew his Grandson wasn''t someone who didn''t understand the consequences of his actions. Others overlooked Asher''s action because they were relieved that he was finally focusing on bing stronger after being unawakened for so long. For someone who was a Greville, Asher''s action didn''t seem too far from the reputation the Greville had, but Alfred still asked Asher this question. ''Is it a simple doubt or,'' Asher thought while maintaining his indifferent look. There were only two reasons why Alfred would have asked something like this. A doubt, or he had caught on to his activities, which Asher had tried to hide very well. Chapter 359 Alfred’s Advice

Chapter 359 Alfred''s Advice

359 Alfred''s Advice "Is it about the match?" Asher asked. He knew that acting oblivious would only make Alfred''s doubts grow, so he began with the most obvious thing that might have prompted Alfred to seek him out. "Might be," Alfred replied, his face remaining stoic. Alfred had lived long enough to master the art of concealing his intentions. But Asher was different. Unlike Alfred, who had emotions and showed them, Asher''s seeming indifference was his way of hiding his true nature. "I will not criticize you for your actions, as it is not intention to do so," Alfred said, his demeanor shifting. He wanted to corner Asher, but he knew Sylvie wouldn''t approve. Moreover, Alfred didn''t want Asher to perceive him as a strict individual who meddled in others'' affairs, especially when it wasn''t his ce. After all, Asher was the heir to the Greville family. "But I have a question, and I want you to answer truthfully," Alfred said, looking intently at Asher. "Are you going to participate in the Sessor Candidate Tournament?" Alfred asked. Although Asher had chosen the path of the sword, Alfred knew that Asher was also studying Mage Art. No one discouraged Asher because he was only in his first year, and they trusted that if he was pursuing it, he had his reasons. He wasn''t someone who acted impulsively, and for Sylvie and Arthur, it was enough to know that Asher was actively seeking to be stronger. Arthur had considered discussing the Space Element with Asher, but Nathan had advised against it, suggesting they let Asher be. Only Nathan was aware that the Space Element Asher utilized came from the Rune of Eirdin. He knew it would be safe for Asher since he himself had experienced it. He had been the one to counsel Arthur and Sylvie not to intervene in Asher''s studies at the World Academy, regardless of the path Asher chose. "And if you''re considering it, I''d advise against participating," Alfred added. "I am not going to participate in that," Asher responded immediately. Even if he won, Asher knew it would be fruitless for him. Farnus wouldn''t teach him anything, even if he became a Sessor Candidate. And the next year, Kevin was bound to be one, which would still y into Farnus''s hands. "I was only messing with him a bit," Asher said as Alfred raised his eyes. "Then it''s fine," Alfred replied. Although Asher had gone a bit far, but it was duel and Kevin had the right to stop whenever he wanted. "But don''t push your luck," Alfred warned, leaning back into the couch. "Greville have many enemies," Alfred remarked. "And what do you think would happen if a child with unprecedented talent were in that family?" "Most people would do anything to prevent such a future." "Even Farnus Calmort, the strongest hunter couldn''t go against the High Council for a reason," Alfred said. Alfred raised his hand slightly, crafting a bird-like figure with fire magic. "In a way, this Sessor Candidate Tournament is beneficial for you," Alfred said. "It will divert the attention currently focused on you." "It''s an good opportunity toy low for a while," Alfred suggested, observing the fiery bird. "I''m not saying you should halt your progress or be overly cautious, but shine too brightly and you''ll find arrows aimed your way," Alfred advised as the me transformed into small embers. Asher''s innate talent alone made people wary of him, but Alfred was confident Nathan would ensure Asher''s safety. Still, it would be wise for Asher to reflect on his actions. "Okay," Asher responded. It was a concise reply, but it satisfied Alfred. "Haha, I''m relieved you''re not like your mother," Alfred chuckled. Asher looked up, unsure if Alfred was jesting. In his past life, no one celebrated his existence. "It might be hard to believe, but Sylvie was even better than you at offending others," Alfred shared, recalling a memory from years ago. "It was so challenging to handle her temper back then," "Don''t tell her I mentioned this, though," Alfred said. "However, your situation is unique, and you should know that," "I don''t know what that crazy old man taught you, but I advise you to follow my words," Alfred remarked, raising his eyebrows. Alfred and Nathan hadpletely different personalities, and everytime that Alfred would meet Asher or Amelia, he would take his time to say a ''few words'' about Nathan to them. "Even your recent gesture with the donation caused quite a stir among some people in Somaria," Alfred informed Asher. "And those deals that happened under the donation, it''s useless to hide them," Alfred spoke looking at Asher. While most of Asher''s transactions were confidential, a few inevitably surfaced. And someone like Alfred was bound to catch wind of them. "It improved our public image," Asher replied. Though the actual reason differed, he felt no obligation to disclose the entire truth to Alfred. "Indeed, but how do you think our associates would react upon hearing that you''re investing outside of Somaria?" Alfred inquired. "It may have been your money, but such actions can foster unnecessary tensions. Be more cautious next time," Alfred advised. "Those deals weren''t substantial. They were merely a means to venture into other markets," Asher responded. Asher was confident that the major transactions would remain hidden, unless those involved sought their own ruin. He had deliberately initiated a few extra deals to ensure his future actions wouldn''t appear overly suspicious. "It''smendable to be ambitious when young," Alfred said, rising and walking over to where Asher sat. He ced a hand on Asher''s head. "But don''t overextend yourself. Excessive power can be destructive," Alfred spoke ruffling Asher''s hair. "You must be bored by this old man''s ramblings," Alfred removed his hand. "Go have some rest," Alfred said as he approached the door and exited the room. Zemil saw Alfreding out as he clicked on the bracelet in his hand to deactivate the runes around the room. Alfred returned to watch the rest of the tournament as Zemil followed him. ''He seems in deep thought,'' Zemil said to himself as he walked behind Alfred. ''The conversation must have been serious,'' Zemil concluded. It was rare to see Alfred lost in his thoughts, as far as Zemil knew. Some rumors said that Alfred Raven was more scary to face than Helena Raven herself. While those rumors had died down in thest few decades, most of them were not false. There was a reason why Sylvie never had anyone openly oppose her while she expanded the Abyss Corporation because most were silenced before they could even attempt to do so. ''No wonder people said that Asher Greville carries theposure of Alfred Raven,'' Zemil thought as he could see the resemnce between the two. While Zemil had all these crazy views about Alfred in his head, the old man was thinking something else entirely. ''He wouldn''t tell Sylvie, right?'' Alfred thought. ''He is not that talkative, so chances are low,'' Alfred was entirely unaware that his fear of getting scolded by his daughter was being seen as him thinking some greater things. Sylvie was highly protective about things rted to Asher, so if she thought that Alfred had ''warned'' Asher about his actions, she would definitely not like it. Alfred''s look often made people misjudge him as someone stern or strict. He remembered when even Amelia cried when he saw Alfred smile for the first time and called him scary. Although it was when she was pretty young, Alfred still remembered it because of how much Nathanughed at him for that one incident. Asher was different from other children from a young age, so Alfred thought having a direct talk with him was better. Inside that room, Asher was silent as he stood up, and a smallugh left his face. "Don''t attract too much attention, he said," Asher recalled Alfred''s words. Although what Alfred said was true, Asher had already tried living like that and even saw what result it brought. His mind drifted back to hisst conversation with Alfred in his previous life. "Go away," The voice was raspy, and only the man''s back was visible. "Make sure you go far away from this ce," Although the face was not visible, many emotions could be heard in his voice. Filled with anger, sadness, and hate. BOOM! The sound of an explosion was heard as the old man''s mana started shaking. "Never appear before me," "I don''t wish to be someone who killed my own daughter''s son," Alfred said as he looked back at the young man behind him. His face looked aged, and his hair was disheveled. He didn''t look like the Alfred Raven, who always kept his appearance neat. That was thest time Asher saw Alfred. Because after that day, there was no Alfred Raven in the world. Suddenly, Asher got struck by an intense headache, making his eyes twitch. Recalling his memories would often trigger his suppressed madness. "Well, that should be enough to keep him away from Aztech," Asher muttered as he looked at the door. It would be hard for Asher to move properly if his activities were being monitored, so he gave Alfred the answer he wanted to hear. Leaving the room, Asher went towards the room where Damian and Amelia were in. The Tournament wasn''t over and Asher wasn''t the only one who was looking forward to see the winners of each year. Chapter 360 Crumble

Chapter 360 Crumble

360 Crumble The tournament continued as the Second Year Final Match was getting near. "Do you think you will win?" Reece asked as he looked at Leonard. They were sitting in the VIP Room, as the Third and Fourth Year matches would start after the First and Second Years were finished. "Do you think I won''t?" Leonard as he leaned back into his seat. Reece just smiled, and Leonard ignored him. Blood Faction was Leonard''s personal idea, so Reece had no hand in it. Reece was supporting Raelyn because she was his fiance. "You should worry about your match," Leonard said. "This match would have been easier if the product was delivered on time," Reece replied, "Mana Crystals, there were simply not enough to make a stable one for you," Leonard replied. "And you know I want you to crush Jayden Hargrave more than anyone," Leonard said as he smiled widely, looking back at Reece. Reece didn''t reply as he kept observing Leonard. Both of them were friends, but they always kept observing each other. It was difficult to im that something like trust existed between the two, as they were so alike. This simrity was why Leonard appreciated Reece, kept him close, and even involved him in the business n he intended tounch after graduating from World Academy. "You sure enjoy ying with others," Reece remarked. "That makes the two of us," Leonard responded. "Hahaha," Reeceughed. "But, what about Asher Greville?" Reece asked. "Didn''t you say you would talk with him," Leonard spoke. "I will be graduating, so it''s up to you now," Reece replied. "Let him do what he wants for now," Leonard told Reece. "The n is already pushed back because of the appearance of the cmities and all the mess after it," Leonard said, looking at Reece. "And that means we have more time to get things done properly," Leonard added. Reece got up to leave. "Good luck with your ns," Reece waved his hand as he left the room. "He is surely nning something," Reece muttered in the hallway. Half an hour went by as the Final of the Second Year was about to start. "Rank 1 ke Cranston vs Rank 2 Velmond Louis, the final match of the Second Year!!" Gazil announced. "Hehe, go easy on me," Velmond said as he looked at ke. The fight started as everyone saw ke go all out from the start. "He is not that badpared to his older brother," Xarax said, ncing at Joseph, who was sitting there with a calm look on his face. Joseph knew that ke was learning under Cade, but he never interfered with their training. ''He has improved a bit,'' Joseph noticed, but the rumors about ke losing to Asher in a spar upset him. Although Cade made sure it didn''t spread, it was hard to control rumors like these when so many people were witnesses of the spar. Even ke was aware that his value in Joseph''s eyes had gone down a lot after that incident. Even his Rank 1 Status became dull just because he lost to a Rank 1, and that''s why this match was a great way to suppress the rumors that were going around about him. Rotating his grip, ke brought down his sword at high speed, which Velmond dodged barely, but the impact of the sword made a huge cut in the ground. "That was close," Velmond nced at the power behind that attack. He was aware of ke''s intentions, but even for Velmond, who was C Rank Hunter, a Peak C Rank''s attack was a lot to handle. ''He is quite serious about this,'' Velmond thought. He only stuck with ke because he was from the Cranston Family, and his own family wanted him to stay close to ke. ''Is he trying to overshadow Asher Greville''s win?'' Velmond as he frowned, seeing ke''s movement. Even though he was Rank 2 and the difference between their strength wasn''t that big either, when ke used his Sword Art and the techniques he learned from his family, Velmond was no match for him. The sword art that could control the momentum was something quite hard to deal with in One on One duel especially if there was no way of restricting ke''s movement. ''I need to show them,'' ke said to himself as he poured his aura and refined his attacks to his limit. Boom! Boom! Their shes were causing damage on the stage, and it happened because ke''s attack wasparable to a B- Rank Hunter even though he was at C+ Rank. Their swords shed, but each time, Velmond would be pushed back. "He is so powerful," "Are you sure he lost to Asher Greville?" Many students were surprised to see such a dominant performance from ke, and the fight soon ended. ''Is he using that?'' Velmond''s eyes went wide. He saw the hand movement and the stance that ke was taking, and he had seen that technique in ke''s training before. It was something that could produce force and power to defeat their opponent in a single strike. Velmond instantly raised his aura as much as he could to try and dodge ke''s attack, but it was useless because he couldn''t even see ke''s sword. It was almost like it disappeared and vanished into thin air. "Is that the sword art of the Cranston Family?" Some students recognized ke''s movement. In the next second, Velmond felt pain all over his body as he got pushed into the air. And he felt as if something was cutting through his body. He wanted to scream, but he went unconscious before he could even do so. ke stopped just a moment before he got too far. Everyone was stunned to see the bloodied body of Velmond, but ke was smiling as he had shown what he was capable of. Even if it came at the expense of someone like Velmond, who was like a subordinate to him. Velmond was taken to the treatment center right away. Farnus came onto the stage, and ke was dered the winner soon after. During the loud cheer, ke felt happy, and he knew by showing his strength like this, rumors about him being weak would disappear. In the VIP Room, where Cade and his friends were sitting, everyone was cheering for ke except Cade. ''What an idiot,'' Cade thought as he looked at ke, "Aren''t you happy with your brother''s win?" His friend asked, looking at his facial expressions. "If he can''t even win against people like them, he doesn''t deserve the name Cranston," Cade replied. His words made everyone who was cheering for ke a bit awkward. In his head, Cade felt thatpared to Asher''s match, ke was not worth looking at. It might have been his obsession to prove that his swordsmanship was better, but looking at Asher''s swordsmanship, Cade felt the urge to duel with him. But it couldn''t happen now, but the opportunity would arrive someday, so Cade wasn''t impatient. He wanted Asher to be stronger ande to his level. Ping! A message took Cade''s attention as he ignored the celebration that was happening on the Stage while ke was being given his rewards for winning. One of his close friends noticed Cade''s frown. "What happened?" He asked. "Seven more dungeons appeared near the areas that are under us," Cade replied. "Do we have to leave?" He asked. "No, they can manage for now, but be ready if the situation changes," Cade said. ''Sigh, I can''t even focus on my own training,'' Cade felt irritated. The number of dungeons appearing was increasing so much that there was always a need for backup teams of Hunters. Because the area where the dungeons appeared was under the Cranston Family, Cade was responsible for them. New Dungeons were more dangerous as they could not expect what would be inside of them. To this day, there were times when a new monster species would be discovered that they knew nothing about. There was always a risk of people dying while exploring the Dungeons. So new dungeons needed to be handled carefully so that they had every information about it. "Well, the big matches are about to start. It would have been a shame if we had to leave without watching them." His friend replied, and others in the room also agreed. The next match was going to be between Leonard Tarvian and Tyrone Martell, and the winner was to fight Raelyn Whiteheart. The match between the Student Council President and the leader of the Blood Faction. And after that, the fourth-year matches would also be held. After 15 minutes, the stage was changed entirely to a new one that could endure the mana of Rank B Hunters. "Now the match of the Third Year, Tyrone Martell Rank 3, Vice President of Student Council," "Against Leonard Tarvian, Blood Faction''s face," Gazil announced as both of them walked on the stage. Unlike when they were in the World Academy, they didn''t need to suppress their mana anymore. Leonard smiled as he waved towards the students while Tyrone walked on the stage and took his position. Leonard was slightly smaller than Tyrone, but that didn''t mean that he was weaker. "Good luck," Leonard said, looking at Tyrone. Many students were already cheering for both of them, as they were one of the most popr people in the World Academy. Next Chapter after Two Hours!! 1 Chapter 361 Two Faced

Chapter 361 Two Faced

361 Two Faced "Let''s have a good battle," Leonard said, looking at Tyrone. "Sure," Tyrone replied. "Who do you think will win?" "Of course, Leon will win. What a silly question." "But Tyrone Martell is no pushover." Many spected about the match, but no one could confidently predict the oue between the two. In thest End Year Tournament, Raelyn, Tyrone, and Leonard demonstratedparable strength. Tyrone lost to Raelyn, and Leonard also fell to her. As a result, Leonard held the Rank 2 position, but his loss had been a razor-thin margin. Damian and Amelia were discussing the uing match when Asher approached from behind. "Yo, that was a solid fight." Damian raised his thumb in congrattions. "Congrats," Amelia echoed. "Thanks," Asher responded, his expression unchanging, as he settled down to watch the stage. "What''s your take? Who''lle out on top?" Damian asked, just as the match was set to begin. "Who knows," Asher replied. Though Asher''s face was expressionless, the intensity of his headache kept escting, showing no signs of abating. Any average individual would have been writhing in agony, but Asher had be numb to pain. "Like father, like son," Xarax remarked aloud. "He''s quite adept at currying the public''s favor," Xarax said, turning to look at Osbert. Two faced, that was word that came to Xarax''s mind when he looked at Osbert. He found it funny how people believed this man was way better than the Elite Families. Osbert''s eyes met Xarax''s briefly upon hearing thement. It was evident that the World Association enjoyed the public''s support. This association was tasked with maintaining order and regting the Elite families. It was also clear that the World Association was in contention with the three most powerful elite families. Osbert was aware that Xarax was targeting him, especially since he had sided with Farnus, facilitating the entire Sessor Candidate process. Had they all resisted, Farnus would have had to take a step back, and Xarax could have deferred the matter to the forting High Council Meeting. Yet, thanks to Osbert''s support, Farnus secured the full backing of the World Association. Tyrone''s aura surged as he gripped a two-handed long sword. Leonard, in contrast, calmly invoked his aura, bracing for the duel''smencement. The stage had been reinforced, tailored to withstand the might of two Rank B Hunters. "Begin!" the referee dered. Instantly, Leonard twisted his wrist and deftly flicked his sword upward, releasing a massive wind torrent towards Tyrone. Tyrone remained steadfast. With a precise sh, he cleaved the gale in two, allowing it to dissipate behind him. "Quite impressive," Leonard remarked with a smile. Both vanished, only to reappear at the center of the stage where their swords met with a sh. To First and even most Second Years, their movements were little more than a blur. The rapid exchanges of their swords, leading up to this lock, were nearly imperceptible. ''He''s improved,'' Tyrone realized, sensing Leonard''s enhanced strength. As their swords remained interlocked, Leonard slightly tilted his de, aiming to break free. However, before Leonard could swing at him, Tyrone quickly retreated, increasing the distance between them. "I didn''t realize he was this strong," Damianmented aloud, observing Leonard. "They''re both beyond the level of an average B Rank Hunter," Amelia noted. "Well, he is the son of the World Association''s Chairman," Damian added. "Is that the best the Vice President of the Student Council has?" Leonard taunted, parrying Tyrone''s assaults. "Don''t worry, I''ve yet more to unveil," Tyrone responded, taking another step back. "Martell''s Second Sword," Tyrone murmured, his long sword beginning to glow. "Is that the Ember Art of the Martell family?" a few students whispered. A me enveloped the de, changing its hue to a vibrant orange. Leonard''s smile widened in response. "Third Remer," Leonard intoned. An unfamiliar me emerged, winding up from Leonard''s arm and enveloping his sword. The Remer Art, the sword technique employed by the Tarvian family, was identical to that which the current Chairman of the World Association wielded. This disy naturally piqued the interest of many students and even Guild Recruiters. "Let''s determine whose me burns brighter," Leonard challenged, lunging at Tyrone. His feet seared the ground beneath, mes dancing around his limbs. The Third Remer technique allowed the user to envelop their body in an element, reinforcing them. Using Third Remer, Osbert could melt even the bones of the most formidable SS Rank Monsters with just his bare hands. However, Third Remer underwent a transformation when paired with a weapon, turning any armament into a lethal instrument. Tyrone''s eyes widened as he invoked Martell''s Second Sword, merging his aura with the fire element. Such a feat was typically reserved for S Rank individuals or higher, but the Martell Bloodline ability made it far more essible for him than for most. "I often ponder what you might''ve achieved had you possessed that Bloodline ability," Sylvus mused to Dexter. "I''ve wondered the same," Dexter admitted with a chuckle. Indeed, the Martell Family''s bloodline ability had fostered generations of exceptional weapon makers and craftsmen. Their primary enterprise centered around this. Yet, at their core, they were a Hunter family, so typically only the Martell branch members engaged in these artisan professions. Within the Artisan''s Association, the Martells enjoyed unique prestige, freelying and going without a care. However, Dexter Wright eclipsed the Martell''s renown when he showcased his innovative creations and skills. Tyrone''s sword met Leonard''s in a fiery sh as their mes intertwined. ng! ng! With each sh, the intensity of their mes amplified. By the third collision, Leonard was slightly pushed back as Tyrone channeled his might into a singr strike. Yet, Tyrone''s expression was marred by frustration. "Remember, Tyrone Martell, aim only for the 3rd Rank. We want no confrontations with Osbert Tarvian," the Elder of the Martell Family had advised Tyrone a week before the End Year Tournament. "Why should I listen to your advice?" Tyrone retorted, pausing his training. "If it weren''t for your blunder, we wouldn''t be in this predicament," the Elder responded sharply. Tyrone''s fists tightened, struggling toe to terms with the Elder''s words. ''A mistake on my part?'' Tyrone fumed internally, keeping his emotions under wraps. "It''s a direct order from the Family Head. If you wish to remain a part of the family, adhere to it," the Elder dered before ending the call. Despite being one of the most promising talents in his lineage, Tyrone found himself in a dilemma. To satisfy his family''s wishes, he had to feign defeat. "I should''ve seen thising," Tyrone mused, a wry chuckle escaping him. In the ongoing match, Tyrone was acutely aware of the challenge Leonard posed. He could feel the mes around Leonard slowly affecting him despite Tyrone having a body that was resistant to fire the most. It was because of the Martell Bloodline Ability as it made their bodies resistant to fire to a certain degree, but against Leonard, he was still feeling it. ''As if I could easily best him,'' Tyrone conceded internally. Leonard was a tough opponent for Raelyn who was Rank 1 and what his family wanted him to do was to not make anyplications with Leonard Tarvian. The Martell Family maintained neutrality, affiliating with no factions. They were renowned weapon manufacturers, and their principal client was none other than the World Association. If Tyrone really wanted, he could push Leonard to his limits to make his chances of winning against Raelyn go lower. It was a dirty tactic to do, but Tyrone was already warned to not do anything stupid like that. Osbert Tarvian wasing to the End Year Tournament himself, and thest thing they wanted was a rift between the Martell Family and the World Association. Tyrone amplified his aura, determined to at least have a fair fight. ''I don''t care if I lose,'' Tyrone thought, anger swelling within him. Leonard perceived a change in the swiftness of Tyrone''s swordy. ''What a madman,'' Leonard mused. Tyrone''s speed with the two-handed sword wasparable to Leonard''s, but his mes were less potent. Leonard knew he had a stronger affinity for fire and took pride in that fact. "Fourth Remer," Leonard intoned. The mes around his limbs became fainter but more intense, augmenting Leonard''s power. Bam! Bam! Raelyn observed the bout; Leonard was employing the very technique that had troubled her in their previous match. "This will be challenging for him," Raelyn murmured, aware that Tyronecked defensive items, making victory a distant prospect. "You seem unscathed by my me," Leonard remarked as their swords shed. "But this is as far as you go," Leonard dered. As he twisted his de, a glint appeared in his eyes. This technique, one he''d learned from Osbert, had the potency to take down a Rank B monster in just one move. The ambient temperature rose as the mes sharply concentrated on the edge of Leonard''s de. "me sh," Leonard intoned, shing his sword downward. Tyrone, despite the burning sensation on his skin and the force pushing him back, retained hisposure. "Martell''s Fourth Sword," he murmured. His mes began to flow in reverse, effectively countering Leonard''s assault. As Tyrone neared the stage''s edge, he halted, with the attack veering off to his side, liquefying the stage around them. "Not bad," Leonard acknowledged with a grin, swinging his sword through the air. Yet, burn marks marred his armor and skin. Anyone else in Tyrone''s position would have either incurred severe injuries or instinctively evaded such an onught. "But you''re aware, fire isn''t my primary element," Leonard remarked, smiling as the mes around him intensified. The gusts grew fiercer, amplifying the fiery aura encircling Leonard''s feet. Previous Chapter is fixed sorry for the mess up!! Chapter 362 Leonard Tarvian

Chapter 362 Leonard Tarvian

362 Leonard Tarvian "Of course, I know," Tyrone replied as he mmed his sword into the ground. mes erupted near his sword, wrapping around his sword making, making his aura stronger and fiercer than before. "The more they burn, the stronger they get," One of the Guild evaluators spoke. "The information about the Bloodline ability is rare, but from what I''ve heard, the more heat they absorb, the stronger they be," He added. The reason why many elite families were still standing strong was because of their bloodline ability. Although even people outside the Elite families had their own bloodline abilities, they were notparable to the ones these elite families possessed. But the chances of possessing a bloodline ability were quite rare, even if you were from these elite families. And even after possessing it, the power of the bloodline was different for everyone, even if they came from the same bloodline. For Tyrone, his body was indeed like a furnace where he could exchange his own mes to be stronger, but it was one of the effects. But it had to be Tyrone''s own fire that was created by his mana. Although his external body could resist fire elements to a certain degree, his internal body could only absorb the mes he made. "Wow, I never saw such fights at the Mage Associations," Jacob said, looking at the match, "Mages are cooler," Jennifer said, puffing her cheeks. Because Jacob was not a mage, he didn''t see a lot of Weapon users fight with each other, so this was a new experience for him. Jennifer and Jacob were raised around mages, but in reality, the amount of magespared to weapon masters was low. So, in World Academy, seeing so many weapon users fighting was a new experience for them. Seeing that among all the Rank 1 Students, none of them were mages surprised Jennifer the most, who thought that mages were the strongest. But in reality, the mages that Jennifer and Jacob would meet in the Mage Association were some of the best in the World and have honed their magic for years. Leonard, on the stage, changes his stance to a different one. The Remer Art he showed till now was something that allowed him to mix fire elements into his swordsmanship, but now he was using a different one. Wind Element was one of the few elements that every swordsman wanted because it could allow them to attain a speed that was normally impossible. His movement changed as Tyrone felt the weight of Leonard''s strikes had changed. They were much lighter, so they were easier to block but more hard to predict. With the brightness of the me and Leonard manipting the wind around him, it made many blind spots for Tyrone. But despite that, it was surprising to see Tyrone Martell block Leonard''s sword so fast, so many times with his Long Sword. In the VIP Room for the Student Council, "See, I told you our Vice President is strong," One of the Student Council students spoke. "But Leonard Tarvian is getting faster," The President of the Discipline Committee spoke out. "Tyrone''s strength is his insane reaction time; that''s why I lost to him," He said while looking at the stage. "But right now, Leonard is slowly increasing his speed to create more pressure so that Tyrone makes a mistake," ''It doesn''t look good for us,'' He thought in his head. He was Rank 4 in the Third Year, so he had sparred with both Leonard and Tyrone, and he could see that Leonard was much stronger than he had anticipated. Since the Third Year started, it was hard to estimate someone''s strength because all of them had entered the Trial''s Ground. The gain they received was different for everyone, depending on their experience inside. But he was sure that Leonard wasn''t showing all his cards just yet. Leonard was smiling while Tyrone''s eyes were focused on Leonard''s sword. "He is getting pushed back?" Some of the students were shocked. They could see slowly, but Tyrone was getting pushed back. The attacks that Leonard was making were lighter, but at the moment of impact, a burst of wind increased the speed of the sword''s strike high for a short time. It was hard to fight like this because if Leonard lost control over his maniption of Wind Element, he could lose the sword in his hand and would instantly be defeated. And if he were fighting like this, then that meant he was confident in himself. "Fourth Remer, Gale," Leonard whispered as he stepped back once. Tyrone didn''t want to give space to Leonard, who was already in the lead, so he pushed forward as he saw Leonard turning his body. It was the perfect moment to disrupt his continuous attacks and gain the upper hand. Rotating his body, he shed towards Tyrone. Tyrone, who was about to attack Leonard, stopped midway as he saw the strange movement Leonard made while rotating his body. The sword in Leonard''s hand was covered by his body, so Tyrone couldn''t see it for a second. And it was in that second that he twisted his grip, and the me on his hand started converging towards the edge of the sword. When Tyrone saw Leonard''s sh, he was not in a proper stance to defend that attack. So he used his sword and burst out his aura, but the warm air twisted the image of Leonard, making it impossible for Tyrone to quickly spot the point of contact. To perfectly defend and negate the attack, Tyrone needed to stop the sword by hitting it on a specific point. But Leonard knew it, and he purposefully hid his sword so that Tyrone wouldn''t know his next attack at all. sh! Tyrone felt a cut on his stomach, as the sword had already gone past before he could defend himself. "...What?" Tyrone muttered as he was confused. Leonard took that moment to create another attack, and Tyrone had no choice but to raise his long sword. He was confused about how that sword went so fast that it could sh him. Even if the vision was not clear, the speed of the sword didn''t make sense, but there was no time to think about what had already happened. He saw another big attacking, and this time, Leonard didn''t use his wind element. It was a powerful strike that Tyrone had no choice but to block. Dodging here was impossible because he would still get caught up in the attack, and with a wound like this, the match would be over. BAM! Smoke appeared all over the stage as they wanted to see the results, and when it dispersed, they saw Tyrone, who was still on his feet, but part of his armor was burnt. But the impact behind the strike had dragged him out of the stage. "It was a good fight," Leonard said with a smile as he sheathed his sword. "WOAAH!!!" "I told you he would win!!" The crowd erupted in cheer as Tyrone put his long sword into his space ring. Despite the wound on his stomach, it didn''t look like he was in pain or in difort. There were burns and small cuts around his body, but that was the same for Leonard. ''I guess this is my limit,'' Tyrone thought. Even though Tyrone hadn''t gone all out against Leonard, he knew that his opponent had done the same. There was no way someone like Leonard Tarvian would show all his tricks before fighting Raelyn. "It was a good match," Tyrone said with a calm look on his face. "The winner is Leonard Tarvian, who will be going into the finals to face the Rank 1 Raelyn Whiteheart," Gazil announced. "What a clever trick," Xarax said out loud. Every one of them had seen Leonard''s trick, which allowed him to go past Tyrone''s block ahead of time. "Using wind element to push his sword forward," Xarax said. "One wrong move and his arm would have been dislocated due to that technique," Dexter pointed it out. The force behind that attack was enough to push that sword out of his hand and even dislocate his shoulder at the same time. He had manipted Wind element just enough so that he could control it, but if things went wrong, it would have been him who would have lost. "Either he is confident in himself or simply foolish to that," Xarax said out loud. "But knowing he is your son, it would be the first case," Xarax let out a smallugh. Someone as crafty as Osbert Tarvian wouldn''t let his son grow up to fight like a reckless maniac. "What an exciting match, and the next match will be between the Rank 3 Kiara Everett vs Rank 2 Reece Williams," Gazil announced. "Some of the strongest students of our academy," Gazil said as Kiara walked onto the stage, and on the other side, it was Reece. Loud cheers were heard because Kiara and Reece both had their own followers inside World Academy. After all, they were two of the strongest students after Rank 1, Jayden Hargrave. "It seems you are in a bad mood," Reece said as he raised his eyebrows as he walked on the stage. "Who would be excited to fight someone like you? Let''s get this over with," Kiara said as she swung her sword in the air. Reece simply took out his own sword in response as they walked to their positions on the stage. Chapter 363 Strength of A Rank

Chapter 363 Strength of A Rank

363 Strength of A Rank "Why are they standing there and not fighting?" Jennifer asked the Third Year Student behind them. "Oh, they are increasing the strength of the barrier and the size of the stage for them," The Third Year replied. "Both of them are A Rank Hunters, so that much preparation is needed," He added. "A Rank, so they must be super powerful," Jacob asked excitedly. "Of course, it is very rare to see A Rank Hunters in Fourth Year," The guy exined. "A lot of talent is needed to reach A Rank, but most people hit their limit by B Rank," He said. Not everyone had the talents needed to reach A Rank. Although one could push himself past his limit, he couldn''t go too far. If the vessel is not big enough, pouring a huge amount of water into it will be useless. Most students in World Academy developed their mana core very carefully, but not everyone was different. The quality of the mana core, or the Mana Heart itself, was important. Most students in the Fourth Year were Rank B, but some had reached their limits at Rank C. "Kiara Everett, Reece Williams, and Jayden Hargrave. These three are the strongest students of World Academy currently," He told the twins. Many students loudly cheered for both Reece and Kiara. Both of them were famous in the World Academy, as not only were they strong and from powerful families, but their appearance was also eye-catching. Reece had light blue hair, which was a distinct feature of the Williams Family, while Kiara had small stripes of blond hair around her long ck hair. Kiara was also taller than other female students, with a height reaching 5 11''. Both of them had opposite personalities that they showed out in public. While Kiara had a very strong temperament and a strict side, she showed in public. Her personality made it harder for others to approach her out of fear of offending her. But Reece was the exact opposite. Despite being the heir of the Williams family, Reece Williams came across as a humble person based on his manners and way of talking. He was like Leonard Tarvian, but Reece went the extra mile to make sure his public opinion remained the same. All the Elite Families had their businesses, and just like Greville, the Williams family was also involved with mana crystals. Although they couldn''t bepared to the Abyss Corporation, they were not small either. "We''ve been friends for four years now, so let''s make the most out of this match," Reece spoke as he looked at Kiara. "Tch, His way of talking really makes me wanna punch that face," Kiara muttered to herself. Because Kiara had faced many people who hid their intentions while presenting themselves in front of her, she had developed a strong hatred for such people. In Halcyon, the number of people who would want to manipte her, someone who was most likely to be the next Archduchess of the Everett Family, was not small. She had met many such people in her life, but Reece was different. At first, even Kiara partially believed the personality that Reece showed was his true nature. She was taught never to ce trust in others, no matter how close they were. But it was only near the end of the Second Year, during the start of their Third Year, when they entered Trials Ground, that she got to know that the personality Reece showed was nothing but a farce. ''Let''s get this over with,'' Kiara said. Her aura took over the whole stage. It was so much that her aura was visible to other students. The strength of a A Rank Hunter was no joke. In response, Reece simply countered with his own mana as he pushed back Kiara''s aura back. Kiara was A- Rank Hunter, but both Reece and Jayden had finally managed to reach A Rank during thest year of World Academy. She was at a disadvantage, but it was still better than Reece and Jayden reaching peak A Rank, which would have been a very big achievement. At A+ Rank, major changes would happen to the mana heart, causing it to grow bigger and denser. Most people would be stuck in A Rank for years in their lives before reaching A+ Rank. And breaking through A+ Rank was even harder than that. There was a high chance of a person dying while breaking through to the S- Rank because of the process it took to go beyond A+ Rank. If someone were not sure they could go beyond A+ Rank, it was simply suicidal to even try it. The only person to ever reach A+ Rank while they were in World Academy was Ivar Greville. Inparison, Jayden and Reece had just reached A Rank, and Kiara was sure they had both used an S Rank Mana Gem to reach that level. She had seen both of them three months ago, and they were around her level. And to reach this level so quickly, it wasn''t hard to predict what they did. Although other students, including Kiara, couldn''t sense the SSS Rank Hunters present here, they could sense that Reece didn''t have the stable mana of A Rank Hunter. Using mana gem was important to breakthrough, but it had its own downsides. That was the period of time it took to stabilize that mana into your mana core perfectly. Right now, some of the mana was being wasted, so Reece wasn''t a true A Rank Hunter, and at best, both Jayden and Reece were at the earliest stage of stepping to A Rank. The Referee stood beyond the barrier that covered Kiara and Reece and the whole stage. "3...2...1...Start!" The Referee said out loud as both Kiara and Reece disappeared from their ces. They appeared in the air. Kiara swirled in the air and struck Reece, who simply flicked his wrist to counter Kiara''s strike. Beforeing to the ground, their sword met each other 17 times, making huge impact forces that could be felt through the vibrations that made their way past the barrier. Students could feel the strength behind each of these strikes, and it was apletely new experience for the first-year students. They couldn''t even see the movements that Kiara and Reece were making; only the moment they would stop for half a second when their swords connected was the time they could see them. "No wonder they changed the whole barrier," Damian muttered. He could feel the vibration of mana that was being produced by the sh of the aura of two A Rank Hunters. "Not bad. She carries the fierce personality of the Everett Head," Dalton spoke. "But Williams Hier also knows what he is doing," Dexter replied. "The young generation seems more fierce this time around," Dexter said. Thest time such a thing happened was when Arthur and David were in World Academy. BAM! A huge aura sh erupted as Kiara''s hair fluttered in the air, and her sword was pushing Reece. Kiara was going all out from the start. There was no need to rely on tricks to face Reece or Jayden because she knew how both of them fought. It was useless for her to stretch the fight unnecessarily. Despite her personality, Kiara often tried to stay out of unwanted trouble. And that was why she wasn''t serious about winning this match. Although winning would have been nice, it wasn''t worth the trouble going against someone crazy like Jayden and Reece. Both of them were obsessed with winning this match, and Kiara had heard about it. Jayden''s reasons were clear, but she didn''t know why Reece was trying so hard to take Rank 1. The aura around Kiara started getting brighter as Reece pushed Kiara''s sword back. "They are not using any Sword Techniques," Damian noticed as he looked at Asher, whose eyes were glowing. Asher was currently using his mana to improve his eyesight to check the movements of both Kiara and Reece. Some of them were missed, but Asher could still see them move around. Damian knew about the technique Asher was using, but he couldn''t do it as it required extreme mana control. BAM! BAM! Even without seeing Kiara and Reece, they could feel the blow they were exchanging. Each time those two swords would collide, the mana would vibrate around them. "It seems you have gotten sharper," Reece said as he brought his sword down. Reece noticed Kiara''s movement, and he had studied Everett''s family''s sword art. But Kiara''s strength was the way she could shift her style to a more rogue one. It threw people off, and even someone like Jayden acknowledged that Kiara Everett was a tricky opponent to fight. "That girl is not serious about it," Xarax muttered as he noticed it. "Tch, no wonder they don''t have a SSS Rank Hunter," Xarax mocked Halcyon, but nobodymented on it. Hargrave Family only respected the strong, so Xarax disliked anybody who didn''t try their best to win a fight regardless of their chances. Normally, in a fight between A Rank Hunters, especially between weapon users, there was a lot of time, and people would show opening intentionally. And this is what Reece was doing right now, but Kiara had no interest in punishing Reece for it. The chances of winning favored Reece heavily, so he was making Kiara rush for a move that could guarantee her win, but she wasn''t taking the bait. Chapter 364 Finalists

Chapter 364 Finalists

364 Finalists Reece switched up his pace as his aura became stronger and his movement became sharper. Kiara, on the other hand, was matching Reece''s rhythm. Reece made a powerful strike, making Kiara dodge it. Both of them were utilizing the entire stage as they went from one end to another. Kiara would always swiftly change the direction of her back, so she was never pushed towards the boundary. Kiara Everett was a hunter who excelled in an environment where she had the support of other hunters around her. But in a one-on-one scenario, Reece was still stronger. She had no choice but to carefully choose which way she moved and constantly change it so that Reece couldn''t corner her. Reece was intentionally giving Kiara a chance to counterattack him even now. ''It seems like she will not take the bait,'' Reece concluded. But because both Reece and Jayden had seen Kiara''s strength and fought her, they knew how hard it was to fight her. The odds would have been reversed if this was a Team Tournament. Because Kiara''s specialtyy in taking advantage of the wide area around her, she wasn''t as strong in a strictly confined space. Even though the stage looked very big for other students, for A Rank Hunters, that was still a small space to fight in. sh! Reece shed near the feet of Kiara instantly as his sword got countered by the first strike. Kiara jumped in the air as she got upside down while Reece twisted his body to strike Kiara, who stopped Reece''s sword in mid-air. Kiara smiled as crystals appeared on her wrist. It was a special usage of Earth elements that Kiara could do. Kiara could use crystals to support her body at any moment and remove them the next. It was a powerful ability that allowed her to minimize any damage done to her. Earth Element was the element Kiara had the highest affinity for. It was one of the applications of earth elements she mastered after years of practice. She used the strength Reece was applying on his sword to push her body back andnd on the ground. Both of them stopped for a second as they looked at each other. "That''s a troublesome ability," Reece muttered as he intensified his aura. "But can you defend against this," Reece said as he dashed towards Kiara, leaving a trail on the stage. It was extremely fast, and Kiara knew the power behind Reece''s attack would not be small. A formation of crystal armor formed around her, and it was something that all Fourth Year Students had seen. Kiara''s crystal-created armor was something that she could utilize, and even use her aura to make it denser. Water droplets started to gather around the sword that Reece had in his hands. Something Kiara noticed, and as their sword met, those droplets became like sword shes that Kiara felt around her body. Part of her Crystal armor broke, but the crystals appeared again. Till Kiara could keep her concentration and mana, she could endlessly fill the broken part of her armor. Something that made Kiara a fearsome hunter, especially in a dungeon facing monsters. Kiara could react to surprise attacks or even protect herself from critical injuries. Which made her the perfect leader to lead andmand her party. In all the Dungeon Activities, Kiara scored the same score as Jayden Hargrave. But this was a duel, not a ce where she could rely on her teammates. Each time Reece would move his sword in the same direction, those droplets would act as des. Small wounds appeared on Kiara''s hand. Reece was not stopping his sword shes at all. ng! ng! ng! Their afterimages were appearing everywhere, but it was obvious that Reece had gained the upper hand in this battle. He was not giving Kiara any time to think and disturbing her concentration to create a crack in her crystal armor to wound her. And it was working, but he was paying the price as well. If not for the Aura protecting him, Kiara''s sword would have almost made a huge cut on his body. ''Crazy bastard,'' Kiara thought as she kept deflecting Reece''s sword. She made some distance between them and charged first this time. Kiara already knew how far both Reece and Jayden could go to win, and their previous battle was the perfect example. She knew that Reece would take risks while battling her, but he wouldn''t push it unless Kiara did it first. Reece also knew that Kiara had no interest in the rankings, so he was also trying to end it as fast as possible. But both of them had their pride. Neither of them would go down without a fight. "Flow of..." Reece muttered something while Kiara wasing at him. He swung his sword in a full circle as water emerged around the area. But it was not normal water; and it was denser, very sturdy, and most importantly, it was enough to stop Kiara''s sword. As soon as Kiara saw it, spikes made of earth appeared as Kiara stepped and mmed her leg on the ground. Reece stepped back gracefully, avoiding each of them. But while doing so, he noticed that Kiara was already within his close range. Taking a huge leap back, Reece took the sword beyond his shoulder and brought it forward, making a sh-like action. Suddenly, Kiara felt a sensation of danger as she jumped up. BOOM! Reece''s attack of condensed water droplets made an impact on the barrier, making a huge sound. Reece didn''t appear hesitant to use killing sword techniques in this tournament because he knew Kiara would dodge. Due to how much time they had spent in dungeons, in dangerous situations, all the fourth-year students had honed an important skill that every hunter needed. And that was instinct or sense of danger, which was extremely useful in dungeons where any kind of situation could arise. She sensed that if the attack hit her, her sword would have taken a lot of damage. Both of their swords were A Rank Swords, and they were not enough to handle the attacks if it was on the level Reece used earlier. "That''s too bad," Reece said as he looked at this attack that had barely missed Kiara. He had purposefully done this when Kiara wasing at him finally, but Kiara managed to dodge it at thest second. "So this is the level of World Academy," The Students from other academies were shocked to see Reece and Kiara fight with their own eyes. It had been two minutes, and Kiara and Reece had both shaken the barriers multiple times. They could feel the movement in mana due to their fight. Kiara and Reece were merely 18 years old, and they were this strong, and it was shocking for students for other academies. "Wow, they are still going on," The First Year student muttered. "Yeah, no wonder they are the strongest in the Academy," Another added. The fight was still going, but Kiara had some wounds, and Reece was breathing a bit heavily. But it looked like Kiara was more tired than Reece. She had been moving a lot, making Reece''s attempts to push her out of the stage useless. But that also meant she was tiring herself quicker. Using her crystal armor and keeping her concentration in such a battle was draining her. "Let''s end it this time," Kiara said as Reece stopped and swung the sword around him. The water droplets in the air stuck to his aura while Kiara gathered a lot of energy in her sword. The crystals around her body started to get thinner while the amount of mana in her next strike kept increasing. "Flow of Water," Reece muttered as he felt his body lightened. But suddenly, the weight increased, and it gathered around his sword. Both of them were preparing a powerful move, but Kiara was the first to open her eyes, and Reece did the same a few momentster. Kiara moved her sword slowly towards the sky. And Reece moved the sword towards his right side. One of them was going for a vertical strike, which used a special technique that hardened the de. And the other was going for another deadly sword art technique. Reece opened his eyes, and the whole crowd was silent, but in the next moment, both of them disappeared as they appeared in the dead center of the stage. "The unshaken will of the mountainous strike..." Kiara muttered as she imagined the technique she had mastered till now. Both of them moved their swords, but it didn''t look like much happened. In the next second, a sharp vibration in the mana was felt. Their swords shed to create a huge disruption in mana around her. Both of these techniques were powerful, but one had to be stronger. And it happened, the winner was in clear. "It was a good match," Reece said as he wiped the blood from his face. On the side, Kiara was present with both her feet just beyond the boundary of the stage. "The winner is Reece Williams, and now we have all the finalists," Gazil announced. "Tch," Kiara clicked her tongue. But looking at her few injuries despite fighting Reece Williams showed how good of a talent she was. Updater''s note: I''ll be spending most of today and tomorrow in the hospital, so updates will be irregr or paused -- until I get back. Chapter 365 Stakes ?365 Stakes "What was that move?" "I didn''t even see their swords move," For most of the students, the final attack that decided the oue of this match was not visible to them. The sh of two different energies and the impact that resulted in pushing back Kiara Everett. "Well, this is how all Fourth Year matches go anyway," One of the Recruiters spoke out. Unless there was a rivalry present between the students, most of the matches didn''t go into that extra length that showcased their full strength. After all, they were not fighting for their ranks anymore. Most of the Rankers were satisfied with their positions, and they knew that they were in that rank for a reason. Unless someone was aiming for a higher ranking in theirst End Year Tournament, most duels didn''t go too far either. Most of the matches that happened against Fourth Year Rankers were like this as well. However, that didn''t mean they were not interesting to watch. It was visible from their fights alone how much experience they had after going against monsters and clearing dungeons. Both Kiara and Reece left the stage, and Kiara didn''t take any help from the medics because the small injuries were not a bother for her. Her body was capable of healing such minor wounds itself, and if needed, she could take a potion she had herself. "Kiara!" Jodie said as she saw Kiara enter her VIP Room. "What?" Kiara asked as she sat on a seat. She tilted her head and raised her eyes, looking at Jodie. "I thought you might be a bit sad losing, but it looks like I was worried for nothing," Jodie said as she smiled at Kiara. "I am not some immature kid who has just joined World Academy," Kiara replied. "And it was impossible to win against him," Kiara said, turning her head at the stage. "All the rumors about him being weak due to him being out of World Academy because of an injury were fake," Kiara added. Due to the fact that Reece left World Academy due to some unknown injury, there were rumors spreading about him not being as strong as before. But fighting him herself, Kiara could confirm that it wasn''t the case at all. "Well, the finals would be interesting," Kiara said, "After all, those two crazy bastards will go against each other," Kiara smiled. "And we can finally see what would happen with the whole Blood Faction and Student Council thing," Jodie added. "Yeah, that would be interesting as well," Kiara said looking at the stage. There were many students, especially the ones from strong families, who supported the idea of Blood Faction. In the VIP Room where Damian and Amelia were, the conversation about the match was still going on. "I will watch the match again in my free time," Damian said out loud. Because they couldn''t see the full match, Damian wanted to watch the broadcasted version of the match in which you could see both Kiara and Reece''s movement much more clearly. The match was broadcast in a way that evenmon people who didn''t have the senses of a high-rank hunter could see and enjoy the match. "And thest move, I didn''t even know what kind of technique that was," Damian looked at the mark on the stage. There was a huge cut on the stage where both of their attacks met. At the same time, Gazil appeared on the stage. "What an exciting match to watch," Gazil turning his head towards the crowd. "But now, there are only two matches left, and both of them are the finals of the third and fourth year," Gazil said excitedly. "But the first match will be between Rank 1 and Rank 2 of Third Year!!" Gazil announced. "The long-awaited match against the Blood Faction and the Student Council," Gazil''s words made students excited. "As you know, this End Year Tournament is to decide who will win among both of them," Gazil exined. "The Blood Faction who want to change the ways of the current student council," Gazil said, "Or the Student Council that doesn''t want to make changes to the current system," This match was important for both Leonard and Raelyn. Right now, ke Cranston was the winner among the Second Year who supported the Blood Faction, and Asher Greville was someone who wasn''t allied with any of the two groups. Both Raelyn and Leonard had conflicts with Asher, so they didn''t know what group he would choose to vote for. "Get ready to see the match between the Current Student Council President, Raelyn Whiteheart," "And the son of the World Association Chairman, Leonard Tarvian," Gazil said while intentionally mentioning Leonard''s status. Two individuals walked on the stage as cheers erupted in the crowd of the students. Raelyn looked calm as her white hair stood out, and her beauty attracted a lot of the gazes of many students. While on the other hand, Leonard wasn''t falling behind her either. The Blood Faction members and the student council members were awaiting this match. Leonard maintained his smile, but he noticed the A Rank Armor that Raelyn had won in the Auction, and it was the biggest problem in the duel that was going to happen between them. Raelyn had simr thoughts as Leonard had changed his sword to the A Rank Sword he had bought in the Auction. Just as Leonard didn''t know about the armor, the same applied to Raelyn, who wasn''t aware of the sword''s power either. "You seem confident," Raelyn said as she took her position. "I am indeed," Leonard replied. "The match will start in..." "3....2....1....Start," The Referee said, As soon as the words left the Referee''s mouth, both of them moved, and their swords shed with each other. Raelyn had a talent of a weapon master, and she could use multiple weapons at the same time. But right now, her highest mastery was in Spear and the sword. But she chose to use a sword against Leonard because she had won using a Spear in thest tournament. But she knew that her spear art wasn''t a good counter for the Remer Art Leonard was using. So she used the sword this time around. Both of them were B+ Rank Hunters, but Raelyn had the upper hand as Leonard was pushed back a little with their confrontation. "Not bad," Leonard muttered, but Raelyn didn''t reply. Instead, she stepped back and changed her stance. She knew that Leonard had purposefully hidden many things in his fight against Tyrone, and the sword in his hand was something that Raelyn was being careful about. Both of them couldn''t afford to lose this fight. Suddenly, the fire started engulfing his sword. It intensified for a moment, but Leonard controlled it and made his aura denser around the sword. Due to the bloodline ability that Raelyn possessed, her aura was more powerful than Leonard''s. And he could feel the power behind her strike that was indeed a bit higher than him. There was no simple way to defeat someone who was the face of the Student Council. More than her beauty, Raelyn was known for her strength. "It seems I need to get serious," Leonard muttered as he swung his sword around him. Raelyn took a deep breath as the air around her got humid. Raelyn''s highest affinity was with the Water Element, which allowed her to be the perfect opponent for Leonard, who had the fire affinity. But something strange happened as the water she summoned started swirling around her. "She had already reached the Advance Mastery," Xarax spoke out. "Well, she has the talent of a Weapon Master," Dalton added. It wasn''t the water that she summoned with mana, but it was the water that was attracted by her sword and the aura around it. To do something like that was considered an advanced mastery skill. But because Raelyn was a weapon master, she was much more skilled than others at handling and mastering weapon arts. And right now, she was using a technique that wasparable to the Third Remer Art Technique. She dashed towards Leonard, who raised his sword and got ready to defend against Raelyn''s strike. TANG! The water around Raelyn''s sword met Leonard''s fire, and both of their swords shed, resulting in a lot of steam being produced. But Leonard''s fire started rising as Raelyn stepped backward to make some distance between them. This time, it was Leonard who stepped forward immediately. Due to his wind affinity, Leonard''s speed was higher than Raelyn''s. Something that allowed him to chase after Raelyn in a He didn''t want to give Raelyn the upper hand in this fight because he knew how powerful she could get as the match went on. "You think I am afraid of your fire," Raelyn muttered as Leonard noticed her sword moving. And like a wave, he felt Raelyn''s mana gathering around the edge of her sword, and with a single strike, Raelyn forced Leonard to stop. A huge cut was made on the stage, as the water around the stage started vibrating. The ring in Raelyn''s hand started shining as those water droplets started rising in the air. She dashed towards Leonard, and as their sword met, most of the drop would follow Leonard. He could sense that the ring artifact that Raelyn was wearing was helping her, but it was her aura that was making those drops of water dangerous. "It''s getting annoying," Leonard muttered as he swung his around him. He caused a wave of fire to cover the stage, including Raelyn, who was fine as she blocked his fire with a simple wave of her sword. But all the water on the stage evaporated, and Leonard twisted his sword as the air started gathering around it. "Now, let''s start again," Leonard said with a smile on his face. Chapter 366 Student Council Vs Blood Faction ?366 Student Council vs Blood Faction "That''s different from what he showed in front of Tyrone!" Damian said out loud. Although it was hard for him to see each of their moves, it wasn''t hard to see that Leonard''s way of fighting had changed. Unlike Tyrone, he wasn''t fighting with Raelyn by using Fire Element, but hebined the effect of both wind and fire. Raelyn looked at Leonard who was moving in circles as the wind around them started to flow in a certain direction. Her crystal blue eyes circled around the Stage following Leonard''s movement as she stood still in the middle. Suddenly, Leonard''s movement became faster as a firewall appeared around Raelyn. Raelyn could see traces of aura in the fire around her, so it wasn''t hard to conclude it was another sword technique that Leonard was using against her. The Firewall intensified as the wind on the Stage became chaotic. Raelyn''s white hair started fluttering, but from her expression, it didn''t look like she was bothered by Leonard''s move. She had expected him to reach certain mastery in both the elements, witnessing the duel between Tyrone and Leonard. And right now, she was seeing the skill of Leonard Tarvian, who had mastered both Fire and Wind and incorporated them into his Remer Art. Leonard became visible as Raelyn summoned the water drops around her, but they started moving with the flow of wind that Leonard created. "Not bad," Raelyn said out loud as she intensified her aura. Her aura made cracks on the Stage and made a shell around her that made it difficult for the wind to flow uncontrobly around her. Swinging her sword around, Raelyn''s aura followed the movement that she was making. After taking a deep breath, Raelyn rotated her right foot and titled her upper body as her eyes circled around following the movement of Leonard. In a second, Raelyn, who was on her spot, disappeared, leaving a mark on the Stage as the loud sound of sword shing started vibrating around the arena. ng! ng! BAM!! Although most students couldn''t see theirplete movements, they could see the effect of their shes that were appearing all around the Stage. Loud sounds of two metals colliding with each other were resonating, but only sparks made of aura were appearing amidst the storm-like wind that Leonard had created. Raelyn could feel the mes that powered Leonard''s strike. But currently, Raelyn wasn''t too focused on defending against Leonard''s attack. She had a A Rank Armor, one of the most coveted things in the End Year Tournament, but Leonard had a A Rank Sword Artifact to counter it. So even if she wasn''t worried about getting any fatal injuries, she was being careful while following Leonard''s movement carefully. Both of them were reluctant to show their trump card first, as they would be at a disadvantage if they failed. Raelyn turned around as Leonard felt a strikeing from his side. Immediately, he switched the sword around his hand, holding it downwards towards his legs, blocking Raelyn''s attack. It created an opening on the right, as Raelyn covered her leg in aura and kicked his right side, which was exposed. Using the pressure she was applying on the sword that Leonard was blocking, she turned her body quickly. Leon red his aura to protect him, and Raelyn felt slight burns around her leg, but she went with the attack. BAM! A loud sound of their aura shing was made as Leonard was pushed to the side as he felt pain in his right side. Fortunately, his hand was fine, so he could still go on, but Raelyn had sessfully gained the upper hand in this battle by this move. "Woah, that''s the Student Council President for you!!" "Raelyn!! Raelyn!!," Many student council members were cheering for Raelyn, especially among the third years. But things didn''t look for the Blood Faction members. For the first time, the smile on Leonard''s face faded as his light blue eyes stared at Raelyn. "I yed around too much," Leonard muttered as he swung his sword in the air several times. "Fourth Remer," Leonard said as the air around him changed. He used This exact technique to defeat Tyrone, and seeing that Raelyn also got serious as her stance changed. The fire around Leonard''s turned denser, and it got hotter and even more dangerous. It was through extreme control he was making it revolve around his limbs. As Leonard took another step forward, both of them disappeared from their positions as their swords shed in the air. Before descending down, Raelyn and Leonard constantly exchanged blows, but something about Leonard''s way of fighting had changed. She could feel his sword had be sharper and more powerful. But there was one thing different from what Leonard did with Tyrone. Unlike his previous match, this time, it was not only fire he was using with Remer Art. Although not much, Raelyn could sense the faint wind maniption that Leonard was doing around them. It would make his strike speed faster or slower, making it unpredictable. It was getting harder to predict, but after the final exchange of strikes, both of themnded on the ground. Immediately, Leonard rushed forward as the mes around his limbs crept on the sword. The Dark Blue sword stood out as mes covered all around its de. It was A RanK artifact, so it even strengthened Leonard''s fire, as it could resonate with mana pretty well. It was a passive ability of this sword that was perfect for Leonard as it fitted with his fighting style. ''Maybe it''s time,'' Raelyn thought as she felt Leonard''s fire were bing stronger. Such an intense amount of heat was something that she couldn''t handle if Leonard got a direct hit. And even with the Armor, it wasn''t worth the risk. After all, it wasn''t the same for her, unlike Tyrone, who could withstand these mes with his own body. Asher was keenly watching the match, but he couldn''t help butpare both of them and their progress till now with his previous life. And looking at that, he could see there was a slight improvement in both of their strengths. He remembered the duel as he had watched it, but it didn''t go exactly like this. Maybe it was because of Asher''s interference, but everyone around him had gotten slightly stronger, not that it made any difference to him. Raelyn summoned the water around her sword as she dropped its temperature by a lot. It wasn''t like ice magic, but she could do that much. Controlling an element could let people dive closer to things like an advance element, but it wasn''tparable to people naturally possessing those affinities. And suddenly, Raelyn, who was being pushed back, stopped as they exchanged multiple blows with each other. Because Leonard had the upper hand if she remained near him, Raelyn would take five steps away from Leonard before rushing towards him. Leonard looked around and saw the white hair fluttering around, wearing the white armor that had a faint glow on the side. He wasn''t aware of the armor''s abilities, so he was being extra careful. Raelyn hadn''t used that armor at all, so there was no information about the effects the armor had. And without knowing those, going for a heavy strike was simply dumb in Leonard''s eyes. That''s why he was forcing Raelyn to reveal it herself, but it wasn''t working exactly as he wanted. Raelyn''s affinity with water was much greater, and her usage had gotten more refined than what he had imagined it to be. Just using mes wasn''t enough, as even with small burns, using so much fire element required mana, and it was not like he had a massive amount of mana. Even Raelyn knew, so she was dragging the fight to make Leonard make the first move. Both of them had simr strategies in mind and more of the reason why the fight was getting more intense every second. It wasn''t much at the beginning, but right now, Raelyn was using her aura even more, just like Leonard was doing with his mana. Suddenly, the fight was turning into who could stand on the Stage longer than the other. All the Seat Holders were watching the fight without saying anything, but they could see the direction where this match was going. Just from their experience alone, the ending of this duel wasing near. And it all depended on who would show their cards first. Each duel was a mental and physical battle against their opponent. Without properly judging and knowing your enemy, it was very easy to make mistakes and pay the price for them. And right now, it all depended on who would be the one that read the moves of the other person correctly. "Fourth Remer, Gale," Leonard muttered as he was the first one to break the bnce and use the move that defeated Tyrone Martell. Suddenly, the wind around the Stage became calmer, but Raelyn knew that all that chaotic wind was circling itself around Leonard. Chapter 367 Trickery ?367 Trickery Leonard rxed as he felt the pressure of the wind element around him. Leonard''s move was the same, but he was applying it differently. Rather than forcing his hand to perform an extremely powerful strike, he was pushing his own body with the wind element. It was a different application of the same move, but it also made the strain that he would feel much lesser. Although it sounded less effective than the move that defeated Tyrone, it required great mastery in manipting the wind element. Raelyn shifted her weight towards her left foot as she prepared for Leonard''s move. Suddenly, she saw Leonard disappear, and her eyes instinctively looked at her left side as she stepped back. ''His speed has increased,'' Raelyn thought as she immediately created some distance. The spot where Leonard''s sword struck left a mark on the ground. It was certain, just by looking, that Leonard had gotten stronger and faster than before. Leonard took a step forward as soon as his feet touched the ground. Currently, he was utilizing the force of the wind around his body to move around and generate that much power, even in the normal strikes he would do. Again, Leonard covered the distance between them instantly as he swung his sword horizontally, making Raelyn pull herself back, and she saw the dark blue sword pass just before her face. Leonard was purposefully aggressive to make a critical strike that could make Raelyn show the full extent of the Rank A armor she possessed. But Raelyn ducked forward a bit as she pushed forward towards Leonard. There was no reason for her to stay on the defensive and allow Leonard to control the match. CLANG! Leonard pulled his hand to his sides as he blocked Raelyn''s sword, cing his sword horizontally in front of him. The fire around his body intensified as he tried to force its way toward Raelyn, but she made some distance between them, not allowing Leonard to do so. "The Whiteheart Bloodline," Xarax muttered as he noticed how Raelyn was fighting. "It''s an annoying ability to fight against," Xarax said, and it was true. Raelyn''s bloodline ability meshed well with her talent as a weapon master. The more their body got hit, the more powerful they got. Kamden Whiteheart was considered a powerful SS Rank Hunter because, in a deadly battle, he would get stronger each second. The more injured they got, the more powerful they got. Some people called it the Aura Tempering ability, in which they absorbed the aura, and it enhanced their mana meridians. That''s why the more Leonard stretched this duel, the more his chances of winning would decrease. But that didn''t mean that this bloodline ability had no ws. The biggest w was that it required a lot of control over your aura and mana; despite that, it shouldn''t be used carelessly. Even Raelyn rarely used it because it strained her body greatly, depending on how much she used it. Using Aura to enhance your mana meridians also stressed the mana core a lot, which, if used badly, could cause permanent harm to their bodies. Of course, the more proficient she got, the better she could use this ability, but judging by the fact that she hadn''t used it till now, it was clear she still had a long way to go before she could achieve certain mastery. Raelyn dashed forward as she swung her sword around, pushing Leonard slightly. If someone wanted topare her swordsmanship by looking at it, they wouldpare it to the flow of water. Although it looked smooth, it was unpredictable and lethal as well. Both of them had honed their swords at killing monsters, so it was easier to notice that each swing was serious. A single mistake was all it took for one of them to get seriously injured, but because of their level, they could freely fight each other like this. Unlike Asher, who had to purposefully hold back on his swordsmanship to ensure he didn''t kill others, Leonard and Raelyn didn''t have that issue. This was the reason they could go all out, and the Professors around the stage didn''t stop the duel even if it looked like a serious injury could happen. "You look tired," Raelyn said as her sword descended on Leonard''s sword. Her water element fought against his fire as she maintained the pressure on Leonard. "This is not enough to make me tired," Leonard replied, looking unbothered. His mind waspletely focused on controlling the fire and the wind around his body. Smallments like this weren''t enough to break that concentration level. Leonard felt arge amount of mana around both of them as he could feel the droplets of water rising from the ground. The ring on Raelyn''s hand was shining again, but the glow this time was much brighter. The water started revolving around them as Leonard increased the wind around his body to repel anything approaching him. It also strengthened his fire, but right now, Raelyn and Leonard''s swords were locked against each other. He broke out of the lock as he removed the strength on his sword and stepped to his side, allowing Raelyn''s strike to go down. BAM! A crack was made on the stage, but Raelyn ignored it as she rotated her body and swung her sword to the left side. ng! Due to her quick actions, her sword met Leonard, who was striking her from the sides. Raelyn''s reaction speed was among the highest in the World Academy, so it was hard to catch someone like her off guard. Even in a situation where her back was open to Leonard, she quickly made an attack, anticipating an attack from him. It was a little gamble she took because if Leonard hadn''t struck at her, she would have created another opening that he could have taken advantage of. But Leonard pushed Raelyn''s sword, making her step back quickly and change her stance. Raelyn was expecting Leonard to strike her again, but something strange happened as she felt somethinge from right behind her. It was toote. She couldn''t react, but a spear-like structure originated from the crack, which made a huge wound on her back. Many students got worried as they saw the spear approach Raelyn''s back, but suddenly, the jewel on her armor lit up, making a shield-like structure and blocking the spear. BAM! "What was that?" "Where did that spear-like thinge from?" People were confused, but Raelyn didn''t have time to figure out what had happened. She saw Leonard disappear, and instantly, a sword appeared before her face. Raelyn twisted her grip as she used one of her defensive techniques and swung her sword from the ground towards the Leonard figure that appeared before her. Leonard blocked the strike mid-air but was pushed back as hended a bit away from her. Raelyn turned back as she swung her sword at the spear, shattering it into multiple pieces, and her eyes turned to look around Leonard''s hand. Certainly, his bracelet had a glow as soon as the spear got destroyed. It was an artifact indeed, but Raelyn didn''t know what its limits were. She had her eyes on every single A Rank Artifact, so it was obvious that it was some B Rank Artifact because she didn''t remember anything that looked like this among the A Rank artifacts that came out in the Auctions for the past two years. "Your armor seems tough," Leonard smiled as he finally saw how that armor worked. Seeing that it could stop the attack that even Raelyn was surprised by made it clear that it stopped any threat that could make its way toward the person who wore it. Leonard dashed towards Raelyn, and she was pushed back this time, as Leonard used a lot of strength behind this one strike. And as soon as Raelyn was about to charge towards him, she felt two spearsing at her. This time, there was no crack in the ground, but those two spears erupted insanely fast out of nowhere. Raelyn used her sword to shatter one of them, and the other one she had used the armor to stop it. "Not bad," Leonard smiled as the greyish bracelet on his hand lit up a few times. Raelyn didn''t know if the artifact could produce these dangerous spears out of nowhere, but it was an insanely powerful artifact if it could. Because she knew after destroying two of them how hard she needed to strike it. But she was wrong about that. The Seat Holders had already noticed it, and it wasn''t that the bracelet could produce those spears out of thin air. If it could, it would have been a S Rank Artifact that used spatial element, but this one was not that powerful. Instead, it was Leonard who set this all up. Yes, Leonard was the one who spread tiny pieces of metal around the stage when he ran around Raelyn. Because she was busy tracking his movements, she missed the small pieces that fell out of the bracelet. And they were the source of the spears erupting from the ground. Raelyn had her suspicions because the artifact seemed too powerful even for A Rank artifact, so she decided it was better to use everything now. Because she was forced to use her armor artifact two times in a row, it wasn''t looking good for her because she didn''t know how many more of these spears Leonard could make out of nowhere. "Heart of White," Raelyn chanted as her eyes glowed and her aura became denser. Heart of White was the name of the technique used in the Whiteheart Family; it was thebination of Weapon Art and their bloodline ability. The smile on Leonard''s face faded as he got serious himself because he was waiting for her to use this the whole time. Chapter 368 Result

Chapter 368 Result

368 Result "Isn''t that the same technique that defeated Leonard Tarvianst time?" Many third-year students recognized that stance because they were aware of Raelyn''s strongest technique that made her the Rank 1 Student among all Third Year. Heart of White was the reason Leonard lost thest time, but this time, it was an even bigger problem for him. Not only had Raelyn reached the peak of B Rank, unlike when they were in C Rank in their Second Year, but she had also increased her mastery of her bloodline ability. Suddenly, the mana on the stage got rampant as it started revolving around Raelyn. Her sword had a faint glow of her aura, which had be denser as her eyes were glowing. She was currently using her bloodline ability, which meant she was finally going all out against Leonard. Right now, the match was pretty bnced, but to counter the strange artifact he possessed, Raelyn finally used it. Leonard rotated his left leg slightly, shifting his weight to prepare for Raelyn. He remembered thest time he had lost was because of this ability only. But this time, the stakes were much higher. If Leonard lost, the Blood Faction was pretty much gone. And the power they have acquired till now would go away as well. Raelyn took a step forward as her aura resonated on the ground. She wanted to remain conscious of the Stage Boundary at all times. Using her Bloodline Ability, she would get stronger, but there were downsides that came with it as well. And that was the gradual loss of your other motives except until a single one was left, and it was to defeat your enemy. She wouldn''t lose herself and be a monster, but getting carried away while using her bloodline ability was an issue she needed to deal with. As soon as her aura covered the stage, she determined the position of Leonard, who was waiting for her move. She disappeared from her spot, leaving a trail of faint blue energy. Leonard''s eyes tried to follow Raelyn''s movement as he raised his sword. TANG!! A huge sound of two metal colliding with each other was heard. Raelyn looked fine, as her armor had a faint glow, while Leonard''s fire was increasing, even melting the stage around him. Instead of backing away, Raelyn turned her body and tried to sh Leonard''s sides, but he was quick to react. Leonard immediately blocked as he raised the wind element around his body to push Raelyn away. But instead of backing away, Raelyn took half a step back and rushed towards Leonard. ng! ng! ng! Each time Raelyn would strike, Leonard would feel the power behind each of her sword strikes. The way Raelyn handled her sword had changed a lot. It looked like apletely different sword art, but it was simply the most effective way she could use her sword to maximize the use of her Bloodline Ability. The aura around her was getting denser, and it was slowly getting absorbed into her body. If she got wounded, the process would get faster, but even now, it was slowly affecting her mana core. Her Mana Core was using more mana, and she could bring out more of her power. There was a reason why Whiteheart Family was able to take the spot of the Garcia Family, and their bloodline ability was one of the biggest reasons. "It will be hard for him," Xaraxmented with a curious look. He wanted to see how would Osbert Tarvian''s son face this situation. After all, right now, Raelyn Whiteheart had all the advantage in this duel. Xarax knew about Kamden Whiteheart''s bloodline ability, so he knew that the more the duel went on, the more powerful she would get. If Leonard didn''t have any ns or tricks, his loss was inevitable. But it was too soon to say that. Osbert remained quiet without showing any emotions on his face. The rest of the Seat holders were also the same. For them, seeing Raelyn and Leonard fight was almost like seeing two five-year-olds fighting. They could see every w and every single error both Leonard and Raelyn would make each second they even moved a muscle. But despite that, they found this match intriguing, like other Ranker''s matches, becausepared to other Hunters of the same rank, these children were way stronger. Even the Guild Recruiters and Evaluators were amazed to see such a performance from B Rank Hunters. TANG! Their swords met with each other as Raelyn tried to push Leonard back. But Leonard increased the me wrapping around him to push back Raelyn. ''Tsk,'' Leonard found it annoying as the Armor Raelyn was also blocking his mes and wind element techniques. ''Is it an elemental armor?'' Leonard tried to guess its abilities, and he was not wrong with his guess. Seeing how Raelyn wasn''t using her Water Element techniques made him think that the armor''s properties were to absorb the elements around it. Because of that property, Raelyn did not need to use the water element to counter Leonard''s fire, and she could focus on using her Heart of White technique. Leonard felt the pressure from Raelyn increase as he pushed back and saw Raelyn duck and go past him as he felt a cut on his side. sh! It was a big wound, not a small one either. Because Leonard was pushed back, he couldn''t block it in time, as he touched his sides to see the blooding out of his armor. Needle Strike was one of the techniques that was part of the Heart of White that she learned. Just like its name, it was more suited for Spear Art, but it could be used with a sword as well. Drip! Leonard''s blood flowed, and he used his aura on the wound to stop the bleeding temporarily. He looked at Raelyn, who looked a bit tired. Because of the fact her mana core was exhausting more mana quickly, she was getting tired. But despite that, she didn''t have any major injuries on her. Unlike Leonard. Not stopping and giving Leonard time to gather himself, Raelyn circled around him as she dashed towards him. Her sword flowed in a wave-like manner as water materialized around the edges. She swung her sword, and an arc of water went towards Leonard, who rotated his body to his left and let that attack go past him. His quick dodge was possible because of his wind element. The arc made a mark on the arena''s wall, which was protected by the barrier, showing how powerful it was. Leonard raised his sword as his eyes focused on the person before him. His sword moved, creating a swirl of fire to follow it, creating embers in the air around him. As soon as their sword met, Raelyn immediately started attacking relentlessly. She specifically targeted his left side, where Leonard already had a wound, and it was bing harder for him to dodge or block her attacks. sh! sh! Slowly, smaller wounds were appearing on Leonard''s body, especially around his arms, because Raelyn prated his fire using her water element. Her armor was still protecting her from the damage that a normal person would have felt when they were near the proximity of Leonard. Slowly, people saw the matching to an end. Leonard had suffered many injuries, and even though Raelyn looked tired, she didn''t have even a single wound that affected her ability to fight, which was not the case for Leonard. TANG! Raelyn targeted Leonard''s left side, creating an opening on her right shoulder. She didn''t worry because even if Leonard tried to attack her, she knew her armor artifact would stop it. She was the only one who knew the limit of that artifact, so Leonard needed to be careful around such feints. He was forced to block, but due to the awkward angle Raelyn struck, Leonard''s hand flicked into the air, creating an opening. Raelyn took her sword to her side for one final attack to finish this match. Everyone''s eyes went wide as they saw Raelyn move her sword in a horizontal manner. Was this the end of Blood Faction? Many Third Years who were part of the Blood Faction became restless. "It ended a bit too soon," Xarax sighed as he saw the end of the match. The winner was decided. And it was... Crack! Crack! Crack! Three spears from three different directions came towards Raelyn suddenly out of nowhere. The bracelet on Leonard''s hand shattered, and his dark blue colored sword started shining. "Fifth Remer, Tempest''s me," Leonard muttered. ''Fifth?'' Raelyn heard the word clearly. Despite being in this situation, she was focusing on her attack, but hearing the word fifth made her feel a sense of danger. The windbined around his sword, making the me denser and stronger. All the me around his bodybined into his sword, while the hilt of the sword glowed as the de started shining. The Dark Blue de became even darker,ing close to the color ck. The Spears around her shattered as her Armor made three shields instantaneously. But even her armor couldn''t stop the sword froming towards her as the fourth shield never appeared. A smile appeared on Leonard''s face as he made Raelyn fall into his trap. His sword came down as Raelyn raised it, and her aura and fire erupted from their sh, covering the stage in me and dust due to the chaotic wind behind Leonard''s attack. On the Stage, Leonard was standing with his right arm bleeding and his bones broken badly. But on the other side, Raelyn crashed into the Arena wall, with blooding out the side of her head and her sword, which had broken at the moment of contact. She was barely fine because of the A-Rank Armor, but she had lost. "And the Winner is Leonard Tarvian," Gazil announced as people were too stunned to cheer. The match was about to end with Raelyn''s victory, but somehow, it was Leonard who had won. arrived at thetest chapter! Chapter 369 Pressure

