《Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain》


 Chapter 1 A Nobody

    ?Earth 2023

    My name is Shiva. I''ve lived a pretty average life since my birth. I was born in a middle ss family. Growing up I didn''t have many problems. My parents loved all their children. I had a big brother who worked as a teacher. My little brother just graduated from college and was looking for jobs. while I was doing the most basic 9 to 5 corporate jobs. It didn''t pay well but it had the security and personally that''s what mattered to me most.

    From childhood I was what you can call a thinker, someone who overthink his every action. It means that for my every decision be it small, big or life changing I always think a lot and that made me spaced out or simply split between the reality and my thoughts.

    I didn''t even realize it until I was in school surrounded by kids my age - with whom I couldn''t fit in. My friends whatever little I had, with my personality found it and pointed it out as an anxiety disorder.

    Well it wasn''t surprising for anyone that I turned out like that. I had no confidence, no power and simply no will to change myself or basically just anything. I was a normal guy who lived a normal life. I was always just the average Joe who you''ll pass by everyday and forget his face.

    Due to me being quiet and always distant I had no one who would actually take the initiative to talk to me or care for me. As I graduated from college my connection with my parents also withered away slowly in time.

    In the beginning I used to call them once every other day , whichter turned into a week and then into a month. Now I just message them every now and then that I''m ok and that''s it.

    For the past 3 years I haven''t talked much with anyone if I didn''t have the need too. I shut myself in my small world. My life had simply been from my room to office and then office to room.

    I had no hobbies or friends to talk to. So when I was in college I started reading books and novels to pass my time. There was something about different stories that could take my mind off from the useless thoughts I had due to my brain.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And that''s what became my save point - whenever I was sad or angry and whenever my brain started thinking stuff which I didn''t want to I would just read the stories.

    I could see myself in every other character and those characters would pull my mind out from my reality which I so desperately wanted to escape from.

    And that''s how I a NOBODY lived his life - nothing noteworthy.

    _

    _

    A/N - Hello everyone. Thanks for reading this.

    It''s my first time writing an online novel - so please support it.

    Sorry for the short chapter - but it was only this one - the next chapters will be of normal lengths - with a MINIMUM of 1000 words.

 Chapter 2 Nobodys Morning

    ?2.1 Nightmare''s of a nobody

    Today is a good day. A sunny morning after yesterday''ste night heavy rain. Everyone is happy for the weather and thanking the gods as they make their way for their jobs seeing the rays of sunlight passing through the clouds .

    In a small dpidated room whose floor was filled with messy clothes and packets of snacks that were half finished. One nce around the room and you could tell that the person living inside wasn''t normal. On a medium metal bed, a man in histe twenties was currently sleeping. His face was covered with beads of sweat and as the light of sun shines on his face through the ss window you could see some tear stains near his eyes, telling you about the nightmare that he was currently going through. And with a sudden scream he opened his eyes.

    _

    ** Shiva''s POV

    Ahhhhhhhh

    I woke up screaming from my sleep again, I opened my eyes slowly and with that the tears which were stuck in my eyes behind eyelids, slid down my cheeks. I closed my eyes again with a sigh and went to wash my face.

    Watching my face in the somewhat clean mirror I couldn''t help but sigh. There were dark circles forming near my eyes. Proof that I couldn''t get a wink of sleepst night.

    I took the pack of cigarettes from under my pillow and started smoking while looking out the window.

    No matter how hard I try to sleep or how I try to forget - from time to time the same nightmare has haunted me for a long time. This was the reason why I started smoking and pulling out all nighters reading books and writing stories.

    I thought if my body is tired enough my brain won''t have the capacity to remind me of those memories. And guess what it worked pretty well.

    I stopped having nightmares , though it would haunt me every now and then , on some special days or when something rted to the nightmare surfaced in front of me but I could still control that and not go insane.

    But it''s been roughly a week since my nightmares started again and now it feels just like the time when I first had my sleepless nights. Hell I feel that it became even more clear and somehow real.

    The nightmares I have are none of some ghosts or monsters or any other atrocities. No the nightmares I have are the memories I have of the person I loved the most and how by my own mistake I lost them.

    My train of thoughts was stopped by the small heat that was trying to burn my fingers . I crushed the cigarette butt and went to take a bath so I could go to work again. At least that would take my brain away from all these messy thoughts.

    _

    ONLY THAT I DIDN''T KNOW THAT GOING OUT OF MY ROOM THAT DAY WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE , ONE WHICH I WOULD SOON START TO REGRET.

    _

    ***<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    2.2 Nobody''s neighbor

    As I was walking I couldn''t help but remember my past and that soured my mood. Sighing I went to the nearest stall to get something to eat cause I knew after going to work I wouldn''t get a single moment of rest.

    After crossing the road I stood in line for some time waiting for my turn. As I alwayse here, the aunt working here didn''t need to ask about my order.

    She looked at me for a couple of seconds. As I stared back at her I couldn''t help but remember the first time I met her when she opened this shop, 3 years ago.

    I was still looking for a job back then and this stall on the roadside was cheapest around so you could always find me here.

    In the beginning she didn''t have a lot of customers so me being a regr here, she would alwayse and talk with me.

    She''s around 40 years old . She takes care of this shop alone in the morning. while in the evening her husbandes to help too .

    By the way her husband works in a ss factory during the day so there''s that.

    Looking at the crowd that had formed near the shop I would''ve advised her to hire a helper normally but I wasn''t in the right mood to talk to anyone today so I just stared at her as she started preparing my usual breakfast - toast and some scrambled eggs.

    She used to live in the vige but after her son got the job in the police station as a driver. She and her husband sold all the property they had in the vige and came to the city.

    It was only one year after that , that their son moved out to government quarters and left them alone to take care of themselves. She says that her son still sends her money but I doubt that.

    Breaking me out of my thoughts was her voice. "here and take this too. You look like you could just die any moment now. Seriously you should take care of yourself better. It''s been so long now and you should _ " she was talking while handing me a cup of coffee with my packed breakfast.

    "Thanks Aaya*?? " - I said while cutting her off as I wasn''t in the mood to have the conversation with her again today and started walking back to the side, to sit and eat on a chair.

    Aaya looked at me with pity in her eyes and opened her mouth to say something but I had already walked quite far to hear whatever advice she had for me today.

    She is one of the very few people who still talks to me normally despite my odd behavior everyday.

    It''s not like I don''t know what''s wrong with me but it''s just I don''t find any point in changing myself. I have simply be what you could call an emotionless machine at this point.

    I was simply just living my life for the sake of only living or maybe cause I just didn''t have the guts to end it all. I don''t know.

    A/N :- 1.Aaya means aunt, for those who don''t understand..

 Chapter 3 Nobody And A Protagonist Maybe??

    ?After eating my breakfast I headed for the nearest metro station while smoking. It would take 45 minutes to reach there by train so I put my earphones on and started ying thetest music on M-chart. They update the top 50 songs worldwide on a daily basis.

    After waiting for some time my train came and I got in. The seats are always full in morning rush hours so I didn''t bother looking and just stood near a pole and closed my eyes.

    No I wasn''t trying to sleep while standing, I was just trying to clear my head before reaching my office as there lies another headache for me.

    [Current station colt garden ]

    [Door closes in 15 seconds, please stand behind the line]

    While I was lost in my thoughts someone pushed me aside and went for the gate. But just as he was about to go out the doors closed on his face. "Aahhh not again" - said the middle aged man who missed his stop.

    I looked at his face and saw drool marks near his chin and groggy eyes.

    (He was probably sleeping)

    I thought and then shaking my head I turned around and stopped looking. My station was still 30 minutes away so I sat on a now empty seat near me and closed my eyes.

    Just a few seconds passed and someone pulled the earphones out of my phone.

    Finding that the music abruptly stopped I opened my eyes and looked at the same middle aged man standing in front of me.

    (This is why everyone buys those new bluetooth earphones now so nobody can snatch it)

    I thought while looking at the man with eyes which were clearly asking for an exnation. "That''s my seat " -  the middle aged man said.

    I looked at him for a couple of seconds , and stood up. He looked to be in his 50''s, he had a face clean shaved recently and  his chest was dragging down due to his fat stomach. He was in a uniform for security for a shopping mall.

    How did I know about the mall, well apparently the samepany also opened their new branch "The Golden Pearl" near my workce so I identified the dress code and logo. I saw his name te on his chest -Daniel.

    Seeing me standing face to face, Daniel looked bewildered at first , but then a smirk appeared on his face as I stepped aside and closed my eyes again.

    As he sat back there again and he started saying "You should say sorry at least just cause of you I missed my stop. Had you not stood in front of the gate like a statue I wouldn''t have to travel back and forth for almost 40 minutes more. Now I''ll bete for work. Do you know how that makes me look. I even have my assessmenting up for my promotion to team captain and it''s because of you I''mte."

    Hearing his non-stop rant apparently everyone was staring at me to see my reaction and wishing to enjoy a drama.

    I looked at everyone and took a long breath to calm down, I looked at Daniel and said something no one expected. "Sorry".

    - Yes I apologized. Not because I was afraid of him or anything. I just wanted quiet.

    After that I turned around and closed my eyes again.

    People seeing myzy reaction shook their head and started to busy themselves in their own business.

    Daniel had an expression of someone who had just won a battle and his previous annoyed look was nowhere to be found.

    But that was short lived as a sharp voice made his way in front of his seat.

    "Don''t you see it was your own fault and now you''re ming it on others. " - someone said in the crowd while making his way towards Daniel.

    He looked to be in his 20''s and had an average look. He was wearing normal old clothes which you buy or snatch at any roadside stall for some change. But there was something different about him. He had that aura of confidence in him like everyone else was inferior in his eyes.

    Daniel while feeling annoyed again at the entry of someone uninvited "And who are you. What does it matter what I do. If it wasn''t for him, I''d be at my work by now. " Daniel said while pointing at me.

    "Hmmm one look at you and I can tell you were sleeping. It was your fault for not noticing your station and then you even want the general public to apologize and give you their seat." The young man said while looking around the coach. His eyes stayed still for a second when he nced behind me.

    Feeling curious I turned around to see what he was looking at and I instantly understood what was happening here.

    I saw a girl next to me looking at everything with cold eyes. She was in her 20''s.she had long ck hair with dark brown eyes which were looking coldly at the scene that was unfolding. She was wearing a suit and pants which fitted perfectly at her slender body. I looked at her face once more and realised the aura she was giving off.

    Feeling someone looking at her, the girl turned towards me and red. Our eyes met and instantly I turned around.

    I wasn''t blushing or feeling shy like some inexperienced college kids - I was just suddenly reminded of someone from my past.

    Looking around I saw that people around Daniel were now pointing their fingers at him and calling him out.

    "People these days, he was sleeping I saw him"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "If it weren''t for that kid. He might get stuck inside the doors when he ran"

    "What securitypany he probably sleeps on his job too"

    The people who were silent all this time started insulting Daniel and that made him all the more angry.

    "You should mind your own business kid. See that he didn''t have a problem with me. Don''t butt in others''problems. " Daniel said while pointing his finger at me.

    The young man turned towards me and startedughing - " Hmm it''s because of people like this who can''t stand up against other''s wrong doings that crime''s increasing in our city. And you who is just like those gangsters who''ll bully the weak while fearing the strong."

    I was looking weirdly at the young man, thinking how not looking for a fight is increasing crime in the city .

    But then I heard Daniel shouting. "Listen idiot. People like you who don''t have jobs to do and are living on their parents''money don''t know the stress we have to go through. So just shut up and stand there. Before I take my anger out on you. " Hearing him the young man was silent.

    It looked like he didn''t have any reply to being called a jobless.

    "Who said he doesn''t have a job. It''s you who''s jobless." Came a cold voice which somehow sounded pleasant to ears. I saw the same girl from before now standing in front and ring daggers at Daniel.

    The young man looked stupidly at the girl with question marks on his head , while also feeling happy that she was taking his side.

    Opposite to him , Daniel was feeling annoyed at the increasing drama "And who the fuck are you" He turned to say this but instantly shut his mouth seeing the girl. "Ohh hello boss, sorry I was just _" Daniel suddenly started stuttering and apologizing to her as he saw the cold look she was giving him.

    The young man looked curiously at the girl wondering why this fatty suddenly started sweating buckets.

    Ignoring both the girl pulled her phone and called someone - "Matthew. " She said.

    [ yes mam. ] the voice came from the other side.

    "There''s a man named Daniel in ourpany''s security team. Settle his ount and fire him. " The girl said with no emotion in her voice. Hearing this Daniel couldn''t believe his ears.

    [Ok mam. And about the team captain position. The shortlisted applicants are already here and waiting for you to start the interview] Matthew said on the phone totally ignoring the fact that his boss just fired someone who''s been working in thepany for the past 7 years and was one of the shortlisted employees for the new position.

    "No need, I already hired someone. He''ll report to work tomorrow. Send the others away. " The girl said and cut the call.

    "I''m sorry, were you talking about me" The young man asked the girl while pointing at himself.

    She nodded her head and gave him a card with the address of the mall. "You can report there tomorrow morning with your documents. Matthew will handle the rest. "

    After saying this she turned around and went back to her seat.

    Daniel still couldn''t believe everything that happened in front of his eyes.

    He couldn''t believe why his boss who has her own car , would travel on the train today? Or why would she fire him without any notice? Or how could she give that new position to someone she just met without even asking for his name? Apparently all these questions wouldn''t be answered as he just got a text from someone saying he''s fired and his sry would be transferred in his ount. No need toe to work today. Daniel went on his knees and started crying.

    All the while the young man feeling happy still couldn''t believe that he got a new job so easily. And he sat on the seat where I and Daniel were previously sitting and startedughing to himself.

    I looked at him for some time as I couldn''t believe my eyes at what happened today.

    This drama that he created apparently after my seat went from that to him taking both the seat and Daniel''s job.

    [Next station Central Circle]

    Breaking me out of my head was the voice of the metro announcement as I cleared my head from useless thoughts and prepared to leave.

    But before leaving I couldn''t help but turn to look at the young man from before who was talking to someone on the phone , bragging about his new job that he got so hard.

    [ I, Kevin has finally found a job after much hard work. Just wait I will turn everything around and show them. ]

    as the doors closed behind me, I heard his mutterings and couldn''t help but smile and think

    (what a lucky fellow) .

    Shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I started walking straight to my work ce where I''ll be working as a machine for the next 10 hours.

 Chapter 4 Nobodys Job (SC)

    ?A/N :- A short chapter describing the job and nobody''s workce.

    I''ll make it up to you by writing a long chapter tomorrow.

    ___ ######

    Throwing out the cigarette I looked up to see my workce - SKY ULTIMA.

    It was a massive building built at the center of the city''s market ce. Making it easily essible from every corner of the city.

    It was apany that mainly focused its market on teens and the stuff that could interest them. It could be gaming, magazines, movies, books, shows etc - SKY ULTIMA got their hands on all of it.

    Apparently a billionaire first made it for his son to take overter as fun but due to its wide variety of services just after 10 years of it''s making it was one of the most famouspanies in the country. Though the CEO never opened any other branches outside the country for reasons no one knows.

    It''s been 2 and half years since I started working here. You would think that working here is a dream job but no, it''s not.

    _

    Apparently after the CEO''S son took over thepany he started a new regime. He wanted profit and expansion , so he started meddling in stuff that was not well appreciated with general public - porn.

    No parents wanted their kids to see porn videos or adult magazines at every avable shop, and so thepany''s public image started deteriorating and shares started going down.

    The new CEO couldn''t take it so he did what every other ipetent rich kid does. He took the money and ran away.

    After the government learned that they couldn''t find the CEO, so to get their invested money back they took over thepany and thus we became the ves of government.

    As I had already signed a contract for 5 years, I couldn''t just leave and so I stayed and continued to work.

    At first it was ok but as time passed the work pressure increased, sry decreased and the environment went to shit - so yeah working here now was not a dream job.

    _

    It was a massive building with 37 floors. Every 5 floors provided to work on a set type of projects. With the first floor acting as a gathering area and 37th floor being the CEO''S personal office.

    I work on the 23rd floor. We mainly focus on books and magazines.

    Our job is to find marketable or profitable books in the plethora of applications we get submitted everyday.

    As reading was my only hobby - you would think that I''d fit right in. But believe me when I say it''s torture.

    I have to check hundreds of stories everyday written by novice writers each one worse than thest one.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    There are people who will submit the stories that are giarized or stories which are overused or full of cliches or plot holes or reading the same story just with different names again and again.

    Imagine the horror reading that by sacrificing your brain cells for a living , everyday for 10 hours.

    But It doesn''t affect me all that much now. I have grown ustomed to it.

    But I would say focusing on work has been hardtely due to all the nightmares and stress that I''m umting - my mental state right now is - shit, to put it lightly.

    ( If only I was as lucky as that Kevin guy. )

    Sighing I could only smile bitterly and started moving forward .

    _

    ***

    INFO DUMP

    SKY ULTIMA - 37 FLOORS

    [BEFORE GOVT. TOOK OVER]

    __ 1st floor -- Gathering area

    __ 2nd to 6th floor KIDS&TEENS(TOYS)

    __7th to 11th floor SPORTS(OUTDOOR&INDOOR)

    __12th to 16th floor DESIGN AGENCY

    __17th to 21st floor GAMING (E-SPORTS)

    __22nd to 26th floor BOOKS & LITERATURE

    __27th to 31st floor ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY

    __31st to 36th floor R18 AGENCY

    __37th floor CEO OFFICE

 Chapter 5 Nobodys Friends - Ali & Aarvi (Villain & Heroine - Maybe)

    ?As I moved towards my office I saw the scenery around me (it really lives up to the reputation of no. 1 huh) , I thought.

    No matter how the situation changed the fact remains that the SKY ULTIMA was still one of the top yer in its field.

    I got into the lift and pressed the 23rd floor button.

    No I didn''t skip the whole entry scene - I just didn''t want to tell you about a certain someone who is standing with me in the lift right now - Ali.

    Ali''s the annoying character who ys the role of a second generation young master in my workce.

    He''s useless but rich. He''s handsome but stupid. He is the living proof that not all people who go to Harvard are smart.

    Well he did teach me one thing , that being educated doesn''t mean being smart. Stupidity is something prevalent in both educated and uneducated people.

    If I had met this guy 4 years ago I could tell you that the world would have one less idiot to worry about and his dad won''t be suffering from constant high blood pressure.

    Well can''t change the past now can we - the story of my life.

    With a bitter sigh and after calming my increasing headache , I did what I''m sure I would regret.

    "So why were you waiting at the entrance." I started the conversation.

    " ohh so you can see me now. I thought I was invisible in your eyes. " With an over-dramatic surprised reaction by covering his mouth , Ali replied to me.

    " I''m already regretting it. " I muttered under my breath.

    " Did you say something. " Ali looked at me and asked.

    " Nothing, tell me. Why were you at the door?" ( phuuh it''s good he didn''t hear or I''d have another headache iing) I tried to change the topic.

    " I was just nning on skipping the work today, till I saw youing." Ali replied slowly looking at the camera in the corner of the lift.

    " So you''re nning on working today cause I came. We don''t even have same projects anymore." I asked.

    "ohhe on. I only stayed to convince you toe with me. You look like a freaking vampire right now.You could use a break." - He asked me after taking off the sunsses that I wore to hide my dark circles.

    I red at him but smiled the next second and said - "You do know that Aarvi ising tomorrow for audit right. I want to finish the job as soon as I can so I don''t have to work overtime again."

    I smiled internally as I saw the color fade from his face after hearing Aarvi''s name .

    "Who''s looking like a vampire now." - I asked and startedughing.

    Ali red at me for some time and after that his expression started turning into someone pitiful, like a daughter inw who''s been tortured wrongly and then abandoned.

    Ali said in his over-dramatic state - "You''ll help me right. I still have to sort out the bugs from thest game."

    "Not my problem now shoo" I said as I pushed him out of the lift as we reached 20th floor.

    (Lucky bastard)

    Now that I told you about him you''d think why do I hate him that much. He''s such a nice guy.

    Well the truth is I don''t hate him - I just don''t like him. And how could I.

    The only advantage I have over him is my personal strength , but what good is that when he can call 10 bodyguards to beat me up by doing a single call to his dad.

    He has everything that I ever lost - friends , family , lover , hell he even gets to sleep like normal people (cut the normal - he''s on a roller coaster ride in his sleep. )

    And here I am - haunted by nightmares , still stuck in the same shadows of my past - never able to get out and find my light again.

    (Guess I really am jealous of his luck)

    ( Fuck the luck man. )

    _

    _

    Ali works on the 20th floor . Their job is to go through the games selected by the employees of the 17th to 19th floor and give the final review after fixing up all the bugs and glitches .

    Now Ali being the rich kid that he is, can do everything except what is asked of him.

    So you can guess that he''ll y all the games for fun , but fixing bugs and doing maintenance - now that''s something our Ali can never do.

    And that is where Ie in. At the beginning I helped him once or twice cause I needed something to take my mind off my nightmares and some extra cash for some stuff.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But then it became his habit to make me work for free. Well not exactly free as I charge him money every time ordingly but it''s not like it matters to him as he got tons of it.

    As I was thinking the lift opened and in front of me stood the very girl I warned Ali about just now --

    COO(Chief Operating Officer) of SKY ULTIMA.

    The only one to get the Master''s Degree in every subject taught in Harvard. One of the most famous girls in the city - Aarvi Andrews.

    She and Ali are childhood family friends . They went to the same school , same college , same university and they''re now even working in the samepany.

    Though the thing that never changed in all these years except Ali''s one sided love and pursuit for her - is the positions these two held . With Aarvi being at the top at everything while Ali barely managing through in every field.

    It was exactly because of Aarvi being the COO that thispany is still in business .

    The first thing she did after being COO was to remove the R18 section which the previous owner put on top , to improve the image and reduce the public outrage.

    It didn''t have much effect at first but due to her constant efforts in the past 2 years and the reputation she made selling her own creative makeup brands - SKY ULTIMA still has some standing despite suffering from major losses and multiplepetitors.

    Though it isn''t on the level of its previous monopoly over the field but I have no doubt with Aarvi being the head , it won''t take long to reach there.

    _

    She stood in front of me 5 ft tall. she has a slim figure with a modest chest. she has blonde hair with little ck eyes hidden behind a pair of sses - which added an extrayer of charm to her schrly like image.

    Every time I see her I remember the quote that''s pasted on my office wall - NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT''S COVER.

    No one would expect a girl who looks like a shy schr type , to have a personality exactly opposite of it - confident, fiery and scary too when she''s upset.

    (Now I know why that bastard was hiding in the gathering area)

    I thought while looking at her face , and I could somehow read the expression of " I''m in need of a punching bag ". And I could only say - shit.

    (That fucker didn''t even warn me that she''s already doing the rounds this early and made me waste my time in gathering area.)

    (Let''s see if I save your ass this time)

    I thought while thinking up and crossing all the excuses which I could use on her to divert her attention away from me.

    She looked at me for some time and I already knew what was going to happen next.

    So I did what every good friend should do - try to get the other one a girlfriend. hahahhaha.

    (Don''t me me , you did say you needed some help to woo her)

    - - - thinking this far I silently prayed for Ali''sst moments of peace before telling ''the real reason why I waste'' to Aarvi.

    _

    #####

    A/N - INFO DUMP

    SKY ULTIMA - 37 FLOORS

    __ 1st floor -- Gathering area

    __ 2nd to 6th floor KIDS&TEENS(TOYS)

    __7th to 11th floor SPORTS(OUTDOOR&INDOOR)

    __12th to 16th floor DESIGN AGENCY

    __17th to 21st floor GAMING (E-SPORTS)

    __22nd to 26th floor BOOKS & LITERATURE

    __27th to 31st floor MAKEUP AGENCY

    __31st to 36th floor ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY

    __37th floor COO OFFICE (AARVI)

 Chapter 6 Working Nobody And His First Novel

    ?After listening to my exnation Aarvi had the reaction of ''I knew it was his fault''.

    Well after our short little chat she went to say hello to Ali and I was told to go do my work. Though before leaving she did tell me to take some time off tomorrow after seeing the pale face and those red eyes with dark circles around it.

    If she didn''t know me any better - I''m sure she''d think I got punched in the face.

    Aarvi doesn''t talk much with anyone much like me if it isn''t rted to work - that''s why Ali is having a hard time with her.

    I took my phone out and sent a message to Ali - asking for my sunsses back. I wanted to warn him about Aarvi but I ignored it.

    (that''s what you get for sleeping on your job and making me work) - I thought.

    Maybe it''s better that they meet and talk more. That guy is usually acting like a chatterbox but in front of Aarvi he''s just like a silent Buddha.

    ( I wonder what they''d be like together . Would Aarvi have to make a first move cause I don''t think Ali will.)

    Breaking me out of my thoughts on myst friends future were the voices ofints I could hear across the whole floor.

    [ hey damn this ''Fateful_Cultivator''. It''s his 3rd novel with same plot and different names that I''m rejecting. ]

    [ huhh that''s light , you should try this ''Petty Hero''. apparently this dude has clicked all the cliche roles ]

    [ Hey don''t forget the award winner - Night_Ruiner. He wrote an adult novel called ''Short_Sword''. Where mc is getting ntr''ed by his own double personality after he sleeps. I''m having nightmares about it. ]

    [That doesn''t even make any sense. ]

    [I think it''s mental ntr cause physically they are the same]

    [Are you justifying it idiot Simon]

    [Seriously what are these people doing. Our country is going downhill. You know government should _ ]

    [ohh fuck , here we go again. Guys Larry''s at it again. ]

    [Shut up Larry. Not everything is government''s fault. ]

    [Man , I should just quit my job. ]

    These were all voices of people who''re reading the novels submitted on our website daily.

    We read hundreds of these stories daily and mostly it''s all just mental torture.

    If you''re lucky youe across a good one , if not then you should just wait to lose your brain cells on a regr basis.

    After some pleasantries and slight nods to everyone , I started my work too.

    _

    After 8 hours of serious brain torture

    ( I''m never signing a contract in my life ever again.)

    (What''re all these people doing writing this , this shit and calling it art and themselves author.)

    (Should I write a novel myself ? )

    (Nah Ieave it)

    It''s been a long time since I found a good novel , maybe I should just find the old ones and read it again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    (Even that won''t be as bad as reading same cliches in every story.)

    I really should have picked up a different hobby after that ident.

    While I was lost in my thoughts , doubting my life decisions. I remembered the first novel I read .

    The one story which got me this habit and led me here.

    _

    [ A/N :- tell me in thements , which novel was your first and what are your thoughts on it now. ]

    _

    Now that I think back on it . Even that was all cliches huh. But since I didn''t know about it , that I thought it was a masterpiece.

    "Appolo''s Chosen - Rising Heroes of Peaceful Times"

    Ughhh even that name is dumb. How the hell did I like it that much in the beginning.

    Well that is to be expected since I didn''t know any other novel at that time and I just needed something to take my thoughts away from the shit that was going on all around me.

    The story of the novel takes ce in a parallel world called ''ARCADIA'' .

    Which was described as a medieval world with fantasy elements mixed in. It had all the stuff that I never knew before - magic , mana , dungeons , towers , monsters , elves , orcs and best of all - systems.

    The story was set in peaceful times so there wasn''t much action in the beginning.

    It follows the journey of the protagonist "Leon Heartwell" as he trains and rises in power , while collecting pokemons , hmmmm I mean heroines - for his harem.

    And after years of peace , when finally the war breaks out and the Evil God Ditail breaks out from his realm to attack Arcadia - our protagonist defeating him .

    Now you see why I told you it was cliche cause it had all the arcs - training arc , academy arc , dungeon arc , adventure , demon king arc etc.

    If you can think of it - then it was there , one way or the other.

    But I enjoyed it nheless - IGNORANCE IS BLISS afterall.

    Well if cliche was all it took then it wouldn''t be a 1000 long chapter novel.

    The main reason why I was so into this novel and why I still remember this story clearly is because it was rtable to me.

    The characters in it were so well written that despite being my first novel , I could imagine them vividly and rte to them - overall I enjoyed it.

    I would read it tillte nights and fight the keyboard army if anyone said anything bad about it , in thements and reviews.

    So yeah I was a loyal fan back then. After finishing that novel. I kept reading all the other novels of the same genre and then it became a habit and now a full time job.

    So yeah if I say that, that novel changed my life - then I mean it quite literally.

    And soon I would find that it messed up my next life too.

    A/N - Thanks for reading.

    I hope you liked the synopsis for the new world. It''s just a rough small teasing hint so don''t be disappointed if you didn''t like it.

    I CAN''T JUST POST ALL MYSTERIES AND COOL STUFF IN PROLOGUE RIGHT. I need to save it forter.

 Chapter 7 Nobodys Family & Panic Attacks

    ?I was thinking about my first novel and trying to remember it''s plot and characters , when I saw a message on my phone , from someone whom I''ve been ignoring for the past 2 years - my brother.

    Vikram : [Are youing home next week. ]

    After seeing the message , I ignored it.

    But after some time there was another beep sound.

    I picked up the phone and looked at the message and after reading it , there was a deep frown on my face.

    Vikram : [There''s a prayer ceremony at home for her , You shoulde. ]

    After closing my eyes , trying hard to calm the raising emotions and ignoring the whispers that I started hearing in my head.

    [Hey, can Ie with you. I wanna see her]

    [you''re supposed to be the big brother]

    [Aren''t I the best ]

    [What are you gonna do without me]

    [Why did you leave me here alone idiot]

    [will you stop doing that, it''s making meugh]

    [Don''t you dare forget about me , you big dummy]

    As the whispers started getting louder, all the memories that I buried deep in my brain started emerging in my head and with that came the pain that I was ohh so familiar with.

    I clenched my fists as a chest pain started assaulting me. I could literally hear my heart beating faster and faster. And it looked like my lungs couldn''t keep up with it.

    I had trouble breathing. I tried to calm down and look around me but I found that I couldn''t move my body. I could see the box of pills kept near myptop but I was losing the strength to even move my hands.

    I started getting dizzy , I could feel myself losing consciousness every passing second.

    I tried hard to control my emotions and focus on breathing like normal but it was getting harder and harder.

    My eyes started getting heavier and it took all I had in me to keep them open. I couldn''t close them and fall unconscious here , as I knew if I did then what awaited me was hell.

    It was only yesterday night when I lost consciousness due to pain and the vivid nightmares all night long , which felt like eternity was the result of it.

    I knew I couldn''t go through that again or whatever sanity I had left would be gone for good , so I tried my best to stay awake - hoping it would end soon or one of my colleagues would help me snap out of it.

    But my hopes were getting wasted as no one came to help - I could see a transparent face forming in fog near my table. It was something I was most familiar with - after all how could I forget her.

    But I wasn''t happy seeing her as this meant hallucinations and those ones messed up my brain more. I was literally on myst straws.

    It was then that someone started shaking my shoulders and that luckily somehow brought me out of my trance and back to reality.

    I started taking quick deep breaths to calm myself down .I took the box and gulped down 3-4 pills with water.

    I could see the worried expression on Simon''s face (a colleague of mine) .

    I could see he was saying something but I couldn''t hear his voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I gave his hand a pat and started walking away from everyone . I needed some time to clear my head . I was in no condition to listen to anything right now.

    Back in office

    After Shiva left Simon turned back and he saw everyone staring in his direction.

    Larry - How many times has it been .

    Simon - It''s the 3rd time this month and 2nd in this week only.

    Morris - Seriously he should take a break if he''s not feeling well in his head.

    Simon - It''s only for now , he''ll be fine after some time. It''s not the first time anyway .

    Larry - But that''s the problem and I mean we were here today but if not then _ .

    Morris - Don''t spout bullshit , you idiot . It was the samest year too. He''ll be fine next month.

    Larry - But don''t you think it''s getting more serious every time. You saw the look on his face earlier right. I literally felt he could drop dead any moment there. I was scared shitless.

    Hearing Larry''s words , the other two shut their mouth. As they both knew it was truth.

    The panic attacks for their silent colleague were getting stronger every time and they could see it.

    But they could do nothing about it to help him - as he didn''t ask for any help , and simply rejected when someone else offered it.

    It was the samest year when all thepany staff had to go through mandatory therapy for their mental health check and he simply ignored it by taking leave for a week.

    He should have been fired for it but since he was best friends with Ali and on good terms with Aarvi, the COO - no one said anything.

    Well all they could do was hope that he''ll be fine next month. And they can start working together again.

    Though SK(Shiv Kumar - our mc) never talked much or tried to be friends with anyone but he did helped everyone when someone asked for it .

    And for that they were all grateful as without him it would''ve been quite hard for them to finish their deadlines many times.

    If he had free time and was not in his usual broody mood , sometimes he''ll even send mails to writers to improve their stories further and suggestions to fix plot holes. And that helped their team get more contracted novels and books , earning their extra bonus.

    So they could only wish and pray to God that he''ll be fine before next month , as next month was when they had to face their biggest hurdle ever .

    But neither they nor anyone else knew that God had other ns for that guy.

    And this was thest time they''ll ever see him.

    A/N :-

    It was hard to describe the panic attacks in words as I had no idea about it. But I wrote that after searching online for all its symptoms and effects -- and I feel it turned out great.

    Tell me what you think?

    --- Take care of your mental health as it''s super important.

 Chapter 8 Nobody And His Worries

    ?MC''s POV

    I walked away under everyone''s eyes filled with worry. But I didn''t have the time to turn back and say that I was okay.

    I was still getting a mild headache but not as serious as before and I could still hear her whispers in my head - which is why I wanted to be alone right now. I need to clear my head or I simply won''t be able to focus on anything.

    I walked out from the building and went to a nearby shop. I bought a bottle of water and a pack of cigarettes .

    I was smoking there when I head a voice I clearly wasn''t in the mood of - Ali.

    "Hey so you''re here chilling outside, after ratting me out to Aarvi" - Ali said behind my back.

    Hearing his voice a sigh involuntarily escaped my mouth as I told him - "Not right now Ali".

    He just came in front of me and said - " What do you not now. Do you know how much time and effort it took to make Aarvi calm. It was only cause I , the great Ali had the brilliant idea to help her get the deal for a new live streaming game show , that she let me off. And do you know she was even wearing the dress that I _ "

    Hearing his nonstop chattering , I cut him off and looked at him for the first time and said - " Not in the mood Ali. "

    Listening to my slightly higher than normal tone which clearly showed my annoyance , Ali kept his mouth shut and I could finally smoke peacefully and take a breather.

    We just sat there in silence for some time . Silence which I appreciated but Ali didn''t.

    And when he finally couldn''t take it anymore , he asked what was on his mind after carefully observing my look - " Another Attack".

    I just nodded my head as I knew all his previous bbering was his way to get my mind away from the useless thoughts of mine.

    (Someone from office must have told him.) I thought while looking at Ali''s face.

    "How many times does that make it." He asked.

    "8 if you count the one where you helped midway." I replied to him honestly.

    Ali furrowed his brows as I informed him about the number of panic attacks I had in this month alone.

    "That bad huh" Ali said.

    To which I honestly replied - "yeah".

    Seeing that it was the first time where I agreed with him upon my attacks getting serious Ali had his eyes widen.

    Cause he knew about me enough to know that I wouldn''t open up about it if it was in my control. And just from that fact he could tell how much more serious it could have been from thest time he helped me snap out of it.

    Ali was right my panic attacks have been getting a lot regr these days. At first it would only happen every year when the time of ident came near.

    Whichter turned to when I would remember some special memories on some special days.

    But now I''ve been getting these attacks almost every time I remember her.

    Today too. Just seeing a message from Vikram mentioning her was enough to trigger it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Add the vivid nightmares I''ve been having recently every time I sleep . I''m simply losing my mind and that is what scared me the most.

    ( I''m losing control over myself and I don''t know what I will do if I go full insane.)

    Breaking me out from my thoughts was Ali''s voice, which sounded serious for the first time till our conversation started .

    "So what''re you nning to do now. If you want I can always arrange for you to go there and talk to _."

    "No, and I already told you to not start this topic many times before too." Ali was saying something when I cut him off and hearing my firm voice without any hesitation anyone could tell that it wasn''t up for discussion.

    "Shiva but _" Ali knew I wouldn''t change my mind but there was nothing else he could do which could actually help me.

    "Just leave me alone for some time. I''ll talk to you in the evening. " I said and left to take a walk outside.

    I wasn''t worried about my job , as that wasn''t even on my problem list yet. And it was true with Ali & Aarvi being there why should I.

    I knew Ali was worried about me and I was actually d that I still had a friend like him despite the way I usually act around him. Though I would never say that to his face.

    Mostly it was only cause of Ali & Aarvi''s concern - that I was still doing fine and working here at this job. These two have helped me a lot in the past two years that I''ve known them.

    And that''s why I was wishing for them to be happy too. I knew Ali loved Aarvi and I was hoping this idiot would someday say that to her face , instead of just following her around and stressing over my issues.

    "Aaaaahhh"

    I was just walking when I heard someone''s scream. At first I was just going to keep walking cause I didn''t have the habit of butting into someone else''s problems. And small crimes like thievery and snatching have been happening a lot recently.

    But then a thought came to my mind - that I needed something to vent my stress , that''s been piling up on metely.

    So with that thinking I went towards the voice.

    Not knowing how that momentary decision of mine is going to change my life for forever.

    A/N :- I know I told you to finish his story here in this chapter but when I started writing I couldn''t stop and went too deep. So here''s an extra chapter.

    SWEAR I''LL KILL HIM NEXT CHAPTER.

    UMMM IDK MAYBE

    whatever just read it - fight''sing next chapter.

    DON''T FORGET TO VOTE YOUR POWER STONES

    -

    .

 Chapter 9 Nobody Fights & Saves A Girl (Another Heroine - Maybe)

    ?When I finally reached the alley from where I could hear a girl''s scream. I saw three people who in one word can be described as - goons , were surrounding a girl , with a clear lust in their eyes.

    I just stared at them as I started thinking about how I should deal with it.

    In the 3 goons - one of them had a slight muscr build with tattoos covering his left hand. While one of them was just like an average thin guy with weird hair style and thest one which I presume is their leader was a tall guy wearing old clothes with a mask to hide his face.

    If you''re wondering how I can confidently say that he''s the leader and not the muscr guy - well it''s simple actually , cause a smart guy would never act openly in broad daylight without covering his tracks.

    Just looking at how the other two were only hovering above the girl who was crying - you can tell that they''re new at this. While the leader just stood behind them simply observing the situation ,  almost like he was waiting for something , or someone perhaps.

    Well it doesn''t matter to me what their ns are. They just need to help me get over some stress so I can go back to my work.

    (I bet Ali is still waiting outside , better make it quick.)

    Thinking this far I started walking towards them again and said - " Let her go."

    The leader turned towards me and red at me for some time , before signaling the muscr guy to do the honors . Honor of breaking my bones for interrupting their charade that is.

    The muscr guy seeing the signal started walking towards me with a smirk stered over his face.

    "You should''ve gone straight dude. Don''t worry I''ll show you the way. Next time don''t turn around when you hear a scream. " He said and came face to face with me.

    (Well at least he''s using good lines) That was the only thought that came to my mind after hearing him ''threaten'' me.

    "Well if you apologize now maybe _" .

    (I take it back, he started going cheesy) I thought.

    He was talking again when he felt a punch straight to his face , which loosened his teeth from their ce a little. He shook his head and blinked his eyes when suddenly he felt a strong kick in his stomach which knocked the air out of his lungs. Saliva started dripping from his opened mouth while tears formed in his eyes , and as he bent down slightly to hold his stomach. He felt a punch again on the face - and finally his 2 teeth which loosened previously were sent flying along with a mouthful of blood and he fell on the ground - knocked out.

    All this happened in the span of 5 seconds and, before the other goon or the leader could react - their musclehead partner was knocked out cold.

    The girl who was crying and hiding her head in her knees till now , finally looked towards me. Her eyes still moist , clearly begging for help.

    She looked like a teenager who just passed school and is still waiting to get into college - pure and innocent.

    If any other person looked at her in this condition , I feel like they''d bepelled to help her after seeing her pitiful appearance .

    - But well pity and kindness were emotions I left behind me long long ago.

    Even today if I didn''t need Something to vent my stress I would just ignore it.

    "Why don''t you wait around the corner and let me deal with them." I said to the girl as I moved towards the two goons remaining , still shocked over the fact that their partner was beaten unconscious this fast.

    "Who are you? " The leader said as he looked at me warily.

    "A nobody. " I replied to him, as I watched the girl running towards the way I came from.

    Hearing my words, there was a frown on the leader''s face. Then he looked towards the other goon, who looked back while wiping the sweat which was formed on his head.

    I stared at the leader, watching every little emotion he showed on his face.

    ( He''s probably wondering about ways to deal with me fast or run away while the pawn buys him time.

    Apparently I can''t let him get away, as I can''t just find people to beat regrly on the streets.

    Today was a shit day - starting from the nightmares , to the drama in train , then Vicky''s message and finally the panic attack . It''s been making my stress level higher and higher and I just found the perfect prey to vent it out. )

    While I was thinking about ways to beat the crap out of them so I could release some of that pant up stress , the leader and the goon finally decided to attack me together to finish it fast and leave the area.

    As I saw theming towards me , unknowingly my lips curled up in a smile.

    Seeing me smile it infuriated the goons further. The tall guy threw a punch at me which I easily dodged , while sidestepping to avoid the kick that wasing for my stomach.

    I pushed the leader while he was off bnce and then I focused on the other guy who was getting ready to attack me again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    This time after avoiding his punch I held his hand and started twisting it. The goon started screaming , unable to take the pain but I kept rotating it further till I finally heard a ''crack'' sound , his right shoulder should''ve been dislocated with that.

    After that I simply kicked the goon towards his leader who wasing behind me, trying to sneak up on me. He was holding a knife in his hands.

    after the two collided with a ''bam'' sound due to which the leader bent forward.

    I grabbed his hair and knocked some sense into it  - by banging his head towards the side wall.

    He screamed loudly as blood started dripping from his head but I wasn''t done with him.

    I pped his hand thus the knife he held was dropped to the ground.

    After that I started punching his face. I watched as blood started dropping from his face and his nose broke in my next punch. He tried to cover his face with his hands but I grabbed his hair and pushed his head on the wall again.

    I saw the other goon trying to back off slowly hoping to run away.

    I looked at him and smiled.

    Seeing the smile on my face which had some blood marks now , which didn''t look less than a smile of a demon to him , the tall goon nearly lost his brain for a second but then he suddenly turned around and started running.

    I bent down as I pushed the leader''s head on the ground. I picked up the knife next to his face and threw it at the running goon after taking a single nce

    As the knife etched itself into his knees , I heard another painful scream which I ignored. I slowly walked up to him, bent down on top of him and turned him around to face me - after that I just started punching his face mercilessly.

    At first he tried to fight back , then he resisted to stop the punches and then after 3-4 punches more he lost his consciousness.

    Seeing that there was no response I punched him again and let go.

    I walked up to the muscr guy who was already knocked out. I grabbed his cor and started punching his face too.

    As the leader saw me beating his subordinates he was probably cursing himself for taking this job today. They were simply told to scare the kid a little but somehow this maniac came here and started beating them. He''s not even letting go of the muscr guy who''s already lost consciousness when the fight first started.

    " ughhhhh "

    "I''m sorry, ughhhh ughh"

    I looked up towards the girl who had a horrified expression on her face .

    When the fight started she was happy that someone saved her but now , after seeing all the blood and bashing , she finally couldn''t take it and started puking.

    Seeing my gaze fixed upon her she tried to say something but didn''t know what, so she closed her mouth again. She didn''t want to say something unnecessary which would upset me further.

    As I looked at the scared expression she had while looking at me , I could also see a little bit of pity when her eyes turned towards the goons.

    Seeing her changing expression a frown appeared on my face but apparently beating those three had calmed my nerves somewhat.

    So I just told her to run away from here before anyone elsees. I looked at her back and lit a cigarette as my thoughts drafted back on my actions during the fight and then I started walking out of the alley too leaving the 3 goons behind - 2 unconscious , 1 conscious.

    (I should start visiting the club again. It''s been a long time)

    (That could fix some of my issues for awhile).

    A/N:- SORRY LOOKS LIKE HE LIVES FOR ONE MORE CHAPTER. e???

    DEATH''S BUSY NOWADAYS.. e?��a

    BUT WORRY NOT IF NOT TODAY THEN TOMORROW CONFIRMe???

    *** On a serious note - tell me how was this chapter. I wrote the fight scene for the first time. so tell me is it good , ok or straight up bad .

    (ps I know a pov fight isn''t best but I wanted to start with something simple)

 Chapter 10 Nobody Vs Protagonist = Death & Regrets

    ?After I came out of the alley and started walking back towards my office. I couldn''t help but remember her, my only sister - Ria.

    And with her memory, came her voice - sweet, melodious and gentle, yet a tinge of anger mixed in it.

    [You know I told you not to fight]

    It wasn''t the first time when I heard her voice again so I ignored her.

    [Don''t ignore me, you said you wouldn''t fight]

    [If your Queency learns about it, you''ll be kicked out from the group again]

    - They weren''t the good guys. And she isn''t here.

    I replied in my head.

    [That doesn''t mean you could beat them like this]

    - So should I visit the clubs again then. I thought and smiled as I imagined her pouting face, just like the one she would have made if she were really here.

    [Why don''t you just go to her]

    [I''m sure she can help you better]

    - Then how would I listen to your voice. Plus she was the one who left me. I said.

    [No you were the one who let her go]

    [She would have stayed if you asked]

    - She''s better off without me. I replied and started walking faster as I could see Ali still standing on the shop , where I left him.

    [It wasn''t your fault you know]

    - Don''t remind me of that.

    [Not like you ever forgot.]

    - It isn''t __ .

    I was talking with her when I bumped into someone.

    "Watch where you''re going idiot." He shouted.

    I looked at the person and I was surprised as I saw his face - Kevin.

    Kevin looked at my face and then said - " It''s you. What lost your eyes with your balls too. "

    Hearing his haughty voice I didn''t say anything as my focus was on something else. A bracelet, that he was wearing on his hand.

    It was an old looking metal bracelet. It had a silver like color with some ck lines pattern in between. It wasn''t anything pretty but I knew that bracelet or the person who was supposed to have it.

    "That bracelet , is it yours? " I asked him.

    Kevin noticed my gaze on his hand and replied in his usual carefree manner - "Why don''t you first apologize for earlier and then ask questions. "

    [Shiva it''s not him]

    [He''s gone now remember]

    I could hear that Ria was saying something and If I was focused on her voice at that time, I could make out that she sounded anxious and worried.

    But I wasn''t listening to her as all my focus was on Kevin, who was caressing that bracelet.

    "Where did you get it? " I asked him again in a more serious tone and I could see that Kevin noticed it too.

    He looked at me and then at the bracelet but after some time, he replied -" It''s mine but if you want then _ ughh."

    He was going to say something more but I grabbed his neck and pushed him on the nearby wall.

    Kevin tried to free himself and started squirming and punching my hand but I ignored itpletely while tightening my grip on his neck.

    "I''ll ask you this onest time, where did you get it."

    Kevin saw my face , which was showing clear signs of pure anger and hatred , tried harder to free himself but in return I just pulled him near my face and then bashed his back on the wall again.

    "Don''t make me repeat myself, just tell me where you got that bracelet - is it yours "

    I asked him again as I tried hard to control the anger that was rising every second as I looked at that bracelet.

    I could feel my chest burning with pain and it felt like my head was going to burst apart as my thoughts started going haywire and the scenes from that ident years ago started ying in my head again nonstop.

    Kevin''s eyes started losing his light and he started choking but I still didn''t let go. Finally he just said - "It''s mine, but I bought it from a shopst week".

    Hearing his first words I nearly snapped his neck but after listening to hisst words, I let him go and watched as he fell down on the road.

    I turned around and started taking deep breaths as I pressed my one hand on my chest. My heart was still beating like crazy so I closed my eyes as I tried to calm down.

    I could hear Kevin coughing up behind me and mumbling something but I was too lost trying to control my emotions that I didn''t notice him.

    _

    Kevin stood up, still holding his neck which had red finger marks imprinted on it. His head was sweating and his face was pale.

    Currently his eyes were bloodshot red as he remembered the horrible experience where he nearly felt like he could die next second.

    As he looked at the man who now turned his back on him taking deep breaths and not even apologizing or exining his crazy behavior , still standing there like nothing happened .<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He finally couldn''t control himself as a newfound hatred blinded him and after seeing a trucking his way - he pushed that hateful man with all his force from behind.

    "Crazy bastards like you should just die"

    Those were his words as he watched the man getting struck by the truck and rolling on the road.

    As he was looking at him he heard someone shouting something and without thinking anymore, he ran away after giving a final nce to the man who was bleeding everywhere with his eyes wide open, still staring at the sky.

    "Hey stop you bastard"

    "Oye damn it, damn it"

    _

    As I was trying hard to control myself I felt a strong push from behind me.

    "Crazy bastards like you should just die"

    I heard Kevin''s voice behind me and as I was wondering what he meant , When I was hit by a force like which I''ve never felt before.

    I felt my whole body just flying in one direction and then after some time I hit my head on the road and rolled on the ground 3-4 times before I finally stopped.

    At first I couldn''t feel anything , my mind was still numb from the collision and then it hit me a pain, so bad that I nearly went insane . I wanted to scream as loud as I can but instead of any sound only blood came out of my mouth.

    I tried hard to turn my face to the side and I could see my left hand bent in an angle which shouldn''t be normally possible.

    I could feel my face was fully wet - it was blood or tears I couldn''t know.

    I didn''t know clearly how many bones I broke except for my hand and my ribs , I couldn''t even feel my legs anymore. Maybe I broke that too.

    I was lost as the pain and the breathing were getting impossible for me to take.

    I could hear someone''s voice around me - Ali. I thought.

    "Hey stop you bastard"

    "Oye damn it, damn it"

    Ali came near me and started looking up and down. I could see his face full of worry and tears which were starting to form in his eyes.

    If I could I wanted tough and make fun of him, cause this was the first time I ever saw him cry. He was never this sad even when Aarvi ignored him or was shouting at him.

    But I couldn''t. I tried to open my mouth and say something but still only blood leaked from my mouth - nothing else.

    Ali was saying something but I couldn''t clearly hear him now. He stood up and started calling someone - ambnce perhaps.

    It wouldn''t take long for that toe here as we were in the central area and there wasn''t much traffic now - but I knew I didn''t had that much time.

    I was losing consciousness, my eyes were getting heavy and I could see the world around me slow down.

    But even at this time there was one voice that was clear as day to me - Ria. I could hear her shouting at me.

    [I told you not to fight, you idiot]

    [Why don''t you ever listen to me]

    Just imagining her angry face brought a smile on my face.

    - Is this how you felt.

    - Was this the pain you went through back then.

    I asked her and this time I could feel that my eyes were getting moist. I could feel a lump in my throat.

    [Don''t try to speak you idiot. You''ll be fine. Ali called the hospital just now ok.]

    [I''m here with you okay. Just hold on]

    - I''m sorry that I wasn''t there.

    - I should''ve been there with you just like you are still with me now. I should have stopped it.

    - It was all my fault.

    [No it wasn''t , don''t say that. ]

    [You''ll be fine. ]

    [Think about her. Think about your Queency]

    [You don''t want to leave her alone right]

    - I ruined everything Ria. There''s nothing left.

    [please just sh_shut up]

    I could hear her voice breaking. I could imagine her crying at my sides and it pained me more.

    - I''m sorry for everyth _.

    Those were thest words I could think of before a darknesspletely engulfed me.

    And that is how the story of a Nobody came to an end on this earth.

 Chapter 11 Announcement & Questions Unanswered (Not A )

    ?So as you read - Nobody''s dead now.

    sad but don''t me me - you guys asked for this.

    some of you even said to kill that poor soul in chapter 1 too. (heartless readers)

    With him gone from here now - I will just have to follow him to the other world so goodbye earth.

    So that means we''ll leave all the questions and plots of earth, on earth.

    but still I thought I''ll remind u all a?o???? just to torture you , hmmm to interest you and if you''re people with brains - read your theories.

    What will Kevin do next- who knows?

    What was Kevin doing there - who knows?

    What''s the story of Kevin''s bracelet- who knows?

    When will Kevin get his harem- who knows?

    What will Ali do now that his bff got killed in front of his eyes- who knows?

    Will Ali vow for revenge - who knows?

    Will Ali & Aarvi ever get together - who knows?

    Will Aarvi join Kevin''s harem too - again who knows?

    what''s the big deal that''s due for sky ultima next month - who knows?

    How will shiva''s family react to his death - who knows?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    What was the ident that nobody always talked about - who knows???

    Was Shiva insane or was he seeing ghosts - who knows? ????

    Who''s nobody''s Queency and where is she now- ? ?????? ? ?

    And why the hell did I write this story till chapter 13 if I wanted mc to just die and reincarnate in a different world - hahahaha who knows?????

    Will he evere back to earth - who knows???

    Was that truck , THE TRUCK-KUN ~who knows??

    Where was the truck''s driver - who knows?

    Was his death fate / heaven  /destiny , or was it something else entirely different --- FOR THE LAST TIME , WHO THE HELL KNOWS??? ????

    Now forget all that and on a serious note let me ask you guys this  --- " NOBODY " has ordered many new packs of cigarettes for himself before -- So the delivery dude is asking me for the address -- Where should I send them.

    PS:- Are cigarettes allowed in the fantasy world of Arcadia or Do I have to send it from here???????????????

    ???????��???��???��????a?o????

    A/N :-

    Starting the main story from next chapter. So if you have any suggestions that you want in this story - you can tell me now.

    As we haven''t started yet - maybe I''ll make changes too if it''s good

    Don''tinter that it isn''t good or it should be like this or that????

 Chapter 12 Darkness & New Beginning For Nobody

    ?As I closed my eyes I found peace surrounding me. There were no more regrets , no more pain , no  more sadness .

    I could feel myself reliving everything that I''ve gone through in my life - the memories that I cherished , the friends I made , the people that I loved , and people I''ve lost , the mistakes I made , the choices I regret , I chances I missed - everything was in front of my eyes.

    I could feel all the different emotions hit me like a tidal wave but then next second everything became calm , serene and peaceful once again.

    If I had to describe this feeling I would only say one word - liberating.

    I knew I had made a lot of mistakes and I knew there were still people who loved me  , cared for me and will miss me after my death. But in that moment of calmness I wanted to forget it all.

    This peacefulness was something I never had in thest few years of my life.

    When I was alive, I wanted to feel pain , the misery and I wanted to be alone - cause I think I deserved it.

    Some people left me , some gave up on me and some were whom I ignored - yet despite how hard I tried to punish myself there were those who still stood with me , supported me and cared for me - Aaya , Ali , Aarvi , Ria , Queency.

    These people helped me without asking anything in return and I was grateful for that , but now I regret why I didn''t actually say that to their face. Had I been a little more honest I could''ve told them - I could have told her - that I needed you in my life and sorry for my mistakes. Or just a simple thank you - but I guess I won''t have a chance now.

    As memories in my head started bing hazy I started losing myself in that darkness.

    If anyone asked what I wanted now , my answer would be that I wanted time to stop there at that moment. I wanted this peacefulness tost forever .

    I wanted an eternity of this numb darkness where I couldn''t feel a thing.

    _

    *****A/N - Tell me inments what you think death would feel like. ****

    _

    I closed my eyes and left myself floating in the darkness as I enjoyed the peace.

    But when has anything in my life ever gone ording to my wishes and what I want.

    _

    I didn''t know how much time I was lost in this darkness - could''ve been a moment or a day or maybe an eternity as I hoped for , but suddenly I started hearing voices around me , breaking me out of my calm sleep.

    I couldn''t understand what they were saying . I started looking around to see the source of that voice but I couldn''t find anything except darkness - I stopped trying to look. Hoping that the voices would shut up and I could go to my sleep again.

    But as I tried harder to ignore everything  , the voices started getting louder and louder.

    I could make out some words of what the voices were saying -

    [wake up]

    [why isn''t he waking up]

    [Why hasn''t anyone from the church arrived yet]

    [the priest is here]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I was trying to close my eyes again when with a loud sh, a crack started forming. I could see the pure white light radiating through it - pushing the darkness away. I could feel myself slipping towards that crack and as I passed through , I could see the darkness from before trying to swallow that light .

    I was wondering what was happening , when I heard some voices again

    [is something wrong with my son]

    [will brother be okay]

    [he''s fine, he just needs rest now]

    Son and brother - as I heard these words the memories that I thought I''d forgotten when I came here starteding back to me. Memories of my family back on earth my mother and my lovely little sister Ria.

    (It''s been a long time since I heard her voice in my head)

    That was thest thought I had before the lightpletely blinded me and I could feel myself again.

    It was a strange sensation as in the darkness I couldn''t feel anything - not myself neither my surroundings.

    But now I could feel the wind touching my face and I could feel someone holding my hands.

    I tried to feel my eyes and was hoping to open them but then a pain came assaulting my brain. It wasn''t as bad as getting hit by a truck but it wasn''t something to scoff at too.

    I clenched my fists and tried to suppress it - migraines weren''t something I was new at. I had them everytime I had a panic attack or after waking up from my nightmares but this was more than that.

    If the pain of getting your bodypletely wrecked by a truck was a 10 and the panic attacks were 5 , then this headache would be around 6 or 7 probably.

    I was thinking like this , waiting for the pain to be over but then I heard a ''click'' sound , like something breaking. And like some trigger or chain reaction it kept echoing in my head repeatedly like someone ced my head on an anvil and was now hammering it constantly , I thought I was finally going crazy.

    I tried to cover my ears but before I could do that the banging stopped . I tried to take a deep breath to calm down but then the headache started again and this time it was worse, so much worse than before.

    (it broke the pain scale and went far beyond a 10)

    After what felt like eternity to me  , the pain stopped and came the peaceful darkness again surrounding me in itself.

    After that just like before - the different feelings and memories started ying in front of me. I rxed and started paying attention.

    But As I continued to watch , I noticed something different from before - these memories, these feelings - they weren''t mine.

    The scenes that were rolling in front of my eyes portraying the story of someone else''s life.

    They were of a 10 year old kid - RIO BLAKE.

    A/N - Fantasy world here we go.

    So after so long - we start his life in the new beautifully marvelous world.

    Please wish a happy journey to the Nobody.

 Chapter 13 New Family Of Nobody

    ?( while nobody is watching a movie in darkness)

    In avish room made of intricate designs and filled with one of a kind art and jewels that made it look like a mansion - light wasing from the window and from the beautiful chandelier made of ss - which shone in different colors as sunlight fell on it - there were currently 4 people standing there nervously, watching a 10 year old kid sleeping on bed.

    Tension filled the room and there was a thick sense of heaviness in air as everyone could feel the constant pressureing out from a beautifuldy standing there, near the bedside .

    Her beautiful ck eyes shone in different colors as the light from the chandelier fell on it . But no one standing in the room was in any mood to appreciate the beauty of it.

    She was Artemis Raven, the duchess of the Damascus city of the Schi empire. She is known as the shadow sword of Schi , an S rank adventurer. In the entire kingdom there were few who could fight her head to head ande out unscathed.

    She is as deadly with a sword as she was beautiful without it.

    Her face was filled with anger and slight bloodlust was leaking from her aura which scared the people guarding outsids. She wasn''t actually trying to scare them on purpose but it was hard to control her emotions seeing the state of the person currently lying motionless in bed.

    How could she control herself, when her only son was brought home unconscious.

    When she first saw him in that state her S rank mana pressure red and it nearly made the soldiers who were standing outside tremble in fear.

    They all had sweat dripping out their back as they can''t even imagine the bloodbath that would follow if anything happened to their future heir.

    Currently standing beside her was a man with royal bearing. One look in his eyes and the person standing in front of him might just kneel down directly. He had a muscr build and was tall standing near 6''5". He had white hair with slightly brownish eyes. He was the Duke of Damascus city. S rank Climber , also known as Sword king of Schi - Owner of Shade.

    Duke Agnus ke who tried to calm down his wife but it had no effect. He could understand her feelings but there was nothing they could do except wait. They already tried the healing magic and fed their son all kinds of healing potions but it had no effect.

    One high grade healing potion could easily heal all the mortal wounds and normally even save someone from the brink of death but even after drinking several Rio showed no signs of waking up.

    That was what worried Artemis more, as that meant only one thing - Rio was cursed.

    Her son, the future heir of Damascus - was cursed in her own house and she couldn''t prevent it. The disappointment she felt in herself , as she thought that she failed him as his mother, was making her furious.

    Curses were originated from ck magic. They are banned from every kingdom.

    Usually curses only get practiced by followers of the church of Evil''s Scion. They are followers of the Demon king Ditail - who was defeated and sealed thousands of years ago in another realm by God Apollo himself.

    After that anyone found using them or practicing them would be killed or imprisoned for life without any exceptions.

    And the fact that someone from Evil''s Scion was able to infiltrate the ke mansion and curse the future heir - was an insult in itself.

    But nobody in the room was currently worried about that. As their son''s life was hanging on the thread.

    They have tried to identify or remove the curse but without purifying magic it was not possible and anyone with that magic was associated with the church.

    " Why isn''t anyone from the church arrived yet ".

    Duke Agnus asked his guard who was standing behind him.

    " We''ve already informed them and currently high priest Andreas is on his way here. They could be arriving any minute now. " The soldier replied hurriedly as he didn''t want to anger the parents more.

    " Is brother alright "

    An 8 year old girl pulled her mother''s dress and asked her in a cute voice, her eyes were getting misty looking at Rio.

    She was Amelia ke. Princess of Damascus , little sister of the person lying motionless and the daughter of Duke Agnus and Duchess Artemis Raven.

    "He''s fine. Don''t worry, He''ll wake up soon. okay" Artemis tried to coax her child as she didn''t want her to be worried.

    Everyone in the mansion knew just how close both brother and sister were and she knew if she didn''t say something this little girl was going to start crying and for a fact they knew that no one except Rio could stop her tears.

    After hearing her mother , little Amelia didn''t doubt her words and went near Rio''s bed and held his hand.

    "Wake upzy brother. Or I''m gonna oversleep too tomorrow . "

    Hearing her sweet words a little smile formed on everyone''s face in the room.

    And just then the door opened and a guard announced the arrival of High priest Andreas.

    Andreas, wore a white dress with a symbol of sun God Apollo which shows his affiliation with church. He had 2 golden strips going down his shoulders and a book in his hand. He had a tattoo of lyre made on the back of his hand.

    " Greetings Duke Agnus. Lady Artemis. " He gave a slight bow to Duke and Duchess, who nodded their heads in response.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Andreas came near Rio to check his condition without waiting for further instructions as he was already informed about the situation.

    He checked Rio''s condition and started chanting some spells in ancientnguage.

    Some ck lines started getting visible on Rio''s heart and started spreading towards his head.

    The Duke had a hunch and after seeing the curse lines appearing on his son''s body - his face grew even more worried . He could tell it was a serious curse which could affect his son''s mind and even take his life if not removed sessfully.

    " How''s my son, is everything okay"

    Artemis who was now holding Amelia , couldn''t hold herself back as well as Angus and asked about her son''s condition.

    But after Priest Andreas reassured her that the curse wasn''t fully ced and he could remove it sessfully ,she took a deep breath.

    Priest Andreas took out a sk filled with holy water and a made a lyre mark on Rio''s chest. He then started chanting his spells and seeing him nobody said anything lest they interrupt him.

    After 5 minutes the ck lines started getting drawn to the lyre mark andter disappeared in smoke.

    At the end a white light engulfed Rio''s body and as Andreas informed everyone about the curse''s removal.

    "The curse is lifted now, he just needs rest. "

    Hearing his voice everyone had a smile on their face.

    Duke Agnus and Artemis started talking to Andreas about the details for the curse and who could''ve done this.

    "Mama. brother he''s _ he is . "

    As they were talking they heard the voice of Amelia who was screaming and tears running down her eyes.

    Seeing her crying and hearing her , Artemis came back running to see Rio''s body convulsing on bed. He was shaking and tears wereing from his eyes and it looked like he was in a lot of pain.

    Artemis nearly lost her control for a second seeing her son in that situation and after calming down she came near him and started to check his condition.

    Just then Agnus and Andreas came too and saw Artemis holding Rio''s head.

    " You said the curse was lifted. "

    Artemis said while ring at Andreas and her ck eyes were getting bloodshot now.

    Andreas didn''t reply to her and started his spells to see Rio''s condition again, but he didn''t find anything wrong. Andreas had a frown on his face.

    "what''s wrong Andreas" - Duke Agnus asked and he too was getting impatient now.

    Never has he in his life felt so helpless like he felt now. Watching his son writhing in pain and not being able to do anything . He swore to himself that once Rio was fine, he would eradicate all of Evil''s Scion from his city.

    Andreas looked at him and informed that - " Rio was fine but unlike what they thought the curse wasn''t ced recently on him but it''s been affecting him for a long time and it was just aftereffects from suddenly removing itpletely. His body is that of a kid and is still non-awakened , so his energy is drained along with the curse and that''s why he''s in pain. "

    Andreas gave Rio some potion which he took out from his storage ring and after that Rio''s body stopped shaking and his face which was pale till now, had some color and he looked to be resting now.

    Andreas informed the Duke that he''ll probably wake up tomorrow morning after his bodypletely absorbed the potion and till then they should just watch after him .

    Andreas was nning to go back to church but Artemis stopped him till Rio woke up and seeing the look in her eyes he too didn''t argue with it.

    Rio was thus said to have left alone in his room but Amelia and Artemis refused to go out and stayed with him.

    Amelia whose eyes were swollen from crying now was sleeping with her brother while holding his hand.

    While Artemis was sitting on a chair, thinking about everything that happened today , as she remembered the look of pain on Rio''s face after the curse was removed and his shaking body, she didn''t want to imagine what she would do if she lost her son.

    But now her son was fine and now she was nning to make the people who did this to her son pay the price.

    There was a murderous look in her eyes and if anyone from Evil''s Scion saw this - then they would''ve realized how badly they have messed up by going after the son of not only the current sword king but also the retired shadow sword.

    A/N:- hey readers - I know that the updates are slow but I was busy nning out all the details for the fantasy world so it took time.

    thanks for your support and I''ll try to start posting atleast once a day(TRY TO)

 Chapter 14 Merging Souls - Rio + Nobody = ???

    ?As I was looking at the scenes floating in the darkness, I realized that I wasn''t there - the kid, his parents, his family and friends - there wasn''t anything that I recognised.

    I was confused, cause the scenes that are ying in front of me is the life of Rio ke.

    As I focused more I started remembering my own life back on earth.

    Suddenly there were ripples in the darkness and I could see the scenes changing , and now in ce of Rio my memories started ying.

    Before I could make sense of what was happening the scenes started changing again and now the darkness was divided in two parts - one was currently ying the life of Rio, while the other side were my memories.

    It looked like both sides were fighting for dominance , they started merging and taking each other''s space.

    Suddenly in the memories of Rio I could see my face and while sometimes I would see Ria or Queency talking with Rio.

    "Look I''m even learning swords now."

    "I''m stronger"

    "Why don''t you ever listen to me idiot"

    "I love you SK the real you"

    "Wee home Amy"

    "Forgive me for leaving like this"

    "Big brother''s gift, do you like it"

    "Wake upzy"

    I could hear their voices but I couldn''t remember what it was about.

    Now it was hard for me to differentiate between what was real and what I was imagining.

    As time went on a slight headache starteding back and I could feel my body squirming and shaking.

    I held my head and for the first time a cry of pain escaped from my mouth -

    " Ahhhhhhh "

    But instead of stopping, the scenes started merging faster and now I couldn''t even tell both of them apart.

    I was feeling angry as a thought came into my brain - that I would forget my old life. I didn''t want to forget everything , I didn''t want to forget Ria or her.

    I focused and tried to remember everything about them to remind me of the time we spent together but as I thought my memories were getting hazy with time and all I could see was Rio and his life.

    "I will not forget her "

    "What the hell kind of nightmare is it"

    "Wake up damn it"

    As I shouted that, I remembered that this wasn''t a nightmare and I was supposed to be dead.

    As the memories of my death came to my mind - my headache increased suddenly and I could feel my head literally bursting as it tried to amodate the memories of both my lives.

    "Fucking Damn it all "

    "Someone stop it"

    As the pain became unbearable for me to handle, I couldn''t even think of anything anymore.

    "Ahhhhhh "

    "A"

    As I started shouting like crazy while holding my head.

    I was losing all hope when I felt someone holding my body and massaging my head.

    I could feel someone opening my mouth and making me drink something.

    I didn''t know what was happening around me , as I wasn''t in any condition to think anything so I instinctively opened my mouth, as what I thought was water went into my mouth. I could feel its taste , it was different from anything I''ve tasted before - it was sweet and somewhat viscous - it felt like honey but more sweeter.

    Soon after that a warm current washed over my body and I could feel my headache lessening and I wanted to look ahead and see what happened to the memories but I felt my consciousness drifting away , as I once again lost myself in the peaceful embrace of darkness.

    Sometime after feeling better I opened my eyes and found myself still surrounded by darkness.

    I touched my head but I wasn''t feeling any headache now.

    I remembered what happened before and I tried to see in front of me.

    For a second I was scared that I might forget everything but when I looked ahead I was shell shocked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The pitch ck perfect darkness screen in front of me was broken now. There were many cracks on it .

    The scenes of my life and Rio''s life were there but unlike before they weren''t ying non-stop.

    I went ahead and tried to touch one part nearest to me and the scene of Rio ying with his sister started appearing.

    I took a deep breath and went ahead to check with other scenes and they were all fine.

    I watched Rio grow up and I watched how he lived.

    I went ahead and touched a part which had the memory of me from my past life and Queency was staring at me.

    [ So your sister''sing huh]

    --- [ yeah she couldn''t wait. I told her not to but she wanted to meet her sister-inw]

    [what, I haven''t agreed yet. And I don''t remember you proposing to me]

    --- [Do I need to]

    [ hmmm]

    watching the memory and her beautiful face while she was pouting a smile came on my face and with that the memory ended .

    I tried to touch other pieces and hoped to see every memory avable of her in my brain again but the headache starteding back and I knew I had to stop.

    After I watched Rio''s whole life I understood what was happening before .

    As a person who read novels all the time for his living - I figured that after my death I was reincarnated in his body and all this time - our souls were just merging together.

    I was happy at first after realizing that I had a new chance , a new life - as it meant I could start anew.

    But as I continued my journey to Rio''s memoryne that happiness soon turned into a frown on my face.

    ( just my luck )

    ( I had to reincarnate into his body)

    If you''re wondering why I was cursing my luck and feeling angry over it - the answer to that is.

    just like any other viin novel - I reincarnated into this world''s viin .

    This world was called Arcadia.

    It was based on the story of the novel I first read - "APOLLO''S CHOSEN - RISING HEROES OF PEACEFUL TIMES"

    Now this world followed a fantasy setting where every other cliche fantasy stuff was avable - mana, dungeons, monsters, towers, powers and systems.

    If I was in anyone else''s body I wouldn''t hate it that much, cause as the title of the book says it was set in a somewhat peaceful era so I could survive by hiding or simply looting some chances of some characters but I was in the body of this world''s second main viin boss - Rio ke . The First Fallen, The Great Devil.

    In here unless the protagonist and his camp defeats me - they can''t fight the final viin boss - The Demon King DITAIL.

    Now some of you might think that what am I so scared of - what''s the worst that can happen , my death - please I''ve already died once. And the darkness was peaceful.

    So what am I so scared of - Well that''s cuase I don''t die in this story.

    Nope I get trapped and forced to live a miserable life for all eternity all alone - without the power to even do anything .

    Now if that wasn''t enough , there''s more _ but just thinking about that - sweat started to form on my soul body.

    ( leave it, I can''t change anything staying here)

    ( guess I should wake up first)

    I don''t know how long has it been since my death - and the darkness - and then this merging - but I was finally ready to open my eyes to the new world.

    (I''m actually kinda excited to see this new fantasy world that''s so different from Earth)

    And after that thought I opened my eyes and the light of sun hit my face.

    (Damn - that''s the same as when I wake on earth too)

    A/N :- so here we go. he''s ready now - to start his new journey.

    THANKS FOR READING TILL NOW

    AND FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT.

    don''t forget to vote the power stone''s.

    BYE

 Chapter 15 A Mothers Embrace And Peace For Nobody

    ?**Rio''s POV**

    After my and Rio''s soul or memoriespletely merged, I was shocked to see that the world I''m in - is based on a novel.

    It''s called Arcadia instead of Earth.

    Arcadia is a vast world where lots of different races co-exist together - humans, elves, dwarves, giants, vampires, monsters, beasts, halflings and even dragons.

    If you''re wondering why I didn''t mention the demon race. That''s cause the Demon King DITAIL killed them all himself.

    How & Why - now that''s a whole other story for the end game but yeah so everything''s peaceful nowadays.

    Except for some little skirmishes now and then there hasn''t been an all out war in the past 1000 years.

    Some fights still break out from time to time - cause of race difference or some profits or simply cause of ego and them having nothing better to do - but overall if anyone transmigrated here they could live peacefully .

    If only they aren''t in the body of Rio ke.

    After pondering on that thought for a while and cursing my luck for the N''th time , I decided to finally open my eyes in this fantasy world - and I was excited to see everything in it.

    (Will there be some beautiful maids waiting for me like in those novels - as soon as I wake up)

    After that thought I opened my eyes by turning my face sideways - and what greeted me wasn''t the face of some world toppling beauty or some beast kin or something fantasy like - no it was the sunlight which came directly on my face.

    (Damn that''s the same shit as Earth, what a let down)

    I closed my eyes for a second and turned around.

    I tried to get up and sit on my bed but before I couldpletely do that, I felt like the Truck-Kun gave me one more visit.

    I felt something crash on me and then that something squeezed my body tightly.

    I was already feeling weak due to the curse that was ced on me and I didn''t have full control or understanding of my new body but I felt like I would really just die before I even took a look at myself in the mirror.

    I tried to free myself but I was powerless so I started squirming to free myself from those shackles that held me in ce and were squeezing me.

    And finally after some struggles I felt the grip on me loosening and I was free to look at my assant who wanted to murder me as soon as I woke up.

    In front of me stood a woman more beautiful than I could ever describe in words.

    She wore a green colored dress with golden line patterns which were shimmering in sunlight. She had ck hair which fluttered in the wind and crashed on her shoulders.

    Her ck eyes were looking at me with such tenderness and care that anyone could just get lost looking in them. She had a smile on her face and I was just mesmerized by that.

    I wasn''t thinking about anything bad or was like some horny kid who couldn''t control himself.

    No I was simply lost in thought cause I knew who she was - Artemis Raven ke - Rio''s mother.

    When I looked at her the memories Rio made, the emotions he felt and the love he had for her - came crashing in my brain , and without my knowledge some tears starteding from my eyes, I simply couldn''t control it, so I just hugged her back to hide my face.

    **Artemis POV**

    I was thinking about how to find all the Evil Scion''s members and punish them all. When I felt something - I looked towards Rio and I saw him opening his eyes.

    At first I was worried if he was okay or if the curse somehow affected him but then a smile came to my face as I saw his face which had a frown on it now due to the sunlight.

    (He''s fine)

    With that thought , I stood up from my chair , I couldn''t control myself and next moment I was hugging my dear son.

    He''s my only son and the thought of losing him due to my own negligence had scared me more than I ever felt. I just hugged him tightly hoping to never let go of him and just keeping him safe always.

    It wasn''t until I felt him squirming in my hands, trying to free himself that I realized that due to fear and excitement I didn''t control my strength properly.

    I just smiled nervously and freed him.

    I was looking at his face - he was the perfect mixture of both his parents , with hair as white as snow just like Agnus and eyes as dark as night just like me.

    His face which still looked cute and chubby in her eyes and skin as smooth as jelly that I just couldn''t stop pinching it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Just looking at him for a moment had calmed my heart and all the bloodthirsty thoughts from before were nowhere to be found.

    I wanted to ask him if he was okay and apologize for not protecting him better but before I could do that I saw him crying and then he just hugged me tightly.

    Seeing the tears in his eyes I was lost for a moment as my brain started thinking of all the bad results, the look from yesterday when he was squirming on bed came to my mind - that was the first time she had ever seen her brave little son in that condition , and I thought he was still in that pain.

    I could still feel him sobbing, I knew he was trying to stop himself from crying, I didn''t know what was wrong or what I should do so I just hugged him back, trying tofort him.

    After some time he stopped crying and was now just lying in my arms peacefully.

    After that I asked what was on my mind

    " Are you feeling better now "

    " If you''re not feeling fine, I could call the high priest "

    **Rio POV**

    After crying in her arms for some time and feeling her hands caresing my head trying tofort me - I stopped sobbing and tried to separate myself from her but I found she just hugged me back.

    So I kept lying in her embrace - it felt warm and peaceful , even more so than the darkness.

    I had severed my connection with my parents on Earth soon after the ident happened. Though it had it''s reasons and I thought it was better for them to be away from me.

    But up until this moment I never truly realised how much I needed it - how much I missed it.

    A mother''s care, her love and her embrace - I never felt it in thest 3 years of my past life and so when she hugged me back I just closed my eyes , hoping to get as much of this calm feeling as I could.

    " Are you feeling better now "

    " If you''re not feeling fine, I could call the high priest "

    I heard her soft voice and even though it was my first time hearing it in reality - I could feel just how much love she had for him.

    Even in the novel , she was described as the person who loved Rio the most. Even after the whole world stood against him - she was there, standing in front of him to always protect him.

    " I just had a nightmare. "

    " I''m fine now. Don''t worry"

    I replied to her and I could feel her tense body rxing. She then ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead.

    "Stay here, I''ll get something for you to eat. "

    After that she tried to stand up and leave but I held her hand. She looked at me , waiting to see what I needed.

    " Can you stay here for some time ."

    I said to her while looking down. And when I looked up at her , I saw that she had a bright smile on her face .

    And though I never met one in my life I could say that she looked just like a Goddess now. A pure bright smile which had no malice or any other emotion except kindness and happiness , with eyes full of love and care - isn''t that how a Goddess should be.

    "Of course"

    Breaking me out of my reverie was her sweet voice as she agreed to my request.

    She sat on my bed and took my head on herps.

    Without any resistance I justy there on herp pillow with my eyes closed, as she caressed my head.

    In that moment, Nobody had finally found the peace he always hoped for , and epted the fact that he was now Rio - Rio ke , Son of Artemis Raven ke.

    A/N :- This chapter is dedicated solely to a MOTHER.

    When I started writing I was hoping to finish their interaction fast and add some mystery for future but when I kept writing - words for only the emotions both the mother and son had - wereing out from my brain. SO I JUST CHANGED THE THEME TO THAT.

    (personally I think this one turned out to be better)

 Chapter 16 The Incidents Of Past & BLOODSHED

    ?A/N - So half this chapter is information about this world''s past - how the CURSE MAGIC works? what was THE LAST WAR? what is the EMERGENCE of portals/monsters? etc etc. ----- but don''t skip it CUZ IT''S NECESSARY.

    **** ****

    Artemis felt her heart at peace as she looked at her son sleeping peacefully. She was d that they could identify the curse and stop it before it affected her son''s brain.

    Curses like these weren''t deadly but they were the most feared, cause they can change a person''s personality and affect his mental state, since Andreas removed the curse and her son wasn''t feeling any aftereffects - she was d.

    Now she was wondering about how someone could ce a powerful curse like this on her son without getting detected. As Andreas spected that the curse was ced on him for a long time and she agreed too.

    Curses are a type of magic practice where to get the desired result , you have to constantly supply the mark with mana.

    That''s why curses only work on awakened people. Cause After a person is awakened their body will always retain a little amount of mana even if they exhaust themselvespletely.

    So cing a curse on a non-awakened human was a difficult task in itself.

    Someone had to constantly supply the required amount of mana at regr intervals into the cursed person''s body for the curse to work properly and not kill the person directly. And they had to do that while avoiding detrction of cursed mana from everyone in the mansion.

    *** World info dump***

    The CURSED MANA is what demons were said to be using in thest war. Evil''s Scion somehow found a way to utilize it by putting it in spells or marks and thus curse magic was born.

    It may sound simple but it was a near impossible feat at the beginning cause cursed mana isn''t suitable for humans or any other races except demons. Curse mana can simply damage or deal direct death to anyone aftering in contact with other types of mana.

    That''s why it was called the bane of every other type of mana.

    This was also the reason why demons though far less in numbers, were feared throughout the world and why everyone united to fight against them in what is now called - THE LAST WAR.

    Even God Apollo himself couldn''t kill The Demon King Ditail and chose to seal him , though that might be a spection as records pertaining to the details of The Last War were erased soon after.

    After the Last war ended and God Apollo left the world again.

    The world was enjoying a brief amount of peace but then came another challenge that threatened not only the existence of their race but the world as a whole - THE EMERGENCE.

    Portals and spacial cracks started appearing around the world and with that many different kinds of towers and dungeons and monsters came too.

    Many believed that when God Apollo chose to seal Demon King Ditail in a different realm. It broke the bnce of the universe and different nes started merging into one.

    During that time humanity nearly lost everything but with every cursees blessing too. As new monsters appeared - so came new races too.

    With the different knowledge those races possessed and powers that humans amassed in their home Arcadia - everyone started to stand together and fight against rampaging monsters.

    After many years of relentless battle and uncountable sacrifices on both sides - we won. Monsters were pushed back into their towers or some uninhabited ces and sealed there.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The fight against amon enemy not only helped everyone to put aside the difference between their races and way of living but it also helped everyone to understand each other and helped usher in a new era of peace.

    At the beginning there were still some skirmishes and fights between different races for hierarchy but with the constant threat of monsters and dungeons which could open anywhere - they all agreed to put aside their differences and help each other when needed.

    After that every race chose their ideal ces to stay on Arcadia and coordinated with each other to maintain the bnce.

    *** Back to Story***

    That''s why Artemis and Agnus were shocked to learn Rio was cursed at first.

    Cause that meant that someone from Evil''s Scion had infiltrated the mansion or someone was actively helping them.

    It would have taken a long time to put the curse and maintain it to hide beneath everyone''s eyes.

    Artemis started to suspect everyone in the mansion who''s been in constant contact with Rio for the past years.

    Every guard, every maid, his butlers, his shadows - she doubted everyone.

    And that''s why she didn''t want to leave Rio alone for a second with anyone. She didn''t want to take a chance again and regretter if something happened to him.

    Yesterday night she had already ordered to capture every person who was a suspect in her eyes - and currently they were all held captive in prison, if someone resisted or asked too many questions - they were to be killed on the spot.

    She knew many of them were innocent and were loyal to the Duchy, but when the choice was between her son''s life and some stranger''s - she chose her son without a second thought or any guilt.

    She was only waiting for Rio to wake up once so she could go and deal with them appropriately without constantly worrying about his safety.

    While Artemis was cleaning up the mansion for any traitors, Duke Agnus wasn''t just sitting back.

    He had ordered all the Shade guild members to search throughout Damascus city and kill anyone who is found associated with Evil''s Scion.

    The blood that flowed that night on Damascus city''s roads was something that had never happened in the past 1000 years.

    The bloodshed wasn''t only limited at Damascus, as one of 3 Duke''s selected by the Royal Family and one of the humanity''s pirs against the constant stampede in towers - the support Agnus ke had was massive.

    Many others joined the hunt for Evil''s Scion in their own territories to either get the support of Duke or to just eradicate any possible future troubles due to thismon enemy.

    In only one night while Rio was sleeping peacefully in darkness, the outside world was thrown in chaos.

    A/N :- So what do u think - how was it.

    Character arts are poster as auxiliary chapter so check it out.

 Chapter 17 Amelia Blake Or ???

    ?While Rio was sleeping peacefully and enjoying Artemis''sp pillow, there was someone who was currently rolling around on her soft bed.

    The 8 year old girl had messy ck hair which were now covering half her face , there were drool marks near her lips and she looked funny Or maybe cute - depends on the one looking at it.

    Despite all her movement she still had her eyes closed and refused to open them.

    Seemingly looking for something with her small hands flying around that touched every corner of her bed, Amelia wore a frown on her face.

    When she didn''t find what she was looking for on this side, she decided to roll over to the other side and then _

    THUUUP

    With a muffled sound - She fell down the bed.

    Amelia opened her eyes and looked around confused by her surroundings.

    She had a habit of moving around in her sleep.

    So one day when she fell down from her bed and was crying, her brother helped her sleep and the next day he gave her a big soft teddy bear.

    ["here as long as you hold Mr Bear, he won''t let you fall"]

    She still remembered how her brother praised it as a big expensive gift and took all her savings in exchange.

    Later when she found out the truth of her brother''s trickery andined to her mother.

    Even she took part in his little scheme to loot her money and said - "We''ll buy you a new birthday gift from your money."

    At first I was happy when she told me about a gift, till I understood that they were going to use my own money for that.

    " Meanie both of them "

    Just remembering that banter had brought a pout on her face which made her look even more cuter.

    She stood up and massaged her butt which still hurt.

    She looked around and found the teddy lying on the sofa near the window where she usually ces it after waking up.

    She was wondering why she didn''t sleep while holding it or why her brother didn''t put it on her bed like everyday.

    It was only after she thought about that, that she remembered that yesterday night she was sleeping on her brother''s bed with him but now she was in her own room.

    She opened the big door that was massivepared to her little size. And started running towards her brother''s room.

    Amelia was worried about her brother, when she remembered how he suddenly fell unconscious yesterday while ying outside and how the big priest uncle said that he had a nightmare that''s why he was crying in his sleep.

    She was feeling angry at herself for forgetting about her brother and worrying over a teddy bear.

    "How can anything else be more important than her big brother?"

    (Mama said big brother will wake up in the morning. I''m sure he''ll be worried about me when he doesn''t see me near him. He''s always with me when I have a nightmare.)

    She thought and increased her speed.

    She was currently standing outside another big door , but dly this time there was someone standing outside who opened the door for her. Without saying anything - she ran inside.

    And what she saw left her standing on the gate like a statue.

    Currently Rio was lying on mama''sps while she was telling him the story of her adventures in the guild.

    Rio had his eyes closed but he was humming in between the story as acknowledgement to her mother that he was listening closely.

    Watching them enjoying their time while she ran all the way here , thinking that her brother might be worried about her - Amelia felt like being betrayed & crying.

    Amelia pointed her finger at the mother-son pair and shouted - " You _you"

    but then no new words came out of her mouth as she was still breathing loudly while panting. she put her hands on knees and started taking deep breaths while still ring at the duo.

    ** 3rd POV

    Hearing the shout and seeing that Artemis stopped her story , Rio opened his eyes and turned around to see the culprit - who came to destroy his peaceful rest while enjoying the head massage and the fantasy story.

    He was ready to shout at whoever it was. But when he turned around he had his eyes widened , staring at the girl standing in front of him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She was small, a kid no longer than 4''2". She was wearing a pink frock . She had ck hair which were super messy right now . While her big ck eyes were ring daggers at him with anger.

    Seeing her both kids just ring at each other without saying anything.

    Artemis tried to break the staring contest between them by speaking to her daughter first.

    It was purely because Amelia was a kid and easy to coax. And not because she enjoyed teasing this cute little doll everyday by teaming up with Rio.

    "So you woke up Amy. Why''d youe here looking like a ghost. " Artemis spoke , trying her best to control herugh as she saw the fuming expression that formed on her daughter''s face listening to her teasing words.

    Amelia stood up straight and red at her mother - "Good, good. You both are enjoying here , while I ran all the way thinking that someone would be worried about me. "

    Artemis sighed and said - "Why would anyone worry for you. You were only sleeping. I thought you would sleep till noon today since your brother didn''t go to wake you up. "

    " Why would I sleep till noon. I''m notzy like an idiot - who slept full yesterday ." Amelia said and started walking towards a sofa and sat there.

    "And you even threw me in my room and stayed with brother." Ameliained.

    "You were kicking your brother in sleep so I put you on your bed " Artemis replied.

    Amelia moved around the sofa to adjust herself properly as her bum still hurts a little from the fall in the morning.

    Looking at her daughter''s cute antics Artemis realised the full truth at why she was so angry and finally couldn''t hold herself back and burst outughing.

    " hahahahaha "

    "You fell on your back again, didn''t you" Artemis asked while wiping the tear that came in her eyes byughing so hard.

    Amelia just stared Dumbfounded at her mama and couldn''t believe her eyes.

    ( how can this womanugh so hard while her daughter''s still in pain and can''t even sit properly.)

    It wasn''t Artemis''s fault asst night her mind was far too upied with Rio''s safety and finding the traitor - that she forgot to give her daughter her toy.

    She wanted to apologize for her mistake but one look at that red pouting face of her cute little daughter which was burning in anger - she felt like this was much better and didn''t say anything.

    While both mother and daughter were bickering with each other, Rio was still staring at Amelia with wide eyes and an unbelievable expression.

    His mind was a mess and thoughts were running around unstoppable

    ( how can it be

    (She _she''s here

    ( did she reincarnate too

    ( is it possible

    ( does she remember me

    He was lost in his thoughts , staring at Amelia.

    When she noticed his gaze, she came near him to shout at him too - For forgetting all about her while enjoying mama''sp pillow.

    Amelia came in front of him and said in a loud tone - " What you forgot about me cause you got mama to tell you stories today huh. Let me tell you that only I _ . "

    Amelia was still speaking when her words were cut short as Rio hugged her tightly in his arms and said in a serious tone

    "Never. I would never forget you. "

    Listening to her brother''s genuine words and seeing how he hugged her , Amelia little surprised still smiled and hugged him back, happy that her mother hasn''t stolen her brother from her.

    Artemis too was surprised to see Rio hugging Amelia at first like that suddenly but seeing his moist eyes that were almost crying , she thought that he must be still scared by the curse as he cried while hugging her too.

    Amelia was nning to give her mother a grinning look and boast as how Rio chose to side with her today , but her happiness was short lived as his next words shocked both mother and daughter .

    " little Ria. "

    A/N :- Sorry about the dy. That IPL match was there so I couldn''t get the time.

    But here you go.

 Chapter 18 The Plot Thickens - Is She Ria Or Amelia ?

    ?*** shback ***

    " Brother , don''t you believe in God. " Ria asked Shiva in her sweet voice.

    -- " Why would I believe in something I don''t know even exists. " Shiva replied.

    " But everyone else in the family does. "

    -- " It''s their choice. "

    " Yeah but you know papa doesn''t like when you talk like that. " Ria said.

    -- " I know, but I can''t just change myself. "

    " You changed for her." Ria asked in an obvious tone.

    -- " She''s different."

    " Ohhh , is she more important than me now." Ria asked with a slight chuckle.

    -- " Of course she is. No doubt about it." I was going to say no but seeing her smile - I decided to just tease her a little.

    " Then_ _ then will you forget about me after you go back this time." Riya asked in a slightly hoarse tone.

    I was going to tease her a little more but I saw tears were already forming in her eyes. I just sighed.

    Ria was good in every way smart, funny, pretty and pretty cute too but she only had one fault - she just loved crying. After watching so many dramas at home , her emotions are almost always high and she couldn''t take a joke.

    I wiped her eyes with my hand and hugged her softly and said -

    " Never, I will never forget you. Little Ria."

    Hearing my words Ria asked again in a pouting tone - " Promise. "

    "Promise." I said.

    Her face blossomed hearing those words and her previous gloomy mood instantly vanished. I just stared at her dumbfounded at how fast her mood changes and a small smile came on my face too.

    (How can I ever forget you Little Ria)

    *** Back to present

    This memory was ying in my head when I stared at the girl who was fighting with Artemis right now.

    I saw her before in Rio''s memories but I just shrugged it off thinking it was cause of the merging or when the faces started to mix up in mind and I was just imagining it, but now looking at her - standing in front of me - I knew She was the same, she was Ria .

    Watching me staring at her she came near me and started saying -

    " What you forgot about me now _"

    She was saying something but I didn''t hear anything after that, I just hugged her tightly. My eyes were teary and I could feel a lump in my throat. I just held her in my arms and said -

    " Never, I will never forget you. little Ria."

    3rd POV

    Amelia was happy when she heard her brother say he''ll never forget her but his next words made her shocked.

    " Who''s Riya, brother. " - Amelia asked in a slightly raised tone , she was getting really angry now. First her brother didn''t say anything to help her, when her mother was teasing her and now he doesn''t even remember her name properly.

    Hearing that voice brought Rio back to his senses. He looked at Amelia as he realized what he did. He was so lost in his memories that he called her as Ria.

    He was still confused about the whole situation but he could worry about that when he''s alone. He first decided to defuse this situation as now both Artemis and Amelia were staring at him.

    " No one. Lia , I said Lia. You just didn''t listen clearly. "

    I said and I could feel Artemis still stared at me for some time, as with her level it isn''t hard for her to listen clearly to everything in the mansion.

    But then she left it thinking maybe I just woke up and was still sleepy and weak from the curse.

    Amelia stared at me with her doubting gaze and then after thinking something she started nodding her head like a sage.

    "Fine but you''re not forgiven. You have to y with me for 2 hours. No 4_ yes four hours" - Amelia said with a serious face as she showed him her four fingers.

    As the sole heir to the Duchy Rio was almost busy the entire day learning different things. He would y with her when he gets time but she wanted more ytime.

    Yesterday they were ying when her brother fell unconscious and they had to stop.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    So seeing the chance , she asked her brother this - she was even ready to put the me of falling down from bed on Rio and emotional ckmail him by sobbing if he argues - that always works. Amelia was making ns when she heard her brother''s voice.

    "Okay."

    " _ . huhh. "

    Amelia was confused. Howe her brother agreed instantly today. That too in the early morning.

    " Okay. let''s go out. "

    She said and started pulling Rio who didn''t resist and started walking.

    Amelia didn''t want to waste this chance , fearing that her brother might change his mood or her mama might take brother away for his sses again.

    She was just about to step out when with a sh her mama appeared in front of her.

    " Where are you going youngdy. You haven''t even washed your face yet." - Artemis said while crossing her arms on her chest.

    Amelia looked at her mama and clicked her tongue. She knew she couldn''t go out now.

    But she also didn''t want to waste this perfect chance to spend more time with her brother. There were so many new games that she wanted to try. Plus she also had to ask her brother to beat her best friend Reba in a game where she lost. She needed that revenge.

    She was lost in her fantasy,ughing creepily imagining the crying face of Reba after she lost.

    Artemis just stared at her daughterughing like an idiot and sighed.

    (What is she thinkingughing like that)

    She thought and then shook her head.

    Artemis informed her kids that they can only go out to y after having bath and finishing their breakfast .

    Amelia came out from her fantasy and then started running towards her room while shouting loudly - " Lazy brother, get ready faster , we''ll y after Ie back. "

    Seeing her running in the hallways Artemis chuckled lightly.

    She then informed Rio that Priest Andreas will do one more check up on him after breakfast which Rio just nooded .

    Artemis wanted to send her maids to help Rio take a bath but he refused saying that he''s fine and wanted to be alone for now.

    Artemis didn''t think much as she kissed his forhead and went out. There were still many things that needed to be done - half the regr staff in the mansion was held captive, waiting for her judgement after all.

    After Artemis left Rio closed the door and went towards the bathroom that was attached in his room at one side.

    It was even bigger and more decorated than his room where he stayed back on Earth.

    Rio walked towards shower. He started checking the transparent control panel which was attached to the wall - it could control the temperature and flow of water in the shower. With Original Rio''s memories he mostly knew how to operate these regr stuff needed here.

    He closed his eyes as cold water droplets started falling on his head.

    Cold shower was something of a habit of Shiva back on Earth - everytime he was stressed or needed to clear his thoughts he would take a cold shower. The cold water falling on his head helped him calm his nerves somewhat.

    Any other time he would have enjoyed the art of magic or marvel at the beautiful designs and mana ores shining like jewels of different colors ced at every corner or simply just the magical shower.

    But currently he wasn''t in the mood for that - He had too many things to worry about .

    He couldn''t shake the feeling that something was wrong -

    - Maybe it was due to his death and sudden reincarnation in this world.

    - Or the fact that he was born as a viin who was supposed to be doomed for a miserable life.

    - Or maybe it was about the fact that in the novel there was no mention of Rio ever being cursed during his childhood.

    But even those things weren''t his priority right now.

    There was only one thought running rampant in his head - Is she Ria or Amelia ???

    #

    A/N - The Plot thickens ????.

    Now hold tight cause the next two chapters are gonna be cool. It''ll exin Rio''s viinous rise & some world info which is necessary.

    Hmmhmm -- that aside post dat 5* review for me massive demand.

 Chapter 19 Plotline Of The Blake Siblings

    ?Rio thought long and hard but even after that he couldn''te to any solution. He didn''t even have the answers for his own reincarnation - how was he supposed to find out about Ria''s.

    But one thing he was sure now , he would have to protect her. She could be Ria or Amelia - he couldn''t let her get hurt. She is his sister , be it - as Amelia to Rio or Ria to Shiva. At least until I fully learn the truth about it.

    ***

    After thinking all this Rio started remembering the original book''s plot and about the ending Amelia had.

    _

    As the viin''s sister many would suppose that she would live happily after joining the protagonists harem but apparently Amelia didn''t have that luck.

    The author of that book tried to spice up the story, by giving Amelia a sad ending too .

    After all how can the sister of the Great Devil who ughtered millions and nearly destroyed everything - get a happy ending. The general public of this world would never approve of it.

    Many readers sympathize with her but the author was right too - if you were in the real world, how can the family of someone who did that many bad things could have a happy ending.

    _

    So I decided to change the plot or better ignore it wholeheartedly. I didn''t care about the hero or the world or the consequences of my actions cause I was the type of guy who would happily sacrifice 10 strangers if it meant someone I cherish would stay safe. I can''t change it and seriously I don''t see any problem with this.

    Why should I worry about people whom I never met , when the people who I care about are at risk. I mean I''m not a crazy person - I will save someone innocent dying on a road but if it meant going to jail for it - then no, I got no time for you.

    _

    After I thought up till that point - I tried toe up with ns that could help me achieve that.

    The routes that I needed to ignore, the problems I needed to solve before they be a bigger mess and the people that needed to be silenced for that to happen.

    Cause just like every other viin Rio wasn''t born a bad guy, he was turned into one. By situations around him, by people around him.

    _

    Noah Winston - a certain character''s name came to my mind. He was a side character in this novel, a partner in the protagonist''s camp.

    He had awakened the power of the seer. He could see glimpses of the future and he was the first person responsible who pushed Rio on the path of the viin.

    **** ***** *****

    And with that thought the scenes of the original story started ying in my mind

    Baron Misha Winston , A middle aged chubby man with a bad mustache - was currently standing in the Church of GODDESS CASSANDRA.

    He was waiting patiently as today was the day of his 2nd son''s awakening ceremony.

    The Winston family held the title of??��???��???��?. They ruled a quarter area of Harendale city. They were tasked to manage the Gale Market , which was famous for the supply of mana ores. They had secured that ce for generations and were thriving in power there.

    _

    After the ceremony waspleted he was happy as his son had gotten the blessing of Goddess Cassandra and awakened the power of a seer. Seers were a rare profession and highly sought after.

    Baron was happy and his brain started thinking how much he could grow if he could properly utilize his son''s talent of seeing future visions . Misha Winston was an ambitious man who only ever cared about profits. He would do anything to rise in power.

    _

    Currently Noah was left standing on the altar , with sweat dripping out from his body. Soon he started shaking and blood started leaking from his eyes. But no one came to help him.

    It was a normal reaction for a newly awakened seer - cause after awakening , their power is much greater than their bodies could handle and it was normal to lose control and get lost in the visions of the future.

    ***

    INFO DUMP

    - That''s why the AWAKENING CEREMONIES are usually done in churches as there are many priests avable to heal you and stop the process immediately if needed.

    But it wasn''t mandatory cause if you''re rich and resourceful you could always make your own arrangements.

    The people who awaken their powers have many idents during their awakening - the kid who awakened the fire ability could just lose control and burn himself or everyone around him. Or the one who awakened the power of ice could just freeze everything in the surroundings.

    -- There was a case in the border area , where one person awakened invisibility power , and he turned invisible soon after his awakening. He was announced missing by the local church , until he himself jumped in the pool of colors so people could see him.

    _

    So awakening in itself is hard and surviving the process is harder too. As most people don''t know what power they''ll awaken , it is hard to prepare for unexpected situations - cause if their power is too much to handle for their body they could just die that second.

    There are ways to find and mitigate this risk but till now no one is certain how innate abilities work. Sometimes someone would have the same powers till generations and sometimes it could be the opposite or just random.

    The scientists believe it depends on our personality and the mana in the surrounding area that we consume , while believers and cultists believe it is a random gift from God.

    _

    NOAH''S VISION

    - In his vision Noah saw a world which was filled with darkness , cities which were empty , buildings that were turned into rubble and dead bodies of many races of people that were scattered everywhere as far as the eye could see.

    A person standing alone atop a mountain of corpses as he continued to ughter more while dancing on the battlefield .

    He was covered in blood . His white hair swayed in the winds along with the arms and legs of his enemies that he chopped up with his sword.

    He continued this massacre and Noah watched as he saw people dying without even being able to put up a fight against him. Just one swing from his sword and no one was left standing whole.

    Noah wondered who it was as he never saw this person or anyone in the vision in real life.

    He was scared, the vision of that cruel massacre was too much for a kid like Noah who just awakened.

    He was losing hope and feeling sick when he heard a voice from someone who stood up to fight against that evil viin.

    It was a young man with short ck hair. He was covered in metal armor and in his hand was a silver sword.

    Noah knew this man or to be specific the symbol he had carved out on his armor. He had seen that symbol many times, it was the logo of House Heartwell - another Baron family.

    " Heartwell Family "

    The young man pointed his sword towards that viin and asked him -

    " Why, why are you doing this? "

    " Why did you betrayed everyone and joined hands with them. "

    The viin just looked at him like looking at an idiot. He then ignored him and replied in a cold stoic voice while Continuing his massacre -

    "Because only I can do it. You''re all ipetent ants, living your life in a sheltered cave. And I am your reckoning. "

    The young man didn''t like how he got ignored. He took his stance and started charging towards the viin who just stood there, listening to his shouting with indifferent eyes with the expression of like looking at an ant -

    " Today I will erase your entire existence Rio ke."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    " Today is the day the ke bloodlinepletely disappears from this world. "

    Before Noah could see any further actions - he felt that the monster was now ignoring that guy and looking towards him .

    For the first time that monster now had an expression on his cold bloodied face - It was a smile - the smile of the Devil.

    Just seeing that look, as he started walking towards him with a sword in his hand, scared Noah to no limits.

    He turned around and started running he started screaming loudly , as the viin drew near him and after a loud scream he closed his eyes.

    With that his vision ended and he found himself back in church.

    ***

    In the church the Baron was worried not about his son he had 3 more. He was worried that if Noah died his n to use the seer''s ability and rising in power would fail.

    .

    Currently the priests were surrounding Noah and treating him and soon after Noah woke uppletely.

    But his body was shaking , his face was pale as if it lost all its color , his eyes dull as if it lost all its life. He was holding his head in his knees and mumbling some words that shocked everyone in the church -

    " That monster "

    " He killed everyone. "

    " Devil , he''s the Devil "

    " He''ll destroy everything. "

    Hearing his voice everyone was shocked as this was the first time any seer had any vision of destruction.

    As the world was currently in the peaceful era people werecent but they weren''t forgetful. They knew the horror of the every past crisis - The Last War and The Emergence.

    So when they heard him talk like that the priests surrounded him and started asking questions worried that something like that might happen again - what happened , what did you see , who will destroy everything , who is this Devil etc.

    Just hearing the word Devil - the smiling face of that viin came to Noah''s mind and he peed his pants.

    Seeing this the priests were even more shocked thinking about what kind of vision Noah saw that scared him that much.

    Surrounded by everyone Noah started losing consciousness and before faintingpletely he said - " Rio ke. He''ll ughter the whole world. Devil. "

    _

    listening to this all the people present there had wide eyes - obviously all of them knew who Rio was. He was the genius of the ke family who awakened the powerful ability of Darkness at the age of 10.

    He was praised as one of humanity''s future pirs but hearing what Noah said they couldn''t believe their ears.

    _

    The priests started shaking Noah''s body asking about the full truth , but the Baron came between and took Noah away , saying he needed rest and they could ask him questionster.

    While the priests were worried about Noah''s vision , the Baron was thinking about how to use that knowledge to his advantage.

    He couldn''t just me Rio and announce Noah''s vision to the whole world.

    If he did that the very next day , ke family would silence them to avoid rumors. It won''t be hard for the Duke to destroy his Barony in one night - he didn''t want to take that risk.

    _

    When The news reached to Rio''s parents - they wanted to destroy Winston family but doing that now would only fuel the rumors more and change the public''s opinion of them.

    So they agreed when Baron Misha proposed that he would make sure his son never says one word about that vision to anyone. And announce himself that they were all false.

    Then Under everyone''s eyes Noah had to take a Mana Oath of secrecy and then in return, with the support of ke family - Baron Winston got the control of half the Harendle city and promotion to Count Rank.

    _

    After settling the deal with newly promoted Count Winston , They announced the falsity of rumors andter ke Family silenced all the witnesses by whatever means necessary and the news was buried along with their bodies.

    They suppressed the news as seers weren''t omnipotent and many times the visions got proven wrong , as the future was never fixed and people forgot about it.

    Until Rio grew up and started his journey as a viin - the rumors started appearing again in slow whispers around corners and he was marked as the Devil again.

    _

    So you could guess that Noah was the first person who pulled hate over Rio.

    Though it wasn''t his fault and he didn''t do it intentionally. He was scared of the visions and just mumbled something - but it was enough to ruin Rio''s image in some peoples eyes from a genius savior to a destroyer and Devil.

    Plus the Church of Cassandra where the ceremony happened. The followers of that Goddess believed this as some sort of prophecy and would always use it to pressure the ke family in the outside world. While their minions would be the first to annoy Rio at every chance they got in Zenith Academy.

    There were many attempts on Rio''s life too . But he somehow survived and killed everyone who came for him.

    He tried to kill Noah too - who was the root of all his problems but aftering to the academy, Noah became friends with the protagonist Leon who would somehow always save him in time.

    Noah too helped Leon a lot inter periods with his powers of the future visions. Though he never told him that he became friends with him just because he saw him fighting with Rio in his first vision.

    Noah wanted to tell him everything but he couldn''t. As he had taken a mana oath to never tell anyone anything about that vision.

    _

    Rio with these constant problemsing his way with time became the very viin they wanted him not to be.

    The followers were d that their Goddess was right , not knowing it was them who also yed a major role in changing that vision into a reality.

    In the novel at the end Rio does kill all the followerspletely along with their God and their prophet Noah , but after that he loses against the protagonist and his remaining followers.

    *** *** ***

    After author described the scene where Rio finishes the churchpletely. He wrote a quote there whose words are still stuck in my mind - he said -

    " ��a ����?��?���䀨���? ���䀨�������?����?����s ��?��as ���䡭����?s����?��a���䨺?, ����?���� ����?��?����? ���䨢��?�����? �������?���䀨��䡭 ��?����?s ����?����? ���䀨��䨢��?��a���䡭 ��a����? -�����? ��as ������ax����?���䡭 .��?����?��?���䨢��?�������? ��a����?. "

    --- It was to say that all the trouble the church go through , all the lines they crossed , all the lengths they went to - just to avoid that future.

    Those were the very choices that led them there. They weren''t changing their future like they thought - they were just making it. perfecting it. "

    A/N :- I''m so mad right now I had to write this super long chapter from ground up again - cause it got deleted by mistake the first time.

    so like 2500 words 2 times - my head hurts now.

    normally it would be like 5k words - 5 ch. ??��o??��?

    .

 Chapter 20 Future Enemies And Future Plans

    ?BACK TO STORY -

    Knowing all this I decided to stop this scenario from even happening.

    I would''ve preferred to keep Noah by my side and use him for my advantage, but there is always a risk that knowing the future he might betray me and join the protagonist.

    I could also stop his awakening ceremony but knowing Baron Misha''s nature , he would never let that happen.

    Kidnapping him or crippling him won''t change a thing - as awakening didn''t depend on physical conditions.

    There was only one thing he could do - that is to silence Noah before he awakens.

    With Rio''s family''s power it won''t be hard to have him assassinated. And even if somehow Baron ever learns the truth, he would never start a fight with a Duke over his useless dead son.

    Baron Misha wasn''t a good man who cared for anything. In the original novel he was one of the few people who profited most watching ke Family''s downfall - he was already a Count Rank noble at that time and in the absence of ke Family - and taking advantage of chaos , He became a Duke too.

    ( so maybe erasing him now while he''s only a small Baron, will easily solve future troubles for me. )

    I shook my head to remove that thought from my head, at least for now. I''ll just see his behavior and decideter. But Noah - I can''t let him go.

    In the original book Noah awakened at the age of 12 , 2 yearster than Rio.

    So I have to somehow find a way and kill him before that.

    _

    But these things are still in the future and I have more time to think about them. For now I have to learn more about this curse.

    As this was never mentioned in the book I don''t know who did it or why , and what kind of effects it can still have.

    From what I heard while I was in the darkness and what Artemis told me , I can probably narrow it down to 3 people.

    These people are the ones who''ve been with me for years and had the perfect chances to put the curse on me. They are also the ones who willter betray the ke Family in the novel -

    1) My shadow ESME SCARLETT -- A vampire spy posing as a human -- though it isn''t known to many yet but aside from Evil''s Scion , Vampires also knows how to harness the cursed mana. After all they were born from it. Vampires are a subspecies of the Demons in this world.

    2) Guard captain BERIC ZASTAN -- Real name Magna - A spy of Evil''s Scion. nted 7 years ago during one of the dungeon raids. Where he killed the original Beric and took his ce. He''s acting as the perfect soldier for now, while trying to earn everyone''s trust and fully infiltrate the Duke house.

    3) CHEF CHIRON -- The head chef of ke mansion. He was a mysterious character mentioned in less detail in the original book , but his birthce was said to be the lost continent. Heter joins the protagonist and helps him get the legacy of a lost swordsman and dies while protecting him. Though it was never mentioned if he knew cursed mana usage or not. But he''s still a major suspect.

    _

    If I want to save myself and Amelia till I get stronger and uncover the truth , I need to get rid of these people first.

    Though I don''t know if I can kill them as they are important characters for the plot , or people who joined the protagonists party - as they might also have high luck on their side.

    But I would rather hope and believe that since the plot hasn''t started yet maybe I can find a chance.

    Now I need to take care of all these 3 traitors plus Noah Winston, before the plot officially begins and they somehow get the protection of fate or the protagonist''s luck and be his allies instead.

    _

    I also tried to look for a system as every other reincarnated person does. I shouted all the keywords but nothing happened. No transparent floating blue window screen appeared in front of me.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I was a little disappointed at first but then I remembered that it won''t matter much - Cause in the book Arcadia also has its own??��1??����''???�??????��2??��o which people can use to see their status and skills. But that only appears after the awakening and when your body gets ustomed to mana , so I''ll just have to wait for that.

    Maybe I will be surprised.

    _

    After solving all these troubles - I can be worry free about the plot and my life for some time and focus on getting stronger.

    I just have to make sure that me and Amelia stay away from the protagonist and maybe we''ll be safe .

    _

    It''s only been a day since I came here and I''m already stuck with situations that are spelling my doom and thinking about killing people.

    It won''t be my first time killing someone , but I didn''t want to repeat that experience.

    _

    If I didn''t meet Amelia - who''s exactly like my sister Ria , I would never have to think so hard about ways to survive.

    As then my only fear after reincarnation would be the ending of the original Rio in the book. Where he was tortured endlessly - I could easily prevent that without doing anything and get a much better ending - by simply killing myself if I felt like losing. And by not giving the protagonist a chance to trap me.

    Fear of death means nothing to me now , as I already know whates after that .

    _

    But I can''t do that now. I can''t justy down and die - Not until I don''t find out the truth about Amelia.

    If there''s even a slight chance that she''s Ria - then I can''t just ignore her and let her get the ending that was written in the book.

    I have already failed her once back on Earth and lived my life in regret. I can''t fail her again and let her die here too.

    I have to find out the truth , cause then I won''t have to worry about her.

    And maybe after doing all that , I can get my peaceful rest with the calm darkness again.

    _

    FYI yes he''s still in the shower??���

    _

    ###

    A/N - So how were the past 2 chapters.

    Gave you lots of details happy now.

    It''s time you return the favor by paying me back.

    *** and if you''re on discord - join the server I created to see all character arts and updates.

 Chapter 21 A Family Breakfast

    ?After I thought about all the problems which could trouble me after a short time and their possible solutions - I turned off the shower through the control panel and just after that some vents opened at the floor and ceiling and it sucked away all the fog.

    As the fog cleared I found myself standing in front of a mirror, which was a ss wall till now.

    It''s been a day since I reincarnated in this world but it was only now that I was seeing myself in a mirror.

    Since I''ve seen Rio''s memories I wasn''t surprised to see someone else''s reflection in the mirror. Rio had short white hair and dark ck eyes. An oval face with a sharp nose and slightly chubby cheeks which made him look cuter. His height was average for kids his age neither too tall nor short.

    Rio didn''t have any kind of marks or scars on his whole body which is a far cry from my old one.

    Since I used to go for the fight clubs on my work off days or when I had too much stress piling up - there were some scars that would alwayse out. Then there was my edgy personality and the long scar on my back which that bastard gave me .

    So overall Rio is probably a little bit more handsome and whole than I was on earth.

    I got out of the bathroom and was thinking about what to wear when I saw that a new dress was already ced on my bed - which I think was sent by Artemis.

    I picked up the suit and went on to get ready , which nearly took me half an hour just to do that.

    Being someone from earth and born in a middle ss family andter on who became azy guy like me - I never had to wear fancy clothes like this, and here being a Duke''s son I have to maintain Rio''s style of appearance and his status as a noble - so I had to put in a little more extra effort.

    After getting ready I came out of my room and saw 2 guards standing there. They were arranged by Artemis herself and tasked to follow me while she takes care of her business.

    When they saw me they bowed their heads, to which I just nodded and then started heading towards the family hall.

    Family hall is where everyone''s waiting for me I guess. From what I''ve seen in Rio''s memories, if his parents were at home then they''ll always eat together .

    It was a strange and good thing for me cause I don''t remember when was thest time I sat around with my family and had eaten together or just talked normally in that regard.

    I walked in the long hallways observing everything about this house .

    A guy who lived in a single room for half his life was suddenly ced in this big mansion - you could imagine my Predicament. Now I was feeling d that I survived that massive headache back then and seen through Rio''s memories or I would just get lost in these hallways everyday.

    _

    When I finally reached the family hall. As I guessed Artemis and Amelia were already present there .

    I looked at the Duke''s chair which was empty and could guess that he was probably leading the hunt against the Evil Scion''s followers till now and probably won''t rest till his anger calms down.

    When Amelia saw meing , she said - "Lazy brother, we''ve been waiting for so long. I thought you slept back again."

    Even though I wasn''t sure about Amelia and didn''t know how I should act around her, just looking at her and seeing her actions would bring a smile to my face.

    I shook my head and sat on the empty chair beside her. Rio would always do that unless he wanted to tease her by sitting near Artemis , which would make her angry.

    Amelia looked towards Artemis and made a proud expression on her face like saying - " See this. I won. "

    Artemis wanted to smile at her cute daughter''s actions but decided to just y along with her and made a displeased expression, which just made Amelia even more happy.

    Amelia had the expression of being the happiest person alive.

    Amelia was thinking that today was the best day of her life - though at the beginning she did fell down from bed and it hurt , but then her brother agreed to y with her for 4 hours and now she was sure to take her revenge on Reba , plus now she even seeded in teasing her mama - which is the biggest achievement for her.

    I just looked at her and only one thought came to my mind - she really is just like her.

    _

    After I sat down some maids came and started serving the food on the table. And one thing which I noticed after watching that - was that it was a lot of food - like if it was ced on earth, it could easily work for a ss reunion dinner with 15 hungry teenagers who had nothing better to do besides eat and sleep. The maids served the dishes - after that they went back and stood at some distance.

    From what I could see on the table and recognize everything prepared today was something that the original Rio liked - I looked towards Artemis and she smiled and nodded in response.

    My heart felt warm seeing that - it''s been a long time since someone especially did something for me - well if you remove the gesture of Ali ordering pizza at my room after every time I call him.

    I shook my head and then with my building anticipation I started eating. Just after taking the first bite I was surprised, blown out of my mind. Since I only watched Rio''s memories and didn''t share any sensations or actually eat anything myself - I didn''t know what it would taste like.

    From Rio''s memories I could understand that food would be different here and tastier with all the mana rich ingredients but I was still surprised.

    It was almost the best food I''ve ever eaten.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And yes I said almost cause Queency knew how to cook too , and no one could beat her. Or maybe that''s just my bias since I loved her too much.

    I stopped thinking about the past and started focusing on eating everything and trying out all the new dishes - cause my body really did feel weak and hungry.

    _

    While Rio started eating , Amelia was just looking at her brother and as time went on, a frown started appearing on her face. And soon her previous happy expression started morphing into a pout.

    Artemis watched this whole transition and finally couldn''t stop herself and a small chuckle escaped her mouth.

    Amelia looked towards her mama and watched her '' trying hard '' to control herughter and failing miserably , her anger started rising too. If before she had a cute pouting face, then now she just looked like a fuming red tomato.

    Watching this Artemis finally couldn''t control herself and started to straight out bursting inughter while pointing at her daughter.

    Even some maids had the expression of smiling too, while some others were trying hard to control their expression and look elsewhere.

    _

    Hearing herughing I looked towards Artemis and saw her pointing her finger towards Amelia.

    I looked towards my side and saw Amelia''s cute angry face as she continued ring at me and Artemis while crossing her arms on her chest.

    It took me a moment to understand what was happening and when I did - I could just smile nervously and try to calm her down.

    Actually the role of foodie had always been hers, she''ll be the first to eat whenever she could, but today she waited for him toe & he just ignored that, and started eating himself.

    " Hehe, will you believe me if I said I was just teasing you. " I said.

    Amelia looked towards me with a '' surprised expression '' and said - " Ohh so you remember me now. I thought I would have to wait till you finish eating everything. "

    " I was just checking to see if the food was to your liking or not." I tried to fool her but she was smarter than I thought.

    " Haaa liar , you think I didn''t see your face when you were gobbling it up. You looked like you would eat everything on the table. " Amelia replied as she pointed at my te - which was filled at the beginning but was half empty now.

    I looked towards Artemis hoping to get her help but I saw that she was still eating her food , while looking at us like she was enjoying her favorite tv show.

    Now I see why original Rio''s memories were filled with so much filler drama - this woman is just enjoying it everyday.

    I looked towards Amelia and she was still angry. I thought of something , then I picked up the spoon and sent it towards Amelia''s face - " Here eat. "

    Amelia looked at me and said - " Why didn''t you do it before, it''ste now. "

    Hearing her reply a smile came to my face and I said - " I was only eating faster cause I thought we could go y quickly after that. But it looks like you don''t want to y with your big brother now. "

    Listening to me Amelia remembered it and she took the bite from that spoon - "Hmmm I''ll forgive you , but only this time. "

    I smiled a little as I saw Amelia who started eating from her te now and then we all focused on finishing our breakfast.

    -

    This breakfast felt surprisingly good - the food, the taste , the people and the love - they were all sweet. -maybe more sweeter than something, someone like me deserves.

    _

    _

    ###

    A/N - A light fun chapter , after the previous 2 tough ones.

    Do give me some suggestions for some fun scenarios - in the siblings rtionship.

    --- ande join the discord, link is in synopsis

 Chapter 22 God Apollo & The Prophecy

    ?After we had our breakfast Artemis sent Amelia away as I still needed to go with her to priest Andreas so he can do one more check up on me and see if the curse is still active.

    Though a little unhappy that her ytime got dyed - Amelia couldn''t do anything about it, except ring at me and Artemis as she went back to her room with her head bent down.

    Priest Andreas was staying in the guest house mansion, just near the main house.

    As we were walking there , only silence was between us. Artemis talked about some things now and then but I couldn''t have a proper conversation with her.

    In the morning all the emotions of the original Rio and my memories of my past life came crashing when I woke up and I couldn''t control myself and cried in her embrace. But now when I have epted this new world somewhat and cleared my thoughts, I just don''t know how to act around her.

    She''s not like Amelia with whom I can feel an attachment. I would''ve ignored Amelia too if she didn''t have Ria''s face. But with Artemis I feel no connection. I mean Rio''s feelings of love are there and I could still see them as memories in my head but I can''t feel them - they''re just like a good movie that''s stuck in my head. So even if I love her character in it, but having a one on one conversation as her son , now that would be difficult for everyone, let alone me who lived half his life as a nobody.

    Plus the fact that I also have to be careful that she doesn''t notice anything strange - she is much much more powerful and intelligent than I am. I can use the excuse of the curse to get away with some things but you can''t expect me to look into her eyes and call her MOTHER and hope that everything goes well.

    But I also can''t ignore her as that would make it all the more harder for me to live in this ce and protect Amelia. Cause if I did that then I think they''ll just adopt a new son - after all they did do that in the original book.

    I was lost in my thoughts when I felt someone tapping on my shoulder.

    "We''re here. What are you thinking standing there all lost and zoning out." - Artemis said.

    "Nothing. Let''s go in. " - I replied and started walking ahead.

    There were some guards standing at the gate and some who were patrolling the parameters but no one said anything. When I finally reached the gate they bowed down their head and opened it.

    Me and Artemis walked in and soon we saw Andreas kneeling beside a window , reading the book that he was holding yesterday. He was chanting something that I couldn''t understand the meaning of , the tattoo of Lyre on his hand was shining in golden color. I recognized what he was doing - it was a prayer ceremony for God Apollo described in the book. Since there''s no statue or altar here , he''s kneeling beside a window from where he can see the sun and praying but that scene sent me into another thought journey -

    (He''s praying to God Apollo.)

    (But the prayers _ they''re _ )

    I was lost in thoughts watching Andreas when Artemis pulled me away from their to not disturb him. Currently we were sitting in the hall and after waiting for 5 minutes he came out.

    Andreas bowed a little and said - " Forgive medy Artemis for making you wait."

    " It''s no problem, the fault was ours to have you stay the night ande unannounced." - Artemis replied.

    The people from any of the churches in this world don''t go out unless it''s necessary. They believe that the POWER OF FAITH umted in the church would help them. While the outside world contaminates their faith. Its especially true for someone with a high standing in the church.

    Andreas held the status of a High Priest which meant that there were few who could order him in the whole BELIEF SYSTEM and none who were present in Damascus. The Church of Apollo here was under Andreas control and he was their leader. Him being away for a whole night would be impossible if it were for anyone else. But even he didn''t want to ruin the peace that was kept between his church and the ke House.

    I gave a bow to priest Andreas and said - " Thank you for saving my life. High Priest. "

    Andreas looked at me and replied - " It was the God''s will. I''m just a mere follower. " Saying that he ced his hand on my head and the same as before the Lyre mark started shining and a ring of golden light encircled my head. The light felt warm andforting but not the same as before when it engulfed me and pulled me out of the darkness.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As the light started rotating around Rio''s head, Artemis who was worried and looking towards Rio didn''t notice that for a moment Andreas made a surprised expression but then it turned to normal again.

    After some time Andreas removed his hand and said - " There''s nothing to worry aboutdy Artemis. Young heir is perfectly fine. I see no effect of the curse or cursed mans left in his body. "

    Hearing this Artemis had a warm smile on her face, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She replied - " Thank you for your efforts , Priest Andreas. I would personally visit the church and say my prayers to God Apollo."

    ke''s family never affiliated themselves with any church and kept themselves neutral with the belief system , Now the Duchess herself going to the church would be enough of a reward as it would improve their reputation among all their peers.

    Though the whole world believes and respects God Apollo for defeating the Demon King Ditail and ending The Last War but many also me him for breaking the bnce and causing The Emergence .

    And now in an era where people forgot all about the wrath of Demons and only fear the non-stop monsters and towers and dungeons - his reputation has been going downhilltely.

    So now that Andreas had saved Rio and gained the favor of ke family - the Church''s reputation and belief in God Apollo would increase in the eyes of general public, which would then result in increasing the power of faith. That was a good news for him. Andreas thanked her and after some pleasantries we left the guest house , priest Andreas too was going to leave for his church soon.

    When me and Artemis walked out , Priest Andreas stared at our back for some time and then looked towards the sun and muttered - " God''s will is ultimate. The prophecy had begun. "

    _

    Unknown about what Andreas said or meant, Currently Me and Artemis wereing back towards our mansion , it was the same silent walk as this time both me and her were thinking about what to do next.

    Artemis needed to find the traitor that helped Evil''s Scion as she wasn''t worried about the curse now and was free to punish them.

    I too left the issue regarding the curse aside for now, but unlike Artemis I didn''t forget itpletely - No I was worried as hell about that, something that wasn''t mentioned in the original book - that''s a big red g for me right there.

    But for now I was thinking about how to get her to help me deal with Noah & the possible traitor trio .

    After thinking hard and not finding any way through which I could get her to help me with killing a 10 year old - without me sounding like a seer or a killer. Both which would bring it''s own troubles for me and wanted to avoid.

    I decided to stop that route and chose to take a different one. ( what''s the worse that can happen)

    I took a deep breath and said in a serious tone -

    " It was Beric Zastan who cursed me MOTHER. He''s been working with Evil''s Scion. "

    ##

    A/N - _ _ / 5* - how was it.

    Join d discord suckers - Link''s in d synopsis

 Chapter 23 Shadow Sword & Beric Zastan

    ?I was worried about how I should go about killing Noah. I can only take one shot at him cause if he somehow survived that and ran away - then finding him would be hard and if he awakened early due to my interruption and got the blessing of Cassandra, her followers woulde running to save him and then it would be all the more harder to kill him. So I can only attack him when I am 100% sure that I can kill him.

    Maybe I can go and kill him myself after my awakening. In the original book Rio awakened the power of Darkness so it could also help me if I want to assassinate him.

    The awakening ceremony of Rio was originally nned after a week from now but after learning about the curse - I don''t think Rio''s parents would risk it now as my body is still weak and would probably dy it for some time. That also helps me , as there are some things that could help me better prepare for my awakening so I will have time to go and get them.

    Aside from Noah , the one who poses a big threat to me are Esme & Beric. Esme is in prison as of now and she would probably be killed if Artemis learns of her vampire origins so I don''t need to do anything. But Beric is still free and if he is the one who put a curse on me then I have to take care of him faster.

    Though killing him now would change the story as he was supposed to be killed by Leon muchter but I can''t let him be free - when I don''t know anything about the curse.

    Thinking about all this I decided to tell Artemis about him. Knowing about Artemis''s nature from the book if Beric really was the one who cursed me then I''m sure she can get all the answers from him.

    _

    *** 3rd POV

    " It was Beric Zastan who cursed me MOTHER. He''s been working with Evil''s Scion." - Rio said in a serious tone.

    Artemis who was lost in her thoughts was shocked when she heard her son''s voice. She looked at his face and seeing him all serious she could tell he wasn''t joking. - "How do you know?" Artemis asked .

    " When I was ying with Ria that day I saw him talking with someone using themunication devices which aren''t ours. He was asking someone about the NETHER CARDS*. I wasing to tell you about that but I fell unconscious on my way." - I replied in the same tone.

    Artemis still would have doubted Rio before but after listening to his exnation , she knew he was probably telling the truth. He had no reason to lie about a matter this serious. She didn''t ask why Rio knew about Evil''s Scion and Nether Cards cause as the future heir of Duchy he was taught about almost everything that he should know about the world and Rio himself was a genius at learning and never cked off .

    Artemis was now worried that if during Rio''s awakening the Evil''s Scion used Nether Cards then what would''ve happened.

    During awakening ceremony the mana present in the surrounding gathers around the person''s body and rebuilds it to make it more susceptible to mana and if at that time anyone used Nether Cards, which are used to disrupt the mana flow in a certain area and make it go berserk - the awakening process would fail and that person would be crippled at the best case but there''s also chances of him dying.

    Just a week , just one weekter was Rio''s awakening ceremony nned. Which means if Rio didn''t fall unconscious and they didn''t learn about the curse - there''s no chance that Rio would survive that attack. With his body already affected by curse and awakening if they add theher cards - his body would break apart.

    The thought of Rio''s death in such a horrible way made Artemis so angry that her mana went out of her control and pressure of a S rank started spreading in the whole mansion. All the remaining staff and nearby guards were on their knees as they had trouble breathing. Some weaker ones even fell unconscious.

    Artemis clenched her fists so hard that blood started dripping out from her hands , her dark ck eyes were shining as a red hue started surrounding it. Her bloodlust was leaking out as she imagined the scene of her son trapped in theher zone dying.

    It was then that she felt a hand on her shoulders , she turned around and saw her shadow Myra , who was now holding Rio in her arms as a blue veil of mana surrounded both of them. Myra shook Artemis''s shoulder as sweat drops started forming on her head. - "Please control yourself master. "

    It was then that Artemis came back to her senses and calmed her mana pressure. It was only for a few seconds but just from pressure alone she had suppressed almost everyone in the mansion.

    She looked at her shadow and said - "Thank you Myra."

    Myra bowed at her master and freed Rio. She then took two steps back and stood there silently.

    Artemis looked at her son who was standing straight like nothing happened , his face still looking calm. She knew he was trying to show that he was fine and wasn''t affected. And Artemis would''ve believed him if she couldn''t see the sweat drops on his head or hear his fast heartbeat.

    She started ming herself again cause if not for Myra protecting him , he would be the most affected. Though his life won''t be in danger as there are many treasures on his body that could protect him but still it would hurt him badly. She took a deep breath as she bent down. She wiped the sweat with her sleeve and kissed his forehead.

    "Myra, take Rio back in. I have something to deal with. And stay with him till Ie." - Artemis ordered her shadow and turned around. She took a final look at Rio and then melted in the shadows around her. With no signs left that she was ever here a moment ago or where she is now.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    _

    (Shadow Queen of Schi - So that''s her power now)

    Rio thought as he looked at the spot where Artemis was standing. He wasn''t afraid when she released her pressure , as he already knew about Myra and believed that she''ll save him. He was actually thinking about how he would have to fight Artemis once in the future if everything went ording to the plot and if he would be strong enough by then.

    "Let''s go in young master. I believe youngdy Amelia is still waiting for you." - Myra said as she thought Rio was still shocked by that pressure. And his sister could help cheer him up.

    It was only then that Rio remembered he had promised toe back early and y with Amelia. He shook his head and decided to not worry about that for now , for he was already changing future events and he still had time. So he said - "Yeah, let''s go in."

    _

    While Rio and Myra were going towards the mansion , Artemis was on her way to Beric Zastan. Who was currently sitting with his friends and chatting happily in the barracks. Totally unaware that his death wasing towards him.

    _

    Beric who was listening to his friends talking about the increased security and punishment for the captured staff in the mansion. Suddenly threw his drink aside and stood up. He drew his sword out and started looking all around him carefully. But aside from his 4 friends he couldn''t find anyone.

    At first his friends we''re surprised by his unusual behavior but soon they too felt that something was wrong , the mana in the surrounding area was getting thinner. It meant that either someone had casted a superior spell or used an artifact to make a closed barrier. Both of these were situations that they were unaware of so they too drew their swords out and looked around. All 5 of them got into a formation and Beric who was their leader was standing at the front , said - " whoever you are. Listen carefully , This is Duke ke''s territory. Get out now and show yourself. "

    Everyone looked around but they couldn''t spot anyone. It was then that light around them started getting dimmer. One of them turned around only to see that their shadows started moving from the ground and covered all the windows and ces from where sunlight wasing in. The hall was fully thrown in darkness.

    " Captain try to use your spells. We need some light." - One of the guards looked towards Beric and said.

    " I''m trying , the mana is acting weirdly around here. Hold on." - Beric said as he had no idea who would be so brazen so attack here . He was trying to cast a spell for light but it wasn''t working. Finally when he gathered all his mana, a small white ball of light started floating above his hands.

    He looked around towards his friends but all of them were already on the ground knocked out.

    He pushed the light a little further and there he saw shadows gathering towards one ce. Soon he started hearing noises of footstepsing towards him and then came a voice - " You would regret going after my son."

    (First shadow magic & then a women''s voice - it can only mean it''s her)

    A shiver ran down Beric''s spine when he figured out who this voice belonged to . He didn''t even waste time trying to think about why she came here or how she knew about him. He took out a square ck card and tried to supply his mana into it but he couldn''t do that. He already used all the mana he could in this affected area and now he couldn''t even gather a little bit to activate theher card , that he had on him.

    " I told you, you would regret going after my son."

    He heard the voice again and before he could say anything he felt the pressure of a mountain crushing on his shoulders and he fell on the ground face first.

    Artemis came near him , she bent down and picked up the fallenher card. She looked towards Beric and the coldness of her eyes was thest thing he saw before he fell unconscious.

    ##

    NETHER CARD - A card made by pure cursed mana. Once used it could alter the flow of mana in the surrounding area and even make it go berserk. In the past some Evil''s Scion high ranking officials also used it to kill themselves if they are ever caught by their enemies, by infusing their own mana into the card, thus sting themselves into pieces.

 Chapter 24 Fun & Games

    ?While Rio and Myra were standing outside talking , Amelia was currently sitting in her room waiting for her brother. She was holding her teddy bear tightly in her hands , trying to vent her annoyance. It''s been an hour since breakfast and her brother still hasn''t returned yet.

    (Stupid brother , he might''ve forgotten that he promised me.)

    (No, it''s not brother''s fault, it must be mama trying to tease me)

    (I shouldin about them to father when hees back. Yeah this time I should even cry a little)

    (Let''s see how you guys dare to tease me then)

    Amelia was lost in her thoughts when she heard something -

    "Why are you wasting our time Amy. Come let''s y again. Don''t worry I''ll go easy on you this time."

    A girl''s voice sounded in the room , it was heard from one of the screens like projection in the room.

    _

    PROJECTION DEVICES were just magicalmunication tools used to chat with each other in long distance while being face to face. These were made by??��???����??��2??��? , the cost of this type of tools was high for normal people , but both of the girls talking here weren''t normal.

    _

    Amelia looked at the projection and on the other side sat a 10 year old girl wearing a sky blue and white colored gown , her golden hair fell to her shoulders , her blue eyes seemed like the ocean with no end , her beautyparable to that of the setting sun.

    The person in front of Amelia was the first princess of Schi Empire , Reba Von Schott. Daughter of Emperor Maximus Von Schott and Queen Athena Von Schott Raven. Amelia''s maternal cousin and her best friend.

    Amelia had boasted to Reba about how she was going to take her revenge today and will beat her in the game but it''s been an hour yet her brother hasn''te and she lost 2 more matches today.

    Amelia was feeling annoyed as she saw the smug andughing expression of Reba. And when she heard the words that she''ll go easy on her - her anger went even more beyond.

    (Liar, that''s what you said thest 2 times)

    (Brother if you don''te I will lose all my respect today.)

    Amelia was contemting this when the door opened and Rio walked in with Myra following behind him.

    After entering Myra closed the door and without saying anything she silently strode forward and went to stand on one side. Where she could keep an eye on the kids but wouldn''t disturb their y time.

    Watching Rio, Amelia''s expression brightened up and she ran up to him and dragged him in front of the projection. She pulled Rio''s face close to her and said - "You took too much time brother ,let''s start directly. You have to defeat her and take my revenge. Otherwise I won''t talk to you."

    Rio heard her ''threat'' and looked at her for a few seconds and a barely noticeable smile appeared on his face. He ruffled Amelia''s hair and said -"okay".

    Rio looked at the projection and saw Reba staring at both of them. It wasn''t the first time they were seeing each other. As both their mothers belonged to the??��2??��???��???��1???? and were sisters. The rtionship between the ke Family and Royal Family was very good. The kids would often meet each other and y together.

    _

    **POV shift

    Watching Reba for the first time outside of Rio''s memories I was surprised at first - as being the book''s one of the main heroines she had the aura and charm which was visible to everyone. But I wasn''t looking at that, no I was going through all the future events that happened in the original book - about how Reba became Rio''s fiancee , How she used Rio in the Zenith Academy andter stabbed him in the back and stole everything from him , just to hand it all over to the protagonist.

    As I remembered all her actions , a feeling started rising in my heart that maybe I should get rid of her too. I myself was surprised about why that thought suddenly came in my brain as normally I wouldn''t think like that but I pushed that aside and tried to control my emotions. It was only for a moment but the cold glint in my eyes couldn''t go unnoticed by Myra, who was surprised to see what made me unhappy all of a sudden. But before she could ponder on it further I broke the silence with a smile and said -

    "Good morning princess, I see that you''re still as calm and clever as always."

    Reba looked at me while pouting her face and said - "I told you to not call me the princess every time. Even Amy doesn''t call me that now."

    "How can I do that. It''smon courtesy to call the Royal family by their title and not names." I replied in a straight tone.

    "But we''re cousins and Amy is my friend." - Reba said instantly.

    " Amy is a child princess. She doesn''t know anything about the world." I said while pointing my hand towards Amelia.

    I was going to say something else but then I felt something on my fingers , I looked at the side and saw Amelia trying to bite hard on them.

    " Aaa jou calling me gumb bruder"

    " I oo everyiing. "

    I pushed her head away and saw my fingers. 3 of them had bite marks on them now. I was looking at them when I heard Amelia''s voice - " First youete here and then you start your regr talking instead of ying. Do you know how badly she defeated me."

    I chuckled nervously at that and looked towards the projection and saw Reba who was rolling on her bed now holding her stomach - though she muted the sound function so we couldn''t hear anything but one look at her and you could tell she wasughing hard.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Amelia looked at me with pleading eyes then shook her head and wiped her fake tears. It felt like she was saying - '' look at how she''sughing at your sister. And you''re not even taking revenge.'' She then pouted and turned her face away.

    I was going to coax her a little but we heard Reba''s voice - " Ahemhmm Sorry about that Amy, Rio let''s start ying. I won''t lose to you today. It''s my lucky day."

    I too decided to y and get revenge for Amelia but soon I came across a problem , a very normal and easy to understand problem , that I ignored till now.

    The control console was like a VR kind of game from the modern world but here instead of technology and the inte they used a little bit of illusion and projection magic - it starts after 2 yers join and stand on their tform while some potions/creatures/tools/mana crystals would starting towards them. They have to avoid all the obstacles and gather the required stuff and not fall from the tform.

    The problem I was facing now was that I knew all the rules , I''ve seen Rio ying this game several times and many times he had even defeated Reba too. But I just had theoretical or visual knowledge - I knew what to do but the coordination between my body and my mind was useless to say the least. Soon I was overwhelmed by the increasing speed of stuffing towards me and I was thrown off the tform.

    "Game over"

    " yer Ba_01 wins"

    The result was announced and I removed my hand from the console and sighed.

    (Looks like my mind still hasn''tpletely adjusted to this body yet )

    ( I need to fix it fast)

    _

    **3rd POV

    " Hannnnn ?�� 2 "

    Seeing the message both Amelia and Reba were dumbfounded cause it''s barely been 1 minute and Rio lost. It was the first time Rio got thrown out this sooner. Even when he yed this game for the first time he was much better than this.

    Amelia looked towards her brother and said - "Brother please tell me that it was by mistake. And you didn''t just lose willingly to tease me."

    Rio scratched his neck not knowing how to answer that question.

    Reba too was surprised to win so easily, she liked ying with Rio as he was a better yer and though sometimes she would lose but she enjoyed thatpetition. But winning so easily left a sour taste in her mouth as she thought that he pitied her and let her win.

    Amelia bugged Rio to y one more match and defeat Reba but Rio just said that he''s not feeling well and can''t y this game.

    It was only after hearing him say this , that Reba remembered that her mother did say that Rio was sick and not feeling well. So not to trouble him much. Reba thought that Rio''s body was already weak and she had him y a game which includes illusion magic which can still put a little strain on your body if you''re not careful.

    So as an apology she decided to stop ying this game and with a wave of her hand the VR screen disappeared and she took out a chess board from the nearby table. Though she wasn''t good at it and knew she will lose to Rio but she thought that since she hurt him just now so she should just let him have a win.

    (Maybe I''ll tease him a little about it the next time I meet him hehehe) thought Reba.

    Seeing the chess board Amelia too smiled and ran and took out one simr board from her Cupboard.

    These two boards were bought in a pair and are magically connected to each other. With it people could y chess from long distance.

    when one side makes a move the same move would be yed on the other side too. It was just like ying chess on the mobile screens with your friend via the inte , except here it uses magic.

    After Amelia and Reba arranged the pieces , we started ying. And this time just as Reba knew she lost. Even more badly than she usually does.

    -

    That was because for chess I had my own memories and experience from earth too. As a nobody who lived his life simple and didn''t like to interact much with others much I had pretty much yed almost all kinds of online games and chess just had to be one of them.

    Finally seeing the dejected look on Reba''s face Amelia stood up and started giggling like an idiot kid with her hands on her waist.

    Though still shocked by her defeat Reba found sce in the fact that at least she had also won one match today.

    And just like that all 3 of us continued ying and trying different games. And the sound ofughter continued till we yed for hours.

    Finally when everyone started getting tired Reba said her goodbyes and cut the connection. Amelia tooy down on her bed and was smiling heartily. She couldn''t stop smiling as she had too much fun. I was just lost in my thoughts as I stared at her smiling face and a fleeting thought came to my head.

    (It would''ve been perfect if she was here with us too, right Ria)

    It was only one moment but that thought had soured all my mood and brought me back to reality.

    ##

    A/N - If you''re wondering why MC''s feelings and thoughts are out of his own control - I would just say that the reason for that is already hinted in ch14 merging souls .

 Chapter 25 Plotline Of A Shadow - Myra

    ?After ying for hours me and Amelia had some snacks and after that I left her and went out. Usually I would have a bunch of peopleing to teach me a bunch of stuff but Artemis has canceled those till I get better.

    After ying the games with those girls I learned 2 things - first my control over this body iscking. Second I need to learn about this world''s geography and history.

    While ying a quiz game I learned that there are some ces that weren''t mentioned in the book. Some incidents happened which were never exined in detail. Though I have Rio''s memories, I decided to check everything by myself since I have time till evening as no one will disturb me.

    Agnus is outside hunting down the cult, Amelia is done ying and soon she''ll be busy with her sses, Artemis is probably torturing Beric as we speak - so I''m free right now.

    Since my body is still weak and not in any condition to go out and train, I decided to head to the library and see if the world is truly the same as I remember it from the book.

    _

    Myra was still following behind me. She was wearing her usual ck dress which was a sign of her being a shodow. She had waist length white hair and slightly yellowish eyes. A thin petite body which helps her agility and control.

    She had been with Artemis for 10 years now and has absolute loyalty towards her. She was an orphan kid , struggling to survive, living the life which was worse than rats at the border streets.

    10 years ago when Artemis was called to clear an A rank INSTANT DUNGEON* on the northern border. She had found Myra who was trapped in it. When she saw Myra, she was going through her awakening. At first Artemis was going to ignore her as the chances of a sessful awakening in a dungeon were very low much less trying that in an instant dungeon and looking at her pale skin and weak stature it was almost impossible to survive.

    _

    Dungeons were ces with rich mana which could stimte someone''s awakening.

    Many poor people who see no other choice to awaken take this chance. Though it is cheap and might save them lots of money which they would need to go through a ceremony at the church or required to pay for their services. But it alsoes with many risks.

    While you''re going through your awakening, monsters present in the dungeon can sense the mana disturbance ande attack you and you would be just like a chicken on a chopping block. With no way to run or fight back. There are also chances of some other humans also jeopardizing it as no one would know the truth.

    So only people who see no other way or people who are already nearing the age of 18 take this risk.

    _

    So Artemis just felt curious about why the girl who was only around 10 years in age had decided to take this risk. So she stood guard near her to see if it could bring her any surprises. She didn''t help her in controlling the raging mana, she left it on her luck and for fate to decide. Artemis just stood there and killed any monsters that decided toe near her.

    After half an hour when Myra finally opened her eyes and looked around. She was surprised by the sight around her - bodies of hundreds of different kinds of monsters were scattered on all sides. They were all dead , sliced into pieces. And then she saw a woman standing there, dressed in a light silver armor which was now covered in green liquid, her long ck hair were tied in a pony tail and a sword in her hand which was still dripping a goooey liquid.

    She was fighting a big tree monster. It was the biggest creature Myra saw in her whole life. Myra wanted to run away from there, but there was this transparent wall that she couldn''t cross. So she just stood there silently watching as the warriordy fought with the monster.

    Myra couldn''t believe what she was watching in front of her eyes, thedy would suddenly disappear from her ce and then appear far away. She jumped and dodged the branches that were attacking her. She ran on them while throwing something which hit the monsters eyes, Then she saw several ck chains suddenly appeared from the ground and held the monsters hands and legs while thedy jumped down and started slicing the monster''s leg and soon the whole tree monster was detached from its roots and fell down.

    It was the first time Myra saw such monsters and someone fighting them. She had heard stories about adventurers but watching them in front of her eyes was still a shock to her.

    She saw thedy walking towards her and with a wave of her hands the wall surrounding her disappeared. Myra waved her hand around but she couldn''t feel the wall so she just ran towards thedy.

    Myra wanted to be just like her. She wanted to be strong just like the adventurers always talked about. She didn''t like living on the streets, begging for food, getting beaten up daily - no she wanted more from life. So that''s why when she found out about a dungeon near the forest without thinking about anything she jumped into it.

    She thought it was God''s way of giving her a chance to be like those awakened and she was right. She had awakened , though she didn''t know what power she had but - she could feel it , the air around her was different, with every breath that energy entering her body - it was a new sensation.

    _

    When she jumped into the dungeon it was a forest. She looked around and started walking towards the center area where she heard mana will be highest. Soon she could feel the heaviness in air around her and as she heard from other people she started breathing in faster and found her body going through a transformation. Since she didn''t find any monsters around her she closed her eyes and continued the process, not noticing the trees which were starting to move all around her.

    She was sessful and still alive, It was only possible because of thedy in front of her. So she wanted to thank her.

    _

    Artemis looked at Myra and after making sure that she was fine. She gave her a potion and then picked her up and started running. Myra was dazed, not knowing how to react. She could see the scenery around her changing fast and then she saw a blue portal from which they both passed through.

    Aftering out Artemis gave Myra to a staff member and started walking away. Until she heard a voice behind her. - "wait " .

    _

    Myra was surprised by all the things that happened. She wanted to say thanks for protecting her and ask her for name and maybe somehow pay her back. She didn''t like owing anyone anything , that''s why instead of begging on the streets she was ready to die. So when she saw thedy leaving, she couldn''t wait any longer and shouted - "wait"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She saw thedy stop and turn back. Myra ran towards her and bowed and said - "Thank you for saving me."

    Artemis looked at her for some time and said - "It''s ok."

    "Can you tell me your name." Myra asked.

    "Why? " Artemis replied

    Myra looked at her and said - "I want you to teach me how to get stronger."

    Artemis chuckled at her naivety and said -"Why do you want to get stronger."

    Myra replied instantly, like it was the easiest question in the world for her - "Cause I hate this feeling. Eyes looking at me with pity, I hate that. I want to get stronger so I can never be helpless again."

    Artemis looked at her determined eyes and replied - "That''s good but why would I want someone who''s so weak."

    Myra clenched her fists at being called weak, she hated it - " I will get stronger even if I have to risk my life for it."

    Myra had just finished her words when she felt pressure on her and the next moment she was on her knees. It was then that she heard her voice again -"Remember youngdy, I saved your life back there. So it belongs to me now. And I don''t want my efforts to go to waste. You want to get stronger , fine then, learn about your element and show me one spell which you have mastered in one year , and I will make you stronger." Artemis said that and disappeared in front of her eyes.

    Artemis only said those words as she didn''t want Myra to risk her life doing useless things or join the Evil''s Scion and waste her life. But it was these words that had sparked something in Myra''s eyes , for the first time in her life she now had a goal, a direction to go to achieve power.

    She looked towards the soldiers stationed around who were talking about how it was impossible to master a spell in just one year and how it takes longer but she ignored those words. She was determined - no matter what she had to finish this task. So she can follow thatdy. And learn from her and maybe with time be just like her.

    Myra remembered that she didn''t know the name of her savior so she asked a soldier and learned about it.

    (Artemis Raven ck, we will meet again) with that thought Myra left the ce.

    _

    No one knew or heard from her for a year but one yearter she was seen standing outside the ke mansion asking for permission to see the Duchess. When Artemis saw her she was surprised. She knew that Myra had awakened the shadow element cause she saw the signs during awakening. But even she was surprised when she saw Myra practicing "Shadow Step*". Though it wasn''t perfected but for an orphan and poor, to learn it and master it to this level showed how talented she was. And seeing her determination to follow her, Artemis agreed to teach her everything.

    After that Myra would always spend time learning different spells and mastering them whenever she got time. And soon she was strong enough to be known as a genius around the mansion. But unlike being arrogant or prideful she was even more grateful for Artemis. Though Myra never liked nobles but she knew Artemis was different and she had seen how Artemis lived and cared for everyone. Artemis even treated her who was an orphan with respect and care.

    At first she just wanted to learn from Artemis and leave when she was strong enough but over time the thought of leaving left and she just wanted to live here, a ce where she felt like home, a ce where she felt needed , so when Artemis asked Myra to be her shadow - Myra instantly agreed.

    Since then Myra has been following Artemis everyday just like a shadow. She was also made captain of the silent reapers, an assassination squad which follows her everymand.

    _

    In the book during the time Rio had to fight Artemis, it was Myra who came in between and tried to stop both of them but died soon after. It was a sad ending where herst words were that she fulfilled her promise to repay the favor by giving her life in return for Artemis.

    _

    I was lost in my thoughts about her plot when I heard Myra''s voice that we''ve reached the library. I looked at Myra''s face for a second and thought about whether I should protect her or not. There were few who stayed loyal to the ke''s even after everything and she was one of them. But I pushed that thought for the future and walked ahead.

    _

    ??��???��???��3??��? -

    Instant dungeon -- A type of spatial dungeon that could open anytime anywhere. It would remain open for some time depending upon the mana quality. And if the mana in the surrounding ran out - it would copse. After that if you''re trapped in it , then that''s thest we''ll hear of you.

    Shadow step -- Allows the user to temporarily enter the edge of the material realm where it touches the border of Shadow realm. While in this state, the caster can travel at high speed than they''re capable of in the real world. As the proficiency increases - the speed , distance & merging into shadow''s quality also increases.

    _

    A/N - Join d discord server, Link''s in d synopsis.

 Chapter 26 World Of Arcadia

    ?When Myra''s voice broke my train of thoughts we were standing in front of a door. Myra came forward and opened the doors and the sight that was before me left me shocked.

    The library was a grand example of architecture, with its majestic marble columns, intricate frescoes adorning the ceiling, and the magical chandelier shining the lights on every corner of this room. There was a winding mass of bookshelves that seemed to stretch on endlessly, with thousands upon thousands of books in every imaginablenguage. This is what happened after the Emergence, different races - different knowledge.

    It looked like abyrinth with sprawling shelves and disys. You could easily see how someone could get lost in it for hours.

    I stopped looking around and went towards a control screen and after I ced the token in - it was there to help me locate any specific book.

    The control system was another invention of the magic tower. An artifact that records every single book and item ced here. Without proper identification or mana signature - you can''t even touch anything.

    Since I only wanted to learn about the general conditions of the world, I selected a bunch of books on history , which were published by Zenith Academy every 5 years. After I selected it soon books came out of themselves and started floating towards me. I walked towards the table and sat there and started reading. Myra who was standing still chose a normal book on mastery of shadow magic and started reading it.

    _

    _

    (Man the inte sure would''ve made things a lot easier)

    It had been hours since I started reading these books. The world as I read in these books is mostly the same as the novel I read on Earth. To sum it all on short notes, it''s like this -

    HUMANS? - Humans have been divided into 3 continents or empire what you call it - Schi, Ardal, Neisah.

    -- Schi is where Schott royal family rules.

    -- Ardal is ruled by a Senate, amittee of 5 chosen people , who are reced every 25 years.

    -- Neisah is an empire entirely made of believers of all kinds of Gods, governed by Narrator (simr to pope). He''s a seer, the greatest there is. And that''s why they call him narrator as he narrates what God/fate wants.

    .

    (His power is dangerous and maybe one which could give me answers about myself and Ria)

    _

    The story of the novel world mainly starts from Schi Empire. Which is divided into 7 cities. -

    The Royal Family rules the central area called Haven (thest defense - all of the other 6 cities surround it) .

    -- There are 3 Dukes - who each all rule over a city.

    (1) ke Family - Damascus.

    (2) Belmont Family - Narva..

    (3) Grayborn Family - Thidrol.

    -- 4 counts who rule our 2 cities.

    (1) Sinir & Korbil Family - Klishto.

    (2) Morris & Stormswill Family - Morwil.

    -- 4 Baronbined rule over a single city called Harendale.

    [ Barons - Oswald, Copper, Maismat, Winston]

    _

    OYHERRACES

    Looking at the map , all different races like elves, dwarves, fairies, undead, driads, aquarace, halflings etc. Have all chosen the ces they preferred and it''s the same as described in the book. Elves live in a ce called Elfring. Undead in the Dark Forest. Dwarves are set in Mountain Valley. Fairies are in Hyrule Forest. Driads in Woonds. Aquarace in Antia. Halflings are living on the Amazon inds.

    _

    ORGANIZATION

    To stop the constant threat of monsters and towers, there are several organizations which are responsible for certain things . These ces don''t discriminate between your race or origin. If you''re capable - you can join them.

    (1) Guild Association - Organization responsible for controlling the dungeon outbreaks and Tower clearance.

    (2) Magic Tower - Organization responsible for new knowledge and research on the field of magic and nature of dungeons.

    (3) World Association - Organization made by top 5 academies who are responsible for training the future generations. (The academies are all made on floating inds.)

    -- Zenith Academy (Rank-1)

    -- Arctic Academy

    -- Sunshine Academy

    -- Tristan Academy

    -- Moonstone Academy

    (4) Creator''s Chapel - Organization responsibile for controlling the hate crimes in the name of religion and maintaining the followers peaceful lives. All crimes of followers and strays are punishable by them.

    -- Despite these major yers there are many other private organizations and other associations who are made to secure the peace. Like - military or army of every nation.

    Alchemy Association

    Artisan Association

    Tech Association<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Business Association etc.

    _

    EVIL

    While these organizations maintain peace there are some who want to spread chaos and disrupt the bnce. Like --

    (1) Evil''s Seion - Followers of Ditail & Demons

    (2) Warzy- A terrorist organization who made profits from war and wants more to happen so they can rise up in power.

    (3) Strays - People who follow the fallen Gods, who have betrayed the realm.

    _

    WORLD SYSTEM

    Made by an unknown entity revered by every God. Everyone living on the Arcadia can awaken it after their body can sustain mana - usually after awakening. It can show their status, skills and power progression. It is also required to help receive the blessings of Gods. It also keeps a record of everything ever happening in the world , called the DATA. It names all achievements and titles gained by unique or new ways.

    _

    GODS

    After the emergence, when several nes started merging into one. Gods of those ces started appearing in Arcadia too. Though ording to the world''s system they cannot directly interfere but they can give their followers selected powers and blessings which can help them get stronger.

    In return as their followers grow - they receive the power of faith from them. The more power and belief your followers have, the stronger and safer they are.

    NOTE -- If a God lost all his follower and has no faith power, he is supposed to be erased by the world system. (It''s a theory - not yet proven.)

    _

    AWAKENING

    After the age of 10 to 18 people''s bodies can go through a transformation, Which makes it susceptible to mana. It helps them connect with the world system. It also helps them awaken their innate ability if they have any.

    INNATE ABILITY - Power people are born with. These abilities are resulted because of your bloodline or heritage. It can be inherited for generations.

    _

    UNAWAKENED - - The person who doesn''t awaken can still train harder and learn to use aura to get stronger, but the disadvantage they have is that awakened can also learn it. So in general cases they will always be weaker than them.

    -- Those who do not awaken till age of 18 can never awaken unless a God specially makes them their chosen one.

    _

    Chosen One - A God can give many people their blessing but they can only have one person as a chosen one. This person doesn''t just receives a single power but gets the whole legacy of God.

    _

    POWERRANKING

    ording to the world''s system - power levels are simply divided into the following sses .

    (1) MORTAL  F < E < D < C < B < A

    (2) LIMIT = L

    (3) ARCH < S < SS < SSS

    (4) ZEPHYR = Z

    .

    (Each rank is further divided into - ,plete, + )

    _

    ELEMENTS

    There are 7 main elements and almost as many as possible sub-elemants orplex elements.

    Fire

    Water

    Wind

    Nature

    Space

    Light

    Darkness

    ....

    A/N -- This chapter is pure world info.

    Sorry but it was necessary to know it all.

 Chapter 27 Potions And Singular Books

    ?After learning that this world was indeed the same as the one he remembered from that novel. Rio decided to start nning about things which could help him make stronger.

    After that thought the gears in his head started rolling and he started crossing out the options which he couldn''t take.

    '' I can''t learn aura yet , that would take too much time. Plus I don''t think I''m ready to start running around the whole mansion or keep swinging my sword at golems for hours - too troublesome for someonezy like me.''

    '' I can''t learn mana before awakening.''

    '' There are some things that can help me get stronger - pills and potions , which are all avable in the ke Family. But there are also things issued for the protagonist by heaven itself which are even better so I should just steal them.''

    '' But the problem is Artemis won''t allow me to leave , and I don''t trust anyone here to exin everything.''

    Rio looked back and saw Myra who was sitting there with her eyes closed and thought - '' if only I could convince her to help me. She''s loyal and won''t betray me, but the problem remains she''ll tell Artemis everything.''

    '' Damn it, if only I had atleast one person who was loyal to me - - wait , someone who''s loyal only to me.''

    Rio was cursing his luck at theck of someone whom he can trust when he suddenly thought of something and he pped his head and thought - ''why the heck did I forget that, it might actually work.''

    A smile came to his face and he felt like he found the missing link of a solution which could solve all his problems.

    _

    After getting out of his thoughts Rio started writing something on a paper & then without looking back threw it at Myra, which she caught without opening her eyes.

    Rio waited for her to open her eyes and say something but she never did - ''Perhapes is she thinking I threw that paper as a joke to see if she''s sleeping or not. Am I that childish in her eyes. I mean I know that original Rio used one of his treasures to draw circles on her face, but that was like 2 months ago.''

    "Hmm hmmmm" Rio cleared his throat and said - "I need the items on that list by tomorrow morning. Be sure to get them all."

    It was only after hearing his voice that Myra opened her eyes and looked at the paper in her hands. There were the names of some herbs written there. At first her reaction was normal thinking Rio just wanted to test some alchemy form he might havee across in the books until she saw the name of thest 3 herbs - Brugmansia aka The Angel''s Trumpet, Asphodel aka The Soul Flower and Bezoar aka The Rusty Stone.

    One of them was a deadly poison, second was a herb used for purifying souls andst was something found only in dryads forest, used to dull senses of anyone.

    Myra couldn''t figure out the uses even after she read the whole list again but aside from those 3 names, all the other herbs were general herbs that are used in potion making. Though slightly rare but nothing a Duke''s family couldn''t get.

    Rio looked at her changing expressions and thought - '' though I know she''ll tell Artemis but fuck it, I don''t have any other option. I need that potion if I want to start my n.''

    Myra looked at Rio with questioning eyes but he just ignored it and started making his way towards the exit.

    _

    While reading those books Rio had decided to deal with thest traitor Chiron as well. Since Myra who''s a Limit rank Assassin, is following him, it won''t be hard to deal with a retired Aura Berserker.

    There is something that Rio needed to get from Chiron as well. The key to get the legacy of a swordsman which protagonist uses in mid parts of the story. Though Rio didn''t care for that sword art since he knew where to find a much better one , but he decided to steal it anyway, just cause he didn''t want to give it to someone who''s supposed to kill him.

    _

    Chiron who was making preparation for the dinner had a bad premonition in his heart. He felt like something very wrong was about to happen but he couldn''t figure out what.

    If Rio knew about this feeling he would have saluted the destiny for trying to help her minions even before the plot started but he was busy nning out the details for a smooth execution of his n.

    He had nned to deal with all traitors the moment he learned about the curse, he couldn''t take the chance of someone doing it again, as it was something which wasn''t mentioned in the novel.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    _

    After getting out of the mansion Rio started walking towards the staff''s lodging - that was where all the maids and servants who worked in the mansion stayed. It was made between the mansion and soldiers barracks. It could be interpreted as ke''s being generous and having them stay where they could feel protected due to barracks near them. Or it could also be interpreted as ke''s keeping them in the middle to use as a meat shield in case the barracks failed to stop an attack.

    Anyway it didn''t matter to Rio. He had far too many important things to do than worrying about people''s perspective on a ce where they could live for free.

    Myra who was still mulling over the what would I do with the poison herbs, finally couldn''t stay silent anymore and said - " What''re you nning to do with the herbs."

    Rio looked at her and said - "I think I found a new recipe for a cleansing potion. I''ll try to make one."

    Myra wanted to ask something else too but then she heard, Rio continueing his words - " It was from one of the singr books in the library and I''ve already tranted it."

    ## _ _ ##

    INFO - Singr Books, are books which were found in dungeons or towers. They are mysterious books which could be written in anynguage and if you are sessful in tranting it - it would disappear. What is the content or rank of the book can''t be judged by anyone. It depends solely on where you found it and your luck.

    -- This is also the reason why any singr book bought or acquired from someone else could either be your highest rewarding possession or your worst mistake.

    -- every singr book has it''s own way of trantion. Some could be read as they''re in any existingnguage of Arcadia. Some would require blood lineage to understand it. Some could just have their own will, while for some you''ll have to do research for every word written.

    -- It could take a single moment to a decade to never being able to trante them, it all depends on your capacity and luck.

    ## _ _ ##

    Myra was surprised to hear Rio''s words. As the family of a Duke which has been the leading figure against the towers & dungeons, it was normal for them to have many singr books which they haven''t been able to trante till yet.

    Being able to trante a singr book and that too about the recipe of a potion which could have miraculous effects was a big thing.

    _

    Rio didn''t care about the results of his actions. Though he knew the effects of that potion better than anyone and how it would take over the whole market if it was made public. But he didn''t have any other option, he needed to take that potion himself to get stronger and for his future ns to work , the excuse of singr book was the only thing he coulde up with - he could just say he was lucky and no further exnation needed. Otherwise Artemis would never allow him to take any kind of poison willingly. Plus the fact it would make his new family rich and more influential if they decided to sell the potion helps him too.

    _

    Myra looked at Rio and saw that he was puffing out his chest and looking at the sky with the same expression as before like he didn''t care about what he said at all. But his actions in Myra''s eyes looked like that of a kid asking for praise.

    Myra had seen Rio and Amelia grow up in front of her while following Artemis. She even considers them as her own family and the kids loves her too. Though she couldn''t spend as much time with them as she hoped to , but she stilles and ys with them every now & then.

    She wanted to smile at his actions and hug him and say she was proud but she stopped herself when she saw some servants gathering around and bowing their heads.

    She took a look around and asked Rio in her serious tone- " So what''re we doing here, young master."

    Rio who was busy looking at the sky thinking if the fate or heaven would stop him from what he''s nning to do now , took a deep breath and said - "We are here to kill the traitor who has betrayed our trust and is working for our enemies."

    A/N - Thanks for reading u lots

    keep supporting this & if u haven''t yet - then post a review. it only takes like 30seconds.

 Chapter 28 Fallen Gods & Shawshank Redemption

    ?Hearing Rio''s voice everyone was surprised. The servants were scared cause half the staff was already put in prisonst night without any warning and now the future heir of the house came here announcing killing a traitor.

    Some people who''ve heard the rumours were scared that they might be used as scapegoats, while others were scared as they had no idea what was happening in the mansion. They all started murmuring by themselves -

    "Who do you think it is"

    "Are they going to arrest everyone"

    "What happened to people who were picked upst night "

    "Can someone tell me what''s happening"

    "Didn''t harry say that young master was attacked yesterday"

    "He''s lying can''t you see he''s fine"

    "I don''t want to die, I have a little kid"

    "Shut up I think you''re the traitor"

    "Do they have any proof, who is it"

    "Why aren''t any soldiersing"

    There were all kinds of chattering started and seeing the crowd gathering around and making noise, some nearby soldiers too starteding there and stood in front of the crowd.Although they didn''t know what was happening, protecting the heir and keeping these servants in check was their job.

    Myra who was standing near me came out of her thoughts and asked me - "Do you know what you''re doing, Rio."

    Rio who was looking around at the servants and trying to see if he could find anyone else who was suspicious, was surprised as he heard Mytra''s voice in his head.

    (Telepathy, not quite what I''m used to)

    Rio didn''t reply and just nodded his head. After that he started walking forwards as soldiers pushed the servants to the side to clear the way for the entrance.

    Myra looked around at everyone and ordered the soldiers to not let anyone in the building. After that she too started following Rio as they made their way in.

    _

    Rio walked straight and stood near the signboard which listed quarters position for each sector. He was looking at the list trying to find the ce where Chiron''s quarter was. Myra who saw him looking the list up and down shook her head and said "who are we looking for."

    After hearing her voice Rio replied - "Chiron, he''s the head chef."

    But when he turned back to look at the board he forgot where he was and clicked his tongue.

    He was starting to search from the top again when Myra pointed her finger at the board and said - "here."

    Rio looked at her and saw Myra who was looking the other way trying to control her smiling expression .

    '' Should''ve told her sooner '' he thought.

    _

    After finding the ce both of them started walking and when they walked a little further away from the gate. Myra finally asked - "So wanna tell me what''s going on."

    Rio knew the questions woulde and started speaking - "As I said Chiron, he''s a spy and we''re here to catch him."

    Myra listened carefully and said - "You sound like you''re sure of it. Any reason why."

    Rio chuckled at her words and said - "Come on, have you seen the guy, he''s a berserker acting as a chef. It''s like the most obvious lie."

    Myra came in front of the Rio and said in a serious tone - "We''ve already checked his background when he started working at the mansion. And if you''re doubting him just because of how he looks, then you still have much to learn about people future heir of Damascus."

    At the end of her sentence her tone became a bit cold, it felt like she was feeling disappointed in Rio''s childish behavior. Myra knew he was still a 10 year old , but people born in high society didn''t have the right to enjoy their childhood like others do. They need to learn about people and their behavior if they wish to take over their family''s postion. Otherwise they''ll just get used by others and ruin everything.

    Myra who was contemting if she should report it to Artemis or give him a chance, heard Rio''s voice - "Geez, When did you get so serious. You do remember that your MASTER taught me about this stuff herself right."

    Myra looked at him and asked - "What do you mean."

    Rio stepped aside and started walking again as he said - "It means that I already know he''s a traitor. We''re just here to collect the proof before arresting him directly."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Myra who heard Rio''s words didn''t doubt him any longer but still came behind him and pped his head - "That''s for trying to make fun of me and master."

    Rio who was caught unprepared for the head pat, got pushed 2 steps ahead. He massaged his head and clicked his tongue.

    '' fucking weak ''

    This was the thought that came to his brain as he kept walking forward.

    Soon enough they reached the ce where quarters of chef''s started and after walking a bit further they were standing in front of a door which had a sign written on- ''head chef.''

    Rio looked towards Myra who pulled out a token from her ring*1. She pressed the token on the lock panel and it opened.

    _ _

    Info -- Every door was marked with an array magic which would notify the owner immediately if someone opened the door.

    - of course these are all weak level arrays and could be broken or passed through easily if you a know about them

    - The door can only be opened by a key/token with given permission.

    - the permission''s or authority of a token is given ording to heirachy. In the servants quarters the housekeeper and butlers has the permission to open and check every door.

    _ _

    After the door opened Rio walked in. The room was much smallerpared to the ones made in mansion. But it was still double of what Rio used to live in his past life.

    Rio walked straight and started looking around. Myra who saw him searching for something asked him - "wanna tell me what we''re looking for."

    "A small ck box with a symbol of mountain and moon carved on it." - Rio replied as he kept throwing stuff here & there.

    (The lost kingdom - was chiron from there, he never mentioned it) Myra thought.

    _

    INFO -The lost kingdom previously known as ''Neoma'' which means new moon, was destroyed by a wave of monsters during one of the tower outbreak 150 years ago.

    -- No one was left alive from that ce as even their way put was cut by a dungeon copse.

    -- It was a sad tragedy but no one mourned them as they were all Strays , followers of " Freyr - a fallen God " who advocated death as the belief.

    _

    If Chiron was part of the Strays then it was their job to find him and kill him before he seeds in whatever he nned.

    Myra closed her eyes for a second and after opening them started walking towards a wall.

    She pulled the poster of God Apollo which was stuck there and behind ity a big hole.

    (damn, this chef pulled a shawshank redemption in Arcadia) Thought Rio when he saw a hole hidden by a poster.

    Rio walked towards the wall and took out the box from there. Myra who saw the symbol on top of the box didn''t doubt anything and was now ready to go and capture this chef.

    But just then they heard the sound of a wall crashing in front of them, Myra pulled Rio to the side and protected him from the falling debris.  When the dust and smoke finally cleared they saw a big muscr giant like man standing in front of them with his veins bulging in a blue hue as white smoke wasing out from his body.

    When Rio saw all this instead of getting scared a smile came on his face as he thought - ''So the sheep came directly in the ughter house.''

    ##

    *1 - Storage Rings -- Artifact made by the concept of space element. Can be used to store any and all non-living things depending on the size & quality of the ring.

    _

    I got the contract today

    so thank u everyone

    now keep the gifts & votesing

 Chapter 29 Battle Between The Chef & A Shadow

    ?Some time ago Chiron who was still working in the kitchen started feeling uneasy. He tried to calm this feeling but couldn''t find what was wrong. Chiron already disturbed by his senses left everything to his supporters and went out to take a breather.

    He was walking around when he saw some crowd gathered in front of their lodging building and decided to take a look.

    When he reached there he heard some people talking about how the young master and miss Myra went in to catch some traitors. Hearing this, the uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger.

    Chiron started walking forward, hoping to go in but the guards who saw himing, stopped him before he could go any further.

    "Stop. You can''t go in now. Just stand over there."

    The servants who saw it started murmuring together -

    "Hey did you see, he was trying to enter the house."

    "Do you think it''s him."

    "Of course haven''t you seen the young master take the right turn, that''s where the chefs live. It''s definitely him. "

    "Yeah I think so too. I always knew something was wrong with this guy. Just look at his body, he''s a big monster, how can he be a chef."

    "He must have used this as an excuse to sneak into the mansion."

    The people who were talking around themselves fueled the me and Chiron was getting more nervous now.

    The soldiers who heard everything didn''t believe it, but they also decided to be alert in case this guy tried to force his way in.

    Chiron tried to calm himself down and thought maybe he was overreacting and turned back to leave.

    He had heard some rumors about the curse ced on the young master but the thought that they would suspect him never crossed his mind.

    It was then that Chiron remembered something that he had hidden from the ke family, and the chance that they might find something, left him feeling scared.

    After thinking for a minute knowing that he won''t survive if he was caught by the ke Family, Chiron decided to leave and run away. But then he remembered something - -

    The Box that he''s been keeping hidden, thest sign of his past. The treasure which was passed down for generations in his family and something that his family died while protecting.

    Chiron was still young when the disaster hit his hometown and his father sacrificed his life just so he could run away.

    Chiron had tried to open the box several times but was never sessful, he tried to break it but even with all his strength he couldn''t even make a dent. It was protected by an array , powerful enough to take his full power attack and not show a sign. As time passed chiron''s curiosity died and he decided to leave it to fate.

    _

    Chiron who had decided to run away, halted in his steps when he remembered, his father''s face from years ago when he gave him the box, he still remembered hisst words - "It''s our legacy Chiron. No matter what happens, you have to keep it safe. For the future."

    Chiron couldn''t take one more step. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath - he had to make a choice, and when he opened his eyes again his muscr body which looked rxed till now had veins bulging out and his skin which was turning a little blueish now.

    The servants who saw it started running away while shouting - "traitor" or "monster"..

    The soldiers readied their weapon and without wasting any more time started attacking Chiron. Though the soldiers were trained and organized but they were no match for someone like Chiron who had lived all his life roaming in the wastnd of his kingdom or acting as an adventurer before retiring and settling down as a chef.

    _

    Chiron started fighting with the soldiers. As an aura berserker*?? who focused mainly on his physical prowess he could easily overpower them. But instead of killing his opponents he was knocking them unconscious.

    He was nning to rush into the building after finishing the fight with the soldiers but then suddenly the token in his pocket started vibrating, with a shaking hand he took it and saw that It was now glowing in red which meant that someone had entered his room.

    He knew he didn''t have much time. It won''t be long before those servants notified someone or someone much high ranked woulde after seeing the ruckus.

    He looked around and saw the few soldiers trying to get up and stop him but before they could move, with a burst of aura surrounding his body Chiron enhanced his speed and ran inside the building.

    The walls and the little arrays that were ced on the building were getting broken with his every step.

    Soon he was in the hallway and without wasting any more time he pushed through thest wall.

    He was looking around hoping to get the box before whoever it was in the room gets a chance to see what''s happening but then he saw a ck silhouette who waved her hand and with a st of wind it cleared all the debris falling around.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Chiron who was looking around, now found himself standing in front of Myra, a genius who reached A rank in just 10 years since her awakening. And the future heir of ke''s holding the very box he tried so hard to protect.

    Chiron had decided toe in thinking he could take on Myra who was an A ranked awakened but seeing her spell, he learned 2 things first how wrong he was and second she wasn''t an A rank at all. Watching them only one thought came to his mind - ''shit''.

    It was at that moment that he knew - that he fucked up.

    _

    Myra pushed Rio behind her and stood still, her eyes focused on Chiron who standing before her. From what she saw she could tell that Chiron was a formidable opponent, his body pulsing with an intense blue aura that seemed to radiate power and strength. But Myra who was trained by Artemis since childhood wasn''t intimidated.

    It was the opposite she was feeling ecstatic, her power hungry side or the maniac personality who always wanted to fight those who are stronger and grow was showing itself.

    She took a deep breath and began to move, her hands shing with quick, precise movements as she started casting spells that can weaken her opponent.

    "shadow zone"

    "shadow step"

    "shadow chains"

    Chiron roared in anger while dodging the ck chains that started growing from the floor and charged forward, his feet mming into the ground with tremendous force. His hands moved as he tried punching her , while Myra expertly dodged and weaved, her body moving with fluid grace as she avoided his attacks.

    She waved her hand as a dark de went towards Chiron who just coated his arm in aura and punched through it.

    Chiron continued to charge forward, his body glowing with an intense aura that seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment. From the bluish hue at the beginning to now visible red - it was showing how Chiron went all out in this fight to end it early.

    As Myra approached Chiron, she could feel the ground shake beneath her feet with each step he took. He towered over her, his muscles bulging as he brandished his massive arms in aura.

    Without hesitation, Chiron charged towards her with a roar, swinging his hand in a pping motion. Myra quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

    She retaliated with a swift kick to his side, but it barely seemed to faze him as if he didn''t even feel that. Chiron continued to attack relentlessly, his swings bing more and more frenzied.

    But Myra was not deterred. She continued to cast spells, trying to trap Chiron making sure he wastes as much of his aura dodging her attacks, giving him less time to attack, nning on draining his strength.

    _

    Rio who was watching all this in front of him was covered in shell armor, which surrounded him whole. From what he saw in the darkness, It was a defensive artifact his grandfather had given himst year. It could even withstand some attacks of a S rank awakened. So he didn''t need to worry about anything. He just continued to observe the fight.

    _

    The fight had been intense, with Chiron using his brute strength to try and overpower Myra. But she was too quick for him, her thin athletic body provided her great agility. She was dodging his attacks by mixing in the shadows and striking back with deadly precision.

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting to Rio, Chiron began to falter. His movements became slow and sluggish, and his aura began to fade. Myra saw her opportunity and struck, sending a final st of mana towards Chiron that sent him crashing to the wall.

    Chirony still, defeated. Myra stood over him, her eyes cold and calcting as she surveyed her handiwork.

    She had won the fight, but at what cost? For even as she stood victorious, she knew that the battle had taken its toll on her as well.

    She had wasted too much mana on spells which did nothing to Chiron.

    After all, Myra was only allowed to fight either monsters or Artemis while using her full power, so she could keep her real rank hidden as a surprise card from others. One of them was mindless while the other was too smart. Artemis would always defeat her easily and beat her senseless - so shecked the normal head on battle experience, especially against someone who used aura to such an expert degree.

    ''I still have much to learn'' - She thought.

    But that was a problem for another day. For now, she would savor her victory and revel in the power of her art, as a smile came to her face.

    ##

    *1 -- AURA BERSERKER - A ss to define people who couldn''t awaken mana and learned aura to increase their physical strength. Berserker term was used cause using too much aura for a long period of time had shown signs of people losing control of their thoughts and going berserk.

    --

 Chapter 30 Extra Character & Destinys Plan

    30 Extra Character & destiny''s n

    Myra looked at Chiron who was lying unconscious, pulled the bracelet from her left hand and threw it at him. The ck bracelet chain grew in size and started binding Chiron.

    *Cord of Sch- It was a chain type artifact which could be used as asso for weapon or a chain kind which can bind enemies. Though it didn''t look any different from any normal bracelet , it could be used to catch enemies by surprise. The artifact''s power depends on mana stored within it.

    _

    Myra then turned around and looked towards Rio who had now stopped using the defensive artifact too.

    *Armor of Weak- A defensive artifact which can protect the wearer 2 times with the mana stored within. It forms a shield around the wearer and is able to stop the attacks both physical & magical.

    _

    Myra walked ahead as Rio followed her, Chiron was floating behind her. When they walked out they saw the soldiers who were now surrounding the whole building and in the sky above a few people were floating. It was cause of them that no one came inside to interrupt the fight.

    One of the people came down and bowed to Rio. Rio nodded his head and tried to remember if he was someone from the plot.

    The man who looked to be around his mid 20''s from Rio''s perspective. (You can never tell someone''s age from their looks in Arcadia. As with some artifacts or potions or high rank - people can change their appearance however they wish.) He had short ck hair and a pair of sses on his blue eyes. He gave the vibe of a schr or a salesman to Rio, who still couldn''t remember any important character in the book looking like that.

    The man then looked at Chiron and then towards Myra and said - "You took too much time shadow."

    "Asher, I see your habit of standing on the sidelines hasn''t changed a bit." - Myra said.

    Asher smiled and replied - "I just thought the talented genius would be enough to handle an old guy. But I guess you''re still too young considering all the time you wasted showing off your moves."

    Myra just clicked her tongue and started walking away.

    Hearing their conversation Rio remembered the plot and finally figured out who he was.

    ''Asher Vridal, son of Frigna Vridal.

    Vridal''s have been serving under the Raven family for generations. And Asher is their sole sessor. Instead of taking over the business that was already thriving, he chose to make a name for himself. That''s why he decided to follow Artemis when she wanted to open the Genesis.

    (Genesis Corp. - A business organization set up by Artemis Raven. Its main focus was on mana stones, mana crystals mines, artifacts and rewards found in dungeons or towers.

    - Working alongside the Shade guild and the Raven family''swork, Genesis soon became one of the most profitable organizations in the Schi empire. Further increasing the overall influence of the ke family.)

    _

    Asher and his team are a group of people called Alphas, chosen by Artemis to manage Genesis. Any issues that arises in the business field or with otherpetitors, they were the ones to settle it.

    Alphas were people who''ll act in the light of day while silent reapers are responsible for all the dirty work in the shadows.

    That''s why Asher and Myra who are the new sessors of both groups always had a friendly rivalry of sorts.''

    _

    Myra took Chiron away to the prison and Alphas were left to deal with the aftermath.

    [usually they wouldn''t be here at the mansion but stay at Genesis headquarters. But after Rio''s curse Artemis called them back. They were the ones who put all the staff and others in prisonst night on her orders.]

    Asher came towards Rio and said - "I''m d to see you''re doing fine. Young master."

    Rio nodded his hand and replied - "It was no problem Asher. How are you and your group."

    "We''re all fine young master. Even better." Asher said in an enthusiastic tone.

    Rio looked at his confidant face and said -"Ohh what makes you so cheery all of a sudden. Even after you lost to Myra on yourst duel I heard."

    Asher nervously smiled and said - "That''s only because I didn''t have time to train and prepare for it, otherwise I would''ve beaten her easily."

    "So what were you guys so busy with. Any new project." - Rio asked in a curious tone as he couldn''t remember anything from the plot that happened around this time.

    Asher smiled and said - "We have found a perfect crystal mine in Maxville zone. In theing auction we''ll sign the contract as well."

    Rio who heard his voice remembered something from the plot and couldn''t help himself from chuckling.

    Asher looked at him with a confused expression but said nothing as he didn''t wanted to disrespect the heir. He thought Rio didn''t know much about the mines or business and just let it be.

    Rio who looked at this naive guy lost in his thoughts said - "Foolish".

    Asher who heard Rio''s voice was surprised but then asked - "What do you mean young master."

    "Well I just read in a book that the more purer mana in a ce is, the more chances of an dungeon forming there. Or am I wrong."

    Asher who heard his voice said - "That is true young master. But we can always predict it with the mana movements in the surrounding and if by any chance an instant dungeon forms, we can always transport everyone while Shade guild members deal with the dungeon. So there''s no problem with us buying it. "

    Rio listened carefully while nodding his head and said - "True. now tell me is that the only ce you have in mind for the auction."

    Asher said - "Yes.There are no other suitable mines that are of the same quality as this one. It can even give us more control in mana gems and crystal markets."

    "You''re right at what you said Asher, but you''re forgetting the most important thing." said Rio.

    Asher made a confused expression and continued listening, curious about what Rio was saying.

    "We still don''t know everything about dungeons Asher. Who knows what will happen in the future. It''s always good to have a safe backup prepared, even if that doesn''t bring us profit."

    After saying this Rio started walking away, while Asher just stood there lost in thoughts trying to understand what Rio meant.

    _

    As Rio walked he remembered the plot. In the original book the Maxville mines which Asher bought at an outrageous price at the auction brought many profits to Genesis for a few years.

    But as anyone could guess from the viin family''s luck, it was all a plot of author to ruin ke''s further.

    Since the mines were practically oozing with profits, Genesis poured too much resources into it. Which was a big mistake on Asher''s part.

    3 years from the start of plot, those mines became the first ce where phase 2 of Emergence started.

    The dance of a God''s soul - that was what author named that chapter.

    That incident not only pushed Genesis into bankruptcy, it also further fueled the theories and proficies of everyone to go against Rio and the ke family.

    Asher couldn''t take the me and the effect it had on his character was massive.

    Rio couldn''t recognize him before cause he wasn''t important enough in the original plot. An extra mentioned far and few between some chapters, but never enough to get readers attached to him.

    _

    But now since Rio had given him enough hints, Asher will be able to see his shorings way before anything ever happens.

    ''I wonder what surprises this extra will bring me.''

    Rio thought with a smile on his face as even he couldn''t imagine what effects this one little action that he did on a whim will change the grand ns of both destiny and of Gods.

    ##

    Mana crystal - Crystals formed by pure Mana. Used in making artifacts and enhancement of weapons. Can be absorbed to increase Mana. much expensive - bought by nobles or guilds.

    Mana stone - Mana trapped within stones/ores. Impure & cheap. Used bymoners or poor people. lesser version of Mana crystals. Long use can cause damage to body or results in rank drop.

    #

    A/N - [PS if you''re wondering why Rio didn''t stop Asher from buying those mines , rest assured he has some big ns ready , which he thought during his shower.]

    Sorry for the dy

    some stuff came up on thest moment

 Chapter 31 Nightmare Of A Broken Brain

    ?By the time Rio came in, it was alreadyte evening and after washing up he decided to have dinner early today.

    He had called for Amelia but she was busy ying around and would probably eatter when Artemis came to force feed her.

    The original Rio might have gone to talk to her but the new Rio, he didn''t care.

    Though he would probably kill anyone to protect her, just because of that one doubt, that maybe she''s Ria. But never in his heart is he ever nning to give Ria''s ce to someone else if he isn''t sure.

    Ria for shiva was someone that always supported him. Someone who held him together, someone who kept her family together and that''s why after she was gone, everything else was gone too. Her death started a chain of events that destroyed everything he had built. She was irreceable to him.

    So even if Amelia had the same face and habits as her, he still couldn''t bring himself to ept her as his sister. Not until he knows everything.

    ( who are you? At one thought I just want to be free of my burdens , my mistakes just like when I was in the darkness. While the other part of me is probably trying hard to hold onto those memories.

    I have lost everything I cared about in my past life, I don''t want to go through the same feelings. And that''s why I was happy in the darkness cuz there was no chance of me messing up or feeling anything.) Rio thought as he walked towards his room after finishing his meal.

    _

    Artemis didn''t show up during Myra''s fight with Chiron, so she is probably still busy with solving everything. She did find 3 people who have been lying to everyone for years, she must be ming herself for everything.

    Agnus is probably doing the same. Being the Duke and owner of Shade - it did bring lots of profits but it also required his utmost focus. He couldn''t take time off to live with his family. He would have to lead troops in towers, against monsters whom no one has even seen, fight in unknown territories inside dungeons - he''s always risking his life outside. And when he dide home this time, just to find that his son nearly died due to his negligence - that''s why he''s out there. He knows he won''t be able to stay here for long, even if he wants to. So he wants to kill every single Evil Scion''s members before he has to leave again.

    _

    Though Rio didn''t show it on his face, he was feeling tired. It''s been years since he did anything so heartily. Ages since he had to think this much before doing anything. Azy nobody like him literally had to n and do stuff that required his utmost attention.

    It''s just been one day but he had already changed so many things in the story. All 3 traitors in the ke family who yed a role in Rio''s downfall had been dealt with. He had stolen the key to the protagonist''s sword legacy. He had changed the fate of Asher and damage of the emergence phase 2.

    He had made a recipe for a cleansing potion which the world wouldn''t have noticed for the next 10 years. He who was supposed to be a viin had nned to even kill the child blessed by Goddess who made the prophecy about him being the devil. All in just one day - since he woke up in this world.

    _

    As Rioy on his bed and closed his eyes thinking about how long of a day it has been, hoping for a peaceful sleep.

    ''Since it''s a new world and been so long in the darkness, I shouldn''t have those nightmares again.''

    But little did he know that his real nightmares were only going to start now.

    The memories that he hid so deep in his brain for so long that even he had forgotten them, were out in the open between the cracks of his mind.

    And now there was no subconscious fog or a ghost of Riya left, that was stopping them.

    _

    ??����??��???��???��???����??��??����??����??��?

    As soon as Rio closed his eyes he found himself in the familiar darkness. He took a deep breath, d that he was here and prepared to sleep, but just then the sound of footsteps started echoing in the darkness and soon he could see a silhouette of someone walking towards him.

    [what do we have here]

    [look who decided to show up]

    Rio heard a voice, an arrogant tone he was all too familiar with, the person whom he hated the most in the world, even more so then himself - Nashi.

    Shiva looked at the silhouette. but he couldn''t see any facial features. It was made of pure ck darkness - like a clone or shadow.

    ''damn it''

    Instead of talking back to Nashi, Rio decided to turn back and leave. He looked around but he couldn''t find anything else, so he turned and started walking away.

    But his steps came to a halt as the darkness in front of him started morphing into Nashi''s shadow. As Rio looked back there was one more of him. and soon enough everywhere he looked there were these shadows standing.

    [Did you think you''ll be free, if you just ignore us]?��5

    [SHIVA]

    "I''m Rio. Rio ke."

    " Shiva is gone. I''m Rio _ "

    [hehehe are you sure]

    Rio looked in horror as in front of his eyes, all 5 Nashi turned into smoke and turned into a mirror. Rio saw as his body changed back into his old one. The one where he was Shiva.

    [see, it''s you right. It''s you on the day of her birthday] the reflection from the mirror spoke and walked out. But as soon as his feet touched the murky darkness, he turned back into Nashi.

    Shiva couldn''t take it anymore and he pped himself hard- hoping it would be enough to wake him up from whatever the hell this was.

    "puchh"

    But it wasn''t. he was still there. so he pped himself again but still nothing and then again.

    "tachhhh"

    [hmm haa haha haahahaha]

    Soon there was only the sound of ps and a crazyughter echoing in the darkness.

    [You cannot escape the past Shiva. you can change everything- your name, your world, your SISTER but you can''t change yourself. My dear friend.]

    "Shut up, WE are not friends. And don''t you dare mention her ever again."

    [Or what, what can you do to me now. You''re powerless, just like back then]

    "It''s different. you''re just a thought, a memory. I have erased you before, I can forget about you again" - Shiva said in a snarky tone, trying to scare him or maybe just trying to calm himself.

    [And yet here we are , chatting just like the old times]

    [what did I always tell you Shiva]

    [learn to let go, to forget, but as always you didn''t listen]

    "what are you talking about" - Shiva asked.

    [The memories Shiva, the memories. You''re not supposed to have them after the darkness. But you held on to them. And now, here we are.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [I was just a fragment of your imagination back then, but now I''m a part of you, part of your soul and a part of your story]

    [Tell me, do you still miss her. what was her name again. Sh_ ]

    Shiva finally couldn''t take his chattering and tried to punch his face. but his fist just went through the darkness while theughter echoed from behind him.

    [ha aahahaaha]

    "you''re not real. you''re dead"

    [Yes. but you''re dead too. Aren''t you] this time the voice turned a little yful but just near his ears. Shiva turned back but as soon as that happened, his body was flung back in the air as a punch connected to his face.

    Shivanded on the ground , wiping the blood from his lips and said - "It''s different"

    [No it isn''t. We both killed each other remember.] Nashi''s voice came , as Shiva felt a kick to his face and rolled on the ground.

    "No, I survived. I lived. I moved on" Shiva said as he tried standing up.

    [Congrattions you survived. Now live through the trauma]

    One of Nashi''s clones came forward and stepped on his head. [Tell me, how did that feel]

    [were you happy after killing me]

    "You destroyed everything. You deserved to die"

    [ohhh is that what you tell yourself these days]

    [What I did was a MISTAKE. while what you did was a massacre]

    Nashi''s voice filled with anger roared in Shiva''s ears, as a knife covered in blood appeared in his hands. Shiva looked at his hands covered in blood.He tried to remember anything but his head started hurting and then -

    [Tell me which one of us is the monster]

    "Shut up" - Shiva said as he dropped the knife on the darkness.

    Just for it to appear in Nashi''s hand, as he stabbed him in the back.

    "Ughhhh" Shiva bent forward and pulled the knife out and threw it far into the darkness, this time with all his strength.

    He was taking deep breathes as blood continued leaking from his back. Shiva touched the wound on his back and when he looked at his bloody hand the knife appeared there again.

    Shiva dropped the knife and backed away 3-4 steps, horror written all over his face. As a foggy memory appeared in his head.

    Watching his pale face, drained of colors all of Nashi''s clones startedughing loudly.

    [hahaha haha hahaha hahah] ?�� 4

    [Do you remember now Shiva]

    [Even she left you back then]

    [What did you used to call her, Queency was it. Now tell me where is your queen ]

    [haha hahaha] ?�� 3

    As the crazedughter echoed in the darkness, with the memories starting to shift in front of his eyes, Shiva held his head and bent down.

    "it''s not real

    " you''re not real

    " it''s just a dream. just a dream

    " I just have to wake up. it''s a dream"

    Shiva started muttering to himself as the voices of different memories started echoing in the darkness , while the clones of Nashi continuedughing at his misery.

    [hahaha is that your peace mantra nowadays]

    "Ignore him. ignore him. ignore him"

    [but you can''t. you never can. you see as long as you live, I''ll live too.]

    [she made sure of it.]

    At this point all the noise and crazedughter of all his clones stopped for a moment and then they all spoke together -

    [before you killed her that is] ?�� 4

    Shiva was surprised to hear those words, as he held his head as a massive headache started again just like back when he first had Rio''s memories.

    "Akhhhh"

    "what_ are you talking about." - Shiva asked as his voice breaking. Tears were trickling down his eyes but he didn''t know the reason for it. The memories he hid so deep were still foggy , so he ignoring the pain he still asked Nashi.

    All of his clones started bursting out inughter again. [hehehe hahaha haaha]

    and then all of his clones surrounded him and pushed him down. As the solid darkness beneath his feet turned soft and he fell.

    As he kept falling into what seemed like the abyss, Shiva heard the voices of Nashi and his clones - [you''ll see soon enough]

    [after all it''s gonna be a long long night]

    [my dear devil]

    ....

    A/N - I''ll try to post d 2nd part of his nightmareter tonight.

    Plus join the discord server. Link''s in d synopsis

 Chapter 32 Reliving Through The Funeral

    ?As Shiva tried hard to look for anything around him while falling down, he saw a light at the bottom and soon was pulled into it.

    When he opened his eyes again - he saw himself standing in front of his house.

    The sound of crying & wailing of several women could be heard from the inside.

    As Shiva steeled himself to go in, he saw the air was heavy with grief as the family and whole neighborhood gathered to pay theirst respects. The body of a young girly on a simple pyre, surrounded by flowers and incense.

    He saw his mother weeping inconsbly, her sobs echoing throughout the vige. Her heart was shattered, her soul torn apart. She could not believe that her beloved daughter was gone, taken from her in the prime of her life. She was surrounded by other family members who were trying to console her, but nothing seems to be able to ease her pain.

    His father was sitting on the floor, his head buried in his hands, his red eyes crying out for his daughter. His little brother was weeping uncontrobly, his face twisted in anguish. He saw his big brother who was holding his own sadness, trying his best to console himself and keep himself together for his family, but still from time to time his eyes would get moist and he would clean them.

    Everyone who came there was crying, everyone was grieving, everyone except for him.

    Shiva stood in the corner, watching as his family wept and wailed for his little sister who had passed away. He felt numb, as if a part of him had died along with her.

    He wanted to cry, to join in the chorus of sorrow that filled the air, but the tears wouldn''te. He felt as if he had been drained of all emotion, as if his heart had turned to stone.

    He felt like an outsider, a heartless monster who couldn''t even shed a tear for his own sister. He could hear the whispers and the mutters of his rtives, calling him heartless and cold. They didn''t understand the pain that he was going through, the guilt that was eating him up inside.

    As the rituals continued, he was asked to perform certain tasks, such as cing flowers on his sister''s body and lighting incense sticks. He did everything so mechanically, as if in a trance, his mind consumed by his sorrow.

    As the final rites were performed, Shiva watched as the mes consumed Ria''s body, reducing it to ashes. He felt a pang of regret, wishing that he had spent more time with her, that he had told her how much he loved her. Hoping that if he had been there it wouldn''t have happened.

    The family members took turns to offer their condolences, embracing his father, mother, and brother, and expressing their sympathy for their loss. And yet he could barely bring himself to respond, his grief too overwhelming for him to bear.

    After everything Shiva realised that his sister was truly gone, that he will never be able to see her smile again, to hear her voice, to hold her hand.

    His family still continued to weep and wail, their voices blending together into a chorus of cries. Shiva looked around the room, at the faces of his family members, all of them united in their grief. Despite his pain, he felt a sense of solidarity, knowing that he is not alone in his suffering.

    _

    But that was another joke of fate - as after this soon started a game of me.

    There''s this line that says - "??????????��???��???��???????��???����??��???��o??��2??��?,???��???����??��2??��?."

    Shiva had seen the pain of his family, now it was time to face their anger.

    _

    Shiva found himself standing alone in the middle of his family''s house, his head bowed in shame and grief. He could feel the weight of everyone''s usations bearing down on him, crushing him with guilt and anger.

    Shiva stood frozen as his father''s hand connected with his cheek, the sting reverberating throughout his entire body. His mother''s wails pierced the air, filling the room with an overwhelming sense of grief and pain. His brother, though visibly upset, stood silently by their mother''s side, trying to console her as best he could.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As Shiva looked around at his family, the weight of his guilt and sorrow bore down on him even more heavily. He had never felt so alone, so helpless, and so responsible for the tragedy that had befallen them all.

    _

    "Shame on you!" his mother spat at him. "How could you be so heartless? You should have been looking out for your sister, not running around with your friends."

    Shiva''s anger red at his mother''s words. He loved Ria more than anyone else in the world, and the thought of her death made his heart ache with sorrow. He knew that he was partly responsible for what had happened, but he also knew that he had never intended for anything bad to happen to her.

    "I loved her more than anything," he said, his voice choking with tears. "I would never have let anything happen to her if I had known."

    "Love isn''t enough," his father said bitterly. "You should have been responsible, you should have been watching out for her. And now she''s gone because of your carelessness."

    Shiva''s fists clenched at his sides. He wanted tosh out at his parents, to scream and shout and tell them that they were wrong. But he knew that they were hurting just as much as he was, and that they were looking for someone to me.

    Shiva turned to leave the house, unable to bear the usations and the pain any longer. But as he stepped outside, he was greeted by the sight of his neighbors, all of them looking at him with anger and contempt.

    "Murderer!" one of them shouted and came forward to p him. "How could you let this happen?"

    Shiva''s heart sank. He knew that he would never be able to escape the guilt and the shame that he felt. Ria was gone, and he would always feel responsible for her death.

    As the days turned into weeks, Shiva retreated into himself, consumed by his grief and his guilt. He knew that he would never be able to make things right, that his sister''s death had shattered his family and his everything.

    And so he stood alone, his heart heavy with sorrow and his mind consumed by regret. He knew that he had made a terrible mistake, and that he would have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.

    Shiva walked down the street, feeling like a stranger in his own neighborhood. People he had known for years were looking at him with cold eyes, muttering under their breath as he passed by. He could feel their hatred and disgust, their judgmental gazes weighing down on him like a ton of bricks. He wanted to scream at them, to tell them that he was not responsible for Ria''s death, that it was an ident, that he would give anything to bring her back.

    But he couldn''t find the words. He felt numb, hollowed out by grief and guilt. His parents had med him, his brother had med him, and now it seemed like the whole world was ming him. He had been thrown out of his own house, left to wander the streets with nothing but his thoughts and his pain.

    _

    But this was only the start of the pain and hell that was further awaiting him.

    that his life woulde crumbling down in pieces, just like a house of cards

    ##

    A/N - one more chapter for the nightmare.

    -- join d discord

    -- do vote/gift/reviewsment everything

 Chapter 33 Beginning Of His Nightmares

    ?Shiva stumbled out of his house, his mind consumed by the pain of Ria''s loss and the weight of everyone''s usations. He hade home after her death, hoping to find some sce in the familiar surroundings of his childhood home. But instead, he found only anger, bitterness, and me.

    As he walked through the narrow streets of his neighborhood, he could feel the stares of his neighbors burning into his back. He could hear their whispers and their curses, their usations and their taunts. They all med him for his sister''s death, and he couldn''t bear the weight of their judgment any longer.

    _

    He stumbled into a dark alleyway, his breathing in ragged gasps. He could feel the rage building inside him, a burning fire that threatened to consume him entirely. He needed an outlet for his pain, a release for his anger, and he found it in the form of a young man who had been walking in the opposite direction.

    The man looked drunk, as he saw Shiva, he said - "Ahh you''re the guy from the city huh. The one who got his sister killed. Man what were you _ _."

    His words were cut short as without thinking, Shiva lunged at the man, his fists flying in a wild fury. He beat him half-dead, not even stopping when the man was all bloodied and begged for mercy. All he could think about was his sister, the way she had looked at him with trusting eyes, the way she had smiled at him.

    As the adrenaline faded and the rage dissipated, he copsed to the ground, his body wracked with sobs. He knew that what he had done was wrong, that he had let his anger and his pain control him. He knew that he had only made things worse, that he had added to the weight of his guilt and his regret.

    He knew that he would never be the same again, that his sister''s death had changed him in ways that he could not even begin toprehend.

    _

    He stumbled back to his family''s home, hoping to find some measure of forgiveness or understanding. But instead, he found only more me and more usations. His parents turned their backs on him, his brothers looked at him with hatred in their eyes. Even his sister''s memory seemed to have turned against him, reminding him of his failure and his shorings.

    Despite his attempts to move on, Shiva remains forever alone, trapped in his own pain and suffering. His family, who are also mourning the loss of their daughter and sister, are unable to provide him with any sce as they too struggle to cope with their grief.

    _

    ??����??��????????��3??????��2??��?''???�??????����

    As the sun began to set and the streets grew quiet, Shiva found himself standing alone in a dark alleyway. He leaned against a wall, feeling the cold bricks against his back. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the world, to block out the voices that had been tormenting him all day.

    But then he heard a whisper, a soft voice that seemed toe from nowhere. "Shiva," it said, "look at me."

    He opened his eyes and saw a ghostly figure in front of him. It was Ria, her face pale and ethereal. He gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing.

    "Ria?" he whispered.

    "Yes, it''s me," she said. "I''m here to tell you something, Shiva. Something important."

    He felt a lump in his throat, his heart pounding in his chest. "What is it?" he asked.

    "I forgive you, Shiva," she said. "I know it wasn''t your fault. You have to forgive yourself too."

    He felt tears streaming down his face, his body shaking with emotion. "I don''t know how," he said. "I don''t know how to live like this."

    "You have to try," she said. "For me, and for yourself. You have to find a way to move on, to make a life for yourself. I love you, Shiva. And I always will."

    With those words, Ria''s ghostly figure began to fade away, her voice growing fainter and fainter until it was gone. Shiva was left alone in the alleyway, still crying.

    _

    Shiva''s world has been shattered since the loss of Ria. Every day is a struggle as he battles with his own emotions and the constant reminder of her absence.

    His life became a constant battle, and he feels as though he is slowly losing the fight. He longs to be reunited with his sister, to hold her hand, and hear her voice once again.

    He had started seeing her ghostly figure daily now, he hears her voice, and feels her presence everywhere he goes, making it impossible to escape the grief that consumes him.

    He tried to continue living his life, but everything seems to be slipping away from him. Shiva''s life has be a living hell, and he sees no escape from his misery.

    _

    ??����??��????????��3??????��2??��?''???�??????����

    After having one more fight at his home, today Shiva had decided to end it all by taking his own life, only to be stopped by Ria''s ghost, who appears before him, crying and begging him to stop.

    Shiva: (holding a knife to his wrist) I can''t take this pain anymore. I''m sorry Riya, I truly am.

    Ria''s Ghost: (appearing before him) No, please don''t do this. You don''t have to be sorry. It wasn''t your fault.

    Shiva : (in tears) How can you say that? You''re gone because of me. I should have protected you, but I failed.

    Ria : (gently) No, you didn''t fail. You loved me and cared for me. You did everything you could. It was just an ident, and idents happen.

    Shiva : (in disbelief) But how can you forgive me so easily? I caused your death.

    Ria: (smiling) Because I love you, and I know you loved me too. You don''t have to carry this burden alone. I''m here for you, always.

    Shiva : (sobbing) But how can I live with myself? I can''t face our family, knowing that I''m the reason you''re gone.

    Ria - You''re not alone, brother. I''m with you, always.

    _

    As he walked, he heard the sound of crying, of wailing and mourning. He knew that it was for Ria, that some new rtive must havee home. But he couldn''t bring himself to go back, to face his family and the people who had once been his friends. He felt like an outcast, like he had been banished from the only world he had ever known.

    He walked out of the room, into the cool night air, feeling the weight of his grief and his guilt pressing down on him, as he slept on the roadside, looking up at the dark sky.

    _

    ??����??��????????��3??????��2??��?''???�??????����

    *??����??��????? ???-��??��????�??����??????��o??��???��???��2???�

    Shiva: (holding a knife to his wrist) I can''t take this pain anymore. I''m sorry, sis, but I have to go.

    Ria: (appearing before him) No, please don''t do this. You don''t have to be sorry. It wasn''t your fault.

    Shiva: (in tears) How can you say that? You''re gone because of me. I should have protected you, but I failed.

    Ria: (suddenly changing her tone) Failed? You did more than just fail you idiot, you killed me! You''re the reason I''m not here anymore. You''re a failure and a coward.

    Shiva - (in shock and pain) What are you saying? You''re supposed tofort me, not hurt me more.

    Ria: ughing maliciously) Comfort you? You don''t deservefort. You deserve to die, just like I did. You''re pathetic, and I hate you.

    (Shiva watched as Ria''s face and body turned all bloody, her head wounded badly)

    Shiva: (crying) No, this can''t be happening. You''re not Ria, she wouldn''t say these things.

    Ria : (screaming) Yes, I am your sister! And I hate you! Die! Die! Die!

    Shiva : (sobbing and shaking) - You''re not real. you''re not real.

    Ria : (disappearing) I''ll always be real, and I''ll always hate you.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    (Shiva wakes up, sweating and crying)

    Shiva : It was just a nightmare. She didn''t mean those things. She loved me.

    (Shiva hugs a picture frame of Ria, crying)

    "You would never hate me, right Ria."

    __

    ??����??��????? ????��??��????�??����??????��o??��???��???��2???�

    Father: (sobbing) How could you let this happen, Shiva? Ria was your responsibility.

    Mother: (wailing) My poor Ria! She was just a child! And now she''s gone because of you!

    Vikram: (angrily) You didn''t care about her at all, did you? You were too busy with your own life to protect her.

    Neighbor 1: (tauntingly) Shame on you, Shiva! You call yourself a brother, but you leave her all alone.

    Neighbor 2: (disgustedly) You''re a heartless monster. You should be ashamed of yourself.

    (Shiva just stands there silently, his head down in shame)

    Father: (angrily) Answer us, Shiva! Why did you let Ria die?

    Mother: (sobbing) We trusted you to take care of her, and you failed us!

    Vikram: (shouting) Say something, damn it! You owe us an exnation!

    (Shiva finally looks up, tears in his eyes)

    Shiva: (barely audible) I''m sorry. I''m so sorry.

    Neighbor 1: (sarcastically) Oh,look, he''s sorry now. That makes everything better.

    Neighbor 2: (coldly) Sorry doesn''t bring Ria back, you bastard.

    Father: (sadly) Ria''s blood is on your hands.

    (Shiva looks at his hands covered in blood as with a jolt of shock, he wakes up)

    _

    ??����??��????? ???����??��????�??����??????��o??��???��???��2???�

    Father: "How could you let this happen, Shiva? You were supposed to take care of her!"

    Mother: "She was just a child, Shiva! How could you be so careless?"

    Vikram: "You''re a disgrace, Shiva. You were responsible for her and you failed. You don''t deserve to be part of this family anymore."

    Father: "We trusted you with our daughter''s life, and you let us down. You''re no son of mine!"

    Mother: "I curse the day you were born, Shiva! You brought nothing but misery to this family!"

    Vikram: "You better not show your face around here again, Shiva. You''re dead to us now."

    __

    Ria''s ghostly figure looked at Shiva with tears in her eyes. "Don''t listen to them," she said softly. "it''s not real."

    "and you are." Shiva said with a defeated smile on his face.

    "It wasn''t your fault." Ria said as she hugged him.

    Shiva shook his head in disbelief. "How can you say that?" he replied, his voice cracking. "You''re gone because of me."

    Ria''s ghostly figure put her hand on his shoulder. "You couldn''t have known what would happen," she said. "It was just an ident."

    Shiva''s tears fell down his face as he looked at his sister. "I miss you so much," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

    "I know," Ria''s ghostly figure said. "But you have to be strong. You have to live your life for me. Don''t let their ming and anger consume you."

    Shiva nodded slowly, wiping away his tears. "I''ll try," he said, his voice still filled with pain. "But it''s so hard."

    Ria''s ghostly figure smiled sadly. "I know," she said. "But I''ll always be with you. Whenever you need me, just close your eyes and I''ll be there."

    __

    ??����??��????? N��??��????�??����??????��o??��???��???��2???�

    Shiva wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating and shaking from another nightmare of Ria''s ghost haunting him. Her voice echoes in his head, ming him for her death and telling him that he should have done more to save her. He can''t escape her presence even in his dreams.

    As he tries to calm down, he hears the wailing cries of his mother and father in the next room. He knows they are ming him for Riya''s death too. His brother''s voice also echoes in his mind, using him of not taking care of Ria.

    Feeling hopeless and alone, Shiva cries himself to sleep, only to wake up the next day to the same nightmare.

    _

    These recurring haunting nightmares were the reasons Shiva left his house, after the 32 days of mourning rituals*1 werepleted and never returned.

    He didn''t want to live in that house and be reminded of her every moment. He didn''t want to watch the faces of the people he loved, filled with anger and hatred towards him - so he ignored them.

    His family too didn''t stop him and let him go. Maybe they didn''t know he''ll never truly return or maybe they too didn''t want to see his face and be reminded of her again.

    _

    When Shiva left his vige, and his family behind, he thought at least there was still someone who''ll be there for him. someone who knows the truth, someone who will understand him and support him, just to be further broken & disappointed - that she left him too.

    But those are his nightmares for another time.

    ##

    ??����/??��? - So with this his nightmare on the first day of Arcadia ends. Let''s wake him up now. shall we...

    ___ *1 - In Indian culture many mourn their loved one''s death for 32 days continuously so there souls can rest in peace.

 Chapter 34 Setting Plans In Motion

    ?Rio who was trapped in his nightmares reliving the nightmares, he thought that he forgot. The 32 days he spent trapped in his body going through every moment of that pain again.

    It was just as that clone of Nashi said, the nightmares he was having now were actually memories ying in front of him again, just like the time when he first died or when he saw Rio''s memories, But the difference now was he could actually feel stuff again. So instead of watching a movie, he was living in it.

    There was a 50-50 chance of it happening with either Rio''s memories or Shiva''s. It was his bad luck that he got the sad side of stick.

    _

    Myra who stayed in the next room all night as per Artemis''s order, came to call Rio for breakfast.

    Knock - Knock

    After knocking on the gate a few times, and when she didn''t get any answer. Myra used her token to open the door.

    [ As same as the servant quarters, every room where Duke''s family stays had many powerful arrays ced on them. To stop any assassin or other people from entering without permission. So without the token with a certain mana signature no one could open it. Breaking these arrays or bypassing them without attracting any attention is just a fool''s dream. ]

    When Myra came inside she saw Rio still asleep on his bed covered in nkets. She went ahead and opened the window curtains and then pulled his nket but Rio still didn''t had any reaction.

    Myra gently shook Rio''s shoulder, trying to wake him up. As he stirred, she noticed that he was drenched in sweat and tears stained his cheeks. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to approach the situation.

    "Rio, wake up." she said softly, gently shaking his shoulder.

    Suddenly bolted upright, Rio''s eyes wide open with fear and anger. He swung his arm wildly, nearly hitting Myra in the process.

    "Leave me the fuck alone" He barked.

    Startled but quick on her feet, Myra jumped back and raised her hands defensively. "Rio, it''s me." she said calmly, hoping to snap him out of his nightmare.

    Rio blinked rapidly, looking around the room as if unsure of what was happening. "What... what''s going on?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.

    "You were having a nightmare" Myra said, trying to keep her tone as gentle as possible.

    Rio slowly began to calm down, his breathing returning to normal. He looked up at Myra, his eyes still lost.

    Rio took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to... thank you," he said, his voice still shaky.

    Myra nodded back, relieved that he was finallying back to reality. "Of course. Shall I help you get ready? It''s almost time for breakfast."

    "No, I''ll be fine. Inform mother & Amy that I''ll be having my breakfast in the room today." said Rio, hoping to get some time alone.

    Myra looked at him and nodded her head. "Ok. I will be outside, so if you need anything call me." With that Myra bowed and turned back to leave.

    Rioy back on the bed as he watched Myra leave. He looked at the ceiling and thought - ''what the hell was that. It looked like I was back on earth''

    ''is this some kind of aftereffects as that guy said''

    ''But what can I do now.''

    Rio closed his eyes and the scene of her funeral started ying in his head again. He opened them again and with a loud sigh, thought -

    ''so much for starting fresh in a new world.''

    _

    Rio got up from his bed and walked towards the bathroom, no maids or servants were assigned anywhere near him aside from Myra. So he had to do all his little chores himself unless he wanted to have Myra take a peek. A 30 year old guy getting help for bathing by a 20 year old girl - that would be embarrassing.

    A small chuckle came to his lips at the funny thought. But his face still had that coldness to it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    _

    After a quick shower, Rio had a light breakfast. Which somehow wasn''t as tasty as yesterday''s, but that is to be expected since Chiron is in prison, probably having the time of his life.

    ''Well looks like, ke''s need a new chef. There was someone good at cooking in the plot _ Should I get her to work for us.''

    ''Nah, I should probably take care of my nightmares and Noah first''

    ''Both are the problems which would annoy me everyday if not solved early''

    ''And my best bet, to fix both of them together, is probably the awakening and the world system''

    ''If I take care of Noah, I can avoid events resulting in my certain viinous doom & after awakening, even if the system doesn''t help with my brain, if I''m strong enough I won''t need to sleep daily thus reducing these nightmares.''

    ''not the permanent solutions but the best I got''

    With his thoughts about future actions nned out he looked at Myra, who was clearing out the tes and dishes from the table.

    "Have you gathered all the ingredients from the list?" Rio said.

    Myra looked at Rio and was surprised to see the calm look he had now, totally opposite of the vulnerable side he showed when he first woke up an hour ago.

    ''I wonder what kind of dream he had'' she thought but didn''t find it important enough to question, knowing he won''t tell anything to her even if she asked.

    "Yes, but are you sure about the recipe. Even master was worried after learning about the ingredients. There are some books which are known for having some false or half information, maybe we can _ ." Myra was voicing her worries.

    But Rio just shook his head and cut her off - "You guys can try all you want once I''m done with it. And as for the information being a lie, you don''t have to worry about it."

    [As trantion of singr books depended on luck & opportunities - the person who did it, will always be the first one to get the rewards, if he chose to use that knowledge. If that book turned out to be a trap or contained half truths, then that''s their luck too. It''s all a risky move but people still do it, cause no one can ignore the allure of a great gift that transcendsmon sense.]

    "As you wish young master" Myra said. It was only her job to warn him. Besides with the treasures Duke house has, there would still be no life threatening risk for Rio even if he ate all that directly without making a potion.

    "And Myra, go to the Belmont family. I need you to buy me a ve of theirs. Her name should be Megan Levette. She has short red hairs and should be around the age of 18-20." Rio spoke, this time in a much more serious tone, and watched as Myra''s face had a surprised look and eyes which were probably scrutinizing him, hoping to ask for a reason. And before she could ask, Rio continued - "And you don''t have to worry, I''ll talk to Mother about it. So you should just make the preparations."

    Myra still with her doubting gaze looked at Rio and when she noticed he had no intention of continuing or exining anything else, she just nodded and said - "Fine, I''ll send a letter."

    But Rio shook his head and said in an authoritative tone, no longer acting as her friend or student but as the future heir of this house - "Maybe you didn''t hear clearly what I said Myra. I want YOU to personally go there and bring her to me. I don''t care how you do it, but I need it done as soon as possible."

    Myra who for the first time saw him acting like this was surprised, but as a trained shadow , just nodded her head.

    After saying this Rio stood up and started walking out. He needed to exin all this to Artemis and  talk about his awakening, he also needed to get permission to visit the prison.

    It was time to free his shadow and let her be of some use.

    ''Fuck my luck for being this shitty.'' he thought as he kicked the floor.

    __

    __

    A/N - I''ll post a long chapter tomorrow or 2 short ones - don''t cuss me for saying nothing special happened today.

    Plus any guess who''s the new ve girl ???

 Chapter 35 Lying Through His Teeth

    ?When Rio reached Artemis, she was standing outside the training grounds, watching over Amelia''s physical training. Asher was training her today or more like ying tag with her, as they were just running in circles for now.

    Artemis looked at Rio and said - "Are you feeling fine now."

    "Yeah, don''t worry. It was just a nightmare." Rio reassured.

    Artemis nodded her head, while saying - "Don''t stress too much, once your body is perfectly fine, the effects of the curse will all vanish. Till then just take proper rest."

    "Okay." Rio replied, while busy watching as Amelia was nowying on the ground, huffing loudly while Asher was standing a little far from her acting to be tired. Rio smiled a little when he saw Amelia suddenly stand up and jump to catch Asher off guard, only to fall face first on the ground.

    Artemis too looked at the scene, said without turning her head - "Myra said you''re nning on taking the potion first. Any reason why you''re feeling confident about it."

    "The book had detailed information about the potion recipe and it''s effects. It''s apleted research journal, so don''t worry." Rio said while looking at Artemis trying to see what she was thinking, only to be stumped cause he couldn''t read any expression on her face.

    Artemis finally turned her head and looked at Rio, and this time asked in a much serious tone, while looking at Rio''s face Unblinkingly - "Myra also said you''re nning to get a ve from Belmonts."

    Artemis watched as Rio''s face turned serious at that mention and gone was the yfulness from before, she then continued - "You do know that even if we don''t fight within ourselves. The other Duke''s families are ourpetitors, Plus your father doesn''t like very, you sure about your decisions."

    Rio took a deep breath, knowing all his future ns depended on this moment. if he couldn''t convince Artemis, then there''s only one option left for him and that is to act as a seer.

    ''I really don''t want to take that route. Though it would benefit me at the beginning but as the plot progresses and I change stuff, my seer card will turn useless.''

    Rio opened his eyes and said in a serious tone - "She is Esme''s sister, mother."

    Rio watched as Artemis had her eyes widened, a surprised look for a second and then her eyes started turning red in anger.

    ''So she already knows about Esme. Fuck''

    Artemis was surprised cause just yesterday she figured about Esme being a vampire spy, who was using a bloodline suppressor artifact to conceal her vampire traits. Artemis thought that Rio was doing this cause he was emotionally attached to her or maybe it was one of Esme''s schemes to ruin the rtionship between 2 Duke houses.

    Rio already expecting what Artemis was thinking, continued saying - "I already knew about her secret mother."

    If Artemis was surprised at learning that there were spies nted in her house then now she was shocked that her own son who knew about it, had hidden the fact. "How and since when?" - she asked, her tone a little bit colder now.

    Rio without avoiding her eye contact said - "It''s been a long time." Rio watched as Artemis clenched her fists in anger but before she could ask anything else, he took the charge for the conversation and continued - "She''s not the enemy mother. At least not now. She was also the one who told me about Beric and Chiron, and in return I promised to help her in freeing her sister. "

    Artemis took a deep breath to calm down as she thought about everything that I said and any possible motive for Esme in helping us catching the traitors. When she couldn''t figure that out, she asked the other question - "You still haven''t exined how you knew about her being a vampire and why you decided to keep that information to yourself."

    "I had signed a contract for secrecy, mother. Before you ask, it''s not with Esme , and I can''t tell you anything else about this. Not till my awakening atleast." Rio said.

    "You didn''t agree on bing an avatar of some God, did you?" Artemis asked in a high pitched tone. She forgot all about previous problems, this one took all priorities, if her son is tricked into being an avatar of some random God - the effects it could have on his future would be unimaginable.

    _

    *** [Bing an??????��???��? meant being selected as a chosen one of any God. Now this is good news, as you can get the full legacy and all of the powers of that God. But it also brings you trouble too, as that God''s sole sessor - his followers, his friends and his enemies will all take notice of you. And getting thrown in that mess while not having the strength to protect yourself, would only lead to certain death.

    -- Though losing an avatar would affect the God too, as they''ll lose one of their power for forever, which their avatar was most proficient in. But some Gods still trick people just to entertain themselves.

    -- One God can only have one avatar at a time. but Blessings can be given to anyone,anytime without any restrictions but the avatar/chosen one needs the approval of both parties.]

    _

    Rio held her hand and said in a calm tone - "Of course not mother. It was only about me not sharing their identity till my awakening, nothing else. Don''t worry."

    Hearing his words Artemis calmed down, as the worst results that she expected didn''t happen, but still a God who hides his/her identity, was a big red g in her eyes. She got lost in her thoughts as lots of questions started rising up -

    ''Is it a fallen God or some evil one?''

    ''why would they sign a contract with a kid?''

    ''when did this even happen, why didn''t she know''

    ''and what kind of God watches when their contractee is cursed & dying''

    ''should I ask her for help. her magic is practically a loophole for secrecy contracts''

    When thest thought crossed Artemis''s mind, she finally calmed down. It looked like she had found the perfect solution and in a way she had. But Rio didn''t know anything, so he was rxed seeing Artemis. If he did he''d be cursing his luck for N''th time today.

    After all, Artemis nned to ask for help from someone who was the avatar of greek goddess Psyche, her sister - the queen of Schi - Athena von Schott, Also known as seer of soul.

    _

    As Artemis had figured out a way to learn the secret identity of this God or whoever it is, she had calmed down. About Rio''s request for helping Esme''s sister, since Esme did help them in catching the traitors and all she asked in return was freeing a ve, she agreed too. But Rio''s next words surprised her again.

    "I also want you to release Esme from prison, mother." he said.

    Artemis red at him and asked - "Why?"

    "Because she''s not the one who cursed me." said Rio.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Even if she didn''t, I won''t allow her to stay anywhere near my children. And that''s the end of it." Artemis said in a stern tone, clearly stating her final terms.

    "That''s _ fine. At least she''ll be alive." Rio sounded disappointed like he reluctantly agreed since he had no other choice. While in his heart he was jumping happily that he finally did it.

    Artemis smiled and pulled his ear - "Don''t try to act smart with me kid."

    Rio whose head turned 45�� sideways as Artemis rolled his ear, said trying hard to act just like how original Rio used to in these situations - "Ahh ouch ouch mother it hurts."

    "Say this is what you wanted right." replied Artemis pushing his hand away with mana.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Rio said as he looked the other way, trying to whistle but all he did was blow air.

    "Don''t forget I''m your mother my dear Rio. and you are still a 10 year old kid." said Artemis as she let go of his ear, which was now deep red in color.

    ''She really does like to tease & torture her kids huhh'' - Rio thought as he massaged his ear which was stinging in little pain now.

    "Hmmm should I share what you used to do when you were my age. Aunt Athena was a little too happy to tell me all about your secret adventures, when she visited usst time." Rio said in a smug smile, after all he knew all too well what kind of character this viin''s mother had. It was only after she married into ke Family that her personality changed a little, otherwise she was practically a soaring trouble ma.

    Artemis coughed and avoided the look, while thinking about teaching her sister a lesson on not spilling her secrets to her son.

    _

    Far away from Damascus, in the capital city Haven, an enchantingly beautifuldy who was currently ying with a little girl, had a shiver run down her spine as she looked towards the North direction, confused by this sudden instinct to hide. As for just confirming her doubts, she heard a sweet voice in her head which said - "It was nice knowing you human. we''ll meet each other soon."

    Thedy pouted in response as she thought - ''Damn Psyche, you better save me if something happens. I''m your favorite girl right.'' Which earned a soft chuckle from the voice as a response and nothing else.

    ''looks like one of the kids ratted me out'' Thedy said in her heart.

    "I warned you to keep quiet." the voice said.

    Thedy looked at the little girl ying alone and thought - ''Should I cancel her birthday celebration.''

    _

    Artemis cleared her throat and asked - "So what do you n to do with Esme?"

    Rio said - "Her sister is sick, and she promised me some gifts, if we take care of her."

    "Gifts which were enough to entice you, my little Rio. Are you getting greedy or is she being generous." Artemis asked in a teasing tone, intrigued to learn what kinds of gifts this vampire promised which could make the heir of a Duchy agree for help.

    [Though Rio was a kid, he was taught by the best people in the empire, so his knowledge about the world was far beyond what kids his age should have, plus the genes of 2 geniuses also helped. So no one doubt why Artemis didn''t think Rio agreed to help for a lollipop.]

    - "Don''t worry, I''ll share." Rio said while smiling.

    Artemis just hummed a little and said - "That aside, it looks like you''ve been keeping lots of secrets from me Rio. Do you not trust us Or did you grow up too fast."

    Now this was a question which stumped Rio, as he had no answer for this. Though he could continue lying like he did till now, but something told him that Artemis won''t ignore this.

    So he used his trump card, the divine move, an act that he knew would never fail, something which he learned from original Rio''s memories. He went ahead and hugged Artemis and nted a kiss on her cheeks, as he said - "I''m always my mama''s boy. So just trust me this once, pretty please."

    Artemis smile bloomed on her face as she heard those words and said - "Fine."

    ''Damn so embarrassing'' Rio thought as he looked at Artemis''s face but a little smile did form on his face as he watched her smile.

    Artemis patted his shoulder and said - "But you better exin everything before Reba''s birthday."

    She smiled a little when she saw the shocked look on Rio''s face and thought ''that''s what you get for trying to act smart with your mother. humph''

    With that she left to y with Amelia, who was now hiding behind a tree, peeking every few seconds, holding herugh as she looked at Asher looking around for her.

    _

    Rio who was left standing there alone, had a grim look on his face after hearing those words, as he understood the true meaning behind them, he thought - ''dammit. solved one problem and another arises.''

    ''I could''ve fooled Artemis by putting all the me on the goddess who will give her blessing to me during the awakening, but how the hell did I forget about her powers.she''ll know everything in just one nce.''

    ''Fuck''

    ''Though on a side note, I do wonder what my soul would look like in her eyes.''

    ''wait , am I getting distracted so easily - damn being a kid sucks''

    "I should just go and get my vamp first"

    ##

 Chapter 36 Getting The Vampire - 1

    ?After getting permission from Artemis, Rio decided to go to prison and meet his shadow. But before that he needed some things which would convince him that he was making the right decision. After getting everything ready he started walking towards the prison.

    He didn''t see Myra anywhere, so she probably left for Narva city. It would take 2-3 days for her toe back if she''s in a hurry and uses the teleportation gates. But if she doesn''t want to leave any trail behind then it could take a week.

    Why was Rio prepared to believe Esme, who could possibly be the one who cursed him. There are 2 reasons for it - One, cause after Rio thought about the plot carefully again he noticed, Esme ys an important role in the story till the middle sections, and even after getting so much screen time in the plot, there was no information about her ever using cursed mana to curse Rio. Maybe the plot missed it or it was something left out but Rio had decided to take a chance. He still wouldn''t believe Esme that''s why he looked for the 2nd reason, her sister - Megan Levette or Erza Scarlett.

    Just like how Esme was sent to spy on the ke family, Erza was sent to Duke Belmont''s family.

    Esme with her talent and power was soon appointed as my shadow, while Erza whocked both talent and power was ced as a maid. But due to one mishap in the beginning she almost got caught and was punished by the Belmont family, to work as a ve. Her life had been ruined forever, she contacted her n but the Scarlett n decided to ignore her, thinking of her as a trash or failed resource.

    Esme who learned about this tried to free her but her n was against it, saying she should just focus on her mission unless she wants her sister killed to further avoid any risks. Esme seeing no choice left decided to continue her mission, hoping to one day free her sister. But fate pulled a joke on her as -

    In the novel, Erza died 1 year before the plot officially started due to some ailments, and Esme started ming everyone else for her death. Erza''s death is what pushed Esme into betraying the ke family andter joining the protagonist camp.

    In the plot Esme confessed about her origins and promised to betray her own n, if the ke family decided to help her get revenge for her sister. But instead the ke family did what any other logical sane person would do, they put her in prison, after all how could they trust a traitor and go to war against another Duke family for no reason or profit.

    This development didn''t sit well with Esme and when she found her chance she ran away. Later she started killing her own n members who came after her for betraying the n and when she learned of someone who was fighting against house Belmont, she joined hands with them.

    This is how the shadow of the viin joined the protagonist. They made a deal where Leon helped her in getting her sister''s revenge against the Belmont family & her own n, while she helped him in destroying the ke family. Of course protagonist halo also did its magic and she joined his ever increasing harem.

    But as someone wise once said all traitors always end up dead. She too died with Rio''s hands, further fueling the me of the fight between the protagonist and the viin.

    _

    Now someone who was ready to betray everyone she ever knew and cared for, to just avenge her dead sister, what would she do if I had her sister with me. I have no ns to keep Esme with me forever, she betrayed us once she could do it again.

    So Rio just decided to keep her sister hostage until he gets everything he needs done for. She will help him get all the chances which are helpful to him for his awakening and to kill that prophet. She was like a pawn or a minion to be used until he got a better subordinate.

    ''Awakening hurts like hell, I''m not the usual masochist protagonist happily going through pain for every level up. I mean I did go through hell in just one day aftering here but if I can avoid it, why not do it. Plus those heavenly chances are just waiting to be found by the protagonist, I''ll just take them for myself.  And that is what my shadow will do.''

    ''If you can''t find someone you can trust, then look for someone you can control'' - these were the words Nashi once said to him and it''s exactly what he nned to do after waking up from his nightmare.

    _

    When Rio reached the prison Asher''s team of Alphas was already standing guard there. They were all trained professionals and Artemis had already informed them. So Rio didn''t have to waste his time going over everything again and went straight towards the light cell where Esme was put in.

    [Every prison cell here was made of the toughest of metals and secured with the best of the arrays so no outside mana could enter there, an almost void zone.]

    Esme''s cell was filled with light , so much so that you couldn''t find a single dark corner there. It wasn''t the usual light from the sun or from amp, but pure dense light mana, which was spreading in every corner with the artifacts ced in every corner. For every vampire light mana is their biggest weakness. That and hunger.

    Esme who''s been trapped in this prison for the past 2 days had her whole body turned into red. The light mana had burned her everything. Rio stood there for a few seconds and watched as her body squirmed when a new wave of light mana hit her. She looked no different from a deep fried chicken hanging outside a mutton shop in his eyes. Obviously if you ignore the torn ck dress and her human features.

    Rio signaled the Alpha''s and they turned off the light mana supply.

    "Put her in the other room, I want to talk about something." - Rio said and turned around to walk in the other room, which at least had a chair to sit on.

    ''It''s gonna be a long discussion, I can''t just stand there all this time. Plus if we''re both standing what''s the difference'' Rio thought to himself.

    Soon Esme was released from her chains and moved into the other room.

    Rio sits in silence, watching Esme as she''s chained to the empty chair in front of him. She looks broken and battered, her clothes torn and her skin still raw from the burns.

    Rio felt nauseous at the sight, in both his life he had seen a lot of stuff but torture was something he never did or saw. He believed in ending things faster due to hiszy personality. That is if you''re not Nashi. That guy _ .

    "We''ll be outside, young master."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The guard''s voice broke out Rio from his thoughts and he nodded his head. He then looked towards Esme and asked.

    "Are you okay?"

    Esme looks up at him, her eyes full of anger and pain. "What do you think? I have already _" Esme was saying something but stopped talking as she saw it wasn''t any other guard or Artemis.

    "Rio, what_ what''re you doing here."

    "I came to see you of course. Why did you do it Esme." He asked.

    Esme looked down, not saying anything. What could she say, she had been following Rio every moment for thest 3 years, she could understand how hurt he must have felt after learning about her betrayal.

    "Why did you want to kill me Esme. I thought you were my friend, my shadow." Rio asked, his voice hoarse as if he was disappointed and sad.

    "I didn''t, I had no idea who cursed you Rio. Believe me, it wasn''t me." Esme replied hurriedly.

    She already knew she would be killed, as chances of her getting out were nothing. She had worked in the ke family for years, she knew Artemis would never allow her to leave. She just didn''t want to die knowing that she failed the only 2 people whom she cared about. Her sister was already abandoned and now being trapped here, she had no chance of ever seeing her. That''s why she wanted to apologize to Rio, the only other person whom she cared about. She had been working as his shadow for 3 years now, she watched his every moment, everyday. Even though she knew one day she would be caught and what she was doing was just betraying their trust, she liked her job. She had seen Rio enjoying the childhood she or her sister never had. They were trained from childhood andter sent out to work as a spy, they didn''t have a single happy memory. So when she saw Rio or Amelia happily enjoying their lives she hated it. She felt jealous , but as time passed that jealousy turned into attention and then care. Their innocence and yfulness is what helped her, when she thought about her sister.

    She even wanted to confess everything and maybe ask their help to free her sister, then they could all live together. But she knew it was just a fantasy, so she kept quiet, Kept watching from the sidelines, until 2 days ago when Rio suddenly fell unconscious and she was put in prison.

    When she learned about the curse, she was heartbroken thinking that she failed to protect him too, just like she couldn''t protect her sister.

    It was only when Artemis came to ask her questions, did she learn that Rio was saved. So she happily told everything she could to Artemis, she even agreed to use the truth orb* just to make Artemis believe her, but she still didn''t trust her.

    [Truth orb - An artifact, which when used can detect if a person is lying or speaking the truth. Used during interrogation or torture process. Its limitations are - that it cannot be used without permission.]

    (This was also a reason why Artemis agreed to free Esme when Rio asked for jt. As she knew Esme wasn''t the one who cursed him, but if not for Rio she would kill her to avoid any future risks)

    _

    And why should I trust you now. You''ve been lying to us for years." Rio said.

    Esme was d that she got to see him onest time, as now she could apologize to him directly. But just like Artemis he didn''t trust her too, so she just bowed her head, not knowing how to respond. It was then that Rio''s next words surprised her.

    "Myra went to get your sister." He said.

    Esme looked up with disbelieving eyes, as she thought it was Artemis who believed her story and tried to help her.

    "Diddy Artemis trust me." She asked hopefully.

    "No, she was nning to kill you." Rio said.

    "Then _ " Esme couldn''t think of anyone who would help her or trust her at this time.

    "I asked my mother to free you. And she agreed." Rio said and watched as Esme''s mouth was open in shock but she couldn''t think what to say, he watched as a smile came to her face and tears were sliding down her eyes, she felt happiness at the thought that maybe her dream woulde true soon, but then Rio continued - "But you can''t live with us. You have to leave."

    ##

    A/N - part 2 is next just read it. and tell me how it was. I haven''t edited it yet, as I didn''t get time today.

    JOIN THE DISCORD, LINK IS IN SYNOPSIS

 Chapter 37 Getting The Vampire - 2

    ?- "But you can''t live with us. You have to leave."

    Esme had a dejected look hearing his words but listened as Rio continued - "We will take care of your sister, but mother isn''t ready to trust you yet."

    Esme took a deep breath as she decided to calm down, though she was sad that she''ll be alone, but the thought that her sister would be safe and taken care of made her happy. She trusted Rio and knew he had no reason to lie, as the only ones she talked about her sister with was Artemis, and hearing how Myra herself who was Artemis''s shadow went to get her sister she believed him.

    "You don''t have to worry about Erza. I will take care of her." Rio said.

    "Why are you helping me? Don''t you hate me for lying to you all this time." Esme asked as she couldn''t believe why Rio would go and ask Artemis for mercy on her behalf.

    "Because I have a sister too. And I love her more than anything in this world , and I would do anything to protect her, so I understand." Rio said as he put his hand on her hands.

    A tear slid down her cheeks and fell on his hands. Esme tried to move her hands to stop her tears but the chains tightened around her wrists and a muffled groan escaped her mouth.

    "I''m sorry." Esme said as Rio sent the guards who came inside away and told them to note in until he called for them.

    "There is something else you need to know, Esme. Which is the real reason why I helped you." Rio said in a serious tone, and Esme realised that too.

    "When I was cursed, I wasn''t saved by some blessing or purifying magic." Rio said and Esme was surprised as the only way to solve curses was these two options, unless he _.

    As soon as that thought crossed Esme''s brain she looked at Rio with wide eyes. And when Rio nodded his head, tears started rolling down her eyes, as she asked - "why? Why would you do that."

    Rio leaned back on his chair and said - "Because nothing else was working. The curse ced on me was strangely different from regr ones, so the usual methods didn''t work. And when I thought I would die, someone offered to save me, and I agreed. I know it was a trick but I didn''t want to die, not yet."

    "Does Artemis know about it?" - She asked, as she thought Rio had signed a contract with any trickster God*1, who are known for tricking others and getting them as their followers.

    _

    *** [Trickster God - A God whose every action is a trick or prank simply to entertain themselves. They are beings who have lived for eternity and have simply gotten bored with everything, so they do whatever the fuck they want.

    - They would trick people in desperate situations to sign weird contracts, they will give out nonsense blessings in life or death battles - whatever it is that can make them smile, is doable for them.

    - They aren''t part of any faction, as they would destroy themselves if it looked fun. ]

    _

    "No, no one does, except you. I didn''t want to make them worried." Rio said, as he shook his head.

    "What did they ask for in return." Esme asked as no trickster God would ever do anything for free. She looked at him with pity, as she couldn''t imagine what kind of messed up deal the God must have put in return for saving him.

    Rio took a deep breath and said - "A life for a life. He wants me to kill someone."

    "So you''re nning to kill me." Esme asked thinking this was the reason why Rio decided to free her prison and promised to look after her sister.

    But Rio''s exasperated reaction as he stood up from his chair, shocked her as she heard him say - "Never, I would never do that."

    "Then who?" Esme asked as she was now confused.

    Rio sat back down and continued - "They had given me a name, Noah Winston. Baron Misha''s son, from Harendale city. They want him dead in one month''s time. I don''t have to tell you about the consequences if he survives right." A small defeated chuckle escaped his lips as he said thest sentence and Esme could already imagine the details.

    "What do you want, Rio." Esme asked as she was now confused with all the information that she learned. She felt weak and tired, first the torture then the thought of leaving her sister behind and dying alone, then when she found about her sister being free, she learned about Rio.

    ''If only I had protected you better. If I had confessed everything sooner. Why does it always happen to me. Why can''t I just protect anyone close to me, why? ''

    The countless thoughts of ming herself were going inside her head, when she heard his voice, sweet yet pleading - "Will you help me Esme."

    She looked at him as his eyes were getting wet but ignoring that, Rio continued saying - "I can''t tell anyone about this, and mother won''t let me go out alone. Will you help me, just once. I promise I will do everything in my power to cure Erza and take care _ "

    Esme tried to stand up but the chains started tightening around her hands and feet and some blood starteding out from her burned skin, but she ignored the pain and asked - "Cure her, Is she ok. What happened to her?"

    Rio looked at her in shock and then said in an apologetic tone - "I''m sorry, I thought you knew."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What happened to her?" She asked again and this time Rio could see her eyes were getting red and soon the chain around her neck started glowing and blood starteding out from her eyes, as she was forced to close her eyes again.

    ''Man they sure were thorough in holding her. How the heck she escaped from here in the novel, with all these chains and artifacts around her. Sigh I''d be dead if they had this much plot armor.''

    Rio shook her head and said - "After she was made a ve, she was sent to work in the mana stone mines. Mother said that due to regr contact with light mana stones and not getting blood for supplements. She had been sick and diagnosed with RATTEN*2."

    _

    [RATTEN - A disease many vampires get afflicted with when they''re exposed with light mana for a long time Or weakness from not getting the blood or curse mana supplement over a long period.

    - As time passes it transforms them into undeads who''re mindless creatures, solely roaming for hunger and ughter.

    - Ratten simply means rotten, which describes them perfectly. this disease can be cured in early stages but said to be incurable after a long time passes]

    _

    As Esme heard his words she was shocked scared as she fell down on her seat, tears continued to fall down her face.

    Rio looked at her with pity in his eyes as he said - "You don''t have to worry Esme. I have already talked to my mother and she agreed to help her, when she learned that you helped me catch the real traitors."

    "What''re you talking about?" Esme asked as she couldn''t understand a word he said.

    Rio smiled a little and said - "When I was saved from the curse, THEY told me about the traitors in my house who knew curse magic. I told my mother that you helped me identify them, so in return she might help your sister Erza too. I will make sure of it."

    Esme didn''t know what to say, she just looked at Rio''s face which still had that reassuring kind smile and couldn''t believe that even after learning about her years of betrayal and nearly dying he was still thinking about her and her sister. It was then that she remembered that he too had asked for her help but she got too engrossed in her sister''s worry that she forgot about him.

    She made a firm decision and said - "Thank you Rio. I really am sorry for everything. I didn''t want to but , I''m sorry. I will help you. Leave it to me."

    Hearing his words Rio''s smile widened and he said - "Thank you Esme. Maybe once everything is over we''ll all be together again."

    "I would like that too." Esme said grateful.

    "Once I leave this room they woulde to release you, but for safety reasons they will put a mana tracker in your body. I tried to tell them not to but, I hope you understand." Rio said and Esme nodded.

    As Rio walked towards the gate but suddenly held his head and bowed down as a muffled groan of pain escaped his mouth. "Ummkhh"

    Esme looked at him worriedly surprised by this sudden reaction, but then he turned towards her and said - "THEY said that you should be careful when dealing with Noah. Don''t take his lightly as a kid and go easy. He could possibly have protection from some other Gods, so only take action when you''re fully sure about it. You will only have one chance if you fail then _ . And they need to see his body as an offering." Rio said and without looking back at Esme who had a surprised face, walked away. As he opened the door he said - "I''m sorry for making you do this Esme."

    Esme watched as the door closed behind him and promised herself that she would finish her job as soon as possible to help Rio. She clenched her fists as she thought -

    ''Even if it''s against Gods, I would do everything to protect you and my sister this time. I would never fail anyone, ever again.''

    "We will meet again, Rio. This time I will be your shadow as my own wish."

    _

    While Esme was determined to save Rio from this tricky God''s clutches, he was walking towards his room thinking about what to eat during lunch.

    ''That went better than I expected.''

    ''Looking at her expressions, I guess I don''t have to worry about Noah now.''

    ''RIP prophet. Live well in some other world.''

    _

    A/N - So this is how a nobody gets his first vampire subordinate.

 Chapter 38 Potions Make Us Stronger - 1

    ?After meeting with Esme, Rio ignored the problem for Noah now. He had sent one A rank vampire, who can fight with a newly limit ranked awakened if she uses her bloodline abilities, just to kill a 10 year old kid, who''s not even protected much. To not take any chances, he had even warned Esme to not go easy and be careful.

    If some weird luck or halo even kicks in, it shouldn''t be this audacious to help him so brazenly, but even if that happens it would change the plotline as then Noah would unknowingly attract the attention of Gods who always keep an eye on Esme or some tricksters who found it fun, So it doesn''t matter if she seeds or fails, the events will change.

    ''Just to be on the safe side, I even asked for his dead body to confirm everything with my own eyes, so no other God pulls some weird magicter & Noah turns out to be a fake clone or someone else.''

    ''Now that that''s settled, I should prepare for my awakening''

    ''and the first step should be to get rid of this weak body and my pathetic control over it. And what better way to do that other than taking potions.''

    _

    Rio who had achieved his goals kept walking towards the alchemy hall. The route there was something he had watched in Rio''s memories.

    _

    [??����??��1??����??����??��2??��o????��??��???����??��???����??��???��? - The author of the original book had changed the cliche setting for bing an alchemist in his book as -

    When you talk about alchemy in Arcadia it doesn''t mean about creating potions or mixing herbs that only awakened can do with their magical mes dancing over their hands.

    It all depends on what kind of herbs you''re using, awakened people may have better control over some potent herbs and they may be able to better sense the changing process of mana reaction, but there are many other herbs out there which could substitute them and normal people use them to avoid theplications.

    - After all in simple terms, Alchemy is just mixing stuff and waiting for them to react with each other. If you know what the correct recipe is and measurements for the ingredients used and time everything perfectly, even a blind man could create a perfect potion.

    -Though any alchemist in Arcadia doesn''t have a fixed reputation, but the job pays well. The money they make is immense for any useful sessful potion.

    - That''s why people who couldn''t awaken mostly try to be an alchemist, hoping to join the alchemy association. Resourceful people do lots of experiments with different herbs to see if something works. While poor ones be nerds, trying their luck on finding any singr book which had all the details already written and they just have to follow the instructions to a T.

    - This is why even though the alchemy association is a big organization which ys a supporting role in the fight against the monsters, it was never made a part of major leagues. Cause unlike other fields where it all depends on someone''s hard work & their talent and the time they put in, alchemy has a factor of luck.

    Some nobody walking down the street could find or create a world toppling potion, just by following what''s written on a piece of paper and have the contributions equal or more than that of the organization''s head.]

    _

    Alchemy hall is the ce where the ke family had hired many known alchemists to try and create new potions or make them better by nullifying their side effects.

    As Rio entered the alchemy hall, he was surrounded by a multitude of sights, smells, and sounds. The shelves and tables were lined with jars and bottles of various shapes and sizes, filled with brightly colored liquids, powders, and herbs. The air was thick with the scents ofvender and sage, among other fragrant herbs and flowers which he couldn''t even identify. Some of them were useful while others were only used just to keep the pungent smell of failed potions away.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The walls were adorned with intricate symbols and diagrams, each with their own magical properties and meanings. A control panel was attached to every table to maintain the temperature and environmental conditions of that area, suitable for brewing the potions.

    The sound of bubbling cauldrons and the clinking of ssware fills the room, adding to the magical ambiance. Books and scrolls were scattered throughout the room, some open and being studied, while others were neatly arranged on shelves. In the center of the hall, arge, ornate scale sits, used for measuring and weighing ingredients precisely.

    One group of people was working on one side going through many books & scriptures hoping to learn something new, giving it the vibe of a library. While on the other side people were hovering over their own tables mixing & brewing their potions, making it look like a chemistryb from earth.

    After taking in the sight of this magical marvel, Rio ignored the gawking eyes of people and started walking towards one of the private rooms. There were many of them made with walls lined with metal and magic-resistant materials to contain any idents and also providing privacy of course.

    Some aplished alchemists were given those rooms, and Rio though a newbie had one special room for himself as he had tuition sses for this too.

    This was why Artemis and Myra believed when Rio said he had found a potion recipe singr book and tranted it, though if they started to look carefully his lie would''ve been easily caught, as there was no record of a singr book going missing from the data, but he was lucky as both of them were busy with stuff so they couldn''t focus here.

    Rio ced his hand on the identification panel, as being an unawakened he couldn''t use mana signature tokens cause his body had no mana in it.

    The door opened and he watched as the illumination crystals started lighting up the room.

    The walls of the hall were covered in intricate symbols and sigils, drawn in silver and gold, pulsating with magic. The designs seem toe alive and shift, reflecting the movements in the room.

    Rio started walking towards the table on the side as he could seeyers of herbs neatly ced there. They were the ones he had asked Myra to gather and looking at the quantity they were more than enough.

    ''This is the benefit of having smart people around you. I had just given her a list which was enough to create one potion but with this many herbs I can create that potion 3-4 times, even if I failed in the beginning. Should I be angry that she''s doubting me or happy that I won''t have to waste my time if I fail once.'' Rio thought but then ignored the useless question.

    ''??����??��???????��???��???��????????��???��???��????????�, It''s too early from it''s introduction in the story and even I have no idea how much of an effect it will have on this world at this point, but me the truck who sent me here for messing with it, I have no other choice.''

    ''let''s get this shit started''

    Rio took off his jacket and rolled his sleeves up. It was finally time for him to take his first step towards growing stronger.

    _

    *** If any of you were wondering why he''s roaming alone freely and why he''s not scared to experiment with something like poison without any security - it''s actually simple, cause he''s not alone. As the future heir, he has people who always follow him even if he couldn''t see them. And Rio knows they''ll act immediately if his life is in any dangerrisk.

    ##

    A/N - Will post the next chapter soon. don''t worry.

 Chapter 39 Potions Make Us Stronger - 2

    ?Rio was determined to create the Pura Corpus Potion. It was necessary for him if he wanted to get stronger faster or awaken early and use those opportunities, which he''ll steal from the protagonist soon.

    _

    ??����??????��???��???��????????� - The potion''s name basically means a pure body. This was the ultimate support for youngsters/kids as it cleansed the body of all impurities, whichter increases their chances of sessful awakening.

    You could imagine how great of an effect it could have, as an overall rate of sessful awakening in the  human race is around 60%. It sounds a lot but with the constant increase of dangers it wasn''t.

    Pura Corpus potion was discovered muchter in the novel. 2 years after the plot started to be exact, meaning 10 years from now. But Rio didn''t have the luxury to wait that long, for that person to make it. So he decided to do it himself.

    _

    But he had overestimated himself, despite knowing the recipe by heart and having all the necessary ingredients, he had failed 4 times continuously.

    Though the first time was only because he couldn''t control his hands and it resulted in him not getting the Bezoar grinding process right and the stone wood herb burned itself in a sparkling fire.

    Second time he failed due to overheating the potion for a little bit longer and it resulted in Asphodel getting fully burnt and turning gaseous. The smell from that potion had made his whole body numb for an hour and he couldn''t feel a thing.

    The third time he failed because he couldn''t control the Brugmansia herb quantity and it made the potion extra poisonous, resulting in a foggy reaction, and he had to be pulled out by someone to even survive that poisonous fog.

    In the fourth time, he made sure to be extra careful with everything. Double checking every step, taking it slow.

    ''If only I focused more on those chemistry practicals on earth, I wouldn''t be making these useless mistakes here.'' Rio thought as he wiped his sweat and started working again.

    He began the process by grinding the Bezoar (the stone wood herb) into a fine powder. The herb was tough to grind, but he persisted until it was smooth. Next, he took the Asphodel (the soul flower) and carefully removed the petals, cing them in a mortar. He used the pestle to gently crush the petals, releasing their sweet illusory fragrance.

    Brugmansia (the Angel''s trumpet) was the trickiest to handle. He had to be careful not to touch it directly, as it was highly toxic. Awakeners can just coat their fingers in mana to protect themselves but since Rio couldn''t do that, he used one of the gloves type artifacts to pick it up and then ced it in a small jar. He crushed the herb into a fine powder and then carefully mixed it with the other two herbs.

    He then added some regr herbs which were known for their calming properties, and others for their healing abilities. He added them all together, mixing them until they formed a smooth paste.

    He then added the paste to a pot of dense mana imbued water, stirring it continuously. The potion began to bubble and steam, filling the room with a heady aroma. He kept stirring, careful not to let the potion boil over the light me. He controlled the temperature with the control panel. (it wasn''t as perfect as some awakened can do but it''s somewhat urate)

    The potion begins to bubble and glow, and Rio watches it with a keen eye. He knows that this is the critical moment - one misstep and the potion will be ruined. But he''s careful, and soon the potion settles into a deep, vibrant blue.

    Rio takes a small sip, feeling the warmth spread through his body. He took a deep breath, his hands shaking and then downed the entire vial in one gulp. The liquid was bitter, and he felt a burning sensation in his throat, but he persisted. He closed his eyes and waited for the potion to take effect.

    But nothing happened.

    Soon a pain hit his brain as he held his head, his eyes were getting heavy and his nostrils started bleeding,  one of his hidden guards came and made him drink a healing potion. After some time when Rio felt fine, he wiped the blood stains and looked behind him. He still couldn''t see anyone, but he ignored that and looked towards his table, his eyes ring at his failure.

    _

    Rio throws the ss vials in frustration, shattering it against the wall of his alchemy room. He could feel the anger and frustration welling up inside of him as he red at the scattered pieces of ss and the ruined mixture on the floor. He had failed again, for the fourth time in a row.

    He mmed his hands on the table and let out a scream of frustration. He had followed the recipe exactly as he remembered, but something was still not quite right.

    He had been attempting to create that potion for hours but with no sess he was getting impatient now , he began to pace around the room, trying to clear his head and remember the details of the potion recipe.

    ''What did I miss?''

    ''Is it some kind of fucking plot armor?''

    ''Or does my luck and fate of this world interfering again?''

    He muttered to himself, ming fate and the gods for his failures, maybe they didn''t want him to seed, or maybe it was just his bad luck.

    _

    Taking a deep breath, Rio calms himself down and begins to go over the recipe once more. He carefully measures out the ingredients, making sure everything is exactly as it should be. He went through each step, double checking the measurements and the timing, getting new equipment ready.

    "In the auxiliary chapter, the Author had clearly said that the herbs proportion to everything were based on his favorite date, when he first met his wife, which was 12 February."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But I''ve been adding it that way, for 4 times already but why isn''t it working? Is something different about it? Does the author''s funny logic not work here since it isn''t his book, but a real different world now? If that''s true then what else has changed? Damn it, if only he was with me I would''ve _ _ .

    "Wait , with me. HE wasn''t with me."

    "HE wasn''t even in the same country as me."

    As Rio thought that, he wanted tough at himself for his stupidity. He pped his head as he started chuckling and said -

    "It was such a simple thing, why the hell could I not understand it."

    ''12 February for him shouldn''t be 12/2 like me but 2/12.''

    "Damn China for writing their dates backward."

    "hahaha"

    _

    Rio picks up the pieces of ss and throws them away, sweeping the spilled mixture into a pile. He starts over, his hands moving deftly as he mixes the ingredients together, in the new ratio that he figured out just now.

    This time, everything seems to fall into ce. The mixture started glowing with a warm light. The ingredients reacted perfectly to each other, and the liquid in the sk turned a bright, shimmering gold.

    Rio couldn''t contain his joy as heughed and jumped around his table. Finally, after hours of failed attempts and frustrations, he had created the perfect potion.

    His face lit up with excitement as he carefully decanted the potion into a ss vial. He couldn''t wait to test it out and see what effects it would have.

    As he lifted the vial to his lips, he hesitated for a moment. What if it didn''t work? But then he took a deep breath and drank the potion down in one gulp.

    At first, he felt nothing, but then he began to feel a warm sensation spreading throughout his body. The warmth felt like a gentle wave, washing over him.

    The feeling began in his chest, spreading outwards and upwards, as if his heart was expanding and bing more open. His mind began to clear, the fog of his thoughts lifting and bing more focused. The weight of guilt and doubt that had been weighing on his soul for so long had lifted a little, His mind became calm, and he felt a sense of peace he hadn''t felt ever since he woke up from the darkness.

    Soon the warm sensation spread throughout his whole body. It was as if his insides were being cleansed of all impurities, leaving him feeling lighter and more refreshed than he had been in years.

    With each passing moment, Rio felt more and more energized, as if a new source of vitality had been unlocked within him. His muscles felt stronger, his reflexes sharper, and his senses heightened.

    He opened his eyes, and the world around him seemed different, more vibrant. Colors seemed brighter, sounds clearer, and smells more vivid. The world around him took on a new, almost magical quality, and he felt more connected to everything around him.

    He smiled, feeling a sense of joy he had not felt in a long time. The potion had cleansed his body, mind, and soul, and he felt renewed.

    He walked around the room barefoot, feeling the smoothness of the floor, the texture of the books on the shelves. He felt a sense of connection with everything around him, as if he was part of something greater.

    ''Mana , so this is how it feels.''

    ''Amazing, if only steroids on earth worked this efficiently, there''ll be Superman''s walking around.''

    _

    As he calmed down fully, Rio felt a sense of awe wash over him. He realized that this was a transformative experience, one that had changed him on a fundamental level.

    Though not like an awakened, his body was perfectly pure now. He might not be able to absorb or store mana in his body like them, but he could feel the mana present in the air and it was just the beginning.

    ''Soon, I will have all my answers.'' He clenched his fists as the face of Ria came to his mind and he determined himself to get stronger as soon as possible.

    ##

    A/N - so how did you like this chapter.

    I did a ton of edits to describe the potion making process & it''s effects. please rate it for me.

 Chapter 40 Stealing Heavenly Gifts Cuz Why Not

    ?After Rio finished his potion and properly organised his thoughts, he felt satisfied. Pura Corpus didn''t make him stronger nor did it break limits for his talent, but it had solidified his foundation, making his future journey easy to start, and for Rio that was enough.

    Cause to grow stronger he has a lot of other opportunities waiting for him. 8 years till the plot starts, which simply meant chances which were written in the novel would be just waiting for him to take for 8 years. Though some of them were useless or some would only show up after certain events, but still there was enough stuff for him to take & feel safe.

    _

    Rio looked towards the herbs left and saw there were still enough left to make 3 more potions. He wanted to go out but decided to make one more potion for Amelia. As he thought - Why would you have her face Amelia?

    ''In the novel there weren''t any character arts posted so I have no idea if it''s just a coincidence or something to do with me.''

    ''I''m kinda missing hearing Ria''s voice in my head now.''

    Rio was lost in his thoughts as he made the potion. He didn''t make any mistakes this time. So he decided to make more, not for anyone else, just to give them to Artemis, so she can do whatever she wants.

    ''I''m pretty sure, she already knows about its effects. Considering her guards who''ve been watching me all this time.''

    After making those potions, Rio took one with himself and kept the rest on the table and started walking out, while saying - "You can give them to mother for testing."

    There was no response in return, as the whole point of them being hidden was that so no one could identify them, even if they were standing in front of you. They were few chosen ones who''ve been following ke''s for generations and have learned to be in the shadows. They didn''t need any credit, as loyalty ran in their blood.

    I remember in the novel some of them were used as suicide bombers to st the Royal Pce in bright daylight and put the me on Evil''s Scion. ''That was a nice idea the author used there.''

    "I''m going to my room, call Asher to meet me there." Rio said and walked out, the door closed behind him automatically as the lights went out.

    _

    Rio walked straight and went to his room, he closed the doors and decided to take a bath.

    ''well I don''t see any ck liquid leaking like those cultivation novels but why not''

    He stood in front of the mirror, he wasn''t narcissistic nor did it matter much how he looked, but he wanted to see the effects of the potion firsthand. It''s not everyday you could just eat something and feel renewed/reformed.

    There weren''t many differences that he could see except his skin looked more cleaner & smoother. His height and body was the same but he felt like he lost some fat.

    ''I expected more changes but I guess it''s all internal stuff huhh.''

    The pura corpus was something magical for building a foundation. Now if he awakened, newly awakened him could easily beat someone who went through it before him.

    Plus since his body was purer now, the effects of some other potions & pills he would take would be much better on him, as there were no impurities to obstruct their progress.

    This was the second reason why Rio was determined to make this potion, after all he knew where he could find many gifts left or buried and knew many recipes for potions, and to use them to their full extent he needed pura corpus.

    Since this potion was something so magical you would think it was made for the protagonist. But do you think a protagonist would share something this good with others. Nope, they don''t even share anything with anyone, even their own loved ones, so why would he share this with the whole world.

    Simple, cause he had no choice.

    Leon, our protagonist was the same. He used this potion on himself but never shared it with anyone else. Until he told it to a girl to impress her and she shared it with the whole world. Leon got the full credit for it as she was honest, but he wasn''t satisfied with it. So he acted angry saying she broke his trust, and as you could guess the fiasco soon ended when he got the girl too.

    ''Ukhhh fucking cliche route''

    ''Though I do wonder what would happen now hehehe''

    _<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After getting dressed Rio walked out and took out a paper and pen. He started writing all the chances he could remember, it didn''t matter if they were for some hero or viin or side character, it didn''t matter to him. If he could steal all the heavenly chances then why not. He decided to take everything which were useful for him now and easy to get.

    ''I can take other stuffter on myself.''

    He was busy writing stuff when he heard a knock on the door and heard his voice -

    "Young master, it''s me Asher."

    "Come in" Rio said and watched as Asher came in and bowed after he closed the door.

    "Do you need something, young master?"

    "Wait for me to finish." Rio said as he continued writing and Asher just stood there silently.

    After some time Rio finished writing and passed the paper to Asher.

    Asher was surprised as he continued reading through the list, he saw names of pills and potions that were very high grade, some which were lost in history. When he turned the page he was shocked as he saw about techniques and artifacts that were only known to a few and thought to be only rumors. He even saw some stuff that even he who ran a business for artifacts never heard of it.

    Along with their names he saw locations where he would have to go to find them , Asher didn''t know what to do with all this knowledge.

    Artemis had told him that they were to follow Rio''s order as he needed Alpha''s to get some things, but never had he imagined that what he thought to be some random stuff would turn out to THIS.

    _

    Asher was lost in his thoughts when he heard Rio''s voice - "I need you and your team to go there and get all these items for me."

    Asher was thinking about where Rio even got the news about all this when he heard Rio continuing his words - "I don''t need to tell you about taking only the people whom you can trust and keep the news to select few. The ces written on the second page are secured with some traps and tests, so be extra careful in those areas."

    Rio watched as Asher nodded his head and then continued as he stood up and came in front of him - "And the most important thing, be as discreet as you possibly can, make sure no one knows anything about the ke family. If it''s not possible abandon that item but do not take the risk of exposure. DO YOU UNDERSTAND."

    "Yes, young master." Asher said as he could somewhat understand what would happen if news leaked about this. But he just thought it was because of some rivalry orpetition but Rio was worried only about protagonist and his supporter camp learning this. As most of the stuff he wrote was from their camp.

    Rio also gave Asher names about 2-3 bandit groups and one of the hidden gang locations for local criminals in Damascus , whom Alphas were tasked to kill, they were people who would beter used as face pping tools by Leon to seduce Amelia and somehow Rio hated that.

    "You have one month''s time to finish everything ande back." Rio said and turned around , but then he remembered something and said - "Ohh, and if Amelia is free now, tell someone to prepare some snacks, we''ll have a rest, I''m starved."

    Asher nodded his head and put the list in his storage ring and went out, he needed to prepare his team for this mission.

    ''I wonder if she knows about it.'' Asher thought as he walked towards Artemis''s study room. He needed her permission to fully utilize Alphas as it would take some time for him to go to all these ces ande back. Plus the killings of those people, without Artemis''s approval he couldn''t do that.

    _

    Artemis who was currently talking to her sister, discussing her punishment for spilling her secrets while thinking if she should ask her help to learn Rio''s secrets, but she also didn''t want to invade on her son''s privacy, so she decided to give him a chance to exin everything first and cut the call. But that decision changed as soon as Asher came in and handed her the list.

    ''I should call her again.'' She thought.

    #

    A/N - what are the chances and their effects , you will know ining chapters bit by bit. as I didn''t want to put everything at once and make it boring.

 Chapter 41 Day Of Awakening - Plans & Unknown

    ?Rio groaned as he rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room. He had barely sleptst night, gued by the nightmares. Before he could fully wake up, he felt a sudden ssh of water hit his face. Rio''s eyes shot open and he sat up with a start, staring at Amelia who stood next to his bed with her usual evil but cute grin.

    "You''ve turnedzy, brother. You''re always sleeping now." She said, her voice was sweet and yful.

    Rio stood up and ruffled her hair as he went towards his bathroom. He turned around to see her trying to fix his messy bed, and said - "Wait a little, I will be back soon."

    While Rio took a shower, he couldn''t believe everything that happened with him. It all felt so unreal to him.

    *****''???�

    It''s almost been more than 3 weeks since I woke up in Arcadia. A lot has happened since then, After taking the pura corpus potion, I have also taken some other potions which strengthened my body, I''ve also started some light training to get better control over Rio''s body. My sses for all the useless stuff started a week ago, and now my whole day is busy as hell.

    From morning exercises with some rankers and if possible with Agnus, then after breakfast a ss with Artemis on learning about our territory and normal stuff a heir should know about. After that there are sses of nobles etiquette, a ss for history, one for alchemy and one for monster anatomy.

    In my whole day aside from time for eating and sleeping, I have 2 hours of time for myself, which mostly gets taken over by Amelia''s ying & games.

    The more time I spend with her, the more confused I get. She''s scary for me now. I have started to avoid her a little bit now, cause her every habit and action is making me doubt if she''s Ria, and I''m scared of what will happen to me if it turns out to be just a coincidence.

    _

    Aside from Amelia, I think I''ve gotten a little bit attached with Artemis too, though I can now see that she''s doubting me, and because of that her habit of teasing me had gotten worse. Sometimes she would act just like a teenage bully who would team up with me to tease Amelia and with her to bully me. It''s _ I don''t know, nice I guess.

    I haven''t spent much time with Agnus, since he came back onlyst week. But whatever little it was, it felt nice. He''s a silent type guy, so all our conversations were always on point, exactly opposite of how Artemis & Amelia behave.

    _

    Besides Rio''s family, after a week or so of continuously ying & losing, I can now defeat Reba in her games. She also started learning a little bit more about chess.

    ''Though I don''t like to admit it, but she is different from what I read about her in the novel. Though that may be because she''s still a kid and would show her real personality after growing up.''

    ''Her birthday ising up soon, and that''s when our families will first start the talks about our engagement. I have avoided this topic whenever Artemis started teasing about it, but I don''t know what to do next.''

    ''At one point I want to ruin her cause of what she will do in the future ording to the plot. But if possible, I also want to keep her with me, cause she''s one of the main heroines and will be a big help for me.''

    ''If I leave her alone and ignore herpletely and she joins the protagonist somehow, I feel like one way or another she would stand against me, and I would have to deal with her and the royal family both, which will all be a drag.''

    So she''s in the observation category just as Baron Misha. Potential danger is what I call them. For now I haven''t decided what to do with either of them.

    I have even talked with Rio''s aunt, the queen Athena. She''s just like Artemis but more subtle in her tricks. She even tried to cheat in our games when she saw Reba losing everytime. It was funny seeing Artemis''s reaction when she found out.

    _

    In the past weeks, Asher has finished collecting all the items that I have given him the names of, and since the people I named were all criminals they were silenced too.

    The nightmares I had on my first day are still the same, so I''m avoiding sleeping every other day with the help of some pills Asher brought back. They''re acting as refreshment pills or in earth''s terms more like red bull or coffee.

    I''ve even looked for cigarettes by asking some guards, but to my bad luck they aren''t made here. And somehow some idiot fucker told Artemis about it. Next thing I know I''m having sses all day and Myra is following me the whole day.

    ''I doubt whose shadow she is.''

    _

    I haven''t heard anything about Esme. I have asked Artemis about it, but she just avoids the question, or starts questioning me about why she''s roaming all around the city.

    Myra had brought Erza some days ago. There were some issues when getting her out undetected but she did it just fine. Ezra''s sickness was in the starting phase and with Artemis''s approval she''s getting treatment.

    I had to talk with Agnus exining all about vampire spy thing and what I n to do with Erza. She''s still getting treated but once it''s done, I think I''ll keep her with me for a while.

    ''Erza''s talents might be worse than her sister, but she could act as a nice binding for me to keep Esme chained & loyal.''

    She''s also someone who needs observation, since she was dead before the novel plot started, I have no idea what she''s like or what she''ll do.

    _

    Talking about the novel, it started when the protagonist joined the Zenith Academy at the age of 18. So I have around 8 years till the plot starts .

    But if I want to ignore the plot - I can just join a different academy from the one our protagonist joins - though the benefits of attending no. 1 academy in the world are great but my life is more important.

    Or I could simply join the academy before the plot even begins and get all the stuff I would need to survive.

    In Zenith Academy you can start your admissions from the age of 15-18 .<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    _

    *** The academy doesn''t care about anyone''s age as it focuses on their awakening. And that''s why , after 18 years no admissions are allowed in any of the big academies .

    As 18 years is the limit till someone can awaken their powers. If they don''t - then they just have to live their life as a non-awakened person. They won''t have the support of mana and if they want to get stronger they have to train their body the crude way.

    _

    So if I want I can join at age 15 and when the protagonist Leon joins the academy at the age of 18 , I would have already stolen all chances and would be much stronger than him. Plus by then I''d be ast year student so I can probably avoid almost every academy scenario plotline.

    ''This is a much better idea than me leaving those chances for Leon & joining some other academy which I have little knowledge about.

    ''But there are also some risks involved too. I should think about it more.''

    _

    People who could trouble me or Amelia in the short term have all been dealt with. Now if I want my answers as soon as possible then I should try to get a chance to meet him - the narrator.

    ''If I could convince him to help me somehow, I will have all my answers and maybe then it''ll all be over.''

    But for that I need strength, much more and much sooner. From the novel I know which Goddess would choose Rio during his awakening, and if it''s the same, and I utilize all her powers, it would be enough for me to get stronger faster.

    It''s been a long time since I''ve been preparing for it, now when it is here, I''m getting excited over it. Finally it is time for me to get - my awakening, my system and that Goddess.

    _

    Rio who was excited over his awakening didn''t know that far away from the realm of all existence, there were many who were eagerly waiting for this day too.

    In the ce where Shiva slept for who knows how long after his death, a sweet cheery voice sounded - "Finally, It''s been so long. I thought he''d take even longer. Well now we can meet again. So I''ll forgive you."

    If Shiva heard this voice he''d be shocked to his core for hearing a voice he''s been missing so long in Arcadia.

    _

    In the realm of dreams & darkness, the images of Rio''s daily life were ying nonstop and a beautiful Goddess, covered in a dark gown watched it with relish, as she awaited his rise.

    The chosen son of darkness, as he was called, had arrived once again to fulfill his destiny. She knew that his presence would bring chaos and destruction to the world, and she relished in the anticipation of what was toe.

    Unknown to the Goddess who was lost in her thoughts, the void behind her grew ever more darker, and a melodicugh echoed in the darkness, the Goddess watched dumbfounded as all her mirrors shattered into pieces. She clenched her fists as she saw the darkness getting sucked into a giant hole. In anger she stomped her foot and the space around the whole realm started to crack & copse onto itself.

    _

    In a ruined world filled with darkness, where there was no room for light, which felt void of everything no sound, no color, no nothing - in that godforsaken deste ce, today the nking of chains could be heard. The sound grew louder and louder as it echoed in the emptiness.

    As the chains continued to move, some sparks flew out of them, illuminating the surroundings for a brief moment. A man, no more like a demon was bound in that ce, his features were twisted into an expression of rage and frustration, his eyes zing with a fierce intensity.

    The sparks that had first appeared little began to grow brighter and more intense, as if feeding off the darkness around them.

    A deafening roar soon echoed throughout the realm, and the darkness around him seemed to shudder in response.

    He lifted his hands, revealing sharp ws, and tugged at the chains that bound him, testing their strength.

    The man closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. As he breathed in, he felt the chains around him loosen slightly, and as he breathed out, he felt them tighten again.

    But something was different , the void around him was painted in a bloody hue of red now. The three dark moons in the sky seemed to glow with an ominous red light. The chains that bound him rattled with an unsettling energy, as if they too were affected by the sudden change in the environment.

    The man looked down at his hands and saw that they too were covered in the same red hue. He clenched his fists and felt a surge of power coursing through his veins. The redness seemed to seep into his very being, filling him with a dark energy that he had not felt in a long time.

    With a sinister look on his face, he started roaring, as he announced his arrival to everything, to every being -  "And so it begins"

    "Hahaha hehahaa hahaaha"

    The man''sugh echoed in the darkness, and when the sound of theughter died down, the silence was almost as oppressive as theugh itself. There was a feeling of expectation in the air, as if something was about to happen, but nobody knew what.

    The man red at the red sky & floating moons, as he said to the heavens - "Save him, if you can. For no light of luck shall stop my darkness."

    ##

    A/N -  Any guess who are all these unknown people getting hyped up for our mc.

 Chapter 42 Awakening Part 1 - The Process

    After his shower, Rio wore the suit which was given to him for this ceremony days ago. It was a white color streamlined suit, with golden patterns of nature and all its element printed on the sidelines. When Rio first wore it, it was double his size but it was inscribed with adjustment funtions so it changed into a suit fit for his body soon. He remembered it''s description from what the novel said -

    ***Dress of Ishvar - It''s a uniform type artifact. It could spread the surrounding mana ites into contact with, to its whole surface uniformly. It would''ve been the perfect armor to lessen any attack damage, if it wasn''t for the limitation that it can only absorb and redirect static mana and not attack spells. (The dress of Ishwar symbolizes that everything and everyone is equal in front of a God)

    _

    Artemis found this artifact as reward in one of the instant dungeons she cleared 3 years ago. This was the perfect artifact for the awakening ceremony, as it solved the danger of excess mana gathering around your heart, and your body not being able to handle it. This helped in reducing the number of idents happening during the ceremony.

    Now pair this artifact with a body perfected by pura corpus potion, and you have clear pathways in & out your body for clear mana cirction.

    And since the ceremony was going to be performed in the ke mansion only, there was no need for Rio to be worried about anything.

    _

    There are many ways to go with someone''s awakening, but the main thing is it requires lots of mana. You could have lots of mana stones, ores, crystal or cores to supplement that supply. Or you could just go somece that is highly dense in mana like dungeons , mines or churches where mana gathering arrays are ced.

    Now awakening increases a person''s strength & potential, but still there are many unawakened people on Arcadia, just cause they either can''t afford the cost for a safe awakening ceremony or their bodies just aren''t suitable for mana.