Chapter 369 Pressure

369 Pressure "What the hell happened there?" Damian said as he couldn''t believe what he was seeing. "It looked like Raelyn Whiteheart was winning, but something changed thest movement," Amelia replied. Both of them had no idea what had happened because, for them, the speed at which these two were fighting was simply too much. "She fell into his trap," Asher replied. His eyes stopped glowing as he stopped using mana to improve his eyesight. "Trap?" Damian asked. "He made her stand in the spot where he could use multiple of those spear traps," Asher said as his indifferent eyes looked at the stage. It was hard to notice for others, but he was focusing on Leonard the whole time. Even in his previous life, Leonard Tarvian had won the match, so he wanted to see if anything would go differently this time. But the duel remained the same, with a few things that went differently. Both of them were more desperate to win because, in Asher''s memories, there was a separate tournament between the Blood Faction and the Student Council. So, the fight between Raelyn and Leonard wasn''t this intense. "But she had Rank A Armor, right?" Amelia said after thinking about how the fight went. The armor blocked many of Leonard''s attacks, including the spears. "He calcted the limit of the armor while fighting her," Asher replied. Damian and Amelia squinted their eyes because it didn''t seem that way. But Asher saw the duel differently from them. Even though his senses were stuck at Rank C, he had reached a much higher rank than this. And just like him, the Seat Holders also saw iting before the match ended. "He purposefully let her attack him just to count the limit of that armor artifact," Dexter muttered. Osbert was quiet as he already had high expectations from his only Son. "Tch, it''s just using the artifacts to your advantage," Xarax muttered. "But he ced Raelyn exactly at that position on that whole stage. That''s quite impressive in my eyes," Dalton spoke out. In Xarax''s eyes, Raelyn was stronger than Leonard, but she got outsmarted by his tricks. And the clear winner of this Duel was Leonard Tarvian. "But thatst attack, he paid the price for it," Dexter added as he looked at Leonard''s condition. Even though he was standing proudly on the stage, his right arm was a mess, but it was fine because it would be fully healed in a month. It resulted from executing a move beyond his abilities, which was the price Leonard needed to pay for it. That move shocked Raelyn and broke her sword and her defenses, making Leonard the winner. And that shock that Raelyn showed wasn''t unwarranted. After all, from what she knew, the Fifth Remer Art was something that Leonard shouldn''t have been able to use at Rank B. Even the Fourth Remer Art was him pushing his body to its limit, but only a few here knew what happened exactly. The A Rank Sword had the ability to allow Leonard to use techniques that would have been possible only if he was an A Rank Hunter himself. Asher knew about it because he had used the System to know the effects of the sword. | Midnight Star - A Rank Artifact | | Type - Sword Artifact | | Ability: Amplifies Aura and Mana to allow the user to initiate a technique as powerful as the strength of the artifact itself | | Limits: Host will experience bacsh after the technique is performed | It was a sword to initiate a technique, but after that, it depended on the wielder''s ability to handle that much power and its effects on their body. With the match done, Farnus appeared on the stage and gave Leonard his rewards; the crowd loudly cheered, but some students were silent. They belonged to the Student Council, and Leonard''s win wasn''t a piece of great news for them. But on the other hand, the members of the Blood Faction were already seeing their victory. After all, Raelyn Whiteheart was the biggest obstacle in their path to victory over the Student Council, and she was finally defeated. Before the crowd got carried away, everyone heard the sound of a horn going off. Suddenly, many small mes appeared all around the Arena, which was the sign of the final battle of the Fourth Year. Unlike others, for the Fourth Year Students, it was their final tournament in World Academy, and this was thest battle to decide the strongest Fourth Year. Farnus, who was on the Stage, didn''t go back as he himself was going to announce the start of this duel. "We have seen a lot of interesting battles today," Farnus said. "As the Principal of World Academy, I am proud that we could teach and guide this talented young generation for a better path," Farnus''s voice made all the students settle down on their seats. Everyone who was talking about thest battle stopped as they listened to Farnus Calmort. "Although the End Tournament will go on, this will be the final battle for the Fourth Year Students," Farnus spoke. "The Final Duel between the two strongest students of the current World Academy," Farnus said as he raised his finger, and mes around the Arena started making a pattern. Suddenly, the insignia of the World Academy appeared just above the stage. "Jayden Hargrave vs Reece Williams," Farnus said as he disappeared from the stage. The crowd loudly cheered as this was the final duel of the Fourth Year, among the strongest. But before it started, the First Years were told to sit a bit away from the stage. Because some of them were E- Rank Hunters, and for them, experiencing the mana waves from the sh of A Rank Hunters wasn''t good. Unlike Reece''s duel with Kiara, where both of them were not going all out against each other, this particr duel would not be that way. And the reason behind that was Jayden Hargrave and the tradition of the Hargrave Family. He was the current Heir of the Family, and Xarax Hargrave was here to witness the tournament. Losing in front of Xarax would be thest thing Jayden would want. Xarax Hargrave was obsessed with winning, even if it cost him his life. It was one of the reasons he kept fighting the SSS Rank Monster despite his nearly depleted mana. Jayden and Reece walked towards the stage as their mana shed. Jayden had a wild smile on his face, and Reece still maintained his appearance because a lot of eyes were on him. But those who remembered their battlest year knew that this calm sight of them walking on the stage would be a mess. World Academy didn''t stop the students from fighting if they still had the will to fight. Only if the Professors and the Judges on the side thought that the fight was over would they stop it. But that only happened when there was a big gap between the two students, but Reece and Jayden were equally matched right now. Jayden, who was walking among the loud cheers, looked directly at Reece. "Don''t me me for today''s match," Jayden said, smiling at Reece. "Ohh, we will see about that," Reece said, raising his eyebrows. "This match is more important for you than me, Jayden. Don''t mess this up," Reece said with a low enough voice that only Jayden could hear him. It was a taunt, and seeing how Jayden''s wild smile vanished, it seemed to have worked quite nicely. ''You will regret walking on this stage,'' Jayden thought in his head, looking at Reece. For Jayden, losing this duel wasn''t an option. Not only would he lose the support of the Elders, but there was a chance that some people could question his qualification as the Heir of the Hargrave Family. This was the best chance to solidify his position once and for all. But Jayden didn''t know one thing. Reece also needed to win this duel for the n he and Leonard were working on. But apart from the whole crowd, there was one more person who was quite interested in the result of this duel as well. And surprisingly, it was Asher himself. He had his suspicions about a few things, and depending on the result of this match, he could confirm it. "On your Positions," The Referee said as he looked at Jayden and Reece. They took their positions with the swords in their hands. No artifacts were allowed in this duel. All they could use to win in this duel was their own strength. In one of the VIP Rooms of the Elite Families, "The pressure on him will be great," A woman said as she swirled the ss of wine in her hands. "You seem quite invested in this duel, Casie," The Head of the Hargrave Family spoke out. "Wasn''t I the one that helped that kid be the heir," Casie said, looking at the red wine in her hands. "Are you offended I pushed your son out of that seat?" Cassie asked with a smile on his face. Hargrave Head had no reactions on his face, and seeing that, Casie didn''t push the matter further, but the smile on her face didn''t fade. After all, she had seen many ''interesting'' matches this whole day. With all the shocking announcements and the performance of specific people, Casie was looking forward to the Award Ceremony, a party to which all the Rankers and the Elite Families were invited. The Award Ceremony, where the result of the Blood Faction and the Student Council would also be announced. Chapter 370 Jayden VS Reece ?370 Jayden VS Reece The barriers around the stage changed, and the Referee stood a bit away from the stage. The duel hadn''t even started yet, but both of their mana were already shing. Both of them were waiting for the signal to start as they would sh with each other. Theirst battle resulted in Jayden''s win, but this time, they weren''t using any artifacts at all. It was their own strength and wits they could rely on now. Apart from Jayden and Reece''s personal interest, this duel was important for other students who joined their faction as well. If Jayden lost, the people who joined his faction would have to face the consequences and stick with their choices. In all these four years of World Academy, these students were not only building their strength but also building theirwork. Jayden had many strong people who had joined his faction, but Reece wasn''t behind either. Even when he was out of World Academy, students who were on his side remained loyal because of Leonard and Raelyn''s presence inside the Academy. Normally, this wouldn''t have been the case as Hargrave was stronger than Williams, but Jayden''s Heir Position wasn''t fixed. And that was because he wasn''t part of the Main family. And Vin Hargrave being in the Third Year didn''t help it at all. Despite being weak, Vin still had the status of being the Son of the Family Head of the Hargrave Family. They had no way of confirming the fact that even his own family had given up on him. That''s why Jayden despised Vin''s existence itself. Even when it was obvious he was being pushed by the Hargrave Family just because of his status, people doubted whether to join him or not. But that changed after the performance Jayden showedst year. Each of his opponents got badly injured, and his dominant performance left a mark on other''s heads. Jayden was sure he wouldn''t have a hard time gaining support and gathering achievements outside of World Academy. But if he lost here in the presence of Xarax Hargrave, all the work he had put in to build a solid foundation in his family till now would crumble into pieces. The only obstacle in his current path was Reece Williams. In the Medical Facility, Leonard was getting his hand treated while he was watching the match as well. "If we let you stay awake, it will hurt a lot," The Doctor warned Leonard. "It''s fine. Just block the mana meridians from my shoulders," Leonard told the Doctor, making him frown. Blocking mana meridians allowed them to numb the senses of that particr area, as it would have been impossible for them to numb a B Rank hunter without giving him strong drugs that could induce such effects. "It might slow down the recovery rate," The Doctor warned Leonard. "Go ahead and do it," Leonard replied, not caring much about it. Even if it took more than a month, it was fine because he didn''t need to fight anymore for the next few months. Right now, it was more important for him to see how this duel went. Leonard wanted Reece to win, but he knew it wouldn''t be easy. But he needed Reece to win by any means possible. ''Even if a few things went wrong, we just need this one win,'' Leonard thought. At the Arena, "Start in..." The Referee said out loud. "3...2....1....Start!!" The Referee was far away from the stage, but he felt the pressure of the sh between those two. As soon as their sword met and their auras shed, it produced a lot of power. BANG!!! The sound was quite loud as Jayden stared right into Reece''s eyes. And Reece was the same. Water circled around, and using his aura, he made another strike while taking a step back. He turned his body to the side, shing down with his sword as Jayden stopped it easily. "You think these attacks would even hurt me?" Jayden mocked Reece as he pushed back. He increased his aura, making cracks on the ground where he was standing. Despite the barrier blocking most of the power, the students could feel the terrifying strength of these two just by looking at their auras. Both of them had honed their aura quite a lot and faced multiple monsters in the Dungeon. Fighting in extreme conditions made them into what they were today. Jayden dashed as he struck down his sword on Reece as he defended against Jayden''s strike, but doing so made a small crater on the stage. A smile appeared on Reece''s face, and the other Fourth Years felt that the scene from thest year was about to repeat itself. Even back then, their duel ended when the Professors intervened as their injuries were too much. Jayden was dered the winner, but he himself was quite injured, just like Reece. This time around, because it was their graduation, some students thought that both of them wouldn''t go that far, but seeing both of them, it didn''t look like they were thinking of ending this duel easily. "Both of them are above advanced mastery," Dexter said out loud, seeing their duel. "He is still far from mastering my sword art," Xarax replied. The Hargrave Family had multiple weapon arts, but the Heir was allowed to learn from Xarax, so Jayden had the opportunity to learn the Sword Art that Xarax used himself. But seeing Xarax''s eyes, Dexter could see he was enjoying the duel. ''Seems like that boy knows how to please that old man,'' Dexter thought in his head. Jayden''s sword shined as he shed it diagonally while Reece took a step back. A cut appeared on the stage as Jayden immediately pulled his sword up to block Reece''s attack. Jayden''s hands had no armor as they disliked the feeling of wearing heavy armor, but on the other hand, Reece was wearing a nano armor that covered his whole body. Jayden''s aura was violent, while Reece''s aura imitated the water element. If Jayden had the upper hand in strength, Reece was superior in agility. ng! Suddenly, Reece managed to slip Jayden''s sword downward while shifting his body to the left side, striking his arm. Jayden saw the attack, and he backstepped immediately, but a small cut appeared on his hand. But unlike others, Jayden looked unbothered by his injury. His wounds started to heal quite quickly, and the bleeding also stopped. Hargrave Bloodline Ability, which had the power to heal their wounds. A regenerative ability that could allow Jayden to fight while ignoring minor wounds. There was a reason why Hargrave, just like Greville, was able to retain their position as the Elite family for so long. The reason behind Xarax''s fearless attitude was his ability to heal his wounds, which was the greatest among all SSS Rank Hunters that had simr abilities. Natural healing was different from the ability of Hargrave Bloodline. Even B Rank Hunter with a high-ranking bloodline ability from the Hargrave Family could match the healing ability of a S Rank Hunter. But having such an ability didn''t mean that Jayden could take as many wounds as he wanted and rely on his bloodline ability. His mana was consumed to heal such wounds, and the more he was wounded, the more tired he would feel. BANG! Jayden disappeared from his spot as he appeared in front of Reece, and he swung his sword upwards. Reece looked at the sword as he used his sword to divert the direction, but it felt heavy. Jayden''s sword, despite looking light, was getting heavier, and it was because of the two elements he had an affinity with. One of them was earth, and the other was an advanced element. Asher was looking at this duel while examining both of their strengths. But without using anything that could harm his own body or the Time Dtion skill, defeating Jayden or Reece was impossible. In a fair battle, both of them were too powerful if they were given the chance to use their personal artifacts that were all S Ranks or above. But even in that battle, Asher knew he could win if he mastered his sword art a little more. Right now, there were exactly two nodes that he could see on the stage, each on both of them. And that meant that Asher still had the chance to kill them. Chapter 371 Crack ?371 Crack Reece stepped back as he looked at Jayden''s foot in particr. Judging by his movement, Reece could predict what type of attack woulde. Reece already knew why Jayden''s sword was getting heavier. He had gone against it before, but he didn''t know what more Jayden had learned right now. From his knowledge, Jayden had cleared multiple B Rank Dungeons, and some of them had B+ Rank Boss Monsters. As there were not a lot of A Rank Hunters in the Fourth Year, both Jayden and Reece had not cleared A Rank Dungeon on their own. A Rank Dungeon was extremely dangerous, and depending on the situation, even a S Rank Hunter would join the team to ensure no unnecessary death urred. "Ripple," Reece muttered something, Standing still on his spot, Reece let his senses spread across the stage. Like a pebble that fell in still water, he could feel the ripples from Jayden''s movement. It''s like another sense was indicating to him about Jayden''s position. Unlike the five senses, techniques like this were like the Mana Sense skill that Asher had. But unlike using pure mana and depleting his mana reserves, Reece used his high affinity with water everywhere to do that work for him. It required a lot of mastery, and the area this skill covered was not much. But for this duel, it was enough. Suddenly, Jayden, who was about to swing at Reece, turned his body to his right as he stopped a sword. It was Reece who used another of his skills. Reece''s movement art allowed him to move very fast within a particr area. Although it was a very small area, around 3 meters from his current position, he could shift his position freely. Like as he was flowing through water, his movements were prettyplicated. Tang! Instead of going out of Reece''s range, Jayden stood there fearless. "Don''t worry, I try not to kill you," Jayden muttered as he kept pushing Reece''s sword. "Someone is confident today," Reece said as he twisted his grip. Jayden''s eyes caught the movement as he turned his sword slightly. Reece immediately broke out of the lock, but he couldn''t attack as Jayden saw through his movements. ng! BAM! After a single sword sh, Reece took five steps back as Jayden''s sword hit the ground, making a huge crack on the ground. Both of them were destroying the stage like it was nothing. It was made of special A Rank materials that could withstand an A Rank Hunter''s pretty well, but both of their attacks were so concentrated on a single spot that they easily damaged the material. World Academy could have used stronger materials so that the stage never got destroyed, but this match was being broadcast to the whole World. It was a simple way to showcase the strength of their students to the World. Unlike the people present in the Arena, those who were watching it on the screen wouldn''t be able to feel the intensity of the match. Reece and Jayden exchanged countless shes as Reece used his water element to slip past Jayden''s power movements. Right now, both of them had multiple small injuries, but Jayden was pretty much healed, and his smile had gotten wider. He took a step forward, but Reece disappeared and dashed towards him. For Reece, this amount of wounds was nothing. But that didn''t mean he was keen on taking more wounds against someone who could heal them much faster than him. But despite that, there was one thing that Reece was watching out for more than Jayden''s healing. The advance element that made Jayden Rank 1 was also something that made it difficult to harm him. It was the Energy Maniption Element, which only a high-ranking Mage who has mastered the earth element could cast. But Jayden was not a mage, so he could not alter something that wasn''t covered by his mana or aura. That was the limitation of a non-mage hunter. Aura allowed them to be stronger, but it also limited their ability to manipte the element they had an affinity with. That''s why most swordsman only used their elements by incorporating them into their Swordsmanship. Energy Maniption was a vast element, but Jayden had the talent to manipte the density of the object in his hand till he was in contact with it. He could try to make himself heavier, but the consumption of mana was too much, so Jayden found a different way to make himself stronger: to make his sword heavier at the moment of contact. CLANG! CLANG! Each time those two swords would collide, Reece would feel the effect on his arms. But because Jayden would make such big changes in less than a second, some small errors and cracks were present in his Swordsmanship. And Xarax and other SSS Rank Hunters could see them clearly. But to cover his weakness, each of his strikes made it impossible for the opponent to punish him after receiving his blows. But Reece''s Swordsmanship was different. He would purposefully make Jayden attack first but twist his sword slightly to reduce the strike''s impact. Using elements and aura simultaneously was not the best thing to do in a fight. Unless it was required, it was better to conserve more energy, but this was a duel, so both of them could fight like this. The fight went like this for 5 minutes, but the winner was unclear. Although most of Jayden''s wounds were disappearing, some were still present, and Reece, who had a cut on his shoulder, was smiling. Both of their blood was all over the stage. Both of them were fighting without caring about their safety at all. Each of their strikes was lethal, but none of them were ready to back out. Seeing Reece''s face annoyed Jayden, who mmed his leg on the ground and dashed towards him. Reece stood still as he saw an opening on Jayden''s right side. He attempted to go on his right side, but it was feint, and as soon as he saw Jayden turning his body, he went to the left. But his feint was caught as Jayden turned around, rotating his body, and shed his sword. Reece tried to push his body backward, but there was not enough time to do so. Jayden''s sword made a connection as the right side of Reece''s face had a cut. Reece stepped back so that the cut wasn''t deep and didn''t go through his bones, but Jayden looked as he tilted his face a bit. "Not smiling anymore?" Jayden taunted Reece. Reece looked at Jayden as his killing intent started leaking. Suddenly, Reece''s aura became stronger and more rampant as he dashed toward Jayden. Unlike his previous refined movements, his current Swordsmanship was like a flood wrecking through a city. Jayden blocked all of Reece''s moves, but some attacks were simply unblockable. But Reece was also paying the price for it. For other students, they couldn''t even see Reece and Jayden anymore. Even for Asher, their movements were all a blur. Blood was dripping on the stage as their sword was shing through each other. "It seems the Williams heir doesn''t want to give the win to your grandson," Osbert spoke. "He can take the win for himself," Xarax replied. One, two, three..... seven minutes went by. Both Jayden and Reece were breathing heavily. Their armor was covered with blood, which they didn''t know was theirs or not. Some first-year students even averted their eyes from the duels as they couldn''t watch it anymore. Even the one sitting closer to the stage stepped back as their killing intent was heavier each second. Despite this situation, there was still no clear winner. "Should we stop them?" A Professor asked Elsa. "No need," Elsa replied as she nced at the sitting area of the Seat Holders. Looking at Xarax''s Hargrave''s face, she could see he was enjoying the duel, and then stopping it would only anger him. And seeing how none of them were admitting defeat, they could only stand still for now. The other Professors were worried about the safety of Jayden and Reece, as both of them were from powerful families. But Elsa was not worried at all. After all, she knew that Farnus would stop the duel himself if needed. They could let those two fight, and even if things went out of hand, Farnus could stop the duel himself and handle Xarax Hargrave himself. This was also the reason why other 3 Star Professors were watching this duel calmly. Chapter 372 A Change? ?372 A Change? Just two minutes before, Jayden made a cut on Reece''s face. "That looks like it hurts," Damian said, looking at the stage. Amelia looked at Damian, who was excitedly watching the match and shook her head. ''Both of them are weird,'' Amelia thought, looking at Asher and Damian. She didn''t understand how they could keep a straight face this whole time. But knowing Asher, she could kind of understand how he had no reaction, but Damian was definitely weird. ''But I hope Mom and Dad didn''t show all this to Liv and Lucas,'' Amelia thought. Amelia nodded her head, confirming her statement. She opened her eyes and looked at Asher, who was looking back at her. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed and confused simultaneously. He stood up, increasing her confusion. "W-What-" Amelia began but was interrupted when Asher spoke. "I am going back," Asher said, causing Damian to turn his face. "What? You aren''t going to see who wins?" Damian asked. "No, I want to go rest," Asher said with a straight face. "Oh, okay," Damian responded, not pushing Asher to stay. Asher exited the room, and the door closed behind him. His right eye squinted as if something was tearing his head apart. The headache grew more intense as he recalled the memories of the match between Jayden and Reece. It grew more and more intense, but Asher endured it. However, after watching the match for so long, he believed he could predict the winner. [ Warning, Host''s mental state is crumbling ] The warning appeared again. Asher''s eyes grew cold as he walked down the empty hallway back to his room. He could still hear the sounds of the sh between Jayden and Reece, but they faded with each step. Asher returned to the Ranker''s Dorm as the headache intensified. He reached the Ranker''s dorm in 7 minutes. No one noticed him because everyone was at the Arena except for the staff, a few professors, and security. Asher entered his floor. As he opened his door and walked towards his room, his killing intent leaked out of him. Struggling to control it, he reached into his spatial ring and retrieved a syringe filled with a strange ck liquid. He injected the liquid into his body, feeling his mana weaken steadily. [ Warning: Host''s mana is decreasing by 50% ] [ Host''s body is weakening ] Warnings from the system appeared, but Asher ignored them. He copsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His crimson-red eyes shone brightly as he opened his mouth. "So, I was right- agh," Asher muttered, the headache intensifying. Before leaving the Arena, he had ascertained the likely winner of the match. This confirmation also cleared up some lingering suspicions. "It seems you''re destined to lose this time," he murmured, a sinister smile curling his lips. His overwhelming killing intent took over the room. [ Hidden Quest Completed ] [ Change World Academy''s fate... ] [ Reward: 2000 Fate Poi...] [ Warning! Host''s body is weakening ] Asher could no longer see the system warnings. He felt his eyes grow heavy, the room''s light gradually being consumed by encroaching darkness. Meanwhile, 30 seconds prior at the Arena: Sitting and engrossed in the duel, Alfred suddenly nced to his right, sensing a presence. Yet, nothing was there. Alfred tapped his finger on his left wrist a few times, but he looked back at the stage when he felt nothing around him. The duel was ongoing, and as he watched, even the other SSS Rank Hunters were interested in seeing who would win. The stage was nearly destroyed, but runes illuminated the boundary line, so it remained visible. On the damaged ground, Jayden was pressing against Reece''s sword, blood dripping from a significant sh on his chest. Their body armor was broken, indicating they had pushed themselves to their limits. Reece had a sword wound on his back, a strike Jayden managed tond amidst Reece''s movement. CRACK! Reece''s left leg gave out, forcing him to kneel as he resisted Jayden''s sword thrust. Jayden''s eyes were smeared with blood. He had overextended his mana for his body''s healing and using his Energy Maniption Element. ''Tch, I can''t lose,'' Reece thought. He knew the wound on his leg was severe, but he couldn''t afford to lose it now. ''If only that damn thing was ready earlier,'' Reece thought as he pushed back against Jayden''s sword. Large water bubbles enveloped Reece, sealing his wounds and halting the bleeding. His once bright blue hair was now mixed with both his and Jayden''s blood. Sweat pooled on the ground; both of them were pushing themselves to extremes. Suddenly, the mana around Reece surged, causing water bubbles to emerge from beneath the fractured stones. As these water bubblespressed, Reece''s eyes shone. Before Jayden could register them, Reeceunched the water bubbles at him. Jayden tried to move as he noticed them, but several hit him, opening wounds across his body. Reece attempted to stand but faltered slightly; his leg wasn''t cooperating. Reece began gathering his mana, shifting his weight, but Jayden suddenly charged at him. Reece was puzzled. Why was Jayden rushing at him now, especially when Jayden had the advantage of staying at a distance? As Jayden advanced, he angled his de towards Reece, who braced himself in ce. Both swung their swords. But Reece noticed Jayden''s sword pause momentarily, and its density increased to an extreme level. Xarax grinned, watching as both swords shattered. Reece Williams was flung into the Arena wall, while Jayden remained in the center where a small crater had formed. "Jayden Hargrave is the winner!" Gazil announced. The cheer from the fourth-year students was deafening, particrly from those aligned with Jayden''s faction. Professors Elsa and Arman quickly approached the duelists, offering them A Rank Healing potions. Both fighters were in bad shape. Jayden didn''t hesitate, downing the potion and wiping the blood from his eyes. He grimaced at his right hand, battered by using an advanced element. Using his left hand, he painfully realigned his wrist. "Hahaha, it''s mine now," Jayden murmured. Lifting his gaze, he saw an older man in a radiant white coat adorned with the World Academy insignia standing onstage. With a snap of his fingers, Farnus began repairing the damaged stage. Even the bloodstains around Jayden disappeared, evaporated by his lightning. "Congrattions, Jayden Hargrave, you are the winner of this duel," Farnus dered. Jayden managed a smile, though his injuries continued to torment him. One healing potion wasn''t nearly enough to mend such extensive damage. Farnus took out a badge meant to be given to Fourth Year students on their Graduation day, which was scheduled after the End Year Tournament. Unlike the regr badges, this one was golden and had a few gems on it. It was the badge awarded to the strongest graduate, different from the golden ones given to all Rankers. Jayden epted the badge, although it looked like the only reward he got, but that was not the case. But around the Giant Stone, where all the names of the top rankers were inscribed, a new name appeared: Jayden Hargrave. Xarax smiled, seeing that Jayden had upheld their family''s reputation, which was also what Jayden had been striving for. Xarax didn''t care how badly injured Jayden got during this duel. The only thing that mattered was that he won. "This will be the end of the Main Tournament today. Although the Seat Holders will not be present tomorrow, there will be a match with our First Year students against those from other academies," Farnus announced. "And it will be held in the New Monster Arena we''ve constructed to introduce a new course in World Academy," he continued. "Although this was meant for next year, I felt now was a good time to start," Farnus added. Some students had already heard about this announcement, understanding that participants from different academies werepeting for a chance to enter the Trials Ground. Elsa had also told Venessa, Alyssa, and Asher to secure victories in this tournament against the other academies for some reason. Seeing her students'' performance, Elsa smiled, confident that the trio would certainly emerge victorious. ''Actually, he alone might be enough,'' Elsa thought, referring to Asher. But something she didn''t expect to happen tomorrow. 21 hours from now. Far from the World Academy, In the Continent of Belvoria, inside arge mansion, A man wearing a ck mask and a white suit stood with his unique ck sword embedded in another person''s heart, and golden runes appeared around the de. "It seems you are mistaken, Neville Head," the masked man said. "I don''t need you; you need me," he remarked, removing his sword and killing the person simultaneously. "Choose your actions carefully. Do what I ask you to do," he said, looking at his sword that was glowing with golden runes. The man to whom those words were directed sat silently in his seat. He had never felt this kind of blood lust from anyone in his entire life. "Or be the reason the Neville Family is wiped from existence," the masked man said, directing his gaze at the green-haired middle-aged man sitting before him. Chapter 373 Return of Zephyr

Chapter 373 Return of Zephyr

373 Return of Zephyr It was early in the next day''s morning, and Asher opened his eyes. When he woke up, he circted the mana around his body, which looked fine. The drug he took was something that weakened him temporarily, allowing him to get rid of the constant headaches he would feel. He had used it in his previous life, but he had to use it again because of his condition tomorrow. Asher turned his head as he looked at the phone and unlocked it. He found a few messages from Tom. "So, it''s done," Asher said out loud. Finally, Tom had managed to take over the Security System of the World Academy, and now he could finally get out of the World Academy. Without wasting time, Asher called Tom, who was speaking to two familiar guys. "You wouldn''t believe it, but it was so hard to find it," Dane said as he looked at Tom, "So, these are the coordinates?" Tom asked for confirmation. "Yes, but we couldn''t go much closer," Kai replied. "Without using my ability, it would be hard to go through the security they have there," Kai exined. "What are they hiding that has more security than the damn vault of the Kalvas G," Dane muttered in frustration. Tom was about to ask another thing when he saw that Asher was calling. "Boss is calling; must be about that thing," Tom immediately epted the call as Asher''s face became visible, and he could see Tom clearly with Dane and Kai behind him. "So their mission isplete?" Asher asked immediately, and both of them nodded back at him. Asher turned his gaze towards Tom. "You have the artifact now, right?" he asked. "Yeah, but how do we deliver it to you boss?" Tom asked. "If you cane out on leave, you can just take it from us," Tom suggested, but Asher had other ns. "Don''t worry, one of you will stand 10 KM away from the Raven Mansion in the north direction," Asher said, looking at Dane and Kai. "Take the ne with you and stay in your position. I will call to tell you what to do from there," Asher ordered as Dane looked at Kai. "If it''s the Raven House, I will go," Kai said, "In the Northern Direction, there are Hunter Equipment Stores. You can wait at this one," Tom instantly picked out a location. "And we will be going to Belvoria for a meeting, so get ready for it," Asher said as he disconnected the call. "Eh?" Tom got confused. "Wait, if Boss said ''we,'' does it mean he ising too?" Dane said out loud. They had no idea what Asher would do to allow him to have the Rank SS Ne in a single day, but they had no choice but to follow their orders. "I guess you guys can restter," Tom turned his chair and looked at Dane and Kai. "It''s fine. I am not that tired," Dane replied, and Kai nodded. The mission was to find the location where the Pure Mana Crystals they traded with the ck Market ended up, so although it took a long time, they weren''t too tired to rest. Unlike normal people, Kai and Dane were harshly trained from a young age in Spyder to increase their endurance to keep fighting for a long time, unlike normal hunters. Suddenly, Tom got a text from Asher that had all the details about things he needed to do. "These seem a bit problematic," Tom looked at Asher''s orders. At the World Academy, Asher was sitting in his room, and suddenly, he closed his eyes. "Move 10 KM in the north," Asher muttered. He felt the connection between him and Rifir. At the Raven Family''s Mansion, Alfred was sitting in the library reading a book when a certain snake appeared behind him. Due to Rifir''s abilities, even the SSS Rank Hunters couldn''t detect him until Rifir used his abilities or something that could unrest it happened. When Alfred met with Asher, Asher made Rifir hide in Alfred''s shadows and follow him. He wanted to know if Alfred really suspected him or not, and he made Rifir follow and listen to Alfred''s conversations. Although Rifir wasn''t good at speaking, he could memorize anything perfectly, simr to Asher. Alfred turned the pages of the book as the Snake-like creature turned his head in a certain direction. From the time Asher had hunted with Rifir in the great forest, he had tried making Rifir go to certain locations, and he was going to do the same this time. Far from Raven Family''s Mansion, the city was filled with empty streets, and only a few people could be seen moving because it was quite early in the morning. It was somewhere around 3:30 AM in the morning when Kai arrived at Hunter Equipment Store, where only a single employee was avable. Due to Hunter''s Schedule, such shops were open 24/7 to make sure Hunters could get the things they needed at all times. Usually, C Rank Hunters or below would enter such shops because the quality of the items here was not that great. "Wee, Sir, do you need something?" The Male employee asked. "I wanted a C Rank Equipment, possibly something that''s new," Kai said as he adjusted his sses. "C Rank!" The employee was happy as he didn''t expect to get a rich customer so early in the morning. Because most Hunters worked in Guilds, it was rare for them toe to these shops unless they were from small guilds. "Just wait a minute. I will get all the things you might need," The Employee smiled brightly as he went inside the room to pick out a few things. Kai looked around as he took his time to look at the things. ''No wonder they say you can never hide from the Raven''s eye,'' Kai muttered as he felt a few people watching him. He was suppressing his mana at B Rank, but a person like him visiting such a random shop made him look suspicious. ''Well, I can just reveal that I am with Young Master if things go wrong,'' Kai thought in his head. Even if things went wrong, it was the Raven Family, and Asher would probably help him. Suddenly, Kai''s phone rang as he tapped on his bracelet, and he was connected to Asher through the earpiece he was wearing. "How many people are observing you?" Asher asked first. Kai was surprised that Asher knew that he was being observed right now. "Two," Kai muttered as he looked at a particr ne that had two rings on it. "Don''t do anything. Go back to Tom and Dane in 5 minutes," Asher said as he disconnected the call. "Looks fine," Kai said as he turned his head, and the employee was back. After conversing with the employee for a minute, Kai didn''t haggle over the prices as he paid for the equipment and entered the car he used toe here. Suddenly, he felt the people following him were gone, and he soon arrived at the Mansion and went into Tom''s room. "Hey, you came back on time," Tom looked at Kai as he pointed at the table. "Put the ne there. The boss told me that''s all we need to do," Tom said, making Kai frown, but he did as Tom told him. Suddenly, Kai felt a chill down his spine as a ck Serpent-like creature appeared from his shadow and traveled towards the ne. ''Is that the same beast?'' Kai looked at the serpent that looked even more menacing than before. Rifir opened his jaw as he swallowed the whole artifact, and his blood iris shined as he disappeared from the table. "Is it done?" Kai asked Tom. Tom waited for a few seconds before he got the reply from Asher. "Seems like it," Tom replied, but both of them were equally shocked. Each time they would see Asher do something, the more shocked they would feel. "You fine?" Tom asked Kai, whose face looked a bit pale. "Ah? Yeah, yeah, I will go check on Dane," Kai replied as he went back. Unlike Asher, who couldmunicate with Rifir, for others, Rifir was a terrifying existence. "Now, all I need to do is book this appointment," Tom typed something and did all the things that Asher wanted him to do. Tom really wanted to know why Asher would do something like this, but knowing how Asher nned things, Tom had developed the habit of not asking things. In his mind, what Asher was doing was absolutely insane as he was not going out as Asher Greville but as Zephyr. Currently the most wanted man in the world and someone who was considered the enemy of the High Council itself. Chapter 374 System Feature Chapter 374 System Feature ?374 System Feature In his room, Asher, who was practicing his mana, felt the connection from Rifir. Due to the fact that Rifir was bound to Asher directly, he could sense Rifir anytime he tried to do so. Even when Rifir was far away from him, Asher just needed to concentrate for a bit to connect with Rifir. He opened his eyes to see a ckish cloud gather around in a circle as Rifir appeared out of it. Rifir''s blood iris stared at Asher as he opened his jaw, and the ne appeared out of it. Asher looked at it, and the ne didn''t look weird at all. Just like when he took an object out of a spatial ring, it looked the same. The ck energy dissipated as Rifir felt tired of using teleportation, and he went back into the ck tattoo that appeared on Asher''s forearm. | Escape of Nightdream | | Rank SS - Mass Teleportation Artifact | | Description: This special ne allows the wearer to teleport to engraved coordinates | | Limitation: Can only teleport up to 10 people | | Limitation: Coordinates must be engraved on the back of the ne to teleport to that location | | Limitation : Can only be used twice a week | | Current Usage : 1/2 | The rm that would alert the Security System of World Academy wasn''t going off because Tom had already updated the Mana Frequency of this artifact in the database of World Academy. Nobody was aware of the fact that Asher was holding an SS Rank Artifact right now. Ping! Suddenly, he heard a sound from his ID Bracelet. It was a reminder about the smallpetition that was going to happen with the students of different academies that havee to secure their chance at entering the Trials Ground next year. Nobody could im that they had the authority over Trials Ground, so even though it was mostly limited to World Academy''s students. But those who had missed the chance but showed enough results that qualified them to enter that ce could do so. Asher also remembered that all the First Year sses would send at least five teams each topete in thispetition. Elsa wanted her ss to win because if they won, they would ssified as the Strongest ss among all five sses. And she would gain more authority in the Faculty Council. For Professors, the more improvement their students showed, the more merit points they would get. Unlike GP, Merit Points for the Professors allowed them to make changes and have more authority in certain matters. It was like a smallpetition between all the 3 Star Professors, which Elsa wanted to win. Although both the ss and Professor would benefit if they won, unfortunately for Elsa, Asher was not going to join in. Not in the start, at least, because he wouldn''t be inside World Academy itself. Typing a scheduled message that would work as a perfect excuse, Asher held the ne in his hands. "You can use that feature, right?" Asher asked. While hunting in the Great Forest, Asher had reached Level 36, which was very close to Level 40, and the system notified him that part of System Shop had been opened. [ Yes, but Host can only use this feature once before you reach Level 40 ] [ But Host could only ask for enhancing items ] System couldn''t do many things because of the restriction that came with the Curse that Asher had. But it still could give him one item that would work as an enhancer, but unlike the enhancers that weremon in this world, the system offered somethingpletely different. When Asher got to know about this, he first asked if the enhancer items were the same as the ones they studied in Runic Arts. "Can you enhance this artifact?" Asher asked. [ Due to the strength of this artifact, the Host can choose to do so, but the Fate Points consumed might be high ] "I want to increase the use limit of this artifact," Asher said as some strange runes appeared in front of him. [ Searching for.... ] [ Analyzing the properties of the artifact.... ] [ This Artifact could be enhanced to be usable five times each week ] [ The Cost would be 3000 Fate Points ] [ Pulling Host''s Status ] ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 36(EXP 8000/36,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution] : Mana Core Rank C ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Fate : 11730 + 2000 ---------------------------------------------- "So this is the reward for that quest," Asher said as he looked at the extra 2000 fate points he had. "That means that Jayden Hargrave really won," Asher muttered. In his previous life, it was Reece who overpowered Jayden and won. It was a bit unexpected because Reece had returned to the World Academy after months of rest. But this time, that was not the case. "Do it," Asher gave confirmation to the system. [ Deducting 3000 Fate Points..... ] Suddenly, purple runes appeared as they revolved around the artifact, and a glow appeared on the ne. There were multiple notifications, but after a minute or so, the runes disappeared and the ne looked the same. [ Limitation has been changed sessfully ] Asher stood up to leave his room for a bit. If he was not wrong, Lucas must be on this floor as well. Lucas hade back after spending some time exploring with Livia and Amelia, but when he saw the door to Asher''s room was closed. He quietly went back to sleep as he didn''t want to disturb Asher. "This note should be enough," Asher said as he ced a holo note outside the training room. He entered the training room. "Start 12-hour sequence," Asher said as the light around the training room changed. The mana around the room started to change while the gravity around the room increased. "This should be enough to keep them out," Asher looked back as the door of the training room was now locked. Asher wore the ne as it started shining. *** In Belvoria, it was around 5 PM in the evening, In the Neville Family Mansion, the Family Head of the Nevill Family was sitting in his room when the Butler knocked on the door. "Enter," A voice of the middle-aged man said as the Butler entered the room. "Master, there were two requests to meet you," He said as the middle- aged man looked at the list of people who were requesting a meeting from him. "Hmm, did they say their motive?" He asked. "They said it was about their business expansion," The Butler replied. "Haha, now they areing crawling at my feet?" The middle-aged manughed. "Tell them I will meet with them after a week," He said with a shrewd smile on his face. "Master, about the people that were involved with the recent incident?" The Butler. "Do as you feel like with them, but make sure our name doesn''te out in any way," He said as the Butler smiled as he left the room soon after. The Butler was walking out in the Hallway that was empty, but in the Main Mansion, there were multiple A Rank Hunters that were moving around as guards. And a few S Rank Hunters as well. After all, this was the Mansion where the Family Head of the Neville Family lived, so it was obvious it would be quite grand. But suddenly, as the Butler was moving, he stopped suddenly as his eyes got wide, and he tried to grab his neck. "AGh, aghh, agggh," The Butler tried to struggle, but it was futile. "Sleep well, old man," Dane muttered as he looked down at the body that fell on the floor. "Carry him," A voice came in Dane''s year as he looked back at Asher, who was wearing a white suit and a ck mask. Knock! Knock! "What did you forget about something?" Neville''s head said as he thought the butler hade back. He could feel the mana presence of the butler, but as the door opened, he saw three men entering the room with his butler, who was unconscious. In a single moment, the Neville Head''s eyes went wide as he got shocked and angry at the same time. Just by looking at the suit and the mask, he could recognize the person standing before him. "Zephyr!" He muttered while Asher casually walked and sat on the seats in front of the Neville Head. "It seems I am quite famous that even the Neville Head knows about me," Asher, who was wearing the ck mask, said as he stared right at the Neville Head. The Neville Head was confused by what was happening. How could someone walk so casually in his office? He had multiple security runes, and multiple strong hunters were guarding this mansion. Even if someone wanted toe in, he himself would have noticed them. After all, the Neville Head wasn''t some weak person either. He was one of the Seat Holders and also a powerful Hunter. Chapter 375 Pick Your Choice Chapter 375 Pick Your Choice ?375 Pick Your Choice "Boss, are we really going to go and meet him?" Kai asked. Asher, who had just changed his clothes and now was wearing a white coat, turned and looked at him. "Is there a problem?" Asher asked as he wore the mask. Asher''s eyes werepletely dark ck now, revealing everything that could reveal his identity. Kai hesitated for a bit, but his worries weren''t uncalled for. Unlike Louis Rothschild, who nearly killed them, this time they would meet one of the Seat holders. Jarell Neville, the Head of the Neville Family, was also an SS Rank Hunter. Even if he lifted his finger, all of them would be dead. The risk was simply too much. "Just act ording to the n," Asher said as the mask changed his voice. "Ah, Boss, I don''t want to stop you, but Jarell Neville is not someone you should meet like this," Dane spoke out. "Even if you go with your real identity, even that wouldn''t be safe either," He added. "Because of our previous work, we had heard of the rumors about the Neville Family," Dane exined. "Just follow my n; no need to overthink about it," Asher said as Dane and Kai hesitantly nodded back at Asher. Tom, on the other hand, was tapping his right foot on the floor continuously. He was simply too nervous. ''What if Boss dies?'' Tom thought of the worst-case scenario. Why would an SS Rank Hunter let the most wanted man in the world talk with him and let him go back safely? What if Asher''s identity gets revealed? What would happen to him? Dane and Kai wore their masks as well, and they noticed Tom, who looked like a nervous wreck. But both of them could understand him. Suddenly, he stopped, and his eyes shined as he looked at Asher. "Boss, if you would teleport to their mansion, I don''t think you would be able to meet him," Tom said out loud. "And even if Jarell Neville epts the meeting request, they might trace it back to us," Tom added. Dane and Kai looked at him, and they could understand what Tom was saying. Because they had made their deals with those people as Aztech, it wasn''t a good idea to go like this. "Don''t worry, he will not meet those people," Asher said. "And we will be going inside the Mansion directly," Asher added. "What? But I don''t have the coordinates, and even if I guess, I don''t know theyout where Jarell Neville might be." Tom tried to exin. "I have them already," Asher said as he looked at Dane and Kai. Asher took out the ne, ignoring the confused look on Tom''s face. ''I guess there is no making out of it,'' Kai thought as he and Dane stood behind Asher. Asher had already engraved the coordinates on the ne when he arrived here. He still remembered the coordinates of the Neville Mansion from his previous life. The energy from the Ne enveloped the three of them as they disappeared from their spot and teleported to an empty hallway. Without even wasting a second, Kai activated his ability and erased their presence. "Where should we go from here?" Dane whispered. But Asher looked in a certain direction. He remembered the entire structure of this mansion because he hade here himself. However, this time, the purpose was different. "Follow the n I told you," Asher told both of them one more time as he started moving toward the empty hallway. They were on the Fourth Floor, which was the floor where the Family Head of the Neville Family would stay. Surprisingly, apart from a few servants, this floor was empty. Jarell Neville made sure that even his servants stayed away from his floor most of the time. Due to the type of meetings that Jarell participated in, he couldn''t afford to let even a single rumor leave his mansion. As they were moving, they saw a well-dressed man moving towards the Opposite side, and that was when Asher gave the confirmation to Dane. And that was how the Butler was knocked out, and Asher was sitting in front of Jarell Neville. "Haha, I didn''t think you would be stupid enough to walk in front of me like this," Jarell said as a smile appeared on his face. But despite that smile, Jarell was extremely cautious of the Masked Man sitting in front of him. He tried to spread his mana sense, and two men behind the white- masked man were A+ Rank Hunters. ''Mere A+ Ranks?'' Jarell thought in his head. But the masked man couldn''t sense any mana from him. "It seems you are quite a curious fellow, Jarell Neville," Asher said as he looked straight at the Neville Head. "But sometimes being too curious leads to a bad end," Asher said as his killing intent took over the room. Jarell''s eyes went wide. He himself was an SS Rank Hunter, and he had killed people with his own hands. And met those who have killed many. But he had never seen such a killing intent in his life. But not taking it too far, Asher took back his killing intent, which was affecting Dane and Kai, who were standing behind him. It was simr to the time they had met Asher for the first time. But unlike what they were thinking, Jarell Neville looked fine, or at least that is what they could see. "It seems you are the one underestimating me," Jarell said, but he didn''t show his mana. Just like the person sitting in front of him didn''t. If someone could enter his room like this, going past all his Security and also sit here fearlessly, showing his killing intent, Jarell had no idea what that person was capable of. Although the idea was insane, there were theories that said that Zephyr was a pseudo-SSS Rank, just like Helena. That was the only exnation for how he could make so many cmities awaken at the same time. ''What will be the chances of me winning even if I called for help?'' Jarell was thinking about the time he would be able to hold off and stay alive. Asher smiled behind his mask as he knew that this would happen. ''No wonder your son was the same,'' Asher said to himself. Jarell Neville, that was feared by many people in reality, was a coward. Just like Gavin, Jarell would have killed any intruder that would have dared to enter his room like that. But it was not anyone that entered his office. It was Zephyr himself that was in front of him. Identity unknown? Power unknown? His whole existence was a threat to the High Council, and Jarell didn''t want to act carelessly right now. "What''s your purposeing here like this?" Jarell spoke. ''If he hade here with mere A Ranks, he must be confident in going back alive,'' Jarell thought. Because of the mask that Asher was wearing, his mana waspletely concealed. It was an SS Rank Artifact, after all. Even someone like Jarell couldn''t look past it, no matter how much he would try. "My purpose?" Asher said. "I am just here to see the pawn of Osbert Tarvian," Asher said as Jarell''s eyes went wide. "It seems he is using you properly," Asher said while tilting his head. Jarell, on the other hand, was confused. ''How?'' He thought in his head. Who was the one? Instead of questioning whether the person in front of him was telling the truth or not, he started doubting the people involved in all this. Who was the one that betrayed them? "Don''t think too much about it," Asher said, bringing Jarell back to reality. Looking at his face, the artifact was working perfectly on Jarell. "I am not here to have a conversation with you," Asher said as he looked at Jarell. "I am here to give you a choice," "You will be discarded soon enough, so why not work for me?" Asher said carefully, increasing the seed of doubts that were growing inside Jarell''s head. "Discarded? I don''t know what you are talking about," Jarell finally replied. "Don''t y around Neville Head; you aren''t like those puppets that serve Osbert Tarvian," Asher''s words made Jarell, who was about to speak, stoppletely. ''He knows!'' Jarell thought to himself. Dane and Kai were confused by Jarell''s reaction. To them, the whole conversation was going in a weird way. They couldn''t understand why Jarell Neville, the Head of the Neville family, would work under Osbert Tarvian. Wasn''t Osbert Tarvian a thorn for the elite families? Chapter 376 You want to control me? Chapter 376 You want to control me? ?376 You want to control me? Despite so many questions, Dane and Kai remembered one thing that Asher had said beforeing here. "Despite what I say there, don''t react," And with those words in mind, Dane and Kai were standing behind Asher without even reacting to the words that were being exchanged between Asher and Jarell Neville. "Why do you think I am sitting here?" Asher spoke. "Unlike those puppets that can''t defy their master, you are different," Asher said. At this point, Jarell was convinced that Zephyr knew about their n. He didn''t know to what extent, but he was sure that this masked man knew. But even right now, Jarell was not going to admit that he knew about it. "I don''t know what you are talking about," Jarell spoke. "But for what purpose have youe here?" He asked. Why was the most wanted person in the World sitting in front of him? "Looks like you don''t want to admit it," Asher spoke. "I didn''t know that the Neville Head liked ying games," Asher added. His demeanor was different from his usual personality. He was speaking so casually to a Seat Holder that Dane and Kai couldn''t believe that the Masked Man sitting in front of them was a 16-year-old boy. But their perception of reality was a bit messed up already because of how they were raised till now. "I am giving you an offer. An offer that a person like you wouldn''t like to miss," Asher said. "Just like you joined that little n of Osbert Tarvian, do the same for me," Asher''s words made Jarell frown. Nobody except a few people knew that Jarell was in contact with Osbert Tarvian. "What if I say no?" Jarell said. Tap! Tap! Tap! Asher tapped on the chair''s arm a few times. Although Jarell couldn''t see, Asher''s eyes were looking around as he was observing the office that Jarell was sitting in. It was still the same as he remembered in his memories. Fragments of memories started to resurface as he could remember the voices that he heard at that time. "Please, I was not involved!" "Yeah, Leonard Tarvian, it was all his n!!" "You can''t do this!!" "My father will kill you!!," A desperate voice, the look of fear. Tapping his finger again, Asher silenced those voices in his head. Suddenly, he raised his right hand as a serpent-like creature appeared out of nowhere. Jarell''s eyes looked at the serpent that had appeared, and he could feel the manaing from this beast, but he couldn''t sense its rank. Rifir''s mana conceal was so perfect that even an SS Rank Hunter couldn''t sense him. "Even if I do nothing, you will be a scapegoat in the future," Asher''s words made the seed of doubts in Jarell''s mind stronger. It was all he was thinking of these days. He wanted to deny the possibility, but the artifact affecting his mind didn''t allow him to. "A single push, and you will fall down, and so will the Neville Family," Asher spoke as Rifir traveled around his arm. "You must have lost your mind if you think that destroying my family is that easy," Jarell replied. Even though he was being cautious of the man sitting in front of him, that didn''t mean he would believe anything Asher had said till now. But Asher knew how to control a man like Jarell. He was someone that would fear the strong and cripple the weak. "What if Xarax Hargrave got a whiff about what you have been doing?" Asher said as Jarell''s face changed. During the whole conversation, he had maintained a calm look on his face, but now he couldn''t. "There are multiple things you have been doing for so many years," Asher said as Jarell frowned. "What do you want?" Jarell asked. "I will not ask you to betray Osbert Tarvian. Just help me a little," Asher offered. "I will make sure your secrets remain safe while I do my things, and you help me in it," Asher said, but Jarell was still frowning. "Hahaha," Suddenly, Jarell startedughing. "You want to control me?" Jarell looked at Asher. Dane and Kai didn''t move, but they were thinking of the worst scenario. Seeing Jarell''s attitude, they were sure that the conversation didn''t go the way they wanted. "I haven''t heard such a stupid joke in so many years," Jarell looking straight at Asher. At this time, Jarell noticed that his Butler was waking up. "I will give you one offer from my side," Jarell said. "Go back, and don''t even think about speaking of things you have spoken just now," Jarell said. "Sigh," Asher sighed as he pulled out his sword. He plunged into the heart of Butler, killing him in an instant. Jarell''s killing intent started toe out when the overwhelming killing intent from Asher took over the room. "It seems you are mistaken, Neville Head," Asher spoke. "I don''t need you; you need me," he remarked, removing his sword and killing the Butler simultaneously. "Choose your actions carefully. Do what I ask you to do," he said, looking at his sword that was glowing with golden runes. Jarell Neville was too stunned to even move. He felt like if he even moved his finger, he would die. He had never felt this kind of blood lust from anyone in his entire life. "Or be the reason the Neville Family is wiped from existence," the Asher said, directing his gaze at Jarell Neville. Asher''s sword started absorbing the aura from the Heart of Butler, strengthening itself. Asher took out a token that had the symbol of Zephyr on it. "Check the content in this drive," Asher said as he threw a small device at Jarell''s desk. "And after you are done, use this token to contact us," Asher said as he stood up. Dane and Kai didn''t even notice Asher had stood up because the killing intent from Asher had frozen thempletely. "We will meet again soon, and the next time, I will not be so generous, remember it," Asher said as he touched Dane and Kai''s shoulder, and all three of them disappeared from their spot. Jarell Nevill, who was sitting on his seat, looked at the drive that was on the table. Suddenly, his SS Rank Aura started to leak out as cracks started appearing in the room. His presence alerted the guards, that immediately arrived on the fourth floor. "GO BACK!" Jarell said in a loud voice as he stopped the guards of his family froming near his room. He looked at the body of his butler. Jarell stood up, raised his hand, and burned the corpse of his Butler immediately. At the same time, Jarell sat down on his seat as he looked at the two things that were left behind by Zephyr. He picked up the drive and looked at it for a second. He wanted to crush it, but something inside him urged him to open it and see the content stored inside it. *** Four Hours Later, In the World Academy, "What do you mean he is not here?" Elsa asked Venessa. "We got a message that he is doing the Sequence Training," Venessa replied. "What?" Elsa''s face changed. She was relying on Asher to win this match, but he was doing training. "Show me the message," Elsa asked as Venessa touched her ID Bracelet. Alyssa was sitting in her wheelchair, and she got a simr message as well. Elsa read the message, and she saw the line where Asher mentioned he got some advice from his Grandfather. ''Was it some sort of training technique?'' Elsa tried to guess. Sequence Training was a special training that locked the students inside while making the environment much rougher to train in extreme conditions. It was used to perfect mana meditation techniques and all sorts of techniques that involved mana. "We can''t do anything about it now," Elsa rubbed her head. "Can you participate?" Elsa asked Alyssa. "I am fine now," Alyssa replied. She had just woken up yesterday, and Elsa didn''t want to push Alyssa too much, knowing she was injured. But in reality, Alyssa was fine because her body waspletely healed. "Try to do what you can for now," Elsa had no choice but to carry on with the current lineup. ''12 hours, maybe in thest one hour,'' Elsa thought in her head. "We will go with you two, and I will not remove his name," Elsa decided to gamble on whether Asher could make it or not. Chapter 377 Nothing more than a Puppet Chapter 377 Nothing more than a Puppet ?377 Nothing more than a Puppet Dane and Kai noticed that they were in the air, and both of them fell down a few feet above the ground into the ground. "Cough, Cough, blergh," Kai coughed while Dane was in a simr condition. Their skin looked pale as both of them removed their masks. Asher looked at them, and he suppressed his killing intent entirely. Unlike his previous life, Dane and Kai weren''t familiar with Asher''s killing intent. Although both of them had killed people with their hands, due to them being A Rank Hunters, they were still inexperienced with such a killing intent. Asher looked around, and they were in the middle of a forest, but looking around, Asher could see that the city was not far away from their position. Although they were still in Belvoria, they were far away from the Neville Family''s Mansion. After a few more seconds, Dane and Kai stood up as Kai made some water with his magic and cleaned his and Dane''s hands and faces. Tom''s voice was heard by all three of them. Tom asked this because he wasn''t sure someone like Jarell Neville, who was a Seat Holder, would just ept to work for them. When Asher recruited Tom, he told him to keep an eye on the activities of a few families. One of them was the Neville Family. And because of that, Tom hade to know a few things about Jarell Neville. No matter how Tom tried to dig up some dirt about him, there wasn''t much he could find. If not for the fact that Tom acquired the data that Osbert Tarvian had from the Operation Tower, the drive that Asher gave to Jarell would have been empty. "He will; he doesn''t have a choice," Asher replied. In Tom''s eyes, he didn''t see any reason why Jarell would join hands with them. But he didn''t know the three reasons why Asher was sure Jarell would move as he wanted him to. First was the Card Artifact, amplifying the distrust that was already present in Jarell''s heart. Second was the fact that Asher knew very well about Jarell Neville. After all, every person in the face of death shows their true self. Using the image of Zephyr, Asher created fear in Jarell''s mind. The only person in the World that pushed so many SSS Rank Hunters to risk their lives. Even if Osbert Tarvian was a terrifying existence, Zephyr was enough to overshadow him. And the Third was greed. "I will give him the bait he needs, and he will give me the way to enter Halcyon''s Heart," Asher replied. Entering Halcyon was easy if Asher used his real identity, but as Zephyr, it was close to impossible. Asher turned his head towards the message that he could see. [ Host has gained 10,000 EXP ] The Butler was a Rank B Hunter himself. Back at the Neville Mansion, Jarell Neville was silently looking at the information that was within the drive. "Hahaha, was it my turn next after what happened more than a decade ago?" Jarell muttered. He could see evidence of the transactions that were done by the Neville Family with various documents that showed the involvement of the Neville Family in smuggling illegal products. The same thing that Jarell Neville had thought he had erased. "No wonder that guy knew so much about us," Jarell said with a serious look on his face. Even though the information in front of him wasn''t that extreme, something was forcing him to react to it. Without realizing it, Jarell was looking for reasons to lose his trust in Osbert Tarvianpletely. And the reason for his strange behavior, someone who had unknowingly pushed the entire future of his family towards their downfall, was participating in the Tournament that was going on the Day Six of the End Year Tournament. "So, we just need to keep defeating as many monsters as we can?" Gavin asked the Instructor, who nodded back at him. Instead of making the Students of Other Academies fight their students, they were made to fight against monsters. As a team of three, their goal was to defeat as many monsters as possible, and the team that scored the highest point would get a higher ce. It was a ss Tournament for the First Year Students, but the Teams from other academies that managed to get their names within the Top 20 teams would get a chance to enter the Trials Ground Next Year. "Hey, I don''t see Asher Greville anywhere. Are you sure he is in ss 1?" A boy wearing the uniform with a symbol of a shield on his back spoke. "He is in ss 1. I asked some of the First Years," His teammate replied. "Howe he is not here then?" The boy asked. All of them were 17-18 years old, and they were older than the First Years of World Academy, but only a few of them had reached the D+ Rank. This showed the difference between them and the First Year Students of World Academy. Only talent or connections could get you inside the World Academy. Most of these students that were here from all those other Academies were the Top Ranking students. But standing in World Academy and seeing the Tournament for thest five days made them realize the difference. But there were other students who were also not present in this new Arena. Kevin, n, and Elena were also not present to participate in thispetition. Apart from Asher, all of them had good reasons why they couldn''t participate. As this tournament didn''t have any major rewards for the First Year Students, some of them didn''t find it worth it to fight so many monsters after such a tiring tournament. After such a long month of preparing for the Tournament, many students wanted to rest, and the World Academy didn''t force them to participate either. "Well, better for us if they are not here," The Boy muttered. The Arena was split into Five Parts where Five Teams could fight at the same time without interfering with the other team. While the Professors were doing thest safety check in the Medical Facility of World Academy, "Your mana meridians are strained," The Doctor told Kevin with a straight face. "I would suggest a week-long rest, but I know you wouldn''t like that," The Doctor said. He was aware of the Sessor Tournament that was going to happen tomorrow. "You can fight, but don''t use the lightning aura too much," The Doctor suggested. "Okay," Kevin replied. Multiple wires were stuck on his body, and his body was being monitored, but different devices were present in the room. As Kevin was a Rank 2 Student, he could use the highest level of Medical Facility that the World Academy provided. "Eva, you can go back," Kevin tilted his head to the side where Eva was sitting. She had an apologetic look on her face, but Kevin knew it wasn''t her fault he was in this condition. "Okay, take care," Eva stood up to leave the room. Kevin didn''t show it, but his whole body was in pain. Due to him using the lightning aura to its extreme, he numbed his senses, but now he could feel all the pain in his body. Eva, who was outside the room, got a message from Professor Dahlia toe and participate in the tournament as she was the only Ranker from her ss that, was fine. Eva wasn''t in the mood to fight anymore, but knowing that it was a direct request from Professor Dahlia, who helped her a lot, she decided to go anyway. "Well, looks like ss 2 is winning this," Venessa said, looking at Amelia, Damian, and Lishia, who were standing ready to fight. "Hey, I will handle those monsters. You can just support from the side," Venessa turned and told Alyssa with a smile. Alyssa nodded her head. Just like others, Venessa also thought that Alyssa''s condition wasn''t good. She didn''t know that Alyssa was perfectly fine. Elsa, who is standing in the Spectating Area, sighed. "He could have trained tomorrow," Elsa muttered. She couldn''t believe that her chance to win would go away like this. She didn''t know, but the same Asher was walking in a B Rank Dungeon in Belvoria right now. sh! Asher''s sword passed through another monster. [ Host has gained 5000 EXP ] Asher crouched and touched the corpse as he used his bloodline ability. [ Host has gained +8 Strength ] "You can eat them," Asher pointed at the other corpses as Rifir instantly went, and his ck mist-like form started devouring the dead monsters. Dane and Kai, who were following Asher, couldn''t understand what kind of creature Rifir really was. But Dane always felt ufortable around Rifir. Just like Asher, he could feel that Rifir was dangerous. Chapter 378 Cracks Appear Chapter 378 Cracks Appear ?378 Cracks Appear "Sir Zemil, we havepleted the Security Check," Two S Rank Hunters appeared in front of Zemil. "Seal the Area around the Trials Ground," Zemil replied. "The Tokens have been given, and in two months, it will open, so I don''t want any problems happening near it," Zemil gave his orders as both the S Rank Hunters disappeared from their spots. At the same time, Lucas and Livia were sitting, watching the tournament unfold. "They are so big!" Livia excitedly said as she looked at the monsters. On the other hand, Lucas was observing different ways that all the teams were using to bring down those monsters. Each Team was given a time limit of 10 minutes to defeat as many monsters as possible. It started from E Rank Monsters. D Rank Monsters were only supposed toe out in theter stages of this tournament. "So we will also fight them in the future," Livia looked at Lucas. "I guess," Lucas replied. But in his mind, he was thinking of ways to protect Livia in all situations. At first, he didn''t like the fact he became a mage because it meant that Livia would have to stand in front of him while they fought. But learning more things and how powerful a mage could be, Lucas wanted to be powerful enough to protect his sister. It was his only goal in life. Unlike other kids, Lucas didn''t have a childhood where he could even dream to be someone or aplish something. For Lucas, he was always afraid of being alone in the world. Seeing his weak mother die in front of him, he wanted to protect Livia at all costs. He didn''t want Livia to leave him alone in this world. The reason why Lucas admired Asher was because he fulfilled his only wish that he desperately prayed for every day. "?" Lucas suddenly looked in a certain direction. "What happened?" Livia asked. "Ah, nothing. I thought I felt something," Lucas said as he didn''t feel anything strange anymore. *** "If we want to get inside Halcyon, can''t we just infiltrate it?" Dane asked as he took the Monster Corpse inside his Spatial ring. "With Kai''s ability, I don''t think they will notice us," Dane said. "Entering Halcyon is not difficult, but the ce I want to enter is not somewhere you will be able to enter in a normal way," Asher replied as he took out his sword from the heart of the monster. [ Host has gained 1000 EXP ] There were two reasons Asher wanted to enter Halcyon. First was the deal with Sam, and second was to establish Zephyr properly. Right now, Zephyr was just a name, and the fear Asher had instilled with this name was fake. Asher currently was a Rank C Hunter, and even while using his Time Dtion Skill, he couldn''t kill an S Rank Hunter. Simply because that''s how much the gap between Rank C and Rank S was. Even if Asher attacked an S Rank Hunter who was standing still on his spot, it was impossible to give him any injury that could seriously injure him. Dane and Kai, although they were strong by just being A+ Rank Hunters without even going to the World Academy, ultimately were nothing in front of the people that Asher was going against. ''Two months until the Trials Ground,'' Asher thought in his head. ''And the clue about this,'' Asher said, looking at his sword. ------------------------------- | Sword of Chaos | | Rank | : D Rank Sword [ 16/100 ] | Description | : Crafted by a mysterious individual possessing extraordinary runic wisdom beyond humanprehension, this sword finds itself shackled by the very hands that brought it into existence. It yearns for its rightful owner to unshackle it. | Abilities | : Increases sharpness in each strike by 15% | Abilities | : Made by a metal that will not be harmed by attacks below SS Rank. | Passive | : Grows to the peak of its owner''s potential (Unsealed) | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock | Passive | : Locked, requires a key to unlock ------------------------------- The clue that he found in the book was the key to unlock the seal on his sword. And after absorbing the aura of the Butler Asher killed with his own hands, the first passive was unsealed. A numerical value was disyed along with the Rank of the sword. Killing a single B Rank Hunter and absorbing the aura could only bring the sword to a mere 16% of what was required to take to the next rank. ''And it will get much more difficult to increase it further,'' Asher thought in his head. Even in his previous life, Asher could see that this sword was made for him. A Sword that could only be powerful the more blood it sheds. And it wasn''t just simply killing a person that had an aura but piecing their heart to absorb the essence of the purest form of aura that a person had near their Mana Heart. But the clue to unseal the second seal, which was impossible to do in his previous life,y inside Trials Ground. At this time, Kai summoned fire as he evaporated all the blood that was spilled on the ground. They were removing any evidence that could lead to people figuring out that someone was present there. Due to the fact that new dungeons were appearing everywhere, there were some dungeon raids that were being dyed. Usually, entering a dungeon wouldn''t have been so easy, and Asher would have to go through various troubles. But due to him unleashing the cmities, the bnce of the mana in the world became unstable. Dungeons were appearing everywhere, and this was one of the dungeons that was going to be cleared in a week by some other guild. But Asher was clearing it right now. [ Host has gained 1000 EXP ] [ Host has leveled up ] "38," Asher muttered, looking at the Status screen. He was only two levels away, but the experience he was getting was dropping. But it was fine because now Asher had the means to exit World Academy anytime he wanted. ''It''s time to utilize this ability,'' Asher thought, looking at his status screen. ---------| Fate Devourer System |--------- [Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville [Level] : 38(EXP 500/38,000) [Bloodline] : Devil''s Absorption Rank SSS [Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active) [Body Constitution]: Mana Core Rank C+ ---------------------------------------------- [-Attributes-] Strength: 201 Agility: 183 Endurance: 165 Intelligence: 180 Mana: 204 Stamina: 186 Charm: 70 Fate: 10730 [AP]: 85 [SP]: 42 ---------------------------------------------- Till now, due to the fact he was hunting in the Great Forest, there weren''t many dangerous monsters that he could use his bloodline ability on. Hunting in Great Forest had too many disadvantages as he was being monitored by the ID Bracelet that gave away his location. Only Rifir was able to pass through the rune boundaries and hunt other big monsters. sh! [ Host has gained 1000 EXP ] Asher swung his sword as he dashed further as he killed another monster. ''6 hours left,'' Asher looked at the time. It was the time when he needed to go back to World Academy. "I have 5 hours to hunt. Let''s speed up," Asher said as Dane and Kai nodded their heads. "You go ahead. I will handle the cleanup," Kai suggested. "Okay," Dane replied as he went ahead with the idea. ''It''s a pity I can''t kill the Boss Monster today,'' Asher said as he went further in where numerous monsters were present. To clear this vast dungeon, which was unexplored, it would take too long. It was simply too big for them to explore it fully to find the Boss Room in a day, even if they ignored all the monsters. At the World Academy, Inside the Temple like building, Inside a space that was filled with purple chains, cracks were appearing as they shattered one of the chains. Crack! Suddenly, a chaotic energy appeared, trying to shatter the chains, but a golden hand appeared as it grabbed that energy and destroyed it. "Hmm, so it has already started to fix," A mouth emerged from the golden figure. Due to the purple chains, the strange being was still sealed, so it couldn''t do much. "Time to meet ising near," The being said as a smile appeared on its face. "I wonder what you will show me," "Well, I guess I have to wait a little more," The purple chain that shattered started restoring itself. The being closed his mouth as the golden energy dissipated. Chapter 379 A Bit Late Chapter 379 A Bit Late ?379 A Bit Late "ss 2 is winning this," Some of the students who were watching the fights spoke. "They have killed over 50 D Rank Monsters," He said, looking at the score. Damian, Amelia, and Lishia were the only team that had three rankers in one team. Matthew was also participating in ss 5, but for some reason, Sam wasn''t on the team. "We have a good chance this year," One of the Teachers from the other academies spoke, looking at the score. The majority of the teams they brought with them were in the Top 20, and it was an aplishment that would only increase the prestige of their academy. "Well, there is only an hour left, so I guess these are the teams that will get the reward," He said, looking at the timer. Although for World Academy students, this tournament wasn''t something major they would chase after, for the students that came from other academies, this was the only chance for them to gain the token to enter the Trials Ground. In the past, there were cases when such students disyed results that were on par with the students of World Academy. "Professor Elsa, you should just put another student with them," Dahlia said, looking at the performance of ss 1. Despite being the only team that was fighting with two students, they had managed to enter the Top 10. And all the credit went to Venessa Baker, who was currently covered with monster blood. Some of the students were shocked to see such a performance, but she was quite tired. ''If I could use Uncle''s Swordsmanship, I can go further,'' Venessa wiped the sweat while she breathed heavily. Because the fact that Venessa was hiding her true identity, she couldn''t use the Demarcus Family''s Sword Art technique. Fortunately for her, because Xander himself was teaching the first- year Sword Art ss, she was able to showcase a very small part of it that Xander intentionally shared. "I think this is my limit, sadly," Venessa turned her head towards Alyssa. Both of them were sitting in the waiting area, and right now, all ss 1 students who were participating in this tournament were maintaining their distance from the crazy duo. Even ignoring Alyssa, the sight of Venessa, who was casually sitting with half of her armor that was covered with monster blood, made others quite ufortable. "Okay," Alyssa replied as she looked ahead. Because Alyssa didn''t want to show her power, she was only supporting Venessa when she needed help and asionally killing monsters. Despite that, they have killed over 100 E Rank Monsters and over 32 D Rank Monsters. "It''s fine," Elsa replied. ''Well, I can try next year,'' Elsa gave up on winning this year. Looking at Venessa and Alyssa, even adding a member wouldn''t help them now. Both of them were fighting for so many hours that adding another member now wouldn''t make much of a difference. "Professor Terrence must be happy right now seeing his students on the top," Elsa said, looking at the scoreboard. "He just got lucky," Dahlia replied. Dahlia''s case was even worse than Elsa''s, where two of the rankers weren''t participating. She had anticipated the absence of Kevin because some Professors, including Dahlia, knew about the Sessor Candidate Tournament much before everyone else did. But Elena''s not participating lowered the chances of her ss''s win. Meanwhile, Amelia and Damian just came out of Stage 3 after they defeated 9 D Rank Monsters in 10 minutes. "Damian, in the next turn, we will take a more aggressive approach," Amelia suggested. "Do we need to?" Lishia asked. "Well, let''s not take any chances," Amelia replied. Unlike other teams, Amelia and Lishia weren''t that tired. And the reason was Damian, who was walking behind them. "Huff, huff, okay," Damian replied. He was simply too tired to focus on whatever Amelia was saying. Thud! Throwing his shield on the ground, Damian sat in the waiting area where ss 2 students were sitting, and he just closed his eyes to take some rest. Lishia quietly sat in her ce, and Amelia did the same after she turned her head to look for Lucas and Livia, who were still watching them. She waved her hand with a smile, and it made the boys who were sitting there blush. They hadn''t seen Amelia Greville, who always maintained a calm look smile like that. "I hope they weren''t bored waiting for us," Amelia muttered. She looked at the leaderboard, and the difference between them and the second team was about 250 points. It was a big difference, but Amelia didn''t want to take any chances. Their current points were 1180 as they killed 58 D Rank Monsters, and each of them gave 10 Points, and 120 E+ Rank Monsters gave around 5 points. 120 was the limit of E Rank Monsters each team could fight, and they had to move on to D Rank Monsters after that. So, apart from their team, most teams fought around 100 E Rank Monsters, and they moved on to D Rank Monsters, which gave them double the points. The teams around the leaderboard kept changing, and only 12 minutes were left. "Damian!" Amelia spoke out as Damian slowly opened his eyes and tilted his head towards Amelia. "Let''s go. It''s our turn," Amelia said, with Lishia standing behind her. Damian turned his eyes towards the scoreboard. "Even if we don''t go, the scoreboard won''t change much-" Damian was saying as he saw a rapid change in the points of a team that was in the middle of the scoreboard. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, Damian''s strange behavior made Amelia and Lishia look at the Scoreboard as well. Both of them were looking at the top, but suddenly, they also noticed the change in the middle. "Isn''t that ss 1''s Team? How are they getting so many points so fast," One of the students behind them spoke out. "I guess he is finally here," Damian stood up energetically, surprising the students behind him. "Let''s go," Damian told Amelia and Lishia. Lishia, who didn''t know anything about the situation, was confused, but she could sense that, for some reason, both Amelia and Damian were fired up to enter the stage once more. "Isn''t this insane to look at," Professor Dahlia said as she looked at Stage 1. "Well, he is Rank 1 for a reason," Elsa said with a smile, but she was a bit surprised as well. "A single C Rank Hunter, taking on C Rank Monsters, it''s simply insane," Professor Dahliamented. Just a few minutes ago, they saw Ashere back. ''Looks the same,'' Asher looked at Monster Arena, which was a special ce where Students were made to fight a group of monsters, or even single powerful monsters, as practice. It was only possible because of the special binds that were put around the monsters so that they could kill them instantly if things went wrong. Because controlling a monster was impossible, they made it so that they could simply kill it in a single second by activating the runes on the binds that were on the monsters. And with instructors on the stage as well, to make sure to ensure the safety of the students in case the runic binds failed to kill the monsters. Venessa looked up and saw Asher Greville standing in front of the entrance of the massive stage where a team was already fighting. "He finally came back," Venessa said while squinting her eyes at him. Alyssa also noticed Asher much before Venessa did, but she didn''t show her reaction. For Alyssa, who was super sensitive to mana, she could instantly recognize Asher''s presence. "Hey, we wouldn''t be of much help after fighting for so ''long,''" Venessa shouted out to Asher, who turned to look at her. "It''s fine," Asher replied. At the same time, the Team of students from another Academy finished their turn. "Hey, isn''t that Asher Greville," The Girl noticed a student standing as they were exiting the stage. "Yes, but why is he here now?" The boy who sheathed his sword spoke, but they didn''t look directly at Asher. The Entrance Door opened as they left quietly while the instructor looked at Asher, who was standing in front of him. "Umm, so it''s your turn next," Instructor awkwardly said, looking at Asher and then at Venessa and Alyssa. "I will be entering alone," Asher said as he entered the stage without waiting for the Instructor to answer him. Venessa was confused, but she sat back down in her seat, not going inside with him. "Well, he is certainly better than us, so he can fight alone," Venessa said with a frown on her face. "Let me fight C Rank Monsters," Asher turned towards the Stage Referee. "Huh?" The Referee got confused. "I am a C Rank Hunter, so let me fight C Rank Monsters," Asher repeated his words as he looked at the Referee. "Let him," The Voice of a Female resounded on the stage. It belonged to Elsa. "If the Professor says so, I can change the level, but be careful. If we deem that you will be in danger, we will stop the match immediately," The Referee told Asher. Suddenly, many cages appeared on the stage, and some on the front opened up. "Each time, two C Rank Monsters will be released at the same time until you defeat them both. Others won''te out," The Referee told Asher. Crank! The two cages opened as the Runic Markings appeared beneath them, releasing the restrained C Rank Monsters. Instantly, those monsters jumped towards Asher, who was present in front of them. "GRAAAAAAAH," Two of them roared as they closed the distance instantly. ''Swift Strike,'' Asher thought as he moved from his position using Mir Steps. He appeared in the middle of those two monsters as his sword traveled in an arc, beheading the two of them instantly. [ Host has gained 100 EXP ] [ Host has gained 100 EXP ] Chapter 380 A Close Win Chapter 380 A Close Win ?380 A Close Win The Referee, along with the instructors who were on the other side of the stage, were a bit surprised by Asher''s movement. Fighting higher-ranking monsters bes difficult because they naturally instill fear in their opponents. For the first-year students, fighting monsters was a challenging task as it was hard to maintain a calm mind in front of the bloodlust that came out of the monsters naturally. But Asher''s movement showed no such hesitation. Crank! Two more monsters came out of the cage. Simr to the monsters that Asher killed just now, they also resembled a beast-like monster with ck skin and three tails with green eyes. Their mouth especially was filled with poisonous saliva, and even a single bit was enough to make a D Rank Hunter unable to move. These monsters were found in Dungeons that had a poisonous environment, and their bodies were very resistant to heat. The next two monsters growled at Asher as they wanted to devour him. They moved in a simr way, but Asher took two steps back as he allowed them toe in his range. Unlike fighting a person who had intelligence and could respond to your attacks, these monsters only wanted to devour him. So, it was much easier to lure them in. Asher''s sword easily cut through their bodies as it sliced the monsters, making them scream in agony. Swinging his sword down, he cut down the head of the monster while splitting the other one that had pounced on him in half. "He kills them so easily," Venessa muttered in disbelief. She had seen Asher kill C Rank Monsters when they were participating in the Mid Term Examination, but at that time, they were working as a team. So even if something went wrong, they could cover him, but right now, he was fighting those monsters alone. Lucas, on the other hand, was surprised to see Ashere at thest moment, but he and Livia were carefully watching Asher. Lucas was looking up to Asher, but Livia was also impressed by Asher''s swordsmanship. For them, Asher was simply too fast to watch, but they saw one monster fall after another. ''I can also do this when I be stronger?'' Livia questioned herself. Even though Nathan had taught her many things for Livia, who had lived most of her life on a bed staring at the ceiling of their broken old apartment, it was apletely new world for her. If someone saw such young children looking at Asher killing monsters ruthlessly, they would have been shocked seeing how unbothered Lucas and Livia were watching all that. "We gained 80 points already?" Venessa said, looking at the scoreboard. Each C Rank Monster gave around 20 points, and suddenly, they had moved up to ninth ce by overtaking the team above them. "But we are only at 720 points," Venessa knew it would be hard to do anything at this point. But their points kept increasing as they killed one monster after another. In a few minutes, there were 17 monsters that were dead on the stage, and the 18th one died as Asher pulled out his sword from its head. "Had he reached the advanced mastery already?" One of the Professors questioned. "Seems like it," Another Professor said while observing Asher''s movement. If they knew that this was far from advanced mastery of the sword art Asher possessed, they would have been shocked beyond belief. "He is pushing himself too much. He would only get more tired now," Professor Terrence said, looking at Asher. Elsa thought that it was because he had juste out of the Sequence Training he was doing, but it was simply because he was fighting B Rank Monsters constantly in the dungeon. All those monsters were strong enough to require his full attention and strength to kill them. After 7 minutes, Amelia looked at the 20 monster corpses around them with a few injuries on her shoulder, but Damian was even worse. He had tanked almost all the D Rank Monsters for both the mages in his team. "My bad, I missed the timing on my spells," Lishia apologized as she looked at Damian. "Ah, it''s fine," Damian said as he rested his body on the shield. "I want to check the score," Damian said as they looked at the exit. Amelia''s eyes were also lit up, as she wanted to see the scoreboard as well. They walked out as the instructor activated the runes on the stage to teleport the corpses to another location. As soon as they came out, their eyes went towards the big screen above them, which showed what team was in the lead. Lishia''s eyes went wide as she saw that they were not first. "How many monsters did they even kill?" Damian muttered. Both the first and second teams had the same score. Amelia was shocked as well, as their total score was 1380, and she remembered that the top team from ss 1 was around 640 points. "No way they could have killed 74 D Rank Monsters in just 10 minutes," Damian said out loud. He knew that Asher was strong, but killing around 7-8 D Rank Monsters each minute was simply insane. "He didn''t kill D Rank Monsters," The voice of a middle-aged man took their attention as all three of them turned and saw a familiar figure. "Professor Terrence!" Damian said out loud. "First of all, good job. It was a very good performance," He congratted them first. "Ah, thanks," Damian replied. "But Professor, what were you saying before that?" Damian asked. "Asher Greville fought C Rank Monsters instead of D Rank," Professor Terrence said as he looked at their surprised faces. "The three of them fought around that many C Rank monsters?" Lishia spoke out. She rarely spoke out like that, but the situation right now confused her. "No, only he went inside from his team," Professor Terrence said, but he knew why all three of them were reacting like that. Even Damian and Amelia were surprised, so it was obvious why others were shocked. On the other side of the Arena, Elsa was looking at Asher, who was sitting on his bench, breathing heavily. "You pushed yourself too much, but thanks to you, we had secured a first ce even though it was a draw," Elsa said with a smile on her face. Breathing heavily, Asher nced at Elsa and nodded his head. He had used a lot of his mana today to use the artifact himself and fight monsters for almost half a day continuously. "The result will be announced soon," Elsa said as she took out a potion from her storage ring. "Drink this. You will feel better," She said as Asher took the potion from her hand. It couldn''t recover his mana, but it could help him recover some energy. "I will go back now," Asher said as Elsa was confused. "You don''t want to attend the winning ceremony?" Elsa asked. "Yeah," Asher replied as he stood up. "Somebody has to represent our ss. Well, we have two more people," Elsa looked at Alyssa and Venessa. Venessa wasn''t listening as she was still stunned by seeing Asher kill 37 C- Rank Monsters. Even though they were one of the weaker C Rank Monsters, it didn''t change the fact that a single C Rank Hunter had done this. As Venessa was stunned, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch. "What? Oh, Professor Elsa," Venessa said as she looked at Elsa. "Well, I need you to go and attend the Winner''s Ceremony," Elsa told Venessa, who looked to her side. "Where did they go?" Venessa pointed at the seat. "Oh, you didn''t listen. Both of them went back," Elsa said with a smile on her face. "Eh?" Venessa was confused. "I will not hear any excuses from you. Alyssa had a good reason, and I couldn''t stop the person who won us the Tournament, right?" Elsa said as she grabbed Venessa''s shoulders. 10 Minutester, Venessa was standing awkwardly on the stage with Damian, Amelia and Lishia, taking the trophy that was meant for the team that won this tournament. "Hey, where-" Damian spoke out. "DON''T ASK ME," Venessa said immediately as she felt embarrassed as everyone was looking at her with weird looks on their faces. Most of them were students from the other academies, and they were confused about how a team won in thest 10 minutes. "I think your student is feeling embarrassed," Dahlia told Elsa, who was smiling while looking at the stage. "She will be fine," Elsa said while ignoring Venessa''s eyes that were asking for help. Chapter 381 Intended Fate 381 Intended Fate "Swift Strike," Asher muttered as he swung his sword. But mid-way through, he stopped his sword. "Swift Strike," He repeated those words. By saying or remembering the name of the technique, Asher was replicating the feeling of the movement of his aura. He repeated the movement again and again without stopping. The sharp movement of his sword was put to a stop just before hepleted his swing. Again and again, without stopping, Asher kept practicing the same movement. It looked useless, but right now, Asher was trying to master the Negation, the S Rank skill he got by reaching Intermediate mastery in Node Art. Negation was a skill that could render any attack useless if Asherpletely understood the attack. He could never try it till now because he understood another person''s maniption of mana inside their body to the small movements in their bodies. It was a skill that was powerful but incredibly hard to use. But Asher was trying to implement Negation on himself. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] This was the third notification he got from practicing for more than 10 hours, but the increase in mastery was a mere 0.5 %; that was all Asher got, but that was not his motive. What he wanted to find out was the fault in his own swordsmanship. Nothing is perfect, and everything has a w. And Asher was trying to find the w in his own sword art. The best way was to perfectly understand what was happening when he used the first move he learned, Swift Strike. In the corner, Rifir was watching Asher do the same thing for a long time. He didn''t move nor bother Asher, as he was trying to understand what Asher wanted. Suddenly, Rifir tilted his head as Asher tried to use Swift Strike at his left hand and stopped just before he grazed it a bit. "Not enough," Asher looked at his sword as blood starteding out of his arm. Till now, he could stop the Swift Strike any time he wanted, but he couldn''t negate the attack. From what he understood about Negation, he knew that he was still not using it properly. Suddenly, Asher closed his eyes as he stopped the flow of mana in his body. [ Warning, Host''s mana had be still ] [ Warning, Host''s mana... ] Many warnings came from the system, but Asher spread his mana sense and thenpressed it into a small area around him. Slowly, he allowed the mana around his arm to flow as he repeated the movement of Swift Strike, and he could feel every small movement. He had forcefully stopped his mana around his body to just use the mana meridians that were needed for Swift Strike. Raising his sword and descending it towards the ground again, Asher felt the flow in his arm and around his mana heart. His body was bing paler because his mana heart was bing unstable. If anyone other than Asher tried this, they would have copsed on the ground immediately. "So, it is like this," Asher muttered. After repeating the same move more than a thousand times and slowly figuring out each muscle that was involved in it. Asher moved his sword around the air, and he used Swift Strike again, but this time, the sword''s direction was changed. Rifir, who was sitting still, suddenly moved and appeared around Asher''s shoulders as he opened his mouth and revealed his fangs. The edge of the sword stopped as it touched the skin on his chest, but there was no wound. Rifir went back to his spot as he didn''t feel the threat anymore. Due to the fact that Rifir was bound to Asher, the moment Asher died, he would die as well. So, any threat to Asher triggered Rifir''s survival instinct, even if the threat came from Asher himself. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] Finally, Asher used Negation on the first sword technique that he learned from the SSS Rank Sword Art. The strike was aimed at his own heart, but Asher only did that to create a scenario where he was forced to stop the attack. But suddenly, Asher felt the strength across his body weaken; after all, he had taken no rest since yesterday. He crouched to sit on the ground as he started absorbing the mana around his room. "Seems like the effect of the drug is still there," Asher muttered. Usually, he would not feel so weak, but the drug he used to calm himself down and force his body to weaken was still affecting him. The reason why Asher was practicing here and not observing the Sessor Tournament was because he had already guessed who the winner would be. The system had already told Asher that Fate would fix itself and would always try to preserve or return to its original destiny. If Asher wanted, he could have participated and won this tournament as well, but that wasn''t worth it. After all, Farnus Calmort wouldn''t do something like this without assuming that the one he wanted to win would lose to someone. "I guess he would have liked it more if I had won," Asher muttered. After all, taking something precious from him after threatening the Strongest Hunter in the world, he wouldn''t want anything more than an excuse to monitor Asher. Just like Alfred had suggested him, Asher didn''t want the extra attention right now. He could leave World Academy freely right now, but it would have be difficult when Farnus would be keeping his eyes on him. While Asher was concentrating on doing his mana meditation, the Sessor Tournament was going in one person''s favor. "Woah, I didn''t know that Kevin Whiteheart was this good," Some of the First Year spoke among themselves. Kevin had defeated two Third Year Students, but it was in a scenario where both participants were wearing Mana Restriction Bracelets. But still, despite having more experience than Kevin, there was no one who was able to defeat him. Because of the fact that Kevin used lightning aura, his senses were already much better than others around him. In the VIP Room of the Third Year Student, "Well, I guess my investment didn''t go to waste," Leonard smiled as Kevin was winning one fight after another. "I can''t wait for the Awarding Ceremony to start," Leonard said. Leonard didn''t know if Kevin would win or not after Asher made a mess of him, but for some reason, everything was going Kevin''s way. His opponents would make a few mistakes that would allow him to take advantage and disarm them. "It seems the luck is on my side," Leonard muttered. After all, he had already won against Raelyn, and soon enough, he could start his ns. He was just waiting for the Awarding Ceremony that was going to happen tomorrow night to start. The Awarding Ceremony was the ce where all the Rankers were invited, with the few special guests that consisted of the Elite Families. Because this time, a lot of children from different Elite families were in the World Academy at the same time, many Elite Families were going to be present there. And apart from Leonard, there was one more person waiting for it to start as well. And it was none other than Casie Hargrave, who was watching the Sessor Tournament with the Hargrave Family Head. After all, there was a reason she hade to watch this tournament after all. "Swift Strike," Asher muttered as he swung his sword. But mid-way through, he stopped his sword. "Swift Strike," He repeated those words. By saying or remembering the technique''s name, Asher was replicating the feeling of the movement of his aura. He repeated the movement again and again without stopping. The sharp movement of his sword was put to a stop just before hepleted his swing. Again and again, without stopping, Asher kept practicing the same movement. It looked useless, but Asher was trying to master the Negation, the S Rank skill he got by reaching Intermediate mastery in Node Art. Negation was a skill that could render any attack useless if Asherpletely understood the attack.lights He could never try it till now because he understood another person''s maniption of mana inside their body to the small movements in their bodies. It was a skill that was powerful but incredibly hard to use. But Asher was trying to implement Negation on himself. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] This was the third notification he got from practicing for more than 10 hours, but the increase in mastery was a mere 0.5 %; that was all Asher got, but that was not his motive. What he wanted to find out was the fault in his swordsmanship. Nothing is perfect, and everything has a w. And Asher was trying to find the w in his sword art. The best way was to perfectly understand what was happening when he used the first move he learned, Swift Strike. Rifir watched Asher do the same thing in the corner for a long time. He didn''t move nor bother Asher, as he was trying to understand what Asher wanted.action Suddenly, Rifir tilted his head as Asher tried to use Swift Strike at his left hand and stopped just before he grazed it a bit. "Not enough," Asher looked at his sword as blood starteding from his arm. Till now, he could stop the Swift Strike any time he wanted, but he couldn''t negate the attack. From what he understood about Negation, he knew he was still not using it properly. Suddenly, Asher closed his eyes as he stopped the mana flow in his body. [ Warning, Host''s mana had be still ] [ Warning, Host''s mana... ] Many warnings came from the system, but Asher spread his mana sense and thenpressed it into a small area around him. Slowly, he allowed the mana around his arm to flow as he repeated the movement of Swift Strike, and he could feel every small movement. He had forcefully stopped his mana around his body to just use the mana meridians that were needed for Swift Strike. Raising his sword and descending it towards the ground again, Asher felt the flow in his arm and around his mana heart. His body was bing paler because his mana heart was bing unstable. If anyone other than Asher tried this, they would have copsed on the ground immediately. "So, it is like this," Asher muttered. After repeating the same move more than a thousand times and slowly figuring out each muscle that was involved in it. Asher moved his sword around the air and used Swift Strike again, but this time, he changed the direction of his sword. Rifir, who was sitting still, suddenly moved and appeared around Asher''s shoulders as he opened his mouth and revealed his fangs. The sword''s edge stopped as it touched the skin on his chest, but there was no wound. Rifir returned to his spot as he didn''t feel the threat anymore. Because Rifir was bound to Asher, the moment Asher died, he would also die. So, any threat to Asher triggered Rifir''s survival instinct, even if the threat came from Asher himself. [ Node Art''s Mastery has increased ] Finally, Asher used Negation as the first sword technique he learned from the SSS Rank Sword Art. The strike was aimed at his heart, but Asher only did that to create a scenario where he was forced to stop the attack. But suddenly, Asher felt the strength across his body weaken; after all, he had taken no rest since yesterday. He crouched to sit on the ground as he started absorbing the mana around his room. "Seems like the drug''s effect is still there," Asher muttered. Usually, he would not feel so weak, but the drug he used to calm himself down and force his body to weaken was still affecting him. Asher was practicing here and not observing the Sessor Tournament because he had already guessed who the winner would be. The system had already told Asher that Fate would fix itself and always try to preserve or return to its original destiny. If Asher wanted, he could have also participated and won this tournament, but that wasn''t worth it. After all, Farnus Calmort wouldn''t do something like this without assuming that the one he wanted to win would lose to someone. "I guess he would have liked it more if I had won," Asher muttered. After all, taking something precious from him after threatening the Strongest Hunter in the world, he wouldn''t want anything more than an excuse to monitor Asher. Just like Alfred had suggested him, Asher didn''t want the extra attention right now. He could leave World Academy freely right now, but it would have be difficult when Farnus kept his eyes on him. While Asher was concentrating on doing his mana meditation, the Sessor Tournament was going in one person''s favor. "Woah, I didn''t know that Kevin Whiteheart was this good," Some of the First Year spoke among themselves. Kevin had defeated two Third Year Students, but it was in a scenario where both participants were wearing Mana Restriction Bracelets. But still, despite having more experience than Kevin, no one could defeat him. Because of the fact that Kevin used lightning aura, his senses were already much better than others around him. In the VIP Room of the Third Year Student, "Well, I guess my investment didn''t go to waste," Leonard smiled as Kevin was winning one fight after another. "I can''t wait for the Awarding Ceremony to start," Leonard said. Leonard didn''t know if Kevin would win or not after Asher made a mess of him, but for some reason, everything was going Kevin''s way. His opponents would make a few mistakes that would allow him to take advantage and disarm them. "It seems the luck is on my side," Leonard muttered. After all, he had already won against Raelyn; soon enough, he could start his ns. He was just waiting for the Awarding Ceremony to start tomorrow night. The Awarding Ceremony was the ce where all the Rankers were invited, with the few special guests that consisted of the Elite Families. Because this time, many children from different Elite families were in the World Academy at the same time, many Elite Families were going to be present there. And apart from Leonard, one more person was also waiting for it to start. And it was none other than Casie Hargrave, who was watching the Sessor Tournament with the Hargrave Family Head. After all, there was a reason she hade to watch this tournament after all. But the Family Head of the Hargrave Family wasn''t in a good mood because of Casie''s presence. And he knew precisely why she was here as well. ''A useless son, and then all this headache,'' He thought in his head. Because Casie was Xarax''s favorite, she could do whatever she wanted. Casie would have been stronger than the Family Head of the Hargrave Family had she been diligent for thest ten years but neglected her own growth. But that didn''t shift Xarax''s favor on her. Because of having a useless son himself, his own authority within his Family was decreasing. ''Only if those twins weren''t born,'' The Family Head sighed in his head. He knew why Casie''s obsession that was gone erupted again. After all, he had done a lot of work to cover up what Casie had done in the past. ''I hope nothing too big happens on that day,'' In the Fourth Year VIP Area, "Is it true that the Third Year Students were meeting him?" Jayden asked. "I have confirmed it," Another Fourth Year Student replied. "Hmm, I guess people like him never change," Jayden muttered. "Well, I have gotten what I wanted already," Jayden said, looking at the stage. "He will soon realize how useless his little tricks would be," Jaydenughed. 1 Chapter 382 Night Of Awards ?382 Night of Awards "It''s a shame we can''t go there," One of the third-year students said. "Well, it''s a night for those that are the best," His friend shrugged his shoulders. "By the way, I saw some Fourth Year Students when we were talking with Vin Hargrave," He said. "I forgot to tell Leonard about it," He told his friend. "Didn''t you meet near the section where youe from, the Fourth Year Dorm anyway?" His friend said. "Listen, someone like Leon doesn''t have all day to listen to all the small things you saw," "And he just wanted to know why the hell Eric Herod was contacting that useless nerd," His friend tapped his shoulder. Both of themughed as they were in good moods, and it was because they were part of the Blood Faction. "But, it''s is a shame we can''t go to the Award Ceremony; I mean, I wanted to see Raelyn Whiteheart in a dress," He said out loud. "Idiot, don''t say things like that so loudly, even if things are bad between us and the Student Council. Don''t forget that Leon respects Reece Williams a lot," His friend spoke in a hushed voice. "Calm down, I am just joking around," He said, but the looks on his face said otherwise. "By the way, speaking about Raelyn, her brother Kevin, he really defeated all the people yesterday," He spoke after a few seconds. "The whole academy is talking about it, the first student that our Principal will teach," He said with a hint of jealousy. Even outside the World Academy, a lot of people were discussing the Whiteheart Family and how Kevin Whiteheart became the first Sessor Candidate. In the VIP Dorms, Sam was standing looking down as the Holographic Footage of a certain man was being disyed in front of him. "I am sorry, father," Sam said while looking down on the floor. "I don''t want to hear your excuses," The Alfred Head said with a look of annoyance on his face. "I don''t care if you lost this one, but for the next tournament, I need you to win it," He said, looking at Sam. "This will be yourst chance before I throw that woman in the dungeon as food for those monsters," His voice was cold. Sam''s hands were trembling as he heard those words. "Assist Jack while he works with Osbert Tarvian''s son," He said as the Hologram Call disconnected. Sam stood there, not knowing what to do. He did participate yesterday, but he lost to a third-year student. "I guess I should start training for the next year," Sam thought as he sat down on his bed. "It would take him five years, maybe even four, till he can help me," Sam muttered. ''He is Zephyr, after all,'' Sam thought in his head. Even if Zephyr was the most wanted criminal in the World and the enemy of the High Council, and getting involved with him was the worst possible move, Sam didn''t care. If anyone could help him, he knew it would be someone like Asher. For Sam, Asher had be a ray of hope. Something that Sam didn''t know he would get even if he tried his best. "I just need to hold on and do as they say," Sam just sighed as he epted his situation. The night arrived, and outside the area of World Academy, a special dome-like building was lit with magic lights all around. Outside the barrier of the World Academy, it was a ce that was made for the Special Night, which was dedicated to the winners. But this was a bit special because the result of Blood Faction vs the Student Council was going to be dered here as well. Almost all the rankers were already present there, with even a few Professors who were interacting with the special guests that were invited. "Sigh, I am going to miss World Academy," Jodie Everett said, sitting at one of the tables. "I am just happy I can get away from these annoying people," Kiara replied. Unlike Kiara, who was waiting to go back, Jodie didn''t like the duties that were ced on her because she carried the name Everett. But Kiara had it worse than her, as she was the daughter of the Family Head of the Everett Family. "It seems that the Third Years are tensed," Jodie said as she nced at the other seats. In this party, every ranker was sitting with the person they supported. It was not a simple party but also a way to show who the Rankers were allied with. Even the invited guests were keeping an eye on small things like this.lights "They are afraid that they will lose the position they held till now," Kiara replied. Among the Third Years, they were already split into two groups. One was Raelyn''s side, and the other was Leonard''s side. There was only one Third Year Ranker that was sitting apart from those two sides. And that guy was Eric Herod, who was sitting with Amelia and Damian. "Can you believe it?" Damian said, cing his hands on the table. "C Rank Monsters! Alone! Does that even make sense?" Damian said. Eric nodded his head as if he knew Asher could do something like this. "Don''t act like that''s normal, Eric," Amelia said as Eric awkwardly smiled. Because he was trained to be the next Head Butler, Eric had learned to act in a certain way towards Asher and Amelia. "It''s fine. We are all students here," Amelia said, and Damian nodded. Because of how close they were to their age, Amelia and Damian knew Eric, but because of the difference in their status, Eric always maintained his distance. Although he wanted to be a Hunter for the Abyss Guild, that didn''t mean that he looked down on his father, who acted as the Head Butler of the Greville Family. Slowly, more people started toe, and Amelia and Damian were waiting for Asher as well.action Lucas and Livia were staying at the Rankers Dorm as Sylvie suggested not to bring the twins here. Eric turned his head to look at another table where a lot of people were gathering, and it was the table where Kevin and his friends were sitting. "I guess people want to make a good connection with the First Sessor Candidate," Eric said. "Well, it''s obvious. Just look at those guests. Not a single one of them is willing to miss this chance," Damian said in a mocking tone. While talking, many guests were entering, and in the area where the Guests were sitting, the atmosphere was a bit tense. Most of the guests here were either from Elite Families or influential enough to get an invitation. But only Young People were present here. None of the Family Heads or any Elder from an Elite Family was present here. Anyone with an invitation could attend, but most Family Heads would send younger ones to attend this ceremony. "Is that Cade Cranston? It''s rare to see someone like him," One of the people there said. "But the real surprise is over there," He said, ncing at another seat. With a fewdies standing around a certain table, an incredibly beautiful woman was sitting with a ss of wine in her hands. "I didn''t expect that Lady Casie would attend this ceremony," A woman said as she smiled at Casie. "I got bored staying at my mansion, so I thought to change my lifestyle a bit," Casie replied with a smile. "If I had known Lady Casie wasing here, I would have prepared a gift," A lot of people were surprised and curious by her presence. Someone who hadn''te out for a decade was suddenly gotten so active. And in the social circle of influential people, Casie Hargrave was a name that they still remembered. "Why do you think she is here, Cade?" One of the people apanying Cade asked. "Isn''t it obvious," Cade replied. Everyone here had an idea, but no one was daring enough to speak like that to the Favourite daughter of Xarax Hargrave. Only Cade was able to behave freely among all the people here. But he wasn''t interested in her at all. The reason why Cade even bothered to attend this Ceremony was because he wanted to meet Asher Greville. This Ceremony wasn''t something that the Rankers could miss, and it waspulsory to attend it. So there wasn''t a better ce to meet Asher Greville. At the table where Casie was sitting, Even though many people were talking to her and trying to gain her favor, she wasn''t paying attention to them. ''I guess I need to wait a little more,'' Casie looked around. Although the Section where the Rankers were sitting and the guests were sitting were different, they could freely interact with each other. Chapter 383 Caught In A Web ? 383 Caught In A Web The Dome where the Award Ceremony was going to be held was a bit special. A special mana restriction spell was spread all around the dome to suppress everyone''s power that were above B Rank. The greater the rank, the more pronounced the effect of the suppression. It was implemented using an SS Rank Artifact ced at the center of this dome. Casie, who was sitting and interacting with others, suddenly stopped talking. "Ah, what happened, Lady Casie?" one of the women around her asked. "Nothing, I just need a short break," Casie replied as she stood up. Everyone was confused, but seeing Casie''s smile, they didn''t believe they had offended her. Casie began walking towards the staircase leading to the floor above. Entrance to this Dome was granted through a portal for every single individual present, including the students. ? This portal transported people to the second floor of the Dome, from where the beautiful night sky was visible. At that moment, Casie was making her way towards the second floor. Jayden, who was seated, noticed one of the rankers returning. "I''ve given the signal," the ranker informed Jayden. Jayden nodded without furtherment. Casie had previously asked him to signal her when a particr individual arrived at the party, as she wished to converse with them. Jayden consented to this request, given that all he needed to do was instruct one of his students to notify them using the ID Bracelet. No guests, regardless of their status, were permitted to bring any artifacts, spatial storage items, or weapons. Everyone, including Casie, adhered to this rule, for the one who established it was the strongest hunter in the world. Farnus wasn''t present, but everyone could feel the omnipresence of his mana. The scant security was directly attributed to that. Nobody, including Casie, dared to pull any stunts here. Not even the protection of Xarax Hargrave would save her should she cross the line. Step. Step. ? The echoing footsteps drew nearer. Casie continued gazing at the night sky, the crystals adorning her dress catching and reflecting the ambient light. As the footsteps neared, Casie flipped her hair and turned, locking eyes with a pair of crimson red ones. These eyes, however, were cold and indifferent, unlike the ones she had always been drawn to. Still, her smile only widened. "I didn''t expect to meet the renowned heir of the Greville family here," remarked Casie, gazing at Asher who stood before her. "You might not recognize me. I am Casie Hargrave," she introduced, tilting her head slightly while appraising him. ? "Why should I care?" Asher responded, his gaze unwavering. From the information, Asher made Tom gather, he knew quite a bit about her already. After all, Casie was a variable that wasn''t present in his previous life. But he knew the reason why she appeared this time. "Oh, you should care," Casie said, raising her eyebrows. "I''m here to offer some advice," Casie dered, taking two steps forward. The scent of her heady perfume wafted through the air, hinting at dark roses and mystic woods. "I can help you root out the weeds that have sprung up in your family," she proposed. "Isn''t it revolting to have such filthy things so close," She yed with her hair slightly, her gaze drifting back to the night sky. "You just-," "Why would I want help from a Hargrave?" Asher countered. Casie''s expression changed, her smile disappearing as she fixed her stare on Asher. She despised when things didn''t progress her way. ? "You''re quite the fearless one," Casie noted. "Enjoy your night," she concluded, not pushing the conversation any further. Asher turned to leave. Casie remained in ce, her eyes on the vast night sky, humming a tune. "Five years, was it? I suppose I need to be patient," Casie pondered aloud. Nobody could discern her motives or fathom why she approached Asher specifically. ? "With his level of arrogance, he''ll end up like so many others," Casie mused, recalling the countless individuals she had encountered who were ultimately devoured by their own pride. All it took was a subtle shift in their perspective, and they''d unknowingly walk right into her traps. Jayden was a prime example. She knew all too well how desperately Jayden was trying to foster his own faction within the Hargrave Family to break free from her grip. Going towards the Main Hall below, ''Calm down, Asher said as he sensed Rifir''s materializing. When Asher heard Casie say filthy things, the thought of killing her came into Asher''s mind. Rifir sensed that, and hence, the reason why he was agitated. But knowing that Casie wouldn''t be able to do anything to the twins, he left her alone without saying anything. Right now, there were other things that took priority, something he needed to get done. The confusion that was caused by him using the cmities wasn''t going tost forever. Likewise, the fear of Zephyr would eventually dissipate.?ov??§ßu?¦Ê.co§Þ The sounds of music and chatter intensified as Asher entered, drawing the attention of many. Especially those at a particr table.? Several individuals, previously engaged in conversation with Kevin, subtly distanced themselves. Even if Kevin was a Sessor Candidate, they didn''t want to appear overly friendly with him, especially in front of the Greville Family heir, who was rumored to have a strained rtionship with Kevin Whiteheart.action Kevin, Elena, and Eva chose to ignore Asher. However, Raelyn, seated with Reece and other Student Council members, watched him intently. She wasn''t the only one; Leonard also directed his gaze towards Asher as he settled in beside Damian and Amelia. ? "What happened?" Reece asked as he looked at Raelyn. "Nothing much," Raelyn replied. "Why don''t you tell him the truth, Raelyn," Zoie said She was the Head of the Management Committee of the Student Council and one of the Third Year Rankers. "That guy ignored our messages and attempts to contact us for the past two days. Can you believe how arrogant he is?" Zoie said, looking at Reece. Both Leonard and Raelyn wanted to know who Asher was going to vote for. Unlike Leonard, Raelyn was in a bad spot. Because of the fight between Asher and her brother, she had already had a quarrel with him. But she knew that Asher had declined to join Blood Faction, so she wanted to know who the vote would go towards. "Leave him if it''s my fault for losing," Raelyn said, but she was feeling frustrated inside. Reece silently observed them while the others on the Table remained silent. The party was full of people who were interacting with each other, but there was one corner that everyone ignored. Venessa, who was eating the sweets, could feel gazes that wereing towards her. "You don''t have to sit with me," Alyssa muttered. Unlike others, Alyssa wasn''t wearing a dress. She was in her Student Council clothes. There was only one dress she had, and it was the one that she wore when she went with Asher to the Kalvas G. ? "It''s fine. I find it more peaceful when I don''t get disturbed by annoying people," Venessa replied. "You will only create problems for yourself," Alyssa said. Even right now, she was wearing the mask that covered half her face, but she could feel the gazes of people looking at her like she was some disgusting thing. Venessa didn''t know what to say to Alyssa. ? ''Am I creating trouble for her?'' Venessa asked herself. But part of her didn''t want to abandon Alyssa like this. She had already epted Alyssa as a friend. What started as a curiosity soon grew much bigger. ''But can I really keep doing this?'' Venessa thought in her head. Although she was hiding her identity, she belonged to the Demarcus Family. Alyssa remained silent after that as she waited for this ceremony to get over. If not for the fact that all Rankers needed to attend this, she wouldn''t havee here. "Tch, I can''t believe I need to be in the same space as her," Some of the guests muttered. Some of them were even thinking of creating problems for her, but the problem was the fact that Venessa and Alyssa''s table was just behind the one Asher was sitting at. To approach, they have to pass by Asher and Amelia, but going without greeting them would be considered disrespectful toward the Greville Family. And if they were seen greeting Asher, it would seem like they wanted to have friendly rtions with the Greville Family. Either way, it was unnecessary trouble that nobody really wanted. "I must say that Professor Argas, you did a great job with managing the arrangement," Some of the Guests were speaking with the Professors. ? "Oh, it''s nothing really," Argas replied. "Professor Argas, about the research n our group submitted..." The conversations were happening all around the hall, with people socializing with each other. Suddenly, the lights got dim around the hall as the Main Stage that was present in front of them was lit, and Farnus appeared. Everyone stopped their conversation as they turned their heads to look at Farnus. "It seems that everyone was having fun, but I need your attention for a short time," Farnus said. "This Award Ceremony is a bit special, as you know that today not only are we rewarding the Rankers, but a vote must be done that will impact the future of the World Academy," Farnus announced. Leonard smiled while Raelyn remained calm. "But before that, I want to congratte all the students who have worked hard to achieve their ce here," Farnus said as everyone started pping. "After this week, some of you will leave the World Academy, and we hope that the things that you learned here will shape a better future for us," "While the others will enter a new academic year, and I hope I can meet all of you again at this ce the next year as well," Farnus said. Everyone pped as two emblems appeared behind Farnus; one belonged to the Student Council, and the other belonged to the Blood Faction. "Before I announce the Votes, can I ask the Student Council President and Blood Faction Leader toe up here," Farnus said as Leonard and Raelyn stood up. Chapter 384 Student Council Vs Blood Faction : Vote ?384 Student Council vs Blood Faction : Vote All the people present in the Hall pped as Raelyn and Leonard both walked towards the stage and stood aside from Farnus. "Both of you are exceptional students of our World Academy," Farnus said, looking at Leonard and Raelyn. "The Rules of World Academy are made in a way to make all of you stronger," "That''s why I allowed the challenge against the Student Council that had existed since the history of World Academy," In the History of World Academy, there was never been a time when the whole Student Council was challenged. There were times when the Student Council Presidents were challenged, but there was never another Blood Faction or someone who tried to change the entire way the Student Council was set up. Farnus raised his hands as four golden envelopes appeared in his hand. "These contain the vote of the Rank 1 Students and the Combined vote of the Student Assembly," "As this was done confidentially, even I don''t know the result yet," Farnus said. All the Rankers here, even the Fourth Year ones, wanted to know what the result was. Leonard nced in the direction where Asher was sitting as he was curious about which side Asher chose after he personally messaged him with an offer. It was an offer where Leonard offered Asher to be part of the new authority he was going to implement after winning. Although Raelyn didn''t directly message Asher, it was Tyrone Martell who asked Asher about his vote. Student Council couldn''t offer anything to Asher. Raelyn didn''t want to give Asher any power because of what he did to her brother. ''Kevin is now the Sessor Candidate. He will enough to raise the Whiteheart''s name,'' Raelyn thought in her head. The reason she was desperate to keep her position was to increase the influence of her family. Whiteheart only became an Elite Family nearly a decade ago. They needed more time to increase their influence and power, and that was one of the reasons Raelyn was engaged to Reece, whom she knew from a young age. Because Kevin became the First Sessor Candidate, it was an incredible thing for the Whiteheart Family. "I will start with the one from the Third Year," Farnus said as one of the envelopes floated in the air. A sharp line of aura opened the envelope as Farnus read it out loud. "Leonard Tarvian has voted for the Blood Faction," Farnus announced. The Second Envelope was opened. "From the Second Year, ke Cranston has voted for the Blood Faction," The Third Envelope was opened. Even Damian and Amelia were waiting to see what side Asher had chosen because he didn''t tell them even when they asked him. "From the First Year, Asher Greville has voted for the Student Council," Farnus announced. Leonard nced in the direction where Asher was sitting with a smile on his face. Unlike the expression of the other Blood Faction members, Leonard is pretty unaffected by Asher''s vote. ''Not bad. I guess he isn''t as easy to control as others,'' Leonard thought in his head. Raelyn was a bit surprised, but she didn''t show that on her face. ''Maybe Tyrone managed to convince him,'' She thought in her head. "For the Last Vote that came from the Student Assembly," Farnus said as he opened thest envelope in the same way. Leonard smiled because he knew what the result would be. He had carefully made sure to manipte the minds of the Student Assembly to favor the Blood Faction. His n was perfect, as Leonard didn''t make a single mistake himself. He executed his n perfectly till the end. Asher looked at the stage with a curious look on his face. "The Student Assembly has voted for the Student Council. It''s a tie," Farnus announced as Leonard''s expression changed. His smile faded as he stood there with confusion. "What?" Leonard muttered. ''But everything went ording to the n,'' Leonard started thinking of where it went wrong. He didn''t start Blood Faction without thinking anything. And he was right; Leonard didn''t make any mistakes, but he still lost.lights There was only a single reason for his defeat, and that very person was biting his nails in his Dorm room right now. "I did as he said, but what if Leon finds out," Gavin muttered. Just like Asher wanted, Gavin increased his bullying so much that he even forgot that it was Asher''s orders. He started enjoying it as he disobeyed the orders that Leonard gave them. But now that he was thinking back on his actions, he was afraid if Leonard found out that he was disobeying his orders. "But it wasn''t like I was making them go against the Blood Faction," Gavin tried to find excuses. "And there wasn''t even that many. Yeah! Leon wouldn''t even find out about it," Gavin said to himself. Gavin didn''t realize that even if the students didn''t resist his bullying, they would still badmouth the Blood Faction in retaliation. Asher carefully picked students who had strong pride and made them targets for Gavin to bully. Slowly, the rumors about the members of the Blood Faction were spreading silently among the First Years. The second factor in Leonard''s defeat was Eric Herod. Eric was popr among the students in the Third Year that didn''te from strong financial backgrounds. Because of his outgoing nature, he was one of the few, if not the only Ranker, who would help those who were in the Low Ranks and spend time with them. As Asher wanted, Eric carefully manipted those students into thinking that supporting the Student Council was better than the Blood Faction. Standing on the stage, Leonard, who thought he was controlling everyone like chess pieces, didn''t realize he wasn''t the person in control. Asher looked at Leonard. ''I haven''t seen that face in a long time,'' Asher thought in his head. "What it''s a tie?" "So who will be the winner?" All the people stopped chatting as Farnus opened his mouth. "Well, in this case, I will allow the Rank 1 of the Fourth Year to decide the winner," Farnus said as everyone turned to look at Jayden Hargrave, who was sitting with his group. "But weren''t the Fourth Years excluded," "Yeah, they aren''t part of World Academy anymore, right?" "Because the Fourth Year haven''t graduated till now, Jayden Hargrave is still a part of World Academy," Farnus said. "And because this a tie, I will allow him to pick the winner," "So, Jayden, who will you pick among these two," Farnus asked. Leonard looked at Jayden, and his facial expression changed. He was aware of the fact that Jayden was careful of talented people like Kevin and Asher. And Leonard had already offered him a deal the day he won against Reece. It was a loss for Leonard, but because Reece failed, he had no choice but to give Jayden an offer he would like. What Leonard wanted to do once he won was to split the authority of the Student Council President into seven parts. And make a new Student Council, where seven people would decide and maintain the World Academy. And those seven would have their own faction where they could recruit other students. It sounded like a good way to distribute the power, but what Leonard wanted was to make a ce where he could control the future of the Elite Families. Because of the power struggle to be the Heir and other things, Leonard was going to make sure that he would make the Seats of his new Student Council in a way that it would passed down to the people he wanted. He would select the Seven Students himself, and he would manipte the new Student Leaders, carefully picking those that he wanted and crushing those that he found troublesome. In a way, he could control the future power dynamics of the Elite Families even after he had left the World Academy. It was part of his n that even Reece wasn''t part of. "I will choose the Student Council," Jayden said as Leonard looked at him with a confused look on his face. In return, Jayden smiled on his face. It didn''t make sense to Leonard at all. He had already offered Jayden a partnership that he needed and something he needed to create in his own power inside the Hargrave Family. Asher looked at the confused Leonard and Jayden, who were smiling at him. Both of them didn''t know that they were moving just like he wanted them to. Eric grinned as the n that Asher told him worked as Jayden Hargrave had misunderstood something. Chapter 385 Loss ?385 Loss A few days ago, when Eric met Vin to give him some advice, there were some Blood Faction members present in the room. They already knew that Eric Herod was rted to Asher Greville, so they reported the fact to Leonard, who was interested to know why someone like Eric was meeting Vin Hargrave. "That guy interacts with a lot of low-ranking students," One of the Third Year Students said. "Keep your eyes on Vin Hargrave," Leonard told them as he looked at the Stage. What others took for granted, Leonard didn''t. Any small variable that he chose to ignore could be a big trouble in the future. And the person involved was not any low-ranking student. It was the son of the Family Head of the Hargrave Family. Someone who Leonard was already keeping his eyes on. Leonard didn''t like when things got out of his control. What he didn''t know was that him being careful would bite him in the leg. It was not only Leonard that was keeping his eyes on Vin, but Jayden himself was doing the same. Vin''s few wins made Jayden a bit suspicious. But what made Jayden turn on Leonard was the fact that some fourth-year students saw Vin interacting with the Blood Faction members. Jayden had told them to stay out of sight, so they didn''t approach them, but they confirmed that the Blood Faction was involved with Vin. But it was not true at all. What those guys were doing was asking Vin about Eric and how he was involved with him. Due to Vin''s status, they couldn''t threaten him, so they appeared friendly in front of him. This was a small misunderstanding that could have been solved if either party had taken the initiative tomunicate with each other. But Leonard liked having a few cards up his sleeve, and he wanted to use this information to turn Jayden Hargrave against Asher. It was a clever n, as Jayden, who was already cautious of Asher, would finally get a reason to go against Asher. Jayden, who already was aware of Leonard''s personality, didn''t even bother confirming whether it was true or not. "I will choose the Student Council," Jayden announced. At this moment, the faces of all the Blood Faction members changed. They were sure of their victory, but everything crumbled in front of their eyes. Even Raelyn was surprised how she won the voting when she had already given up. "Look at their faces," Damian said as he looked around. "Their reaction is obvious. They were supposed to win today," Amelia replied. With Leonard Tarvian winning against Raelyn, most students thought that Blood Faction had already won. Leonard was still in shock. But instead of being confused, he was thinking where things went wrong for him. Something didn''t make sense to him. ''I lost?'' Leonard said in his head. This was the first time when his ns had failed, and he didn''t even know how. Suddenly, a student raised his hand. Farnus nced in the direction as the student stood up. "But wasn''t it decided that the Fourth Year wouldn''t vote, so his vote shouldn''t count," One Blood Faction member spoke out. The other Blood Faction members nodded their heads and supported his argument. At this point, Zoie stood up as well. "But it''s a tie, right? And you didn''t object when this was decided, so why are you being upset now?" Zoie said. Suddenly, a heated argument started. "Stop," Farnus said as his mana took over the room. Every single student stopped. "The Result has been decided already. Do any of you two have any objections?" Farnus said, looking at Leonard and Raelyn. Leonard wanted to object, but he simply couldn''t. He couldn''t lose the influence he had gained over others so soon. "But because the result was a Tie, I will allow the Blood Faction to remain as a group, but the Authority they had previously will be reduced," Farnus announced. The Authority to challenge the Student Council and a few other things that they had taken for granted would be stripped from them. Instead of immediately removing Blood Faction, Farnus made a slight change and allowed the faction to exist. "You two can go back to your seats," Farnus said as Raelyn and Leonard walked down the Stage. Raelyn was smiling as she saw Kevin and his friends cheering for her. Asher looked at the two of them, and he already knew that the result would go in favor of the Student Council. Looking at the Hidden Quest, he cleared something rted to changing the future of World Academy.lights That only meant that the Student Council would win. In his previous life, Leonard won, and his n was implemented when the Seven Students were given the seats to govern the Student Assembly. Surprisingly, Elena and Kevin were part of the Seven chosen students with Amelia as well. ke Cranston was the fourth one, with Jack Allister as Fifth One and Velmond Louis, the Rank 2 of Second Year Students and another member of the Blood Faction. The threemittees were removed, and their Authority was shared among the Seven Seats. Leonard introduced something simr to the High Council in World Academy. "Now, I would like to announce the Top 5 Students from Each Year," Farnus said as the names were disyed behind him. Everyone pped as they saw the names. Alyssa also looked at her name, and her rank had decreased, but she was still Rank 5. The new First Year Rankings were Asher as Rank 1, Kevin as Rank 2, Matthew as Rank 3, Lishia as Rank 4, and Alyssa as Rank 5. "These are based on your overall performance throughout the Year," Farnus said. "Especially the ones in the First Year, the Top 5 will receive the privilege to enter the Trials Ground," Farnus announced. Asher had already received the token to enter, but this was not the case for others. "Enjoy the night," Farnus said as he disappeared. "You could have been Rank 5 if you had not surrendered," Damian said, looking at Amelia. "Not really, her overall strength was greater than mine," Amelia replied. And it was true. The scores were based on their performance, and Alyssa''sst spell was certainly deemed powerful enough to beat Lishia. "Princess, congrattions on being Rank 4," Kiara said with a smile. "Thanks," Lishia replied. "I am sure you can defeat that Rank 3 guy in the future," Kiara said, looking at her. "Maybe, I am not sure, but I will try," Lishia replied. "It''s a pity both of us had to graduate at the same time, but I hope you have a good time at World Academy," Kiara said, looking at Lishia. At this time, many guests were looking in their direction as they were curious about the Princess of Halcyon, but because of Kiara, nobody was approaching them. But a certain person wearing a white suit stood up, and he attracted a lot of attention from every guest.action He walked up to a certain table that everyone was ignoring till now. "Nice to meet you, Asher Greville," He said as Asher turned his head to look at him. "I am Cade Cranston. Can I join your table for a chat?" Cade asked publicly. "Sure," Asher replied. Denying Cade publicly would have been disrespectful towards the Cranston Family, but that wasn''t the reason why Asher allowed Cade to sit with them. Asher had only met Cade once in his previous life, and that was also the day both of them fought to death. In Asher''s memories, Cade was nothing but a person who was obsessed with swordsmanship. His obsession was so great that he neglected his duty as the heir when he heard that Nathan Greville had died. He became obsessed with making his sword art the strongest, and he started clearing hard Dungeons so often that many people heard about him. "I heard that you defeated my brother in a spar?" Cade said in a low voice. Everyone was curious what they were talking about. "Yeah, I did," Asher replied calmly. Damian was a bit nervous because, unlike others, Cade held a status equal to Asher. ''I guess he wouldn''t do anything here, though,'' Damian thought as he rxed. "Is it an issue?" Asher asked as he looked directly into Cade''s eyes. Damian and Amelia got worried that Asher was provoking Cade, but unlike what they imagined, Cade''s response was different. "Not really, it''s his fault for being careless," Cade said. He med ke for being careless while also denying that it was Asher that was strong. Because Cade was a Heir of the Cranston Family, he needed to choose his words carefully while maintaining the image of his family at all times. "I wanted to have a spar myself, but the current you is too weak for me," Cade said. He wasn''t mocking Asher but being truthful. "In your Third Year of World Academy, when you choose Guild Missions, I want you to choose a mission in Fashia," Cade said. "It''s you who wants a spar. Why should I go out of my way to do so?" Asher said as he looked at Cade. "Of course, I will personally offer an artifact from my personal collection; you can choose any S Rank Artifact you want from it," Cade offered with a smile on his face. He stood up and looked at Asher. "And you should know that the personal collection of the Heir of the Cranston Family would be quite interesting even for you," Cade said as he turned to leave. Amelia and Damian were confused about what had just happened. Chapter 386 Incompetent ?386 Ipetent The table of the Blood Faction members was silent. The music and the ongoing conversations filled the entire Hall, but everyone sitting there waspletely silent. And the reason was Leonard, who was silently sitting in his seat. Everyone was on edge except ke, who saw Cade interacting with Asher. He knew why his older brother was interacting with Asher. ''All because of his obsession with his swordsmanship,'' ke thought in his head. The only reason why Cade would meet Asher and have a conversation was to fight against his sword. ''Or, Sword God''s Sword,'' ke said to himself. Because of this, Joseph Cranston, Cade''s Grandfather and one of the 11 SSS Rank Hunters in the world, banned Cade from ever challenging Nathan. Cade didn''t like that, but he was aware that simply honing his sword art wasn''t enough.action After all, he had never won a spar against Joseph himself, so he went for the next best option. And that was Asher, but even a spar between the heirs of the two strongest Elite families wasn''t something that could happen so casually. That was why Cade offered Asher a deal to do their spar while Asher was doing one of the World Academy Assignments that were given to every single student. Cade was sure, seeing Asher''s growth, that in his Third Year, he would reach a certain level in his swordsmanship that he could spar against. "Are you sure about this?" Damian asked as soon as Cade went back. "I don''t mind," Asher replied. "Hey, you should take your position seriously," Amelia said with a frown on her face. "Yeah, who knows what someone like him might be scheming," Damian said. "And why would he want to spar you out of all people?" Amelia questioned. Both Damian and Amelia didn''t believe that Cade had any good intentions with calling out Asher. Asher didn''t bother to reply to them because he was thinking about something else. ''I wonder how many days it would take me to kill him with the sword art I possess now,'' Asher questioned himself. He didn''t remember their fight at all, but he knew how it went. The only reason why he couldn''t remember his fight was because everything about that memory was a blur, with only a few moments that Asher could remember clearly. The penalty of Node Art made it impossible for Asher to remember his own sword art. He was able to remember most of his fights, but his own self was blurry on those memories. While the Party went on, some of the people left early. Casie left as soon as she met Asher, and Alyssa left as soon as the results were announced. Venessa also left with her because she couldn''t handle the atmosphere in the Hall. At Asher''s table, "Young Master, are you going to enter Trials Ground?" Eric asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. "Wait, shouldn''t you wait until you arepletely ready for it?" Damian asked. "Yes, the best time to go in there is generally the end of Second Year," Eric replied. "I don''t think any First Year would enter the Trials Ground so soon," Eric added. "It doesn''t matter to me," Asher replied. Most of the time, students were told to gather as much experience in fighting and decide a path for their future before entering Trials Ground. At the Table where Kevin was sitting, "I didn''t think you would win," Eva said, looking at Raelyn, who joined them. "Well, it was certainly surprising," Raelyn replied. "After all, I didn''t expect that guy to vote for the Student Council," Raelyn said. "Maybe he had a conflict with Leonard or the Blood Faction," Zoie tried to guess. "Whatever it was, it''s good that we won," Raelyn added. "By the way, Raelyn, who are you going to select as the next Student Council President?" Zoie asked. "We will have to leave World Academy in three months as we are in Fourth Year now," Zoie said. "I was thinking of Elena or Kevin," Raelyn said as Elena was surprised. "I was also thinking of Eva, but you wouldn''t like that, right?" Raelyn asked. Eva nodded as she liked to spend her time practicing her own magic and spending time in the Great Library. "I think Elena is a good choice as well," Kevin said as Elena looked at him. "I will be busy from now on, so I don''t think I can handle anything else," Kevin replied. Kevin was excited to learn from Farnus, so he didn''t want anything that would bother him. From the moment Raelyn won, she decided to give the Student Council President''s seat to Elena or Kevin. But it wasn''t this easy to be the Student Council President after all. Raelyn could rmend a candidate, but they had to win the votes as well. The Party went on, but the Blood Faction members left after a few hours with Leonard. Soon, the Award Ceremony came to an end as every guest eventually left as well.lights The next morning, the whole World Academy got to know the results of the Blood Faction and Student Council. But in the Blood Faction''s Building, "How?" Leonard said he mmed the face of a student into the floor. Everyone was standing still, seeing Leonard take his anger on the members who were involved with persuading the student assembly. "I don''t know..." The student said nervously. Jack was standing across the room as he saw the bloody mess that Leonard had created. He himself was scared, but he knew that Leonard wouldn''t do anything considering his status. "Don''t know?" Leonard asked. Bam! He threw the guy to the wall, and he was the eighth one that was lying on the floor. "How did we lose?" Leonard asked, looking at the rest of the members. Gavin, who was standing there, didn''t dare open his mouth. The current Leonard didn''t resemble the one that would always smile no matter what. Right now, he himself was scared that he didn''t tell the truth to Leonard. ''I can''t tell him,'' Gavin said to himself. One by one, the low-ranking members were ruthlessly beaten as Leonard vented his anger on them. "What went wrong?!" Leonard shouted. "It was supposed to be us that should have won!" Leonard said while suppressing his killing intent. ''Was he the one behind it?'' Gavin tried to think. ''No, a bunch of first years can''t change the whole vote,'' Gavin thought. While Gavin was denying that it was Asher who was behind it, Asher was looking at the data that Tom had sent him. "Find the person who messed up my n," Leonard shouted. Every single one of them nodded as they didn''t want to anger Leonard any further. Leonard destroyed the door with his aura as he left the room in anger. ''Tch, how did we lose?'' Jack thought with a frown. ''No, Leonard Tarvian is still important,'' Jack thought in his head. For Jack, World Academy was a small stage, and he still needed to follow Leonard, who had a lot of power outside World Academy. ''I need to do as Father told me,'' Jack remembered what he was told by the Allister Head. At the Rankers Dorm at Asher''s Floor, "So, you guys got a newly made dorm?" Amelia asked, and the twins nodded. "They said we should move there as the Grandus Twins are also staying there," Livia replied. Amelia looked at the map location of the Dorm, "It isn''t that far from the Second Year Rankers Dorms," Amelia muttered. "They did this so fast," Damian also looked at the map. "Well, their sses started this week, so it makes sense why it was done so quickly," Amelia replied. Lucas and Livia were excited to learn at World Academy as they had heard a lot of things from their tutors about this ce. "Both of you, if anyone troubles you or says something, make sure to tell us about it," Amelia said, looking at Livia and Lucas. Damian nodded his head as well. Lucas was smiling because now he could meet and learn from Asher whenever he wanted. "Amelia and Asher will be busy these few months, so you can rely on me," Damian said. "Why?" Lucas asked. "Oh, you didn''t know, right," Damian looked at Lucas. "Both of them have to learn from the books they got from Sanctuary of Mages, so this will be the best time for it," Damian replied. "Yeah, and Asher is entering the Trails Ground as well this time, so it would be helpful for him if he learned from those books," Damian said. "Trials Ground?" Lucas asked. Amelia looked at the confusion on the twins'' faces as they didn''t know much about Trials Ground. They knew it existed, but none of the tutors exined it in detail. Amelia started exining about the Trials Ground, and Lucas''s expression got wider as he learned about it. ''I can get stronger there..'' Lucas thought in his head. "When can I enter it?" Lucas asked. "Umm, I don''t know," Damian replied. "There are two ways to enter it. First is earning the token or the special rmendation of the Rank 1 of the Fourth Year Student," Amelia added. "But you guys are in the special ss, so you can ask the Professors about that," Amelia answered their questions. Chapter 387 Free To Go Out ?387 Free to go out While the twins were chatting with Amelia and Damian, Asher was not in the Rankers Dorm. "But what if Leonard Tarvian finds out it was Gavin Neville," Eric asked. "If those students can spread the rumors around, I don''t think they will hesitate to say Gavin''s name," Eric added. "They won''t," Asher replied. "Spreading rumors about Blood Faction is a different matter than using someone from an Elite family," Asher said. "And even if he gets caught, he wouldn''t reveal my name," Asher said. But Eric was still confused as to why Gavin wouldn''t say that it was Asher who was forcing him to do all this. "Is it because you have the evidence that could harm the reputation of the Neville Family?" Eric asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. But there was one more reason. Gavin would never reveal that he betrayed the Blood Faction because it was better to be med as someone who didn''t follow orders of Leonard and bullied a few students instead of deliberately doing this by following Asher''s orders. Right now, in Leonard''s eyes, Asher was just an arrogant guy who was hard to manipte. For Leonard, both of them didn''t have any issues that would lead to Asher acting against him. "Well, if Young Master believes so, then it''s fine," Eric said as he touched his ID Bracelet. "I havepleted the report of Duel Committee. I have sent it to you if you want to check it," Eric spoke. Eric was handling the matters of the Duel Committee till now like Asher had told him to do. "I have selected a few Second Year Students that have worked with me, so they will handle the issues and report to you if they have any difficulties," Eric added as Asher looked at the report. It contained the data of many students and disputes that would constantly happen, and every time it did happen, the Duel Committee was involved. "Okay," Asher replied. The only reason Asher took over the Duel Committee was to gain immunity from the Student Council. Even Raelyn couldn''t assert her authority over Asher because the Committee heads were in equal positions as the Vice President of the Student Council. Eric stood up to leave as he had quite a lot of things to do before his next Year began. Fourth Year required the students to go outside the World Academy, so he needed to meet with the team that he was part of. "Two and a half months," Asher muttered. This was the time he had before he could enter the Trials Ground. And because the sses of the Second Year were beginning next month, he could finally leave World Academy without worrying abouting back. Now that Blood Faction had lost, Asher was sure that Leonard would give up on controlling World Academy for now. In his previous life, half a year after the End Year Tournament, Leonard and Reece introduced their products in the markets of Belvoria and Fashia, and then they expanded into all five continents. In one year, their product took over the markets of every continent, and they were sessful in invading Somaria''s market as well. Till now, Abyss Corporation ruled over Somaria''s market, but that changed when a new corporation came out of nowhere. It was also the time when many moles within the Abyss Corporation showed their true faces. "It would take them a year without the sponsors and the mana crystals," Asher muttered. The Williams Family didn''t have the dungeon with the mana crystal mine, nor did the sponsors that helped Leonard and Reece enter the market exist. Now that Blood Faction waspletely powerless, Leonard wouldn''t waste his efforts in Blood Faction anymore. And without Leonard, Blood Faction would slowly disappear as well. Blood Faction had so many people from strong backgrounds that conflicts of interest would often arise. But because Leonard was the leader, none of the members made any mess that could make them lose their favor with Leonard Tarvian. Ping! Suddenly a message from Tom came. "So he finally epted the proposal," Asher looked at the message. "Like father, like son," Asher said as he closed the message. Ten minutester, Asher arrived at his floor, and he could hear the voices of four people. "Oh, he came back," Damian noticed Asher as he waved his hands toward him. Taking a seat himself, he looked at the amount of different books that were present on the tables. "So, these are all the books I took from the Great Library," Amelia said excitedly.lights "If you need any help,e to me," She said, looking at Livia and Lucas. "Okay," Livia replied. "For the first month, I will not be there, so ask Damian about anything you want," Amelia said. "Except for those books, I can help you guys in anything," Damian replied. "It can''t be helped, as I need to finish those books in time," Amelia replied. Unlike Asher, she wasn''t entering the Trials Ground, but she couldn''t hold on to those books forever. "I would be bored without you two, though," Damian replied. Ping! Lucas and Livia both got notifications on their ID Bracelet. Seeing that they both got a notification at the same time, Amelia looked at the time. "I think it''s time," Amelia said as she looked at the twins. Both of them were notified toe and enter their New Dorms. "I wille with you guys. Let''s go," Amelia said as both the twins stood up. Livia and Lucas waved their hands as they went out with Amelia. "That reminds me, we needed to take our own stuff and shift to the new Rankers Dorm," Damian said, looking at Asher. "But you don''t really have much in here to take," He looked around, and there weren''t many things on his floor. "I need to take all that stuff out and arrange it again," Damian said with a tired look on his face. Just like the twins, they needed to go in the Second Year Rankers Dorm within a week. "Sigh, I wanted to have a spar, but I will go as well," Damian stood up. "See Ya," Damian said as Asher nodded his head. As soon as all of them went out, Asher stood up and walked into his room. Although his entire floor looked exactly the same as it was when he got it, there was one thing he needed to take with him to the new dorm. Asher touched the painting that was near his bed and stored it inside his spatial storage. With that done, there was nothing more he needed to do. "It should be around midnight when they will give us permission to enter the Second Year Ranker Dorm," Asher muttered. Leaving his room, he went to the training room to practice his mana meditation until tomorrow. Next Day, All the Rankers from the First Year were informed to move to the Second Year Dorms. Everyone was given a week''s time to move, but the first one to move in was Asher himself. Their ID Bracelets were updated so they could enter the floors ording to their ranks, and the new rankings result was announced. Amelia overtook Elena and became Rank 6, and Damian became Rank 8, with Eva bing Rank 9. Venessa still remained at Rank 10, and Sam was still at Rank 11. The robotic voice said as Asher entered the highest floor that belonged to Rank 1 Student. Just by entering, Asher could feel the abundant mana present on this floor. Compared to the First Year Rankers Dorm, the mana here was seven times denser. "Restrict ess to my floor for one month," Asher said as soon as he entered the floor. By Asher''smand, the Security System of World Academy made it impossible for anyone to enter his room unless they had Rank 4 or above authority. And only two people had them in the entire World Academy. First was Xander Demarcus, with Rank 4 authority, and above him was Farnus Calmort, who had Rank 5 authority. Being the Rank 1 and the Head of the Duel Committee, Asher himself had Rank 2 Authority. The Entire Layout of this floor was different, but it didn''t Asher too long to find the Training Room and he entered it without wasting any time. Asher ced the books on the floor as he took out the ne. The ne glowed and Asher disappeared from his spot. Chapter 388 Start Of A Hunt ?388 Start of a Hunt Asher felt the spatial energy wrap around his body. However, the sensationsted only a moment before he stood in the room where Kai and Dane had been sparring. Both of them paused, sensing Asher''s presence. Tom had already informed them of Asher''s impending arrival, so they had been sparring while waiting for him. "Good morning, Boss," Dane greeted Asher with a smile. Asher looked around and noticed that Tom was not in the room. "Is he done?" Asher asked, scanning the training room. "We''ve established a secure connection with the Neville Head, but Tom was enhancing the security or something," Kai replied. Asher nodded, aware that Tom always ensured everything was secure before proceeding. "You can continue," Asher said as he exited the room. Kai and Dane exchanged a look, readying themselves to resume their spar, their tension easing as Asher left. Neither Kai nor Dane could fully rx in Asher''s presence after experiencing the full extent of his killing intent. While Dane trusted his instincts, Kai was more troubled by how someone so young could possess such intense killing intent. It led him to wonder about the upbringing that had shaped Asher into who he was. ''It seems the rumors were true,'' Kai mused silently. Given the influence of Elite Families, it was inevitable that some rumors would circte. Asher opened the door where Tom was working onmunication channels, trying to exploit the very channels he had established. He would continue doing so until even he couldn''t find any loopholes. There was a reason why he was still unscathed after meddling with the database of the World Association. Tom noticed Asher and paused, closing the series of multiple programs he was running. "Boss, I have secured themunication lines, but I would need a few more days to test them perfectly," Tom replied. "Did he give what I asked for?" Asher inquired as he took a seat in the room. "Yes, but the information was too vague," Tom responded. Asher listened to Tom, who exined what Jarell had sent them, but as Tom mentioned, it was indeed too vague. What Asher had asked for was a way to infiltrate the Capital of Halcyon under his name and the method to enter the location that Asher had specified. Getting new identities wasn''t difficult since Jarell had his connections in Halcyon through the illegal trade routes he established. Still, the problem was that Jarell didn''t give them any answer regarding how to enter the ce Asher wanted. "I can understand why he would say that, as only the Royals or someone from the Everett or Allister Family can enter that ce," Tom replied. "We can''t enter without having someone from these families escorting us," Tom added. "It''s fine, we don''t have to rush," Asher said as he looked at the screen. It was tough to enter Halcyon, unlike the other Four Continents, but the Capital of Halcyon, also known as the Heart of Halcyon, was especially difficult to infiltrate. Each person needed to carry an identity tag, and anyone without it would set off the rm at the multiple checkpoints. The Royal Family of Halcyon didn''t want outsiders to establish their own power within Halcyon. The only powers that were allowed to operate inside Halcyon were the three Associations. "Besides that, I''m surprised that Jarell Neville agreed to our proposal," Tom said as he turned to look at Asher. "I thought he would reject it the moment he saw it," Tom said. He didn''t know that Jarell Neville''s mind was being manipted by the artifact Asher possessed. To push Jarell even further, the information Asher had given him was heavily manipted. It was simply a white lie. "But isn''t it a bit strange that a Seat Holder like him is doing as you ordered?" Tom asked. In Tom''s eyes, Seat Holders, the High Council, were the epitome of power that ruled over the world. The power of the High Council could never be challenged, and that was how the world''s peace was maintained. "What if he betrays us?" Tom said. There was always a chance that Jarell Neville might set a trap for them. ''I guess he isn''t like what he was when I met him,'' Asher thought, looking at Tom. The current Tom didn''t evenpare to the one he had met when Asher created Zephyr. One of the founding members of Zephyr, also the person who proposed the idea of creating Zephyr, was none other than Tom Gylip. "He will not, not as long as he keeps doubting that he will be betrayed," Asher replied. And that doubt was not going to go away, even if Jarell Neville tried to remove it. Tom nodded as he turned back to open the program that showed Asher the necessary information before entering Halcyon. "I tweaked the IDs that Jarell Neville got us a bit," Tom said. "Even if Jarell Neville tries to trap us, he will have a hard time figuring things out," Tom said with a shrewd smile on his face.lights "But I was confused. Why are they physically taking these items instead of using the teleporting gate?" Tom asked, looking at Asher. "All teleportation gates emitrge amounts of mana, and they are easier to locate," Asher replied. "And in Halcyon, they are even more careful about such things," Asher added. "And the amount of resources that are needed to make such gates aren''t easy to secure," Asher said. Only the people from the ck Market were able to make their own teleportation gate, and even that was made with the resources they umted slowly. Even the infamous organizations that were heavily involved with criminal activities didn''t have a teleportation gate of their own. Asher nodded as he checked everything Tom had done. "This will work; tell Dane and Kai to get ready," Asher said as he left. Around the Borders of Halcyon, many men sat around a campsite. In the center, two men were standing looking at the items in front of them. "Did you load the cargo?" a middle-aged man asked as he removed the cigar from his mouth. "Yeah, but isn''t that too much protection?" The man replied. "We could have taken another contract," The man said with an annoyed look on his face. "Stop talking about useless things; we have already received the money," the middle-aged man said while looking around. "And isn''t this better than handling those annoying kids?" the middle- aged man said with a smile on his face. "And the money they are giving us is ten times the usual rate." "I guess you''re right, but why the hell do we need so many of our men?" he asked. "We''ve already cut a deal to smuggle all the drugs, and I need more people there." "I don''t feelfortable around those people," he said in a hushed voice. Apart from their own people, some other hunters were also present near the area.action The expression on the face of the middle-aged man changed. "Don''t even think of annoying them. Just a single look at them, and I can tell they are highly trained hunters, not like us," he said. "Whatever, when I stab one of those bastards, they''ll die the same." The middle-aged man didn''t look happy but ignored the man before him. "THE TELEPORTER IS READY!" someone shouted. "I heard there are three more people who will travel with us," the man said, looking toward the teleportation portal. The portal shined as three men wearing ck masks stepped out of it. "Tsk, these bastards are making us all wait," the man said annoyedly. "Keep it to yourself," the middle-aged man spoke. Both of them walked to the middle, and there were around thirty people present. "So, you three were addedst minute?" the middle-aged man asked as he looked at the three masked men. "I''m Richard, and these are my people," he said as a bunch of people looked in the direction of the masked men. "The mission is to travel through the Forest of Lemar, and we both will carry half the cargo," Richard said. Richard stopped as one person stepped forward. He also wore a mask simr to the three men who had just arrived. "We will be the ones carrying the other half of the cargo," he said, looking at the three masked men. "We don''t mind; we are here as backup," one of the masked men said. The man nodded, but his expression was hidden by the mask he was wearing. ''Are they from our side or...?'' the man wondered but didn''t ask the masked men directly. Apart from Richard and his people who were hired to guide them through the Forest of Lemar, all the other people were concealing their identities. ''All of this is happening because of that monster tide,'' the man frowned under his mask. Normally, they had their own passage and trade route that they had established, and it was much more convenient, but the recent monster tide had attracted a lot of attention near the borders. So, they had to discard that route and use the help of smugglers like Richard. Richard also knew that whoever the client was, they were someone powerful enough to move so many strong hunters. "Hey Richard, weren''t these people from the same side?" the man asked in a hushed voice. "Who knows, maybe they are from different sides, maybe they are hired just like us," Richard replied, but he didn''t care. "Everyone, get ready to move out!" Richard shouted out loud. Many people stood up as they took their weapons to get ready to travel through the Forest of Lemar. "My people know this, but there are times when monsters pop out when we travel," Richard said, looking at the masked men who seemed like the leader of his group. "You don''t have to worry about us. Just guide the way," The masked man said as Richard smiled and turned around. Chapter 389 Greed ?389 Greed A/N 14th Nov : Sorry for theck of updates over the past week. I got so sick that even standing up wasn''t possible, but I am finally healthy enough to write again. I will make up for the missed chapters the past two weeks. *** sh! Dane swung his sword, a trail of blood following his de, as three bodies fell to the ground. Kai crouched to take the Identity Tags from all three of them, then turned to hand one to Asher. Asher epted the small card-like identity tag. "We''ll use their identities to move with the group," Asher stated, his voice muffled by his mask. Tom''s voice informed all three of them. "I heard smuggling in Halcyon was tough, but even the Allister Family has to resort to this?" Kai muttered. "It''s the best method to cover our tracks if anything goes wrong," Asher remarked, scanning the surroundings. "Sounds like a lot of trouble," Dane murmured. Tom added, reflecting on his astonishment upon discovering the extent of the Allister Family''s operations. Given that most of the smuggled items were illegalmodities like poison and drugs, which required strict surveince by authorities, this was significant. But the worst out of them all was child trafficking. Despite extensive safety measures from all guilds, hunters often perished in dungeons, leaving a rising number of orphans in the slums. Many organizations exploited these orphans, indoctrinating them from a young age to serve as hunters. Dane and Kai had endured simr pasts. "I''ll clean up here," Kai dered, beginning to erase any signs of the skirmish from the room. They stood in an underground city run by the ck Market, in a sector controlled by an organization affiliated with the Allister Family. They controlled this portal, which connected Halcyon to the borders of Belvoria. "But their senses were too dull for C Rank Hunters," Dane noted, sheathing his sword. "It''s probably the drugs," Kai agreed. "Even in Spyder, there were many who took drugs to win fights andplete missions," Kai said as he incinerated the bloodstains on the floor. Tom, who had been listening to their conversation, asked. Being unawakened himself, Tom couldn''t fathom why someone would intentionally consume something that damaged their own body. "Most people didn''t have a choice," Kai exined. "Kids like us were spared because we produced results. Those who didn''t want to die or be discarded on missions resorted to those drugs." Organizations like Spyder only valued strength for the perilous missions they undertook. "But unlike these guys, the drugs used in Spyder were more akin to poison," Dane added. "As if they would entrust lower-ranking members with artifacts. They are so valuable that even we didn''t receive anything above B Rank," Dane scoffed. Dane and Kai, not being among the higher-ranking members of Spyder, only had ess to subpar artifacts. Nheless, they sessfullypleted Rank A Missions. "I''m done, Boss," Kai announced, turning to Asher. "Let''s move," Ashermanded, leading them through the Portal. *** Twenty minutester, after they were moving inside the Forest of Lemar, the group had increased to around 40 members once those who were scouting ahead rejoined them. Richard and his team were leading, while the masked men followed. "Stop!" Richard raised his hand, and everyone halted in the middle of the forest. "What happened?" asked the leader of the masked group. "I can see signs of monsters in the area," Richard said, indicating the w marks on a tree. This forest was particrly close to the Lost Lands, so it wasn''t umon for monsters to wander in. Not every continent was connected; the Lost Landsy between them, a barrier of sorts. Because the wild mana in thosends was so dense, it was impossible for anyone below A Rank to survive there. That''s why most people used therge Teleportation Gates to travel between continents. These secluded paths were typically utilized by criminal organizations to bypass the security checks at the Teleportation Gates. With the advancement of technology and spells over the years, it had be easier to detect illegal items. From monster remains to certain nts, anything that couldn''t be distributed without a permit from the World Association and proper documentation was immediately gged. That''s why these people were traversing through the Forest of Lemar, which skirted the dangerous outskirts of the Lost Lands. "If we run at full speed, it would take us three to four days to cross the border and reach our facility in Lemar City," Richard stated. "And that''s if we don''t rest or engage any monsters," he added. The masked leader didn''t voice his concerns, but he was internally displeased with Richard''s assessment. Richard''s group wasn''t part of their organization, yet they were granting him many concessions for providing a new route until their usual one was essible again.lights "We will follow your lead, as you are most familiar with this route," the masked leader conceded. Upon hearing this, Richard turned and nodded to one of his men. At Richard''s signal, the man moved forward to scout the terrain. "We will reduce our pace for the next two hours," Richard announced, and they decelerated to half their previous speed. The group wasposed mostly of B Rank Hunters, with a few A Ranks like Richard and the leader of the masked men. Everyone was following Richard''s group but at the rear a single person was matching the speed while observing the route they were taking. Unlike others who were on the lookout for monsters, this person was observing the entire group. After a few hours, the scout returned and informed Richard about a group of B Rank Monsters ahead. "You heard him, we need to deal with the Lesvines," Richard announced. "My group will handle it," said the Leader of the Masked Men. "As you wish," Richard didn''t question their abilities, sensing that each of them was a trained professional. Richard and his group moved to the rear, while the masked men took the lead. "Tsk, arrogant bastards," "Shut your mouth, Ron," Richard admonished the man beside him. "Isn''t it better for us that they deal with all the monsters?" Richard remarked, ncing at Ron. "Do you think they''ll notice?" Ron asked in a hushed tone. "Don''t worry, they''ll never know," Richard replied. "Now go back, and ensure no one causes trouble," Richard instructed, picking up his pace. They were traveling through a dense part of the forest. Ahead, some were already fighting Lesvines, monsters with sharp, thorny vines and a human-like figure, but twice asrge and with pale yellow eyes. "Don''t use Fire Magic, cut all the vines and destroy their core," the Masked Leader shouted. They were swiftly handling the B Rank Lesvines, as they had the numbers advantage. Richard didn''t join the fight but struggled to contain his smile. He was leading them on the wrong route to the City of Lemar. ''I will never let these guys profit from our routes,'' Richard thought, pleased with his n''s progress. He had heard rumors that the big organizations of the Underground City were spending heavily on smuggling items. But what struck him was their apparent desperation. Normally, Richard would have charged double for his route, but this time he was offered ten times the price, along with benefits he wouldn''t usually receive. ''But why should I give up my trade?'' Richard thought with a small smile on his face. His group mainly trafficked orphan children, and taking them through an area rife with violent mana and monsters wasn''t feasible. Richard had discovered two routes during his decade of work. Now, he was leading them on the one swarming with monsters. Richard couldn''t profit much from this route, as his group wasn''t strong enough to face the numerous Lesvines and other monsters in the forest. "Spread out! Kill them as soon as you encounter one," the Masked Leader shouted. For hours, they slew many monsters, and their swift pace allowed them to cover a considerable distance as well. A day passed, and the second night arrived. This time, instead of traveling in the dark, they halted. "Lay out the tents, and spread out detecting artifacts in a half- kilometer radius," the Masked Leader instructed. Richard''s group was already eating their food while the masked men dispersed into the darkness, establishing security measures. "Your men work quickly," Richard observed, looking at the Masked Leader. "How long will it take to get out of this forest?" asked the Masked Leader. "Five days if we encounter more monsters, four if everything goes smoothly," Richard replied bluntly. "The number of monsters has increased in the past few months, so I can''t guarantee anything." Richard''s reasoning seemed so usible that the Masked Leader didn''t suspect they were being misled. The natural surge in monster activity a few months ago was real, leaving no room for doubt in his mind. It was an ideal scenario for Richard, as everything was unfolding in his favor. He would receive the promised benefits and money, while those who had made the deal would handle the excess monsters near the actual route Richard normally used. The campsite was divided between the two groups, each responsible for their own safety at night. The echoes of the forest intensified, yet they didn''t disturb the camp''s inhabitants, ustomed as they were to such sounds. Hours passed, and the sun rose again, but the dense forest canopy allowed only slivers of sunlight to filter through, stirred by the asional gust of wind moving the thick branches. They traveled for two more days, with the masked individuals handling the monster encounters and Richard''s group focusing on initial scouting. It was the most optimal way of travelling through Forest of Lemar that was even bigger than the City of Lemar itself. Bordering the Lost Lands, ity between the borders of the two continents. People seldom visited here, and the monsters didn''t stray from the Forest of Lemar, as the density of mana decreased the farther they moved from the Lost Lands. "At this speed, we should be able to exit the forest by tomorrow," Richard said, looking at the Masked Leader. "We''ll keep moving then," the Masked Leader responded, pausing to think for a moment. Suddenly, just as the Masked Leader was about to proceed, he felt a wave of dizziness.action Something was amiss, but until now, no one had noticed. PS: I hope you make a full recovery soon. Chapter 390 Destroyed ?390 Destroyed He was perplexed, as he hadn''t used much mana to feel this weakened. Being an A-Rank Hunter, such sluggishness was inexplicable to him. He wasn''t alone in this; everyone around them felt simr effects, though the severity varied with their strength. In a moment of confusion, the Masked Leader halted, causing everyone, including Richard, to freeze, their eyes widening at the scene unfolding before them. Looking down, the Masked Leader saw a ck sword emerging from his heart, adorned with strange golden runes. "Ugh?" The Masked Leader was confused. Before he could identify his assant, his strength faded, and he died. Everyone was confused at the sight of the falling figure as the attacker withdrew the sword from the Masked Leader''s chest. Among all, it was Richard who reacted first, charging towards the masked man who had attacked their leader. Realizing something had gone terribly wrong, he knew he had to act quickly. But in a sudden twist, Richard copsed to the ground. sh! ncing behind, he realized his legs had been severed by another masked assant. Everything happened so swiftly that Richard barely had time to process the pain. He watched the masked man plunge the ck sword into his heart in the next moment. Richard died soon as the golden runes appeared around that ck sword. The entire sequence unfolded in just four seconds, leaving everyone immobilized, their bodies heavy and senses dulled. In that instant, the one who had shed Richard''s leg moved with such speed that their movements were a blur, and five of them were beheaded in an instant. As they were raising their weapons, the one who had killed their leader and Richard also moved, disappearing and reappearing, his sword impaling the hearts of one person after another. "Hey, group together and attack those two!" Ron shouted. But the masked people, more ustomed tobat and ambushes, were the first to react. BOOM! An explosion from a Tier 3 Fire Element Spell erupted, targeting the masked people rushing towards their fallen leader. "Erupt Fire," someonemanded. Another explosion ensued, aiding the swordsman with the ck Sword in his deadly task. Within 50 seconds, almost everyone was dead. "NO! NO! NO!" Ron screamed as he watched the masked man thrust his sword into the heart of thest surviving member of his group. "PLEASE, LET ME LIVE!" Ron begged, attempting to crawl away. His arms and legs trembled under the overwhelming bloodlust emanating from the swordsman. "Don''t kill me, I''ll do whatever you want," Ron pleaded. But to his surprise, the masked man stopped and crouched beside the body of the Masked Leader, a dense red mist-like energy swirling around him. Terror-stricken, Ron watched, trying to make sense of the situation. ''Did they know Richard was scamming them? No, why would they kill their own men?'' Thoughts raced through Ron''s mind as he desperately sought a way to survive. [ Host has gained +18 Endurance Stat ] [ Host has levelled up ] [ Host has levelled up ] [ Host has reached Level 40 ] [ System : First Awakening Started ] [ After the First Awakening ispleted many restrictions on the System will be removed ] [ During the awakening, the System would not be avable ] Asher, engrossed in the System notifications, ignored Ron''s desperate screams, focusing instead on the time it would take for the System to be functional again. "More than two months," Asher muttered as he saw it. "What should we do with this guy, Boss?" Dane asked as he looked around and stepped forward, carefully avoiding stepping on the dead bodies. Asher turned his gaze to Ron, whoy trembling on the ground. He took a few steps forward, then looked down at him.lights "Where is your Base that you do Business at?" Asher asked. "Ah, I-I will tell you, j-just let me live," Ron said. "I-I will lead you to our base," Ron said, forcing a smile on his face. ''Yeah, they can''t kill me if they need information.'''' Ron thought to himself. Asher looked at Ron as he cut off his wrist with the swift movement of his sword. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Ron screamed as he looked at the blood flowing from his severed wrist. Suddenly, chains of a ck element emerged from the ground, lifting Ron''s other hand into the air. "You have 30 seconds. Choose your next words wisely," Asher said. Ron gave them all the information in the next two minutes, ignoring the blood loss. He stammered and stuttered a few times but told them everything he knew. From how they operated to the location and even the people they dealt with. "I told you everything, everything I know. Please just let me go," Ron begged, "I will never tell a soul about what happened here," Ron said. But what Ron saw next made him speechless as he saw a snake-like creature appear out of nowhere, as the strange ck energy around it wrapped itself around the Leader of the Masked Men and Richard''s corpse. "Z-Zephyr?" Ron uttered, his face turning pale. He instantly recognized ''Zephyr,'' who was infamous among every illegal organization and group. The chains around Ron''s hand loosened up, making Ron think they were sparing him, but he was wrong. The chains wrapped themselves around his neck. Ron wanted to scream, but his time had run out. In a swift, decisive motion, Asher''s sword sliced through Ron''s neck, sealing his fate. Ron was a mage, so Asher didn''t pierce his heart as it would have been useless. "Boss, it wouldn''t take them long to notice that they were ambushed," Kai said as he looked at Asher. "I have left traces of our fight nearby, so even if the monsters eat them, those guys can know that monsters didn''t kill them," Kai added. "Take the spacial rings they had," Asher told and Kai nodded. "So, are we going to their Base, or will we enter the City of Lemar as nned?" Dane asked. *** In the capital of Halcyon, Within arge mansion, three individuals d in ck uniforms entered a room and bowed before a man seated there. "Greetings to the Archduke," they said in unison. "Stand up," the man instructed, prompting them to raise their heads. "What''s the status of the supply?" he inquired. He was none other than the head of the Allister Family, the Archduke of Halcyon.action "Some supply routes are currently unusable, but the issue will be resolved by next week," they reported. "Next week?" the Allister Family head repeated, causing the three men''s faces to pale. "Three days. I want everything fixed within three days," hemanded authoritatively. "And the Royal Family?" he probed further. "There''s been little activity. All the spies we sent were eliminated," one man reported, eyes cast downward. A frown creased the Archduke''s brow. "Cease that operation for now. Redirect them to Desmar," he instructed after a moment of contemtion. "They will assist the heir of the Williams Family for the time being." With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the three men from his room. A hint of discontent lingered on his face, primarily due to the involvement of the Williams Family in the recent developments. His dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that the new n was being led by Leonard and Reece, with the Allister Family not directly involved. "The n mustmence soon," he muttered to himself. But neither the Allister Head nor his people knew that a small ''problem'' had urred on the route they were going to use. Chapter 391 City Of Lemar *** In Halcyon, The City of Lemar, "What do you mean there is no reply?" A person shouted. "How does a team of 20 trained hunters go missing?" He spoke with a furious look on his face. The hunters before him were silent, with no excuse for their current situation. "I don''t care if you need to search through that damn forest; find the supplies no matter what," "Send another team; this time, tell the A Rank Hunters to move," The man said with a furious tone. This group was responsible for handling the smuggled items, which were very important this time. ''If the people from ''there''e, I can''t tell them that things have gone wrong,'' The man thought. *** Standing on a cliff-like ce, Asher removed his mask as his Crimson Red Eyes fell on the river flowing below. Taking out his sword, Asher looked at it as he touched the smooth surface of the de with his hand. Even without the System, Asher could tell that his sword was now a Rank C artifact. It wasn''t difficult to know this because this was the sword that was with him through every battle he fought against monsters and humans alike. Kai and Dane weren''t here because they were visiting the base where Richard''s group smuggled their items and sold the children that they trafficked. Halcyon was the perfect ce to do such stuff because it was a very closed continent, and without proper reasons and connections, it was hard to enter Halcyon. < Boss, shouldn''t we report these guys to the authorities?> Tom asked. "Why do you think I will do that?" Asher asked as he kept staring into the cliff. "Discard those ideas from your mind," Asher replied. Tom didn''t say anything after that, and the call disconnected soon after that. The sound of wind and water flowing was echoing as Asher looked behind where multiple corpses were present. Asher stood once again as he touched another corpse and used his bloodline ability. He felt his strength growing slightly while Rifir devoured the whole corpse. Although he couldn''t see his status, Asher was very sensitive to the sensation of him getting stronger. A normal Rank C Hunter could never do this, but Asher''s mind wasn''t of a Rank C Hunter. "You don''t want those?" Asher asked Rifir, who shook his head in denial. Apart from a few powerful B Rank Hunters, Rifir didn''t want to devour any other humans. "Taste dull," Rifirmunicated to Asher. "Firestorm," Asher muttered as mes erupted from the ground, burning the corpses. The storm elevated the burning bodies that slowly turned into bones and threw them onto the cliff as they fell into the river. Turning around, Asher looked at the other side of the cliff. "Blink," Asher muttered as he crossed over the massive cliff that even a B Rank Hunter would have a hard time crossing. Asher sprinted forward, and after doing so for a while, he stopped as he could see the huge wall and gates that were present, and beyond themy the City of Lemar. Lemar was one of the cities where the most trade happened, so much so that it was called the Merchant''s City. And it was the only ce where the smuggled stuff would get traded or be transported to the one that demanded those items. But instead of entering the City, Asher turned to his right and started going for a particr gate that he got intel from Jarell Neville. lightsnvl Although the City of Lemar was under the Royal Family''s control, and every trade needed to be reported to the Royal Family, the influence of other powers allowed such cracks to appear. The influence of the Allister Family also grew a lot in the City of Lemar over a few decades as well. After running around the wall, there was one particr huge gate that was very empty. It was the very gate that Jarell Neville told them about. It is the most convenient way to enter the City of Lemar and also the way most people illegally enter after acquiring fake identity tags. Reaching the Gate, Asher stepped in as the Identity Tag got identified, and he stepped into the city. There were few guards, but they ignored Asher as soon as they saw the ck mask on his face. This route was used for such activities a lot, and these guards were only there for namesakes. Entering the city, Asher could see the buildings, but the city wasn''t full of buildings. Halcyon had respected its tradition, and the technological advancement in architecture was particrly behind in Halcyon. The Base that Ron had told them about was also inside the City of Lemar, but it was away from the Central Area where most of the poption was. Inside a Casino that was in the Northern Area of the City of Lemar, "I didn''t expect to find a whole market under that Casino," Dane whispered to Kai. They were walking in an Underground Market Den where various crates and people wearing masks could be seen. It wasn''t as big as the Underground Areas that were run by the ck Market and some illegal organizations, but it was fairly big to surprise Dane. Both of them stopped at one particr Building that had two people wearing Red masks. In this Market Den, the masks represented whether you were from Halcyon or outside Halcyon. Kai handed over an identity tag and a token to one of the Guards as they looked at them. "Richard, huh, you can enter," The Guard said the door behind them opened. Entering the Building, they were greeted by a woman wearing a suit. "So, what do you want to look at?" She asked. "Wilbur''s Tail," Kai said as the woman nodded and guided them to a particr room where a man with a scar under his eye was sitting. The word that Kai said was a code word that was used to meet with a specific dealer that dealt with that stuff.bender Kai and Dane took a seat as the masked men took out the notepad. "So, what kind of product are you looking for?" He asked as he passed the notepad towards Kai. "Depending on what type of ''leash'' you want, we can give you what you want," He said. The ''leash'' here was the drugs that were given to the trafficked kids that were trained till they were 18. "Something mild, our Boss wants to train them. We are not looking for ones that are used for baits," Dane said. Listening to their demand, the man took out a vial from his desk and put it on the table. "20 Million AUR, or three B Rank Artifacts," The man said as he looked at Kai. "We will pay with money," Kai replied as the man gave a nod. He stood and walked to a cupboard nearby and ced his hand on top. An opening emerged at the top of the cupboard, and he took a case. "Give the money to the woman outside, and this contains enough of Wilbur''s Tail tost for 5 Years," He spoke as Dane stood up and took the briefcase. The Dealer wasn''t worried that Dane and Kai would try to escape with the briefcase without paying because everything in this area was under their control. Although hidden, even a few S Rank Hunters were present here as this marketce was a den used by various dealers to trade the items that hade across the borders. Richard and his group would also sell the items and give them the children for the money, and everything else was handled by the dealers here. From various illegal organizations, to even influential figures in Halcyon, many people were involved in maintaining this Underground Market Den. While Kai and Dane were taking the drugs, Kai secretly used his bloodline ability on a micro drone that Tom was using. That micro drone attached itself to the System that the Dealer was using, and while Kai and Dane were doing the transaction, Tom was looking for the details present in the Dealer''s System. Western Side of the City of Lemar, Asher was sitting on top of a building. He looked around and could see the whole city. < Boss, I have found the base where they are training the children> Tom said as Asher stood up. "Where is it?" Asher asked. Beep! Asher looked at the notification, and the location that Tom sent him was registered as an orphanage, which was a perfect cover to hide those children and train them. "Tell Kai and Dane to get those drugs and look out for any movement in the City," Asher said as he walked toward the edge of the Building. Asher looked at the streets that were filled with people, and the image in front of him was very different from the City of Lemar had be in his previous life. In his memories, this ce wasn''t a bustling city but a ruin that was infested by countless monsters. A ruin where all you could see was destruction. But the destruction brought upon this city and multiple others in Halcyon wasn''t due to multiple monsters. It was done by just one person, who was considered something akin to a monster. It was Asher himself that brought that destruction to the City of Lemar and many others. Everyone walking carefree in this city was unaware of the pair of crimson eyes that were looking at them. Chapter 392 Argument *** A dayter, Standing in front of a two-story building that was painted in white were a group of 20 or more children who looked 12-14 years old and a guy who was standing in front of them. "Listen, you all have toplete a full round of the whole path around this mountain. The one who stopped will not be given any medicine this month," A guy wearing a loose red shirt and pants shouted. lightsvel Despite his loud voice, the children in front of him responded with only nods with their diluted eyes. One looked at them, and anyone could see that something was wrong with them. But the guy didn''t look concerned at all, as if he was used to this behavior. Whistle! Hearing the sound of the whistle, the children turned and started running towards the path that was created by several people walking on it. "Oye bastard, are you not going to apany them?" Another man who was sitting a bit far away shouted. "Who cares? I will just punish the ones that camest," The guy who was shouting at the kids said with a grin. "Don''t train them lousily. These lots are going with the ck Squad," The man said as he lit a cigarette in his hands. "Don''t teach me how to train these junkies. I just need to make sure they are under control. Their real training will start when the ck Squad takes them anyway," He replied. The children were running through the path without any shoes as they were forced to use mana to shield their bodies. Some of them already had multiple wounds on the soles of their feet, but it didn''t seem like they were bothered by the pain. With the clouded eyes and heavy breathing, all of them kept running while desperately trying not to stop. Thud! All of them were running, but suddenly, one of them fell down and tripped over a vine that was present on the ground. "Urgh," He groaned as he felt the pain in his legs as the path had several small stones. Some of the kids looked behind him, but they didn''t stop to help him and kept running. "No, no, the medicine," The kid started muttering words as his hands started shaking. His heartbeat became faster, and a feeling of anxiety took over him. He tried to stand up, but his leg hurt a lot. A small injury like this shouldn''t have resulted in such a situation, but his leg had several marks and bruises. He was fine running, but tripping made him lose his strength in his right leg. But instead of being worried about himself, his eyes were moving around as he didn''t want to be spotted by someone. "Do you need your medicine?" A voice that sounded muffled was heard by the Boy as he turned to see a masked man standing. "Hah? Yeah, yeah," The Boy started nodding. In his head, he immediately associated the masked man with being involved with the people in his orphanage, as he had seen people with masks enter and inspect every kid there before leaving. The masked man came closer as he gave the vial of a clear fluid-like thing, and the Boy immediately grabbed it and drank. "Urgh!!" A secondter, the Boy started groaning in pain as his senses returned slightly.bender But the pain subsided very quickly as his heartbeat got slower and his breathing became rxed. "T-thanks, I will run, sorry, I fell," The Boy started apologizing. He didn''t even think for a second before bowing towards the masked man, as if he was ustomed to doing this. "I can give you something much better than this medicine," The masked man said, "What?" The Boy became confused. Suddenly, the man took the card with a jewel in the middle and touched the card on the confused Boy''s leg, where it was bleeding. "I will give you something much better than this," He said. Suddenly, a weird feeling of anger and restlessness started growing inside the Boy. Unsure himself, the Boy wasn''t aware, but he still replied. "I will do it, I-I," The Boy started stuttering. Knowing he could get something better than the drug, the Boy''s slightly dted eyes started looking at the masked man. He was unaware of the crimson-red eyes that were hidden behind the mask that were looking at him. "You just need to do a favor for me," Asher said as he crouched down. "I will give you more of this medicine, as much as you need, but you need to do something for me as well," Asher said as the Boy stood up on his feet. "Take this," Asher handed over a bracelet. It was simr to the one that Boy was already wearing, which was used to track these kids if they ever ran away. "You willmunicate with my people over this," Asher said, "You just need to...." After 10 minutes, the Boy was running at full speed while repeating the same thing. "Pour it into the golden pond, Pour it into the golden pond," The Boy kept repeating it so he didn''t forget. After 3 hours of running, the Boy reached the spot where all the children were breathing heavily on the ground. "Thest one has arrived," A man said while stretching his arms. "Thest five would not get any medicines this month. If you want to get it, run the same path three times every day for this week," The man with a cigarette in his mouth announced. The man used his mana to suppress any of the kids from rebelling as all of them went down on the ground. "Go back and start your training," He spoke as all of them stood up and started walking towards the Building. "Garren," A man shouted when the one smoking the cigarette turned. "What?" Garren asked. "The ck Squad will being next week, so make sure they stay in their best condition," He said. "So early, I mean, this batch is pretty good, but I didn''t think they would take them to the Royal Capital so soon," Garren said as they looked at the Building. "It seems there is a problem with the supply routes and many other things; don''t think too much about it, just focus on managing them," He said. Garren nodded and went back into the Building. There were multiple A Rank and B Rank Hunters present here, but none of them were aware of the fact that Asher interacted with one of the kids. *** In World Academy, Two kids could be seen wearing white uniforms emzoned with the insignia of World Academy. "What do you think they will teach us?" Livia asked, her face alight with excitement. "Our teachers told us it was better to learn here," she added, recalling the time she was taught at Greville Estate. Since both were young and unustomed to mana, they had only been taught the basics and martial arts to aid their growth. Presently, their mana cores were still developing, and it would take almost a year for them to stabilize. Soon, both of them reached the ssroom, located in the New Building constructed for the Greville and Grandus twins. Upon entering, the first thing Lucas and Livia noticed were two kids about their age. They had silver-colored hair and yellow amber eyes, closely resembling those of Silvus Grandus, the Mage Association Chairman. They already knew about the twins, but today was their first meeting. They resided in the same dorm, but their floors were separated, preventing ess to each other''s levels. Unlike the Ranker''s Dorm, there was no difference in mana density on each floor, creating a simr environment for growth. Jacob and Jennifer turned to look at Lucas and Livia. Jennifer, who was sitting atop a desk swinging her legs, stopped and jumped down, moving towards Lucas and Livia. Lucas became alert, but Livia was happy to see someone their age with whom she could interact. Apart from Nate, this was the second time they had encountered peers. Livia was excited, while Lucas remained cautious. "Hey, you!" Jennifer eximed, pointing at Lucas. Jacob quickly moved to intervene, but it was toote. Chapter 393 Meeting of the Twins Chapter 393 Meeting of the Twins ??"I heard you are a mage," Jennifer stated. Livia was confused by the unfolding events, but Lucas stayed calm. "For your information, I will be the best Mage in the world," Jennifer proudly dered. "Ok," Lucas replied, altering Jennifer''s expression. "Huh?" Jennifer''s expression shifted to confusion. "What do you mean ''ok''?" Jennifer questioned, frowning. "Jen, let''s not fight-," Jacob attempted to intercede, "Shut up," Jennifer red at Jacob, causing him to take two steps back. "I am not fighting!" Jennifer asserted, turning towards Lucas. As the ssroom door opened, in walked Serena Wright, her stature immediatelymanding attention. Standing tall at 6 feet, her long dark brown hair cascaded gracefully over the shoulders of her neatly-tailored overcoat, bearing the prestigious insignia of World Academy. Her long, dark brown hair framed a face that exuded strictness, with sharp ck eyes that seemed to pierce through the room, leaving an impression of unwavering discipline. The sses she wore did not soften her look but rather added to her severe appearance, and the red bracelets on her arms seemed less decorative and more like silent symbols of strength. "Now, now, everyone take your seats," she instructed, as all four of them turned and noticed her. "I am Serena Wright, and I will be in charge of this Special ss," she announced. "But, I am not done," Jennifer addressed Serena, still upset by Lucas''s nonchnt response. "Young Lady, this is my ss, and now you are a student at World Academy," Serena stated. "Your status, your privilege, none of it will help you here," Serena dered, taking her seat. Jennifer was about to respond but recalled Silvus''s warning not to cause trouble for the professors at World Academy, or she would risk losing her opportunity to study there. "Ok," Jennifer acquiesced, and Jacob followed suit. Livia and Lucas took their seats near where they were standing, while Jacob and Jennifer returned to their seats from when they first noticed Lucas and Livia entering the room. "Now, let''s start with the introductions," Serena began, turning to Lucas. "Lucas Von Greville," he introduced himself, standing and then sitting back down. "Umm, not just your name, Lucas. Share something about yourself," Serena encouraged, as Lucas tilted his head. "It can be anything, like what you enjoy doing or what you aspire to do in the future," Serena borated. Despite her intimidating appearance, Serena was surprisingly calm, which startled Jacob, who had felt intimidated by her looks. "I want to be powerful like my big brother," Lucas said as he stood up again and then sat back down. Serena had an awkward look on her face, but she turned her gaze towards Livia, who looked the most excited among the four children sitting there. "Hello! I am Livia Von Greville," Livia introduced herself. "I like cute things and my greatsword, and I want to be strong as well," "So that I can protect Lucas from scary things," "And I want to be like my Big Sister," "I like your energy," Serena said as Livia smiled and sat back down. Her energetic response was in stark contrast to Lucas''s. ''Umm, Amelia Greville is a fine role model, but for that boy...'' Serena thought. "Now," Serena turned her head towards the Grandus Twins. "H-Hello, I am Jacob Grandus, and I am here to explore and learn from World Academy," Jacob said timidly and quickly sat back down. "That''s a good way of thinking, Jacob. And thest one?" Serena asked. "I am Jennifer Grandus, and I will be the best mage in the World," Jennifer dered. She nced at Lucas and then turned her head. ''This will be a bit difficult,'' Serena thought. "Ok, with the introductions done, let me tell you what we will be doing in this ss," Serena said. "First of all, don''t try to force the mana inside your core," she continued. "I am sure you all were taught the consequences of what happens when an underdeveloped body absorbs mana, but can anyone tell me what those are?" Serena asked. Jennifer instantly raised her hand. "Yes, Jennifer?" "It will cause mana poisoning. That''s why all first-year students inside World Academy are around 15 years old," Jennifer answered. "Correct, and I hope all of you understand that you are different from the rest of the students," Serena said. "Why do you think everyone starts around 15 years old, and nobody can skip grades in World Academy?" she asked. In the history of World Academy, there had never been a case of someone skipping grades. "And you might even wonder why your education about mana was highly restricted, even though you had ess to it?" Serena posed another question. Livia nodded her head as this was the question she most wanted an answer to. Most of the instructors, even Nathan, stopped teaching her at a certain point, telling her she would learn those things slowly over time. At first, Livia thought she wasn''t good enough, but Sylvie told her it was the same for Amelia as well. "It''s simple, the world you see and the world I see are very different," Serena exined. "Increasing your rank isn''t just about getting stronger," "When your mana core bes denser, it affects your entire body, including your brain and nerves," Serena conjured a ball of fire, hovering it just below the room''s ceiling, spreading and controlling it. "For me, creating that ball of fire and spreading it across is far easier than lifting my finger," "In my eyes, the mana inside me has be a part of my body, and my mana heart has perfect control over it," "In simple terms, the way you sense mana and perceive things around you gets stronger each time your rank increases," "So we will only understand certain things when we get strong enough, and without that strength, we can''t learn new things?" Livia asked. "Correct. If I go into the details, it would be too much for the first day, but you''re here to learn," Serena said. That feeling that Serena was describing couldn''t be taught and each person needed to explore it themselves. That''s why some people even with unlimited amount of resources could never break through a certain ranks because it wasn''t a simple process. "I have only taught third-year students, so this is the first time I will be teaching the very basics. Don''t shy away if you get confused," "And one more thing, I hope there is no conflict in my ss," Serena said, looking at all of them. Suddenly, the air around Serena changed; her calmness remained, but her presence became more formidable. "There is no system of GP, or ranks for the four of you, so there should be no need for any fights," "Unlike other students, who are forced topete with each other, I want the four of you to focus on your own growth for now," "Is that clear?" "Yes, Professor!" Livia answered excitedly. "And the other three?" Serena inquired. "Ok," "Y-Yes, Professor," "I don''t pick fights with others," The responses were different, but Serena didn''t want to intimidate them too much, so she let it pass for now. ''It might get difficult; I should be a bit more lenient with them,'' Serena thought. Although Serena seemed patient and calm, she was one of the strictest professors at World Academy. Because how weak four of them were, Serena needed to be careful while teaching them. "Ok, today, I will tell you what other sses and Professors will teach you for your First Year in World Academy..." After the ss, Serena told the Grandus Twins to leave first as she wanted to exin a few more things to Lucas and Livia. On the way to their Dorm, "Jen, why did you argue with them?" Jacob asked. "I didn''t argue!" Jennifer shouted looking at Jacob. "I just wanted to know if he really was as great as the Elders were making him to be," Jennifer told with a pout on her face. "Don''t worry Jen, even Grandpa praised you when you learned all those spells so quickly, he even taught you about his silver mana," Jacob spoke with a hushed voice. But even when Jacob praised her, Jennifer wasn''t convinced. "They all said that a mage born in the Greville Family would be very strong," Jennifer muttered making Jacob look at her. "Hmph, I will be the best mage in the World no matter what," Jennifer imed as she kept walking with her head held high. Chapter 394 Student Council President World Association, Main Tower, Top Floor. "Let the William''s boy handle that thing," Osbert spoke. "Tell the Allister Head to support him so that we can begin soon enough," Osbert said as his Assistant nodded. The Assistant soon left the room as a hologram popped up, and Osbert turned to look at an old man with grey hair and rimmed sses wearing ab coat. "Speak Wagxon," Osbert spoke. "Greetings to the Chairman. I apologize for disturbing you, but can we get more of these Pure Mana Crystals?" Wagxon spoke. Osbert frowned as he looked at the hologram. "Are they not enough?" Osbert asked. "No, but to make that product and carry on with this research, I would need some extra supplies," Wagxon hurriedly exined so that he didn''t anger Osbert. "Work with what you have. I didn''t spend that much time and resources for your pathetic excuses," Osbert spoke coldly. Wagxon''s face turned pale as he bowed his head and disconnected the call. *** A week passed, and all the Fourth Years had finally left in World Academy. After a long process of countless guilds contacting students and many secret deals happening, the sses for the students had already begun. And it was around this time that a meeting happened with the Student Council. Asher and Alyssa were not present as both candidates had opted to enter the Trials Ground. "As you know, I have called this meeting to elect a new Student Council President," Raelyn said with a faint smile. The reason that she was happy was because Asher was not present there. Although Amelia and Damian, who were part of the Student Council as Rankers, were present, the one person she didn''t want to be present was not there. Surprisingly, Kevin, Matthew, and Lishia, the other Top 5 Rankers, were present here as they all chose not to enter the Trials Ground so soon. Kevin got this advice from Raelyn, who told him to enterter when he mastered what he would learn from the Principal, and Lishia, who got simr advice from Kiara Everett. On the other hand, Matthew didn''t go in as well because he consulted with his Proctor, Professor Joseph, about entering the Trials Ground. The only first years that were redeeming their right to enter early were Asher and Alyssa, and apart from Alyssa, others could see why someone like Asher would want to enter early. Everything had already seemed refined to near perfection, from his footwork to his swordsmanship. Leonard himself wasn''t present here, but Jack, who was part of the Student Council, was. "After getting your anonymous votes, we have four candidates," Raelyn said, "First is ke Cranston, Second is Amelia Greville, Third is Kevin Whiteheart, and the Fourth one is Elena Rothschild," Raelyn announced. It was obvious why Amelia was also chosen as Eric Herod, who was handling the Duel Committee, voted for her. Venessa Damian and a few others under Eric''s control also did. Lishia received fifth as she got slightly fewer votes than Amelia, so she wasn''t in the Four Selected Candidates. "But Kevin has voluntarily stepped out, so among the three chosen candidates, one of you will be the next Student Council President," Raelyn said. Amelia was sitting with Damian, Eric, and Venessa, who looked a bit annoyed being called here. Still, she decided to support Amelia because she was the only one she knew there. "Among the chosen candidates, both of us and the Committee Chairman have chosen the two candidates," Raelyn said. ke, who was present here, had a calm expression as he knew he wouldn''t be selected because of the fact that he supported the Blood Faction. Although the Student Council President position was prestigious and would give him lots of benefits, he wasn''t interested in it. ke was more focused on the Trials Ground, the ce where the Heir of the Cranston Family became the Swordsman he is today. "By our votes, the Next Student Council President is Elena Rothschild," Tyrone announced. Everyone started pping, but Damian and Eric didn''t look as happy as they knew the voting was biased. "And the Vice President will be Amelia Greville," Tyrone said as Amelia and Elena stood up from their seats. Amelia wasn''t particrlyfortable knowing she would need to interact with Elena, with whom her rtionship had gone so sour. Still, she didn''t step back from such a position because of her status. "As both of you are in your Second Year, we will support you if you ever need something," Raelyn said with a smile. bender "The Committee Heads, apart from the Duel Committee, need to choose their New Heads, but it will be their own decision and will be der," Raelyn said as she stood up. "Both of you, pleasee here," Raelyn said as Elena and Amelia walked up to the front. Raelyn and Tyrone took off their badges and removed their mana from them. The shine on the badge disappeared as they handed it to Elena and Amelia, respectively. Elena and Amelia poured their mana, and suddenly, the badge started shining as it floated in the air and attached itself to their uniforms. It was the symbol of power that the Student Council President and the Vice President had. Lishia was fifth on the voting list, as she got slightly fewer votes than Amelia, so she wasn''t one of the Four Selected Candidates. "But Kevin has voluntarily stepped out, so among the three chosen candidates, one of you will be the next Student Council President," Raelyn said. "Although Lishia Halcyon was selected to be the fourth candidate as she was the person with the most votes in fifth ce, she declined, so we only have three candidates," Raelyn said. Amelia was sitting with Damian, Eric, and Venessa, who looked a bit annoyed being called here, but she decided to support Amelia because she was the only one she knew there. "Among the chosen candidates, both of us and the Committee Chairman have chosen the two candidates," Raelyn said. ke, who was present here, had a calm expression as he knew he wouldn''t be selected because of the fact that he supported the Blood Faction. Although the position of the Student Council President was prestigious and would give him lots of benefits, he wasn''t interested in it. ke was more focused on the Trials Ground, the ce where the Heir of the Cranston Family became the Swordsman he is today. lightsvel "By our votes, the Next Student Council President is Elena Rothschild," Tyrone announced. Amelia and Elena stood up from their seats. Amelia wasn''t particrlyfortable knowing that she would need to interact with Elena, with whom her rtionship had gone so sour, but because of her status, she wasn''t going to step back. "Congrattions, I hope you lead the Student Council well. If both of you need any help, feel free to ask us," Raelyn said as everyone pped. "As both of you are in your Second Year, we will support you if you ever need something," Raelyn said with a smile. Kevin was happy to see that Elena and Amelia were selected. ''Maybe they can be friends again,'' Kevin thought in his head. He was d that Asher was not present here because if he was, there was a great possibility of him being selected as the Vice President. And Asher was thest person that Kevin wanted near Elena. Asher was Rank 1 and also the Committee Head. His status as the Heir of the Greville Family would have forced Raelyn, Tyrone, and the other twomittee heads to vote for him. If they didn''t, it was simply them challenging the status of the Greville Family. Tyrone and Raelyn would have been fine, but for Zoey and the Head of the Discipline Committee, it was an oue they wanted to avoid. Among the ones pping, there was only one person whose mind wasn''t present there, and it was Jack Allister. Even if he wanted to, he couldn''t concentrate fully as the conversation he had beforeing to this meeting made him unable to focus on anything. ''Should I tell Leon to stop?'' Jack thought in his head, ignoring everyone around him. Jack was having a headache thinking about the conversation as Leonard only told him what they were going to do, but he didn''t mention how. This made Jack a bit anxious because, what they were doing was something that was extremely risky even for the son of the Chairman of World Association. But part of him was excited to do this, as he was confident that if Leonard was doing all this, he had a perfect n in mind. ''If we pulled it off, I can finally gain the same trust as Reece Williams,''Jack thought in his head. Chapter 395 Zephyr’s Traces