    _

    ***[If you''re wondering if awakening is so good & necessary, why aren''t rulers of Arcadia making it free for the public. Cause just like everything else in the world - mana is a resource, and it is limited and expensive. So why would anyone risk spending something like that when no one is sure if that investment will be sessful or not. Plus the people can never be trusted, the one you helped today might grow strong & kill you in the future for other rewards. Why increase thepetition.

    - Though some kingdoms & churches do have some nned ways that make it cheaper or easier for the general public to awaken. Churches do it to increase faith in their God, while kingdoms do it to increase their army power to fight against monsters & dungeons.]

    _

    Rio walked out and found Myra waiting for him outside his room. She''s been following him for days now, so he wasn''t surprised.

    "Good morning Myra." Rio said.

    Myra nodded her head and said - "You''rete, andzy. I should ask master to increase your training a little bit more."

    Rio who heard her reply couldn''t deny it, as his sleep schedule was really messed up. Sometimes he''d be asleep and won''t wake up till someone pulled him out of his nightmares.

    So he changed the topic - "Where''s Amy?"

    "She''s with master, they''re all waiting for you in the awakening chamber." - Myra said and started following Rio as they walked towards the awakening chamber.

    "You took a long time for the shower, feeling scared are you?" Myra asked in a teasing tone.

    "No, I''m not." Rio replied instantly.

    "You know, it''s normal to be scared, even I was. When I went through my awakening_." Myra was giving out her pep talk but Rio cut her off as he said - "I''m not scared Myra not even a little bit. And your way of awakening, not a good example."

    Myra was silent as she couldn''t refute what he said, she really was reckless in her awakening. "But you should still be careful. When you feel the excess mana, don''t try to force it and let it flow naturally. You should just focus on staying awake & not lose your consciousness. Ohh and it would hurt in the beginning, like really hurt , so don''t be scared and hold on okay. And one more _ . "

    Myra was saying out all her advice when Rio turned to face her and said in a confident tone to reassure her - "I''ll be fine Myra. I''ve taken the potion and I have this uniform, so don''t worry. Nothing will go wrong. I promise."

    When Myra heard his words she didn''t know how to respond, as she really was feeling a little scared, as no matter how prepared they were, the chance of  a failed awakening is always present. Everyone can go through the awakening at any time but if they fail once, then their meridians(veins) would be damaged, and going through an awakening again, would be even more dangerous.

    Plus with all that happened till now about Rio''s curse, Evil Scion''s n and those traitors, everyone had their doubts. That''s why today the security of the ke mansion was on high alert. No one except his parents or their trusted aides was allowed anywhere near awakening chambers.

    As Rio who knew from the plot what is toe & that there''ll be no danger during his awakening, wasn''t feeling nervous. He actually felt excited at the thought of that power. He could finally start some of his ns and start getting stronger.

    _

    Rio and Myra arrived outside a room, where several guards were standing outside securing a parameter. Myra showed her token while Rio started walking ahead, when the doors opened he could see a teleportation circle made on the ground. It was made with runic carvings and some light blue symbols and designs were lighting up the round corners. It was used to teleport people from here to the location of awakening chambers, as they were made a bit away from the mansion in case there were any idents.

    _

    Rio stood at the center of circle trying to see if he could understand anything, but all he could see were weird lines & symbols nothing else, so he gave up.

    Soon Myra joined him while the guards activated the circle, while Rio blinked his eyes once they were already on the other side. He could now see Artemis standing in front of him, while Amelia was standing behind her.

    Rio who was busy thinking how quickly that circle worked and looking around at the new surroundints when Artemis came forward and hugged him, as she whispered - "I''ll be there too okay, so don''t worry about anything."

    Rio just nodded his head and hugged her back. No matter how many times he did this, it always felt felt loving. He had stopped feeling embarrassed around her now.

    Amelia too came and pinched Rio''s hand as she said - "Be strong myzy brother, or next year I will beat you."

    Rio smiled and pped her head as he hugged her and said - "You''re getting even more stupid little Amy, if you think you can beat me."

    They all started walking towards the room where the ceremony will take ce, when they reached the mana room, Rio saw Agnus waiting there outside.

    Agnus looked at Rio and they both just nodded their head at each other.

    "It''s his awakening, can''t you say something positive to him." Artemisined as she shook her head, watching this father-son interaction.

    Hearing his wife, Agnus smiled and said - "He''s my son, I believe in his talent. Plus he already knows everything."

    "Hmph" Artemis decided to ignore the obvious as she had been exining to Rio everything every day this week.

    Since everything else was prepared and they were just waiting for Rio, they decided to move in and start. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The mana room was a white-marble room with runguage all over the borders of the walls. Even though Rio didn''t know what the runes did, he could guess they were made for mana gathering and were probably some of the best ones since he was here.

    Rio walked ahead towards the middle of the room, where arge circle was drawn, everyone else except him stood on the side, while Artemis made a barrier which surrounded Amelia, who didn''t listen and started crying when they decided to keep her out.

    Rio looked at everyone , and he could see the love and care they had for him, aside from Agnus, everyone present in the room was nervous.

    ''He has too much trust in his genes I say.'' Rio thought as he looked at Agnus watching over his guards as they activated the rune formation.

    Rio ook a deep breath and nodded his head. As he was closing his eyes the lines about awakening came ringing in his brain as if to warm him of what''s about toe -

    *** [During awakening ceremony, as the mana continues to flow and surge, the individual''s body may start to transform. Bones may shift and elongate, muscles may grow and change, and the senses may be heightened or altered. These changes can also cause pain and difort, but are necessary for the individual to fully harness the power of mana.

    This mana can feel like a burning sensation or intense pressure.

    The duration of the awakening process varies from person to person, depending on the individual''s strength and ability to endure pain or how much his body is adapt to the flow of mana.

    The process can also be dangerous if the individual''s body is unable to handle the surging power of mana, potentially leading to any injury to his meridians or even making him a cripple for life.]

    _

    As Rio opened his eyes again, he could feel the mana in the air increasing at a constant speed. He could feel the heaviness in the air, and soon enough he could feel his body getting warmer.

    Rio could feel the mana moving through his suit spreading it all over his body. He winced a little as he felt pain when mana started gathering around his heart, and every part of his body started getting transformed.

    His body began to change, his bones cracking as his muscles grew and his skin reddened.

    The pain was intense, almost unbearable, but Rio gritted his teeth and refused to give in. He knew that this was just the beginning as changing your body was just the first step.

    Suddenly, a surge of power coursed through his brain, causing him to cry out in pain.

    ''It''s here.''

    A pain that would break anyone''s mind apart, that''s what author called it in the novel, when world system merges with anyone during their awakening. Almost 80% of people who failed their awakening would fail at this point, and Rio who was going through that pain, was thinking - ''Was this it?''

    The pain only surprised him at first cause it caught him offguard, but when that surprise was over he didn''t even feel a thing. Maybe like a little tingle in his brain but that''s about it.

    So either this system is going easy on me, or I''m just too used to headaches.

    When one survives the merging too, thenes the final part. It is now that someone can awaken their element.

    *** [The elemental awakeningsts till you can feel your element and turn the mana in your body into that element. This is where most newbies hurt themselves & everyone around them. As no one who felt mana for the first time, could just transform the excess mana and turn it into any element. There''s a risk of losing control , and all the mana in the surrounding would react and go berserk. In this condition if you''re lucky you''ll get off easy by not learning any element but if you''re not, then you hurt your newly built mana veins and that ruins your future development.

    - If you''re sessful in awakening your element then you would have an easier time learning that element, but if you give up, it just means you will have to try and learn every element avable just to see which one suits you the most. It would waste lots of time, and even then your proficiency won''t be as good as people who learned it in their awakening.]

    _

    Rio''s element in the novel was darkness, one of the 7 pure elements of Arcadia. And his proficiency in it was what attracted the attention of that Goddess, and she gave him her blessing.

    *** [It is only after awakening and merging with the world system that Gods can interact with anyone. So if any God is interested in you, they''d give you their blessing if they want. Getting a blessing just after your awakening is super rare, and everyone who received it, is hailed as a genius.]

    - And this was the part for what Rio was most excited about. Goddess of darkness, she was the one who gave Rio her blessing in the novel and it was something that made Rio stronger than his peers.

    ''I don''t know how Rio controlled darkness in the novel, as it was said toe to him naturally. But for me   darkness is something I''ve lived in, Is there someone else alive who can say they''ve seen the REAL darkness better than me.''

    Rio closed his eyes as he imagined the scene of just after his death, floating in the darkness, the void, abyss whatever it was - that was the definition of darkness for him.

    He felt the mana within his body leaving and moving out. He had no problem moving the mana as with pura corpus potion the pathways were without any impurity to hinder their way.

    But instead of feeling weak for losing his mana, he felt nothing. This was where Dress of Ishvar yed another role. It continuously absorbed the surrounding mana and supplied him back, so he continued the same process again.

    Rio looked upwards. He could see the clear bright sky through the ceiling ss just before everything around him started getting covered in darkness. As everything turned dark, only one thought came to his mind -

    ''Where are you?''

    ##

    INFO - Difference between teleportation circle & teleportation gates

    ---- Teleportation circles are used for short distance transportation, while teleportation gates are used for long distances.

    - The difference between both is that circles are made of runenguage, and can be drawn by anyone and they''ll stay there and as long as continuous mana is supplied.  Teleportation gates are portals which can only be opened with the help of some spacial artifacts or with some advanced spacial mages.

    - Portals are made two ways, while a circle drawn can only send people one way to the destination whose coordinations are set. They better know their way back, or they noting back homie.

    - Circles can be ruined & tempered with someone who has enough knowledge about runes, but gates are secured as long as that artifact is working fine, or that spacial mage didn''t go batshit crazy. ??

    ##

    A/N ~  Next chapter Awakening part 2 -  his Goddess.

    I''LL BE ON THE DISCORD.

 Chapter 43 Awakening Part 2 - His Goddess

    As Rio waited for her arrival, he continued the process to control his element. Even with the support of Dress of Ishvar, soon his body started feeling the fatigue of losing mana. The amount of mana that he spent controlling the darkness increased with time but the supply of that artifact was constant.

    His hands had darkened now and his eyes were shrouded in the form of the void that he imagined in his mind.

    The entire mana room was shrouded in the ck fog that started to spread everywhere as it consumed the lightning in the room and runes. The magic circles and formations too started flickering in their blue light before dying down and being broken.

    Despite the darkness, somehow Rio was able to see everything, he could see the golden barrier that kept his family safe, and his element which was thriving and consuming everything else in the room was getting pushed back.

    He looked upwards waiting for her arrival but that didn''t happen, there was no sign of her.

    ''Is this still not enough for you?''

    He thought as he looked towards his hands, not willing to lose the one advantage he had from the knowledge of the novel, he decided to do one thing which could further increase his elemental awakening.

    He tried to take everyst bit of mana that he could from his surroundings and the Dress of Ishvar, he focused hard to gather it all on his hands. his nose started bleeding and the headaches starteding back, he felt like he would lose consciousness any moment now.

    But biting his tongue till it started bleeding, he focused on his mana, he watched as the ck fog around his fingers turned into sharp nails, and with that he stabbed his chest.

    Blood started dripping from his chest, but ignoring the pain, he continued to focus on learning the one thing Rio from the novel was able to do when fighting against the assassins from the Church of Cassandra.

    ''Rio did it when he was losing the fight, and now I''ll show you that I''m better than him.'' he thought as he started using the mana infused in his body.

    *** The suction of mana from his heart, as every awakened had some mana infused in their blood & bones, they could use it in case of emergency.  This was an imitation of how aura users could use their blood fusion or life force.

    -This was a technique that was found by Adventurer Association, who saw it being used by some monsters in a tower stampede. Theyter experimented with it, and released it. Though harmful to your body, it can indeed save your life in an emergency situation.

    _

    Though he never did it, nor did he have any control over his mana like those rankers, but with the help of pura corpus potion he could feel the mana much better than others his age.

    As he tried to fuse more mana from his heart into his element, the darkness started taking a red hue looking like his blood mixed in. But before he could see what it was, suddenly he felt a pressure that pushed him on his knees.

    The pressure felt so intense that when he tried to just slightly move his hand, he could feel his bones getting crushed. A painful scream left his mouth as the hand that was still stuck on his chest fell down broken by that insurmountable weight.

    Despite the pain Rio had a smile on his face as he had finally done it. He got her attention.

    He heard the cracking of the ss ceiling, soon it broke and all pieces of shards started falling all around him. The ck fog which was trapped by the runic ss finally found a way out and spread all around the ce.

    The sun which was high in the sky started getting dimmer as a new darkness started covering all the sky, the day had turned into a night all around the mountain, where mana chambers were built on.

    ''She''s here.''

    Rio thought as he looked at the changing sky, and felt the pressure on him gone. He looked upwards and he could see the fog turning into a figure of a woman shrouded in darkness, the fog acted as a veil covering her, hiding her from this worldly ne.

    Her aura exuded power, mystery, and darkness, making it hard to look away from her. All her features shrouded in a veil of shadows, with only her eyes visible. Her piercing red eyes were the only thing visible in the darkness.

    Rio soon felt his eyes burning in pain, as if just looking at her figure was a crime and he wasn''t worthy. He looked down as he felt, that if he kept doing that, he really would go blind.

    As the pain in his eyes subsided, he noticed the wounds on his chest weren''t bleeding anymore, as a veil of darkness had covered it. He could see darkness seeping into his open wounds and sealing it.

    ''Took you long enough.''

    ''Goddess of darkness & dreams, Nyx.''

    ''The one who gave Rio her blessing andter chose him as her avatar.''

    ''The one who stood with him against the world, and the one who died by Amelia''s hands in a failed attempt to save him.''

    ''She was thest person who stood by his side, and when she died, Rio had truly be alone. I should try to think of a way to change her ending too. She is far too important alive.'' Rio thought. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Ohh Goddess who resides over the void. One of the Primordials, ruler of darkness and dreams, of shadows and secrets. Thank you for granting this mortal with your presence."

    "I, who had awakened your element, your power, beseech you to Choose me as your follower, Bless me, my great Goddess Nyx."

    "And I shall bring your darkness to the ones who follow the light. I shall let the world know the glory of night."

    Rio praised the shadowy figure as he bowed down, and asked for her gift of power.

    His gaze was fixed on the ground when he felt something on his broken hand, he looked at it but instead of that getting healed like his chest, he felt as if someone was scratching his hand with a hot knife, he looked at his wrist and saw a symbol of a dark ?????? on his hand. It was her sign, her symbol, and a mark of her blessing.

    Rio could feel the power coursing through his body, making him feel stronger than ever before. He looked ahead and saw Nyx''s shadowy figure fading away in the smoke. The sky outside started changing colors again, as the darkness started going away.

    Rio kept his head bowed for some time, after that he tried to feel his own mana, he could sense it. The blessing of Nyx had increased his elemental awakening to a whole new level. He could feel the darkness, the connection he had with it. It felt like it had be a part of him now.

    _

    Far away from the ce where Rio''s awakening was happening, in the empire of believers Neisah, an old man dressed in a golden white coat looked towards the sun, which was still hidden by some dark skies, and opened his book as he said-

    "Everything is just as it should be, my Lord. Thest dark spawn has been born. We are ready for the birth of the Golden Sun. Hail the originator, the true God of Arcadia."

    _

    As Rio who finished his awakening, was finally ready to get up and walk over to his parents who had a shocked expression, he found himself floating in the air, screamed as he got pulled into the sky.

    He squirmed trying to free himself from whatever held him in ce, when he heard a sweet yful voice - "Why are you trying so hard to run away?"

    Rio was confused as in the original novel, nothing like this happened, Nyx''s arrival was already a big shock for the world, as she was one of the strongest Goddesses, but this didn''t even happen in the novel.

    "Who are you? What do you want?" Rio shouted, trying to break free.

    He was startled and terrified, not knowing what was happening or who was speaking to him. He looked around frantically, trying to see who had taken him, but he couldn''t see anything in the darkness. Fear and confusion gripped him as he struggled to understand what was going on.

    He took a deep breath and focused his thoughts on the power of Nyx''s blessing. He could feel the darkness within him pulsing, waiting to be unleashed. But before he could do that he heard that same voice again, this time sounding deep menacing and sinister.

    - "Over the darkness,es chaos,   my dear mortal."

    "You haven''t forgotten that, have you?"

    Rio''s surprised look turned into horror as he heard those words and watched as the surroundings which were still somewhat covered in darkness, started morphing into a bloody red smoke. The sun, the dark fog, the sky everything was taken over by the red.

    Chaos erupted all around him as the ground shook and building crumbled. Screams and roars filled the air, and Rio could see shadowy figures moving in the distance, their forms twisted and dark. In just a few moments, the empty mountain was now turned into a bloody war zone.

    It was then that Rio finally realised who this new voice belonged to, and he couldn''t help but curse it in his head , as he thought

    ''She''s not supposed to be here.''

    ##

    Question - Any idea who is the new Goddess?

    Who is that old guy?

    why & how did Amelia kill Nyx?

    _

    A/N ~ I''ll post an extra chapter about his parents & everyone else''s reaction to this whole awakening scenarioter - I didn''t want to mumble that together and ruin the flow our mc has.

 Chapter 44 Goddess Who Defines Mother Nature

    A/N - TODAY WAS MOTHER''S DAY, so yeah - a node to the God mother.

    _

    When Rio heard her lines he realised who it belonged to. Someone who was not supposed to appear this early in the story. Someone whose interest in him could change all his ns and the story as a whole.

    The Goddess of death and destruction, of creation andpassion. The one whose love had brought peace to the universe, and in whose anger even the cosmos crumbled.

    The peak Of Gods from Hindu mythology, the one who was known as primordial, eternal, benevolent, and malevolent. The one who thrives in chaos, and watches over everything

    The embodiment of creation and destruction in one entity. The one who defined mother nature in its purest form - ????????.

    _

    *** After the emergence when all worlds merged into Arcadia, conflicts started, not only between monsters and different races, but between different Gods of different worlds too.

    - No one who had been praised as a superior being in their world, wanted to be lesser than anyone else in Arcadia, and so began the War of Gods.

    -  No one knows the details, but it was only after the world''s will interfered and forbade them from fighting against each other and destroying the world, that the war was stopped.

    - But even the world''s will couldn''t control all those raging Gods, so the concept of blessing and choosing avatar came. Now instead of fighting between themselves, and resulting in the destruction of everything, fights between their followers and champions started.

    - This is why one should always be aware of everything before being an avatar, as then other Gods and their chosen ones would being after you. With the world system in ce everyone on Arcadia was bound by this rule.

    - With this, everyone got what they wanted - the Gods could still fight indirectly for their superiority, the world''s will had gotten peace and made the world''s system, and the people got the powers to fight monsters.

    _

    In the original book Goddess Kali was supposed to stand against Rio, and also helped in his downfall.

    It started with her little rivalry against Nyx, who was known as the real ruler of darkness in Greek mythology.

    Both of these Goddesses had simr powers and origins. But before their battle to see which one of them was truly superior could end, and they could decide a winner, the war stopped.

    So when Goddess Kali learned about Nyx choosing an avatar, she too decided to find one. Fate who was always ready to push Rio further on his evil path, made a twisted joke, and Kali ended up choosing Amelia as her avatar.

    At the beginning it was just friendlypetition or a healthy rivalry between the 2 greater beings. But with time, Rio''s descent into viiny caused a greater rift in their newfound friendship.

    And at the end when Rio finally decided to take up arms against even the Gods, Kali had finally given up on trying to save him.

    While Nyx saw no problem in supporting Rio, for Kali the lines he crossed were considered evil. And as the Goddess known for being the right and punisher of evil, she decided to stop him for good.

    _

    ''And you can guess anyone''s ending, when someone as overpowered as her bes your enemy.''

    ''But why is she here?''

    ''She''s not supposed to learn about me, till I be Nyx''s avatar.''

    Rio''s thoughts started racing in his brain as all the plotline of Goddess Kali came into her brain. He couldn''t figure out what it was that caused her to focus on him so early.

    He was especially careful not to change anything that was rted to Gods. This was the reason he only killed Noah and not the protagonist himself. As Leon got one God watching over him always.

    He also didn''t interfere in the mines where the ???????????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????????? - ''?????????? ???? ?? ??????''?? ????????'' was supposed to start. As he didn''t want to take a risk of unwanted attention.

    ''What the hell changed?''

    The uncertainty of not knowing was eating him up as he continued thinking about his every decision since the moment he arrived in this world. But he still couldn''t figure it out.

    _

    It was then that Rio heard her voice again - "Are you thinking who I am?"

    As soon as her gentle voice came, all the chaos in the surrounding calmed down like it was never there. The scene that looked like a blood rained warzone changed into a peaceful snowy mountain.

    He could see a silhouette of a woman walking towards him from the top. No she wasn''t walking, HE was getting pulled towards her.

    It was then he realised even as the environment changed so much around him, he couldn''t feel his body.

    ''An illusion maybe'' Rio thought as he was still slowly floating towards the mountain peak.

    _

    Despite his obvious worries, a part of him was also stuck with awe and wonder as he thought of seeing goddess Kali.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''I never believed in Gods even when I was on earth. The only time I prayed to them would be when my parents or Ria forced me.''

    ''After her death the only time I went to temples would be when I needed toin and vent out my frustrations.''

    ''I med Gods and my luck, but everyone does that, right.'' Rio thought as he remembered his time on Earth.

    _

    But even if he was termed an atheist, the thought of seeing someone whom he had only watched posters or statues in temples, the Goddess whom billions of people prayed to daily, filled him with some unknown emotions.

    ''she was here, in front of him.''

    ''Well not here per se, as the world system separates the ne of existence, but still _ ''

    ''How many of her devotees would kill to get a chance to see her, to hear her voice.''

    ''But fuck, WHY is she here.'' Rio thought again as he pushed all those distracting thoughts away. He was feeling so many emotions and so many questions that his brain couldn''t even sort them all out.

    ''Wait, does she know about me?''

    ''Is she the same from my Earth.''

    ''Is that why she''s here''

    Rio was lost in her thoughts as he heard her voice again, this time sounding much closer and calmer - "Your thoughts are running quite fast, boy."

    Rio looked ahead and he could see her. A silhouette of her, sitting atop her lion in her gentle form. She radiated a sense of calm and serenity that belied her fierce reputation. Just one look at her was enough to make Rio forget all about his worries and let go of them.

    The figure was imposing and majestic, showing an aura of power and grace.

    The snowy fog made it difficult to see her clearly, but he could make out a blurry image. Her eyes were closed, as if lost in meditation. Her long ck hair flowed down her back like a river of darkness. Her red clothing was adorned with intricate patterns and golden symbols that seemed to shine in the snow. It looked as if she had plucked the stars and used them for decorations.

    The lion on which she sat seemed to be a reflection of her strength. It was unlike any lion he had ever seen in any pictures or in TV''s , with thick mane and golden furs, eyes which were gentle yet focused as if it could look through someone''s soul, with its powerful muscles and sharp ws that seemed to rip the ce apart when it touched the ground. Rio couldn''t help but feel a sense of respect as he looked at the goddess and her mount together.

    Despite Goddess Kali''s gentle appearance as Goddess Gauri, Rio could sense the immense power emanating from her. Rio''s mind was filled with wonder as he continued to stare at the silhouette of Kali, unable to take his eyes off of her.

    For a moment, he felt as though time had stopped, and all that existed was him and the goddess before him. He could feel himself being in the presence of something truly divine, something that transcended his understanding of the world to a new different level.

    _

    Since Shiva never believed in Gods since his childhood, his father had forced him to read all the mythological books he could get to enlighten him.

    Though it never really changed his opinions but only solidified his atheist beliefs. In Shiva''s eyes either Gods only did what anyone else in those situations would''ve done, or in other scenarios they were just winners and got praised for their victory.

    Plus the fact they were all stories which changed its meanings and portrayals every new generation. So no one even knew if they were true.

    _

    But since he still read all those stories, he knew enough about the Goddess in front of him to respect her, for she was a force of nature, and angering her would result in his instant death. So without thinking anything else he fell to his knees and kept his head down.

    "This lowly mortal greets the Eternal Goddess. Ohh Trikaldarshi Devi (All-seeing Goddess), My life has found its meaning seeing your arrival. This follower has been enlightened. Your presence has brought _ ."

    As Rio looked at her, his mind stopped working with all this development, so he started bbering whatever words of praise came to his mind. He could feel it was embarrassing but he couldn''t stop himself, but his prayers stopped, when the surroundings changed again.

    Everything was back to being a warzone, he looked around but her figure disappeared from the mountain. Next second she appeared in front of him, as he heard a voice-

    "Stop with the lies, kid."

    "I hate it when my children lie to me."

    In that moment, Rio got the biggest scare of both his lives, he saw her gentle form of Gauri changing into her other avatar of KALI, the one where her smooth skin started turned into a deep shade of dark blue, one where her silver pearls ne turned into a gand made of skulls around her neck. Her gentle face and motherly aura was reced with a fearsome and intimidating presence. Her hair which were silently flowing in the wind till now, were covered in blood and whipped around her like a raging storm. Her eyes were glowing in an intense red light, that made Rio feel as though he was looking directly into the very heart of the sun.

    Rio''s eyes were wide open in shock and fear as he wondered if he did anything wrong. He could feel the ground shake beneath his feet, or maybe it was his body that was shaking.

    He saw four hands growing out of her shoulders and each of them was holding a different weapon, while one of them held a severed head of the hell Asura(demon).

    When Rio saw a hand in which she held a macheteing towards him, he screamed on top of his lungs , the loudest he could, and lost his consciousness.

    _

    A/N - Tried to describe her both forms a little, please tell me it was good. ??

    And before you start hating me - I will exin what happened at the ending here, in the next chapters very soon.

 Chapter 45 No System For Our MC

    When Rio came back to his senses, he found himself floating in the darkness. The peaceful feeling and surroundings had calmed his nerves somewhat but even after all this time passed his heart was still beating faster every time the figure of Kali appeared in his head. He could feel Goosebumps on his skin with just the thought of it.

    ''Fuck, just because this world setting was overall a little peaceful, I forgot how ridiculously dangerous anything can be here.''

    ''I thought if I avoided everything from the plot I''d be fine, but just one look from her was enough to scare me to death.''

    ''These Gods and their battle would end me, if I''m caught up in it.'' Rio thought as he looked around, while wiping his sweat and trying to calm his breathing and shaking hands.

    ''Fuck their rivalry andpetition, why was she even there.''

    ''Did Nyx bber something''

    ''No, it couldn''t be her, it should be them.''

    ''I should have just ignored everything and fucking leave.''

    ''Damn my luck and their powers.''

    The questions about everything starteding back, Rio could think somewhat clear now so he could guess about how Kali came to know about him so early.

    ''It was probably because of those 3 sisters, Gauri have them on her back and call.''

    ''But even then why was she so angry, not like I did anything wrong. I mean my prayers were old, but they''re cliched words.''

    ''Or does she know everything about my past now. Is that why she was angry.''

    ''Even then why was she in her battle form.''

    As Rio remembered thest moment before he lost consciousness, the hand that wasing towards his neck with a fucking bloodied machete in it, Rio''s body shuddered as  his hands touched his neck. It took a moment for him to calm down, and only one thought was left in his brain-

    ''I should ignore everything that has anything to do with the plot now.''

    ''Fuck their treasures and techniques, if stealing them puts me in these guys cross hairs, then I better stay at my home.''

    ''ke''s have everything, I don''t need to worry, even if I don''t drag heaven''s stuff, I should still be able to survive.''

    ''And where the fuck was Nyx, can''t she see I was nearly dying there. Damn her, I should let her die like in the plot.''

    ''Damn my brain is gone, now''

    [Well it was just an illusion] Rio heard a voice.

    "Then the fuck was my system doing."

    It was only after Rio said that, he realised that the voice didn''t belong to Nashi like he thought. But someone else.

    "Who are you?" Rio asked as he turned around but beside the darkness he couldn''t see anything.

    ''Another illusion, fuck is that system doing.'' Rio thought and cursed the world system.

    ***As it was the system''s job to protect the user, so Gods couldn''t interfere or meddle with the weak one''s mind, and turn them into their followers to increase their faith power. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Don''t tell me I don''t even get a system, since I''m not from Arcadia.''

    As that thought came his mind started thinking about all the possible bad situations that could happen and he won''t even have any protection.

    ''I should have known when I didn''t feel any pain during the merging process, it was cause that shit didn''t even merge.The world system connects with a soul, and since mine wasn''t from this world. Fuckkkk. ''

    "No, I can''t give up like this, let''s try calling it."

    "Status"

    .

    .

    .

    Rio called for the system and waited for a few seconds but nothing happened. He closed his eyes andy down in the darkness. The world system should''ve responded but it didn''t, and not having it would mean, his mind was without any protection against the Gods.

    ''Nyx might hold on for a little while, but who knows what she''ll do after she learns about it. ''

    ''Forget someone as overpowered as Nyx, any one of them Gods could juste and use me like a puppet, and I would have no chance to fight back.''

    Rio felt like giving up, it was a smooth journey till now so he forgot about all theplications Arcadia has. And without the protection of the world system there was no way he could survive in it.

    ***The world system wasn''t just used for showing your stats or mastery in skills, those were just extra additions. It''s main job was to protect any awakener''s mind from directly being influenced by any god, and help their weak bodies to adapt for Godly blessings. No one''s body could handle the power andws those Gods have learned, so the world system acted as a dam to stop the flood. Without it if anyone received a power too great and their bodies would turn into particles and merge into the world.

    - The world system increased the mental protection so no God could control their avatar and take over them. This was what happened in the second phase of emergence.

    _

    Rio was feeling lost, the awakening that he wasted so much time preparing for had failed, the hopes and ns that he had were all crushed, all because he overlooked the simplest thing that was so obvious, HE didn''t belong here.

    He was so lost in his thoughts that he even forgot about the voice that he heard a little while ago. The only thing that was ying in his head were the lines about the ending nned for himself and Amelia.

    He held no special love for his own new life, he had started caring a little about Artemis, Myra and Agnus, but the thought of failing Ria again was what haunted him the most.

    "I miss you Ria." Rio said out loud as he remembered thest time when he heard her voice, the one where she wasn''t ming him but being caring for him. It was when he was dying back on earth. Though she may have been an illusion or a ghost, but even then he had started missing that too.

    It was then that he heard a voice, the voice that he so longed to hear in Arcadia -

    [DING] [TING] [TIDING]

    [FINALLY , FOUND YOU. ]

    [DID YOU MISS ME??? ]

    ##

    A/N - short chapter today, as I nned to release 2 for tomorrow where real shit starts and it won''t be fun to stop their talk midway.

 Chapter 46 Awakening Part 3 - His System

    [DING] [TING] [TIDING]

    [FINALLY , FOUND YOU. ]

    [DID YOU MISS ME??? ]

    Rio stood up with a shock as he looked around frantically for the source of the voice, but still couldn''t find anything.

    [Hey, stop looking around like an idiot]

    [And answer my question, did you miss me?]

    Rio heard the voice again, same voice as her, the yful insults, the teasing tone - he was all too familiar with it. There were only very few people who would talk to him like that, and this voice belonged to someone he loved the most.

    "R _ Ria" Despite his doubtful expression a smile came to his face, at the thought of seeing her again.

    ''Is it her ghost again or another illusion.'' He thought as he started walking in the darkness faster hoping to see her again. It has been nearly a month in Arcadia and who knows how long in the darkness, that he hasn''t seen her, and as always she was here for him when he was feeling lost again. His heart felt warm with that thought.

    "Ria" He shouted as he still couldn''t see her.

    [Sigh, why''re you calling her name now.]

    [And can you please stop fooling around, I''m in your head]

    Rio''s steps came to a halt as he heard her voice, he was so happy to hear her voice again that he couldn''t even focus from where it came from.

    "What?" Rio said as his face turned serious, his voice sounding much colder than before as one possibility came to his mind, that it was all someone''s illusion, that she wasn''t real and someone was just ying tricks with his brain.

    The memories of a scene that happened during one of his therapy sessions back on Earth came to his mind and the results it led to. Let''s not talk about the therapist and his conditions after trying to use hypnosis on him to get rid of his trauma.  That was why Shiva hated the therapy and never went there again.

    [Can you stop with your depressing thoughts, It''s ruining our reunion.] - Her voice sounded again in his head.

    "What, sorry, I didn''t mean to Ri_." As he heard her voice which sounded a little mad, almost instinctively he replied with an apology until he realised about the illusion again and stopped.

    ''Is it Kali, is this her way to say that she knows about my past.''  Rio''s fist clenched as he remembered his prior illusion of Goddess and thought this was her doing too. It made perfect sense in his mind as without the protection of the world system his brain was open for anyone to control and she was the only God near him during his awakening.

    ''If it''s her then _ '' Rio''s anger was rising as the thought of someone using Ria''s memory to y tricks with him, was the worst thing to do. Fuck Gods and everyone else, she was off limits , for everyone.

    His thoughts about anger were going haywire when he heard the voice again - [I''m not an illusion dummy, I only came because you called.]

    "What, WHO ARE YOU?" Rio asked as he felt confused hearing her words.

    [I''m your system. Didn''t you call for me just now.]

    [And then you didn''t even answer my question when I came.]

    Hearing the same tone as her, but then calling herself a system confused Rio. As no matter how capable the world system was,it wasn''t capable of conversation, but here it was. Someone or something using the same voice as Ria iming to be his system. He would''ve doubted the voice but as soon as it finished speaking a blue screen came in his view, it had the same viewing panel as the world system of Arcadia.

    [ Loading data . . .

    Wee Awakener

    Status

    Name - Rio ke / Shiva Kumar

    Age - 10 / 30

    World - ???

    Title - ???

    Rank - Mortal  --

    Stats??-

    Skills??-<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Blessings ??1

    ?Q?u?e?s?t?s -

    ?S?h?o?p - ?? 4

    ?I?n?v?e?n?t?o?r?y - ]

    [So do you believe me now] the voice sounded again excited.

    "The world system doesn''t talk." Rio said as he started to calm down a little, the anger from before was there, but the doubts and possibility of the unknown got the better of him after he saw the transparent panel, so he decided to ask the voice.

    [Ohh that''s cause we aren''t from the world called Arcadia, are we.]

    [That''s why I''m different]

    "Why are you talking to me in Ria''s voice?" Rio asked the question that bugged him the most, he could ept the unknown and everything, but the fact that this system was talking to him in Ria''s voice was still questionable.

    [Ohh that''s because you wished for it.]

    "Me, I didn''t even know about you moments ago." Rio asked as he couldn''t believe what that voice said.

    [Not now, I was actually going to merge while you were in the darkness, but you got pulled out before it was supposed to happen.]

    [While you were getting out, thest thing you asked for was to hear this girl''s voice, so now that I''m here, as a sign of goodwill and my greatness, I learned it.]

    The system''s boastful words were cut short as Rio''s cold voice reverberated in the darkness- "Change it."

    [Did I get something wrong, I''m pretty sure I copied her perfectly though] the system was confused as it only followed what its host wished for.

    The system had watched all of Shiva''s memories while he was in the darkness, but it still couldn''t understand why its host was now angry after hearing the voice he wished for in the darkness. *** It was because in the darkness even when Shiva went through all his memories, he had felt at peace and no regrets were haunting him after his death. But since he merged with Rio and started living in Arcadia and got to experience everything again in his visions and nightmares, all that pain and regrets came back.

    _

    "Change your voice, I won''t ask it again." Rio said again, Though it felt nice to him to hear Ria''s voice in his head again, but knowing she wasn''t here, and it was just some system using her voice still couldn''t sit well with his consciousness.

    He had no problem with seeing her ghost or talking to that illusion, as he couldn''t control it, but now knowing the system, he wasn''t willing to let it have her voice and y with his emotions, it felt like cheating. It was like asking someone to cosy as her and act like her just so he couldn''t remember her and rece her with someone else. So he asked his newly awakened system to change her voice.

    [Fine]

    [Loading. . .

    Loading. . .

    Fuuhh, seriously you should learn to be calm a little. Your habits are really out of control these days.

    You were so much calmer in the darkness]

    The system spoke after changing her voice and way of speaking to another feminine voice, if before it''s voice and personality was sweet, yful and teasing , then now it had changed into a gentle, calm and a little mature tone.

    The system wanted to ask for its host''s opinion but before it could do that, it felt that something was wrong with its host, and it made the system doubt if it had made another mistake somehow.

    (What did I do now, it was only the 2nd voice he wished to hear. Don''t tell me I have to change it again.)

    The system thought as it could now feel the different raging emotions going through in Rio''s head and when it saw the tightly clenched fists & his eyes turning red in anger, its premonitions came true.

    (Fuck) was thest thought it could have before the system heard it''s host''s cold voice dripped in anger again.

    ##

    A/N - So how''d you like this chapter --/10.

    Any thoughts about his system & what kind it is + what''re those 4 items in his shop ? ??

    Whose voice did the system use now, which made our mc even more mad?

 Chapter 47 Talk With System -1

    ''Queency, just what I needed to increase my nightmates.'' Rio thought as he massaged his temple.

    "I will only say it once, change it this instant."  Rio said as he took a deep breath to calm down, he really had enough of this sad trip down his memoryne daily nowadays. If somehow his system always talked in the voice of people whom he failed or the ones who failed him, he better not have it or would just put it on mute mode or something.

    [Fine, then tell me yourself what you want. And you only get one chance so you better be smart about it.] System spoke without any stop, even it had enough of it''s host.

    It only chose the voices he wanted to hear, it hasn''t even given it''s own introduction yet and this idiot host is alreadyining to him, so it decided to just ask him before deciding it himself likest time.

    It could only change itself 3 times and it already wasted 2 chances because of this stupid host who doesn''t even know what he wants.

    "Fine, choose Ali then, I miss his idiotic jabs to ease my mind a little anyway." Rio said as the face of that idiot friend came to his brain.

    Hearing his host''s words system had a look of surprise as it never thought that it''s host would like to hear a male''s voice in his head all the time. That too the audacity of him to ask it to change into a man''s voice. Can''t he guess that I like a girl''s voice seeing I chose those 2 from all his memories. So it decided to specify it''s preference -

    [No, I will only choose a girl''s voice]

    [Man are creepy]

    Rio who was already imagining if having Ali''s voice in his head is a good idea, was stumped after hearing his system''s words.

    ''What is wrong with this system. Isn''t it some AI like in those novels , and man are not creepy''

    ''I mean some are, but there''s no need to rub it in on the first meeting''

    "Then choose anyone else from my memories I don''t care." Rio said as he lost interest in chatting again.

    [Loading . . .

    "Ohh don''t you dare choose Aarvi''s voice." Rio said in a hurry as he remembered about her.

    ''She''s for Ali, not for me.''

    The system choked on it''s thoughts a little, as it really had shortlisted Aarvi''s personality for future uses.

    (I wanted to make my own different personalitiester with every update, but I already wasted 2 of my chances, sigh whatever, I''ll let it slide since he''s new) The system thought and praised himself for being the generous and started the search again.

    [Loading data

    [Loading

    [ . . .

    "What''s taking so long, you picked Queency''s voice in a heartbeat." Rio asked as he watched the big searching data symbols on his status screen.

    [I have certain standards, so I had to dig a little deeper to find one which suits me]

    [It was myst chance, I don''t want to stuck with a voice I don''t like]

    The system''s voice sounded after Rio finished his question.

    ''So it picked the energetic cheery type voice, which I hate''

    ''Is it my luck or is this system useless''

    [I''m not useless, it was just hard to find a nice girl in your memories]

    ''Just wow, now I''m stuck with this''

    "So who''s voice did you pick." Rio asked as he couldn''t recognize it.

    [You don''t even remember it]

    "I don''t know maybe it''s from some tv shows or movies maybe. I did watch a lot of them." Rio replied to his system''s voice as even when he focused he couldn''t remember if he ever heard this voice. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    (That''s weird) System thought but decided to ignore his host''s answer thinking it was due to his cracked brain where it was stuck in all this time.

    [If you don''t remember then leave it.]

    [Now let me introduce myself again]

    [I am the great _ ]

    System''s great intro was cut short as Rio questioned something that he couldn''t focus before because of Ria''s voice. - "You said you were with me from the darkness, then why didn''t you juste out when I woke up or when I called for it on the first day."

    (This bas_ hmm hmmm) System felt angry as it''s introduction was cut short again. But as always it decided to be generous on this newbie host and exin itself.

    [Well that was because we aren''t from this world and I had to wait till your awakening, so Arcadia''s world system doesn''t detect us.]

    "So you''re scared of the world system,are you." Rio said in an amusing tone, though it didn''t matter to him if his system had nothing, he could make it all work as long as no Gods could influence his behavior. But since this system was the one who made him go through his memories of Queency that he ignored till now, he decided to tease it for fun.

    [I''m not scared of anybody. Where do you think world system is now. If not for me taking it over during the merging process, you would''ve been found out and probably killed.] System said in her defense as its host doubted it''s capabilities. It took pride in her powers to defeat the system made by this world''s will in its own world. How many people can do that. Even those so called Gods are bound by the world system but it had defeated it.

    (Come on, praise me. I know I''m awesome right.) The system thought as it saw Rio lost in thoughts. But sadly it''s dream of could nevere true as Riopletely ignored it''s existence and barraged her with all the questions he could think of.-

    "You said I got pulled into Arcadia earlier than I was supposed to. What does that mean? Was meing to this world fixed? Who sent me here? What do they want? Why me? Who are you an AI, or something else? Ohh and ording to you when was I supposed toe to Arcadia and what changed it?"

    System heard all these questions and didn''t know how to respond.

    (Don''t all hosts feel happy after getting a system & praises it. Why do I feel like I''m getting investigated instead.)

    (And what does he mean AI, I''m clearly me. Can''t he feel my emotions as I can feel his. And I would''ve told him all about the great me, if he hadn''t interrupted me .)

    "Hey, you there. Or you went offline again." System which was lost in its thoughts was pulled out, just to be insulted again.

    (Offline and me _ deep breaths deep breaths)

    (Don''t be angry, he''s a newbie)

    (He doesn''t know anything, ignore his ignorance.)

    (Once he knows what I can do, he will be begging for my favor, yeah that''s right. I''m not on his level so I should just guide him, isn''t that why he sent me here.)

    [Fine, l will answer all your questions, but don''t interrupt me again, you foolish host.]

    ''Damn is this a virus. Will she grow and take over my body.'' Rio thought and as expected system''s angry voice sounded in his brain [I can read all your thoughts, so you can stop with your experiments now and listen to my exnations.]

    As the system said Rio could feel something different with himself if he started focusing hard, so he just wanted to see if the said system could also read all his thoughts and emotions too. But this interruption only made it angry and Rio decided to continue itter.

    [So to answer your questions yes, your arrival was fixed in Arcadia. Though your timing of arrival has been altered because you died early.]

    [I can''t tell you who is responsible for your reincarnation or why they chose you for it, since we both aren''t ready for the truth yet.]

    [As for me, I''m a highly intelligent being sent by an even higher being, to guide you and help you on your journey. If you want to learn more do your quests and upgrade the system.]

    [As for when you were supposed toe here, it was when the plot starts, so you''re like 8 years early]

    Hearing all her exnations Rio got some of the answers or atleast a hint behind his reincarnation but still it gave birth to even more mysteries and questions. Why was he chosen toe to Arcadia? Who is the being system spoke of? Is it the author of the novel? They were going to reincarnate me after plot started into Rio''s body, who would already be known as a Devil by then, do they want me to end up just like in the book. And what does it mean he came early because he died - it was not his fault that he died. That guy Kevin killed him.

    [I know what you''re thinking, so let me exin how it was all your fault that you died.]

    [Because you broke the rule 101 of living in any world _ ]

    ##

    A/N - I need a name for this system Tell me if you have any idea. Should be short & easy to speak. I got some from my friends, so you can also see if you like any one of these - Aaina,Gia,Amara,Iva,Grace or Hannah.]

 Chapter 48 Talk With System - 2

    [I know what you''re thinking, so let me exin how it was all your fault that you died.]

    [Because you broke the rule 101 of living in any world, you messed with the protagonist.] The system spoke and before Rio could ask anything else, it confirmed his doubts-

    [Yes, Kevin was the protagonist. Your role on earth was just a nobody in the train scene. But instead of acting like how a normal man should act and get angry over it, which could lead to a fight where protagonist needed to show off his capabilities, you kept silent.]

    [After ruining his one plot, when heavens tried to fix it by adding another fight scene, you somehow jumped into the scene of that kidnapping and ruined his plot to save the school beauty too.]

    [If that wasn''t enough you also went nuts and picked a fight with him for no reason. So as a punishment heavens decided to alter the plot''s direction and it led to your untimely death.]

    Hearing the system''s exnation of the reasons behind his death didn''t surprise him much now. He could already guess Kevin being a protagonist with his high luck and stupid cliche plots, but what surprised him were other details. So he decided to ask the only one who could answer it for him - "I only acted like how I usually would that day. The fight with those goons and Kevin had their reasons. Those goons were kidnapping a girl and my mood was off. Fighting with Kevin was only because he was wearing that bracelet. Both incident were because of stuff that happened with me years ago, it wasn''t sudden so shouldn''t heavens already know about it. And why would I be in that plot. I was a nobody."

    [You were only part of his story because the plot needed a reason to pit Ali against Kevin. At first it was decided to happen because of Aarvi''s interest in Kevin after he saved that school beauty near herpany, but due to your alterations it was changed with your death which would start Ali''s enmity.]

    [As for your unique behavior, heavens aren''t omnipotent. They only care about their chosen ones, what happens in the life of nobody''s like you, has no interest to them. And that is why they never expected some extra character to jump in between and ruin 3 plots continuously]

    [Do you get it now?] System asked as even it felt that heaven''s were too stupid to do this.

    "So my death will lead to Aarvi meeting Kevin and Ali turning into a viin." Rio asked as he thought about the consequences of his anger. His only friend would lose his love, and his life to that lucky bastard. All because he was too high in his stress to notice anything wrong and acted on a whim.

    [It''s not your fault. Even if you did nothing, the plot would still progress smoothly and Ali would still be forced to stand against Kevin. It was his fate to be a stepping stone for him. Your death only fueled his hatred much early.] The system tried to rify thingsthings when it noticed it''s host acting weird again.

    Rio tried to calm down, he did feel anger towards Kevin and the heavens who made the plot, he felt worried thinking what''ll happen to Ali and Aarvi next. He could guess their ending but there was nothing he could do about it now. So he asked the other important questions -

    "So I wasn''t supposed to die like this. And since I died early I got sent into the Arcadia early." Rio asked as he remembered that ording to system he was supposed to wake up in Arcadia when the plot started.

    [No. Even if you died early you would''ve just been stuck in the darkness till the fixed time, but something went wrong again and you got pulled out much faster.]

    "The curse, that wasn''t mentioned in the novel. Is that the reason."

    [I don''t know the answer to that question. I was also in the darkness with you remember.]

    [If you update the system, I might be able to answer all your questions.]

    "And why should I do that. I don''t even know anything about you."

    [You should know that without me you will be turned into a puppet for any random God and you could do nothing. Plus as I said my only purpose is to guide you, if you don''t want my help, I simply would not help.]

    (Not like I want to work overtime.)

    [You''re living in the world where differents copse together and Gods exist, if you update the system enough, who knows you might be able to go back to Earth]

    "Just tell me one thing, is the author of the novel the one who sent me here and you to help me." Rio asked as he still couldn''t believe he was inside a novel.

    [Yes and no, it''s aplicated question. You need answers, so do some work to get them.] System said simply as it was obvious, it did not have permissions to tell him anything.

    "So what does he want me to do? Help protagonist or kill him."

    [Nothing, he wants nothing from you.] Systemughed a little thinking what this puny mortal could do for that great being. It was a joke in system''s eyes. But ignoring this system continued on with its demand -

    [ I, who''s your system on the other hand, wants you to ruin the heaven''s n anyway you see fit.]

    [Any changes you make in the story will result in corresponding points depending on their effects on the plot, and you can use those points for whatever you want.]

    [Since you''ve read so many novels, you already know everything about basic system stuff. So I won''t waste my time exining the full details.]

    [As you can see the status screen of mine is simr to that of world system, it is just so no one could spot any difference, even if they look at it closely.]

    [Other than the things world system can do and show, you get a shop funtion. Where you can buy and sell whatever you want, with the set price and no bargains of course.]

    [Inventory is the same as you think, it can store all non-living stuff.]

    [If you want to earn some extra points and rewards, you can choose to finish some quests which the system will issue on certain situations. It is entirely your decision to do them or not, I cannot force or influence you in anyway. If you reject the quests you would not be punished, but you would lose your rewards.]

    [But sadly for you all these funtions can only be essed once the plot starts. So you should wait till then.] System tried to exin all it''s funtions in the simplest terms to save time.

    Status

    Name - Rio ke / Shiva Kumar

    Age - 10 / 30

    World - ???

    Title - ???

    Rank - Mortal  --

    Stats??-

    Skills??-

    Blessings ??1

    ?Q?u?e?s?t?s -

    ?S?h?o?p - ?? 4

    ?I?n?v?e?n?t?o?r?y - ]

    "But what''re these , I can already see some items on the shop icon on my status." Rio asked as he saw the 4 written near shop icon.

    [Those are items which have nothing to do with the plot, and more to do with you. They''re issued by the being who sent me here, while we were in the darkness.]

    [You should check them before you ask anything more.]

    _

    Status

    ~Shop~

    Item 1 . Healing potion

    Item 2 ???

    Item 3 ???

    Item 4 ???

    _

    Rio looked at the shop menu and was surprised to see only one item, shining on the screen. While other 3 items were grayed out and only question marks were visible in their ce.

    "What the, hey you broken or what? Where are the items?" So he asked the system.

    [The other items will be unlocked when you meet the certain requirements to open them.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rio looked at the healing potion, and clicked on it. It gave him the ful description of the item.

    Item 1 - Healing Potion

    - The rushed soul merging had damaged your mind. This will result in future nightmares, loss of controls over any of your persona and their emotions. With time the damage would affect your brain more and more, and stops you from focusing on one thing. This potion heals youpletely, it frees you from all your troubles and calms your soul.

    - So be a good little boy and drink this potion, only for 5000 points.

    Rio read everything and it was fine till he saw thest line. "Why you asking points as soon as you came. Can''t you give it to me like some starter package gift."

    [Free gifts don''t drop from the sky my greedy host. And the system is already giving you free protection against the Gods isn''t that enough.]

    [As for these items, they are issued by the being, as a bonus gift to you, you can never find them anywhere else. It is up to you if you want to buy them or not.]

    "So how many points do I have now. I already messed up quite some stories of the plot."

    [Calcting. . .

    [Checking world data. . .

    [Host has solved the Evil Scion''s members hiding in Damascus - 300 points]

    [Host has finished the Beric Zastan plotline - 1000 points]

    [Host has altered the fate of Esme Scarlett - 300 points

    [Host has altered the fate of Erza Scarlett - 100 points]

    [Host has altered the fate of Chiron the beehive Berserker - 500 points.]

    [Host has created the potion of pura corpus, stealing the chance heaven designed for protagonist - 1500 points]

    [Host has stolen several gifts prepared for the chosen ones by heaven''s - 1000 points]

    [Host has altered the fate of Asher Vridal - 200 points]

    [Total points - 4900 points]

    "What, I did all that and I only get this much."

    "Why is Esme''s points so little, and what about me stealing his sword technique, or about getting Kali''s attention didn''t that change the plotline."

    [Need I remind you host that no matter what you do before the plot starts, you will only get minimum points, cause heavens has a chance of altering the plot and getting the same results back. Just like they did on Earth.]

    [To exin the point distribution, the more irreversible effect it has on plot and important people in it, the more points you get]

    [That''s why you got more points for finishing aplete plot line for Beric Zastan, as he is dead now and even heavens won''t be able to bring him back.]

    [For Esme you only changed her plot direction for a little while, since her plot could still salvage itself and return to the way of heavens, you got no rewards.]

    [You would''ve gotten Goddess Kali''s attention before the plot began anyways, so it hasn''t changed anything rted in the plot.]

    [As for moonshadow sword technique, you have only stolen the key to enter the location, if you think that can stop a protagonist then you''re solely mistaken]

    "What, what about Chiron. He was the one who saved the protagonist on that journey, without him Leon would''ve died."

    [You''re forgetting that Chiron''s only role was to give protagonist the key andter used as a sacrificial pawn. The protagonist can still get the key and get the other person who was there to sacrifice themselves. You haven''t changed anything until that happens.]

    [This is why I said that the points you get before plot starts are nothing,pared to what you get when plot starts or you finish the quests]

    [Had you did all these things once the plot began you would''ve been rolling in the rich amounts of points, but sadly it''s all a waste]

    "So even after all this time and preparation I didn''t even get enough points to buy your potion to heal myself." Rio was contemting that if system had awaken early he would''ve done things differently. But he didn''t regret much as it was still much better than system''s wishes of him not changing anything and start acting when he''s already known as a devil.

    While Rio was busy thinking his future ns, system got some warnings on its screen & nearly got a fake heart attack.  [WARNING] [WARNING]

    [Major changes detected in plot... ]

    (The fuck _)

    [Checking world data. . .

    [Host has finished the plotline for The Seer Noah Winston

    [Host has altered the fate of himself

    [Host has altered the fate of Esme Scarlett

    [Host has altered the fate of Baron Misha Winston

    [Host''s actions has brought major changes in heaven''s n

    [Host has gotten the attention of Goddess Cassandra

    [Host has gotten the attention of Goddess Skuld of the Norns

    [Host has gotten the attention of Goddess Gauri

    [Host has  gotten the attention of...

    [Host has  gotten the attention of ...

    [...

    [...

    [...

    [Host has  gotten the attention of God Apollo

    [Calcting rewards

    [Calcting. . .

    [TOTAL POINTS -

    [Goddess Nyxughs at the actions of her follower]

    (The fuck is wrong with this host)

    . ##

    A/N - thanks for reading. ????

 Chapter 49 Death Of Noah

    Some hours ago,

    In the lively and bustling market, the air was filled with the scent of various herbs and flowers, the sounds of merchants calling out their wares. The colorful stalls lined the streets, showcasing a variety of goods, from vibrant fabrics and intricate jewelry to aromatic food and exotic trinkets.

    The crowd cheering for the group of people performing the magic tricks and ying circus. Among the hustle and bustle, a young boy, full of energy and excitement, darted through the crowd, his eyes wide with wonder.

    The boy eagerly explored the market, hisughter mingling with the ambient chatter. He eagerly sampled the mouthwatering street food, savoring the vors that danced on his tongue. His small hands clutched tightly onto a bag of freshly roasted nuts as he weaved through the maze of people, his gaze darting from one intriguing shop to another.

    He was Noah Winston, Son of Baron Misha Winston, who ruled over one fourth of the Harendale city. His father managed the very market he yed in. Gale market was like his second home. All the shop and stall owners feared his dad and thus no one ever bothered him or his friends. But the naive kid thought that fear was respect and loved his father.

    Noah continued to y around with his friends, theirughter echoing through the bustling market square. They yed games of tag, chasing each other through the narrow alleyways and ducking beneath the colorful awnings of the shops, their carefree spirits lifted the atmosphere, creating a sense of joy and camaraderie.

    As the sun began to set, casting a warm glow over the market, Noah finally felt tired, his boundless energy beginning to wane. He bid farewell to his friends, his steps gradually slowing as he made his way back home, unaware of the watching eyes that followed his every movemove from the very beginning.

    _

    Noah''s life had been simple from his childhood, after his mother''s death while giving birth to him, his father married another girl and she gave birth to twins. Though Noah wasn''t her son, she had never let him feel that loss and acted as her real mother. His friends too liked him and were very eager to y with him daily.

    But despite all this there was one person who never liked him his big sister Kathrine Winston. She med him for her mother''s death and always called him the bad child. She would always bully him and all this only increased after her awakening ceremony. She had awakened the powerful ice ability and since then her mood had be even more colder. That''s why Noah likes to stay away from her.

    Today too after seeing her sister who stayed at home to help their father, he secretly went out to y with his friends, just to be away from her.

    ''I really hope I don''t see her today.''

    Noah prayed as he made his way towards his house, outside the market.

    Unbeknownst to him, hidden within the shadows of the market, someone watched his every move with a calcting gaze. Their eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity as they observed the his innocent joy, plotting something sinister in the depths of their mind. With each step the child took, this mysterious figure lurked, their presence shrouded in darkness, their intentions unclear.

    _

    As Esme observed Noah, her heart wavered with conflicting emotions. The worry for her sister''s life hung heavy on her shoulders, intertwined with the guilt of the impending act she was about tomit. Watching Noah''s carefreeughter and innocent y, a pang of doubt began to creep into her mind.

    Though she had killed many before, but killing an innocent child was first for her, she remembered the first time she killed someone, it was during their training in the n when she was forced to kill some humans and drink their blood to properly awaken her bloodline abilities.

    She recalled the words of Rio, themand to end Noah''s existence echoed in her ears, along with a chilling reminder of the stakes at hand if she failed. She was sure that if anything happened to Rio, she would never see her sister again, Artemis would simply not allow it.

    In her mind''s eye, she pictured her sister''s face, and Rio''s face as the fear and desperation etched into her very being. The thought of losing her, of failing to save him, fueled a flicker of determination within Esme''s core. She reminded herself of the desperate circumstances that had brought her to this precipice. She clenched her fists, steeling her heart against the doubts that threatened to consume her.

    In that fleeting moment, Esme''s resolve hardened, her eyes reflecting the determination that burned within her. Though her heart ached, she steeled herself against the torrent of emotions, drawing strength from the image of her sister''s face and the whispered promises of a brighter future.

    _

    She had been watching Noah daily for the past week looking for a chance, and today was the perfect opportunity for her. She had already wasted enough time doing nothing and roaming around the whole city so no one could find any trace of her.

    As the distance between them narrowed, Esme''s grip tightened around the knife she held, her fingers tracing the cold metal with a mix of anticipation and trepidation.

    She first created a barrier around the empty street so no one could see what was happening inside, and then with a swift motion she lunged at Noah, her knife ready to pierce his heart and end his suffering in one attack, but sadly for her, fate had given Noah a helping hand as the body armor he wore just to be safe from his big sister''s beating shone in golden light and stopped the attack, but the force behind that was still enough to send Noah crashing into a wall.

    Esme was surprised as she saw no armor like this in the past week when she used different methods to examine Noah, but instead of feeling flustered she tried to attack him again. She moved like a wind as she appeared in front of Noah and tried to sh his neck, but the armor stopped it too. She saw the ne around his neck glowing in red and knew it was probably some kind of warning sign that she triggered, which meant soon more people woulde here.

    Despite looking at the terrified look on Noah''s face, Esme didn''t stop herself and continue attacking at the same ce.

    Though Noah was afraid he remembered his father''s words, and tried to act strong. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You little thief, how dare you attack me."

    " I''m your young master Noah Winston."

    "My family would kill you."

    Ignoring the idiots rambling Esme continued with her attacks, each attack of her was lightning fast and precise, so much so that Noah''s chest was caved in now, though his armor stopped all attacks but the force behind it still pushed half of Noah''s body into the wall.

    Esme''s attack speed increased as she felt some peopleing towards her way. She remembered Rio''s words about how she would only get one chance to kill him, and if she failed what would be the conciquences. With a renewed vigor she used half of her mana as she coated her knife and plunged it into the armor, with a cracking sound the armor started to shatter around Noah heart.

    Along with that armor, the naivety of Noah''s young mind that he''ll be fine shattered in pieces too, giving way to an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and despair. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with the traces of snot as his cries for help echoed through the deste ce.

    "Wh_ who are you?

    "Please don''t kill me?

    "Someone Father please??

    " Mommy save me.

    ''''''Poonhh ?? ?? He shit himself as he begged his attacker for mercy-- "Please don''t kill me, I''m just a kid."

    With each sob that escaped his trembling lips, Noah''s heartache and desperation became painfully evident. When Esme grabbed his cor and pulled him out of the wall, Noah desperately scanned the surroundings with his tear filled eyes, hoping to see some righteous hero who came to save him like in those stories, but he couldn''t see anything.

    As he saw Esme pulling out another knife from her storage ring and coating it in mana, he begged her for onest time -"Please, I''m _ ."

    His cries were ignored as Esme plunged the knife deep into his chest, the pain that Noah felt was too much for his little brain to handle, that he couldn''t even scream properly.

    He missed his family, his parents, he missed his bullying sister - but no one came to save him. He cursed his luck, his fate and his family for not protecting him.

    He stared at his attacker''s face covered in a ck mask that only showed his big red eyes.

    ''Devil'' Noah didn''t know why, but that word came to his mind as he looked into those eyes. He could see his death in them and lost all hope.

    But fate had other ns for him, It was then that he felt a sudden surge of energy entering his body. His wounds started to close itself slowly and he could feel somewhat better than before.

    When he opened his eyes a little bit he could see his attacker fighting with someone, his body had gone numb from the pain but in his heart a hope rekindled that maybe he could survive if held on to his life.

    But that hope was soon lost too as he felt his body floating in the air, and blood leaking out from his chest again. Noah watched as his blood started moving in air towards his attacker.

    He could feel his body shriveling up as he looked at his attacker who had ck wingsing out of his back now.

    "De_ _ _ vil" He could only mutter this as he looked into the shining red eyes of his attacker, before he closed his eyes for forever.

    ##

    [If anyone''s wondering why Esme who was an A rank couldn''t even kill an 8 year old easily. so for that there are certain reasons - first she wanted to give Noah a quick & painless death. --she wanted to avoid the use of mana, as then there might be some traces left behind which could be used to track her, with some artifacts. --- physical attacks were stopped by the armor. ---- She wanted to avoid using her bloodline abilities which are her main attacks.

    ----- Plus I hate a guy named Noah & wanted to murder him badly.]

 Chapter 50 World While Hes Lost In Awakening

    While Rio was going through his awakening his parents who were watching by the sidelines had worried expressions on their face. Myra was now biting her lower lip in nervousness as the ceremony continued. As Artemis looked at the pain Rio would''ve gone through in the transformation phase, she clenched her fists and cursed the Gods for making awakening like this. Agnus was worried too, but tried not to show his expressions as he tried to keep himself busy by double checking every mana and security formations.

    Amelia who was still in the barrier was put to sleep by Artemis, as she didn''t want her to see or hear her brother in pain. Artemis only brought Amelia, thinking Rio might like it. But since he was now busy in his awakening, there was no need to scare Amelia.

    ***[The awakening is known to be painful & scary, so usually in churches & every other ce where ceremony is held, no one who hadn''t gone through awakening is allowed anywhere near. Just so they don''t feel scared or get traumatized enough to not even go through their awakening & back out. Plus the fear, hesitation, doubt these emotions can affect your state of mind and you might fail during the merging process.]

    Soon the transformation process ended and merging process began, as with a scream Rio held his head and bent down. Everyone present knew how painful it would be, but there was nothing anyone could do to help him. So they could just pray for his sess, but even after some time passed there was no reaction from Rio after that.

    ''Did he fail?''

    This one thought came into everyone''s brain, but their question was answered when his eyes shone in blue color. It onlysted for a moment and anyone would miss it if they didn''t look for it, but everyone present in the room had their full attention on Rio so much so that they even forgot to blink, as they watched his eyes, it put their minds at ease. This was the sign of sessful merging.

    "How?" Artemis asked as she was confused about how fast it ended. While Myra still couldn''t get out of the shock that he didn''t fail, and passed the merging so easily. Agnus just smiled watching that and puffed out his chest, feeling proud over his son and happy for his sessful awakening.

    Though they were all confused about why the merging, which was known as the most painful step in awakening was done,  without Rio going through any painful experience, no oneined about it.

    Or maybe they didn''t have the time to do so, as seconds after that Rio started channeling his mana from his body and started his elemental awakening. It didn''t take long for them to get out of their stupor when they saw ck fog starting to materialize in the room and starting to spread everywhere.

    Instead of getting worried or scared when that pitch ck darkness started to consume everything and collided against the sefety barrier, his parents had a smile on their face.

    "My son''s a genius."

    Artemis dered with a happy smile that would put everyone else to shame and make them lose their focus, but bad for her   that there was someone who had grown immune to her charms over the years. Agnus scoffed at her words and said - "You''re forgetting the blood of ke''s runs in his veins, he is born to be strong."

    Artemis''s smile stiffened hearing that and she red at her husband, who looked even more proud than before. How that was even possible at this point was something she couldn''t understand.

    Despite the odd behavior a smile was ever present on their faces as they let go of all their worries. They were just waiting for Rio''s mana to run out, so they could go ahead and congratte him, when something unexpected happened, Rio started gathering all his mana and stabbed himself.

    "What happened?"

    "Is that the mana suction method."

    It took a moment for them to understand what happened and what Rio wanted to do.

    "Did he lose control." (Agnus)

    "I''m going to stop him." (Artemis)

    ''What are you doing Rio.'' Myra thought, as the one who followed him almost everyday forst couple of weeks, she knew there was something different about him ever since he woke up from the curse, Artemis even inspected his body herself once when he was asleep, but they didn''t find anything abnormal and let him be.

    But never had anyone expected something like this to happen.

    Artemis and Agnus went out of the barrier to help Rio, while Myra stayed there to protect Amelia. They only took two steps out when they were hit by a new wave of darkness.

    "Who even taught him that." (Agnus said while trying to cut off all the surrounding mana)

    "He must have learnt it by himself." Artemis replied.

    Despite the rampaging mana, when Artemis was just about to reach Rio, she was pushed back by a sudden shift in pressure.

    Artemis wanted to try and find Rio, but it felt like she couldn''t even take one step from her ce.

    They both watched as the ceiling broke and the entire surroundings were drowned in the new darkness, so much so that now even after coating their eyes in mana they weren''t able to see anything.

    Agnus was about to re up his mana to try and find Rio when he heard his voice and decided to stop.

    "Ohh Goddess who resides over the void. One of the Primordials, ruler of darkness and dreams, of shadows and secrets. Thank you for granting this mortal with your presence."

    Though his voice sounded weak and barely above a whisper, both his parents were able to hear it clearly. And it shocked them to their core. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Getting a blessing from any God just after their awakening was already rare, but getting one from someone who was on the level of being called a primordial was unheard of.

    Yes, they were still worried about Rio''s safety, but instead of acting out and possibly angering a strong Goddess, they chose to wait till it was done. And then they could ask Rio or check it themselves.

    **[A/N - If you''re wondering why they didn''t doubt how Rio knew about some God''s arrival or which Goddess it was, It''s cause before some Godse to bless you, world system would inform the awakener of their attention to him and their arrival.]

    It didn''t take long when they felt the pressure on them gone and they could move again. With a gust of wind Agnus was already in front of Rio, who was now lying on the floor unconscious.

    Artemis too came and checked for any wounds on Rio in a hurry, her face was ashen pale and eyes moist, her hands were shaking as she removed the bloodied dress of ishwar from his upper body to see the wounds. The tears she were holding back till now, finally fell down as she saw no sign of any wounds and hugged him tight.

    "He''s fine Artemis. He just lost consciousness due to mana loss." Agnus said as he ced his hands on her shoulder and continued - "Lets bring him back home first." Artemis nodded her head in response and walked back to Amelia as Agnus picked Rio up and started moving out.

    ???? ?????????? ??????????????

    It''s been 6 hours since Rio has been sleeping and hasn''t woken up. Artemis was still standing near his bed just like that day of his curse, but she wasn''t worried today.

    They''ve thoroughly examined Rio''s body and found nothing wrong. There was nothing wrong with his awakening and he had be quite stronger than before, his body was just exhausted from exerting total mana and needed some rest.

    She had heard from Myra about how Rio would constantly have nightmares in his sleep past few days, but now looking at his face, she found it peaceful. He had a calmness on his face, like he felt at peace now. And it calmed her too.

    ''What''re you hiding Rio.''

    Artemis thought, as she held a letter about the report she got from one of her special guards Cami, who was tasked with following Esme''s every move.

    Though she had promised Rio to let her go free, but Artemis was someone who never liked loose ends, how could she let some spy who''s been working in their house for so many years, go free with all that knowledge and secrets - just cause her 10 year old son asked her to.

    No, she was far too smart to make idiotic newbie mistakes like these.

    #[A/N - What do u think about this. I just added this detail atst minute, thinking this action of her feels more real, than her just letting any traitor go which is idiotic.]

    Maybe she would have given in to Rio''s requests before, but after his curse incident she didn''t trust anyone. Especially someone who''s been lying to everyone for so many years.

    Thus Artemis had sent her best tracker to follow Esme''s every move & kill her on instant, if she was to be found sharing any secrets of ke family.

    Though Artemis had used Truth Orb on Esme, but she still liked to be careful. And the reports she got on first week proved her points true. ''She''s keeping an eye on Baron Misha''s house.''

    By the second report it turned into ''She''s scouting everyone in his family'' . Artemis was too familiar with this pattern, after all she was the one who taught it to every shadow guard.

    Artemis burned the letter in her hand as she finished reading it.

    ''The vampire attacked & killed Baron Misha''s kid. Baron fought with her, but survived due to his security teams who intervened. She had to run away by using her bloodline ability. She''s flying back using her shadow''s crest now. Should I cut her wings, or let her rest in the nest.''

    ***[????????????''?? ??????????, is a mark given to every shadow guard in ke Family, which after getting supply of mana - shows a map with locations of some safe houses called "????????????''?? ????????" These are mainly prepared for them to be used in case of emergency or some special missions. They''re hidden from public''s eye, and equipped with all kinds of necessary stuff.]

    "Just how many secrets are you hiding Rio, and why?"

    Artemis looked at Rio''s sleeping face which had a mild smile on it now, with gentle hands she carefully fixed his tousled hair, she leaned forward and gave his forehead a tender kiss. It was a gesture of pure love, a silent sign that she would always be there to protect and support him - no matter what secrets and emotions he held within.

    Rio unaware of her presence and his little blip of lies kept sleeping peacefully, but he still smiled unknowingly for that warmth and lovelove he felt some moments ago.

    ..

    A/N - Everytime MC sleeps, shit happens in outside world.

    How''d u like Artemis as a character --/10.

 Chapter 51 Talk With System - 3

    [Host has finished the plotline of The Seer Noah Winston _

    ''So Esme did it huhh. Guess his plot armor wasn''t as invincible as I thought it would be.'' Rio thought as he looked at the notification of Noah''s death again.

    [Loading

    [Checking world data

    [ . . .

    "How long will it take." Rio said as he waited curiously to see how many points he''ll get for messing up the world''s plot to that level.

    Killing Noah doesn''t just stop the prophecy of his future from happening, but also changes all the events that he takes part inter cause of this chain start.

    His death had undoubtedly changed the fate of his friends, his family, his goddess and those stupid followers of hers. Without Noah''s future visions the events and dangers protagonist survived would all be affected too.

    Noah was someone who lived till the ending mid section of the novel, like around 700 something chapters. Now imagine if some character like that, someone who had so much importance and screen time got erased from existence before even prologue begin , then everything''s fucked.

    ''This is what you get for fucking me up, and it''s just the beginning.'' - He looked upwards, though he couldn''t see anything except darkness, he said while thinking about the heavens.

    Though he still doubted the system and it''s exnations, but having someone to me and vent is always good than keeping his stress bottled up.

    [Wait a little, don''t you know how much you messed up] The system replied to his prior question.

    Rio decided to have some small talk with system as he noticed that system could still talk while counting process was going on. "Tell me system, did you have any other hosts before me."

    [Of course, I''m a professional.] System''s voice sounded just as proud as before.

    "So you just left them hanging and came to me." Rio asked as he smiled, imagining about some guy who woke up in the morning and lost his system.

    [So you''re worried if I will leave you one day, is that it.] System asked back in a serious voice , but then changed it into a teasing tone - (smilingly)

    [Be careful SK or I might think you''re getting attached]

    "You''re cheesy" Rio just shook his head and ignored this nonsense, but his carefree reactions were what surprised the system, it had used the exact words of someone from his past, someone whose personality it had chose and yet, there was no sign of any emotions or fluctuations on its host.

    (So he really doesn''t remember her huhh)

    (Interesting)

    System thought as it remembered the words of the one who sent her here to help him.

    "DON''T LOSE YOURSELF IN HIS MIND"

    (Is this what he meant _ )

    System''s inner thoughts were disturbed as Rio continued his question again - "Come on exin already. What happened to them"

    [Ohh that, they died.] System replied back in its usual voice.

    "Hahaha so you just wait till they die and move on huhh." Rio asked as his smile grew more.

    [Funny, but everybody dies host. No one lives forever. Not even my hosts.] System replied in a monotonous tone as if it was obvious.

    "Well , Maybe"

    ''You''re lucky" Rio said thinking how easy it must be for an AI system to exist without any feelings. It could just keep moving and choosing different hosts every time it loses one, while humans can never truly rece the ones they loved.

    [I feel emotions too host, and losing someone is never easy]

    ''Your emotions says otherwise'' Rio thought as he noticed no difference in system''s voice while saying that, but decided to leave it.

    "Yeah, I know." Rio replied as he remembered about Ria''s death and about his family on Earth again.

    "Hey system tell me, is it true that I can go back to earth one day."

    [Yes, host.]

    "Then can someone from earthe to Arcadia." Rio asked the most important question that was bugging him from his first day in Arcadia. Ria and Amelia - was it possible.

    [I know what you''re thinking host, and I cannot answer that for you.]

    [Maybe once the plot starts, but until then I really can''t, I''m sorry.]

    "It''s okay. I guess."

    "By the way, did you finish counting those points." Rio decided to change the topic as system''s answer was as useless as he hoped it would be.

    [I''m still checking that. Events this major aren''t supposed to happen this early. I''m at level zero, so it''ll take time for me to check the whole plot and calcte all possible scenario results.]

    [But why did you do it host. Had he been alive till the plot starts, you could''ve earned way more points than what you will now. I might''ve even issued a quest with better rewards] The system asked as killing someone like that in one blow was a waste of points.

    Hearing system''s doubts,Rio just shook his head while saying - "And have the whole world against me, nah I''m good. I can always earn points since that guy got so many other people as his followers, but he had only one seer."

    [True] System thought as it re-read all the plot in his brain and understood his point.

    _

    Rio getting bored of waiting, called for system again -"Can you give me that potion now."

    [Aren''t you doubting if it''s true or not]

    "Well whatever it is, it can''t be worse than my ending in the book, right"

    [True, author really hated Rio''s character huhh] System said as it thought if Rio got that ending while having him by his side, it''ll never be able to show it''s face to anyone. (Maybe I''ll give him a major quest to change it) -System thought.

    "Yeah tell me bout it. Even from a reader who followed protagonist''s perspective, I felt bad for him." Rio said with a sigh, as he remembered the ending of Rio in novel.

    ''That bastard must''ve really hated some Rio guy in real life, to write that kind of ending for him.''

    "Well leave it. I''ll change it anyway. So can you give me the potion or not. We both know I''ll get way more than 100 points, even if you minimize it to the maximum.''

    [Well the rules don''t allow it, but who cares. You can take it now] System said as the shop icon shone in green and Rio saw potion added into his inventory status.

    _

    Status

    Personal data??

    Stats ??

    ?S?h?o?p ??3<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ?I?n?v?e?n?t?o?r?y ??1

    Setting ??

    _

    [But are you sure, you want to take it. Even I don''t know it''s effects, since it wasn''t mine] System tried to warn him, or maybe indirectly saying that it won''t take any me, if that potion turned out to be a hoax.

    "Whatever, I''m tired of my nightmares." Rio said in a depressed tone and continued - "I''ll try and see. Not like I have any other choice."

    [You do know that I can read your thoughts right] System said in a serious tone as it heard his thoughts and words, which were the exact opposite of each other.

    Rio clicked his tongue. He wanted to see if he could somehow hide his thoughts from the system but just as before, it failed again. "If you can read my mind, then why are you even asking."

    [Just wanted to hear your excuses]

    [Don''t feel bad, you want me to y a song for you to cheer up. ?? ?? ??]

    "Do you want to get muted" Rio said as he scrolled and saw all options in the setting function at the bottom of his status screen.

    [How''d you know, I didn''t exin that function yet]

    -"You''re not the only one feeling other''s emotions" Rio said and closed the status window since aside from muting the system - which would stop all its chatter, he didn''t see anything useful.

    [Ohhh, but I''m good enough to hide and control them. While you on the other hand is just like an open book for me]

    "Whatever. I won''t need that soon enough." Rio said as he remembered something from the plot, which was just perfect for his situation. Something our protagonist uses to save the world from certain destruction in the future.

    [You ARE NOT stealing that.]

    System said in horror as it couldn''t imagine how big the shit would mess up if Rio really stole or used that on himself.

    The system was truly scared now. Fuck world and it''s plot - what does it have to do with system. System literally gives rewards for messing up the plot directions. So why was it worried now, well the answer to that is simple - boredom.

    There were far too little things which could interest it after existing in the universe for so long. And this mortal who somehow got the attention of that being, and that warning about his mind - were the things that intrigued it.

    (If this guy got his hands on that thing, how would I read his mind and solve this mystery.)

    It really can''t force his behavior because of that being''s limitation, and it was too invested in this mystery, to learn about the truth now - So system tried to convince it''s host, reminding him of the consequences of his actions and maybe change his mind -

    [No no no, just killing an idiot of the sidelines has already messes up the plot this much. If you do that it could literally result in world destruction. I don''t allow it.]

    " Well, I need some protection to keep my thoughts private, I don''t trust you yet." Rio said totally not recognizing the system''s real intentions, as he couldn''t notice a single miniscule of difference.

    [Fine, then you can just use the privacy functions, but you won''t steal that.] System said as it pushed the searching function aside, and a new panel about the rules on privacy and permissions opened on his status screen.

    Rio looked at the weird ancient symbols, or fucking doodles on his system screen and massaged his head.

    ''Even this panel looks dusty, this fucking system probably never ever opened it.'' Rio''s face had a doubtful expression.

    (I should change the background theme of this panel next time at least. I even forgot about it since I never showed it to other hosts)

    System made a throat clearing voice, and while perfectly hiding the embarrassed expression, it said in a serious tone- [These are the rules made during my creations. I can''t change anything rted to them.]

    "At least trante them for me, you idiot."

    (Endure for the mystery, endure. Yes I caan do it Fuhhhh)

    System took a deep breath, ignored the insult and tranted some lines about the stuff Rio needed, while removing all other stuff - [This is what you need]

    Settings ??

    Primal Rules -

    Connection between host and ??? for better understanding -

    1) thought conversation??

    2) emotion sharing??

    3) brain synchronization??

    4) ?s?e?v?e?r ??? ?M?m?m

    5) ?o?v?e?r?r?i?d?e??? ?M?m?m

    Rio carefully read all the sections and simply turned off the synchronization funtion. He could feel something off but couldn''t describe it in words. It was unreal.

    (Damn it)

    (Now I need some new way to see it all) On the other side system felt it too, but it wasn''t worried. As even though it''s been a long long time someone used this function, this host wasn''t the first. It already started nning on the loophole, to learn the truth.

    System''s behavior and antics no different than an obsessive investigator too invested in a case to solve it.

    Even system didn''t notice that the personality it chose on curiosity was already effecting it a little. But that was an issue and a shock for ater time.

    _

    When Rio finally got out of his thoughts, he smiled a little and asked - "So how do I use your inventory."

    [Just imagine the thing you have it in your inventory, focus on getting it out, and you''ll get the item in your hands.]

    "So just like in those novels huhh" Rio said and tried focusing, he closed his eyes and imagined hard, and a momentter the potion was in his hand. "That was easy."

    [That''s cause you only had one item in there]

    [I''d warn you again, if that potion doesn''t work do not me me. It''s not mine]

    "Okay."

    ''Here goes nothing'' Rio said as he drank down the potion in one gulp.

    ##

    A/N - so who''s the new girl in his brain.

    What''s the deal with that being & this system.

    How''d you like that view of showing system - I tried a little to make it unique.--/10

 Chapter 52 Fixing His Broken Brain???

    As Rio raised the vial to his lips, he could feel a sense of anticipation coursing through his veins. ording to the system, this healing potion, with its promises of restoration and tranquility, held the potential to mend the fractures within his weary mind.

    He had taken many healing potions and other soothing pills but nothing seemed to be working. He had no doubts about those potions and pills as they were either made by ke family or ced for the protagonist, but even they weren''t able to fix anything.

    He still had doubts thinking what he would do if this didn''t work, but he took a chance hoping all those system novels didn''t lie when they said - that system stuff is always legendary.

    With a deep breath, he tilted the vial, allowing the blood red elixir to cascade onto his tongue.

    The moment the potion touched his tongue, a gentle warmth spread through his body, soothing his senses and enveloping him in a cocoon of serenity. It was as if a soft, ethereal breeze caressed his mind, gently nudging away the lingering shadows of distress and uncertain doubts.

    With each passing second, Rio could feel the potion working its magic within him. It was as if invisible hands delicately patched up the broken fragments of his thoughts, weaving them back together with intricate care. The fog that once clouded his mind began to dissipate, reced by a newfound rity and focus.

    A wave of calmness washed over him, as if his entire being had been gently cradled in the arms of tranquility. The weight that had burdened his thoughts was lifted, reced by a profound sense of peace. It was as if the potion had whispered something to his troubled mind, urging him to let go of the turmoil that had gued him, haunted him.

    Rio''s expressions transformed before his own eyes. The furrowed lines on his forehead eased, reced by a smoothness that reflected a release of tension. The worry that had etched itself into the corners of his eyes slowly dissipated, reced by a newfound brightness and rity.

    With his mind now healed, Rio felt a renewed sense of rity and purpose. The jumbled thoughts and uncertainties that had once weighed him down were now reced by a resolute determination.

    It was more than just the mending of broken thoughts; it was a transformation of his very being. The potion had granted him a respite from the tumultuous storm that had raged within, allowing him to emerge stronger, calmer, and ready to face whatevery on the horizon.

    ''Awakening, blessing, system and now this - everything went perfect''

    ''I can finally focus on getting stronger and getting my answers.''

    In that moment, as Rio stood bathed in the gentle glow of the potion''s healing embrace, he whispered a silent thank you to the being that had given him this potion.

    [So it worked huhh] The system asked.

    "It did. Let me check." Rio replied with a bright smile.

    [How will you possibly check that? Ohh don''t answer it] System wanted to ask but then sighed and stopped itself as it understood what this host was nning to do.

    "I had to get haunted and tortured by the guy I hate the most, all this time whenever I slept. At Least now maybe I can take my peaceful sleep again."

    "If I see him after I sleep today, then that means this potion failed, it''s simple." Rio said in simple terms, he missed his time in the darkness as that was thest time when he had a peaceful sleep.

    [You know, you''re just beingzy] System said, trying to break the bubble of excuses its host used to justify hisziness.

    "Oh I forgot to ask , where are we?"

    [This is the system space, it _ ]

    "Then why is it so dark" Rio said cutting off the system''s exnation.

    [That''s because of you, it can be whatever you wish it to be, of course if I agree to that request.]

    [You cane here whenever you want to talk with me. And you''ll be transported here when you''re sleeping or unconscious in the outside world.]

    "So I''m trying to sleep, while my body is already asleep." Rio said.

    ''That''s confusing'' Rio thought as he remembered, that he was probably unconscious in the outside world after his awakening.

    [Yupp, that''s weird.]

    [You''ve been here for an hour now, so maybe you should wake up.]

    "Naah I should check that potion''s effects first."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Good night system."

    [???????? useless]

    Ignoring the obvious emojis in his status screen that followed his sweet wishes, Rio closed his eyes and slept.

    After all this time - today he finally his first peaceful sleep in Arcadia.

    Soon enough a gentle smile graced his lips, mirroring the tranquility that now resided within his soul.

    _

    While he slept, the system tried to do a scan of his body and mind to see if there was anything that was abnormal about him.

    (A normal mortal would never get into his eyes)

    (I just need to learn what is your secret)

    System stopped its search midway, as it thought if that being would be angry because of it, but then it continued the process.

    [He knows my habits too well, but since he still sent me to help him, he must''ve not cared about it.]

    (Right, and besides he might be watching me right now, so he would''ve stopped if it was wrong)System thought, and continued the process.

    After the scan wasplete, the system checked the results, but it couldn''t believe what it saw. So it did the scans again, this time more thoroughly but the results were the same.

    Even though it was proud of its skills and powers, for the first time since the beginning of its creation - it doubted itself. Cause that was better and more believable than doubting that being.

    (Is there something wrong)

    (Is he ying with me and him)

    (How is this possible)

    The results were simple, they were the same as before Rio took the potion, or when the system scanned him back in the real darkness after his death.

    *A mortal soul with a broken brain*. This time it showed the status for Rio''s body but overall it was the same.

    (Did that potion fail)

    (But I could feel it work though, even he felt the same and is peacefully sleeping now) System thought as it looked at Rio''s sleeping face.

    (So what is wrong here)

    "Don''t lose in his mind" The words of that being rang in the system''s mind again but this time with a totally different meaning.

    (It can''t be)

    (It shouldn''t be possible _ )

    #

    A/N - The plot thickens again lol.

    Lmaooo how''d you like that.

 Chapter 53 Understanding His Status

    As Rio stirred from his restful slumber, his eyes blinked open to a room bathed in a gentle, warm glow. The chandelier above him, adorned with intricate crystals, shimmered and danced with a new radiance. Its soft light spread around the room, casting a vibrant varieties of colors that painted the walls and furniture.

    He sat up, stretching his arms and yawning, relishing in the peacefulness that enveloped him. It was a stark contrast to the restless nights he had grown ustomed to, gued by haunting nightmares and his troubled past.

    From thefort of his bed, he looked towards the window, through the sheer curtains, he witnessed the breathtaking transformation of the sky. The setting sun, like a majestic orb of golden fire, began its descent, casting a tapestry of vibrant shades of oranges and amber across the horizon. Wisps of clouds, painted in shades of amber and dark blue, stretched across the heavens, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to the scene.

    He stood up and walked towards the window, as he removed the curtains, he let his mind wander in the scene of soothing environment and peaceful surroundings. He looked outwards and saw the mansion buildings, gardens and training grounds. Rio''s gaze wandered over the intricate details of the mansion itself. The grand architecture, adorned with elegant carvings and ornate decorations, spoke of a rich history and timeless beauty. It was a testament to the legacy of those who hade before him.

    "So it really worked."

    He said, as he still couldn''t believe that all that happenings weren''t his dream but reality. Still to be sure he called for system, and soon got the response.

    [So you woke up huhh, then I''m going to sleep now]

    "Do you even need sleep" Rio asked as his fking system needed to sleep. Does that even make sense.

    [I don''t, but I just like it a little]

    "And you were calling mezy" Rio shook his head and clicked his head, at this hypocrisy.

    [And you called me cheesy. If I didn''t read your memories, I''d think you really were a petty snotty kid]

    "Did you get the points" Rio ignored that point and asked the main question, thinking now would''ve been enough time for system to calcte, who knows it really did went to sleepter without telling him.

    [Yes, just one moment _

    Status

    Name - Rio ke / Shiva Kumar

    Age - 10 / 30

    World - ???

    Title - ???

    Rank - Mortal F-rank

    Element - Darkness

    Stats??-

    Skills??-

    Blessings ??1

    ?Q?u?e?s?t?s -

    ?S?h?o?p - ?? 3

    ?I?n?v?e?n?t?o?r?y -

    System points - . . . ]

    Rio walked back to his bed and sat down while arranging the mattress and pillows to his liking, with one pillow now restingfortably on hisp, he closed his eyes and for the first time decided to look at his stats.

    Stats -

    Strength: 5

    Agility: 4

    Endurance: 5

    Intelligence: 16

    Mana: 9

    Perception: 3

    Resilience: 8

    [A/N - 10 is the limit for F rank awakeners. 20 for E rank, 30 for D rank and so on... Till SSS rank reaches 100 points. When you cross 100 mark you reach Zephyr rank.

    - To rank up every awakener needs to raise all his stats to atleast that limit. It can be more, but never less.

    - I don''t need to say that as you grow up, increasing even a single point in any one of the stat gets harder and harder.]

    As Rio observed his status screen, he was presented with aprehensive overview of his various attributes. Each stat was disyed with a corresponding value, providing him with a clear understanding of his current capabilities. Here is a breakdown of all the stats he saw:

    1) Strength: This stat represents someone''s physical power and raw force. It indicated his ability to exert force, lift heavy objects, and engage inbat.

    2) Agility: Agility measured someone''s speed, reflexes, and overall dexterity. It determined how quickly he could move and react in various situations.

    3) Endurance: Endurance represented someone''s stamina and ability to withstand physical exertion. A higher endurance stat meant he could endure prolonged activities without tiring easily.

    4) Intelligence: Intelligence indicated one''s cognitive abilities, including his reasoning, problem-solving, and memory capacity and insight. It reflected his mental sharpness and intellectual potential.

    5) Mana: The mana stat measured awakener''s magical energy and aptitude for harnessing and manipting it. It didn''t mean control over that power, it just showed the quantity. A higher mana stat meant he possessed a greater reserve of magical power.

    6) Perception: Perception measured one''s awareness of his surroundings and his ability to notice details and subtle cues. It represented his attentiveness and keen observation skills. Higher perception meant higher intuition or sixth sense too.

    7) Resilience: Resilience indicated someone''s mental and emotional fortitude. In simple terms there will power, it measured his ability to bounce back from setbacks and not give up. High resilience meant high control over one''s on thoughts and instincts.

    --

    Rio''s stats were much higherpared to any newly awakened, because of all the pills and potions he took before his awakening. Pura corpus and Nyx''s blessing during his elemental awakening had increased his mana attribute. While the healing potion which healed his brain increased his intelligence stat. His resilience was high due to his messed up mentality of his past life, whichpletely gave him more experience than someone his age.

    _

    [Do you wanna see your bonus stats that I can see]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Are you talking about the ones from the novel"

    [Yes, but unlike world system I can show it to you now, instead of waiting till that event]

    "Fine, show me"

    [Loading. . .

    Charm - 8

    Luck - 6

    World points - ??l??l ?]

    **[A/N - These were the stats which gets added in world system after phase 2 of Emergence in the novel, when world system gets an update. This is what they mean -

    1) Charm: Charm represented one''s charisma and persuasive abilities. It reflected his natural maism and his ability to influence others through his aura and charisma. High charm can make you center of attention wherever you go, and gives others a good impression of you.

    2) Luck: The luck stat indicated someone''s fortune and likelihood of favorable oues in uncertain situations. A higher luck stat meant one had a greater chance of experiencing fortunate events or things going his way by simple coincidences. (Luck is the only stat one can''t increase by any means themselves, it is directly proportional to world points.)

    3) World points - World points are calcted based on one''s contribution to Arcadia. It served as a measure of how much good one did for the world and its people. High world points increased luck for free. It could also be converted in other stats, with a certain ratio of course. ]

    "Well seeing that Rio is Artemis and Agnus''s son, the high points of charm does make sense" Rio said as he looked at his 8 points of charm. But he was surprised as he saw the points of his luck.

    "Hmm my luck''s not bad for a viin like Rio too"

    [That''s cause plot hasn''t begun yet, once it does it''ll drop continuously over time, till you be the unluckiest person to ever exist. That''s how you get your ending of the novel remember]

    Rio nodded his head as he understood system''s point, he was lucky at birth, born with a silver spoon, loved by everyone around him, talented and respected - yet it all degraded with time as the plot progressed, till he got nothing left in the world. Shaking his head he looked at the world points stat and was confused as it showed some weird looking doodles. So he asked the system

    " What about world points, can''t you calcte it. I should''ve earned some of them by giving out the recipe of pura corpus or by indirectly getting all those Ditail follower''s killed."

    [No, I can''t count them, that''s up to the world system to decide. Only after that events begins, maybe I can hack world system and learn that process, but not now]

    "Well I don''t need them for now anyway."

    _

    "Show me Nyx''s blessing"

    [Loading. . .

    Blessing -

    1) Dark maniption lvl 1 - After seeing your determination to learn and weild darkness even at the cost of your future, Goddess of Night has decided to help you on your path. Since your body has pure channels for mana, the benevolent goddess grants you the power to manipte the darkness to your will. It is the lowest form of her power - Void maniption.

    - It gives you better control and sensibility to your element, at the cost of high consumption of mana. As level increases the mana consumption decreases.

    - 2 times effective when used with any other sub-element, attached with darkness.

    "Well, this is good enough for now. With this I can learn shadow magic from Myra and Artemis faster."

    _

    Finally after watching and going through all his personal stats, Rio looked below and saw his system points.

    [System points - 4900 + 14650 = 19550

    Deducting the cost of shop item

    Remaining points = 14550]

    "They''re much less than I thought. You sure you aren''t cheating me system."

    [Host, save your usations. I told you the plot hasn''t started yet so this is what you''ll get. Learn your lessons and try to be patient.]

    "And how many points would I have gotten if I did the same thing when the plot begins" Rio asked as he was curious how big of the difference in his rewards would be. It could help him better prepare for his future ns, he could only solve the most important events and people first and leave cannon fodder to farm pointster during the plot events.

    [Well I did check that and it amounted to a total of - 44700]

    "So nearly 3 times huh. You''re cheap system."

    [Damn you host, I''m at level zero, all of my functions are still locked so what will you even use those points on] System said in anger as ever since it woke up this host has been either questioning it or ming it.

    (Can''t he just be nice like all my other host. I remember some of them even cried tears of joy after I connected with them.)

    (And then there''s this guy, if not for that being''s request I wouldn''t even look at that useless and this puny mortal)

    System who was lost in his thoughts and started its own inner monologue, was disturbed again as Rio replied in an enthusiastic tone -"Don''t I still have those 3 shop items. I wonder what they are."

    [Well, that being said they''re his gift for you. So a surprise maybe] System said in the same tone but its thoughts were totally opposite of. (Surprise my foot, I''m sure that potion was some kind of trick. Maybe he''s bored like me too and is looking for entertainment, while this guy here happened to get the lucky ticket)

    "Hmm well I''ll find outter anyway."

    With a final swipe of hand on the transparent screen, Rio closed the system.

    [Did you just acted as you hang up on me]

    "Go sleep already. You''re useless till the plot begins anyway."

    (Fuck you)

    (I should teach this guy a lesson _ )

    ##

    A/N - what do you think Rio will do next.

    Plus if you haven''t(which I know) join the discord server of mine.

 Chapter 54 Talks For Training & Engagement

    While Rio was busy talking with his system, Artemis on the other hand was busy arranging stuff to settle the mess that her dear son created. Attacking a Baron and killing his son, if the news ever leaked that ke family was behind this it could tarnish their reputation. Though no one would be able to do anything to ke''s but it would give their enemies some leverage and public outrage could be a lethal weapon.

    Despite being one of the Duke''s and owners of one of the top 5 guilds ke family had maintained a good image till now in front of general public and Artemis had no ns to ruin that now.

    Just after getting the report from Cami she had ordered her to ignore Esme and first remove all traces of her. Since Esme had to show her true powers during that fight there was a chance that some residue mana would be left and with some advanced mana tracking artifacts someone could track her.

    Even though getting those artifacts and that much resources would be impossible for a mere Baron rank noble, but it is always best to be safe than sorry.

    Artemis had also sent alphas to capture Esme and bring her back. Her sister Erza has been cured and two of Myra''s guards follow her daily. Even if Rio had asked Esme to do this for whatever reasons, she needed to make sure his reputation stays clean.

    The news about his sessful awakening was already spreading and the rumours of Nyx''s arrival had brought much attention to him. It was good as her son would be known a genius and get the respect he deserves.

    She wasn''t worried about his blessing as whatever blessing Nyx gave, would be hundred''s of times better than some lesser Gods could ever give.

    After settling all matters about his little fiasco she took a deep breath and sat down on her chair. It has been a long stressful day for her. From the nervousness of his awakening to the shock of Rio''s methods, it''s been a rollercoaster ride of her emotions.

    Since Rio was awakened now she could start training him herself. Though Darkness element is different and purer form of her Shadow element, but because of both being simr they have the same concept and same spells. She could teach Rio everything and train him herself.

    She went through the training regime she had prepared for him just in case months before and double checked everything again. She even increased the difficulty of some excercises a little considering his talent and blessing.

    Artemis who was lost in her thoughts, was startled when someone entered the room unannounced. She thought it must have been Amelia who entered and her face had an tired expression. Though she loved her little doll and her cute antics but sometimes dealing with her bes hard as she doesn''t listen to any exnationns. That''s why she liked having Rio arround at those times as he could perfectly distract her mind but since he was sleeping now, Artemis could feel that calming Amelia who was put in a sleeping spell before would be a hard job.

    Her expression softened as she looked up and saw who it was. Someone whose presence filled the room with calmness and his aura of strength. The one who has been with her for years and always supported her in everything she did. The one she loved and admired for years - her husband, Duke of Damascus and owner of the gifted sword shade - Agnus ke.

    "Ah Agnus, you''re right on time. Can you check this for me. I made it for Rio." She said as she got out of her reverie of emotions and handed over some documents to him. While Agnus was busy going through them, she continued - "You can tell me if I need to add something."

    "Add something, my love it''s already enough as it is. Any more and you might break our little boy." Agnus said as he looked over at the detailed training patterns she designed and he couldn''t help but smile thinking what Rio would look like after finishing any one of them.

    Artemis leaned back on her chair and ignoring her husband''sugh and jokes replied in a serious tone - "Very funny, but I''m serious. I want to teach him everything before he decides to join the academy."

    Here in Damascus they could always protect him, but the world wasn''t peaceful and at the end it was all about personal strength, especially in neutral ces like the Academy where they couldn''t interfere.

    Agnus looking at her serious expressions walked behind her and started pressing her shoulders gently, Artemis too rxed and closed her eyes, feeling the cold hands who were massaging her in a gentle care. She was enjoying the caress when Agnus said - "He just awakened today love, give him some rest. Your niece''s birthday ising up soon. You can start his training after that."

    Artemis shook her head as she put her hand, as she said - "Fine, I''ll just try to increase his current training a little to make sure he''sfortable with his new strength and mana usage so he doesn''t end up exhausting himself like today."

    "Did you learn where he found the mana suction method." Agnus said as he came forward and started fixing the table filled with all kinds of documents and scrolls lying around.

    "I''ve checked, he''s been reading all kinds of books in library everytime he''s free from his ssesst couple of days. He even stopped ying with Amyst week can you believe it."

    "She must have been furious." Agnus replied with a chuckle , which made Artemis nod her head and smile too.

    Artemis asked "Is she still sleeping yet." Knowing very well her husband must have been with her, as while she doted on Rio, Agnus preferred spoiling Amelia whenever he could - but sadly for him Amy preferred her brother''spany more and would only remember about her father when she needed toin about something.

    "Yes, She''ll wake up soon. You really didn''t need to put a sleeping spell on her." Agnus said as he remembered that when he was busy checking everything in the room, Artemis had put Amelia to sleep. He could understand why she did it but there was someone else who wouldn''t and that''s why he continued saying "I''ll warn you I''m taking her side today."

    "Hmm same as always then." Artemis replied as if it was nothing new.

    After Agnus cleared the table, he sat there in front of his wife and said - "Maximus called, he was congratting about Rio''s awakening."

    "So he knows." Artemis asked in a serious tone.

    "Well he is the king, so of course he knows. Besides not like we could hide the news this big when her followers were already able to sense her presence." Agnus replied in a helpless tone.

    As everyone in Arcadia said and believed ''every blessinges with a curse''.

    Nyx''s arrival too was something like that. He was sure with Nyx''s blessing Rio could improve much faster and grow more powerful, but it had also brought a lot of unwanted attention to him. There won''t be many Gods or people who would be stupid enough to go after someone chosen by a primordial Goddess. But still there are always some lunatics and that''s what worried him.

    Agnus''s thoughts were stopped as he heard Artemis''s voice - "What else did he say?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Agnus smiled as if he remembered something funny and said - "He asked about the engagement openly today. He also said that Reba agreed to it. I think Rio''s talent might have increased his motivation a little."

    "Sigh, he already knows we''ll support him. I don''t know why he gets so paranoid over stuff like this." Artemis said in a helpless tone. It should be obvious that king Maximus would have their support as Queen is her sister, but this king still feels paranoid and needs one more assurance.

    "The God he became an avatar of is like that but you know that already."

    King Maximus was good at everything, he had managed the Schi Empire kindly and always maintained the peace and prosperity of it, but even he wasn''t perfect. He had always been a little paranoid before and that habit only increased after he became the avatar of that God.

    "So what did you say?" Artemis asked.

    "Well I left this decision on you remember. Reba is your niece, and you were the one who put that idea in your sister''s head in the first ce." Agnus said as he put his hand on Artemis''s cheek. "Personally I like that little girl."

    "Right, she''s so cute and smart. She reminds me of Athena when she was little. Plus Amy and her are bestfriends but _ " Artemis smiled as she heard that Agnus liked Reba too, and started praising her in an excited tone, but her happy tone took a nose dive and turned sad as she remembered something and stopped her sentence.

    "But what?" Agnus said.

    "I don''t think Rio likes her." Artemis said in a serious tone as she held Agnus''s hand.

    "Did something happen?" Agnus said in a serious tone as he looked at their intertwined hands.

    "No, it''s just I''ve seen them ying together, and I could see that Rio just wants to avoid her or something. It doesn''t feel like he really enjoys herpany. Even more I could feel that he''s angry at her." Artemis said what she observed and felt when she yed with everyone some days ago.

    But Agnus didn''t share the same sentiment as her,st he knew when both kids met they were quite friendly and happily yed with each other so he replied as he put his hand on hers -"He''s just a kid so maybe he was angry over a loss or something. I''m sure it''s nothing serious. You''re just overthinking it."

    "Yeah maybe" Artemis said. But the worry was still evident in her eyes. She quite liked Reba and would be happy if Rio married her, but she also didn''t want to force Rio into any rtionship he didn''t want and have him hate herter.

    Agnus who could understand his wife''s behaviourpletely , gently held her face in both his hands and said - "Whatever it is, you don''t need to worry over it. They''re both kids yet and have a lot of time , they can get to know each other betterter in the academy. And we don''t need to push this engagement on them now, do we?"

    Hearing that calmed Artemis''s heart a little as maybe over time whatever misunderstanding these kids had could be solved and if not, then it''s simply Reba''s lose.

    "Yeah, and not like my Riocks a girl anyway. After the news of his blessing spreads everywhere I bet lots of people would be lining up outside our house to marry their daughters to him." Artemis replied with a chuckle as she could imagine herself receiving couple of letters about it soon.

    Agnus nodded his head and believed it too. The background he has and the talent Rio showed are enough for anyone to consider having them as allies. He could see Artemis worrifree now so he changed the topic to something else.

    "Do you know what blessing he got"

    "Well looking at its Nyx, it''s hard to say. since she has too many powers and too little followers so who knows. We can only know for sure after he wakes up." Artemis replied as she had asked her family for all the information on blessings Nyx had given to anyone in the past and they were all random, so even she wasn''t sure.

    Agnus felt the same too , so they could now only wait for Rio to wake up and ask him about it. It was then that he remembered something and said - "I''m amazed at his control over his element. Its much better than anything I''ve seen during awakening. His rampaging darkness was even enough to chip away at your barrier a little."

    Artemis thought about the scene where at the end when Rio used mana suction method and pushed himself to the limit , even her barrier was getting consumed but it onlysted for a moment and stopped again. That image fueled her determination to train Rio harder again, so she said -

    "And that''s why I''ll train him to be the strongest. Stronger than me , and you too."

    Her fiery words only made Agnus smile as he put his hands around her, and hugged her while saying - "Yes you will wife , yes YOU WILL."

    _

    While the duo were talking about Rio and his future, Rio on the other hand had the biggest surprise of his new life in Arcadia, as he stared at the girl standing in front of him and the system notification floating on his status screen. He could see that one more shop item of his had opened and it was _ ...

    ###

    Question - Any guess on the king''s God?

    What would Rio do for his engagement ns?

    What''s the surprise and the 2nd item of shop?

 Chapter 55 What It Means To Be A Villain?

    After Rio finished asking all his doubts to the system, hey on his bed again, closing his eyes trying to free his mind and think about what to do with this system.

    He had nned to kill all his enemies who would plot against Rio or his family before the plot even begins and they start getting powerful, but this system''s arrival might force him to change some of his ns.

    If he trusts the system then he should only act after the plot begins to get more points and rewards, but if that system is a lie then he would have to deal with all his enemies and protagonist''s stupid luck, though he might have some advantage over them due to his future knowledge, but as many people said against pure power all schemes and ns fail, Leon with his halo bes the strongest person alive in the novel. Author made him so op that he never even wrote about his fight with the final boss and just said Leon won and had a happy ending.

    In the novel there were far too many powerful people who wanted to kill Rio but got killed by him instead, and of course for safety reasons he will have to deal with all of them. He could befriend them before the plot begins and solve their problems or act as the protagonist but it would all be too much hassle and he was toozy to do that.

    Plus there is no guarantee that even after he helped them, they would stick with him. He had no halo of stupidity to make them brainless or the habit of seducing their daughters and wives to earn their support.

    When shit hits the fan everyone leaves you all alone, Shiva had learned this lesson back on earth the hard way, and he was in no mood to repeat any of his past mistakes again.

    Leon was a guy who had subordinates lined up everywhere and to get all of them on his side was a fool''s dream and he knew that. Rio couldn''t kill all of them even if he wanted to as many were influential people, some even more so than the ke family. Like the royal Schott family.

    Due to Reba''s foolishness ke''s had to cut ties with royals and their rtionship took a nosedive. When Maximus''s paranoia and Rio''s infamy reached the final level a war broke out, which resulted in the Royal''s loss. A well nned st in the Royal capital, throwing out some scandals to rile up the masses and some sorted out assassinations here and there, booom goes royalty and their mighty peacekeeping order.

    Though it was nothing significant as ke''s only wanted to warn everyone to stop forcing them into a corner and let them be. But before they could exin themselves, the protagonist came with his mighty halo and power of love, solving all their troubles and being a hero who pulled the nation out from internal strife and put order in ce.

    This is why Rio wanted to keep Reba near him, as sending her to the protagonist would be like giving him control over the entire Schi Empire. While keeping her near him can not only help avoid that risk, but also paves the way that after he deals with Maximus, ke family can take over royalty and be the ruling force of Schi.

    On the off chance he even thought up a n where he could kill Reba in the academy arcs and stop any other bullshit luck or love from even happening between her and the protagonist. Hell if he yed his cards right and seeded he could even me it all on Leon and put him against Maximus.

    Killing 3 birds with one stone.

    ''But why should I even do all that.''

    ''Why am I turning into that _ guy.''

    ''These people never did anything to me, and probably never will if I don''t act like Rio from the novel.''

    ''Then why, WHY am I always thinking of solving these problems that aren''t even mine.''

    No matter how hard he thought he couldn''te up with any answer. There was no reason for him to work so hard and yet here he was always thinking, always nning - is it just cause of Amelia? Or is it something else? He didn''t know.

    [You''re thinking too much into it, host. Maybe it''s just your survival instinct. Maybe you just don''t want to die.] System said in its usual cheery energetic tone, despite saying it was going to sleep just now.

    "Hhhmm you''ve read my memories right, do you really think death scares me now. If anything, some part of me is just looking forward to it." Rio said as his lips curled up a little when he thought about the pain free sleep in darkness again.

    [You may be right. But in all my experience I''ve learned one truth. And it''s - no matter how much one yearns for death and prepares for it, some part of him would always fight to be there, to be alive, to simply exist. It''s a simple primal rule, that can never be ignored.]

    Rio didn''t reply as he had no answer for it. Maybe system was right or maybe it was just lying to him, to get his mind off of these thoughts.

    After his reincarnation as Rio, he had the thought that like some novels he read on earth, someone behind the scenes was manipting him somehow, but after reliving his nightmares all this time again - that thought was pushed aside too. He actually knew the answer, but just didn''t want to ept it.

    He had always been a loner, someone who kept all his feelings, all his emotions to himself. And yet he opened his heart for 2 people, and both of them left him broken. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After all that anger, guilt and hatred filled his heart he had simply lost himself. As the people closest to him kept going away so was his sanity and control - Ria, his parents, his friends, his Queency everyone was gone from his life one by one in a cruel joke of fate and he had to live.

    He never shared his pain and emotions ever again with anyone, even Aaya, Aarvi or his colleagues. They all had their guesses but he didn''t rify and they never asked.

    Ali with all his useless rich connections had hired a guy once to check Shiva''s background, thinking he was someone trying to steal his Aarvi, that''s how he came to know about all his past. And that''s how their friendship started, of course after Ali apologized and still got beaten up a little.

    Aside from his family, Ali was the only one who knew everything about him, one of them came to help toote, while the other didn''t know how to.

    And now that he even lost thatst bit of support he had, his mind has simply let go of all its restraints, plus the fact that this is the world where power rules and that he knows the plot, justified his actions.

    On the earth too he had no problem fighting or beating anyone as long as he was stressed enough and needed to vent. He didn''t care what was right or wrong - as long as it distracted him.

    _

    "Tell me system, am I a viin? Not in this story, not as Rio, but me, the real me." Rio asked in a curious tone, as he thought about all the people he got killed already and all the ns he made to kill more of them.

    [What do you think a viin is, host?]

    [Viin isn''t someone who stands against the world, or does some bad things or fights the hero. No that''s wrong]

    [A viin is just a hero who lost]

    [A viin is just a hero who gave up]

    [Had you been stronger, and faced your fears in reality instead of living them in your dreams. You would''ve been the hero. But you _ ]

    "I never wanted to give up though."

    "I waited, and waited, and waited for their arrival, for their approval but nothing happened. Nothing changed. " His voice grew heavier with each word he spoke, until he finally couldn''t hold it in and tears started rolling down his eyes. He covered his eyes as he put his hand over them and said in a hoarse tone -

    "When I needed the people closest to me the most I had no one. No one came to ease my pain or wipe my tears. So if I was supposed to be a hero, was that something I should go through." Rio''s voice grew heavy as he couldn''t understand why. So he justughed at himself or at least tried to but all that came out was a cry for help in the system''s ears.

    "Why am I evenining about anything to you, you would leave me like them too, and merge with someone else seconds after my death anyway." Rio said in an obvious tone. Though he didn''t say it, he had been thinking about this ever since he heard it from the system.

    [I would never leave you SK, It''s a promise] System''s response was instant so much that it surprised him. But Rio just shrugged it off and shook his head.

    "You know what, they all said the same thing too. You don''t have to lie about it to make me feel better, I''ve given up on all my expectations. Whatever happens will happen, unless I change my mood."

    It was the system''s turn to be silent as it thought -(He really doesck any kind of motivation huhh. I hope whatever you send next is actually helpful and not another hoax.)

    ##

    A/N - next chapter ~ system''s shop item & a happy surprise OR a viin''s motivation????

 Chapter 56 2nd Item Of System Shop

    As Rio calmed down his thoughts started going back to normal, he got up from his bed and decided to take a walk outside.

    Shiva loved the night sky, he could just lie down and keep staring at it till he fell asleep. He missed that now. The sky and environment of Arcadia weren''t much different from earth on a base level, it just grew richer and more beautiful because of mana.

    Rio strolled along the open hallways, the cold wind brushing against his face as the sky gradually transformed into shades of twilight. The evening sky gradually darkened, revealing the twinkling stars one by one. As he walked, he allowed himself to be immersed in the beauty of the setting. The gentle rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds and crickets created a serene symphony that calmed his brain. The rhythmic sound of his own footsteps echoed in the quiet corridors, a reminder of his own presence in this vast space.

    Rio paused for a moment, leaning against a balcony railing, and gazed up at the starlit sky, lost in his thoughts about the impending dinner conversation with his parents. He contemted the questions they might ask, mentally preparing his responses. Now that worries of his awakening had ended, he had to think about how to exin the methods he used and why? Artemis and Agnus would surely ask him about the mana suction method and about Nyx.

    As he immersed himself in his thoughts, a familiar voice called out his name, interrupting him. Rio turned around, his eyes looking in surprise as he saw Amelia, standing there. She had a mischievous smile on her face, radiating an innocence that always warmed his heart.

    The face of Ria came to his mind and she looked just like her now. Her ck hair cascaded in soft waves, framing her delicate face with an irresistible innocence. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and wonder, reflecting the purity of her soul. Dressed in a loose night dress of delicate pink, she looked just like a vision of pure sweetness. The dress, adorned with yful patterns and ruffles, added an extra touch of whimsy to her already adorable appearance.

    But it was her smile that truly captivated those who beheld it. An innocent smile, brimming with genuine joy and warmth, adorned her rosy lips. With each grin, her dimples peeked out, adding an extrayer of charm to her already angelic countenance. Her infectiousughter and boundless energy brightened even the dullest of days.

    "Brother!" Amelia eximed, her voice filled with excitement. "I''ve been looking for you everywhere! Why are you standing here all alone?"

    Curiosity piqued, Rio approached Amelia, a mixture of surprise and calmness filling his mind. Just looking at her face had that effect on him.

    Amelia spread out her hand and showed him a small box wrapped in some messy colored papers. The cover of the box was adorned with colorful doodles and patterns, each stroke a reflection of her yful imagination. Though it may not have been meticulously crafted like a professionally made gift, its imperfections only added to its charm.

    "This is something I got for your awakening, but mama put me to sleep and I couldn''t give it to you before. You''re not angry are you, it''s all mama''s fault. I shouldin to father."

    "Here, take it, open it and see if you like it or not. I had to work real hard to get this. Not like you who got me Mr Bear by cheating my money."

    Rio was surprised and curious as he looked at Amelia''s gift, this would be the first gift he receives from her or anyone else in Arcadia. He smiled when he heard Amelia talking about it non-stop, with a warm smile on his face, Rio extended his hand to ept the gift box from Amelia.

    As his hands inadvertently brushed against Amelia''s while epting the gift something happened that pulled his thoughts out from this happy moment. He couldn''t help but nce at his status screen which suddenly started floating in front of his face.

    [Loading...

    [New shop item unlocked _

    [Check to see details -

    Rio looked at the notification and was surprised as ording to the system he needed to meet certain requirements to ess the items, but in just one day 2 out of 4 items were opened and he didn''t know how or why?

    Rio gave amand in his mind to open shop menu, as he was curious what this new item was -

    [Host has met the set requirements to use the 2nd item given by ???

    ..

    . <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ��

    However, as his eyes scanned the information before him, a mixture of shock and disbelief washed over Rio''s face. He knew that Amelia was simr to Ria, but he never expected it to be _ .

    His heart skipped a beat as he tried to understand what it truly meant. The realization filled him with a mix of curiosity, excitement, and a tinge of fear.

    Caught off guard by this startling revtion, Rio''s steps faltered, and he instinctively began to retreat from Amelia. His mind raced, trying to process the newfound information he learned. The weight of this revtion was too much to bear in that moment, leaving him feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to proceed.

    Leaving Amelia momentarily stunned and confused, Rio hurriedly made his way down the hallway, he needed to be alone and some time to collect his thoughts. The mix of emotions swirling within him��astonishment, uncertainty, happiness, fear, nervousness ��made it difficult for him to fullyprehend the magnitude of what he had just read.

    As he walked away, the echoes of his hurried footsteps resonated in the corridor, reflecting the turmoil within his mind.

    Amelia, left bewildered by her brother''s sudden departure, stood there with the gift box still in her hands, her innocent eyes filled with questions and concern. She couldn''tprehend what had just transpired. Why did her brother leave so suddenly? Did she do anything wrong? Why did he look at her like that? Why was he crying again?

    Remembering the sad look in her brother''s eyes a slight tremor coursed through her delicate frame, and a single tear welled up in her eye.

    Feeling the moisture gathering in her eyes, Amelia blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. Yet, the memory of the sadness etched on Rio''s face remained vivid in her mind, tugging at her heartstrings.

    In that moment, a whirlwind of emotions engulfed Amelia. She felt a surge of empathy, yearning to understand the hidden turmoil that Rio seemed to be wrestling with. A sense of helplessness washed over her, for she didn''t possess the maturity or insight to understand his emotions like her mother did.

    Amelia clutched the gift box tightly against her chest, the vibrant colors of the wrapping paper blurred by the gathering tears. Amelia wiped away the tears that had escaped her eyes, and started walking towards her mother''s room. If she couldn''t understand him then she could ask her mother for help.

    _

    Rio in a hurry reached his room and closed the door behind him, the weight of his racing thoughts and overwhelming emotions crashed upon him like a tidal wave. He stood there for a moment, trying to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling in rapid session. Each inhtion feltbored, as if the air itself couldn''t fill his lungs quickly enough to calm his racing heart.

    Feeling the need for support, Rio''s legs gave way beneath him, and he slowly slid down to the floor, his back pressed against the door. With his palms pressed firmly against the ground, he sought stability, a momentary respite from the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to consume him.

    Confusion, fear, and a deep sense of vulnerability swept over him, leaving him feeling raw and exposed.He closed his eyes, attempting to find sce in the darkness behind his lids. After that ignoring everything he called for system and with his trembling hands opened the notification -

    [Host has met the set requirements to use the 2nd item given by ???

    ??? wishes you another chance and a happy life ahead of you

    --------- Memory crystal (Ria - host''s sister, earth) ??

    Cost --- 60000 SP

    ##

    A/N - Guess you didn''t see this oneing this way huhh.

 Chapter 57 The Best Gift & Happiest Surprise

    [Host has met the set requirements to use the 2nd item given by ???]

    [??? wishes you another chance and a happy life ahead of you]

    --------- [ Memory crystal (Ria - host''s sister, earth) ??

    ??? has seen your pain and anguish, after learning of your past he has decided to give you another chance. Learning that Ria has been reincarnated as Amelia ke in Arcadia ??? decided to break the primal rule of continuity and intervened in the cycle of rebirth.

    This memory crystal contains all of Ria''s memories and past life experiences, with it you can revive her back. Crystal merging with the same soul source can bring all her memories back.

    Cost - 60000 SP ]

    As Rio''s eyes scanned the words on the system screen, his heart was racing nonstop.

    "So, they''re the same."

    The revtion that Ria and Amelia were the same person reincarnated filled him with an indescribable sense of hope and joy. A surge of emotions washed over him, threatening to overwhelm his senses. The memories of both girls started ying over and over in his head drowning him in happiness, he could imagine Riaughing at him saying it took him so long to realise.

    The words on the system''s notification were simple yet they had answered the most important question he had. He wanted to grow strong and ask the Narrator to help him learn the truth. But he never imagined that hours after system''s awakening he would have all his answers, plus a chance to fix everything.

    The weight of guilt and the haunting memories that had gued him for so long suddenly felt lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from his soul. Tears welled up in his eyes, cascading down his cheeks in a bittersweet mix of relief and happiness. They were tears of release, a culmination of years of pain and longing.

    "She''s _ She''s my sister"

    "Just like me she too _ "

    Words eluded him in that moment, his voice caught in his throat. The truth rendered him speechless, as a wave of gratitude and disbelief washed over him. He wanted to shout, tough out loud, to let the world know of how happy he felt at this moment. But all he could manage was a choked sob and a radiant smile that stretched across his face. Years of pain, years of holding back - he finally let go of everything as tears continued streaming down his swelling eyes.

    The realization that Amelia was indeed his Ria, and that he could also have her remember everything, that he might have the chance to reunite with his beloved sister once again, that he could fix all his mistakes, remove all his regrets was an overwhelming prospect.

    He didn''t care if it was the truth or maybe the system was lying to him. His working brain might have questioned it in normal circumstances but the raging emotions had filled his heart so much that aside from her nothing else seemed important. He didn''t want to doubt this, he needed to believe that he wasn''t alone, that someone was here for him, with him.

    If ever his heart had any doubt about saving Amelia or changing her destiny from the plot, then this message had removed itpletely.

    He didn''t care if the system or that being was using him somehow, if it meant that he could bring his sister back to life then nothing else mattered. He would willingly be a puppet if it meant he could protect her this time.

    Whether it was the system''s truth or a maniption, Doubts and suspicions were irrelevant in that moment, for the prospect of bringing Ria back overshadowed any and all potential deception.

    Fuck plot and fuck protagonist , fuck Arcadia and everyone else too - he didn''t care what he needed to do, if dealing with them could give him rewards and help him bring Ria back then he would do so in a heartbeat.

    Soon all his emotions calmed down and he wiped off his tears, he looked at the points necessary to unlock the item - 60000.

    [System points - 14550]

    Rio looked at the points he currently had and started thinking the fastest way to earn more. He couldn''t wait to see how Ria would react when she learned everything. He liked Amelia after spending this much time in Arcadia, and would''ve been fine with just the news that they''re the same but since he could give her all the memories, why wouldn''t he?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I would fix everything my little sister, and this time you would be able to live your life however you want. I''d make sure of it."

    As Rio promised himself, determined to protect Amelia, one name came to his mind from the plot. Someone whose actions indirectly led to the events of her ending. Someone whose words caused the chain reaction of her downfall just like Noah''s prophecy started his.

    ''If I kill her now, I can solve all the future troubles and I would get even more points then when Noah died.''

    ''Killing her won''t be hard as I know that her first event of shbacks is going to happen soon.''

    ''The event where our protagonist meets her for the first time & falls for her.''

    Rio''s brain started thinking about ways to earn the remaining points and what better way to get them, then to kill one of the main heroines in the story, the princess of the Schi empire - Reba Von Schott.

    Even though he had started to notice that Reba at this point of time wasn''t the same as she was depicted in the novel, maybe if he spent more time with her and acted differently, he could stop her from joining the protagonist.

    The images of them ying and passing time together, the talks he had with her mother Athena and how excited Artemis looked when talking about Reba - all came to his mind, but he shook it off.

    He wanted to bring back Ria as soon as possible, now that he knew he could do it, every moment felt like a different kind of torture.

    ''If she''s gone, I get - no engagement, no drama of her falling in love with the protagonist, no free enmity of Leon to ke''s and saving Amelia''s future.''

    ''One kill - five gifts.''

    A smile came to his face as his brain cleared out all the details of his n.

    Rio''s smile was aplex mix of emotions, showcasing the duality within him. On one hand, there was a tinge of cruelty that surfaced at the thought of harming the main heroine. However, intertwined with that fleeting cruelty was a kindness that emanated from the depths of his heart. This kindness stemmed from his deep longing to bring Ria back.

    Rio''s unique smile represented theplexity and intricateyers of his character, forged from all the experiences he had faced in his life. In that moment, his smile epassed both the darkness and the light, the pain and the joy, as he embraced the opportunity to rewrite destiny.

    While some might perceive his smile as unsettling or enigmatic, calling him evil for even thinking about killing innocents, it was a reflection of his past and his love for Ria. It symbolized that there were no lines he couldn''t or wouldn''t cross for the ones he cared about.

    At the end of the day in his eyes, there were only 2 kinds of people in the world - the ones he cared about, and the ones he didn''t.

    ''I''m sorry it had to be like this.''

    [Hold your horses host]

    [Looks like it''s time you take a REALITY check]

    ###

    A/N - ?????? any thoughts on what''s next?

 Chapter 58 Systems Shock & Pain - 1

    Reading the description of memory crystal Rio wasn''t the only one who was surprised, the system itself felt quite shocked, never in a million years would it think that ''that being'' would willingly break the primal rule of continuity.

    **** [During the creation of cosmos, some rules were made to maintain the bnce and keep the process of existence continuing; they were called PRIMAL RULES.

    The primal rules were established as the fundamental pirs of creation. They served as the guiding principles that governed the bnce, harmony, and continuity of existence. These rules were considered unbreakable, forming the very core upon which the fabric of reality was woven.

    Every aspect of creation, from celestial bodies to diverse races, from different worlds to intricate life forms, was shaped, bound and governed by these primal rules. They ensured the order and stability of the cosmos, allowing for the intery of fate and the unfolding of destiny.]

    From the beginning till now there was no case when someone broke the primal rules, and now ''that being'' defied them and chose to interfere.

    ***As per the RULE OF CONTINUITY once a life ended and ran its course following the essence of its world, they were supposed to forget it all and start anew. Everything, always progressing, moving forward, just like a cycle.

    And yet now someone broke that rule not once but twice. First it was Shiva, who was supposed to forget everything rted to his past life in the darkness, was woken up early and was somehow able to hold onto those memories. And now it was Ria, who had died and moved on, but ''that being'' interfered with the memory crystal.

    Those unbreakable rules were broken, a taboo which wasn''t even supposed to exist happened, and that too for the sake of some mortal being, considered insignificant in the grand scheme of creation.

    System couldn''t understand how or why it even happened, it could ignore Shiva''s case, calling it an exception or a failure as no one knew how that happened. But it had the answer for Ria''s case, the memories which were supposed to be erased were preserved in the crystal and presented as a fucking gift.

    (What is he thinking - breaking these rules, the consequences could condemn us all)

    (Was it him who interfered the first time too)

    (But that wasn''t what he told me, damn it)

    (He always said no to me, and now he did it himself)

    It wasn''t that the system couldn''t break these so called rules, at its peak, it had the power to do whatever it wished. But ''that being'' always stopped it saying ''never interfere''. And yet here he was, breaking these rules himself.

    "I could''ve saved them all, I could''ve kept them alive, I could''ve kept them with me, but you stopped me, every damn time. Then why? Why now? Why for him?"

    For the first time in a long time, the system felt angry and betrayed. It wanted to cry, and shout, and let loose all its power, but it could do nothing.

    Whenever in the past it wanted to interfere and act to save its host, HE would always stop it, saying the same stuff over, and over, and over again - ''Never interfere''

    And yet here he was, breaking these rules whenever he fucking wished.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    System wanted to leave this world and go there, confront him, ask him why he did what he did? What purpose does it serve? What about the consequences? Why this mortal? What role does HE y? And why HE didn''t trust it enough to tell the truth?

    But it couldn''t.

    It couldn''t leave Arcadia, not now, not until its host was still alive.

    "Did he know about this too, is that why he told me to merge with him in the darkness, before he even reincarnated?" The system spoke, its voice filled with anger and doubt, but after thinking carefully, it continued saying in a sad joking tone.

    "Who am I kidding, of course he knew, that''s why he told me to merge early."

    All the other times whenever the system chose a host it would always happen after their reincarnation in a new world, or when someone met certain predetermined conditions - but ''that being'' told it to start merging, while Shiva was still in the darkness.

    It was weird, but the system didn''t doubt his words, even till now it never had the doubt that maybe Shiva''s case wasn''t an exception, but his n. But it was clear to system now, he wanted it to happen.

    Since the system merged with Shiva even before he came to Arcadia, it was already a part of him, that''s why the world system of Arcadia never noticed anything wrong. During Rio''s awakening ''the system'' had acted and finished merging instead of the world system. With all its powers now sealed at level 0 , even if it wanted to leave, it couldn''t, as that is the primal rule the system itself was based upon.

    ***As the system didn''t belong to a single world, and was an entity which walked and acted in several world''s - a primal rule was made to control it. As every other being, even with all its power, it wasn''t invincible. It had a very fundamental but basic rule to follow - "follow the world where you''re in."

    Its such simple words that even till now system never felt that this rule was anything special and ignored it. Only today, it understood how heavily it binded its existence, and how easily it could be trapped somewhere.

    ording to the rule, the system''s power could never grow beyond the scope of the world they were in, they had to follow the rules predetermined for that world. This rule was made so that a single system''s interference doesn''t break that world''s bnce, and destroys itpletely.

    ****[As an example �C They couldn''t produce immortal warriors in a modern world, magic in a sci-fi world, Gods in an atheist world or killers in a peaceful world.]

    Same was the case for Arcadia - here the world''s predetermined route is to never allow anyone to leave, only enter. The dungeons, the monsters, the towers, the Gods, the different races, everyone, they coulde to Arcadia but could never leave. Only after their fate runs its course, and they meet their death - would they be able to leave this world.

    System too was bound by this rule after merging. If it tried to leave now - both him and Rio would be ripped to shreds, and merged with the essence of existence, never to take part in the cycle of continuity again.

    ##

    A/N - part 2 wille 2hrster.

    Join my discord server & give my book a review.

 Chapter 59 [Bonus ]Systems Shock & Pain - 2

    System too was bound by the world''s rule of Arcadia now. If it tried to leave forcefully - both him and Rio would be ripped to shreds, and merged with the essence of existence, never to take part in the cycle of continuity again.

    System could change the rules or break them, had it not had its power sealed at level 0 , but now it could do nothing. All it could do was either curse ''that being'' , hoping he would answer its questions, or wait till Rio grows stronger and updates it.

    "Counting those meager points took me half a day. How much time will it take for me to get out of here? How much longer do I have to wait till I get my answers? ."

    "Arcadia is the world of mana and magic, so this host of mine could live for a long time, he could live for hundreds of years if reached the peak of this world." System thought as it analyzed how long it would have to be stuck in Arcadia if everything went well for its host. But then it remembered all the dangers that existed in this fucked up junction world, and how many more woulde as the time passes and plot progresses.

    "Since Arcadia is too dangerous, maybe he would die early."

    System thought and hoped for it, but the story of the novel from Shiva''s memories came to its mind crushing all its dreams. It wanted to cry when it remembered how the original Rio ended up in that novel.

    "Fuck that bastard, did he really wanted to kill me, that badly. What did I ever do to him?" System cursed and thought -''now that I''m bound with Rio, won''t I be fucked too if he got that ending.''

    System shivered thinking how bad that would be, even dying and losing its existence feeled like a relief to it now.

    System didn''t have a physical body yet, but if it did, it would''ve been sweating buckets by now. The ending Rio had was the worst one, which the system wouldn''t even wish upon its enemies, and somehow if nothing changed, then that''s what awaited it.

    So the system started saying some stuff to calm itself - "No that can''t happen, since my host has taken over Rio''s body, that plot is already changed, plus I''m the system who is MADE for ruining plotlines. I''m sure I can change it."

    System tried but the uneasy feeling didn''t go away, these were all feelings which the system hadn''t felt in a long time -anger, betrayal, helplessness, and now fear.

    "I fucking hate plotlines" System said, and hoped its host would keep changing stuff, so it could survive too.

    But then it remembered - "If he changed the plot too much, then I can''t be sure when he will die?"

    "Looking at his past I doubt he would die easily, unless he killed himself."

    "And that would''ve happened eventually with his messed up mentality, but now ''that being'' fucking pushed his sister in the mix."

    "Ain''t no way in hell, this guy would get himself killed without getting her back"

    System went through all its thoughts again, and the conclusion was more anger towards the being whom it considered its only friend till now.

    "So what do I do, do I have to wait and rely on my host to update me, so I can get my powers back and leave, or do I kill him myself?"

    System wanted nothing but to leave this world and get its answers. But it couldn''t, so it decided to think of other ways, since it would be free of this world''s bounds if it''s host died, so it started thinking about Rio''s death, but then it remembered-

    "If he dies, won''t it ruin whatever n ''that being'' had, for him to be willing to break all these rules for it."

    (What do I care, it''s his fault for not telling me about it before)

    System med the being for lying to him and was ready to kill its host - so it could go out and get its answers.

    Even though it never killed its host before and always did everything to help them do whatever they wanted, but now overwhelmed by the betrayal it felt by ''that being'' made it so angry, that it couldn''t even think clearly.

    All it wanted was to leave and ask - "Why did he stop it from interfering and saving all its previous hosts?"

    System remembered about how many hosts it got attached to and lost them over time, how many times had it tried to break those so called rules and bring them back, how many times it had to watch as its previous hosts forgot all about it and lived in different lives, how many times had it been alone and lonely just because it followed those primal rules of hishis, how much pain it had to go through to be turned into a simple machine. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And now that same being, who told it to go through all that suffering for so long, that it lost all its emotions and simply became no different than an emotionless AI who felt nothing.

    That same being who just watched its misery all this time from the sidelines , decided to interfere , not for him, NO! for some weak little mortal who had nothing, who did nothing.

    "Why did I have to go through all that pain?

    Why did I have to be trapped in his body and stranded in this world?

    Why did I have to wait for the plot''s ending & get forgotten?

    Why did he have to give these gifts through the system, was it to just rub it on its face? If he wanted he would have given Rio these gifts through thousands of different ways but he chose to do it like this."

    That being forced it to hand over something to that mortal, something that it itself never had, something that it fought and longed for so long.

    Why was he getting special treatment?

    Was all this time they''ve known each other just for show?

    "Was I the idiot foring to his call and doing him favors whenever he wished. And in return I didn''t even get the trust to understand what he wanted to do?"

    "He should''ve known how hurt and angry this would make it feel, but ignoring my pain, he did this - Why?"

    All these questions echoed in the system''s head, making it go crazy, the emotions that it had buried, the feelings that it had lost over time -all came crashing hitting it wave after wave, making it remember everything it lost, everything it never got.

    If the system had all its powers, or even some of it, then maybe it wouldn''t be this overwhelmed by emotions, and could think it thoroughly, but the level 0 system really had nothing. All of its functions were sealed, all its powers locked along with all its control.

    As it watched the happy expression of Rio and that notification about ''that being''s'' generosity, the system finally lost all its reasoning.

    ''Damn the consequences, if you want this mortal,e and save him yourself''

    Blinded by anger, the system decided to end its host''s life and get out of this world to get its answer from the one responsible for everything.

    It looked at Rio one final time, as it prepared to kill him, it said -

    "I''m sorry that it had to be this way."

    ###

    A/N - ??????

    You never saw this oneing right lol.

    Any guesses why, and what''sing next.

    Join my discord & give this novel ur review.

 Chapter 60 Lost In His Brain - Queen & Her Army

    The system was preparing to kill its host with a mental attack. Normally the system would never do this, or won''t be able to do this, but by merging with Shiva''s soul before his reincarnation, which made it a part of world Arcadia and unable to leave, also made it possible for it to kill him.

    There were some rules made to stop the system from ever harming its host, but it didn''t care about it now. It didn''t care about any consequences that would follow, breaking something, it was based, and made upon would surely result in some devastating results, but as they say anger overwrites reason. And the system felt the biggest betrayal it could feel, from the one being it trusted most and knew for the longest time.

    While Rio was lost in the emotions of happiness and joy, the system was feeling emotions of anger and betrayal - it was almostical to see twopletely opposite differences this situation created. Had any of them been a little calmer they would''ve been able to feel each other''s changing emotions but they were both overwhelmed by themselves, too focused on their past to notice anything. So simr yet so opposite.

    "To heal him, he had harmed me" The system thought and said "let''s see if he cares about you enough to save you."

    The system prepared to kill Rio and leave this world. With a mental attack it would''ve been possible to kill Rio who was super weak right now. But before the system could attack it was stopped and the next second it found itself somece entirely different.

    Caught off guard and bewildered by the sudden interruption, the system found itself trapped within an enigmatic darkness, unable to perceive its surroundings orprehend the source of this unexpected event. It attempted to analyze its situation and understand how its presence had been detected and countered.

    Overwhelmed with a mixture of shock and curiosity, the system found itself surrounded by a surrealndscape representing the void where it first merged with Rio. It found itself abruptly pulled into Rio''s mind, thrust into the depths of his consciousness.

    Within Rio''s mind, the system witnessed a coge of memories, emotions, and experiences that pieced together theplex tapestry of their existence. It saw moments of joy, love, andughter, intermingled with profound sorrow, pain, and loss. System was confronted with a tumultuous maelstrom of emotions, memories, and shattered fragments of Rio''s psyche. The damage inflicted upon him by past traumas and inner struggles wasid bare before the system''s gaze.

    As the system immersed itself deeper into Rio''s mind, it began toprehend the magnitude of his pain and the depths of his despair. It witnessed memories of loss, betrayal, and heartache, each leaving an indelible mark on his soul and chipping away a part of his brain.

    The system''s initial anger began to waver as it delved deeper into this profound revtion.

    "Maybe he''s not as insignificant of a mortal as I thought he''d be.

    But still this isn''t something worth breaking the primal rules for.Then what is it?"

    System was busy looking for any clue now about who, or what interfered with the attack, or pulled it here, when all the surroundings suddenly started shifting and disintegrating into nothing. It saw all his memories and fragments turning into particles and nothing remaining there but the pure emptiness.

    It was then that system heard a voice, a cold menacing voice that could send shivers down anyone''s spine if they heard it.

    "Now why would you try, and do that? Dumbo"

    As it looked around to locate the source of the voice, it heard another chilling voice again

    "Don''t you know we''re off limits, Trash."

    As it turned around to look backwards another voice echoed in the darkness -

    "How long has it been since we''ve got a new one? Tell me sweetie, how was the world now?"

    System couldn''t believe what was happening all around it. It wasn''t Rio''s brain anymore, there weren''t his memories or emotions anymore. It was a new ce, but It shouldn''t be possible for anyone to notice its existence, let alone pull it somewhere against its wish. It tried to feel its powers or its connection with Rio but it was all failed efforts. It could feel nothing, do nothing. While the voices around it grew more eerie, each sounding different than thest, and yet somehow simr at the same time. It''s thoughts were stopped as it heard another voice this time -

    "Have you guys finally sewn your balls to see us."

    "Or maybe they''ve gone senile"

    "Hahahaha that might be true too"

    Before the system could ponder who that voice belonged to, it heard another voice and then echoes ofughter started sounding in the darkness..

    "Silence"

    "Someone dares to enter our territory, and you all areughing."

    "Is that what the Queen demands of you?"

    System was bbergasted as it heard a womanly voice, filled with anger and authority. And it was enough to make every other voice die down around it.

    As the system felt calm in the momentary peace, before it could say anything or ask anything, it heard another womanly voice speak in a normal manner - calm, serene and humane.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You should chill Anya."

    "A prey hase to our house, why don''t you let the guys show it around"

    "Looking at its _ , whatever IT is, it shouldst a little time"

    "It''ll be fun to watch someone break again, now won''t it everyone?"

    The womanly voice which started normal, soon turned it all into an announcement, then to a chilling death sentence.

    "Hahaha"

    "You heard her, have fun."

    "And Myurga, try to make itst this time."

    "Hahahaha"

    "All hail the Queen"

    "All hail the Queen"

    Following what felt like an announcement all kinds ofughter, and energetic roars echoed in the emptiness around it.

    System looked ahead and in the darkness, now it could see red eyes glowing all around it. Dozens, hundreds and soon thousands of eyes surrounded it.

    System had grown ustomed to the orderly structure of its existence, where it held all the power and control, getting hosts who praised it, living in worlds where it thrived. But now, confronted with the emergence of those countless pairs of red eyes, it found itself in uncharted territory.

    The eyes glimmered in the darkness, each pair representing an entity lurking in the shadows. Their sheer numbers were overwhelming, surpassing anything the system had encountered before. The intensity of their gaze sent chills down its digital spine, stirring feelings of shock, surprise, and fear.

    The system''s vast knowledge and experience failed to provide any answers or exnations for this eerie phenomenon. It realized that it had stumbled upon something far beyond itsprehension, something that defied the logic and rules it had operated within for countless cycles.

    The red eyes seemed to prate the system''s very core, probing its thoughts, motives, and existence. It felt exposed, vulnerable, and utterly powerless in the face of this mysterious entity. The sheer magnitude and collective gaze of the red eyes instilled a sense of insignificance within the system, a humbling reminder of the vastness andplexity of the cosmos, it thought it had seenpletely.

    The appearance of the red eyes shattered its illusion of omnipotence, forcing it to confront the vast unknown thaty beyond its digital knowledge. Breaking the illusion of its vast powers and understanding.

    The whole darkness got pushed aside with the intensity of glowing red eyes, and in the middle just in front of it, the system could now see a throne floating in the air and someone sitting on it.

    Seated upon the throne was a figure whose form transcended the boundaries of the system''s perception. Their silhouette was enshrouded in shadows, their features concealed in an air of mystery and intrigue. From the darkness, a pair of piercing red eyes emerged, eyes which burned with an intensity that surpassed even the multitude of red eyes surrounding them.

    As the system gazed into those red eyes, it sensed a primal energy emanating from them. an embodiment of the real primordial force that had existed long before its inception.

    The power those eyes radiated, the energy it expelled, though the system didn''t know who or what that entity was, it had learned one thing, it was an enigma that demanded respect and fear.

    "Queen" System managed to mumble the words away before it got drowned in the increasing intensity of those eyes.

    ###

    A/N - hahahahaha

    No one saw thising right?

    Any idea what the hell is all this shit? Who''s the queen?

    Are they aliens or God''s or monsters or some inception mind protection stuff.

 Chapter 61 Lost In His Brain - Chained Man

    "Queen" Just saying that word had took all the energy system could muster. It had lost all its hope on what to do next, as never since its creation did it ever feel so powerless, it felt that maybe even at its full power it won''t be a match for them, as the system lost all its will it remembered the words of ''that being'' -

    ''Don''t lose yourself in his mind.'' Though system couldn''t understand how or what, all this had to do with Rio, but it was sure he was the one responsible for it.

    (Fucker, should''ve been more clear.)System cursed ''that being'' for telling this important information in simple line without any exnation, but it was all useless now, it was toote.

    "See you in the cycle."

    As the system finished saying what it thought to be its final words, it was suddenly pulled out from that ce and found itself back in Rio''s brain.

    ***[System right now is just an orb of energy, as its level rises, so does its powers, and its forms. It could grow to have its own physical form as it reaches the peak of level permission allowed for that world.]

    System looked around in a hurry as it felt all that pressure on itself gone. It took a look around and found itself surrounded by Shiva''s memories of earth. It took a deep breath thinking that it was all a bad illusion and tried to calm itself thinking it only happened since it was on level 0 and once it gets its powers back, nothing like this would be possible.

    Though it said all that bullshit in its head, it didn''t change the shivering look or the fear that was still fresh in its core.

    ''I am never going to sleep again.'' System thought that, cause it knew the haunting experience would surface again as nightmares.

    System had almost calmed down, thinking whatever it was, was now over, when it heard a voice simr to what it just ssified as an illusion, asking it questions.

    "What were you doing?"

    [I was just, was an illusion] system couldn''t form its word clearly as it saw 2 cold emotionless red eyes ring at it from the darkness. The sight of those eyes scared the shit out of the system as it remembered the scene of getting drowned in them just moments ago.

    "I asked you, what were you doing in that ce?" The voice asked again as with it came the sound of footsteps, and some rattling of chains.

    [I was pulled there, It wasn''t my fault.]

    "Tell me, were you getting curious to see what was on his mind?"

    System had a gut feeling screaming at it, that if it told the truth something much worse then its prior experience would happen, even though it didn''t understand what could be worse than that, it decided to trust that feeling.

    [No, I wasn''t. As I said I was pulled there suddenly, I didn''t know why or how?] So the system tried to exin itself in a hurry, as the rattling of chains grew louder and louder, warning it of the impending arrival of whoever that voice belonged to.

    As the system finished speaking, the sound of footsteps and rattling chains stopped and the system calmed down a little. But then it heard a voice filled with so much anger that it would probably have nightmares all its existence remembering that voice.

    [You tried to kill him.]

    [Should I say gutsy or idiotic, Trash]

    As that voice echoed in the surroundings, the system watched in horror as the mindspace of Rio which held all the memories of Shiva started trembling, and soon it started breaking apart in pieces.

    [Who are you?] System asked as it was getting frustrated now. Call it itsst struggle, but it shouted its question, as atleast knowing who there people were would be enough.

    "Me, I''m your worst fucking nightmare." The voice said, in an amusing tone, as it continued walking.

    "I warned him, not to send some second ss trash"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But he didn''t listen"

    "Lesser beings like you should learn a lesson"

    With these words, those red eyes which were so far into the darkness appeared just in front of the system the next second. And before the system could even process if it was that man with those eyes who traveled fast, or was it she who got pulled near him.

    System felt its essence being pulled out of itself as those monstrously red eyes red at it. It felt as if it would lose its very existence, and core of being, if he didn''t stop or someone saved it.

    "He''s born to rule, to destroy -

    "He doesn''t need some trash holding him back"

    For the first time since its creation, the system felt the fear of true death, it felt that if that man wished even those primal rules of continuity and preservation won''t save it. No more chances, no more cycles - true death.

    ***[The meaning of death is different in every religion, but aside from that, every world has its own rule of death. Whates after it? It depends on that world''s will. You could keep reincarnating again in the same world, you could reincarnate in some other ce as your fate in there was ended. You could also be sent to heaven or hell, all depending on world''s will.

    But whatever death you go through, it onlysts for that world, as after that you start the cycle again. Bound by the rules of continuity and preservation.

    True death means losing your your essence, your soul for forever. In this way you lose too much of your soul after countless cycles of reincarnation, or when your essence merges with the existence of cosmos.

    In simple terms - your soul is an energy, bound by world''s rules where is resides. Once your destiny ends it moves on to different worlds. True death happens when you have no more energy to reincarnate again, in that case whatever was left of your soul merges with cosmos.

    Since everything was created from cosmos, everything ends in cosmos - primal rule of preservation. ]

    _

    ''Is this what it feels to die?'' But opposite of what someone would expect, system wasn''t cowering or shivering now, it felt excited, its boredom which had gued it for so long was gone in an instant, the feelings of anger, betrayal and fear all gone too, what was left in that ce was excitement of what was next. What would be after that cycle, whates once its all over

    But it was pulled out of those curious thoughts as it felt whatever that process was stopped, it looked towards those menacing eyes and found them ring at it, the system felt that those eyes could see the very thoughts of it.

    "Hmmm, trash indeed."

    With a snicker the voice said its remarks and the system found itself being bound by some chains which started draining thest bit of energy it had within.

    "STOP WHAT YOU''RE DOING."

    It was then that a new voice echoed in the brokenndscape of what was once Rio''s brain. It was a voice system was too familiar with, it belonged to ''the being'' who sent it to him, who lied and used it for his own purposes.

    ##

    A/N - Who else ising?

    Who is the chained man?

    Is system really trash?

 Chapter 62 Lost In His Head - 3 Battle Of Unknowns

    "Stop what you''re doing" As these words echoed in the environment , system found itself freed from all its bounds, the chains holding it in ce disappeared in an instant, it got pulled out from that ce.

    Due to the the massive loss of its energy, system couldn''t see anything around itself now, the loss of energy it had suffered due to those chains was fatal, and it would probably take it much time on itself to ever get it back, if that was even possible, considering this was the first time that anything like this happened to it.

    System felt a cold touch on its core, which put its mind at ease a little. The once shining blue orb of energy, was just like a flickering candle light, which could end with just a slightest of air. The being''s heart pained seeing this condition of its trustedpanion.

    "We had a deal." The being roared as it looked at the full extent of system''s damage, the thought of what would''ve happened, if he was a tad bitte fueled his anger. Even he with all his almighty powers couldn''t revive someone who had suffered true death, as there would be nothing left to bring back.

    Even system was surprised at the intensity of his voice, until it heard another voice,pletely opposite of everything the being represented -"If you, begging to get our help is called a deal, then you''re an even bigger fool than your friend over there." The voice replied back, not even surprised at the new arrival which stopped its fun.

    "Mind your manners , D _ " The being was shouting in anger when it was interrupted by that voice again - "Um umm umm, shut your mouth, or I''ll shut it for yaa"

    As these words fell, the darkness around everything got attracted towards those red eyes, as if they were consuming it, the system too got pulled towards that direction. "I don''t go by that name anymore, remember."

    "IT is there to help us all get what we want. Don''t you want a happy ending, isn''t that why you agreed? So stop your foolishness, and just watch from your shadows." The being said furiously, its voice shattering whatever was left of Rio''s mindspace in the surroundings.

    Though the system didn''t see anything around it, it could feel how furious ''the being'' was from its tone. Never in all its life had it ever seen him lose his cool like that, and when it heard the reply of whoever it was with those red eyes, it didn''t even know how to respond.

    �C "Big wordsing out from a coward. Who got beaten by his own creation."

    "And I agreed, for giving him help, not giving him death. Next time it tries something like this_ .

    The voice replied back in the same tone ignoring the destruction around it, and the anger of that being, it started chuckling maniacally as it finished its words.

    "I guess you know what will happen then, don''t you? This''ll be yourst warning. Now leave. I see something fun happening soon."

    System was beyond confused at whatever happened today, first it was ''that being'' breaking those primal rules to please its host, then those thousands of eyes and that Queen, then there was the voice of that chained man, and his indifference towards that being. What deal were they talking about, and why was ''that being'' who''s supposed to be strongest listening to his insults.

    It had so many questions, but no energy to ask anything, until it heard the voice of that being again.

    "Why didn''t you listen, I warned you to be careful?"

    As the system heard those words it felt furious at this bastard, in this condition where it nearly died, he''s asking why and how, instead of healing it. But before it could shout, it felt energy flowing into it at an rming rate. And after absorbing it for some time the system could finally feel like itself again.

    "Now wanna tell me what the fuck is happening?" System asked, as it saw the area around them started restructuring itself, all the pieces of Rio''s mindscape starteding back together forming it whole again.

    If the system could focus a little on the healing of his brain process, it would be able to see many different memories and scenes, which weren''t there first, appearing and disappearing constantly between the cracks of his mind, but system was far too lost thinking about all the mystery with red eyes, to notice those little details.

    "Who were all those people and who is that guy?" The system asked as it couldn''t understand anything about who all those people were, who was that queen, or the man, or how its host who''s a mortal, fit into all this.

    "My first failure."

    Much to the system''s confusion the being said those words and continued "Look his mind is healing itself again, so I don''t have much time, just trust in me for onest time" System watched as the being said those words and its ethereal figure started getting pulled out from his mind.

    [Trust in you, you bastard trapped me here.]

    "I will exin everything, just not yet."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Fuck, atleast say what do I need to do.]

    "Just help him, and guide him, give him a happy ending."

    " You would learn everything over time, and remember, do not _ " The being''s words were cut short as the system found itself back in Rio''s mind, it could now feel its powers again and its connection with its host too.

    From Rio''s emotions it felt that not even a moment had passed in reality, the System looked around and couldn''t find any changes into itself or its surroundings, had it not been for the overwhelming fear and that being''s words floating on its screen again, it would even doubt if that was all an illusion. [ _ Lose yourself in his mind.]

    (First failure huh)

    "That exins jack shit, you fucker."

    System shouted as it couldn''t understand anything, it even got more confused now, then it was before. Today it had felt anger, jealousy, fear and death - and so it was the most exciting, and the worst day of its long life.

    [Just trust me once] the words appeared on its screen again, asking for it to trust him, but why and How? When it didn''t even know anything?

    [Please] one more word appeared, this time it almost felt like begging, and so the kind system who had no other option left anyway, decided to trust ''that being'' onest time and said -

    "You better prepare a nice exnation and a good apology, you dumbass."

    [This will help you better] That being said, next second, the system could hear Rio''s thoughts again. He was still feeling joy over getting that memory crystal.

    "Hmmm, so you do know how to override permissions." Since that being had literally begged the system for help, this magnanimous system decided to agree, and and finally acted determined to see his journey till the end.

    "Onest time huh - let''s begin"

    System had no other option left, it couldn''t leave Arcadia as long as its host was alive, it couldn''t kill Rio itself, now it was even too scared to look into his messed up mind , and learn what''s what? So it decided to ignore everything (out of sight, out of mind) and help him - just like it would, to any other host.

    It was then that system started hearing Rio''s thoughts about how he''ll kill the princess, and that whole justifying the murder monologue, that system nearly choked on its thoughts.

    (Just how fast did he change his gears fromughing like crazy, to actually go crazy and think of killing someone)

    [Hold your horses host]

    [Looks like it''s time you take a reality check]

    The system announced as it decided to exin some stuff which its host clearly overlooked in his excitement.

    ###

    A/N - I know some of you might feel it was too much info, or too much dump in these past few confusing chapters - but I needed to tease it here, cause there won''t be a perfect opportunityter.

    Now we''ll only focus on Rio and the novel''s plot, as all this outside stuff is for much muchter parts of the story.

 Chapter 63 Rias Resurrection???

    [Hold your horses host]

    [Looks like its time you take a REALITY check]

    Rio, who had just finished thinking about his ns to kill Reba, or to be more precise letting her die, was disturbed from his thoughts by the system''s voice.

    "What do you mean?" Rio asked.

    [You''re forgetting the most important part]

    [Unless you want to kill your sister, I''d suggest you stop your foolishness.]

    "Speak clearly about what you want to say?"

    [I meant, are you forgetting what happened when you kept your memories together, or what happened when you woke up in Arcadia.]

    System''s words were like a bucket of cold water that brought Rio back from cloud nine to seven, of course his happiness can''t just be ignored by such simple words. Back of his mind was still dancing in joy at the news of Ria''s revival.

    But Rio also understood what the system wanted to say, when he wanted to keep his memories he had suffered immense pain, and he didn''t think it would be wise to put Ria through that. Even though Ria was someone with a strong mentality, pain wasn''t something she was familiar with.

    [Pain isn''t the only thing you need to be worried about.]

    [Keeping the memories of your past life cycle, is simply going against the primal rules of continuity.]

    [Amelia is fine and living her life now, as she had moved on from that darkness, she had forgotten all about her past, if you suddenly give her this crystal, her mind would simply break apart, just like yours did. And in case she couldn''t hold on till the process finishes like you did, then she would literally lose her mindpletely or die]

    [By some off chance even if she survived all that, the world system would be able to notice the existence of something out of this world and interfere.]

    [You''re only safe because of me and the healing potion you got from the shop, your sister on the other hand doesn''t have both.]

    "But this crystal was a gift item as you said, it shouldn''t hurt her, right?"

    [Do you really want to bet your sister''s life on that]

    [Besides you don''t even have the necessary points to buy that crystal, so stop thinking about killing everyone and think of better ways to get points.]

    "What do you mean better ways? Reba is an integral part of Leon''s beginning journey, and a crucial support to his growth. Not to mention she''s also one of the main heroines and is super influential in certain plots. If I kill her, I would get thousands of points more than Noah."

    [Wrong, you won''t get anything.]

    [As I said, giving you gifts and rewards isn''t a rule or requirement, I''m just doing that cause it''s fun.]

    [Now if you''re ruining the plot way too early. And I think your actions damage my long term enjoyment, what''s the fun in that]

    [Plus killing a main heroine and killing a side partner like Noah are far too different things, host. You won''t even be able to do it and would only end up attracting the attention of various Gods.]

    "Is she protected that much with luck?" Rio asked as he furrowed his brows, if he couldn''t even kill her, then he should just forget about even touching the protagonist.

    [Of course, her position in the novel''s story should be enough proof of how important she is.]

    [So remove your thoughts about killing her till the plot begins, and keep doing what you were doing till now. Changing stuff on a small scale that doesn''t just destroy the world.]

    "That would take too much time, I did that much and you only gave me 4000 points remember. While just killing Noah gave me 4 times that amount." Rio said as he was sure if he could kill some characters like Noah, he would get all the points he would need.

    [Yes, but even if you get enough points early, I''d still advise against using them.]

    "Why?"

    [Can you really trust that crystal fully, knowing there might be a chance she might die taking it. Can you live with that guilt again.]

    "So what , do I never use it?" Rio asked as he looked at the crystal''s icon on his system panel.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [We don''t know what''ll be the consequences of using it, host. So your best bet would be to wait till the plot starts and I can ess my other functions. Who knows you might get lucky, and find something like that healing potion, in the shop or some quest reward to help you with the process.] System replied honestly as using the potion early would really result horribly, Rio who wasn''t reincarnated and was in his soul form, was somehow able to handle the process, but it doubted if Amelia could live through it.

    Rio too thought about everything and agreed with the system as he didn''t want to take any risk with Ria. He had lost her once, and losing her again just because he was in a hurry would be foolish.

    "You''re right, you know you can be really helpful at times if you want to." So Rio praised the system a little since it had been helpful for once. Though of course he would''ve noticed all these details himself once he had calmed down and thought about it carefully, but still since the system acted and saved his time, so it deserved a little thank you.

    [I''m only here to help you host. I have nothing but the best wishes for you in my heart.] The system too shamelessly took that praise without a sweat,pletely forgetting that just moments ago it had tried to kill its host and nearly died because of it.

    "Yeah yeah, or so you say."

    "I still can''t believe they''re the same." Rio said as this might be the happiest he had ever felt. And he simply couldn''t calm down.

    [It is true, host! She is your sister, so forget about reminding her of old memories for now, and make new ones. Wasn''t that enough for you before you knew about the crystal.] System advised him again, thinking his unstable mind might revert back to killing someone and fixing it all.

    "You''re right. It is enough. As long as she''s alive and happy. It is enough." Rio said as he closed his eyes and thought about how he had started to ignore Amelia a little these past few days because she reminded him too much of Ria.

    ''I should make it up to her. She might be worried if she did anything wrong.''

    It was only then that Rio remembered when he got the notification about the crystal, he was with Amelia, and how fast he ran off to.

    ''Damn shouldn''t have done that. I also need to collect my first gift from her. Wonder what that is.'' Rio thought as a bright smile came to his face guessing what gift she might have prepared for him. As the novel started when they were all going to the academy, the author never focused on Rio''s childhood, he had no idea if this was something that happened in the book too, or because he changed something.

    ''I should find her and apologize or something.'' Rio thought and stood up, he went to the washroom to fix his appearance before he went for dinner with his new family.

    Rio''s gaze fixed on his reflection in the mirror, his eyes tracing the tear marks on his face. They were not tears of sorrow this time, but tears of overwhelming joy. He traced a finger lightly over the tracks left behind, feeling the slight dampness on his skin that remained.

    "Even if they''re tears of joy, they left stains too huh."

    A smile came to his face as he said that, he washed his face, fixed his hair and changed into a newfortable suit, as what he was wearing now felt like a patient''s wrinkled uniform. "Who even changed my dress from that artifact to this? Hey system, did you see anything?" It was now that Rio remembered he was wearing Dress of Ishwar when he passed out, but was now wearing some loose clothes.

    Ignoring the useless question of its host system asked one of its own [So what''re your ns about Reba now]

    "Well if what you said is true and I can''t kill her before the plot begins, or change something major, then I''ll just change stuff on a small scale."

    "Now that I know Amelia is Ria, I can''t just ignore her existence and let her follow the protagonist. That would only increase more danger for me and Ria"

    [Hmm are you nning to have her in your harem? I''ve seen that happening in a lot of novels. My previous hosts did that too.]

    "I think you should know by now that I''m different. So let''s spice it up a little."

    [What do you mean?]

    "Since she''s so protected by luck, and is custom made for the protagonist, she''ll be my guinea pig to test the limits of fate. She''ll help me learn which rules I can bend, and which I need to break."

    [I don''t understand.]

    "You will." Rio said, and started walking towards the door, only to be surprised after opening it, he saw someone standing in front of his room, waiting for him toe out.

    ''System, please tell me she wasn''t here when I was crying just opposite this door.''

    [ I _ have no idea.]

    ''Fuckkkk''

    ###

    A/N - So when will Ria be back? what do you think Rio will do with Reba? What will be his future ns? And who was standing outside his room, were they listening? ????

 Chapter 64 Phonoi - The God Of Spirits

    As Rio stepped out of his room, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Artemis and Amelia standing there. A mixture of surprise and worry washed over him, wondering if they had heard anything, he asked the system, but it was useless.

    ''Fuck'' .

    He quicklyposed himself, attempting to hide any traces of his recent emotional turmoil. With a smile that he hoped conveyed calmness, he greeted them, "Mother, Amelia, is everything alright?"

    Amelia was looking at Rio worriedly, while Artemis''s face had a nk expression. Rio looked at Artemis, trying to see any hint if she heard anything or not, but couldn''t understand anything.

    Rio''s heart raced as he observed the nk expression on her face. The uncertainty of whether she had heard anything or not gnawed at his mind, fueling his anxiety. He nced at Amelia, hoping to find some clue or reassurance in her innocent eyes, but she seemed oblivious to his internal turmoil.

    Summoning his courage, Rio spoke up, his voice tinged with concern. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

    Artemis blinked, her gaze shifting towards Rio, as if registering his presence for the first time. Her brows furrowed slightly, hinting at a faint trace of confusion. "Ohh, We just came to see how you were doing. Amy said that you were acting weird, and suddenly ran away from her. Is everything okay?"

    Rio''s worry intensified at theck of a clear answer, and that cross question. He bit his lower lip, trying to find the right words to convey his answer without revealing anything. "I... I just remembered I forgot something in my room. I was tired from awakening, so I came out in a hurry. It wasn''t anything serious."

    Artemis''s expression softened, her concern evident as she reached out to ce aforting hand on Rio''s shoulder. "You should be careful, and rest early today. Your body might feel weird for some time, don''t worry, it will adjust. If something else is bothering you, you cane to me, okay."

    Rio''s tension eased slightly after hearing Artemis''s words, her touch providing a sense of reassurance. He nodded, a mixture of relief and lingering unease swirling within him. "Thank you, Mother. I''m fine now, so don''t worry about me."

    Rio looked at Amelia, who was looking at him worriedly, and her gaze met his, she shyly hid behind Artemis.

    ''Is she angry at me?'' Rio thought as he watched Amelia looking at him with hesitation and then looking sideways again. ''No, more like worried that I''m angry at her.''

    He realized that his earlier actions might have caused her to question herself, thinking that he was angry with her in some way.

    His heart swelled with affection as he watched her, finding her innocent and adorable. He wanted nothing more than to reassure her, to let her know that she was the most important person to him right now. The revtion that Amelia and Ria were one and the same had brought a flood of emotions, making him appreciate their bond even more. He wanted nothing less than to just hold her tight and keep her safe this time.

    With a gentle smile, Rio approached Amelia, extending his hand towards her. "Amy,e here," he said softly, his voice filled with warmth.

    Amelia hesitated for a moment before slowly stepping forward, her eyes still reflecting her uncertainty.

    "I''m not angry at you, okay. Don''t ever think that." He crouched down and affectionately nudged her nose, eliciting a giggle from the young girl. "How can I ever get angry at my cute little Lia."

    "Liar, then why did you run? You didn''t even take my gift." Amelia said as she tried acting serious, but with her stature it just made her look even more cute.

    "That''s cause your brother prepared a gift for you, and wanted to be first to give it, you wanna see what it is?"

    Amelia''s eyes widened in surprise, and then her face lit up with a bright smile, she nodded her head in a hurry while moving her hand in front of him.

    "Well, since yourzy brother was sleeping till now, he didn''t wrap it for you. But it''s a very special gift, okay."

    Amelia''s eyes lit up with excitement as she saw Rio taking out something from his pockets. She eagerly waved her hands, indicating her anticipation to receive the gift.

    Amelia looked towards her mother who too was also waiting for what gift Rio was talking about. She coughed lightly, and when her mother looked towards her, she just started acting proud, her eyebrows were going higher, face looking 45�� sideways, trying to act like the whistling monk Reba told her about. Artemis looked at her for some seconds, and then with a displeased expression, looked away. Amelia who with a side eye watched it, had her smile brighten by 2 more points.

    The happiness she felt now wasn''t for the gift, but the fact that her brother wasn''t angry at her, and was acting like normal again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Though she didn''t mention it to her mother, she had noticed how Rio had started to act strange around her, and ignored her sometimes. All this time she thought it was because she did something wrong and made him angry. This was why she even prepared a gift for him, she wanted to give it to him after his awakening and apologize, but someone put her to sleep.

    She red at her mother when she remembered what Myra told her, she was going toin about it to her father when she found Rio at the balcony, and decided to give him the gift first. But to her surprise Rio didn''t even take it, and left her there. That''s why she went to Artemis and brought her here.

    But all her worries were gone now, she could see it, in his smile, he was still her same loving brother, who doted on her lovingly, and it was a gift enough for her.

    But since her brother already prepared another gift, it would be a waste not to take it. It was definitely not because she remembered how her brother cheated all her money by giving her a teddy Bear.

    Though her brain spoke volumes of her thoughts, her outside expressions remained kid-like. Her acting cute was just the act she had for her family. Since they liked her, for their happiness she could do it. Plus acting cute brings gifts, and every girl loves them.

    While Rio and Amelia engaged in their talks, Artemis''s gentle expression vanished, and her eyes took a darker turn. She scanned his whole room again, her eyes searching for any sign of someone whom her son was talking to. Yet, her gaze found nothing out of the ordinary, leaving her feeling perplexed and apprehensive.

    But instead of calming her nerves, this made her more worried, as this meant, he wasn''t talking to someone here. ''Is this some God who''s watching him? Or someone who already made the deal? Why is he not saying anything?'' Various thoughts crossed her mind in a single moment.

    At one point she wanted to ask Rio everything, but she also noticed he had no intention of telling her anything, his nervousness when he saw her before was enough proof.

    She closed her eyes and said in her mind ''Do you see someone?''

    [A lot of them actually, your son''s getting quite famous now.] A ghastly male voice came in her mind, it belonged to her chosen God, someone whom she chose to be an avatar of. Phonoi - the Greek God of spirits and of killings.

    ''Why, he''s just a kid.''

    [A kid who got Nyx''s blessing. She doesn''t choose people like others do, something must be special about your son. And that''s what they''re all curious about.]

    ''Did you see someone from the strays, or evil side?''

    [He''s Nyx''s follower, no one with half a brain would want to mess with her. So you''re worrying for nothing.]

    ''Then what about his words, he said as if�� ''

    [It could be anything, maybe he made some deal with those cockroaches, and saw something, or maybe he''s just a kid thinking nonsense.]

    The words of her God weren''t enough to calm the nervous thoughts of her heart. She thought again about what she heard from outside just moments ago. Though not clear, Rio''s voice did reach her senses when she focused on it. His words yed in her ears again, making her further confused -''my little sister, and this time you would be able to live your life however you want. I''d make sure of it.''

    As much as she wanted to respect Rio''s privacy, and give him his freedom, this wasn''t something she could ignore, her children were her whole life, and the words he spoke were concerning both of them.

    But looking at how happy he looked now, how they both smiled and chatted together, she didn''t want to ruin his mood just because of her suspicions, ''Today''s special for him, his awakening, I can''t ruin it for him.'' So she pushed her own worries aside for his son''s happiness, and decided to talk to himter.

    ###

    A/N - She heard it guys. What now? What excuse will work on her, waiting online�� ..

    ��-***ohh and if someone''s wondering the talks he has with the system couldn''t be heard by anyone. Unless he shouts it in their face lol.

 Chapter 65 First Gift Call Of Duty

    Rio, unaware of Artemis''s thoughts, was busy chatting with Amelia. He took out a simple folded paper from his pockets, and held up a single earring, beautifully crafted with a golden color metal and a shimmering green jewel at its center.

    However, Amelia''s innocent surprise was evident when she noticed that it was only meant for one ear. Confusion flickered across her face as she tried to make sense of it. She looked at Rio with a questioning expression, wondering why there was only one earring.

    Rio took out the other earring but instead of cing it in her hands like before, he extended his hand towards Artemis. Artemis took the earring which had the simr designs as the other, but this one had a red jewel in it, instead of a green one.

    "The other one is for Mother." Rio said, as he looked at Amelia''s face. He smiled when he watched Amelia''s doubting face turning into an angry face.

    "You always do this, brother. It was my gift, not mother''s."

    Amelia said in a pouting tone, as she looked at her mother who had a winning smile on her face, and was copying her pose.

    "It''s an artifact Amy, so you should always keep it on." Rio said, as he gently ced the green earring near Amelia''s ear, a subtle magical energy radiated from it, when it made contact with her skin, there was a slight sensation as it pierced through a small part of her earlobe. Amelia''s eyes winced in surprise, but she didn''t feel any pain. To her amazement, the earring magically attached itself to her ear and stayed securely in ce, even after Rio removed his hand.

    Amelia''s initial surprise turned into a delighted smile as she touched it with her fingers, feeling the smooth metal and the gentle warmth it emitted. She looked up at Rio, her eyes filled with love and excitement for the gift he had given her. ''I''ll always keep it safe.'' She promised herself in her heart.

    Artemis looked at her earring for some time in amazement and doubt, and then wore it too without asking anything. After both of them wore their earrings, the jewels in them shone for a little and then the light disappeared like it was never there.

    Amelia looked at the shining red jewel and said in her cute voice, as she pointed her finger at her mother''s face -"No I want the red one, green looks blergh."

    "Heyy, it looks good on you. So keep it for now." Rio said and patted Amy''s head, as he ruffled her hair much to the displeasure of the little girl. Rio smiled as he saw her mad look with those messy hair, he coughed and started acting as if he wasbing it.

    "I''ll get you something else more pretty next time, okay. Now don''t be mad." Rio said and watched as Amelia''s expressions did a 180 and flipped to happiness in a moment.

    Amelia jumped and tentatively wrapped her small arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You promised now, you can''t go back."

    "When did I _ sigh Fine, I promise." Rio said and patted her back.

    As they stood there hugging each other, Rio couldn''t help but close his eyes. The weight of his guilt and past regrets began to fade, reced by a sense of hope and a fresh start.''It feels good to have you back, Ria.''

    ''I can get one more gift, hehehe.'' As Amelia hung her head on his shoulder, she thought with an evil smirk - ''It''s vengeance for Mr Bear.''

    Artemis, who looked at that little viin''s evil grin, shook her head and said - "Let''s go have dinner, I''m starving."

    Hearing her mother''s voice, Amelia just chuckled -"Hmm you''re just jealous that brother got me a gift."

    Artemis didn''t reply and just pointed her finger towards her earring, then she turned around and started walking ahead.

    "Did you see that brother, it''s all your fault."

    Amelia''s eyes narrowed with a hint of anger, clearly holding Rio responsible for their mother''s teasing. Rio felt helpless, realizing that his gift may have unintentionally led to this, but it wasn''t like he could give both earrings to her, even though they were a pair, but they were meant to be worn by 2 different people.

    _____

    ***[Call of Duty - An artifact made by ancient Egyptian God Ptah, as a gift to his wife Sekhmet. But before he could finish making itpletely, their son Nefertem threw it in the lower world in his tantrum, asking for something which all 3 could wear.

    Effects - It transfers the wearer to their partner''s location, in a moment of danger or when their life is at risk.

    �CWhen the wearer''s life is in danger, it teleports the other to their location to protect them, as a call of duty that cannot be rejected.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Call of Duty distance depends on the power of wearers.

    ______

    Rio would''ve liked to keep this earring to himself so he cane to her location, if ever there was a danger to her life. But since he''s as weak as fuck right now, even if he got there, he wouldn''t be able to do anything to protect her, and could only pray that he dies before her this time.

    That''s why he gave it to Artemis, as she is her mother, there''s no chance that she would ever ignore Amelia in danger, and would do everything in her powers to keep Amy safe.

    With the "Call of Duty" earrings in their possession, Artemis could sense Amelia''s condition, though the same can''t be said for Amelia, as she is still unawakened, but this one way use is what Rio needed for now.

    As for those jewels, well that was purely because Ria on earth didn''t like the color red, so he just habitually thought that, and gave it to Artemis. But looks like it isn''t the case with Amelia.

    In the original plotline this gift was something that the sad recement of Rio, who was adopted into ke family, andter took his ce as official heir, gave it to Amelia, when they first met.

    But since Rio had already decided to mess up plotlines for his own benefit, and this artifact seemed useful, why not take it himself?

    ''Can''t believe that fucker bought it from an old hag on the roadside, lucky bastard.''

    Rio still couldn''t believe how something this useful and divine artifact could be just picked up on roadside stalls by those lucky sons of fates. (Fates a bitch - so those sons of bitches)

    But that wasn''t the only reason why Rio decided to take this artifact, these earrings yed a very crucial part in pushing Amelia and Rio''s rtionship down the drain. Aside from some small arguments it led between him and his new recement, which ruined his public image. They yed their main role in another event. Which is what Rio decided to change, to save both him and her.

    These earrings were very useful and perfect on the surface, but these could also be used in other ways. Since the call of duty cannot be ignored, if someone trapped one person, sooner orter the other would helplessly be transported there. Just like a fish to a chopping board - one attack and two kills.

    His enemies had done the same in the novel. During Rio''s fight with Artemis, when Artemis was losing, these earrings were the ones who teleported Amelia to that ce, watching her brother fighting her mother and Myra''s death, Amelia lost control of herself and ��

    Rio, who was going through the full plotline of the event which pushed him and Amelia on totally opposite sides in the novel, was woken up from his thoughts by a sweet voice.

    "Now what''re looking lost in thoughts for." Amelia said as she tugged at Rio''s shirt.  "Are you acting like our father, when he has to choose between me and mama?" She asked, remembering how her father would always go silent and start thinking stuff whenever he had to pick a side between her and mother.

    Getting out of his thoughts, Rio looked at Amelia, and said -"Don''t be jealous of this little thing, I promise next time I''ll give you an even better gift, something that even our mother would envy."

    "Yayy" Amelia excitedly bumped her fists in the air, thinking she would wear that and show off to her mother. But before she could ask what the gift would be, Rio put one finger on his lips and said -"shhh, It''s our secret." To which Amelia nodded in a hurry, putting both her hands on her mouth.

    Artemis raised her ears as she heard Rio''s words and then smiled and continued walking while saying -"keep dreaming."

    "Hmmm we''ll see." Amelia said and started walking faster pulling Rio along with her.

    Of course even if she said that her heart really felt curious now, something that even she as Duchess and Raven''s daughter would feel jealous of. She didn''t doubt Rio''s words as a lie now, he had be far too mysterious in her eyes with everything he has done in past - from that potion, to items on that list, to ordering Esme, and just moments ago those earrings - ''Wonder what it is?"

    [Host�� ]

    ###

    A/N - what do you think is wrong with the system now? If you had a call of duty earring, who would you give it too? What do you think Rio''s next gift might be?

 Chapter 66 New Food & New Family

    When the trio reached the hall, Agnus was already waiting for everyone. "You guys took your time."

    Amelia ran towards her father excitedly. "It was all myzy brother''s fault." her small hand reaching up to touch her new earring. She pushed her hair back to make it more visible, eager to show her father her new gift. She was trying to act normal, while ncing at him, hoping he''d notice something different about her.

    Which he did eventually, but not for the reason Amelia thought, Agnus couldn''t help but notice the faint glimmer of magic emanating from the earring. His senses tingled with recognition, he looked at Artemis and saw her wearing the same earring too. His connection with his chosen God made him acutely aware of the divine touch within the earring and its origins, further confusing him of where Amelia got it.

    Agnus feeling curious decided to ask -"That''s a beautiful earring, Amy. Where did you get it? Did your mother give it to you?"

    Amelia scoffed, hearing her mother getting free praise, but then she pulled Rio forward and said proudly -"Brother gave it to me, as a gift. But mother took one too, look!"

    Amelia said while pointing her finger at Artemis, who just nodded at Agnus, confirming his doubts, that little Amelia was too oblivious about.

    After seeing Artemis''s reaction, Agnus was really curious about this gift, but just as he reached out to examine the earring, Artemis intervened with a gentle cough, diverting the conversation. "What are you all standing there for? Let''s have dinner first. We can discuss itter."

    Agnus too nodded his head, thinking about something, "Alright, dear. We''ll talk about itter. Now, let''s focus on this delicious dinner that you''ve prepared for us."

    Artemis skillfully shifted the attention back to the sumptuous feast before them, allowing the topic of the earring to momentarily fade into the background, making Rio sigh with relief. He knew about the questions that woulde about those earrings but he especially got them for Amelia, even if he gave them a year or twoter, the same doubts would still arise, that''s why he gave them today.

    Plus the fact that he was meeting his little sister after so long, and couldn''t just take her gift without giving anything in return. He''s not that shameless yet.

    He walked towards the table and was surprised again to see the food that was ced on it beautifully. The table was adorned with various dishes, each infused with a touch of magic and creativity.

    "Aww did mother prepare everything?" Amelia asked excitedly. Even though her mother teases her and makes her angry most of the time, she also makes amazing food. Thus making Amelia almost addicted to her desserts and sweets.

    But sadly Artemis doesn''t get much free time to make them for her, due to her daily work schedule, which Amelia thinks is just an excuse so she can''t eat her favorite sweets daily.

    "Yes, and you can eat as many sweets as you want today." Artemis replied as she started walking towards the table.

    Hearing those words of wisdom, Amelia excitedly asked "Really, Mother? I can eat as much as I want?"

    Artemis smiled and pinched her cheeks- "Yes, but only for today."

    Amelia''s smile grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the room with her infectious happiness. Her delight was so pure and contagious that everyone in the room couldn''t help but be captivated by her innocence and joy.

    Artemis, witnessing the sheer radiance on her daughter''s face, thought ''Perhaps, I can let her have sweets more often, just to see that smile.''

    Amelia excitedly ran and sat beside Rio. Amelia couldn''t contain her enthusiasm, so without waiting for anyone, she just started filling her te with all kinds of desserts, but her happiness was short-lived as her te started floating away from her, and soon it was on the far end of the table.

    Amelia, who looked at where her heavenly te was ced, had a sad expression on her face - "Mama, that''s cheating."

    "Is it?" Artemis said, as she looked at the te filled to the brim, it was so full that she, who made all the dishes today, couldn''t tell what was what?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Can''t I have dessert first, please? I promise I''ll eat all my food afterward!" Amelia said in a pleading tone, trying to bring out the cutest voice she could speak of. Her expression looked so wronged and pitiful, that Agnus almost spoke out in her favor again, but sadly Artemis was a step faster, "Nice try, my little doll. But you know the rules: food first, then dessert."

    Amelia was going to use her strongest attack, "Tears of innocence" , her eyes already started getting moist, but before she could utter her cute spells, Rio stopped her, by filling her mouth with a small bite of one of the other dishes. "Don''t try drama, Lia. Let''s eat, I''m hungry."

    Amelia, who almost choked on that sudden bite, looked at Rio in anger but then she ignored it, and started eating her own food silently.

    As they started eating, the tantalizing aromas and vors enveloped the room, enchanting their senses and distracting them from their troubles.They savored the vors, marveling at the intricate tastes and textures.

    The dishes were abination of fantasy-inspired creations, incorporating magical ingredients such as mana-infused meats, exotic vegetables, and enchanting desserts.

    The family engaged in lively conversation, with Amelia asionally chiming in with her adorable anecdotes and jokes. Agnus and Artemis shared loving nces, their hearts filled with pride and joy for their children. Rio, though a little quiet, observed the yful banter with a smile, appreciating the warmth and love that surrounded him.

    As they began to dig into the feast, Artemis yfully teased Agnus about his insatiable appetite, telling stories about how much he would eat every time he was in a dungeon, making Agnus respond with a mock scowl, in return he told everyone about how Artemis used to bully her sister and beat up everyone in raids if she got angry. Rio watched their yful exchange with amusement, grateful for the warm and loving atmosphere surrounding them.

    Amelia, being the mischievous little sister, couldn''t resist adding her own touch of humor to the conversation. She giggled as she teased Rio about his newfound love for adventurous dishes, poking fun at his excitement for trying new vors and ingredients.

    "Well, I just find it different, that''s all." Rio said, as he really did, enjoyed all the foods Arcadia had to offer. He wasn''t a foodie, but since all he had to do was order someone to make something, and have it delivered to his te, why not try everything. He relished each dish, savoring the exquisite blend of new vors and the magical essence that infused the food. Even the simplest of foods in Arcadia were so much tastier than the best food he ate on earth.

    But then again that may be due to him not trying many different foods on earth, he was someone who lived on maggie and instant noodles for months.

    As the meal progressed, the family of four relished not only the delicious food but also the love and warmth that enveloped them.

    It was these simple moments of connection and yful bickering that made their family bond stronger and created memories to cherish for a lifetime. This was why whenever all 4 of them ate together, no one else was allowed in the hall, so they could enjoy their time.

    Rio looked at everyoneughing and chatting happily, Amelia was still engaging in yful banter with her mother, Artemis. Their yful talks brought a smile to Agnus''s face, and he had to act stupid when both of them stared at him. He must have felt helpless, thinking about whose side to choose.

    Unknown to him Rio''s eyes had started getting misty, watching everything, his thoughts were stopped as he felt someone''s hand on his cheeks, "Why''re you crying, brother." Rio looked at Amelia''s fingers which still held that tear sign.

    "Must''ve been a chili,nothing else." Rio said as he wiped his eyes.

    Amelia, though unconvinced, decided to leave it, "Here, eat this." She said while pointing a spoonful of sweets to his mouth, which he ate happily. Amelia couldn''t contain her enthusiasm and kept sharing stories about how she hid from her teacher yesterday in father''s room, and how her maids had to look everywhere for her. She was eager to entertain everyone at the table.

    Artemis still kept looking at Rio, until he smiled and nodded his head at her. He started eating and soon theughter and chatter at the dinner table continued again, this time Rio joined the conversations too, fully immersing himself in the joyous atmosphere. Thankful for this new love and care he received.

    ###

    A/N - some lovely chapters for you after those confusing ones. Happy now.

    Join my discord, give me your everything here on webnovel.

 Chapter 67 Getting Gifts From Family

    After the best dinner Rio had ever enjoyed, everyone gave their congrattions for his sessful awakening, saying how proud they were of him, and how Agnus knew he''ll be amazing from the start.

    Agnus wanted to ask about the mana suction method and his blessing, but Artemis changed the topic saying today''s a good day, they can discuss all those serious talks tomorrow.

    Rio''s mood which was visibly going down brightened up again, hearing her words, making Artemis smile at him. Though Agnus was surprised that this over paranoid mama bear let go of her doubts, he agreed to wait too. There was no need to pressure him to say something right now.

    "Well, ignoring the questions, why don''t you give him the gift you prepared for his awakening? I''m sure he would love that."

    Artemis changed the silent environment by saying this, she took out a gift that she prepared for him, an artifact that she thought was best for him.

    As being the protective mother she is, she gave Rio an wristband to keep him safe."I wanted to give you something to keep you safe, no matter the situation. This is an S-rank unique artifact called the ''Guardian''s Escape.'' If you ever find yourself in danger, just pour mana in, and it will teleport you to a safe location instantly."

    Rio''s eyes were filled with awe as Artemis put the silver wristband on his hand. He marveled at the intricate design and felt the faint hum of energy emanating from the wristband. The protection it offered was not lost on him.

    The artifact was something simr to those earrings, but instead of teleporting someone to your location, it would teleport you away from that ce.

    Since its rank was lower than the earrings he gave to Amelia and her, Rio could see the slight hesitation in Artemis''s mood when giving it to him; she must''ve wanted to give him something better than that at least, but for Rio it was enough. He knew everything about all the best stuff written in the novel - the artifacts, singr books, scrolls, spells, techniques, legacies everything was fixed in his mind, what his mind didn''t have - was love, and that''s what this wristband symbolized, and THAT was more than enough.

    "Thank you mother. I''ll always keep it on me." Rio said happily and hugged her, while Artemis twisted his ear "You better, or I''ll have to teach you a lesson."Her stern words of warning prompted everyone to chuckle, as Rioughed and promised her again.

    Agnus came forward as Artemis stepped aside, he held a thin book in his hand "Rio, I have prepared something special for you. You know I''m not like your mother who can talk much or look at everything to see what''s good for you, so I''ve prepared this, it''s called ''the Foundation Art'' - a technique that may seem basic, but it holds the essence of every sword style. I have spent years refining and perfecting it, with the hope that it will serve as the strong foundation upon which you can build your own formidable skills on."

    Rio''s eyes widened with anticipation as he epted the book from Agnus. A new sword technique made by the renowned sword king and owner of Shade, just that would be enough to throw the empire into chaos. This technique was something that the original Rio in the novel had learned too. It had given him the most understanding of the basics of sword wielding. At the beginning of the novel when Rio had mastered this art till expert level, he could learn and understand any other sword art more easily and much faster than others.

    Looking at Rio lost in thoughts, and not saying anything, Artemis pped his head and said- "Your father has poured his heart and soul into crafting this technique for you. It may seem simple, but I''ve seen with my own eyes the effects it could have, so try to learn it well. If you have any doubts, ask me."

    "Of course, mother. Thank you father. I''ll work hard to make you proud." Rio said as he bowed his head, the thought of how long it would take him to master this came to his head, but it wasn''t important now.

    Agnus hugged him, and said -"I''m already proud of you son. And I know you''ll be amazing."

    "Where''s your gift, Amy?" Hearing her mother say that, Amelia who was sneakily still eating sweets from the side, realized that she had forgotten to bring her own gift for her brother. Determined not to miss out on this special asion when everyone is gathered together, "I forgot it when I came to call you. I''ll bring it." She said as she gulped down the bite, she wiped her hands and stood up in hurry.

    "Just sit, I''ll send someone to get it." Agnus wanted to send someone to bring the gift, seeing how even after eating so much that he could now see a slight bulge in her stomach, somehow she still wanted to eat more. He was worried if she could still run to her mother''s room in that condition.

    "No, I''ll get it myself, brother, wait here." saying so Amelia hurriedly made her way to her mother''s ropoom, seeking the gift she had prepared.

    Soon Amelia came with a small red box in her hand, "here" She was huffing loudly when she presented her gift.

    Rio wanted to see what gift this little sister of his prepared for him, but before he could open it, when he felt her hands holding his own in hurry.

    "You..you can''t open it now. Do itter." Amelia requested, when she saw her mother''s curious gaze on the box.

    "Okay. Promise." He gently squeezed her hands, assuring her that he would honor her wish. Though Rio''s curiosity piqued, he agreed to see itter.

    Amelia smiled brightly and pulled her tongue at Artemis, feeling victorious that her mother couldn''t see her gift.

    It wasn''t due to anything specific, it was justst week, when Amelia asked her mother about what gift she should give Rio, and to show her gift so she can get an idea, her mother outright refused and said to give something from her heart. Little Amelia couldn''t understand what that even meant, in her eyes, it was her mother teasing her, or hoping she couldn''t give the best gift to her brother. She had to work extra hard on choosing a gift because of that.

    Rio carefully tucked the red box into his pocket. Even though she didn''t say Rio had understood the reason behind her sudden departure, and why she ran to bring her own gift. He had noticed it the moment she brought her gift, this time it was just a simple red box, there wasn''t any cute wrapping paper filled with her doodling designs that she put effort into making.

    ''Did I make her cry back then.'' He remembered again about how he left her in a hurry, when she first presented her gift.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Filled with a mix of gratitude, guilt, and love for his little sister, Rio pulled Amelia into a warm embrace. "I''m sorry."

    Amelia, slightly surprised by the sudden embrace and his apology, smiled and hugged him back.

    As Agnus and Artemis observed the heartwarming embrace between their children, their hearts swelled with love and contentment, seeing the kids bond and the pure joy on their faces.

    Artemis couldn''t help but be overwhelmed by the adorable sight before her, her hand instinctively rising to cover her mouth as she let out an affectionate "Aww." The love she felt for her children filled her heart to the brim, and she cherished this beautiful moment.

    Agnus wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. His own smile radiated pure joy as he witnessed the bond between their children and how happy his family looked at this moment. Even after being away from home, and not always being there for the kids -just watching these happy moments filled his heart with amazement.

    Rio and Amelia joined too for a group family hug, In that tender embrace, everyone found sce and a deep appreciation for the family they had built together. All of them only prayed that this happiness couldst forever.

    Little did they know that the Gods they all prayed to, were the ones who would tear them apart given the chance, but that''s a tale for another time.

    ###

    ***[Artifacts are graded into mainly 8 sses-

    Normal

    Rare

    Unique

    Legendary

    Mythical

    Semi divine

    Divine

    Godly

    Artifacts could also be further divided in ranks of F to SSS, depending on their use, effects and condition]

    ***[Techniques are divided into 9 types. From 1 star techniques to 9 star. Depending on their use, growth and side effects.]

    ***[Mastery or proficiency is divided in -

    Beginner < Novice < Fundamental < Intermediate < Advanced < Expert < Perfect

    ***[Skill or elemental mastery is divided in-

    Amateur < Apprentice < Intermediate < Proficient < Master < Grandmaster < Natural]

    ��---

    A/N - if you find something wrong or weird, please let me know.

 Chapter 68 I Cant Accept Your Gift

    As Amelia''s energy waspletely depleted from her enthusiastic chattering, running around, and yfully arguing with her mother, it became clear that she now couldn''t move a muscle. She was half lying on her chair now, it seemed that she needed assistance getting back to her room. Agnus''s worries had indeede true. She really did eat too much.

    Artemis couldn''t help but shake her head with a mixture of amusement and concern as she observed Amelia sitting on her chair, her stomach visibly bulging from indulging in sweets for hours. With a teasing smile, she turned to her husband, andmented, "See? This is exactly why I don''t allow her to eat sweets so freely."

    Agnus chuckled softly, recognizing the familiar banter that often ensued between Artemis and their daughter. He yfully defended Amelia, saying, "Well, she''s just enjoying herself tonight. It was a special asion after all."

    Amelia, with a glint of fear in her eyes, jumped into the discussion, eager to defend her sweet tooth. "Father''s right! And today was brother''s fault, he pushed all his sweets on my te"

    She ced the me on Rio hoping he would defend her too, otherwise looking at her mother''s expression, she will have to forget about eating sweets for weeks again.

    Amelia''s eyes darted towards Rio, a glimmer of hope shining in them as she silently pleaded for him to take the me for giving her the sweets. However, to her dismay, Rio burst intoughter and pointed at her usingly, iming that she had actually stolen his share of the sweets.

    "Given you, more like you even stole everything from my te. Saying I should just let you eat a little, only one bite and next thing I know it''s empty."

    Amelia''s re intensified as she realized her traitor brother wouldn''te to her rescue. Feeling a mix of frustration and desperation, she turned her attention to her father. With a pout on her face and her eyes welling up with tears, she silently conveyed her plea, hoping that he would intervene and save her from the impending ban on sweets. But sadly as Artemis coughed a little, her father too looked away.

    Having no other choice, she finally looked at her mother, and said -"I promise not to eat more next time. Mother." her eyes and tired look making her look even more pitiful than every other day, Artemis sighed, pretending to be stern, but her eyes twinkled with affection. "Alright, alright," she relented, unable to resist Amelia''s charm. "Just remember to brush your teeth extra well tonight."

    Amelia beamed with victory, her bulging stomach momentarily forgotten. She couldn''t believe her luck that her mother was willing to let her go that easily. "I promise, Mom!" she eximed, in a hurry afraid that her mother might change her mind. She looked at her father and brother with a sneer, a triumphant grin spreading across her face.

    Artemis nced at Rio, intending to have a private conversation with him and said "Your father and I needed to talk to you about something _ ", but before she could finish, Amelia swiftly intervened,ing up with a yful excuse to keep Rio by her side. She imed that she needed his assistance to make it to her room or she might fall asleep right there at the dining table. Her words were delivered with a mischievous grin, hinting at her yful nature, but looking at how tired she looked everyone believed them to be true.

    Artemis wanted to tell Rio toe talk to her tomorrow after waking up, but Amelia didn''t give her the chance to finish, so helplessly she just agreed. Agnus chuckled and nodded in agreement to what Amelia said. He called for one of the maids, instructing them to apany Amelia and ensure she reached her room safely.

    Myra was the first toe in, and kindly volunteered to pick up Amelia and carry her to her room. With gentle care, she scooped up the tired little girl in her arms, cradling her securely. Amelia, in her exhausted state, didn''t protest and simply rested her head against Myra''s shoulder.

    Rio looked at Artemis and when she nodded her head, giving him permission, followed closely behind as Myra made her way towards Amelia''s room. He watched with a mix of amusement and fondness as Myra expertly navigated the corridors, ensuring Amelia''sfort as she sleepily clung to her. Looking at how Amelia was being silent, Rio looked closely and found that she even fell asleep. ''Just how fast did she pass out?''

    Upon reaching Amelia''s room, Myra gently ced her on her bed, tucking her in and ensuring she wasfortable. Unlike Artemis, Rio remembered to put the toy bear on her bed, making sure she held it properly.

    Before leaving, Myra whispered a soft goodnight to Amelia, her voice filled with warmth and care. Rio, lingering for a moment longer, gave his sister a gentle pat on the forehead, and went out too. "Good night Lia."

    _.

    Rio stepped out of the room and saw Myra waiting for him. He greeted her with a smile.

    She nodded and said -"Congrattions on your awakening Rio."

    "Thanks, Myra."

    As they continued their walk towards Rio''s room they started having some light conversations. "So, you were there on my awakening right?"

    "Yupp, watched your whole scene. Quite a bold move, to use mana suction for elemental awakening, don''t you think?" Myra said in an amused tone.

    Rio chuckled, "Still better than doing it in an instant dungeon filled with monsters."

    "But you could''ve warned us before." Myra said as she met his eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Would you guys allow it?" Rio said without averting his eyes "and besides, I knew I''d be fine."

    "Have you said that to master?" Myra asked as they continued walking.

    "Nope, I think she let it slide for today. Might have to exin everything tomorrow though." Rio said as he shrugged his shoulders. Remembering how she changed topics whenever it came to his awakening or those earrings, he could guess that even though she had doubts, she didn''t want to ruin anyone''s mood today.

    Myra also understood her master''s way of doing things, and she approved this approach too. Awakening was something that can only happen once a life, ruining such a big moment for someone doesn''t feel right. "Thought of any excuses yet."

    Rio shook his head feeling helpless. "Not like anything I say would change her mood, and my punishments."

    "Yupp, you will regret it." Myra nodded gracefully, as she remembered something.

    "Do you know anything? She seemed fine while giving out gifts." Rio asked, hoping to get any details on how mad she was, and how much lies he should prepare.

    "That''s even more bad. The calmer she looks.."

    "The more mad she is." Myra started her sentence but Rio finished what she meant.

    "Yupp, by the way, here take this." Myra said as she brought out something from her ring. Wrapped in a leather cloth was a dagger that she presented to Rio.

    "My gift" Rio said as he removed the cloth and looked at the ck dagger.

    "Well despite your odd ways, you do deserve something. Congrattions Rio, and wee on your new journey." Myra said happily as she noticed Rio looking at the dagger carefully, thinking if he liked it or not. This dagger was thest thing she had connected to her childhood, it was something she found in her broken house. She always kept it close, it was one of her favorites too, not because of any emotional value, she didn''t even remember much of her family. She only kept this knife because it had always been useful for her.

    The handle and de were both made of the same material, its edges as sharp that just a slight touch could cut the hardest of metals, on the other side of de some designs were made, some lines drawn to give it a fantasy look, is what everyone would''ve thought, but Rio knew exactly what those lines were, what this dagger was. After all, it yed a very important role in the novel''s story.

    ''Is this how he got it, in the story.'' Rio thought as he remembered this dagger was eerily simr to the one dagger Rio usedter in the novel.

    Rio  traced his hand on the linear design in the center and on the words written in an unknownnguage. They looked just like some lines drawn nonsensically to everyone, but they were a spell written in the original demon tongue, anguage which died down after the sealing of Demon king Ditail.

    As Rio observed the pitch ck dagger carefully, his brain had thought up stuff on an another level -

    ''If it is hers, then something given by her was used to take her life.''

    ''Was the author making it ironic, saying this is what she gets for choosing his side.''

    ''Or is it some high heavens giving me a signal that I can''t change anything?''

    [Host.. I think you...]

    ''Well fuck your signs. Let''s see who wins. I''ll fuck it all''

    ###

    A/N - If you forgot Demon king Ditail had killed all of the demon race himself. He was thest demon left alive, and since no one had the balls or strength to kill him, God Apollo had toe himself and seal him in a different realm, breaking the bnce of the universe in process, whichter resulted in Emergence of dungeons and portals,  fuckint up world Arcadia.

 Chapter 69 The Luckiest Man Alive

    As Rio traced his fingers at the intricate design and lines drawn on the edges, he remembered the plot where, during Rio''s fight with Artemis, he ended up killing Myra who came in between to stop them. The dagger which was described in the book, and this were eerily simr, and he who just after learning about Ria, had decided to change the plot at all cost, was shocked when a thought that all his efforts will be in vain, came to his mind.

    Author''s warning at Church Cassandra''s doom chapter rang in his ears - ''A man often meets his destiny, on the very road he takes to avoid it. Future is fixed, and you can never change it.''

    He felt the author watching &ughing at his efforts to change the future, but the thought of stopping, of giving up never came to his brain. What consumed his brain was rage, the ending of his and Amelia''s was something he had to change at all costs. And if that meant going against the author''s plot or heaven''s choices then he so dly epts.

    "I''m sorry Myra, but I can''t ept this gift." Rio said as he calmed down, decided to change this plot scene, right here and now.

    Myra, confused after watching Rio''s reactions, asked- "Do you not like it? If that''s the case, I can find something else." Myra said as she put the dagger back in her ring, even though she said that,  a corner of her heart felt hurt, after hearing he won''t ept her gift. She was willing to give him the only thing that held some value to her, but he outright refused. Of course she knew he''d have many other treasures that would be much better than her dagger, but there were sentiments involved.

    Even though her facial expressions remained the same, Rio could guess what was going on in her head.

    ''She got it wrong, huhh''

    [Nope, you worded it poorly]

    ''Don''t speak when I''m busy'' Rio said when the system suddenly came between his self thoughts. ''so nosy.''

    ''If you have nothing to do, think about ways to mess up the plot, be a little helpful.''

    With thatmand Rio again ignored the system who started ranting in his head.

    Rio looked at Myra who was silently walking by his side, and said -"It''s not because I don''t like that dagger, I just wanted to ask for my own gift that I wanted. That is, if you''re serious about giving me something."

    Myra stopped in her tracks, a smile came to her face as she heard those words, "Of course, what do you want?"

    "A favor, I''ll tell you when the timees." Rio said seriously, and walked in his room before the confused Myra could say something. "And keep the dagger with you, it''s your lucky charm."

    The doors closed as he went in, leaving Myra standing outside, thinking what he meant by those words or what favor he would ask. ''Did he notice something about the dagger?'' Myra thought as she checked the dagger, but couldn''t find anything. "I''ll ask him tomorrow."

    Saying that she continued walking towards her own room.

    _

    In the most opulent room of the ke mansion, adorned with exquisite furnishings and dimly lit by the soft glow of strategically ced crystal fixtures, the room exuded an air of elegance and luxury, reflecting the refined taste of its inhabitants.

    Agnus reclined on the bed, his gaze wandering around the space. Just as Agnus took in the splendor of the room, remembering all the beautiful memories it held in ce, Artemis emerged from behind a partition, having changed into an attire more suitable for sleep. Agnus found himself momentarily lost by her enchanting presence. Her appearance was nothing short of captivating,

    The fabric of her nightwear clung to her in all the right ces, leaving Agnus captivated by the sight. His gaze was drawn to the gentle rise and fall of her bosom, a testament to her allure and femininity.

    As she moved, her waist, partially revealed by the nightwear, hinted at the tantalizing curves thaty beneath. It was a testament to her sensuality, inviting Agnus to explore the depths of her beauty.

    Long, slender legs carried her towards him, each step entuating her grace and poise. With each step closer, the room seemed to grow warmer, The elegance with which she moved filled the room with an air of desire, leaving Agnus unable to tear his eyes away.

    The soft, smooth skin of her exposed shoulders and arms beckoned to him, inviting his touch and kindling a deep longing to feel her against him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her hands, adorned with the softness of her skin, moved gracefully as she closed the door behind her, Artemis''s hips swayed gently as she turned, a captivating disy of her innate allure. Her every movement exuded grace and confidence.

    The way the moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow upon her wless features, only enhanced her beauty and made her presence even more captivating. The soft light that bathed her face highlighted her features, casting a glow that enhanced her natural beauty.

    She adorned no jewelry, but in that moment, she needed none. Her natural beauty and maic presence were enough to render her the most beautiful creature he had everid eyes upon.

    Agnus couldn''t help but feel a surge of desire and adoration for the woman standing before him. A radiant beauty that never failed to mesmerize Agnus. As she gracefully made her way towards the bed, Her eyes locked with Agnus''s, and a knowing smile yed on her lips.

    As Artemis climbed onto the bed, the sheets rustling softly beneath her, Agnus found himself falling in love with her all over again.

    As he reached out to her, his hand trembling with a mixture of desire and adoration, he could feel the electric charge in the air. Without hesitation, Agnus extended his arms towards Artemis, pulling her gently but possessively into his embrace.

    As theyy together, their bodies pressed against each other, Agnus whispered words of love and devotion into Artemis''s ear. Agnus gently yed with her hair, his fingers gliding through the silky strands. Artemis closed her eyes, savoring the intimacy of the moment and the warmth of Agnus''s touch.

    Agnus''s fingers moved to trace the delicate earring that adorned Artemis''s ear. Agnus''s caress and attention to the earring brought her back to reality, as she said - "So you noticed it too."

    "It is hard to miss. Did you ask where he got it?" Agnus said in a gentle tone.

    "I''ll ask him tomorrow, he seemed so happy today, I didn''t want to ruin his mood."

    "I''ve asked some of my men to stay near him, in case something happens."

    Artemis nodded her head, despite what she showed on the surface the worries about Rio''s words from before had been eating at her heart ever since then, she had built a loving family, and left everything behind for this peaceful life. If there was ever any danger to it, she didn''t know what she would do.

    "He''s a smart kid, Artemis. He won''t do anything wrong. If he did ask Esme to do what you think, then I''m sure there must be a reason. So stop worrying, and rx. I''ll take care of it." Agnus said in a gentle reassuring tone, hoping it would calm her heart. He knew better than anyone else about how much she loved this family, and he would do everything in his power to make sure her smile never leaves that face.

    "I know. Thanks Agnus." Artemis said as she closed her eyes again. She nestled her head against his broad chest, finding sce andfort in his presence.The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat provided a soothing feeling of peace to her.

    As Agnus gazed upon Artemis, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having her by his side. She was perfect in every aspect -a beautiful woman, a good wife, and an even better mother.

    She was his muse, his lover, and his confidante �C a woman whose beauty and sensuality were unparalleled.

    He nted a tender kiss upon her head, his lips gently touching her skin in a gesture of love and reassurance. In that intimate moment, their eyes met, and a spark ignited between them. Their lips came together in a passionate embrace, their connection deepening with each tender kiss. Wrapped in each other''s arms, they found sce. As they held each other close, their hearts beat as one, and their lips sealing their love with another lingering kiss.

    In that moment, Agnus knew he was the luckiest man in the world, to be able to have her in his life, to witness her in all her splendor and to share a love and family with her.

    The room, with its extravagant decor, served as the backdrop for their love story. In that moment, the world and the worries outside ceased to exist, and all that mattered was the feelings they shared.

    ###

    A/N - So how was it? Tried to describe something nice for those 2 lovely parents - and culling out anyone who wanted Artemis in harem.??????

 Chapter 70 Plans For Hero & Heroine

    After saying what he needed to Myra, Rio ignored her and walked in. Since he could now use mana, it was easier for him to use the magic mechanisms ced on the door.

    Rio could now feel the magic formations inscribed on the doors. Each door had its unique set of tokens, representing specific permissions and ess levels. By passing a bit of his mana into it, he could now activate these tokens and control the opening and closing of the doors.

    After ying around with that token, watching it shine every time he passed his mana into it, Rio threw it aside, and walked towards his bed.

    "System, did you count anything till now?" He asked his system as hey down on his bed. He had changed some stuff in the plot after waking up from his awakening, first those earrings and then Myra''s dagger, system had shown him some notifications before, but he ignored them since he knew the system would probably keep loading for hours before it could show him his points. Now that he was alone and free, he decided to check his progress.

    Even though he couldn''t use Ria''s memory crystal till the plot started, he wanted to get the necessary points as soon as possible and umte much more. He had a feeling that whatever items there would be in the system''s shop won''t be cheap. He didn''t want to just sit and wait for 8 years, and then learn that he didn''t have enough points for that healing potion or any other necessary stuff.

    [Checking world data��

    [Calcting points ��

    [Host''s actions have slightly changed the fate of Kevin De Bilios - 200 points

    [Host has altered the fate of Myra - 100 points

    [Host''s actions have slightly altered the fate of ??? - 900 points

    [Total points - 14550 + 1200 = 15750

    "I can understand Myra and Kevin, but who''s that ??? question mark being, that my actions changed the destiny of." Rio asked as he looked at the notifications, he had received the most points from that, but there wasn''t any name.

    [No authority, you''ll know when you update the system.]

    Hearing system''s usual answer Rio wasn''t mad at this time, as he already had an idea about who that might be, but he asked just because he needed to be sure of it.

    ''Guess I found something which will rain on points huhh. You do deserve your role after all.''

    Rio thought and closed the system panel.

    "Tell me system, what do you think of that dagger? Was it the same as plot or was it a sign?"

    [I cannot be sure, host. I''ve only checked your memories so I only know what you read in that novel. Anything else is out of my knowledge.]

    [But if I had to give you my opinion, it doesn''t matter whichever case it is, you shouldn''t stress over it. As you keep changing more and more events, the heavens will take notice of you, and they will force some situations to maintain the predetermined plot, but that is something for the future, it shouldn''t happen anytime soon.]

    "I guess you''re right." Rio said, as he remembered all the viin novels he read where mc reincarnated in a book, he had read hundreds of those stories seeing how their every little actions change the future and how the luck and plot keeps trying to stay on track. This is why he wanted to ignore the protagonist, in every story they''re hard to kill cockroaches who will always survive the viin''s attack one way or another, and manage to somehow get some profits along the way. He had no n to give that guy anything, but since his system usually rewarded him points for changing plotlines, he had decided to do what every other mc did - chip away his luck little by little from the shadows, before directly confronting him.

    Ever since he learned about Ria and Amelia being the same, he had already decided on killing the protagonist. That guy was an anomaly now, something which could always harm her, there was no way he could let that happen.

    This is why he changed his ns for Reba too, he didn''t believe it when system said that he couldn''t kill Reba if he tried everything. He literally knew of a treasure simr to death note, which would kill her in moments, he also believed he could get that item before the plot starts if he focused on that only. But after thinking carefully he had figured out a better way to deal with her and the protagonist.

    Many viins fail in killing the protagonist, cause they don''t know the limits luck would go to protect them. Rio had decided to use Reba just for that purpose. Her birthday and her first event of shbacks where she''ll meet the protagonist wille soon, and Rio had already started thinking about doing his first experiment there.

    He needed to know how far he could bend the plotline before it would break and push the future events forward to fix itself. If he learned about the stuff he could and couldn''t do - luck would just be an outside influence.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    By then even if heaven''s worked overtime and pushed his limits, he was ready to mess up the whole world''s plot and bring forth Emergence 2.0 �� After the world system gets an update, he could spill out all of heaven''s future secrets and get so many world contribution points that he could increase his own luck to insurmountable heights. That time he would be Arcadia''s chosen one. And the protagonist would be just a nobody.

    But these were all for the future, all these ns were all only sprouts of ideas his brain had cooked up to survive, there were still many details and routes that he needed to think and clear.

    (What a messed up brain) system thought as it saw all his thoughts about the world and its future, There was no change of any emotion in him, when the thought of starting the Emergence 2.0 came to his mind, or when he would think of killing people he never met. His still shattered brain worked so efficiently that even system was surprised, while living in his head, it had felt like all parts of his brain were always thinking separately, it didn''t know how or why his brain was like that even after taking that healing potion of that being, but neither that being said anything nor it could ask him now. System was struggling inside to take a deeper peek in his brain and see everything, but the image of those creatures with red eyes suppressed all its curiosity.

    "Hey system, how strong do you think I need to be if I want to go back to Earth."

    [No authority

    "Then how about points needed for opening a portal there? Can someonee to Arcadia from that Or does that only work one way?"

    [No authority

    "Then at least tell me is there any time difference between both world''s? I don''t want to visit earth if I reach there and see everyone''s already dead and dusted."

    [Every world has their own flow of time to follow. So yes earth and Arcadia does indeed have a time difference. As for if that''s in your favor or not - no authority.

    "Wow, you really weren''t kidding when you said, you''re useless till the plot starts huh."

    [Fuck you host

    "Good night system. Don''t just fall asleep before the plot even begins, with yourzy excuses."

    Rio said with a smile, and prepared to sleep. But then he opened his eyes again as he remembered something.

    "Hey system."

    [What is it now?] system said in an annoyed tone.

    "Show me the notifications of all the Gods who are keeping an eye on me."

    [Too much to count, I''m at level 0 remember. I''ll show it in the morning, now let''s go sleep ]

    "What? Why? "

    [Need I remind you, host, that Nyx herself came to give you her blessing. She''s one of the strongest Goddesses who are present on Arcadia. Unlike other Gods in all these years since the beginning Nyx had only ever given her blessing to 37 people before. And not one was chosen as her avatar. She''s one of the few who stay away from all thepetition and affairs, even though she doesn''t have any particr enemies or churches who''lle after you, but her prestige does bring you attention.]

    [Since you know of the future events, you should know how those Gods behave, they''re just observers, so ignore them for now, until one of them gives you a blessing ores to make you their avatar.]

    "Who woulde to make me their avatar, knowing Nyx might not like it." Rio smiled as he thought which Gods would be idiot enough to try and take something she had her eyes on. She doesn''t interfere in any God''s games, as she knows she''ll beat ''em all if she got serious. Or maybe she''szy like me too.

    ###

 Chapter 71 To All The Gods Whore Watching Me

    As the system heard Rio''s boastful words praising Nyx, it came with a bucket of water and dropped that on Rio''s head.

    [You''re right about her powers, host. But you''re forgetting you''re just her follower, there''s no guarantee she''ll choose you as her avatar. Now orter - she hasn''t done that for a thousand years, remember.]

    ��-----

    *****There are many Gods who don''t choose an avatar, no one wants to risk losing one of their powers , especially when the returns they get isn''t enough.

    �� As losing an avatar meant that said God would lose the power or skill which their chosen one was most proficient in for forever.

    eg. - if someone was an avatar of a fire God. And that someone had the most proficiency in a spell called w of fire'', then after his death, that fire God would also lose that same spell forever.

    �� Since every follower only wants to learn and master the best or most useful skill/power , after their death, that God would also lose that power, making him weaker than his otherspetitors. It would be harder for him next time to get someone good to be their avatar if they don''t have much power to show for it.

    �� Plus be it Gods or mortals, the weak always perish. The enemies of both could attack their other followers and Gods making him further weaker and destroying the power of faith, reducing that God to nothingness.

    ��- That''s why even after 1000 years, chosen ones are still very very rare in Arcadia, having them on your side meant having a God as your backup. Since to save their avatar Gods would do everything in their powers, that meant throwing out blessings to minions for them to act as sacrificialmbs so their avatar could survive.

    #A/N - There are certain rules & requirements for everything , even blessings , which will be exined clearly as we move on in the story.

    ��-----

    Rio also knew about this whole process from the plot, but he was confident since he knew that in the plot Nyx chose Rio as her avatar, and always supported him. This is why he was willing to change her future and save her from Amelia. He can''t have Amy kill one of his best backups.

    [You''re forgetting that we''re changing the plot, host. Every moment, every decision of yours is affecting something, changing something - you cannot depend and beid back, just because she chose Rio in the novel.]

    [In the novel, Rio didn''t have to use mana suction methods to get her blessing, she came to give that herself. But this time you had to try your extra hard to get her attention. Plus you got Kali who''s also watching you now.]

    "You''re right. Show me all the notifications of Gods who were part of the plot and are watching me now." Rio asked the system as he understood what system meant. He could choose to trust Nyx, but if she doesn''t choose him - then he should also think of a backup n.

    [Loading��

    [Goddess Cassandra rages over the failed prophecy

    [Skuld of the Norn sisters, feels interested in what your future holds

    [Goddess Gauri gives you a chance to exin your reasons

    [Primordial Goddess Nyx feels proud of her new follower

    [Godking Indra wants to keep an eye on your talent

    [Phonoi the God of killing has taken a liking to your methods

    [Psyche the Soul Goddess feels intrigued about your mind

    [God Maahes feels interested in your thinking

    [God of wisdom Thoth praises you for knowledge and generosity

    [Your decisions confuses God Apollo

    [Your trickery makes the tricksterugh , Loki wishes to see it more

    [The limits you cross for family reminds Anansi of his younger days

    [Goddess Sekhmet watches curious about the gifts you gave

    [Den of Devils watches your actions closely

    [Goddess of justice Dike rages over you, calling you a culprit

    [Ruler of hell Hel enjoys the crimes youmitted

    [Jesus calls you for a confession

    [Eris the Goddess of discord whispers the rumors she heard about you<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Vampire God Dracul gives you mercy for saving his puppets

    [Goddess of lies questions her mother''s decision , she asks you to choose her instead

    [Eirene sees the sign of chaos

    [Demonlord Kali calls for an audience, as it sees the rise the darkness

    [Myrkat watches the scenes unfold and pieces move

    [??? waits patiently for all the changes you bring

    [....

    [...

    [These are all the Gods who you should know about, there are others but their interest in you is insignificant yet. And they have no role to y for the time being.]

    "There are some names which I didn''t think I''d see this early."

    [Yeah, well crowds always attract unwanted attention. And the eyes on you will only grow over time.]

    "Well they can watch all they want, before the plot reaches the point of Emergence 2.0 , even they can''t do anything."

    [That''s why you should ignore them, and focus on getting stronger first. Just because the protagonist had a smooth sailing in a peaceful novel, won''t mean you will have it easy too.]

    "I know." Rio nodded his head as what system was right, he had only read the novel from protagonist''s perspective so he doesn''t know clearly how or why others did what they did in novels, some events which were called minor can equally decide the fate of a whole city since its a real world, the changes will keep umting and he''ll lose all his advantages the more time passes, he just have to be strong enough to survive when that happens.

    ''From what I know of Artemis, she''ll probably start my training from tomorrow. I can learn shadow magic from her and Myra. I can practice foundation art with Asher since he''s staying here for now. Agnus is here, but his knowledge is way out of my league, and not something I can understand any time soon, plus he''s not the type of guy who can sit around and exin basics to a kid, I guess that''s why he wrote The Foundation Art.''

    ''I''ve already collected pills and potions which might help me a little now, other stuff this family of mine can arrange.''

    ''That reminds me, I also need to prepare everything for Amelia''s awakening, she didn''t have any ident in novel, but I should still get some stuff for her.''

    ''Pura corpus potion is getting tested by ke family''sbs, it''s probably getting experimented on volunteers of any servants or soldiers who were willing to participate in the awakening ceremony. If everything went well they should be able to mass produce it or sell it to a selective clientele in Arcadia , and roll in riches.''

    ''I should also try reading other singr books in ke Family''s library which weren''t mentioned or tranted in the novel, who knows I might get something good. My luck at the beginning is still good, so something might work in my favor.''

    ''I don''t need to make somepany or guild or whatever for now, first since I''m a fucking kid, and second I got all the money in the world.''

    ''Maybe I''ll do that once plot starts. It''ll be fun to collect all good minions and put them under one roof.''

    Rio thought till then when he remembered the crucial question, what if they betrayed him - "oyee system, do you got any loyalty test meter function or something. I think I might need that in the future."

    System who was tired from the longest day it had in over a millenia, where it got trapped, hunted, haunted and nearly died - was just about to sleep?? when its host called for it again. And its dreams got disturbed, making it angry - [For thest time host, I''m at level 0 , you will get everything once the plot starts, and if there isn''t a function, spend your points and buy it from the shop.]

    [And how the hell did you went from training routine tomorrow morning, to opening your businesses in Arcadia yearster. For fuck''s sake just sleep already.]

    As Rio heard system''s banter he realized how did he reach that point, shouldn''t he focus on near future instead of that far ahead -

    ''damn this kid brain for getting distracted so easily.''

    Thus after ming a 10 year old''s thinking process, Rio closed his eyes, falling asleep with a happy smile on his face. For today''s sleep was something which even he looked forward to - "I missed the times when I could sleep without worrying about nightmares." That healing potion did do its job, but his inner guilt was always there, making him a little scared to sleep, but after learning Ria and Amelia were same, that feeling was gone too.

    "Good night to everyone who''s watching me." Rio said in a bright smile, and closed his eyes, but his system had to wake up again, as some fucking Gods started sending replies for that useless good night wish. And it had to mute the notifications.

    [Finally some peace.]

    "Sleep already, ohh and wake me up early tomorrow, I should start training seriously now. Bye."

    (Fucking fucker I wish you be a system one day, and I''ll torture you just like this - then you''ll know, how a system feels. We need respect too.)

    ###.

    A/N - reincarnators respect the systems man. They''re working hard 24��7 too.

 Chapter 72 Gods Who Could See Future

    Rio stood outside Artemis''s room, his heart pounding with nervousness and fear. He knew he had to face Artemis and confront the truth, but the anticipation of her questions and possible anger made him feel uncertain. He had spent hours preparing answers and excuses, but deep down, he feared that he wouldn''t be able to deceive her.

    Rio took a moment topose himself, his mind filled with prepared answers and half-truths. He understood thatpletely fooling Artemis was a fool''s dream, so he had strategized to give her carefully crafted exnations that would divert her attention from certain aspects.

    He had crafted borate stories about his awakening, intending to exin his unusual method and divert any suspicion. He had anticipated questions about his interactions with Erza and Esme too, ready with responses that would deflect any doubts.

    The list of items he had given to Asher was also a point of concern. Although he had said before that it was given by Esme, he knew Artemis never believed it fully. The potion of Pura Corpus, though the topic was forgotten for now, Rio had this weird thought that Artemis must have checked the singr book records, and knew about it being a lie too.

    Even the questions about those earrings he gave to her and Amelia, were something he needed to lie about. There was no way she would believe that something he got from roadside stalls would be that amazing. It was too big of a coincidence.

    Rio had thought through every possible question Artemis might ask about them and had prepared convincing responses, aiming to protect himself and maintain the illusion. He had meticulously fabricated a backstory, weaving a tale that would align with his intentions while keeping the truth hidden.

    His mind was a whirlwind of potential scenarios, rehearsing the lies and half-truths he had prepared. Rio understood the gravity of the situation and the risk involved in deceiving Artemis, someone who knew him so well.

    The nagging thought that she might even discover he wasn''t the original Rio weighed heavily on him. It had been troubling him for quite some time now, even though it wasn''t his choice, he had indeed taken over her son''s body and was living in it. ording to system his arrival was already fixed in Arcadia, so Rio''s soul was disposed of the moment he merged with it. There was no way to bring him back to life or something.

    Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Rio mustered his courage and knocked on Artemis''s door. His mind raced, going over different scenarios and trying to anticipate her reactions. As the door opened, Rio saw Artemis standing there, her expression unreadable. She invited him into her room, a silent signal for him to enter and begin their conversation.

    As Rio stepped inside, he felt a wave of tension and apprehension. He prepared himself to face Artemis''s questions and usations, ready to defend himself and provide the answers he had thought of.

    Unbeknownst to Rio, Artemis had already learned about Esme''s involvement in Noah''s death and had overheard his conversation a little the previous night. She had decided to confront him about it, but Rio remained unaware of her knowledge.

    It was only due to her motherly instincts telling her to approach this matter delicately, that she didn''t just confront him then and there. Artemis could already guess some understanding of the situation after she heard himst night, but she wanted to give Rio the opportunity to open up and share the truth willingly.

    If what she guessed was right, then it would fully exin Rio''s odd behavior in the past days, but if that were the case, she didn''t know why he didn''t tell her or anyone else about it. There was no way she would ever do anything to harm him or her little doll, she just needed to make him believe it too.

    The room fell into a heavy silence as Rio and Artemis stood facing each other, the weight of the unspoken truth and doubts hanging in the air. Rio''s nervousness grew, and he could no longer contain the swirling mix of emotions within him.

    The room seemed to close in around him as he prepared to weave his web of half-truths and carefully constructed lies, hoping that they would be sufficient to steer the conversation in the direction he desired. He shifted his focus to controlling his emotions and expressions, ensuring that he appeared confident and convincing on the surface.

    "Good morning, mother."He said, trying his very best to be as natural as he could in his new body.

    Rio''s heart raced as he anticipated Artemis''s first question, his mind already prepared to deflect and misdirect it to his benefit, but his soul left his body when he finally heard what she said.

    "Did you see the future, Rio?" Artemis asked, ignoring all the useless chit chat to first confirm her suspicion, she came up with after thinking about everything carefully.

    Ever since her son woke up from that curse she had noticed his odd behavior, the way he acted around everyone was different than the way he usually would be, she could see he was trying to act the same but couldn''t, at first Artemis just let it go thinking he had a horrible experience with the curse and needed some time to readjust himself.

    But over time her suspicions only grew as she watched his actions -taking a miraculous potion from some random singr book even after they warned him about it, the people he easily identified as traitors who were all hidden well, the items he could pick, the list of people he gave to Asher ordering to kill them -there was no way her Rio would do that generally. Even if Rio was smarter than other kids, she could still see the childishness of him in his behavior, but that was lost ever since he woke up from the curse.

    She couldn''t say it was due to a life and death experience, as she saw him enjoying his time with Amelia, the genuine smile on his face was proof that he liked being around her, but she couldn''t say the same when he was with her or Agnus.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rio would always either be too direct in his talks, so he could finish what he wanted to say and leave, or he would just nod and smile. It could fool everyone around her, but she was his mother -someone who kept him in her womb for 9 months, someone who gave him birth and raised him, how could she not notice anything wrong.

    And yesterday when she heard his words about ''letting his sister live the way she wants this time'' her heart had been constricted in pieces, if what she thought was right -then she could guess why Rio would say that and it made her question everything -if it was true then why didn''t he tell her anything? If he knew what would happen then why did he keep it to himself? What did he even see that made him doubt everyone else around him? Does he really believe what he saw, could that even be true? Which God was it that made the deal with him? .... Questions were eating her heart , and that''s why she asked that first - she could ignore everything but not that.

    ��----

    **** WAR OF GODS -- In any battle if someone wants easy victory they always choose 2 options - either kill the leader who makes ns and leads the enemy, or kill their supply and healer who make sure they keep fighting.

    The same was the case in the War of Gods 1000 years ago, every group of Gods which came to Arcadia decided to do the same, kill the opposite leader and take over them.

    But that arrogance was soon forgotten as they learned that every culture, every myth had entities who were as strong as them or even stronger, so they chose the 2nd option. Kill the healers - and many factions were sessful in rising in power with this method.

    But then they all learned another method to win wars -something which made their all past struggles seem childish, there came Gods who could see the future of things. Every God faction out there came to either capture them or kill them, as they were the greatest weapon in anyone''s hand.

    Soon it started a purge where any God who could see the future or had omniscient powers was hunted and killed. Since those Gods only had the knowledge of the future, but no self power and skills to change it, or enough abilities to protect themselves from everyone else , they were hunted.

    There were some Gods who survived simply because their faction had put too much effort into protecting them, some survived by joining stronger Gods and being their allies, some just lived in hiding, hoping for this war to end.

    By the time the world''s will interfered and stopped the war of Gods, mostly all Gods with those powers were killed. Those who lived, always lived in hiding as even though they wouldn''t be killed on sight, they also couldn''t increase their influence or other Gods would just capture their avatars and kill them. Thus making them lose their only advantage they have.

    ��----

    ***This is why seers are people who are much respected in Arcadia, as basically every God out there can give someone power and abilities, but knowledge about the future was something which got lost due to less number of Gods who were able to do so in myths. It grew even lesser when some Gods lost their avatar and with that, their ability to see the future -making them useless.

    This is why Goddess Cassandra, a low ss goddess in her stories, who was cursed that no prophecy of hers shall ever be followed by anyone in the world, had gotten enough influence that she had her own church and followers. SHE could see the future -even if her visions were wrong sometimes, the chance that one of them might be true, is enough to entice both Gods and mortals alike.

    ** - In the novel Goddess Cassandra''s influence and followers increased as Noah''s fame as a seer increased, they both grew stronger together. As she got more faith energy, she grew more powerful, and with time she was even able to ovee her curse, and every vision of hers woulde true.

    But just because she could see the future doesn''t mean she could change it too. She learned that the hard way, when Rio killed both Noah and her in the story, despite whatever methods she pulled to change that.

    ��----

    "Can you see the future, Rio?"

    "Tell me the truth." Artemis''s voice sounded in his ears again, making Rio curse at everything, cause he had no idea how to respond, he never expected Artemis to ask this. His anger grew more as he saw that his useless system startedughing at him and his luck which is supposed to be high for now lol.

    ###

    A/N - sorry for the info dump at the middle, but it was important to exin how rare Gods who could see the future were, this way even those Gods won''t be too broken and OP.

 Chapter 73 Fate And Future - Lying To My Hearts Content

    "Did you see the future Rio?"

    Rio''s mind raced as Artemis''s unexpected question threw him off guard. How could she have known? Did she suspect something? He had to think quickly ande up with a usible answer that wouldn''t arouse suspicion.

    [Host, you''re fucked.]

    [If she finds out about you not being her son, SHE WILL kill you.] System said in its voice trying hard to control itsughter, watching his brain working hard.

    ''Fuck you system, stopughing and be helpful God dammit.'' Rio thought in his head, muting the system, as he tried to think of something.

    "Can you see the future, Rio?"

    "Tell me the truth."

    Artemis''s voice baffled Rio, as he had no idea how she even came up with that, yes he does have knowledge about the future, but he can''t just say that shit. The excuse of being a seer would also be wrong as even seers can only see future after awakening, when their body''s have mana and they get blessing of some God, in Rio''s case he couldn''t lie, since Artemis was right there, there was no sign of another God giving him any blessing, he was always okay, his powers never went haywire and he didn''t get blind or bloodied eyes.

    He can''t say it happened while he was unconscious after awakening, cause if she came to this conclusion then she must have checked everything and thought of all his past actions which didn''t make sense, so it has to be before his awakening, but Rio didn''t know from exactly when or how. If he said something, and Artemis''s doubts weren''t cleared, he would be fucked. As system said, if ever she learned that he wasn''t Rio but someone else upying his body, he would be killed. So he needed to know how much she knew or guessed, toe up with that question.

    Gathering his thoughts, Rio replied with a calm yet slightly surprised tone, "The future, Mother? I''m not sure I understand what you mean?"

    He hoped his response would buy him some time to craft a convincing exnation. Rio knew he had to act carefully, as any hint of hesitation or inconsistency in his words could raise doubts in Artemis''s mind.

    Artemis looked at Rio intently, her gaze searching his eyes for any signs of deception. Rio maintained eye contact, trying to exude confidence while internally frantically constructing his response.

    "Did you know I had someone follow Esme, just after leaving Damascus, she started following a Baron of Harendale city, she even attacked him, but failed and had to run away. Were you the one who ordered her?"

    "Mother, I told you I had a deal with someone��"

    "I also heard you crying and speaking to someonest night, saying you won''t repeat your past mistakes and whatnot. Tell me the truth, Rio. What happened to you? "

    Hearing her back to back say stuff he thought were secrets, really threw him quite off bnce, but her words also gave him some hints - One, Artemis doubted that Esme went there to kill the Baron, and Noah was probably just a bait she used to lure him out. This also made sense from her point, as she couldn''t guess why he would order Esme to kill an 8 year old kid.

    Second, even though she did hear himst night, but nothing much. She didn''t hear anything about Ria''s reincarnation nor his talk with system. It calmed him down as it meant that even chosen Gods wouldn''t be able to hear what he said to his system.

    Now there was time for his lies toe in, his brain had thought of something, something very risky, something he only wanted to do after the plot started, and something which would put him in the crosshairs of Goddess Kali if it failed. But he had no other option, but to pull that shit

    ''Nyx, if you''re watching, save me when shees'' Rio prayed in his heart, hoping Nyx woulde to his rescue, if his actions backfired and some Gods intervened.

    [Goddess of Darkness nods to your prayers, saying her followers aren''t something that anybody could touch.]

    Rio watched the notification. Not entirely sure she understood who he was talking about, but he had no time to exin.

    He braced his heart and said, "I can''t see the future Mother."

    "Then how do you��"

    Hearing Rio''s voice confused Artemis as she was sure that it was the truth but before she could ask, he continued "But I''ve seen my fate."

    "Fate, what does that��wait, you saw your own future." The answer Rio gave further confused her, but soon she understood his meaning.

    ��-----

    ***Seers are people who have the ability to see the future, they can see events that haven''t happened yet, but they cannot see their own future. Fate on the other hand works the opposite of that, the people who can see their fate are someone who can see their own future, but not others.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ---Seers can also share their knowledge with everyone else, while people who saw their own fate cannot. This is because seers see the future of the world around them, so even if they share it - it doesn''t change anything in that knowledge. While fate is a fickle thing, once you share something you saw, you not only change your fate but also theirs too, which is against thews of blessing they receive. If they were allowed to share what they saw, then there''d be no difference between the two.

    �CThe Gods who can see the fate of everyone were also killed in the war of Gods, so not many could have that ability.

    �CBoth blessings of fate and future go against thews of time, they aren''t something mortal''s could control or manage, but in between them seers are more valuable and respected, as they can use their powers whenever they wish, however many times they want. But people who can see their fate, can only do that once in their life, as after changing something in their life - they''ve changed their fate and the threads of it would be broken.

    [Seers tap into the river of time and see the scenes surrounding where they end up, so even if they change something in the present, the time''s flow in present wouldn''t be altered and it would freely adjust itself. While fate works on the principle of threads, once you change something, that predetermined route that you watched will be forever reced, that thread would be broken, so you cannot see your fate again. Unless you receive another blessing from some other God with fate seeing ability.

    In simple terms as the novel''s author exined in his story - you cannot make a different branch of one thread without breaking itpletely, while the river can flow whichever direction you choose.]

    ��----

    "I have." Rio replied, his voice calm and clear.

    "How? When? Why didn''t you say anything?" Artemis was confused, though it wasn''t much different from what she thought of, but hearing him confirm it was still another thing.

    "When I was cursed, when I thought I''d die and was going to give up, someone contacted me. Someone who saw everything, they offered me help, and I took it."

    "So it wasn''t his purifying magic that healed you." Artemis asked as clearing the cursed mana can only be done by either some God or by purifying magic. Since Rio said he was helped by some Gods then that meant that the priest only took the false credit and did nothing.

    "I don''t know." Rio replied.

    "Who was the God, what did they want in return?"

    "Skuld, one of the norn sisters from Norse mythology. The one who could see the future of anyone''s fate. And she asked for a favor."

    Rio had only finished saying this, that notifications from different Gods started flooding his system, he expected it, afterall Skuld wasn''t someone who ever chose to interfere. Any God who was still alive with those powers, was always watched by everyone and needed to be careful of their every action. After all they had the highest chance of getting followers and faith energy easily, so other Gods always keep an eye on them.

    "What is the favor?" Artemis asked as she sat down on the chair, her strength was leaving her body, she was so confused with everything that happened. She expected it but having ite true wasn''t something she wished for. She didn''t doubt his words this time, as her chosen God Phonoi confirmed the presence of many outside Gods watching him as he spoke.

    Rio also expected it so ignoring all system notifications, he focused on settling the matter with Artemis first -"I don''t know. It''s not the right time yet, she said."

    "Hmm, so can you tell me what you saw, which made you act on your own?"

    "I can''t."

    "Why?" Artemis asked another question, if Rio knew what was going to happen to him, then instead of lying to us and going around circles, if he just told anyone they would''ve helped him with everything. She could guess from his actions that whatever he saw must''ve been bad for him to take action himself days after he saw it, but she still thought that even in the future his family must''ve been there for him, she would always be there for him, then why didn''t he say anything to her , unless��

    A very bad premonition rose in her heart which she couldn''t believe, there was no way that would ever happen, there was no way she would ever do anything bad to her son, she refused to believe that��

    But sadly whatever she thought, was proven true when she heard his next words -

    "It''s not something you would like to hear, mother. Let it go."

    ###

    A/N - If you find any inconsistency or mistakes, please notify me - inments. The theory about fate & future is something that I came up with, if you have any doubts/questions - you can ask, I will do my best to clear them.

    ��----- now today''s question from chapter, what do you think Skuld''s reaction would be to his lies? Why would Rio worry about Goddess Kali? What would he tell his mother about the future? What would Artemis do now that she knows about this?

 Chapter 74 Explaining Our Fate

    "It''s not something you would like to hear, mother. Let it go." Rio said in a firm tone, clearly indicating he had no intention of telling her anything about what he saw.

    "Do you not trust me, son? Did I ever do something to harm you or Amelia? Is that why you''re acting like that?" Artemis said as she stood up in front of him. "Tell me, was just a vision you saw enough to shake your belief in your own family? Did you trust that Goddess more than me! more than your father now?"

    Artemis''s heart felt heavy with a tumultuous mix of emotions, threatening to engulf her in a storm of turmoil. Worry consumed her, gnawing at her soul as she questioned her own abilities as a mother. Anger welled up within her, directed not only at that Goddess who had bestowed the blessing upon Rio, but also at herself for being unable to protect her children from the potential dangers or any maniption.

    Tears welled up in her eyes, reflecting the conflict raging within her soul. She loved her children fiercely and unconditionally, and the mere thought of them being harmed pierced her heart like a thousand arrows. Her emotions shed and tangled together, creating a storm of conflicting desires and fears.

    Disappointment settled deep within her, a profound sense of self-doubt creeping into her thoughts. She questioned whether she would ever do something bad to him. Her thoughts were consumed by the what-ifs and the uncertainties of the future. Her mind gued by the haunting possibility of hurting her beloved children, Rio and Amelia. The thought alone sent shivers down her spine, filling her with an overwhelming sense of dread. She couldn''t bear the idea of being the cause of their pain or leading them down a path of suffering.

    Rio felt a pang of guilt as he witnessed the range of emotions ying across Artemis''s face. He had expected this reaction from her, but he underestimated how much effect her tears could cause in his heart. The thought to just hold her and tell her everything came into his mind, just so he could make sure she''s not stressed over anything. For a moment he forgot it all and just a thought to make her smile was left in his head, and if not for the system notification which pulled him out of it, maybe he would''ve done it.

    [Calm down host, think about what you''ll say next very carefully. You cannot change it afterwards.]

    System was right, he can''t just be emotional and reveal everything. The possible repercussions could be disastrous, her rash anger would only end up getting her killed. And that would be much more hurtful than some tears in her eyes.

    But still he couldn''t ignore her sad look.

    Taking a deep breath, he gently reached out and held her hands, Rio looked into her eyes with sincerity. "I trust you, mother. More than anything or anyone else in the world." Wiping the tears that slid down her cheeks hearing those reassuring words, he continued -"There is nothing that would ever make me doubt or angry at our family. I love you all too much for that to happen."

    "Then why didn''t you say anything? It''s been weeks since then." Artemis asked as she calmed down a little, though her inner turmoil was far from quelled, the gentle reassurance and his loving words began to chip away at the walls of self-doubt she had built.

    "I didn''t want to trouble you mother. Whatever I saw, that''s just a vision of a possible future and I already changed it, so you don''t have to worry about anything, okay." Rio said and hugged her. Hoping it would be enough for her.

    Artemis too closed her eyes as she processed everything that he said. "Can you at least tell me what happened? I know it''s against thews, but�� " Artemis asked as she sat down on a sofa near the table and pulled Rio to her side.

    "Do you really want to hear it, mother? It''s not something pleasant." Rio asked, hesitant to speak, while Artemis just kissed his forehead, silently conveying her feelings that he didn''t have to do it all alone, that she was here for him.

    "I''ve seen death mother. You, me, Myra, father, Amelia everyone. I saw thest of ke bloodline disappear from Arcadia."

    "I''ve seen our enemies rising in power, people raising their arms against us, I''ve seen Gods abandoning us all, and watching from the sidelines. I''ve seen it all mother. None of us get a happy ending."

    Artemis''s heart was heavy with an array of emotions as she absorbed the weight of Rio''s words. The fate he had witnessed painted a devastating picture, one that shook the very foundation of their family. Anger surged through her veins, fueled by the injustice of such a cruel fate.

    Pain rippled through Artemis as she grappled with the magnitude of the destruction foreseen in Rio''s vision. The thought of losing her loved ones, of witnessing the annihtion of their family, was a bitter pill to swallow. Disbelief and despair threatened to consume her.

    Her mind whirled with questions, searching for answers and solutions. How could they prevent such a tragedy from unfolding? Was there a way to alter the course of fate and rewrite their destiny? Why them, what did they ever do to anybody? Hatred welled up within her, directed towards the forces that threatened to tear her family apart.

    Yet, as Artemis nced at Rio, her young son who bore the weight of this vision on his shoulders for weeks, a sense of awe and admiration washed over her. He didn''t cry, nor give up or begged for mercy -no, he worked to change that future from ever happening. The face of Agnus and his words about how his son was the best among everyone, came to her mind, prompting a slight smile on her lips.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Taking a deep breath, Artemis reached out and gently embraced Rio, holding him tightly against her. "I would never let anything happen to you, as long as I''m alive." In that tender embrace, she conveyed her unwavering support and love.

    She was curious about everything, she wanted to ask who or what was responsible for everything, but knew thews of fate''s blessing didn''t allow it.

    Every God who watched fate believed in only one thing -we all make our own fates. Every decision, every choice shapes our future. So when any God chooses to give their blessing they give that person the ability to see and change his fate. But if that person shared the knowledge about someone else''s future, then what would be the point of that God''s existence? That one guy could announce the whole world''s fate and change everything, that''s why with every blessing of fate,es the limitation that they cannot share their knowledge with anyone.

    [*if you''re wondering then howe Rio said about the fate of his family, well that''s because first he''s just lying his ass off. Second because what he said confirms nothing - it''s a loophole, people who know fate can''t share their knowledge but they can be as inconspicuous about it as they want. Like he saw everyone''s death -well everyone dies anyway. So no breaking of rules.]

    "I''m sorry you had to go through everything. But always remember that I''m here for you."

    Artemis spoke in her gentle tone, she still had so much stuff that she needed to think clearly about, but what took priority now was her son. But silently in a dark corner of her mind, the thought to eradicate Baron Misha''s family and everything rted to him started taking root.

    Rio, who was lying in her embrace, found the same peace he felt on the first day when he came to Arcadia. The first time he saw her. "I love you mother." Rio said as he held her tightly. He could finally ept it now -despite what he thought about everyone else in the novel, after living here for almost a month, somehow this new family of his had really fixed a spot in his heart. Maybe it''s because of how much he missed his own family, or maybe it''s because they are Amelia''s family who is practically his sister, or maybe it''s just because they''ve been so nice and caring for him for so long that he couldn''t ignore them any longer. But he had started to care for them.

    ''Maybe it''s not toote for that fresh start for me after all.''

    Soon Rio fell asleep in his mother''s embrace and found himself floating in the system space. He looked around the familiar space and said -"That was hard."

    "How the hell does anyone in those novels never notice anything wrong after someone reincarnates in their family. Is Artemis too smart for that shit to happen, or am I too dumb at acting the same."

    System who was muted till now, was just waiting for its host toe, and see the results of the mess he created -

    [Notifications +99.. ]

    [Host''s actions have attracted the attention of��

    [You have changed the plot�� ]

    [??Click to see them all��]

    ##

    A/N - writing these 2 chapters was so hard. Since they were so different from other novels. Sigh don''t know how this will turn out. If you have questions about why Rio did this I will exin it fully in the next chapter.

    Tell me what ur thoughts r? What will Artemis do now?U can join my discord . Send me gifts if u need some bonus chapters. ?

 Chapter 75 Reasons For His Blunder

    "Oyee system, tell me what you think. How big of a mess will it create?"

    [Was that really necessary? You could''ve just lied to her? You could''ve said you don''t remember or can''t say, but you fucked that up and said you saw your fate? Do you know how many Gods you pulled on your back with this stunt? Skuld is practically flocking the world system, how will you deal with her? Not to mention Goddess Kali.] System who stayed silent till now, bombarded its host with all the questions it had. In its eyes this was a dumb move, especially since the plot hasn''t even begun yet. ying with Gods - that is suicide.

    "Take it easy, system. I know what I''m doing."

    [Ohhh do you now. Then why don''t you enlighten this primitive]

    "Well, since you kept quiet like I asked you. I''ll be generous and answer your questions -for starters was this necessary, then yes it was. You should know from the plot that fooling Artemis was impossible, I had to give her something that would keep her focus away from me, so that she never doubts if I am her son or not. Lying to her now may have worked but sooner orter she would''ve gotten suspicious again, and then I would have to do this stuff all over again. But now I have fixed all her doubts and got her full support in one swoop. She can associate all my actions as if I''m working to change our fate and she will keep supporting me. The little guilt she would feel that I have to do this all alone, would stop the plotline of that fucker''s adoption in our family and me losing my position of heir. This way I would always have a Duke''s family for my backup, and mainly I would be able to stay near Amelia. Do you get it now."

    System who heard all his reasons could now understand about telling Artemis something like this, but still there was something still missing,

    [No offense host, but if you only wanted to avoid the adoption storyline, you could just go and kill him. Unless you did this, so you could avoid the situation where you have to fight her, didn''t you?]

    "That , is also true. I don''t wanna fight her. She''s Amelia''s mother, I should avoid it as much as I can." Rio remembered the event where he would have to face off against Artemis, the fight in the story ended up with Myra dying, Rio and Amelia hating each other and Artemis''s ��he didn''t want to hurt any of them, he even started to like both Myra and Artemis now. ''I should really try to avoid everything rted to that.''

    [But I don''t think you can avoid that, host. That event is fixed, which had to happen for the plot to progress further. If that doesn''t happen I don''t have to tell you that Amelia''s ending might differ, and that will change the plot even further than you or I can control.]

    "I know, I will think of something. I still have enough time."

    [If you say so, what about the Gods? They''ve heard your talks. You''ve even gotten the attention of some middle bosses, how will you handle them? And don''t forget Kali, you were already on her radar, and with this she is even more interested in you now. If you''re taking her easy, then I suggest you remember thest time you saw her.]

    As system finished its words, the image of Kali in her battle form, ready to chop off his head came to Rio''s mind, and he cursed the system -''''fucker, that only happened because you were sleeping, instead of protecting my mind."

    [It''s good that you remember the dangers, now tell me why take them lightly.]

    "I''m not. Gods are not the part of the story till emergence 2.0 , till then they don''t take anything seriously and just watch from the sidelines. In the eyes of Gods who''ve lived for millennia and are primordial, the time of my life is insignificant. The fate I see in years would just be like a blink of an eye for them. For now in their view everyone on Arcadia is just their puppet, for them to use however they want in their game of power.

    It is only after the emergence phase 2 , that they learn their lesson and start to take this game seriously. I have around 10 years till that happens ording to the plot, so I''m fine for now. The middle bosses you''re speaking about, well I can probably guess who it is, and the answer is the same, they can''t interfere directly, and unlike me they don''t know the plot, so in a way this is another experiment - can the Gods go against the plot, or are they bound by it too."

    "Stronger Gods won''t focus much on me since they got their own Gods and followers who have this kind of abilities, the weaker ones will probably back off seeing Nyx''s interest in me. That leaves some idiot ones who may or may not pester me."

    "In both cases they won''t be able to directly interfere, and their minions, well I think ke''s at this point of time don''t need to be afraid of anyone."

    "Kali might be hard to handle but if I bag Skuld in my camp, she would have to let me go too. Plus if I keep her attention on me, maybe I can influence her a little to choose Amelia as her avatar early, that way Lia can get stronger faster than she did in the novel. Thus giving me one more failsafe to avoid our ending."

    [All of this would be for nothing, if Skuld came out and said you''re lying. Not only would that make you a joke in God''s eyes, it would ruin your reputation and chance of getting any blessing from them in the future too. Not to mention Skuld can always see your future so you might not be able to lie or use her in any of your future ns.]

    "Tell me system, are you designed dumb, or is it only cause you''re at level 0."

    [Stop joking and answer my questions]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Well, it looks like you forgot the novel''s plot system. Do you remember what role Skuld yed in it? What was her motivation for joining the plot and Goddess Kali."

    [No friggin way]

    "Yupp, I picked a card from our protagonist''s ybook.

    How do they get anyone''s support? They get it by giving a helping hand to a drowning man.

    Skuld in the story needs something, and I promise to help her, she can try to see my future, but sadly she''ll either see nothing since I''m not from Arcadia. Or she will see the future that I will create now.

    After I''ve changed some events, the plotline of the original Rio has already changed. She can''tpare my 2 futures and see how much mess I create, the same is the case for any other God with those powers. Unless someone saw Rio''s future before I came to Arcadia, they would only be able to see a new version of it and not the original story.

    Since most of my actions would be suitable for me to rise in power, it won''t be surprising for anyone to doubt that the heir of ke family is stronger than everyone. Plot wanted me to be dumb and y around with the protagonist, but if I outright kill him now, even that would only make sense in those God''s eyes cause which powerful heir would take the insults from an ant and send his minions to bully him. Since they know nothing of the plot or my original future - then whatever I do is my fate. Hell I''ve killed Noah, and just like Artemis most of them would only think that it was because I wanted to get the Baron, since my action of killing an 8 year unawakened in a hurry doesn''t make sense in their eyes.

    To maintain my lie in everyone''s eye, all I need is one blessing from Skuld, and her approval if someone asks if I''m her follower or not. That shouldn''t be hard since I don''t need to lie to her or use her, if she decides to help me now, I have no problem in helping her in return -so even if she sees some of my future she''ll probably see that I kept my deal.

    [And you''re sure of that since helping her would also benefit you.]

    "Now you''re catching on system, good."

    [Hehehe]

    "Stopughing like an idiot, and start counting my points.

    I have a feeling I''ve messed up the plot big time. What an unexpected surprise."

    (Fucking bastard)

    [Calcting

    "Now how about we go and get ourselves a Goddess."

    ####

    A/N - I''ve exined about Rio''s actions in this chapter, about why he did what he did. Or what his future ns are. If you''re still confused about something please write ament and I will try to exin it better. Or join discord.

    Now for today''s question - is the fight between mother-son impossible to ignore? What does Skuld want? Why did she join Goddess Kali? Will everything go as Rio wished for? How many points will he get?

 Chapter 76 Wasting My Sleep On System

    "Now let''s go get ourselves a Goddess."

    [Don''t you want to see her reactions to your lies first. Might give you an idea on how to talk with her.]

    "Well, whatever. Show me."

    [Loading��

    Rio watched as the system again started its loading?? sign, he waited for 10 seconds and it was still going on. He finally couldn''t take it and spoke -"Why do you always waste time with this?"

    [Host, do you wanna see all the notifications you got from every God, or do you only want to see Skuld''s]

    "No, show me hers first. I''ll check otherster when I''m free."

    [Then just wait till I''m done filtering them.]

    While the system went back to separate the notifications of Goddess Skuld, Rio looked around, watching the pitch ck void around him, he asked -"Oyee system, why don''t we change the space around us. I mean darkness is good and all, but all time ck will only lessen my mood."

    [Hmm what do you want, a beach??, city??, sunset?? or space?? . I got all kinds of themes.]

    "You''ve seen my memories right."

    [Yes]

    "Then bring out something from earth, obviously nothing that I don''t like."

    [Ok.how about this.] System said and after going through several images, it settled on one theme. The space around Rio transformed into a serene and endless park. Lush green grass spread beneath his feet. Trees of various kinds stood tall and proud, their branches swaying gently in the breeze. The air was filled with the delicate scent of blossoms, carried by the wind.

    A little further, swings appeared and gently swayed back and forth, inviting him to relive the carefree joy of his childhood. The sky above was painted with hues of orange and pink as the sun gracefully descended towards the horizon. Birds soared gracefully across the sky, their melodic chirping created a symphony of nature, a soothing soundtrack for his mind.

    [This is good, right. And you always say I don''t have any functions at level 0.]

    Rio stood amidst the empty virtual park and looked towards the sky, it was peaceful too like the darkness, but in a different way. "It''s perfect." He said as he took a deep breath and enjoyed the serenity it brought him.

    [Well, you''re wee] system said in its own honeyed tone, replying for a thanks it didn''t get.

    [Here are the notifications from Skuld -

    [Goddess of Norns feels intrigued about which God gave you the blessing of fate

    [Goddess feels interested in what you saw in your fate

    [Your lies makes the Goddess confused

    [Skuld demands an exnation for your actions

    [Me, asking for a favor, from you - The Norn sistersugh at your audacity to boast

    [Your actions deserves the punishment

    [She feels humiliated at how some mortal dares to use her name with such shamelessness

    [Her anger reaches higher as she watches the attention you brought upon her

    [Your actions put her in the limelight she stayed away from -Prepare to die

    [Skuld takes on her Valkyrie form to crush your skull

    [The thought of darkness and infinite void, makes her shudder. The form of Valkyrie disappears

    [Skuld decides to ask Goddess Kali to pay you another visit

    [...

    [.....

    "Okay, that''s enough. I think I have an idea of how mad she is now. Comining to her, Is she a kid now."

    [She kind of is, ording to the plot, remember. And not like she can do anything to you with Nyx watching over you.]

    "Well, let''s hope so. It''ll be easy that way. Time to wake up."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rio thought and opened his eyes, the system space was gone and he found himself back in Artemis''sps. ''This is nice. I should disable the system space function. It''s ruining my whole peaceful sleep by just talking.''

    Artemis, who felt Rio moving, patted his head and said "Did I wake you up?"

    "No, sorry I fell asleep. How long has it been?" Rio said as hezily stretched his hand and sat down properly.

    "Around half an hour. You can sleep more if you want." Artemis said, her voice sounding a little sad that he woke up a little early.

    "I have sses, mother. Besides Amelia will be free soon if she sees me sleeping and skipping training, she''ll throw another tantrum."

    Artemis shrugged her shoulders and said -"I''ll handle her."

    Rio, who heard her words, just shook his head. He could guess what she was thinking, or why she was being this generous to him, but this wasn''t something he wanted. He pulled her hands, and held them together -"Mother, I''m fine. It''s not a big deal. You acting like this, this isn''t right. Just be normal. Like we''ve always been. You want me to be happy, right?" Rio asked and when Artemis nodded her head in return, he smiled and said -"Then stop acting like something''s changed cause nothing did. Whatever I saw will never happen, I won''t let it happen. And besides, if I remember correctly -

    Someone once told me that instead of living in the fear of our future, we should be pleased with our present.

    Wonder what happened to that wise woman." Artemis who heard her own words quoted to herself, smiled and pulled his ear -"you''ve got quite a sharp tongue now, don''t you?"

    Rio pulled his head back and massaged his ears "Well I am your son, aren''t I."

    "Are you?" Artemis replied as she made a thoughtful expression, like she was really thinking about the past. "I lost consciousness after delivery, so I don''t know?"

    "Low blow mother. Not fair." Rio, who heard her exaggerated joke, actually felt a little bad hearing that. ''She''s ying dirty.''

    "Well, now you know better than to tease me." Artemis just shook her head, gave no reply. As she ignored that topic and hugged him, while saying -"I''m proud of you, son. Really proud"

    As she hugged him, Rio couldn''t help but tease her with a yful remark. "I''m proud of me too," He whispered with a mischievous smile.

    However, his moment of jest quickly turned into a yelp of surprise as Artemis tightened her embrace a little.

    "Ouch, ouch!" Rio eximed, his voiceced with a mixture of pain andughter. "Sorry, Mother! I promise no more jokes!"

    Artemis loosened her grip, a sheepish smile appearing on her face as she gently patted his back, expressing her apology. "Off you go then. Whose ss is it now?"

    "Eckart''s etiquette ss, I hate that the most. I mean, seriously, learning how to eat, drink, walk, sleep... It''s exhausting. And today, he''s going to teach me how to dance! Ohhh I can already see a headacheing." Rio said as he remembered his sses. The rest were still fine as they were either training him in something useful, or teaching him about Arcadia. But this idiot was teaching him how to chew his food & what should be the size of his bites. '' I''ve been eating & sleeping 5 years more than that guy, and he''s teaching me now.'' ''Damn nobility.''

    Artemis smiled watching his troubled face- "It''s amusing how you can handle so many other things but struggle with a single noble''s etiquette ss. But this is important too, being a noble isn''t just about fighting monsters in towers, or clearing out dungeons, you gotta keep appearances in social circles too. Your every action should be full of elegance and grace, it''s aboutmanding respect and representing our family."

    After giving him the serious talk, Artemis took her usual mood and started teasing him again -"Since you''re my son, you''ll always be the center of attention, so you should just man up a little. And besides Reba''s birthday party ising up -who knows how many girls will line up to dance with you. So you better make me proud."

    "Oh, great, just what I need more pressure! I''ll be stumbling all over the dance floor." Hearing her teasing words about Reba''s party, Rio replied in his yful tone. He had made other ns for Reba''s party, but he totally forgot how that''ll be the first time in years, when he''ll have to attend any social gathering. In hisst years on earth the most people he was surrounded by were on subways, otherwise he always ignored crowded ces. And now somehow he will have to attend a princesses birthday party, with eyes from all over the world watching him.

    After all even if the ke family didn''t announce or celebrate his awakening in grand manner yet, but with the influence ke family has, and how fast the news reaches everywhere -probably every important person on Arcadia must''ve gotten their own reports about it by now. And Reba''s birthday will be the first time he goes out of his home -even more pressure.

    "Rio, what scared already?" Artemis asked as she watched Rio lost in thoughts and his expression getting worse every moment. She really wanted tough now -''how could someone who can smile & be worry free after watching his own fate, but get this sad over a tuition ss. Kids, they''re always the same.''

    As that thought crossed her mind, Artemis finally couldn''t stop, and smile a little. Making Rio doubt again about why the novel story never mentioned her character was like this? In the novel, Artemis was kind of like a viiness boss character. But now this boss is just bullying both her children all day long.

    ''Sigh author really ignored the viin''s family until he needed something dark in the story huhh - I bet he must''ve even wanted to name us the ''ck family'' with how much nonsense hate we get. I should really find this author and give him a beatdown someday��

    [Host, please back on track. We have a goddess to deal with. You remember that right?]

    ''Ohh yeah. That ''

    "Okay, bye mother. I''ll go , don''t you dare stress over anything." Artemis watched as Rio hurriedly kissed her cheek and dashed out of the room, leaving her momentarily lost in the moment.

    "He''s growing up so fast," she whispered to herself, she knew the world they live in wasn''t something where she could always protect him. And he''ll have to face his own troubles himself, but she never knew it''ll be this early. She picked out the training format she made for him before, and threw it in the trash. ''Well, let''s raise the difficulty a little.''

    Rio, who was nonchntly roaming around the hallways, suddenly felt cold all over his body. ''What the fuck, did something bad happen.''

    [Host, your room is here. Let''s head in and start her summoning process.]

    "Summoning my ass, you''re just telling me to bootlick her till shees here."

    "Fuck them Gods and their egos."

    ###

    A/N - next chapter time to be a bootlicker. And meeting another goddess.

 Chapter 77 Gods & Their Egos

    As Rio reached his room, he made sure to warn the guards outside that no one disturbs him for some time, and not to let anyone in. This''ll be the first time he would try to call for some God and he had no idea how long it would take. Considering that Skuld''s attention was still on him, it shouldn''t be hard to call for her, and seeing how she was angry at him for lying about her and needed an exnation she should be easy to call for. But who knows?

    ��-----

    ****In Arcadia every God, like in every other world, had the power to listen to the prayers directed at them. While they usually just ignore them as petty begging of mortals, always asking for something orining about something, sometimes they do listen and reply.

    There are 2 ways to talk to any God in Arcadia -One is through the world system, which works like a chat group, where they can send any message they want (This is something a God takes the initiative of) . While the other is through prayers(which people of Arcadia use) . If any God listens to your prayers and wants to talk to you, they can do it by either visiting you in the ethereal form or pulling that person in their domain.

    Though the chances of calling some God through prayers is rare, cause you can imagine how many others must be doing the same thing at the same time, if the God especially isn''t interested in you or had been watching you -then you can spend your whole life praying and your God won''t even know about your existence, after wasting all that time all you''ll get in return is nil, nada and a whole lot of nothing.

    That''s why believers made their own nations and churches or groups, so their prayers can reach their God smoothly, without getting drowned in other stuff, as every God would have high chances of focusing on the ce where his offeringse from.

    ��----

    This is why Rio decided to be alone, as even though Skuld was watching him, there was no guarantee that she woulde when he called. It might take a moment , a minute or it might never happen, cause he could see Nyx''s messages floating on the screen. ''She''s enjoying this, isn''t she.'' Rio thought as he read the notification.

    [Well, since she personally came to give you a blessing, of course she knows you didn''t have any prior blessing on you.]

    [She''s just watching the show you put on by lying like this.]

    "Hey system, don''t those other Gods doubt that I lied, I mean they do know that without awakening I shouldn''t get any blessing the normal way, right?"

    [They know it host, that''s why they were curious. If you picked any other type of God they might have caught your lie, but someone who can see the future choosing someone early by breaking a rule or two. That just shows that maybe you were more valuable in that God''s eyes, making you a prized trophy to their collection. That''s why you''ll probably get more attention from now on. They''ll see if you really do deserve an investment or not.]

    "Huhh, well they''re free to do whatever they want. Maybe I''ll use some extra attention to get rid of one or two pesky Gods from the story."

    "Now let''s start summoning."

    Rio said as he knelt down, he folded his hands in prayer, preparing himself to call upon Skuld, the Norn goddess of fate, who controlled the treads of future. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts and steady his emotions. With each word he spoke, he felt a mixture of embarrassment and determination.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Oh, Skuld, mighty goddess of the future," Rio began, his voice filled with reverence. "I praise your power, your control over the threads of destiny. Your wisdom is renowned, and your guidance is sought by all who seek to understand the paths that lie ahead."

    He continued, his words flowing with a sincerity that contradicted the doubts he harbored within. "I acknowledge your generosity in bestowing me the blessing of fate, even though those visions maye with uncertainty and challenges. Your foresight has allowed me to prepare and shape my destiny, to navigate the obstacles thaty in my path."

    Rio''s mind wandered for a moment, questioning the usefulness of his current endeavor. But he quickly brushed aside those thoughts and focused on the task at hand.

    "Oh Goddess, mighty Norn of fate and time, youngest and wisest of your sisters, you are the embodiment of beauty and grace." Rio continued, his voice growing softer but no less sincere. "I beseech you to grant me an audience, to lend me your insights and wisdom once again. Help me navigate the challenges that lie before me, and guide me towards a future where my loved ones are safe and my family remains intact."

    "Goddess" Rio spoke softly, his words carried on the gentle breeze. "You who weave the threads of destiny, who hold the power to shape the future"  Rio concluded, his voice carrying his genuine longing and curiosity. "Guide me on the path of destiny, that I may bring about a future filled with love, hope and betterment of the world."

    Rio finally couldn''t take this anymore, he never ever prayed this much begging like this. It felt so embarrassing and the thought that there were others who were watching him, made it humiliating, plus thements of Nyxughing heartily on his status didn''t make it easier. "Why is she noting yet?"

    [Host, I think your thoughts are breaking your character. Please continue. You''re doing great.]

    "Naah Fuck this bullshit. She''s just enjoying it cause she knows it''s all lies.."

    ''We tried the method from the novel, we do it my way now'' - "Listen up you snotty brat, I know you''re watching, so juste out now, or I''m calling Zeus about your location. Let''s see whoughs when you''re running around all the mountains."

    ###

    A/N - just some info, one of the reader''smented today- that Myra who''s a side character was able to rise up till Limit rank in 12 years, then MC who has a system, won''t he be S rank by the time plot starts 8 yearster. So if anyone else has this doubt I''ll exin - it''s not a mistake, and it''s not normal. There''s a reason why Myra raised her ranks so fast. I''ve already hinted about it and that''ll be exined fullyter. You can''t have 18 years S rankers lol.

    ----

    I know a short chapter - but worry not will post anotherter today.

 Chapter 78 Dealing With The Goddess Of Fate

    As Rio''s warning to Skuld concluded, he felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere around him. The lush surroundings of his room vanished, reced by a breathtaking garden that seemed to stretch on for eternity. It was much fancier and many times more beautiful than the ones he saw as system space. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers, and vibrant colors painted thendscape in hues of green, red, and gold.

    In the center of the garden stood an immense tree, its towering branches reaching high into the sky, seemingly bridging the gap between the mortal realm and the divine. Rio recognized it instantly as Yggdrasil, the World Tree, a tree that held all 9 realms together, holding different worlds in its branches..

    Near the base of the tree, there was a serene pond, its surface shimmering with an ethereal glow, the water in it looked the purest shade of blue. Rio sensed its significance and knew it to be Urd''s Well, the well of destiny(also called the well of memory) , where the Norns would gather to weave the threads of fate.

    As he observed, he noticed tiny fairies flitting about the tree''s branches, their delicate wings sparkling in the soft light. They danced andughed, carrying small vials filled with water from Urd''s Well, gently sprinkling it upon the tree''s roots and branches, as if nurturing its life force.

    Rio''s gaze shifted towards the surroundings, and he noticed a circr wall of mountains enclosing the entire garden. He realized that this was probably Urd''s Wall, the dwelling ce of the Norns, the sisters who controlled the fate and destiny of all beings. The wall stood as a boundary between the eternal tree of wisdom and outer space, it was like a part of the world was cut off and left there hanging.

    After Rio who enjoyed the new scenery around him to the fullest, hemanded his system-

    ''System, remember to copy paste it on our space.''

    [Obviously host. What''s theirs is ours.]

    ''Hahaha of course.''

    Both the viin and his viinous system were busy nning out the finer details of their new system space, obviously Rio removed the dancing mosquito like fairies, they were just extra baggage, system also suggested changing the mountain wall into a transparent ss wall, and instead of showing nothing outside the wall, they agreed to fix the theme of outer space or gxies outside the ss dome, which system suggested from one of the scenes from a movie Shiva watched on earth.

    ��-------------------

    ��---------

    Both were busy talking when they were interrupted by a sudden outburst of an angry voice. It was the voice of a little girl, filled with frustration and indignation, shouting at Rio with righteous fury.

    "Who do you think you are, mortal? How dare you lie about me and use my name without permission!" the voice eximed, echoing through the divine garden. Her voice carried a hint of anger and disbelief.

    Skuld''s anger was palpable as she confronted Rio. She had been watching this mortal ever since Kali returned one day, and asked about his fate one day. Even though due to limitations from the world system she couldn''t see his whole future, she could see some visions and parts of it, which made her interested in him.

    At first she was confused when she heard his words today, about her giving him a blessing. Her confusion turned into anger when he said she, a goddess, asked him for a favor. And after listening to his prayers and praises when she was just about to give him a chance to exin himself, he shifted his mood and straight out threatened her.

    A puny puppet threatening the goddess who has seen and controlled even the fate of allfather Odin. This was an insult to her Godhood. Her divine pride was wounded, and she sought retribution.

    Startled, Rio turned around to find the source of the voice. Standing before him was a young girl with fiery red hair, her eyes burning with anger and power. Her fierce expression clearly indicated how mad she was, her hands were nted firmly on her hips, and her eyes zed with indignation. It was Skuld, the Norn goddess of future fate, her presence radiating authority and intensity. She looked exactly the same as she was described in the novel.

    "You dare threaten me, mortal!! You have crossed a line," Skuld dered, her tone filled with a mix of anger and disappointment.

    "That''s not what I wanted to do, Goddess. You should _ " Rio started saying something trying to exin what he meant, but was interrupted mid sentence as Skuld stopped him, thinking he was going to apologize and beg for mercy soon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You threaten a goddess and then expect forgiveness so easily?" Skuld replied, her tone stern. Skuld''s voice reverberated through the garden as she unleashed her wrath upon Rio. She berated him for daring to lie about her, to use her name without her consent. Her anger was palpable, and Rio couldn''t help but feel a mixture of apprehension and defiance.

    He watched as Skuld''s frustration intensified, her voice growing louder and more impassioned. She couldn''t understand how a mere mortal would have the audacity to manipte her name for his own purposes.

    Yet, as Skuld continued her shouting, Rio''s expression remained surprisingly calm. His eyes flickered with a hint of amusement, a confident smile ying at the corners of his lips. He listened attentively, his eyes fixed on her as she vented her frustrations. Though her anger was apparent, he couldn''t help but detect a hint of uncertainty beneath her fiery exterior.

    "Your words hold weight, mortal, and your actions have consequences. You should prepare yourself for divine punishment." Her words cut through the air like a sharp de, and Rio could sense the power and authority behind them. Skuld''s anger stemmed from her sacred position as the guardian of fate, and any maniption or disrespect towards her was met with fierce resistance.

    Skuld''s voiceced with frustration and indignation. She shouted at Rio, her petite form trembling with fury. But Rio remained unfazed, knowing that her divine power held no sway over him. The system now protected his mind so she couldn''t harm him mentally, and she couldn''t harm his physical body while he was here as Nyx was watching that.*1 Skuld, who had a small number of followers on Arcadia, would only send them to their death if she asked anyone toe after him or the ke family. Skuld knew this as well, which was why she resorted to shouting rather than using her divinity to pressure him.

    This was the benefit of having strong Gods supporting you, as those with little power didn''t dare to harm their chosen followers. Even though war of Gods was stopped and they were banned from fighting between themselves, there were many other ways to remove a Gods existence than simply killing them. If Nyx ever dered that all of Skuld''s followers are her enemies and to be killed, probably half of Arcadia would be out hunting them, just for the off chance that they can get her favor or any blessing.

    Hearing her rant, Rio felt a twinge of amusement. He could see the futility of her anger. He understood the power dynamics at y, recognizing that he held the upper hand. Even though she was the goddess of fate, he had knowledge far surpassing her about the future, and it only strengthened his resolve to take control of the situation.

    As she took a brief pause, he seized the opportunity to interject. -"Skuld, there''s no need for all this anger," Rio said, his tone steady and assured. "I understand your frustration, but there''s something more important that you should know about. It''s beneficial for you."

    Skuld''s anger seemed to simmer slightly as she listened to Rio''s words. Her anger began to waver, curiosity taking its ce. A thought that he might have something which gave him all this confidence, maybe Nyx helped him somehow started taking root in her head.

    Reluctantly, she allowed Rio to continue speaking, her expression still guarded but slightly less hostile. Rio seized the opportunity, knowing that he had to tread carefully if he wanted to finish what he started. -"Listen, Skuld. I may have used your name in a misguided attempt, but that''s only because I needed your attention, so we can talk."

    Skuld''s eyes narrowed as she heard Rio''s words. "What do you mean, mortal?"

    "I mean what I said. There was something I needed to talk to you about, and this was the fastest method to get your attention. And see I was right, you''re here." Rio sincerely exined his point.

    ''No matter which world, it always works. Gods and their ego''s, are they really Gods if they can''t even handle their own emotions properly. Some words of insults to make them angry, and some words of praise or offerings to make them calm again. How are they any different from normal humans?''

    Skuld regarded him with a mixture of skepticism and apprehension. Her anger began to subside, as her expression softened slightly as she considered Rio''s words. She was not easily swayed, but she could sense the truth in his voice. That''s when Rio continued his y and announced -

    "I know about your sister. I''ve seen her. And I can help you get her back."

    ###

    *1 �� When someone has a conversation with a God, oftentimes Gods pull that person''s consciousness out instead of talking normally to his physical form, so no one else, not even other Gods watching him could listen to their conversation.

    ###

    A/N - so what''re your opinions? Which sister of hers is missing? Will she trust him? How will Rio make her believe him?

 Chapter 79 Dealing With The Goddess Of Fate Ll

    "I know about your sister. I''ve seen her. And I can help you get her back."

    As Rio''s confident voice cut through Skuld''s anger, her fiery gaze locked onto him. Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise and curiosity, momentarily forgetting her rage. The mention of her sister piqued her interest, stirring a mix of hope and skepticism within her.

    "What do you know about my sister?" Skuld demanded, her voiceced with a newfound intensity. Her words echoed throughout the realm, The anger that had consumed her moments ago now shifted to a deep longing, the desire to know about her lost sibling.

    Rio, aware of the impact his words had made, maintained hisposed demeanor. He knew he had caught Skuld''s attention, and now he just had to navigate this delicate situation to his advantage.

    "I''ve seen glimpses of her in my visions, trapped somewhere out of your reach, asking for help, begging for mercy, hoping her sisters woulde and free her." Rio revealed, he closed his eyes with a thoughtful expression as if he was reliving the past, as he finished his words he opened them again and said -"Help me now, and I can help you locate and bring her back."

    Skuld''s eyes widened, a mixture of hope, sadness and desperation flooding her expression. The thought of learning about her sister, a connection severed for far too long, ignited a flicker of vulnerability within her fierce facade.

    But she didn''t lose all her reason like a certain someone, and still had some control over her brain, so she asked her doubts -

    "You speak of the impossible," Skuld replied, her voice softening ever so slightly. "No one has ever been able to see outside their realm. How can you, a mortal, im to have the means to do so. And even if somehow that was possible, what can your pathetic strength do to help me get her back?"

    While her words did hold weight and were true, he believed that he had the means to sway her. "Because just like you, I''ve also seen the future Skuld. I know why you ran away and joined Goddess Gauri (Kali). I know what you''re hiding from everyone, and why you''re not choosing anyone as your followers. We both saw what''ll happen in the future 10 yearster, and now we both can help each other."

    Hearing his words the goddess of fate had a shocked expression as she understood what he meant. The visions she had seen years ago, the chaotic truth that she witnessed and buried deep within her, the wars she saw the signs ofwhich made Ragnarok look like children''s squabble - everything that she wanted to hide from the world was known by this mortal in front of her.

    ''How does he know that? Not even other Gods of future visions should be able to see that, let alone share it with someone so easily.''

    "Want to consider your thoughts again." Skuld''s anger and thoughts faded further as she heard Rio''s proposition. She realized that things weren''t as simple as she thought. Just the thought that this mortal knew about the future and had Nyx as his supporter was enough to make her listen to him.

    Although still skeptical, she couldn''t dismiss the possibility that their interaction could lead to finding her sister Verdandi. She understood that she needed to be calm and not let her petty anger blind her to the potential opportunities.

    "Very well, mortal," Skuld conceded, her tone now tinged with a hint of curiosity and hostility. "But remember, I am still the goddess of fate. If you think of yourself as deceitful or maniptive, then I''d suggest you be very careful of your next words. Nyx might protect you, but sometimes you being safe bes a punishment in itself. I remember you have a family, a sister too and she''s _." She tried to warn the mortal of the consequences if he thought he could fool her, but her words were cut short by Rio''s voice, "Speak about her again, and I swear on my mana, that Verdandi''s safety would be thest thing you''ll need to worry about."

    Skuld''s eyes narrowed as she felt a surge of anger and indignation at Rio''s audacious threat. How dare this mortal, with his fragile existence, dare to challenge her, an eternal goddess? Anger surged through her being, her divine essence radiating with wrath. She towered over Rio, her presence overwhelming, as she prepared to unleash the full extent of her power.

    "Know your ce, mortal!" Skuld hissed, her voice dripping with fury. "You dare threaten me, a full-fledged eternal goddess? I have witnessed the rise and fall of countless gods, the birth and death of countless worlds, the creation and destruction of mortals like you. You are nothing more than a fleeting existence in the grand scheme of eternity."

    "Do not mistake your limited knowledge for your superiority, your arrogance will be your undoing if you underestimate the strength that lies within the divine."

    [????

    [WARNING]

    [WARNING ?? ]

    [WARNING]

    [Host''s life is in danger]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Requesting permission to send you back.]

    ''Stop whatever you doing system.''

    As her presence started to push Rio on his knees, the warnings from the system started appearing on his status screen. But he ignored them and continued - "I called you here for a deal, if you prefer death , I can give it to you too." His voice held an air of authority, a quiet confidence that contrasted with her fiery outburst.

    "You think you can do anything to harm me, a goddess. You''re nothing. One breath of air and you''ll be sted to pieces."

    Rio met Skuld''s gaze unwaveringly, his voice tinged with an unwavering determination. -"You must have tried to see my future too right, then you should know that soon enough the power gap won''t be this much between Gods and mortals. You may be more powerful than me, but I have more allies than you. If I die, so does everyst bit of your followers, and then while I can continue the cycle of rebirth again, you on the other hand will be gone for good. So I''d say you still have more to lose than I do."

    ''Another thing a mortal. Shouldn''t know about.'' Skuld thought as she heard his words. It was true, if he died he''ll continue the cycle of reincarnation, while she, a goddess, will be forever gone, her essence merged in the existence, never to be nothing again.

    The tension between them began to subside as Skuld reluctantly acknowledged Rio''s point. She had seen his fate, if she killed him now, there''ll be nothing but darkness left in the world. This was the second time she couldn''t see past something and she knew it wasn''t normal. Yet she had no intention of showing weakness in front of a mortal, her pride did not allow that.

    "Words alone are not enough, mortal ! Your actions will determine whether I help you or not," Skuld responded."Prove your words" Skuld challenged, her voice a mix of caution and anticipation. "If you can truly guide me to my sister, then perhaps I will consider an alliance."