Chapter 395 Zephyr''s Traces

?"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU MEAN EVERYONE WENT MISSING?!" The man eximed as he destroyed his table with his hand. "We-We can''t carry on with the search. There are rumors of a powerful monster sighting in the Forest of Lemar," the guy before him replied. But the answer didn''t please the man; his anger was fully visible on his face. His subordinate didn''t have any words to exin the situation. So many A Rankers going missing didn''t make sense to him. "Do we need the S Rank?" the man muttered, a frown forming on his face. "DAMMIT," he kicked the broken part of the table. His strength was enough to leave a mark on the wall. His annoyance was understandable as not only did they lose contact with their powerful members, but the items that were being smuggled were missing as well. And they were still not sure whether those people fell to a monster or if someone else was intentionally targeting them. It was usual for illegal organizations to turn against each other, but this time, the people who were carrying the items weren''t from some illegal organizations. "Contact the ck Squad, tell them that their men have gone missing, and we lost our people as well," the man sighed as he decided to go with the obvious choice. Whatever was within the Forest of Lemar was clearly stronger than what they could handle. Reporting it to the World Association or the Royal Guild wasn''t a good choice, knowing the background of the people who went missing. *** Two more days went by as the announcement of the new Student Council President was done. Some of the Third Years were not happy that a Second Year like Elena and Amelia were given the position, but given their status, nobody raised a voice. Rather, people praised Elena in order to get good grades with both her and Kevin, who is now a Sessor Candidate. "What are you doing here?" Sam, who came outside to the Outer Sector, saw Damian sitting in a sweet cafe while munching on some snacks. "Oh, it''s you," Damian looked at Sam and continued eating. Sam forced a smile, but Damian''s attitude did make him a bit angry. ''This guy might have a talent for irritating others,'' Sam thought in his head as he sat at the same table. He was not really friendly with Damian, but he found him pretty normal, unlike others from famous families. "I thought you would be doing your sparring session," Sam spoke as he touched the device on the table and started ordering on the hologram that disyed the menu. "That was the n, but Amelia is busy reading books," Damian said with a bored look on his face. ''Is this guy feeling lonely?'' Sam thought as he looked at Damian''s expression. Both Asher and Amelia were busy, so Damian was truly bored, so he came out to spend some time outside. "Even Lucas and Livia are having their ss, sigh," Damian muttered, making Sam even more ufortable. Sam was used to an environment where people his age would try to take advantage of him or rile him up. But he wasn''t used toforting others. The only person he had as his friend was Matthew, who rarely spent time outside, and all he did all day was train. "Maybe, go to the Great Library; you might find something interes-" Sam was speaking, but Damian put the spoon down and started staring at him. "Do I look like someone who would spend time in that ce?" Damian asked. "Ah, I don''t know," Sam replied. "I don''t want to study. I want to fight. If only Ash was here, I could have some fun as well," Damian said as he started looking at the sky. They were sitting outside, but there were no other students to notice their interaction. This part of the outer sector was rarely visited by students during this time. That was why Sam came here in the first ce. Soon, the waiter arrived outside with the dessert that Sam had ordered, and he was surprised to see Damian staring at the sky. "Ah, ignore him," Sam said as the waiter nodded and carefully ced Sam''s order on the table. Both of them kept doing their own thing, and after a while, Sam left Damian on his own. Sam''s outing wasn''t simply because he was bored. He was waiting for somebody, and that somebody arrived soon enough. "Did I make you wait a long time?" Eric asked. "Not really. I went to eat something," Sam replied. Eric Herod was the one who called Sam in the outer sector to give him something. "This is what Young Master told me to give you," Eric said as he took out a ring. "In it are a few things that Young Master told me to give to you," Eric said. "You will also receive the instructions from Young Master on how to use them," Eric added. Sam took the ring and immediately ced it inside his pockets. He didn''t check what was present, as Asher had told him that Eric was not part of Zephyr. Sam already knew from the words that Eric used that he was fully unaware of his Young Master being the most wanted criminal in the world. "I didn''t check anything inside as this ring has an encryption rune, and Young Master told me that you already have it," Eric asked. Sam nodded as Eric smiled. "Okay, I will go now. Don''t tell anyone about our meeting," Eric said as he turned to leave. "So, this is my first task?" Sam thought as he took a deep breath. He was aware that he would not receive Asher''s help for free, and he was ready toplete whatever Asher wanted from him if he could gain Asher''s help. "I guess he would only give the instructions before entering the Trials Ground," Sam guessed. He was fully unaware of the fact that Asher wasn''t inside World Academy at all and was actually targeting his family in Halcyon. "Boss, wouldn''t they send someone stronger next time?" Dane asked. Asher, who was in the middle of practicing his swordsmanship, stopped. "They will," Asher replied. "I don''t want to sound weak, but if they send many S Rank Hunters, it might get a bit difficult defeating them," Dane said. "Shouldn''t we leave now? I mean, we don''t have to risk it," Kai also suggested. Asher''s n was to kill the next search team as well as they have done till now, but both of them were right about the danger. Just Louis Rothschild was enough to make them run for their life, and if multiple S Rank Hunters came, it would be quite dangerous. "They will not send multiple S Rank Hunters," Asher said. But Dane and Kai didn''t know why Asher was so confident about it. Chapter 396 Vision

Chapter 396 Vision

?"Three cities, including the City of Lemar, have been dered destroyed," the female anchor announced. "A Red Alert has been issued, and the citizens of Halcyon are advised to move closer to the Royal Capital for their safety," she continued. "In response to the escting threat from Zephyr, His Majesty Rewilh Halcyon, King of Halcyon, has granted the Military Rights of the Entire Royal Guild to the Allister Family." "Asher Von Greville, the leader of Zephyr, has been dered an enemy of all five continents by the High Council," she added. "The Chairman of the World Association has stated that Zephyr will soon be defeated. However, the emergence of the New Gates has postponed this operation." "Citizens are urged to evacuate cities near the emerging New Gates." "We at HALN News..." The mood in the studio was somber, reflecting a world order that, just a few years ago, was peaceful but now was in turmoil. The instigator of this chaos was Asher Greville, heir to the now fallen Greville Family. "First, it was the Garcia Family, and now the Greville Family," a man sighed backstage. "If the authorities hadn''t been so negligent, this guy would be dead by now," a young man added. "Enough talking, back to work," a woman in her thirtiesmanded. The studio buzzed with activity, reporting on numerous pressing matters. Even the inte was full of people expressing their anxiety; some feared the monsters, while others criticized the World Association and other authorities for failing to eliminate the world''s most wanted criminal till now. World Association Tower, "I AM TELLING YOU, WE NEED TO KILL ASHER GREVILLE!" an old man in a suit shouted. "Calm down. Do you think any of us disagree?" another old man replied. The assembly of World Association executives,cking the presence of the three SSS Rank Leaders, was fraught with outbursts. "How can we remain calm in such a situation?" a different old man stood up from his seat. "What do you suggest? Have you all forgotten why Chairman Osbert and the Vice Chairmen are absent?" a man in histe thirties eximed. A robotic voice announced, causing everyone to halt and turn towards the entrance of therge room. The room''s atmosphere shifted dramatically as everyone fell silent at the sight of a person with light brown hair and deep blue eyes, bearing a strong resemnce to the Chairman of the World Association. This was not the only reason for the profound respect and fear orded to him. He was Leonard Tarvian, owner of Crowsell Corporation, the world''srgestpany, and a key figure in the current situation, with most of the young generation of elite families on his side, despite his ties to the World Association. Leonard Tarvian''s mere presence was enough to silence everyone in the room. Leonard walked up and took Osbert''s seat, and no one objected. "Young Master," Osbert''s Assistant began, approaching Leonard with a report on the meeting, but Leonard raised his hand to stop him. "I understand many here want to stop Zephyr?" Leonard inquired. A profound silence filled the room. Tap! Tap! Tap! The sound of Leonard tapping his finger on the table echoed. "That''s good. I too wish to eliminate such threats," Leonard said, smiling. "We''ve located some of Zephyr''s bases!" an old man announced. "With enough hunters, I''m confident we can eradicate Zephyr and Asher Greville for good," he dered with conviction. "But how can we gather enough manpower?" another executive interjected. They all were careful to keep their voices subdued. "We can''t afford to divide our forces too¡ª" "I will permit it," Leonard interrupted, changing the expressions of many executives. "We facerger problems that demand our focus, so I''ve decided to end Asher Greville once and for all," Leonard dered. "Dalton Rothschild, the Seat Holder of the Rothschild Family, will handle this, so you can all rest easy," Leonard announced, surprising many. With all SSS Rank Hunters preupied due to the current crisis, the mention of Dalton provided assurance. The previously tense faces brightened somewhat; with an SSS Rank Hunter involved, they felt confident that Zephyr would be defeated. "If Lord Dalton is taking charge, our faction will also supp¡ª," an old man started, but Leonard''s cold gaze silenced him. "My team will take care of this. I want all executives to concentrate on other urgent projects," Leonard instructed. "Ah, as you wish," the old man acquiesced. Far away, in the secluded Edge of the Lost Land, "We''re heading to Fashia," a man in a white mask dered, removing it. "Rumors suggest Leonard Tarvian will be traveling there," he added. "But Sir Tom, are we sure we shouldn''t all apany the Leader? And won''t Leonard Tarvian be escorted by many powerful individuals?" the man in the ck mask questioned. Tom burst into loudughter, then abruptly stopped, stepping forward and tilting his head. "Have you forgotten who our Leader is?" Tom challenged, intimidating the man in the ck mask. "The Leader of Zephyr, us, whose mere name unsettles the High Council that governs the world," Tom dered. His eyes fixed intensely on the man before him. "Gather the men, and instruct them to join Dane and Kai," Tom ordered, and the man bowed and quickly departed. *** "We have dispatched the S Rank Hunter as you requested. There should be no further dys," the man in the ck mask said. He was on a hologram call with the leader of the Merchant group stationed inside the City of Lemar. "But will one be enough? I''ve sent several A Rank Hunters, but none have returned," the Merchant group leader replied, his voice tinged with doubt. "Do you realize how challenging it is to deploy an S Rank Hunter? Nevertheless, I''ve sent one. If the threat level exceeds his capacity, he''ll simply retreat and report back to us," the masked man responded before ending the call. The Merchant group leader sighed heavily. "What on earth is happening in that cursed forest!" The loss of A Rank Hunters was a significant blow, as they were crucial for protection, and now all of them were missing, along with the B Rank Hunters. In the Forest of Lemar, "I can''t believe they were foolish enough to send just one S Rank Hunter," Dane remarked, visibly annoyed. "They''ve already lost 12 A Rank Hunters and numerous B Rank ones. Do they really think a single S Rank Hunter can resolve this?" he questioned. "He''s a scout," Asher interjected, gazing towards the cliff''s edge. "That makes sense. They must be cautious about the potential presence of an SS Rank monster in this forest," Kai deduced, grasping Asher''s implication. "But why would an SS Rank Monster be near this forest, so far from the Lost Land? Does that even make sense?" Dane pondered aloud. "Does the simultaneous awakening of four cmities make any sense to you?" Kai retorted. Dane fell silent, scratching his head, realizing the gravity of the situation. The Royal Guild was evidently taking the issues rted to the Lost Lands seriously. The awakening of the Cmities increased the likelihood of encountering high- ranking monsters near the Lost Land''s outer areas. Dane realized that it was because of their action that all the Guilds, especially High Ranking Hunters were being careful with the Lostnd. Even though Halcyon was not in immediate danger, but the chances of encountering a high rank monster that has ventured out of the Lost Lands wasn''t zero. "Is the trap set?" Asher inquired, standing up. "Yes, we''ve spread the drug around that area," Kai confirmed, looking over the cliff. "It''s alright. We''re not nning to wait here for them," Asher said, putting on his mask. ''A month more,'' Asher thought to himself. This was the time he had remaining before he needed to return to the World Academy. The Trials Ground was about to open, and Asher needed toplete his objectives in Halcyon before then. Three Days Later, "Forest of Lemar, huh? Always looks so gloomy," the man said, stretching his arms as he gazed down at the forest from atop the Boundary Wall surrounding the City of Lemar. "Where to begin?" he mused, squinting his eyes. His mana spread in the direction he was looking, yet nothing noteworthy captured his attention. Dash! Suddenly, he dashed forward, leaping directly into the Forest. "Hmm?" His attention was drawn to a direction where he sensed traces of mana. This mana was distinctly human, unlike the rampant mana of a monster, and easily detectable by someone of his caliber. Within seconds, the man arrived at the edge of a cliff. "That''s quite a drop," he observed, peering over. "A monster wouldn''t choose to fight here; it doesn''t add up," he said, touching the ground and examining the surroundings. There were no signs of a monster, but he was certain of the remnants of hunters and their residual mana. As an experienced scout, such deductions were second nature to him. However, no amount of experience can fully prepare one for the unknown. "*Sniff* Is there something in the air?" he wondered aloud. His realization came toote. From the moment he entered this area, he was enclosed by a Space Element spell, something unfamiliar to him, even as an S Rank, due to the rarity of Space Element mages. Instantly, a spear materialized in his hand, his instincts warning him of imminent danger. Drip! The sound of a droplet made him look down, only to see a deep red spot forming between his feet. "Blood?" he questioned, touching his nose, from where the blood originated. Chapter 397 Unknown Chapter 397 Unknown ??"What the-," the man eximed, his confusion evident. An S Rank Hunter''s body is designed to endure impacts that could easily dismember a regr person. Yet, here he was, bleeding unexpectedly. His bafflement was understandable. Quickly, his confusion morphed into heightened alertness as he firmly grasped his spear. Moments ago carefree, the man was now acutely aware of the lurking danger. His background as an S Rank Scout had honed his skills, making him adept at assessing situations. That''s when he recognized a familiar sensation, one usually felt within Dungeons. It was the unsettling transition from being the hunter to the hunted, the shift from predator to prey. "DAMN IT!" he yelled, as his mana surged uncontrobly. Under normal circumstances, the released mana would have decimated his surroundings, obliterating everything with its force. But the expected destructive power didn''t manifest as he felt mana inside his body became stagnant, and in that moment, he realized he''d fallen into a trap. He prepared to react, but it was slightly toote. sh! Suddenly, his world turned upside down. For a brief moment, he glimpsed a figure in a ck mask behind him before sumbing to his fate. "It''s a pity," Asher remarked, as he and Kai appeared seemingly from nowhere. All three of them were concealed using Kai''s ability, and it was Dane who had in the S Rank Hunter. Asher observed the lifeless body of the S Rank Hunter. Had he been the one to end the Hunter''s life, it would have yielded substantial experience points, and he might have absorbed the Hunter''s stats as well. However, two significant issues prevented this. Firstly, the System was currently non-functional. Although Rifir was unaffected, all aspects rted to the System were temporarily sealed. The second, more crucial reason, was Asher''s own limitations. Even if he attempted, there was a considerable risk that his strike wouldn''t be lethal enough for an S Rank Hunter. Despite his ability to manipte time, Asher''s power remained constant. As a C Rank Hunter, albeitparable to a B Rank, his attacks were insufficient to fatally wound an S Rank Hunter. Such a Hunter, infused with immense mana and capable of decimating their surroundings, was not easily harmed by anyone below A Rank. Different from mages who used their mana as a shield andcked aura, other hunters depended on Aura to fortify their bodies and endure the harsh environments of Dungeons above A Rank. Yet, unable to deal a fatal blow, Asher drew his sword and pierced the heart of the S Rank Hunter. Although it was difficult to pierce the lifeless body, but because there was no struggle from the dead S Rank Hunter with the huge amount of aura that Asher used. "Woah," Dane uttered, while Kai observed silently. Neither understood Asher''s intent, but the unique golden runes on the sword indicated it was an artifact. Golden runes emerged from the sword''s tip, absorbing the aura from the Mana Heart of the deceased hunter. The Aura of an S Rank Hunter was distinctly more potent than that of A Rank or lower. It inherently strengthened the body without the need to actively use Aura as a shield. Thus, Asher could do no more than inflict a deep wound on an S Rank Hunter, that would result in giving the S Rank Hunter the split second to react to that attack. Because of this, Dane took on the task of beheading the man, as he was the only one capable of ending him with a clean strike. Rifir emerged, drawn by the power of the Mana heart, but refrained from attacking the dead body while Asher was still in the process of absorbing the aura. The potent aura''s energy was being absorbed as Asher withdrew his sword from the corpse, observing the runes that were fading on the de. He had experienced this before, but in his memories, the structure of the runes always copsed. The sword in his memories wasn''t fully unsealed, so it couldn''t reach its true potential. But now, with just one S Rank, the sword had ascended to B Rank. Even without the system, Asher felt a familiar sensation. Although it was far from its original S Rank strength, he sensed the sword was at B Rank, resonating well with his aura. Holding the de horizontally, Asher''s crimson red eyes reflected in the shiny ck de. In his emotionless gaze, he recalled the many he had in to instill fear of his de in everyone who knew his name. "Still too far... but," he muttered. The de was far from its peak; the blood it had absorbed until now was insufficient. "It''s faster...," Asher noted to himself. In his previous life, to elevate the Sword of Chaos to an S Rank Artifact, Asher had to kill many S Rank and even SS Rank Hunters, but this time the process was much quicker. ''Is it because it''s not a cracked sword anymore?'' Asher pondered. In his past life, the Sword of Chaos was like a cracked vessel, leaking aura energy and unable to surpass S Rank. However, due to the sword''s ability to weaken any aura user, Asher had never used another sword in his entire life. This time, the Seal was properly undone, without the ''cracks'' that previously limited the amount of aura it could absorb. Asher nced at Rifir, who, understanding his intention, proceeded to envelop the body with his ck, fog-like energy. For Rifir, the body of an S Rank being was a delectable treat, and unlike Asher, he had no restrictions preventing him from devouring the deceased hunter. Dane and Kai were still adjusting to Rifir, whose presence now resembled that of a B Rank monster. Like Asher, Dane''s instincts warned him that this small, unique, serpent-like creature was a threat. Despite their reservations, neither of them voiced their concerns, understanding that the beast belonged to Asher. Both were acutely aware that possessing too much knowledge was often a burden and could lead to unwee consequences. Half a year earlier, they had been on the run after deserting Spyder. The reason Spyder had exposed them to the World Association was precisely because they knew too much. The information gathered during their missions had ultimately be a liability. Consequently, Dane and Kai had made it a point not to ask unnecessary questions, sticking strictly to mission-critical information. Asher raised his sword into the air and swiftly brought it down. An arc of his aura surged forth, slicing cleanly through the nearby rock formation. Observing the cut, Asher deduced that the passive ability of his sword, increased sharpness, had improved. "Time to leave this city," Asher dered, turning towards the edge of the cliff. *** Capital of Desmar, In one of the Rothschild Mansions, "So, you''re telling me that this woman has managed to eliminate all the moles we nted within Abyss Corporation?" James inquired, his gaze fixed on his butler. The butler could only bow his head in disappointment, equally baffled by how all their informants had been exposed. Typically, it wasmon for one or two to be discovered, but now, all of them were unreachable. The mana in the room began to fluctuate wildly as James Rothschild struggled to contain his anger. "Find out who leaked this information," Jamesmanded, his eyes piercingly focused on his butler. With a respectful bow, the butler promptly left the room. James was puzzled by the situation. The moles were not low- level operatives; they were in significant positions. However, the Rothschilds were not the only ones facing this dilemma. Many others who had deployed simr tactics found themselves in the same predicament. The mastermind was Asher, who had cleverly orchestrated the entire scheme. He had instructed Tom to nt deceptive clues in the Abyss Corporation''s database, leaving the rest to Sylvie. Sylvie, the founder of Abyss Corporation, was adept at detecting any irregrities within herpany. With the traps set by Asher, she could identify all the moles, including those Asher hadn''t specifically mentioned. With a heavy sigh, James activated the holographic screen and scrutinized it. "I hope he doesn''tplicate things further," James muttered to himself. Initially, James was reluctant to confront the Grevilles, but following their recent confrontations, his stance had shifted. The influence of other factions in Somaria had waned significantly in recent months. After much deliberation, James resolved to y a card he had been hesitant to use: Louis Rothschild. "He has been quiet for a while now; I should have faith in him," James murmured, lost in thought. The challenge with Louisy in his short-tempered nature and the significant troubles he had caused. However, this time it was Dalton Rothschild himself who had instructed Louis, so James''s concerns were somewhat alleviated. Furthermore, since the incident involving Zephyr''s theft, Louis had remained uncharacteristically silent, leading James to hope that he was ready to assume more responsibility and had matured beyond his earlier impulsiveness. Chapter 398 Warning Chapter 398 Warning ??City of Vernes, Somaria, At the airport, three private aircraftsnded, and from one of them emerged a man with blond hair and blue eyes. "Master Louis, we have an appointment with the World Association this afternoon," a middle-aged man said, following Louis closely. Louis nodded, signaling his acknowledgment of the schedule. The man, a Hunter serving the Rothschild family, was somewhat intimidated by Louis''s reputation for having a short fuse. However, Louis had been surprisingly reserved throughout their journey. This change in demeanor was the reason James felt more assured that Louis wouldn''t stir up any trouble during his stay in Somaria. But what was going on in Louis Rothschild''s mind was unknown to them. ''I will find the evidence here,'' Louis thought to himself as he surveyed his surroundings. Standing in Vernes, located in the southern part of Somaria, Louis was there not only for the mission given by Dalton and James but also to seek evidence. With each passing day, his anger and frustration intensified, driven by his desire to expose Asher Greville, the man he med for his mission''s failure and the subsequent damage to his reputation. If the Zephyr incident hadn''t been ssified as a top-level threat, it would have left an indelible stain on his name. ''These Greville bastards are rted to Zephyr, I will prove it,'' Louis thought in his head. He had kept silent only because no one would believe his seemingly oundish ims. Thus, Louis decided to uncover the truth himself. He was in Vernes because if the Greville Family heir was involved with Zephyr, this was where he would find any leads. Suddenly, all the hunters, including Louis, became alert as they sensed the approach of powerful individuals. They heightened their mana levels but remainedposed, as Louis'' team consisted of highly skilled S Rank Hunters. "Nice to meet you, Sir Louis Rothschild. I am the Squad Leader assigned to coborate with you during your stay in Somaria," said the man in a suit, greeting Louis warmly with a smile. These individuals were members of the World Association, there to wee Louis, who had been sent on behalf of the Rothschild Family to assist the World Association when they needed additional manpower. With the emergence of numerous Dungeons worldwide, many B Rank and lower Hunters were being mobilized. Even S or A Rank Hunters were tackling B Rank or higher Dungeons, tasks they wouldn''t normally undertake. Louis was present under the guise of an exchange program, where the World Association lent their manpower below A Rank to their Desmar branch. "I can''t believe we have the opportunity to coborate with the renowned Louis Rothschild," the man remarked, smiling. Louis nodded, understanding the ttery;ing from an elite family, he was recognized as a formidable hunter among his S Rank peers, despite his notorious reputation. The main challenge in working with him was his temper, which is why this World Association member, an S Rank Hunter himself, was cautious in his approach towards Louis. "The vehicles are ready for you to-," the man began, only to stop as cracks suddenly appeared on the ground. Crack! A fissure appeared in thend, and a man was seen levitating above. "Why does the Second Son of Sir Dalton Rothschild grace ournd?" an elderly man inquired, his presence instantly recognizable to Louis. "Hassan Trevino," Louis muttered under his breath, causing the Hunters around him to be alert. They all knew this name: Hassan Trevino, the right-hand man of the Sword God, an SS Rank Hunter. Although the enormous shadow of Nathaniel Greville undermined Hassan''s strength but these Hunters weren''t clueless about the identity and the strength of the old man that was floating in the air. The mana around them started rising as they were ready to fight for Louis if the situation demanded it. "What do you want?" Louis asked, his expression stern. Despite Hassan''s formidable strength, Louis''s status was significantly higher and this was something he was aware of. There wasn''t a rule preventing members of other Elite Families from entering Somaria, and Hassan couldn''t stop Louis this time. Louis was not only representing the Rothschild Family but also acting on behalf of the World Association. Hassan looked down, observing the hunters surrounding Louis Rothschild. "A private aircraft? We weren''t informed that such powerful hunters werending in Somaria," Hassanmented as hended on the ground, facing the World Association representatives. "Since a few months ago, numerous pesky flies have been entering Somaria. Forgive me if my greeting seems overly cautious," Hassan exined. "Why do we need to inform anyone about our arrival?" Louis retorted with a frown. He was struggling to contain his anger, as even the mere mention of the name ''Greville'' was enough to agitate him. "I''m just here to remind you to be mindful of your actions on this continent," Hassan said, his smile disappearing as he made his intentions clear. The atmosphere shifted, and everyone''s expressions changed. "Does the head of the Greville Family know what you are saying?" A man from the World Association finally spoke up. "Hoh, it seems people have forgotten my methods. But I''m sure the Second Son of the Rothschild Family remembers well," Hassan said, locking eyes with Louis. Louis stared back at Hassan for a few seconds before raising his hand to restrain his man from reacting. "We are here solely to assist the World Association," Louis rified, to which Hassan responded with a smile. "If that''s the case, then we will have no issues," Hassan said as he floated into the air, soon disappearing from sight. "Forgive me, Sir Louis. I will report this to our superiors," the man from the World Association said, hoping to appease Louis. "Don''t bother. That man wouldn''t act so provocatively on his own," Louis replied dismissively. "What do you mean?" The man looked puzzled. "That man acts only on the orders of one person: Nathaniel Greville," Louis muttered. "Forget about this. Lead the way," Louis instructed, shifting his gaze to the man. "Ah, yes, please follow me," the man replied hastily, now understanding the gravity of the situation. Louis was correct, someone like Hassan would never provoke the other party on his own, as his actions could damage the honor of the Greville Family, but there was only one case where Hassan wouldn''t care if his opponent was the World Association Chairman himself. And it was when he was working under the order of the Nathaniel Von Greville. *** "Leader, are you certain he will heed this warning?" one of the Greyhounds members inquired. They were dispersed throughout the area, eavesdropping on the conversation between Hassan and Louis Rothschild. "It doesn''t matter. Anyone perceived as a threat will be eliminated. Those were our orders," Hassan responded. The benign demeanor of the old man with grey hair and ck eyes had vanished. Now, standing before the other Greyhounds, was their leader ¡ª as ruthless as he was strong. Before departing, Nathan had issued very specific instructions to Hassan and the other two SS Rank members of the Greyhounds: to eliminate anyone who posed a potential threat. "Shadow every individual apanying Louis Rothschild. I want updates on every single action they take," Hassanmanded. "YES, SIR!" All the Greyhounds chorused in unison, vanishing from their positions. While these events unfolded in Somaria, the heir of the Greville Family was entering one of the cities bordering Halcyon''s capital. "Boss, are you sure you want to go into that area?" Dane inquired. "Yes," Asher responded, removing his mask. "Getting past all the security will be challenging, especially since we''ll be passing through the World Association''s Headquarters," Kai remarked, gazing at the imposing building in front of them. "Get ready, we only have a month to reach that ce," Asher replied. Chapter 399 Visit To The Golden Pond - I Standing in front of the World Association Headquarters in Halcyon, they beheld a massive building that seemed to touch the sky. Within that skyscraper resided everything from powerful hunters to thetest, most advanced technology. The vaults of the World Association contained the umted loot and monster materials collected by hunters from across Halcyon. "Dispatch the next team, and there is a report about a new dungeon near City..." On the 12th floor, numerous hunters, d in their gear, focused on arge screen disying several missions and quests. Each monitor detailed specific missions along with the required team ranking, as assessed by the analysts of the World Association. "Sigh, another dungeon. Why are so many dungeons suddenly appearing?" a hunter muttered in frustration. Other hunters also appeared weary, constantly being summoned to explore new dungeons andpile reports on them. New dungeons, always considered the most perilous, were prioritized over existing dungeons of the same rank. "Excuse me, our team needs a scout," a middle-aged hunter informed the receptionist, who was assembling teams. "What happened to your assigned scout?" the woman inquired. "He was injured in thest dungeon, so he''s unable to participate for now," the man exined. Injuries weremonce in dungeons, and most hunters felt relieved when such incidents didn''t result in fatalities. "Please provide your team leader''s name and your team''s rankings here," the woman requested, handing over a tablet to the man. As he reached for the tablet, the elevator behind the woman opened, revealing a man in a long ck coat who appeared to be in his forties. "Sir Adam," the woman greeted him promptly, capturing the attention of every hunter on the floor. "Is that Sir Adam?" "He seems stronger!" "So it was true he reached SS- Rank," "Will the power dynamic change between the executives then?" Whispers filled the room at the sight of this man, but they soon subsided. "At ease, I am not here to disrupt your work. Continue with your duties," Adam instructed, surveying the room. "Is the report on the 15 new dungeons ready?" Adam inquired of the woman. "We have identified the monsters in them, and 12 of them have been cleared fully," The woman replied. "And what about the resources?" Adam asked. He was one of the Executives of the World Association and one of the SS Rank Hunters who worked in Halcyon under the World Association. lightsvl m Although he had recently be an SS- Rank Hunter, he still managed to get into the position of an executive due to his years of work and connections in the World Association. "Hmmm?" Adam squinted his eyes as he looked at the Lift that was going up from the 12th Floor. But looking closely at that Lift, the only people present there were the party that went up to get the supplies necessary for their mission. Soon enough, Adam''s attention drifted back to the report that the woman handed over to him. "I want all the data of these new dungeons and secure as many dungeons as possible," Adam as said as he turned around to leave. In the Lift that went up from the 12th Floor, "Even someone like Sir Adam is busy," The man sighed as he leaned over the staff in his hand. "Don''t getzy; we have a dungeon to clear," The woman in front said, looking back. "I want to rest; seriously, think about it; we just cleared a Dungeon 5 Days ago," The manined. "No excuses now; we can take two weeks off after this mission; we need one more Dungeon to raise our Team Rating," The woman said as she looked back at her Team. The lift stopped on the 25th floor, where the Weapon Storage and Supply Store were located. "Come on, let''s get everything we need," The woman said as her Team left the Lift. The manzily followed her as he looked back, and the Lift was going up. ''Weird, did someone call it up?'' The man thought in his head. When he was inside the Lift, he remembered that the buttons on the higher Floor were not lit. "Sigh, I really need some rest," The man muttered as he simply thought he didn''t remember it correctly. Inside the Lift, "Pheww," Dane spoke as he looked as he looked at the button. "We got lucky that there were other people in the lift; I didn''t imagine an SS Rank Hunter woulde to the lower floors," Kai spoke as he looked at Dane. "Don''t worry, apart from SS Rank Hunters, nobody can spot us for the next 4 minutes," Kai replied as his face looked pale. He was giving his all to suppress the presence and mana of all three of them. "But Boss, are you sure you can use that spell?" Dane asked. "If we try, maybe we can use that ne to enter that ce," Dane said. "No, the moment we use an SS Rank artifact in that area, the runes there will activate," Asher replied. ''But-'' Dane didn''t speak, but both he and Kai were worried about it. It was because they didn''t think that using spatial magic was good for Asher. Both of them knew how dangerous and self- harming using Space Element was, but knowing that Asher was going to use it, they didn''t know whether it was a good idea or not. But due to the agreement they made with Asher, all they could do was follow his orders. "I will take over the security system for 10 seconds; make sure you exit this lift at that time," Tom said through themunication device as Dane and Kai got ready. The Lift started going up and didn''t stop on the 50th Floor that Kai had pressed, which was the highest Floor they could ess as normal Hunters. All floors above that required ess Cards, and floors above 75 required executive-level ess. The Lift was going up as Kai, Dane, and Asher got ready to step out of it. They had only half a second to step out to make sure that Tom could return the Lift back to the lower floors on time. The speed of the Lift increased going past the mana detectors that were switched off temporarily. Ding!bender The Lift opened, and Kai and Dane, with Asher in front of them, sprinted out as they followed a specific path. Asher''s eyes became focused as he started chanting a spell, making his mana rise. Asher frowned as he felt the burden of using this spell that he recently learned on his mind. But it didn''t stop him from chanting the spell. This floor was for VIP members and executives, so the three of them didn''t have enough time before someone who was SS Rank could sense their presence. Most of the pressure was on Kai, whose face was getting paler, and he was feeling dizzy because he was using all his strength to hide them. Right now, if they were caught, the chances were high. The one who woulde after them would be an SS Rank Hunter, and in the worst case, they would need to instantly use the Ne to teleport out of the World Association Headquarters. "Boss, you need to face the first door around the next corner; that''s the direction," Tom said. As Asher closed his eyes, he could feel the space around him. He was still running and was about to turn, but he could feel the space around him. But instead of it, Asher looked past it, somewhere around half a kilometer away from his spot, in a certain direction. Asher stopped as he touched the shoulders of Kai and Dane, as he muttered. "...Leap," At that moment, another lift on the floor opened its doors, and Adam stepped out of it. The lift that Asher used was already on its way toward the lower floors, so Adam didn''t find it suspicious until he sensed a disturbance in the mana in this room. "Did someone use a spell here?" Adam spoke. He could feel a slight disturbance in the mana around the floor, but it was extremely small, making Adam think it was the aftermath of one of the people on this floor using one of their spells. "These old bastards can''t stay still for a moment," Adam muttered in frustration, going towards the middle section where his office was present. Chapter 400 Visit to the Golden Pond - II Chapter 400 Visit to the Golden Pond - II ??"Argh!" Dane said as he felt pressure on his body and mind. Kai was in a simr state as theynded in a forest-like ce. Turning their heads, they could see a massive building, the World Association Headquarters, but along with that, they could see the massive wall covering this area. "This felt even worse than the Continental Teleportation Gate," Dane muttered as he looked at the back of Asher standing before him. "Are you in?" Tom asked through themunication device. "Yeah," Kai replied while massaging his head. "But Boss, are you fine?" Kai asked, looking at Asher. Asher, standing with his eyes closed, opened them, touched the edge of his eye, and looked at his finger. There was blood on his hand, and this was the side effect of using a space element spell that was considered a forbidden spell due to how dangerous it was. What Asher had done was increase theplexity of the leap magic and reconstructed it into an advanced leap that was considered an upper level of Tier 3 Spells. Ignoring the mana that was required to do this spell, Asher not only teleported himself but also Dane and Kai. Although the distance wasn''t that great, they went past the multiple security systems and runes that were ced around this ce. "I am fine, but from now on, don''t use any kind of artifact here," Asher said as he looked into the sky. Although it appeared like a normal sky, if someone looked closely, runes were floating in the air, and they were detection runes that could detect any type of artifacts, especially ones that were capable of teleporting a person. This ce was sealed off and was secure enough to make sure nobody except those who were authorized could enter. "Themunication device will stop working when we go past that ce," Asher said as he sensed the runes hidden on the ground. Kai and Dane looked at the direction Asher pointed at as they nodded at each other. "Listen, ording to the records in the database I have found, the next time someone would visit this ce is in 3-4 weeks," Tom reminded them. "I couldn''t get the exact timing and date because theplexity of their security system has changed; if I interfere any further, there''s a chance that they might find out someone is looking in the database," Tom exined. "It''s enough time," Asher replied. "Store thatmunication device; we will not need them now," Asher said as he took out the earpiece, and ced it inside his storage ring. Following his example, Dane and Kai did the same. "Let''s go," Asher said as they started running behind Asher. Soon enough, all of them felt as if they had passed through a sheet of water, and it was the runicyer that was used to suppress all kinds of signal waves inside this ce. The ce they were inside was something that only a few people in the entire World Association had ess to. The only reason the Halcyon Royal Family allowed them to take care of it was because it attracted a lot of monsters and beasts. As World Association Headquarters was full of powerful hunters, it was easier to fend off any monsters that would invade the city, and the Royal Family didn''t have to worry about keeping this ce safe. Forpensation, they allowed the World Association to take the rare herbs that were present in this ce. It wasn''t any ordinary forest, and even calling this ce a forest was wrong. This ce was actually a massive garden that had the rarest herbs and nts that were used in many potions and other things. Just the amount of things that could be done by these herbs were countless, from injury healing potions to deadly poison to extremely mana-conductive saps from trees. "Be careful; don''t step over any nts or touch any flowers here," Asher warned Kai and Dane as he kept using Mir Steps to elerate himself. "Some of these nts are enough to poison an A Rank Hunter," Asher said as Dane became extra careful with his movements. "I can''t believe they had something like this in this ce," Kai muttered. Although Kai and Dane didn''t know much about such stuff, they even knew about a few rare nts and flowers that were extremely valuable. And while following Asher, they were able to spot a few of them. "But how is this even possible?" Dane asked. "Why are so many herbs growing in this particr ce?" Dane''s question piqued Kai''s curiosity as well. Asher didn''t say, but he knew the reason why this ce became like this. And the reason behind this was the mana veins that appeared here after a Dungeon explosion happened a long time ago. It led to the creation of a mana vein, which allowed the herbs that could only grow inside a dungeon and under a specific environment to grow in a ce like this. Or so was the saying that the World Association and even the Halcyon Royal Family believed. All of them thought that this ce became like this because of the mana veins that were present beneath the ground that they were walking on. But they were not wrong either; it was partially because of this reason that these herbs could only grow in this ce. But the real reason was unknown to them, but a single person had found out about it. And that was the previous generation Head of the Allister Family, and that was around 80 years ago, and that information was passed down to the current Head of the Allister Family. ''That ce was hidden in that cave if that guy spoke the truth,'' Asher thought while running. Apart from the Allister Family Head, nobody was supposed to know the truth about this ce, but there was one more person as well. And that was Asher himself. Although Asher didn''t know the exact location of the ''ce'' he was looking for, he knew that it existed. It was something that allowed the Allister Family to grow their influence so much in theing years that, in his memory, the Allister Family became far more powerful than the Royal Family and the Everett Familybined. "Keep an eye out for any rocky ces or ces where you can spot a cave," Asher said out loud. "We have three weeks to find that cave," Asher said. "Ok, Boss," Dane and Kai replied together as they sharpened their senses. Asher was constantly using his mana sense to get an image of his surroundings to find the ''ce'' That was the reason why he took the trouble of entering the World Association Headquarters and even using a spell like that to teleport both Dane and Kai with him. Even right now, Asher is enduring the headache thates with the usage of space elements. One Week went by, as Asher, Dane, and Kai were resting in a grasnd that was filled with white flowers. "This ce looked so peaceful a moment ago," Dane muttered with a grim look on his face. When they first arrived at this ce, even Dane and Kai were moved by the beauty of the scenery that was in front of them. But that image soon got ruined when Asher told them that those flowers were one of the most poisonous flowers in the world. And they were so potent that even A Rank Hunters like them would fall to them if they didn''t get the correct antidote in three weeks'' time. But the poison that could be made by correctly using them was enough to kill an A Rank Hunter in a second. A poison that Dane and Kai were knowledgeable about because of their life at Spyder. *** Outside the Orphanage, "Did you get the message from the ck Squad?" The man asked. "They areing to recruit this batch of children in 3 weeks," His subordinate replied. "Good, I was getting tired of feeding them anyway," The man replied with a frustrated look on his face. "Up their dosage, make sure they crave for this stuff like their whole life depends on it," The man said as he passed a small, sealed sk. "And reduce their meals as well," The man said as he turned to leave. "As you wish, hahaha," His subordinateughed as he turned around to go back into the Orphanage. Chapter 401 The Golden Pond Chapter 401 The Golden Pond ??One more week went by while all three of them were relentlessly searching for the ce or cave that Asher described. It had been two weeks since they entered this ce, but there were no clues about it. "We have covered around 26% of the area of this ce," Kai mentioned as he looked ahead. He jumped down from the tree branch he was standing on as Dane and Asher walked upon the dried leaves that were present on the ground. The aroma of the tree leaves was filling this whole area, and Dane didn''t like it too much. It had a very strong aroma that was making him restless. "Don''t worry, it''s not poison," Asher replied as he crushed one of the dried leaves on the ground with his hand. Listening to Asher''s words, Dane rxed a bit, but the aroma was still bothering his sense of smell. And it was because of the fact that the leaves of these trees were used to cover the scent of human bodies from any monster. It was a must thing for any assassin or spy because if processed carefully, they could even fool the senses of a high-ranking hunter. Although they could still detect your mana, if you could hide your mana''s presence well, this sort of thing was essential to cover other tracks. "Our speed is slow because we are being careful not to damage this ce," Kai spoke out. The reason why all of them barely covered 1/3 of the total area was that their speed was considerably slow. This wasn''t a normal forest that they could move as they wanted. Asher wanted to remove all traces that could make anyone suspicious. As this ce was opened to a select few, noticing irregrities was much easier. And leaving any evidence could spoil the entire n that Asher had in his mind. "But I think we will find that ce in that direction," Kai pointed at the northern part of this massive ''garden. '' "And why?" Dane asked as he furrowed his brows due to the smell. "The terrain around there is very denser, and it''s closer to the edge of the garden, so we might find what we are looking for around that ce," Kai exined, Asher listened to all this as he turned towards the Northern Direction. The time they had was very limited, and choosing the northern direction now would make it impossible for them to reach the other parts in time. They could pace around this ce, but that would result in them damaging this ce and leaving evidence of their presence or activating one of the security runes. Although removing their artifacts removed the risk of getting detected by theplex rune that covered the sky of this ce, there were hidden runes as well that were ced to make sure that any kind of irregrity inside could be spotted in time. "Are you sure that ce might not be the one," Dane said with a serious look on his face. Kai got silent as he only answered with his intuition, but he knew that if his guess was wrong, it could lead to the failure of this mission. "Let''s go in that direction," Asher spoke out of nowhere, making both of them look at him. Dane and Kai nodded as Asher took Kai''s suggestion and started moving towards the northern part. The more they went towards that area, the denser the forest became, and it could be seen that this area wasn''t maintained well. Everything around them looked ordinary, and there were no extraordinary herbs or nts to be spotted in this ce. And it was obvious that they were moving away from the center of this garden and were exploring the outer part where the mana veins in the ground weren''t that potent. ''Did I make a mistake?'' Kai thought in his head. He only gave this suggestion because the ce that Asher described sounded like a ce that was away and well hidden. But knowing that must be of incredible value, Kai was doubting whether his decision was correct or not. If they didn''t find the cave Asher mentioned in this direction, this mission would be a failure. One day went by, and then a second went by as well, where the three of them were even moving in the direction using their mana sense. Asher was not stopping at all, and he was keeping check of his surroundings with his mana sense to detect any cave-like structure hidden in the ground. ''Where would that ce be?'' Asher thought in his head. All he remembered was that only the previous Allister Head had found that ce despite numerous others going there to collect herbs and explore it. ''It should be somewhere where people would ignore it,'' Asher thought. It was also the reason why Asher agreed to go with Kai''s suggestion, as the northern part of this garden was looking even more ordinary. As all the important herbs, nts, and flowers were present in the center area, the outer edges were often ignored. So, it was highly possible that the northern part of this garden was the ce where he would find the cave that held the secret of this garden. "Follow me," Asher spoke out of nowhere as he jumped on top of a tree, and Dane and Kai followed him. Although it was dark, the moonlight was illuminating the forest, and they could see the path ahead of them. But it looked almost like a wild forest, which was a stark contrast from the scenery they had seen in this ce till now. "We will spread out and meet there in 10 hours," Asher said as his crimson-red eyes gazed at the tallest tree that was present there. "Look around this ce, and use your senses to find a cave-like structure hidden around," Asher exined. "Ok Boss!" Kai and Dane spoke simultaneously. Dane and Kai went in opposite directions while Asher jumped down and started running forward. His mana spread even further, covering more ground as Asher closed his eyes, solely focusing on his senses. Mana was present everywhere, and with the help of his mana control skills, Asher could sense the space around him just like any other high-ranking hunter. Although it wasn''t perfect, like using space elements, it was enough to spot the environment around him. ''It would be better if I could find it without using that n,'' Asher thought in his head. Although Kai and Dane thought that they needed to find the cave here in the time left, Asher had one more n if this ce didn''t have that cave either. It was something he wanted to avoid if he could because he was unsure what would happen after he did it. And that n was nothing else but to use a teleportation spell multiple times, going to all the ces that were left and using his mana sense to locate that cave. Although it sounded like a good idea, Asher didn''t know what the safe limit was for him while using such spells. And even with Rune of Eirdin and his intelligence stat, Asher was still experiencing headaches and mental fatigue after using that leap spell to teleport him and Dane and Kai. Slowly, the night got brighter as dawn arrived. The sky was turning blue, and the sun was about to shine. It had been 9 hours, but Asher had already reached the tree, and the cave was nowhere to be found. And right now, Asher was sitting under the tree, meditating while recovering his mana. Dane and Kai had yet to return as there was still an hour left, but Asher didn''t believe that they had found the cave yet. If they did, they would havee to this spot much earlier. "Come out," Asher said as he opened his eyes. Rifir appeared around Asher''s arms and moved to the ground, turning his head to look at Asher. "Can you sense it?" Asher asked. If the ce was what Asher remembered it was, Rifir had the best chance of spotting it. "It''s not around here," Rifir replied, tilting his head. "Hmm," Asher didn''t speak as Rifir looked around. Rifir could understand what Asher was thinking, so it could reply honestly to Asher without getting confused. But suddenly, Rifir turned his head as its irises focused in a direction further up north. "Something there," Rifir spoke, tilting his head on the other side. Rifir''s response made Asher stand up and look in that direction, but it was all a forest. "Let''s wait for them," Asher said as Rifir disappeared. Forty minutester, Dane and Kai arrived at the spot and saw Asher mediating and recovering his mana. Asher opened his eyes and looked at Dane and Kai, who both shook their heads, expressing their failures. "You can rest here. I will go further for now," Asher spoke. "We can still go on," Dane said. "No need, keep guarding him while he recovers," Asher pointed at Kai, who was visibly exhausted. He hadn''t recovered from using his bloodline ability. Still, using his mana continuously repeatedly while also using his mana to enhance his senses to find the cave, Kai wasn''t in his best shape. "Ok," Dane replied. Leaving Dane and Kai to rest, Asher went ahead in the direction Rifir had previously looked at. The search for the cave was on, and Asher hoped to find it soon as it was a crucial piece in his ns going forward. Although it didn''t seem like he would seed at first, in a few hours, Asher was staring at a cave-like ce at the opening of one of the tree trunks hidden with an illusion spell rune. "This is the ce," Asher muttered as his eyes stared at the cave. He didn''t even go inside, but just looking at the rune and the preparation to keep it hidden, Asher was sure this was where he was looking for what was present. "So this was the source of the Golden Fountain that the Allister had," Asher muttered as he stepped inside. Chapter 402 Legacy of the Past Chapter 402 Legacy of the Past ??"Not here," Asher muttered while going past the thin vines growing in this ce. His movements were as light as they could get, and even while stepping on the vines and using Mir Steps, there were no marks on the ground. Recovering his mana and waiting for Dane and Kai allowed Asher to move much more quickly. "Somewhere hidden..." Asher remembered the conversation in his previous life when he found out about this ce. *** *sh* A ck sword moved extremely fast as it left trails of blood, but what was more menacing was the man wielding that sword. Behind him were the corpses of multiple high-ranking hunters, and his ck clothes were stained with blood stains of the people he killed. He opened a door where a man stood with a strange cor on his neck. "Asher Von Greville," He muttered as he looked behind. "I was expecting you to visit this ce," he said as he sat on his chair. "Sam Allister," Asher spoke as he entered the room. "What you want is written in this diary," Sam said as he touched a diary on the table before him. "But I am surprised," Sam said as he sat in his seat. "I didn''t think you woulde yourself," Sam said with a faint smile on his face. His behavior was strange because he was sitting in front of the man who had be a threat to the whole High Council in a few years since his disappearance. Normally, someone would either be nervous or be ready to fight for their life, but Sam was rxed. Or rather, he didn''t care what was going to happen. Asher''s indifferent eyes looked at the diary, but despite his expression, his killing intent was still present. "You look nothing like the person I had seen at the World Academy," Sam said as he looked at Asher. "You have be a monster," Sam said. Suddenly, another person behind Asher appeared, and his appearance made Sam''s expression change. ".... how? Those red eyes!" Sam''s rxed face changed. "I have made sure to kill every messenger around this ce," Lucas spoke as he looked at Asher. "Nobody will know what happened here till tomorrow morning," Lucas said as he looked at Sam, whose eyes had widened. "So you were the one that sent us that message?" Lucas asked. "Who are you?" Sam asked. "Those eyes..." Sam was about to ask when Asher stepped forward. But he soon appeared behind Sam and took the diary in his hand. "Don''t move if you don''t want to die," Asher said in a cold tone as he opened the diary. Sam calmed himself down as he leaned back and startedughing. Lucas stared at Sam''s strange actions while Asher flipped through the pages. "That diary contains everything you need to destroy the Allister Family and the identity of all those that are involved with that damn family," Sam said. "Why are you giving it to us? Aren''t you the Second son of the Allister Head?" Lucas asked. "Son? Family? Hahahahahaha, if I could, I would have killed that man with my own hands," Sam replied as his eyes turned lifeless. From the moment Lucas had entered this ce, Sam looked like a weird person to him. Lucas had seen the reaction that others had when they were around Asher''s killing intent, but Sam depicted none of those. ''He has already given up on living,'' Lucas thought, These eyes that Sam showed a resemnce to another one that Lucas could see beside Sam, but he didn''t say that out loud. "Anyway, Ipleted my side of the deal," Sam said, shifting his eyes toward Asher. "Let''s leave," Asher said, looking at Lucas. Lucas was confused, but he nodded his head. He activated the teleporting artifact, leaving Sam alone in this room. "I have done it, Mother," Sam muttered as he closed his eyes and rxed his body. "I wonder how you felt for those years. I am sorry," Sam muttered as the cor started glowing. A smile crept onto his face. "I guess they can''t let me go away this easily; controlling my whole life wasn''t enough for you, I guess," Sam muttered as he opened the drawer where many empty vials were present. "I guess this is thest one," Sam spoke as he took the only vial that had a liquid-like substance avable in it. Gulp! "Still doesn''t taste good," Sam muttered, throwing the vial on the floor. Far from this ce, Lucas and Asher appeared in an abandoned region where the diary was stored in his storage ring. "Was it okay to leave him alive?" Lucas asked. "They might learn about our movements from him," Lucas said. "They would not. The dead don''t speak," Asher said as he touched the mountain rock and activated the runic formation. "He was already half dead when he spoke with us," Asher replied. Lucas stopped momentarily, and everything about Sam''s behavior made sense to him. Asher flipped the pages one by one as he arrived at thest entry of the Diary. It was about the Miracle Golden Pond, which was the biggest reason for the growth in power of the Allister Head, and it also mentioned what that Golden Pond was. Asher entered the hidden base, leaving Lucas, who looked at the sky and raised his hand, covering the entire mountain with his magic. *** Asher remembered the description he saw in the Diary, but it was inurate. In his previous life, Asher never visited this ce because there was no need, as Sam had already mentioned that going there was useless. Because the Golden Pond was already empty when Sam handed over the diary to Asher. But right now, it was different, and Asher knew that Golden Pond would be empty in the next five years. And it was around then that the Allister Head reached SS+ Rank, reaching the power of a Pseudo SSS Rank Hunter. Soon enough, after going around, Asher stopped and looked at a certain tree with an opening in the middle. But what made him stop wasn''t the tree itself, but the massive space beneath the ground he was standing. "So there it is," Asher said as he looked at the opening. It looked like a normal tree, but Asher touched the opening, revealing a runic formation. Changing the runes and the flow of the mana around the formation, Asher deactivated it. Stepping inside, arge cave-like space was revealed when Asher used a fireball to illuminate his surroundings. But instead of stepping further, Asher stopped and activated another Runic Formation that was hidden on the wall that lit up the whole cave. It also reveals the ''Golden Pond'' in the middle. Suddenly, Rifir came out as he looked at the Golden Pond, and Asher could understand Rifir''s reaction as this pond was the blood of an SSS Rank Monster who had died long ago. Before even Halcyon was formed, this ce was where it died, and his mana core became the mana vein beneath the ground, covering what once was the Domain of this powerful monster. Also, this Golden Pond was nothing but the pool of blood, the blood that was present around his mana core, which was not removed from his body, allowing that blood to umte above the center of the mana vein formation in the ground. "Domain of a dead cmity, something that wasn''t hunted but died of age," Asher muttered as he stepped forward. It was the description that Sam had mentioned something he had heard from his older brother Jack before he was imprisoned in that ce. Rifir looked at Asher, but Asher shook his head. "Not this one," Asher replied as Rifir soon disappeared. Despite his instincts to devour the strength of a powerful being, Rifir quietly went back as he could understand Asher''s intentions due to the connection between them. "So this is the Blood that created the Golden Fountain," Asher crouched and touched the pond. The Golden Fountain was a fountain that was present in the Main Mansion of the Allister Family. It looked like normal golden-colored water, but it was a highly diluted form of this very blood that was being converted into an elixir. This was a secret that nobody except thete and the current Head of the Allister knew. That golden fountain was made by an artifact that could dilute this blood over time, making it possible to drink the elixir made from it. Although such a thing wasn''t possible as the wild mana in the blood wasn''t suitable for it, the Last Head of the Allister Family had somehow made it possible. But even if one couldn''t make an elixir out of this, the value of this pond that had be so enriched with mana present in the mana core that had long be a mana vein was immeasurable. This was something that would cause even SSS Rank Hunters to fight. Although notparable to an SSS Rank Mana Stone, this pond was still valuable. Especially for people below the SSS Rank, just entering this pond would strengthen their mana veins inside the human body. Sam mentioned this in the diary, as well as that the one who benefited from that effect was Jack Allister before the Allister Head used this entire pond. But instead of going inside, Asher stepped closer and took a sample of the blood inside a vial. As someone who knew something that even the dying Sam Allister didn''t know, Asher didn''t bother going inside this pond. Chapter 403 A Treasure left behind Chapter 403 A Treasure left behind ??Allister Family Mansion, Gulp! Drinking from a ss of vine that contained a golden-colored liquid, the Allister Head walked to the window. The moonlight was shining on the Golden Fountain, creating beautiful scenery, but the entire area around the fountain was empty. Not a single soul except the Allister Head was permitted in this area at the time of night. "Cough, Cough," The Allister Head started coughing as he grabbed his right chest, and the pain around his mana heart started rising. His breathing got rough, but after a few seconds, he took a deep breath and calmed his body as the mana around him finally settled down. "A few years more, and my body will finally be able to handle that blood," He spoke as a smile crept on his face. Walking back to his desk, he looked at the documents that had details about various children and their ability assessment. Click! Clicking his finger, a ball of fire appeared, and the paper started burning as he sat down and tapped on the edge of his table, making a hologram pop up that had confidential data about thepany that Leonard and Reece were starting. "This will be the start; I can''t wait till they finish that product," Allister said while smiling. *** "Boss, are we really leaving that thing behind?" Dane asked. "DANE!" Kai shouted, "Ah, I don''t mean to question your orders. It''s just that thing," Dane started scratching his head. Dane and Kai could feel that the Golden Blood was a very valuable treasure due to the amount of dense mana around that ce. Even if they both soaked their bodies in that pool of blood, it would have made them stronger, but despite finding it, they were leaving it behind. "We are not touching that," Asher said as he poured emptied a strange vial into the pond. "But that doesn''t mean we can''t benefit from it," Asher replied, making Dane and Kai raise their eyebrows. Half an hour ago, when Asher found this cave and the pool of blood after deciding not to touch it, Asher turned to leave when Rifir emerged and spoke to him. "There, mana," Rifir said as he appeared at the crack that was around the edge of the cave. Asher moved closer, and he spread his mana sense that was being overwhelmed by the dense mana of the golden pool, but going closer to the small crack made him sense a special formation that was done due to the intense mana that had been around this ce. It caused the formation of a natural mana-heavy zone that was beneficial for mana meditation for anyone below S Rank, and all three of them could use it. "There is a Heavy Mana zone behind that crack where all of us will train for five days," Asher said, making Dane and Kai look at the crack. "I couldn''t sense that at all!" Kai muttered, surprised, as he didn''t sense anything with his senses. It was a ce that had gone unchecked by even those who knew about this cave, so it was obvious why they couldn''t spot it. "But if we break that crack, wouldn''t it make it obvious someone was present here," Dane asked. "We will enter it directly," Asher said as he appeared behind Dane and Kai and touched their backs. He instantly used the teleportation spell to appear inside the space that was hidden behind the wall. And instantly, all of them felt the pressure of mana that made their entire body feel heavy, including their mana heart. But that pressure was the heaviest on Asher, who was a C Rank Hunter, and it was obvious by seeing Asher, who was barely standing up. Asher''s indifferent eyes looked ahead as he sat with legs crossed on the spot and started using his aura to repel the mana pressure. "I would have loved to spend more than five days, but I guess this is also fine," Dane sat down as well. Kai did the same as all three of them started their own individual training. Dane and Kai maintained their distance from Asher so as not to bother his training while doing theirs. *** At the World Academy, "So, do you know why we can''t use mana like monsters?" Serena asked the four kids before her. "Yes, Jennifer," Serena said, looking at Jennifer, who was raising her hands. "Because the wild mana that monsters use is not suitable for us," She answered. "Hmm, that''s right, but it''s not the correct answer," Serena said with a smile. "Not just the monster''s mana, but even our own mana is not suitable for another hunter," Serena replied. "Mana that enters your body bes a unique energy that resonates with your mana heart," Serena said as a diagram of mana heart was disyed behind her. It consisted of a description of various white rings and mana waves that covered the human heart. "That resonation will cause the mana to repel from anything that it doesn''t resonate with," Serena said. "Although the exact reason is not discovered, some peoplepare it with the way the mana frequency of an artifact works, but we ourselves don''t emit those mana frequencies, making that theory invalid," Serena exined. "But there is an exception to that rule," Serena said. "I am sure both of you have seen it yourself," Serena looked at Lucas and Livia. "Augmenters, they are the only Hunters that can perfectly resonate their mana with others naturally," Serena exined. "But they are extremely rare, even more than Advance Element Users," Serena exined. "And currently, there is only one Augmenter in the World Academy, and she is Amelia Greville," Serena said, making Livia smile brightly. "Big Sister is very strong!" Livia said out loud. "Augmenters have the special ability to project their mana and augment others while using unique spells," Serena added. "But they can only project mana that their body is naturally capable of," Serena said. "And most of the time, Augmenters have less mana than the mage of their ranks," "Remember this: most of the basic theory of mana is about various roles of Hunters and how they are different from each other," Serena said. "A good understanding of such things will help you in the future and build a strong foundation as well," Serena said as she took out four books, each with a red cover. "This contains the topic that will be covered the next month," "Make sure you learn it well, as you will be tested Next Month; it''s not an official exam, so take your time learning things, don''t worry about your performance," Serena said. The books floated by Serena''s power andnded in front of them. "Now open the third page; you can look at the description of the mana heart and mana resonation that will be our topic for today," Serena said. Lucas and Livia started reading the chapter while Jacob did the same, except Jennifer, who just overlooked the text as she had already studied about it. Serena didn''t say anything to Jennifer as she also knew that Jennifer Grandus was ahead of others in the ss, but that didn''t make Serena rush others or slow down Jennifer. Although Jennifer''s existence in the ss did make Serena talk about advanced topics that were a bit confusing, despite that, he made sure that those topics were rted to the lesson they were studying. The ss went on, and it ended an hourter as Livia stretched her hands and looked at Lucas, who was standing to leave. "I am going to meet Damian," Lucas told Livia. "Okay, Say that I said hi," Livia said cheerfully. Lucas went ahead and left the ssroom while Livia also left the room. As she was leaving, Livia thought of interacting with the Grandus twins, but she didn''t do it because Lucas told her to be careful around them. Livia didn''t wanted to go against Lucas''s wishes and do anything that would cause trouble for the Greville Family, so she decided to listen to Lucas. Although she wanted to be on friendly terms with the Grandus twins, Jennifer''s attitude against Lucas hadn''t changed despite attending multiple sses together. Jennifer looked at Lucas as a rival, and Jacob didn''t leave Jennifer''s side. On the other hand, unlike Livia, Lucas wasn''t interested in making friends with the Grandus twins. "I should ask Big Sister about this," Livia thought while walking towards her Dorm Building in the hallway. Because Amelia was busy with her training, Livia couldn''t meet her as much, and Damian would asionally meet them. Still, it was mostly Lucas going to train with Damian, who would spar with him. Sometimes, Livia would do the same, but today, she was going to spend her day studying. *** "Is the preparation ready?" Xander asked. "Yes, we have arranged the Oath Tokens and Trial Tokens. We can open the Trials Ground in two weeks," The Staff member replied. "One week from now, send notice to all those eligible to enter the Trials Ground and tell them to stop their training," Xander said as the Staff member nodded. "Submit that report to the principal and inform the Professors about this," Xander said. "You can go now," Xander said as the Staff member left the room. The Trials Ground was about to begin soon, and many people awaiting their chance were busy practicing. So it was important to inform them a week before so they could stop their training before missing their chances to enter the Trials Ground for an entire year. Chapter 404 Rumours Chapter 404 Rumours ??Drip! Another drop of sweat dropped from Asher''s face as the mana zone kept putting pressure on him. A mana zone was a ce that was naturally formed, unlike a mana meditation room, and it was an umtion of a high mana zone made from wild mana. It was a perfect ce for practicing your mana meditation. Not only did it make your Mana Heart stronger, but even the tension between the multiple rings eased down, allowing one person to break through to the next rank much more easily when they tried to increase the rank of their mana core. For Dane and Kai, this ce was a treasure they needed the most as they were at A+ Rank, and they needed exactly this to ease the process of reaching S Rank in the future. But for Asher, sitting here was a grueling process that was making his body sweat, and maintaining the mana flow around his body was incredibly difficult. Because of that, Asher was using his aura to strengthen himself, but even then, this process was difficult. Although it looked like Asher was only practicing his mana meditation, in reality, he was doing something different. One of the mana doping methods that made Asher stronger replicated the effect of a natural mana zone that Asher created for his mana heart by using his Bloodline Ability. It was a process that was akin to brewing a poison inside your body very slowly that would gradually affect your whole body. But it was still one of the early techniques of the entire mana doping method that Asher created, as it could be done without the use of external materials. Asher didn''t possess his original bloodline ability, so he couldn''t replicate that process, but having a natural mana zone that was very powerful, much more than what a C Rank Hunter could handle, he could mimic that process. He did not go as far as repeating the entire process, which would harm his body for the cost of bing more powerful, but he was partially replicating that process. ''Crack and bend,'' Asher said in his head. He repeated those words, slowly making cracks in the mana rings around his mana heart, and they were small cracks that would heal in a few seconds. But he would try to bend them bit by bit, rxing his mana heart and allowing it to absorb more mana and increase its density without breaking the barrier of C+ Rank. What Asher wanted was to increase his limit of mana at C Rank without creating another ring and bing a B Rank Hunter. Although the change wouldn''t be incredibly huge like what he achieved in his previous life, which allowed him to fight people more powerful than him as an equal. The mana around Asher was going in circles and revolving throughout his body, but inside his body, that mana was going towards the mana core. That core was absorbing the mana while he would repeat the cycle of cracking and bending the mana rings. This was an insane process, as shattering your mana rings could make you a cripple for life and could even lead to death. But because Asher had done this before, and he had aplished that without dying, he could do it again right now. Although there was something that was happening to him that Asher was aware of, The more he was getting stronger, those senses, that madness, the rage, all of them were graduallying back. He was bing closer to the person he was in his previous life, but because he had endured that madness and epted it, Asher didn''t stop increasing his strength. Unlike his previous life, this time, Asher had epted that it was his true nature, and trying to run away from it would only repeat what happened in his previous life. *** In the World Academy, Leonard was sitting with a bunch of ying cards in his hand, and in this room, there were two more people. One of them was Jack Allister, who was looking at the cards in his hand, but the look on his face was serious. "You know, right? What I am giving you is a chance, and there is no room for mistakes," Leonard said as he looked at the third person who was present in the room. "n Astaria, I am sure you know with your current standing, you aren''t suitable to be part of my circle," Leonard said, making n clench his fist. He wasn''t angry at Leonard but frustrated with the way he was being treated in the World Academy. "I will do whatever you ask, but I want to enter the Trials Ground," n said. Leonard looked into n''s eyes, and he smiled. "You want to defeat your half-sister, right?" Leonard asked. "That bitch is not my sister!" n shouted with anger. "That worthless garbage is a stain on the Astaria name!" n said. "In a single year, I will be stronger than that crippled bitch," n added. "But that wouldn''t change the fact that the Heir of the Astaria Household lost," Leonard said. "That''s why I am giving you an offer, something that will take down both of your worries," Leonard said. "Both?" n asked with a confused look on his face. "Yeah, I don''t care about that girl, but you hate Asher Greville because of the way he treated you, right?" Leonard asked. Just by the mention of Asher''s name, n got shaken, and Leonard could see the change in his behavior. He could see that n was subconsciously afraid of Asher, as he had be a source of his trauma. "I will allow you to enter with Jack, and he will help you inside," Leonard said as n looked at Jack. Jack was silent the whole time because Leonard had exined the n to him, but by the look on his face, it was obvious that even Jack was hesitant about Leonard''s n. Leonard took out a bracelet and put it on the table. "What is this?" n asked. "It is something that will help you, an S Rank artifact," Leonard said. "S Rank, wait, WHAT?" n almost stood up, but Leonard''s mana took over the room. "Listen now, n Astaria. Whatever you see here, hear here, and do here, nothing can go outside," Leonard said as the smile on his face vanished. n could feel Leonard''s dangerous aura, which was something simr to what he felt from Asher. He was shaken by the change of behavior in Leonard, which was something he hadn''t expected because Leonard always behaved nicely with him. But right now, n could feel that the Leonard before him was dangerous. "It''s part of my power, something that nobody except the two of you know. Do you understand what this means?" Leonard said. "Be careful because out of all people, you don''t want to be my enemy, right?" Leonard asked as he smiled. "Y-Yes, I wouldn''t tell anyone," n assured Leonard instantly. "Good, I expected that much from someone who carries the Astaria name," Leonard said with a smile, but his mana was still covering the whole room. "I will give you a chance to get your revenge on Asher Greville and get away with it," Leonard said. "And you will get what you wanted to do originally as well," Leonard added. "Really?" n asked. Jack was silent, but looking at those S Rank artifacts, even he was confident that this n couldn''t fail. Because, just like Leonard said, nobody knew that Leonard was capable of something like this. ''If I do this, I will take the same spot as Reece Williams,'' Jack thought to himself. After all the failures this past year, this wasn''t an offer he could miss. ''Father told me that he would give me that secret elixir as well,'' Jack thought in his head. All three people in this room had their own thoughts and motives, but all of them were waiting for one thing: the Trial''s Ground. In a few more days, Amelia and Damian were walking in the Outer Sector, and they were going to one of the ces Amelia liked to visit. "He hasn''te out?" Amelia asked. Damian shook his head in denial. "What is he doing? The Trial''s Ground has been announced," Amelia said. "I mean, there''s still around a week," Damian said. "What about you? Are you participating?" Damian asked. "No, my choice hasn''t changed. I don''t think I am ready," Amelia replied. "I have learned something new from those books, but I haven''t mastered it yet," Amelia added. "Really?" Damian was surprised. Amelia was someone who could learn something very quickly and implement it, though notparable to someone like Asher. Damian always thought highly of Amelia in this regard. "The concepts are veryplex. I don''t think I can use them unless I hit C Rank," Amelia replied. "Are those books that difficult that even Ash is still reading them?" Damian asked. "Probably, he must have chosen somethingplex as well," Amelia replied. "I wouldn''t be surprised if he only understood half of them by now because I am far from understanding half," Amelia said. "I guess it is better; there are many rumors this time," Damian said. "I don''t think any of the Third Year students would be able to hinder him," Amelia said. "And those students outside, they will not stand against someone from an Elite Family," Amelia added. She had heard the rumors that some students weren''t happy with certain participants from the second-year student group. "Haha, that''s true. I don''t think anyone will be stupid enough to go against the Heir of the Greville Family," Damian said. Although the rumors weren''t targeting Asher, in fact, they were against someone else. Punch! "There are so many useless mouths in this damn Academy," Vanessa said. "Ease down," Sam said as he looked at Vanessa, who was venting her anger on the punching machine. "It''s not like they can stop her from entering," Sam said. Both of them had met for a spar, and Vanessa had requested Sam to practice with her, as she knew Sam was quite good despite his rank. "They are just jealous that she is above them," Vanessa said. Punch! Punch! There were multiple rumors questioning if someone as unpredictable as Alyssa should be allowed inside the Trial''s Ground, considering her background. But the recipient of those rumors was currently in the Second Year Ranker''s Dorm, sitting in her room, drawing a ck rose with a red stem. Chapter 405 Leaving Halcyon Crack!!! The ground around Dane started cracking as he kept taking on the pressure around him. Kai had stopped already as he had gained enough, but Dane was still going on. ''He is being stubborn,'' Kai thought as he leaned cross-handed on the wall. He looked at Asher, who was far from them, and he was ready to cover Asher with his mana if the pressure inside this ce became too much for him. Even though Kai could have gained a little more, he knew what his job was, and he decided to look over Dane and Asher. Dane was fully engrossed in making the most of this ce, and Kai knew how much Dane wanted to increase his strength quickly. Till now, both of them had relied on Kai''s bloodline ability to help themplete missions that were far too difficult for them. And Dane always wanted to cross over the First Boundary that every Hunter dreamed of. S Rank was something that every Hunter dreamed of achieving in their lifetime. It was called the First Boundary because it was a Rank where their whole body, including their mind, thoughts, senses, the way of perceiving things, and most importantly, the way they could connect with mana would change. The First Boundary was where they would open their eyes to a new world, which was what Dane and Kai aimed for. It was not simply a dream for them; it was a necessity, as they knew that only their strength would help them in the future. But what made crossing over from A Rank to S Rank was simply the shackles that held the Mana Heart. The mana rings that had formed multiple times till their journey to A Rank had now be the shackles that bound their mana heart, stopping it from bing denser and stronger. The process of stepping into the realm of S Rank was different. Instead of making more mana rings, you needed to merge all the mana rings into one single strip that would wrap itself around the mana heart. This change allowed a Hunter to massively increase their mana pool as the restriction of the mana rings that held the mana heart and the density of mana inside it were gone. Normally, to do this process, one needs to not only make their mana heart strong enough to handle that mana without the mana rings but enough strength to merge all the mana rings. That''s why reaching S Rank at a younger age was even more impressive, as they have passed the hurdle of tempering their mana heart and merging the rings. That was why Dane was going so far to make sure he got the most out of this ce, but there were cracks on the ground that were emerging due to his mana that was spreading outside his body. Kai was ready to interrupt Dane if we went too far, as leaving any evidence here was clearly not their motive at all. Knowing the value of this ce just by sensing the mana, Kai was sure that the people involved in this ce would be able to sense any sort of irregrities here. ''It should be time we should leave soon,'' Kai thought, as he knew that they needed to leave this ce fast. He remembered that Asher had told them he would need to be present inside World Academy around this time. Even Dane and Kai knew about the Trials Ground as it was the thing that made World Academy an incredibly precious ce. A day went by as Kai kept his eyes on Dane and Asher, but he was getting worried about the time they were spending here. But to relieve him of his worries, Dane opened his eyes as he let out all the mana around him, and he looked at Kai with a tired look in his eyes. "You were quite reckless with it," Kaimented. "Haha, it was nothing," Dane said as hey down on his back and regted his breathing. Seeing the look on Dane''s face, Kai smiled as he knew that he had achieved what he wanted, and now only Asher was left. The aura around Asher was getting dimmer, and his mana was gradually increasing. It made Kai think that Asher was using this opportunity to reach B Rank. Seeing that, Kai was shaken, but he kept those thoughts to himself as he looked at Dane and remembered what Dane had said about Asher when they first met him. ''I guess anyone would get scared seeing this monstrous talent,'' Kai thought. He was watching the record of the fastest rank-up being broken before his own eyes. Even the famous Ivar Greville reached B Rank in his Second Year of World Academy, but Asher was even faster. But Kai didn''t know that Asher wasn''t trying to hit B Rank but increasing mana limits at C Rank. Dane kept resting, waiting for Asher toplete his training, and after 13 hours, Asher finally opened his eyes. "How much time is left?" Asher asked as he took a deep breath. "One Day, and there is a chance that someone has already entered this ce," Kai replied. "Time to leave," Asher said as he stood up. His entire body underneath the thin armor was red, and his face was pale. Straining his mana heart also affected the blood flow around his body. lightsnvl Kai waved his hand, removing the mana pressure around Asher as both went near him. "Maybe you should rest for a few hours," Kai suggested. "No need," Asher said as he took out a potion and drank it. "I will use the spell twice; after that, use the ne to go back to Soran as per the n," Asher said, and Kai and Dane nodded. Asher, as he touched Dane and Kai''s back, his face became paler. Suddenly, Dane and Kai felt a shift of space around their body, causing that same dizzy feeling. They saw the sky, but suddenly, the feeling of shifting of space happened again as they were outside in Mountainous Forest. Thud! Kai caught Asher, who was falling as he looked behind them, and they could see the massive tower, which meant they had sessfully escaped.eastern fantasy Dane took out the ne as he imagined the location of the mansion where Tom was waiting for them. Kai took care of Asher, who was unconscious, but in his head, he couldn''t believe that Asher used that kind of spell twice aftering out of a mana zone. Dane activated themunication device and alerted Tom about their escape. "I guess our trip is over," Dane said as he activated the artifact. *** At Soran, Tom was keeping tabs on the activities in the World Association Headquarters, but he didn''t have any concrete information because of the increased security. "They arete," Tom said as his legs kept shaking. Themunication was cut off for a long time, and Tom had no way of knowing what was happening inside that ce. All he could do was wait patiently, but there was one more thing to worry about, and it was the summons that was being sent on Asher''s ID bracelet. "Boss needs to go back there soon," Tom said, looking at the ground, not knowing what to do. If Asher didn''t respond to these summons, there was a chance that the Academy might decide to check his Dorm Floor for security reasons. Although it was a breach of privacy, under such conditions, the Academy was fully capable of taking these steps. BEEP! Tom immediately looked at the screen as he saw the signal from Dane. "They are back!!" Tom said as he felt his worries flowing out of him. The mental pressure was released as Tom took a deep breath and immediately activated the sequence in his system. At the same time, in the basement of this Mansion, three people appeared as Kai held Asher while Dane looked around him. "Get the potions and healing artifacts," Kai said as Dane immediately went out. Kai took Asher to one of the medical facilities that was present inside this Mansion. Although it was nothing too grand, it allowed for emergency operations. After a few minutes, Dane returned with the potions and artifacts and ced them on the table as Tom came inside the room and saw Asher. "WHAT HAPPENED?" Tom worriedly asked. "Nothing, Boss is just out of mana," Dane replied. Kai took some of the healing artifacts and activated them while putting the bracelets on Asher''s hands. "How long would it take for Boss to wake up?" Tom asked. "I don''t know," Kai replied. "That needs to go back to the World Academy as soon as possible," Tom said out loud. "There have been 3 Summon Notifications for him from the Faculty Council," Tom added. "If Boss doesn''t return till tomorrow, they might find out that he is not inside the training room," Tom said. "Let''s wait and see," Dane replied. Chapter 406 System Returns Chapter 406 System Returns ??"What do you mean that there is no response from Asher Greville?" Professor Arman asked the staff member. "Sorry, Professor, but we have sent a total of five summons already," The Staff member replied. "Five...Did you contact his sister or his friends?" Arman asked. "All of them gave the same reply: it seems that Asher Greville is still doing his training," "Usually, we would just cancel the student''s entry, but we can''t do that for him," The Staff member said with a troubled look on his face. Denying someone from the Elite Family their right to enter the Trials Ground was the same as making an enemy out of them. All they could do was wait and make sure that till the end, it was Asher''s choice not to enter Trials Ground with everyone. "It''s weird. He himself enrolled his name in the Trials Ground list using the right that was given by the Principal," Arman said out loud. "We might have to enter the Rankers Dorm to check if everything is fine," Arman said. ''His ID Bracelet hasn''t given any rm, so he should still be okay, but it''s better to confirm things,'' Arman thought in his head. The ID bracelet on each student''s hand was an extremely useful device that could alert the faculty if the student''s life was in danger. There was always a case where a student tried to force his way through the training and try to gain more strength; it would often lead to extreme injuries, which was why these ID Bracelets were designed in a way that they would alert them. But Arman and the staff member didn''t know that Asher''s ID Bracelet waspletely hijacked by Tom, and he had full control over all the features. "Alert the guards to check the condition there; I will get the Vice Principal''s approval in the meantime," Arman said as the staff member nodded his head. Arman was already busy preparing everything for Trials Ground that he needed to get this situation resolved. If Asher didn''t want to enter right now, it was fine, but they needed to check what the reason for his dyed response was. For any kind of mishap that could happen to the Heir of the Greville family, the entire World Academy would have to take the me. And that was something they couldn''t afford to do in any case. It was also the reason why Asher was able to strike that deal with Farnus during the Ranking Examination when the First Year started. Greville was best known for things that didn''t sound good for World Academy and even with Farnus''s status, ignoring the Sword God Nathaniel Greville wasn''t possible. If someone was crazy enough to face Farnus Calmort head-on, it was definitely Nathan, and the people who knew about it had already seen the wrath of the Sword God. It happened when Ivar died, and it was only because it was Ivar''s own decision to enter the Dungeon that helped calm Nathan Greville. Knowing the personality of the Strongest Greville, it was better to avoid any sort of problems that would ce the me on the World Academy. Arman used his magic to disappear and appeared in front of the faculty council as the ck smoke gathered around his legs. A few minutester, Two S Rank Hunters were outside the Rankers Dorm and entered the Rankers Dorm, confusing Elena and Eva, who were just leaving the Rankers Dorm due to some work. It was rare to see the Guard Hunters of the World Academy like this as they were ced around the Outer Sector. But it was even more surprising that they were entering the Rankers Dorm, which was a special ce that only the student rankers could visit freely. And if they were entering it like this, it only meant that they had gotten orders to enter the Rankers Dorm. "What are they doing here?" Elena asked Eva. "Did something happen?" Eva questioned as they both observed the guard hunters going towards the lift and using a special card to activate the lift. Elena and Eva were waiting to see the destination of the lift, and soon enough, they could see it passing each floor, and it went towards the highest floor. The floor belonged to the Rank 1 Student of the current Second Year Students. The Guard Hunters listened to the voice of the Security System of the Rankers Dorm as the lift opened, revealing a locked ce. "I will sense for any sort of disturbance in mana," One of them said as he spread his mana around the floor. It was hard to focus on what was inside, but they could sense any sort of imbnce in mana. "There is no reply," The other one stepped forward. "We have to wait for permission to enter this ce," the first one said. Both of them were waiting for the order from Professor Arman, who was getting permission from Xander. "It would take some control to destroy this door without breaking anything inside," the second guard hunter said as he touched the door. Suddenly, they heard the Robotic voice, which alerted them. "What? Does that mean he is fine?" The First Guard Hunter spoke. "It should mean that he is inside, but why isn''t he answering the summons?" The Second one spoke. Both of them got confused as the situation got weirder, and this also made them a bit suspicious of what was happening inside. Even though they had confirmed that someone from inside had denied the permission, not seeing Asher with their own eyes made them unsure of what to do. But soon, their confusion as the door opened and a pair of crimson red eyes became visible. "Is there any problem?" Asher asked. "The summons was ignored, so we were sent to check if everything was fine and confirm your participation," The First Guard Hunter immediately replied. "It''s fine; I am participating," Asher said as he tapped the ID Bracelet on his right hand. "This should be enough to confirm my participation," Asher said as both of them nodded. "Then we will leave," He said as both of them turned to leave. Asher saw them leave through the lift as he closed the door and took the support of the wall. He almost lost his bnce but made his way to the living room. As he sat down on the couch and looked up at the System Notification. The System was finally back, and it was also the reason why Asher was able to return to World Academy despite being unconscious. [ First Awakening of the System has beenpleted ] [ Level 41 has been reached ] [ Change in Host''s strength detected ] [ Synchronization Process..... 31% ] Asher looked at the notifications that had been present before him for a long time. [ Quest Feature Unlocked ] [ Fate Detection has been unlocked ] Some of the features that were locked were also back, but the System was still not responding to Asher. And the reason was the synchronization process that was ongoing right now. "34 hours," Asher looked at his ID Bracelet. That was the time he needed to report for the Trails Ground, and that was how long he had to regain his strength. Asher stood up and started slowly walking towards the bed as heid down and closed his eyes after tapping the timer on his ID Bracelet. At the Mansion in Soran, "Will Boss be fine?" Dane asked. "I mean, he woke up pretty soon," Dane said. All of them were shocked when they saw Asher open his eyes within 3 hours, and he immediately asked for the ne. "I am sure Boss knows what he is doing," Tom replied as he turned around his chair. "So, I guess both of you can rest now," Tom said. "I am not feeling that tired, I would go train," Kai said, "I will go rest," Dane replied as he stretched his hands. Both of them let go of their worries quickly as they stopped thinking about something they couldn''t do anything about. "Well, you don''t have any immediate missions, so I guess you can do whatever you want," Tom replied as he turned his chair. Kai turned to leave as Dane was going as well, but before going, Dane caught a glimpse of what Tom was doing. "Are you buyingnd?" Dane asked. "Yeah, Boss told me to get the area around here the moment I get the chance," Tom replied. It was an empty forest area that was around the Cities that were neighboring Soran. "Is there something interesting that caught Boss''s eye?" Dane asked. "Not really. I checked the records, and this area doesn''t seem like a good investment, but I am just following the orders I was given," Tom replied, "Hmm, I will go. You can work peacefully," Dane said as he patted Tom''s shoulders and left the room. Tom turned and looked back at the door as he touched his shoulder. "This bastard doesn''t know how to hold back his strength," Tom said with an annoyed look on his face. He held his shoulder as the painful sensation was still lingering, but he turned around to click and send the proposal to buy thatnd under Asher''s name and partially under the Greville name. Chapter 407 Unknown Awaits Chapter 407 Unknown Awaits ??Cracks started forming in a dark ce as golden light emerged, and a golden hand appeared causing the ce to illuminate. Suddenly the shining golden light figure that was shaped like a human materialized and looked around. "The Time hase yet again," It spoke. "I guess I will fulfill my role," p! A single p resonated in that space, changing everything around it and shifting the space. The purple chains appeared as they got loose and many purple runes appeared as the strange golden figure raised his hands as the darkness started surrounding it. Before the darknesspletely surrounded, a crack in the shape of a smile appeared on the figure''s face. *** "It''s quite cold, are you sure you guys are fine?" Amelia asked. "Yup!" Livia replied nodding her head as puffs of her breath, visible in the cold air like fleeting clouds. Both Livia and Lucas were sitting in an open cafe as most of the cafeterias, shops, and buildings in the Outer Sector were closed. Only a few open cafes were operating and even they were going to close in an hour from now. Because of this reason, instead of being inside, the four of them were sitting outside in the cold weather so early in the morning. Seeing this Amelia smiled, and used a Tier 2 Fire Spell around them to create a warmer sensation. Livia was surprised, and Lucas was intrigued by the spell as he was curious how Amelia did something like this. "It''s a basic spell, you will learn it as well," Amelia told Lucas. "Yeah, it''s something that they taught all mages as it''s a must to have temperature controlling spell inside a Dungeon," Damian replied. They were standing in the Outer Sector at 4 A.M in the morning, and it was still winter, and in the Flying Ind, the temperature was much colder as well. "But he barely made it to the Trials Ground," Damian said as he sipped on the Hot Chocte. Amelia and Damian saw the List of students that had confirmed their entrance for Trials Ground and Asher''s name was on it. But knowing he hadn''t contacted them, they just assumed he was resting. And that was why Amelia, Damian, and the twins were sitting in the Outer Sector as Lucas and Damian suggested they should cheer Asher when he entered. As Livia and Lucas didn''t have any sses for today, it was a perfect day for them to spend time with Amelia and Damian and see off Asher as well. They gathered in the Outer Sector waiting for the Ceremony of Trials Ground to start which was around 6 AM, two hours from now. And because of that thing the Outer Sector was closed for today and the staff were told to turn off all the mana-powered appliances and make sure the basic barrier function around their facility was active. The opening of Trials Ground was a big event and when the entrance was opened a big wave of mana would go over the entire flying ind and that wave was enough to damage mana-operated circuits if they were left open. To avoid any such issues, most of the buildings in the Outer Sector were closed today. "But what''s inside there?" Livia asked as she sipped on the Hot Chocte. "Inside? Nobody really knows," Amelia replied. "I don''t know much but I have studied from journal entries of other students that have gone through the Trials Ground, and all of them had different experiences," Amelia added. Livia and Lucas were both surprised and fascinated by the talk of Trails Ground. "Is it dangerous?" Livia asked, "Not really, most of the students are told to not harm each other inside and mana oaths are done to make sure no one does such a thing," Damian said. "But the trial itself has never harmed anyone," Damian said. "My father told me about it, and apparently it''s a sort of illusion and it''s different for everyone," "But whatever you see inside, it''s something that helps you nourish your talent and skill," Amelia said. "So we can be stronger?!" Livia asked. "Yeah, but you guys are too young to enter that ce," Amelia said. This made Livia a bit sad as she was eager to get stronger to support Lucas and make sure both of them lived up to the name of the Greville Family. Till now Livia and Lucas had learned the history of the Greville Family and their standing in the current World, and they thought that if they were not strong enough it would bring shame on their family. Livia and Lucas both remembered the words of their mother that said how they would be treated unfairly because of their birth. Although Nathan, Arthur, and Sylvie assured them, but they didn''t hide the fact that they would face problems in the future. Sylvie wanted to keep that information but Nathan and Arthur decided to let the twins know about such things. Lucas especially was eager to be stronger, because he had seen how the strong controlled over weak. "It''s because you guys still have so much to learn like both of us," Amelia said noticing Livia''s expressions. "Even I am not going inside because it''s better to go in there after you have a clear image of your strengths and weaknesses," Amelia said. "It''s a ce that you can only enter once, so everyone makes sure that they make the most out of it," Damian added. While the four of them carried on with the conversations, another group of students was gathered at a single ce. Judging from their uniforms it was obvious they didn''t belong to the World Academy, but they were the students that were allowed to enter the Trials Ground as well. But all of them were quiet as they listened to the words of a single person and that was none other than Leonard Tarvian. "I guess everyone here knows what to do," Leonard said, Some of them had a look of unsurety on their faces, but none of them dared say no to Leonard Tarvian, the Son of the Chairman of World Association. "And after this, I will let all of you join the World Association under the best teams," "I am sure all of you are aware of the value of the position I am giving you," Leonard said as an authoritative environment was created. "We will do as Young Master Leonard wants," One of the students there stepped out. "Jack, make all of them do a mana oath," Leonard said as turned his gaze from Jack to the students standing before him. "Surely nobody here would object right?" Leonard asked with a smile on his face. But despite his friendly smile the sensation of fear and unrest was still present. "Here, drop your blood on this te and circle the mana through your mana heart," Jack said as he presented them transparent ss slip that was inscribed with multiple runes. Leonard looked at each of them doing their mana oath and smiled internally thinking about what was going to happen. ''I hope you like my little gift, Heir Greville,'' Leonard thought in his head while taking out a ball of ss. *** In the Rankers Dorm, Alyssa stood still against the mirror looking at her face that resembled her mother quite a bit. She could see the shadow of her mother in herself. "This will be my chance to get stronger," Alyssa mumbled. She looked at her eyes as she wore the mask again, and it turned her back into the appearance she originally had. Coming out of that room, Alyssa entered another she had spent thest month in. It was quite a spacious room that could have many things but Alyssa never bothered to add anything on her floor. All the Rankers had the right to customize their own floors and add things that they wanted. Even other students were allowed to do the same, but the Rankers could customize their whole floor to their liking. Alyssa sat on the chair and looked at the table where many books and multiple notes were present. These were the same books that were written by Elizabeth Garcia, and they contained the spells and theory, she founded on Ice Magic. Touching the cover of the book, where the initial ''E.G'' was written, her dull eyes changed for a moment. "AAHHHHH" "KILL THEM!!!" "ALL OF THEM DESERVE TO DIE!!" "GARCIA''S BLOOD!!!" All the noises her head started shouting, as the shbacks of the past started popping up. But instead of the boundless hate that her heart contained, right now the only feeling that Alyssa felt was the longing for her mother. A single tear trailed off the edge of her eyes, as the feeling of aching mncholy was too strong. But before that tear could drop the entire trail of her tear froze and shattered, and her eyes becamepletely dull and cold as she took the books and stored them into the section beneath the table before locking it. Now the only thing left on the desk were the multiple notes Alyssa made, but all of them had messy writing, and they didn''t look arranged at all. Observing those messy notes one could see the chaotic thoughts that lingered in Alyssa''s mind. But she endured all of them for the whole month while learning as much as she could before entering the Trials Ground. Alyssa raised her finger as all those notes floated in the air, and she crumbled them till they became a small ball using gravity magic. "Burn," She muttered as the ball caught fire and got burnt. Turning her head, there was only one thing left in this room and it was a canvas that had a particr drawing on it, what started as a ck rose was now a ck flower that had a red glow around it. Something, that Alyssa felt strangelyforting doing and keeping herself away from being crushed under the voices in her head. Alyssa turned to leave the room, as it was soon going to be the time for the students to gather outside the Trials Ground. While everyone was going to gather outside, Asher opened his eyes as the sound of the rm in his ID Bracelet kept increasing gradually. And the first thing he saw was blue notifications in front of him. His head was still hurting, and the headache was still there but Asher stood up and looked at the notifications. [ Synchronization has beenpleted ] [ Quest has been generated ] [ Fate Detection is set to activate on Host''smand ] "Quest...," Asher muttered. [ Quest : Find the remnants of the ''Diary of Lizare'' ] [ Reward : Unknown ] Chapter 408 Oaths Chapter 408 Oaths ??"Unknown..." Asher said as he looked at the quest. It was something he was going to do, as the clue for the next seal on his sword was hidden in the Trials Ground, ording to the way Asher deciphered the clues from the riddle he saw in that book. But there was also the fact that Asher wanted to enter the Trials Ground anyway, as it was a ce that he couldn''t enter in his previous life. Looking at the system notifications, there were many things that needed to be checked as well, but there was not enough time to do it. There were only 13 minutes left for the reporting time, and he needed to rush to the Trials Ground, as there was a procedure that was mandatory for all students toplete before entering. Failing to reach on time would result in him being removed as one of the candidates to enter the Trials Ground. "I can check itter," Asher said as he stood up and went into another room to change his clothes. He was still wearing the clothes that he used to infiltrate Halcyon. It didn''t take long for him to do that, and soon enough, Asher was standing in the lift of the Ranker''s Dorm. There was nobody in the lobby, and Asher made his way towards the nearest portal that would lead him to the Trials Ground. Meanwhile in the Outer Sector of the World Academy, many students were standing outside a huge temple-like building that had arge staircase. The surrounding area was filled with grasnds, with a cold wind blowing. There were small groups of professors standing in front of the grand staircase. Even the S Rank Hunters, who were part of the security teams, were stationed around the boundaries of this ce. Many students were on their guards because beyond that staircase, they could feel a veryrge flow of mana. Inside the vast white temple, mana was leaking wildly. This was the location of one of the SSS Rank Artifacts of World Academy, the very artifact that increased the mana density of the entire flying ind. "Attention, students!" A loud voice halted the murmurs of the many students gathered here. The source of that voice was none other than Xander Demarcus, the Vice Principal of World Academy. "As most of you know, this temple is the gateway to the famous Trials Ground," he said, capturing the attention of all the students present. "All of you, including students from various other academies, are allowed to enter this ce because you have earned the right," he continued. "But remember, we will not tolerate any trouble here," Xander said with amanding tone. Unlike the past, when the Trials Ground was a free area not under any single authority, the rights to enter were now controlled by the World Academy. "All of you present will take a mana oath to follow a certain rule before we allow you to enter," Xander continued, raising his hand as many words made of mana appeared in the air. "As you know, what you see or face inside is different for each student, but there are ces where you will encounter other students," Xander exined. "In such cases, there might be conflicts as there had been in the pas "Nobody is allowed to inflict serious injury or attack with killing intent against others inside," Xander dered, the words floating in the air for all the students to see. Trials Ground was a ce where much blood was shed, both outside and inside. However, such actions are no longer permitted. "Anyone who breaks this rule will be expelled, regardless of their status, and your actions will be judged ordingly," Xander concluded. Hismanding aura was sufficient to instill this fact in every student''s mind, although words alone weren''t enough. That''s why each student had to take a mana oath before entering this ce. Normally, elite families would never allow their children to be bound by a mana oath, but this ce was special. It was the High Council''s decision that this rule would be followed by all, regardless of their status. A bit far from the crowd in the observer area which was near the Portals, a group of four students was drawing attention due to their identities. "I can''t see him in the crowd," Damian said, scanning the crowd of third-year students. "Should I message him again¡ªThere he is!" Damian eximed as he spotted someone at the portal. Not just him, but many others turned to see who used the portal to arrive at thest minute. They saw a face now well-known to everyone inside World Academy. Damian raised his hands as Asher turned around and saw the twins with Damian and Amelia. "Good luck, and hurry up!" Damian shouted, pointing at the group of professors signaling the students to form a line for their oaths. Asher turned, nodded at Damian, and moved towards the line of students. His arrival made many students exchange nces. After all, it was surprising to see someone a year below them enter the Trials Ground, especially the infamous heir of the Greville family. "At least he arrived on time," Damian said, turning to look at Amelia. "He would be the only one to arrive sote for such an important event," Amelia said with an annoyed look on her face. "Don''t be like him, ok?" Amelia turned towards the twin as Livia nodded her head, while Damian chuckled a bit. ''She would never say that to his face,'' Damian thought, while looking at Amelia''s reaction. Though she appeared annoyed, she was internally relieved that Asher wasn''tte. Unlike herself, Amelia knew Asher was ready to enter the Trials Ground. ''I hope he finds one thing to focus at inside there,'' Amelia thought in her head. There was a reason nobody stopped Asher from entering the Trials Ground: they all wanted him to find something to focus on. Currently, Asher was enrolled in Mage Course sses, but even Arthur and Sylvie wished for Asher to concentrate on his swordsmanship, believing that learning Mage Theory was futile for him in the long term. Arthur had intended to convey this to Asher himself, but it was Nathan who advised Arthur and Sylvie to allow Asher to pursue his interests within World Academy. Nathan was the only one aware that Asher possessed the Rune of Eirdin, which Nathan himself had, thus understanding the importance of Mage Theory and how it could aid Asher. However, this was unknown to others, and everyone, including Damian and Amelia, thought that Asher would find something beneficial in the Trials Ground. Nathan himself had discovered the essence of his sword art within the Trials Ground, which heter developed. But not everyone was pleased with this scenario; many were apprehensive about how much Asher Greville would improve after returning from the Trials Ground. They were not looking forward to the prospect of such a person bing even more powerful. "I guess they are afraid of a monstrous talent getting stronger," Professor Neyman remarked,ughing. "He is already at the level of the current third-year students, so it''s obvious that many would keep an eye on him," Professor Elsa replied. The other professors remained silent, observing the students, but their thoughts were not much different. There was another group of Professors that were standing with the mana oath devices near the staircase. "Tsk, but why are we allowing someone of Garcia''s Blood to enter such a ce?" a professor said with annoyance. Many professors looked up, but nonemented on his statement, because deep down, they harbored simr sentiments. It wasn''t just a few professors; most of the third-year students were not exactly pleased to see Alyssa, who was in her wheelchair, standing among them. But due to the rules and Xander''s overwhelming aura permeating the entire ce, not a single student dared to cause a ruckus. However, this didn''t stop the students from whispering among themselves, especially since there was an unexpected student standing there as well. n Astaria was also entering the Trials Ground, surprising many students. Apanying him were Jack Allister and the other students who were part of Leonard''s faction. n was entering on the rmendation of the First Ranker among the current fourth-year students, and the presence of both Alyssa and n was causing quite a stir of whispers. And those whispers did not please n. "Don''t let them rile you up," Jack advised, cing his hands on n''s shoulders. "Just focus on the Trials Ground," Jack encouraged as n nodded, clenching his fist. ''These bastards, I will show them all who I am,'' n thought, controlling his anger. Jack turned his head to nce at a distant ce and nodded. In the observer area, separate from where Amelia and Damian were standing, Leonard Tarvian was present, watching the opening of the Trials Ground as well. A small smile appeared on Leonard''s face as he observed Asher walking towards the Oath Room. "I guess you''ll like my little surprise," Leonard muttered before turning to leave. Chapter 409 Opening Of Trials Ground Two days ago, "Enough is enough, don''t target the son of the Greville Family anymore," "Okay Father, but they will be a hindrance in the future," Leonard said while looking at the hologram of Osbert Tarvian before him. "Focus on the ''product'', the matters of the Greville family are not your concern anymore," Osbert spoke in a cold tone. "There are too many variables that have emerged, and I will not tolerate any mistake," Osbert said as the call disconnected. Leonard looked at the screen where Osbert was a few seconds ago, and he clenched his fist. "Sigh, I guess ytime''s over," Leonard muttered. The look on Leonard''s face wasn''t pleasant as the ns he had for the future of World Academy had failed. ------------- Swish~eastern fantasy "It''s so cold here," One of the students standing in the lines spoke out. As this was the outer sector of World Academy, the temperature wasn''t controlled with the runic barriers ced over the Inner Sector. "Repeat the Oath after you drop your blood here," Professor Arman said as ke stepped forward. ke materialized his aura and made a small cut on his finger, as he dropped his blood on ss like ball that started glowing with many runes on it. Mana Oath was Runic Magic, that bounded the person to the words and would trigger when the promise of the oath was broken. It didn''t stop the person from breaking the oath itself, but if someone broke it, it would trigger the runes and it would alert the party that did the mana oath. "Use your mana and repeat those words," Arman said as ke nodded. ke was the first person in his line, and behind him were a few rankers of the Third Year and other high ranking students. Without someone mentioning, the line formed were made in the order of the ranking of the students as no one wanted to create trouble with higher ranking students. "I will not harm others outside of my own trial, and would not attack another with intent of injuring them seriously," ke repeated the words. The light on the marble started shining, as the runes started reacting to ke''s mana and they got absorbed into his body where his mana heart was present. ke could feel a chain like presence on his mana heart that wasn''t exactly pleasing, but it didn''t felt restricting nor did it weakened him. "You can go up the staircase but don''t enter the temple yet," Arman told ke as he removed hishand from the mana oath device and went above the staircase. Slowly, students started going towards the temple and the anticipation of what lied ahead for them started to grew more. Trials Ground was an opportunity they would never get in their life a second time, as a person could enter only one time. As the gateway would reject all that had entered the Trials Ground once. "Can''t we go there?" Livia asked looking Amelia. Amelia shook her head, making Livia a bit dejected as she was eager to learn what lied beyond the big staircase and inside that temple like building. "You are truly unique not being alerted by the amount of mana inside there," Damian said as Livia and Lucas got confused. "It''s not really scary though," Livia said. "What? You don''t feel alerted by that amount of mana," Damian got surprised. "It''s the same for me," Amelia said. "I guess, the Greville are really different," Damian scratched his head as he remembered that beyond their innocent looks, all three of them belonged to the Greville Family. The Mana rted bloodline that was found in the Greville Family, made it easier for them to recognize the mana that was from an artifact despite the how concentrated it was. But while all three of them were busy talking, Lucas was looking at the temple. Listening all about Trials Ground, Lucas was curious as to what lied inside it. His eagerness to grow stronger made his will to know what was inside even stronger. ''One day, I will also enter this ce,'' Lucas thought in his head. "But it''s surprising that n Astaria is also going," Damian changed the topic as he leaned on the railing. "Oh, that guy," Amelia looked over. In her head, she remembered n not as the Heir of the Astaria Family, but the guy that Asher beat up pretty bad in the Representative Tournament a year ago. But it was interesting to see someone like him was also entering the Trials Ground. "He should have waited at least an year," Damian said and Amelia also agreed with Damian''s opinions. "But it''s his choice anyway, I guess him and Leonard Tarvian are close," Amelia spoke out loud. Meanwhile, a few students moved away and allowed Asher to go forward and Asher didn''t stop them. The rumours about Asher already painted him to be cruel person that was cold towards others. lightsnvl And right now, since Elena had became the Student Council President, the rumours had only gotten worse. Nobody wanted to get in trouble with Asher, so they thought of letting him go first. Standing in the Oath Room, there Professor Argas, who got shocked for a moment when he saw Asher but nobody caught that except Asher. "I guess you would know already, but drop your blood on this ball and repeat the words here while imprinting your mana," Professor Argas said as Asher made a cut on his finger. "I will not harm others outside of my own trial, and would not attack another with intent of injuring them seriously," He said, as the mana oath device started glowing. [ Detected Foreign Mana ] [ Runic Restrictions are being applied to Host ] Asher could see the system notifications, but he kept his hand on the mana oath device. [ Runic Restrictions has been ced on Host ] "You can go up the staircase," Professor Argas said urging Asher to go. Knowing what he had done for Asher would result in more than getting stripped from his position as a Professor, he wanted to keep his interaction with Asher as low as possible. ''Just stay away from me,'' Argas thought in his head relieved that Asher was gone. While Asher went up the staircase, others students did the same and one by one the students at the ground were gathering inside the Temple. The observer area still had a few students that wanted to witness the opening of the Trials Ground, and they were mostly the current Second Year Students. "Tsk, why did they allow someone like her," "Did they forgot what her family did," Some of the students on the way to the temple started whispering as they noticed Alyssa who was floating towards the Temple. Because of her use of gravity magic, it was hard not gather the attention of other students and the reaction she got weren''t pleasant. As Alyssa was going up the stairs, suddenly the girl that was on her side tripped on her foot, and fell towards Alyssa. Thud! She barely clung on Alyssa''s uniform while maintaining her bnce. "My bad," The girl turned towards Alyssa and spoke. Alyssa who was wearing a half mask, looked at her. The girl''s expression showed that she recognized Alyssa as her expression turned ugly as soon as she saw who she fell on. She was wearing a uniform that didn''t belonged to the World Academy. "Ke, are you fine?" A friend of her came for her. "Did she do anything to you?" Her friend hurriedly asked. "Oh, no, I just tripped my bad," Ke said as she removed her hand from Alyssa''s shoulders. Alyssa didn''t wanted to bother with them as she was gathering more attention, and went on her way. Soon Alyssa along with the other students arrived at the temple where other students wearing the White Uniforms of the World Academy were standing proudly atrge room with a massive gate in front of them. And there they saw a single man floating in the air, and it was none other than Farnus Calmort, who was touching the gate with his hand. It wasn''t just Farnus who gathered the attention of the students, to the side they saw multiple barrier forming around a strange nt like thing. "Is that the SSS Rank Artifact?" "So this is what it looks like," "Woah, I wonder how it would look when its used," Right now, the mana density of the whole ind had returned to normal as the artifact had reached its limit and it needed time till it could be used again. The lightning around Farnus was rampant but it was all concentrated on the Gate, it was like Farnus was forcing his energy into the Gateway. Crackle! Thump! Thump! The whole temple started shaking as runic formations started appearing all around the temple, andthe sky above it. "No matter how many times I see them, it''s fascinating," Professor Neyman said as he witnessed the runic spells. These runic formations weren''t normal, it was something nobody couldprehend and could understand much like the Trials Ground itself. Farnus removed his hand and floated down and looked behind him where more than 1000 students were gathered. "Wee Students, this is the gateway that will take you inside the Trials Ground," Farnus spoke as the lightning around him disappeared. Chapter 410 Entering the Trials Ground