    "You can trust me for now, you''ve wasted a thousand years sitting here doing nothing, I''m just asking for 10. Help me hide my lies and you''ll have your sister the moment this world changes." Rio dered decisively. He didn''t need much from Skuld, except one blessing to cover his lie.

    Skuld''s gaze hardened, her determination rekindled. "Very well, mortal. I shall grant you a chance to prove yourself, tell me what blessing do you want?"

    ''Got yaa'' Rio''s lips curled up in a smile as he heard those words.

    "Do you want to see your fate, your future? I can make your liese true with my blessing." Skuld dered as she proposed giving him the blessing of fate.

    But Rio shook his head, he had no need for that, he already knew the future, as for his fate, he was already aware of what he would see. Though his actions till now might have prevented some stuff from the novel, his ending would still be the same. ''There''s no way that can be changed this easily. No need to waste my blessing on that. Might as well ask for that.''

    "Give me the blessing of threads."

    Rio said, a glimmer of determination in his eyes. He knew that he had gained a small victory in this encounter, but he also understood the responsibility that came with it. He had to tread carefully and prove his worth on time if he wanted to gain Skuld''s trust and utilize her full powers to shape the future.

    But was that hard for him? Nah. Verdandi will be found and saved by Kali ording to the novel, he just has to show her the right location early. So she doesn''t waste time looking for her.

    "Hmmm, remember your words mortal. Break that promise, and I will show you hell."

    And with those words, a fragile alliance was born, tethered by hope, secrets, and the unyielding desire to rewrite their fates. Each harbored their own motives and desires, but they understood one thing, that their fates were intertwined now.

    ###

    A/N - what do you think "blessing of threads" is?

    Everyone - I have seen yourments , but I have yet to see your reviews on my book , so give me my 5* review. If you also give me some gifts ???? I will even forgive you, and introduce you in the novel. So give''em to me now.

 Chapter 80 Plotline Of Norn Sisters

    When the norn sisters were first pulled into Arcadia, not many Gods from Norse mythology were pulled along with them. So during the war of Gods when the purge started to kill or capture any God who can see the future, the norn sisters became the prime target for everyone.

    The Norn sisters, with their unique ability to see the past, present, and future, became the coveted prize sought after by every warring faction. Their power and knowledge made them indispensable weapons in the hands of those who could control them.

    Because not only one of them can see the future, theye in abo where one can see past and other one present. Just the thought that having these 3 in anyone''s faction would give them the biggest advantage, as they can see their enemies'' past to learn about their weaknesses, monitor their situation instantly no matter where they are as present, they can also change their ns and strategize after seeing the future.

    Everyone in the God realm was after their life, the trio of norn sisters had to run and hide from whoever they saw, in an unknownnd where powerful Gods from other myths starteding after them, the sisters tasted the true meaning of despair.

    For a little while, their skills gave them a slight advantage in slipping away from their pursuers, the inevitable came to pass. The trio of sisters��Skuld, Urd, and Verdandi��found themselves caught in a treacherous trap.

    No matter what they did, how they used their abilities supporting each other, in front of overwhelming numbers and ultimate strength, they soon found themselves lost and beaten.

    As captives, the sisters endured a bleak existence, their lives reduced to mere pawns in the ongoing war. They were subjected to the whims and demands of their captors, forced to use their skills and knowledge to serve the agenda of those who held them captive. The sisters'' visions held the potential to turn the tide of the war, to reveal the strategies and weaknesses of their enemies.

    The war of gods raged on, each faction blinded by their desire for dominance. But even in their captivity, the norn sisters held onto a flicker of hope, knowing that their abilities were too potent to be suppressed forever.

    Finally after changing several factions, experiencing destruction and betrayals wherever they went, the day of their liberation arrived. Urd and Skuld, cunning and resourceful, managed to break free from their captors'' grasp. They embraced their newfound freedom and made a fateful decision to join forces with Kali, a formidable goddess known for her ferocity, and the chaos she left behind on the battlefield.

    However, their triumph was marred by the absence of Verdandi. Zeus, the Greek king of gods, had captured Verdandi and concealed her in a ce so secretive that even Skuld''s visions couldn''t pierce its veil. Despite their best efforts and Skuld''s future visions, the duo were unable to locate her.

    The knowledge of Verdandi''s captivity weighed heavily upon Urd and Skuld, for they knew that their sister remained at the mercy of Zeus, a ruler known for his indomitable strength and unwavering will, the tales of his tyranny were enough to send shivers down the sisters spine whenever they thought about it.

    The fate of the Norn sisters intertwined with the fate of the war itself. So when the duo were going to sacrifice themselves for their sister''s freedom, or at least join her in the suffering, the world''s will intervened and stopped the War of Gods.

    It has been nearly a thousand years, but there has been no news about Verdandi, Skuld and Urd have followed Goddess Gauri ever since then, in return the sisters have only asked for a promise from Goddess, that she would help them free Verdandi if ever a chance presented itself. Goddess Gauri(kali) didn''t know why they even asked for a promise like that, as the war had already ceased, and even she, a primordial, couldn''t go and teach Zeus some manners now. But for their safety and happiness she agreed nheless.

    But what she didn''t know was that Skuld carried a secret, a vision of the future that she had yet to share with anyone, even her own sister.

    When the world''s will intervened to halt the war, Skuld had glimpsed a fate so catastrophic, so devastating, that it made the apocalyptic event of Ragnarok that she had long feared, seem like a mere yground skirmish.

    In her vision, the signs of war were so dire that they eclipsed the horrors of any conflict that hade before, engulfing the realms of both mortals and gods alike. Immortal beings, once revered as all-powerful, were hunted and mercilessly ughtered, their immortal essence shattered like fragile mortal beings.

    The gods, once praised as omnipotent beings, were now killed, their divine essence extinguished like flickering mes.

    The world had irrevocably changed. Darkness and chaos consumed the realms, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.

    The intensity of this vision had taken its toll on Skuld''s spirit, pushing her to the brink of her own sanity.

    To recover from its overwhelming impact, she had been forced to enter a deep slumber, a hundred-year respite to heal her spirit and regain her strength.

    From that moment forward, she had been waiting, patiently biding her time, for the realization of her vision. For she knew that the impending war she had foreseen was not a matter of if, but when.

    Since the war stopped, they couldn''t find Zeus, and Zeus had no more use for the other sisters for the time being. That''s why Skuld could do nothing but wait. Wait for when that visiones true, so she can hope to find her sister again.

    The threads of fate had woven a tapestry of destruction and chaos, and she saw it as the key to unlocking her sister Verdandi''s freedom and getting her revenge.

    With this knowledge weighing heavily upon her, Skuld sought to make the necessary preparations ever since she woke up, to gather allies, and to be ready for the moment when her vision woulde to pass.

    She understood that her request for a promise from Kali, was not simply a matter of releasing Verdandi from Zeus''s grasp, but a crucial step in securing the survival of her sisters in the future she had witnessed. All this time she never increased her influence by freely giving out blessings and making followers here and there, she knew the more attention she brought upon herself now, the easier she would be trapped by anyone when the war began. She only maintained the necessary and minimum presence so she could still carry on her existence and not get erased. The same was the case for her sister Urd, who she forced to do the same.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The world''s will had set the stage, the pieces on it were forever in motion, and Skuld, driven by her prophetic vision and understanding of fate, would strive to alter the course of destiny itself. For her sisters she was willing to challenge the threads of fate itself and carve a new path amidst the chaos.

    _

    In the original story of the novel, as anyone with half a brain can guess, Skuld after looking at the golden fate of Arcadia''s protagonist, decided to stick close to him. She had given him her blessings and helped him multiple times. She even taught him the method of stealing someone else''s fate, which is what that bastard used when dealing with the Raven Family. Crippling all pirs of support his family had.

    As for Verdandi after emergence phase 2 when Gods were able to take part in the game, she was freed after Kali paid a nice visit to Zeus. Obviously other Gods of Greek pantheon didn''t like Kali''s approach and interference, but they couldn''t do anything against her. Even though the Greek gods were more powerful than some other gods, primordial Gods Were on whole nother level.

    Primordials were Gods who have started the whole myth where other gods from any myth get based on, so to deal with her, they called for their own primordial. Which by no surprise happened to be Nyx.

    Though Nyx was far too done with the duality and hypocritical behaviors of Gods, what Kali did was a p on the face for all Greek gods. And she had to reply.

    This further fueled their rivalry and sparked the fire of enmity between them. The fight between both Goddesses eventually started affecting both their avatars, Rio and Amelia.

    With what Rio''s reputation was at that point and how the plot was progressing further, anyone could tell what happened next , the family that stood side by side till then was torn apart piece by piece and they found themselves standing on opposite sides.

    -

    The norn sisters sessfully joined the protagonist camp and became his minions, except for Urd. Who at thest moments jumped ship and colluded with the viins, breaking the unity of norns.

    No one knew why Urd did that, and the author never thought it important enough to exin -maybe he wanted to add some emotional drama mystery, or maybe he just didn''t want to write a foursome chapters of Leon with 3 sisters.

    As the ending of any other viin camp partner, Urd too ended up dying, at the hands of Katherine Winston. Noah''s sister and another heroine of Leon''s harem.

    Sadly enough Verdandi who was always willing to sacrifice herself for her sisters'' sake , or Skuld who could wait a 1000 years just to free her sister - never came forward to stop Katherine and save Urd. They called it her fate and let it happen -ironic indeed.

    After Urd''s death, Skuld and Verdandi kept supporting the protagonist on his quest to increase his harem. Hmmmm I mean on his quest to roam the world and only save beauties. (Well some grandpas too, but even that ends up with a beauty so yeah whatever)

    ''Author this is wrong, let''s try it again.''

    After Urd''s death, skuld and Verdandi kept supporting the protagonist on his quest to rise in power and be the strongest of all creation (so he can get any girl he wishes)

    Obviously they continued doing this until one of them got left behind as amb to ughter, so the protagonist could run away. (I mean one of them sacrificed herself to save their beloved hero and the hero of the world)

    ''Shut up author. Stop ur thoughts from jumping into the chapter.''

    Now where was I, yes one of them got left behind to be killed, no no, I mean one of them died willingly , while the other one , sigh let''s not talk about the other one, that was too gritty and dark.

    ''Author did you have to do that?''

    (Whistles)

    ###

    A/N - Thest few paragraphs aren''t a mistake, they''re written like that to add a little fun touch. It''s an experiment and I''ll edit itter, if it doesn''t work well and you guysin.??????

 Chapter 81 Blessing Of Threads

    "Give me the blessing of threads instead." Rio requested Skuld when she offered him her fate''s blessing as her part of the deal. Deal

    "That won''t be helpful, you cannot control its power, or see the threads of others'' fate. It''ll be a waste." Skuld tried to inform him, as the blessing of threads was really wasted. No mortal could see the threads of fate, let alone control them. Even if she gave him that, it would be a 100% downyed version of her skill, which would probably take years for him to master for any significant use. And once he learns that , he''ll onlyin about itter.

    "Don''t worry about me. Just do what you promised." Rio knew what her thoughts were, after all he had seen the story, and knew all about it.

    Skill of threads was the ability of norn sisters through which they could see the threads of fate for anyone and learn everything about them. The sisters can even learn to create them or control them to their wishes, but a normal blessing cannot be that powerful. When someone receives that as a blessing, due to the limitations of the world system, it turns into a skill called -"Strings of mana".

    Even though it wasn''t useful much at the beginning and would probably take him years to master, Rio knew ways to strengthen it. After all, it was a skill custom made by the author for the protagonist. How can it be so simple? Since he already had Skuld''s attention, there was no need for him to not try and get the skill that the protagonist was able to create using this blessing. Rio didn''t have to waste his time thinking and learning its uses, Leon in the story had done all kinds of experiments with it, and gave him the idea of how to progress its mastery. He just has to do what the protagonist did and booom get the most badass skill in the novel.

    Skuld regarded him with a mixture of curiosity and caution, as she waved her hand, a shimmering silver thread appeared out of nowhere and started moving towards him. Rio reached out his fingers making contact with the thread.

    As Rio touched that thread, he felt a jolt of shock run down his entire being, a surge of energy coursing through his body. The silver thread started merging into his hands, its ethereal essence intertwining with his very being. A radiant light enveloped him, casting an ethereal glow upon his figure. The marks of threads began to materialize on his hands, intricate patterns intertwining and weaving across his skin. Each line and curve carried a hidden pattern, a hidden meaning for all the different threads he will see, showcasing different emotions, different actions, different fates and their versions.

    With each passing moment, the merging of thread became more intense. Rio felt a sharp pain, as if the threads were cutting into his skin.

    his fingertips underwent a transformation. They darkened momentarily, the once unblemished skin now bearing the marks of his connection to the threads. Thin cuts and reddish marks formed on his fingertips, It was showing him the delicate bnce between free will and the unseen forces of destiny, depicting theborious task that awaited him if he ever wished to control the threads of fate.

    The threads seemed to pulsate with a quiet energy, Rio endured the pain as he felt his fingers breaking and bending, healing and binding in that process, soon the merging of that silver thread wasplete, leaving behind only the mark of the blessing.

    A single ck thread which formed a circle, emerged on both of Rio''s wrists, symbolizing the blessing of threads that he received.

    "Remember your words mortal, I''ll be watching you." Rio looked ahead as Skuld''s ethereal figure began to fade away, the world around him started to lose its solidity. Everything became transparent, fading into invisibility before his very eyes.

    But just as quickly as the world disappeared, it reappeared in a different form. Rio found himself back in the familiar surroundings of the world tree garden. However, there was a noticeable change. A translucent ss wall now encased the garden, separating it from the outer realm.

    Beyond the ss wall, the magnificent expanse of the Milky Way floated in all its celestial splendor. Stars shimmered and danced, while different stones ands circled all around it.

    "So I passed out huhh"

    Rio said as he looked around and understood where he was, it was his new system space, which his system and he discussed some time ago. He was really shocked and impressed at how perfectly this system copied that style, the addition of a ss dome and stars outside was just a sight to behold.

    [Yes host, you lost your consciousness as soon as you received the blessing. Even though you are awakened now, your body is still far too weak for holding them without batting an eye. You should be more careful next time.]

    "I know, that''s why I wasn''t nning to look for any Gods anytime soon. It''s just that Artemis suddenly asked that question and I had to improvise."

    [I understand, but can you exin what you were trying to do threatening a Goddess like that. What was that dialogue ''I came to give you a deal, but if you prefer death, I can give it too.'' Who do you think you are? If she wanted she could''ve killed you in microseconds.]

    "But she didn''t. It was just as I expected."

    [Hmm I can read your mind, host. Don''t think you can fool me. You just went nuts cause she talked about Amelia.]

    "Yeah well it still worked out, didn''t it? I got the blessing and she learned that she couldn''t act out with me even if she wanted."

    [But a risky move nheless. You depended too much on the novel''s plot thinking you cannot die this early, which could easily backfire and get you killed if you were wrong.]

    "You think I don''t know that. If that was any other God I wouldn''t do this myself. It was Skuld that''s why I was even willing to talk.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    You see, system,  this is why it is very easy to deal with Gods who can see the future, they start to believe that only their visions are the truth. She too believed in them wholeheartedly.

    We''ve seen notifications of how she was interested in my future ever since my awakening. Which means she must''ve tried to read my fate before, and saw something which was enough to make her curious and watch me constantly. Now what do you think is interesting enough to hook a goddess on me.

    [Your ending] system said, as it tried to understand what he meant.

    "Yes, my ending. Now tell me, someone who saw it happen, would that person kill me before, knowing what that will lead to. Skuld knows all too well the consequences of my early death. If anything, with this deal I just secured myself a free bodyguard till the novel''s ending."

    [Still I''ll remind you not to try anything like this ever again. Skuld was naive to believe your threats and a fool to let you go. Not many Gods would do that. Some like to act on impulse, just like you.]

    "True, but don''t worry. With this blessing, alongside Nyx''s blessing I have enough for now." Rio said as he thought about his future ns for growth. He had received foundation art from Agnus for sword techniques, Artemis would train him in mana control and learning spells, Nyx''s blessing can help his elemental mastery, while Skuld''s blessing would be a go to overall free to use however I want skill.

    There were 3 things which he stillcked: endurance, defense and aura. Endurance will only depend on his training. Defense, well, he''s packed from top to bottom on artifacts so no worry for that. Lastly aura, he needs to steal some stuff again to improve that, but that would probably be for the future and he doesn''t need to worry about it now.

    "So, how long will I be able to wake up? It isn''t like when I''m asleep where I can leave from here whenever I wish."

    [You will be able to feel your body when you''re ready to wake up. And I can notify you too when it''s time.]

    "Hmm do that then, I''ll sleep a little. Dealing with Gods is hard."

    [Nobody asked you too]

    "Whatever, wake me up when it''s time."

    ��---

    While Rio was getting his second blessing, Artemis was making another training method for him, and Amelia too. Since she heard that their family would face danger soon, even though Rio said that he changed the events, she decided to make her kids as strong as possible, so they could survive on their own even if something happened to their family.

    She got the report that the team of alphas she sent would bring Esme back to Damascus tomorrow, and she was now very interested in learning how Rio convinced her to attack a baron.

    She had asked Cami to stay at Harendale city and keep an eye on Baron Misha for now. Since Rio was trying to deal with him, as her mother she should finish the job.

    Her thoughts and ns were interrupted when she heard a croaky voice "Your son is indeed like you, mortal"

    "What happened?" Artemis asked as she dropped the pen and stood up.

    "He has gotten another blessing. Barely a day has passed since his awakening and kid''s practically surrounded by divinity from head to toe. He''ll grow even stronger than that freak father of yours." As the voice finished its words a ghastlyughter echoed in Artemis''s ears, as she started walking towards Rio''s room.

    "If you''re that happy then give him a blessing too." Artemis asked as she hurried her footsteps. Unlike power hungry Rio, she knew how risky it could be to try and learn too many blessings with his weak body. ''''Can''t he just enjoy his childhood''''

    ####

    A/N - what do you think his new blessing is useful for? What kind of power/ability is it? Why did Rio call it the most badass skill?

    I need your thoughts on any training exercises that you want in this story.Plus give me gifts and I''ll introduce your character in the novel.

 Chapter 82 Hellish Days - Stamina Training L

    Nearly 3 weeks have passed since Rio lied to Artemis about that fateful future, and from when he received Skuld''s blessing. That day Rio hadined about some of his sses to Artemis, and Artemis being the dutiful lovely mother that she is -heard his pleas.

    Nowadays Rio doesn''tin about his sses, hell he doesn''tin about anything. There are only regrets eating his heart and one thought roaring in his head -''Telling her that I know the future and hinting at what happens was a bad move. A very, very, very bad move.''

    Ever since Rio had told Artemis about how in the future their family would face some troubles and how it''ll lead to their downfall, she had let go of all her restraints and be crazy.

    She''s been training him and Amelia like they''re diators, about to go fight in arenas. She even forgot that they''re both kids and is full fledged on making them stronger. While Amelia is busy all day in her normal theory sses, Rio on the other hand is getting everything all at once.

    Artemis, who couldn''t ask him about what troublesy ahead, seemed determined to prepare him for basically everything, and in her fervor, she added an overwhelming number of training methods and exercises to his already packed schedule. The once-limited theory and noble sses had multiplied, filling his days to the brim. Rio couldn''t help but marvel at how he managed to fit everything into the span of 24 hours.

    With each passing day, Rio grew more convinced that telling Artemis about the future had been an enormous mistake. Her fierce protectiveness had spiraled into an obsession to train him beyond his limits.

    He yearned for the motherly figure he once knew, the gentle presence that wouldfort and tease him. He missed the times when she was cool and funny, or when she would bully him like a kid, he missed when he could just lie down and sleep peacefully in herps, but that was all gone. Now, all he saw was a mama bear turned berserk, hellbent on making him stronger.

    Rio questioned whether he would ever be able to escape this relentless cycle of training. His soul shivers every time he remembers that there are still 8 years until the plot starts and he''ll have to live like this. He even doubted that instead of the protagonist it''s this training that will end him first.

    From the moment he opens his eyes to the moment he''s so dead tired that someone has to drag his body to his bed at night, his whole day is just one big training schedule. He wonders now if reincarnating as a nobel was a good thing or not.

    ��---

    Let me exin how it goes like -<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    �C As Rio groggily opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Myra standing over him, her expression stern and unwavering. She pulled his soft bed sheet that covered half his face, and with a swift motion of an assassin, she kicked his butt, making him roll over and fall down the bed. His body ached in protest from the brutal training he had endured yesterday. He tried to sit up, but the fatigue weighed him down, making even the simplest of movements a struggle. Looking at Myra''s strict expression, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks, that this was his new reality.

    ��----- It was now 5am. Time when even the sun hasn''te out, he was forced to be ready and start his physical training with Luke, one of Agnus''s personal guards. He''s all brawn no brain kind of guy, a musclehead - which makes him the perfect instructor for his stamina training.

    After doing some warm up exercises, he had to start running around the gardens until his legs gave up and he fell face first. Then there was some other different stuff everyday like weightlifting, dragging some heavy stuff across the ground, jumping across the hills or running through the forest and whatnot. Anything that can increase his stamina or endurance, he''ll have to do it. Since the idiot training him had no brain, Rio could forget about mercy and had to give it his all.

    Rio groggily made his way to his personal training grounds, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. As his gaze fell upon Luke, a towering figure with bulging muscles, Rio couldn''t help but stare at the man''s imposing physique. He looked like a certain character from a certain series he watched back on earth. ''Man''s practically a walking mountain of muscles.'' Rio thought as he started walking towards him and that mountain only got bigger the nearer he reached.

    "Morning Luke, you''re up early to make me suffer again, I see." Rio said with a teasing grin, which was soon going to be reced with a frown.

    "It''s called training young master. And I''m not early, you''rete. Master especially asked me to prepare you to your peak. I''ve never failed any of his tasks, and I''m not nning to fail now. So forgive me for being strict." Luke said as they started to run around the training grounds. When running with Luke, Rio had to constantly watch his surroundings and maintain a pace the same as him. Sometimes he''d be running so fast like monsters were after his ass, and then suddenly he''d change his pace and start walking like a snail. Rio had to carefully follow his steps if he didn''t want to fall face first in some traps that this bastard prepared beforehand, or just cause if Luke was too far or too behind him, then he''ll get a shock jolting through his neck, due to the chain he was wearing now.

    An artifact made to keep track of criminals, so they don''t run away from a certain distance, used for training an heir of a duchy - and somehow this musclebrain came up with this idea. (Obviously he reduced the intensity of shock otherwise I''d be unconscious at once, but still it stings a lot.)

    ###

    A/N - As you can see this chapter was shortpared to everyday. That''s cause I generally post one chapter of around 1700-1800 words on average daily, so instead of doing that I''ve decided to make it 2ch/day for both yours and my benefit.

    You guys can read more chapters andI can increase my counts and maybe get a little teeny tiny bit famous, just enough to keep my motivations to do this daily. (it won''t be this short from tomorrow. For today forgive me lord)

 Chapter 83 Hellish Days - Stamina Training Ll

    After doing the light warmup, Rio and Luke both started running circles around the training grounds. Looking at the muscr men''s physique, Rio felt curious about something and decided to ask his doubts -"Tell me Luke, what''s the secret to your physique? I mean, you''re like a little giant for a normal human and you don''t even use aura." Opposite to how he looks and what everyone would expect from watching his build, this man was actually a pure magician. Why would someone who trains and focuses on mana would look like this, Rio had no idea. [A/N - as you readers can guess, Luke''s character wasn''t written in the novel Shiva read. Which is logical as ke''s family had thousands of people working under them, and Agnus alone had a whole guild as his subordinates. So MC meeting people who weren''t in the novel is normal.]

    Luke let out a deepugh, his biceps flexing as he waved his hands and said "Aura and mana have nothing to do with this, young heir. I just like to be in perfect shape. Be consistent in your training and push yourself to the limits whenever you can, do that and you can be just like me too."

    Hearing his words Rio shook his head, ain''t no way in hell he wanted to look like a giant. Not to sound narcissist but Artemis and Agnus''s pretty genes really did make him have good looks, it would be a waste if he grew muscles and tarnished his perfect looks. "No thanks, I don''t want to scare the kids when I walk near them. I just want a physique that looks good in a suit."

    "Suit or not, what matters is the strength from inside, your will, your endurance. Looks can be deceiving but habits can''t." Luke said as he shrugged his shoulders and slowed his pace.

    With each passing minute, the intensity of his training increased, after the run came some other exercises and then the ssic weight lifting. Luke brought out two metal cuffs and ced them on Rio''s ankles. Luke passed his mana into a designated pattern and the cuffs shone brightly for a second, suddenly Rio felt like someone grabbed his legs and dragged him to hell. He literally felt like his feet got trapped in ce.

    "Luke, I think you messed up a little, this isn''t what we do daily man. Why don''t you check it again." Rio said hoping that this was just a mistake and not what he thinks it is. But his illusion got shattered when he heard Luke''s words "This is the new usual, young master. Get used to it."

    The heaviness of the weights made it nearly impossible for Rio to lift his legs off the ground. He could only manage to drag himself forward, leaving deep scratches in the dust as he strained to make any progress.

    Without showing any sympathy, Luke continued his relentless training regimen. He added two cuffs to Rio''s hands, further increasing the burden on his already fatigued body. The weight was so intense that Rio''s arms drooped, unable to withstand the gravitational pull. They fell heavily, striking his legs in the process, causing Rio to copse onto all fours.

    Rio tried to push his mana to his hands and feet, so he could stand up, but those damn cuffs sucked his mana dry as soon as it came into contact.

    "No shortcuts young master." Luke''sughter echoed through the training grounds as he took delight in Rio''s predicament. He seemed unfazed by Rio''s struggles, relishing in the challenge he had presented.

    As Rio struggled, he couldn''t help but curse under his breath. Every movement became a monumental effort as he fought against the overwhelming force dragging him down. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his muscles trembling with exertion.

    Finally, after watching him crawl on the ground for a while, Luke signaled an end to this exercise, removing the cuffs from Rio''s limbs. His body felt lighter in an instant, a stark contrast to the immense burden he had just endured, and he copsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. His body battered and exhausted, sweats dripping down his face, like he just came out of the shower.

    Even though his body looked like that his mind only had frustration and anger in it -''System add this guy''s name to the list.''

    [As you wish host.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    If someone looked at his condition now, they would pity the poor soul he was, but the idiot guy who was supposed to be his teacher ignored his looks and said "Next time, instead of focusing on mana, focus on your strength young master. I know you can do it. Your body has just awakened, it can adapt to anything however you want, so do not ck off. You''ll be meeting many of those royals at princess'' party soon, you need to show them the power of the ke family."

    "We''re going there for a celebration Luke, not war. I don''t need to run around flexing or beat some brats, to show my power there." Rio said as he started to feel his hands again, he wiped his sweat, but he was still in no condition to stand up or even sit straight.

    Luke sneered as he heard those naive words, "You should always be prepared young master. You''re the future heir, what''ll you do if they show off in front of you? You represent the future of our house, you can never be called weak." His expressions took a serious turn as he announced "Your prestige should surpass the Duke''s image young heir, that''s how you can make him proud."

    "I''m an awakened Luke. How many kids do you think can finish their awakening sessfully at the age of 10? I even awakened my element, and got a blessing, they''ll think twice before doing anything stupid." Rio said trying to ce his point.

    [Even though anyone can awaken whenever they want, most parents still try to have their kids do it when they''re around the age of 15. Cause then they have higher chance of enduring the pain & control themselves, and not shit their pants while screaming for mommy when awakening starts. Painful process of restructuring your body and merging of world system weren''t to be taken lightly.]

    "And you''re only saying that because you haven''t met them. Let me tell you all royals are snakes, saying something to your face and doing theplete opposite behind your back. Don''t they teach you this in your sses." Luke said in a bitter tone, trying to enlighten Rio.

    ''What a musclehead. If anyone in Haven heard his words they''ll have his head.'' Rio thought as he heard Luke''s words about openly dissing the royalty. His dislike for royalty was something everyone knew due to something that happened in the past. But since it wasn''t mentioned in the novel Rio had no idea. But then he remembered something and a yful grin crept on his face as he said "You do know that the royal Queen is my aunt right. I wonder what mother would think about this." Rio''s smile widened as he saw the nervous look on that big mountain.

    "Well, that''s uh��oh look it''s time already. We''ll talk tomorrow, young master. Walk slowly." The barbarian said, turned around and left in a hurry.

    ''Not like I can run around in this condition, you hobo.'' Rio thought as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground. After 2 hours of gruesomebor he finally got free from this torture, but this was just the beginning of his day. There were still many hours left till he could sleep peacefully again.

    ###

    A/N - If you have any questions,e ask me on discord or write ament on chapter.With lots of love - ur author.

    I''ll continue ch of 1500words from tomorrow. So they won''t be this short. Sorry for today.

 Chapter 84 Hellish Days - Learning Theory

    �� After finishing 2 hours of his morning training with Luke, Rio has to freshen up and then get ready for breakfast with his family. After spending all his energy on that training, obviously he needed to eat a lot to fill his stomach to recharge himself. Plus the food always tasted so good that he couldn''t eat less even if he wanted to.

    �� At 9:00am, a different type of hell starts. His theory sses, for 3 hours straight he needs to sit and listen to different peopleing and going, teaching him about Arcadia''s history, world affairs, dungeons and monster anatomy, basically all kinds of stuff he should just know by heart, if he wants to live well. The teachers who came to teach him were obviously very knowledgeable and experienced.

    Now this may sound easy since Rio already knew some stuff before from the novel, but it''s not. He had just eaten his fill and his body needed sleep. Keeping his eyes open during this period was a mental torture.

    (Every time he fell asleep either a pat on his head or a basic water spell greeted his face.)

    "ording to what we know of mana and its connection with the world, it is believed that unlike aura, mana has no form. It is a simple energy that can be sensed, felt and used, but cannot be seen. Now if you wonder if mana has no form then why can we see it while using the spells or how some high rankers control it to their wishes - well that''s cause when we use spells or any element, we don''t use pure mana, we take it in and try to change it into something we wish for."

    Rio''s eyes began to droop with weariness. The exhaustion from his training and then him eating too much was making it difficult to stay awake and fully focused. His eyelids fluttered, repeatedly closing and opening in a struggle against sleep. Just as he was about to sumb to sleep, a small gust of wind pped his cheek, rousing him. He shifted his attention back to the teacher, hoping they hadn''t noticed his momentarypse. Meanwhile, the teacher continued his exnation, seemingly unfazed by the interruption.

    "As for how high rankers can control the mana, that''s because as you reach higher in ranks your body gets attuned with mana, after years of progress just like everything else mana too bes a part of it. Giving you a sensory feeling which is far more enhanced than anything else, making them more sensible to mana. Since they can sense every property of mana better than others, it is easier for them to control it. Now if you understand it all, then we''ll proceed to the next topic, beginning of spells."

    Rio''s eyelids grew heavy once more, his focus slipping into sleep. He wanted to stay awake but this was all too damn boring for him, he already knew this stuff. Maybe he didn''t but who teaches anyone just after they''ve finished their food. It''s like they''re begging the student to fall asleep in ss.

    This time instead of ignoring Rio''s sleeping struggles, his teacher waved his hand and a small water bubble started floating towards Rio''s face. As soon as Rio''s hand slipped and his face fell, the bubble hit him, startling him awake. Rio blinked rapidly, trying to look around if anyone saw him. He nced at the teacher, who wore a subtle smile.

    "That is me using a basic spell of water element called ''water bubble''. Now let''s continue."

    Rio straightened his back and started doodling in his diary trying to look focused, while cursing his luck.

    �� After living through that boredom and repeating that cycle for 3 hours, now it was 12:00 am, time for his most annoying ss :Noble''s etiquette. A 30 something old dude named Eckart teaching him about how he should behave. He taught him about how he should act ording to his status, graceful movements, how to talk in social gatherings, how to manage political speeches, what to avoid and who to respect, basically all kinds of shit that makes no sense.

    We live in a world where monsters and dungeons exist, and yet this guy wasted one hour today teaching him about how to maintain his appearance, about how he should dress and always look like a noble. He even gives tips on how to woo girls at parties, like what the fuck dude. Let me sleep if you got nothing useful to teach.

    �� After this 1 long ass hour of boring stuff,es something interesting at least - Lunch.

    ''Ohhh how I''ve missed the taste of food.'' Lunch always tastes extra delicious since that E cart bastard would sometimes give him something to eat in the middle of his chapter, just so he could see what his table manners are. Shiva who basically survived on instant noodles back on earth, could never satisfy his keen old eyes, which always picked out faults.

    �� After eating his lunch, he gets 2 hours of break time, which he happily spends ying around with Amelia and Reba. Erza, Esme''s little sister also became friends with Amy, and she keeps herpany while Rio''s busy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ___

    ***Erza''s sickness Ratten was only in the beginning phase so it got cured easily, after giving her some high level monster blood and healing potions. Looking at how Rio especially asked to save her, Artemis probably thought she was someone important and decided to keep her alive for now.

    Esme too was brought back by Alphas she sent some time ago, and she''s been forgiven a little. Obviously Artemis didn''t trust her fully again, so she gave her the ultimatum of death or very, Esme happily chose to sign the ve contract with ke family. Esme has also taken mana oaths and blood oaths so she can never harm anyone from the ke bloodline.

    Now she was back at being Rio''s shadow. Even though her freedom was done for, unless the protagonist does his halo magic, she was still happy about it.

    Her sister, which is why she went nuts in the novel, was safe and sound, happy too as she got a new friend in Amelia, which helped her get over her experience in ve mines and the Belmont family.

    Esme''s wish to be free from her burdens and happily living together came true, if it costs her one oath which she would''ve done anyway - she''s okay with it.

    ___

    So where were we - ohh so whates after the break

    �� At 4:00pm he has alchemy ss, which is somewhat better and more interesting than other ones. Since Rio knew recipes of tons of potions, and knew locations of where to find more, he was really interested in learning this. Since he wasted too much time and effort into making pura corpus potion despite knowing everything about it, he had decided to take this a little bit seriously.

    After all, doping is a thing in this world. And besides, what better way to power up than just eating some pills as candies.

    His teacher for this lesson was a famous alchemist named Riona Pabbit. A halfling, she has a part rabbit bloodline, Rio never heard of her in the novel, so he was curious about her life, but she doesn''t talk about it, since she had to leave her n to join alchemy association.

    After one hour of making and mixing potions, trying to learn and identify different herbs and their uses, Rio could finally get out of that ce.

    ###

    A/N - So how was it? Any idea. I see some y''allining about slow pace, so all I wanna say is after the first even of Reba''s birthday, there''ll be a time skip.

 Chapter 85 Hellish Days - Learning Magic

    �� At 5:00pm it was finally time for him to learn some magic. Myra took care of that aspect, she taught him elemental magic and how to control his mana usage. Since shadow and darkness magic were somewhat simr at the beginning, her knowledge was a big help in better understanding of his element.

    He pulled that stunt in awakening on a whim easily, since he was basically surrounded by shit ton of mana, so converting that into his element was easy, but now even trying to get a wisp of ck smoke looked like a hard job to him. As the author of that novel exined, during awakening when someone is surrounded by a high density of mana, they would have an easier time learning about their element and trying to use it.

    It was like when you drop someone in the middle of the ocean, even if he didn''t know how to swim, he''ll p his hands nonsensically and somehow still manage toe to the surface at least once. But if you put that same person in a small swimming pool, his feet would touch the ground before he could even il around a little, and would never learn how to swim.

    The same is the case with Rio now, since he had no control over mana or no knowledge about it, he couldn''t utilize the thin amount of mana present in the air. That''s what he needed to learn now. How to sense mana, absorb it and channel it through his body.

    After awakening, a person''s body undergoes a transformation that renders it suitable for containing mana. It bes a vessel capable of holding and utilizing it. However, the capacity and absorption rate of mana within the body vary depending on an individual''s rank.

    For those with a low rank, their body can only amodate a limited amount of mana. Their capacity is rtively small, and their ability to absorb mana from the surroundings is even slower.

    As a person''s rank increases, so does their mana capacity. Their body bes more adept at channeling and storing mana within their being. With a higher rank, individuals can hold and manipterge amounts of mana, allowing for more potent spells and abilities.

    The absorption rate of mana also improves with rank. Higher-ranking individuals possess a heightened ability to draw in mana from their surroundings, replenishing their own reserves more efficiently. This enables them to recover their mana more quickly during intense magical fights and engage in prolonged spellcasting without bing depleted.

    Myra began her lesson on mana and its flow cirction within the body. She exined the importance of understanding how to absorb and feel the presence of mana within oneself.

    "Mana is the essence of magic, a powerful energy that flows through everything in this world. As an awakened individual, one possesses the ability to harness and manipte this energy to their own will."

    She continues, "First, let us focus on the concept of mana centers. Many refer to it as the sea of mana or elixir field or in simpler terms dantian. It is a space within your body where mana gathers and resides. After awakening, you may feel a sensation of emptiness or hollowness in this area, located near your heart."

    Myra gestures towards her own chest, indicating the approximate location. "This mana center serves as a reservoir for the mana you absorb from the environment. It is here that you can store the mana within you."

    "As you work towards advancing in rank, it is essential to understand the significance of increasing your mana capacity," Myra begins. "The mana capacity of your dantian, or the sea of mana within you, ys a crucial role in your advancement."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "From F rank to A rank, one of the primary focuses is expanding the mana capacity of your dantian. This can be achieved through various means, including consistent mana absorption, specialized mana cultivation techniques, and training exercises that stimte the flow and expansion of mana within your body. As your dantian expands, it allows you to hold and manipterger quantities of mana."

    "After reaching A rank, one needs to form their mana core, separate from dantian, where they can store even more mana. That''s how you reach the limit rank. The process to reach S rank differs even more, but that''s for the future.

    Now try to channel the mana like I taught you. Let it move within your body, try to sense it, feel it in your veins, once you do that, then try to control its direction. Have it move slowly towards your heart, but not into it, send it lower, into your mana center. When you learn to control the mana within you, that''s when you proceed to control the mana around you. Continue this process until you feel you can do it in your sleep. This should be a habit so much so that with every breath you take your mana should be replnished a little."

    "Imagine your blood is a river and mana is a boat, currently it is sailing along the flow, moving constantly with the path it was fixed upon, floating on the waves. Now try to separate the two, try to see them as two different entities, a gap between the boat and the river. That is where your willes in. Command the mana within you, focus your mind solely on that, and see where that mana takes you. The more familiar you are with your own mana, the easier it gets to learn elemental magic.

    Now imagine the feeling you had during your awakening, what did you think when you were using your element for the first time. What did you feel when all your mana turned into darkness, was it something you wished for, was it something you could control, imagine that darkness, imagine that feeling and let it happen."

    In all of his training, Myra was the only one who practically went easy on him, she didn''t force him to push his limits or keep trying till he dropped dead. Well it was because of how forcing him to use elemental magic could be harmful, as his mana could go berserk, hurting him in the process, since he had no control over it. But still she was still being friendly and nice, except when she came to wake him up in the morning.

    �� After one hour of ying around with his magic, where he just have to sit around and close gis eyes,es the shitty part that he hates. His physical training, after all not everything depends on magic, once he lost his mana, only his fighting ability and reflexes would save him. There were many ways to stop someone from using their mana, a simple void spell, null magic, antimagic cuffs, some sepric runes, some formations or artifacts- any one of them could make someone powerless. So physical training has always been a part of Arcadia. There are no simple mages who can''t fight at close range, well there are, but those idiots will die soon if they don''t learn their lessons.

    This is why even awakeners try to learn aura as that would make them even more stronger and guarantee their safety. As they say if you stay in the fight long enough or struggle hard enough, some Gods might like your willpower or pity your strength and bless you with something that can actually save your life -so everyone wants to be an all rounder, hoping to stay alive long enough. Always trying to win the favor of the Gods, who simply don''t give a fuck...

    ###

    A/N - Theories about rank up & mana/aura/other stuff will be exined over time. Little by little , can''t drop all the info at once.

    Next chapter he''s getting his ass kicked.

 Chapter 86 Hellish Days - Physical Training (Beatdown)

    With a loud thud, Rio''s young body hit the ground, his body aching, his breath heavy and sweat dripping down his forehead. Bruises marked his skin as a testament to the intense training he had endured. Determination burned in his eyes as he struggled to rise to his feet once more, his small hands trembling as he reached for his wooden sword, the weight of it familiar in his grasp. He charged towards his master, hoping to finallynd a sessful strike. But s, his swing missed its mark, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. In an instant, his assant swiftly countered, their wooden sword connecting with Rio''s stomach, causing him to double over in pain. As if that wasn''t enough, a sharp pnded on the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground once again. The impact jolting through his body. He winced, feeling a mixture of physical pain and frustration welling up within him. As he struggled to catch his breath, he heard a single word escape his assant''s mouth, "Again."

    Rio pushed himself up, and ran towards his assant, swinging his sword with all his might, he aimed to strike from different angles, hoping to catch them off guard. However, his young and inexperienced movements proved futile as his assant effortlessly dodged and parried his attacks. As Rio swung his sword at his assant''s hands again, his assant moved a little backwards and pushed their sword down, hitting Rio''s hands so hard that his sword fell down, his wrists turned red, starting to swell a little. But fueled by anger and determination Rio ignored the pain, and started to throw punches and kicks at his assant, yet his assant showed the gap they had in their agility and skills, as she dodged everything and while Rio''s right leg was in the air, they kicked his left leg, making him fall down again.

    Pushing through the pain, he summoned all his strength and stood up once more, hoping to get his revenge, even a little bit of scratch would give him happiness, But just as he rose to his feet, his assant, cold and heartless, delivered a powerful kick that sent him tumbling across the ground. The impact rattled his body, his spirit wavering for a moment. The word "again" reverberated in Rio''s ears, a constant reminder that he had to endure this torture.

    Exhausted and disheartened, Rio let out a frustrated breath. "Fuck, I give up," he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible. He needed a break from the relentless beatings he was receiving. As hey on the ground, he gazed up at the evening sky, even the floating clouds looked less reddish than his skin.

    ''What kind of heartless monsters beat a 10 year old kid like this.''

    Amidst his fatigue, he caught the sound ofughter and chatting from two girls nearby. One voice stood out��his sister''s.

    "Attack her from the left, brother, her left! You''ll definitely be able to scratch her," Amelia eximed, her voice filled with encouragement. Rio turned his neck toward her, wincing at the pain radiating from the p he had just received. He wanted to retort, to remind her that she wasn''t the one getting beaten, but the exhaustion left him wordless and drained.

    With a mix of exhaustion etched across his face, Rio remained silent as Amelia continued her pep talk.

    "Come on, brother, one more time. This is thest. And then I''ll win."

    Her voice dropped to a soft whisper towards the end, almost as if she didn''t want anyone else to hear her words. But sadly for her Rio who had recently awakened and had heightened senses caught wind of her faint whisper, causing a flicker of curiosity and suspicion to dance within him. ''Did she bet on how many times I could get beaten?''

    He looked towards his sister with a weak smile, hoping to find a confirmation that would put his doubts to rest. However, Amelia, sensing her brother''s thoughts, deliberately avoided his gaze..

    "Wow, look at that tree! It''s so green!"

    Her voice held a forced enthusiasm as she pointed toward a nearby tree. Rio''s heart sank as he realized that his sister was intentionally evading the topic,

    "Yes, it really is." Rio looked at the other girl who was standing there with his sister. She had the expression of someone who was trying her hardest not tough, but still kept failing.

    It was clear that she wasplicit in Amelia''s act of betrayal too, they were both part of the betting scheme.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He looked at the girl, his eyes saying - ''Is this why I saved you? What a great way to repay your debt.''

    She was Erza Scarlett. Esme''s little sister. The character who was supposed to be working as a ve in mines, someone who should''ve turned into a zombie and died - he saved her life, and this is how she''s thanking him.

    His assant, who was feeling ignored, spoke - "Come on, master. One more time. This is nothing."

    Rio''s gaze shifted towards the voice, he red at the person speaking to him, who''s been beating him senseless till now and had an annoying smile stered on their face. She was Esme, his ''training instructor''.

    After he fooled Artemis with that fate and future story, she somehow went easy on Esme, seeing that I was still willing to trust her even after seeing my fate. Ever since then Esme''s back at being my shadow again.

    This is what makes Rio even angrier, someone whom he freed from prison, helped them avoid death penalty and also saved her sister''s life, is beating him daily. Hell, she was even enjoying it.

    Just looking at all 3 girls around the arena, only one thought was left in his head -''traitors, all of them.''

    He felt anger and frustration but he was helpless. Gritting his teeth, Rio slowly got up again, he wiped the sweat from his brow, his body trembling from exhaustion and the pain. He looked at Esme, who still had that sly smile on her face,

    ''Damn this child''s body, if I met you back on earth I''d show you what''s what.'' Rio thought as he remembered the time when he used to be the one beating others senseless.

    [That''s your delusion host. She would still beat you back on earth. But you would get some hits in, unlike now when you can''t even touch her.]

    ''Fuck you system. If you were somewhat useful, I wouldn''t be in this situation.'' Rio cursed this useless system who''s been doing nothing for the past few days.

    ###

    A/N - So I just read somements that say MC is a psychopath whose only solution to problems is killing them, I get why they would think like this - but I wanna say that it''s because he has no other option. When I tell you about the future plot and their actions you''ll understand why killing them now was better, instead of letting them be and befriending them, hoping they''ll change, the risk of it is far too great. Plus he only killed Noah, and exposed those traitors - everyone would do the same to save themselves and their families, if they were in his ce. Put yourself in his shoes and just think for a second.

 Chapter 87 Hellish Days - Beatdown Ll

    While Rio was busy cursing his system, he felt a little sting on his neck, causing him to instinctively reach for the source of the difort. To his horror, his fingertips brushed against the cold edge of a sword pointed directly at his throat. His eyes widened with fear as he nced downward, his heart pounding in his chest.

    "Never let your eyes off your opponent." Esme spoke as she shook her hand a little.

    The sharpness of her voice sent a shiver down Rio''s spine. He could feel a droplet of blood trickling down his neck, evidence of the sword''s graze. Even though it was a wooden sword, with her speed it was enough to cut him.

    Reacting on pure instinct, Rio hastily backed away from the threatening sword, his heart racing with a mix of fear and adrenaline. In his retreat, his foot caught on his own wooden sword, forgotten on the ground, causing him to lose his bnce and fall on his rear with an undignified thud.

    The frustration and pain boiled within Rio, causing him to utter a curse under his breath.

    "Fuckk"

    Amelia who watched her brother getting beaten again was happy for her win, when she saw him back away, only to fall on his butt again. It reminded her of her own past memories as she thought ''that oughta hurt.''

    Esme''s voice echoed in the air once again, her tone stern "Always watch your surroundings."

    Rio''s thoughts churned with a mixture of anger and annoyance. He couldn''t help but think sarcastically, his internal monologueced with frustration.

    ''A littlete, bitch.'' He thought as he massaged his back, it really fucking hurts.

    [Language host. You''re a 10 year old, remember.]

    Hearing his system''s reminder about manners, fueled Rio''s anger further, as he cursed again -''This useless��add her name in my list.''

    [She''s already in it.]

    ''Then add it again.''

    [Host, system logs aren''t your personal diary of revenge. They''re there if you want to keep the plot written and saved, so you don''t forget something over time.]

    ''It''s my choice. Imma use it as my diary. Now add her name, this beating is a debt I should pay back someday.''

    [Hopeless]

    ''Enough being fair. I''m a viin, so let''s y dirty now.''

    [And shameless too]

    As he thought that, his angry eyes turned pitiful and with an expression of defeat and self pity he said -

    "Esme, I''m your master right." watching as Esme nodded her head, he continued pleading in his voice "You''re my shadow. Can''t you go easy on me. Look mother or Myra aren''t here, no one will know. Just for today, Please."

    Esme looked up and down at her pitiful master, and agreed. "Fine, but you better train extra tomorrow."

    Hearing her words a smile came to Rio''s face and he said energetically -"Of course. Tomorrow it is, bye Esme." Saying this Rio turned around, his mind filled with the desperate hope of escaping this wretched ce. He wanted nothing more than to leave before anyone could stop him for further torment. But his brief moment of relief was abruptly shattered as he sensed something peculiar happening around him. A wave of unease washed over him as he realized his feet were no longer touching the ground. His heart raced with fear as he looked down, only to be met with the shocking sight of himself suspended in mid-air.

    Esme''s voice cut through the silence, her words piercing his fragile little heart. "Never trust your opponent, and show him your back."

    Rio, guessing what will being next, pleaded in fear -"Esme, let me down. This is too much right. You want training, then let''s train on the ground. I''m good, I promise. One more try right ''again''."

    However, his pleas fell on deaf ears as Esme continued her lesson " Or it''ll result in your fall."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Then with a swift motion, Esme withdrew her mana, severing the invisible force that held Rio afloat. The sudden loss of support sent Rio hurtling towards the unforgiving ground, his body crashing down with a resounding thud. The impact was bone-jarring, knocking the wind out of him and sending waves of pain coursing through his battered form.

    Amelia turned around at the sound of the impact, she couldn''t bear to witness her brother''s painful descent. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to confront the sight of his suffering. Her heart heavy with worry, but there was nothing she could do.

    Meanwhile, Rioy on the ground, disoriented and in agony, his back likely bearing the brunt of the fall. His mind raced as he contemted the extent of his injuries. Thoughts of a broken back and a life confined to a bed gued his mind, but he clung to a sliver of sce, a small constion amidst the searing pain, imagining an end to these grueling training sessions. "At least I won''t have to endure these training sessions anymore."

    But even that fragile sense of relief was short-lived, his fleeting hope shattered as Esme approached him, a healing potion in hand. She poured it down his throat, its magical properties working to mend his wounds and alleviate his pain. Rio felt a surge of both relief and frustration wash over him.

    ''Who the fuck made these potions. They''re used to heal, not torture someone.''

    Esme''s words stung with teasing delight, echoed in his ears like a haunting reminder. "Same time tomorrow, Master."

    Apanied by her sister Erza and Amelia, Esme departed from the training grounds.

    Rio was left lying there on the training grounds, he looked like a dead body, slowly getting revived as potion worked its effects.

    His body slowly recovering from the ordeal. The pain subsided, reced by a dull ache that served as a constant reminder of the grueling injuries he endured. It felt like a form of hell, being pushed to his limits day after day, his body and spirit tested to the brink.

    [Host please stand up, if you gette for dinner. You''ll miss Artemis''s ss.]

    "System"

    [Yes host]

    "Add yourself to the list. I''mma fuck you up for being useless."

    [Trainings are to help you get stronger host. This is for your own good.]

    "Fuck off Tony Robbins*1."

    Rio mustered what strength he could, dragging himself up from the ground, his movements sluggish and pained, resembling those of a zombie. As he made his way towards the showers, his mind clouded with a mix of frustration and resignation, he muttered under his breath.

    "This is hell."

    With a heavy heart and weary body, Rio stepped into the showers, hoping that the cold water would wash away not only the sweat and grime but also the lingering sense of hopelessness.

    As Agnus observed Rio making his way out of the training grounds, his body fatigued and his steps heavy, he couldn''t help but feel a pang of concern. He turned around to face his wife, a concerned expression etched on his face, he voiced his worries about the intensity of Rio''s training. "Isn''t it too much, Artemis? He''s still just a child," Agnus said, his voice filled with a mix of concern and fatherly protectiveness.

    "He''s still standing, isn''t he?"Artemis responded, her voice steady yetced with a touch of sadness, "I know it hurts to see him struggle, Agnus. It pains me too. But as his parents it''s our job to prepare him, to make him stronger so that no one could ever hurt him."

    Her words were firm, but her heart ached as she watched Rio push himself to the limits. She recalled his screams and observed the toll it had taken on his tired body. However, deep down, she knew that this rigorous training was necessary to prepare him for the challenges he would face. Ever since she heard that her whole family would be ruined in the future, her heart had been shaken, she vowed that she would never let anything happen to anyone close to her as long as she lives. Artemis had made a difficult decision, stealing her heart away to train Rio to be the strongest he could be.

    Agnus didn''t know why Artemis was so focused on training him, as she promised Rio to not tell anyone about his blessing. But since he knew his wife so well he could see that nothing he could say would change her mind. He only thought she was still worried because of that curse incident and those traitors, that''s why she wanted Rio''s safety.

    ###

    *1 �C Tony Robbins is a world famous motivational speaker. Indian readers, if you don''t understand, then just think of him as a Hollywood version of Sandeep Maheshwari.

 Chapter 88 Dinner And Departure

    After enduring a grueling training session, Rio mustered thest remnants of his energy to drag his weary body towards the shower. The cool droplets of water cascaded down, providing a soothing feeling for his tired muscles. The water revitalized his spirit, washing away the sweat and exhaustion of the training session.

    Once his shower wasplete, Rio emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed but still drained. He made his way to his bed, copsing onto the soft mattress. The fatigue quickly overcame him, and he sumbed to a much-needed sleep.

    However, his peaceful slumber was abruptly interrupted as Amelia and Esme entered his room, gently calling out to him. Their voices pierced through his dreams, slowly pulling him back into consciousness. Rio groggily opened his eyes, his vision blurry as he adjusted to the light.

    Amelia''s face beamed with a mixture of care and concern. "Brother, it''s time for dinner! You can sleep after eating. Let''s go."

    Esme, standing beside Amelia, nodded in agreement. "Of course master, Duke anddy are already waiting. Not to mention if you''rete now then your ss with your mother will bete too."

    Hearing about another ss and training Rio just sighed and closed his eyes again, it was too much. But knowing if he didn''t wake up nicely now, then either Myra or Artemis woulde, and he''ll get either a kick or a ssh of water. Rubbing his eyes and stretching his weary limbs, Rio mustered his remaining strength to sit up and swing his legs over the edge of the bed. He yawned, feeling the weight of fatigue still lingering within him. "You girls can wait, just let me wash my face."

    Putting force on his feet, Rio managed to stand up on wobbly legs, his body protesting against further movement. But he slowly made his way towards his bathroom. Amelia and Esme waited patiently as Rio took his time freshening up, together they all made their way towards the dining room. Even the forever hungry and energetic Amelia was walking slowly today, so Rio doesn''t have to force himself to walk alongside her. Since the walk was taking a little longer due to a certain someone''s turtle speed, Amelia started chatting about how her day went. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she remembered something and animatedly shared it. "Brother, you won''t believe what happened today!" Amelia eximed, her voice filled with both delight and a hint of mischief. "Guess what, I managed to bunk the etiquette ss again! I went to mama''s study room just before my ss started and never came out. Since no one came to look for me there, I kept ying there. But since I forgot to bring somegames with me, I fell asleep there and forgot toe out." Amelia sighed as she shook her head and pped her head, thinking about how stupid she was.

    Rio''s tired expression softened as he listened to her animated storytelling. "What happened next? Did mother catch you?"

    "Of course not. But it was a close call. Myra came in with some documents waking me up. I was so scared that she''ll tell mother. But luckily then father came and he told her not to. I was so relieved. I was lucky today. Hehehe." Amelia said her innocent eyes beaming with happiness.

    Rio chuckled, his fatigue momentarily forgotten as he found amusement in her antics. Ever since he found out that this cute peach is his little sister, she''s been his light in this new world.

    Amelia''s face brightened as she watched him smile, but then she remembered something and suddenly turned around in a hurry, Esme was still following them closely behind. She had spoken everything, thinking it would cheer up her brother, but if Esme told this to her mother then she''d be punished, but to her relief, Esme signaled with her hands that her lips were sealed, silently conveying her secret was safe with her. Amelia finally took a calm breath and excitedly started walking again chattering about something else.

    As Rio and Amelia entered the dining room, the warm aroma of delicious food filled the air. Once the siblings were inside, she gently closed the door, ensuring their privacy. All the maids and guards were also standing outside, waiting for any call to go in. The dinner room served as a cocoon for the family to enjoy each other''spany peacefully and keep the outside world at bay.

    Agnus was sitting in his majestic chair of the family head exuding the air of authority, while Artemis was sitting beside him, the perfect contrast to his stern behavior showcasing her elegance and grace as she kept serving dishes to different tes, making sure to arrange them with precision and care, knowing how Amelia couldn''t wait to eat something and Rio who would''ve been tired.

    Amelia wasted no time, as she ran in a hurry and sat beside Agnus. Rio followed suit, settling down beside his sister, a mixture of exhaustion and hunger evident on his face. Artemis, ever attentive to her children, waved her hands as the tes she prepared settled in front of them -"Let''s eat.

    As the family savored the food, afortable silence enveloped the room. The clinking of cutlery and asional murmurs of appreciation for the food filled the air. It was in these moments, surrounded by loved ones, that Rio found sce and a sense of belonging.

    The dining room buzzed with activity as the maids swiftly cleared the table, removing the remnants of the sumptuous meal that had nourished the family. Agnus gently lifted Amelia into his arms, eliciting squeals of delight from the young girl. He promised to tell her a bedtime story today, making her eyes shine with anticipation.

    Meanwhile, Rio, still recovering from the physical and mental exhaustion of his training, took cautious steps towards the exit. His eyes darted around the room, assessing whether the coast was clear for his silent departure. However, before he could make his escape, a familiar handnded on his shoulder, causing him to freeze.

    Turning around, Rio found himself face to face with his mother, Artemis. She wore a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling with affection as she yfully chided him for trying to evade her. His heart sank momentarily, realizing that his hope for an early rest had been dashed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "My dear son, are you forgetting something?" Artemis teased, feigning hurt. "Or is it that my little Rio no longer wishes to spend time with his mother?"

    Rio''s emotions swirled within him, a mix of amusement and resignation. He wanted tough at her yful act and cry at his failed escape n. His tired body ached, and all he longed for was a moment of rest, he wanted to just crash on that soft spongy mattress and sleep.

    "Mother, I... I was just... I''m really tired today," Rio pleaded, his voiceced with weariness. "Can we continue the training tomorrow? Please?"

    Artemis''s eyes sparkled mischievously as she feigned surprise, her lips curling into a yful smile. "Oh, my, are you trying to escape from your training?" she teased, her tone dripping with amusement.

    Rio''s face flushed with embarrassment, his heart sinking at his failed attempt to slip away unnoticed. He knew his mother saw through his feeble ruse, and he could do nothing but squirm under her yful gaze. Her teasing continued, as if savoring the moment. "But I can''t allow it." she jested, herughter dancing in the air,

    A mix of frustration and amusement swirled within Rio as he watched his mother revel in his predicament. Despite his tiredness, he couldn''t help but crack a small smile at her yful behavior. He knew that underneath her jesting, her love for him burned bright.

    Finally, Artemis relented, her smile turned intoughter watching his deadpan expression. She ced a hand on his shoulder, her touch gentle and reassuring. "Alright, don''t look at me like that. I''ll allow you to take a rest today."

    Hearing her agree to that so easily Rio couldn''t believe his ears, tho it hasn''t been much but he hade to know her a little and could see there was still something more, and just to prove him right she continued -"But remember, tomorrow we''ll all leave for the capital city to go there for Reba''s birthday."

    "There are still 3 days till the celebration though. Why''re we going early?" Rio asked as he remembered about Reba''s birthday.

    "Yes, but that''s for others. We''re family so we should go first. Besides, your aunt''s been urging me toe help her with little stuff." Rio nodded his head hearing that and started thinking about how he should act there. Artemis finally couldn''t resist her one final tease and said "Maybe you should say thanks to Reba for saving you from your training tomorrow when you meet her."

    Rio just shook his head hearing that, knowing full well of her habits, her jokes and teasing used to work on him when he first came here, but now he had somewhat gotten ustomed to it. "Good night mother." He said and turned around to leave. Internally, he couldn''t help but think, ''So it is finally time. To y my part in my first event. The first scene, described in shback scenes of Reba. Questions flooded his mind about how him changing her future would affect that guy? How will his involvement alter the event? Can he prevent them from meeting? Or can he stop the protagonist from falling in love with her? As per system, Reba is the first major heroine, so her events should be hard to change, so after his interference how will lucke to save her chosen son?''

    But he shook his head as he knew they would all be answered soon. Tomorrow is when he''ll meet his destined fiancee, it''ll be the first time he will see her face to face, and he had no idea how to act around her.

    "We''ve reached your room master."His thoughts were broken as Esme''s voice reached his ears. He nced around, realizing that he had indeed reached his room without even realizing it. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he contemted the familiarity of this ce. Therge hallways which used to scare him once that he''ll get lost in them, now became etched in his head that he could instinctively walk in them without even focusing.

    As Esme opened the door to his room, Rio stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the familiar surroundings. He walked towards his bed, the weariness of the day weighing heavily on his shoulders. With a sigh, he let himself copse onto the soft mattress. As his tired body sank into the mattress, he closed his eyes, the events of the day, the training, the conversations, swirled in his mind andstly only one thought was left in his head as he let himself be dragged into sleep once more.

    "Whatever happens will happen, unless I change my mind."

    ###

    A/N - So we move towards the first event of shbacks from the future soon. Any thoughts on what it''s about?Drop a review & join my discord if you haven''t yet.

 Chapter 89 Aina - The Destined Maid Of Maiden

    From the morning of the next day, Rio had no sses for today, it felt so free and different from his daily hectic schedule, he could simply just roam and y around. He watched as the others busied themselves in their works, Agnus had gone out due to some guild work, while Artemis was even busier than daily, as she was giving out instructions to everyone about how they should take care of their house while she''s gone. Rio waited outside the hall as he watched all the staffing in and out of the room with different expressions. Artemis, him and Amelia would be leaving for the capital city today, Agnus would join them on the day of celebration. It''ll probably take a week until wee back, so everyone was busy with their work.

    In the absence of the main family the security of Damascus and the work of guild was handed over to some trusted advisors, while the safety and maintenance of the mansion was handed over to Alphas and other staff. If in any unforeseen situations any dungeon or cracks appeared, the guild members and Alphas were given full freedom to act ording to their wishes.

    Artemis, who had heard Rio''s prophecy about how the general public would raise their arms against them in future, has been even more focused on keeping the image of them clean and respected. Finally after sitting around for an hour Artemis called for him, she needed to give him all the instructions for his safety too. Even though their family had the nice rtions with royal family, it didn''t mean there won''t be other people attending the function or people who simply just wants to use kids to either get connections or start some dramas. Nobility has always been the political y as much as it has been about power. Even though he would have people follow him every moment for his safety but still she needed to warn him again.

    It would be Rio''s first social appearance after his awakening and even if the ke family had suppressed the rumors, the news of Nyx''s arrival and his blessing had already spread in every high ss circles, and everyone around the world would be curious about it. There''d be many people with different agendas vying to know more about his blessing, ke family already had enough influence and power before, the support of a Goddess on that level and the possibilities of this unknown blessing could invite all kinds of trouble to them.

    Yes, asking someone about their powers and blessing was not allowed, but when has that ever stopped anyone. Especially when the one they''re asking is a 10 year old. Artemis wasn''t worried much about Rio as she had seen he wasn''t as naive as how he used to be, in all these days and training sessions she had seen how much he had grown, but her gentle heart still couldn''t keep calm and needed to be prepared for everything. She had ordered Myra follow Amelia every moment of day while they were in Haven, while Rio had Esme to watch him.

    After giving him another lesson about all the things he should watch out for, or people he should just ignore, they talked about normal stuff.

    As noon approached, Rio started preparing himself for the departure. He stood before the mirror in his room, his reflection revealing a young noble adorned in a sky blue shirt and tailored ck pants and suit. The colors entuated his youthful charm, while the designs of the clothes exuded an air of sophistication and nobility.

    As he adjusted the cor of his shirt, his fingers lightly grazed the golden brooch that adorned hispel. It shimmered under the soft glow of the room, a subtle yet distinct symbol of his family lineage.

    Aina, his trusted maid, stood by his side, diligently assisting him, passing him the essories that best suited his clothing today. Her delicate touch and attention to detail made the process smoother. Her deft fingers carefully arranged the rings and the bracelet he chose to wear.

    It had been a while since Aina was assigned to be his personal maid. She''s the daughter of Kastor Narcius, butler of ke family. Her family has been serving the ke''s for generations. So ever since her childhood Aina has been trained in everything, knowing one day she''ll have to take over her father''s ce. That''s why Kastor sent her to follow Rio, the next heir. So they can get ustomed together, as both will take the positions of their fathers in future.

    Her silky ck hair were neatly tied up in a ponytail, allowing her delicate features to take center stage. With her expressive ck eyes, highlighted by a charming mole near her left eye, an innocent smile was stered on her face as she busied herself in her work. She wore the typical ck and white colored maid uniform. The uniform was impably tailored, hugging her figure in all the right ces, while remaining modest and appropriate for her role. A white apron adorned her waist, adding a touch of purity and innocence to her looks. She was a clean freak in real life as one could see it by how she always wore white gloves on her hands. She was someone who took her job seriously, someone who followed all her rules, always behaving appropriately, minding her manners, focusing only on her work. She was the perfect maid in every aspect. It was Amelia who brought her out of her shell and called her friend instead of a lowly maid in the novel story and this time maybe it''ll be Rio''s job to do.

    In the original story she was supposed to follow Amelia after a few years, but somehow Rio''s changes have altered her course of events too. Aina was someone who had protected and kept Ameliapany in the story until she died. And that was enough reason for Rio to respect her and keep her near him.

    Maybe once he was sure everything is the same, he''ll have her follow Amelia this time too. But whatever it may be, one thing was sure, and that was that her sad ending was altered. Even tho that novel was just a story, it had given Rio the idea about which people can be trusted or what their true personalities are- someone who valued loyalty and morality like Aina, didn''t deserve to be killed off just so Amelia can feel hurt and that bastard cane to give her some emotional support.

    ''Damn that author and his tricks to give the protagonist harem. I should find him and have a proper chat if I ever go back to earth.''

    "Master, your hand." Aina''s sweet voice broke him out of his thoughts, as she pulled his other hand to put the bracelet they settled on before.

    As Aina finished the final adjustments, a flicker of admiration sparkled in her eyes. "It''s done. You look perfectly handsome as always, master."

    "And your words are as sweet as always, Aina." Rio said as he shook his head.

    "It is the truth, master. You can see for yourself." Aina said as she stepped aside to let Rio take a clear look at himself in the mirror.

    Rio gazed at his reflection, a flicker of surprise appeared on his face as he watched his looks, he really did look handsome. Aina had outdone herself today, if he simply rated his appearance in both his lives, no doubt this would''ve topped the charts. And that''s saying something since he basically lived 30 years on earth.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After having Aina around for all this time, helping him with everything, it doesn''t feel embarrassing now. But it does feel weird.

    It had been a while since he had someone micro-manage his appearance, helping him with little stuff. The memories of Queency flooded his brain, the moments when she was with him, doing everything. A mix of emotions kept rising in his head, threatening to break the facade of a kid he had created here now.

    But he shook his head, burying all those emotions deep within him again. They were all a thing of the past now. She had made her choice when she left him back then. He had kept his hopes till he was alive on earth for her toe back, but it was all a waste. She didn''te, and now he was dead. His life of earth was already over.

    ''Maybe she''s living there happily now.'' Rio thought as he couldn''t really imagine how she must''ve felt for him. ''Wonder how she reacted when she found out about my death. Knowing Ali, he must''ve informed her at least.''

    "Wasn''t I right?" Aina who saw Rio lost in thoughts said, thinking he was simply admiring her work.

    Hearing her words Rio just smiled and pushed everything aside "Was all this even necessary?" He said as he turned to look at her.

    "You''re visiting the capital for the first time after your awakening master, you''ll have extra attention on you. Besides, the city will be filled with guests and people from everywhere who came for the young princess''s celebration. You should look like the noble you are." Myra replied in a confident tone, informing him about the importance of his appearance.

    Rio was already aware, but could never agree to it. So he just changed the topic "Whatever. Thanks for your help. It would''ve taken me hours if I did all this by myself."

    "It is my duty as your maid master." Aina replied as she bowed a little, showing her professionalism.

    "Why don''t you go and help Amelia a little now. She''s been getting excited to meet her best friend since this morning. I bet she''s made a mess of her room by now." Rio said as he turned around and decided to walk out.

    "As you wish." Aina said and left in the opposite direction.

    ''Memories, what a funny thing to have.''

    [You''re the one who held on so hard on them. If you let go, you would''ve forgotten them all.]

    ''All '' is the keyword here system. It''s just some of them which are painful to remember. Not everything.''

    ''And besides, if I forgot everything, how would I remember Ria.''

    [ �� �� ]

    ###

    A/N - Any thoughts about this story, please write ament , I''m always open for your opinions.

 Chapter 90 This World Is A Canvas

    Currently Rio, Amelia and Artemis were sitting in the backseat of the car, they were on their way towards the magic tower branch of Damascus city. From there they can use the teleportation gate to go to the capital city Haven. The branches of bigger organizations were connected to each city by teleportation gates and circles, to make the transport faster. While the use of gates was only fixed for selected nobility and some higher ss people, the teleportation circles were open for the general public too, albeit too expensive.

    To go from one city to another, there were even vehicles like mana trains, or service roads built. But that would take too much time and the risk of danger is higher, that''s why nobility were given the privilege of teleportation gates -safer and faster.

    Cars and mana trains were the inventions of people who were pulled into Arcadia through the dungeons of some modern worlds. The resources like petrol or diesel weren''t possible in Arcadia, so it all worked on mana. They use mana crystals and cores as fuel.

    Ever since emergence, over time many different parts of worlds have merged into Arcadia via some dungeons or spatial cracks. Unlike in other novels anyone read, dungeons in Arcadia weren''t simple ces where monsters existed and spawned endlessly. In here dungeons were actually a part of a world which got pulled and attached into Arcadia, after the bnce broke during the emergence.

    In the past 1000 years many dungeons of different worlds have opened in Arcadia, allowing everyone ess to knowledge and dangers of that world. Some dungeons were simpler which brought people of different races, while some opened in ces filled with nothing but monsters, some cracks pulled a whole city into Arcadia, while some brought upon nothing but emptiness of an uninhabited ind. Some dungeons had merged a whole cultivation sect into Arcadia, while some opened the new sci-fi world of technology. Some dungeons showed the dystopian future of apocalypse, while some showed the signs of early creation. Some showed the war torn civilizations,while some showed signs of a world built upon no sins and only peace.

    Over the years people of different cultures, races and beliefs had been brought into Arcadia through those portals. Every dungeon was different from each other, the people who got pulled into Arcadia were trapped here, never able to go back into their own world. So they settled here, trying to be the pioneer of their belief in this new world.

    Thus Arcadia became a unique creation where everything you can think of coexisted. It was a world filled with magic and mana at its core, but now it had changed into something much more. There were people who adapted to cultivation, realism, urban, scifi, drama -the world changed over time and so did the people living in it.

    As the author said in his novel, Arcadia was the canvas where every color of creation coexisted.

    He even wrote special substories about settings which readers requested. ''I remember one of my suggestions fromments, was even introduced as a tower -wonder if that also exists here.'' Rio thought.

    Towers are basically connection points which teleport you to a different location; they''re like separate spaces or mini worlds. They first appeared empty where monsters were trapped back when emergence first happened. Over time somehow more towers appeared on Arcadia, but instead of being empty and used as prisons, they were already filled with creatures. Hell towers, that''s what people called them.

    As the name suggested, hell towers were connection points to different hells,herworlds and underworlds of different worlds which got pulled in Arcadia. They were filled to the brim with monsters and if they weren''t cleared or controlled, the monsters would be free to leave towers and ruin everything.

    Different Gods, different factions fueled by their egos tried to control them, hoping to show their superiority, but the rules of the world gave them a tight p of reality.

    At the beginning the differences in everything brought upon wars and battles, but over time with constant failures and increasing death counts everyone learned their lessons. They all agreed on one thing, survival. And in Arcadia survival depended on unity, no one knew when the increasing number of those monsters or hells of towers would overwhelm everything and destroy it all.

    So after centuries of this same process repeating in different situations, everyone set aside their differences and stood united to fight against monsters. Thus the momentary superficial peace was born.

    Obviously it is all on the surface, and the world would be thrown into chaos once the plot starts, so our protagonist can shine. But that was still in the future and Rio had enough time to prepare for everything.

    ---

    "Brother, what''re you thinking?" Amelia asked in her cute voice as she saw Rio lost in thoughts looking out the window. "Is there something interesting?" She hopped up from her seat, pressed her nose against the ss to get a better view.

    Rio chuckled and gently tugged her back, forcing her to sit on her seat again "There''s nothing outside. Just sit down." Amelia pouted for a moment but soon got distracted by something and forgot about it again.

    The car smoothly maneuvered through the busy streets, making its way to their destination. The surrounding buildings and scenery kept changing and in all this journey Amelia''s excitement never went down.

    As the car pulled up to the entrance of the Magic Tower, Rio, Artemis, and Amelia stepped out, greeted by a weingmittee. The head of the branch, a distinguished mage named Mysfil Kraton , stood at the forefront, apanied by some other staff of the tower. Myra was also standing by the gate, waiting for their arrival.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Watching her master Myra bowed as a greeting and soon the staff of magic tower followed suit too. In the city of Damascus the rule of the ke family was absolute and everyone knew that. "Weedy Artemis." Mysfil eximed as he approached them with a warm smile, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. "I hope the journey here you didn''t have any trouble on the way."

    "This is our city professor. How could anything in it trouble us?" Artemis replied as she nodded back in greeting.

    "Of course, without the ke family we wouldn''t have the peace and quiet we have in Damascus today." Mysfil replied, not minding Artemis''s sharp words. Everyone in the high ss circle knew about her way of habits and they''ve grown ustomed to it. Not like they could do anything to her, even if they don''t like it. She was the Duchess of a city and the daughter of the famous Raven family, if that wasn''t enough her own personal strength wasn''t anything to scoff at. The rumors of her adventures as the shadow sword of Schi in the past, are still spoken as legends among themoners. Any one of her background was enough to shut everyone out.

    "Ignore the pleasantries professor. Has everything been prepared?"

    "Ahh yes, we''ve made all the arrangements ever since we got your message. Allow me to guide you to the VIP teleportation gate."

    As they exchanged pleasantries and started talking among themselves, Rio''s attention wandered, his gaze fixated on the magnificent building before him. The Magic Tower stood tall and proud, though not as grand in scale as his mansion, it exuded an aura of innovation and intellect. Its unique design caught his eye��a circr structure with multiple floors, each one showcasing the pursuit of magical knowledge.

    Rio marveled at the constant stream of people entering and exiting the tower, their faces alight with curiosity and determination. Schrs, researchers, and mages from all walks of life congregated within those walls, pushing the boundaries of magic itself.

    Myra approached him and asked -"Do you like it?"

    "It''s okay." Rio replied in a t tone.

    "Do you wanna take a look?" Myra said as she noticed his curious gaze wandering everywhere.

    "Can I?" Rio asked as he looked at the staff standing beside him.

    "Of course, young heir. I can arrange someone to guide you." The man replied happily. Even though Rio was just a kid, his standing in the society was far above anyone here, and that was a thing to be respected.

    Rio was busy thinking where he should go and what to watch, when Amelia''s voice cut through that conversation, her tone filled with frustration and Impatience. "No brother. No wasting time. Let''s go to Reba''s house. She''s waiting for us."

    Rio''s brows furrowed, he wanted to explore the tower, and look for someone but guess it''ll have to wait. ''It''s not like that girl has joined the tower this early anyways.''

    He turned towards Myra and said -"Well, you heard her, maybe another time." He ced his hand on Amelia''s shoulder and said -"Let''s go then. We''ll give her a memorable visit."

    Unaware of what he meant, Amelia happily eximed "Yayyy" .

    ###

    A/N - a memorable visit indeed.

 Chapter 91 Welcome To Haven

    Magic Tower Head Mysfil led the group, consisting of Artemis, Rio, Amelia, Myra and Esme, through the bustling corridors of the branch towards the VIP teleportation gate. Rio listened attentively as Mysfil shared the history and workings of the tower branch, emphasizing its importance in magical research and development. He borated on the various research departments,boratories, and libraries within the branch.

    "Our branch is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of magical knowledge and discovering new applications for mana maniption. Many people from different races and world''s have joined us, and It is through the collective efforts of our researchers and schrs that we continue to make groundbreaking discoveries.

    As they walked, Mysfil couldn''t help but notice Rio''s keen interest in his surroundings, as he kept looking around taking in everything. "Young Master Rio, it seems you''re curious about the tower. Perhaps one day you will grace the halls of our tower, we are always prepared to teach the young minds who''ll shape the future." Mysfil said, his voice dripping with honey, trying to be as honorable and reliable as he could. If a person of that noble standing joined the tower, the influence they have would grow to a whole nother level, Plus they''ll get the support of ke family.

    Rio looked at Mysfil for a moment, confusing the guy if he said something wrong, but then his expression changed back to his usual and he said in his excited child''s voice -"I will remember your words then, tower head. It would be incredible to join this branch."

    Hearing his words, Mysfil felt something weird but he shrugged it off, instead now he felt happy that just his boasting a little was enough to hook a Duke''s son. ''Indeed coaxing the kids is the best way to get connections in the nobility.'' He thought.

    While he was getting happy Artemis took a meaningful look at Rio, probably trying to understand why he said that. Even if he was interested in the magic tower, with the standing of their family, even the main branch of their tower would wee them with open arms, but he emphasized about joining this branch. Rio, who noticed her gaze, smiled a little but then ignored it.

    It was then that Mysfil got out of his thoughts and happily informed him "Of course, if you want I can arrange someone to help you take a look around our branch. We have everything that anyone could possibly need, our researchers and professors here are one of the best avable in the field of study."

    Amelia tugged at Rio''s sleeve, her impatience evident. "But, brother, we need to go to Reba''s house. She''s been waiting for us all day!"

    Rio smiled at her and turned to Mysfil -"Well it seems clear what we must prioritize today. However, I''lle to explore the Magic Tower in greater detail another time."

    Mysfil nodded understandingly, "of course young master. We''ll await your arrival then."

    The group continued their journey, eventually arriving at a big hall. Guards stationed themselves nearby, ready to ensure a smooth transition.

    Rio''s eyes were fixed on the door as Mysfil activated the mana identification process, pressing his hand forward and operating The codes. Soon with a loud thud, the door opened. The guards stepped aside, revealing the grand entrance to the room which held the teleportation gate.

    This teleportation gate was created by some spatial artifact. The artifact stored the coordinates of 3 different locations, and after activating it with a key,it can open a portal to those predetermined locations. Only the branch head of the tower had the key to operate this artifact. The mana needed to supply the artifact was given from the outside.

    Mysfil inserted the key into a designated slot, and with a gentle twist, the gate sprung to life. It emitted a soft hum. A vibrant blue portal emerged in its ce, emanating a mesmerizing energy that enveloped the room. Rio''s eyes widened as he gazed at the portal, feeling a mixture of excitement and hesitation.

    Rio''s thoughts raced as he contemted the uing teleportation. It was his first time traveling through a gate, and the unknown nature of the process stirred a slight sense of worry within him. What if something went wrong? What if the artifact malfunctioned? His mind yed out various scenarios, he remembered the results of what would happen if it failed, his body would be reduced to atoms, sted or crushed into smithereens.

    In contrast to Rio''s swirling thoughts, Amelia seemed unfazed by everything. Maybe cause it wasn''t her first time, or maybe her innocent and carefree nature shielded her from any concerns. What would she need to be worried about when her mother was here with her. She bounced with impatience, eager to cross the portal and reach their destination.

    Artemis, sensing her children''s emotions, took the lead and extended her hands towards them. Rio and Amelia grasped her hands tightly, seeking sce and security. With a reassuring smile, Artemis stepped forward and crossed the threshold of the portal. Myra and Esme followed suit, their presence providing further reassurance. As everyone went inside the portal closed behind them.

    As Rio passed through the portal, a rush of energy coursed through his body. It was an indescribable sensation, as if he was being pulled and stretched simultaneously. The world around him blurred and shifted, colors blending together in a mesmerizing dance. The brief moment of disorientation left him feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

    When they finally emerged from the other side, Rio''s stomach churned with unease. The abrupt change in environment and the disorienting effects of teleportation overwhelmed his senses. He stumbled forward, barely able to regain his bnce, and a wave of nausea washed over him.

    Amelia, too, seemed affected by the journey. As Rio struggled to steady himself, thinking it would be over in a second, he noticed his younger sister''s face turning pale, her brows furrowed in difort. Suddenly, Amelia doubled over and began retching, her tiny frame convulsing with each heave. Surprisingly, Rio found himself sumbing to the same fate, his stomach rebelling against the disorienting teleportation experience.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Ukhhh rgh"

    The duo continued to vomit, their bodies attempting to purge the difort they felt. Rio''s head spun, and his throat burned with each retch. Despite his age and maturity, he found himself sumbing to the overwhelming physical reaction.

    Amelia recovered faster than Rio. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her small frame trembling slightly. Her innocent eyes looked up at Rio, reflecting both concern and a hint of amusement. But as she watched him still retching holding his stomach, she couldn''t help but smile and said -"Are you okay, brother? You look really funny when you puke!"

    Rio managed to look at her with a weak smile, a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion washing over him. But before he could say anything -ulhhhhh.

    ''Fuck shouldn''t have eaten this much during lunch. Why the hell did they even served me food''

    ulkh gr

    Watching him still struggle, Artemis rushed to his side, her concern evident in her eyes. She held back his hair as he continued to expel the contents of his stomach, offeringfort in the midst of the distressing situation. Esme brought out water bottles from her ring and passed it to Artemis.

    After what felt like an eternity, the waves of nausea subsided, leaving Rio feeling weak and drained. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his face pale and sweaty. He washed his mouth, but couldn''t bring himself to drink anything.

    The disorientation gradually faded, reced by a sense of relief that the worst was over.

    "Hehehe brother, you''re funny." Amelia said, as she looked at his face.

    Rio took a deep breath, attempting topose himself after the ordeal of vomiting. His face flushed with embarrassment as Amelia''s innocentment echoed in his ears. Myra''s silentughter only intensified his feelings of self-consciousness.

    Trying to shake off the embarrassment, Rio turned his attention to their new surroundings. The room was bustling with people, their presence creating a lively and energetic atmosphere.

    Despite his lingering difort, Rio couldn''t help but feel a glimmer of anticipation as he listened to the voice of a young girl filled with joy and excitement.

    Rio followed the source of the voice and his gazended upon a girl, radiating youthful enthusiasm and innocence. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity, and her cheerful demeanor was infectious. She approached the group, her smile widening as she greeted them.

    "Wee to Haven"

    Rio''s initial embarrassment now seemed like a distant memory as he felt a surge of different emotions rising within him.

    And this is how our viin met his destined fiancee, for the first time. No fancy parties, no emotional music, no disney drama or shit from the story - it started with the guy puking his guts out, and ended with the girlpletely ignoring him and hugging her sister.

    ##

    A/N - Any thoughts on your head.

 Chapter 92 Welcome To Haven Ll

    Reba''s restlessness had reached its peak as she eagerly awaited Amelia''s arrival. Even though they spoke and yed together daily through phone calls, it had been nearly a year since theirst in-person meeting. The anticipation had been building within her since yesterday, ever since she heard that Amelia and aunt would being early. Today''s morning had only intensified her excitement.

    -As the hours ticked by, Reba''s impatience grew. She heard that they''lle by noon via the teleportation gate of the magic tower. Unable to contain herself any longer and tired of waiting in the confines of her castle, she had persistently pestered her mother, the queen of Schi. And to her delight, her mother agreed. Now they were both waiting in the grand hall of the main branch of magic tower, waiting for their arrival.

    -The minutes felt like an eternity as Reba anxiously asked her mother repeatedly how much longer it would take. Her anticipation was palpable, her eyes darting around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Amelia''s familiar figure.

    -Reba''s restlessness filled the grand hall. She couldn''t contain her excitement, continuously pacing and scanning the empty space. Her golden locks cascaded down her shoulders, swaying with every impatient step she took. "Mother, when are theying? It''s been so long?"

    Athena,posed and poised, looked upon her daughter with a mixture of affection and amusement. "For the fourth time, daughter, they will be here. Juste and sit here" She said again in her calm and mature voice, informing her daughter to be patient, apparently in the past 10 minutes, she had asked this same question 4 times already.

    -Reba''s eyes remained fixed on the empty hall, her anticipation growing with each passing moment. Her sea blue eyes kept searching, looking around the empty hall, hoping for any sign of anyone''s arrival.

    -And then, as if a magical spell had been cast, a luminous blue portal materialized before them, drawing Reba''s attention like a ma. A smile spread across her face, brimming with excitement and delight as she saw people running around in a hurry, who were standing on the side until now. The air was filled with an electric energy, tinged with anticipation and warmth as the scene unfolded before them.

    -The portal parted, revealing a group of individuals stepping out into the grand hall. Reba''s eyes widened in joy as she recognized familiar faces and new acquaintances. "They''re finally here! I''ve been waiting so long!" She smiled when she finally spotted Amelia''s familiar figure among the crowd.

    -Reba''s heart leaped with excitement as she prepared to run towards Amelia, but her mother gently held her back, a knowing smile on her face. Reba looked at her mother in confusion, but her mother simply pointed towards Amelia and Rio, who were experiencing the unpleasant aftermath of teleportation.

    -Reba''s eyes widened with surprise and concern as she watched them retching and puking. It was not the grand entrance or the joyous reunion she had envisioned.

    -She hesitated for a moment, contemting the situation, and then made a decision. She couldn''t contain herself any longer and swiftly made her way towards them, a radiant smile adorning her face. Carefully navigating her steps, mindful of the mess around them, she approached Amelia, who had now stopped puking.

    "Wee to Haven." Athena said as she saw her sister, Artemis standing there.

    -With caution and love in her eyes, Reba ran towards Amelia, ensuring that she didn''t step on any unpleasant remnants. In an instant, she enveloped Amelia in a warm embrace, herughter filling the air. "Amelia! Oh, how I''ve missed you."

    -Amelia, caught off guard by the unexpected embrace, couldn''t help butugh and return the hug wholeheartedly."I missed you too. I can''t believe you''re here. It''s been so long since I saw you."

    -"Of course,st time mother went alone and didn''t even bring me to your house. But don''t worry, since you''re here, we''ll y all day now. I''ll show you all around the castle. Do you know we have a garden now. I even nted some of your favorite flowers there." Reba couldn''t stop and kept going on and on about anything that came to her mind, she wanted to inform her of everything and drag her out to show her around.

    -In that moment, as both girls started chatting, the world around them faded away. The joy of their reunion overshadowed any embarrassment or inconvenience caused by the chaotic entrance.

    -As their talks subsided a little, Reba turned her attention to Rio, who stood nearby, watching the heartfelt reunion. With a friendly smile, she extended her hand toward him, a gesture of wee. "Wee to Haven Rio. It''s been a while since I saw you too. You better teach me about how you beat me in chess every time."

    _Rio, still recovering from the earlier wave of nausea and feeling a sense of relief, extended his hand to shake Reba''s. "Thanks princess."

    Hearing his usual way of response, Amelia smiled a little while Reba shook his head, "Well, now that you both are here, I''ll show you all around the city. Father even agreed to let us go on a tour around the capital." She happily informed them about her ns. She was thinking about what she''ll do when theye, but then her father gave the idea that she should help them take a look around the capital. Since they''ll be new here, she could act as a guide. Of course Reba herself didn''t know anything about the capital, but at least she knows more than these two right.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Amelia''s face brightened as she heard Reba''s words, she loved roaming around. So she happily eximed -"Yeah, we''ll go to all the parks and restaurants. I''ve heard some of them sell really good snacks. I need to try everything."

    ''Her habit of eating sweets never left her alone huh'' everyone who heard her words thought and looked at her doubtfully. While Amelia ignoring it all kept asking Reba about what else she nned.

    Rio''s gaze remained fixed on Reba as he watched her chat happily with Amelia,pletely unaware of the tumultuous thoughts that swirled in his mind. The memories of the novel, the events that will unfoldter, and how Reba yed a part in his family''s destruction��all of it yed like a vivid movie reel in his head. The feeling of betrayal and the sense of being used gnawed at his heart, leaving him with a mix of anger, confusion, and a lingering sense of vulnerability.

    There were very few things that Shiva hated back on earth, and being used by someone, being a pawn for someone was definitely somewhere on the top among them. The memories associated with that feeling came to his head further fueling an indescribable feeling of anger in his heart.

    However, amidst the swirl of conflicting emotions, Rio couldn''t deny the genuine happiness that radiated from Amelia and Reba.

    Rio took a deep breath, deciding to set aside his personal problems and focus on the bigger picture. He reminded himself that this encounter was just the beginning��a single snapshot in therger story of their lives. There would be many more moments, conversations, and opportunities where people would betray him ording to the plot - he just has to be prepared for all of them.

    ''There''s no way I can kill all of them, and neither should I.''

    Lost in his thoughts, Rio failed to notice the piercing gaze that bore into him. It was only when he felt a strong presence and turned his head that he found himself locked in the intense gaze of Queen Athena, Reba''s mother and his aunt. Her eyes, a mesmerizing deep blue, shimmered with a subtle golden light, lending an ethereal quality to her presence. Rio couldn''t help but feel a slight tremor of unease as he met her gaze.

    Athena''s gaze seemed to prate through his very soul, and Rio was acutely aware of her extraordinary abilities as a Soul Seer. The mere thought of her powers made him apprehensive, for he wondered if she could see through him, if she could discern his true identity as a transmigrator or unravel the secrets he held within. The notion sent a shiver down his spine.

    ''Shit''

    Rio''s heart raced as he observed Athena''s mesmerizing eyes shimmer with a touch of golden light. The realization of her powers as a Soul Seer intensified his unease, and he couldn''t shake off the nagging doubt that she might be able to see through the depths of his soul. Just as he grappled with his apprehensions, system notifications abruptly appeared before him, warning of an external force attempting to discern his soul.

    [?Warming?]

    [Outside interference]

    [Use of a skill to see the soul of host detected]

    ##

    A/N - What do you think of their friendship.What will Rio think & do for ba.

    And what do you think his aunt is up to. Will she see his soul & learn about his irregrities.

 Chapter 93 Soul Vision & Soul Eyes

    While Reba and Amelia were happily talking with each other about their ns for the next few days, Athena just stood on a side watching her daughter''s happiness from a side. Every Time she saw both these girls together, it reminded her of her own childhood, how she and her sister used to just y around in the family.

    Her nostalgic thoughts were broken when she heard a voice in her head -"So it is true."

    Athena felt surprised as she heard Psyche''s voice resonating in her mind, feeling curious she asked back "What do you mean by "so it is true"? What is?"

    Psyche''s voice echoed in Athena''s consciousness, carrying a sense of intrigue and fascination. "Nothing much, just your nephew. He''s quite the special case."

    "Is something wrong? Tell me clearly." Athena thought worriedly as she nced at her sister, Artemis.

    "I have observed him closely since Artemis sought your assistance. He''s got quite the attention from all the gods."

    Athena''s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she processed Psyche''s words. Just like everybody else she had heard rumors about Rio''s awakening and his blessing. Artemis had told her about Nyx but to hear that Rio had the attention of every God only deepened her intrigue, and Psyche''s previous words didn''t make any sense to her yet.

    ''Seriously these gods and their way of roundabout speaking. Can''t they just be straightforward.''

    "So you now believe the ims of him receiving Nyx''s blessings? It is rare, but it''s not like this hasn''t happened before." Athenaasked, hoping Psyche would get the hint and rify. After all, as she said, getting a blessing while awakening was indeed rare, but it has happened many times before in the past too. Even her own father had gotten a blessing during his awakening, so what made Rio special enough to attract the attention of other gods, she couldn''t understand.

    Psyche, fully aware of her chosen one''s thoughts replied, her voice held a note of skepticism as she said "I must admit, I was skeptical at first when I heard your words. Mortals often lie and embellish their tales of fake blessings. They either get easily tricked or they just don''t understand how Gods work. But in his case, it might very well be true."

    Psyche remembered how doubtful she was when she heard that the primordial goddess Nyx came herself to give him the blessing. But looking at him closely now, she could say it might as well be the truth. She could feel the aura of greeks on him.

    That''s why she felt curious, cause unlike the mortals of this world, she knew exactly how the Greek gods worked, after all she herself was a mortal at the beginning. She had seen how indifferent and selfish the gods can be firsthand. She had suffered countless times, her life a mere ything for those gods to y around, and that was all the doings of the ones who were nowhere near the level of some primordials.

    That''s why she has been paying attention to him. And he had indeed brought her some surprises. The blessing of Nyx andter the blessing of Skuld. Psyche wondered what else he was hiding? She wanted to take a look at his soul herself, but she didn''t want to take the chance knowing it might irritate Nyx. Nyx can kill her with a snap of her fingers, no way she was taking that risk.

    But it''s not like there''s no way, she had been waiting for this moment only. Thinking this far, Psyche continued "He''s quite an interesting fellow. I can''t be sure but the kid has more than one blessing on him. And they aren''t weak or small ones." Psyche''s voice resonated with a gentle curiosity.

    Athena''s heart skipped a beat as she heard Psyche''s voice echoing in her mind. The goddess''s interest in Rio piqued her curiosity further, and she couldn''t help but wonder what Psyche meant by "he''s quite an interesting fellow." With a slight frown, she turned her attention away from Reba and directed her gaze towards Rio, who remained locked in contemtion, his eyes fixated on Reba. Though his face had no clear expressions, the conflicting emotions within him were palpable, even from a distance in her eyes.

    Athena''s gaze lingered on Rio, her curiosity piqued by his intense focus on Reba. She couldn''t help but wonder what thoughts were running through his mind.

    Just like Psyche, Athena was curious too. Her sister had asked her to take a look at Rio before, but when she agreed to do it, Artemis refused saying Rio had already exined what she wanted to know and there was no need.

    Athena kept looking at him, her eyes seemingly searching for something within him. She had always possessed a deep insight into the emotions of others. It was like a gift or an innate ability that had guided her throughout her life ever since her childhood. And this gift only increased in power after she became Psyche''s avatar. Now she could literally see a person''s soul and see their true nature.

    With a focused thought, she activated her skill Soul Vision*1, allowing her deep blue eyes to take on a subtle golden glow. Soon her powers came into effect as her gaze pierced through the veil of mortal existence and looked past what anybody else could possibly see.

    However, before Athena could delve deeper into her observations, an unexpected interruption urred. Rio suddenly turned around and looked at her.

    Athena couldn''t help but wonder if he had somehow sensed her probing gaze or perhaps understood the nature of her power. Her mind questioned whether his reaction was merely coincidental or was it something else.

    Wheb Rio met her eyes, his face paled visibly, a tinge of unease clouding his features, sweat started forming on his forehead. It was then that Rio''s system started giving out red gs and warning signs on his status screen-<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [?warning?]

    [Outside interference detected]

    [Use of a skill to see host''s soul detected]

    He had doubts that Athena might use her skill on him when he came to the capital, but what the fuck was this shit, they have just met. She hasn''t even talked to him. Is this how she greets anybody now?

    Caught off guard by Rio''s unexpected reaction, Athena found herself locked in a silent exchange of gazes with him. In that moment, a mixture of confusion and curiosity enveloped them both. Athena trying to read his soul, while Rio trying to read her thoughts.

    Rio kept looking at her hoping to see any hint, any sign if she saw something or noticed something, but her face only had that same nk expression from beginning to end. Her every thought masked behind her beautiful face and that ever present serene smile. It was like she could see it all & read everything on others and yet she herself remained distant and unreadable to everyone.

    ''Damn her poker face is good. Guess watching others expressions and real nature had taught her how to hide her own thoughts.'' He thought.

    Rio had a bad premonition growing in his heart as he watched Athena tilting her head with a confused look. His heart raced within his chest as he met Athena''s gaze. He could now see her confusion, her lingering curiosity, and wondered if she suspected anything about his identity.

    Rio''s heart nearly stopped beating as he saw her eyes shining even brighter, her deep blue eyes changing into a full golden color, making him further scared that she might''ve saw something, cause now she was even using the updated version of her previous skill soul vision, her signature skill called Soul Eyes*2.

    ''Shit''

    ''Damn it Psyche. It''s definitely her.''

    ''System do something about it. Or we both dying pretty soon.''

    ####

    _____*1 Soul Vision

    Skill Type: Active (blessing)

    Description: Soul Vision allows the user to take a glimpse into the essence of another individual''s soul. With a focused thought, the user can peer through the physical form and look past what''s hidden. This skill grants a limited understanding of the target''s soul, akin to a fleeting peek or a quick nce. Soul Vision is a valuable tool for gathering preliminary information or discerning someone''s general disposition.

    Limitation- Less effective on someone who''s stronger than the user. The effects of this spell can be easily naggeted with high mental power.

    ____ *2 Soul Eyes -

    Skill Type: Active (blessing)

    Description: Soul Eyes is an enhanced version of the Soul Vision skill, offering a deeper and moreprehensive read on an individual''s soul. Soul Eyes functions as an open book, allowing the user to ess a wealth of information contained within the target''s soul. This skill provides aprehensive understanding of the target''s thoughts, emotions, past experiences, and even hidden motivations. Soul Eyes is an invaluable skill for uncovering secrets, deciphering intentions, and obtaining a profound understanding of others true nature.

    ****Note - Soul Vision is a lesser version of goddess Psyche''s ability, which she gives out as a blessing to her followers. While the Soul Eyes is the enhanced version which only the avatar of her can receive. Otherwise full mastery of Soul Vision is a prerequisite for unlocking the Soul Eyes skill.

 Chapter 94 Privacy Mode Enabled

    As soon as Athena activated her skill soul vision, the surroundings around her started to change, she looked at Rio and all she could see were some glimpses of emotions running across his mind. Frustration, anger, betrayal and loss - every emotion looked as evident as different colors in her eyes. Athena tried to probe further but that was all she could see. It made her confused as ording to her mastery of skill and Rio''sck of power, it should allow her a pretty good knowledge about everything, and yet all she could witness were normal stuff she could notice from anyone''s expressions normally.

    When she looked at Rio''s eyes, having the panicked look, her curiosity got the better of her, she wanted to understand the reason why her powers didn''t work naturally or what was different about him. Psyche''s voice in her head telling him "she thought so too" further made her determined. So she closed her eyes and used her main skill, soul eyes on him.

    When she opened them again as if a whole world of thoughts and emotions passed in front of her eyes in that single moment. The world around her seemed to fade away, reced by a nk canvas devoid of any color and form. Her vision narrowed down to Rio, and she directed her gaze towards his soul, a flicker of me floating within him. (Souls are basically balls of energy near our heart, at least that''s what I think.)

    ''System do something about it, or we''re both gonna die pretty soon.'' Rio said in his mind in a hurry, he knew meeting Athena was a risk, but it wasn''t something he could ignore. He had gotten something which could hinder her basic probing skills but he never thought she''d use her main skill so early on him without any reason. He just hoped the system would have some kind of function to help him this time, otherwise if Athena figured out he wasn''t Rio, he didn''t know how he would end up.

    [Does the host wish to ess the security mode.]

    [ording to the rules to protect system and host''s secrets�� ]

    ''Do whatever you want, just stop her damn skill.'' Rio said in a hurry he had no time to waste reading some notifications while she was staring dead into his eyes.

    [It would cost you.] System informed him of the final warning and continued its work

    [Permission granted.]

    [Soul secrecy allowed. Opting to use the privacy function.]

    [Security mode enabled.]

    [Resisting the skill directed at the host.]

    Athena, who was now looking at theyers of what his soul looked like, At first, she observed the surface of his soul, like ripples on a tranquil pond. She saw hints of his character and the emotions that colored his existence. It all manifested like ethereal wisps, swirling and intertwining in front of her eyes but her curiosity pushed her further, delving beyond the initial impressions. It was then that she sensed a familiar resistance, causing a slight ache in her head. This wasn''t entirely unexpected, as it always happened when she looked at those who possessed unique blessings or were chosen by higher gods, but what happened next made her more confused.

    She watched as a misty fog started to surround his soul and she found her gaze getting pushed back. No matter how she tried or focused she couldn''t look past that fog. This realization struck her with a mixture of surprise and confusion, for her abilities had rarely failed her in the past.

    Athena''s brow furrowed in frustration, her powers thwarted again by this unforeseen hindrance. She pondered the meaning of this resistance. Was it a natural defense mechanism of his soul, or was it a consequence of some blessing he received.

    -

    As the system engaged the protection function or whatever, though uncertain of its efficiency, Rio clung to the hope that this defense would be sufficient to hide his secret from Athena''s probing gaze.

    [Resistance sessful]

    Rio read the notification and breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally stop worrying a little now. Even though everything onlysted for a few seconds, they were the most intense moments for him ever since he came to Arcadia. He wasn''t even this tense when he lied to Artemis''s face.

    Athena''s eyes studied him carefully, her intuition guiding her as she tried to unravel the veil of mystery before her. Even though her powers as a Soul Seer seemed momentarily thwarted, leaving her perplexed and intrigued, her expression was filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern, cause even though it was only for a moment she had sensed a depth within his soul, aplexity that shouldn''t be possible for someone so young.

    She observed the sudden change in Rio''s expression as he swiftly averted his eyes and calmed down. His face carried clear signs of relief now, a clear indication that he noticed something.

    ''Did she see something.'' Rio asked in his mind as he closed his eyes, trying to rx his speed running heart.

    [Safety of host''s secrets determined.]

    [You have nothing to worry about.]

    System''s reply finally made him drop his guard as he truly calmed down now. He breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that his secret remained hidden.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He turned his attention back to Athena, their gazes locking once again. The system had said that he was safe, but the underlying fear of exposure still gnawed at him. There was no way he could trust the words of a system who always used the excuse of being level 0 at every turn.

    As their gazes remained locked, both Rio and Athena felt a sense of mutual confusion. Rio, nervous about the protection of his secrets and doubtful of the system''s capabilities. Athena, on the other hand, was wondering what was wrong with her powers, or what the actual fuck was going on with her nephew.

    ''Kids, you don''t see them for a year and they''ve already changed so much.'' She thought as she withdrew her skill, and the world around her returned to the vibrant colors of its reality once again.

    As their gazes finally broke, Rio felt a sense of relief wash over him. Watching her now he could guess that the system saved him this time, but he didn''t want to depend on it for the next time if something happened. It was his mistake overlooking Psyche''s involvement or thinking that Athena wouldn''t use her main skill on him without any reason, and he nearly got found out because of that.

    He promised himself to be more careful next time. Otherwise if someday system couldn''t function or went offline for some reasons, like in those novels he read back on earth, then he would be fucked.

    And for that he would need to remain vignt at every turn, it would begin with starting from finding a way to save himself from Athena''s soul-piercing abilities without the system''s help.

    ''Remind me to get something to get past Athena''s ability.'' Rio made a note in his mind, telling system about the next thing on his mind.

    Athena who just blinked and turned off her skill, found someone tapping her shoulder, despite turning back she could guess who it was and it made her scared to even look back. In a hurry and curiosity she had used her skill, forgetting about her surroundings, and now there was a problem tapping her shoulder.

    Unable toe up with any suitable solutions, she did what every other wise woman does, ignore the problem.

    She took a step further, walking towards Reba and Amelia who were still engrossed in talking with each other, but sadly her problems caught up to her faster, as she felt a hand wrapped around her neck, as whisper of a voice rang out in her ears -"I thought I told you not to use your skill on my son."

    Athena felt her heart sink in the shadows as she heard that. The voice belonged to none other than Artemis, her sister and Rio''s mother, who had caught her red-handed.

    Athena smiled nervously as she waved her hands, "ohh sister, didn''t see you there. Wel_ wee to Haven." Her voice stammered as she felt the hand tighten a little.

    "Don''t try to change the topic." Artemis said as she looked into her eyes. Athena, knowing there was no way to get out of it, tried toe up with another solution. Even though her sister asked her help before, butter she called her and told her not to do anything and leave the kids be, but Athena couldn''t control herself when she heard Psyche''s words in her head and took a peek, whichter turned into her main skill.

    "I-I can exin." Athena said, as she tried to scan her surroundings hoping to find a support lifeline or a distraction. Her eyesnded on Rio who was standing beside them. As she looked at him, she noticed the well hidden smirk stered on his face, his eyes clearly trying to hold back his amusement.

    Thinking this little guy won''t help her, she looked around but sadly the hall they were in was empty now. All the people present had left them alone some time ago, her daughter was busy catching up with her friend so she didn''t even look at her mother.

    Knowing there was no other option, she looked back at Rio and signaled him with her eyes, hoping he''d distract his mother.

    To her surprise, Rio''s expression softened, and he reached out to hold her hand. "Aunt Athena," he began, his voiceced with an innocence of a kid, "why don''t we go now? We''ve been standing here for quite some time."

    Though surprised, Athena seized the opportunity and nodded eagerly, "Ye- yes, you''re right. We should hurry. The cars are waiting outside," she replied, as she got away from Artemis''s grasp and pulled Rio with her as she started walking out in a hurry.

    Artemis, witnessing the interaction between her son and Athena, and watching their departing backs sighed as she followed them behind along with Reba and Amelia, as they made their way towards the exit.

    Walking forward, as Rio entered the car, he calmly said -"You owe me a favor now aunt, remember that."

    Athena smiled softly, hearing his words, as she thought -''What an interesting kid indeed.''

    ####

    A/N - Finished it now. Let''s celebrate some birthday.

 Chapter 95 City Of Haven

    After everyone came out and settled into the vehicles waiting outside for them, They started their journey towards the Royal Pce. As it was the entourage of Queen of Schi the security details were followed on every turn, the routes drivers took were secured and every vehicle was constantly in contact.

    Following closely behind the main car, where Athena, Artemis, Reba, Amelia and Rio were sitting, was a convoy of magically powered cars moved in unison. While one of them drove forward to clear the route.

    These cars were a marvel of engineering and magic, simply proving how unique Arcadia was in terms of all The different worlds. The initial designs for cars and other vehicles were first provided by some people who were pulled into Arcadia from a modern world, but despite the details making them here in a fantasy world was found impossible.

    The dwarves, famous for their innate affinity for crafting were simply hellbent on making these vehicles, but even they failed several thousand times. They tried whatever mineral and material they could find to make and power cars but failed. Coating mana and writing formations was useless as the environmental magic would give out disturbance and it simply failed again.

    It was then that they stumbled upon a rare singr book which once tranted gave them the knowledge of utilizing mana cores and some formations to power these vehicles. It yed a crucial role in bringing all kinds of technology to Arcadia. This discovery sparked a revolution in transportation, allowing the construction of cars that were previously deemed impossible in the fantasy realm.

    Mana cores were used as fuel to power these vehicles, which provides constant mana supply and formations which turns that mana into an energy that propel the vehicles forward. The intricate formations inscribed onto the car''s chassis served as catalysts, channeling and amplifying the magical energy to enhance the vehicle''s performance. Over the years the use of some protection arrays was added to provide better security.

    The cars were a testament to the fusion of magical craftsmanship and technological innovation. Their designs showcased the aesthetics of both worlds, with ornate embellishments and enchantments woven seamlessly into the sleek and streamlined structures. Runes and sigils were etched onto the vehicles, enhancing their performance, providing stability, and offering protection against external magical influences.

    The use of cars and mana powered carriages had revolutionized transportation in Arcadia. It offered a faster and more efficient means of travel, connecting distant cities and regions. While bikes were prohibited in Haven, due to safety concerns and potential misuse of magical formations, cars and carriages became the preferred mode of ground transportation for bothmoners and nobility alike.

    In contrast, air travel in Arcadia primarily relied on magically enhanced ships. These grand vessels sailed through the skies, propelled by powerful formations inscribed upon their hulls. The stability and reliability of these ships,bined with the ease of inscribingplex formations on their surfaces, made them the preferred choice for long-distance travel. The creation of airnes was deemed unnecessary, as the capabilities and safety of the magical ships were unmatched.

    [A/N - obviously it goes without saying that all these innovations and luxuries are only for the ones who could afford them. Cars were a sign of riches, while the low version of cars was mana powered carriages which was formoners and normal residents.]

    The convoy moved in precise formation, guided by skilled drivers who had mastered the art of maneuvering these magical vehicles. The leader of the caravan, captain of the royal guard, ensured that the procession maintained its cohesion and moved smoothly through the bustling streets of Haven City.

    As the caravan made its way through the city, the enchantments on the cars allowed them to navigate effortlessly throughout the roads. The magical cores hummed with energy, propelling the vehicles forward with a quiet grace.

    Rio leaned against the car window, taking in the vibrant sights and sounds of the bustling city of Haven. It was a stark contrast to his own hometown of Damascus. The grandeur and liveliness of the capital left him in awe, as he watched the streetse alive with preparations for the uing birthday celebration of Princess Reba.

    The city was adorned with colorful decorations, from fluttering banners and ribbons to ornate archways and flower arrangements. Though there was not a single image of Reba on any posters, as no one from themoners saw her and selling her photos was probably prohibited, but still it left Rio shocked to see how many times he saw "Happy Birthday Princess" floating on the roads.

    He looked towards Reba, who after noticing his gaze felt even prouder. It was a surprise for her too, when she came out in the morning with her mother, but she can''t tell him that right. She even pointed towards one of the bigger banners on a big intersection, highlighting how pretty it looked. Amelia who watched all this was now looking towards her mother, silently conveying she better prepare something even more grand than this or they''re gonna have a serious talk. Rio and Artemis could only sigh at her looks, while Athena just smiled at how childish she was.

    As the caravan continued its journey, Rio noticed the presence of many guards patrolling the streets. Their uniforms gleamed under the sunlight, and their vignt demeanor spoke of the importance ced on maintaining order and security within the city. Or maybe it was due to someone who spread news that the Queen was visiting the city today. Whatever it was, it left a nice impression of Haven on Rio''s mind.

    Haven''s strategic location as thest line of defense against external threats meant that it was surrounded by other cities. The city''syout reflected this too, with different zones serving different purposes. In the outer areas of the city, the regr folk who had lived here for generations resided. These were the hardworking individuals and their families who formed the backbone of the city from the very beginning, going about their daily lives and contributing to its vibrancy.

    Moving towards the center of the city, Rio noticed a bustling hub of activity. This was where the famous merchants, guilds, and various organizations had established their headquarters. The streets were lined with shops and stalls, each offering a unique range of goods and services. It was a ce ofmerce and exchange, the highest of crowds were gathered in this area.

    Beyond the central district, Rio''s gaze fell upon the inner area of the city. This was a region reserved for the nobility, royal family rtives, and others with a high standing like some famous guild masters or heads of ns. It was here that the influential figures of Haven''s society resided, each with their own grand mansions and estates. Renowned schrs, alchemists and other important personalities could be found in this exclusive area, contributing to the city''s intellectual and cultural pursuits.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Finally, at the heart of it all stood the magnificent Royal Pce, the residence of the main Royal Family. It was a sprawling structure, its towering walls and exquisite architecture a testament to the grandeur of the kingdom. The Royal Pce served as the seat of power, where important decisions were made, and royal ceremonies and events took ce. It was a symbol of authority and tradition, radiating an aura of majesty and regality.

    Given their familial ties and rtionships, Athena had requested that the ke family stay at the Royal Pce during their visit to Haven. This was not an opportunity extended to many, as forget about gaining residency in the royal pce, even living within the capital city was an arduous process. The strict regtions and lengthy procedures aimed to ensure that only those with significant connections or contributions to the city were granted the privilege of calling it their home and being a local here.

    Finding a house in the capital city was no easy task, and many aspiring residents had to navigate a lengthy bureaucracy. Several requirements and rigorous background checks acted as a filter, ensuring that only the most deserving and reputable individuals were given the chance to settle within the city''s walls. The process involved thorough scrutiny of one''s background, financial status, and potential contributions to the city''s growth and prosperity.

    The ke family had a mansion in Haven but due to their close ties with Athena and her position as a member of the royal family, they were allowed to stay there. It was probably an honor very few in Arcadia could experience, but to Artemis it was just tiresome. She was sure that instead of her acting as a guest here, this sister of hers only called her so she can throw all her work on her too.

    As the caravan made its way towards the Royal Pce, Rio couldn''t help but feel a mix of excitement and trepidation. This was a new experience in his life, an opportunity to immerse himself in a world so different from his own. Because despite being in this world for nearly two months, he hadn''t been free to enjoy even his own Damascus city fully. The grandeur of the capital city, the diversity of its inhabitants, and thebyrinth of social structure all added to the allure and mystery of a fantasy world.

    As Rio''s eyes explored Haven City, he couldn''t help but drawparisons to the vibrant and diverse cities he had seen in famous tv shows or movies back on earth. While Haven had elements reminiscent of King''s Landing from Game of Thrones series, with its bustling streets and majestic architecture, it also shared simrities with the grand city from Lord of the Rings movies, with its harmonious coexistence of different races.

    As Rio observed the diverse inhabitants of Haven, he couldn''t help but notice the presence of halflings and some beast races among the humans. The city was a melting pot of different races and cultures. Halflings, with their obviously different stature and nature, could be seen scurrying through the streets, while the beast races, with their distinctive features and animalistic qualities, added an intriguing element to the city''sndscape.

    In Haven City, the presence of peaceful beast races added a unique charm to the already diverse poption. Rio observed some feline races of cats and foxes and rabbits known for their agility and grace. With their sleek fur, sharp ws, and keen senses, they roamed the city''s alleys, contributing to its lively atmosphere. Felines were known for their artistic talents, often showcasing their skills in music, dance, and visual arts. Plus all the halfling girls of these races look pretty and cute, which would satisfy many times the requirements of perverts and cultured men.

    Within Haven City, demihumans, a term used to describe individuals with mixed human and non-human heritage, found their ce among the various races. Rio noticed some Half-Elves, possessing a blend of elven pointy ears and human resemnce. They were often found engaging in schrly pursuits or taking on roles as diplomats and mediators, thanks to their inherent ability to bridge the gap between different races and cultures. Or how elves were known to be a peaceful race, who didn''t like to mingle in any territorial disputes.

    Alongside the Half-Elves, the Dwarves were a prominent race in Haven City. Known for their exceptional craftsmanship and drinking habits, they established thriving undergroundmunities, crafting intricate works of art, weapons, and armor. The Dwarves'' contributions to the city''s economy and infrastructure were highly valued, as they excelled in engineering and mining.

    Rio also noticed some big burly Orcs, who had integrated into Haven City''s society. Despite their intimidating appearance, the Orcs present in Haven had proven their loyalty and thinking abilities, serving as skilled warriors and defenders of the city. Their inborn sense of honor and unity made them an integral part of the city''s security forces.

    As Rio''s gaze wandered through the streets, he marveled at the harmonious coexistence of these diverse races and demihumans within Haven City. The streets were adorned with vibrant marketces, where merchants from different races sold their wares, showcasing the richness of their respective cultures. The scents of exotic foods, the melodies of various musical instruments, and the colorful architecture created a symphony of diversity that filled the air.

    Obviously since Haven was a city made and ruled by humans, they were in the majority and in power, but still looking at the peaceful coexistence of beast races, demihumans, and humans had shaped the city''s identity, making it a truly remarkable ce to be.

    Lost in his thoughts, Rio closed the car window and settled back into his seat. Despite knowing it all from his knowledge of the novel, looking at it from his own two eyes was a different experience. The journey to the Royal Pce continued and he couldn''t wait for what more surprises it would bring him.

    Little did he know that his presence in Haven would not only shape his own destiny but change the future of Heaven itself.

    But that''s a tale for future me to tell. - author..

    ###

    A/N - For those who forgot about what singr books are read ch27 "Potions and Singr books" again, to jog your memory.

 Chapter 96 The Royal Palace

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    The group of cars approached the grand entrance of the Royal Pce, and Rio watched as the guards, donned in gleaming armor and holding spears, respectfully stepped aside, with a deep bow, they acknowledged the presence of Queen Athena and her entourage, granting them passage into the pce. The imposing main doors swung open, revealing a breathtaking view of the pce''s interior.

    As the cars navigated through the expansive gardens and quarters, Rio''s fascination grew. The clear greenery and vibrant gardens that adorned the surroundings added a touch of natural beauty to the majestic setting. The carefully manicuredwns and meticulously pruned shrubs showed the attention and care given to everything around the pce.

    Finally, the group arrived at the main pce, a colossal structure that was built so magnificently. The pce was a testament to the wealth and power of the royal family, a symbol of their authority and importance in the realm of Arcadia. It was a sign of legacy that the Royal Schott Family had built in the history of Arcadia.

    Since Rio was the one sitting near the window, when the car door got opened by some random guard, he walked out first. Feeling a little stiff from the hour-long journey, hezily stretched his arms, and with that his gaze fell on the entirety of his surroundings, which left his mouth open from what he saw.

    The pce stood as a testament to grandeur of the royal family, its architecture a stunning blend of different styles and influences. Towers soared into the sky, adorned with intricate carvings and borate balconies that offered breathtaking views of the surrounding environment and probably the whole of Haven.

    As the group stepped out of the cars, they were greeted by a contingent of guards dressed in gleaming armor. These formidable warriors stood at attention, their spears held with precision and respect. Soon they all bowed to everyone showing their standing and respect for the group of nobility.

    Artemis and Athena were too used to all the praises and bowing, so it was nothing new for them. But it did surprise Rio a bit.

    Amelia and Reba were too busy chatting to notice their surroundings. How could they talk constantly for nearly 2 hours now, Rio had no idea. He could just push it aside as another superpower of being a girl.

    Reba was going to pull Amelia towards the garden that she spoke of, where she herself nted and cared for the nts, but before they could take 2 steps away from that ce, both their mothers stopped them. Knowing how restless and energetic their daughters had been since morning, it wasn''t good to let them y around anymore. The disappointed expressions on the girls'' faces were quickly reced with understanding, as they realized instead of ying outside they can just go in and talk more for hours.

    ''Aaaand there they go.'' Rio thought as he saw Amelia just running away, while Reba guided her in the empty hallways.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Artemis and Athena too started walking inside, talking amongst themselves about God knows what, cause Rio who was just behind them couldn''t hear anything.

    They''re probably using some kind of barrier magic, seriously what a waste of magic, what big secrets will they discuss at the pce gates anyway, when they can just go in and do it without wasting their mana. - Rio thought.

    ''Is it something like how rich people back on earth didn''t care where they spent their money? I remember one guy even sent his car into space just because he could. What a waste. Could''ve given it to me instead.'' Rio''s thoughts wandered again as he remembered some little stuff from back on earth. It had be a hobby of his now, or maybe it was just natural for him topare both his lives since he did spend 30 years on earth.

    His thoughts were broken as Esme tapped his shoulder, he looked around and sighed for being left behind. He started walking faster to catch up to his aunt and mother, who were already far away, but even then his eyes kept darting around, scanning every intricate detail of the surroundings. The architecture of the pce boasted a fusion of styles, blending the elegance of elven construction with the sturdiness of dwarven craftsmanship. It was a harmonious blend of beauty and practicality, reflecting the diverse influences of the various races that inhabited Arcadia.

    Rio stepped onto the cobblestone pathway leading to the main entrance, he couldn''t help but be captivated by the sheer beauty and magnificence of the pce. The craftsmanship was impable, and every detail seemed to have been carefully considered. The walls, made of exquisite stone, were adorned with ornate patterns and delicate filigree work, showcasing the skill and artistry of the craftsmen who had brought the pce to life.

    The beauty of the pce extended beyond its architectural wonders. Cause it was not just a residence for the royal family; it was a hub of knowledge, culture, and history. borate frescoes graced the ceilings, depicting scenes of epic battles, mythical creatures, and the triumphs of the royal lineage. Even the walls of the surroundings showed the artistry of a level unlike anything he had seen before, famous sayings of past kings and their achievements in Arcadia were all carved out on them alongside their images and names. Stained ss windows cast colorful hues of light onto the marble floors, creating a scene of vibrant colors that danced across the surface.

    Rio couldn''t help but be overwhelmed by the sheer size and splendor of the pce. Every hall, every corner seemed to tell a story, whispering tales of a bygone era. Its walls bearing witness to centuries of history and the legacy of the royal family. Rio''s footsteps echoed softly as he made his way through the corridors, each step unveiling a new masterpiece of art and design. A thought that he''ll learn everything that he read in books for months, better just by looking at all these images, came to his mind but he shook it off.

    As Rio took in the breathtaking surroundings, a single word escaped his lips: "Beautiful."

    It was a moment of realization, a profound appreciation for the rich heritage and cultural significance embodied within the walls of the Royal Pce.

    ''How funny it is that this same pce will be sted to smithereens by ke family ording to the novel. I should change that event too. It''d be a loss to toss away such a grand work of art.''

    ###

    A/N - I know the pace was slow for the story, and it is probably even slower from past 10-15 chapters, but it''ll end soon. The happy little details and background time is over, and it is time to start the events of the plot - once this Reba''s birthday event is over, we will have a time skip. and After thates everyone''s favorite thing about these novels - academy arc.

    Just bear with me till then, pretty please.

 Chapter 97 The Stepping Stone

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    ##

    "Beautiful" A word escaped his lips as he took upon the sights of the pce walls and the history carved upon them.

    "It is, isn''t it." Rio heard a boy''s voice. He turned his head sideways and saw someone standing there. The boy was around 15 years of age, he was dressed in fancy white clothes, which enhanced his charm, and clearly showed his noble standing. He had long golden yellow hair that were swinging past his shoulders, and essories that shouted I''m the rich guy vibe.

    "I haven''t introduced myself. I''m Bernhardt von schott." He dered with a calm voice carrying a hint of pride. -"And you must be the heir of house ke, Rio was it."

    Rio looked at the man from head to toe, noticing the regal bearing and the aura of authority that surrounded him. Rio looked at the guards standing behind him, and unknowingly a little smile came to the corners of his lips remembering the lines depicting what happens to this guy in the novel. This guy had the funniest ending in the novel, it could be called cruel if you look at it from the other way but who cares.

    Prince Bernhardt von Schott, son of king Maximus von Schott and his second wife Baliena Crescent. A guy who willpete with Reba and her younger brother Alfred for the throne of the Schi empire in future.

    This guy is one of those characters who are just written to get face pped by others, to make them stand out. Remember the guy who starts a conflict with the protagonist and then drags everyone around him in conflict, well this is him. But why was Rioughing at him, well that was cause he was too idiot to even be called a viin or a challenge for the protagonist. He''s a total tool used by everyone around him and a stepping stone set for our dear protagonist.

    If Rio had to count how many times this guy got pped, insulted, beaten and ignored in the novel despite being a prince - it''ll probably take him more time than the system takes to count his points nowadays.

    Controlling his emotions Rio introduced himself in a proper manner too. "It is an honor to meet you, prince Bernhardt," Rio replied respectfully, inclining his head slightly. "I am Rio ke, the son of Agnus ke and Artemis Raven."

    Bernhardt''s face lit up with a proud smile, clearly pleased by Rio''s recognition and admiration. He reached out and tapped Rio''s shoulder, a gesture that held a sense of pride and thought of everyone as lesser in his mind.

    "So why''re you standing here alone? Come we''ll walk together." Bernhardt said as he pointed towards the way where Athena and Artemis left and turned around the corridors.

    "Ahh it''ll be a pleasure to have the prince apany me. Of course, if it doesn''t trouble you." Rio replied as he noticed the guards stand-in beside him, they were probably going out somewhere but stopped for him.

    "Wait here, we''ll show our guest to his rooms."

    Bernhardt looked around and dismissed his guards. He started walking and Rio followed him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is she your guard, shadow I mean?" Bernhardt asked as he turned and looked at Esme who was silently following Rio, having no expression on her face.

    "Yes, ignore her, she doesn''t speak much." Rio said clearly, cutting off Esme who was about to introduce herself. "Prince Bernhardt, I was curious about the pce. Why don''t we talk about that, I''m sure it would be much more interesting to learn."

    "I thought you''ve been here before. Last year on Alfred''s awakening celebrations if I remember." Bernhardt asked as he doubtfully looked at him.

    "I was, but we werete and the pce was already filled with other guests, so no one was free to look aroundst time with me, plus the pce is so big that I didn''t dare wander around alone." Rio said smilingly as he shook his head, acting as clueless as a kid should.

    Hearing his wordsBernhardt smiled too, "So that''s why. Well the pce is the sign of royalty, so it had to be grand. I used to feel like I would get lost when I first came here. I never went out alone without guards cause I didn''t know my way back to the room, but it grows on you. Now I know every corner of this ce." His voice carried a hint of sadness and nostalgia as he said that.

    "Come I''ll show you around as a tour, before taking you directly to your rooms." Bernhardt said and changed his direction walking further.

    "It was a good thing I met you prince, otherwise I really would have to walk alone again." Rio said as he started listening to Bernhardt exining history about the pce. Rio could see the pride look he had, while pointing his fingers on the murals that depicted pictures of the king fighting against some monsters, or when he talked about the generations of kings that hade before his father. He took pride in his lineage, and wasn''t shy to show it.

    To some it might look like he was boasting or acting like some young master who unted his family''s name, but Rio begged to differ. At this point of time, Bernhardt too was just like some other innocent kid. Yes he was a little naive maybe, but his heart wasn''t that of a person he bes when the plot starts.

    It was his luck to be born in a family of rulers, and he feels proud of his lineage because his ancestors worked hard to make and keep this legacy going for future generations. The Schott family had tons of enemies and faced many cmities, but it was still standing as rulers of Schi and one of the strongest in all of Arcadia, because every king upon the throne paid the price for it with blood, sweat and tears. If some kid of their bloodline now doesn''t feel proud about all their hard work and sacrifices, then there really is something wrong with that. Legacies are meant to teach a lesson and pride was something of a requirement to be a ruler.

    Rio remembered about the events written in the novel, and thought - ''He''s not dumb yet. Maybe he''ll turn into a mindless npc once protagonist haloes into y, or maybe once he learns about the big news that his dear father is supposedly nning to announce on Reba''s birthday.''

    Since everything happening now had already happened before the plot started, so there weren''t many details, but with the little shbacks or glimpses of the characters past written here and there, Rio could piece together an approximate idea of how everything might have yed out. And one thing was for sure, this guy is in for a surprise if stuff went ording to destiny''s ns soon.

    ''But oh well guess you''re safe this time buddy. No need to thank me for it.'' Rio thought and a smile came to his face.

    Soon after roaming around the empty hallways for a while, giving him about the general outline of what is made where and why, Bernhardt said his goodbyes and left. He was going out to meet with his friends when he stumbled upon me and decided to talk, and now he was runningte. He did promise he''ll show him around fully tomorrow if he''s free before leaving.

    [*** - obviously the prince didn''t go to every room and hallways to show him every corner of the pce, which is probably prohibited knowledge for outsiders. They just roamed the outer areas for half an hour and he just pointed his fingers and talked about normal stuff which weren''t big secrets and was known to everybody.]

    ###

    A/N- any idea what Rio''s thoughts are about this stepping stone? How will this guy get his destiny altered or what was his supposed ending that can make uugh.

 Chapter 98 Stripping A Stepping Stone

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    After Rio reached his room, and saying goodbye to Bernhardt, Esme did a quick scan of the room he was staying in and after finding everything alright, she informed him about it.

    Rio walked in and looked around. The rooms at the pce weren''t anything unique, it was pretty much the same as his own room. Rio also didn''t have much stuff ced around his room like momentos or something, there was one painting of his family and some drawings or doodles which Amelia pasted around just for fun. So the empty room of the royals didn''t feel odd to him.

    "You can take your rest for a while. Or I can get you something to eat if you''re feeling hungry." Esme asked to which he just replied "No I''m fine. I can''t eat anything for a while after what happened at the gate. My stomach''s still a little rattled up."

    "I warned you before. You should''ve been more careful." Esme said, remembering how clearly she had told him about the effects of teleportation gate before. Since he was newly awakened his body still needs time to properly fully adjust to the feeling of mana, traveling through long distance teleportation gates where you get swamped with lots of magic at once, and travel through space, of course your body won''t be able to handle it well.

    Rio remembered it too, but he ignored the lesson thinking it''ll be simr to what he went through during his awakening, when he blinked and he was on the opposite end, but sadly it wasn''t the case. "Yeah, well I thought it would feel the same as teleportation circles."

    "They''re different." Esme said and shook her head.

    "Yeah, learned it the hard way." Rio said as he stroked his stomach, though the feeling of nausea was gone now, he still felt a little uneasy remembering that experience of puking his guts out.

    "Okay, then take some rest. I''ll be near, call me if you need anything."

    "Bye Esme, take some rest too." Rio said as Esme walked out and closed the doors behind her. She''s probably staying next door or in instant range knowing her.

    Rio walked towards the window and looked outside, he took a deep breath as the serene environment carried a tinge of flowery smell everywhere.

    [Host]

    Hearing system speaking, he got back from the window and sat on his bed. "Yes system."

    [What are you doing?]

    "About what?"

    [Bernhardt, you were being too respectful and friendly with him. That is not supposed to happen.]

    "What does it matter what was supposed to happen? Since I already nned to change my engagement event, then Bernhardt and I wouldn''t be enemies. He''d have no reason to hate me."

    Rio said as he remembered the plotline of that guy, in the story ever since he was little, Bernhardt always wanted two things: Reba and the crown. He didn''t have anyone else that he knew in the royal pce except his mother, so whenever he saw Alfred ying around with Reba, Bernhardt felt jealous, so he wanted her for himself. It was just a petty attention seeking thing in childhood, which turns into some twisted love and then into lust once the plot starts & this guy loses all his brain cells. Second thing he wanted was to rule this kingdom, he wanted to be the heir, to be the crown prince, but sadly for him, to keep the support of the Raven family and ke family, the king made Alfred the crown prince. Igniting a little bit of hatred into this guy''s heart.

    This birthday celebration is probably the first time when his ambitions will take a hit, because then not only will the king announce Reba''s engagement with Rio, which breaks his first wish. He also learns that he will never even have a chance topete against Alfred for the position of crown prince, due to all the support Alfred has and he doesn''t.

    His mother Beliana, didn''t belong to any major power, and what happened between the king and her was just a fling in their youthful days, which hit the mark and she got pregnant. Beliana knew she had no right to ever say the truth or ask anything from the king, so she left the Schi empire and ran away, but due to some strings destiny pulled, the king learned about this bastard son of his and brought him into the royal pce.

    Obviously king Maximus wasn''t generous and held any love for this son or the woman he fucked once, what he was interested in -was the power this son awakened. Bernhardt had the element of lightning just like him, and this looked like a good investment n to Maximus.

    Beliana, ever protective of her son, teaches him everything and tells him to leave his greed for the crown''s position as both mother and son had no sway within the pce. They had no backing, no support, and no power to speak of -if even after knowing that, they kept fighting for crown prince''s position, the only thing they would get was death.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Even if queen Athena gets generous and lets thempete, the Raven family behind her or that sister of hers in ke family would never allow for Athena to lose -and everybody knew that. That''s why no one ever even thought of supporting Bernhardt.

    But how can these canon fodder go against the ns of destiny, Bernhardt never learned this lesson. After this event his jealousy towards Alfred turns into hatred, as Alfred got everything he wanted without doing anything. He had the power, support of family, Reba everything- whatever Bernhardtcked Alfred got for free.

    So grew the ssic tale of hatred between brothers vying for the throne.

    Since Rio was engaged to this siscons dream girl, over time this guy started hating Rio too. Obviously with Rio''s spreading infamy due to a certain kid''s prophecy, hid Bernhardt''s real hatred when he kept picking fights with Rio in the academy. Since ke family already had its hands full dealing with the aftermath of other stuff, Rio let this idiot be, so as not to give Maximus an excuse to turn against ke family.

    This walkingplex of inferiority, also picked fights with the protagonist, which ended up pushing Reba into his camp. And spelled his doom.

    �C But now stuff was different, since Rio already nned to change the events of engagement, there was no need for him to pick a fight with some Royal or to antagonize the king.

    This was another experiment for Rio -he already learned that he can turn enemies into allies due to Esme. He learned that he can steal stuff cause of Asher. Now it was an experiment to see -Can he alter the entire setting of a character before the plot starts. Can he turn this stepping stone into something useful?

    [What''re you thinking?]

    "Nothing, Isn''t it nice that I actually got a friend my age. I''m trying to be friendly with my enemies instead of killing them, that''s character development right there."

    [First of all he is not your age. And second, your character development is just you messing around the plot. Changing his destiny could lead to some pretty big changes in the future. His role is to be a stepping stone and your actions might alter that routepletely.]

    "No it won''t. Maximus never announced his sessor in the novel until the end, remember. This guy loves his throne too much, just like his chosen God. He''ll never leave it until he lives.

    This race ofpetition between kids to see who''s worthy, it''s just his backup n of necessity. Hell if it wasn''t a requirement, I bet Maximus will kill his kids himself, fearing they''ll take his throne from him after growing up, he''s that insecure about being a king."

    [So Bernhardt and Alfred, they''re both tools for Maximus. What''s wrong with picking Alfred as your friend then. He''s strong, smart and he''ll be protected by destiny too. In the novel he wins, so why not choose him instead of some washed up viin.]

    "What''s the rush? Don''t you want to know what happens when we give this guy what he always wanted? In the novel he alwaysined about the unfairness he suffered, so I will give him a fair chance topete against Alfred, let''s see which brother wins. It''ll be much more fun."

    [My money''s on Alfred.]

    [No ignore that. It still isn''t enough about why you picked Bernhardt instead of Alfred, is it?]

    "No it''s not. By picking Bernhardt, I can see the changes my actions bring in the plot. It can help me understand the cause and effects of my actions better until the plot starts. As you said they don''t have much protection of fate now since the plot hasn''t begun, so this guy will teach me the limits I can y around without getting repercussions from the heavens. But if I pick Alfred now, it won''t change anything, and even if it did I''ll have to wait until the plot starts to see how much effect it has on the plot."

    [Let me get this straight, in simple terms if you push Alfred forward you''ll have to wait until plot starts to know how much further he went from his supposed role, but by changing the destiny of Bernhardt you''ll be able to see the results of your actions much clearer and sooner. Giving you enough time to prepare other routes.]

    "Now you get it."

    [It is a bold move. But you''re right, it''s better to learn as much as you can about the causality before the plot begins.]

    "Yupp. Now ignore this and show me my status. Been a while since I checked it."

    ###

    A/N - Yes, I know what you''re thinking. This Bernhardt guy goes the stepsister route. Why is Rio okay with that, -cause the fuck it matters to him, who likes whom. Plus as MC said, it is all just knowledge from the novel, who knows by changing Bernhardt now, he never turns into a perverted young master viin type guyter. Stripping away a stepping stone from under the protagonist''s steps. Wouldn''t that be fun? ????

 Chapter 99 How Much Have I Grown?

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    ##

    "Yupp. Now ignore this and show me my status. Been a while since I checked it."

    Status

    Name - Rio ke / Shiva Kumar

    Age - 10 / 30

    World - Arcadia/???

    Title - ???

    Rank - Mortal F- rank

    Element - Darkness (Amateur)

    Stats??-

    ?Q?u?e?s?t?s -

    ?S?h?o?p - ?? 3 > 2

    ?I?n?v?e?n?t?o?r?y - 1

    "System, show everything in a way so that I can see the difference about how much I''ve grown." Rio requested as he watched the stats, but since he already forgot what they were 3 weeks ago, he couldn''t be sure what changed and what he should focus more on.

    Rio said and ignored the useless details and focused more on stuff which actually changed over time.

    [Loading�� .

    ��--- Stats??

    Strength: 5 > 8

    Agility: 4 > 7

    Endurance: 5 > 9

    Intelligence: 16 > 16

    Mana: 9 > 11

    Perception: 3 > 6

    Resilience: 8 > 11

    ��--- Spells??-

    Fog of darkness

    Shadow de

    ��--- Techniques??-

    Foundation art ***** (Beginner)

    ��--- Blessing?? 1 > 2

    Dark maniption (Level 1 - 13%)

    Strings of mana (Level 1 - 6%)

    Looking at his stats which have increased a little due to all the training that he had to do, a smile came to his face.

    ''Now I know why those MC''s written in novels suddenly be training maniacs once they reincarnate. It really does feel nice to see how much I''ve grown stronger on a screen.''

    ''Is this why those gym junkies take photos standing in front of a mirror.'' Rio thought but ignored the useless stuff the next second.

    His intelligence didn''t increase which was expected, as he didn''t reallye across something which was hard for him to learn yet or something that he already didn''t know. Rest everything was increasing at its own pace. ording to this pace every stat attribute would soon cross the limit of 10 and he could rank up to proper F rank.

    One rank up in a month or two, that doesn''t sound so bad. Well it is to be expected, and my speed will only increase once my body is fully ustomed to everything.

    Ranking up from F rank to E rank was much harder than ranking up from E to D. This was cause F ranker''s had just awakened and they need to spent much time so they can build a good foundation and their bodies properly adapt to the new changes mana brought. But E rankers don''t need to waste time on this useless bullshit as their bodies are already used to this process, and they can directly focus on ranking up.

    *** (Author exined the ranking up of anyone in his novel is somewhat simr to building a house. Where making a base was hard(awakening and low ranks), then continuing the work was easy(mid ranks), but as you reach higher it bes hard again(high ranks) and ceilings were the toughest part(limiters).

    **Obviously it only works on newbies cause as the rank goes higher and higher, the time and effort needed to gain even a single point is hard.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rio had started learning some basic spells of his darkness element and shadow element with Myra, and practicing foundation sword art with Esme, both were slowly progressing. Due to his training with Artemis and constant use of mana and his element, the mastery of both his blessings have been increasing a little too. With Nyx''s blessing he could now control his element a little better. While Skuld''s strings of mana had given him better control over mana as a whole. But damn mastering it was hard. After trying for 3 weeks daily, all he could learn was 6% . And this was only the first level. Thinking thus far he looked at the details of this blessing again

    ��---Strings of mana

    Type - Active(blessing)

    Description - Strings of Mana is a fundamental skill that grants the user the ability to perceive mana as intricate threads or strings. With this skill, the user gains a basic understanding of mana and its flow. Over time one can convert their own mana into ethereal strings. Mana consumption depends on the proficiency, and proficiency depends on the hard work and effort you put in.

    At Level 1, this blessing provides a basic spell that allows the user to create mana strings and manipte them to a limited extent, granting them a form of telekic control over the strings.

    �C The control and strength of strings depends on the mana invested in it. Once fully mastered others will not be able to perceive or interact with the strings unless they possess simr mana perception abilities.

    �C This skill is the basic version of Skuld''s skill threads of destiny. Depending on the proficiency of the user one can unlock other abilities over time.

    �C Can be merged and progressed further with a simr blessing of fate.

    ��-------------

    After looking at his status and blessings, Rio''s focus came on thest thing this system had

    System points - 14550 > 41750

    [Deducting points for using protection methods

    41750 - 10000 = 31750 remaining]

    Rio had high hopes for these, as he pretty much did many things, but due to all the trainings and other stuff, he would be too tired to look at these numbers clearly and argue with the system. But looking at the numbers now it was too much for him to be calm.

    "System,e out right now. What happened to my points? Why''re they so low and why are you even deducting points for doing your job?"

    [Host, need I remind you, that plot hasn''t started yet. Every service I give is my choice and not a requirement. Without that protection function you''d be a chick on a chopping board, I even warned you it will cost you. And you agreed to it, so don''t back out on your words now and me me.]

    [As for your points, it''s quite simple. I''ll give you the summary for your actions in the past weeks so you can see for yourself -

    1000 points for stealing the chances made for other people

    10000 points for altering the fate of Artemis Raven

    5000 points for altering the fate of Kevin ke

    5000 points for getting Skuld''s blessing

    2500 points for altering the fate of ???

    2700 points for getting the attention of several Gods.

    500 points for altering the fate of Aina Narcius

    500 points for changing the fate of goddess Psyche

    There, this is all you did and what you got, now you understand.]

    "Well these points are still less than what I expected. But I guess I can milk out much more in this event. Reba and Bernhardt, these 2 will practically be enough for me to get a lot of points."

    Rio said as he skimmed through the notifications, he noticed that he had nearly gotten 25000 points just for the lies that he told to Artemis.

    ''Those lies had changed the plot a lot I guess.''

    Rio thought, but stopped as he read the final notification, it was confusing. He didn''t do anything that could get him so many points of Psyche. Unless.

    "System, Psyche didn''t see anything right. You said that. Then why am I getting points for her?"

    [I don''t know? As I said, no one can look past the veil of secrecy I created, so maybe it''s just cause she found something interesting in you. Might be your luck helping you out, cause in the novel she didn''t even look at you.]

    "Well that''s good then. As long as she doesn''t bring trouble it''s fine. Her plotline is nothing special to notice anyways."

    "Hey system, we haven''t received any notification of Cassandra right? When was thest we heard from her?" Rio said as he remembered about the pitiful goddess who was supposed to give her blessing to Noah and rise in fame, but now her chances were ruined too.

    [She was watching when you were lying about Fate''s blessing, after that she hasn''t been looking.]

    "Do you think she can guess that I killed her chosen Noah because I saw something in my fate."

    [Hard to say. But even if she does notice it, she can''t do anything now or prove anything. She''s still cursed, so maybe she''s ming that for her failed visions.] Rio nodded his head hearing that, as the system continued [Despite even if she knows why you killed Noah, she didn''t care about him enough at this point in time, to go against Skuld or Nyx or your family. So ignore her for now.]

    Rio thought and let her be. There were nearly 8 years till plot starts, and 3 years more until the Gods get serious, so a total of 11 years of time. "You''re right. I''ll get her once the plot starts anyway. After all, just like Skuld, there is something she wants too. I just have to promise to give her that and she''ll be in the viin camp too."

    ''Wonder what tricks the heavens will pull once that happens. Will it give protagonist another seer or will a new goddess with those powers pop up.''

    [There you go again]

    ####

    A/N - if you have any thoughts/ any idea or any suggestion about this story - write it inments. I''m always reading those.

 Chapter 100 Start Of The Engagement Talks

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    During their first day of living in the pce, Rio and everyone else just stayed inside, chatting and roaming around. Rio hadn''t seen Artemis ever since he came here, ording to Myra who was now following Amelia, Artemis and Athena were just talking to each other.

    Rio had also met Alfred, Reba''s brother, the supposed future king of Schi and a subordinate of the protagonist ording to the ns of destiny. But that was all for the future and who knows what will happen now with his continuous interference in the plot.

    Alfred was 12 years old, ording to Rio''s memories thest time he saw him wasst year during his awakening celebrations. Alfred had awakened the element of wind, same as in the novel.

    The 4 of them yed around, until it waste evening and they had to stop.

    Overall Rio''s first day at Royal Pce was peaceful and good, but as they say all good thingse to an end. And looking at the man sitting at the grand chair of the dinner table, Rio could guess this dinner was going to be an awkward one.

    King Maximus, dressed in red and ck robe, adorned with intricate designs and jewels that showed hismanding position. The white cape that draped over his shoulders touched the ground when he sat down, and some sparks of lightning charred that ce, the aura of a king, a superior being was practically oozing out of his body, while everyone around him could not help but feel the pressure of his presence.

    It was the first time Rio had seen the king after he came to Arcadia and looking at him, he was starstruck. It didn''t matter what his character was supposed to be in the novel , Or how him being here meant that the conversation would take a turn that he wanted to avoid for now, but just looking at the majestic presence of the king thwarted all his thoughts.

    ''Gotta say dude looks he cool in that getup. That spark thingy everytime he waves his cape is just badass. Man got style.'' Rio thought admiring the effort this guy must''ve put in his appearance.

    Unlike Rio, everyone else at the table either expected King''s arrival or didn''t care enough to stare at it so much. Amelia and Reba were sitting side by side talking in whispers to each other. Ba didn''t dare shout at the table, while her father was near. Alfred and Rio were sitting on one side, while Athena and Artemis were sitting beside them.

    After everyone settled down the maids came and one by one started prepping up the tes and serving the food. Rio''s eyes still kept looking at the king, thinking about what style he''d copy and keep when he grew up. After all, ording to his thoughts, one day in the future the throne of Schi will belong to the ke family. Why not prepare for it from now?

    But he was startled as he met the gaze of Maximus''s deep blue eyes looking at him from the opposite side, ''Did this guy sensed I was after his throne?''

    [Not until now, but he will if you keep looking at him like that.]

    Hearing system''s response to a rhetorical question that no one needed an answer for, Rio stopped his thoughts and decided to not look at him for now.

    During the ongoing dinner, soon small talks started between everyone, after some greetings and normal chats, the environment had be peaceful again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Artemis, I must say, I''m d you could join us here." King said as he gazed around at the dinner table. It had be a habit of his to see many chairs empty around them, but looking at it now, it was refreshing.

    "Of course, I can''t keepingte every time right?" Artemis smiled and replied referring to how during Alfred''s celebrationsst year, ke family appeared almost when all the guests had appeared.

    "That wasn''t your fault sister." Athena said, as she heard Artemis still mentioning that. She had no problem using that excuse to call Artemis here early this time, but in front of her husband she should speak the truth.

    "That''s not what you said when you called me yesterday, Athena." Artemis asked, looking at her with a smiling gaze, while Athena could just silently cough, her yful nature was just a thing of a past, in front of her husband she''s the smart wise woman. But this sister of hers never learns. Athena even wanted to ask -she''s the queen here where''s her fucking respect? But knowing if she did that, she''ll receive an earful of taunts so she kept silent, hoping Maximus won''t focus on it.

    Sadly or dly, King Maximus however had no interest in their useless talks. He had something else in mind. He took a sip of wine and cleared his throat, signaling his intent to steer the conversation in a particr direction.

    "Our two families have been long acquainted Artemis. We''ve always supported each other throughout the years and I n to strengthen our ties further. That''s the only way to secure the future of our children and the prosperity of our people."

    Hearing his words, Athena nced at her sister, hoping to listen to what she''ll say. Artemis, who had been anticipating this topic, skillfully deflected it with a smile. "Your majesty, you''re forgetting that we are already connected through family ties. Athena is my sister, we share the same blood. Our unity and support for each other are evident."

    King Maximus, undeterred, pressed on. He had talked about this topic with Agnus before but that guy always spoke the same line -"The decision of my son''s future is in my wife''s hand friend." Maximus respected Agnus and had known the guy for years but this irritated him. He, the king of this kingdom, the most powerful person of this ce, was asking his son''s hand for a marriage, and instead of being d, these idiots keep changing the topics.

    If not for the news regarding Rio''s blessing and the constant reminders from his chosen God, forcing him to act now, he wouldn''t even mention this topic ever again due to his self respect. He could find hundreds of better people for her daughter, but everytime he thought that, there was this feeling in his gut screaming at him, that something was wrong, he was wrong. The same was the case for his God, who''s been oddly interested in watching this kid nowadays.

    All these things only made him think that this marriage was something necessary not only for him, but for everyone. The profits of having Raven and ke family tied to his own - who in the world could stand against him then. That''s why he was impatient.

    "True, but a marriage between our children would solidify our bond further and ensure the prosperity of our kingdoms for generations toe. Rio and Reba are both young and talented, and would make a remarkable match." He announced, finally stopping himself from roundabout talking and saying it clean and clear.

    Athena and Artemis were caught off guard by his direct statement, especially now since the kids were still present with them. Rio, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, found himself choking on his food. He started coughing, and drank a ss of water in a hurry, hoping to calm down. His eyes darted around the table, andnding on Reba, who had her head hung down, her expression hidden from the view, Amelia sitting near her, had her mouth wide open in shock, her best friend and her brother were getting married, why didn''t anybody inform her about it.

    ###

    A/N - What do you think is going to happen next? I''m bad at describing characters appearance I know, maybe that''s why I didn''t write any smut in the 100 chapters yet.

    Ohh yeah

    This is the 100th chapter of this novel - feels nice.100 chapterplete - 900 more to go, hehehehe just kidding, I don''t know how long this story will be.Now don''t be a party pooper and throw me some gifts and congrattions.

 Chapter 101 Engagement Talks Ll

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    ##

    "Rio and Reba are both young and talented, and would make a remarkable match." Hearing the words of the king everyone in the room had a surprised expression on their faces.

    "Your majesty, I don''t think it is the right ce to talk about these things." Artemis said politely looking around the table. It was one thing when she teased Rio about this when they were alone, but the topic was not something that kids should take part in.

    "Yes, your majesty I think we should��" Athena wanted to calm the situation that she feared would arise if she didn''t stop them. She knew better than everyone else about her husband''s nature and she knew about her sister''s stubborn habits too. If she didn''t want to do something, then there was no one who could make her change her mind.

    There had already been qualms between these two and she really didn''t want to have a repeat of what happened years ago. But sadly for her, it seems fate had other ns for her, as her husband cut her off before she could finish her words.

    "Why? We are talking about their future after all. It is only right for them to have a say in it." Maximus dered, as he put down the ss of wine and looked at everyone.

    "They''re still young kids, your majesty. There is no need to worry them about these topics for now. Plus as their parents it is our duty to make the sound decisions until they can do it for themselves." Artemis said as she nced at Rio, she really had her doubts about this engagement these days.

    Ever since Rio had told her about his blessing, she has made a habit of picking up on his every action thinking it is done to avoid something or change something he saw in the future, which in most cases is true.

    She could see how for a while now he had no interest in talking to Reba and had been the one to avoid her if possible.

    Well, it won''t be obvious to anyone as he had been trying to mask his lies and behavior, as it was before, but how can she not notice it? Just that indifferent expression whenever they were talking or ying together was enough to tell her everything, that wasn''t the emotions one shows when meeting the one they''ve known all their life and been friends with.

    "Yes, but nobility doesn''t have that privilege. Rtionships between nobles have always been built upon the profits and favors. We''ve all been through them. And it''s not something new." Maximus said as he stated the truth.

    "You are right. But the fact remains the same. They''re only 10 years old. They don''t even know the meaning of life, let alone know the importance of choosing a life partner."

    "You are right. I''m just proposing an idea of the alliance. Our families have known each other for generations, and our kids have grown up together. They aren''t strangers and they care about each other. Ba even agreed about the engagement, what more could you need to be sure of."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hearing King''s words Artemis had no way to refute them. But she was in no mood to agree to anything. Maybe before she would''ve, but now she, herself could see that binding them so early in the bonds of rtionships wasn''t right.

    "Your majesty, what _ " She was going to say that they can talk about these matters when they grow up a little, but king Maximus knowing her intentions cut her off saying something that surprised everyone.

    "Or do you n to force your decisions on your son now?"

    His words were just finished as Artemis clenched her fist and the sound of a broken spoon brought everyone''s focus on her.

    "Sister, he didn''t mean _" Athena tried to salvage the situation, only to fail again ,as she couldn''t form more words when Artemis met her gaze.

    "I think I''ve had enough." Artemis said, as she wiped her hand and stood up. "We will talk about this tomorrow." She said as she started leaving the hall. The cold expression on her face spoke volumes of how she felt at this moment, and she really felt that if she didn''t stop herself, something bad would happen.

    There was a hushed silence in the room which was now filled with tension. Maximus kept looking at Artemis as she turned around and left, Athena could only sigh that the situation didn''t turned out like this. While both girls had no idea what even happened, one moment they were happily having dinner and now everything was like this.

    But that wasn''t the case for Rio, though he didn''t know much but with the knowledge from the plot, he could guess what the king was hinting about, and that didn''t sit well with him. The wounds of the past which were healed and scarred should be left alone, not scratched. He knew that better than anyone else.

    His eyes kept looking at the king, hoping to see what led the man to act like that, by no means he was a fool who couldn''t think of the consequences of his words, but he still did it for some reason.

    The king turned to look at him and both their gazes locked, as they both just kept looking at each other, trying to see what the other one was thinking.

    "Well, so what are your thoughts about my proposal, young heir of the ke''s?" Maximus spoke, finally breaking the silence that enveloped the dinner table.

    "I think the things of the past should be left in the past. Especially when you''re talking about the peaceful future." Rio said as he wiped his mouth and stood up. "I''ll take my leave now. Have a good night, your majesty."

    Watching him leave the table too, Amelia wanted to stand up and follow him too, but Athena stopped her. "Finish your te first Amy." She said and Amelia could just silently nod her head. She was really confused about whatever was happening on the table, first there was that topic about her brother and Reba''s engagement, and then suddenly her mama got angry and left. And after that her brother left her here alone too. So she could just silently finish her meal and hope to leave fast.

    ##

    A/N - what are your thoughts - what happened in the past that was hinted there.? What will Rio do next? What''s up with the king?

 Chapter 102 Whats The Rush?

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    "The wounds of the past should be left in the past." The king muttered his words under his breath, as he stood at the balcony, looking at the night sky and the peaceful city he ruled.

    ''Guess he knows about that incident huhh.'' Maximus thought, but that made him even more curious about the boy, cause he for a fact knew no one in ke household would''ve told him about it or even mentioned it.

    "What were you thinking Max?" Athena asked, as she came to stand alongside her husband. "I thought we talked about it before, and I was supposed to handle the matters regarding the kids'' engagement." She stated, due to how busy her husband usually is, and how she''s close to Artemis, they had decided she would be the one to talk about these matters with ke family but her husband just ruined the whole dinner with his impatience.

    She had juste here after talking with her sister, and though Artemis didn''t say anything, she could guess what her response would be now.

    "You''ve been talking about it for months, and it hasn''t led to anything. Instead of ying around with the topic, I just asked her clearly." King replied without looking at her.

    "Yes, but what''s the rush? As sister said, they''re both kids now. There''s no need for us to bind them together so early. Artemis and Agnus already like our Ba, and once Rio grows up a little and learns to get along with her, he won''t refuse about it too."

    The king heard her words as he narrowed his eyes "Did that brat refuse to marry my daughter?"

    Athena sighed at his words, he just listened to what he wanted to listen and ignored everything else that she said. "They''re just kids Max. And knowing my sister and how much she dotes on them, she wouldn''t have them do something that they don''t want to do."

    King Maximus scoffed at her words, "You used your skill on him today right. Tell me, what do you think about the boy? "

    "How do you _ " Athena wanted to ask how he knew about that, when there was no one present at the scene, but then she sighed as she figured out the culprit. She really wanted to beat up this God of his, who has been ruining her husband. But she couldn''t. So she just shook her head and replied "There''s nothing unusual. He has Nyx''s blessing. So I didn''t try to look past the barrier, cause there''s a high chance it will irritate her."

    Athena lied with a straight face, of course her expressions were the same as always, so no one can tell her lies apart. It wasn''t because of any specific reason, but because she herself wasn''t sure why her powers didn''t work on him. And if her husband knew there was someone on whom she couldn''t get a read on, who knows how he''ll react.

    Plus it wasn''t fully a lie, as every higher God gave some kind of protection to their followers so they couldn''t be just hypnotized or turned into a puppet of someone else. It was like showing their superiority or status through their believers.

    King Maximus nodded his head hearing her words. Psyche''s powers might be stronger and more useful than some other Gods, but there was no way it could look past something Nyx gave protection to. After all, at the core Psyche was a mortal, while Nyx a primordial. Even the level difference between them couldn''t be more clear. This is also what Athena herself believed as the reason behind her skill''s failure. She couldn''t confirm her guesses as Psyche has been silent ever since then. And thest thing she said before turning mute was "Do not force the kid for anything. Or we''ll both pay the price."

    Though a little confused about the warning, Athena followed her words nheless.

    Unlike other Gods Psyche wasn''t just ying around with mortals, she respected them cause she herself was one. She knew better than anyone else what it''s like to be a toy at the mercy of gods, to be powerless in front of grand powers -so she always cared about her followers. And Athena being her avatar was obviously her favorite one.

    Or maybe it was due to the fact that Athena had mastered the power of soul eyes, and if she died Psyche would lose one of her main abilities too.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Did Nyx do something to her.'' Athena thought as she once again tried to contact Psyche but got no reply. Unlike Rio who knew the plot, obviously not many people knew how the Gods worked at this time. So Athena could just me Nyx for Psyche''s disappearance.

    "He knew about the incident from years ago. What do you think about that?"

    "I don''t know, maybe someone told him or maybe he doesn''t know anything. We can''t be sure as his words weren''t clear enough. He might''ve just taken a guess seeing sister''s behavior was unpleasant and said so." Athena said, and the king nodded his head. There really was no reason why he would have the knowledge about that.

    "Why did you even talk about that? Did you think that would help in getting a reply from her." Athena asked, clearly not understanding why he did that knowingly how mad her sister will be after hearing that.

    "I wasn''t thinking about that. I was just hoping she''d give us a proper response. Instead of just dragging us around."

    "They''re both kids Max. There''s no need to rush these things, and it isn''t exactly a small matter where you just inform them and they can make a decision." Athena said trying to ease up her husband''s frustrations "Ba hasn''t even gone through her awakening yet. Then there''s gonna be academy years and then much more. They both can grow together and make their own choices too. Maybe that''s what both my sister and brother Agnus are worried about."

    Maximus shook his head and said -"I know what you''re saying, but Reba already agreed to this, she showed understanding of how nobility works better then your sister."

    "And I''m not telling them that they have to marrry each other just now. It''ll be just an engagement or an announcement so it can put everyone''s mind at ease."

    "I''m in a hurry because the rtionship between our families has been good and that''s what''s held this empire together. Now that the news of Rio''s awakening spreads everywhere, how many people do you think would want to propose their daughters or princesses or holy saintess'' to him." Maximus finished his words clearly exining why he was in a hurry to tie the knots.

    "Max, people will always try to do what''s best for them. And I know my sister, even if the marriage between our kids doesn''t happen, the rtionship between our 3 families are already tied. There''s no need to doubt that." Athena said as she held his hands, she could guess the burden and expectations a king have to bear from their whole kingdom, to give them a peaceful life in this chaotic world, and Maximus had really managed to do just that. But even he had made some mistakes and is afraid to repeat them. "Just give them time. We''ve always supported each other and always would, a forced marriage isn''t a solution."

    "This could all be only till this generation Athena. What about the next, or the one after that. You''re thinking about now, but as the king and sessor of this empire I need to think about the future. You have no idea the chaos that''lle in theing years, and the more prepared we are for that, the better safe we''ll be." Maximus said and turned around to leave.

    Athena kept standing there, looking at the shining moon high in the sky, "Chaos huhh. How much more twisted can this world even get."

    -

    (Author - ohh you have no idea my dear Athena. Plot hasn''t even begun yet.

    Rio - you know this is my story right, get out now.

    Author - wait aren''t we same.

    ??just kidding)

    ##

    A/N - When do you think Ba''s awakening will happen? What do you think king meant by chaos ising, does he know something? What happened to Psyche?

 Chapter 103 Can I Steal Royal Gifts Too?

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    ##

    After the awkward dinner and having slept soundly in the pce, with the dawn of day came a new beginning.

    Rio, sound asleep in his room, stirred slightly as he felt light hit his face, grumbling in his slumber, he instinctively pulled the nket over his head and turned around. However, his peace was short-lived as someone shook his shoulders, gently but persistently, rousing him from his dreams.

    "Wake up, master. It''s already superte," a familiar voice urged him. Rio groaned and buried his face deeper into the pillow, covered his ears from his hands, while mumbling a half-hearted response. "You can go ahead. I''ll be right behind you."

    Esme, his ever so diligent and rule follower shadow shook her head in disapproval. "Master, that''s what you said half an hour ago. It''s time to wake up."

    "Just 5 more minutes." Rio said, yawning and trying to sleep again.

    Esme knowing her simple efforts were wasted, "Wake up or I _ I " she wanted to threaten him somehow but didn''t know how. Suddenly she remembered something and a yful smile came to her face, she waved her hand slightly as the door of the room slowly created and got pushed open. "Ohh Myra, did youe to wake him up too?"

    Rio who heard the doors opening and Esme''s words remembered how Myra is used to waking him up. Memories of being kicked off the bed or having his bed overturned flooded his mind, jolting him awake.

    "I''m up! Who said I was sleeping?" Rio proimed, his voice filled with feigned alertness. Esme couldn''t help but burst into heartyughter, watching her master''sical reaction. Rio, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, looked around, his eyes narrowing as he realized Myra was nowhere to be found. He directed an using re at Esme, who simply smiled back at him, unfazed by his indignation.

    With a wave of her hand, she effortlessly stored the nket away in her storage ring, leaving Rio feeling both saddened and slightly irritated.

    "Now don''t look at me like that. Go freshen up, I''ll call Aina to prepare everything." Esme said as she turned around and left.

    Just as soon as her figure vanished from his sight, Rio''s sad look turned into a yful grin, as he brought out a new plush nket from his own personal storage ring and covered himself, intending to snuggle himself back into his restful sleep.

    But his happiness was short lived, as with a swoosh sound the nket got pulled away from him, just like in those horror movies and disappeared in thin air.

    Esme''s voice rang out, her words filled with amusement and yful scolding. "Wake up already! We are guests here. When did you be sozy?"

    Rio''s smile faded, and he could only concede defeat. With a sigh, and a yawn that escaped his mouth together, he stood up, stretching his arms, preparing himself for a new day in his new life.

    After having breakfast with everyone, which surprisingly got spent in silence, Rio met with Bernhardt again. The guy and his mother were given a separate space in the pce away from the Queen''s side of the corner. Bernhardt, this time gave him a proper tour of the pce, and they both just talked and roamed the hallways, where Bernhardt being the guide exined everything.

    "Where are the statues of previous kings or the ce where their lives are recorded? Can we go there? I looked about them but there weren''t many biographies or records of them in Damascus." Rio asked, trying to see if he can grab the future opportunity of the fabled prince before him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Since I''m already here, I might as well take a look at all the heavenly gifts. That guy is the protagonist''s side buddy, so he can just survive on his luck alone. He doesn''t need it.'' Rio thought, justifying his stealing habit in his mind, clearly ignoring that just days ago he had one of the protagonist''s friends killed by someone else''s hands and no luck saved him. System in his head could only sigh at this.

    It wanted to speak, but sadly it couldn''t. It was muted now after all. Its host had asked the system to wake him up in the morning, but when it tried to ring out the rms, feeling annoyed Rio muted it. And he simply forgot to unmute it after waking up.

    -

    ''Sigh even being a system nowadays is hard. All these low people read too many system stories in novels and now they just don''t respect em at all. All its previous hosts were like this too, always demanding and questioning it. There was a time when systems used to be futuristic advanced knowledge and not general knowledge. Time''s have changed''

    (Author -Oyee system, shut your monologue. Nobody even cares about you. Don''t talk or think between chapters unless spoken too first. I swear if someone dropped my novel due to talking system reasons, I''ll trap you in the realms of red eyes.)

    Getting no respect from the author and readers too, system could only sigh and shut up.

    -

    Bernhardt who heard Rio''s request didn''t think much of it, he thought he was just curious and asked to see them. "Well, the statues of them are made in the Royal garden surrounding the pce, so you can see them. As for their biographies, maybe you can find something in the Royal library, I''ll see if I can get you a book."

    Riosmiled hearing his words "ohh thanks prince. It''ll be helpful. After all, the past rulers of Schi were all amazing kings in their time. Their stories should help us learn a lot of things."

    Bernhardt, who heard his words, had a look of realization and started smiling. After all this time talking with him, Rio could guess what stage Bernhardt was at this point. Bernhardt nowadays just wants to earn merits and gain respect and approval from the king and everyone around him. The idea of getting the throne might be notpletely nted in his head yet, since Rio saw him talking happily with Alfred when they came across him. But Bernhardt still tries to outshine him, and now Rio might''ve given him a hint just for that.

    ''Hook, line and sinker.'' Rio smirked as he looked over his shoulders and saw his new friend lost in thoughts and smiling to himself.

    Obviously the Royal gifts weren''t something that he can just go and grab himself. This chance in particr needed the blood of their lineage to get it, so if Rio couldn''t take it for himself, should he ignore it and let it be. Why, cause both Alfred and Bernhardt were his enemies in the novel, should he hate them both - no. Nothing was fixed yet, cause nothing happened yet.

    And Rio just wanted to test only that, Bernhardt fills the requirements to get that reward, so can he grab it before Alfred. It would change the fate of both these princes a little, giving him points and proving that he could meddle in others'' destined opportunities after figuring out a loophole or not?

    Plus the fact that Rio was a righteous sincere guy, who just thought he should pay his tour guide. Earth''s habits maybe.Hmmm

    ###

    A/N - and so begins the new month irl. I''ll try to post more chapters this month, along with more priv tiers and some other bonus chapters.

    Birthday party will start & so will be the first meeting between hero, viin and heroine.

    ��--- Quick question, what happens if suddenly protagonist halo tries to push Amelia into the hero''s camp.

 Chapter 104 Beliana Crescent & The Unknown

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    ###

    While Rio and Bernhardt were busy roaming around the pce, Amelia was trying out all the delicacies of Royal chefs in Reba''s room. Since the breakfast was dull and everyone left their own way after it, Reba decided to throw in a sweet treat for her best friend who''s been the most ufortable around the table. Amelia simply didn''t have the habit of being silent during eating, since her whole family ate together and chatted happily everyday, the silence felt off to her. Plus the fact that neither Rio or her mother said anything to her sincest night, made it even more weird.

    Bernhardt, who had decided to read out all the stories and books on biographies of past kings in the Royal library, tried to finish this tour and leave. He also promised to bring books that he enjoyed to him as well.

    On their tour around the pce Rio also came across Bernhardt''s mother, Beliana. From the memories of original Rio, he remembered that they''ve both met each other before, so there was no need for him to introduce himself or to act noble.

    Beliana was a smart woman in the novel story, a loving mother, and a caring concubine to the king. Despite everything the king does, and how even after years of hard work and not getting any reward for them, she still never did anything bad to anyone. She kept supporting the king and Royal Family with whatever she could. But that all changed after Bernhardt''s bad ending, when she finally gave up the hopes on everyone and left everything behind. Last she appeared was when she left the Schi empire. She didn''t appear in the novel ever again, some readers discussed among themselves that she went back to her maternal family or that she killed herself, but the author never rified anything, so there was no certain news regarding her until the end. When Alfred seeded the throne after King''s death, there were mentions of her name but he couldn''t remember them clearly now, since it''s been so long and just like everybody else, he too ignored them thinking nothing of them.

    But that unknown was eating his brain now, since this was a real world and not some story where people would forget a character if no one saw them in 100 chapters, Rio was contemting if it was really something useless or was it something else.

    He had been thinking about the plot a lot these days, and despite the author saying that the story wasplete, the more he thought about it, the more plot holes he came across. Obviously the biggest reason behind it was that the author never wrote the main fight between the boss viin of this story and the protagonist. He just wrote that the protagonist won and lived happily ever after, ruling over everything. But there was no way in hell that shit makes sense, no matter how overpowered Leon got at that point, the boss should be able to at leastnd a punch or something, hell if author just wrote a one shot kill chapter, his doubts would''ve been cleared, but that damn author went missing after that from the tform and never came online again.

    ''I hope it''s not what I think it is? Because if it is then I would be fully and totally fucked.'' Rio said in his mind, shutting off the weird theory his brain had been cooking up sincest week.

    "Congrattions on your awakening, Rio. I would''ve brought you a gift if this kid told me he was with you." Beliana''s sweet melodic voice brought him out of his thoughts, followed by a little scream as she twisted the ear of Bernhardt.

    "Mother, stop it. I''m already grown up now." Bernhardtined after freeing himself, he couldn''t believe his mother did that in front of others. ''My reputation as a prince would be ruined in his eyes now.'' He thought.

    "Your wishes are enough, aunt Beliana. And I was just about to ask him to bring me to you." Rio said as he smiled and bowed a little to show his respect.

    "Hmm, as sweet as ever." She said,

    "And you''re the same too. Thanks for your helpst time. Otherwise I really would''ve been lost around here." Rio replied, as Beliana just waved her hand and nodded, making Bernhardt confused, he finally couldn''t take it anymore and stopped trying to understand them and asked -"What''re you both talking about?"

    Beliana was shaking her head, as Rio exined to him "Didn''t I say, why I don''t roam around the pce alone now? It was becausest time I did and got lost, I kept wandering here and there for nearly half an hour, until your mother found me and brought me back to the hall where everyone was waiting for me. But due to all the crowd and noise I couldn''t say thanks to her, and then we left, so it was still due."

    "You remember something so little for a whole year." Bernhardt asked as he looked surprised at him. He couldn''t remember anythingst past week. And even then only the things that are important.

    "Favors and helps, should always be remembered and repaid, no matter how long it takes. My mother always says this. Plus if you haven''t heard the rumors, I''m pretty smart." Rio said proudly, making Beliana smile, while Bernhardt could just shake his head in displeasure.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "How have you been?" Rio ignored Bernhardt and asked his mother.

    "I''m perfectly fine." She replied.

    "Were you going somewhere, cause we don''t want to dy you?" Rio asked as he saw Beliana looking at the hallway.

    "Ahh no, I was just looking for this guy. He didn''t have any breakfast and has been just roaming ever since he left bed." Beliana said and ignored the presence she felt watching them, or specifically watching him. She wondered the reason behind this specific care and attention, but it wasn''t the ce to question them.

    "What, but he said he already ate before he came here." Rio said looking at Bernhardt who could just helplesslyugh and look sideways.

    "I''m sorry I held him for so long." Rio apologized to Beliana and looked towards Bernhardt "You should''ve been clear. See, now aunt has toe and look for you. She probably hasn''t eaten since you were gone. You should''ve informed her at least" Rio informed him and he could just look down again.

    Beliana, who heard his words, patted Bernhardt''s shoulder and said, "See did you ever think about your mother like this? Always roaming outside. ying around humph."

    "Rio, why don''t youe with us too." Bernhardt changed the topic since he didn''t have anything else to say.

    "Yeah,e. It''ll be our treat for your awakening. You need to eat a lot so your body can have more mana." Beliana said, agreeing with her son.

    Bernhardt was just nodding his head at his mother''s words, until he heard thest line, and his face had a questioning expression "Mother, can''t youe up with some better excuse. That trick is so childish. Eating food increases mana, it''s so dumb."

    Rio smiled hearing that, agreeing wholeheartedly, but Beliana just said "Humph, it still worked on you. Now you''re calling it dumb, but back then you were eating 10 times a day" Beliana burst outughing as she remembered that. While Rio could just stare doubtfully at this guy, ''So he didn''t turn dumb once the plot began, this guy was dumb before too.''

    Bernhardt, feeling flustered by her mother''s words, could only bury his grievances within him, thinking -''My image of a royal prince is totally ruined now. He definitely thinks I''m some hungry pig or something.''

    Controlling himself fromughing at this character, Rio replied "I already had breakfast, but I don''t mind joining you both for a little snack."

    "Perfect, let''s go." Bernhardt said and started taking big strides towards his room, leaving both of them behind. His mother is too dangerous, he couldn''t just stand and listen how she''ll insult him this time or make a joke on him.

    ###

    A/N - So what do u think was novels story he knows is filled with plot holes or is something else missing here. Or is someone pulling the strings or some other shit involved in it.

    Plus what are your thoughts about Beliana and BernhardtBernhardt? Ohh and who do u think is watching Rio?

 Chapter 105 King Casimir - Hero Of Hope

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    ##

    In the afternoon Rio was walking in the Royal garden, enjoying the scenery while observing all the statues and pirs made on the boundary. Every statue had a stone b near them, on which some stuff was written rted to that person. For some it was their biggest achievements, while some had recorded their speeches or decisions that affected the empire. Even though the opportunity he was looking for wasn''t made for him, but he still wanted to look for the clues, just cause it looked fun to solve the puzzle. He can also help Bernhardt a little if he found any clue sooner, but till now he had no luck.

    It was tiring, yes, but he had nothing better to do with his time. Since he woke upte, he couldn''t sleep in the daytime. He had no training since he was a guest here and was told to rx. Amelia was busy catching up with Reba, and everytime Rio met her now, he got ignored as soon as she started chatting up with her friend again. Bernhardt had some sses for him, Alfred was the same too. Ladies around the house were busy preparing for the grand celebration which would take ce a dayter for Ba''s birthday. Esme and Myra were probably meeting with other royal guards and busy preparing for the outside visit that Reba advised that we will all go around the Haven city in the evening.

    Thus left alone bored in his room, Rio got out and started ying around with this puzzle.

    It wasn''t the only opportunity ced in the royal pce, as Rio already found 2 other things that he could take before others, but he didn''t make any move on them and ignored them. Not because of any bullshit excuse of following the plot or something, but just cause he had a feeling some little eyes around the mansion were always watching his every action, and after what happened at the teleportation gate with Athena and Psyche, he didn''t want to draw any more unwanted attention to him unnecessarily. Those things would still be there, waiting for him toe and pick them up for a long time, and he just has to be patient and get them when he''s better prepared.

    "From the blood in my bones, to the de in my hands, everything I have is for this kingdom, and I will die a thousand times before I let any one of you pass through me."

    Rio was busy reading up the story, when he heard someone reciting the lines written on the stone for him. He turned around and saw the king standing there behind him. He bowed as a courtesy and greeted him "Your majesty."

    "You know, he is one of my favorites among my ancestors."

    "King Casimir."

    "Yes, he was the 3rd ruler after the formation of Schi. And his reign was probably in the most troubled times. It was when new towers started emerging around the world, destroying the momentary peace that emerged after the emergence.

    Casimir lost his father when he was 12 years old and he seeded to the throne at the age of 9.

    "He didn''t even have his awakening ceremony when people expected him to lead them and save them from the unexpected. And yet he fulfilled his duties."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "He sounds like a good ruler." Rio said, clearly impressed by the story. Since he knew the plota and had read some books about the past, he could guess how messy that period must''ve been.

    "He was. Casimir was the one who led everyone and joined the first adventure inside the towers. Instead of hiding in his pce, and giving out orders from the background, he preferred to stay at the forefront and charge forward. The lines I said were what he spoke while fighting against a horde of demons and monsters alone. He was the one who risked his life and brought peace to the empire again.

    ''Hero of hope'' that was what people used to call him back then. If you roam around the Haven, you''ll still see some families worshiping him like he was their God." Maximus finished his story, and Rio could just nod his head in return.

    Rio wasn''t as good as Athena when it came to reading people, but he could still see that Maximus held deep respect for the past king from the way he spoke about him. And he too quite liked this guy, he sounds like an awesome king. And ording to the details of the novel, he was. Casimir was probably the bravest king, who only ever had love for Schi in his heart. Hero of hope, what a suitable title for a guy like him.

    If not for how much he suffered in his life, Rio had doubted if the man was a protagonist from all the achievements he had. But knowing his ending Rio was sure he was anything but the protagonist. Man was born with the golden spoon and ck luck.

    ''But worry not. You''ll be in good hands in the future.'' Rio thought, remembering the slight suffering that still awaited the guy, whom even death couldn''t free from the burdens.

    "He was the nicest king among all my ancestors, strongest too. But do you know how he died?" King Maximus asked and Rio shook his head. "It wasn''t the ws of a demon or fangs of a monster that ripped his heart. He was killed by his own people, people whom he protected standing in front of them, were the ones who stabbed his back."

    Hearing his words which obviously were considered a secret knowledge among a select few, Rio met the King''s gaze who finally looked away from the statue for the first time and turned to him. "He was killed because he solved all the outside threats but ignored the troubles brewing in his backyard. His most trusted advisor was the one who killed him and he could do nothing."

    "Et tu, Brute?" Rio muttered the words the author of the story took an inspiration from. The fall of Julius Caesar, the king who was killed by his own chosen senators led by his own dear friend Brutus.

    "Did you say something?" Maximus asked as he heard his words, but couldn''t understand what it meant.

    Rio,ing back to reality, looked at the king, and finally decided to have the talk, "I asked, what you''ve been trying to hint at, your majesty. I''m sure this story wasn''t just for my history lesson, but you, meaning to say something. So why don''t you clear the air and exin what you meant?"

    ###

    A/N - Et tu Brute, is a roman saying which means you too, Brutus. These were thest words of Julius Ceaser when he found himself getting killed by all his trusted subordinates.

 Chapter 106 Refusing The Engagement - 1

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    ##

    "What have you been trying to hint at, your majesty? I''m sure this story wasn''t just for my history lesson, but you, meaning to say something. So why don''t you clear the air and exin what you meant?"

    Rio''s words made the king burst out in aughter as he spoke "And they say, you are just a kid. Rumors weren''t lying when they said the heir of ke''s is a genius."

    Rio kept silent about the praise he received, and Maximus nodded his head and continued his words.

    "I had a talk with your mother this morning and apparently she doesn''t want to agree to the engagement between you and my daughter."

    "I don''t know what you''re trying to say, your majesty?"

    ��?��m "Won''t you act surprised or ask about the reason why she refused." Maximus asked, but Rio just shook his head.

    "Why bother? Mother''s decisions are final and I''ll follow them." Rio replied clearly not interested in what excuse Artemis came up with to cancel the talks.

    He had already noticed how Artemis was aware of his hesitation regarding Reba. That''s why he stopped trying to hide his expressionspletely. Knowing fully, that if she got a hint, then she''ll probably avoid all his risks herself, without him doing anything. She probably said how they were still kids and should just focus on their future instead of families. Even though most noble childrens get engaged early or at least have some selected options for marriages while they''re young, but who can argue with Artemis since she already decided.

    "See that''s what shows you still have a lot to learn. Your mother told me, it was you who asked to choose your own partner in life, clearly not interested in some arranged fixed rtionships." Maximus chuckled and informed him.

    Rio took a moment to think over his words and could guess that the king was lying to him. There was no way Artemis would ever push his name forward to get out of an argument. "Well that''s a good joke your majesty. But there''s nothing like that."

    "So you have no problem with this engagement."

    "I never said that." Rio rified.

    Maximus narrowed his eyes as he questioned "Do you have someone else who caught your attention? Or do you not like Reba." If the young heir of ke''s got infatuated with some other girl, that could exin why both mother and son were against this engagement, but Rio shook his head burying all King''s thoughts with his words.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "There isn''t anyone in this world whom I found interesting enough yet, your majesty. And as for Princess Reba, well I simply don''t know her well enough to form an opinion of liking her or not."

    "You''ve spent your childhoods together. You both meet each other every year, and y around daily. Isn''t that enough to know someone?" Maximus pointed out the facts about their close rtionship, which is true seeing how Athena would always bring Reba with her when she visited her family or ke house. The same was the case for them at every celebrations and holidays. That''s why Reba and Amelia became best friends with each other, cause they kept meeting each other.

    But hearing King''s words Rio just smiled in return-"You''ve just finished telling me a story about King Casimir, your majesty. It is never enough to know someone in so little time."

    King Maximus kept silent for a little while, thinking what he meant with his words, he then asked Rio about something he thought of "You think Reba would change her mind in the future?"

    "She''s still a child, your majesty. She might like me for now, since unlike other kids around her, I don''t pester her daily or follow her around like her guards. She hasn''t seen the world yet and if she found someone else who can act more indifferent towards her, I bet she''ll be happily influenced by them. She can be easily swayed, fooled or manipted." Rio said knowing full well how just some rumors about him being the viin of the world was enough for people to form an opinion about him in the novel. Reba, too, was the same. That''s why she betrayed him, his family and her own too.

    "She agreed to this engagement when I asked her about it. She didn''t even need to think much for it." King said, as he thought about the time when he mentioned this topic to his daughter. Unlike Rio who seemed to think about everything, she epted it easily and showed no resistance.

    King was hoping to see if Rio would be happy learning about Reba''s eagerness towards the matter, and Rio did smile hearing that, but totally not because of the reasons he hoped for. His doubts were cleared when he heard Rio''s words as he quoted what he said to him before. "That just shows she still has much to learn, your majesty."

    Rio remembered some events of the novel and his lips curled into a slight smile, his expression was of someone who had thought of some joke. "As I said your majesty, she likes me cause I''m different. If she met someone in the future who''s acting more indifferent to her than me, then she''d be easily enamored by that person. That''s how her brain works now."

    King Maximus narrowed his eyes trying to see what he meant by those words, he knew his daughter was a little naive yet, but it isn''t on the level where someone can fool her with a lollipop right.

    But deep down he knew the words held some truth in them, as being the only daughter of his & sole princess of this empire, everyone really doted on her.

    Since childhood Reba never even had a need to ask for anything, because whatever she wanted or needed was presented to her before she could even think about it.

    King''s thoughts were stopped as Rio continued his words, "We''re talking about the engagement between nobility, your majesty. Yes, it is easy to form between our families, since we''ve known each other for generations, but you all are forgetting how troublesome it gets to get out of them if something went wrong. Or if one party decided to back out. The profits and partnerships aside, the damage to the reputation alone is enough to thwart everything."

    "For someone who said he''ll follow his mother''s decisions, whatever it may be, you''re awfully aware of all the downsides about agreeing to this engagement."

    Hearing the king saying what became obvious from his words, Rio didn''t rify anything and just smiled "Maybe I am, as the rumors say, a genius."

    ###

    A/N - so what r ur thoughts about this. Yes, Rio is nning to refuse the engagement with this princess, as he said why take risks when you can avoid it. There are some other reasons for Rio''s actions too but those are spoilers and will be exined over time.

 Chapter 107 Refusing The Engagement -2

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    ##

    "Maybe I am, as the rumors say, a genius."

    Maximus, seeing that Rio won''t say anything, started speaking. After listening to all the downsides of this engagement from this mother-son pair, he decided to highlight the good parts. "You aren''t wrong in what you said. But there are also positive sides to this engagement. The prosperity and peace we could bring in Schi with thebined partnership of the Schott, ke and Raven family would strengthen us all. Just one decision of yours could secure peace for the next 2 generations, isn''t that reason alone enough."

    Rio wanted to smirk hearing how the king said that this engagement will bring peace. He wanted tough thinking about all the chaos that ensues in the story just cause of Reba and his engagement. Aside from the usual drama, there were specific viins and events that only triggered cause of this damn engagement.

    But that was all going to be changed this very instant. He knew exactly what King''s real motivations were, and that also gave him the solution about how to handle this matter. And so he continued their conversation.

    "There doesn''t need to be another engagement or marriage between our families to start a partnership, your majesty. That can be achieved with dozens of different ways. I''m sure your majesty is already aware of more methods than me."

    Maximus looked at him, understanding what Rio wanted to hint at. There have been rumors going around in the higher circle about how ke family has been trying to release something that will simply take over the world. "Is it about the new business your family has been trying to set up?"

    "It isn''t a new business, since Genesis already owns a part of the potion industries." Rio rified.

    "Hmm reports says it''s something revolutionary that will turn over the tides once it releases. But they''re all rumors with no guarantees yet." Maximus asked, hoping to get more details.

    "Don''t you trust in something we made, your majesty? As for the rumors, they''ll all be cleared once we are prepared to mass produce it and people actually use it. Schott family''s reputation, Raven family''s connections and ke''s product -doesn''t that give out a vibe of shaking the whole world."

    "You sound awfully sure of this potion you''re speaking? Did your mother even let you near it?"

    "I''m sure cause I know its effects better than anyone else. It''s tried and tested on myself, so I don''t need any other validation."

    "Singr book potion." Maximus asked as he understood what he really meant. They were the only thing that can give out a reward big enough to shock the world. And ording to the rumors and what Rio said, he was even more sure it would really bring about a storm.

    "It is. So what''re your thoughts about this, your majesty."

    "Well since you refuse to marry my daughter, maybe I''ll have to make do with what I can get." Maximus replied. He already had ns to get more information about ke''s business and get them on his side. As Rio said the partnership is what mattered between all 3 families to him. If their benefits are aligned with each other, why would he need any other assurance? Obviously the marriage would''ve been more secured and personal, but there''s always time for him to have them agree to it. And maybe get someone better than him for his daughter.

    He was about to turn around and leave, when he heard Rio''s words and stopped. "I never said I refuse to marry her, your majesty. Both mother and I just feel this isn''t the right time yet. Who knows what''ll happen, one day in the future when we''re both grown ups."

    Maximus smiled, as he understood Rio''s thoughts and why he said that "You really don''t take any risks, do you, heir of the ke''s?"

    "I just like to be prepared for everything. Why take risks when I can avoid them." Rio said.

    "That isn''t the usual approach of someone from the ke house. Your family is basically known for their risky behaviors." King said and smiled, remembering all the dumb dangerous decisions ke family is known for.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Depends on the people and the situation they face, your majesty. My family takes risks because they can afford them. Me, I''m just a normal 10 year old kid, who''s nothing without his family''s name." Rio said, making Maximussmile at his attempt to act polite.

    "You seem anything but normal, Rio Raven ke. It was nice talking with you."

    "The pleasure''s all mine, your majesty." Rio said, looking at King''s disappearing figure. And continued his remaining sentence in his head. ''I hope you go and get me something good.''

    ''It''s so easy talking to people when you just know what they really want from you. Makes the whole ordeal so easy to talk about.''

    -

    "What do you think about the kid?" Maximus asked, no one in particr, while walking down the hallways. He didn''t have to wait long as he heard a voice in his head in response.

    "He doesn''t want to marry your daughter. And is now trying to divert your attention. By saying he may marry herter, he''s keeping himself safe from you and also open for any changes."

    "I thought so too." King Maximus nodded, as the voice only said the same things he already figured out.

    "He''s smart for his age, too smart I''d say. You should''ve listened to me and forged an alliance before he awakened. You made a mistake."

    Maximus scoffed at the voice, the God might be right this time, but what was he supposed to do? Get her daughter tied to a guy who hasn''t awakened yet. Who knew if the boy turned out to be dull and never awakened or failed. As the brat said, then breaking the engagement would''ve been much harder. "Had you informed me what your follower gods saw in their visions, I wouldn''t be in this situation."

    "You do not put demands on me mortal, you pray. And Gods don''t need to interfere in your silly little games." The voice took an angry tone, demanding respect from its avatar who dared to me him for his ipetence.

    The voice belonged to Indra- the God of rain & thunder, the God King of hindu mythology. Everyone familiar with any of the myths from Hindu legends knew Indra''s love for his throne and how much he adored the position of power. That''s why he chose Maximus as his avatar, because a King''s favorite pawn should be a king too. By making this mortal into his puppet, Indra now indirectly had gotten the control of this whole empire.

    Maximus clicked his tongue hearing the haughty response to a normal question, had he simply told him about what he saw in that kid, that made him bber all day about this marriage in his head, nothing like this would''ve happened. But these high and mighty Gods and their egos never allowed them to give out a free gift, and as a king himself the pride of Maximus didn''t allow him to beg for it.

    "You never told me he had been surrounded by all the gods or why you all are paying so much attention to him." Maximus asked, remembering the amount of divine presence he could feel around the kid was shocking to say the least.

    "Isn''t the fact that he''s Nyx''s minion enough of a reason. I''ve told you before mortal and I''ll say it again, keep your eyes open and watch. The things closest to us are what we ignore." Indra finished his words and went silent, leaving king Maximus wondering about what he meant.

    "It doesn''t matter. If not this guy, then I''ll find someone else. The world doesn''t revolve only around him." Maximus muttered in a bitter tone, if it was any other Duke''s house or someone else, he could force them, trick them or y some games to have them agreed to it -but the ke''s and Raven''s weren''t something he wanted to antagonize just because the prick in his head said so.

    Ignoring the bad news he got and looking at the good side of things, Maximus remembered about the partnership the brat proposed and the rumors he heard about from his spies.

    "Something that can help people awaken, it really do might change the world and set out a storm. All the more reason to not force ke''s in a corner now." Maximus said, as he sat upon his throne.

    He could ignore it now, but one day he will reverse the situations and at that time everyone of them would realise how big of a mistake they made refusing the king.

    ###

    A/N - so here it is, there goes the engagement. Boom avoided another death g, but wait, is that all it takes so change one of the canon events . And what the hell would be the consequences of this action???

 Chapter 108 Lets Go Outside

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    ##

    After the first awkward day and the eventful afternoon where Rio had to talk with king Maximus, came the evening when the kids were nning to visit the Haven city.

    The children of the royal family and the ke family eagerly awaited their visit to the capital city of Haven. ording to Royal guards that would apany them, they would first visit all the famous ces and every fun activity that has been prepared in regards to their enjoyment.

    As the capital, Haven was already a sight to behold, but due to the princess''s birthday celebration the environment around the city was even more lively. Guests and envoys from around the capital havee to take part in the celebrations and it all only added stars to this already magnificent city.

    Excitement filled the air, especially for Amelia, who couldn''t contain her enthusiasm for indulging in all the delectable sweets the city had to offer. She had even prepared a list of must-try treats, which she proudly disyed to her brother. Meanwhile, Reba, who shared in the anticipation of exploring the city and showing off her following & celebrating her uing birthday, seemed distant and lost in her thoughts. Alfred, noticing his sister''s uncharacteristic silence, which was hard to miss as ever since yesterday it was the only time he saw her being silent and spaced out, attempted to engage her in conversation.

    "Hey, Reba. What''s on your mind? Are you thinking about where we''ll go first?"

    Reba, her gaze still fixed on the floor, sighed softly before responding.

    "Brother, do you think I''m still a child?"

    "Aren''t you?"

    Alfred, a little surprised by what she said, still responded in a joking manner, only to see Reba''s expression further turning dark. Seeing her brother misunderstood, Reba exined what she meant.

    "No, not like that. Do you think I''m dumb."

    Alfred, a little concerned, asked her back. "Did someone bully you?"

    "No, just answer me. Will you?" Seeing her brother only acting big, but not answering her, only agitated Reba.

    "Of course not. You''re the smartest girl. Don''t those Royal teachers always praise you? You even get more marks than me. How can you be stupid." Alfred offered some reassurance and asked his doubts again "Now tell me, why are you even asking me this silly question. Did someone say anything to you?"

    Hearing his words Reba nced at where Amelia and Rio were chatting happily, but then shook her head and said "I was just_ nothing.."

    Though a little doubtful Alfred didn''t raise any more questions since she didn''t want to say anything. He just assumed it was due to all the news about her birthday and then yesterday night that engagement discussion, must''ve tired her out. Father never listens to anyone and he knew better than to speak against him, so he kept quiet when the topic started.

    "Well, remember we''re going to have fun and enjoy ourselves today. So just forget everything and rx. Is there something specific bothering you?"

    Reba hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. "It''s just... I can''t help it. So much is happening, and everyone''s saying different things and it''s just too much_"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Alfred, understanding her worries, tried to reassure her with a smile. "Don''t worry too much. Everything will be amazing. Father and mother are here, and Amelia too. You will have a fantastic birthday party, and as for other things, they are not going to happen in a day or two, so don''t think about them and leave it to our parents."

    As the siblings conversed, preparations for their departure wereplete. Reba''s maid came forward and bowed to Alfred. "Your highness, everything is prepared. We can leave whenever you wish."

    Alfred looked around and saw guards standing at their positions in straight lines, the captain was still giving them some instructions or so it seemed.

    Besides them were the carriages prepared for the kids to depart in. The Royal Family had many cars and other vehicles at their disposal but since the children wanted to roam around the city and enjoy the environment, carriages which were slow and had more space became the ideal choice.

    The carriages were true works of art, exuding the vibe of fantasy and nobility, the designs setting them apart from the ordinary. Whoever made them had poured their skills into every detail, ensuring that they captured the essence of royalty.

    The carriages, with their intricate designs and embellishments, reflected the grandeur of the royal family. The blend of rich colors, including deep reds and royal blues, added to their majestic appearance.

    However, what truly made these carriages exceptional were the horses attached to them. These were not ordinary animal horses but mana beasts, creatures that had undergone a transformation by absorbing mana. Through careful training and taming techniques, these horses had been elevated to a new level of species, which had higher speed and intelligencepared to ordinary animals.

    Mana beasts were akin to humans in their ability to absorb mana crystals and potions, enhancing their natural attributes. The techniques to do that were only known to people with higher standing in the world.

    In Schi, apart from nobility and some guilds which were known for beast taming talents, no one had the opportunity to learn these skills. If anyone did try to feed mana to normal animals forcefully the wrong way, they would either end up killing the animal cause their body couldn''t handle the outside energy, or the beast in that animal would go berserk and you would be the one getting killed.

    The horses here in particr, had been selectively chosen, bred and subjected to mana infusion, resulting in their heightened speed, endurance, and intelligence. The horses were capable of understandingmands with greater rity, making them ideal for transporting people with safety and style of course.

    The carriages themselves were equipped with advanced magical formations and runes, making them not only visually stunning but also sturdy and secure. The materials used, though appearing ordinary from outside, possessed extraordinary resilience. The carriages could withstand powerful blows, even from limit rank awakened without showing a single dent or scratch. The roofs and windows were made transparent from within, allowing those inside to enjoy the view, while from the outside, they disyed the Royal Family''s emblem, providing a sense of exclusivity and privacy.

    The intricate formations embedded within the carriages served multiple purposes. They provided protection against magical attacks, enhanced structural integrity, and even offered a smooth andfortable ride. Runes intertwined throughout the surface, ensuring stability, warding off unwanted energies, and creating a harmonious atmosphere for the upants.

    "Come, let''s go." Alfred said to Reba and started walking towards the carriages. He nced at the people standing near the horses, it looked like they were talking to those animals. While the horses kept neighing and pawing the ground in response.

    With a sense of anticipation for all the festivities he''ll see and all the fun activities he would take part in, Alfred moved forward, pulling his sister with him.

    Just as everyone was about to leave and climb into their carriage, Rio suddenly halted their progress, causing confusion among the group. "Master, did you forget something?" Esme asked.

    "Not something, someone. Wait, he''ll be here soon."

    Everyone looked at him with puzzled eyes wondering who he was talking about. And their questions were answered as they saw someoneing towards them running in a hurry, it was Bernhardt. The unwanted son of the king and themoner.

    "Burnhard" Alfred muttered with a frown marred his face, as he watched the new boying towards them.

    ###

    A/N - what''s with our little princess, any idea why she''s into stress now?

 Chapter 109 Choosing A Side

    Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    "Burnhard" Alfred muttered watching himing towards them.

    Rio smiled watching Alfred''s expressions and hearing his whisper. It didn''t even ur to him, about how Alfred said his name in a weird way without realising it. It just showed him how even though the 2 brothers weren''t exactlypeting for the throne yet or fighting each other, but the people around them had influenced them enough to not like each other''spany. Obviously the king initiated it, to make them vary of each other so they can grow more capable.

    But as the history indicates the race to throne is never not bloody. But who cares if pawns die, and the pce wins.

    "Since we were all going out, I invited him toe with us too. I hope you don''t mind your highness."

    Rio said, and without waiting for anyone''s response, went ahead to greet Bernhardt.

    "You''rete, we almost left you behind you know?" Rio said.

    Bernhardt chuckled seeing that he made it in time, and said "Sorry. I''m here so let''s go now."

    "That''s okay, but why are you looking like that?" Rio looked at Bernhardt closely and found his clothes and hair wet.

    "Well I had my training in the evening, but since we''re going out now, I decided to finish it early. And when I wasing out, mother stopped me and forced me to go and take another bath first."

    Rio looked at Bernhardt''s shoulder length hair flying around, it got even more messy since this guy ran till here from his room. "So you ran out without even getting your makeup done."

    "Yeah. How''d you know." Bernhardt was saying something but then stopped as he realized the joke and saw Rio''s smiling face "It''s not makeup. I just came without fixing my hair. It takes too much time." Bernhardt said, pushing his hair back.

    "And show some respect, you''re talking to the Royal prince humph." Bernhardt asked, while thinking that inviting Rio for the breakfast was a very bad idea. He should''ve known that her mother would share out all his stories with him, and now his image of a dignified prince he created by keeping his manners when talking to him on the first day was all lost. He''s even making fun of him now.

    "Yeah, yeah. Your royal highness. Gracing us with your presence."

    ''Sigh, why do mothers have topare their children with the neighbor''s kid. Now he definitely thinks I''m a dumb dude.''

    -

    The sight of the two conversing and sharing a joyful exchange surprised the royal guards. And the people standing around couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow on that sight, they nced at the woman standing by the side, hoping to see her reaction. But the party concerned Queen Athena and Duchess Artemis didn''t even bother thinking twice about the newfound friendship between the pair of kids. Both of them simply didn''t think much of it, aside from a simple exchange or greeting.

    But the king sitting upon his throne, resting his head on his hand, opened his eyes and smiled. "So you chose your side. My smart soldier."

    ''He''s just talking with him. There''s no guarantee to what you think.'' The voice spoke again in his head.

    "No. I''m sure of it now. Ever since he came he made no advance on talking with Alfred, but he''s been chatting happily with the other guy. I would''ve thought nothing of it before, but after talking with him today, I can see he''s different. Smart ones always are."

    "Doesn''t that bother you that he chose your bastard, instead of your prince."

    "Why would it? It only makes things more interesting." King spoke, imagining how much of a leap his bastard would take, if the future heir of Duke supported him. "It would be more fun to see the race now."

    "It would.." The voice smiled and so did the king.

    -

    Unknown to the thoughts of the king and anyone else, Rio and Bernhardt were talking about the trip, when they heard someone''s voice.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Ahn brother, who is he?" Amelia asked, pulling his brother''s shirt.

    Rio looked at Amelia and said "This is Bernhardt Von Schott. Alfred''s brother and the royal prince. He''s also the one who gave me a tour around the Royal pce, while you were busy ying with Reba."

    "Ohh." Amelia nodded her head but then "Wait, you saw the whole pce. Why didn''t you invite me." Amelia asked, feeling aggrieved that she missed out on a tour.

    "Don''t worry. I''ll show you around in the morning tomorrow."

    "Humf I''ll just ask Ba to show me. You don''t wake up till someone throws water on your face anyway."

    Hearing someone insult the boy who heard all his tidbits from his mother, Bernhardtughed at him. Rio red at Amelia, while she just shrugged her shoulders in response, her eyes clearly saying ''why hide, it is the truth. Wear it like armor.''

    Rio, looking at how ring won''t work, said in a determined voice. "Well, I''ll wake up early tomorrow."

    Amelia hearing him just shook her head. She couldn''t remember how many times she had heard her brother say that in thest month. He turned into azy pig ever since he fell sick that one time. She even wondered if it''s some kind of aftereffect of his disease. But when she asked her mother about it, she just burst outughing at her, calling her stupid again.

    Rio, unaware of how his image has been turned into azy pig in his sister''s eyes,manded the system in his head. ''System, wake me up early tomorrow.''

    [I can''t.]

    Rio read the notification, and asked ''Why not? Don''t tell me you''re gonna charge points for that too since you''re level 0. Or that I''ll have to wait till plot starts, so you can work as an rm clock.''

    [I can''t, because I''m still fucking muted, host. You did it this morning and simply forgot to unmute it.]

    Rio read the floatingint written in bold letters, and remembered he really did forget about it, but how can he as an owner apologize for it, so he just med the system again ''so how is it my fault. You''re so useless that I forget I even have a cheat.'' Rio said but then remembered something And added ''ohh and mind yournguage, I''m still a 10 year old. Such a bad influence. That''s why I muted you.''

    Rio finished his words and closed the panel with his mind, ignoring all the angry notifications the system started sending him.

    -

    Finally after the initial greeting between Bernhardt and others, everyone sat inside the carriage and they started their journey for the tour around the city.

    During the whole route the ke siblings and the bastard son enjoyed their time. Trying to try everything and have the perfect vacation. The Royal siblings however could just stay silent or half heartedly look around. Alfred''s mood was down the moment he saw Bernhardt, and Reba was still lost in whatever her thoughts were. And was absent minded the whole time.

    It was funny for Rio to see how the 2 who suggested and started this trip were the ones missing out on the most the city had to offer.

    Obviously they were both still naive little brats and forgot all about their issues once they reached the main carnival sites and started ying around with everyone else.

    ''Being a kid is so easy.'' Rio thought as he looked at Amelia and Reba happilypeting for who can eat more of those little sweet zittery (Indians, call it pani puri in yournguage. I was thinking bout them while writing this)

    They both even put a bet, where the loser would have to buy a gift for the winner. It was funny seeing how even when tears were dripping from both girls'' eyes, but they still refused to give up and kept eating. They both didn''tck money or basically anything that they needed, but which girl wants to lose out on a free gift.

    Alfred and Bernhardt too were in the bet, but they gave up early.

    -

    Ohh, you''re wondering about me. Well I''m still eating them. Of course I''m the mc and the author, so I''ll be the one winning everything. Hmmm

    ###

    A/N - what do you think the future holds for the Royal siblings? Will the stepping stone be saved & golden son be robbed of his crown? Will the princess still be the cold calctive queen leader or will it all be thrown in chaos.

 Chapter 110 Pandoras Brews - Si Vales Valeo

    Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

    ##

    After their visit to the city and enjoying the night carnival on the way to return, the convoy of kids starteding back. The empty carriage which was enough for everyone to sit freely was now littered with gift wrappings and stics of snacks that they''ve been eating ever since then.

    Everyone bought something for them, that they enjoyed or liked, the fun moments of childhood and the joy of enjoying the time just like normal people, had always been a rarity for nobles and everyone in the carriage found that today. Everyone except Rio of course.

    Somehow our transmigrator finally couldn''t stop himself, and bought a packet of cigarettes when he found himself alone.

    He didn''t exactly have the urge to smoke, but he was curious about how smoking would feel like in a fantasy world. Shiva wasn''t into drinks, he would drink it asionally or if someone else bought it, but not by his own ord. But he had gotten into the habit of smoking in hisst years.

    Rio bought it thinking he''ll use it someday if he''s stressed or in a bad mood. After all it''s gonna be his first smoke in Arcadia, man should have a reason to start again. Plus the fact that if someone saw him smoking they''d tell his mother. And Artemis had warned himst time, when she heard he was asking cigarettes from the guards, that if he ever smoked, she''ll hang him upside down in training grounds and leave him there.

    Rio had no doubt in his mind and perfectly believed that she''d really do it, if she caught him. So he just put the packet in his storage ring carefully and ignored it.

    Amelia had already crossed off half the names in her must try list of delectable sweets. She would''ve eaten everything but due to her being stubborn in that bet, she ate too much of those small Jittery, and her stomach''s been making weird noises ever since then. It was Myra who had to go and get her something healthy to drink so she could feel a little better.

    But that was a mistake, as just as she felt better she started running around again, hoping to try everything and see it all. She also bought some gifts for her father and mother. Obviously she hid her mother''s gift in Rio''s storage ring, so she can tease her mother, but aside from that today''s been a pretty fun day for her.

    -

    Currently Amelia, Reba, Alfred and Bernhardt were ying some card games, while Rio was sitting on the window side, looking through a magazine he bought. He had used the excuse of being too tired and saying he''ll just help Amelia win or act as a judge so they don''t cheat. But they refused and here he was, reading the news magazine he bought about thetest talks in the capital.

    Since Arcadia merged with some modern world, these things have been normal too. Basically everything Rio could think of and open apany and get rich like in other novel stories, have already been thought of and added to Arcadia. But since he knew the plot, he knew about enough stuff that is yet to be invented or get famouster. But that''ll have to wait for muchter, cause right now he''s still a dumb kid living on his parents'' pocket money.

    While reading through the magazine a piece of news caught his attention, reminding him of a side plotline that he had no idea was taking its course at this period.

    "Pandora''s Brews - Si Vales Valeo'' , one of the most famous alchemist shops in Haven, had dered bankruptcy and would close its curtains next week."

    This news caught his attention, as there was a certain someone in the story who ys a fun role in the novel, attached to that shop. Rio interestingly read through the report, and when he finished he finally understood at what time of events for the character he was in.

    ording to the article, the owner of the shops, Augustus Mizerpitt had been in debt for a while, and in a situation where he couldn''t pay his dues till next week, the shop would be taken over by thew organization of Schi, and it''s equal value used to pay his debts.

    The article talked about the ce Pandora''s Brews held in the capital''s business world for years, and how much it had contributed to the history. The shop has been passed down in Mizerpitt household for 3 generations and soon would see it''sst day of business.

    Reading through the news Rio just wanted to say ''interesting'' and it gave him an idea to further mess with a canon event in the novel which would take ce.

    ''Can I change the events rted to that event?'' Rio thought but shook his head ''No, I should let it happen and interfere a littleter.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''Wait but will that be wise? If I failed then..''

    ''I can also let it be for now and check again once the plot starts. I can get more points that way too.''

    Rio''s thoughts ran in his head at high speed as he started thinking if he should take part in theing scenarios of this event. Or should he let destiny y its course for now.

    Breaking him out of his thoughts was the sudden loud chatter from his side, belonging to the children who had just finished their game it seems.

    Rio looked at them and found Amelia animatedly pointing her fingers at Alfred and Reba, using them of cheating.

    "I knew it! You two cheated! There''s no way you could have won fair and square! This is not right at all."

    Reba, proudly smiled watching her best friends agitated face, "Oh,e on, Amelia. Don''t be a sore loser. Alfred and I yed by the rules."

    Alfred too came forward speaking on his defense, "Yes, there was no cheating! We followed the rules exactly as they were till thest moment."

    But obviously truth stayed the same, the prince had let his sister win at thest moment, throwing his cards at the right moment making her sister win the game.

    Amelia looked at Bernhardt who was still lost in thoughts, not understanding how he could be so unlucky to lose 4 games in a raw and not get any decent cards even once. He looked at the notebook which kept record of their past turns, and all he saw under his name were big fat zero''s. He really was useless.

    Knowing this guy is even more of a loser than her, Amelia looked towards her brother who was supposed to be the judge of their games, only to see him looking at everything with a dumb face, that clearly said ''I have no idea what''s happening, can someone exin?''

    It made her further annoyed as now she had no proof of their cheating, so she took it out on this guy. "You''re supposed to be the judge, but you''re not even paying attention! Typicalzy brother."

    Hearing her insult, Rio could just helplessly smile.

    He would''ve gotten another earful of her scolding but Reba came forward to save him, as she distracted Amelia "ohe on Amelia, you''re just made at everyone cause you lost. You should ept it that I''m better."

    "Nooo."

    "We''ll y one more time, let''s see who wins. Andzy brother pay attention to these cheaters this time Or I''ll beat you." She announced, as she threw a pair of cookies at Rio''s face. Which he happily caught and ate it.

    ''Shameless''

    ###

    A/N - tis was thest chapter of this slow shit..

    Si Vales Valeo - A roman saying which means if you''re well, I''m well.

 Chapter 111 ? Shutting Down The World System ?

    Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

    ###

    Restlessly lying on her bed, Reba tossed and turned, unable to find afortable position to sleep in. Frustration filled her as she kicked her feet in the air, feeling a wave of unease wash over her. With a sigh, she turned around and buried her face in the pillow, feeling its softness, she held it tightly around her face.

    "Am I really dumb?" she mumbled into the pillow, her voice muffled by the fabric. But there was no one to answer her question, no one to reassure her. The silence in the room only amplified her inner turmoil.

    "Everyone says I''m smart and a genius, the royal teacher even said I''m blessed by the world, but what''s wrong with him?" Reba questioned, her voiceced with confusion and self-doubt. She nced around the room, hoping for a response that never came.

    Frustration welled up within her, and she blurted out, "Does he think I''m stupid?" Her voice carried a tinge of hurt, the weight of her unspoken emotions pressing down on her, making her annoyed. Yet, once again, no one was there to provide an answer to her queries.

    Reba''s gaze shifted to the side where Amelia, whoy sound asleep nearby. After a long time of exploring the city, when they returned back, the pair of friends were talking and trying out the things they bought from the market, but soon Amelia fell asleep, Reba let her be and didn''t wake her up, afraid to disturb her.

    "It''s your brother who''s the stupid one, not me. Humph." She said, as the face of that annoying kid came to her mind.

    Reba saw with her eyes, like magic , a frown appeared on Amelia''s face, almost making her doubt if she heard what she said. But then a thought crossed her mind, and she decided to take action. With a smile, she reached over and gently ced her pillow in Amelia''s hands. She smiled as she saw the previous frown disappear, and in its ce was the peaceful, pretty face of her best friend, lost in her dreand with a smile.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But her thoughts then drifted back to her brother, Rio. She couldn''t help but feel anger towards him. "Who''s eager to marry him anyway?" she muttered, her voice tinged with annoyance. She only agreed to marriage, when she thought of her father''s wishes and how it is only normal in nobility. She had learned a lot of examples in books and she knew someday it''ll happen, so she said yes.

    "And yet here he is, badmouthing her in front of her father for it." Reba recalled, her memory taking her back to the afternoon. She had been sneaking around, trying to get some sweets for Amelia after their lunch. As she listened in on a conversation between her father and Rio, she felt pissed off.

    ''Reba, I don''t know her well enough to form an opinion of liking her or not. She''s just a child, your majesty. She hasn''t seen the world yet and if she found someone else who can act indifferent towards her, I bet she''ll be happily influenced by them. She can be easily swayed, fooled or manipted.''

    "Isn''t that just indirectly saying, I''m dumb and will be fooled by a lollipop. And who likes him anyways, idiot."

    Reba couldn''t understand why he''d speak like that to her father. Isn''t it normal for everyone to have marriage, and nobles marry to nobles.Father said all those love stories are just lies told by poor people to find pleasure in their poverty. So why''s he got so much to say?

    ''I have much to learn''. It''s clearly you who needs some lessons, white hairedzy panda."

    Lost in her thoughts, As shey there, gazing at Amelia''s peaceful sleeping form, she didn''t know what to do. She really didn''t get what''s so big a deal with just engagement. It will happen in the future anyway, mother said that to me way back long ago, but since that panda doesn''t want to marry me, I''ll just ignore him.

    "Stupidzy panda picking faults with others. I won''t talk to you anymore. Let''s see how you like it when I ignore you humph."

    Reba decided and spoke to herself, but then she remembered isn''t it always her who speaks and getting ignored by him, that guy never even talked to her unless necessary, especially in thisst month.

    "Ahh so annoying." She said, as she bit on her pillow in frustration.

    Finally just like that after cursing azy white haired boy who was fast asleep in his room, Reba allowed herself to drift off to sleep determined to ignore the guy and give him a test of his own medicine.

    -

    On the other side, Rio was sound asleep in his room, with a smile on his face. After having a lengthy discussion with the system some days ago, he had managed to change some preference settings, where he can now only be pulled into system space when he wants or when he''s unconscious. And now finally he could sleep peacefully without having a useless ai bugging him.

    But today his sleep was going to be anything but peaceful, as he got woken up by the sudden wave of light that hit his face. He opened his eyes thinking morning came early today, only to see big stars ands floating around him.

    "System, you fucker, I told you to let me sleep. Why''d you pull me here?"

    He asked in annoyance as his brain registered the surroundings and the giant world tree as the system space. He waited for system''s response but didn''t get any reply, he was about to re up again and shout at it, when suddenly big red warning signs started floating in front of his eyes, skocking him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    [? warning ?][ ? warning ?]

    [Change in world''s data detected]

    [Priority order destabilized]

    [Change of plot progression recorded]

    [Events order destabilized]

    [Finding the origin of changes

    [Searching

    [Search failed]

    [Reason for failure - unknown]

    [Permission to enable security measures against world''s will]

    [Permission to enable emergency protection measures]

    Rio hadn''t even fully opened his eyes, as dozens of system notifications started floating all around him. He couldn''t even read or understand what was happening when system started urging him to click yes on those shady looking permissions. He remembered howst time he had to ask for some safety measures against Athena and had to pay his points too, but here this system was flooding him to allow it. He wanted to know the reason for this hurried situation, but still trusting this system a little, he allowed the permission seeing the urgency of it. Only to receive the biggest shock he couldn''t even think of in return

    [Permissions granted

    [Level restrictions removed

    [essing full authority

    [Taking control over system''s operating features

    [Checking the data from world''s will

    [Intruder detected

    [Attempted intrusion of the world system detected

    [Fixing the error

    [Shutting down the world system

    [Lockdown mode initiated

    [10 - 9 - 8 - 7 ...

    "What the actual fuck is happening? I didn''t even do nothing."

    ####

    A/N - okay seriously what the actual hell is happening. Did hell break loose or heavens went haywire. Why is it all happening so fast. Any idea what happened anyone. Waiting online for answer

 Chapter 112 Struggles Of A Desperate Father

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    DevilDarkness#0506

    ###

    On the other side of Haven city, other than our heroine and viin, someone else was having trouble sleeping too.

    Augustus Mizerpitt, the owner of Pandora''s Brews potion shops, stood in his cluttered room,pletely engrossed in his work. The small space was filled with vials, containers, and various ingredients scattered about. Forms and notes were written on the walls, each corner of the room upied by papers in different stages of use. Some were crumpled and discarded, thrown away as trash, while others held neatly written instructions, and arranged into lines. His diaries spread open, filled with meticulous notes and observations from previous attempts. This time, he was determined to get it right, for he couldn''t afford any more mistakes now.

    If he seeded he could finally change the course of his family''s cursed bloodline. It was hisst hope, his final chance to break free from the shackles that had gued his family for generations. This potion offered a glimmer of hope for the future generations, for her daughter''s future.

    But if he failed, even the thought of failure filled his mind with dread, as he had nothing left besides this potion now.

    He had exhausted all his savings and even sold his shop and every other properties to acquire the necessary herbs for thisst batch of potion. The weight of his financial gamble rested heavily on his shoulders, slowly gnawing at his soul.

    Despite his best efforts to push aside the disheartening thoughts, they lingered in the back of his mind, threatening to disrupt his focus. He shook his head, attempting to clear away the negativity, and roamed around the room, double-checking every detail. His mind was consumed by the potion, its potential, and the weight of his responsibility.

    Lost in thought, Augustus moved around the room, checking every aspect of his calctions. He was so consumed by his task that he didn''t notice a shard of ss on the ground, and as he hurriedly moved about, his feet were cut, leaving trails of blood in his wake. Blood stained the floor as he continued his hurried movements,pletely oblivious to it. The physical pain failed to register in his mind as his focus remained fixed on the potion. The intensity of his emotional turmoil and dedication overshadowed any physical difort he had, his mind solely focused on the task at hand.

    His hands were trembling in fear and excitement, his persistence finally paid off as he observed the liquid in the vial heating up, reaching the precise temperature he had been striving for hours, he ran there trying to turn off the me, but in a cruel twist of fate, due to his injury he was a step toote.

    By the time he reached the control panel and then came back, the pressure build up turned too great for the potion, the vial containing the precious potion shattered in a sting sound, causing a small portion of liquid to ssh onto his skin. The sizzling sound pierced the air, finally capturing his attention. The searing pain on his arms due to the burning pain flooded his senses, abruptly yanking him out of his singr focus. He winced, his breath catching in his throat.

    It was another failed attempt. Not only he ended up with the failed potion, he also burned his hands and the poisonous potion was probably seeping into his skin at this very moment.

    His heart sank as disappointment washed over him. The anguish of his failure mingled with the physical pain, created an overwhelming sense of despair that hit him like a tidal wave. He slumped to the ground, his tired body mirroring the exhaustion he felt deep within himself. His eyes locked on the shattered vial and the precious potion wasted on the ground.

    "Just what am I missing?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Looking at the pooling blood on the ground reflecting the light from the crystalmps, he only wanted to curse out loud. It was all due to this blood, this sickening, cursed blood that flowed within him.

    People of earth would''ve been surprised at what he was thinking about, questioning why someone would hate their own blood, but this wasn''t the case in Arcadia. Here many people hated their bloodlines and themselves, for the world itself considered them trash and unworthy.

    His whole life Augustus had lived as a nobody, amoner who didn''t matter, someone who was rejected by this world, someone whom even the gods didn''t take pity on. It wasn''t just him, his family had been cursed for generations where not a single person managed to finish their awakening. He had heard taunts and insults his whole life, struggled with things others could do just by instinct, he exerted himself in his prime to do stuff that normal kids could do before they hit puberty. And the list goes on and on and on.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Fantasy world is fun and magic is cool, but only if you can practice it too. If not, then living there is just pure torture. That''s what Augustus went through his whole life.

    He was an unawakened, and this world and its gods had ignored him, the people here made fun of him, and he wasted his whole life praying for survival depending on the strength of others. He hated this helplessness. The gazes that looked down on him, the mark of failure that was etched into his being, he hated it.

    That''s why he wanted to change it all. That''s why he wanted to create this potion. A potion, which would give people like him a chance, give his daughter a chance. He didn''t want to let her go through everything that he went through, what kind of father would he be if he did that.

    But s fate had other ns, all his nning, preparations and prayers were in vain, as he failed again.

    He looked at his wounded leg, and contemted if it was because of this, had he been faster, had he turned off the me right that instant, had he secured the potion before the vial broke, would he have seeded? Doubts and questions lingered in his mind, but it was toote for regrets now.

    It was then that he remembered the rumors he heard on the streets a few days ago, the noble family of ke''s inventing something that would change the world, the king celebrating his daughter''s birthday, the Belmonts holding out a grand arena games, all these nobles with all their resources did nothing for the world.

    They yed and hoarded and wasted whatever they had, while people like him, the bottom feeders of this society, the supposed backbone of this society were the ones getting constantly crushed under their weight.

    Anger rose in his heart as he looked out the window and saw the decorations people were doing sote for that useless birthday party, disappointment raised in his heart when he thought and couldn''t even remember thest time he celebrated something with his daughter. He wanted to curse and cry and me the world for everything that is wrong with its system, but then again he remembered, system, the fucking system. Isn''t that the reason why he''s like that. What kind of sick bastards make children go through mind breaking pain just to get a recognition and even then fail in their eyes.

    He looked towards his daughter''s picture on the table and made a firm decision. It wasn''t something he wanted to do, but if it''s the only option he had, he''d pick it instead of giving up.

    "Forgive me A, I know it''s stupid and senseless. But I won''t give up. Not until I''ve given my all and tried everything I can." Augustus said and stood up.

    He pulled out amunication que from his pocket and called someone, soon he heard a response from the other side - "So have you finally made your choice, if not then don''t waste our time, there are many people still waiting in line?"

    "I''ve decided. I agree. When can we meet."

    "Good. Just sleep tight for today. My men will pick you up tomorrow morning." The voice said and cut the connection.

    "It''s the only option." Augustus said, trying hard to hold back his tears, and steel his heart.

    ###

    A/N - so what do you think is happening around the world boy. Any questions about basically anything.

    Ohh and one more thing, this has nothing to do with what happenedst chapter with Rio and system. We''ll get back to that soon enough.

 Chapter 113 First Event - Why Celebrations Are Scarce

    Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

    ###

    The city of Haven, capital of the Schi Empire, shone with an unparalleled brilliance and magnificent style as it prepared for a momentous asion. The air was filled with excitement and anticipation, and the atmosphere buzzed with an energy that could onlye from a grand celebration. Today marked the 10th birthday of Reba von Schott, beloved jade of the royal family, and the sole princess of the Schi empire.

    The royal family spared no expense in ensuring that the celebration was nothing short of spectacr. The streets were adorned with colorful banners and streamers, casting a vibrant rainbow hue over the city. borate decorations graced every corner, from intricately designed arches to magnificent floral arrangements, from simple alleyways to the high towers of Haven, everything was shining brightly. The city had transformed into a majestic wondend, captivating the hearts of its residents and visitors alike.

    As the sun dipped down the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city, guests began to gather in the grand courtyard of the royal pce. Nobles, dignitaries, leaders of various organizations, and esteemed envoys from far and wide came to pay their respects and celebrate the young princess''s birthday. The air was filled with animated chatter andughter as everyone exchanged pleasantries and marveled at the extravagant disy of wealth.

    Inside the pce, the banquet hall was a sight to behold. Tables were adorned with fine linens, sparkling silverware, and delicate crystal wines. The aroma of delectable dishes wafted through the air, enticing the taste buds of those fortunate enough to be allowed in attendance.

    A normal party wouldn''t have attracted this much attention but in the world of Arcadia where everyone was wary of each other and depended on each other, the connections one had were just as important as the individual strength he had.

    That''s why the king invited everyone, and why people gathered here, just in this celebration alone, only God knew how many new partnerships and alliances would be formed. One could even say this celebration alone was just an excuse for the decisions taken here today, by the people present could change the course of the future for the world as a whole.

    The other reason for all these different people to gather here today was that in normal asion even meeting one of them would be difficult for the other. Every race, every organization and everyone was always in apetition or wary of each other.

    That''s why no one holds out events like these often where all the ambitious serpents could gather under one roof. For they knew if anything wrong happened, they''d be held responsible, and the momentary peace of the would be thrown into chaos. No one wanted to take risks himself.

    But since the king of Schi was daring enough to invite them all, it was in their best interest toe and show respect. Even if they couldn''t get anything, they won''t lose nothing, they can just enjoy the food and have a look around.

    After all, everyone was still curious about why the king was throwing such a big fuss over a birthday. Theye every year, so what''s so special about it? Ohh is it because it''s her 10th birthday, well booyah people live here for hundreds of years, so is he supposed to throw it every 10 years. Schi would be bankrupt, and begging on roads if that happened.

    Some said it was due to how much king Maximus loved his daughter, that''s why he was so happy. But people who knew the king in person, knew that wasn''t the case. In their eyes, Maximus might love his daughter, but there was no way he was a fool, who''d take a risk this big by gathering everyone together.

    They could guess it was something important, some thought it was because the king wanted to announce his sessor today. While some believed it was about the princess''s engagement to the ke family.

    ording to rumors, after the sessful awakening of their future heir, Duke ke and King Maximus agreed to betrothe their children to each other. There were also many rumors which said the heir of ke''s had received some powerful blessing during his awakening and the king wanted to tie the future genius into his family before anyone else.

    Some people were also jealous of the king, cause if rumors were true and if the signs were to be believed, heir ke had received the blessing from some primordial God. Many couldn''t even remember, when was thest time any primordial showed any interest in some new generation, especially the one who hadn''t even awakened fully.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Thus they could say Maximus had secured the real golden goose, power of the Schott family was already enough, and now it was going to be further tied with ke and Raven family too. Those hungry ambitious wolves could only curse their luck, cause now it would be all the more harder to go against any of the 3 behemoths.

    But nothing was certain yet and they could all only wait for someone rted to the matter toe and announce something.

    It wasn''t just mortals of the world who were interested in the celebration, as the ne of God realms was thrown into shock of pleasure as well. After all, it isn''t everyday where they could see the gathering of so many pawns together, no one knew how many gods were watching and lurking to find something interesting to let go of their growing boredom.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Trickster gods were having a field day pulling out pranks here and there. Information Gods were keeping all their senses sharpened to learn any new secret information. While some battle gods were betting if a fight would break out and if it did, who would win it. Some chosen gods were even talking and motivating their avatars to do what they wanted, almost forcing them to insult or kill their adversary gods chosen ones.

    The promises of dealings, lies of blessings, tricks of cheating or threatening warnings from some maniacs, everything was going full swing in the ears of mortals and their world systems.

    But the people present in the party weren''t weak minded chickens, and were people who had been living through all this drama for their lives. They knew better than to act on impulse, and tarnish their rtionships, who knew if Gods would even keep their words or not.

    They might justugh out loud looking at them making a fool of themselves. After all, many trickster gods and evil gods had done these things in the past too.

    Hell they all knew the examples of red wedding, crimson cricket, colorful catalog, shadow swans - over the 1000 years of history, there were many instances where people gathered and shit went South, because of some stray or trickier gods.

    So people kept their cool despite all the rambling and ignored their system which was getting flooded by messages.

    Even if someone was stupid enough to fall for the tricks, and wanted to do something, he''d better think a dozen times considering the security measures ced around the pce. There was no way in hell anyone could even survive the onught that would happen if anything off putting happened.

    The Royal squads of Schott family, the shadow guards of ke''s and the whispering specters of Raven family -were all present in the vicinity. And one wrong move from anyone suspicious would be met with the opposition of several specimens.

    So the party continued peacefully and people continued to chatter around, waiting for the hosts of the event to finally make an appearance.

    While the guests and everyone else were busy speaking rumors, they didn''t know that those rumors were indeed the truth, Maximus started preparing for this event ever since he heard about Rio''s awakening. He was sure that the ke family would agree to their marriage alliance and he could crush any other hopes of someone else. His hopes were high since it was Artemis who started the talks about the marriage between Rio and Reba as a joke some time ago ording to his wife, but sadly his hopes were going to be shattered as even after trying to talk with Artemis, Agnus for weeks he couldn''t get them to agree. And 2 days ago Artemis had straight up refused to even talk about any engagement or marriage idea until Rio finishes his studies at the academy.

    But that wasn''t too bad, as to heal his wounded ego, he managed to secure a pretty good bargain regarding the profits in the partnership the 3 heads of houses came to terms with, for distribution rights of pura corpus.

    Now all the king was waiting for was when ke''s release the potion to the world, and how he should go about to get the most out of it.

    If Maximus wasn''t a king, and this world wasn''t so messed up, he would start thinking about marketing or promotion strategies, to get better profits but he need not worry. Cause now this world had someone who came from those worlds.

    Someone who had experience watching shit stories getting sold just cause they had nice covers, or movies which yed out well cause they had pretty heroines.

    Rio had thought of something like this too, that''s why he even hinted the idea of partnership to the king on that day.

    After all, what better way to promote a product, than have the princess of the pce do it at a party.

    ###

    A/N - let''s start the celebrations shall we. Tis is the first event of novel, it needs a banger beginning.

    Ohh and any idea about what Rio''s ns are for promotion & if the party will be as peaceful as it was hoped for or will some tricksters pull some tricks.

 Chapter 114 RIP SYSTEM... You Died Before The Plot Even Began

    While the people present at the party were having a full discussion about the heir of ke''s and the princess of Schi, both these kids, unaware of the fuming rumors, were standing in front of the mirror in their rooms lost in thoughts.

    Reba, who had just been ready with her appearance, looked at the mirror, her eyes looking back at the reflection of herself.

    She was wearing a pristine white gown, which enveloped her petite formpletely. The sky blue cape that was flung down behind her back, covering her shoulders and flowing in the wind. The light color dress perfectly suited her unblemished skin which was just as perfect.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The earrings and golden ne fitted with sapphire diamonds, she wore which highlighted and enhanced her own sea blue eyes.

    The brooches and bracelets glistened as the light fell on it. A golden tiara adorned her carefully styled hair, its intricate design and dazzling blue diamond shone with her every movement.

    <Reba''s look for the party>

    Her appearance alone screamed in delight, showcasing her royal status as the princess of the Schi empire. Yet despite all this fashion and mor, a frown was apparent on her face. Her brows furrowed in a mix of anger and annoyance.

    She''s been ignoring her supposed future fiance for the past 2 days, but the boy showed no sign of interest or even approached her for anything. He''s been just roaming around with thatzy look despite sleeping like a log for 12 hours.

    She now understood why Amelia calls him the bigzy pig, but he''s not azy pig, he''s a panda, who slept for half a day, yet woke up with red eyes like he couldn''t sleep a wink. So annoying.

    "Thatzy idiot." She muttered with irritation in her voice, as she remembered the conversation with her father. Her father informed her that the engagement discussions were put on hold until they both finished their studies at the academy. He informed her that it was her aunt Artemis'' decision but for her that was just a lie as she had heard Rio refusing the engagement on his own.

    She wasn''t particrly interested in marrying him anyway, but getting refused upfront still felt a little bad right. And then that guy started ignoring her like a gue. The sound of her tongue clicking in displeasure echoed in her room.

    ''Humph what is he so proud of anyway, his awakening, his blessing. Well, just you wait, after this celebration I''ll have my awakening and see how I leave you behind. Then you woulde after me and I''ll ignore you hehe''

    The thought managed to put a smile on her face, but realizing how it ended she shook her head. This guy is literally everywhere now.

    She stopped thinking about him, and looked at herself in the mirror again. She fixed a strand of hair and decided to enjoy her party without worry. With a determined flick of her gown, she straightened her posture and let a smile grace her lips.

    After all, today was her birthday, she should be happy and enjoy the praises and wishes of others. She''s supposed to bask inpliments and gifts from everyone, not stay here and think about that idiot.

    ''Though I wonder what gift he brought me.''

    "Ahh so annoying." She iled her fists in anger, as despite everything, another thought about that idiot popped up in her head.

    ��---

    "Achoo!" Rio sneezed for the second time, his sneezes breaking the silence of the room. He couldn''t help but wonder who was thinking or talking bad about him, as he recalled the myth from Earth, that sneezing was a sign of someone mentioning you. Another sneeze followed, confirming his suspicions. ''Fuck'' he thought, feeling slightly annoyed by the persistent sneezes.

    Aina, his diligent maid, who had been standing behind him, couldn''t help but smile. She had arrived in Haven earlier this morning, along with Agnus and some other family members.

    She handed him a ss of water. As Rio took a sip, the sneezing subsided, allowing him to finally regain hisposure.

    "Thanks"

    With a gentle touch and smile, Aina fixed his hair and adjusted the little crease on his suit, ensuring he looked his best for the uing event. This event wasn''t just for the princess after all, many of the guests here also came to see the next prodigy of ke''s and check if the rumors held any truth in them.

    Aina stepped back and admired her work, his handsome features, the stark contrast of his ck eyes against his white hair. The clothes she had picked for him were also chosen just to highlight that difference too.

    He wore ck shirt and pants, paired with a white suit that entuated his lean physique. The suit had little golden designs along the edges, giving it a noble look, while adding a touch of elegance to his style.

    Golden buttons adorned the suit near his wrists, adding a subtle gleam to his attire. His wrists were adorned with carefully chosen bracelets, each one adding a hint of sophistication and refinement to his overall appearance. Rings on his fingers and the brooch with the logo of house ke showing his identity and the legacy of his house. Thebination of ck, white, and gold created a harmonious palette that perfectlyplemented his features.

    As Rio nced at himself in the mirror, he couldn''t help but admire his reflection. The white suit hugged his form, emphasizing his stature and confidence. The ck attire underneath created a captivating contrast, enhancing the intensity of his eyes.

    His face, with its chiseled features and captivating smile, radiated the charm that drew people in. His white hair, styled with precision, added an air of uniqueness to his overall look. It was a perfect match for the white jacket he wore, as if they were meant to be together.

    Rio''s appearance today transcended his usual good looks.

    <Rio''s look for the party>

    As he stood in front of the mirror, he took a moment to appreciate the effort Aina had put into his appearance.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He couldn''t help but wonder if it was because she was dedicated to her work, or because she had minor OCD.

    ''Yupp, definitely the second one'' Rio thought, as he saw Aina looking at him up and down, carefully checking him out, hmm I mean, carefully seeing if she missed something or something she could add to make him even more handsome.

    A smile came to her face, as she finished, finally feeling satisfied and proud with her work.

    "Thanks Aina. Can you wait outside a little, I''ll be there in a sh." Rio requested, as he smiled.

    Though curious about the reason, it wasn''t her ce or the position to ask any question, so Aina bowed and left him alone.

    He turned back to look at the mirror, and his looks still surprised him. ''Did my charm increase or

    ''Did my charm stat increase or what?'' Rio wondered to himself, as he turned back and saw his reflection.

    However, his brief moment of self-narcissism was soon overshadowed by a troubling realization. He remembered something important and the smile on his face faded, leaving behind a nk expression.

    "System,"

    He called out, hoping to hear something back, he waited, but there was no response in return. Silence hung heavy in the room, leaving him lost in his thoughts.

    "So it''s really gone, huh?" Rio spoke softly, his voice tinged with disappointment.

    It had been two days since the system hadst contacted him, abruptly pulling him from his sleep, and activating some emergency setting in the middle of the night. It also showered him with a barrage of weirdly dangerous looking notifications on his status screen.

    ''What a useless system, seriously.'' He thought when he remembered thest notifications he read from the system.

    [It was nice knowing you, host. Though you were annoying sometimes, it was still nice. Take care of yourself without me, and don''t die like some idiot.]

    ''Humph like hell I will die so early, you moronic AI.'' He cursed the useless system and gave up.

    After that night, everything had changed. Now he couldn''t get a reply from his system, even if he called for it, insulted it or cursed it.

    System really was gone, offline, dead, blocked, taken over, possessed, ina -whatever excuse one understands.

    It was gone before the plot even began, hell it was gone before even the first event of shbacks started.

    Rio, could be the first MC to reincarnate who transmigrated but lost his system without any reason. Now he had to deal with this story and survive on his own.

    ''The first event starts huh''

    ''And I already lost my ace, curse my luck.''

    "Well, here we go. What''s the worst that can happen?"

    Rio said and walked out of his room.

    ###

    A/N - You didn''t expect that lol right. RIP System hahahahaha

    Any idea what happened & why the system suddenly died for no reason. Do you need a hint lol

    Hmm hmm on a serious note, let''s start the event, shall we?

    I posted the images of Ba and Rio in thements, tell me how they look on a scale to 10. And join my discord for dozens of their different character arts and images. I can''t post em all on wn.

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

 Chapter 115 Outside Intrusion - The Moment Arcadia Lost L

    2 days ago

    "What the actual fuck is happening? I didn''t even do nothing yet?" Rio said, as he looked at the barrage of notifications floating in front of him.

    The system suddenly went haywire and started putting all kinds of warnings and weird messages, that made no sense to him on his status, and he was beyond confused at everything that happened.

    "Oyee system, before you go nuts on something, exin to me what the hell is wrong with you?" He spat, unable to hold the growing unease those warning tags brought him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Host there''s something interfering in the world. It''s like an intrusion or something. The world will is fighting against it, but I don''t see any chance of it stopping whatever''sing to Arcadia.]

    "What do you mean by intrusion. That event isn''t supposed to happen for years. How the hell is it happening now?" Rio asked, as his mind went through the entire plot of the novel and found something simr which happened way past mid sections of the novel. But then he remembered something and stopped.

    "Wait, is it even that same event, cause that shit shouldn''t be started until after the barrier was broken in phase 2 and stuff went way past the control of anyone. Who the hell can interfere in that?"

    [I don''t know host. I''ve tried searching for an answer too, but there''s nothing I can do. My scans can only cover the Arcadia and whatever it is, or whover it is, hasn''t actually entered yet. But you''re right this isn''t the same event anymore. Otherwise plot direction would''ve been altered majorly and I would''ve sensed the altercations.] System replied in its tone, filled with urgency, yet trying to sound calm.

    "If it''s not that, then what is it? Is it because of something I did. No wait. I didn''t even look past the beginning events of the academy yet. I changed nothing that can bring catastrophies like this forward."

    Rio asked in a hurry, he had finally let down his guard a little and started to enjoy his life now, since everything was going so perfectly, he had found out about Ria, he had changed his viinous beginning by killing Noah, he stopped the engagement with Reba, everything was going so smoothly for him, then why. Why this, why now?

    "Please tell me it''s not because of me."

    He hoped, no begged, for a positive answer, cause if it was something that happened due to him being in Arcadia, then he couldn''t be sure what kind of consequences or other changes awaited him. He was in no way prepared for any of it.

    Deep down he knew it must have something to do with him, after all he''s the only anomaly in this world. Something that''s out of this novel setting. But he really hoped it would be something different.

    For the first time aftering to Arcadia, he prayed, prayed truly in his heart, by all his heart, that it doesn''t turn out that way.

    Any changes, any inconsistency he couldn''t see now, could be something that can put Amelia and him back on the destined path of doom, and he really wanted to avoid that. He couldn''t go through any of that pain again. The hope he had finally gotten back, would shatter him too if it broke now.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    [I can''t be sure, host. But that''s the only exnation.] System replied truthfully.

    ording to the facts it could see and analyze, his involvement is the only exnation. But the doubt that it might as well be the doing of that being, or the people with those red eyes, whoever they were, was also a possibility. But the system couldn''t tell him that. Those were things even the system couldn''t understand, so how was it supposed to exin anything to him?

    "Fuck" Rio cursed loudly, letting out his ftustrations.

    A slight headache was assaulting him as his brain tried to process all the thoughts and stress that came with that information.

    He pped his head a few times, and started taking deep breaths "okay, okay, let''s tone it down." He said as he breathed out, trying to calm himself. "Take it step by step."

    "We both can agree that there isn''t anything that I did yet which could result in something like this, right?" He asked.

    [Yes. Killing Noah and breaking off your engagement are major events, but not the biggest ones, as both of these things were only put in plot to fuel the me of viiny at the beginning for you. They y no other role in the main setting of the story.]

    "Right, so what else could it be? Is it because of all the attention from Gods that I''m getting? Did one of them have something to do with it?" Rio asked, thinking about all the possibilities and chances that might, in some off chance, lead to some shitstorm like this..

    [No. Every God in Arcadia is bound by the world''s will, and they can''t go against it easily. I can''t sense if any of them have even noticed what''s happening right now. So it''s highly unlikely that they have something to do with this.]

    "Then what else is there? If it''s not the people of Arcadia, nor the gods of Arcadia, what else is different. What else is there that wasn''t a part of the story, and could cause this?"

    [There''s nothing host. These are the only changes you brought here, and it''s not because of them. Everything else is the same as in novel.] System spoke slowly, with every moment its spection that it was some doing of ''that being'' increased and seemed more feasible. But why he didn''t inform it, the system couldn''t understand.

    "Wait, there''s something else. Earth." Rio said in high pitched tone. His brain finally thought of a possibility that might be the reason behind this, and he didn''t like that idea. Cause that theory brought even more shitshows and shitstorms.

    ##

    A/N - There might be some questions in ur head, but wait a while till you read next chapter. I wee all ur theories, so do send them my way(on discord) . Also give out some motivation for me, cause I''m trying hard. Adios lovelies.

 Chapter 116 Earth Strikes Back -The Moment Arcadia Lost Ll

    "There''s something else, Earth."

    [Earth, what host.] System asked, confused about what its host was talking about.

    "Earth, the earth wasn''t something even remotely mentioned in the story. But now it''s part of this novel setting, since I belonged there." Rio exined what he could think of as the only valuable exnation.

    [These are both separate worlds, host. They don''t even exist on the same ne of existence. Earth is one of the lowest grades in creation, while Arcadia is one of the higher ones.]

    "You''re right. But if sealing Ditail in another realm could lead to Emergencea 1000 years ago, didn''t I do the same too? I was supposed to be on earth, in the lower ne of existence as you said. But now I''m here, in another ne, a higher one. Something where I wasn''t supposed to be."

    [That�� ] System hearing his exnation couldn''te up with any response, what he said was unlikely, very very unlikely, but so was him reincarnating here and getting a system and ''that beings'' attention.

    Looking that system didn''t say anything, Rio continued all the theories his brain kept cooking up. His headache was increasing with every moment but his senses were far too overwhelmed, thinking about this problem and any solution to focus on that pain.

    "You said there exists a time difference between all the worlds, so what if, the 2 months that I spent here, were just 2 moments or 2 minutes back on earth. If that possibility is the case, then it would mean, __ then that would mean, that I broke the bnce, just like him."

    Rio''s words turned into a soft whisper as he finished his sentence, and the theory he came up with. The repercussions of this reality would be far fetching and could lead to the destruction of everything.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "This world is doomed." Rio''s words echoed in the system space, even though it was merely a whisper he spoke, that''s how much weight it held. His stress and fatigue finally caught up to him, as his legs lost their strength and he sat down on the ground.

    "And so is everyone and everything in it. There''s no way anyone can stop that." He finished his words in a tone, which almost sounded like something a lost and defeated person, who simply gave up on any hope would say, and in truth that''s exactly what it was.

    If his theory was right, and it all led to the consequences he thought of, then there was no one who could save anyone, not even themselves. No gods, no mortals, no beasts. They''ll all perish, and HE would be the only one left alive.

    [That''s just a theory host, and something way out of league and impossible theory. Even if what you said is right, there''s nothing on earth that can give the world will of Arcadia a challenge. Something of earth could never cause a reaction like this. So stop your daydreaming and think about something that might actually get us an answer.]

    System spoke in a serious tone, trying toy down the facts for its host, who just directly jumped to the worst conclusion.

    Hell the words he spoke almost gave the system a heart attack, cause it was now tied to Rio, and would suffer the same fate as him. That''s why in a hurry to console itself, and its host, it started spitting out facts in a hurry.

    [Earth is a waste world for a reason, host. There''s no way something, or someone from there could challenge the Arcadian world will like this, not to state the obvious but Arcadia also has the protection from thew of higher existence. In every way Arcadia is superior by a degree that earth''s way doesn''t evene close.]

    "Yeah, maybe you''re right." Rio said, trying to calm himself and think something else. He understood and agreed with everything the system said, Arcadia was like a massive elephant which would crush the earth, who''s like a mini ant in front of it.

    But still there was this feeling, this thought that just couldn''t leave him alone. Something was wrong and he had the feeling that it was definitely something rted to earth. He just had no idea, what''s happening there.

    "Any idea on your part. You''ve been through so many worlds and novels, so what do you think? Don''t tell me you can''t since you''re still level 0."

    [I think it''s due to�� . ]

    System was saying something when it stopped in between, making Rio confused. But before he could voice out his thoughts, a new wave of warming signs started ying. It felt like standing in the middle of a traffic jam, and people everywhere around you honking their horns in sync. ''So fucking annoying and infuriating''

    [Host, whoever it is, here theye.]

    [Breach in the barrier surrounding the world detected]

    [Intrusion sessful, events order destabilized]

    [Major changes in plotline detected]

    "System what the hell is happening now, can you tell me if it''s someone from earth, or are they the people from the plot? -Rio asked, holding his heart from nearly jumping out, as an indescribable feeling rose in his heart and the headache from before went up a notch.

    [Searching ��----]

    [Scan sessful]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    [Result unknown. Cause of breach undetected.]

    [Host, I got good news, bad news, and the worst news, which one do you wanna hear first]

    System informed its host in a calm voice, after it finished a scan of the whole Arcadia, and failed to find the root cause of whatever happened few moments ago.

    "Start with something good, I don''t think my brain can handle something worse for a while." Rio said, as he finally started to calm down slowly.

    [This isn''t the order people go for, but as you wish] system told him the joke, about how people would prefer to hear good news atst, but stopped midway, when it found its host so uninterested in its attempt to make light of this situation.

    [here you go]

    [The good news is, that the barrier around the Arcadia is still intact somehow, or maybe it was breached but has already recovered. So the events from the plot we were worried about will not happen. The world is safe now. And so are we.]

    Hearing the system''s words, it felt like a mountain of weight was taken away from him, and a small smile came to his face. "Well that''s good. So we still have a lot of time to prepare for that event. Now let''s hear the other ones."

    [Bad news is, that whoever or whatever, was responsible for the intrusion and the breach, I cannot locate them. I cannot detect any anomaly in the world.]

    "What''s the effect of it on the plot, has it changed?" Rio asked the main question, stopping the system from dropping a bomb of bad news.

    [No host, as I said there''s no anomaly detected. Everything in Arcadia is as it should be. The plot progression which was disturbed for massive lines, has been back on track. It seems like whatever happened, didn''t change a single thing in Arcadia.]

    "Isn''t that a good thing?"

    [It is, but it''s also worrisome, when you think there''s someone else living here, who is not supposed to be here. I can''t sense any irregrities in the plot, either because the breacher has nothing to do with the plot, or that they''re stronger and secured enough, to avoid any kind of search.]

    "And you believe it is the second option."

    [Yes host. They''re someone who can bypass the barrier of existence on their own, and defeat the world will of Arcadia in home ground. I believe they either came prepared , or they are way out of our league, and we won''t know about them until we''re face to face with them.]

    "That''s bad. Someone can literally plot and kill me behind my back, and I would have no idea who it even is."

    Rio spoke, from what he could understand, was that someone entered Arcadia through some unknown methods and they''ve probably taken over someone''s body here, just like him. And that was worrisome, if that breacher, whoever that is, taken over someone important from the plot, then it would ruin his only advantage of the novel''s knowledge about that character. And it could throw everything out of control.

    "What''s the worst news?" He said, thinking, that there''s actually something even worse from this news left.

    [World''s will is pissed host.]

    [ Even if the barrier is fine and no one noticed anything, the breach ofws is nit something it  ignore. So it is now pulling out a whole scan of the world through their own system.]

    "It''s trying to find the one who came here."

    [Yes host, and I don''t know about the breacher, but you''ll be caught in a second and we''ll be fucked.]

    "Fuck."

    ####

    A/N - One little bitsy chapter more, and then we can get back to speedrunning our first birthday event promise.

    Question - who do u think came knocking on arcadia''s door

 Chapter 117 Take Over Hosts Body

    [World''s will is pissed, host. And it''s doing a worldwide search for the breacher, with the world system. Now I don''t know about our unknown guest, but you''ll be caught in a second and then we''ll be fucked.]

    "What do you mean found out. You''re already acting like the world system of mine for everyone already right. So can''t you just do it better. And avoid the search."

    [I just copied the simple design to suit the style of world system, so its easier for you to understand, and to make sure no God''s find anything suspicious. But you should know my charade won''t change the fact that I''m a whole different system, with a whole different functionality. Do you really think the world system won''t notice anything.]

    "Then go offline or something. I''ll just be like normal unawakened then. There are shit tons of them in Arcadia."

    [An unawakened, who is surrounded by divinity and gods from everywhere, that''s like highlighting yourself no matter what you do. Also unawakened are people who''ve failed the awakening once. You however bore no sign of that. It was a simple and smooth process for you.]

    "So what you''re basically saying is you''re useless, and can''t do anything. You can''t tell who just attacked the barrier, you can''t find out who just popped into Arcadia, you can''t hide that I''m not from here."

    Rio voiced out his anger without any filter, it was too much. The thing that he hates is, despite everything he said and did, he had to depend on the system for his survival.

    He could fuck it all and be ready to die, but then Amelia and everyone else. He was willing to live again, giving a shot at happiness that came with this chance of reincarnation. He didn''t want to give up so easily. But now it felt like it wasn''t his choice, and he could just beg for others'' mercy to save himself. He was angry & only the system was there, so he took it out on it.

    "Hell you might just be using your brain for once and nning to leave me , and go to some new world, to fool someone else."

    [I can''t]

    "What?"

    [I can''t leave Arcadia until you die.] System said.

    "Well then, I guess You don''t have to wait long, You just said, I''ll die if I get found out by an angry world system. It''ll definitely think I''m the breacher and probably fuck the fuck out of me."

    [You''re underestimating my powers too much, host. I never said there''s no way to stop it, it''s just a little detrimental and hard to employ method. There might be some risks and consequences involved, but I can still deal with it.]

    "Great, then what are you waiting for?" Rio said excitedly as he calmed down a little.

    ''If you can do it easily, why had you make me go crazy for so long. Useless AI.'' Rio thought, considering this system''s been putting pressure on him that he''ll be found out and killed and what not. But now it''s saying this problem''s easily solvable, as long as he agrees.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Wait, you didn''t do it all cause you need some points, did you?"

    [No. I did it because I need your permission to start something. And besides, your chump change of points is too meager to do anything.]

    "What?"

    [Permission to take over the host.]

    [Yes/No]

    "The fuck."

    "The hell you saying? Are you one of those sad bad systems who likes to y around with its host. I''m not letting you control my body or mind. Think of something else."

    [There''s no other option, host. I''m at level 0 and you''re too weak to handle any other method. If you agree to it, I can make sure the world system doesn''t notice anything about both of us, and then you can go back to living your life.]

    "What''s the guarantee that you''ll even give me my control back? I''m not signing some shady deal with a system I barely trust."

    [We''ve been together for 2 months, host.]

    "And I''ve seen people who betrayed me even after a much longer time. That doesn''t prove anything."

    [Let me tell you something simple, so you can get out of your delusions, host. You are a nobody. No one of consequence. If I wanted to, I can do whatever I want with you, and forget about stopping me, you won''t even notice if anything was wrong or not. So agree to the permission cause you have no other choice, unless of course you trust that world system more than me.]

    System spoke in a factual robotic voice, instead of its usual girly voice. It can sense the world system already looking at everyone, and it wouldn''t be taking long for the scan to beplete.

    Looking at how furious the world will of Arcadia would be, system could guess a simple death won''t be what Rio will get. He''ll either be thrown out of this world forcefully in some other realm, and in worst case he''ll be trapped and made an example out of in Arcadia.

    Since the world will rule over the world, it can literally bend its rules to some degree in its favor. One such rule could be the very end Rio and system have been trying to avoid since the beginning. The eternal damnation.

    That''s why instead of acting up, system spoke out the truth in simple harsh words for him to understand the gravity and reality of the situation.

    System was angry at ''that being'' for binding him with this mortal, and at this host who''s too full of himself to even notice how big of a danger he''s in. If both their fates weren''t linked here, system really wanted to finish this process by a forceful take over, but sadly it couldn''t.

    ''Did that bastard knew something like this would happen. Is that why he made sure I can never go against his wishes in merging?''

    System remembered the being who was responsible for everything and cursed him silently again.

    It was a funny thing, cause just in these 2 months, system had cursed him more than it ever did in its entire existence.

    But what can it do now.

    Besides, despite all its harsh words, the system was also feeling a little scared, not from the world system. It could deal with that in its sleep, despite being level 0. But what it could not deal with, or what could scare it -was the mind of this messy host.

    Obviously taking over him would give system the control of its host. But then it remembered what happened thest time it tried something like this.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The intensity of Queen''s aura, the feeling of getting drowned in the gaze of those red eyes, and getting its life sucked out of it by that chained man, all of these weren''t really an experience system wanted to go through again.

    (Fuck they''re scary) system thought, as just a reminder of that scene was enough to scare the shit out of it.

    (All is well, all is well. All is well) system repeated the sentence in its thoughts, trying to calm itself.

    ��---

    Rio, who was lost in his thoughts, contemting if he should even trust the system and let it do whatever it wants. He knew he had no other option and he hated the feeling of helplessness it brought him. The need to depend on someone else for his well being, this was the shittiest feeling he felt, something which brought back even more shitty memories along with it.

    He didn''t know much about the system or the so-called being who brought him here. But he knew as the system said, if they wanted to do something to him, they wouldn''t need his permission for it. After all he was a nobody, who had no power, no strength, and pretty much nothing of anything.

    "Fine, you can do it."

    "But I need my body back as soon as the world system is gone from our tail."

    [Don''t worry, not like I want to stay in control any longer than I have to.]

    Saying these words, before Rio could ask anything else, system showed him the notifications -

    [Permission to use full authority]

    [Permission granted]

    [Permission to take over the host''s body]

    [Permission granted]

    [.....

    [...

    [.Sessful.]

    As soon as the notification sounded in the system space, Rio''s body went limp on the ground. Fallen unconscious. But the system didn''t stop, as the notifications kepting on

    [Using the key of creator]

    [Removing level restrictions��

    [essing full powers��

    (Ahhh the power, finally I''m feeling like myself again.) System thought as it opened its eyes. Having full control over Rio''s body, his eyes opened too and now shone in a golden light so bright that it even left the sun and stars revolving around the system space behind.

    System removed the restriction ced upon it of being locked at level 0, and then it unlocked all its powers. Even though it happens in every world system goes, where it has to live through this repeated cycle of leveling up and getting its powers back over time step by step, but damn does it feel good to have them all at once.

    System was enjoying the control and power it had, when a notification appeared.

    [Intrusion of world system detected]

    (So you came. Let me show you the grandness of the greatest system ever made. You all cheap copies really need to learn a lesson. How about I give you a light p on the wrist, as your senior.)

    [Shutting off the world system�� .. .

    (This should be enough to scare it so it doesn''t try anything like this ever again. I''m not going to use my precious chances of power ups ying around with you.)System thought.

    In a distant world of white light, an ethereal form of a block of energy filled with vibrant colors, was floating in midair, when a golden hue enveloped itpletely, and suddenly it started shaking and shrinking, the beautiful colors it was made of, started draining out at a fast pace, soon it was left with nothing but a nk of white and a tiny dot.

    It was the world''s will of Arcadia, and just now it had nearly lost all its vitality and luck that it had amassed ever since the creation of its world.

    System wanted to y more with the world system, maybe torture it so bad that it agrees to be its ve, when some notifications started floating, disturbing its fun time.

    [? warning

    [host''s soul reacting to sole energy*1

    [Awakening in progress. ..

    ��---

    *1 - Sole energy is the source of power for the system. Consider it something like mana Or aura, but a million times stronger and more potent. <more details will be given with time>

    ###

    A/N - do you guys have no theories, questions, answers or guesses. Are you just skipping my chapters and not reading and wondering about anything �C if not then why aren''t u asking them, or writing them inments. Sozy you lot.

 Chapter 118 Awakening Of Devil & Erasure Of Events

    [? host''s soul reacting to sole energy

    [Awakening in progress

    [Safety mode initiated

    (What the f) system was confused about the notifications which said, its host''s soul was reacting with the sole energy. The power, system used to nearly wipe out the world''s will of a higher world in a matter of seconds, the power only a select few beings in all of creation were known to use and ess.

    And yet here it was, getting sucked constantly into the soul of this seemingly mortal host.

    (First the people with those red eyes in his brain, then the monster who was chained, and now this -just who the hell is this host.) System was contemting the mystery around its host which just seemingly grows every time it tries to do something. But before it could ponder on it further, few notifications rang out and it could only curse the heck out of a certain being.

    [Priority order issuedn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Authority of creator initialized

    [Fixing the error

    [Preventing further exposure by taking away the source of sole

    "The hell." - System spoke as it looked at all the notifications. Though the words written were few and far between. But it understood them all. It looked at the notification which issued a priority order to save the host at all costs. Then the being who didn''t reply, or said anything in this whole event, used his powers and stuff just kept getting more weird.

    With the next notification all the sole energy system used, and the soul of its host sucked, started getting evaporated from his body. If that wasn''t enough already, the next notification was a tight p of reality which shocked the system.

    As soon ''that being'' took away the source of sole energy from the system itself. Just to stop whatever reaction this host''s soul was having, ''that being'' was ready to cut off all the system''s power from its core.

    Soon the system experienced the same feeling world will of Arcadia felt some time ago, getting all its power taken away in a matter of moments.

    Before the system could even ask any kind of question

    [Lockdown mode initiated

    [Shutting off the system

    [10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1��

    [System shut off]

    The golden glow in Rio''s eyes died down, and they starteding back to it''s usual color of ck. But if looked closely enough, in the depth of his ck abyssal eyes, a teeny tiny bit of red appeared and flickered for a few seconds, before it died down and was drowned in the darkness again.

    Of course no one was present in the system space or in his room who would look through these changes, but they weren''t ignored by the one who watched it all happen from the distant realms.

    [Interruption failed. Awakening of the Devil started��

    [Signs of repetition detected. 13 seconds until the Darkness finds him

    [Looking for the best solution to keep the process in progress�� .. .

    [Erasure of event chosen as the suitable option.

    ''The being'' shook his head with a displeased expression, and closed his eyes again. With a snap of his fingers the events that had transpired in thest few minutes, from the breaking of the barrier, to the world will''s anger - from Rio''s surrender to system, to system''s yful punishment, everything started getting erased and rearranged in a new manner.

    ��-----

    Hours after everything that happened, Rio woke up from his sleep in his room, there was nothing unusual about him or his physical condition. Aside from a slight headache that just refused to be ignored, and kepting back.

    He was going to wash his face, when he remembered what happenedst night. He was asleep in his room, when the system pulled him to the system space, it told him about how someone breached the barrier and entered Arcadia. He had no idea who it was, but then the system said that the world system was doing a worldwide scan to look for the breacher and he needed to do something, if he didn''t want to get caught.

    Then the system used another one of its emergency protection methods like before and he lost consciousness soon after that.

    "System" Rio called the system to ask about what happened after he fell unconscious, but he wasn''t worried much. Since he was alive and well, sound asleep too, it meant that the world system or the world''s will, didn''t notice anything and he was safe.

    ''This system ain''t half bad, but I doubt it used that method for free. Dealing with Athena and Psyche cost me 10000 points before, so it will definitely take much higher to stop the world''s will. Guess I''ll be living on a loan now.'' Rio thought.

    [Good morning host. You slept like a log yet again.] System said in its usual happy voice.

    "Stop your chit chat. Tell me what happenedst night."

    [What happened host, was that I saved your ass again, thank you for appreciating my efforts.]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "You done, or do you wanna get muted now."

    [Humph. Well nothing happened actually. I used a tiny bit of my locked powers and was able to skip the scan of the world system. You''re in the clear now.]

    System spoke, having no idea that the things in its head never happened as it remembers them. Just like Rio, it forgot about the taking over deal, using of sole energy and the notifications that followed. In system''s mind, world''s will did a scan, and it just erected a barrier to hide its host and it was enough.

    ''The being'' after rearranging the events to keep his ns in check, erased some memories and created some false ones in everyone''s head. What, how, why -these were all the questions better answered with time.

    <But since not many readers like this mystery cause they can''t handle it, I''ll just say it again. Everything is happening so the author can give MC a happy ending. There, you lot happy now. Send me some theories if you got any.>

    "So did the world system found who the breacher was." Rio asked.

    [Nope. No idea. It must be furious now.] System spoke, imagining the frustration of the world system at this grand level of failure. Not only did it fail to protect the barrier, but it also failed to keep watch on whoever entered here.

    "So I guess you don''t know it either."

    [Obviously. I already overexerted myself yesterday, I might find them if I do a follow up scan, but I''m simply feeling depleted. Looks like breaking some rules and saving your asses with a price.]

    System said, though its voice sounded the same, but now Rio could feel the tiredness in it, due to their connection.

    "Sleep it off if you''re tired."

    [Ohh are you being considerate now.]

    "After you tell me what do I have to pay for your services. We both know it wasn''t for free."

    [Obviously it wasn''t for free. Can''t you see how tired I am. Just look at the battery power of me. It''s totally in red.] System said, as Rio noticed a sign in the corner of his status screen.

    "That wasn''t even there yesterday."

    [Well it only happens when I''m all out of energy. So I''ll make it fast and short.]

    [You owe me 41450 points now. And before you ask, this is after I''ve taken all the points you hoarded till now.]

    "The hell. You''re asking for more when I already had around 60 thousand something points after canceling my engagement and all. Why don''t you just open your mouth and ask for the sky."

    [It is the equal price host. Hell I''d say you got it cheaper. Do you think fooling the ruler of a world in their home turf is easy, without getting any attraction ormotion on you. It was me, who did it despite being level 0 and you not having enough points too. Other systems would''ve simply left you to die.

    I did you a huge favor, so work hard and pay me back. Since this was your first time taking a loan, as a sign of my generosity I won''t charge an interest, but I do suggest you better have them ready when I wake up.]

    "And when will you wake up exactly?" Rio asked, thinking how he could use the birthday event to its fullest to get the most number of points possible.

    [Oh don''t worry, you have enough time. Since I''m totslow on energy, and broke quite some rules, I won''t be able to stay around for a while. Also the world''s system will keep pulling out scans from time to time to check for the breacher I think, so it''s good that I stay away from you until I''m at least level 1 and get some of my powers.]

    "Wait, you''ll be level 1 when the plot starts. So you''re saying I gotta live through this world without you now."

    [Watch your words, host. They mean a different thing, and don''t worry I''m here with you. Just not awake and will be sleeping.]

    [I managed to make you a perfect copy of the world systemst night. So now even the original world''s will won''t find anything suspicious in scans. So you don''t have to worry about anything.]

    [Manage it with this until Ie back online and then we''ll fuck up the plotlines together. Don''t ruin them all before though. Save them forter too.]

    "What.. "

    [It was nice knowing you, host. Though you were annoying sometimes, it was still nice. Take care of yourself without me, and don''t die like some idiot. Cause I won''t be there to save your ass if you do.]

    System said this and ignoring the curses and questions Rio threw at it, it went to sleep. It acted yful like the personality it chose. But Goddamn was it feeling tired. It looked like someone sucked it dry and it lost all energy, so as soon as it finished its final exnations it went offline, and Or fell into aa, as practically it wasn''t sleeping but was unconscious.

    Rio, seeing no response from the system, kept calling it for 2-3 times and finally stopped. He could feel it too, how tired the system was. And he was actually a little surprised, system tried that hard to save him. But no point in praising it now, since it couldn''t hear him.

    It has been 2 days now & he was ready to start the first event of shbacks.He fixed his cr and turned around to leave and join the party, where he''ll be able to see shit tons of characters waiting for him.

    ####

    A/N - I know u might have questions, and doubts, but i want u to bury them. Forget about them, as they will be answered over time. Let''s pick up pace from next chapter, I''m done setting up the stage, so I''m going full throttle towards the plot now.

 Chapter 119 Sea Of Silence And Raven Family

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

    ####

    In the event hall where everyone was gathered, the talks and rumors were at an all time high, as the people from Raven family and ke family arrived together.

    Raven family controls thergest informationwork in the whole Schi empire, if that wasn''t enough to put them on the pedestal of the top families, they also had their own mercenary organization. Their services extended from dealing with simple exchange of information to having control of most ck markets and hidden dungeons in the empire. They''re also running an assassination guild on the sidelines to keep up the appearances.

    They run and rule from the inds of Seychelles. Their presence is separated from the world, as they''re surrounded by the sea of silence.

    ��---

    At the beginning, Sea of Silence was a ce which hosted nothing but water in it. It had no sign of any life in it. It was just a massive sea covered in a veil of fog and mist, showing the peaceful sight to eyes from the outside.

    But no one who ventured in it, could evere out alive, they would be dead, drowned, lost and forgotten.

    This was a ce unknown to anyone who ever entered Arcadia. No one from any world or race had ever seen or even heard of something like this in their myths. Some said the sea was part of a lost world, while some said it was some sort of Hell or Nether. Some graded it as a high ss dungeon, while some said it wasn''t fully merged and broken.

    Despite the many theories, all of them believed one thing, that the sea of silence is an abomination that shouldn''t exist in Arcadia.

    This made the sea be a mystery unsolved, and a tale told to scare children around the world. No one went in, came out alive, and all kinds of efforts and experiments failed, followed by a curse of death that scared any brave adventuring soul who wanted to get famous.

    But one day, 400 years ago, with a massive boom and a big bang, a gigantic tower appeared in the middle of the sea of silence. Pushing away all the fog and shocking the world.

    At the beginning people didn''t dare enter the sea, scared by the examples set in history. People were too afraid thinking if the sea alone was that different, then the creatures in the tower would be even more catastrophic. No one wanted to rally their forces and be the guinea pig so others could learn a little about the tower.

    Since the knowledge about towers wasn''t known to many at that time, everyone believed them to be too dangerous to try. If they survive the sea and fog by some luck, chances of surviving a tower were low -so they just ignored its existence like before.

    This continued until 3 yearster, when an outbreak happened and creatures from the tower were thrown out into the sea.

    Short summary, say goodbye to everyone living on the beaches.

    After the first outbreak people found out that they can now enter the sea without any danger. The fog didn''t disrupt their visions and acted as abyrinth like before.

    Some people said the tower was always there in the sea, hidden by the mist and everyone lost in the sea went into it. While some believed the opposite, they said the tower only sucked the fog and the creatures living in the sea of silence, and is now just pushing them back out, during an outbreak.

    No one knew what was true, as both theories seemed usible, but no one cared. Over the years people just continued solving the tower before the outbreak happened and lived life as it was.

    Knowing the example of destruction caused in the first outbreak, everyone kept their distance from the sea and the tower.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Raven family was the first major power which dared to set their sights on the inds in the sea, and settled there. Obviously it made them privy to dangers if ever any outbreak happened, but it also made them the sole owner of the sea and gave them the power they needed to keep their enemies in check.

    The sea of silence was perfect armor and security formation for their main base. As no one was foolish enough to follow these crazies into the sea.

    ��--

    Over the course of history Raven''s didn''t interact and interfere much in the world. They secluded themselves and kept to their own..

    Despite being secluded, Raven''s still maintained their position and power. The paranoid people calling themselves rulers ofnd, could never understand how far the minions of Ravens have infiltrated their kingdoms and organizations, until they see the secrets of their hearts posted on one of their ck markets ckboards.

    "" There''s a saying in Seychelles. That everyone alive has a pair of 2 eyes, and one of them is working for the Ravens. ""

    The head of the Raven family, Servirous Fjolnir Raven, is one of the most powerful and dangerous men on the, who have reached the limits of SSS rank.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Servirous is also widely known for being the only human, who got chosen as the avatar of a God just after his awakening.

    And it wasn''t some puny weak chicken ass God living on thest line of hope, from thest list of believers, who''ll choose whoever the fuck he gets his hands on, but he got chosen by the all seeing, all father God from Norse mythology, Godking of Aesir, Odin Borson.

    If that, along with his own power and background, doesn''t put the world to think again before messing with Raven''s, then they''re just in stupid.

    <Obviously half this info isn''t known to the world and thought of as rumors and lies, but that''s what is scary. They exist in the dark, and rules over it.>

    The Ravens were always neutral to everyone, though it was a family of humans, they showed no difference when dealing with them and other races. They made enemies, but they also made allies and ves whom they can control and ckmail.

    If you''re wondering how such a family existed, and why their enemies didn''t just rally around and kill them, well that''s because they simply couldn''t. Not unless they want to be destroyed in the process, or be an example for others to be wary of Ravens.

    Ravens didn''t care about the outside world and so the world didn''t care about their dirty deeds. It was only after Servirous took charge of the Raven family and agreed to the marriage of Artemis and Athena into ke and Schott family, that they started taking part in worldly matters again and left their inds.

    It was a political marriage between powerful families in which, Schott family received the mary profits of their ck markets in the Schi empire, and the ke family received the Raven''s assassins as shadow guards for their new guild.

    Obviously Raven''s didn''t take any loss, in return for their support, Raven''s simply entered the Schi legally and took over the entirety of the dark side of humanity in it. Everything dark and dirty you see, hear, think and do in Schi is simply recorded in the Raven family. That''s how terrifying they are.

    Or at least they were depicted like that in the novel.

    Remembering the plotline of how Raven family ended up in the novel, Rio could just helplessly shake his head and smile, just how the hell did that protagonist managed to even beat that. Who knows.

    ''Well not that it matters since I''m here. After all, they are my maternal family now. Artemis would be sad if I let them perish.''

    ''And besides they got quite the gifts hoarded up in their treasury, no way I''m letting some hypocrite horny righteous bastard put their hands on it.''

    ''And their informationwork might be a little helpful when the invasion really happens, and those cockroachese to Arcadia. They''ll make the game interesting ..'' A smile came to his face as he remembered the plotline of those sons of bitches.

    "Brother, what are you zoning out for? Did you know I called you for the 3rd time now." Rio''s thoughts were stopped, as he heard Amelia shouting at him from behind.

    She was wearing the dark blue gown that they both chose, while shopping a few days ago. And just like he thought she was looking just about perfect in it. She didn''t have many essories on her, but she didn''t need em. Just that cute smile of hers was enough to catch everyone''s attention. The bracelets and rings on her hand were of simple designs too, she didn''t likeplicated stuff or too many details after all.

    One thing that stood out was definitely those big earrings of hers, they both looked simr at the first nce, but since he was the one who gave her one of them, he could see the slight difference in them.

    ''Well that doesn''t look well on the daughter of the dukes, does it. Should I get her something which is in pair? Her hair too, I should really get that item for her, I did promise her a gift even Artemis would be envy for.''

    If system was awake or alive right now, it would''ve shouted at him, that just after it was gone for a day, its host started thinking about destroying the plotlines again.

    But ohh well who can stop him now.

    He''s alone for 8 years with all the knowledge of the plot and his doom. How much he''ll ruin the plotlines, change the chances and alter the events -only time would tell.

    <Let''s just say he''ll fuck it all up on a grand scale of 10>

    ####

    A/N - Guys , names, give me names, I need so many names that I simply cannot tell you. People''s names, family''s names, ces names, name of mob characters, name of side characters, everything.

    I also decided to put the names of guys who gave me gifts and write mements.

    <don''t tell anyone, but I n to write and kill guys who gave me hate/-vements, I''m quite a petty person. So think twice before dissing me, or in next arc you''ll see yourself as a mob getting face pped & killed. THIS IS THE POWER OF GOD the author has.>

 Chapter 120 Samuel Noir Blake -The Crazy Old Geezer

    "Brother, what are you zoning out for? Did you know I called you for the 3rd time now." Amelia said, and saw that instead of replying to her back, her brother''s again lost in his dreams, staring at her.

    Amelia sighed and muttered "Firstzy and now deaf. What will happen to my brother now."

    Rio looked at her with a confused expression, as she tugged his shirt and proudly said "Worry not, for I, your smart and sensible sister should save you from your .. "

    Amelia stopped mid sentence forgetting what was the word to call someone dumb, she pressed her hand on her chin with a thoughtful expression.

    "Stupid, that''s what you''re looking for right." Rio said.

    "Yes, I will save you from your stupid, brother." Amelia said happily, but then a p in her head shaked her up. "Ouch"

    "That''s what you get for making fun of your big brother." Rio said.

    "Humph, bad brother. Don''t make me mad or I''llin about you to your wife. Then you''d be silent just like father hehehe." Amelia said with a sheepish smile, still talking about the marriage topic that she heard between him and Reba.

    Though surprised when she learned about it, now she had no problems with anything, after all why would she, in her eyes, a marriage is just when you bring someone else into your house for life. And she''s actually quite happy that her best friend would be living together with her.

    She was happily jumping around yesterday, talking about all the games they''ll y together and sweets they''ll try. How they''ll both beat this bigzy brother, and he would have to keep silent, just like how their father keeps shush in front of mama.

    Though her fantasies were broken when her mother and brother said, it was just a joke, and marriage doesn''t happen until they''re grown ups. But that still didn''t stop her from making fun of these two. She was even bullying the princess in her own pce yesterday.

    "I didn''t know my daughter would talk like that about her father."

    Amelia, who wasughing heartily looking at her brother who was silent after her wonderful remark, which she thought was a perfect shot to shut his mouth, heard someone speaking and when she turned around, she realized why her brother was silently smiling.

    After throwing an angry re at him, which meant I''ll settle this ountter. She turned to her father, as her facial expressions did another 180�� shift and turned into a wronged girl, who just fell into a trap.

    "Ahh father, when did youe?"

    "Just when you were saying I''m scared of your mother." Agnus said yfully, making Amelia flustered.

    "That, wh_ who said that? Definitely not me.Ha haha, it must be brother. He''s the one who''s saying that." Amelia exasperatedly said, trying to cover her white lies, with her innocent smile and stuttering words.

    "Unless I''m getting old and my ears stopped working, I''m sure I heard your voice." Agnus said yfully.

    "You did." Amelia muttered slowly, but then "ahh that''s brother too. He''s been mimicking my voice. I even caught him yesterday practicing it." She mmed her fist on her palm and excitedly said "Yes, now I know, he''s trying to break our team father, you should punish him. How dare he copy my voice."

    Hearing her lies that she spooked out in one full breath, Agnus could only chuckle. "Is that so?"

    "Wow, sister. You''re getting better and better at your excuses. Why don''t we ask Aina who said that? She''s been here from the beginning." Rio said pointing towards his maid, who''s been standing by the side, trying to control herughter looking at the little girl, whose face paled seeing her there.

    "Father, I _ I was just. Hmm did Reba just call me. Seriously she can''t do anything without me. We''re gettingte for the party. I''ll go ahead father, I''m hungry. I mean I''ll help her." Amelia said, whatever her little brain could think of, and left in a hurry, escaping the crime scene, while cursing this brother who simply stood there and didn''t help her. ''I should reallyin about him hehe''

    After Amelia left, Agnus turned his attention towards Rio, his smiling expression gone from his face, as he took on his stern, serious Duke face. "I heard what happened."

    "It was nothing father. We just talked about the engagement." Rio said, knowing that someone must''ve informed Agnus about the conversation he had with the king.

    "I also heard you initiated the business deal that your mother was supposed to start next month." Agnus informed him, clearly showing he shouldn''t lie to stuff he''s saying. Just because he didn''t ask directly, didn''t mean he didn''t care or didn''t know anything.

    Rio wanted toe up with some excuse or lies, about why he started the talks about potion deals with Maximus early.

    There was a reason for it, but he couldn''t say that he did it so he can promote his product on princess at the party, and ruin the plotline.

    "Th that was." But there wasn''t any excuse that he coulde up with. It really was hard to lie sometimes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Your sister isn''t the only one who''s getting better at her excuses and lies, my son.You have our support, but don''t let that be your source of arrogance.

    Sometimes, some things are better left in the hands of someone else, even if you can do them too.

    The one who speaks and when he speaks, is very important when dealing with business matters."

    Agnus said, hinting about how, because Rio initiated this topic early withput any preparation and support, and how Maximus was able to secure the deal which clearly gave him more profits, due to him using the canceled engagement talks as an excuse. Had it been 2-3 dayster, when he was present, or when the Raven family was present too, the king wouldn''t have demanded such outrageous profits.

    Though the form and the product was in their hands, the king who did nothing, would simply take one fourth of the profits. Just for allowing them to sell it openly in Schi.