Chapter 410 Entering the Trials Ground

The massive gate was slowly opening, and various runes began engraving themselves upon it. "It seems our dear Chairman isn''t too busy after all," Neyman said,ughing as he looked to his right. At the moment, Neyman was concealed by illusion runes, with nothing but empty space on his right-hand side. "Stop joking, Neyman. You''re too old for all this," a man with big muscles and an aged face appeared, wearingplex armor, while his eyes were fixed on what was present in front of him. "Hoho, to have the Great Runemaster Dexter Wright standing beside me, who wouldn''t be pleased on such an asion?" Neyman stroked his beard, a smile breaking across his face. Dexter Wright, an SSS Rank Hunter and the Chairman of the Artisan Association, stood here in the World Academy, unbeknownst to all students and most professors, except a few. "I am merely an observer here to witness this miracle and find my inspiration," Dexter stated. Neyman said nothing, as he too was observing the runes engraving on the massive gates and the multiple runic formations covering the entire space around the Temple-like building. For a Runemaster, witnessing this moment would always filled them with curiosity as they looked at the ced that was regarded as the finest creation that was made from runes. These formations were so vast that even students in the Inner Sector could see them in the sky. "Such a strange thing, despite witnessing this moment so many times, I can''tprehend a single rune here," Dexter muttered. Neyman remained silent while Dexter masked his presence from all people with the help of runes, but a few strong SS Rank Hunters and Farnus were aware of his presence. There was one more, apart from them, and it was Rifir, who sensed a strong presence but soon shifted his curiosity towards Farnus, the strongest here. ''Stay hidden,'' Asher told himself. Soon enough, Farnus turned to face the crowd of students as the lightning around him calmed and became invisible. "This gateway will lead you into a special ce, something that we call the Realm of Illusions," Farnus announced. The attention of every student was now on Farnus and the opening gates, revealing blue-colored energy simr to a Dungeon Gate. Farnus looked over the crowd of students and spoke again. "The trials may appear threatening, and you may face something incredibly dangerous, but rest assured, the trials will never harm you in reality." "That''s why this ce is named the Realm of Illusions, or what peoplemonly call it, the ''Trials Ground''." As fascinating as it sounded, even Farnus nor anyone could predict what would happen inside, but one thing was certain. Nobody was ever harmed by the trials they faced inside this ce. Hearing this boosted the confidence of many students, knowing they would face no threat inside that could harm them. Farnus and other permitted professors could see the rxed expressions on many students'' faces. But none of them said anything about it. It was pointless to exin what was inside, as it was different for everyone. They ignored these expressions, as what lied inside the Trials Ground was something that one could understand only after experiencing it once. What they would face or find inside, was something that only they themselves could experience. "So my advice for all of you is to face the trials with everything you''ve got," "Learn, and discover what the Trials intend to teach you," "That ce is vast, and all your trials will be different; no two people have ever had the same trial inside this ce," "The time you feel inside might vary from a week to a month, and it''s all an illusion, but there are ces where you will encounter other students as well," "I hope everyone understands thatpeting with others inside is pointless unless it''s part of your trial," "That''s why we made each of you take the oath." The words of Farnus implied that if your trial required defeating other students, or if two or more students'' trials merged, it was permissible topete against each other. This wasn''t a ce controlled by anyone; nobody knew how the Trials Ground worked. "I wish every single one of you luck, and hope when youe back, you will have gained something remarkable." *** "It looks as magnificent as people described it," Eva said as she rubbed her shoulders while looking at the sky. "It does," Elena replied, also gazing skyward. But soon, she turned to her side and observed Kevin, who was standing still, absorbed in the moment along with them. "Don''t feel burdened by it. You know this isn''t the right time for you to enter the Trials Ground," Elena said as she touched Kevin''s arm. "Don''t worry, I''m not concerned about that," Kevin smiled, looking back at Elena. "Learning from the Principal, I''ve realized I am still far from reaching that level," Kevin said, a confident look in his eyes. Elena smiled, seeing the old, confident Kevin resurface. The reason behind Kevin''s subtle change was known to both her and Eva. "But still, now that you''re the Sessor Candidate, you don''t get much time to hang out with us," Eva pointed out. Kevin scratched his head, unable to deny Eva''s words. "It''s fine, we understand this is a big opportunity for you; you should focus on it," Eva chuckled, finding Kevin''s reactions amusing. "It''s your day off today, right?" Elena asked. "Yeah, and training is on hold until the Trials Ground is closed," Kevin replied. "That''s great, I wanted to show you some of the things I''ve done since bing the Student Council President," Elena said cheerfully. All three of them turned around, having witnessed the opening of the Trials Ground. ''I will catch up soon enough,'' Kevin thought as he nced at the Runic formation. He didn''t show it, but he was concerned that the gap between him and Asher would grow. However, now that he was learning Spear Art from Farnus himself, Kevin knew it was pointless to worry about such things. After all, in a year, he would be ready to enter that ce himself. *** "I wish all of you good luck," Farnus said. The eyes of every student standing there sharpened as they prepared to enter the ce they had always heard about. And one of them was Asher himself. "Form lines; you will enter ording to the number on your token," Arman instructed as everyone looked at the small blue stones given to them after their oaths. And a number appeared on it. "Eleven," Asher muttered as he looked at the number. It was the priority given to him, just after the Third Year Rankers, with Alyssa receiving number twelve, and n number thirteen. "Remember, the ce you will arrive at will be different for each of you," Arman warned the students once again. ke Cranston stepped forward with the token that bore the number ''1'' and walked towards the massive gate. He took a deep breath as he observed the scenery in front of him. Taking a step forward, ke disappeared, and soon enough, the other Rankers began to enter. After the tenth-ce Ranker, it was Asher''s turn. Asher stepped forward, under the watchful eyes of many. Most bore a look of caution. Even the professors were curious about what results the infamous Heir of the Greville Family would achieve inside this ce. But nobody knew, not even Asher himself could imagine what he would find. What the Trials Ground held for him was unknown, but that was about to change. As he was about to enter the ce. Asher stepped into the blue energy and disappeared, and soon enough, the scenery in front of his eyes changed to an unknown ce. For everyone, the starting point of the Trials Ground was different. Despite years of shared experiences, the trials remained unique to each individual. And whaty before Asher was a single wall adorned with strange runes. [Quest has been formed] [Find the remnants of the Creator of the Trials Ground] It wasn''t a grandiose ce or one teeming with monsters; it was a simple wall with strange runes. But when Asher turned to look behind him, he saw strange ck shadows standing, blocking another gate that resembled the ones Farnus had opened. [The effect of Fate has been nullified in this ce] [Host is advised to exercise caution] [Host is advised to exercise caution] Multiple warnings began to appear in front of Asher as he found himself in an unknown ce, not knowing whaty ahead for him. Chapter 411 Mission Chapter 411 Mission ??"I wish all of you good luck," Farnus said. The eyes of every student standing there sharpened as they prepared to enter the ce they had always heard about. And one of them was Asher himself. "Form lines; you will enter ording to the number on your token," Arman instructed as everyone looked at the small blue stones given to them after their oaths. And a number appeared on it. "Eleven," Asher muttered as he looked at the number. It was the priority given to him, just after the Third Year Rankers, with Alyssa receiving number twelve, and n number thirteen. "Remember, the ce you will arrive at will be different for each of you," Arman warned the students once again. ke Cranston stepped forward with the token that bore the number ''1'' and walked towards the massive gate. He took a deep breath as he observed the scenery in front of him. Taking a step forward, ke disappeared, and soon enough, the other Rankers began to enter. After the tenth-ce Ranker, it was Asher''s turn. Asher stepped forward, under the watchful eyes of many. Most bore a look of caution. Even the professors were curious about what results the infamous Heir of the Greville Family would achieve inside this ce. But nobody knew, not even Asher himself could imagine what he would find. What the Trials Ground held for him was unknown, but that was about to change. As he was about to enter the ce. Asher stepped into the blue energy and disappeared, and soon enough, the scenery in front of his eyes changed to an unknown ce. For everyone, the starting point of the Trials Ground was different. Despite years of shared experiences, the trials remained unique to each individual. And whaty before Asher was a single wall adorned with strange runes. [Quest has been formed] [Find the remnants of the Creator of the Trials Ground] It wasn''t a grandiose ce or one teeming with monsters; it was a simple wall with strange runes. But when Asher turned to look behind him, he saw strange ck shadows standing, blocking another gate that resembled the ones Farnus had opened. [The effect of Fate has been nullified in this ce] [Host is advised to exercise caution] [Host is advised to exercise caution] Multiple warnings began to appear in front of Asher as he found himself in an unknown ce, not knowing whaty ahead for him. *** Five minutes after thest student entered Trials Ground, suddenly the Runes on the Massive Gate started shaking. Farnus looked at it, and floated backwards and every Professor present their increased their distance from the Gate. BOOOOM! Multiple waves of mana erupted as the Runic Formations started to vibrate and a fog like smoke covered the entire blue energy that took the students inside the Trials Ground. Those mana waves kept covering the entire ind, as the barrier of Inner Sector was enduring it. Farnus floated in the ground as he started using his own mana to make sure the mana waves didn''t ran rampant and a few other Professors did the same. They closed their eyes and started decreasing the intensity of the mana waves. This was the reason why Kevin got a small break from his training from Farnus, because Farnus was needed to make sure the mana waves didn''t damage the World Academy. "Professor Elsa, I will go maintain the Oath Stone," Arman spoke as Elsa nodded. Soon enough, Arman got covered with ck fumes as he disappeared and went towards a massive stone that had multiple names written on it. It was the Oath stone, where the names of the student that had taken the Oath were engraved and they were glowing with blue energy. This glow, depicted that the students were following their oath, and if a person broke it, their name would stop glowing. Arman looked to his right, and a old man appeared. "Quite a diligent one you are, Professor Arman," Neyman said while looking at Arman. "I am just doing my job," Arman replied respectfully. "It''s fine, don''t worry, nobody can tamper with this Oath stone, I have already used many runic enchantments to make sure nobody can damage it," Neyman replied. Usually, the security measures wouldn''t go this far, but after the appearance of Zephyr, an unknown group that maintained to invade the Kalvas G, Farnus made sure that extra measures were taken to increase the security of World Academy. "Someone would be a fool to invade the ce where the Strongest Hunter in the World is present himself," Neyman said whileughing. Arman nodded with a smile, but he knew behind the yful smile of Neyman, the old man did many things to make sure that nothing could go wrong. After teaching in World Academy for many years, and interacting with him, Arman knew what kind of person Neyman was. "It''s just that the names that are participating this year aren''t normal," Arman said looking at certain names. And one of those names were Alyssa Astaria, the Daughter of the Astaria Family, and only Blood of Garcia family that was still alive. There was a lot of criticism about her participation inside Trials Ground, which a lot of students and people outside the World Academy didn''t particrly liked. "It''s fine, not all that go inside get what they desire, and those students will soon realise the reality of those trials," Neyman said while raising his eyebrows. Neyman''s words made Arman remember his own experience inside the Trials Ground, and a helpless smile appeared on his face, as it wasn''t an exactly pleasant experience. Meanwhile, as the situation outside the Trials Ground was stabilizing, the students were already inside the Realm of Illusion, facing unknown trials that had started the moment they stepped inside. "Ice Lance," Alyssa muttered. Soon the Ice Lance formed in the air and went towards the ground, or theva floor that was beneath her. "It''s real," Alyssa muttered as she saw her Ice Lance being melted as soon as it went near theva. It wasn''t some normalva, but her instincts were telling her to maintain her distance from it. The moment Alyssa stepped inside, she was greeted with a ground made ofva and a huge castle that she could see a glimpse of, far away from her position. Right now, she was using her Gravity Magic to stay afloat in the air, away from the strangeva. "Is that the ce I need to go?" Alyssa asked herself. She started going towards the Castle instantly, as she carefully observed her surroundings but except from the Castle in the distance everywhere she looked there was nothing butva. Even the heat from theva was enough to make your skin burn, but Alyssa was using her ice magic to form a thin film around her body, to save herself from the scorching heat. Ssh! Suddenly, a big spike appeared directly below her erupting from theva floor. Alyssa immediately used the Gravity magic to shift her body away, barely dodging the spike that started melting soon after it appeared. Thump! Thump! Thump! Alyssa''s heart started beating loudly as she felt the danger of this ce seeping in, as it didn''t seemed like an illusion at all. Taking a huge breathe, calming herself down from the strange feeling she was feeling, Alyssa carefully started moving towards the Castle again. Her instincts were warning her, just like when she was inside the C Rank Dungeon with Asher, it was a feeling simr to it, but it was greatly amplified for some reason. "Is it part of the Trial?" Alyssa muttered trying to guess what her trial was. Unknowingly to her, a strange golden shadow appeared in the sky far above her, which was filled with greyish clouds. The golden shadow slowly turned its head toward Alyssa, as its eye opened revealing golden colored pupils. "Hmmm, interesting, it''s simr but its not her," It spoke. "Where are you?" The golden shadow spoke as the eye disappeared and soon the golden shadow dissipated into the greyish clouds. Alyssa didn''t notice it, but the strange feeling that took over her, got greatly reduced but it didn''t stop her from being extra careful. "I will not lose this chance!" Alyssa clenched her fist as her eyes stared directly at the Castle. For her, this was a chance that would bring her closer to her goal, and she needed to make the most out of it. *** "Creator of the Trial..." Asher muttered as he looked at the notification. Although, the next notification took his attention as the System notified him about the effect of fate that was being nullified here. "What do you mean by this?" Asher asked. [ This ce has severed itself from the fate of this world, meaning that no one''s fate is bounded by each other here.] [ Usually, the fate of all beings are connected to each other in a way, but this ce is nullifying it ] "Is it because all of this is an illusion?" Asher asked. He had reached Level 40, which allowed him to ask questions from the system that he couldn''t before. [ The exact workings of this ce is unknown ] The notification was enough for Asher to know, that whatever Trials Ground was, even the System didn''t know about it. "Dangerous~" A voice echoed in Asher''s head and it belonged to Rifir. It was the first time Asher had heard Rifir say something like this, which caused him to drift his eyes towards the ck shadows in the distance that were standing still. Chapter 412 Face The Trials "Hmmm," Asher didn''t say anything. Initially, Asher harbored some skepticism regarding whether he could bring Rifir into the Trials Ground with him. However, the Trials Ground did not prevent him from entering with Rifir. Nor did it separate them, as it did with other students, signifying that Rifir was considered an extension of Asher. Hearing Rifir''s voice prompted Asher to ponder the reasons behind Rifir''s statements. "What exactly is dangerous?" Asher inquired. Rifir materialized, gazed at the gate, and tilted his head twice. "Don''t know...," Rifir responded. Initially, it was the system, and now Rifir, both highlighted the need for Asher to exercise caution regarding something. Yet, the specifics of this caution remained elusive for the time being. [ An unknownnguage is present in the vicinity ] The system alerted Asher to the runes adorning the wall, echoing a previous encounter in the Great Library. "Those runes on the wall, what do they signify?" Asher queried, turning his head slightly. [ Fate points cannot be awarded while the Host is within this location ] [ Therefore, the existing fate points are the only resources the Host can utilize here ] [ Do you wish to proceed? ] "Do it," Asher stated, his gaze fixed on the ck shadows in the distance. [ Deciphering the Runes.... ] [ Rune of Activation detected, initiating the formation... ] Suddenly, the runes behind Asher illuminated and began to move in a specific pattern, but quickly ceased as the wall behind him began to crack. Asher turned as the wall crumbled, revealing a ne mirror. "Wee, to the one who has arrived," echoed a voice as Asher''s eyes locked onto the mirror. A peculiar voice, belonging to a man, carried a slightly yful tone. Soon, a figure cloaked in a robe, his face obscured, materialized within the mirror. "The one who deciphered my words," the voice dered. "Must have understood the meaning behind those words, for you have arrived here," the figure began, raising his hands and pointing towards Asher. "If you seek what was once mine, you must prevail in the trial you discover," the figure articted. Crack! Crack! Suddenly, cracks formed on the ss as the figure within vanished. Asher turned around to see a strange glow emanating from the gates as the shadows began to shift their gaze towards him. Asher drew his sword as he began advancing, and his steps quickly became more effortless. He employed his movement technique, drawing closer to where the shadows remained fixated on him. None of them moved, yet their gaze stayed locked on Asher. As he approached the gate, its radiance steadily grew. Asher extended his mana sense, questioning the reality of his surroundings as he could not detect anything through mana. The existence of the ck shadows seemed as illusory as the mysteries beyond the massive gates. Upon touching the gates, the shadows raised their hands, forming a runic pattern before dissolving into the earth. CREAAK! CLOG! CLOG! A loud noise ensued as Asher observed the gates opening on their own, revealing an area engulfed in dense fog. "Step into the Endless fog," The voice echoed in the chamber as Asher looked back. The shadows, having merged with the ground, arose to form a silhouette resembling the hooded figure in the mirror. "You will find what you seek, but be aware..." The fog began to envelop the area, encasing Asher, who stood motionless, his expression indifferent. "The answers you tell, must be correct, or you will be lost in this snare," The figure wasn''t visible anymore as the fog filled the entire space around Asher. There was nothing but endless fog all around him, but instead of panicking Asher started walking forward. Right now, the words that the hooded figure spoke were in Asher''s mind, while he kept moving forward. With each step Asher took, he could feel the temperature around him drop. He kept walking on for hours in a single direction, without stopping. With nothing but fog around him, and the temperature that kept dropping slowly. But Asher kept walking forward, as his eyes were focused ahead. It felt like this ce was endless just like unknown figure said, but it didn''t make Asher stop in his tracks at all. But soon enough those steps came to a stop as Asher found an altar and another mirror in front of him. "Diary of Lizare," Asher muttered as he found the same book in front of him. It was the same book, or looked exactly like the one that was present in the Restricted Section of the Great Library. Suddenly those word, ''Diary of Lizare'' appeared in front of him floated just like the runes he had seen on the wall. "Seek not in lines that straightly flow," The hooded figure appeared in the mirror as it spoke.eastern fantasy "A secret awaits where the roots grow." "The key to lock, in reverse is found, Turn me over, truth will abound." "Inpleteness, this bookcks, Seek the missing in the talent''s tracks." "Amidst the Creation of Runes, the finest art," "There you''ll find the missing part." lightsvl m The hooded figure repeated the riddle in his strange yet yful voice. "It seems, the one who came seeking understood the meaning of these words," The voice asked. "But who am I?" nk! nk! Suddenly multiple swords made of rune appeared around Asher as they pointed around his neck, and it all happened in a single moment. Asher looked around to see multiple, purple-colored swords made of runes, something he had never seen before. But Asher''s eyes remained unwavered as he looked at the mirror again. "So, what is your answer" The Voice asked. [ Warning! Unknown energy detected ] [ Warning!... ] As the sword drew near to his neck, the system notifications started erupting, but ignoring them Asher started recalling what he had found till now. ''Creation of Runes,'' ''Missing part,'' ''And the description of this sword,'' Asher thought as his eyes looked at the ck sword in his hand. The moment Asher saw this riddle to this day, he had his own suspicions around the identity of the one that had written this diary. ''Lizare,'' Asher thought as he looked at the name. He raised his hands to touch floating letters and started rearranging them. "....Raziel," Asher muttered, Raziel, the anagram of the word Lizare, which was the name that was connected to the Trials Ground. Raziel Kyrios, the one who was called the creator of Runic Art, and the Trials Ground, was the only answer that came to Asher''s mind. Suddenly the hooded figure tilted his head, as a smile made of purple sparks appeared, forming its mouth. "Correct!" "I, Raziel Kyrios, is the one that wrote that book," "Congrattions onpleting your First Trial," The swords of runes disappeared as the book on the small altar started shaking and revealed it''s true self. Diary of Raziel, was what was written on the cover now. "The one who seeks, although you havepleted my little trial, but this is not what I arranged for you," "The true trial, lies behind this endless fog," Crackle! The mirror started cracking as the smile on the hooded figure became bigger. "Though, the one present there, isn''t exactly like me," "After all, I am not the one who rules this ce," "Be careful," The unknown figure spoke as the mirror shattered and the book that was in front of Asher disappeared. The fog around Asher started moving in a certain direction, as he felt the wind flowing from behind him towards a certain direction. Asher started walking in that direction and soon enough the fog started settling, revealing a huge ce that had multiple golden pirs all around it. A massive empty space, with multiple engravings of runes all around it. The number of runes engraved here were hundred times the one Asher saw on the gates of the Trials Ground. Suddenly the sound of chains shing with each other started echoing in this whole ce, as Asher looked above on the huge staircase that had waterfall behind it. And on that staircase, from a golden crack in thin air, appeared another figure that was encased with a golden energy. Wrapped with purple chains, the unknown figure looked like a prisoner, but Asher clenched his fist around his sword as, he could feel the immense power from the golden figure. "Are you the one?" The figure spoke. Suddenly the figure clicked his finger as the chains around him shattered, and the golden energy started melting. It revealed the person wearing strange armor with a white mask that covered their face, but it did not hide their blond hair and sharp golden eyes that were peeking through that mask. Chapter 413 The Overseer "The amount of orders from mana stones has increased, but whoever is behind this, is using a lot of resources to move all these people discreetly," A woman wearing a suit said respectfully. "Hmm, Tell Arthur to send people from Abyss Guild to track these orders," The woman sitting on the chair said while looking out the window. "But Lady Sylvie, it might create problems with other Guilds and the World Association," Her secretary said hesitantly. Sylvie turned the chair to face her and smiled. "Let them, it''s not the first time they will have a problem with us," "And isn''t it time, people should remember that Greville is not to be messed with," Sylvie spoke as her eyes became cold. "As you wish," Her secretary knew the reason behind Sylvie''s current mood. Her eyes naturally looked at the report she had given to Sylvie just now, which was sent by the Moonlight Guild, and it was the document that covered people who were investigating Asher. "You can leave," Sylvie said as she turned her chair again to face the massive ss window behind her. Right now, Sylvie''s eyes were cold as she was looking down at the Soran City, while she stood up and moved to the table and opened the report that was sent from Helena herself. It was about the people that were looking around Asher, and the reason for all that was obvious. The greatest talent of this whole generation was even greater than the ones in the past was blooming and growing inside the World Academy. Those results were shown before the Trials Ground, it would make many people including the other four among the Top Five Guilds cautious as it meant that the threat level of the Greville family was going to increase in the future. Normally, all reports reported threats to the Greville family that reached Sylvie, and she would forward them to Arthur, but she was exceptionally furious that people were targeting her son. Far from the Abyss Corporation Headquarters, in a familiar mansion, a man was sitting in front of multiple holographic screens. His face was pale but his hands kept moving. But his facial expressions kept bing worse. Slurp! Yet again, he frowned but couldn''t stop. Slurp! He started tapping his legs in annoyance. Slurp! "Stop it!" Tom shouted as he looked back. "Uh?" Dane looked confused. "Stop making that annoying sound while drinking that damn thing," Tom shouted. "Oh, my bad," Dane scratched his head as he smiled. If looks could kill, Tom would have killed Dane many times right now. "But, what are you doing breaching the security system of Abyss Corporation," "Let me give you some advice, don''t bother going against Boss, he is too scary," Dane said as he leaned back. "Do you think, I am stupid like you?" Tom asked. "I am doing what Boss ordered me to do," Tom said annoyingly. Tom looked back at the screen and started his work once again. ''This should be enough to create enough suspicion,'' Tom thought as he closed the screen. Right now, he was feeding information about Asher to many people who were seeking it. And the one who ordered him to do so, was Asher himself. But Tom was being extra careful because he was intentionally exposing his activities to Abyss Corporation, or Sylvie Greville exactly. "These guys are too stupid," Dane muttered making Tom look back. "I mean, even Spyder didn''t bother to touch the Greville Family and other top seven Elite families," Dane said. "And these fools are trying to find dirt on the Heir of the Greville Family himself," Dane said as he felt all these people were fools. "It''s not all about power, they are looking for something that could give them an advantage over Boss," Kai who entered the room just now spoke. "As of right now, there is practically no information about Boss, apart from what they could gather from World Academy," Dane slightly understood what Kai meant by his words, but he still wasn''t convinced. "Anyway, I have a small task for all of you," Tom looked at Dane and Kai. "Louis Rothschild is in Somaria currently, I need you to track his movements for the time being," Tom said as he looked at Kai. "Are you sure?" Kai asked. "Yeah, this time you can move more openly with your identities, but don''t expose yourself in front of Louis, he knows about your power," Tom said looking at Kai. "It''s just monitoring right?" Kai asked. Tom nodded. "Then I am alone enough, Dane can stay here," Kai replied. *** "Who are you?" Asher asked as the unknown man looked at him. "Me? Hmmm, I guess you could call me the Overseer of this ce," The unknown man replied. [ Warning! Host- ] Snap! The unknown man snapped his fingers as the System notification that was appearing in front of Asher shattered. "I don''t like these annoying things," He said while floating down and stepping on the staircase. Asher''s eyes became cold as he looked at the unknown man. "I decide the rules, the trials, and the flow," The unknown man spoke as he raised his hands. In a split second, the unknown man appeared in front of Asher, and Asher raised his eyes as he couldn''t even react to the speed. "So you are the one who he sent," The golden eyes stared at Asher, as the man stood in front of Asher. Suddenly, the unknown man raised his hand but the purple chains appeared from the ground. "Tch," The unknown man clicked his tongue. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice but his eyes said otherwise. "I guess, my curiosity could wait," "Would you like to challenge your Second Trial?" The unknown man asked. "The Second Trial?" Asher asked, "Yes, the second trial, but remember my trials aren''t like the one you faced before," "What is it?" Asher asked. "Hmm, quite an interesting one you are," The unknown man said as his golden eyes looked at Asher. "Well, seeing that you seem ready, you can go face it," The unknown man said. Suddenly the golden eyes shined as Asher felt a small change in them. Weird lines formed around his eyes, akin to a spell formation, but before he could look properly the whole view around him changed. The Unknown man was left alone as Asher disappeared into another space. The chains that were wrapped around him also disappeared as the man started walking up the staircase. "Interesting, it''s been a long time since I saw that look in someone''s eyes," He muttered. "Even the ones that had simr eyes like you were quite interesting," "I look forward to what you can do,"eastern fantasy As those words left the mouth, the unknown man raised his hand as the water started moving away from the waterfall revealing a massive runic formation. "Let the Trials begin," The man spoke as he snapped his finger and disappeared. In another space, Asher found himself in a dark space with no light around him. lightsvl m Asher''s eyes opened as he felt submerged in something heavy, that kept getting heavier. A familiar feeling, but it wasn''t a pleasant one. He couldn''t breathe, nor he could move his body around. But it didn''t take long for Asher to realize what the heavy feeling around him was. ''Mana?'' Asher thought as he felt needle piercing sensation all around his body. The mana started to seep inside Asher''s body, and an incredibly painful sensation was felt by Asher. His facial expressions didn''t change but it didn''t mean that he wasn''t in danger. The mana started forcing itself into Asher''s body, as small ck pores started forming. Suddenly, in the dark space, Asher saw a blue flicker in front of his eyes. [ WARNING! ] [ WARNING! ] [ Amount of mana entering Host''s body is incredibly high ] [ Mana Heart is getting Damaged ] [ Warning! Mana Heart Deterioration Progress 0.001 % ] [ Host''s life is in threat ] Asher could see the notifications but even without, he recognized that he was in danger, after this feeling wasn''t exactly unfamiliar to him. ''Mana Poisoning'' Asher thought in his head. The ck dots that were forming around his body, were due to the mana poisoning that was happening due to the presence of mana that didn''t belong to his own Mana Heart, finding its way inside his mana veins. But unlike the one he had in his previous life, this time it was happening at an incredibly fast rate. Asher''s body was like an empty body in a space filled with insanely dense mana, and it made it so that all that mana was forcing itself to fill the space. Asher''s eyes started twitching as the pain was on an insane level. Any normal person''s mind would have been broken with the amount of pain that Asher was feeling right now. The pain was akin to an unmeasurable amount of needles piercing your entire body, from your head to your eyes to your skin. Chapter 414 Predicament [ WARNING! ] [ WARNING! ] [ Amount of mana entering Host''s body is incredibly high ] [ Mana Heart is getting Damaged ] [ Warning! Mana Heart Deterioration Progress 0.001 % ] [ Host''s life is in threat ] Asher could see the notifications but even without, he recognized that he was in danger, after this feeling wasn''t exactly unfamiliar to him. ''Mana Poisoning'' Asher thought in his head. The ck dots that were forming around his body, were due to the mana poisoning that was happening due to the presence of mana that didn''t belong to his own Mana Heart, finding its way inside his mana veins. But unlike the one he had in his previous life, this time it was happening at an incredibly fast rate. Asher''s body was like an empty body in a space filled with insanely dense mana, and it made it so that all that mana was forcing itself to fill the space. Asher''s eyes started twitching as the pain was on an insane level. Any normal person''s mind would have been broken with the amount of pain that Asher was feeling right now. The pain was akin to an immeasurable amount of needles piercing your entire body, from your head to your eyes to your skin. ------ Even if Asher wanted, closing his eyes now wasn''t possible as even moving a single muscle was quite difficult. The situation he was in was close to being petrified alive. The count of warnings from the System was increasing, but Asher couldn''t do anything about them. At one moment he was standing in the fog, then he solved the riddle and met an unknown man whose power he couldn''t measure, and the next moment he was stuck here. Thinking in this situation was an impossible task as when one would experience extreme pain in a single, thinking was out of the question. lightsnvl But, for Asher that wasn''t the case. ''Trial...'' Asher thought. It was a trial that meant, there was a way to clear it. Asher started channeling his mana to an extreme limit, as veins around his body started to pop up. He had dealt with this kind of pain before, the pain of foreign mana constantly invading his body due to mana doping technique that ultimately resulted in mana poisoning. ''I need to change its direction,'' Asher thought. Suddenly his aura started fluctuating forming a shield that was getting damaged but the highly dense mana space. But Asher purposefully made holes in that aura shield to make way for that mana to enter at a specific point. "Hmm, he is not panicking," The overseer appeared far from Asher in the same space. The strange golden eyes observed Asher as if they were trying to find out about something. "But that''s not enough," His golden eyes stared at Asher. And he was correct, what Asher was doing was only slowing the process and reducing the pain. The problem remained, but it was part of Asher''s n. All he wanted was to buy some time for him to do a certain thing. Asher started channeling the mana around his mana heart while radiating his aura all around him. Slowly, he was able to move an inch, and he closed his eyes to feel all the mana around him.eastern fantasy Stuck in an insanely dense mana, spreading his mana sense here was something no sane person would do, as the mental burden it would put was insane. But Asher was confident, after all, he only needed to a split second. A single moment to change his predicament into something fruitful. "Hoh, is he trying to use this mana to rank up," The overseer muttered. But his gaze was still fixed on Asher or exactly the strange energy on his body. "Hmm, I was wondering what it was, so it was a living rune," He muttered. Even Asher himself didn''t want to do it in this ce, but he had no choice right now. If he had his original bloodline ability, he could have done something different but the only way to counter this insane pressure that his body was feeling was to create enough mana pressure inside his own body. A normal person wouldn''t have been able to rank up in such a situation where the man wasn''t entirely under their control, but Asher was very close to reaching the next rank. The only thing he needed was a push, and his mana heart would gather the mana needed for sustaining those mana rings around the mana core on its own. But there was a problem, that Asher knew he was going to face. It was something he had no control over, but he had no choice but to go ahead with it. And Asher did it, he pushed the bonds of the mana rings around his mana core, and channeled the mana he was gathering to his mana heart. Veins started appearing around his head and neck as he was focusing on making sure that the mana that was entering his body remained under his control. A single mistake and his mana heart would burst. At this point, Asher was questioning whether this trial was truly an illusion as he could feel stress on his mana heart. "Unlike what I thought, he realized all of this real," "But that thing, I wonder what will it show you," The overseer snapped his finger once while continuing to keep his eyes fixed on Asher. ''Move,'' Ashermanded as he pushed the mana rings away from his mana core. He started pushing the threads of mana toward the mana core, and he was controlling the speed of mana absorption while also making sure that his mana rings weren''t damaged. Asher''s mana was alreadyparable to a B Rank hunter, at C Rank, so the bonds between his mana rings and mana core weren''t weak. To push those mana rings away while forcing mana directly into his mana core. Asher right now was putting his own life in danger. But he wasn''t worried about his mana heart right now, he was thinking of what would happen after he ranked up. After all the situation after this wasn''t in his control at all. Soon enough, Asher was slowly crossing the boundaries of C Rank. He only needed a slight push, so it happened soon enough. His vision started bing dark, as another System Notification popped up. [ Rune of Eirdin is Activating ] [ Rune of Eirdin has been strengthened ] [ The Overseer''s Gaze is increasing the effects of Rune of Eirdin ] [ Warning! Rune of Eirdin has reached Rank A ] Asher barely saw these notifications as the mana started circling his body at an insanely high speed making a shield. It was because of the fact this mana core was now taking in the mana through the holes in his aura shield, it created small whirls in the still pool of mana. On Asher''s right hand, a tattoo materialized as Rifir appeared as he opened his mouth and revealed his fangs. "Hmm?" The Overseer noticed Rifir. Rifir''s body started pushing the mana towards him as its eyes were glowing. "Why is that thing still working?" The Overseer muttered in confusion. The golden eyes started shining as he could see the blue floating texts in front of Asher. Rifir created another vacuum as he started devouring the mana that was trying to force its way into Asher''s body. Snap! With the snap of a finger, golden chains appeared around Rifir separating the space between Asher and Rifir. Rifir noticed the overseer and revealed his fang once again. "Your instincts must be telling you about me, still baring your fangs against me," "Quite a courageous beast you are," The Overseermented. "But this trial is his topete, nobody can intervene in this," The Overseer spoke as his tone changed for some reason. "I made sure that ''thing'' was avable in this space, but seeing those texts, something has changed," The overseermented. Rifir''s rage started increasing the ck energy started running rampant around its body. "Quite a loyal beast you are, if you want to help your owner so much, why not go see what he is seeing, but from a different perspective?" The overseer said as he snapped his finger again. "After all the creator of that damn ''thing'' has an annoying habit of keeping what he observes," The overseer spoke as Rifir disappeared along with the system notification. "Let''s see what you truly are," The overseer spoke as he disappeared from this space as well. Leaving Asher alone in this darkness while mana was still spiraling around his body making its way towards his mana core. The Rune of Eirdin, a powerful ancient rune that Nathan bestowed upon Asher, granted him the ability to harness the power of the space element without enduring severe consequences typically associated with its use. Nathan was not overly concerned about the potential adverse effects, believing that Asher would not suffer significantly from the Rune of Eirdin''s penalties. For Nathan, Asher was merely a 14-year-old kid raised under their care. Given Asher''s personality, Nathan was convinced that the repercussions of wielding the Rune of Eirdin would not be overwhelming. But at this moment, Asher had sumbed to a deep slumber, ensnared in memories he neither wished to see nor remember. Chapter 415 Trap Of Memories The moonlight shone, while the stars glowed, as trails of blood flowed through the air. sh! The ck sword moved, shing through flesh and bone. sh! The silence of the night slowly engulfed the screams. sh! In the dark night, a pair of crimson-red eyes shone brighter than any blood they had beheld before. "Where am I?" He asked, his eyes feeling heavy as they closed. Suddenly, the scenery changed, and the man with the crimson eyes found himself on his knees, staring at the pool of blood below him. Slowly the pool of blood started rising, as Asher was engulfed in it, as he opened his eyes looking at the empty sky. Slowly hands made of bones started rising from the pool of blood reaching out for Asher''s neck as they grabbed it. Asher''s eyes were fixed on the empty sky, but an image started forming. Thump! Thump! There was a hint of change in Asher''s cold expression as a drop of blood fell on his face. THUMP! THUMP! Soon enough a figure appeared in the sky of lump body that was bleeding, and seeing caused a change in Asher''s eyes. A strand of long hair, that resembled the color of a pale pink hair fell on his face. Drip! Drip! Blood kept dropping on his face, as Asher''s mana started fluctuating. He tried to rise but the skeleton hands kept pushing him down. Suddenly the pool of blood started vibrating... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHH," A scream resounded in the whole space. But that scream also soon faded away as the skeleton hands dragged him into the pool. ***** "Hmm, you are quite a restless one aren''t you," The overseer spoke looking at Rifir. "It''s a useless struggle anyway," The overseer said as he snapped his fingers. Suddenly purple runes started to appear before them. "You are connected to that ''thing'' right, you will help me see what observation he had stored," The overseer moved the runes towards Rifir. There was a purple spark around Rifir, and those sparks offered some resistance. But the overseer just waved away the sparks. [ ??? has been permitted to gaze at ??? observation ] "So I was right, you are indeed connected, interesting," The overseer looked at the notification. [ The Memory fragment will be synced to the Host''s mind ] "That rune made it much easier, let''s see who exactly are you," The overseer muttered as the purple runes took over the space. Rifir who was struggling under the overseer''s restrictions also closed his eyes as a fragment of memory started to y in front of them.eastern fantasy *** "Listen, both of you have performed exceptionally well, but going forward towards the Second Year, I advise you guys to choose a subject that will help you much better than this ss," Professor Fernando spoke. "I don''t want to say that my own subject is useless, but you Asher Greville, should know what expectations would fall on the Heir of an Elite Family," Fernando said looking at Asher. "Well, as I have said before this is a research-based subject, and I want you to know that this might affect your schedule or even your rankings," Fernand said. lightsvel "The only student in this ss from an elite family is in the Second Year currently, I also told him the same thing in his first year," Although two students were standing before him, his main focus was Asher. The advice he was giving was only for Asher, while on the other hand, the second student was called because Fernando simply didn''t want them to attend their ss. "As for you Alyssa Astaria, you should focus on other subjects as well," Fernando said but his words were only for courtesy''s sake. He simply wanted to remove Alyssa from his ss, because of the unnecessary attention that she brought on him from the Faculty Council. ''I don''t want problems with the Faculty Council, just leave my ss already,'' Fernando thought in his head. "It''s fine," Asher spoke out as he looked at Fernando. "I know what I want to go forward with," Asher replied. "Is that all you wanted to say, Professor?" Asher spoke but his tone changed at the end. "Haha, that''s all, I just wanted to make sure that you guys knew that this subject will take a lot of your time," Fernando said. "You can go now, but do remember to submit your reports as the End Year Tournament ising near," Fernando said as Asher turned to leave with Alyssa who was in the wheelchair. After both of them left, Fernando clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I can''t get a read on this guy, and what''s with his tone with me," Fernando spoke. "Anyway, if there were more students I would have grouped them with him, but why does it have to be that girl," Fernando sighed. He was worried that the Greville Family mighte after him for damaging the reputation of their Heir by grouping him with Alyssa. "It would have been fine if I could ask the students to join, but these damn restrictions," Fernando spoke to himself. Outside his room, Alyssa and Asher were going toward their dorms as this was theirst ss of the day. "I heard you were called by the Student Council," Alyssa spoke after a long time. "Was it about the Dungeon Incident?" Alyssa asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. A month ago, Asher killed the intruders including a few students that were behind the incident, and due to him killing them, there was a huge uproar in the World Academy. But Asher wasn''t punished by the World Academy as his actions were simply self-defense but this news made other students worried for their safety. Although, this didn''t stop the bad rumors that were spreading about Asher. "I think you should stop being around me," Alyssa spoke in a low voice as she gripped the edge of her wheelchair. "Why?" Asher asked as he stopped in the hallway. "Rumours about you will spread even more if they think we talk with each other," Alyssa said looking at the ground. She couldn''t face Asher, as she herself didn''t want to say it. In the whole World Academy, Asher Greville was the only person she could talk to. She would have never imagined that such a possibility would be her reality, but now that it was, she was scared that her own reputation would harm him. ''Isn''t it better that I stop being with him before he hates me as well?'' Alyssa thought to herself. She didn''t want Asher to hate her as well, and she was scared that if rumors about them talking with each other would get out, Asher mighte to resent her in the future. "Why should I care about those rumors?" Asher asked as he tilted his head. It was his genuine response, Asher truly didn''t care what others thought of him. Alyssa looked up, with her dull eyes and looked back at the ground. ''They might even involve your family in the rumors, isn''t it better that you don''t associate yourself with someone like me?'' That was what Alyssa wanted to say, but she couldn''t utter those words. "I don''t care about others, if they have a problem they cane to me themselves," Asher muttered. "What about you? I am not someone that has a good reputation, I can say the same thing to you," Asher asked. His eyes were looking at Alyssa, but they didn''t appear as emotionless as they did in the past. Asher didn''t know himself, but he hade to look forward to his little interactions with Alyssa. "Haah? I don''t think it will affect me," Alyssa spoke with a bitter smile. She was about to turn her face toward Asher and ask something, but her expression changed as she looked at a group of students walking toward them. She quietly started moving, as Asher stood around and saw her leave. They didn''t interact much outside this ss, as Alyssa didn''t want to be seen with Asher. It was because she didn''t want the rumors about her being friendly with Asher to spread. ''Should I stop her?'' Asher thought in his head. All this time, Asher hade to realize that his own behavior was changing because of Alyssa. For so many years, Asher was troubled by his own madness, but right now that wasn''t the case. He never knew the cure he was looking for woulde his way in such a way. But just like Alyssa, Asher also wanted to keep these moments intact. He knew that him being seen with Alyssa, would trouble her more than him. Chapter 416 Trap of Memories - II Chapter 416 Trap of Memories - II ??"Hey, I wanted to ask something," Damian asked. "What?" Asher replied. "A month ago, why did you tell me to protect that girl?" Damian asked while they were sparring. End of Year Tournament was near, and Damian wanted to do a few spars with Asher so that they could get ready for it. But the question regarding Asher''s strange request was still on his mind. Usually, Damian wouldn''t ask Asher about things he didn''t speak about but he was curious. "Hmm, I-I don''t know," Asher replied as he stopped in his ce. Damian stopped for a second as he saw the look on Asher''s face, especially his eyes that for a single moment didn''t seem as emotionless as usual. Damian just shook his head, and decided not to pursue this matter further, as he didn''t wanted waste their precious time of sparring. Both of them continued sparring while Damian took all of Asher''s attack and after some time both of them stopped. "You have gotten quite powerful, I am surprised you caught up so fast," Damian smiled. "I am pretty sure, you will achieve the Ranker Title after the End Year Tournament," Asher sat on the bench present in the room thinking about Damain''s words. At first, Asher was cautious of increasing his strength because of the fact that he couldn''t control his increasing madness. But now, that wasn''t the case anymore. He didn''t feel the urge to destroy everything around him, and life didn''t seem that dull to him. It was a new feeling, that was still unknown to Asher but he was slowly recognizing it. That''s why Asher didn''t put a limit on himself and continued practicing his mana, and due to his bloodline ability reaching D Rank was possible. "Seeing your speed, makes me feel that I have cked off," Damian said while stretching his body. "I am sure you can defeat me or the other rankers if you fight carefully," Damian spoke. These were his honest opinions. "I don''t really need the Ranker Title," Asher replied. "It''s not like anything would change," Asher said while looking at his sword. "Ohe on, there are so many people that talk behind your back, although you startedte, I don''t think you would have a hard timepeting for Rank 1," Damian said with a smile on his face. Asher nced at Damian''s expression and for a moment, Damian''s smile looked a bit bitter. But Damian turned his head to ce his shield on the weapon shelf, as he started removing the protective gear. Although Damian and Asher were friends, Asher hardly knew what Damian was thinking. He didn''t even know why Damian had stuck with him for so long, but right now Asher didn''t mind Damian''s presence. ''Maybe, I can be normal as well?'' Asher thought for a second. His whole life, he had a hard time rting with others, but sinceing to World Academy, he felt different, something that he didn''t know he could feel. The memories shifted, as Asher was now standing in his waiting room looking at Alyssa who had just won a match against Venessa Baker, but her next opponent was n. There were a lot of students that were cheering n, who was smiling at them, but then he looked at Alyssa and his face had a look of disgust. "It seems winning against a Ranker made you think that you are something?" n said while Alyssa stood on the stage silently. The Referee was about to signal the start of the match n smirked as he was ready to show the world, that he and his family weren''t connected to her at all. The match began as n dashed towards Alyssa who chanted her Ice Spell, but the chants weren''t fast enough topletely stop n. n had already seen the duel between Alyssa and Venessa and he was aware of the way that Alyssa defeated a ranker, and it was due to her catching Venessa off guard and pushing her off the stage. "GO ALAN!" "CRUSH HER!" Chants were resounding in the arena and even some of the Professors weren''t looking too happy seeing Alyssa on the stage after all her previous win had guaranteed her spot on as a Ranker. They were sure that it would create a lot of bacsh as people wouldn''t like that a person rted to the Garcia Family was enjoying the privilege of a ranker. Alyssa''s hands were shaking because her match was scheduled after the first one. This was the Fourth Day, and she had just fought Venessa, but for some reason, she was told to fight n soon after. "A pathetic b*t*h," n smirked as he shed the ice sh, and made a cut on Alyssa''s arm. "I didn''t want to dirty my sword with your blood, but I would make sure that you know your ce here," n spoke loudly. Alyssa stayed silent as she touched the wound, and raised her hand. "Ice Arrows, Descend," She muttered as n started running around the stage. The frost arrows would pierce the stage but n could see their trajectory. ''I don''t have enough strength,'' Alyssa thought as her head started hurting. Her mana was running low, and she was feeling tired even staying afloat on the stage dodging n''s strikes. Both of her arms were shaking, and the loud cheer of the crowd was slowly getting muffled for her. She waved her hands upwards, causing the ice to erupt from n''s feet trying to capture him, but the strength of her spell wasn''t enough. Shatter! n broke through the ice with his aura and dashed towards Alyssa as he grabbed her throat, and lifted her upwards. He let his aura spread as he countered the effect of the gravity magic that Alyssa was using and threw her on the ground. Alyssa''s head hit the stage causing her mask to break and also causing small bleeding around her head. "Ugly b***h," n spoke. Alyssa opened her eyes, which were looking lifelessly at n. "Haha, I guess this isn''t enough to make you know after all," n spoke as thrust the sword into Alyssa''s hand making her eyes go wide with pain. The crowd cheered while some people averted their eyes as they couldn''t stomach the look on Alyssa''s face. n was about to thrust his sword again, but the referee stopped him midway as Alyssa couldn''t move anymore. "The Winner is n Astaria," The Referee announced. "Tsk, too bad I couldn''t y a bit more," n turned to leave. The medics present there immediately took Alyssa to the ward for her treatment while the Referee started announcing the next match. Everyone moved on, as they were eager to watch the next match. But that wasn''t the case for Asher who was watching the whole match. His eyes went cold, as he looked at the screen and the look on his face changed. He felt it. The madness that has been suppressed for so long, emerging slowly. But this time, Asher didn''t even try to control it. For so long, he didn''t know what he felt towards Alyssa. But that also was about to change in the near future. "It is the next match between Asher Von Raven Greville Vs n Astaria," The crowd cheered as n proudly walked onto the stage with a wide smile on his stage. "Let''s have a good match," n said while looking at Asher. Unlike his previous opponents, n didn''t mock Asher but it was mostly due to the fact he and Asher had simr status. Both of them were Heir of their respective families. "Do you think he can defeat n?" "Who are you kidding, he is good but n is better," The Heir of the Greville Family, who had only recently gotten awakened, wasn''t even a Ranker, unlike his sister. Many people judged that Asher wasn''t capable of defeating the rankers and rumors about him being ipetent were being spread around the World Academy. "But he did kill the people...." "Kevin was the one that actually held them back, he just dealt the final blow," Every person had a different view of Asher, but the person in question was standing on the stage staring at n''s sword. "Not even a greeting? Huh, good luck," n said as he felt a bit annoyed by Asher''s expressions. "Start," The Referee spoke out as n dashed towards Asher who was standing still. n closed the gap towards Asher in an instant and thrusted the sword towards Asher. sh! The whole stage got silent as n''s sword pierced Asher''s guts. "What?" The whole crowd was confused. Even the Professors were shocked by this. Even n himself was confused as this attack was meant to be a follow for his next strike as Asher could dodge it instantly. Chapter 417 Trap of Memories - III Chapter 417 Trap of Memories - III ??Blood dripped through the other end of the sword and dripped on the floor and n regained his senses and was about to pull out his sword. But Asher grabbed his hand and started using his aura and n felt a huge burden on his body. n panicked as he tried to step back but suddenly, he saw Asher twist his entire arm. He raised his sword and pierced it through n''s forearm. "Aaarrghh," n screamed with pain as the pain of having his arm twisted was amplified as he saw Asher''s ck sword impale his arm. "What is he doing?" The crowd was confused, but Asher looked at n as his eyes became even colder. The color of everything around him faded, as he heard n''s scream. "I wonder...," Asher muttered. Asher grabbed n by his neck with his sword stuck in n''s arm and pulled out n''s sword from his stomach. He pointed it upwards causing everyone to raise their eyes as the tip of the sword was pointed at n''s neck. Asher increased the strength of his aura to crush n''s aura and make him unable to even flinch. Asher was about to open his mouth as he stared emotionlessly to his right seeing the Referee who stopped Asher''s movement. "This is enough, Asher Greville is the winner of this duel," The Referee quickly announced as everyone around the stage was stunned. "Is this even a duel?" "What is this?" "Was he trying to kill him?" The entire crowd of students were confused. n''s arm was bleeding, and so was Asher''s wound as their blood was flowing out. "Medics!!" The Referee shouted as Asher loosened his grip around n''s neck and let drop while the Referee supported him. The medics arrived as they looked at both Asher and n''s condition, but n was still in shock at what had happened to him. Asher and n were both taken off from the stage as Asher, who was left alone in the temporary weapon room looked at his hand that was grabbing n''s neck. "I wonder, if I killed him right there, would this stop?" Asher muttered. Just like when he killed those people in the dungeon, Asher wondered would this madness that was rising inside him would stop if he had killed n. It was the question Asher Von Raven Greville asked himself. *** "Can''t you see, his actions were aimed at my son''s life," Alexander Astaria shouted at Professor Arman. He was one of the people who hade to observe this year''s End of the Year Tournament. "It was a duel where students are allowed to injure each other," Arman politely responded. "Enough, I don''t want any such exnations, I will contact the Greville Head myself but let me see that boy right now," Alexander demanded. "I am sorry we cannot allow that to happen," Arman bowed and refused. The mana around the room started running rampant as Alexander Astaria got enraged. "What''s the problem?" A voice was heard by both of them as Xander entered the room. Farnus had made him in charge of the guest so after sensing the rampant mana, Xander appeared here. Alexander stopped his mana as he saw Xander''s face. "I just want to have a chat with Asher Greville," Alexander said. "Don''t worry, it will be a simple conversation," Alexander said trying to convince Xander. Xander looked at Alexander''s face and it was obvious to him what he wanted to do. "I will make sure to properly limit-," "Not allowed, you can stay here in this room or go back," Xander replied causing a change in Alexander''s expression. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Alexander asked. "Don''t make me repeat myself Astaria Head," Xander said as he looked directly into Alexander''s eyes. "This is not a ce where you can exercise your authority, if you want to do something do it outside the World Academy," Xander as he looked at Arman and told him to leave. Professor Arman nodded and left the room. "Sigh, Fine, I think my anger got the best of me," Alexander said as he rubbed his head and smiled. "I will take my leave, staying here won''t make the situation better after all," Alexander said with a smile as he started walking towards the Portal Room. Xander watched Alexander leave, but he didn''t see the expression on Alexander''s face when his smile turned to a look of hatred. "I wonder what made that boy fight like this, his strength was enough to beat that kid," Xander muttered. He had trained Asher quite a lot and he was sure Asher had the talent to even take the First Rank spot in theing years if he worked hard. Xander looked down at the stage. "I should talk with him after Ie back to World Academy," Xander muttered. Ping! Xander looked at his bracelet that had gotten a notification from his younger brother. It was about the information Xander was looking into after the Dungeon incident. Although Farnus had taken the charge to investigate that incident, it didn''t stop Xander from looking into it. And surprisingly, he found some leads and he wanted to confirm a few things himself. Xander turned to leave, as he had to return before the next semester started at World Academy. As the memories shifted again, a pair of golden eyes observed everything. These memories that the overseer was seeing were directly rted to the ones that Asher was seeing. But this wasn''t the perspective of Asher, but someone else. Something, that was already stored within the system, and the Overseer peeked into using Rifir as the medium. The golden eyes blinked as the scenery changed, where Asher was moving into the dorm with Alyssa who was also standing beside him. It was the scene of the strongest fourth-year students fighting, but it was a one-sided match. "Wow, I didn''t know Reece Williams was this strong!" "Wasn''t he injured and recovering at his estate?" "And I thought nobody could defeat Jayden Hargrave," Reece Williams stood proudly while Jayden was on his knees coughing up blood and ring at Reece. "You have done well, my friend," Leonard muttered standing in the spectator area for the rankers. "With this, everything is in ce," Leonard smiled as he turned to leave. Both Reece and Jayden cleared the stage, and the broken stage was reced soon after. Reece Williams''s overwhelming victory over Jayden Hargrave was something even the Professors teaching the Fourth Years didn''t expect. It wasn''t even a close match, as Reece''s power was very close to the peak of A Rank. It was an achievement that was very rarely achieved by a student in their Fourth Year, and a lot of eyes all over the world were now on Reece Williams. But the hype of the crowd didn''t die down as the next match was between Kevin Whiteheart and Asher. Both of them appeared on stage, and Asher had the same look in his eyes which irked Kevin a bit who was walking up to the stage for his duel. Right now, everyone cheered loudly for Kevin, who was standing confidently against Asher. "Who do you think will win?" "Kevin obviously he is the strongest in the First Years," Kevin Whiteheart, the Rank 1 student and the one who held the title of the strongest of this generation. But for Asher who was standing on this stage, unlike everyone else, winning didn''t matter to him. "Start!" The Referee shouted. As soon as Kevin heard the sound, he instantly appeared in front of Asher who raised his sword to block him, Kevin who looked at Asher''s action was relieved that he wasn''t fighting like a psychopath, like he did with n. Kevin personally didn''t mind hurting Asher, but he didn''t want to ruin his image in front of Amelia who was watching this match with Elena and Eva, in the Rankers only room. ng! Kevin''s spear movement started more fluid as Asher kept blocking them, but slowly Kevin was increasing his speed making Asher dodge a few spears strikes instead of blocking them. "You can do it!" Damian cheered in the spectator room. "Huh, you are stupid if you think he will be able to defeat Kevin," Elenaughed but Damian ignored her. Amelia was quiet as she didn''t know who to cheer for. Damian had already lost to Matthew who was Rank 2, but he still wanted to fight Kevin, but his chance never came as Kevin was chosen to be Asher''s opponent. ''Maybe if he reached peak D Rank,'' Damian thought as he clenched his fist. Chapter 418 Trap of Memories IV : Broken Chapter 418 Trap of Memories IV : Broken ??Damian knew that Kevin''s powery in his speed which was affected by the lightning element he could use. sh! Asher grazed past Kevin''s arm as he moved in a circle around Kevin, his movement was strange but a few professors raised their eyes. Even Farnus who was sitting with the other guests of the End Year Tournament raised his eyebrow as that movement was something they had seen. "No way, did he mimic Xander Demarcus''s movement?" Till now, people knew that Xander was interested in Asher, but they didn''t he was teaching something valuable like this. "Nice movement, but this isn''t enough," Kevin said as lightning sparks channeled through his arm, and he moved behind Asher as he swung his spear. Asher twisted his torso and blocked Kevin''s spear but the power of his attack had increased significantly making Asher lean backward a bit. Kevin took his spear back and thrust it forward as it grazed past Asher''s sides. Both in speed and power, Kevin had an advantage over Asher, and the oue of this match was bing clearer. "Let this be a lesson to be less arrogant," Kevin spoke out. "I hope you can correct your attitude towards other students and especially Amelia," Kevin said as he started attacking much more quickly. He swung his spear, made feints, and even used his lightning element that was making Asher''s arm numb. ''Annoying,'' ''Annoying,'' ''Everything is annoying,'' For Asher, he couldn''t even hear the loud crowd nor Kevin''s words as he felt his urges taking over him. But Asher was trying to suppress it, he let it take over him once when he faced n, but right now Asher suppressed his madness. And while doing so, he forcefully isted his mind from his surroundings, while he kept moving sensing the shift in Kevin''s mana. After a few moments, Asher looked up as the crowd''s cheering became even louder. "The winner is Kevin Whiteheart," The Referee announced as Asher nced below. He was standing outside the stage''s boundary and that meant he lost. Kevin raised his spear with a smile as the crowd''s cheer became even louder. Asher nced at his hand that was still holding his sword, his arms were numb with his armor that was damaged by Kevin''s lightning. But all that didn''t matter anymore after all, he didn''t care. Asher simply turned to leave while Kevin was basking in the glory of his victory, and there were only two people who were sad by the result. One was Damian and the other one was a student sitting in the Medical Ward, with a mask covering her face. *** The memories shifted yet again where Asher and Alyssa were sitting in the library. "What are you searching for?" Asher asked as he turned the page of the book he was reading. "Something that can be helpful for me," Alyssa replied. "Is it because you want to be stronger?" Asher asked as he closed the book. Alyssa looked up with her lifeless eyes, but suddenly those eyes didn''t look that lifeless. There was buried hatred within that gaze, something Asher had sensed for a long time, something that Alyssa carefully kept hidden. "Everyone wants to be stronger," Alyssa replied. "I guess," Asher replied. For Asher, his strength only became a burden for him as he felt stranger the stronger he got, and right now he was near the peak of D Rank. But at least, unlike what he thought, he went back to normal after the Tournament ended, both of them were now Second Year students and Rankers. Asher was at Rank 7, while Alyssa was given Rank 10, due to her performance in the End Year Tournament while n and Venessa were demoted from their ranker position. It was due to n''s poor academic performance, as Alyssa took third ce in the academic exams, just below Eva Williams who was ranked second, and Asher who took first ce. "You can ask for help," Asher spoke out. Alyssa nced at him, then turned the pages of her book. "Don''t worry, I know my limits," Alyssa replied as she kept reading the book. After a few moments, Alyssa was back in the Rankers Dorm, as she sat on the bed and nced to multiple paintings that were present in her room. "I guess I didn''t hide my motives carefully, even if he found out," Alyssa muttered. "I don''t want it," Alyssa curled up on the bed. "I don''t want you to be part of my hatred," She started shaking as she grabbed her head and the voices inside her head started screaming. "I can handle it, it''s fine," Alyssa consoled herself. While in the Rankers Dorm, Asher was reading books about healing potions. Halfway through his research to find something that could help what he thought was a mental illness, Asher started looking into things that could heal a person. "Hmm, I will get Eric to handle these things next year," Asher muttered. He didn''t tell Alyssa, but he was looking into potions or elixir that could help her. Ping! Asher got a notification in his ID Bracelet as he looked at it. "Hmm, Bloodline Ability test," Asher muttered. It was the schedule of the Bloodline Ability Test that revealed the rank of a person''s bloodline ability, something every second-year student would do after their first month of study. Suddenly a ck aura started to fill the surroundings of Asher while he read the notification. The Golden eyes that were observing blinked as the Overseer appeared in the space that was slowly being devoured by a ck aura. "Hmm, quite a strong reaction," The overseer said as he used the purple runes around his arm to change the memory he was watching. Suddenly the space changed as many students and professors were standing in an open space, where a big stone b was ced in the center on top of which a hand-shaped artifact was ced. "Each student will put a drop of their blood on this artifact, which is one of the SSS Rank Artifacts of World Academy," Farnus announced. "Not many of you will have a bloodline ability but those that do, it will reveal the strength of your bloodline ability," Farnus said. It was an event that waspulsory for all second-year students to attend. And also the event that led to a certain future. "Alyssa Astaria," Professor Elsa said as Alyssa stepped forward and walked up towards the big stone using the needle given to all students to poke her hand. As her blood dropped on the artifact that looked like a human hand, it caused a reaction causing an uproar among the crowd of the students. "You have a Rank B Bloodline Ability," Elsa spoke which surprised many students and Professors. "Is that the Garcia Bloodline Ability?" "Should she still be allowed to study now?" Everyone was confused but Elsa spoke the next name to make sure the situation didn''t be bad. "Elena Rothschild," Elsa said as Elena walked up ignoring Alyssa who was walking back to her ce. She poked her finger with the needle and dropped her blood as if there was another reaction. "You have A Ranked Bloodline Ability," Elsa said. The reaction from the crowd was different for Elena, as on top of having an affinity with every basic element she also had a powerful Bloodline ability of the Rothschild Family. Next was Eva, who also had an A Ranked Bloodline ability that shocked all the students. It was rare to witness even one A Rank Ability, but there were two now and that shock became even bigger when Amelia was the third person to have A Rank Bloodline Ability. After many students, n and Venessa surprisingly showed B Ranked Bloodline Ability as well, which shocked a few professors as Venessa was supposed to be from a normal background. Venessa stepped down with an awkward smile on her face. Now there were only ten students left, and finally, it was Asher''s turn. Asher stepped forward as he poked his finger, and his blood dropped on the artifact, as Elsa''s eyes went wide. "An S Rank Bloodline ability, congrattions," Elsa said. "What?" "S Rank? Even Farnus who didn''t have any reactions till now raised his eyebrows at Asher''s result. Amelia was shocked as well, because till now she had believed that she was above Asher in terms of talent, but she never thought that Asher would possess a stronger bloodline ability than her. Asher walked down and looked at Damian who was waving his hands with a grin on his face. One by one students walked up, and Alyssa who was sitting in the Ranker''s Seats looked at thest student who got up. Her eyes were filled with murderous intent as she looked at those white hair and shining blue eyes. But that expression changed when Alyssa saw the result. "SS Rank!!" Elsa said with a shocked face. Even Kevin himself was shocked but he felt happy when he got better rank than Asher, as he looked at Amelia, Elena, and Eva''s direction, seeing them smile as well. While everyone''s eyes were on Kevin, Asher was looking at Alyssa''s direction. Although they looked lifeless, he had never seen that look in her eyes. It was this moment when Alyssa Astaria lost her hopes, and it was also the moment when another person who wasn''t looking at Kevin was also surprised. "Isn''t that interesting," Leonard muttered as smile erupted on his face. Chapter 419 Trap of Memories V - Crumble Chapter 419 Trap of Memories V - Crumble ??While everyone''s eyes were on Kevin, Asher was looking at Alyssa''s direction. Although they looked lifeless, he had never seen that look in her eyes. It was this moment when Alyssa Astaria lost her hopes, and it was also the moment when another person who wasn''t looking at Kevin was also surprised. "Isn''t that interesting," Leonard muttered as a smile erupted on his face. Meanwhile, Alyssa''s hands were shaking as her eyes which looked helpless couldn''t help but show a hint of her hatred. "Why, why, why, why him of all people?" Alyssa muttered. Alyssa turned to leave as she felt helpless with all the voices screaming in her head. She arrived in the ranker''s dorm and she used her gravity magic to quickly go towards her floor. Arriving there, she rushed to the bathroom and she couldn''t hold it anymore as she removed her mask and puked. She felt nauseated, while her head was hurting. Her hands were shaking, as the ns she had made her whole life were slowly shattering before her eyes. She touched the button on the wall water started pouring over and her hair fell on her face. "M-Mother, it seems I am too powerless," Alyssa muttered as her voice faltered. Till now, she had withstood all the remarks and attempts to bully her so that she could finally achieve her revenge. Her goal of bing a ranker was also fulfilled and she also found someone that she could findfort with. But this day marked the point in which Alyssa Astaria faced hopelessness. After a few minutes, soaked in water, Alyssa walked into her room as she looked at one of her drawings. She touched the canvas where the pink petal was floating in a blood river, her hands were stained with paint. Days went by, and Asher was sitting in the ss alone. Alyssa was absent for a few days, but Asher kept going to the sses and doing his research from the books he was doing. The library filled with countless books, felt empty to him as the sounds of flipping pages echoed in therge room. Asher''s sses with Xander were also on hold because Xander was still on leave and hadn''t returned. Flip! Flip! His eyes nced at the seat in front of him, as he kept thinking about Alyssa. Ever since the day, their bloodline ability ranks were measured, Asher never saw Alyssa. But on the next day, Alyssa finally came to the ss as both of them attended their lecture and went together to the library. Asher didn''t say anything till, as he took the books he was reading and sat opposite to Alyssa and kept reading. "Do you want to join my team?" Asher asked. All of the Second Year Students were told to make a team with other students for their dungeon exploration. "Sure," Alyssa replied. Asher raised his eyes as he didn''t know that Alyssa would agree so easily. "I am not sure I will be much helpful as you know my condition," Alyssa looked directly at Asher. There was a reason why Alyssa immediately epted Asher''s offer, as she had been suffering from her nightmare for the past week, when she finally arrived in the ss, the screams and agony in her head calmed down. "It''s fine," Asher replied. This was a day when both of them took a step forward. Asher who didn''t want to burden Alyssa with being seen with her decided to stop doing that as he didn''t want to see her get hurt anymore. And Alyssa, who was burdened and buried in the thoughts of revenge finally realised that she wasn''t alone in the world. She had a person, she feltfortable with. A feeling Alyssa had forgotten for the past ten years. It felt like finally they were moving past the hurdle they both needed to cross, but it wasn''t as easy as they thought. Soon enough, a rumor was being spread in the whole World Academy. "Is it true that you are friends with Alyssa Astaria?" A girl with ck hair and crimson-red eyes spoke. "Why does it concern you?" Asher replied. "Amelia, let''s calm down" Damian tried to intervene. "Enough Damian!, he is the Heir of the family, and things like these would cause so much trouble," Amelia shouted. "Why do you always do things that will make things difficult for our family?" Amelia asked with a hint of anger in her voice. Asher was silently listening to her, while Damian was trying to make sure the situation didn''t escte. "Just make an official announcement that you are not associated with that damn girl," Amelia said. "What if I don''t?" Asher replied. He stepped forward and looked down at Amelia. "Why does it concern anybody who I associate myself with?" "So you will not listen to me?" Amelia asked. Asher stayed silent as he stared at Amelia who was ring at him. "Fine, I will let Mom and Dad know about this," Amelia turned to leave as Damian tried to stop her but she pped Damian''s hand and left. Damian looked at Asher. "Do you think the same as her?" Asher asked. "I-I don''t know, I don''t care about such things after all," Damian replied. "But are you sure about this? I mean you didn''t tell her that she is in our team as well," Damian said. Damian was part of Asher''s team, and he knew that Asher had invited Alyssa to their team. He didn''t know why Asher was taking so much interest in Alyssa but he didn''t care much about it. Damian was happy that he was on Asher''s team, and he even wanted to invite Amelia today, but looking at things he was sure it would not work out. "If you want, you can join her team," Asher looked at Damian. "Seriously? Do you think you can find a better tanker to rece me?" Damian asked with a frown on his face. "Come on, I was so happy that you invited me to your team," Damian said. "Do as you wish, don''t regret it in the future," Asher said. Damian just smiled at him, but internally he was a bit worried about when the team names would be revealed, it would only fuel the rumors even more. "By the way, there were discussions about the Seven Seats that will be filled soon," Damian said out loud. "Do you want to be one of the Seven Seats?" Damian asked. "No," Asher replied. Damian was a bit relieved that Asher wasn''t aiming for the seven seats as Amelia was aiming to be one as well. After the battle between the Student Council and Blood Faction was over, Blood Faction''s win resulted in a change where a new system of student council was introduced. In this system, unlike a single person holding all the power like the Student Council President, the power was distributed between seven people, which would be called the Seven Seats. Leonard Tarvian announced that the Seven Seats would be chosen from the Third and Second Years, and those will be decided by the votes of the current Top 100 students, of both the Third and Second Year. "Ok, by the way what do you want to do with this situation?" Damian asked. "I will deal with all the issues," Asher said as he turned to leave. "It can''t be right?" Damian thought of something but quickly dismissed that idea. "I should go talk with Amelia as well," Damian turned to leave Asher''s floor. Asher turned and opened his ID Bracelet; he expected things to turn out like this when he started hanging around Alyssa. But till now there weren''t any rumors about them. The time they would spend together was during the free research time, and both of them were the only students in their year studying that subject. He had a choice, to stay away from Alyssa and the rumors would die down. But it was not a choice he wanted to take. This was the reason Asher stayed away from standing out like other rankers or taking part in the selection of the Seven Seats. He didn''t want any unwanted attention, as the more he would stay away from others, he hoped that they would stay away from him. On the path of his endless madness, atst he found his peace. Far from the path of glory, he remained distant. But s that hope.... Chapter 420 Trap of Memories VI - Nightmare