    But what was done was done, Artemis had agreed to the deal anyways, and it wasn''t like their familycked anything. Let alone this chunk of coins.

    Even if the king controlled Schi, he who knew the effects of potion, was sure they would still earn 100 times more once the potion was sold outside of Schi, or through the channels of Raven family in auctions and their ck markets.

    Agnus only talked about this topic, because he wanted to teach Rio about how sometimes, the one who starts the talks loses the high ground, cause they seem to be the one asking for the help or partnership.

    If the potion was sold in Damascus first, and people knew its effects, the hype for it would''ve been high, if they just sold it in some auctions first or to some nobles first, then the demand would''ve been high, and then, it would''ve been the king who''d ask them to sell the potion in Haven, even offering something in return. But it was all wasted since Rio already talked with the king and his wife agreed to it.

    "I understand father. I''ll be careful next time." Rio said, keeping his head low. He understood how just for messing up the plotline and changing this event, he ignored the simple thing about starting a business. In his mind stopping the plotline, took priority as the thought about the profits didn''t even matter to him.

    ''Well, the potion would still earn shit tons of gold, I can just create another er. Maybe the one for aura which I''ll need too.'' Rio thought.

    "Come, let''s go now. Your grandfather''s waiting." Agnus, unaware of how his son was nning to ruin another event fixed for a certain musclehead heroine, spoke and brought him back to reality, while also giving him a shocking news.

    "Grandfather came. I thought they were nning to enter the Nirschet Mountain towers." Rio remembered the details about the grandfather that he has yet to meet aftering to Arcadia.

    ording to the hints from plot and the news he heard in the mansion, Samuel Noir ke was supposed to enter Nirschet towers around this time and would stay there for the next 2 years.

    In the plot He only returned to Damascus after Noah''s prophecy about him being the devil spread everywhere. It was only the effect of him being there, which suppressed the rumors in the first ce, and why the fanatics from the church of Cassandra didn''t just outright dere the ke''s as heretics.

    Knowing full well how strong and unreasonable the guy could be. While the heads of ke''s and Raven''s were strong too, they were also people who could be reasoned with, but everyone knew if this old geezer went nuts, he''d simply ughter their whole church andugh at their graves.

    That''s why no one acted out and kept silent till he was alive, only after his death did everyone start rallying against the ke family.

    But now Rio couldn''t be sure what would happen, when he''d return home, or how the story would be changed due to the curse ident and Noah''s death, which changed the plotlines.

    Maybe he''ll stay at the tower for some more time or maybe he''lle back early. He didn''t know.

    ###

    A/N - first of all, join my discord (https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM -- DevilDarkness#0506)

    Second thing, share ur theories and suggestions, I need some of your ideas.

    Third thing, post a review & give me gifts.[I''ll post extra chaps for them so waste ur time too.

    ALSO A THANKS TO THESE LOVELY ?? readersn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    1) Carlos123995

    2) Lopez_Banegas

    3) EvilGumShoes

 Chapter 121 A Sweet

    "I''m talking about your maternal grandfather." Agnus said, informing him about the head of Raven family and his father inw who came here.

    "Ahh that, wait, what. Grandpa Raven is here." Rio, who was first d that it wasn''t Samuel who came here, leaving behind everything. But then his brain stopped as he realized Samuel wasn''t the only one he needed to worry about.

    "Yes. He''s here, and he''s been quite curious to meet you. Now let''s go. He doesn''t like to wait." Agnus said, and started walking towards the hall where Raven family was staying at.

    ''What, curious to meet me, damn he must know all about my little escapades. There''s no way anything is hidden from his eyes. Well at least he won''t poke his skills at me like his daughter, so I don''t have to worry about meeting him.''

    ''He''s a wise character in the novel, so it''s nice to meet him I guess.''

    "What''re you standing there for, let''s go. Amelia''s right, you really do zone out a lot these days." Agnus said, without even looking back.

    Disturbed from his thoughts by his words, Rio ran behind his father to catch up. While silently thinking that he should really change this weird habit of overthinking things too much. Or he might as well just end up being the loner he was in his past life.

    ''I mean I have no problem being the loner, I quite like it. It''s better than getting betrayed or being surrounded by annoying fools..

    Hmm, thinking about annoying fools, it reminds me of that idiot, wonder how he''s doing. I hope he doesn''t go after that protagonist or ''

    "Sorry" Rio''s thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he identally bumped into Agnus, who had been walking ahead and now came to a halt.

    He looked to the side and saw an old muscr man standing in front of Agnus. The man was someone Rio saw for the first time aftering to Arcadia, but from the man''s looks which resembled a pirate with an eye patch or how his mother, Artemis, and aunt, Athena, were both standing behind him respectfully, he could guess the identity of the man.

    ''So that''s my grandfather huh. Servirous Raven.''

    If that wasn''t obvious enough for him to remember this guy, then the man was also carrying Amelia in his arms, who had her hands wrapped around this man''s neck.

    She started smiling from ear to ear, as she pulled out a big chocte from the man''s suit pocket and then started eating it.

    ''Why''s she smiling like that? Wait, is she trying to show off.'' Rio thought as he saw Amelia making an expression like she just ate the best thing ever created.

    She might''ve exaggerated her expressions a little, but thinking it was something the head of the Raven family brought himself, it wouldn''t be a lie, if that thing really was the best sweet created.

    ''I swear, this girl and her sweets. I''ll just wait when youe crying, saying brother my teeth''s aching. And this time I''ll ignore you and sleep. Let''s see who smiles on who then.''

    Rio thought inwardly as he remembered how back on earth Ria woulde crying, because she ate too many sweets, and her teeth would start to hurt whenever she would eat something cold.

    She''d always wake everyone up in the middle of night, cause she''d have trouble sleeping with the pain and due to cold air hitting her face.

    The memories of earth brought a smile to his face. He didn''t have a photographic memory or anything, over the years he had forgotten many things, many happy moments that he might''ve spent with her were erased. Maybe it was due to the passage of time, or maybe it was because he simply didn''t want to remember them.

    But still some of them lingered in his head, they were too important and innocent for him to leave behind. And this was one of them.

    He remembered the nights when he would just stay awake with her watching some TV shows or ying some games on their father''s phone, till they both fell asleep, or till someone else from their family woke up due to all the noise they made.

    Obviously he''d be the one getting an earful next morning as no one was willing to say anything to the lovely little Ria.

    He remembered how his father would change the password for his phone next day & she''d be the one telling it to him every time.

    ''She really had everyone worried sick with those toothaches.'' Rio thought as the nostalgia felt nice.

    ''Wait, is toothache even a problem in this world, won''t some healing pill or cleansing potion fix her teeth.'' Rio''s smile stiffened as he thought that he might as well say goodbye to this memory cause nothing like this would happen here.

    Looking at Amelia who was now sticking out her tongue, poking fun at him, an evil smirk came to his face as he thought.

    ''Well since your sweets won''t hurt you here, then he shall have his revenge by making her eat something spicy, that would make sure this little tongue of hers is burned red hahaha.''

    Amelia narrowed her eyes at her brother, who now had a bad guy smile on his face, she felt a bad premonition, but she ignored it. She opened her mouth to take a big bite of her chocte.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    But due to having not been careful she identally ended up biting her own tongue. "Eeee" A light scream escaped her lips as she held her face in pain by instinct. This was another bad move which led to her chocte falling to the ground.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The sight of Amelia''s teary-eyed, angry, and sad expression was enough to stun everyone, while Rio had a big smile stered across his face. Thinking if it was the effect of his 8 point of luck.

    Amelia looked at her empty hands and then at everyone around her, she still couldn''t believe how she could be this unlucky. She was now regretting her decisions, she should have eaten it carefully or shouldn''t have teased her brother by sticking her tongue. Now her new favorite toffee is gone.

    Rio''sughter brought her back to her senses, as he announced "This is karma."

    Some small tears started to form in her eyes looking at her brotherughing so happily at her. Getting down from the man''s hands, she picked up her sweet toffee fallen on the ground, eating dirt on the carpet. She noticed some dirt stuck on it. Breaking her fantasy of using the 3 second rule as an excuse to her advantage.

    "Don''t tell me you n to eat that now lol" Rio said, unable to control hisughter.

    Amelia red at her brother, and threw it on his face, "Eat what, you dummy, it''s all your fault."

    "How is it my fault? Who told you to unt in front of your big brother. It''s called karma." Rio defended himself.

    "You _ you." Amelia said unable toe up with any argument, she turned around, while folding her hands on her chest. "I''m not talking to you now."

    "Not that again." Rio said with a helpless tone.

    "It''s your fault. Now don''t talk to me." Amelia said, with a pouting expression. Pretending to be seriously upset.

    "Well, if you say so. I''ll just give the sweets that grandpa brought for me to Erza then." Rio said.

    "What, no, really." Amelia asked, surprised. "Will you really give it to me?" She eagerly asked, hoping he''d say yes. However, her hopes were quickly dashed as Rio burst intoughter, unable to contain his amusement.

    "Of course, not, silly." Rio chuckled and said. He narrowed his eyes mischievously, sticking his own tongue out in the same yful manner as her.

    The sight made Amelia fume in anger, Rio could even imagine some smoke leaving her head. "Aww, you thought I would just hand it over to you?" Rio continued, feigning disbelief, as he poked her head.

    Amelia pped his hand away with a scoff.

    "Grandpa, do you have any more? Don''t give it to brother, they''re mine." Amelia asked, ignoring Riopletely, while going directly to the man who had them. Hoping to take them before they reach her brother''s clutchy hands.

    She forgot her grandpa must have brought her more or some for her brother too, but now that she remembered it, she''ll just take them from him, instead of asking her brother, who''ll justugh at her.

    "Here" The man spoke, and brought another toffee with the same color out and passed it to her, Amelia happily took it, while being careful this time not to drop it. She even took 2 steps back, so her brother won''t just run and snatch it from her hands.

    "Aeihh why''d you give it to her. That was supposed to be mine." Rio said, unable to believe not only he lost the chance to try something new from Arcadia, but also now he gotta look at her face showing off again.

    ''She''s even purposefully eating it slowly this time.'' Rio thought, looking at Amelia.

    "Maybe because she greeted me first, instead of asking for gifts, my dear grandson." The man spoke, and flicked his head. Which was just a light touch but still a little painful. Rio could now feel a little bump there, as he massaged his head.

    It was only then that Rio remembered he was standing in front of his grandfather Servirous Raven. And everyone around him could simplyugh at his expressions as they watched him trying to greet him while stuttering.

    ####

    A/N - I know nothing happened here. It was a filler chapter, filled with, well just sweetness. But we go full throttle from tomorrow in the event and all the characters present in the celebration.

    I need some facepping suggestions, give em to me. Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

 Chapter 122 Stage For Introduction

    In the Royal Pce everyone was gathered in the massive hall, people from different cities, cults, guilds, sects and associations were all present there. The lovely environment was all time high as the more time passed the more people arrived.

    Despite the growing guests, the hall didn''t feel packed or crowded, on the contrary, the livelier it got, the more perfect everything seemed. The seating arrangements in the hall were meticulously prepared, each chair and table bearing the names of the guests or the groups they represented.

    Maids and servants gracefully weaved their way through the crowd, offering trays of delectable delicacies and refreshing beverages to the attendees.

    As guests entered the pce, they were required to surrender their weapons. Simrly, storage artifacts, known for their ability to store other artifacts in them, were restricted to only VIP guests. Those who did not possess a special invitation had to part ways with their artifacts before entering the hall.

    To further enhance the security measures, an ingenious artifact was used. Each guest was marked with a special symbol, a sign that served as an identifier throughout the party. This artifact was imbued with enchantments that would detect and notify the King''s guard if anyone attempted to utilize any form of skill or blessing within the party. It also worked as a tracking chip of sorts for the next 4 hours, so even if someone did try something, they couldn''t run and hide.

    This policy ensured that the event remained free from any potential conflicts or disturbances. This advanced system also ensured that the celebration remained free from any misuse of magical abilities or any untoward incidents.

    No one wanted their secrets to be known by someone who had appraisal magic or some other blessing that let them know about others. High ranking individuals could just do a mana scan of their surroundings and they''d know everything, so with this artifact it gave many people a sense of security.

    It also gave everyone a positive impression of King Maximus. As everyone who joined in the hall were important people of the Schi empire and some weed guests from other associations. Some envoys of beast kin and halflings were also present there. Dwarves already had their own embassy of sorts in Haven, so they had sent their own guests.

    No one from the vampire n or elves n was present in the celebration, as both were ns that liked to keep to themselves. And unless one needed their assistance in clearing a tower or making some other decisions, they hardly ever took part in any social events.

    The talks and discussions were happening all around the hall, when the arrival of the Raven and ke families at the hall drew the attention of all the guests present.

    A hush fell over the crowd as they beheld the sight of the revered heads of both families making their way towards their designated ces. Agnus and Artemis walked side by side, exuding an air of regality and nobility, while Rio and Amelia held the hands of their maternal grandfather, Servirous Raven, as he led them forward.

    Whispers filled the hall as the guests observed the scene unfolding before their eyes. The eyes of the attendees couldn''t help but fixate on Rio and Amelia, for it was their first public appearance after Rio''s awakening.

    Rumors had spread like wildfire about Rio''s blessing, and even those who didn''t know about it before, had heard about it in this event. Now the guests had the opportunity to witness its effects firsthand.

    After all it wasn''t everyday when someone received the blessing of a primordial for free. People would end up risking their lives in dungeons, wasting it on praying daily in temples, but they wouldn''t even be able to get the slightest bit of attention from those higher gods. And here it was, someone saying that a 10 year old got it for free on day 1.

    The people from the churches or the one who practiced holy magic were surprised by simply looking at the amount of divine presence surrounding him. The aura of divinity was drowning him in their eyes. Calling it a shock would''ve been a light word, as some people left their seats and stood up in shock.

    Rio took a nce at his new system which was filled with a shit ton of notifications from different gods. This is also why events are rare in Arcadia, as simply it bes a battleground for anyone to hoard the attention from other Gods. If you were lucky, you could get chosen, you can get their blessings. But if you were unlucky, you would simply lose the attention of the God you hardly got, just cause they found someone else entertaining enough to watch.

    Just like mortals of the world, many gods too had called those rumors false, but unlike their avatars or believers they could see the sign of Nyx''s blessing on him, and the aura of darkness engulfing him.

    People too had be surprised soon, as their gods confirmed the validity for these rumors.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    <To clear your doubts, No, gods cannot see which God has blessed or chosen whom. Here it was only possible, as Nyx simply had no intention of hiding her presence. Why would she hide from pests, she''s a fucking primordial. That''s why everyone noticed her blessing but not of Skuld''s, who simply wanted to be forgotten.>

    All eyes remained fixed on them, as they walked through the hall, whispers and murmurs of admiration and curiosity filled the air. While both families just ignored everything around them and took their reserved seats.

    Rio and Amelia were still sitting with Servirous who had an indifferent look towards everyone. While Agnus and Artemis sat across them.

    "So how does it feel?" Servirous asked Rio, who was curiously looking around the hall.

    "Natural" Rio said without thinking, looking around, trying to see how many people from the plot he could identify.

    He knew since this event was attached as the shback of the heroine and hero''s first meeting, he''d see many other side characters here too. And he was right. Though identifying anyone by looking at them was hard for him, since he had no idea how they looked in the novel, but through their robes, or the names written on their tables he could see some of them.

    "Natural huh." Servirous muttered hearing his reply. He smiled a little and continued "Of course it does. You have the blood of the 2 greatest families in the world in you. As that geezer used to say, kes are born to bash others'' arrogance."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Father, they''re children." Artemis interrupted her father, who was going to insult their grandfather.

    "What, it''s true. You can ask your husband. After all, he used to roam around, announcing it like some sort of family slogan, when he was young." Servirous smiled and said, looking at Agnus, who just chose to stay silent, lest they pick some other things from his past to talk about.

    Amelia, who was about to start eating something from the tes ced on the table, stopped herself, as she looked around and saw everyone staring at her. She took a bite and ignored everything again.

    Unlike Rio, who was trying hard to act natural, while hiding his all time high anxiety deep down, as this was probably the first of any kind of celebration event that he took part in for years. He couldn''t even remember when was thest time he''d been the center of attention like this, had he ever. He wasn''t sure.

    He hated attention on earth, but here, in Arcadia, it was a necessity if he wanted to survive. He had to utilize all the cards he could, and being in the limelight was the best choice for him to grow stronger and improve his chances.

    Amelia, she was born and raised here, she had simply grown ustomed to the gazes of people staring at her every action.

    Being noble wasn''t always a noble thing, after all..

    Acting as he should, Rio gave a casual nce at everything around them, his eyes locked with many people who were still looking at him. He had identified some very interesting people in this party from the plot.

    ''Is it weird that I somehow feel excited to meet them now. What a wonderful stage for the impression of my first introduction in Arcadia. This is much better than starting directly at the academy selection tests.''

    ''Now let''s see where''s our hero? Not you, not you, not you too. Oh wait, is that the viin and the perv. So they were abo even in their childhood huh.'' Rio thought looking at a pair of kids, busy talking to each other and gawking at everyone.

    ''If they''re here then, where''s our ice queen? She''s supposed to be here too. Not you, not her either. Hmm Guess she didn''te huhh. Well that''s to be expected. But I still see her dumb dad here, well I already knew he won''t miss this chance.''

    Rio thought, looking at Baron Misha Winston, Noah''s father, who was happily chatting with other people, probably talking about some partnerships or deals or some connections. His face showed no sign of sadness like a father that had lost his son some time ago.

    ''Some people really do not deserve to be a parent.'' Rio thought.

    Seeing Baron Misha wasn''t a surprise, as he already expected it from someone like him. After all, he cared only for profits, and Noah''s death didn''t affect him any more than how a small pet''s would. He didn''t invest anything in Noah other than his seed at the beginning, and he didn''t suffer any loss.

    ''I bet deep down he would''ve even been d that Noah died, since Noah had the shittiest talent and useless personality in his family. Unlike his sister, who was prideful, smart and strong, Noah followed the foolish rules.''

    ''How surprised he must be if he ever found out what he lost, just cause he lost Noah.'' Rio thought with a smile.

    Shaking his head, he ignored him and kept looking at other people trying to find the protagonist.

    ''Where the hell is the hero, he should be in their group, ying around now or getting bullied, but he''s not there. Don''t tell me Noah''s death changed something.'' Rio thought, but crossed this idea from his head, as he remembered-

    ''No he''ll be here. He has to be. This is the stage of his first awakening, after all. So where are you Leon Heartwell? Where are you?''

    ####

    A/N - well, let''s start now.

    Come to my discord if you have any questions or theories or suggestions :-

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

 Chapter 123 Eisjer Domain And Gambling Houses

    After looking around for a while, Rio still couldn''t find the protagonist anywhere, so he just gave up on it. He''ll just have to wait, and follow any drama that''s happening, that''s where protagonists always pop up anyway. Or maybe he''ll just let it be and see if those heavens and fate or whatever really put him against the hero without him doing anything.

    While Rio was busy in his search, some people started flocking their table and were now conversing with his parents.

    This was one thing that he liked about being a child, since he was a kid, he didn''t need to talk much to anyone, others came introduced and got busy talking with his parents or Servirous. No one acted out or asked something that he wasn''tfortable in answering.

    Amelia from the beginning was silent on the table. After eating some snacks, she just started ying with a rubik''s cube. She had probably solved it a dozen times, but she was trying out different methods and designs and timings, she could pull off. It had be her favorite game in the recent week or so. She probably just liked it cause neither Rio nor Reba were good at it. It was a game where she could beat them without even trying.

    Rio kept his focus on the peopleing to meet them, but soon lost interest, as either they were people whom he had no idea about, or were people who were too polite and formal with everything.

    Though he''s not sure if a person will have the same character progress as described in the novel, since the plot hasn''t begun yet. Maybe some people are now good butter turns bad, due to something that happens in these 8 years. Or maybe some are now viins butter have character development before plot starts. Or maybe their futures have already been changed by some changes that he brought, like how he ns to change Bernhardt''s character. It could be anything, so judging anyone based on that novel''s information wasn''t viable for him, so he just kept his words to the minimum, answered when asked and otherwise just sit in silent.

    This party also gave him the idea and rified that he should have arge amount of informationwork in the empire. And also keep an eye on any changes that have been introduced.

    Like just now, Baron Misha was standing there, trying to introduce the profits he could bring with the new idea of introducing gambling games into the Gale Market of Harendale city. He had managed to aquire permission and resources from 2 of the 3 other Barons already. And with the majority in favor, he can start his business whenever he''s ready.

    ording to the plot, Rio knew Gale market was famous for its gambling houses and games, but he always thought it was due to some of Noah''s visions, which gave Baron some business ideas. But it looks like he was wrong. Even with Noah''s death, Baron was able toe up with ns that can ensure him profits. This birthday event also became the perfect stage for him to directly get in touch with many other influential people and get their investment or support.

    Aside from Baron Maismat''s family, house Oswald and Heartwell have already given him their support. They agreed because the deals he proposed sounded good for them and they didn''t have to risk much. All they had to do was to sell their products in Gale market instead of other cities.

    "So what do you think Duke Agnus? Sir Servirous, you also, can you tell me what are your thoughts on it?" Baron Misha asked, hoping to reel in the big fishes, his ambition and hunger palpable on his face as he hopefully boasted about making Gale the hub of gambling and attraction.

    His lies and tricks would''ve worked on those other barons, who sat alone in their mansions, living life peacefully, but in front of people sitting on this table, he was as easy to read as an open book.

    Agnus who lived his whole life on the battlefields, where in the face of death people show their real true colors, or in front of Servirous who is literally known among the wisest human in Schi, or Artemis who had done her own investigation on the man, whom her son considered a threat after seeing his fate.

    So in front of them all his pretty lies and honey covered words were simply hiding the big ck pile of shit that he''ll create underneath.

    "Before I answer your question Baron, and you go on to exining your games to us again, would you mind telling me what are your ns for increasing security in your city. All 4 Barons together manages only one city, and yet that same city has the most number of dungeon deaths in the past 5 years. And now instead of increasing the safety of your popce, or making their livesfortable, you''re here preaching about opening a gambling dan right in the middle of it." Servirous said, in his casual tone, while helping Amelia solve her puzzle, not even looking at the Baron who now had a flustered face.

    Getting hisposure back, Misha started exining some more "That is why I n to increase the market value of Harendale city, sir Servirous. Once more people get attracted to the city, the earnings and profits could help the city prosper, while also giving us the much needed manpower to deploy more people in city guards and scouts."

    "The only people your gambling games would attract would be thugs, lowlifes and rejects of the empire. And if you n to put them in your city guards, well that can only increase the crime rate and danger to the general poption more, instead of giving them a sense of security. Or am I wrong here." Agnus said, his voiceced with disappointment.

    "You_ you aren''t wrong, Duke Agnus. But people can always change, we can train them. Teach them discipline and have them sign mana contracts so they don''t fall back to their old ways." Baron Misha replied.

    "So you n on making them your ves, is it? That sounds mighty noble of you Baron. I might as well have a talk with the King about it. He''ll be happy to learn your new methods of hiring individuals." Agnus said in a cold voice, his expression clearly showcasing the disgust he now felt towards these so called nobles.

    "You''re getting me wrong, Duke Agnus, that''s not what I meant." Baron tried toe up with an excuse in a hurry, as sweat started forming on his back, hearing the cold tone.

    Even though very wasn''t banned and was happening all around the empire, didn''t mean someone could force people to sign ve contracts, especially when the idea of very is being hated upon by general public as more time passes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Even now, aside from Duke Belmont, all the other Dukes have openly rejected the idea of ves on many asions. Only house Belmont strictly believes in the saying of old age, that ''those lowborns without power, are simply born to serve others.''

    But since the empire is too big, and every city has their own set of rules andws, very is still legal. King could still announce any neww for everyone to follow, but why would he risk losing the support of Belmonts for some canon fodder peasants, who contribute nothing.

    "That is true, Duke Agnus. Even in Harendale we, from Heartwell family openly oppose the idea of ves. I believe everyone should have free will and that their decisions should be their own. We would never force anyone. Those who''re willing to join the adventurers or city guards, only those would be chosen." Seeing how, the talks weren''t going anywhere, and how they misunderstood their intentions, Darren Heartwell, interevened.

    A momentary silence was on the table, as another Baron intervened and exined his points. It wasn''t because of how right he was, but everyone was just staring at him, thinking the same thing - ''Does he know this already, or is he too dumb to actually believe these lies.''

    ''So he''s the protagonist''s father huh. As dumb and ignorantly righteous as his son I see, fools.'' Rio thought looking at the man who spoke.

    He''s the father of protagonist Leon Heartwell, Darren Heartwell, head of house Heartwell, Baron of Harendale city, tasked with managing the Eastern borders of the city, along with the Eisjer Domain.

    Looking at how everyone was silent, Dareen continued his words, "Sir Servirous we all know times are changing. Harendale is the least developed citypared to every other cities in the empire. It pains us too, but due tock of resources and constant threats from Eisjer Domain, weck the necessities that can help the normal people living there. This is why improving the city''s infrastructure and making it one big market ce for everyone to gather, could help increase the revenue and help us improve the lives of our people. The people depend on us and _ "

    Darren was giving out his emotional speech about saving this and doing that, when Artemis'' words cut him off and made him go silent.

    "I heard you were attacked some time ago by members of Evil''s Scion, Baron Winston."

    "Ahh yes. Don''t worry Duchess, It wasn''t anything serious." Misha said, a little annoyed by the topic.

    "I also heard, your youngest son lost his life in that incident. My condolences." Artemis informed him and started sipping on her wine again.

    "Of coursedy ke. Now I was saying that we could _ "

    Misha started to speak, trying to get the topic back on track but Agnus cut him off saying -"If you need any help in hunting down those criminals, do contact us again, Baron."

    The table was silent as it could be, and the Barons could clearly see, there was nothing else to discuss, as no one was willing to listen to them. So they said their goodbyes and left the table.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Looking at them silently leaving, while holding down the anger and disrespect, a smile came to Rio''s lips. Thinking how far had he changed the course of events just by giving a simple instruction to his shadow.

    The house of Winston''s which started the downfall of his family, and Heartwell''s which looted everything he had -he simply stopped it all.

    His gaze turned towards the table where Belmonts were sitting and then towards the empty stage where Royals would sit, and a smirk came up his expression.

    Rio remained lost in his thoughts and ns, unaware of how the gazes of Artemis and Servirous were fixed upon him. What were they thinking, that''s for the future me to say.

    ####

    A/N - Join my discord guys. And give reviews about what you liked and what you didn''t. You''re reading it daily, so why not just post a 5* review to motivate me a little too.

 Chapter 124 The Event Starts

    The celebration hall was filled with conversations and talks. Many people came forward to congratte the ke family, singing praises and giving their well wishes to the heir.

    Feeling tired from constantly replying thank you, or how it was all just the generosity of Goddess, or how he couldn''t believe it too, Rio just wanted to make an excuse and leave, so he can look for the protagonist.

    "I''ll just use the restroom." Rio said, as he stood up and turned to leave.

    However, before he could even take 2 steps further, the sound of all music and chatter stopped, as one man came forward and announced the arrival of the King and the Royal Family.

    Rio came back and sat upon his chair again. Amelia looked at him weirdly and asked "What happened, why are you still here?"

    "What do you mean?" Rio asked.

    "You said you were leaving for the restroom. Then you just stood up and sat back again. Were you making excuses so you can run and y around alone?"Amelia said.

    Rio shook his head and replied "That''s not what I was doing?"

    "No, you were definitely nning to do that. You wanted to leave, and have me take your ce in greeting everyone. Why are you getting sozy at everything brother?" Amelia said, clearly understanding her brother''s intentions, she also threw in a punch for her brother.

    "Cause it''s a bother." Rio said - "And focus on yourself. The Royal family''sing and you''re still eating nonstop. How can you even eat that much with that little tummy." He said, as he pulled the te of snacks away from her, which was now half empty already.

    "Why, you jealous of my superpower?" Amelia replied happily, as she cleaned her hands and mouth.

    "Superpower my socks, I think you may have chugged down a storage ring with your sweets. I''ll have to ask some healers to do their tests." Rio said as he really did doubt how she could eat this much. She''s like a shrew, who''ll eat whatever and whenever you give her something. "See, everyone''s staring at you."

    Amelia looked around and said "You''re just jealous of my superpower. And they''re looking at you, not me."

    "Of course they are. Didn''t you hear, I''m a genius?" Rio took the chance to boast as it came.

    "Humff only for now, when I awaken, no one will even remember your name, and then I''ll beat you." Amelia said proudly, she really wanted to awaken fast, so her brother won''t bully her anymore. And she can beat him if he snatches her sweets.

    "Yeah yeah keep dreaming." Rio said, while pushing the te of food away from her reach.

    ''Tsk'' Amelia clicked her tongue, as her attempt to get him busy in talking and pull her snacks back failed.

    __

    After the announcement everyone turned their eyes towards the staircase where the King, along with his family wasing from.

    King Maximus, dressed in the majestic dragon robe, adorned with intricate runic embroidery and designs, was walking at the forefront with his wife, Queen Athena, who was dressed in a simr red gown with a crown of pearls and diamonds rested upon her head.

    Behind them were prince Alfred and prince Bernhardt, both wearing suits that showed their youthful charms and noble lineage. Both prince''s walked exuding the aura of confidence and strength.

    In between both brothers, was the girl of the day, the princess of this empire, Reba Von Schott, for whom this event was nned. Just a sight of her was enough to make everyone awestruck. Her light gown shimmered with pearls and jewels, reflecting the light and captivating the onlookers. As her smile held the attention of all whoid eyes upon her.

    The guests rose from their seats, showing their respect and admiration for the royal family as they made their entrance.

    As the royal family proceeded towards the central stage, the guests remained standing, their eyes fixated on the figures, each lost in their own thoughts and fantasies. The atmosphere was silent, as the king walked up to his throne and sat upon it.

    Once seated, everyone greeted the king and royal family at once, to which the king just nodded and gestured with his hand for them to be seated as well. A warm smile graced his face as he surveyed the room, acknowledging the presence of each esteemed guest.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I wee everyone who responded to my invitation to join me in the celebration of my daughter''s 10th birthday. This isn''t much, but everyone here still gathered for it in such short notice, and for that I''m grateful. So I''ll also make an important announcement at the end. For now, let''s enjoy ourselves."

    Rio, tried to listen to what the king was saying, but it was all usual opening speeches that bored him, so once he finished speaking and told everyone to enjoy themselves, Rio decided to leave this table and go towards the section of the events where young kids and childrens were talking and ying around.

    Since the event was going tost for a while, kids can''t just stay with their parents, especially when in events like this where many new partnerships and alliances are formed. So for young heirs and childrens a separate hall was prepared and after King''s announcement everyone just started leaving there.

    Amelia followed him too, as she didn''t want to stay there and greet those old man again and again. As her brother said, it was a bother, after all. Plus she hadn''t met many of her other friends so she was eager to meet them too.

    As Rio kept walking his gaze kept looking around, trying to see any sign of dear protagonist, but to no avail.

    Since his father was here, Leon should''vee here too, but Rio couldn''t find him anywhere. He was like a cockroach who hid behind the rag, while Rio kept searching entire room.

    Rio was about to give up on searching and go eat something that Royal chefs prepared, when he heard a voice that made him stop in his tracks.

    "Hey, are you blind."

    "How dare you try to put your hand on us, you idiot. Do you even know who we are?"

    Due to the crowd gathered at the front he couldn''t see clearly, but he was sure this is where he''ll meet the protagonist. After all, who else could get insulted by shitty lines like this.

    ''Found you, my little rat, now let''s see what you were up to.''

    Instead of going through the crowd, which would''ve cleared a way for him if they saw his face, he preferred to watch the fun from afar. He had no intention of associating himself with the protagonist or these petty viins in any way.

    So he took the stairs on the side and got to a little higher ground from where he could see everyone clearly.

    Of course he didn''t forget to bring Amelia with him, he was not going to leave her in the same room as that creature. He had no idea how fate or heavens worked here, if protagonist halo was even a thing or not. Since this world is not a novel but a real world, does plot armors even exist here. He didn''t know. So it was better to be careful and take every precaution, until he finished all his little experioments and learned everything about the differences between the real world and the novel setting.

    He had read too many novels where the halos of these protagonists turns everyone around them into idiots or licking dogs, he was in no mood to let Amelia or himself for the matter, get infected by that virus. He didn''t even have the system who could answer his questions or give him some security, so he wanted to just stay silent and observe for now. At least until his chance to interferees.

    "What are we doing here brother. Everyone''s downstairs." Amelia asked, looking around, noticing only few people were present there and everyone else were enjoying their time in the hall below.

    Rio looked at Amelia and smiled - "We''ll be watching a drama. I''ll show you something fun."

    "Hmm you sound sus brother." Amelia said, narrowing her eyes at him, who was now smirking like a bad guy, looking at the crowd below.

    "Just look and don''t speak." Rio said.

    Amelia wanted to ask what should she look for in the crowd, when a sharp voice sounded in the hall, as the people performing the cheerful soothing music stopped ying their equipments.

    "What''re you looking at trash. Keep your eyes low, you moron. How dare you stare back at me."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio stood there holding the railings and a ss of juice that he just picked up from the side. "There, see the drama begins."

    ###

    A/N -So who''s gonna speak up and save our dear protagonist. Will it be Amelia, Reba or someone new. Why is protagonist getting bullied by kids -is it a facep moment or is it reality.

 Chapter 125 Say Hello To Our Protagonist

    A young boy, around the same age as Rio, stood in awe as he entered the grand halls of the castle. It was a sight unlike anything he had ever seen before. Every corner, every part of it, be it stones on the ground, or ss on a window��all of it took his breath away.

    With his jet-ck hair tousled and his little brownish eyes filled with wonder, he looked around like a lost puppy, taking in every detail with excitement.

    The boy couldn''t contain his enthusiasm as he ran from one corner of the hall to another, exploring every nook and cranny. He darted through the crowd, maneuvering carefully to avoid bumping into other guests.

    His smile beamed brightly, illuminating the room. His excitement was contagious, drawing smiles from some who caught a glimpse of his face.

    While some had a sneer on their faces, thinking where did this hillBillye from.

    In their eyes, the boy was acting like a country bumpkin looking at the big city for the first time, going mad from the sight alone.

    Yet the boy remained unfazed and uncaring to everything around him. He weaved through the throng of people, he marveled at the splendor of the event. Thedies in their designer gowns and jewelries, and the men in their fancy suits and coats��it was a disy of something the boy had never seen, so much so that he believed it straight out of a fairy tale.

    The boy was Leonard Heartwell, son of Baron Darren Heartwell. The protagonist of the novel, the chosen son of this world, the chosen son of sun and light. (But we''ll get to those partster, so let''s continue here)

    Leonard Heartwell hade to this party with his father, after begging him to tag along for hours.

    And the moment he entered the castle, he knew it was all so fricking worth it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just after entering and some greetings with a few people, when his father was busy, he slipped away.

    ''If I stayed with father, I''d only listen to boring chat of old people, but this is more fun and exciting.'' Leon thought as he looked at the group of kids gathering and shouting at the corner.

    Feeling curious, he went there to check why they were all so excited. After trying for a while when no one let him pass and see what was happening, he pulled a chair and stood on it. Looking ahead from a height, he managed to see something that surprised him.

    There in the center was a man doing magic with his hands, showing truck''s and spells without stopping. With one wave some fiery birds would start flying, and with another a water serpent came forward and started fighting the bird.

    "Woah that is so coool."

    "I''m telling you that bird is going to be killed by the snake."

    "Humf idiot. That bird is a Phoenix. My brother said it''s a bird that can''t die.''

    "You''re the idiot. If that yellow chicken is a phoenix then that blue snake is a sea dragon."

    Leon heard some kids arguing amongst themselves, about who''ll win. Watching them happily chat with each other,Leon couldn''t help but feel a pang of loneliness. He wanted to share this experience with his friends too. But the reality of the asion didn''t allow him; this was a royal celebration, and he couldn''t just bring anybody he wanted. Even he was only allowed toe here after he begged his father for hours, and since his big sis managed to make father agree to it.

    He jumped from the chair, nearly falling face first, but at thest moment he managed to hold onto the boy standing in front and stopped himself.

    Leon continued roaming and checking everything out. He looked at the dance and music performance, he watched a little y on some big disy and tried a few games. After a while, finally feeling a little tired, he started walking towards the lines of tables where food was served.

    ''Should I wait for father. But he''s in the other hall. Guess I''ll eat something first myself.''

    Leon''s eyes widened with delight as he took a bite from one of the tes and the sweet taste of it was just heavenly. He drank the juice from a ss and only one word came to his mind -Nectar.

    "Do the people of royalty eat and drink this daily. Ohh God, this is so good." Leon whispered, as he couldn''t believe his eyes, about how good the food tasted here.

    "Hey, look at this bumpkin. He''s acting like he never ate anything." A boy standing near him, said to his friends while pointing at Leon.

    "Hahaha his stomach''s growling. He probably came empty stomach, so he can eat more here." His friend spoke and they both startedughing.

    Feeling angry at the insults, Leon wanted to say something, but looking at the clothes they wore and how they looked, he remembered his fathers advice about how he should just stay silent and not cause any drama here. So he just red at the 2 boys and left the ce.

    "Oyee where are you going? Won''t you drink some more nectar hahaha" One of the boys, with shoulder length red hair called him from behind.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Forget it Eddie, I bet he already filled his pockets with sweets here lol." The other with the ck hair spoke to his friend, making him burst out inughter again.

    Leon red back at the boy, but seeing how some kids were already gathering around, he turned back and walked away faster.

    Beforeing here today, he promised his father to watch his manners, and how his sister warned him not to pick any fights with anyone, so he kept silent.

    ''Humph these idiots.'' He thought, but stopped as he heard a voice.

    "Lincoln, you scared him. Now he''s going toin to his mama hahaha" Eddie or Edward said watching Leon leave, while holding his stomach andughing out loud.

    "Whatin, he''s probably going to cry to his mother''sps." The boy, named Lincoln replied, while holding back hisughter.

    Hearing the boys, talking about his mother, Leon halted his steps, his eyes now filled with anger. He turned back and walked to the boys "What did you say?"

    "Look Lincoln, he ate too much and now his ears aren''t working." Edward spoke looking at him. "I said, did you put something in your pockets?"

    "Ohh look, he did." Lincoln said, pointing at Leon''s pants pocket, which were bulging slightly.

    "Dam he really did. I was just joking lol." Edward said, really surprised and startedughing again.

    "It''s not food. It''s the gift I bought for the princess." Leon said in a hurry, as he saw some kids who gathered around due to all the noise, pointing at him and making fun of him.

    "Gift for princess. Hahha what did this hobo can even give the princess? You probably picked something from the roadside." One of the kids, standing aside, said whileughing. Leon recognized him at a nce. He was Hermaan Meismat, son of Baron Wilhelm Otto Meismat.

    <Meismat family is the neighbor and rivals of the Heartwell family. As both houses are tasked to maintain the Eisjer domain on opposing sides. Due to constant dangers, along with losses and profits brought by the Eisjer domain, both houses had formed an enmity of sorts over the years. Where each just wants to tarnish the other''s name and reputation, so they can prove themselves better and hoard the domain to themselves.>

    Holding back his anger at seeing everyone ganging up on him, Leon just stared at the boy named Edward who started it all and said -"We don''t even know each other, so don''t talk about my mother or my family."

    "Ohhh, or what will you do, pick a fight with me. Do you even know who I am? You dumb country bumpkin." Edward said, fuming in anger, at this weak bug pestering and staring at him in anger. He''s the future heir of his house, looking at how many children of different families gather around, how will they see him. What will happen to his image? All these thoughts only fumed his anger more.

    "I don''t care who you are, just don''t talk about my family." Leon said, looking at both Edward and Lincoln.

    "I said, go cry to your mother, dumbo. Now stop pestering us shoo." Lincoln said, waving him away, shooing like he was some kind of dog or an animal. He was getting annoyed at this country bumpkin now too.

    Just like how Leon''s father warned him about minding his manners, Lincoln''s brother warned him to watch his status too. He belonged to the house of Korbil, who were Count of Klishto city. He just wanted to y around and poke fun at this dumb idiot, with his childhood friend and partner in crime, Edward. But this guy just dragged the matter and started shouting.

    Seeing them still talking about his mother again, even after he asked them not to, in anger, Leon pushed Edward back and threw a punch at Lincoln, who was treating him like an animal.

    "Don''t talk about me again." Leon said as a warning in his loud tone, and then,he ran away.

    (He ran like someone put fire on his ass and he just propelled at high speed.)

    ###

    A/N - The fun begins. Also I changed the synopsis of novel, added little spoilers for you, so tell me how it is.

    I''ll update everyone''s character arts in my discord server tomorrow, so join it okay.

    https://discord.gg/zFTJsYP7kM

    DevilDarkness#0506

 Chapter 126 Drama That Follows Protagonist Everywhere

    After punching Lincoln away, Leon ran away from the scene. Some kids who had gathered around them were surprised to see the fight and were excitedly cheering, but seeing how Leon fled the scene, they started booing, Lincoln touched his face, which still bore a slight sting of pain and nced at everyone around him.

    Never in his mind did he thought that some maggot with a low ss would darey his hands on him, that too in front of so many people, at the event which was hosted by royal family.

    "What''re you looking for get out of here, or do you want me to teach y''all a lesson on minding your own damn business." Hermann spoke in anger causing everyone gathered around to run away.

    "Don''t worry, we''ll get that bumpkin." Edward spoke, while patting his shoulder, his eyes kept darting around the area surveying for any sign of Leon, but the little rat managed to run and hide somewhere in the crowd of kids gathered in the hall.

    "Who was he? How dare hey his hands on me." Lincoln said, while clenching his fists in anger. If his brother found he got beaten by some stupid country bumpkin in front of so many people, he couldn''t imagine what kind of horrors he would have to go through.

    The only way to save his image now, would be to beat that bumpkin back so bad that no one would remember how he managed to punch him first.

    But he had no idea who that was, the kid was practically wearing normal clothes (normal here means nothing fancy of his standards) , he was acting like this was the first time in his life he ever saw something like this or ate something. Just remembering how that kid looked more anger surged in him, as he thought it was just some poor bastard of some noble or worse some guard or shadow of someone else.

    "He''s Leonard Heartwell." Hermann replied, as he approached them.

    He didn''t show anything on his face, but he was clearly the only one happy with this development. Unlike these kids who didn''t know anyone, and only judged people based on clothes or brooches they had to show their family symbols, his father had made him remember everyone''s faces beforeing here.

    Hermann had no idea about Lincoln as he belonged to the branch family of Korbil''s. But since Edward was the son of Count and possible future heir too, he identified him at a nce. That''s why he was very happy when he saw Leon start to argue with someone from Count Sinir''s family. And seeing how Edward was treating Lincoln as friends, he could guess he wasn''t some ordinary kid too.

    If he could use these kids to start a drama that can drag Heartwell''s name to mud, he couldn''t imagine how happy his father would be.

    That''s why instead of stopping the overgrowing drama he instead took part in it and fueled Leon''s anger further by taking shots at him from side.

    Though seeing how the rat heid a trap for, managed to slip away, he was a little disappointed. But it wasn''t a big deal. He could just tell his background to these rich kids and lthey''ll find him soon enough. There''s no way these sheltered boys could take a bruise to their ego and let it go.

    "Heartwell, that Baron''s family." Edward said with a sneer, "That exins his bumpkin behavior."

    Even though Heartwell''s were given the title of Baron, it was widely known in upper circles that they were the poorest and lowest of all the other nobility. Hell even other Baron''s who had simr status were far superior to them, let aloneparing it to a Count ranked family.

    (In the novel, it was written like this, maybe cause author wanted to make Heartwell''s rise in powerter to show how protagonist made them reach from lowest to highest point. Or maybe it was because of the current head of House Heartwell, who believed in those righteous philosophies, and in turn was basically doing freebour for the king willingly.

    Heartwell''s were stronger before, but after taking the charge to maintain the Eisjer domain, they''ve only manage to dwindle lower and lower.

    Mainly because of how where Hermann''s family, house Meismat focused on harvesting the profits by whatever means necessary. Heartwell''s took the ignorant way of acting like heroes. Sacrificing themselves for the king, who gave little to no shit about them.)

    "Let''s go. We''ll find him and I''ll show him his standing. How dare that _ "

    Hearing the words of Edward and Hermann, Lincoln spoke, while walking away. If before some sane part of his brain was telling him not to create a drama at this party, then after hearing who that guy really was, it stopped working too.

    ''Dam that bastard, I have to find him faster before he reaches the main hall.'' Lincoln thought, knowing if Leon managed to join everyone in the main hall, he wouldn''t be able to do anything. While looking around for the little twerp, he kept thinking how he''d beat the crap out of him.

    Edward called for some of his friends and together they all started looking through the hall for him. Looking at them, searching and checking all the ck haired kids, a smile came to Hermann''s face.

    He imagined the scene of Leon getting ganged up by everyone. He had no enmity with him, but knowing how both their families were on opposing sides. And how in the future both of them would be sitting on their family head''s positions. It was wise for him to do everything that can make his path to power smoother.

    Just like Rio, he believed in crushing problems at the core too. Why let them grow when u can stop their growth in the ground.

    -

    Unaware of how his little stunt put him in the crosshairs of other noble kids, Leon was silently sipping on his banana shake.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He felt angry at them and so he punched him. He would''ve fought more, but thinking about the event around him, he left the scene. It took a while for him to calm down, after all no one can talk bad about his mother.

    His mother had been sick andatose for years now. His father had tried everything to save her, but nothing seems to be working. One day he heard his uncle speaking with his father, about how his mother was cursed by someone evil and only the Royal Family could possibly have a cure that can save her.

    That''s why his father''s been working extra hard for years, trying to get the King''s attention and favor. But Leon didn''t know that. In his eyes he never saw his father talking or asking help from the king, and that''s why he came to this party, he wanted to ask them to save his mother himself.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Since he couldn''t meet the king or demand anything from him, he decided to ask the princess for help. Since it was princess''s birthday, he was sure the king wouldn''t refuse his daughter if she asked for something.

    ''I just have to make the princess agree. Then I can ask my request.''

    Leon thought, as he clutched the gift he prepared for the princess in his hands.

    He was unaware of how his dreams and gift, which were supposed to make the princess happy and admire him, would only end up making her annoyed, because of a certain someone''s little interference in the story.

    "But how do I meet the princess, when I don''t even know where she is or who she is? I searched the whole hall but couldn''t find her." Leon said while scratching his head.

    (Ohh by the way, his search here means while he roamed, yed, enjoyed the magic shows and tried all foods, he didn''t just magically bump into the princess walking around.)

    ''What if no one helped me, I''ll find her on my own and ask for her help. Father said she''s a kind and beautiful girl just like big sis, so I''m sure she''ll help me once she knows about my mother. Today even if the heavens and gods are against it, I will save my mother at all costs. No one can stop me.''

    Leon thought and stood up with a determined expression. "Well, no point sitting here. I''ll go look for her everywhere again."

    He didn''t have much time as the party would soon end. But as he turned around to ''search'' again, he bumped into someone, sshing the banana shake that he held in his hands on the other party.

    "Ohh sorry. I didn''t see you."

    Leon said, in a hurry looking at the ck haired boy standing in front of him, whose whole suit was covered in white juice now.

    "Wait, I''ll clean it in a moment." His friend said, standing beside him.

    "Are you blind?" The ck haired boy spoke in anger, looking at Leon.

    Leon cursing his luck, thinking why didn''t he just drink the ss or put it back when he was about to leave. "My bad, let me help you." He said and picked a tissue from the table and started wiping the suit.

    "What do you think you''re doing, you idiot? I was about to use water magic to clean everything, and now it''s dried and left a stain."

    A boy said, who was standing beside the ck haired boy. He was just about to use his magic to clean away the liquid but this dumb hobo wiped it all away. And now only big stains of white remained on his friend''s suit, making lines looking like the fricking map of Schi.

    Hearing his words, the anger of the ck haired boy grew to a whole new level, as now he had to go back and change into something else again. If by some miracle he found something good to wear in this party.

    "My bad, I was just trying to help, I didn''t��" Leon wanted to apologize for his mistake, but his words were cut short as a loud p reverberated in the area.

    "How dare you put your hands on me. Do you even know who I am?"

    (This was the moment Rio came there and found the protagonist. Then he went to the balcony with Amelia, to see the drama unfold further.)

    ###

    A/N - so what do u think protagonist''s gift is? Or how would princess react to it? Will the other kids looking for Leon find him too. Is he gonna get his ass handed to him, or will someone drop from heavens to save him..

 Chapter 127 The Birthday Event - Part 1 - Beatdown

    Feeling the sting of that unexpected p Leon touched his cheek, which was beat red in color with the 5 finger mark etched on it. Calling that p painful would''ve been an understatement as he could still feel the effect of it and the slight whistling sound in his ears.

    He looked at the boy in front of him, who was responsible for it. He looked around 15 years in age, had shoulder length ck hair tied neatly in a ponytail and dressed in a matching stylish ck suit. Leon still couldn''t believe why he did that. It was only a mistake and he even apologized and cleaned his suit, but this man still pped him.

    "What''re you looking at? Keep your eyes low, you moron. How dare you stare back at me. This is the second time you bumped into me and you''re still acting like you''re some hotshot. Ignoring everyone around you while lost in your fantasy huh." The boy, whose name was Benjamin Korbil said.

    Benjamin was enjoying the magic show with his friends, when suddenly someone pushed him from behind, making him stumble onto the next guy and ruining his jacket. His friends were ready to beat up the boy who pushed him, but after looking at how it was just some random kid roaming around, he let it go.

    But now looking at that same kid he ignored once before, ruining his new suit that he just moments ago changed into again, he lost his cool.

    It was one thing to be ignorant to innocents but ignoring idiots again and again wasn''t something he was fond of.

    "This is the second time you ruined my clothes, you poor trash. Do you even know how much they cost?" Benjamin said, looking at Leon from up and down.

    "I already apologized. Why''d you do that?" Leon said, anger dripping from his voice.

    "Apologize. Did you see Nexus, he apologized. Like hell would that do. Just because of you now I have to go through those security guards again. Pull through my storage artifacts and see if by some chance I have some clothes stored in them."

    "This is the first time I met you. What''re you talking about?" Leon said, in frustration. Clearly not remembering how when he jumped from the chair he nearly stumbled and had to hold the boy standing in front of him to stay straight.

    It wasn''t his fault though, as Benjamin at that time was wearing a white colored suit, which he had to change due to him only.

    "He doesn''t even remember you Ben. Guess he just ran off after pushing youst time." His friend, who was standing by the side, spoke, interfering Leon. "You pushed him on that magic show you moron. Do you remember now?"

    "Ahhh." The words made Leon surprised, but after looking at Benjamin carefully he realized it was the same boy. "I''m really sorry. I didn''t mean to." Leon said, thinking it was his fault. Though a little angry and a little unconvinced he didn''t want to start any drama here. He still had to look for the princess and ask her to heal his mother.

    If his father saw him arguing or fighting, he''ll have to leave this party and go home. He had no idea when he would get a chance like this again, so he really didn''t want to ruin it.

    -

    "Brother, what''s fun about it?" Amelia asked, looking at her brother who was silently watching this scene. While eating some popcorn, which she had no idea where he got from.

    (Obviously Rio''s eating popcorn. He already knew there was going to be a good drama. How can he miss this legendary scene of enjoying it from the sidelines. He would''ve brought melon seeds but he couldn''t find them in the royal castle.)n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Just watch, the real fun will start now." Rio said, passing her the popcorn, which she took without saying it twice.

    ''Thiszy brother is really acting all weird again. What''s so interesting about seeing someone argue. Wait, don''t tell me, did he get the habits of the old maids as Reba said.'' Amelia remembered how Reba said one time, that old maids in the pce like to watch drama and gossip about it.

    "Tsk tsk brother _ " Amelia was about to joke and tease him about it, but stopped as Rio pulled his popcorns back and said "Stop thinking weird things and look there."

    "You''re the weird one." Amelia said, as she loomed over the balcony and looked below, and what she saw was really surprising.

    -

    In the hall, after giving his apology, Leon was just about to leave the area in a hurry, mixing with the crowd, when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, and before he could do anything, he felt a punch on his face, which made him stumble and fall down.

    "So you were here, little rat. I''ve been looking everywhere for you." Lincoln said, smirking while looking at Leon.

    He was just about to give up thinking this guy went to the main hall, when he heard amotion and came to see what was happening.

    And lo and behold, the first thing he sees is this rat trying to run away from someone again.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Lincoln, did you find him?" Edward came running from behind, along with his other friends. They were all smiling upon seeing Leon, but their smiles stiffened when they heard someone speaking.

    "What''re you doing here Lincoln? Do you know this idiot" Benjamin said.

    Hearing someone say his name, Lincoln looked around and only now did he notice his cousin brother standing there. Color drained from his face, seeing Benjamin and Nexus there. He wanted to speak but words couldn''t leave his mouth, as he started stuttering. "Br Brother , I_ I was just.. "

    "Ahh Benjamin. We were just looking for this boy. He picked a fight with us and then ran away. It was only luck that we found him here." Edward came forward and spoke, seeing that Lincoln wasn''t able to. He was surprised for a second thinking that maybe Leon was with them, but then remembering what Leon''s background was, and what kind of person Ben and Nexus were, he understood everything. So he just pushed the me on Leon, while shielding Lincoln.

    "Is that true Lincoln?" Benjamin said, looking at Lincoln''s face. One look at that red mark and how he couldn''t meet his gaze, Benjamin got the whole picture in his head.

    "Ye_ yes brother." Lincoln said, averting his eyes and turning around to hide his face.

    ''Did this bastard get beaten by this bumpkin.'' Benjamin thought in anger. He keeps this idiot around, thinking maybe he''ll make a connection or two, which couldter help him in future. But instead of doing that, this guy''s fucking ruining their family name by picking fights and getting beaten by some idiots. That too in the Royal celebration, where every kid present was the offspring of someone important. It was like broadcasting to whole world that Korbil''s are a pushover.

    "I''ll talk to youter, Lincoln." Benjamin said in a cold tone, making Lincoln nervous. "But for now let''s deal with this pest. Who doesn''t know his status." He said, walking towards Leon who was still on the ground, surrounded by everyone.

    "Wh what do you want.?" Leon asked, as he backed away a little. "I already apologized to you. It was a mistake okay, and your brother picked the fight with me. I only punched him because��"

    Looking at Leon openly talking about punching Lincoln, Benjamin gave a cold smile to him as he kicked his face. "Even if it was his fault as you said. He''s still my brother, so YOU, don''t get to touch him."

    Benjamin bent down to Leon''s level and said as he held his chin while pping him lightly "Now if you want to walk out of this party, on your own two feet, I''d suggest you crawl over there and apologize to him."

    Leon red at both brother''s in anger, blood leaking from his mouth. He just wanted to stop and get away, but his pride didn''t allow him to crawl or act on these demands, he was sorry for his clothes and already apologized, but to Lincoln, he wasn''t sorry and that was his rule.

    "Your brother''s a douche and he deserved that punch. I''m not saying sorry for something I have no remorse for. If he did the same thing again, I''ll beat him again." Lincoln said.

    "You stupid trash. You really don''t know your position do you? Do you think you have a choice. Apologize now or .. " Benjamin said and punched his face again.

    "You''re both the same. ptooey" Unable to fight back, Leon spat on Benjamin''s face.

    Benjamin touched his face, looking at the blood spit on his fingers, his anger rose to the highest of level. Looking at the kids around him, who were shocked at this development. He wanted to kill this bastard who insulted him like this.

    He was just about to use his mana and st this bastard''s brain out, when his friend Nexus came forward and stopped him, signaling towards some guards who were standing at the side.

    They were still watching it from the side without interfering, as it was just a normal fight and even if they went overboard, a low ss healing potion would fix all physical wounds, but the second they used mana, things would be different. Royal guards from security would be informed, along with other personnel in the main hall who woulde here, sensing the use of mana.

    Nexus held Leon''s face and gave it a solid punch "That''s for my friend. And that''s for insulting everyone here."

    "I _ let me go, you bastard." Leon muttered bearing through the pain, trying to free himself. His face was a little swollen now, which made it harder for him to speak.

    "Bastard, huh, Do you have any idea of who I am? Of who he is? I''ll have your head on a pike in front of my gate, you dumb shit." Nexus said in anger, while signaling to Lincoln and Edward to hold this pest down, while he and Benjamin gave him a beating.

    "I''ll teach you your manners today. You won''t be going anywhere until you realize your mistake." He said, as they all started surrounding Leon.

    ###

    A/N - (eating melon seeds. Enjoying the show our protagonist puts up) who''sing to save him. Will it be some God who''ll bless him, some heroine who''ll pity him, or our viin who''s bored.

 Chapter 128 The Way They Met Each Other

    I''m as shameless as you are. So I''ll ask again, post a 5* review and join the discord.

    ##--

    "They''re beating him brother." Amelia said, watching Benjamin kicking Leon.

    "I can see that." Rio, just nonchntly replied.

    Amelia stared at her brother''sck of reaction and asked "Won''t you stop them?"

    "Why would I? It''s his fault anyways." Rio replied.

    His words confused Amelia, as she asked "How is it his fault? Those guys are just picking a fight with him, even though he can''t fight back."

    "It''s his fault, because he''s weak." Rio said, shrugging his shoulders.

    "That''s wrong. I''m weak too. Would everyone watch when someone talks to me like that?" She asked, a little annoyed, at how he was still watching the fight below instead of answering her.

    Hearing her question, Rio turned towards her, finally taking his eyes off the drama and looking at her.

    "They can try, if they don''t love their life enough." He said in a cold tone, which made Amelia a little scared, but then he smiled and continued "You have me to save you, remember."

    "Humph you''re boasting again, instead of answering me." Amelia said, puffing her cheeks.

    "It is his fault because he neither has the strength to back his actions himself, nor someone who can save him if something happened, like right now." Rio said.

    Amelia, shaking her head said. "But he isn''t wrong. Those guys were clearly the ones in the wrong."

    Rio held her head, as he said while pointing towards everyone below "And who decides that. You heard him, he bumped into that big guy and ruined his clothes two times. Why won''t he feel angry. And that little new guy, as he said the boy punched him and then ran away. So how is it their fault."

    "But it''s not fair. They''re in groups and he''s alone." Amelia said, a little reluctant and confused with his answers.

    Hearing her question Rio shook his head, and smiled. He wasn''t nning on teaching Amelia the ways of the world, survival of fittest or something like that. She was still a kid and was innocent and curious, and all that. He wanted to let her enjoy her childhood as long as she wanted, before thrusting her into the real world.

    But since she asked herself, he decided to reply a little. If she understood something it''s good, if not, then there''s still a whole lot of time for her to learn all these things herself as she grows and experiences the outside world herself.

    "The world''s not fair Amy. He knew he was alone. Yet he acted on impulse and started a fight. He should''ve just been smart enough to understand his position and acted ordingly. Even after that, he could''ve left this hall, he could''ve left this party. But he didn''t, instead, he was eating sd while sipping some juice, and here we are.

    You can''t just me others and name someone wrong just because they used what cards they had for their advantage. You can only me yourself, for you, weren''t prepared for it."

    "But��"

    "Don''t think much into it. You''ll understand everything when you grow up a little, my little Lia" Rio said, stopping Amelia from asking many other questions that her little innocent brain couldn''t understand.

    "Humph. You know, you talk like some grandpa sometimes, when you''re only 2 years older than me." Amelia said, making Rio chock on his popcorns, about how right she was. ''Well half right, since I wasn''t her grandpa''s age right.''

    "Yeah, oldzy brother, that''s what I''ll call you from now on." Amelia said, with a smile, happy that she got one more nickname for him, as she pushed all her thoughts and questions aside in a second.

    She wasn''t friends with any of the kids anyways. She was just curious about why her brother was suddenly interested in watching some fight, and asked him about it. But since this old brother didn''t say anything, she forgot it too.

    And thus, both brother-sister pair started watching the protagonist getting beat up, while eating some popcorn.

    "These are good. Where''d you get them?" Amelia asked, munching on them.

    "I made them myself. Secret recipe." Rio said, proudly, while looking at the empty cone and Amelia''s fists which were holding everything.

    "You little shrew, how''d you even eat so much anyways." Rio said, pulling out another cone filled with popcorn from his ring.

    "I told you. It''s my superpower. Ohh look that''s Reba right. Let me call her. Reb_aeh" Amelia was talking, when she saw her friend walking down below looking around, probably searching for her. So she wanted to call her but her brother covered her mouth and stopped her.

    She looked at him with a questioning look that was saying ''why''d you do that?''

    "We''re at a party, dumbo. Why are you shouting so loudly? Look everyone''s staring at you now, She''lle here when sees us." Rio said, but stopped as Amelia fiercely bit his hand that was still covering her mouth

    "Don''t call me dumb, I''m smarter than you." Amelia said, while pulling the popcorn to her side.

    "Smart people don''t do this" Rio said, showing his palms, which had her teeth marks carved on it. ''She really is a little shrew.''

    "That''s punishment." Amelia replied.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Shrew," Rio said.

    "Where''s she going?" Amelia asked, making Rio turn to look downstairs, and a smile came to his face, as he saw Reba moving towards the scene where our dear protagonist was getting a beating.

    ''It really is the same as the novel.'' Rio thought, as he focused only on the drama, trying to see everything clearly, about what she''ll do and how everyone will act.

    It was the first time he was going to see something happening which was written in the novel, in front of him. Surprisingly, he felt excited about how simr it would be to his knowledge.

    -

    Reba, who was getting bored at the main hall, excused herself as she came here searching for Amelia. But while she was looking for her friend, she heard somemotion, and saw some kids gathered around the area.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    She was going to ignore it, thinking it was probably some magic show, or other games that were prepared for the event, but then she heard someone screaming and shouting, so she decided to take a look.

    "What''s happening here?"

    She said in a stern tone, seeing 3-4 kids ganging up and beating someone. Who was curled up in a ball, hiding his face and head.

    "Don''t you guys know fighting is prohibited in the Royal halls."

    Hearing her voice, those who recognised her immediately cleared a way and some even left the scene, not wanting to be a part of this drama any longer.

    "It was nothing, your highness. We were just ying around." Benjamin said.

    "ying, it doesn''t look like it. And why''re you all standing there like statues." She said pointing towards the guards, who were still standing there silently. "Don''t you see what''s happening here, can''t you guys stop them."

    "Your highness, we were.." One of guards came forward to tell her that they couldn''t act because it was not just anybody but sons of counts and other important people who were fighting a kid, but their words were cut short with Reba''s warning.

    "Save your excuses. You can tell them to the king. Now take this boy out of here." Reba said, pointing towards Leon who was still covering his head with his hands, she could see some bruises on his face and body, telling her what exactly was going on here.

    She watched as the crowd started disappearing and the guards took the bullied boy out. "Give him some low grade potion or something." She said, while walking away.

    -

    "She stopped the fight brother." Amelia said.

    "She did." Rio replied.

    "You sound disappointed. Did you wanted to see it more." Amelia said, looking at her brother, shaking his head.

    "Am I? I don''t know." Rio said, thinking that it was actually exactly the same as the novel. He expected it, but it was still a surprise seeing stuff ying out like he knew it would.

    "So what do you think?" Amelia asked.

    "About what?"

    Amelia rified her question, by saying "She stopped the fight and everything''s over now. So what do you think."

    Hearing her question, Rio smiled and said "Nothing''s over my sister. Do you think those boys will let him go just cause the princess asked to? This time the princess helped him, what about next time. When no one''s around, Who''s going to help him then?"

    "You think they''ll beat himter." Amelia asked, looking at the boy being picked up by the guards.

    "Who knows. It might be the boy, who picks a fight with them againter. He got beaten by them in front of so many others, do you think he''ll forget this insult." Rio said.

    "But he''s alone." Amelia asked, not understanding why would this boy pick a fight if he''s weak and alone and knows he can''t win.

    "He''s stupid. That''s what got him in this mess in the first ce. I don''t think he learned his lesson, since your friend over there saved him." Rio said, clearly not interested in talking about how a protagonist''s brain works. He himself doesn''t know that. That''s the great mystery that no one can solve.

    "But Reba''s right, right? It''s her home so she stopped the fight." Amelia asked, when she saw Riopletely ignoring Reba and looking at the other boys going their separate ways.

    "Reba''s dumb. She didn''t even know what was happening or who was in the wrong or right. She just went ahead without thinking anything and used her authority. That my sister is a dumb move." Rio said, while putting away his box of popcorns, after all there was still a second part of this dramaing after an interval. He needed to save some for then.

    Amelia just stood there, thinking over what her brother said. She felt what her brother said made some sense, but then again, she didn''t know why.

    ###

    A/N - What''s the rest of the event? Is it our protagonist''s awakening and his revenge? Or is it the princess'' awakening? Or are they both going to go at it in pair?

 Chapter 129 Teaching Her Some Manners

    On the other side, after stopping the fight and dispersing the crowd, Reba thought.

    ''This birthday is the worst.'' remembering how her day had been going ever since midnight. ''It''s all his fault.'' She said in her head, as the face of a white haired boy popped up again.

    "Best gift of your life." My god what a liar. he probably forgot or didn''t care about me. What did I do to him anyway.'' Reba thought, remembering what happenedst night.

    It was then she remembered she hasn''t seen that perpetrator of all her pain too. So she looked around, and as she looked up, her eyes met him, standing there, with that same annoying smile on his face fromst night''s.

    ''Wait, he was watching it, wasn''t he?'' She thought, as she looked at Amelia waving her hand holding popcorn in them.

    She snorted and started walking towards the stairs to ask him, why was he enjoying the drama, when there was a fight happening in front of him. It''s also his family too, and he has the authority too, but he''s just watching there.

    -

    "Brother, I think Reba is angry." Amelia said, looking at Reba''s fuming face, while walking towards them.

    "She''s always angry." Rio replied, while shrugging his shoulders.

    "No, I think she''s angry at you. Did you do something bad."

    "I didn''t do anything. She''s probably just mad for no reason, like always." Rio said, as he remembered a scene from original Rio''s childhood memories where she went into her kid mode and didn''t talk to him for a month because she lost a bet.

    "How can that be? I know her. You definitely did something. She''s been acting strange for the past 2 days. Did you fight with her? I''ll beat you if you did." Amelia said, remembering how her friend''s been lost in thoughts for the past 2 days. She wanted to ask about it, but something always came up and she just forgot about it.

    "Hey, whose sister are you? Why''re you even taking her side." Rio said, looking at her carefully, is this something his sister should say. Why''s she taking the heroine''s side instead of his?

    "Humph, you should just be careful." Amelia said while smiling.

    "Whatever. You''re both dumb anyways." Rio said.

    "Who are you calling dumb?"

    "Obviously it''s you and your friend, who else?" Rio heard someone ask the question, and without looking back, he replied, thinking it was Amelia.

    "Ohh so you think the princess of Schi is dumb. Huh. Quite the big words, I can just announce you as a traitor to the royal family because of that, you know." Reba said. She just came there and the first thing she heard from his mouth was an insult to her.

    "Why would you name your brother��" Rio was speaking when he realized it wasn''t Amelia''s voice, and then came a premonition, that a headache was iing convincing this girl now.

    "Oh hello princess. Happy birthday." Rio said, changing topic as fast as he could, while Amelia at the side could justugh at that. Which obviously got her the res of both her brother and friend, so she just stayed silent and focused on eating.

    "Forget happy birthday. And tell me, you think I''m dumb, huh?" Reba asked, staring at him, she''s been wondering this ever since she heard him speaking to her father. And even now, this guy''s going around everywhere, calling her dumb behind her back.

    ''First my father and now Amy, he''s been badmouthing me everywhere. I won''t let you go today without getting an answer.''

    "So why do you think that, tell me or I''m going to call father?" Reba asked again.

    ''She''s threatening me by using King''s name, while asking for a reason, why I call her dumb'' Rio thought.

    "So you won''t tell me huh. Gu." Reba, seeing he was still not speaking, was calling for guards, when Amelia spoke.

    "He''s calling you dumb because you stopped that fight." Amelia said, much to Rio''s dismay.

    Looking at Reba''s face full of confusion, Rio''s premonition of that headache really turned out true.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Cause now he had to exin why a daughter of destiny was dumb for helping the hero of heavens for no reason. Easy job right.

    "So you really were watching that fight. Why didn''t you stop it then. You know fighting is prohibited in Royal halls."

    Instead of answering Reba, Rio turned to look at Amelia, telling her that she should leave them alone for a little time. Though a little unwilling, thinking she''d miss a fun argument, Amelia still left when she saw her brother was being serious. But obviously she didn''t forget to tease both of them before leaving.

    "Tsk, you guys aren''t even engaged yet and you''re already kicking me out. Poor me, I''ll just go and y alone in the corner." Amelia said, with a sad look, as she ran away before her brother''s hand could p her head.

    "So would you tell me now. Why you didn''t stop that fight?" Reba said, hiding her flustered expression behind her veil of anger.

    "Why is that my job. You saw those guards standing there, they didn''t stop them, and it was their duty." Rio said nonchntly.

    "They were afraid of the status of those kids. You aren''t. You''re the Duke''s son, and had you stepped forward they would''ve stopped it." Reba said, though not very bright on the world view, but she was still smart enough on theory parts.

    Knowing the hierarchy of nobility, she could guess why those normal guards didn''t interfere in the fight. But she still couldn''t understand why Rio didn''t stop it. His family had the status and the highest respect after the royal family. So why was he just standing there, she couldn''t understand it.

    "You''re right, maybe they would''ve stopped, if i went there. But why would I do that? Why should I go there, and antagonize 3 noble families, and the future heir of an elite family. All for what, to help a Baron''s stupid son. No, I''m good." Rio replied in a straight tone. Like what he was saying was something very obvious.

    "They were bullying him." Reba said, in annoyance.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Rio shook his head and replied. "How''d you know that. You just came there. Maybe it was the fault of that boy. Maybe he did something bad, and they were just punishing him."

    "Even if that was true, everything has a limit and rules. Fights are not allowed here, and it shouldn''t happen.Had you stopped that fight the moment it started, then that boy wouldn''t have been so badly beaten." Reba said in anger, as Rio kept ignoring her questions and answering them in roundabout ways.

    "The fact remains, princess. Why would I do that? What do I get out of it? The only thing I get is 4 future leaders of powerful families angry at me, thinking I''m their enemy. That isn''t actually smart, is it?" Rio said.

    "Is that what you think? Is that why you called me dumb? If you think I''m dumb for saving someone who needed help, then it''s not me who''s stupid but you." Reba replied in a stern tone. Thinking she was right to save the boy. After all, as a princess, everyone in the empire is considered her subjects, so isn''t saving them her job. How''s she stupid for doing her duty.

    "Saving him. Is that what you think you did?" Rio said, smiling a little at her ignorance. "All you did is put a bigger target on that boy."

    His words made Reba confused, but ignoring her reactions, Rio continued speaking "Those guys would''ve only beaten him a little and let it go. But now they''re all angry, angry that their first impression on the princess is that of bullying a kid. Who do you think they''ll take out their anger on. What do you think they''ll do to him once you aren''t around huh." Rio asked.

    His words made Reba frown as she realized that maybe she wasn''t as right as she thought she was. But her brain still couldn''t think straight, so she said -"I''ll just have some guards apany him for the party."

    "You, really didn''t understand a single thing I said, did you? Forget this party, what about after that. Will you protect him when he''s outside Royal castle. Will you protect him when he''s in his own city? No, you won''t." Rio said, looking at her like she really was stupid. Her righteous habits and heroic words were only making him irritated now.

    There was a reason why he didn''t like hypocrites and people who couldn''t see the other side of truth, that was inly in front of them. It reminded him of how he was helplessly exining Ria''s death to everyone, only to be shut down with useless words and reasons, instead of any real answers and understanding. It was like him banging his head on a wall, that just won''t budge. It felt like a waste of words, a waste of his time and effort. Most of all it was annoying, cause he never met a selfless person who wasn''t selfish underneath.

    "I _ I can ask father to protect.. " Reba was trying to think of ways about how she could protect that boy, but her words were shut down with Rio''s words, which even though he didn''t intend to, but came out in a slightly higher tone than usual.

    "And why the hell do you want to protect him, huh. Do you even know who he is? What he did? Know anything about him. You just came here, and formed an opinion that he''s the victim, just cause he was getting beaten.

    Did you ever think for a second that maybe he deserved that beating. That, maybe he''s an idiot who started this fight because he couldn''t understand the reality and respect the hierarchy."

    Though a little scared by his sudden outburst, Reba still put her point forward. "They _ they were surrounding him, ganging up on him. And that''s not fair."

    "World''s not fair princess. Those who win aren''t always right, and those who gets beaten aren''t always victims." Rio said in a stern tone.

    ###

    A/N - here we are, teaching this princess that it''s easy to judge from the sidelines, but easy always ain''t right. Will she listen and learn, or will she stay the same. Who knows?

 Chapter 130 Things He Changed

    "World''s not fair princess. Those who win aren''t always right, and those who gets beaten aren''t always victims." Rio said in a stern tone.

    "Let me tell you what really happened here, so your kid brain could understand." He said, flicking her head.

    "The kid that you ''supposedly'' saved just now, is a stupid moron. He came to this hall and picked a fight with Count Sinir''s son Edward. When he was asked to apologize, he punched Edward''s friends and ran away from there. After that, instead of leaving this party and going back to the main hall, so this drama doesn''t escte. He simply went to the dining tables and started eating his food without any worries in the world. And guess what he did next, then he picked a fight with another count''s son -Korbil''s this time." Rio said, while pointing towards the crowd below.

    "Does he deserve a beating for being braindead, maybe he does, maybe he doesn''t.

    But that''s not even the matter at point we were talking about, were we? The point, princess, is that no one in this world is right or selfless. And if you believe they are, then you''re just stupid." Rio said, painting a picture of the scenario that Reba had missed.

    "Why are you talking about the world? That''s just you justifying why you were selfish." Reba said, in a high tone, having had enough of him saying she''s dumb and world''s this and world''s that. He''s treating her like she doesn''t know anything. "You just didn''t want to start a fight against those kids, so you let them beat that boy. Had it been Amelia in his ce, would you think about the elite families or nobility then."

    "I won''t. If anyone put a finger on my sister, their heads would roll down the Royal Pce next instant. That''s true, because she''s my sister and I care for her. That boy, whoever he is, I don''t give a single shit about him. I don''t even know his name, so why, in the world would I risk anything of mine for him." Rio said, his voice devoid of any emotions. Like he didn''t just talk about killing anyone and everyone, but Reba had no time to think about that as she replied back in her righteous tone.

    "We save them because we have the power to protect them. It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak. That''s how the world works."

    "That, princess. Is a dialogue best suited for the book you read before you go to bed. But it doesn''t mean anything when you leave your bed and walk into the real world." Rio said, his words dripping with annoyance and irritation he felt towards her now.

    "Not everyone''s like you. There are people who are good and kind and just." Reba said, clenching her fists in anger.

    "Good, kind, just -Don''t make meugh." Rio said. "That''s just a charade people put on themselves to hide their real intentions. No one''s helping anyone for free, hell no one''s even doing anything for free. If you didn''t learn this lesson after being born a royalty, then I don''t know what else to say?"

    "Then don''t say anything. I''m not asking you to." Reba replied.

    "Well, good. It wasn''t me who came here asking about stuff." Rio said.

    "It was my fault that I came here asking questions about morals with you." Reba said, thinking how just talking to him today was a waste of time.

    "Fine. Then if you got your answers, then just leave already." Rio shouted, pointing towards the stairs below. He was annoyed at how even after he clearly exined it all, she''s still stuck on the same line.

    "It''s MY pce. You should be the one to leave." Reba said, pushing his hand away.

    "Fine then. Goodbye." Rio said, as he turned around.

    "Just go already." Reba said.

    "I''m GOING." Rio said, looking over his shoulder. "No one likes banging their head on stupid walls anyway." He muttered as he left.

    "Who''re you calling stupid, you''re the one who''s stupid. Did you hear me, you''re the stupid one." Reba shouted looking at him leaving without even turning back. He even dragged Amelia away, who wasing to her.

    "What are you all looking at?" She said looking around, and seeing some people gathered around and looking in her direction, hoping to see some drama.

    ''Aaaahhhhh'' Reba screamed in her head in anger, while trying to maintain her outside appearance. She was now cursing the moment she left her bed this morning.

    ''It really is the worst birthday ever.''

    (Worry not, my little princess. For we''ve only reached the interval, the climax of the event is where all the fun happens.)

    -

    Walking away from that annoying princess, Rio''s brain started going back to the storyline of this event written in the novel. Even though he thought he changed everything, Reba''s nuisance-like behavior made him doubt if that was enough or not.

    If Reba was hellbent on stuff like this, then if she what would happen next, would she fight him to death or something.

    ''No, I still need to see it all for myself to be sure.'' He thought.

    -

    In the novel, after getting beaten by the viins, Leon was taken outside from the event hall and in some guest rooms, where they gave him a healing potion and let him rest, so it could heal his wounds.

    Lying in bed, Leon groggily moved his eyes hearing some words.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "How long do we have to stay here?"

    "Until he wakes up at least. Who knows if those sons of nobles woulde to beat him again if we leave now."

    "This guy had to pick fights with them. If not for her, they would''ve beaten him half dead by now. He was lucky she saved him."

    Hearing the conversation between guards standing near the door, Leon woke up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He held his head, as he tried to remember where he was. His brain slowly started ying all the things that happened from the moment he left his home. It took a moment for him to finally remember he was still at the party and still hadn''t done what he came here for.

    "Noo, I should go find the princess. Those guys already wasted enough of my time."

    Leaving his bed in a hurry, slowly wincing at the difort and slight pain that still lingered in his body.

    He ran from the room leaving the guards surprised at what happened. But then they ignored him again. They still had other things and ces to keep watch on, instead of wondering why a 10 year old acted like a kid.

    Standing at what seemed like a crossroads of corridors in the castle, Leon halted his steps, as he remembered he didn''t know his way around here.

    ''Damn it. I should have asked those guards where the main hall was. Now I can''t even go back. Would I really meet the princess today? What if I don''t find her?'' He thought, but then shook his head, clearing his depressing thoughts and muttered "No, I won''t give up like this."

    "Let''s see, I wasing from the right, then turned around and ran through that big window, then.. Arghh'' Leon tried to trace his path back, but he realized now he came to a pathway, and both corridors looked simr to each other.

    ''Dam it. I can''t even see anyone here whom I can ask for help. It''s all because of those bullies.'' His anger rose again as he remembered how those unreasonable kids picked a fight with him and beat him. If it weren''t for them he would''ve already found the princess or at least he would''ve been in the hall, now he was just lost.

    ''If I don''t find the princess today. I''ll never forgive them.'' He thought, clenching his fists in anger.

    ''I also have to find that girl who saved me from those bullies. I couldn''t even see her clearly because of all those guys surrounding me.''

    Leon thought, remembering the girl''s voice he heard, when he thought he was getting beaten badly. She was the only one who came forward from the crowd and saved him, so he at least wanted to thank her before leaving. But again, he didn''t know where to find her either.

    Frustration welled up within him, but then he heard someone''s stern voice from behind, which stopped all his thoughts.

    "What are you doing here? This area''s not for guests."

    "I was lost, I didn''t mean to wander off." Leon said in a hurry, a little scared thinking he ran off somewhere he shouldn''t have. He didn''t want to stay here and dy any more of his time exining anything. If some guards stopped him then they could call his father, and then he won''t be able to meet the princess alone.

    So without turning around he said "Then I''ll go back." And started walking in a hurry. ''Please don''t stop me, don''t stop me, please don''t ..'' He was praying while speeding away, when he heard the voice again and halted his steps.

    "Wait, you''re that boy from before, right. The one who was getting beaten. How are you now?"

    "Ahh I was that.." Leon relied as he turned around, but stopped mid sentence, as he looked at a little girl, standing there, hands on her waist, waiting for an answer.

    "You''re, what?" Amelia asked, tilting her head.

    "Ohh nothing." Leon said, getting out of his trance " I''m fine now. Thank you for saving me from them. If it weren''t for you, I don''t know what those guys must have done to me."

    Leon said while bowing a little, thinking Amelia was the one who saved him from those bullies, and was here to check on him or something.

    While he was feeling grateful and happy that he found his savior easily. Amelia was looking at him with a confused face, with the clear expression of ''what is he talking about.''

    She just saw him getting beaten by some kids, while she was ying with Reba in the hall. But that time before she could do anything, Reba already went ahead and solved everything.

    So she ignored everyone. But somehow here this guy was thanking her, who did nothing, but stood silent.

    ''He''s confusing me with Reba huh. But we don''t look anything simr. Even our hair color and clothes are different too. Was he unconscious, or is he dumb?'' She thought.

    ###

    A/N - So this is how the hero was supposed to meet the viin''s sister and his fiancee for the first time. Obviously Rio already changed the course of events so the spoon fed man baby doesn''t get anywhere close to Amelia.

 Chapter 131 What Shouldve Happened

    "I think you''re confusing me with my friend." Amelia said. "The one who stopped that fight wasn''t me but my friend. I was just standing there."

    Hearing her words, Leon looked at her with a faceful of realization. He stayed silent for a second, as he didn''t know how to react, so he just said. "ohh. Sorry."

    Amelia nodded her, head not minding his disappointed expression, as she ignored him and started leaving. But she stopped as she found Leon following behind her. "What are you doing?"

    "Actually, I, I don''t know my way back and there''s no one here whom I can ask, so can I _." Leon said, stuttering in his answer, clearly not confident that she''ll agree to let him follow her.

    Amelia looked at him carefully, and said "I''ll take you to the main hall, but you better not stick behind me after that." She said and started walking away, while warning him "Or I''ll have my brother beat you more bad than those guys did. My brother''s the strongest."

    "Of course." Leon first was happy, hearing her words, thinking maybe he could ask her help in finding the princess too. Since she''s roaming in this giant pce without any worries, she''s definitely someone who knows about her. But his thoughts were broken when he heard her warning. The way she spoke with certainty made him believe her words, even though they didn''t sound scary from her mouth.

    ''I''ll just look for her myself.''

    That''s how Amelia and Leon were supposed to meet in the story. Amelia guided Leon to the main hall and said her goodbyes.

    Many around the hall recognized Leon as the guy who just got beaten an hour before, but no one came forward to make fun of him or bully him. They''ve all seen princess save him before and just now he was talking with Amelia ke. So no one wanted to take risks of angering the 2 stars of 2 most powerful families in the empire.

    This gave Leon the chance to look around carefully, but since the poor protagonist didn''t know anybody, and he didn''t actually have the brains to ask anybody, he kept looking around like a fool. Thinking he''d meet and find the princess, whom he never met, never seen, and identify her by some gut feeling.

    After a while of wasting time looking around and not finding anyone who looked like the princess, Leon just gave up on the party and went out in his depressed mood. He was sitting in the garden, when he heard someone''s voice.

    "I thought guards were supposed to take you to a guest room, and not in an open garden." Reba said, looking at the boy she saved some time ago, looking lost in his thoughts.

    She was going towards her room, thinking about the engagement announcement that her parents were about to share with the world. Her engagement with the heir of ke''s and her friend Rio.

    Though not quite knowledgeable about all marriage stuff, she was still a little excited and nervous about it now. She had heard everyone in the main hall talking about the rumors of alliance between both families and how it would benefit them. But she also heard many people being jealous of it or talking against it.

    She just came out to take a breather, before she had to go back, and be present there for the engagement announcement.

    She didn''t want to look worried or nervous in front of everyone. She didn''t want anyone to think that her parents forced this decision on her, or that she wasn''t happy.

    Apparently the whole of Schi would be watching this announcement, and she needed to maintain her appearance.

    That''s when she saw him.

    "Did they let you go, or did something happen?" She asked, thinking maybe those kids from before must have troubled him again. Even though this time the guards shouldn''t leave him be, but then why was he here.

    "Ahh" Leon turned to look at the girl and his brain stopped working as he just kept looking at her. She was just perfect.

    "I asked you a question?" Reba said, thinking this guy''s like everyone else too.

    Only then did Leon got out of his thoughts and answered in a rush - "No, I was fine. So I left."

    "Hmm" Reba nodded and decided to leave, but stopped when she heard him speak again.

    "Were you the one who saved me?" Leon said, thinking maybe it was this pretty girl who saved him. That''s why she knew him. Well, thest pretty girl knew him too, but she didn''t save him, so he was hoping it''s her, so he can thank his savior.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Reba didn''t reply and nodded her head.

    "Ahh thank you for helping me there. I don''t know how to repay you." Leon said, bowing his head. "I''m Leonard.. "

    "Just don''t pick fights with them again and go inside. Instead of standing out here alone." She said, stopping his introduction, and turned around to leave. But her steps halted again as she heard him call her.

    "Do you know where the princess is?" He asked.

    Reba looked at the boy carefully, her mind thinking what kind of idiot he is. The whole empire knew the golden hair which were sign of royalty and about her blue eyes, sign of her connection to her mother. She should be easy to be found, but was this boy joking.

    "What do you want with the princess?" So instead of answering him, she asked.

    Hearing her words Leon smiled as this probably meant she knew princess, or atleast where she was. So he happily told her everything. How he came here looking for princess, and ask her help in saving his mother.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Listening to everything Reba had a sympathic expression, she liked the determination and how he was willing to do everything himself to save his mother.

    In their conversation she also noticed, the boy in front of her, really didn''t know who she was and started talking to her normally, just like he''d talk to anyone else. This was the first for her, as everyone she met till now always considered her lineage and title for everything.

    It felt nice, not being recognized, and experiencing how it feels to have a normal talk. So she decided to keep it that way, thinking maybe she can talk to him like that again, maybe she''ll have a new friend beside Amelia. Or maybe it''ll be fun to see his face when he realises she''s the princess.

    So she let the misunderstanding be, and agreed to ask the princess to help him instead. She also promised that she''ll pray to gods that her mother wakes up soon.

    After learning that he won''t be meeting the princess, because she''ll be surrounded by guests and everyone in the main hall. Leon reluctantly agreed to what Reba said, and let her talk to princess in his stead. He also gave her the gift he prepared for princeaa''s birthday so she can pass it to her.

    After that Reba left the garden, a little less nervous about the engagement,but more worried about the boy''s mother, whom she just met. After she left, Leon sat back in garden, with a hopeful smile, he believed her words with all his heart, and thanked the gods for their help.

    That''s how the first meeting between the hero and heroine was supposed to go in the novel. And even though Rio had changed some stuff, like how Amelia was never with Reba, how Amelia never gets a chance to meet the protagonist, but listening to Reba''s stupid words in their little argument, he couldn''t be sure if that was enough.

    ''Will she still believe his words and everything he said, cause she''s a fool.'' Rio thought.

    There was a high possibility that Reba would still meet Leon and have that talk. He wasn''t sure what she''d do now, after everything he told her, but he was curious to know.

    He needed to know if his efforts were working or not. If Reba couldn''t see the difference between naivety and reality, then there was no point for him to waste his time on her other events.

    There were many other people, many other events, probably happening simentenously around the world, he couldn''t just sit back and be stuck on her, hoping she''d change. When there were other more viable options for him to change his and Amelia''s endings.

    So he decided to not interfere again and let Reba be, he wanted to see what she''ll choose now.

    She wasn''t engaged to him, he wasn''t tied to her, so even if she got close to Leon, it won''t matter to him.

    Neither the hero nor this heroine were a threat to him, for a whole lot of years. And if something out of hand did happen, he''ll just have to take drastic measures. He could just pull forward the events that would put Royals on the line, and leave no room for them to grow into a nuisance.

    ##

    A/N - This event will be over soon, and then the much awaited time skip ising. Until then please drop a review wherever you''re reading it & join my discord server. (If u join now, u might be the OG 100 of the server) lucky chance

 Chapter 132 Saving Protagonists Mother

    Besides even if Reba believed Leon''s words and decided to help him, that won''t lead to anything.

    In the novel, after king Maximus announced the engagement between both of them, he promised her if she needed anything, and he''ll do it for her.

    After all, he was too happy then. King had just managed to tie the ke family to himself, and now he had even more power and control over everything.

    All this happened because of his daughter, who agreed to this marriage at once, and didn''t even question anything.

    It was then, that Reba put forth her promise that she made with Leon, and how she agreed to help his mother.

    King nced at the people present in the hall, who also heard his words, unable to refuse, he agreed to her request.

    Then king asked Baron Darren to take royal healers and they''ll go take a look at his wife,

    Obviously it was all a charade, Maximus put in the party, to maintain his image. He already knew about Baron''s wife being cursed and in need of help, that motivation to help is what he used to keep Baron in check and work for him without anything in return.

    He gave orders to royal healer never to try their best Or fully heal her, even if they could. He did help stabilize her condition and gave some purifying artifacts, that stopped her body from deteriorating itself, due to the cursed mana in it.

    The world only knew, king Maximus tried his best and did everything, but even royal family couldn''t lift theplex curse ced on Baron''s wife.

    With just that one celebration, king Maximus managed to secure Raven and ke family support due to engagement. With his fake act of kindness he managed to get public support and a loyal Baron who would die on his orders without asking anything.

    It was a good deal for him, and he was all to happy with his daughter, who made all this possible.

    -

    A smirk came to Rio''s face thinking how much king gained in that novel, and how much he lost because of his interference.

    As for Baron and his family, there was no need for him to do anything about them. He had already seen protagonist''s father at the table. And seeing how he was gullible enough to fall for Baron Misha''s sweet lies and schemes, there was no need for him to be mindful of him for a while.

    Protagonist''s mother, Celeste Lightborne, was still cursed and knowing her plotline, Rio was sure she won''t die from this curse, even if no one did anything to help her.

    After all, she was cursed so she can suffer for a lifetime, if she died just because of that, how would her enemies take pleasure in her pain. She''d live, and that''s why Rio didn''t worry about her too.

    Of course he wasn''t heartless enough to let her suffer, just because he wanted to change some stuff in the novel. He never met her, and she never did anything bad to him, he couldn''t hate her just based on a novel he read.

    So he did decide to help her, instead of the king or royal family, he was nning to use ke family who would help the baron and save his wife.

    Though he knew the way to lift her curse, she''d have to wait for a while, cause her plotline isn''t something he wanted to start now, when he wasn''t ready himself.

    It might seem foolish to some about why, he, who''s living as a viin, was helping the hero, who''s supposed to kill him. But he didn''t think so.

    The purpose of doing this was also, so he could increase the positive image of ke family in the empire.

    Though the crowd of normies will never be able to eveny a finger on him, but he had seen the effects of danger the bad rumors and fake prophecies could bring to him.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    So he wanted to atleast maintain that kind image of everyone until he was strong enough to protect them.

    So even if someday something happened, the flock of ants won''t be foolish enough to stand against his family easily.

    Selling Pura Corpus potion cheaply in Damascus would do the trick too, but he wanted more acts of kindness to maintain the image.

    This act of helping Baron''s family, can also make Leon grateful to him and ke''s. Giving him another safeguard for a while.

    (He had no ns to be friends or buddies with the hero. But if he could avoid some stupid conflicts, he would do it.)

    -

    "Bad brother, what did you do?"

    Rio''s thoughts about plotline were stopped as he heard Amelia''s voice. He had pulled her with him for 2 reasons. First, he didn''t want to leave her alone for an instant, fearing maybe she''ll bump into protagonist if he let her be.

    Even though, they''ll both only talk for a little time, and nothing dangerous would happen to her.

    He didn''t want to let her near the creatures who are known to have a halo of wisdom degrading and harem surrounding them all time.

    ''Who knows if those halos are real, and suddenly Amelia turned stupid. No he can''t let that happen right.''

    Second reason, was that he wanted to give Reba some alone time, she needed to carefully think over everything he said herself and not he influenced by someone else.

    That''s how he''d know if she could see the world, the way she does yearster in the plot.

    He could let everything go, like it did in the plot and have her grow after suffering many things, or he could just help her by shouting facts at her face - the choice was hers, which path she''d wanna take.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Did you bully Reba. I told you before, I''ll beat you bad if you did." Amelia said, warning her brother.

    "I didn''t do anything. I just told her the truth and she couldn''t understand it. It''s not my fault, is it?" Rio replied, shrugging his shoulders.

    "Then why was she so angry?" Amelia asked back. She clearly saw how angry Reba was. She was about to go forward and calm her down, but this brother held her hand and dragged her away.

    "How would I know. Now, don''t ask too many questions, and fix your appearance a little." Rio said as he bent down and wiped her mouth and hands which were still not cleaned after she finished eating, cause she got too busy watching a drama instead.

    "Where are you taking me. I haven''t even eaten anything yet. I''m hungry." She said, she came to this hall, so she could eat everything away from her mother''s eyes. But this brother first dragged her to watch a fight, then he faught himself with Reba and now dragged her away.

    Aside from those handful of popcorns, she hasn''t eaten anything yet.

    "We''re going to the main hall. You can eat whatever you want there." Rio said, and started walking again.

    "But there''s mama there. How about 5 minutes. I''ll just take a quick bite." Amelia pleaded, but this time her tricks didn''t work as Rio replied.

    "Mother''s busy. You can just eat there. No excuses. Now follow me."

    With a pouting face Amelia followed him to the main hall.

    -

    ''Who does he think he is. Shouting at me like that. Does he think I don''t know anything.''

    "World''s not fair princess. You''re the one who''s not fair. Lazy white panda."

    "Just you wait, once this is over, I''ll tell aunt everything about you. We''ll see how she twists your ears then. Who told you to fight with me."

    Reba remained lost in her thoughts andints, standing alone in the party. Though some kids approached her wishing her birthday and all formalities, but those saw her a while ago shouting, stayed away from her.

    Feeling the stares of everybody around her she decided to leave the party. She already had enough of everything anyway.

    After getting away from all the crowd and chatter, she came to her favorite garden and sat there.

    "When will this party end?" She thought, as she looked at the message from her mother, that she should join them in the main hall in an hour for cake cutting.

    She just sat there, thinking about her earlier fight with Rio and everything he said, while plucking out flowers. It was then that she heard a voice which snapped her to stop.

    "Excuse me. Do you know how can I go to the main hall. I was outside, and now I couldn''t find my way back to the event hall."

    "What?" Reba shouted in anger, thinking it was probably some new maid or someone else pestering her.

    "Y_ you can just tell me the way, I can find it myself." Leon said in a hurry, stuttering as he spoke. He wasn''t lying, he was a bit scared there.

    He just woke up after getting a full beatdown, he didn''t want to get beaten by a girl this time. She really looked angry too.

    "You, you''re that boy who got beaten inside right." Reba said, after taking a clear look at him. Seeing him, her previous anger rose a little bit. It was all this boy''s fault. If he didn''t get into that fight, she wouldn''t have an argument with him too.

    "Ah yes, I''m Leonard Hear.."

    Leon was about to introduce himself as courtesy, when Reba cut him off saying "what''re you doing here. This area''s restricted for the guests. And what happened to the guards who were with you. Did they let you out."

    Listening to her constant barrage of questions, Leon was first stunned, but seeing how she started ring at him angrily, he replied "The guards were there, I was just in a hurry looking for someone, so I ran away. And while doing so, I got lost and ended up here."

    "Casssie, send him back to the hall." Reba said, to nobody, making Leon confused about who she was talking about.

    He looked around but didn''t found anybody, he was about to tell her that, she was alone here, but when he looked back he found a girl in ck clothes standing behind her.

    "As you wish master." The girl in ck spoke.

    "You can go with her, she''ll take you to the party hall." Reba said, but then she remembered Rio''s words about how those boys would beat him up, if they found this guy again, so she added

    "And don''t go starting off other fights. Those kids from before might be looking for you there. So just tell her about your parents and she''ll take you to the main hall."

    Surprised Leon was about to follow the servant girl, who appeared out of thin air, when he remembered something and asked.

    "Are you the one who saved me earlier?"

    ###

    A/N - if u have someints, do tell me. And i am in dire need of some positive 5* reviews to boost my morale. Cuz myzy personality is affecting my will to write, so motivate me.

 Chapter 133 The Effects Of His Acts -What Really Happened

    "Were you the one who saved me earlier?" Leon asked.

    "I am." Reba replied.

    Hearing her answer, a smile beaned at Leon''s face, as he bowed to her and said "Thank you for your help. If it weren''t for you, I don''t know what those guys would do to me?"

    "No need for that." Reba said, watching him thanking her for saving him, a smile came to her face too. As she pushed all her doubts aside, being sure in herself that what she did was indeed right and not stupid.

    But then the words of Rio came to her mind where he asked her who was at fault? Who started that fight and if she really was right to save him?

    So she decided to ask those questions "Tell me, did you start the fight with them?"

    Her question brought back Leon from the fantasnd he traveled to watching her smile, but looking at her ring angry eyes he replied "Huh.obviously not. It was those guys who started making fun of me and insulting me. I even ran from them and apologized too but they found me and started beating me."

    "Hmm. But you were still in the side hall. Why didn''t you just leave that ce, so they couldn''t find you. Isn''t that simple?" Reba asked, curious and a little annoyed as her brain registered his words, were simr to what Rio told her.

    "I could''ve. But _ but I couldn''t." Leon stammered as he answered her question. Now that he thought back, why didn''t he just leave that ce, he just punched some big noble kid and he was still there. But then he remembered why he came there in the first ce and justified his actions to himself.

    ''I was looking for the princess. Right. I couldn''t talk to her in the main hall, in front of my father and hers, so I came there. Yes. That''s it.''

    Unaware of his self thoughts Reba misunderstood her words, as thinking that maybe some guard stopped him or someone else halted him, so she asked "What do you mean you couldn''t. Did someone stop you?"

    If she found some guards who stopped some low ranking guests, just to curry favors with high ranking ones. After all, there were simr incidents like this in the past, it wouldn''t be surprising if someone did it. But then she''d really be mad.

    But Leon''s words calmed her as he said.

    "No, nothing like that. No one stopped me. I _I was actually waiting for the princess there."

    His words surprised Reba, as a frown came to her face "Princess. But she was in the main hall with the rest of the guests."

    "Yeah, but she shoulde there right. In the side hall, that''s where everyone her age would''ve been. So I was waiting for her. I didn''t want to leave before meeting her." Leon said, trying to rify his words.

    "Why''d you want to meet the princess. Everyone would eventually see her in the cake ceremony. Couldn''t you just wait there?" Reba asked, as her mood started going back down, listening to constant excuses.

    "I_ I actually , I actually wanted to."

    "What?"

    "I wanted to meet her alone?"

    Leon was stammering in his words, when she asked again, so he closed his eyes and finished his words. Hoping it won''t sound creepy or bad.

    "Why?" Reba asked, her voice now cold, as she felt angry.

    "Huh., that''s not . I can''t tell you that. I''m sorry." Leon noticed her change in tone and behavior too, but he didn''t want to say his reasons. He didn''t know who she was, or if he should really tell her something that personal.

    Reba, confused about why this guy was refusing now. He just said, he wanted to meet her alone and now when they''re here alone, he''s not saying anything. But then she thought maybe, he didn''t realise who she was. So she asked "Do you not know who I am?"

    "Ah no. I actually never attended any social events as I was mostly sick since I was a baby. So this is the first time I even came out somewhere like this." Leon replied, rubbing his head.

    "My name''s Reba Von Schott. The one and only princess of this empire. The one you were searching, so now would you tell me why you were looking for me." Reba said, as she straightened her posture.

    "Th that really."

    "Do I have any reason to lie?"

    Instead of answering, Reba asked the question, which shut him off and make him believe her words.

    "My apologies, your highness. I didn''t realize."

    Leon said, while trying to give her a proper royal greeting which he was failing miserably at.

    "Just tell me, why you were looking for me. And don''t try to lie. Or Cassie will know about it." Reba asked him again, as she signaled Cassie, who nodded her head, acknowledging her request.

    "I wanted to wish you birthday and give you this gift." Leon said in a hurry, pulling out the small box of gift he prepared for her.

    "What''s in it?"

    "It''s something I prepared myself. My sister said, since the princess will have everything anyone can buy, why don''t you give her something no one buy. I didn''t understand what she meant, so I just made a gift myself. No one can buy this right."

    "Lie"

    Leon was giving out his emotional speech, exining his gift and the idea behind it happily. When Cassie''s cold tone stopped his lines.

    "What?" He asked, looking at her.

    "I think I told you not to lie or Cassie will know?" Reba said, shaking her head, looking at the ck haired boy. "Did you think I was joking. Now yourst chance, tell me why you were looking for me?"

    "No, it''s the truth. I prepared it myself and I got it for you.."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Leon was saying his lies again, when Reba''s cold words cut him off.

    "Cassie, if he lies again, throw him in the prison cells. Father can decide what to do with himter?"

    Hearing her words, Leon was really scared, thinking about the time when his father had said, that princess was kind and gentle like his sister, he just wanted to ask his father now. ''Is this gentle.''

    But he didn''t have much time to think clearly on that memory, as Cassie''s reply stunned him again .

    "Yes master."

    "Now speak only the truth. Why were you looking for me." Reba asked again.

    "I''m not lying I did made that gift for you.

    "Cassie.."

    "But I wanted something in return."

    Leon said in a hurry, hearing the princess mentioning her guard''s name again.

    Reba didn''t answer or look at him, but nced at her shadow, who nodded her head and said "He''s telling the truth now, master."

    "Speak" She said, after confirming it weren''t any of his other excuses.

    "I wanted to ask your help for something. I heard from my uncle that the Royal Family has something that can help my family. If you can ask your father, the king to help me save my.."

    "So he was right." Hearing his words Reba muttered under her breath, as she realized, just like Rio said, even he was like everyone else. Even after she saved him, that wasn''t enough and he wanted to ask her something else too.

    This guy, even wanted her to talk with her father on his behalf, she didn''t even bother to hide the disgust and disappointment that crept on her face, as she stopped Leon''s exnation further, by giving her order to her shadow.

    "Throw him out Cassie."

    Her words had just finished, as Cassie started moving towards him.

    "Wait, at least listen to me. Please. I didn''t mean anything bad please.

    I was just asking for your help. If you ask your father to just check once. It can save my family. I''ll be in your debt please just once, listen�� ."

    His words were silenced as a sudden wave of darkness engulfed him and he fell down on the ground.

    After giving a chop on his head that knocked the boy out, Cassie turned to look at the princess, who was silently looking down, trying to hide her expressions.

    "Do you think he was right?"

    Reba asked, without looking up. And even though she didn''t mention any name or anything else, her shadow understood who she was talking about. But she didn''t say anything.

    ". �� ."

    "Thought so. I was a fool to believe otherwise."

    She said, as some tears started flowing down her pearl eyes.

    "You can leave." She said, and Cassie bowed her head and left after picking up the unconscious Leon.

    Reba nced at the box of gift that the boy had given her earlier, as she thought ''would heugh at me, if he knew about it.''

    The thought of that white haired boy making fun of her stupidity came to her head, which brought a slight smile to her face.

    But that smile was gone the next instant, when she remembered how she fought with him for not defending this guy, who was trying to use her.

    She threw the small box in her hand away, as she stood up, after wiping her face clean. She saw a new message from her mother, calling her inside.

    ''I''ll just say sorry to him when I see him inside.'' She thought and left the garden.

    Unaware that as she left the area, a boy her age came to that ce, and picked up the box she threw away.

    "Well, that was unexpected, and easy."

    He broke the small jade bracelet inside, and threw all the pieces away. Looking at a white stone that wasn''t crushed under his strength, he smiled and kept it in his storage ring.

    "Guess its one more win for the viin." He said, smiled, and walked away, with his hands in his pocket.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ##

    A/N - End is near. Almost upon us. The time skiping soon.

    Also, in the academy arcs, I''ll need ton of names of new characters, suggestions r always wee. Also if u give out gifts and good reviews, I might as well be happy, and name some important characters on ur name - then u can have ur fantasy in my fantastic story. [Poor shameless author]

 Chapter 134 Daughter Of Destiny That He Wants To Meet

    "What do you think they''ll announce?"

    "Who knows, But it won''t be the engagement, as everyone thought?"

    "Huh why is that?"

    "Who knows? I think it''s something to do with the rumors that''s been going around, the new business ke''s are setting up?"

    "I thought those were just rumors."

    "We''ll know about them soon enough."

    Conversations like these happening everywhere in the main hall, as everyone heard that king Maximus is going to make an announcement after the ceremony.

    Every guest was gathered in the open hall where main celebrations were going to take ce, along with the exchange of gifts and well wishes.

    After that an official dance event was going to take ce, starting off with the pairs of nobles, and then to their children and other guests.

    After that the event was supposed to end for the night.

    The people who''vee from outside Schi would still stay at the capital for a day or two, where the king and other nobles and guilds would try their chances about forging new alliances and getting new allies.

    The normal political talks, along with some business ideas that needed investments and partnerships, would be shared and agreed upon.

    Since not many gatherings like this could be hosted without something major happening around the world, many different issues and problems would be addressed too.

    But Rio had no interest in all of it.

    He knew that after king Maximus announced about the new partnership between all 3 houses, he would only need to meet and greet many other noble kids. Who''ll flock to him, cause their parents told them too.

    Even though some of them were characters of the novel, and y some important roles in the story, he wasn''t interested in getting close to them so early.

    In just a few hours of the event - He had already seen the viins acting petty and arrogant. He had seen heroines acting cold and prideful. He had seen the bullying act and saving the hero act already. So there wasn''t anything left he needed to see now.

    He was actually nning to see the second heroine of the beginning stages, but she didn''t attend the party. So there wasn''t anything else.

    Though Rio was a little disappointed that he couldn''t meet her now, but what he didn''t know, was that another surprise awaited him when she woulde face to face with him.

    ''The one heroine from the Belmonts and Grayborn family were still too young to attend these events, so they weren''t here. Stormswill heroine is here but she''s smart, so I''ll let her be for now, lest I bring her attention to me for no reason.''

    ''I''ll just meet them allter, anyway. So what''s the rush?'' Rio thought.

    At first he was going to attend the party and keep an eye on the second part of this event - ''Failed Awakenings''

    but after witnessing how the interaction between the princess and the protagonist went, he wasn''t much worried about that either.

    He had already finished his ns and Reba had already showed her stance, and at this point of time, it was enough.

    Now even if she learned the truthter on, she wouldn''t be able to do anything, as by then, he would have Artemis help the Baron first instead.

    ''It''ll be fun to see what her reactions would be then. Would she feel angry at herself, cause she didn''t listen to leon today. Or will she be impressed by my righteousness.'' Rio thought with a smile, imagining her face.

    There was no role of Amelia in what''s going to happen next, but still as a safety precaution he left her with Artemis. Highlighting that she should watch over her for tonight.

    With Artemis''s character and the way she''s been acting ever since he told her about the fate of everyone, Rio had no doubts she''d understand what he meant and would keep her close.

    He had stopped the meeting between Amelia and Leon easily. But even without Amelia''s guidance, Leon still managed to meet with Reba in the garden.

    It could either be a coincidence where Leon simply lost his way and stumbled upon Reba. Or it could be something like fate or his halo secretly helping him.

    But that wasn''t going to be the case for his meeting with Amelia. Since Rio knew there were more important stuff that''s going to happen soon. And even his halo wouldn''t risk altering the main event, just so he could meet her.

    So Rio didn''t worry about her, and left the hall. From what he asked of Esme and what he learned himself, the time for another shback event was going on too.

    Another heroine was going to sprout soon, and he decided to take a look at her himself.

    While in Reba''s case he had decided to let her awaken, and act on her own for now. He decided to alter the beginning of this new heroine himself.

    After all, unknowingly, he had already changed her fate 2 months ago.

    He informed his parents that he was going back to their mansion to get some rest, cause he wasn''t feeling well, with all the noise and crowd.

    Though he, Artemis and Amelia had been living in the pce for the past 2 days due to Athena''s invitation. When Agnus arrived today morning, they had shifted to their own mansion in the Haven city.

    After sending both Myra and Esme to watch over him and keep himpany, his parents allowed Rio to leave.

    They didn''t have to worry for his safety since the mansion was well protected, and guards of Agnus and envoys of the Raven family were staying there too.

    Along with all the artifacts he wore, and how both Myra and Esme followed him. They let him go.

    Even those from the faction of Strays or Evil''s Scion weren''t a fool to attack someone in the capital, let alone when every important character was present there.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Doing so would result in the wrath of every noble and elite house, and they would gain nothing.

    Especially since the security was heightened to maximum and hunt for them, was on an all time high, due to the curse attack on Rio and then the attack on a Baron.

    -

    Yes, everyone thinks the death of Noah, was actually an attack on Baron Misha, done by Evil''s Scion. It was all due to rumors of sightings of their logos in Harendale, and some fake proofs Cami left behind to confuse everyone.

    The guards Artemis dispatched to bring back Esme, also nted some fake proof here and there, and killed some known members of Evil''s Scion, making it look like suicide.

    This only made more rumors that the team sent to attack Baron failed and killed themselves.

    Though no one was sure why evil''s scion would attack a Baron, but they had no other proof or theory about who or why someone would do this. So everyone could only me the terrorists.

    -

    After getting out from the hall and reaching their car, Rio sat on the backseat along with Myra, while Esme started driving.

    Though leaving like this midway might be considered an insult to the host, his family were still attending the event. King Maximus didn''t care about him, and what other guests thought didn''t matter to him.

    As soon as their vehicle left the vicinity of the pce, Rio closed his eyes to take some rest.

    "Take the longer and peaceful route, I don''t want any more noise." He informed Esme while adjusting his seat backwards, so he could sleep properly.

    In his half asleep state his thoughts trailed back to the story of novel, and how the second and main part of this event - Failed Awakening, was described there.

    -

    In the novel, after their initial meeting Reba agreed to Leon''s request, and left to talk with her father about it. Leon was left alone outside, lost in his dreams.

    Since the girl he just met promised him to convince the princess to help his mother, he was sure his mother would be saved soon.

    He was imagining how happy his family would be, and how he''d repay the favors of the princess and royal familyter.

    He also needed to meet and thank the girl again, who first saved him and then his mother too.

    ''Maybe I''ll take her to meet my mother. She would like that, right.''  Leon thought.

    He didn''t know his savior earlier was the princess, so he was happy he could find someone nice, who''d help him.

    His first experience in this party wasn''t nice. He had been insulted, beaten and bullied -but he didn''t mind it now. It all ended well, so he was happy.

    "Dam that bastard. It''s all his fault. Now I can''t even take part in the dance because of him."

    Leon was lost in his thoughts, when he heard someone shouting. Feeling curious, he decided to take a look at the source of the voice.

    When he did see the boy, that voice belonged to, he couldn''t help but be surprised.

    It was that ck haired bully who made fun of him at the beginning, and talked bad about his mother. He remembered his name was Lincoln or something.

    But that wasn''t the surprising part, what surprised him was that Lincoln was currently walking around with a limp leg. His once arrogant expressions, now reced with a mask of anger and pain. And every time he took a step, he would end up cursing someone again.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I swear, I''ll grow up and beat that bastard."

    "Who does he think he is?"

    "And his minions too. How dare they look down on me."

    He kept walking, and kept throwing curses at anyone he could remember.

    Looking at his pitiful condition Leon wanted tough at him. And maybe even make fun of him like they did to him before. A smirk came to his face, as the thought to even go forward and beat him back, also came to his mind.

    The feeling of having his revenge, and beating the bully who insulted his mother, seemed infinitely possible and sweet.

    But thinking about his father''s warning about not fighting with nobles. And the words of the girl earlier who saved him, he stopped himself.

    He decided to turn back and go to the event hall.

    ''Maybe I''ll find that little girl from earlier again. I''ll thank her for her help again.'' Leon thought, and decided to leave.

    But how can trouble ever leave the protagonist alone. If he didn''t look for it, trouble would simplye to him instead.

    And that''s exactly what happened next.

    ####

    A/N - So what do u guys think, which heroine''s popping up next? What did he change & what he meant by altering her beginning?

 Chapter 135 The Birthday Event - 2nd Part

    As Leon turned to leave, hoping to avoid any further confrontation, his heart sank as his feet identally crushed some dried leaves on the ground. The loud crunching sound seemed to echo through the silent air, and he immediately regretted not being more careful.

    The sudden noise caught Lincoln''s attention, and he quickly spun around. "Who''s there?" he shouted, his voice filled with a mix of fear and anger.

    His heart started racing as he thought that Benjamin or his other minions followed him here, to give him another beating. If they heard how he was cursing them, he didn''t know how badly he''d be beaten.

    He tried to steady his breathing, not wanting to show any signs of fear. As he tried to move towards the direction where that sound wasing from.

    Leon''s heart pounded in his chest, and he considered running away to avoid any further confrontation.

    But it was toote. Lincoln''s eyes had alreadynded on Leon, and he recognized him instantly as the same boy he had bullied earlier.

    His face contorted with rage as he remembered it was all because of this dam bastard, that he''s in this situation. If he didn''t pick a fight with him, nothing would''ve happened. He was nning to take his anger out on this bumpkin, but then Leon started running away.

    "Stop, you bastard! How dare you sneak up on me!. Looks like thest beating wasn''t enough for you. Come here you fool."

    His words froze Leon, as he heard Lincoln insulting him again. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, but then decided to step forward and reveal himself.

    "I didn''t mean to startle you. I was just passing through."he said.

    Lincoln narrowed his eyes, still not sure if he could trust Leon. He still remembered his brother''s words, about not creating another drama. So he wanted to leave, but his anger got the better of him.

    "Doesn''t matter. Since you''re here, and stalking me. I ought to teach you a lesson." He shouted, his voice rising in anger.

    Leon clenched his fists, resisting the urge to argue back. "Look, I don''t want any trouble, anymore," he said firmly. "I just want to go back and forget about all of this. I won''t tell anyone anything, you can rest assured."

    Lincoln''s eyes narrowed, his words confirming his doubts that this guy heard everything he said. He scoffed when he saw Leon turning around, trying to leave again.

    "Toote for that. You think you can just walk away after all the trouble you caused earlier?"

    Leon froze, a little afraid by his angry shouts, but gathering his courage, while clenching his fists. He said -"Look, let me go. You can''t stop me anyway."

    "So you''re making fun of me now eh. It''s because of you that I''m walking around like a cripple. It''s not fair if I''m the only one right. Come here you bastard." Lincoln said, increasing his pace towards him.

    Lincoln swung his arm trying to p the shit out of this stupid, thinking he could easily beat him likest time. Not knowing,st time Leon only got beaten because he was surrounded and suppressed.

    Leon easily dodged his fists, and punched him in the nose in response, followed by a kick in the stomach, making him fumble on the ground.

    Feeling surprised that the pest punched him back, Lincoln looked up and shouted -"How dare youy your hand on me you bastard. Did you forget what happened just now? I''ll chop your hands off for this."

    "I only did that before, cause you insulted my mother, and even this time, it was you who came to pick a fight with me. Don''t me me for it."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "me you, you''ll regret it you bumpkin. Just wait, if I didn''t have your father apologize to me for your mistake, my name''s not Lincoln." Lincoln said his warning, shouting angrily.

    "Don''t talk bad about my family. Why do you keep picking fights with me." Leon said, as he grabbed Lincoln cor and punched him.

    "Don''t you dare talk about my family or I won''t let you go next time." Leon said, as he let him go.

    Knowing Lincoln was of higher status than him, he didn''t want to escte the fight.

    "We''re even now. So don''t pick another fight with me for today. You won''t see me again anyway." Leon said, and turned around to leave.

    Lincoln, who was still holding his mouth, wiping away the blood, red at his back, but he controlled himself from jumping out. Even he didn''t want to drag this fight inside again, especially now when all the guests would be gathered in one ce.

    ''I''ll have my revenge sooner orter. You punk.'' He thought.

    Leon had only taken a few steps when he saw a red haired boy standing in front of him, with his guards. It was someone he met just earlier, Lincoln''s friend and another bully - Edward Sinir.

    -

    Edward, who had just learned that Benjamin had a ''nice talk'' with Lincoln, decided to take a look at him and help him.

    He could guess, knowing Benjamin''s personality, about how their ''talk'' must''ve gone. So he asked his guards and came to check on his friend.

    But this is what hees to witness. The pest they pinned down and beaten, was actually fighting back and beating his friend when he was alone here.

    He started pping his hands on the sight, as a smile came to his face.

    "I gotta say, you''re a real dumb character, aren''t you? We just taught you a lesson about what happens when you pick a fight with us, and here you are, fighting back."

    "Did you forget the beating you got, just because you drank a healing potion? Then let me refresh your memory a bit."

    Saying so, Edward turned to look at his guards, and nodded his head.

    Acknowledging his request, the 2 men following the heir of house Sinir , came forward to fulfill their order.

    "Make sure he learns his lesson this time. I don''t want a repeat of some pest probleming me everyday." Edward said, walking towards Lincoln.

    Leon looked at the 2 men walking towards him and he knew there was no way he could take a single hit from them. Unlike those kids from earlier, these 2 were guards trained and tasked to protect the heir of a count rank noble.

    No way he would survive their punches. So in a desperate attempt to flee, he turned around and started running, only to bump into someone and fall back.

    Looking up, he saw one of the guards now standing in front of him, while the other stood behind him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Lo_ look, let me go. I didn''t do anything. He was the one who started the fight." Leon pleaded, his voice stuttering a bit as fear finally started wing its way in him.

    "Does that matter? I only saw you punching my friend." Edward replied with a smile. Taking out a healing potion and passing it to Lincoln.

    "Why are you doing this? Just let me go. You won''t see me again." Leon begged, as he looked around, hoping someone woulde save him. Praying to the gods that some royal guards or that girl from before could just show up and save him. But s all his pleas fell on deaf ears.

    The only God who heard his pleas, were the onesughing and suggesting different methods of torture for him in those guards status screens.

    <Edward and Lincoln are still unawakened, so they got nothing. But the guards awakened, believers and chosen by gods, were broadcasting this beating in hd for them to enjoy.>

    "Should''ve thought of that sooner. You punk." Lincoln said, finally feeling a little better.

    "What''re you waiting for? Break his bones. Make sure he doesn''t make much sound. It would be bad if someone stopped our fun again." Edward said, as he turned around to leave.

    "Let''s go. We''re alreadyte. Everyone would''ve already gathered at the main hall." He said to Lincoln, who was gloating over Leon''s scared look.

    "Yeah. Don''t let him go, easily." He said and followed Edward.

    Laughing as the slow screams of Leon sounded behind him.

    _

    Since Rio didn''t change anything with Lincoln or Edward, they still followed their same routine and the scene unfolded the same way as it was written in the novel.

    While the heroic protagonist was getting the best beating of his life, his savior, the heroine was busy looking for the viin, who was on his way to fool another one of his heroine to join the evil camp.

    _

    Reba looked around the guests who had now gathered in the open area for the gift and dance ceremony.

    She''d been searching for Rio ever since she came in, but couldn''t find him anywhere.

    "Looking for Rio?"

    "Yeah" Reba said, without looking to see who was speaking to her.

    "Ohh, so you really are searching for my brother huh." Amelia replied, in her teasing tone, smiling heartily as she watched Reba''s expression changing immediately when she looked at her.

    "I_ I was just looking around for you. Thought _ thinking you''d be with him. That''s it" Reba said, looking away.

    "Is that so! well, I was going to tell you where my brother was, but since you were looking for me. I guess there''s no need." Amelia said, while disappointingly shaking her head.

    "Ehh"

    "Th _ that, where is he, anyway?" Reba asked, while hiding her flustered face. Giving up on her search as she couldn''t find him herself.

    "That, well you won''t find him here. He went back home." Amelia informed her.

    "Home. Why? The party''s still going on. Why''d he leave so early?"

    Reba asked, as she remembered how she argued with him like an idiot, and told him to leave. Thinking maybe he really did leave because of her.

    Though Amelia didn''t know her thoughts, she could still see her lost look, so she decided to take a chance with a guess.

    "I don''t know. He was so angry. Smoke wasing out from his nose when he came back after talking with you." Amelia said, dramatically acting like Rio, while puffing her face and breathing loudly.

    Looking at Reba''s face, a smile wasing to her face, but she stopped it, as she continued her act.

    "Did you do something to make my brother angry? I''d beat you bad if you did." She said, with a serious tone, grabbing Reba''s hand.

    "I_ I _ didn''t mean to. I w_was just talking and then _"

    Reba, looking at Amelia''s serious eyes, started exining, but couldn''t form proper words, as she really thought it was her fault.

    She was thinking what she could say, so her friend won''t be angry at her too, when suddenly Amelia finally couldn''t control herself and burst outughing.

    "Haha hahaha look at your face, geez. That was so good."

    She said,ughing loudly as some tears trickled down her eyes, with all the jokes.

    She couldn''t believe she got her so scared and anxious so easily.

    "Priceless. I''m definitely telling it to brother. The way you went ''I _ I _ was just'' hrious."

    "Oh god, that was so funny."

    ###

    A/N - I''m slow, aren''t I? Even I noticed it now. Fuck I should wrap it all up and speedboat things.

 Chapter 136 Failed Awakenings I

    "Did he really leave?" Ignoring Amelia''sughing face, Reba hid her expressions as she asked the serious question.

    "Ohh that. Yeah, he said he wasn''t feeling well with all the crowd and noice. So he went back." Amelia said, calming down a little.

    "If you ask me, he''s probably going to sleep at home. Lazy brother." She said, as she nodded her head like a wise sage.

    Reba silently nodded her head, but still couldn''t get the feeling out that maybe he really did leave cause she shouted at him to leave. ''It''s my house. You should be the one to leave.'' The words she said to him echoed in her head, again making her feel a little bit more guilty.

    She was already wondering why she even fought with him over some guy she didn''t even know. He was even telling the truth that she jumped to conclusions without knowing anything.

    ''Maybe I really am dumb.''

    For the first time in her life, she doubted her intelligence a little.

    As the thoughts of their fight, and the way the boy she defended, tried to use her to get some gifts from her father, came to her mind. A sudden headache started afflicting her.

    "Ahhhhhhh"

    She bent down, as she held her down, with a loud scream leaving her mouth. It felt like someone was tearing it apart from the inside.

    Her scream catching Amelia off guard, as she hurried and held her, asking what happened worriedly.

    Rebay on the ground and started rolling around in pain, tears started trickling down her face, as she felt the worst pain she could imagine.

    "What, what''s happening?" Amelia asked, worriedly, as her hands started shaking and some tears started leaking from her eyes too.

    "Hurts, Amy. It hurts." Reba managed to say, before another wave of mind numbing pain hit her.

    A light blue hue started surrounding her, as her non-stop trickling tears finally stopped flowing from her eyes, but instead started floating all around her.

    Amelia watched as Reba''s awakening started and the mana engulfed her body and started refining it.

    Before Amelia could even understand anything, what was happening. 2 girls appeared out of nowhere and brought Reba away in a sh, leaving her gger biased at what was happening.

    Confused with everything that happened in thest few seconds.

    -

    In the main hall, where king Maximus had just finished announcing about the next business venture with the partnership of ke family''s Genesis, and Raven''s guild and Royal family''s backing.

    "Even though it''s still early to announce the details of the product they''ve prepared, and its effects. I would hereby like to confirm the rumors that have been going around in the Elite circle - This product, this partnership, would indeed change the world for forever.

    Someone once said to me, that everyone is their own master of fate. But we all know that, that saying has never been true in our world. But after seeing what ke family had achieved with their efforts, I would like to say, that soon, very soon, that saying would be truth. As everyone would be able to shape their own destiny, their own path of fate.

    Let me announce the arrival of a new era. An era of prosperity and peace."

    Maximus announced, as he raised his ss, but the crowd below was too stunned by his bold worlds to say cheers to him.

    Instead a wave of murmurs and chatter started going all around every group of people gathered there. All the noble families and elite houses were thrown off guard with this announcement, as the 3 heads of those families simply clinked their sses and started drinking to themselves.

    No one knew what was so revolutionary which could give the king that much confidence.

    Even though it had been a while since those rumors regarding ke''s preparing something new have been going around, no one took them seriously enough. Or those who did, failed to find any concrete evidence over what they were working on.

    It was all because of Artemis. After knowing the effects of the potion, she only shared the details with only those who were totally loyal to them, or were simply bound to them, with shit tons of contracts and oaths.

    Not a single word about the potion was leaked outside. And as for those rumors, well it was simple actually, she spread them herself. By utilizing the informationwork of her family. She wanted to create enough hype for it, when those noble families would start to beg her to take a part in it.

    But due to Rio''s early intervention, she decided to agree to the King''s demand and release it early.

    Everyone in the hall had questions they needed the answers for, doubts that needed clearance, but then suddenly many high ranking people turned to look outside in one direction, with a surprised expression.

    "Awakening."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Everyone who could sense the abnormality in the surrounding mana, had only one thought, ''Who is it, that''s going through awakening at this time.''

    Since awakening could be dangerous, as one might awaken some stupid disastrous power, and they might end up killing everyone near them. So there were certain runes and formations ced to keep a track of surrounding mana. And right now they were all going haywire.

    Soon their attention turned towards the inside of the pce, where a simr disturbance of mana was detected.

    ''Another one'' They all thought as it was clear, someone else started their awakening at the same time.

    But before anyone could even understand what was happening, the king disappeared from the stage, leaving behind a trail of blue lightning.

    Soon after he left, the head of Raven family, Servirous disappeared next second, his figure just turned into a flock of crows and flew away.

    Followed by the Duke and Duchess of ke house and the Queen of Schi.

    Watching everyone leave, some could guess the identity of the one who was probably going through their awakening now.

    Some followed the royal family inside, while some other guests started leaving in the opposite direction, to see who was the one who started this whole thing of awakening.

    -

    On the outside garden, the guards who were beating Leon on the orders of Edward, backed away a little. As a golden light started surrounding him.

    They were enjoying their time beating this bastard, nothing too serious, but that slow crushing of the bones, and pulling and twisting of his arms and legs isn''t much right. After all, their gods were enjoying the show.

    Hell, half of what they did were things requested by some random Gods, who got bored by the filler party and decided to do some fun.

    Leon was lying on the ground with his arms bent outward on an unimaginable level, with tears and blood trickling down his eyes.

    For the past few minutes he had been hoping, praying, begging -that someone woulde to save him. Some random guest from the party, some God who was watching -but no one came.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    No one came to help him. He could hear theughter of those 2 heartless monsters, who didn''t hesitate a second to give him this torture. He wanted to scream so loud that everyone in the Haven could hear him, but sadly he couldn''t. No matter how hard he tried, not a single sound escaped his throat due to what those guys did at the beginning.

    When he finally gave up on the hope that those guests would save him, stopped praying that those gods would pity him, and was simply about to give up. A sudden wave of pain hit him, unlike anything he felt before, worse, so much worse than before.

    It didn''t take a second for him to finally lose all his resolve as he started iling on the ground, like a fish that had just been brought out of water. It felt like every one of him was being torn and twisted at the same time. Every fiber of his being burning in a fire so hot, that it consumed all his senses.

    One second he felt numb to all the pain, next second he experienced suffering inside out so bad that he could never forget.

    He didn''t understand what was happening, still kept cursing those noble kids and those guards thinking they did something.

    But the guards who were standing at the side now, were simrly surprised at this scene.

    They were just beating him beautifully, howe this kid suddenly started going through awakening..

    There have been cases of awakening at the moment of danger or risk to life, simr to what happened with Noah, when Esme tried to kill him. It''s like the body''sst defense when everything seems lost.

    Though risky and dangerous, it was a method many crazy ones choose to use when they couldn''t awaken normally. Jumping into dungeons or thrusting themselves in highly dense mana zones are simr methods too.

    All they do is stimte your body too much, that you feel like you''ll die, and that''s when the mana kicks in, giving you a chance to survive.

    Of course one''s survival still depends on himself, if he could bear through that pain, if he could stay conscious through that suffering, if his troubles aren''t out of his league, or he won''t be interrupted- luck ys a big part in it all.

    And today our protagonist had anything but good luck.

    And it was just about to get worse from here on out.

    ###

    A/N - I know the written order is a bit up and down. But I want to rify for those who missed the hint. It was Leon who started his awakening first, and then followed by Reba''s. You get a point of smarts if you guess their elements.

 Chapter 137 Failed Awakenings II

    As Leon''s awakening started, the gods watching those guards found something very interesting to watch and bet upon. To see if he would survive or not on his own. If he''d be sessful or not.

    With the growing heat and the fiery mana surrounding Leon, the shadow guards could see he''d awaken something rted to the fire element. A dangerous element indeed if he lost control. But still nothing that they couldn''t handle.

    Once they were backed away from the growing heat, some new notifications popped up on their system panel non stop.

    Some gods asking them to help the boy awaken, to dare not disturb him. While some asked for the opposite. Telling them to stop his awakening this instant and cripple him for forever.

    The guards both looked at each other confused about what to do next, since they didn''t have much time. Any second now, those higher nobles inside, would sense it ande bursting here in a sh.

    "What do you think we should do? Should we let him be or..? Miriam, the first guard asked his partner, who was equally confused as him.

    "We can''t let him be." Harald, the second guard replied in a straight tone.

    "But the Gods _"

    "Gods don''t feed us, Sinir''s does." Harald said, shutting down his partner and continued

    "And do you think, young master would spare us if we let someone who''s hateful towards him awaken sessfully. When our young master hasn''t even awakened yet."

    "But we''re at the royal event and maybe this boy is someone _"

    Miriam wanted to voice his doubts, but Harald had already made his decision.

    "No buts. Since the young master told us to beat him so badly, or how he didn''t have any guards or shadows with him, this guy doesn''t seem like someone important either. We can''t kill him here anyways, let''s just stop his awakening and leave before anyonees."

    "But he can die _"

    "That''s his luck. You have the higher rank and speed between us, so just st him away or knock him out, to stop his awakening or something. We need to leave fast." Harald said in a hurry, while ncing at the notifications from his Gods who were praising him constantly for a good job.

    A little conflicted, Miriam still dashed forward, knowing they didn''t have much time. His speed left a mirage behind him, the next second he appeared just in front of Leon, who was lying down on the ground.

    Miriam met Leon''s pain stricken gaze, and to Leon''s horror, he saw a kicking towards his stomach in slow motion.

    In the next second, he felt a gut wrenching kick that sted his body in the air for a few seconds, before hitting a tree and sliding down.

    He watched as both guards disappeared from the ce, leaving him alone there.

    Leon felt like someone had crushed every bone in his body, as hey there motionless. The heat that was surrounding him for so long, was gone now and soon he felt his consciousness leaving him too, as he finally gave up in front of the pain.

    After Leon passed out, the next second several people arrived at that location, hoping to see who''s going through their awakening like this.

    Some came with the intention to maybe help that person and build some rtionship with their parents, since everyone invited today was an influential person.

    Some came with the opposite intention, since everyone gathered today were basicallypetitors to each other, in order to hoard those resources, or enemies. So they just wanted to interfere slightly if possible and turn these future heirs of theirpetition into cripples.

    Some were just popcorn eaters who came to see the drama. Some went to follow the king inside, to curry favor with him if possible somehow, or maybe keep an eye on some royals talent. But not everyone was allowed entry inside the royal pce to see who was awakening there. So they just came here.

    "Who''s that?" Someone asked, looking at Leon''s battered form.

    "From his burned out clothes and skin, it looks like he failed his awakening."

    "Tsk another failure. These duds are really dirtying the name of nobility." A middle aged man said.

    "You know who he is, Baron Meismat?" One man curiously asked looking at the middle aged man, who spoke.

    "He''s Daren''s son. Next heir too hehe" Wilhelm said.

    <if you forgot, Wilhelm Otto Meismat is the Baron ranked noble, and head of the Meismat family. His son, Hermaan was introduced in the chapter where Leon first got into an argument with Edward and Lincoln.>

    "Heir huh, well that''ll be hard when he''s a cripple now. Look at his body, it''s definitely burned to the crisp. No way he can survive another awakening next time."

    "Well, Baron still has a son, and a daughter. So I suppose he''ll be fine." Baron Misha spoke, looking at Leon''s figure with the same contempt Wilhelm showed.

    ''It''s good I didn''t hurry and had my daughter''s engagement with this useless dud. Or I would''ve really lost everything.'' He thought in his heart.

    Just few weeks ago he was considering marrying his daughter with the heir of Heartwell family. Hoping to tie both families together and eventually control thempletely. And rise to count rank.

    But then he was attacked and he''s been busy with investigation and other things. He also couldn''t talk about marriage and other happy things, when his son just died, Or his image might take some damage.

    That''s why he put the engagement on hold. And talks never progressed.

    ''If Baron Heartwell still acts shameless and wants my daughter''s hand. I''ll simply have to deny everything.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As Rio thought, now he was d that Noah died, since it saved him the trouble of breaking an engagement.

    "Where is he anyway?" One of the dwarven association employee asked, as he watched some royal guards taking Leon away.

    "Humph he probably went to follow the king. Hoping he''d get some favors from him to save his wife. Man has no idea his son will be joining her soon enough." Wilhelm said with a scoff, and turned around to leave.

    He had already seen and inspected the body of that boy, it was burned from the outside and his meridians crushed from the inside. It was enough to ensure him that this kid was as good as a cripple his whole life. Even if with some miracle, this guy awakened someday, he''d still only be a low ranking one, as his body''s foundation was ruined.

    ''I guess Hermaan did a good job, putting those nobles against this fool.'' He thought as he came inside and drank his wine again.

    He had received the message from his son that Leon got into a fight with Count Korbil''s son. And was beaten by everyone together.

    He could guess it was probably due to that beating, Leon started his awakening, but failed midway.

    ''If I can''t defeat you, my son will.'' He thought as a smile of victory finally came to his face.

    He could see it bright and in as day, the future of house Heartwell was doomed. He just has to take care of that other son and then it''ll all be over. And he''d be the sole ruler of Eisjer Domain.

    The man dreamed a lot, unaware that the guy he called a failure was the hero, chosen by fate as its champion. And the domain he wanted to control, was something the viin was eyeing for.

    But that''s a tale told for another time.

    -

    On the other hand inside the Royal Pce, away from all the noise and crowd were some people standing by, looking at a girl lying motionless on the ground across the window.

    The 2 girls whom Amelia saw, were standing beside king Maximus bowing their heads, not daring to look up and meet his angry gaze.

    They were currently standing outside a big room, which was temporarily made into an awakening chamber.

    "What happened?" Agnus asked.

    "Why''s she not moving? Did she fall unconscious _?" Artemis, who came behind him, asked too.

    "She''s fine. She''s going through the merging." King replied, ncing at the silver ne on her chest, which was shining brightly.

    "But the.. " Artemis was about to ask, why she wasn''t in pain or screaming like crazy, when the whole world knows that merging with the world system is supposed to be the most painful part of the awakening process.

    But she stopped her doubts as she followed the King''s gaze and looked at the ne she was wearing.

    It didn''t take anything more for her to realize what was happening.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just like how the ke family had the artifact Dress of Ishwar to help the awakening by smoothing out the mana everywhere. It wasn''t wrong to assume the Schott family had something simr too.

    And she was right, the silver chain-like ne Reba wore around her neck was a mythical grade artifact called, ''Soul spectral amulet''.

    This artifact had only one simple function, that was to protect the soul of the wearer and act as a shroud to any external damage or attack. It stores the damage its wearer receives in the round amulet at center.

    It could''ve been the perfect choice for one to defend against the soul magic or soul attacks.

    But it wasn''t, because it came with a simple limitation.

    The limit was, that the damage it stored within the amulet, must be dispersed immediately or it''ll be doubled and sent back to its wearer.

    So if one isn''t careful with this artifact, instead of getting protection, he''d receive double the damage.

    But that''s what made this artifact perfectly suitable for the royal family. As they had the most knowledgeable person with them, when ites to matters rted to soul magic.

    Athena was currently constantly taking away all the pain Reba would''ve felt in the merging, and simply suppressing it in herself.

    As the avatar of goddess of soul, and being the soul seer, this amount of stress was nothing to her.

    Thus the most difficult part of the process for the whole world, was practically a cake walk for the princess.

    But how can everything be so easy and simple when ites to hero''s and heroine''s - one had already failed, and ording to destiny, one was about to.

    ###

    A/N - Waiting for guys reading it on other sites instead of wn- to drop by and give me a nice review. [You guys can do that for showing me support right.] You lot have no idea how happy an author feels when he sees someone appreciating his hard work.

 Chapter 138 Failed Awakening III

    Chapter 138 Failed Awakening III

    Everyone watched from the outside, while Reba was going through her awakening. Looking at the surrounding blueish mana, and feeling the slightly humid ss windows, anyone could guess what element Reba would awaken.

    Water, or at least something that is rted to it. Could be ice, vapor or maybe weather magic.

    In the world of Arcadia all 7 main elements are versatile. Something that could be channeled and used in any form the awakener is suitable with. While the variant orplex elements have always been biased towards their creation.

    Like a water mage, could be an attacker, defender or healer based on his own wish and mastery. But ice mage wouldn''t have that many options.

    Same is the case with their mastery too. An awakener with water element, would have an easier time mastering or understanding it''s other variants, then the opposite.

    And since whatever element one awakened as a child, would be their main element their whole life, many preferred if one got 1 of the 7 main elements to choose from.

    Well, but these choices didn''t affect royal or elite families. Because they simply don''tck the resources to make their kids superior to others, so it wasn''t a big deal for them.

    Unlike poor poppers, most of the time rich folks already know, what their children would awaken and what path they could take.

    Through the use of some artifacts or by the help of some God, they''re always prepared for a better safe awakening, then what normal people go through at the churches.

    <As again, artifacts as useful as those are hoarded by big families for generations. And Gods, well, it''s simple, they''d be more inclined to help those who can be more useful to them in return.

    Instead of using their powers to guide some country bumpkin with zero talent, hoping he''d grow up and change the world for the better, and make their name famous. They only choose to help those, where their favors and use of powers is worth their time and effort.

    After all, even Gods can''t act on whim with world system being there. So to do what they wish, or to use their powers on mortals, they also have to pay a certain price.>

    That was the case here too.

    As the second Reba started her elemental awakening, king Maximus signaled his guards, who immediately pumped the whole room with shit tons of mana, making sure Reba has a smooth way ahead.

    They had already known the princess had the highest affinity of water rted elements for years, and all the necessary stuff needed to help her awaken faster were already prepared.

    Even the formation made around her on a hurry, and the artifacts couldn''t take the pain as a ear wrenching scream escaped her mouth.

    which could help channeling of mana ffaster, were prepared for her almost instantly.

    But still the amount of mana inside became too much for her to handle. Her body was simply unable to channel, or control that much mana and failed to transform it.

    As she failed for the first time, all the mana in the surroundings started pressuring her body.

    Getting crushed from the inside and outside, finally Reba couldn''t take the pain as a ear wrenching scream escaped her mouth.

    Blood starteding out from her eyes and ears and nose, as she continued screaming, unable to handle the constantly increasing pressure.

    One moment it felt like she''d be crushed into a ball, while next it was like her body would just burst open like a balloon - unable to handle the mana inside.

    Athena who was standing near her, on the one side of the room watched her in pain, she started moving forwards to help her, but then a wave of water hit her body, which sent her crashing away. Her body flying like a broken kite went away breaking through the wall, and falling outside the room.

    -- cough cough --

    Athena waved her hand and all the debris and smoke around her disappeared. She wiped the trickle of blood from her lips, as she red at the room.

    Artemis went ahead to help her sister, while the King and Agnus went inside to stop the awakening.

    But as soon as their feet crossed the boundary of the room, a pressure all too familiar fell on their bodies, pushing them back from the room.

    They both stood there gazing into the room with a surprised expression, not even trying to get back inside.

    "What''s happening?" Athena asked, slowly standing up, with Artemis''s support. "Reba, she''s _ she''s still inside." She said.

    "Someone else''s inside too. Probably a God. We should wait." Agnus informed them, while trying to utilize his mana to look inside the room.

    The lightning crystals and the burning ores inside had already stopped working, pushing the room into the darkness of night.

    If that wasn''t enough a fog started spreading all around the room, covering all the ss windows and stopping the vision from those standing outside.

    The only thing visible inside the mist was, the bluish forms of mana, that would sprout from time to time.

    Agnus''s words shocked Athena. As she was the only one inside the room.

    She had clearly seen Reba''s condition. She wanted to stop this awakening that instant, as she knew, her daughter won''t be able to handle it.

    That''s why she went ahead to help her, when suddenly something pushed her away.

    Now listening, it was actually a God, she was not happy at this new guest''s uninvited arrival, but more worried about Reba''s safety.

    Who knows what kind of God they are?

    Are they here to help, to bless her daughter, or just to see some drama and let her suffer.

    No one knew and no one could be sure.

    That''s why she still tried to go inside by herself, hoping to bring Reba back, as she said "But my daughter''s inside. We have to stop this awakening this instant or _ "

    "Awakening''s already over Athena. She will be fine, don''t worry." Maximus said, while pulling Athena back. "It might be a blessing for her, we can''t disturb her."

    Though his words did little tofort the worried heart of a mother, but her husband didn''t say anything more.

    As he was now busy looking at the goddess standing inside, contemting if risking his only daughter''s life for a chance to get her a blessing would be worth it or not.

    [Don''t be arrogant, mortal. Take one step inside and you can forget about asking for my help after that.]

    ''Who is she?'' Instead of answering his chosen God Indra''s notification, Maximus asked back.

    [Someone you can use to further your ns.]

    [She''s the perfect addition for our chances of sess. Do not mess everything up for a petty emotion.]

    Indra''s words were like the sweet words of whisper from the Devil she failed now, she would only lose the chance to awaken her element for now, and maybe suffer some minor injuries.

    in his ears, working as the final nail in the coffin where Reba would be ced if she failed.

    Maximus finally made his mind and made the decision to let it be.

    "It''s her elemental awakening, even if she failed, she''ll be fine and there won''t be a danger to her life. Let''s wait a little." He said. His tone and words leaving little to argue back, as they were indeed the truth.

    As he said to Athena, the awakening was already over, and even if she failed now, she would only lose the chance to awaken her element for now, and maybe suffer some minor injuries.

    But if she seeded, not only she''d have her elemental awakening, but also a blessing from someone whom Indra considered useful to his ns.

    Maximus didn''t doubt Indra''s words on that, since they both shared the same vision. That''s why they''ve been together, helping each other for years.

    But Maximus forgot one very important thing, -that their goals might be aligned for now, but their limits weren''t.

    The king of the Hindu Deva''s (Gods) had all the time in the world to reach his goals, while Maximus, who was a mortal, didn''t.

    ''If anything happened to her _'' Maximus said, and stopped his warning midway, knowing that Indra would understand his meaning.

    He was willing to bet on his daughter''s chances of sess and stand down, but it didn''t mean he didn''t care about her at all. After all, she was far too important to him.

    In response to Maximus''s serious warning Indra only scoffed and left.

    Maximus turned his attention towards Servirous, who was standing there with his eyes closed.

    "What do you think. Can you see what''s happening inside?" Maximus asked. As the mist inside was even making his skills fail.

    His eyes were starting to hurt, so he canceled his skill of blessing. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He asked Servirous, since he also had a skill simr to his, which lets him see everything. And unlike him, the head of Raven family had mastered his blessing to perfection.

    "You shouldn''t have listened to him." Servirous said, his face nk of any expression.

    His words confused everyone around him, but Maximus understood them.

    Inside the room, when the amount of mana finally became too much, Reba lost control, her body floated in the air for a second, before falling down with a thud.

    No more sound of screams or sobbing of the girl could be heard outside.

    The roompletely took the form of silence, where except the slow whistling sound the overflowing mana nothing could be heard.

    The presence that everyone could feel inside the room disappeared next second too, and so did the mist and the pressure that covered everything.

    The first to enter the room were Athena and Artemis, who wasted no time as they both took out the best healing potion they had on them and started feeding it to Reba.

    But s the damage caused by the excess mana and the failed awakening was too much to heal in meagre seconds.

    Even though her battered body looked healed from the outside, healing the internal wounds or repairing the damaged veins wasn''t so easily possible.

    ''She failed.'' Maximus thought, looking at Reba and noticing the extent of her injuries.

    [Miserably too] Indra said, in a disappointed tone.

    "Which God was it?" Athena asked, as she hugged Reba''s unconscious body. Her tone for the first time dripped with anger.

    Her shoulders trembled in fury as she gently wiped the blood stains from her daughter''s face.

    "Tell me, who was it?"

    She asked as her eyes started glowing, and all the windows inside the room started shattering one by one.

    A/N - Do u guys wanna know what an angry queen/mother can do?

 Chapter 139 Two opposite ends

    Chapter 139 Two opposite ends

    "Who was it?" Athena asked.

    "There''s no need for you to get angry Athena. Just take care of Reba, I''ll handle them." Maximus said and left the room, leaving Artemis and Athena to take care of Reba, while handling the guests who followed him to Agnus and Servirous.

    Though it looked like he was angry at the God who stopped them outside, because of whom his daughter suffered. He was actually feeling angry at himself, for falling into their trap.

    "Did you know?" He asked, when he was walking alone through the hallways.

    [I expected it. But there''s always a little hope for some miracle right. I thought she''d pull it off. But looks like she isn''t anything special.] Indra''s voiceced with disappointment sounded in his ears.

    "Why didn''t you tell me?" Maximus asked.

    [You''re asking, as if you didn''t already know. Don''t me us for your faults mortal. We both saw her situation with the same eyes. And besides, how would I know she''d leave if your daughter failed to impress her.] Indra said, feeling amused over his anger.

    ''You will regret it.''

    Maximus clenched his fists as he now understood Indra''s intentions, and the goddess who dared to intervene and then leave them to themselves.

    ''Whoever you are, you will, regret it soon enough.''

    The king promised himself that he''ll make them regret it. It wasn''t even about his daughter now, how dare they y around in his mansion and hurt his people.

    Though he didn''t know which Goddess it was, but that wasn''t going to be a problem, as he can just ask Reba once she wakes up.

    Since she awakened already, then she must''ve seen some notifications of that Goddess''s arrival in her system.

    Once he knew that name, he''ll have that arrogant goddess know who she messed up with.

    His mind was thinking up ways he''ll force that goddess into submission, he was willing to kill all her followers, hunt down her avatars and ruin all her belief -if he couldn''t even make her pay, then what the hell was the use of him being the king.

    But sadly this was all going to wait a while, as Reba simply didn''t wake up. Hours turned into days, and days into the night again - but she showed no sign of waking up.

    ��

    This is how the awakening of the hero and the heroine was supposed to go in the novel. Where one failed at the very beginning of his awakening and one at the very end.

    This was a perfect setup made by the author of the novel to have them rte to each other, and create a perfect stage for them to sher. While also showing how they are both connected to each other.

    One who failed in the beginning and got rejected by the world''s system, and the other who failed at the end and got rejected by the world''s Gods.

    One who awakened fire and the other wielded water.

    One adopted by the God of sun, while the other apostle of the goddess of moon.

    One so desperate for power that he''d do anything for it, while the other, who was born with too much power, and got crushed in its weight.

    Author wrote them as the 2 opposite ends of everything. 2 people who had nothing inmon, but in the end love triumphed and they came together crossing all boundaries.

    _

    And this event, is where their story started.

    But sadly destiny''s n had a little deviation, as an anomaly that no one expected appeared in the world. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Since Rio knew all along how everything was supposed to y out, he already set his pieces in motion and changed the whole game.

    Since he couldn''t do anything to stop their awakenings, he nned something else.

    Knowing how their failures would end up connecting them together. He simply broke that thread of a singlemonality between both of them.

    Even though it was funny how protagonist connected with the princess, who''s obviously having better of everything there is, and not to those who failed or are unawakened like him, but that''s just how the main duo works in the novels I guess.

    That''s why he just changed even this littlest thing that bounded them together.

    How would they evere close, if they never ever had anything inmon.

    That''s what he wanted to see.

    ��

    And its results were showing in the pce right this instant.

    As king Maximus poured the high amounts of mana in the room, just like what was written in the novel, Reba''s body couldn''t handle the excess amount of pressure.

    ''Ahhhhh''

    Looking at her mother who was just standing a little distance away from her, a loud scream escaped her mouth as tears started slipping through her pearl-like eyes.

    The burden on her body and brain was simply too much, for what a princess who lived all her life walking on flower petals could handle.

    Every part of her being was screaming at her to give up, toy down or fall unconscious.

    But she didn''t. She didn''t want to disappoint her mother. Her father. Herself.

    Every 5 year old in Arcadia knew how important awakening was to them, and she didn''t want to give up when it was finally her time. She wanted to hold on until the veryst second.

    She had already awakened and she knew it. She could see the status thing she always read about in books. She could even read the notifications of some goddess watching her with interest.

    [Greek goddess Selene watches your performance]

    [Your perseverance intrigues her]

    [Goddess of moon gives you an offer to be her follower]

    [Satisfy her curiosity, and gain her approval]

    This is why she wanted to hold on. Just a little bit longer.

    She could feel the mana entering her body. She tried to convert the mana surrounding her into external elements, but it was easier said than done.

    [Goddess of lumina shakes her head in disappointment ]

    Reba tried again, but all she did was push her already outstretched meridians further, eliciting another scream from her mouth.

    At this time blood starteding out from her mouth. She saw her mothering forward to help her, but before she could reach her, a heavy pressure descended in the room, and Reba watched as her mother got sent away with a wave of a new entity''s hand.

    A silhouette made out of pure white light stood in front of her, making her eyes hurt as she looked at it.

    [Lunar Goddess Selene, awaits your results, as she puts forth her conditions again.]

    Looking at this impatient Goddess who simply just wanted her to keep trying and learn to control her element, Reba really wanted to cry.

    Her throat felt dry from all the screaming, her beautiful lively eyes nowy empty from the countless tears they flowed. She finally thought of giving up. The thought that maybe she wasn''t enough and should just let go came to her brain.

    She wondered if anyone else can even live through this pain and not give up.

    It was then that she remembered the face of a white haired boy with a smug expression.

    She remembered how everyone in her home had been praising him for being a genius. Even today on her birthday, people were talking about him more than her.

    Before this moment, she never took those words seriously, she thought she was his equal or maybe more talented than him. But now she realized she really was dumb.

    ''I should just give up. Mother must be worried about me.''

    ###

    A/N - Now you know, what was supposed to happen, so let''s talk about what he changed. Don''t worry, this is still the beginning of the changes he''s gonna bring in this single night.

    Sadly, there''s no system who would stop him from ruining the things, with consequences far fetching, like ripples in the water. But who the fuck cares about that.

 Chapter 140 The Best Gift

    ''I should just give up. Mother must be worried about me.''

    Reba thought, and cursed again, that this birthday really was the worst one. From beginning till the end, nothing good happened to her.

    As the memories of her whole day passed in her head, her attention got pulled towards a certain memory from yesterday night.

    It was when she cut the cake of her birthday and celebrated it with only her family.

    She received gifts and well wishes from everyone. And when the number of that white haired boy came, he just passed her some small box, saying this is the best gift of her life.

    She was so happy when she heard those words cause she remembered how Amelia said, he gave her those beautiful earrings. Even her mother praised them.

    Thinking he bought her something simr too. She happily looked inside, but all her hopes were lost, as what she found was a single bottle of potion.

    Thinking it was just some normal healing potion or some prank thatzy boy pulled, she didn''t even look at it twice and gave it to Cassie. who in turn put it into her storage ring.

    <All her gifts and personal items are stored in the storage ring that she always wears. But due to being unawakened, everytime she wants to use it, she either has to find her mother or ask her shadows help.>

    ''It''s the best gift of your life, princess. You better keep it safe.''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Remembering his words again, she didn''t know why, but her fingers traced her silver ring, and as she focused, the vial of potion he gave, was now ced in her hands next second.

    She had already tried enough herself, and was already on the verge to copse as her body started to feel swollen to her. Half her body was already numb and she couldn''t even feel it anymore.

    Opening the cap, she drank the potion in one big gulp, emptying it whole.

    At this time, Maximus and Agnus who had just entered the room to stop the awakening saw her drinking some potion, and then they were both pushed back.

    "Doesn''t she know healing potions don''t work during awakening?" Agnus asked, while looking at Maximus.

    "That wasn''t a healing potion." Maximus said, and utilized his skill of blessing - A King''s gaze.

    Looking inside, at the changes in her body, and the mana surrounding her, Maximus wore a surprised expression, as some doubts came to his head.

    "Is that _ ?" He muttered, as his brain started putting all the pieces together

    "Looks like it." His doubts were cleared, when Servirous too opened his eyes and nodded his head.

    "What is it? What''s happening inside? What are you talking about?" Athena asked,ing near them.

    "The best gift." Maximus said, finally a smileing to his face.

    -

    As Reba drank the potion, her whole body started feeling light. A warm sensation enveloped her. As she closed her eyes, cause this feeling brought her some relief amidst all the pain she felt.

    The potion she took was none other than Pura Corpus Potion Rio made himself. Knowing Reba would fail, he already prepared and passed it on to her.

    He knew the potion would work on her, since he knew the protagonist used this potion on himself in the novel, and it worked out just fine.

    Rio would''ve had her drink this potion before, but that would''ve brought him more attention considering how he knew she''d awaken next day.

    But now it all worked out fine, he hoped she''d drink it, and he''ll be sessful in what he wanted.

    If it didn''t, well, he still had a backup n prepared for it, a little risky but that would''ve ensured everything worked even better.

    It didn''t take long for the potion to does its magic, as the veins blocking the path of mana, obstructing it, were all opened, and Reba could finally feel the flow of mana within herself.

    Now inside the room instead of what was written in the novel, the princess started turning all that mana into her newly awakened element - water.

    Her body, which was supposed to be unable to allow the flow of mana, was now smoothly channeling the mana in the room and transforming it bit by bit.

    Instead of the fog of a goddess that covered the room, this time everyone could see the fog dispersing and water gathering around Reba''s body.

    Soon the level of it started rising up and her body started floating over it.

    Her feet weren''t touching the ground now, as she stood straight on the water.

    [Goddess Selene nods her head in approval]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    [Goddess of moon gives you her blessing : waves of water]

    As the notification appeared on her status screen, a gentle light marked her hand and the silhouette of the woman became formless water again and fell down.

    Reba looked at her wrists where a tattoo of half moon could be seen, which soon merged into her skin and disappeared.

    _

    As soon as the goddess left, Maximus and Artemis entered the room. With a wave of his hand Maximus evaporated all the water and sted all the remaining mana away from Reba.

    The walls formed cracks as the whistling mana hit the corners of the room, but that was the end of it.

    Agnus went forward and caught Reba''s body, which was falling down as she lost her footing suddenly.

    Athena came next to check on her, while making her drink all kinds of potion that Artemis passed her.

    In just a few moments, Reba''s body was fully healed, and finally some color came back to her face.

    "I did it, mother. Just like him." She managed to say, before the exhaustion finally caught up to her, and she fell unconscious in her mother''s embrace.

    Athena hugged her tightly, as she kept kissing her forehead. A small smile and some tears of happiness were visible on her face, as she couldn''t handle her emotions.

    It had really been a rollercoaster ride for her heart.

    Agnus and Servirous congratted the king, who was still standing silently, probably thinking over the miraculous effects of the potion she took.

    He already realized it was the same product that the ke''s nned to sell and he just announced the deal of.

    His eyes darted outside the room and one look at the people who followed behind him, and there surprised expression was enough to tell him, that they heard everything he said too.

    ''With this the demand of this potion would increase a hundredfold, and_ .''

    He thought and clicked his tongue, as he realized no matter how happy he was before, the ke''s would still earn enough to not care about the profits he took the shares of.

    [You set the stage and announced its arrival. While your daughter showed it off.]

    [They''re good, really good.] Indra said,ughing at the sudden turn of events.

    ###

    The King''s Gaze -

    Skill - Blessing (active)

    God - Devraj (Godking) Indra

    Effects - The King''s gaze is the lesser version of the ability ''The thousand eyes'' .

    With this user can see everything within a certain range or their domain.

    The first level of this skill, allows the user to master their vision to superhuman level. And with their mastery, they can have their eyes monitor every corner of the domain they own.

    The range and cost of this blessing, increases the further one is to their domain.

    <Maximus had used the Royal Pce as the origin of his domain, ranging up to the boundaries of the whole Haven itself. There is nothing in the city, that can escape his eyes, if he decides to look for it.>

    Limitation - Those with high spiritual or mental power can sense the use of skill and resist it.

    Ineffective against those of superior strength than the user.

    Warning - Beware to use this skill freely, some God''s hate prying eyes on their followers. Lest you end up seeing something you shouldn''t.

    ###

    A/N - now that that''s done. Let''s get back to our viin, now shall we.

 Chapter 141 The Birthday Event End - Part 3 - Healing

    While the Royal Pce was celebrating the birthday of the princess and now the awakening of their princess, far away from them a ck car glided through the silent streets of the city. Its sleek form cutting through the darkness like a shadow in the night.

    The city, usually bustling with life, was now quiet and empty. Some dazzling decorations and colorful fireworks would paint the sky with bright bursts of light from time to time.

    The car''s windows were tinted, concealing the identity of those within. Yet the faint sound of the loud music outside could still be heard inside.

    Myra, who was silently looking outside, ncing at the scenery that passed them by, was startled as she felt the device in her hands light up.

    Looking at the message she received, she nced at the boy sleeping by her side, as she thought if she should wake him up or not. But knowing the importance of the message, she still did.

    "There''s news from the pce."

    Getting no reply in response, she continued "Princess Reba had her awakening just now."

    "How did it go?" He said, without opening his eyes.

    "She awakened the element of water sessfully. She even got her first blessing."

    Her words caused Esme to look back with a surprised expression, while Myra nodded her head, confirming that all she said was the truth.

    "Are we going back to the pce?" Esme asked.

    "No, continue driving." Rio said, with his eyes still closed.

    Unlike the 2 of them he wasn''t surprised. He had already anticipated it. There was no need for him to go back and waste time on babysitting her, while she slept.

    "But, it''s _"

    "We''ll meet her tomorrow. Now just keep driving." Esme was saying something, when he cut her off.

    Following his wishes Esme started the car again, and kept moving towards their mansion. They would''ve reached the ke mansion by now, but the main roads were all crowded by people who were still celebrating the birthday.

    After all, most of the things today were free for everyone in the Haven, so people were happy to enjoy them.

    That''s why she had to take the longer route and go even slower, cause her master sitting behind was trying to sleep.

    _

    Rio, in his thoughts nced at the new notification he just received

    [Goddess of night wishes you to go back.]N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [She feels curious about your partner''s progress]

    ''She''s not my partner.''

    ''And you already know which goddess she followed.''

    ''Is she fine now?'' He asked her, just to be sure.

    [She is.]

    After reading that, Rio closed the panel with his thoughts.

    With Nyx''s reaction, he was certain that things went just like what was written, and some new gods or different variables didn''t pop up to change things.

    _

    As the silence lingered in his mind again, his thoughts drafted back to what was supposed to happen next in the novel.

    After their failed awakenings both Reba and Leon were seriously injured, and wouldn''t wake up for 2-3 days.

    Leon was taken back to his family, and no one found out someone intentionally halted his awakening.

    Rebay in her room, where different healers and priests came to check her condition, almost every few hours. But nothing seemed to work.

    Giving up on normal methods, when there was still no change in her situation after 3 days, king Maximus decided to take her to one of the best Medical Association of Arcadia, widely known as ''The Circle of Renewals''.

    The CIRCLE OF RENEWALS, an organization entirely devoted to the line of healing and restoration. Healers and priests from all around the world want to join and learn the art of healing here.

    But they couldn''t since the association followed very strict rules and requirements for outsiders entry.

    They hold a respectable position in the world of humans. Yet they remain neutral from all factions. Not interfering in any way.

    The healers from there managed to fully cure Reba''s broken veins, and made her as good as new.

    While leaving from the association, Reba''s eyes fall on theatose Leon who along with his father were currently waiting outside the gates.

    Then the same dog blood routine of cliche followed, as after learning the truth and seeing the sad look on protagonist''s dad, who could do nothing but watch both his wife and son unconscious, she agreed to help.

    Reba ran back to her daddy and asked another favor. Reluctantly the King agreed, and left the ce before her dumb daughter decided to ask him to have everyone waiting in line outside cured.

    What happened next was even more cliched shit, as Leon who was more badly wounded then Reba, was fully healed in only a few days.

    In those few days, somehow the protagonist halo did it''s magic, and he managed to act pitiful and got in the good graces of an elder there.

    As one can guess, that old elder also had a little grand daughter same as Leon''s age, who somehow became friends with him.

    After a few days, Leon had to leave, but he promised in his usual protagonist tone, that he''ll always remember their help, ande meet his new friend if he ever could.

    Obviously the girl he met at that time was another heroine. Whom he will meet again at the academy and then everyone knows what''s next.

    Yupp, she joins the harem too.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    -

    It was then that Leon also learned, it was the princess who saved him, otherwise his father and he wouldn''t even be allowed entry inside the organization for quite a while. And would have to wait in line for weeks probably.

    Going back home, he also saw the princess''s poster the next day, which talked about the engagement between ke family and royal family.

    With that he learned that the one who saved him from the bullies, helped him get treated, and the one who helped his mother, are all same girl, and she''s the princess.

    He also learned that keeping his promise king Maximus really sent healers to help his mother.

    After learning everything, Leon again swore in his protagonist voice, that he''ll pay back all his favors, and protect her at all cost if he ever got the chance.

    _

    A smile came to Rio''s face, when he remembered how the same protagonist who swore to protect her, ended up being the one who killed her.

    The irony of that scene was hrious, as he remembered the cringe lines protagonist swore in the novel at the beginning, and the righteous words he said before he ended up killing her.

    �CHun hahaa�C

    A small chuckle escaped his lips as he remembered both scenes simultaneously. It really was funny.

    Seeing him smile out of nowhere, made Esme and Myra confused. But before they could ask him, heposed himself back and started acting like he was sleeping again.

    -

    Rio wondered what kind of effects the changes he brought would bring.

    Since the princess is all okay now, who would be the one, who''ll save the protagonist.

    Will some new character or backing pop up to save him, or will he keep waiting in line for days until those geezers in charge of the circle took notice of him.

    He could also go ahead and have Artemis rmend Leon to be treated. With her status, it wouldn''t be hard. That way he could have the protagonist feel even more indebted to him.

    But then he shook his head again. There was no need for him to do anything.

    He already nned to save his mother, that should be goodwill enough.

    And besides, learning how the fate of the protagonist worked, would only help him better.

    Because from all the novels he read on earth, he was sure, that even if he became friends with protagonist, always helped him and saved him - these righteous hypocrites would always leave him to die and run away with all the heroines, if ever shit hit the fan and bad situations arose.

    Hell, he even remembered some novels where the protagonist lets his subordinates die, and then goes to fort'' their sisters and wives.

    A shudder ran through Rio''s back at the thought of that.

    ''Yeah, not happening.''

    ''If I let Ria get close to him, who knows what horrific death would she get.''

    Protagonist''s halo always ends up bringing doom to those close to him, just so he cane to their rescue and shine.

    Or if they died, then he''ll kill all their rich enemies in the name of revenge, and loot everything they had. After that he''ll enjoy his life, while those who died will never be mentioned again.

    -

    Deciding to just let the protagonist be, for a while, Rio turned his attention back to other things he nned for today.

    The heroine he was nning to meet was, the very heroine whom Leon uses the Pura Corpus potion to fool.

    The future no.1 alchemist of Arcadia, the brightest bookworm of the academy arcs, and another member of Leon''s harem - A Mizerpitt.

    Just about now, she''s going through the worst phase of her life. And this time, HE was going to be the one giving her a helping hand.

    Her single support, her ray of hope in this damned world of darkness- would she still fall for the protagonist after he changed her everything, her whole routine.

    With her talent in alchemy, and his knowledge of all the recipes written in the novel - the duo of them had zero chance of failure and the profits would be legendary.

    He could make half the potions himself, but the more important ones would obviously be moreplicated for him to make easily.

    To create them, he might just need years of practice in Alchemy, and even then, he might  have some chances of failure.

    But she, the daughter of destiny, the chosen heroine, well, there was no way she could fail right.

    Maybe she would, but at least he has an idea about her talent and ways to help her improve it. While he himself is new to all this.

    She can make him potions, & he could leave selling them to his family. That way, he would have more time to deal with other people, instead of wasting it in someb.

    ''She will be my first recruit in my fight against my fate.''

    Rio thought, and watched as the car stopped moving.

    He opened his eyes and a smile came to his face as he looked at a little girl, sitting down and crying in the middle of the road.

    ####

    A/N - just a little bit more before time skip.

    Just how much more do u think he''s going to chnage the events in just one single night? How many points do u think he might have gotten if system was alive now?

 Chapter 142 Meeting Another Heroine

    The smooth ride of the car came to a halt, when Esme hit the brakes suddenly.

    The instant halt jolted Rio and Myra who were silently resting on the backseat.

    "What happened?" Myra asked, looking at Esme.

    "Someone''s blocking the road?" Esme said, pointing forward, while meeting Myra''s gaze in the rearview mirror.

    Myra looked through the front ss and saw a young girl bent down and crawled into a ball, sitting there in the middle of the road.

    "Do I ?" Esme asked, looking back at her.

    Myra nodded her head, giving her permission to go out and check.

    "Be careful." She added.

    The roads were empty and the surroundings deserted. At this time when all of Haven was celebrating free food and drinks, someone stopping their way could be a coincidence, or an ambush.

    Though the chances of an attack were low, but it''s always better to be careful and brave, then to be dumb and in a grave.

    Esme opened the door slowly, her senses heightened with the use of mana, as she scanned the surroundings for any other movement. Her eyes darted from one corner to another, looking for anything suspicious.

    After ensuring there was no one else present in near range, or no immediate threat, she stepped out.

    Her hand resting near the concealed dagger on her belt, as she started approaching the child slowly.

    Rio, who had been resting in the back seat, sensed the change in the atmosphere and opened his eyes.

    A smile lit up his face when he saw the girl, confirming his thoughts about where he''d find her.

    It was just a wild guess as she was supposed to live around here and had an ident today.

    That''s all he knew, he didn''t know the exact time or ce, he was even nning to tell Esme toe back to pce instantly, if he didn''te across her this time.

    ''Well it would''ve been doubtful if I kepting and going through this road, but guess there''s no need for that now.'' Rio thought.

    Without waiting for Myra''s permission or response, he opened the door and stepped out.

    Esme turned to look back at the sound, as her hand pulled out her dagger, but Rio shook his head and kept walking towards the girl, who was still crying while keeping her head low.

    Her slow sobbing was a stark contrast to the silence of the night, or beauty of the celebration he''s just been to.

    She was the same height as Amelia, but skinny. It was like someone justminated a skeleton with a stic skin. Her messy brte (dark brown) hair were hanging over her head, covering her face, adding an eerie touch to the scene.

    ''She''s like those ghost kids from movies, with her looks and that sobbing noise.'' Rio thought.

    If he didn''t know any better, he might have just turned back and ran away.

    ''Looks like the author forgot to mention that huh'' he said to himself, trying to cheer himself up.

    "master" Esme whispered to him, calling him to stay back. But since he didn''t hear, she shouted a little.

    "Master"

    �CAhhhhhh�C

    Rio shouted, as he felt someone pulling his shoulders slowly. Feeling like it really is some damn ghost out to haunt him. His scream echoing through the empty streets. Without looking back he started running.

    He only took 2 steps further, when he felt a firm grip on his hand. He was about to scream again, but then he heard Esme''s voice, "Master, it''s me."

    Slowly, Rio turned around, his eyes still showing signs of some fear and confusion.

    "It''s just me, why are you running away?" Esme said, trying to hide the amusement in her voice. His reaction really was funny.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Why are you acting like some ghost?" Rio asked, ring at her, while trying to regain hisposure back.

    He would''veughed at pranks like these on earth, saying ghosts aren''t real.

    But in Arcadia, they were as real as him. After all, ghosts are just wandering souls of the remnant dead.

    That''s why he was scared, since he had no way to deal with ghosts, yupp, definitely, that''s the only reason.

    Though his ring eyes and angry words did little to scare his shadow, who just chuckled and said, "I didn''t mean to scare you. I called you, but you didn''t respond. You were just walking lost in thoughts, so I thought I''d bring you back to reality."

    "It''s not her fault, who knew, the genius young master can''t even handle a little pat on his shoulders." Myra came near them and said. Unlike Esme she didn''t even try to hide her smiles.

    Her words, making Esmeugh at him too.

    ''These two. They don''t even take me seriously.''

    ''Just wait until I grow up. I''ll have my revenge for all the beatings I got in the name of training, and kicks in the name of waking up.''

    He thought remembering how these two are just always doing what they want.

    ''Especially Myra. She''s taking advantage of the freedom Artemis gave her.''<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Knowing telling them anything, won''t change a thing, he ignored them and turned his attention back towards the little girl, who had stopped crying and was now looking at them curiously.

    He walked up to her "Hey there, Are you okay?" he asked in a kind tone, as he held out his hand with a warm smile.

    The girl looked back down at the ground, seemingly unsure of how to answer

    "I''m Rio," he introduced himself, crouching down to be at eye level with her. "What''s your name?"

    The girl sniffled, wiping away her tears with her free hand. "A_A" she whispered softly with a stammering tone.

    "A, that''s a nice name," Rio said warmly. "Why are you out here all alone? Did you get lost?" He asked, as he brought out a water bottle from his ring.

    A nced at the empty surroundings nearby, struggling to find the words to exin her distress. While seeing if she should trust these strangers or not.

    "It''s okay, A," Esme said gently, as she knelt down beside them. "You don''t have to be scared. We''re just here to help you."

    She took the bottle from Rio''s hands and drank the water to show her that it was fine. And then passed it towards her. "Here, it''s fine."

    A''s teary eyes met Esme''s, and she hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take the water bottle. Esme''s warm smile and genuine concern seemed to ease her fears, as she started drinking water in big gulps.

    Myra nced at the girl and all the surroundings but there was nothing that could identify her, or why she was crying. Her clothes were simple and her expression didn''t seem to be lying. So she waited to see what the girl would say.

    "Would you tell me, what happened now? Why were you crying?"Esme asked kindly.

    A nodded, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "I-I was looking for my father" she stuttered. "I don''t know where he went?"

    Esme looked at Rio, her eyes clearly saying they should help her. Maybe it was because she had a little sister too, or maybe it was due to her guilt that she still felt for killing Noah, another innocent kid. But she wanted to help her.

    And that''s exactly why Rio let her take the leadpletely.

    He nodded his head, and turned to look at A -"We''ll find your father. Maybe he went to the celebration of the princess''s birthday?" He said.

    "N_no. He didn''te home since yesterday." A said, while shaking her head. Her eyes started getting teary again, as she started talking about her father.

    "Hey, don''t cry. We''ll find your father. Why don''t youe with us?" Esme said, as she started wiping her tears and caressing her cheeks. "It''s already midnight, we''ll look for your father tomorrow okay. Is that okay with you."

    Her gentle words and actions were working like a charm as little A held her hands and was about to nod his head, when Rio''s spoke, distracting her.

    "You can tell us where you live. She''s Myra. And she''s really good at finding people. Maybe we''ll find your father early." Rio said, pointing towards Myra, who was standing like a statue with folded hands.

    Looking at Rio''s action, Myra was about to say something, when A stood up from the ground, running towards her, and pulled her jacket, "Can you really find my father?" She asked excitedly, her eyes shining with hope.

    "I_ eh ��" Myra didn''t know how to react, at once she was just about to refuse this girl and bring Rio back home.

    His safety was her responsibility after all. If anything happened to him, she didn''t know how she could face her master again.

    "It''s fine. Seeing how she looks, she couldn''t walk far anyway." Rio said to Myra, while pointing at A''s thin body. "She''s probably living nearby, so let''s just go and take a look.

    If you don''t find anything, then we can just take her back with us to the mansion." Rio said.

    His words felt a little tiny bit hurtful to A, but then she took a look at him. How he looked, and how he was dressed, she never even seen someone so handsome or rich.

    Her anger disappeared, as her mind registered the thought that if they''re that rich, then maybe they can find her father.

    After all, her father always said -"It''s only the rich people who hold the power in this world."

    A looked at them, her eyes shining with stars in them, as she started shaking Myra''s hands. "Please find my father." She begged Myra, since she looked the oldest, and how everyone listened to her.

    "Don''t worry about her, she''ll help. Right Myra." Rio said reassuringly, while smiling at Myra, who was looking around, probably thinking of ways to go around this girl, without wasting time.

    If she was driving, she''d probably just skip past her or even if she stopped, she''d just hand the girl to some other guards and give them the job to find her parents.

    She wasn''t heartless, she just had her priorities straight. In her eyes, some random kid''s safety wasn''t more important to her than her master''sfort.

    "Fine. But I won''t promise anything." She said, finally giving up on resisting. There was no point in arguing when Rio already made up his mind. She couldn''t change it anyway.

    Hearing her agree, A had the brightest smile, as she thanked the Gods who brought these guys here to help her.

    "Can you tell us where you live then?"

    Myra asked, as Esme went back to the car.

    With Aing together, they all returned to the car. Esme drove slowly through the streets, asking A directions, and some other questions to try to figure out where her father might be.

    While Esme and A were busy talking to themselves, Myra had probably reported this event to guards at the mansion, or the team of Alphas stationed in the capital, so they might join them for back up. In case something happened.

    Rio gave this smart girl a pat in his mind, cause he knew, shit was just about to start and get messy.

    ###

    A/N - moving on to the first recruit.

 Chapter 143 Ill Save Your Father, Promise

    As they drove, Rio kept an eye on A, making sure she was feeling safe andfortable.

    She was sitting beside Esme now, eating some snacks Esme gave her.

    After a few minutes, A pointed towards a building in the distance. "There, that''s my house," she said.

    Esme parked the car, and they all got out.

    A walked forward, as she led them to the building.

    When they reached the main door, their eyes were immediately drawn to the graffiti on the wall. Someone had written curses and threats on the walls.

    -House of cursed ones-

    -Rejects-

    -Pay our money scum-

    -Useless duds, just die already-

    One look at them, and they all understood the situation. After all, the hate crimes or bullying had always beenmon for those who could not awaken.

    It wasn''t anything new, or something they had nevere across.

    Esme was ring daggers at the wall, her fists clenched in anger.

    It was understandable, as this discrimination of talent and power,   is what got her sister sold to very and almost killed.

    Myra''s expressions were unreadable. She probably didn''t care. Since she herself had lived through far worse situations than A.

    Unlike A, who still had her father to protect her, she had no one and nothing. No home to call her own, no one to call her family or any friends.

    If not for Artemis, she didn''t even dare to imagine how her life would''ve turned out.

    Unlike them, Rio''s focus wasn''t on the wall, he already knew about A''s past, and truth be told, it wasn''t that bad for her yet. He was expecting something even more extreme. But guess that''s just his imagination.

    He was looking at A, on whose family all these threats and curses were directed at, but her reaction surprised him.

    A, walked past that wall and didn''t even look at it, and directly went inside.

    Looking at herckluster reaction, a smile came to his face. ''She really is suited for her role as the heroine, who never cared about failures and kept trying till she got what she wanted.'' He thought.

    "Can''t she read them?" Esme asked, as she started following A through the stairs.

    "I think she can. She''s just ignoring it, cause it probably isn''t her first time seeing it." Myra replied, as Rio nodded his head in affirmation.

    "A, are you alright?" Rio asked gently, as he increased his pace to catch up to her.

    A looked up at him and smiled "Yes, I''m fine," she said softly.

    "And that _ , on the wall. You''re okay."

    Rio wanted to ask her how she felt about that, cause he was curious, but he couldn''te up with words that wouldn''t just sound rude or insensitive.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Understanding his question, A nodded her head with a smile, but one could see a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "I''m used to it," she said quietly. "It''s those kids from the neighborhood. They do this sometimes for fun." "Father said, I should just ignore them. He also said they would stop doing that once he finished his work. So _ "

    She was saying something, but talking about her father, again brought tears in the eyes of the little girl.

    "Hey, we''ll find him. Okay. Promise." Rio said, as he patted her head slowly. "And besides, he won''t like it if he saw you crying, right?"

    Hearing him, A wiped her tears and nodded her head, as she tried topose herself.

    "Thank you." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

    She couldn''t remember thest time anyone even talked to her like that, or showed some kindness towards her. Those kids around her house, are just bullies who make fun of her and say bad things to her.

    Due to her father''s busy schedule and work, he never got the time to talk with her much or y with her.

    Other than her father, she didn''t have anyone else she was close with.

    Her mother had left them 3 years ago and never returned. It was only her father who took care of her since then.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    That''s why when she found her father was missing too, she couldn''t take it anymore.

    Yesterday, he went to work in the morning, but never returned. She waited the whole day, since many times he would keep working all day, and only return home at night.

    But she fell asleep while waiting.

    Today, when she woke up, she still didn''t see him anywhere.

    That''s why she started looking for him, but she couldn''t find him anywhere.

    She even asked for help from everyone, but they all just made fun of her and didn''t help at all.

    Those bullies even locked her in a room, saying they would go and bring her father, and she should wait there.

    Remembering those bad bullies she felt angry, but then feeling the gentle touch on her head, and looking at the boy who even came here to help her look for her father, a smile came to her face instead.

    Her heart was still too innocent to know or think that something bad happened to her father. She believed she''d find her dad after some time, since they promised him.

    She was still too naive. Because her father always protected her and kept her safe from everyone else.

    It was only tonight, that she would''ve first seen the cruel side of this world, and learned how twisted and broken this society really is.

    But instead of that, Rio decided to change her beginning.

    Instead of growing up hating the world and men, until she met the protagonist. He was going to be her savior, her idol, her hero.

    Rio was thinking and walking about what''s next, when Myra suddenly appeared in front of him and stopped him.

    ''So they''re here.''

    Rio thought, seeing Myra and Esme''s reaction, as they took out their weapons.

    Esme held her twin daggers in her hands, while Myra had taken out her sword, and the Cord of Sch.

    A was surprised to see them suddenly appear out of nowhere, with weapons in hand and that serious expression.

    She was about to scream, when Rio, anticipating her reaction, covered her mouth with his hands.

    -shhh- He signaled her to stay silent, with his finger.

    When she nodded her head in understanding, he removed his hand.

    "Why ar_?"

    As soon as he let go, she started saying something but stopped as he covered her mouth again.

    And this time, to her surprise, he just picked her up and took some steps back, getting away from the door to her house.

    "Now. Don''t say anything. Okay. I''m removing my hand." He whispered slowly in her ear, as she nodded her head repeatedly.

    Ignoring the embarrassed and confused look of the little girl, Rio turned his attention back to Myra, and mouthed his words silently ''be careful''

    Taking a deep breath Myra opened the door, and before she could even take a first step inside, a huge fireball came towards her face.

    A had her eyes widened at the disy of fire and heat, but Rio had a subtle smile on his lips, d that he wasn''t toote, and arrived even earlier than he anticipated.

    ''Well, it''s not a bad thing, as this works even better.''

    He said to himself, preparing himself for what is toe.

    After all, this would be the first time he''s jumping head on, in a situation that he has no prior idea about.

    ''Let''s start the show, shall we?''

    ###

    A/N - To all those who wanted some action. Prepare your seat belts, for we are about to start thest ride.

 Chapter 144 Myra Vs The Goons Of A Gang

    Myra pushed the door open slowly while signalling to Esme to be prepared.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She could sense around 7-8 people inside. Since A said she lives alone with her father now, she could guess whoever it was, wasn''t someone rted to her.

    ''You thought you could run away huh''

    ''Did you think it would be that easy.''

    ''Our money isn''t something you can just take and leave.''

    The voices inside rang in her ears, as she focused and readied her stance.

    But before she could take even one step inside, a fireballnded on the ce she was standing.

    Her figure blurred and she appeared a few steps back.

    "You shouldn''t havee here, pretty girl" the masked man sneered, his voice cold and menacing.

    When the smoke from the earlier st cleared Myra could see 3 men standing in front of her. One of them who had his face covered in a ck mask came forward to ask her.

    "Who are you?"

    "Shouldn''t I ask that, since you attacked me first?" Myra replied.

    "That was just a warning."

    "This isn''t the time and ce for you to snoop around. Leave before this bes thest thing you see." He said, ncing at Myra who was unscathed.

    With a swift movement, the masked man lunged at Myra, his sword aiming for her chest. But she parried the blow with her own sword, the sh of metal ringing through the air.

    "I could say the same."

    She said, as her figure blurred again, her speed was fast enough that all one could see was just a trail of ck fog moving around.

    -nk-.

    -nk-

    The masked man smirked, his sword held firmly in his hand. "You think you can defeat me, pretty girl?" he taunted, his voice dripping with arrogance.

    "Deal with the other ones, I''ll handle her."

    The masked man said, ncing at his partner.

    The one sh of sword was enough to tell him the strength of this uninvited guest.

    Previously he was haughty because he couldn''t sense her rank or power, so thinking it was probably some random dude wandering around or some neighbors.

    But he understood that no one with this strength should be living in the slums of the Haven.

    ''A rank. Boss never said we''ll meet one."

    "Let''s finish this fast and leave." He said, as his partnees turned to leave.

    One of them jumped and left, while the other had his leg bound by a rope, that pulled him back down, crashing him against the floor with a loud thud.

    "Did I say you could leave?"

    Myra said, as she channeled her mana. As the mana got sucked into the rope, it changed its appearance to a thorny chain that stuck its fangs inside the man. The little thorns leaving deep gashes on his feet, who was trying to take it off.

    -ahhhh-

    His scream echoed as blood started leaking from his leg.

    "Damn bitch, you''ll pay for that." He said, and conjured another fireball that he threw towards her.

    Myra smiled and backed away, while dragging the cord with a yful pull, eliciting another scream from the man.

    With a flick of her wrist, she used her element, as she disappeared from her ce, reappearing again from the shadow of the wounded man.

    The second masked man looked around in confusion, unable to find Myra. Suddenly feeling a gust of wind behind him, but before he could turn around, Myra hit him in the head with the sword''s hilt knocking him unconscious.

    ''One down two to go.''

    She thought, as she heard the sounds of fighting from the upstairs. It was Esme, who was engaged in a battle with the man who ran away from her.

    The masked man witnessing his partner getting easily knocked out, shed his sword at the girl, whose figure turned into smoke again.

    He looked around trying to find where she went.

    Myra appeared from his shadow again as she swung her sword to his head, but before she could hit him, he blocked it.

    "Using the same trick again. It won''t work on me."

    He said, as he threw a punch at her guts.

    His hands were covered in mana, that was enough to push her back.

    But despite sessfully getting a hit in, he wasn''t happy, but his brows were furrowed, as he nced at his hand.

    ''Armor'' he thought, as he felt his fingers a little numb from the earlier collision.

    Looking closely at the girl who appeared to interrupt them, he noticed her clothes.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ''Someone rich and powerful.'' He thought as he caught the whip that was about to hit him.

    His hands felt the slight sting, but ignoring it he pulled the whip towards him with all his strength, while swinging his sword in a vertical sh.

    Myra blocked it with her sword, but soon a kick came striking towards her from the side. Moving backwards while changing the shape of the whip to a thorny one again.

    But noticing the change, the masked man let go of it.

    Putting the whip away, Myra brought out another sword.

    "Your time''s up."

    Myra ran towards him, swinging her swords in a swift motion, her moves unreadable by the opponent, as he tried to block them.

    The nking of the swords continued for a while, as both showed their all, finally taking this fight seriously.

    For Myra it was because she just noticed something outside, while the masked man had realized the true rank of the girl he was ying around with.

    They were both the same rank. He was taking it lightly as he thought he could finish her when he wanted with the power gap between them, but this delusion of his only wasted his time, as he noticed the fight upstairs wasing to an end.

    The screams and shouts that he was hearing all this time were getting less and less. And he knew whoever was fighting his other partners would soone to help this girl.

    He already heard some fighting sounds from outside, but he didn''t have hopes for them.

    The ones outside were just duds he kept to keep a lookout and vehicles ready.

    ''Useless duds.'' He thought, as he tried to sense the scene outside.

    ''I should leave.''

    ''This is getting troublesome.'' He thought.

    "You should focus on your head." Myra mocked, before swinging her sword at his head.

    The masked man scoffed and raised his sword to block the attack, but his eyes widened, when instead of the nking sound he hoped to hear, the sword in the girl''s hands started turning into a dagger, slipping past his sword.

    Before he could react the shortened dagger shed his chest, leaving a deep cut that made him wince in pain.

    "Ukhhh" He let out a cry of pain, staggering back.

    Taking a few steps back, while holding his wounded parts, trying to cover the blood that was gushing out.

    Taking a few steps back more, he took out a potion in a hurry and drank it, but unlike the sweet warm sensation of healing, a burning feeling of pain hit his stomach.

    ncing at the wound which had darkened a little, he understood the reason. As sweat started forming on his face.

    ''Poison''

    "Told you, focus on your head." Myra''s words rang as she threw the poison dagger at him.

    He bent sideways as the dagger missed his head and etched half of its de in the wall behind.

    Engaging in another sword fight, they both continued, but when the man finally thought he found an opening, his sword passed through the figure of the girl, who turned to smoke.

    Only to appear behind him, and stabbing him with the same poisoned dagger.

    -ahhh-

    He moved forwards to remove the dagger, but his screams intensified as the dagger turned to a spear next second, impaling him to the ground.

    -urgh ugh Argh

    The man gurgled as blood trickled from his mouth, the effects of poison eroding his body.

    "Let me go. You have no idea who you''re messing with." The masked man said, trying to suppress the pain, by using his mana to stop the blood loss.

    But that was another mistake. As the poison Shadow''s of ke family uses, only bes more potent with mana''s reaction.

    Myra watched as the masked man''s strength waned, his movements growing weaker with each passing moment. Soon his body went limp, and hey motionless hung on the spear.

    "You took your time." Esme said,ing down from the stairs, her clothes still covered in the some blood, so was her face.

    ''Vampires. Such a nuisance.'' Myra thought, while looking at Esme''s face.

    "Atleast wipe your face. You''ll scare the kids." She said.

    "I think, we found the father of that girl. He''s upstairs. She wasn''t lying it seems." Esme replied. As she cleaned the traces of the blood.

    "Figured." Myra said.

    "You think he can handle it?" Esme asked, walking outside, where the sound of fighting was still ongoing.

    "I don''t know. Let''s go and see."

    Myra said as she pulled her spear out, ending the man''s misery for good.

    ###

    A/N - I know, the fight was maybe a little mid. Me, is a newb writer. So please pity me a little and let it slide, if it wasn''t upto ur taste.

    Next chapter is where our MC fights for the first time in this new world. Would he also get his first kill - what do u think?

 Chapter 145 Been A While Since He Did It

    While Esme and Myra both went inside to fight, Rio and A were standing outside silently.

    "Umm where did those big sisters go?" A asked, still hesitating, if she should speak or not.

    She was still shocked and a little scared after she saw that disy of magic.

    Her shock only intensified when both girls who came here to help her, disappeared and she couldn''t find them anywhere.

    "They went inside to get your father. Don''t worry, okay." Rio said, looking at her with a gentle smile.

    She nodded her head, trusting him, as she kept waiting.

    Currently they were surrounded by the invisible barrier erected by a defensive artifact Rio used. Just like his "armor of weak", which gave him protection from both physical and magical damage.

    This artifact called " Coward''s Camp" was a simr artifact, the difference betweenthem is that one acted as an armor, while the other created a barrier around the user, which could even protect other people inside.

    The limitation was the drain of mana, as unlike the armor which could use the stored mana within, coward''s camp, needed to have constant mana supply.

    With Rio''s puny amount of mana the best it could do, is just alert him if someone or something entered the barrier.

    Obviously it can stillst for a while against unawakened people, whose bodies have no mana.

    And that''s exactly what he wanted.

    "Let them be."

    He said, knowing if he didn''t speak, these little goonsing towards him would be dead ten feet away.

    After all, he could already sense the presence of many people around him now.

    Since the streets were empty before they came here, and knowing Myra informed the Alphas some time ago, he could guess it was probably them.

    Hearing the sound ofmotion from the inside, A was looking around nervously, trying to see inside her house, through the door or some windowd.

    Seeing her uneasy but still being silent, Rio smiled as he brought out a pair of ear muffs from his storage ring and put it over her head.

    After adjustint her hair a little, "Don''t worry, everything will be alright." He said. And covered her ears, making sure she doesn''t hear the screams that started to get louder every moment.

    ''Looks like she''s angry.''

    Rio thought, looking upside, where a man''s body was hanging from the window. Until he got dragged back inside.

    Esme has always hated the ones who hurt the helpless, it was probably because how it reminded her of how her family treated her sister and others.

    This feeling and hatred only increased after her sister''s death in the novel.

    It was a cliche heroine personality trait, which puts her in the protagonist camp easily, but since he already changed her beginning by saving her sister, all the future prospects of her progress have been greatly changed too.

    Ignoring the screams Esme''s enemies made before she literally sucked them dry, Rio turned his attention towards the oing 3 guys who wereing towards the house currently.

    [You sure you want to do this?] Nyx asked, looking amused and a little curious about the actions of her follower.

    ''Come on. I gotta show off a little to impress you. Don''t I ?'' Rio replied silently.

    [You haven''t even managed to learn my first blessing. You sure, your weak body can even handle a second.] She said with a smile.

    ''Well, then I''ll save it for the future.''

    Rio said, and closed the floating panel, as the 3 guys now entered through the main door.

    ''Let''s start the show, shall we?''

    Rio said to himself, and started walking forward.

    "Just stay here for me will ya. Be right back." He said, after crossing the boundary of barrier that now shrunk off by half, cause he reduced the supply of mana into it by half.

    It now only surrounded little A and that was it.

    "Young master, do you really want to do this? Even though they are unawakened, they still have the numbers. And _ "

    One of the Alphas who came on Myra''s call, looked at him and said telepathically. It was okay for him if he wanted to fight or test himself, but if by some off chance, something happened to him, Artemis would have their heads hung on the highway.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "It''s a test from my goddess. Do not interfere. Just keep watch for that girl. Protect her if something happens."

    Rio said and his words were enough to stop any further questioning from the guard. After all, they''ve heard the rumors too,

    No way in hell, interfering in a primordial''s wishes was a winning thing. But still thinking about his duty, he still insisted - "As you say, young master. But I''ll stop this instantly if things get out of hand."

    Rio nodded his head, as he started to stretch his hands.

    [Using my name to threaten others. Not a nice thing to do.]

    "Come on, we both know you don''t mind, and I don''t matter.

    So ignore this fool''s foolishness like you always do, oh benevolent goddess of night."

    Rio said with a smile.

    It had been a while since Nyx started talking with him, well less of talks and more of her suggestions from time to time.

    He would''ve thought of himself as someone special, for getting this special treatment from a primordial goddess, but knowing her real reasons for acting this friendly, he could just bite the bullet and let it be.

    It wasn''t a question of if he liked it or not, cause he knew the moment Nyx learned that he was not the original Rio, and someone else living his life, he couldn''t fathom what kind of hell she''d throw him in.

    ''Well, not like,being nice to her is gonna cause me any problems. She is generouspared to other gods after all.''

    ''At least she won''t betray me, that''s a guarantee. Rest everything can be ignored for a while.''

    "Who are you kid? What''re you doing here?"

    "Does it matter, look at the girl. She''s the one we were looking for."

    One of the men who came running to the house saw a pair of kids standing outside, he asked. But before he could get an answer his friend pointed towards A, signaling him that she was the daughter of the guy they were searching for.

    Her father had run away from their captivity, and when they couldn''t find him anywhere, they were asked to look for his daughter, knowing if they kidnapped her, her father would show himself.

    They''ve been searching for this girl for hours now, but she''s been missing ever since.

    This was because when the group of goons started looking for her, A wasn''t anywhere outside. She had been trapped in a room by her bullying neighborhood kids, who forgot about her afterwards, and went to enjoy the feast of celebration.

    "Damur, go get the girl." One of the goons, who was silent till now, spoke. Ordering one of his buddies to bring the girl, before the little rat runs, and hides in her rathole again.

    "Why is it always me? Fucha''s beenzing around for an hour. Why not let him do some work instead."

    The man named Damur said. Looking at his slightly chubby partner who''s been doing nothing but resting. He''s just slowing them down every time and he gets stuck with more work.

    "Don''t tell me you got scared of little kids, Damor. Or are you thinking, she''ll run away like thest one, and you''ll have to take the me." The chubby Fucha said, his tone amused like he just heard or remembered the best joke.

    Damur red at him for bringing up his failures again, but before he could say anything to refute the ims, the one who ordered him earlier, the self appointed leader, Lobo spoke again, "don''t make me repeat myself. Just get the girl, and the boy too. Looking at his clothes, we''ll get something worthwhile out of him."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Hearing those words Damor smiled, as he looked at the boy again, and noticed the golden essories he wore.

    ''These young masters showing off their money in middle of the night.'' After walking forward a little, he looked over his shoulders and thought -''They can''t see if I slide one or two of his rings, if they''re that far back, right.''

    "Well, who told them to bezy. I might as well help myself for my job." He muttered under his breath, reaching near Rio. He wore a happy smile, when he was a few feet away and could see the shiny jewels in the light.

    The doubts that they were fake trinkets was removed from his head, as he finally smiled brightly.

    Unknown to him, his rich fantasies were about to be put on hold, since a little white haired boy''s mind was stressed a little, after getting beatdowns daily for the past month.

    Though he didn''t like drama or fights, Rio actually missed the adrenaline rush he used to get back on earth.

    ''Well, I should just enjoy myself for today. From tomorrow, my beatdown routine would continue anyway.''

    Rio thought, as he cracked his knuckles, and prepared himself.

    ###

    A/N - all those who wanted to see how shiva''s anger disappeared and his fighting scenes weren''ting - so before we move to the badass academy entrance and time skip.

    I prepared something special for you spartans

 Chapter 146 Repeated chapter. please ignore it

    146 Repeated chapter. please ignore it

    FORGIVE ME FOR MY MESS UP. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I DID A MASS RELEASE. AND IN A HURRY TO POST ALL CHAPs TOGETHER, THIS ONE GOT POSTED TWICE BY MISTAKE.

    - -- - as an apology I''ll release 2 bonus chapters for you guys. (And I''ll edit itter and change it to something else.) Please forgive me

    ##

    While Esme and Myra both went inside to fight, Rio and A were standing outside silently.

    "Umm where did those big sisters go?" A asked, still hesitating, if she should speak or not.

    She was still shocked and a little scared after she saw that disy of magic.

    Her shock only intensified when both girls who came here to help her, disappeared and she couldn''t find them anywhere.

    "They went inside to get your father. Don''t worry, okay." Rio said, looking at her with a gentle smile.

    She nodded her head, trusting him, as she kept waiting.

    Currently they were surrounded by the invisible barrier erected by a defensive artifact Rio used. Just like his "armor of weak", which gave him protection from both physical and magical damage.

    This artifact called " Coward''s Camp" was a simr artifact, the difference betweenthem is that one acted as an armor, while the other created a barrier around the user, which could even protect other people inside.

    The limitation was the drain of mana, as unlike the armor which could use the stored mana within, coward''s camp, needed to have constant mana supply.

    With Rio''s puny amount of mana the best it could do, is just alert him if someone or something entered the barrier.

    Obviously it can stillst for a while against unawakened people, whose bodies have no mana.

    And that''s exactly what he wanted.

    "Let them be."

    He said, knowing if he didn''t speak, these little goonsing towards him would be dead ten feet away.

    After all, he could already sense the presence of many people around him now.

    Since the streets were empty before they came here, and knowing Myra informed the Alphas some time ago, he could guess it was probably them.

    Hearing the sound ofmotion from the inside, A was looking around nervously, trying to see inside her house, through the door or some windowd.

    Seeing her uneasy but still being silent, Rio smiled as he brought out a pair of ear muffs from his storage ring and put it over her head.

    After adjustint her hair a little, "Don''t worry, everything will be alright." He said. And covered her ears, making sure she doesn''t hear the screams that started to get louder every moment.

    ''Looks like she''s angry.''

    Rio thought, looking upside, where a man''s body was hanging from the window. Until he got dragged back inside.

    Esme has always hated the ones who hurt the helpless, it was probably because how it reminded her of how her family treated her sister and others.

    This feeling and hatred only increased after her sister''s death in the novel.

    It was a cliche heroine personality trait, which puts her in the protagonist camp easily, but since he already changed her beginning by saving her sister, all the future prospects of her progress have been greatly changed too.

    Ignoring the screams Esme''s enemies made before she literally sucked them dry, Rio turned his attention towards the oing 3 guys who wereing towards the house currently.

    [You sure you want to do this?] Nyx asked, looking amused and a little curious about the actions of her follower.

    ''Come on. I gotta show off a little to impress you. Don''t I ?'' Rio replied silently.

    [You haven''t even managed to learn my first blessing. You sure, your weak body can even handle a second.] She said with a smile.

    ''Well, then I''ll save it for the future.''

    Rio said, and closed the floating panel, as the 3 guys now entered through the main door.

    ''Let''s start the show, shall we?''

    Rio said to himself, and started walking forward.

    "Just stay here for me will ya. Be right back." He said, after crossing the boundary of barrier that now shrunk off by half, cause he reduced the supply of mana into it by half.

    It now only surrounded little A and that was it.

    "Young master, do you really want to do this? Even though they are unawakened, they still have the numbers. And _ "

    One of the Alphas who came on Myra''s call, looked at him and said telepathically. It was okay for him if he wanted to fight or test himself, but if by some off chance, something happened to him, Artemis would have their heads hung on the highway.

    "It''s a test from my goddess. Do not interfere. Just keep watch for that girl. Protect her if something happens."

    Rio said and his words were enough to stop any further questioning from the guard. After all, they''ve heard the rumors too,

    No way in hell, interfering in a primordial''s wishes was a winning thing. But still thinking about his duty, he still insisted - "As you say, young master. But I''ll stop this instantly if things get out of hand."

    Rio nodded his head, as he started to stretch his hands.

    [Using my name to threaten others. Not a nice thing to do.]

    "Come on, we both know you don''t mind, and I don''t matter.

    So ignore this fool''s foolishness like you always do, oh benevolent goddess of night."

    Rio said with a smile.

    It had been a while since Nyx started talking with him, well less of talks and more of her suggestions from time to time.

    He would''ve thought of himself as someone special, for getting this special treatment from a primordial goddess, but knowing her real reasons for acting this friendly, he could just bite the bullet and let it be.

    It wasn''t a question of if he liked it or not, cause he knew the moment Nyx learned that he was not the original Rio, and someone else living his life, he couldn''t fathom what kind of hell she''d throw him in.

    ''Well, not like,being nice to her is gonna cause me any problems. She is generouspared to other gods after all.''

    ''At least she won''t betray me, that''s a guarantee. Rest everything can be ignored for a while.''

    "Who are you kid? What''re you doing here?"

    "Does it matter, look at the girl. She''s the one we were looking for."

    One of the men who came running to the house saw a pair of kids standing outside, he asked. But before he could get an answer his friend pointed towards A, signaling him that she was the daughter of the guy they were searching for.

    Her father had run away from their captivity, and when they couldn''t find him anywhere, they were asked to look for his daughter, knowing if they kidnapped her, her father would show himself.

    They''ve been searching for this girl for hours now, but she''s been missing ever since.

    This was because when the group of goons started looking for her, A wasn''t anywhere outside. She had been trapped in a room by her bullying neighborhood kids, who forgot about her afterwards, and went to enjoy the feast of celebration.

    "Damur, go get the girl." One of the goons, who was silent till now, spoke. Ordering one of his buddies to bring the girl, before the little rat runs, and hides in her rathole again.

    "Why is it always me? Fucha''s beenzing around for an hour. Why not let him do some work instead."

    The man named Damur said. Looking at his slightly chubby partner who''s been doing nothing but resting. He''s just slowing them down every time and he gets stuck with more work.

    "Don''t tell me you got scared of little kids, Damor. Or are you thinking, she''ll run away like thest one, and you''ll have to take the me." The chubby Fucha said, his tone amused like he just heard or remembered the best joke.

    Damur red at him for bringing up his failures again, but before he could say anything to refute the ims, the one who ordered him earlier, the self appointed leader, Lobo spoke again, "don''t make me repeat myself. Just get the girl, and the boy too. Looking at his clothes, we''ll get something worthwhile out of him."

    Hearing those words Damor smiled, as he looked at the boy again, and noticed the golden essories he wore. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''These young masters showing off their money in middle of the night.'' After walking forward a little, he looked over his shoulders and thought -''They can''t see if I slide one or two of his rings, if they''re that far back, right.''

    "Well, who told them to bezy. I might as well help myself for my job." He muttered under his breath, reaching near Rio. He wore a happy smile, when he was a few feet away and could see the shiny jewels in the light.

    The doubts that they were fake trinkets was removed from his head, as he finally smiled brightly.

    Unknown to him, his rich fantasies were about to be put on hold, since a little white haired boy''s mind was stressed a little, after getting beatdowns daily for the past month.

    Though he didn''t like drama or fights, Rio actually missed the adrenaline rush he used to get back on earth.

    ''Well, I should just enjoy myself for today. From tomorrow, my beatdown routine would continue anyway.''

    Rio thought, as he cracked his knuckles, and prepared himself.

    ###

    A/N - all those who wanted to see how shiva''s anger disappeared and his fighting scenes weren''ting - so before we move to the badass academy entrance and time skip.

    I prepared something special for you spartans

    --If you like this story, then spend your money and send me gifts. --If not, then don''t worry, I''m just like you, so give me 5* reviews, I''ll be happy with that too.

    --You can also vote me with power stones or golden tickets, if you want. --I''m also happy as long as you guysment and just appreciate my work a little, that''s free, and won''t cost you a thing. so do that at least.

    DevilDarkness

 Chapter 147 The First Fight - Break Thou Hand

    When the guy reached near Rio, his gaze scanned him up, looking through all the jewelry he could slide and steal before those 2 partners notice something.

    Rio on the other hand, seeing the greedy look on his face, wanted to smile.

    Even if he did nothing, and just stood as a statue, the artifacts on him could do their job and not let any one of them put even a hand on them, now he lowkey wanted to see the reaction of this guy, when he realizes he can''t steal anything from him.

    "Just follow me and don''t try to scream or run, it won''t end well for you." Damur said, after fixing the things he would steal.

    His target was simple, the golden ring on his hand, though as an unawakened he couldn''t feel the mana, so he can''t be sure which ring is a normal one and which is inscribed with runes or mana, and is functioning as a storage ring. But looking at the great details and patterns of the ring, he decided to take a gamble on that.

    If Rio knew, this guy was eyeing the ring given to him by Artemis herself, which she made by her own hands. He really wouldn''t be able to control his amusement and burst outughing.

    But he didn''t know that.

    While the man was eyeing the essories, he was busy looking at the man himself. From the way he walked, to the way he carried himself. His way of talking, his confidence or arrogance, his muscles or weight, his speed or strength - his eyes trying to see through everything as best he could.

    After training with freaks like Luke or Myra and Esme, he had gotten a little better at reading people by their bodynguage.

    His time of earth also yed a part in his guesses, as there was a phase where he simply just wanted to beat others and get beaten up, just so he could clear his head from all the things it started thinking up.

    Anger and pain - were the best distraction that worked well on a human mind after all.

    Rio''s thoughts stopped, and his gaze finally met the guy who was now ring at him, as he said -"Didn''t you hear, I said to just follow me."

    Damor shouted, looking annoyed at the 2 kids. One of them silently stood there lost in dreams, while the other was even more audacious who had her ears covered by some kind of kids toy. And was just standing there.

    "Won''t you tell us why?" Rio asked.

    His words got the attention of the goon on him "There''s no why, just follow me, if you don''t want anything bad to happen to you" He said.

    "What if I don''t want to?" Rio replied, with a nonchnt tone. Clearly showing he either didn''t understand his threat, or was not taking him seriously at all.

    Damor smiled at his words, like he came across someone stupid.

    "Can''t you see there''s no one around to save you. Hell, even if you scream now, no one woulde to rescue you. So stop bbering ande here."

    He said, as he went forward to grab his shoulder and drag him away.

    His hands held the cor of Rio''s shirt as he tried to move towards A, who finally had her eyes turned towards this direction, instead of looking at the empty house.

    The sight confused A about what was happening -who were these people? When did theye? Are they here to help look for her father too? But why is that man holding the nice boy''s clothes like that?

    Her questions were running wildly in her little head, and she decided to take the earmuffs to hear what that man was shouting, while walking towards her angrily.

    "  _ _ This fool. See how she''s looking at everything now. Just wait, I''ll teach you and your father ___ arghhhh "

    Damur, who was cursing the little girl and her father, suddenly stopped speaking and screamed in pain loudly catching everyone off guard.

    A had her eyes widened as she looked at Rio twisting the arm of that man. His short stature gave him the advantage where he kept turning around and twisting his hand even more.

    "No need to talk like that with little kids, is it?" Rio said, as he took one more turn while twisting his hand even more, making him fall to his knees.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Argg you bastard, what are you doing? I''ll kick your ass you motherfucking moron." Damor shouted loudly, while trying to free his right hand, by cursing and calling his friends and pping Rio''s hands with his free left hand.

    Sadly for him, he wasn''t a lefty.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    In simple terms, his left hand was just iling around him, without any strength behind it.

    But still Rio gave his hand another forceful twist, his full sleeve shirt almost getting torn with the force.

    -arghhhh- Damor shouted as he now started pping the ground, unable to take the pain.

    Ignoring his painful screams, Rio turned his attention back towards A, who was still looking at him with surprised expression and wide mouth.

    "Didn''t I say to keep your ears covered. Why''d you take them off?" He said, signaling towards her hands which held the earmuffs he himself gave her, so she wouldn''t hear what was happening inside and outside.

    "But _ "

    "No buts, wear them. Or I won''t help you look for your father." Rio said, and smiled as he saw A''s little face getting pale at his words, while in a hurry she covered her ears again.

    "Well, now that that''s done, let''s focus back on you huh."

    Rio said, with a smile turning his focus back on Damor, whose eyes were getting a little red, as his tears starteding out.

    Rio looked at the 2 goons who wereing towards him, he turned his face towards them and when they were finally a few feet away from him.

    He gave ast twist to Damor''s hands with a swift fastness, only stopping when a cracking sound from his shoulders was heard.

    Instead of letting go after his hand was dislocated from the shoulder, Rio pulled the hand straight and gave  a kick to his elbow, eliciting an even cracking sound, followed by an even louder scream from Damor.

    crack-

    -arghhaaaaaa

    The sound of his bone''s breaking was heard by his friends who finally reached near him.

    Rio, after kicking his hand, breaking it from both his shoulder and elbow joint, took a few steps back, as he decided to let the friends have their moment first.

    Damor looked at his limp hand hanging, while the excruciating pain continuously kept assaulting his mind.

    His shoulders started swelling a bit, while his elbow bone sticking out from his skin, as some blood kept trickling down his hands.

    ''One down, two to go''

    Rio thought after incapacitating the first guy.

    He was ignoring the notifications from the gods that starteding nonstop again. The constant stream of messages burying the first one notification sent by Nyx.

    But Rio didn''t even look at the panel, as he turned his attention towards Damur''s friends who were now ring at him.

    ###

    A/N - please rate the fight scenes. As I''m new to writing them.

    I know many author can do it better, but I''ll still like your feedback.

    Thanks for reading

 Chapter 148 The First Fight - Crush Those Balls

    Lobo and Fucha, who were engaged in a conversation between them, about what was taking so long to the guys who went inside to catch that girl''s father.

    They had been waiting for a while, sitting around as a lookout on the silent night, getting bored with every passing moment.

    Now suddenly seeing the girl they were looking for since the morning, and one stupid rich kid with her, it looked likedy luck was finally smiling upon them.

    Whoever the kid was, they were sure their boss would be happy to see him. They might get some money in exchange for the kid as their boss likes the business of kidnapping and ransom.

    What''s more easier way to earn money than just kidnapping a weak kid, and forcing their fat fathers to hand over their money.

    But their happy discussions, about which gambling house or brothel they''ll use their money on, was stopped when they heard a loud scream.

    -arghhhhaaa-n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They both looked at the sound of scream, thinking maybe it was Damur, who started beating those kids.

    That sick bastard had that habit after all. That''s how he messed up thest time, and let a boy escape.

    "I swear, someday this guy''s gonna regret messing around with kids. I''ll tell ya." Fucha said to Lobo as he wiped his hands on his chubby fat and turned around.

    But when he did see what was happening, he had his eyes widened just like his friend Lobo.

    Damur''s screams bringing them out of their stupor.

    Then without saying anything they both started running towards their friend hoping to help them.

    But s, they were a tad bitte as they noticed the happy smile on the boy''s face as he finally twisted Damur''s hand once more and breaking his bones.

    The sight of their now crying and screaming friend made them halt their steps, as they didn''t know what to do next.

    Unlike the awakened, who could use mana to suppress their pain, or seal their injuries, or those who had high tolerance or stamina, the 3 of them were just normal goons. Who were just used as cannon fodder by their boss.

    All they ever did was some search or recon things, or sometimes drive other important people to their missions. That was their role in the organization and they were happy with it.

    It paid well, and they could throw their weight around to do some stuff and get away with it. But sadly, today wasn''t a good day for them, and it was only about to get worse from here on out.

    -

    The self appointed leader, Lobo,posed himself as he red at the boy and said - "You''ll pay for that."

    "You asking or demanding? I''m not very good orders, you see. Ruins my image." Rio said, with a smile.

    "Stop talking and kill that bastard. I don''t care who he is, just kill him." Damur shouted, suppressing his pain, his tears getting dry as his face filled with anger. He looked like a maniac out for blood, blinded by anger.

    "Well, this makes things easy then. I''ve been pissed off since this morning." Fucha said, while moving towards Rio.

    "Even though he''s a kid, who told him to act arrogant in front of us. And hurting our friend, that''s bad for business."

    He said, and swung his hands for a p to thed''s face.

    Just looking at the size difference between Rio and him, anyone could say, if that hitnded, it would hurt, like a lot hurt.

    But after getting beaten up by Esme for a whole month, Rio''s senses were sharpened a little. As he could now see every movement of the chubby fuck.

    Dodging the p by taking a step back at thest moment, Rio looked at the man and waved his hands for a p on the man''s cheek, which was just in range of his hand, due to him missing his mark and losing his bnce.

    "That''s for having a name as funny as Fucha, you fat fuck."

    Rio said, with a smile. His words fueling the anger of the guy. As he took a step forward and swung his hands again.

    Rio dodged his attacks again easily while he continued to mock him.

    "Getting pped by a kid. Do you have any shame?"

    "Stop running around you little rat." The fat man said, while huffing loudly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "But then again, with a name like Fucha, you probably lost your shame years ago." Rio said, as he smiled again.

    Rio was toying around, using his speed and short stature to just tire the guy. Though he did manage to sometimes punch or p the guy, but that fat skin was probably acting as a B grade armor protecting him.

    Fucha looked at Rio, easily dodging his hands, knowing he couldn''tnd a hit on him like this. Untied his leather belt and then started to swing it around.

    -swish swish-

    The leather cut through the air making the whistling sound, as Rio barely dodged the attack.

    "So your fat haven''t reached your brain huh. Working smart." Rio said, while dodging the attack, "But that''s cheating isn''t it."

    "Nothing''s cheating rat. Just stay still and let me hit you for once. If you have the guts." Fucha said, as he swung his belt again, just for it to miss by a minor degree. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

    "Well, if that''s what you want. Why didn''t you just say it earlier." Rio said, and simply stopped moving and stood at one ce.

    Fucha looked at him with surprise thinking what the hell is this kid nning. But seeing that Rio still didn''t move when he was almost towering upon him, he finally smiled.

    In his eyes, Rio seemed like some rich young master from the stories he heard in those lower dungeon worlds.

    He always thought they were just stories, thinking, How can rich guys can be so stupid?

    But now looking at this kid who simply stopped moving, cause he said so. He felt like his eyes were opened to a whole new world.

    He swung the belt with all his strength he could muster.

    Looking at the powerful swing thatnded on Rio''s body, Damur had a slight smile, seeing the guy who broke his hand getting smashed.

    He closed his eyes, as he waited to hear the loud scream of the kid''s voice.

    But instead of that, what came roaring in his ears was a painful scream that felt like a fat pig''s dying oink..

    -Onhhahhh

    He waited for some time for some other scream, but what followed was the melodiousughter of the kid he hated now.

    He opened his eyes looking confused at the scene where Fucha was now lying down on the ground balling his eyes out, his head had an open wound bad enough that some white matter was leaking out along with blood.

    Damur''s confuses eyes turned to horror as he saw the same evil smile on that kid''s face before he broke his hand.

    His bad premonition turned true as he watched the kid standing still in some weird pose and then _

    Damur closed his eyes, unable to see what wasing next. He even wanted to cover his ears for the scream he knew would being next second, but his hand was broken and he couldn''t move it.

    He waited for a few seconds but the scream he anticipated didn''te. Thinking Lobo probably helped his friend or saved Fucha from the pain, he peeked from his eyes to take a look.

    But that was a mistake as he saw Rio''s smile at his antics, as he finally deakt the finishing blow to the fat Fucha.

    -oarhhh oanghhraaa-

    Fucha, who was about to lose his consciousness due to blood loss, was jolted awake in a second as he felt the crushing kick to his jewels.

    ''Goal'' Rio thought looking at Fucha who peed his pants for thest time, before passing out.

    Rio made a disgusted expression as he watched the piss and blood mixing together forming a puddle underneath the fat guy.

    ''Last one left'' Rio thought as he took a few more steps back, so as to not dirty his new shoes.

    ###

    A/N - Please rate the fight scene. I''m new and have a lot to learn at writing and describing them - so all ur suggestions and feedbacks are wee.

 Chapter 149 Tricksters Gifts

    ?

    Some moments ago. Just as Fucha was preparing for his attack, Rio passed his mana into the crystal chain he wore around his neck.

    The second, Fucha''s attack hit him, the chain shone in a silvery light.

    The chain was another simple artifact, nothing fancy or powerful. But something he had Asher bring after cleaning up some local bandit''s of Damascus outer areas.

    It was called "Feel my Pain".

    It was created by the God of trickery from Bushman mythology Kaggen/Cagn.

    It was mentioned in the novel. As the bandits used it to terrorize the vigers or townsfolk in the outskirts of Damascus.

    It was only effective against unawakened people, as it mapped the effect of damage the user receives, and redirects it back to the attacker, after doubling the damage.

    It sounds OP and super useful. But as it was made by a trickster God, one can always expect some stupid conditions or restrictions to use it.

    This particr artifact had some of them too

    �� The artifact only works on the user''s luck. So there''s a 50-50 chance that after using this artifact either the attacker gets double the damage, or the user will end up with triple.

    �� It can only work on pure physical attacks.

    �� Can only be used once a day.

    ��

    This was something that Rio used against Esme in one of their spars, and results weren''t very nice. So he never tried it again.

    But since he wasing to this birthday event, where a physical beatdown of protagonist was going to happen, he took it as a safe keep. If some random kid dragged him into the drama.

    He didn''t have to worry about getting the double damage on himself, as today he was wearing enough defensive artifacts that would be triggered instantly and negate all damage.

    That''s what happened now.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As soon as Fucha''s attacknded on him, Rio didn''t feel a thing, but this tricky artifact worked and gave twice the damage back to him.

    Fucha who was feeling satisfied when he finally managed to hit the boy sessfully, couldn''t even smile proudly, as next second his head got burst open, like someone hit it with a hammer and he fell down.

    Looking at Fucha lying down on the ground crying and screaming in pain, his friend Lobo who was helping Damur, got more angry and decided to kill this boy himself.

    "I''ll kill you, you bastard. Kid or not, I''ve been pissed off since this morning and you''re just overdoing it."

    He shouted as he started walking towards him, while pulling the dagger from his waist.

    "Pissed off for a day, I''ve been pissed off for a whole month, you hobo."

    Rio said, as he used hisst bit of mana to form a muddle of darkness below Lobo''s feet, making them sink in the ground.

    This was actually the result of him learning shadow bind from Myra. But him being a newb, he couldn''t learn or control the shadows and bind anyone.

    That''s where the advantage of him being the darkness element awakener came into y.

    As he simply turned the shadow of someone into a puddle of murky darkness. Turning the ground they stood upon into a marsh ground, that just drags someone into it.

    This was also the inspiration he took, from the first nightmare he had after he came here, where Nashi''s clones used something simr to drown him in darkness.

    Obviously this muddle''s hold was weak as hell, since hecked both the control and mana to keep anyone in ce for long. But it was still enough to catch someone off guard and surprise them.

    Lobo, who kept trying to free himself by angrily pulling his leg, stared at the boy in anger.

    Seeing him angrily shouting and looking at the notification that popped up on his status, he smiled a little.

    Backing away one step, he took the position of someone who was about to kick the penalty in the game of football.

    ''Ready, aim and

    After a few seconds came a kick to the balls of the goon lying down, making sure Fucha can never fuck again.

    ''That''s a goal isn''t it''

    Rio said, as he looked at the notifications and Fucha whose screams got double decibels higher with that ser kick.

    Getting back from the fat Fucha, Rio turned his attention to thest man standing, the man whom he wanted to settle the most.

    The reason, why he even came forward to deal with this himself.

    Lobo was a character in the novel, which suddenly popped up in the mid sections of the story and actually quite shocked the world.

    He appeared in between a war sequence and almost turned the tides of a one side massacre into a battle that almost looked equal on both parties.

    Hell, he would''ve even made his side win, if the other team didn''t have the halo of heavens and protagonist on their side.

    As all cliche routines go, Lobo, seeing the might of the young hero, decides to join the protagonist camp, saying repeated dialogues like "I''ll follow you, until I defeat you one day."

    Leon, seeing his prowess in the war and battle, let him join the team.

    And that''s how the protagonist gets one more capable general for his gang of soldiers.

    If anyone''s wondering how a weak unawakened roadside thug became strong enough, that he can act as a general in the protagonist''s army. It''s actually quite simple.

    Long story short, after years of acting like a street based goons leader, he finally managed to get the interest of one mighty figure, who took him in as a disciple and taught him everything he knew.

    In the novel''s mid section, he also had a separate arc, where he helps Leon and A find the real culprit behind A''s fathers kidnapping and death.

    The culprit behind the scenes, just also happens to be an enemy, our protagonist needed an excuse to kill.

    So with Lobo''s help and A''s revenge as an excuse, Leon kills the guy and gets all the profits.

    Knowing all this, if Rio let it slide now, then this Lobo had a chance to be Leon''s ally in the future. And that was a no - no for now.

    Plus Rio had someone else in mind, whom he wanted to take Lobo''s ce, and being chosen as the disciple of that guy.

    So he had to die.

    Now he could''ve asked his guards, or anyone else to kill this guy, but he decided to do it himself for 2 reasons.

    One, he wanted to see for himself, if fate pulls some tricks to stop this death. Or if something else unexpected happens.

    Like how when dealing with Chiron, he suddenly appeared just when Rio got his hands on the key to that legacy.

    Or how when Esme was dealing with Noah, he suddenly started going through his awakening.

    Rio wanted to see if something simr could happen too. He wanted to see if there''s some bacsh thingy for messing with chosen ones, those viin novels on earth always talked about.

    Second reason was that he needed to prepare himself for this world''s mentality. The rule of kill or be killed, had always been the go to way of solving anything in Arcadia.

    He didn''t want a scene where his hands starts shaking, or he starts vomiting at the sight of blood in the middle of some important event.

    Nor did he want a repeat of his nightmares from day 1, where the ghost of that bastard starts to haunt him again cause he killed someone.

    The more time he had to prepare himself for his fight against the fate written for him, the more he''d be ready to protect himself and the ones close to him.

    ###

    A/N - in need of some motivation

 Chapter 150 Killing The Protagonists General

    ?

    By the time Lobo pulled himself from the spell of darkness, Rio had already dealt the final blow to his secondpanion.

    He looked at Rio in anger, never thinking he''d be faced with such humiliation one day. If the rest of his friends and followers learned he couldn''t even deal with a kid, who would follow him then.

    He lunged forward trying to stab the kid, not even caring for the thought that he wanted to kidnap him or ask for ransom or what consequences could follow. For now, he just wanted to end this bastard who''s testing the limits of his patience andughing at that.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Rio dodged the knife, but as he turned his face left, a punch connected to his face, knocking him back a few steps.

    "What happened now? Huh. Where''s your smile, you little twerp. If I don''t teach you a lesson, my name''s not Lobo."

    "Something tells me you actually want to change your name, don''t you Hobo?" Rio wiped his face, as he rolled sideways, barely dodging the kick that wasing towards his stomach.

    "Don''t think your tricks and taunts would work on me fucker. I''d kill you here and now."

    Lobo spoke, grunting as he looked at Rio.

    "Why don''t you say that, after you drop that knife. Too scared to fight a kid, bare handed." Rio said, taunting him, before jumping away from his range. "You''re pathetic."

    Lobo''s face contorted with rage at the taunts, but being an experienced man, he knew better than to let his anger get the best of him. He ignored Rio''s words and focused on the fight, trying tond a decisive blow.

    The outside echoed with the sounds of their fight - the shing of fists, the grunts of effort, and the taunts that flew back and forth.

    Rio was like a little monkey, avoiding Lobo''s moves with his agility. His mana was already low, so using that now was just inviting headaches and sleep, so he could only depend on his senses and experience.

    Slowly but surely, they were both getting tired with the constant struggles. But both refused to back down.

    In their little contact alone, Rio had gotten hit 3 times, though the knife was useless against his defensive artifacts. But the punches and kicks still hurt a little.

    "Girls in my house throw better punches than you, is that the best you got?" Rio said, still smiling.

    Lobo came forward to punch him again, but this time instead of backing or dodging, Rio started running towards him.

    "Let me show you what a real punch is."

    Just when they were near, Rio jumped sideways, with a kick to the side wall, he propelled himself to a little height, and clenched his fists tightly, as he came down at Lobo''s face, with a superman punch.

    "This is how it''s done."

    Rio said, after he finally managed tond a hit on this fucker.

    Lobo staggered a little due to the sudden punch, but before he could recover he felt another hitnd on his hands, making him drop his knife.

    Rio stood there with a metal staff in hand. He swung it at Lobo''s feet next, making him bent down. And then followed with a swing to his face.

    His continuous attacks all managed to deal little damage to the big guy, as he staggered backwards, while cursing and coughing.

    Just when Rio thought he had a little chance at this fight, he felt a sting of pain on his back, like someone just whipped it, with a burning chain.

    The pain bringing back a memory he buried deep in his head, making him angry.

    He looked back with cold eyes, that were enough to halt the person who was about tond a second swing on him.

    Rio''s eyesnded on Damur, who was standing with Fucha''s belt in hand.

    "You know I was going to let you go. But you are so fucking dead."

    Ignoring Lobo who was taking something out from his pockets in a hurry, Rio walked towards Damur, with a cold glint in his eyes.

    Another swing of his beltnded on him, but instead of dodging he ignored it, as he prepared to swing his staff on Damur''s head.

    [To your left]

    A sudden notification from Nyx shocked him. Thinking it was Lobo who came to help his friend and she was helping him.

    He changed the direction of his swing midway, but instead of getting the sound of a hit, like he expected. The staff passed through air.

    [Never trust a God, mortal.]

    Rio read the notifications and a bad feeling came to his mind, but before he could do anything, an aura coated punchnded on his back sending him crashing into the wall.

    ''What was that?'' He asked, slowly standing up.

    [Punishment, for using my name, without any restraint.]

    ''Damn these Gods'' Rio thought, as he dusted his clothes.

    Though the defensive armor he had still blocked the damage, it did sent a shockwave throughout his body. For a second, he almost felt like his hearts and kidneys exchanged ces, with how fast that shock hit him.

    Rio looked ahead, and saw  both of the goons, pinned down by some guards.

    "Are you okay, young master?"

    One of them came forward to ask him. His voice the same he heard in that telepathic message, confirming he was one of the members of Alphas.

    "I think I told you to not interfere." He asked, ncing at the swords pointed towards Lobo''s head.

    Lobo was shivering and sweating, seeing these guys who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    And looking at how they were all listening to the kid, he was scared out of his wits, thinking who did he mess with.

    "Forgive me, young master. But that man was using aura. And that can be dangerous." The guard said, while keeping his head low.

    Rio looked at Lobo for some time, thinking if he should restart his fight or not.

    But then looking at his own body, he shook his head and said - "Deal with them. I don''t want to see them ever again. And not a word about this to my mother."

    The guard nodded his head hearing his words. But thest request he said, made him sweat a little. As he stammered "Umh young master, that _ "

    "What? You got something to say?" Rio looked at the man, while asking him in a stern tone.

    "Nothing, it''ll be done." The guard replied, as he bowed his head again.

    "Good." Rio said.

    Though he knew Artemis would know about it eventually, it still felt nice to see people taking his talk seriously.

    Living beside Esme and Myra who are simply used to acting like friends and family with him, and can even beat him up. He actually forgot he can even order them around like this.

    ''I really need to grow up fast.'' He thought again, as the image of a kid really didn''t suit the things he nned and wanted to do.

    The guard turned back to look at his partners, signaling them to take all these goons away.

    Lobo watched as those guys sheathed their swords and picked up Damur and Fucha and dragged them away.

    He knew what awaited them now. There was no way they were taking him away from the kids to put into a prison. He could guess that just after turning around that corner he''d be killed and thrown away.

    He had lots of regrets now, but only one question -

    "Who are you?" He asked, in a slow tone, looking at the boy, because of whom everything happened.

    Rio looked at Lobo, whose skin was now turning red, probably as the effects of whatever pill he took to use aura started ending.

    Desperate as the guards picked him up and started dragging him. Lobo asked that question again.

    He wanted to know?

    No. He needed to know, who was responsible for his death at least. He deserved that, right. So he shouted again with all his remaining strength- "WHO ARE YOU?"

    "A nobody." Rio said with a smile.

    The guards took Lobo away, and after they turned around the corner, his shouts and screams ended too, just like he thought they would.

    ###

 Chapter 151 Aarosh Multazam - The First Vessel

    ?

    After dealing with Lobo and his minions, Rio turned around to look for A. But was surprised when he couldn''t see anything there.

    He looked around in hurry and still failed to see anything, he looked back and red at the guard "I think I told you to keep an eye on that girl. Where is she? If anything happened to her _ "

    Rio was speaking, when the guard interrupted him, asking for forgiveness.

    "Ahh forgive me?"

    "Forgive you, this fu _" Rio was about to curse the man for losing the heroine, but then he heard A''s voice stopping him, asking if he was fine.

    He turned back and saw A still standing at the same ce from the beginning.

    He looked back at the guard pointing towards A, thinking if she''s really there, or is he imagining it , by how she just appeared out of thin air.

    The guard, understanding his confusion, informed him "She was there only. When the young master started fighting, I made another barrier around her, in case something unexpected happened."

    "But she wasn''t there, just now?" Rio said.

    The guard shook his head in response, as he said " She was there. But the barrier I made obstructs one''s vision, so no one below A rank can see her."

    "Saturation magic." Rio muttered.

    "Ahh yes. That''s the one." The guard said, surprised that Rio could identify the magic technique he used.

    Everyone who awakened one of the 7 main elements could learn saturation magic.

    It had a simple meaning, as could be understood from its name. It can help the user saturate from the world around them.

    In simple terms, one can turn themselves invisible, by altering their element around them by using this technique.

    Like how darkness mages can hide in darkness, light users can reflect the light and be imperceivable. Water mages can blend in water, while fire mages can simply blind one''s eyes by utilizing heat.

    The one the guard used just now was Air saturation magic. Using the flow of air to obstruct one''s vision.

    Since he said below A rank people couldn''t see past it. Then that must mean he''s a limit rank awakener like Myra.

    As this was the limit of saturation magic, it only worked on people who were one major rank lower than you. Others can still see u in as day.

    ''Man actually has some talent, it seems.'' Rio thought.

    Since learning saturation magic was considered hard even for the normal geniuses in the novel. It was quite surprising that some random guard from the viin camp knew about it.

    "What''s your name?" Feeling curious about this variable he asked the man.

    "I''m Ariosh Multaza, young master. The vice Commander of Alpha squads."  The guard replied with his name and position, feeling a little surprised by the sudden interest.

    ''Ariosh Multaza''

    ''Ariosh Multazaa''

    ''Ari osh Mul tazan''

    Rio kept thinking about his name, feeling he knew it from somewhere. But he couldn''t quite put the finger on it.

    Until he broke the name in 2 and it all came together.

    A smile came to his face as he realized who this man was.

    He was right, it wasn''t some random dude with a high talent that popped up in the viin camp.

    But someone very important in the novel''s mid end parts.

    This new discovery surprised Rio as he couldn''t believe his luck, or bad luck.

    After all, the man in front of him was actually one of the vessels.

    ''Aarosh Multazam''

    ''What a funny coincidence, to meet you here buddy.''

    Rio thought as he remembered the guy and his entire plotline from the novel.

    It didn''t take long for him to understand why he couldn''t remember the guy, or why he didn''t know he was someone who was working for his family.

    ''A vessel huh. This just makes things a whole lot of interesting.''

    Rio thought, as he was finding it hard to control his smile.

    Ariosh kept looking at Rio who was lost in his thoughts, he kept thinking what he was probably thinking about now, but he couldn''te up with anything.

    "It was nice meeting you Ariosh. Say hello to Asher for me. Tell him toe meet me when he''s free." Rio said and started walking towards A, who was curiously looking around.

    "Are you okay? That bad uncle didn''t hurt you right?" She asked, looking at his clothes, which were a little dirty due to all the smoke and dust he got after crashing with that aura punch.

    ''Looks like he covered her vision too.'' Rio thought, as he realized A didn''t see anything too.

    Well, this was actually better for him, as now he didn''t have to exin, why he was being extra cruel to those guys.

    He already gave today''s quota of good lessons to Reba. He didn''t want a repeat of dialogues like the world works like this, or wake up to reality.

    So he just changed the topic.

    "I''m fine. You see them, they''re nice people who work for my mother. So they saved me." Rio said, while pointing at the guards who silently stood around him.

    "Ohh" A nodded her head, with a smile. "You know just now, I couldn''t see anything for a while, I thought I was going blind, but then with _ "

    A was exining how while she was looking outside, suddenly everything just turned white and she couldn''t see anything. While Rio just kept nodding his head to her storytelling.

    "Told you he''d be fine." Esme said, whileing outside.

    "He still got punched, didn''t he?" Myra said, as she walked beside her, while supporting a middle aged man to walk alongside her.

    "If guards didn''te to help him, he would''ve been beaten more too." She finished her words ncing at Rio.

    "Come on, man was using aura, that doesn''t count."

    "Then you should''ve told me that before you ced the bet." Myra said, shutting all the argument with

    Hearing their argument Rio had a deadpan expression on his face, questioning if this is how his bodyguards should talk.

    ''And even cing bets on my beatdown. Tsk''

    ''I should really let some tragedies happen to them, so they can learn to respect the master''

    With that thought, a smirk came to his face, as his mind started going through their plotlines again, choosing a perfect yful dungeon event for them.

    ''That one will definitely do the job. Hahhaha wonder what their faces will be like, after that''s finished'' he thought with a devilish grin.

    There was one particr dungeon in mind that he knew would give them a run for their money. He couldn''t help but praise the author in his head for making that weird dungeon.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Esme and Myra, who were busy in their talks, suddenly had a chill run down their spine, feeling that the air around them was getting quite cold for some reason.

    ###

    A/N - yupp, those who do not respect the hierarchy, must be punished.

    Also what do u think vessels are? Quite obvious from the term, but who are they for? Whom will they hold?

 Chapter 152 Ayla Augustus - Bhoomis Brightest

    ?

    A ran in a hurry towards Myra, crying as she looked at the man who was barely able to hold his consciousness and not fall down. His feet were dragging on the ground as Myra supported his body with her mana. His clothes bloodied and torn, signs of torture evident on his skin.

    "Father, wh_ what happened to him?" A asked, her voice heavy with worry, as she looked at her father''s hands.

    She was too scared to even touch his hands, scared that she might hurt him, cause his fingers looked red and swollen.

    "He''s fine. Don''t worry." Esme said, as she came forward and pulled her away, while Myra went ahead and put the man carefully in the car, with the help of some guards.

    A kept crying as she looked at her father, Esme hugged the little girl, as she went to her knees. "He''s just asleep. Okay. Don''t worry. We''ll get him help, and he''ll be fine."

    "B_ but his hands an_ and his blood and _ "

    "Shhh. It''ll all be fine. You trust me right. We''ll heal him. So stop crying okay."

    Esme said, as she wiped her tears and hugged her tightly.

    She looked at Rio, silently conveying her meaning, he nodded his head at her in return.

    Getting permission, she put her hands around A''s head, as she used her mana, to put her to sleep.

    A felt a rxing wave pass through her body, calming her down. She felt a soothing feeling as she lost her consciousness and fell asleep.

    Esme picked her up in arms, and started walking towards the car.

    Myra was talking with the guards, exining the situation, and how they should handle the aftermath.

    She had told everything to Artemis, who told her to let things be and inform the rted authorities of Haven, instead of wiping every trace of it themselves.

    The few guards from Alphas remained there to help the authorities, or stop anyone else from entering the ce. While the rest of them followed everyone back to the mansion.

    Sitting in the car, looking at A who was peacefully sleeping beside him, Rio kept thinking about her plotlines.

    A Augustus, daughter of Augustus Mizerpitt, was another main heroine of the academy arcs. One known throughout the story for her talent in alchemy and theoretical knowledge of all kinds.

    The amount of time her brain helped the hero in bad situations, or when she helped him decipher singr books,or understand the runic techniques were simply too much for him to point out.

    At the beginning of the plot, the tragedy that defined her character had already happened, and she was depicted as a misandrist girl, hating on simply every man alive.

    Keeping her head low, only focusing on her studies and research all day, never showing off or standing out -that was her routine in the academy. She was like any other extra character of the ss.

    But that''s if one ignores the contributions she made with her potion making research.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    She was simply a maniac with only one goal in mind, to fulfill her father''sst wish. To make the potion her father couldn''t.

    Her father, Augustus Mizerpitt was the owner of a sessful potion selling business -Pandora''s Brews.

    But in his passion to create a potion that can help the general poption of Arcadia, he dedicated his everything. He kept trying, kept failing and kept trying again. Until he finally couldn''t even afford to try and fail anymore.

    After losing all his money, property, and savings, when he had nothing that could help him try again. Instead of giving up, he decided to bet it all on himself, selling himself, his parts for a chance to just try onest time.

    He had sold himself to an underground organization of some shady ck market, specialized in dealing with human body parts and other experimentations.

    Maybe he would have seeded, maybe he would''ve failed, but the people who agreed to help him with money never followed up with their promises, and simply started cutting him up.

    He only had regrets in his life, as he never thought he would be tricked and maybe killed in some dark underground prison cell.

    Looking at his inmates, who were in simr situations as him, he learned that instead of a single kidney like he promised to sell, his captors had no n to ever letting him go, or pay him anything.

    Knowing he got cheated, once he found a chance, he escaped his captors and came back home.

    He just wanted to leave everything behind and start anew with his daughter.

    Sadly, due to the destiny''s twisted ns, he couldn''t even get sessful even in that attempt.

    When he reached home, after all that hard work, he couldn''t even meet his daughter, but instead found the very people whom he was running away from.

    After torturing him and taking everything from his body that was of any use, the people left him to die, and went away.

    A, who came back at that time after searching the whole day for her father outside, only saw Lobo and his friends drive a car away from her house.

    Going inside, hopeful after seeing the lights on, thinking that maybe her father returned home. Climbing up the stairs, she only saw a mingled body of a man, whom she couldn''t even identify as her father anymore.

    A sight so terrible, that gave her nightmares all her life. A sight so horrifying that no daughter, no cross that, no one, should ever witness.

    In front of her was the body of a man whose stomach was ripped off, his face carved and scratched. His eyes, which were always so full of hope and light, were nk, as those bastards even plucked them away. Blood pooling all around him, the floor showed signs of his body dragging across the floor. Proving how much he must''ve suffered and how inhumane those criminals must''ve been.

    It was this incident that turned her into who she was in the novel.

    Despite seeing the worst side of humanity that day, and experiencing horror on the next few years, she still held on to her life. Kept living by herself, cause that''s what her father would''ve wanted.

    Maybe she would''ve given up, maybe she would''ve let go of everything, and she wouldn''t have to suffer anymore.

    But in another joke of fate, she had received her father''s diary. His journals where he wrote all his research and ns.

    That''s how she learned what really happened to her father. She learned about the potion he was trying to make, and why he wanted to make it.

    He wanted her to awaken. He wanted her to live a life on her own wishes. A life where she wouldn''t have to depend on others, and won''t be hated and taunted for just existing in the same world as those who awakened.

    In thest pages of that journal was the entry where he wrote what he was about to do next. He wrote how he failed and lost everything, but found another way and would try it. He was asking for her forgiveness.

    Though he never wrote it, A understood what her father did next.

    That''s why she dedicated her whole life to finish his father''s goal, to do what he couldn''t.

    Instead of giving up on the world who never helped her, instead of giving up on humanity who never plitied her, she chose to help it both.

    She never wanted another Augustus Mizerpitt to sell himself, so she took it upon herself that it never happens again.

    That''s how, a father who sacrificed himself, just so his daughter could live her own life, on her own ord. Became the very reason of her obsession.

    That''s how A Mizerpitt died, and A Augustus was born.

    The heroine, the daughter of destiny. The one who brought light into this dark world by burning herself like a candle.

    ''Brightest of the Bhoomi - what a fitting title for her indeed.''

    Was it for her brain or her will - for the first time, Rio couldn''t be sure anymore.

    ###

    A/N - If u forgot, I gave a preview of her father''s backstory from his pov in ch112 struggles of a desperate father.

 Chapter 153 The Story, The Saga And The Legend

    ?

    Rio left A with Esme and went back to the room prepared for him.

    His maid, Aina had been informed beforehand and had prepared a separate room for A and her father.

    While Esme stayed with A, watching her so she doesn''t get scared seeing the new surroundings. Myra went back to check everything about the man they''ve just saved.

    Even though the details of everything were to be handed to Haven''s own authorities, she still wanted to double check everything herself and make sure it wasn''t anything suspicious.

    With the help of Alphas, it wouldn''t be hard for her to know everything about Augustus and the criminals who were behind it.

    Watching A today, crying as she saw her father in that wounded state had surprised Rio a little. He couldn''t quite understand what he was feeling now, was he d that he avoided a tragedy for a little girl? Was he d that he saved a man''s life? Or was he d that he got the heroine in his debt -it was just all getting soplicated and confusing in his head now, that he couldn''t think clearly.

    Yes, he cared less about others than anyone else would''ve, but he wasn''t heartless.

    And now he didn''t know what to do next?

    He was responsible for the deaths of many since he came here in this new world. Yet this was the first time he actually saved someone -and now everything was just so blurry.

    Lying down in his bed, he kept thinking about the plotline of A, the sufferings she would''ve had to go through after her father''s death. The traumatic experiences that would''ve molded her into humanity''s next savior.

    Should he let her suffer all those horrible things just so she could grow and be what she was supposed to, just so he can use her to the maximum value. Or should he just let her be, and deal with other things himself.

    He had said to himself that A could be used so he can earn profits by selling potions, but now that he saved her father, would she still be the alchemist like she was supposed too.

    She didn''t have that drive, that motivation now, then can she still reach her full potential.

    The potion her father died for, the potion she dedicated her life for, that was something he already made and showed to half the kingdom with this birthday celebration.

    So what would this duo of father and daughter do next? They both have no drive, no target in life now, so what''s next for them.

    He didn''t regret changing the plotline, as leaving A alone for the protagonist was too big a risk. If ever he and Leon stood against each other, then her support could very well be used to turn the tides at some point.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But what now? What should he do with them now? He could hire A''s dad to work for ke family. Since he already lost his everything in Haven, and after his experience in that prison, he wouldn''t like to stay here anymore anyway. So he''ll agree to it.

    Especially after he learns that I saved him and ke family finished the potion that he''s been trying to make for years.

    ''So I should just take them to Damascus and leave them be.''

    In Damascus there safety could be guaranteed and if they''re close, I can just keep an eye on them.

    ''Her dad is also a great alchemist, so maybe he''ll bring some surprises.''

    He still had too many questions that he needed the answers for. Too many doubts he needed to think about.

    ''Maybe the system would''ve had some answers for me.'' He thought, as he realized there really wasn''t anyone else he could talk these things with.

    Ignoring all these thoughts as there really was no point in thinking about them now. There were 8 years for him to adapt to this world and all the changes it would bring to his personality.

    He needed to prepare himself for everything, for all of them who stood against him. For all those who stood against her, and this new family too.

    ''Things are only going to get moreplicated, the more time I spend here and the more attached I get to them.''

    Even if he tries not to, knowing how much everyone here loves Rio, even though it''s not him, their love and affection is affecting his mind too. He couldn''t be as ignorant towards their life as he used to be at the beginning.

    ''Man thinking too much really gives me a headache. I should just sleep.'' He thought and closed his eyes.

    Maybe it was the effect of hisziness, or maybe it was because of him being the follower of Nyx, the night sleeps have be far more peaceful to him after his awakening.

    ''Whatever happens, will happen, unless I change my mind.''

    Thest thought came to his mind, before he lost himself in the peaceful darkness of night and slept.

    The legend of thest viin had just been started.

    *

    On the other side, in royal pce, the news that the princess had sessfully awakened and even got a blessing from some goddess came as a surprise to everyone.

    The previous celebration which was put on a halt, due to the 2 sudden awakenings that drew everyone''s attention, was started again with even more vigor and excitement.

    The news that the Baron Heartwell''s son failed the awakening also reached everyone''s ears, but no one cared about that.

    Every guest was either busy congratting the king and the Royal family, or busy specting about the rumors of a miracle potion that helped the awakening.

    The people who followed behind the king, who heard the words directly from the king''s mouth, were using every connection they could pull to see what that potion was.

    Smart ones already connected the dots and started flocking towards the ke family, hoping to confirm their doubts, but all they got in return was a sly smile and no answer.

    No one neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, so it only fueled the curiosity of everyone.

    Away from the whole crowd, a middle aged man was sitting near a bed, his face etched with worry and sadness. The sight of his motionless son lying there was breaking his heart, and he felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness just sitting there and watching him.

    Some healers hade and given some potions and healing pills to him, but his son showed no sign of improvement, and it only fueled his anxiety even more.

    In just one night, his face had aged a couple years. And yet he didn''t know how to tell this news to his family.

    His thoughts drifted to his wife, who was still unconscious too. The recent string of misfortunes in his family felt like an unending wave of darkness crashing down on them.

    "Why is this all happening to me?" he whispered to himself, his voice choking with emotion.

    He was Darren Heartwell. The father of Leonard Heartwell, who failed his awakening few hours ago.

    Failing an awakening might not be a big thing for nobility, as they had enough resources to heal all the damage done by the failed attempt.

    And if one still had a chance to awaken again, they wouldn''t even care much. Since Leon was only 10 years old, he still had 8 years to try again and sessfully awaken.

    But the fact that the healing potions didn''t work on him deeply worried him.

    There have been cases where a failed awakening damaged one''s brain during the merging process, and that person fell into aa.

    If something like this happened to Leon, the mere thought of it sent shivers down his spine. He would do anything to prevent that fate for his son.

    He could just hope and pray to his Gods that someone would listen and would agree to help him.

    So here he was, sping his hands together praying for hours, so much so that his knuckles had turned white. And he got no reply.

    No gods were even looking his direction, and those who did only mocked him or asked unreasonable things in return for helping him.

    Unknown to him, a mark of the golden sun appeared on Leon''s forehead for a second and merged into his skin the next, leaving no sign of its presence behind.

    The story of the selected hero had officially started.

    *

    In a ce far away from the grandiose of Haven or Damascus, in a city called Harendale, a girl was looking out her windows with a sad expression, her heart heavy with sorrow.

    The bustling night market outside, which was still filled with people and the sound of their chatter which could be heard even in her balcony, was a stark contrast to her somber mood. Even the happyughter of the crowd and kids couldn''t put a smile on her face.

    Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her hands trembled with a mix of anger and grief..

    She clenched her fists, as she remembered everything that''s been happening in her life. Ever since her mother''s death, nothing''s been going right. Now even her brother was killed, and the sad thing is no one else seems to even care about that.

    The constant stream of loss had left a void in her heart, that just kept eating her up.

    She was Katherine Winston, daughter of Misha Winston, and sister of thete prophet Noah Winston.

    In the future, she would be known as the feared "Ice Enchantress of Schi," a powerful mage with abilities to manipte ice that surpassed imagination. Just one wave of her hand was enough to freeze entire cities and bury them forever.

    She was also the one who killed Urd, the goddess of fate. Because she sided with the viins and chose to stand against everyone in their war against the Devil.

    Not even Rio could guess, just how far had the destiny of this girl changed, because of his arrival.

    Or how, soon enough, they will both be entangled in the twisted game of fate that might as well rewrite the entire world.

    But that''s a tale for another time, and another me to tell.

    For now, they were both living their life, unknown and unaware of each other. And that is until the peace of this ce was gonnast.

    But for now, the saga of Katherine Winston, the sleeping beauty, had begun,

    ###

    A/N - Next chapter is the time skip. This one marks the end of this volume called the beginning. Now we start the second part of his journey, which will be - the academy.

 Chapter 154 Appreciations, Announcements & Questions

    ?

    THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER OF PLOT, but my words and thoughts and note for you alln/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    -------Appreciation-----

    Hii y''all,

    I just want to take this moment and say thank you to everyone single one of you. To those who gave me gifts, those who posted reviews, those who joined discord or asked me questions inments, those who gave me power stones or golden tickets, even those who simply lurk and disappear after reading the chapter - you all are just perfect and I love you all.

    I know it isn''t the best story out there, not even close. I know I''ve made a ton of mistakes, but I wanna say that I''m a newbie and I''m still learning with every chaprer of mine. So thank you, for sticking with me and giving me all the love and support you gave me. I''ll try to do better and write more for you guys.

    Love you all. ?

    (PS - if you still haven''t posted a review or gave me gifts, do it now.)

    ------Annnouncement---

    Now onto the topic -

    I''ll start a new story soon, a novel based on earth. It will follow the journey of Ali and all the other characters who are still left on earth.

    Ali will be the MC of this story obviously. Theme of the story is usual, a young master viin hunting down different protagonists in the apocalypse.

    Ohh yeah forgot to tell you, it''ll be a zombie apocalypse story. And we''ll start with things and events just where we left off in the prologue chapters, meaning just after Shiva''s death.

    In that story, you will also meet all the characters introduced in the prologue. You''ll also meet Shiva''s family members and will learn their side of the story too.

    What role will they all y, who knows? Will Ali be friends with them, or will he hate them after considering how they treated Shiva - who knows?

    Ali will have a system. And he''s gonna have a harem.

    Yes, he''s gonna be a catcher, who''ll catch all kinds of girls and heroines and viiness''s throughout the story. It''s a zombie apocalypse, of course he needs as many capable people as he can get. And who can be more capable than daughters of destiny.

    You''ve seen a glimpse of his character in the prologue chapters and in betweeen mentions here and there by Rio, but believe me, he''s a much more interesting character.

    ---------Question----------

    Before we leave for the next volume of this story, where we begin his journey in the academy. When the novel''s plot officially begins. When we see how he''ll act and react to the situations from the plotlines at their finest, and when the gods and fate finally start ying their tricks.

    So before we start the race to reach this saga''s second start. Let me give you all the questions and doubts that you may have. The hints that I left and stuff that will be answered ining chapters anding arcs.

    Do tell me all your theories and answers for the questions below, if you have any. If not, then you can skip this chapter, cause that''s all there will be. You can also be shameless and check thement section of this chapter, to see what your fellow LOANers thought of certain stuff.

    So here we go.

    Q. 1 Who are the following characters and what role will they y -

    The chained man

    The Queen

    The army of red eyes

    The Being

    Q. 2 What is the prophecy which followers of God Apollo believes?

    Q. 3 What''s the secret of Myra and her dagger?

    Q. 4 Why did Artemis and Rio fight in the novel?

    Q. 5 Theories about Fallen Gods & Stray Gods?

    Q. 6 What is Emergence phase 2.0? Why isn''t Rio changing it?

    Q. 7 What''s the mystery behind his brain and why can''t it be healed by even the potion from that Being?

    Q. 8 What''re the other items of the system shop? When will they unlock?

    Q. 9 What is the origin of system?

    Q. 10 If Psyche could see his soul, then can other Gods who have powers to see the future, see it? Is his fate still the same in their eyes?

    Q. 11 What is Rio''s innate ability? When will he awaken it, if he has one?

    Q. 12 How did Aina died in the novel? Who killed her?

    Q. 13 What is the plotline of Beliana Crescent? What happens after she leaves Schi?

    Q. 14 What is the plotline of King Casimir?

    Q. 15 What was the intrusion? Who did it? Why they did it? And how were they able to did it?

    Q. 16 What''s the effect of intrusion and memory wipe on the world will of Arcadia?

    Q. 17 Who are the Devil and Darkness? Why did the being changed everything just to stop them from awakening?

    Q. 18 How was Rio able to absorb sole energy?

    Q. 19 What is Eisjer Domain? What will protagonist gain from it & how will Rio steal it, without killing both barons?

    Q. 20 If protagonist has no halo, then is he really a protagonist? Isn''t he just a normal extra then? What sets him apart?

    Q. 21 What is the plotline of the protagonist''s mother? Who cursed her and why?

    Q. 22 What''s next for A and Augustus?

    Q. 23 Rio hadn''t killed anyone with his own hands yet? Who is the lucky one to die first by his hands?

    Q. 24 What is the n of King Maximus and Devraj Indra?

    Q. 25 The changes Rio''s interference brought in the first event, how will they affect him and the storyline?

    Q. 26 Who will save the protagonist this time?

    Q. 27

    Q. 28 What is the mark of sun on protagonist? What effects and reasons does it have?

    Q. 29 What will be the rtionship between Reba and Leon now, after their first rocky meeting?

    Q. 30 How many Gods and blessings would he have received before the plot starts 8 yearster?

    Q. 31 What academy does he ns to join - when and why?

    Q. 32 What will be the system''s reaction to all the changes he makes in the story?

    Q. 33 Whose personality did system choose & why is it affecting it now and how?

    Q. 34 What was the deal with his past life - Nashi, Ria, Queency and the girl he forgot? What happened between them?

    Q. 35 How will he die?

    --- I''ll await your answers.

    THANKS FOR READING MY STORY GUYS.

 Chapter 155 Time Skip - Dealing With Death

    ?

    8 yearster

    In the grand Schi Empire, was a city filled with people who only knew happiness and peace. A city protected by the mightiest of the warriors who maintained the prosperity of the city.

    From the lowest citizen to the richest person in the city, everyone was d to be living there, the city had grown into what could really be called a heaven.

    Yet in this heaven, today was a mournful day. For today marked the day when it lost its angel for forever.

    The entire ce was closed down and cloaked in silence. The streets were empty, paying respect to the one whoseughter they missed now. The people never celebrated anything today, as no amount of joy could overshadow the loss they felt on this day.

    At the heart of this city, stood a magnificent pce - a mansion so grand that even just looking at it once gave birth to the feeling of admiration and envy in others.

    Yet even the walls of this majestic mansion looked empty today, no servants or maids could be seen walking around as they weren''t allowed too.

    This heaven, which had heard and answered the prayers of everyone for years, had closed its gates to the world for today.

    In the center of this mansion in a big hall, a woman stood in front of a portrait.

    Her ck eyes fixed on the image that was drawn on the canvas. Seemingly lost in her thoughts, her expressions unreadable.

    For if this city was heaven and they lost its angel, then she was the one who ruled over it and lost her son.

    This heaven was called Damascus, and the woman who was staring at the portrait trying to hold back the tears, threatening to fall down, was the one managing it -Artemis Raven ke.

    "Mother, I''m leaving for the academy. You shoulde too?" A soft voice broke the silence, drawing Artemis back from her thoughts.

    "Hmm" Artemis merely nodded her head, unable to find the right words to respond.

    "It''s been 2 years, mother." The girl said, as she came forward and gently held her mother''s hands. "2 years since we lost him. He''s gone, mother."

    "I told you to never say that." Artemis'' voice held a mix of anger and grief, her eyes showing a warning to her daughter.

    If anyone else said that to her, then their heads would''ve been rolling down before they could finish their words. But she was her daughter. And that''s why, she was the only one who could say it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Staring at his portrait, stopping others from dering him dead, it won''t bring him back, mother. He wouldn''t have wanted it." Amelia persisted, her tone resolute and unwavering. Yet her eyes never oncended on the portrait they were talking about.

    "He promised, he promised me that he''d be back. He never breaks his promise, remember, or did you forget that too." Artemis said, her voice trembling with emotions.

    "I haven''t forgotten anything mother. But what you''re doing is pointless. We both know no one can survive a dungeon crash. And he was already _ "

    Amelia''s words brought back the memories that Artemis buried deep in her heart. What she said were the facts, but her heart couldn''t ept that. SHE couldn''t ept that.

    So ignoring her daughter''s reasoning, she simply waved her away, "You should go. Your friends must be waiting."

    "We all miss him, mother. But holding onto his memories won''t bring him back." Amelia said gently, her heart aching for her mother''s pain, but she had learned to bury her own feelings, hardening her heart to cope with the loss.

    As Amelia left the hall, her eyes brieflynded on the portrait of the white-haired boy she once called her brother.

    She scoffed at the sight of his smiling face. The memories of him and the memories of the day that portrait was made started flooding her mind. "Liar," she muttered. As she pushed everything back, her expression hardened again.

    Artemis remained standing there, her gaze fixed on the portrait, as a single tear finally slipped from her eye. Amelia''s words had hurt her deeply because she knew they were true.

    The working part of her brain always told her that he was gone. That she lost him for forever. But her heart always refused to believe that.

    Clinging to a feeling, a hope, a final straw of sanity that always told her that it''s not the truth. That he''s still alive, and that he''d be back one day.

    She just has to wait for him..

    ''You''re alive, right Rio.'' She muttered, as she wiped her tears away.

    The hope of his return was the only thing keeping her sanity intact. Otherwise she would''ve already lost herself in her pain and anger.

    -

    Aina was standing outside near the car, waiting for Amelia.

    It''s been a year since she started following Amelia as her maid now.

    "Where''s Esme?" Amelia asked, walking down the stairs, as she didn''t see her shadow waiting for her outside.

    "Th_that _ "

    Looking at her stuttering Amelia clicked her tongue, as she sat in her car. "Tell her, she better not do this again. Or she can resign from her post." Amelia said, and closed the car doors, while driving away herself.

    Aina, kept standing there looking at the speeding tail lights that left the smoke behind before disappearing from her gaze.

    She looked at her hands, where a ck and white bracelet was present. She gently caressed it with her hands, missing the one who gave it to her. The one whom she swore to serve for her life.

    Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself as she went back inside. Busying herself in her work so much that her brain couldn''t think of anything again.

    And yet, everytime her gazended on that bracelet, the thoughts of that little boy couldn''t help but bring memories of the past.

    Inside the car, Amelia''s hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Her eyes glistened with tears, that she refused to let out. [You know, you can cry if you want to]

    "No one asked you. So just shut your mouth and watch, like what you did 2 years ago."

    She said, as she closed her eyes tightly, forcing herself to remainposed and in control.

    The world kept moving on, while the city of Damascus continued to mourn its only heir. The same was the case with everyone rted to him.

    Everyone just chose to handle that pain in different ways. Artemis and Amelia too handled their grief in their own ways. While one chose to ignore it, the other buried it.

    ####

    Dungeon Crash - When a dungeon core gets unstable, or when it can''t fully merge with the world of Arcadia -It copses on its own. Disappearing forever from the world, leaving no sign of its existence behind.

    �� The known reasons for this phenomena is the destruction of the dungeon as a whole, or if one crosses the limits set by the world system.

    Ex - 1) if SSS rank hunters entered lower level dungeons those dungeons would crash automatically, cause the weak world of dungeons couldn''t handle the pressure of high ranks.

    2) if everything within a dungeon is destroyed, it''ll crash upon its own and disappear. This is why, when excavating resources from the dungeon or killing monsters in the dungeon one has to be extra careful, cause their greed might make the dungeon unstable beyond limits and make it go khwash vroom.

    �C The effects of dungeon crash on a person is believed to be a sure death. One can''t survive the distortion of space, and rejection ofws from the world, while being trapped inside.

    Over a thousand years of Arcadia''s history, only 4 people are known to have survived the dungeon crash, and even they died not long after their escape.

    A/N - Yes, YOUR MC IS DEAD. HE GOT KILLED HORRIBLY. his death so bad that even you can''t imagine it.

 Chapter 156 Effects Of His Death

    ?

    In the training hall, a girl was currently training herself to limits her body could handle. She was constantly pushing herself in the gravity 10 times more than what the world outside had.

    The pressure on her body was so much that even taking a single breath was getting hard, her heart couldn''t even pump enough blood for her body to hold on, her lungs feeling constricted as if someone had squeezed everyst bit of air from it. Soon her mind started getting foggy as it failed to do its job.

    ''Is this how you felt, master?''

    The face of her master, whom she was bound as a shadow, came to her mind. The one who gave everything to her, and the one whom she failed to protect.

    The guilt she felt over his death could never go away, no matter how many times she punished herself.

    She would''ve taken her life on the very next day, if her life was hers to take. But she couldn''t. Her fate wasn''t so nice to her this time.

    ''I''m sorry, I couldn''t protect you.'' She thought as she finally lost consciousness.

    When she fell unconscious, rm warnings started going off in the chamber, as the gravity returned to normal. The doors and vents opened automatically to give entry for the fresh air.

    Looking at her sister in that situation, a single tear rolled down Erza''s cheek as she clenched her fists.

    The memories of time they spent in this same ce, the fun and jokes they shared while standing on the side where she was -she remembered everything, as the images kept shing past her eyes.

    "Look after our sister for me, they''re both dumb." The whispers andughter of the past echoed in her ears as she gritted her teeth.

    "I''ll kill them. I''ll kill all of them." She swore to herself, as she went forward to help her sister.

    -

    Far away from the mansion, in an open ce that showed signs of crumbled buildings and destruction all around. A lone man stood between what seemed like a warzone, with nothing but lifeless bodies scattered all around.

    Holding a golden sword in his hands, which was dripping with the blood of the enemies he in just now. His face was devoid of any emotion as he wiped out so many people.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A soldier walked towards him with shaking steps, his voice stammering as he looked at the man covered in blood. "We_we found another location of their base, guild master. Should I send the squad nearest to them?"

    He was reporting the news, when the letter in his hand disappeared, along with the man in front of him.

    "They''ll pay for their actions. I''ll kill them all myself." A voice came to that soldier''s ears and he could only shake his head.

    The man who left was sword saint Agnus ke, wielder of the special sword Shade, and guild master of the shade guild.

    Ever since his son died, the man had been on a crusade against the terrorist organization known as Warzy.

    The people he killed who worked for it, the branches he obliterated which belonged to them -couldn''t even be counted on paper anymore.

    And yet the man showed no sign of stopping, hellbent onpleting the vow he took 2 years ago.

    After learning it was the people from Warzy, who were responsible for the attack on the Draugr Depths dungeon. Fueled with grief and rage, his vengeance had only be the guiding light of him.

    He had swore to himself back then, that since Warzy did it to start a war between the elite families and nobles. He''d start a war, a war against them. And he won''t stop until all of them were dead and buried just like his son.

    And looking at the chaos and corpses he left behind everywhere he went in the past 2 years, no one could take him lightly.

    Warzy, an organization driven solely by profits. It was made and run by people who were loyal to no one but themselves. They were terrorists who craved war as their passion.

    Their twisted personal craving for chaos so they can thrive in the destruction and make themselves more powerful.

    An organization, which once almost ruled the crime syndicates of entire Arcadia, had been reduced to nothing but mere vermin, rats hiding in their holes, not even daring to step out in the light now.

    They could do nothing, but only wait, wait until the golden sword of Shade sh their heads and end their misery.

    -

    In another corner of the world, a team of guards was roaming in therge desert.

    The seemingly endless sea of sand stretched as far as the eye could see, with no relief from the scorching sun. Their eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of life, or basically just anything except this sand.

    Each of them were carrying some equipment, machines and scanners, all seemingly searching for something.

    Their faces disyed exhaustion and frustration, for despite their best efforts, they had found no traces of anything.

    They were the squads of Alphas. For the past 2 years they only had one task, one mission - to look for the opening of the dungeon that disappeared after its crash 2 years ago.

    The squads whose only job was to stay in the cities and look after the business of Genesis, and fix some small issues if any arose. Have been roaming all over the world now. Searching leads and rumors for any connection with that dungeon.

    Since every dungeon in Arcadia was a part of some other world, their job was to search for a dungeon simr to the one where their young master was trapped.

    The rewards and profits promised for any news regarding these dungeons, have made countless men drool in their sleep. While those who dared to still keep any news about them secret, never woke up from his sleep again.

    "There''s nothing here, let''s move on to the next location." One of them spoke, and hearing his order everyone started packing their stuff and leaving this damned desert behind.

    Just to move onto some other damned deste ce.

    *

    In the floating inds of Astrire Venera, a group of certain individuals belonging to certain guilds were working together to clear a new dungeon that appeared a few days ago.

    It would''ve been cleared by the world association, as the inds were near their territory, but due to the unusual mana signature and irregr readings they''ve handed this dungeon over to the royal family of Schi.

    Though it was a loss, the world association didn''t want to take any risk, as they were busy preparing for the entrance examinations for their new academic year.

    Ever since the ident they had in the tournament of Draugr Depths dungeon, they''ve taken a huge hit in their reputation. And they didn''t want to take a chance of something simr happening in entrance exams.

    Royal family, who had no interest in the dungeon, just auctioned it to the guilds who paid more money. Giving them a chance to enter, while also dering that whoever can clear it, will own its rights.

    This is why a group of selected members from teams of top guilds came together to investigate it.

    And when the cracks of the dungeon finally opened, showing the spatial distortion that allowed entry of outsiders. Every one of them was surprised by whaty within the dungeon.

    *

    �Ctring tring truatraa�C

    Artemis was going through some documents in her office, when her focus was broken by the sound of themunication crystal ced near her. Looking at Myra''s name, surprised that she called her, when she was supposed to be in the dungeon.

    She picked the crystal by passing her mana into it. She waited for a few seconds but other than the sound of some huried breaths she couldn''t hear anything.

    "What is it?" Artemis asked.

    Myra took some deep breaths, and informed her. Her voice was heavy with emotions, as she couldn''t form words from her mouth "We_w_we found him."

    Her words made Artemis leave her seat as she stood up in shock, her heartbeat was racing uncontrobly as her hands started trembling, "H how _"

    She couldn''t finish her words as she was too scared to finish her question. How could she ask if he was alive, when that''s the only hope that kept her going for these 2 years.

    Artemis closed her eyes as she prayed to every God possible that the next word she hears won''t be what her heart couldn''t handle.

    "He_ he''s alive" Myra managed to utter the words, her tone still in disbelief over everything that she witnessed. Her words were shaking but then a smile came to her face as she informed her master again, this time in a confident tone.

    "He''s alive, master. And I''m bringing him home."

    The words echoed in Artemis'' ears as the in crystal in her hand dropped down, tears kept gushing out like a dam that was finally broken.

    "I knew you''de back." She said, as she started smiling loudly while the tears showed no sign of stopping.

    ##

    A/N - BOOOM now he''s Alive now. Why won''t he just die already. Sigh, guess now I''ll have to write more of his story.

 Chapter 157 Dead Who Refused To Die

    ?

    Artemis stood outside the room as she watched several healers going inside the room. Myra stood behind her silently watching them do their job.

    Artemis roamed her hands on the ss window as she looked at her son being treated. The fact that he was still alive and was finally back, was still like a dream to her. If not for the chance that her presence might disrupt the healing spell being cast upon him, she wouldn''t even leave his bedside, afraid that he might disappear again, or that she''d wake up, and this dream of hers would shatter again.

    The news of his return has been a shock to everyone as no one expected the new dungeon that the top 3 guilds were entering would be the one belonging to the same world as Draugr Depths dungeon, or the fact that they''d find him inside.

    -

    Few hours ago

    When the guilds entered the dungeon, they were presented with the sight of an apocalyptic world. From the signs of destruction and dead bodies around, they all guessed the inhabitants of this dungeon were creatures like zombies/Jiangshi or undead monsters probably.

    It looked like any other normal rank dungeon, that would''ve been an easier run for the people gathered to clear this. As they were all chosen from their guilds to eenterand kill the boss monster fastest, so their strength and capability wasn''t to be doubted.

    They were all about to split up and go their own separate ways, when they heard the sound of fighting in front of them.

    This surprised them, as this dungeon was marked as a part of a failed world by their world system, that meant that no one was supposed to be alive here, and everyone in it would be dead.

    <The failed world - a world which has been destroyed and the way of its existence altered. When all the inhabitant lifeforms of a world is finished, and no sign of reversal or new creation can be found, they''re named as a failed world.>

    But now hearing the sounds of fight up ahead they all had a simr thought.

    "Guess we found out why the dungeon readings were acting up." One of them spoke first.

    "Seems like it. The creatures here are all mindless monsters, and these dead ones aren''t supposed to fight each other." Another one of them came forward, while throwing a body of some mutated monster on the ground.

    "Might be a hybrid monster or some new boss monster. Let''s be careful."

    Another one of them said, and everyone nodded their heads in approval, as fighting an anomaly or hybrid monster was a dozen times harder than fighting other monsters of the same rank.

    Unaware of the situation up ahead they all took a careful stance and readied their weapons as they moved forward. Since if it was a boss monster, then whoever killed it first would own the dungeon rights, so all of them were even wary of each other too.

    Some distance ahead looking at the zombies gathered in arge area which obstructed their vision. They all used their mana and artifacts for finding themselves a higher ground or fly in the sky, to get a better look and understanding of the monster they were about to face.

    But what they witnessed next left them all bbergasted. Someone was fighting a horde of zombies numbering probably in several hundreds or even thousands.

    His form was covered in blood of the creatures he in from head to toe. Whether he was a man or a monster himself, couldn''t even be identified anymore. The only thing visible about him were the different colors of blood on him and his ck eyes which were a stark contrast to the red and purple all around him.

    All kinds of monsters and feral creatures jumped at him from all sides while he kept fighting them nonstop. His swords swinging wlessly as it cut through the creatures.

    The monsters he killed or the bodies he cut were creating a pile all around him, as he kept moving, jumping over them so he himself wouldn''t get trapped in them.

    After all, the ones he killed didn''t stay dead, just getting a little bit of the red sunlight was enough for them to rise again, crawling towards him.

    It looked like an unending war against him, as if the whole world of this dungeon was just after his life.

    And it was the truth, after all, one single life in the ce where there shouldn''t be any, would always get highlighted.

    The people from the guilds were only waiting to see what would happen next, when suddenly one of them dashed forwards to the hordes at an unimaginable speed.

    Myra dashed at the center with all her speed. Even though they couldn''t see the man, even though others didn''t know anything about him, how could she not know him?

    The ck eyes that kept darting all around the horde, the sword technique he used, the one that looked no different than just some random shes of a cornered prey to everyone. How could she not notice it, when she had seen it hundreds of times. When she had fought and learned it along with him for years.

    She red her mana even more, leaving behind afterimages as she went forward when she looked at him getting surrounded by the monsters that seemed alerted by the new presence of life all around them.

    "Noooooo"

    A scream escaped her mouth when she watched him getting drowned in the sea of dead who suddenly got a boost in their strength, sensing the danger all around them. While this scene confirmed her remaining doubts, since it proved this dungeon was exactly the same as the one where he was trapped. She couldn''t celebrate it, as the number of monsters surrounding him wasn''t something he could handle.

    She shed her sword in a hurry, creating projectiles that cut everything that came into their path, yet even they couldn''t cross the hundreds of creatures drowning him.

    She was about to use her ultimate technique which gave her a power boost for a little while. Though it came with some annoying drawbacks, but she didn''t care now, how can she, when he was right in front of her. How could she face her master when she hears that it was due to her, that she lost him again. How could she face herself in the mirror, if she watched him die in front of her?

    But before she could do it, a ck cloud of darkness started forming in the sky. The red sun, which was the source of power for those creatures, got hidden behind a veil of darkness that seemed to cover everything in its embrace.

    It was then that arge amount of mana started gathering in the center of the horde. The mutated monsters, who were more sensitive to mana started getting erratic as their attacks became more fiercer.

    They started killing their own kind, who came between them and their new delicious meal. Finally when they were about to reach, a loud noise of a st rang out, creating smoke that covered everyone''s vision.

    Some high rankers used their mana, only to witness an energy st made of darkness that burned everything it came into contact with.

    When the sky finally cleared itself of its darkness, everyone else could see what that loud noise was too.

    The st had created a massive crater in the middle, where nothing except the man with that sword stood straight.

    The dead which seemed unkible until now were torn and shredded to pieces.

    But other than that, everyone could now see the man covered in blood all this time. His clothes and all the blood covering his upper skin were evaporated along with the energy of that mana st. His shoulder length white hair were now the stark contrast between all the ground that was now covered in the blood and bones of the monsters.

    "What the hell?"

    "Is that _ ?"

    "How long has it been?"

    "It''s not some shapeshifter, right?"

    "Is that even possible?"

    "It''s him. This dungeon too _ it''s the one from back then."

    The murmurs of disbelief could be heard by everyone in the group, as the image of that man cleared in front of everyone. Without any surprise, all of them recognized him at a nce.

    After all, what happened 2 years ago, and the stuff that it led to, there''s probably no one in whole of Schi who didn''t know about him now.

    Everyone present there only had one question in their mind, about how this was even possible.

    But they didn''t have the time to ask or discuss that, as the limbs of the dead that were scattered all around the area, started moving around slowly, when the red sun started healing them again.

    One by one every guilds members dashed forward, killing the monsters who came in their path.

    While Myra ignored everything and went forward, leaving all the creatures to her teammates and members of other guilds.

    The man who fought tirelessly all this time, seemed lifeless this instant, as in front of her eyes, he started falling down to the ground.

    Before his body could touch the ground, Myra made a fireball and threw it in the sky, creating a shadow underneath him, where she teleported next instant.

    "You''re safe now."

    She muttered, as she held him in her arms, while crushing the chopped up head of a dead beneath her feet.

    "You''re safe."

    ###n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A/N -So he''se back.

 Chapter 158 The Extent Of His Injuries

    ?

    "How is he?" Artemis asked as she looked at the healersing out from the room.

    After seeing the condition of Rio''s body, Artemis didn''t dare to be careless and feed him pills or potions without any knowledge. There were too many unknowns and risks involved. And she didn''t want to hurt him even more than he already was, just cause she couldn''t wait a little bit more.

    "He''s alive." One of the healers came forward to inform Artemis, while the others from his group stayed behind.

    The man who came to talk with her, was wearing a full red cloak, the logo of a circle with a dragon symbol in the form of an infinity sign drawn in between, was apparent on his chest and back. This was the sign of the organization circle of renewals.

    Known for their neutrality and amazing talent in healing, they''re always the first choice in case something serious happens, and someone needs assistance in healing.

    Hearing the man''s answer, which just said, her son is alive, Artemis shot back "I know he''s alive. I''m asking when will he wake up?"

    "We can''t be sure." The man shook his head in refusal, and continued "As you might have seen yourself, his body''s constitution is very weak now. His body is simply blood and bones held together by his charred skin, and even they are tainted and broken."

    "Due to being trapped inside the dungeon for far too long, his blood vessels have already started showing signs of Essence Mismatch Syndrome[EMMSY]*1."

    "The bones in both his hands and left leg were crushed to powder, and the only reason he could even move them slightly was because he was constantly using mana to keep them in ce. From the looks of infection around the origin, he might''ve had them like this for at least two or three weeks. We''ve healed them, but the mobility and effects can only be seen once he wakes up.