Chapter 420 Trap of Memories VI - Nightmare

"YOU KILLED US!!" "YOU DESTROYED OUR LIVES!!" Bodies made of blood arose from the blood pool and started shouting. In the middle of the pool, a single man was standing with a sword in his hands and corpses all around him floating. "YOU MONSTER!!" "YOU DESERVE TO DIE!!" The screams of the dead echoed in the entire space, but the man didn''t move. But his cold eyes changed as he felt a touch on his right. "You killed me!!" It was the voice of a young girl, a familiar voice, that carried a hint of hatred. His cold eyes flinched as he turned and looked at the girl wearing a broken mask, with half her face that was scarred and burnt. Asher stepped back as the figure of the girl disappeared and the screams started getting louder. He raised his sword and performed another sh to kill the source of the screams. The cries of pain, fear, and anger were heard by him. "HOW CAN YOU KILL US?" The dying blood phantoms cried as Asher kept shing his sword. Suddenly he stopped as another face he was familiar with materialized in front of him. "Why bother trying? You think your fate will be any different?" The man mocked him. "I swear on the Tarvian name, I would make your life hell, hahaha," The man startedughing. Asher stopped in his tracks as his killing intent started rising. ".....not again," Asher muttered. "It will be not the same," Asher said as he moved forward and shed the blood phantom that kept smiling till it died. Suddenly the blood drops started rising as the scene before Asher changed. Asher closed his eyes and fell into another nightmare. *** "Step back, she doesn''t want to talk with you," Kevin said. "Who the hell are you to tell me that?" Damian red at Kevin. "Well, I am currently her teammate, and I wish you would leave our teammate alone," Kevin retorted. Damian gritted his teeth as he looked past Kevin''s shoulder towards Amelia who was standing with Elena and Eva. Amelia didn''t look at Damian as she was still angry with him for not telling her that Asher was teaming up with Alyssa and the fact that he was on his team as well. "Fine," Damian turned to leave. Kevin looked at Damian who left and turned towards Amelia. "It''s fine Amelia, you did the right thing," Elena told Amelia. "Yeah, I don''t know what your brother is thinking by doing all this," Eva added. "I-I just don''t want him to create trouble for our family," Amelia said. "Don''t worry, if things get too far, I will make sure to talk with him directly," Kevin said as he tried to console Amelia. "Let''s not lose our focus as the dungeon raids this time wouldn''t be easy," Elena changed the topic. "Don''t worry, I will protect you guys," Kevin said with confidence. It made Elena and Eva smile, as Amelia felt a bit relieved that these three were still supporting her. As all of them turned to leave, Amelia nced in the direction where Asher and Damian were standing, and with them was Alyssa Astaria. Not only did Asher ignore her advice, but he also partied with Alyssa, which made the rumors grow even stronger. "Are the rumors true?" "Isn''t this bad for his family''s reputation?" "Isn''t this a tant try to pick fights with other Elite Families?" "I pity Sam Allister who was forced to join them," All the Second Year students were whispering among themselves, as all the teams were gathered here to enter the Rank D Dungeons. All people had 4 people on their teams and Asher''s team consisted of him, Alyssa, Damian, and Sam Allister who was ced in their team by Professor Argas. "Do you guys have any ns?" Sam asked with a serious look on his face. "We will follow the normal formation, with Damian at the front and I will guard the mage," Asher replied. Sam stayed silent and after a few seconds nodded back at him. "Understood, "Sam replied as he leaned back on the wall. Alyssa was silent the whole time, she could feel the gazes she and Asher were gathering. Some of the students had already confronted her, but due to her being a ranker, they didn''t try to escte things. The Dungeon Raid started as Asher''s team swiftly dealt with the monsters. Damian was a perfect tanker and Sam would make the most of the opportunities that Damian would open for them. While Asher would work with Alyssa''s magic, while he would guard her. Despite being the tenth-ce ranker, Alyssa''s magic was quite strong. ''Her attack power surpasses both Elena Rothschild and Lishia Halcyon,'' Sam thought as he observed all three of them. But it was alsomon knowledge after the End of Year Tournament that Alyssa couldn''t use her mana like an average mage. This made her weaker in the long run, but that''s all Sam knew from his observation so far. Unlike what he thought, Alyssa''s mana pool was so big that she could maintain her gravity magic, but her damaged mana veins made it impossible for her to use mana normally. Her body''s condition was simr to what someone who had mana poisoning would suffer from, but she suffered from both physical and mental drain. ''But I am not sure what to make of Asher Greville,'' Sam thought as all of them stopped. "Let''s take a break," Asher said as they stopped. The person in charge of their safety also stopped at a distance. After thest incident, the security around dungeon exploring sses was increased significantly. So the one following them was a B Ranked Hunter, and he was supposed to grade them based on their performance as well. Asher looked at the monster corpses that he had killed himself, and he felt a bit normal. Usually, to calm himself he would do it by hunting monsters but being around Alyssa suppressed that nature of his. After 15 hours, the first team to return was Kevin''s team and the second team was Matthew''s team with Lishia Halcyon, Ria Adler, and n Astaria on it. n looked around and he didn''t see Asher''s team and he smiled. "That''s what he gets by carrying that useless burden around," n muttered to himself. His resentment towards Asher had grown a lot since the tournament and seeing the rumors about Asher being involved with Alyssa made n happy. "It would have been good if Leonard didn''t order me to not involve myself with him for the time being," n muttered as he stretched himself. Soon enough, another team arrived, and they were in Third ce, and it was Asher''s team. Both the First and Second ce teams looked at them, and they could see Asher who was in front with his armor that was stained with blood. It was the monster''s blood, but apart from Asher who was most aggressive with his sword, the other two were fairly clean. And Alyssa, due to her position, didn''t engage in any closebat either. "Let''s do better the next time, we can try for the first position as well," Lishia said. Matthew nodded while Ria and n looked a bit unsure. After all the team in the first ce contained the Rank 1 student, Kevin, and the best support Rankers Eva Williams and Amelia Greville. An augmenter and a person with an aptitude for barrier magic, it was a perfect team to clear any dungeon. Lishia herself knew that, but she didn''t have much of a choice either. She was friendly with Elena, but due to her circumstances, it was better for her to be with Matthew, Ria Adler, and n Astaria. Although she wanted Venessa Baker instead of n, she was refused so this was the best team she coulde up with. "The Teams that havepleted their exploration, submit your findings to the Trading Center so we can convert them into GP, and the Team Captains need to submit a report about their team as well before the end of this week," Elsa announced as the first three teams arrived. "Can I go back, I am a bit tired," Sam said as he looked at Asher. "Sure," Asher replied, "Hmm, if everyone''s going then I will also go back," Damian said. Knowing that Sam might not befortable with them, Damian didn''t push him to join them. "Do you want me to go submit the finds?" Damian asked. "I will do it," Asher replied. "Okay, then I will go and rest as well, this was really quite tiring," Damian said stretching his arms. Chapter 421 Trap of Memories VII - Peace

Chapter 421 Trap of Memories VII - Peace

421 Trap of Memories VII - Peace "Did you draw them all?" Asher asked as he looked around. It had been two months since the Dungeon Exploration, and Alyssa was still participating with Asher in all the team-rted events. "Yeah, this is something I started doing to gain some extra money but strangely I started liking it," Alyssa replied. "These flowers were the ones that mother used to grow in her garden," Alyssa said with a smile on her face that was covered by her mask. Among the numerous drawings, she had kept the one that depicted a garden of particr blue flowers in the center. "They are not that good though," Alyssa said as she touched the canvas. "If you want one, I can make one for you just tell me what you want me to draw," "I don''t have anything that can repay for all the help I have received till now, so I can only repay with things like these," Alyssa said as she touched the canvas. She knew that the rumors were hurting Asher''s reputation, and she even offered that she would step back from the party, but Asher denied her request. This made her both happy and regretful. She was happy that she could stay with Asher who was the first person that resonated with her, but she knew that her being near Asher would only create trouble. "You don''t need to repay me, but I will take the offer for a drawing," Asher replied. "I will think about one, and tell youter," Asher said as Alyssa nodded. "Take this," Asher took out a bracelet. "This artifact will help you with your mana," Asher handed it over to Alyssa. "Thanks, I will use it well," Alyssa took the bracelet and wore it. It was an A Rank artifact that Asher paid a lot of GP for but Alyssa didn''t deny it as she wanted to be more helpful for their team. While the two were chatting, things weren''t that good outside the rankers dorm. "I can''t do that Amelia," Damian said with a straight face. "Why?" Amelia said. "Even Mom agreed with my choice, but he isn''t listening to anyone," Amelia added. "You are asking something impossible from me," Damian replied. He wanted to help Amelia, but he couldn''t. "I can''t betray my friend, you know my personality well," Damian said looking directly at Amelia. "IT''S NOT BETRAYAL DAMIAN!!" Amelia shouted. "Have you gone mad staying with him?" Amelia said. "Do you not listen that these rumors are even spreading outside the World Academy?" "After Grandpa''s death, people have been looking to target our family constantly," Amelia said with a look of anger on her face. She took pride in the name Greville, but seeing that their reputation was being harmed, she couldn''t stay silent anymore. "Elena and Kevin said they would help with the rumors but he needs to kick her out of the team," "They are only doing this because I asked them as a friend," Amelia said as she grabbed Damian''s hand. "And I am supporting him as a friend, Amelia," Damian said with a cold look in his eyes. "He isn''t hurting anyone in the World Academy, why can''t all of you just leave him alone?" Damian asked as he removed Amelia''s hand. "And do you think they are helping you as a friend?" Damian countered. "Why can''t they just suppress the rumors?" Damian asked. "It''s not like that girl wouldn''t have been in any team, it just happened to be Asher who took her in his team," "And if you just ignore her past, she is a ranker so it makes sense why someone would choose her," Damian added. "Just leave him alone, or is it because he is the Heir of the family, do you dislike him for that-," p! Amelia''s eyes started tearing as she red at Damian. "I thought y-you of all people would understand me," Amelia said as she turned leaving behind Damian who was standing in the lobby alone. "I am sorry Amelia, I can''t choose one of you," Damian touched his face. "I guess that''s what you get for being a coward," Damian chuckled. "Sigh, when did things go wrong for all of us?" He questioned. Usually, Damian would have acknowledged Amelia''s request and would have tried to persuade Asher, but he simply couldn''t. "He has changed since meeting her, maybe you couldn''t notice but I can, and I don''t want to make him go back to the person he was in the past," Damian muttered to himself. He left the lobby to go outside the Rankers dorm, as he wanted to clear his head. Amelia on the other hand had returned to her floor and she was sitting on her couch while hugging her knees. Tears fell from her eyes, as she didn''t want to hurt Damian. "I thought you would understand why I am doing all this," Amelia said. "Even Mom and dad decided to overlook his actions," "Am I wrong for caring about our family," Amelia would usually suppress her emotions in public, but all of the pent-up frustration caused her outbursts. After a few days, while Asher was attending the Potion Crafting ss with Alyssa, Amelia was sitting in the Student Council building with the other candidates of the Seven Seats. The meeting had just ended, but Amelia''s mood was down despite her chance of being one of the Seven Seats high. "Cheer up Amelia!" Elena touched her shoulder. "Don''t let the small things trouble you," Elena said. "Both me and Eva are working with Kevin to calm things down so don''t worry," Amelia touched Elena''s hand and nodded with a small smile on her face. "Thanks for the help," Amelia said. "Come on, friends don''t need to say thanks to each other," Kevin chimed in. All the other people had left the room so it was only the four that were still present. Kevin had the lead as students who supported Raelyn were voting for him, and it was simr for Elena and Amelia. Eva decided to not participate as only three people from the Second Year could nominate themselves and the rest were from the Third Year. Outside the Student Council building, "Is that all you observed till now?" Jack asked. "Yeah," Sam replied. "Good job, keep your eyes on both of them, Leonard entrusted this job to me so I don''t want any mistakes," Jack said. "No need to get friendly with any three of them, just keep your distance and observe them," "Did I make myself clear?" Jack grabbed Sam''s shoulder. Sam''s face scrunched up as he nodded at Jake. "Good, be the obedient dog you are and father will be happy," Jackughed. Sam waited for Jack to leave as he turned to go back to the rankers dorm. It wasn''t just a coincidence that Professor Argas ced him on Asher''s team. Sam was told to ry information regarding Asher and Alyssa. He didn''t know why, nor did he want to know. "Obedient dog, huh," Sam muttered as he kept moving. His face had an intense look of hatred, but all he could was keep it hidden. *** The sses were ongoing as the Second Year Students who were studying Sword Arts under Professor Erwin were present here. Erwin was looking at everyone''s posture when suddenly he stopped as a Staff member appeared causing everyone to look at him. He went directly towards Erwin and spoke to him directly. "Asher Greville?" Erwin asked. The Staff member nodded. Erwin turned towards the student, as he looked at Asher. "Asher Von Greville, you have been called by the Faculty Council," Erwin spoke out. Asher who was doing his training stopped as he wiped the sweat on his face. "Please follow him," Erwin said looking at the Staff member. "Did something happen?" "Is he in trouble?" The murmurs of other students started getting loud as they were confused. Asher walked up removed his training gear and followed the staff member. "Enough! Stop wasting time and continue the training," Erwin shouted. It didn''t take long for Asher to arrive at the Faculty Council building as the staff member guided him to the meeting room where many 3 Star Professors including Farnus were present. "You can go inside," The staff member said as he opened the gate for him. Asher entered as he noticed all the Professors and Farnus that were present in the room, sitting in their respective seats. Some of them had a strange look on their faces. "Asher Von Raven Greville, you have been summoned here because of a certain news we have received," Farnus spoke. "As we all know, you were receiving direct lessons from Vice Principal Xander, am I correct?" Farnus asked. "Yes," Asher replied. Despite being surrounded by so many powerful individuals, Asher''s face didn''t change even a single bit. "We have received a very unfortunate news, but we need to ask you something first," "Do you know what were the reasons that made Sir Xander leave the World Academy?" Farnus asked, "No, I don''t," Asher replied. "Are you sure?" Farnus asked once again. "Yes," Asher replied. Asher could hear the whispers of some professors. "Unfortunately, we have just confirmed that Vice Principal Xander Demarcus has died," Farnus said. "The news will be shared with all the students soon enough, but please refrain from telling anyone about it" Chapter 422 Trials Ground : Trap

Chapter 422 Trials Ground : Trap

422 Trials Ground : Trap BOOM! An explosion urred as the walls of the pce started falling. "ALYSSA!!" "SAVE ME ALYSSA!!" "I AM DYING!!!" Burnt corpses shouted as the fire engulfed, while they crawled towards Alyssa who was standing still in her ce. Her hands were shaking, her steps were faltering. Moments ago, "So this is the entrance?" Alyssa muttered as she looked at the pce entrance. All around this huge pce wasva, and the monsters that lurked within thatva. Alyssa floated down to the stone pavement and looked around. She could see the entrance in front of her, but there were also stone statues of people wearing armor and holding their weapons guarding the entrance. The scenery, alerted Alyssa as she carefully made her way but her expression worsened as she could now see the statues more closely. All of them had a strange expression on their faces, an expression of fear. It looked abandoned as there wasn''t a single thing she could sense in her vicinity, but just observing the surroundings was enough to make her cautious. She had tried to conserve her strength while traveling till here, but it was a hard thing to do. There was a wound on her right arm, that she got while dodging the fierce attacks of the monsters that lurked in theva. But she closed that wound by using her ice magic to freeze that area. Suddenly wind started flowing through the entrance of the pce making Alyssa stop in her tracks, as she looked around the weather above her was changing. The sound of thunder resounded loudly as Alyssa looked up and the sky was covered with dark clouds. Crumble! Alyssa turned as the bridge of the entrance started crumbling and falling into theva. Although the pce looked suspicious, Alyssa now had no choice but to enter the pce, and she did exactly that. Before the bridge fully crumbled, Alyssa entered inside as the giant doors behind her closed. The trials were unique and Alyssa still had no idea what her trial was, but soon as she saw the interior of the pce change. She figured out what the trial truly was. The interior changed as the broken walls were on fire and she was standing in a hallway. With dead bodies around her of people wearing servant uniforms that she still vividly remembered. After all, how could she forget them, it had been over a decade since she had seen that uniform, these walls, that always would haunt her in her dreams. The memories that brought only pain and suffering, and the fuel behind her revenge. Her arms started shaking as she heard the screams. "Young Lady, help me!!" A woman shouted as she ran through the hallway, but the pir around the broken wall fell on her. Alyssa looked at the scenery, as her heart started beating loudly. She was ready to face anything that came her way, but she never expected it would be something like this. "I-I..," Alyssa tried to remove the pir above the woman with her magic, but the whole wall crashed before her. The path ahead of her was blocked as she turned around to look behind her. The way that was open was something Alyssa remembered vividly, after all, it was the ce she would visit a lot. It was the way that would lead her to the garden that she loved so much, but right now that was thest ce she wanted to visit. Because she knew what exactly waited for her there. Alyssa stepped back as the fear inside her grew. The nightmare that haunted her for the past decade, was the ce where all her suffering began. She wanted to go back, but there was no way back for her. Alyssa clenched her fist as her eyes were shaking and turned cold as she calmed herself down. "I can do this, I can do this, I can...," Alyssa started telling herself. Stuck in the trials of her own nightmare, Alyssa was making her way forward but for someone, the nightmares weren''t simply illusions. Asher''s body was still present in the dense mana pool, his subconsciousness was circting the mana. But that too had its limit, and slowly cracks in his aura started forming. Usually, the effects of Rune of Eirdin would match, the capabilities of the mana core of the person that had it. But right now, the Rune of Eirdin was strengthened by the Overseer, and it became Rank A. Right now, things seem fine but the cracks that were slowly forming would result in the copse of his aura armor. And the dense mana would flood his body, and what awaited Asher was death. But despite the predicament he couldn''t do anything as he was stuck in the effect of Rune of Eirdin. *** "I can''t believe Xander Demarcus died," Neyman muttered with a saddened expression. "The news would surely cause an uproar," Elsa said. Xander Demarcus, the Vice Principal of World Academy had passed away, and this news was causing an uproar in the whole academy. For Asher, he was sitting in his training room as he practiced the movement technique that Xander taught him. "I guess, I am not normal," Asher muttered. Asher criticized himself for not feeling anything, but there was a slight emptiness that he was sure wasn''t what others would feel in his situation. After a few hours, Asher received a text from Damian. Damian was concerned about Asher, but Asher himself didn''t know what to feel about this situation. Xander Demarcus was someone who started teaching him himself out of nowhere for a reason only Xander knew. Asher replied as he could only wonder what he was supposed to feel in this situation. ''Maybe, I would never be normal,'' Asher thought in his mind. But that feeling soon changed, as Asher started bing more normal something he never knew was possible. "Hah, you wouldn''t find anything in that book," Asher smiled as he looked at Alyssa. Four months had passed, and things had changed in World Academy. "I wouldn''t know until I try myself," Alyssa replied. "Did you like the painting I gave you?" Alyssa asked as she nced at Asher. "Yeah," Asher replied with a small smile on his face. Alyssa smiled as she felt happy something she never thought she would feel again. Both of them got so used to each other''s presence, that they didn''t even notice the change in their personalities. "Take this one," Asher passed a book. "This one has a detailed study about things that will help with body-strengthening potions," Asher said. "Thanks," Alyssa replied. "It''s only a temporary solution, so don''t exert yourself too much," Asher said. Asher turned towards the bookshelf Alyssa looked at the book that Asher gave her bitterly. Her condition had gotten worse, but she didn''t want to tell Asher. She was sure if Asher knew he would try to help her in any way possible, but she knew that normal potions wouldn''t help her anymore. Till now, she had taken a B Rank Healing potion by using all her GP, but it didn''t help her at all. She knew that, her condition was beyond help, maybe when she was young they would have helped but she was sure that her current condition wasn''t simple enough to be solved with them. And there was one more thing, her state after the constant use of gravity magic. Alyssa floated the book towards her as Asher turned and mmed that book on the table. "I told you, don''t use that magic too much," Asher said. "It doesn''t affect me too much, don''t worry," Alyssa replied. "Still, don''t use it unless necessary," Asher took the book and put that near her. "Gravity Magic is different from Pure Space Affinity," Alyssa said. "The mental strain is notparable to what a mages with spatial element would feel," Alyssa exined. "But still don''t use it for small things like this," Asher said. Asher sat on his seat as he suppressed the mana around him forcefully suppressing Alyssa''s magic. It was Asher''s bloodline ability that nobody knew about except Alyssa who had experienced it herself. "You are not allowed to use bloodline abilities on students outside duel and spars," Alyssa said. "Like I care," Asher replied as flipped the page. Alyssa smiled as she opened the book, and started reading. She gazed out the window at the clear sky, a bitter expression crossing her face. Chapter 423 Trap of Memories VIII - Talent

Chapter 423 Trap of Memories VIII - Talent

423 Trap of Memories VIII - Talent "Is this even possible?" "He won against Matthew?" "I can''t believe this!" "I guess that''s the blood of the Sword God," In the sword art ss, the spar was happening, and this time it was a spar against Rank 2 Matthew and Rank 8 Asher Greville. It was Erwin who told both of them to spar but even he didn''t see this resulting. Matthew''s wrist was broken, while Asher was standing with sweat falling down his face. Erwin frowned, but he looked at the instructor to announce the result. "Asher Greville has won," The instructor said. Asher turned around, while Matthew stood up with a frustrated look on his face. He was the strongest swordsman among the Second-Year students and it was something that he was proud of. The fact he was above the grandson of the Sword God, who had passed away gave him motivation, but now losing to Asher, was a frustrating feeling. "The ss is dismissed, Asher Greville stay behind I need to talk with you," Erwin said as he ended the ss. The students started leaving, and the instructor took Matthew to the medical ward so that he could treat his wound. "I am greatly disappointed in your behavior," Erwin said as he looked at Asher. "Is something wrong, Professor Erwin?" Asher asked as he looked Erwin in the eye. The look in Asher''s eyes that didn''t change at all irked Erwin even more. "Do you believe it was because of your skill that you won against Matthew?" Erwin asked. "He was holding back because of the difference in your rank, but taking things so far in a spar, I can''t believe someone from an Elite family would do that," Erwin said with a frown on his face. "I will deduct your grades for this behavior, please make sure to correct your way in the future," Erwin said. "Ok," Asher replied. Erwin got more annoyed at Asher''sck of reaction but he couldn''t do anything more, so he dismissed Asher and told him to leave. "If it wasn''t for Young Master Leonard, I would have corrected his attitude long ago," Erwin muttered to himself. "That old man Xander increased his arrogance so much after teaching him personally," Erwin scoffed as he looked at Asher leave. Outside the ss, Asher simply ignored Erwin''s remark as he didn''t care about his grades so much. It was a spar so not many people took the result lightly after Professor Erwin deducted Asher''s grade for wrongful sparring in the next ss. Although students didn''t think that the spar was wrong, because it was Erwin himself who pointed out the wrong things cleverly about how Matthew was holding back, and the ethics of a spar, they believed him. The power imbnce was rising inside the World Academy with the vacant position of the Vice Principal. But the things outside the World Academy weren''t exactly peaceful either, as the meeting of the High Council had just ended, and the result of that meeting wasn''t favorable for the Greville Family. "It''s fine Sylvie, it''s not your fault things went like this," Arthur said as he removed the rings from his hands. He had just returned from the High Council Meeting, and he was removing the artifacts that he was carrying with him. "I am sorry Arthur, if only I was more careful with the executive board this-," Sylvie was speaking but stopped as Arthur ced a hand on her shoulder. "It''s fine, we can take a few losses, it''s not like the whole Abyss Corporation will fall just because of this," Arthur said. Arthur turned around, and his eyes turned cold as he opened his phone and looked at the list that had been delivered to him just now. "Take care of them, even if they are outside Somaria, I want their heads," Arthur said as he looked at the members of Greyhounds that were standing. The two SS Rank Hunters, with the other S Rank Hunters, disappeared as they went out. The list contained the names of the people that betrayed Abyss Corporation and ran away from Somaria. Abyss Guild and Abyss Corporation were both pirs that supported the Greville Family, but they lost the monopoly over mana crystals that they had, and Williams Family was allowed to operate in Somaria and other continents as they agreed to lower the prices of mana crystals. It was a huge loss for Abyss Corporation, but it wasn''t something that could shake the foundations of the Greville Family. *** Days went by, as the End Year Examination was near, but there was a sudden announcement that surprised many students. "Due to the overumtion of mana around the artifact, we are dying the opening of Trials Ground for 4 months," Arman announced. It was abined decision of the whole faculty council. The gates of the Trials Ground needed a lot of mana to activate, and the opening period could only pushed back by 4 months and anythingter than that, the runes wouldn''t activate. And once the Trials Ground opened, it would not open until the next year. It was supposed to open right after the End Year Tournament, but due to the over fluctuations of mana, Farnus decided to push the dates. But strangely enough, the second-year students who were unhappy with the dy got happy as an educational trip was nned topensate the students. It was a trip to Halcyon, which was exciting for a lot of students as it was a very closed continent. The trip was only for the Second Year Students who would be third years after the End Year Tournament. But it was still many months ahead and the early announcement didn''t rify anything else. "Isn''t it good that we can have a fun trip to ourselves, after the Tournament," Elena stretched her hands. "Yeah, it will be great for you as well Amelia, let''s have some fun after it," Elena looked at Amelia. Amelia nodded at her. Kevin wasn''t present as he was meeting with Raelyn who had just visited the World Academy afterpleting her missions as a Fourth Year. But Amelia''s mood wasn''t that great as things were not that good for the Greville Family as a new product took over the market that pushed Abyss Corporation back. It was from a newpany that was made by Leonard Tarvian and Reece Williams. A potion that could increase the strength of a Hunter, something that could help in Dungeon Raids, and it was much cheaper than buying an artifact and was avable inrge quantities. Amelia didn''t know everything about what was happening as Sylvie and Arthur didn''t tell her much. There wasn''t much she could do to solve it, but she rxed as Elena and Eva talked with her. ''I guess, I can depend on them,'' Amelia thought in her head. "By the way, I have some work you guys go ahead," Elena said looking at Amelia and Eva. "Okay," Amelia replied. Elena exited the building as she went toward the Outer Sector in a particr ce. She arrived there and entered the building, she looked at the seats in the corner and went there and sat down. "Your expressions says that you don''t like this meeting too much," The young man in front of her said with a smile. "What do you need?" Elena asked with a frown on her face. "Calm down, Young Lady of the Rothschild Family, I have helped you, so it''s your time to return the favor," he said. "I will help you once, but if things don''t go as nned, don''t think that being the Son of World Association Chairman would help you much," Elena replied. "Ease down, little Kevin would be upset if he knew his best friend has a side like this," Leonard said with a sly smile on his face. "Don''t you dare bring Kevin into this," Elena''s mana started fluttering. Leonard kept smiling but after a moment his smile went away. "I guess someone isn''t good with jokes, but anyway, this is what I need you to do," Leonard said as he passed a perfectly square piece of metal to Elena. "This contains all the information that you need, if you have any doubt, you can contact me through Jack, or Gavin Neville," Leonard said as he stood up. "You get what you want, I get what I want, and we both go on our ways, isn''t that perfect?" Leonard muttered as he went out. Elena took the piece of metal, put it inside her pocket and stood up. Chapter 424 Trap of Memories IX - Rising

Chapter 424 Trap of Memories IX - Rising

424 Trap of Memories IX - Rising "So your brother is joining next year?" Asher asked. "Yeah, but he wants to focus on researching so he will join the Potion Crafting ss just like you," Damian replied. Both of them were standing in the training room. "Father didn''t like it that he doesn''t want to trainbat arts but Nate isn''t the one to give up easily," Damian said with a smile. Asher observed Damian as he looked at him. "What?" Damian asked with a confused look. "Nothing," Asher shook his head. "Ohe on, now I am curious," Damian whined but Asher resumed his training. These days, it was hard to see Damian outside doing anything else than training. Due to his role, it was hard to practice alone so Damian would ask Asher to practice with him. "Your ss will start soon, right? I will go roam around for a bit," Damian said as he put the shield down. Asher nodded as Damian went out. Suddenly the bright look on Damian''s face, became dull as he walked outside the Rankers Dorms. The schedule of each ss was different for the Second Year Students, apart from themon sses like Sword Art, or Mage Art, theory sses would often be held for each ss separately. Asher wiped the sweat off his face, as he used the shower after a while wore the uniform and went out for the ss. When Asher entered the ss, everyone averted their eyes and ignored him. While Kevin, Elena, and Eva nced at him once and ignored him like the other students. Due to the way this ss was structured, other students didn''t interact with Asher at all so to avoid being in the bad eyes of the two of the Seven Seats. Kevin and his group didn''t shy away from showing that they didn''t like Asher, so it was obvious who the students would side with. Asher didn''t care about such things, as he took the seat in the back. He opened his ID Bracelet, to check out things in his schedule, as saw a personing towards him. "Can we have a talk?" The person said. Asher looked up, and it was Kevin. "What''s happening?" "Are they fighting?" Many students turned their heads, but Kevin was still looking at Asher. "Why?" Asher asked. "I will exin it to youter, let''s have a conversation after this ss," Kevin said. Just now, the Professor entered the ss and Kevin noticed it and went back to his seat. The ss proceeded and ended without an issue, and Kevin stood up and pointed at Asher toe outside. Although as unbothered or unconcerned as Asher might have been, he never backed down from a challenge. Kevin was waiting in the hallway while Elena and Eva stood as guards to make sure no students in their ss bothered them. "Do you know, your actions cause so much worry for Amelia?" Kevin looked at Asher. His attitude changed, as an expression of anger was evident on his face. "Why do you care?" Asher asked. "Why do I care? I am her friend and someone who wants to support her," Kevin replied. "Friend....so? Why should I care?" Asher countered. "Hahaha, I knew it!" Kevin looked at Asher. "How could even call yourself her brother, I guess you are really insecure that she would take your little Heir position?" Kevin spoke. "Is that what she told you to say?" Asher asked. "Huh? No!" Kevin immediately answered. "Do you think Amelia would ever say that to your face, unlike you she cares about her family," Kevin said. Kevin knew that Amelia didn''t like confronting Asher about things, and he took her actions as hesitation. "I am just here to say one thing, don''t bother Amelia anymore," Kevin said while staring at Asher. "Because if you do, you will make your enemy," Kevin said. Asher looked straight at Kevin, with an unbothered expression. It wasn''t the first time, Kevin had an argument with him. There were many people who wanted to create problems for the Heir of the Greville Family who had awakened just before joining the academy, assuming that Asher was weak, and the way that Asher handled them, didn''t sit well with Kevin. "Do what you want, and if she has a problem, she cane herself," Asher said as he turned around to leave. "It''s not Amelia who has a problem, it''s you that creates all the problems hanging around that Garcia''s Girl," Kevin shouted as Asher kept walking. "No wonder, with your personality, you hang around such ugly people," Kevin said with an irritated look on his face. He didn''t like the fact how unbothered Asher would always be, and time and time again due to their social standing Kevin couldn''t outright deal with Asher. Hearing, Kevin''s words Asher stopped and turned around. "Hah? Did thatment about your personality angered you?" Kevin asked with a smirk on his face. "Did I say anything wrong? The way you treat other students, and abuse your status, I would say Amelia is 100 times more qualified to be the Heir than you," "Unlike you, she actually shows concern about other students, even in the Seven Seats she is constantly working-," Kevin was working as he stopped as Asher''s killing intent started pouring out. Those words were enough to bring out Asher''s killing intent as he felt annoyed and in that split second, he allowed his madness toe out of him. Elena and Eva also got defensive while Kevin frowned as he channeled his mana. This was the first time, they had seen such a reaction from Asher, who always maintained an emotionless face. It was enough to surprise even Kevin who got ready to face Asher''s attack. ''I will not back down, if it''s for Amelia,'' Kevin thought as he looked ahead. Elena saw the look in Kevin''s eyes and started channeling her mana as well. Asher looked around him, as he took back his killing intent and walked toward Kevin. "If you are so concerned about Amelia, bring her in front of me, and say the same words," Asher said. "Don''t project your ideals around, and expect others to follow them," Asher said. "And for your words, do I take them as a challenge from the Whiteheart Family?" Asher asked. Kevin frowned as he realized that in hindsight he might have taken things too far. Looking at Kevin''s reaction, Asher turned around to leave as Elena and Eva stepped back and let Asher leave. "Kevin, I told you talking with him wouldn''t make things any better," Elena went toward Kevin who was clenching his fist. "But Elena, don''t you see how troubled Amelia is by all this, and the root of those problems, isn''t it him," Kevin said. "Still, you shouldn''t openly say certain words, Kevin," Eva spoke out. "Your words can even lead to create animosity between two families," Eva said. "My bad, I got carried away," Kevin scratched his neck. "And if Amelia needs our help, we will help her, let''s not get involved with this guy," Elena added. This whole scenario happened after Kevin had a conversation with Amelia yesterday and Elena wanted to stop him, but she couldn''t in the end. "Yeah, sorry again," Kevin apologized. "It''s fine Kevin, you wanted to do something good for Amelia," Elena said. "But there are some people you can''t reason with," She added. "And let''s not do this in front of other students," Eva said. "It will only create unnecessary rumors," "Unlike that guy, let''s not ruin our reputation," Kevin nodded, as he could understand that his actions right now might have been a bit abrupt. "You guys go ahead, I have some work to do," Elena said. "Ok," Eva said as Kevin and Eva went ahead. Elena''s smile faded as she looked back and clenched her fist. "How dare he show his killing intent toward Kevin," Elena felt angry. But during that conversation, Elena found it odd that never before had Asher reacted like this whenever Kevin confronted him or said anything. But this time, he did and for Elena, it seemed weird. "He told me to report anything out of the ordinary," Elena muttered. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. Chapter 425 Trap of Memories X - Envy

Chapter 425 Trap of Memories X - Envy

425 Trap of Memories X - Envy "HAAAH!" Damian shouted as he blocked the monster''s attack. Sam quickly moved past him and swirled his spear removing the hand of the monster. SLAM! Damian pushed the monster into the wall, as he stepped aside letting the ice spear impale the monster. Alyssa, who was falling from the air, stopped just above the ground as Asher caught her. Alyssa maintained her bnce, and she nced at Asher. "Thanks," she said. "It''s fine, you can rest for now," Asher said. "Are we taking a break?" Damian asked. "Yeah," Asher replied. Sam nodded as he sat on one of the rocks while Asher took out the potions to give them to Alyssa. ''Is this the same Asher Greville?'' Sam thought in his head. The first impression of Asher that Sam had was of a ruthless and indifferent person, that matched the personality of those that hailed from the Greville Family. But the person in front wasn''t like that at all. Others couldn''t notice it that much as pretty as Asher wasn''t a very social person, but Sam who was in their team could notice it. Damian on the other hand could notice it, but he was happy that Asher wasn''t too emotionless like in the past. After a few more hours of hunting and taking breaks, Asher stopped all of them. "This should be enough for today, we can leave now," He said. "I will go ahead with her, you can take these monsters," Asher added as Sam and Damian nodded. They distributed the profits from the monster hunts they did as an equal share for all four of them. While Asher and Alyssa went ahead, Sam and Damian were taking the monsters'' corpses inside their storage rings. "Aren''t you worried about him?" Sam spoke up. "About what?" Damian looked a bit surprised as Sam wasn''t a person who would interact with them too much. And because it didn''t bother their teamwork, they let Sam do his thing. "About her, from what I can see, they seem more like friends than mere teammates," Sam said while adjusting the ring on his hand. Damian face changed as he got more serious, he might look or act silly, but he was aware of his and Asher''s social positions. Sam noticed the look. He had long since noticed that Damian Seymour wasn''t an idiot, or a simple person either. The only person who acted closely with Asher Greville, there had to be something that made him different. "Take my word or not, it''s not good for him if he gets too friendly with her," Sam said. Was it guilt, or something else Sam wanted to say it once. He didn''t say anything else after that as both of them quietly collected all they needed and went out. But Sam''s words were still on Damian''s mind. "I guess, I am just happy that isn''t his old self anymore," Damian muttered. Being with him for so many years, Damian knew what young Asher was like. A person that was disconnected from the rest of the world, all alone. And Damian was just happy to see a change in Asher''s emotionless eyes. What he couldn''t do as a friend, was done by someone else. "I don''t care if it''s her who can help him, I will just support him," Damian shrugged his shoulders as he disregarded the thoughts in his head. As he was walking toward the Rankers Dorm, he stopped as he noticed Amelia and Kevin''s group exiting the dorm. Things were still awkward between him and Amelia, but Damian forced a smile on his face as he went ahead. Amelia noticed him, as she was on her way to the Mage ss, and saw Damian wave a hand at her at a distance. "Quick Amelia, if we gette, Professor Elsa will deduct our marks," Elena said as she pulled her hand. "Oh-Yeah, let''s go," Amelia stuttered for a bit but she knew that they were alreadyte so she went with them as she made a small wave gesture. Damian saw them leave and soon the smile on his face faded as he went inside the dorm. "I guess, both of them are happy," Damian muttered as he stretched his hands. Soon came the time for the End Term Tournament, and just before it was about to start, Asher and Alyssa werepleting their research report for this term. "Cough, Cough," Alyssa coughed as she felt pain all over her body. "Sorry," Alyssa said as she took a deep breath and drank another potion. Due to the constant use of magic, her health was deteriorating, and she could feel it. "Can you give up on the rankings this time?" Asher asked. Alyssa looked at him. "I don''t think it will do any good to go too far, it will only harm your body more," Asher said as his eyes glowed red. He was using his bloodline ability to see the constant disruption of mana flow around Alyssa. As he was growing more efficient in controlling his bloodline ability, Asher could see how messy the mana flow of Alyssa was in reality. "I-I cannot," Alyssa hesitated at first but said it. "I see," Asher replied. "I have waited long for these opportunities," Alyssa said. "If I give up now, I will be betraying myself," Alyssa said looking at Asher. She knew what Asher meant by saying those words. Asher wanted Alyssa to give up on her revenge, but she simply couldn''t. The pain she had felt, the pain she had endured. Her entire life would be meaningless if she gave up. She clenched her fist because there was a part of her that didn''t want to let go of thefort and peace she found with Asher. Both of them stayed silent as theypleted their reports as Asher constantly used his bloodline ability to suppress Alyssa''s mana. It was a thing he started doing to stop the constant disruption of Alyssa''s mana. *** End Year Tournament was a week away, as all the Fourth Years returned to the World Academy. "So, what did you notice till now?" Leonard asked as he removed the suit he was wearing. "He is strong, I don''t think he is below me or even Matthew," Sam added as he looked at Matthew who was standing there as well. Matthew frowned as he didn''t think that Asher was stronger than him. He felt a bit insulted that someone who had awakened two years ago would overtake him. "I see and what about the second thing," Leonard asked. "They appear to be friends," Sam said. "Hmm, who would have thought?" Leonard smiled as he looked out the window. "And here I was thinking of a way to trap him, and he created a hole for himself, hahaha," Leonardughed. Everyone else in the room stayed silent, as they were too scared of Leonard Tarvian. Not only he was the strongest student currently in the World Academy, but all of them were also afraid of Leonard Tarvian. Not a single person present here wasn''t in Leonard''s hand already. Just like Sam, and Matthew the others couldn''t even think of betraying him. For Sam, he couldn''t betray Jack or Leonard even if he wanted to, so he didn''t even think of redacting any information. "Isn''t this funny," Leonard looked around the room. "Jack, start the n," Leonard nced at Jack. "Ok," Jack smiled and nodded. "And you can go now," Leonard looked at Sam. "About our deal-," Sam said but he stopped midway as Jack grabbed him by his throat. "Look at this bastard, you think you can have a deal with us?" Jack grabbed his throat. Sam couldn''t breathe as Jackughed at his misery. Because everyone here present was loyal to Leonard, Jack didn''t have to worry about news spreading out. "You aren''t in a situation to negotiate, just listen and do your job," Jack said as he let go of Sam who fell on his knees. Jack leaned a bit. "Don''t forget, how you behave will increase the number of days your mother lives," Jack whispered as Sam kept coughing on the ground. "Take this guy out of here," Jack said as Leonard just kept looking out of the window. "And tell n and Gavin toe meet me," Jack instructed them as they were grabbing Sam. Leonard turned toward Matthew as he walked closer to him. "I heard you lost a spar against Asher Greville?" Leonard asked. "That, he caught me off guard!" Matthew replied. "Hmm, I see," Leonard put his hand on Matthew''s shoulder. "I dislike useless people, so try hard not to be one of them," Leonard patted his shoulder as he turned around to leave the room. Chapter 426 Trap of Memories : DANGER

Chapter 426 Trap of Memories : DANGER

426 Trap of Memories : DANGER THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The sound of a heartbeat echoed in a dark space where Asher was witnessing the memories in front of him. "Hey, Ash!" "Your arrogance knows no bounds, Asher Greville!" "Don''t think you can take the first position from me this time!" "Why are you associating yourself with that Garcia girl?" "...." "I-Isn''t it better to give up on me?" Voices kept repeating as Asher''s body in this dark space was slowly turning ck. He was overwhelmed by the memories as he couldn''t suppress them anymore. And the effect of this could be seen by the Overseer himself, as the memories started distorting. "Hmm, is this his limit?" He questioned. The memories stored in the system started fluctuating as the Overseer tried to maintain the bnce, but he couldn''t interfere as he didn''t have control over the System. Rifir was only a medium that allowed the overseer to connect to the system, but it was Asher who was the owner of the system. If the Overseer wanted, he could lessen the burden on Asher allowing him to continue watching these memories, but he didn''t stop it. The world that the overseer was witnessing was slowly shaking. The Trials once began never stopped. Be defeated or conquer your trials! There was no third option. It was the rules that the overseer himself followed. "If you can''t prevail, this is your end," The overseer said as he witnessed the world of memories crumble. In the dark mental space where Asher''s consciousness was confined, he opened his eyes as they started glowing. He looked at the memories, he heard the voices, and he felt the excruciating pain. [ Host''s mental state is crumbling! ] A system notification popped up, that couldn''t be seen by anyone. It was the first time since Asher had increased his Intelligence stats that such a thing had happened. [ Host''s mental state is crumbling! ] The Rune of Eirdin, couldn''t be stopped as the memories kept popping up, but for some reason, Asher''s killing intent starteding out of his body. Even when he was in deep slumber, his killing intent was increasing. [ Rune of Eirdin can''t be stopped ] The System started disying warnings, that went unseen. Suddenly, the mana that was invading Asher''s body became still as his bloodline ability activated passively. His body started absorbing the mana, as he used his bloodline ability. Neither Asher nor the Overseer noticed it, but Asher''s body was absorbing the mana as a ck tattoo appeared on his arms. *** "WELCOME TO THE END YEAR TOURNAMENT!!" The crowd cheered as they were excited. Farnus was sitting with Osbert Tarvian and Silvus Grandus who was present as well because his grandkids were about to enter the World Academy. Farnus had previously requested Silvus to dy the admission of the Grandus twins by a year. The reason for that dy was unknown as Silvus took Farnus''s words about how he wanted some time more to create a good atmosphere for this special ss. But now that the Grandus Twins were here, Silvus was also attending this tournament as a guest. Matches started with various students performing their best, and among them were the new first-year students as well. There wasn''t anyone exceptional in the first-year students this time, unlike the second-year students who had many students from the Elite Families. Despite being the start of the End Year Tournament, Asher was present at the Faculty Council building as Professor Fernando called him for some reason. "I am not sure about these documents, your research is decent, but I don''t think this is practical," Fernando said. "I can''t grade this report, because the form you have formed ispletely new, and there could be side effects or a chain of problems that this can cause," Fernando picked up the document and ced it on the shelf. "I don''t know where you got ideas to do this stuff, but please don''t take after your senior Vin Hargrave, his crazy research and forms are already giving me headaches so please don''t stray far off from the conventional methods," Fernando was annoyed. Asher''s research was something that didn''t follow any conventional methods and it used a lot of poisonous herbs and drugs. "If you want evidence, I can test it on myself," Asher proposed. "Please don''t, I will be honest, this subject is not for people like you," Fernando said looking directly at Asher. "Vin Hargrave is not in a prominent spot in his family, but things are different for you, just focus on other useful subjects, because I honestly don''t want to be med for any problems that you may create," Fernando said with a frown on his face. "Redo the reports before the start of the next semester, I will not grade this," Fernando gave his final verdict. "You have your trip soon, so you will get a week or more toplete it, just give me something conventional, and I will grade it with your situation in mind," Fernando said. He was being lenient on Asher because of his status even if he liked it or not. Asher was already causing problems since the rumors about him, and Alyssa started spreading as it was Fernando who was being pressured to make Asher leave this ss. "Please, take a look at all the previous reports I have ced outside, don''t go before going through them, your matches will begin tomorrow, so you have a lot of free time today," Fernando said as Asher left his room. While Asher was stuck reading the reports, Alyssa was exiting the Rankers Dorm when she was stopped by a certain someone. Wearing the ck Uniform, and the badge of one of the new Seven Seats, with her long ck hair and pair of red crimson eyes that Alyssa had grown ustomed to seeing. It was Amelia Greville who was standing outside the Rankers Dorm. "Do you have a moment?" Amelia asked with a serious look on her face. Alyssa nodded, with an emotionless look as Amelia pointed her to follow her to the side. "I am here to tell you one thing, stay away from my brother," Amelia said as she looked directly at Alyssa. From the look of her eyes, Alyssa could feel the hatred, as she had seen those types of gazes a lot in her entire life. "I don''t care what your motives are, but don''t think that you can use the name of the Greville family as a shield to protect yourself," Amelia said with a frown on her face. "I am not using him," Alyssa retorted. Her tone was cold, as her eyes looked directly at Amelia. Suddenly the mana around them started rising as Amelia stared at her. "Don''t take my words lightly, I don''t what he sees in something like you, but consider this a warning, stay away from him," Amelia warned her. "Why not say that to him?" Alyssa asked. Amelia''s frown grew deeper as Alyssa noticed another personing around from a corner with long blond hair and blue eyes, which made Alyssa''s gaze turn cold. "Don''t waste your time Amelia," Elena said out loud looking down at Alyssa. "Do you think someone from a family like hers would do anything good in her life," Elena said. Alyssa clenched her fist, but she stayed silent. "Let me take care of her," Elena said as she patted Amelia''s shoulder. "How much do you want?" Elena asked. Seeing Alyssa stay silent, Elena crossed her hands. "Are you deaf? How much do you want, you to be around him because of his status," Elena looked at Alyssa with a look of disgust. "Mind your words, Elena Rothschild," Alyssa spoke out causing Elena''s eyes to widen. "Look at this, and here I thought you were a coward who always tried to hide behind Asher Greville," Elena said. "Someone is looking for quite brave today," Elena said. "Do you think you are his friend or something, I don''t even know why someone would hang around something like you, but who knows he might find you interesting, people buy strange pets all the time for their enjoyment," Elena mocked Alyssa. Seeing the look in Alyssa''s eyes that could be seen through her mask. "Oh, don''t tell me you think of you like a friend or anything like that?" Elena said out loud. Alyssa stayed silent, but her mind was screaming out loud. She wanted to kill Elena right now, but she controlled herself as her outburst could lead to creating problems not only for her but for Asher as well. "No guy would find something as ugly as you are, interesting," Elena said. "Don''t be delusional thinking anything like that, the sight of you is enough to make someone puke, it makes me wonder how that guy even stays around you," Elena spoke out loud. Alyssa clenched her fist, as she looked down. She knew she wasn''t attractive, but her scars and burns were a reminder for her, a reminder for her revenge. But right now, she felt insulted. Part of her agreed that someone like her wasn''t suited to be with Asher. Strange emotions started to re up, as the screams inside her head kept insulting her. "Tsk, let''s not waste our time here Amelia," Elena said. "Consider this ourst warning, it''s you''re blessing that we were willing to talk with you overlooking the heinous crimes your familymitted," Elena said as both she and Amelia went past Alyssa leaving her there. A bit far from the Rankers Dorm, "Don''t think about that much Amelia, this is the only way to keep people like her away from your brother," Elena said. "But I will say it again, this problem will only be solved if your parents see the wrong here and make you the Heir instead of him," Elena added. "It''s fine Elena, they know better than me," Amelia replied. Elena squinted her eyes but changed them quickly as she put a smile on her face. Chapter 427 The Seed of Envy

Chapter 427 The Seed of Envy

427 The Seed of Envy "Is that all you wanted to know?" "Don''t worry your reward will be big, Professor Fernando," "Just keep him busy for a week," "I have given him enough work to keep him busy, but if hepletes that early I can''t do anything," "His results in academics is unheard of, even Eva Williams who is considered a prodigy is not on his level," "Professor Fernando, this wasn''t a request, I am sure you know," "..." "I am sure you know, that I am already busy with my uing project with Reece," Ping! A notification popped up in the ID Bracelet. "Well, I will leave you now," He said. Fernando looked at the door at the figure of Leonard Tarvian leaving his room as he grabbed his head. "What kind of mess have you made me fall in Professor Argas," Fernando muttered. *** Alyssa who was standing on the spot, with tears that were forming around her eyes, removed her mask and wiped those tears. The words that Elena spoke, highlighted her insecurity that she was running away from. The question she would ask herself many times. Why is he talking with me? Doesn''t he find me ugly? But she would never ask those questions out loud, she shut all these feelings, her insecurities while spending time with Asher. But many people would raise the same question, after all, Asher Greville was undoubtedly the most attractive person. Many peoplepared Kevin and Asher all the time, and the only reason Kevin won in such debates was because he was well-liked by the people. Inparison, Alyssa had no charm to present herself, and the hatred she gained from her connection to the Garcia Family, made people stay away from her. Alyssa was about to turn to leave when she noticed someone standing in front of her that had light blond hair and ck eyes. It was n Astaria, her half-brother who was standing there with a grin on his face. Alyssa''s eyes turned cold as she adjusted her mask. "Hoh, what do we have here!" n said out loud. "What do you want?" Alyssa asked. It wasn''t the first time n had confronted her, it had happened multiple times in their ssroom but it would stop at just insults while he would sometimes use his mana to hurt her. It was against the rules, but nobody in the ss stepped up for her, as for them it was something she deserved. Due to Alyssa''s health condition, n knew simply pressuring her with his mana would be painful for her. He had used that tactic to torture her since they were kids, and it didn''t stop even in the World Academy. "What do I want? Why would I need something from a b***h like you," n scoffed. "Didn''t you hear the message that Father sent you," n spoke. "Leave this World Academy, he will arrange some things for you to live a decent life or whatever," n said with a frown. "I am not leaving," Alyssa replied. "Didn''t he disown me already, I am not an Astaria anymore," Alyssa said. "Did you just ignore the words of Father?" n asked as he used his mana openly. Alyssa clenched her fist, as she gritted her teeth and beared the pain. "Yeah, what if we disown you? Do you think you deserve the riches of the Astaria Family?" n asked. "All of that belongs to me, and you are nothing but a stain that ruins the reputation of my family," "But we are having mercy on you, just leave the Academy, Father had arranged a good ce for you," n said. "And some doctor as well called Wagxon or whatever," n muttered. "Anyway, pack your things, and tell the Faculty Council you are leaving," n said. "I am not leaving," Alyssa muttered as she countered n''s mana using her own. n''s eyes went wide with surprise and soon that look of surprise turned into anger. "Did I hear those words correctly?" n asked. "I don''t belong to your family, they never helped me so why should I even listen to them?" Alyssa said. n''s face twisted as he increased the force of mana. He was breaking the rules of World Academy openly, he didn''t even care if anyone would see them. "Why should we even help you?" n said. "You should have been killed just like they killed your mother and her family," "Father made a mistake by even marrying a b***h like her," n said as Alyssa''s hand started shaking. "Oh, is someone angry? What can you do?" n mocked Alyssa. Alyssa''s head started hurting as screams in her head started getting louder. ''KILL HIM'' ''GET YOUR REVENGE'' ''KILL ALL OF THEM'' Her breathing became uneven, as n looked fed up. "You will be leaving World Academy is that clear?" n said. "....NO" Alyssa shouted. She broke n''s mana pressure as her eyes looked murderous. "So you will not leave willingly?" n smiled. He disappeared in front of her as he appeared just behind as he injected something in her neck. He used the hilt of his sword to hit her in the head, making Alyssa fall on the ground as she started losing consciousness. "Well, I gave you the choice, have fun resting, because the next year I will make you regret staying in this Academy," n said as Alyssa saw him crouching touching her wound. She could barely hear anything as her eyes were closing. Was it from the hit or the thing n injected she didn''t know? "....is this much blood enoug... or Leonard?" She barely heard what n was saying as she closed her eyes. Everything went ck for her as she opened her eyes and looked at the bright light in front of her eyes and the oxygen mask on her face. Her eyes went wide, as she felt a pain coursing through her body. "Use Mana Sealing Bracelets on her! Stop the Flow of the mana!" A voice shouted. "Monitor her heartbeat, her body is copsing!" It said. "Hey, you can''t enter in this room!" "I don''t care even if it''s someone from the Greville Family!" Alyssa was hearing voices but she couldn''t make sense of anything right now. ''What happened to me?'' ''Who are these people?'' Alyssa didn''t remember much as she felt weak and couldn''t feel her mana at all. She couldn''t lift her hand, and she could barely breathe as her body was shaking. But even with all the anesthetics, Alyssa''s body could still feel the pain due to the fact that her mana was all messed up affecting her mana heart. "Keeping her awake will hinder the procedure," A man spoke out. "There''s no other way, inform the concerned Professors about this, we can''t do anything now," The head doctor said. One of them headed out, as the door opened Alyssa, whose eyes were closing again saw a familiar pair of eyes that were looking directly. In a moment of panic, seeing those eyes, Alyssa calmed down as she fell unconscious. "Sorry, it seems her body had copsed due to her health conditions," The man who went out said to the doctors who were holding Asher back. "What happened?" Asher asked. "Ah, I-," "Just tell him," The doctor standing there gave the permission. Due to Asher''s status, they couldn''t just deny his request, and all of them didn''t want unnecessary trouble. "As you know, her body is already a mess she barely would live past 30, but it seems like she lost control of her mana during training," He spoke. "Lost control?" Asher frowned. "Umm, may I know why you are so concerned about that girl, isn''t she-," he said but he stopped. "Does that matter?" Asher asked with his eyes turned cold. "We received the alert from the security system of Rankers Dorm, we found her there," He replied. "We tried our best, but her recovery will take at least a week," he said. "I need to go inform Professor Argas about this, as he is in charge of the matches," Asher stepped aside, as the doctors told him politely to let them handle the process. While he went out, they were confused as to why the Heir of the Greville family was so concerned about Alyssa Astaria that they themselves weren''t happy to be treating her. If it wasn''t due to the mana oaths they took, they would have hesitated to give her proper treatment. Chapter 428 A Talent that...

Chapter 428 A Talent that...