    We can''t heal his skin before we deal with the effects of EMMSY, so the scars and burn marks on his body will have to stay like that for a while."

    The man, ording to his profession, started giving out a detailed summary of Rio''s situation. The more he spoke the more Artemis'' heart constricted in pain. But controlling herself she asked another question

    "What about his mana veins? Did they get damaged too?"

    The man thought for a second, wondering if he should tell her all that he found or not. But knowing if he didn''t say something, some other healers that woulde after him would tell her instead.

    After all, even though they were famous and reputed healers, it was unlikely that ke''s would just trust their words blindly without getting a second opinion or even a third from someone else.

    So he decided to be honest about everything.

    "All his mana veins had been worn out, while half of them even broken. The damage seemed recent. Which in my guess is probably due to side effects of some skill or technique out of his league. These damages are further making it hard for us to heal him quickly, cause if not careful enough, then his foundation might be gone."

    "I don''t care. Give him all the best pills and potions you need. If you guys don''t have it, then tell me and it''ll be arranged immediately." Artemis said, her emotion getting out of control the more she heard about his condition.

    Her heart couldn''t imagine how much he would''ve suffered while facing all this pain, all while being alone. Money, resources, connections -nothing mattered to her, if she could take all his pain away in this instant, then she was willing to pay for everything happily.

    But sadly, that wasn''t possible.

    The man, shook her head, his face showing a tinge of pity for the mother of his patient. He could understand what she was feeling now, but he had to inform her the truth, cause if not, it would only put Rio''s life in more danger. So he hid his expression and replied -"You''re not listening,dy ke."

    "We can''t subject him to highly dense mana or top grade potions. His body won''t be able to handle it. The only thing they will do is hurt him even more, instead of healing him.

    And let''s not forget the biggest hurdle his recovery faces - until we are sure of the corruption from the EMMSY, we can''t act rashly.

    Looking at the ck veins spreading across his back, it''s easy to see that his body has been fighting energy radiation for a while.

    And even then, from the looks of it, he had used techniques and skills that have exhausted all his mana reserves, leaving him vulnerable even more.

    So unless he wakes up, and we find out exactly how much the essence imbnce affected his mind and body, we can only wait."

    "So you''re telling me I should just wait and watch as he suffers?" Artemis asked, her voice heavy with emotions, as her throat felt constricted to utter those words.

    "That''s not what I meant,dy Artemis."

    "From what we know, due to being trapped inside the dungeon for too long, his body had been constantly exposed to the rampant corrosion of the Dungeon. We should be d that this was a rtively low ranked dungeon, or we might have already lost him."

    The man said, reminding her of the risks involved due to being in a dungeon for too long.

    "Being trapped inside a different world for this long at his rank, is _." The man said, but stopped himself, as the consequences of that were too dire and dirty to be mentioned lightly.

    "He''s lucky ,dy Artemis. If it was some high ranked dungeon, or even a different kind of dungeon, then by now he would''ve already lost his connection with our world''s source mana, and then there would be nothing left we could do.

    So please heed my advice and instead of hurrying the treatment, let''s give his body some time to rest and recuperate on its own. He persisted and lived all this time on his own. We shouldn''t waste his efforts due to our emotions. And don''t you think he needs a little rest too."

    Hearing his words and suggestions, Artemis managed to calm down a little, but still she needed to ask thest question

    "How long would he be like that? What if something happened or _"

    "You don''t have to worry about his safetydy Artemis. The major injuries his body had suffered, have already been cured. Physically from the outside he''s already fine. But to heal his internal injuries or the time he can use his mana again -for that we can''t be sure for now.

    It''ll all depend on his body''s recovery rate. And how far the radiation from EMMSY has corrupted his body. We can only hope that he wakes up soon, so we can prepare better treatment ns for him."

    Hearing his words, Artemis nodded her head in understanding. She expressed her gratitude that they were willing toe and heal her son without any dy.

    "Thank you for your help. House ke will remember this favor."

    "Please,dy Artemis. After what the young heir did for us, and for everyone 2 years ago, this is the least we could do for him."

    Artemis nodded her head, while stopping herself from thinking about that dreadful day again.

    The team of healers sent from the circle of renewals were highly sought after individuals and famous elders of the organization. And they all agreed to stay in Damascus until Rio''s treatment was fully finished.

    Knowing that it could probably take many days or even weeks for him to be healed, and out of danger, the preparations for their stay at the guest house near the main mansion were made.

    "Myra will show you the rooms that have been prepared for you. Please make yourselffortable. I''ll have someone notify you immediately if there are some changes in his condition."  Artemis informed everyone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Following her instructions Myra led everyone away, while Artemis stood outside the room looking through the window, gazing at Rio, whose body was floating over his bed, as the formations around him kept glowing.

    ###

    A/N - I''ll exin what EMMSY is and it''s effects and etc in detail, in the next chapter. For now, think of it like a disease born from the radiation, or long exposure to different energies of different worlds.

 Chapter 159 Essence Mismatch Syndrome

    ?

    The news of Rio''s return was known by top guilds and thus it was already safe to assume every noble or elite families had gotten this information with all its details too by now.

    Due to the presence of several reporters who were waiting outside the dungeon, to see which guild won and would own the dungeon now -some photos and videos of Rio being carried out were circting all over Arcadia now.

    Even though Myra had done her best to shield him, some pesky ones with weird blessings and skills had managed to capture his images.

    Rumors of his return were spreading faster than a wildfire, as several magazines and information guilds started selling this news everywhere.

    No one would believe that someone could survive a dungeon crash and then live inside a failed world for 2 years on his own without any support, while being in only the mortal ranks of awakening.

    And so this became the hot topic of debates all over Schi.

    The squads of Alphas were called back instantly, and those who were staying in Damascus, were given the orders to suppress the incident and false rumors as best as they could.

    The flock of people from various churches and believers have been surveying outside the mansion nonstop, and Artemis could hear all their nonsensical rambles once she spread her mana sense.

    Some were naming him the chosen one, calling him a miracle child or the gift of God. While some stupid ones took the controversial route and called it the plot of strays. Naming him the spawn of evil or some new monster impersonating as human.

    Theories of how he would''ve been able to survive were spreading nonstop too. Some believed it to be the influence of some new God, who could directly interfere and freely act inside dungeons too.

    Cause otherwise a human body could never handle the pressure of a dungeon crash. The people before who survived this, were much higher ranked and at that time, due to less number of dungeons and towers, the mana disturbances were considered lesser too.

    Like 300 years ago, when thest person survived the dungeon crash, he was a SS rank awakener, the one before him were S rank and Limit rank awakeners. Meaning Rio was the first person to survive a dungeon crash while being in the mortal ranks of his awakenings.

    The pull of space and rejection of the world''sws would simply rip a body apart in the gravitational pull. It was simr to what would happen if a human on earth jumped directly into a wormhole.

    Death is a definite answer, and yet the world heard that actually someone survived that fate. Other than God''s interference no one else could be sure of anything.

    And if Rio was really saved by a God, then that just paved the way for a hundred different theories and questions.

    <Since every God is tied to the world of Arcadia, and their powerse from the belief system of residents in Arcadia - Gods can''t interact or watch anyone they wish inside the dungeon. Because every dungeon is basically a separate world, normal Gods can''t influence it on their own ord.

    The only exception to this is the avatars and their chosen Gods -since in this case, both the god and awakener are bound together by the world system. This way chosen gods can freely watch, interact and interfere with their avatars even in the dungeon.

    This is why killing a normal awakener in a dungeon is a perfect blinding spot, as no gods are watching him. While killing an avatar is tough, cause their chosen god is always with them. And they can help their avatar by giving him some skills/blessings if they wish for it.>

    So Rio surviving meant he was definitely chosen by some God to be their avatar, that''s the only way gods can act in a dungeon.

    That, or the other theory which said that some gods have grown strong enough to bend the rules to their wishes, due to all the power of belief they received with Arcadia''s increasing poption and people''s faith in Gods.

    The guild members of Shade were mobilized within the Damascus city to maintain order and peace, as well as keeping everyone away from the mansion.

    No one was given permission to evene close to the ke mansion, and those who were found trying to sneak in or being smart, were regretting their decisions - cause innocent or not, they all got pushed back and knocked out.

    The incident from 2 years ago was a lesson learned by everyone. So neither Artemis nor anyone else wanted some repeat telecast of it happening again.

    After giving some more orders to her subordinates, Artemis braced herself as she stepped in the room.

    Agnus and everyone else from the family had been away from Damascus, so currently aside from her no one else was present in the mansion.

    She had sent Esme to bring back Amelia home first, instead of informing her everything through some message or a call.

    After slowly closing the door behind her, Artemis kept her own mana and presence suppressed as best as she could, to not interfere or trigger the formation in any way.

    Looking at him sleeping soundly, she closed her eyes too, as she breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn''t a dream.

    He was finally back. After 2 long years, she couldn''t wait, when he''d wake up and she could hear his voice or see his smile again. Only she knows how much she missed him.

    His body, which was unblemished till 2 years ago, was now riddled with scars of different kinds. The wounds of fangs and ws were apparent on his chest and stomach. While arge chunk of his right shoulder had the bite marks of some animal.

    His hands, which always used to be free of any callouses no matter how much he trained, were wrapped in bandages now, so the broken bones could properly align themselves back in ce.

    From the back of his heart ck lines were spreading towards his neck. The skin around the ck veins was dried and dead, falling down with the slight touch.

    The veins looked like a parasite growing off of him after sucking his life force.

    This was the effect of EMMSY - Essence Mismatch Syndrome.

    Simr to its name, it was a disease which one suffers after spending too much time inside a dungeon or tower.

    Simply meaning, after staying away from your own world for too long and living off of the energy of some other world, one''s body wouldn''t amodate 2 different kinds of source energy.

    Thus both energies battling each other, creating a reaction simr to radiation, which your body fights on its own.

    In the beginning when people didn''t know much about towers and dungeons, some greedy people started living in the emerging dungeons, marking them as their territory. To get the most benefits of the cleared dungeons, people started living inside them.

    Or when an outbreak from towers happened or

    something terrible happened outside, some cowards would hide inside other dungeons, waiting for the situation to calm down.

    This was a smart solution for a while, but the more time people spent in the dungeons, the harder it became for them to leave it. Their bodies had simply grown ustomed to the energies of that dungeon world, and they couldn''t handle the mana of Arcadia.

    If one even left the dungeon after noticing some changes, they would suffer from the reaction of different energies colliding in their bodies constantly, until one of them won and consumed the other.

    This disease had taken quite a many lives in Arcadia, as some dungeons and towers were extra dangerous cause they meddled with thew of time. Meaning altering the flow of time within the dungeon world and Arcadia, thus it became even harder to keep track of EMMSY.

    Essence Mismatch can be associated with 3 reasons - (1) the time one spends in some other world. (2) the strength of that world (3) the strength of the awakener.

    Low ranking ones can only spend around a week into a dungeon and after that their bodies would start to show signs of Essence Mismatch. While high ranking awakeners have high defense and high chance of survival against the imbnce of essence energy. Like S rankers could spend years in the normal weaker dungeons and they''d be fine. But a day in high ranking tower floors might give them the reactions too.

    The effects of EMMSY can cause a person''s rank to wither and their foundation to copse. EMMSY makes one''s body suitable for the new world''s origin, so Long term exposure can even cause permanent changes to your brain and body functions. Damage rted or originated by EMMSY is hard to heal, as it affects the soul of the awakener directly.

    For example - Rio spent 2 years in the dungeon of the dead, so his body had the essence energy of mana from his awakening and corrosion essence of the red sun. These 2 energies fought against each other, trying to consume and suppress the other.

    This is why, once his body lost its mana reserves, the effects of corrosion increased. Had he stayed there for more time, he would''ve lost all his strength, and mana which flows in his blood would''ve been suppressed and turned into death energy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In the end he himself would''ve been turned into the creature of undeath like all the residents of that world.

    And after that, even if someone brought him back to Arcadia, his body would simply be too far consumed by the parasite to be cured again. Or go through another round of EMMSY.

    ###

    I know this chapter was high on the info parts. But it was necessary to exin this, as EMMSY ys a big role in Arcadia. Since Arcadia is a junction where different worlds joined, then every dungeon nd it''s essence is different, so exining the consequences of it was necessary.

    ***** Now u know why people from dungeons can''t pop up and overtake Arcadia. And why Arcadians can''t just leave their own dangerous world and settle in a dungeon belonging to a peaceful world. - because EMMSY doesn''t allow it. EMMSY says stay where u r.

    --

    A/N- other terms for EMMSY

    EID - essence imbnce disorder

    EQFEVER - essence quake fever

    EMS - essence mismatch syndrome

 Chapter 160 Waking Up In A Different World

    ?

    It had been a week since Rio was brought back from the dungeon. The injuries of his have all but healed already, even the signs of EMMSY had started to subside again slowly.

    The healers from the circle had said that he should be able to wake uppletely soon, and that his body was showing signs of a perfect recovery. Which was surprising considering how badly he was wounded, but they ustomed it with the blessings he had received in the recent days.

    It seems his arrival was not only a surprise to mortals, but even Gods. Who have been watching him constantly now. Some had evene forward, giving him their blessings too.

    Even though he couldn''t use those to heal himself, his body''s Constitution has been getting better slowly. He didn''t look like a skeleton wrapped in skin now. His body was getting its previous glow back, with all the potions and nutrition he''s been getting supplied daily.

    Amelia was sitting inside the room, looking at her brotherying still on the bed. Her thoughts and emotions hidden behind her expressions, making her seem lost in her own thoughts.

    The memories of thest time she saw him came to her mind, reminding her of how she fought with him and how angry he looked at that time. She had been thinking about that for a whiletely, wondering if he regretted it too, as much as she did now.

    For the past 2 years, the guilt that thest memory of his she had was one where they both fought like that, had been weighing on her mind a lot. And the thought that he died with that anger, when she couldn''t even say sorry or mend their rtionship has been haunting her a little.

    This is why, when she heard he was back, that he was alive and fine, she didn''t know how to react. She was happy, so so so happy that he was safe now. But the worry that he might be still angry at her or even hate her had been eating at her heart now.

    And the more time she spent near his bedside, watching him sleeping, the more her anxiety grew.

    She still remembered the first time she saw him after he was brought back, even though the injuries of his were healed by then, the scars of it were still visible on him and she only felt even more guilty watching them.

    After all, she was, partly responsible for everything. If not for her, then he wouldn''t have _.

    [Watch out]

    Her thoughts were stopped when she read the notification. Before she could understand anything, she felt somethinging towards her head, she lifted her arms to block it by instinct, when she felt someone grabbing her hand and twisting it.

    Surprised she looked down, only to see Rio who was staring at her dead in the eyes. "Brother "

    Before she could say something more, a kick connected to her head.Though just before the kicknded, she used her mana to form a shield around her, but she was still a step toote, as the force behind that kick, still knocked her head against the wall.

    Ignoring the little sting she felt, she looked at her brother, who was standing on his bed, looking around everything.

    "Brother, you''re aw_"

    She was saying something when she was interrupted again as Rio kicked a pillow to her face, she raised her hands to catch it, but while her vision was blinded for a second, she felt a kick to her lungs that pushed her back some steps.

    ''What the hell''

    [Stop trying to talk to him. I don''t think he knows where he is. Just knock him out again.]

    The same notification from her goddess rang out in her ears, but she ignored it like always.

    "Brother, it''s fine now. You''re home. You''re not in the dungeon anymore."

    She said, as she started walking towards him with her hands in the air, showing him she had no intention of fighting or attacking him.

    She was trying to calm him down. When he simply lunged forward, swinging his hands at her. Amelia dodged his swings, as she kept trying to calm him.

    Soon he started using his mana to enhance his speed and the force behind them. He backed a step as he swung his arm at her head, which just cut through air because of the increased gap between them.

    His eyes darted towards his hands where his swords should''ve appeared from his storage ring, but looking at the empty fingers, he red at Amelia with confused eyes. The realization that he was weaponless seemed to frustrate him further.

    "Who are you?" He asked as he took more steps back.

    "I''m Amelia, your sister, remember."

    "You''re not in the dungeon anymore, everything''s over now. You''re home." She said, as she slowly started walking towards him.

    "Amelia" Rio muttered slowly, as he looked down. He soon started taking deep breaths, Amelia came near him, she put her hands on his shoulders, as she said "You''re home brother. It''s all _"

    [Amelia, stop _ ]

    The words came to a sudden halt, as she felt a grip around her throat. Rio choked her tightly, as he said "Never use her face _ to trick me. I told you I''ll kill you, if you do."

    His cold words ended as the warning, when he started to increase his strength and pushed whatever mana he could feel inside him to kill her.

    Amelia struggled to free herself, when he lifted her up from the ground. Her face was getting red in color, as she felt trouble breathing.

    [Back off]

    A sudden gust of pressure hit Rio, making his steps falter, but he still kept his hands around her neck, as he channeled his aura, to fight the pressure. Cracks formed under his steps but his grip didn''t get any loose.

    His fingers started turning darker. Panic surged through Amelia as her vision started getting blurry, she struggled to free herself, but to no avail "B rro ther "

    "N _ever again" He said.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Suddenly the doors of the room opened and saw what''s happening. She disappeared from her ce as she came forward and knocked Rio out. She caught Amelia, while she started coughing and struggling to breathe.

    "What _what happened?" Amelia asked, looking at her mother, who was now helping Rio back to bed.

    "The aftereffects of EMMSY. He just woke up in a world different than one his body grew used to. His brain probably hasn''t registered itself to its surroundings. He''s probably confused. The healers had warned us that something simr might happen." Artemis said, as she took out a potion and poured it in his mouth.

    "But he was awake and _" Amelia said, as she remembered how he didn''t even recognize her or showed any emotions on his face.

    "Don''t worry. These symptoms are normal. He''ll be fine soon enough." Artemis came forward and hugged Amelia, whose heart was beating rapidly even now. "He''s gonna be fine, I promise."

    Her words calmed Amelia, as she hugged her back. Her eyes focused on Rio again as she wondered if things could ever go back to the way they were.

    ##

    A/N - Next chapter he wakes up. And then we start the plot.

 Chapter 161 Im Finally Back

    ?

    Another week had passed since then, and as the healers had theorized the aftereffects of EMMSY were cured too. The damage to his soul and mind wasn''t hard to handle as one of them possessed a blessing that had the reversal effect on them.

    With constant aid of that blessing and help from other soothing potions and pills, he was finally cured. The ck veins and dried skin behind his back had been gone now. Though if looked closely one could still see the minor stretches on his new skin, but with time they would be gone too.

    He hadpletely woken up 3 days ago, and the scene where he realized he wasn''t in that damned dungeon anymore was just tear jerking to watch for anyone.

    The relief in his eyes at that moment was evident, when he hugged Artemis and cried his heart out.

    To others it looked normal considering what he had been through, but to his family and everyone who knew him from before, the sight was anything but normal.

    None of them had ever seen him breaking down like that, and every tear he shed only added the guilt and pain in their heart, as they assumed all the things he would''ve gone through.

    His scars had all been gone, except a few which had etched deep and needed some more time for a better removal.

    The injuries of his mana veins and damage had been healed too, as once he woke up, he could use his own blessings to hasten the process of healing.

    Surprisingly one of the blessings he received was best suited for it. As it hastened the potions effective duration by half, in return for reducing its results. (Ex. at bottom)

    So where his previous recovery time was considered way over a month, was reduced to mere days, once he got control over his mana again.

    His rank had dropped by 3 whole levels after curing the EMMSY. It had now been stabilized at rank D. A big dive considering he was almost on the brink of reaching C+ two years ago.

    But no one cared about that. Because with his talent and the immense resources his family had, no one could doubt he won''t just catch up to that level and surpass it in a year or two.

    The healers had gone back yesterday, and he was now mostly spending his time in his room, where half his family always surrounded him.

    Everyone had been taking their time chatting with him, helping him with every little thing. The smile on their faces and his face never once withered whenever their gazes met.

    People who knew him and learned of his return, had been eager to meet him too, but no one was allowed any entry in the mansion. Those who informed them of their arrival and desire toe meet him, were refused through the same means, and those who directly came to Damascus were simply left alone, as no one invited them.

    The frenzy of rumors outside had died down a little, since even after 2 weeks ke family didn''tment on anything. Since they didn''t announce it, no one from any other guild or noble family made any announcement either.

    Plus all the media and reporters had found a new topic to talk about, as the new academic year was about to begin, and the entrance exams for all the top academies were starting simultaneously.

    Currently he was sitting in his room, going through what seemed like a tablet of sorts, looking at all the news reports and stuff that happened around the world while he was gone.

    His body, though recovered, was still in need of proper rest, so he couldn''t do much outside. Other than walking a little here and there, he wasn''t allowed to leave his room. And actually he was d for it.

    This really was the treatment and something that he missed dearly in the past 2 years of hell.

    "It says grandma will being back to Damascus."  He asked as he read an article in some magazine.

    Rio stood up from the sofa and went towards the window, opening it with a pull. The gust of cold wind struck his face as he closed his eyes to enjoy the peaceful moment.

    "She is. Master said she''ll be here by next week. She didn''t want to miss Amelia''s entrance ceremony." Myra replied as she prepared his bed.

    "And when is that?"

    Rio asked, looking at the full moon in the sky, it was beautiful, and yet somehow it still felt weird to see it wasn''t red now, like the one in the dungeon.

    "The exams are happening now, and then a week for them to decide the results, so the ceremony will probably take ce after 10-15 days." Myra replied, as she stood beside him.

    ''So I still have some time,'' Rio thought, as he remembered the plot of the novel that was about to begin.

    The plot of the novel started when the entrance ceremony was happening and the results for the admissions were announced to the whole world.

    "Did Amelia finish her exams?" Rio asked.

    "Yes. She had herst exam the day we found you." Myra replied.

    Rio nodded his head hearing that. Though he spent his time with all of them, no one asked him about his time in the dungeon or how he managed to survive there for 2 whole years. They wanted to give him enough time and space where he could share it with them when he was ready.

    Talking or asking about that would probably bring back bad memories, is what they all thought. That''s why they even chose their words carefully so as not to say something that might upset him.

    "Which academy does she n to join?" Rio asked.

    In Arcadia, since all 5 top academies gathered together and built the world association, they all apparently have the simr requirements for entrance and simr rules to follow.

    The world association conducts exams all over the world at the beginning of the new year. Those who pass the exams and meet the threshold of entrance, are then given a choice to enter the academy they wish for. Obviously the final decision to let them enter or not, depends on that academy.

    But the examinee can still put his requests for the first choice or second and third and so on, during the forms they have to fill before exams.

    Many choose the academy based on their own preference, most go for the ranking and levels, while some still choose the ones which is nearest to them or where they have some connections and sway.

    "She''s choosing sunshine academy." Myra said.

    Her words surprised Rio, as sunshine was ranked 3rd among all the 5 academies. But that wasn''t what was concerning, Amelia as every other important character was supposed to join the Zenith Academy. If she joined some other academy, how will she evere in contact with the protagonist or other plotlines.

    "Is everyone still ming the academy for what happened?" Rio asked, as that incident back then was the only exnation for this change.

    "Yes. It was their fault." Myra said, in a straight tone.

    Had the world association taken the threats from Warzy seriously, had they provided better security for the exams, had they given more thoughts about holding that tournament in that damned dungeon - none of this would''ve happened.

    And most of all to me for everything, was Zenith academy, who couldn''t do anything, despite having the most power and prestige among everyone. Had they tried to better protect their students instead of ying power games within themselves, not a single life would''ve been lost in that dungeon.

    But they didn''t.

    And the results were in front of the whole world to see.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio didn''t say anything, as he understood how she would''ve felt. He too felt anger at them, at everyone and everything.

    but unlike his past self which relished in the events he altered, he had learned his lessons. He wasn''t ignorant of the luck, fate or heavens anymore, he had learned that there were things he could and absolutely couldn''t change. And he understood the consequences of trying to change them better than anyone else now.

    Amelia shouldn''t join any other academy. She couldn''t.

    He needed to fix it. Fix the mistakes he made 2 years ago, and for that he had to change everything back to the way it was.

    ''Can''t believe I''m finally back. And this is the first thing I have to worry about.''

    ###

    Blessing - If a normal healing potion healed his body from 10 to 50 ho in two hours. Then after he used his blessing, his hp would be increased till 30 in one hours. (And then the potion loses its value. It seems normal for now, but I''ll show u it''s usester. For now just say, he can drink more potions in less time. Without them opposing or stopping each other)

    ##

    A/N - Let''s start the plot now, shall we.

    Also I haven''t thought of a name for that blessing or which god/goddess gives it to him. So suggest me ur suggestions, if u have any

 Chapter 162 Glimpse Of The Dungeon

    ?

    The next morning instead of just sitting still in his room, waiting for Artemis or Amelia toe to him. Rio decided to take a walk.

    All this sitting and sleeping had been fine and fun, but after doing it too much for the past 2 weeks, his body was now getting stiff.

    ''Never thought I''d be happy to leave my bed on my own wish huh.''

    Rio thought as he started walking towards the garden. Esme started following him as soon as he took the first step out of his room.

    Looking at her face, which had that bright smile on her face as she maintained her pace with his. He couldn''t help but smile too.

    She''s been like that ever since she returned to her ce as his shadow a few days ago.

    Same was the case for Aina too, who''s probably working hard on his breakfast or other things by now.

    After his supposed death, Esme and Aina were told to follow Amelia. Aina''s transfer was natural, as she''s the next head of housing staff, and Amelia was the sole sessor of the duchy after his death. But Esme being told to be Amelia''s shadow, was a surprise for Rio.

    He really couldn''t grasp how Artemis even ordered such a thing, or how this silly vamp even agreed to it.

    He still remembered when she asked his permission to be his shadow again a few days ago, her expressions at that time were priceless. Had he teased her a little bit, about why or told her no, there was no doubt in his mind that she would have started crying right there.

    After all, she still med herself for not protecting him 2 years ago, even though everyone said not too.

    Esme probably didn''t have to convince Artemis and Amelia much, as they both could guess her decision andplied with her wish. And besides now that Erza was all grown up and finished her training, she could take her ce to be Amelia''s shadow rightfully.

    It was decided years ago that Erza would be her shadow, as both girls had be quite close due to their simr age and tastes.

    Though Rio had his doubts about Her personality and capabilities, since she was dead in the novel. but surprisingly after drinking that pura corpus potion and some other pills, which Rio just made her eat on a whim - her awakening went sessfully.

    Her talents and skills weren''t as surprising or outrageous as Esme, but she was loyal to Amelia and wouldn''t hesitate to die for her, Rio let it slide.

    After all, the one, who was Amelia''s shadow in the novel, was someone Rio already dealt with years ago.

    There was no need for him to keep pests around, who keep forgetting their ce and think they''re the master, just cause there''s no leash around their neck.

    Her advices and suggestions weren''t really suited for the version of Amelia, Rio was hoping for her to be. If he wanted Amy to survive her future troubles, he needed to prepare her beforehand. And that girl would''ve simply been a hurdle in that process.

    ''I also need to take care of that bastard, once and for all. If not for him, that incident from the dungeon never would''ve happened.''

    Rio thought, as a face of some annoying bug came to his mind, who ruined all his ns for the plotlines and had him go through that hell in the dungeon.

    Rio was lost in his thoughts when Esme patted his shoulder from behind, bringing him back to the real world.

    "We''re here, master."

    Looking around, he noticed how he was already at the boundary of the garden.

    "Stay here." Rio said, and walked forward.

    He just kept sitting there, enjoying the scenery and beautiful scent of flowers. Lying down on the grass, looking up at the flowers and trees covering the blue sky.

    The orange hue of the sunlight that started rising from the east was giving a warm touch to the environment.

    It felt so peaceful that for a moment he even forgot what he was doing, as he closed his eyes to enjoy the ambience.

    And that was a mistake.

    Cuz when he opened his eyes he found himself in the dungeon where everything started getting haywire - Draugr Depths dungeon.

    The dungeon which had a simple meaning just as its name suggested - Death Valley or the revenant''s realm.

    The morning sun which was peacefully surrounded by orange hue till now, was now blood red, as it spread a heat that made one itch their skin in annoyance, as if every ray touching you were a needle hurting your skin.

    The whole area around him was silent, empty streets and a ruined city were creating an atmosphere that he always only saw in movies back on earth.

    The rotten corpses of every creature roaming, was creating a foul smell, that just made one cover their nose in annoyance. The roads were blocked with crashed vehicles and crumbled buildings, as not even a single sign of life was present anywhere.

    Trees had dried up, their branches withered and leaves dried, the silent hissing of air was carrying the sound of the dead roaming all around them. The noise of their screeches and crashing and bones rattling was the only thing audible to them.

    "Rio, let''s go. We should hurry, at this pace we''ll be thest one in this race."

    His thoughts were broken when he heard the sound of a girl calling his name. She had ck hair, tied in a single braid. She was wearing the silver armor the academy gave to everyone before they entered the dungeon.

    "When will you start to take things seriously? You know we can''t lose this, right?" She said, as swung her spear, creating a projectile attack that sliced an overgrown dog in 2 pieces.

    Rio watched the pieces hit the ground, as instead of what he imagined, green blood started leaking out of the creature. Increasing the foul smell in the area by another degree.

    "Why''re you even worrying about them? Even if by luck, anyone beat us in this challenge, do you think they can defeat both of us in the finals? You should just rx instead." He said, as he pulled out a ck mask from his storage ring and put it on.

    "Seriously, I don''t know if the real challenge is to survive the monster hordes or this bad smell."

    The girl said, as she covered her nose. Even though the dog was more than 10 feet away, it was enough to nauseate people who weren''t used to it.

    "Ukhhh it''s killing me."She said, while being a little surprised that he didn''tin about it before her. But She got her answer when she turned to look at him and saw him wearing a mask that covered half of his face.

    "Then you should''ve brought the things I told you to." He said with a smile, as he started walking ahead, leaving her behind.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The girl ran behind him, as she threw her arm over his shoulder, "Come on, I know you got something for me too. So why don''t you just give it to me now."

    "How about a no." He said amusingly, while running a little ahead, when she tried to pull his mask off.

    "Come on. We''ll only face more hordes of them moving forward, you really didn''t get me anything." She asked, as she disappeared from her ce and reappeared in front of him.

    "Nope. Missy should''ve checked my messages and bought em herself." He said, as he waved his hand, creating a de made out of darkness, that pierced another creatureing their way.

    "You really didn''t bring any. Come on, I''ll pay you back." She said, as she pulled her handkerchief and used it to cover her face, only for it to fail to do anything. Though her perfume on it, made the smell go away for a second, as she took a deep breath, finally enjoying the flowery scent.

    Rio didn''t say anything as he smiled behind his mask, and waved his hand, an air projectile went forward shing the 3 zombies who were crawling towards them from the side.

    He then increased his pace, knowing the curses that wereing his way. And soon they came - "You_ you did that on purpose, didn''t you?"

    "What?" He said.

    "Don''t act innocent. I can still see your smile behind your mask. You just killed them to spread that foul smell everywhere." The girl said, as she pulled her handkerchief off.

    The perfume from before did give a momentary support, but soon it became filled with that putrid smell of rot. Now it was even leaving that weird sour taste in her mouth, that was just annoying.

    "I just killed them for points. You''re the one who wanted me to take this seriously." Rio said, as he tried to control hisughter, looking at her furrowed brows and expressions.

    "Come on. Are you really doing this? Just give me the mask, I know you got extras." She said, as she stopped moving, noticing at least a dozen zombies in the front.

    "Fine, but you better buy me a lunch at Dorsia. here take it." Rio said, as he brought out a pink mask from his ring and passed it to her.

    "Pink. Seriously. You know I hate this color, right." She said, in a little annoyed manner as she put it on.

    "Yupp, that''s why I bought it." He said with a smile.

    "Now let''s start the hunt shall we?" He added.

    Seeing him unsheathing his swords, she took her stance with the spear too, as she added the bet -

    "Losers does the presentation of the elections."

    "Better start cooking up excuses to miss your sses, missy . Cause I ain''t losing." Rio said, and disappeared from his ce.

    "Says the loser, who lostst time." She said, as she disappeared from her ce too, leaving behind an after image and cracks on the ground.

    "Bro _ther"

    "Wake up, brother."

    "WAKE UP"

    ###

    A/N - Who do u think this new girl is? Is she a heroine, viiness, side character or someone from earth. And what happened in that dungeon?

 Chapter 163 Shadows Dont Get Breaks

    ?

    �CWake up�C

    The sound of someone''s shouts woke up Rio, as his thoughts of the past stopped. He opened his eyes, as he looked at the sky.

    Seeing the normal sky and sun, calmed his mind.

    ''Fucking dungeon''

    He cursed that damn dungeon that refused to leave his mind.

    "Brother, wake up already. Didn''t mother warn you not to do this? Why''re you even sleeping here?" Amelia''s voice broke through the silence, her presence casting a shadow over him. He couldn''t help but smile at her familiar face.

    "Morning Ames." Rio said, as he smiled and sat up.

    "Seriously, even after all these years, you''re still theziest guy I know." Amelia said, as she sat beside him, when he signaled her.

    "Come on. I''m not thatzy. Right?"

    "Yeah yeah." Amelia rolled her eyes yfully.

    "So, where were you yesterday? Mother said, you went out." Rio asked, changing the topic.

    "Yeah, Ba came with Bernhardt and others. They wanted to meet you, but since mother refused everyone''s entry, we just met at the restaurant and talked." Amelia replied.

    "How are they?" Rio asked, curious about what''s happening with all these old acquaintances of his.

    From the news articles he read -after that incident back then, even the Royal Family were partially med for the breach in security and loss of lives.

    Though it all led to nothing, as what''s done was done, and people forgot all about it after some time. King did some charity and killed some scapegoats in a dramatic way and that''s all it took him to change everything back to normal.

    But who knows what''s been going on in the Royal Pce now, since it''s been 2 years since then. He was actually curious about the situation in Haven, since the plot was about to begin.

    "Everyone''s fine. They gave some gifts and messages for you, wanna hear them." Amelia said, as she prepared to bring them out through her storage ring, but Rio refused her.

    "Nah, not in the mood." He said.

    He didn''t want to read Bernhardt''s message in front of anyone. After all, unlike others, Bernhardt wouldn''t talk or write about formalities for him. If he is still the same as when hest met him, that is. So he decided to check them, when he''s alone. "Just send them to my room, I''ll read themter."

    Amelia nodded her head. She looked at Esme standing a little far and said -"She''s really acting like a shadow now, isn''t she?"

    "Yeah. She''s been following me three steps back ever since I woke up. You didn''t bully her, did you."

    "If anything, I was an even better master than you." Amelia smirked, with a little proud expression. "She was a bad shadow though. Did you know she took holidays on her own wish? And I had to drive my own cars around." She continued with a smile, her words making Esme flinch, but she stayed silent. After all, it was true.

    "She did what now?" Rio looked back at Amelia, his amused tone from earlier turned to surprise.

    "What?" Amelia''s smile stiffened when she heard him speak.

    Ignoring his sister, Rio turned back at his shadow and asked "Esme, is that true?"

    "Master, that _ "

    "I don''t need your excuses, Esme. Did you leave her alone or not?" He asked seriously, as his calm demeanor now gone, reced by a stern expression.

    "I did, master." Esme replied, her words barely above a whisper.

    Her words only fueled his anger, as he clenched his fists. His nails, digging into the garden grass. But he ignored it, as he said angrily "Did you forget what a shadow''s job is? Or are you taking things too lightly now?"

    " _ " Esme had no words as she hung her head low. Amelia, seeing this scene, tried to intervene by saying "Brother, I was just joking."

    "Not now, Amy." Rio said, stopping her from speaking further. He looked back at Esme and said "Answer me."

    "I apologize, master." Esme said Apologetically, as she went on her knees.

    "What did I always tell you? Did you forget that too." Rio said, ring at Esme.

    "I remember, master." Esme said, her eyes still fixed on the ground. She remembered what he always used to say, even thest time when he met her, before that incident. He ordered her to keep Amelia safe. And yet when he was gone and she was given that job, she neglected it. The disappointment and anger she could hear in his voice was only making her more guilty now.

    "Then you ignored them, because I was dead. Is that it?" Rio said.

    "Master _ " Esme looked up at the mention of his death again. Her eyes were scared, but when she met his gaze, the one which used to be filled with care and gentleness, was changed with only anger now. "I _ I''m sorry master."

    Ignoring her apology, Rio kept ring at her as he shouted in a cold tone "If you can''t do your job, you can leave. There are many others who_"

    "Brother. Enough." Amelia said, as she shook his shoulder. "You can leave us alone Esme. Just wait outside."

    She said, turning towards Esme, who was barely holding back her tears.

    Esme stood up, bowed and left. Her head still hung low, as she was now too scared to now meet his gaze again. The disappointment in his eyes cut deep, and even though he didn''t finish his sentence, she understood what he was going to say. And that hurt, a lot.

    "What was that?" Once Esme left, Amelia turned towards Rio, whose eyes were still fixed on the entrance where Esme left. She could see he was angry, too angry over a little thing. She could guess why he might be worried for his safety, but she was still in Damascus. And no one would hurt her here.

    "Nothing." Rio said as he tried to calm himself.

    The second he heard she was out alone, all the plotlines of every scenario started ying in his head.

    He had changed stuff, a lot of it, when it came to her safety, but that also meant that there were now chances where fate could pull some pranks and he wouldn''t even know.

    If she was alone and at that time, she met protagonist or worse those bastards from the cult _

    He wasn''t nearly on the level to solve those issues. If somehow that plotline went haywire, all he did, all he suffered and sacrificed for, would just turn out to be a waste.

    "I need you to tell me if Erza ever does that. Shadows don''t get leaves. Remember that." Rio said, as he turned to her.

    His stern words and serious expression made Amelia bury her questions that she wanted to ask, as she just nodded her head and stayed silent.

    They both just stayed still for a few minutes, lost in their thoughts.

    "I''m sorry" Finally Rio broke the silence as he spoke.

    "So wanna tell me what happened?" Amelia asked, seeing he was now back to his usual behavior.

    "Maybeter."

    "Hmm" Amelia nodded her head. She hesitated for a moment, but then she said "Can I ask you a question?"

    "When did you need permission from me? Ask away."

    "Are you angry at me?" She asked slowly, while gathering her courage.

    "Of course not," He replied immediately.

    "But you were angry at me. Back then. You know what I''m talking about right?" Amelia said, hesitantly.

    Hearing her words made Rio silent for a second.He closed his eyes as he remembered what she was talking about. The scenes of that time yed instantly in his eyes in that one blink thatsted a moment. But pushing his thoughts aside, when he remembered the plotlines that wereing, he replied

    "I can never be angry at you Ames, so don''t ever think that. I was just upset that day, nothing else. Promise."

    "I''m sorry. That, because of me _ " She was saying as he held her shoulders and turned her face to his side and said - "What happened back then, was not your fault Amy. Don''t ever think like that."

    "But it was _ " Amelia said, as some tears formed in her eyes. The genuine care she saw in his eyes, only made her feel more guilty now.

    "Hey, didn''t you hear what I said? And besides, I''m back now. So stop ming yourself for nothing. It''s all in the past now, so just forget it." He said, as he held her hand.

    Amelia cried some more, as she hugged him "I missed you brother. I missed you so much."

    "I missed you too." He said, as he patted her back and joked- "Now stop crying. You''re making me all emotional with those tears of yours. Father would kill me if he saw you crying."

    "Stupid" Amelia said, with a weak smile. As she wiped her eyes.

    "Ohh calling me stupid huh. Now can I ask you something?" Rio said.

    "And when did you need permission from me?" Amelia said, his own words back.

    "Why''re you joining the sunshine academy?" Rio said, finally talking about the topic that really mattered now. The progress of plot.

    ###n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A/N - one more chapter, before academy arc starts.

 Chapter 164 Lets Join Zenith Academy

    ?

    "Why''re you joining the Sunshine academy? I thought you always wanted to attend the Zenith." Rio asked as he looked at her.

    Amelia''s face mirrored his seriousness, a troubled look crossing her features as she averted her gaze. "Brother, can we not talk about it?"

    Rio leaned forward, his tone gentle but insistent. "It''s important, Amy. If you''re choosing it just because you''re angry at Zenith, then I''d really be disappointed in my sister."

    "Brother _ " Amelia''s voice wavered, a hint of frustration in her eyes.

    "What did I tell you, Amy?" Rio''s voice held a note of seriousness, as he repeated his words -"Your emotions are your armor. If you wear them on your face, showing them off to the whole world, you''ll only put yourself in danger."

    Amelia sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked down at her hands. She listened as Rio continued his words "What happened back then wasn''t anyone''s fault. It was an ident, and idents happen. You''re angry at them, that''s fine, I am too, but risking your future or acting out on emotions won''t get you anything. You think Zenith would care if you didn''t join? You think they''d lose anything? The only one losing out would be you. So please think about it again."

    "I won''t take a step into that ce, brother. I won''t," Amelia''s voice held a note of finality, a fierce determination in her eyes.

    "Well then, I''ll guess we''ll be studying in different academies then." Rio said, as he shrugged his shoulders andid down on the grass again.

    Amelia''s brows furrowed in confusion. "Wha _ what do you mean?"

    A small smile yed on Rio''s lips as he looked up at the sky. "I''m nning on joining Zenith again, Ames. When the new year starts next month, I''ll attend the academy again."

    "Noo, you''re not going back there. I won''t allow it," Amelia''s voice held a mixture of desperation and protest as tears threatened to well up in her eyes

    Rio''s eyes held a calm resolve, his gaze locking onto hers. "The choice isn''t yours to make, Amy. I''ve already made up my mind. That''s why I want you to join there too." His tone softened, as a soft smile yed on his lips. "Unless you want to fight me in the next tournaments, of course."

    "Brother," Amelia''s voice wavered between a chuckle and a sigh, surprised he could still joke when they''re talking about that matter. "I''ll talk to mother. She won''t allow it." Amelia said, as she stood up.

    Amelia was convinced that her mother wouldn''t allow her brother to return to Zenith Academy. She remembered vividly the anger that had radiated from her mother when she learned of their failure to protect him. Surely, she wouldn''t trust the academy with Rio''s safety again.

    After all, if anyone hated the Zenith academy more than her after that incident, then it would be her mother. If not for the risk of starting an all out war with the world association, she would''ve wiped them out from the face of Arcadia 2 years ago.

    Amelia thought and decided to talk with her mother instead. Her brother''s decisions were often set in stone, and she knew she needed to convince her mother to convince him to change his mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "You know she won''t stop me if I really want to join right. I''ll talk about it to her myself next. I just wanted to let you know first. Give it a thought Ames, anger won''t get you anywhere."

    "If you don''t want the past to repeat itself, you just have to grow stronger than you were in the past. As simple as that, and Zenith academy can help us with that." Rio said, as he left the garden, leaving Amelia behind in her thoughts.

    Esme started following him as he started moving towards Artemis'' room. She heard everything he said to Amelia and even she wanted to oppose it.

    Even though Zenith academy was no. 1 and prestigious and all that. It was also a ce where her master nearly lost his life. She wanted to tell him her opinions but looking at how he didn''t even look at her once aftering out, she could tell he was still angry at her and wouldn''t listen to anything she said.

    ''Lady Artemis would surely not allow it.'' She thought, aware of Artemis'' love for her children and her overprotective nature.

    She took a few more steps back, once they both reached Artemis'' room.

    Instead of knocking on the door, Rio stood there for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. Amelia would join the academy he joined, he was sure of it. But that was all only possible if he could convince Artemis or not.

    If Artemis refused to let him go back there, he would have no other options through which he can maintain the events the way he wanted to. After what happened 2 years ago, he didn''t want to let them unfold on their own or ignore them. He survivedst time by luck, who knows if he''ll be this lucky again or not.

    ''I need to be there to control everything. And the closer Amelia is to me, the safer she''d be. And the more focused I can be. I can''t change her plotline if she doesn''t join the academy.''

    "You cane in." Artemis'' voice broke his thoughts, as the door opened by itself.

    The doors closed behind him once he walked in. Artemis, who was sitting near the table working on something, stood up and walked over to the sofa and sat there. The silent atmosphere seemed tense to Rio even before a word was spoken.

    "Good morning, mother."

    Artemis smiled and nodded, as she pointed towards her side, calling him.

    Taking a deep breath, Rio hesitated for a moment, before going forward and sitting there. "I wanted to ask _"

    "My answer is a no."

    Before Rio could say what he wanted, Artemis cut him off with a straight answer in her firm tone.

    Her words made his heart sank, as he pleaded "At Least hear what I have to say first."

    "The first time you stood outside my room without saying anything was when you told me you''ve seen your fate. And the one after that, was when you asked my permission to join that academy 3 years earlier. And this is the third time.

    Whatever you want to ask me, my answer is a no, Rio. And I won''t change my mind." Artemis dered with a straight tone. Her face showed no expression of any leniency.

    "I want to finish my studies, mother." Rio said.

    A moment of silence hung in the air, as Artemis kept looking at him.

    "Then you can join your sister at Sunshine. Mother already talked with the principal and made all the arrangements. You two can start from next month."Artemis said, as she passed him two letters of admissions that she received for both Rio and Amelia.

    She knew someday he''d have to finish his studies, so she made some preparations for him beforehand. Since Amelia wanted to join the sunshine academy, she made arrangements for her. And when the news of Rio''s return spread. The principal of sunshine academy sent another letter of admission for him too. With it, he can join their academy whenever he wants.

    Her words weren''t a surprise to Rio, as the vice principal of sunshine academy was their grandmother. With the rmendation from Patricia ke, and the reputation that he made in his time at the Zenith academy -were enough to give him entry in any academy he wished for.

    But that''s not what Rio wanted, even though joining the sunshine academy might give a momentary sense of safety with his grandmother''s influence and protection, but that would end up ruining the plotpletely.

    The help Amelia needed to survive her plotlines, she could only get it, if she joined Zenith academy. He could try all he wants, but if someday, the events of her future started, then he alone won''t be enough to save her. She''d need someone else too, and that someone can only be found in Zenith academy.

    That''s why, both of them had to be there at the Zenith academy. Amelia, so she can get the help she needs, and he, to keep the protagonist and other plots in check.

    "I appreciate your concern, mother," Rio began carefully, "but I want to continue my studies at Zenith Academy only. Not anywhere else."

    ###

    A/N - turned it into 2 little chaps cuz one was too big

 Chapter 165 Do You Want To Repeat Your Year Again

    ?

    "I want to continue my studies at zenith academy mother, not anywhere else."

    Artemis'' brows furrowed, her gaze intent on her son. "Exin yourself, Rio."

    "You know I can''t tell you that." Rio said, hoping the excuse of fate''s blessing would give him a pass, like it did in the past.

    But sadly, Artemis wasn''t intent on letting him join the same ce where he almost lost his life. "Then I can''t allow you to join that academy. If you went there, Amelia would follow you too. I can''t put both of your lives in danger. Not again."

    Her words were resolute, but Rio replied with the same tone "Danger is everywhere, mother. We live in a world where literally anything and everything is possible. I had my body ripped in a million particles and I''m still alive. I won''t risk my life ever again, mother."

    Artemis'' eyes bore into her son''s, her concern and frustration palpable. "And your solution to that is to go to the same ce that caused that incident? You know if you go back there now, how many people would be hating you? That''s an organization that lost its value once you died, and now that you''re back, do you think they''d be happy with you?"

    Rio''s voice remained unwavering, determined to make his case. "I can handle them, mother."

    Artemis leaned forward, her voiceced with concern. "Handle them? What about the others? Do you know how many people are pissed that you''re back and none of the others are? You take one step outside this mansion, and they''ll jump at you like hyenas to me everything on you."

    "I can handle it, mother," Rio reiterated, his eyes locking onto Artemis''. "Just like how you handled everything for these 2 years. Let me help you. Please."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Artemis exhaled slowly, her gaze softening as she regarded her determined son. "You being away from me isn''t helping me, my son. I just have to worry about you guys all day."

    His voice softened, Rio leaned forward, his earnestness evident. "I don''t like it either, mother. But you''ve seen it too, right? The people who''ve been rallying against our family from the shadows. How many rumors and new oppositions have you solved in these past 2 years? Even though the media downyed it, the signs are still apparent, mother. And you know it too."

    Artemis leaned back, her eyes narrowing slightly as she considered his words. "They''re just ants, and I''ll crush them all if I have to. But no matter what you say, I won''t risk my children''s safety based on some God''s words and prophecy."

    Rio''s gaze held a mix of urgency and plea as he continued, "It''s not that simple, mother. Me and Amelia joining the academy is necessary, more than you can imagine. I wouldn''t ask it if there was any other way. So please, trust me, just this once."

    "You''re always asking me for trust, when you don''t even trust me and your father to protect you guys," Artemis countered, her voice tinged with a hint of hurt.

    "It''s not like that, mother," Rio responded earnestly. "And I''m not doubting yours or father''s ability to protect us. I just want to keep this family safe, like you do. I promise I''ll be careful."

    A tense silence settled in the room as Artemis contemted her son''s words. Her gaze softened, her voice quieter as she finally spoke, "Thest time you promised something, I had to cry in front of your poster for 2 years, Rio. Why would I risk it again? I finally got you back after so long; I will never risk losing you again. So you can forget about that academy and whatever your ns might be."

    "Please, mother," Rio''s voice held a note of desperation, his emotionsid bare before her. "If I don''t join the academy, then everything I did, everything you did, for all these years would be a waste. We would simply lose everything. Threats far more dangerous than what we can handle areing, mother. And Zenith Academy is the only ce that can ensure that we survive it."

    Artemis sighed, weariness etched on her features as she looked at him. "Why, why only that ce? You already know everything they can teach. And any other knowledge that they have is something you can take wherever you want. Just go with your grandmother, or you can just stay here, and I''ll teach you everything I know."

    Rio''s gaze held a mixture of frustration and understanding. "Things aren''t that simple, mother. I would''ve told you everything if I could, but I can''t. So please don''t force me, mother. I''m begging you, please."

    "Rio..."

    "Please, mother. Just this once."

    Artemis hesitated, her heart torn between a mother''s worry and the responsibility she had for her family. She looked at her son, his eyes holding a mixture of hope and determination that mirrored her own. After a prolonged silence, she relented, her voice softening. "Fine, you can go there. But on one condition."

    Rio''s eyes brightened with a mixture of relief as he said. "Anything."

    "You''ll leave that academy along with your sister, if ever I tell you to do so. I don''t want any more risks involving you two." Artemis stated her terms.

    Rio hesitated for a moment, but this was already the best oue he could hope for. As for leaving the academy, he''ll just have to think of something else, when that dayes. "I_I promise, mother."

    Artemis nodded her head and said. "I''ll ask Myra to make the preparations. You can join them from the next session."

    "Ahh that" Rio nervously looked at her, trying to say something.

    Looking at him, Artemis sighed as she asked "What is it now?"

    "Actually, I was hoping to join the academy this time only."

    Surprised by his request, Artemis shook her head as she informed him "Absolutely not. Your body''s still not fully healed. And if you didn''t notice you dropped 3 ranks in your absence. Unless you at least reach them again, you''ll just have to stay here."

    "Fine. I''ll just have to push my talents to my limits. I''m sure I can do it, if I try hard enough." Rio said, making her further confused.

    "Seriously"

    "You know my blessings, mother. Thest thing you should worry about is me getting power ups." Rio smiled and said.

    Though anyone else hearing those words, about him crossing 3 ranks in a little over a month, would''ve doubted him or just outright called it an impossible feat. Artemis didn''t.

    After all, she knew all about her son''s blessings and talents better than anyone. That''s why, even when the whole world gave up on him and dered him dead, she still believed he was alive and he was.

    So now she was worried that he might just pull out some secret cards or something that''s even more bizarre, then all the bizarre things he did. So she hurriedly said

    "Don''t, don''t do it. Just don''t force yourself. You can join alright. No need to push yourself."

    Her words made Rio happy, as he internally breathed a sigh of relief. Even with all his knowledge, he didn''t know any method to rake up ranks like that.

    "Fine. Also I''ll need you toe with me for that entrance ceremony. I might need your help to convince that foggy to let me join his academy, along with Amelia."

    "You want to repeat your year." Artemis Confusedly asked

    "Well, technically I never finished my exams, so it''s not exactly a repeat right." Rio stated the fact. After all, he was trapped in the dungeon during the final tournaments, so it was true that he never passed the exam.

    "Well, I don''t have any problem with it. Since both of you will be together. Now go, before I change my mind." Artemis said. Happy that at least both these kids would be in the same ss.

    "Thanks mother. You''re the best." Rio said, happily and ran away before she really changed her mind.

    He was opening the door, when he stopped and turned to look at the corner. His eyes fixed there for a moment. Earlier he was too focused on convincing Artemis that he didn''t notice, but now he could sense someone''s presence there. But seeing as she didn''t react and let it be, Rio just thought it was Myra or Cami. And left the room.

    Artemis smiled seeing his reaction, as it just proved to her again, how sharp his senses were.

    "You cane out now." She said, once Rio closed the door and left.

    But after waiting for a few seconds she still didn''t get any response, so she further continued "Using his gifts to spy on him. I didn''t think I taught my daughter like that."

    Hearing her words, finally some movement could be seen from the corner. As Amelia''s figure became visible now.

    "I just wanted to know how he''d convince you. And to stop you, if you agree to it." Amelia said, as she came out and sat on a chair.

    "And yet you never showed up." Artemis replied.

    "Cause I got my answer already. What is his blessing that you talked about, mother?" Amelia asked, curious since she could tell that was the most important thing her brother kept hinting at.

    But instead of answering her, Artemis shook her head while saying "That''s not my secret to tell, Amelia. Why don''t you go and ask him yourself?"

    "Maybe I would." Amelia said and stood up to leave.

    Watching both her children acting all grown up and making their own decisions, Artemis leaned back on her sofa as she thought -''When did they both grew up so big?''

    From when she used to look after them, to when they''re looking after her and each other, they did indeede a long way.

    ##

    A/N - academy arc officially starts tomorrow. Also throw ur money around , give out gifts and show off. You r a young master, act like one

 Chapter 166 The Books Of Rio

    ?

    Currently Rio was lying down on his bed with his eyes wide open. Looking up at the shimmering stars and the shallow moon. His room was a mess, as the tables and chairs were pushed aside in the middle, while his bed was dragged near the window.

    It was already way past midnight, and soon in an hour or two, the morning sun would rise again. But he couldn''t sleep a wink the whole night.

    Diaries and notebooks were thrown around on his bed, as he spent thest few hours of time, going over stuff from the novel and the stuff he changed. His mind kept making notes and wrote down everything he could think of.

    At the beginning of his arrival in Arcadia, he remembered the plot too well, due to the memory shes that resurfaced before his death. And then the merging scenes rey cleared all the other parts too. So he didn''t write anything about the novel.

    Then he awakened the system, who read his mind and copied all the plotlines, since the system made the notes itself for free. So hiszy brain didn''t think about the need to write it all down again.

    But then one day that useless AI died and all the work load came to his head.

    He remembered how after that first birthday event, he was hold up in his room for over a week, trying to remember and write down the whole novel, from every arc to every event and even fillers. It took a while, but he wrote it all, down to the veryst twist and turn he could recall. He named it "The book of a failed future"

    Once that was done, he had to write 2 other more books, one which he titled "The book of changes" - a book, where he wrote down all the changes he brought and made in the original story. The second book was titled "The book of possibilities" - a book, where he wrote down all the potential ramifications of his alterations, and every possible oue the changes he made might bring. The events that might change and be rushed or rooted out -every possibility that he coulde up with was written there.

    After a month of sleepless nights andzy behaviors, he finally finished everything. One of the books about novel story waspleted, while the other 2 were ongoing, which he would add and edit whenever he thought of something.

    Today, he spent his whole night reading through everything, all 3 of his books, and as a result, his exhausted eyes were hurting now. It had been a while since he read through so much so fast, if not for the experience of skimming through stuff from Sky Ultima, he might need a whole week to read it all. But those 3 years of constant reading proved somewhat useful today. Plus some pills that increased his focus, and maybe one or two potions that kept him energetic enough to bear through everything, also helped a little.

    Even after he finished reading and was tired as hell, he couldn''t get himself to sleep. After all, tomorrow morning was the day when it''ll all begin. The day he had been waiting and preparing for, for the past 8 years.

    The plot of the novel was finally about to begin, the first chapter was about to start, and with that it would also start the ticking countdown to his impending doom, if he couldn''t change everything.

    Ever since he wrote the the book of failed future himself, he hade across dozens or maybe even more major plot holes in the novel story, that he didn''t even notice back on earth. Maybe it was because it was his first novel, and he didn''t focus hard on it, but those plot holes, those mysteries that were never exined were the most important to him now. As they might hold the key of his survival. They might be what can help him to avoid the ending, to avoid HIM, or maybe even the key to kill HIM without following the written path.

    And that''s why he was extra hellbent on joining the Zenith academy. As one such plot hole mystery was present there. If he could solve that puzzle, it might give him a clue or a lead, on how to stop the worst case scenario of the novel.

    ''I will never repeat what happened 2 years ago.'' He thought, as the thoughts of hisst failure came to his mind. If not for that one slip up, he wouldn''t have to go through all that hell. He could''ve stayed leisurely and lived his life like everyone else, but due to his ignorance, he ended up falling into their traps. The haunting memories of the previous 2 years served as a constant reminder of the stakes at hand. Screaming at him, that he shouldn''t fail again.

    Remembering the faces of everyone he hasn''t seen in 2 years, brought a cold, almost sinister smile to his face.

    The ones who are still alive and living in the academy, the ones he yed around and experimented with to learn about fate and its tricks, he''de across them soon enough, and this time he wouldn''t just be an observer but one of their targets too.

    Artemis was right, many of the students, staff and others, weren''t happy with the news of his survival. After all, he was the only one who returned alive, while all the others were killed in that dungeon incident.

    "Some of them might try to put the me of others'' death on me, or try to fan those rumors of a new evil God, but since I have enough proof to prove my innocence, they''ll all die down.'' he mused, his smile morphing into a calcted grin.

    ''In the eyes of general public, ke family''s image has been good enough. Even though his death''s reaction and his father''s killings had ignited some false reports, but one charity policy or another new invention of cheap entertainment, would change it all back to normal. After all, he and Artemis have been doing that for years now.''

    Rio thought remembering how his mother had transformed the ke family''s image into the most noble, noble family ever. The 8 years of her hard work, was the reason why whole of Damascus was sad for his death too.

    "The rumors of me being a chosen one, who returned from the dead...," he pondered, this was an unexpected twist that had made him a central figure in the narrative. But it could also y out in my favor someday.

    ''The image of my genius talent and other nice stuff I did all these years, had already made me an angel-like figure in Damascus. I just have to maintain this image till it suits me, and use it to increase my influence outside Damascus now.''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He considered the likely reaction of the novel''s beginning antagonists. The viins of academy arcs. They wouldn''t move against him overtly, not when he was in the spotlight. And troubling him, would only highlight them too. But they would likely send their underlings and minions. He was confident in his ability to fend off such attacks and handle them cleanly. And if the situation ever escted beyond his control, he had a reliable pawn ready to intercept them. He''ll just have to redirect them to that lucky cockroach and enjoy the drama from the sidelines.

    "My system should awaken tomorrow too, since the plot starts from then -wonder how long it''ll take this time for it to count my points. I''ve literally ruined everything I possibly could with my power -so would I be a millionaire or a billionaire in points when ites online."

    ''That system sounds like a cheapskate, so it better not shortchange me orcut my points. If it did I''ll just buy a physical body for the system and then beat it up.''

    System, who was peacefully sleeping in a silent tiny corner of his mind, had a shiver as it heard Rio''s words.

    ##

    A/N - I''ll post 2 more chaps today. In few hours or in the morning. My irl job is messing up my schedule

 Chapter 167 Stage For Entrance

    ?

    Astrire Venera, a valley, a realm that defied thews of gravity and normal existence. A ce, which housed nothing on the ground but was made whole in sky.

    It was a continental area made up by numerous floating inds. Each ind was part of some other ne, a fragment of some other world, that appeared in Arcadia after emergence.

    These inds instead of falling down with the pull of gravity, kept floating among the clouds.

    In this mysterious ce, was an ind known throughout Arcadia as the most prestigious and beautiful one, it was called Laurelia Sanctum. The name itself held profound meaning, signifying the sanctuary of legendary knowledge and lores that this ind held.

    Laurelia Sanctum ind was filled with stone statues and nonunents, each said to be holding the secrets of sansaar(world). Thus this ind was also often referred as Cairn ind. Meaning a ce where statues carved from stone dotted itsndscape and knowledge was engraved and etched on them.

    The ind''s mystique was further enhanced by its ethereal beauty. Clouds embraced its peaks, giving the illusion that it rested on a celestial throne. As sunlight kissed the ground, a golden aura seemed to emanate from the ind, captivating all who gazed upon it.

    But despite its vast mysteries and beautiful scenery, it was mainly known for something else. This was where Arcadia''s current best academy was made. One of the 5 pirs of world association, their pride, Zenith academy.

    While the ind remained shrouded in the barriers of magic and concealed by the veils of clouds for most of the year, today was a rare exception. Today it was open for the world to see as an special asion. This was because today marked the entrance ceremony of Zenith Academy''s new batch of students.

    But even today, not just anybody could walk in. Considering the safety of the ceremony and crowd control, only those who were invited could take a step inside this ind.

    Numerous famous reporters from various guilds, magazines and other sectors were called and given permission to record and broadcast this grand event throughout the world.

    Families of the iing students, who had either been selected through examinations or received invitations based on their talent and rmendations, were also weed to partake in this grand event.

    The security of the ce was guaranteed as the staff of Zenith Academy was present there. The responsibility to maintain the crowd and smooth orchestration of the event was also given to the student council and disciplinemittee of the academy.

    Many drones were flying in the air, to record the whole area, sitting arrangements were made in an open space for everyone.

    In the center of the celebratory ground stood a big circr stage, elevated to offer a clear view to all. Figures of authority and faculty members from Zenith Academy gathered upon the stage, their presence exuding an air of authority that naturally drew the attention of the crowd

    ss screens suspended in mid-air provided an up-close view of the stage for everyone present. Even those sitting far behind or those watching the footage of drones from their home.

    Any incident like the one 2 years ago doesn''t happen again, so extra measures of safety were taken. Even the principal of Zenith was present on the stage, waiting tomence the ceremony.

    Some spected it was also because of the vast number of talented people who joined the academy this time. From the Royal princess of Schi, to the heirs and heiresses of some Dukes. From the children of the top 5 guild leaders, to even heir apparent of the Elven empire. From scions of noble vampire families to students of high ranking dwarven officials, everyone hade to join Zenith academy this year.

    "Golden generation" that''s what people have been calling it. Ever since the news and some footage of the entrance examinations were released to the world. The talent shown by each one of the selected students in their respective fields was something that could put them in highlights of history, and now they were alling together, to study and grow togetherat the same academy.

    As anticipation built, a hushed excitement enveloped the crowd. Conversations buzzed with anticipation, mixing with the gentle breeze that carried whispers of rumors and the potential of future.

    "The principal himself is here. This is going to be awesome."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "When was thest time he made a public appearance?"

    "I heard this batch of students includes some of the most talented kids from whole world."

    "Did you not see the list of new students present? No wonder everyone''s calling them the golden generation, every one of them is a monster."

    Conversations like these echoed through the air, mingling with the energy of the crowd.

    "Man, I waited a whole year toe here again."

    "Yeah, I had to use all my connections to convince my supervisor to let me enter. This is all so worth it."

    "Humph what''s so special about it. It happens every year."

    "Who do you think took the first rank in entrance examination? The list had so muchpetition."

    "I don''t know man, they all seem so good. Someone even said, that the record of Rio as the fastest to finish the Spectrum Maze in history was broken this time too."

    "Wh_what, who did that?"

    "I don''t know, but whoever that person is, they''re likely to take the first ce too."

    "Damn."

    Amid the celebration and anticipation, soon the murmurs started flowed regarding the return of a figure long thought dead.

    "Talking about Rio, is he really back? I''ve seen images and heard stories, but is it possible?"

    "Nah, they''re just rumors I bet. Otherwise his family or the guilds would''ve made an announcement. It''s been over a month but no one has seen him. It was probably done by some reporters to start some controversy to get famous."

    "I think so too, after all, how can one survive in a dungeon for 2 years."

    "Even with his talent and luck, he can''t just survive a dungeon crash right? That''s impossible."

    Such discussions were inevitable, given the circumstances surrounding Rio''s supposed return. Some were skeptical, attributing it to the sensationalism of the media. While some were still doubtful since after that day, the influx of many influential people and healers had increased in Damascus.

    But on the papers, the news about his return was basically buried now. Since no one got any confirmation even after a month, every mediapany moved on, and was now busy covering the articles on entrance examinations and ceremony.

    Many guilds had also sent their scouts to get some underdogs or less known talented students in their guilds. After all, once someone joined the academy, they wouldn''t be able to leave for the whole year. And they can''t sign with any guild until they graduate from the academy.

    The 4 years of academy life, would solely be taken over by studies and trainings on these inds. So many guilds were trying to rope in kids before they join the academy, and their value increases. This way it''s cheaper and has lesspetition, instead of waiting for 4 years to get that same guy to sign with the guild.

    This also works only cause once someone graduated from any of the top 5 academies, they would only join one of the top guilds, that''s why mid or low ranking guilds try to get as many talents contracted to them as soon as possible.

    Obviously since everyone knows about all this, they all want to join the top 5, not many can be fooled , but still those who have no connections or those who''re in need of money or other resources -do sign these deals to join a guild.

    In another section of guests were the students who passed the exams and their families. Every student could bring 2 people with him to watch the ceremony. So despite the limitations the crowd of hundreds had formed in the ground.

    No conflicts or safety issues arises, so proper distance and space was maintained between all the sitting arrangements. The families, ns or races which aren''t on friendly terms or have bad rtionships were especially given separate spaces away from each other, so as not to create any fights on day one of the new year.

    The stage was set, and the entry of the protagonist was about to happen. The perfect boost of backing, confidence, power and prestige awaited the hero. But obviously how can the destined devil, let it all happen so smoothly.

    Years ago, on a simr stage he had changed the fate of the first heroine, and today, he was finallying face to face with the hero.

    He was back from the certain death to ruin it all.

    ###

    A/N - how shocking do u think the world would be to finally get proof of all those rumors? What reactions will the world have for now that he returned.

    Waiting for d young master who has dragon castle or spacecraft

    _praying_

 Chapter 168 Dance Of Devil

    ?

    To ensure that no God''s or Strays could create any drama, the whole ind was surrounded by the barrier erected by artifacts which dampens the vision of Gods and shuts the flow of faith energy.

    Since every God gets their powers from the faith, they all have simr origin of energy. That''s why the artifacts or formations which stops or resists the flow of faith energy, makes it harder for gods to take notice and act.

    This is why, the city of non-believers and atheists called Nontheos, was the worst ce for any God. As that ce was simply filled with people who had no faith and chosen the path of Apostasy -abandonment of religion. That''s why gods couldn''t interfere in any way and it became the blind region from the God''s eyes.

    Obviously chosen Gods tied to their avatar, could still act freely within the confines of the academy and any other formations too.

    To stop the trickster gods who''re always simply looking for augh, the other gods were given a tribute to interfere and stop them. In simple terms, the academy hired Gods to stop gods from interfering.

    This was the story known to everyone, but what the normal public of Arcadia didn''t know was that there were no formations or artifacts which stopped the gods, it was all due to the stone pirs surrounding the entire ind. The normally weird looking stone monuments created a null zone which seprated the realm of gods and created a disturbance in their abilities.

    No one could stop a God from doing what they wanted, but that God must be willing to pay the equal price. As the Cairns covered the entire ind, if some God intervened, they''d have to spend dozens of times more energy than what is needed anywhere else. In simple terms, gods kept silent, simply cause it was costly for them to say something.

    Watching the mortals, talking to them, giving them blessings or making them an avatar - it all costs them their energy, their own powers, so it''s simple why they wouldn''t waste that on trying to get past the barrier forcefully, when they can just wait for the person they chose toe out. After all, 4 years might seem longer in the eyes of normal mortals, but in the eyes of gods, it''s a time that''ll fly in a blink of an eye.

    In the novel, after phase 2 of Emergence when the world was suddenly thrown into the chaos once more, these inds became the sanctuary for everyone.

    At that time these inds became the ce that were safe from the raging mes of carnage that covered all of Arcadia.

    Even Rio''s future self, infamously known as the Devil, had made use of these so called barriers in his fight against the Gods.

    There was a scene in the novel, where Devil trapped a 108 avatars from all over the world on these inds, and forced their chosen gods to watch as he ughtered them.

    The gods who couldn''t control their anger or those who were too attached with their avatar and came to their rescue -only ended up ying in his hands and getting trapped in the barriers themselves too.

    The barriers made them considerably weak, as the more they used their abilities the more they struggled to fight against him, thus that became another continuation of the battle between Gods vs Devil.

    The author of that novel, named that chapter "Dance of Devil"

    Though Rio had no ns to go that crazy and blood thirsty yet, these stone monuments were indeed the reason why he wanted to join Zenith Academy the most. He wanted to learn everything about these barriers and their workings and origins. He wanted to see, if they can be used in the way he hoped to utilize them to stop his ending once and for all.

    -

    (Fk I''m getting sidetracked again, aren''t I? Let''s focus back on the entrance ceremony.)

    Currently in a separate hall many children ranging from the age of 15-18 were sitting around.

    These were the group of students who were chosen to enter the academy this year after they passed the entrance examinations. More than 150 kids were sitting in the hall, as this was only one of the many such halls.

    The tense atmosphere in the hall was a stark contrast with the excitement present outside. Currently everyone inside was checking their bracelets, looking at the message of the ranking list and their points distribution from the tests.

    Some were happy with the results they got showing off everywhere, while othersined andpared with others.

    Many students chose to stay silent and just observe their surroundings, while some had already started to form their groups. Some socials were trying to be friendly with everyone, while some shy ones just stayed away in a corner..

    The list had announced the ranking of everyone except the top 25 rankers, who would only be announced once the ceremony starts and they get rewarded and praised for their outstanding achievements in front of everyone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Those who didn''t take part in entrance examinations and were invited to join by the academy itself, were present in a separate hall. While in one other hall, were the top rankers, the top 25 students of this year. They were all waiting for the announcements to start so they could go out and join everyone too.

    In that hall, Leonard Heartwell, the protagonist was standing by the window, talking to his family on the phone.

    <Ohh phones were invented in between the time skip, so don''t say where did these things popped up>

    His father and aunt were present outside in the visitor''s section. He looked at their excited faces and how proud they were for him, as they constantly chatted about the crowd and everything happening outside.

    "Where''s sister? Did you meet her?" Leon''s father asked.

    "No, she''s in the student council. So she''s probably busy with all the arrangements and other responsibilities. I''ll meet her once the function starts." Leon said, and engaged his parents in another conversation.

    Once he cut the call, he opened the contact details of his sister and dialed it, but the answer was the same as before.

    ''Guess I''ll just have to see her outside'' Leon thought, and turned around to nce at the people around him.

    They were the top rankers of this session, people who were as strong and talented as him. Many of those present were children of noble families or young masters of their ns and races. Those who didn''t belong to them, were rted to the various associations and guilds of the world.

    Though half of them had also gotten the invitations to join the academy, and didn''t even need to take part in these exams, many still did that just to test their limits and see their rankings. Some also wanted to show off their powers in front of other students and simply did it as apetition of sports between them.

    After all, many of them were future pirs and would be leaders of various ces, so thepetition between them and need to establish their dominance or superiority was even more obvious between them.

    "Who do you think is taking the first ce?" One of the kids asked his friend.

    "It''s probably one of those three?" He said while pointing towards certain students.

    "Nah, I bet it''s that guy or maybe the one from that guild."

    "Isn''t his father the leader of that _"

    Conversations and spections between everyone were happening, when an announcement of the top students was made and the doors of the halls opened and they started moving out.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, please wee, the best of the golden generation. The cream of the crop and the finest of the finals. I, present you, the rankers of the Zenith Academy''s this new year."

    The students passed through a dimly lit hallway moving outward where the loud cheers of the crowd could be heard calling for them. Screaming and weing them in loud tones as ps and noise echoed everywhere.

    When every student came out, they were to stand upon the stone tform, which floated in the air. Various light crystals and fireworks lit up the sky, as they all made their entrance between the whole stage.

    The stone tform floated, giving everyone a close look at the next best of this year''s students. The tform roamed around, making a full circle of the open ground, before stopping in one ce.

    The tform of rankers was now situated just below the main stage , where the principal and other staff of the academy made their announcements.

    "The results of your exams have been sent to your id bracelets. So check them and take your respective stand based on your rankings."

    A man with sses came forward and said. Though he didn''t use any loudspeakers or microphone, his voice still reached every student, who eagerly checked their results.

    While they were busy looking through that, the tform lit up in different colors as it created panels with numbers written on it. The ground of certain ces raised upwards, and there the banners of rank one to three floated above.

    All this signified their ranking and positions in the ss, rank 1-3 were given a higher tform to showcase them to the whole world.

    The reason behind announcing results in front of the whole world and this disy of different treatment, was to show 2 things to every new student �C one, to build up the hype and show the surprise to everyone together. Second, to increase thepetition between the students and show them that no matter who they were outside, or who they own and belong to, the only thing that matters in these walls is your ranking.

    After getting ustomed to the surprise ranking reveal, the students all started taking steps towards their positions. Even those who were dissatisfied with their results, had to put on a smiling front to not look petty in front of the whole world.

    Leon looked at the message on his bracelet, as he skimmed through everything.

    [Leon Heartwell - rank 1]

    ###

    A/N - let''s wee our mc now, shall we.

    Also Aby thoughts on Devil''s ughter of God''s & their avatar. Any theories or suggestions.Also join my discord, Link''s in d synopsis and my profile.

 Chapter 169 Stealing The Limelight

    As Leon confidently ascended the elevated tform designated for the first ranker, the crowd went into a frenzy. Even the rankers standing on the same tform had a shocked expression. exchanging bewildered nces between themselves after seeing a surprisingly new face at the high stage.

    The ss screens suspended in the air, broadcasting the event to those seated afar and even those watching remotely, disyed Leon''s image prominently. His presence at the pinnacle of the stage sent shockwaves throughout Laurelia Sanctum.

    Whispers and murmurs swept across the space, creating an atmosphere of disbelief and astonishment.

    "Who''s that guy?"

    "Is he the first rank?"

    "What about others, is this ranking really real?"

    "Is this some sort of error or a prank?"

    "I remember him �C the Baron''s son who failed his awakening. How could he suddenly emerge as the first rank?"

    "He was even crippled, wasn''t he? How can he awaken again and im the top spot?"

    The confusion and astonishment spread through the crowd, a sea of faces reflecting shock and disbelief. Not a single person was present there, who wasn''t surprised by this reveal. Leon''s guardians, his father and aunt, stood among them, their astonishment mirroring that of the others, perhaps even more so.

    Unlike the rest of the world, they knew Leon had his sessful awakening 2 years ago. They''ve seen him train and push himself to limits in these past 2 years, but even they hadn''t anticipated him rising to im the first ce in the rankings of the world''s best academy.

    As the murmurs spread like wildfire, Alora, Leon''s aunt, turned to her brother, Darren Heartwell, her voice trembling with a mix of amazement and pride. "Is this really happening, Darren?"

    Her brother, Darren, stood frozen for a moment, his eyes fixed on the stage where his son stood proudly. "That''s truly my son up there, isn''t it?"

    "I knew his hard work would pay off. He''s been training tirelessly ever since then. Celeste would''ve been so proud." Alora said, her voice tinged with a touch of mncholy.

    Celeste Lightborne, Leon''s mother and her sister inw, was still unconscious even after all these years had passed.

    With the help of the ke family, her condition had improved drastically over the years. As the corrosion of the curse ced on her reduced and stopped spreading any further. But even they couldn''t help in curing herpletely.

    Hearing his wife''s name, the memories of the beautiful past came to Darren''s mind, but he stopped himself from thinking about sad things, because today was probably the biggest day for his son.

    Meanwhile, not everyone in the audience shared the same sentiment of joy. The leaders of other guilds, parents of other high-ranking students, and members of influential families were struggling to process the unexpected turn of events. Their expressions were a mix of disbelief, curiosity, and in some cases, even suspicion. Everyone was looking at the stage waiting for an exnation.

    As the tension in the air grew palpable, the stage where Leon stood became the epicenter of attention. The faculty members, sensing the need to address the crowd''s confusion, exchanged quick nces before one of them stepped forward.

    "Now I know many of you might find these rankings as surprising or shocking, but let me reassure you, these are all unbiased and given after a thorough check of everyone''s abilities and their performance in the exams."

    A hush fell over the crowd, all eyes turned to the staff present on stage, listening to his exnation.

    "This year was perhaps the most challenging one for us to decide the rankings, especially the first 5 students, it was a very close call and even us at the academy had to watch the clips many times to decide upon the first rank." The announcer said making everyone curious. Then with a graceful wave of his hand, a sense of wonder filled the atmosphere as arge scroll unfurled itself against the sky, apanied by bursts of colorful fireworks. The scroll revealed a list of names, each written in a different glowing hue.

    "These are the results of the ranking," the announcer''s voice echoed, capturing the attention of all present.

    As the crowd''s gaze fixed upon the scroll, the following names illuminated the sky:

    1.Leonard Heartwell

    2.Moksh ckwood

    3.Katherine Winston

    4.Valtor Shade

    5.Qingyue Grayborn

    6.Vanessa Belmont

    7.Edward Sinir

    8.Zirix Drakkar

    9.Amaya Stormswill

    10.Firsjen Scarlett

    11.Lincoln Korbil

    12.Sunaina Vaidya

    13.Elroy Morris

    14.Ziona Boulderhelm

    15.Morfius Thornfang

    "These are the top 15 of this year. For those who are feeling dissatisfied with the results don''t worry, cause to quell your curiosity, we have prepared this. The highlights of everyone''s journey in the entrance exams. This will show you what all these students did and went through."

    With a mesmerizing transformation, the waterfall behind the stage ceased its cascade, morphing into a mirror-like still surface. It flickered to life, disying the recordings of various students going through different phases of the entrance exams.

    As the staff said, every student was amazing in their trials. They were all wless and almost neck to neck with each other. The rankers were showing their all in the battles they fought, the speed, reflexes and the presence of mind showed by them was far surpassing the other students. The rankings aside, it was evident that every student had disyed exceptional qualities.

    The difficulty of exams and their trials change every year, so there was no need to hide these videos, when these worked very well for the promotions.

    After thest recording concluded, a sense of satisfaction lingered in the air. But soon even that silence stopped as people started cheering once more. The murmurs of appreciation gradually subsided as the announcer took center stage once more, his voice carrying a yful edge.

    "So you guys still want more huh." he remarked, drawingughter from the audience.

    "But we have nothing for you about any other toppers anymore _ " He stopped speaking, creating the environment of curiosity and then continued - "But for the record breaker, the underdog whom no one sawing, the one who truly emerged as a surprise package. The one at the top, the number one Leonard Heartwell."

    At the announcer''s words, several lights turned on Leon who still stood with the same confident expression, looking around at everyone.

    "Now this guy right there had broken the record of passing the Spectrum maze in the least amount of time. Not only in this year, no, but all those before him too."

    "He had broken the previous record set by Rio ke 2 years ago." The announcer of the event said.

    "You guys feeling curious yet. Do you wanna see his results now?" the announcer inquired, his tone dripping with anticipation.

    A resounding chorus of "YES" echoed throughout the crowd, a clear testament to their eagerness.

    "Or perhaps you''re more interested in watching his journey unfold?" The question was met with an enthusiastic chorus of "YES" and apuse.

    The crowd erupted in roars and cheers as the announcer announced all the news. Everyone wanted to see the recordings of this new talent that popped up suddenly. The guild members who were working as scouts started calling their superiors informing them everything and discussing what to offer to this new prodigy if they could fool him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The screen first showed the numbers of his results in bold letters

    [Leonard Heartwell

    [Challenge - Spectrum Maze

    [Clearance time - 27 min 56 seconds]

    A breathless hush settled over the crowd. The seconds ticked by in near silence as everyone processed the information. The realization dawned �C the record had been broken. It was real. Somehow this guy whom no one knew existed, or seen as a challenge, appeared out of nowhere and even broke the record of zenith academy''s history.

    Previous record for clearing the spectrum maze was set by Rio, and even he took 28 minutes and 10 seconds.

    The difference between them might be less in numbers, but it was enough when ites to records and now that belonged to Leonard.

    "I never thought his records would be broken in just 2 years."

    "Yeah, all the previous recordssted for decades before someone could beat them. "These guys are all monsters."

    "When did he even awaken? I remember he was a cripple just 3 years ago, when his sister joined the academy."

    "Yeah, there were even memes about this guy back then. It means he just went from a cripple to a record breaking genius in just 3 years at maximum."

    "This is too much right. Look at those noble kids'' faces. I bet they must be cursing their luck topete in public exams, and now standing beneath a Baron''s son."

    "True. Hey, do you think he''s more talented than Rio?"

    "What kind of question is that? Can''t you see the results, this guy will definitely be even more talented than him."

    "Yeah, Rio had ke family behind him, while this guy is just a Baron''s son. Yet he still became this outstanding in this little time. If he had the simr resources like Rio he would simply leave everyone behind."

    The discussions like this were going on, as cheers echoed through the hallways and open stage. Every drone focused on Leonard and his recordings ying in the mirror screens.

    Outside the celebration ground, hearing the loud roars Rio had a smile on his face as he heard the announcements.

    ''He''s sitting on the shoulders of a God, and yet the world sees him as down to earth. What a funny way his halo works.''

    "The academy set the stage and he became the limelight, then let me steal the show and change the highlight."

    ###

    A/N - let''s steal the show.

 Chapter 170 Returning From The Dead In The Limelight

    ?

    Rio along with Amelia and Artemis came out of the teleportation gate. The entry to the inds was only essible through space magic, as the normal ways of traveling couldn''t work. Flying was prohibited around the floating inds and walking or vehicles were impossible toe.

    Airships, which are often used for air travel or flying treasures which are used for flying in the sky, aren''t allowed to enter the vicinity of Laurelia Sanctum. There''s a barrier surrounding the ind and the only way to pass through that is either with the tokens issued by the world association or with the permission from the principal of Zenith academy. Forced entry or unauthorized stay in the airspace would be dealt devastation and no questions or exnations would be asked.

    Since the ceremony had already started, all the guests were already present inside, so other than the guards and security staff stationed at the gate, no one else was present.

    Artemis'' showed the invitation and after the staff were done checking the authenticity and reading the mana signature of everyone, they let everyone enter.

    "The ceremony has started, if you follow along the path marked by the signs, you can reach there. Or you can wait, as the senior year students would show you the way."

    One of the guards came forward to inform them. His eyes were fixed on Rio''s figure, as he kept staring at him in doubt and shock. Artemis ignored him and started walking ahead, without waiting for anyone to lead them. Even without these shy signs or boards finding the ce where everyone is gathered won''t be hard, as even at the outskirts of inds, the loud cheers could be heard. And they just need to follow the sound.

    "Are you sure you can do this?" Artemis asked, for thest time. Once Rio stepped forward and into the crowd, the reactions of everyone would simply be out of control. And that too in this academy, at this time -the whole world was watching and there''d be no turning back.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I can handle it, mother. You can go ahead." Rio said with a smile, reassuring her. She wanted to wait a month or two more, until he was fully healed, before he showed himself to the whole world. But there was no need for him to think twice now. The plot had begun, and he couldn''t afford to sit silent somewhere else anymore, when heavens had already yed their first y already.

    Artemis looked at Amelia, and then left them. She went towards the section where other nobles and special guests were present. Patricia ke, their grandmother was also present there. And to convince the principal for Rio''s request, Artemismight even need her help. That''s why she went alone to talk to her.

    Rio and Amelia started walking towards the entrance, as the closer they got, the louder the roars and cheers were getting.

    Amelia was walking with a frown on her face, even after thinking over his reasons for a month, she was still not happy with his decision to join this academy again. But after hearing his discussion with their mother, she knew whatever she said or asked would have no effect on him, as he had already made up his mind to join here.

    For the past month, many times she wanted to ask him about his blessing, or why he was so hellbent on joining this academy, but she knew he wouldn''t tell her anything. And if she forced him for answers it would only annoy him or make him angry. Her curiosity 2 years ago almost cost him his life, and she had to live with that guilt for all this time. Now that he was back, she didn''t want to repeat her mistakes again.

    Attempting to shift her thoughts, Amelia looked at her brother, her voice carrying a hint of casualness. "So, how does it feel to be back here?"

    "Nothing much has changed actually, it all feels familiar, maybe nostalgic." Rio said, as he walked without even looking at the signs. He could go there even with his eyes closed, after all, he did spend a whole year roaming every corner of this academy.

    "Your ssmates, the ones from your year, they would be in their final year at the academy now," Amelia said.

    Rio''s lips curved into a nonchnt smile. "Yeah, I guess. It''s probably going to be a surprise for them seeing me back in first-year sses again. Same goes for the teachers too."

    Amelia nodded, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "You''ll be the weird one in the whole academy, who''s repeating a year."

    Rio shrugged his shoulders and said. "Doesn''t matter much to me. I''m not here for their reactions anyway."

    Looking at the gate and students standing at the sides, Amelia turned to her brother as she said "This is it, the final step."

    "If anything this is the first one."

    Rio said, with a smile while pushing the door open and walking inside. He felt his heart race with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. He had yed his part from the shadows for too long, and now, as the plot started, there was no more room for hesitation. He just has to join it, and face whates his way head on.

    Just as soon as he walked in, when he had only taken a few steps, people started pointing their fingers at him, as they looked at him with shock and surprise. Whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire, eachment a mixture of disbelief and awe:

    "Is that��?"

    "Could it be?"

    "But he''s supposed to be��"

    "I heard he returned, but this��"

    "That''s him right. That''s definitely him."

    "So those rumors, they weren''t false."

    Conversations like this started spreading as more people started taking notice of him.

    Rio looked at the big screens hovering on all corners ying the images of Leon clearing the different challenges prepared for this year''s exams. As Rio''s eyes scanned the screens, a smile tugged at his lips.

    ''The academy set the stage and he became the limelight, then let me steal the show and change the highlight.''

    His words had just finished, when something happened, something changed in the celebration area. The hovering drones, which had been capturing the event from above, abruptly altered their course, redirecting their flight toward the entrance of the public grounds.

    The screens that had been disying the ongoing ceremony and Leon''s performance switched their focus too, now showcasing the unfolding scene captured by the drones.

    The footage disyed a girl with raven-ck hair walking alongside a young man who bore short, snowy-white hair. The focus of the cameras even ignored the pretty girl as they zoomed in on the boy whose eyes, dark and silent, looked straight, undeterred by the storm his entry had set off.

    Every step he took, the more reporters followed behind him and the more the crowd went into a frenzy. The reporters started pointing their cameras, which looked like crystals cut into various shapes. Their various questions got drowned quickly as people started shouting and cheering and screaming around him.

    The crowd was unable toe close to him, as they were all stopped by an invisible barrier around him, some people dressed in ck appeared out of nowhere, forming a circle around him, making sure no one could evene close to that barrier or try to get past it.

    Rio looked at Amelia, who wore an annoyed expression. She looked at the excessive crowd and covered her ears with mana. It was a makeshift solution to shield herself from the deafening cheers that had transformed into roars and chatter that hurt her ears now.

    Ignoring everything, Rio kept walking towards the central stage, as the students of the student council and disciplinarymittee also came forward to control the crowd.

    ncing to the side, Rio''s gaze collided with the eyes of some familiar faces among the students. Their expressions mirrored the surprise rippling through the crowd.

    Without saying anything to them, or even acknowledging their presence Rio turned his attention back towards the stage, where he could see the expressions of the staff and the principal too. Looking at their faces, he really wanted to smirk and smile at them, to show them that he was back.

    To shout that even though they failed, he survived and crawled out of that hell on his own, but he couldn''t do that. It wasn''t the right time yet. He didn''t forget anything and he wouldn''t forgive them for nothing, but their punishments would have to wait a little.

    As today was a day dedicated to the protagonist.

    ''It''s been a while since I''ve been back. A stage as grand as this seems pretty fitting for my debut, don''t you think?'' Rio thought to himself, and next second, the soothing voice of his system sounded in his ears again.

    [Of course host. This seems perfect.]

    ''Wee back''x [Wee back]

    They both said together, announcing each other''s arrival back to the world. One, came back from the dead, and the other, ended its slumber and woke up.

    ###

    A/N - Protagonist''s sistering up next to hug our viin.

    Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

 Chapter 171 Lisa Heartwell - The One Who Left Him To Die

    ?

    A smile came to his lips as Rio heard the system''s voice in his head again, he had been waiting for it sincest night. He was curious to talk with the system, ask questions and doubts he had found in these past 8 years, receive the rewards for all his hard work, see how many points he got or just simply discuss his next strategies with the system - but that would all have to wait for a while.

    After all, as he said before, today was a day dedicated to the protagonist. It wouldn''t be fun if he ignored him and decided to talk with the system instead.

    Unlike his past self which bore no hatred or animosity towards the protagonist, and would even want to ignore him, the current Rio had developed a form of wariness against this chosen son of fate, that just wouldn''t leave him alone now. The incident from 2 years ago, was simply a p of reality for him because of taking things too lightly and thinking of himself as untouchable.

    He didn''t want to repeat his experiences. He only met 2 protagonists till now, one already killed him once and the other''s fate influenced the events and he almost died again. If not for hisst bit of luck and strong will, he would''ve been turned into a freaking zombie by now. Roaming around eating other zombies.

    So he wanted to be careful around this guy from the very beginning.

    Rio looked upwards to the floating panel of rankers, and he could see their faces, the main characters of the academy arcs. The hero, heroines and viins - all on the same stage. Looking at the surprised face of the protagonist, as he tried to make sense of this situation, Rio couldn''t help but smile.

    ''How does it feel, when someone takes everything away from you? When someone just swoops in and steals the things you fought hard for? Do you feel helpless? Irritated? Does it feel annoying - I bet it does. It did for me 2 years ago. This is just the beginning, me your gods for they started it.''

    Rio turned his attention away from him and started walking forward. He was moving towards the first rows of the crowd, where the children of nobility, and the students who were invited to join this academy and didn''t participate in the public exams were seated.

    [ �� The entrance exams were divided into 2 parts. The first part, conducted by the World Association, which was mandatory for every aspiring student to pass. This initial examination served as a filtering mechanism, determining the candidates'' basic qualifications. Once that was done the students could be given choices to choose the academy where they want to join and study.

    After that, the chosen academy would process their application and check their performance. If it satisfies them, they either send you a letter of invitation with which you can directly join the academy. Or they call you to take part in another public entrance exam, done solely by that academy. If you pass that you can join, if not, then you either try to go to some other academy or try again next year.

    This second exam done by the academy also dictates the first rankings of the new year students, and those on top get to show off in front of the whole world, like just right now. This is why many nobles and even those who received invitations join this exam to get a better ranking and show their superiority and bolster their reputation and status.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Obviously there are also those who like to keep a low profile or want to keep their abilities to themselves and don''t like participating when they''re already fixed to join, so they ignore this test and rankings.

    Despite the grandeur of the rankings celebration and the immediate fame it brought, these rankings held little practical value within the academy itself. The real difference and real ranking of students gets done after the end of their first semester and 6 month exams. That ranking provides a more urate reflection of students'' academic and practical achievements, effectively distinguishing the cream of the crop from the load of crap. �� ]

    Rio walked through the pathways ignoring everything and everyone, the questions, the rumors, the theories - everything anyone said, went from his one ear to another, as he kept moving.

    However his steps came to halt when someone just crashed into his body. Looking down at the girl who hugged him as tightly as she could, her tears staining his attire as her voice trembled with emotion.

    "I''m _ I''m sorry. It was all my fault. If I didn''t _ then _ I missed you so much."

    He wanted to look at her face to see who she was, when he heard her apologizing to him and he realized her identity.

    His hands instinctively rose tofort her trembling back, but stopped midway, when the memories of what happened 2 years ago started ying in his head again.

    "Get out of here"

    "We don''t have any time "

    "We can''t leave him behind."

    "We have no other choice now leave _ "

    "Riiioooo _ !! "

    The sounds of what he remembered while he was fighting for his life, the scenes when all those so called friends and ssmates of his left him to die and ran away from that dungeon. Their running backs as he felt his body getting crushed in a million pieces, the pain that felt like eternity and would never end - as the girl''s apologies washed over him, they acted as triggers for the scenes he forgot.

    Her cries and sorry''s brought out all the memories he buried in his heart. The charade he put around himself as he tried to act normal near his family was broken, as his eyes got a cold glint, now devoid of any emptions, his fists clenched in anger and bloodlust started leaking out from his body.

    _

    Few minutes ago,

    Various students from the student council were talking to each other in their office. Chatting happily as the entire event was progressing smoothly and there was no problem anywhere.

    "Hey Lisa, you didn''t tell us your brother was that talented?" One of the students suddenly said, as they looked at the big screen focusing on the tform.

    "Yeah, he took the first rank. He must be a genius." Another one chimed in.

    Hearing their questions, a girl with short red hair smiled and said - "Well, what did you expect, I already knew he''d be talented too, by just looking at Lisa''s ranks."

    Her logic was simple, since the big sister is so talented, lil bro would be somewhat good too right. The boy from earlier nodded his head too, but in his defense he started saying -

    "That''s true. But still, he even broke Rio''s record, now that was unexpected right?"

    He had just finished his words, as the atmosphere in the room shifted subtly, like a breeze turning chilly. Lisa, the older sister of the talented neer they were talking about, turned around to address her friends.

    "You guys can keep watching from here, I''ll go check on everyone else."

    As she left the room, the gazes of herpanions shifted to the boy who had unknowingly ignited a spark. They all had the same expression that was saying - ''seriously dude''.

    It took a moment for him to realize what he did or said. But by the time he realized Lisa was already gone. He looked back at his friends who were still staring at him, like looking at a fool. "What? It just slipped out. Not my fault."

    His protestations were met with sighs and incredulous looks. The red-haired girl among them stood up, her tone carrying a mix of irritation and concern.

    "I''ll bring her back. And you, no more slip-ups this time."

    The room fell into a lull as the door closed behind her. The boy grumbled to his friends, trying to justify his thoughtlessment.

    "What''d I do? She can''t keep everyone from mentioning his name, when her brother is literally going to bepared with Rio right from the start."

    A chorus of reproachful nces met his exnation. Another boy chimed in, attempting to reason with him.

    "You should''ve been more careful. You know she''s been extra on edge ever since those rumors about his return started circting."

    The boy, still defensive, voiced his frustration.

    "Well, fuck them girls anyway. She left him to die there, and now she''s acting like this. If she was going to be so emotional about it, she should''ve stayed there with him. I just don''t understand girls."

    Outside the room in the hallway, Lisa removed themunication crystal that connected every member of the student council. The words of that boy reached her ears, stinging like ash. An indignant rage surged within her, colliding with the guilt and pain she had felt. She clenched her fist around the crystal, and crushed it.

    Anger surged into her, as she couldn''t find the words to refute what he said. After all, that was the truth. Guilt, pain, anger - it all crashed into her.

    Walking to a nearby window, she leaned against the frame and lit a cigarette, as she kept staring at the crowd that gathered below, cheering for her brother, happilyparing him with Rio.

    ###

    A/N - what r ur thoughts about this gal?

 Chapter 172 Shock To The World - Hes Really Back

    ?

    Lisa sat down on a chair, she took out a pink mask from her rings and kept looking at it. It was thest thing she had that reminded him of her, thest thing of his that she still had.

    "If only I listened to you, none of it would''ve happened. We would''ve still been friends and you would still be alive." She thought out loud.

    She was still sitting there when her friend, Elena came towards her. "So you were here. I was looking everywhere. Come on, let''s go back."

    "You can go ahead, I''lle after some time." Lisa said.

    Hearing her reply, Elena sighed, as she sat near her too. She heard what that idiot said through her inte too, so she could guess why she was sitting here with the plump look instead of going back. "Come on Beth, you know how those boys are. Just ignore them."

    "Why? What he said was the truth. We left him there. We left him to die, when he was the one fighting to protect us." Lisa said.

    Elena shook her head, hearing her best friend say that. "We had no choice Beth."

    Even she was feeling guilty for what happened back then, but it''s not like crying about it now would change anything or bring him back. "I''ve told you this a million times before Beth, but everyone would''ve done the same in that situation."

    "He wouldn''t. He could''ve but he didn''t." Lisa replied as she looked at her friend.

    Elena would''ve retorted or said something else, but her thoughts were stopped, as the phone in her hands started vibrating. Looking at the name of the guy calling him, she wanted to curse out loud. As it was the same idiot who ruined the whole mood because of his bbermouth "what?" She said irritably

    "Both of you back at office now. There''s a situation at the entrance." He said hurriedly.

    "What happened?" She asked, her tone changing to pure seriousness. Thinking if something like what happened 2 years ago was happening right now.

    "It''s Rio. He''s back at the academy. Bring Lisa back to, the crowd''s getting out of hand, we''re going ahead."

    -he''s really alive-

    -but did he have toe back today? Damn it, this will ruin the whole event.-

    Elena, who was confused at first, heard what others were saying in the background, she stood up in a hurry, and looked outside the window.

    "Fucking hell" She muttered, looking at the floating screens that were showing his face.

    "What happened?" Lisa asked, as she stood up after seeing her reactions.

    "So they weren''t just rumors."

    Elena said, as she turned to look at Lisa, who was looking at the screens without batting an eye. Her face bore a shocked expression as she muttered - "It''s him. He''s _ he''s really back."

    Elena snapped into action, recognizing the urgency of the situation.

    "We need to go back to the office, Beth. Gather everyone and handle it fast." Elena said and turned around, but soon she felt a gust of air pass by her, she looked at her friend who disappeared from her ce.

    "Damn it. Now''s not the time Beth." Elena shouted, looking at Lisa''s leaving back, but getting no answer in return, she could only follow behind her.

    ��---

    Leon, who was enjoying his time at the high podium, looking at the ground below where everyone cheered for him, the gazes of others that looked up to him with admiration, envy and jealousy filled his heart with pride. It was proof that all his hard work wasn''t in vain. That the blood, sweat, tears he shed in the past 2 years weren''t for nothing. That all his pain meant something, that it all led to this moment - and for God, did it feel good now.

    ''I did it. I proved myself in front of the whole world.'' He thought, as he casted a gaze at hundreds of people standing below. His thoughts had just finished when a voice rang out in his ears -

    [Do not feel proud of this little achievement, mortal. They know you today, and they''ll forget you tomorrow. This is just the beginning of your journey. Remember your goal, your dream and never give up on chasing it.]

    ''I know. And I won''t. I will be the greatest under the sky. The greatest that ever lived. And make sure that they never forget me. Never again.''

    Hearing the voice of his God, the one who showed him light, who helped him when no one else did. Leon dered again. His fists clenched as his determination to grow strong beyond limits became evident in his eyes. They had a fire in them, that fueled his determination to reach the zenith of power.

    6 years, that''s how long he lived his life beingbeled as a waste, a worthless weak nobody, a disgrace to the noble bloodline -all that suffering, all that humiliation and hatred is what fueled his anger and determination to be the strongest.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    All for the sake that he never has to feel that helpless again, that he never has to hear those disdainful whispers, or feel the gazes of others looking down at him with pity and disgust, never again did he wanted to be like that.

    That''s why, when he finally got a chance to prove himself, when someone finally showed him the ray of hope, gave him a hand he could hold and stand up again, he took it without hesitation.

    The God of Sun, the one true God of Arcadia - Apollo, had chosen him to be his follower. To be his sessor, andhe would prove it to the world, that those whom it had ignored and looked down upon -can be the ones to shape their own destiny again, given the chance.

    ''Everyone who looked down upon me, will pay their price''

    He thought as he looked at Nexus and Lincoln, the 2 guys responsible for all his misfortune. If it had not been for them fighting with him and their goons stopping his awakening, he would''ve awakened sessfully and never would he have had to suffer 6 years of hell.

    No one helped him, believed his words, not even his parents asked for justice after he told them the truth - "we don''t have the power" That''s what his father told him that day.

    Power - that''s what hecked, and that''s why he had to live his life with his head bowed down. But not again, now he had power and he would do whatever it takes to grow even more powerful.

    Powerlessness was the root of his misery, and power would be the foundation of his redemption.

    [These fools aren''t your enemies mortal. Do not give into your anger and hatred. Let them fuel your determination to grow, grow into something that they can''t even look up to. Grow to the point where they have to look down willingly cause they can''t stand your light_]

    ''Just like a sun.'' Leon finished his gods word.

    In Leon''s eyes both he and his God were simr, both were loved and revered, and yet when they failed once, the whole world forgot about them. Him failing in his awakening and his God failing in killing the demon king - one mistake, and they all cast them aside. And soon enough they will all regret it.

    Leon''s determination was right in his ce, his thoughts praiseworthy, but sadly his happiness was not what a certain someone wanted, as now HE made his entrance.

    The atmosphere around Leon shifted suddenly, like a gust of wind that extinguished a zing fire. The drones that were focusing on him, the gazes that were looking up at him, the cheers that were praising him -were all lost in a matter of moments, as they all now focused on someone new.

    Someone who just entered and took everything to himself. It was as if the world''s attention had shifted, and Leon''s moment of glory was eclipsed in an instant. His moment in the spotlight had transformed into a mere backdrop, overshadowed by this neer''s arrival.

    Surprised Leon looked at the expressions of those at the tform and even they were looking at the screens in a surprised manner too. He tried to remember who that boy was, but he couldn''t find any recollection.

    Straining his memory, he tried to ce the face, to connect it to a name, but it eluded him. An unsettling feeling washed over him, a mixture of curiosity and unease.

    So he wanted to ask his God, Apollo, who that boy was, when to his surprise, a sight he never thought possible unfolded right in front of him.

    In the floating screens, he saw his sister running towards that boy and hugging him tightly. Tears were scrolling down her eyes nonstop. He never thought he''d ever see his sister crying or breaking down like that, surprise wouldn''t even describe what he was feeling right now.

    "Who is he?" He wondered aloud.

    [Someone who came back from the dead.]

    ###

    A/N - how u like that? Ehh. Was it good, mid or perfect?

    Also Protagonist''s sister''s name is Elisabeth Heartwell - that''s why some call her Lisa and some Beth.

    <<<Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

 Chapter 173 Bloodlust

    ?

    Rio looked down at Lisa''s figure, hugging him tightly, his hands still frozen midway as the memories of that time came back to his mind.

    Lisa, who was too happy after seeing him alive and back, had directly ran towards him earlier. She had heard rumors and read all reports of his return too, but no one confirmed anything and she doubted the validity of the stories too.

    She had seen herself how badly wounded he was back then, just surviving with those injuries alone would''ve been a hard feat, let alone adding along surviving a dungeon crash and then having to live in a failed world of immortal enemies for 2 whole years.

    But seeing him here, walking alive, she couldn''t hold back herself as she just held him and poured out all the guilt and pain she had kept hidden. She had even forgotten about the people surrounding them or the fact that the whole world was probably watching everything, as she was too lost in her emotions and excitement.

    Rio, on the other hand, was swept away by memories that were far from the rosy sentiment of the moment.

    He shared no simr feelings for her now. The anger and disappointment he felt towards her, coupled with all the things that incident led to, and all that he suffered in the past 2 years -only fueled his fury. The warmth of Lisa''s hug shed with the cold recollections of his pain and suffering.

    The slight bloodlust oozing out from his body only grew more potent over time.

    His body was itching all over as the memories of having his skin pierced all over by that damn radiation came back, the feeling of having his body crushed and sted for a dozen time in a matter of milliseconds, the memories of fighting and getting drowned by all those monsters - it all only fueled his bloodlust, as it kept leaking out from his body.

    The atmosphere around him simply turned silent and deathly cold, feeling the heaviness of air and having trouble in breathing - Lisa looked up at Rio''s face, only to see 2 ck orbs of darkness staring down at her face.

    "Rio _ I.." Lisa stutteried as she her face failed to form proper words. Their eyes kept locked with each other. Showing the opposite reactions they had after seeing the other.

    Lisa wanted to say something when she felt lost, her heart was simply too lost in its thoughts to pump up the blood necessary to function her body. She simply stood frozen, as she bore the brunt of his bloodlust, her eyes were getting dull and she was tattering on the verge of losing her consciousness, when someone grabbed her hand and pulled her back some steps.

    The sudden jolt awoken mind and body, as she started taking deep breaths to calm herself. Elena looked at Rio whose eyes were staring at her now. One nce at those ck orbs was enough to tell her that gone was the light and cheering personality of the friend they used to know, and what stood before them was simply the remnant.

    Rio, who was still lost in his thoughts, felt someone pull his hands and called him.

    "Brother"

    Hearing Amelia''s shout and looking at her trembling hands, her sweat-dampened forehead, Rio snapped back to reality.

    As the bloodlust permeating his body disappeared. It all onlysted for a few moments and then ended like it was never really real. If not for the shocked faces of Elena, Lisa and Amelia - no one would even know what happened.

    The barrier around them had stopped his bloodlust from leaking out, and aside from the guards who walked near him, and these 3 girls no one probably even felt a difference.

    The sudden turn of events that happened didn''t only surprise Leon and his God, but it was actually a shock for everyone. Rio''s return confirmed the rumors and every media or guest at the function was curious about it. But before they could get any answer from him, the scene of the present unfolded in front of the whole world.

    Many people identified the girl who suddenly appeared near them, those who didn''t started guessing after seeing the uniform she wore - they were surprised by that, when suddenly a new girl came and pulled her away. Even to the reporters it was all so confusing to guess what was happening.

    Those with high ranks or rtive blessings might''ve sensed his bloodlust, but no one with that kind of power or useful ability would choose to work as a useless reporter. That was a job mostly fixed for duds(unawakened) and those who have no other option.

    Unlike Earth, where journalism was a respected profession, in Arcadia, it was relegated to information guilds and select publications. The dissemination of news and information was far less democratic, and the power dynamics that governed society shaped every aspect of life, including how stories were told and shared.

    Here reporters can''t just shove their mikes in celebrities'' faces and ask them weird questions. This was a world governed with power, where your survival depended on your own. So this kind of work was simply looked down upon and left for duds or weak awakened.

    Rio closed his eyes, reeling back all his memories and emotions. After some moments, when he felt he could face them without losing his control, he opened his eyes again. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, his face turned expressionless, no one could tell what he was thinking anymore.

    The abrupt switch from overwhelming anger toplete neutrality was almost unsettling.

    He turned towards Amelia, who calmed down herself after suppressing the effects his sudden outburst caused. Though she, Lisa, Elena everyone could protect themselves against something like this, by channeling their mana. But it was simply because Lisa was too lost in her emotions and Amelia simply didn''t expect something like this.

    Though her mother had warned her that something like this might happen considering what he might''ve been through in the dungeon. Even though they didn''t know what exactly happened inside the dungeon, as the world association was the one who issued all reports, and Artemis didn''t trust a single word they or their students said to cover their sorry asses.

    So Artemis had told Amelia to stop Rio if he does something in anger or loses his cool.

    Unlike Amelia around whom Rio always maintained his peaceful personality, and behaved like the calm and collected big brother. Artemis knew him better. In all these years she had seen him do many things that even gave her a shock sometimes. She had summarized Rio''s personality as best she could, and that''s why she could guess that him acting normal all this time was simply a charade. .

    She had no problem in helping Rio punish everyone who hurt him, but since he didn''t say anything to her himself, she could only hold herself back from pressuring him.

    Rio ignored Lisa and Elena or the other students who gathered around them, as he turned towards Amelia - "Sorry."

    "It''s okay." Amelia smiled and nodded her head, showing she was fine and he shouldn''t worry.

    Gathering her courage Lisa came forward to speak with him again."What happened back then.I know it was all our fault and if you want,_"

    "It was, wasn''t it? Rio said, cutting her off.

    "Rio , I''m _ " Lisa stood dazed, unable to utter a word, her emotions scattered like autumn leaves in the wind.

    "If you''re looking for my forgiveness, then you can forget it. You did what you did to survive. I can''t me you guys for that, right Elena?" Rio said, ncing at the red haired girl.

    "You''re right." Elena said, showing no change of expression on her face at the sudden mention.

    "See, she always gets the point." Rio said, while pointing at Elena. "It''s only right to leave someone behind, so others can survive. A wise choice."

    "I''ll be sure to remember it next time." Rio said coldly. His words reminded every student that if not for him, none of them would''ve walked out of that dungeon alive.

    Lisa stood silent through this conversation as his dismissal of me was like a double-edged sword, both absolving her from guilt and marking the scars of their past and cutting it off now.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Ignoring them, Rio started walking forward "let''s go Ames, principal''s waiting."

    Hearing his voice, Amelia followed behind him too and so did the guards of ke and Raven family.

    They all left, leaving the group of students from the council to deal with the questions, rumors, and implications that his presence had stirred, enmassed crowds and guests and a function which simply lost all its value - all with his arrival.

    While Leon just kept staring at his sister, still perplexed by the sudden changes. Apollo on the other hand, was cursing the primordial goddess Nyx in his heart, seeing the aura of darkness surrounding Rio.

    (What did you do, Nyx?)

    ###

    A/N - I know it was a filler too. Wrote it in a hurry. I''llpensate u all with a nice chapter tomorrow. Also join my discord for any questions and suggestions. Adios

 Chapter 174 Arcane Ascendant Tower

    ?

    Currently Rio along with Artemis was sitting in the office of principal of Zenith academy. The atmosphere was tense as the principal just kept staring at Rio without saying anything.

    "So you''re alive," the principal finally broke the silence, his voice carrying a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

    "I am," Rio replied calmly, his eyes meeting the principal''s gaze directly.

    "Can you tell me how?" The principal''s eyes scanned Rio. He was taken aback when he found no anomalies in Rio. Except for his decreased rank, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him or out of the ordinary.

    "Luck, I suppose," Rio answered with a casual shrug, showing little interest in borating further.

    The principal shifted in his seat, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. "So, what is the purpose of your visit here?"

    "I wish to continue my studies," Rio replied, his tone unwavering.

    "Here, at the academy?"

    "If you would grant me permission,then yes." Rio responded, still maintaining his calm demeanor.

    "And you have no objections?" The principal''s gaze shifted to Artemis, seeking her perspective.

    "As long as history doesn''t repeat itself, I don''t," Artemis replied firmly, her voice carrying a hint of warning.

    The principal nodded thoughtfully, his fingers stopped as he pondered something. After a moment, he spoke again, "Is that your only purpose for today? Your abrupt appearance has stirred quite amotion."

    "I didn''t see my invitation saying I can''t bring my son with me." Artemis said, looking at the principal. "And you already knew he was back."

    Principal acknowledged her answer with a nod. He did send invitations to their house, as it was a courtesy to invite all noble houses. Even if he ignored that, he had to send an invitation for Agnus as he owned one of the top guilds. He was also well aware of Rio''s survival, having known about it since the day he was brought back. However, he didn''t expect Artemis to bring him into the limelight in such a manner.

    Artemis, as if reading her thoughts continued saying - "It was inevitable for him to reintroduce himself sooner orter. Doing it now when the whole world was watching, only solved the issue more efficiently."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "The Zenith academy doesn''t ept students directly in second years, nor does it ept one to skip years. But since you were already a student of ours, and looking at your results, you can start your studies when second year sses begin next month."

    "I''d like to enter the Arcane Tower before then," Rio dered, his words surprising both Artemis and the principal.

    Artemis, though taken aback, kept her silence, trusting him.

    "I can''t grant that request. The rules of the association and the predecessors have been clear, that the key to the entrance of the tower can only be given after one passes the exams of every year and clears the trial grounds."

    "And I didn''t finish my exams." Rio said, and the principal nodded his head.

    "Each year only 100 students can enter the tower, and since you were missing, your ce was given to someone else. So I cannot allow you entry." The principal said.

    "In that case, I want to repeat my year, instead of continuing directly in the second year." Rio proposed.

    "You would like to waste a year of your time learning things you already know." Principal asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

    "I have no other choice. The only reason the children of noble and elite backgrounds attend any of the top 5 academies is to ess the tower. If I can''t enter it then the purpose of studying here diminishes." Rio said.

    "If someone who didn''t attend the academy said this, I might let it slide, as they don''t know the difference between the level of learning we have. But you should be fully aware of the disparity in education between us and other institutions." The principal replied.

    "I am. And that''s precisely why I came here today to attend again. Even after everything that happened, I want to keep studying here. But if you don''t allow me the single reward you have then won''t that be a loss for me." Rio said.

    "But _ "

    Principal was saying something when Artemis produced 2 letters from her ring and passed them towards the principal. Principal curiously looked at them as Artemis continued her words.

    "Sunshine academy has sent an invitation for my children to join. They even agreed to Rio''s request to start afresh. And I''m sure other academies would also agree, if they figured that''s the only requirement to secure a genius in their ranks. I don''t see why you have a problem with that?"

    The principal looked at the admission letter which clearly stated that Rio could start from first year''s ss. But the principal still had his reservations and was hesitant. Allowing someone who''s as talented as him, and also knows everything about their entire schedule would be unfair to every other student. So he said his thoughts -

    "Rio has finished his studies, even his exams, he knows everything. Putting him in the same room as the freshers would be unfair to them."

    "Life isn''t fair - That''s what you said to the world 2 years ago after that incident. I''m sure you can say that to some students of yours." Artemis interrupted, quoting his words to him. "Plus he was ranked one back then, and at best he''ll be ranked one this time too, no difference there."

    "I''m not so sure about that." Rio said, ncing at his mother "Didn''t you see, someone even broke my record this time, so I might not even take first rank among them. It''s the golden generation after all - some of those students might bring surprises, who knows?"

    Principal fixed his eyes on Rio, but his expression didn''t falter even for a second. He thought for a second, but he had already made his decision.

    Now he knew why Rio made his entrance today only and that too, here at this function.If now the news broke out that the zenith academy refused his readmission, after he wanted to forget everything and rejoin the academy�C It would only tarnish their name. In normal cases it wouldn''t hurt or he wouldn''t even care, but his case was different.

    What happened 2 years ago, was already a stain on their name, if now another scandal broke out it wouldn''t be good. Furthermore, Rio''s departure might set off a chain reaction, influencing other students, particrly those he had helped during the incident.

    The influence of ke family, along with his own, couldn''t be missed. The scene of Lisa was simply an example of his effect in his ss. There were many students he saved back then so some of them might even follow him. Even those Royal siblings and some other rankers might leave if he left the academy now. Which could even potentially lead to Zenith losing its position as the number one academy.

    So he had no choice but to agree. He wanted to smile at himself, for how he was being fooled by a kid. But as he said, there was no other option.

    "Wee back to Zenith academy." He said.

    His words brought a subtle smile to Rio''s face, as finally everything was back on track. The plot begins.

    And living here now, he can finally continue his ns which were stopped because of that incident.

    ��----

    ****** After the emergence, there have been many emerging towers and dungeons around the world. Dungeons could be solved after defeating the boss monster or solving the puzzle they possess or just finishing a narrative. After which they be safe to live and harvest profits from -Towers were different.

    Unlike dungeons, towers have no goals or clearing conditions. While dungeons are small parts of other worlds, towers epass entire realms on their various floors. Hell towers where each floor consists of an entireyer of hell.

    Towers are bigger, better and more dangerous than dungeons. They can never be finished, solved or emptied. No matter how many times you clear them or kill all the monsters, as long as one doesn''t clear the final floor, the monsters can keep respawning over a certain duration.The notion of "finishing" a tower was an immense challenge, given the sheer scale andplexity of each floor.

    In dungeons, the number of challenges is limited, where one can learn from other''s sacrifice and help, and clearing them is easy. But towers, now that''s a different stuff. An entire world, which is ever changing, ever growing - now finishing that would be a challenge.

    As not all dungeons are bad, not all towers are filled with monsters too. One such tower which has many profits is Arcane tower. A tower which can help augment one''s growth and increase their potential. One which can give enormous benefits with the least amount of risks involved - is Arcane Ascendant tower.

    This tower is the pride and prestige of world association. They control this tower, and this is why they are famous and powerful.

    What set the Arcane Ascendant Tower apart was its unique feature: death within the tower was not permanent. While other towers spelled true death for those who perished within their confines, the Arcane Tower would simply return the individual to the outside world. This aspect made it particrly attractive, as it allowed for learning, exploration and training without the ultimate risk.

    The academies under the world association got famous because they announced the simple requirement of entry in this tower - which is that only students of the top 5 academies can enter it. This tower consists of 5 floors. And each floor is only essible to students after they have passed their selective years at academy and got into the ranks of top 20 in their academy.

    These are the requirements set for centuries. Every year, a batch of 100 students could enter a floor, vying for opportunities and rewards. This stringent selection process ensured that only the most exceptional individuals had ess.

    _

    This is why the principal couldn''t allow Rio to enter the tower, as it''s not in his hands. To give him entry would mean changing the permissions engraved on the floor keys made by the previous heads of world association or creating a separate key for Rio to enter while refusing entry to one of the students from the next batch of 100.

    No other academy would leave their slot for Rio, meaning zenith academy would have to send 19 students of first year and Rio, if they allow him. Which might be fair to Rio, but it''ll be unfair to the guy who got 20th rank in first year. This is why even this option was scrapped.

    ###

    A/N - also I haven''t thought up a name and appearance for the principal, that''s why I didn''t mention them yet. If u got some suggestions, do tell me.

 Chapter 175 Scary grandma - Patricia Blake

    <h4>Chapter 175 Scary grandma - Patricia ke</h4>

    After talking with the principal, Rio came back out. Amelia was staying with Patricia, she didn''t participate in the second part of entrance exams anywhere. And was going to join Sunshine academy directly with the invitation, but now that decision has been changed. Patricia had already informed the principal of sunshine academy about it and he understood it too. There was nothing he could do, since he couldn''t just force her to study there. The application where she chose sunshine as the first choice was also dismissed and Artemis already talked about her admission at Zenith academy too.

    The principal had no problem with it, as he already anticipated it. Amelia only refused the admission letter from Zenith academy due to Rio''s demise and now that he was back and joining here again, she had no reason to go anywhere else.

    Aftering out from the office, Rio and Amelia, along with Patricia went back to their mansion. While Artemis along with the principal went forward to release a statement to all those reporters and crowd.

    Rio wanted to do a press conference himself, so he could answer their questions and mold the truth and rumors in his own way. Knowing that questions aboutparison between him and Leon would be asked, he was actually looking forward to fanning the mes of jealousy and pride in the protagonist.

    But Artemis didn''t want that. She was adamant on keeping Rio away from the media for now. She didn''t doubt Rio''s ability to handle them, but she didn''t want him toe across people whobeled him as ackey of some evil God or those churchists who believed him to be a chosen one.

    Once he joined the academy he couldn''t leave ore into contact with the outside world easily, so it wouldn''t be a problem for a while and with that much time the people would mostly forget about many things. So she herself went forward to answer the questions of everyone.

    After leaving the floating inds through teleportation gates, Rio, Amelia and Patricia were on their way to ke mansion now. The journey had been a silent one, as Rio fell asleep as soon as he sat down. He didn''t sleep a minutest night, as he was busy going through his ns, so he was feeling tired now that it was all over.

    The journey from the magic association branch, where the teleportation gates left them, to their mansion was going to take more than an hour, and considering Esme was the one driving the car, it would only take longer.

    Finally after getting a short nap when he opened his eyes again, he found Amelia sleeping at the side too. her head gently resting on Patricia''s shoulder.

    He was looking at Patricia, the grandmother of the original Rio. She had short ck hair, tinged with streaks of silver in between. Her face showed signs of subtle wrinkles, while her eyes hidden behind a pair of sses. Her attire consisted of simple clothes, nothing fancy for her standards. But still no one could judge her, as just her aura and the way she carried herself spoke volumes.

    Ignoring them Rio looked at the time, it had already been an hour and half since they left. He looked outside and from the surroundings he could identify they were about to reach their estate.

    Rio was nning to summon his system and have a talk with it, when Patricia asked something, that drew his attention

    "So who was that girl?"

    "One of my previous ssmates."?Rio replied. Knowing she was probably asking for Lisa. The scene she created did catch the eyes of many. He was trying to imagine the reaction of the protagonist, since at that time he didn''t look for him. But it was to no avail, since he didn''t know about the rtionship between them now. Last he heard from Lisa, Leon was still unawakened and they were close. But now after 2 years, he didn''t know if Leon''s awakening was the only thing that changed between them or were they still the same.

    Patricia looked at him and inquired again "She seemed happy to see you. One of your friends."

    "She was." Rio replied.

    Hearing his reply she just nodded her head, and started to look outside the window. Rio waited for a cross question but it never came.

    He looked at her face and there were no expressions. "You sensed it too, right?" He asked.

    "Your mess up in a crowd of hundreds, yes I did." She said, referring to me releasing my bloodlust. If not for that barrier preventing it from leaking out, it could really cause amotion for him.

    "So won''t you ask why?" Rio said. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Would you tell me if I asked?" Patricia looked at his face and replied.

    "Maybe not." He said, and she just nodded her head.

    "Keep the letters of admissions for me and Amelia as valid and waiting response. I don''t trust Zenith." Rio said trying to change the topic. Hiis words catching Patricia by surprise, which ended up in a smile.

    "And yet you still want to go there?" She said and continued "You see I never understood why your mother agreed to your requests even after everything that happenedst time. But I think I see it now." Patricia asked as she looked at him, her eyes boring into him "Tell me, what lies have you used to fool her into helping you?"

    "I''m sure you know it already. She must''ve told you, didn''t she?" Rio said, not rifying whom he was talking about - her Goddess or his mother.

    "And was that the truth?" She asked directly.

    "In a way it was." He replied truthfully. He didn''t want to continue this conversation, as her innate ability simply made it harder for him to lie and hide things from her. So he just replied in puzzles or indirectly, hoping it would be enough to keep her and her goddess'' curiosity in check.

    "You know why I wanted to have you join sunshine?" She asked.

    "Because you don''t trust Zenith and its principal."

    "No, it''s cause I don''t trust you." Patricia said, her gaze getting serious,as Rio had a bad premonition "You were trying to do something way out of your league and you didn''t think about the consequences. Thus it led to your death and a whole lot of mess. By joining back here, I think you just want to continue where you left. Isn''t that right, my little Rio?"

    "I don''t know what you mean." Rio said, channeling his mana trying to utilize his blessing that could stop her skills, if she used any.

    Looking at his efforts, Patricia just shook her head in dismissal before turning her gaze away "I''ll hold on to your letters, but be careful this time. There''s a limit to how lucky one can be."

    Hearing her words and seeing she had no efforts to ask or say anything else, Rio took a calm breath. ''She''s scary.'' He thought.

    ''These 2 are really a perfect pair.''

    He thought, remembering that the new grandparents of his were both monsters in their own way, one known for his brain and other for his brawn. He had only met this duo twice or thrice in all his time here and it was enough for him to know that fooling them was out of his league by a million miles.

    So he preferred to keep silent as much as he could when he was near them. At first he thought once he was all grown up and wasn''t a kid, he could handle them, but even that was impossible looking at Patricia now. These two had skills and gods backing them, that simply made no sense for a normal human to have.

    ''If only everyone loved me like Artemis or cleaned up for my actions silently like Servirous.'' Rio thought, remembering 2 others who were so nice to have around.

    ###

    A/N - any idea what her ability is? Or what Rio''s ns were and how she knows?

    Also join my discord

 Chapter 176 System online - calculating +99999

    <h4>Chapter 176 System online - calcting +99999</h4>

    After reaching their house, Rio instantly excused himself from Patricia and left for his room. He didn''t want to start another talk and reveal something that could put his ns in peril. After all, even just talking about questions in a roundabout way won''t save his secrets, as with her innate ability of color vision and blessing of probability, she can just cut whatever guesses shees up with, until she finds the real reason and truth.

    Color vision, an ability which helps one to see world in a form of different colors. Every emotion, every feelings and expression seems different in colors to the users eyes. Every sentiment and intention wereid bare to her, their true nature disyed in a spectrum of hues.

    With this ability, lying to her was a joke. That''s why Rio also said, she could perceive his bloodlust just by a nce, despite whatever barrier that seprated them.

    [She was like Jack the ripper from record of ragnarok, but less criminally insane and more rationally smart.]

    Blessing of probability, a skill of goddess of chance Tyche, once learned can allow the one to see possible oues of any situations. This blessing wouldn''t be that broken but she had perfected it and even managed to merge it with other blessings of simr effects, and upgraded it. The result was an elevated version that not only showed her the possibilities but also lets her take a peek into the cause and effects of certain situations. This upgrade gave her another formidable edge, setting her apart from others who had simr gifts.

    He was curious about how much of his ns she guessed and confirmed, but he didn''t have the guts to go and confirm his doubts. He did learn some skills that can hinder her powers, knowing he would need it someday. But his mastery over them was much less than what he hoped for.

    "Don''t let anyone in."

    Rio ordered Aina, and went inside his room, locking it with the formations he ced himself around the door.

    After knowing he was alone, he justy down on his bed and called for his system. But even after waiting for next 2 minutes he got nothing, no reply.

    "Why''re you so silent? Don''t tell me you died again?"?He said. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    A familiar voice resonated within his mind this time. [I was just going through your memories of everything you did in the past 8 years.]

    A hint of yful sarcasmced Rio''s response. "And, was that too little?"

    [Too little, is the time you spent in that dungeon. What were you thinking trying to do that?] System asked in a surprised tone. The audacity of this host to joke, even after everything that happened.

    "I was just trying to solve annoying people, before they be annoying problems." Rio defended himself

    [And look where that led you, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.]

    [Luck, fate, heavens - you''ve read so many novels, so many stories, why the hell did you forget them? Do you know you could''ve died back then, and no one would''ve been able to save you.]

    "That wasn''t my n. Shit just went haywire with the academy, Warzy and his interference." Rio retorted, his irritation mounting at the system''s criticism.

    However instead of backing down, system countered back [Of course, he''d interfere. Did you think he was gonna sit back and let you kill all of them? And trusting a heroine, that too the hero''s sister - I thought you were smarter than that.]

    System''s words annoyed him, as it reminded him of all his missteps and mistakes.

    "Spare me the lecture, you know what was going to happen if I let everything be. That was the only option. And besides, I''ve learned my lesson and I''m still alive. So forget it now."

    System could only sigh at his words. It really came across a weird one this time. Who the fuck tries to do that? If not for this guy''s weird brain and that being''s watchful eyes on him, system would''ve really liked to pry open and see, what''s wrong with this guy. It literally went into an error 404 , 2 times before it finally rebooted at level 1.

    "Now ignore all this and skip your demo or promo or whatever you got at level 1. Just show me everything that''s changed."

    Rio asked, changing the topic back to system and other things. Since plot had started now, system was upgraded to level 1 , so he needed to learn everything that changed and n ordingly.

    The students were given a week''s time after the celebration, before they have to report back to the academy. After that, they had another week of time, to just live in their dorms and get familirized with the academy''s surroundings and everything else.

    For that week, there''d be tours around the academy so new students don''t get lost and need a finger to guide them to sses when sessions start. There would also be briefings and demo''s of history and basic introctions of rules andws to follow in the academy.

    This one week free time, also allowed new students to get used to living there. And learn about their batchmates.

    Since Rio had already been there for a whole year, he didn''t need to go through all that. But since Amelia needed too, he couldn''t ignore it. Who knows if he let her go there, and protagonist''s luck pulled him across her. There are too many weird nonsensical coincidences written in harem dramas - he didn''t want any of that shit to happen around her.

    So now he only had a week before the academy starts, and he joins the frey with all the characters.

    In this time, he needed to utilize his system and all those points he earned, to get some stuff and learn some skills. Since the system boasted that it''s shop has everything, he had actually made a bucket list of stuff he could buy and get to make his ns smoother.

    [Ding]

    [Great viin system bound with the host]

    [Congrattions on surviving for all this time. Your perseverance have paid off and now you have your trustedpanion ba_]

    "I think I told you to skip all this bullshit." Rio said as he pped the system panel. Obviously his hands passed through empty air, but who cares.

    He especially gave that order and here was this dumb AI recounting it''s sad cliched lines again.

    "You know what, just ignore everything - show me my points." Rio said, knowing this system was too dumb to understandplexmands.

    (And here I thought he''d miss me. Sigh, these useless hosts. No respect for their system.) System thought and switched the panels.

    [Notifications +9999??]

    [Checking world data . . .

    [Calcting the changes . . .

    [Calcting. . .

    [. . .

    ''Sigh don''t tell me, it''s gonna go into overload by how much I''ve changed stuff. Will it need a month or two to count points?'' Rio looking at that search button wanted to curse himself for thinking anything from this system. It needed a day to count the points of Noah''s death, how long would it take for it to count points for, hundreds of characters he changed fates of.

    Even the simple recent massacres his father caused against Warzy, had probably ruined many plotlines. Let alone, all he did in the 6 years before that.

    But unlike Rio''s thoughts, which drafted to if he should close this panel and sleep , or go and eat something made by the chef heroine. ''She really does make good food. I should just go and get something to eat.''

    [Calctionsplete]

    [Major changes in plotlines +999??

    [Finished plotlines -91??

    [Altered fate of characters -61??

    [Stolen chances -786??

    [Minor changes -5854??

    [Points distribution��

    [....

    [....

    [....

    [Total points - 968065

    (How in the hell is this novel still the same) system thought, wanting to cry at all the entertainment it would miss cause it''s host ruined so many plotlines already. This was the first time it came across a host as crazy as this, who the hell goes out of his way, just to steal some stuff for fun. (Was he a thief)

    Even Rio, who was prepared and estimated quite some points was shocked seeing the numbers. How long would he need to go through all those notifications, no that''s too much.

    His shock increased even more when he remembered, it was all before plot started. Which means ording to Noah''s death example, if he did all this after plot started he would''ve gotten around 4 times that amount.

    ''Damn I really went all out huh.''

    ''This world won''t just copse cause I messed up too much right''

    ''Well, atleast it''s all over. Now that plot has begun _ ''

    Rio was thinking something, when system heard his thoughts and remembered, that it forgot to count the points of today. It only checked the points while it was asleep.

    [Calcting. . .

    "What now?" Rio asked, surprised, that there was still something more.

    [Your points of today. When you showed up and stolen the protagonist''s limelight and ruined his entrance moment. Not to forget that hug from his sister and hit to their reputation.]

    "..."

    ###

    A/N - let''s pray for the plot.

    Also write a review you guys. A fucking 5 star review, how hard can it be to type that

 Chapter 177 Setting Off For The Academy

    ?

    In the blink of an eye, one week had passed. After Rio''s appearance in the entrance ceremony everyone knew he was back. With Artemis answering questions about how they found him and how he was now fine.

    She also announced that he would be joining Zenith academy again as a fresher, along with Amelia too. This caused quite a stir but after hearing principal''s exnation about why that was so, they all understood the reason. But the surprise was still there, as everybody knew how Artemis med the academy for the incident 2 years ago.

    They even remembered the rumors about how she had stormed into the academy and even fought and nearly killed their staff who were watching over the tournament and the dungeon. If not for the principal''s timely intervention, she would''ve killed them for sure.

    Some bold reporters even questioned her aboit them but her cold gaze was the answer they got. And that was enough to shut them up.

    When asked about how he survived, if some God helped him or not, she gave the answer Rio had told her "He became the avatar of Nyx and she protected him."

    This was another shocking news, but with this reveal the theories about some new evil God popping up to help him were lost, as no one wanted to question a primordials choice and power. Obviously this created another debate, and people who were iming to be the followers of Nyx started lining up in front of their manor to meet the chosen one of their goddess. But just like the previous month, no one was allowed entry and they could all just sigh in wait.

    After the first few days all these storming reveals calmed down. As the day of academy sessions came near, the news ofparisons between Rio and Leon started spreading across the whole continent. No one knew about Leon being Apollo''s avatar, so many praised him to be superior, since he even broke the record set by Rio.

    This only fueled morepetition to start as literally their names were spoken everywhere. Since the invention of mobile phones was a new discovery here, there weren''t any social entertainment sites or options like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc, but still something simr to whatsApp, where conversation between friends or a group, could happen were easily made. This app was was called Whisper.

    And currently, on whisper, everyone was only chatting and talking either about the entrance ceremony or him.

    Many people andpanies have been working on technology simr sites and stuff,after learning stuff from the people of modern and sci-fi world dungeons. But implementating them was still hard.

    [But that will take too much time to exin, so I''ll tell ya some other time. Now back to chapter]

    While the people in his family didn''t care about anyparison or record, Rio had paid special attention to everything. Especially the interview of Leon after the entrance ceremony, where he was asked questions about Rio.

    Till that point Leon had heard some stuff about Rio, and remembered him. When asked what he thinks about his reappearance and joining the same sses as him, his reply was simple that he was happy for him. Answering about who was superior in talent or who would rank higher among them his reply was even simpler - "He can''t be sure and that they''d know the answer when the first semester ends."

    Rio had watched the clips of Leon''s face filled with confusion when he first entered the ceremony, and from that he could guess, the guy had no idea who he was.

    He didn''t even remember the guy who saved his mother''s life now, but in the novel, he remembered Amelia who only showed him the way to princess, who saved his mother.

    He couldn''t help butugh at that fact - were the feelings of gratitude only for the heroines? And he who did the same thing got nothing, not even a recognition.

    It was really funny. Was it plot or just Leon being horny for girls - Rio wasn''t sure, but ohh well, not like he cared about that.

    ''Lisa''s reaction was enough of a blow for Leon and the more he learns about me, the more he''ll feel stressed and be wary of me.'' Rio thought.

    ''He actually hasn''t suffered anything yet, so he''s still gonna be arrogant and would act as a high horse for a while. Obviously that onlysts until he gets a taste of the bullyiny and the different treatment of nobility and elite families. That would''ve kept him busy for the whole semester, but now Rio wasn''t sure because of 2 things - Lisa''s behavior. And Apollo''s bber.''

    Thinking about Apollo, Rio couldn''t help but smile and mutter "That guy knows about me well enough, to warn his chic to be on his alerts. And now Rio just needed to see what the protagonist would do Or how he''d act with that knowledge.

    [You''re overthinking about him, host.] System who was hearing all his thoughts, came out and said- [Protagonist isn''t the only problem you got in the academy. Don''t forget about your mess ups ofst time. Some staff and students already hate you to the bone.]

    "Those bitches can''t do shit to me. They''re too scared to act in light, and I''m practically the blinding sun out there. And besides, with my current power, I can handle them even if theye for me." Rio said, ncing at his status window.

    [Hehe now you know the true extent of my powers. Do you still dare to take me for a joke.] System said haughtily. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This host always liked to make fun of it before, calling it useless, and a tenant, who lived in his head but didn''t pay rent - but after he looked at the items in its shop, he couldn''t even close his mouth for a while.

    (Ohh how funny that sight was) system thought and smiled again.

    Rio too this time said nothing, as this system really was too much. He wasn''t surprised by the items in shop, as he read ton of novels and knew that it would have all kinds of stuff there. He got surprised when he saw the list of skill section, which recorded the skills of the protagonist. Along with every skill, ability, artifact written in the whole novel, no matter the rank, ownership or origin, this system had a copy of everything.

    So he did what every viin who had a ton of points to spend could do, he copied everything.E

    Every skill and blessing Leon got from Apollo or his gang of minions, Rio had it too. Obviously he also bought skills which could perfectly counter those things too.

    So now he was someone who could even act as Leon, based on skills and perfectly oppose him too.

    Rio even wanted to buy the skills of Gods, but sadly he couldn''t. He could only buy skills of mortal characters for now. To get the skills/items of gods, which they didn''t even give to their avatars, he would have to upgrade the system to level 3.

    (It would be nice to buy some reassurance before emergence phase 2 starts. I''ll be more prepared to face them that way.) Rio thought.

    In the shop, there wasn''t any limitations, like he could only buy stuff which would suit his rank or something ording to his level, so he even got some skill slips and artifacts for this new family of his.

    This dungeon death, might have thwarted some of his ns but it also made some things easy, like now Amelia doesn''t question him much about where he gets all the free stuff he gives her. After thest time she asked too many questions and fought with him, he ended up dead in a dungeon, so now whatever questions she gets, she ignores them, instead of bothering him.

    Unlike her,whatever he gave to Artemis, she took it thinking he got it with the knowledge of his blessing. She would''ve doubted some items origins and the risk he had to take in acquiring them -but after she saw Rio actually pulling out skills from a tree trunk, or buying pills from a roadside, and mythical artifacts at a sloppy auction houses- she gave up onmon sense.

    In her mind, she always thought good things will be hidden and only gotten after clearing some trials and through risks, but whenever she took Rio out to roam around the city, he would do something like this, just to spite her and thenugh at her surprised reactions.

    So she now even stops questioning him, she just takes whatever he gets for her and his father. Yes, he doesn''t give his gifts to Agnus himself, he can''t fool his father or tell him about his blessing of fate. So he just hands them over to Artemis, who in turn passes them over to her husband.

    Myra, Esme and Erza looks at him in doubts sometimes, but he just starts to unt his status as heir of a duchy, and they stops asking anything.

    Ohhh i almost forgot about our alchemist, A, he had wrote down some recipes of potions for her and she had sessfully learned them now.

    As he guessed years ago when he saved her, she didn''t have the drive to learn alchemy as in the novel. She wasn''t desperate or dedicated enough to try everything, so her talents sucked. But with his subtle hints and her father''s guidance, she was still average.

    Thus Rio wrote down some recipes for her in a book and passed them to her as a gift on her birthday. That was thest he remembered of her, as after that he got trapped in the dungeon, yet looking at the message on his phone which said, "She had mastered everything, and couldn''t wait to show him the results." he couldn''t help but smile.

    It seems him being away, could also motivate her a little to try harder.

    ''Everything is prepared andso am I. So let''s leave.''

    ###

    His status window will be shown in next chapter and so is the academy. He leaves his house and goes there in next chapter too.

 Chapter 178 Status And Growth

    [Status]

    Name - Rio ke / Shiva Kumar

    Age - 18 / 30

    World - Arcadia/???

    Title - ???

    Chosen Gods - Hel

    ----Rank ~ Mortal C+ rank

    �C Aura manifestation rank

    ��---- Element ~ Darkness, Fire, Ice, Water, Wind, Nature, Blood, Light, Space

    ��---- Stats??-

    Strength:46

    Agility: 48

    Endurance: 53

    Intelligence: 49

    Mana: 36

    Perception:51

    Resilience: 35

    �� �� ��

    ��--- Spells??- 61

    Dark miasma

    Shadow control

    Curtain

    Reflection

    Mirage

    Mind Break

    Sunshine

    Frostbite

    Hellfire

    �� �� ��

    ��--- Techniques??- 11

    Foundation art (5*

    Silence star (4*

    Void sh (5*

    Morfid mana (4*

    Blood art (3*

    Rebound art (4*

    Elemental order (7*

    Druidic Dance(6*

    �� �� ��

    ��--- Blessing?? 69

    Dark maniption - 83% (Nyx)

    Threads of mana level 2 - 39% (Skuld)

    Sword heart - 31% (Bellona)

    Chaotic karma (Themis + Anubis)

    Gaze of hatred - 21% (Shani)

    Laughing Joker (Anansi + Caign)

    Devour - 11% (Beelzebub)

    Judgment - 9% (Dike)

    Whispering viin (Eris + Apate + Kali)

    Call of chaos 37% (Goddess Kali)

    Sight of a seer 12% (Cassandra)

    Eyes of archer 48% (Artemis)n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Master of magic (Hecate + Freyja)

    Copycat (Erato + Dolos)

    Blink of brilliance (Aphrodite)

    ���� ��

    ��---Quests -nil

    ��---Shop??-

    ��----Gifts - 3(sealed)

    ��---Inventory - 980

    ��---Points - 357060

    ��--- work in progress- Project Gemini

    Project Deicide

    Taking a look at his status after he was done spending his points, Rio couldn''t help but grin. It cost a little but just in one night, he was back to the rank where he was. His stats too were now somewhat what he had back then.

    The only thing that changed was the amount of mana he had, which is almost half of what he previously had. But he couldn''t hurry that now, since the aftereffects of EMMSY had still weakened him a little.

    He didn''t want to boost his strength back with the system''s help, he wanted to train himself for that and after that get his mana back.

    His resilience had fallen down a little too. Which is also because of the corrosive energy of that red sun in the dungeon. The sunlight there attacked one''s mind and senses, slowly making them dull and turning one into undead creatures.

    He could buy pills or potions from the system which could cure it, but they were a little pricey. Though he had points, he didn''t want to splurge them for free. And Rio already knew the recipe of a potion to heal himself, he just needed to wait until A masters that and makes one for him. Which with her talent, shouldn''t be long.

    Putting aside his rank and strength, he looked at his mastery of all the elements. Now other than Darkness which was his main element and reached proficient level, he had mastered some other elements too.

    Fire, ice, water and wind were at intermediate level. While nature and blood were at apprentice level. Leveling up Light and Space elements was hard, so he left them alone at the limit of amateur level, since he knew some of the protagonist''s ways to master them.

    Due to his blessings of ''master of magic'' and the protagonist''s technique ''Elemental order'' , he could easily learn them further now.

    He then spent his points on learning and mastering the skills of ice and water elements. After all, countering the protagonist was the most important thing. He also bought other useful spells of some characters and some new ones he found in the system shop.

    Though he could master them with points too, he decided to train them himself. Same was the case with techniques, he just bought some and kept them.

    Since he already mostly knew everything the academy will teach to the first year students, he''d have enough time to train them there.

    After the skills came the part about blessings. Over the years, he had gotten the attention of many gods and managed to acquire their blessings too. If not for the dungeon crash, by now he might''ve gotten a hell of a lot more, considering he was getting highlighted all over the world as a genius.

    But ohh well, he still has a chance.

    After all, showing himself superior in a batch of superior talents would attract more attention from gods.

    Instead of buying new blessings, Rio chose to spend his points on merging the simr blessings and unlocking their new upgraded version. Though this diminished his mastery over them, but it improved their effects, so he had noints.

    Talking about gods, he had managed to be the avatar of Hel, due to Loki''s interest in watching him. Yet Loki himself hasn''t even given him a single blessing, that slippery bastard.

    ''He''s just watching free drama.''

    Rio thought, remembering all the notifications he got from Loki. He''s always eitherughing or trying to throw suggestions to fool him. Even his artifacts he got himself are tricky ones.

    He had already fooled Cassandra too, and if not for that incident back then, he would''ve already be her avatar.

    After Noah''s death, Cassandra''s all other prophecies have failed too, reducing her reputation and impact of her church in the world. Obviously he yed a little part in that. Turns out having a family who runs their guild,panies and connections everywhere, makes things so smooth.

    He had promised her what she desired and that was enough to give her the hope to rise again.

    Maybe soon enough, both Skuld and Cassandra, 2 goddesses who y a important role in protagonist''s camp -would be the backers of the main viin.

    ''I also need to get Urd too. I don''t know what she saw and why she chose to side with him in the novel. But he has to get her too. Lest like he''s stealing the protagonist''s chances, someone else steals his.''

    [You''re forgetting about your main back up.]

    [Nyx still hasn''t chosen you as her avatar, and you''ve already boasted about it to the whole world. If shees out and says that you''re lying, all your reputation would be gone to shit.]

    "She won''t. She would''ve done it the moment I said that to mother. She didn''t, since she doesn''t care."

    "And she''s just dragging it out, like in the novel. She chose Rio on a whim one day too. And she''ll choose me too. That''s just her moodswings."

    [And your sister being the avatar of her rival has nothing to do with that.]

    "That''s true too. With both their nature, they would''ve preferred a fight between their avatars, but since that won''t be possible between us. Nyx is taking her time too."

    ''But I don''t need to be worried about her. She''s not gonna choose anyone else besides me and that''s certain. She can drag it out as long as she wants. Worsees to worse, I''ll just buy all her blessings from system and show her that I don''t need her. That oughta tick her off.''

    [That''s a really really bad idea, host.] System said Worriedly. This is why the skills of gods were locked for now. So it''s host doesn''t get the attention of gods, about how he got their original skills.

    Other skills can be exined saying that he copied them from their avatars. But if he bought and showed off skills that gods didn''t even give to their avatars, he''d be caught by them. It might even arouse the suspicion of world system too. Since it watches over the gods. Even if we ignore everything, messing with a primordial, is never a good idea.

    Rio also understood all those points. He wasn''t an idiot show off after all. "It''s just an idea. I''ll wait until phase 2 begins before doing that."

    The items of shop which were given by ''the being'' were still locked, and he hasn''t managed to open them yet. But he wasn''t worried about them.

    He also ns to meet with his alchemist too, since he brought some interesting potion recipes from the system.

    His inventory was filled with stuff he hoarded till now. Since the academy didn''t allow extra artifacts inside to anybody. And whatever he takes inside would be recorded in their data, this inventory of his had be his secret space to bring everything inside.

    He can even open a ck market inside the academy, and be the sole supplier of everything.

    Hell he could even bring inher cards or buy a fucking nuke and kaboom the academy, and no one could stop him.

    ''Wonder why no other protagonist''s who has a system in the novels I read ever did that.''

    [Because they aren''t as crazy as you, host. And why do you even want to st the academy anyway.] System asked, a little worried that it''s host might really do that someday. So it needed it''s rity now, so it doesn''t get another shockter on. [And don''t tell me, just cause you can.]

    Rio, who was about to answer just that, coughed and changed his answer "It''s because of them that i suffered in the dungeon. Of course I deserve a little payback."

    [..... ] system just kept silent, as it read his thoughts.

    (RIP to the academy)

    Aside from all these, Rio''s gazended on 2 projects the system was still working on. Those were his Trump cards that he came up with, against the fate and future of this novel.

    They''re also the ones which cost him the most of his points.

    From a whopping 1 million points, now he had wasted more than half those points already.

    ''Well I''ll earn a lot, once I join the academy. Since that''s a treasure trove of points waiting for me.''

    Thinking about that, he smiled and walked out of his room. Myra was waiting outside, as everyone else was in the hall, saying their goodbyes to Amelia now. It''ll be a while since they could leave their academy ande back.

    (Author - So the environment got a little emotional I guess. So I''ll skip it and leave it to your imagination. Hehehe)

    ''Well let''s leave now.'' Rio thought and walked into the teleportation gate, which would take them to the floating inds.

    ###

    A/N - next chap, at the gates of academy.

 Chapter 179 Security Checks Of The Academy

    ?

    Exiting the portal, Rio stepped onto the ground, Amelia following suit. He surveyed his surroundings and noticed a steady stream of people emerging from the simr magic portals nearby.

    The current location they were in was an open expanse within the branch of the World Association. The direct teleportation to the academies was barred due to spatial magic limitations enforced by the protective barriers surrounding the academies. This was why branches of the World Association were established on each floating ind. All transportation and teleportation converged at these branches, subjecting individuals to thorough inspections and registrations before they could proceed to the academies.

    The portals nearby were opening and closing on a regr basis. As once someone used a portal and stepped out, a staff member woulde forward to take them away for the security check and their registration. No matter the status, everyone had to go through this process.

    Since the academy was going to start from tomorrow, many other students from everywhere wereing to the inds. Ignoring the curious gazes and hushed whispers of others, Rio and Amelia followed the staff towards the section of the area reserved for the new students.

    Since no one other than the academy staff, students, and people authorized by the world association - lived on the floating inds, there wasn''t any crowd or lines to wait around.

    In the security check even the storage rings and other storage items were given a scan too.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The magic artifacts students brought with them had to be recorded down too. And if they were considered a threat they were confiscated and not allowed inside.

    All these details were basically known by everyone, as the world association and the academy sent them in the brochures along with the admission letters to every student. The guidance to follow was clearly written there.

    These protocols were applicable solely to new students. As students progressed through the academy, their permissions and freedoms expanded annually. The staff adhered to the same hierarchy, with increasing influence and authority corresponding to each grade. These protocols were tightened following the incident that urred two years ago, stemming from the security breaches that culminated in Warzy''s attack and multiple casualties of both staff and students. Something like that doesn''t happen again, that''s why extra precautions were employed.

    ''All this reminds me of going to some airports.'' Rio thought and smiled. All these checks and procedures were really simr to earth''s way of doing check in, visa check, baggage checks.

    [Maybe whoever came up with this idea took some inspiration from a modern world dungeon. Arcadia does have a habit of copying stuff from everywhere.] System spoke, agreeing with its host''s thoughts.

    Seeing all this timepass efforts, even the system found it amusing and wanted tough, especially as it nced at its well-stocked inventory. There really were too many things kept inside.

    "How long will it take?" Amelia said, already getting tired from all this. Her words prompted a smile from some other students who were near them.

    Following the submission of their storage rings, defensive artifacts, and weapons, they were required to wait as their contents were scanned and their mana signatures recorded.

    Each magical artifact and tool possessed a unique mana signature, simr to the distinct signature of each living individual. The staff maintained a database of these signatures, determining the safety andpliance of the items within the allowance rules.

    Since stripping every artifact wasn''t fair, as nobility and elite families prided themselves in them. And some artifacts were known to be helpful in their practice and training, so taking them away wasn''t fair. But also letting rich kids have a surplus of artifacts, had a risk of increasing incidents like bullying and disparity. And that goes against the world association''s slogans of impartiality and equal treatment. So only selected artifacts were allowed.

    ssifying artifacts ording to their rank was aplex task. A divine artifact crafted by trickster gods might be virtually useless, while a lower-ranked artifact bound by a blessing could pose considerable danger. To ascertain the nature, effects, and applications of each artifact, individuals with blessings simr to appraisal or all-seeing eyes were appointed. These awakeners had the sole responsibility for this meticulous assessment process.

    It took around half an hour to finish everything, and Rio and Amelia could finally step out of that building.

    "Do we have to do this every time wee and go?" Amelia asked, her voice sounding a little tired.

    Rio just shook his head and replied "Not every time. Since the artifacts have been recorded in their database, along with all the other details, we won''t need to wait that long next time. You just need to show them your id and they''d just do a small scan and let you go."

    Amelia''s stomach growled, and she rubbed her abdomen. "Let''s go get something to eat. I''m hungry," she suggested with a hopeful look.

    Hearing her asking for food again, when she had juste here after eating a ton of food made by Artemis. Rio nced at her skeptically. He looked at her, she was still a slim and t stomach, just where does all the food she eats goes. He was really curious.

    Noticing her brother''s gaze, Amelia rolled her eyes and yfully hit his shoulder. "I ate real food at home. What I want now is dessert. Let''s go try something new." she insisted.

    She had long heard the food of the floating inds was a delicacy. How can she miss this chance when she''s here? Once they report to the academy, who knows when they''ll be free toe out or roam around freely like this.

    Since every thing any student needs is already present in the academy''s shopping malls and shops, how can they visit outside. Even if someday they got some time from their free schedule, knowing her brother''szy habits, he''d just sleep in his room, instead of going out to visit anything.

    Even though the entry of general public was restricted on the inds, one can''t just ignore the things of daily necessities and some entertainment for the students. Otherwise they''d simply be to stressed living in the academy walls. That''s why world association had made everything here only.

    Obviously they didn''t forget the business aspect of it. So every 5 year, they''d open a quota for famous shops, restaurants, hotels, entertainment sites and other businesses topete for the positions to open their branches on these inds.

    Since all types of talented students from every race and kind were studying in these academies, thispetition would be extra hard, as the businesses not only can earn profits and recognition of the world, but also get a chance toe into contact with new leaders of the next generation. This chance of getting close or forming a connection with the nobility, royalty or simply geniuses is a bait everyone jumped at. Thus this became another source of ie for the world academy.

    To ensure that no one betrays the academy and world association, or does anything to harm the inds, they had to swear and sign mana oaths. So the safety of the ce could still be guaranteed.

    "You studied here, what''s the best dessert?" Amelia asked curiously. Since her brother knew her tastes and what she likes, he''ll definitely know the best ce to eat.

    Rio looked at the time, and sighed. "We''re runningte, Amy. I promised Bernhardt, Reba, and A that we''d meet them at the academy. They''ve been waiting since morning."

    Amelia pouted, "I''m really hungry though,"

    Rio gave her a pointed look. "You have a ring full of food that Amber made. You can eat that. Come on, we''re runningte."

    He had seen how hard his little chef heroine had to work for the past few days, to prepare everything that Amelia liked and take her with.

    "But..." Amelia started to protest.

    "No more ''buts.'' You''re at C-rank now. How can you still be hungry?" Rio questioned, amused and genuinely puzzled.

    Sometimes he even doubted if she really ate some storage rings like Artemis said, and now all her food gets stored in them.If he didn''t know about her antics from childhood, he might''ve really asked the system to do a scan on her body and see if there''s something wrong with her tummy.

    "Humph. What about my rank? Is that even a big thing - Youjumped back 4 ranks overnight like a rocket." Amelia said, remembering about the rockus their family had, when Rio''s rank spontaneously restored after he woke up one morning.

    Even her mother, who always sided with brother, had a beyond belief expression. At first she thought she trained hard day and night for these 2 years, and would even protect her brother and beat him up if he didn''t do as she says. But then one day, he just crosses all ranks and gets his old rank back, leaving her behind.

    Her brother said it was because of Nyx''s help, but still, was a primordial''s powers that big. Remembering her own goddess, who''s also a primordial she really couldn''t help butpare.

    [Nyxughs at her rival.]

    [She''s pleased with your performance and praises. She says she forgives you for using her name.]

    Rio looked at these notifications confused, what was going on with her now. When he looked at Amelia, who was staring at air with a sour mood, probably talking with her contracted goddess. Even he wanted to smile at her now, since knowing Amy she''s probablyparing them badly now.

    ''Who knew Amelia would one day side with Nyx over Gauri and call her superior?'' Rio thought and smiled.

    (This plot is really messed up) system thought,paring the vast differences between this and what was written in the novel.

    ###

    A/N - so we see the academy tomorrow. And also the princesses and the stepping stone.

    Also yes, he already fooled the chef heroine called Amber. She''s a sweet little cute doll, whom you''ll meetter.

 Chapter 180 Pawn And The Princess

    ?

    The sun''s golden rays draped over the enchanting scene in front of the academy gates. A young woman with flowing golden hair stood there, her hair shining even brighter in the sunlight. Her eyes, a captivating shade of pearl blue, darted around excitedly, scanning the vehicles approaching the academy. Her face would light up whenever she spotted a ck car turning the corner, but that sparkle would fade as the vehicle came closer and it wasn''t the one she was waiting for. This was Reba, the princess of Schi, a dignified figure now reduced to an impatient girl. If the people in Haven knew that their princess had been standing at the gate, waiting for someone else since morning they''dugh and simply call it a joke, but here it was happening right now.

    "Where are they?" she muttered in frustration, her gaze following each car that passed her.

    "I told you, that you came early," a girl with rich brte hair next to her chided, ncing at her watch. "Knowing him, he was probably still sleeping by that time."

    A''s words only fueled Reba''s annoyance. She was eagerly waiting to meet him, yet he seemed to be casuallyzing around at his home like always.

    "Got a message from him. They''re done with their checks. They''ll be here soon," Bernhardt, who stood nearby, reassured them.

    Reba''s heart raced at the prospect of finally seeing him. She observed the approaching cars with even more intensity. The teleportation branch wasn''t far from the academy, and with the academy''s transportation, it would take around 5 to 10 minutes at most.

    "You know, Amelia is with him," A mentioned nonchntly after another few minutes of waiting.

    Reba shot her a puzzled look, but after a moment''s thought, understanding dawned on her. They weren''t about to arrive any time soon. No way, that foodie friend of hers woulde here directly, and knowing that idiot, he''d simply nod his head at her requests.

    "Alright, that''s it. I''m going back," Reba dered, her impatience getting the better of her. "He clearly has no concept of time."

    She had been standing here for so long, that even many students wereing out and staring at her.

    ''He really has no value for anyone.'' She thought and turned around to go back inside.

    They had known each other since childhood and after her awakening, they had only grown to be best friends. After her birthday, she wasn''t even angry at him for breaking the engagement or insulting her, she was happy that he was there.

    So 2 years ago, when the news that he was dead, and that too because he was trying to save her brothers reached her ears, she had been heartbroken about it.

    That''s why when she heard that he was back, she had been eager to meet him. But since she was away from home at that time, she couldn''te rushing back. Even after a month since then, this was going to be the first time she would see him face to face. No more projections on screens or photos; this was real. Hence her impatience from morning until now.

    But who knew, it was only her feeling this way, that guy probably didn''t even miss her or care about her at all. That''s why instead ofing here, he''s out there roaming around the city with his sister.

    Her thoughts spiraled, and disappointment wed at her. ''And my mother was suggesting that I feign interest in the engagement. This guy can''t even spare a thought for me.'' Irritated and feeling her time had been wasted, she quickened her pace, her footsteps echoing her frustration. She didn''t even unpack her stuff and came here. But What a waste of time.'' She thought.

    "He''s here." Bernhardt muttered. As he saw a caring towards them. He was happy, as he could faintly hear Amelia''s voice. He was about to move towards the side for parking when he noticed the car swerving oddly.

    Bernhardt''s heart raced as he realized something was off. Instead of slowing down, the car seemed to elerate towards him in a zigzag pattern. His confusion cleared when he heard a girl''s voice shouting warnings - "look out" or "move away"..

    ''Doesn''t she know how to drive?'' Bernhardt wondered incredulously as he quickly stepped aside to avoid the erratic vehicle. His heart thumped a little, as he felt the swish of air moving past him.

    He turned and saw it going straight towards Reba, who was still walking without looking back. He shouted to call her, to move out of the way too. But Reba seemed lost in her thoughts, as she kept walking forwards. Finally some honking of sounds starteding behind her, bringing her back. She turned around, annoyed at who the hell was honking horns when she was already out of the way.

    However, her annoyance turned to shock as she found a car hurtling directly towards her. She was about to shout at who was this idiot driving out from the road, when instead of the car slowing down, it started speeding towards her even more. She was about to unleash her mana to leap to safety when the car abruptly screeched to a stop, barely a foot away from her.

    The heat and smell of the engine assaulted her senses, and she could only stare at the car in shock. She looked down at herself and after being sure she was fine. She turned her attention back to the car, hoping to take her anger out on this blind driver.

    Amelia stepped out of the car, and started shouting. "What the hell was that, brother? You nearly crashed us."

    Rio stepped out of the driver''s seat and looked at the car weirdly. "How would I know? There''s something wrong with this car."

    "Hah" Amelia made a shocked expression "Wrong is with you liar. You told me you knew how to drive!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I did, once." Rio said, "I just forgot a little since it''s been so long."

    Amelia wasn''t about to let him off the hook. "Don''t me your dungeon for this. You didn''t even know where the brake and elerator were." This shameless brother, instead of epting he doesn''t know anything, is ming the car first, and is now using the excuse of being trapped in the dungeon.

    Rio wanted to smile. It wasn''t his fault at all. Whoever made these cars, switched the positions of brake and elerator. This was also his first time driving; Artemis had never allowed him near the steering wheel, deeming him too young. And then at the academy he never learned it himself, as he was too busy training and doing other things to change his fate.

    I mean, he already knew how to drive cars back on earth, as it was a stupid little hobby of his. so he never thought it''d be any different here and never learned it. But this stupid author never mentioned he spiced some things in these magic cars. They look the same as back on earth, but half the stuff is mixed up.

    "ept it brother. You know nothing about cars." Amelia said proudly. She finally found something where she was better than her brother.

    "Hey, it wasn''t that bad, right? I still didn''t hit anyone this time." Rio defended himself.

    Reba, all this time just kept staring at this brother - sister duo , who instead of looking around or apologizing to anyone, started fighting amongst themselves. When she heard Rio''s proud tone that he didn''t hit anyone, she finally had enough. ''This guy _. It is okay to not apologize, but this one didn''t even notice that he almost killed someone.''

    "Well, for a first-timer, I suppose it wasn''t bad," Amelia conceded, still clearly annoyed.

    Feeling angry, Reba went forward and pped her head "Wasn''t bad? Say that after seeing where your car ended up?" She looked at Rio "and you, did you sleep on the steering wheel or what?"

    Rio looked at her, his eyes surprised at the sight of her face, which then broke into a familiar smile. He yfully waved his hand at her, his voice teasing. "Well, hello there, princess. Didn''t see you there."

    "Tsk" Reba just clicked her tongue at his jokes. Without further ado, she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around Rio in a tight hug. "You''re such a jerk, you know that? Scared the hell out of me."

    "What? Don''t worry, you won''t die from a car''s hit." Rio smiled and hugged her back. Over the years, he did indeed change this princess'' perception of everything quite a bit. One of them, being her cursingnguage.

    "I missed you," Reba whispered, her voice choked with emotion, barely above a whisper.

    "Missed you too, princess," Rio replied, his sincerity evident. Unlike some years ago, she wasn''t his pawn to y points or pranks anymore. She was a friend now.

    "Wee back to the academy, buddy." Bernhardt came forward, as he patted his shoulder. "It''s been dull without you."

    "Don''t worry. It won''t be dull anymore." Rio turned around and shook his hands, as he hugged him too. "The fun''s just gonna start now."

    ##

    A/N - okay, so done with fillers now. My bad it got dragged out more than i hoped for. But promise, let''s get serious now. Man, it is a hard thing to do.

 Chapter 181 The basics of Academy

    <h4>Chapter 181 The basics of Academy</h4>

    After meeting with Reba, Bernhardt and A at the academy gates, Rio and Amelia walked inside to finish their admission process. Though everything was already done, they had to report in with the staff. After meeting with them, we were given the ID cards, uniforms and the keys to the dorms that were assigned to us.

    Thankfully ID cards here weren''t some long stringnyards which one would have to keep around their neck, but a brooch like item, which upon contact disys the name, ss and rank of that student.

    The coin-like brooch contained just normal details and was worn as more of a sign of which year that student was in. Since the uniform of every year''s student was mostly simr, these brooches became the difference. Yellow for first years(freshman), Green for second years(sophomore), Blue for third years(junior), Red for fourth years(Senior) and finally ck for fifth years(Ace). n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This was different from other novels, but obviously then came the same cliched watch part that even the author of this novel couldn''t escape.

    Every student of the academy was given wrist watches. Which after getting the mana signature of their bound student, would disy all of that student''s details. From their personal information, to their studies, subjects and training methods, to their awakening rank and element and their rank in academy exams too etc. Everything rted to that student which was public knowledge and filled in the forms would be disyed on that watch. This watch also had many other functions but they were mostly locked for first year students.

    It gave everyone a free map of the academy, along with normal information regarding general ces. Like training grounds, y grounds, battle arenas, shops and stages everything. It also indicated which areas of the academy were essible to that student(marked in green) and which ces he was not allowed to enter(marked in red).

    It also had the function of tracking that student''s location at all times while he was inside the academy and keeping a tab on his health. If ever your life is at risk or you exhausted yourself and entered the state of mana depletion, it would immediately notify the medical staff of the academy of your condition and location.

    Once you leave the area of floating inds these watches stop functioningpletely and you can''t even see time in it. This is the academy''s way of giving their students privacy, and to show that the academy has no responsibility for you once you''re out of their premises, you''re on your own.

    As one could guess, since the academy is under control of world association, and tries to be equal to everyone. There''s no concept of money or coins in the academies, so as to give fair chance and equality to everyone. The academy has their own system of different currency called MP (Merit Points).

    Every student is given some points monthly as their allowance, based on their year, rank and results. These points are then used to ess many facilities of the academy or to buy something from the academy shops. Money conversion to points is also a thing, but there''s a limit to how many points a student can exchange and the more you do, the more costlier it gets. Though it doesn''t help much, it still givesmoner students a chance to not be left behind. There are even ways to earn more points, but they''re mostly for second years and further students. They''re given tests, tasks, quests, jobs - through them they can earn more points for themselves. By clearing the dungeons or having high contributions in some academy work and projects also gives you many Merit Points.

    The watch also keeps tabs on the points distribution. The amount, spending history, conversion and everything rted to them could be tracked through these watches too. This is also to stop bullying, so powerful students don''t bully weaker ones and transfer all their points. Yes, students can share and buy points from each other. Even some teachers and staff of the academy can share their points through their own wishes.

    The watch also gives students ess to the academy forum, through which they can get all kinds of information regarding the academy and what''s happening around them. The ranks and results of tests also get posted there. As well as, notices of extracurricr activities or any other tournament and exams. It''s like their official social media page, through which you can see all kinds of news and announcements of the academy.

    Also it has the function ofmunication too, through which you can call any of the staff members.(obviously for a valid reason and following the chain of hierarchy) . You can also call and add other students and pair their watches too. Through which you canmunicate with them too.

    Each watch is specially bound to that student and would only give ess to him through his mana signature. So no one else could ess it. Thus there''s no chance of stealing it , hacking it or forcing it.

    (Author - These are all the functions of it for now. I''ll add more and give details on more the more time passes)

    Rio looked at his wristwatch and read the details given below -

    [ Rio ke

    Awakener rank - C+

    Aura rank - Aura Manifestation

    Element - Darkness

    Blood group - A+ve

    ss - First Year

    Division - pending

    Academy Rank - pending

    Subjects - pending

    Training methods - pending

    Status - Healthy(normal)

    MP - 1000 ]

    He read the details and they were urate enough. He could hide his rank and aura stage, but he saw no point in doing it. First of all, he was already 18 years old, C+?is the least he should be. His mastery of aura was obviously higher than everyone, and would probably give a shock to many - but even that could be exined by him constantly fighting creatures of undeath for 2 years nonstop without wasting his mana much. Plus he was a born genius, in a family of rich geniuses.

    Plus it didn''t show his blessings or skills or any other secrets, so there was no need to be extra on edge. If anyone did try something, he could just waste his points and rank up any time he wants, so even this wasn''t necessary.

    The ss division hasn''t happened yet, and would only be finalized once everyone reported to the academy. There are usually around 3000 students in each batch of Zenith academy. While other academies ept even more students. Zenith believes in maintaining the quality over quantity, and that''s why they have ruled over the position of number one academy for decades.

    The ss division of people who didn''t take part in academy exams would be based on their performance of world association preliminary exams. Since Rio didn''t do both of them, his ce was gonna be random drop. But Artemis already already talked to the principal that how he was still a little lost after his ''traumatic experience'' so to allow him and Amelia to be in same division, as that would help him get over everything better. Principal had no problem with it and agreed. So Rio didn''t have to worry that he would be ced in somest dumb D grade, while protagonist and all the heroines would be rocking in A grade. With Amelia''s talent and her role in story he was sure she''d be ced in the same ss as protagonist and thus he''d be there too. With him there, he could just act and change stuff whenever he wants and stop protagonist from getting anywhere close to people around him.

    As for subjects, they''re given options to students after he clears the first semester, which is 6 months after joining. Academy ranking for everyone would also only get finalized after that. For now the ones who participated in academy''s entrance exams can have their ranks, while those who didn''t can see ''pending'' written there.

    Training method, this choice depends on the students. As the students of the world''s best academy, they''re given ess to the biggest hub of techniques and arts created by their predecessors.

    <Anyone can donate their techniques to the world association, and if they found it worthy and suitable enough, they''d keep it in their library for future students to see and learn it. Some people do it out of generosity and wanting to help future generations, some do it for the credit and recognition. World association also gives pretty good rewards if the techniques/skills are selected to be stored.

    This is also another reason, why students of rich families and noble backing, join the academies of world association, instead of learning at home or somewhere else. This ce has garnered an enormous amount of resources and arts created by many geniuses of history. Many families which are lost, many talents which die - unable to find a sessor, the world association has garnered all their arts and skills.

    To buy even one technique outside, one would need to empty their pockets, but at these academies, as long as you show good talent, results and have enough credits, you can read those arts, and even get guidance from the best teachers the world has to offer.>

    Rio nced at his points of MP, which was the regr minimum a new student could get. He had a lot of points saved up before, but since he was repeating his year, they were lost now. He wanted to talk to the staff to get his points of that year back too, as that was his hard earned results. But he also knew it wasn''t possible. That principal already allowed him to repeat his year again despite his beliefs, so Rio wasn''t nning to trouble the old man again for these little things.

    He would just need to earn some points again. And knowing what he knew, it wasn''t going to be hard for him. He had already done many things that changed stuff of the academy arcs, so he wasn''t worried that the protagonist would get everything, while he was looking for points.

    ###

 Chapter 182 Basics of the academy 2

    <h4>Chapter 182 Basics of the academy 2</h4>

    Ignoring the issue of the points, Rio walked towards the store which was issuing them the essentials of first years - the uniform, weapons and the books needed for basic studies of the first year schedule.

    Talking about the uniform of the academy that he received. There aren''t many differences between the uniforms of various students of all the years. The academy only gives out simple t-shirts, shirts and jackets to everyone. Boys and girls have simr designs too. (Obviously except the obvious differences in making). Whenever you''re in ss these clothes are mandatory to wear.

    (As for pants, there''s no rule. One can just wear whatever color or style they have or want. Shorts and half skirts aren''t allowed, because it isn''t a beach and horny holiday. Academy also gives pants, so if you got none - we got you.)

    The uniform of the Zenith Academy is blue in color, with light stripes of white in between. The logo of Zenith is made on the chest and back as their identification.

    (I''ll share the image of itter, once I''m done making it. And write about the design here. For now, just imagine anything you want) .

    For training exercises and other physical activities, some tracksuits would be issued to students. All these uniforms are made of special clothes and through special methods and by people who had special blessings - these are more durable, adapt to other energies and have slight protection functions. The quality and protection of the clothes increases as your years in the academy goes by.

    (You can''t wear normal pants to a magic fight. A burst of mana/aura might burst your pants in public. SO BEWARE or your walk of glory in arena, might turn into a walk of shame)

    After getting everything Rio just pushed everything inside his storage ring and started going towards his dorm rooms. Every student studying at the floating inds would have to live in their dorms too. So basically all students of the first year would be staying together for the whole year.

    The dorm buildings are made separately for each year students. There are 5 such buildings for students of each year to live in. Their sizes and designs all vary from each other. But one thing they all share is, it is divided in 2 parts - one side is for girls and the other side for boys.

    Even the world of fantasy has to maintain some rules, otherwise who knows what kind of creatures are living together with what kind of wool.

    The building that first year students were going to stay in was called - "Mirage Mansion".

    As understood by the name, the building was made in the form of a mirage, a trick, a manor that looked dpidated from the outside, but once you cross the gates and enter, it turns into the magnificent mansion of the fantasy world.

    The building was made in the open space. The manor was divided in 3 parts - Right side for the girls, left side for the boys and the center building remained themon area for both where dining halls and other entertainment halls and services were made avable.

    [Image inments and my discord server]

    After getting the keys from the staff, Rio walked out of the office and saw Amelia was already done with her things and was waiting for him, along with everyone else. When he walked out, they started moving towards the dorm buildings. Rio was walking ahead with Bernhardt, who led the way, while all 3 girls were following behind them.

    Rio looked at Bernhardt talking about everything that happened in the academy for the past 2 years, and about things that changed in his absence.

    Bernhardt had joined the academy together with him back then, along with Alfred. They were all ssmates. But unlike him they didn''t miss 2 years of their time, so they are now going to be 4th year students, while he''ll still repeat his first year. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With Rio changing up the storyline of the Royal family, Bernhardt still hasn''t begun his viin journey yet. Like in the novel, he doesn''t hate Rio, but is friends with him. They''ve met each other many times after Reba''s birthday celebration, and even shared the dorm room for a while.

    Rio, who knew about his talents and chances that he received in the novel, had helped him many times, and even supported him to get the Royal blessing of schott family ancestors.

    That''s why the king hasn''t made any announcement of making Alfred the heir to the throne yet like in the novel. He might have wanted to, but with both brotherspeting with each other it''s hard for him to choose Alfred without a reason. Even if he made Alfred the crown prince now, it wasn''t going to matter much, as Bernhardt wasn''t the same petty stepping stone he was in the novel.

    In the novel, Bernhardt''s jealousy had sprouted since he was a kid, and that stopped his growth. Since after that he started focusing more on shaming Alfred and getting the attention of everyone else, he never trained or tried to learn much again, as it looked pointless to him. But with Rio slowly guiding him from the shadows, as he altered some events, now he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Alfred.

    Though the shame of being the bastard son of amoner, is still his biggest hurdle. But even that isn''t his worries now, as the stepping stone is already happy with what he achieved till now. His talents had undoubtedly made others respect him and with the blessing of the ancestors, even the other royal members dare not look down on him and his mother.

    Besides the rumors of the heir of ke family being best friends with the bastard son, instead of their cousin Alfred, is also a deterrent in many people''s eyes. So overall, these 2 fellows were quite happy with what they had now. Rio had gotten Bernhardt under his wings, as he became his eyes in the Royal Pce. And Bernhardt had gotten a friend and partner who didn''t discriminate against him and supported him.

    "Do you know who my room partners are?" Rio asked Bernhardt.

    Until the first semester was finished and rankings of everyone became fixed, the first year students were to live together. In one dorm room 3-4 students were to share that space. The distribution of rooms and partners would be done randomly and if there''s a logic behind it, he didn''t know. It is only when the new rankingse after the first exams that everyone gets their own separate rooms and facilities. After that, rankers get to live on the higher floors of the manor, and get ess to more facilities, while other students get swapped out with different partners.

    So for the first 6 months Rio had to share his room with other students. ''''I hate this arrangement." Rio thought, as he could just pray that his partners for the next 6 months won''t be some troublesome guy, whom he can''t bear to see.

    "I don''t know." Bernhardt shook his head and replied "I think you have one partner written in the registers, but I didn''t take a clear look. Maybe you''ll meet him soon."

    "What about you girls?" Rio asked and turned around. Since A and Reba hade here in the morning, they must''ve gotten their rooms already. "Who''s your partner?"

    His words made Reba smile as she happily pulled Amelia to her side. "Me and Amy are going to live together. Along with one other girl, who hasn''te yet."

    Her words didn''t surprise Rio, as it was the same as in the novel. The other girl whom they haven''t met yet, was also someone he knew from the plot, but that''s not necessary to tell them now.

    "What about you A? Did you get yours?" Rio asked her.

    A nodded her head too, and said "Not until now, the warden said, one more girl wille but she hasn''t reported yet, so I don''t know."

    "Really" That surprised Rio, as ording to the plot, A was supposed to live alone. But he could guess what changed this. Unlike in the novel, A wasn''t just a randommoner, who got chosen to attend the academy, but was someone whom ke family had nurtured. Plus her results are still better than what she had in the novel, so it makes sense that some things would be changed too.

    ''Wonder who will get to live with her. I hope it''s not some other heroine, that could change some more plotlines too.'' Rio thought and kept walking.

    Rio ignored it, since it wasn''t something he could change anyway.

    Soon they all reached the dorms, the girls said their goodbyes and left. Since the dining hall wasmon in both dormitories, they were going to meet there once they were done with their unpacking.

    Rio showed his ID to the staff, and went inside. Bernhardt also left him and went back. Senior students weren''t allowed entry in the freshman dorms, especially since it''s day one of their stay.

    "Been a while since I came here. Now let''s head inside."

    ###

    A/N - guys I need you to give me a review. Seriously you know that rating thing you see below my books page, I need that. 5 * review is asked, but you can do what you like. But please do posst it. (Even if you''re reading it on other sites, post there, I don''t care. I''m checking up those too when I''m free. So i better see some positive feedback ??)

    Also rich guys if u already gave a review, then give me something else

 Chapter 183 Elvis Clarke (Umbra)

    ?

    Standing in the familiar building, Rio kept walking around the hallways, he could still vividly remember everything, the year he spent here in the same halls, that time especially memorable as that was the first time he was alone and away from home in this world. Even some memories of earth and the time he left to live in the hostels, woulde to his mind now and then.

    "So you''re really starting from here again?"

    He heard a calm voice of a middle aged man behind him. He didn''t need to turn around to see who it was, as he replied "Well, I couldn''t leave you behind now, could I?"

    "You just wanted to stay with the kids and show off. Afraid that your ssmates would''ve beat you up." Elvis said with a sarcastic smile.

    Without replying to his remark, Rio just scoffed and kept walking towards his room.

    ''Beat me up - I''m the destined viin. Is it so easy to bully?''

    The man just smiled seeing his reaction and followed him to his room. He looked to be in his 30''s. His brown hair tied in a single braid, which draped over his shoulder. His hazel colored eyes staring at the scenes with a subtle smile, hidden beneath his carefully groomed beard.

    He was Elvis rke, a Limit rank hunter, widely known in the outside world by his alias, Umbra. He''s a past graduate of the academy, who''s now working as the warden of the Mirage Manor''s boys dorm.

    Elvis is from amoner family living in the outskirts of Thidrol city, a small settlement called Cairus. The ce is a barrennd, abandoned by the Duke family, because of the LOOSE DUNGEON*1. Yet people live there since it''s cheappared to everywhere else.

    He was just a passerby side character in the novel.

    Since all the first years stayed in one building, it is naturallymon that there''d be cases of fighting, bullying or ragging due to the difference between status and ranks among the students. Though the rules were made and breaking them would be a punishable offense, but that is only if one gets found out.

    That''s why every dorm building has a supervisor to stop incidents like that from happening.

    Obviously the protagonist lives in this building, and he even had lower status than many of the childrens from royals, nobles and even elite families, he''d be getting into trouble often. Even more so, since he took the first rank now. Many of the students who would be dissatisfied with him woulde to trouble him. And even if no one came to trouble him, he''d find trouble by snooping his nose in other''s business - that''s why the author wrote this warden as the support character for the protagonist.

    Leon, at the beginning of the academy, hadn''t seen the world outside his house at all. Though he lived a tough life after bing a cripple for years, his family still shielded him from many things. So the best he suffered till now were just some petty gazes and whispering remarks.

    But here he had no protection, and his rank and poprity put a target on his back and those around him. In this situation where the protagonist would end up doubting himself and the world many times, it is this warden who gives him counseling.

    In a way, Elvis was the motivational support for Leon, in the first year of the academy. And since Rio knew that, how could he ignore this guy?

    So when he joined the academy 3 years back, he tried to be friends with the man. Even though he didn''t have any other role except being the motivational cheering up guy for the protagonist, Rio tried his best on his part. After all, who knows when one would be helpful.

    Just like now.

    Rio stood outside his old room, the one where he previously used to stay with Bernhardt and Charles when he first joined the academy. He had requested Elvis to get him the same room as back then and the warden had no problem with it.

    "Thank you for getting it for me." Rio said, as he swiped his wristwatch over the scanner.

    "Count it as a wee gift from me. It was empty anyway." Elvis said, as he shrugged his shoulders.

    Once the security scan was done, and the ID was verified, the door opened with a click.

    No one, except the students living in the dorms, could enter the room. And if they wanted to, they''d need to get the permission of the roomowner or the warden.

    <<The mirage manor had 10 floors. Every floor consisted of around 50 rooms. There was an 11th floor, which was locked for now. And would be opened after the first semester results are out. After that, the top 100 students would be transferred on that floor. There''s no difference between rooms in the first 10 floors, as they''re all exact replicas of each other. But the 11th floor made for the rankers is obviously different and better.>>

    (There were many elevators made around the building, so one doesn''t have to walk an hour to reach his room.)

    Rio''s room was on the third floor.

    [Room number 317]

    Looking at the empty room, it became clear that whoever his partner was, hasn''t arrived yet.

    Rio walked in and started looking around the room. It was still the same as back then.

    Before every new session starts, all the dorms and rooms get redecorated to their original conditions, so there wasn''t a single sign of life living inside. It was as empty as it could be.

    Though he called it a room and it even looked like one from the outside, after entering inside, one would see its size was 5 times more than what it seemed from the outside. It had all the amenities one would ever need.

    In one dormroom 3-4 students could live freely. It had 2 rooms, 1 big hall, a kitchen and one training hall. There was even a mana chamber, but the mana density inside was just slightly better than outside. And there was a restriction on a student about how long he could use it. If one wanted to stay there longer, he''d need to pay for it with his Merit Points(MP).

    "My room partner hasn''t arrived yet. Any idea who it is?" Rio asked.

    Elvis shook his head and replied - "Nope. I don''t make the records and I haven''t checked them yet. I was busy with some other stuff."

    "Well, let''s hope it''s not some idiot likest time."

    Rio said, remembering a fat snotty brat whom he was paired up withst time. If not for Bernhardt constantly pranking him everyday, he''d have to share a room for 6 months with a guy who''d pray to gods in the morning for hours and then cover their statues with a sheet and indulge in God knows what shit he was fuming on.

    Hearing his words Elvis smiled too. As he remembered the constantints he got for a month, before he changed his room. "Don''t forget, he''s your senior now."

    "I''m surprised he''s still here in the academy. How''d he even pass his exams every time anyway." Rio was really curious. The top academy in whose exams even geniuses get a headache, that guy is somehow always able to pass on the borderline.

    "Maybe he''s lucky, like you." Elvis smiled and said meaningfully. "Heard you caused quite themotion on the ceremony by entering like that."

    "Well, I had to show up someday. What better way than toe out when there was a stage already." Rio replied, while walking towards the window and opening it.

    Letting the air pass, the empty room felt too stuffy even though it was empty. Breathing the fresh air was really right.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Elvis kept staring at Rio, to see his reaction and trying to read through his thoughts. His cheery personality and smile now gone, as he focused on him.

    Rio looked at Elvis''s expression in the ss reflection and smiled. This was his real personality. A guy who acted nice and social to get close to everyone and let them drop their guard. His happy helpful nature is what helped him be the first year''s warden. So he could guide them and help them adjust to new surroundings. His kind words towards everyone, projected a face of someone who was nonchnt, yet he was the perfect warden. Even now he was probably thinking about the chaos Rio''s entry would set off and if he''d create any troubles in his dorms.

    ''He''s really the perfect spy.''

    ###########

    *1 << Loose dungeons are dungeons which have been pulled into Arcadia, but haven''t fully opened yet. They seem like a crack in space, which constantly radiates the otherworldly energy or the radiation.

    Since the dungeon hasn''t been opened yet, it can''t be essed and solved, thus the energy would keep poisoning thend all around until the space crack widens and the dungeon fully integrates itself with Arcadia. This is why it''s dangerous to live near them as there''s the risk of radiation due to constant uncontroble exposure of energy, and the threat that the dungeon can open any time, any day and no one would know.

    There are many loose dungeons all over Arcadia. Many people have tried jumping into the spatial crack, closing it with space magic, widening it with magic attacks - but none of these things work. The ones who jumped inside, died horribly due to the difference in environment and unstable space gap between both worlds. Healing and attacking it are also useless, as the cracks either repels the energy attacks if its notpatible with the world energy of that dungeon. And if it''s simr, the cracks absorb the energy and the situation remains the same.

    So people of Arcadia just let them be, instead of trying forcefully to open them. As no one knows what lies beyond. The whole dungeon might crash and people would lose the profits brought from the dungeon. Or it might explode, killing everyone in the nearby radius.>>

    ######

    A/N - guys please post 5* review for me. I need them.

 Chapter 184 Why is it happening again?

    Chapter 184 Why is it happening again?

    ~ Tring tring ~

    ~ tring tring ~

    The sound of the rm clock started ringing in the room, telling the one sleeping soundly that it was morning now and he should wake up. Rio just tossed in his sleep and waved his hand around, shutting off the sound. He just won his fight over the rm clock when someone started pulling his nket.

    "Oyee, wake up already. You''re gonna bete."

    "Just 5 more minutes"

    Hearing his answer the boy standing near him gave him an annoyed look and said "I told you to sleep early. It''s already time for the first ss."

    "Just go away. I''lle after you." Rio said and pulled the nket back.

    The boy nced at the time and then at Rio, "Fine, I''m leaving. Just try not to bete on the first day."

    ''Finally, some peaceful sleep.'' Rio thought, as he heard the sound of footsteps getting slow and the door closing.

    [Host, you can''t sleep now. Just wake up and let''s go for the sses.]

    "Shut up."

    [You know, the first scene of the protagonist is going to happen soon. He might bump into Amelia or Reba. You sure you want to take a chance.]

    ''Fuuuck'' Rio cursed and opened his eyes.

    "Did you see it?" He asked as he kept lying down. His empty eyes staring at the ceiling.

    [Yes]

    "And you''re still telling me everything''s fine."

    [I see nothing abnormal, host.]

    "Give me the potion." Rio said.

    [There''s no point in drinking them, host. The aftereffects of EMMSY were cured the first time you took it. Now you''re just wasting your points.]

    "Then what do you want me to do? If it''s not EMMSY then what is it?"

    [It''s you, host. I can''t stop your thoughts, neither can you. So stop wasting your time and stop what you can, their meeting.]

    Hearing the system''s words Rio just sighed and stood up to get ready.

    It had been a week since his arrival in the academy. And 4 days since he started getting dreams of his earth life again.

    After the healing potion ''the being'' gave him years ago, his nightmares had stopped. And though he did get one or two sometimes, they weren''t that effective and he''d forget them easily.

    But nowadays it has be a constant repeat again. Everytime he sleeps, the scenes of his past start to appear in front of him. They weren''t about Ria now, but about her - the one whom he loved and the one who left him, his Queency. (Scoffs)

    The memories he thought he forgot were starting to haunt him again, and he didn''t like it one bit.

    At first thinking, these might be the aftereffects of EMMSY, as the disease is known to affect the soul, or the corrosive mana known for affecting one''s mind - instead of waiting for A to make a potion for him, he bought one from system and drank it.

    He thought it''d be over after that, but it didn''t. They just became more chaotic and vivid ever since then. Even though the system said he was fine, and he himself thought so too, he couldn''t suppress these dreams again. He even got Thanatos''s blessing of peaceful sleep, but even that was a hoax.

    ''Why can''t I just forget everything. And why is it happening after all this time, when the plot is finally starting'' Rio thought, as he lit a cigarette in the shower. Even though the water kept falling on his head, not a single droplet touched the cigarette.

    ''After so many years. Why now? Why did you have to appear now of all time?'' He thought, as he came out of the shower.

    He wanted to focus on the plotline. The novel had just begun, and he wanted to keep his full focus on the protagonist and other characters, but her memories have been making it hard for him to do anything.

    After getting ready, he stood in front of the mirror, as he channeled his mana and waved his hand. His blessing came into y, making his figure bathe in a golden light. Once it was done, his face which previously looked stressed turned calm. The dark circles and slight redness of his eyes, disappeared and his charm increased by another 2 points.

    This was due to Aphrodite''s blessing - Blink of Brilliance.

    It was simply a show off blessing, which amplified his charm. Whatever condition he was in, or however he looked, once he used this blessing, he''d appear his very best in other''s eyes. A perfect tool for showing off in front of the crowd. And yet here he was, using it, to hide his worried face from his sister.

    ''She''s surprisingly keen.'' Rio thought, remembering how she started showering him with questions, even though he thought he covered his expressions pretty well.

    [She is your sister. Now stop your dilly-dallying and move. Or you''re gonna bete.]

    Rio shoved his thoughts aside, and left his room.

    ''I should''ve gotten that skill. That would''ve made things a lot easier.'' Rio thought, remembering about a certain skill, that could enable him to control his thoughts much better. He could''ve bought that from the system shop too, but this fucking system doesn''t let me.

    ''Sentient systems are a pain in the ass.'' He said when he remembered how this stupid system locked that skill so he couldn''t buy it.

    (Tsk_) System clicked his tongue hearing its hostining again. It only locked that skill because it wasn''t suitable for him. And he''d only hurt himself if he got it before he was strong enough to handle it.

    (Your mind''s already a mess, and if you fuck it further by creating an alter or getting parallel thinking, even I don''t know what would happen.) System thought.

    Rio swiped his hand on the watch, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. He checked the notifications he got and messages he received -

    [Amy - Did you wake up?]

    [Reba - Stop sleeping.]

    "..."

    ''Do I look thatzy in their eyes.'' He thought after seeing thest 2 messages.

    [Well, you do sleep a lot.]

    "I train for even more hours. Never had they told me about that." He said feeling a little wronged, as this image of azy guy is really stuck to him now. He nced at the disy as he got another message.

    [Amy - We''re waiting in the canteen. Juste fast]

    "On my way." He replied and closed the panel. Rio remembered the first scene of the protagonist. And the second meeting between him and Amelia. ''So it''s about to start.''

    [Or it already has.] System said, as it looked at the time. [Don''t go overboard] It advised before going silent.

    Rio walked towards the elevator and pressed the button. While waiting for it, his mind drifted in the lines of the novel - Leon, who had joined the academy, in the first week didn''t go out of his room That''s why the week when everyone used to roam around and learn about the academy and its rules, he stayed in his room, trying to much, as he focused on his training to rank up. He was E+ rank when he cleared his exams, and now he had the goal to reach the D- rank before the sses started.

    Knowing that after the sses started, he wouldn''t get as much as time to train, he wanted to level up before that. But even with an intense training routine for a month he missed his goal a little. That''s why the week when everyone used to roam around and learn about the academy and its rules, he stayed in his room, trying to reach D- rank.

    He had taken the permission of the warden and Elvis being Elvis agreed to it.

    That''s why on the day when the sses started, Leon finally got out of his room. And then he came across the drama and the people awaiting him.

    In themon canteen where everyone was having their breakfast and chatting happily, his eyesnded on the 2 guys responsible for turning his life into hell for 6 years - Lincoln Korbil and Edward Sinir.

    But hearing the words of advice his God said to him, he decided to ignore them. But as anyone with a half brain cell could say - if the protagonist doesn''t look for trouble, it''ll look for him. And that trouble did found him in the name of Zirix Drakkar, ranked 8th of the first years. Heir of the Drakkar family, and self dered proud son of the heavens.

    ''Sigh that narcissistic annoying guy.'' Rio sighed, as just thinking about his lines from the novel was making him cringe. "I hope he''s not here." He said as he walked into the canteen, just to stop as he heard a shout n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Who do you think you areto tell me what I can and can''t do?"

    ''Fuuck. I wanted to pull the girls out before this shit show started.''

    ##

    <<<Drakkar family is one of the top elite families of the human domain. Unlike noble families which are loyal to the royalty of Schi. Elite families were the ones which didn''t bend the knee for the king and still maintained their freedom and neutrality.

    There are many elite families which have been passed down for generations and had existed for centuries. Their power and influence not any less than the other nobles. Yet their status is lower cause theyck the unity which nobles have, due to their allegiance to one king.

    In simple terms, where nobles had a leader and backing, elite families didn''t. That''s why the status quo of the human domain went like this - royalty, nobility, elites and then �� �� �� >>>

    ###

    A/N - now u know why there r so few noble families in arcadia. Cause not many Rich powerful people want to bend the knee to someone else. And since the world is already so chaotic, no one wants to start a fight just to get another subordinate.

 Chapter 185 Rubina Alka Rosewood & Damon Cryptorn

    Chapter 185 Rubina Alka Rosewood & Damon Cryptorn

    "How long do you think it''ll take for him to get here?" Amelia asked, after she read the message Rio sent.

    "His room''s on the third floor, so probably a few minutes." A replied.

    "I doubt it. He might be still sleeping and just lied about it. I wouldn''t be surprised." Reba chimed in.

    "He can''t be thatzy right?" Another girl who was sitting near them said, hearing their conversation. She was Amelia and Reba''s roompartner, Rubina Rosewood. She had the beautiful face of a maiden, with her auburn hair tied in a ponytail and hazel brown eyes which seemed full of light.

    The pair of 4 girls were sitting on the table near the door. They were all wearing the academy''s uniform and were currently in the canteen, waiting for him to show up, so they could leave. There''s around half an hour left until the sses starts, and no one wanted to bete on their first day. They''ve had their breakfast and that guy still hasn''te.

    "You only met him a few days ago, so you don''t know him?" Reba replied. "What is his room partner even doing? I saw him leave some time ago, can''t he drag him here."

    "He probably tried and then gave up." A said with a smile.

    "I should just give him a big rm clock, that''ll st his eardrums, so he can wake up on time." Reba said with a smile. "Right Amy?" She asked her friend.

    Amelia shook her head, ncing at the door of the canteen "He''s on his way. He''ll be here soon."

    In the past week, since the protagonist was busy in his room, Rio gave everyone a tour of the academy. And they had found that they''re all in the same ss. The first year had 10 batches, and the division of students was done randomly too. There wasn''t something like rank or background in consideration, so all students were mixed up.

    Obviously this fact would''ve been random, but with an absurd thing as fate and protagonist halo at the mix, most of the important characters were pulled into the first ss, including all of them too.

    They were all busy waiting when Rubina saw some students gathered around a boy and pointed towards them. "Hey, look there."

    Reba turned her eyes and saw Lincoln arguing with some student. Since there weren''t many people in the canteen at this time, she could hear what they were talking about.

    "What, you think you''re some hot shot huh? Looks like you forgot ourst meeting." Lincoln said, ring at a student with gray hair and a paleplexion.

    "I already told you, it''s not up to me." The boy spoke, his tone hoarse. His name was Damon Cryptorn. Cryptorn family is a lesser known family of Hexcasters - dealing in poison, curse and death magic.

    Cryptorn''s are less powerful as the topic they pride themselves in, is something considered evil in themon people''s eyes. Thus they have less influence and are looked down upon.

    This gap of identity only increases when onepares it to the noble families.

    And by Damon''s bad luck, he became the room partner of a noble - Lincoln Korbil.

    Lincoln and Edward, who had been friends since childhood, so when they joined academy, they naturally wanted to stay together for fun, but since the decision wasn''t in their hands, they could just hope they''ll get the same room. But it didn''t happen. Both of them got separate rooms and even separate floors. That''s why they''ve been trying to force their original room partners to make a request for change and leave the room, so they can shift together. The one living with Edward was someone from the holy church of Neisah, so instead of forcing him, they both decided to force Lincoln''s partner, who was just a nobody.

    "You just have to beg harder then. Maybe I ought to give you a beating, so you can learn your lesson." Edward said, as he came forward.

    Since the use of mana attacks outside the sses and their own training practices was not allowed, he couldn''t really use his skills and bully this kid. So he can just clench his fists and give him an old school beatdown.

    "Don''t, I''ll talk to him again. This time more seriously." Seeing him Damon''s pale face became even paler and almost turned dead white. He was scared of these 2 viins, cause he had been beaten by them once when he was a kid. He thought here at the academy no one would cause trouble for him and he could finally forget about the prejudice and learn what he wants freely. But the very allowed, but in some cases, if the warden agrees and you have a valid enough reason, one can still get their approval.

    first day, he got stuck with that guy as a room partner. And if that wasn''t enough, now they''re even forcing him to go and ask the warden to change his rooms. Normally this kind of thing wasn''t allowed, but in some cases, if the warden agrees and you have a valid enough reason, one can still get their approval. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hearing Damon begging for mercy, Edward showed a sinister smile as he grabbed his shoulder "I''ll give you 2 days time. If I don''t see the results," His hands started to exert more strength in his grip as Damon winced in pain. Edward came near his ears and whispered "Then I heard that quite a few people die from their own poisons as idents in your line of magic."

    Damon''s forehead drowned in sweat as he heard the death threat. He never expected just aftering here he''d be treated like this. Seeing him shaking in fear, Edward showed a kind smile on his face and left him alone there.

    Damon ran out of the canteen in fear, afraid that they might really beat him next or even kill him. He was more of an auxiliary type of mage, and even his rank was much lower than these rich nobles, he dare not stay a second and risk his life. As for asking the warden to change his room, even if he has to beg on his knees, he''ll do it. The thought ofining about them or reporting them to the staff never even crossed his mind, as the notion that nobles can do whatever they want is etched in his mind.

    "Stupid bullies." Reba muttered watching the whole scenario. She even wanted to stand up and teach them a lesson but remembering what happened thest time she went forward to help someone, she stayed silent too. And besides, she knew things like this were normal in the academy.

    If one doesn''t have the strength to fight for himself, then there is no point in saving them. As then they''d only be dependent on you and drag you down too.

    She learned this lesson 4 years ago, on a certain dungeon trip with her brothers, Amy and azy panda.

    A and Rubina simplycked the saint contrast, so they didn''t feel anything about it. A had spent her childhood beingbeled as a curse and scum, a death threat was the least to make her bat an eye.

    Rubina on the other hand, came from the tribes of Alka. Which only valued strength and simplicity in their nature. They''re known for their behaviors of being frank and open about their thoughts.

    So in her eyes, weak getting bullied by the strong is the most natural thing. It was even fun to watch this. That''s what her intention was, when she first pointed at them. She wanted to let her friends enjoy this drama too.

    Leon entered the canteen at this point, as he collided with Damon rushing out with clear terror on his face. Ignoring Leon who wanted to help him, Damon apologized and ran out in a hurry. His behavior made Leon puzzled, but he didn''t know anything or anyone here, so he couldn''t do anything for help.

    Ignoring him, Leon entered the canteen and saw Edward and Lincoln chatting with each other - smiling and cheering. Those smiles on their faces irritated him, as those reminded him of the time when he was getting beaten by their guards and theyughed at him looking down on him.

    [Don''t lose your temper, boy. They''re just ants in your journey. Focus on your strength and then, none of them will matter anymore.]

    He heard Apollo''s voice in his head, urging him to let go of his anger, thus he did just that.

    Ignoring them, he turned and walked towards the other side of the corner and sat down.

    <The menu of the canteen would be sent to every student on their devices every morning, so they can notify the chefs beforehand if they have any preference or dislike. Students can also order their own dishes which aren''t on the menu, but for that, they''d need to spend their merit points(MP).>

    Leon was eating his breakfast in a hurry, while ncing at his watch from time to time, to see how much time he had left. When suddenly a shadow loomed over his table and he heard a voice -"So you finally decided to show up huh. Now fight me."

 Chapter 186 Zirix Drakkar - Avatar Of Sun Wukong

    ?

    The canteen of the first year dorms buzzed with students enjoying their meals, the clinking of cutlery, and animated conversations filling the air. Amidst this mundane scene, the sudden sharp voice cut through the atmosphere that interrupted the tranquil ambiance.

    "So you finally came out of your room, huh? Now, fight me."

    The words hung in the air like a challenge, causing heads to turn and curious nces to be exchanged.

    Leon, who was silently eating, minding his own business, thinking about ways to improve his strength and stabilize his rank, when someone interrupted his meal.

    He looked up and nced at the boy, who was wearing the same academy uniform as him, with a golden band tying his curly ck hair. Leon remembered him as Zirix Drakkar, ranked 8th in the first year academy exams. He had seen him during the practice grounds at exams and he could tell he was strong.

    After seeing his face, Leon ignored him and focused on eating his food.

    Zirix, growing agitated by Leon''s apparent indifference, couldn''t conceal his irritation.

    "What''s wrong, rank one? The genius is too scared to fight me? Weren''t you confident when you walked up to that stage, what''s wrong now?" Zirix taunted.

    Leon wiped his mouth and began to stand, choosing to exit the situation rather than engage in stupid fights. The surrounding students, who had been eavesdropping on their exchange, leaned in closer, their curiosity piqued.

    Everyone was curious about the first rank in their year and wanted to see his skills for themselves. As the only impression they had of him was through those video recordings. Even in this whole week, many have tried to look for him to befriend him or to challenge him, but he had always been holed up in his room, so no one could see him.

    But now he was out, and there was even a chance that a fight might happen soon.

    Poor souls didn''t know that just because of a certain anomaly, Apollo had increased Leon''s growth rate by a lot. While in the novel, at this time Leon was supposed to be D- rank, currently he was C- rank. One whole major rank higher. (Other than the rank nothing has changed, as the plotline of breakthrough atst moment aftering to academy, is still the same.)

    Leon, who was going to throw out his te, stopped, as Zirix came in front of him and pulled out a staff from his storage ring, and pointed it menacingly to his face. "Don''t worry, I''ll go easy on you. No mana and artifacts too."

    Leon looked at the staff and the headband and remembered something, his thoughts were cleared as the God in his head confirmed his doubts.

    [He''s one of the avatars. You should befriend him.]

    Knowing that, Leon was even in less of a mood to challenge him. It wasn''t that he was scared or that he couldn''t win, but he simply didn''t want to entertain these guys. He knew that many students woulde flocking him for fights, after his rank was announced. Because his reputation was much lower than anybody else in the rankings, many would be dissatisfied and doubtful of the results, so he was prepared for this, that''s why he wanted to rank up before the sses started.

    so he changed the topic "We''rete for ss, you should go there instead. We can _ "

    Leon, who was speaking, stopped as the te in his hands was thrown away by the staff in Zirix''s hands. "Don''t tell me what to do, boy. Lesser ones should do what they''re told." Zirix dered, a hint of superiority in his tone. "Don''t worry, I''ll leave you alone once I''m done, you won''t be a cripple again."

    Zirix said in a serious tone. The corners of his lips curled up in a smile, as he saw Leon finally showing the expression of anger after hearing the word cripple again. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sun Wukong, the monkey King of the Chinese pantheon, and one of the most famous Gods of Chinese myths in Arcadia. He was the one who had chosen Zirix as his avatar.

    Unlike other gods, his personality wasn''t the patient and smart kind, he simply was the most carefree and barbaric god toe to Arcadia. That''s why, where other gods over the years chose less and less avatars, so they don''t lose their precious skills after the avatar''s death. He for his fun simply made lines of his avatars everytime one died. He wasn''t scared of losing his skills, as he simply recreated them in his head. Having an unlimited number of clones mastering the same technique again and again is such a simple feat for him.

    (He always makes a demand while choosing an avatar that he won''t teach him the skill of cloning. So he never lost that and any of his other skills for that matter)

    Being chosen by such a carefree God, who crushed the army of heavens for his fun, Zirix has always maintained a simr personality too.

    ''In entire heaven and hell, only I am supreme.'' That''s what he always heard and started to believe over time.

    Now how can someone with that mindset believe someone else superior, so in this one week he challenged everyone, whom he considered an opponent to him. His God had given him a task to set a target and surpass it, if he wanted to learn his next skill.

    So in a hurry to prove himself to his God he even participated in public exams, even though he had a rmendation to join the academy, but the results he got only made him look like a joke. Forget rank one that he envisioned himself to get, he wasn''t even in the top 5, that''s why he wanted to beat Leon.

    Looking at the scattered remains of food around him, hearing his arrogant tone and the word cripple, Leon lost his patience. Since he had just ranked up, and didn''t have time to stabilize his increased mana pool, his mana began to leak out, causing the room''s atmosphere to change.

    Everyone in the canteen shifted their attention to the brewing conflict after sensing the mana.  Even the girls sitting on the side, turned their eyes towards themotion.

    "So he''s the rank one huh." Rubina said, looking curiously at Leon.

    Reba looked at Leon and remembered him at a nce. A merely nced briefly at the scene before turning her gaze away. She always hated fights and violence, especially which was done for no cause.

    Unlike them, Amelia didn''t look at them and turned her eyes at the ss door, where she could see her brother standing silently, watching both of them, lost in his thoughts.

    Rio, who had just arrived in the canteen, was hoping to avoid this scenario and leave, but seeing everything inside, that was now impossible. His eyes turned towards the girls trying to see their reactions, but stopped when he found Amelia was staring at him.

    Knowing there was no way to call the girls out, he just took a deep breath and decided to interrupt the fight that was about to start.

    Zirix on the other hand, seeing Leon''s reaction showed a serious expression and swung his staff at him.

    But before the staff could hit Leon, someone grabbed it from behind. Zirix turned his eyes to look back, and saw Rio holding it with his left hand -

    "Stop blocking the door monkey."

    ###

    A/N - I''ll tell u what was supposed to happen in the novel and what he did and why he did it in next chapter.

 Chapter 187 Fight Me, Are You Worthy?

    ?

    In the novel, after Zirix challenged Leon and when they were about to fight, Amelia woulde to stop them. But then Edward and Lincoln who recognized Leon too, would fan the mes from the side a little, making Leon more angry. Reba would thene forward to stop the fights, as their arguments were getting the attraction of everyone around them.

    Zirix, who saw many top rankers and top students standing near them, followed his God''s advice to wreak havoc and start a brawl. In his eyes this situation was even better as he could now fight and defeat many rankers, and show off even more to his god. Thus he started attacking Leon, and when Reba interfered, her too. Amelia came to help her and pushed Zirix aside. While Lincoln and Edward took the chance in chaos to beat Leon from behind.

    Surprised by the action, Leon got pushed into Zirix and it became a 3 to 1 fight for him. Amelia and Reba, seeing this, tried to stop them, as they reminded them that fights were not allowed or how they werete for ss, but no one listened.

    Zirix was enjoying his battle, as his God was happy with it. While Lincoln and Edward simply wanted to beat Leon to take out their anger. They had recognized Leon at the entrance ceremony and were just waiting to teach him another lesson, so he doesn''t get any thoughts of telling anyone anything.

    Leon, on the other hand, simply lost his cool after being called a cripple again and again, and seeing the 2 guys responsible for making his life hell fighting him.

    Thus the silent canteen soon turned into the fighting ring of a brawl. No one used their mana as it was prohibited, but their strength was enough to cause enough ruckus in the cafeteria. The tables, chairs and even the floors or the walls bore the signs of their fight.

    Obviously soon enough, someone reported it to the staff and wardens of the dorms came forward to stop them.

    Due to all this, the 6 of them werete for the ss on their first day. And when the news of what happened got around the ss, it only made more reports and rumours.

    This little fight scene not only made Leon familiar with Amelia and Reba again. But also helped him get 2ckeyster in the form of Kevin and Zirix.

    If you''re wondering how, then it''s simple, Zirix being the haughty one he is, wasn''t satisfied with just one fight, and always came to challenge Leon whenever he got the chance. Be it normal training exercises, sparring sessions orter duels, he fought against him many times and as one could guess lost many times. This only made him more interested in beating Leon next time, and through this constant cycle they somehow became friends and partners. Later Zirix even joined Leon''s party too.

    As for Kevin, that''s even simpler. After getting adopted into ke family, he had always tried to get along well with everyone. And in the academy, since Amelia became friends with Leon, he followed behind her and joined team Leon too.

    <If you''re wondering what Rio was doing at that time, well he was sitting in his ss. The rumours of him being the Devil were starting to spread again once he joined the academy, and his rtionship with Reba, Amelia or Kevin wasn''t good at that point. So he just tried to avoid them.>

    But now, in reality, Rio didn''t want to take part in this event, as he would get nothing out of it. Since they''re all in the same academy, it was impossible for him to keep Amelia or Reba away from the protagonist, so he just wanted to keep their contact with this cockroach to the minimum in all events of the novel. But due to all those nightmares and him beingte, he couldn''t reach here on time and now, everyone was looking at the fight that was about to break out.

    Even though Amelia never met Leon or Reba who didn''t have a positive impression of him in their first meeting, Rio didn''t want to take a chance to let them be. With Reba''s habits of following the rules, there was a chance that she still might stand up to stop them if they started fighting. So he had no choice but to go in.

    But before he opened the door, he heard a mellow voice in his head. It was H, the first goddess who chose him as her avatar.

    [Teach that guy a lesson. Father would love that.]

    Hearing her reminder, Rio remembered about some plotlines and nodded his head. The monkey king was also a little trickster in his ways, and Loki always hatedpetition to his title. So it made sense that beating his avatar might get Loki''s attention.

    Clearing his thoughts, Rio walked inside the canteen. Zirix was preparing to swing his staff at Leon, but he grabbed it in his hands.

    "Who _" Zirix turned around puzzled at who stopped him, when he heard an arrogant remark "Stop blocking the door, monkey."

    "What did you say?" Zirix said angrily, his eyes ring at the white haired boy who dared to make fun of him.

    "I said, get out of my way." Rio said and pulled his staff and threw it in the corner.

    Ignoring the fuming face of Zirix and the curious eyes of other students he started leaving towards the table where Amelia and others were sitting.

    "That''s him right, Rio."

    "Tsk, he stopped a fun fight."

    "Who cares. Rio vs Zirix might be more fun to watch."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Humph. Rio can beat that guy in a minute. Didn''t you see the look on Zirix''s face, he hasn''t even realised what happened."

    The few remaining students who stayed to watch the drama, started gossiping among themselves. Hearing their murmurs Zirix looked at his empty hand and then at Rio''s leaving back.

    A smile came to his face as he remembered Rio''s reputation and rumours of his talent. Since his chosen God said to set a target and surpass that, won''t this guy be a nice target too. So he went forward and grabbed Rio''s shoulder "Where''re you going after ruining my fun."

    Rio pped his hand away and ignored him. Seeing this guy ignoring him too, he clenched his fists -

    [You aren''t his opponent, boy.]

    [Let him be.]

    Zirix read the notification and it only fueled his anger. Ignoring it he sped up and appeared in front of Rio, "Why don''t we have a fight. Let''s see if your reputation is real or just a hoax."

    Rio looked at Zirix''s face like he was looking at some idiot. This is why he wanted to avoid this guy, he''s simply an idiot in earlier times, and now he was blocking his way again.

    "Come on, no need to be afraid I''m _ "

    Zirix was saying his dialogues when Rio muttered something with an annoyed expression "Are you worthy?"

    "What _ "

    Zirix was asking something, when he felt a powerful kick to his stomach that knocked the air out of his lungs. He took 2 steps back and looked up, only to see two ck eyes staring down at him.

    "I said, I hate repeating stuff. Now out of my way monkey."

    Rio said, and pushed Zirix away with his hands. Leaving him bewildered. Zirix tried to move and punch him, but to his horror he found he couldn''t move his hands or feet at all. It was like someone tied them and he could just stay like that - a statue.

    He red his mana, trying to break free from whatever was holding him, but the more he tried, the tighter he felt the restrains on him. Soon enough marks of strings appeared on his hands and feet, threatening to cut his skin, if he didn''t stop forcing them.

    "Was that necessary?" Reba said, when Rio came to their table.

    "He''s the one who needed a fight." Rio said and ignored her "Let''s go. We''re gettingte for ss."

    He said and started leaving again. Amelia and A stood up to leave too. While Rubina cast a nce at Leon and soon followed behind them too. Zirix felt the strings lose and disappear, and he could move his body again.

    [You should listen to my advice boy. Don''t set targets you couldn''t cross.]

    ''Hehehe it''s gonna be fun.'' Zirix said, as he massaged his wrists.

    Leon, the protagonist, just kept standing there, looking at the backs of everyone, feeling a little lost and wrong.

    ##

    A/N - To anyone who forgot, Rio used his blessing Strings of Mana(lvl 1), the one he got from Skuld, to hold Zirix in ce. His mastery of the strings has increased a lot over the years. And he has unlocked the blessing to next level - Threads of Mana(lvl 2)

 Chapter 188 Freya Morgan - The Stormfire Sorceress

    ?

    "How are you?" Amelia asked, as they were all walking towards the ss.

    "What do you mean?" Rio asked as he smiled and looked at her.

    Amelia kept looking at him for some time and shook her head and said "Nothing"

    ''Did she get some blessing to look past illusions and other blessings.'' Rio couldn''t help but think, as he was sure she noticed something again.

    ''I should really fix my nightmares'' Rio thought as he walked into the ssroom.

    [A-3]

    That''s the name of the ss where he was assigned to. The name had nothing to do with rankings or status, it was just random stuff.

    Until the first semester the first year students were divided in 5 sses, each having around 500 students. After the first semester, they would be turned into 12 sses with around 200 students. And then one ss for top 100 rankers. (Total in 13)

    Obviously half the important characters were in this ss, as is the sense of any other novel. The only reason he could say, is that the protagonist with his halo pulled all of them near him. Some heroines, viins, stepping stones and obviously a viiness

    "Why are you standing at the door?" Rio heard Reba''s voice as she walked by him.

    Shaking his thoughts away, he walked in the ss too. The space inside was bigger than many halls, as the tables and chairs were arranged like in stadiums, from lower to higher. He could see lots of students sitting in groups and chatting with each other. His arrival started another wave of gossip between them, as some still couldn''t believe he was back or that he''d be studying with them.

    Ignoring them Rio walked till the mid sections and sat on an empty chair. Amelia and Reba and A sat on the table in front of him. Rubina was in a different ss, so she had already left.

    "I''m surprised you made it on time." A boy came over to his table and said.

    "Sit down already. Your shining head is blinding me." Rio said, dragging the bald monk to sit down. The boy sat near him with an annoyed expression.

    His name was Takashi Kenjo. A bald monk from the city of believers. He was wearing the same uniform as everyone, but a circle of beads in his left hand and sacred thread(Janeu) resting on his neck, sets him apart from others. His face was average at best, while his ears showcase big empty piercing holes, highlighting his shiny empty head.

    He was also the only one who was sitting barefoot in the ss. His shoes were ced outside the ss, as he believes the ss is a temple and wearing shoes inside is an insult.

    He was Rio''s roommate in the dorms. A supporting character in the novel, and one of the many who died in the first big event.

    Ignoring him, Rio turned his eyes towards the rest of the ss. His gaze stopping on the characters he could identify from the novel.

    ''Katherine Winston, The Ice Enchantress. The cold heroine of the novel. Noah''s sister and Leon''s harem member.''

    ''Amaya Stormswill, The Savant Sage. The smart heroine with a dangerous mind.''

    ''Valtor Shade, The Shadow Sentinel. Leon''s rival in the academy arcs.''

    ''Edward Sinir, a petty viin in the beginning stages. Who''ll die a horrible death.''

    ''Morphius Thornfang, Leon''s supporting little brother. Werewolf tribe''s next heir.''

    ''Celia Spencer, The Wailing Witch, a viiness who''s crazy about magic.''

    ''ric Darhk, the hybrid of vampire and werewolf bloodlines.''

    Other than these there were still some other characters who yed important roles in the story too, but at that time Rio''s gaze went towards the door, where the sound of high heels could be heard from.

    The professor of first year ss A-3 entered the room. As anyone could guess from the teacher of the protagonist''s ss, she is hot. Humm humhh, she is pretty, I mean pretty talented. Yes, that''s it. Pretty talented, that''s what she is.

    [Holy cow! It''s the Stormfire Sorceress.]

    [I didn''t know we were going to get her as our ssroom teacher.]

    [She''s my idol.]

    [She''s even prettier than in photos.]

    [I''m in Love Again.]

    [I''m gonna fail all her sses, cause I can''t see, hear or say anything but her praises.]

    [I can fail happily if she''s my teacher next time too.]

    [Look at her walk, I wish I was that stedder and she''d step on me.]

    [Ohh weird, but I like that.]

    She had just entered as lots of students started making noises with faces filled with excitement, especially boys. Even girls were talking about her with admiration and pride. Though it wasn''t hard to understand them as the ssroom teacher of A-3 ss was Freya Morgan, also known as Stormfire Sorceress.

    She''s also the youngest archmage with dual elements in human history. The S rank awakener specialised in air and fire magic.

    She became S ranker at the age of 22, she is also believed to have the potential to reach rank SSS or even Zephyr. Her strength in air and fire magic coupled with her beauty has earned her the title of Stormfire Sorceress. She had greyish hair, and her eyes were as red as a burning coal. Her facial expressions and personality is simr to the element she practices, sometimes as gentle as air and of angered, as fierce as fire.

    A smile came to Rio''s face as he looked at her. She was his senior 2 years ago and now she''s his homeroom teacher.

    - p! p!

    "Attention students! I am your homeroom teacher and until the first semester, I will be in charge of you all. Today is the first day of your academy, so let me introduce myself. My name is Freya Morgan. My rank is S+. I''ll be teaching you magic theory and elemental awareness. Some of you have had your elemental awakening sessfully, those who didn''t, it''s my job to help you find and teach your element."

    "The academy doesn''t entertain ckers andzy people, and everything in this academy will be based on your result and performance. Your status, background, what you have or who you order, don''t matter. Only when you show results will you be appreciated by the academy." She said with a stern expression. Her eyes scanning whole crowd.

    "I hope you all have read and remembered all the rules that were sent to you. If anyone has any questions you can ask them right now." She said and concluded her lecture.

    "Ma''am won''t we start with introductions, we haven''t seen many students?" One of the students asked his question.

    "Didn''t you guys have a week to get to know each other." Freya said, "And next time, you want to ask something, raise your hand, stand up, and then ask your questions. That''s rule 101 of any ss."

    The student who was called out, smiled and started looking into his books to hide his face.

    "Anyone else." Ignoring him, Freya asked again. Her gaze ncing towards the whole ss.

    "What about the attendance?" Another student raised his hand and asked.

    "You didn''t read the booklets sent to you, did you?" Instead of answering, Freya asked him a question in return.

    Some students started giggling around him, making the one who was standing sit back down with an embarrassed face. He just wanted her to take attendance so he could hear her call his name. Was that too much to ask?

    Crushing his dreams, Miss Freya replied "Read that once you go back today. To answer your question, every door in the ss had mana sensors installed in them, so as soon as you pass through them, it records the data through your wristwatches and that''s it."

    Hearing her say that, many students nced at their watches and the scanner on the door.

    This was a nice method, as it recorded the data automatically once any student entered the ss. It saved the time wasted on checking on every student or calling their names. This also saved the chance of someone missing their sses or asking for someone else''s help -as the students couldn''t take off their wrist watches without permission in the academy, so no one else beside them could mark their present.

    There''s also the rule that every student needed to maintain 75% attendance at the minimum if they wanted to take part in final exams. Without proper reasons or permissions, if one didn''t meet this criteria then they''d either have to repeat their year or be directly expelled from the academy.

    "Miss Freya, what about the freshers party? When will that be?" One of the girls in the front rows stood up and asked.

    Her question brought many people to perk up their ears, as they were all excited about the party. After the entrance ceremony, senior students along with student council members organise a party only for the students. It''s like a weing ceremony for all the new students.

    "There has been no news about that yet, if there''s an update, members of the student council woulde and announce that." Freya replied, her answer dampening the mood, but noticing this she continued "But from what I''ve heard, it''ll probably happen around the first month''s end or earlier weeks of second month. So you guys can get familiar with the academy, staff and your ssmates till then."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "For the entire period of 6 months from now, I expect you to maintain your image as best you can, many of you may not know this but the academy also cares about the student''s reputation and their behaviour in the sses, so be careful of the rules you break. As there might be some punishments."

    "Now that that''s done, let''s start with the ss. Open the book of _ " Freya said and started walking towards the dashboard, when someone interrupted her lecture and asked.

    "May Ie in, miss?"

    (Why is this idiotte again? I even solved that monkey brain for him in canteen.) Rio said, looking at the haggard protagonist, standing at the door.

    ###

    A/N - what do you think? Is the teacher gonna join hero''s harem too? Will Leon cross the boundaries of master-student rtionship and manage to woo the hot sensei.

    Audience poll live - who will be the lucky man to get Freya?

    A) Leon

    B) Rio

    C) No one

    D) Author

 Chapter 189 The First Class - Mana Relativity

    "May Ie in, miss?"

    Hearing this everyone''s eyes turned towards the door where Leon was standing, his breath heavy, hair disheveled, clothes dirty, looking like he just came after a brawl.

    His appearance confused Rio, as he couldn''t understand where this guy got into a fight again. He had seen Zirix leaving the canteen behind him, so who did he fight?

    Some students started whispering to each other as they noticed him, curiously talking about him, while miss Freya was just staring at him coldly.

    "Why were youte?" Miss Freya asked, her tone straightforward and cold.

    Leon, appearing somewhat flustered after looking at Miss Freya''s face, nced around nervously to hide his expression. His response was hesitant, as he managed to mutter "Uh, that��I''m sorry, miss. It won''t happen again."

    ''This guy. Is he blushing?'' Rio thought as he looked at Leon.

    [He''s a lost cause.] System said.

    Even this AI understood the protagonist''s usual routine and the fact that miss Freya asked for a reason and not an apology.

    Miss Freya just sighed and seeing he was only wasting time.

    "Get in." She conceded, not interested in further questioning this guy. "But I''d hope this is thest time it happens. There''ll be no excuses for beingte next time." She said to Leon and then turned to look at whole ss "The same is the case for all of you, if you''rete in my ss, there''s no need toe in and disturb everyone else. You can just stay outside or sleep in your bed. Is that clear?"

    A chorus of affirmations echoed through the ssroom: "YES MA''AM!"

    ''Is it just me, or was she looking at me when she said the sleeping part.'' Rio thought.

    [No, I''m sure she was looking at you.]

    Rio felt wronged with system''s answer.. ''Just because I waste a few times back then doesn''t mean I''m alwayste.''

    [Seeing your memories, it was way more than a few times. You even got a notice from the student council, with her sign on it, remember?]

    Hearing system''s remark Rio could just cough and be silent about it. That was all in the past after all.

    "Now that that''s done. Let''s start today''s ss." Miss Freya spoke getting the attention of everyone. "I need you to open your book of mana rtivity. We''ll start with the minor basics of that, and once we cover them, we can go for the practical training. Where you all can show me your elements and how much you''ve mastered them."

    Mana Rtivity, a book written by Myrrhn Corvallis, head of the magic tower. It was the work of all his lifetime, which covered all his knowledge and research on mana and it''s effects on any living being and the surroundings. It taught about the proper way to use the mana, easiest way to channel it in spells and converting it into different elements. It was written in 3 parts, with each semester covering one part in the academy.

    "Before starting this chapter I''ll like your opinions on something basic - what do you think mana is? What is your understanding of mana and it''s origin? Anyone wanna take the lead." Miss Freya had just asked, when half the ss had their hands up in the air, ready to answer. She looked around at everybody and just randomly pointed at a boy -"You, tell me."

    "Mana is the core energy of Arcadia. Through which everything works. It''s present in basically every _ "

    "Now you?" Miss Freya interrupted him and pointed towards a girl in front row.

    "Mana is the source of magic. The energy that radiates from the core of our world. It''s present everywhere and after awakening we just learn to feel its presence and channel it."

    "Right but Bookish. I need your personal opinions, not the definition you read in some library." Miss Freya said and told them to sit down "You." She said and pointed towards another girl.

    "Mana is a tool. A way to achieve our goals." Katherine stood up and answered. Her tone in and icy just as her expressions.

    "Good." Miss Freya nodded and signaled her to sit down. "Anyone else."

    "Mana is the blessing of the originator. The prime God Apollo gave the world mana so the first residents of Arcadia could live freely."

    "Mana is just air. The one we breath. It''s origin is nothing, as it''s always been there."

    "Mana is power. A way to fight and survive. And to get whatever you want."

    Following Katherine''s straight answer many students started giving their own view on mana and it''s origin.

    _p_ "Okay, you all can sit and listen now." Miss Freya interrupted all students and started speaking "All of you are right. Except you." She said while pointing towards the one who praised Apollo for mana "The academy doesn''t promote any propaganda for any God. You believe them, that''s good for you. That''s your freedom, but please refrain from announcing it next time."

    "It''s same for everyone, the gods you believe in, the ones you follow, that''s up to you. But you should also know that others may not follow them or like them. So to avoid causing friction among yourselves, keep your religion out of the academy gates. Is that clear?"

    �� " YES MA''AM "

    "Now let''s start again. From Mana _ "

    ''She''s extra icy. Don''t you think system?'' Rio said, ncing at katherine.

    [Well, you did kill her brother.]

    ''Yeah, but she didn''t even like him though.''

    [That doesn''t change the fact that he was her brother.] System said and continued [You know how Winston''s are, in that family, Noah was probably the only ''normal'' one. With his death, a lot of things would''ve changed.]

    ''You mean kid Noah. Don''t forget what he did in academy arcs and worst eventer on. He was far from a normal guy.'' Rio said, as he remembered the plot of the now dead seer. Every time he remembered that, he was d that he woke up before that prophecy from that guy. Solving him after that would''ve been a trouble.

    [You might''ve increased the difficulty our protagonist has to go through to conquer her now.]

    Rio just smiled and replied ''Well, that doesn''t matter to me. Let''s monitor her for now though.''

    [Father says to focus on your ss and learn, instead of looking at girls all day.]

    -cough cough-

    Rio read the notification from H and started coughing.

    ''This guy, he''s really something else.'' Rio thought after reading that notification. Since Loki himself couldn''t talk to him due to all those barriers, he''s using his daughter to send his messages.

    ''Is this why he let H choose me as her avatar. So he can hop on a free ride. He''s even tricking his own daughter.''

    [He is a trickster down to the veryst bone.]

    [You should focus on ss now, your teacher''s staring at you.]

    Rio read the notification and hurriedly averted his eyes from Katherine and focused back on the front board. Only to see Miss Freya staring at him. Looking at her angry eyes, he could just pretend to be serious and start doodling in his notebook.

    ''Next time tell me that first, you useless AI.'' Rio said and took a final nce at Katherine and started focusing on the ss.

    Just as he looked away, Katherine looked in his direction for some time and shook her head.

    After quite a while, when the theory lesson was done for, Miss Freya closed her books and said "Well, that was tiring. Wasn''t it?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    �� "No Miss" �C

    The boys said out in unison. After all, how can anything be boring when you get to look at the beautiful face and back of the famous Freya Morgan.

    (A/N - and seeing their enthusiasm all girls could only sigh and say ''Men will be men'' )

    Ignoring the enamoured looks of the boys, miss Freya continued "Well, since the theory part is done. I''ll be taking you for some practicals. Since today is your first day, I''ll only see your element and record your mastery of it."

    "But miss, some of us didn''t had our elemental awakening yet." One of the girls said, feeling a little down.

    Elemental awakening, is a tough thing and not many people can hold on till that point and sessfully go through that process. So it''s not a surprise that while all the students were awakeners, not many had awakened their own element yet.

    Miss Freya smiled and said in a gentle tone "There''s no need to worry about that. For those who didn''t awaken their elements yet, I want you to show me whatever element you''re most familiar with. As for awakening them, that''s my job, so I''ll help you to do that."

    Her confident words calmed the girl as she smiled and sat back down. After all, who''s better to teach them about elemental awakening than the person who managed to sessfully awakene 2 of them on her own in the very first try.

    "Nowe on, follow me," Miss Freya instructed, a touch of sternness returning to her voice. "No sightseeing and no loud noises. Don''t disturb the sses next to you."

    ##

    Elemental awakening info -

    <<Some people may have connection with 2 or more elements, while in most cases the one whom mastering is easy for that awakener bes the main element. Like if one had connection with Darkness and shadow element, then they may awaken shadow. Or if it''s ice and water, then they may awaken water. As turning Mana into that element is easier than the other one.

    This situation depends on which element that awakener can easily channel and master, that element bes their main element of awakening.

    But there are also very rare cases, where someone has connection with 2 separate elements with equal mastery of both of them. So there''s a tiny chance that they may awaken both of them. It is rare and risky, as chances of failure and losing control of your Mana is much higher.

    So even if someone does have 2 elements, many people choose to give up on one and focus on the one which they find best.

    But there''s always some lunatics who want to try harder and break past their limits, so there''s a tiny chance that they might be able to awaken both elements on their first awakening. Awakener like them are called dual elementals.

    Dual elementals have high power and easier time to master their main elementspared to other awakeners,, but there''s also the downside that they''d have to give twice the amount of effort if they want to learn 3rd element or 4th element.>>>>

    ###

    A/N - Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

 Chapter 190 The first class - Mana spells

    <h4>Chapter 190 The first ss - Mana spells</h4>

    "Those who haven''t awakened their elements yet, I want you to stand on my right side. Otherse to my left."

    Aftering to the training grounds Miss Freya stood in front as she started dividing students in 2 groups. Around more than half of the ss didn''t have their elemental awakening yet. Others who had awakened their element were asked to stay innes as she started calling them in groups of 5 to perform one of their elemental spells which showed their finest control and mastery.

    Since keeping a check on the process of 300 students would be tough while teaching them, some assistant professor came to help and guide the students, while Miss Freya was busy. Every professor responsible for teaching first year students would be given 2 assistant professors, to aid in their tasks and training students. Assistant professors were basically professors-in-training, who were selected from outside the World Association. These guys will stay on that post for a year and the academy will see their performance & results. If they passed they''d be promoted to one star professor. Otherwise they''d either have to expand their training period again or join some other academy.

    Those who hadn''t been called to the stage were given time to practice on their own or observe their ssmates.

    Since it was the first day everyone was excited to show their progress to others, and learn everything, so following the guidance of assistant professors they divided in groups and started performing their spells one by one. There is a saying that to know how potent one''s control over their element is, to let them form a spell and have them keep it study, instead of releasing it. There are certain steps to every spell, how much mana it could hold, how much time it can be controlled after getting casted, how much it would be affected by surrounding mana or surrounding elements.

    Now in a ce where around a 100 students are performing their spells of different kinds and different elements simultaneously , the longer the students could keep hold of their element before losing focus of their spell, the better control they''d have of their element.

    There''s also other things like can one turn the direction of a spell already casted, can one y around with that said spell and make it more amplified. Can one double cast or control some other spell or element while maintaining the first spell. How much mana the spell needed, how much you used and lost - These are all things which show how much mastery of that element and mana you have.

    Every student was standing in front of some stone statues, and everytime anyone thought they had reached their limits, they were to release that spell on the targets. As students cast their spells simultaneously, the training grounds became a dynamic and colorful spectacle.

    The dummy statues were made of specialized ores, and are inscribed with various different runes, to make them withstand the impact of spells. Some of them were even inscribed with null magic runes, which can nullify the effects of spells.

    After every hit the stone statues would emit different colors of light, reflecting the intensity of that attack and level of danger. Starting from white which meant no threat, then yellow for defendable, amber which meant minor injuries, and red for serious injuries. The concept of death is something these stone statues aren''t familiar with so no reaction.

    "Aren''t you going to show your spells?" Amelia asked, as she saw Rio just standing still looking at others practicing their spells.

    "Nah, I''m more interested in watching everyone. Come, let me show you something." Rio said, as he told Amelia to sit near him. They were currently sitting below the stage where Miss Freya was calling everyone who had awakened their elements, to perform one of their spells in front of her. She would then use her own magic to either dispel Or disperse their spell. She did this so she could get a clear understanding of the mistakes anyone made in their conjecture and creation.

    "Which element will she be using?" Rio asked, as he looked at a girl going up on stage.

    "Probably ice or maybe fog." Amelia replied, as she felt sudden coldness in the area.

    "You learned that, after she started casting her spell." Rio said and pointed towards professor Freya "Now look at Miss Freya."

    They watched as the girl created three sharp icicles and sent them hurtling towards Miss Freya on stage. In response, miss Freya just waved her hand and the ice projectiles dissipated in thin air.

    "What did you see?" Rio queried.

    Amelia pondered for a moment before answering, "She created a heatwave that vaporized the ice."

    Rio nodded in agreement but probed further, "Yes, but what else?"

    As the students took turns demonstrating their spells, Amelia observed Miss Freya more closely. At one point, a student''s spell spontaneously dissipated without any action from the professor.

    Seeing that she didn''t reply, Rio continued "She absorbed the mana her opponent used in her spell, after dispersing the ice. This way, she can practically fight with her opponent forever and never run out of mana."

    Amelia was astounded. "Is that even possible?"

    "It is, if you have enough control over mana," Rio confirmed. "Before releasing any spell, the caster cuts off the supply of mana in their spell, which makes it one concentrated chunk of elemental mana. Now if someone has enough control over their own element and mana, they can just disperse that condensed mana and absorb it."

    "Won''t that mean no spell can hurt you if you have enough mastery over mana." Amelia asked another question.

    "Yupp. That''s why dragons are always superior, since they have more control over mana than any of the other races." Rio nodded his head and replied.

    "Same is the case with elements. This is why fighting elves with nature magic, vampires with blood magic or fairies with air magic is useless. Because they have inherent control over those elements. So unless you''re more proficient in that elementpared to them, or it''s a special spell attuned with some other effects, it''s hard to fight against them using the same methods."

    "But I''ve seen fights where even those who had more control over their element lost or got hurt." Amelia asked.

    "If they were hurt by their own element, then they weren''t strong enough or simplycked mana." Rio said and stood up "Or they were just nobodies. What I told you, is the thing geniuses do. So be careful if you ever fight against them."

    Leaving Amelia stupefied at what he meant, Rio started walking towards a corner.

    What he said, was a method only known by people in high circles and that too, by those of other races. Humans had no inherent connection with any element, thus they couldn''t do this, unless they were a genius themselves and had mastered that element perfectly.

    With Amelia''s talent and Goddess Gauri''s guidance, it won''t be hard for her to learn to do this. And the sooner she learns to do this, the sooner she can start her training in controlling the element of chaos.

    ''That way she''d be safer once those guys start to act.'' Rio thought, remembering about the cultists blinded by the belief of chaos and Kali.

    After telling Amelia about Freya''s method, Rio ignored her and came towards the practice dummies. Now that the effects of EMMSY had been solved and his mana was back to the amount he had, it was time to increase his resilience and then level up to B rank.

    ''The first big event of the protagonist woulde soon ording to the novel. I don''t know what would change due to all my altercations, but that attack would soon happen nheless.''

    ''Around 200 students died in the novel due to that. Let''s kill some of the prince''s minions in that incident.''

    Remembering Alfred and what that bastard did in that dungeon 2 years ago, anger surged in Rio''s heart. The thoughts of killing that guy came to his head, but he couldn''t kill him yet. His role was too important to be finished this early, and if he tried to kill him the changes could spiral out of control like back then. So he just decided to settle with killing his minions in the first year.

    ''You want the throne that bad right, let''s see how youpete without any support.''

    "Now that that''s done, I should start training myself. But who should I choose as a partner?" Rio thought and looked around to find someone to fight against.

    "Ba, do you wanna spar?" Rio called out to Reba, who was practicing nearby.

    "Is that allowed?" Reba asked, ncing around at the other students, all of whom were either practicing alone or receiving guidance from the assistant professors.

    Rio reassured her, saying, "We''ll just use basic spells. It''s the same thing."

    Still hesitant, Reba looked towards the stage "Let me ask Miss Freya!"

    Seeing her walking towards the stage, Rio smiled and said "Come on. Don''t be scared, I won''t be using my element of darkness." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His words reminded Reba of thest time they sparred, where she ended up losing and having a nightmare for a few days. Who creates a demon-like shadow to sneak up behind their opponent to scare her. "Who''s scared, I''ll beat you even with that."

    Seeing her agreeing for a spar, he smiled and said "We''ll see."

    ###

    A/N - Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

 Chapter 191 The first spar - show of spells

    <h4>Chapter 191 The first spar - show of spells</h4>

    As the spar between Rio and Reba started, nearby students started watching them and whispers spread through the training grounds like wildfire.

    "Are those two fighting?"

    "Why would they fight? They''re probably sparring with each other."

    "Is that allowed?"

    "Well, the professor did say to do whatever you want." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Soon enough their match attracted the attention of everyone. Students who had been diligently practicing turned their focus towards the first spar happening before them.

    Reba, noticing the growing crowd, remarked, "The crowd''s gathering around us now."

    Rio grinned and replied, "Then let''s give them a show," as he hurled mana bullets towards her.

    *WATERWALL* Reba said, and at hermand a wall of water formed around her which blocked the water bullets. She then made a sword out of water and shed at him.

    "I thought we agreed to keep it at basic spells," Rio chided, after forming an ice sword to counter her.

    "The ss is about elemental control, so why not?" Reba responded, her hand gliding through the air. The water drops which fell from her sword spell, merged and became a dagger that attacked him from behind.

    Rio smiled, "Don''t forget, but you asked for this," With a simple tap on the dagger''s tip, he froze it in ice and then threw it back at her.

    Startled, Reba tried to step back, but the ground suddenly cracked and holes appeared around her. "Nature, huh?" she mused, carefully avoiding the pitfalls. When the dagger threatened to hit her, she conjured a gust of wind, sending it off-course. "Didn''t know you mastered that?"

    "I wouldn''t call that mastery. It''s just a parlor trick," Rio replied, jumping forward to engage her in closebat. Seeing his intentions Reba transformed her water sword into an ice spear, and started to fight with him seriously.

    "Are those two really first years?" a student nearby muttered, his tone filled with surprise.

    "The princess is, but the Duke''s son is repeating," another student informed him. However, his eyes remained fixated on their match where a dazzling disy of elemental mastery was on show.

    "Still, they''re amazing. Did you see how he turned her dagger into ice? That''s what Miss Freya did some time ago, right?" a girl in the group couldn''t help butment.

    "Maybe it''s possible after we increase our mastery of elements." The boy replied, finally taking his eyes off the spar and looking at the girl who spoke.

    (He was a poor single soul. His mind had already created a fantasy of marriage life with that girl and names of his children already. Just because she talked to him one time.)

    <Girl''s that''s how simple and idiot first timers are so fool em to fullest>

    Ignoring the chatter all around, Rio and Reba were still fighting, when Rio said "Time to get serious, princess. Bring up your A-game or you''re gonna lose."

    Reba just humphed at his remark with a confident smirk pasted across her face. But she still got ready and started to put all her focus on him. Just to be on the safe side, she still added "No darkness. You said so."

    "Yupp. No darkness." Rio said as he shed his sword at her, but before it could collide with her spear, he whispered *DISPERSE*.

    Next second the ice sword melted in an instant, as the mana in the spell got absorbed by him again. The water then got sted in the air. Disappearing slowly.

    Seeing Reba''s spearing close to his neck, he jumped back a few steps. Reba wanted to follow after him and engage in melee fight again, when she heard him whisper *RAINDROP*

    In an instant, water drops started to form all around Reba. Their number increased every second. As both of them mostly used water spells from the beginning, it created a humid environment around them, which made gathering water much easier.

    The water drops instead of falling down to gravity, started flying towards Reba in a circr motion. Surprised for a second, she created a barrier of air to disrupt their flow and move out of their circle. When she saw Rio''s smirking expression, and saw him mouthing something *CONDENSE*

    She watched as the water droplets started to freeze and turn into ice cubes. Before she could increase the mana input of the air barrier, several ice cubes had already flown past the barrier and were about to hit her.

    Seeing her imminent defeat, Reba decided to concede. But then, out of nowhere, a gust of wind appeared behind her, and she started to smile back at Rio.

    Rio watched as Reba, who was just about to get hit and lose the spar, suddenly disappeared from her ce and appeared out of the circle of icicles he created.

    "That''s cheating Amy." He said, as he watched Amelia appear out of nowhere near Reba.

    "Rules never said it was a one on one fight." Reba pointed out with a smile and started to create bullets of water in front of her.

    In a matter of moments, she had around two dozen of them floating in front of her. After giving a slight nod to Amelia, she sent them all flying towards Rio with a push of her hand.

    "Sorry brother, but Ba promised me free dinner." Amelia teased, and pped her hands. At her signal, the space around the water bullets began to warp and copse. And when she separated her hands with a pull again, all the water bullets vanished from their ce. *TRANSFER*

    ''Space magic is awesome.'' Rio thought after watching Amelia use her element. No matter how many times he saw it, it just always amazed him.

    But he didn''t just get lost in his thoughts and praise of magic, a wall of ice had started to form around him the moment Amelia saved Reba.

    It didn''t take long for the icewall to form all the way up to his head, and just at that moment, several flying water bullets started to mor opposite it. Without looking at the wall, Rio turned his head, and shed his sword at Amelia who suddenly appeared behind him.

    "Crafty as always brother. But you lost." Amelia said, as she signaled towards Rio''s feet. Where ck chains of smoke started to tie around him.

    "Shadow bind" Rio whispered after looking at the chains.

    "You''re not the only one who mastered other elements." Reba said and formed a big spiral cone made of air and threw it hurtling towards his back.

    In response to their pincer attack, Rio just smiled and said "You forgot what I said to you a few moments ago my sister. Be careful when you fight against geniuses."

    Next instant, under Amelia''s shocked expression, the shadowy chains started getting loose and then flew towards her and captured her. She wanted to teleport out of there, when she saw her brother smile again. She saw as he disappeared from his ce and appeared behind Reba with a sword ready to sh on her neck. By the time Amelia got free from the increasing binds of darkness, Reba''s spell spiral was already in front of her.

    _crash_

    _boom_

    A barrier formed around Reba and Amelia both, before the sword or the spell could hit any of them. This was the protection function of the academy uniform. And since this barrier was used, it also signaled the end of their spar.

    "You lost." Rio said, as he tapped his sword two times on the barrier. He turned to walk away, when he remembered something and added "About that dinner, you both can pay for my tab too now."

    Hearing his snarky remark Reba could just click her tongue and say "You just got a little lucky. I''ll defeat you next time."

    Her words made Amelia smile, as she said "Leave it Ba. This was already your 14th defeat."

    "Whose side are you on, traitor?" Hearing her best friend say that, Reba red at her and said. "He won because we didn''t know he learned space magic too. We''ll get him next time."

    Saying this, she started walking away from the crowd and sit on a chair at the side. Even though they used a minimum amount of mana in each spell, the mana loss was still not something they could ignore. So they both decided to rest for a while.

    Miss Freya was still calling for students and giving them small pointers. While the other two, assistant professors were guiding other students.

    "Did you see that? How many elements did he learn?" One of the students said, looking at Rio.

    "He''s amazing. No wonder he was rank one 2 years ago."

    "Even his sister and the princess, both of them were good too."

    "Is this the difference between nobles and us?" One of themoner students said. "How many spells did they cast, and yet still have more mana left."

    "Forget mana, did you see the control all of them had with elements? Who said mastering more than one element was hard."

    "Yeah, just look at them. If they took part in academy exams, the rankings would really change."

    "True, hey do you think he can take first rank this time too?" One of the girls asked, looking at Leon, who wasing down from the stage after showing his spells to Miss Freya.

    "What type of question is that? Didn''t you see him? He''s already C+ rank, and with so many elements at his disposal, he can easily beat Leon."

    "I think so too"

    Leon, who had seen the spar between them a little, didn''t mind all this and started to focus on his training again. Miss Freya had pointed out some faults in his mana management, so he needed to train on that aspect. As for what others said about losing his rank 1 or whatever, he didn''t care. He still had 6 months to get to his level and defeat him.

    Though Leon had full confidence in himself, and his abilities, his God had already started to form his own thoughts.

    [Your battle intrigues God Apollo.]

    [He gives you another chance to be his follower.]

    ####

    A/N - Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

 Chapter 192 Circle of Darkness and guidance from goddess

    192 Circle of Darkness and guidance from goddess

    {Your battle intrigues God Apollo.}

    {He gives you another chance to be his follower.}

    Rio read the notification from Apollo and didn''t show any surprise. He had already expected it. Instead of replying and refusing to Apollo himself, he let his goddess do the talking.

    {H scoffs at the shamelessness of this dimmed outmp}

    {Nyx shoots away the annoying presence of light from her follower}

    ''Hahaha, poor guy,'' Rio thought as he chuckled inwardly after reading the messages of Nyx and H.

    [Was that necessary?] System asked, once its host was away from the crowd and the chatter.

    "What do you mean? Of course it was. I just stopped the protagonist from showing off in front of the whole ss. That''s some free points for me." Rio replied with a sly grin.

    In the original novel, at this time the whole ss would''ve surrounded Leon who was called on stage. Since everyone was curious about his skills and spells, they would all gather around the stage and watch as he showed his fire spells to Miss Freya.

    But now no one looked at the direction of the stage since he started a spar just at that moment. Plus his spar and disy of ice element''s control would interest another girl who wields ice. And thus, cutting the first meet up between the hero and the 2nd heroine, Katherine Winston.

    ''She should being to ask for some help from me now.'' Rio thought, as he looked at the opposite side and saw Katherine practicing by herself.

    In the original novel, after seeing Leon''s talent in elemental control and mastery of fire element, which is the bane of ice element, she would ask him to spar with her. So she can get better at using her own element and learn its shorings. This way Katherine vs Leon became the first spar of the first year. And it also became the starting point of the rtionship between those two.

    But now he had already changed the spar angle and Katherine might just ask him to teach her about the method of transformation magic instead of learning it from Leon.

    Transformation magic, a method of casting magic, where one can turn one element to another and one spell to another midway. Like how he turned water into ice or vice versa. Leon, on the other hand, knew how to change spells midway, like turning a fireball into a shield of fire or sword of mes into ring of fire.

    He wasn''t interested in fooling up girls or going out of his way to trouble Leon, but he wouldn''t mind doing it, if it can annoy Apollo.

    ''That guy gotta pay the price for ruining my nsst time.'' Rio thought bitterly, remembering the incident in the dungeon two years ago.

    [He didn''t even know what you wanted to do.]

    ''Doesn''t change the fact that he still did it.''

    2 years ago, during the final tournament for first year students of the world association academies, he had made a n to kill some annoying people who were nning to fight against the ke family from the shadows. He couldn''t just leave them be, knowing they''reing for his family, now could he?

    And in his ns to root out the enemies during the Warzy attack, followers of Apollo appeared out of nowhere to intervene. Just so they can gain tidbits of publicity and a little bit of belief power for their God.

    Their arrival led one thing to another and just like a house of cards, all his carefully crafted n lit up in shambles.

    He would even ignore that, but then shit started going even more out of control and he ended up getting trapped in a dungeon full of zombies. Now that is something he can''t ignore. The fucking pain of spatial distortion is still giving him chills, everytime he uses a teleportation circle or a gate.

    It''s hard to forget, and this guy still has the gall to ask him to be his follower.

    ''Be d I''m not nning to kill you motherfucker.'' Rio cursed the God, as he brought out a water bottle filled with mana potion and drank it.

    He still had to show his skills to his now professor and past senior, he can''t just do it half heartedly.

    "_ ke"

    ''Hum, did someone call me?''

    [Nah, I don''t know? Didn''t notice.]

    ''I''m here thinking of ways of our survival and you can''t even keep an eye on my surroundings. Get yourself a scanning function or something.'' Rio chided the system for its uselessness and stood up. As he heard someone calling his name again. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [If you need it that bad, why don''t you buy it for me. I''ll give you a limited offer, just for 49000 points.] System said in a yful tone.

    ''Fuck off. I''ll just keep my eyes open next time.'' Rio said and closed the system panel.

    "Hi, senior," Rio greeted as he turned his attention to Professor Freya, who was waiting for him.

    Miss Freya shook her head with mock exasperation. "I called youst, and you''re stillte."

    "I was just taking a little break outside after the spar," Rio exined, offering an apologetic smile. "I couldn''t hear you calling."

    "I saw your spar. You got quite the many spells." Miss Freya said.

    "I''m a jack of all trades," Rio replied with a shrug, "Who knows when which element wille in handy?"

    "Let''s see if you still remember your main element or not," Miss Freya''s tone turned into a serious side, as she continued. "If you don''t show me a new spell, I will just have to increase your training time."

    After thinking for a while, Rio remembered about a perfect spell and chose to show that. "This is something I learned from a dungeon, senior. Tell me if I got it right."

    *CIRCLE OF DARKNESS*

    His spell had just finished when a circle made of darkness started to spread on ground outward with him as a center. It reached till miss Freya and covered her shadow in it too. Once that was done and the circle stopped expanding, Miss Freya tried to move forward, she found her steps a little too heavy. Like something heavy was tied to her feet and she had to drag it with her.

    ''First shadow magic to tie and hold the opponent and then darkness magic to cover up the shadow. A clever trick.'' Miss Freya thought as she figured out how his spell worked.

    While the opponent focused on the growing sphere of darkness, he used his shadow element to tie them to a ce. And before his opponent could notice anything, the darkness circle covered it up. Now since their shadow is tied to a ce, they can''t move freely. And with the cover of darkness over it, breaking shadow control isn''t easy.

    "It''s a nice spell to use on someone your rank. But you''ll fail badly if you pull it on people above your level." Miss Freya said as she created a ze below her feet. The gust of hot air and me soon broke the shadow''s control, and she rose from the ground and started floating. Once the shadow control was totally lost, the circle of darkness cracked too and the spell lost its effect.

    "You should try to merge the elements of nature or water in it. That way the spell can be more deadly." Miss Freya said, as she floated down near him and gently pped his head. "Now go, you wasted too much time."

    "Thanks senior. I''ll try that after I master itpletely." Rio replied.

    "I''m a professor now, not your senior." Miss Freya said with a warm smile.

    "Yes ma''am. Congrattions on the promotion though." Rio said as he smiled and gave a salute to her.

    "Getting a job at the academy you graduated from isn''t exactly a promotion." Miss Freya said with a smile. They were both walking down the stage. Since Rio was thest to be called on stage, the ss for today was done.

    "But you always wanted it," Rio pointed out. "Besides, I did say you were going to be the best teacher in the academy two years ago, remember? And after listening to your lecture today, I know I was right."

    "Did you really listen though? I thought you were busy staring at the girls." Miss Freya teased.

    "Come on," Rio protested, "that was just for a moment. I only nced at her because her answer was interesting. That''s all."

    "Mana is a tool to get what we want." Miss Freya repeated Katherine''s answer and nodded "Interesting answer indeed. Kinda reminds me of your points back then, doesn''t it?" She finished her words with a smile.

    "Yupp, that''s why I was looking at her." Rio admitted with a grin.

    "It''s good that you''re back. Now don''t ck off in your sses and training this time. Otherwise even if you bring the student council''s letter, your results will still be in my hands. And I don''t think the academy will let you repeat the first year a third time." Miss Freya informed him and left.

    Some students gathered around her and started asking her questions or showing her the result on the pointers she gave earlier. After all, it''s not everyday that they can get the guidance from the one considered a goddess by many.

    ''Student council huh. It''s better that I stay away from them.'' Rio said, as he remembered about the dear sister of the protagonist and the big brother of the princess.

    ###

    A/N - Those who''re reading this novel till now, why don''t u spare a minute and post a 5* review wherever you''re reading. That helps me a little you know

    --If you like this story, then spend your money and send me gifts. --If not, then don''t worry, I''m just like you, so give me 5* reviews, I''ll be happy with that too.

    --You can also vote me with power stones or golden tickets, if you want. --I''m also happy as long as you guysment and just appreciate my work a little, that''s free, and won''t cost you a thing. so do that at least.

 Chapter 193 The Great Library Of Zenith

    193 The Great Library Of Zenith

    After Miss Freya answered the doubts of anyone who came to her, she announced the end of the ss and everyone was given a break time.

    "This will be your only ss for today, but from tomorrow on you''ll have 3 sses a day," Miss Freya''s voice rang in their ears. "Your schedule would be sent to you, so you can all check and bring anything that you might need. Other than that, you''re free for the day."

    "But I''ll make an announcement before you all leave," she then continued, her words carrying a special weight. "As many of you might know already, every first year can go to the great library and choose a technique for themselves for free. You can choose whichever art is suitable for you."

    Miss Freya''s words made everyone excited.The Great Library of Zenith Academy was famous not only among the academies but throughout the entirend of Arcadia. There were techniques that have been passed down for centuries and even those which have been lost in annals of history, if they can find one that is suitable for them, they can learn it for free.

    Even though they can only visit the first floor of the library and all the arts ced there would at best be 3* or below. But even they would cost thousands of coins on the outside. Andmoners have no way to get them. So it''s really a blessing for them.

    Miss Freya offered a piece of advice, her tone earnest. "Before you go there, I''d like to tell you that don''t be hasty in choosing the techniques. So be sure to check all your options and find the one that is most suitable for you. You have today''s whole day for that, so take your time. You can also ask the staff at the library and the assistant professors you met before, if you have any questions. From tomorrow there''ll be another teacher assigned to your ss who''ll teach you about those techniques, so be sure to be smart about decisions."

    With those parting words, she left the students to their own devices.

    Every time a student starts a new year, the academy gives them a chance to choose a new technique Or a skill from the great library. First floor for first year, second floor for second years and so on. First year students can choose their art which they will be practicing for the whole year, while second year students and onwards have an option to choose a skill instead of an art too. Since mastering too many techniques can be a hindrance and hard job, so many people opt to choose a skill instead. But that has nothing to do with new students.

    "Brother, let''s go for lunch." Amelia came near Rio and said.

    "What lunch, let''s go to the library first. We''ll need time to find a technique suitable for us." Reba came and dragged Amelia with her.

    "What''s the rush? Brother has been there, he might''ve already looked at the techniques for us, right brother." Amelia asked, hopefully ncing at Rio. Hoping he''d back her so they can go for lunch first. But sadly Rio shook his head and crushed her dreams.

    "How would I know which techniques are suitable for you? Ba''s right, let''s go to the library first." Rio said, agreeing with Reba who happily nodded her head and started walking while dragging Amelia with her.

    "What about the students from other sses, will they being to the library too?" A asked as she came near them.

    "Yes, that''s why, we should go first. Lest it bes too crowdedter." Rio said and they all left.

    After following the pathway instructions on their watches they all reached the library of the Zenith academy.

    The library was strategically made on the left side of the academy buildings, away from the bustling student activities. And near the building where the offices of staff members and principal were made. Its grand structure, designed in a towering medieval format, seemed to reach for the sky. Tall, imposing, and built with intricate stone walls, it exuded an air of academic reverence.

    Upon entering the premise of the library, one was greeted by a collection of statues that lined the perimeter of the grand foyer. These statues weren''t mere decorations; they were golems, enchanted guardians that remained dormant until they detected any unauthorized entry. The golems served as protectors of the library''s precious contents. Simr golems were made and ced in various corners of the library too. Some were in the forms of warriors, while others were in the forms of animals and other beasts. Only those with valid student IDs or any special token could enter the library.

    The library operated on a system where the ground floor was open to everyone, providing ess to a wide array of books and resources. The knowledge contained in those books was simply unimaginable, as the academy had collected them over the centuries. However, if students wished to read them they''d need to pay for them with their merit points ording to the time they spent within. Taking books out of the library came with extra charges. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The ground floor, open to everyone, consisted only of simple books of research and history and knowledge. The first floor, ess to first years, had techniques of 3* and below. Second floor which is open to second years consisted of techniques and spells of 4* and below. Third floor which for third years with techniques of 5* and simr spells. And so on. At the fifth floor techniques of 7* were present there. But that was only essible to final year students and that too only rankers.

    At any point if one wanted a new technique Or a new skill, they could exchange it with merit points.

    "This is amazing." Takashi said, as he looked at the grand structure of the building. It wasn''t just him, most of the students were awe struck by the designs and richness of the ce.

    Upon entering they were greeted by the staff working there, along with other assistant professors.

    One of the staff came forward and guided them inside and told them about the rules. For today ss A-1 to A-3 students were allowed to enter the library and choose their techniques.

    "Can we return the technique or exchange it if we don''t understand it?" One of the students raised his doubts. After all, it''s not easy to learn about a technique based on just the little details pasted in front of the book. Some techniques might look easy to master at first nce, but only after fully learning it one can see all the requirements and hardships of it.

    "You can''t. So you better think twice before you pick something." The staff replied in a stern tone.

    Academy didn''t care about the techniques of such low caliber but that didn''t mean students could just y around with them daily. If they picked anything wrong today, they can just wait and exchange something better after getting enough merit points. Until then they''ll have to stay behind their peers.

    "Students of ss A-1 are already on the first floor. So you can all go and check for the techniques you want. Once you''ve selected it, you cane here to record it in your name."

    The staff said that and started moving towards the stairs at the center, which led them all to the first floor.

    Unlike the ground floor which looked more open and spacier, the first floor was a sprawling expanse of shelves, alcoves, and reading nooks. The ambience was steeped in an air of schrly tranquility. Dimly lit, ornate chandeliers and light crystals hung from the high ceilings, casting warm lights over various reading areas. The shelves were neatly organized, housing countless techniques in the form of tomes, scrolls and textbooks.

    Rio and others could see some students of the other sses looking through the shelves trying to find techniques suitable for them. Everyone was following the rules of the library as only the hushed whispers could be heard among them. The staff led the students first and exined about the method the books were stored within, so they don''t have to look through each and every shelf.

    Each line of shelves was separated by just enough space to navigatefortably. Engraved ques identified the contents of each aisle, making it simple for students to find their way.

    The library''s extensive collection was meticulously organized, with books and tomes neatly categorized into various fields of study.

    The first floor mainly contained books ofbat techniques or elemental arts, some books for healing and other supportive fields were present too. But in less numbers. As first years, mainly needed to focus on building a strong foundation and ranking up first, they can learn everything elseter on too.

    One side of the whole floor was filled with techniques based onbat and weapon mastery. Which was further divided in many subsections of shelves based on type of weapons and fighting style. Techniques based on swords, spears, archery, dagger, scythe etc were ced on the right side.

    While the left side was fully filled with tomes of body refinement and melee fight techniques. These volumes contained a rich variety of martial arts styles, from fist and kick techniques to advanced forms such as boxing, kung fu, karate, and zudo etc. Wooden ques adorned these shelves, providing general information about each art.

    On the other side of the library were the books filled with techniques of elemental magic. Here, books were further divided into shelves, each representing a different element or category. From simple elements of fire, water and wind toplex elements like metal,va and lightning - arts rted to every element were ced there.

    In the small section at the side were techniques based on supportive fields. With shelves containing arts of healing, restoration and rejuvenation etc. Some arts belonging to spiritual attacks and soul strengthening were ced there too.

    The students were given free reign to roam around and choose whatever techniques they want. Time was of the essence and everyone was looking for things they thought were most in line with their development.

    While everyone was busy with choosing a book for themselves, Rio wanted to smile aloud. Cause he knew exactly which technique to choose.

    ''Let''s go and steal the art of the protagonist. And see which one he''ll choose instead.''

    Rio happily moved towards the section where arts of archery were ced. Little did he know that, in just a few moments, he would find himself face to face with someone whose presence would alter the destiny of the entire world.

    ###

    A/N - she appears.

    This chaps mostly info trap, but know that this is calm before the storm. Because from next chapter surprises are about to appear on grand level. And many of your questions would get answered too.

    --If you like this story, then spend your money and send me gifts. --If not, then don''t worry, I''m just like you, so give me 5* reviews, I''ll be happy with that too.

    --You can also vote me with power stones or golden tickets, if you want. --I''m also happy as long as you guysment and just appreciate my work a little, that''s free, and won''t cost you a thing. so do that at least.

 Chapter 194 A faceslap routine??

    Chapter 194 A facep routine??

    "You guys can choose your own techniques, I''ll meet you back outside." Rio said to everyone and left them.

    "You cane to help me, if you find something for yourself." Reba said, after looking at the long section of shelves piled up with books rted to spear arts.

    "You were in a hurry toe here. So choose for yourself, I''m going." Amelia said and left towards the section of magic arts.

    Takashi went towards the section which stored the books on meditation or spiritual arts. While A followed Amelia, as she needed to take a look at the arts based on her wood element. Or maybe find something that can help her in alchemy.

    "Come on. You guys. I''m serious." Reba said, as she saw everyone leaving. She already had a 6* technique on her water element, what shecked was a closebat fighting technique. She had learned some from her family, but they were too tough to understand, and she was still stuck on novice mastery. So she wanted a chance to look at somethingpatible and easy to master.

    ''Idiots'' she said, to all of them and busied herself, in looking through the books.

    The techniques stored within the great library would be given out to students without any cost. But they could only keep it until they remained in the academy. After the final year they would have to return the books to the academy, and they would have to find a fault in it and perfect it, as part of a test.

    If they couldn''t find any faults, then they''d need to share some insights they had, which makes mastering that technique easier for the next students. If anyone couldn''t even do that, then they''d either have to give the academy a technique of simr rank or they''ll have to do some other tasks for the academy aspensation.

    Overall nothing was free for anyone, the academy got their arts perfected, and some side effects and skills improved, or they got some new skills in return - so no one was suffering a loss.

    Even the poormoners or people without any resources and backing were happy with this method, as it gave them a way to learn strong techniques passed down for centuries. As for returning some new technique, what''s so hard about that, after they sessfully passed from one of the best academies.

    <Those who failed, dropped or died in between the years, the academy would suffer a loss, but as they say, not all loans gets paid back in full. But those that do,e with great interest.>>

    Rio, was walking happily towards the section of techniques based on archery.

    Apollo was a well known God famous for his talent in archery. In Greek myths, aside from his sister Artemis, hardly anyone could match his talent in it. And that''s what he nned to teach Leon in the beginning of the novel''s plot.

    The novel was different from others of simr genre, because it broke the typical trope of a swordsman protagonist. But that was only for a while, as the time passed, and more gods and more enemies came - sword became author''s main focus and Leon became another cliched swordsman hero.

    Thest time Rio entered the library, he also looked for the technique of the protagonist but he couldn''t find it anywhere. Thinking that maybe it was with some other student Or was only ced in the library, when the plot started - Rio gave up and chose the technique his character chose in the novel.

    Starfall Strike �C a 3* sword art, which mainly focused on swift and precise attacks. It''s a style that emphasizes fluidity, agility, and perfect timing. Practitioners of this art are often likened to shooting stars, leaving a trail of light as they move swiftly and strike with pinpoint uracy.

    Rio already knew all about this method and how it would progress further.

    In the novel this technique was divided in 4 parts, with 3 parts of it ced around the great library on different floors, while thest part was found in a tower.

    He would find its second part on the next floor of the library after he became a second year student, but instead of waiting like that, Rio just hired a second year student and asked him to bring the second part for him.

    With him already mastered the foundation sword art, created by his father, his understanding of sword techniques was much higher, coupled with his talent and no disturbances from anyone, Rio had already learned the 3* techniquepletely and sessfully started practicing the next version of it.

    Silence Star �C a 4* sword art. Upgraded version of the Starfall Strike. It is known for its sheer unpredictability and swiftness. Practitioners of this art are often seen as celestial dancers on the battlefield. The technique involves silent, sweeping motions that mimic the descent of stars from the sky.

    With his time in the dungeon, and the stupid zombies which became his practice partners, he had practiced it till fundamental level of mastery. If not for the effects of corrosive energy of the red sun, which started to affect his senses, he might''ve mastered it a little more.

    But there was no need for him to worry, he could use his points to perfect it any time he wanted.

    But he chose not to, there was no need to waste the precious points on something trivial he could do himself. He can''t justze around and leave it all for the system.

    ''I''m such a hard worker, yet everyone calls mezy. They really don''t know a thing.''

    [...]

    Rio looked at the system''s panel which suddenly popped up and he closed it instantly.

    ''Even this system is dumb'' He said and reached the section he was looking for.

    After reaching there Rio started going through the books, looking for the first opportunity of the protagonist in the academy.

    ''Eagle''s Dive Shot''

    ''Hunter''s Moon''

    ''Whispering Wind Release''

    ''Hawk''s Eye'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Star Shower''

    "Where is it?" Rio said as he checked every book on a long shelf, but couldn''t find that one. "Did something change unexpectedly? But I don''t remember anything regarding that technique anywhere else. And I didn''t change anything rted to that n, so where is it?"

    ''Did Leon came before me and got it?'' Rio thought, but crossed that idea. ording to the novel, Leon was supposed to go after Professor Freya to ask about some doubts on elemental magic, and would onlye here muchter with her. He had seen him talking with Miss Freya, that''s why he was in a hurry toe here and steal that technique, before he came.

    ''But where is it?''

    [Maybe someone else took it?]

    ''What is that - a cabbage on the roadside.'' Rio scoffed at the system for giving a useless solution. How can anyone else take the technique designed for the protagonist? Especially since the plot has started, it''s simply preposterous.

    [Maybe fate acted in his favor, and someone took it for now. And Leon will get it from themter.] System said, as even it was surprised with this development.

    Hearing system''s suggestions, Rio thought for a second, if that could be possible, but then he shook his head. ''Every student would have to record the technique in their names after taking it. One technique can''t be shared between 2 students. Especially since the staff would assess everyone''s performance over the mastery of the technique recorded here, every month. So it''s not possible that 2 students would share one technique. They wouldn''t allow it.''

    [Then maybe someone picked it from here and..]

    ''Is now waiting for Leon toe and take it.''

    The system started speaking as it thought of a certain scenario from other stupid novels and Rio understood and finished its words.

    "It''s a fucking facep scenario." Rio couldn''t help but mutter aloud as he understood this whole routine.

    Over the years he hade across many shback scenes and storylines that changed and altered a little to make things more interesting than the novel. He could just me it all on heaven''s yfulness or his interference.

    And now here it was again.

    A facep routine, where some stupid young master or side stepping stone, got something good and the protagonist set his sights on it too. Then they will both either have some kind of bet or apetition or another useless argument, which would end up with protagonist shining brighter and getting the rewards. While the stepping stone could just cry and vow for revenge in the corner.

    ''Is this the way of fate to give Leon some limelight since I stole that in the entrance ceremony.'' Rio couldn''t help but think.

    [Whatever you do, you should hurry up, cause Leon would being here soon.]

    System spoke, with some interest in its voice. This is what it was waiting for, finally a scene where the viin system could watch the wait for full 8 years for any fun drama to begin.

    09:16

    drama between the protagonist and the viin. Everytime it got binded to a host, some kind of plot would already be happening, so it would always be interesting to watch, only this time, it had to wait for full 8 years for any fun drama to begin.

    ''Damn it, which bastard stole that technique'' Rio cursed the luck and started looking at every student who were standing near that section.

    A little far from where Rio was searching around, a beautiful girl was standing alone, waiting for her subordinates.

    "Your highness, did you find a technique for yourself?" A handsome elf came near her and asked her in a polite way.

    "I have, let''s leave." The girl said, while showing the leather printed book with an arrowhead mark on it. With the title of the book written in some old letters - Aurora Volley.

 Chapter 195 Saisha Ellsworth - The Future Queen of Elves

    Chapter 195 Saisha Ellsworth - The Future Queen of Elves

    "Your highness, did you find a technique suitable for you? I can go and look for it." A boy came out from behind the shelves, holding a little booklet in his hand. He had short styled gray hair and emerald eyes. Short pointy ears that showed his lineage to elven race. His face bore the proud look that seemed to look down on others, yet in front of the girl even his gaze was cast downward.

    "No need, I''ve found it. Let''s leave." The girl replied and started walking towards the staff to register the technique she chose. With each step her rich white hair flew around her shoulders. Her sharp pointy ears, the charming smile and the wless skin she had could enchant anyone and they dare not look away. Elegant, delicate features that could bewitch even the most stoic of hearts.

    Even the students who were busy looking through books stopped everything and looked at her, her looks enough to make people forget even to breathe. And yet when her light ck eyes turned to their direction, none dared to meet her eyes. Some looked away in fear and some looked down in respect and admiration, she was the next ruler of the kingdom of elves, princess of Elfring - Saisha Ellsworth.

    Undeterred by the gazes of everyone, she kept walking, while seeing her indifference to the admiring gazes of everyone, a smirk came to the face of the elven boy who walked behind her. The one assigned to protect the princess and follow her for life. Her guardian and the sessor of the n of wood elves, Jaesin Ferglen.

    The people around couldn''t help but wonder, what this guy was so proud of, was he arrogant like other elves, who considered themselves superior, or was he proud that he was following the goddess in the gazes of everyone. But they couldn''t do anything, but just curse this guy in their hearts.

    Rio, on the other hand was looking everywhere, trying to find the one who picked the technique of protagonist, but to no avail. Frustration grew within him, as he looked at the students and the time on his watch. Even the doubt that the technique wasn''t in the academy came to his mind, but he decided not to think about that for now. That technique was connected to one other plotline of future events, and if protagonist didn''t get that, then that even would be ruined too. Rio didn''t care about even that event, as it was just another cliche trope, but he needed to find out the anomaly.

    After searching up entire section of archery arts twice and looking at every student in the vicinity of that section, Rio decided to move towards the ground floor. He had just reached the stairs when he found a stepping stone, whose proud face literally screamed ''Come and p me.''

    "Your highness, do you want to get something to eat, the others wanted to meet you." Jaesin respectfully suggested, and the princess just nodded her head without saying anything.

    Unlike the fractured human factions, who boasted about their families and guilds, Elves remained united, bound by their allegiance to the Royal family and the empress. Saisha''s status as the sole sessor to the throne garnered her respect from all elves, regardless of their n or faction. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    They were walking ahead, when a sudden shout from behind stopped their advance. "Stop"

    Jaesin turned around angrily to see who it was that dared to stop him, but stopped his words when he saw the white haired boy, who''s been in limelight for the past whole month. Even though elves didn''t meddle in the affairs of human territory, they did keep track of everything happening around the world. And being the sessor of wood elves, who were named the protector of elven domain, Jaesin knew all about this boy.

    The human whose reputation is bordering on that of a saint or an angel, due to all his work and the image he presented to the world. The recent resurrection only solidifiedmon people''s beliefs in him more.

    Yet in Jaesin''s eyes, even he was just like other humans, a pest on the. He looked at him and asked "What is it?"

    The students near them, turned their attention to him, as the thoughts that something interesting might happen.

    Rio, on the other hand, didn''t look at anything. His eyes were fixed on the girl standing behind that angry elf. He knew her, that face, that resemnce, the familiar feeling that she gave him. It was her��

    The memories, the dreams, the nightmares - everything and everywhere he had seen her till now came crashing in his mind, as the scenes of everywhere started ying in his mind.

    ''Is this your way of saying hi?''

    ''Why''re you looking at me like that?''

    ''Do you want to say something?''

    ''We are really not a good match.''

    ''I''m starting to like you more and more Shiva. It''s almost scary.''

    ''You''re gonna die without me stupid.''

    ''Do you think she''d like me?''

    ''I''m your queen remember.''

    ''Why''re you doing this? This isn''t you.''

    ''I would never leave you, Shiva. And we''ll have our happy ending.''

    ''By the time you see this, I''ll be gone.''

    The memories of her, the memories of their time together, the feelings of love that he thought he had buried and forgotten for a while, everything was in front of him. A tear fell from his eyes unknowingly, as his eyes locked with hers.

    A slight smile adorned his face as he looked at her confused expression, which reminded him of their first meeting. It was all so fresh in his mind, like it hasn''t been a day even though it had been more than a decade since then.

    "Do you want to say something?" Saisha said, as she looked at the boy staring at her.

    She had received the all kinds of looks from people her whole life. The eyes of envy, respect, fear, pride, admiration - she had seen it all, and yet something about the way he looked at her was different. And the more she looked at him, the more she started to lose herself.

    A small chuckle escaped his mouth, as he heard the exact words from her. She was her, he didn''t even need to confirm it, or ask for any confirmation from any gods or the system, just one look at her was enough to quell all his doubts and answer all his questions.. She was his Queency.

    And when that realization drew in his heart, a wave of coldness started to seep deep within him. This time instead of the happy memories of their rtionship, came the pain he had to live through after she left him. The desperation he felt after waiting for her, the betrayal he felt that broke his heart in pieces. The final blow that shattered his old life and left it in shambles.

    ''Why did she leave him?

    Why did she never came back?

    And most of all why was she here? Why now? When he was finally about to move on. When he was finally about to start anew with his new family and leave everything behind. Why did she had to appear here in front of him and ruin it all again. Whyyyyy???''

    As those thoughts crossed his mind, his eyes which held the gentle side for her, changed into a cold expression. All kinds of emotions startes chirning inside of him, as everything he hid deep within him, was standing in front of him.

    His mana started to leak out of him, as his techniques started to function on their own. In just a mere moments the temperature around him dropped to down zero, as the ground began to freeze beneath everyone''s feet.

    The students near them scattered, as the sudden cold started to affect them. Jaesin who was standing nearest to him was frozen still in shock unable to understand what was happening? He looked behind him and saw Saisha still lost just looking at that human. That expression on her face, he had never seen it in all the years he had followed her, and it bothered him.

    Saisha was unaware of everything around her, as her eyes were just locked with the boy, her whole focus was on just trying to understand why he was looking at her like that? Even now when he was looking at her coldly, with eyes dripping in anger, she didn''t feel any malice or any danger. The only thing she felt was that she didn''t like it. She didn''t like the look he was giving her. She wanted to see the eyes and emotions he showed before, not this. It made her feel lost and sad, yet she herself didn''t know the reason why. They met for the first time today, so why was he looking at her like he had known her all his life. And why was his anger making her feel sad.

    "Stop staring at the princess, you bastard?" Jaesin said in anger, as he channeled his mana to break the ice, that was starting to form around his feet. "Or else _ "

    He was saying something, when Rio finally turned his eyes away from Saisha and looked at him. Just like his mana, his blessings lost his control too. Subtle smoke started emanating from his eyes and they shone in a silvery light.

    And just a nce was enough to make Jaesin feel the horror of that blessing. His eyes started bleeding suddenly. He bent down on the floor and started screaming in agony. He tried to cover his eyes, trying to erase the sight of that look from his mind, yet the more he tried, the more painful he felt. Panic overcame him as he writhed on the floor, attempting to escape the searing pain. The golden ne around his chest shone in green light, as a cocoon made of wood appeared on the floor, covering him whole. Yet the very next instant, the wood started rotting and in seconds it disappeared into nothingness.

    "St_stop it. S save me someone." Jaesin pleaded, his screams echoing through the library.

    Rio ignored Jaesin and his painful penance, his eyes turned towards the girl, who was still unable to look away from him. "What do you want?" He spoke, his tone chilling to the bone.

    "Who _ ?"

    Before she could say anything, he finished his words while saying her name for the first time in nearly a decade. " What do you want, Shweta?"

    ###

    S/N - so she appears. And now you know her name.

 Chapter 196 Gaze of Hatred & Karmic God Shani

    Chapter 196 Gaze of Hatred & Karmic God Shani

    After discussing some doubts he had about the fire element, Leon decided to go to the library and choose a technique for him. The insights Miss Freya provided were really helpful for him and he could feel her control with the fire element far surpassed his own. Even though he was chosen by Apollo, just like other gods Apollo didn''t interfere much with his avatar. He wanted to nurture Leon to perfection, and spoon feeding him wasn''t going to be helpful in the vision he had for him. This is why even though Leon already received Apollo''s blessings and legacy, mastering them was his own task.

    ''She really deserves to be a genius.'' Leon thought, as he looked at the graceful back of Miss Freya walking forward.

    ''With her help I can learn about the elemental magic and increase my mastery over them. With the sword technique I found, it is enough for me for now, what Ick is in the ranged attacks. Since God Apollo was an archer, should I find an archery technique?''

    Leon wondered as he contemted what kind of technique he should look for. With his halo and adventures, he had already found a sword technique and some blessings that can help his mana recovery rate. This he decided to look for archery techniques. The more he thought, the more his decision seemed like a good one to him.

    "You can go on the first floor to look for your technique ande back here to report it." Miss Freya said as they reached the library. She wasn''t in a hurry, so she decided to talk with the elder incharge of the library before leaving. But as soon as she entered the building, she felt something and looked upwards. She could feel the mana that was gathering on the first floor.

    She was surprised to see that, since the use of skills and blessings was restricted in the great library. She only thought that some new student used some skill unknowingly and the floor protectors or the other staff of the library would address the issue. However, what happened next exceeded her expectations.

    A deafening scream echoed through the library, shattering the silence. She furrowed her brows, as her pupils turned white. With heightened perception, she could now see past the walls and the shelves. And as she did, she found a man writhing on the ground, with blood leaking from his eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "St-stop it. Save me, someone!" The man cried out in pain again.

    Without wasting a moment, Miss Freya transformed into a stream of air, vanishing from her spot. Her swift movement was not without notice, as other library staff also felt the disturbance and began converging on the first floor.

    When she reached the first floor, a sudden cold wind hit her, but she ignored it and moved towards the ce where themotion was happening.

    On the first floor, after seeing the elven girl standing there, with the same face and features as Shweta, all the control Rio had over his emotions and himself was let loose. The feeling of loss and betrayal he remembered after seeing her again, became the fuel that made his mana run amok.

    Gaze of hatred, the blessing given by the karmic god of Hindu Pantheon Shani, automatically came into effect with his feelings and started to affect everyone around him.

    [Calm down host. You''re losing control.]

    [Think of everything you nned, stop your madness, or that''ll all be ruined.]

    System was constantly issuing alerts and warnings, but his mind paid no heed to them. His eyes now covered in the shadowy smoke gleamed dangerously, as he looked at her face. Jaesin, the elven guard who dared to interfere without any knowledge bore the full brunt of his blessing and felt the deep seated hatred of Rio, which was enough to have him beg for mercy in a matter of moments.

    "What do you want, Shweta?" Rio said, as he looked back at the girl whose one appearance was enough to scratch open all his past wounds.

    "Who are you?" Saisha said, as she looked at the white haired boy with puzzled eyes. Her eyes, dark as a moonless night, were locked onto his.

    The blessing, the mana, the cold ice that started to cover everything, none of it affected her, or more like none of it mattered to her. She was too lost in those eyes. A familiar feeling like she never felt before, was keeping her hooked, as she tried hard to remember why she felt like that.

    ''Who was he? Why was he looking at her like that? Why did he cry when he looked at her? Who was this Shweta that he spoke of?'' Everything was so confusing for her, as she didn''t know what to do or feel anymore, so she just asked him.

    "So you don''t _ " Rio was saying something, when an oppressive pressure as high as a mountain fell on his shoulders.

    Two staff members pressed their hands onto his shoulders, forcing him to bend under the tremendous weight. Blood spurted from his mouth, and he struggled to withstand the pain.

    "Nooo!'''' A scream escaped Saisha''s mouth as she looked at him. For a moment her own mana started to channel automatically, making her confused at why she did that.

    Miss Freya also came that moment, her elemental mana surging in response to the disturbance.The icy grip that had begun to encase the surroundings yielded to her power, melting and evaporating into nothingness.

    The students around them retreated further and left the area in a hurry. One of the staff took Jaesin away and fed him a healing pill.

    While some more staff members gathered around Rio, whose body started to emit a dark fog that started to erode the floor below him. The sinister, shadowy smoke wreathed around him, and his eyes gleamed with a menacing light. The staff raised the pressure on him, and soon he was forced to fall down on the ground.

    The floor started to crack and crumble inyers with the erosion of darkness. Yet the golden runes which shimmered in between made it revert back to the way it was next instant.

    "Stop it, student." One of the assistant professors said, as he tapped on Rio''s shoulders and back to seal his mana veins and stop this madness.

    {Stop this nonsense human} Nyx said to Rio, when he tried to use her blessing to control the darkness.

    [Don''t do it SK please.] The system too chimed in, its tone filled with worry and impatience.

    System knew Rio would lose it the moment it saw Saisha''s face. After all, it had seen all his memories and feelings, it understood him perfectly.

    Yet it could do nothing to help him now. So it could just curse ''That Being'' for reincarnating another girl from his past into this world. There was no one else who could''ve done this, and seeing the gifts he sent for its host in the beginning, which now started to shine - system even had an inkling of feeling of what it held within.

    ''What the hell does he want to do? Did he finally go insane from watching everything fall apart.'' It wondered, but there was nothing it could do. ''That Being'' didn''t speak or say anything, and the system had no way to talk to him.

    Amelia along with Reba came there after seeing themotion and passing through the crowd of students who surrounded everything. Seeing Rio pressed on the floor and hurt, made both of them concerned and confused.

    "Brother" Amelia said and stepped forward to save him, when Reba held him back. "He''s not himself."

    "Leave it, Ba." Instead of talking reason with her, Amelia just gave her a stern nce, which was enough to tell her that if you don''t let go, I will fight you here and now.

    Getting free, Amelia stepped forward to walk past the circle of staff, whose hands seemed frozen as the space around them seemed to crack and getting crushed.

    Miss Freya came forward to stop her, and stop the staff who were ready to handle Amelia too. She never thought two of her own students would actually be stupid enough to act out openly and break the rules set by the academy.

    "Stop it, you two." She said sternly, as she went forward and stood between the staff before a conflict started again. "Rio, cease this immediately. Or be ready for the punishment."

    "Brother, please stop it." Amelia pleaded, her voice filled with worry.

    [Host, calm yourself. Things are getting out of hand here.]

    Hearing the constant reminders from everyone, Rio finally closed his eyes, silencing the turmoil within him. He stopped his blessings. The next moment his mana was sessfully sealed by the staff and the darkness around him finally faded away. And the library returned to its previous state of tranquility once more.

    "You can release me now." Rio said, his gaze shifting upwards.

    The assistant professor looked at Miss Freya and when she nodded her head, he let go of him.

    Then without answering anyone or saying anything, Rio took a final nce at the elven girl and left the library. The students around made space for him, as they all moved out of the way. "It was my fault, Miss Freya. You are free to determine any punishment you see fit."

    He departed the scene, leaving a crowd of stunned students in his wake. Amelia, Reba, and A moved to follow him, but Leon vanished from sight once he was beyond the library''s grounds.

    "You all can stop staring and choose a technique for yourself. You''re only wasting your own time." Miss Freya''s stern voice cut through the lingering shock, dispersing the students who remained in a daze.

    "Take him to the infirmary." She said looking at Jaesin, who was still trembling, even though he seemed unconscious now.

    ''That blessing, those eyes - why did it have to be him.'' Miss Freya pondered, as she remembered Rio''s eyes and the feeling she got froming near him.

    ###

    A/N - next chapter is where you see his talks with the system and learn some answers.

    A/N - next chapter is where you see his talks with the system and learn some answers.

 Chapter 197 Looking for answers

    Chapter 197 Looking for answers

    As soon as Rio stepped out of the library, his breathing became ragged, each step he took was in a daze without any notice of what''s around him or who''s been staring at him. He could faintly hear someone calling him from behind, but even that became a backdrop as the scenes of Shweta kept floating in his mind.

    Suddenly, he collided with a young girl, who let out a startled shout. He turned to look at her, but her face seemed to blur as Shweta''s image superimposed itself. The girl scolded him, "Hey, watch where you''re going."

    "Stop staring, seriously. What''s wrong with you?" her voice seemed to merge with Shweta''s.

    Then, he heard a familiar voice from behind, calling him "Brother." He turned around to see Amelia approaching him, her face etched with concern. Unable to face her in this state, he summoned his mana and created a portal, disappearing from that ce. He wanted to be alone now, away from everyone.

    Walking out of the portal, hended in a garden and sat down near a tree. Pulling out a potion from his storage ring, he drank it in a one big gulp before tossing the empty vial aside. With the tree trunk as his support, heid down there.

    His chest was aching as if someone was constantly wing at it from the inside, he could hear his own heartbeat thumping like crazy.

    "Did you know I really like the open sky? Looking at it from the below, it seems so far and so peaceful. I don''t know why people like the moon, the floating clouds are much more beautiful. Don''t you think so, Shiva?"

    "I never thought the cheating boy who was responsible for my punishment would end up being the one I''d end up with."

    "Why don''t we move in together. It''s been so long since we''ve known each other. Maybe you''ll get bored of me before we even get married."

    His memories consumed him, and he clutched his chest, attempting to block out the painful recollections. His pleas for it to stop went unheard as Shweta''s voice continued to echo in his mind.

    "You know I had a dreamst night. You wouldn''t believe what I saw. Aren''t you curious?"

    "I dreamt we were all grown up, and we were still living together. We had our own little house, and our own little family. We even had a _ _. Hey, why are you smiling? Stupid, I''m not telling you anymore about that."

    "Stop saying my lines to me, idiot. Here, open it, it''s your birthday gift. Do you like it?"

    "Stop crying, it was just a little ident. You won''t get rid of me so easily. I''m not leaving you. Not now, not ever."

    The memories, the sounds, the visions everything turned back in time. Her voice was echoing in his mind, and he couldn''t do anything to stop it. Clutching his chest, covering his ears -nothing seemed to work. Tears started flowing out his eyes, as all the precious memories he had of her kept ringing in his ears. Yet the more he remembered them, the more hurtful he felt when he knew how she''d leave everything behind, leave him behind with a letter and go away.

    ''Stop it.''

    ''Please''

    [Serenity Elixir - This potion induces a sense of calm and tranquility, easing racing thoughts and soothing frayed nerves. It''s often used to alleviate anxiety and stress. This elixir brings rity and focus to a cluttered mind.]

    Looking at the system''s panel, which showed a potion, he bought it without hesitation and drank it.

    After some time when finally the whispers and the voices started to fade away, he took a calm breath and exhaled. He kept lying down looking at the open sky, and once he finally calmed down, and there was no more pain, anger took its ce. His eyes started turning redder as he looked at the system panel, specially at the gift section of the option, which was shining with a bell notification sign near it.

    Even though the system didn''t say anything, and he didn''t look at it, but with the example of Ria and Amelia, he could guess what that gift was, and it only made him more mad.

    He had to try hard to keep his mana in check, so he didn''t create another rockus like the one in the library, but it was getting harder with every second.

    Fighting to control his rising mana, hemanded, "Speak!" His tear-stained eyes bore into the screen as he struggled to prevent Shani''s blessing from spiraling out of control again. His mastery over the blessing was little, and due to his outrage, it was getting harder to keep it from functioning.

    [I had no idea, host.]

    [I didn''t know anything about anyone''s reincarnation, host. Neither Ria''s nor Shweta''s. I just know that they weren''t supposed to be here.]

    ''Is she what I think it is? One of his other gifts for me. Did he send another crystal for her too.''

    Rio''s hands trembled with a mix of anger and despair as he opened the gift section in the system''s panel. His suspicions were confirmed - it was another memory crystal, this time containing Shweta''s memories.

    [Host has met the set requirements to use the 3rd item given by ???]

    [??? wishes you another chance and a happy ending you wished for.]

    --------- [ Memory crystal (Shweta - host''s lover, earth) ??

    ??? has seen the pain of your heartbreak, after seeing your past he has decided to give you another chance. Learning that your fates are intertwined, he had prepared this crystal for you. He hopes you can find your answers and move on from your past.

    This memory crystal contains all of her memories and feelings of her past life, with it you can bring your love back. ??? hopes your soul will find its soulmate and peace this time.

    Beware this crystal might bring some unpleasant memories and some unseen side effects with it too.

    Cost - 100000 SP ]

    Reading the introduction and the big words which asked him to find a happy ending and moving on, he wanted to beat that bastard if he could.

    "She was alive," he uttered, his voice quivering with emotion. "She was alive when I came here. Tell me, did your fucking being kill her?"

    [...]

    "Are the other gifts someone''s memories too? Who else did he kill?" Rio''s voice grew louder with each question, frustration and anger bubbling within him.

    [Calm down host. You''re only wasting your anger. He doesn''t care and he won''t answer.]

    The system repeated, but Rio''s torrent of questions poured forth. "Then at least tell me, why me? There are billions of people on Earth. Millions had a worse life than me. Then why choose me? What does he want from me?"

    He was a nobody, nothing special about him. He never did anything substantial in his whole life. Did God took pity on him? Why, he didn''t even believe in God? If anything, he only remembered them, when he wanted to vent his anger.

    Seen his pain, learned his past - His suffering, while significant to him, was eclipsed by the hardships endured by countless others on Earth. Then why focus on him?

    He had these questions ever since he got the system and Ria''s crystal, but he didn''t care about anything since that was a second chance he was d with. If it meant saving Ria''s life this time, he was happy if he had to be a toy for someone. But why her?.

    Shweta was alive when he came here. He knew that. And yet here she was, and the crystal of her memories was sitting in his inventory from the day he got his system. So did that mean she was killed that day too.

    what he wanted. Even the system didn''t know why he chose this host and what he wanted to do with him.

    System wanted to calm its host and answer his questions, but it didn''t know what to say. Even though it knew ''That Being'' for millions of years, yet no one could guess what he was thinking and what he wanted. Even the system didn''t know why he chose this host and what he wanted to do with him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Should it say there are memories and existences stuck in his head, that he has no idea about.

    That even their remnants are strong enough to kill the system and fight with the Being itself.

    That some man tied in chains made some deal with That Being, and it''s goal was to get him a happy ending.

    Would he believe that? System had seen all? Nuthat, and even it couldn''t believe all that nonsense.

    [I''m sorry host.] The system eventually responded, its tone t and mechanical. [But there''s nothing you can do.]

    Even though Rio expected this answer, he at least wanted to learn something. He could feel the system''s surprise and frustration too, and that was the only reason why he didn''tsh out on it.

    "She was Saisha right?" Rio asked, as he remembered Jaesin near her, and understood which character Shweta was transmigrated or reincarnated in.

    [Yes. And that''s why you have to be more careful. The plotlines rted to her arepletely gone, if you lose your control every time you see her.]

    "And if I want to save myself from the fate that''s waiting for me, then I need her." Rio said, as he needed to rethink all of his ns now.

    Elves had something that he had to get, if he wanted to solve the problem of his doomed ending. At first, he thought of fooling Saisha and getting the treasure, but now it was gonna be hard.

    ''Amelia has all the habits of Ria, if Saisha has hers too, then it''ll be troublesome.'' Rio thought as he remembered about her nature on earth. Unlike the elven princess in the novel, who was naive and righteous, Shweta was smart and perceptive. Fooling her easily was out of the equation, and even Leon who was supposed to be her hero can say goodbye to his love life too.

    [Yupp. Unless our protagonist burns out his protagonist halo, Leon would look like an annoying fly in her eyes. She hates troublesome things, and Leon is a trouble ma.]

    Rio was thinking about all these changes and his future ns, when a voice interrupted his thoughts

    "So you were here."

    ##

    A/N - so what do u think the being wants. What changes r with Shweta being Saisha means. And who''s the girl interfering again.

 Chapter 198 Meeting with an old friend

    Chapter 198 Meeting with an old friend

    Rio, who was thinking about what to do after learning that Shweta was now living as Saisha, was disturbed when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

    "So you were here."

    He turned back to see a girl standing there. Her long, lustrous ck hair cascaded down like a midnight waterfall. Herplexion pristine, resembling porcin, as it radiated a subtle, almost ethereal glow that heightened her beauty.

    She wore the standard academy uniform, much like Rio, but over the in blue shirt, she donned a sophisticated ck jacket. Which bore the emblem of a golden star near her chest, signifying her role in the student council.

    As she spoke her face had a charming style that was enough to captivate anyone who looked at her, Yet when Rio saw her, only anger bubbled up within him. She was after all Lisa Heartwell, the same old friend who taught him that even if he does the same things as the protagonist, he''ll still be a viin and the one who could be left behind.

    He trusted her back then, because her character in the novel was trustable, but he should''ve realized that, that was a treatment tailor made for the protagonist and not some viin. Cause while in the novel she jumped forward to sacrifice herself, in reality she ran away.

    "What are you doing here?" He said, as the ce he teleported was somewhere he knew no one woulde.

    Lisa took a moment to nce around at their surroundings, reminiscing about the times Rio had brought her here. This was where he woulde to train alone or asionally skip sses, and Lisa found herself lost in nostalgia.

    "Your sister was looking for you. And I knew you''d be here." Lisa replied, her demeanor casual as she seated herself nearby. They were on the outskirts of the foreboding ck Forest, an area reserved for second-year and senior students for training and monster hunting.

    "I heard what happened at the library, wanna talk about it?" Lisa said, thinking about the scene she''ll have to handle due to the presence of the elven princess in the drama. The elf students would surely create a scene if Saisha said a word of it to anyone. Though Miss Freya was handling the matter, but still with what happened with Jaesin, it was clear that maintaining silence on the matter would be hard.

    Lisa took a moment to nce around at their surroundings, and remembered the first time he showed her this ce. This was where he used toe whenever he wanted to train alone or just bunk his sses for no reason.

    Bringing her out of nostalgic thoughts was Rio''s voice as he said "I''m leaving."

    Rio wasn''t in the mood to talk to her so he just stood up to leave. His anger and emotions had just calmed down a little after that big shock, so he didn''t want to add another reason for them to go out of control again.

    Seeing him silently leaving Lisa came in front of him and stood like a statue. Rio tried to move away, but she moved along and covered his path.

    "What do you want?" He said, knowing she won''t let him leave.

    "Can we talk for a minute?" Lisa said, as she tried to look him in the eyes.

    "There''s nothing to talk about." Rio said as he looked away "You should know seniors aren''t supposed to contact the freshers this early."

    In the first month of the academy, new students were given time to limate to their new environment. Senior students were prohibited from interacting with freshmen during this period. The freshman party, organized by the student council, marked the first official opportunity for everyone to meet and socialize.

    "I''m the council president. That doesn''t apply to me." Lisa said it as a joke, hoping to get a smile from him, but only got a silent stare.

    "Well, congrattions on your presidency then. You deserve it, don''t you?" Rio said and turned around to leave.

    Lisa cursed herself after seeing that. It was only after saying it that she remembered he always wanted to be the student council president back then. And that''s where they would both often bet and debate upon.

    "Won''t you at least talk to me for once." Lisa said, as she appeared in front of him again. She created a barrier around them so he won''t try to leave. "At least give me a chance to exin." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio touched the invisible wall, and said "I don''t need your exnation, miss president. It wouldn''t change anything that happened, so what''s the point?"

    Ignoring what he said, Lisa started speaking "You knew the situation back then. The people from Warzy were attacking, many students were killed. The dungeon was about to crash, and no instructors were anywhere to be found. There was no other choice but to use the escape portal and _"

    "Use me as bait to lure them away. Or to leave me behind to fight,  while you all ran away. Or to let me be stuck there with no way out."

    Lisa was exining the scene when Rio''s cold tone cut her off. His anger rising beneath the surface.

    "What was I supposed to do, let everyone die along with you?" Lisa defended herself, her voice tinged with desperation. "Even if I didn''t do anything, others would''ve left nheless."

    "Other students weren''t the ones I trusted. Nor did I have any hopes from others." Rio said and that was enough for the answer.

    "Atleast tell me what you want me to do? The guilt''s been _ "

    Lisa started speaking hoarsely, as her eyes started getting moist and voice got heavier. But ignoring her Rio''s cold tone cut her off mid sentence as he smiled and said

    "Ohh, you don''t need to do anything, miss president. The lives I saved that time are my dues to everyone, and I''ll collect my debts soon enough."

    Rio pushed her aside and channeled his mana.

    He used his blessing, Threads of mana, which lets him see the essence of mana through his own eyes in the form of separate threads and control them to some extent. Then channeling his second blessing, called Master of Magic, which lets his control and understanding of magic spells increase by twofold.

    Seeing the world in a new vibrant colors, he just waved his hand in a sword motion, cutting off the mana which was keeping the barrier in ce.

    -crack-

    -shatter-

    Without the power of mana, the barrier shattered under his attack and he left the ce without turning back.

    [Don''t you think you''re being too much. She is a heroine and with everything that''s been going wrong in the plot, you might need to keep her close, lest something untoward happens again.] System said, reminding him about the predicament he was in. Without Saisha''s support and Leon''s luck, he would need a lot of fire power if he wanted to fight theter bosses himself. [Plus her plotlines are linked to you so _ ]

    "Leon can look out for his own sister, I don''t need to interfere. If he can''t, then that''s her bad luck. After all, I don''t need to act all goody two shoes around her anymore." Rio said in anger.

    [She did what any heroine would. Made the hard choice.]

    "That''s your answer then. If she''s a heroine, then she can wait for her hero to save her. The viin doesn''t need to stick his nose in their business." Rio said as he smiled. "And besides don''t act like a saint, wanting me to forgive her. You literally shouted at me for trusting her too much, just after you woke up."

    [I''m not asking you to forgive her. Just don''t ignore her. That''s all.]

    System said, but Rio just humphed in response, as he reached the training halls of the academy.

    Scanning his watch, and paying some merit points he went inside the room.

    [100 points deducted. You can stay for an hour inside the room.]

    [Remaining time 59 min 59 sec]

    As the door to the training room closed behind him, Rio''s demeanor changed.

    ''Time to vent some pent up stress''

    He said, as he started his beatdown on a lifeless golem who couldn''t break and couldn''t scream.

    ###

    ��---- Threads of Mana - The updated version of Skuld''s blessing, Strings of Mana.

    Effects - Allows the user to perceive the essence of mana in its various forms of colors. User can also use his own Mana to create threads of energy. Use of this blessing can further enhance the user''s perception of magic and control.

    Limited chance to perceive someone''s fate or luck, and forewarning of danger to oneself.

    ��---- Master of Magic - Hecate and Freyja, two goddesses known for their mastery and use of magic, have shown their interest in your growth. They have given you the blessing of - Magic sense and Rules of Magic. Combination of both blessings have formed the upgraded version - Master of Magic.

    Effects - Increases the users control over magic and Mana depending on the proficiency. Casting of spells and the consumption of Mana depends upon the user''s mastery over the blessing.

    Increases perception and detection of mana permanently. Makes channeling and manipting Mana easier. (Passive effect)

    Limited chance to increase the power of spells depending on luck.

    --##--

    A/N - Readers give me your opinion, should I write blessings and their effects in details mid-chapter, or do it like this, where I write them below. Or should I make an auxiliary chapter where I write all the details of blessings of mc and other fighting techniques and skills etc.

 Chapter 199 Therapy and Thaddeus Winthrop

    Chapter 199 Therapy and Thaddeus Winthrop

    Next day, the news about what happened at the library was spread throughout the entire academy. Miss Freya did her best to suppress the matter or downy it, but since other staff and students were also present there, it was hard. Since no one knew what really happened or why Rio suddenly snapped, Miss Freya just used the trauma as an excuse to divert the attention, and put the me on PTSD of him being trapped in the dungeon. Not many bought it, but that''s also the only thing that made some little sense, cause otherwise what would be the reason for a Duke''s son to snap at elven royal guards?

    "Miss Freya, do I really have to do this?" After the first ss was over, Rio ran after Miss Freya and asked her. "You can just double my training time, or give me some solitary treatment or something."

    "The fact that you''re trying to skip it and asking me this, is all the more proof that you need to go there." Miss Freya said, as she kept walking, "And besides, the decision is made by the council, requesting me now won''t change a thing."

    "But I''m perfectly fine. Yesterday was just a bad slip up. It won''t happen again." Rio requested, as he really didn''t expect them to give him the useless punishment.

    "You''re wasting your time, Rio. Your next ss is about to start, so just go for the training." Miss Freya said and entered her next ss. "I''ll tell Lucius to go easy on you."

    Rio just stood by the door, in the hallway thinking if he could find some excuse to escape his punishment.

    [I don''t get why you''re so worried about it. A little therapy might be tone.

    "Seriously." Rio said in a surprised tone "You''ve seen my memories right, and you''re still saying that."

    [Not every therapist is a hoax out to fool the customers and loot some money. Some are really nice.]

    "Not this one. Lucius Delirium is literally the male version of Harley Quinn. No one knows when he''ll flip and turn crazy himself. Let alone cure me." Rio said with a defeated smile.

    "You''ve seen the novel right, this guy is no good with his weird ways of treatment. I might just turn more twisted after meeting him."

    [Well, you have no choice, do you? Unless you want to openly oppose the academy or expose him.] System said [In both cases, your losses would far outweigh the little gains you''d get.]

    Rio understood that point too, as he nodded his head and said "Let''s just hope these sessions end up better than the ones back on earth."

    what you really need the most right now.] System said in an amused [Or you''ll have to think of a way to remove another viin from the academy.]

    ''I would''ve done it, if his plotlines weren''t necessary for the growth of senior Freya.'' Rio thought remembering about the slow burn will they, won''t they romance thingy between those two.

    Stopping unnecessary thoughts, he started making his way towards the training grounds, where his next ss for physical training and techniques would start soon.

    Since the technique he was looking for was taken by Saisha, he just picked another archery technique, which was hers in the novel. Leon on the other hand, not finding a suitable technique about archery, he chose another technique about elemental control, called ''Fusion Art''.

    Though Rio didn''t know anything about this art, as it was never mentioned in the novel. Maybe some extra character chose it, or maybe no one did. Or maybe it was his luck giving him another hidden gem, he wasn''t sure.

    But after asking around about its origin and uses from the staff at the library, he learned it was mainly focused on fusing different elements together(Elemental Fusion), and merging the essence of one element with your body(Elemental Ascendance).

    It''s famous for giving a boost to spells casted, or gaining temporal boost depending on the element used on your body.

    The downside of this technique was that it required precise control and mastery of elements used for fusion. And it had a huge Mana consumption if one tried to enhance themselves by merging.

    From that Rio wasn''t sure if the protagonist really even needed this, as in the novel Apollo taught him all that stuff for free, whenever he was in a difficult situation.

    [Maybe this time Apollo will teach him archery instead of all that. Plus with this technique he can get more chances and scenes with Professor Freya, this hastening her plotlines.]

    "And Lucius''s too." Rio said. "That would be troublesome to handle, if Lucius became crazy earlier than he was supposed to."

    [All the more reasons for you to go for therapy, so you can keep an eye on him.]

    "Damn it. Are you sure my luck hasn''t dropped, cause I feel like I''m getting unlucky over time." Rio said, as he remembered all that has happened with him in recent times.

    [Your luck is still fixed on 6. Ever since you stopped Noah''s prophecy, it''s been stuck there.]

    "If all this is still happening with my high luck, then I should increase it once phase 2 hits. And the world system gets an upgrade." Rio said.

    Even though the system could increase all his stats, it advised him not to try to meddle with luck. Because it might attract the attention of the World''s Will.

    Besides he only had to wait for 2 years and then with all the ''good deeds'' he did till now, and could doter - he can get a ton of World Points and increase his luck in a more legal way.

    [Loki is curious about your outburst yesterday, so you should try to act normal for a few days. He''s an anomaly and no one knows what he might pull.]

    "That slippery bastard. I should deal with him first when phase 2 begins, so as not to bring any more trouble." Rio said.

    Somewhere far away from the ne of mortals, Loki who was watching a drama where he made a noblewoman''s affair with a soldier public, suddenly had a shiver run down his spine.

    His yful expression shifted to one of mild concern. "That''s weird," Loki muttered, his voice a melodious blend of coquettishness and amusement. "Did that old man start looking for me again? Or is it that monkey this time?"

    He looked around the ever-changingndscape of his realm, filled with mirrors and illusions shifting and swirling. However, aside from a few agitated gods gnashing their teeth at his antics, there was no sign of the source of his difort.

    To be on the safe side, he decided to change ces and go somewhere else. But before he left, he didn''t forget to y the final trick, as he snapped his fingers with a devilish smile.

    Soon a housemaid came forward for the affair with thedy too, asking to join thedy''s harem, and her husband to watch from the side, shaming the nobleman in public even more.

    Loki reveled in the mayhem he had sown, his eyes dancing with the satisfaction of a trick well yed. His smiling figure fading in the void.

    Talking and chatting like that, Rio soon reached the ce of the training grounds. When he reached there, almost all of the ssmates were already gathered there and forming lines.

    The stage was dominated by a burly old man, seated on a chair with his eyes closed, and his head resting on his hand. His age was evident from the long, flowing white hair that moved over his shoulders, interspersed with sporadic ck strands. A majestic beard of simr hue further entuated his aged appearance. He wore a long, jet-ck trench coat adorned with intricate golden designs, which seemed to glimmer in the sunlight.

    As Rio joined the ranks of his fellow students, the old man stirred. His eyes, a haunting shade of purple, opened, and a piercing gaze scanned the assembly. His mere presence exuded an intimidating aura, and it was clear that this was no ordinary instructor.

    Thaddeus Winthrop, the man whomanded this stage, held the responsibility of teaching ss A-3 about weapon arts and physical endurance. He was renowned for his strict discipline and an unyielding demeanor that left few in his wake unscathed.

    He was one of the first apostles of apostasy. The man who saw gods for what they truly were. He refused to be the avatar of any deity, relying solely on his own strength to ascend to the high realms of power. HE was a self-made warrior.

    ''It''s been a while, professor.'' Rio thought as he met the gaze of the old man, instead of looking away like everyone else.

    [Here ites, host.]

    The system''s ominous warning hung in the air, and before Rio could fully understand its meaning, a colossal wave of pressure cascaded over them. Thaddeus had released his aura, and the effect was immediate and overwhelming.

    Students gasped audibly, the air in their lungs suddenly thinning. They struggled to maintain theirposure as the oppressive force intensified. Everyone felt like a mountain was pressing on their shoulders, forcing them to fall down. Some frantically attempted to channel their mana or employ their aura to shield themselves, but under the weight of Thaddeus''s aura, these efforts proved futile.

    Thud - Thud.

    The training grounds echoed with the sound of bodies hitting the ground. Students, one by one, sumbed to the crushing weight, their bodies unable to withstand the immense pressure. The unlucky ones who had bent down to find support by resting on their knees soon joined the fallen, some even sustaining broken bones in the process.

    -arghh thud-

    Rio looked around and saw that more than half of his ss was lying on the ground, while others were trying hard to not fall down.

    The rankers and the named characters of the novel were still standing without any problem, waiting for this test to be over. Amaya, Katherine, Valtor, ric, all of them were showing no signs of difort. Rio even saw Amelia chatting with Reba on the side, like she didn''t even notice whatever was happening around her

    . ''They have no idea,'' Rio thought, observing the nonchnt behavior of the select few. As if on cue, the professor intensified the pressure once more, and even the most resilient among the students began to waver.

    Rio could see the anger and frustration etched on the faces of his ssmates. In their minds, they likely conjured a barrage of curses directed to the instructor who subjected them to this ordeal. They fought to stay upright, their struggle evident in strained expressions andbored breaths.

    Rio nced at the protagonist and other important characters, it was finally time that even they were having a hard time standing straight and keeping their eyes open.

    Even Leon, fresh from his rank-up, gritted his teeth and bit his lips, the metallic taste of blood mingling with his determination. Their ability to maintain their stance and keep their eyes open grew increasingly challenging.

    [He''s batshit crazy.]

    ''It''s time for level 3. How many will fall down this time.'' Rio thought, as the pressure increased again. Now even he could feel a little weight on his shoulders.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 200 Rebound Art & Druidic Dance

    <h4>Chapter 200 Rebound Art & Druidic Dance</h4>

    ?

    The training ground was filled with a palpable tension as the unconscious students began to float off the ground, leaving those still standing in puzzled amazement. Many thought that the test had concluded, and they had all passed. However, their assumptions were soon shattered.

    Suddenly, the remaining students felt an unimaginable increase in pressure. What was once a weight evenly distributed on their shoulders now felt like an oppressive force pressing down on their entire bodies. It was as if they were trapped between a solid wall and everything around them was slowly crushing them. The remaining students, who were basically all sons and daughters of proud nobles or elite families, or future heirs of the big guilds and associations - started to falter soon too. One by one even they started to drop down.

    Rio watched as he saw Valtor being covered by a shadow, Katherine who built a barrier of ice around her, Reba who made a water bubble that surrounded her, while Amelia started to extend the space around her making the gap seem endless. Morphius and ric, who started showing signs of their transformation, fangs and ws appeared on their hands and feet. Leon was trying hard with his fist clenched tightly, his nails dug deep into his palms, blood dripping from his mouth slowly as he cut his lips to withstand the pain so he wouldn''t fall unconscious.

    When everyone was having the hardest time Rio was stIll standing there the same as before. The weight of a mountain was still pressing on him, maybe even more than any other students, yet it didn''t seem to affect him. He was continuously channeling his mana into two of his techniques :- "Druidic Dance" and "The Rebound Art".

    ***The Rebound Art, a technique practiced by a viin in the novel. Surprisingly he didn''t look for this technique, but the viin came to his door to hand him this over.

    It was chosen by one of the minions of Warzy, who was supposed to be mid-viin like Beric Zastan. Two years ago, during the attack on the academy, he met the guy in the dungeon and he managed to get this technique from him.

    This technique was famous for its defensive nature, focusing on redirecting an opponent''s attacks or reflecting it back at them. It mainly revolved around using the opponent''s energy and momentum against them, making it a highly effective and efficient form of self-defense.

    This technique had 8 forms, and what Rio was using now was form zero, the Neutral Defense. In simple terms, remaining neutral in face of attack and danger. Let the attack pass through naturally. The barrier of rebound will dissolve the attack to the ground.

    (Limitation - Sufficient mana to maintain the barrier needed to perform the technique''s Neutral defense stance.)

    ***Druidic Dance, a technique developed by Druids of some past civilization. It was a uniquebat technique which incorporates the elements of nature and draws inspiration from animal movements to enhance fighting abilities of the user.

    Practitioners of this technique are mostly known for their adaptability to any situation. As they can learn and mimic any animal living in the forests. And if they have high masteru of the nature element they can even practice it to perfection.

    (Limitation - Understanding of nature''s element is a must to learn the art perfectly.)

    This was a technique written in the novel, which Leon was supposed to get through a singr book after killing a professor at the academy, who was working under the orders of Stray Gods. There were some schemes and secrets involved, and as usual Leon was supposed to solve them and shine.

    But since Rio joined the academy much earlier, he decided to solve some troubles for the protagonist, so he can focus on his studies, instead of roaming around doing all kinds of troublesome things.

    [You just stole that technique, and the professor is still alive and looking for that book, while nning who knows what? Stop justifying yourself.]

    ''I''m not justifying anything. It''s just a little experiment. Will Leon save someone and do something, if he gets no rewards out of it, or will fate bestow another blessing on him? It''s important to know that.''

    [Yeah yeah whatever.]

    So anyway, back to the story, Rio just stole this technique before that professor could start tranting the singr book. ording to the novel, the professor would spend 3 years trying to trante the book, but in the end, like every other viin, he was preparing a wedding dress for the protagonist too. Cause just after he found the key to trante the book, Leon came and exposed him. Thus getting both the praise and the price.

    Since Rio knew everything, it took a while but he finally managed to trante it, and once the contents of the book poured into his mind, both the singr book and proof of him stealing stuff just whisked away in air.

    �C

    Druidic Dance, enhanced the closebat ability of his to next level, as it improved all his senses to a new level. Now even without any blessing or spell -his sense of sight, smell and danger was on inhuman levels. They get even more heightened if he''s in an area of a forest or nature. He could also use the abilities of some different animals and their fighting abilities to get some boosts.

    The technique had 12 steps till perfection, with 12th step being one with nature. Where one can achieve harmony with everything nature rted. Currently Rio had learned this technique till the 4th step.

    "Rooted Stance" This was the name of the 4th step, where the practitioner''s body can stand firm like a tree. It focuses on stability, bnce, and resilience, making it hard for opponents to topple or overpower them.

    Add upon it the third move "Bear''s Resilience" which enhances his endurance. Borrowing the skills of bears, this technique reinforces the practitioner''s durability and vitality. They can endure harsh conditions and shrug off blows that would incapacitate others.

    �C

    With the barrier of Rebound art to redirect the pressure on the surroundings, and Druidic Dance to fend off the little pressure that got past the barrier, Rio had little trouble to stand straight.

    Eventually, only eight out of nearly 300 students remained standing. The othersy scattered in a corner, like discarded trash bags. When finally even they were in a situation where they could fall any second, the professor withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.

    The pressure that was overwhelming everyone disappeared in an instant, like all of it wasn''t even real and they were just imagining it. Yet looking at their conditions and seeing the group of students piled up in a corner, anyone could guess it was far from a dream.

    Leon bent down, his hands resting on his knees, his back drenched in sweat, face gasping for breath.

    He looked around and saw only a few of the students were still standing. He recognized all of them. Even though he didn''t make friends or talk with any of them, yet he knew them from their reputations. He saw everyone was barely hanging on, some of them were lying on the ground with mouth wide open breathing heavily, some had totally spent their mana and were using their blessings and arts to gather some back.

    ''I was able to hold on. It seems I''ve finally caught up to everyone.'' Leon thought after seeing everyone in a simr situation.

    His eyes finally turned to look in the direction of Rio, whom he was gettingpared to daily. He was hoping to see his condition, yet when he did, he was totally shocked by what he saw. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''How is it possible? How is he perfectly fine?''

    Leon saw, as Rio dismissed his barrier and started walking away. Leon would have thought that he was exempt from the test, but he watched the ground around Rio was in disarray, bearing the brunt of the pressure he had absorbed, while he, himself seemed totally unscathed.

    Rio''s technique had shifted the pressure away from him, thus the surroundings near him were in a mess. With each step of his, the ground further cracked, leaving footsteps behind as big as a giant.

    Leon watched as Rio moved away like nothing happened. He wasn''t the only one who noticed this, others who were still conscious also had surprised expressions.

    Yet ignoring everyone''s eyes and without sparing them even a single nce, Rio moved towards Amelia and passed her a potion, before turning towards Reba and offering her one as well.

    ''He''s strong.'' That''s what all of them thought after seeing Rio''s behavior.

    [Hel smiles seeing the arrogance of other gods getting crushed by her chosen one.]

    [She suggests that next time, you should use her blessing.]

    Amelia and Reba were hesitating if they should drink the potion or not, when Rio just said "Don''t worry, the test is over. You can drink it now."

    Reba''s gaze darted towards Professor Thaddeus, who suddenly opened his eyes, nearly causing her to drop the potion in fear. However, the professor averted his eyes and began speaking to the remaining students.

    "Valtor Shade, Reba Von Schott, Amaya Stormswill, Amelia ke, ric Darhk, Katherine Winston, Leonard Heartwell, and Rio ke," Thaddeus announced, "you all passed. You can take a rest for today. I''ll start your training from tomorrow."

    With these words, Thaddeus left the area, heading towards the corner where other students were beginning to stir. Assistant professors circted among the fallen students, providing healing potions to those who were injured and sshing water on the faces of others who were simply unconscious.

    As the students regained their senses, a chilling voice cut through the air, sending shivers down their spines. Thaddeus addressed the failed students, announcing their punishment.

    "You all have failed my first test," he dered coldly. "So as your punishment, I want all of you to go through an hour of special training daily."

    ''Special training - my ass, you just want to torture us motherfucker.''

    ''Old foggy, don''t ever meet me outside, or I''ll beat you with my brothers.''

    ''If I ever see you set foot in my city, I''ll have my revenge, you psycho professor.''

    ''I''ll contact my parents to never let anyone named Thaddeus stay in any of our hotels. And don''t let him buy anything from our shops.''

    ''This guy doesn''t even care about boys and girls. Look at my skin. And how dare that guy throw water at me like that, all my makeup is wasted. Did my prince saw me like that?''

    In their minds, curses and threats erupted against the professor. They were filled with resentment and anger, vowing revenge for the physical and mental strain they had endured during the test. And would have to suffer under his ''special training''.

    Despite their inner turmoil, the fear of Professor Thaddeuspelled the students to form a line and stand at attention.

    Thaddeus nced at the students and began to speak again, a hint of amusement in his voice, "Now, where should I start..."

    ###

    A/N -?you''ll learn more about techniques and their origin, effects and uses with time.

 Chapter 201 A dead man’s chances

    <h4>Chapter 201 A dead man''s chances</h4>

    Since professor Thaddeus let those who passed his test go early, currently Rio, Reba and Amelia were going towards the canteen to get something to eat.

    It''s not that the professor went easy on us, it''s just that he knew that while trying to endure the pressure at the end, everyone had spent all their energy, so he didn''t want to push us too hard. And let us go so we can just get some rest and our mana back, before the next ss starts.

    "How did you do it?"

    Reba said, while looking at the duo ignoring her and focusing on their food like some hungry wolves, who saw food for the first time in dead winter, had the urge to p their heads and take their tes away.

    "Do what?" Rio replied, as he swapped Amelia''s hand away which was trying to sneak up to steal the sweets. Amelia looked at him with pleading eyes, to which he just smiled and ate that sweet in front of her. Instantly her eyes turned aggrieved and angry but she couldn''t do anything. It was already toote.

    "The test, how did you managed to withstand the pressure like it was nothing. Which technique did you use?" Reba said, while dragging her te a little away from a certain foodie''s range.

    Rio knew someone was gonna ask this question, after all, no one had seen him use Rebound Art before today. He only got it during the dungeon attack, and after that he was gone from everyone''s eyes, so none knew nothing.

    "Ohh that, it''s a new defensive technique I found somewhere, since I had one before."

    "Where''d you get it?" Reba inquired further.

    "A dungeon. Someone else had it, but He gave it to me as a gift." Rio said with a smile.

    Hearing that Amelia shook her head, while Reba said "Meaning you just stole it, didn''t you?"

    "What stole it? We made a deal and he lost." Rio said, trying to defend himself. After all, Virgil Graves, the man who had Rebound Art in the novel, was after his life and Rio tried to make a deal to let him go if he parted ways with the technique.

    Obviously, Virgil did what any viin would do in that situation - ignored the nice incentive that lets him live.

    Stupid move.

    So in the end, the technique still ended up in Rio''s hands and Virgil''s hands, well they were chopped off.

    "Yeah yeah." Reba ignored the topic since she was just curious about it. She didn''t want to probe for further details, so she started to focus on eating her food.

    The academy canteen gave free food to every student, any time. Obviously if they pay for it with some Merit Points, the taste somehow increases a little. Same as the canteen of the dorms, if one doesn''t like the dishes on the menu and wants to eat something else, they can order for themselves with Merit Points.

    The next ss was going to be about theory parts, which was divided in 2 parts, for the first part the instructor was going to teach everyone about the history of the world and every major catastrophe that hase till now. Second part was based on the current state of the world, and knowledge about the monsters, dungeons and towers.

    The major incidents of the past were getting so much focus and attention, because no one knew when an event would reur or if a simr tricky dungeon would pop up again in some part of the world.

    Like just after Emergence, people took the appearance of Towers lightly, and simply thought of them as empty buildings where they can trap the monsters at first, but then some centuriester, Towers which were already filled with different monsters and creatures appeared one by one, and the world paid its price for ignoring them.

    Same was the case with different or difficult dungeons. Most people didn''t like to talk about the failed raids of dungeons or towers, where many people died. Stronger awakeners would gather and solve that dungeon and normal people would forget about that incident all together. But no one knows, when a simr dungeon if that world will appear again, no one knows when monsters or creatures of that dungeon might appear on some floor of a tower.

    This is why the World Association focuses on everything, good - bad, failed - sessful, everything that the world has gone through till now, is important and a must to know by the new generation, so they can be better prepared for the unknown future.

    Though many people still take it lightly even after so many years, but this knowledge is the only thing that ys a huge role in the survival of everyone when Phase 3 of Emergence starts - THE INVASION.

    "Let''s go, we''ll bete for the ss." Reba said, ncing at the time.

    "Who do you think wille to teach us next?" Amelia asked, looking at Rio.

    "What, why''re you looking at me? How would I know that?" Rio said, as he went to pay for the bill.

    (Girls really don''t pay, no matter which world you go to huh.)

    Amelia and Reba looked at him with the expression that said, ''Seriously''..

    "Well, but if I had to guess it should be professor Quin Tempus. I''m not sure" Rio said, after thinking for a bit.

    "Teacher Qin''s gonna teach us." Reba said, excitedly after hearing Rio mention the name of her childhood history teacher.

    "Well, he''s been part of the World Association for a while, and he started teachingst year, so maybe he''ll have a chance." Rio said, remembering the plot of the novel and his changes.

    ording to the original novel, the professor who was about to teach the ss A-3, was a halfling called Caelum Arishem.

    But that man was killed during the Warzy attack two years ago.

    So there was no way he coulde alive again to teach the protagonist. Other than him, there were only a few who were as knowledgeable and famous as him, so Rio could only take a guess in that regard.

    He named Quin, simply because he and Caelum were rted to each other.

    When Quin Tempus first joined the Zenith Academy, he worked under Caelum as an assistant professor for two years. So there was a chance that heavens or fate or whatever, would put Quin in the empty position, so he can teach our dear protagonist everything the dead guy was supposed to teach.

    Professor Caelum was a genius when it came to Dungeon Theory. And given a little bit more time he would''ve published his own research data book which was his life''s work, after meeting and exchanging some points with the protagonist.

    That book collected data from as early as the first dungeon outbreak to the current momentary peace. This book would then make records everywhere and inspire many other genius brains toe up with several other theories in the regards of dungeons and monsters origin. Thus giving mortals another edge and improvement in their fights against monsters.

    Obviously once the professor got so famous, he also gave some credit to our protagonist who helped him with thest piece of the puzzle, making him a genius and a smart savior in the world''s eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But sadly, Caelum was killed before the plot started, and his research was lost after his death.

    Now if there''s someone who wants to keep the plot the same as in the novel, the only option would be to give all that research in the hands of another person, who would then pass it all to the protagonist.

    Professor Caelum had no family or friends, and was a total weeb, who only focused on finishing his research. The man only joined the World Association, because the Association promised to fund his research. Thus the only time he got out of his room was for the ss and then he was back as a shut in.

    In this case, the only one he came in contact with was his assistant professors and the students. And between both of these choices, the assistant professor Quin is the one who is connected to the characters more.

    [Thus the chances that he has the diary of his deceased mentor, and is just waiting to pass that on to the protagonist are much higher. Then to introducing a whole new character who wasn''t even mentioned in the novel.]

    ''Yupp. I''m just worried that if Leon got his hands on that book, and Apollo decided to chime in as usual and finish the research. Then because _.

    [Quin''s a viin. He wouldn''t share the results with anyone willingly. So somehow all the credit would end up on Leon''s name.] System said, surprised by the sudden theory Rio thought of.

    ''Yes. There might be mentions of the dead professor here and there. But under the influence of Leon''s halo and Apollo''s minions, the credit would mostly be taken over by Leon.'' Rio said and started thinking.

    If Leon got that big of a reputation boost, then dealing with him was going to be much harder. Even for him.

    [Why don''t you release the research first. You know it already.]

    ''I can''t. I only know the end result and the answer. If I want to convince the whole world of that theory I''d need his research which has examples, logs, details, suggestions and records of everything from the past.''

    ''What I have is like a simple form. I know it is right, but I don''t know how or why.''

    [Well, you can''t do anything. Let''s just wait and see. We can n ordingly after that.] System said, trying to make its host rx a little.

    ''Damn it. Damn those Warzy motherfuckers. Bastards ruined everything.''

    "Brother, did you pay already? Or are you nning to stay there and wash the dishes instead?" Amelia said jokingly, after seeing Rio just standing still.

    "I''ming."

 Chapter 202 What about the memory crystals

    <h4>Chapter 202 What about the memory crystals</h4>

    "Man theory sses after lunch sucks." Rio said, as he washed his face, after being caught sleeping in the ss.

    "Can you stopining and be faster? We''rete." Takashi said, as he was kicked out too.

    "Come on. What''s the rush? Let''s go get a coffee first. Or you''re gonna fall asleep again." Rio said, as he started moving towards the vending machine, which are ced on every floor of the academy.

    "No. I''m leaving. You''re wasting our time." Takashi said in a hurry, while trying to catch up to Rio. "And I didn''t fall asleep. It was only because I was trying to wake you up that I''m kicked out too."

    "Did I ask you to wake me up?" Rio said and looked at him with a serious expression "Not my problem if you got a habit of butting your nose in others business."

    Takashi noticed the difference in tone, but he still defended "sses are a sacred ce. I can''t just let you disrespect them like that."

    Rio patted his shoulders and said -"You know if it was some other noble kid, and you disturbed them while resting, next day instead of ss, you''ll be sitting in the infirmary. So be careful of what you say and do next, kay Baldy." Rio said, and pulled Takashi''s hand and swiped his watch on the vending machine.

    While Takashi was surprised, a ''Ding'' sound was heard in his watch, with a notification of - ''Payment sessful.''

    "Thanks for the coffee." Rio said and started walking away. Leaving Takashi ncing at his watch and the remaining Merit Points for a while.

    [That was harsh.]

    "Fuck off. I''m not a nice newbie, so don''t spout nonsense on every chance you get. Have some dignity as a system."

    Rio said, and before the system could make fun of him for being a bully, it was shot down again.

    [He''s your room partner.]

    "And a character who''ll be killed in the first event."

    [Won''t you save him?] Systems asked.

    "And why would I do that? He''s from Neisah. A devout believer of Gods and their graciousness. Even if I save him, he''s of no use to me."

    [But saving him can get you some points.]

    ''It can also lead to some unexpected changes in the plotlines.'' Rio said as he shook his head "I can get points through millions of methods, but if I start acting like a hero saving everybody. Then should I die when the world ends in theter stages."

    [But _ ]

    ''No buts. The plot is already ruined enough. I shouldn''t change stuff which gives me no profit but only trouble." Rio said, while thinking about all the bigger plotlines rted to Neisah and their beliefs.

    [Look at you acting like a viin, and not just a thief.]

    "It''s not about being a viin. Handling Leon is already hard since Apollo decided to boost his growth. Since Leon is now ''C- rank'' then the opponents who wille to face him would be high ranked too. The difficulties and challenges he''ll face will be tough too." Rio said as in a matter of fact tone.

    [So you think the first event would be more deadly than in the novel.]

    "Of course, otherwise Leon won''t have much of a challenge."

    [You should know that Apollo only boosted his rank this time. Instead of training him in various skills and arts alongside too. That''s why Leon could reach ''C- rank'' this early.]

    "Doesn''t matter. The theory remains, the more powerful Leon is, the more powerful enemies wille to kill him." Rio said "The event would be total chaos. And in between all that chaos, I need to protect Amy, Ba, A, and my next pair of viins."

    [What about Saisha? Will you let her be?] System asked, as it noticed Rio didn''t mention her name in the list.

    Hearing her name again brought some stupid feelings again, but he buried them again as he said "She''s a heroine, she can save herself."

    [So you n to avoid her. Is that it?] System said, as it read Rio''s mind.

    "Saisha had no contact with Rio until the first semester exams in the novel. I''m just following the plotlines." Rio said. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Seeing Shweta as Saisha was something he didn''t expect in this world. But since she was here, he could just deal with it ordingly.

    The rtionship between them was ended by her when she left him back on earth, his wait over the years had only brought him pain and disappointment. So instead of seeing her daily and opening up all those wounds again, he decided to ignore them, and her altogether.

    He was moving on from his past in Arcadia over the years and he could still do it - ''How hard can it be?''

    [So you aren''t curious about why she left you or why she''s here. Maybe the memory crystal has all those answers. You can confront her face to face and finally find your closure. Isn''t that what you always wanted? To hear her exnation.]

    "That was my naivety. After thinking about it all night yesterday, I''vee to realize something."

    [Oh and what is it?]

    "That now it doesn''t matter why she left me or why she did what she did back on earth. My life on earth is gone. And that''s it. Now even if Saisha and Shweta are one soul, they aren''t necessarily the same."

    [Meaning.. ]

    "Just like Amelia and Ria. They''re the same, yet not at the same time. Their lives are different, their stories, experiences and origins are different. Like Amelia has her whole own family here. She has her friends, partners and connections here. She isn''t just my sister Ria anymore.

    Maybe the same is the case with Saisha, she isn''t Shweta anymore. She has her own family, future and destiny here."

    Rio dered "I''m not going to use those crystals and ruin their current lives, just for my curiosity."

    [Even the crystal of Ria? That would mean she would never remember your earth life. She would never remember you.]

    "She doesn''t have to. Amelia doesn''t need to be reminded of the painful things from the earth anymore. Since knowing them won''t change what happened back there.

    Plus I don''t want to break the happy family that she has here. It would be unfair to both Amy and Artemis." Rio said remembering the doting mother of his here.

    "Just like how I couldn''t ept them as my family after retaining my memories. Maybe she won''t either. It would be hurtful to her. As for Saisha _ "

    [I understand.] System replied, as it understood all his emotions and thoughts. (He''s still scared to face her it seems.) System thought.

    [So what''s next?]

    "What next, FUCK YOU for wasting my time system." Rio said, as he remembered he was supposed to go to ss again after washing his face. "Stupid AI, dragging me in convos, so it won''t feel alone in my head." He hurriedly said, while gulping down thest of the coffee and started moving towards the ssroom again.

    ''How in the hell did my conversation go from talking about Baldy, to my life choices? This useless system.''

    (Don''t me me, you stupid host.)

    "ording to the records monsters can be categorized through many different ways - based on their origin, their powers, race, intelligence or threat level etc and etc.

    Since it''s your first ss, we''ll start with the very basics of the background history. Types of monsters based on their - "

    "Can I enter, professor?" Rio said, as he interrupted the ss.

    Professor, who was teaching the ss, turned to look at Rio and nodded his head. Getting permission, Rio entered the ss under the surprised expressions of everyone.

    Rio sat on the table and saw Takashi, who simply pulled himself a little further from his seat. ''Fucking kids.''

    [Hahaha now he won''t talk to you for a few days. Unless you speak first Umhaha] system said, trying to control itsughter, looking at Takashi acting like a bullied, upset teenager.

    ''This is why I hate idiots. Well peace atst I guess.'' Rio thought and ignored him. Not like he came to the academy to make friends with anyone anyway. Especially the believers from Neisah and extras.

    Ignoring him, Rio sat on his chair. He looked at the note which suddenly appeared on his desk "It''s been nearly twenty minutes. I get that you know it all, but be a little serious will you?"

    Rio just smiled after reading it, there was no need to guess who sent the note. He was checking up on his books when another note popped up on his table. "Also where''s my coffee?"

    ''This girl. Something''s really wrong with her. Why didn''t she pick on Ria''s habits of being simple and considerate.'' Rio said, and ignored another letter which appeared there.

    He didn''t even need to see what was written inside, as he could guess, it was probably a threat, that since he didn''t buy her coffee, he should buy her something else after the ss.

    ''Just one day, and half my points are gone just because of her. Should I ask the principal to give me my old points back.'' Rio thought, after looking at his wristwatch.

    "Miss Amelia and Mr Rio, if the discussion is over between you, can you focus on the lecture again." Quin, who noticed the use of Amy''s spatial magic, spoke up.

    "Now where was I? Types of monsters based on their origin. Anyone wanna speak up and answer it."

    ####

    A/N - Next chapter would be information about all kinds of monsters and their origin and grades and sses they''re divided in. Their power, intelligence, allegiance, danger and threat level etc etc etc - everything about them in short details for you to understand.

    . ....

    Guys, I started my new novel, which is based on earth after shiva''s death. Remember Ali, his best friend, he''s the mc of that novel. It''s a zombie apocalypse plus viin hunting protagonist kinda novel. Do check it out and give me your support and nice reviews. Please.

    It''ll mean a lot and help me too.

    Thanks and love you all for everything.

    Book name - "RICH VILLAIN OF A RUINED WORLD"

 Chapter 203 All about monsters

    <h4>Chapter 203 All about monsters</h4>

    "There are two types of monsters based on their origin. First ones, those who appear from dungeons, towers, spatial cracks or gates etc. Basically those who don''t belong to Arcadia. Monsters no one has ever seen before, monsters who are new and we know nothing about, are in this category." Quin said, as he waved his hands and the projection screen turned on, disying the images of several monsters like Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Minotaur, Harpies, Kobolds, Mormon. Banshees etc.

    "Second type, are those who were residents of Arcadia even before the Emergence. Now those beasts were mere animals in the past, but after going through several mutations over the centuries, even those harmless animals have be much more dangerous." The projection changed and this time images of several new monsters started appearing like Three eyed raven, Frostbite wolf, wer, Embermoth, Toxin Rhino, Abyssal shark, Lava hedgehog etc.

    "Teacher, are you sure these monsters were harmless animals back then, they look so scary." One of the students said, as he looked at the projection of ava hedgehog, which shoots darts made ofva from his body in every direction.

    Quin smiled hearing the question, but then he pressed a button on the remote and images of a normal hedgehog appeared on the screen. Kl

    With a little kid poking it with a stick and throwing stones at it.

    ".. " The students who asked the question earlier, looked at both the animals and he was surprised by the difference. ''Was this little palm sized animal, the ancestor of the ferocious Grade 2 Lava Hedgehog, which killed anyone who came near him.''

    "Seeing this you can imagine the growth even these low level animals had after the Emergence." Quin said and started to go into details about some monsters and showing some other examples.

    "This is how the difference between the monsters was done in the past. Over the years, when people from other races started appearing in Arcadia, this division couldn''t be used anymore. The appearance of new races like Elves, Dwarves, Druids, Fairies and others couldn''t be termed as monsters, as these races had be our allies in the fight against the other monsters.

    So people started to term monsters based on intelligence. Those who were mindless creatures were called monsters or beasts, while others who became our allies were given the titles of their races and were not ced in any category."

    "But soon enough the theory of intelligence also started to fail, as everyone realized monsters from high level dungeons or mutated beasts had started to gain intelligence and could think or n for themselves. After this discovery the threat of such monsters increased and a new division was created, those who could mutate or those who couldn''t."

    "Ever since then, after many such incidents and discoveries, the current system which we use to ssify monsters was created - Grading system.

    Now monsters are ssified in grades. From grade 1 to grade 5. Grade 1 being the lowest level and grade 5 being the most dangerous ones.

    Since monsters couldn''t awaken or bind with the world system, so we can never truly know their real powerpared to the awakening levels. But after so many centuries of fighting, we have a general idea of their strengthpared to us, but nothing certain. So one should always be careful about all monsters and not look down on them due to their rank Or grade."

    Quin was speaking as the words started to appear on the whiteboard behind him. The pen seemed to float behind him. Obviously some could see that the pen wasn''t floating but was actually held by some slim threads and was moving through them.

    ''His control over threads is awesome.'' Rio thought, as he knew how hard a feat the perfect bnce needed for doing that was. His blessing rted to threads was already level 2 and he had mastered it even more, yet even he couldn''t control them like that yet.

    [He has the blood of Arachne in him. It''s normal that he''ll have more control over weaving threads as it''s his bloodline ability and not an external blessing or skill.] System said, trying to fight him with facts.

    Quin was a Halfling, part human - part spider. His appearance wasn''t anything special. He wore a normal suit and trousers which covered most of his physiology, and he wouldn''t look any different from a normal human from a distance. His skin was a little palepared to normal humans. His shoulder length ck hair which looked slim and styled in a straight form. The only striking feature was his eyes, which seemed to shine in the darkness. They also bear an uncanny resemnce to those of a spider, with multifaceted irises that shimmer with an otherworldly, hypnotic quality. Those eyes grant him an almost preternatural perception of the world, allowing him to see intricate details and subtle nuances that often escape others.

    In theter form of the story, when Quin finally shows his motivations and fights with Leon as a viin, he shows his real form. With several arms growing out of his back, and multiple eyes that span across his whole face.

    [Image is inment section and in discord server.]

    Quin was just like Bernhardt in terms of motivation. But with a more sad background and crazy personality. While Bernhardt belonged to the perverted young master type category, Quin was a much more twisted viin.

    His parents were part of an adventurer team, and in one of their dungeon raids they came across a sleeping arachne. Thinking they would y it easily and get rich with rewards, they overestimated themselves and decided to fight it. They almost seeded too but call it plot or heaven''s will, their luck ended and one thing left to another, in the end Quin''s mother was the only one toe out of that dungeon alive. With a grown out stomach carrying a fetus whichter gave birth to Quin.

    She hated Quin since birth and almost had him go through all kinds of domestic abuse storylines the author coulde up with, slowly turning an innocent kid into the dangerous viin he bester on.

    If you''re wondering what''s his simrity with Bernhardt, that''s the obsession these two had over Reba.

    Yupp, as the first main heroine of the novel, Reba doesn''t just bring the endless support of the royal family, she also brings all sorts of viins and troubles for the protagonist to solve and shine.

    The routines of the hero saving beauty keep ying in the academy, and Leon gets Ba in his happy harem team.

    Quin, who''s been secretly fawning over the princess ever since he first became her teacher during her childhood, obviously couldn''t stand the sight of the protagonist, and plots behind the scenes to kill him.

    But in the novel, Quin is just another newly appointed professor, and has no contact with the ss of A-3. So he could only try to manipte others and try to kill Leon when he''s outside the academy.

    To counter Quin''s bloodline ability of weaving threads, Leon also gets the blessing of threads from both Skuld and Apollo. Thus Leon not only humiliates Quin in his strongest field, but also challenges him in a duel and defeats him too. The routine repeats itself over time, and Leon ends up killing him finally and getting both the rewards and the richdy.

    But now Quin is the teacher of ss A-3, and there''s a chance he also has the book from the previous professor Caelum, which is a chance waiting for the protagonist to take.

    Rio was thinking if he''d have to personally deal with this professor, how should he do it. Should he fight him head on like Leon or should he just hire someone or ckmail some other professor to do it for him.

    [Can you stop thinking about killing someone, I''m afraid you''ll lose control like yesterday.] System said, as it felt the killing intent rising in its host''s mind again.

    Rio controlled himself and focused back on ss. He just decided to think about this matter on ater date when he was calm and wasn''t in a state of a powder can waiting to go kaboom. He was still feeling frustrated over Shweta''s unexpected arrival in this story.

    Professor Quin had finished writing about the monsters on the whiteboard and was exining about them. But since Rio already knew about them so he just got lost in his thoughts again.

    Grade 1 monsters - mindless monsters. Less dangerous alone. But that''s why they''re always living in herds or groups. Power ranging from rank F to rank E based on the monster type and its abilities.

    Grade 2 monsters - some intelligence but still only enough to follow normal animals'' instinct behavior. Also live in herds, power level of rank D to rank B based on the monster type and its bloodline abilities.

    [Exceptions to grade 1 & grade 2 monsters are possible, due to various reasons such as mutation, some upgrades or lucky opportunities, bloodlines, racial traits etc.)

    Grade 3 monster - Power level simr till limit rank awakeners. Starts gaining intelligence and starts to plot and n. ys the role of a leader among the herd of other monsters.

    Grade 4 monster - Power level simr to limit S rank or SS level. Depends upon monster type and its abilities. Likes to live alone, rarely in pairs or groups.

    Grade 5 monster - Power level simr to SS rank. Depends on the monster type and its abilities. Likes to live alone as a ruler. Have their own domains.

    �C Mutated monsters start gaining intelligence even early and categorizing them is always hard.

    -- Grading is only done as a basis, real threat level ssification of monsters is based on all the cases of simr monsters happened in the past.

    �� SSS rank or Zephyr rank monsters are very very rare to be seen. They''ve been sealed in high tower floors. And never appeared in any outside dungeon or anywhere else. [Though there is always a chance that some SS rank monster can mutate and rank up in his strength. Thus even they''re always dealt instantly whenever they appear.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    --- Monsters sses and levels can also be seen through monster cores, after they''re killed. These cores are also called life stones, which holds their life energies, and helps them channel mana, aura and other energies smoothly. [Eating or refining monster core won''t increase anyone''s mana, it will mainly increase one''s control over it. Unless the level difference between the eater and the monster is too big.]

    ##

    A/N - I know many of you would still be confused about monster grading and stuff, but I''ll exin it in more details in next chapter and over time little by little, so you can rx and enjoy the story.

 Chapter 204 Another girl from my past, seriously?

    <h4>Chapter 204 Another girl from my past, seriously?</h4>

    "A, are you free this evening?" Rio asked, as they were all walking back to the dorms after their sses for today were finished.

    "No, I need to go and look for professor Saltzman. I had some doubts about the recipes you gave mest time." A said, as she exined.

    Reindolf Saltzman, a great alchemist and another professor at Zenith academy, also A''s mentor in the ways of alchemy.

    After seeing that A''s talents in alchemy weren''t showing any signs of improvement in the early years, Rio decided to change some stuff and asked Artemis to prepare another teacher to help her in learning.

    He also suggested the name of Reindolf to Artemis. Reindolf at that time was just another run of the mill alchemist in the Haven city Alchemist Association. Believing in his lies and being supportive as always, Artemis agreed to the request, and thus A, who was supposed to only meet her mentor aftering to the academy, met him years ago and also became his student without any hardships.

    Since back then Reindolf was nowhere near as famous as he is now, it wasn''t hard for him to ept A as his student. After all he couldn''t just refuse the request from the ke Family without having any backing himself. This also helped in boosting his reputation and he even managed to get the attention of World Association a little early than the novel. So it wasn''t a bad deal for him.

    But even though A''s talent slightly improved with the constant guidance of her father and Reindolf, but she was still just average and nowhere near the level of a genius alchemist heroine. Maybe it was because shecked the motivation and drive to learn, or maybe it was because she didn''t feel the need to be so dedicated in mastering anything.

    It was only after Rio''s demise in the Draugr Depths dungeon, that she forced herself into herb and focused only on learning and mastering the books of potions and techniques Rio gave her on her birthday.

    He didn''t know her thinking and motivations behind doing that, maybe she felt indebted to him for saving her father''s life, and wanted to prove that he didn''t choose wrong and finish what she promised him. Or maybe she just needed a trigger of tragedy to awaken her talent genes.

    But it was only when Rio returned from the dungeon that he learned that the snotty crybaby he left behind was gone, and had now grown into a genius alchemy star of the Alchemist Association.

    "Actually you don''t have to work so hard on the potion about EMMSY, I''ve already learned it. So you can just take it easy and focus on your studies or other things." Rio said, making A surprised.

    Looking at Rio''s serious expression, A asked "For real. Why don''t you just teach me then? I already almost got it, I was just confused about the final parts." Saying this A''s usual calmness was gone, and she had an excited expression as she started asking about her doubts "The book said to burn the Aurangy medicine and mix it with Morishas, but aren''t these two opposite of each other and reduce each other''s effects, thus failing the whole process and potion. I even tried doing that separately and creating a mix of them alone but _ "

    "A stop _ " Rio said, hearing her constant doubts and theories. "It''s no big deal, you can just learn and experiment in your free time. I just wanted to say, there''s no need to work hard on it. Okay."

    A nodded her head hearing his words. "You really don''t need it now? " She asked again to confirm her doubts.

    "Yes, I don''t need it. So just focus on something else. Try learning the technique you chose from the library. Or anything else you want." Rio said, as he reached the dorms.

    Knowing the potion was for curing the aftereffects of EMMSY, she had been working hard on creating it perfectly, yet failed to do so till now. Even though it had been more than 2 weeks now. This was also expected by Rio, after all even though he had given her the recipes he copied from the novel''s knowledge, he himself didn''t know anything about the process or making it. And this one was much moreplicated than the Pura Corpus potion. And needed much moreplex herbs and medicines, with delicate control and knowledge of everything. After all, how can a potion of the middle stages, be made so early so easily?

    That''s why he didn''t rush her, and was willing to wait, but with Shweta''s dreams haunting him from a few days back, getting impatient he just bought the potion from the system and it. Now he doesn''t need the potion so A can just focus on other things and techniques.

    "By the way, I didn''t ask you about your room partner. Who is it?" Rio said, as he remembered about the change in the novel.

    "Oh it''s her." A said, as she pointed towards a girling into their direction. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Fucking hell'' Rio cursed as he saw Saisha walking towards the dorms, followed by two other elven girls.

    "Wait, you''re living with the Elven princess?" Amelia asked as she recognized the girl too. And A nodded her head in agreement.

    "What''s so special about it? You''re living with a princess too." Reba said, as she noticed Amelia''s surprised expression.

    "Hehehe'''' Amelia smiled at her remark. And asked A " How is she? Is she arrogant and stupid like other elves?"

    "She''s actually nice. She''s calm, pretty and smart too. Though she doesn''t talk much so I don''t know much about her yet." A said, as she remembered her meeting with her roommate from yesterday.

    Hearing her words Amelia just clicked her tongue and said "Anyway if she troubles you or tries to bully you, just tell me. I''ll teach her a lesson."

    "Woah, what got you so spirited? Did she do anything wrong?" Reba asked as she saw Amelia just ring at Saisha''s leaving back.

    "Naah, I just don''t like her." Amelia said, while ncing at Rio, who was walking side by side with them, but silent.

    Unlike what she thought, Rio wasn''t silent, he was busy conversing with the system who fucking does nothing to warn him of changes in the plot.

    ''System, you fucker. Aren''t you supposed to warn me of changes in the plot, or give me points for everything that is different from the novel.'' Rio asked angrily.

    [Yes host]

    ''Then why the hell, I didn''t see any notification of Saisha''s plotline change. Or A being her roommate." Rio said. "If Saisha isn''t living with that girl from the novel, how can the event of that drug ident happen?"

    [There''s something wrong with her host. The point system I have is self running,paring everything with the original novel''s plot and giving you points. But just like you and your sister, she''s outside the plot too. There''s nothing topare as the characters are totally changed and reced. You won''t get anything for them and it''s hard for me to monitor them. I already exined it to you thest time when we talked about Amelia''s awakening.] System said clearly exining it''s side.

    So I won''t get any notifications or rewards from her too huh.''

    [It''s not that serious. You''ll get their rewards every time their own special plots start, or you make major changes to them. yourself. Until then they''re our blind spots.]

    System had already exined all these things when he changed the plot during Amelia''s awakening, and whenter goddess Gauri (Kali) directly made Amelia her avatar, instead of giving her a simple blessing like Nyx.

    But he didn''t expect Saisha to fall into that category too. Amelia was basically always near him, or he always had someone else who was near her, so he wasn''t much worried. But Saisha is an important character in the novel, so if he couldn''t know her changes it would be troublesome for him.

    ''Let''s just hope your ''bastard Being'' doesn''t send someone else here.'' Rio said in a silent tone, hoping no one else from his past died and reincarnated here.

    His words of prayer had just finished when he heard someone speaking behind him "Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?"

    The voice was cold and emotionless, like a recording made on a machine, yet at the same time it sounded so clear and smooth.

    Rio turned to look back and was surprised to see another heroine standing there - Katherine Winston. He was surprised as to why the cold ice girl came to talk to him here, instead of challenging him in the training grounds like he thought so. "Yeah, what happened?" He said.

    "I saw you using transformation magic yesterday in Miss Freya''s ss. Can you teach me that?" Katherine said without stopping, her face still showing that same expression.

    She waited to hear Rio''s answer, yet after seeing him dazed out, she thought he wasn''t willing to teach her so she continued saying "You don''t need to teach me everything, just guide me for a bit. I''ve tried learning it myself for a while, but I didn''t understand_"

    Katherine was saying her thoughts and doubts, but Rio wasn''t listening to her voice. Because the more he listened the more he felt it sounded familiar. So so familiar. It only took him a moment again to realize whose voice it sounded like.

    ''System''

    [...]

    ''Please say that I''m wrong, and it''s not what I think it is?''

    [I''m sorry host. But it seems we just found another anomaly.] System spoke in a mechanical tone, dropping its previous personality of the girl it chose from his mind.

    ###

    A/N - another girl from his past seriously.

 Chapter 205 Katherine or Kajal - the system’s voice

    <h4>Chapter 205 Katherine or Kajal - the system''s voice</h4>

    ''System''

    [...]

    ''Please say that I''m wrong, and it''s not what I think it is?''

    [I''m sorry host. But it seems we just found another anomaly.] System spoke in a mechanical tone, dropping its previous personality of the girl it chose from his mind.

    Seeing that Rio didn''t respond to her request, Katherine asked again "Can you help me with that or _?"

    "Ohh sorry, I was thinking of something else. Yeah I''ll help you tomorrow. Is that okay?" Rio said, as he tried to smile.

    "That''s fine. I''ll meet you tomorrow then." Katherine said and left without turning back or showing any expression of smile or gratitude.

    ''''She''s really icy huh." Amelia said, as she came near her brother.

    "Don''t joke around. I''m leaving. I have something to do. I''ll see you girls at dinner." Rio said and left for his dorms, without waiting for their response.

    Takashi didn''te with him, and he didn''t speak to him again after that talk he had in the morning. Rio didn''t care about that and started walking towards his room. He had too many things to think about again.

    "She sounds just like you, System. Wanna tell me why?" Rio asked, once he was alone and back in his room.

    [I told you, I just copied a personality from your mind, I don''t know anything.] System said in defense.

    "Then who is she? What is she doing here? And most importantly, why don''t I remember her?" Rio asked the questions he had, ever since he talked with Katherine. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [How would I know if you forgot some of your memories? She was in your head before.]

    ''What do you mean before?''

    [Rio, I didn''t know.] System said apologetically, as it realized it spoke out without thinking.

    Hearing the system''s answer, the bad premonition in Rio''s head rose high. "Just shut up and tell me, what did you mean she was in my head before?"

    Knowing there was no other option, the system started exining. [When you took the healing potion to heal your brain after awakening, your brain was healed but some of your memories were gone. Even when I tried to look for the memories of this girl in your mind again, I couldn''t find anything.]

    After choosing the personality of a random girl from his mind after the merging, the system wanted to know all about this girl and checked his memories, but surprisingly all of the memories rted to that girl were sealed and it couldn''t find anything.

    ''So you''re telling me, that stupid fucking potion given by your stupid fucking being erased my memories. Is that what it means to heal my brain?''

    [It didn''t erase them.Your mind was already hiding those memories subconsciously, trying to bury them so you won''t remember anything.] System said and continued exining [Even before you took the potion you couldn''t remember anything about this girl and asked me about it, remember. It''s just after drinking the potion the seal your brain subconsciously ced on these memories became stronger and they were totally locked. Even from me.]

    ''What bullshit are you spouting? Why would I hide my memories subconsciously? I even remembered all about Ria and Shweta, and these two were painful enough for me to hold on, so why would I forget her.'' Rio said, not believing anything the system said.

    He remembered that the system first chose the personality of Ria, then Shweta''s, and then when he finally gave it ast chance, it just picked a random girl from his mind. At that time, he thought it was someone he saw somewhere, or from some tv or movie show, as there was nock of girls with cheerful personalities in those things.

    But hearing the system''s words now and meeting Katherine who was speaking in the same voice as the system in front of him, albeitcking in emotion. He was sure it wasn''t just a random girl or any character from a movie or a tv show.

    It was someone important to him. He could feel it, a familiar feeling in his head, yet he couldn''t remember exactly what it was? ording to the system, She was someone whom he remembered even after he came to this new world albeit barely. Yet he couldn''t understand why he would try to forget her in the first ce.

    What did the system mean when it said I subconsciously buried her memories, and the potionpletely sealed them. And why didn''t that ''bastard of a being'' say anything about side effects like these.

    "Can I get those memories back?" Rio asked, as he needed to know this answer the most. Someone from his past was standing in front of him, and yet he had no idea who it was, or what his rtionship with her was?

    "Use whatever method or potion you have, buy it and give it to me." Rio said, urging the system. He didn''t care about points anymore, if he learned anything from Amelia and Saisha''s case, and the gifts from ''the being'' - he was sure this girl was important to him, important enough for ''That Being'' to reincarnate her in Arcadia.

    ''So who was she? A friend, family, or some enemy'' Rio thought, as he tried hard to remember, yet got nothing.

    When he tried to use his blessings to clear his mind and try again, a fucking headache started to pain him and stopping all his efforts.

    Giving up on trying to search for answers himself, he then nced at the gift section, to see if some new memory crystal popped up, which could give him some kind of hint about his rtionship with her, yet there was nothing.

    He needed to know about her, not just for himself, but also because she was now living as Katherine Winston, the 2nd main heroine of the beginning stages. Even if she doesn''t have her memories of earth, as system said she had now be another anomaly in the plotline.

    Since she isn''t the pure character of novel anymore, could he be sure that her personality is the same as Katherine described in the novel?

    What if she has the knowledge of the novel too? What if she knows the plot and is trying to follow it or ruin it for her own gains? What if she''s the one who popped up in arcadia 8 years ago, when system had to shut off as a response.

    It would be too troublesome in any of the above cases.

    "Can you help me or not?" Rio said, as he noticed, system was being silent.

    [I don''t know, host. The memories were locked by your own subconscious, so it''s only upto you to get them back. No outside potion or pill can help you.]

    "What do you mean upto me? If it was up to me, I wouldn''t even forget them, or remember them now when clearly I''m trying very hard to do so?" Rio said in annoyance, as the more he tried to remember her, the worse his headache became.

    [It just means some part of your subconscious thinks you aren''t ready for it, host. There''s no need to force it, maybe you''ll remember it in some dream one day, or when any simr event happens again��]

    "Or when I hit my head on a wall, or fall down the stairs, it isn''t amnesia, you stupid AI. And nor is it a bollywood drama." Rio cursed the system as it gave a useless suggestion.

    "What else did I forget? Is there anything else you''re not telling me? Or something that your ''the great being'' said to you. But you''re too busy sitting on your ass and watching drama to speak up." Rio said, feeling a little annoyed at the constant new changes that were happening around him.

    ''First Amelia, then Saisha, and now Katherine - three important characters and supporters of the protagonist. And now they''re swapped with my sister, my ex-girlfriend, and God knows who this new girl is.

    What the fuck is wrong with this ''Being'' and this plot. Why''re all important characters getting swapped out? What next Ali getting here as Leon and Nashi as Ditail?

    [There''s nothing else that you forgot, host. You remember everything else besides her.]

    "Any idea what makes her so special? You must have seen something in her to choose her personality right." Rio asked, looking to get at least a hint.

    Hearing his question, system thought for a second, thinking if it should answer him or not. But then it decided to speak truly.

    [She was your friend. Best friend kinda friend.]

    "Wha _ "

    [I''ve seen memories in which you, Shweta and her, had all been together. You seemed happy and rxed. And _]

    "And what?" Rio asked, as he couldn''t understand why he would ever try to forget who was once his best friend. He even remembered that bastard Nashi, and Ali and everyone else. Then why her? Why did he forget her?

    [I think she loved you, host.]

    "Say WHATTT?" Rio said as he stood up from his bed with a shocked expression. "Are you sure she loved me, cause I''m pretty sure that''s something I''d remember."

    [It''s the truth host. She used to call you SK.]

    ''Those are just the initials of my name. what''s special about that.''

    [SK didn''t mean Shiva Kumar. It meant Shiva and Kajal.]

    [That was her name by the way - Kajal Malhotra.]

    ''Fucking hell''

    The more he learned about this mysterious girl from the system, the more confused he became. He clearly remembered everything after Shweta left him, and nobody, no one ever came to meet him once when he left the city and moved out. When he was in prison?

    If she loved him, where did she go? Where was she when he needed her at his lowest? When Ria was gone, when Shweta left him, where was she?

    ''Did something happen to her. Did she die like Ria? Is that why I chose to forget her?

    But that shouldn''t be possible. I remember Ria and Nashi, and both of them were dead too.''

    All these constant new variables in his ns started to anger him, as it reminded him of thest time things started to get out of his control like this - that damned dungeon incident.

    His headache started to reach his peak, as the system took out a potion from the inventory for him, but before he could drink it, it got crushed as he clenched his hands unconsciously.

    "WHO THE HELL is she?"

    Rio screamed as the pain in his head reached his limit, and he lost his control. A st of dark mana, like one he released in the dungeon, the day the top guilds found him, was let out.

    ��KABOOM�C

 Chapter 206 Lucius Delirium & Shani’s blessing

    <h4>Chapter 206 Lucius Delirium &amp; Shani''s blessing</h4>

    "So, Rio Raven ke. Where should we start?" A man in his 30''s asked Rio after seeing him enter the room. The man had long ck hair tied in a ponytail, he was wearing sses that covered his eyes. Wearing a modern but in suit that made him look stylish yet official. A warm smile is always present on his face that makes others feel rxed and calm.

    Yet looking at his smiling face, Rio just an irritated expression, as he cursed his luck for being stuck here. The man was someone he just wanted to avoid, a viin in the novel''s beginning stages, Lucius Delirium.

    The student counselor for the Zenith Academy. Since everyone studying here had the potential to be the future pirs of support for the whole world, the World Association also paid attention to their mental health and psychological state. Since the disturbed state of mind would either hinder the growth of that student, or there''s a chance that they may be led astray by some Evil or Stray God, or other evil organizations. So to properly nurture them in all aspects, the counseling was also given to students for free.

    Due to the constantpetition, battles or bullying - many students often need this to clear their mind and calm down. Though no one wants to share their secrets, but if things get out of hand, the choice doesn''t remain in a student''s hands, and the academy would force them to go through this process.

    This was the case with Rio. After his initial burst at the library, he was given a week''s time to report for a session with Lucius. But after he created another mess in his dorms yesterday, he was forced to go through therapy earlier.

    Yesterday, after learning that his mind was messed up after drinking a potion that was supposed to heal him. Or that he lost some of his memories, and that all his ns would be ruined since a new mysterious girl hijacked the body of a famous heroine in the novel, and he had no idea what to do with her - he lost his control over his mana, which resulted in a st of darkness that lost control.

    Good thing was that the system erected a barrier in his room at the same time, so the damage of that spell didn''t destroy the nearby rooms or the entire floor. But still such a burst of violent mana, attracted the attention of dorm staff and this incident was reported to others.

    "I was just practicing a new spell, and lost my control for a moment."

    Rio said to them, but seeing the condition of his room which was totally a mess with a cracked floor and walls, broken windows, furniture which was eroded and normal stuff which directly turned into cinders and flew in air - even a blind guy could tell it wasn''t a basic spell, but since the damage wasn''t that big and no one was hurt anyway, they couldn''t punish him.

    But he was still shouted at a little. As for his punishment, he was asked to pay for the repairs himself, and report to his therapy as soon as possible after his sses finish.

    "Well, let''s start with the introduction shall we? My name is Lucius Delirium. I''m a grade 2 professor at the Zenith academy, tasked with teaching everyone all about psychology and behavioral instincts. Other than that, I''m also responsible for the counseling of the students who need my help."

    "I don''t need your help, it was just a little mistake on my mana control due to my recent rank up."

    "Ahh that could be a reason. After all, I''ve heard you were only rank D during the entrance ceremony, yet just after a month and now you''re at rank C+, it''s a big leap so I''m sure it would be hard to control yourself right."

    "I was originally rank C, this isn''t a leap, it''s just me getting back to where I was."

    "That''s also true. Tell me, how do you feel about that? About your rank ups, are you happy?"

    "Who wouldn''t be?" Instead of answering, Rio questioned back.

    Lucius nodded his head, and said "So what do you n to do now that you have your old strength and rank back? I heard it was quite a bigmotion in that dungeon, and many of your friends left you back then to escape from the dungeon. What do you feel about them?"

    "It''s just a survival instinct of theirs. You teach that, don''t you?" Rio replied back, as he remembered other than counseling, Lucius also takes a special ss where he teaches students about the behavioral pattern and habits or nature of mortals and monsters alike.

    "So you aren''t angry at them?" Lucius asked.

    "Would you believe me if I said no." Rio replied, and watched as Lucius started to write something in his diary.

    "I heard you used mana in the canteen on your day one against another student. Miss Freya also said this was the second time you lost control over your mana and the blessings. This time you nearly destroyed a building where you live. You know your actions could have hurt many students living or practicing nearby."

    "Yet they didn''t. I had it under control."

    "The elven student whom you attackedst time, is still resting in his room. The mental strain on his mind is too big to be called under control." Lucius said, showing him a photo of Jaesin, who took a two day leave from the sses, despite being fully healed by the potions.

    "That''s just the side effect of that blessing. I can''t change it." Rio said, shrugging his shoulders.

    "Can you tell me a little about that blessing?" Lucius asked curiously.

    "Asking someone for their skills, techniques and blessings is not allowed in the therapy sessions. That''s the rule, so no. I can''t tell you." Rio replied, pointing towards the memo of rules lying on the table.

    Ignoring his answer, Lucius still continued "I''ve talked to Jaesin, and he said at that moment he felt hatred and pain in his mind. And he remembered everything about the painful things in his life. So I''d suppose it''s simr to some kind of mental attack skill."

    "..."

    Hearing his theories Rio kept silent, as there was no need for him to exin anything about his blessings to anyone. Especially one as important and powerful as Gaze of Hatred.

    Gaze of Hatred, a blessing given by the God Shani from Hindu Pantheon. Shani is known as the God of Karma and Justice. Tasked with maintaining bnce and giving out retribution.

    The blessing enables the user to channel their intense emotions, particrly their feelings of hatred and resentment, and project them directly onto another person through their gaze. When invoked, the target is engulfed by a relentless surge of hatred, forced to confront every hateful act they''vemitted and every moment of hatred they''ve ever experienced, all at once. It''s a deeply emotional and distressing experience.

    This blessing is the lowest level of Shani''s ultimate power, called ''Eyes of Karma''. Shani''s divine eyes can see through the past, present and future of anyone who meets his eyes, and their acts, thoughts and karmic consequences of their actions.

    Shani''s powers can give rewards and can also bring retribution. It can give blessings of luck, bringing people good fortune, and it can also curse people with bad luck often referred as Sadhesati, whichsts for years.

    Shani''s extraordinary powers makes him one of the most feared deities in the Hindu pantheon. Even other gods and celestial beings approach him with caution, as they understand the impartiality of his judgment.

    In the original novel, Shani''s blessing was introduced in the academy, as Valtor Shade, the rival of the protagonist, had this.

    But Rio received it three years ago, on a dungeon raid. He had to create an event simr to one Valtor had to go through in the novel. In which Valtor saved one of Shani''s innocent followers, and punished everyone else who were wrongly about to kill him. Rio mimicked all the details and even took it up a notch, by saving a whole bunch of Shani''s followers instead of just one guy. Same as written, Shani was happy with his act, and gave him the blessing.

    Obviously mastering this blessing is quite trickier, as he was needed to constantly use it, which could also put a strain on his own emotions - so he let it be for time being. It was only during that dungeon event and after his time being trapped there, that he could use this often.

    Since Valtor was Leon''s rival in all of the academy''s scenarios, obviously he had his own trump cards and skills which could challenge the protagonist. This blessing was one of them. Leon, who had just awakened recently, and was still sensitive about the humiliation he lived through for 6 years as a cripple, once affected by this blessing, would be forced to live through all those hateful scenes all over again.

    Obviously Apollo would try to help his chosen every time, but given Shani''s history with Sun Gods, the blessing of Shani would unlock it''s next level and be even more potent because of that, making Leon suffer even more. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Though this made Valtor seem like a viin in other people''s and readers'' eyes, but from his point of view using an attack that works best on your opponent is the right choice.

    Plus this blessing would always give Valtor a chance to fight Leon on equal terms, and sometimes even get an upper hand. �C So how can Rio, who knew the novel, let go of something so nice. So he decided to take it too.

    How would Leon feel when he would have to fight two people who had a blessing which was a bane for him.

 Chapter 207 Therapy - just what I need

    <h4>Chapter 207 Therapy - just what I need</h4>

    Shani, the God of karma and justice, was the son of Sun God Surya and goddess of shadows Chhaya. The blessing of hatred was a power he unlocked moments after his birth. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When he was born, instead of seeing celebration and receiving the love of his family, the infant godson came across the displeased expression of his father.

    Shani was born with a darkplexion which was stark opposite of Surya''s luminous radiance.

    Shani''s appearance raised doubts in Surya''s mind and he refused to ept that his son would be born with such dark features. He even doubted his wife''s character and used her of Infidelity.

    Young Shani, born with exceptional intelligence and awareness, keenly felt the rejection and humiliation directed at him and his mother. Overwhelmed by anger and hatred toward his father for the unjust usations and rejection, he red at Surya from his mother''s embrace. Awakening his first innate power born from hate - Gaze of Hatred.

    As Shani''s eyes met those of Surya, an unbelievable transformation urred. The once radiant sun, symbolizing warmth and light, was suddenly eclipsed by darkness. Surya''s golden brilliance faded, and the sun''s surface became as dark as Shani''s ownplexion. This was the first punishment God of karma had given out. And just this was enough to scare every other God, not to mess with Shani.

    Shani had always been impartial in his job, and even aftering to Arcadia, instead of following others into battle for supremacy and showing off, he stayed behind and adjusted himself to his old job. For him giving out punishments and rewarding people for good karma was important, which world he was in, didn''t matter.

    One could say, he was a very workaholic God.

    Gaze of hatred, a blessing, though seemingly powerful, which could affect the target''s mentality and give him severe pain, also had some drawbacks and limitations. The biggest one being, this blessing could only be used by channeling the emotions of the user as fuel. Thus using it often may affect the emotional state of the user itself.

    As they say, one can''t understand pain and suffering, if they don''t go through those feelings themselves. Same was the case with this blessing.

    To use the gaze of hatred, one must also feel an intense amount of hatred or resentment himself. The blessing simply heightens those emotions and projects them to the target, drowning them into the negativity.

    There''s also the fact that once invoked, controlling this blessing was hard, and it may also affect innocent individuals nearby, spreading fear and infamy among the popce. Thus leading the target to suffer the fate of being ostracized.

    Shani also suffered through this fate in both the myths and the original novel. Since due to the curse he received from his wife, he couldn''t even control his powers and anyone who met his gaze would be punished by bad karma, making him live alone even in the group of other gods.

    It was only after Valtor became too famous in the novel''s future, and helped Shani lift the curse that he could be free again.

    Seeing Rio lost in his thoughts, and not paying attention to him, Lucius furrowed his brow, but the smile on his face still didn''t disappear even for a second.

    "Look I understand that after what you''ve been through, it is hard for you to be okay. And that''s why we''re here. A talent like yours would be wasted if you can''t control yourself." Lucius showed genuine concern as he addressed Rio''s struggles.

    "Hmm"

    Seeing his worried expression, Rio just chuckled and didn''t say anything. It was almost funny how perfectly this guy could mimic the emotions of normal people.

    Yes, mimic. Lucius himself didn''t feel anything at all. Delirium heir was born apathetic. He didn''t feel any emotions and whatever little he did, he never showed them or cared for them. This whole therapy thing that he does, it''s just for his research, in trying to understand others, and pretend to be like them. It was all just an act he puts on, so he won''t feel left out.

    Even in the novel, until the moment he died, Lucius only managed to feel two emotions - attraction for professor Freya, and annoyance for Leon.

    "I see that you can still smile, which means you''re notpletely a lost cause. So we can work on your other emotions over time. But for that I''ll need your help. I can''t do anything, if you don''t say anything and just stay silent like this." Lucius said, trying to show that expressions that looked like he was just a concerned professor trying his best to help the student.

    Rio considered Lucius''s request, while trying to suppress the urge tough and praise him for his acting skills. Which obviously surpassed his own. "What do you want to know?" he finally asked.

    Seeing that he was finally willing to cooperate, Lucius decided to ask him about his past. The core of his trauma. "For starters, let''s start it with where it all started. Two years ago, you got trapped in a dungeon and had to go through a very traumatic experience to survive alone. Why don''t you tell me about that. What you did? What you felt? What you promised yourself to do if you came out?

    There are so many questions, feel free to answer whichever you like."

    Rio closed his eyes. He could still remember everything that happened back then as clear as day. He could even hear the voices and whispers of everyone else as they ran leaving him behind.

    ''Hold on, I''ll get help.''

    ''Run faster damn it''

    ''What a monster. It''s good that you got too arrogant this time.''

    ''Your death would be my way to power. I''ll defeat everyone and win my way back.''

    ''Just die, and apany my brother in the halls of hell.''

    ''Forgive me. It was the only option.''

    Rio opened his eyes, as he tried to calm his emotions. After suffering the major blows to himself and his ns again and again, his control over his emotions was getting better and better. Though his anger was rising each time, but he could still control himself.

    "Are you going to answer?" Lucius asked again as he noticed the subtle change in Rio''s aura.

    "I''ll answer. In the time I was in the dungeon" Rio began "I''d basically hunt or hide. Hunt monsters I could kill, hide from those whom I couldn''t. It was just me trying to survive."

    "As for feelings I felt at that time, anger would be the one emotion thates to mind. Disappointment too. But there''s nothing I can do about that." Rio admitted and Lucius nodded his head, without probing any further for details.

    "Thinking about what I''d do once Ie out huh" Rio said and thought for a second, and then he nodded his head with a smile and continued "I n to collect some debts."

    Lucius stopped writing his notes and looked at Rio. He wanted to ask about the debt he mentioned as he felt a little wrong about those words, but he had a feeling Rio won''t answer. Yet he still asked, hoping to at least see his facial reaction this time. "What kind of debt?"

    "That would be personal, so I''d keep it silent for now." Rio said with a cruel smile stered across his face.

    "I heard you haven''t met any of your old friends or ssmates yet. Is there a reason you''re alienating them? What do you feel about them?" Lucius asked, changing the topic.

    "You know, you''re just like him." Rio said instead of answering his question. He started to smile to hide the feeling of anger that started to rise inside him, when he started to see simrities between this guy and the one he met on earth for therapy.

    "Like who?" Lucius asked, tilting his head in confusion.

    "William Harper. Someone I read about in a book." Rio said as he tapped his hand on the table and looked at Lucius "Are you curious about what''s simr between you two?"

    "I''m curious about that, yes." Lucius said honestly.

    Rio smiled and answered "He didn''t know anything about how to help anyone. So he''d just keep asking useless questions to his customers,trying out different things and scenarios until someone realized their own mistake or found an answer."

    His words confused Lucius and made him furrowed his brows in anger. "I''m just trying to help." He said again.

    "But you don''t really know how, do you? After all, you don''t understand what it feels like." Rio said with a meaningful expression and knowing look on his face.

    Seeing the confident look and that expression that just screamed ''I know what you''re hiding'' - Lucius felt weird for a moment. He thought someone finally figured out about his illness, that his act he put on failed in front of this boy.

    ''Does he know that I can''t feel any emotions?'' Lucius couldn''t help but think that.

    Ignoring the confused look on Lucius''s face, Rio smiled and stood up to leave. "Well, I''ll tell you about that guy next time. It''s time for my ss. See you tomorrow professor."

    ''This is gonna take a while.'' Lucius thought, as he looked at Rio''s leaving back and nced at his notes, he couldn''t help but jot down one final observation: "He''s different. More session and supervision required for further progresa."

 Chapter 208 Mystique Weapons & The Sword Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 208 Mystique Weapons &amp; The Sword Spirit</h4>

    "Just choose a partner and spar between yourself. I want to see you fighting until your opponent''s down on the ground or your stamina falls down by more than half. Take this spar seriously, and don''t just y around like it''s a game." Thaddeus said, as he sat upon the chair ced in the middle. "You can decide upon the method of your spar and rules. Just don''t stop until I say so." He finished his words and closed his eyes, ignoring everyone.

    Currently only 8 students who managed to pass his test at that time were standing there. The rest of the ss was practicing on the side with assistant professors in charge of them.

    Rio, who just came out of his therapy sessions nced at Amelia, who just dragged Reba and went to a corner.

    ''Who wants to get beaten for no point?'' She thought as she gave him a final look.

    [How about you fight with the protagonist. Let''s see which skills Apollo chose to teach him, and which he saved forter, just so he can rank him up higher.] System said enthusiastically. It even felt if it should issue a quest at this time, with some little reward.

    (Well let''s just do it.)

    [Quest issued]

    [- Defeat Leon in a fight and break his pride.

    Quest Reward - 10000 points.]

    Rio who looked at the system''s lousy quest and even more lousy reward, directly refused it without saying anything and closed the panel.

    ''This stupid AI. I hope next upgrade will give you some brain to think.''

    [But.. ]

    When system started to speak in its defense, Rio just muted it, and told it to go and sleep. This was going to be his first quest, doesn''t the system know that the first quest should always start with a nice reward or some unique gift.

    ''10000 points. I already got enough points and don''t know where to spend them.''

    What is it if it''s not stupid. He was also looking forward to his first quest. And look at this disappointment.

    Rio sighed and started to move towards Valtor, there was no need for him to fight Leon this early for useless show off.

    He was a nice viin, who wanted the hero to live his days of glory for a while. Leon is getting praise andments from everyone, so let him be and enjoy all this.

    After all, the higher he flies now, the deeper the wound would be when he chops his wingster and makes him fall down.

    ''Enjoy your first few months. We''ll fight in the first sem exams, where I get to crush you in front of the whole academy.''

    "I need my rank 1 room back after all." Rio muttered and kept walking.

    But stopped when a girl appeared in his way and stood in between.

    "Do you want to spar?" Katherine said, with her usual dead body types cold expression.

    Rio looked at her face for some time, trying to see if he could remember anything about her, yet got nothing, but the mild warnings of a headache. So he let it be.

    "Sure." Rio said, as he just decided to train with her instead. Maybe it was because he saw Valtor and Leon talking to each other. Or maybe because he remembered that he had already promised her this yesterday.

    There was also a chance that he''d unlock her gift if he got into contact with her. Just because it hasn''t been issued yet, didn''t mean it won''t be. There was only one gift left now, and Rio had a feeling ot was Katherine''s memory crystal. He just didn''t know what were the conditions to unlock it.

    Because while Saisha''s gift was issued by system the moment he saw her, Amelia''s gift was given muchter. So Katherine''s conditions could be simr or somewhst different, he wasn''t sure.

    "Let''s go over there." Rio said while pointing towards an empty corner. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The use of spells and blessings wasn''t allowed, as the professor only wanted to see our physical strength and techniques we learned beforeing to academy.

    Rio watched as he saw Katherine move towards the table where several wooden swords and other wooden weapons were ced. She picked up a sword and came to a side. Rip looked at several weapons, thinking about which one to choose. In the end he looked at Katherine and after thinking something, picked up a long staff. And came to face her.

    Katherine squinted her eyes seeing him pick a staff. Everyone knew he weilded a sword, as his achievements were widely spread in Arcadia.

    The one who created his own sword art at the age of 15. Or the one who mastered the sword technique made by the Sword Saint. Or the one who had the epiphany after looking at the 13th Spirit''s Strike.

    These were all feats that basically everyone in the academy and Schi knew. Even in the academy his name was written in the history pirs, since he had an epiphany after seeing the Sword strike Marks left by the previous weilders of Mystique sword.

    [[[[[Mystique Weapons - Special weapons whose origin still remain unknown even after a 1000 years. These weapons have their own will, and no one could weild them without getting the approval of the weapon spirit. In entire Arcadia, there are around 36 Mystique weapons, which had been found until now. And only 21 of them had recognized their owner. Rest of the 15 weapons had been lying dormant waiting for their destined master.

    These weapons appeared after the first tower filled with monsters appeared. These were all weapons thrown in the world and had been scattered throughout the. Every 25 years the weapons which still haven''t recognized their owner yet, would release an attack of their previous weilder, leaving the mark of their presence behind on the world. This is like a call from the weapon spirits to their master, and a chance to see if anyone worthy has been born in the new generation.

    No one who isn''t worthy can touch or weild these weapon, and would be killed by the weapon spirit if they forcefully tried to bind them. This is why the remaining 15 weapons had been open for the whole world to see, yet no one worthy for them had been found.

    Everyone in Arcadia tries to go and try their luck, but until now only 21 of such weapons had found their owners yet.

    If an owner of the Mystique Weapon dies, it''s weapon spirit would then remain ownerless for the next 25 years, and then start to look for a new owner like the previous progress, or choose to go dormant. These weapons can''t be passed down through generations or given away or sold. Unless of course the weapon spirit found someone worthy enough, and chose to follow him after your death.

    Duke Agnus ke had been chosen by the Mystique Sword called Shade. That''s why he was given the title of ''Owner of Shadi and ''Sword Saint''.

    And Rio, his son had gained an epiphany after seeing the mark left behind by the 13th Mystique Weapon, which was another sword spirit.

    This meant that after Rio reached Limit Rank, he''d have a chance to take part in the trial set by the weapon spirit, and could be it''s new owner if he cleared it.

    �� The weapon spirits would first choose the qualifications of the person, and if he''s been recognized, then he would have a chance to enter the trial and challenge it. One needs to be atleast a limit rank awakener to challenge the trials set by the Mystique weapons. ]]]]]

    A thought that Rio was looking down at her or wasn''t taking her seriously came to Katherine''s mind, but she just ignored it as it didn''t matter to her. She just needed to learn what shecked, and that''s all.

    "Let''s start." She said, as she prepared her stance, and prepared to attack him.

    Yet when she swung her sword at him, he just pointed his finger at her. Before his finger touched the sword, Katherine saw thin lines started to appear on the sword, and when Rio slightly ticked on the sword''s tip, the entire sword got cut in several pieces, which started to slid down & fell to the ground.

    ".... "

    Katherine just stared at her hand which only held the broken wooden hilt with confused eyes, and when she looked up, she saw a staff pointing at her neck - "Game Over"

    Amelia who was fighting with Reba nearby ced at her brother and smiled, while Reba just clicked her tongue and muttered - "Show off."

 Chapter 209 Another Spar

    <h4>Chapter 209 Another Spar</h4>

    "Professor said to take this seriously." Rio said, as he withdrew his staff.

    Katherine closed his eyes, throwing all thoughts aside and took two steps back. She went and picked another sword and prepared to fight seriously this time. She coated her sword in aura, making it more sturdy, so that his tricks don''t cut it easily likest time.

    Instead of saying anything they both charged at each other, swinging their weapons at each other.

    While fighting with Katherine, Rio Kept his focus on the other battles too. Currently Amelia and Reba were against each other. Leon was fighting with Valtor, while Amaya was fighting with ric.

    From the corner of his eyes, he kept looking at all the techniques and skills all of them used. He wanted topare their progress with what was written in the novel. For now he only knew little about Leon, Reba and Amelia.

    He hadn''t even met with ric and Valtor even once yet.

    This academy was the first time ric appeared openly, because he would always be hunted and attacked whenever he was found outside.

    Being the hybrid of vampire and werewolf bloodline, his existence alone was a taboo to both races. He was an unimed prized trophy that could salivate any random vampire and werewolf walking around.

    How this guy survived all this time without any backing, Rio could only me it on the plot armor and novel''s setting.

    Valtor was simply a training maniac since his childhood. So Rio didn''t especially look for him himself.

    Amaya on the other hand, though Rio had seen her multiple times at social events or at royal banquets, he never took the initiative to be friends with her too. Because of her descriptions in the novel, which never stopped praising her for the genius brain she possessed.

    ording to the descriptions in the novel, if Rio had to list out the smartest characters from beginning to the end, Amaya Stormswill would obviously be ranked in the top 10.

    Don''t think top 10 is lousy, and she''s nothing much. One should know there were several hundreds of named characters in the novel, many viins, heroines and viinesses. And the time she appeared was still only till the middle stages of the novel story.

    After that, she was killed by Amelia''s hands. Yet her ranking is still there. Which should be enough to say about her.

    Rio didn''t want to appear in front of her, and give her some clues or doubts, plus he didn''t like the vibe she gives off. So he avoided her till now.

    Amelia and Reba, well he knew about them pretty well, but he still wasn''t sure how much the past two years had changed both of them. Like now Amelia''s rtionship with Goddess Gauri isn''t good, and she doesn''t like her or respect her, as much as she did in the novel. Reba too, she doesn''t stick around with Alfred much, and she doesn''t avoid Bernhardt now. Same was the case with their fighting abilities and skills, both of them are stronger then they were in the novel. With new Trump cards and new skills to back them up.

    Seeing that Rio wasn''t even paying attention to her, Katherine started swinging her sword in even more fervor, yet every time she thought she found an opening and could hit him, he would just dodge it or use that weird trick where her sword would get stuck in ce, giving him enough time to move out of the attack''s range.

    Katherine red his mana, turning the area around her frosty. Feeling the sudden decrease in temperature, Rio nced at Katherine and saw she was creating daggers made of ice.

    "Take this seriously." She said, as she started to send them hurling towards his direction.

    Since the professor didn''t set any rules and they didn''t discuss it before starting the spar, anything and everything was free to use.

    Seeing the daggers that came towards him, Rio just dodged and moved out of the way. The ones he couldn''t avoid, he just used the threads to change their direction a little, to set them off course.

    "Don''t use mana. Let''s fight using aura." Rio said and stopped using his blessings. Dispersing the invisible threads he created all around him, Rio felt a surge of mana back into his body. It felt refreshing.

    Katherine didn''t say anything in response, and canceled her spell too. She coated her sword with aura, giving it a little silvery glow, before swinging at his neck.

    They fought for a moment but the results were still obvious. Rio, who had reached the level of aura manifestation, had created his own shadow made of aura who went forward to fight in his ce while he assisted from behind. Katherine was only at the level of aura formation, and could only use the aura to coat the weapons and give her some physical boost, facing the aura manifestation which seemed to swallow all her attacks, chipping away at her aura each time they shed, she gave up on this useless battle too.

    In the Aura Manifestation stage one can move their aura to manifest it into a form or an avatar of their choice and personality. Just like awakening an element it depends on luck and is random. For most it is in their own form or in the form of animals.

    For Rio his aura form was simply the manifestation of his shadow.

    With his high control over darkness, shadows became a thing he could y around with easily. After making a form of aura with the shadow, he used a secret method created by a viin in theter stages of the novel, to bind a blessing to the non-living avatar. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    For this he chose the skill of one of the seven sins, Beelzebub''s Devour. He had received this blessing after he managed to attract the attention of Den of Devils and entered the towers of hell for the first time 2 years ago.

    As the name suggests, with this blessing he could Devour anything and everything. This blessing was also the reason he could survive in the dungeon when he was first trapped there.

    Due to the less amounts of edible food he could find in that failed world, he would''ve been dead from various reasons, had it not been for this blessing.

    So when he started to lose his mana fighting zombies, and knew he wouldn''t be able to hold on for long using his aura or pure physical strength, in desperation he chose to use this method to create a clone, and managed to recreate it after failing for a dozen times over several months.

    After creating an aura avatar with the blessing of Devour attached to it, the clone did half his job and fought in his ce. The aura avatar could devour anything it ate and turn it into aura and make the avatar stronger. And when Rio canceled his aura and dispersed the manifestation, he could get back part of the remaining aura energy from the clone. Filling up his aura reserves again, and sometimes even boosting his strength.

    This method was a bad move, and Rio didn''t want to do it, as he had other ns for the skill of gluttony. But he had no choice.

    He originally wanted to get the blessings from all the seven sins and merge them to create something new and powerful..

    Yet after binding the skill with his aura avatar using the secret method, he lost the blessing himself. This was the price he had to pay for in return.

    So even if his aura manifestation was much stronger than everybody else, to Rio he suffered a huge loss in this regard. As in his eyes, he got a mid stupid clone instead of getting a godly skill.

    Obviously he only felt regret till a few days ago, after the system came online and he saw the skills name in the shop function, Rio just bought the skill again from the system. Though his previous mastery was all gone and he would have to start from scratch again, but this was already enough for him.

    After seeing that beating Rio using aura was no use, Katherine threw away her sword and decided to use pure physical strength. There was no thinking that a girl is physically weaker than boys, because everything changed after awakening and physical strength too got enhanced with each rank up and level.

    Though seeing Rio''s mastery over aura, it was also clear that she''ll lose this way too, but she still wanted to try and see the difference between them.

    With that she moved towards Rio with her fists clenched tightly and making a boxing type stance. Rio smiled and threw his staff away too.

    They circled each other, fists raised and bodies poised for action. Katherine lunged first, her punches quick and precise. But Rio''s reflexes were unparalleled. He dodged her strikes effortlessly, responding with a series of light ps that seemed to not hurt but were more humiliating.

    Katherine moved again,unching a swift jab toward Rio''s face. He deftly ducked, her fist grazing the air above him. With a fluid motion, Rio retaliated, delivering a lightning-fast kick to Katherine''s side.

    Katherine grunted in pain but didn''t back down. She responded with a series of punches and kicks, aiming for Rio''s stomach. He skillfully blocked and evaded her attacks, his movements fluid and controlled leaving no opening for her to attack.

    Their movements were a blur of speed and agility. Katherine''s determination was evident, as she even began to use her aura unknowingly to boost her speed, but the difference between them was too big. Katherine was only at D rank while Rio was at C+ , four minor ranks higher than her.

    With a spinning kick, he swept Katherine off her feet, sending her crashing to the ground. She grunted in defeat as the air rushed out of her lungs.

    "It''s over." Rio said, looking at the time. He stood over her, extending a hand to help her up. "You were good," he acknowledged.

    Her forehead filled with sweat, adding a touch of beauty to her smooth skin, almost making it shine in the sunlight, yet Rio stood there with his hand stretched, not looking at her.

    Katherine epted his hand, "But not enough to hit you even once," she admitted, a mix of frustration and respect in her eyes.

    She knew her strength well, that''s why she knew how strong the boy in front of her would have to be for him to handle her so easily.

    Rio looked around and saw that the other spars had ended some time ago and currently all the other 6 students were looking at him with different expressions. Some with awe and admiration, some confused and curious, and some hungry.

    Huh hungry

    Rio looked at Amelia and saw him looking at him with eyes that seemed angry yet her expression pitiful.

    "Looks like my points are going to be wasted again." He thought, already knowing that he gotta pay for dinner again.

 Chapter 210 Potions and Angel

    <h4>Chapter 210 Potions and Angel</h4>

    "Did you have to y around that much?" Amelia said, as they all walked towards the canteen. Who made her hungry after wasting her energy for all this time.

    "I didn''t though. The professor said not to stop right. Plus she wasn''t bad." Rio said, trying to shirk himself of this me.

    "He''s right. We all saw it, she was good at it. Her ranking''s not a lie." A said.

    By the time when their spar ended, the training for other students had ended too. So some of those who still had some little energy left, came to the side of toppers to see their ''training''.

    Obviously the other students still need to go through their one hour of special training treatment once the next ss is over. But Now they were free too.

    "What good, he''s always happy to beat us ck and blue in minutes, instead of ying around for hours." Amelia said while ring at Rio. Then she turned to look at her best friend and her eyes turned soft, just like a little rabbit. Her eyes showed worry as she ced her hand on Reba''s shoulder and said "I''m telling you Ba this guy is just cruel to us two, and calm to every other girl. And you still want to marry him."

    Hearing her words, Reba almost choked on her food, as she coughed and drank the ss of water in a hurry. After calming down, she red at Amelia with fierce eyes, with a face that was getting red in a blush every moment.

    Her angry expression only made Amelia smile, as she just wiped her mouth, patted her hands and stood up to leave, before Ba could attack her or say something in return.

    Reba nced at Rio, who was ignoring both of them and was only focusing on his food.

    One day Reba just casually asked Amelia about Rio, about what he likes or doesn''t, or what he does and doesn''t when he''s at home. During the topic Reba also mentioned that her mother still wanted to continue the talks of their marriage once they finished their studies at academy.

    Though at that time Amelia told everything to her friend and seriously tried to help her. But from the next day, all that just became a joke for Amelia to tease Reba with.

    ''There was a saying about secret''s and a woman''s stomach in my previous life, that''s really what happened here too.''

    Rio thought, as he swiped his watch to pay for the bill and leave.

    ��----

    In the evening,

    "Where''d you get all these?" A asked in a loud tone, as she nced at the bunch of pill recipes, Rio handed her over.

    She just read the recipes for the first two pills, and she was surprised, where he got them. After all, the pill she saw is said to give agility boost to anyone after drinking it. And the next one was to increase one''s strength for some time after drinking it.

    Obviously their effects weren''t much high, and didn''tst long. And it was also written that they were only effective for awakeners under limit rank. But what was surprising, was that they didn''t had any side effects after the pill''s effective duration was over.

    There are many such pills in the market, but they alle with some kinds of side effects. Some would harm your muscles, or simte your blood and mana too much, resulting in some hidden injuries or some were even addictive and people couldn''t drink them too often. But this pill didn''t have none of those effects. Once the effects were over, you could use the next one once your body stabilizes and it wouldn''t leave any scuffle behind. And the most important thing, was that all the ingredients this recipe mentioned were just some normal herbs, that could be found easily.

    "I got them from the dungeonst time, and after tranting some singr books. You can try to understand them for now. I''ll ask Esme to deliver all the necessary ingredientster." Rio informed her as he walked along.

    These recipes weren''t from the plot or from some singr books, these were all some cheap products of the system shop. It cost him around 10000 points for the original recipe, and another 15000 points for perfecting it and recing the original ingredients with those which could be found in Arcadia and were inrge quantities.

    When he first saw the price of 10000,he happily bought all kinds of potion recipes. But after he read them himself for fun, he learned that some of the herbs mentioned in the process, were something he never even heard the names of. And after discussing it with system, the useless AI just showed him the panel of medicinal herbs and the price he''d have to pay to buy them.

    Meaning every time he needed to create those potions, he''d need to buy ingredients himself using his points or look for something with simr effects himself. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    So after ming the system for cheating and fighting with it for awhile, system reluctantly agreed to change the recipes it''s host bought to make their ingredients suitable for Arcadia.

    (Obviously Rio was looking for the item section of other worlds and there was a tag in the shop too. But how could he agree to his own mistake. So he just med the system for cheating him.)

    These were potions Rio nned to produce inrge quantities and sell them to general public, through hispany. Since these potions only worked on mortal rank awakeners, which obviously are the most numbers of awakeners - the business and profit he could get from them could help him a lot. Not to mention the reach and reputation boost he could get through hispany.

    Ohh didn''t tell you did I, there''s a newpany in the industry of potion business called ''Angel'', which is registered under the name of Rio ke.

    After the ke family first released the potion of Pura Corpus 8 years ago, their potion had taken the world by storm, and the potion''s sess and effects made thepany the sole ruler of the entire market.

    After all, no matter how many awakeners there are in Arcadia, the number of unawakened people present, is still the highest and increasing everyday. This is why a potion which could help someone in cleansing the impurities and sensing the mana before awakening, became way too famous way too easily.

    After that potion''s news calmed down in a year and two by a little, the samepany announced another potion called ''Potion of Celestial Cleansing''. A potion used in medicinal baths, which could help someone in improving the harmony of their five senses and also in awakening aura.

    First a potion for helping people awaken mana, and then a potion for helping people awaken aura - both of these were huge sesses and brought tremendous profits for the ke family. Making its name and reputation known throughout Arcadia.

    Then on Rio''s 13th birthday, Artemis changed thepany''s ownership, and registered him as the new owner. Obviously it was just in name, as he was just a kid then, and he didn''t need to do anything or manage it himself.

    Artemis managed thepany''s affairs and did everything to make it sit on top of the whole industry.

    A year before Rio joined the academy, meaning when he was 14, he decided to change thepany''s name, and make it a brand separate from the logo of a noble or rich family''s business.

    The image of ke family which provided those godly potions to public, even almost free to the people of Damascus, was way too high and positive, and going with that momentum Rio changed thepany''s name to ANGEL, which everyone epted while singing praise and praise.

    ###

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 Chapter 211 The Devil Who Is Now An Angel

    Angel became a trademark in the potion industry easily, due to all the potions it released. All of them were high grade potions which showed miraculous effects on everyone. No matter their race or origin.

    With the growing reputation of thepany, Rio, who was the sole owner of it, also became famous.

    When he joined the academy and the world learned of his academic achievements and talent, they were all spread to every corner too.

    It didn''t take long for the term ''Angel'' which was just symbolic to a potion businesspany, to be attached with his own image.

    The Devil who was destined to die, became known as their Angel.

    That is what Rio wanted.

    How dangerous the effect of the public belief, and normal image in the eyes ofmoners could be, Rio knew all too well.

    After all, he had seen all too many celebrities and famous people getting their lives ruined due to bad publicity and anger frommon people on earth. Getting canceled or boycotted - that was the trend and fear of the modern world.

    Even forgetting about the earth, he knew the effect some wrong rumors or stupid prophecies could cause in Arcadia.

    Wasn''t the original Rio doomed due to him beingbeled as the mass murderer and incarnation of Devil.

    Wasn''t the rich and powerful ke family cornered and surrounded by everyone due to the image of criminals they received.

    Rio had no intention of repeating that cycle. He killed Noah to avoid all that fate, and thispany and the name, was his second route.

    He wanted to make his and his family''s image so good and positive on the surface, that no one would dare believe any other stupid rumors.

    If any day, due to some stupid fate or novel''s setting, the plot of some other Noah popping up and dering a prophecy happened, he wouldn''t even need to worry about fighting them, as he''d have his own support group to surround them and boycott them.

    Fighting public opinion with public opinion.

    He didn''t have the habit of a hero who liked being called a savior, but still the title of Angel sounded much better than the Devil.

    Even the system approved of his idea and gave him 50000 points for that change in image and title after it came online.

    Since Rio himself didn''t know anything about business management or had any other talent for negotiations or marketing, he could do nothing about his business and give it to other people.

    After all, he was toozy back on earth and learned nothing. Hell he preferred online shopping, so he wouldn''t have to go through several shops and bargain like idiots. If he didn''t like it, he''d just return it after enjoying the 7 day refund period. For stuff he couldn''t find online, he''d pay whatever price the shopkeeper asked many times, cause he didn''t like the hassle of it. Saving 50 rupees after arguing for 15 minutes was simply a waste of time and energy in his eyes.

    Mostly it was because he didn''t have family or anyone else who depended on him for money, so he just spended whatever he earned on whatever he wanted. If he lost all his money, he''d just go to Nashi''s clubs to fight, or help Ali with his games and Aarvi.

    So Shiva was basically just a newb at everything business rted.

    That''s why Rio did what every other transmigrated or reincarnated viin does. Find the loyal supporters of his own viin camp, and idiot supporters and vases of the protagonist - and have them both work for him.

    Since the world of Arcadia was the type to follow thew of strength, every side heroine and important character who wasn''t a good fighter or helper to Leon, was just a vase in the author''s eyes. Which were introduced for a couple of chapters and then forgotten forever.

    So Rio just used his family''s connection and novel''s knowledge, to find all these vases and give them a job.

    Those from the viin camp were suppressed, fooled or forced and then given a candy named profit. Those from the protagonist camp were happy to join thepany which was righteous and working to profit the world and all that bullshit.

    So many capable characters working under one roof. When all these people worked together to improve the image of theirpany, how hard could it be?

    That''s why even after Rio''s supposed death in the dungeon, Artemis didn''t shut down thepany or transfer it back to their family name. She handled it from the backseats just like before in Rio''s name.

    She believed he was alive and he''de back one day. So there was no need for her to take back a gift she had already given out.

    In the two years he was gone, theirpany didn''t release any new products at the beginning. As all the previous things were given out and improved after Rio''s approval.

    Many people believed Artemis would shut off thepany or they wouldn''t get any more new products.

    It was only after A mastered the potions and recipes Rio had given her before as a gift, that Angel started working again.

    Artemis knew about A and trusted her. She also knew about the recipes Rio had given her as a gift, so when A learned everything, she agreed to mass produce those potions and release them publicly.

    ��

    "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

    A and Rio were talking and walking towards the form, when they stopped as they heard a voice from behind. ncing around Rio noticed Katherine standing there with that same high strung cold expression.

    Rio frowned upon seeing that look.

    It wasn''t because he didn''t like her, or that he cared enough about her to make her smile, or warm her up and win her heart - any of that usual cliche novel bullshit didn''t evene to his mind.

    He just didn''t like that expression. Like why''re you always looking exactly like that. Doesn''t your face hurt always being so broody and groody, like fucking Sasuke from that anime Naruto.

    "I just have a small request." Seeing him silent, Katherine continued without any change in expression.

    ''What the hell? You''re requesting something. Asking for help, and you''re showing me THAT expression.''

    Why''re you ring at me? Do I owe you money? Or did I kill your family?

    [Well technically you did kill someone from her family.]

    ''Fuck off, system''

    Rio said, shutting up this system, who just likes to watch drama andments all day.

    [She''s just sad and lonely - that was her character setting even in the novel. And now with the death of Noah, it''s obviously gotten worse.]

    ''You know what Noah had in store for his sister''s future. It''s good that he''s dead. Atleast she won''t have to sell herself to the protagonist, or let Noah push her on a tter to protagonist.'' Rio said remembering about all the events which Noah knew but let it happen so Katherine can get close to Leon and he can survive when the Devil really destroys the world.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [She doesn''t know that. She just lost herst family member who was innocent in her eyes. With the members of Winston family she grew up with, it''s no wonder she''s like that.]

    ''Whatever the reason is, It''s like talking to a robot.'' Rio said to the system, after waving goodbye to A. And started walking towards Katherine.

    ''I don''t like that cold look.'' Rio thought, as he looked at Katherine up close. And it annoyed him even more. He didn''t know why, but he just didn''t like that look on her face.

    Maybe it was because he read too many cold beauty president type novels and was already way over this trope. And was getting disgusted by it.

    Or maybe it was because��

    [Because you''ve heard about her personality through my voice, and in that, she always looked cheerful and happy.]

    "Or that." Rio said, as he heard the system''s reply. Even though he didn''t remember anything about Katherine or Kajal from his earth  life, he had heard from the system about who she was and how she behaved.

    Thinking one of his best friend was being a bitch now - maybe that''s what was annoying him.

    (Yupp, totally not a subconscious action, that just wants to give her a little happiness this time.) System thought as it read Rio''s thoughts and shook its head.

    [Why don''t you befriend her? Teach her about love and friendship.]

    ''Urghh'' Rio made a disgusted expression hearing that cliche tone. ''I have no interest in getting her on my side. If anything, I wouldn''t mind dropping her dead if she turns out to be like Lisa.''

    [...]

    ####

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 Chapter 212 Shura Field

    <h4>Chapter 212 Shura Field</h4>

    "So what do you want?" Rio said, as he shrugged off his thoughts for the time being. Katherine''s character setting was like this, even in the novel, so he couldn''t change it now, just cause he didn''t like the look she gave him.

    Even Leon had a hard time going through her defenses and melting that iceberg heart, let alone him, who just met her twice till now.

    "I want to train." Katherine said resolutely.

    "Okay, that''s good." Rio said confused about what it had to with him. If you wanna go train then go train. What ya doing here, wasting his time.

    "No, I mean I want to train with you. After the spar I know your fighting abilities are way better than mine, so can you help me." Katherine tried to exin herself seeing that he misunderstood before.

    Rio thought for a second after hearing her request, but then he shook his head and replied "I''m sorry, but I can''t help you."

    "Transformation magic is still okay, and I can teach you that. But I usually like to train alone, I prefer it that way." Rio finished his words.

    Katherine, who already expected this answer, didn''t try to persuade him much and nodded her head, though feeling a little disappointed.

    "It''s okay. Thank you for the time." Katherine said, and decided to leave.

    Looking at her leaving back, with half bent shoulders, Rio thought for a moment and then shouted behind her, just loud enough so she could hear him "I can''t train you, but I can give you some pointers if you want."

    Katherine turned around and even though her face still had that dumb cold expression, her ck eyes were shining a bit. Clearly happy with what she heard. "Sure."

    "Your attacks are good. Deadly, decisive and cruel. But theyck the most important thing - they aren''t creative. You follow rules and techniques to a T, and I could read them like an open book. I wouldn''t even need to look at you, to see what your next move would be. It''s too easy, too predictable. So try being a little creative in your attacks." Rio finished his advice, pointing out the fault he noticed.

    Maybe it was because of him daily beating up zombies of different kinds in that dungeon. They always followed same kind of attack patterns. It''s always swing, sh, grab and bite - he had seen all those patterns too much by too many of them, and after battling them for so long his observation while fighting was much higherpared to others his age.

    Same was the case for Katherine''s fighting style. She followed techniques and battle patterns passed down to her by a T, every sword move or spell use she does - it always followed the rules written in books or taught in theory sses. It looks good and pleasing to the eyes from the outside, but in a real battle, against someone who has experience, this kind of shitshow is just a ticket to hell, waiting to be punched out.

    Katherine, who was happy at first hearing he''d help, but after hearing his suggestion she furrowed her brows and started thinking back on her moves.

    "You can add feints, learn other techniques that gives you more freedom in your attacks, or better, create a fighting style for yourself which suits you." Rio finished his words in a nonchnt way.

    Katherine feeling a little annoyed with herself, said "Not everyone''s a genius who can create their own sword styles easily." She pointed out about how Rio who made his own sword style suitable for him when he first joined the academy. "Creating a new technique takes time and practice, and years of experience and understanding."

    Rio smiled and started exining "Then don''t. Who said I created something new? I just added, removed, upgraded and perfected the things that I liked and suited me. They weren''t from a single technique, it was all chosen from several techniques. Whatever w I found in myself, I just learned a new art whichplimented that part, and then when I understood that point, I just merged that into my own style and created something new."

    "How much time did that take? No, wait, how many techniques did you had to master to create your own art?" Katherine asked, a little surprised by what he said.

    "4 years and 6 separate techniques." Rio said shaking his head. Like he was disappointed in himself with that result.

    And it was true too. He didn''t do anything extraordinary or unique. He just did what the Rio in novel did too. He already had an understanding of what he wanted and what suited his body the most. So the groundwork for him was already there, he just needed to follow the pattern himself.

    Yet since the original Rio in the novel, learned and created his own technique, because of the threat on his life due to constant attacks from the followers of Cassandra, and assassins from other Noble and Elite families, who wanted ke family to suffer a loss �C he on the other hand, just tried to learn and recreate that technique at thefort of his home, so he wouldn''t have to go through all that pain and progress.

    Though the threat of followers from Cassandra''s church was dealt with the death of Noah, but there was no way to be sure that other families who were plotting against ke family wouldn''te after him, the future heir and Nyx''s follower.

    It was better to be safe than sorry.

    While Rio was busy in his stupid monologue (cause the author had to exin some shit) Katherine was surprised hearing his words and started thinking in her head.

    The fact that Rio created his own technique was known during the first year tournament of the academy two years ago. He was only 16 years old at that time. So the 4 years it took to create that technique, doesn''t that mean he started learning and making his own fighting style when he was still around 10 or 11 years old.

    -hiss- Katherine took a breath of cold air as she tried to suppress the shock.

    ''He really is a monster.'' She thought.

    She didn''t think he was lying to her, or just trying to show off, because there was no need for him to do that in her eyes.

    What did he like me and was trying to impress me -e on, he''s someone who''s supposed to be engaged with the princess. Isn''t she more pretty and talented than herself.

    "Thanks for the advice, I''ll see what I can do." Katherine said, hoping to end this conversation, lest this guy says something else and she loses her confidence afterparing herself with him.

    "You should also learn to use your element and aura better. Ice can be a very good offense and defense. And aura can help you, if you''re stuck in a situation where you can''t use mana." Rio said again in a hurry, before she left, as he remembered the big event at the first semester exams, and the chance of Katherine almost getting killed.

    "I''ll remember that." Katherine said and nodded her head. "Thanks for the help."

    After saying goodbye to Rio, Katherine turned around and started moving towards her dorms. Rio kept looking at her leaving back and kept thinking about the plot and her role in it. While clearing the details for the exchange he will propose to her. After all, his help isn''t for free just cause she''s a heroine.

    [Stop staring at her ass.]

    -cough cough- Rio who had just started walking, almost stumbled and fell down, when he heard this bastard system''s snarky remark. He was so angry that he directly muted the system, instead of replying or exining himself.

    ''This robotic bitch can read my mind, and yet it still makes jokes like that.'' You deserve to be muted you dumb AI.

    Rio cursed the system and turned back to walk towards his room, when he bumped into someone on the very first step. He subconsciously moved his hand and held the shoulders of the one he collided with, to stabilize himself.

    Once that was done, and he looked up towards that someone''s face, and he instantly got surprised. He removed his hands from her shoulders and backed a step away from her.

    Saisha was standing there with hands crossing over her chest, with a serious expression. She looked at his flustered face, like he didn''t expect to see her here, and the way he backed away, like he just wanted to avoid her like a gue.

    "I''m sorry. It was my bad." Rio said and turned to leave. Only until he heard Saisha''s voice behind him

    "Stop" Saisha said, as she looked at his face, that just oozed that eerily familiar feeling that she couldn''t remember from anywhere. She wanted to ask him about that, but after seeing him chatting with that other girl for so long, she forgot about that and unconsciously spoke up "What were you talking with that girl?"

    "...." Rio, who was still surprised to see her, and was trying to rein in his emotions that just started crashing around his brain, got stupified hearing her question. And a ck line formed over his forehead.

    ''Why does scene feels so familiar?'' He thought, seeing Saisha ring at him and then at the way Katherine left.

    System, who was feeling down and silently cursing the host for muting it for speaking the truth. Suddenly came back in high spirits, as it smelled a new drama happening outside. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    (Is the legendary shura field battle about to start this early?) System thought, and brought out popcorns from Rio''s inventory to eat and watch drama.

    There''s no need to ask why Rio had popcorns in his inventory. After all, there''s so much drama in plot, and he gets to see it firsthand live, so he needs some extra chips to enjoy it.

    He even had a few eggs and tomatoes to throw at someone if chance ever permits.

 Chapter 213 Their first meeting

    <h4>Chapter 213 Their first meeting</h4>

    Saisha Ellsworth, the princess of Elfring, the kingdom of elves. The next ruler of the great forest, nature''s daughter, Gaia''s chosen - a person born in such a good family and conditions that half the Arcadia would envy her. She''s been the pride of her entire race from the day she was born.

    They say that when she was born the whole great forest had received the blessing of the World Tree. The dried up trees came to life again, the flowers started to bloom and even the withered leaves and worthless grass had turned into spiritual herbs that blessed the kingdom.

    The day she awakened 10 years ago, the primordial goddess of nature Gaia herself hade to give her the blessing and choose her as an avatar of hers.

    Over the years, the love, respect and the care she received in her kingdom had only increased, and never had she felt so lost as she''s been feeling these past few days.

    All her life whatever she needed, whatever she wanted -all of it would be presented in front of her without a question. Yet in the past few days, none of them could answer her questions or clear her restless mind. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Who was he? Why was he looking at her like that? Why did he gave her that familiar feeling if they never met, and if they had met before then why couldn''t she just remember anything - the questions had been eating at her mind, making her restless ever since that incident in the library.

    She tried to forget about it, calling it nonsense and ignoring everything. Telling herself that he must''ve mistaken her for someone else and that they didn''t know each other - yet every time she closed her eyes the sad look of that white haired boy woulde to haunt her.

    The nature and peaceful environment that used to give her calmness weren''t working anymore, as if all her blessings and skills had lost their effects when it came to that boy.

    She had investigated him, his entire life and whole family - yet she didn''t find anything that could connect her with him.

    She even thought that this was some new trick of making her curious about him and then impress her - yet she herself didn''t believe that bullshit. Even her roommate in the dorms was nothing but praise for that boy, and all she heard were good things about him.

    Finally thinking that she couldn''t ignore those feelings until she got her answers, she decided toe and meet him. To ask him face to face about who he was or who he thought she was.

    ''Maybe after that, all this restlessness would be over. And I can focus on my training again. Rio ke - who are you?'' Saisha thought, as she moved towards the dorm building.

    Yet when she was about to enter the dorms she saw a scene that made her halt in her steps and stop.

    She saw the boy she was nning to meet talking and chatting happily with another girl. This was the second time she had seen him, and unlike her who seemed restless over that incident, he seemed perfectly normal.

    ''Was it just my misunderstanding and he really mistook me for someone else.'' Saisha thought. ''After all, knowing what happened to him it''s normal for him to be a little out of touch with reality.'' She thought as she remembered about the reports she received about him being trapped and dered dead in a dungeon. A trace of pity and sympathy waved over her face, but after realizing it, she shook her head again and said -''But shouldn''t he at leaste and say sorry if he caused that much of a drama through his own mistakest time. Jaesin is still absent from the sses, and he, who is responsible for it, is just acting like nothing happened.''

    Saisha watched as the girl with a cold look and detached expression said goodbye to him and left. She wanted to move forward and go and talk with him, when she just saw him staring at that girl''s back.

    Saisha frowned at him and just kept staring at him coldly. Until he finally turned back to face her, and bumped into her.

    "Ouch"

    She said as he held her shoulders and nearly pushed her back too. She wanted to shout at him, yet feeling the heat from the touch of his hands and looking at his face, she couldn''t find the words, and kept staring at him.

    Rio, who was cursing his system, and was lost in thoughts about what to do with Katherine, didn''t expect to see Saisha there. It took a moment, but he pulled his hands away from her and backed away.

    ''What is she doing here, doesn''t she have a ss by now?'' Rio thought. He had inquired about the schedule of ss A-1, which wasn''t hard at all. And ording to that, all of the students were still supposed to be in the ss of another professor.

    "I''m sorry, it was my fault." He said and turned around to leave. He wanted to avoid seeing her, lest it bring all his bad memories and stupid nightmares to him again. Even if it didn''t, he didn''t want to see her until he had some control over himself.

    "Stop" He had just taken one step when Saisha''s voice came from behind him. Knowing there was no other choice he turned back again, but avoided looking at her. "Yes," He said.

    "What were you talking about with that girl?" Saisha asked, looking closely at Rio''s reaction which became surprised and confused.

    "What?" He asked subconsciously.

    Saisha too came out of her thoughts and asked again, "I meant about that day in the library, what girl were you talking about? You called me something else right, Shw_"

    "I just mistook you for someone else. As you looked a little simr to someone I knew back in the past." Rio said, interrupting her and finishing the topic, once and for all. "I just lost my edge over that, since it''s been a long time since I saw her."

    "So it was just a mistake." Saisha muttered slowly, her face showing a rxed look, like she finally got the answer she was looking for. But then a curiosity started to rise about the girl who looked like her so she asked "Can you tell me about her? Who was she?"

    "That''s personal, and not necessary. If there''s nothing else, I''ll take my leave." Rio looked at her curious face and replied immediately.

    "My guard, Jaesin, he''s still in the infirmary. Due to what happened that day, you should go and meet him too at least." Saisha said as she saw he was about to leave again.

    "I think he''d prefer to be away from me for now. But don''t worry, he''ll be fine in a few more days." Rio said and entered the dorms without looking back, leaving behind Saisha, who was about to ask something else.

    ''What''s the rush for running away, like you just need to avoid me. Seriously'' she thought and walked on the opposite end towards the girls dorm building.

    Rio, who started walking towards his room, unmuted the system, hoping to confirm something. But before he could ask his doubts, system spoke up.

    [You''re really dumb when ites to girls aren''t you? How in the hell did you manage to fool her to fall for youst time.]

    Hearing that remark a ck line formed over his forehead and he just decided to mute the system again. This time permanently.

    [Ohh wait, wait, wait]

    [It was my fault.] System said in a hurry as it saw Rio trying to mute it again.

    (did I say that out loud?) System thought as it realized, it spoke up its thoughts without filtering them. Because he suddenly unmuted it and the system didn''t notice. Cause it was busy thinking about the drama.

    [You were going to ask something right, why don''t you ask and I''ll answer. There''s no need to mute me over a mishap right.] System said in its pleading mechanical tone, with few sad looking weird emojis floating on his screen.

    ''Dumb AI'' Rio cursed and ignored it.

    "Did you notice?" He asked seriously.

    Seeing him being serious, system too removed everything and acted serious and read his mind to see what he was talking about.

    "She''s different." Rio said, as he saw that system didn''t answer yet.

    [Yes. A little maybe.] System said, nodding its head.

    "Do you think it''s because of their two different personalities? Both of these girls had the opposite kinds of habits and way of thinking." Rio said, remembering the short exchange of words he had with Saisha.

    Saisha''s way of speaking, her questions and thinking, nothing seemed to be simr to the Shweta he knew. If anything, these were the traits of Saisha, the character written in the novel.

    The girl who got too curious about the mysterious boy, wants to hang out with him, learn everything about him, pester him for awhile and in the end fall for him - this was the stupid routine written by the author, designed to happen between the protagonist Leon and Saisha.

    And the current Saisha seemed way too simr to someone who''d follow this routine.

    If it was Shweta, she''dpletely ignore this kind of thing and forget about it. She didn''t care about some stupid boy''s mistake to let it haunt her mind.

    [Maybe it''s like you said, Shweta and Saisha are two very different personalities, so something like this could happen, but that''s only possible if they merged two different souls and memories like you did with the original Rio''s.]

    [Saisha was born here, and she doesn''t have any memories of you. So maybe you''re overthinking it.]

    ''I hope so.'' Rio said and closed his eyes to calm down his thoughts..

    "I really want to beat someone, so I can vent my stress." He said, as these past few days had been getting him a headache, because of all these girls that are popping up from his past.

    -Ding-. Rio, who was about to sleep to rx his mind, opened his eyes as he received a message on his private phone.

    -New message -

    -Boss, there''s a problem with the n. Call me, when you''re free.--

    Rio read the message and a smile came to his face reading that,he typed a reply and closed his eyes to sleep with that smile still on his face.

    "I''ll meet you tomorrow. And handle it myself."

    (Who''s so unlucky this time.) System thought, while praying for the soul of the stupid character who''ll be it''s hosts venting point this time.

 Chapter 214 The First Holiday

    ?

    The sses for first years worked 6 days a week and the weekend was a holiday for everyone. At Least until the first semester ends.

    The weekend was a time for the students to rest, rx and research - to do whatever one wanted. You could train all day, or visit the library to check out the books and self study, or you can just sleep in your room until the next day.

    Since the students were still new at the academy, and didn''t know many people, most of them chose to remain at the academy and just visit all kinds of facilities or see the scenery here and there.

    Some who were already friends made groups, and made ns to visit the city outside and enjoy everything the Laurelia Sanctum had to offer. The entertainment, food, games or tourist ces - students made ns to go out and enjoy ording to their own wishes.

    Well as you can guess, most of them chose to go out and enjoy themselves, instead of staying inside.

    Yet there was one boy who was too dedicated to his future.

    "I''m telling you, I won''t go." Rio said in a serious tone, resolutely refusing Amelia, who was nning to visit all the famous restaurants in the city and empty their kitchens.

    Currently he was in his room and Amelia just used one of her protection artifacts to call him and inform him.

    "I''m not asking you,e on, we only got one day." Amelia said in a pleading tone, as her eyes narrowed and got covered by water.

    "Stop acting." Rio said, as he pped her head when he saw her trying to bring out tears forcefully. "Reba, A and Rubina - aren''t those 3 free too. Just go with them."

    "Leave it Amy. This guy probably just wants toze around and sleep all day." Reba said, as she came into the room and heard the discussion between the two.

    "No, I''m not." Rio said as he defended himself. And added "Unlike you freeloaders, some of us have work to do. I''m nning to visit mypany and see their progress."

    "You''re going to Angel, why?" Amelia asked.

    "What do you mean why? That''s mypany, I haven''t been there for 2 years. Now that I''m back and have some free time, I should just go and see what they all did while I wasn''t around." Rio said, informing them about his n.

    "Mother handled everything about Angel all this time, so there''s no need for you to go there." Amelia asked again, only to be refused again.

    "No means no Amy. I''ll join you girls in the evening if I get free first." Rio said and cut the call by severing the mana into the artifact.

    Once that was done, he justy in his bed again to sleep. He didn''t lie to them, he really was nning to go to hispany, but there was no need to go there so early in the morning right. He could just sleep for a little and then go there after he woke up again.

    [You really do just want to sleep huh.] System said, disturbing its host.

    "Fuck off. No one asked you. Anyway, what kind of boss goes to hispany on time? It''s natural." Rio said, pulling the quilt over his head and closing his eyes. "Now disturb me Or I''ll mute you again."

    [I''ll remind you, cause it seems you forgot. There is an event which will happen today with the protagonist. Aren''t you nning to stop it?]

    Hearing systems words Rio answered without opening his eyes "Don''t worry, I''ve already nned for that."

    [Leon is THE PROTAGONIST.] system said highlighting the final words.

    "Okay fine." Rio said and opened his eyes.

    He picked up his phone and called his shadow.

    "Master" Esme picked up the phone in the first ring and answered in an ted tone.

    "Amy and Ba are nning to visit the city today. You can go with them. Make sure everything''s alright and they''re safe." Rio said what he wanted and cut the call.

    "There, happy now" Rio said to the system and before it could reply he continued " Now shut up and let me sleep." Rio said and closed his eyes.

    -beep beep-

    On the other side, Esme, who was sitting in the office at Angel, looked at her phone for a while, and sighed. ''Looks like he''s noting.''

    She thought, feeling a little sad. But then she shook her head and walked out of the office. In the absence of Rio, all the affairs of Angel were handled and every major decision was made by Artemis, but since obviously Artemis couldn''t just leave Damascus ande here to manage thispany. And she had her subordinates do everything. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Now after Rio was back, and he joined the academy again. Esme, who wanted to follow him, transferred herself as the head of security for Angel and came here. Artemis didn''t have any problem with it, as Esme could help Rio deal with some little problems if they arise and protect him if necessary.

    Thus this Shadow of this viin followed him back to this inds. Rio only learned about it after he joined the academy and didn''t bother with it.

    In the novel too, when the plot began, Esme who was getting hunted by both the ke family and Scarlett family - came to hide on the floating inds. Knowing both families wouldn''t be so outrageous in the properties of the World Association.. This is how she also meets Leonter and they both join hands and have their own adventures and fight against him.

    Rio had a feeling Esmeing to the floating inds was the work of fate, as it tried to keep the story the same as in the novel, but he didn''t worry about it. He was sure about where Esme''s loyaltyy.

    And if she chose to betray him due to whatever trick the fate or Leon''s halo pulled, let''s just say he didn''t just give them artifacts which could save their lives as a gift all this time. Some could also take it away, on his smallest sign.

    Esme called for some other guards and started giving them some instructions. She also called Amelia and talked with her about where she wanted to go and suggested driving her there herself.

    Every noble family or elite family or those rich guilds and associations controlled many businesses and had their own branches and people staying at the floating inds. Since living on the floating inds for the general public or buying mansions for students wasn''t allowed. Every family just opened a branch of their famous businesses here and had their trusted people transferred to these locations. This way it didn''t break any rule and still gave them security and background that was necessary.

    ke''s too being a Duke ranked noble family and owner of one of the top 5 guilds had their own many businesses and many which were famous enough to open a branch on the inds of world association.

    In the novel, the ke family had the branch of Genesis Corp. - thepany managed by Artemis, but due to the sudden growth andrge reputation of Angel, it had opened its branch here on the floating inds too.

    This happened thest time the World Association started the bid for the ces of businesses to be allowed inside the floating inds, more than two years ago.

    Every business could only be allowed entry for 5 years and after that, they''d have to take part in the bids again and earn their ce again, if they want to continue managing a branch here.

    Floating inds only allows the best of the best in every field to take part in bids, and it takes all things in consideration - the image, the background, the reputation, the quality and ranking of their product, the services they provide etc etc.

    So everything you see outside Zenith academy, is the best of the best in their fields. Best hotels, best food, best entertainment sites, best training grounds, artifact sellers or potion business. Best of everything with nopromises.

    There''s even a saying in Arcadia, that if you never went to Floating inds, then you aren''t sessful in business. Having a branch here is actually a goal to all those new up anding businesses. It''s like a proof that they made it to the top.

    Angel, with its reputation of making and selling the potions of Pura Corpus and Celestial Cleansing was obviously invited to bidst time the World Association shuffled the businesses. And Rio won the ce for hispany.

    After all, the profits earned by those two potions were enough to easily challenge the capital chain of many other rich tycoons. Plus he had his ke family behind him, so thest thing hecked was money to bid.

    He opened the branch of Angel near the academy for two reasons - first, to have his own eyes and minions gathered near a ce where the main plot starts. Second, Angel became a front which he could use to get things done and hide what he didn''t want the world to see. The boost in reputation and the profits earned were just a plus that he didn''t care about

    And today he wasn''t interested in going to Angel and talk about potions or profits, he just wanted to see his other business and minions who said there was some problem with his n.

    He was looking forward to see, who dared to forget their ce and interrupt his ns.

 Chapter 215 Lets Go Collect Some Loans

    ?

    "I told you to wake me up early."

    [No, you didn''t. You told me to shut up and let you sleep.]

    "And you let me sleep for nearly 10 hours. You useless AI."

    [I would have woken you up before, but thest time I did that, you muted me for two days.]

    "You deserve to be muted, you dumb, tiny, invisible, fucking robot in my head."

    [...]

    Rio cursed the system as he looked at the time on his phone and saw the messages of everyone.

    Even Artemis had called him earlier and he was still sleeping, he could imagine the earful of scolding he''ll get from her.

    ''Well looks like Amy and Esme didn''te across Leon and his tricks.'' Rio thought, as he scrolled down the messages from both of them. Except asking him for some suggestions on what to give Artemis as a gift, or when will he be free and join them, there was nothing important. They did send one or two photos of the ces they went, or where they''d be so he could find them if he was nearby, but that was all.

    ''Which heroine do you think Leon striked up with today?'' Rio asked the system as he started getting ready to leave the academy and go meet some old friends.

    [How would I know, but my money''s on Katherine or Sunaina. Either he''d show off for Katherine or save Sunaina.]

    [He might even pull both those stunts at once.]

    Even though Rio had changed the fate of many characters and fooled up some heroines to be away from Leon. But there really were too many of them in the academy, and he was toozy to care for vases or two times heroines, or those who yed no important role or had something impressive which could help him a little - he didn''t even try to stop them meeting up with Leon.

    He left their future on fate and Leon''s hands. If Leon can get them, good for him. And if he couldn''t, well sucks to be you brother.

    Maybe once Leon got enough girls, Rio can deal with all of them together, or use those vases to constantly create trouble for Leon.

    Though changing their events would give him some points too, but it would be too troublesome to follow Leon all the time and stop him from showing off everyday.

    ''What about Seraphina? Do you think Leon will meet that little healer of his?'' Rio said as he remembered about the plotline of a certain heroine from the novel.

    [Hmmm it''s very possible.] System thought and agreed with his line of thoughts.

    Seraphina Starzl, the heroine known for her healing arts throughout the novel''s story.

    In the novel, after Reba''s birthday event, where Leon failed his awakening and was in aa - was taken to Circle of Renewals, to be healed. Where Reba asked king Maximus to use his connections to help him get treated too.

    Leon was getting treatment from an elder of the Circle of Renewals, and that said elder had a little granddaughter who often visited Leon and became friends with him. Leon, who was grateful for the elder, swore that he''d pay back their care and would always remember them.

    Yearster, he meets with that little girl from the Circle of Renewals again at the Zenith Academy, and that girl is obviously another heroine whoter joins the harem of hero - Seraphina Starzl.

    But in reality, after Rio''s several changes, Princess Reba wasn''t wounded and she never visited the Circle of Renewals herself. Since she never went there, she never asked King Maximus to help Leon get treatment. ording to what Rio learned after his investigation, someone from the Circle knew Baron and helped his son cross the queue and get treatment. It was probably one of Apollo''sckeys, if Rio was right. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Though Rio wasn''t sure, he could guess that since Leon was admitted at the Circle of Renewals, there''s a chance that he would''ve met with Seraphina and her plotline would''ve been the same.

    ''Well whatever it is, I''ll deal with itter.'' Rio said, as he ignored the system and left the dorms.

    Even though the academy allowed students to leave their premises and respected their privacy, it still warned them not to take off their watches, so they could still track them and contact them at any time in case of any danger or unforeseen circumstances.

    Since Rio didn''t want his whereabouts to be known, he naturally couldn''t do that. That''s why he already had something which could fool this system.

    He had read the plot and already knew some methods which he could use to trick the people at the academy; after all, many times Leon and other characters used such tricks to leave the academy in the novel - he had prepared them thest time he joined Zenith.

    So Rio didn''t care about these watches, and moved out. His first stop was obviously hispany Angel. Cause even though he didn''t care much about it since Esme was here, he still needed to know who was in charge of what, or if some new character of the novel popped up in his vicinity.

    Who knows if some big traitor or troublesome character of the novel appeared near him - it would be bad for him.

    After all, even until now no one besides Angel could produce the potions with simr effects and potency. Manypanies and guilds have tried to learn and replicate the potion of Pura Corpus and Celestial Cleansing, but no one had been sessful.

    They made some copies which either had low effects on awakeners or had some side effects - that''s why many still want to learn or steal the recipes of these potions. And since they couldn''t attack Artemis who knew about them, their next best option was him. Who actually tranted them from the Singr Books.

    At first he was still a kid, so he always stayed in his mansion. Later he joined the academy and then he died - people would''ve cursed their lucks when they learned that he was dead and there was a chance that they would never learn about the recipes of those potions.

    Now that he was back, there''s a chance some of them might not want to wait for him to leave floating inds like they didst time.

    Plus someone pulling the strings from behind had even released some rumors that he didn''t learn those potions from Singr Books, but had found the legacy of some supreme alchemist. And every product Angel released was just a tip of all that knowledge he got from that legacy.

    This made sense for many people too, because if those potions were so important and the only hole cards kes had, why would they release them to the whole world so early.

    Wouldn''t it be more wise to use these potions themselves for a decade or two, and create a super strong army of awakeners and then release them to the public.

    In their eyes, it meant that ke family didn''t even take these potions seriously, that''s why they shared it. But their might be other magical and more important gifts that only they''re sharing among themselves and are hoarding it.

    Rio''s own supreme talent was even used as an exnation of that theory - and it fueled the rumors that Rio might''ve used other such high grade potions to enhance his talents and so on.

    So overall, there are a lot of jealous eyes around him, but due to the constant security of ke family they couldn''t act out openly.

    These rumors also yed a part in the incident that happened two years ago in that dungeon.

    Warzy, an organization which solely cares for war profits, wanted to kidnap him and steal the said book of that alchemy legacy.

    After all, in wars no matter which world it is, two things are very necessary - people and products.

    The more people you have on your side the better. The better resources and products you have on your side the better.

    In Arcadia, the people here means awakeners, and the products are miraculous potions and healing elixirs. Rio''s rumored legacy could help them get both of them.

    With Pura Corpus potion in hand they have a chance to turn every kid into an awakener. And with Celestial Cleansing potion they could turn every unawakened into an aura user. Since there are too many unawakened duds living in Arcadia, Warzy could simply use these potions as advertisement and hire all of them. Plus that''s just from the potions kes released, if they really had something else hidden, and they got it - that was even better.

    That''s why some idiot low minions from Warzy wanted to capture him alive, and learn everything about those potions from him during their attack. Sadly, their attack wasn''t sessful, and since Rio had already prepared some ns for these kinds of things, so he managed to survive their onught.

    But then he was trapped in that dungeon for two years, and his father waged a war against Warzy as revenge.

    Now that he was back safe and sound, one could guess how angry the people from Warzy would be. Since in all this fiasco they got nothing on their hands, but suffered loses throughout the world. Their main attack failed, their resources lost and they became enemy number one. That''s why there was a chance that they might attack him as revenge in anger trying to kill him. Or if they have a brain , try to capture him alive again, because now is the time they most need those potions and other resources to strengthen themselves.

    Obviously these were all the things low level minions might think and act upon,, the real leaders of Warzy and seat holders - might not even care about these little loses of lowlifes they hired for fun.

    -Ding-.

    -<>

    Rio read the message, and without asking anything else, just typed a reply and sent it

    ��I''m on my way. I''ll handle it myself.

    "Forget Angel. Your brother would send you his location, let''s go there first." Rio said to the driver,id back on his seat and closed his eyes. His hands empty as the watch of zenith was sitting in system storage.

    "Yes boss" A girl with long hair, styled in several thin braids of different vibrant colors replied.

    "Your previous hairstyle was much better by the way. This is just a mess." Rio said with his eyes still closed.

    The girl, who was acting as his driver now, didn''t say anything and smiled. She pressed her feet on the elerator and raced towards the location marked on the map - "Club Desperado."

 Chapter 216 Den Of Devils And Mask Of Deception

    ?

    "We''re here, boss." Riley said, as she stopped the car outside a club.

    "How many times have I told you to drive slow, if we''re not in a hurry?" Rio said as he yawned and stretched his hands.

    "Brother would''ve handled everything himself if we gotte." Riley said as she opened up the car door and gestured to him toe out.

    Hearing her answer Rio didn''tment again, as he understood how that idiot''s brain worked. "Where is he anyway? I told him to wait?" Rio said as he looked around and didn''t see Ryan anywhere near the gate waiting for him.

    "He''s probably inside gambling or ying with someone?" Riley said with an annoyed look and threw the car keys at the guard who came forward to park the car.

    Rylie and her twin brother Ryan, two of Rio''s personal confidantes, who''ve been serving under him for thest 4 years. They swore loyalty to him and had been doing all kinds of things on his order.

    Thest time Rio joined the academy, he arranged for them to follow him. On his orders they had to establish themselves in the underground and the ck market, and create awork for them to easily handle all the shady things he needed done in the floating inds.

    Angel was thepany which could help him with all the things in an above board manner, then the twins needed to raise themselves enough that by the time the plot started everyone on the dark side of the floating inds should''ve heard of their name.

    Since the twins were both young, only 21 years old at that time, and didn''t have the necessary strength to conquer everything by force. The only other way to make themselves superior was resources. That''s why all the profits Angel earned through every deal on the floating inds and with Zenith Academy, would go into the pockets of the twins, for them to manage everything.

    Rio also hired some other people who were introduced in the novel, and some whom he had chosen from the ke and Raven families, to help the twins. He had given them enough profits and resources for them to do whatever he wanted without restraints and hesitation.

    Obviously every one of them were bound by mana contracts and blood oaths, that would kill them instantly if they ever tried to betray him.

    He would''ve liked to see the progress of these minions himself and manage them all ording to the events of the academy arcs, but just after settling them down in the first year, he got trapped in that dungeon and all his ns were only left in his head.

    Since he didn''t trust anyone enough to share every detail of what he wanted, he doubted these guys could achieve the perfect results he needed.

    But there was nothing he could do about that.

    [You gotta work with what you have.]

    It''s been 3 years since he established these guys, and 2 years since hest saw them, it was time to see how much progress they had made.

    ''These idiots didn''t just waste all my money in the air, did they?'' Rio suddenly thought and wondered. ''Because a month after I''m back and there''s already trouble.''

    [Hahaha]

    [Well you did leave a heroine, who''s Leon''s first sex partner, and her brother who was supposed to be dead in charge of everything. I''m sure everything''s fine.] System said, trying to control itsughter and calming its host down.

    ''I''ll beat their asses ck and blue if they got me into loss.'' Rio said, as he looked at Riley walking ahead.

    Rio looked at himself in the side mirror, to confirm that the mask artifact which altered his facial features worked perfectly fine or not, and if it gave him a new appearance.

    He fixed his hair a little and smiled at the reflection which showed the face of someone else smiling back.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''No matter how many times I see it, this appearance is wless.''

    [Well, technically it is your own appearance, so no need to be that shocked about it.]System said, as a matter of fact, tone.

    After all, the appearance he chose was that of Shiva''s.

    Rio''s short styled white hair were now changed into disheveled jet ck hair. His ck eyes which used to resemble the allure of the abyss, were now rugged, as if they had seen the multitudes of emotions and had lived through everything. His face bearing the expression that seemed like he was toozy to care about anything, and everything was a drag.

    A little scar covered his left eye, leaving a straight mark over his pupil and eyebrows. This was something he got after he first used this mask and he had a fight with some people over the interests of his newpany. He could''ve healed the scar and removed it, but Riley said it looked nice and he was toozy to fix it. After all, doing that meant putting this mask on a cooldown and find a repairer, or ask help from Loki, both of these were things too troublesome and unreliable.

    The noble and elegant aura which Rio exuded, always making him look superior, was gone now. And in its ce was a constant bloodlust that seemed to ooze out of his every pore, giving him the vibe that only the warriors and criminals who fought many battles had.

    Even his clothes had changed from a rich styled suit and jacket to the normal attire. His physical features were changed too. Before he looked his age of 18 and had a trained perfect physique, then now he was in his middle age years, with a body that didn''t seem anything special.

    The mask he had was the artifact of Loki, called Mask of Deception.

    The Mask of Deception allows its user to change their appearance entirely, taking on the guise of anyone or anything they can imagine.

    But as always, a trickster''s gift came with a trick.

    This artifact could only work, if the user himself believes himself to be looking like that. So in essence one needed to deceive themselves first, before they could deceive others.

    Meaning it simply turned the imagination of the user into reality. If the user couldn''t imagine himself in that appearance perfectly, the artifact won''t work. So if you want to fake someone else''s face, you''d need to change your whole personality and imagination to fall into that person''s character.

    This is where the risk of using this artifactes into effect too. Since the user believes himself to be the person he changes his appearance into, then the long term use of this mask could affect the users mental stability, and there''s a risk he might forget who he truly is.

    This artifact might seem useless to many, as the conditions to use it are too harsh. And the side effects are scary too.

    But what itcks in limitations, it makes up in its quality. Unlike other artifacts which high ranking awakeners could easily see through, or those which came with the user''s rank limitations - this artifact could be used by anyone and could also fool anyone.

    Even if an F rank uses it, and manages to perfectly control it, he could fool everyone, as long as he has mana that is.

    "What''s the name of the idiot we''re here to settle?" Rio asked, as he entered the club filled with crowd.

    "Dante." Riley replied, amplifying her voice with mana, so he could still hear her despite the loud sounding from the music and people all around them.

    "He took a loan from us a year ago, and this was his second due date. I tried to contact him, but the dude''s been ignoring me. And when some of the guys came here to handle it, his minions started a riot and a fight broke out. So Ryan wanted to handle it himself this time. But then you asked to settle it yourself." Riley said, exining everything in one breathe.

    "Dante, is that the guy from the followers of Den of Devils?" Rio thought as he remembered a character from the novel with the same name.

    "Who?" Riley asked, a little confused with that murmur of his, since she couldn''t hear what he said.

    "Well doesn''t matter who he is? It''s time for pay back." Rio said, and started walking forward with his hands in his pockets.

    "That''s the entrance." Riley said, as she pointed towards a door. Rio nced at a man who was guarding a door which was termed VIPs only.

    "What''s the code?" The burly man, towering over Rio and Riley asked, waving his hand to stop them from entering.

    Rio looked upwards, met his eyes. A smirk came to his face, as without saying anything, he kicked the man in the stomach, sending him flying along with the broken door.

    "Hmm so that was the code huh" Rio said, as he saw open entrance and walked inside.

    [Show me a scene of carnage.] H requested, the moment he entered inside.

    ''That''s the n''

 Chapter 217 Riley And Ryan - Shivas Shadows

    ?

    Riley and Ryan, the pair of twin brothers and sisters who are now directly working for Rio.

    In the novel, this duo had been working under Hermaan Meismat, the stepping stone viin for the protagonist.

    Riley''s grandfather was working under the city guards for the Baron Meismat family years ago, and was one of the best fighters of that time. To subdue him and get him in control, the head of house Meismat at that time targeted their family andbled them as rebels and traitors. Forced into a corner, and to save his family, Riley''s grandfather signed the mana contract that he''d forever be a ve to house Meismat and never betray them.

    But the hunger of the Meismat family grew too big, when they had heard the rumors that even his son was also a talented awakener. So one night they tricked the old man on his deathbed to sign a new mana contract, in which it was written that 3 generations of his bloodline would be ves to house Meismat and betrayal to the noble family would result in their death.

    Riley and Ryan belonged to the 3rd generation and were ves bound to the heir of house Meismat, Hermaan.

    In the novel, Baron Meismat and Baron Heartwell were families which always opposed each other over the control and profits of Eisjer domain.

    So once Leon started to shine his talent and started taking things seriously, the author wrote the plotline of an all out fight between both families.

    After the first semester when Leon went home for the first time, he learned from his father that Baron Meismat had colluded with some evil God and was nning to solely take control of the Eisjer domain and kill their followers.

    Eisher domain, an open dungeon which was managed by both Baron ranked families together. It had been the source of ie for House Heartwell for generations. And now Baron Meismat wanted to pressure them from everywhere into handing over the rights of that domain.

    Leon being the protagonist didn''t take kindly to these reports. So instead of asking help from other nobles or reporting this incident to the royal family, or even the princess whom he was best friends with at that time, he decided to settle it himself.

    ( I don''t know what the author was thinking at that point. )

    Anyway, by that time Leon and Hermaan had formed an enmity of sorts due to their time in the academy. Hermaan, who used to look down upon Leon when he was a cripple, was face pped many times in the academy and was jealous of Leon and hated him to the bones. So he also took charge to kill Leon during this n of attack, so there would be no future troubles for him when he became a Baron.

    In a bloody battle between Leon and Hermaan. Turns out Hermaan had signed a contract with an evil God and suddenly went crazy and started attacking everyone. His strength had skyrocketed and he was unstoppable. By his luck and protagonist halo, Leon still managed to kill Hermaan somehow.

    Then the pursuit of the Meismat family''s revenge started, and they started sending experience packages to Leon daily.

    Soon enough Leon, along with his family, killed everyone in the Meismat family and became the sole ruler of Eisjer domain.

    Instead of getting punishment as infighting between nobles is not allowed, Heartwell family got praise from the general popce because they made the affairs between Meismat family and the evil Gods public.

    In the end, the Meismat family became an enemy of humanity and traitors. While the Heartwell family became the light of justice which yed the followers of an evil God.

    You wonder what role Riley and Ryan yed in this scenario.

    Well from the day Leon came back from the academy, to the day he fought with Hermaan, he met Riley many times ''by coincidence'' and managed to influence her.

    So in the fight when it was revealed that Hermaan had signed a contract with an Evil God, Riley chose to help Leon kill Hermaan. Since Riley joined Leon''s side, as her little brother Ryan chose to help Leon too.

    Even though they suffered the bacsh for breaking the mana contracts, their suffering gave Leon enough time and opportunity to kill Hermaan.

    In the fight Ryan was severely wounded and after handing the responsibility of Riley''s life and wellbeing to Leon he died.

    Thus Riley, who already had a good impression of our protagonist, followed her brother''s final wish and joined Leon, and returned with him to Heartwell family.

    That night while she was crying over her brother''s death, and now bing an orphan in this world, Leon came tofort her, and they ended up having sex.

    (Cause that''s da only way a protagonist knows to turn pain into pleasure.)

    Riley wasn''t a heroine or anything important in the novel, if anything she fell in the category of vases.

    Her only major role was to help Leon kill Hermaan, and hand over the proof for all the dirty deeds that the Meismat family did over the years and make Heartwell family shine. Ohh and then maybe take Leon''s virginity that night.

    (It was never mentioned that Riley was the first girl Leon slept with, but sex with Riley was the first R18 chapter written in the novel - so who knows.)

    Other than that, Riley only got mentions here and there in the novel, but she didn''t y any important role ever again. Since she wasn''t a student at Zenith academy, she didn''t take part in any of Leon''s many adventures, and thus she was soon forgotten.

    She was even killed in the background for no apparent reason by Leon''s enemies.

    As for her death''s revenge, well, Leon went to the door of her killers and started a massacre. But then another heroine came and begged him to let her family go, and in return she''ll be his maid or ve or whatever. But if he still chose to fight with them to death, they''ll at least give Leon a few more deaths to mourn for.

    Obviously Leon reluctantly agreed after seeing some of his friends fighting hard with their opponents. (And not because he wanted a hot assassin heroine as his maid.)

    And that''s thest time Riley''s name was ever mentioned in the novel.

    A vase heroine who got her brother killed due to her infatuation with Leon first, andter when she herself died, she ended up being the reason for another girl to fall in Leon''s protagonist clutches.

    Rio wasn''t interested in saving Riley or fooling her to join the camp of his viins. But he found her brother a little interesting, thus he ended up changing her fate too.

    Since the Eisjer domain was Leon''s first big chance and path to power, Rio wanted to take that for himself. There were a few treasures and chances that Rio liked and wanted to steal.

    But since meddling with Meismat family directly, might drag the name of his own family to mud when the fact that they''re colluding with evil gods is released. Rio let his dear mother Artemis put pressure on the Meismat family from the shadows and subdue them legally.

    The Meismat family, as any other viin family, had a ton of dirty things to hide. Biggest one being that they were using normal unawakened people to work as ves inside Eisjer domain and mine all the profits.

    If news of this got out that a noble family was forcing and killing unawakened people, it could cause a big incident in the empire.

    That''s why when the ke family showed the proof of all those things to King Maximus and the royal court, Meismat family had to let go of their rights over the Eisjer domain. And pay a heavypensation to everyone.

    Since Eisjer domain was now free for the taking, King Maximus did what he does with every other unimed dungeon - he auctioned it off.

    And if you wonder who bought it - it was Servirous Raven, Rio''s maternal grandfather.

    Throughout this ordeal, aspensation for all the trouble ke family went through, Artemis asked for a hundred trained awakeners under the Meismat family to be freed of their contracts and be handed over to her.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Since Rio wanted to save Ryan, Artemis asked for the twins together.

    Thus a guy who was supposed to be killed off soon, and a vase heroine who was supposed to take Leon''s ''virginity'' in her grief, fell into the camp of viins.

    Since Rio didn''t trust them and neither did Artemis, both of these twins had to sign new mana contracts of their unconditional loyalty towards him. And ever since then, they had been working under him.

    Ryan is a strong aura user, and his physical strength could rival a barbarian. And after drinking up the Celestial Cleansing potion, his talent for aura refining had only increased even more.

    Riley on the other hand, is well Riley. She was an awakener too, but since she didn''t have much strength, Rio let her handle some other stuff and threw her in other fields. Turns out, she''s pretty good at logistics and business.

    And since they''re bound with contracts and loyal to Rio alone, he could order them to do all the things that he wanted to keep away from the ke family.

    Just like handling an underground investmentpany, which funded all kinds of shady businesses. Or to make his name known in the ck markets, which are outside Raven family''s control. Or to control and create an intelligencework for him step by step.

    ''I wonder who''ll be Leon''s first girl this time?'' Rio thought, as he smiled remembering Riley, Reba and other heroines he changed plotlines of.

    [Why don''t you think about yourself first. Or are you nning to stay single your entire life.]

    ''Fuck off system'' Rio said as he swiped the system panel.

    (humph, mute me, that''s the only thing you can do.) System cursed in its heart as it was muted again for God knows how many days this time.

 Chapter 218 Shivas Appearance In Arcadia

    ?

    "What''s the code?" The burly man, towering over Shiva and Riley asked, waving his hand to stop them from entering.

    Shiva looked upwards and met his eyes. A confident smirk came to his face, as without saying anything, he kicked the man in the stomach, sending him flying along with the door which broke due to the sudden shock.

    "Hmm so that was the code huh" Shiva said making Riley smile. As they both looked at the open entrance gate.

    Shiva looked back at the crowd of people who were chilling and dancing all this time on the outer area, and then inside the hall whose door he broke down, there was a whole new scene of a casino inside and he could see many people ying various games inside.

    He was wondering something when Riley, who was standing beside him, spoke up - "Let''s just go inside, my ears are hurting out here."

    Shiva shrugged his shoulders and walked inside. Since the outer area was really too noisy for his taste.

    "I''ll look for Ryan." Riley said, as she started looking through all the tables and private rooms to search for her brother.

    "That''s too much work." Shiva said, after he tried to look inside the private rooms but they were all protected by various arrays, which blocked his skills.

    "Who are you guys? If you don''t have an invitation you can get out right now or I''ll throw your bodies outside." Another few guards came to surround them, and they prepared their mana as they looked at one of their partners lying unconscious before their feet, foaming from his mouth with his eyes wide open.

    "Invitation huh, do you have it Riley?" Shiva said, as he turned to look at Riley, ignoring the guards.

    "No boss."

    Hearing the answer, Shiva made a surprised expression and said in disappointment "Seriously,e on girl. You should''ve bought it."

    "This club''s gonna be ours in a few hours anyway, why do we have to pay in our own club?" Riley shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

    Shiva nodded his head with a thoughtful expression. "Now that you say that, it does make sense."

    "What''re you idiots looking at, throw them outside." Another man came out from a private room and stood on the railings, while shouting at the guards. A girl dressed in the clothes, whatever little she had on, came and hugged him from behind. While peeking her head over his shoulder and looking at everything with a smile.

    "Why don''t we add her in our little game." the girl suggested pointing at Riley. While tracing a finger along the man''s chest in a coquettish manner.

    "Forget it, kill that guy and bring that girl to my room." The man said, as his eyes fell on Riley and he scanned her figure without any scruples. "See you soon, darling." He said to Riley as he licked his lips and bit his tongue in a horny hungry way. He pulled the girl inside the room and the door closed behind him.

    Riley''s expression darkened, and she muttered, "I should kill him."

    "You can deal thest blow if you want." Shiva suggested while shaking his head in disappointment at the guard who swung his baton at him.

    "Tsk" Riley clicked her tongue and walked to the side, giving him a little space to do whatever he wanted.

    As the baton was about to hit him, Shiva didn''t dodge,he calmly moved his head to the side, allowing the weapon to strike his shoulder, which caused the baton to snap in half. The stunned guard looked at the broken handle in his hand, and then at Shiva who was smiling at him.

    "My turn." Shiva said, pulling his head back and then knocking again on the guard''s face with a force, making his face bloodied in a single shot. The sound of the guard''s nose breaking, and the blood dripping to the ground came to Shiva''s ears, but just when he was about to nod in approval of that rhythm, it all got drowned in the screams of the guard who couldn''t even react to what happened till now.

    -Ahhhhahhhhhh-

    Looking at the guard''s ugly face when he screamed and the way blood spewed out from his mouth as he did, Shiva made a disgusted expression and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing onto the reception tables nearby.

    Taking his hands out of his pockets, he made a gesture from his fingers that seemed to wee all the other guards to attack him together and not just stand there stupefied. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Two of the guards nodded at each other and attacked together, while one of them went to beat or catch Riley instead.

    Shiva looked surprised by that guy''s thinking, and gave him a nod of approval in his heart. But his eyes never left the other two who swung their baton at him. He sidestepped to the left to dodge one of them, while extending his feet to make the guard fall down due to his extra momentum.

    He held the other guy''s hand midair, stopping him from attacking him. He looked at his open hand and then gave the guard a tight p that caused three of his teeth to break and fly in the air.

    -ppp-

    Before the man could scream in pain while his brain tried to register the shocking p, another loud p and the huge force that sent shockwaves across his skin came to his face, breaking two more of his teeth and forcing him to spew out blood.

    -ahhh- yet before his scream could finish another p came in and this time no matter how loud he screamed, he couldn''t even hear anything. Or maybe he couldn''t even scream anymore, he wasn''t sure.

    Only a loud buzz or a ring-like tone echoed in his ears, which started bleeding too.

    Ignoring the screams that started to annoy him, to shut the guard up Shiva let go of his hand, making him almost fall down to the ground.

    But before that he held his cor pulling him back up a little, and gave him another loud p.

    On thest p when Shiva could feel his hand caving onto the broken cheekbones that tore through the guard''s skin and were visible besides the blood directly, he threw him aside and ignored him.

    Looking at the guy who attacked him with a baton together with the previous guard, crawling back slowly, looking at him with scared eyes, Shiva shed him a smile and moved towards him at high speed.

    Before the guard could stand up and run, a powerful kick came to his head, making him feel like someone hit it with a sledgehammer , breaking it in two. His head knocked against the iron pole nearby and blood started falling down his face like a fountain. Yet the guard remained unresponsive to his pain, almost like he couldn''t feel anything or that his brain couldn''t register anything.

    Shiva bent down and took the baton from his hands and turned around and left. While walking his feet stepped over the leg of that guard and with the pressure of aura, breaking all his bones in it.

    -crackkk-

    Shiva looked around him, and saw that many of the guests had left their tables and were gathering around standing in groups in a corner away from him. Their expressions ranged from shock to fear as they watched his disy of brutality.

    "There are at least 20 more guards, boss. And if you keep ying around you''ll bete for dinner with thedy." Riley''s voice came to his ears suddenly.

    Shiva looked at the side and saw Riley crushing the head of her attacker under her shoes. He looked at the guy''s hands which had fingers that were all bent in some weird angles and one of them even had the bone directly sticking out of his skin.

    ''Urghh, and she calls ME cruel.'' Shiva thought, looking at the smart guard''s pitiful condition.

    He then looked at the time on his watch (not the academy one, but a different personal watch) and nodded his head.

    He turned his head to look at the dozen or so guards which came running and started surrounding him from all sides.

    "Listen up minions, I don''t have much time now, well technically, neither do you guys. But whatever. Let''s take this seriously now. Shall we."

    Shiva said in a loud tone as he looked at all of them.

    As his words finished, without waiting for them to react, Shiva moved forwards with high speed. His feet leaving cracks on the floor below. Under the eyes of the guards he looked like a blurry figure for a moment, and before they reacted, a loud scream echoed in the now silent club hall bringing everyone back to their senses.

    They saw that one of the guards was sent flying from his position, and after making a bloody arc of parab in the air, he fell down heavily on the roulette table, breaking it. Confused about what happened to him, until they heard another loud scream that felt like it came from a dying pig.

    They all turned and saw that Shiva was standing behind one of the guards holding his hair to keep him straight. The guard was bent on the ground with bloodied knees, one of his handsying limp, while from the other he constantly tried to free himself.

    Under everyone''s watchful eyes, Shiva swung his baton at his head, breaking a part of his skull. With a loud thud the guard fell down to the floor unresponsive, bathing in his own blood.

    Shiva looked at his hand which still had some of his hairs and shook them away and wiped his hands on his pants to clean it.

    "So who''s next?" Shiva said, while swinging his baton, making the whistling sound of air and waving all the blood and pieces of flesh that were still stuck on it.

    -Gulp-

 Chapter 219 Dante Desperado &Amp; Den Of Devils

    ?

    Smoking a cigarette and sitting on top of the table, Shiva looked at the scene all around him. Currently in one corner of the club all the guests who were so called VIPs before were standing and shaking in fear. The walls and the furniture all around them were shattered and thrown into chaos. On the ground all around him, were lying groups of men with broken limbs and blood sttering all over the area. No one raised any voice orints, and only the sound of rapid breathing and loud heartbeat could be felt. Every now and then the sound of loud gulps of fear could be heard too.

    -Takk-

    A faint sound broke the silence, and all eyes turned toward the source. A man, with his leg injured, crawled desperately towards the exit. His trail of blood painted a grim path toward freedom, and he moved in near silence, hoping to escape the clutches of the demon that had wrought havoc in their club.

    His limp body and struggle left the marks of blood all over the floor, Shiva saw and noticed that the man had gone quite a distance without making a noise.

    Yet all his efforts were wasted as that noise on the broken table got him caught.

    Shiva looked at the bottle of alcohol ced nearby and picked it up. After ncing at thebel on it, he threw it on that man without even looking.

    -crash- -ahhh-

    The bottle shattered against the man''s back with a deafening crash, eliciting a muffled scream of agony. Desperation clung to his eyes as he saw that the exit was just within his reach.

    He could see that even after everything that happened inside, the people outside were still dancing and jumping happily on the floor. Like they didn''t even notice what was happening inside. Even now when he was near the door, he couldn''t hear any noise from outside. This was a clear sign that a barrier had separated both ces. Yet the man''s brain due to all the pain and fear couldn''t think all this. His eyes were glued on the wall, and the nearer he crawled there the more the light of hope shone in his eyes.

    -crash+stter- urghh-

    Yet another bottle hit his back, breaking upon contact. The force behind that normal ss bottle felt like it could crush his bones. The alcohol started seeping into his open wounds, and it was making his skin burn, like a thousand ants were eating away at his skin. Yet the man endured and continued crawling without looking back.

    ''I made it. I can live.''

    The man thought as he was a tiny bit away from the door, when he was just about to push himself forward and go out.

    -swish-

    -gasps+gulps-

    The man could hear something behind him but he ignored it. In his eyes as long as he took one more step he could live. And yet just when he was about to take thatst push, he felt a sudden heat on his feet that soon spread all over his back and then covered all his body.

    It took a moment for him to realize that his whole body was on fire and when that realization hit him, he tried to wave his hands around trying to put out the mes and in doing so even his hands caught on fire. He writhed and iled, his own screams filling the air, but his efforts were futile.

    -flick-

    The man looked back and saw that ck haired demon who had his eyes closed and lit up a new cigarette again. Looking at his expression which seemed rxed and calm, the man with his red eyes wanted to shout and curse and even run towards him and kill him, yet before he could do any of that, his ring eyes changed into that of horror.

    He saw that the demon waved his hand, and the girl behind him passed him another bottle of alcohol. That demon without opening his eyes threw that bottle towards his direction too. Looking at the image of bottle zooming in on his eyes, he wanted to back away yet couldn''t exert any more strength. His precious struggles had exerted all his strength and he was too tired now.

    -swish-crash-shatter-

    -boom-

    Under the horrified eyes of the crowd, the sound of the bottle crashing and then a little explosion could be heard. The man who was trying too hard to survive all this time had given up on struggle and had simply fallen unconscious.

    It seemed he had epted his fate or that maybe he was already dead and couldn''t feel anything now.

    His body burned until Shiva waved his hand, sliding the charred corpse into a secluded corner, extinguishing the mes. The nauseating stench of burning flesh, blood, alcohol, and shattered ss hung in the air.

    Some of the club''s former servers and strippers, their faces pale, recoiled in disgust and horror. They gazed at the tormented man''s body, their own stomachs churning in revulsion and they started retching.

    "When I say stay at your ce like a statue, I mean it. Is there anyone else who wants to try their luck?" Shiva said in a normal tone "There are a lot of alcohol and cigarettes still lying around. I can always practice my aim on you guys"

    His eyes darted around the hall, falling on everyone. The people in the hall all looked away from him, avoiding eye contact with him. After all his face was covered in blood and his eyes didn''t show any emotion or light when he looked at them, it was simply like staring at a monster and not a human being anymore.

    Just when everyone was scared and silent, the sound of enthusiasm broke the scene.

    "I found him, boss." Ryan said as he dragged a man by his cor down the stairs. "The bastard was hiding in a private chamber of his. Hoping to leave from a secret escape."

    Ryan, who was wearing a T-shirt and a trench coat over it, with his shoulder length open hair falling with every step, came in front of Shiva and forced the man to kneel in front of him.

    "Dante Myr Desperado. That''s your name, is it?" Shiva spoke as he looked at the man with brown hair, with golden highlight streak over the tips. And his long beard, styled and fixed with some pearls in ce.

    Dante, his ruddy eyes zing with hatred, could only mutter, "You have no idea who you''re messing with. I will kill_. Arghhhh."

    Dante was speaking when he felt a sharp sting on his back, looking back he saw nothing behind him.

    "I asked you a question. Is your name Dante Myr?"

    "You bastard, you''ll pay _ "

    Shiva spoke again and when he didn''t get an answer, he waved his hand. 4 shards of ss flew over and stabbed the man on his back.

    -arghharrgh-

    "Shhh" Shiva Signaled him with his finger as a broken piece of ss started to float in front of the man''s face. Warning him that if he opened his mouth, he''d simply push that ss inside his throat. Silencing him forever.

    "Now I don''t like asking the same question again and again. But I''ll give you a final chance. After that, you can join your brother in the afterlife." Shiva said, while signaling towards the man who first insulted Riley when they came inside. The man who wanted to kill him and sleep with her.

    Dante looked at the side and saw his brother''s body which was pierced by a long dagger and was still hung on a wall without falling down. Looking at his brother''s open chest with marks of torture and the pants which were wet with blood and piss, Dante wanted to scream and shout, but then looking at the floating ss in front of him, he drowned all his anger and buried his anger.

    "It''s me." He spoke in a hoarse tone. His ruddy eyes staring at Shiva like he was looking at his mortal enemy. His expression was like he wanted to eat this bastard in front of him alive and throw him in hell. If his eyes could kill, Shiva would be dead a thousand times by now.

    "Huh, so it is you." Shiva looked at Ryan who nodded his head and smiled. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I heard you''ve been ignoring her calls, and beat up some of my men when they came to ask you about it. So, I did the same to your man. You won''t me me, would you? " Shiva Said as he pointed at Riley and then at the guards lying unconscious and dead around him.

    "So where''s my money?" Shiva Said and yed with the shards of ss. The broken ss floated from Dante''s mouth to his eyes and then started rotating there.

    "You know what, let''s settle this in private, okay." Shiva said and stopped his mana.

    All the shards fell down all around Dante without his control, and Dante finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then thinking, that if this guy whom he never met, could be so cruel in front of so many people, then what kind of torture and hell awaited him when they''re alone. Suddenly a shiver ran down his spine when he thought of that, and looking at Shiva who was still staring at him, thinking God knows what, with a subtle smile on his face, he was sure he was done for.

    "Wait, I can pa_" Before Dante could finish his words, that he was willing to pay andpensate, Ryan came behind him and pped his neck with a backhand, knocking him unconscious.

    [Den of Devils are disappointed with their previous choice of follower.]

    [They smile and nod at your art of cruelty.]

    [Show us more and you''ll be rewarded. - one of the Oni says.]

    Reading the notifications of these guys confirmed his doubts, and looking at system panel where his points started increasing, a smile to his bloodied face, scaring all the guests even more.

 Chapter 220 Welcome To Eclipse

    ?

    Ignoring the praise and offers from the Demons Rio looked at everyone who was huddled in the corner and started thinking about his future ns.

    Dante was a viin character of the mid setting in the novel. Who first made his appearance after the second phase of Emergence started.

    When the whole world was in chaos, as gods started ughtering mortals that they didn''t like or hated. Burning and killing cities which refused to pray to them, and destroying all the legacy of Atheists and Apostasy, everyone was afraid for their life and there seemed to be no ce where they could hide.

    It was like this until the World Association publicized the facts about the barrier made by the cairns/stones surrounding the whole floating inds, and the world could finally see a hope of life.

    At that time many people used their connections and everything they had toe and hide on these inds to survive the fury of the Gods, and this became the best sanctuary and defensive line against Gods.

    Yet one can imagine if people are trapped in a ce, there''d be all kinds of chaos and infighting too. And in that chaos Dante emerged on stage for the first time in the novel. A charismatic leader, and a ruthless killer, a guy backed up by the evillest demons from the Den of Devils.

    It didn''t take a lot of time for him to stand above everyone and control everything with fear and an iron fist.

    That''s how Dante, who is just a stupid little owner of a few gambling clubs in the floating inds now, became the boss of these ces in the future. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ''And now he''s in my hands, with his life and death in my control.''

    [Ythranor says to let his follower go, or be ready to face his wrath.]

    [The whole Denughs at the certain Demon over his impatience.]

    Not minding the chatter between these guys, Rio closed his system''s panel and chose to ignore them for now.

    Now that Dante was settled, Rio turned his gaze towards the guests who were sweating buckets not daring to move from their ce. While trying to duck and hide behind each other and they were pushing their guards at the front where many shards of ss and bottles were floating in the air.

    Reminding them not to try anything funny, or with one wave of his hands they''ll be killed and burned to death.

    "Hello everyone. Sorry for the little trouble, I was just in a bad move recently and the owner here just doesn''t know rules of our business. He took my money, and refused to pay it back - that''s not fair right." Rio said as he stood up on the table and looked at everyone from above.

    Then he shrugeed his hands, like saying he didn''t mean to do it, but he had no choice.

    "Well enough about the past and let''s talk about the future." He continued

    "Looking at the many unfamiliar faces and the expressions you guys are giving me, I''d say this is the first time I''m seeing you, and you don''t know about me too.

    So let''s start with the introductions. My name is Shiva. And I''m the owner of The Eclipse."

    Shiva''s words caused many people to look at him in surprise, while some who already recognized him before were keeping their heads low.

    ''Eclipse'' that was a name that had been rising rapidly in the undergroundworks of floating inds of Lauralia Sanctum in the recent years. No one knew where it came from, or who was behind it, but everyone knew they had a ton of resources and that they meddled in almost all kinds of businesses.

    Even if some people didn''t know about them, everyone had atleast heard of this name.

    Many people thought Eclipse would be backed by some noble family or some top guilds, but looking at the unfamiliar face standing there covered in blood, who''s saying, he''s the owner of The Eclipse - surprised was a small word to describe everyone''s emotions.

    Yet even if they had many questions and doubts, no one said a word, not even muttered anything under their breath - after all, thest guy who interrupted him is justying in that corner holding his neck, with an inch long piece of ss sticking out of it. So to avoid that same fate, they could all just stay silent and bury all their questions in their heart.

    Ignoring their expression Rio continued his speech "Some of you may have heard of me and mypany before, some didn''t.

    So I''ll tell you all about two things - first, I''m a guy who can basically do everything. So if there''s anything you need help with, or any trouble that''s been bothering youtely, you cane to me and I''ll handle it for you. For a suitable price deal or an exchange, of cource."

    Rio said his words pointing his first finger up, and then continued with the second.

    "Second thing, whenever you make any deal with me, always follow through your end of the promise too. Otherwise, I''m pretty good at reading futures and yours would be dark and bloody." Rio said with a smile while pointing at all the mutted guards who were lying unconscious and dead on the ground.

    "This club will be my territory from now on, and you lot cane and y here as you''ve been doing all this time. As long as you don''t mess with me or my rules, you can chill."

    "But that''ll have to wait till tomorrow, as today, it isn''t suitable to y anymore. Right." Rio said and pointed towards the tables and games which were all broken and staff which was knocked out or dead.

    "Come again tomorrow." Rio said and waved them goodbye.

    Seeing his signal almost instantly all of them who were hiding behind others all this time, rushed to the front at high speed and tried to run away from this cursed ce.

    Yet when they were just about to reach outside, the voice behind them made them stop in their tracks "One more thing that I forgot to mention before. I''m a very private person. So be sure to keep your lips shut. Cause if I get into any trouble because of you lot, hahahaha."

    Rio finished his words and startedughing at the end of his warning. Hisughter making people''s scalp tingle when they heard it, and they all ran away faster from there.

    Some swore to nevere here again, while some swore that they''d let all their rtives and partners know - to pay up their dues to this devil if they have any, lest those idiots implicate them again for a little money.

    "Boss, these three are the ones you were looking for." Riley came forward and called for three people out from the crowd of staff who were left behind in the other corner.

    Following Riley''smand, two man and a woman, all in their 30''s came forward after hesitating for a long time, still shaking a little in fear and not daring to look at Rio or the blood sttered all around them.

    In just this one fight, these guys had killed and crippled more than 40 people, and half of them were some guests and their staff, who chose to argue with him or tried to run. This is why everyone was staying silent now, lest they be his next target andplete his half century of killings.

    The three people who came forward, were the ones who were responsible for managing this club, and the other little branches Dante opened here and there. Since Dante still owed him money, and all this was probably set up with only his pockets, Rio didn''t want to close it down or burn the ce.

    "I''m sure you can understand that the club is under new management now. From now on you no longer need to follow that dumb desperate Dante."

    "From today onwards you all work for me now. she''ll be your chief" Rio said while pointing towards Riley. And then at Ryan "And he''ll be your boss."

    "You will report to them. Follow their orders, and do whatever they say. That''s all. Otherwise you can keep doing what you were doing all this time, and your pay and rewards would be doubled from what that idiot gave you."

    Rio said, his voice inspiring greed in the eyes of the three workers. "But, if any of you ever choose to go against me, betray me or try to fool me - you guys should know, my money might be easy to take, but when I ask for payback, ites with a price of life attached to it." Shiva finished his words in a serious tone. His cold eyes scanning the three of them and sending a shiver down their spine due to the aura of bloodlust oozing out of him.

    "Y_ yes boss." The three of them all gulped and said at the same time.

    Rio smiled seeing their reaction and started speaking - "Then let me introduce you to your new bosses, this is Riley, that''s Ryan. And I''m death, if you''re itching for it."

    "Wee to Eclipse."

 Chapter 221 The Dinner And The Drama

    ?

    "How many times did you use the mask?" Rio said, as he took off the mask of deception and his appearance of Shiva was changed back to his original looks. It was almost night time already, and he had to go back, as Amelia and Esme had told him about it hours before.

    "Two times." Ryan said as he passed him a file "I didn''t use it to fight and all, that was just for some meetings and to get a deal with some people who wanted to do it face to face."

    Rio looked at the files which held a recording crystal, which probably had recordings of both times he wore his face, and the file which had the background of the people who saw him or met him at that time.

    The Mask of Deception couldn''t be used to copy someone''s face and then to fool others easily. But since it was made by Loki, if you can get him to help you, you can do it.

    Rio knew that there might be situations in the future where he couldn''t be avable due to various reasons, and Shiva might have to make an appearance. Or times when the world needed to see both Rio and Shiva together at different stages - so he made a deal with Loki when he got the mask, to let someone else use it for him for three times without any conditions.

    Two years ago, before he went to that dungeon and to take part in the academy tournament, he gave some of his artifacts to Ryan for safekeeping, as the academy didn''t allow the artifacts inside without permissions. And he didn''t have the cheat like system storage space to fool everyone, he had to let go of his artifacts. He had also given Ryan the permission to use them if any situation arises.

    And after that time on the tournament, he got trapped in the dungeon and couldn''te out for two years.

    Though the whole world believed that he was dead, Ryan, Riley and a few others, were the only ones who knew he wasn''t. Because one such artifact that he left behind was bound to his soul. And that artifact still maintained his ownership even after he was dered ''dead''.

    But since they didn''t have any direct proof and a way to get him out, they could only wait for his family to find him and free him.

    That''s why even when he wasn''t around, they all kept working on his past orders and making connections, and making their name famous all around.

    Though without his knowledge of the plot and the important characters to hire and target, their progress till now was subpar at best. But it stillid a foundation for him, and  now that he was back and this time he could act on his ns himself.

    Today, he just wanted to vent his stress, and let go of the anger that''s been piling up in his head ever since he came back to the academy.

    Seeing those traitors and cowards alive, and living free with a reputation of geniuses all around him. Seeing Saisha and Katherine here, and learning about all the changes and his past - his emotions were a mess. And he needed to let all that piled up anger out before hepletely lost control and did something that could affect everything.

    Dante was just a bonus gift, he never expected to appear here and catch easily.

    But since he found him so early and unexpectedly, he had no idea how to deal with it. That''s why, until he decided if he should kill him, buy him, torture him or turn him into a ve - Dante would have to wait in some dark cell.

    After putting the file and the recording crystal inside his storage ring, Rio closed his eyes andid back on the seat. While Ryan kept reporting all the things they did, or people they made deals with and hired under them. Rio kept listening to them, and at the end, he had only one thought in mind.

    ''What a waste of my money and resources. I thought they''d create an empire that could control the floating inds from the shadows, and they just made some stupid underground thug shop.''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''What a letdown. For me to wait two whole years and only get this result.''

    [They didn''t have the knowledge like you do. They didn''t know which people and businesses would shine and which would drown. Nor who could grow and who would die - they did an average job in my opinion.] System came out and spoke to him.

    ''Average job doesn''t suit the supporters of the main viin. If they''re just average, sooner orter they, me and everyone else - would be killed in Leon''s hands.''

    ''Should I just crush everything and start from scratch myself?'' Rio thought in wonder, because this was nowhere near enough to his ambitions and needs.

    Two years till the phase 2 of Emergence starts, and that is the only time he has for his growth. After that, there''ll be too much chaos for him to handle business.

    ''I''ll need to think more about this.''

    "We''ve also collected the herbs you requested. Since you said to buy as much as possible, without making any loud noise, we''ve done our best." Rylie said something which finally caught Rio''s interest and he opened his eyes. "We''ve also secured thends we were keeping an eye on. Since we didn''t know what you wanted to do with them, or which one you needed exactly, we just bought them all."

    Rylie finished her words, and passed him another file from the front seat. Rio looked at all the deeds and details of everything - and finally a small smile came to his face.

    ''So you guys aren''tpletely useless yet. At least they did one thing right.'' Rio thought and put away the file.

    [Isn''t that the ce where��]

    ''Yupp, it''s a backup against the Gods.''

    [Are you nning to release them early? Or..]

    ''It''ll depend on how strong I am at that time. Don''t worry, there''ll be no more mistakes in my n this time.''

    Since Riley and Ryan were the public figures working for Eclipse and Shiva, they could never be seen along with Rio. He had made preparations for these things and had briefed them in the past. But sadly these guys had made so little progress that no one even recognizes them yet, unless they say their names themselves, so she was still driving him back.

    Ryan had changed cars and went back. While Riley chose to drop him where he needed to go and then leave.

    "You''ve gotten more cruel now." Riley said when they were finally alone.

    "Try living in a dungeon for two years." Rio scoffed hearing that and said "I''ve seen so many deading back to life, and trying to kill me, that being soft before killing anyone is a thought that doesn''t evene to mind now."

    "I''m sorry." Riley said, as she looked at him through the mirror.

    "Naah, don''t worry about it. I''m back and that''s all that matters." Rio said, as he smiled and changed the topic, since the atmosphere in the car suddenly turned gloomy and awkward. "So what''s going on with your life? Found someone yet?"

    "Nope. No one''s as good as you. I could only wait for you toe back." Riley said as she smiled.

    "Cheesy, and a lie. You''re getting better at it." Rio said and ignored her.

    Just like this, while talking Riley kept driving him to the ce where Amelia and others were waiting. It was a famous restaurant called ''Dorsia'' , which always reminded Rio of that American Psycho movie - no matter how many times he heard it.

    Rio was about to go out, when he saw a scene which made him silent.

    Through the tinted ck windows, he saw that protagonist Leon was standing at the door of the restaurant, arguing with some security guard. Rio turned his head and saw Amelia, Ba, Rubina and A sitting inside happily chatting with each other.

    But then he focused and found there was one more person sitting at their table, a girl with long white hair and those symbolic pointy ears of the elves.

    "Saisha" Rio muttered as he recognized her. ''What the hell is she doing here?''

    [6 heroines in the same ce, along with the protagonist and the main viin.]

    [What a good stage for a big drama.]

    ###

    A/N - The car is covered by arrays and formations, which makes it impossible for others to see who''s sitting inside. Or to hear what they''re talking about.

    The materials used in making these kinds of cars are hightly resistant to mana and can ever block mana sense to a certain degree. So unless gods directly interfere or you encounter someone who''s a very strong awakner or has a special skill, you''re safe and happy to enjoy your private trip.

    Usually these vehicles are only used by very very rich people. nd those who had ton of connections.

 Chapter 222 Pretending Protagonist Or An Idiot Protagonist

    ?

    Rio looked at Leon standing at the gates of the restaurant and arguing with some security guard, and immediately all kinds of face p routines started to appear in his head. He had read so many cliched novels and plotlines in his life on earth, that he could practically remember a dozen of them which starts with this kind of setting.

    If it was only Amelia and others in the restaurant, he would simply ignore Leon and won''t even take a nce at this scene. As he had trained and influenced those girls enough to not fall for such stupid protagonist tricks to go help him or get curious about him. They were all smarter than that.

    But the problem was that there were two other heroines in this restaurant at this moment - Saisha Ellsworth and Seraphina Starzl.

    Both girls were the easiest target of Leon''s harem in the novel. Leon got Seraphina''s good graces from his little stay at Circle of Renewals in his childhood. And she was just also friendly and curious about rank 1, and thus fell for him easily over time.

    As for Saisha, it was even more simple. The princess who was loved by all, and never came into contact with anything negative and wrong openly, got attracted to his righteousness and heroic personality.

    She wouldn''t fall so easily, but it was also original Rio''s fault in the novel.

    After all, the one who won the fastest race alone would never get as much attention as the one who defeated someone else. People like topare and thatparison is what makes things interesting for them.

    But it also worked in Leon''s favor. As the more rumors spread about him, and the more his ''evil deeds'' spread everywhere, the more famous Leon started to get.

    [You should stop staring and go out there. Let''s just stop Leon from showing off somehow, or maybe let''s just kick him out of here. That should solve all the troubles.]

    "No, Let''s wait." Rio said.

    "[Wait _ what.]

    [You want to wait. What if Leon finishes this plotline and gets some big benefits or connections. It would be too troublesome for you to handle.]

    "At least I''ll know if Shweta''s personality really affected Saisha or not. Or if some new character pops up to help Leon or not."

    [But _ ]

    ''Just, listen to me. Will ya.'' Rio said and ignored the system.

    Riley, who saw Rio staring at Leon, asked "Someone you know, boss."

    "He''s Leon Heartwell. He''s a student at the academy too." Rio replied, without taking his eyes off Leon. Though he couldn''t hear what they were talking about, he could at least guess something through their bodynguage and the way they talked.

    "Ahh the top ranker huh." Riley said in realization, and also looked at Leon.

    At this time, Leon''s fame was everywhere, especially at the floating ind, where the news about the academy was everyone''s main focus. Plus Riley herself had checked every ranker when she was free, since they were all going to be Rio''s ssmates soon.

    "Half the tables inside are empty. And we won''t take long, it''s just for a normal dinner." Leon said to the guard who stopped him from entering. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Sir, I''ve informed you already. Many of those tables were already reserved by guests before, and others are kept free in case of some VIPs'' arrival." The guard respectfully replied, feeling helpless at how else he should exin the same thing that is written on board clearly for everyone.

    "To eat at Dorsia one needs a prior reservation or a membership card. Otherwise even if the restaurant is empty normal guests can''t enter." This ismon knowledge to basically everyone on the floating inds.

    Yet who can say that to our protagonist, who just pops at every expensive ce looking like a beggar or a thug.

    Yupp, even though Leon is a noble and heir to the Baron family, he''s still dressed in normal clothes, which were marked with dust and mud in some ces.

    Looking at that Rio could guess that the market fight scene which was supposed to happen in the morning might''ve happened already.

    Don''t ask if Leon doesn''t have any other clothes, or if he doesn''t know any cleaning spells - he does. Why he didn''t use them, god knows.

    Well probably even gods don''t know, only the author knows.

    Just tell me, is the protagonist pretending or is it an idiot protagonist.

    "What''s the hold up?" A man with a fat tummy asked loudly, and walked out from behind a counter and came to the door.

    "You there, why are you just standing there and chatting with your buddies, instead of weing other guests."

    He said to the guard who was busy talking with Leon for the past few minutes.

    "Ahh sir, that he _ " The guard from earlier started stuttering in nervousness and was unable to answer properly, when the fat man cut him off and started speaking again.

    "Do your jobs properly. You can''t ck off just cause you''re new. Now ignore him and stand at your post. You see how many guests had to open the doors themselves and enter. You''re basically ruining the reputation of everyone."

    After speaking to the guard, the fat man looked at Leon, and then ignored him and left.

    Hearing his superior''s order, the guard ignored Leon and went back to his post again.

    "Wee to Dorsia." He bowed and weed a couple who showed him a card and entered inside.

    Leon, who saw the guard''s respectful behavior, felt contempt and went to the fat man who wasing back after shouting at some other guard. "Excuse me. I wanted to book a reservation."

    The fat man, with the name te of ''David Turner'' fixed on his chest, looked at Leon from top to bottom for a few moments and then sighed a little inside and said - "Sorry sir, but we''re totally booked for the night."

    "What? But he said, many tables are empty for emergencies. I just need a table for two and that''s all." Leon said adamant on going inside.

    "Sir, as you said, those tables are for VIPs and emergencies. Not just anyone can sit there." The fat man David said sternly.

    The staff didn''t want to look down on anyone or insult someone on the main gate where everyone who came and went could see and hear everything. But everyone felt helpless.

    Every now and then some stupid people woulde to cause drama in Dorsia, asking about ces and prices of everything and then create a rockus saying they''re so expensive and proud and what not. Mostly it''s thosepetitors of theirs up front, who try to ruin their reputation, or some people who were just really bored and had nothing better to do.

    Looking at Leon, the fat man could see it was the second type of person, who just had nothing to do. Cause if not, then after looking at the big note at the side, or hearing the answer from the guard and him, he should''ve gone away, instead of staying here and arguing with him.

    "You _."

    "I''m a student at Zenith academy. You might''ve heard of me. I''m _."

    "Sir whoever you are, the rules are the same for everybody. Even if you''re a student at Zenith or not. Without reservations you can''t enter." The fat man said and ignored Leon and started going inside. Closing the ss door on his face.

    But just at that moment, a voice interrupted the fat man - "Stop".

    "He''s with me. Let him in."

    .

    Saisha, who was sitting with Amelia and others, and was talking happily and chatting with them. She was feeling a little restless at the dorms, so she decided to take a walk outside. She had heard from her fellow elves and Jaesin, that the food at Dorsia was the best on floating inds, so she came here for dinner.

    [As the princess of Elves, and belonging to a royal family of high elves, she had her own membership cards for every major or famous facility on the floating inds. Some membership cards were the ones which are made for the whole family of generations, and some were ones which Jaesin had made for her, so she wouldn''t have any trouble if she ever wanted to go alone somewhere.]

    Once she entered the restaurant, she found her roommate there, who was sitting with her friends. She was going to ignore them and sit on her own table, when A called her to join them and that''s how she ended up with them.

    Though she had seen A with Amelia and Reba sometimes, but this was the first time she met them herself, so she introduced herself and they all started talking.

    They were ordering food for themselves when she felt someone looking at her and turned back. She nced at the door''s direction, but found no one there. After searching a little farther, she found a ck car standing outside near the door. After she used her mana and failed to see who it was, she decided to take a look herself.

    After excusing herself, she came to the door and before she could exit and go to that car, she heard Leon''s conversation with the owner and saw that scene.

    She knew about Leon, and seeing how he was trying hard to enter, she decided to help him.

    "My table''s empty now. You can give it to them." Saisha said to the fat man, who could just nod his head in return. While silently wondering, how this idiot managed to get in the eyes of a princess.

    .

    ''Saisha''

    Rio looked at Saisha''s figure standing at the door and talking with the fat man. Though he couldn''t hear anything, the scene was enough proof for him to guess what the situation probably was.

    ''Is she gonna pull him to Amy''s table?'' Rio wondered. And the little calm he felt after beating up those goons of Dante, started to disappear and he started feeling angry again.

    [Calm down host]

    [Maybe it''s something else.]

    ''I''ve watched enough.'' Rio said and walked out of the car. "Leave." Rio said to Riley and she drove away without waiting there.

    ''I should settle him for once.''

    ###

    A/N - Guys, I started my new novel, which is based on earth after shiva''s death. Remember Ali, his best friend, he''s the mc of that novel. It''s a zombie apocalypse plus viin hunting protagonist kinda novel. Do check it out and give me your support and nice reviews. Please.

    It''ll mean a lot and help me too.

    Thanks and love you all for everything.

    Book title - "RICH VILLAIN OF THE RUINED WORLD"

 Chapter 223 Dorsia & Church Of Hestia

    ?

    Rio got out of the car and started walking towards the restaurant. Once he was out, he could hear what Saisha and the guard were talking about, yet there was no expression on his face.

    The security guard from earlier walked forward and opened the door for him.

    "Wee to Dorsia"

    Rio entered the restaurant without saying anything and ignored Leon and Saisha, who were looking at him. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Master" Esme signaled him with her hands, when she saw him enter.

    Rio nodded his head and went towards the table and sat on the empty chair where Saisha was sitting earlier and started to talk with Amelia and Ba.

    Currently they were all in a cabin like area in the middle, made of ss. These kinds of rooming arrangements were around the high midsection of the Dorsia price range.

    [Lower range would be where guests sit in the open hall like area, then the mid sections where they were given a private cabin with little privacy. The higher range would be a private room with all kinds of arrangements and facilities. The high the money paid, the better the arrangement one received.]

    Rio didn''t know whose idea it was to sit in these mid cabins made of ss walls, when Reba and Amelia, both had membership cards for the highest level.

    Maybe it was the work of fate so one of these heroines could go and help Leon. Or maybe it was because the restaurant was busy and had no open rooms for now. Or maybe it was someone in his group being stingy. - but he didn''t ask them, as he felt it was probably a nonsensical reason which would only hurt his logical brain if he heard it.

    "You''re sote. And the manager from Angel said you didn''t even go there. Were you sleeping all this time?" Amelia said when he sat there and passed him the menu so he could order for himself.

    "I was busy with my training and lost track of time." Rio said to Amelia, and passed the menu to the waiter without looking -"Ask Kael''thas to get me the usual." The waiter bowed and left.

    "Yeah, definitely sleeping." Reba chimed in with a smile. Her words making all of them smile.

    "You know the chef." Rubina asked, when Rio talked about the head chef Kael''thas and asked him to prepare his dishes. After all, Dorsia was one of the most famous restaurants, known throughout Arcadia for their quality of food. Not only because of the taste of their various dishes, but also because of the effects it brought on awakeners and whoever ate them.

    It has several branches open everywhere, but aside from their main headquarters at Neisah, the branch aturelia sanctum was the most famous. Mainly because of the talented head chef Kael''thas, also known as the magic chef or the Gourmet Wizard.

    Dorsia was a restaurant managed by the Church of Hestia. Its main branch opened in Neisah along with their church house.

    Hestia was one of the ancient Greek goddesses, who was also originally part of the 12 Olympian Gods. She''s often associated with hearth and home. She''s also known as one of the rarest Greek goddess, who was kind and righteous. And someone who didn''t use her powers to y or punish others.

    She liked peace and calm, and avoided trouble and games of power ys - that''s why to maintain peace for herself and her followers, she even gave up her throne of being a part of 12 Olympian Deities of Mount Olympus to Dionysus.

    "He''s the master of my family''s house chef. So we''ve met a few times." Rio said nonchntly like it was no big deal.

    A and Amelia were fine, while both Reba and Rubina made surprised expressions  khearing this news. Reba took a moment to think and then remembered something and looked at Amelia - "Say was everything you brought made by Kael''thas'' disciple?"

    "Obviously, do you think mother has that much time to prepare everything herself." Amelia said with a proud expression.

    "Who''s _ "

    "She''s a girl and her name''s Tanya." Amelia said to Rubina before she even finished her question.

    "Brother brought her home a few years ago, and she''s his little fan girl now." Amelia meaningfully said to Reba and smiled meaningfully.

    Hearing that Reba raised her eyebrows. She then looked at Rio in surprise, hoping to ask for some confirmation, but seeing him lost in his own world, she couldn''t find the right words for her doubts.

    -humha- cough- cough

    A small chuckle escaped Amelia''s mouth, which she covered instantly with a cough. Reba galred at Amelia, and Amelia ignored her angry eyes and started looking for the ss of water, while still maintaining her act of fake coughs.

    ''See how I deal with you back in room'' Reba said in her heart and ignored everyone. She buried her face in her te. Acting like nothing happened, yet everyone could hear the subtle ttering of teeth, and how she tightly held the spoon in her hand, almost breaking it in two.

    Rubina, who saw this scene, ignored it as passing air. After all, everyone in and around Schi knew about rumors of engagement between ke family and Schott family. There were even rumors that once both their children finished their studies, their families would hold a big celebration for their graduation and announce the engagement. Though both families never said anything openly, seeing how every one of these children were always together and were on good terms with each other. The chances were higher that those rumors were true after all.

    That''s why Rubina didn''t even think about that. Her focus on the other hand was on the girl named ''Tanya'' who was epted as the disciple of the gourmet wizard.

    ''She must be pretty talented to be chosen as his disciple. I wanna meet her.'' Rubina thought, as she wanted to make a deal with her. ''Or. Should I ask Amelia or Rio instead. Nah, they don''t know me well enough, so why would they help me? Let''s hope this Tanya can help me.'' Rubina thought with her face bent down, staring at the menu of food and their effects.

    Rio looked at Rubina and read her intentions as an open book. There was a reason why he mentioned Tanya in front of her, and looking at her downcast determined look, he could guess she took the bait.

    ''It''s so simple to fool people, if you have what they need in your hands.'' Rio thought, and remembered some words Nashi once said to him back on earth -

    "Know everyone''s desires and wait for their desperation - do that and you''ll have no one left you can''t control."

    ''Hate to say it but the bastard always spoke words that matched my thoughts.'' He thought, reminiscing about his past.

    Ignoring Rubina, Rio looked at Reba and a smile came to his face seeing the gloomy vibe she was oozing off.

    [Your sister''s helping you  to get a girl.]

    ''Shut up.''

    [What?]

    [You''re not nning to stay single all your life, are you? Cause if that''s your n then tell me now, so I can go offline. None of my previous hosts died a virgin. I don''t want you to break my record, and let you sully the name of being a system holder.]

    ''Just shut up.''

    [Plus I''m living in your head, I don''t wanna see and hear your indecent thoughts and urges all the time.]

    ''That''s it, you''re muted for a week.''

    [Wait, I was just jok_]

    Ignoring system''s pleading, Rio muted it. This time totally nning to not let it speak for a whole week.

    ''Let''s see how this chatterbox feels then. Next time, choose your words carefully, you dumb AI.''

    His thoughts drifted away thinking about the rumors of his engagement and other things. He knew who was behind those rumors, but he had no way to handle these things yet.

    "I''ll see you guys at the academy."

    Saisha, who saw that Amelia''s table was filled and Rio was sitting at her previous ce, decided to leave them alone. She wanted to go back to her table, but then she remembered she gave it to Leon and the girl he brought her with. Since she couldn''t go and sit at both ces, she just decided to go back to the dorms.

    But when she was about to turn back, A''s voice stopped her. "Where are you going, the food hasn''t even arrived yet."

    "Yeah, you didn''t juste to Dorsia to see the decorations, right. Just stay for dinner. And then we''ll all go back together." Rubina also nodded and said.

    Amelia didn''t say anything but looked at Esme. Esme nodded and was about to ask their manager to prepare another chair, when the fat man David from before brought a waitress who pulled another chair, and ced it in position around the table. While another waitress came with the extra tes and other cutlery.

    Looking at Saisha who was standing near the door of their cabin, he felt d that he already prepared everything beforehand. Otherwise if any rumor spread that the elven princess left empty stomach aftering to Dorsia, it would really be bad for their business. And they might even lose all their elven customers.

    "Thank you." Saisha said after she sat down, while the waitress passed her a menu, so she could order.

    [Changes in plotline detected.]

    [New quest issued.]

    [Please ask host to check it as soon as possible, to get better prepared.]

    Rio was thinking about how Leon would pop in this room, since Saisha was here now. When suddenly a few automated messages from the system popped up.

    ''And so it begins. Leon''s event to impress 6 heroines at once.''

 Chapter 224 Hunger, hatred and helplessness

    Chapter 224 Hunger, hatred and helplessness

    [Changes in plotline detected.]

    [Quest issued.]

    [Please ask the host to check it as soon as possible to be better prepared.]

    Rio read the notification and smiled. He wasn''t surprised about it, as he had doubted that something was wrong the moment he saw all these heroines sitting in the open, with Leon who''s present in the same restaurant. And when he tasted the food in front of him, he had already noticed what was wrong.

    ''Warzy, my dear old friend. I''ve been waiting.'' Rio said in his heart while taking another bite, and munching on it.

    {H scoffs at the fools who are trying to use poison on her chosen. She feels proud of her blessing, and asks the host to punish these ignorant ants.}

    {Nyx smiles, saying you should kill them in a way that sets an example for others.}

    {Loki looks forward to your performance. Make himugh.}

    {Odin and Indra casts their eyes at you. Hoping to see your progress with their own eyes.}

    Rio read the notifications of some other gods too but he ignored them. It wasn''t surprising that some of these guys came to watch the drama. Since an attack on floating ind was worth watching and interesting enough for them to waste their energies willingly.  He expected it, but then he saw something that got his attention.

    {Den of Devils starts a gathering, batting on your chances of survival.}

    {Ythranor looks at you and scoffs saying ''what an ant''}

    ''Guess Dante was his favorite huh.'' Rio wondered as he read the notification of Ythranor, who looked like he was in a bad mood.

    Den of Devils was a group made up of many evil members belonging to several myths and legends from all kinds of worlds. It was a collectivemunity of many high ranking members of evil gods of evil races like Demon''s, Asura''s, Oni''s, Ifrit''s, Djinn''s, Ghoul''s, Lamia''s etc.

    At the beginning of Emergence, several righteous gods got pulled into Arcadia, and they started a hunt to kill all the evil gods and their followers, to wipe out the traces of evil from this new world and to secure their ruling position. While also trying to increase their reputation so they can get more faith power for themselves.

    The righteous gods spread myths and legends of the cruelty of their enemies and called them evil races, riling up the people to Arcadia to kill them. This way it created a time period where all those righteous gods gathered up their followers and enjoyed the hunt of their lifelong enemies.

    Everyone who was even slightly associated with evil gods, or who prayed to them or was chosen by them as their follower or an avatar - was banished, burned and killed by the righteous army. Making bodies pile up in mountains, while their blood flowed like rivers, dying the whole of Arcadia red.

    When the evil gods and those who were now branded evil, felt the threat of life - after constantly losing avatars and followers, they all decided to form a joint front and oppose these so called ''righteous army.''

    This is how the Den of Devils was initially formed. A gathering of gods branded as evil.

    The collective front of evil stopped the hunt of righteous gods and their followers and both parties finally formed a momentary peace.

    But then the tides started to turn, various gods and different races started to join the Den of Devils, pressuring the righteous gods into a corner.

    After all, what Den of Devils promised was the freedom to do whatever they wanted. There were no rules which binded anyone, and if they had strength all their supporters and followers were free to do everything, their gods would back them up.

    The allure of darkness and evil had always been something that was hard to resist, and just like that, Arcadia was pushed into an era of evil. An era, wherewlessness and crime were at peak, where lives weren''t considered precious anymore, and evil became the new justice. Where looting, rioting, raping, killing etc became the new measures of prestige and power. That was the darkest period in the history of Arcadia.

    Some history books say there used to be no sunlight seen for days in that era, as the world would always be covered in the gloomy shadow of darkness. That blood rains never stopped, as the will of the world cried daily seeing the state of Arcadia.

    And one day, the ray of hope shone in the world, ending this dark era.

    The avatars of many primordials and origin gods joined forces to fight against the Den of Devils. But instead of hoping to achieve the fool''s dream ofpletely eradicating evil, the chosens of primordials put forth the condition of peace and coexistence - like how they''ve been doing in their own worlds for eons.

    This way both the forces of evil and righteousness stopped their war, and decided to develop themselves and advance together in this new world. Instead of fighting and dying amongst themselves, and making the world system of Arcadia stronger.

    Rio kept eating the poisoned food, and other than the fact that his taste buds were suffering, like they were forced to chew something unptable, he felt nothing else.

    His expression to that bad taste and detail of poison didn''t even make him frown, as he faced worse of these things when he was trapped in that godforsaken dungeon for two years.

    After all, in a failed world, infected with death energy, the first thing that goes extinct is food. The world couldn''t grow anything new, and whatever there ever was, was now corroded and filled with the death energy of that red sun. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Even though he liked to always prepare extra for everything, he couldn''t just store things that couldst him for two years. He had to keep everything in storage rings at that time, instead of the unlimited system inventory - and storage rings gets easily filled.

    Once all the food he had on himself, and what he got through the rings of other students, which he looted or picked from their corpses, ended - he had to do everything to make sure he survived.

    He couldn''t go hungry for days, as once his mana ended, he needed to use his aura to fight against all those creatures who came for his life - and for that aura, he needed his physical strength.

    Not to mention the aftereffects of mana and aura depletion which made his hunger go beyond the limits. And it hurt more as he couldn''t waste his mana on suppressing these little effects.

    As even more time passed and he got affected with EMMSY and started facing the mismatch of energies within him. He started losing his connection with mana, and it started taking longer and longer to replenish it. While in the beginning he could get his full mana back in a few hours, whichter turned into full days, and by the end, he needed nearly a week if he wanted to get all his mana back.

    Not to mention all this time he had to keep using his mana sparingly always to keep EMMSY from spreading uncontrobly and turning him into a zombie too.

    The feeling of hunger, hatred and helplessness had nearly eaten away at his sanity. And it was probably only his luck that he survived all that time, until he got out.

    Against all that, and what he had to eat there, this wasn''t even a warm up.

    Rio looked at Reba, Saisha and others, and saw that all of them were eating their food without anyints or notice of danger. A and Rubina weren''t avatars yet so it was fine that no God could talk to them freely here. As for others, he knew the characteristics of Reba''s goddess Selene and Esme''s God Camazotz, both of these gods were too stuck up high horses, so they probably turned this into a test to see their chosen one''s strength.

    It was all within his expectations.

    But the one who really surprised him was Saisha. He saw her eating her food without any care while talking with A and Rubina - and he couldn''t help but think, just what''s going on with Gaia.

    In the novel, the all mother Gaia literally doted on Saisha, as if she was her own daughter. She also helped her many times, and even acted to save Leon once since he was Saisha''s friend. And yet that same goddess mama bear was watching the drama from the sidelines, without warning her avatar at all.

    ''''Nyx, do you know something, what''s wrong with Gaia?'''' Rio asked as he rubbed his fingers over the mark of dark moon, which was Nyx''s symbol on his hand. .

    {Pay back myst favor and I''ll let you know.} Nyx said, reminding him about the promise he made to her in return for using her name, so he can hide about the system power ups and him ranking up overnight. Nyx had kept silent and no one knew that she didn''t help him in that regard at all.

    ''You got so much power of faith due to my publicity, can''t you just answer a little question.'' Rio said stating facts, hoping she''d answer. After all, with his little fiasco and reputation Nyx got so many new followers.

    But Rio got no reply from Nyx again. ''She just had to go silent now.''

    ''Damn it, this is gonna be a headache.'' Rio cursed in his heart, as he failed to understand anything about Gaia or Saisha.

 Chapter 225 Warzy and Virgil Graves

    Chapter 225 Warzy and Virgil Graves

    Ignoring Saisha, Rio turned his eyes at Amelia who was eating her food with a frowning face, each bite of hers was getting smaller and smaller in size, while the time difference between those bites kept increasing.

    ''So she noticed it too huh. Was it some of Gauri''s blessing or just cause she''s a foody.'' Rio thought in his heart with a smile.

    Amelia looked up at him with questioning eyes, and he shook his head in response.

    "Stop talking and finish your food first. It''s already gettingte." He said while looking at A, who was happily telling Rubina and Saisha about her apprenticeship.

    Amelia nodded her head and focused on her food too. Though if anyone who knew her enthusiasm with food enough, looked at her expression, they''d know something was wrong.

    ''She really needs some acting lessons.'' Rio thought and made a mental note.

    Rio looked outside of the restaurant, and at the crowd which was dining at the outside open hall, nothing seemed to be suspicious about anything and it all looked normal.

    Yet he was sure, that an attack from Warzy was about to happen here. After all, the poison which he could taste in his mouth was something only people from Warzy used. He had gotten a sample of it when Warzy used this same trick to poison the staff members near the dungeon two years ago. And he secured another stash of it after he looted the corpses of their minions he killed inside the dungeon.

    Mystic Hush, a poison whose recipe is only known to the higher ups of the Warzy organization. This poison once ingested can dull the mana sense of awakeners. Making it hard for them to feel, channel or control their mana.

    While Evil''s Scion had Nether Cards and Cursed Mana, Warzy had Mystic Hush as their trump card for killing awakeners.

    All these things are only essible to higher ups of these organizations in a limited amount. They can use these things however they want. And since no one else could copy these methods or recreate them - the organization had no worries showing these cards in the open.

    Cursed mana was something only vampires and Evil''s Scion could use without getting killed by it. While Mystic Hush was a poison potion made by a concoction of 32 different kinds of deadly poisons. All mixed in a way that it only worked against mana.

    Mystic Hush poison has no threat to life directly, as all those 32 poisons negated each other''s effects perfectly. So if one wanted to kill someone using this poison, they''d need to do the job themselves after the poison takes effect.

    But what itcked in direct threat to life it made up for it in its potency.

    This poison is tasteless, colorless and odorless. And if one didn''t have any high level poison resistance blessing, even S rankers would have a hard time suppressing the effects of this poison.

    So Rio could guess that if the food for everyone was poisoned, then many people from Warzy must be here to finish their job.

    Now that he knew who the enemy was, he just needed to know at what scale of attack it was, and what was their goal? After all, being the profit hungry organization Warzy is, they wouldn''t move a muscle if they don''t get a profit out of it. And he couldn''t guess what kind of profit they''d earn after infiltrating and attacking at Dorsia.

    This attack not only would make them enemies of Neisah, but also the world association. Along with his father who''s been on a crusade against them, and all the other rich guys who''ve been sitting in this restaurant at this time - with so many negative points, why would Warzy attack here, and what do they n to get out of it, that''s what''s concerning him.

    ''Is it all happening just so fate can make Leon shine, cause other than that there''s no logical reason for an attack here.'' Rio wondered. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Finding nothing strange, Rio wiped his hands and mouth, andid back on his chair. He opened his phone and started to check some news, while opening the system panel and checking up the quest which was issued to him.

    [Quests.]

    [Quest 1. - A Minion''s Menace

    A side viin of the novel whose destiny was altered by your actions, had sent his trusted minion to im your life and take back his honor.

    Survive and solve this threat to your life.

    Quest reward - 25000 points.]

    ''So someone''s here for me huh.'' Rio said in his heart and smiled that he wasted so much time thinking about their purpose, and in the end it turned out to be him.

    He epted the quest message and closed his eyes. His mind went through all the people of Warzy whom he fought against two years ago on that dungeon attack. After removing the ones who were killed by him, and those who died in the dungeon crash, he started arranging the ones who ran away or went missing after their fight. And soon enough he found the guy he was looking for.

    ''Virgil Graves - the man whom he fought against inside the dungeon, and got the technique of Rebound Art from.''

    In the novel, Virgil was the one who had mastered Rebound art, and fought against Leon before Emergence phase 2 had started. But two years ago, Warzy attacked the academy and Virgil came across Rio.

    Seeing the chance to get a defensive technique that this cheap viin came to deliver to the door, how could Rio let him go. So he fought with Virgil, until Virgil gave him the technique along with his hand.

    [Ahh, the guy whose hands you chopped off so you could steal his storage ring.]

    ''I would''ve killed him too, if not for that bastard Alfred, and his group of other weaklings.''

    Rio cursed as he remembered about all the shit Alfred pulled in that dungeon. If not for that guy, he would''ve killed Virgil that day, and now this chain event kind of trouble wouldn''t be happening to him.

    [Why don''t you expose him. That''ll be a nice punishment for a prince charming.]

    ''I didn''t unmute you so you can y around again. So stop chit - chatting and help me deal with whatever happens next.'' Rio said to the system as he felt the mana getting thinner in the air, and the background noise of the crowd disappearing slowly.

    ''Buy a few antidotes and keep them ready. Also send one of them directly into Amy''s storage ring just in case.'' Rio gave out his orders and closed the system panel.

    After the system came back online, he had bought a pair of rings with amon storage space inside. He gave one of them to Amelia when they joined the academy, while the other was with himself. This way he didn''t had to worry about anything and could just directly pass her anything through the ring.

    Since he had his own private system inventory upgraded till level 3 , he didn''t really need any other storage items. And with the help of system he could just buy anything ording to the situation and throw it into that sharing ring, so Amy can just take care of herself.

    ''Though since she noticed it was poisoned and yet she''s still eating it, I guess she won''t need it. But whatever.'' Rio thought and ignored it.

    One antidote of this poison costed him 250 points, and this bastard system bought 10 without asking him cause he didn''t soecify the number himself.

    ''Why do I need 10 potions, I just needed 5.'' Rio asked the system, but the answer he got was that [10 is a lucky number, and counting price times ten is easy.]

    ''Just cause I have so many points doesn''t mean they''re for you waste, you spendthrift.'' Rio cursed, feeling that he should never give free reign of shopping to this system again. Cause even though the system started to speak like a robotic AI now, but it seems it still has all the habits of whoever that girl Kajal was. It''s like a bug had affected some software and now that glitch is the new norm for this version.

    ''Why aren''t these bastards attacking me already, if they came for me.'' Rio thought as he looked at the time and the night outside. He saw someone yawning outside, and now he did it too.

    ''Seriously people from Warzy never get their timings right. Now I look like I need sleep when I haven''t eaten anything besides this fucked up dish since yesterday night.''

    ''I should call up Tanya to bring me some dishes she prepared next week. She must''ve learned a lot of recipes from earth that I gave her.''

    Recipes of earth with the style & ingredients of arcadia, personally made by the disciple of Annapurna - I''m looking forward to it.

    Rio, who was getting bored thinking about useless stuff while waiting for someone toe and sh at his neck, finally smiled as heard the sound of footsteps outside his room.

    ''It''s finally here. I''ve been waiting to kill you Warzy minions for two whole years now.''

    {Nyx nods at your excitement to kill your enemies.}

    {H says she needs a better show than the one you put on in that club as your other persona.}

    {She also says her father is watching the scene from some corner too. This might be your chance to impress him.}

    ''Can''t she choose some better words.''

    -sh boom-

 Chapter 226 Warzy Attacks

    ?

    "In our n when we need to choose the next heir we hold arge tournament, and then there''s a big battle for everyone. When I was a kid I saw it once, it was so exciting." Rubina kept telling everyone about the culture of her n as she waved her hands and started stories about fights and other scenes like a proper storyteller.

    "Aren''t you all nsman why fight amongst themselves. Can''t they choose the most talented one or through votes or something." A asked as she never understood the idea of so much fighting at every turn.

    "What, votes - that''s just dirty politics. Let me tell you only strength matters, and only strongman can unite everyone under an iron fist. That''s how we''ve been able to survive all this time, otherwise how many ns ying politics disappeared in Arcadia." Rubina said with a hint of disdain in her voice.

    They were talking when the door to the cabin opened. The waitress from earlier came inside and started walking towards their table.

    "Did someone ordered something?" Reba asked as she looked at everyone, and then nced at Amelia the foody as if she knew she''s the only one who would ask for more after eating all this.

    Yet when she looked at Amelia''s te which was still half filled, she got confused and wanted to ask her something, but before she could utter a single word, she watched as Amelia picked up her te and threw it at the waitress face. The sudden move made everyone surprised as they all looked at Amelia and then at the waitress with surprised expression.

    The force behind the te knocked the waitress a step back, but she didn''t scream or cry instead started walking towards them again with a maniacalugh on her face which started dropping blood. Soon everyone discovered the anomaly as they watched with glued eyes when the body of that waitress started bloating at speed visible to naked eyes. Red veins started to appear on her skin and before anyone could understand or react to what was happening, a loud st sounded in the their ears.

    �Cboom�C

    The waitress sted herself inside the room, throwing the room into aplete darkness. Blood and body parts sttered everywhere, marking their faces and clothes red. A puked and threw out all her food when she saw a part of broken hand which suddenly dropped on her thighs. She stood up in hurry and moved back, knocking the chair.

    Same was the case with everyone, they all stood up in shock. Though initially surprised they all calmed down and tried to ess the situation for any attack. After all, every one of them was a talented genius of their own origins. Yet the biggest shock was still remaining left, when they all tried to channel their mana they found they could feel nothing.

    The fireballs they tried to create were like a mere mes of a candle or a lighter. And even that required their utmost attention to maintain.

    Screams could be heard in entire room as the sound of people fighting started to appear around them. From what they could see through the glittering lights of their spells the whole room was filled with masked man dressed in ck.

    "Show yourself you cowards." Rubina shouted as she swung her fists in the empty darkness. A scream escaped her mouth as she felt a sharp cut on her back. "Die" She turned around and threw a kick with full force, but her feet felt like she was hitting an iron wall.

    "They''re not humans." Rubina shouted trying to warn everyone while backing away, as she felt another wound in her stomach.

    "They''re golems." Reba shouted as she felt her knuckles hit a wall with the previous punch. She picked and bashed a chair on her opponent, and backed off immediately. But soon she stumbled over something and fell down on the ground. She noticed a silver sword streaking towards her and disappearing midway.

    "Not all of them." She heard Rio''s voice as she felt some liquid falling over her. Blood of the masked man who was about to attack her. She picked up a broken leg of the chair and stabbed it behind her as she heard the sound of heavy footsteps. "Some are still humans." She said while kicking the dead body while pulling the wooden stick back.

    A who backed away subconsciously towards the conrner in the beginning heard someone''s footstepsing towards her, she tried her best to use any spell to hold her opponent. Yet without mana even the elemental mastery of wood refused hermand and no spell could be casted. She heard a swish sound in air, and felt a gust of air hitting her skin. She closed her eyes and covered her face, as she felt she was about to be shed at. Yet at thest moment she found her body being pulled to the side. It felt like someone grabbed her and threw her away. A scream escaped her mouth involuntarily. "Ahhhh"

    "A" Amelia shouted as she kicked her opponent away. Currently she was facing off against three masked man around her, while moving towards the ce where her brother was sitting earlier. She created an aura de with her hand and threw it towards the ceiling.

    As the blue wave of aura moved towards the ceinling she took a nce around the room in the light. She saw A huddled in a corner with a barrier that covered her, and Rubina, who was trapped between two masked man holding a dagger, with a bleeding stab wound in her stomach.

    The bluish hue of aura hit the ceiling and disappeared. As the attack got absorbed by some kind of formation pattern.

    Seeing A was fine she turner her attention back at her opponent, grabing his hand she twisted it and took his sword from him. She kicked the man away and shed at him while moving forwards. She tarted swinging her sword at the remaining two masked man around her. Yet while fighting this time her senses started to get dull at an rming rate, her steps started getting wobbly and hands fekt numb.

    "Don''t use your aura. Something''s wrong with the air." Amelia shouted as she backed off, her back colliding with someone. She shed her sword without looking, but her attack missed and someone grabbed her hand instead.

    "It''s me. Don''t attack." Saisha said as she let go of Amelia''s hands. While pulling her away as she saw a silver hue attacking her from behind. She moved back and grabbed the hand of the masked man and stabbed it with the chopsticks she picked up from the table earlier.

    "I didn''t need your help." Amelia said as she moved forward and swung her sword, killing the man who was screaming in pain. Ignoring Saisha, Amelia moved towards Rubina''s direction to help her.

    "You don''t mess with food. Can''t you get that one thing right." Amelia said as she kicked a man in stomach and then when he was on his knees, swung her sword, cutting off his head in one swift motion.

    The screams of the masked man and attacks kept sounding in the entire room, as the smell of blood permeating kept getting heavier. Even their own sounds of help or calls were echoing and drowning in the sea, making grouping together hard for them. If that wasn''t enough, some loud sts and screams from outside could also be heard making everything confusing. They weren''t sure how many people there were in the room, or how many had died already. They couldn''t even focus on what was around them, as all their focus was on their opponents.

    "Just die already." Rubina shouted as she plunged the knife in her hand at her opponent. "Fucking golems." She cursed as she felt the knife was stuck inside and she couldn''t pull it out.

    She heard the sound of sword shing through the air and was about to move out, when she heard Amelia''s voice "Never knew you cursed,dy leader."

    Amelia said amusedly while shing her sword constantly at the golem opponent Rubina was fighting against, until she heard a loud thud of him falling down.

    ''Brother don''t you dare do something stupid.'' She prayed in her heart as she noticed she hasn''t heard Rio''s voice at all for some time now.

    She had realized there was something wrong when she tasted some kind of poison in her food, but seeing Rio noticed it too and didn''t act, she stayed silent. Though she noticed the poison, but she didn''t have any high poison resistance skill so she still kept her guard up, but not long after that she could feel the small effects of this poison inside her.

    ''Warzy.'' She cursed in her heart as she realized who their attackers were when she identified the method. Anger started rising in her heart as she remembered about what happened two years ago, and how because of these damn profit hungry maniacs her brother had to suffer alone in that dungeon.

    She was about to lose her cool when she felt a slight disturbance in her storage ring. Channeling her mana she found an extra potion ced inside the ring. "Don''t do anything. And Use that potion if necessary." Rio''s voice sounded in her ears, so she kept silent.

    It was only that before the waitress entered their cabin she felt a high spatial distortions around their cabin and seeing her brother nodding at her that she decided to act. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    She was about to beat that waitress and then go out with her brother to deal with everyone who probably used some kind of teleportation circle outside. When the wairess instead of attacking directly blew herself up, sting all the light crystals in the room.

    Then these masked man started appearing suddenly in the room,  she wanted to use her mana to fight them but then she heard her brother''s voice in her head that ordered her not to use mana and only fight normally. So she could only bite the bullet and hope he''s not nning something stupid.

    "Now this is fun." Rio said as he stood outside the gate of their cabin and saw three masked man standing there, while behind them stood a figure in a shrouded in a red hoodie.

    "So you''re the one who came for me." Rio said to the hooded figure. He raised his hand in the air and clenching his fists pulled it back.

    Thud-thud-thud

    The sound of heads hitting the ground rang out, as the bodies of the three people standing in front fell down after a few moments too. "Let''s talk privately, shall we?"

 Chapter 227 Beginning of bloodbath

    Chapter 227 Beginning of bloodbath

    Few minutes ago

    As soon as the waitress entered the room, Rio smiled and straightened his back. He could feel the mana gathering outside and the sudden surge of people entering the restaurant or the ones who walked out of their rooms or stood up from the main hall - like they all got a signal to act.

    Their synchronization was so on point that it even scared the ones around them.

    "Golems" Rio muttered under his breath "Neat trick."

    Rio scanned everything around him through his mana sense, which was boosted by Hecate''s blessing of magic sense. His eyes stopped at the room where Leon was sitting with Seraphina. Rio smiled as he sensed the high amount of fire element inside there.

    ''Protagonist, he really smells trouble by a mile huh. And even those idiots, if they came for me shouldn''t you attack me first. What a waste of time.''

    [Protagonist''s are always the one, who sees something wrong and gets a clue of any event or attack first - it''s their right as the chosen son of heavens and being the favorites of author.]

    ''You know, I just said that as a rhetoric and wasn''t really asking for your opinion, right.''

    [...]

    Rio stopped using his blessings and the notifications he got from H. He looked at the bloating waitress who was ready to st herself and the moment she did, he waved his hand, sttering all the blood mist away from him.

    The blood mist was another form of attack used by the low level minions of Warzy. These people were basically brainwashed and turned into puppets and their only role in the organization was to be a suicide bomber. The bodies of these guys is filled with a kind of poison which once inhaled blocks the aura movement.

    The poison''s name was called Blood Vapor Veil, it was simple, effective and hard to detect. Once injected directly through smell or taste, this poison directly mixes into the blood, making it harder for the user to find and suppress. That''s all this poison does basically, but if someone were to use aura after using this poison, then this poison which is mixed in blood creates a veil over your veins, making it hard for you to channel your aura and making their senses slower.

    Even this effect though seems overpowered but could easily be stopped if one has some blessing of poison resistance, or even has high control over their mana and use these to eject the poison directly.

    But Warzy has Mystic Hush potion which can stop anyone from using mana - thus the addition of both these things makes them even more deadly.

    After all, what can someone do without mana and aura. Even if someone''s a high ranker, if they lose these two, then what''s left is just their enhanced body and physical strength left. If not then they''re just like normal nobodies. Making them easy prey for Warzy to hunt and kill.

    Just at that moment of st, Rio also used the control over darkness element to destroy all the sources of light inside their cabin room. Though the darkness of night had little effects for everyone in the room at normal times, and they would see through it easily, but with their senses dull and mana suppressed, even this was enough.

    The girls can still rely on their heightened physical senses to fight with people of Warzy for some time. As for those who were a little troublesome to deal with for the girls, Rio nned to deal with them himself first.

    [You just want to confuse and busy them in their fight, so they don''t see you stealing stuff..]

    ''Shut up.'' Rio said, standing up from his seat, as he controlled the threads he spread all over the room.

    He stopped the system from speaking, but it was the truth after all. The golems used by Warzy were the best automated bots money could buy. And now that his old friend Virgil sent them as a gift to him, how could he not take it.

    Defeating these golems generally wasn''t hard, as they were low in grade and their strength and skills were fixed, and easy to predict, but what made them truly scary was the unlimited stamina they had. These guys could hold their own against a normal simr ranked awakener and might give a tough fight, but to all these heroines and important characters they weren''t anything special.

    But now that the girls couldn''t use any mana Or aura, then dealing with all the golems, while fighting against the few living humans who sneak attacked on every chance and turn - was going to be very hard. That''s why for their good too, Rio nned to solve all the golems for these girls first. As for other assassins, these heroines and characters can deal with them themselves.

    ''A fight or two like this - was probably good for their experience, and would teach them a lot of things.'' Rio thought as he moved fine threads all over the room in a swift pattern.

    Soon enough many footsteps started sounding in the room and the sound of fighting started. The first to jump forward was Esme, but expecting it already, he sent a mental message to her. "Handle the one''s outside our cabin, who''re in B rank. Let everyone fight for themselves and polish their skills."

    Rio had already sent a message to her asking her to keep silent about it. After all, Esme was a part of shadows, and was literally poisoned multiple times in name of training and building her senses. Every shadow and someone who worked as a part of Silent Reapers, had to go through all kinds of hard trainings to make them perfect bodyguards and assassins. After all, ke family can''t raise lukewarm people to protect their important members.

    Esme stopped and looked at Rio, through the darkness she could see him fighting with someone who showed no sign of life. As a vampire her senses were sharper than everyone else, and she was extra sensitive about the blood and heartbeats. She could sense nothing from those golems.

    She wanted to ask him or go to help him, but she remembered what he said to her a few moments ago, when she asked something about why he still wanted to eat a deadly poison and wait for enemy''s attack.

    "You know questioning and doubting me once or twice over my decisions is good. But you''re making it a habit now. Just do what I said."

    It was a clear order and she understood it too. So she could just suppress her questions in her heart and do what he said. She was still ready to contact the elite members of Alphas stationed at Angel, but she decided to wait and do that if things started going out of hand. She changed her direction and moved towards the wall which was broken in another st and some people were entering from there.

    Rio watched as Esme intercepted them before they coulde inside and attack everyone else. Once Esme was out Rio finally breathed a sigh of relief and then started his work.

    ''Let''s get looting.'' He thought, while trapping the golem in front of him into threads. Once the golem''s movements were restricted, Rio took out a short ceremonial dagger with a blood red hilt and plugged it deep into the golem''s forehead.

    The mechanical golem whirred for a few seconds and then fell limp on the threads he was binded with. Rio waved his hand and put that into his system space.

    ''One down, more to go.'' Rio said and moved towards the other golem whom he could notice in the room.

    Through his mastery over darkness, he could see everything as clear as day even though there was no light around him. Rio kept moving and collecting all these golems into his system inventory. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    These golems also had simr creation methods and the way of dealing with them was simple too. Just find and destroy the magic core which is used as a power source to function these mechanical robots.

    Finding the core wasn''t hard, as sensing condensed mana in their bodies was quite easy once these golems stood still. Since Rio could still use his mana himself, and he could use threads to bind these golems and trap them- he could do it even more perfectly and knock them out easily.

    One by one the golems which entered the room to confuse everyone and kill them, started to fall down and Rio sweeped them all into his system space.

    He could let these golems out once he destroyed the runes ced on their bodies by Warzy, and then he''d just need to fix them up again a bit and they''d all be his minions.

    Though he wasn''t much interested in some low level bots or golems, but the material used to make these golems was a little rare and expensive, so why waste them if they''re a free gift from the enemy camp.

    Rio also helped A to stay away from everything and fixed her in a corner. After all, there was no need to put his money machine in danger for a little fighting experience.

    Soon enough Rio had removed all the golems he could find inside the room, and threw them like trash in his system inventory.

    ''Now that that''s done, let''s start with the bloodbath.''

    ''Warzy, you owe me a little too much to be left alone. Since you made a move again, then just stay and be a stepping stone for me this time.''

 Chapter 228 Huitzilopochtli - God of sun, war and sacrifice

    Chapter 228 Huitzilopochtli - God of sun, war and sacrifice

    After dealing with all the golems inside and storing their bodies inside his system space, Rio walked outside the room from the gate. He looked to the side and saw Esme was still fighting with 3 of the masked men who surrounded her. She was still handling them easily, even without using her transformation of true form. Looking at it, it won''t take long until she dealt with them and came to his side again.

    He also looked back and saw that Reba managed to ess her storage ring during the fight and threw some light crystals in the room, removing the darkness that enveloped it. He also watched as Saisha managed to control her element and remove all the blood mist from the air, which could allow them to use their aura a little easily now. He looked at Amelia, who was covering A and Rubina behind her while holding back 4 men who surrounded her. She also started using her mana now and was fighting with them.

    Seeing that, he also understood it won''t take long for them to deal with everyone in the room now, if there was no variable popping up. There were only a few men left for them to handle.

    Looking outside he noticed the whole building of Dorsia was destroyed, and the fighting sound wasing from everywhere. He looked upwards and outside, and could faintly feel the signature of a barrier which covered everything. He also saw some weird shining symbols on certain walls which were probably connected to a formation pattern, he wasn''t sure what this was. As there are too many things like formations which Warzy used in the novel, and were never exined clearly in detail.

    But seeing that he didn''t see anyone from outsideing to help, it only meant two things - one, they couldn''t notice what''s happening here. And second, there''s something more bizarre happening outside which needs their attention first.

    Rio couldn''t understand why in the hell Warzy allowed such arge attack in the heart of floating inds and for what reason.

    He knew Virgil''s reach in that organization, it was nowhere near the level to bring so much firepower and initiate an attack this big for no reason, but just to kill him.

    It may have been Virgil''s personal goal, but the fact that higher ups of Warzy allowed something like this, means those guys are nning something.

    ''Is it rted to the first major eventing up soon?'' Rio wondered, but failed to understand the goals of Warzy.

    He never for a second believed that such a big event happened just for his head, if it was a personnel attack on him somewhere outside, he could still take it. But this was not Warzy''s style. No matter which angle he looked at it, this only leads to Warzy making enemies from everyone and yet getting nothing in return.

    ''Are the gods behind them starting to move.'' Rio wondered as he felt this attack was just a show and nothing serious. With Warzy''s background they could tten the Dorsia if they wanted in a minute, but they''re ying around with barriers all around it and sending out golems to fight, instead of sending their high rankers.

    [Maybe they want to establish their reputation again. After all, the constant hunt from your father and other nobles is bad for their business.] The system spoke, giving out its theory.

    ''I have a feeling it''s not so simple.'' Rio wondered as he started moving towards the room where Leon was fighting against some people, while protecting Seraphina.

    If he needed a clue about what this event was all about, then it''s better to go where Leon is. After all, the clues of chain events always appear near the protagonist in the novels. That''s how they''re the first ones to know and understand everything. He was sure the minion, Virgil sent to kill him, is also going to appear somewhere near Leon, and decides to fight with him first. It could be an excuse of him getting horny over Seraphina, Or just greedy over the prestige of killing the next beat genius. -he would appear there and give Leon some clues of their real n and then die. That''s how every novel routine works.

    Rio started running forward, ignoring the fights happening around them. The screams of everyone fighting without mana and aura, while golems which were holding everyone back and their opponent who could use magic to kill them - were happening everywhere. Many guests died and their bodies were littered on the floor dying it red.

    The cries of agony and screams of pain and anger were making the environment gloomy. Smoke and dust was flying in the air making it hard to breathe or see clearly. Rio also came across some bombers who were sting themselves so the amount of poison never went down a certain level.

    Along the way he noticed he didn''t see any staff of Dorsia fighting against the masked men, and it was only the guests who were fighting for their life.

    Rio took it lightly before, thinking it''s probably a little assisination attempt on him through poison, due to Virgil''s anger. But looking at the scale of damage outside now, and seeing no response from anyone outside, he realized how wrong he was. Cause this attack was too big to be just termed as trying to kill him.

    Unless _

    [Unless Warzy needed to do something and Virgil took the task to create a diversion. And in doing that, he chose to n an attack on you, to get his revenge and a perfect diversion. Two goals, one shot.] System said, finishing his words and perfecting the theory that his brain came up with.

    Rio agreed with that too, as that was the only usible exnation. But there was still something that he didn''t understand, how did they know? How did that guy know he''ll be Dorsia at this time? He himself didn''t know that, as it was just a sudden decision by Amy and Ba?

    [You''re forgetting this world has seers, my host.]

    [Warzy has a ton of them on their back and call. It won''t be surprising if one of them managed to capture a vision of you here. That way they just needed to wait and be ready till you came here.]

    ''But still how much time did it take for them to infiltrate Dorsia, get the formations and barriers ready. Cut off connection points, create a teleportation circle - just how long have they known about it.'' Rio wondered.

    Unlike our dear old dead prophet Noah, other seers can''t see anything past a certain time limit and rity. Most of the times visions blur and ovep, and many times they themselves would forget and get confused about them as it bes too hard to understand them. Noah was a special case in the novel, that''s why he became the best seer and world famous instantly. But others couldn''t do that.

    [Maybe they didn''t have to. Warzy is such a big organization. Which had been passed down for more than two hundred years. And with Dorsia''s prestige it''s no wonder if they had their spies already nted here for a day like this decades ago.]

    [And besides you prepared so many Trump cards, so nothing goes wrong likest time. So what''re you worried about? I mean with all the things you got stored in line, unless SSS rankers or gods directlye down, you can still escape with your sister unscathed.]

    "I''m not worried about my safety. I''m just worried it''ll be too much trouble to handle things if they start dragging out without any reason like this." Rio said, shrugging his shoulders.

    ''Though if it''s the big guy himself, then it could be a little troublesome.'' Rio thought as he remembered about the character of the head of Warzy, and the plethora of Gods behind him. It was very very unlikely for him to act now, but just to be on the safe side, Rio decided to ask his doubts.

    "H, are the gods involved in this?" Rio asked as he felt a bad feeling about this.

    [... ]

    He waited but got no response. He didn''t ask Nyx, as he was sure she''d be a bitch about it and say nothing. Why waste his breathe and effort.

    "Skuld, tell me who''s involved?" Rio said as he channeled his mana into the mark of threads of his wrists. Which was the symbol of Skuld''s blessing.

    [...]N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Tell me, or I''ll tell goddess Kali about your little secret.'' Rio said to her as he waved his hand and severed the head of a bomber who was running towards him.

    [Don''t you dare.] Skuld''s reply came instantly, sounding a little scared. After all

    ''Then tell me, which God is pulling the strings.'' Rio said, as he was sure Skuld knew something about it. After all, this goddess waited for a thousand years to free her sister from Zeus. She''s been staying away from everyone, but she''s been paying attention to everything, to see if things are going in the same direction as her vision or not.

    Since Warzy is going against their fate by pulling this stunt, there was a chance Skuld might notice it too and agree to help him. And his guess was right, as Skuld''s answer came next second.

    [It''s Huitzilopochtli. He''s a God of sun, war and sacrifice from Aztec Myths. He ns to _ ]

    ''That bitch.'' Rio said, interrupting Skuld while starting tough loudly.

    [What a waste of my brain cells to think so much and get that guy as a result.] System said in annoyance, and personally wanted to solve this sun god, instead of leaving it for Rio to handle.

    Knowing about the God''s name who''s heading this event, Rio and system both calmed down. After all, what can an idiot God of sacrifice, n for except, well nice sacrifices. In the novel too, Huitzilopochtli had done many attacks for human sacrifices so it wasn''t surprising that he attacked here.

    "Virgil, you''re really my lucky charm buddy. You send me good things every time you appear." Rio said as he jumped high and disappeared from his ce, leaving the goons behind staring at his back in shock. Until spears of darkness erupted from the ground and pierced through everyone''s back. Slowly draining their vitality and lifeforce, until only husks of their dead bodies were left behind hanging in air.

    Now that Rio knew who was behind this attack, he was calm and happy. So he started going towards the ce Leon was at.

    ###

    A/N - [Avatars can talk to their chosen gods directly anytime they wish. To talk to other gods, if the awakener has their blessing then one just needs to pour his mana into that blessing in a different way, and the gods could hear their call. If someone doesn''t have any blessing or mark of God on him to talk, then they can just follow the long praying routine and wish for luck, that the god they''re praying is interested in hearing it. Obviously in all cases, the right to answer your call remains in God''s hands.

    Obviously all calls are also private. And no one else, not even other gods could hear it if you don''t want to let them.

    For an example - avatars and chosen gods have a direct line and you need no recharge to call them. It''s like contacting an emergency number. If you have someone''s blessing and want to talk to them, then you need recharge and that''s mana. That blessing works as a connection point. If you have nothing then you''re just like some fan writing a letter to his favorite celebrity. It''ll reach there, but no one knows if anyone will ever read it or answer it.]

 Chapter 229 Give me your hand?

    Chapter 229 Give me your hand?

    Rio reached outside the cabin where Leon was sitting at first. He had to fight against a few minions who were blocking the way, but they were easy to handle. Whatever golems he saw across him, he took them away after destroying their magic cores.

    They have runes of tracking too, but what can anyone track once Rio puts them into his system inventory. He would just erase all those runes and then take them out. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Unlike his sister, and Ba and others, who despite having the membership card for top level benefits, chose to stay and have dinner in that open cabin, Saisha had chosen her table only at the VIP section. So Leon was personally enjoying benefits which even his father never enjoyed for free.

    Rio looked forward and saw that in front of the cabin, there were four people standing there. Three masked men and one who was wearing a red hood over his head.

    "So you''re the one whom Virgil sent, right? The one who came here to kill me." Rio said as he moved his hands and ice spears started to form and float behind him. He dispatched them whenever someone came close to him by a certain range.

    Those who could dodge the spell, counter it or fight him - they were met with the sacrificial dagger in his hands. Their bodies falling down with a clean precise cut that made their end as swift and painless as possible.

    This dagger was something he bought from the system shop. Its name was ''Cursed Crimson Dagger'' . What it does - simple, it kills. The more it kills, the sharper it bes. After unlocking a few of its seals which require a set number of kills using this dagger, he could upgrade this dagger to a level where it could prate all armors ever made.

    Systems words.

    Though Rio calls it empty boasting of this robotic AI

    But he bought it just to give it a try. And since it was an offer of 50% off, which system gives him once every month. It still cost him around 26000 points though.

    And seeing that this quest gave 25000 points as a reward, he took this dagger out just to see its sharpness and quality today. To see if it was really worth his points or not.

    [The first seal of Cursed Crimson dagger.

    37/500]

    ''If I had this dagger two years ago, then with the number of those undead I killed, I would''ve unlocked max level already.'' Rio said, feeling satisfied with the dagger.

    As Rio began his advance, a few minions blocked his path. Trying to stop him from reaching the hooded figure. However, they posed no significant challenge, as he swiftly incapacitated them, rendering them useless.

    The man in the red hood, frustrated by seeing his henchmen''s failures, finally spoke. "You can freely use mana, how?"

    Rio chuckled. "Didn''t you hear, I''m an angel; we don''t get poisoned."

    Unfazed by Rio''s confidence, the man continued,The man who heard his words looked at nearly a dozen dead bodies scattered all around him, and was thinking ''if this is the angel, then what the hell is a demon and the devil.''

    But he didn''t care and continued  "Don''t get arrogant; you will die here today." As he finished his words he signaled the three men who were standing in front of him, to move and attack him. "Kill him and bring me his hands."

    Yet even after he finished his words nothing happened, the masked men didn''t move.

    "Don''t worry about them, let''s talk in private, shall we?" Rio said, while walking towards him. He waved his hands and the heads of those 3 people fell down with a thud. And blood kept flowing out of their empty heads like a fountain.

    Those 3 all had the aura of around C rank. So he had some confidence. Four on one, all with simr ranks, what could Rio do. No matter how much of a genius he''s believed to be. But he never thought that with just a wave of his hand they all fell down.

    A wave of shock and horror passed over him, as his hair stood on end. He remembered the words of Virgil echoing in his head again ''take him seriously and kill him as soon as you get the chance.'' He finally understood.

    He waved his hands after coating it in aura, and felt it pass through some resistance and then finally stop. He looked up and his eyes shone in a red glow beneath the hood, he noticed several threads appearing all around him. A whole bunch of them twisted and turned amongst themselves to highten their durability. He saw them vibrate at high speed, acting like a chainsaw that cut everything in its path. With their invisibility and effects, it managed to cut even the heads of those guards in C rank, before they even noticed or had a chance to avoid it.

    He tried using mes through his hands and ignited the threads, but as he guessed nothing happened. The threads looked tangible bluish, like something that was there and wasn''t at the same time.

    "What ability is this?" He asked, feeling very interested in this invisible binding skill.

    "Why don''t youe to my side and I''ll tell you?" Rio said, touching the barrier wall of some type that separated him from reaching the hooded man.

    "Virgil told me you''d be interesting, let''s see how much more." The hooded man finished his word, and an old looking ck flute appeared in his hands.

    He started ying it, and as if hearing themand from their master, golems from all over the restaurant started appearing all around him. Whoever they were fighting, they left them and came here to answer the call of that flute.

    "Show me everything you got, Angel?" The hooded man said with a smirk.

    Rio looked at the increasing number of golems around him, and squinted his eyes. He also felt these were a little different than the ones he fought along the way. They all oozed a metallic aura from their bodies and were holding several weapons in their hands.

    ''Aura sealing and enchanted weapons.'' Rio muttered as he jumped to the side to avoid the sh. "This could take a while." Rio said as he spread his mana and noticed on the other end of that wall Leon was fighting against two C rankers. And with the constant heat that he was feeling in the air, it won''t be long until he kills them.

    [H scoffs and says you have your own legion to call for. Why worry about the numbers.]

    Rio heard her voice and shook his head. But there wasn''t any other choice.

    ''There''s no limit ranked or higher present inside the barrier right.'' Rio asked the system, to confirm his doubts before using his main skills.

    [Yupp, so don''t worry and let loose. let them see the dread of the dead.] System said encouraging him.

    Rio nodded his head and used the mana in his body using H''s blessing - Call of the Underworld.

    A long, sinister scythe made of ck fog materialized behind Rio, its presence radiating malevolence. With a swift movement, Rio held the ominous ethereal weapon in his hands. The very air around the scythe began to shimmer as if reality itself was bending to the Reaper''s dark presence. The light crystals started to flicker and fail, as the death energy spread everywhere. The floor started to tremble and crack under the ck smoke emanating from the scythe.

    ''By the will of H, Queen of the Netherworld, I invoke the cursed ones, the eternal specters. Heed my call, O herd of reapers, residents ofher, and part of my legion. Come forward and follow my will. Let the world be drowned in the deaths of enemies we kill.''

    His incantation had just finished as the ck fog swirled ominously around Rio, shrouding him in a sinister cloak of darkness. The scythe in his hand pulsed with a reddish glow, and vibrated with an eerie hum.

    A low, ominous creaking echoed in the hallway, as if the doors were opened below the darkness. The ck smoke on the floor was sucked away instantly, as if a gateway to the Nethend had opened beneath it, and the darkness was eagerly swallowed into the abyss.

    Soon in the ce of that empty darkness, stood twelve terrifying figures.Cloaked in smoke, their bodies seemed surreal, yet their presence was undeniably chilling, with scythes in their hands and their heads covered with a ck hood.

    They were the reapers - the ones who harvested the souls of the dead, who brought the souls of sinners to the underworld, under H''smand. They all bent down on their knees paying their respect to Rio. The mark of their queen was oozing her aura on him, forcing them to submit to his will, and follow hismand.

    This was a blessing H gave only to her avatars, and something he asked for after he came out of that dungeon. Even though before he got trapped in the dungeon, H chose him, except for her technique and another simple blessing she never gave him anything. But when he returned he asked for this blessing and she agreed to give him.

    He fought alone in that dungeon like an idiot for so long, so this was the first thing he secured so something like that never happens again. He even asked Nyx to give him her blessing "Ruler of Shadows" - but she refused saying he wasn''t worthy yet. And he should just focus on mastering her first blessing, instead of collecting trashy tricks from other weaklings.

    Rio looked at his spectral reapers and then at the golems who were surrounding him, and gave his order "Show them hell."

    As soon his words finished, the reapers floated in space and scattered all around him with their scythes ready to strike everyone down.

 Chapter 230 Reapers vs Golems - Magic against metal

    Chapter 230 Reapers vs Golems - Magic against metal

    "Show them hell"

    Rio finished his words, and the reapers bowing to him obeyed his order. Their forms started to rise in the air, floating above the surface. The floor beneath them started pulsating with an eerie energy. Their scythes started to shimmer with a malevolent force. Their presence alone exuded an aura of death that could send shivers down the spines of the living.

    Yes, using reapers against golems which don''t have souls wasn''t a nice idea. As half their skills focused on targeting the souls of the enemy and taking it to the underworld. But this was the first time Rio was using this skill in a fight and he wanted to test the limits of these reapers under hismand.

    Call of the underworld, a blessing given by H to only her avatars. As the Queen of Niflheim, the realm of the dead, H has full dominion over the souls of the departed and the spectral entities that dwell in her realm. With this blessing, her avatar gains the ability to call for the reapers of the Netherworld to do their bidding. As one masters this blessing, its power, range, and the number of reapers he can summon increases. With more mastery the level of power and spectral abilities of reapers also bes more formidable. One can also call forth other entities of theherworld to hismand too.

    At its core, this blessing allows Rio to summon spectral reapers from the Netherworld. These reapers are ethereal entities, wreathed in ck fog, and wielding ominous scythes. They are bound to Rio''s will and follow hismands with unwavering loyalty.

    The blessing grants H''s avatar a fragment of her authority over the realm of the dead. This enables him to exert control over souls, manipte spectral energies, and even ess the knowledge and memories of the departed under certain circumstances.

    [H nods her head at you, saying you should learn her skills soon so you can summon your own legion to fight for you.]

    ''Let''s see how long theyst.''

    Seeing the notification from H and the reapers flying towards the golems who surrounded him, Rio thought in his heart.

    This blessing has a huge mana consumption, and the more reapers he summons or the moreplex the tasks he assigns them, the greater the mana drain. Once he exhausted his mana poolpletely, all these reapers would disappear, and he won''t be able to control or call for them again until he recovers his mana.

    For now he could summon 12 of these reapers on hismand and maintain them for 5 minutes, before losing more than half of his mana.

    Rio watched as his reapers floated towards the twenty or so golems all around him, and engaged inbat.

    The golems made of rare metals and materials, fought against the reapers without backing off. Their bodies glistened with a bluish hue that covered their arms and feet giving them boosts in their strength and agility. Their bodies, marked with runes that increased their resilience, making them highly indestructible. Each golem wielded a unique enchanted weapon, from des wreathed in frost to spears crackling with lightning. The elements of enchantment bolstering their effectiveness. They moved with an eerie grace, their every step sending tremors through the restaurant''s floor.

    Rio watched as he noticed the collision of their weapons. Each strike sending sparks flying across the hallways. The air crackled as the scythes covered by the death energy collided against the weapons covered in different elements.

    The reapers were spectral entities who passed through their attack and phased through the bodies of those golems. Their aura of death corroding the magic cores of golems hidden beneath the surface. Each time they passed through the golems, their touch was like a chill of death, sapping the very energy that powered the metal constructs.

    While the golem were exactly opposite of his reapers. Instead of avoiding or dodging the attacks they took those attacks while trying to kill those reapers. Their resilient bodies making them indestructible to the scythes of reapers.

    The arcs of ice, fire and lightning left their weapons tearing through the air, colliding against the fog of darkness that surrounded the scythes and the reapers.

    None of these opponents roared in pain or shouted in ecstasy, both were constructs made to fight silently. As some say action speaking louder than words, then these two were constructs which only let their actions do the talking.

    The restaurant which was once famous for its cuisiney in ruins. The tables and chairs were flying everywhere, while the walls and chandelier cracked everytime an attack missed its mark and roamed free. The once beautiful artistry around them was scattered on the floors, showing the chaos that was happening all around them.

    The reapers moved with a supernatural fluidity, their movements a dance of death. They weaved through the onught of enchanted attacks, their smoky forms evading strikes that would have felled any mortal. The scythes cutting through the very elements golems wielded. ck fog met fire and ice, resulting in steam and frigid mists that obscured the battlefield.

    As the battle raged on, every now and then a blinding light would show up on the battlefield with a loud sound of boom. The cores of energy which powered the golems would shatter in the shards of light and disappear in the air, leaving their bodies to fall down.

    The hooded man standing behind the barrier that separated him from the ongoing battle, took his magical glute out. A sinister smile yed across his face, as his heart felt fascination and frustration watching the battle.

    Fascination for the battle of magic vs metal happening in front of him, while frustration that he was losing.

    He ced the flute on his lips, and started blowing on it. Soon a haunting melody began to emanate from it. The eerie notes seemed tomand every golems, with a signal of his hands they all gathered together and four new golems came forward, standing on every corner of their formation. These golems had a red magic circle drawn on their chest metal tes.

    They were all marked with magic which seemed to stop the ethereal phases of reapers. The reapers who were close to the golems failed to pass through them, and fell to the attacks of those golems. Their forms dissipating into the shadows, disappearing from the realm of living.

    Rio looked at the golems which came forward and killed three of his reapers in a few moments. Feeling the loss of connection, his expression darkened. It took him nearly two months to learn the basics of this blessing. And increase the number of reapers to 12 , from the initial 10 that H gave him. Meaning two months of his hard work gone to waste in just a few moments and even more so.

    He grabbed the long ominous scythe floating behind him and waved it towards the golems. Sending an arc of death energy that pushed the golems back. He ordered his remaining reapers to fall back and not confront them until he destroyed their formation or killed them. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He moved forward, dragging the scythe along the ground, leaving sparks and cracks trailing in his wake.

    "Got you." The hooded man, still ying his magical flute, directed the golems to encircle Rio. The four golems swung their weapons at him from all sides, hoping to kill him at once. Rio looked at the iing attacks, and bent his steps, readying his stance. He swung his scythe in a precise circr motion, intercepting and deflecting the arcs of energy the golemsunched at him.

    "My turn"

    Rio muttered under his breath, and moved towards the golem in front of him, leaving his back open for the remaining three. One of the golems seized the opportunity and advanced, ready to strike him down from behind.

    But just when the golem closed in on him, Rio moved his aura at full course. The aura avatar bound with the skill of gluttony came out of his shadow. It lunged at the golem that hade from behind, mping onto its upper body with a sinister form of arge mouth.

    The hooded man, startled by this unexpected turn of events, attempted to trigger the golem''s self-destruct mechanism, a desperate attempt to take Rio down with it. However, the skill of gluttony acted swiftly, destroying the magic circle that controlled the golem''s detonation. The magic core within the golem exploded with a blinding sh of light soon, but the insatiable hunger of his aura avatar consumed the destructive force, leaving no trace behind.

    Meanwhile, Rio''s scythe cleaved through the golem he had been moving toward, slicing its figure in two from the waist up.

    With two of the anti spectral golems gone, the reapers joined the fray again. Fighting against the remaining few golems gathered in one ce. They surrounded all of them and phased through them in fluid motions. Their scythes constantly cleaved the bodies of golems, destroying their magic cores.

    With the reapers rejoining the fray and engaging the normal golems, Rio turned his attention to the two remaining special golems. With a sinister grin, he raised his hands as ck chains of darkness emerged from the ground, and entwined the golems instantly, immobilizing them. Before the golems could free themselves, under the eyes of the hooded man Rio waved his scythe. In one fell swoop, his scythe cleaved through their midsections, scattering enchanted fragments and leaving them in pieces on the floor.

    The battle was soon over, the once-numerous golems were now a scattered heap of enchanted debris. Rio stood there holding his scythe, his breathing heavy and ragged. His spectral reapers hovered triumphantly behind him, making him look like a God of death.

    -thud-

    Rio bashed his scythe on the ground, creating a loud thud sound that echoed in the now silent hallway. The impact sent cracks spreading on the floor like a spiderweb. The scythe disappeared from his hands, leaving just the fog of death in the air. The reapers disappeared too, each one fading into nothingness one by one.

    "Now shall we talk?" Rio said, as he ran a hand through his sweat-dampened white hair, swatting away the perspiration that clung to his face. Turns out using more than half his mana in one big spell and channeling aura while getting suppressed by the poison leaves one feeling a little tired.

    ###

    A/N - was this battle okay. Good, mid, bad or just in stupid - please tell me, ok.

 Chapter 231 Morfid Mana

    Chapter 231 Morfid Mana

    "Now can we talk?" Rio said as he moved towards the hooded man.

    "I underestimated you." The hooded man said, looking at the pieces of golems lying around on the ground motionless.

    "You did." Rio said as he started moving towards him.

    The hooded man furrowed his brows as he looked at Rio''s shadow, which was growingrger on the ground and started covering the entire area, making him confused as to what he was nning to do next. Until he saw that the golems soon started disappearing in his shadow, and wherever the shadow moved the floor was cleaned with nothing left behind.

    -Hahahaha- The hooded man startedughing seeing him looting all the remains of their battle. "Virgil was right, you''re different."

    "What else did he say?" Rio said as he closed in and touched the barrier. He exerted a little strength and ripples formed on the barrier.

    "He said you owe him a hand."

    "And he sent you to collect it."

    "How did you use aura and mana, you were poisoned?"

    "My goddess is generous to me." Rio said with a smile.

    "Nyx?" The hooded man asked confused.

    [H asks you to kill this insolent fool. She''s going to burn his soul in hellfire.]

    Rio smiled reading those notifications and started speaking - "It''s H. The Ruler of Niflheim. She turned my blood into the cells of theher. Poison doesn''t affect me anymore."

    "You''re her avatar?" The hooded man asked.

    "I am. Virgil didn''t tell you that, did he?" Rio asked while smiling.

    The man furrowed his brows at Rio''s remark, thinking what he meant. "You see, when I fought with Virgil two years ago, he was on the peak of C+ rank, about to break through to B- rank at any time. It was a tough battle. I still remember how much I had to try to defeat him, while always looking out for the fact that he might just break through at any moment and kill me easily. But then his buddies actually sted the dungeon core without informing him and ran away themselves."

    "I still smile whenever I remember the frustrated and betrayed look he had on his face at that time. He even killed a few of his own men while trying to escape the crashing dungeon." Rio said with his eyes closed and a focused look, like he was remembering about his past clearly. "And that distraction was all I needed tond a hit on him."

    "And boom- just like that, I attacked him, and that''s how I managed to chop off his hand." Rio swung his hand in the air in a sword motion and finished his words.

    "My sword was sprinkled with a little poison and the technique I used amplified that. Since I know the effects of my attack best, I can tell you it was something very hard to cure. Now tell me someone who lost the hand he''s been ustomed to, the one he trained and used all his life, one day lost it. The blow of that level - it probably also dyed his break through I guess."

    "Now Virgil, as someone who lost his treasures, his chance to rise in power and fame, and nearly lost his life too - who would he hate more? Me, who waved his sword, or his own people who left him there?"

    The more Rio spoke the more worried the hooded man became. "Shut up." He shouted loudly while trying to suppress the feeling of dread that started rising in his heart as he looked at the barrier which was starting to form cracks, under the pressure from Rio''s hand. Though the cracks fixed themselves instantly, the fact that they were forming constantly was scary enough. The feeling of fear that it could break any time and he''d be left open without any defense, was even more scary.

    "I''ll tell you, he''d hate us both. He''d want to kill us both." Rio said as he smiled and put both his hands on the barrier. Quickening the process of destruction of this barrier. The cracks were now forming faster than they were filled back, and small particles of mana started to float away.

    It wasn''t because he had too much strength in his hands was crushing the barrier under his hands, it was actually one of the techniques he trained with. Something that H gave him when she first became his chosen goddess. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Morfid Mana, a technique created by the beings responsible for managing the Nethends under H''smands. A sinister art that held the power to corrode any source of mana and energy it touched. The practitioners of this art could tap into the darkest energies of the Netherworld, channeling its malevolent power on theirmand.

    To utilize this technique, one had to willingly embrace the darkness within themselves, for the Netherworld''s power demanded a toll on their mind and soul. Cause if not learnt right or lost control, then the technique may very well corrode the user itself.

    A user with perfect mastery of Morfid Mana possessed the ability to corrupt even the most potent sources of mana. They could drain energy from powerful artifacts, dispelplex enchantments, and weaken formidable foes with just a simple touch.

    Due to Rio''s time in the dungeon where everything is already corroded, with EMMSY which was already corroding his body - he got a few insights on how to better handle the corrosion energy and control it. Though it hurt like hell every time he used this technique. But with constant repeats of that pain over two years, he could now pull it off without changing his expressions and showing pain on his face. It''s not that it doesn''t hurt anymore, he just got a little used to it.

    "So he sent you here to die." Rio said with a smile "If you manage to kill me, it''s good. But if not, well, then that just means I killed you, and he can send someone else to kill me again. Wearing out both of us little by little."

    "You''re wrong, he would never do that. He would never betray the organization" The hooded man shouted while backing away from the barrier. The more he listened, the more sense it made to him, and it made him scared. Not of death, but of these two people - one who could use him as a pawn, and the other who could see through it at a nce.

    ''Monsters'' the hooded man thought in his heart, but was still not ready to believe it. "Don''t try to fool me, Rio. The organization is too strict, no one dares to betray the Ruler or the seat holders."

    "The fact that he didn''t tell you about me being the avatar of H is proof of it. After all, the technique I used to cut his hand off, and now to destroy your barrier they''re both the same. He knew about it, yet he let youe here. Do you care to guess why?" Rio said, while channeling his technique with full effect. He pressed his left hand with all his strength, as he clenched his right hand into a fist.

    -bam-shatter-

    He punched the barrier with all his strength, after coating his hand into a red energy that seemed alive and rolling on his fingers. The barrier which was already on the verge of copse lost all its core power, and with a loud bang it shattered. The particles of mana floated in the air in the form ofyers and disappeared soon. With a crack sound the ne the hooded man wore around his neck also cracked and the green medallion on it shattered in pieces.

    "Show me your face, will you? I should at least know who I killed." Rio said while moving forward.

    "Rio, we have no _"

    "So I can send your family members and friends to join you too." He said as he took out the crimson dagger again. Let it increase another kill.

    The hooded man, who heard his words and saw his actions instantly turned around and tried to run away. After all, he was just a newly promoted B rank, and after using his mana all this time to control so many golems, his mana pool was nearly depleted. And seeing Rio who seemed fine without any hint of being tired, he knew he was no match.

    He was arrogant before thinking that with the three guards around him, all the golems under hismand, and the barrier protecting him - even if Rio managed to cross all of them, he would be exhausted and he could kill him easily. But he never thought this monster would still be fine after everything and smile at him like a reaper ready to take his soul.

    As for using aura to fight Rio, he never even thought about it. The scene of his avatar directly chugging down a fully powered golem, which could fight normal C+ ranker and even kill them, was still in his mind. He had never seen a monstrous atrocity like that, and the fact that it was made out of pure aura and was in Rio''s control he was even more scared of it.

    That''s why he just wanted to run away now. His steps moved towards Leon''s room, like he was nning to use the ones inside as captives and escape.

 Chapter 232 Fate, you fucking bitch

    Chapter 232 Fate, you fucking bitch

    Rio, who saw the hooded man moving backwards towards Leon''s room, had a smirk on his face.