428 A Talent that... "Isn''t he the one that awakened just before the start of the Academy?" "Why would they make someone like him a Heir?" "Isn''t his younger sister also a prodigy who is an augmenter?" A lot of murmurs were happening, as all the people of the various guilds talked but stopped as the people representing the Abyss Guild entered. They didn''t stop because it was just someone representing the Abyss Guild, but the person that hade today was a known figure. "Is that Emmy, the White Mist?" "The White Mist herself?" Emmy, who was the personal maid of Asher once was now assigned to lead the Greyhounds in the Abyss Guild. After the death of Hassan Trevino, and Nathaniel Von Greville, the bnce between the Abyss Guild and the Greyhounds wasn''t maintained properly. Although things remained in control as Arthur took over and made sure the bnce remained changes were made. Although the smaller guilds gave their respects to them, the other Four Big Guilds remained arrogant as Abyss Guild wasn''t the same now. Two years ago, the Abyss Guild was one of the most ferocious and strong guilds that was under the control of the Sword God, but after that many hunters of the Abyss Guild left to go outside Somaria. It was something bound to happen, as except for the Greyhounds, who were loyal to the Greville Family, Abyss Guild was a different matter. "Young Master is growing fast," Emmy muttered. She remembered it wasn''t long ago, Asher was behind all the students but he had caught up. But his achievement was outshined was someone else who stood out among all the students in the World Academy, and it was Kevin Whiteheart who was on the stage with a spear in his hand. "Rank B- already, it seems the future of the Whiteheart family is quite bright," One of the Guild representatives spoke. On the other hand, this made people ignore, the growth of Asher Greville who had already reached the C+ Rank. "Kamden Whiteheart would be enjoying this quite much," Osbert muttered. "That boy is indeed talented," Farnusmented. "For the World''s Strongest to say such a thing, I wonder what this boy will achieve in the future," Osbert smiled. Farnus observed Osbert''s reaction and stayed silent. Kevin wasn''t just famous for his talent, but it was the lightning attribute he possessed. It was an extremely rare element, and it was also the one the world''s strongest hunter possessed, and it made people say that Kevin was on the same path of the glory that Farnus Calmort walked on. There were even rumors about whether Farnus would take Kevin Whiteheart as his sessor in the future. Kevin''s sess in World Academy, attracted a lot of attention so much so that, many people started to make connections with the Whiteheart family. Many even called the Williams Head cunning for his move of engaging his son to Kamden''s daughter Raelyn, but they were just jealous that the Williams would prosper even more. It wasn''t just that caught people''s envy. The mana crystal mines that were under the Williams family made their standing among other Elite families even stronger. ''But that kid isn''t too bad either,'' Silvus thought to himself as looked at the person that was standing in the waiting area. It was Asher himself, and he got noticed by Silvus as he could see the man with his eyes, and it made him notice the stillness of mana around Asher. Such fine mana control was something that surprised Silvus and the fact that Asher had reached C+ Rank, was enough for the old mage to notice him. ''Didn''t he awaken just before enrolling here,'' Silvus thought. It was hard to believe such a growth could happen, but knowing the blood flowing through Asher''s veins, it was possible. But whatever the future held for Asher or the Greville family it was a matter that didn''t concern Silvus. Kevin got off stage, and Asher went up, he had an emotionless face but his eyes weren''t on the opponent. The fight began, as the student who was Rank 58 tried to charge at him, but Asher instantly closed the distance between them and countered his sword. ng! The boy lost his grip against Asher''s sheer strength, as Asher put his sword at his neck. "The Winner is Asher Greville," The referee announced as Asher quietly turned and went back. He wasn''t interested in the match all he wanted to do was finish his match and go back and see the condition of Alyssa. In the VIP Area, "Cade, are you going back already?" A man asked. "What happened Cade?" Another woman stood up. "Yeah, ke''s match hasn''t even begun yet," Another man spoke. They were the friends of Cade Cranston who hade to witness the End Year Tournament, but he suddenly said that he was going back to Fashia. "It''s a waste of time," Cade waved his hand as he went out. He was bored. "I guess he didn''t learn that Sword Art," Cade muttered. "Tsk," Cade clicked his tongue as he was annoyed. He wanted to prove his swordsmanship, but the one who he wanted to best had already left the world. Cade who was studying Nathaniel Greville''s sword art to counter it, could see that Asher hadn''t learned anything rted to it. All these duels meant nothing to him, who had lost the reason he was trying so hard. "Alyssa Astaria can''t duel so we have to remove her from the tournament," Professor Argas said. Asher was standing there as he wanted to know about it from Argas himself. "What will happen to her rank?" Asher asked. "She would probably drop to 30th Rank," Argas replied. "Professor Argas, we need to reinstall the barrier," A staff member came up. Argas nodded as he left the area, and Asher turned to leave. "It meant a lot for her," Asher muttered. He knew, what Alyssa tried to hide from him, the desire for her revenge, the burning hatred she buried deep inside her. But Asher didn''t want that, he knew that the more Alyssa would get closer to her revenge, the more distant she would be. "Isn''t it fine like this, I can protect her better," Asher questioned. Unaware of the hands plotting against him, all Asher wanted was to protect his peace. What he wanted since he was young, the reason for which he refused to grow stronger and betrayed his talent, the ''normal'' he wanted to be. He had found his conclusion, although still confused about what he felt. Selfish was he? To stop Alyssa from burning under her revenge, Asher started thinking of ns that he could use to manipte things ording to his way. *** "Excuse me, I can''t allow you to enter the medical ward like this," The Head doctor said. "Even if you are the Son of the World Association Chairman, doing something like this is just not possible," He said. "I see, but I received the Permission from Professor Argas," Leonard said. "But, we-," The Head doctor stuttered. Leonard Tarvian standing before him was an A Rank Hunter who was strong enough to injure Alyssa by using just his mana. "Don''t worry, it will be not me that will be meeting her," Leonard said. "Gavin, go and ask if there were any ''strange'' activities happening, or if this just happened due to her health conditions," Leonard smiled as Gavin who was standing beside him nodded. "Isn''t it fine now, Head Doctor?" Leonard asked. "But please, make sure to do everything under 5 minutes, I can''t allow a second above that even if this investigation is done under the order of one of the Seven Seats," He replied. The old doctor stepped aside, as Leonard watched Gavin enter the lift. "Thanks for your help, I will also leave now," Leonard said as he turned around. Leonard exited the medical facility as he started walking toward the outer sector. He pulled out a card with a red jewel in the center and he started flipping it around. Crack! Crack! Cracks started forming as the scenery changed Alyssa saw Gavin standing there. "Don''t you want your revenge?" Gavin said with a smile on his face. Alyssa frowned as she looked at Gavin who sat on a chair present in the room. "I know it was n Astaria who did this to you," Gavin said. Alyssa remembered her interaction with n and the fact she was in her condition because of him. "He did all that to remove you from the Tournament," Gavin said. "A pity, you would lose your ranker position without even being given a chance," Gavin mocked her. Alyssa tried to manifest her mana out of anger, but the bracelets around her wrists were blocking her from using mana. "You know, I hate n and the others, and you want your revenge right?" Gavin asked. .... After 3 minutes, Gavin stood up to leave as he looked back at Alyssa. "Remember, if Asher Greville got involved, his family''s reputation might plummet, worse case his parents would disown him," Gavin said as he left the room. Alyssa saw the door close as she clenched her fist. Chapter 429 Clash of Talents

Chapter 429 sh of Talents

429 sh of Talents The End Year Tournament continued as in theter days; the Rankers battle began. "Damian Seymour vs Amelia Greville," As the crowd cheered loudly, Damian stood there awkwardly as he didn''t expect to fight Amelia of all people. "Don''t go easy," Amelia said as she held her daggers. "Sigh, fine," Damian scratched the back of his head. After the awkward moments between them, Damian didn''t expect to have a confrontation like this. It was certainly not a scenario he wanted, but it happened so he prepared to fight. Amelia took the first chance as did multiple augmentations in the start that surprised many of the spectators that were of high rank. Multiple augmentation required a lot of skill, and she did all of it in a few seconds. Summoning multiple fireballs, Amelia rained them down at Damian who dodged and blocked them. But despite doing all that, his eyes were on Amelia. Unlike a normal mage, Amelia used both closebat and physically augmenting herself. Her precise control over her mana, and the fact that she was skilled enough to make Damian watch out for her. "Don''t worry, Amelia is going to be fine," Kevinmented in the Rankers VIP Room. "He isn''t strong enough to defeat her," Kevin said. All four of them had trained a lot as they were in the same team so they knew that Amelia was powerful. Although she acted like a support, herbat ability was high as well. Just by having Amelia on their team, Kevin''s team always grabbed the first spot. But as the fight progressed, Amelia grew even more frustrated as Damian kept the same pace. "Fight seriously!" Amelia said as she swung her dagger. Damian mmed his shield on the growth causing a shockwave and dashed towards her as he threw his shield at her. Amelia''s vision got blocked as a kick emerged from her left and she used wind magic to propel her backwards, barely dodging Damian''s strike as Damian grabbed his shield mid-air. His handling of the shield was impressive for a lot of Hunters who were watching this match. "He is a good tanker," "His awareness is good as well." Peopleplimented Damian, but others also acknowledged that Amelia was strong as well for a supporter against Damian and taking control of the flow. It was an extremely hard thing to do. Damian noticed cracks at his feet as he jumped in the air, and he saw multiple wind des propel towards him. He used his aura to brace the impact, but Amelia''s spell wasn''t weak either. He got a cut on his arm, despite his dding himself in aura. Amelia clenched her fist, as she dashed at Damian. "You are being too reckless, Amelia," Damian muttered as he blocked her strike with his shield. Amelia didn''t reply and kept striking again and again. Each strike would push Damian back by a thread but the barrage of attacksing were extremely fast and precise. "Amelia Greville is the winner!" The Referee announced as Amelia stopped and realized she had pushed Damian outside the boundary. Many people cheered for Amelia, as Damian stored his shield in his storage ring, and looked at Amelia who turned away in anger and left the stage. Damian sighed as he also turned and left the stage. Amelia clenched her fist as she went toward her waiting room, she was pissed because she knew that Damian didn''t fight her to his full potential. "Do I look weak in his eyes?" Amelia was unhappy. But as one Greville stepped off the stage, another stepped up, and against him was Sam Allister. He swung his spear in the air as Sam walked on the stage, his eyes looked dull as he stared at Asher. Sam was confident but at the same time, he raised his eyebrows as he noticed the look on Asher''s face. ''He is not focused,'' Sam concluded but it was odd to him. Being in Asher''s team for so long he knew that out of all students in the World Academy, the concentration and focus Asher showed was iparable. But it didn''t matter to him, just like Asher wasn''t motivated to win, it was the same for Sam. The duel started as Sam raised the earth below the foot of Asher who moved to the side. Sam charged while changing the terrain around him as he appeared near Asher. In the whole academy, after Kevin, Sam was considered the best with the spear, even gathering Farnus''s attention. He stood in the higher ranks among the rankers, some even said that if Sam Allister wanted, he could rival Matthew. There was no way of knowing, because Sam didn''t care about his rank much, as he knew trying too hard to stand out would only trouble him, and his purpose. Sam raised the ground and vines started erupting, his style of fighting was focused on limiting the movement of his opponent. Sam had observed Asher for a long time so he was confident that he could win. Asher who was stepping back, saw a vine erupt as Sam used the rising earth below his foot to propel himself toward Asher and attack him. It was a calcted, but Asher whose eyes were on the vines slipped past as Sam frowned. ''What kind of movement is this?'' Sam thought. As he saw Asher move to his side and swung his sword downward toward him. ng! Sam stopped the sword using his spear, but he felt the aura around his spear weakening. ''What is this?'' Sam questioned. He suspected that Asher might have a strange artifact on him, but it was Asher''s ck sword that was doing that. ng! ng! ng! Asher struck the sword in multiple causing Sam to parry all the attacks hurriedly. As Sam was not a mage, using his mana to alter the ground around him took time, but it was impossible to do when his mind was focused on Asher''s movement. He had never seen such a sharp movement from Asher, it was something he didn''t consider Asher could do. Even the crowd was surprised to see Asher going against Sam Greville equally. But what they failed to notice was that Asher had already taken the upper hand from Sam. He was being pushed back as he felt the strength of Asher, which was slightly higher than him. Asher had reached the C+ Rank, and his speed was fast considering the fact he awakened muchter than his peers and it took time for the mana core to stabilize after awakening. But Sam could feel that they weren''t equal, Asher slowly started overpowering him, and Sam gritted his teeth and tried to push back. But he felt his hands slip as Asher attacked his elbow with a kick and used that opening to use the same foot and kick him in his guts. It was painful, as Sam raised his aura even more but before he could regain his footing properly, he looked at the ck sword that was pointed at his neck. Sam stopped as he lowered his spear, and the Referee looked at both of them. "The Winner is Asher Greville," He announced. Sam and Asher both turned to leave as they went their ways, but this didn''t help the crowd of students who were shocked. A Rank 8 Ranker, winning against Rank 5, was something that no one expected to happen. The match was supposed to go in Sam''s favor. "I guess, he wasn''t showing everything when we hunted together," Sam muttered. Losing didn''t sit right with him, but he didn''t let the loss get to him. He knew whether he lost or won would create problems for him as a certain brother of his didn''t like it when Sam got a lot of attention. "Maybe, losing here was better," Sam muttered. "He might even go further," Sam thought. And just as he thought, Asher defeated his next opponents as well in a simr way. First was Elena Rothschild who lost to Asher as he used his movement art and her barrage of magic to create an opening and put his sword on her neck. And the next person to get defeated was Matthew. CLANG! The sword dropped on the stage Matthew looked at the tip of the sword pointed at him. ''So that wasn''t a fluke,'' Matthew thought. Right now, even using his aura and all his strength, Matthew still lost to Asher and the whole crowd was shocked. They couldn''t believe the person who wasn''t even a ranker in the First Year was going to the finals to fight against the current Rank 1, Kevin Whiteheart. And that person himself couldn''t believe it. Kevin frowned as he looked at the stage. ''How did he get stronger?'' Kevin thought. Kevin had fought against Matthew so he knew Rank 2 wasn''t someone that could be easily defeated. "Well doesn''t matter, your streak of wins ends now," Kevin said. The match was about to begin, the Final Match between Kevin Whiteheart and Asher Greville. Chapter 430 Fall and Rise - I