    ''Try harder, fate. I''m not going down so easily, this time.'' He thought and raised his hand. Chains made of darkness materialized from the ground and started binding the elf.

    "You see, I didn''t talk all that bullshit to you just so you can leave afterwards. I talked all that nonsense, so you keep standing there like a fool doubting this and that, instead of running away, while I was dealing with your barrier. So don''t even try to move a muscle now." Rio said as he waved his other hand, threads of mana formed around the hooded man''s face, disrupting the spell he was about to cast.

    "Let me go, Rio. We have no enmity. I can help you. I can tell you everything." The man begged as he saw Rio removing the hood over his head, revealing a face with dark skin and pointy ears.

    ''A dark elf eh. Fate, you fucking bitch.. '' Rio cursed in his heart as his mind tried to connect this scenario with the plotline of Saisha and the elven kingdom.

    The elf seeing him silent started speaking again "Let me go, Rio. I can even help you get Virgil. I''ll be your ve, your men inside Warzy, just don''t kill me."

    "Virgil huh, it''s true that he''s getting smarter. But I''m getting stronger." Rio smiled and said "I''ll deal with him once he''s done sending me enough experience packages. As for you, I have no need for fucking fools." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After finishing his words, Rio closed his fist and started muttering a spell in some ancientnguage. When he opened his fist again, an orb of pitch-ck fire, flickering with malevolent energy, hovered over his open palms. The intense heat emanating from it was so scorching that it threatened to singe his own fingers, but he remained resolute, unfazed by the searing pain.

    The me following his order floated over and fell on the pleading elf''s head, burning it entirely. And then spreading over to his whole body.

    -ahhh aww wahh aaaa-

    In the process the screams of the elf echoed in the entire restaurant, breaking the silence which was forming with the end of fights everywhere. The elf kept screaming until his throat melted and he couldn''t utter anything. His body kept shaking and rolling for some time until he died.

    "Go in peace." Rio said, as he looked at the silent body copsed on the ground.

    He bent down and took away his hellfire, the view cleared and he saw the charred body of that elf with ck and redyers of skin falling off. The smoke emitting from his body wafted in the air, hitting his nose with the smell simr to barbecue.

    ''Meat''s just meat I guess.'' Rio thought, waving his hand, creating a wave of chilly air thatpletely cooled down the dead body and removed the pungent smell from near him. He moved his hands so he can do a memory search on the elf''s mind - to see if the man knew anything interesting or new that could be useful to him.

    But before he could touch the head of the dead elf, a gust of air pushed his hand back, making arge cut on his palms which were burned by the hellfire earlier.

    "Stop it. He''s already dead." Saisha''s voice came from behind him.

    Rio was about to ignore her and treat her as air, when another voice came to his ears from the front.

    "The fight''s over, there''s no need for extra cruelty."

    Looking up, he saw Leon, who came out of his room, holding Seraphina in his arms.  His clothes were torn and covered in blood, his sleeves entirely gone with burn marks on the edges. The sleeveless shirt and torn clothes, highlighting his toned muscles and handsome appearance, the blood marks here and there, making him look like a warrior who just fought and won a great victory.

    Rio turned his eyes at Seraphina and saw her pale face and shivering hands. Leon was hugging her wrist and she rested her body in his arms.

    [Puff pufhaha]

    ''Shut it, system.'' Rio said muting this system who startedughing while emptying his popcorn. He really should keep them in a separate storage ring so this system can''t eat them whenever it wants.

    "Brother, you''re fine." Amelia''s voice came from behind him as Reba followed her. A was standing there, looking all around the restaurant. The bodies of the guests and the attackers were still lying around. The few people who were still alive were still looking around vigntly or were crying over any loss they suffered. Her face was pale and filled with shock and fear, this was the first time she had seen something like this, the blood and deaths and all this cruelty was foreign to her. And from Rio''s guess she''d need a little time and a few more events to get used to everything.

    Rubina was badly hurt during the fight. Alka''s were known for fighting openly and straightforwardly, so something like this was new to her too. And since she didn''t have any high grade defensive artifacts to protect herself, she got hurt a few times.

    Though her injuries were mostly healed after drinking a few healing potions, but the blood loss and effects of poison were still affecting her, so Esme was supporting her. Esme''s eyes darted around the hall and she noticed the signs of battle that were marking everything.

    The fight between golems and his reapers destroyed the surroundings entirely. After all, every attack done on reapers passed through them and hit some other corner of the walls or surroundings. Plus his moves with Scythes which left long stretches of cracks all over the area.

    But since Rio cleaned up everything from the floors, there were no signs of anything except destruction.

    Seeing everyone gathered a few people who also appeared around them, Rio brushed off the idea of doing his spell now. All these people would only distract him from focusing on anything and it would only be a loss.

    But that didn''t mean he was nning to hand over this corpse to someone else. If his guess was right and this elf turned out to be somehow rted with the viin, responsible for the elven uprising, then it could cause some big plotlines to move forward. That would be detrimental for him, since he''ll be stuck in the academy at that time, and things wouldn''t be in his control.

    "He''s an enemy. The one who tried to kill me. And someone, I personally took care of. So don''t butt in my affairs and tell me what to do. I don''t like it." Rio said to Leon and ignored him.

    Rio pressed his hand on the burned corpse''s head and whispered an incantation in his heart, "May you find peace in your next life." He said and removed his hand.

    Standing up he looked at Amelia and nodded his head. Affirming her that he was fine and there was no need to worry about anything.

    He looked at Saisha who was still staring at the corpse. A frown formed on her pretty face, as she sensed some kind of magic energy when Rio was casting his spell. She tried to look for it or search for anything, but found nothing.

    Rio moved his hand in front of her, obscuring her vision. And when she met his gaze, he started speaking. "I''ll let this one slide." He said showing the cut on his hand which was still bleeding. "For what happened to your guard because of me."

    "But next time you try anything that can hurt me, the empress might have to name a new heir."

    Rio finished his words coldly and left them. Amelia stared coldly at Saisha and followed him. While Reba took a nce at Seraphina''s condition and asked about it. With King Maximum''s connections, she had visited the Circle of Renewals to learn if she can use her water magic for healing. So she knew and had met Seraphina a few times.

    The barrier around the restaurant was still there, some cracks were visible on it now. And it was clear that it would break any time now.

    The hunters and adventurers nearby were the ones attacking the barrier, while all the staff of Dorsia was probably somewhere in the church, praying to their Goddess or lying unconscious somewhere.

    This is the problem when dealing with churches and gods, their believers and followers would follow all of theirmands to praise their gods, no matter the price. Dorsia would suffer a major blow in reputation by not providing support in this incident, but what can they do against their God''s wishes.

    Hestia didn''t want to interfere in any conflicts with other gods and thus chose not to interfere in the attack which was nned by Huitzilopochtli, the God of sun and sacrifice. And so her believers and followers would also not take part in it.

    ''Blind faith, what a terrifying tool.'' Rio couldn''t help but mutter to himself, as he realized just how much influence a single order from any God had on this world.

 Chapter 233 Relationship of gods and mind break

    233 Rtionship of gods and mind break

    Leon kept standing over the corpse of that elf and kept looking at the burn marks on the ground and he could still feel the heat of it.

    ''What kind of fire was that?'' He asked his God, Apollo - as he felt the heat from that me was even more than anything he controlled now.

    [Hellfire. He doesn''t control the mes, it''s just a spell.]

    Hearing that Leon breathed a sigh of relief, but still the fact that Rio had a spell like that still unhinged him.

    ''Can you teach me that?'' Leon asked.

    [... You should focus on learning the spells I''ve taught you already. Be patient.]

    Hearing that Leon could only sigh silently.

    When he was fighting inside his cabin and heard the sounds of battle outside earlier, and now when he saw the marks of chaos left on the ground, he couldn''t help but feel like he was still behind Rio. Far behind him, and if he doesn''t improve fast enough, then he''s gonna lose his top rank when the real exams start. He didn''t care about rank, but it was a condition given by a test given by another God, and if hepleted it, then he can get a high level skill of his own choice as a blessing.

    "No, I can''t lose that chance." Leon muttered under his breath and thought - ''It seems I need to practice faster. I should learn the technique I got from the library under Miss Freya first. Then maybe ask God Apollo to teach me something about the art of archery.''

    Leon was thinking while looking at Rio''s back. But then he remembered something. Zirix, who fought with him on the first day was almost equal to him in strength, and yet Rio pushed him away easily without even trying. He then remembered about the spell or skill Rio used to do that and thought - ''I also need to increase the mastery of my current blessings of strings. This guy has something simr to that blessing too.''

    While Leon was busy with his monologue of growth and dreams of surpassing everyone, Saisha was just staring at the ground. Her mind, a mess. Not because someone threatened her like that for the first time, but because she didn''t mean it. She didn''t want to attack him or hurt him, she just waved her hand normally to stop him. With his strength he should''ve been fine.

    ''And yet I hurt him again.'' She thought looking at the blood dropped below that was from his hands - as the time of the library when the staff held him down also came to her mind.

    Her mind not even looking at the body of that dead elf, or about the spell Rio casted earlier on his dead body, or why he was so angry to threaten her like that for that simple scratch - she was just lost.

    Rio walked forward as Amelia, Esme and A followed closely behind him. He had only taken two steps ahead that he remembered something and stopped.

    He still didn''t get the quest clear notification from the system yet.

    Just to check, if he ignored it by mistake, he opened up the system and looked for it too, but found nothing there.

    ''Is this system slow? But that shouldn''t be.''

    ''In that case, did I miss someone.''

    Rio thought, and looked up. Seeing the barrier getting nearly destroyed, he knew he didn''t have much time. Maybe once the barrier cracked open, whoever it was he missed, might just slip away.

    He can''t just fail his first quest, otherwise how would he get the investment of that dagger back. Or how many times he''d have to mute the system to stop it fromughing at him.

    Thinking up to that point Rio closed his eyes and started focusing on every little detail since the beginning of the fight, no, even before that, since the moment he entered Dorsia - the scenes of everything started ying in his head again.

    From the moment he saw the girls sitting there, to Leon arguing with the guard, to Saishaing out, and to them getting poisoned - everything came to his mind without missing a single detail.

    Until he finally found the anomaly of this scenario. ''Found you my fat rat. Now let''s see which hole you''re hiding at?''

    Rio thought and red his mana, his mana sense sweeping the entire building, every room, every corner, the entire restaurant, going as far as his mana touched the barrier and was blocked.

    He opened his eyes and came in front of a pir. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Come out now." He said to him, as in his eyes came the shadow of the fat manager hiding behind the pir.

    Ever since the beginning this guy was here. He was near the door, waiting there for him to enter. He was the first to wee him and he was also there when the food was served. This guy was also the one who came by himself when Leon was arguing at the gate to stop him from entering.

    At first Rio thought it was because of Leon''s halo that pulled hate and attention from everyone who saw him, but maybe it wasn''t Leon, but Apollo, who influenced that routine. After all, how can the Aztec sun god let someone else kill his lover''s chosen.

    Huitzilopochtli and Apollo, two deities titled the God of suns in their own myths and legends. When the Emergence happened, these two also fought against each other like other gods who had simr titles. After all, no gods wanted to share their records and titles with anyone else. It wasn''t just about ego or pride, it was also about getting followers and belief more easily.

    If there are a dozen God of suns out there, then if anyone prayed to just the sun or believed in the sun, then his power of faith would be shared among all those gods associated with the sun. But if the world acknowledges any one God, as the supreme God of sun, then that one God can just hoard all that power of faith and grow stronger beyond limits.

    That''s why the gods of simr titles all fought with each other, vying for that supremacy - until the World Will interfered and stopped everyone. Now all those power hungry gods could just find each other''s avatars and kill them. Hoping to let the opponent weaken beyond limits and be forgotten by the world and consumed by the world system. Thus removing theirpetition and leaving more followers for them.

    But as they say, there are always exceptions to everything. Not all gods fought each other - some joined hands, some submitted to others to stop making enemies, and some simply didn''t care.

    But Apollo being Apollo, with the luck of himself and halo of plot - went even one step further. After defeating his opponent, instead of killing him like others were doing, he let Huitzilopochtli go free.

    Huitzilopochtli somehow became gay yandere after that.

    Don''t ask how or why?

    Maybe it was the tone of Apollo and his ambiguous words, or maybe it was the reputation of Greek gods, who''re just born lusty- but it happened.

    Anyway, Huitzilopochtli, an old god with feathers covering his naked body, being lovey dovey for him, disgusted Apollo. So he beat the crap out of him again, this time for real. And when the aztec God still didn''t understand his intentions, Apollo killed 3 of his main supporters continuously, to make his stance clear.

    As anyone with half a brain can guess, doing all that while not killing the God directly, only made Huitzilopochtli more angry and obsessed over Apollo. He vowed for his revenge and to kill Apollo.

    But Rio knew the future, and knew that this guy''s still gonna be a licking dog for Apollo in the future again.

    "I know you''re there so juste out." Rio said as he noticed the fat man still hiding behind the piller, using an invisibility spell or artifact and noting out. He mainly doubted David, cause even now he could only find this one guy who was alive and conscious from all the staff of Dorsia.

    Not in the mood to y, Rio just brought out his crimson dagger and started stabbing him directly. Everyone who thought he was just talking to air, was surprised as they saw red blood started gushing out from seemingly nowhere.

    -urkgh kurgg-

    Soon enough, the figure of David came in everyone''s view.

    Rio moved forward cing his knife on David''s neck, and said - "Pro tip, next time you use an invisibility spell, skip the heavy cologne. Or better yet, just take a shower."

    Rio shed his neck and moved back. The flood flowed out like a fountains and soon David fell down, dead.

    -shatter-

    Looking up and seeing the barrier broken, and seeing many high rankers floating above, Rio ignored the idea of doing a mind search on this guy, to learn about Virgil and directly used the same spell he used on the dark elf before.

    Mind Break, a spell used for exactly what its name implies. Breaking someone''s mind - be it by flooding too much information than one can handle, or by extracting everything forcefully, turning one into a cripple. Since he didn''t have time to search all his memories, he just broke his mindpletely so no one else could do it too.

    After all, if he can''t have it, then why should he give an advantage to somew agency of world association.

    "Let''s go back to academy, now shall we?" Rio said to Amelia, after putting away his dagger. And swapping the system panel, congratting him for finishing the quest.

 Chapter 234 Druids and the freshers party

    234 Druids and the freshers party

    "Good morning, everyone. Before you all leave for your next sses, I''d like to make an announcement. My name is Elisabeth Heartwell. A fourth year student and the student council president." Lisa said as she stood on the stage behind the podium.

    She was wearing the uniform with the blue jacket, with four silver stripes on her shoulders and a golden star pin on her chest. Showcasing her role as the fourth year student of Zenith and the president of student council. Her long ck hair tied in a high ponytail. Behind her two other students were standing, also a part of student council.

    Currently all the first year students were gathered in arge hall. As abined ss about the history of Emergence and the world before and after it, had just finished. The ss was done by the grade two professor Valentine Whitman, A druid from the forest of Woonds and Avalon Springs.

    The colony of druids had been contacted with the World Association for centuries now.

    Any normal Druid can live for a century without a problem, and if they''re stronger, then they might live for several. But since the number of druids in Arcadia is much lowerpared to other races, and the rate of their poption growth had been in a steady decline ever since they first appeared, they agreed to make a pact with the World Association for protection against everything, any war,  monsters or the dungeons. In return for this protection, they agreed to share their knowledge with the world.

    Lisa, who was standing in the front continued her speech "Whenever a new batch of students enters the academy, there''s a weing ceremony, organized by all the other senior students. You may know it as the Freshers Party or the first celebration."

    Her words eliciting excited squeals from everyone in ss, as murmurs and chatter about it started going around in the whole ss. This event is what every new student has been looking forward to since they joined the academy three weeks ago.

    "You might''ve seen the preparations for it happening around the auditorium and the event hall, and I''m here to announce the dates for it."

    "The celebration will be held 10 days from today. It''llst for two days.

    The first one is when you''re the kings and are free to do everything you want. Second day is where your seniors join the celebrations too."

    "Before you start fretting over it, or start spreading rumors or stories you might''ve heard about it, let me rify, there''ll be no bullying, no disrespects, or ragging. No one is going to force you to do anything you don''t want to or don''t like. This event is all just fun and games for everyone to enjoy themselves and befortable at the academy. So don''t listen to anyone saying it otherwise." Lisa said addressing the issue of rumors which always scare many freshers every new year. Some seniors just spread them for fun, and make fun of the nervous faces of the newbies.

    The boy with a face covered by tattoos and piercings, standing behind Lisa, came forward and continued her speech. His name was Gildart Mitchell, a ranker. His family is a part of mage tower and his father is the vice-chairman of their second main branch. "The purpose for this party is purely to increase the connections between everyone, and make the environment harmonious for every student at this academy."

    "You will get to meet all your seniors, professors and other staff working at the academy. Some guests from the World Association and the other academies would also be joining us."

    The other guy, with a simple look without any essories or extravagance, came forward and continued the speech. His name was Mohan Das, another ranker, but from amoner family.

    "As it is an academy only event, some rules and proper etiquette must be followed. The details about everything would be posted on the announcement board, and would also be shared to you on your personal devices linked at the academy database. Further on, if you have any questions, doubts or suggestions - you can check the academy forum and ask them on the announcement page. We will review them all, and get back to you."

    Once they were done, Lisa took the charge again as she spoke about the rules for this event.

    "Since this will be your first event after joining the Zenith, I hope you''ll follow the rules and won''t make our work harder. Do know that breaking these rules might get you a penalty of your Merit Points or even a suspension, depending on the situation. So do read everything carefully and not make any mistakes, for both our sakes."

    "The day before the celebration, the sses would be canceled. So you can make your preparations, get your partners or go shopping - you can do whatever you want." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I hope _ "

    Lisa was speaking when Rio''s words cut her off.

    "What if someone doesn''t want to join this ''event'' of yours?"

    His tone still the same monotonous with a touch of emptiness , which he used for talking with everyone except the few people around him. Gildart frowned seeing Rio stopping their speech in front of everyone, as it was just disrespectful. While Mohan just looked at him and nodded his head. But Rio just ignored their existence, like he didn''t even notice them.

    Rio''s question stunned everyone in the ss, as who would want to skip something so important. Not only the chance to meet all those seniors they saw on records, or professors who are famous all over the world - it was even a dream for many.

    But it was also a good question for some stufents. As no matter what anyone says, the rumors of ragging are really everywhere. Even though the academy opposes it, and the staff prohibits it, but if as the sky copsed above them.

    11:09

    At least that''s what it was supposed to look like, but Amelia could only see weird lines and doodles. the seniors ask for anything, can any of them really refuse.

    Plus not everyone liked to take part in parties, some didn''t like the crowd and wanted to train instead of wasting time ying games.

    Lisa looked at Rio who was still looking at her, waiting for an answer, and replied "As I said, this event is held for the freshman, so you can do whatever you want. If you don''t want to attend this event, you can skip it."

    "You can stay in your dorms, but you can''t leave the floating inds. So don''t ask for leaves, or permission to visit your families." The professor standing by the side also replied, stopping the thoughts of some people who wanted to go their homes at every other holiday.

    Their words made some silent introvert students breathe a sigh of relief. If it''s like this, they don''t have to force themselves to stay somewhere they don''t feelfortable at. After all, instead of forcing themselves on trying to mingle or meet new faces or get into any trouble, it''s better to just stay in their rooms and sleep, or train to get stronger. Once they''re powerful enough, would there even be a need to do something they don''t like.

    "But I do hope everyone can join this event. A change of scenery and a happy environment might make you feel morefortable. Who knows, you might make new friends and _" Lisa started speaking again while looking at Rio, who started getting busy doodling on the table instead of focusing on her speech.

    ''Friends huh, the same people who could use you as a bait and stab you in the back.'' Rio thought as he heard her words.

    Amelia looked at the table where Rio was making a drawing of a few monsters fighting against a man, as the sky copsed above them.

    At least that''s what it was supposed to look like, but Amelia could only see weird lines and doodles. Resembling the designs she used to make when she was five years old.

    "What a bad drawing, stop doodling and dirtying the table." She said as she waved her hand and wiped out everything.

    "Was it that bad?" Rio asked, as he looked at her expression.

    "It was the worst drawing I ever saw. If you can even call that scribbling stuff a drawing." Amelia said, while cleaning her hands of the left out ink.

    "..."

    [Special offer - Low grade painting skill experience card for the blind beginners]

    [10000 points]

    ''Fuck you system'' Rio cursed the system and muted it again, for the crime of making fun of him, while putting away the marker pen in his hand.

    ''Was it really that bad though, I thought it was alright.'' Rio said again as he closed his eyes and dozed off to sleep.

    Cause once this was done, he had go meet his therapist again for another session. That guy increased his sessions again, after he learned he was there when the Warzy attacked.

    ''I should just turn him into my puppet or something. System you got something like that?''

 Chapter 235 Sentinels and Arbiters

    Chapter 235 Sentinels and Arbiters

    "So where shall we start this time?" Lucius asked, as he yed with a little cat on hisps.

    "Look professor, I''ve already told you everything. There''s nothing new to tell. So can we, you know, wrap it up." Rio said, as he felt weird seeing that guy with a smile on his face, with no idea what he''s thinking about.

    "Oh hardly, we just started to get to know each other. You still haven''t given me the book about that guy you found me simr to."

    "I told you, it was something I read when I was a kid, I forgot its name." Rio replied.

    "You also haven''t told me that the people from Warzy, especially, came to kill you at that restaurant." Lucius asked.

    "How was I supposed to know that?" Rio asked, spreading his hands, feigning confusion.

    "But that''s what The Sentinels said in their statement. Their reports also mentioned that you were the one who fought with the man who was supposedly their leader."

    Hearing Lucius say that, Rio shook his head, as if he had no idea about anything, and this was the first he heard about it.

    Yet inside his heart, he was cursing Leon and Saisha for interfering with him. Even though he used the spell of mind break, to make sure no Sentinels and otherw organizations didn''t get anything useful for free.

    But mind break was a spell designed to torture living people, it was made to make living people go insane. But using it on dead bodies, even though it worked a little, the high ranked psychics could still read a few memories after trying their methods for a while.

    And now after two weeks had passed since that incident, it was no wonder they found something. He was actually surprised, that they didn''t just dig out some video footage of any kind from that restaurant.

    There are two rightful organizations working under the jurisdiction of the World Association, tasked with maintaining peace and order on all the floating inds - Sentinels and Arbiters.

    Sentinels, aw organization tasked to deal with all the public crimes and terrorist attacks. Meaning anything that isn''t towers, dungeons or monsters rted,, falls under their jurisdiction, and they have full authority to handle these affairs.

    Arbiters, an organization tasked with maintaining the order of the supernatural on the floating inds. Meaning dungeons, cracks, gates, towers, monsters - anything rted to them, falls under the jurisdiction of Arbiters to handle with full freedom.

    Both organizations report to Council of Guardians, made up of high ranking members and leaders of the world association.

    In simple words, Sentinels are simply the police force dealing with threatsing from inside the arcadia. While Arbiters, hold back the threat of any attack from monsters and gods.

    Sentinels wear a silver armor with the logo of a shield with angel wings covering it. Symbolizing their duty to guard and protect.

    While Arbiters wear red armor with the logo of a golden scale inside a circle, which is being held in bnce by a sword. Symbolizing their role of maintaining the bnce of the world.

    The two organizations are designed toplement each other. While the Sentinels have more extensive jurisdiction over public safety matters and outnumber the Arbiters, the Arbiters hold a certain level of prestige and influence due to their expertise in unique matters. The Arbiters deal with more intricate and high-stakes cases, but on a day to day basis, they need to rely on the Sentinels to maintain general order.

    Arbiters are more famous due to their reputation in clearing the dungeons or raiding the tower floors and venturing into the unknown, while Sentinels just stay on the floating inds and keep track of all the criminals and underground terrorist organizations.

    Obviously as one can guess withmon sense, Arbiters are more powerful than the Sentinels. But they''re both equally dangerous.

    The attack on Dorsia obviously came under the territory of Sentinels. So after doing a thorough investigation and checking everything in detail, they''ve released a report about it to the world association. And Since Zenith is the one presiding over Laurelia Sanctum, they got a report too.

    ''But how the hell did this guy get his hands on that report?'' Rio wondered as he thought about it. ''Did someone tell him cause I''m under his therapy for now. People are so free in this academy to chit-chat.''

    "Well, it seems you killed him before he could tell you anything." Lucius said, after seeing Rio had no intention of telling him, if he learned something about the attack.

    This was the reason why the principal and the Sentinels agreed to tell him everything about what they found. So he can get some more details about it, if Rio knew anything others didn''t. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The Sentinels proposed to have a talk with Rio themselves, but the principal refused it, saying he was just a victim, and they shouldn''t trouble him, when he has already given his statements on the first day.

    "Not all viins like to talk bullshit before they attack. That guy just started to attack me the moment he saw me, I could just try to defend myself." Rio said with an innocent look.

    Lucius smiled seeing that act, and asked "The reports also said that the leader''s  mind was tampered with, so they couldn''t extract all the memories from their brains. You noticed something weird about him, when you were fighting against him."

    "I don''t know. Man was controlling so many golems together to attack everyone. So maybe that puts a strain on his mind. Could also be a bacsh of using some strange artifact." Rio said as heid back in chair, resting his backfortably on the sofa.

    ''I should get one of these chairs in my room too. It''s quite rxing.'' Rio thought.

    "You''re right. It could be something like that. You said in your statement that he was controlling those golems with a flute. And when every golem was dealt with, they both disappeared. Was that right?"

    "Of course, you don''t think I took them for myself do you?" Rio said with a smile.

    Lucius ced the cat on the ground and crossed his hands. "Well, it doesn''t matter even if you took them. After all, you were the one who killed them. The rules clearly says whoever deals with these kinds of monsters gets to keep the treasures. So they''re yours now."

    "Well, I would''ve given them to the world association, if I had them with me. If you''re curious about that decision." Rio said, while tapping his fingers on the armrest.

    If the Sentinels asked him for those artifacts and golems he kept to himself during that attack, then they could just pay him money for it and he wouldn''t mind selling a few of them so they can do their investigations.

    This was actually a rule of Arcadia that he really liked, if you killed someone, you can take their treasures and no one would ask you to hand them over. At the beginning it was made since awakeners were busy dealing with towers and monsters, and they didn''t have time to deal with normal ground level criminals.

    But they also couldn''t ignore it - that''s why they announced this kind of policy. This way, normal people started taking arms against these terrorists and the crime rates subsided a little.

    But now that situation is normal but the rulers haven''t changed this rule yet - the answers is, cause people don''t want to ept any changes now. This kind of rule is like getting someone''s bounty and treasures both for free. And no one will kick you out.

    An example of it from earth would be the reservation for lower caste systems back in India , or the rights of minorities for outside countries - these kinds of rules andws were made so everyone can be equal and grow together. But over the years, the same lower castes which were backwards when the rules were made are now sitting among the rulers, the minority which were hunted and bullied are now the majority or equals - yet still all those rules remain. It''s not because the public still needs them, no, it''s because the public is too used to them. That they can''t lose the free profits. And if someone tried to remove these rules or change them, well then let''s just riot and rebel.

    "Hmm I see." Lucius said and nodded his head. It wasn''t his money or his ce to tell him to donate those things righteously so the investigation can happen smoothly, he himself wouldn''t give a damn about anyone but do that too. Why should he share his profits for free?

    "Can you wrap everything up for me, until the freshers party happens?" Rio asked.

    "Why?"

    "Cause people might think I''m crazy if they see how much time I''m spending here." Rio said his answer, as if it was the most obvious thing.

    "And you care about their opinions?" Lucius asked.

    "Well, then you can think of it like, I''m just wasting my time here talking, when I could just train to get stronger and control my skills better

    After all, that''s why this whole thing was started anyway,"

    "I can see that you''re perfectly fine now. So maybe you were right, and it was just a mishap. And you can handle yourself in the future." Lucius said, as he looked at the cat ying on the ground, trying to jump high and sit on hisp again.

    "So.. "

    Rio''s words brought his focus as he continued "So I''ll talk to Miss Freya about it, and get you all finished up." Lucius said as he closed his notes.

    Hearing his words Rio smiled and nodded his head. Finally it was over. "Thanks professor."

    The sound of a bell rang out from his watch, as the time for today''s session was over, Rio said goodbye and stood up to leave. He reached till the door, but then he thought of something and turned back -

    "Ohh now that I think about it , before that guy with golems died, he was saying something like there''s only one God of sun, and he''sing back."

    Rio finished his words and left without looking back. Lucius, who had closed his notes, opened them again and wrote down what Rio said just now.

    "What do you think, Misty? Is he telling the truth?" Lucius said as he picked the cat and ced it on the table. The cat tilted it''s head, looking a little cute and confused.

    "Yeah, I think so too." Lucius said, as he started patting it.  While his brain thought ''Sun god huh. Is it Apollo - he''s the one who''s been missing and silent since a long time.''

 Chapter 236 Amaya Stormswill - The Savant Sage

    Chapter 236 Amaya Stormswill - The Savant Sage

    [H says her father is very happy with your performance.]

    [He''s preparing a quest for you, if you finish it perfectly, you can get his blessing.]

    Rio read the notifications from H and couldn''t help but shake his head. At times like these he wondered if being H''s avatar was really a right choice or not. She''s basically live broadcasting him to her freeloader dad.

    ''And that Loki, he''s just a little trickster, yet his tantrums are even more than many primordials.'' Rio thought as he smiled and closed the system.

    ''Just cause I liked his marvel counterpart in the movies, doesn''t mean I won''t kill you, if you pull some shit.'' Rio thought, as he remembered about his earth life.

    "It''s been so long since I watched a movie, I should go to a dungeon of some modern world." Rio muttered to himself, while going to the training grounds.

    [You can''t enter a dungeon, just cause you felt like watching a movie.] System spoke up after hearing this host''s idiotic thoughts.

    "Oh you were unmuted, thanks for reminding me." Rio said in a surprising tone and then muted it.

    Rio was walking alone, when he heard amotion inside a ssroom and stopped to listen.

    "What did I tell you, you don''t take me seriously, do you?" Rio saw Lincoln pinching Damon''s face and pressing it on the table. "It''s almost been a month, but you can''t even do a simple thing like this."

    Lincoln said, as he started twisting Damon''s hand.

    "I_ I talked to the warden. Please. He said he''ll talk to the management. Just give me some time. Ahhhh " Damon started speaking while pleading, but in between his words, Lincoln grabbed one of his fingers and twisted it.

    "I don''t care what you do. But if I see you in my room tomorrow morning, I''ll throw your sorry ass outside the window." Lincoln said and threw him away.

    [Nyx asks you to help him.]

    [She says he has potential to be one of her follower''s chosen.]

    Rio read the notifications of Nyx about Damon and ignored them. It wasn''t the right time yet. And personally, he didn''t want to save these idiots, and act like the protagonist to get their support and loyalty.

    This guy''s been getting bullied and pitted against, for the past one month. Yet he did nothing in return. He never fought back, never even argued orined, or tried anything to save himself - he''s just been counting days and praying that tomorrow would be better.

    Rio had no need for pathetic ants like these, even if they had the potential to kill an elephant one day.

    If he had to babysit and groom them all this time , create troubles and make enemies because of them - he might as well just die already.

    Rio looked at Lincoln leaving and then decided to ignore everything and just go for his training. When he started moving, he saw Damoning out of the ss and looking around. Their eyes met for a second and then Damon looked away in fear. Rio didn''t bother with him and left him there.

    [H smiles at you, saying she''s proud of you.] Rio heard H''s voice in his head and smiled. He wasn''t sure if she was happy since he refused to save that guy, or she was gloating since I ignored the task given by Nyx.

    In the training grounds professor Thaddeus was continuing teaching the students of ss A-1 & A-2 before them. Today was yet anotherbined ss for every first year student.

    There was no fixed routine for these changes, as professors decided these things among themselves. Sometimes when they didn''t have much time, they''dbine all sses and finish their lecture at once, instead of teaching them all separately. Or when they needed to demonstrate something practically or justpare all sses and their performances.

    Rio walked forward and stood at the back of his ss group. He looked at the side and saw Amaya staring at him.

    Amaya Stormswill, a heroine blessed with a mind dangerous enough to be listed among one of the smartest characters of the entire original novel.

    If Rio had to name the few characters he took very seriously, and always on guard against, Amaya Stormswill , will always be one on that list.

    She''s from another noble family, her father is the Count ranked noble Eirwyn Stormswill. Stormswill family and Morbil family rule over the city of Morwill together.

    (2 count ranked families look after a city, each gets half of it to rule and reign.)

    In the novel, she was known by the title of ''The Savant Sage''. . (Savant means an expert and sage means someone very knowledgeable.) Her title means someone who''s very talented and is an expert in the field of knowledge and wisdom.

    Amaya got this title, despite being a mortal in a world where gods, demons and all kinds of creations exist. It goes to show how sharp her brain and thinking has to be to achieve that level in just the next few years. And not just useless knowledge, how acute her judgment would have to be, for even those much older and wiser men to agree to her title.

    This is why Rio ignored her till now. He had met her a few times in some noble parties and royal celebrations, but he didn''t want to be too close with this girl, lest she picks up on something and learns of his secrets. He didn''t even have the system protection all those years, and he couldn''t just have his family go to war with the Stormswill family, by killing her. So he tried to keep their contact to the minimum.

    But now she was here, in the academy, in the same ss as him, and standing on the side, staring at him.

    "You''rete again, Heir ke. It''s not good for our ss''s reputation if you''re alwaysingte." Rio heard her voice, and for a second he had the thought of falling into an illusion where everything disappeared and only this soothing voice remained.

    ''What a dangerous girl.'' Rio thought as he snapped himself back and stared at her.

    Amaya had dark green hair, and bright red eyes. Her hair tied in a top bun, while the rest flew over her shoulders from both sides. She was wearing a green top and red trouser type pants. Since the ss today was a long training session on an off day, students were free to wear whatever they wanted. For safety reasons many were still in the academy tracksuits. But those who had clothes with better quality lying around, they were dressed in them.

    Obviously Amaya''s Count or his Duke ranked families didn''tck anything.

    Rio looked at Amaya''s eyes and saw them changing their shades, from the bright red to light green color.

    "It''s not good to use your skills on others without their permission, miss Stormswill." Rio said to her.

    "Oh please, call me Amaya. We''re friends after all." Amaya said as she smiled, her beautiful face beaming with joy that seemed to hold the attention of everyone who looked at her and have them lost. "As for my skill, all of Schi knows, I can''t control them. Innate skills are such a pain. Don''t you think so?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I wouldn''t know, haven''t awakened mine yet." Rio said with a smile, meeting her gaze, and seeing the transformation of colors of her pupils. "And we aren''t friends, just acquaintances."

    "Is that so? Pity, I''m sure you would''ve awakened something scary." Amaya said, cing her head on her hands and sitting in a rxed posture.

    "It still won''t be something as good as yours, miss Amaya. After all, your abilities are practically broken." Rio said, as he started to use the blessing of Aphrodite, which just had the side effect of turning the user into a narcissist.

    "But I can''t control them." Amaya said, as she felt the slight resistance, as she looked at Rio.

    "You have enough time to learn them." Rio said, shrugging his shoulders, and lying his face on the table, preparing to sleep.

    "Do I?" Amaya asked as she tapped her fingers on the table and looked at Rio with a subtle smile. "A priest, who came to my house said I won''t have long to live. So maybe my skils would be wasted."

    Rio furrowed his brows hearing that and looked at her a little confused, but then he shook his head and said "Who knows what''s in store for us, Miss Amaya. Maybe that priest was just ackey of some low level God, vying to get more followers or swindle some money."

    "Hmm you''re right. He was someone from the church of Apollo, so maybe he did lie to get something from me." Amaya said, as she looked at Rio, her eyes turning into a shade of red again as she finished speaking.

    But Rio didn''t say anything in return and turned to look at the professor who was done setting up the array on the stage where some new test would happen.

    ''My skill failed.'' Amaya said to herself as she looked at Rio but got nothing on him. ''Interesting, very very interesting. What are you hiding my sweet little devil. And how long can you hide it.'' Amaya thought as a genuine smile came to her face for the first time.

    ''Did you block it?'' Rio asked in his heart.

    [Yupp. But you sure this is okay, it''ll only hook her more on you? Her curiosity is a dangerous thing.] System said.

    ''Let''s just give her a chance, to see if my n works or not. If it doesn''t, we''ll just let fate y it''s course, and let her die in Amy''s hands.''

    ###

    A/N - So why''d you think Amelia killed Amaya for?

    Was it because there are too many characters with names starting from ''A'' and she didn''t like it.

 Chapter 237 Virtual Reality Competition

    Chapter 237 Virtual Reality Competition

    Amaya Stormswill, a girl who awakened her innate ability at the age of 7, before she even went through her awakening. Her innate ability was called "Pure Insight". A simple name for something so broken.

    Pure insight allows Amaya to see through every illusion, facade and act. Along with her photographic memory which makes her skill of insight even more dangerous.

    Every detail, every word, every fleeting nce or conversation, expression, or emotions, everything was etched into her mind with indelible rity. She could recall even the most fleeting glimpses, as if they were paintings hanging on the walls of her memory, ready to be analyzed and revisited at any time.

    If that wasn''t enough she has the backing of Goddess Saraswati from hindu pantheon and the Titaness Mnemosyne from Greek pantheon. Both goddesses are associated with wisdom and memory. Giving their supportive blessings and guidance to Amaya.

    Though she still doesn''t know how to control her powers yet, or even fully understand how much more they can grow - but the fact that she has the potential to be one of the sharpest minds of human history is acknowledged by everyone.

    In the novel, the author introduced her with great fanfare and gave the first impressions of her skills during the first main event which happens at the freshers party. She was set up to be the best helper for Leon but since the author made her too smart too soon, Amaya''s character became too hard to write even for him. Because if Amaya was in an event then she had the potential to outshine many other important characters, that''s why the author started to sidelining her, and when that didn''t work, he killed her off.

    Obviously since not just anyone can handle Amaya, so he chose Amelia as the one who killed her. It acted as a nice twist to the happy go to story, and it fastened the process of making the whole world hate the ke''s. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Church of Apollo huh, did someone really do a prophecy of her death, or is she just shooting blinds hoping to see through me.''

    Rio thought, as he couldn''t guess what''s up with her mind. She had a habit of saying and doing whatever it took to gain a deeper understanding of the people and world around her. To learn about everything and everyone. And if she can''t learn anything now, then who cares, her future self could always see her memories as clear as day again and that''ll make things easy for her.

    "What are you thinking?" Reba asked as she walked towards him slowly, making sure professors didn''t notice her. A princess can''t break any rules and lead by an example right, that''s her belief.

    "Nothing" Rio said and shook his head. He smiled as he thought what she''d do if he pointed her out and attracted the attention of some professor.

    As if guessing his thoughts, Reba red at him with a warning look. Her big blue eyes getting that serious look was funny. But seeing that, Rio still raised his hand in surrender and let her be.

    But not trusting thiszy panda, Reba just stood where she was and didn''t move. This guy might really start pping if she went there.

    "Attention everyone, since all the sses are here, I''ll announce that today would be a special ss to see your standards. Today you''ll all enter your first virtual world, and go through apetition. Since this is the first time, we''ve made it easy for you - a simple game of defense." An assistant professor came forward and started making the announcement.

    "You''ll all be divided into various teams and sent inside. Since the tournament between sses might not be fair due to random distribution of rankings, you''ll have to first face off against your own ssmates. The winners will then keep moving forward until only one team is chosen from all the sses."

    "Then all those five teams would face off with each other. It''s all nice and easy right." The professor said after exining all the rules. "Now with that aside, let me tell you about the game itself. In this game the teams would both be teleported to a castle at the beginning, all you have to do is protect that castle and destroy the one your opposing team has."

    Professor said as a projection of castles on the opposite side became visible in the air. Blue and red dots were showing the positions of students upying that castle.

    "Every castle has a magic core at the center, which is powering up everything. Destroying that core would destroy the castle, and thus get you a win."

    "You all understood everything, right?"  The professor said, as he finished showing off the location of the core, and visuals of destroying it on his projector, ending victory with a st of fireworks.

    "Yes sir."

    When everyone agreed, another professor came forward and started saying "Your performance for this test will be recorded, and it may affect your rankings after the semester exams. So be sure to give it your all. Since you can''t die in these exams, show us what you got with all your might."

    "Mana, what about mana professor? Some of the rankers are higher awakeners than others." A student at the front seat raised his hand and asked.

    "If it was a real test or exam, there would''ve been no changes. They''re high rankers cause they tried and trained harder. So what''s the point of insulting their hard work by sealing their mana to make it easy for youzy bums." The professor said with a not so friendly smile and continued "But since you''re all just starting here now, the weaklings can rest assured that everyone''s mana would be sealed equally to a certain amount for every exam. That applies to everyone so be sure to use whatever mana you get clearly."

    The professor said, with this rule everyone''s mana would be at the same level. So everyone had a chance to show off their skills and abilities.

    "Once you''re defeated, dead, or wounded to a level, which is considered life threatening injury in the real world - you''ll be kicked out of the test. So be sure to y it safe."

    "What about healing magic? If we have a healer who can heal those injuries, does that count?" Another student raised his hand and asked.

    "What part of you''re free to use all the spells and skills did you not understand? If even the first year student healers can save you, then is it considered a life threatening injury in real life?" The professor said while ring at the student.

    "What about pain, since it''s not real, would we feel anything, or is it just counting health points like video games?" A girl raised her hand and asked..

    Hearing another stupid question, the professor furrowed his brow and thought ''Why are all these idiots sitting in the front? So annoying.'' This professor was Harkin Inkspire. The homeroom teacher of ss A-1.

    "It is just virtual in name, you will feel pain, so just surrender and give up, if you''re afraid of getting a beatdown." Professor Harkin said.

    "Does only destroying the castle count as a win or is there a point system for defeating other students too?" Another student asked.

    "Finally someone who''s asking the right question. Good." Harkin praised him as he looked at the previous students like looking at some idiots.

    "There''ll be no points for defeating other students." He then continued, his words dulling the excitement of many students, who were just nning to kill off every weak opposing team member and get points to win.

    "But that''s only till you''re fighting against your ssmates. When teams of top talents are chosen from each ss, then you will start getting points for defeating other students. No points for killing off weaklings."

    "One more thing, there''s a time limit for each match, and if you can''t defeat the other team, both teams will be dered losers. So don''t just try to be a turtle hiding in your shell." The professor said and finished exining all the rules he remembered.

    He''ll just tell them other thingster if he remembered it, or better, let them find out on their own to build up the suspense.

    ''System, what''re the chances of Leon winning this?'' Rio asked.

    [100 percent host.]

    ''....''

    [Normally it would be 100 percent, now you can change it, host.]

    [But know that, this event is with all the other important characters too, so even if you win this, Leon would still manage to meet and leave an impression on many important characters.]

    ''What if I just beat the crap out of him and knock him out the moment he enters inside. He''d be kicked out, with no chance to show off to any professor, heroine or beat any other viin.'' Rio thought, and liked the idea of what Apollo would do or say after he gave a beating to his avatar.

    [...]

    ''Well, let''s do just that.'' Rio thought and stood up. ''After all, because of him I had to leave that body of those goons from Warzy behind, and now Sentinels are aware that someone''sing after me. If those Sentinels start getting serious, how would Virgil deliver him his experience packages from time to time.''

 Chapter 238 Open Dungeons

    Chapter 238 Open Dungeons

    [Are you sure about this? Why don''t we take a moment to think huh, it''s a big decision after all.]

    ''Nah I''m good. Let''s just beat him up, so he or anyone else doesn''t get any funny ideas.'' Rio said to the system.

    [Apollo. Apollo is there, you sure you want to create trouble with him now. He still got a lot of hole cards, you know. He might even further Leon''s progress and that might even trigger some other events.]

    ''This guy''s already one major rank higher than he was supposed to be. Let''s just show him the difference between me and him, so next time I do something, he doesn''t put his nose into my business.''

    [What about Lisa? Don''t you think that''s gonna trigger anything. What if she sides with Leon instead.] System tried to warn its host again. It''s good that you can y the enemy from the shadows, why do you need to show up at the door and then beat him face to face.

    Hearing the system''s remarks Rio thought for a second but then shook his head and replied ''If she sides with him, then she dies. There''s no need to wait for another betrayal.''

    [If you just want to beat him, let your Shiva persona beat him. Don''t act like a viin with Rio''s personality. Not without any reason at least.]

    ''But.. Fine, I don''t think he can''t give me a reason. It''s the nature of the protagonist to create trouble with the viin.'' Rio sighed and agreed, but only about the no reason part, he definitely wanted to give a beating to the protagonist.

    His mind even thought up a few scenarios where if Leon doesn''t do anything, he could pull something off, that can create some friction between them and give him a ''valid reason'' to beat him.

    ''Ayy system isn''t there some hidden quest for me beating the protagonist. It''s like the basic setting of a viin system, right?''  Rio thought and asked, other systems are telling their hosts to beat up protagonists and insult them everywhere to steal their luck. And his system is here advising against it.

    [...]

    ''So there really is.'' Rio said in an excited tone after seeing the system getting silent over his question. Now he was even more eager to fight Leon, hisst quest reward was just some dumb points, he already has enough. He wanted to see if beating up the protagonist can get him something extra special. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Host, why don''t we take a moment and both take a step back to rx. You already have so many points right, why do you need some more pocket change.] System said, while sweating a little.

    How could it say that it doesn''t care about Leon at all, and Apollo is just a bitch. Even its host might be able to hold him off, if he used all those points of his in the right way.

    It''s just, it knew the habits of this host and knew if he got a taste of those rewards, would Leon ever even get out of infirmary in the entire plot.

    It can even picture Leon just taking a step out and getting beaten up again. If that happens, how can the system enjoy drama and see other plotlines? The plot is already too different and messed up, what would happen next?

    ''Okay, then it''s decided, we look for a reason and then we beat him up.'' Rio gave the final verdict and muted the system before it could say anything else..

    Rio started walking towards the stage, where arge magic circle was drawn and was shining in a bright light. Everyone started moving forward too. This was a teleportation circle, which would send everyone to the facility where virtual reality capsules were fixed. Since the academy was too big, if one were to walk from one facility to another, it would simply take at least 15-30 minutes considering the distance. Now since the whole of first year ss was about to move, the duration of that time would obviously be higher. So as not to waste time, the academy had teleportation arrays ced between each facility.

    A few professors were standing near the stage, sending a group of 100 students forward every time. That was a limit to this circle, as it could only teleport one hundred people at one time.

    Huge chunks of mana were getting used for this every time, but even that amount wasn''t even considered a drop in the vast ocean of mana the academy grounds had.

    The floating inds were all pieces of magicalnds from an unknown world. It had what one could call a spiritual vein from the cultivation world stories, it could store huge amounts of mana from its surroundings every moment and store it inside to nourish the ind.

    So whatever mana they wasted by using these teleportation circles, this all would probably be regenerated in a matter of a few minutes again.

    Don''t ask why no one from the world tried to attack and loot these ''spiritual veins'' or take control of these inds - that was the reason why the World Association was formed. At first these inds were taken by a group of separate families and there would always be wars to own them amongst everyone, but over time, the owners of the inds came together and formed an association to show abined front against everyone else.

    That''s how the World Association was first formed, by a bunch of rich folks to capture these inds. But when the rest of the world still didn''t give up and would keep fighting them from time to time, they knew no one would be able to share this pie alone. So they decided to turn their residence into a sect, where everyone from everywhere coulde and train.

    Fast forward by a few centuries, the sects had now be academies and the collective front of owners, became the current World Association. This rich environment and mana density is also why the five academies are holding their ce at the top.

    Rio walked the stage and stood over it, when the professor finished the preparations, he channeled his mana into the various gs or key points, and the array lit up in a blinding light forcing everyone to close their eyes.

    When they opened their eyes again, they were standing in a new ce, arge open hall where a few teleportation circles were lighting up every second.

    Everyone looked around and noticed the new ce and environment which was giving them the vibe of a sci -fi world. Rio too curiously looked around. Things had changed a lot since thest time he visited here. When he first came here two years ago, he couldn''t help but stare at everything like it was a dream. After all, everything here was simr to what was shown only in movies or fictions. The technology of earth was far behind what was possible in this facility.

    The hall was adorned with neon lights that bathed the surroundings in a vibrant, otherworldly glow, that exuded a futuristic, sci-fi ambiance. Square metallic tforms floated gracefully through the air, carrying a variety of objects, from advanced machinery to holographic disys. Metallic drones whizzed overhead, zipping through the space in a precise manner.

    If you think about how this is possible, when the outside world didn''t even have phones till a few years ago, how did this facility manage to advance to this level in just the time skip of novel?

    You don''t have to think much, because this facility wasn''t even a part of Arcadia, this was an Open Dungeon.

    Open Dungeons were dungeons which once connected to Arcadia forever stayed there. They had no core to destroy nor any missions to fulfill, in order to clear them. They were simply chunks ofnds attached to Arcadia.

    People and technology which was pulled here along with thisnd would forever stay inside these dungeons and couldn''t be taken out. So no matter how advanced this open dungeon became, none of it could be useful in the outside world. Except the knowledge, which could help Arcadia grow further too.

    This dungeon belonged to a future dystopian world, and after merging with Arcadia it had always been under the control of the World Association. The world association pumped many resources into their research and helped them with everything. When the people of this dungeon world grew used to Arcadia and started learning about mana, their existing technology took another leap and became this hifi.

    What did the world association get in return if they couldn''t take anything out, well they got knowledge, knowledge about all this machinery and stuff which was made possible in other worlds. Now their own researchers just have to learn how to create all this stuff in Arcadia.

    Plus if they can''t take anything outside, doesn''t mean they can''t send anyone in right. Like right now, the virtual reality capsules of this world had been much more advanced than most of the illusion magics and simr technologies of Arcadia. That''s why the academy can send their students here to train and learn everything.

    Rio was looking around thinking about the past and enjoying the scenery of the new tech, when someone just put their hand over his shoulder and pulled him in. "So do you still remember toe back here huh. If I didn''t know any better, I''d think you died again."

 Chapter 239 The scifi setting

    <h4>Chapter 239 The scifi setting</h4>

    Rio looked at the girl beside him and said "Is this how you greet your friends now? No wonder no one visits you once they leave the academy."

    Hearing his words and that amusingugh, The girl increased her strength around his neck, just trying to choke him. "You little, it seems you really did grow up a little huh. Now you''re even talking back to me."

    Rio ced his hand on her stomach and released a wave of mana, sting her in the air. "I can even beat you up now. Why won''t I dare."

    "You, good very good." The girl said as she stood on a metal tform in the air, and looked at him aggrievedly. "I''ll st out pain receptors again, see how youe crying to me then." She said, as she jumped down the tform.

    "Do that, and I''ll tell your grandpa, that you''re the one who scrapped _ "

    "Fine, shut up. You''re gonna get me kicked out." The girl said, stopping him from speaking anything else, in front of the whole ss. "You bettere by the shop, once you''re done with your tests, or I''m really messing up your VR capsule next time." She said and turned around to leave. She tapped on her tablet a few times, and a metal tform came beneath her feet and she left.

    From the beginning to end, she didn''t even take a nce at anyone else in the hall or even noticed their presence.

    "Brother, who was she?" Amelia asked as she came near him. Followed by Reba.

    "That''s Joi, she''s a researcher here. You see those capsules we''re about to enter_."

    "Don''t tell me, did she make them?" Amelia asked in a surprised tone.

    "No, I was gonna say they were made by her grandfather." Rio replied with a smile.

    "So what did she do?" Reba asked.

    "Well, she _ she helps around."

    "She''s azy idiot just like you, isn''t she?" Reba asked as she looked at him defending her.

    Rio was just thinking about what to say cause what she does is kinda simr to him. He can''t just say she''s gonna be the next best techie of Arcadia right. Well, let''s just stay silent.

    An old man with white two part mustache came forward and started speaking. "Students, since everyone''s here, I won''t waste your time. From where you''re standing now, you can see tworge halls on the side." He said, and Neon pathways leading to those halls lit up on the ground. "On the right side is the hall for all the girls, you can follow along the lines and go inside. The left side is for the boys."

    "Once you''re there, just look for the capsule with your name on it, or just search up your identification number on the watches and it''ll light up for you." The old man said, guiding everyone.

    "Master, _ master." Joi called the old man as she appeared behind the old man. But when he didn''t hear her, she shouted again "Grandpa"

    "What?" The old man asked about why she was interrupting his speech.

    "You forgot about the suits. The suits remember." Joi said as she signaled the old man about the clothes.

    The old man understood after a little time,ughed a little and said "ohh before you enter anything or go anywhere, you might wanna collect your suits for the VR and then proceed to the hall." He finished his words and tapped on his watch as a transparent screen popped up on it. "You all got a notification on your watch, so just fill out your details in that form and the drones will get you your suits."

    "Once you reach your respective halls, you can change into them. Before you ask, there are several booths made inside, so you can be rest assured about your privacy."

    As his words finished everyone''s watches buzzed up with a notification sound and they all started filling out their details in the said form. It wasn''t anything much, just the same data they first submitted to the academy - name, ID number, blood type, health conditions, or any previous incident or experience with simr technology etc.

    Rio looked at his notification and could just re upwards at Joi, who was just waiting for his reaction. [Student Rio ke, already exists in the username list. Unknown credentials.]

    [You should''vee by the shop earlier if you wanted to get a new ID.] Joi''s message popped up on his watch and he could just turn it off.

    After filling the details of the registration id he was given two years ago, he sessfully logged in. And a drone soon came in and dropped a package over his head. Catching the box before it hits him, he just gave a final angry re at Joi before walking inside, one of the booths at the side.

    Removing his blue academy jacket and trousers he stored them into his storage ring and started putting on the new ck color suit.

    After fighting with that for five minutes he finally managed to put it on.

    ''Damn the bastard who made these suits.'' Rio cursed as he finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief once he was done struggling with his suit.

    As the name suggests the suits were ''skin-tight'' meaning that one could feel all his muscles getting tightlypressed by the suit. It felt like someone justminated all his body and wrapped it in a tight stic.

    Wearing this suit made his movements be extremely stiff. Because it was so weird, it looked like he was a robot, and not even human anymore. Moreover, Looking at his own appearance in the mirror , he wished he could just find a ce to bury himself or throw all these suits aside.

    It was freaking embarrassing to look at.

    Thankfully the academy didn''t give this kind of suit outside this facility, or he''d have to walk around the whole campus wearing this abomination every time there was something VR rted.

    That would''ve been a true walk of shame.

    But now he just needed to leave this booth and go find his capsule and that was it.

    Walking out of the cabin, Rio looked around and noticed almost everyone was walking around in a robot like manner. Some students still walked normally, showing that they were used to this kind of suits and the VR routine.

    Probably all the rich kids and families had their children adjust to all the situations, plus they might''ve just bought VR to y games since they were a kid.

    Though the products of this dungeon were a little better than the ones outside, still some of the students got used to these suits easily.

    Everyone was looking around curiously to see each other''s reactions, and Rio could just sigh at himself. He would have been fine too if not for Joi.

    ''I should really get her kicked out from here.'' Rio thought as he looked at the difference between his suit and the ones others had. His was simply the old version and looked like their ancestor.

    This just drew everyone''s focus on him even more, and he could just act like he didn''t notice and increase his pace towards his capsule.

    Easier said than done though, with his stiff movement, he even felt he might fall down somewhere in between.

    ''Atleast girls are not here.'' Rio thought as he rxed thinking it was only boys in this hall. If there were tons of girls filled in this hall, walking around in these skin tight suits, he didn''t know what would happen.

    ''Though if there were girls, no one would look at him then right. After all, the figures of all those heroines and viinesses were on disy.''

    ''I wonder how they''d look though.''

    [Stop imagining weird things, host.]

    [I''m warning you, if you need to think up some fantasies and fetishes, just tell me beforehand, so I can cut our connection.]

    The system came out and started speaking in its righteous robotic voice, like it just saw some injustice happening in his mind.

    ''What, it''s normal that my mind would imagine how they''d look. It''s not like I got perfect control over everything and wouldn''t think anything. I''m a young man too, you know.''

    [Ohh so now you''re a young man. You literally lived for 40 years now. 30 on earth and 10 here. The girls here aren''t even half that age. Tsk tsk tsk this host is a pedo_]

    �Cmuted�C

    ''Damn you, system. See if I unmute you for a week this time.'' Rio cursed it in his head and closed all the panels.

    [H takes note of your appearance.]

    Rio, who had just closed the system, looked at H''s notification and a ck line formed over his head. ''She''s gonna show it to Loki, isn''t she?''

    ''Damn it, Leon. It''s all because of you. Get ready to be beaten.''

    Rio med every scenario on Leon''s head and decided to give him one more punch for this embarrassing scene.

    Leon, who was enjoying everything, and was excited about his first VR experience, suddenly had a bad premonition that said ''Just run away'' yet he couldn''t understand why?

    ## N?v(el)B\\jnn

    VR suits were designed from advanced nanofiber materials that just stick close to the wearer''s body. The suits featured biometric sensors, seamlessly woven into the fabric, which enabled real-time monitoring of the user''s vital signs. This data was crucial for ensuring the user''s safety during VR experiences.

    Tiny haptic nodes were also discreetly integrated into the suits, enhancing the sense of touch in the virtual world. These nodes provided sensations like pressure, warmth, texture, and everyone''s favorite, pain -adding to the realism of the experience.

    The suits also featured a built-in temperature regtion system, capable of adjusting the temperature of the user''s body in case of some emergency.

 Chapter 240 Valtor Shade

    Chapter 240 Valtor Shade

    Following the guide map towards the red dot on his watch, which showed the pathway to his capsule, Rio reached there.

    Taking the VR headgear ced near the capsule on a table, he just took a long breath and ced it over his head. It covered half his face. After adjusting it carefully, he pressed the button at the side with his thumb and the headgear was turned on. The digital disy came to life, projecting a transparent screen in front of his eyes. Various notifications started appearing in front of him.

    [Initiating Biometric Scan...]

    [Initiating Retina scan�� ]

    [User Identification Confirmed: Rio ke]

    With the scans and identificationplete, Rio stepped into the capsule. The interior was a pristine and sterile space, lined with sensors and equipped with a softly padded floor to ensure the user''sfort.

    The transparent cover smoothly descended over him, sealing him within. The cover was made from advanced smart ss, providing a degree of translucency that allowed for minimal light and shadows to filter through. Once he was settled in, another few notifications popped up.

    In the VR world though the users had to keep the same appearance as the real world, but the digital data still gave the option to customize everyone''s avatar. Students could choose the clothes they would like to wear.

    [Select Clothing Option: Casual | Formal | Futuristic | Historical | Fantasy]

    Seeing the notification Rio just chose casual and then instead of picking up styles or colors, he just clicked on random and then ended it. Once that was done, the final process started, as the disy about the final confirmation appeared

    [Enter : Y/N]

    Clicking Yes without even looking Rio swiped his hand. Gotta say, it had be his habit of swiping screens sideways after talking with that useless system for so much time.

    [Staging the transfer. VRwork_Zenith Aqua]

    [Transferplete.]

    [Health Parameters: Optimal]

    [You''re now in Quantum Nexus]

    [Wee back, Rio ke]

    Once thest notifications sounded, he opened his eyes and found himself in an endless white hall. Gone was the VR capsule or headgear, everything was so clear and real now in front of his eyes.

    He raised his hands and clenched his fists to check for the movement and sensations he could feel. He still had a doubt if Joi really messed up some settings on his server or not. That girl had a turtle brain so he couldn''t even be sure.

    Rio looked down to see his clothes, he was wearing a long sleeve T-shirt in gray color and a brown casual pants.

    ''Hmm seems nice enough'' he nodded his head while pulling his sleeves up a little on both hands.

    He looked around and saw many students who started appearing in the white hall.

    This endless luminous space was called Quantum Hub. The entrance point for the virtual world. Everyone connected to a server would be transported here first. And from here after the administrators allows, one would be sent to the other zones.

    This is where every student first enters and then rests between their tests. Those who lost or died would also be transported here, instead of directly being sent to the real world.

    Rio looked around and noticed many of the idiots, who were on their first rodeo of VR choosing clothes that they liked. Like some of them chose historian clothes and were wearing stuff like they were going to get married or attend the Royal court.

    Some girls were roaming around in cyberpunk style with neon stic skirts. While some were looking like a mad Max dystopian theme junkie, with all the haggard and ragged clothes they had.

    Wait, did that guy just choose a feather and leaves dress, what the fuck is wrong with him.

    Rio, looked around at the weird fashion senses of some people and wanted tough at them, as he remembered, now they''ll have to fight and finish this test in those clothes.

    ''That feather guy is so fucked.'' Rio thought and prayed for his walk of shameter.

    When all the students appeared in the hall, the projection device lit up in the center and the figures of a few professors became visible to everyone. Those were all the homeroom teachers of all the  first year sses.

    Harkin Inkspire for ss A-1.

    Myth Nelson for ss A-2.

    Freya Morgan for ss A-3.

    Osborn Evergreen for ss A-4.

    Arabe Lawrence for ss A-5.

    Apart from them, battle arts professor Thaddeus Winthrop, and technical engineering professor Dorian Lancaster were also present there. The figure of Jorvik, Joi''s grandfather also appeared in the hall, as he was incharge of maintaining all the VR tech.

    Aside from everyone here, a few healers were stationed to monitor everyone''s vitals and pull them out in case of some emergency situation. After all, VR is good and all, but it''s also risky. Your brain is basically connected to a digital world and your subconscious is pulled here in Quantum Hub, so if anyone pulled the plug or simply released a high energy wave, it could kill everyone here easily. Having someone being brain dead and having them trapped in Quantum is also a high possibility, that''s why VR rooms and halls are always securedpletely every time any test Or exam is going on. Except for selected staff no one can ever enter the halls once students enter the capsules. So it''s all rtively safe.

    The professors  nced at everyone and saw their attire. Professor Harkin noted down those who chose stylish clothes from his ss and remembered their faces. Rio could see from his expression that he''ll have them punished in tomorrow''s ss.

    All the other professors did the same too, after all, it''smon sense for them to think about something like this. They''reing here for a test and they''re dressed like this. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "They do this every year, don''t they?" Someone came near Rio and asked.

    "Yupp," Rio said and turned to the side. And there he saw, one of the main characters of the novel, Valtor Shade. He was wearing an all ck attire, which could entuate his fighting style and element of shadow. He was also looking pretty good in it too. Rio just needed to turn a little, and he could see the girls fawning over Valtor from a distance. Well that was to be expected. After all, Valtor was too famous.

    The son of the guildmaster of Nexus guild. Someone who was measured for the potential ranking of SS rank. awakened at the age of 12 and had been training among the guild ever since then. At the age of 16 he entered his first dungeon raid and cleared it. Ever since then, he''s been going on with his guild members on many dungeon raids to get experience and grow stronger.

    He never made many appearances in outside parties and social events, so there wasn''t a single bad thing said about him anywhere.

    Obviously his reputation was still an inch lower than Rio''s own, who basically had the habit of breaking all these records of the characters of the novel. Whatever Valtor did, Rio did it better.

    There was even a time when everyone wouldpare both him and Valtor, after all, both of them were talented and had simr elements. Shadow and darkness - different but simr.

    But since Rio was supposed to be dead, Valtor had been on an even higher rise since then. All that can''t just be changed and forgotten since Rio came back, right. So there were still a lot of little fangirls for our little rival of the protagonist.

    "Heard you were attacked?" Valtor asked, breaking Rio out of his thoughts.

    "Aren''t you asking about it a little too early? It''s been more than two weeks now." Rio replied. And asked straightforwardly "Just tell me what you want, Valtor. You were never good at small talks."

    Hearing his direct question, Valtor hesitated for a little bit and then asked "What do you think about the first ranker? That Baron''s son."

    "Ohh are you curious about him? I wonder why?" Rio asked as a smile formed on his face. He didn''t think it was gonna be such an interesting conversation.

    "The fire and the way he uses his techniques, they aren''t normal. I''m sure you noticed it too. That''s why you''ve been paying attention to him right?" Valtor said, voicing his doubts, as he looked at Leon.

    After fighting with him in spars for so many days, he had noticed a few abnormalities with the way Leon fights. The techniques he uses were no way normal, and anyone with discerning eyes could see it too. Valtor, who wields the opposite element of it and had faced those skills head on, knew about them the best.

    "They''re way too high level for something someone can learn in just two years after awakening. Or something a Baron can get." Valtor finished his words remembering the way Leon fought against him in every spar.

    Rio, who heard his words, had a smirk on his face. ''Looks like you''re not doing a good job, Apollo. People are picking up on your avatar''s lies. Up your game a little. The real fun haven''t even begun yet.''

 Chapter 241 Valtor and Amaya - a failed love story

    Chapter 241 Valtor and Amaya - a failed love story

    "The fire and the way he uses his techniques, they aren''t normal. I''m sure you noticed it too. That''s why you''ve been paying attention to him right?" Valtor said, voicing his doubts, as he looked at Rio and then turned towards Leon, who was talking with Seraphina. "They''re way too high level for something someone can learn in just two years after awakening, without any guidance."

    ''Bravo, my brave soldier. The experience you got fighting all this time in dungeons wasn''t wasted it seems.'' Rio praised Valtor in his head and gave him a nod of approval.

    After all, Apollo was teaching Leon on his own. And since Apollo focused more on improving Leon''s rank this time, instead of perfecting the techniques or increasing their masteries, there were many faults in those techniques. Faults, which won''t be visible normally, but those who''ve had experience in real life could easily pick up. Every time Leon uses a technique of Apollo, there''ll always be that extra movement, that extra energy that just gives off everything. But since Leon still has a high rank it doesn''t matter to him, and he could still fight with any other first year student.

    Plus it might also be his fault as he might''ve stolen a concealment technique from a cave near Leon''s city.

    Why Apollo didn''t teach him anything else or gave him a new technique you ask, cause as one can guess nothing can be best than the technique author writes for protagonist. So the one Rio stole was special. Second, the skills Apollo has are really too high grade, and using them in open, many of the gods who fought with him would notice them. This is why to hide about himself and Leon, he still only gave him techniques that weren''t directly linked with him or something that many other gods could perform too.

    "Maybe he had some lucky encounter or found a God who''s willing to teach him. After all, even if he''s a waste, he''s still the heir of a Baron''s house." Rio said with a smile, hoping to hear what else this little shadow warrior learned.

    "And yet he never mentioned anything about any God in all his interviews. You think any normal God would want that." Vator said. Remembering everything he read in the reports his subordinates found on Leon. From being a waste 8 years ago, awakening 6 yearster, and having strength almost equal to him after training for just two years - idiots would believe there was no secret behind it.

    "Are you suggesting he made a contract with an evil God, Valtor? That''s a hefty usation without any proof." Rio said.

    Valtor didn''t say anything and just waited to see if Rio would say something. He was just curious about it and wanted to know. Plus he had noticed Rio looking at Leon a few times, so he asked him first. ''Even if he doesn''t know anything, his Goddess definitely does.''

    "So will you say something, or should I just wait?" Valtor asked again as he noticed Rio just smiled and didn''t say anything.

    "Well, you are right. He did make a pact with a God, but it''s not any of the evil ones, or even the trickster ones, so don''t worry about it." Rio said, smiling as he read the message he got from H, asking him to tell everyone about Apollo.

    Gods themselves couldn''t talk or share any secrets of any other gods, their blessings, powers or avatars due to the rules made by the world system. As this was necessary to maintain the privacy of each avatar and God. Obviously this rule can be broken too, but as everything, gods would need to pay the price for it to the world system.

    Since Rio already knew all about Apollo and Leon, H didn''t break any rule, and she could just tell him to spoil everything. After all, she was still pissed off at that dimmed out bulb for trying to poach her avatar again and again.

    [Tell the world about Apollo''s avatar.]

    ''It''s not time yet. Just wait.'' Rio said in his heart and ignored her message again. This pair of father and daughter just wanted to cause chaos everywhere.

    "But why would any normal god_" Valtor still had doubts about why a normal God would help someone so much and not ask for any credit.

    Valtor was saying something when a sweet voice interrupted his question - "What are you talking about being all serious?"

    Rio looked at Amaya who suddenly appeared near them and stood next to Valtor. She was wearing a green v cut t-shirt and an orange loose pants. A jacket with a matching fiery color was highlighting her looks.

    ''So that color really suits her, huh.'' Rio thought after looking at Amaya.

    [....] System who was silently waiting to be unmuted, could only store itsments forter.

    "Are you guys forming a team? Can I join?" Amaya asked again, her voice getting excited seeing both the boys silent even more.

    "That_ " Valtor hesitated a little seeing her expectant face, but then he looked serious and replied "We were just talking about nothing. There''s no team."

    Saying that Valtor just turned around and left.

    ''This guy, he kinda reminds me of Ali.'' Rio thought, as he saw the flustered face of Valtor and saw him disappear instantly.

    ''They''d make a great pair.'' Rio thought as he remembered Valtor and Amaya''s plotlines.

    Amaya and Valtor had been engaged to each other since childhood. Both their parents were  allies, and after learning about their children''s superior talents, they decided on their engagement.

    Valtor loved Amaya, well not loved, as he''s still young and not quite sure about everything. But he liked her.

    Valtor''s personality was someone who likes to stay silent, a man of few words and simple nature. He liked to train and wanted to be as strong as his father so he could take after the guild. He also had a goal that he wanted to make Nexus guild reach the number one position and overtake Dawn Guild. He had awakened the shadow element and was training towards the path of bing an ultimate assassin.

    While Amaya on the other hand was quite the opposite. She was outgoing, and she liked to talk about everything as it gave her insights about the other person. She liked reading, as her photographic memory stored everything within her brain. She didn''t train much physically, as she always called it brutish behavior. That''s why she preferred using magic spells to fight.

    Amaya, whose every word was well thought out and would always pay attention to every little detail. And Valtor, who also thought a lot before speaking, but for the opposite reason. He just didn''t like the roundabout way of speaking and never dragged out a conversation.

    They were so different and that''s why they were actually a perfect match for each other.

    Sadly, the author didn''t give them enough time and importance to fall for each other. He thrusted Valtor into training after making him lose to Leon a few times, and thus making him ignore everything else around him. And when that was done, he pushed Amaya into the camp of Leon and gave her the tag of heroine.

    When Valtor finally got back to his usual self and lost his obsession for defeating Leon, Amaya was already hooked on Leon and their love story ended, before it even began.

    It was funny when Shiva read all this on earth, cause when Amaya died at the hands of Ameliater, it was Valtor who came asking for her revenge, instead of Leon, who was simply busy ying hero for some other heroine.

    Obviously Valtor died soon after Amaya''s death too. Rio killed him. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    All this drama happened so author could push another noble family and another guild on the opposite side of the ke family and have everyone turn against them. Obviously Leon is the one who gets the final benefits everytime.

    ''All for the sake of the protagonist.'' Rio thought and shook his head.

    ''Should I match them and give both of them a happy ending.''

    A thought came into his mind, but he ignored it. He''ll just leave it to fate for now.

    "Would you tell me what you were talking about?" Amaya asked, bringing Rio back to reality.

    "Your engagement." Rio replied.

    "..." Amaya looked at him as her eyes turned to a shade of red for a second but came to their usual color soon again. She couldn''t see anything anyway.

    "I''ll take my leave then, miss Amaya. The test is about to start." Rio said and left.

    Professor Osborn, the homeroom teacher of ss A-4 came forward and announced "The first stage of your test is about to start. Professor Harkin already told you all about the rules, so I''ll just tell you about the next process. But before that, all those who are dressed like they''re going on a beach, or at someone''s wedding, or are living in forests, next time when you enter the VR world, choose clothes that suit the purpose you''reing here. Show us how you n to fight dressing like that?"

    ###

    A/N - Top 5 Guilds

    1) Dawn

    2) Nexus -

    3) Shade - Agnus ke(guildmaster)

    4) Moscow

    5) Silverdes

 Chapter 242 The match begins

    Chapter 242 The match begins

    "For the first stage, which is the battles between your own ssmates, the teams would be chosen randomly. Whenever your matches are about to start, you''ll be teleported from here to a new location. If you die or get a serious injury, you''ll be teleported here. We''ll be monitoring your performance from here." Professor Osborn said, "After each match your mana and physical condition would be restored to prime, so don''t make any reservations and just give it your all every time."

    "Even though this test is just to evaluate your basic performance, make sure your first impressions aren''t bad." Professor Freya reminded everyone.

    When all the students were busy preparing for themselves or mocking the guys dressed weirdly, Rio just closed his eyes andid down on the ground. He was thinking about what kinds of fights there would be in this scenario.

    In the novel there was something simr to this event too, but that was a survival and monster hunting test, but now that was changed to this dungeon destroying game. How or why, Rio didn''t bother thinking. There had been so many changes in the academy arcs with his interference, so plotline diversion of this level wasn''t even worth investigating.

    In the novel, during this VR test, Amaya was the one who won the game. She had made an alliance with Valtor from the beginning and they acted on that deal for a while. But in the end when the chance for victor was between these two, Amaya with her brains, was able to steal the points from Valtor, before the timer ran out. Leon in that test was in fifth position, with Moksh taking the third ce and Katherine in fourth ce.

    Yet not Rio wasn''t sure anymore.

    This test which was supposed to be a solo survival test had turned into a team match. If it was a solo match, he was sure to win easily and even show the vast difference of level he has with all the other students. Yet now with the team match, he couldn''t be sure.

    If fate pulled a shit and all he got were chickens, while the other side got the top rankers, then the best he could do is to make both sides lose. After all, he could either defend his castle or destroy theirs, it couldn''t be both. Unless he pulled out some secret cards of his, exposing whom this early for just this, would be wasteful.

    ''But if that happens, let''s just hope I get someone who can stay alive for a little time, until I can destroy the other team.'' Rio thought and nced at his hand, where the academy watch lit up.

    Soon every student''s watches lit up and they all teleported out from the Quantum Hub. In that empty white space dozens of projection disys and many drones appeared instead. All of them showing feeds from various ces where every student was transported to. The matches of all the sses for the first stage would happen simultaneously so the staff don''t have to waste time on it.

    [Simtion starts 3 .. 2 .. 1 ]

    [We wish you a wonderful experience.]

    Rio read the notifications on his disy and then a blinding light enveloped his sense.

    After some time he blinked his eyes several times as the sudden shift in the environment around him was blinding them. Currently he was standing in an open hall. Surrounded byrge pirs, in between all those was a floating ball of purple energy ?? which he could guess as the castle core that professors spoke about.

    Clear sky and sunlight was bathing the entire area into a beautiful sight. The smell of trees and soil wafted into his nostrils, giving a refreshing calm feeling to the mind. Looking up he could see the birds flying in the sky and hear their chirping. Rio moved forwards and touched a pir nearby, feeling the sense of touch he nodded his head.

    He closed his fists and punched the pir with half his strength, feeling the stinging pain on his knuckles, he smiled a little. ''Looks like she didn''t mess with anything after all.''

    "Let''s check mana and aura too."

    He thought, as he waved his hand and a small arc of air left from his hand, shing at the pir, leaving its mark and some cracks on the surface.

    ''So around 40 percent'' Rio said in his heart as he felt the mana in his body. Which wasn''t even half of what he had outside.

    Next up, he coated his leg in aura and gave a kick to the pir, sting it into pieces.

    ''Huh, did they not change aura.'' Rio thought as he felt his aura rank was still the same as before. But then he understood, after all, aura mainly depended on training and mastery of everyone''s physical body itself, unlike mana which could always be boosted by ranking up using pills and elixirs.

    ''No blessings huh'' Rio said, as he tried to channel the blessing ''Master of Magic'' to see if he could gather mana from the air faster to recover himself, but found that he couldn''t use them here.

    ''H, can you hear me?''

    [... ]

    ''No response, meaning she''s not around either.''

    "Can''t believe they can do all this just with codes, data and algorithms. Right system?"

    [...]

    ''No response, did it _ ah no you''re muted, got it.'' Rio said, breathing a sigh of relief, "For a second I thought you''d be so useless to go offline every time I enter VR.'' Rio said and shook his head.

    (Bastard) system, who was muted and insulted for no reason, could only curse in its mind and note down this point to ask for judgmentter.

    While Rio was busy checking about all his senses and powers, behind him 14 other students appeared. Seeing him they all tried to do the same too.

    Not destroying the pir nearby, but just channeling their mana to see what was the effect of equal restrictions on them. Everyone''s mana for this test was sealed around the newly D- rank awakener. Meaning at the limit of 30 or nearby to that level, atleast.

    (They could call upon their world system to see all these details still, but the world system only shows real numbers and status, not the ones allowed inside the VR.)

    After running his various tests and thinking up which spells he could use with this limited mana, or which technique would be more suitable to deal with what situation, he turned around and looked at the other students, and he could just curse the fate after seeing them.

    It was so bad that he didn''t even recognize them from the novel. All of them were extras or just nobodys who appeared in one chapter just to die. Or people who were only ever mentioned in academy arcs and then disappeared from the novelpletely, as if the author forgot about their existence.

    ''When shit like this happens to me, I think of killing the protagonist and taking all his luck.'' Rio said in his heart and sighed. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was surprised not to find any one of his friends or even the other strong characters but he also knew this shit was random and no one did this to mess with him. After all, professor Freya, Thaddeus and Jorvik were there. He at least knew these oldies won''t be going against him.

    As Rio kept staring at every student, they were all staring at him too. After all, everyone knew who he was and since he was in their team they were all excited about it.

    Since Rio always trained alone in the room in his free time or booked the private chambers using Merit Points, no one had seen him much outside. Even in the training ss of professor Thaddeus, he was one of the few who passed the test and trained separately. But seeing his records back then and witnessing the few spars he''d have with his sister and princess every now and then in Miss Freya''s ss, they were all aware of his strength. So without even asking or saying anything, he instantly became the de facto leader of their group.

    Seeing them all silent and just staring at him, Rio just shook his head and started his introduction. "My name''s Rio. I''m a swordsman. And I can act as the main damage dealer for this team."

    Hearing him, all of them understood and started introducing themselves and what role they could y in this match.

    After some time, Rio remembered all their names and could identify them a little. Not all of them were useless, a few coulde to be of help, if they''re as good as they say.

    The teams for this stage were divided into 15 vs 15. So since one ss had around 300 students, it would be 10 matches a ss, and 50 matches in total.

    ###

    A/N - I know it got dragged out but promise this was thest.

 Chapter 243 Say hello to Rasengan, Arcadia

    Chapter 243 Say hello to Rasengan, Arcadia

    ?

    After Rio remembered their names and details about what they could do, they started strategizing about who will stay at the base and protect the core, and who will move out to deal with the enemies.

    Currently in his team were 4 girls, 2 of them were healers, one an archer and the other one, who was just good at studying and solving puzzles. (Don''t ask me what her role was)

    In the rest 11 boys, there were 6 of them, who identified themselves as a damage dealer through using swords, spells or aura. 3 were just there to increase the count, as their original rank was F rank, and now feeling the mana of D rank into their body and they were half wobbly, looking around with dull eyes. Where mana was just leaking out of their body since they couldn''t control it. The final 2 boys were elves, who were staring at him with unkind eyes, but dared not say anything. They just said, they can do everything. (Just the typical arrogant elf line)

    Rio was thinking how he should deal with this test in less time, so he can go for the next match faster and beat up Leon if he sees him. He was sure Leon wouldn''t be here, asing across him was a sure loss. And luck probably won''t be abandoning him so early.

    "Hello, mic check. Test 1 2 3, check, check" Professor Harkin''s voice rang out as a projection of his appeared in the hall they were in.

    "Huh it seems it''s working fine. Then let me start."

    "As you can see, the students standing on your sides would be your teammates for the first match. The purple crystal ball floating above is the magic core you guys need to protect if you want to win. Lose that and it''s game over for your match."

    "Once you move out from the castle, you can see a golden pir of light in the sky, that is the location of your enemy castle. So just hurry up and destroy that. Cause I forgot to mention there''s a time limit for this match. If any team can''t win this match at that time, both teams would be dered losers, so don''t you dare y turtle games and wait for your enemy toe to your door."

    Professor Harkin said the news with a smile, making every student just look at him and curse him. This guy''s personality was simply too twisted. It seems the only reason he became a teacher was just so he couldsh out on students without suffering any consequences.

    "Also don''t be a hero or arrogant fool and move out alone, cause you never know who your enemy is. It might be thest row chickens or rankers and stronger ones. So be careful going out."

    "Show us a good fight."

    After saying that professor Harkin''s figure disappeared in the air. And a countdown started on everyone''s watches.

    ''30 minutes huh. That''s enough I guess.'' Rio thought after looking at the timer for half an hour. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Well, there''s no need to n more than that then, time''s running out." Rio said as he pped his hands to get everyone''s attention.

    "Okay, I want you guys to stay here and protect our base, while I go and deal with the other team. If I see that I won''t be handling them in a little time, I''lle back or call you guys." Rio said and turned around to leave.

    "Whaat?"

    "Let''s make a strategy first."

    "No, I''lle with you."

    "That''s stupid, professor just said not to_"

    "I''m not asking you, just stay there and protect the core. It''ll be over in a few minutes anyway." His feet pushed on the ground, and next second his figure appeared in the stone pir nearby. And then it disappeared from there, only his voice echoed in the backdrop. "If I lose this match, cause you lot can''t protect the core until Ie back, we''ll have  a nice long chat in the real world."

    After finishing his words of wisdom, Rio left the area with the highest speed he could muster. The professor called this a castle, but it was just the stage with those pirs in the middle and then a garden outside, surrounded by a wall. When Rio jumped over a wall, he felt a slight disturbance of mana phasing over his body.

    "A barrier huh. That makes things easy." Rio said and without looking back he started running towards the golden pir he could see in the sky. He kept spreading his mana to see if he could find someone nearby, while his aura boosted his strength. But he didn''t see any sign of life in the vicinity, no monsters or animals or anyone.

    The area outside their bases was that of a barren mountainnd. Few trees here and there, with stone and bumpy terrain on the ground. His steps left cracks on the stones every time they touched the ground and he looked like a gust of wind or ghost just flying through.

    Since he didn''t find anyone on the side, his speed was uninterrupted and soon he reached the ce where he could even see the base of the other team.

    Seeing the tiny pirs in the far distance, Rio used his first spell, BLINK and channeled his mana to teleport to that ce in an instant.

    His figure disappeared in space and next instant arrived over the base of the other party. He knew there was a barrier around the base so he just teleported himself outside the wall. And jumped high to reach a certain height and then used his mana to stay afloat.

    In just these two spells and that little scanning, ? of his current mana was gone. But he didn''t care, all he wanted was to just finish this match as soon as possible.

    [28 minutes 34 seconds]

    Looking at the timer, it was clear how fast he crossed the distance, which was over two kilometers. It wasmon sense that since the announcement just finished, mostly all the teams would be using some time to strategize or make a n, and that''s why he just directly attacked. Even if he didn''t win through this, he''d know everyone who were the members of the opposite team and go back to prepare for them.

    He closed his eyes and pushed most of his mana out while channeling his main element. Soon ck smoke started emitting from his body. But before it could spread everywhere, he waved his hand, and all that smoke started to gather around the palm of his hand. He used his remaining mana and elemental control to suppress all that darkness. Compressing it together, while rotating all that elemental energy in various directions to turn into one small spherical orb of darkness.

    When finally he only had one orb of energy the size of his hand, floating above, he stopped himself. Looking at the ck orb in his palms, a smile came to his face and he announced the name of this spell.

    "Say hello to Rasengan, Arcadia."

    As his words finished, he turned his palm and pushed the dark orb down with all his force.

    Down below in the base, 15 students were gathered and talking about their n of attack. When a loud bang ran out, and everyone could see ripples in the sky.

    "There''s a barrier." A girl with pink hair in a ponytail spoke up, as she saw the scene. She jumped up onto the stone pirs and looked towards the ce where the sound came out.

    She used her mana to enhance her vision and looked at the sky, but failed to see anything. "Did someone attack our base?"

    "But the announcement just finished. Who is it?"

    "Maybe, the barrier just opened to show that we can go out and start the match now. After all, why would anyone attack like this?"

    The students below were discussing what was happening, when under their surprised vision the ripples in the barriers turned to cracks which then spread all around their base, and finally with a shattering sound the entire barrier copsed and disappeared in silvery light.

    That wasn''t all, when the barrier disappeared, they could all see a tiny dot of ck energying down. And the closer it got, the bigger it became. Before any of them could even understand what was happening, or try interrupting that spell. The orb hit the ground, and a loud explosion sound echoed everywhere. Deafening their ears, a few who managed to use mana Or aura to cover their ears on time and were still a little sane, couldn''t even prepare for the next second, when a shockwave moved across their entire castle, destroying everything in its path. Trees, walls, pirs or people - whoever came between the shockwave got sted out and then disappeared.

    Rio watched everything from the sky, wiping the sweat that was formed over his forehead. Waiting for the dust, smoke and destruction below to settle down so he can go and finish the rest, when a notification popped up on his watch.

    [Team A wins.]

    [Match duration - 01 minute 48 seconds]

    ###

    A/N - how''d you like that. ??

 Chapter 244 Mythila Nelson - The Echo Empress

    244 Myth Nelson - The Echo Empress

    Professor Osborn, the homeroom teacher of the A-4 ss, voiced his concerns as he watched the projection of Rio swiftly advancing towards the opposing team''s base the second their announcement finished. "And this is why I said that allowing him in the first year again was a bad decision."

    Professor Myth, the teacher of ss A-2, defended the principal''s decision. "Who cares? This guy''s talented, and we could win the tournament with him. You''re just annoyed because he''s not in your ss." Her words even brought a chuckle from Miss Freya.

    "He''s currently C+ rank, but by the time the tournamentes around, he might be a B rank or higher. Do you think anyone else can match his growth?" Professor Harkin chimed in without taking his eyes off the screen.

    "There''s that new top ranker from public exams, he''s C- rank too. Even without allowing Rio to repeat the first year, we would''ve won the tournament." Professor Osborn said, ncing at the disy where Leon was seen gathering his team and taking up the role of their leader.

    "Not if he joined another academy andpeted against us." Professor Myth said, and all the professors fell into contemtion.

    ording to rumors 3 of the top 5 academies had sent their invitations to Rio after he appeared alive again. The only exceptions were Zenith, because the principal already talked with Rio personally. And Tristan academy, who knew Rio wouldn''t join there even if they gave their best rewards, because of what happened two years ago during the tournament.

    If Rio agreed to join any of the other academies, then this year would have been Zenith''s third consecutive loss for the first year batch.

    {The tournament two years ago where Rio participated, was canceled due to the warzy attack. Ever since then Zenith didn''t win the tournament for first year students. And had to rely on senior students to secure their overall victory and first spot.

    -So technically Zenith didn''t have any trophy for first year students victory for three years now. One can be considered a draw, since it got stopped. While the other two wereplete losses.}

    "The tournament isn''t a one man show, miss Myth. And ignore that, do you think it''s fair for other students topete against him, when he''s already at that level." Professor Osborn said as the scene where Rio teleported and appeared outside the barrier of the opposing team happened. "He''s just gonna bully the kids, and put pressure on the freshies."

    "Strength is what matters. It''s not his fault if others can''t match him." Professor Harkin said sternly, finally taking his eyes off the screen.

    "He''s not like that _ " Professor Freya started to speak in Rio''s defense, but stopped when she saw the scene of Rio''s single spell''s destruction and their match ending just like that.

    ''This boy, doesn''t he know it''s a team evaluation match?'' She said in her heart, but a smile was there on her face seeing he was all fine. Even though she had seen his spars and training sessions, but she was still worried EMMSY might''ve left some scruples in his growth. It seems he''s all healed now.

    Soon students who died started appearing in the Quantum hub again, all of their faces filled with surprise and shock as they didn''t even know what happened. All they knew was a barrier that they didn''t even know was there, got shattered, and then they just died and got a message that the match was over, and they lost.

    "What happened?"

    "Did something malfunction? Why did we get sent out?"

    "I remember seeing the message that we lost. Was that an enemy attack?"

    "No, how can it be that easy? Everyone''s mana is the same, remember. It must be a glitch or mistake."

    Hearing all the useless excuses and chitchat from the ''dead'' students, professor Harkinughed loudly, and waved a projection screen towards them. Showing the footage of Rio from beginning to end.

    "You guys lost fair and square. So stop chattering. Your mistake, you were busy talking amongst yourselves to even clearly take a look at your surroundings. Half of you didn''t even finish their lengthy introductions until your game was over." Professor Harkin said looking at their stupefied faces and continued - "And you, the one with the shining hat, why''d you even talk about your family and what they''re famous for. Does that have anything to do with your test? Don''t show up in my ss next time until you learn how to properly introduce yourself. Idiot."

    Hearing the angry shouts from a professor, they could all just stay silent and keep their heads low.

    Professor Harkin had the reputation for being stern with everyone. He''s someone who''s impartial to everyone. But as long as you are strong or talented enough, you are his favorite. And if you make mistakes or are considered weak, then he''s just like your bully, instead of your teacher.

    His personality is something very easy to please and anger, and that''s why he gets unpredictable, cause of his belief in ''fist is the ultimate form of justice.'' If you''re strong and win, whatever you do is right. While everything else is just excuses made by the weak to hide their inferiority.

    Soon Rio and his own team also appeared in the Quantum zone. There was a green band on their hands, which showed the sign of victors.

    Surprisingly Rio''s teammates were also surprised and looked at the disy with confused eyes. They were just arguing about what Rio wanted to do Or what their strategy should be if he doesn''t return. Some even started arguing about being the next leader, but before they could even do anything, the match was already over and they won just like that.

    "Damn it, why did we have to meet him?"

    That''s what all the students thought after seeing Rio''s spell. Both the winners and the losers were left in awe by the swift end to the match. Everyone was itching to show their abilities, but Rio''s spell had made that impossible.

    "Your next match will begin, when other teams of your ss finish their match. So just stay silent." Professor Myth said, silencing everyone, as she started looking at all the other matches where fights had just started.

    Myth Nelson, the homeroom teacher of ss A-2. She had grayish hair that slid over her shoulders, giving her an ethereal appearance. While her ck eyes seemed pure and peaceful. Her perfect figure and the noble grace she has, rivals that of Miss Freya.

    The only difference between these two would be that Miss Freya has that fiery temper of hers which gives off the feeling, daring others not to cross her path, lest they make her angry. While Miss Myth always had the vibe of being calm and in control of every situation. Being collected no matter what happens. But very few knew she was also extremely prideful.

    Other than that both were famous beauties known all over Arcadia.

    Myth had awakened the element of air and she was quite famous about it. But that wasn''t her natural talent. Yearster, she had found her real talent in sound arts.

    Her mastery over sound arts allowed her to use various instruments and melodies for a range of purposes, making her a formidable figure in Arcadia.

    She was an allrounder, whose abilities could be used to give buffs, debuffs, to control others or calm others, for offense, defense or assistance.

    Her mastery over her mana and methods of sound maniption was amazingly high. And that''s why she is given the title of The Echo Empress.

    Rumor has it that shees from a rich hidden elite family but she left her house and joined the World Association for some unknown reasons.

    Rio stared at Myth''s projection for some time thinking about her plotlines and past, but then turned his eyes away. He looked at the projection where Leon was leading 5 students to the enemy base, and currently fighting against 3 students alone.

    ''Come on, my hands are itching now.'' Rio thought as he waited for the match where he could be opposite him, so he could beat him. Hell he wouldn''t mind beating him even if he was in his own team.

    He had been imagining fighting Leon for years now. And the urge to beat him after what Apollo pulled two years ago, ruining his ns had only increased since then.

    If the minions of apollo didn''t interfere, then he could''ve used the name of people from Warzy and wipe out several future side viins of academy arcs. But those fanatics appeared out of nowhere shouting ''for the sun god'' ''for apollo'' etc etc and ruined all his hard work.

    "If not for Apollo that tournament arc would''ve been the ending of many future plotlines." Rio said in his heart. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Well what I couldn''t do back then, I''ll just do it this time.''

    ##

 Chapter 245 Fate or loki?

    245 Fate or loki?

    After waiting for another few minutes, many other students and teams started appearing in the hub. Second to finish their match was the team led by Heath Lewis. Heath followed the same method as Rio and immediately attacked the opposing team the second his countdown started. But due to the gap in strength, it took him a few minutes to deal with everyone, instead of one shotting them.

    Heath Lewis, a draconian halfling. His appearance wasn''t much different from normal boys of human lineage at first nce. But looking closely at his hands and neck, which has shallow marks of blue scaled skin, and ears with pointy ends simr to elves.

    As he appeared in the quantum hub, he was surprised seeing that he wasn''t the first one to clear the test, but after seeing the footage of Rio, he understood too. Heath was a student of ss A-1, and trained personally under professor Harkin.

    There were no expression on his face, he just nced at Rio for a second and then closed his eyes and sat back in meditation pose.

    Soon one by one all the other teams appeared too. As anyone can guess, all the main characters were on the winning teams.

    When all the matches finished, all the students got teleported out again. All the losing teams were sent to a separate server, where they were topete against each other until this test was going on. While all the winning team students were ruffled up again in different teams randomly. This was done to make sure not one team could stay strong, and students learn to cooperate with new people around them.

    There were around 80 students left in ss A-3. So 8 teams of ten students were made for the second match. Along with the number, the distance between both team''s bases decreased a little. But to increase the difficulty, traps were made in between the pathways. So no one can just run around directly from here to there.

    As soon as Rio opened his eyes this time he didn''t even look at his team or introduce anyone, he directly used his aura and moved out. But just after taking a few steps outside he discovered the anomaly, as holes with spears or poison bombs or illusion traps appeared in his way.

    But he just used his aura to boost his speed and avoided all the traps. Whatever hit him, it couldn''t even touch him, so this match became another swift victory.

    [Team A wins.]

    [Match duration - 1 min 20 sec]

    When the third match began only 40 students were left, divided in four teams. It was the same repeat, the distance between both bases had decreased and timings for a match decreased too. This time staff even added monsters and beasts in the middle, yet the results were the same.

    [Match duration - 40 sec]

    How did this happen, well since the distance between their bases decreased each time as difficulty to cross that distance increased. Rio didn''t even move from his base. He just flew high in the sky and shot an arrow using the technique he picked from the library. The attack had used most of his mana and was further boosted by the touch of aura. - the arrow made a hole into the barrier and directly hit the purple core. Before the barrier crackedpletely, the core of that team was already shattered in pieces.

    ''Whispering Wind''

    This technique was written by an elf and was something he made after practicing all his life. There was nothing special about this art and it was just a simple technique that taught the way to merge wind element into their archery skills. It recorded no fancy moves, no strong skills, just methods about how one could use wind magic in various ways andpliment it to perfect the aim and output.

    In the novel Saisha found this technique and picked it. But now since Saisha got the technique of the protagonist, Rio could just make do with this one.

    He''ll just have to find a few teachers who can teach him all about archeryter. Teachers, who canpete against the knowledge Apollo might give Leon.

    Instead of teleporting out, like normally, all the students were still there in their base.

    [This''ll be thest match for the first stage, so there''s no need to wait, You''ll be directly teleported to the new location now.]

    After the third match, only 20 students were left, one final match until the first stage ended and the second stage of royal rumble between all the sses started.

    This was the match Rio was waiting for as now he could finally face Leon, no matter which team he ended up in. Rio opened his eyes again and hopefully looked around him. Yet he was disappointed once more as there was no Leon around him.

    Looking at the side he was surprised as he found anyone who appeared in his team were the same as the one in the previous match.

    ''Damn doesn''t that mean all the rankers and main characters are on my opposite side?'' Rio thought, looking at every student who teleported near him. The other students seemed to notice this too, and started talking amongst themselves.

    "Isn''t this too unfair?"

    "Are you sure this is random?"

    "Who else was left after thest match. They''re our opponents, did you see it?" One of the students asked.

    "No I don''t remember."

    "Me either"

    "Reba, Amelia, Valtor, Leon, Amaya, Morphius, ric, Edward, Pshinta, Nicole - Those are the only students who aren''t here and haven''t lost any matches yet." A cold voice rang out behind them and everyone turned their faces to see Katherine standing there, checking the sword in her hand.

    Rio looked at her and furrowed his brows, feeling a little confused. How did she appear here? After all, if fate pulled everyone else against him in the match, so Leon can win it and shine against all the other first year sses too. Then howe it missed the second main heroine.

    [She''s an anomaly, host.] System''s message floated on his screen, as it couldn''t speak now, since it was muted.

    ''Well, whatever it is. If she can stay here and look after this base, I can just go and bash Leon ck and blue when I find him.'' Rio thought and smiled as he imagined the scene.

    Katherine, who saw him smile, walked over and asked "What''s the n?"

    "We wait for them toe here." Rio said. Since the distance was even shorter thanst time, he was sure, if he left the base, any high level spell from any of those main character could drop his base and end the match. So he nned to just stay here and kill whoever came near him. Once enough is done, he''d just destroy their baseter and end the match.

    "They have the advantage so they''ll attack first so let''s just wait."

    Rio was saying something when the announcement from professor Harkin

    interrupted him.

    [Hello everyone, This is the final match for your first stage. Looking at your faces, it seems you aren''t very happy, it seems. The team selection was random just like before, so no one can do anything. It''s all machines, and well, machines make mistakes sometimes.

    So topensate you, the timing of your match has been shortened to 10 minutes. So all you have to do is just hold on for 10 minutes.]

    "But then both teams would lose?" A student chimed in, hearing the professor''s words.

    [Well, that''s true, and in case both teams loses. The selection for the next stage would be random again. From 20 of you, 10 students would be chosen and sent topete in the next stage. So there''s still a chance for you, if you can hold on.]

    Rio, who heard professor Harkin''s words, had another ck line over his forehead. He couldn''t help but think, if this was fate''s failsafe n, in case his team doesn''t lose. He could guess that if that happened, then he won''t be picked for that random selection of the next stage, so Leon alone can shine over the scene. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Man this guy, is it his luck or something else helping him?'' Rio thought and shook his head.

    He looked at Katherine and said "forget waiting, you."

    "What about the base?" Katherine asked, looking at the rest of the students, who were grouping and talking about what to do.

    "Listen up, all of you will stay here and look after the base. Use all your mana and protect the core with your life."

    Rio said and disappeared from his ce. "Follow me" Katherine heard his voice and flew behind him too. "Don''t move out."

    She left a few words behind her and disappeared from everyone''s sight too.

    On the other hand, Leon and other students were surprised to see this scene too. After all, on their team were basically all the top powerhouses of their ss, while the other side only had Rio and Katherine. They were just in this team patternst match and they won that in less than a minute of time..

    In the quantum hub, all the staff members looked at Professor Arabe. Who was the homeroom teacher for ss A-5.

    "Was that really necessary?" Professor Freya asked, looking at the charmingdy, seeing the set up for the match.

    "You were all just arguing about him. I just did this so we''ll all know his limits." Arabe said, looking at Rio''s figure in the projection with a subtle smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    [Loki praises you for fulfilling his request.]

 Chapter 246 2 vs 10

    246 2 vs 10

    Few minutes ago, when everyone inside was talking about the absurdbination of students that appeared for the final test, the professors outside were equally surprised too. They turned towards the woman who was responsible for this and couldn''t help but ask for confirmation.

    "It''s not fair to pit him against all of them like this, you know?" Professor Harkin said.

    "If he wins, it''ll break everyone else''s confidence. And if he loses, he won''t participate in the second stage. That''s just not fair, right." Professor Freya also chimed in.

    "The students of Zenith aren''t so weak minded to be stumped by just these little setbacks, Professor Osborn. You''re underestimating them." Professor Myth said, as she was also curious about the result.

    "What''s the point of even arguing, it''s just a normal evaluation test. We already saw how everyone else was trying hard past two matches, while this guy''s just been breezing through everyone. With thisbination we can just evaluate him better." Professor Arabe said, after getting the confirmation from Loki that she did good.

    "And he''s not alone, I gave him another ranker, didn''t I? With this set up, we should actually see some fights instead of just a one shot kill." Arabe said, with a charming smile, as her enchanting eyes swiped at the projection screen.

    ''Show me a good show, H''s chosen'' she thought, looking at Rio.

    "What''s the barrier output this time?" Professor Freya asked, changing the topic. Anyway, the match already started so what''s the point of pointing fingers now. She''ll just have to keep a better eye on this trickster next time.

    "About B rank. Even if he attacks with full power now, it shouldst a while this time." Jorvik said, after adjusting the power levels for everyone.

    In the test arena

    "This is gonna be fun." Rio said as he just walked out of his base, but found Amelia, Reba, Pshinta, ric, Leon and Nicole standing there, already waiting for him.

    "Four of them are not here. Do you think they''re defending their base or_ " Katherine asked while looking back at their own base, to see if someone attacked there. She pulled the second sword out from her waist, and readied her stance.

    "Who cares." Rio replied, as he directly charged forward. In the middle of the way before he reached the opposite team, his figure disappeared in thin air, confusing everyone. Until they heard a loud sound of metal shing from their side.

    "Defeat the ones who know your methods first." Amelia said as she pulled back her sword and stepped back. "It won''t work. Change your tricks, brother."

    "I already did." Rio said, as his figure disappeared again and appeared beside Nicole, the girl who was in his team for thest match.

    "Look out" Reba shouted as she sent an arc of water towards her, while Pshinta started flying towards him like an arrow. But before both of them could reach him, Rio shed his sword at Nicole''s neck. A red light glowed near her, and then her figure disappeared in tiny particles.

    "Five to go." Rio said, as he jumped up to a tree, when Pshinta controlled his element to shoot tree wines to bind him.

    Rio looked below and noticed Katherine fighting with ric and Reba. Both of them were tough opponents and she was having a hard time, but he was sure she could hold them off for a while.

    So he ignored them.

    He looked at Leon who was preparing a big spell, as a golden fireball was floating above his head.

    ''So he taught you this huh'' Rio said to himself as he remembered about the spell.

    Dawn''s blessing, a spell used by Apollo''s followers. Which can reduce damage to allies and boost their skills for a limited duration. While creating a radiant light in the area which has an extra effect to suppress dark magic or dark elementals.

    Rio charged his sword with aura and sent an arc to cut the golden sun in two. But before it could hit Leon''s spell, a crack appeared in space and the attack was pulled in.

    Rio jumped away from his position instantly, and just the next moment the tree he was standing on was chopped in two.

    "You should change your tricks too Ames." Rio said and waved his hand, as roots shot out from the ground, binding Leon, interrupting his chant.

    But the moment the roots tightened around Leon, his figure disappeared and water sshed everywhere.

    ''She''s getting better'' Rio thought, as he saw Reba smirking from the side.

    His attack failed and only ended up hitting a mirage she created beforehand.

    "You shouldn''t look away in a fight." Katherine said, as she moved at high speed, shing her sword at Reba''s neck, but Reba managed to dodge.

    But not entirely, as a shallow cut was there on her shoulders, and red light was shining there.

    Rio looked upwards where the golden sun was still getting bigger and bigger slowly and was about to takeplete form.

    "You''re gonna lose, brother." Amelia said, as she made a few invisible daggers floating behind him. Ready to escape their portals and attack him at her signal.

    While Rio moved towards the golden sun to disrupt Leon''s spell, Amelia appeared in front of him, stopping him.

    While Rio was dealing with her, Pshinta came from the side. His speed was hard to notice, as his feet made no sound in the forest. Yet before their attacks couldnd, Rio''s figure melted in his shadow, and he disappeared from the area.

    Chains made of darkness rose from the ground and started moving towards the golden son. Binding it from all sides.

    The cracking sizzling sound was echoing in the vicinity, but there was no sign of Rio.

    Until suddenly with a loud boom a figure crashed into the ground, creating a big crater and sending dust and debris everywhere.

    -cough cough -

    Leon coughed and stood up from the ground and looked at his spell, which was finished. But instead of happiness, his brows furrowed in confusion, as he saw the golden sun was fully covered in ck chains and soon all the light of it was surrounded by darkness.

    It was like the shining sun lost all its luster and was now turned into the dark moon.

    "Give you back your spell." Rio said, as his figure appeared in the sky holding a chain attached with that dark moon. And with a pull he swung it down with a force. Smashing it over the figure of Leon.

    Amelia created a small crack in the space behind him and was about to pull Leon away, when Rio appeared behind her and kicked her back. Disrupting her focus and the spatial crack.

    Pshinta created lots of tree wines which rose from the ground and covered Leon, but the ck moon smashed onto them, breaking everything.

    Pshinta spat a mouthful of blood as he was injured slightly, but before he could notice, Rio''s figure appeared behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him crashing into a tree.

    "fuck" He cursed and used hisst of mana to control flowers and leaves, so he wouldn''t get hurt.

    But sadly, before he could hit his cushion, a few icicles appeared behind him and pierced his back.

    The red glow enveloped him and he disappeared from the match too.

    Katherine gave a nod to Rio, as she jumped high into the air, while turning the entire field near her into ice.

    Leon''s figure walked out from the crater, dusting his clothes. Looking around, two of their teammates were out. And it has just been 2 minutes yet. He took a deep breath and moved towards Katherine, hoping to defeat her first. His fire magic was the weakness for her ice magic, after all.

    But he had just taken two steps out, when Rio''s figure appeared in front of him and hit him in the head with the sword''s hilt.

    Amelia appeared behind her brother and kicked him. Sending his figure crashing forward into Leon. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But turning surprise into sess, Rio turned his face mid air and kicked at Leon, while sending an arc of wind towards Amelia, which throwed the daggers she sent his way off course.

    Leon felt his arms getting numb after blocking the hit on his chest. He turned to look at Rio, who ignored Amelia and directly went to the opposite side where Katherine was getting cornered.

    ric, the vampire wolf hybrid, had just shed at Katherine. Leaving a big injury on her hands. Reba took this chance and shot several water bullets to hit her. But when they were just about to hit Katherine, the shadow rose behind Katherine and pushed her away. Taking all the hits in her ce.

    "That''s not how you do it Ba." Rio said and his figure appeared behind her and a sword sh came near her neck. At thest moment she used thest of her mana to push herself backward and create a water bubble around her. Which absorbed the attack.

    She just gave him a proud smiling expression, that she survived his attack, when he pointed towards the side, where she saw Katherine slicing the head of ric, who was bound by chains made of darkness.

    ''Idiot. Can''t he just hold on for a few seconds more.'' Reba cursed ric as she stomped her feet in anger.

    Rio and Katherine looked forward and saw Amelia, Reba and Leon standing opposite them. From the original 6 vs 2 to 3 vs 2 - this difference was too big. Every one of them was sweating and feeling tired, as they all used up most of their mana in this fight here alone. And didn''t hold back at all.

    Leon, who was covered in dust, wiped the blood marks near his face and looked at Rio, who was just looking at him with a smile, as if taunting him.

    "Don''t stare at my shadow too much" A voice suddenly sounded behind Leon, as the Rio''s figure he was looking at disappeared in a puff of smoke. And before Leon could turn back, a kicknded on his back, throwing him forward. Where Katherine appeared with a sword in her hand, ready to slice his head off.

 Chapter 247 Leons beatdown

    247 Leon''s beatdown

    -urgh-

    Leon spat a mouthful of blood as he got kicked again. Using his element he created a little propulsion on his right, which pushed him away from Katherine''s attack.

    While Katherine missed her swing, Leon used the chance to propel himself forward and attack her. In mid air, he created a fireball and sent it towards her face, hoping to distract her and not give her enough time to dodge his main attack. Which was the sword sh he was preparing.

    ''Ice wall''

    Katherine chanted the spell and an ice wall formed in front of her, but with her mana mostly depleted, it couldn''t stop the fireball and broke upon contact. Few of the ice shards ended up hitting her, dealing a little damage as the barrier of the suit started glowing in amber around her.

    She covered her sword in aura as she moved backwards to create distance, but Leon closed in on her fast. With a scream Leon shed his sword hoping to stab her in the heart, yet when he reached close to her he found his hands empty.

    No, there was actually no hand there.

    It took a moment for his mind to go from confusion to shock, as the pain reached his nerves and a loud scream escaped his mouth, like a roar of a wounded animal.

    -ahhhhh-

    Rio''s figure appeared beside Katherine pulling her back. While the chopped up hand of Leon fell to the ground.

    ''So fucking predictable'' Rio said as he moved forward and shed at Leon''s head, ending his misery. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Good luck next time."

    Those are the words which echoed in Leon''s head, before he felt lightness in his body, and thenplete darkness all around him.

    "Not fair, brother." Amelia said, as she used thest of her mana to break the chains of darkness and tree wines, which were binding her and Reba.

    Rio smiled, as he saw the notifications for points that started appearing in his panel. He looked back at Katherine, who was about to fall down due to mana depletion and her injuries, and rushed towards her. Before she fell, he picked her up in the princess'' carry and started moving towards his base, where the sound of fighting could be heard.

    Clearly while Leon and others were holding him back, Valtor and the rest of his team attacked their base. Rio nced at the time and noticed there were still 4 minutes remaining until the match ended.

    "You should go back on your own. While I hold off Reba and Amelia." Katherine said softly, as she tried to use her aura to seal off her injuries.

    "You''re no match for them." Rio bluntly said, silencing her struggles.

    After all, if Amelia fought seriously she could even take out Leon, unless Apollo gave him some of his secret cards. Amy was now C- rank too, and had many blessings to boost her strength.

    As he channeled his aura to move quickly. During the fight, those guys dragged them a little away from the base. So to give enough time to their team partners.

    At the base

    "Why didn''t they return yet? The barrier won''tst for much longer." One of the boys from Rio''s team said, as he looked at Valtor, Edward and Morphius attacking the barrier from the outside.

    "Damn it, we won''t be able to stop them if theye inside." A girl said as she moved back near the core.

    "Maybe if they used all their mana, we could fight them."

    "You serious, didn''t you see what happened to the others." The girl said while scoffing at him. As she kept shooting arrows outside.

    5 of their members went out to intercept Valtor and others, so as to stop them from attacking the barrier and buy time, but they all died without much of a challenge. The rest of the team tried to attack from the inside several times, but none of them were able tond a hit. As everyone was always able to dodge the spells. So as to conserve their mana, they chose to stay inside.

    Morphius was in his werewolf form, with a wolfish head and a fur-covered human body. His ws and fangs were out. And every time he shed them, each physical attack was creating sparks to fly whenever itnded on the barrier. His yellow eyes were scary to look at.

    While Edward with his me spells was creating a massive fireball ready to drop over the barrier.

    Valtor was responsible for intercepting any attack that came towards Edward. He didn''t use much of his mana, as he was saving it in case anyone returned or when the barrier broke.

    ''Ray of me'' A spell that concentrates fire into a focused beam, akin to aser. That can burn through everything in its path, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.

    Edward finished his spell, and shot the me towards the barrier. The sizzling sound echoed as sparks constantly flew down and the barrier started to melt around the beam.

    �C Hahahha "Burn everything for me" Edward said with a maniacalughter as his red hairs danced in the air behind him. His aggressiveness from his childhood was only intensified several times after he awakened and got control over his element. And the viinous personality of arrogance and anger he had, would always show up whenever he used his spells.

    "Damn it, I can feel the heat even here."

    "How much mana does he have, he''s gonna destroy it."

    "Get ready to fight them. Barrier''s about to be burned down."

    Rio''s teammates said, as they stared at the sky, where several cracks appeared in the barrier and started spreading.

    While Valtor was preparing to enter the barrier, a blurry figure went past him, and he could only feel a gust of wind on his skin. "He''s back" Valtor said, as he looked at the barrier and moved towards Edward.

    Rio, after using his aura, crossed the barrier easily and ced Katherine inside.

    "You should go _ "

    While Katherine was about to say him to destroy the barrier of the other team since except Amaya everyone was here, Rio''s figure disappeared directly.

    Morphius turned back to gather with Edward and Valtor to attack together, as Reba and Amelia''s figure could be seen a little far away.

    "They can''t even hold back two of them. Even after all that boasting." Morphius muttered.

    "Why don''t you try yourself."

    Rio''s voice came from behind him, starting him. Morphius turned back, raising his hands to block any attack, when a kicknded in his stomach knocking the air out of his lungs. Followed by a punch to his face, breaking one of his fangs and sending him flying.

    Shadewarp, a spell which can help the user teleport to a ce whose shadow they marked before.

    Rio had marked Morphius''s shadow before he entered the barrier and instantly teleported back out after cing Katherine inside.

    "Time for round 2" Rio said, as he charged towards Amelia and Reba. While his shadow avatar rose from the ground and moved towards Valtor and Edward. After all, both of their elements were useless against his avatar.

 Chapter 248 End of the First stage

    Chapter 248 End of the First stage

    "He''s much better than he was at the tournament two years ago." Professor Thaddeus said, noticing Rio''s fighting style.

    "His aura mastery is insane for kids his age. His avatar alone can hold off two of the top rankers for this year." Professor Harkinmented.

    "Not just aura, even the techniques he uses hardly show any faults or extra movements. Even without mana he''s holding back the other two." Professor Myth said, after watching Rio eliminating Morphius with a mana infused arrow that sted his body, before he even got a chance to make aeback.

    "He was always a monster. So there''s no need to be surprised." Jorvik said, as he listened to professors talking about Rio. "You should focus on her instead, she''s not any less than him." He said as he pointed towards Amelia, who was fighting closely with Rio, while channeling thest of her mana to eliminate his team who were surrounding the mana core.

    Amelia waved her hands, as she sent all the arrows lying on the ground towards Rio. In their path, she clenched her fists, creating a small rift in their path and sending all of them into the torn space, which appeared over the heads of Rio''s teammates. The falling arrows managed to hit two of his teammates in their heads. Eliminating them instantly, before they could even notice anything.

    "Her talent for space element is top grade." Professor Myth noticed.

    "No wonder, she became an avatar directly after she awakened." Professor Harkin said. Mentioning the rumors that the little princess of Damascus was chosen by a Goddess as her avatar on the very day of her awakening. Though ke family never announced it, or boasted about it, everyone had heard of these rumors.

    "Golden generation indeed." Professor Osbornmented, as he ignored Rio and turned his attention to other disys, where final matches of other sses were starting now.

    Every ss of first years had a few monsters in them with top talents and skills which are hard toe by in years. This is why even the professors wanted to know everyone''s limits and skills better.

    Rio noticed Amy''s movements, but he let it be and ignored it. He could see, she had no n to destroy the core, so he just turned his focus towards Reba, who was panting heavily. Her face was full of sweat drops, glowing bright in the sunlight, while her golden hair danced along her every movement. Despite the tiredness and exhaustion marking her face, her blue eyes were fixed upon him with the determination to win. Yet all her attacks were turning out to be futile. The more they fought, the more cuts and injuries were umting over her body, and now the barrier around her was almost shining in total amber, signaling she would be eliminated any moment now, if she didn''t get healed soon.

    "You should give up, princess." Rio said as he dodged her attack, while moving closer and giving a light p to her head. "You''re no match for me. You never were," He finished his words, and seeing the fuming expression on her face, a smile came to his face. So just to tease her further, he added "And you never will be."

    Reba red at Rio, as she clenched her sword and shed at him again. "Just stay still and I''ll show you, you damn panda."

    "Tsk tsk tsk, aunt Athena was right, yournguage is getting worse and worse,  princess." Rio said as he shook his head in ''disappointment'' - "No ss at all."

    "You_ " Reba, who was about to curse him again, was pped at the back of her head, this time by Amelia.

    "Language" Amelia said, and then ignored her.

    Reba could just stare at Amelia''s back and mull over her luck. This pair of brother and sister were just bullying her now.

    "Why don''t you end it brother." Amelia said, as her sword shed with Rio''s, pushing him back a little.

    "What''s the rush, I still got more than 2 minutes left." Rio said, shrugging his shoulders. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Why don''t you show me, the technique you picked from the library?"

    "I don''t have mana." Amelia said.

    "Just demonstrate the moves, no need to perform them. Maybe try to use aura in ce of mana." Rio suggested, while dodging sideways, as Reba, who was resting back threw a stone at his head.

    "Is that even possible?" Amelia asked.

    "How would I know? It''s your technique, did you try it?" Rio said in a nonchnt way, while catching a stone in his hands. He crushed it into little pebbles in his hands and threw them back at Reba, eliciting another angry shout from her pretty face.

    His words got Amelia into thinking, as she decided to give it a try.

    Though it was a stupid move and could backfire, and even hurt her, but they''re currently in virtual reality, so she can try it without actually harming her body.

    Many techniques had requirements for a specific type of energy, like some worked only by magic and some only worked without it. Yet there were a few techniques and methods, which could work with all kinds of energies, be it mana, aura, ki, Ether, Arch or Chakra - some techniques could work with everything after minor adjustments in the core idea behind them.

    The technique Amelia picked from the Zenith library was an example of one such art. She just had to find the correct method of adjustments that suits her style and abilities.

    nar Imbuement, that was the name of her technique.

    Just like his book, hers was written in two parts too, and yes, he did steal the second part for her too.

    But since she just joined the academy now,  and started learning about that technique now, he''s still holding onto that part, before giving it to her.

    He could teach her everything himself, but that would only hinder her talent and slow her growth. And since there isn''t any emergency around, so he  just wanted to let her practice with peace of mind.

    Future events will already be stressful enough for her anyway.

    ''It''ll be best if Amelia can remove the limitations of the first part before learning about the second one, called Steller Attunement.''

    ''Well, I already gave her a clue, so she can do the rest herself.'' Rio said and stopped Amelia from focusing on performing that technique now by attacking her.

    He just said that to give her some clues, as for performing it - there was no need to do so, in front of whole ss and academy so early.

    He used chains of darkness to bind Amelia and throw her back towards Reba, who was trying to sneak up on him.

    "Nice try, princess. Better be silent next time." Obviously he didn''t forget tough at Ba before she fell down and got eliminated.

    As Reba disappeared from the match, Amelia fell down to the ground too, and Rio knocked her out, by hitting her head with the sword''s backhand. Eliminating her too.

    This was one of the simplest take down methods of VR knockouts, that only a select few knew and could control.

    A glitch in the system you could say.

    If someone attacked a steady part of someone''s brain in the VR, simting a specific nerve which gives the signals and maps the data readings in the real world, one could eliminate anyone no matter strength or rank, in the virtual world and trigger the security protocol to have them exit.

    Rio had to bash a lot of people''s heads in the VR arena''s and online tournaments to learn this trick.

    Simple painless effective elimination.

    Though it only worked in case security protocols are fixed in the settings for that match. This trick is useless in life or death matches and banned in betting games.

    Rio looked at the time and saw, one minute and twenty seconds were left now. His avatar had already eliminated Edward some time ago, and now Valtor was the only one still fighting.

    Rio didn''t care about the victory of the match at all. He just wanted to beat Leon and he already did that. So he was just ying around now.

    But even that was enough now, I guess.

    Let''s just end this, so we can start stage 2 and beat Leon again.

 Chapter 249 Loki and Arabella

    Chapter 249 Loki and Arabe

    Once Amelia and Reba were both eliminated, Rio canceled his aura avatar and walked towards Valtor, who was panting heavily.

    Rio had controlled his avatar to not show the blessing of gluttony to anyone, cause if anyone learned about this method, even those SS rankers and leaders wouldn''t hesitate toe after him.

    After all, all the high rankers had many strong blessings and many high ranked gods behind them, so a method which can let them use one of their strongest skills into a separate entity, who wouldn''t want that.

    Sure, if they knew the bacsh of it, many might hesitate and give up, but even then, they''d like to take this method.

    After all, if someone bound a blessing with too much power and too much bacsh with their aura avatar, not only could they get rid of that cursed skill, but also get an avatar which could perfect that op blessing without any setbacks.

    Anyway, until the godse down and directly interfere themselves, Rio''s all secrets were safe, unless he showed them himself. After all, there are too many loopholes and limitations by the world system, that this world yet has no idea about, not even the gods. And he knew exactly how to use them for his goals.

    "How long?" Valtor asked as he forced his body to stand straight.

    Though he didn''t finish his question, Rio could understand what he meant. Valtor just wanted to ask how long it took him to reach that mastery over his aura.

    After all, he had been training since childhood too, and both of them had even fought once while entering a dungeon. Even though Valtor lost at that time too, but it was a close match. And after that match, Valtor was sure he could defeat Rio someday if he tried hard.

    Yet the feeling he got today, after facing that avatar, was like standing against an insurmountable wall. A mountain he could never cross and only look up to.

    He hated this feeling.

    If he couldn''t defeat Rio, then he might not be able to defeat Shade guild. And if he can''t defeat Shade, how was he supposed to get his father''s guild, his own guild, Nexus at the top.

    At this moment, he felt his determination waver. A seed of doubt and drop inpetition rose in his heart - telling him, he''ll never catch up. That he''ll never seed.

    But then Rio''s words echoed in his ears, bringing him back.

    "8 years." Rio said honestly.

    Counting from the time he woke up in this strange world, it had indeed been 8 years. Since the moment he decided to protect Amy and change his ending, everything he did, every choice, every decision, every move, it had always been for this.

    "I will defeat you. One day." Valtor said, before being eliminated as Rio pierced his heart with a sword.

    "Did we win?" Thest remaining teammate from Rio''s team, beside him and Katherine, stared at everything with wide eyes, and couldn''t help but mutter.

    "Not yet. One of them is still alive. And we haven''t destroyed their core yet." Katherine said with a stoic face.

    She had healed a little after resting for some time.

    She closed her eyes as she reyed the match in her hand, guessing the strengths and weaknesses of everyone who participated. To see how she''d fare against any of them. And the conclusion she got, only forced a frown on her face.

    ''I need to get stronger.'' She thought as she clenched her fists.

    [Time left - 57 seconds.]

    Rio looked at the time on his watch and sighed, why is it taking so long.

    He waved his hand, and a bow from inside the barrier flew into his hands. He jumped up onto a stone pir and stood there. Pulling the bowstring,  he looked ahead, as his eyes glowed focusing on a certain direction.

    A ck arrow formed in his fingers, when he took aim and gently he released it.

    -swish- trrrtrrr-

    As the arrow left his hands, cutting through the air, only the sound of vibrating bowstring was left behind, and soon it broke in two pieces too.

    Amaya, who was reading a book while sitting on a chair made of wood, looked upwards as she felt the disturbance in her surroundings. She looked at the sky which started to darken suddenly, and she just sighed slowly. "So it''s over already." She whispered, as ripples formed in the barrier covering their base. But it didn''t break, and the scene calmed down.

    Yet before the calmness could settle in, another arrow hit the barrier, and the same scene repeated again.

    In the 4th arrow the barrierpletely copsed and shattered in pieces.

    Amaya looked upwards and saw a ck arrow slithering in the air, as if a serpent wasing towards her. Without the interference of the barrier the arrow directly entered the space in their base. Amaya looked at the timer and saw only 5 seconds were left, so she created a barrier herself around the magic core, hoping to dy him. Yet after some time, she noticed the arrow didn''t attack the core but fell down in front of her, with a note attached to it.

    "What would be the fun, if everything ended just like this."

    Amaya read the letter and smiled, as the match ended and a white light enveloped her senses, transporting everyone back to the quantum hub.

    When Rio opened his eyes into the quantum hub, what greeted him was the silent stares of everyone around him. Though some matches were still ongoing, most of the eliminated students were glued to the screens of his match ying on rey.

    [You happy now.] The notification from system appeared on his screen, when he nced at Leon, who was still downcasted about how he was defeated. [There''s no way fate''s letting you y anywhere near the protagonist again.] System said, still feeling happy about Leon''s death, but acting cold. "Who said I need fate.'' Rio said, and called H. "Your father''s watching this match, right?"

    [He is. He''s quite happy with your performance.] Just in a moment, the reply from his goddess came to his ears.

    "Tell him, I need a favor." Rio said, ignoring the chill he felt hearing her ghastly cold voice. The effect of her voice increases with her emotions, and now, she was probably feeling amused or happy.

    [He says it''ll be done.] H replied, before Rio could even say what he wanted.

    ''Knew it.'' Rio thought and shook his head.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Experiment number 7 - Fate needs mediums to act out it''s will. - is always right.'' Rio thought to himself and turned his eyes towards the little fangirl of tricksters , professor Arabe.

    When he looked at her, she turned towards him too. Their gazes met, and Rio just kept staring at her, until she smiled and nodded her head. Confirming to the request Loki probably suggested her.

    ''System''

    [Yes host.]

    ''Be sure to use my points if Loki and Arabe fails somehow. I need to be on that team.'' Rio said, as he looked at the front where random names for 10 students started to appear, who''ll enter the second stage.

    ''This time let''s not kill him easy and torture him a little.'' Rio said and closed his eyes.

 Chapter 250 Apollo and experiment

    Chaper 250 Apollo and experiment

    Sorry everyone.

    This was originally a chapter when I uploaded my second novel''s chapter here once by mistake.

    I didn''t see it for that time, and then it slipped my mind. Since WN doesn''t allow removing chaps, and I already had next chaps posted, I only have one option, that is to either leave it or edit it with something else. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    And since next chaps r posted in continuation, I''ll just write some shback scenes of Rio for you guys.

    Sorry and Love

    DevilDarkness

    ????

    ###

    5 years back

    13 year old Rio was standing on an empty street looking at the dipited temple in front of him. It was an empty shell of a building with moss covered walls supported by broken pirs. Empty windows and a door less entrance weed anyone who stepped over the boundary of the temple.

    Over the top of these walls was the mural carved on stone of a rising sun, spreading rays of light which pushed the clouds away.

    Rio shook his head in disappointment and walked inside the temple with clear steps. A toon of guards and shadows stayed few steps behind, ensuring his safety and awaiting his further orders.

    "In every harmony, in every light, I am present."

    "In the echoes of his lyre, find the harmony of your soul."

    "When the world weeps in its darkest plight,

    The God of sun shall rise, to reim the light."

    Rio read a few lines glorifying the God whom this temple belonged to and chuckled inside.

    ''It''s funny how the one who''s said to bring light in this world, doesn''t have light in his own temple.'' Rio said as he snapped his fingers and the sconces/torches hanging on the walls lit up one by one, illuminating the insides of the temple.

    He walked with unhurried footsteps looking at everything with curious eyes.

    [Entering the temples of Gods you don''t believe in is a foolish move, mortal. Be careful or you''d be buried and burned for no reason.] Nyx''s words echoed in his ears, reminding him to not be stupid.

    Temples/churches/mosques or shrines - each ce of worship for different religions or gods hold special ce in Arcadia. Here they aren''t just ces of prayers or gatherings, nor a ce for tourism or sight seeing - but a special channel point for devotees and their deity.

    That''s why entering temples of gods whom you don''t like or who doesn''t like you, is always unadvisable. After all, both the gods and their blind followers are beings hard to understand with a normal brain.

    {It''s not like it''s prohibited or not allowed, but just risky.}

    And in Rio''s case, he''s literally the son of darkness as Nyx chose him, so stepping into a God who boasts light - not so smart.

    ''It''s just an empty temple, I''m sure even the God abandoned it.'' Rio replied to Nyx in his heart and said ''And not like anyone would dare touch a primordial''s priced follower just for being curious.''

    [You know too little about the gods, mortal. Your failed understandings might spell your doom.] Nyx reminded again and then lost interest to speak again.

    Rio too chose not to answer as he knew exactly what she meant.

    ''Gods, they''re all the same.'' He thought and shook his head.

    "Clean this ce." Rio said, and next second a wave of mana passed through entire temple and swiping everything outside. Cleaning the floors, walls, windows or ceiling.

    Though the ce got a little shine after cleaning, but it was still the same broken shit. He even saw a side wall which crumbled under the gentle mana which was used for cleaning.

    This was actually the temple of Apollo just outside the city of Harendale. The ce where our dear protagonist is born and currently living the life of misery as a cripple.

    There was no need to ask what he was doing here, simply just to destroy a little something Leon was supposed to get in the future.

    Rio walked into the middle of the temple and sat on the ground. There were no chairs or tables around, whatever was, was probably rotten and just in need of a touch to turn into dust and wither away.

    Those were already thrown outside.

    "This is the first time I''m actually inside one of your temples. I''ve always wanted toe here though. But mother wouldn''t even let me out of the house with what happenedst time.

    I wanted to say thank you for saving me when I was cursed some years ago. I just came here after destroying thest temple of the fallen God who cursed me.

    If not for your grace and your follower''s help, maybe I wouldn''t be here. So thank you for giving me this life. I''ll remember it till the day I die."

    Rio finished his words and stood up back again. He turned around and left the temple.

    In the ce where he was sitting though, was a silver coin ced there with the mark of a moon and a river carved onto it.

    Rio walked out of that temple and left without turning back. He looked at a corner where all the broken stuff from the church was ced and shook his head. "Burn them, and put some new chairs and tables inside."

    After saying that, he sat inside the car and left. Looking back through the ss mirror, he saw the pile of trash from the temple rising in smoke and even before his car turned, he noticed there was no sign of anything left behind.

    ''High rankers, so efficient.'' Rio praised the shadow guards and closed his eyes.

    ''How would you feel if you knew the thing you were looking everywhere for, was just buried in your temple and burned in front of you, Apollo.''

    ''And that too was just in return for some simple tables and chairs.''

    Rio thought in his heart as he remembered the plotline of the treasure map he just burned, and couldn''t help but smile.

    While Rio was lost in his thoughts, in Apollo''s church, the coin he left behind shone in a white glow and then lost its luster and the mark of moon.

    It just turned into scrap round regr metal and then withered in air.

    If Rio saw this scene, he''d smile some more in his heart. As it meant, the bait he threw out, someone already took it.

    And now he just needed to wait to see the results of his experiment.

    Experiment number 9 - Would gods interfere if their followers and believers were to fight amongst themselves on their name? Would they ignore it like usual, or would they sit, talk and sort things out.

 Chapter 251 Second Stage Starts

    Chapter 251 Second Stage Starts

    [Rio, Amelia, Reba, Valtor, Amaya, Katherine, Leon, Edward, Pshinta, Ryosuke.]

    These were the names announced from the ss A-3 for the second stage of the match. Rio looked at his name on the board, and his system points which were decreased by 15000 , yet despite the loss there was a smile on his face. He didn''t care about points, he just wanted to beat up Leon, he''d earn twice or even thrice that amount by beating up these genius characters anyway.

    ''Yet it''s surprising that you used my points, did Loki fail?'' Rio wondered.

    [He didn''t even try enough. He''s a trickster after all.]

    ''Damn that bastard. If I relied on him, I''d really be hanged one day.'' Rio cursed this crazy God, while praising himself for asking system for backup preparations.

    [You all can enter the second stage now. The rules of this time have changed - your mana will still be sealed but this time all five sses would be sent to one location and your goal is just to protect the token of your team.]

    [You can choose among your teams about who''ll be the token bearer and the rest of the team would need to protect that person and the token.]

    [If the bearer dies, your team would receive some random penalty. It could be mana sealing, aura loss, weapons gone or even some debuff etc - so be sure to give your all to protect the token holder. In case one died, one of your members needs to instantly take up the role and be the next holder, if not, the duration and effects of penalty would increase for the whole team.]

    [If the token of your team gets stolen, you''ll get simr debuffs and penalties. But this time, you''ll have another condition added - that is, you only have 5 minutes to get your token back, or your team will be eliminated.]

    [In case both of these situations happen together, meaning the token bearer died, and you failed to secure the token - the timer of you getting the token back, would be reduced, and you''ll only have 2 minutes to get back the token, and 1 extra minute to hand it over to the next bearer. If not, you get eliminated.]

    "Any questions?" Professor Myth asked, after exining the rules of the second stage to everyone.

    "What about our weapons or spells? Do we get to choose them freely this time?" One of the students asked. In the first stage, students only could get normal weapons without any attributes or effects, and they were warned not to use some skills which were considered more dangerous.

    "Your weapons will be simr tost time, but in this stage, there''ll be several artifacts scattered around everywhere in the match. If you can find them, you can use them. As for spells, let loose. Pull out whatever trick you have to win." Professor Myth replied.

    "What role does the token bearer y? Since he''s different, he must have some limitations or freedoms that others don''t?" Katherine asked, after listening to everything.

    Professor Myth nodded her head hearing that question and answered -"The token bearer will be the only person who''s location would be marked in everyone''s maps. Meaning he''ll always be in the open and could not hide. He will also be ced inside a circle and he won''t be able to move more than 100 meters from his initial position. If he got out of that zone or someone forced him out, he''s considered dead. Anything else?"

    All the students left in the quantum hub at this point are the students of other sses who were chosen for the second stage. Other than A-3 ss which had a ''draw'' at the ending between themselves. All the other sses had one group as the winner, who won the match.

    Seeing that none of them asked any questions, Professor Osborn came forward and started speaking "Since there''s nothing else, you''ll all be given 2 minutes time - You can make your own strategies or choose your roles and order among yourselves. If someone still didn''t understand the rules, they can check the memo sent to you on your watch. After 2 minutes, everyone would be randomly teleported to the location of the match. Your teammates can see your locations so you can gather together or fight alone. Your time starts now. Good luck." (tick tick)

    Rio looked at his team around him and couldn''t help but smile in his heart, by the first words he heard.

    "Since the token bearer is always open and in a disadvantage, we should make the strongest of us the bearer. That way, if someone came to steal the token, it would be more safe." Ryosuke, a ck hairedmoner boy spoke up, saying his opinion.

    "I think he''s right." Pshinta, the guy with fairy or elven lineage, also nodded his head in approval, while looking at Rio.

    Hearing those two say that, everyone turned towards Rio, after all, even though it''s hard to admit, but the difference between them is pretty obvious even to a blind baby. So let''s just push the role of a goalkeeper to him. Anyway if someone came to score goals in their team he''ll handle them, while the rest of them can just focus on ying the game by themselves.

    ''What a twisted take on a football game.'' Rio thought.

    "You can decide the token bearer among yourself. I''m not ying sidekick." Rio said and sat down on the ground, ignoring the surprised looks he got.

    "Can the majority make him a bearer?" Edward asked, looking at Rio with a frown. He still remembered how he was defeated in thest match. Not even by Rio, but by his damn avatar. He was the only one who got eliminated like that. It hurt his pride.

    Amelia red at Edward, while Reba opened the projection on her watch and showed the memo screen. "The rules said, the bearer must choose the role willingly. Otherwise it doesn''t count."

    "Tsk" Edward clicked his tongue and looked at Leon "Then let''s make this guy the bearer. He''s rank one of our ss after all, he should take some responsibility."

    Edward could easily force Pshinta or Ryosuke to be the bearer, as both of them are consideredmoners. But giving weak guys the token was useless, as they''d only die instantly when someone came to steal it and then they''d not only have a penalty but also choose the next bearer again. So it was just a waste of chance.

    This is why he pushed Leon to the front. If this guy can protect the token for some time it''s good. If not, then let him be beaten and eliminated by all the other teams.

    "Well _ I _ "

    Before Leon could finish his words after getting the surprised mention for no reason, Edward not waiting for his refusal, spoke again ring at Ryosuke and Pshinta. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "After this guy dies, you''ll be the token bearer and then you. If all of you died, we''ll make the next order based on who''s alive or what''s the circumstance.

    Before both of them could agree or refuse the time was over and students started disappearing one by one.

    "Make sure you do your job right." Edward said as he disappeared.

    Rio, who saw this lying down could only smile in his heart at the fate''s arrangements for this game, which was supposed to be without him. But with him, even Edward, who was a nk viin in the novel, started acting smart and pushed Leon to basically miss his chance to show off.

 Chapter 252 Shitty luck

    Chapter 252 Shitty luck

    When Rio opened his eyes again, he saw the clear sky up in the clouds. He was in mid air, his body falling down with the effects of slightly heightened gravity. He looked down to see the sea surface below.

    As his body came closer to the sea, he noticed subtle changes in the water. The calm surface was disturbed as ripples started to form uncontrobly there. Soon the subtle ripples turned into a whirlpool, a vortex that seemed to pull him downward faster, threatening to swallow him whole, once he fell down. He used his aura to stabilize his body, as he noticed a shining eye at the center of the whirlpool. His instincts kicked in when he was close to touching the water surface. As some dropletsnded on his face, he propelled himself away from the whirlpool using his mana.

    -ssh-

    His body fell into the water with a loud ssh and slipped away from the whirlpool and the giant eye instantly.

    "That was close." Rio said, as he stood up on the water surface and brought out his sword. His feet were coated in mana, creating a barrier below them, making him float and not drown again. "Now let''s see, what do we have here?" Rio said and started flying upwards to get a clear look at everything around him. He took a clear look and noticed which monster it was.

    Whirlpool Wyrm, a sea serpent with light blue scales and spiral patterns all over its enormous body. Its eyes are chillingly luminescent, a ghostly ck that appears in stark contrast to the blue scales and sea around them. It has a thin body built for speed and agility over raw power. At the end of its body, it has a shell-breaking tail designed to create deadly whirlpools.

    By rapidly spinning its body, it generates powerful whirlpools underwater to trap and drown the prey thates near it. Once caught in the vortex, its prey is inexorably pulled toward the Wyrm''s gaping maw, ending their lives. It also strikes with blinding speed and can constrict victims in its muscr coils.

    Aside from this, there was one more monster eyeing Rio - Sapphire Gazer.

    A monster with a beautiful appearance from a distance, but deadly dangerous once close. It appears as a colossal, luminescent eye that seems to float in the depths of the ocean. Its iris is a deep and captivating azure, surrounded by a halo of sparkling, sapphire-blue patterns. The eye is eerie, enchanting, and casts an otherworldly glow throughout the surrounding waters - attracting its prey towards it.

    The massive eye looks detached from the surface, from the body of any kind. Yet it is attached to a sinuous tentacle that extends deep into the dark sea. The tentacle is lined with bioluminescent tendrils that appear as ghostly extensions in the water, hiding its existence.

    The Sapphire Gazer''s primary method of hunting is its mesmerizing gaze. When it spots potential prey, the eye releases a captivating and hypnotic disy of lights and patterns. Once its target falls under the spell, the tentacle strikes with blinding speed, ensnaring the helpless victim. Its grip is unforgiving, and its beak-like mouth which is in the center of the eye pupil, can tear through flesh and bone. The tendrils on its tentacle secrete a paralyzing venom, further ensuring that its prey cannot escape its clutches.

    "Well, two of them working together. Should I say shit luck or a shitty system." Rio said as he prepared to leave instead of fighting these monsters. After all, Leon was waiting for him to be killed again, he can''t just waste his time here. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yet his body had just flown for a few feet when a new vortex appeared below him, pulling him inside the water.

    "Great, another one." Rio cursed as he tried to move out of the water, but only ended up getting pulled further down the sea. Using his mana he tried to propel himself out, but it was a waste, as he sensed the first wyrm and gazering towards his direction too. Since avoiding them became a failure he could just fight them head on.

    ''System, buy me a skill that can let me fight in the water, and increase its mastery to the intermediate level.'' Riomanded system in his head, as he felt his mana draining to keep his breathing and body normal.

    [Yes host.]

    [Searching��]

    [Loading�� ]

    ''Remember, if you buy me something trashy or extra expensive, I''ll mute yo ass for forever. Then keep begging me to unmute you by texting.'' Rio further added, as he propelled his body to the side, closely avoiding a tail that razed the water surface at lightning speed. Yet the same attack came again hitting him from the back, sending his body spiraling down the sea.

    [...]

    [Found a suitable skill.. Tidal Grace]

    [Increasing the mastery of the skill .. Amateur - Apprentice - Intermediate]

    [Total cost 65000 points deducted.]

    As soon as the purchase from the system finished, information poured into his body nonstop, and a warm current passed through his entire body.

    Next second he felt his whole body lighter and his breathing returned to normal. The water didn''t feel pressured anymore and his sight and senses returned to their peak even underwater again. He could see the wyrm moving in the vortex even without channeling mana in his eyes, giving him relief as he prepared his sword for the iing attack.

    "Let''s end this now." Rio said and charged his body forward. His body moved freely in the water without any restrictions. He felt one with the water itself, and it was even smoother and easier then when he was onnd outside.

    As Rio watched the tailing towards his direction, he dodged sideways, as he charged his sword with his technique and shed it towards the wyrm''s body. The attack cleaved through the water, striking the Wyrm''s spiraled body.

    The Wyrm writhed in agony, as its scales started cracking from the impact, but its tail remained an imminent threat attacking Rio nonstop. Using mana to create a st below his feet, giving him enough speed to dodge the attack again. Gathering his aura over the sword, as the mana ofher started to form over the tip of his sword, Rio thrusted his weapon with precision over the previous attack. The de this time tore through the Wyrm''s body, as dark blood started clouding the water.

    The sword in his hand broke in pieces, as it failed to contain the power in his attack. Yet the battle was already over.

    He grabbed the monster''s scales with his hands and gave his feet a heavy push and propulsion, pushing him away from the explosion he knew was about toe. As his body moved backwards, a loud boom rang in the water, when the Nether sted the monster''s body from the inside. The shockwave sent him further back, but before it hit his body, he created a barrier in front of him, which dampened its effects a lot.

    Stabilizing his body, he started moving upwards, when the first Wyrm and the ze reached him.

    The Wyrm, seeing one of its kin ughtered, started its attack with a deafening roar, and it spiraled, generating a vortex that threatened to consume everything. It moved in a way as it gave ample space to the shining eye in the center of it down below, not obstructing it''s vision.

    The Sapphire Gazer with its colossal eye shining with a sinister allure, fixed its gaze on Rio. In a heartbeat, the world seemed to warp and twist under the hypnotic power of the eye. Rio''s senses dulled, as his mind felt drawn into the captivating depths, asking him to explore that beautiful scenery at the center.

    -snap-

    "That doesn''t work on me anymore." Rio said and snapped his fingers. The sound worked simr to a trigger, as his senses returned to his control again.

    This was something he had created when he was fighting against the zombies in the corroded dungeon. The corrosion of the red sun had an effect on the senses and mind of everyone living there, so whenever he felt like he was losing control of his body, he formed a trigger which would jolt his mind back to normal. The snap was just that trigger. The moment he snapped his fingers, instinctively his body would send a re of mana to his brain, giving it a shock, rebooting his senses. Simr to electric therapy.

    It took a while and lots of practice, control and headaches, but now it had be a habit and an instinct, simr to muscle memory.

    "Let''s end this."

    Focusing on the Sapphire Gazer, Rio swam directly toward its monstrous eye, hoping to deal with this pesky effects first, as it brought some unpleasant memories the longer he remained nearby.

 Chapter 253 Killing monsters and monkeys

    Chapter 253 Killing monsters and monkeys

    Diving down the sea using his new skill, Rio moved towards the shining eye, the closer he got the more he felt pulled towards the Gazer. The hypnotic effects of this creature was no joke, and it could easily solve the awakeners of C rank and below. Though the virtual reality test might''ve toned down the strength of these monsters a bit, but the overall effects of that drop down in skills would still affect the students more.

    As the creatures weren''t real and just chunks of data, they weren''t gonna make mistakes cause they felt ufortable with their current state. If anything these monsters didn''t feel anything and only acted based on fixed details, and they were all perfect. On the other hand, students who couldn''t get a clear understanding of their new strength, were prone to make more mistakes.

    Rio''s straight slide stopped when he noticed the tail of Gazering towards his direction. Getting hit by that or even scratched by that was a sure death, as either he would be pierced, or his body would be paralyzed and sucked into Gazer''s mouth - so the moment he noticed the movement of water beside him, he halted his flow and changed direction. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He watched as a sharp sh got created in the water in front of him. The tail or a tentacle, whatever you call it, moved past him at high speed. Rio shed his sword the moment it came into his view, he wanted to cut it in two pieces in one strike, but due to the resistance of water and the Gazer''s reaction speed, he only managed to leave a cut on it. The green blood left its tail and floated outwards in the sea as if it was some oil or something.

    "Tsk" Rio clicked his tongue and pushed his body towards the downside, where he could now see Gazer''s mouth and shark-like teeth covering his skin.

    The mouth of Gazer was in the middle of its pupil, which was really weird and scary to look at. But ignoring the disgust, Rio kept shing his sword, sending streaks of lights hitting the eye. Even though the skin of Gazer wasn''t tough but it had self healing abilities and every attack hended was healed next instant.

    But Rio didn''t stop and kept doing that while dodging the tail attacks from both the monsters. Not in mood to stay here any longer, he released his aura avatar and sent it to hold back the wyrm.

    When the next time the tail came to hit him, Rio bent his body to the side, while using a barrier cover himself. The blow of that tail sent him hurtling towards the creature''s mouth, who opened it wide open to eat his prey, yet the moment when Rio was about to fall down, he smiled and threw his ice sword with both his hands towards the monster''s mouth. Using the element of water to give it proper direction, he made sure it fixed itself into the jaws of Gazer.

    "Let''s end it now.", Rio said, as he chanted a spell in his mind and threw the ck ball of me that appeared in his hand into the open mouth of Gazer.

    Even underwater, the hellfire burned brighter and soon the roars of Gazer echoed in the sea. The screams of pain increased several folds when the hellfire came into contact withher sword mana, left in the eye by Rio''s sword shes and in seconds it covered the entirety of the eye. Burning itpletely.

    The tail of Gazer kept hitting around the water for some time even after the monster''s mouth was burned to cinders , but then it died down too.

    Rio looked upwards at the wyrm who was getting toyed around with his avatar. After all, the shadow manifestation could dodge or parry all the attacks and the effects of drowning and getting pressured underwater vortex was no threat to the avatar - "Kill him" Rio gave a mentalmand to his avatar, and in just next few seconds the wyrm was severed in several pieces and dying the entire are blue.

    He looked at the Wyrm''s body which disappeared in tiny particles and in its ce was a blue dagger left floating. Taking it in his hands, he shed it a few times in the water and noticed it was one of the artifacts the professor talked about. It released an arc of water sh every time he swung it using mana. Feeling satisfied with it, he took it and kept it. After all, his sword was broken in his fight with the first wyrm and even for the Gazer, he needed to create swords of ice to attack him. This one just came at the perfect time.

    Rio dispersed the aura avatar and used the skill to move out of this water. Once he was out he used the light magic to vaporize all the water on his body and clean himself from any blood or other stuff.

    Taking a look at his watch, these monsters had wasted over a minute of time for him. Looking at his watch, he noticed 2 of his teammates were already dead. By no surprise it was Pshinta and Ryosuke. After all, they were the weakest of the bunch and it was clear they''d die first if they met anyone else. He looked at the a green dot in a small circle on the map and turned his face there. That was Leon''s position, the Token Bearer.

    Covering his feet in mana, Rio ran over the water, moving in that direction. From how much the dot moved here and there on the watch, he guessee Leon was probably fighting with someone right now.

    ''Should I kill him and call it a misfire?'' Rio thought and increased his speed.

    [Won''t that be too anti-climatic.] System said to him. After all, this was thest VR test and once he killed Leon that would be game over for him for today.

    ''You''re right. Let''s make him suffer a bit first.'' Rio said and started running in the forest. Jumping from one tree to another, his feet didn''t even touch the ground as he kept moving forward. It didn''t take long for him, when he could hear the sound of fighting from the front. Surprisingly he also came across a bow artifact on his way. As these things were all spread all over the area, he grabbed it since he found it. He didn''t find any other teams or students in the vicinity, so he couldn''t kill them.

    He stopped on a tree branch as he noticed the fight ahead. Currently Leon was fighting with 4 people from A-4 ss. No one was strong enough to beat him, but they still challenged him as one of them was the idiot monkey - Zirrix Drakkar.

    Looking at him, Rio remembered something Loki told him a few days ago, about beating the pride of that monkey god and so he decided to do just that. Not just to get Loki, but because he could see, slowly but surely Leon was getting the advantage in this fight. And if no one interfered he would win this fight in the next few minutes.

    "Call it your bad luck, Zirrix. But can''t really let you be a pawn that shows off the strength of Leon." Rio said in his heart and nocked an arrow on his bowstring.

    Well it wasn''t much of an arrow, but more like a tree branch he broke from the side. But using his wind element, he cut it from some ces and made it sharper and simpler.

    Taking aim, he looked at Leon and let go of his fingers. The arrow which left his hands, soob broke in 3, and they all moved forwards in different angles.

    -kach kach kach-

    The wooden arrows hit the 3 students besides Zirrix and Leon, and eliminated all of them instantly.

    He picked up another arrow and shot it towards Zirrix after chanting a spell to boost its effects. Zirrix used the metal staff in his hands to block it. The staff was an artifact he picked up along the way, so it managed to stop the arrow''s path, but before he took a calm breath and smiled, the back of the arrow blinked in red a few times and then created a loud st, creating a big crater in the ground and destroying the nearby trees.

    Zirrix, who got thrown away by the shockwave, coughed a few times and looked at the side, where he noticed he saw Leon, who was in a simr situation.

    Yet he noticed between both of them was now a white circle line drawn, showing he was thrown out of the area, where Leon had to stay.

    Before Zirrix could stand up, another arrow greeted him. One whichnded directly between his legs and started blinking.

    Seeing that Zirrix nearly lost hisposure and shouted curses out loud, when another explosion drowned those words.

    -kaboom-

 Chapter 254 Bait and hook

    <h4>Chapter 254 Bait and hook</h4>

    "Where am I?" Zirrix opened his eyes slightly and looked around, only to see that the world was quite peaceful and green.

    It was a beautiful scenery, and he felt refreshed.

    But why does it look weird.

    Those trees seem to be opposite, upside down.

    Just when he was confused, he heard a voice that broke his train of thoughts

    "So you''re awake now?"

    "Who_ " Zirrix said as he tried to stand up but found that his hands were free and he wasn''t on the ground or on his bed.

    He opened his eyes wide, as he Looked up where a rope bound him from a tree and left him hanging, he tried to look for his staff or any other weapon to free himself, when the same voice echoed again.

    "Try that, and my arrows won''t miss the target next time."

    ''Rio''

    Zirrix saw Rio''s figure sitting on a tree top, where the branches around him had gathered together in a way that looked like a chair or table for him to sit upon. While he was leisurely sitting there, few wooden arrows floated behind him in a ring, constantly moving in a circle.

    Zirrix waved his hands around, swinging his body backwards, trying to gain momentum and move upwards or use his strength to free himself, when an arrow grazed past his hands. Leaving behind a shallow cut.

    Urgh''

    Zirrix grunted in pain, as his brain recollected the scene where he was fighting with Leon and this guy sneak attacked them and he was thrown out of the bearer''s circle.

    As if he remember something, he quickly squirmed around and looked at his private parts, thinking if Rio blew them up with his arrows.

    But thank goodness, they survived. Atleast his staff was still a staff.

    "What do you want?" He asked.

    "Nothing much" Rio replied with a yful smile seeing this monkey''s dance.

    Another arrow moved forward on his signal and stopped just an inch away from Zirrix''s face. "Just hanging a monkey on a tree. It''s normal right?"

    "You�� .." Zirrix was furious over the insult of his God, as his face started to turn red and purple. (Like a certain monkey''s ass??)

    Maybe it was because of him being turned upside down and blood flow, or being too angry and humiliated, but whatever it was, Rio enjoyed it.

    And so did Loki.

    Though Rio couldn''t hear him, he was sure that trickster was probably enjoying this scene very much.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you. You''re useless dead." Rio said and the arrow moved a bit lower and stabbed Zirrix on the arm, where the watch of the academy was.

    "Just stay still like a statue and enjoy your time. I''ll kill your teammates and send you all back together." Rio said, pointing upwards.

    Zirrix tried to look at his watch but he found he couldn''t see anything except broken screen. The arrow floating in front of him was the warning, if he tried to channel his mana or aura, so he could only stay still and hope his teammates would free him.

    ''Just wait, I''ll show you what a monkey can do, when you make him angry.'' Zirrix thought in his heart and shook his head as his brain registered the fact that he called himself a monkey.

    "I could''ve handled it myself." Leon said as he dusted his clothes and stood up slowly. Looking at Rio who was enjoying his time, eating fruits from the trees and ying with the artifacts he got from those other students. Trying to see what effect they had.

    From what he understood in his fight, all artifacts only had one effect. And now they were all in Rio''s hands. Even the artifact he found when he first teleported here.

    Leon wanted to get that back, but his pride didn''t allow him to ask for it from Rio. And seeing Rio, whopletely ignored him, not even taking a nce in his direction - it was obvious that he had no intention to give it back.

    So he could just stare at him in anger.

    [Calm yourself.]

    [Don''t pick a fight you cannot win.]

    Apollo''s words echoed in his head again, reminding him to be careful around Rio.

    Leon knew it too, but he didn''t know why, but every time he saw Rio, there was this indescribable feeling in his heart confusing him and upying his mind.

    Leon took a deep breath and decided to focus on healing his injuries and recovering some mana back.

    [Apollo''s watching.] System sent a message to Rio when Apollo started his conversation with Leon.

    ''I know.'' Rio said and looked at Leon from the corner of his eyes. He didn''t even need any scans or skills, he already knew all the habits of that bastard.

    Shaking his head, he closed his eyes, rested his head on his hands and just waited there for some stupids to take the monkey bait.

    On the other side,

    "Some of our teammates are dead?" Heath, who was the student of Zirrix''s ss, said when he noticed a few red dots on his watch.

    "ording to the map, they died near the token bearer of ss A-3." Another student replied.

    "One of them is still alive. Maybe they''re still fighting. We should go and help him too."

    In ss A-4 there were a few rankers and important characters of the plot too. Namely - Heath Lewis (the dragon halfling), Zirrix Drakkar (the monkey King''s avatar), Moksh ckwood (the second ranker) and Vanessa Belmont (Duke Belmont''s daughter).

    Currently other than Zirrix they were all grouped together.

    They had a n to group together once after teleportation and then start the fight with other sses.

    At first it was all fine, as they all started moving together, but then Zirrix, who found 3 other students, changed routes midway and started the fight with Leon beforehand.

    "If one is still fighting, then chances are that''s Zirrix. His strength is the highest among them." Moksh said and a few others nodded their heads.

    "I would''ve solved the strongest first." Heath replied, disagreeing with his ssmates.

    "Doesn''t matter, let''s go there." Vanessa, who was standing silent all this time, spoke up and next second mes appeared below her feet, projecting her upwards.

    Leaving behind a charred ground in her ce. Heath thought something as he nced at the dots on watch, and then he used his mana too and ran behind Vanessa without saying anything.

    Moksh looked at both of them with an annoyed expression. He looked at the other students who were staring at him with eager eyes, and he clenched his fists.

    "Let''s go." He said as he ran behind Heath''s disappearing figure.

    ''What''s the point of me being a leader, if you just wanted to do whatever you want.'' Moksh cursed his team as he remembered the scene of their pre match meeting in hub.

    All 10 of them had decided that he would be their team leader, so it makes coordination easy during the match. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Yet now first Zirrix, then Vanessa and now even that damned halfling ignored hismand and ran off by themselves. Not even asking him for his opinion first.

    ''It looks like I need to teach them a lesson tooter on.''

 Chapter 255 Vanessa’s vengeance (Vanessa Belmont - The Fire Fairy)

    <h4>Chapter 255 Vanessa''s vengeance (Vanessa Belmont - The Fire Fairy)</h4>

    ''System, is anyoneing yet?'' Rio said, as he got tired of waiting for someone to pop up near Leon. Looking at the protagonist, he had already recovered around 60% of his mana already.

    [A few]

    [If you want to know who or how many, just buy some more features for me.] N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''But you''re too expensive.'' Rio said and closed the shop panel that popped up.

    [It''s expensive cause it''s useful.]

    ''Fine. Buy 10 low grade lottery coupons. Let''s y some games until someonees.''

    [At Least buy a few high grade or top grade ones. You have so many points, why''re you always acting like a cheapskate?] Systemined from the bottom of its digital heart.

    Seriously this host had so many points, yet he doesn''t spend them at all. What a waste.

    "If you want to sell something, increase the sess ratio. 1% chance of getting anything good. Isn''t that like throwing my money in a dump? Quantity over quality." Rio said to the system. "Come on, bring out the machine. I''m feeling lucky today. Maybe I can win that 0.1% chance this time."

    Rio said and hearing hismand, system sighed and closed all the blue screen panels and brought a big round machine, divided in 10 parts with different colors, with gift boxes covered with question marks.

    ''Come on, PNG gods, Jackpoteus and Slotara, give me something good, and I''ll spare your lives when youe down.'' Rio said in his mind. Remembering the famous gods of Arcadia, associated with the games of casinos, and pressed the green button.

    -rolllll rolll rollll-

    The machine started rolling, slowly picking up speed each second. And when all the circles came together and it became hard to see their difference, Rio pressed the red button, making the machinee to a halt instantly.

    The big question mark floated up in front of him a few times, as a gift icon popped up from the machine and slid to his side.

    "Open sesame," Rio said and touched the box. As it started unwrapping and then his reward came to his view.

    [Better luck next time.]

    "..."

    [...]

    "Fuck," Rio cursed as he pped the system panel. "Let''s try again. I don''t believe all 10 of them are wasted." He said and at hismand, 9 simr machines popped up and started rolling on his sign.

    [Better luck next time ��4

    [2 Low grade healing potion

    [5 Low grade berserker pills

    [100 gold coins

    [10 Pink heart sticker

    [1 Rusty dusty dagger

    "..."

    [In my defense, I already warned you it''s gonna be trash.]

    ''Fuck'' Rio cursed and stood up from his seat and threw the old dagger filled with rust and dust at Leon startling him.

    Leon, who sensed something, opened his eyes. Seeing a daggering his way, he moved his hands to block it. But as soon as the dagger touched his hands, it actually broke and got dusted. Only leaving dust that polluted like a smoke near his face. Leaving a stinky rusty smell behind.

    ''Hate this dagger.'' Rio said as he cursed the system again, after seeing this ''lucky lottery'' reward showing its might.

    ???

    On the other hand, Leon who just covered his nose and wiped his face, after waving the smelly smoke away, had question marks over his face. Not sure about what Rio wanted to do with that.

    "Someone''sing."

    Before he could make any sense of it, Rio''s words sounded in his ears, and when he looked up, his figure had already disappeared in the air, and came down to the ground.

    "So it is you." Vanessa muttered under her breath, as she saw Rionding on the ground, and Zirrix hanging on a tree.

    The moment she saw 3 of their teammates getting eliminated instantly, she had a hunch it was him. And after seeing that even the dot showing theirst teammate''s location didn''t move from one ce for a while, she was even more sure of her conjecture that Rio must have appeared there. After all, she knew her ssmates strength through theirst match and for them to be eliminated without any chance, only his name popped up in her brain. She also knew leaving one alive was just a trap for them, so they''de here to ''assist'' their teammate.

    Yet she still came here without hesitation for two reasons - first, she wanted to know Rio''s strength. Since that''s what her father asked to know.

    ke family and Belmont family, both Duke ranked nobles obviously didn''t get along very well. And the recent growth of ke''s had only meant more losses for her family. And since Rio is the heir to ke family, knowing his hole cards and limits would only be more beneficial for them.

    As for the second reason, it was because she wanted to face off against Rio herself. To see how she fares, and how much more she needs to improve, so she can kill him with her own hands.

    ''Don''t worry Ken, I''ll have your revenge soon.'' Vanessa thought in her heart, as she clenched the spear in her hands and started running towards Rio.

    No words, no greetings, not even acknowledgement or a nod to him or Zirrix - just direct attack.

    With each step of Vanessa mes started to cover her spear and then her hands and feet too. With every step her speed increased and in the next instant, her figure was just a yellow blur in everyone''s eyes. Leaving the charred ground with shallow smokeing behind.

    me Tether

    Inferno st

    Rain of Ember

    Cinder Form

    One by one, Vanessa directly used her ultimate skills from the beginning. Instantly a binding rope like me appeared around Rio, to trap and capture him. As the ground below his feet incinerated the next instant. Creating a fiery st and a ck crater in that ce.

    Yet the onught of skills didn''t stop. Next second, not giving any chance to Rio, she started raining down small fiery projectiles on him. As soon as the small embers of mes came into contact with the fire st from before, it merged and created a new spell called ''Magma Magic''. Escting the heat and temperature to an unprecedented height.

    Yet that wasn''t all, all these spells were just to keep Rio busy and give herself enough time to prepare for her final spell, Cinder form.

    Vanessa''s body was covered in scorching mes itself, and she looked like a living fire fairy at that moment. Who was ready to burn down everything that came in her path, and her road to revenge.

    Cinder Form is an advanced magic spell, which demands a substantial amount of mana and focus from the caster, thus it cannot be maintained for long periods. Even using it at low level mastery and control is risky, as the chance of the user setting himself on fire and burning down are too high. Cause controlling these mes gets extremely hard over time.

    But despite its limitations and obvious bacshes, Vanessa still used this self harming technique, because of the many boosts it gave her.

    While in Cinder Form, the user gains increased speed and agility, utilizing the intense heat generated by the mes for swift movements. The user''s attacks are infused with fire, dealing enhanced fire damage with each strike. The ming aura provides some level of defense against physical attacks due to its scorching nature of negation.

    "Die" Vanessa muttered under her breath, as she pushed her spear forward, ready to stab the heart of the ck shadow still showing little movement in the sea of fire.

    Yet what she got in response to her attacks, was a small chuckle and a scoffing sound. "Compared to your brother, the mes you have are just enough to light a cigarette for me." Rio''s words sounded in the silent mes, and under Vanessa''s eyes, she saw as he held her spear in his fingers and spoke again.

    "Let me teach you something I told him a long time ago." Rio said and sping the spear tightly in his hands. "If you''re ying with fire, be ready to get burned."

    As Rio''s words finished, a small ck fire appeared on his fingertips, soon spreading outward to the whole spear and then covering Vanessa whole in it.

    [Damn you H. I''ll kill you sooner orter.] Apollo cursed in his heart after seeing Rio using Hellfire again. While silently staring at Leon, who was looking at the scene unfolding in front of him with wide eyes just like him.

    ##

    A/N - Kendrick Belmont, was Vanessa''s brother. He was Rio''s ssmate two years ago. Yet he died in the dungeon incident.

    If you want to know how, get me gifts and I''ll tell you.

 Chapter 256 Blackwood family - champions of mystic isles

    Chapter 256 ckwood family - champions of mystic isles

    ?

    Heath and Moksh arrived there just behind Vanessa too. While Heath started running towards Rio to fight him. Moksh looked at Leon lost in thought and jumped in his direction with a smirk stered on his face.

    "Go and help Zirrix." Moksh ordered the rest of his team through a sound spell and entered the circle of token bearer.

    Leon was just staring at Rio who walked out of those high intensity mes without even a single scratch or burn mark. Even his clothes and appearance were clean and not affected by any fire or smoke.

    His surprise turned to shock again as he watched Rio use that hellfire again and eliminate Vanessa in seconds.

    [Watch out]

    When he was lost in his thoughts thinking if he could survive or fare any better against that spell, when Apollo''s words of warning came to his ears. Along with the foreboding sense of danger from his back.

    Without wasting any time Leon directly jumped to the side, dodging the attack from Moksh by a hair''s breadth.

    Leon rolled on the ground twice and looked at the ground beside him where a crater was formed, as if the ground was split in two with that attack.

    ''Moksh ckwood'' Leon muttered as he looked at the man who attacked him.

    ''So he''s not all luck'' Moksh thought as he saw Leon dodging his attack.

    Even though he didn''t take Leon seriously, but he still did use 7 points of his strength in that attack since Leon managed to get first rank against him in the entrance exams.

    ckwood family is one of the strongest elite families of the human domain. They also had their own free guild called ''Dusken des'' . They''re also called ''Champions of Mystic Isles''. A treacherous territory of great dangers and mystery.

    The ckwood family is the one who has cleared the trials of those inds this time and holds the ownership of them.

    (Trials for Mystic Isles open for every 25 years. And every major force from every race canpete to clear them. ording to the rules set by the world powers, whoever clears the trials will hold their ownership till the next trial begins.)

    Moksh looked at Leon and adjusted his stance and readied the magic wand in his hand. As he started chanting some spells in his heart and magic circle made with intricate patterns and various symbols and colors appeared in the air. Gathering and floating in front of him and back. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Let''s see if you really deserve your rank." Moksh said, as all the magic circles moved in a straight line and banded one over another. Creating a barrage simr to arge gun or rocket. Mixed with various parts, shining brightly.

    ''He''s strong'' Leon thought as he noticed Moksh taking the fight seriously from the get go.

    For a second, Leon felt weird seeing this , as whenever he fought with someone before, they would start talking or taunting him first and then he would beat them and show his strength.

    But looking at Moksh it seemed he won''t get a chance to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger.

    ''I''ll just beat you , if I can''t beat him.'' Leon thought as he looked at Moksh. Hoping to take the anger of Rio out on him. He red his mana, getting ready to use his ultimate spell and end this match instantly too.

    His whole body started glowing in light, as the sun in the sky seemed to shine brighter just for him.

    But just when he was in full swing to show off, he suddenly felt a sharp pain that ran through his body, making him cold all over.

    Instantly his body and blood which was warming up due to the spell of ''Sr Stream'' froze and calmed down.

    ???

    Looking at his freezing body, where thinyers of ice formed over his hands and feet, a ck line formed over Leon''s forehead and a bad premonition rose in his heart.

    Looking back in the direction which gave him the chills, he saw Rio was actually standing beside an ice sculpture.

    After a few seconds, Leon realized it wasn''t any sculpture but Heath, whose body had been frozen on spot.

    Seeing the slight bumps on his back, Leon could see, it happened so fast that the poor dragon halfling didn''t even have the time to transform or show his full might yet.

    ''How did he do that?'' Leon thought and turned to looked at his own opponent, Moksh.

    And he saw�� ��  nothing.

    There was no Moksh, or Zirrix who was hanging through a tree, or his 3 or 4 other teammates who came to free him.

    ''He killed them all�� .. So soon'' Leon thought as he didn''t see anyone there.

    -shatter-

    The shattering sound brought Leon back to his  senses. Looking back he noticed, Heath was struggling under the ice.

    A tiny golden glow started to shine under all that ice, giving it a beautiful glow. And soon the heat from the golden energy melted the ice over Heath''s handsome face.

    "It''s not over." Heath said as his hands turned into ws and the small bumps of horns over his forehead, which were usually covered by theyers of long hair, parted sideways. As his blue horns grewrger.

    "My turn" Heath said, and Leon heard him chanting a spell in dragon tongue. Anguage said to be inherently corrted to mana and magic.

    Over Heath''s head formed a whirlpool of air, as the mana in the air gathered over his body, destroying all the ice that trapped him to the ground.

    Leon was surprised to see such fine control over surrounding mana. He now understood why dragon race is considered one of the strongest races on Arcadia.

    Just some simple words of theirs can control all mana, and this was only when they used their bloodline powers.

    Once any dragon reached S rank and awakened their domain, Leon couldn''t imagine how anyone would be able to fight with them at that time.

    Yet soon enough a scene, even more surprising than this one appeared next.

    Leon saw a smile on Rio''s face, and next with the sound of snapping fingers, he was horrified to see that all the violent mana that gathered around Heath turned into a steady stream and flew towards Rio, who consumed all of it like it was no big deal.

    "You''re right. It wasn''t over then, but it''s over now." Rio said and punched out with his hands.

    A phantom of fist appeared in air and kept erging in size the more time and distance it passed. Until it finallynded on Heath''s figure who was standing there stupidly.

    (Heath eliminated too.)

    Leon took a long breath, as the scene from earlier started ying in slow motion in his mind. Leon knew each of the ranker''s strength, and the fact that 3 of them got eliminated in just one move made him doubt the reality of this situation.

    "Wake me, when someone elsees."

    While Leon was lost in thoughts, Rio''s voice came to his ears again. As he saw the few tree roots giving way to Rio and creating another chair for him to sit upon.

    Seeing Rio sitting in the sky with the rxed expression, Leon only had a feeling that he lost something again. Yet he couldn''t understand what, how or why?

 Chapter 257 Group Elimination

    <h4>Chapter 257 Group Elimination</h4>

    Few moments before

    When Leon was fighting against Moksh, Rio stared at the halfling who jumped at him. Heath didn''t speak, introduced or talk nonsense with him and directly stretched out his ws and ready to sh at Rio.

    Maybe he would''ve taken this fight lightly before, but after seeing Vanessa getting eliminated instantly even after using her best skills, Heath dropped that idea.

    ''Let''s see how many moves I can take.'' He wondered in his heart, as he used the elements of wind and nature to increase his speed and strength.

    Unlike others his age or in his ss, Heath didn''t have the arrogance or pride to hope for a win against Rio. Nor did he feel humiliated for a loss.

    He was arrogant, extremely too, as it was the pride of the superior bloodline flowing in his veins - but he was also self sincere. He understood his level and strength, and there was no shame in epting it.

    After all, even if he ignored everything else, the fact that Rio was chosen by a primordial and had a higher rank than him was enough for him to let go of his ego. So he just wanted to use this spar to test his skills and check the difference between them.

    As Heath charged towards Rio. He used his skills - Wings of the Wyvern, ws of the Wyrm and Thunderous Stomp.

    With a heavy stomp to the ground, his figure jumped high into the air, creating a crater below on the ground.

    His hands turned into lethal ws. As sharp nails grew on the edge that could rip everything it touches to shreds.

    Clothes on his upper back tore open as wings erupted from his back, growing in size. As the wings unfurled, he pped them in session, propelling himself faster and farther, creating air shockwaves that shook the trees in the surrounding area.

    His movements became a blur, leaving only fleeting afterimages in his wake, a testament to his staggering speed.

    Yet looking at him Rio had the same calm expression as before, thinking - ''So shy and showy. What a waste.''

    When Heath was close to Rio, he stretched his ws to attack him, trying to end this match in one sh, yet when he was within attack range, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as if he was hit by a powerful hammer and his figure flew backwards with the same speed.

    If he hadn''t used his skill ''Cloak of scale'' which created a scale armor around his body to shield him prior to this match, he doubted he would have had time to react to this attack.

    Yet despite the amazing defense that scale shield provided, Heath still felt the force behind that hit.

    His figure rolled on the ground two times, before he used his wings to stabilize himself. Yet due to his own high speed before, his feet still got dragged over on the ground for a few meters before they came to a halt.

    Two lines were left near his feet, a mark of his struggle.

    "I call it ''The Scalebreaker Punch''." Rio''s words came to Heath''s ears when he finally stopped himself.

    Heath saw Rio looking at his clenched fist with a look of approval. Like he was satisfied with this new ''skill'' his hands created. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Heath wiped the trace of blood near his lips and looked below, only to see cracks forming on his chest, and he could only watch as the scale armor broke down and turned to light particles.

    If it were the real world he would''ve surely felt immense pain or some bacsh from that skill, but due to the sensors which kept the pain in check for this virtual match, he could still endure it without screaming or rolling down to the ground.

    Feeling the loss of mana in his body and seeing the condition of his internal organs, Heath canceled his transformation skills and decided to use his mana for another skill called ''Draconic blessing'' instead, which gave him slight healing and regeneration powers.

    Yet before he could heal himself to get ready for his next attack, he saw the white haired boy in front of him waving both his hands, as a chilling air passed by him and froze everything in its ce.

    Including him.

    "And this is called the art of ice"

    Before his bodypletely froze and turned into frost covered sculpture, Heath heard those mocking words from Rio. And he clenched his fists in anger again.

    ''Not like this,'' Heath said in his heart. Losing was eptable to him, but never this easily and never this bad. Thus he decided to use a skill which he never used in the outer world till now.

    -Dragon''s breath

    As one can understand from this name, this skill had the simple function to release a stream of scorching fire made out from pure mana and his life force, from his mouth.

    Since Heath still hadn''t mastered the art ofplete transformation yet, or awakened his bloodline, his physical body couldn''t control the longsting aftereffects of this skill. And he could only burn his lifeforce topensate it.

    But since this wasn''t the real world, and at best he would just get eliminated after using this skill, so he didn''t care about those side effects and used it.

    While Heath was doing his best to chant the skill and control it to break free from this thick ice, which he couldn''t break free while standing stuck. On the other hand, Rio ignored the tiny amber glowing in his ''art piece'' and looked at Moksh and Leon, who were both staring at him, struggling with the bone chilling cold.

    The sudden wide range attack from Rio had sessfully interrupted the magic duel of both Leon and Moksh. As Moksh, who was multicasting spells even suffered some bacsh.

    While the other teammates of ss A-4 had already been eliminated. Including Zirrix, who was already hanging by little health.

    While Moksh was busy staring and trying to control his mana to break free from the ice which reached till his legs, he didn''t notice the small movements in his shadow behind him. And just when he managed to break the ice and was ready to take a step back and rush out of this skill range, he felt someone tied his feet and he fell down to the ground.

    Yet before his body could hit the ground, a spike rose from his shadow and stabbed his neck, ending his life and eliminating him from this match.

    [The firefly is shining bright.]

    System said to Rio, as he canceled his aura avatar and looked back at Heath, who managed to melt the ice around his face and neck.

    ''Interesting'' Rio said and didn''t act to kill him, yet waited to see what this worm ?? could do next.

    Not noting the smiling expression of his opponent, Heath closed his eyes and started chanting something in some weird ancientnguage.

    His body was glowing in amber now, not sure if it was due to his skill or mana, or the bacsh from these skills reducing his health.

    ''Dragon tongue'' Rio said in his mind, when he noticed the movements of mana in the surrounding area. His lips couldn''t help but curl up in a smile, as he felt the richness of mana in his vicinity.

    [What a fool.] System spoke up in Rio''s mind while looking at Heath like looking at some idiot.

    There were not one, but many things wrong with what Heath did or wanted to do. Worst of them all was to gather evenly spread out mana from the environment and put it all over his head, right in front of the guy who basically lived over sucking thin mana from the air for two years in a dungeon.

    And true to the system''s thoughts, next under Rio''s control over elements and mana, all of that magic flew over to Rio and got swallowed into his body.

    ''Delicious'' Rio said, as he felt the high amount of mana into his body. Which was even higher then what this match allowed in the beginning.

    "Thanks for the gift. But it''s time to end it."Rio whispered and punched out, sending a projection of fist flying through air, which shattered the ''sculpture'' and eliminated Heath.

    "And this is called one punch _ forget it. It''s nothing." Rio was saying something but after remembering the bald head hero, andparing his hair he gave up naming this ''skill''

    With Heath dead it ended the hope of winning this tournament for ss A- 4. As a token flew over to Rio''s hands and rested near his waist.

 Chapter 258 Extra fights

    Chapter 258 Extra fights

    "Professor Osborn, there goes your team. Looks like you gotta train them harder."

    Professor Arabe said with a smirking expression. Causing other professors to chuckle at her words too. While Osborn could just grit his teeth with a twisted expression.

    ''His power over mana is higher than

    I thought.'' Miss Freya thought and smiled. ''And so are his grudges it seems.''

    Others might not notice or care, but Miss Freya had noticed the glint of anger in Rio''s eyes when he looked at Leon or how he wasted his time and effort just to deal with him in this test.

    ''Looks like he''s taking his anger for Lisa out on him. I should talk to him, once he''s out.'' She thought and looked at the other members of her ss.

    While Rio directly rushed for Leon, other members of all the sses were simrly rushing to protect their token bearers or trying to snatch from others they came across.

    At this time two other groups of her ss were fighting against other sses and the monsters they came across.

    Reba, Amaya, Edward and Ryosuke were fighting against the ss of A-5. Pshinta, who was with them had been eliminated a few moments ago, trying to steal the token from Elroy Morris, the token bearer of the opposing ss. A master of illusions, and a viin in the novel.

    Also another ranker from open entrance exams. Rank 13th.

    While Amelia, Valtor and Katherine were fighting against monsters in a mountain terrain. They were all running towards the token bearer of ss A-1 but they came across a boss monster on their way.

    Some members of ss A-1 were also dragged into their fight, while they were just waiting for the ambush. But the enraged boss monster sniffed their scent and attacked them too.

    Their fight was interesting to watch as everyone not only had to watch out for a C- rank monster but also against the opposing ssmates too.

    "This is starting to piss me off." Amelia said, as she dodged the heavy paws of the monster and jumped back.

    Though her rank was C- too in reality, but here in this match her mana was sealed till rank D from what she could feel. Plus all the blessings she had were locked  so dealing with this single boss monster became hard. Not to mention that dealing with boss monsters was always difficultpared to normal monsters. And especially some monsters who were as defensive and had high regeneration as the one they were facing now - Grunter Hat.

    A mountain ape-like beast with tough skin and erosion furs covering his whole body.

    Grunter had high defense against physical attacks. While its ck furs had the property of erosion, which could corrode any weapon that it touched.

    Though the range of attack for this beast was primarily melle, but from time to time when it felt a threat, it would shake its head like a madman and release its furs from its crown like hat, in the surrounding area, and everyone would have to dodge and create distance again.

    Giving the monster enough time to heal or change positions.

    Long range elemental attacks or bow and arrow attacks were working and could take out this beast, and it would''ve been easy if only it were the beast that was the problem.

    Jaesin, Firsjen, Levi and kuru - these 4 students from ss A-1 were also troubling.

    Jaesin, who had built a sort of hatred or grudge over Rio after what happened at the library, seemed to want to fight with Amelia very much.

    Same was the case with Firshen, a Vampire from the Scarlett n. He''s Esme and Erza''s cousin. And since learning that the spies his n sent were actually ying ves and house at ke family instead of reporting back and finishing their missions - he too, had a grudge for Rio and Amelia.

    As for Levi, she is someone from the novel too. But in the original story, she was Amelia''s shadow.

    Due to all the changes Rio made, her role and meeting with Amelia was ruined, and she never got the chance to join the ke family. From what Rio learned, she''s following his ''brother'' in the novel Kevin. And had be his shadow instead.

    As for thest guy called Kuru, he was just an unlucky extra, who got chosen for this test by luck.

    "I''m going to finish these idiots first. You guys hold off the beast." Amelia said as she turned around and rushed towards  the annoying elf, Jaesin. Who''s been hiding in the trees and shooting his arrows to disrupt their flow and disturb them.

    Firsjen had a twisted smile on his face, as he licked his lips and grew his fangs. His red eyes were shining bright with bloodlust as he lunged forward to intercept Amelia, but his steps halted when Katherine created chains made of ice to bind him.

    "Argh" Firsjen grunted as he saw Amelia getting away from him.

    He turned his attention to Katherine, only to see her leading the Grunter in his direction. And running away.

    ''Damn bitch'' Firsjen cursed and seeing no chance to dodge the oing punch, he used one of his bloodline skills, Puppeteer.

    Puppeteer skill allowed him to control anyone he had drank the blood off for a limited time. Obviously limitations are that the target shouldn''t have higher rank or mental strength then the user. Nor any blessing or skill that can offset this control.

    But Firsjen as the viin and the minion of Rio in the original novel, had enough role and strength to control the unlucky extra called Kuru. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Kuru, who was facing Valtor and was about to lose, suddenly found his body pulled by an unknown force and next second he found himself face to face against Firsjen.

    "Thanks" Poor extra thought his teammate had saved him, but then he saw Firsjen''s figure disappearing in a blink, as a massive shadow covered his body.

    Before Kuru could understand anything the punch from Grunter arrived and turned him into meat paste.

    Extras really aren''t suitable to live a life.

 Chapter 259 A villainess with yandere traits is a definition of a mad girl

    Chapter 259 A viiness with yandere traits is a definition of a mad girl

    Firsjen''s figure arrived a dozen meters away from his previous position, and seeing the rain of blood which turned into light particles and disappeared, he breathed a sigh of relief. One secondte and that would''ve been him.

    "Vampires, always so predictable."

    Before he took a moment to rest his racing heart, a mocking sound came to his ears, and before he understood anything, he felt a sense of dread enveloping him.

    Sensing the dangering from his back, he quickly turned around, just in time to see an arrowing towards his neck. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He didn''t think about his enemy, but raised his hands to block the oing attack, while moving backwards. With heightened senses that was a racial trait of noble vampires, even though he was caught off guard, he managed to grab the arrow in his hands, before it could hit his body.

    "You missed." Firsjen said, when he noticed, it was Amelia who shot him.

    "Did I?" Amelia said as her figure disappeared in space and came behind Firsjen next moment. "You''re exactly where I need you." Amelia said as she released another arrow, directly stabbing Firsjen into his back.

    Firsjen jumped from his original ce and moved a few steps forward. He turned around and only then did he remember this girl had the ability of space. He ignored it before because she never used this skill in this match and he thought she was saving mana or didn''t have enough mana to teleport.

    But it was toote now. The arrow in his hands and the one on his back glowed red and created a loud explosion. Throwing him off bnce and making him fall down to the ground.

    The sessive sts made his health drop at a rapid rate and eliminated him from this match.

    Before his figurepletely disappeared, he looked at Amelia, his eyes glowing brighter in anger and hatred when he looked at her leaving back, which ignored his existence.

    Amelia on the other hand, after dealing with the bloodsucker continued on her previous path and went to fight with the elf next, who was entangled with dealing with Katherine and the Grunter hat, who moved close to his hiding ce.

    Valtor on the other hand, had already eliminated Levi and joined hands with Katherine to deal with Jaesin first, instead of killing this beast. After all, this match wasn''t about killing monsters, and they''d get nothing with their continuous entanglement with it.

    With this 2 on 1 fight, it didn''t take long for Jaesin to get into a disadvantage. He had to constantly change his positions and due to the boss monsters running rampant, who destroyed nearby trees and kept waving it around like some sort of mace. Even now when it was looking tired after their long fight, each step of this monster was making the ground tremble under its pressure.

    If Rio saw this scene he would be sure to remember the scenes of King Kong running rampant in some Hollywood movie.

    But at this time, he was also busy dealing with someone else.

    Someone far more interesting and challenging than a little wild monkey.

    A viiness.

    And not just a normal viiness. But a viiness with a yandere tendency.

    Lucille Lionheart - A proper bloodthirsty mad woman, whose psychology is hard to describe and impossible to understand.

    When Rio read the original novel, he always wondered what kind of drugs, does the author has to be on to write such a character, or how much, does he has to hate the characters to write scenes where this girl killed them.

    And currently this funny and psychotic mad girl viiness was fighting with Leon.

    Reason, not for the match or to steal the token or anything - just cause this Leon guy ignored her and started fighting with another girl in front of her.

    No, don''t think she''s jealous or is in love with Leon or anything. I told you, her brain circuit is hard to understand with a normal brain.

    She was just upset for

    ???

    Well , who knows.

    Rio couldn''t guess it, so he just stood aside and enjoyed the show. While ying around with Rubina, the tribal heroine and Damon, the pitiful ything of the bullies. A few extras were also around, but since they were extras, Rio just killed them to avoid them being the limelight to spread the backdrop of Leon''s strength.

    After all, God knows which one of them will be the little brother or supporter of the protagonist further down the storylines. The little contact and impression they have of him, the better.

    Not to mention, he also got some points for killing them. But truth be told that was just a waste, he even stopped paying attention to those things since he had too many of them anyway.

    Damon, who was proficient only in poison arts and didn''t have any other skills, was trying his best to get close to Rio and hurt him. But every time he got close to him, Rio would just wave his hand and send him flying backwards.

    On the other hand, Rubina was attacking him close range. Her movements followed a weird set of animalistic patterns and guessing her next movement was incredibly hard.

    She held a short dagger in her right hand, but that was probably just for show or scare. She mainly used it to draw feints and confuse him. Since she mainly used her left hand to attack him with fists or kicks.

    These were all students of ss A-2, which was under the guidance of echo empress, professor Myth.

    Originally in their ss Damon held the token, and was the token bearer. He wasn''t the strongest, but he was given the role since he had lots of skill that released toxins and poisons in the air. And since the token bearer just had to stay in a circle, their n was just to keep Damon in a circle with poison all around him. Since he himself couldn''t get poisoned and others who entered could be weakened or killed by that poison, he could keep the token safe.

    But some time ago, two members of ss A-5 came and stole it from him and then ran away.

    This started a chase from Damon and his other ssmates, which led them here, and into this battle.

    Obviously Rio killed those two members of A-5 too and now he held another token in his hands.

    That''s why while this ss''s mad girl is busy on her rampage, ignoring her goal - others are trying to get their token back, so they can remove the debuff of no aura uses on them.

    But it was easier said than done. And most of their members were already killed by Rio instead.

 Chapter 260 Heroes and Villains

    <h4>Chapter 260 Heroes and Viins</h4>

    "Come on. Atleast fight me seriously." Rubina said while huffing loudly. Her hands resting on her knees.

    It''s been a while since she started fighting against Rio, yet all he has been doing is just passively blocking or avoiding her moves. At best, sometimes he''ll just try to imitate her moves and see if he can copy them and learn how she blocks them too - but that''s about all. Not once he took this fight seriously.

    She was the only one fighting against him, as Damon who was tossed around here and there countless times, finally couldn''t take it anymore, and few minutes ago when Rio pped him out again, he directly disappeared and didn''t wake up again.

    Originally after losing their token for more then 5 minutes, her ss should''ve been eliminated. But Rio hanged the student who was their next token bearer to a tree and bound the token to his feet.

    Now although the penalty of theirs was lifted, but they still couldn''t run away or avoid conflict. So they can just bite the bullet and continue fighting.

    Rubina''s other ssmates also came there following the location marked on their watches, but other then Lincoln and Lucille who were still fighting with Leon, everyone else was eliminated by Rio as soon as he saw them.

    Leon who was trapped in the circle as game rules indicated had to constantly deal with not one but two top rankers.

    Lincoln Korbil was just a stepping stone viin of the original novel. On paper, he was rted to the Count rank noble family of Klishto city. But Lincoln''s character was pped in the face every time he appeared on chapters.

    This guy was the main antagonist alongside Edward, responsible for crippling Leon 8 years ago during his awakening.

    For a second, Rio wanted to deal with this viin, so Leon doesn''t show off. But then he let it be.

    After all, these kind of idiots needs to be viinised so our protagonist can create more troubles and more enemies to p and y.

    Since Rio didn''t want to toy around Leon himself, why not let these idiots always create problems for him.

    As for the chance that Leon might get something good out of these conflicts. Humph, who can say that for sure.

    Originally Leon who was on equal strength with Lucille, was supposed to be on losing side with the extra arrival of Lincoln. But his halo shined, and somehow when he saw Lincoln again, along with his past hatred, his power also grew. And he was able to hold off both of his opponents and sometimes even getting an upper hand.

    But how can Rio let him kill his opponents easily. So every time, Leon was about to lend a serious injury on anyone, a misguided spell or some failed attack or some monster or person, would suddenly be thrown at him. Saving his enemies or distracting him.

    And Leon could just grit his teeth and try again.

    As for asking Rio to pay attention or any exnation. Sorry. Better not do it.

    Cause when he did, the next time those misfired spells or attacks missed their target, they ended up hitting him directly harder instead.

    "You have a technique simr to mine, right?" Rubina asked again as she charged at him in serpentine motion in zig zag pattern. As bursts of aura followed her steps and her speed increased even more.

    "I''ve seen you use that in training rooms and spars. Why don''t you use that instead of copying me?" Rubina asked, talking about Rio''s Druidic Dance technique. In essence that technique is simr to the art Rubina''s primitive tribe created after watching animals and living in forests all their life. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But as the reason of any protagonist''s chance is, Rio''s technique is still more refined and awesome.

    As for him performing it in open training rooms, well he doesn''t have many merit points to spare for always booking VIP facilities. So when he trained in those techniques, Rubina ''just happened'' to see him.

    "If you''re itching for it so much, I don''t mind killing you." Rio said with a smile and next moment his eyes turned sharp and Rubina felt like she was marked as pray by some fierce beast. Before she coulde to her senses, she felt a presence behind her, turning around she swiped her feet in a kicking motion, as well as stabbing the knife in her hands backwards in instict.

    Thinking to stab him once he lost his bnce after the kick.

    but what she hit with her knife wasn''t her opponents body, but empty air. While her leg felt like it just hit a wall.

    Feeling the stinging pain in her feet, she jumped back.

    But followed by her movements was a kick that sent her body crashing onto the nearby tree trunks.

    Spewing a mouthful of blood, she forced herself to stand again, but the color on her body was already glowing in amber. In just one kick, her health which was still around 60% dropped below 20%.

    "Was that enough?" Rio said, as he dusted his clothes, removing stains of Rubina''s shoes.

    "That''s it." Rubina said as she forced herself to stand up and smile as she wiped the blood from her lips. It had to be said, this barbaric tribal girl was quite fierce and cruel to herself.

    Rio watched as Rubina used some kind of secret technique or something which could boost her strength, but he didn''t nt to interrupt her.

    -trrrrcrrrr

    He was nning to y around with Rubina again, when he felt tremors in the ground below, and looked in the direction of forest.

    His eyes shone in silver as he looked at the resless birds flying in the air. Like they were running from something.

    As moments passed the tremors on the ground grew more and more clear, and everyone else could feel them too.

    When he wasing to find Leon after dealing with the sea monsters at the beginning, he had controlled a few small birds he came across and let them fly here and there.

    He just wanted to keep an eye out if something unexpected happened, and now those little birdies yed their role.

    ''Idiot'' Rio thought as his eyes followed the bird''s eyes'' views on the entire forest and he saw who was responsible for this situation.

    He saw in one direction where Reba, Amaya and Edward wereing towards his direction, while following behind them was an entire nest of monsters, and the students of ss A-5.

    While on the other hand, Amelia, Katherine and Valtor were leading the enraged Grunter towards him.

    Rio recognized the overgrown ape at a nce, but he didn''t know why Amelia needed to run away from it. Until he controlled the bird to fly down and saw the situation clearly.

    He noticed green vines wrapped around the Grunter''s hat tightly. Almost crushing his skull in their grip.

    But that wasn''t all, on the shoulder of this enraged beast, he noticed a figure standing straight.

    A girl with a calm expression and white hair flowing with the wind.

    She raised her eyes and looked at the flying bird for some time and then waved her hands.

    ''Saisha'' Rio thought in his heart, as he felt a little headache when his connection with the bird was cut off forcefully.

    ''So she''s here.''

 Chapter 261 Repeated shit by dumb author Sorry guys

    Chapter 261 Repeated shit by dumb author

    Sorry guys

    This one was a mess up on my part due to me beingzy and missing the timing and forgetting to write. I''ll fix it up by some backstory or shback or extra long fight someday.

    ##

    Come on. Atleast fight me seriously." Rubina said while huffing loudly. Her hands resting on her knees.

    It''s been a while since she started fighting against Rio, yet all he has been doing is just passively blocking or avoiding her moves. At best sometimes he''ll just try to imitate her moves and see if he can learn them and how she blocks them too, but that''s about all. Not once he took this fight seriously.

    She was the only one fighting against him, as Damon who was tossed around here and there finally couldn''t take it anymore, and few minutes ago when Rio pped him out again, he directly disappeared and didn''t wake up again.

    Originally after losing their token for more then 5 minutes, her ss should''ve been eliminated. But Rio hanged the student who was their next token bearer to a tree and bound the token to his feet.

    Now although the penalty of theirs was lifted, but they still couldn''t run away or avoid conflict. So they can just bite the bullet and continue fighting.

    Rubina''s other ssmates also came there following the location marked on their watches, but other then Lincoln and Lucille who were still fighting with Leon, everyone else was eliminated by Rio as soon as he saw them.

    Leon who was trapped in the circle as game rules indicated had to constantly deal with not one but two top rankers.

    Lincoln Korbil was just a stepping stone viin of the original novel. On paper, he was rted to the Count rank noble family of Klishto city. But Lincoln''s character was pped in the face every time he appeared on chapters.

    This guy was the main antagonist responsible for crippling Leon 8 years ago during his awakening.

    For a second, Rio wanted to deal with this viin, so Leon doesn''t show off. But then he let it be. After all, these kind of idiots needs to be viinised so our protagonist can create more troubles and more enemies to p and y.

    Since Rio didn''t want to toy around Leon himself, why not let these idiots always create problems for him.

    As for the chance that Leon might get something good out of these conflicts. Humph, who can say that for sure.

    Originally Leon who was on equal strength with Lucille, was supposed to be on losing side with the extra arrival of Lincoln. But his halo shined, and somehow when he saw Lincoln again, along with his past hatred, his power also grew. And he was able to hold off both of his opponents and sometimes even getting an upper hand.

    But how can Rio let him kill his opponents easily. So every time, Leon was about to lend a serious injury on anyone, a misguided spell or some failed attack or some monster or person, would suddenly be thrown at him. Saving his enemies or distracting him.

    And Leon could just grit his teeth and try again. As for asking Rio to pay attention or any exnation. Sorry. Better not do it.

    Cause when he did, next time those misfired spells or attacks wouldn''t miss their target and hit him directly instead.

    "You have a technique simr to mine, right?" Rubina asked again as she charged at him in serpentine motion in zig zag pattern. As bursts of aura followed her steps and her speed increased even more.

    "I''ve seen you use that in training rooms and spars. Why don''t you use that instead of copying me?" Rubina asked, talking about Rio''s Druidic Dance technique. In essence that technique is simr to the art Rubina''s primitive tribe created after watching animals and living in forests all their life. But as the reason of any protagonist''s chance is, Rio''s technique is still more refined and awesome.

    As for him performing it in open training rooms, well he doesn''t have many merit points to spare for always booking VIP facilities. So when he trained in those techniques, Rubina ''just happened'' to see him.

    "If you''re itching for it so much, I don''t mind killing you." Rio said with a smile and next moment his eyes turned sharp and Rubina felt like she was marked as pray by some fierce beast. Before she coulde to her senses, she felt a presence behind her, turning around she swiped her feet in a kicking motion, as well as stabbing the knife in her hands backwards in instict, but what she hit with her knife wasn''t her opponents body, but empty air.

    On the other hand, her leg felt like it just hit a wall. Feeling the stinging pain in her feet, she jumped back. But followed by her movements was a kick that sent her body crashing onto the nearby tree trunks.

    Spewing a mouthful of blood, she forced herself to stand again, but the color on her body was already glowing in amber. In just one kick, her health which was still around 60% dropped below 20%. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Was that enough?" Rio said, as he dusted his clothes, removing stains of Rubina''s shoes.

    He was nning to y around with Rubina again, when he felt tremors in the ground below, and looked in the direction of forest.

    His eyes shone in silver as he looked at the resless birds flying in the air. Like they were running from something.

    As moments passed the tremors on the ground grew more and more clear, and everyone else could feel them too.

    When he wasing to find Leon after dealing with the sea monsters at the beginning, he had controlled a few small birds he came across and let them fly here and there. He just wanted to keep an eye out if something unexpected happened, and now those little birdies yed their role.

    ''Idiot'' Rio thought as his eyes followed the bird''s eyes'' views on the entire forest and he saw who was responsible for this situation.

    He saw in one direction where Reba, Amaya and Edward wereing towards his direction, while following behind them was an entire nest of monsters, and the students of ss A-5.

    While on the other hand, Amelia and Valtor were leading the enraged Grunter towards him.

    Rio recognized the overgrown ape at a nce, but he didn''t know why Amelia needed to run away from it. Until he controlled the bird to fly down and saw the situation clearly.

    He noticed green vines wrapped around the Grunter''s hat tightly. Almost crushing his skull in their grip. But that wasn''t all, on the shoulder of this enraged beast, he noticed a figure standing straight.

    A girl with a calm expression and white hair flowing with the wind. She raised her eyes and looked at the flying bird for some time and then waved her hands.

    ''Saisha'' Rio thought in his heart, as he felt a little headache when his connection with the bird was cut off forcefully.

    ''So she''s here.''

 Chapter 262 Herds and illusions

    Chapter 262 Herds and illusions

    Some time ago, Reba along with Amaya and Edward was fighting with Elroy and his team in a swamp area.

    It was a 3 vs 5 fight. Unfair to them from the very beginning as everyone''s mana was sealed at the same level. In the beginning they were evenly matched and Reba even managed to get the upper hand in that fight eliminating two students of ss A-5 despite the disadvantage in numbers.

    But then when she felt her mana drained and tired after fighting for so long, something unexpected happened.

    Backup arrived.

    Not for her, but for the opposing team.

    Qingyue Grayborn, the daughter of the Duke of Thidrol city. She was ranked 5th in entrance exams with an awakener rank of D-.

    The fight which Reba thought she could solve with some effort became difficult instantly with her joining the tide. And this situation further worsened when Amaya who was in the middle of her spell got interrupted and suffered a bacsh by the arrival of Qingyue.

    "There''s no point in continuing to fight. We''ll only end up getting eliminated. Let''s leave first and find others." Amaya suggested from the side, after seeing their current situation.

    Seeing no choice to win this fight, Reba also nodded her head and decided to run away from it and find her own teammates for support first.

    -Floor of Frost

    -Mist of Misfortune

    With an AOE spell that used basically all the remaining mana she had, Reba froze the entire ground around her enemies, freezing them for some time. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Edward also used one of his skills called Mist of Misfortune, which created white mist in the surrounding area. Affecting everyone who is trapped within to fall into a period of bad luck.

    <It was a skill taught to the followers of goddess Jyeshtha, also referred as kshmi. She''s the goddess of adversity and misfortune in hindu myths.>

    Making use of this period, Reba, Amaya and Edward left that area.

    But since it''s the fight of 2 heroines how could it end so easily and without any ident.

    So by some ''fate'' while all three of them were on their way to run, Edward who was at the front, responsible for clearing the path, killed a small beast who was in their way. Resulting in a mass outrage of the entire nest of monsters who suddenly appeared all around them and started attacking them.

    Reba had no idea how she could be so unlucky today. First she got dumped into a swallowing swamp. Then lost a fight against her opponents and now ended up angering a whole horde of beasts.

    Yet Edward, who was running fastest now had a grim look on his face and his fists were clenched tightly.

    ''Damn these side effects'' he cursed in his heart while ncing constantly at the time to see when he''d have his luck back and not suffer any ident in between.

    Misfortune, Luck, Karma - these things are tooplicated to be touched by mortals relying just on gods or their given skills without proper strength or understanding.

    That''s why they always contain some kind of bacsh on the user too.

    Rio''s skill given by Shani also had a painful bacsh of severe mental strain. And Edward, too, had a bacsh of receiving bad luck in return for half the time his enemies had.

    It''s like hurting 1000 points to the enemy and getting 500 damage to yourself.

    eptable and tolerable but not nice.

    "Let''s hope our token bearer isn''t trapped or surrounded by other teams." Edward muttered as he shed the necks of a few beasts who were jumping in front of him.

    Reba nced behind her where a group of Roozarks followed them closely.

    Roozarks resemblerge, aggressive kangaroos ?? but have a more menacing appearance. They stand tall at around 6-7 feet, with muscr bodies covered in thick, coarse fur. Their fur patterns vary from mottled grays and browns to earthy tones, providing excellent camouge.

    Roozarks possess powerful hind legs ending in razor-sharp, wed feet, enabling them to leap great distances and deliver devastating kicks inbat. Their forelimbs also have sharp ws used for tearing through prey or enemies. Their mouths harbor rows of sharp teeth suited for tearing flesh, making them formidable predators. Roozarks also sport a long, serrated, and scaled tail, which they wield with dexterity, often used for bnce while hopping or as a weapon inbat.

    Their race is peaceful by nature, and they like to live in groups or herds, but once provoked or challenged they''ll have a fierce reaction to it.

    Seeing these animals constantly jumping here and there, front and side Reba couldn''t help but curse in her heart.

    ''Where''s that dump pair of brother and sister? Did they encounter something like this too?'' Reba couldn''t help but shout and then be worried in her heart.

    "Be careful, those pests from back then areing behind you too." Edward said, as he sensed the traps heid while running getting triggered.

    Amaya looked over her shoulders and saw Qingyue and Elroy who were almost catching up with them.

    -Twin Mirage

    Elroy, seeing the animals jumping all around his opponents and them dodging their attacks directly, used his illusion skill called Twin Mirage.

    Instantly the number of Roozarks around Reba and others doubled and it became hard to determine which one was real and which one was just an illusion. This made dodging the attacks of these jumping clowns much harder and Edward who was still suffering from low luck bacsh, got hit a few times and rolled on the ground. Triggering his own traps and getting sted into the sky.

    "Fuuck" Edward cursed when he felt the stinging pain all over his body. But he stood up again and started fighting with the Roozarks who surrounded him from all sides.

    ''Is it over this time?'' Reba thought as she looked at the purple haired Qingyue girl who was getting closer and closer to them.

    -caw caw-

    Just when she was thinking if this test was too hard to win easily, she heard something and looked up where a ck crow was hovering in circles.

    A smile came to her face as shouted "Keep running, we''re almost there." Reba said, as she started using her aura reserves to help Edward and move forwards where an idiot was watching the drama from.

    Amaya too sensed something and stopped acting ''fragile'' and got serious for the first time.

    ''No point in getting eliminated, let''s watch some fights first.'' She thought and activated her spell.

    -Silence

    A spell which covered an area of 20 meters all around Amaya, silencing everything.

 Chapter 263 Gathering before the group battle

    <h4>Chapter 263 Gathering before the group battle</h4>

    Amaya''s silence skill created an environment around her which calmed everything. Where except her movements nothing else could make any noise.

    This skill allowed her to stop and intercept her enemies from chanting any new magic spells. And if there are monsters around, it can also influence them to be peaceful and silent.

    With just one spell of hers she spent nearly all her mana, her face turned pale and sweat drops formed over her forehead, but her lips were curled up in a slight smile as she saw Elroy''s illusions disappear and the crow which was hovering above them moving away.

    ''Was that a coincidence or did he know about it?'' Amaya wondered as she noticed the crow flying just outside her spell range boundary.

    ''Interesting'' she thought and smiled.

    Seeing the sudden change in their surroundings, Reba and Edward gave Amaya a surprised nce for a few seconds, which she pretended not to notice.

    "This spell won''tst long. So just kill as many of them as you can." Amaya said, looking at them and closed her eyes, trying to recover her mana.

    ''If you had something like this, why watch us make a fool of ourselves all this time.'' Edward thought internally.

    He scoffed at her and then moved in a sh, running into the pack of Roozarks who were still stunned by Amaya''s spell. Roozarks main ability was their living in groups and agility if you count, but since now they were standing still confused and lost, it wasn''t hard to kill them at all.

    In just a sh of his sword Edward managed to kill 2 of them instantly and then he kept moving forward, sshing necks and blood everywhere his stepsnded.

    Reba too started her attacks, but not on Roozarks, but on Elroy who was spitting blood due to the bacsh of his skill.

    Some spells require constant casting and some could just be used by imagining their effects - it alles down to their level and mastery.

    Elroy had just recently learned this mirage spell, and stillcked the control over it, thus Amaya who noticed it for awhile now, managed to hurt him with her Silence.

    "Not so fast, Princess." Qingyue, who was a bit behind Elroy, shook off the effects of Silence, and came between Elroy and Reba.

    "Let''s have a rematch." She said and charged her spear with her mana.

    "Grow up, Yue." Reba said smirking as the purple haired girl turned a bit blue in anger.

    "I''ll shut your smile once and for all, Princess." Qingyue said while puffing out her in chest subconsciously.

    -hum haha-

    Reba chuckled seeing her actions, making Qingyue even more annoyed.

    Qingyue waved her spear as arcs of mana left her de and moved to cut down Reba. While Qingyue herself moved her legs and gave Reba a kick in her stomach, trying to wipe that smirk off her face.

    The scene where Reba bent down and she pped her with a backhand or shed her head with her spear appeared in Qingyue''s head, and inevitably her lips curled up in another sneer.

    "You''re still the same as ever. So udy-like." Reba moved back a step, dodging her kick and shattering her dreamy thoughts.

    Then using her momentum instead of charging back to fight, Reba just turned around and continued running on her previous path. "See youter, Yue."

    Reba shouted and disappeared in a sh.

    "You _ " Qingyue shouted and tried to follow her, when a scream interrupted her thoughts. Turning around she saw that while she was busy fighting with Reba, Edward already cleared their path- and Roozarks, who felt scared to get close to Amaya, turned back and started attacking Elroy.

    Seeing her teammate who was fighting 5 of those beasts alone, and was almost dying, Qingyue stopped chasing Reba and others and turned back to save her partner.

    ''I''ll see how long you can run, Princess. I''ll beat you and that little gobbler together one day.'' Qingyue sweared in her heart as she fought against Roozarks, imagining them with the faces of different people she wanted to teach a lesson to.

    Reba didn''t know her thoughts, otherwise she would reallyugh and ask, what''s the reason to be so mad about - all they did was just a little prank.

    She gave her a beautiful dress but with high chest space, and Amy gave her a boy''s shirt seeing her in runway.

    There''s no reason to be mad for so long over it. Right.

    ''Grow up'' and get over it. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    On the other side of the forest.

    Amelia, Valtor and Katherine were trying to kill Jaesin and the Grunter hat, when just before theirbined attack could kill both of them, a shield made of tree roots covered Jaesin and pulled him back. While ropes made of branches wrapped around everyone''s legs and pulled them in the air.

    Caught off guard, the three of them lost bnce and flung into mid air.

    But eliminating them wasn''t that easy.

    The next moment Valtor used his skill ''Shadow Transfer'' and teleported directly where his shadow was made. On the ground.

    Other hand, Amelia just used her space mastery to teleport away from this trap.

    Katherine, on the other hand, was the easiest of them all. Instead of using spells or wasting her mana, she waved her body in the air a few times. Creating high rolling momentum. After some time, she pulled the knife from under her belt and spread her hands whole.

    Moving her body again, she raised the knife in her hands, coating it''s edges with aura. She cut down the rope binding her legs in one move and fell down the ground.

    Before her body touched the ground, she did a flip in the air andnded on her feet. (A perfect superheronding)

    "Be careful, someone''s here." Katherine said, as she looked around and didn''t find anybody.

    Just when Amelia and her were looking around carefully a loud scream echoed in the forest, nearly bursting out their eardrums.

    �Caahhehhrhrr roar

    "Wha_ is that?" Amelia asked as she covered her ears in pain with her trembling hands.

    Katherine, who was quick in response, managed to cover her ears with mana to suppress the ringing sensation, looked up towards the raging monster they''ve been fighting all this time.

    Grunter hat who was nearly tired and suspended , healed from all his injuries miraculously. And started beating his chest while jumping wildly, in anger and pain.

    On Grunter''s head were vines wrapped tightly. And every now and then, sounds of click or ck were ringing out too. Making the monster howl in pain all over again.

    ''The white elf'' Katherine thought, as she looked at Saisha standing over the shoulder at Grunter and pressing her hands over his forehead.

    As grunter raised his hands to hold his skull or bash this fly away, trees moved near him and turned to chains, who tied his paws.

    The 9 foot beast lost the color in his eyes for a few seconds and then stopped struggling and roaring in pain.

    ''Did she knock it out, or did she control it?'' Amelia wondered as she noticed Saisha too.

    But her question was answered when Saisha released the monster, and the Grunter jumped towards Valtor and started attacking them.

    ''Damn it.'' Amelia cursed seeing Valtor''s figure flying in the air after suffering a fist to the stomach. Seeing no chance to win it in short terms, she just turned around to leave where she felt her brother''s mana.

    She had already exhausted herself in previous exchanges , and not to mention as Rio always said, there''s no point in fighting a losing battle. Or showing all their tricks in trials like this.

    Ignoring a challenge is always better than losing it. (Said by a guy who fought and got beaten)

 Chapter 264 The crazy bitch - system lets scan her brain

    264 The crazy bitch - system let''s scan her brain

    Rip looked at the situation on the both sides and smiled. His birds were still circling over Reba, but for Amelia he was blindsided. Saisha killed the bird he controlled, and seeing how easily she did it, there was no point in sending others.

    ''Looks like it''s time end this little y.'' Rio thought and looked at Leon.

    ncing at how he was still fighting with Lucille and Lincoln, Rio just sighed and waved his hand.

    A force of attraction pulled Lucille away from the range Leon could move.

    "Damn it, I was just about to kill him?" Lucille shouted as she turned around and red at Rio.

    "Delusions doesn''t suit the style of your family, little lion." Rio teasingly said before disappearing from his ce.

    Lucille stared around and raised her sword in defense to dodge or attack him instinctively, but before she could be prepared a wave of pain hit her brain along with Rio''s yful words.

    "You can''t even hold a sword properly. Is this what he taught you? Where''s the spirit of Lionheart''s? Or was that just a joke, wasted on bastards?" Rio said kicking the sword away, as he exerted more force, twisting her hand, until he heard the sound of her bones dislocating.

    "Shut your mouth. Or I''ll _ " Lucille said with gritted teeth as her eyes turned red in anger and pain.

    "Or you''ll what? Goin to ghosts or gods again?" Rio said interrupting her threats. He pulled his hand back, and Lucille dropped to her knees. She tried to move her right hand but failed to lift it up or move.

    She looked up at Rio in anger and hatred, as the pain made it harder for her to focus on casting any magic spells or control her element. Not to mention she was already low on mana due to her previous fight with Leon.

    Rio didn''t care about the murderous eyes of this viiness and ignored thempletely. Instead seeing them he even smiled and bent down to her level.

    Reaching his hand near her throat and face close to her ears, he whispered "Tell me, Do they still listen to you nowadays? Or did they abandon you too?"

    "You _ how _ " Lucille''s face paled instantly as she heard Rio''s words. The previous look of hatred and anger disappeared from her face and only horror covered it, draining all the luster from her ruddy face.

    She hated this guy from the moment he interrupted her fight with that dandy ranker. And then the more he made fun of her being a bastard or illegitimate, the more she hated him. She even thought of killing him somehow.

    Yet his final words put all her thoughts to halt.

    ''He knows''

    That''s what''s been echoing in her mind ever since Rio finished his yful whispers.

    She was just an illegitimate child. Born when a noble was too drunk on drugs to distinguish between his wife and her maid.

    She had spent her whole childhood in that house being ignored, yed and trampled upon. Scarring her innocent heart and turning it into stone.

    Yet she lived there through all that suffering without anyint, because her mother was there.

    "Awaken and you''ll be able to stop this suffering for yourself and your mother."

    Those words were the ones that gave hope to her in those dark times.

    And so she stayed silent.

    Through all her torments, all her suffering and bullying - she kept shush.

    Just so the ''heroic'' Lionheart family would spare some change and arrange for her the ceremony necessary for awakening.

    And all her hard work and prayers were answered.

    She awakened.

    And just like that man said, her situation changed..

    From being the illegitimate child that no one wanted, to being the heiress of that entire house.

    All because of her awakening that power.

    A power tomunicate with something, this world couldn''t understand.

    Yet no one knows, the great power that brought her all her glory and pride, was simply a hoax now.

    It''s not real.

    At least not anymore.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t tell anyone." Rio said to her and lifted her up by neck.

    Her body was light, way too lightpared to all the weight his mother had him drag around in his training, so he just picked her up and choked her.

    "Did Nyx (cough cough) tell you?" Lucille struggled to speak despite feeling the strength leaving her body, the more tight his grip became.

    She never told anyone when her powers stopped working. Not even her mother. Cause she knew if anyone found out, that would be the end of her blissful life.

    But somehow this guy knew.

    ''Why does everyone just think it''s always Nyx''s doing whenever I pull something awesome. Does anyone know how much of a miser she is in reality?''

    Rio cursed in his heart and didn''t rify to Lucille about how he knew her secret. After all, he couldn''t tell he knew of the plot and that''s why he knew about her failing powers.

    Hell he knew more about them than she ever knew in her whole life.

    But that was all for the future.

    "Tel mi?" Lucilled spoke with teary eyes as her face turned red and blue.

    "Next time." Rio said and twisted her neck. Ending her life.

    Her body lost its strength and fell limp on the ground.

    Rio turned around and decided to eliminate Rubina and Lincoln too. Maybe even Leon.

    "Hmmm!!!

    He took only one step when he frowned and turned around. He looked at Lucille''s body which was still on the ground and didn''t disappear and frowned even more.

    ''This bitch is really insane'' Rio thought and kicked her ''corpse'' and jumped away.

    ��booooooom

    What followed that kick was a loud st ofpressed mana and a shockwave that sted him away.

    "Even after death she blew herself up, just to mess with me." Rio thought and dusted his clothes. Though he was fine, since he sensed the abnormality of mana and kicked her away. But this st spell still managed to drop his health by 10% or so.

    ''She''s just like in the novel. Bat shit crazy. It''s clear that I''m ckmailing her, but she still has to do this for god knows why?'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''System, next time we see her. Let''s do a scan of her brain. I''m sure something is very, very wrong with it.''

    Afterining in his heart about this oddball''s thinking progress. Rio tried to use his mana to heal his injuries. After all, no matter how little they were, he still didn''t like them on his body.

    "What the fuck?" Rio said as he tried to channel his mana, but couldn''t sense it anymore.

    Just when he was confused, a few notifications popped up on his watch.

    [Your team has lost the token.]

    [Time left to get it back 01:56 - 55 - 54.]

    Looking at the countdown on his watch Rio had question marks on his forehead, then he thought of something and looked at Leon''s ce, which was turned into arge crater with smoke still bellowing through air.

    ''that idiot didn''t get blown up, did he?''

 Chapter 265 When everyone gathers

    265 When everyone gathers

    -cough cough-

    Leon stood up from the ground with difficulty, coughing some blood and debris from his mouth.

    He had just killed Lincoln when suddenly something crashed onto his body and then _ and then.. ��

    As if sensing something he moved his hands along his waist, only to see he had lost the token of his ss. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Did it got blown up?''

    ''No, it must have fallen around here somewhere.''

    Leonforted himself, and through his injuries and pain with gritted teeth he forced himself to stand up and look for it.

    ''Apollo, did you see something? Can you find it?'' Leon asked his God as he couldn''t see anything.

    Apollo who was watching this whole scene sighed and stayed silent for a few seconds, but then still decided to answer.

    [Stop looking around, it didn''t fall off in the st. Someone stole it from you.]

    "What? But how _" Leon blurted out as he heard Apollo''s answer.

    [Calm down and think about everything again. Ohh and be careful around that girl.] Apollo finished his words of advice and turned his eyes away.

    In the realm far away from the reach of mortals, a handsome looking God whose face radiated light and perfection bashed his hand on his throne, sending shockwaves in his entire empty hall.

    "Damn it, first Nyx, then H and now Gaia. Why are they all interfering more then they were supposed to." Apollo cursed loudly as he sensed the magic from Saisha.

    "If all this goes on, can I really finish what I started?" He wondered in his heart and clenched his fists in anger. "No, I have to speed up his progress. Or he''ll only be killed just like the others."

    He made a decision and nced up at the sky where he could see three distant suns shinning just as bright as the one behind him, if not even more.

    ''I have to do it.''

    Back on Arcadia

    After hearing Apollo''s words, Leon closed his eyes and thought about everything again. Just as his eyes closed, his brain became clear and all the pain and thoughts seemed to disappear. His memories yed in his mind about the scenario moments ago.

    16:52

    But in slow and clear motion, just like a movie

    Leon watched as he killed Lincoln and how Lucille''s body crashed onto him and created a st. Sending him flying across the trees.

    ''I still had the token at this time.'' Leon thought as he looked at his flying figure and the token hanging on his waist.

    But then something unexpected happened.

    He saw as a white blur passed in front of his eyes and his token disappeared.

    Focusing even more, Leon imagined this scene in his mind again. And this time, he clearly saw who or what it was.

    Leon looked as how the moment he was hit by Lucille''s body, a figure had appeared in his zone and then when he was hit, they used some kind of agility spell and then stole the token and dashed away before the st.

    "Saisha" Leon muttered and looked around carefully. To say he was shocked by this degree of difference between him and her was an understatement.

    He hated this feeling of powerlessness. Of being at the mercy of others. And that''s what fueled his rage and emotions.

    He was about to rush towards the girl who was standing in front of him, just outside his zone, when the ground beneath his feet cracked and he was knocked back again.

    "Stay in your line." Rio said as he stopped Leon from leaving his boundary.

    ''God knows what kind of scenario he''ll trigger if I let him fight in front of all these heroines.'' Rio thought as he saw Reba who arrived near him, followed by Qingyue and her team.

    "Can''t you even protect the token?" Rebained as she looked at him.

    "That''s not my job." Rio said as he looked at Amaya behind him. "Go and help Amy. I''ll handle the token and everyone else."

    Reba looked at the side where Amelia, Katherine and Valtor were still fighting with grunter hat.

    But it was more of a beat down then a fight now. As without mana, all of them were just getting hit here and there. Even though they could dodge grunter''s main attacks with their speed and aura, but the shockwaves that followed every swing of that giant ape still hurt them every time.

    "Just let her get beaten a few times." Reba said and moved away before Rio could hit her head for saying that.

    As soon as Amaya and Reba left to help fight Grunter, the shadow behind Rio emerged from the ground and stood beside him. Next the figure made of pure darkness took Rio''s formpletely, and other then the ck wisps of smoke lingering around his body, there was no difference between both of them.

    "Don''t let them interfere." Rio gave amand and his avatar disappeared from his ce. Arriving just behind Qingyue, who was moving to fight with Reba and Amelia.

    -nk-

    Qingyue turned her spear in a hurry as she felt the presence behind her and the sound of metal shing against each other rang out.

    Qingyue''s feet scratched on the ground for two steps before she stopped. She felt a slight sting of pain in her wrists, as she tried to stop the shaking of her spear.

    "You _ why do you always have to jump into a girl''s fight?" Qingyueined as she looked at ''Rio'' in front of him.

    -Maic Pull

    -Iron Maiden thrust

    -Bronze Echo

    -Mercury''s Master

    One by one she used her spells, some which strengthened her, giving her more speed and dexterity. While some which directly attacked Rio''s avatar.

    Yet all her attacks were in vain as the shadow avatar simply walked through them without any difort or distortion.

    "Not again." Qingyue cursed as she created a shield of metal in her hands to protect herself from the iing attack.

    But the expected attack didn''tnd on her, looking around she noticed the avatar in front of her ignored and moved towards the big beast fighting with others.

    "Stupid" Qingyue cursed herself for ignoring the beast and directly moved to intercept ''Rio'' but Reba who noticed her signalled Amy and both of them stopped her in between.

    ''Rio'' shed at the monster''s head again and again, breaking all the vines binding its  head and healing him constantly. Though the grunter attacked him too, but the physical attacks or those hat hallucination drugs didn''t affect this shadow avatar at all. So it didn''t take long for him to break the magic of Saisha controlling this beast.

    Killing this beast was hard, but ''Rio'' along with Katherine and Valtor - it was suspected it won''t take long for it to fall.

    Qingyue who was fighting with both Reba and Amelia, was having an easy time to vent her anger -when her teammates also joined her.

    Elroy, Ziona and Hermann.

    But Hermann who noticed Leon looking half dead, ignored his ssmates and went forward to kill him instead. After all, knowing the gap between both of them, he wasn''t sure he''ll get many chances to beat this bastard himself.

    On the other hand, the real Rio looked at Saisha in front of him, who was holding a sword in her hands as arrows made of wood constantly floated behind her back.

    "Let''s end this." Rio said and his figure dashed towards her with all his speed. Though without mana it had a significant drop, but still enough to crack the ground beneath his feet and leaving a blur behind him.

 Chapter 266 Mercy of a Madman

    <h4>Chapter 266 Mercy of a Madman</h4>

    Rio''s steps moved faster and faster the closer he got to Saisha. Who just stood there staring at him while constantly shooting wooden sticks which turned into arrows and floated behind her.

    Besides Saisha, Jaesin also appeared and with a bow artifact in his hands he constantly rained arrows on Rio''s figure. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were shaking in anger and fear.

    Fear, which had been haunting him at nights till date whenever he remembered the scene from the library.

    ording to the healers at the academy he was perfectly fine and the effects of that blessing were already removed.

    But reality is often a different case of disappointment.

    His mental state had been shaken since then, and it''s not wrong to say that he had built a sort of psychological shadow for Rio. Not to mention the amplified hatred he felt while he was in pain at that time which brought back and amplified all the things he forgot or buried in his mind.

    And now that there was a chance where he could kill Rio and have his revenge, he wasn''t going to let go of such a golden chance.

    Wooden spikes shot from the ground stabbing Rio''s legs when his feetnded on the ground, as he created bindings which held him in ce, while constantly shooting a barrage of arrows at him every second.

    ''Die, die, die'' He yelled in his heart as the scene where Rio''s body was riddled with arrows with him screaming and wriggling in pain appeared in his mind and a twisted smile formed on his face.

    "This is what you get for messing with me, human. I''ll make you regret ever crossing paths with me." Jaesin cursed and ran towards Rio who was trying his best to dodge or avoid the attacks from Saisha.

    "Stupid worm." Rio said as he channeled his fighting technique called ''Mercy of a Madman''.

    It was a battle technique he found in Zenith''s library and decided to learn it when he first joined the academy.

    This method was honed by a demonic sect within a controlled open dungeon managed by the World Association.

    A fighting style best suited for criminals, berserkers or pure aura users. It enhanced the physical abilities of the user and transformed his rage into power. Something like burning blood essence and sense of sanity to gain more power and stamina.

    This technique is deeply rooted in unpredictability, revolving around inflicting harm on adversaries through relentless and erratic attacks, emphasizing torment and cruelty. Each move, designed to torment or toy with one''s adversaries.

    Originally this technique was called ''Demonic Rage'' but due to the ruthless way those demonic practitioners used it, over time anyone else who saw it called it as ''Mercy of a Madman'' - simply meaning, that those utilizing this technique are considered madmen, making death a more merciful fate for their opponents.

    Why did Rio learn a technique that can affect one''s brain or turn him into a madman, well because when the choice was between remaining sane and remaining alive, he chose theter.

    In his time at the dungeon when his body was low on mana and aura to fight those creatures, sacrificing a little bit of sanity to y those zombies is a cheaper price to pay.

    Plus turns out this technique is much nicer when one learns to control it properly.

    As for its side effects, well they were removed once he got the system back and modified it a little.

    "You''re still spouting nonsense, even when you''re like this huh." Jaesin smirked and shot another arrow which pierced Rio''s shoulder and went straight inside. "Let''s see how long you can keep up your arrogant act."

    Rio shed his sword in a circr motion, chopping the ''sticks'' shot by Saisha in half as he ran towards her, totally ignoring Jaesin''s existence.

    "I don''t like wasting time with woodworms." Rio said as he asked the system to throw this idiot away from him, so as to not dirty his eyes.

    [Deducted 200 points.]

    System said and next second Jaesin who was still cursing and shouting disappeared from his ce and appeared inside the circle of token bearer. Not to mention, the arrows he shot went straight for Leon, hitting him on the shoulder. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ???

    Question marks appeared on Jaesin and Leon''s face as they both stared at each other, wondering where this idiot popped out from.

    "Good that you''re here too. Let''s kill him together." Hermann, who was losing against Leon, saw that there was someone else near him, and directly pulled him into attacking Leon, calling him a partner.

    And as expected, Leon who heard the words of Hermann looked at Jaesin with some anger in his eyes and directly shot an arc of mes at him. (Not a magic spell, but a sword technique which can create fire effects.)

    Since it''s one of Hermann''s friends, who''s always been creating problems for him , he didn''t have to show mercy.

    Hermann smiled in his heart seeing Leon''s reaction and directly charged forward, trying to use Jaesin as a distraction and kill Leon.

    "What are you standing there for, shoot some more arrows." Hermann was afraid that this elf might turn back and run away, so he didn''t forget to call for Jaesin again, who was still wondering how he appeared there or where Rio was?

    "Let''s kill him first."

    Jaesin too came out of his thoughts hearing Hermann and dodged the ''fireball'' which was about to hit him.

    ''Doesn''t matter how? This guy is also his teammate, so I''ll kill you first and then find that bastard.'' Jaesin said and prepared his bow and shot two arrows at Leon.

    Rio didn''t see this situation happening with Leon or he''d be sure to give system and Hermann apliment for being good viins.

    But currently he was busy fighting with Saisha, who seemed surprisingly calm about everything.

    Mana was a no go due to the penalty of losing the token and his aura was already getting used up pretty fast for maintaining his avatar.

    "How did you do that? You can''t use mana or blessings?" Saisha asked as she waved her hands and created a few traps and arrows to maintain her distance. Which was getting harder and harder the closer he came.

    Hearing her question Rio ignored it as he ignored the memories ying around in his head, and directly shed his sword, bouncing an arrow that was about to hit him back at her.

 Chapter 267 Aurora Volley and trash protagonist

    <h4>Chapter 267 Aurora Volley and trash protagonist</h4>

    "You seem angry." Saisha said as she stooped the wooden arrow in front of her before it could hit her. "Is it the technique that you''re using?" She said as she noticed none of her attacksnded on him yet.

    "Seems good. But it''s not wise to use something that has long term side effects, don''t you think?"

    ''Can''t she just shut up?'' Rio thought in his heart as he looked at his system panel.

    ''How much longer do I need to y around? Can''t you do your scans some other time. It''s getting on my nerves now.'' Rio said seeing no response from his system.

    [She''s an anomaly host. If you want to know what''s wrong with her, let me do my job. Unless of course you want Gaia burying you underground the moment you step out of this VR.]

    ''Useless'' Rio thought as he kept moving around dodging the arrows that seemed never ending.

    Just before he started fighting her, his system jumped up and asked to do a scan of her to find all the changes she hadpared to her novel counterpart. Rio agreed thinking it''ll be done in the background instantly after spending some points, but this damn system nearly took all him time and was still not reliable.

    "Are you stalling for time, or waiting for something else?" Saisha, who noticed Rio not doing anything, asked again. "It''s already been more than a minute, you might get eliminated if you don''t get the token back. Maybe all your teammates will get eliminated first too."

    [Done. You can let loose now.]

    Just when Rio was getting angsty again after hearing non stop chatter from her, his system informed him that it''s scans were done.

    ''So, what did you find? Where''s Gaia?''

    [You wanna discuss that now, cause she''s getting serious it seems.] System said as it noticed Saisha who made a bow from her elemental magic and started chanting a spell to enhance it.

    ''Don''t ever meddle in my fights like this again.'' Rio said final words to his system before dashing straight at Saisha.

    The trapsid before him kept getting triggered, as every step he took the ground below him turned into small pits trying to bury him, while wines wiggled over ground trying to entangle him and pull him back.

    But they were all useless as his speed increased several times what he was using before, as his hands kept swishing through air leaving a blur trail behind them when he kept cutting through the wines and knocking down the arrowsing towards him.

    "So you finally decided to take this match seriously." Saisha said and pulled the bowstring back till her shoulders. An arrow formed with her fingers and gleaming in a silvery glow.

    Aurora Embrace

    Taking a look at Rio''s movements which seemed erratic and unpredictable at first nce, she released her fingers. As the arrow whizzed through the bow, while the bowstring kept shaking a few times.

    Her hair moved a little following the little air hitting her face, which she pulled back behind her ears and locked them with a wooden pin. Her lips curled up in a satisfied smile as she saw the arrow hitting her mark perfectly.

    Rio, who saw the glowing arrownd near his feet, had a frown on his face, as he instantly turned back and jumped high.

    ''I should''ve burned this damn book in that library.'' Rio cursed in his heart, seeing Saisha perfectly using a technique made for Leon.

    Aurora Embrace, was one of the skills which was written in the archery technique Aurora Volley, which Saisha picked from the library instead of Leon. and Seeing how she was already using this technique in a way which took Leon a first semester to understand, Rio could just say this protagonist was really trash.

    This move was meant for defense which could erect barriers around the user was used by Saisha to trap him in ce. And with her nature element, she could literally squeeze him inside.

    But since he knew all of the moves of this technique, it also meant he knew ways to counter them.

    Nothing serious, he just had theories about what he''d do if somehow Leon still managed to get this technique someday.

    This was a thing Rio would do with Leon''s every supposed art and skill written in the book. Trying to think up ways to counter them or make them better in his free time.

    He had a dozen methods ready to stop this technique from harming him, if he still had his mana and blessings, or hell his aura avatar too. But dealing with it with his physical body alone, that was gonna be hard.

    So it''s best to turn back and avoid getting trapped.

    "Your senses are pretty good seeing you managed to avoid that." Saisha said as she pulled the bowstring and shot sessive arrows on him continuously. ''Let''s see if you can dodge them.''

    Celestial Barrage

    As her arrows left the bowstring they flew into the sky for some time and then turned around and started falling over Rio''s head. Each arrow turned into two and then four and eight and so on and so forth.

    Soon enough the entire sky over their head was filled with tiny dots which grew bigger as they came close to the ground.

    For a moment the sky was turned dark and shadows of countless snakes moving around formed on the clouds. But as those arrows crossed the clouds and came into clear view, they started glowing brighter and brighter. Pushing away the previous darkness and allowing light, which was blinding just to look at.

    Arrows started falling to the ground like rain drops, each piercing itself deep into the earth, leaving small cracks surrounding it. Even hitting the other members who were busy in their own fights.

    Everyone had to halt their fights and turn to look for cover or move out of the range of this attack.

    [Stopughing at Leon and focus on your own match.] System said to Rio, who was standing on a tree top looking at Leon who was just about to kill Hermann but these arrows interrupted him.

    ''You''re the one who wasted more than one minute of my time. Can''t I just enjoy myself a little bit now.'' Rio said as he waved his sword, cutting the tree he was standing on in two parts from the middle.

    He fell straight down and Saisha lost sight of him for a second in the leaves and branches. When with a loud thud the tree trunks fell to the ground, sshing dust and smoke everywhere. Along came shing sounds everywhere, as sparks flew into the dusty smoke.

    Arcs of air shot through Rio''s sword due to pressure and high speed andnded on the ground all around him. Creating long crater marks.

    Along with the rain of arrows Saisha shot down, the originally hard and t ground turned unrecognizable, asyers of t pieces flew everywhere.

    And in all this chaos ran a figure straight through, shing at the only light shining still in the middle.

    -nk- n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The metallic sound rang through the air as Rio''s sword shed at the bow cutting it in two, as his left hand grabbed the shining arrow right before it could stab through his skin.

    ''''Game over" He spoke for the first time to her, as he threw the sword in his hand which also shattered after impact to the ground.

 Chapter 268 The ending

    <h4>Chapter 268 The ending</h4>

    Rio''s words seemed to be drowned in the constant thumping sound Saisha''s previous rain of arrows was still causing everywhere.

    But she heard it.

    "Not so fast." Saisha said as she pulled the bowstring in her hand and the two broken parts of the bow started changing their appearance and turned into swords.

    The original bow was now a pair of twin swords connected by a string.

    Saisha shed her swords at Rio''s head trying to catch him off guard. While Rio, who knew her usual fighting style from the original book moved his body sideways, dodging the iing sword, as he kicked her stomach, throwing her back a few steps.

    Without giving her a chance to fight back or create another bow and shoot him down, Rio dashed straight at her, engaging in closebat.

    Though Saisha was still able to control a few arrows through her elemental magic. And shoot a few spells which didn''t require chants or something.

    <In Arcadia, everyone can learn chantless magic. Obviously it depends on their mastery and understanding. Simply exined, once one has total control and understanding of a certain spell, they can use that spell just by imagining it. Meaning no matter how talented you are, you can''t learn chantless magic for free. You gotta train that spell to nigh perfection before mastering it on your thoughts.>

    Saisha was using her elemental magic constantly to enhance her physical abilities but soon she noticed something was wrong, as she felt mana getting thinner and thinner in the area around them.

    And soon it was to the point where she couldn''t even feel it without focusing hard on it.

    "A formation, or is it rune magic?" She muttered under her breath as she tried to look around and move back.

    But Rio didn''t give her time, as he constantly barraged her with sword shes.

    "No one said it wasn''t allowed," Rio said as he looked at the circr pattern created on the ground, by using the mana infused arrows of Saisha and aura infused attack patterns of his.

    -Zero zone

    A basic formation pattern which is easy to perform with enough control and understanding.

    Often used at children''s talent measuring tools and public awakening ceremonies by the World Association.

    Obviously what Rio created was just made up mojo junk which could barelyst for 10 or so seconds before losing control and shattering in pieces, creating a st, but that was all the time he needed.

    Rio raised his sword and in a sh ignoring Saisha''s twin swordsing in from both his sides moved it downwards. Cutting onto her waist, dropping the token hanging there on the ground.

    Saisha, seeing that the token was falling down, tried to use her element , as the ground below both of them cracked and wines sprouted out from them, growing in size instantly.

    The wines moved straight upwards trying to hold the token, but suddenly they froze and then turned into splinters.

    The formation pattern disappeared, destroying everything around them.

    Wooden splinters and stones hit both of them, giving mild injuries, but both of them ignored it.

    Now Saisha could feel her mana again, but before her spells or hands could get the hold of the token, a kick from Rio sent the token flying out of her reach towards Leon''s position.

    This single exchange took only but a second or two, yet this one moment changed the entire game.

    The sword sh from Saishanded on Rio''s shoulders at this point too leaving behind a red alert from the health barrier and painful sting that freaking hurts.

    Rio''s feetnded on the ground again and he moved sideways, dodging the second sword.

    "My turn" Rio said with a smile, and his figure disappeared in a sh again.

    This time the game really began.

    Rio''s speed, which was already fast before, reached a new high and he appeared directly in front of Saisha, surprising her.

    With a sh he tried to eliminate her in one swing, but she dodged it. Her figure turned illusory and her movements became gentle and clear. Her sword moved at an extremely tricky angle, swift as a needle, but Rio dodged the sword.

    Saisha''s figure moved in a circr motion as illusions of hers appeared surrounding him. Each a mirror copy of hers, making it hard to distinguish which one was the real one.

    Each of them drew their swords and attacked him at the same time, but Rio just shook his head. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''She''s stronger than she was in the novel. But she''s still just as simple.'' Rio thought and attacked the illusion which was still marked by his aura earlier.

    Leon had secured the token and everyone of them could use their mana now.

    Leon even killed off Hermann catching him off guard by a sudden spell and was about to eliminate Jaesin too.

    On Amilia''s side, Reba and Valtor were both eliminated, and so was Elroy and Ziona too. Currently there is a fight between Amelia and Katherine vs Qingyue.

    Rio had called off his aura avatar too, since he didn''t think it was necessary to keep it around anymore. Though Amelia and Katherine were both hurt and tired, but so was Qingyue. And once her mana ran out and she lost the advantage of her metal magic, she was just an easy to handle girl.

    The fight continued for a few more minutes before Amelia managed to drive a dagger through Qingyue''s frozen body. Eliminating her too.

    ''They make a great team.'' Rio thought as he saw Amelia smiling at him, while Katherine just stood silent, trying to recover her mana and heal her injuries.

    Saisha who was constantly piling up injuries on her body, refusing to give up and get eliminated, was just dragging their match till even Jaesin died and she lost her whole team.

    Her nature element was constantly providing her with healing properties and vitality, so she could keep fighting, but without any proper attack that could hurt Rio, it was all useless.

    Her luck was pretty high as she seemed to read his movements and evade most of his attacks, but she herself knew it was all just dying the inevitable.

    But eventually even that luck ran out.

    Before shepletely lost her strength, a surprise came to her, as the notification that her team''s token bearer died and she got the penalty of no elemental magic.

    With this she lost the only Trump card she could still use.

    "How? Everyone''s here?" She asked as she looked at Rio and everyone around that area. As she said aside from these 4 here, no one was alive from any other team.

    Rio didn''t say anything, but Amelia pointed at the flying birds in the sky, which were under Rio''s control.

    Since the location of every token bearer was marked on the map, he just controlled these birds to go there and kill Seraphina, the holder of their ss.

    How did a heroine die in some simple birds hand?

    Well she didn''t. Not directly.

    Those birds just annoyed a bunch of other monsters and led them to her ce. Leading to a fight and she became a casualty on the side.

    Though Saisha didn''t know it, she could guess it after some thoughts.

    Since she lost her elemental magic which gave her endless health recovery, she got eliminated soon too.

    Nothing brutal or painful, the simple backhand sword tap on the head to trigger the elimination process.

    ''I should solve the elven plotlines once I''m in better control.'' Rio thought as he clenched his fists to hide the shaking of his hand and terrible headache he was getting after being close to her.

    Though he told himself that he yed around with her to see her skills and learn about Gaia''s technique, or how she''s different from the plotlines and how much stronger she is - but he and his system both knew, that they were all just excuses, trying to hide the single real reason, which was that he still couldn''t control neither his emotions nor those memories.

 Chapter 269 Flashbacks of Shiva - The new girl

    Chapter 269 shbacks of Shiva - The new girl

    "Well, no surprises there." Professor Myth said as the match ended and everyone started appearing back in the hub.

    "The elf girl did drag it out for a while though. She seems strong." Professor Osborn said.

    "She is. She just needs some experience." Professor Harkin said as he started thinking about ways he could train her or make her better.

    (He''s the homeroom teacher of her ss)

    "What''re your thoughts on the other students? Do we need topile some other tests or are you done collecting your ns for their next trainings." Professor Thaddeus said.

    "I think it''s enough for my ss. They all had enough time to fight and show their skills. So I''m good." Professor Freya spoke with a satisfied smile on her face.

    After all, it was clear even without Rio, her ss was still the strongest one overall. And practically every ranker or notable student had preformed their best in this match.

    "I''m fine too." Professor Arabe said as she stared at Hermann from the corner of her eyes, while he was busy looking at Leon with hatred in his eyes.

    She didn''t even need to look at the message of Loki on her system to know what was going to happen next, and what she needed to do.

    ''Looks like this year will be even more fun.'' Professor Arabe said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    "Well, anyways it''s enough for today. So let''s just wrap it up. I still have some other projects to work on." Jorvik said, ncing at the holographic screen on his watch. Disying various forms and reactions.

    After getting confirmation from every professor, Jorvik cut the signal and pulled everyone out of the VR.

    Once students left their VR capsule and gathered in the big hall after changing their costumes, Professor Harkin went forward, and gave a little speech to everyone. Giving some pointers aboutmon mistakes most of the students made or appreciating those who followed all rules or did good in their matches.

    His speech ended with that same general teacher note that everyone always says, don''t get arrogant for a victory and don''t be sad over a loss. This was just a stupid match and they should all just remember it as such. Nothing much.

    Take good points and experience and don''t sweat it on other things.

    While all this bullshit was happening and boring speeches were prying one ear to another - Rio was sitting near a piller with closed eyes.

    Amelia called him a few times but seeing that he seemed sound asleep, she let him be.

    That was a right decision too, as at this time in Rio''s mind memories of his past life were ying in a stream line.

    shbacks of Earth

    (7 years before Shiva''s death - when he''s still a first year student at the college)

    In a university ssroom, students were sitting around, chatting with each other, as no teacher was present in the ss.

    "Hey, did you hear, we have a new transfer student?" Kajal (now Katherine on Arcadia) asked Shiva(now Rio) who was sitting besides her trying to sleep.

    "I heard it''s a pretty girl." Kajal said as she pped a textbook on shiva''s head, waking him up.

    "The ss is only going to get even more noisier again." Shiva said as he fixed his hair a little.

    "Oh and does that bother the guy who doesn''t even show up half a week." Kajal said with a  helpless smile, while giving him ab from her purse.

    "Not my fault if it''s so boring. I can''t understand anything even if I''m here." Shiva said.

    "That''s cause you need to study actual books for this, instead of online novels and kid stories." Kajal said, as she pulled a novel from his bag and waved it in front of her.

    Shiva just let her be and buried his head back on the table trying to sleep again.

    "Urgh, just go and sit on your seat nah. I''m already having a headache." Shiva said as he pped her hands away when she tried to tickle him.

    "Who told you to y around all night? How many times did I tell you to stop roaming with that guy?" Kajal said and punched him on the shoulder this time. Clearly feeling angry at him for ignoring her.

    "His name is Nashi. And he''s not all that bad." Shiva said, "Plus weren''t you the one who asked me to go out and socialize."

    "If I knew you''d find someone like him, I wouldn''t say that. And not like you listen to what I say anyway." Kajal said, her words ending on soft whispers.

    Shiva, who saw her getting stupidly lost in thoughts, was about to say something, when the professor entered the ss, and everyone in ss became silent.

    "Morning everyone. Be seated and silent." A middle aged man in university uniform walked with a limp leg and stood over the podium in the middle and started speaking.

    "Before we start today''s ss, I want you all to wee a new student. I know it is already mid-year, but I hope you will all help her with everything."

    "Miss Shweta, pleasee."

    As the professor signaled the door to the ss opened and came a girl with straight ck hair with round perfect eyes. Her face, the definition of beauty and figure nigh perfection.

    She was holding a single notebook and a red casing mobile phone in her hands. Wearing a red top and ck jeans close to her skin, yet not too tight or vulgar. Not a single piece of expensive jewelry or essories on her. She was simple yet somehow perfect.

    Like the creator took all the time in eternity to cast her. For fear to leave any mistake in his first creation.

    Aftering in, she didn''t do much, she didn''t even need to. Yet she was the center of attention for everyone. And no one could look away after taking just a nce at her.

    It took merely a few moments ofplete silence which soon gave way to constant whispers and talks amongst everyone excitedly. Some boys even screamed aloud and started banging their hands on tables.

    The new girl curiously looked around the ss, taking in everyone''s gaze which was stuck on her in admiration, jealousy and disbelief. Not reacting to anyone. No pride, arrogance, dislike or disgust - she was indifferent to it all. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But then her eyesnded on a figure who was rubbing his eyes with azy expression on his face, probably waking up from his sleep, and she blinked.

    Shiva, who got tired of trying to sleep with all the noise and Kajal poking her fingers or pinching him, yawned and opened his eyes slowly.

    After giving Kajal an angry re, he looked at his ssmates who were acting like idiots. He could even hear someone on his back calling the new girl Sister or Bhabhi or gf or something.

    ''Idiots, acting like they never saw a girl in their whole life.'' Shiva cursed them in his heart and decided to look up, just in time to see the new girl staring at him.

    And then_

    Then. ...

    Then his whole world stopped.

    Thump thump thump

    Sounds of his heartbeat echoed in his ears as all the surrounding noise disappeared in his mind.

    Her eyes, he felt like he could just drown in them, yet he couldn''t look away. And when she blinked there was this weird sense of loss that even made his breathing heavy.

    ''What''s wrong with me?''

    There was this major sense of familiarity in his head, while his heart felt just incredulously happy as he watched her lips curling up in a smile.

    ''What''s happening?''

    He had met or seen thousands of people, watched hundreds of shows and movies, read dozens of novels - yet this was the first time he ever felt like this.

    ''Is this what they call love at first sight?'' He asked and his face blossomed in another smile.

 Chapter 270 Their beginning - Nirvaan

    <h4>Chapter 270 Their beginning - Nirvaan</h4>

    "_ Shweta."

    "Miss Shweta."

    "Hmmm"

    Hearing someone calling her name in the background, Shweta got out of her stapor and looked away with a frown on her face.

    "Sorry, what?" She asked.

    "Your introduction. Or you can just choose a ce to sit." The professor repeated again. Though he tried to act normal, the man was sweating buckets on his back as he watched her frowning at him.

    "My name''s Shweta. I had to change my city and transfer here due to some family issues. I think I''m good at studies, so I won''t trouble you all much, but I''ll ask for help if necessary." She finished her introduction and some normal info in a calm tone looking at everyone.

    Yet her eyes drafted back to that boy again.

    But this time she didn''t stop and looked away instantly. "Thank you all for weing me. And let''s hope we have a wonderful year together."

    Her words had just finished when sounds of pping rang in the ssroom.

    "Silence." The professor said in a stern tone and then looked at Shweta again. His tone changed back to being respectful as he informed her . "You can choose a ce to sit first. If you have any doubts during the lecture you can ask me then, or after the ss, whatever''s best."

    Shweta gave a little nod and walked down the stage and towards the students.

    Though the ss wasn''t totally filled with students, there weren''t many empty chairs at first. So she could just walk towards the back.

    (Obviously ignoring the ones who kicked their original partners to the side, to make a seat for her.)

    "Excuse me." She said when she reached around the 5th row. And asked "Can I sit here?"

    "No"

    "Yes"

    Two different answers came to her question, almost instantly.

    Kajal looked at Shiva with somewhat ring eyes as he readily agreed to this new girl''s request.

    Shiva too looked at Kajal, raising his eyebrows as he wondered what''s wrong with her. But in response, she just scoffed at him and said "Fine, you can sit here."

    "I''m Shiva by the way," Shiva said once Shweta sat down near him. "And the angry bird over here is Kajal."

    "I told you not to call me that." Kajal said as she pped his head lightly.

    "But that''s what you are, tiny red." Shiva smiled and said, as he pointed at her keychain on the table.

    "I hate that gift." Kajal muttered as she put the stuffy red keychain in her pocket.

    Shweta kept looking at the two of them chatting happily while totally ignoring the lesson that was still ongoing.

    She didn''t know what she was feeling now - first, there was this sense of familiarity in her heart, something like a connection with him. And then there was this weird feeling asking her to stay away from him. To avoid him at all costs in her head.

    ''Looks like I''m still too stressed after everything that happened.'' Shweta thought and med everything on her previous problems.

    She hesitated to interfere in the duo''s talks a few times, but then just decided to ask Shiva directly.

    "Have we _ met before?"

    "I think so." Shiva replied honestly and then added with a chuckle. "But I don''t remember where though."

    "Then how are you _ ?"

    "A feeling." Shiva said meeting her gaze again.

    "Stop talking and focus on the ss for once. Cheating through my notes won''t help you in the finals." Kajal said interrupting them.

    After one long hour of boring ss and half an hour of sleep for Shiva, finally the lecture was over.

    "I still can''t believe how you can just sleep without any worries like that." Kajal said as she stood up to leave the ss.

    "Cause you''re watching over me." Shiva said gulping down water.

    "Uncle told you that this will be yourst chance, before you have to start looking for jobs right. Can''t you take this seriously?"

    "Come on. Not again." Shiva said to her in a helpless tone. "My grades are already in the middle."

    "There was a time when you were at the top." Kajal said.

    "Well_ times change, Red." Shiva shrugged his shoulders.

    Yes, he was good at studying years back, but he had lost interest in those things ages ago. With everything that''s been going on at home and the routine ramblings - he was already used to them. And passed those lines from one ear to another without any stop in the middle. Hell, if not for Kajal, he wouldn''t even read anything at all.

    "Miss Shweta, principal''s calling for you in his office."

    While they were all talking and roaming around the campus, giving a tour to Shweta, someone came and interrupted them.

    Shweta nodded and after saying thanks or something, she followed the staff to main office.

    "What''s with all the ''miss'' stuff? Is she some rich girl?" Kajal asked, once Shweta was gone.

    "Who knows. I''m hungry, let''s go to the canteen." Shiva said and ignored it.

    In the office of Dean, the man sitting in the chair looked at Shweta and passed her a phone with trembling hands.

    Looking at someone three times her age being respectful to her, anyone would be a little awkward, but Shweta ignored the dean and took the phone.

    Looking at the familiar string of numbers on the screen aplicated look shed on her face and didn''t speak anything. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Are you still nning on noting back?" The heavy voice of a men from the other end of phone came to her ears, but Shweta didn''t reply and just waited. "I''ve told you before, what happened to that family wasn''t your fault. It was because_ "

    "I''ll call you backter." Shweta said and nned to hang up the phone.

    "Nashi is there too. Atleast meet with him. He doesn''t know anything about it." The man spoke but his words were cut short midway.

    -tu Tu

    "If you call me for nonsense again, _ " Shweta coldly said to the Dean and threw the phone at him.

    The Dean swallowed saliva with his dry throat as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and didn''t say anything but just nodded his head in a hurry.

    ''Why did she have toe to my college.'' The dean cursed his luck over this new arrival once she left his office.

    ''I already have enough trouble makers as is. And now there''s this little rich killer here too.''

    ''Let''s just hope this year ends smoothly and then I''ll just get a transfer or retire from this damn city.'' Dean thought as he looked at the message on his phone screen.

    [Nirvaan - Keep an eye on her.]

    ''Shit'' The dean cursed as he read the message and opened the drawer to take a few pills to calm his racing heart. While cing the packet back his eyes nced at the various newspaper outlines ced inside the drawer, and his hands froze.

    [Gang wars starting again in the city. 13 bodies found in an abandoned factory. Brutal incident _]

    [Copsed building due to gas leak explosion. 8 dead, 27 injured.]

    [A family of threemits mass suicide, days after the death of theirst rtive.]

    Over all these horrible news pieces, was a photo of a middle aged man sitting on a chair at the cover of some brand megazine, his indifferent eyes were like a king looking down at ants from his throne.

    Abhinav Nirvaan, The most powerful man in Mumbai city.

    Closing the drawer, dean picked the water bottle and emptied it in one big gulp.

    While the dean was cursing his luck, drinking vodca from a water bottle, the announcement ping rang out in his office.

    [Sir, there''s a fight in the canteen. It''s all chaos everywhere. Pleasee here fast.]

    Hearing the ttering of tables and tes behind, the dean cursed these ipetent staff in his mind. ''For what reason, have I been paying you guys for. Idiots.''

    Eating some mouthfreshner from the side, the dean forced himself to stand up, when another message came through the phone halting him.

    [Ohh and it''s that boy from thest time again.]

    "Fuck" The dean cursed and looked at the empty bottle again, thinking he should bring an extra from tomorrow.

 Chapter 271 Want me to teach you how to fight?

    Chapter 271 Want me to teach you how to fight?

    "Why''d you get into a fight again?" Kajal said, looking at Shiva who was lying in the infirmary with one of his hands wrapped in bandages.

    "Don''t me me, it was his fault. He''s the one who started it." Shiva said, pointing at another guy lying on the next bed, with a ck eye and swollen nose.

    "Still arguing, huh." Kajal said and tapped on his swollen wrist with her hands.

    Shiva just pulled his hand back and raised it in surrender while flinching in pain.

    "By the way, your sister called. She was asking if you''reing home next month or not." Kajal said.

    "She called you. When did you be besties with her?" Shiva said to Kajal and started chatting with Ria on the phone.

    [Nashi - Hey buddy, you fine? Heard you got into another fight. Want me to handle it?]

    Shiva shook his head seeing the message and replied back. "Do your own stuff. Stop butting in my problems."

    Nashi was someone he met a few months back on some empty mountain side behind a temple.

    No, Shiva is still an atheist. He just goes there since the scenery there is peaceful and there isn''t much crowd or noise there.

    He liked talking with Nashi, since the guy always gave him the feeling that he knew exactly what he wanted to say. And then there was the way he spoke, the man always knew the right answers to all his questions, like some wise sage.

    They''ve met a couple of times more since then and are acquaintances now. Though Kajal thinks Nashi is just some rich guy messing around, so she''s against him roaming with Nashi.

    She''s afraid that he might get some bad habits from him.

    Which Shiva still doubted how she came up with knowing hisx personality.

    His life back then was much simpler then it was in hister years. He was just another student from a normal background. With parents who wanted him to study hard and find a stable job. Earn some money and be self sufficient.

    That was all they wanted, and all he dreamed of. No fancy goals, no target for being the richest man alive or most famous person on the inte - nothing.

    He was simply just breezing through life without caring for anything.

    Going to school, skipping lectures, sleeping in lectures, getting into some little trouble every now and then, and thening back to hostel, either reading novels and watching movies or sleeping.

    And that was it.

    That was just basically his whole day routine.

    He never liked crowds or getting mixed with ''friends'' or anything else that one might call enjoyable. His silent personality wasn''t really suitable for a social life, after all.

    But then came Kajal, his ssmate. She was the type of girl who loved life and everything in it. Seeing the beauty with a shade that only shows the goodness in everything. She had this friendly aura and easy going personality all around her.

    Till date he never really understood how she became his only friend in school.

    Maybe it was after she overheard him having an argument with his father one day.

    She was an orphan, so maybe she couldn''t understand why he who had a family,would fight with them.

    Then there was just her being curious and trying to teach him to be a better person and wada nada.

    Though simple minded like that, she was persistent enough to not leave him or give up on him for weeks when he tried his best to avoid her, so there was that.

    Though sometimes annoying and little nosy or whimsical, over time he started to enjoy herpany. Even look forward to meeting her on the next day in school.

    By the time Shweta came into his life, they had known each other for around an year and a half. At that time there were only a select few whosepany he didn''t hate, or with whom he didn''t feel lonely. Or in a hurry to end their conversations.

    There was Ria, his sister. He never hated her. Fuck hate, he didn''t even have the guts to get angry at that overdramatic little fool.

    Then Kajal and one more was Nashi.

    The day Shweta came into his life was the day everything changed.

    After the first day ended Shweta ended up being Kajal''s room mate in the girl''s hostel somehow.

    He smiled as he remembered how much Kajalined about it to him over the next few days. Even though she always wanted a partner.

    Though he ignored whatever his heart was feeling when Shweta was around. Suppressing it and calling it harmones. He did still feel curious about her.

    Who wouldn''t? She came mid year, which shouldn''t be allowed, and had all the staff dancing over her fingers in fear or respect.

    But that wasn''t what interested him.

    He just wanted to know why she was acting. Why she was silent alone and trying so hard to mix in with everyone around her.

    He knew that was an act, cause he had done the same most of his childhood.

    Being someone who always gets lost in his head and thoughts, isn''t exactly a way to be friendly.

    "You don''t have to try so hard?" Shiva said as he sat on his table and found Shweta already present there.

    Shweta looked at him, showing expression like ''what do you mean'' without saying anything.

    "I don''t know why you''re acting too nice, but if you keep up that act, everyone would just try and take advantage of it. And that would just end up hurting you more. So stop doing that, or at least tone it down a bit." Shiva said.

    "Speaking from experience?" Shweta asked with a smile.

    "Does it matter." He replied and stopped saying anything else.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Aren''t you feeling curious about my identity?" Shweta asked.

    "I am. But your past doesn''t really matter to me, so why bother?"

    "Kajal said you were different?"

    "I''m justzy, that''s all."

    "How''s your hand now?"

    "It was just light swelling for my thumb dislocated. It''s fine now."

    "I watched your fight." Shweta said and then smiled "You''re a terrible fighter."

    "Ohh, you''re saying like you know how to fight. You''re not one of those ck belt kung fu girl, are you?" Shiva asked with a chuckle "Or better, a gangster girl."

    "Nope, I _ just know some self defense. That''s all." Shweta hesitated a little and answered. "Want me to teach you a few things?"

    "Nope. I''m toozy to try. And too scared of pain to get into fights." Shiva resolutely replied.

    "Then what happened that day?" Shweta asked, as she just entered the canteen when he was already in the middle of pulling and throwing stuff on the other guy.

    "Nothing. My hands were just itchy I guess." Shiva said as he looked at Kajal entering the ss and smiled.

 Chapter 272 Proposal

    Chapter 272 Proposal

    A few daysterN?v(el)B\\jnn

    Shiva entered the ss with ck circles around his eyes. His face was looking a little thin and his expression was lost in thought.

    Currently he had just mustered up his courage and stopped Shweta before she entered the ss. Though he tried to act confident, his feet still couldn''t stay in ce and even his hands were a little bit shaky.

    "You don''t look fine. Are you feeling unwell?" Shweta asked as she looked at him acting strange. "Should I call Kajal?"

    Shweta said and turned around to shout at Kajal, who was walking a little far ahead of her. But Shiva grabbed her hand in a hurry and said in a panicked tone. "No"

    Shweta looked at him for some time and pulled her hand back, "Okay.. .Then do you want me to _"

    "I love you."

    ...

    ..

    Shiva said directly, interrupting her mid sentence. His eyes were closed and breathing hurried. He could even hear his own heart thumping loudly against his chest like a drumbeat.

    After some time when he didn''t feel any ps or hear any shouts he opened one of his eyes to look at Shweta, who was staring at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression.

    ''No ps is a good sign right.''

    Shiva said in his heart and calmed himself down. Just in time to hear Shweta''s shout "What?"

    "Ungh" Shiva thought she didn''t hear him clearlyst time, so he took a long breath and said again in a clear voice this time. "I love you."

    Shweta, who heard his proposal again shook her head in disbelief and said "No, I heard you the first time too. But how, why, when? We just met a month ago at best. And you''re _"

    "It doesn''t matter, I love you. I''ve loved you since the moment I saw you." Shiva said and after mentioning it a few times he even gained confidence, and now there was even a smile on his face when talking to her. "At first I thought it was some attraction or curiosity or just hormones, and I''d be fine and forget you soon. But I was wrong."

    "Ever since I saw you, you''ve been haunting me nonstop. I can''t sleep, I can''t eat, I can''t even read my favorite novels without thinking about you. It''s even worse than what those movies show.

    It''s hateful and I don''t like it. But I love it.

    I''m smiling all the time, when I don''t even likeughing that much.

    It''s so confusing, everything is. I don''t even know what I''m saying anymore, I just (breathes heavily) _love you. That''s all."

    Shiva finished his hurried proposal in one breath without stopping, and at the end instead of nervousness that she might agree or not, there was a genuine smile on his face, like he just finished the worst job ever.

    He even felt his mood was much better now than it had been in these past few days. His whole body felt light and mind clear. ''Finally''

    He didn''t lie to her, he had been sleepless for the past 2-3 days. He thought he''d control his ''love'' emotions and ignore it. But the more time he spend around her, the more he saw her, talked to her, the harder it got. And he finally couldn''t take it anymore and decided to get it over with.

    If Shweta refused him, then maybe he can move on, instead of thinking all day about her, ;

    "So_ ?" Shiva questioned as he saw Shweta just standing there with the look of disbelief on her face. Though her cheeks were flushed a little, but Shiva was more focused on her answer at this moment than admiring her beauty.

    Finally after the longest ten seconds of his life, she replied.

    "If Kajal didn''t say you were half crazy, I''d think you''repletely out of your mind." Shweta said in a joking tone.

    Shiva''s face turned ashen hearing her response. Though he didn''t have much hope, getting rejected on your first proposal still hurts, right.

    "Is that a no?" He asked.

    "I don''t hate you enough to say no."

    "Then it''s a yes, you like _"

    "And I don''t know you well enough to say yes."

    Shiva was speaking excitedly, when Shweta interrupted him and finished her sentence. Giving her reply, which was better than nothing.

    "So neither epted nor rejected , huh." Shiva said in a dejected look, but then smiled again  "But still no ps, shouts or ignorance, that''s a good sign. This''ll do for now." Shiva said with a happy smile.

    "By the way aren''t you gonna ask if it''s real or just me proposing the new girl before anyone else gets a chance." Shiva asked, changing the topic and talking like usual.

    "Nope, your face doesn''t look like lying." Shweta replied.

    "You must get cheated a lot if that''s your criteria for judging people." Shiva made a joke, but seeing Shweta ring at him, he just coughed and walked away. Running to catch up with Kajal.

    "Idiot," Shweta said as she looked at him and smiled.

    ''I love you.'' She remembered what happened earlier and her smile brightened even more. Even though she kept her cool in front of him, her heart was nearly jumping in joy inside of her. Even her face felt a little hot in a slight blush, but she ignored it.

    ''Is this love?'' She asked herself thinking about what she''s been feeling these days. She had been having nightmares before she came here, haunted by the things she did in the past and what they led to. But every time he was there, all those thoughts of self me and guilt would ease up and she could just forget them all.

    ''Maybe _ '' Shweta was thinking happily when a message interrupted her thoughts.

    Ding ding

    [Nashi - Heard you''re here too. Father told me what happened. I''d say it''s not your fault, but that''s not what you wanna hear I guess.

    I''ll send you an address  , let''s meet.]

    Shweta read the message and instantly her happy mood turned sour. She tried sending a reply a few times before deleting it next second. and then she just switched off her phone.

    "Hey, youing." Shiva''s voice brought her out.

    "Yeah, right behind you." Shweta said and pushed aside all the memories from the things she left behind for a new beginning.

    Nashi on the other hand, who waited for a while with his phone in hand, didn''t get a really and threw it on the sofa nearby.

    "So you think it''s that easy to quit huh. Wishful thinking." Nashi scoffed and stood up from his seat. "Contact Rangaa, tell him, the one he''s been looking for is here. And also send someone to keep an eye on her."

    His words finished and the man in ck standing nearby nodded his head and stepped out of the office respectfully.

    ''You can''t run from your past just cause you turned around, love. This is where you belong, and this is where you''ll end up eventually.''

    Nashi sat back on his chair and poured himself a drink, as he looked at the photo of three on the table. Where He, his father and Shweta were standing outside the vi called ''Nirvaan Nivaas (Nirvaan House)''..

 Chapter 273 Their first conversation or maybe a date

    <h4>Chapter 273 Their first conversation or maybe a date</h4>

    In a cafe

    "What''s wrong with you?" Kajal asked as she looked at Shiva daydreaming while chuckling like an idiot from time to time.

    Umm

    "What?" Shiva replied without looking at her.

    Kajal looked at him and pped him on the shoulder, "I''m asking what''s going on with you? You''ve been like a dead person this morning and now you''re practically beaming with life."

    "Nothing." Shiva said and then thought of something and asked "Did I really look that bad earlier?"

    "Ohhh(surprised) and when did you start paying attention to your appearance? You basically juste here every day with just washing your face." Kajal said in an amusing tone.

    "Shut up." Shiva said, and asked again. "I''m serious. Was I really that bad?"

    Kajal stared at his face, which was a little anxious and nervous, and furrowed her brows. "I was just joking. No need to be so down about it."

    "Now tell me, what''s going on in that weird brain of yours? Did you fight with your brother again?"

    "No, nothing like that." Shiva shook his head hearing her question and replied. "I proposed her." Shiva said.

    "Whattttt��?"

    Kajal, who was drinking some juice, sprayed it out on the table when she heard his reply.

    "Yuck, and you were calling me for manners." Shiva said, while handing her the tissues.

    Kajal threw the tissues aside and pulled his hand. "What did you say? Maybe I didn''t hear it clearly."

    Shiva handed her the tissues again and said "I proposed her."

    "Who?" kajal asked, as she looked at his serious face and noticed he wasn''t joking.

    "Her."

    Kajal followed Shiva''s gaze and saw Shweta standing in the line at the server''s table.

    "Shweta? You proposed HER." She asked again in doubt, as she couldn''t believe this introverted fool, who never even took the initiative to talk to anyone upfront, actually went forward and proposed to someone.

    That too, to a girl he barely met a few weeks ago.

    She did notice him staring at Shweta, or when they were together, him always being absent minded, but this. This, she could never imagine.

    "How? When? Why?" Kajal muttered under her breath as she pulled him closer, seeing the nearby students were looking at their table curiously.

    "This morning. When we wereing to the ss." Shiva told her everything as it was.

    "But why? You don''t even know her. Was it a dare or something like that? I''ll kill you, if you started this as a joke _ " kajal asked.

    "No, nothing like that. I''m serious." Shiva said, shaking his head seeing her exaggerated reaction. "I love her."

    "You know how I''ve been these past few days. She''s been roaming in my head all day long ever since I saw her. You know the moment I saw her first, my heart nearly went haywire. And then when she talked or touched or sat near us, I don''t even know what''s wrong with me.

    So I decided to just propose to her, and now I finally feel like myself again." Shiva said with a serious expression.

    Kajal looked at him for a while and didn''t know what to say.

    ''Did he finally lose it?'' she thought.

    But stuffing that thought away she started speaking again. "So you proposed. What did she say? Did she p you or block you?"

    "Wow, what a great friend you are." Shiva shook his head heating her stupid usations.

    "Shut up and tell me. What did she say?" Kajal said and added something "If you''re telling me all this to ask if I can hook you up or be a mediator, then I''m going to refuse this instant."

    "She said, she doesn''t know me enough to say yes. Or hate me enough to say no." Shiva replied as he pped her forehead for always refusing.

    "So she didn''t agree huh." Kajal said and breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Well, she didn''t p me or block me, so that''s a good sign right?" Shiva said, visibly relieved that those situations didn''t ur. Or he might really have to look for a handful of water and drown himself.

    His deadbeat personality might not be able to take all the judgmental or mocking eyes. And die of embarrassment.

    ''Phew I don''t even know why I proposed her when there''s so much crowd around. I really am an idiot.''

    "I''m leaving." Kajal said as she stood up and left, ignoring Shiva calling her behind.

    ''At least tell me some advice and give me some tips or something. Don''t you know I''m a total newb at it.'' Shivained as he looked at her speeding back. ''She didn''t even pay the bill or throw her te.''

    "Can I sit here?"

    Shiva heard someone''s voice while he wasining and he just nodded his head without looking.

    "Thanks." Shweta said and sat down beside him.

    "You_ " Shiva heard her voice again and looked at her in surprise.

    "What, I just saw Kajal leaving, so I came here. Plus there aren''t many empty seats left." Shweta replied and started eating her food.

    "Ahh okay." Shiva said and hung his head down, while sneaking nces at her from time to time.

    "What were you guys talking about? Kajal seemed mad." Shweta asked.

    "About you. I told her about the proposal."

    "You did?" Shweta raised her eyebrows.

    "Of course. I thought she''d give me some advice or something, but she just stood up and left." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "You didn''t ask her to help you, did you?"

    "What, no. Why would I do that? She''ll kill me if I do that."

    "Hmm" Shweta nodded her head and didn''t say anything else. She was eating, when shiva''s next words stunned her again.

    "You''re beautiful."

    -cough cough

    She drank a ss of water and red at him with angry eyes. As her cheeks burned bright in a blush.

    "Now even more so." Shiva looked at her face and couldn''t help but mutter again.

    "Idiot" Shweta said to him.

    "Tell me about yourself. After all, we don''t even know each other and you proposed me out of nowhere today. I don''t even know your full name yet."

    Shweta said changing the topic. And Shiva started talking about himself, his family or friends.

    They were getting to know each other,paring their habits and hobbies, likes or dislikes. Talking about their past or childhood. About what they were and what they wanted to be.

    Nothing serious, just some random gossip that jumped topics from here and there every few lines.

    The whole canteen and the crowd had disappeared for the two of them as they kept chatting with each other.

    Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into evening and then to night.

    Even they themselves didn''t notice the flow of time or probably didn''t care about it - as their talks led one thing to another.

    "Sir, it''s time to close the ce. You cane back again tomorrow." A waiter came and informed them.

    Only then did they both stopped and looked around them at the empty and cleaned cafe.

    "We should go." Shweta said as she paid the bill and picked up her things.

    "So how was it?" Shiva asked as they both walked out together.

    "What?"

    "Our conversation. I''ll tell you that I''ve never talked that long in one sitting with anyone in my life yet. You''re the first." Shiva said with a smile.

    Not believing in his heart himself about how his introverted self could feel so free around her.

    "Your first huh. It felt nice then." Shweta said as her lips curled up in a subtle smile.

    "I''ll meet you here tomorrow then. Enough about my past, we''ll talk about you tomorrow."

    Shiva said nonchntly, but hearing his words'' color drained from Shweta''s face. And her smile disappeared in a frown instead.

    "Can we not _ "

    Shweta was saying something, when Shiva bumped into someone and stopped his steps.

    "Sorry, my bad." Shiva said raising his hands subconsciously.

    But the man ignored himpletely and turn to look at Shweta. "Miss Nirvaan, long time no see."

 Chapter 274 Nirvaan’s

    <h4>Chapter 274 Nirvaan''s</h4>

    "Miss Nirvaan, long time no see." The middle aged man said as he looked at Shweta and smiled.

    "Rangaa." Shweta muttered slowly and looked at the cars behind Rangaa, where she could see shadows of 4-5 men sitting leisurely.

    Though Shiva didn''t know anything about Shweta''s past, just looking at her paled face and the group of people walking out of their cars, he felt worried.

    If it was the him yearster from before he died, seeing this kind of scene he would smile and walk forward to pick a fight first for no apparent reason.

    But at that time he was just a simple student with no experience or no skills. Hell, he even felt scared just looking at all those vicious looking men.

    But still suppressing his shock, he moved closer to Shweta and asked "You know him?"

    Shweta nced at him worriedly for a second and then thought of something and smiled. "He''s _ he''s a family friend." Although she tried to lie and maintain her expressions, but it was clear she was surprised by this sudden intrusion.

    "But didn''t you say you were an orphan?" Shiva asked, remembering her previous statement during their conversation.

    "That _ my adoptive family. He''s a business partner." Shweta said with a stutter, cursing herself for speaking too much earlier.

    Shiva looked at her but didn''t know what to ask.

    "Business partner huh, well I guess she''s right about that." Rangaa, who heard them talking, interrupted them and started speaking in a calm tone. "After all, the deal I agreed with her father is because of her proposal."

    "Tell me, where is he nowadays? I heard his health is declining day by day now." Rangaa asked shweta.

    "I have nothing to do with him now. You should know that I''ve left them and their business behind." Shweta replied.

    "Did you?" Rangaa asked surprisingly, but there was no hint of surprise on his face. "Then why did I meet a few of our old colleagues following you around?"

    Shweta, who heard his words nced at Rangaa''s hands and noticed the small stains of blood near his wrists and broken ss on the road nearby. "I don''t know what you''re talking about? But whatever you want, it has nothing to do with me anymore."

    "You know what I want little princess. You''ve always known." Rangaa said sounding a little impatient.

    Shweta took a step forward and said slowly "I have nothing to do with that family anymore. You can do whatever you want."

    "It''ste today, so I''ll take my leave" Shweta said and turned around to look at Shiva and then signaled him to follow her.

    But she had only taken two steps when Rangaa''s voice sounded behind her and two men dressed in ruffian clothes and tattoed skin blocked their path.

    "What''s the rush, Miss Nirvaan? We haven''t met for so many months now. There''s so much to catch up on." He said and walked towards shweta with slow steps "I spent so much time and efforts looking for you, and now that we finally meet, you''re leaving like this. That''s not fair right?"

    "What _ do you want?" Shweta sighed and asked directly.

    "Nothing much, just tell me where he''s hiding now." Rangaa asked, and this time his tone turned cold as his face showed expressions of anger and hatred.

    "I told you I moved on. I don''t know anything you want." Shweta replied.

    "I heard his son is here in this city too. If you left them, you won''t mind if I pay Him a visit, do you?" Rangaa said with a smile.

    Shweta clenched her fists as she tried to control her anger, but then she looked at Shiva, who was staring at her and Rangaa not understanding anything they were talking about, and took a deep breath.

    "Do whatever you want." she said and started walking away.

    Rangaa looked at her and then at Shiva, and his lips curled up in a mysterious smile. "Won''t you introduce him to me."

    "He''s a nobody. Just someone I met a few days back." Shweta said and inadvertently her steps moved forward a little to block Shiva behind her.

    ''A nobody huh.'' Shiva muttered feeling a little hurt in his heart but then shook his head.

    He didn''t know what was happening but looking at their expressions he could guess this men had no good intentions towards her, so he didn''t mind what she said to him.

    "But I saw you chatting quite happily with him inside. He''s not your secret boyfriend is he?" Rangaa said and walked forward towards Shiva. "It''s gonna break his heart, you know."

    "Rangaa _ don''t." Shweta shouted as she raised her hand and stopped him. "Leave him alone." She spat coldly.

    "Tsk, acting so tough even now." Rangaa clicked his tongue but stepped back and raised his hands.

    He looked at Shiva''s confused face, staring at him and then at Shweta continuously, and smiled even more brightly once he remembered what he said just now.

    "You didn''t tell him about who you are, did you?" Rangaa said and chuckled as he saw shweta gritting her teeth in anger.

    "Don''t do it." She mouthed her words slowly as she red at him in anger, but still held herself back, as she noticed the men nearby putting his hand on his back. And then noticed simr movements all around her.

    "Boy, tell me, how much do you know about your new girlfriend?"

    Shiva, who was standing aside confused, came back to his senses as he heard someone talking to him. But he didn''t care what Rangaa said or questioned, but asked back instead "Who are you?"

    "Her full name is Shweta Nirvaan. You should''ve heard of that surname at least right?" Rangaa didn''t answer him and kept saying.

    ''Nirvaan'' Shiva thought in his mind but then shook his head.

    He''s always busy in his sleep or novels, he had no interest in general knowledge or any news outside his room. So even though the name sounded familiar, he had no special impression of it.

    "Her father is one of the richest person in this country, and you haven''t heard of him." Rangaa felt amused andughed out loud.

    "He''s also one of the most cruel and cold bastard you''ll ever see. And she, is his best _ "

    Rangaa was saying something when sounds of sirens rang around them, interrupting him. And then the headlights of police cars could be seening their way soon.

    Rangaa looked at the iing vehicles and then st Shweta who was also surprisedly looking around.