Chapter 430 Fall and Rise - I

430 Fall and Rise - I "KEVIN!!" "KEVIN!!" "WHITEHEART FOR THE WIN!!" Loud cheers took over the stage as Kevin stepped on the stage as his eyes stared at the pair of crimson in front of him. A year ago, nobody would havepared these two together as Kevin was on another level, but shockingly, the Rank 8 Ranker was standing against Rank 1. First against Sam Allister, then defeating Elena Rothschild, and then going against Matthew, nobody imagined that Asher Greville would be the one standing in the final. Kevin was surprised and a bit unhappy that someone like Asher was growing strong so quickly. ''Is he trying to gain attention so that Amelia can''t overtake him,'' Kevin frowned. ''A person like you doesn''t deserve to be the heir,'' Kevin said to himself as he gripped his spear tightly. Despite Asher''s performance in the previous matches, this match waspletely different. Kevin Whiteheart was the Rank 1 student, and someone who had already be a B- Rank Hunter. Kevin was way ahead of everyone in the Second Year, and his confidence was justified. "You must be happy to stand here," Kevin said as he pointed his spear toward Asher. Asher didn''t reply as he took out his sword. He didn''t show but Asher was a bit tired with all the matches he had fought till now. It was something that he didn''t do before, but right now Asher was trying to stand out as much as possible. But the opponent before him wasn''t someone who could be defeated easily, much less by someone who wasn''t even on the same rank as him. Kevin''s lightning attribute drained a lot of his energy when he used it, but in return, his senses and speed became much superior to someone on the same level as him. In closebat, Kevin was the worst type of opponent someone could face as the lightning attribute around him not only would increase his strength but would act as a shield and would hurt the attacker as well. It was a perfect offense and defense if one could master the lightning attribute, that''s why Farnus was considered the strongest hunter because he made his spear art that allowed him to create distance between himself and his enemy while also allowing him to close that distance anytime. All advanced attributes were strong enough that people who had their affinity were trained preciously so that their talents could be used properly. Inparison, Asher who simply had an affinity with the ck element, and a few other elements, didn''t look like a person who could go against even other rankers. But what made him different was his bloodline, the Greville Bloodline which was considered one of the strongest bloodlines that allowed Asher to use mana to his will. Efficiency is something that a person would slowly learn over time, and it was part of the growth of a hunter. A step that took other years, was something that the Greville were innately gifted. This was what the high-ranking hunters, like Silvus and Osbert, were thinking. Unlike the students who were stunned by Asher''s performance, they could see the precise movements and mastery over his sword that allowed Asher to gain the upper hand. But what caught their eyes was Asher''s battle sense, something that allowed a person to carefully read his opponents and his surroundings mid-fight. "I guess him having an S Rank Bloodline ability wasn''t just a rumor," "Makes sense, I guess having a bloodline ability truly increases your strength," There were many opinions regarding Asher, but all of them concluded that possessing the S Rank Bloodline Ability, his talent wasn''t a joke. Asher''ste awakening created an image of a weak person who wasn''t suited to be a hunter. After all, in other''s eyes Asher just seemed like a coward that was too scared to enter the world of Hunters. The referee raised his hand and looked at both Asher and Kevin. "Start!!" He shouted as Kevin brought out his aura calmly. Unlike others, Kevin remained calm as he didn''t consider Asher a threat to him. Asher pointed his de at the ground spreading his mana sense, against an opponent stronger and faster than him, relying on his eyesight alone was foolish. So, he decided to use the one thing that he was best at in the whole academy and that was the ability to sense the mana around him. Something that was greatly amplified by the Rank S bloodline ability. ''I will show everyone how unworthy you are,'' Kevin swung his spear in the air. He pointed it at the ground and made tiny sparks of lightning appear on the stage. Suddenly, the aura around Kevin changed as sparks started to wrap around him. Lightning aura is the one thing that solidified Kevin''s Rank 1 position, among all the Second year. Even Matthew who was Rank 2, knew there was a big gap between him and Kevin. And those thoughts were justified as using lightning aura so effectively made Kevin worthy of the title of the greatest talent of this generation. The sh of these two continued as Kevin was effectively dodging the strange attacks that Asher would do. In all the fights, he had seen Asher use a unique movement technique, so he thought of a counter for Asher, and it was using the lightning spark on the stage as signals that would alert him of the change in movement that Asher could do. Asher''s eyes were following Kevin as he noticed the sparks beneath him. ''Should I?'' Asher thought in his head. The whole time in World Academy, Asher didn''t care much about ranks, or showcasing his strength as he didn''t want any attention from him. Unlike Kevin, whose smallest actions would catch the attention of the entire academy, and someone who would openly use his charisma to gather followers. Kevin was a perfect example of what an Heir to the Elite Family was expected to do. Kevin was aware of the expectations for him, and the burden of carrying the name of his family. He practiced hard and became the Rank 1 Student and started bing popr inside and outside the World Academy. He had poured all his efforts into lifting the name of his family, which was considered the weakest Elite Family even further. That''s why, he disliked Asher, who didn''t seem like a proper Heir to him. The fact he was given the position just because he was older, didn''t sit right with Kevin. In his eyes, Asher had robbed Amelia of her deserved position and made no effort to behave like an actual heir. Asher''sck of consideration towards other students that tried to provoke him, caused bad rumors about him to spread. And thest straw for Kevin was when Asher became acquainted with Alyssa. Out of all people, he chose the one that would garner a lot of hate toward the Greville Family due to his actions. Unworthy and Ungrateful were the two things that Kevin thought about Asher. ¡­ But was it correct? Was it just Kevin''s infatuation that made him think of Asher like that? But whatever the answer was, it didn''t matter. The pieces were set, and the traps were ready. "I guess little Whiteheart is better than you," Leonard Tarvian muttered. A smile crept on his face, as he saw the obvious result of the duel. Kevin rotated his body as he allowed the sparks to flow through his body and wrap around his spear. Each time Asher''s de collided with it, he would feel burns on his fingers. Asher''s aura countered any extra damage, so he wasn''t feeling numb, but it was getting hard to push Kevin back. Their aura shed, but it was obvious that Kevin had the advantage over Asher. Asher was using more of his energy to make sure he didn''t get damaged by the passive effects of Kevin''s aura. The difference in mana between a C+ Rank Hunter and a B- Rank Hunter was big enough to make the battle easier for Kevin as time went on. Even right now, Kevin had the obvious advantage over Asher, but what he wanted wasn''t a simple win. He wanted to make it obvious what the difference between him and Asher was. That''s why he wasn''t going all out from the start, and it was obvious to Asher who had another goal in his mind. Being in the same ss as Kevin, Asher had observed him, willingly or unwillingly as Kevin''s outgoing personality would make others notice him. And their paths would often sh as Kevin wanted to keep the power status in the ss neutral so he would often argue with Asher. After all that time it wasn''t to see what Kevin wanted in this battle. Chapter 431 Fall And Rise - II 431 Fall and Rise - II CLANG! SPARK! SLASH! SLASH! Asher''s sword shed the air, as Kevin started dodging. It was hard to predict Asher''s movement as Kevin kept evading his strikes. Kevin''s motive wasn''t just to defeat Asher, but he wanted to make sure that everyone would remember this match. "Take this!" Kevin said as he used his leg and made a crack on the stage. A huge crack formed, and it forced Asher to take a few steps back as Kevin took the chance and charged at him. Kevin was only watching out for Asher''s unpredictability which was part of his movement art. Kevin didn''t know that what Asher was using was his version of the snake steps that Xander had taught him. "His movement has depth, but that swordcks conviction," Silvus muttered. Despite being a mage, he had fought a lot of weapon users, and he could see that Asher''s sword art was refined but it wasn''t good enough. It feltcking to Silvus, as his sword had no purpose. It felt monotonous that Silvus wondered how the grandson of the Sword God did not have conviction in his sword art. But in reality, it wasn''t these things that were holding Asher back, but it was Asher''s limit he ced on himself. The only time he felt like he truly used his sword was when he used it to kill something. It was like every part of his being was consumed by his madness. But those shackles loosened as Asher found another purpose, something he felt that was truly worth investing his time into. Right now, Asher still wasn''t ready to change the way he used his sword or fought. But he was still doing fine for now, but it slowly started changing as Kevin started getting stronger. Kevin''s body became lighter, his senses grew sharper, and he could feel his energy bing stronger. Asher''s eyes traced Kevin''s movement Asher could see the mana around Kevin growing thicker. ''I guess this much is enough,'' Asher thought. He charged in with his sword, and a smile erupted on Kevin''s face as he had seen that movement so many times during this match. The start of snake steps started by charging first. And Asher was using it again. Previously, Kevin couldn''t follow that movement with his eyes, but he could see it now. "You think it will work?" Kevin said as he swung his spear in an arc. The next step of the Snake Step was to move in a diagonal direction two steps away from their target. And Kevin''s spear was long enough to cover those two steps, as Kevin took a step further. He was ready to counter Asher, but something unexpected happened as Asher ducked under Kevin''s spear as it went over his face. And used his sword and thrust into the ground and used to rotate his body and turn his back that was facing the ground right now, while lifting his leg and kicking it. BAM! A loud noise appeared as Kevin felt the strength of Asher''s kick right in his right jaw, he was pushed back to the side. Blood started flowing out Kevin''s nose, as he red at Asher. Kevin was both angry and confused as he didn''t sense any change in Asher''s movement by using the sparks on the ground. He was ready if Asher performed a feint, but there was no change in his footwork at all. Asher took out his sword as he felt weak and out of breath, but nobody could notice it judging by his outer appearance. It looked like Asher Greville was fighting Kevin Whiteheart as an equal but that wasn''t the case. Till now, Asher was aware of the sparks and how Kevin was reacting to the change of his footsteps without even watching them. Judging by all this, Asher changed the movement of his upper torso and charged just like he did in the first movement of the snake step. Knowing that Kevin was underestimating him, he knew he would only focus on the information that he gained from the sparks. The snake step was a fluid movement that Xander made for himself when he was young, it was made for a person to hunt his prey down, even if the prey was stronger than the predator. But there were ws in those movements that Asher found, it was suited to hunt humans. Xander''s way worked against a monster that was bigger in size, but against a person whose movement artcked a few things. And this is what Asher created for himself, after changing what he learned from Xander. ''Yeah, this is enough,'' Asher thought. Wiping the blood off his face, Kevin unleashed his lightning aura as he grew stronger. His motives were to show others how weak Asher Greville was, but if he didn''t expect such a scenario to happen. Dash! Kevin dashed making cracks on the stage, Asher who barely kept up until now saw Kevin dash towards him, making him change his stance to block the iing spear strike. "Think you can stop this!?" Kevin said as he swung the spear. His spear was about to meet Asher''s sword when, Asher tilted the tip of his sword downwards and let the spear pass through as he used his hand to stop the spear while tilting his sword up, hooking it into the spear. His hands started getting damaged by the lightning d around the spear, it was something no sane person would try. BAM! Hit by the impact, Asher was pushed back but he pulled the spear with him, as he used his leg and struck the ground making Kevin lose his footing, as Kevin was pulled along with Asher. Kevin twisted his spear, but Asher''s hand and sword were making it impossible to do so, as he increased his lightning and let go of the spear while making a st of lightning, pushing him away from Asher. BOOM! Kevinnded on the stageying on his back, and he lifted his head to look at Asher who was sent away from the boundary and crashed outside the stage, but he was on his feet with his hands burnt and Kevin''s spear in his arm. "KEVIN WHITEHEART IS THE WINNER!!" The crowd cheered for him, but Kevin felt awful as he didn''t achieve a perfect victory, and looked like he struggled against Asher Greville when that wasn''t the case at all. Asher, who was breathing heavily, was surrounded by the medics, as his injuries weren''t serious, but his hands needed to be treated immediately. Many people were impressed by Asher, and Kevin''s idea flopped as Asher took a deep breath as he had achieved what he wanted. Defeating Kevin was impossible, and in a long-drawn battle Asher would tire himself even further, and this was the only way to lose while seemingly looking closer to Kevin''s skill level. He saw Farnus appear on the stage to reward Kevin, as Asher was taken to the medic room for further treatment. A day after, Asher was sitting in the Faculty Council, His left hand was still in pain, but he didn''t have time to rest as he needed toplete his report. His own injuries weren''t so serious that he needed to be admitted to the Medical Facility Building, so he was called by Professor Fernando toplete his research report.bender While this going on, Kevin, Elena, Eva, Amelia, and Lishia with Matthew with Ria Adler were all in the Outer Sector celebrating his victory in one of the ces in the outer sector. "You were great in the finals!" Ria said. lightsvl m Kevin nodded, but he was feeling a bit icky about his win. It wasn''t the perfect victory he wanted, but he didn''t want to bring down the mood of the party that Elena arranged for him. "By the way, I am excited for the trip!" Ria said. "I have never visited Halcyon, what kind of ce is it?" Ria asked as she looked at Lishia. "It''s a beautiful ce, I am sure you will like it," Lishia replied. "I see, but I am sure the princess is excited to visit her country," Ria said as Lishia smiled at her. "Amelia, have some sweets as well," Elena said. Amelia, who was in deep thought, looked at Elena. "O-Oh, Sorry, I was thinking about something," Amelia replied. Kevin noticed Amelia''s expression, but as Elena and Amelia started their conversation, he didn''t say anything about it. Amelia merged in with the others but there was a thought in her mind. ''I guess mom and dad saw his potential that''s why,'' Amelia thought in her head. She couldn''t help but feel that Asher''s talent exceeded hers seeing his progress in thest two years. It was nothing but a shock for everyone here that a Rank 8 Ranker took the second ce, but nobody said anything about this knowing that it might offend the people present here. Chapter 432 Fall And Rise - III 432 Fall and Rise - III "His performance was quite good in the tournament," Sylvie said, "What do you think about it, Emmy?" She asked. "I think the Young Master''s future is brilliant," Emmy replied. "And what about the report I asked you to make?" Sylvie said as she activated a runic barrier around her room. "I have seen changes in Young Master''s behavior, he doesn''t look simr to the one I remember just as reported by Damian Seymour," Emmy reported. "I see, I thought it was a lie, but he is getting better," Sylvie smiled. "When I saw the message from Damian, I thought he was just covering Asher as his friend," Sylvie said. Emmy noticed the smile on Sylvie''s face as she opened her mouth again. "About Alyssa Astaria, she wasn''t present at the tournament, so I don''t have any information regarding her," Emmy said. "It was reported that her body copsed, and she couldn''t fight at all," "And judging from the reactions of the students, it seems that the copse happened just before the tournament started," "I am not sure whether she is capable of using Young Master, but I don''t think that''s the case," Emmy said. "We have looked into her past and this is the report we have collected," Emmy touched the device on her wrist as a hologram popped out. "Selling art?" Sylvie muttered.bender "It seems that she wasn''t around the Astaria household a lot and most of her expenses were made from the money she earned by selling these arts," "All the people that have bought these arts didn''t know her identity and their backgrounds also seem clear," Emmy reported. "But ording to Amelia, she was using Asher," Sylvie said. There was a burdensome look on Sylvie''s face as she didn''t know that the rtionship between Amelia and Asher wouldn''t get better inside the World Academy. "About Lady Amelia, she is still in her old group," Emmy added. "Asher is smart enough to know the consequences of his actions, but I wonder what he is thinking," Sylvie said out loud. "Shouldn''t we tell him to distance herself from that girl?" Emmy asked. "I would, but I want his experience inside the World Academy to be free," Sylvie replied. "He is still young, and there''s a lot he will learn in the future, I am sure of it," Sylvie said. "I was hoping to talk with both of them, but it seems they will note back this year," Sylvie said. As a mother, she couldn''t find fault in her own children. Sylvie had kept a close eye on what Amelia and Damian reported to her, but she found it hard to say that to Asher. In her eyes, it was the first time Asher was taking the first step to do something, be it the sses he chose, unlike the emotionless boy in the past, he was getting better, although that change appeared small, but Sylvie hoped that smaller would be something bigger in the future. *** In the Faculty Council, Asher was working on a report which Fernando told him toplete as soon as the End Year Tournament ended. Asher''s original research was based on drugs that could offset the burden of mana inside one''s body, but it wasn''t a tested result. Because Asher''s body could manipte all mana inside and outside him at will, he was an exception for whom such a drug would have no side effects on. But the potency of these drugs could have been harmful to others, and for such reason, Asher didn''t object to the ims of Fernando who said that this research wasn''t valid. While looking at the past research, and mistakes that were pointed out on these graded reports, Asher''s focus wasn''t here. It was the first time he had found himself so distracted by something. As soon as the End of the Year Tournament ended with his defeat and him iming Second ce, there were a lot of people that were talking about him, but all he wanted was to meet Alyssa. But when he went to the Medical Facility, the Head Doctor denied entry of any students inside. Due to the injuries that happened on the final day of the Tournament, there were a lot of high-ranking students that were inside the Medical Facility, and with the restrictions in ce, there was no way for Asher to meet Alyssa. Flip! The sound of the paper flipping was echoing the seemingly empty room with nothing but a table full of past reports. Outside the Faculty Council, in the outer sector, Damian was talking with Eric. "So, the Young Master is stuck doing reports?" Eric asked. "Can you imagine?" Damian said while shrugging his shoulders. "Imagine performing so good and you can''t even enjoy it, I was hoping we could have at least celebrated him taking the second ce," Damian said. "Yeah, I guess I will see him when you guys also graduate," Eric said. "Two years went by so fast, I still remember the first day we joined the World Academy," Damian said with a smile on his face. "Can you imagine the Second ce was behind most 100th ce rankers at that time?" Damian said. "I was helping him with sparrings and now looking at him makes me a bit jealous seeing his progress," Damian said. "Haha, Young Master Damian, you are quite an oddball yourself, wouldn''t your ranking be higher if you had let Lord Seymour teach you his martial arts?" Eric said. "Don''t call me Young Mastere on Eric, we are friends, just call me Damian, I have told you so many times," Damian changed the topic. "I can''t, as the son of the Head Butler of the Greville Family, I am expected to follow the etiquette at all times," Eric replied with a smile on his face. "What etiquette, you are a brute that wants to join the Abyss Guild instead of having it easy and overtaking old man, Stephen," Damian said as he lightly punched Eric''s shoulders. "Anyway, it''s my time to leave, tell Young Master I willplete the task he gave to me," Eric said. "Sure," Damian said. "And cheer up a bit," Eric pped Damian''s back as he dashed ahead. "Etiquette my as*," Damian touched his back as he scrunched his face. "He has such a nosy personality," Damian knew the meaning of Eric''s words. "Well, this vacation, I am going to fix everything!!" Damian said as he lifted his fist in the air. "No brother-sister fights anymore, I will make sure everything goes back to the way in the past," Damian said. On this vacation to Halcyon, many people had different ns, and all of them waited for these long two weeks to end. "Elena! Do you think Amelia would like our n?" Kevin asked with a smile on his face. "She would Kevin!" Elena replied with a smile. "I knew I could count on you; I hope this will help Amelia cheer up," Kevin said. Elena kept listening to him. "I will get you whatever you want," Elena muttered softly. "What?" Kevin asked as he looked at Elena. lightsnvl "Nothing, show me what your other ns are, I will ask Eva to help us with the scheduling," Elena replied. Far from them, "Are you sure about this Leonard?" Jack asked as he looked at the hologram in front of him. "You are doubting my n?" Leonard asked. Leonard had already left the World Academy as soon as the Graduation Ceremony ended. "There are too many people involved, if things go wrong, you know what will happen," Jack said. "You worry too much Jack, don''t worry about this, deal with the Princess that is sitting inside the World Academy," Leonard. "This is just the start," Leonard said as he disconnected the call. "Young Master Leonard, the Aircraft has arrived in the Capital of Halcyon, and we are detecting two powerful presences ahead of us," A man wearing a blindfold reported. Leonard turned around as he wore the cape that was present on the desk, and wore ten rings, one on each finger. His eyes shined as he looked at them, and suddenly all of them disappeared. After an hour Leonard was standing on the top of the aircraft as he looked at the two men in the air standing before him. "I greet the King of Halcyon," Leonard said. "And Archduke Allister," Leonard added. "Wee, Leonard Tarvian, to thend of Halcyon," Rewilh said but he didn''t look exactly happy with it. "His Majesty, I think this ce is not good for our discussions," Archduke Allister suggested. Rewilh looked to his right and nced back at Leonard Tarvian who was standing there confidently. "Let''s move to the Royal Castle," Rewilh suggested. Chapter 433 Fall and Rise - IV Chapter 433 Fall and Rise - IV ??433 Fall and Rise - IV An announcement was made for the new Third Year Students to pack their stuff, with necessary artifacts and armor they needed. Even though it was named a vacation, there was a high chance that it was more of an educational trip where the students might have to spar or duel other hunters in Halcyon. But despite knowing all that, the excitement of all the Third-Year students was high. After all, it was the first time most of them would visit the closed continent Halcyon, and that also as the students of the World Academy. And the students from Halcyon were excited to show their continent to their fellow friends, there was a lot of friction between students of different continents. After all, it was a matter of pride and their identity as the citizens of one of the five continents. However, due to the low numbers of students allowed in World Academy, there weren''t many arguments about such things. And the Student Council was there to resolve things before they escted into a big issue. But there were times when that stuff didn''t matter, as they simply enjoyed sharing the stories of their continent. In the Rankers Dome, Alyssa was sitting in her room as she was discharged a few days ago. But her face looked emotionless as she was sitting in her bed while clutching her head. The screams inside her head had grown stronger and abnormally louder. "You want to run away?!" "COWARD!!" "Alyssa, will you not avenge your mother?" The sweet voice of her mother made it even more painful for her. "Oh, do you want to live longer?" "You will die, you know it!!" "Isn''t this the best chance!!" "The best chance to inflict the same pain on them?" Alyssa''s health condition hadn''t be better as she was slowly realizing that even living till 30 was something she could only dream of. Alyssa stood up as she touched the empty canvas. "What should I do?" Alyssa muttered. "Tell me..." She asked, but there was no answer. "If I don''t, they will go after your status..." she muttered. "I knew it, I shouldn''t have gotten involved with you," At this time, she wanted to talk with him, but he wasn''t around. In the Faculty Council, with the restriction on his ID Bracelet, Asher was working on his tenth report. All the ones he presented before were rejected by Fernando, and this was the final report that Asher wouldplete in three days. Knock! Knock! Somebody knocked on the door as it opened, and Fernando entered. "I have talked with the people in charge, you can join the trip a day after the other students," Fernando said. "Please make sure toplete this report, knowing your exceptional performance in the End Year Tournament, I don''t want your position to be affected because of this," Fernando said. Normally, Asher wouldn''t have cared, but he had another goal in his mind, that made him try harder at the End Year Tournament. "Ok," Asher replied. Fernando went back as he closed the door. As Asher noticed the door being closed, he closed the report he was doing and opened another. After looking at multiple reports, he found a report that stood out to him. A drug that could limit someone''s mana to help a person when their mana would go wild while increasing the rank of their mana core. It was quite different, but the report was graded as a failed one because using a drug at such a crucial time could lead to the death of a person. "Van Hargrave..," Asher saw the name on the report. This report was slightly moreplicated than Asher''s, and it was clear that the thinking of the person behind this report was different from the norm. To use poison to stop someone''s mana, even if it only worked till E Rank as per the report for safety measures, showed remarkable thinking. "Ten days, huh," Asher closed the report, He had ten days toplete the report, which would have been difficult for any other students because the research report needed to be on a certain standard for him to receive decent or above decent grading. As this subject took more importance in the overall academic marks, doing badly here could affect Asher''s ranking when they started in the Third Year. Meanwhile in the Ranker''s Dome, Alyssa looked in the mirror as she wore her mask, the voices in her head were screaming. In the past few days since she left the Hospital, her emotions, especially her hatred, increased a lot. She was looking at the mirror as her eyes went dull. Everything around her was burning. Walls were falling, and the sound of weapons shing with each other echoed throughout the entire space. "HAAAAAAH," Alyssa gripped her neck as she fell out of her hallucination. "Huff, huff, huff," She could barely breathe as her hands kept shaking. This wasn''t the only problem she was facing, the message from n that she needed to get out of the academy and go back to the Astaria family. She felt cornered. Paths to her revenge kept closing one by one, and the opportunities kept closing. Unlike others, time wasn''t on her side. Others were getting stronger, and they would keep getting stronger, but for her things were different. A body that was deteriorating, an affinity that would slowly consume her mind, and her enemies that kept getting stronger. To avenge her mother, her broken childhood, and her life that was full of suffering after that day. Was it time for her to give up? But before such questions coulde into her mind, Alyssa''s emotions kept burning, and her mind was set. Just like what Gavin had told her, after the Trials Ground, everyone would get stronger, and she would be forced to leave the academy. At first, Alyssa would never have epted the help of someone from an Elite family. The very people she hated. But what choice did she have? After all, it wasn''t her own life that depended on this. In the World Academy, "Are you sure Leonard, what if that guy contacts her?" Gavin asked. "Hahaha, don''t worry about that, you remember your role?" Leonard asked with a light smirk on his face. "Yeah," Gavin said. Leonard disconnected the call as Gavin''s face looked bored. "I would have had more fun if you had told me to torture her," Gavin said. The next day, every third-year student was gathered near the Portal Area, as many Professors were gathered there. The safety of this trip was an extremely important matter so many 3 Star Professors were present here. And even some of the officials of the World Association were near the Portal Area. As the students were going to one of the cities of Halcyon, the security there was being handled by the World Association and the Royal Guild. "I hope all the students have stored their equipment with them," Professor Arman said. "Remember to be a good hunter, you would have to be vignt at all times," He said. "You can enjoy this trip but remember you will also train there, although what you would do we will tell you there," Arman said as he looked to his side. "And thest thing, the restriction locks on your ID Bracelet will be turned on," "This means that you won''t be able to remove them so that if anything happens, we can track you guys instantly," Arman said. "The data on that ID Bracelet will not be stored but if an emergency urs, we will be using it to monitor your location," Arman said. Knowing that they wouldn''t be monitored 24/7, some of the students rxed as no one wanted to be restricted so much. Everyone looked excited as this was the first trip outside World Academy where they would be allowed to freely roam other ces. Unlike the dungeon raids where they needed toplete the exploration ande back to the World Academy, for many students, this was something they were looking forward to. Hearing the stories of the recent graduates, many of them were excited to travel outside of World Academy and see the experience they would only know when they became Fourth Years themselves. But a part of the gathered students didn''t look exactly excited as they saw Alyssa standing with them. "Why are they taking her as well?" "Let''s ignore her, I don''t want our trip to be ruined," "If I were her, I wouldn''t have wanted to go outside this academy," n who was standing with Ria Adler and other students from big families looked over in Alyssa''s direction and looked away with an annoyed look. On the other hand, Gavin was smiling as he touched his ID Bracelet to message someone. Chapter 434 Fall And Rise - V 434 Fall and Rise - V In a dark ce, Asher was standing with blood all over him. Another person appeared before him. "Do you think you can sav-," Before they could speak, Asher crushed their head with his hands, as he kept moving forward. Suddenly the pool of blood started vibrating and many human-like figures started forming. "Fall!" "Fall!"bender lightsvl m "Fall into endless suffering," A familiar voice spoke. "You should have epted my offer, I would have made your suffering a tad bit easier," he said. Asher raised his hand to crush them as hands formed out of the pool of blood stopping him. The mana around Asher started shaking as he formed a mana pulse and shattered everything around him. Asher wanted to keep going forward but the hands out of the pool formed again and stopped him. Again, the light behind him, which was full of memories that Asher was moving away caught up to him. He nced behind as the light fell in his eyes and the scenery changed, despite his wishes to move away from this nightmare he was forced to stay and endure. *** After taking the portal from World Academy to one of the cities of Halcyon, the students were greeted by a team of Hunters, some of them were from the World Association, and some were from the Royal Guild. Sam who was standing there recognized the crest on some of the hunters. His eyes wandered to a certain girl who was standing there with Elena and talking with her. ''I guess the Princess also knows who to befriend,'' Sam chuckled in his mind. The aloof princess of the Halcyon Royal Family has been talking to Elena Rothschild since the end of their First Year, and right now they are casual friends. There were rumors that Elena Rothschild invited her to join their team, but Lishia politely refused as she couldn''t openly join any of the other influential people. And there was no need as her team with Matthew was doing just fine. "Wee Everyone, I am Raymond, an official from the World Association," A man wearing a suit stepped forward. "For security reasons, all of you have to board the aircraft which will take you to the Capital City," Raymond said. The students looked around and there were massive aircraft that could carry many passengers at once. "Split into the Groups of 200, and board the one allotted to you," Raymond said. All the students looked into their ID Bracelet, and they got the necessary details. But the Top 100 Students got an entirely different aircraft that looked much more expensive than others. Everyone started moving toward the aircraft allotted to them, as the Rankers were guided to a special lounge in that ne. They had an entire luxurious section for them, and it was different than what other Top 100 Students were given. But each of them had their section. "Thank god, the thought of being near her is sickening," A boy muttered as he went past Alyssa. The othersughed while Alyssa made her way to her seat, and quietly sat on it. Theughs of the students echoed around her, as the screams in her mind became louder and louder. Although the voices and nightmares were something she had handled all her life, they were never this bad. After a few minutes, everyone felt the take-off as Alyssa nced down at the beautiful city they were going above from. But all that glimmer only made her feel nothing. In the Special Lounge, "So, people here use aircrafts more than portals?" Elena asked. "Unless it''s an urgent situation," Lishia replied. "Portals are only used by Hunters or Merchants, not for travel purposes," Lishia said. "Well, I mean if the view is this good, I would love to travel by air," Kevin said as he nced down. Due to being closer than other continents, Halcyon was rich in culture, and you could see that in the way the cities were designed. Unlike Desmar, which was flooded with huge towers, Halcyon had cities that were made to appreciate the natural beauty around it. A Continent that produced the most herbs, nts, and minerals, Halcyon was a ce that was a trade hub. "I am sure then you will also like the Capital City," Lishia said. Damian, who was sitting across from them, didn''t look very interested in their conversation. But he had a clear goal in his mind this time. ''No more feeling awkward,'' Damian told himself. He nced at Amelia who was talking with others, and it felt weird. He decided to open his phone to listen to music and close his eyes, Damian was someone who could get along with anyone, but he didn''t feel that away among the people here. Sam Allister was like Damian, but he kept quiet in a corner and while gazing out the window. No one knew what was on his mind, but going back to the Capital, Sam clenched his fist. The Capital held something for which Sam was working so hard. While everyone on this trip was going with different objectives, some had simr goals. Inside the Royal Castle, "I must thank Archduke for this help," Leonard said. "Don''t mind, I am only doing my part, and I hope you do yours," Archduke Allister nced at Leonard. Leonard kept his smile and nodded. "So, they are the ones that will do this mission?" Leonard looked at men wearing a ck mask to cover their faces. "Use them however you like," The Archduke replied. They were the special hunters who worked for the Allister Family, and they were picked carefully to follow every task given to them without raising any questions. Although they were made up of young people, they were trained under harsh conditions. "But remember although the Rewilh Halcyon might have allowed you to enter his Castle, don''t look down on that man," The Archduke warned. "I see," Leonard replied. "And this is the list of dungeons you asked for," Leonard took the sheet of paper as he looked at the names and the location. "Remember, do everything in moderation, if the matter gets out of hand it will be hard for me to move my people to the Capital," After looking at the names, Leonard burned the paper by conjuring fire in his hands. "Don''t worry about that," Leonard replied. After a few hours, the studentsnded in the Capital City where they were told to follow the guidelines and were given amodations in a hotel near the ce theynded. The whole area was already under the control of the World Association and Royal Guild to make sure the security of the students wasn''tpromised. "Attention Everyone, you are allowed to rest today and explore the facilities around this area, but don''t go outside the designated area for today," Arman said. "Tomorrow, you will be gathered here again for the main purpose of this trip," Arman concluded his announcement. In the World Academy, "Hmm, this is not it either," Asher said. He had already decided on his report but for some reason, the testing of the potion he made wasn''t going as he nned. "Is the solution not concentrated enough?" Asher said out loud. Right now, he was in a special examination room where he could only contact a few staff members and Professor Fernando. Contacting anyone other than them was not possible. Fernando took permission from Farnus to conduct this special examination for Asher. And Asher would have been done by yesterday but the solution he was making kept failing. The door opened as Fernando entered the room. "I heard from the staff members you asked for me?" He spoke. "Professor, are you sure the concentration of these solutions is right?" Asher asked. "Yeah, I am pretty sure unless they were switched out outside of my knowledge, is there any problem with them?" Fernando asked as he raised his eyebrows. "Can you switch them for me?" Asher said. "Hmmm, I see, but it will take a few hours," Fernando said. "You can carry on, I will make sure someone delivers them," Fernando left after saying that. Outside the room, Fernando frowned. "It was good that I ignored his request to see me yesterday, he figured it out too soon," Fernando muttered. "Well, you can try all you want but I can''t deliver these to you until tomorrow," He muttered. He had his hands tied, so there was nothing he could do but follow the orders he was given. And knowing all he had to do was dy one student, Fernando didn''t think much about it. Chapter 435 Fall And Rise - VI 435 Fall and Rise - VI "Understand, this is the Second Day, I am sure all of you must want to explore the Capital City," Arman said. "But that can only happen tomorrow, today we will enter C Rank Dungeons with Hunters here," He pointed at the group of hunters gathered there. Apart from Alyssa, everyone was going to do the training here, she was told to not join as her health condition wasn''t fit to join others. "Remember, that don''t hurt yourself and heed their instructions at all times," Arman said. "The Trials Ground will open for you guys soon, so don''t get injured or do anything that will affect your performance there," Arman warned them. This was just a light practice for the Third Year Students because this was all they were going to do in the Fourth Year. Joining top guilds as interns and doing missions and gatherings merits and ording to their performance and results, they will graduate. It was important for them to understand real dungeon raids with experienced hunters where there was a degree of risk, unlike the ones that they had done till now. "Your ID Bracelet will have your team numbers," Arman said. "Four of you will join one team," He added. Everyone gathered there got a notification, as it said their team members. "What is this group?" "Yay, we are in the same group!"bender "Why did they ce me with him?" The reactions were different for everyone as the teams were created by the World Academy for the optimalposition for a dungeon raid. Some had the same teams, but some didn''t. "Kevin! We are on the same team," Elena said. She, Eva, and Amelia were with Kevin as they made a perfect team, and their mentor was a B Rank Hunter who was a sword user and a B Rank Mage. On the other hand, Damian looked at his team and he was with Sam, n, and Gavin. "What is this?" Damian looked at the names. Sam was still fine, but Damian didn''t like n and Gavin much due to their personalities, he had heard Gavin was involved with bullying students but nobody reported him so he was never punished. And n was too prideful and knowing that Damian was Asher''s friend, n didn''t like the match-up much either. "Isn''t it great we have the best tanker in our year," Gavin spoke out. His sly smile made Damian frown but he ignored thement as he turned his head and looked at the two hunters that wereing near them. With the teams decided, the World Association gathered a list of lower-level dungeons that were avable for these students to enter. Halcyon had a lot of lower-level dungeons and most of them were dungeons that had special environments that allowed for the growth of many nts. This was the reason why Halcyon was able to trade so many of these nts in arge quantity. But due to the special environment, hunting in these dungeons wasn''t easy at all, despite their low levels. "Please follow us!" The Hunters spoke. Slowly, the crowd of students started getting thinner as they were taken to different parts of the city. The citizens of the Capital were surprised to see so many Royal Guards patrolling, as the information about the arrival of the students hadn''t spread that far. After an hour, "Your form is good," The Hunter praised Kevin. "But be careful about conserving your stamina," He suggested. Kevin nodded as he put his spear behind his back. "And for the augmented magic, let''s go forward without it for a while," The Hunter spoke, "Any reason for that?" Amelia asked. "It''s making the hunt much easier, let''s make it a bit more challenging," He suggested. "Oh, then I will use my daggers," Amelia replied. The activity they were doing was meant to show them how tough exploring an unknown dungeon was. "And make sure to stay away from the walls," The mage said. She was experienced in exploring dungeons like these a lot so she warned the four of them. "These big cracks on the wall can hide many smaller monsters," she said. "We will maintain this formation and only use our barrier when a threat is detected," She added. Eva nodded as she didn''t mind conserving her mana. Usually, they would try to clear a dungeon as fast as possible, and it didn''t allow Eva and Amelia to conserve their mana like this. Kevin kept killing every monster they encountered, and he was on par with the B Rank Hunter. Both of them couldn''t believe a student so young who was barely 18 was near their level. ''It''s hard to imagine that he is already B- Rank,'' The Hunter thought in his head. "Keep this pace, we can reach our objective before nighttime," He spoke out as Kevin nodded back at him. It was a bit difficult as the variety of monsters made it difficult for Kevin to deal with them all, but Elena and Amelia''s support was enough for him to keep moving forward. Eva''s timing was near perfect as she knew when to protect and when to not. Just like that, they kept going forward and after a long time, all of them were resting. "Good job, I am pretty sure you guys won''t have any problems in your Fourth Years," The Hunter said. He was very surprised to see the biggest talents of this generation fight in front of him. "Any other advice you guys might want to give?" Amelia asked. She was the most quiet one among all of them, surprisingly even more than Eva. So the mage was d to see her involve herself in the conversation as well. "Umm, maybe try to rely less on each other," She said after thinking for a while. "Teamwork is important but you guys are very unique in your talents so getting too used to it would create trouble if you are with other people," She said. "But overall, the chemistry between you guys is good, the teamwork was nice," She added. Although the two hunters were supposed to guide them and point out their mistakes, it was harder to do if the people that they were guiding belonged to such powerful families. So she didn''t add anything else that could potentially hurt their feelings, as there weren''t any big mistakes that they made. "Let''s go back for now, it''s time for you guys to gather at your hotel," The man stood up. "This time, both of us will clear the path so you guys can rx," He said while taking out his sword. The path back to the Dungeon Entrance was easy as all they had to do was sprint as the Hunters with them cleared out all the monsters for them. "You guys go, I wille after I have a chat with Ria," Elena stopped at the entrance of the Hotel. All three of them nodded as Elena turned and went towards an empty garden that was present at the Hotel. lightsvl m "We greet Young Lady Elena!" A few people wearing a mask on their face appeared. One of them took out a ne and handed it over to her. "What about the location?" Elena asked. "We have no contact from ''his'' side," One of them replied. "Ok, don''t let anyone find out that I called for you guys," Elena said. "And get any news regarding ''his'' movements," Elena said. "It might be difficult as their location wasst reported inside the Royal Castle," One of them said. "Royal Castle?" Elena repeated. "Hmm, report to me if anything happens," Elena waved her hand as all of them disappeared. "Royal Castle, what is Leonard Tarvian doing there?" Elena questioned herself. Despite making a deal with Leonard, Elena didn''t trust him at all. She wasn''t going to put her or Kevin''s reputation in danger before confirming everything. While Elena was gathering information about Leonard, another group of masked people were reporting to Gavin. "Hmm, so this is the location?" Gavin asked. "The time window is too short, it will be hard," Gavin replied, "That''s the order we received," The masked man replied. "Ok, but make sure that no professors are near the vicinity of that area," Gavin added. "You will receive our signal once the preparations areplete," "And what about the other Hunters?" Gavin asked. "We will take care of that," "Then I will do my part as well," Gavin replied. Chapter 436 Fall And Rise - VII 436 Fall and Rise - VII "So this is the finished report?" Fernando asked. "Hmm, there a few things here that are not exined," Fernando said looking at Asher. "Just fix these things, the rest of the report is good enough," "In the meantime, I will arrange for your departure tomorrow," Fernando said. The Trip to Halcyon was 12 days long, and today was the third day when Asher presented his final report. "Anything else you need, just inform me," Fernando tapped his ID Bracelet. Asher turned to leave as Fernando picked up the research report again. "It''s scary how fast hepleted it," He muttered. "Thank god, I dyed him yesterday," Fernando was surprised to see such a detailed report by Asher knowing that he had to redo his whole research. Despite the rumors around Asher, and his cold personality, every Professor knew that Asher Greville was a genius in academics. The undisputed Rank 1 in all subjects, even Eva Williams who was regarded as a prodigy from a young age couldn''t overtake him a single time. That''s why Fernando was trying so hard to point out mistakes that normally nobody would have pointed out. Asher returned to his room and looked at the numerous calctions that he had done the past days. He started adding all the things that Fernando had pointed out, as it wasn''t difficult to mention the methods that Asher used and exin them. Unlike his original report, this one was closely rted to a research that was already done before. Thump! Thump! Thump! Asher touched his heart as he didn''t why he was feeling like this. Since yesterday, he was feeling this strange feeling, and he felt restless. It was the first time he felt like this. A person who had never once felt fear for something, was being restless but for what? He himself didn''t know the answer for it. "Is it because I can''t meet her?" Asher muttered. A small smile appeared on his face, but he couldn''t shake off this strange feeling. bender *** "You are stupid," A young boy spoke, "Watch how you speak kiddo," Damian as he clenched his fist. "Don''t forget I will be your senior when you join World Academy," Damian said while smiling. Nate''s eyes nced down at Damian''s fist. "Anyway, don''t get angry, but you really are stupid," Nate didn''t sugarcoat his words. "And why are you asking me for advice?" Nate asked. "Ask Big Bro Asher or someone else," Nate said. "This kid..." Damian muttered. If he could, he would have asked someone else but the matter involved Asher and Amelia and his own personal feelings. "Anyway, why don''t you guys have a simple talk?" Nate said. "Why make things soplicated? Just have a conversation and solve it," "But what if things go wrong?" Damian said as he scratched his head. "Are you really my brother?" Nate asked as he tilted his head. "I can''t believe this musclehead is supposed to be my big brother," Nate sighed. "Nate...," Damian said as he barely held himself. Nate noticed that he was pushing Damian to his limits. "Well, I am not the best person to give any suggestions here," Nate said. "Just talk it out, and you will be fine," Nate said. "I need to go now, it''s time for my ss," Nate said as he disconnected this call. But before disconnecting, Nate looked like he was about to say something but felt a bit embarrassed to say it. He wasn''t great with words and would always argue with Damian, who always just epted his insults. "What am I doing bothering my younger brother for this," Damian sat back down. He was thinking of ways to amend things between Amelia and him, as he didn''t like the fact they were so awkward. "When did things go this way, I wonder," Damian stared at the ceiling. At times like these, Damian wondered if what he was doing was right or not. Unlike the past, he didn''t know anymore what Amelia thought. In the same Hotel, Knock! Knock! Alyssa heard a knock on her door as she moved her wheelchair and opened the door and there were people wearing ck masks. "This is the enhancer," One of them spoke. The voice belonged to a woman, as Alyssa took the strange vial in her hands. The people with ck masks disappeared as Alyssa got a call on her ID Bracelet. And the caller was Gavin Neville. Alyssa picked it up as Gavin''s hologram became visible. "I am sure you would have gotten the items," Gavin said. "We will create the opportunity, but remember this is your only chance for your revenge," He said. "n Astaria is already gathering the support of the Seven Seats to expel you in anyway possible," "So remember, I am giving you the opportunity to get the revenge you need," Gavin said. Alyssa didn''t say anything, as she let Gavin speak. "Isn''t this good for us, I can finally see that arrogant n fail, and you get your revenge," "While saving the reputation and future of Asher Greville," Gavin said. Alyssa clenched her fist. lightsnvl "Well, it wouldn''t do good for the status of the Heir of the Greville Family that he is friends with a terrorist?" Gavin chuckled. "Well, I am no better but you help ''us'' and you get your revenge," He said. "That enhancer is thetest drug that will amplify your mana and body''s strength by a lot, enough to even multiple B Rank Hunters at the same time," Gavin exined. Alyssa''s eyes glowed for a second as she opened her fists and her drive for revenge started getting bigger. Gavin disconnected the call as Alyssa''s killing intent started filling the room. "It''s fine, It''s fine, It''s fine," Alyssa muttered. "Everything will be fine after I do this," She muttered. "Mother, I can finally do something for you, and I can help him as well," Alyssa looked at the vial in her hand. Meanwhile in the Royal Castle, Leonard was sitting drinking wine while looking at the card in his hand. "You worry too much Reece," Leonard said. "It''s better to have full control over such people, one mistake and the whole n would go to waste," Leonard said. "But that artifact has limited use, I am not sure if it''s worth using it," Reece said. "Don''t worry, I trust my eyes and from what I have seen, this will be worth it," Leonard said. "What''s the progress with ''that'' artifact," Leonard asked. "It''s ready to be used on your orders," Reece replied. "That''s good, hahaha," Leonardughed. Reece disconnected the call as Leonard keptughing as he looked at the night sky full of stars. "I wonder what expressions you would show," Leonard said. Leonard flipped the card like artifact that had many names engraved on it, and red jewel in the middle was glowing. Among the many names written on it, thest one was ''Alyssa Astaria''. It was the next morning, "Good Morning Students, you will continue your Dungeon Exploration today as well, but you are free to explore the city tomorrow," Arman said. "But we will make group of 50 students so give us the names of the people you want to be with, we will make groups by taking that in consideration," Arman said. Every single one of them got excited as they could finally enjoy the trip. "For the dungeon raid, the groups will remain the same, you can join your mentors," Arman said. "Nice, we can explore tomorrow!" Kevin said out loud. "Someone is excited," Eva chuckled. Kevin nced at Elena, and Elena smiled understanding Kevin''s intentions. "I asked Lishia to tell me a few good spots, we can explore tomorrow," Elena said. "But let''splete the task for today early so we can rest and enjoy tomorrow," Elena added. Amelia and Eva nodded with a smile, as everyone went toward their mentors. At the Royal Guild Headquarters, "What do you mean, we have no task for today?" A man with a group of hunters asked. "Exactly what I said, there is a shift as we don''t need extra people, the orders came from above so no point arguing with me," The man at the reception said. "Ah, and we were looking to earn some quick money," The man said. "Anyway, ping us when a new task or dungeon requestes up," He said waving his hand and leaving with his group. The man at the reception updated the patrolling duty as he canceled the requests that were up. "Why do they even add such request if they wanted to remove themter," He said while editing all the request at the guild. Chapter 437 Fall and Rise - VIII Chapter 437 Fall and Rise - VIII Asher looked at the Portal before him. "You are a bitte, so we have arranged private transportation for you," Professor Fernando said. "But you would only arrive around the morning of the Fifth Day," Fernando exined. "I hope you understand, it''s difficult to move the security," Fernando said. "It''s fine," Asher replied. Asher was escorted by a different group of S Rank Hunters that belonged to the Security Team of World Academy. Due to his status, the academy couldn''t send Asher without appropriate security, so his travel was dyed even further. Asher entered the Portal as the temperature around him became warmer, unlike the cold weather at World Academy. "Wee, please follow us," The Security Team on the other side said. Asher moved with them toward the private aircraft that was waiting for him, it waste in the night. "We will take off near 5 AM, after getting the clear from the other side," The Security Head there told Asher. "Is there no direct Portal to the Capital?" Asher asked. "There is, but permission from the Royal Guild or the World Association''s permission is required to use them, and we don''t have them currently," He replied. "Don''t worry, you will arrive early in the morning," he said. But as they were moving, the Security Head stopped as he looked at hismunication device. "Umm, there seems to be a dy signal from the Royal Guild," he said. "They are saying to dy the departure by two hours," The Security Head said. "Check with the Royal Guild and confirm this," He turned towards one of his men. While they escorted Asher to the aircraft, a barrier was ced around the aircraft. Asher sat down on the seat, as he closed his eyes to do mana meditation, but he couldn''t focus. It was the first time he had that strange feeling as he touched his chest. Was he anxious or was it something else, he had no way of knowing. The scenery started cracking as the memories started to appear as the scenery changed to the Royal Capital. "What are you thinking Amelia?" Elena asked. "Nothing, I was just thinking about my mistakes," Amelia replied. "Well, the dungeon exploration was tiring, it''s fine to miss a few timings," Eva said. "Yeah, it''s not like we don''t make mistakes either," Elena said with a smile. "And isn''t it Kevin''s fault for always being too fast," Elena said. Amelia chuckled as the three of them made their way to their rooms. It waste at night, and they were out exploring. "But it was fun to see Kevin charge at a monster and our mentor got worried because it turned out to be a rare variant," Elena said. "Yeah, but his aggressive fighting style keeps the monster away from us but I worry for him all the time," Eva said. Amelia was smiling as she nced outside the window as they were moving down the hallway and she could see a particr person talking with someone. ''Lishia Halcyon with n Astaria and Gavin Neville?'' Amelia thought in her head. But they soon moved out of the view as they went inside the lobby room. She was curious but didn''t bring it up as the matters regarding Lishia didn''t concern her. While every student was in their room, one of them wasn''t present in the Hotel anymore. Alyssa was wearing a mask and a robe that concealed her as she followed the people wearing a ck mask. "This is the ce," All of them stopped as Alyssa looked at the blue gate in front of her. They tossed the ring toward Alyssa, and she used her gravity magic to grab the ring. "You have until morning to finish the preparations," One of them said. "If things go wrong you can use the teleporting artifact after exiting the dungeon," The woman said. Alyssa took the ring and nced at the dungeon gate in front of her. She looked at the night sky above as her eyes nced at the full moon above her. After a few seconds, she entered the dungeon gate as the people wearing ck masks nodded with each other and threw a gem-like thing near the gate. Grey fumes came out as the dungeon gate disappeared. Thud! Thud! Thud! Each of them went on their knees as a particr man walked up towards the Dungeon gate. "We greet the Young Master!" They said together. "Make sure to keep everyone unrted to the n from entering," he said. "And what''s the information about Asher Greville?" He asked. "The current location is the Portals near the Border City, they have been dyed as you wish," One of them replied. Leonard who was looking at the Dungeon gate turned around to leave. In the Hotel, "Will she listen to us?" n asked. "It''s not just us, Leon himself is involved, would you think she will refuse to know what''s happening here," Gavin replied. "I don''t care if she doesn''t cooperate, we don''t really need her tomorrow," n replied as he put his hand in his pockets. "Hahaha, I can''t wait to finally clean the stain on my family name," n said. Gavin chuckled as they moved together. The night was still young, with many awaiting the morning. However, the tiring day of dungeon exploring took a toll on many students as most of them were already asleep. "Remember to follow the n," Gavin reminded n. "All the Top-Ranking students that followed the Blood Faction are in your group," Gavin added. "Don''t worry," nughed it off. Gavin and n weren''t worried at all as everything was going ording to Leonard''s n and they believed that nothing would go wrong. Meanwhile away from the Hotel, In avish car, Leonard was sitting as he looked at masked people sitting across from him. "Make sure both of them follow the n," Leonard said. "Even if you have to force them," he said while ncing out the window. "But what if they realize the ns have changed?" One of them asked. "What can they do?" Leonard muttered as a smile appeared on his face. "They have no choice but to follow what I say, like it or not," Leonard said. Leonard didn''t care if he used others to aplish his goals. "This is the perfect chance to carry out our ns sooner," "I have already got the permission from Father, and everything is ready," Leonard said while picking up the ss and sipping the drink. "Well, it doesn''t really matter if things go as nned or not," Leonard said. Even if things didn''t go his way, he would confirm a lot of things and he had already prepared for the worst-case scenario. "Either way, it''s my win," Leonard said. While everyone had their objectives, they all awaited the sunrise. But who would have known that something nobody had thought would happen? In the Border City of Halcyon, Asher was reading some medical books while using his mana meditation method at the same time. He closed the book as he walked toward the exit of the ne and walked out of the aircraft. "Is there any issue?" One of the hunters guarding him appeared. "Nothing, I just want to take a stroll," Asher replied. "Hmmm, then please do not go further than 100 meters from this aircraft," The Hunter said. Since Alyssa got hospitalized, Asher hadn''t met her even once. He was told to stay in the Faculty Council till his report was submitted and any outside contact was impossible. "It will be different from now on," Asher muttered. "Sure," Asher replied as he walked under the night sky. For some reason, Asher was feeling a bit odd, and he couldn''t rx at all. Even doing mana meditation didn''t help so decided to stroll. Since Alyssa got hospitalized, Asher hadn''t met her even once. He was told to stay in the Faculty Council till his report was submitted and any outside contact was impossible. "It will be different from now on," Asher muttered. Till now, he was thinking if he kept his distance from others, nobody would be interested in his matters. But seeing the rumors spread and knowing what kind of opposition Alyssa had to face, Asher finally decided to step out of the shell that he made around himself. He could feel that he was bing closer to the ''normal'' he was trying to get closer to. His world wasn''t grey anymore or so he thought. Crack... The overseer who was watching the memories till now noticed a change in Asher''s body that was present in the dense mana pool. Red hue started covering Asher, as his killing intent was spreading outside his body. What the overseer couldn''t see was the multiple system notifications that were appearing. [ Warning Host''s mental stability is... ] Multiple notifications appeared as the tattoo around Asher''s arm started to fade. "Is this the limit?" The overseer muttered as he appeared in the night sky above the Asher that was walking below him. But the memories started shifting, as Asher was still under the effect of the Ancient Rune. "I guess not," The overseer said as he disappeared. But the boundary was breaking, it was either due to the burden on Asher''s mind or something else. Chapter 438 Fall And Rise - IX 438 Fall and Rise - IX "There will be a group of 50 Students, but you can create smaller groups and venture around the limited area on your own," Elsa said. With other Professors counting the attendance of the students present, Professor Elsa gave everyone their instructions. "But you will be notified to gather at themon spot from your ID Bracelet," she said. Each of the groups was given different famous spots around the Royal Capital, and they were allowed to have fun for the entire day. It was 8 AM, but every single student was excited to make the most of their time today. Although they were going to get a few more days to explore after a joint practice session with the World Academy ording to their schedule, it was still the first day of the trip they could truly have fun. The security in the Royal Capital was at an all-time high if something happened to the students, it would make the World Association, and the Royal Family of Halcyon look bad. However, a few Professors were told to apany the students while hiding and respond to any threat if they came across one. "That''s all, enjoy your day," Elsa said. She wasn''t worried much about the students, as not only the security measures were put in ce weeks ago, but all the World Academy students were trained carefully. All of these students were among the best of their generation, even thest-ranking student was way better than most of the students his age at other academies. "Let''s go," Kevin said as he looked behind him. Amelia, Elena, and Eva were wearing casual outfits and their whole group was attracting a lot of gazes from other students. With them were Ria Adler, Gavin Neville, and n Astaria. Damian was supposed to be part of their group, but he waste to the meeting for some reason. Amelia looked around searching for Damian, but she couldn''t find him at all. ''Should I message him?'' Amelia thought. Things were rough since Amelia argued with Damian, but she didn''t want to keep things as they were. Kevin noticed Amelia who was looking around. "We should enter the buses let''s reach there as early as possible," Elena suggested. All the students were given the choice to freelymute between the Hotel and the spot where they would be dropped. So, even if some students wanted to return early, or goter they had that choice.bender Amelia looked at Elena, she wanted to wait around for Damian and try inviting him but knowing that she might be their ns, she decided to go with them. With the other students in their group, they entered the bus that was waiting for them. After a few minutes, the bus left the Hotel Area, meanwhile inside the Hotel. A loud sound of an rm could be heard in the hallway,ing from a certain room. "Ugh," Damian turned and touched his ID Bracelet and stopped the rm. He opened his eyes slightly as he nced at the time, and it made him squint his eyes. "What?" Damian muttered as he rubbed his eyes. Due to the Dungeon Exploration where Damian had to do a lot of tanking due tock of coordination between his team. He didn''t notice butst night he made a mistake while setting his rm, and he waste. "Shit, I amte," Damian lifted himself from the bed. For the past few days, Damian had been thinking a lot about what he should do and he was going to act today, but he had already made a mistake. "Argh, I can''t believe it," Damian muttered as he rushed to the bathroom. Sshing his face with water, he got his eyes wide open. He had been thinking about this day and the trip for a long time, and the day he wanted to make his first move, he already gotte. "Why do things always go wrong with me," Damian muttered as he rubbed his face with a towel. The students were already informed about the bus system so Damian was aware of the fact that he could only get onboard that bus after an hour. There was a one-hour dy boarding the bus, and now all he could do was wait. While Damian was rushing to the shower cursing his luck, Professor Elsa was looking at the sheet of the students that were at the Hotel. On that list, one name was Alyssa Astaria, and the reason written was her health condition. "I guess it''s better for her to not go out," She muttered. Knowing what kind of gazes and reactions she would get from the people who might recognize her would only create trouble for her. So, Elsa was d that she was staying behind in the Hotel, but she waspletely wrong. None of the staff or Professors present here knew that Alyssa Astaria wasn''t at the Hotel at all. She was present inside a dark ce using her magic to kill small monsters as she made her way towards the center of the dungeon. Wearing a long coat and mask that covered most of her face, Alyssa was making her way to the Altar of the Dungeon. Her eyes were cold as she kept using her ice magic to kill the monsters that would sometimes appear in front of her. Her body was showing the effects of using mana constantly, but she kept moving forward. "Get your revenge!" "Isn''t this what you wanted? A chance!" "Let them feel what you felt for all these years!!" The voices grew stronger, and louder as Alyssa couldn''t suppress them anymore, the more her hatred grew, the more she suffered. All she could think about was her purpose foring here. Far from the Royal Capital, A particr aircraft was flying with a full team of S Rank Hunters that were guarding it. "Two hours," Asher looked at the time. His flight was dyed a lot, but they finally got permission from the Royal Guild to fly toward the Royal Capital. Asher was sitting alone while flipping through the pages of the book he was reading. lightsnvl Rankers were allowed to borrow the books they wanted and take them outside the World Academy if they had permission. Fernando allowed Asher to take a few books as they weren''t too important. As the book was rted to alchemy and potion brewing, it wasn''t a risk for its content to get leaked so Asher could take it outside. All the rankers were allowed to take the books with them if they stayed inside the World Academy, but the contents couldn''t be shared with others. There was a runic spell ced on all such books to make sure only the person who had borrowed them could read them. After flipping through multiple pages, Asher still couldn''t fully concentrate on the content of the book as he nced outside. "Maybe it''s better if stepped down?" Asher muttered. After thinking a lot, he knew that if he remained the Heir of the Greville Family, he would always attract the attention of others. There were a few times when Sylvie and Arthur indirectly hinted to remember his duties as the Heir, which he knew what they meant by it. Although they never forced him or outright told him what to do Asher could see that they would do it in the future. Asher gathered all the information about the Garcia Family with the help of Eric Herod, the son of the Head Butler of the Greville Family. A massive culling of the Garcia Family members, after their forbidden research on humans, and the crime of taking the lives of a city full of people for their own selfish ideas. The crime, the people involved, and the information of what had transpired more than a decade ago, wasn''t avable fully. Still, Asher knew that the sole survivor of that incident was a 5-year-old girl, Alyssa Astaria. Thinking about all of it, Asher knew that his own status would always get in the way of what he wanted. "It would be better to give this status to Amelia," he muttered. The status that most people would have given up everything for was something that he didn''t want at all. Even though Sylvie and Arthur thought otherwise, until a few years ago many people didn''t think that Asher Greville was a suitable heir candidate. "Maybe then, they will leave me alone," Asher said as he closed his eyes. Thump! Thump! Isn''t that good? My enemy is the madness inside me. If I can cure it, I don''t need anything else. I...I only need her. Thump! Thump! Thump! With her, I can find that peace... Chapter 439 Fall and Rise - X Chapter 439 Fall and Rise - X ???439 Fall and Rise - X The bus stopped, and Kevin and the rest of the students stepped out as they saw the scenery before them. It was full of luxurious shops, and trade merchants and massive buildings and the view of the Royal Castle that was at the center of the Royal Capital. Many people were ncing at the young people that had just stepped out. Their faces attracted a lot of attention, and it was obvious why would they do so. Among all students, Lishia was wearing a pair of sunsses to hide her light golden eyes as she would attract a lot of attention in the Royal Capital, because of her identity. But that didn''t stop people from asionally looking toward them, but they didn''t stare for too long. Knowing the background of such young people could be big, nobody wanted to offend anyone here and get in trouble. "Well, where should we go first?" Ria asked. "Hmm, let''s explore that ce first, I was looking to buy some hats for us," Elena pointed at the direction of a big shop. All of the students were given the option to convert their GP into money, but for people like Elena, or other students that hailed from a powerful or influential families, they didn''t need to use their GP for such stuff. Soon enough the group of 50 Students split into smaller groups, with Gavin and n making another group with a many other students that came from an influential family. For them, following n was a good deal as n and Gavin had much power in the World Academy due to their connection with Blood Faction. Unlike Kevin''s group that didn''t invite others, it was easier to stick around n or Gavin for them to get many benefits. After all, both of them were from an Elite Family. n smiled as he nced at a certain direction and then turned around as he looked at a group of 15 students. "What are we doing now n?" One of them asked. "Should we go to that ce where a new arena was built?" One of them inquired. "Hmm, not bad but let''s look around first," Gavin suggested as everyone got silent. Gavin looked at n, who raised his eyebrows and spotted a big building. "Let''s go there first," n said as everyone looked in that direction. "Hmm, if that''s what you guys want I am fine," "Yeah, let''s explore a bit first," All of them were from rich families, so they didn''t mind spending a bit before going somewhere else. But more importantly, they wanted to get in good rtions with n especially as he was the next Heir of the Astaria family. Meanwhile as the groups went around, Kevin''s group entered a big shop where the attendants immediately greeted them. Elena immediately asked the attendant to look for some hats, as the weather in Halcyon was a bit warm. As they were trying out a few hats, Amelia received a message on her ID Bracelet. < Damian : Where are you right now? I woke upte!> Amelia looked at the text and immediately replied, shared the name of the shop with Damian. < Damian : Do you mind if I join you guys? > A small smile appeared on Amelia''s face as she immediately replied. She was happy that Damian was trying to fit around her group of friends. Damian has always stayed away from interacting with Elena, Eva and Kevin since the party incident. But seeing now that he was trying to join them, it made Amelia happy. After all, Damian was her childhood friend after all. < Damian : Okay, I will meet you guys there > "What happened Amelia?" Elena asked. "Ah, nothing," Amelia replied quickly. But Elena had already seen Damian''s name on Amelia''s ID Bracelet, but instead of saying anything about that she ignored the topic. It was now that Amelia realised that she didn''t tell any of them that Damian was joining them. ''But they wouldn''t mind him,'' Amelia thought in her head. Elena, Eva and Kevin had always told Amelia that they didn''t mind if Damian hanged around them, so Amelia was sure that they would ept him. Even while nning everything, Elena told Amelia she wouldn''t mind if Damian was invited. But it was his own choice to join them or not. Far from this ce, there was a open area which was near the market area. A group of masked men threw blue stones on the ground as a Dungeon Gate appeared and they chanted a spell. Soon the Dungeon gate became invisible again, as they picked the stones on the ground and shattered them one by one. "The procedure isplete," One of them spoke out. "It would like a normal dungeon break," As he touched the device on his ear. "We will turn the gate into a Red Gate once the first step is done," He reported. All of them moved away from the invisible Dungeon Gate as they hid around to make sure nobody woulde near this ce. *** In the Royal Castle, "I wasn''t sure that our majesty would ept your conditions so easily," The Archduke said with a slight smile on his face. "Isn''t that due to the help of the Archduke?" Leonard replied. "I have done what the Archduke wanted," Leonard said. "Don''t worry, whatever will happen in the Royal Capital today, the truth will bend as you like," The Archduke replied. They were sitting in the Private Lobby that belonged to the Allister Family inside the Royal Castle. "That''s good," Leonard replied. "I guess it''s time for me to leave," Leonard said. "What''s the hurry, our best men are present there," Archduke Allister spoke. "Still, I would like to make sure everything go ording to the n, after all it''s what my father wishes as well," Leonard said. Archduke Allister nodded as Leonard turned to leave. It wasn''t Leonard Tarvian himself that the Leader of the Allister Family was giving respect to. It was Osbert Tarvian, the one who was behind Leonard, and of the 10 SSS Rank Hunters of the World. The Archduke waved his hand as a group of individuals appeared in his room. "If things go wrong, and his people are found, clean the mess up, make sure nobody finds out that both of us were involved in any of this," He spoke. Even though Leonard said he would handle the matters alone, leaving everything into the hand of a mere twenty-year old wasn''t something he would do. Outside the room, Leonard who was making his way out of the Royal Castle smiled as he was looking forward to see what would happen next. Nobody knew his real n except Reece who wasn''t present here. After going out and entering his car, Leonard touched his bracelet as a hologram of Reece appeared. "What happened?" Leonard asked. "Are you sure, if things go wrong, it might became a bit troublesome to handle the aftermath," Reece said. "Don''t worry," Leonard said as he touched his finger. Numerous ring artifacts appeared as he used his mana. "Even if things go a bit wrong, nothing too bad would happen," "But I still have a hard time believing that guy would care," Reece replied. "He will," Leonard replied. After all, after seeing what he had seen, Leonard was sure that there was no way his n wouldn''t incite and reaction. "I see, if you are confident enough about this, I will not stop you," Reece said. "Do make sure the traces of the enhancer aren''t found," Reece said before disconnecting the call. Leonard looked outside the window and observed the empty blue sky. Everything was going as he nned, but nobody really knew what the future behold for them. But Leonard was confident with his n. Far away from his location, "Check this out," Elena showed her hat to Kevin. "You look good," Kevin said with a smile on his face. Elena blushed as she turned around and made sure to buy all the hats she had showed to Kevin. They were standing in the VIP Section of the shop as Elena used her connections and allowed their group to use it. Eva selected one, while Amelia and Lishia were still trying out a few things. Soon enough they were all done shopping, as Kevin nced at Elena and spoke out. "Do you guys want to get something to eat?" Kevin asked. They haven''t eaten anything since the morning so everyone easily agreed to the suggestion. "Are there any good ces here?" Kevin asked Lishia. "Yeah, I will show you guys one," Lishia said. "Let''s go then," Elena suggested. Soon enough all of them went out the shop towards thevish streets of the Royal Capital as they so many decorations. "People don''t rely on mana devices much here," Eva observed. "The use of technology isn''t that popr as people think it will go against the longsting culture of Halcyon," Lishia exined. Halcyon wasn''t behind in technology, but the people of Halcyon disliked using mana devices for their daily life. It was much different from Desmar or Somaria, or the other two continents where technology could be seen anywhere. "Is it because the theory of mana waves affecting the soil and herb growth?" Eva asked. Lishia nodded, and it was also the reason why the number of Teleportation portals were so low. Chapter 440 Fall And Rise - XI 440 Fall and Rise - XI "As the livelihood of many people depends on trading, it has be a cultural thing to avoid the usage of mana devices as much as possible," Lishia added. It was something new for all of them as they were used to seeing skyscrapers and an abundance of mana devices in their daily life. But in Halcyon, people depended on using magic and not overly using mana devices. It was a new scenery to see people use lower-tier magic, instead of mana tools. As they walked around, they made multiple stops at many intriguing shops but they stopped at a big dome-like building. "Is that the Trading Center?" Elena asked. "Yeah," Lishia replied. The biggest trading center in the Royal Capital where the most expensive items were sold and auctioned. Many Hunters could be seen around this area buying things like weapons. It was a ce where most of the smaller guilds did all the trades and bought items for their members. Even the World Association was involved in the trading center as it was mandatory to make sure all trade above a certain level were done in the trading center which was managed by the Royal Family itself. "We can explore hereter," Elena said. "Hmm, I don''t mind that, what about you guys?" Kevin asked. Seeing that everyone nodded, they moved on towards their next direction. While moving, Elena''s eyes looked around as she tried to look around for any suspicious movements. She was being cautious without making Kevin or others aware of it. ''It would be today,'' Elena thought. ording to the information she had gained from her informationwork, whatever Leonard was nning would happen today. She had no idea what he was doing, but Elena wanted to make sure Kevin wasn''t involved in it. Even though she had made a deal with Leonard, to corner Alyssa Astaria once and get information about Asher, she wasn''t going to naively believe that Leonard would keep his promise. It was better to be cautious and take precautions while also securing a favor with the son of the World Association Chairman. She knew that having that favor would benefit themter on, and that''s why she wanted to make sure whatever Leonard was nning they weren''t involved in it. At the Hotel, Damian was going through the Hallway as he saw Sam Allister who was standing in the empty hallway gazing out the window. "You didn''t go?" Damian asked. Even though they weren''t that close, being teammates for so long, made Damian a bit friendly with Sam. Sam noticed Damian, as he turned to his side. "Is the same capital I grew up in, why bother going around?" Sam said. "I see, although if you don''t have anyone to hang out with you cane with me," Damian offered. It was a polite gesture as Damian felt a bit awkward going his way without saying anything. "It''s fine, I feel better staying here," Sam said looking out the window. Staying in the Capital didn''t make Sam feelfortable at all, as none of his memories of this ce were pleasant. "Okay," Damian went ahead and entered the lift that was at the end of the Hallway. "What a nosy personality," Sam muttered. A few cities away from the Royal Capital, "We willnd soon in the Royal Capital," The person in charge of the whole security informed Asher. "The students are touring the Royal Capital if you want, we can make arrangements for you to join the tour or take you to the Hotel," "Although, there might be some dy so I would advise that you should take the transport that is arranged for the students after exploring a bit," he said. "How long will be the dy?" Asher asked. "A few hours at least, as the security is spread out to observe the routes that the students are traveling," He replied. "Hmm, I will take the first option," Asher replied, He had received a message from Damian after he told him that he was on his way, and Damian told Asher to join him. Although it was an offer that Asher would usually reject as he wasn''t very fond of exploring ces, Damian was quite adamant about him joining. Knowing he would spend a few hours waiting, Asher didn''t see a problem with him joining Damian in the meantime. *** An hourter, Alyssa was standing in the middle of a dungeon as she sat down on the staircase of the altar. She held her head with both her hands as the pain started bing unbearable. She took out a healing potion and drank it all together, despite the bitter taste there wasn''t even a moment of hesitation from Alyssa. This particr healing potion wasn''t that effective in healing the wounds, but it acted more like a pain suppressor. Unlike the usual potions that could be used a lot before any side effects showed, this particr potion was only given when one person was in excruciating pain. The side effects of consuming it wererge enough but for Alyssa, it made her feel better, the pain across her body dulled down. But the mental stress that was overwhelming her till now wasn''t curable. Taking in a few deep breaths, Alyssa tried to calm herself as she looked around the altar. This was the ce where she was told toe and wait. Even if this was a trap, Alyssa didn''t mind as there was a portal just behind her and all she needed to do was exit it and use the teleportation artifact that was given to her. The location was set to her Hotel Room so she could arrive there easily, and the mask she is wearing would conceal her identity. Far from the location of the Dungeon,bender "Hmm, he is spending a lot," One of the students in n''s group muttered. "Let him, he must be happy for some reason," His friend shushed him up. Unlike Gavin, n wasn''t covered with rumors that made other students avoid or fear him but knowing n was part of the Blood Faction and was rted to all the Seven Seats members that came from the Blood Faction, getting on his bad side wasn''t something they wanted to do. While n was going around buying expensive stuff, they entered a more luxurious district which consisted of only shops and buildings that were meant for the upper echelon of the Royal Capital. None of the students were stopped as the Royal Guild had already informed the guards around this particr district. The World Academy had already arranged for this trip long ago, getting permission from the Royal Family and the World Association. While Gavin was going around, he got a message on his phone as he stopped in his tracks and looked at n. "I will join you guys after a few minutes," he said, "Okay," n casually replied. lightsvl m Their group went ahead leaving Gavin who turned around and waited in an empty ce and used a ring-type artifact that concealed his sound. "What''s the location of n?" Leonard''s voice came out of themunication device Gavin had. "We are near the general area," Gavin replied. "Make sure to keep an eye out if things go wrong," Leonard said. "Okay," Gavin replied. "I have already stationed people near the Hotel area," Leonard said. "Once the escape n is used, they will capture the target," "So, make sure the timings don''t mess up or it will create problemster," Leonard said. "What about the aftermath?" Gavin asked. "The artifact will probably make sure she doesn''t stray from the ns, but what if she gives out our name?" Gavin asked. In all this nning, Leonard''s name wasn''t present anywhere, and Gavin knew that. Despite knowing all this he still went ahead and did as Leonard told him because that was what his family wanted from him. Be a valuable asset and an ally to Leonard Tarvian, and for that, Gavin didn''t deny Leonard''s order, but he still wanted to know what Leonard had in his mind. "Don''t worry, there is no need to keep a pawn alive once it is useless," Leonard replied. The call disconnected as Gavin removed the sound barrier and looked around as a smile appeared on his face. He went ahead, and after some time, n''s group was standing at a particr ce that wasn''t in their n. "But n isn''t this a bit dangerous?" "Hahaha, don''t be a coward, see this is just a lower C Rank Dungeon," n said. "What could potentially go wrong?" He said while disying the artifact in his hand. Chapter 441 Fall And Rise - XII 441 Fall and Rise - XII n and his friends were moving in a particr direction as n carefully chose the routes. n looked down at his wrist saw the time, and looked behind as all the people were busy looking at things. ''Anytime now,'' n thought in his head. It was about to happen, and n was waiting for the signal. More than a week ago, "So, I just need to inject this drug into her and bring her blood?" n asked. "Can''t we just kill her?" n looked at Leonard. "Where''s the benefit in doing that?" Leonard asked. n couldn''t go against Leonard''s n and knowing that the target was Asher Greville, n agreed quite easily. "Two birds with one stone, huh," n muttered. n proceeded to do just that and said all the things that Leonard had told him to say. Due to the agreements that happened more than a decade ago, the Astaria family was obligated to protect and give Alyssa a normal life. But Alyssa didn''t know about it at all, and so threatening her to leave the World Academy worked. Ping! n received a notification as he nced and it and turned around. "Hey guys, I heard of a good ce to spend some time," n said loudly. Everyone looked at n. "Hmm, Gavin isn''t here though," n muttered. "Argh, I will tell him the location let''s go there in the meantime," n suggested. Since they were going to follow around n anyway, nobody was against the idea of going with n. As they were moving, n looked around and looked at the city map to make sure the other students followed after him. Part of the Royal Capital was full of open grasnd and forest-like areas, and it added to the beauty of the city, and most of the expensive areas were near the grasnd and the big bridge that was the only path to the Royal Castle that could be partially seen at a distance. "Hey is this the right ce?" "Hmm, aren''t we going a bit away from our area?" "That''s weird, ording to the map this is the fastest way to get to the next district that is near the Arena," n said out loud. Some of them came near n to look at the map when suddenly they felt a surge of mana near them, and they saw a Dungeon Gate appear before them. "What the hell?!" "A Dungeon!" A dungeon gate formed before them as they all got shocked and channeled their mana subconsciously. The group of 15 students were among the Top 30 students of World Academy. It wasn''t wrong to say they were the best of the best among all the current Third Year Students. "We need to report this Dungeon Gate!" One of them shouted. He immediately tapped on his ID Bracelet when n opened his mouth. "Wait!" n said halting him, "I have an artifact that can check the rank of the Dungeon Gate with me," n spoke out. Usually, a Runemaster would have needed to know the rank of the dungeon gate and the restrictions on it if it had any. "What do you mean?" One of them asked. "Wait a second," n said as he took out a scroll-like thing from his storage ring. lightsvel And channeled his mana into that paper as it floated toward therge dungeon gate and started glowing. It floated back toward n as he looked at the result and smiled. "It''s a lower C Rank Dungeon," n said out loud. "I knew it, isn''t this the perfect chance to clear this dungeon and gain a lot of fame," n said as he smiled. As expected, a few of them weren''t sure about this idea, an unexplored dungeon, going in there without knowing what was inside didn''t sound like a good idea. "Just think about it, World Academy students clear a newly made Dungeon Gate on their own, surely it would increase our reputation all over the world," n said. And just like Leonard had told him, he could see some of them thinking about his suggestion. All of the people here were from fairly powerful families and knowing they could gain fame and represent their families made them think about n''s suggestion. "I mean, we have many C- Rank Hunters here, and 16 people are enough to clear this dungeon," n said. He could see the troubled faces of others as they gave his suggestion real thought. "But n isn''t this a bit dangerous?" "Hahaha, don''t be a coward, see this is just a lower C Rank Dungeon," n said. "What could potentially go wrong?" He said while disying the scroll to them. Just like he said, it was a lower C Rank Dungeon. "Sounds good to me and we have all our weapons and artifacts with us as well," One of them stepped up. Due to the nature of the trip, all the students were allowed to carry the weapons and artifacts they owned and because of their high ranks, none of the students herecked in either of those. "We have cleared such dungeons with a team of 8 before, 16 of us could easily clear it," n said confidently. "Hmm, I am in," Another student stepped in. Thinking of the benefits and how their names would be all over the news if they did this, made them join n''s idea of going inside the dungeon one by one. ''This way, he will owe me a favor as well!'' Many of them thought. Not only they would get famous, but n Astaria the Heir of the Astaria family would owe them a small favor as well. And just like that, n managed to enter the Dungeon with a smile on his face as hepleted his role in the n that Leonard told him. ''Now where''s that bitch, I can''t wait to mess her up,'' n thought as the students behind were carefully observing their surroundings. Apart from n nobody knew that this dungeon was artificially created. But something that even n didn''t expect happened, as he looked behind him and the portal that they came from disappeared. The smile on n''s face faded away as he realized that things had changed from the ns ''he'' knew. A few minutes ago in the Royal Capital, "Let''s start with our n," Kevin whispered looking at Elena. Elena nodded as she pped her hands and gathered everyone''s attention. "Amelia, we were thinking of buying some gifts, so we wanted to split for a while," Elena said. "Split?" Amelia asked, She was confused, out of nowhere Elena made new ns that she wasn''t aware of. "Yeah, sorry, I just forgot to tell you about it," Elena said. "But don''t worry, I will send you the final location where we can all meet," Elena added. "You forgot to tell her?" Eva added. "I know, I am sorry Amelia," Elena said again,bender "It''s fine, what''s the location, I will wait for you guys there," Amelia said. All of them split up, and Amelia went to the location as she wasn''t in the mood to buy gifts. "Maybe I should tell Damian to join me there," Amelia thought as she texted Damian. The location was a luxurious restaurant, so it was a good ce for both of them to have a conversation. Thinking that Amelia walked while Elena, Kevin, Eva, Lishia, and Ria met up as they confirmed that Amelia had gone away in that direction. "Are you sure, she wouldn''t be upset?" Kevin asked. "It''s fine, she will be happy once she knows we did all this for a surprise party for her," Elena replied. "Should we go get the gifts we arranged?" Elena asked and all of them nodded. Amelia''s birthday was a few weeks away, but it coincided with the Trials Ground opening, so Elena gave Kevin the idea to celebrate her birthday early. It was a cheer-up party for Amelia, that Kevin wanted, and it would help her enjoy the trip even more. Elena had told this n to everyone present here, and they wanted to surprise Amelia as well. Although Lishia wasn''t that close to Amelia, they became good friends as she interacted with Kevin''s group. The idea of retrieving the gifts from the Royal City was given to her by Lishia herself, and it was easy for her to arrange things in Halcyon. Kevin easily agreed as knowing Lishia''s status in Halcyon, he was sure that Lishia would do a great job arranging things for them. PN: So far, the author has fixed Chapter 441. Chapter 442 Fall And Rise - XIII 442 Fall and Rise - XIII "Let''s quickly get the gifts, meanwhile I will contact my servants to make sure the preparations are done," Elena said. They moved in the opposite direction towards the area that faced the open grasnd. Elena was messaging and making sure to gather information about Leonard as well at the same time. Knowing, that Kevin was excited about the surprise party, she didn''t want anything to get in their way. Around half an hourter, Kevin and the rest wereing out of the shop when they heard a lot of people gather around their faces looked anxious. "What happened?" Kevin frowned. Seeing the anxious look on people''s faces, Kevin looked around and stopped one of the people. "Hey, can you tell me what happened?" Kevin hurriedly asked the middle-aged man. The man was in a hurry, but he couldn''t get out of Kevin''s grip he looked behind Kevin and could see the group of beautiful girls, but he could judge that they belonged to rich families judging from their attire and looks. "A-A Red Gate has appeared and some young people have entered there," he said hurriedly. "Let me go, I need to leave this ce before that gate breaks," he said trying to remove Kevin''s hand. But Kevin let him go willingly, as he looked around in the direction where the man pointed. "We need to check that ce," Kevin said and immediately hurried to the ce leaving the rest of them behind. "Wait, Kevin!" Elena followed him, and Eva, Ria, and Lishia did the same. Moving at a high speed, Kevin jumped over the buildings and saw the open grasnd where a few people were standing in front of a Red Gate, and he rushed over. "Hey, stop right there!" One of the Hunters said as he tried to stop Kevin who was rushing towards the gate. "Who are you?" he immediately asked with a loud voice. "Can you tell me about the situation here, I am a student from World Academy," Kevin tapped his ID Bracelet and showed the hunter present there his identity. "Kevin Whiteheart!" The Hunter eximed as his voice gathered the attention of the others. "Can you tell me what happened here?" Kevin asked again but his voice was louder. "Ah, some people saw a group of young 17-18-year-olds enter this dungeon gate, and we were alerted as it transformed into a red gate," He exined. "17-18-year-olds?" Kevin said as he frowned. "Sir, they were wearing simr bracelets as the young man here," An old man pointed at Kevin as the Runemaster working on the Red Gate turned to look at Kevin. Kevin who heard this frowned as the only people with simr bracelets like his ID Bracelet were the students of World Academy. "Excuse me, you are a runemaster, right? Can you tell me about this red gate?" Kevin pushed the hunter aside easily and asked the Runemaster. lightsnvl The Runemaster had heard the identity of the young man before him, Kevin Whiteheart who was famous across the world to be the best of his generation, so it was obvious that he couldn''t ignore his words. And following the rule of conduct where the Runemasters weren''t allowed to withhold information regarding Yellow or Red Gates if a Hunter in a vicinity asked. "There are 24 people limitations, and only 1 B Rank Hunter can enter, the rest have to be below B Rank," The Runemaster exined. At this moment, Elena and the rest of the girls caught up with Kevin as they came closer. "A Red Gate," Elena muttered as she looked at Kevin. "It''s not good guys, the people inside are the students of World Academy," Kevin looked at them. "What?" Eva said out loud. Out of nowhere a dungeon appeared in the Royal Capital, and it became a Red Gate that would break if it wasn''t cleared soon, and it would result in a monster breaking out after a big explosion. And to their shock, the people stuck inside were the students of World Academy. Before Eva or anyone could think about the situation or do anything, Kevin took out his spear as he wore the artifacts. "I am going in," Kevin said as he pushed everyone aside with his B Rank Mana. "NO! Kevin, it''s too dangerous," Elena held back Kevin''s hand. She wasn''t sure if Leonard Tarvian was involved in this or not, but she wasn''t going to let Kevin enter the Red Gate. A Gate that would never open until the Boss or the Altar was destroyed, that''s the only way of making sure the Red Gate disappeared. "We can''t leave them there Elena!" Kevin said as he looked at her. "There is only 1 B Rank Hunter who can enter, and I am the only one here who can fight at a higher level than my rank," Kevin said. "Wait, we can''t let you guys enter this gate," The Hunter presented their tried to stop them. "We are still in the process of requesting support from the Guilds," He tried to exin. But Kevin knew that official procedures would take time and he was confident in himself. He had entered Dungeons so many times and fought against monsters, and above all he was confident in his abilities. As the strongest student of the year, and also the person who was called the Greatest Talent of his generation, it would be shameful if he turned his back here. "It would be toote," Kevin used his mana to push everyone back. His mana already rivaled B Rank Hunters and could evenpare to B+ Rank Hunters even without using lightning aura. A bit far from their location, a couple of masked men were observing all this. "Kevin Whiteheart is there?" A voice came out of themunication device one of them was holding. "Should we stop them from entering Young Master?" One of them asked. After a moment of silence, "No, let them enter and keep blocking all lines ofmunication," "As you wish," They all replied in sync. Soon enough a few of them spread around as they circled the area to make sure no one who wasn''t part of their n entered the Dungeon. In another part of the Royal Capital, Leonard turned off themunication device as he started walking the busy streets while attracting a lot of gazes due to his looks. "Hmm, things got a bit interesting," Leonard muttered. Kevin Whiteheart wasn''t part of their n, but now that he was somehow involved there was a chance thing wouldn''t go as smoothly as possible. "But even he wouldn''t be able to stop that enhancer," Leonard said to himself. Unlike the ones that were avable on the market or were going to be introduced in the future, this particr enhancer was something no one was aware of apart from a select few. At the same time, Leonard looked at the notification he had just received. "Our guest has arrived finally," Leonard said out loud as he turned around. Inside the Dungeon, "What should we do n?" One of the students shouted as he used his magic to kill another monster. n clenched his teeth as he didn''t know what was going on. "Shut up! Let me think," n shouted. The portal''s disappearance and the slight change in the dungeon''s environment was a clear sign that the Dungeon had changed into a Red Gate. However, the chances of anything like a Blue Gate turning into a Red Gate were extremely rare. But right now, n could only curse his luck as he and the rest of the students were stuck in the dungeon. "Doesn''t that mean the Rank of the Dungeon will fluctuate?" One of them pointed out. "Dammit! I shouldn''t have entered," "Calm down, we just need to move forward!" n shouted again. This time he let out his mana to assert his dominance over others. bender "Move forward? We should just wait for someone to send help, even if it''s a Red Gate they might still be able to enter," One of them stepped up. "So what?" n countered. "They will still spawn at the other end of the Dungeon," n said. "The portal has disappeared they will not meet us until we reach the Altar area," n exined. "Yeah, he is right," "That makes sense," n looked at the faces and he could finally convince them to move with him. Even if things went wrong, n knew that he needed to go forward with the n, and to ensure that his safety was guaranteed, he needed all of their support. And if the support from outside was able to enter inside, the n would fail. ''I need to deal with that bitch before they get inside,'' n thought in his head. He knew Alyssa was already inside the dungeon, and he was not going to slow down and let the ns they made fall. ''If things get dicey, I can just use them as bait,'' n thought in his head. Chapter 443 Fall And Rise - XIV lightsnvl 443 Fall and Rise - XIV "Hey, I am finally here, where are you Amelia?" Damian asked with a smile on his face. From his ID Bracelet a voice replied. "I will send you the location," Amelia spoke, "Hmm, it''s a bit far, I will get there soon," Damian replied. He disconnected the call, as he went around the ce as he searched the location Amelia gave on the map. It was far from this ce but it wouldn''t take Damian too long to reach there so decided to check out the things that were being sold here. "I should get something as a small gift," Damian thought in his head. Because he waste, he hadn''t thought of anything and just rushed here. But thinking about it, going empty handed seemed wrong to him. He kept ncing around as he looked around and kept stopping at multiple vendors. "What are you looking for young man, you look troubled," The old woman maintaining the flowers in front of her shop asked. "Huh? I am not troubled," Damian shook his head as he scratched his head. "Oh, you were frowning a lot, it seems this olddy was mistaken," The olddyughed lightly. "Aah, I am just bit confused, nothing much," Damian said. He didn''t know what facial expressions he was making so he looked at the reflection on the window sses and fixed his gaze. "Are you looking for something?" She asked. "I was looking for a small gift for someone," Damian replied. "I was thinking what flowers to buy," Damian asked, He knew that Amelia liked the gardens that were present at the Greville estate so he was thinking of taking some of them for her. "Hmm, why not take these ones," Thedy pointed at a bunch of blue flowers. "These small ones are known for their fragrance and beautiful looks, and just looking at them makes you feel calm and loved," She added. "Hmm, is that so, I don''t know much about these things, but if you suggest I will take them with me," Damian said as he agreed. He was in a hurry and the olddy seemed nice to Damian so he decided to trust her rmendation. The olddy took out the flowers and used wind magic to wrap the flowers. Damian was surprised by the olddy''s trick but it was quitemon in Halcyon for old hunters to retire and be small vendors. Taking the gift, Damian hurried to meet Amelia. "Hurry Damian, let''s not mess this," He told himself as he rushed over the streets of the Royal Capital. Twenty minutes earlier, "Step aside, I am going in," Kevin said and no one could stop him. Elena clenched her fist as she knew that once Kevin decided something he would not listen to anyone. And knowing the situation it was impossible to convince him to not enter this Red Gate. "I will follow you," Elena said, "Huh, no it''s dangerous Elena," Kevin replied as he turned around. "No, if you are going in then I am going with you," Elena said with a serious look in her eyes. "Argh, Eva can you-," Kevin looked at Eva. "No, I am with Elena, if you are going I am alsoing with you," Eva said. "I will go with you guys as well," Ria added. Seeing them all, Lishia stepped up as well. ''I can''t stay behind, as the Princess of Halcyon I can''t ignore this Red Gate,'' She thought in her head. "I will go as well," Lishia said. Kevin looked a bit apprehended but knowing their strength he was sure they were the best C Rank Hunters he could count on right now. "Then let''s go," Kevin said with a smile. "Wait you guys can''t enter," One of the hunter present there tried to step in. But he was stopped by a invisible barrier.bender "Well, we will fix the situation inside ande back soon," Kevin said as everyone followed him inside the Red Gate. As soon as they entered, Kevin took out his spear as he was in the air and below him was swarm of crawling spider that opened their mouths toward Kevin and others. "Channel me," Elena muttered. Eva raised her hand as she put a barrier under them and made a fence to guide Elena''s fire. "Shackle," Lishia chanted a ck element spell chaining the monsters down. In an instant the monsters below them were burnt to nothing as Kevin finished the one away from Eva''s barrier as he used the foothold Eva created to propel himself toward the monsters. "Let''s be careful but we need to hurry up," Kevin said looking back as he removed his spear killing thest monster. In an instant, 25 monsters that could trouble a group of low C Rank Hunters were dead. They moved deeper into the dungeon, while encountering monsters but something seemed a bit strange. "The number of monsters doesn''t make sense," Elena muttered to herself. Till now, they were sprinting ahead deeper into the dungeon while also being careful as a Red Gate wasn''t like a normal dungeon. It would be more difficult than a normal dungeon, that''s why people were so hesitant on entering Red Gates as most of the times it would result in heavy casualties. But Elena was doubting it while observing as they only saw low C Rank monsters till now. *** While on the other end, n''s group was making its way to the center and surprisingly there weren''t many monsters in their path. This was the same path that Alyssa took but she also made sure not to leave any corpses behind as per the n that Gavin told her. Although the rest of the students found this weird, n who knew about the truth of this dungeon that was artificially created, wasn''t surprised at all. Deep within the dungeon in the massive altar room, Alyssa was sitting on the staircase with three empty vials that were lying around her. Her eyes were tired, as she slowly nced at the ring in her hand. Another vial appeared as she used gravity magic to remove the seal and floated that vial above her mouth. She wasn''t wearing her mask, so her face was visible as the altar room was lit by the mana rocks that were engraved around the room randomly, that lit up the entire room by using the mana that was present in the dungeon. Apart from lightning up the whole ce they were nothing but useless rocks that were present in almost all dungeons. The vial shined as the light prated and refracted through it falling in Alyssa''s eyes and face that was half burned and had scars. The liquid in thest vial was pitch ck as it started boiling as it was exposed to the air, but not bothered by it, Alyssa turned the vial with her gravity magic and poured the liquid into her mouth. Tinkle! The vial fell on the staircase and shattered into many pieces as few drops that were left in the vial started sizzling as they evaporated into ck fumes. "ARGH!" Alyssa clenched her teeths as she grabbed her head. The mana inside her body started bing dormant as it started umting towards her mana heart. She felt pain all over her body, but the one that was hurting her most was the headache she was feeling. It was like her head was getting split into pieces. "This is the enhancer, this will help finish off n Astaria," The voice of Gavin when he met Alyssa in the medical ward started repeating in her head. "Isn''t this what you want? To kill the person that kept insulting and tormenting you all this time?" "The son of the man who abandoned your mother?" "The one who kept using his mana to torment you before the whole ss?" "Wasn''t he the one who made each day hell for you?" The pain kept increasing as the killing intent around Alyssa started increasing. "Every day, when your head would be mmed against the desk and the whole ss would ignore it, even the professor," "Isn''t this your only chance to take revenge on him, before you lose everything?" The words that Gavin Neville spoke, but it was Leonard Tarvian who orchestrated everything. Gavin was nothing but a medium, who was used by Leonard and without knowing everyone was moving exactly as he wanted. As the few minutes passed Alyssa wore the mask as her mana started increasing and her strength started increasing. Alyssa had only reached C- Rank in the Third Year but she was weaker than other C- Rank Hunters, but right now she could feel therge amount of mana that was revolving around her mana heart. Enhancer, a simple name for the drug that Leonard and Reece Williams were releasing, but the one that Alyssa injected was different from the highly diluted version that was avable in the market. Her body started burning with all the excess mana that kept increasing as Alyssa started floating in the air. Suddenly the closed doors of the Altar that she entered opened as she saw multiple people enter and some of the faces she remembered very well. Chapter 444 Fall and Rise - XV 444 Fall and Rise - XV After all during thest two years in World Academy, they were the very same people that pointed fingers at her. The very faces thatughed at her, harmed her, mocked her existence. And in her current condition, just looking at them was enough to increase the hatred that was hidden inside her. In that moment alone, Alyssa''s killing intent started increasing as she floated in the air. "Who is that?" "Where is the boss monster?" "What''s happening?" The only person who knew what was happening here was n and he knew that the masked person floating before them was Alyssa. ''Now, I can finally deal with her for good,'' n thought in his mind. ''Now the rules of the academy won''t save you,'' n smiled as he gripped his sword. In the World Academy n used various means to torment Alyssa, from pushing her down to throwing books towards her, he carefully used the hatred people had toward Alyssa to his benefit and instigated others to do the same. ''Thanks Leon, I will use this opportunity well,'' n thought. But little did he know, he was merely a pawn that was moving as Leonard wanted without knowing what lies ahead. "This person looks suspi-," n was about to say something as they felt killing intent from the masked person that was in the air. Wearing a hooded robe, and a ck mask and exuding killing intent directed toward them, all of them were trained hunters, and in such a situation it was clear without n telling them. The person floating in the air before them was an enemy they must face. All of them red their mana, as they could feel the mana of the masked person before them. "At highest, he is a B Rank, let''s work together and face him," One of them said out loud as he used his mana. Due to the robe, they mistook Alyssa as a man but his words made n frown as he didn''t know the enhancer given to Alyssa would be that effective. ''It''s a false rank anyway, we can deal with it,'' n thought in his head. n charged his aura and just like other weapons users did the same as they propelled toward Alyssa who was in the air. But the next instant they felt a huge pressure on their bodies as they fell on the ground. THUD! THUD! THUD! "WHAT?" n himself was on the ground as he felt the pressure of the gravity magic that he never felt before. It didn''t evene close to what Alyssa could use when he faced her previously. ''What''s happening?'' He thought not knowing that the enhancer given to Alyssa wasn''t a normal one. ''Wasn''t the n to defeat her quickly while taking a few injuries and killing her,'' n thought as he tried to stand up. But something seemed wrong, from the Red Gate to the Alyssa he was facing. "Hey!" n shouted in anger. "Use your damn magic!" n looked back. The mages standing there didn''t like n''s attitude but they had no choice but to obey his order. In a situation they were facing an unknown enemy, it was better to maintain their teamwork. And soon they began chanting, Alyssa''s eyes drifted toward the students standing at the entrance. Soon she felt multiple fireballsing her way as she instinctively dodged them, Her killing intent started increasing, as her eyes became cold and dull as she used gravity magic to stop multiple spellsing her way. "What the hell?" "My spell stopped?" The amount of mana in her body right now was overwhelming her mana core, and it allowed her to use all these spells but still it wasn''t enough to stop all the spells. BAM! Not all spells could be blocked as some of them made their way around, but it wasn''t Alyssa that was hit by it. A film of thick ice that was formed in an instant like a barrier took the hit and shattered, cancelling the effects of the fire spells. But using ice magic, lifted the gravity effect on n and others as they charged their auras and jumped toward Alyssa. She used the gravity magic again but this time to repel them, but their aura was resisting her magic, but still it was enough to overwhelm them. Despite having the enhancer, the students she was facing were the best among all students. That''s why n wasn''t worried even though the Dungeon turned into a Red Gate. But there was one big difference that neither n nor Leonard ounted for. Alyssa was incapable of using mana properly before her mana heart even formed. Her body was highly damaged that even a normal life was impossible for her. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om But whatever this drug that Leonard prepared for her, it worked like a pseudo cure, or it appeared to work like a cure. Arge amount of mana that was rushing towards her mana heart, it directly allowed her to use the spells despite the damaged mana veins. Right now, Alyssa''s mind was overwhelmed with the voices so she wasn''t even aware of what she was doing. "Lance," Alyssa muttered as multiple icences started forming. "Propel, Rotate," She started chanting multiple gravity spells. Despite not being able to use many spells due to her limits, Alyssa didn''t stop studying about both ice and gravity magic. And right now, when her mana seemed far greater than she should have at C Rank, she could use all of them. "Huh, she thinks her magic would do anything," n mocked Alyssa as she jumped towards her but his eyes went wide as he saw thences go past. SLASH! SLASH! Although most of thences were dodged but some of them were enhanced by Alyssa''s gravity magic. He nced back and he saw two ofnces, one had impaled an arm, and the other was stuck in the leg. "My arm..." The student that got impaled muttered. "ARGHHHHH," The other shouted. Suddenly n''s confident face changed as he realised that the situation wasn''t like what he imagined. But it was toote for him to notice it. "Hey, focus we can charge at him-," The one student who spoke felt a spike emerge through his stomach as he looked at the ground below him. The broken shards of ice came together and formed a spike that impaled his stomach. His arms and legs started shaking before he could even get another word out. "Dammit, don''t move," One of them shouted as he used his sword to break the ice. "Give me a potion," He shouted as one of them took out a potion. "Cover him!" Another shouted. n jumped down as he looked at Alyssa and clenched his fist. He couldn''t help but feel the intense killing intenting from Alyssa, the same weak girl that he had knocked out easily. Someone that was supposed to be weak and crippled was inducing fear in his heart as he looked at his hand that was gripping his sword and it was shaking. n looked up as he saw hundreds ofnce forming, as his facial expressions changed. From the one who was hunting, to being hunted. Their positions were changed and there was nothing n could do now. All thences rained down on them as all of them scattered but some of them still got injured. "Hey, can we even defeat him?" "Dammit, I shouldn''t have entered this dungeon," Fear, anger, frustration, all of them could feel such emotions stir inside them. The fact they were facing an unknown enemy, but knowing that they could die, all of the teamwork they had broke off in an instant. The fear of dying, or getting injured in a situation like this they weren''t sure they could trust each other with their lives. "Hey, maintain the damn formation you fuc**rs," n shouted. Alyssa on the other hand was lifted her hand up as she bought it down making even morences rain on them. "I will kill all of you...just like they killed my family," Alyssa muttered. Outside the Dungeon, in the Royal City. "About time, they would confront her," Leonard muttered. "I guess it will be an interesting experience for him," A smile erupted on his face. "Well, for a such a great n, a few sacrifices are needed," Leonard said to himself. *** At the same time, a car stopped and a person stepped out of it. "So this is the Royal Capital," Asher muttered. A city that was full of life, something that didn''t exactly suit him. Asher looked at thest message he received and it was from Damian who invited him as he was going to meet Amelia. But he ignored that message, it wasn''t a ce for him because he knew what Damian wanted, it was better if he didn''t go. "It will only make things worse," Asher said to himself. Putting the phone aside, Asher moved in the opposite direction of the city as touched his ID Bracelet and opened the map. Moving along the outskirts of the Royal Capital, Asher reached theke and sat on the empty bench. Chapter 445 Fall and Rise - XVI 45 Fall and Rise - XVI "So this is the finished report?" Fernando asked. "Hmm, there a few things here that are not exined," Fernando said looking at Asher. "Just fix these things, the rest of the report is good enough,"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "In the meantime, I will arrange for your departure tomorrow," Fernando said. The Trip to Halcyon was 12 days long, and today was the third day when Asher presented his final report. "Anything else you need, just inform me," Fernando tapped his ID Bracelet. Asher turned to leave as Fernando picked up the research report again. "It''s scary how fast hepleted it," He muttered. "Thank god, I dyed him yesterday," Fernando was surprised to see such a detailed report by Asher knowing that he had to redo his whole research. Despite the rumors around Asher, and his cold personality, every Professor knew that Asher Greville was a genius in academics. The undisputed Rank 1 in all subjects, even Eva Williams who was regarded as a prodigy from a young age couldn''t overtake him a single time. That''s why Fernando was trying so hard to point out mistakes that normally nobody would have pointed out. Asher returned to his room and looked at the numerous calctions that he had done the past days. He started adding all the things that Fernando had pointed out, as it wasn''t difficult to mention the methods that Asher used and exin them. Unlike his original report, this one was closely rted to a research that was already done before. Thump! Thump! Thump! Asher touched his heart as he didn''t why he was feeling like this. Since yesterday, he was feeling this strange feeling, and he felt restless. It was the first time he felt like this. A person who had never once felt fear for something, was being restless but for what? He himself didn''t know the answer for it. "Is it because I can''t meet her?" Asher muttered. A small smile appeared on his face, but he couldn''t shake off this strange feeling. *** "You are stupid," A young boy spoke, "Watch how you speak kiddo," Damian as he clenched his fist. "Don''t forget I will be your senior when you join World Academy," Damian said while smiling. Nate''s eyes nced down at Damian''s fist. "Anyway, don''t get angry, but you really are stupid," Nate didn''t sugarcoat his words. "And why are you asking me for advice?" Nate asked. "Ask Big Bro Asher or someone else," Nate said. "This kid..." Damian muttered. If he could, he would have asked someone else but the matter involved Asher and Amelia and his own personal feelings. "Anyway, why don''t you guys have a simple talk?" Nate said. "Why make things soplicated? Just have a conversation and solve it," "But what if things go wrong?" Damian said as he scratched his head. "Are you really my brother?" Nate asked as he tilted his head. "I can''t believe this musclehead is supposed to be my big brother," Nate sighed. "Nate...," Damian said as he barely held himself. Nate noticed that he was pushing Damian to his limits. "Well, I am not the best person to give any suggestions here," Nate said.Visitt nov??lbin(.)c??/m for the l??test updates "Just talk it out, and you will be fine," Nate said.F?ll?w ??ew stories at n??/v(e)lb/in(. "I need to go now, it''s time for my ss," Nate said as he disconnected this call. But before disconnecting, Nate looked like he was about to say something but felt a bit embarrassed to say it. He wasn''t great with words and would always argue with Damian, who always just epted his insults. "What am I doing bothering my younger brother for this," Damian sat back down. He was thinking of ways to amend things between Amelia and him, as he didn''t like the fact they were so awkward. "When did things go this way, I wonder," Damian stared at the ceiling. At times like these, Damian wondered if what he was doing was right or not. Unlike the past, he didn''t know anymore what Amelia thought. In the same Hotel, Knock! Knock! Alyssa heard a knock on her door as she moved her wheelchair and opened the door and there were people wearing ck masks. "This is the enhancer," One of them spoke. The voice belonged to a woman, as Alyssa took the strange vial in her hands. The people with ck masks disappeared as Alyssa got a call on her ID Bracelet. And the caller was Gavin Neville. Alyssa picked it up as Gavin''s hologram became visible. "I am sure you would have gotten the items," Gavin said. "We will create the opportunity, but remember this is your only chance for your revenge," He said. "n Astaria is already gathering the support of the Seven Seats to expel you in anyway possible," "So remember, I am giving you the opportunity to get the revenge you need," Gavin said. Alyssa didn''t say anything, as she let Gavin speak. "Isn''t this good for us, I can finally see that arrogant n fail, and you get your revenge," "While saving the reputation and future of Asher Greville," Gavin said. Alyssa clenched her fist. "Well, it wouldn''t do good for the status of the Heir of the Greville Family that he is friends with a terrorist?" Gavin chuckled. "Well, I am no better but you help ''us'' and you get your revenge," He said. "That enhancer is thetest drug that will amplify your mana and body''s strength by a lot, enough to even multiple B Rank Hunters at the same time," Gavin exined. Alyssa''s eyes glowed for a second as she opened her fists and her drive for revenge started getting bigger. Gavin disconnected the call as Alyssa''s killing intent started filling the room. "It''s fine, It''s fine, It''s fine," Alyssa muttered. "Everything will be fine after I do this," She muttered. "Mother, I can finally do something for you, and I can help him as well," Alyssa looked at the vial in her hand. Meanwhile in the Royal Castle, Leonard was sitting drinking wine while looking at the card in his hand. "You worry too much Reece," Leonard said. "It''s better to have full control over such people, one mistake and the whole n would go to waste," Leonard said. "But that artifact has limited use, I am not sure if it''s worth using it," Reece said. "Don''t worry, I trust my eyes and from what I have seen, this will be worth it," Leonard said. "What''s the progress with ''that'' artifact," Leonard asked. "It''s ready to be used on your orders," Reece replied. "That''s good, hahaha," Leonardughed. Reece disconnected the call as Leonard keptughing as he looked at the night sky full of stars. "I wonder what expressions you would show," Leonard said. Leonard flipped the card like artifact that had many names engraved on it, and red jewel in the middle was glowing. Among the many names written on it, thest one was ''Alyssa Astaria''. It was the next morning, "Good Morning Students, you will continue your Dungeon Exploration today as well, but you are free to explore the city tomorrow," Arman said. "But we will make group of 50 students so give us the names of the people you want to be with, we will make groups by taking that in consideration," Arman said. Every single one of them got excited as they could finally enjoy the trip. "For the dungeon raid, the groups will remain the same, you can join your mentors," Arman said. "Nice, we can explore tomorrow!" Kevin said out loud. "Someone is excited," Eva chuckled. Kevin nced at Elena, and Elena smiled understanding Kevin''s intentions. "I asked Lishia to tell me a few good spots, we can explore tomorrow," Elena said. "But let''splete the task for today early so we can rest and enjoy tomorrow," Elena added. Amelia and Eva nodded with a smile, as everyone went toward their mentors. At the Royal Guild Headquarters, "What do you mean, we have no task for today?" A man with a group of hunters asked. "Exactly what I said, there is a shift as we don''t need extra people, the orders came from above so no point arguing with me," The man at the reception said. "Ah, and we were looking to earn some quick money," The man said. "Anyway, ping us when a new task or dungeon requestes up," He said waving his hand and leaving with his group. The man at the reception updated the patrolling duty as he canceled the requests that were up. "Why do they even add such request if they wanted to remove themter," He said while editing all the request at the guild. "Ah, and we were looking to earn some quick money," The man said. "Anyway, ping us when a new task or dungeon requestes up," He said waving his hand and leaving with his group. The man at the reception updated the patrolling duty as he canceled the requests that were up. "Why do they even add such request if they wanted to remove themter," He said while editing all the request at the guild. Chapter 446 Fall and Rise - XVII Draft Error Asher looked at the Portal before him. "You are a bitte, so we have arranged private transportation for you," Professor Fernando said. "But you would only arrive around the morning of the Fifth Day," Fernando exined. "I hope you understand, it''s difficult to move the security," Fernando said. "It''s fine," Asher replied. Asher was escorted by a different group of S Rank Hunters that belonged to the Security Team of World Academy. Due to his status, the academy couldn''t send Asher without appropriate security, so his travel was dyed even further. Asher entered the Portal as the temperature around him became warmer, unlike the cold weather at World Academy. "Wee, please follow us," The Security Team on the other side said. Asher moved with them toward the private aircraft that was waiting for him, it waste in the night. "We will take off near 5 AM, after getting the clear from the other side," The Security Head there told Asher. "Is there no direct Portal to the Capital?" Asher asked.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "There is, but permission from the Royal Guild or the World Association''s permission is required to use them, and we don''t have them currently," He replied. "Don''t worry, you will arrive early in the morning," he said. But as they were moving, the Security Head stopped as he looked at hismunication device. "Umm, there seems to be a dy signal from the Royal Guild," he said. "They are saying to dy the departure by two hours," The Security Head said. "Check with the Royal Guild and confirm this," He turned towards one of his men. While they escorted Asher to the aircraft, a barrier was ced around the aircraft. Asher sat down on the seat, as he closed his eyes to do mana meditation, but he couldn''t focus. It was the first time he had that strange feeling as he touched his chest. Was he anxious or was it something else, he had no way of knowing. The scenery started cracking as the memories started to appear as the scenery changed to the Royal Capital. "What are you thinking Amelia?" Elena asked. "Nothing, I was just thinking about my mistakes," Amelia replied. "Well, the dungeon exploration was tiring, it''s fine to miss a few timings," Eva said. "Yeah, it''s not like we don''t make mistakes either," Elena said with a smile. "And isn''t it Kevin''s fault for always being too fast," Elena said. Amelia chuckled as the three of them made their way to their rooms. It waste at night, and they were out exploring. "But it was fun to see Kevin charge at a monster and our mentor got worried because it turned out to be a rare variant," Elena said. "Yeah, but his aggressive fighting style keeps the monster away from us but I worry for him all the time," Eva said.F?ll?w ??ew stories at n??/v(e)lb/in(. Amelia was smiling as she nced outside the window as they were moving down the hallway and she could see a particr person talking with someone.F?ll0w current nov¨ºls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m) ''Lishia Halcyon with n Astaria and Gavin Neville?'' Amelia thought in her head. But they soon moved out of the view as they went inside the lobby room. She was curious but didn''t bring it up as the matters regarding Lishia didn''t concern her. While every student was in their room, one of them wasn''t present in the Hotel anymore. Alyssa was wearing a mask and a robe that concealed her as she followed the people wearing a ck mask. "This is the ce," All of them stopped as Alyssa looked at the blue gate in front of her. They tossed the ring toward Alyssa, and she used her gravity magic to grab the ring. "You have until morning to finish the preparations," One of them said. "If things go wrong you can use the teleporting artifact after exiting the dungeon," The woman said. Alyssa took the ring and nced at the dungeon gate in front of her. She looked at the night sky above as her eyes nced at the full moon above her. After a few seconds, she entered the dungeon gate as the people wearing ck masks nodded with each other and threw a gem-like thing near the gate. Grey fumes came out as the dungeon gate disappeared. Thud! Thud! Thud! Each of them went on their knees as a particr man walked up towards the Dungeon gate. "We greet the Young Master!" They said together. "Make sure to keep everyone unrted to the n from entering," he said. "And what''s the information about Asher Greville?" He asked. "The current location is the Portals near the Border City, they have been dyed as you wish," One of them replied. Leonard who was looking at the Dungeon gate turned around to leave. In the Hotel, "Will she listen to us?" n asked. "It''s not just us, Leon himself is involved, would you think she will refuse to know what''s happening here," Gavin replied. "I don''t care if she doesn''t cooperate, we don''t really need her tomorrow," n replied as he put his hand in his pockets. "Hahaha, I can''t wait to finally clean the stain on my family name," n said. Gavin chuckled as they moved together. The night was still young, with many awaiting the morning. However, the tiring day of dungeon exploring took a toll on many students as most of them were already asleep. "Remember to follow the n," Gavin reminded n. "All the Top-Ranking students that followed the Blood Faction are in your group," Gavin added. "Don''t worry," nughed it off. Gavin and n weren''t worried at all as everything was going ording to Leonard''s n and they believed that nothing would go wrong. "Well, it doesn''t really matter if things go as nned or not," Leonard said. Meanwhile away from the Hotel, In avish car, Leonard was sitting as he looked at masked people sitting across from him. "Make sure both of them follow the n," Leonard said. "Even if you have to force them," he said while ncing out the window. "But what if they realize the ns have changed?" One of them asked. "What can they do?" Leonard muttered as a smile appeared on his face. "They have no choice but to follow what I say, like it or not," Leonard said. Leonard didn''t care if he used others to aplish his goals. "This is the perfect chance to carry out our ns sooner," "I have already got the permission from Father, and everything is ready," Leonard said while picking up the ss and sipping the drink. "Well, it doesn''t really matter if things go as nned or not," Leonard said. Even if things didn''t go his way, he would confirm a lot of things and he had already prepared for the worst-case scenario. "Either way, it''s my win," Leonard said. While everyone had their objectives, they all awaited the sunrise. But who would have known that something nobody had thought would happen? In the Border City of Halcyon, Asher was reading some medical books while using his mana meditation method at the same time. He closed the book as he walked toward the exit of the ne and walked out of the aircraft. "Is there any issue?" One of the hunters guarding him appeared. "Nothing, I just want to take a stroll," Asher replied. "Hmmm, then please do not go further than 100 meters from this aircraft," The Hunter said. "Sure," Asher replied as he walked under the night sky. For some reason, Asher was feeling a bit odd, and he couldn''t rx at all. Even doing mana meditation didn''t help so decided to stroll. Since Alyssa got hospitalized, Asher hadn''t met her even once. He was told to stay in the Faculty Council till his report was submitted and any outside contact was impossible. "It will be different from now on," Asher muttered. Till now, he was thinking if he kept his distance from others, nobody would be interested in his matters. But seeing the rumors spread and knowing what kind of opposition Alyssa had to face, Asher finally decided to step out of the shell that he made around himself. He could feel that he was bing closer to the ''normal'' he was trying to get closer to. His world wasn''t grey anymore or so he thought. Crack... The overseer who was watching the memories till now noticed a change in Asher''s body that was present in the dense mana pool. Red hue started covering Asher, as his killing intent was spreading outside his body. What the overseer couldn''t see was the multiple system notifications that were appearing. [ Warning Host''s mental stability is... ] Multiple notifications appeared as the tattoo around Asher''s arm started to fade. "Is this the limit?" The overseer muttered as he appeared in the night sky above the Asher that was walking below him. But the memories started shifting, as Asher was still under the effect of the Ancient Rune. "I guess not," The overseer said as he disappeared. But the boundary was breaking, it was either due to the burden on Asher''s mind or something else. Chapter 447 Judgement 447 Judgement n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "KEVIN!!" "KEVIN!!" "WHITEHEART FOR THE WIN!!" Loud cheers took over the stage as Kevin stepped on the stage as his eyes stared at the pair of crimson in front of him. A year ago, nobody would havepared these two together as Kevin was on another level, but shockingly, the Rank 8 Ranker was standing against Rank 1. First against Sam Allister, then defeating Elena Rothschild, and then going against Matthew, nobody imagined that Asher Greville would be the one standing in the final. Kevin was surprised and a bit unhappy that someone like Asher was growing strong so quickly. ''Is he trying to gain attention so that Amelia can''t overtake him,'' Kevin frowned. ''A person like you doesn''t deserve to be the heir,'' Kevin said to himself as he gripped his spear tightly. Despite Asher''s performance in the previous matches, this match waspletely different. Kevin Whiteheart was the Rank 1 student, and someone who had already be a B- Rank Hunter. Kevin was way ahead of everyone in the Second Year, and his confidence was justified. "You must be happy to stand here," Kevin said as he pointed his spear toward Asher. Asher didn''t reply as he took out his sword. He didn''t show but Asher was a bit tired with all the matches he had fought till now. It was something that he didn''t do before, but right now Asher was trying to stand out as much as possible. But the opponent before him wasn''t someone who could be defeated easily, much less by someone who wasn''t even on the same rank as him. Kevin''s lightning attribute drained a lot of his energy when he used it, but in return, his senses and speed became much superior to someone on the same level as him. In closebat, Kevin was the worst type of opponent someone could face as the lightning attribute around him not only would increase his strength but would act as a shield and would hurt the attacker as well. It was a perfect offense and defense if one could master the lightning attribute, that''s why Farnus was considered the strongest hunter because he made his spear art that allowed him to create distance between himself and his enemy while also allowing him to close that distance anytime. All advanced attributes were strong enough that people who had their affinity were trained preciously so that their talents could be used properly. Inparison, Asher who simply had an affinity with the ck element, and a few other elements, didn''t look like a person who could go against even other rankers. But what made him different was his bloodline, the Greville Bloodline which was considered one of the strongest bloodlines that allowed Asher to use mana to his will. Efficiency is something that a person would slowly learn over time, and it was part of the growth of a hunter. A step that took other years, was something that the Greville were innately gifted. This was what the high-ranking hunters, like Silvus and Osbert, were thinking. Unlike the students who were stunned by Asher''s performance, they could see the precise movements and mastery over his sword that allowed Asher to gain the upper hand. But what caught their eyes was Asher''s battle sense, something that allowed a person to carefully read his opponents and his surroundings mid-fight. "I guess him having an S Rank Bloodline ability wasn''t just a rumor," "Makes sense, I guess having a bloodline ability truly increases your strength," There were many opinions regarding Asher, but all of them concluded that possessing the S Rank Bloodline Ability, his talent wasn''t a joke. Asher''ste awakening created an image of a weak person who wasn''t suited to be a hunter. After all, in other''s eyes Asher just seemed like a coward that was too scared to enter the world of Hunters. The referee raised his hand and looked at both Asher and Kevin. "Start!!" He shouted as Kevin brought out his aura calmly. Unlike others, Kevin remained calm as he didn''t consider Asher a threat to him. Asher pointed his de at the ground spreading his mana sense, against an opponent stronger and faster than him, relying on his eyesight alone was foolish. So, he decided to use the one thing that he was best at in the whole academy and that was the ability to sense the mana around him. Something that was greatly amplified by the Rank S bloodline ability. ''I will show everyone how unworthy you are,'' Kevin swung his spear in the air. He pointed it at the ground and made tiny sparks of lightning appear on the stage. Suddenly, the aura around Kevin changed as sparks started to wrap around him. Lightning aura is the one thing that solidified Kevin''s Rank 1 position, among all the Second year. Even Matthew who was Rank 2, knew there was a big gap between him and Kevin. And those thoughts were justified as using lightning aura so effectively made Kevin worthy of the title of the greatest talent of this generation. The sh of these two continued as Kevin was effectively dodging the strange attacks that Asher would do. In all the fights, he had seen Asher use a unique movement technique, so he thought of a counter for Asher, and it was using the lightning spark on the stage as signals that would alert him of the change in movement that Asher could do. Asher''s eyes were following Kevin as he noticed the sparks beneath him. ''Should I?'' Asher thought in his head. The whole time in World Academy, Asher didn''t care much about ranks, or showcasing his strength as he didn''t want any attention from him. Unlike Kevin, whose smallest actions would catch the attention of the entire academy, and someone who would openly use his charisma to gather followers. Kevin was a perfect example of what an Heir to the Elite Family was expected to do. Kevin was aware of the expectations for him, and the burden of carrying the name of his family. He practiced hard and became the Rank 1 Student and started bing popr inside and outside the World Academy. He had poured all his efforts into lifting the name of his family, which was considered the weakest Elite Family even further. That''s why, he disliked Asher, who didn''t seem like a proper Heir to him. The fact he was given the position just because he was older, didn''t sit right with Kevin. In his eyes, Asher had robbed Amelia of her deserved position and made no effort to behave like an actual heir. Asher''sck of consideration towards other students that tried to provoke him, caused bad rumors about him to spread. And thest straw for Kevin was when Asher became acquainted with Alyssa. Out of all people, he chose the one that would garner a lot of hate toward the Greville Family due to his actions. Unworthy and Ungrateful were the two things that Kevin thought about Asher. A smile crept on his face, as he saw the obvious result of the duel. 19:07 Kevin rotated his body as he allowed the sparks to flow through his body and wrap around his spear. ¡­ But was it correct? Was it just Kevin''s infatuation that made him think of Asher like that? But whatever the answer was, it didn''t matter. The pieces were set, and the traps were ready. "I guess little Whiteheart is better than you," Leonard Tarvian muttered. A smile crept on his face, as he saw the obvious result of the duel. Kevin rotated his body as he allowed the sparks to flow through his body and wrap around his spear. Each time Asher''s de collided with it, he would feel burns on his fingers. Asher''s aura countered any extra damage, so he wasn''t feeling numb, but it was getting hard to push Kevin back. Their aura shed, but it was obvious that Kevin had the advantage over Asher. Asher was using more of his energy to make sure he didn''t get damaged by the passive effects of Kevin''s aura. The difference in mana between a C+ Rank Hunter and a B- Rank Hunter was big enough to make the battle easier for Kevin as time went on. Even right now, Kevin had the obvious advantage over Asher, but what he wanted wasn''t a simple win. He wanted to make it obvious what the difference between him and Asher was. That''s why he wasn''t going all out from the start, and it was obvious to Asher who had another goal in his mind. Being in the same ss as Kevin, Asher had observed him, willingly or unwillingly as Kevin''s outgoing personality would make others notice him. And their paths would often sh as Kevin wanted to keep the power status in the ss neutral so he would often argue with Asher. After all that time it wasn''t to see what Kevin wanted in this battle. And their paths would often sh as Kevin wanted to keep the power status in the ss neutral so he would often argue with Asher. After all that time it wasn''t to see what Kevin wanted in this battle. Chapter 448 Unfavored Trial 448 Unfavored Trial ----- After all, it was a matter of pride and their identity as the citizens of one of the five continents. However, due to the low numbers of students allowed in World Academy, there weren''t many arguments about such things. An announcement was made for the new Third Year Students to pack their stuff, with necessary artifacts and armor they needed. Even though it was named a vacation, there was a high chance that it was more of an educational trip where the students might have to spar or duel other hunters in Halcyon. But despite knowing all that, the excitement of all the Third-Year students was high. After all, it was the first time most of them would visit the closed continent Halcyon, and that also as the students of the World Academy. And the students from Halcyon were excited to show their continent to their fellow friends, there was a lot of friction between students of different continents. After all, it was a matter of pride and their identity as the citizens of one of the five continents. However, due to the low numbers of students allowed in World Academy, there weren''t many arguments about such things. And the Student Council was there to resolve things before they escted into a big issue. But there were times when that stuff didn''t matter, as they simply enjoyed sharing the stories of their continent. In the Rankers Dome, Alyssa was sitting in her room as she was discharged a few days ago. But her face looked emotionless as she was sitting in her bed while clutching her head. The screams inside her head had grown stronger and abnormally louder. "You want to run away?!" "COWARD!!" "Alyssa, will you not avenge your mother?" The sweet voice of her mother made it even more painful for her. "Oh, do you want to live longer?" "You will die, you know it!!" "Isn''t this the best chance!!" "The best chance to inflict the same pain on them?" Alyssa''s health condition hadn''t be better as she was slowly realizing that even living till 30 was something she could only dream of. Alyssa stood up as she touched the empty canvas. "What should I do?" Alyssa muttered. "Tell me..." She asked, but there was no answer. "If I don''t, they will go after your status..." she muttered. N?v(el)B\\jnn "I knew it, I shouldn''t have gotten involved with you," At this time, she wanted to talk with him, but he wasn''t around. In the Faculty Council, with the restriction on his ID Bracelet, Asher was working on his tenth report. All the ones he presented before were rejected by Fernando, and this was the final report that Asher wouldplete in three days. Knock! Knock! Somebody knocked on the door as it opened, and Fernando entered. "I have talked with the people in charge, you can join the trip a day after the other students," Fernando said. "Please make sure toplete this report, knowing your exceptional performance in the End Year Tournament, I don''t want your position to be affected because of this," Fernando said. Normally, Asher wouldn''t have cared, but he had another goal in his mind, that made him try harder at the End Year Tournament. "Ok," Asher replied. Fernando went back as he closed the door. As Asher noticed the door being closed, he closed the report he was doing and opened another. After looking at multiple reports, he found a report that stood out to him. A drug that could limit someone''s mana to help a person when their mana would go wild while increasing the rank of their mana core. It was quite different, but the report was graded as a failed one because using a drug at such a crucial time could lead to the death of a person. "Van Hargrave..," Asher saw the name on the report. This report was slightly moreplicated than Asher''s, and it was clear that the thinking of the person behind this report was different from the norm. To use poison to stop someone''s mana, even if it only worked till E Rank as per the report for safety measures, showed remarkable thinking. He had ten days toplete the report, which would have been difficult for any other students because the research report needed to be on a certain standard for him to receive decent or above decent grading. As this subject took more importance in the overall academic marks, doing badly here could affect Asher''s ranking when they started in the Third Year. Meanwhile in the Ranker''s Dome, Alyssa looked in the mirror as she wore her mask, the voices in her head were screaming. In the past few days since she left the Hospital, her emotions, especially her hatred, increased a lot. She was looking at the mirror as her eyes went dull. Everything around her was burning. Walls were falling, and the sound of weapons shing with each other echoed throughout the entire space. "HAAAAAAH," Alyssa gripped her neck as she fell out of her hallucination. "Huff, huff, huff," She could barely breathe as her hands kept shaking. This wasn''t the only problem she was facing, the message from n that she needed to get out of the academy and go back to the Astaria family. She felt cornered. Paths to her revenge kept closing one by one, and the opportunities kept closing. Unlike others, time wasn''t on her side. Others were getting stronger, and they would keep getting stronger, but for her things were different. A body that was deteriorating, an affinity that would slowly consume her mind, and her enemies that kept getting stronger. To avenge her mother, her broken childhood, and her life that was full of suffering after that day. Was it time for her to give up? But before such questions coulde into her mind, Alyssa''s emotions kept burning, and her mind was set. Just like what Gavin had told her, after the Trials Ground, everyone would get stronger, and she would be forced to leave the academy. At first, Alyssa would never have epted the help of someone from an Elite family. The very people she hated. But what choice did she have? After all, it wasn''t her own life that depended on this. In the World Academy, "Hahaha, don''t worry about that, you remember your role?" Leonard asked with a light smirk on his face. "Yeah," Gavin said. Leonard disconnected the call as Gavin''s face looked bored. "I would have had more fun if you had told me to torture her," Gavin said. The next day, every third-year student was gathered near the Portal Area, as many Professors were gathered there. The safety of this trip was an extremely important matter so many 3 Star Professors were present here. And even some of the officials of the World Association were near the Portal Area. As the students were going to one of the cities of Halcyon, the security there was being handled by the World Association and the Royal Guild. "I hope all the students have stored their equipment with them," Professor Arman said. "Remember to be a good hunter, you would have to be vignt at all times," He said. "You can enjoy this trip but remember you will also train there, although what you would do we will tell you there," Arman said as he looked to his side. "And thest thing, the restriction locks on your ID Bracelet will be turned on," "This means that you won''t be able to remove them so that if anything happens, we can track you guys instantly," Arman said. "The data on that ID Bracelet will not be stored but if an emergency urs, we will be using it to monitor your location," Arman said. Knowing that they wouldn''t be monitored 24/7, some of the students rxed as no one wanted to be restricted so much. Everyone looked excited as this was the first trip outside World Academy where they would be allowed to freely roam other ces. Unlike the dungeon raids where they needed toplete the exploration ande back to the World Academy, for many students, this was something they were looking forward to. Hearing the stories of the recent graduates, many of them were excited to travel outside of World Academy and see the experience they would only know when they became Fourth Years themselves. But a part of the gathered students didn''t look exactly excited as they saw Alyssa standing with them. "Why are they taking her as well?" "Let''s ignore her, I don''t want our trip to be ruined," "If I were her, I wouldn''t have wanted to go outside this academy," n who was standing with Ria Adler and other students from big families looked over in Alyssa''s direction and looked away with an annoyed look. On the other hand, Gavin was smiling as he touched his ID Bracelet to message someone. Chapter 449 Mess 449 Mess Voices kept repeating as Asher''s body in this dark space was slowly turning ck. He was overwhelmed by the memories as he couldn''t suppress them anymore. And the effect of this could be seen by the Overseer himself, as the memories started distorting. "Hmm, is this his limit?" He questioned. The memories stored in the system started fluctuating as the Overseer tried to maintain the bnce, but he couldn''t interfere as he didn''t have control over the System. Rifir was only a medium that allowed the overseer to connect to the system, but it was Asher who was the owner of the system. If the Overseer wanted, he could lessen the burden on Asher allowing him to continue watching these memories, but he didn''t stop it. The world that the overseer was witnessing was slowly shaking. The Trials once began never stopped. Be defeated or conquer your trials! There was no third option. It was the rules that the overseer himself followed. "If you can''t prevail, this is your end," The overseer said as he witnessed the world of memories crumble. In the dark mental space where Asher''s consciousness was confined, he opened his eyes as they started glowing. He looked at the memories, he heard the voices, and he felt the excruciating pain. N?v(el)B\\jnn [ Host''s mental state is crumbling! ] A system notification popped up, that couldn''t be seen by anyone. It was the first time since Asher had increased his Intelligence stats that such a thing had happened. [ Host''s mental state is crumbling! ] The Rune of Eirdin, couldn''t be stopped as the memories kept popping up, but for some reason, Asher''s killing intent starteding out of his body. Even when he was in deep slumber, his killing intent was increasing. [ Rune of Eirdin can''t be stopped ] The System started disying warnings, that went unseen. Suddenly, the mana that was invading Asher''s body became still as his bloodline ability activated passively. His body started absorbing the mana, as he used his bloodline ability. Neither Asher nor the Overseer noticed it, but Asher''s body was absorbing the mana as a ck tattoo appeared on his arms. *** "WELCOME TO THE END YEAR TOURNAMENT!!" The crowd cheered as they were excited. Farnus was sitting with Osbert Tarvian and Silvus Grandus who was present as well because his grandkids were about to enter the World Academy. Farnus had previously requested Silvus to dy the admission of the Grandus twins by a year. The reason for that dy was unknown as Silvus took Farnus''s words about how he wanted some time more to create a good atmosphere for this special ss. But now that the Grandus Twins were here, Silvus was also attending this tournament as a guest. Matches started with various students performing their best, and among them were the new first-year students as well. There wasn''t anyone exceptional in the first-year students this time, unlike the second-year students who had many students from the Elite Families. Despite being the start of the End Year Tournament, Asher was present at the Faculty Council building as Professor Fernando called him for some reason. "I am not sure about these documents, your research is decent, but I don''t think this is practical," Fernando said. "I can''t grade this report, because the form you have formed ispletely new, and there could be side effects or a chain of problems that this can cause," Fernando picked up the document and ced it on the shelf. "I don''t know where you got ideas to do this stuff, but please don''t take after your senior Vin Hargrave, his crazy research and forms are already giving me headaches so please don''t stray far off from the conventional methods," Fernando was annoyed. Asher''s research was something that didn''t follow any conventional methods and it used a lot of poisonous herbs and drugs. "If you want evidence, I can test it on myself," Asher proposed. "Please don''t, I will be honest, this subject is not for people like you," Fernando said looking directly at Asher. "Vin Hargrave is not in a prominent spot in his family, but things are different for you, just focus on other useful subjects, because I honestly don''t want to be med for any problems that you may create," Fernando said with a frown on his face. "Redo the reports before the start of the next semester, I will not grade this," Fernando gave his final verdict. "You have your trip soon, so you will get a week or more toplete it, just give me something conventional, and I will grade it with your situation in mind," Fernando said. He was being lenient on Asher because of his status even if he liked it or not. Asher was already causing problems since the rumors about him, and Alyssa started spreading as it was Fernando who was being pressured to make Asher leave this ss. "Please, take a look at all the previous reports I have ced outside, don''t go before going through them, your matches will begin tomorrow, so you have a lot of free time today," Fernando said as Asher left his room. While Asher was stuck reading the reports, Alyssa was exiting the Rankers Dorm when she was stopped by a certain someone. Wearing the ck Uniform, and the badge of one of the new Seven Seats, with her long ck hair and pair of red crimson eyes that Alyssa had grown ustomed to seeing. It was Amelia Greville who was standing outside the Rankers Dorm. "Do you have a moment?" Amelia asked with a serious look on her face. Alyssa nodded, with an emotionless look as Amelia pointed her to follow her to the side. "I am here to tell you one thing, stay away from my brother," Amelia said as she looked directly at Alyssa. From the look of her eyes, Alyssa could feel the hatred, as she had seen those types of gazes a lot in her entire life. "I don''t care what your motives are, but don''t think that you can use the name of the Greville family as a shield to protect yourself," Amelia said with a frown on her face. "I am not using him," Alyssa retorted. Her tone was cold, as her eyes looked directly at Amelia. Suddenly the mana around them started rising as Amelia stared at her. "Don''t take my words lightly, I don''t what he sees in something like you, but consider this a warning, stay away from him," Amelia warned her. "Why not say that to him?" Alyssa asked. Amelia''s frown grew deeper as Alyssa noticed another personing around from a corner with long blond hair and blue eyes, which made Alyssa''s gaze turn cold. "Don''t waste your time Amelia," Elena said out loud looking down at Alyssa. "Do you think someone from a family like hers would do anything good in her life," Elena said. "Let me take care of her," Elena said as she patted Amelia''s shoulder. "How much do you want?" Elena asked. Seeing Alyssa stay silent, Elena crossed her hands. "Are you deaf? How much do you want, you to be around him because of his status," Elena looked at Alyssa with a look of disgust. "Mind your words, Elena Rothschild," Alyssa spoke out causing Elena''s eyes to widen. "Look at this, and here I thought you were a coward who always tried to hide behind Asher Greville," Elena said. "Someone is looking for quite brave today," Elena said. "Do you think you are his friend or something, I don''t even know why someone would hang around something like you, but who knows he might find you interesting, people buy strange pets all the time for their enjoyment," Elena mocked Alyssa. Seeing the look in Alyssa''s eyes that could be seen through her mask. "Oh, don''t tell me you think of you like a friend or anything like that?" Elena said out loud. Alyssa stayed silent, but her mind was screaming out loud. She wanted to kill Elena right now, but she controlled herself as her outburst could lead to creating problems not only for her but for Asher as well. "No guy would find something as ugly as you are, interesting," Elena said. "Don''t be delusional thinking anything like that, the sight of you is enough to make someone puke, it makes me wonder how that guy even stays around you," Elena spoke out loud. Alyssa clenched her fist, as she looked down. She knew she wasn''t attractive, but her scars and burns were a reminder for her, a reminder for her revenge. Part of her agreed that someone like her wasn''t suited to be with Asher. Strange emotions started to re up, as the screams inside her head kept insulting her. "Consider this ourst warning, it''s you''re blessing that we were willing to talk with you overlooking the heinous crimes your familymitted," Elena said as both she and Amelia went past Alyssa leaving her there. Chapter 450 Crumbling 450 Crumbling "So your brother is joining next year?" Asher asked. "Yeah, but he wants to focus on researching so he will join the Potion Crafting ss just like you," Damian replied. Both of them were standing in the training room. "Father didn''t like it that he doesn''t want to trainbat arts but Nate isn''t the one to give up easily," Damian said with a smile. Asher observed Damian as he looked at him. "What?" Damian asked with a confused look. "Nothing," Asher shook his head. "Ohe on, now I am curious," Damian whined but Asher resumed his training. These days, it was hard to see Damian outside doing anything else than training. Due to his role, it was hard to practice alone so Damian would ask Asher to practice with him. "Your ss will start soon, right? I will go roam around for a bit," Damian said as he put the shield down. Asher nodded as Damian went out. Suddenly the bright look on Damian''s face, became dull as he walked outside the Rankers Dorms. The schedule of each ss was different for the Second Year Students, apart from themon sses like Sword Art, or Mage Art, theory sses would often be held for each ss separately. Asher wiped the sweat off his face, as he used the shower after a while wore the uniform and went out for the ss. When Asher entered the ss, everyone averted their eyes and ignored him. While Kevin, Elena, and Eva nced at him once and ignored him like the other students. Due to the way this ss was structured, other students didn''t interact with Asher at all so to avoid being in the bad eyes of the two of the Seven Seats. Kevin and his group didn''t shy away from showing that they didn''t like Asher, so it was obvious who the students would side with. Asher didn''t care about such things, as he took the seat in the back. He opened his ID Bracelet, to check out things in his schedule, as saw a personing towards him. 19:05 Asher looked up, and it was Kevin. "What''s happening?" "Are they fighting?" Many students turned their heads, but Kevin was still looking at Asher. "Why?" Asher asked. "I will exin it to youter, let''s have a conversation after this ss," Kevin said. Just now, the Professor entered the ss and Kevin noticed it and went back to his seat. The ss proceeded and ended without an issue, and Kevin stood up and pointed at Asher toe outside. Although as unbothered or unconcerned as Asher might have been, he never backed down from a challenge. Kevin was waiting in the hallway while Elena and Eva stood as guards to make sure no students in their ss bothered them. "Do you know, your actions cause so much worry for Amelia?" Kevin looked at Asher. His attitude changed, as an expression of anger was evident on his face. "Why do you care?" Asher asked. "Why do I care? I am her friend and someone who wants to support her," Kevin replied. "Friend....so? Why should I care?" Asher countered. "Hahaha, I knew it!" Kevin looked at Asher. "How could even call yourself her brother, I guess you are really insecure that she would take your little Heir position?" Kevin spoke. "Is that what she told you to say?" Asher asked. "Huh? No!" Kevin immediately answered. "Do you think Amelia would ever say that to your face, unlike you she cares about her family," Kevin said. Kevin knew that Amelia didn''t like confronting Asher about things, and he took her actions as hesitation. "I am just here to say one thing, don''t bother Amelia anymore," Kevin said while staring at Asher. "Because if you do, you will make your enemy," Kevin said. Asher looked straight at Kevin, with an unbothered expression. It wasn''t the first time, Kevin had an argument with him. There were many people who wanted to create problems for the Heir of the Greville Family who had awakened just before joining the academy, assuming that Asher was weak, and the way that Asher handled them, didn''t sit well with Kevin. "Do what you want, and if she has a problem, she cane herself," Asher said as he turned around to leave. "It''s not Amelia who has a problem, it''s you that creates all the problems hanging around that Garcia''s Girl," Kevin shouted as Asher kept walking. "No wonder, with your personality, you hang around such ugly people," Kevin said with an irritated look on his face. He didn''t like the fact how unbothered Asher would always be, and time and time again due to their social standing Kevin couldn''t outright deal with Asher. Hearing, Kevin''s words Asher stopped and turned around. "Hah? Did thatment about your personality angered you?" Kevin asked with a smirk on his face. "Did I say anything wrong? The way you treat other students, and abuse your status, I would say Amelia is 100 times more qualified to be the Heir than you," "Unlike you, she actually shows concern about other students, even in the Seven Seats she is constantly working-," Kevin was working as he stopped as Asher''s killing intent started pouring out. Those words were enough to bring out Asher''s killing intent as he felt annoyed and in that split second, he allowed his madness toe out of him. Elena and Eva also got defensive while Kevin frowned as he channeled his mana. This was the first time, they had seen such a reaction from Asher, who always maintained an emotionless face. It was enough to surprise even Kevin who got ready to face Asher''s attack. ''I will not back down, if it''s for Amelia,'' Kevin thought as he looked ahead. Elena saw the look in Kevin''s eyes and started channeling her mana as well. Asher looked around him, as he took back his killing intent and walked toward Kevin. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "If you are so concerned about Amelia, bring her in front of me, and say the same words," Asher said. "Don''t project your ideals around, and expect others to follow them," Asher said. "And for your words, do I take them as a challenge from the Whiteheart Family?" Asher asked. Kevin frowned as he realized that in hindsight he might have taken things too far. Looking at Kevin''s reaction, Asher turned around to leave as Elena and Eva stepped back and let Asher leave. "Kevin, I told you talking with him wouldn''t make things any better," Elena went toward Kevin who was clenching his fist. "But Elena, don''t you see how troubled Amelia is by all this, and the root of those problems, isn''t it him," Kevin said. "Still, you shouldn''t openly say certain words, Kevin," Eva spoke out. "Your words can even lead to create animosity between two families," Eva said. "My bad, I got carried away," Kevin scratched his neck. "And if Amelia needs our help, we will help her, let''s not get involved with this guy," Elena added. This whole scenario happened after Kevin had a conversation with Amelia yesterday and Elena wanted to stop him, but she couldn''t in the end. "Yeah, sorry again," Kevin apologized. "It''s fine Kevin, you wanted to do something good for Amelia," Elena said. "But there are some people you can''t reason with," She added. "And let''s not do this in front of other students," Eva said. "It will only create unnecessary rumors," "Unlike that guy, let''s not ruin our reputation," Kevin nodded, as he could understand that his actions right now might have been a bit abrupt. "You guys go ahead, I have some work to do," Elena said. "Ok," Eva said as Kevin and Eva went ahead. Elena''s smile faded as she looked back and clenched her fist. "How dare he show his killing intent toward Kevin," Elena felt angry. But during that conversation, Elena found it odd that never before had Asher reacted like this whenever Kevin confronted him or said anything. But this time, he did and for Elena, it seemed weird. But this time, he did and for Elena, it seemed weird. "He told me to report anything out of the ordinary," Elena muttered. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. Chapter 451 Marked Chapter 451 Marked "Let''s quickly get the gifts, meanwhile I will contact my servants to make sure the preparations are done," Elena said. They moved in the opposite direction towards the area that faced the open grasnd. Elena was messaging and making sure to gather information about Leonard as well at the same time. Knowing, that Kevin was excited about the surprise party, she didn''t want anything to get in their way. Around half an hourter, Kevin and the rest wereing out of the shop when they heard a lot of people gather around their faces looked anxious. "What happened?" Kevin frowned. Seeing the anxious look on people''s faces, Kevin looked around and stopped one of the people. "Hey, can you tell me what happened?" Kevin hurriedly asked the middle-aged man. The man was in a hurry, but he couldn''t get out of Kevin''s grip he looked behind Kevin and could see the group of beautiful girls, but he could judge that they belonged to rich families judging from their attire and looks. "A-A Red Gate has appeared and some young people have entered there," he said hurriedly. "Let me go, I need to leave this ce before that gate breaks," he said trying to remove Kevin''s hand. But Kevin let him go willingly, as he looked around in the direction where the man pointed. "We need to check that ce," Kevin said and immediately hurried to the ce leaving the rest of them behind. "Wait, Kevin!" Elena followed him, and Eva, Ria, and Lishia did the same. Moving at a high speed, Kevin jumped over the buildings and saw the open grasnd where a few people were standing in front of a Red Gate, and he rushed over. "Hey, stop right there!" One of the Hunters said as he tried to stop Kevin who was rushing towards the gate. "Who are you?" he immediately asked with a loud voice. "Can you tell me about the situation here, I am a student from World Academy," Kevin tapped his ID Bracelet and showed the hunter present there his identity. "Kevin Whiteheart!" The Hunter eximed as his voice gathered the attention of the others. "Can you tell me what happened here?" Kevin asked again but his voice was louder. "Ah, some people saw a group of young 17-18-year-olds enter this dungeon gate, and we were alerted as it transformed into a red gate," He exined. "17-18-year-olds?" Kevin said as he frowned. "Sir, they were wearing simr bracelets as the young man here," An old man pointed at Kevin as the Runemaster working on the Red Gate turned to look at Kevin. Kevin who heard this frowned as the only people with simr bracelets like his ID Bracelet were the students of World Academy. "Excuse me, you are a runemaster, right? Can you tell me about this red gate?" Kevin pushed the hunter aside easily and asked the Runemaster. The Runemaster had heard the identity of the young man before him, Kevin Whiteheart who was famous across the world to be the best of his generation, so it was obvious that he couldn''t ignore his words. And following the rule of conduct where the Runemasters weren''t allowed to withhold information regarding Yellow or Red Gates if a Hunter in a vicinity asked. "There are 24 people limitations, and only 1 B Rank Hunter can enter, the rest have to be below B Rank," The Runemaster exined. At this moment, Elena and the rest of the girls caught up with Kevin as they came closer. "A Red Gate," Elena muttered as she looked at Kevin. "It''s not good guys, the people inside are the students of World Academy," Kevin looked at them. "What?" Eva said out loud. Out of nowhere a dungeon appeared in the Royal Capital, and it became a Red Gate that would break if it wasn''t cleared soon, and it would result in a monster breaking out after a big explosion. And to their shock, the people stuck inside were the students of World Academy. Before Eva or anyone could think about the situation or do anything, Kevin took out his spear as he wore the artifacts. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I am going in," Kevin said as he pushed everyone aside with his B Rank Mana. "NO! Kevin, it''s too dangerous," Elena held back Kevin''s hand. She wasn''t sure if Leonard Tarvian was involved in this or not, but she wasn''t going to let Kevin enter the Red Gate. A Gate that would never open until the Boss or the Altar was destroyed, that''s the only way of making sure the Red Gate disappeared. "We can''t leave them there Elena!" Kevin said as he looked at her. "There is only 1 B Rank Hunter who can enter, and I am the only one here who can fight at a higher level than my rank," Kevin said. "Wait, we can''t let you guys enter this gate," The Hunter presented their tried to stop them. "We are still in the process of requesting support from the Guilds," He tried to exin. But Kevin knew that official procedures would take time and he was confident in himself. He had entered Dungeons so many times and fought against monsters, and above all he was confident in his abilities. As the strongest student of the year, and also the person who was called the Greatest Talent of his generation, it would be shameful if he turned his back here. "It would be toote," Kevin used his mana to push everyone back. His mana already rivaled B Rank Hunters and could evenpare to B+ Rank Hunters even without using lightning aura. A bit far from their location, a couple of masked men were observing all this. "Kevin Whiteheart is there?" A voice came out of themunication device one of them was holding. "Should we stop them from entering Young Master?" One of them asked. After a moment of silence, "No, let them enter and keep blocking all lines ofmunication," "As you wish," They all replied in sync. Soon enough a few of them spread around as they circled the area to make sure no one who wasn''t part of their n entered the Dungeon. In another part of the Royal Capital, Leonard turned off themunication device as he started walking the busy streets while attracting a lot of gazes due to his looks. "Hmm, things got a bit interesting," Leonard muttered. Kevin Whiteheart wasn''t part of their n, but now that he was somehow involved there was a chance thing wouldn''t go as smoothly as possible. "But even he wouldn''t be able to stop that enhancer," Leonard said to himself. Unlike the ones that were avable on the market or were going to be introduced in the future, this particr enhancer was something no one was aware of apart from a select few. At the same time, Leonard looked at the notification he had just received. "Our guest has arrived finally," Leonard said out loud as he turned around. Inside the Dungeon, "What should we do n?" One of the students shouted as he used his magic to kill another monster. n clenched his teeth as he didn''t know what was going on. "Shut up! Let me think," n shouted. The portal''s disappearance and the slight change in the dungeon''s environment was a clear sign that the Dungeon had changed into a Red Gate. However, the chances of anything like a Blue Gate turning into a Red Gate were extremely rare. But right now, n could only curse his luck as he and the rest of the students were stuck in the dungeon. "Doesn''t that mean the Rank of the Dungeon will fluctuate?" One of them pointed out. "Dammit! I shouldn''t have entered," "Calm down, we just need to move forward!" n shouted again. This time he let out his mana to assert his dominance over others. "Move forward? We should just wait for someone to send help, even if it''s a Red Gate they might still be able to enter," One of them stepped up. "So what?" n countered. "They will still spawn at the other end of the Dungeon," n said. "The portal has disappeared they will not meet us until we reach the Altar area," n exined. "Yeah, he is right," "That makes sense," n looked at the faces and he could finally convince them to move with him. Even if things went wrong, n knew that he needed to go forward with the n, and to ensure that his safety was guaranteed, he needed all of their support. And if the support from outside was able to enter inside, the n would fail. ''I need to deal with that bitch before they get inside,'' n thought in his head. He knew Alyssa was already inside the dungeon, and he was not going to slow down and let the ns they made fall. ''If things get dicey, I can just use them as bait,'' n thought in his head. Chapter 452 Trap Chapter 452 Trap "So your brother is joining next year?" Asher asked. "Yeah, but he wants to focus on researching so he will join the Potion Crafting ss just like you," Damian replied. Both of them were standing in the training room. "Father didn''t like it that he doesn''t want to trainbat arts but Nate isn''t the one to give up easily," Damian said with a smile. Asher observed Damian as he looked at him. "What?" Damian asked with a confused look. "Nothing," Asher shook his head. "Ohe on, now I am curious," Damian whined but Asher resumed his training. These days, it was hard to see Damian outside doing anything else than training. Due to his role, it was hard to practice alone so Damian would ask Asher to practice with him. "Your ss will start soon, right? I will go roam around for a bit," Damian said as he put the shield down. Asher nodded as Damian went out. Suddenly the bright look on Damian''s face, became dull as he walked outside the Rankers Dorms. The schedule of each ss was different for the Second Year Students, apart from themon sses like Sword Art, or Mage Art, theory sses would often be held for each ss separately. Asher wiped the sweat off his face, as he used the shower after a while wore the uniform and went out for the ss. When Asher entered the ss, everyone averted their eyes and ignored him. While Kevin, Elena, and Eva nced at him once and ignored him like the other students. Due to the way this ss was structured, other students didn''t interact with Asher at all so to avoid being in the bad eyes of the two of the Seven Seats. Kevin and his group didn''t shy away from showing that they didn''t like Asher, so it was obvious who the students would side with. Asher didn''t care about such things, as he took the seat in the back. He opened his ID Bracelet, to check out things in his schedule, as saw a personing towards him. "Can we have a talk?" The person said. Asher looked up, and it was Kevin. "What''s happening?" "Are they fighting?" Many students turned their heads, but Kevin was still looking at Asher. "Why?" Asher asked. "I will exin it to youter, let''s have a conversation after this ss," Kevin said. Just now, the Professor entered the ss and Kevin noticed it and went back to his seat. The ss proceeded and ended without an issue, and Kevin stood up and pointed at Asher toe outside. Although as unbothered or unconcerned as Asher might have been, he never backed down from a challenge. Kevin was waiting in the hallway while Elena and Eva stood as guards to make sure no students in their ss bothered them. "Do you know, your actions cause so much worry for Amelia?" Kevin looked at Asher. His attitude changed, as an expression of anger was evident on his face. "Why do you care?" Asher asked. "Why do I care? I am her friend and someone who wants to support her," Kevin replied. "Friend....so? Why should I care?" Asher countered. "Hahaha, I knew it!" Kevin looked at Asher. "How could even call yourself her brother, I guess you are really insecure that she would take your little Heir position?" Kevin spoke. "Is that what she told you to say?" Asher asked. "Huh? No!" Kevin immediately answered. "Do you think Amelia would ever say that to your face, unlike you she cares about her family," Kevin said. Kevin knew that Amelia didn''t like confronting Asher about things, and he took her actions as hesitation. "I am just here to say one thing, don''t bother Amelia anymore," Kevin said while staring at Asher. "Because if you do, you will make your enemy," Kevin said. Asher looked straight at Kevin, with an unbothered expression. It wasn''t the first time, Kevin had an argument with him. There were many people who wanted to create problems for the Heir of the Greville Family who had awakened just before joining the academy, assuming that Asher was weak, and the way that Asher handled them, didn''t sit well with Kevin. "Do what you want, and if she has a problem, she cane herself," Asher said as he turned around to leave. "It''s not Amelia who has a problem, it''s you that creates all the problems hanging around that Garcia''s Girl," Kevin shouted as Asher kept walking. "No wonder, with your personality, you hang around such ugly people," Kevin said with an irritated look on his face. He didn''t like the fact how unbothered Asher would always be, and time and time again due to their social standing Kevin couldn''t outright deal with Asher. Hearing, Kevin''s words Asher stopped and turned around. "Hah? Did thatment about your personality angered you?" Kevin asked with a smirk on his face. "Did I say anything wrong? The way you treat other students, and abuse your status, I would say Amelia is 100 times more qualified to be the Heir than you," "Unlike you, she actually shows concern about other students, even in the Seven Seats she is constantly working-," Kevin was working as he stopped as Asher''s killing intent started pouring out. Those words were enough to bring out Asher''s killing intent as he felt annoyed and in that split second, he allowed his madness toe out of him. Elena and Eva also got defensive while Kevin frowned as he channeled his mana. This was the first time, they had seen such a reaction from Asher, who always maintained an emotionless face. It was enough to surprise even Kevin who got ready to face Asher''s attack. ''I will not back down, if it''s for Amelia,'' Kevin thought as he looked ahead. Elena saw the look in Kevin''s eyes and started channeling her mana as well. Asher looked around him, as he took back his killing intent and walked toward Kevin. "If you are so concerned about Amelia, bring her in front of me, and say the same words," Asher said. "Don''t project your ideals around, and expect others to follow them," Asher said. "And for your words, do I take them as a challenge from the Whiteheart Family?" Asher asked. Kevin frowned as he realized that in hindsight he might have taken things too far. Looking at Kevin''s reaction, Asher turned around to leave as Elena and Eva stepped back and let Asher leave. "Kevin, I told you talking with him wouldn''t make things any better," Elena went toward Kevin who was clenching his fist. "But Elena, don''t you see how troubled Amelia is by all this, and the root of those problems, isn''t it him," Kevin said. "Still, you shouldn''t openly say certain words, Kevin," Eva spoke out. "Your words can even lead to create animosity between two families," Eva said. "My bad, I got carried away," Kevin scratched his neck. "And if Amelia needs our help, we will help her, let''s not get involved with this guy," Elena added. This whole scenario happened after Kevin had a conversation with Amelia yesterday and Elena wanted to stop him, but she couldn''t in the end. "Yeah, sorry again," Kevin apologized. "It''s fine Kevin, you wanted to do something good for Amelia," Elena said. "But there are some people you can''t reason with," She added. "And let''s not do this in front of other students," Eva said. "It will only create unnecessary rumors," "Unlike that guy, let''s not ruin our reputation," Kevin nodded, as he could understand that his actions right now might have been a bit abrupt. "You guys go ahead, I have some work to do," Elena said. "Ok," Eva said as Kevin and Eva went ahead. Elena''s smile faded as she looked back and clenched her fist. "How dare he show his killing intent toward Kevin," Elena felt angry. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om But during that conversation, Elena found it odd that never before had Asher reacted like this whenever Kevin confronted him or said anything. But this time, he did and for Elena, it seemed weird. But during that conversation, Elena found it odd that never before had Asher reacted like this whenever Kevin confronted him or said anything. But this time, he did and for Elena, it seemed weird. "He told me to report anything out of the ordinary," Elena muttered. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. "He told me to report anything out of the ordinary," Elena muttered. By ''he'', Elena meant a certain person who had offered her a deal that worked in her favor. She didn''t know why that person wanted information regarding Asher Greville, but because the conditions offered favored her and especially Kevin, Elena epted that. Chapter 453 TRAP Chapter 453 TRAP "There will be a group of 50 Students, but you can create smaller groups and venture around the limited area on your own," Elsa said. With other Professors counting the attendance of the students present, Professor Elsa gave everyone their instructions. "But you will be notified to gather at themon spot from your ID Bracelet," she said. Each of the groups was given different famous spots around the Royal Capital, and they were allowed to have fun for the entire day. It was 8 AM, but every single student was excited to make the most of their time today. Although they were going to get a few more days to explore after a joint practice session with the World Academy ording to their schedule, it was still the first day of the trip they could truly have fun. The security in the Royal Capital was at an all-time high if something happened to the students, it would make the World Association, and the Royal Family of Halcyon look bad. However, a few Professors were told to apany the students while hiding and respond to any threat if they came across one. "That''s all, enjoy your day," Elsa said. She wasn''t worried much about the students, as not only the security measures were put in ce weeks ago, but all the World Academy students were trained carefully. All of these students were among the best of their generation, even thest-ranking student was way better than most of the students his age at other academies. "Let''s go," Kevin said as he looked behind him. Amelia, Elena, and Eva were wearing casual outfits and their whole group was attracting a lot of gazes from other students. With them were Ria Adler, Gavin Neville, and n Astaria. Damian was supposed to be part of their group, but he waste to the meeting for some reason. Amelia looked around searching for Damian, but she couldn''t find him at all. ''Should I message him?'' Amelia thought. Things were rough since Amelia argued with Damian, but she didn''t want to keep things as they were. Kevin noticed Amelia who was looking around. "We should enter the buses let''s reach there as early as possible," Elena suggested. All the students were given the choice to freelymute between the Hotel and the spot where they would be dropped. So, even if some students wanted to return early, or goter they had that choice. Amelia looked at Elena, she wanted to wait around for Damian and try inviting him but knowing that she might be their ns, she decided to go with them. With the other students in their group, they entered the bus that was waiting for them. After a few minutes, the bus left the Hotel Area, meanwhile inside the Hotel. A loud sound of an rm could be heard in the hallway,ing from a certain room. "Ugh," Damian turned and touched his ID Bracelet and stopped the rm. He opened his eyes slightly as he nced at the time, and it made him squint his eyes. "What?" Damian muttered as he rubbed his eyes. Due to the Dungeon Exploration where Damian had to do a lot of tanking due tock of coordination between his team. He didn''t notice butst night he made a mistake while setting his rm, and he waste. "Shit, I amte," Damian lifted himself from the bed. For the past few days, Damian had been thinking a lot about what he should do and he was going to act today, but he had already made a mistake. "Argh, I can''t believe it," Damian muttered as he rushed to the bathroom. Sshing his face with water, he got his eyes wide open. He had been thinking about this day and the trip for a long time, and the day he wanted to make his first move, he already gotte. "Why do things always go wrong with me," Damian muttered as he rubbed his face with a towel. The students were already informed about the bus system so Damian was aware of the fact that he could only get onboard that bus after an hour. There was a one-hour dy boarding the bus, and now all he could do was wait. While Damian was rushing to the shower cursing his luck, Professor Elsa was looking at the sheet of the students that were at the Hotel. On that list, one name was Alyssa Astaria, and the reason written was her health condition. "I guess it''s better for her to not go out," She muttered. Knowing what kind of gazes and reactions she would get from the people who might recognize her would only create trouble for her. So, Elsa was d that she was staying behind in the Hotel, but she waspletely wrong. None of the staff or Professors present here knew that Alyssa Astaria wasn''t at the Hotel at all. She was present inside a dark ce using her magic to kill small monsters as she made her way towards the center of the dungeon. Wearing a long coat and mask that covered most of her face, Alyssa was making her way to the Altar of the Dungeon. N?v(el)B\\jnn Her eyes were cold as she kept using her ice magic to kill the monsters that would sometimes appear in front of her. Her body was showing the effects of using mana constantly, but she kept moving forward. "Get your revenge!" "Isn''t this what you wanted? A chance!" "Let them feel what you felt for all these years!!" The voices grew stronger, and louder as Alyssa couldn''t suppress them anymore, the more her hatred grew, the more she suffered. All she could think about was her purpose foring here. Far from the Royal Capital, A particr aircraft was flying with a full team of S Rank Hunters that were guarding it. "Two hours," Asher looked at the time. His flight was dyed a lot, but they finally got permission from the Royal Guild to fly toward the Royal Capital. Asher was sitting alone while flipping through the pages of the book he was reading. Rankers were allowed to borrow the books they wanted and take them outside the World Academy if they had permission. Fernando allowed Asher to take a few books as they weren''t too important. As the book was rted to alchemy and potion brewing, it wasn''t a risk for its content to get leaked so Asher could take it outside. All the rankers were allowed to take the books with them if they stayed inside the World Academy, but the contents couldn''t be shared with others. There was a runic spell ced on all such books to make sure only the person who had borrowed them could read them. After flipping through multiple pages, Asher still couldn''t fully concentrate on the content of the book as he nced outside. There were a few times when Sylvie and Arthur indirectly hinted to remember his duties as the Heir, which he knew what they meant by it. "Maybe it''s better if stepped down?" Asher muttered. After thinking a lot, he knew that if he remained the Heir of the Greville Family, he would always attract the attention of others. There were a few times when Sylvie and Arthur indirectly hinted to remember his duties as the Heir, which he knew what they meant by it. Although they never forced him or outright told him what to do Asher could see that they would do it in the future. Asher gathered all the information about the Garcia Family with the help of Eric Herod, the son of the Head Butler of the Greville Family. A massive culling of the Garcia Family members, after their forbidden research on humans, and the crime of taking the lives of a city full of people for their own selfish ideas. Asher gathered all the information about the Garcia Family with the help of Eric Herod, the son of the Head Butler of the Greville Family. A massive culling of the Garcia Family members, after their forbidden research on humans, and the crime of taking the lives of a city full of people for their own selfish ideas. The crime, the people involved, and the information of what had transpired more than a decade ago, wasn''t avable fully. Still, Asher knew that the sole survivor of that incident was a 5-year-old girl, Alyssa Astaria. Thinking about all of it, Asher knew that his own status would always get in the way of what he wanted. "It would be better to give this status to Amelia," he muttered. The status that most people would have given up everything for was something that he didn''t want at all. Even though Sylvie and Arthur thought otherwise, until a few years ago many people didn''t think that Asher Greville was a suitable heir candidate. "Maybe then, they will leave me alone," Asher said as he closed his eyes. Thump! Thump! Isn''t that good? My enemy is the madness inside me. If I can cure it, I don''t need anything else. I...I only need her. Thump! Thump! Thump! With her, I can find that peace... The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!