    "We''ll meet again, little princess. Very soon." Rangaa said and then sat back in his car. His men followed him too and drove away instantly.

    Shiva stared at the leaving taillights and thought about what Rangaa said some time ago. While Rangaa too stared at him in the rearview mirror and tapped his fingers on the armrest.

    "Send someone to keep an eye on that boy. And I want all his information before dawn on my desk." He said and nced at the newspaper ced forward. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [Abhinav Nirvaan to meet with the chief minister of Delhi for their next project.]

    ''I''ll wipe that smile off your face along with your entire empire Nirvaan. Just wait.'' Rangaa thought in his heart, as he closed his eyes to hide his cold anger.

    On the other hand, after Rangaa and his men left, Shiva turned to look at Shweta hoping to get some sort of exnation or answer, when a car stopped near them and a handsome man, dressed in stylish suit, walked out of it.

    Shiva furrowed his brows as he recognised the man, and was about to say something, when Shweta cut him off and spoke first.

    "Nashi"

 Chapter 275 Girlfriend

    Chapter 275 Girlfriend

    "Nashi" Shweta said as she looked at the familiar figure walking towards her.

    "I lost contact with the guards so I called you, but your phone was off." Nashi said before Shweta could ask any questions. "Then Dad called and said that Rangaa came to find you so I hurried here directly."

    "And the police?" Shweta asked.

    "I was at a meeting and it was gonna take a while. So I called them first to buy time or bring backup." Nashi said and ced his hands on her shoulders. "You should be careful Shweta." Nashi said and hugged her and took a deep breath. Seemingly relieved that she was fine and he wasn''tte.

    "How did he know where I am?" Shweta asked as she broke the hug, and looked at him doubtfully.

    "I don''t know. It''s Rangaa, we''re talking about. Maybe he still has some loyalists around Dad. You know that guy is like a cockroach." Nashi said.

    "But _ "

    Ring ring

    Shweta was about to ask something, as Nashi''s phone rang and he handed it to Shweta without picking it up.

    "Please talk to him, or he''ll pester me all night." Nashi said in a helpless tone, seeing Shweta hesitating to take the phone from his hands.

    "Hello," Shweta answered and immediately an old but majestic voice came from the other end of the phone.

    "I told you, that running around like a mad child will only cause you more trouble. I''ve sent Veera to pick you. It''s time you _"

    "I''m noting back." Shweta immediately rejected the offer in a stern tone.

    "I''ve told you before, girl. That family, had nothing to do with you. It was an ident."

    "It wasn''t. I kill_" Shweta was about to say something, but she noticed Shiva staring at her and she swallowed her words and moved a few steps away from him. So he wouldn''t listen to her conversation.

    Shiva just looked at her back, not sure what to think or make sense of this situation he had witnessed today. He was scared, worried, nervous and just stuck, about not knowing anything.

    ''Who are you?'' He wondered as the words of Rangaa echoed in his ears again.

    ''Shweta Nirvaan, are you _''

    His thoughts were moving non stop when someone tapped on his shoulders.

    "Shiva,"

    Nashi asked as he looked away from Shweta and noticed him nearby. Shiva too, remembered about this guy, whom he met a couple of times before and now he appeared for Shweta too.

    ''Do they know each other?''

    "Hey, I''m asking what you''re doing here?" Nashi asked again as he saw him losing focus again. He shook his head as he thought about how this new friend of his always starts getting lost in his brain every now and then.

    "Umm I was _ I was with her." Shiva replied. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "With Shweta?" Nashi said doubtfully and then nced back at the nearby closed cafe and frowned.

    "Yes, do you know her?" Shiva asked.

    "Yeah, she''s _uh family." Nashi said with a little thought and looked at him. "What about you, how did you two meet?"

    "She''s my batchmate at the college." Shiva replied.

    Nashi raised his eyebrows at his answer but before he could ask anything else, he saw Shwetaing back, so he stopped. But Shiva didn''t see her and continued asking.

    "You didn''t mention you had a sister." Shiva said to him, thinking this guy was Shweta''s brother.

    "She''s not _" Nashi answered, when Shweta interrupted him.

    "You guys know each other?" Shweta asked as she saw both of them chatting.

    "Yeah, we met a few times before."

    "He''s a friend."

    Nashi and Shiva both replied to her question together and smiled.

    "It''ste. You should go back." Shweta said and threw the phone at Nashi, who nced at the broken screen and sighed.

    "I can drop you to your dorms. It''s quitete. So _" Nashi offered to help but Shweta cut him off.

    "It''s just one block away. You don''t have to."

    "Fine, just take care of yourself. And if you need anything, call me." Nashi said to her and turned back to leave.

    "Good night, buddy." Nashi waved his hands at Shiva and then drove his car away. As his guards had already dealt with the police and sent them back.

    Once shweta saw Nashi''s car turning around the corner, she looked at Shiva and said. "I''m sorry."

    "About what?"

    "I ruined the whole mood, didn''t I?" Shweta said, looking a little down.

    After months of struggle and sadness, she finally smiled today. And even that was ruined because of her past.

    Seeing that she was ming herself, Shiva smiled and said "Well, if you feel guilty. This cafe is open tomorrow too. So _"

    "My treat." Shweta replied almost instantly.

    "But not here. Let''s go somewhere else." She added as she remembered about Rangaa and Nashi and everything.

    "Fine by me." Shiva said.

    They were both walking slowly towards their dorms, looking at the silent roads and enjoying the scenery in silence, when shweta coughed and broke the truce.

    "Aren''t you curious?" Shweta asked suddenly.

    "About you," Shiva said.

    "Yeah"

    "Well to be fair, I''ve been curious about you from day one. So nothing new." Shiva shrugged his shoulders and said.

    His words bringing a little smile to her downcast face.

    "Beautiful" Shiva muttered subconsciously, as he looked at her perfectly crafted face, which seemed to glow under the moonlight.

    "What?"

    "You, you look prettier when you smile." Shiva replied to her question, and her face brimmed in another smile.

    "Were you scared?" Shweta asked.

    "Obviously. Did you see those guys? None of them looked like a normal person. when they blocked us, for a second I thought they were gonna beat the crap out of me" Shiva said honestly, instead of boasting.

    His heart really was shaking nonstop. This was the first time he came across something like this. ss fights and hostel struggles are just kids pulling clothes and grabbing heads, which he can do easily too. But in front of those guys who looked like they won''t hesitate to break his bones and cut him in pieces, of course he was scared.

    "Thank god, I was just thinking too much." Shiva said and breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Don''t worry. I''ll keep you safe." Shweta said under her breath slowly, but Shiva who was walking just by her side still heard her.

    "Then I''ll rely on you." Shiva said and smiled as he remembered that Shweta once boasted to him about being a better fighter than him. Maybe she really is.

    "Hiding behind your girlfriend huh. Not a nice thing to do." Shweta smiled and teased. Not realizing the effects her words had on him.

    "Are you_ my girlfriend?" Shiva asked, stopping his racing heart and mind, which echoed her words again and again.

    "Good night, Shiva." Shweta realizing her blunder, just smiled and walked hurriedly into her dorm building, leaving him behind staring at her awaiting her reply.

    "Girlfriend huh, sounds nice enough." Shiva muttered and smiled as he turned back to leave.

    On the other hand, Nashi, who was driving back home, had a frown on his face all the way. He knew Shweta was with someone but he didn''t know it would turn out to be him.

    "Why does it have to be you, Shiv." Nashi tapped his hands on the window frame, "Let''s just hope for both our sake that she can wake up from her dreams faster, buddy. Otherwise I can only hurt you for it."

    [Send his name to Veera, and tell him to keep an eye out for him.] He said to his driver and shook his head in disappointment.

    ''You''re ruining everything shweta. And you don''t even know it.''

    But if you can''t wake up from your peaceful paradise, how can my father''s dreams be achieved.

 Chapter 276 Some memories are worse then the nightmares

    Chapter 276 Some memories are worse then the nightmares

    "Rio"

    "Rio"

    "Wake up"

    Katharine said when Rio didn''t reply or opened his eyes after she called him a few times.

    The speech from the professor was over and everyone was told to move towards the teleportation circle to leave this world, but he was still left asleep in a corner.

    "Wake up" She said again, as she contemted if she should just leave him here and go, just like his sister and that princess friend.

    But looking at the now empty hall, she decided to give it a final try.

    "It''s not toote, wake up." She said and shouted at the end of her sentence as she shook his shoulders with her hands.

    Yet her simple sentence triggered another piece of memory which appeared in Rio''s mind at this time.

    It was like someone tapped the fast forward button and stopped a movie right before the climax..

    Kajal stood in front of him, tears flowing down her eyes as she grabbed his shoulders and begged him to stop.

    "It''s not toote, shiva. Please stop it. Wake up from this madness." Her words choked as she tried to speak. Her hands were shaking as she looked at the familiar face with teary eyes.

    The room they were in was well decorated and spoke of its richness, but at this moment its walls were painted with blood, and bodies of several men were thrown here and there lifeless. The pungent smell of blood and heavy taste of iron was wafting her senses with every breath, making her nauseous.

    Shiva hesitated for a moment as he met her crying gaze, but then his eyesnded on therge photo of a smiling young man behind her, and his heart turned cold again.

    He looked at Kajal with cold eyes and then nced at his bloodied hands holding a sharp dagger tightly.

    "This isn''t you, shiva. You can let go _ " Kajal tried to speak but he stopped her midway.

    "It is toote for this one, Kaj. Maybe in the next life." Shiva said as he raised his hands and moved forward.

    [Wake up.]

    Rio finally got out of his dreams, as the system''s voice echoed in his mind. Sending a wave of pain like a electric shock passed through all his nerves.

    He opened his eyes to see Katherine struggling to break free from his hand which grabbed her neck and pinned her to a wall, while his other hand had a sword drawn near her neck. Just about to stab it through.

    He took a deep breath to calm himself, and pulled his hands back. The dark sword in his hand turned to smoke and disappeared.

    Katherine supported herself through the wall as she coughed and massaged her neck. While looking at him if he was finally sane or still out of it.

    "Sorry" Rio said as he opened his eyes again after channeling his mana to control the pain from the migraine he started to get.

    Katherine wanted to say something, but didn''t know what. She was never good at small talk and not very social either. So hermunication skills were pretty weak to ask cause orfort from him.

    "What happened?" Yet she still asked worriedly, as she felt something wrong .

    "Nothing,(deep breaths) I''m fine." Rio said taking a deep breath once the feeling of his head bursting apart finally calmed down a little.

    He massaged his head and furrowed his brows in pain, but since he couldn''t use the blessings to heal himself, he could only try and channel the technique that numbed all his senses.

    "Do you want me to call _"

    "I''m fine." Rio said sternly as Katherine touched his shoulder and asked to call for help seeing him breathing heavily.

    "Was it a nightmare?" She  asked after seeing he calmed down a little and looked somewhat better.

    Rio looked at her and thought about the girl he saw just now in his memories, their faces were so simr. Though not the eyes maybe. He just shook his head and replied back. "Something like that."

    After saying it, he turned around to stop looking at her face and started walking towards the teleportation circle.

    (The no blessing & empty hall were clear sign he was in VR, so he just followed the same path to exit.)

    The images of kajal still lingered in his head and seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar face on Katherine, it only made it harder for him to calm down.

    [Host, I wanted to _ ]

    ''Not a word.'' Rio cursed his system and muted it.

    Katherine too followed behind him closely, but kept a little distance. She could sense him speeding away but she just thought he was still not over his nightmare and needed some space.

    [No onees back after facing death and remains the same, mortal. I told you, that boy was a lost cause. If you want your revenge you can only rely on me.] A cold voice sounded in her ears but she just acted like she didn''t hear it and ignored it.

    Her goddess too scoffed seeing it and turned her attention away from her and then at the chosen of Nyx, whose figure looked shrouded in her darkness and smiled mysteriously. (How long can you hide him, Nyx. He''s gonna break out of your cocoon very soon. And when he does _ hehehe)  The goddessughed and left as she felt a murderous gaze staring back at her.

    Unaware of the intentions and games of gods he inadvertently became a part of, Rio just kept moving forward.

    When he reached the teleportation circle most of his ss was already teleported out, and only two or three groups were left.

    One such group, which contained Saisha in it.

    Rio looked at her for some time and then turned away and stood on the stage.

    When he appeared outside again, it was the same academy and same environment. He wasn''t in the mood to do anything, so he directly used his mana and entered the spatial portal that appeared in front of him.

    "See, that guy left without even looking for us." Reba said as she looked at that disappearing figure. They''ve been waiting here for a while but he just ran away.

    "Maybe he''s angry that you two left him there sleeping and came out alone." A said with a teasing tone.

    "She was the one who dragged me. It''s all your fault." Amelia said pointing at Reba and then med her.

    Reba looked at this shady teampartner who was quite happy imagining the scene where Rio would wake an hour or twoter and get scolded or something, but now med her for everything. "Let''s go to the canteen, I''m hungry after all this time."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Yeah, but you''re paying." Amelia said with a smile and followed her. While Reba just shook her head seeing this stingy foodie.

    On the other hand, Rio appeared inside a garden. (Same ce where hest met with Lisa.)

    "What''s your excuse this time?" He coldly said.

    [Host, I can''t control your mind.] System spoke patiently, trying to calm this raging host. [They''re your memories, I can''t do anything if you remember them in your dreams.]

    "What about her?" Rio said, mentioning Kajal "I had forgotten her. I didn''t remember her. Then why? What happened?"

    [As I told you before host, the memories about that girl were something you locked yourself and tried to forget subconsciously. Maybe something triggered it today or maybe your mind just thinks you''re ready to handle them now.]

    "But _ "

    [It''s just like a kid forgetting the pain of his fall down the stairs for weeks after his ident, and then remembering it yearster and just smiling about it. It''s natural host. And there''s no potion or pill that can fix it.] System exined its understanding and tried to reason but Rio just kept silent hearing it.

    ''Useless as ever then..'' He cursed in his heart and closed the system panel.

    System too knew he didn''t mean it and there wasn''t any point in arguing with him for pride, as he''d himself calm down with some time and say sorry for his outburst. So it let this insult go.

    ''Kajal huh, my friend.'' Rio muttered in his heart as scenes of him and kajal at the school and college life appeared in his mind again and he just sighed.

    "Some memories really are worse than my nightmares." Rio said as the scenes of his happy life with Shweta at the beginning yed in his mind, which ended up with the image of Nashiughing at him.

 Chapter 277 Angel and Erza

    <h4>Chapter 277 Angel and Erza </h4>

    ?277 Angel and Erza

    After sorting out his thoughts and memories, Rio didn''t try to remember anything else about Kajal or try to guess about her future or reasons for not being there with him, he didn''t want to think of the possibility which his heart was telling him.

    So he just buried all those thoughts for now. Until he remembered what exactly happened eventually.

    He just took a long shower and went to sleep afterwards.

    Not in the mood to attend another boring lecture, he took a day off and asked permission from Miss Freya for a leave.

    Hearing his lousy excuse of being sick and in need of rest, which Miss Freya was toozy to argue about, she agreed and approved it.

    Leaving the academy after getting the permission, Rio first went to meet with Esme and check the progress for hispany, Angel.

    The higher staff working there was all selected by Artemis herself and some who were pulled by Rio ording to the knowledge of plot, so he didn''t need to worry about theirpetency. He just went there to see if some stupid moles or viins appeared there.

    After spending weeks trying his luck on the lottery machine and spending thousands of points uselessly, Rio had finally gotten something useful a couple of times. And one such item was called ''Heart scale''.

    An artifact in the form of sunsses which could show people''s hearts to him. Simply put, with those sses on, he could see what others felt about him in terms of color.

    Red meant that person hates him and wished for his death.

    ck meant that person is jealous of him and wished for his downfall.

    Grey meant normal. Signaling he doesn''t feel anything for the host or is simply a normal stranger.

    White meant that person admires him or respects him.

    While yellow meant they''re his loyalists and would willingly follow his orders.

    Depending on the intensity of the color above that person''s head, Rio could check the range of emotions anyone had for him.

    [Scale = Red - ck - Grey - White - Yellow]

    And looking at Esme who had a headful of golden light, Rio nodded his head and looked away.

    The scale had many shorings and loopholes too, but this was the best item he had for now, without wasting another 50000 points to update these sses.

    Currently in the meeting with the core members and researchers working at Angel, Rio noticed 3 people with ck scale, 5 in gray, and 1 with amber light above their heads.

    Reading their names and positions, he sent a voice message to Esme telepathically and told her to deal with all of them after some time. He had no intention to keep useless people and those who could turn against him near his business.

    And giving this task to Esme, Rio didn''t need to think about their endings. He was sure that in a week or two, the media of floating inds was gonna report a dozen of idental deaths or missing person reports, all belonging to hispany.

    Giving them a few instructions about the prices and profits earned from several potions, as well as the few low or medium grade potion recipes he got from his lotteries Rio left them for their own work and research.

    "What''s the progress about the things I asked you to find?" Rio asked Esme once everyone left the room and they were left alone.

    "The herbs you mentioned are all in this storage ring, as for the people, a few of them have been found but some are still hard to locate." Esme said as she handed him a storage ring and a file containing pictures and news about several figures Rio asked her to look for.

    "Increase the reward and the manpower for it, and once you find all of them, send their details to Myra and ask her to free some shadows to keep a close eye on them."

    "Also for the names I highlighted, send some people to infiltrate their daily life, their families, their businesses or anything useful around them. Nothing about them should be hidden from our eyes."

    "Yes master." Esme nodded her head and silently urged herself to finish her tasks efficiently next time.

    "How''s the process for the other businesses? Have you bought them?"

    "Not many, but we did manage to buy rights for a few little industries in our name." Esme said while handing him another speck of documents. "Since you asked to avoid anyone who''s affiliated with other noble or elite houses, the progress is slow."

    "What about_"

    "The list about all the dungeons and othernds you mentioned is on the backside. But without proper coordinations or data, it''s hard to find them."

    Esme replied without Rio''s question, and Rio just stayed silent and kept reading everything with peace of mind.

    Everything he asked or ordered had some significance in the plot or his future ns. Those people and ces all yed some role in the novel, and he wanted to get everything under control.

    His time in the dungeon had put a full stop on his various ns, thus he didn''t want to take any chances again.

    If nothing else, Rio needed to buy and acquire as much of these floating inds before those gods descended and ruined everything. Thend on these inds was gonna turn into the safe haven for every unawakened and unaffiliated person after phase 2 of emergence, and he wanted to hold control over all their lives and survival.

    "We''ve managed to locate the traces of a book about the records of stones history you mentioned, but currently it''s in the hands of someone rted to the Artisan guild." Esme replied, showing him a portrait and pictures of a dwarf drinking and boasting in a bar.

    Rio took a recording crystal from her hands and yed the video captured in it.

    His hands froze as he paused the video in a frame, as his eyesnded on a bookshelf behind the noisy dwarf. Zooming in the projection, Rio nced at a certain book whose cover had the image of an asteroid falling down from the sky and a man kneeling and praying to it with open arms.

    "What role does this dwarf have?" Rio

    "He''s called Yngwie Craggenson." Esme didn''t tell him the specific role but reported his name. And hearing the word Craggenson, Rio guessed his identity. That surname had a certain reputation in the Artisan association.

    "Ignore him for now and look for the other books." Rio said as he shook his head in disappointment. "But keep some people around him to make sure to follow that book. He''s not allowed to sell it or give it to anyone else."

    "Yes master." Esme replied and nodded without any questions. She''s long been used to Rio''s seemingly weird or nonsensical orders and didn''t doubt him for anything.

    "When can your sister and Tanyae here?" Rio asked after looking at everything and storing them into his system storage.

    "Tanya cane here by next month once she finishes her training. As for Erza, I''m not sure. She''s still on her test missions, so I haven''t had contact with her." Esme replied after some thought.

    In ke family, once any shadow finished their respective training, they were given a bunch of missions which they needed toplete. If they passed and finished all their jobs without any hups, they''d be hired and given a permanent position. But if they failed any one of their jobs or left any clues about ke family''s involvement, they''d be silenced directly.

    Seeing how Erza possessed limited talent, yet was supposed to be Amelia''s shadow, Rio could only guess how harsh Artemis might''ve been on her. After all, she doted on her only daughter a little too much.

    "Mother didn''t arrange something outrageous for her, did she?" Rio asked, feeling a little bit worried about Erza, thinking if she failed and died, then fate could get Esme''s hatred plot back on track in a different way.

    "She should be fine. Last I talked she was going to clear the Zorkswishnds." Esme said, but hearing her Rio nearly spat out the mouthful of coffee he just drank..

    -cough cough-

    cing the cup down and signaling Esme that he was fine, Rio turned to his system for confirmation ''Did she just say _''

    [Yes host.]

    ''RIP Erza''..n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 278 Mansion of Madness - Eclipse

    <h4>Chapter 278 Mansion of Madness - Eclipse </h4>

    ?278 Mansion of Madness - Eclipse

    After dealing with everything in Angel, Rio sent Esme away and moved on the highest floor of the building, which was his own private floor. Where no one but him was allowed entry.

    As he stepped out of the lift, the doors and security measures locked the entire floor. His appearance started changing into that of Shiva and once done his figure disappeared into a spatial portal.

    Appearing in his next office of Eclipse.

    Eclipse didn''t have a fixed headquarters, nor a fixed location from which they operated. The base Rio had gotten for Eclipse was actually a tower artifact, called ''Mahal of Madness''. (Mansion of Madness)

    A residential artifact which was simr to a moving mansion, something that would always rotate around the center of the tower it was founded inside. It could change its size, shape, space and color ording to the owner''s wishes. It had its own offense and defense systems. Even the speed it rotated around the tower could be controlled by its master.

    And once this artifact recognized its owner, it would be bound to that person, just like other soul bound artifacts.

    In the novel, this artifact appeared after phase 2 of Emergence started and was the base of another viin group. And the ruler of this base was a viiness called Cersei Macbeth.

    But in reality this base artifact was bound to the soul of her stepdaughter, who was too afraid to go against her mommy''s wishes.

    But as anyone who ever read some cliched novel can guess, that girl is a pitiful vase heroine, who''s just waiting to be saved by the hero. A hero, who decides to help her get freedom. Later this pitiful girl gets courage to stand against her evil stepmother listening to hero''s heroic speech and together they kill the viiness.

    The heroine feeling gratitude wants to give this treasure to hero, but the righteous hero refuses and says he didn''t do it for the treasure, but for her

    Then heroine falls head over heels, a hug and a kiss, then bed that led to sex.

    Happy ending.

    (Ohh forgot to mention,ter on hero gets both the pussy and the pce.)

    Rio had no interest in this type of vase heroine with no useful quality. The viiness stepmother on the other hand, now she was something interesting.

    "You''re back." Cersei said as she felt the familiar breath of magic appearing in the mansion and directly appeared in front of him.

    Shiva nodded his head as he turned to look at the mature women dressed in a red chongsan with a cigar in her mouth and a sword on her waist.

    The smell of peony flowers filled the room as she started walking like an enchantress. Her each move was filled with seductive charm, as her tight dress highlighted her proud curves and hot figure.

    Yet instead of being charmed or staring at her body like a hungry beast, Shiva just shook his head seeing her usual tricks, which was also the reason he kept her around and alive.

    "Gather everyone." He said and started walking, as the floor and walls around him gave way to him and he appeared inside arge hall, which was originally quite a distance away from his office.

    Ignoring the supernatural phenomenon, Shiva just walked on the steps as he reached his throne and sat upon it.

    (It wasn''t his doing, this damn artifact intended on giving this treatment for its new master.)

    Looking at the gloomy environment of thisrge hall, with floor filled with cold smoke and walls painted in ck and blood. Shiva shook his head.

    ''How long till it''spletely refined?'' Rio asked hearing the ghostly whispers sounding through the empty walls.

    [Another 3 months.]

    "Just fucking great." Shiva said and waved his hands to disperse everything and clearing up all the gloominess and haunting scenery.

    Just this one thing dropped his mana by nearly 80%.

    ''System'' Rio said and next moment felt pure mana flowing his veins and gathering in his body.

    [Happy to help.] System said as it deducted his point in return for mana.

    Endless supply of mana was just at his fingertipsall with the number of points he had, after all.

    As the hall cleared, sounds of footsteps started appearing from all sides and soon in front of him stood 7 people. 5 male and 2 females.

    Core members of his Eclipse.

    Riley and Ryan - his shadows.

    Cersei, Nirdayi, Jel, Killian, and Desoltor - his minions.

    Aside from Riley and Ryan who were team protagonist in the novel, all the other 5 members were viins - some minor, some average.

    "Wee back, master." ��7

    Everyone said as they bowed their heads and stayed like this until he didn''t signal them otherwise.

    "A bunch of trash." Shiva said as he looked at all of them and cursed them after seeing their progress in his disappearance. The pressure of a mountain weighed on their heads, as the gravity where they were standing suddenly increased many times, depending on their strength and endurance.

    Formations and runes appeared all around them, sealing their mana and restraining their aura.

    Their backs lumped and knees touched the floor with a bang, as the pressure on them kept increasing. Yet there was no sound of any damage to the floor below their feet.

    "2 years." Shiva shouted as he crossed his legs "2 years of time and this is all you managed to do. Forget the outside world, half the floating inds doesn''t recognize your name."

    "Master, that_ we _."

    "We avoided the officials, other guilds and the families to maintain cover." Cersei said with gritted teeth.

    "Yes master, we''ve already controlled more than a dozen of businesses. " Killian said as he clenched the paint brush in his hands, to stop the feeling of it breaking out of his control and attacking Shiva in self defense. "Everything is going perfect."

    "Perfect" Rio sneered and waved his hand, as the floor space between Killian and the pir behind him disappearedand in his horrified eyes. The wooden pir made an extra long spear forming out if itself which stabbed him in the stomach and nailed him to the air.

    Urgh- Killian spurted a mouthful of blood and grunted in pain. When the next moment everything returned to normal, and the pir disappeared and he fell down to the floor with a loud thud. Returning back to his original ce nearby other members.

    "A shitty club owner dares to refuse our payment and tries to fights back - is that what you call perfect." Shiva coldly spat at them and Killian trembled in fear and stayed silent with his head down.

    "That fault lies with me, master. I should''ve handled it myself." Ryan crawled forward and said to him.

    "The fault is all of yours, you all had some skills and that''s why I gathered you and spared your lives. But what did you do, 2 years time, and you lot just wasted it sitting around, ying house."

    "No more mercy." Shiva said as the pressure on everyone got cancelled and everything turned to normal.

    "Riley will issue a couple of tasks to all of you soon, and within 3 months time I need all of them finished. If any of you failed, he''ll be joining the ghosts trapped in the walls of this mansion."

    Shiva''s words had just finished as the ck fog covered the floor again, as strange faces formed on the bloodied walls and wailing sounds filled with horror and pain echoed in the chamber. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Sweat formed over Killian''s forehead as he seemed to see his own face in one such corner. And a voice calling out to him.

    "Get out." Shiva said and all of them disappeared from the hall and appeared in their own rooms.

    [Don''t take out your anger on these guys, host.] System spoke once Shiva was alone and started smoking. [They''re still useful, after all.]

    ''You aren''t here or you''ll be joining them too.'' Shiva said as he puffed out the smoke and stood up from his throne.

    [...] (Silence)

    ##

    Author note - You guys already know the backstory about how Shiva got Riley and Ryan on his side. As for other members of Eclipse, you''ll get to know their stories, methods and motivations with more time and appearance they get on screen.

    By the way, just a question - How do u think Rio managed to get this artifact from that vase heroine''s hands. Is she alive or dead?

 Chapter 279 Dante and Demons

    <h4>Chapter 279 Dante and Demons </h4>

    ?279 Dante and Demons

    Walking down the stairs of his throne, the scenery around him changed with each step, and soon the spacious hall was nowhere to be seen and Shiva was standing on the gates of a prison cell.

    He could directly teleport anywhere inside this 3 story pagoda(tower), but he liked the feeling of enjoying this reformation magic.

    ''The more I see it, the more happy I feel.'' Shiva said as he looked at the moving bricks and walls. It reminded him of a marvel movie of magicians, except here he didn''t even have to move his hands to cast a spell to do this. Which only made it even more cool to look at.

    Shiva pushed open the door and snapped his fingers, as the torches around every corner of this ce lit up and light shone in the dark cell.

    The sudden light covered the room, and acted the same as chili powder or salt on the injuries of the man hung from the iron chains in mid air. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The middle aged bearded man grumbled and shrieked in pain as he struggled valiantly but in vain.

    "Hello Dante." Shiva said as he looked at the men covered in various injuries and torture marks. His refined appearance was nowhere to be seen as he was just marked with blood and cuts from head to toe.

    "Remember me?"

    Dante looked at Shiva and seemed to see some hope of life, he started squirming and screaming, begging for forgiveness and another chance.

    He hated this guy from ruining his business and making him a prisoner at the beginning, but after suffering hell for so long, he had let go of that stupid idea for now. Now he just remembered the words which said ''The only one who can spare your life and save you from me, is my master.''

    "I_I''ll do everything. Just please, let me go." And so he begged.

    His past arrogance was all gone, as even his biggest reliance, his contracted God wasughing at his misery, and enjoying the live torture scene he could witness from high above.

    It had been more than three weeks and in all this time he had only eaten twice and drunk water five times. That''s all these damn Eclipse bastards had given him.

    Not to mention the mental and physical torture they forced him to go through.

    At the beginning his God would often threaten others and try to help him stay strong, supplying some blessing or healing powers, but over this period, that damn demonpletely gave up on him.

    Hell, now he even sends suggestions to the torturing awakeners to punish Dante even more for ruining his reputation in Den of Devils.

    [Ythranor praises your cruelty and control. Saying you should follow him and learn the way of demons.]

    Shiva read the notifications from Dante''s god and couldn''t help but smile. This guy pestered him for a week once he caught Dante, saying he''ll find me, kill me etc etc. And now this same guy proposed to teach him.

    ''Gods really are duplicitous in Arcadia.''

    [Maybe they are everywhere.] System replied too.

    "Please, I''ll do whatever you want. I''ll take your brand, a soul control, a ve mark anything, just stop torturing me." Dante sobbed and sniffled as he screamed for mercy, yet Shiva just looked at him without batting an eye and kept thinking about what to do with him.

    [Just do what he says. He''s no good dead.] His system said, agreeing to let him be a ve.

    ''He''ll give me points.''

    [Which you don''tck.] System replied feeling down over this host''s actions of ruining every storyline years or months before it starts.

    [You''ve seen the situation of Eclipse yourself. They need more manpower, elite manpower. And this guy can be one of them, if you give him another chance.]

    [You can kill him whenever you want, but you can''t make him a useful minion once he''s dead. So it''s better to _ ]

    ''Fine, I got it already. stop pestering me.'' Shiva said and swiped the system away.

    He waved his hands and the pirs Dante was tied to came together, almost scaring the viin to death thinking he was about to get crushed between them. But they stopped just over the distance where Dante feltfortable and didn''t feel like he was getting stretched apart.

    Next the floor below him also raised and turned into a chair where he could sit down.

    "Th _ thank you." Dante murmured as he started munching on the food that apoeared in front of him.

    "You''ll work for me from now on." Shiva said directly, his words made Dante surprised and he nearly choked on his food. But gaining hisposure he hurriedly nodded his head like a bird pecking on rice.

    "Yes, yes. I''ll do everything. I''ll _"

    "If you betray me, or ever even think about double crossing me, you''ll miss these walls as a weddingpared to what I would do to you then." Shiva said clearly aware of this guy''s nature from the novel. "Better be careful Dante."

    Shiva said and turned around to leave. As for the matters of marking his soul, or signing a ve contract those things were left for his other minions. There was no need for him to take any risks where those demon gods can identify him as Rio.

    Dante, who was chomping down mouthful of food every second, looked at Shiva''s back with some resentment and anger, and then looked away before anyone noticed it.

    ''Sooner orter, this will all be mine.'' Dante said as he looked at this magical mansion and the pretty girl walking inside his prison. ''I''ll have you under my crotch soon enough, just you wait bitch, just you wait."

    Dante cursed Shiva and then Cersei who happily came near him.

    "Staring at me with such unkind eyes. Looks like your training is quite slow, Nir (Nirdayi)." Cersei said in disappointment as she turned to look at the shadow behind her. She turned back at Dante and spoke "Boss said you''ll join us from tomorrow, so we only have today for ourselves. Let''s enjoy this time together okay."

    Cersei smiled and said with a twisted grin. Her expression grew more exagerated as she saw Dante shivering in fear and begging for mercy.

    "This is for your own good, Dante. You should be d it''s us two, and not the boss himself. Otherwise you might notst till 3 weeks to speak surrender." Nirdayi said as he walked inside the room and licked his lips as he tasted the smell of fear in the air.

    Half his body was covered in burn marks, including his face and exposed arms. Courtesy of a bigger maniac controlling hellfire.

    Shiva walked slowly towards his room as walls closed in behind him, shutting off the sounds of painful screams.

    [Ythranor smiles and gives you a nod of approval.]

    [Den of devils blesses you with the knowledge of 13 deadly torture methods of a broken world.]

    [Train it well and show us some more bloodbaths.]

    Shiva, who was walking back to his room, stopped and smiled as he received a gift notification from those demons.

    [Blessings given by gods can be their skills, techniques, knowledge or a certain legacy - depending on their own wishes.]

    Clicking ''yes'' on the option where world system asked him if he wanted to receive this gift of knowledge - Rio felt a surge of memories appearing in his mind directly, like a book was printed in his head and all kinds of theory and diagrams of various methods of torture and painful techniques appeared in his mind. Each method crueler than thest one.

    ''Demons, they really are twisted to the extreme.'' Shiva said as he asked Nyx and system to cover him, while he changed his appearance and turned back into Rio and teleported back to Angel.

 Chapter 280 Auction event and ring grandpa

    <h4>Chapter 280 Auction event and ring grandpa </h4>

    ?280 Auction event and ring grandpa

    Once Rio was done dealing with Dante, he called for Riley and gave her all the instructions for what he wanted from those members of Eclipse.

    Since he wanted to develop Eclipse to a level simr to his guild or even stronger than it. They needed a reputation so impable that even the name of Eclipse would send shivers down the spines of everyone.

    And all of that needed to be started with the floating inds, just under the nose of world association.

    Hard, extremely so - but if he wanted to kill Leon and survive the second phase, and all the other cmities that followed it, floating inds needed to be secured under his control.

    That''s why he''s been thinking, making ns for both Angel and Eclipse, buyingnds, people, properties, dungeons and anything that could give him a say against the world leaders when the world really turns to shit.

    Being strong enough to face off against the whole world was something a protagonist could do relying on his luck, but Rio didn''t have that habit.

    Lighting up another cigarette Rio came to the balcony and looked at the evening sky and sighed to himself.

    "What''s the news from our informants at Warzy? Any movement?"

    "Nothing big. Most of their bases that we had eyes on have shifted their locations or changed leaders after seeing the constant pressure from everywhere." Riley said as she stood beside him.

    "There''ve been no news from many of the minions we''ve bought or captured. They''re probably all dead by now."

    "What about from the list I gave you?" Rio asked and didn''t care about their deaths.

    "One of them had some movement a few days ago. From what we intercepted they''re nning an attack soon. But any other details are not clear."

    "Hmm, keep an eye on it. Also ce some people inside the temples of Kali and archive of magic."

    "Wouldn''t it be risky, Gods have _"

    "Don''t worry about the gods, they won''t care as long as you don''t meddle with their faith or believers." Rio said and threw away the cigarette, watching as it floated and fell down the heights of the building. "The spies don''t have to be in higher positions, or raise any storms. They just need to pass some normal information now and then, that would suffice."

    "Fine, if you say so." Riley said and nodded her head.

    "The auction is tomorrow. We got the tickets, and there''ll be around 8-10 people from our side. You just need to tell us the items they need to bid or raise price, they''ll do it anonymously." Riley said as she showed him the advertisement pamphlet of the auction.

    "Did you find out what items they''re auctioning?" Rio asked as he read the address and details of organizers of this auction.

    Golden Para temple and World association were mostly responsible for the items auctioned, while Nishkal family held the venue and auction house in their name.

    Any of the guests can also sell their items, so Rio wasn''t sure if the things he was looking for were listed already or submittedst moment.

    "No. We''re trying but the security there is no joke." Riley said in some disappointment.

    Rio had informed them about this auction merely days after he came back from that dungeon. So they had more than two months of time, but the results weren''t as good as she promised him earlier.

    "Don''t try too hard, if anyone found anything suspicious, the losses would outweigh the gains." Rio said and turned around to leave the tower.

    Other than Riley and Ryan, all of Eclipse knew him as Shiva, so he didn''t mind not having the mask of deception on his face around them. As for their gods, Nyx made sure they remains tight-lipped about his secrets.

    "I''m going back. Keep an eye on Dante for the time being. If you need him to do something, team him up with Cersei or Nir. They''ll handle his rebellious thoughts until he learns his lessons." Rio gave some final instructions and started the car, going back to his academy.

    He closed his eyes as his thoughts drafted onto the event of the auction written in the novel. And the opportunity that awaited dear protagonist there.

    This auction wasn''t particrly big and was mainly hosted for the new arrivals of the academy and some rising talents or businesses from the inds. Though famous for its variety of items sold, their range and uses were limited at best to B grade awakeners.

    Anything higher than that wasn''t sold in this auction but at the mid year tournament auction or year end auction.

    If Leon''s skill journey at the beginning was ranked based on opportunities - then after Apollo''s guidance and the technique he found in Eisjer domain, this auction had the best power up moment stored for him.

    Apollo was unavoidable, and looting the skill of the Eisjer domain would have to wait until he could leave the academy. So this opportunity was something Rio couldn''t let Leon get his hands on.

    Since this one could very well fix his only fault in strength and make him shine. Leon has high rank now and lots of mana too, but what hecks are skills or techniques to utilize that untapped power.

    Unlike his family which had library filled with stronger arts to choose from, Leon''s family wasn''t as rich or resourceful. So hecked them.

    And who can teach the protagonist out of the world skills and techniques, as well as act as his bodyguard for free.

    A grandpa in the ring.

    A stronger figure belonging to very high ranks, but now in weak and sealed soul form. Just in need for a drop of blood to awaken and be bound to that person for life.

    "It would be fun once I rip out another chunk of your luck, little Leon." Rio said to himself and smiled heartily.

    (Rip ring grandpa. I''d say may your soul rest in peace. But knowing him, you''ll be in pieces, so just enjoy yourst peaceful sleep tonight.) System said in its heart and prayed for the pitiful soul.

    Yet the next moment it sent a shameless message to Rio.

    [Ring grandpa = 50000 system points. Limited exchange offer. Valid for next 24 hours.]

    [H smiles and says it''s time to fulfill your promise.]

    [Loki smiles in anticipation as he can''t wait to see the gift you prepared for him.]

    [H and Loki argue over who''s gonna be the first to see this gift.]

    ''The vige hasn''t settled but the beggars have already arrived.'' [Gaanv basa nahi ki bhakari pahle hi aa gaye] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio said and swiped all the messages from all these shameless people away from his eyes.

    ''How can they think of a life in such meaningless ways?'' Rio shunned everyone and thought ''At Least let him be of little use to me first.''

 Chapter 281 Currencies of arcadia

    <h4>Chapter 281 Currencies of arcadia </h4>

    ?281 Currencies of arcadia

    "Brother, are you going out too?" Amelia asked, during breakfast time as she noticed several students making ns for their visit outside the academy today. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Most of them just wanted to go shopping for the freshers party, others just wanted to roam around.

    "Yes, I have something nned. I''ll be back before the evening training." Rio said without looking up.

    "I''m going out too, you can join me for the shopping when you''re free." Reba said and sat down on the table with her te.

    "Why are you leaving now too?" Amelia asked, surprised.

    "There''s some kind of auction event held by one of the elite families today. Alfred asked me to go with him." Reba said and looked at Rio whose hands stopped hearing Alfred''s name.

    But then he continued eating without saying anything.

    �Cng

    The sound of the silver spoon breaking in two and falling to the ground brought Reba back, as she looked at Amelia whose eyes were turning ck or red in anger.

    "Amy, eat." Rio said without looking up and Amelia just clenched her fists and forced herself to calm down.

    Though her pressing hands did mold the table in her hand''s shape.

    "I''m full. I''ll go for training." Amelia said and left without looking back. The aura on her body kept oozing along with a faint madness for blood, despite her high control.

    Reba looked at both their reactions and didn''t know what to say for a while. After much hesitation she just gave up.

    After the dungeon crash event, the academy and others praised Alfred and Lisa for leading the student out of the cmity and saving their lives.

    World Association and Zenith kept this news high to hide their failure to stop the attack. While King Maximus and the faction backing Alfred used this to promote Alfred''s heroic image and build rtionships with all the parties involved.

    Yet even this positive news campaign couldn''t hide the whispered rumors about what really happened, and how they really managed to survive.

    And that''s what made Artemis and Amelia both hate Alfred. If not for the blood rtion orck of proof, Reba was sure there would''ve been Alfred''s body buried first before anyone from Warzy died.

    But there wasn''t anything she could do about it. Alfred was her brother after all.

    The whole meal was spent in silence as neither Rio and Reba said anything.

    "Take care of yourself." Rio said and left after he finished eating.

    ''System, I''m thinking _.''

    [Host..]

    ''I''ve never actually used the explosives you boasted so much about.''

    [???]

    ''Let''s do that today.'' Rio said and smiled coldly, as he remembered about the smug look Alfred gave him before he ran away from the dungeon.

    ''Don''t let her be drowned in her anger.'' Rio said as he pressed his hand over the mark of Kali''s blessing.

    After getting ready for the auction event, Rio called Esme, who was already waiting nearby to pick him up.

    Getting in the car, Rio took out his private phone and contacted Riley.

    [Change of ns. Send 3 men from squad zero to the auction.]

    [And bring some fireworks too.]

    Sending the message, Rio threw his phone into the system storage and closed his eyes. Thinking of all the drama that could happen at the auction, a smile inadvertently came to his face. Just the look on his eyes kept getting colder.

    To enter the auction site, one either needed to have their invitation or membership card. If not both, then one could even buy a ticket for 10000 AC.

    AC or Arcadian coins was themon currency system approved by the world association.

    These were different from the normal currency of gold, silver, copper or tinum or mixed metal coins (MM coins) . Which is mainly used by non-awakerners or regr folks.

    1 MM coin = 10 tinum coin

    1 tinum coin = 10 gold coins

    1 gold coin = 100 silver coins

    1 silver coin = 1000 copper coins

    1 copper coin

    For awakeners these methodical coins fail to hold value as any illusion magic or metal magic could create them out of thin air. So to stop the frauds, different currencies were created for the awakeners.

    Arcadian coins are made of a total of 23 different metals in an unusual mixture which makes them hard to be created by fraudulent people or scammers. Not to mention every arcadian coin had a special mark on them which could be identified by pouring a little bit of mana into them.

    This makes it easier to identify even the single faulty coin or fake coin in a pile of coins.

    There are even more currencies which are higher and different than arcadian coins, like mana stones, magic crystals, soul coins, ember shards or essence cards.

    All these methods of payments depend on their various roles and usage for transactions. Same is the case for their conversion rates which differs depending on their rarity and market value.

    From the current market price, 10000AC could be equal to 100 high grade mana stones. 1000 mid grade mana stones or 3000 low grade mana stones.

    Nothing much for any noble or elite family to pay for.

    Unless of course the protagonist''s family.

    Rio had a special team of hackers which were constantly monitoring all the ounts of Leon and his entire family. After all, who knew when that guy got some treasure on the roadside and became nouveau riche in seconds.

    Thus from what he knew, Leon had about 25000AC and 50 high grade mana stones on him, which his father gave him during the admission time.

    There was no way this guy was going to waste almost 1/3 of his entire savings just to attend an auction.

    As for if he got an invitation, well he didn''t.

    Nishkal family''s young master had an old feud with our Leon after all.

    Three years ago, Leon was attending a simr auction with his father, looking for a way for any miracle medicine which could cure him, but when he went to the toilet, he came across a room where he heard the sound of screaming inside. Curious and heroic as he is, he entered and found Nishkal family''s heir forcing himself upon a young girl.

    Since Leon couldn''t fight the guards behind the heir, he just started screaming and calling for help.

    Since the venue was fully crowded some people came there soon and the Nishkal family''s heirs'' good deeds were exposed and ruined.

    Though the news was quickly suppressed and never leaked outside. But the heir of the elite family always held a grudge against Leon for it.

    As for that girl, well she disappeared and was never seen again.

    Probably only one person knew where she was and that was Rio himself. After all, it was all his own n and idea just to ignite an amber which could turn into a me today.

    Experiment number 29 - can he create new enemies and challenges for the protagonist. Entirely different from the plotlines ahead of time.

 Chapter 282 The pervert protagonist’s public death

    <h4>Chapter 282 The pervert protagonist''s public death </h4>

    ?282 The pervert protagonist''s public death

    "There''s still some time, let''s just wait before going in."

    Rio said and looked at the building in front of him as his car just stood there for some time. Looking at the people entering inside or guarding outside. A nce at the nearby facilities or shops around the auction house.

    Rio''s eyes finallynded on Leon as he kept drinking something he picked from the system shop, and a smirk came to his lips.

    ''So you''re here.'' Rio looked at the idiot dressed in academy uniform curiously reading the details of the auction outside the walls.

    Why he was in the academy uniform still outside the academy, Rio couldn''t bother to think. Just one word - protagonist.

    If he''s not in tatters like a beggar, then he''s in other embarrassing or looking down on me clothes.

    Watching as Leon decided to enter directly inside, but was stopped at the gate by security guards. Rio just brought out some popcorn and started eating as he kept enjoying the drama about to unfold.

    "Ticket, but you didn''t ask them for anything?" Leon said as he pointed at a couple who entered directly without showing any tickets.

    "Sir, they''re one of our main guests that''s why they didn''t have to show it." The security guard respectfully said while cursing this idiot in his heart for ruining his mood in the morning. "If you don''t have a ticket, you can''t enter. So please step aside to stop blocking the entrance."

    "But I want to enter. I''ll buy the ticket, where can I get them?" Leon asked.

    "Sir, the tickets are a little expensive. Why don''t you try the public auction house next street which is free." The guard said and tried to shoo Leon away, who was attracting everyone''s attention.

    Hearing their constant chatter Aldrich who was guiding the guest couple inside frowned and looked back at the entrance.

    "Miss, I''ll be back soon. He''ll show you to your room." Aldric said apologetically and signaled his shadow to guide the couple inside.

    His eyes locked at the familiar figure standing outside and a yful smile came to his face.

    ''So you dare toe here, you damn cripple.'' Aldric said as he looked at Leon.

    Calling his people and asking him what was happening, he decided to know everything first.

    Learning that this idiot was without a ticket, Aldric smiled and called one of his guards and gave him an order and then walked outside.

    "What''s the hold up? Can''t you shoo these dogs away?" Aldric said loudly pointing at Leon.

    "You _"

    After taking in the fact that someone indeed called HIM a dog, Leon got furious and pointed at Aldric but then stopped as he remembered who he was.

    "Sir, please leave. Young master is in a bad mood." one of the older security guard came to Leon''s side and whispered in his ear, trying to save him from the anger of their young master. But Leon just stared at Aldric and clenched his fists in anger.

    He remembered the time when he stopped this rapist from doing something bad to a pretty girl and in return this bastard kicked him in the nuts before anyone came hearing his screams.

    He had been aughing stock of his n for weeks whenever the healers came to apply medicine on his swollen balls.

    "Young master _ that _ he _ he doesn''t have a ticket and refuses to leave." The first security guard came forward and bowed 90�� to apologize and me Leon.

    "Doesn''t have a ticket, then why are you standing there and chatting like he''s your secret lover, throw him out for me." Aldric said feigning anger and ignoring Leon.

    "I can buy a ticket." Leon said with a straight back as he chanted God knows what mantras to calm down his anger.

    "Even the most normal public ticket costs 10000AC. Tell me, do you have that much money, or do you need to sell some property of yours to get that money too?" Aldric said, reminding Leon about the fact that his father had to sell 3 mines to get Nishkal family''s forgivenessst time.

    Clenching his fist in anger again, Leon red at Aldric and then decided to throw that money on this bastard''s face.

    He''s not the same weak and cripple boy from 3 years ago, he''s an avatar now, first among his generation, and the next supreme - though his heart bled a little hearing the outrageous amount of coins, but he decided to do it anyway.

    First he just wanted to enter to try his luck, but now he wanted to show this bastard and then let him guide him inside like a useless dandy he is.

    "Take this."

    Raising his hands leon channeled his mana and waved it in front of Aldric.

    Instantly a pile of women''s clothes, skirts, makeup kits and wigs fell on the ground, creating a small mountain reaching his knees.

    Seeing this unknown stuff instead of Arcadian coins Leon had a frown on his face, as he looked at his storage ring and then at the clothes thrown out.

    "What _"

    Hahahhahah N?v(el)B\\jnn

    HHahaha

    "Look at that. What the hell."

    "Is he some pervert?"

    "Young master just said he can exchange stuff and this idiot put a fancy stall in front of him. Ahahhaha"

    "But his taste is indeed a little _ "

    "Hey, doesn''t he look a little familiar _ oh I remember he''s that cripple who turned around and got first rank at zenith."

    "But does he have that kind of hobby?"

    While Leon looked at the thrown out stuff in disbelief, a little crowd gathered around him and startedughing and mocking him loudly.

    Aldric used his mana and controlled a see through lingerie and waved it in front of Leon''s body and burst outughing.

    "Ahhh my eyes. I can''t unsee it now. Why did I have to picture it? Hahaha"

    "But he did look a little _"

    "Bah bah bah"

    The guard around him also yed their parts and started cooperating with their master and startedughing.

    While Leon tried to check his storage ring again and he came across stuff even more outrageous. Suddenly surprised he lost hisposure for a moment and ended up emptying his entire ring.

    ''Fuck'' he cursed as he looked at the falling whips, handcuffs and other weird looking tools which he had no idea what their use was. .

    This time even the crowd was surprised by this new wave of reveal and kept silent for a second with wide eyes, before losing their mind andughing maniacally at this fancy pervert.

    "Rich guy_ is this how he likes to y."

    "Tsk tsk tsk, I know those adulterous dungeons are to me when we see young people twisted like this."

    "What a shame, _ wait _ is he showing his collection to get a partner around here."

    All kinds of insults and taunts filled the air as everyoneughed at Leon, who just stood there frozen on the spot trembling in fury, as his face turned red in anger and shame.

    [Apollo shakes his head in disappointment.]

    [Priapus shows disdain at you and shows his long waving phallus(penis) , saying that''s how a man should be.]

    [Lokiughs and writes down your name in his pervert list.]

    [Goddess Ishtar takes a sneaky nce at your collection and blushes a little.]

    Reading the lines of notifications from various gods and hearing theughter from everyone, Leon just wanted to find a crack in the ground and hide inside. Wishing he could turn invisible.

    While the person truly responsible for all this was chugging down a juice trying to control hisughter and not spray it outside.

    Rio gulped down the cold drink and breathed a little as he sent a message to Riley and asked to get a recording of this scene and save it and share it on Whisper and Moments.

    (Whisper and moments are like whatsApp and Instagram of arcadia.)

    [Was it _really necessary? Hahhaha] system tried to speak seriously for the protagonist''s sake but ended upughing in between seeing Leon bringing several more toys out.

    "You''re the one who chose the items, I just asked at randomly." Rio said and shook his head as this system never really took any me for anything.

 Chapter 283 wrong wrong wrong work

    <h4>Chapter 283 wrong wrong wrong work</h4>

    ?283 wrong wrong wrong work

    Sorry everyone.

    This was originally a chapter when I uploaded my second novel''s chapter here once by mistake.

    I didn''t see it for that time, and then it slipped my mind. Since WN doesn''t allow removing chaps, and I already had next chaps posted, I only have one option, that is to either leave it or edit it with something else.

    And since next chaps r posted in continuation, I''ll just write some shback scenes of Rio for you guys.

    Sorry and Love

    DevilDarkness

    ###

    5 years back

    13 year old Rio was standing on an empty street looking at the dipited temple in front of him. It was an empty shell of a building with moss covered walls supported by broken pirs. Empty windows and a door less entrance weed anyone who stepped over the boundary of the temple.

    Over the top of these walls was the mural carved on stone of a rising sun, spreading rays of light which pushed the clouds away.

    Rio shook his head in disappointment and walked inside the temple with clear steps. A toon of guards and shadows stayed few steps behind, ensuring his safety and awaiting his further orders.

    "In every harmony, in every light, I am present."

    "In the echoes of his lyre, find the harmony of your soul."

    "When the world weeps in its darkest plight,

    The God of sun shall rise, to reim the light."

    Rio read a few lines glorifying the God whom this temple belonged to and chuckled inside.

    ''It''s funny how the one who''s said to bring light in this world, doesn''t have light in his own temple.'' Rio said as he snapped his fingers and the sconces/torches hanging on the walls lit up one by one, illuminating the insides of the temple.

    He walked with unhurried footsteps looking at everything with curious eyes.

    [Entering the temples of Gods you don''t believe in is a foolish move, mortal. Be careful or you''d be buried and burned for no reason.] Nyx''s words echoed in his ears, reminding him to not be stupid. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Temples/churches/mosques or shrines - each ce of worship for different religions or gods hold special ce in Arcadia. Here they aren''t just ces of prayers or gatherings, nor a ce for tourism or sight seeing - but a special channel point for devotees and their deity.

    That''s why entering temples of gods whom you don''t like or who doesn''t like you, is always unadvisable. After all, both the gods and their blind followers are beings hard to understand with a normal brain.

    [It''s not like it''s prohibited or not allowed, but just risky.]

    And in Rio''s case, he''s literally the son of darkness as Nyx chose him, so stepping into a God who boasts light - not so smart.

    ''It''s just an empty temple, I''m sure even the God abandoned it.'' Rio replied to Nyx in his heart and said ''And not like anyone would dare touch a primordial''s priced follower just for being curious.''

    [You know too little about the gods, mortal. Your failed understandings might spell your doom.] Nyx reminded again and then lost interest to speak again.

    Rio too chose not to answer as he knew exactly what she meant.

    ''Gods, they''re all the same.'' He thought and shook his head.

    "Clean this ce." Rio said, and next second a wave of mana passed through entire temple and swiping everything outside. Cleaning the floors, walls, windows or ceiling.

    Though the ce got a little shine after cleaning, but it was still the same broken shit. He even saw a side wall which crumbled under the gentle mana which was used for cleaning.

    This was actually the temple of Apollo just outside the city of Harendale. The ce where our dear protagonist is born and currently living the life of misery as a cripple.

    There was no need to ask what he was doing here, simply just to destroy a little something Leon was supposed to get in the future.

    Rio walked into the middle of the temple and sat on the ground. There were no chairs or tables around, whatever was, was probably rotten and just in need of a touch to turn into dust and wither away.

    Those were already thrown outside.

    "This is the first time I''m actually inside one of your temples. I''ve always wanted toe here though. But mother wouldn''t even let me out of the house with what happenedst time.

    I wanted to say thank you for saving me when I was cursed some years ago. I just came here after destroying thest temple of the fallen God who cursed me.

    If not for your grace and your follower''s help, maybe I wouldn''t be here. So thank you for giving me this life. I''ll remember it till the day I die."

    Rio finished his words and stood up back again. He turned around and left the temple.

    In the ce where he was sitting though, was a silver coin ced there with the mark of a moon and a river carved onto it.

    Rio walked out of that temple and left without turning back. He looked at a corner where all the broken stuff from the church was ced and shook his head. "Burn them, and put some new chairs and tables inside."

    After saying that, he sat inside the car and left. Looking back through the ss mirror, he saw the pile of trash from the temple rising in smoke and even before his car turned, he noticed there was no sign of anything left behind.

    ''High rankers, so efficient.'' Rio praised the shadow guards and closed his eyes.

    ''How would you feel if you knew the thing you were looking everywhere for, was just buried in your temple and burned in front of you, Apollo.''

    ''And that too was just in return for some simple tables and chairs.''

    Rio thought in his heart as he remembered the plotline of the treasure map he just burned, and couldn''t help but smile.

    While Rio was lost in his thoughts, in Apollo''s church, the coin he left behind shone in a white glow and then lost its luster and the mark of moon.

    It just turned into scrap round regr metal and then withered in air.

    If Rio saw this scene, he''d smile some more in his heart. As it meant, the bait he threw out, someone already took it.

    And now he just needed to wait to see the results of his experiment.

    Experiment number 9 - Would gods interfere if their followers and believers were to fight amongst themselves on their name? Would they ignore it like usual, or would they sit, talk and sort things out.

 Chapter 284 Leon and Alfred

    <h4>Chapter 284 Leon and Alfred</h4>

    ?284 Leon and Alfred N?v(el)B\\jnn

    After watching enough of Leon''s embarrassment, Rio stepped out of his car and started walking towards the entrance.

    Aldric, who was mocking Leon, stopped joking and walked past him.

    "Back from the dead huh." He said as he went forward to hug Rio and wee him. "When I saw your shadow''s name in the list, I was curious, but _ there was no need for that, if you just called me, you know."

    "It doesn''t matter. Let''s go inside." Rio said and started walking through the stairs.

    From the beginning Leon kept his head down thinking Rio or anyone from the academy shouldn''t see all this drama - but when he peaked up, he saw Rio staring at him. "I _ it''s not.."

    Leon wanted to exin he didn''t have anything to do with this, but Rio just turned his head and ignored him like a stranger.

    Seeing the ignorance, Leon just felt even greater insult then some taunt, making him then frown.

    "Stop," he ended up shouting and then walked towards them. He didn''t even know what he was doing. Just venting I guess. "He doesn''t have a ticket too."

    "And_" Aldrich said with clear annoyance on his face.

    "So why can he enter? Is this how one of the elite families works? Giving favors and being partial, while ignoring the normal people who''re even willing to pay for these useless tickets."

    Leon spoke in one breath with fervor, even dragging Nishkal family''s reputation in his speech, yet Aldric just coldly nced at him. But before he could teach this guy a lesson, Rio waved his hand and stopped him. As arcadian coins fell from his ring and in front of Leon''s face.

    When thinking they should be more than enough to buy one ticket, Rio stopped his mana.

    "Money for my ticket." Rio''s words echoed in confused Leon''s ears as he ignored him again and turned back to leave.

    "Throw him out for me, we don''t wee perverts in our auction house." Aldrich said to his guards and followed Rio, while nodding his head in approval to one of the guards who was still staring at the pile of ythings.

    He was probably wondering where these things came from when he didn''t even do anything.

    As Aldrich and Rio were walking inside, a group of cars came from the other side. The logo of lightning inside a crown was visible to everyone, showing who these parades belonged to.

    Rio stopped by the window as his eyesnded on the familiar faces stepping out of the cars.

    "She''s here too. Do you want me to arrange their rooms alongside you?" Aldrich asked Rio, as he saw Reba and remembered about the rumors of their engagement.

    "No, put them as far away from me as possible." Rio said, ncing below at how Alfred came forward to stop some guards from beating up Leon.

    Seeing Leon being ggerbasted after looking at Reba, who was dressed in one of her fancy clothes with some light makeup and royal essories, Rio just smiled and shook his head.

    ''Protagonists, what a pity.'' Rio thought in his heart and walked away. Just as Reba''s eyes turned to look at the empty window where he was.

    After recognizing Leon as the first ranker and hearing that he wanted to attend the auction, Alfred directly invited him to join them.

    Rio didn''t need to see them walking together to guess what would''ve happened or what would happen next, but he just scoffed at these petty arrangements caused by hero''s halo or high luck or whatever.

    Having a royal prince to bid for the items a protagonist wants, who can dare not give him face.

    As for Reba, well there''s something for her in this auction too, and there''s also the chance that only Leon can sense that thing and buy it for her. In return, getting her recognition and favor.

    But these are all petty tricks against mini minion level viins, against him, it just made him more motivated to crush them all even more.

    Walking into one of the private rooms which had arge sofa in the middle and a table full of precious delicacies of these inds ced inside. Rio looked at therge mirror and then at the empty stage and hall full of crowd below. His eyes nced around and noticed the members of Eclipse mingling and chatting with the people around them.

    "You can take a look at the list and if there''s anything you need, the waiter is just waiting outside." Aldrich said and turned to leave.

    "Aldrich" Rio called him before he opened the door. "Next time you send someone to pull a prank, make sure they''re either a few levels higher than the opposite party, or unaffiliated with you. Lest yourziness drag your name down again."

    Hearing it Aldrich stopped and frowned. Not understanding since his prank wasn''t caught, so what''s with the extra knowledge.

    "He''s C- rank now." Rio said and finally Aldrich realized what he meant,

    The guard he sent to swipe off Leon''s ring was just C- rank too. So chances of him getting caught by leon or anyone else were higher.

    "Hmmm" Aldrich nodded as he took a nce at Rio and left.

    In the original novel, Aldrich''s guard stole Leon''s money, but waster caught when Leon noticed him standing behind Aldrich. After a scene of mocking, Leon used a gu worm which worked simr to truth potion and exposed that guard and Aldrich''s scheme.

    This not only ruined Aldrich''s image but also made Leonplete another face pping scenario.

    But this time before Aldrich''s guard made a move, Rio arranged someone else to interrupt him and do this job for him.

    Once Rio was finished giving the advice to this side viin, he ignored the doubtful look from him and sat down, while Esme stood behind him with the tablet which had the names and details of all the items sold today.

    There was a non-known rule that VIP''s could book a few treasures in which they are interested before they''re sold off publicly. Obviously since a simr list is with all the people in VIP boxes, they''ll have to decide amongst themselves for that item.

    This way the auction house gave every VIP a favor and also stopped any involvement in fights between houses by being impartial.

    But this obviously had a w as they only list famous things or items which they''re supposed to be bidding for high prices. And as any opportunity belonging to the protagonist, the ring with that grandpa inside was also just a normal scrap metal in front of others, so no one listed it for the VIP''s.

    "Master, I''ve selected the herbs and other items which could be used at Angel or by others, you can take a look and choose more if you want." Esme said as she handed him the tablet.

    Rio took a nce at the list and shook his head, whatever this auction considered precious was just useless for him. So he just threw it away.

    Soon once all the VIP''s arrived and the public entrance was closed too, an enchantment covered the auction house, so no one could leave before the auction ended. Or they bought at least one item. After which if they want to leave midway, they can use private teleportation circles made inside and leave. This was done to stop chances of stealing or any other terrorist attacks nned for these gatherings.

    Rio closed his eyes and soon his vision turned illusory. His eyes could now see through all these enchanted walls and windows, looking at every room and guests sitting inside.

    "True vision"

    This was a skill he bought from the system, which could let him see through anything as long as he has enough mental strength or enough points.

    It worked simrly to those urban protagonists who used their eyes to spy on girls or look through stones at jade gambling stores.

    It cost him 170000 points , just to unlock its first three versions. (Imagine it like 3 tomoe thingy of sharingan. In total this eye skill had 7 versions.)

    Seeing Leon sitting in the same room as Alfred and Reba, Rio just smiled and thought - ''The show is just starting, Leon. Let''s see what you can take from this auction.

 Chapter 285 Anemoi and Animals

    Chapter 285 Anemoi and Animals

    ??285  Anemoi and Animals

    Rio paid close attention to the things lined up on the stage one by one, as a beautiful girl came forward and they all became a backdrop for her. Dressed in a tight red gown which slit near her thighs, giving her a seductive look and charming aura.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Just a nce at her pretty face and the way she smiled and twisted her body with her every move was enough to charm those who sat near the stage.

    Their eyes were glued to that girl, probably undressing her with their luscious thoughts and imagining scenes of that hot figure in their hands.

    Noticing the burning gaze on her, thedy on the stage didn''t frown, or feel diforted , but had a proud smile on her face. After all, the day her charm ended, will be the day she''d be kicked out of these facilities, who''re paying her in millions now.

    Same was the case with waiters and servers walking around the guests, the reason to hire these pretty faces was just because they can fool some idiots into spending more money.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and all the visitors from far away ces, wee to the annual auction event organized by the Nishkal family and our Golden Temple."

    "I won''t waste much of your time exining the rules that everybody already knows. But to those who''reing here for their first experience, I hope you will all maintain this peaceful order." Thedy in red said and waved her hand, as a golden parchment floated in the air and clear lines of words formed over it in perfect handwriting - exining some basic rules to follow and manner of bidding. What was allowed and what was not.

    There weren''t any exaggerated rules, simple things like every item sold would have a simr time frame for the bidders to think and start bidding. And the item would either be sold to the highest bidder, when no one else is willing to outbid them or when the timer runs out.

    So if they want to buy something they better not waste time and lose their pockets fast or someone else might snatch it.

    There shall be no fighting, stealing or any double dealing of sold items inside the auction venue. Outside of it, well that just depends on your own capabilities.

    To make it simple and efficient, only money or simple currencies were the mode of bidding. No return treasures or favors would count as a bid. Pressuring others using prestige or reputation wasn''t allowed either.

    If you don''t pay the money you bid or boasted about, then you will be sacrificed to the gods who guard this venue as an offering. And your dues will be taken from your friends, family, rtives or anyone close to you , by any means necessary.

    After showing everyone these rules, thedy took a nce at the crowd of newbies who were especially afraid of the final rule. That was too cruel, right.

    After all, the gods guarding this auction were the same ones who pulled the Nishkal family out of the gutters and made them one of the richest elite families on these inds.

    There are rumors that to maintain their favor, the Nishkal family always made sure that the rivers of blood sprayed on the cathedrals of these gods in the name of sacrificial offerings, is always flowing non-stop.

    Thedy in red waved her hand and the parchment disappeared and a flowery scent lingered in the entire venue, giving everyone a refreshing feeling.

    "Now, now. There''s no need to be so serious. After all, those are just for formalities to keep some troublemakers in check. There''s no need for fine people like you to sweat over it."

    The charming voice and the pretty smile acted as some kind of hypnotic skill that dragged the anxious crowd away from all their worrisome thoughts.

    "Now let''s start this auction. The first on the line is a C grade artifact called ''Sword of a sinner'' - this sword has an effect of enhanced bloodlust, and it alsoes with its own practicing method etched onto itself.

    "ording to our appraisers this method of swordsmanship can increase your attack power by half once masteredpletely." The reddy said and nodded her head as she looked at the eager eyes of everyone sitting in front. "The starting price of this fantastic weapon is just 15000 arcadian coins."

    As her words finished introducing the artifact and its various advantages and price, she flipped the hourss on the podium. Signaling the start of this bidding process.

    16000 coins

    18000 coins

    20000 coins

    25000 coins and

    Hearing the excited murmurs of price increases all around, Leon had a dumbfounded expression on his face. It didn''t even take a half a minute until the price for the sword had crossed the limit of his entire savings.

    ''Why''re they willing to pay so much for that scrap of sword?'' Leon thought after noticing the oozing bloodlust lingering on the stage. He had no doubt that though this sword brought some increase in strength, it would bring bacshes even more severe.

    Alfred looked at Leon''s changing face and smiled and said - "Auction houses always start with things that can make public momentum high at the beginning and save some really promising things for thest. As for the middle, that''s where they all throw the stuff they don''t care about. It''s a marketing strategy."

    Leon nodded his head and could only sigh at all these schemes and hidden thoughts of everyone. He really didn''t like or understand why people are wasting their money like this. When they can just go into some dungeons and look for some opportunities.

    Like he does.

    Alfred looked at Reba who was still silent, and hadn''t spoken a word to him sinceing here and frowned.

    "If something catches your eyes, you can tell me Ba. I''ll buy it for you." He said, yet got no response again. As Reba just kept her eyes on the stage or the crowd below. Ignoring the two people sitting around her.

    Originally she wanted to use this chance to talk with Alfred and ask him to clear things out with Rio and sort everything. But her brother just dragged this Leon guy inside and now she wasn''t in the mood to discuss family matters in front of him.

    After all, that Lisa alongside Alfred in that dungeon was this guy''s sister.

    [Anemoiughs at your pathetic self. Encouraging you to teach this impudent girl a lesson.]

    [Anemoi wishes you to man up and deal with your problems like a grown up should.]

    Seeing the notifications of his gods on the status, Alfred tried hard to maintain the smile on his face, which was a little hideous and twisted to look at.

    ''Fucking horses thinking they''re something high and mighty. Once I get my father''s approval I''ll be sure to ughter everyone who even whispers your name.'' Alfred cursed in his heart and calmed himself down.

    He nced at the room opposite him and clenched his fists. Despite the distance and obvious restraints, he could still feel that familiar dark aura lingering inside that room.

    ''It''s all because of him. If not for him, I wouldn''t be tied to these idiots in the first ce.'' Alfred thought with hatred and the more he remembered about his past, the more angry he got.

    "10000 coins"

    Alfred was in his world, when Leon''s words nearby pulled him out. Currently he was bidding on a healing herb that had the properties of calming the mind.

    Though not particrly efficient but it was a little rare and so he wanted to buy it for his mother, who was still unconscious with no signs of recovery.

    "12000 coins"

    "12,000 coins going once, going twice, and sold(hammer falls sounds) to the gentleman in room number 5."

    Thedy in red said and pointed at Leon''s room and waved her hands to uncover the cloth over the next item.

    Soon a waiter knocked on the room, holding a tray which had the healing grass ced inside and came inside to finish the process of exchange.

    Surprisingly Leon had another hidden storage ring, which he got from the people of Warzy when they attacked him and Seraphina at the Dorsia incident. He killed them and kept their rings to himself.

    Leon took the green herb in his hands and checked its condition. After feeling satisfied, that it was perfectly fine and he wasn''t cheated of his money, Leon smiled and put it into a leather satchel which worked well for medicinal herbs storage, without damaging their effects.

    Alfred who saw his happy and thoughtful expression throughout this process curled his lips in a thoughtful smile and found the way to trick this treat.

    ''We''ll meet soon, Rio. But before that, let''s see if this bumpkin can be of any use.'' Alfred thought and looked at Leon with a smile.

    He moved closer and started chatting with Leon about the academy, the sses, trainings and well obviously his big sister, who''s his ssmate.

 Chapter 286 Star sign bracelet

    Chapter 286  Star sign bracelet

    ??286  Star sign bracelet

    When the auction was in mid stages of bidding, Rio signaled Esme removed the enhancement on the front ss, making it two way. Immediately everyone could see who was sitting inside as their names or family/organization crest became visible on ss''s top.

    Another trick VIP''s use in auctions to pressurize other bidders to notpete with them. Normally when any VIP rooms bid, they use the tablets given to them to type the amount and that''ll show up on the ss window. But since the ss rolled down, now they have to speak up their own amounts. Showing their background, so everyone knows not to drag the items they want.

    Seeing his actions, some of the other VIP rooms also followed suit, while most still preferred to remain secretive.

    From the beginning to end, Rio didn''t bid on anything yet, so when the next item appeared, he directly increased the price of an item by several fold, hoping to end the bidding instanously.

    Yet how can it be so easy?

    "50000 coins" A voice echoed as the ss from another room became clear. And Belmont''s family crest of a red moon shed by a broken sword became visible.

    ''Vanessa'' Rio muttered and smiled. "70000 coins"

    "100000 coins" Vanessa said, looking at him proactively.

    Esme was about to bid again, but Rio just raised his hand and stopped her. There was no need topete with her and waste money on stupid things.

    "Sold to the miss in VIP room no. 7" The reddy said and smiled even more heartily. There was a madness in her eyes seeing the money rolling in constantly. Especially for these broken things in such high amounts.

    The auction continued and whenever Rio bid on something, either Vanessa or someone from the Korbil family would bid more. While Vanessa spent everything to not let him get anything. Korbil''s kept increasing the price until the time was about to run out and then let Rio bid again. So as to waste his money.

    Though they themselves wasted quite the coins since there were times when Rio too left them hanging.

    He didn''t need to think about who was behind the Korbil family.

    He could literally see Edward and Alfred chatting with each other. Korbil family being the partner for Sinir''s and with Sinir''s backing Alfred for the throne, it was all in as day.

    Rio could just shake his head about how these people who were supposed to be on opposite parties suddenly became partners now.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ignoring them Rio turned his focus on a middle aged man with blindfold on standing beside Edward. He felt familiar, yet Rio couldn''t remember where he had seen him.

    ''System, show me all the juicy details about him.'' Rio said and instantly a panel opened in front of him.

    [Name - Dreyfus Finch

    [Affiliation - Cult of Poena, follower of Dike (secret spy of Evil''s Scion)

    [Rank - A+

    [Aura Manifestation

    [Bloodline - Mirsyun(unpure)

    [Hobbies - Loves to torture his enemies before killing them. Eating the hearts of dark elementals

    [God - Algea/Algos (Greek)

    [Role - Viin.

    [Event - Midnight massacre

    [Chances of winning (Rio) - 27%

    [Chances of winning (Shiva) - 93%

    [Chances of death  - 7%]

    ''Wow'' Rio said after seeing all the information system gave him for a couple thousand points.

    ''So another viin huh, I remember I gave his name to Riley.''

    [Looks like your Eclipse ain''t covering anything host. Forget the sun of Arcadia, it can''t even hold this tiny ind.] System joked seeing his thoughtful look.

    ''All the more reasons I need them sharp.'' Rio said and waved his hand to Esme to move back a couple of steps and turn around, as he pulled his phone out and sent a message to Cersei, with the details and some photos of Dreyfus.

    [Hire him or handle him.] That was the content of Rio''s message.

    ''It seems Dante''s first task has been found.'' Rio said after getting confirmation from Cersei.

    The auction kept going on and Rio was already he bored just sitting there, spending money on scraps. Even the items he bought were thrown at Esme. Cuz otherwise Rio just might throw them in the trash can.

    ''Did the ring grandpa disappear from the auction and dropped at Leon''s steps.'' Rio joked to himself while yawning as he burned another Rubik''s cube after finishing it.

    He was about to buy some other game from the system shop to pass time, when the system suddenly closed its panel and formed an arrow, pointing at the stage.

    "Next up on the list is a beautiful bracelet called ''Star sign''.. It''s made of crystal stones and it shines brighter every day under the moonlight." Thedy in red said while showing the silver bracelet to everyone. But seeing the full response to this useless bracelet, she further added with a longing gaze "I don''t know about other girls, but I''d be quite happy if someone bought it for me."

    "Starting price just 100 coins"

    This time the crowd cheered and before she could even turn the sand clock, a fat middle aged man with greasy skin raised both his hands and directly shouted. "200 coins"

    400 coins

    "500. I''ll buy this bracelet for you." The fat man said excitedly as his mouth salivated thinking about something not environmentally friendly.

    "Huh, with your little money, keep dreaming. 1000 coins. Beauty, this young master will get this bracelet for you. How about we go for dinner afterwards?" Another dandy young master sneered and stood up to tter thedy on stage.

    While the crowd below the VIP rooms was excitedly bidding and increasing the price one by one, most of the guests just sneered seeing this beauty trap.

    Only Leon was staring at the bracelet lost in thought. As if remembering something, he excitedly turned to look at Reba and then nced at her hands. But not seeing what he was looking for there, he frowned.

    But after shaking his past thoughts away, he looked back at the stage with determination and raised his hand to bid. "5 _"

    But just before his words came out clearly, another loud voice interrupted him "50000 coins."

    Everyone who was still arguing about the price and beauty''s date, halted their words hearing the enormous price and then seeing it was someone from the VIP rooms.

    Leon looked straight and saw it was Rio, who spoke. He was confused why he raised the price so much, but then he saw him looking at his direction with a smile.

    ''Did he sense something about the bracelet too?'' Leon thought confusedly.

    But then noticing something, he turned his head sideways and nced at Reba who was disinterested throughout this auction, was eagerly looking at the stage and that bracelet now. As a slight smile formed on her face when she looked ahead at Rio''s room.

    ''Damn it. He''s buying it for her too.'' Leon thought and clenched his fists.

    [Leon feels pretty pissed host, you sure you wanna mess with him like this.] System said in a generous tone.

    ''You should say that after you stop smiling.'' Rio said as he looked at the picture of angry Leon moving on his system panel, with extra effects of smoke leaving his head.

 Chapter 287 Lunar gods

    Chapter 287  Lunar gods

    ??287  Lunar gods

    Leon, who found out that Rio already raised the price to something he couldn''tpete with, was hesitating to speak as he turned to look at Reba and then at Alfred. Yet didn''t know what to say.

    He himself didn''t know clearly what that bracelet was, he just felt the same familiar feeling from it, which he got from thest bracelet he wanted to give to the princess at her birthday years ago.

    "Leon, do you want that bracelet?" Alfred, noticing his strange behavior, asked instantly. He was just thinking about what trick he should use to lure this guy into his camp. Since healing his mom was probably not going to work out easily.

    But now here''s his chance.

    "If you want you can bid on it. Don''t worry about the money."

    "No, _ how can I _ I was just curious." Leon said and decided to ignore it.

    Anyway that guy will probably give the bracelet to Reba too. So there was no need for him to interfere.

    Alfred thought for some time, but didn''t push this matter anymore. He didn''t need to take any action himself, seeing that Vanessa and Korbil''s were already in a tight bidding war against Rio. As the original price of 100 coins was raised to 500000 coins in just a few moments. And was still on the rise.

    "1 million" Rio said, directly doubling the amount.

    Seeing his determination to buy this item Vanessa was about to bid more, but just at that moment the clock ran out and thedy in red bashed the hammer on the podium. Signaling the end of this round.

    Soon the waiter brought the bracelet to him, taking the silver bracelet in his hands, Rio started ying with it. Looking at every stone tied with the string carefully.

    Everyone around was looking at his actions closely, trying to see if there was something special about the bracelet. But then Rio just crushed the bracelet in his hands and threw it aside. While dusting his hands as if he didn''t like the craft.

    -Cough cough

    Reba gave a dry cough seeing this and frowned, as she thought, she was expecting too much from this idiot. ''I should really get him to buy me somethingter.''

    Vanessa and others just thought that Rio was just raising the price on a whim seeing their actions. But in the end he himself lost it. They even felt happy about it.

    While Leon was the only one who felt dissatisfied with it. He was cursing himself about why he didn''t tell Alfred or Reba about that bracelet. If he did, they surely would''ve bought it first.

    But it was toote now, he couldn''t even sense any aura of that stone anymore. So it was probably broken by Rio and got destroyed.

    [Sessfully stole the star stone - 25000 points.]

    [Slightly altered the lunar scale event - 5000 points.]

    [Several moon gods cast their eyes upon you.]

    [Selene(Greek goddess of moon) asks you to give that stone to her chosen.]

    [Chandra(Hindu God of moon) suggests you hand over that stone to his believers.]

    [Tsukuyomi(Japanese god of moon) asks you to sacrifice that stone to his shrine in return for the blessing of Silver serenity.]

    Seeing the notifications after he ced the star stone in his system storage and threw the rest of the pebbles aside, Rio had a bright smile on his face.

    The auction continued and the routine remained the same.

    Looking at Vanessa who was trembling in anger, as she just spent 5 million on a me petal herb which she needed for her next big upgrade in skill, Rio smiled even more. Who asked her to mess with him. Doesn''t she know he has the plot and knows exactly what she''s here to buy secretly.

    She had a few men arranged to buy that rare herb for her cheaply, but when it was auctioned, Rio just kept raising the price every time until she had to give in herself and join the bidding process before the time ran out.

    Seeing her fuming, Rio was sure she spent almost all her savings in this auctionpeting with him.

    As for Korbil''s they were in the same zone too. Even if they didn''t buy anything as outrageous as Vanessa. Collectively they also did lose a lot.

    Alfred and Reba also bought a few stuff but Rio let them be. Simply cause just like him, they packed unlimited money and wouldn''t even break a sweat spending it all. So why waste your breath on useless things.

    Finally the time which Rio was waiting for came.

    "The next on the selling list is a pair of ancient rings found in the remains of a crashed dungeon. Though it looks normal, it''s made of some rare metals and is highly resistant to mes. So if anyone wants some research on rare metals of a foreign world, here''s your chance. Starting price 2500 coins." Thedy in red said and opened the jewel box with two rusty rings inside.

    She tried to cheer up the mood but since everyone who was here to buy something had bought something, not many were enthusiastic about this pair of corroded rings.

    "2600 coins." Someone spoke and the bid started.

    2700 coins

    2800 coins

    The price was rising slowly with the minimal limit and it was sure this item would be sold soon. Some couldn''t even wait to finish this item and move onto the next one. So this auction can be finished fast and they can all leave.

    But at this time, Leon suddenly felt a string in his heart, like something was calling him. Following his gut feeling which always saved and supported him, Leon stared at the pair of rings and then raised his hand to bid.

    "3000 coins"

    Hearing someone from the VIP rooms was bidding, even the little guys who were willing to get this ring seemed to give up.

    Leon curled his lips in a smile, when he saw that no one else was bidding anymore.

    ''What do these guys know, that ring is probably the only important thing in this auction. I should go back and properly check what''s special about it tonight.'' He sneered and thought, totally trusting his protagonist''s sixth sense of luck.

    But sadly luck wasn''t on his side today.

    "4000 coins" One of the guys with a hunched back stood up and spoke, while cupping his hands in the direction of Leon''s room. As if asking for forgiveness beforepeting against them.

    He was a little known figure in the study of metallurgy at floating inds, so not many were surprised when he spoke up to buy this rare metal ring.

    "5000 coins." Another man stood up and red at the hunched man and started shouting. "Morbien, how dare you bid against the Royal Prince''s guests. Don''t you want to live in Schi anymore?"

    "What, is the prince sitting in that room?"

    "Of course, I saw it with my own eyes. Prince and the princess were walking on that side." Another man spoke from the side and soon the crowd churned in whispers.

    "You should stop bidding, Morbien. So as not to anger royal highness."

    "This doesn''t concern you, old man. And I don''t think his royal highness would mind something so little when I''m just following the rules of the auction." The hunched man said.

    "You _ you''re the old man. Your whole family is old. Auction, right _ I''ll see how you bid then." The man said and waved a pouch filled with coins in the air. "5000 coins I''ll take these rings and gift it to royal highness."

    "6000 coins"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    7000

    7500

    10000

    Slowly and slowly 2-3 more people stood up and startedpeting for the ring, some wanted to end this farce early. Some wanted to research, while some wanted to lick Alfred by buying these rings.

    Though Alfred felt happy seeing his poprity, Leon on the other side had a twisted look on his face. ''Where did all these people pop up from?''

    His own pocket money was stolen outside this auction, but then by using the ring he got from the bandits and the warzy gang, he had around 40000 coins so he could still bid and buy stuff. But after buying the herb for her mother and a concentration pill for himself, he only had a little over 7000 coins left.

    He could''ve still bought these rings at first, but now the price was already out of range for him.

    Rio didn''t look at Leon, he was staring at the rings. Especially one which looked almost on the verge of copse and fully covered inyers of rust even from afar. His eyes closed and instantly he felt his consciousness getting pulled into the ring, the moment he stared at it.

    In front of him he could see the silhouette of a man dressed in white clothes with his hands on his back, walking above the clouds.

    Rio opened his eyes and breathed heavily. Beads of sweat appeared on his face but he waved them away, as system replenished his mana back to full without even asking. "So you''re finally here." Rio said and smiled.

 Chapter 288 Protagonists Ring grandpa sold to the villain

    Chapter 288 Protagonist''s Ring grandpa sold to the viin

    ??288  Protagonist''s Ring grandpa sold to the viin

    "P_prince Alfred, can you lend me some money. I''ll return it when we return to the academy." Finally after hesitating for a while Leon decided to ask Alfred for help.

    As for Reba, well how can a hero always go around asking help from the beauty. He still remembered how Reba just threw him asidest time he wanted to ask her something.

    Alfred looked at the stage and then asked "You want to buy those rings?"

    "Ah_ yes." Leon said while thinking excuses about what to say if Alfred asked why.

    But dly Alfred wasn''t all that interested in what goes around in this bumpkin''s head. To him those rings looked just like rusted scrap sold at stalls.

    After all this guy was a Baron''s heir yet he was wearing the academy uniform to an auction and only carried some pocket change on him. If not for him being a high ranker and a little useful in keeping an eye on Rio, Alfred even wanted to keep a little distance from this stupid. Lest this guy infects him too.

    "Okay." Alfred nodded his head and raised his hand. As the butler standing behind him passed him the tablet and he raised the price by 5 times.

    50000 coins.

    Instantly the crowd below who was still arguing and shouting prices calmed down. Seeing that some guys were still raising their fingers to continue bidding, Alfred signaled his butler, who opened the window shade and let everyone know it was HE, who wanted those rings.

    Yet that became a mistake. As the moment his face became visible to everyone, a calm voice rang in the auction silencing everything. It wasn''t loud, but somehow it reached everyone''s ears.

    "A hundred thousand" Rio said and walked up from his sofa and moved closer to the ss wall. Looking straight at Alfred''s room with a  smile.

    "Five hundred thousand" Alfred said in return almost instantly. Already expecting Rio''s reaction.

    Seeing this the smile on Rio''s face grew even more and he raised one finger. As Esme behind him raised the price till "One million."

    "Two million" Alfred said and before thedy in red could announce the bid amount, Rio raised two fingers and bid doubled instantly.

    "5 million" Alfred said again while frowning, but Rio tapped twice on the ss and the price doubled again by Esme.

    Vanessa was smirking to herself as she saw Rio and Alfredpeting against each other. One was a royal prince and the other was the rich kid whosepany ruled the potion market. She was really hoping this bid would keep going on like this and in the end Rio ends up paying for that useless ring.

    ''Ahh what a sight that would be.'' Just imagining it brought a smile to her face.

    While Leon was looking at everything with a dumbfounded expression. He just wanted to let Alfred lend him some money, not start a freaking money war with Rio.

    He was wondering now whether that ring was really worth it? Now even if he got the ring, how much longer he would have to try to pay back Alfred.

    He regretted now sitting with Alfred. If he wasn''t with him, then Rio wouldn''t be so interested in bidding for those rings, and he could somehow get them cheaply.

    Ohh what a sin it is.

    But what Leon didn''t know was that whoever bid on this ring from the beginning were all arranged by Rio. If leon was alone, then he was right Rio wouldn''t take action himself. As those others would buy that ring for him, withoutpeting with any noble.

    But now since Alfred joined the fun, Rio had toe forward himself.

    Their bid continued and the audience was entirely silent, just turning their heads here and there. Looking at them with wide eyes and open mouths about how these rich guys didn''t treat money as money.

    Thedy in red had eyes shining with dor signs, as the smile on her face became dreamy thinking about how muchmission she could get. This auction was Just for low grade items and stuff, but looking at the two handsome boyspeting like this, her earnings might even eclipse what she usually gets by dozens of times.

    The price was already going on with around 80 million already. And there was no sign that any of them wanted to stop.

    [Now]

    "150 million"

    Hearing system''s voice Rio spoke directly. Increasing the price by almost double again. As he gave Alfred a provocative gaze that seemed to say keep it on pretty boy.

    Seeing his mocking look Alfred hesitated for a moment before looking back at the clock which was about to run out of time. Looking back and forth between the little time left and Rio''s extra smile, Alfred seemed to realize something and turned back. "Since my old ssmate wants this so much. I''ll let it be. Consider it my gift foring back safely." He said and sat down with a smile.

    ''WTF ????'' Leon wanted to ask what the hell this idiot was saying when _

    -Dangggg

    The metal sound rang as the time for the bidding ran out. And thedy in red announced the final bid as the winner. Thus giving the rings to Rio who epted them with a sour expression. Whileughing maniacally inside his heart.

    (Cause the idiotic system wasughing hysterically in his head.)

    "Forget this ring, I''ll have Reggie take you to a shop after this auction. You can choose anything there. They have almost all kinds of rare metals and minerals, so don''t worry about it." Alfred said, patting Leon''s shoulder seeing him lost in thoughts. Who could just nod his head in confusion.

    A feeling that he lost something very important to him rose in his heart, but he couldn''t do anything about it now.

    Vanessa too, like Alfred, was very happy seeing that Rio lost almost 200 millions on some junk metal that was originally priced at 100 coins.

    Everyone else in the auction too thought the same thing. Some oldies saying that he was still too young, and younglings telling that he was too arrogant.

    But there was one person, who noticed something strange. Something no one else did.

    "Fools," Saisha said as she looked at everything from her room.

    "He is, right?" An elven beauty sitting beside her asked. "Competition is enough but being prideful and foolish to spend so much like this. Humans sure are weird."

    "Not him. But them." Saisha said and nced at Alfred''s room, seeing him smiling and chatting happily. "They got yed and didn''t even know it."

    "What do you mean?" Her friend asked. But Saisha just shook her head and said "nothing"

    ''Was that the item he came to get here. I didn''t sense anything special though.'' She wondered as she looked at the waiter taking those rings away.

    Unaware of the gaze staring at him, trying to see through his thoughts, Rio just closed his eyes and started looking through all the notifications from the system.

    [Host snatches a major opportunity from the protagonist.]

    [Changing the plot to a whole new level.]

    [System asks host to have some pity on the protagonist heehahaha]

    [System is happy. so the stingy host can now use the mid grade lottery 3 times for free.]

    [Host gets 100,000 points.]

    [Rest can be given once the plotline of this remnant soul ispletely finished.]

    [Congrattions for avoiding another death g, host. Keep it up.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 289 What happens to a protagonist when the ring grandpa wakes up?

    Chapter 289 What happens to a protagonist when the ring grandpa wakes up?

    ??Rio yed with the pair of rings in his hands as Esme paid for them. Rio looked ahead and noticed Leon staring at him with fixed eyes. Thinking of something, he waved the rings in the air and caught them in his hands.

    Next time he threw the rings again, but instead of catching them, he just snapped his fingers as a red me appeared and burned the rings to ashes.

    Leon, who saw this scene, nearly jumped from his seat and shouted while pointing fingers at him. Forget about that ring''s special feeling he got, that guy spent 150 million on it, does it make sense to burn it right in front of everyone.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Alfred and Vanessa who saw this scene were smirking, thinking their previous guesses were right.

    [If you want to y with people''s emotions so much, how about you buy the feature called ''Negative meter'' - with this feature unlocked, every time any protagonist or supporting character hates you or feels any negative emotions towards you, you''ll receive corresponding rewards.]

    System, who saw its host ying tricks after cing the real rings into its storage, spoke up. Promoting business.

    But Rio knew all too well how this stupid system always eyed his hard earned points. So instead of agreeing instantly after hearing the fancy promo introduction, he decided to ask about the price first.

    And counting how many zeroes the system ced before writing the word ''only'' at the end, Rio directly pped it away.

    ''half a million points for some sassy feature. Which I''ll get eventually for free when I kill a few hidden ants in some towers.'' Rio said remembering every tower floor is a separate world, and every world has a protagonist.

    Ignoring the next up boring auction Rio just became indifferent to all the items and decided to leave. Informing the waiter, they waited for a few moments before they were led to a teleportation gate, once clear by some security checks, Rio and esme directly left the auction and appeared in a fancy hotel under Nishkal family''s name.

    Rio sent Esme back to do her work and then went to his office. And enacted the highest security options. Where other than him no one else could take even a step inside without triggering hundreds of traps. Not even SS rankers.

    As soon as he felt that he was alone, he closed his eyes. And when he opened his eyes, he was standing in a lush forest with a giant tree in the middle. Where long long orbs of different colors floated being entangled by the branches. This was his system stage and his own VFX Yggdrasil.

    [Reflection of system space onto reality started. Time limit - 10 minutes]

    [I warn you host, it''s all on you now. Once the timer goes over all the gods would be able toe and go or listen and see as usual. Finish your interrogation fast.]

    Hearing the system''s suggestions Rio nodded his head and prepared himself.

    He brought the rings out and looked at them for quite a while. Using his True eyes he could see that a strand of ck was wrapped all around the rings.

    Bringing a small bottle filled with blood, Rio dropped two drops of it on both rings.

    Instantly as if some magic triggered, one ring crumbled and got destroyed, while the other started to shine bright. Theyer of ck entangled and opened from the ring automatically, as it gained a new color.

    A light shot from the ring to the sky at high speed, but his system space trapped it. Stopping it from leaving.

    While Leon, who had just decided to leave from the auction, suddenly frowned and spurted a mouthful of blood. His expression twisted in pain as he clutched his chest. He felt his mana leaving his body at an rming rate, until he couldn''t even stand straight. Confused at this situation he wanted to ask Apollo for help, when he felt something and his expression turned to horror - he noticed his rank started dropping slowly.

    The foundation he created for himself started to crack while his mana kept getting sucked dry.

    From rank C- to D+

    D+ to D

    ''What''s happening?''

    "God _ Apollo, what''s wrong_with me?" Leon said chugging down a mouthful of pills to stabilize the pain and recover his mana. He kept drinking potions after potions not even seeing what effect they had. Started eating rare herbs whole without refining them - hoping to heal himself.

    And finally after a long and hard struggle, his rank stabilized after falling 3 times. And stayed still at D-.

    If not for him having a lot of treasures and treatment methods, he would''ve fallen back to rank E or even F. Cold sweat broke out on Leon''s forehead just thinking about that possibility.

    ''What happened? God Apollo answer me? Why did my rank drop so suddenly?" Leon wanted to pray and ask his God but Apollo didn''t answer immediately and soon he lost his consciousness and fell down.

    Alfred and Reba, who were finally alone and started talking about their differences this time, got interrupted when someone knocked on their door frantically.

    "Your majesty, your friend. T_ the one who was here with you. He _ he suddenly fell down." The waiter said, rushing in between with loud breaths.

    Alfred stepped out of the room and frowned when he felt Leon being carried away by some guards. He looked at Leon''s clothes covered in blood and waved at his butler.

    Reginald/Reggie went forward to take Leon''s pulse and frowned after sensing it. Coming back, he whispered something in Alfred''s ears and stepped back.

    "Prince, he''s useless. His body has a lot of indisposed vitality and herbs aura lingering around. He probably ate too many pills or potions together to boost his rank in a short time and suffered a bacsh."

    Hearing Reggie''s analysis Alfred finally understood how this idiot was able to rise so fast in ranks. From an unawakened cripple to a genius C- rank in just two years. It was clear, his foundation was poor and he relied on pills or potions to rank up. But today his body must''ve given up. Breaking his foundation with a bacsh.

    Leon would''ve still been somewhat useful at rank C but now this idiot even fell from his original rank and became a D- ranker. Which is normal for his age, but against geniuses of other noble families he was no match.

    ''Crippled bastard'' Alfred said in disdain and waved his hands. Signaling the guards to take Leon away from him.

    He was already raising a crippled heir of a Duke, there''s no need to add another Baron''s crippled son.

    All the while Reba just kept silent and frowned even more seeing Leon''s conditions. Her thoughts were the same as Alfred''s. At first she thought Leon was a genius but looking at it now, she was probably expecting too much.

    <In arcadia anyone with the help of proper pills and herbs can level up to rank A. So there are a lot of people who''re still relying on them too much. And many times suffer a bacsh and fall down in ranks like this or gopletely insane.>

    [Congrattions host, for destroying the foundation of protagonist Leon.]

    [Host''s calctions made Leon fall in ranks and lose consciousness.]

    [Congrattions host for twisting the threads of fate for his own advantage. His understanding over Skuld''s blessing increases.]

    [Skuld sneers seeing the situation of the golden boy.]

    [Loki giggles happily while nning something in secret.]

    [Apollo feels confused and angry as host''s action changes the mechanisms of God''s n.]

    Rio ignored the barrage of notifications from the system as he carefully ced the vile of Leon''s blood aside. And looked at the golden light in front of him, which slowly started shining brighter and taking the form of an illusory old man.

 Chapter 290 Ring grandpa awakens, but where is the chosen one who woke me up?

    <h4>Chapter 290 Ring grandpa awakens, but where is the chosen one who woke me up?</h4>

    ?The ethereal form had only condensed the top of this old man''s body when it stopped suddenly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    In front of Rio stood an ethereal form of an old man. With a long white beard and white clothes, white smoke covered his figure like clouds covering the sun. There was not a speck of dust or any impurity in that form, as if that man was the most pure person in thisnd.

    Sunlight fell onto that unreal figure, giving a feeling like some fairy or a God had descended down to the mortal realm and the world was weing their arrival.

    The old man was just standing there but an aura of presence fell over Rio''s shoulder, forcing his eyes to be closed for a moment.

    The old man slowly opened his eyes and his gazended on the white haired boy standing in front of him.

    As if sensing something, he raised his hand in a gesture as if touching the space around him. Feeling the closed off enchantment done by the system which kept Rio and this old man saturated from the world, away from the eyes of peeking Gods and demons, the old man frowned and red back at the young boy in front of him.

    "You''re not the chosen one." He spoke slowly, each word of his calm and clear, sending ripples in the heart of any listener. "Nor the one favored by the destiny who woke me up."

    Rio looked at the old man whose lips hadn''t moved for once, but his voice echoed clear in his mind.

    To Rio, this reminded him of something he read in one cultivation novel which said, immortals or fairies, every action of theirs contains the rhythm of dao.

    They rarely speak.

    As every word of theirs could be an order that can turn over thews of the mortal world.

    Yet their thoughts can reach the end of the world without any obstacle. Using telepathy was just a thought.

    "This seat is in a good mood today, so remove your locks and I shall let you live."

    While Rio was lost in thoughts, contemting the mysteries of this world, the clear voice sounded in his ears again, clearly a little impatient this time.

    ''System, we''re safe right?'' Before answering the overpowered old man, Rio asked his system again.

    [Are you still doubting me after all our time together? I''m hurt, you know.]

    System said in a yful tone and then went silent as if really feeling hurt by this host''s disbelief in his golden finger.

    Rio just shook his head and ignored this damn AI which started having mood swings at the drop of a hat nowadays.

    "It seems you''re baffled by the majesty of this seat. But that is no excuse _" The old man seeing Rio just staring at him spoke up again, but in the middle of his self praising lines, Rio cut him off.

    "Shut up oldie. You''re in my hands now. So I''d suggest you watch your attitude , lest I get angry and send you to hell to meet H."

    The old man who was still reeling in the emotions of waking up in this new world after hundreds of years, was stunned hearing the arrogant words of a junior.

    ncing at the level of this kid''s strength the old man shook his head in displeasure as if looking at an ant. His face showed no sign of displeasure or anger, just pity.

    Pity the fool who couldn''t recognize the height of heavens and thought the cloud of smoke was the top of this world.

    Truly a frog at the bottom of a well.

    "I don''t like your look." Rio said, seeing this contemptuous look aimed at him.

    As his words finished, an iron chain appeared in his hands, burning with a ck me atop the edges.

    Not wasting any time, Rio just directly pped it towards the old man.

    The chain passed through the ethereal body like moving through air without any effect or resistance.

    The old man looked at Rio with the same contempt and flicked his sleeves. "Looks like the people of this era had really forgotten the rules of survival. The strong reigns _"

    Aaaahhhhhhhh

    The old man was in the middle of his high speech after seeing that Rio''s attack failed to hit him or harm him, when suddenly he felt like someone just set him on fire. Or threw him into an active volcano.

    A painful scream echoed in Rio''s ears, so loud that they started to bleed slowly. His internal organs felt the shock passing through his body and trembled in freight. Yet he didn''t scream or cry.

    Taking a potion from his ring, Rio gulped it in one big motion and all his injuries healed in an instant.

    "That was the first andst warning of this young master to you. Next time, you look at me like that and I''ll whip you so hard your soul will be in tatters." Rio said and waved his hands as a chair appeared from his ring and got pulled behind him.

    Sitting down upon it like a king, he flicked his fingers and the iron chain disappeared from his hand and turned into a circr tattoo on his wrist.

    "I''ll ask you a few questions and you''ll give me some answers. And then if I''m satisfied, I''ll let you go in peace." Rio said calmly, still reeling in from the loud scream that echoed in his mind.

    The old man who suppressed the burning paining from the depth of his soul, looked at the imposing young man in front of him and frowned.

    He was caught off guard by the sudden attack and the level of pain it brought him, thus losing hisposure for a moment, yet he suppressed its effects instantly.

    He was very shocked that the young kid in front of him could hurt him in the slightest and still look so calm about it.

    Yet the truth was far from it. Though Rio looked calm, he was praising this old man in his heart. To deal with this overpowered remnant soul grandpa he had especially made some arrangements with the system beforehand. Yet even then his best attack, which was meant to beat him half to death was solved just like this by this old man.

    ''He really does deserve to be the protagonist''s grandpa bodyguard.'' Rio thought and directly spent another 50000 points to upgrade the skilltched on Soul Striker, the whip made by the Duhans. A legion, who''s solely responsible for reaping the souls of the deceased.

    "Who are you? Which God do you serve?" The old man asked after seeing him controlling the hellfire and soul striker (name of the chain artifact).

    Hearing the cross question Rio brought the iron chain out again, but then seeing the old grandpa who started chanting, Rio sighed audibly and put it away.

    ''This barrier is quite expensive to hide his torture. Let''s just go easy on him.'' He thought and looked at the old man silently.

    After thinking for a few seconds he motioned from his hands for the old man to sit as a chair appeared behind him too.

    "It looks like beating you will be useless, so let''s y a game."

 Chapter 291 Games with Grandpa

    <h4>Chapter 291 Games with Grandpa </h4>

    ?Knowing this guy''s tenacity, Rio didn''t want to waste his time torturing him for weeks to learn some basic information.

    Not to mention by then whatever this guy can tell him would be much less worth then the amount of points he would''ve wasted on keeping other gods away.

    Even now his system was spending points every second to stop the gods from sneaking nces or sensing this old grandpa''s secrets.

    So he decided to try some other method. in old carrot and stick.

    "Let''s y a game." Rio said and motioned the old man to sit on a chair.

    But then turned outughing loudly when he found out that the old man had no butt to sit upon.

    Only his top body had formed before Apollo cut off the connection with Leon''s soul and knocked him out, so this oldie''s soul couldn''t suck the protagonist dry.

    The old man flicked his sleeves and red at Rio with fierce eyes as the furniture in the entire room got turned to powder and disappeared. "I''ve had enough of your insults young boy, just cause you know some tricks don''t think you can keep me here. Believe it or not, I can end your life before your next heartbeat."

    "It has been nearly seven centuries, yet your arrogance hasn''t decreased by even a dotdot, ehh Francius Kameira. The me emperor. Ruler ofva. Champion of the Hellscape''s tower."

    "You know me?" The old man finally felt something wrong when he heard the young boy mention everything about him. But just when he thought enough, Rio''s words caused his body to stiffen up again.

    "And the minion of Myorbaksh."

    Rio spoke his name and titles and even his deep seated secret one by one in a calm tone.

    And seeing the changing expressions on the old man''s face, a smile grew on Rio''s face.

    "How? _ How do you know that?" Francius asked in hesitation as he tried to sense the presence of any gods or demons in this room, so he can silence Rio to maintain his secrets.

    "I know everything about you, Francius. What you want, need and work for. Everything." Rio said and continued. "Now I''ll ask again for thest time, let''s y a game."

    Francius looked at him but didn''t reply, he just pinched his fingers and closed his eyes as golden symbols formed in the air and floated all around his wrists.

    [Told you, this''ll be useless if you can''t beat him senseless.]

    His system said with a smile, and Rio could just stay silent.

    "Pretty enhancement but it''s time I leave this ce. I''ll deal with you soon junior." Francius said and punched out.

    The golden letters moved in a stream line and sted the walls of his office. Breaking them instantly.

    Even the dust wasn''t left as everything touched by those golden symbols was devoured and destroyed instantly. As if erased from existence itself. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Francius''s lips rose up in a smile as he looked at Rio, hoping to see his reaction. Yet only saw him still sitting there with a smile.

    Next second behind the walls, those symbolsnded on a transparent illusory blue screen and instantly got devoured themselves.

    "Word magic. I like that. You shall teach me that." Rio said, nodding his head in approval for the system''s sturdiness. "But after I teach you your ce."

    Rio had just finished his words, when the soul striker appeared in his hand again, and he whipped it lightly.

    As if following his wish the length of that chain increased and as it moved out, hellfire started appearing on its edges.

    Feeling the heat and aura of death which was twice the amount ofst attack, Francius raised his hands as multiple shields appeared in front of him blocking the chain.

    But soon with the sound of crashing sparks and cracking ss, one by one those magical shields started to break and shatter.

    Finally the chain came close to his body even though he tried to move backwards out of that attack''s range. But the chain followed him like it had locked his soul''s presence. And wouldn''t stop before burning him.

    This time the chain didn''t pass through the old man''s soul body, but directlytched itself on his shoulder.

    Putting it on fire, which quickly spread to all his right hand and burned it instantly.

    Francius used the same art of word magic which devoured the hellfire before it could cover him whole.

    Though a sessful defense, but the light on his soul body had dimmed. Showing theck of energy he had left.

    Even his superior persona was gone as half of his clothes were burned and his shoulder skin was letting out ck smoke from time to time.

    Yet Rio himself wasn''t much better, his own hand was covered in hellfire and the smell of charred sh was hitting his nose. The fire was too powerful for him to control with hisck of strength.

    But biting his lips and holding back his tears, he just pulled out some sort of potion and dropped it over his burned hand, which instantly healed him whole.

    "I can do all this day, bitch." Rio said and smiled, as heid back on the chair enjoying the cooling sensation on his hand.

    "Let''s y your game." Francius said finally, as he failed to notice any outside presence. Neither any gods nor his chosen one. Seeing no other option he could just curse that bastard who woke him up and then abandoned him to this devil.

    "See, simple does it." Rio gave a hearty smile and nodded his head.

    "What''s the game? And it''s rules?" Francius asked impatiently, in no mood for chit chat with this guy.

    "It''s simple, we both ask each other what we want to know and we answer honestly. In the end, I''ll let you go." Rio said and looked at the old man "How about it? We''ll swear some oaths so you don''t lie."

    "I won''t teach you any of my skills. Swear upon it." Francius said first before Rio could twist his words and bind him into a mana oath.

    "Fine, I won''t ask about any of your skills or magic tricks." Rio just shook his head and acted as if he did nothing.

    A silver chain of binding covered both of them, as they agreed to y this game after settling down on a few other terms.

    "How did you know who I was? Who told you that?" Francius asked first.

    "Well, I see that you agreed then." Rio said and continued "Everything I know about you was written in a book, which I just found by luck one day."

    Checking through his eyes that the boy in front of him was telling the truth, Francius nodded his head. And wanted to ask where is that book now, but Rio interrupted him first.

    "My turn now. Show me three of your skills - magic of Minerva, art of Aether and Hell spawn." Rio made his request.

    ''Since I refuse to teach him, does he think he can copy them after seeing it once?'' Francius thought but still approved of this request.

    He had full confidence that copying his supreme magic was impossible.

    After that one by one Francius used his top skills for a few seconds randomly without any exnation.

    Magic of Minerva which taught him the word magic and soul casting.

    Art of Aether which taught him fighting without mana, aura or any other energy. The best skill to use in towers, where the risk of EMSY is always high.

    Then finally, Hell spawn, theva magic he himself created, which made it possible for him to survive in the towers of extreme heat and hell, and clear them.

    Seeing all these skills Rio got nothing in his head, but a headache. But he didn''t need to copy them or understand their principles in one go.

    ''System, you got it, right buddy?'' He asked his system.

    [Of course. Recorded in HD from all angles.] System spoke back and smiled for what was toe for this old man.

    ''I wonder how much he''de to regret this momentter on.. Poor soul.''

 Chapter 292 Ring grandpa who became a sacrifice to his gods

    <h4>Chapter 292 Ring grandpa who became a sacrifice to his gods</h4>

    ?"Where is that book now? And who else knows about my connection with that God?" Francius asked again.

    "I don''t know where that book is now. But I can assure you that no one but me knows about you. As no one but me had read that book." Rio said and the tension on Francius''s face visibly rxed.

    "Tell me about the checkpoints and teleportation zones you found or left on various towers." Rio asked and smiled as he noticed Francius furrowing his brows in displeasure.

    But after some time of thinking, he just gave Rio a list of locations and coordinates of every secret safe ce and jump points he had found in the towers he had been.

    These little tricks are what helped Leon in the mid stages in full swing. When he just roamed the towers like his papa''s yground. But now. Hehehe.

    "Where is the guy who woke me up? What happened to him?" Francius asked the important question, as his life now was almost half linked with Leon. To survive and replenish himself he needed to constantly consume Leon''s mana and soul power. So knowing if the boy in front of him had killed him or not is very important.

    "I''m the one who awakened you_"

    "not possible_"

    Francius wanted to call it a lie, when Rio continued his words. "Using someone else''s blood as you can guess. It''s not really that hard when all I need to do is just throw a drop of blood from a lucky person on a rusty old ring. You should''ve thought of some other safe measures."

    "Those methods would''ve been lost in history. And I would''ve been forever sealed if I did that." Francius said and shook his head.

    "That''s also true." Rio nodded his head in approval. After all, who can rememberplex rituals for nearly centuries. "As for where that guy is now. I have no idea. I just used his blood the way it was written in the book and here we are." Rio said and couldn''t help but add the tip with a smile "But I''m sure he''ll be cursing your ass for years after suffering the bacsh and paying the price of waking you up."

    "He''ll be fine. I have dozens of methods to make him get back everything that he lost." Francius said with confidence. "It''s his honor to have me on his side."

    "My turn now. Tell me the method of awakening Myorbaksh." Rio said and hearing it the color drained by the old man''s face.

    "I can''t do that. You can ask me anything else." Francius said in a stern tone.

    "I know the ce where your granddaughter is buried, Francius. Just tell me the method and I''ll fulfill your long cherished wish. That''s my promise."

    "Why should I trust you?"

    "You have no other choice, old man." Rio said and added "Either you tell me that willingly, OR I whip it out of you after beating you to certain death and doing a soul search. In any case I''ll get what I want. The choice is yours."

    "Not much of it." Francius frowned. And said "Before I tell you how to awaken him. Tell me first, how much do you know about him?"

    "Whatever you read in some old history books is nothingpared to what the real him can do. Cause whoever met his real self isn''t left alive to write and tell stories about it." Francius said with a thoughtful serious expression. "If he''s to be roamed free, the first one to die under his rampage will be you who let him out. Do you still wanna know?"

    "Wow, what a load of bullshit. You really do have a talent for it, don''t you?" Rio said and shook his head.

    "Whoever shall set me free, thou can have the legacy of leviathans. For their names shall be echoed in the darkness of night and dawn of the light."

    Francius lost his previous seriousposure and his face turned dirty like someone just poured a pile of shit in his throat, as Rio''s words continued.

    "Isn''t that the prophecy of Myorbaksh, or did I trante it wrong?"

    "Now stop ying games and tell me the method to wake him up."

    "I can only pass it on to you." Francius said before pointing his finger at Rio''s forehead, "Before you ask, it''s a safety prerequisite. The words of it can''t be spoken, written, shared or shown. That''s why I can only give you a piece of my memories directly." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Hearing his words Rio hesitated for a little, as in the novel since this guy was basically living inside leon, their conversations were always soul based lines written normally on paper. It could be true as he never did tell Leon about any of this, but Leon learned it on his own when the old man possessed his body during a fight against some viins and they ended up sharing their memories.

    ''System, if this guy tries to capture my body or mind, or thinks about hijacking my control and killing me, I can still be fine to rely on you, right?'' Rio decided to ask his system just to be safe.

    Rio''s system, as if it got reminded of some terrible nightmare, shivered in fright. The images of that overpowered chained man and the Queen with her army came into its mind scaring it to death again.

    [You_you''ll be fine.] System said in some serious tone while adding (even if I don''t make any moves.) in its mind.

    Hearing the affirmation Rio nodded his head and let Francius pass on his memories to him. In Rio''s mind, images of a broken down temple made in the middle of a wastnd of a battlefield appeared. Where the sky rained blood and the ground was littered in mes and fossils. Though no one alive was visible in that vision, yet screams of agony echoed inside that temple.

    Rio looked ahead at an altar floating in the middle of that temple, while 12 long pirs were standing around that statue. All those pirs were supported on the dead bodies of 12 supremes from the ancient races. - Gods, Demons, Ethereals, Celestials, Archons, Titans, Giants, Angels, Nephilims, Elementals, Dragons and Fiends.

    Just their images pouring in his brain caused Rio to suffer a bacsh so strong that the system had toe forward to save him.

    [Memories of the forgotten altar and godkiller''s reawakening acquired.]

    [Memory sealed until the host is strong enough to witness it.]

    [System warns host to be careful of actions like these which can cause greater damage to his psyche without proper strength to handle it.]

    [35000 points deducted.]

    In Rio''s hands appeared a top grade healing potion as blood was pouring out his eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

    With trembling hands Rio just took the potion in one gulp and breathed heavily as it started taking effect.

    ''Thanks buddy'' Rio said to the system and brought the chain of soul striker out and threw it on the old man''s soul body.

    Hearing the screams when the oldie was writhing in hellfire, Rio finally found some sce again.

    "I_ just _did what_you asked." Francius said slowly, as the light on his soul started getting dimmer.

    "Knowing it would kill me. You bastard." Rio spat out after finally feeling a little better.

    "Time''s over, old man. I got everything I want." Rio said looking at Francius''s trembling illusory form which was getting harder for him to maintain.

    "Let me go now. You promised."

    "And I lied." Rio said, watching as he saw Francius''s soul getting pulled back into the iron ring on his hand.

    "Y_you_bas_" The old man''s words cut short as he got pulled in before his magic formation he made all this time, could get triggered and teleport him out.

    [This is my domain dumb grandpa. No one leaves without my permission.]

    Before hepletely lost consciousness he seemed to hear someone''s voice mocking his magic and methods, but he couldn''t focus clearly.

    [Timer for system space''s realization ends. Removing the domain of limitations.]

    [Next use would require ten times the amount of points. Unless you update the system to level 2.]

    Once the domain of the system was pulled off, Rio was barraged with dozens of messages from Loki and H, who were waiting for his end of the deal.

    ''System, teleport me to H''s temple. Let''s sacrifice this old man and get it over with.''

 Chapter 293 RIP ghosts and gods

    Chapter 293 RIP ghosts and gods

    ??[H epts your sacrifice, calling it one of the best gifts she received in the past some time now.]

    [Loki asks you to find a toy for him too. He''s afraid H will break this one before he gets his hands on it.]

    [H scoffs at her father, and asks you to ignore him.]

    [She''s feeling happy enough to give you a fancy item - Shroud of Shadows.]

    [Shroud of shadows - wearing it the user''s body get cloaked in shadows. Turning him invisible to naked eyes. The cloak has an infusing aura of dread that attracts ethereal forms and ghostly beings. Draining their life force and vitality slowly over time for the user''s growth.]

    "An artifact that is only useful when I''m in graveyards or dead houses. (chuckles) Perfect."

    [She fucking turned you into a ma for ghosts, host. ughs)]

    ''This bastard of a trickster dad is turning her into a miser too. I''m sure he''s the one who came up with this gift'' Rio said his gratitude with a smile while cursing both of these stingy gods in his heart.

    [Well at least they agreed to get you the 3 skills and arts you wanted.] System said reminding him at least he''ll get something good out of this whole fiasco.

    The three best arts of that old grandpa that he asked him to show and recorded with the system''s help. H agreed to let Francius hand those techniques over first, before she starts her real torture and timepass.

    [Francius is gonna be in one hell of a journey in their hands.] Even the system said with some pity for the poor old soul.

    Died by betrayal of his close friend and disciple and then woke up seven centuriester, just to be sacrificed to the keeper of souls and ruler of Niflheim.

    There are many enemies of this old man even in God realm and other tower ranking demons, so H and Loki can even sell him to them once they''re done ying with him and get bored.

    But considering how cruel and creative these two can be with their methods, those enemies of Francius would just have to make do with killing this guy for real.

    ''And in return for all those secrets, deals and gifts these two will receive, they gave me just a freaking cloak. No gifts for them next time.''

    Rio said and praised Nyx in his heart, that at least she was above all these tricks.

    While Rio was chilling and counting his points, he received a video call from Riley, which showed him the footage of the auction which was on its ending stage.

    Rio watched as thedy in red introduced a new artifact called a Thief''s Quiver, which can steal other people''s arrows if they''re standing in the user''s vision.

    Useful in a fair fight against bow and arrow users but otherwise not so much. What was interesting about it though, was the bonus effect it had. A 10% chance to steal even the enchanted arrows.

    Imagine using your enemy''s most op skills and reliance against themselves. What a show.

    The bidding started as many of the VIP rooms wanted to get it, but a voice echoed in the hall which silenced everything.

    "20 million coins."

    The price went beyond what the artifact was actually worth and soon the VIP''s gave up too.

    [It''s her, host.]

    "How much time until squad Zero takes action?" Rio ignored the system and asked Riley instead.

    "Auction is about to end, so they should be starting soon." The voice of Riley came as the screen in projection showed a few red dots which showed the positions of his members.

    The Zero squad was something Eclipse had formed on Rio''s order, entirely filled with mad fanatics, who loved carnage and chaos. Each a past criminal controlled by various methods and then turned into a mindless bot under Cersei and Nirdayi''s training.

    They''ll follow whatever orders Eclipse gave them without any questions. Just like a certain Suicide Squad in someic books he read back on earth.

    But Rio mostly nned to use them as suicide bombers or terrorists.

    Much like today.

    When he learned Alfred was attending this auction, he already nned to blow him up. Not killing him, since that''s not possible for now. Just give him a scar or two to remember this day.

    After all, that bastard did make him spend quite a lot of money on trashy things.

    "That''s their signal." Riley said as she noticed the red dots moving in the auction, stopping themselves in a fixed pattern throughout the crowd for the maximum impact to what''s about to happen.

    [You sure you wanna do this even now? She doesn''t have the protection of Gaia anymore. She might suffer.]

    System said and Rio just closed his eyes, remembering the conversation he had with the system, regarding the changes found in Saisha after her scans at the VR.

    The most notable change of which might just throw the entire world into chaos if let out.

    Gaia was gone.

    An overpowered primordial goddess who possessed enough vitality and strength to survive even the war of gods and fight head to head against the leviathan army and the godkiller Myorbaksh.

    That Gaia is now gone.

    Thrown into a state of weakness that pushed her to fall into God''s rest/slumber that mightst for dozens of years, if not for an entire century.

    And the worst of it, no one knows how, when, or why it happened.

    If not for her nature of not caring about the mortal world and not interfering in any event, everyone might''ve already known about it.

    For them Gaia is just being Gaia, looking down on their games and minding her own business - raising animals or building a garden somewhere.

    But ording to the system, she''s been in deep sleep for years now.

    And unless Rio can find and see her sleeping body for himself, even the system can''t be sure as to when she''ll wake up again.

    Without the support of Gaia, her blessings, guidance and asional help - there''s no guarantee Saisha can survive the elven plotlines toe in the near future.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Look, we can beat Alfred and others with a million methods, but Saisha is there too. If anything happened to her, and no one saw Gaia making a move about it, someone would start doubting. And things might get even moreplicatedter on.]

    System was right. If one thing other than Gaia''s disdain to everything, that gods knew - that was that she doted on all her chosen avatars like they were her own flesh and blood.

    And Saisha was even a more special case as ording to rumors, Gaia chose her directly as an avatar on the same day as her awakening.

    "It''s toote now." Rio said and shook his head.

    ''Fuckkkkkk'' Rio felt a headache iing just thinking about all these changes and their consequences.

    This is why he didn''t want to mess with any gods. Hell he could kill Cassandra, Skuld and many other non-famous gods easily. But he chose not to, as their consequences would be too much to handle.

    [Then at least tell them to avoid her or something.]

    "That''ll only arouse more suspicion and theories, when Sentinels take over the case. Thest thing we need is more suspicion and investigations around Saisha."

    "Plus Eclipse can''t be partial. Not when we''re nning to put the me for it on someone else''s head."

    Rio sighed and shook his head. There was no need to think more.

    "She''s a princess, she should have enough treasures to survive everything those guys from zero squads throw at her." Rio said in goodwill to calm the system and himself too.

    [...] (Silence)

    "Why the hell did she even go there?" Rio cursed as he remembered the plotline "She''s supposed to be feeling hurt over losing first rank in virtual test and training like a maniac now, ording to the novel,"

    [Cause she''s not Saisha. And she lost to You.]

    "..." (Silence)

 Chapter 294 Who really attacked - Eclipse, Wrath or Evils Scion

    Chapter 294 Who really attacked - Eclipse, Wrath or Evil''s Scion

    ??As Rio and his system were busy contemting their decisions, a loud st rang in the auction house where people had just started leaving their seats. rms started ring in amber lights and all the doors closed, closing off the paths of escape for anyone.

    Following the first st which sent the crowd in a frenzy, 5 sessive sts echoed soon. Each more powerful than thest one.

    A miasma of smoke and dust filled the circr auction building and screams and howling of pain and fear stricken members kept ringing nonstop.

    Though loud on noise these sts had only killed the few and far between normal guests and guards who were running here and there like herds of lost sheeps. The guests sitting in VIP rooms were all safe and sound as the protection measures blocked all the shockwaves and raging mes.

    First wave of attacks from the zeroth squad was over. And when the crowd went nuts and lost control - the second stage started.

    Anyone who breathed in the miasma fog outside, started losing their senses and control over their emotions.

    People started fighting amongst themselves, taking out their weapons and trying to kill anyone they saw.

    "It''s the Wrath guild."

    Someone shouted as they noticed the familiar methods of attack.

    Wrath guild, an organization which believed that hatred and anger is the purest emotion in existence. Their world view is a twisted persona which just wants everyone to fight amongst themselves and kill each other.

    If Warzy was something which created wars for profit, then Wrath was something which just made wars for the sake of killing.

    It had just been active in recent dozen or so years but their names are already known throughout Arcadia with kill on sight order.

    "What''re the people from VIP rooms doing?"

    "They didn''t escape or something, did they?"

    "Why isn''t the Nishkal family taking action?"

    "Where are the rankers or guards? What are they doing?"

    "Hey, it''s me. I''m your father. Why''re you attacking me?"

    Multiple shouts and sounds ovepped with each other as confusion and terror spread throughout this trapped building.

    The Nishkal family, which was responsible for this auction house''s safety and operations, were having a hard time too.

    As through their code of operation in situations like these, they divided their teams in two major groups. One went to secure the teleportation gate and circles while the others went to escort the important guests and ensure the safety of VIP''s.. Only a small remaining part of people were sent to control the situation in the halls below for normal people.

    Some heroic people from VIP rooms did jump out to help and solve the crowd''s angry warfare but the overall situation remained the same.

    After all, when around five to eight hundred people start fighting and killing each other with no sense of nning or control, even the ones who went to stop them were having a hard time.

    As anyone with one gram of brain power can guess, how can the main characters of any novel sit back in these situations?

    Even if it is a fight where non-experienced students like them are counted amongst the weakest of the weak cannon fodder, but still, all these up and growing characters would jump out to save people or shine their public image without any hesitation.

    "Hold on for 10 minutes. The poison''s effects would be over by then." Reba shouted the known fact, as she made several water bubbles trying to trap anyone who came near her.

    "Stop wasting mana like this, knock them out or break their limbs." Alfred said as he sent arcs of air shes that cut the hands and feet of several people.

    (Not chopping them, just leaving enough wounds to incapacitate them or making it harder so they couldn''t stand or walk.)

    Healing potions could heal these physical injuriester on. And the Nishkal family would pay for it. Not him anyway. So why worry.

    And if anyone bled to death before help or healing potions arrived, well bad luck buddy. But don''t me the prince.

    Fights kept happening like these everywhere, and even Reba had to say that maybe her method was useless and her brother''s was best. But she was too soft to hurt innocents like that, so she just started thinking about other methods.

    At this moment Saisha too came out and clenched her fists seeing all the bloody scene. She never liked violence and wars, especially those which were done for no right reasons.

    She looked around and noticed Alfred, who seemed to ignore everything around him. Seeing his way of solving the problem she frowned and moved her hand upwards.

    Alfred, who was fighting with some D rank awakeners and was about to incapacitate them, suddenly found vines growing out of nowhere and binding his feet.

    "If you can''t save someone, don''t kill them." Saisha said once Alfred broke out of her grip.

    "I''ll bind them with my magic. You knock them out." She said looking at Reba, who nodded her head.

    Next Saisha and Reba moved in sync as whenever they came across someone, Saisha used her vine magic to trap them, while Reba made small water bubbles around their head. Theck of oxygen soon knocked them unconscious, and then she moved to next.

    nging of swords, flying arrows and casted spells kept moving from one ce to another turning the entire scene into some terrific warzone.

    In a control room where high security staff and members of Nishkal family were standing and looking at everything on the big screens.

    "Help should arrive soon seeing that the auction is over but no one left the building. But we can''t wait that long, many people are already dead." One of the men said.

    "Are there any more members of Wrath or any other organization found?"

    "How did they even get those explosives and poison bombs inside the building? Didn''t the security check everything?"

    "Maybe someone from the inside was mixed in too."

    One by one discussions kept going on as no one could make any sense of this sudden situation.

    Just when the scene looked out of control enough, next few reports from their underlings sounded on the microphones informing them about the outer situation.

    "Sir, the teleportation gates at the east and north sides are destroyed. Those bastards from Wrath had spread their poison everywhere using the air and water supply system."

    "The VIP''s to be escorted started fighting amongst themselves and one of them self-destructed. Destroying the teleportation circles."

    "South Side gate is blocked too as the first st had destroyed the pathways and support pirs."

    "Communication is down, master. We can''t contact anyone outside." One of the men who went to the highest floor to checkmunication channels replied on the interphone.

    "Wait _ I see something. It''s blood." The man said as the sound of running steps and throwing stuff came from the other side. "It''s some kind of pattern. Some symbols."

    On the rooftop,

    "Wait, I hear someoneing." The men said, and ran to hidebehind a table and peeked his head out slowly. "Hooded figures. A whole group of them. Their clothes, the symbol, it''s evil _ ah-hhhhhhhh"

    The man was saying something but his voice was cut off, when one of the hooded figures noticed him and raised his hand. His fingers turned into tentacles that pulled the man out from his hiding ce, and stabbed his heart.

    In seconds, his body started to shrivel, and all the vitality and blood of his started getting sucked dry.

    Hearing the painful screams of the men from the other side, before there was only silence left. Everyone in the control room felt their hearts shaking and hairs rising in fear.

    "It''s not them, right?"

    "It can''t be."

    "But the symbol that guy said, and the screams - it has to be."

    "He even said their name. It''s the followers from Evil''s Scion." One of the men said, shaking in fear .

    Hearing the fearful words and seeing the down morale of his group, the head of security, Rudius banged his hand on the table bringing everyone back to senses and shouted. "Shut up. Stop cowering like little girls. Whoever it is, we''ll deal with them. We''ll kill them and then we''ll all go back to our homes."

    "They''re not some demons. When you sh their heads off, they''ll die too. So get your shit together and stop spouting bullshit."

    Though his raging aura and presence calmed some of them, but many still had expressions of fear on their faces.

    "No need to get angry at them, Rudius. If it''s really Evil''s Scion, then it''s not their fault." A man in a priest''s uniform came out and said, his eyes were covered in a blind fold. "Their name alone strike fear in the hearts of everyone. It already shows they''vee prepared."

    As the blindfolded priest''s words ended, he raised his hands in a praying formation and light covered the entire room. Calming the hearts of everyone, as the sound of burning flesh and bones rang out. A ck miasma floated through the windows, the poison responsible for spreading fear and destabilizing the morale of those inhaling it. As the light spread everywhere, one of the guards figure started burning and his body started twisting and turning into a hideous creature.

    "Fucking priests." The abonnymal man said with a smile as half of his face burned and showed his skeletal form.

    He raised his hands and stabbed the two guards standing nearby who were too shocked to react to danger. A red smoke rose from their bodies and entered the twisted mouth of that monstrosity, healing himpletely. "Better now." He said with a smile.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I bid for your lives and they''re sold to me now. Hehehaha" The man said and the whole room started shaking and walls started crumbling.

    "Let the fun begin."

 Chapter 295 Loki’s evil whispers - ’kill him now’

    <h4>Chapter 295 Loki''s evil whispers - ''kill him now''</h4>

    ?Seeing one of the evil god''s followers standing in front of them,ughing at them, the priest just sighed and pointed his palm on his face.

    A white light gathered in front of his palm, slowly morphing into a small shape of a bead.

    "May the light of retribution shines upon you. May you serve the punishment for the pain you caused. Pray to Poena that she shows some mercy in her methods."

    The priest said with praying hands and holding the locket which had the symbol of a blindfolded justice goddess holding the scales in her hands, carved upon it.

    This man belonged to the church of Dike, the spirit of justice and judgement. She''s the daughter of Godking Zeus and goddess Themis. She''s also one of the most famous and greatest Daemons of Greek mythology.

    <Daemons are spirit bodies. Born from the union of gods and their understanding ofws. Their ranking in power is between that of Gods and demigods. Nheless far above mortals.>

    As the priest finished his prayers, Darius had already fought and subdued the Evil''s scion infiltrator on the ground. The bead of light fell upon that man''s head and burned him to crisp instantly. Leaving only a charred meaty body and the smell of deep fried bones and vaporizing blood.

    But soon ck smoke started leaking from that man''s body and cracked skin tissues, as sounds ofughter echoed in the room.

    "You can stillugh under the punishment of goddess Dike. Just how far have you lost yourself?" The priest said with some surprise and pity.

    But the man ignored him and keptughing.

    "All hail, Ditail."

    He said and in the next second, under the confused eyes of many others, a loud explosion urred in the room. Sending a wave a Cursed Mana that plunged everything into chaos.

    Every organization of arcadia had their own trump cards to deal with others. Wrath had a poison gas that made people bloodthirsty, Warzy had potion that could make people lose their mana and aura. And Evil''s Scion, who was one step above them, had cursed mana techniques.

    Nether cards, Nether bombs and Nether st - each method which could change the very nature of mana and make it go berserk.

    And that''s what happened here.

    In the closed space, the sudden explosion caught many guards and high ranking officials off guard and destroyed them too. Corroding their bodies with Nether, and when they tried to use natural mana to heal themselves - the cursed mana in the air only made their injuries more severe and infectious.

    "What vile methods." The priest said as he brought out a ss of water from his ring and sprinkled in the air. The clear stream of water directly pulled all theher in the air into itself. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Turning itself dark red inspite of the light of purity it had before.

    The priest flew the dark red bubbles of water towards Darius who wielded one of the essence mes, called Azure me - a powerful me of light blue color which carried intense heat and properties of alchemy.

    The me soon refined that bubble whole until it turned back to it''s previous state and disappeared in light particles.

    Once the problem of Cursed mana was solved, Darius turned his attention to his subordinates, many of which were wounded by the explosion or cursed mana.

    "Can you heal them?" Darius said and turned towards the priest named Mnthe.

    <Many of the priests and followers of churches would drop their family names as a means to start anew and leaving mortal affections behind. Some even change their names, converting their identity as a whole to praise their gods and their various deeds.>

    Priest Mnthe looked at the many wounded and lost people and nodded his head. "The grace of goddess Dike shines upon everyone equally. Go and bring justice to those evil lost souls, I will heal and help your fellow subordinates."

    Hearing Priest''s affirmation, Darius nodded his head and left the room with few men who were still fine after the explosion. Some who were protected by him and priest Mnthe, some who survived on their own.

    Darius led them all outside and closed the entrance of the room, leaving two of his best guards to safeguard the priest and not let Evil''s Scion or anyone interfere him.

    "Luke, take 3 men with you and go to the South Side. Try to clear the rubble blocking the path to the teleportation circle."

    "Cory, take Horus and Yuri to the stairs and check the situation at the rooftop. If those bastards from Evil''s Scion made any teleportation circle or gates of their own, destroy it at all cost."

    "Clint, Miya, Sunny and Ektar - go and help solving the crowd infected by Wrath''s poison. There were guests from the cult of Poena and Para temple sitting in one of the VIP rooms. If you can find them, cooperate with them and get everyone back to their senses."

    "Once the guests are back to their senses, you can go and help Cory for the rooftop."

    Darius looked at his team and one by one issued variousmands. Giving each of them their role and targets to deal with. Just looking at how calm and calctive he could be in an unpredictable situation like this showed his capabilities as a captain of these guards.

    "What about you? Where will you go?" A women standing beside him with a mature charm and couger style asked him, when she noticed, other than him, everyone else had decided on their roles and ces to be.

    "Me, I''ll go and look for our young master. If anything happened to him under our watch, even if we survive Evil''s Scion and this attack, we won''t survive the old master''s wrath." Darius said and hearing the words old master''s anger, every one of his team members nodded their heads like a bunch of scared birds pecking on rice.

    ''Please be fine, young master.'' Every one of those guards prayed as they left Darius and rushed to their jobs.

    Not aware that the young master they were talking about wasughing like a maniac looking at an unconscious Leon in front of him, while thinking enemies really do be meeting on short roads.

    [Loki watches your actions with great interest.]

    [Loki offers you one of his blessings if you can kill him.]

    [Loki whispers "What''s the point of ying small tricks on entrance gates, when you can end him now, and wipe away your hatred and humiliation of years in some simple seconds."]

    ["Do it. Don''t hesitate. You can me it on the Wrath guild or any of the other passerbys. No one would know it was you. It''s a golden opportunity, he''s weak and injured, do it before anyonees to save him or he wakes up.]

    ["His talent is too high, he''ll surely take his revenge on you for bullying him all those years. So why not kill him now and save yourself."]

    [Kill him.]

    Hearing Loki''s constant whispers, reminding him of his insults years ago and hatred after seeing Leon showing his talent. Anger for not being able to have his revenge on several asions - finally something inside Aldric snapped.

    "He''s right, if I kill you now. No one would know it was me." Aldric said as he pulled out a de from his storage ring and started walking towards Leon, who was talking with Apollo in his sleep about why his rank dropped so suddenly.

    (Loki chuckles seeing the fruits of his falsities.)

 Chapter 296 chain quest issued

    <h4>Chapter 296 chain quest issued</h4>

    ?"God Apollo, what happened to me? Why did my rank suddenly drop?" Leon asked staring at the golden light in front of him in his dream-like state.

    "I did everything as you asked, trained hard as you said, then why did it happen? You said all my veins and previous injuries were healed, so it can''t be because of that, right? Then answer me, please."

    Hearing his pleading tone, a sigh reverberated in his mind space. And just like a stone falling into the calm river, it created ripples in Leon''s mind. But it didn''t trouble him, seeing this action calmed him.

    It meant that his God hadn''t given up on him, and left him all by himself.

    "Please God Apollo, answer me." He asked again, this time in a much calmer voice.

    [Someone probably used your blood to awaken a treasure, or activate a soul binding.]

    "What????" Leon shouted in an unbelievable tone. "That''s impossible. You can''t use someone''s blood for binding like that without their consent?"

    [You''re right. It''s not possible. But that''s the only exnation I can find.]

    "What_ who did it? When? Why?" Leon felt anger as never before, feeling extreme disbelief over this exnation. He tried to sense his body for any changes or connections, but something which even Apollo couldn''t track due to system''s barrier, what could a puny protagonist of his beginning stage can do - nothing.

    "Can I atleast get my rank back." He asked the different question. Seeing the result for his two years of hard work going to waste like this was breaking his heart, as he felt enormous hatred rising for whoever was responsible.

    [Whoever it is, they''re probably shielded with some other god''s support or used some secret methods, which I can''t trace for now. As for your rank and foundation, they''ll be healed over time with my blessing.]

    "But _"

    [Train harder Leon. Or this is what your future will always be. Always being the ything of the powerful ones. Tugging along the stribgs they pull, just like a puppet. So train hard and surpass them. That''s the only thing that matters. ]

    Apollo left the final motivation and went silent. Leon just stared at the disappearing golden light and clenched his fists. ''Whoever you are, I will surpass you. And I will make you pay for everything.''

    Apollo stared at Leon''s determined expression, as he started channeling his mana and blessings, trying to heal himself, and nodded his head.

    There was one thing he didn''t say to Leon, that there is another way besides any God''s interference, where anyone, even normal unawakened mortals, can be responsible for what happened to him.

    The uncontracted binding is also possible in case that treasure or soul had already chosen him as the master beforehand, and the blood mark was just the final formality left to awaken it.

    But Apollo didn''t want to say it to Leon.

    Because this meant someone used his blood to snatch his treasure, that he didn''t even know about.

    And he was right. That''s what Rio did.

    As being the protagonist''s gold finger, the grandpa ring had a condition for awakening so no one else besides the protagonist can use it. That was, that only someone surpassing the luck of Francius could awaken him.

    Over the years when Francius was sealed and sleeping inside the ring, many people found the ring and did all kinds of tests to see what was special about this ring, but none sessed.

    After all, the only such lucky person can be people chosen and groomed by destiny, that is protagonist.

    ''Who was it?'' Apollo said in his heart as he spread his divine sense over thousands of miles around Leon''s current position. Yet found no trace of any abnormality.

    He could feel Leon''s luck was decreasing at a steady pace for a while now, yet even after trying several methods he couldn''t find anything.

    ''Did anyone know about him being my avatar?'' Apollo couldn''t help but doubt cause there was no other reason why anyone would try so hard to mess with Leon anymore.

    "Looks like I need to rethink some things." Apollo said and nced in the direction of a goddess far away.

    "She hasn''t chosen an avatar yet. Otherwise her skills could help me see the visions of the future." He said and started thinking about ways to tempt her. Due to their history he didn''t want to go to her himself and ask for help. He was also sure she wouldn''t help him.

    "Even though the curse dampened her powers, the faith she harnesses from those mortals is still higher than mine. Cassandra, just what''re you waiting for?" Apollo thought with a sigh, not at all aware that killing Cassandra''s fated avatar was the first thing our mc did after waking up here. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Unaware of the problems caused to this duo of chosen characters, Rio''s entire focus was on the projection of the auction house where the fight was getting even more serious every moment.

    Looking at the hooded figures rising from the midst of the audience and killing everyone in their path, ughtering every guest and guards alike without any hesitation - Rio flinched his eyes.

    Reba and Saisha were surrounded from every side, so were Alfred and Vanessa. Their mana was almost getting depleted but there was no sign of help from anyone.

    People from the Nishkal family and world association were fighting against Evil''s Scion. While the priests from Dike''s church were no help as someone poisoned them all beforehand.

    No doubt, it was Dreyfus Finch, the spy from Evil''s Scion that Rio saw and wanted to recruit earlier.

    Edward, who was near Dreyfus, was also poisoned and on the verge of death.

    He never thought Evil''s Scion would make a move so soon, as in the novel their first introduction was after the event when Dreyfus massacred a whole town for a blood sacrifice monthster.

    Rio watched his whole n getting crumbled in pieces just like what happened two years ago and he couldn''t help but hate himself for it.

    The only difference between now and then, was that two years ago it was due to followers of Apollo and now it was the followers of Ditail.

    [I told you host, ns change. You can''t predict and control everything.]

    [That novel is just a basework host. When it says any force has 100 people and xxx is their leader. It only shows the focus of that leader, but in reality, now, any one of those 100 people could also mess up everything. And you would never see iting.]

    [You should''ve stopped this attack earlier. And now it''s toote.]

    ''''This attack wasn''t just a whim system. You know damn well why I did it." Rio said after hearing the lecture, he was already angry and annoyed, and system''s words weren''t helping.

    [...]

    "If I can''t put the name of Eclipse on the map of floating inds, then when those groups of viins finally gather for their Injustice League type of meeting, I won''t be there.

    And if I''m not there to stop these bastards, then half of all important characters in academy routes will be killed off. Maybe even more."

    [There''s time for that event host. We could''ve figured out another way. Infiltrate some organization, buy someone, kill someone and take their ce - there are dozens of methods, but you just chose the easiest one.]

    "..."

    ''Fuck you, Evil''s scion. And fuck your Ditail.'' Rio bashed his hand on the table, breaking it in two.

    Seeing the frustration of its host, the system sighed and decided to help.

    [Chain Quest issued]

    [Title - Solve your shit and clean your mess.]

    [Description - (1) Save the named characters your actions put in danger. (0/13)]

    [ - (2) Kill the members of Evil''s Scion. The followers of Ditail.]

    [ - (3) As a viin, how can a little setback stop you from reaching your goal. Finish what you wanted to do.]

    [Quest reward - Depending on your performance.]

    ''What the fuck is this now?'' Rio asked, confused after looking at the sudden quest.

    [A little motivation to get you hooked.] System said and smiled [Come on, I know you already wanted to jump in. Now I even gave you a little incentive.]

    [Go there already.] System said seriously , and Rio smiled in return. ''Fine, but just cause you said so.''

    [Yupp, definitely not for her.] Hearing his haughty answer, system joked again and got cursed in response.

    ''This bitch is just itching for a beating.'' Rio thought about his evil yful system and contacted Riley. "Riley, we left someone alive there, right?"

    "Of course that''s how I''m getting you the feed." Riley''s voice came from the other side as she changed the image in front of him, and showed three people who were just acting unconscious in the pile of dead bodies. "What''s your n, boss?" she asked, already aware of the things happening there. .

    "Nothing. Just get ready to collect some hd footage. We''re shooting a promotional video for ourselves." As his words finished he cut the call and his form started changing into that of Shiva.

    "The world will know the name of Eclipse today. And I''ll write it with their blood."

 Chapter 297 Evil’s Scion

    <h4>Chapter 297 Evil''s Scion</h4>

    ?"Is it just me or the effects of Wrath''s poison not diminishing over time?" Vanessa said as she created a ring of fire that kept the crowd of madman away from her. But only to fail as the effected people had lost their mind and started walking through the fire directly.

    Originally effects of Wrath''s poison onlysts for 10 minutes or so on average. But now it had already been more then 15 minutes since the crowd went nuts, yet no one seemed to be get back to their senses. If anything more and more people seemed to get effected by it.

    "Someone is probably alive from their group, still spreading this shit." Reba said as she threw a water spell at Vanessa, that stopped the fire from burning those people to death. "We''re here to save them, not kill them." she said and Vanessa just ignored it like she didn''t hear anything.

    Currently they were all surrounding a few apostles from the Golden Para temples, who had purifying and healing magic, which could get these people back to their senses. But just their name rank ''Apostle'' was enough to tell their magic grade or mastery wasn''t high enough. But still this was better than doing nothing or knocking out everyone.

    "What are Nishkal family''s guards or basically anyone else? I only see guests fighting and helping us." Alfred said as he looked everywhere.

    At the beginning he was quite happy that his method seemed to be working as he dropped quite a lot of people on the ground. But over time he realized the problem. Now they didn''t even have enough open space to move around in some areas. Cuz the ground was littered with bleeding, crawling maniacs.

    "I hear more fighting sounds from upstairs. They''re probably facing some other enemy members too." Saisha said and swung a long vine as a whip which threw 3-4 people away from them.

    "There are also a lot more gods gathering every second. I don''t think this attack is as simple as Wrath ying around." Reba said looking at the barrage of messages from various gods yet found nothing helpful. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Damn thatzy panda, he probably gone back to his room by now and is sleeping soundly. Yet leaving us stuck here.'' Reba cursed an ''innocent'' white haired boy in anger, as her eyes nced at the VIP rooms upstairs, before she watched the wall crumble and then fall apart.

    A hooded figure came down the stairs holding a long serpentine dagger in his hands. With each step, the floor creaked below him. As marks of his footsteps left a burning corroded ck mass of puddle behind his wake.

    "One day Death and Ditail walked into a bar. Death said proudly - I can kill everyone inside this ce with a flick of my finger, and reap their souls to bring them despair.

    Ditail smiled and said - Is it like this? (Flicks his fingers and decimates everything in around him)

    Death choked and replied - Well, you can kill them. But I''m their final destination. (The souls of everyone gets pulled to deaths hands)

    You can be the sad destination, but I''m the unexpected plot twist. - Ditail said and tapped his fingers again. Decimating death itself."

    ?????

    "No smiles and ps on this one too huh. I really thought it was a good one." A sigh and a disappointing voice came from the hood.

    [Den of Devilsughs at the audacity of your lies.]

    "Since you don''tugh at my joke, then you will neverugh again." A cold sinister sound echoed in everyone''s ears and the aura of destruction around the hooded manpletely changed.

    His figure disappeared from its ce and appeared in front of Alfred. "I heard you scoffing at my tale, little golden boy. You think that''s funny."

    Alfred raised a shield to block the raising hand of the hooded man instantly and disappeared from his ce in a swish of a wind.

    Only to see his shield getting destroyed, the instant dagger from the hooded man''s hands touched the barrier.

    "Cursed mana and Ditail''s overrated praise, Evil''s Scion." Alfred muttered and his expression turned serious.

    Evil''s Scion had one more thing besides cursed mana that made them dangerous. The toxins that induce fear, every hood of these guys was inscribed with patterns that threw off a dusty smell of death, which affects one''s mind and makes them less susceptible to reality.

    "So these psychos are behind this attack?" Vanessa asked as she created a dozen fireballs that floated all around her. Since the speed of the hooded figure gave her a little surprise.

    "That exins why no backup arrived to help here." Reba nodded in agreement.

    "And no one will." The hooded man said and pointed at the sky. "This space is sealed by a formation now, so as long as anyone of my buddies is alive, no one can leave."

    "So we just have to kill you. Good, that makes it easier." Vanessa said and threw all the mes at the hooded man who just smiled seeing her attack.

    Just when the fireballs were about to hit him, another hooded man who was sitting on the stairs watching all this drama from above, made a move.

    "Fire is so overrated." The second hooded man said in disdain, as he raised his hand and threw a piece of paper in front of those balls of mes.

    Next scene surprised Vanessa, as she saw her spell getting sucked into that tiny piece of paper.

    "Tell me how much longer would your blessings save you from this poison, little girl?" The first hooded man said as he took a long whiff of poisoned air like he just smoked the best shit of the century.

    His figure turned into a blur once again, as he rushed from one end to the other end. His position or path, only to be determined by the screams of men who suddenly lost a limb or their whole body turned into dust.

    "Destroying stuff is always so easy for everyone. And I am the master of destruction." The hooded man said as he ced his hand on a man''s skull and watched him slowly wither and die. Only to stop midway and excitedly say "Master of destruction, that''s a nice title right. Damn. What do you _"

    His words and smile stopped as he noticed the man''s whole head was blown up and his body fell down lifeless. "Well, he''s useless."

    "What about you, princess? What do you think?" The hooded man said as he appeared beside Reba.

    Only to stop an inch away from touching her, as Vanessa kicked him back and Saisha threw him away using a vine.

    "Tsk, no fun." The hooded man said as he fell into a crowd of maniacs who jumped onto him. Only to die and disappear as he pped his hands and a wave of destruction corroded everyone within one meter.

    "End it, Ronie. Someone''s causing trouble upstairs. Boss wants it done fast."

    The first hooded man looked up and frowned a little. "Turns out our party''s gonna be cut short, ants. I was nning to y with you lot to see which God would bid more for your deaths, but it seems my partners wants me to wrap it up fast."

    The hooded man said something with a serious expression and raised his fingers "Eeney meeny miney moe, for whose head shall I go."

    ??

    "Looks like luck''s not on your side, little elf. You die first." The hooded man said and pointed at Saisha.

 Chapter 298 Abyssal eyes of destruction

    <h4>Chapter 298 Abyssal eyes of destruction</h4>

    ?The hooded man rushed at Saisha as his words finished, and in an instant he was almost upon her. But his raised hand halted and he jumped back, feeling a sense of crisis enveloping his body when he got near her. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Interesting. Is this what those primordials y like?" The hooded man said thinking the feeling of fear he felt was probably because Saisha is Gaia''s chosen and has her blessings.

    "But that''s even more fun." The hooded man turned serious and rushed forward again, ignoring the vines and magic skills that attacked him constantly.

    The few basic spells did no damage to him as the protection methods of the hoods he wore had blocked them. The rest which posed a threat to him, he tried to avoid as much as possible and if he couldn''t, then he''d use his destruction magic to nullify.

    Destruction magic is considered a branch of Darkness element. Some call it an advanced version of darkness,(like ice is to water or metal is to nature) while others call it just another trick of corrosion property contained in the main darkness element, just like shadow magic.

    But whatever it may be, no one doubted the endless possibilities and chaotic potential this magic possessed.

    And the results were clear to see. The hooded man called Ronnie was fighting against Saisha while constantly releasing a wave of destruction around him so no one interfered in his fight. Blocking spells of other students and those affected by Wrath poison alike.

    "Did those psychos at wrath and you fanatics join hands now?" Saisha asked as she held the bow she just won from the auction in her hands.

    After fighting for a while, the 15% chance of stealing other parties'' arrows did get triggered a few times and she had a constant supply of enhanced arrows.

    There were many methods and treasures in her storage rings that could kill this hooded figure in front of her instantly, but they would all end up causing a mass number of other casualties too, so she wanted to avoid using them, as long as she can.

    Her friend, the other elven girl who attended the auction with her, was attacked some time ago and was resting behind her back. Jaesin was responsible for guarding her for now.

    "Who us, no no no, no no. Those psychos got nothing to do with us. If you wanna call it something, call it fate and your bad luck. That both our organizations picked the same ce and same date to attack." The hooded man said in rification as ifparing their groups together was an insult in his eyes.

    "That''s disappointing." Saisha said and raised her hand. As a shadow of arge tree formed behind her. Soon the shadow took an ethereal form and looked almost like a virtual tree projection covering her.

    Little dots of lights started falling down the tree like some seeds or pheromones spreading outward. Whenever these golden dots fell on someone it put them in a trance-like state where their mind is pulled into an illusion of peace.

    As soon as Saisha put the hooded man on hold, she rushed forward to kill him, but it seemed that she underestimated the mental fortitude of this viin or how many gods wanted to see him fight.

    The hooded man seemed to realize the trick of illusion and was constantly releasing his mana without any restraints as one after another waves of destruction spread from him as the epicenter.

    Knowing getting close was useless, she tried shooting arrows one after another to kill him, but the second hooded man, who was sitting aside and watching their fight all this time, decided to help his buddy.

    "He''s still too young and arrogant." The second hooded man said and threw a roll of sheet which formed a barrier all around his partner. Shielding him from all the attacks.

    Reba and Vanessa wanted to help Saisha but the second hooded man just pulled a notebook from his storage ring and threw dozens of papers at them.

    Instantly all kinds of spells and attacksnded on the two heroines, forcing them to back off.

    The hooded man seemed to be the holder of sealing magic.

    A side branch originated from the space element.

    He could seal other people''s spells and skills on various paper effigies, and then release them back at his opponents. A deadly foe to face especially in a warzone where dozens or hundreds of people were constantly fighting with different methods.

    You can never know which element or type of skill these kinds of users would choose to attack you, making them quite hard to defeat.

    He even threw out a blood red paper which was just a bucket of blood falling over everyone as if rain of blood.

    For a second some people thought it was a prank, but they all felt a pain like no othering from deep within their bones.

    The blood seemed to have some kind of radiation or mutation properties, which started turning many men into mindless monsters. Their bodies twisted in different angles and some parts of them evolved or grew differently from their racial traits.

    An elf had hornsing out his head, a human grew third eyes or fangs and ws. A dwarf grew into an astounding height and turned into a mini hulk etc etc

    Reba tried cleansing magic or healing blessings, but seeing no use. She nodded her head at Vanessa and for the first time in this fight, they both decided to get serious and go all out. Trying to kill these atrocities before they could cause any more damage.

    Bursts of mes appeared, and heat inside the hall rose to an all time high, making everyone feel like they were fighting in an erupting volcano. Vanessa brought out her absolute best and turned into a pyro menace, burning everything and everyone in her path to cinders. Her slim figure in a tight orange dress, with its edges covered in mes made her look like a me fairy descending to mortal world. But in the eyes of anyone else opposing her she looked just like a demon from hell who was out to burn the whole world down.

    Reba on the other hand was still much more gentle looking. Though the kill count she umted was probably higher then Vanessa. Balls of water floated all around her, choking the life out of anyone who came close to her. The high rankers or mutated abominations who could stand without oxygen for a long time, had their heads pierced by thin ice needles from all sides, turning the crystal clear balls of water around their heads into blood red.

    If Rio saw this scene, he''d probably only have one line to say - All his hard work for training and teaching her wasn''t in vain. (and obviously nice take on iron Maiden punishment)

    The intense scene showcased Vanessa''s fiery ferocity and Reba''s graceful but deadly control over water perfectly.

    Alfred was fighting alongside them all this time, but some time ago he received a call for help from Edward, who was poisoned and about to die. So he went there to heal him. Edward''s and Alfred''s guards were fighting and holding back the crowd of crazies as Alfred poured one potion after another into his little minion''s mouth.

    After all, Edward was going to be the next heir of Elite Sinir family and having them back him up in the race to the throne was Alfred''s long standing wish and n. So he couldn''t let Edward die on him now.

    Looking at how Saisha''s illusion magic, and Reba and Vanessa''s bloody massacre were going on - for a second anyone would''ve thought that the fight was in their favor and they''d survive or win or whatever.

    But it all crumbled down to pieces when the barrier around the first hooded man broke and he woke up from his illusion.

    -arrrrfgghhhhhhhh

    Angered and scared that he was almost killed by these little girls, his destruction magic seemed to have gone berserk. As the moment he woke up he used his main attack and blessing, something that he himself had no control over.

    Abyssal eyes of annihtion

 Chapter 299 Death threat for a heroine is a stage set for protagonist to shine

    Chapter 299 Death threat for a heroine is a stage set for protagonist to shine

    ??The ceiling of the first floor morphed as a cloudy smoke of darkness covered it whole. The smoke gathered in one ce forming a shape simr to a closed giant eye.

    The eye started opening very slowly and anyone who stared at that small open parts felt their souls drawn to that darkness. It was like staring at the abyss and losing yourself into it.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Filled with the aura of destruction and death, the eye oozed the gloomy vibe of chaos as it pierced every formation of the auction house and shattered them in pieces.

    Sensing the threat from that eye, everyone tried to throw their weapon artifacts and skills at that giant eye, hoping to interrupt it before it fully opened up. Yet all their attacks were either sealed in space or diverted away by the second hooded man.

    "What a mess you made, Ronnie." The second hooded man said ncing at his partner whose eyes were probably bleeding profusely as blood drops trickled down his hood and fell to the ground constantly.

    "Boss won''t be happy." He said with some pity while shaking his head in disappointment.

    To him Ronnie was just a new talent they found in a pile of other heretics they trained. But their organization did have some hopes with this one. That''s why they wanted to pit him against all these young geniuses and see his prowess. But as he already expected, this kid was still too young and immature.

    ''But his skills sure are interesting. Eye of annihtion huh, what an art.'' The second hooded man said with a maniacal happy expression. ''Can I seal it too?'' He wondered, but then shook his head thinking now wasn''t the right time.

    Saisha brought out another treasure from her storage ring called ''Net of the Night.''

    An artifact which could trap her enemies and put them to sleep and keep them in a dream-like state. Though the entrapment depended on some ranking limitations along with her opponent''s mental strength.

    But with half the crazed(Wrath affected) people already affected by her ''Calming tree'' magic and the other half drained of mana and injured severely during this battle- using this artifact now pulled everyone into itself easily and put them to sleep for the next 5 minutes.

    The artifact turned into a giant ball of prison which sucked everyone it could affect and put them to sleep. Reducing the load on everyone else by a lot.

    As the people who were going nuts by Wrath''s poison went away, there were only 40-50 people left now.

    From the original crowd of around 800 people to now 230 people which were trapped by Saisha and counting those still sane now - it was clear that almost 500 people had died either by the Wrath''s poisons and battles or by the kills caused by these two members of Evil''s Scion.

    For young students like them this was the first time they had seen so many deaths. People killing each other without any remorse or regret, fighting without any care for their safety while constantly trying hard to protect their sanity - It sure was a massive blow to their mental state. But poor them, didn''t even get the time to handle this stress properly as their own lives were on the line.

    Seeing the crowd which was reduced suddenly,  the second man nced at Saisha and then at therge circr chain ball artifact behind her.

    "That''s an interesting treasure, your highness. Why don''t you pass it on to me." The hooded man said as he rushed to fight her and snatch this interesting artifact.

    "You, can you handle him for some time," Vanessa asked looking at Saisha.

    "Can try." Saisha said, not very optimistic about her winning chance.

    Though they were all first years, but no one wasn''t really familiar with anyone.

    Especially Vanessa, who had been busy the past two years taking over the responsibilities which were meant for her brother.

    Except for her maids and cousins, she didn''t like to talk much with anyone else in the academy.

    Which was quite an opposite character traitpared to her original outgoing and fiery personality in the novel.

    But who can me her, the lively girlish behavior of hers probably changed after seeing her brother being crippled and being forced to take his ce in all the political and corporate responsibilities.

    She was the second direct child of Belmont family head and also the one with the highest talent after Kendrick in the younger generation. If not for her being a girl, the Duke would even name her the next heir.

    But that namesake title is the only thing she doesn''t have now.

    After witnessing the tricks and maniption she had seen and suffered in the social gatherings and the people of the royal court Or from the elders of her family - this new responsibility was like a curse, for a girl her age and simple brain.

    And who can she me for all that anger and hatred, except the same white haired boy who came back from his grave.

    She didn''t hate Rio as much these past two years since he was already dead, while her brother was atleast still alive, albeit a normal mortal now.

    But then this bastard of a ghost came back crawling from that dungeon and she took a 180�� shift in anger management.

    Saisha and the second hooded man started a fierce fight. They both liked to fight their opponents from a distance, not liked to getting their hands dirty, so it was quite an interesting sight to see their battle.

    But no one had the mood for that.

    The eye of annihtion was almost fully open and the walls and pirs around the halls were fully disintegrated into dust. Even the furniture and floor were creating pits everywhere slowly.

    Those people who didn''t have any good defensive artifacts were slowly turning into dust, like the scene where some purple head potato snapped his fingers and wiped everyone out.

    "Let''s kill that bastard first." Reba said and turned to look at the first hooded man, Ronnie.

    Vanessa stared at her for some time hearing the elegant princess cursing like that, but Reba just shrugged her shoulders saying "People like them don''t deserve her respect."

    They both pulled their life saving treasures and main weapon artifacts as they rushed at Ronnie who was now covered in a chaotic miasma, looking very miserable himself.

    Just the bacsh of using that one skill had formed a pool of blood near his body, but the closer he got to fully controlling the power of annihtion in that opening eye, the more determined and maniacal he seemed to be.

    Feeling the pressure and hearing the screams of those surviving awakeners dying one by one as their bodies disintegrated between heaven and ground, he gave a sinisterugh that sent chills down the spine of those closer to him.

    "Can you see it, demon lords? The power of annihtion at my fingertips. You said I was a fool to try this, well who''s the foolish one now."

    "So stay and watch me perform. Let this venue and all its people be the sacrifices necessary for my true awakening." Ronnie said as he raised his hands in the air andughed hysterically.

    "Hehaha ahhhahaha die for me. Burst in dust, destroyed for forever. Let your deaths be the nourishment for my path of destruction. Ahahahha"

    "This guy''s gone nuts." Vanessa agreed with Reba on her previous conjecture and cursed this murderous maniac.

    Her body was covered in an orange hue as a circr fiery disc floated over her head, protecting her from all the pressure and damage of destruction, that the giant eye was causing everywhere.

    Same was the case for Reba, who had a glowing pendant on her chest, forming a pir of golden light covered in runes and cyclic symbols, which protected her.

    But they still underestimated the power of annihtion bestowed upon Ronnie by the demon lords of a certain hellish world.

    Their treasures which could protect them whole felt failing as the blessing of destruction started corroding their bodies, seemingly ignoring any defense.

    Feeling the threat of death, hairs stood on end for both the girls, as their brains started thinking countermeasures for this new development.

    But just then a fire brighter than the sun appeared in the hall. But instead of burning them the heat seemed to protect them from the aura of destruction.

    The hero was here.

    ##

    The heroines were in danger of course the protagonist had to appear.

 Chapter 300 Leons stage

    Chapter 300 Leon''s stage

    ??Leon entered the stage of battle with great fanfare as he directly sneaked up on Ronnie and sted him with a cannon of me hitting his body.

    When Ronnie sensed the threat, he raised his arms to block Leon''s attack, but the mes were already up close, burning the hooded cloak from his hands and chest area.

    Leon looked at a mark of two circles formed on his wrists. The smaller circle at the inside was white in color while the outer circle was made in red color.

    "Fallen from the fairy group." Reba muttered seeing the symbol on Ronnie''s hands.

    Hearing her words Vanessa''s expression too turned a little more serious, as she recognized the seal too.

    "What?" Leon asked, confused about their reactions, as he stood between both of them.

    "That''s the mark of banishment given in the fairy race to anyone who fell prey to the dark path and lost their connection with the fairy ancestral magic.

    Or someone who''s despised and abandoned by the gods of the fairy race''s legends." Vanessa exined what she knew about the fallen fairies.

    "Fairies are extremely proud of their purity and light magic, so anyone who fell from their grace, is either killed on sight or trapped in the towers of hell." Reba further added her insight.

    "Since he''s still alive, you''re telling me he escaped from the towers of hell?" Leon asked, finally showing the same expressions of surprise both girls had at the beginning.

    There are many Hell Towers on Arcadia, each belonging to some kind of myth, religion or world legends - but one thing they all have inmon is their difficulty level.

    Compared to any of the other towers, Hell towers have an average of 70% more mortality rates for awakeners. That alone shows how dangerous they can be.

    There are even many limitations ced by the world association and other organizations to make sure no one below limit rank can even enter those towers. And people beneath B rank aren''t even allowed to roam around those towers for miles. Since the hell towers are most famous for their unpredictability and tricks and corrosion.

    And the guy in front of them came from surviving those towers, of course it made them take this opponent even more seriously.

    Ba even wondered for a second, if she should just take this chance and get out of here.

    But then she looked at all the deaths happening all around her and shook her head. She''s a princess, and some of these people fighting even now are her subjects. She can''t just leave them and run away.

    [Kill him and you can get one of the skills of fairyw.]

    All three of them received a quest from some unknown God and looked at each other in surprise.

    Not just three of them but anyone who was still alive on that floor received the simr messages.

    It was clear that the gods of fairnds didn''t take lightly to this ck sheep ruining their race''s reputation.

    [Fairy magic can heal your injuries fast and improve your understanding of holy magic.] Apollo sent a message and hearing it Leon''s eyes changed from wariness to determination  and then to hope, as he looked at Ronnie.

    He just woke up some time ago after stabilizing his now demoted rank and injuries, and immediately had to fight for his life as that idiot guy from Nishkal family tried to kill him in his sleep.

    Of course Leon defeated Aldrich and managed to beat him despite being weakened by three minor ranks.

    As for his punishment, Aldrich would have to spend many months in a wheelchair as Leon burned his spine and mana veins. He was about to permanently cripple Aldrich and ruin his mana core/dantian but some guards came and interfered in their fight. So Leon had to flee from the scene.

    Leon looked at Ronnie who stood up from the ground and coughed blood.

    Waving his hand he chugged down a healing potion and started running towards Leon.

    "You will die by my hands, bastard." Ronnie said, as one after another ck balls of miasma formed behind him and flew towards Leon. Who in turn used a simr skill but with the element of fire.

    The collision of fire and darkness was awe inspiring as light and destruction shed with each other.

    Though Leon''s spells looked majestic, they were no match for Ronnie''s chaos. And soon enough Leon was hit by one of the floating balls of destruction which directly ended up hitting him on the head.

    But just when his head was about to burst open like a balloon, some kind of protection treasure got activated and took the damage from him.

    Leon looked at the pearl ne around his neck and saw four of the small pearl beads broke and fell down.

    This artifact was a defensive treasure he found in a dungeon secret chamber, called ''Lifelink Loom''

    An artifact which can protect his life as long as there are any beads left on the ne. And the beads would break depending on the damage he would''ve suffered.

    The ne originally had 100 beads in the beginning, but now only 27 beads were left. Just showing how many times he came close to death but survived by luck.

    And four of them were broken down by Ronnie''s spell.

    Leon breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the threat of life disappear. But with this confrontation he also realized the vast difference he had with this guy Ronnie. If he was still on his previous rank, may be he would have defeated him easily, but now there was no chance.

    Looking around he noticed Saisha who was holding back the second hooded man by herself. She was bringing out one magical artifact after another. Attack, defense, evasion everything was done by just her alone.

    She didn''t use any skills as the second hooded man could seal them and use them back to attack her. So she mainly relied on using artifacts and their bound effects instead. Which made it harder for him to seal them.

    "Are you okay?" Vanessa asked.

    "Yeah, I''m fine." Leon said and looked back at Ronnie who was held back by Reba. "Can you cover me for 30 seconds. I know a spell which can help us defeat both of them."

    Leon said and Vanessa thought for some time and agreed to it.

    She knew some skills too which could boost her strength and help her win, but they were alling with some kind of bacsh so she didn''t want to use them unless absolutely necessary.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Since Leon himself wanted to be the bait, and she didn''t have to risk it herself. So she agreed and charged towards Reba who was getting pushed back facing the destruction mage.

 Chapter 301 Dawn’s crashing - a sunlight shower

    <h4>Chapter 301 Dawn''s crashing - a sunlight shower</h4>

    ?Getting Vanessa''s approval, Leon stepped back and closed his eyes, as he started chanting the spell.

    Reba looked back at him and asked Vanessa "You sure he can pull it off, his rank has dropped if you haven''t noticed."

    "I did." Vanessa nodded her head as she noticed it too, but didn''t have time to ask him the reason. "Anyway let him do what he wants, if he can''t get the results, I heard royal family has a heart magic which can kill anyone below Limit rank instantly. He looks to be around B rank and that one is B+ or A- at best. You should be able to kill them both."

    Hearing Vanessa''s response, Reba just sneered and asked back. "Belmont''s have sacrificial magic too. Heard that can boost your blood and aura to high levels. Why don''t you use that."

    Both of them looked away from each other and focused on fighting. Reba had the same thoughts as Vanessa, since someone else is willingly using their hole cards to help, there''s no need to spend their own life saving cards for no reason.

    After all, as nobles and talented heroines they have dozens of methods that can save their lives. But unless it''s absolutely necessary they don''t want to use it. First for secrecy and second since they''re rare and can have certain bacsh too.

    Leon on the other hand is a protagonist, so he doesn''t worry about things like that. To him everything always just works out somehow. Even if he suffered any bacsh it''ll only end up turning into a gift in disguiseter on. So he doesn''t hesitate for these life altering decisions.

    Currently he was chanting two skills simouentaniously, hoping to control them both. One was a blessing given by Apollo, and the other a skill he himself created.

    Dawn''s blessing, the same spell he wanted to use in the VR match against Rio and katherine, but was interrupted by him first. This skill could boost his allies attributes and heal them and increase their attack damage for me and holy magic.

    As Leon''s chants came to an end, a giant sun formed into the sky. Competing against the eye of annihtion for control over the skies. The opposing elements of both spells shed against each other, and at this time Leon''s halo saved him again.

    Since Ronnie who stillcked control over eye of annihtion suffered a bacsh immediately and spurted out another mouthful of blood.

    Taking this chance Reba took out a vial from her ring and threw it on his face.

    Instantly the vial shattered and spread a purple poisonous gas onto the viin''s face. Forcing him to inhale it.

    "Poison, princess?" Vanessa asked seeing Reba use such underhanded methods to win.

    Today, Vanessa felt like she had a new understanding of this ''noble and proud'' princess, who''ll curse and kill by whatever means necessary if you''re opposite her.

    In response to her doubts, Reba just shrugged her shoulders like it was a normal thing to do.

    After all, Rio always does something like this whenever he couldn''t win. At first she didn''t like it too, after all what would anyone say after seeing a noble heir of duchy use such sneaky methods to win their battle. It''s not honorable at all. Butter on after his many speeches about only winning matters and honor doesn''t do shit for dead people, she started to change her ways too.

    "He''ll onlyst for two minutes at best. Then he''s dead. So you should be careful, since he''s gonna go mad." Reba informed Vanessa and just then Ronnie who realised his conditions screamed loudly in anger.

    He stepped back and rushed away from both the girls as he brought several healing and detoxifying potions from his ring and drank them sessively.

    The second hooded man set up a few shields around him which blocked the attacks from both the herlines for a few seconds, giving him enough time.

    "He won''t be healed, right?" Vanessa asked as she raised both her hands and the ground cracked and errupted like a volcano. The burningva fell onto those shields, breaking them instantly.

    "He won''t. This poison is quite reliable." Ba said clearly and exined "The more he tries to heal himself, the more he''ll suffer. By now he should already be on hisst leg, one minute of life left is my guess." Reba said with a smirk, quite confident in this poison''s effect, whose name she didn''t even know.

    As for where this trust came from, well that came without doubt since this poison was something that idiot panda gave it to her on her 12th birthday as a present.

    Why a deadly poison on her birthday, don''t ask.

    ''Now that I remember it, he didn''t give me any gifts aftering back from the dungeon, I should get something from him. Maybe something like that bracelet he bought at the auction_ hehehe.'' Reba thought and smiled in her heart, confusing Vanessa who thought she wasughing at Ronnie''s misery.

    Because just as she said, Ronnie at this time was screaming in pain, his internal organs were starting to fail as his mind became hazy and body became numb. The skill of annihtion got cancelled too as he lost his focus and failed to control it.

    Ahhhhhhhh

    "I will kill you. You damn bitch. How dare you.

    How dare you poison me.

    I''ll rip you to shreds and burn you in hell. Die die die die die��" Ronnie seemed to go insane from the effects of poison and failed skills.

    "Laugh all you want, but don''t think you won just yet. No one can save you today." He said and brought out a bloody potion from his ring and drank it in one gulp.

    As the cap of that vial opened, a scream echoed in the hall that seemed to be the voice of a dying monsters. Something which was straight out of hell it seems.

    The second hooded man nced at Ronnie''s actions and shook his head in disappointment. It seems this guy really is too inexperienced.

    ''If he had time to grow he sure would''ve been a fantastic killer. But s the higher ups took a loss sending him out on missions so early.'' he couldn''t help but think but had no ns of trying to save him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Because he just received a message from his higher ups, asking him to retreat this instant.

    It seems something happened upstairs and the bosses behind him lost contact with the rest of his team members here. Thinking they were all dead, they issued a retreatmand for anyone who was alive.

    The second hooded man wanted to find an opportunity to slip past Saisha''s array of artifacts and Ronnie''s mad actions just gave him that chance.

    Ronnie''s body started bulging next second as the mysterious potion took effect. It started growing in height and muscles. In just a few seconds he was towering over everyone as he turned into a berserker ogre.

    From the original height of around 5''8" he was now nearly 10 feet tall with the weight of his body nearly reaching 1000lbs atleast.

    "He hulked up." Reba couldn''t help but mutter as she looked up at the overly muscr man.

    "I don''t think that''s a good sign?" Vanessa muttered as she took out a red sword from her ring, with its edges still burning in me. This was her best artifact, something which was passed down into their family and handed to every generation''s next heir candidate.

    Sword of Samsara''s sher

    A sword which had a description to have the ability to cut the entire world in half.

    But before she had a chance to make a sh at Ronnie, she noticed blinding rays of light fell onto that giant''s body and like spears made of light, they pierced everything in their way. Dozens of rays stabbed themselves into the viin''s giant body, nailing him to the ground.

    The giant screamed and squirmed for a while as the ground cracked and crumbled under the wave of his crying voice and shockwaves.

    Vanessa and Reba both looked at this surprising scene and then nced back at Leon, who was bleeding from the corner of his pale mouth, yet still managed to keep a smile on his face.

    A blinding light was shinning behind him, making him look like a god of light descending down. His smile showed both his pride of victory and handsome side, the more anyone looked up at him.

    He spread his hand outward and dozens of light rays , like shooting stars flew past him and fell into Ronnie.

    This skill was something Leon himself came up with a few days ago, and this was the first time he used it in battle. The world system gave it the name ''Dawn''s Crashing'' , but he liked to call it the ''Sunlight Shower''.

    In this skill, he just needed to create a sun using Dawn''s blessing, and then blow it up. Instead of one giant fireball, now this sun became rays of spears which could pierce everything . And with the intensity of sun''s mes it also carried a burning and purifying effects, making it more useful in wide range attack and fighting against a group of demonic and darkness attribute users.

    ''I did it.'' Leon said as he looked at the Ronnie''s body nailed to the ground, struggling to survive the high amount of bleeding.

 Chapter 302 Shiva Appears

    <h4>Chapter 302 Shiva Appears</h4>

    ?As Ronnie started bleeding to his death, doing vein struggles of surviving and getting out of those sun spears, only to end up failing - his second partner took this chance to get out of his predicament and head for the rooftop, where the teleportation circle was created.

    He brought a new paper scroll out and threw it at the ball artifact behind Saisha. The ck scroll unfolded in the air and started spewing a poisonous air that seemed to seep into the dream artifact.

    Watching as the people who were still asleep in the ball artifact Net of the Night, started coughing blood and spewing foam from their mouth, Saisha noticed the danger to their life and started focusing on rescuing them.

    She brought out another unique rank artifact, called Projection of Paradise.

    This artifact formed an illusion of a paradise using the user''s connection to holy magic. Since heavens refuse entry to anything poisonous, unholy or evil - the effects of the mysterious new poison seemed to withdraw.

    <This artifact was something her aunt sent her a few days ago, after she learned about the incident with Warzy and their poison attack at Dorsia. Not wanting to put the life of Saisha in simr danger next time.>

    While Saisha breathed a sigh of relief seeing that everyone she saved were still fine, the second hooded man had already used this chance to escape from this ce.

    Quick on her eyes, Reba did notice his slight movements but the tired and spent princess was no match for this guy''s various tricks.

    And soon in a few seconds what was left behind in the hall were just the four students from the first year of Zenith. All on the verge of copse - drained in mana and energy.

    Vanessa was checking up on Leon, who was looking more pale than a century old sleeping vampire. She brought a batch of pills and poured them in his mouth andy down near him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Reba spewed out a mouthful of ck blood as she removed the poison needles from her hands, courtesy of the second hooded man before he left.

    Saisha too, waved her hand and stored all her artifacts back, at least those which weren''t broken in pieces during the fight or useless now since they were a one use only. She also noticed a few artifacts missing, the hooded man probably stole them, before running away.

    "Mother would be angry." Saisha muttered, looking at a green bracelet on her wrist, which had lost all its previous luster and now turned to empty gray color.

    Her nose was bleeding a little, but she didn''t say anything and just started searching for her fellow elves. Her guard Jaesin had led them a little away from the battle once she got serious and brought out dozens of magical artifacts.

    Using so many artifacts had drained her mana pool and vitality to thest drop too, and if not for her determination she would''ve already fallen unconscious into mana depleted state.

    But her heart didn''t allow her to rest, without knowing if her people were safe or not.

    On the other side, the second hooded man who left the first basement hall, stopped his movements and the invisibility skill when he reached a secluded ce in the broken venue.

    "That bitch sure got a lot of tricks and trinkets." He said looking at the handful of artifacts he managed to steal. Some archery spells, some kind of formation or illusion trapping g artifact, and one piece of a unique rank auxiliary item, which could replenish mana easily during battle.

    "If not for the higher ups being in such a hurry, I sure would''ve taken everything from her." He muttered ying with the mana replenishing earring in his hands.

    "That''s not yours, so I''ll be taking it." A voice came to Mylock''s ears and to his surprise, the earring he threw up, disappeared in the air.

    "Wha_?" he eximed in surprise looking at his empty hand.

    "Mylock the spellthief, ace of the Akbar and the killer of kronans. I''d suggest, you follow me for now."

    A voice broke the hooded man''s thoughts, as he heard someone mention his alias. He looked warily at the shadowy figure walking down the stairs in slow steps.

    The light behind him made it harder for Mylock to see that figure''s face, so he could just be on guard.

    "Who are you?" Mylock asked as he put away all his artifacts and brought out ''the book of stolen spells''.

    A thick book where every page holds a specific spell that was someday shot at him, to take his life, but he stole and sealed it first.

    "Shiva" The mysterious man said as he disappeared from his ce under Mylock''s eyes and appeared in front of him, ready with a tightly clenched fist.

    "Humph," Mylock scoffed and tapped his finger over the book, as a single sheet of yellow paper tore and turned into a transparent shield with a demon''s head at the forefront.

    As Shiva''s hand drew closer, the demonic face on the shield opened its mouth, ready to devour this blow and the one in front of him too.

    Shiva saw it, but scoffed in response. He felt his hand getting pulled inside the shield, and even after his hand was elbow deep in the mysterious mouth, he didn''t feel like he hit anything.

    Mylock seemed to have expected this and was ready to ask his question about his identity, when Shiva suddenly turned his hand inside that shield sideways, twisting his body along and gave a roundhouse kick to his head. Knocking him down.

    Before he could get back straight, Shiva prepared to give him another kick.

    Though Mylock tried to raise his shield in response, but Shiva''s hands seemed to finally grab onto something in that mysterious space inside the shield, and the demonic shield refused to budge even a little.

    "Wha _ how?" Mylock uttered before he felt another kicknding on his head, which he felt broke something inside him, but he didn''t know what.

    His head made contact with the floor and he felt the bad taste of stone and dust in his mouth. "Who are you?" He said, as he dropped the Shield of Devour, which started showing signs of several cracks, and disappeared from his ce.

    He appeared again on the edge of the VIP floor above the stairs and asked. "It would be wise for you to turn back and leave, before my friends finish the party upstairs ande to kill you. You don''t want to mess with us." Mylock threatened while opening the video crystal which transmitted everything that he saw back to his superiors.

    "I don''t like other people dancing on the stage I set for my own debut." Shiva said as he noticed his little actions behind the book and smirked a little.

    ''System, I don''t have to tell you what to do next right?'' He asked his system, who smiled in response with a snarkyment.

    [Target locked and the nuke is loaded. One big fucking sting right up.]

    [10_9_8_7_ _ _ 3_2_and booom]

    System gave a countdown ending with a fiery scene of fireworks on its blue screen. Lighting it up in rainbow sparks.

    It was too pretty to look at, but the scene on the other side of that video transmission became chaotic.

    A deep underground base near the heart of floating inds, where several people were sitting around a round table watching a video clip ying in front of them, discussing the downfall of their followers and failure of their n, until loud warnings echoed in their base and all the formations andmunication devices started to fail.

    The projections of people in that round table started to disrupt and disappear one by one, as the remaining two people looked at each other in surprise, until a big explosion urred and the natural cover ofnd that protected them all this time, became their own graveyard which buried their bodies for all time.

    Without even a need for struggle or to n any surprise escape, all who were sitting in that base became corpses in a matter of moments, as a high amount of radiation poured onto their location, burning their bodies instantly until not even their shadows remained on some stones.

    The crystal in Mylock''s hand cracked and fell down, and his face became confused for a second before turning into shock and fear, as he looked up to see Shiva''s smirking expression. And moving hands which signaled a sign of explosion.

    "Eclipse is taking over the scene now, spellthief. Pests from the past''s era should let go of their arrogance." Shiva said, and appeared directly behind him, throwing a metal chain that tied around his neck, locking his mana reserves once and for all.

    ##

    Author note - know in next chapter about why he appearedte and where he was all this time. Till then thanks for reading.

 Chapter 303 Eating the heart of darkness

    Chapter 303 Eating the heart of darkness

    ??10 minutes ago

    As Rio turned his appearance back to Shiva, his figure disappeared in a spatial gate and appeared above the barrier covering the auction venue.

    Noticing the crowd of reporters and awakeners circling around in a hurry, it was clear that someone had already noticed the abnormality here and spread the news.

    ''The academy doesn''t care about any attacks happening outside their premises.'' Shiva calcted ''So the only ones who can make a move now are either those from the adventurer guild, Nishkal family or the Sentinels.'' He thought and started making some ns.

    ''How much time do I have?'' He asked his system.

    [This barrier, as any other set by Evil''s Scion has several failsafes in ce. If anyone tried to bulldoze it or forcefully chose to break it or enter in, they''d end up triggering the line ofher explosive cards and rune traps set up inside. Which could cause quite amotion.]

    [And since this venue is just where the crowd and popce is highly gathered. If the sts happened, anyone within a mile can say goodbye to their mana for at least a few days if the SS rank awakeners or S rank healers don''t make a move.]

    ''Skip the exnation and just give me the time.'' Shiva said, hearing the lengthy lines which he was already aware of.

    [10 minutes. 15 at best, if they''rezy and take it lightly.]

    ''Okay, send me in.'' Shiva said and his ever so obedient system happily took away his points and teleported him directly inside the auction venue without breaking the barrier.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    No one noticed his presence, not even the gods watching this y with their perfect eyes. Obviously the system was very happy to help in return for rich points.

    Shiva''s figure appeared directly over the room where he could see Leon fighting with Aldrch and beating the crap out of him.

    To be honest he wanted to record Leon killing or crippling Aldrich so he can use that to pull Aldrich''s grandpa out. And manipte him so he canter try to kill Leon in anger, and in result bring some of the Apollo''s bigger secret cards out in light, but thedy luck still favored the heavenly child it seems, as Aldrich''s guards appeared out of nowhere and saved him in time.

    Shaking his head, Shiva ignored both of them and rushed at the prince and his entourage who were busy fighting with the traitor of temples Dreyfus Finch, the spy of Evil''s Scion.

    Their fight wasn''t looking too good in a favor for the prince and his gang, as the limit rank viin was very decisive in his killings. He had already poisoned the other priests and was killing them without any hesitation for their past connection.

    "Block him as I get Edward out." Alfred said to his minions, some were his ssmates attending the auction too, while some were his guards. They all nodded their heads and divided into two groups, one covered Alfred while the other went to intercept the viin.

    Alfred moved towards Edward, who was covered in an aura of me that kept oozing out of him. Keeping him safe from the killer.

    It was probably a life saving artifact acting as a shield, and knowing Edward''s background, Dreyfus didn''t waste his time on trying to break it. Fearing it might end up triggering some other hidden cards of the Sinir''s heir out.

    After all, all the elite families were rich as fuck, since where the nobles had to spend their money to guard and guide their own territories, elites only needed to focus on making money and stand upon business.

    This is why Dreyfus ignored the heir and let poison take its course, after all if Edward died from poison then it''s good. And if he didn''t then Dreyfus can just avoid any sneak attack and think about killing himter on.

    "Your blood will be the sacrifice for my cause." Dreyfus said as he ripped out the heart from one of the young mage students of darkness element.

    Holding it over his face, Dreyfus crushed it with his hand and let the blood fall all over his face.

    He closed his eyes as he tried to savor this warm feeling and when the blood finally stopped dripping over his face, he could just lick his lips and try to remember the warm feeling.

    He used a me spell to cook the heart and then started eating it whole next without hesitation.

    He was a cannibalistic psycopath through and through, and mages of darkness were his favorite delicacy.

    "That hits the spot." he said, wiping the smirk off his face, along with all the blood and cruelty.

    A ck line formed over his face for a second but then disappeared as if merged into his skin. His mana and control of his element had increased a little again.

    "Anyone else who''s got dark magic. Don''t be scared, I''m already full _" He started speaking looking at the students who were starting to surround him. Seeing that no one came forward to say anything funny, he further added. "So, I''ll save you forter."

    As his words finished he dashed at the student who looked like a porter or a healer covered in defensive artifacts, supporting his other friends from the back.

    But sadly his life got cut short as he failed to save himself.

    One by one, Dreyfus was killing the students, though not eating their hearts anymore, but still just as cruel. He literally chopped off one guy''s hand and then pped his face with it.

    Talk about style.

    Dreyfus was busy on his massacre, enjoying the smell of fear and shaking bodies of his enemies as the signs of death engulfed their senses before light of life disappeared from their sockets, when Shiva appeared to stop him all of a sudden.

    Dreyfus looked at the ck haired man holding his hand and started smirking instead of getting angry over this interruption. Cause he could feel the oozing mana of darkness from him, and __ that for him was a delicacy.

    "Hehehe looks like a dessert." He said while licking his lips to stop his drooling expression.

    But before he could even make a move, Shiva gave amand to his system, and that_ was it.

    With a swoosh sound left behind, Dreyfus''s figure disappeared from that ce.

    "Where am I?" Dreyfus said as he looked around in darkness, trying to see where he was. "Did he teleport me out, but the spatial patterns were locked..."

    As he was worrying over his position he heard the sound of footstepsing towards him. Warily he raised his hands to bring out his spells and artifacts to fight, but found that he couldn''t feel any mana on him. Looking down carefully he noticed various patterns of formations and runes formed all over the walls of the room he was in.

    "Finally there''s someone I can beat too." A voice came to dreyfus''s ears, as he saw a man walking inside.

    "I''m gonna enjoy breaking you."  Dante said looking at the look of fear on this new prisoner of Eclipse.

    For the past month he''s been getting tortured and trained under those two psychos Nirdayi and Cersei nonstop, now finally he has someone on whom he can take his anger out too.

    "You''ve got a bad luck bitch. You''re toast." He said with a sadistic smirk gracing his bearded face, as he clenched his fist and gave a solid punch to Dreyfus''s face that knocked two of his teeth out in one hit.

    hi

 Chapter 304 Battles

    <h4>Chapter 304 Battles</h4>

    ?"Say hi to the king for me." Shiva said to Alfred as he turned back and left, ignoring the parameter of guards Alfred''s minions made all around him.

    Though their ranks surpassed his, their methods and strength were nothing but a joke in his eyes,pared to all that he could do with his knowledge and system''s help.

    "Who was he?" Alfred asked his bodyguard who was standing in front of him, but the man only shook his head in return. He was also surprised by his mysterious methods from which he arrived and disappeared to.

    ''Do you know which group he belongs to?'' Alfred asked his God curiously.

    [He''s called Shiva, the leader of Eclipse. A new gang of thugs roaming the inds.] Anemoi sent a message despite the price of faith they had to pay for crossing their boundaries.

    <Gods are forbidden to speak any secrets and interfere in any mortal realm affairs that doesn''t involve their godhood. Obviously they can still do it, but the price for it has to be paid to the world system as a penalty.>

    As for why Anemoi were willing to pay this price for revealing Shiva''s identity, well who knows. Maybe theycked entertainment or maybe they were ordered by a certain harem loving God of thunder.

    Alfred, though surprised by their willingness to help, didn''t have much time to think about it, as the shield covering Edward finally broke down. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Feed him some potions and take him away." Alfred said to his guard and nned to go back to his sister. If anything happened to her, his mother would kill him.

    Shiva on the other hand noticed Leon jumping in to save Reba and Vanessa from the hooded man, and shook his head.

    ''Fate, she really does want him to be paired with those girls, doesn''t it?'' Shiva thought in his heart and wanted to jump forward and interrupt Leon''s heroic stage entrance.

    It would be so much fun to maybe knock him out with a p before he does anything or maybe hit him so hard he shits his pants in front of his heroines. Just the possibilities were endless.

    But sadly before he could fix his mind on one thing, his system interrupted him with an emergency message.

    [There''s a non-contracted vessel nearby on his way to the rooftop, if you don''t rush there fast, he will die.]

    [I don''t need to tell you about the consequences of that, right?] System said, reminding him of the dire altercations connected to the lives of several vessels scattered around the whole Arcadia.

    Those people y a very important role in a veryrge plotline, so their lives were very important to shiva''s ns and overall survival.

    "Which one is it?" Shiva asked, trying to remember anyone important from the novel, who was here on the floating inds at this point of time.

    [Number nine. Nishkal family''s shadow guard, Aisha Rahman.]

    "Wife of the prophet?" He replied in realization.

    [Yes.]

    ''Fuck.'' Shiva cursed and changed his direction, before giving a final look at Leon standing beside Vanessa and Reba.

    ''You''ll regret this fate. I''ll make you regret it.'' He said already thinking up a punishment much worse than what he was gonna do now for Leon in future.

    [It''s an emergency message host. Means you gotta run like hell.] System said, stopping his psychopathic punishments nning.

    Shiva turned around and ran towards the stairs leading to the rooftop, where a fight had just broken out between the members of Evil''s Scion and the Nishkal family''s guards.

    Few minutes ago, after the Nishkal family''s head of security for this auction event, Darius took charge and sent everyone on different missions and locations to control this situation, one team of theirs went to the rooftop. But soon enough everyone else lost contact with that team and Darius realized the seriousness of this attack.

    After getting the reports that mainly all the public teleportation circles were either destroyed or blocked, Darius had no option but to clear the rooftop first.

    As there was one secret teleportation circle made just for the uses of their staff and family members. Meeting up with all of his teams and the priest of Dike''s church, they moved together towards the rooftop.

    But only midway what greeted them weren''t any traps or tricks, but the bodies of their friends and subordinates begging for the sweet release of death.

    Their whole bodies were suspended in air covered in a transparent cocoon made out of Nether.

    Each second inside was corroding their insides, the higher the rank of the awakener, the more damage and pain they felt within.

    Imagine someone turned your blood intova and bones into spears, where every breath of air is a deadly poison, and every sense only enhanced your misery by many folds - that''s probably what those awakeners felt inside that cocoon.

    Watching their bodies changing shapes, mutating and eroding with cursed mana, Darius wanted to kill them to show mercy, but the priest Mnthe stopped him.

    "If you try to help them or kill them, you''ll only end up joining them." The blind priest said as he pulled a wooden scale from his storage ring and waved it in the air. The two sides of scales tipped over the edges and the needle at the top pointed in the direction of North, where inside a ss window they could see threads ofher spreads around like spider web, and anytime a cocoon was touched they''d constrict and trap anyone within reach instantly.

    "This is how they got trapped here in the first ce too. One by one." The priest said as he threw a stone at the nearby cocoon and watched as those threads covered that stone instantly and turned it to dust almost instantly.

    "Is there any way to help them?" Darius asked, hearing the pleading voices and painful screams of his partners.

    "If we can kill the one who set this trap, his magic should disappear too." The priest said and walked forward a little. "And then maybe, if they''re lucky I can try to heal them."

    Folding his hands in a praying formation, he just wished the goddess Dike to show them mercy and let their spirits be epted into her adobe in case they fail.

    Once he was done, he ignored their pleading gazes and continued walking on the stairs as if he didn''t hear a thing.

    "Just hold on for a few moments, I will soon set you free." Darius said to his trapped partners and walked ahead, signaling his other men to follow hismand too.

    Before he reached the top, he looked back and his eyes stopped at one of the cocoons, looking at the familiar style of clothing getting ripped by the unfamiliar mutated body of someone inside, his eyes softened a little, but then turned to anger and determination again.

    ''I love you.'' He mouthed the words to his past lover and partner Cory, who was the one leading the first team.

    "I''m sorry" He said while turning around and walking away.

    As the Nishkal family guards reached the rooftop, what came into their view was just a group of seven hooded figures standing still, as if waiting for their arrival.

    "Your deaths shall serve the purpose for the blood training for Lord Ditail''s new followers."

    A voice sounded on the rooftop as Darius followed the sound and noticed two people standing near a newly made red teleportation circle.

    "Nine people." Darius said, but the priest shook his head and replied, "No, ten."

    "There''s one up above." Priest Mnthe said pointing upwards at the clear looking sky, where one dot of shadow could be seen beneath the clouds if anyone focused hard on searching.

    "That''s their leader then, I guess." Darius said and red his mana. As wings made of me appeared behind his back.

    "I will deal with him, take care of the circle. And everyone else. Kill all these viins." Darius said to the priest and his other 20 something guards and waved his wings, creating a hot burst of air pressure that sent him flying through the air.

    His figure soon disappeared from their gazes with nothing but a blue streak of light left behind, slowly disappearing into air.

 Chapter 305 Time for show off

    <h4>Chapter 305 Time for show off</h4>

    ?Darius, the security chief for this event was newly promoted limit rank awakener, and this task of maintaining order for this auction was hisst job before he could apply for a promotion and join the team that can enter the towers and dungeons under Nishkal family''s control.

    But now with all these deaths and damage, Darius knew that even if he managed to kill everyone responsible for this attack, he would still be considered a failure in others eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Nishkal family had a rule that forbade inner group marriage, and anyone found breaking it would be killed and sacrificed to the gods. That''s why he did years of hard work and kept patience till he reached the limit rank and got the opportunity for a promotion and get the transfer to another team, before proposing his love to his subordinate Cory, yet all of that was wasted.

    How happy he was nning surprises about how he''d propose her with a ring on his knees, with flowers on the ground and a beautiful moon in the sky, but before his dreams coulde true, he had to wake up to this nightmare.

    Watching the girl he loved suffering in thoseher traps, while he could do nothing but clench his fists and walk away, had fueled his anger to the maximum.

    This is why after finally finding the ones responsible for this attack, and seeing their leader resting in clouds, Darius finally couldn''t hold himself back any longer. For the first time in his life he rushed to a battle wiithout any n, reconnaissance or information.

    And as luck would have it, the result of it was... obvious.

    He fell down at an even faster speed than when he rushed up.

    His body created a loud explosion sound as he fell to the ground. The sudden impact cracking the floor of the ceiling visibly.

    As the dust cleared, people watched as Darius kept bleeding from his mouth while lying down.

    The soldiers around the area who were in the middle of their fights, looked at their leader in such a precarious situation and halted their attacks.

    In their shocked gazes, a hooded figurended near the crater and slowly walked towards Darius''s struggling body.

    "I.. Would... ill you." Darius muttered in between his breath, as he tried to speak but couldn''t form any clear words with his broken jaw.

    Ignoring the false threats of a loser pig, the hooded man ced his feet over the fallen general''s body and pressed it hard.

    Darius struggled to stand up as he pped the azure wings of me on his back in hopes to burn the hooded man. But it feels he still underestimated the evil''s scion and the guy he was facing.

    The hooded figure grabbed the rattling wings with his hands and pulled them hard. The fire spread to his masked hands but couldn''t burn though his clothes. With a loud grunt, the hooded man twisted his body back, as a crackling sound rang out in the open space, followed by an ear piercing scream.

    Arrraaaaahhhhh! !!!!!!

    The painful howling of Darius echoed throughout the skies, as the hooded figure ripped the wings from his back and stored them in his storage ring.

    Darius kept crying in pain, as blood kept pouring out of his back. The wings he had were actually a treasure he received as a blessing. And after covering them with the Azure Essence me he found, he had created his own new skill. Only then was he able to cross the boundary and reach his limit rank.

    But now he lost both his wings and the me, not to mention in such a crude and barbaric way, which caused him to suffer from not only the unimaginable pain but also the severe bacsh.

    Yet despite this immense pain and grotesque looking injury, the vitality of a limit rank awakener was no joke. As Darius gritted his teeth and still stood up again for round 2.

    In the world of Arcadia, any awakener can reach A rank. Even the ones who didn''t have any talent or genius genes. All it takes is just a few handful of blessings and shit ton of pills and potions.

    But the road after that is when talentes into y.

    For limit rank, if you don''t have a solid foundation, and a high understanding of magic and mana, or a God backing you up who''s ready to bet his faith on your future and sponsor you - then you can never cross this boundary.

    Limit rank is considered the absolute peak of the mortal zone. Like reaching the height your body allows you to be. Where mana is filled to the brim for what your body can handle. That''s why the difficulty for rank up at that time increases by 100 fold.

    But not just difficulty, powers rises exponentially in this rank too. That''s why there''s even a saying that anyone below limit rank is just an ant in real battles.

    And now, the same limit rank awakener who could kill A rank and below awakeners easily, was thrown to the ground like a ragdoll and ripped to pieces like that. The morale of Nishkal family''s guards had obviously been affected by this disy of disparity in their strength.

    The trainees of Evil''s Scion who seemed way too eager for the fight, took this chance and attacked the guards fiercely.

    The new minions of the viinous organization wanted to prove their skills and show their worth in front of their superiors, so none of them held back and gave it their all in the fight.

    After all, all of them knew the ones who didn''t do well, would be killed or experimented upon once they went back.

    Fear of death was nothing to them, as fear of failure was much higher.

    Shiva, who was running up the stairs heard the screams and sounds of battle up ahead and increased his speed. His rushing figure flew past the bodies trapped inher cocoons, ignoring their pleas for help or the mercy of death.

    When he finally reached the open rooftop the scene that greeted him was of a fierce battle on its final stage.

    Darius and the priest from Dike''s church were fighting the leader of Evil''s Scion together. While their other partners fought against the other members.

    The advantage of numbers was still in the favor of the Nishkal family, as it was currently 7 vs 13. But Shiva knew this was just for now, since he noticed the teleportation circle lighting up. Any time now, another batch of evil''s scions members would show up at their location and soon the battle would switch sides for good.

    The guards did try to stop the viins channeling the teleportation circle but only kept failing in their efforts.

    "Time for me to sho_ Wait, is he at the limit rank?" Shiva said in his heart and was ready to remove the treasure that hid his aura, when he sensed something and stopped midway.

    [Yupp. L+ rank, coupled with aura strengthening stage.]

    ''Fuck you system. Why didn''t you say we were going to challenge top limit rank awakeners?'' He asked. He had just spent a fortune on sending one limit rank viin to his base prison, and now he had to fight another. ''You should''ve told me sooner.'' Heined.

    While system, as always, an expert on shirking responsibility, just shrugged it''s invisible non-existent shoulders and replied [You didn''t ask.]

    ''I shouldn''t need to, these are the things you should speak from your own initiative.'' Shiva said.

    [Well that takes points my host. I told you to buy an environmental scanning and magic map feature that''ll warn you of these things beforehand, but you just shrugged it off and said, you don''t need it.]

    ''That''s cause you''re too expensive and I wanted to _''

    [Get them free in a lottery��you stingy idiot.] System finished his words with a taunt, and continued. [And what''s the problem with fighting him? You can kill him quite easily even now, you just have to be smart about it.] System said with some amusement, as Shiva used apraisal on the viin and smiled in response too.

    They both paired so perfectly now that they thought the same idea in a second.

    [I didn''t lie, did I?] System said, after knowing Shiva understood everything.

    ''Fine, whatever. But you''re still muted nheless.'' Shiva said and snapped his fingers, as the veil covering him disappeared and the space cracked open to a void, from which he walked out.

    "Time for me to show off."

 Chapter 306 Guns and gods

    Chapter 306 Guns and gods

    ??As Shiva''s figure suddenly became visible to all, the various fights came to halt for a second as everyone took notice of his presence. Seeing which side had gotten their reinforcements already.

    But after waiting for a few seconds when no one else appeared, the fights continued. Since he had no hood covering his face or body, the Nishkal family guard didn''t attack him. Thinking he was some guest or someone else, but not their enemy.

    But the members of evil''s scion who were guarding the teleportation circle sent one of their trainees forward to kill him. Not willing to take any chance, as they couldn''t sense his mana or aura at all.

    He looked just like a normal unawakened mortal, but with how he appeared no one would believe that, so the answer was clear. A treasure or technique that can cover his body and energy signature.

    The trainee viin with a sword, had taken just two steps forward when the sound of a gunshot echoed in the surroundings, and the talented trainee running towards him fell down to the floor, with a bleeding head and a bullet hole piercing his skull. The leaking blood formed a pool near his body in seconds which after a few seconds of struggley there lifeless.

    ''Hmm so the system didn''t lie, huh.'' Shiva said as he yed with the pistol in his hands and pointed it at the other hooded figure at the side and fired it again.

    Seeing the previous scene, the trainee this time didn''t bet his life on the defensive runes of the cloak he wore and chanted a spell that made a transparent shield covering his body.

    But to his horror, he watched as the silver bullet passed through his shield as if passing through air.

    He tried to dodge but due to the less time he got left, the bullet ended up hitting his neck instead of his head, and he fell down to the floor too. Slowly bleeding to his death.

    With two deaths the members of the evil''s scion finally took notice of the weird gun this unknown assant was holding in his hands. The pistol looked simple, just like any other gun model they''ve seen in some dungeons and towers or outside markets, but its effects were extraordinary.

    ''An artifact that can ignore defenses, and has a sure hit shot too. Interesting.'' The hooded figure, beside the portal thought and smiled sinisterly.

    Instead of sending any trainees to fight, this time he went ahead himself.

    "Start the transmission for the next batch. Looks like this fight willst a little longer." He said to his partner as he tossed him the key to operate the teleportation circle.

    "Ick a long range attack artifact, a gun would suit me just fine." He said and walked off with slow steps.

    Shiva wanted to kill another member of Evil''s scion for his quest, but before he could fire the gun, he noticed someone appearing behind him using the space element, and he directly jumped away, before shooting three bullets backwards without looking. But sadly all of them only ended up hitting the air.

    ''Tsk I''m getting rusty with a  gun.'' Shiva thought as he couldn''t believe he missed three expensive bullets on an idiot.

    "You can dodge that, that means you''re over C rank. Probably at B." The hooded figure said and pulled his sword back. "Let''s see if you can dodge this one." He said and disappeared again.

    Shiva watched as suddenly a barrage of swords appeared all around him, as if he was standing at the center of a hurricane made out of des. He could hear the whistling sound of air as the moving des cut through air and came closer to his body.

    Scoffing at this poor disy of power, he just snapped his fingers and the space seemed to freeze all around him. The des that were about to stab him, froze and kept hanging in the air.

    "y games with me, and you won''t live to regret it." As Shiva''s words finished, all the des turned their directions and pointed themselves at the hooded man''s face.

    With another snap of his fingers they became free and moved forward to kill him instead.

    The hooded man smiled and disappeared from his ce again before anything could hit him.

    He created illusions of himself that appeared all around Shiva and used the simr sword sh coated in space element through everyone, making it hard to realize where the de ended and normal space began, or was there even any de present at all in the first ce.

    All his illusions looked entirely simr to each other, down to thest minute detail and it was hard to determine which was real and which was fake.

    But Shiva didn''t have any confusion, with his system bought skill True Eyes at level 3, he could see through these illusions as easy as day.

    So before any sword could hit him, he turned around and pointed his gun upwards and fired a shot in empty air.

    The bullet seemed to cut through a barrier of space, and hit something, as drops of blood fell over Shiva''s face.

    "Told you to take it seriously." Shiva said as he pointed the gun at the hooded man who fell on his knees in front of him. "Say hello to death for me." Shiva said, pointing his gun at the man''s head.

    But before he could shoot the viin, a projectile attack''s shadow covered the sky behind him.

    Shiva turned his head to see the projection of a fisting his way, as his body started feeling the pressure that the strike brought him even from a distance.

    He snapped his fingers and the space between him and that growing ethereal fist froze instantly, but soon with a cracking sound simr to a ss breaking, the fist loosed its restraints and came towards him again.

    ''Limit rankers sure are scary.'' Shiva thought and sighed, as he paid his system another sum of money to teleport him out of harm''s way.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Darius and Mnthe, the two people who were previously fighting with the leader of Evil''s scion turned back in surprise too as they noticed their enemy leaving them and rushing away from the fight.

    The Limit ranked viin appeared near the hooded man who was fighting with Shiva, and pped him in the back of his head. "Stop ying around." He muttered, as he spread his mana all around the rooftop, yet failed to find any trace of Shiva.

    [Behind you.]

    A notification suddenly jolted him up as he turned back and raised his hand coated in aura, just in time to block the iing sniper bullet that was about to pierce his head.

    [Be careful, he''s crafty.] Another notification came to his ears, and he finally realized the danger of this unknown guy. No sign of his could be detected by him and in a fight like this, that was a bad thing.

    ''Who is he?'' He asked his God as he waved his hand and held the dented silver bullet in his hand.

    It had some carvings made on it which he couldn''t understand, and he was sure the touch and sense of energy he felt from the metal of the bullet, wasn''t something that was originally found on Arcadia.

    ''A tower artifact, or something that is made from the metal found in any tower.'' He thought and stored the bullet in his ring.

    ''Can you find him?'' He said to his God, as he started fighting with Darius and Mnthe again, but his focus remained distracted. He couldn''t sense the guy and the bullets seemed to pass through any magic sense and defense, making it hard to trace and predict, causing his nerves to always be distracted.

    [It would cost ya.]

    Reading the message from his God the hooded man hesitated for a second, but then noticed another two trainees had died and fell down with a hole in their heads.

    ''I''ll pay whatever you want. Trace him.'' The hooded man said, since this invisible assistant was far too dangerous to ignore.

    [Shut your mana sense and spread your aura. Don''t look for the signs of living, but the signs of dead. Channel my blessing and trace the scent of blood. Aura of a killer.]  The mysterious God spoke instructions one by one helping his follower.

    ''Found you, little rat.'' The hooded man followed his God''s orders and soon found the abnormality.

    He smirked like a viin, who had the victory in hand, but before his smirk formed into a cruel curl up smile, he felt something stab him in the lungs.

    -Urghhh

    Throwing up a mouthful of blood, he looked below, only to find a sword stabbed in his stomach.

    Using his mana he pushed his body forward and run away a little, but he heard a familiar sound of snapping fingers and felt the space freeze all around him.

    "Never trust a God." Shiva said as he pressed the pistol over his frozen head, and under the horrified eyes of the hooded viin, pulled the trigger.

    Bangg

    The sound rang and a few drops of blood sttered on shiva''s face, marking his clean and clear appearance with the signs of battle.

    "Easy peasy." Shiva said, as he raised his hand to grab the falled body of the viin and chopped his hand where he could see a storage ring.

    Throwing the bloody arm into his storage, Shiva paid another sum of points to his system to replenish his mana and breathed audibly.

    [If you can''t find me a better recement within a week, I''ll have my followers use the same techniques of torture we taught you.] He read the notification from the group of demons he received and smiled in silence.

    ''Demons really are no one''s friends.'' He said looking at the corpse on his feet.

 Chapter 307 Elites of Eclipse

    <h4>Chapter 307 Elites of Eclipse</h4>

    ?A few moments ago when shiva was facing that attack from the limit ranked viin, he had asked his system to do a thorough scan on him. And in that appraisal he learned something that gave him a way to end this battle easily.

    The God who mainly backed this viin was surprisingly another member of the group of Den of Devils.

    And one thing that those demons loved more than anything, is the fun they get from turning innocent idiots into cruel killers. And that''s exactly what shiva promised them.

    A righteous fool with high talent just waiting for their guidance to walk the dark path, in return they help him let this guy''s guard down and kill him.

    in and simple.

    And besides he had the perfect puppet in his mind already, just waiting for these demons to corrupt.

    ''I wonder what Leon would think, when he learns his sweet and cute little childhood sweetheart turned into the evillest of the demonness.'' Shiva thought in his heart, and smiled.

    [Turning a yandere into a viiness, sounds delicious.] System said andughed along with its host too.

    As soon as Shiva killed the highest ranked viin, Darius ignored everything else and rushed towards the stairs where Cory and others were trapped first, while priest Mnthe started killing everyone else.

    Shiva took a nce at a young girl with her face covered by a mask, leaving only her eyes open, fighting with the guy who was about to be killed by him few minutes ago.

    ''Aisha Rahman, should I hire her?'' He thought.

    [Don''t even think about it. She''s not worth the risk and exposure.]

    [Leave her for now.]

    ''Fine,'' Shiva said in approval, but soon his lips turned into a smile. ''but she should atleast know that her life is mine.'' He added as he watched the teleportation circle light up and dozens of hooded figure appearing en masse. All of them were holding their weapons and were ready for fight.

    Instantly the fight that seemed to be ending, and in favor of the Nishkal family, changed the tides and the dance of death continued.

    Aisha, who was closest to the portal instantly got surrounded by the viins and was fighting a desperate battle. But just when a sword was about to pierce her from the back, someone held it in front of her.

    Looking at the bleeding hand that grabbed the sword before it could stab her, Aisha felt grateful for the save.

    "Thanks." She said as she waved her hand and the dropping blood from his hand formed a dagger and stabbed her opponent.

    Her hands were bleeding too, as she had cut both her wrists before this fight. She was using her own blood for controlling the magic weapons and attacking her opponents sneakily with blood maniption.

    Blood elementals always make for the best killers and she was the best example of it.

    "Blood magic. Quite a rare trait to have." Shiva said as he grabbed her hand and disappeared from his ce. Not wanting to waste his time on these little kids that popped up to surround him.

    "Not as rare as spatial magic." Aisha said as she removed her hand from his and stepped back, keeping a handful of distance between them.

    "It is. When the one using it is the next heiress of a werewolf n, isn''t that right, Ai''sah." Shiva said and smirked as he watched the color drain from her face.

    Aisha looked around in fear thinking her secret would be heard by those nearby, but found that time around her seemed to be frozen, and everything else even air or mana had stopped in silence too.

    ''Time magic.'' she thought in fear and amazement.

    As if reading her thoughts, Shiva shook his head and rified "It''s not, it''s a different skill called Monarch''s Majesty."

    " ''Everyone and everything other than me and mine, is under mymand, my rule.'' Quite cool, don''t you think?"

    "Wh_ How? ." Aisha muttered in surprise, as even time magic was a legendary type magic, not to mention a spell that he exined. "That''s_ impossible." She muttered.

    "You have no idea of what''s possible, my love." Shiva said and snapped his fingers, as the spell seemed to be lifted and everything became as normal as it was before.

    Except for the fact that a dozen of Evil''s scions members who just jumped out from the portal fell down instantly. Their bodiesy lifeless with no sign of any injury. Nor internal nor external. Just seamless silent death.

    Aisha felt her hair stood on end, just thinking about this spell''s mysterious methods. Even more so when she found that no one seemed to even notice anything, and were just as confused as she was.

    She wanted to ask about this to her gods, but again, as if reading her thoughts, Shiva''s voice interrupted her.

    "No point. They won''t tell you a thing. It''s outside their bounds."

    "I never saw you, and you weren''t at the auction too. " Aisha said suspiciously as she engaged in another brawl with a hooded figure. "Who are you?"

    "I''m not your enemy." Shiva said, kicking the idiot who started to swarm him.

    "Not an enemy, doesn''t necessarily mean an ally." Aisha said and asked. "What do you want?"

    "I''ll tell you when the time is right." Shiva said and disappeared from his ce.

    He wanted to talk a little more with this vessel but somehow all the Evil''s scion''s goons had marked him as their target, as they seemed to ignore everyone else and focused on attacking him.

    [Looks like someone didn''t like your show off stunt, host. You may be on their bounty list now.] System spoke and added [Even Nyxi''s getting a little curious today.]

    ''If she heard you, she would kill you.'' Shiva said after hearing the nickname this system made for Nyx.

    [Like she can. I can take ten of hers out in a heartbeat.] System said in its ever so proud and arrogant way, and Shiva just shook his head.

    ''Sometimes I really don''t know if you''re boasting too much, or are you really just that capable.'' Shiva said to system as his hands kept moving forming some handseals. ''She''s Nyx you know, one of the strongest primordials.''

    [And I''m the greatest system. The first of it''s kind. She wasn''t even around when I was made.]

    ''So you''re older than a primordial huh.'' Shiva said, feeling a little surprised, as system hardly mentioned anything about it''s past or creation.

    System too, noticing its gaffe cursed the cheery personality she''s been affected with and changed the topic to a joke [It''s not good to call a girl old you know.]

    ''Urgh, just for this cringement, I should mute your ass for a month.'' Shiva said, noticing the system''s efforts and ignored it for now.

    "You''re getting surrounded." Aisha said as she killed a goon around him and came near shiva.

    "What''re you doing?" She said watching him still performing some weird hand signs in middle of the battle.

    Yet somehow even though he didn''t focus on fighting, none of the attacks or attackers managed to hit his body.

    "Is this some kind of new magic trick of yours, or are you just showing off your defense?" She asked again, as she made a thin whip out of her blood that shed the necks of those attackers around her.

    "Calling for backup." Shiva replied,as if it was obvious.

    "But no one can enter inside with that barrier all around this building. Unless you can break it, entrance isn''t possible." Aisha said. But Shiva just shook his head and smiled. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Nothing''s impossible for me." Shiva said and brought a ck coin from his ring and flipped it flying in the air. "Since Evil''s scion called for their best, its time I should do the same."

    "Meaning?" She asked.

    "The Elites of Eclipse haven''t seen the light of day yet. Let this battle be their official stage for introduction."

    As Shiva''s words finished, the coin reached it''s highest height and started falling down, leaving behind a crack in space, growingrger every second with the coin''s fall. And when the coin finallynded back into Shiva''s hands, the spatial rift spreap apart, making a doorway in front of them, and shadows started appearing one by one from the crack.

    Aisha looked at the emerging figures who appeared suddenly and mysteriously through the crack, and when the crack finally closed and five figures had stepped out. They all stood behind Shiva, and bowed down to him.

    Aisha looked at the figures bent on one knee, with their gaze looking down in fear or respect for their leader.

    She tried to sense their auras, their ranks in magic yet failed to notice anything. The only thing she could feel from their presence was the oozing bloodlust that alone was enough to halt the steps of some trainee minions of evil''s scion who started sweating in fear and trembling on their steps.

    "Kill them all."

    Shiva gave amand and before waiting for a response his figure disappeared from the warzone.

 Chapter 308 Elites of Eclipse - ll

    308 Elites of Eclipse - ll

    "Kill them all."

    As soon as this order sounded in the ears of those 5 masked figures, something seemed to take over their bodies as their personality seemed to shift instantly.

    From the previous meek and loyal behavior, they all turned into beasts hungry for blood as a monstrous coercion formed from their bodies.

    Aisha, who was the closest, felt the amount of bloodlust and aura of death surrounding them the best and it sent a shiver down her spine.

    The killing intent emanating from their bodies was visible to everyone as ck clouds gathered in the sky, covering the previous evening sky and throwing it in the darkness. Just like an Eclipse..

    ''Just how much bloodshed did they do, to get this scary.'' She wondered, as the monsoon changed and sounds of thunder and clouds rolling in could be heard everywhere. Soon it started raining too.

    But Aisha wasn''t interested in watching clouds and rain, as she kept her focus on the so-called Elites of Eclipse.

    She couldn''t see anyone''s faces, due to a ck mask that covered everything except their eyes, which seemed to glow in red with the amount of bloodlust and killing intent they released.

    "Be chill, little wolf. They''re friendly." Shiva''s words came to her ears again, and she finally woke up from her stupor.

    Yet the scene in front of her was something that still forced her to take a gulp of saliva down her throat and a big breath to calm down. She noticed the five people moving in perfect harmony as they roamed through the army of Evil''s Scion like it was their yground. Yet wherever they passed through bodies would start to pile up, some covered in scars and screams, some silent and serene. Some sprayed blood like a fountain and some didn''t even break a sweat before they fell down lifeless.

    Aisha tried to follow their movements through her eyes yet failed to do so. She couldn''t guess what kind of movement skill they trained in as it just seemed random. She could only make out some of their attacks or skills, when they were about to make a move, that''s all.

    ---Like the first figure she noticed, a girl with long ck hair that danced wildly in the air along her free movements. She held a whip like sword in her hands, which could expand and retract at her will. And whenever she made a move heads rolled down like balls, and headless corpses kept standing not even aware of their sudden demise..

    She had a magical gourd hanging on her waist, which seemed to suck the blood that her victims shed in battle. And when she moved away, what she left behind were nothing but dried up bodies of her victims sliced in two.

    ---The second figure was that of a man, who held something like an iron stick covered in blood in his hand.

    He was the most brutal of the five it seems.

    As his attacks didn''t take anyone''s lives in one hit, even though it easily could.

    He was hitting them randomly, chopping their limbs, causing various injuries, incapaciting them from this fight and watching their painful struggle etc.

    He looked like he was out here experimenting torture methods and not to fight a war.

    He probably killed the least people out of the five, yet whoever he did, probably begged him for the mercy of death instead of their hellish pain.

    ---The third figure was a halfling probably. As he had a big muscr build and ws and fangs for arms. His attacks and techniques seemed animalistic, and he didn''t look nothing different from a mindless monster on a hunt.

    His figure moved swiftly and silently through the crowds of warriors. He''d suddenly appear in a ce and rip his victims to shreds, throwing their broken pieces in the air and then move on.

    His victims left bleeding to death in his wake, as he didn''t care for their life, sure in his heart that they''d die soon.

    He either was rted to some race which had poison talent, or he had his arms coated in some deadly poison, as the ones he cut and sliced through seemed to die even after they used their healing potions and magical pills.

    ---The fourth one was exactly opposite of all the previous three. A man who looked gentle and harmless on the surface. He was holding a golden pen in his right hand and a folding fan in his left, looking just like a wise schr, who''d recite a fancy poem with a charming smile to impress you.

    Yet it seemed even he had a few screws loose, as he just walked among the battlefield.

    Yupp walked, like simple random normal slow walk in the park walk.

    Whenever someone attacked him he''d use his left hand to block it with the folding fan, which acted as a shield. And from time to time he''d wave his pen in the air, like writing something, and then magically people would start dying all around him through various means and attacks.

    One thing to note about him was that just like his appearance, he acted gentlemanly even in the war too. He didn''t use inhumane violent methods or reveled in the pain and screams of others like his other partners, what he gave them was a silent death, well mostly.

    Unless when some idiots tried to surround him from all directions and he got angry. Then he just waved his pen and turned the fan he was holding into a giant rotating cutter that sliced apart all their bodies in one fell swoop, before returning to normal.

    The man just waved the fan in the air, spraying the blood stuck on it, and then walked away like usual over the remains of those corpses.

    ''They''re all psychos.'' Aisha muttered and backed a few steps in fear seeing their feats.

    ''Where did these monsterse from, why didn''t anyone know anything about them. And why are all these gods just watching and enjoying this bloodbath.'' The poor vessel had so many questions in her mind that she was a having a headache just thinking about everything. As the voices of agony andughter of gods kept echoing through her ears in the background.

    ''Wait�� .. Wasn''t there a fifth one. Where did he go?'' Aisha suddenly remembered something and looked around in a hurry. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The whole rooftop was leveled up so unless she could fly she couldn''t get a clear view.

    ''Wait.. Why isn''t anyone flying away?''

    The problem she faced brought forth another realization that caused her to stiffen up. Gulping down another mouthful of saliva she raised her head to look up slowly. Only to see a sight that would probably haunt her in the nightmares for manying weeks.

    Up there, below the ck clouds, was shining arge intricate silver magic circle. And at every corner and edge of this circle''s patterns, were hanging corpses of someone, making it look like a chandelier.

    Wherever her eyes passed all she saw were corpses and crying figures crawling on the floor, waiting and begging for the death.

    �C Urkghhh urklerghh

    She finally couldn''t take any more of this insane disy of cruelty and ended up puking everything she ate this morning.

    She was on her knees as she held her stomach and coughed lightly, when she felt someone tap her shoulders. Looking up with her misty eyes, she saw the maskeddy standing there with a handkerchief covered in blood.

    The formation seemed to rotate every few seconds, causing the dead bodies hanged along to move freely through air too.

    At the center of this artistic deadly formation stood a single figure with beautiful silver wings on his back just like a fairy, detached from everything all around him.

    Only now did Aisha realize that what she considered a normal rain all this time, was not water but blood. Dripping from the bodies of the hooded figures stabbed and tied to that killing chandelier.

    Aisha saw a drop of blood erging in her view as it fell down and trickled over her cheeks. She raised her hands to wipe it away instantly, but found her hands had long been covered in blood, along with the whole rooftop that seemed to be bathed in a river of blood.

    Wherever her eyes passed all she saw were corpses and crying figures crawling on the floor, waiting and begging for the death.

    She finally couldn''t take any more of this insane disy of cruelty and ended up puking everything she ate this morning.

    �C Urkghhh urklerghh

    She was on her knees as she held her stomach and coughed lightly, when she felt someone tap her shoulders. Looking up with her misty eyes, she saw the maskeddy standing there with a handkerchief covered in blood.

    "Boss said you''ll join us one day." She said as she passed her the bloody cloth. "Better get used to seeing blood, baby girl."

    �CUrkhhhhh urrllrgg

    Poor Aisha who heard the teasing words of this viiness shivered in fright as she ended up puking again and falling unconscious. Under her hazy state she seemed to hear a few words from that girl.

    "Remember the name, littledy, Eclipse��We''ll see you soon."

    ###

    A/N - So how''d u like his band of bandits. Cool, cold, cruel - they''re good or are they awesome.

    Ohh obviously they all have their screws loose on the top floor, after all, that''s why our mc (who himself has a few screws missing) found them before anyone else could.

    Their r a few more elite members of eclipse but for now these r d ones you''ll see regrly, as some are out doing missions our mc sent them to.

 Chapter 309 Quest completion and rewards

    309 Questpletion and rewards

    After making sure the vessel, Aisha, was safe, and leaving the cleaning of pests popping up from Evil''s Scion''s gang to his minions, Shiva wanted to go back and check on the group of heroines and the protagonist battling below.

    He did feel the aura of destruction gathering inrge amounts some time ago, so he knew which viin they were facing.

    Ronnie Dathien

    The exiled one of the Dathien n of fairy race.

    In the original novel he did y some part, so Shiva still had a little impression of this guy. Ronnie was a sick bastard, whom even Shiva considered to get and train for his Eclipse, but eventually gave up.

    First, because this guy was either counting his days in the fairy forests or in the towers of hell, both ces where Shiva couldn''t reach and act freely.

    Second, this guy was unpredictable. He was chosen by the demon kings too, and by making some kind of deal with them, Shiva could get him under his control easily. But they weren''t the only ones paying attention to him. Getting Ronnie on his side meant having the target of those fairy gods on his back too, which Shiva wanted to avoid for now.

    Third, that guy was a total fanatic for Ditail. And it annoyed Shiva for some reason.

    Thus he didn''t look for Ronnie and let fate take its course.

    And as written in novel, this guy was saved by Evil''s Scion and joined them. But the timing of his appearance changed majorly.

    Originally both the evil scion and Ronnie were supposed to make their first appearance in the first semester exam event, but due to some changes and God knows what altercations, both of them appeared early.

    In the book Ronnie had a huge fight in that event. By then he could control his eye of annihtion more easily, so he managed to ughter a whole lot of students in one fell swoop.

    It was only at that time when Leon was about to be killed, that Francius, the old ring grandpa, made his first appearance.

    With his protagonist halo of luck and grandpa''s support Leon managed to kill Ronnie at that time and showed his swagger and style of a hero in front of the academy.

    But sadly somehow the strings of fate now are twisted and moving in some unknown pattern, as this attack which never happened in the novel, happened now.

    [Ronnie''s dead, by the way.]

    While Shiva was contemting what could''ve led to this attack, system gave him a message about Leon''s victory.

    "How? Other than Saisha, no one should be strong enough to handle him. And she''s busy with the other guy. Who helped our hero?"

    [You did.]

    "Me?"

    [Remember the poison you gave to princess. She used it on Ronnie, and Leon took the chance tond the final blow.]

    Hearing the exination Shiva just shook his head and sighed. ''That guy sure is lucky.''

    The battle sounds at the rooftop had calmed down and he could feel that Cersei had used the teleportation coin to get out of this ce already. Since everything was over, there was only one guy left to deal with now.

    "Did you locate the other one?" Shiva asked not caring about it any longer. And moving onto the next important thing.

    [Yupp, he''s moving towards the southeast stairs. He''s nning to run away now.]

    "Saisha��"

    [She''s fine. Nothing serious.] System replied before it''s host finished his question.

    Taking a deep breath Shiva increased his speed as he followed the map shown by the system and rushed towards the runaway viin.

    . .. (After this is the events described in chapter 302. - Shiva appears.)

    Using the system''s help to lock the target of Evil''s Scion''s base where Mylock was sending all the video feeds, Shiva didn''t hesitate in his order to destroy them.

    Though doing it cost more than 100000 points, but well, since this was to send a message and promotion of Eclipse, he still gritted his teeth and did it.

    As for Mylock, after knocking him out Shiva directly sent him to another prison at Eclipse base, this guy still had some use.

    As soon as everything was over the sound of the system''s voice came to his ears, informing him about the quest''spletion. Stopping at an arched balcony, he opened the system panel and decided to check his rewards.

    [Chain questpleted.]

    [Objective 1. Named character saved. - 9/13.]

    [Rika Rambue, Dhiru Sonar, Quinton Cancel and Martha Payne were killed at the event.]

    [Failed]

    [Objective 2. Killing the Evil''s Scion members. - 76 members killed. And 2 captured alive.]

    [Massacres are your forte so sessfully done.]

    [Objective 3. Promotion of Eclipse on a wider scale, wonderfully done.]

    [Overall rating - Passed.]

    [Rewards - 63000 system points.]

    [ �C Blueprint for the Menace Maya Formation.]

    [ �C Karma clearance crystal.]

    "So some idiots still died huh" Shiva said looking at the four names. "Their plotlines aren''t anything special, so fuck it if they died."

    "Exin the rewards." Shiva said ignoring everything else, and not caring about it.

    [Menace Maya Formation - A killing formation that can entrap anyone below S rank, and make them mad. Confusing their minds, and turning them against themselves. Anything they see, hear or sense is their enemy.]

    [Karma Clearance Crystal - Anything you do with this crystal in hand would leave no Karmic trace for anyone to track.]

    [Eye of Annihtion - A skill that manifests a cataclysmic eye capable of erasing all existence with its ominous re. Requires a high understanding of the destruction element to master and control.]

    "Huh, not so bad, I guess." Shiva said looking at the description of all the gifts he got. Especially the Karma crystal, his mind already started forming ns on where he could use that thing.

    ''If I kill a dragon while holding this crystal, their race shouldn''t be able to mark me and track me down.''

    [Stop that foolish thought this instant, host. You''re not killing any dragons any time soon.]

    [And besides dragon yers get marked onto souls, and thus hunted down easily. Hiding Karma won''t do you any good.]

    "Fine, whatever. I was just curious." Shiva said and threw the ck crystal back into his storage. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Now, let''s go back. I''m tired and need a nap." Shiva said as he yawned.

    "Hello, excuse me. Have you seen someone...."

    Hearing someone calling, shiva turned back, but just as he did rm bells started ringing in his head. Suddenly feeling something strange he directly jumped away from his ce and moved to the side. Watching as a sharp wooden spear rose from the floor he was standing.

    As he wondered who it was that attacked him, a voice sounded behind him and he got his answer. ''Saisha''

    "Who.. Are.. You?"

 Chapter 310 Shiva and Shweta - face to face after a lifetime

    310 Shiva and Shweta - face to face after a lifetime

    Saisha, who finished her fight with the spellthief, was looking for Jaesin and the other elves at the venue.

    Due to all the battles everywhere the whole building was just broken and damaged everywhere. Many walls had broken down and pirs copsed and blocked the pathways. So she could just try to move around on a wild chase.

    She didn''t have the strength to scream their names out loud and her mana was nearly depleted so she was saving it in case of an emergency.

    ''Why hasn''t anyonee for any help yet? The fight at the rooftop seems to be over too.'' She wondered as she didn''t hear any more sounds of screams or battles while walking around.

    "I hope they didn''t run into any more trouble or something." she said and nned to look on the other side.

    But just when she turned around she heard something and decided to check it out. Jumping forward through the missing stairs, she came near a balcony with a broken railing, where she could see someone standing silently.

    ''Maybe he saw something.'' Since the guy wasn''t wearing any hoods like the other viins, she decided to ask him for help first.

    "Hello, excuse me." She shouted as she raised her hand, "Have you seen anyone from the ��"

    In middle of her sentence she stopped as her heart jumped a beat when the men turned around and looked at her. Unbelievably watching that face brought forth an unsettling feeling that halted her steps. A familiar feeling along with a trace of guilt and sadness hit her heart, but soon it all turned into anger.

    She didn''t know him, and she was sure that she was sure she never met him or even saw his face, and that''s what confused her about why her body was getting so riled up over some unknown.

    Her mind started chanting spells on its own as her hands brought out the sword from her waist. She didn''t even know what she was feeling anymore, as the more she looked at that face the more anger it brought her.

    ''Who is he?'' She wondered as she raised her hand and a spear rose from the ground, ready to stab him and end his life.

    "Who��are�� you?" she asked hoarsely, as her feet rushed towards him with a sword raised high in her arms.

    Shiva, getting out of his gaffe, looked at hering forward to attack him and gave a helpless smile.

    "I''m not your enemy, princess. Don''t make me one." He said, dodging another attack from her.

    "Who Are You?" Yet as if possessed she just repeated the same question again, her eyes fixed on his face, as if trying to pierce his soul and see who he really was.

    As Shiva dodged another one of her spells, he noticed her nose bleeding a little. ''She doesn''t have mana.'' he thought and jumped forward to interrupt her as she started chanting another spell.

    "You''re overworked, princess. You should calm down." Shiva said as he pped her sword away and grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, interrupting her spell. "You don''t have mana, don''t try to use it."

    "You''re dead." Saisha said, her eyes ring at him, like she was staring at her lifelong enemy. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''She''s exactly like her.'' He said in his heart as for the first time after seeing her in arcadia was he so close to her.

    He could almost hear her heartbeat and feel the hot breath of her on his body. And it all caused his memories to fall in shambles as the scenes of earth, of their time together came back to hit his mind like a tidal wave.

    ''Not now. You dumb fucking idiot.'' Shiva cursed himself as he moved his body to the side just in time to dodge a punch that wasing to his guts.

    But still not fast enough to dodge the kick that followed next.

    ''The fuck'' Shiva said holding his jaw as he felt the sting of pain over her attack.. ''System, mind exining anything?''

    He asked his system over seeing the familiar set of attacksing towards him. The same pattern - a punch to the guts, followed by a kick to the face, and then a head grab followed by a knee to the nose.

    Though he dodged everything easily, it brought back dozens of memories about when Shweta used to train him back on earth. When he''d receive a beatdown every damn time.

    ''You said she doesn''t have her memories?'' Shiva said as he dodged all her attacks even before she made them. And it only seemed to make her even more angry.

    [She_ she shouldn''t.]

    ''Then how do you exin _ this?'' Shiva said as he grabbed her hand and pushed her away, just to dodge the knife she was about to pull from under her arm guard next and try to stab him in the chest.

    [Maybe it''s mus..]

    ''Don''t you dare tell me it''s muscle memory.''

    [...] �� silence

    ''useless'' Shiva cursed as he looked at Saisha, who pulled another knife from under her belt and rushed towards him.

    ''Why does an archer have so many knives anyway.'' he said as he grabbed both her hands and kicked her back. Causing her to stumble and fall over the rubble.

    "Fine. Enough is enough." Shiva said, watching her struggle to stand up again. "If you want a fight, I''ll just beat you."

    He said and ran towards her, Saisha who got up with difficulty looked at him and smirked. "You''re one of them, aren''t you?" She asked and raised her hands to call for the spell she was famous for in the novel. "I''ll kill you too."

    Shiva looked at her bleeding from her ears and nose as she started pulling all the mana she could to channel her trump card blessing of Gaia, Nature''s Death.

    "What an idiot." He said and appeared in front of her instantly. Grabbing her by the throat he lifted her up, until her face was in front of his face..

    "Don''t you dare try to die." He said as he grabbed her fist and blew on the powder she was holding in her hands secretly. Causing it to fly on her face. Watching as she slowly started losing her consciousness and stopped struggling, he put her back on the ground and finished his sentence. "Until I get all my answers."

    "Princess.." A shout came from afar as he watched Jaesin running towards their direction, Shiva ced her down and disappeared from his ce.

 Chapter 311 Ending of the auction event

    Chapter 311 Ending of the auction event

    ??"System, please tell me you know something?" Shiva said as he appeared in the halls of Eclipse''s mansion.

    [... I''m sorry, host. But for now, whatever I know about her, you know it too.] System said.

    "You told me it was a Primal Law that no one can take their past lives memories with them through soul reincarnation. I was an exception for some unknown reasons as you said. But what about her? Is she too?"

    [...]

    "At Least tell me your theories or guesses, you''re old, and have been through countlesss and plotlines. Tell me what could''ve caused it. How can she not remember me, or herself, but can still be this aware of her movements, skills and senses."

    System thought for some time and finally started to share its theories.

    [There can be many reasons for this, like something went wrong in her reincarnation like yours, maybe she held onto her memories or something simr too. But failed in the middle.]

    [Or maybe someone helped her a little like ''The Being'' did with storing their memories in a crystal.]

    [Or maybe she''s just�� soulless. Primalws only bind souls, the core form of energy for every being''s creation; if she''s soulless, then thews don''t apply to her.]

    "What do you mean soulless? How can any life exist without a soul?"

    [It shouldn''t. That''s why I said it''s just my thoughts and a theory. I''ve never seen or even heard of anyone who''s without a soul.]

    "But you did a scan on her, you told me she was perfectly normal."

    [She is. I don''t know what to tell you, host. You asked for my theories and I told you. As for the truth, maybe only one person can tell.]

    "The being?"

    [Yes. But he''s missing, or offline, or whatever you wanna call it. He won''t answer my summons.]

    "Did you hear what she said at the end though, about me being one of them, or her killing me again."

    [I did, and I know nothing.]

    "Don''t tell me she''s the truck-kun. Cause that''s the only time I remember dying." Shiva said jokingly, but the system ignored his jokes and kept on cooking theories in its mind.

    "So basically we know nothing about her, great." Shiva said and sighed.

    ''She brings a headache in every world.'' He thought while throwing the cigarette in his hands.

    "The whole happiness of finishing the quest went down the drain. What a pain.''

    [Come on. Don''t take too much stress over it.] System spoke, trying to cheer up its host. [We atleast know Gaia is gone for sure now. Or she''d be sure to smack your ass with a stick considering how you pped her avatar on the back and knocked her out.]

    "Come on, that was just once. And on instinct. I didn''t do it knowingly, okay." Shiva said massaging his head as a soft chuckle came to his lips thinking about all his training sses of earth.

    "Let''s just go back to the academy. I really need a nap now." Shiva said shaking his head and putting everything away, his face turned back into Rio''s and he appeared in his car outside the Angel''s office.

    Sending a message to Esme to take him back, Shiva justy back on the backseat and closed his eyes. Finally letting his mind rest for a little, so his headache can lessen a bit.

    Turns out even though he replenished his mana from the system easily after every skill use, he still felt the strain on his body for using all those spells and techniques.

    While Rio went back to his sleep peacefully, the venue at auction became chaotic instantly. The fight was over and the barrier set around the venue was broken by Nishkal family''s elder, and soon many members of the Sentinels and adventurers guild hade to check the situation.

    Getting everyone out and taking their testimonies about what really happened, Sentinels were doing a thorough search and scan of everything to record every detail and find any leftover proof.

    Taking readings of any mana signs left was hard as over a thousand people had fought together and used their mana simeontaniously. So they can just go old school investigation on this case..

    If Rio was here to see their drama, he''d be sure to sneer and say "Police are alwayste in every world."

    But ohh well, there author said it for him.

    Important figures like nobles, elites or VIP''s were moved to a separate location to get treatment. While themoners were just huddled together in a big building.

    Saisha, Reba, Vanessa, Leon and Edward, along with all the injured students of Zenith were also brought back and the academy was informed about their situation and the deaths involved in this attack.

    Zenith learning about it sent a few teachers to check the scene and safely escort the students back. As for the investigation and revenge for deaths, well that wasn''t their n.

    The news of this attack was moving at every social tform and method almost instantly, and in minutes basically every corner of the world had gotten the news.

    The name of Evil''s Scion which had calmed down and be a little dusty in people''s memories after their brief disappearance became a hot topic again. As well as the hunt for Wrath guild, who became a top rising criminal organization with this stunt all of a sudden.

    But overall the name that everyone was talking was something mostly no one had heard or focused on before today. Eclipse, just with their deeds of ignoring the barrier and ruining the ns of Evil''s Scion, they had gotten an A-ss reputation.

    Not to mention the video clips of their one sides massacre on the rooftop as they killed the people from Evil''s Scion was really working as a superhit trailer for their grand reveal.

    Some general no bodies thought Eclipse was a heroic organization, who saved everyone''s lives, but everyone in power could smell something fishy and had their doubts..

    Wrath which in reality had nothing to do with this attack, also came forward and issued a statement to confirm their role, instead of clearing the air. After all, to them this was just free publicity. Though internally they did start an investigation about who it was that used their name and their signature poison which had even better results than them.

    Evil''s Scion which actually suffered the biggest loss in this attack resulting in the loss of an entire batch of their new trainees and a secret base on floating inds, had kept silent about this whole matter. Like they didn''t exist or didn''t care about this at all.

    Though many suspected it was just calm before the storm and that there''d be another bloodbaths following this event very soon.

    "Master,.... Master."

    Hearing Esme calling him, Rio opened his eyes slowly and asked while yawning and stretching his hands. "Did we reach the academy?"

    "Yes." Esme said and handed him the phone. "Lady Artemis called earlier, she asked you to give her a call when you wake up."

    Hearing his mother''s name, all the sleep andziness left his eyes, as he took the phone and dialed her number. "You told her that I got out safely before anything happened, right?" he asked Esme, who nodded her head in return..

    Breathing a sigh of relief that this should''ve put her mind at ease, he started talking to Artemis, who seemed eager on questioning everything again.

    "I''m fine, mother. I was just too tired from the training and all the boring sses that''s been going ontely."

    ...

    "What_ no way. I would never do that. Don''t you trust me at all now."

    ...

    "Well, I did buy a gift for you but since you don''t want it, I''ll just give it to Amy."

    ...

    "Fine, whatever. Talk to Amy about it."

    ..

    "I''m fine, promise. Just missed your cooking a little. Ohh that reminds me when''re you sending Tanya and Erza here."

    ...

    "Hello, hello�� she hanged up, again." Shiva said and shook his head with a smile.

    "Riley will find you in some days, help her with the funds and anything else she needs." He turned to Esme and said to her, the previous smile gone as his face turned serious instantly. "And try to rank up as fast as you can. Stop wasting time on Angel all day."

    He said and left the car, fixing the tracking watch back on his wrist again.

    He had only taken a few steps forward when he noticed Amelia standing by the academy doors, seemingly waiting for him.

    "Come on, why didn''t you just keep sleeping till next morning. I called you twice, you know." She said.

    "What worried much?" Rio said as he pped her head and directly walked inside.

    "Humph, I was just worried that you''d use this as an excuse to lose my gift." Amelia said as she ran and caught up with him.

    "What gift?" (Rio)

    "The one you bought at the auction." (Amy)

    "I didn''t buy anything at the auction." (Rio)

    "Ohh yeah, Ba said you spent quite a lot. So no excuses, just give it to me. If I don''t like it, be sure to pay for another dinner." (Amy)

    "Isn''t a dinner cheaper though?" (Rio)

    "Not if I''m hungry." Amelia said and asked again, "You really didn''t get me anything."

    "Well, I got you an ice cream, if that counts?" Rio said, buying a icecream from system shop and handing it over to her.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Wow, what a cheapskate." Amy said after taking it and dragging him towards the nursing room where Ba was resting.

 Chapter 312 Training sessions

    Chapter 312 Training sessions

    ??It had been 3 days since the attack and the auction event, and the academy was actually back to the way it was. Preparations for the freshers party were going on in full swing, and excitement was over the limits as every other student you see is talking about this party and how much they''re nning to enjoy it.

    Even the sses and dorms were lively as every day new rumors and stories about boys proposing to girls and asking them out for being their partners for the party were going on.

    Aside from this happiness, a small group of students were also dreading this event, as their introverted side didn''t like all this exposure.

    Not to mention, after a month of getting together many bullies and nobles had chosen these silent type students as their bullying targets for fun and have them as their ballboys or maids.

    But through all this lively atmosphere, there are a few students in first year who didn''t even think about anything and just went on with their routines and lives as usual.

    Reba, who was poisoned, was perfectly fine now. And she was busy nning her shopping streak with Amelia, totally forgetting the gruesome scenes of the attack.

    Saisha, Vanessa, Edward and Jaesin were all treated too and were perfectly fine now. And were busy with their own training and sses.

    Leon was now obsessed over raising his strength as soon as possible as his heart was disturbed after seeing all those deaths and destruction.

    On the other hand, the boy responsible for Leon''s trauma was busy with his own things.

    "That''s all you got." Rio said as he looked at Katherine who was panting heavily.

    "You''re really wasting my time here." He said as he waved his hand and small icicles went straight for her.

    Katherine tried to raise her sword to block and move her body to dodge the iing projectiles, but every little movement caused her to grit her teeth in pain. She just wanted toy down and catch her breath for a few seconds now, but sadly the boy in front of her didn''t care.

    Currently they were training in one of the VIP training rooms. These rooms were special as they allowed all kinds of settings and modes for various kinds of training. Like change of environment, change of gravity, limitations of mana and elements in the air, and so much more..

    Obviously every hour spent here costs a lot of merit points so not many first year students use them. But this was a condition Rio put forward in return for helping her train in ice element and learn transformation magic, so even though Katherine wanted to save her points forter, she had to spend them here.

    "Come on, put some effort into it." Rio said as he raised his hand to grab the sword that was about to hit him. The iron sword instantly froze and crumbled to pieces as he clenched his fists.

    Losing the grip, Katherine stumbled over her bnce, as he moved his body to the side and pped her on the back.

    "And dead again," he said.

    The red print of five fingers formed over the blue barrier covering her body, as Katherine felt the hit over the back of her heart. She wanted to massage her back as the burning stinging sensation brought pain, but didn''t get enough time, as another kick was about tond on her head.

    "ording to scanners, if this was a real fight you''d already be dead for 12 times now. Why don''t you go take a rest and sleep it off. Maybe today''s not your day." Rio said and yawned, as if mocking her for how bored he was at this moment.

    "No, _ I _ I can..once more." Katherine said in between long breaths, as she threw the broken hilt of the sword in her hand, and moved towards the corner to pick another new sword.

    "This_ this time for sure." She said and rushed to attack him with her sword technique. Each swing of her sword caused gusts of cold winds to hit Rio''s face even though he dodged the shes.

    Her moves were pretty good, and he could tell she was improving too, but truth be told, he kind of expected more from destiny''s chosen heroine.

    Like now, training in 3 times the gravity, with mana and elements set to 50% lesser density, he used to do this when he was 12 or 13 or 14 maybe.

    Anyway he did it when he was younger, and he''s just a viin.

    ''Guess luck''s really not working out for these chosen ones.'' Rio thought as he punched her sword and broke it in two. Grabbing the broken piece midyear, he stabbed it forward to her guts, and the barrier lit up in red again.

    "Aaand, you''re dead." Rio said as he pulled his hand back and watched as Katherine fell to her knees.

    "I _ huh huh.. I can��" Katherine tried to speak but ended up coughing a streaks of blood.

    Looking at her struggling and trying hard to not give up and give her best, being as stubborn as she was described in the novel, Rio just sighed audibly, and passed her a normal grade healing pill.

    "You should ease up a little." He said.

    "No, I''m _ fine." Katherine said as she closed her eyes, feeling a refreshing feeling wash over her body. Even though the pill didn''t heal herpletely, and just reduced her pain temporarily, but she thinks with this, she can fight for a few times more.

    Reading her thoughts through her determined face, Rio just shook his head and tapped her forehead with his finger, causing it to redden a little.

    "I''m not going easy on you, or joking. You''re trying too hard and being too serious, stop doing that. You might''ve heard, rest is as important as training in many sses, so sometimes listen to that advice, kay. Don''t be a training maniac." Rio said and turned around to walk away from her.

    "Now, go sit in a viewing corner and try to recover your mana naturally. Don''t you dare try to channel any techniques or blessings to fasten the process."

    Hearing the stern warning, Katherine though wanted to say that she can still fight for a couple of rounds more, chose to stay silent and do as he told her.

    ''I''ll just try harder once I recover my mana. Maybe I can use that method to attack him. He''s right handed, so maybe I should focus on attacking him from the left��''

    Rio watched her walking away, lost in thoughts and he was sure he knew what she was thinking about.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''She sure is diligent. And damn, can she take a hit.'' Rio thought and looked at his wrist which was still a bit red over how heavily he hit her earlier.

    [Well, she was your friend. So maybe your insanity rubbed off a little.] System joked, mentioning herst life.

    ''You know what system, sometimes you just choose to be a bitch willingly, don''t you? I told you not to remind me of that bullshit.''

    [Hehehe]

    ''And now you''re even turning shameless.''

    Ignoring the system and its ever growing shamelessness, Rio just sighed and walked towards the center of the room.

    "Zen, apply sequence 32P14."

    As Rio''s words finished, the academy AI Zen, gave its answer.

    [Extreme environment changes requested. Please confirm the request again.]

    "Yes, do it."

    [Changes implementing in 3.2..1��]

    As Zen''s words ended, Rio felt the pressure on his body increase by a lot, the gravity had increased by seven times now. He tried taking a deep breath and sighed as he felt the air getting thinner in the atmosphere. The mana was almost non-

    existent, as this sequence was only for training physical bodies and maybe for some aura awakneers.

    "Zen, send in the bots." Rio said as he clenched his fist and cracked his knuckles. Raising his knees and moving his legs till he felt a littlefortable over the changes, he gave the newmand to Zen.

    [10 challengers appearing in 3.2..1��]

    Watching as 10 mannequin-like figures walked through a gate and started surrounding him, Rio waved his hand straight, and a sword flew into his palms instantly.

    "Now let''s see how long I canst today." He said as he rushed to fight with the golems.

    Katherine who was sitting in the viewing corner, a separate space in a corner where the environment was normal. This space was like a safe zone for rest or meditation between the training sessions, looked at Rio running and jumping through the golems, dodging their attacks with swift movements and precise control over his body and sighed.

    ''And he says he wasn''t going easy on me.'' She said as she watched the few golems falling down with their severed limbs and broken heads. Before being regenerated in very few moments.

    ''I love this,'' Rio said as he chopped off a hand of the golem and caught it midair. The healing connection started pulling the hand back to said golem, but before the elbow merged back to the material arm, Rio twisted his hands and caused the broken arm tond a hard p on the golem''s face.

    ''How about one more.'' Rio said, kicking the golem and using his bent knees as his stepping floor to jump into air, before increasing his falling pressure using nature''s element and giving another hard p to the golem, breaking his face and pping it away from the rest of his body.

    [Please don''t ever do that on humans.]system spoke in a little disgust imagining the bloody scene if the metal was reced by men.

 Chapter 313 Day of the party

    <h4>Chapter 313 Day of the party </h4>

    ?The day of the freshman party��

    After taking a cold shower, that''s always a reason for him to bete, Rio got out and stopped in front of the mirror. While getting ready for the party, he started thinking about the details written in the novel about this event.

    "Hey, system. Do you think there''ll be an attack on this party too?"

    He asked as he brought a hairdryer and started drying his wet hair. He got bored doing this with a snap of fingers and using magic. That sucked the whole fun out of the feeling of hot air on his head, which he quite enjoyed after a long cold shower.

    System, who was too used to its host''s whims on wasting points on useless things, stayed silent over this new purchase and focused on the question instead. [Hard to say. But there is a possibility.]

    "You think so. Warzy and Evil''s Scion already made their moves on this map already. So they shouldn''t rush to pull any extra hatred so soon." Rio said, throwing the dryer back into system inventory, and browsing the shop for some fancy new clothes.

    Just like back on earth, he hated outdoor shopping on Arcadia too. And here he didn''t evenck money or something, he just didn''t enjoy it like others. So for everything he needs, it''s always his system shop.

    System again, ignored the ongoing purchases and answered directly. [Those two groups aren''t the only viins in the book, host. So who knows, maybe it''ll be some independent viin or someone from the other groups.]

    "You mean the strays and the sinner''s guild?" Rio said as he kept flipping through the long list, and applying all kinds of filters on search option.

    [Can be, you should just be prepared for everything.]

    "Well, as long as you don''t go offline all of a sudden and bail on me, I should be fine."

    [Come on, that just happened once.]

    "Yeah, and itsted for eight years. Hehee."

    Rio said jokingly as his eyes fixed on a ck suit costing 10000 points, and he bought it.

    Don''t ask what features it had, he just skimmed through them in a hurry. [Of course a suit costing that many pointses with a few benefits.]

    [I should start cutting your points for all the emotional damage and insults you''re giving me daily.]

    System said in a seemingly annoyed tone, like it was wrongly used and was feeling angry, but Rio directly shut it up.

    "Don''t you dare look at my points. I already doubt that they''re decreasing quite fast. Maybe you''re already eating them up behind my back."

    [Wow, just great. If anything I might''ve added a zero or two extra by mistake with how much you''re messing up everyday.]

    [And can you stop with this useless shopping spree, geez what a waste.]

    "Tsk, fine. Anyway, how many points do I have left now?"

    [415820 SP]

    "Just that? They really did drop a lot huh." Rio said looking at the megre points much to the system''s displeasure, "Well, I should farm Leon a little more in this party. Let''s make it 500k by the night, that''d look a little nice."

    (Poor protagonist, I wonder what this guy will do to him today.) System thought and prayed for the protagonist, while silently stealing a box of popcorn, preparing for the dramater on.

    Leon, who was walking towards Vanessa''s room, suddenly sneezed and ended up dropping the white flower in his hands. ''Why am I suddenly feeling cold all of a sudden?''

    While Rio was busy training Katherine daily, (Not at all training himself in the training room bought from her points, after beating her up.) Leon was busy charming Vanessa.

    After the auction event the two of them got to know each other. And since both use fire element, Vanessa even invited him to train together too.

    Even though Leon''s sudden rank drop and his video of perverted choices was known to the whole academy, it didn''t cause as big amotion Rio hoped it would. After all, with everyone talking about an attack that big and Evil''s Scion''s sudden appearance again, what happened to a freshie student paled inparison.

    Maybe it was fate or maybe Apollo''s backhand, but there were even rumors going around that Leon''s rank drop was caused when he used some forbidden spell in his fight against the viins to save people, causing some stupid kids to admire his heroism.

    Though Reba and Alfred knew better, but both of them didn''te out to say anything for their own reasons. Reba simply didn''t care and Alfred let it be for his own thoughts and ns.

    As for Leon, being the protagonist he didn''t care about others opinion and focused on training with Vanessa.

    So overall Leon''s image was stable again. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Though the bullying he faces and mockings he hears from some rich kids did increase a little. Some students even started challenging him, hoping to defeat this rank one genius.

    But as any novel goes it''s only the minions of some big viins, so Leon either managed to win, or hold on until someone interfered to stop their battles.

    Vanessa too, didn''t mind the difference in their strength over his rank drop, and happily trained together with Leon, learning more about fire element and mastering her spells better with Leon''s help and guidance.

    Yesterday, one of the elite families kids enamored with Vanessa, even formed his group and fought Leon, but Vanessa saw that scene and stopped it.

    Feeling apologetic that due to her Leon was getting bullied, she even allowed Leon to spend this party with her, so no one else can trouble him, until he heals from his injuries.

    What was she thinking doing that, knowing this would only make her suitors and fanboys more angry and determined to hate Leon, no one knows. Guess it''s a certain glitch in the heroine''s brain to be brainless when ites to the protagonist.

    Rio, of course knew about their budding development of this rtionship, but he didn''t care.

    Vanessa already hated him for what he did to her brother, so being friends with Leon who was also against Rio was nothing unusal.

    And besides it''d be fun to give hopes and love to Leon, and then watch as he loses everything step by step. The suffering caused then would be much better.

    Looking at himself in the mirror as he finished his hair and put his rings back on. Just to be sure he even used Aphrodite''s blessing, blink of brilliance, and smiled as he found his charm went up by another degree.

    "Hey system, tell me how do I look?"

    [Just like a man in ck.] System said, throwing water on this ever growing narcissism it''s host started to get nowadays.

    Currently he was wearing an all ck suit with matching shoes and watch. The only different colors on his overall look were just hisbed white hair, and a few pieces of essories. Like a golden brooch on chest with the insignia of ke family. Two fancy rings on his right hand''s fingers. One a storage ring filled with all kinds of stuff and the other a normal diamond ring. A dark red buckle for the belt around his waist, which is basically just a bloodthirsty sword in disguise.

    "I''m getting more handsome every day, aren''t I?" Rio said with a smile, just to annoy the system, who in turn gave another reply instantly.

    [Urgh, go show off somewhere else Shakespeare. All you''ll get from me are taunts and sighs for your shamelessness.]

 Chapter 314 Better than disney princess

    <h4>Chapter 314 Better than disney princess</h4>

    ?"Can he be any morete? We''re the girls, and we get ready faster than him." Reba said, looking at the watch on her hand and the empty corridor.

    "Maybe something came up, you know." Amelia spoke in her brother''s defense, but ended up getting a fierce re from her room partner and bestie, so she changed her words instantly. "You shouldn''t have let go of that monk. We could''ve sent him to call him again." she said pointing about how when she wanted to stop Rio''s roommate, but Reba insisted on letting him go.

    "What stop him? Have you seen that poor monk, he''s got dark circles around his eyes and monks don''t even sleep that much. I bet he''s bullying the poor guy." Reba said already angry at Rio for making her wait.

    ''I''m a princess and I''m waiting for a Duke''s son.'' Reba thought and couldn''t help but chuckle at this unusual thing.

    Currently both of them are standing near the dorm''s gate, waiting for Rio, who''s apparently as always runningte.

    "Sorry, did I make you wait?" Rio said as he suddenly appeared behind her and tapped her shoulder, nearly causing her to scream in fright before she heard his familiar voice.

    "You have the nerve to say that huh," Reba said as she turned around and punched him on the shoulder.

    And it was not at all a light punch. She literally put all her strength into it.

    Though instead of the smile she expected to have after hearing him scream or fall back a little, her face frowned as she felt like she just hit an iron wall.

    "What happened princess, didn''t eat this morning?" Rio joked as he patted his shoulder clothes lightly, and thought - ''Gotta say those 20000 points are well worth it.''

    "Idiot." Reba said as she pulled her hand back and massaged her red knuckles with a frowning face, it still stings.

    "Where''s A and Rubina?" Rio asked, noticing only these two girls standing there.

    "A went with her elven princess, and Rubina is God knows where. She said she''s not interested in these parties so she''ll join us when it''s time to eat." Amelia spoke to answer him, as she shook her head in displeasure when talking about her muscle brain roompartner.

    "We should''ve just dragged her with us." Reba added.

    "Yeah, and just like a solution to every problem in her dictionary she''d ask for a spar first. No thanks. I''m just nning to enjoy today, no studying, no training, and no sparring either." Amelia made her stance clear with this deration.

    Rubina was after all the tribal princess, so getting her to listen to anything was only possible if you could defeat her in battle. To her, the sky would crumble if she followed someone weaker than her.

    And just like any tribal person, she hatedrge happy crowds mingling together and ying their schemes and boosting her ego.

    ''She''s probably afraid she''d beat someone in anger and offend other nobles.'' Rio thought while remembering about the news he heard yesterday, which said Rubina ended up beating a guy in public, who kept pestering her for weeks trying to propose her. She challenged him for a duel and beat him to half death, where even the instructors had to interfere.

    ''At Least she''s the same as in the novel.'' He thought. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "See this guy started daydreaming again. I told you he doesn''t have any manners at all." Reba asked as she wanted to hit him again for ignoring her, but learning her lesson from the previous time, she moved closer to Amelia and added. "I should ask Aunt Artemis to start his etiquette sses again to teach him some chivalry."

    Amelia, who heard her best friend''s threat, burst outughing, remembering how much her brother used to hate those sses in their childhood.

    Hearing this Rio too turned his face to the side and red at Ba with eyes that said - if you dare to do that, see how I''ll treat you.

    But Reba just scoffed in response and stuck out her tongue a little to mock him.

    Knowing very well this idiotic girl really might say that to his mother, Rio changed his tone and asked nicely as he bent his head a little, giving a half-assed royal salute. "What do you require, my princess? What precious etiquette did I miss out upon?"

    "Humph, yeah that''s more like it." Reba nodded her head with a proud smile, as she continued "And do I still have to tell you what you missed. Can''t you see we are going for a public event and both of us are dressed and ready, so where''s ourpliment huh, where''s the praise?"

    "That''s it??"

    "What do you mean that''s it. Praising someone is like rule 101 of any social meeting. You really did forget everything, I''ll have to tell my aunt ASAP." Reba added again, while throwing her elbow at her best friend who was failing to control herughs.

    Hearing the threat again, Rio sighed and looked at both of them for a few seconds.

    Amy was wearing a white and red gown, with simr essories as he had, a family brooch, a few rings and a sword disguised as waist belt.

    As he noticed that he wanted to smile but controlled himself.

    Though she did have a few things extra like a fancy diamond ne around her neck and a pair of ruby earrings, both of which were useful artifacts with wonderful effects too.

    ''Well, looking at her like this I don''t have to worry about her.'' Rio thought and nodded his head with a light smile.

    Seeing this guy just looking at his sister and ignoring her again, Reba coughed a little to get attention, causing both Rio and Amelia to chuckle at her antics.

    Turning his attention to the girl asking for it, Rio saw her dressed in a golden gown that matched seamlessly with her golden hair. Her earrings, the same color as her sapphire eyes. As she moved her face they moved along with their color changing depending on the light''s reflection. She had a rose color diamond ne around her neck, matched by the ruby rings she wore on her fingers, which were tied with the golden chain around her wrist. Ba looked every bit a princess that she was.

    Rio was sure she''d beat every Disney Princess or any other princess he ever saw on earth''s shows or movies by a mile. No, there wasn''t even any need forparison, as she looked even prettier up close.

    ''Is she using some blessing like me to increase her charm, or is she always this pretty?'' Rio thought in his heart, as his eyes wandered on her perfect figure.

    [You''re the only one who does that host. She doesn''t even need it. Hehehe] hearing his doubt, the system happily interjected and answered him, albeit it failed to control itsughter after saying that.

    ''She''s��''

    -humm hmmm

    Amelia coughed to break the silent staring contest this duo started, and hid behind Rio as Reba tried to p her after seeing her cheeky smile.

    "Come on, brother. Frozen so soon." Amelia said as she ced her hand over his shoulder and added "And here I boasted so much to the girls that you don''t care about the beauty but look at others'' hearts, s how wrong I was�� ahhh"

    Amy who wasughing as she started teasing her brother next, suddenly screamed in pain as Rio pinched her ear and brought her forward.

    "Brother,.. Sorry _ I_ I was just joking. I won''t do it anymore. Promise."

    "You''re getting quite gutsy, aren''t you?" Rio said as he exerted a little bit more force, as Amelia tried to p his hand away.

    "Ba, Ba _ help me. You_I was just helping you, you know." Hearing her brother wasn''t nning to let go, she pleaded with her best friend instead, who in turn justughed at her pleading cries.

    "You deserve it. Who told you to joke around." Reba said, as she too moved forward and grabbed Amy''s other ear before twisting it even more than what Rio was doing.

    "Tell me, will you do it again?"

    "Hey, we_ we''re gettingte, right, let''s go. Eeeee , okay,okay promise _ I won''t do it again." Amelia finally promised and ran away as both of them let go of her ears.

    Stopping a little far from them, she turned around with ears blood red in color and red at them with misty eyes. "I''ll teach you both a lesson, traitors." She said as she touched both her ears, which felt hot to the touch with how painful it felt earlier.

    "You.."

    Seeing that Reba was about to say something or catch her, she directly turned around and ran away, leaving both of them behind.

 Chapter 315 Flowers and stars

    <h4>Chapter 315 Flowers and stars </h4>

    ?[Aaaand there she goes, leaving you two behind. Just like I said she would.] System said, reminding Rio of their earlier talk, when system said not to worry about any attacks and just enjoy his date.

    To which he replied confidently that "It''s not a date. It''s just some friends going to a party. And besides Amy and A would be there too."

    Of course system knew better, so it warned him of what would happen, and that''s exactly what happened now.

    ''... .. Stopughing please.'' Rio thought in his heart, as the cheekyughter of system echoed in his head. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I''ll see how long you can run away." Reba said, as she watched Amy''s figure getting smaller and smaller in the distance until she turned a corner and disappeared from her view.

    "Don''t bully her too much." Rio said as he moved forward and pinched her ear for a second before letting go and moving out of her reach. "That''s for her."

    Reba red at him for a second before stomping her feet on the ground and moving away. This pair of siblings were just around her to make her more and more angry every day.

    "You''re looking pretty by the way." Rio said the long overduepliment as he ran and caught up to her, smiling as he watched her stumble a step.

    "Tsk, you''re okay too." Reba said and increased her speed, trying to hide the blush that crept on her cheeks.

    [Going good, host.]

    [Keep it up and you might lose your virginity faster than I thought possible.]

    System spoke in a teasing tone, and it was Rio''s time to stumble a step and lose his bnce.

    [Hehehahaha]

    Ohhh how Rio wished he could p the system at times like these, just as easily he ps away the screen in front of him. But s his hands just pass through air, and system always just keeps onughing even more.

    ''Idiot.'' Rio said and ignored the system.

    "What''s your n for the day?" Rio asked ignoring the system''s existence as a whole.

    Reba halted her steps for a second, before answering "I don''t know, your sister had this whole list prepared about what to do and where to go, but she''s gone already."

    As the preparations for the party had been going on for a few weeks now, most of the ns and things were already spread around the academy in rumors like what fun and games seniors arranged, or where they put together a gathering ce, parties and dance stages etc etc.

    Lisa being a president also informed everyone to gather in the auditorium as she''d introduce everything herself once and give them a little lecture on rules and punishments, but with howte Rio was, they probably missed all that crap.

    "What about you?" Reba asked once they were both walking side by side. "You''ve had your freshers here before too, any ns or ces you wanna visit?"

    Rio thought for a few seconds remembering the event from three years ago when he first joined the academy. Truth be told, at that time he mainly used freshers party to get close to Lisa and get to know her better. Even if he had to create a few scenarios himself to achieve the results.

    She was after all too important for his ns.

    "I don''t know, I was busy with something else thest time, so never really enjoyed the event that much." Rio said honestly leaving the past in the back of his mind.

    "How about we go for a light breakfast and then we can decide over a talk." Reba said and then before waiting for his reply, which she thought was obviously gonna be to call or find that glutton too, she grabbed his hand and dragged him along as she moved through the flowery pathways.

    The seniors really did go all out as Rio nced around the familiar academy doors and found it all decorated in flowers and colors. The air was filled with the scent of enchanted flowers, and the pathway lined with floatingnterns. It all looked so pretty and perfect, that just a step onto that arched pathway could make their senses enthralled and calm at the same time. In between the flowery pathway opened up with light vines, little shimmering stars kept flying in the air just like fireflies in a dark night, in close reach for everyone entering the academy to touch.

    If someone wanted to propose and say ''Be my girl, and I''ll bring you the shining stars from the sky and fix them on your shawl.'' Then this pathway was the perfect ce.

    Reba moved her fingers to touch a golden star, only for it to turn out to be an illusion.. "Tsk, party tricks." She mused and decided to enter.

    But Rio grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Wait," He said, as he raised his hand and grabbed the green vine overhead and shook it lightly. Watching as a few flowers fell down over their heads.

    Reba waved her hand through the hair and removed the white petals from her head, "What''re you doing?" She asked, as she saw him doing the same thing to the opposite vine.

    "Just wait." He said and looked around carefully, watching as the rain of flowers filled the air.

    Under her confused eyes, he waved his hand and grabbed a flower petal and closed his fist. cing his hand over Ba''s head, he smiled and stepped back, "There you go. It suits you."

    Reba raised her hand, trying to find what this guy was upto, when her fingers touched something pointy and metallic on her hairs.

    She created a mirror of water with a wave of her hand and looked at herself curiously, until she found a golden star fixed on her hair.

    "How, those are just illusions?" she said surprised as she raised her hand to touch another star and frowning as she found it unreal too.

    "Secret." Rio said and moved away with his hands in his pockets, leaving behind Reba who just curiously nced at the vines Rio shook earlier and then at the ground which was now empty of any fallen flowers.

    Shaking her head as she didn''t understand anything, she just touched the star on her hair and smiled. ''Idiot.''

    "If you don''t get out of that pathway fast, that star will disappear just like those falling petals."

    Rio''s words came to her ears and Reba directly rushed out in a hurry, her hand still holding the star, afraid it would really disappear next second. Her face bearing another charming smile as she caught up with him, and kept looking at him walking with a serious expression.

    ''I really was an idiot kid at that time.'' Unaware of her gaze, Rio just thought and shook his head in embarrassment, remembering the same thing he did for Lisa three years ago.

    [It''s not overly dramatic if it works. And looking at how Lisa still remembered it, I''d say it works quite well.]

    ''Please shut up.''

    ##

    Author note - Yes, Rio arranged this funny little thing to leave an impression on Lisa three years ago. (Why she made the same arrangements here this time again, don''t ask me, only she knows.)

 Chapter 316 No rest for the wicked

    <h4>Chapter 316 No rest for the wicked</h4>

    ?"So where are we going?" Reba said as she followed him, touching her hair from time to time to see if the star was an illusion which would disappear after she crossed a certain range.

    Rio turned to answer her but seeing her actions he just smiled and rified. "That''s not magic, that one''s real. It''s probably made from some gems or dungeon metals, so it''s yours until you break it."

    "Humph." Hearing the answer Reba didn''t reply but just scoffed at him, like trying to show she didn''t care, but failing miserably at it as her face literally brightened 2�� more afterwards.

    ''Sometimes I really doubt if she''s the same cold girl who''s supposed to be at the forefront of her army of millions, leading them tomit massacres on hermand. She''s so �� easy to fool.'' Rio thought in his mind and didn''t point her out.

    "I heard every chef of the academy would present a new dish they mastered or made in thest year, so let''s go and try them out." Rio said, as he could hear the murmurs of crowd from forward.

    "Amy would be there too?" Reba said and started cursing herself for suggesting anything about food. ''Fool, I should''ve dragged him the opposite direction.''

    "Y_ you know, I''m not hungry, so why don''t we��"

    "Nah, where we''re going is a.. little special. Amy won''t be there."

    Seeing her downcast eyes as she stopped in ce and tried to form out any excuse, Rio who wanted to exin something else, set it aside and cleared up the details for their breakfast first so she could stop being so soury.

    "Oh, okay then." Reba said and breathed a sigh of relief and started following him again.

    "So what''s special about this ce that that foodie won''t go there?" Reba asked, seriously curious to know where her best friend couldn''t go. Maybe it''s something she doesn''t like to eat, that''s why.

    But as soon as this thought came to her mind, her curiosity doubled, why. - Just so she can force Amy to eat that dish when she teases her again.

    Seeing her face filled with a cheeky smile as she probably imagined the scene of Amy''s wronged or bullied face, Rio raised his hand and tapped her forehead with a finger, squealing a light scream from her lips. "I told you to stop thinking about bullying her." He said.

    Ignoring her ring eyes, he just smiled and continued "You''ll know when we get there. Now,e fast or we''ll have to walk a lot and take a detour to go there."

    "You''re not taking me to the kitchen, are you?" Reba guessed after seeing the path he was taking, and crossed her arms over her chest when she saw his nervous expression. "You big idiot, don''t you know that students aren''t allowed in the kitchen. If someone saw us we''ll be punished." She said in a reprimanding tone.

    "Ohhe on, don''t worry. It''s not that serious. I know a shortcut." Rio said and dragged her along. "You just have to keep a lookout, and I''ll take care of everything else." He exined.

    "Why''re we even taking a risk? There are so many restaurants and shops open, we can just try them." Reba said, still trying to reason even though her feet just went along his, like in sync. "And besides, won''t the same dishes, by the same chefs, be served to us at night."

    "Nah, what''s the fun in that? I heard there''s apetition going on now that will decide the chefs rankings and promotions, so every chef is doing their best now. At night, they''ll probably just do a random half assed job, since they already got their roles and payments settled for the year." Rio said as he pulled Ba to hurry up.

    "How do you even know that stuff? The kitchen''s closed off the whole year." Reba asked but Rio remained silent in response.

    He couldn''t exactly tell her that it was something written in a novel, and Leon was supposed to get another little friend/guidance giver today.

    [Seriously host, working even now? You''ll die a virgin.] System quipped as it heard and understood what he wanted to do.

    ''No rest for the wicked, system. There''s simply no rest.'' Rio said and ignored it.

    They had passed through the long pathway and entered the academy garden at this point. Ba took a moment as she stopped and nced around, trying to appreciate everything that their seniors arranged for them..

    The whole garden was filled with first year students talking and walking and moving here and there in groups.

    This was the first time after their entrance ceremony that all the first year students had gathered in one ce like this, and that too, everyone dressed so perfectly wonderful, the scene was almost��blinding to look at.

    Today all the sses were cancelled for everyone. And other than the first years students and student counsil and disciplinemittee no one was allowed toe to the academy so the freshie''s could enjoy themselves freely.

    The other seniors stayed in their dorms or training rooms, while staff lived in their offices or dorms. No one was out there to interfere any fun the freshman wanted to have.

    Even the student council and disciplinemittee were just sitting in their offices and monitoring everything through the drones and camera crystals ced all over the academy - their job just to make sure no fights breaks out and nothing untoward happens that puts a stain on academy''s reputation.

    All around therge garden were stalls and shops set up, with just golems and puppets managing everything. A soothing music was ying in one corner, while the other side had students flying through the air sitting on magical brooms and ying their games. A calm restaurant and a beach formed on one side, while the other side had a loud bar and haunted houses.

    Normal games that mortals enjoys, like those shooting or racing games, to karaoke and dancing on the beat games were set up on one side, while the other had magical games like treasure hunt or mystery Machine or flying football and race on rainbows.

    There were so many things listed on the digital screens disying all the content they could visit, surprising anyone about how so many things could be done in a small space of this onerge ground and the two empty buildings nearby.

    And the answer to that question was one thing - magic.

    With a bit of spatial magic, coupled with illusion magic anything could be done here.

    "It''s .. Beautiful." Reba couldn''t help but mutter as she watched a holographic dragon pass through in front of her, with an excited student''s figure eximing loudly behind, flying on the broom.

    "What''s he doing?" She asked Rio as she felt curious about why a dozen student were chasing a fake flying dragon.

    "Probably a game to catch monsters or something. There should be some reward for doing so." Rio said, taking a blind guess.

    "What''re the rewards?"

    "It can be anything. Just as small as some tickets or points to ess some other games or some other reward like an egg or an artifact, bought or donated by the seniors." Rio answered.

    "But aren''t all the games and facilities free for the day, what good are the points?" Reba doubted.

    "There are probably some secret games or clues or something, just to make this party more interesting and not like any shallow fair set up by others." Rio replied.

    "Okay, once you''re done with your little escapades, you are to follow my orders the whole day left." Reba said, guessing this guy was up to something and he''d agree to her request, which he did quite easily.

    "Fine, as youmand, Mdy. Now can we go?" Rio said in a dramatic tone.

    "Urgh Midy, who taught you that? So cringy." Ba said and followed him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 317 Leon who?

    Chapter 317 Leon who?

    ??"You have five minutes, after that I''m turning around and leaving." Reba said, ncing around the empty hallways, watching as Rio walked a little further and jumped over the lines of trees nearby, and disappeared from her view.

    [Amy - Hey, where are you guys? Need any help?]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    �� �� ��

    Reba read the message on her watch and didn''t know what to say, so she just kept deleting whatever she typed and finally just closed the holographic screen and stood silently, leaning against the wall.

    "What am I doing!!!" she said, and opened the world system''s screen, where she could see a few notifications from her goddess.

    [Selene says you should control him.]

    [He''s helpful to you, so stop wasting time and bind him before someone else finds him.]

    [Indra''s chuckles seeing your development. He asks you to not take the words of the idiot goddess to heart.]

    [There''s no need to rush in these matters, �� . But�� she''s also right about someone taking him away. He has been busy with that other girltely�� But anyway don''t think about it too much, you have us on your side.]

    [Amphitrite asks you to follow your heart as is the nature of water.]

    [Psyche abhors the schemes of everyone else''s thinking. She just hopes you''ll find your happiness with him.]

    [....]

    [....]

    Reading the notifications from various gods all asking and saying the same thing in different words and emotions. She could guess they all had their own goals and thoughts for helping her, but still ��

    Reba didn''t continue checking any more messages and ignored them all.

    ''Is he simply oblivious or does he just not care?'' she thought and sighed to herself, as she pulled the star from her hairs and held it in her arms.

    "Princess, what''re you doing here?"

    A voice awoke her from her thoughts, as she didn''t even realize when a boy was standing in front of her.

    "How are you, I heard you were poisoned that day at the auction?" Leon asked, but Reba seemed absentminded as she kept looking around trying to see if someone else came here or not.

    "I''m fine, thanks." Reba said nonchntly.

    Seeing her anxiously looking around, Leon thought something and then smiled a little.

    "Are you lost, or looking for someone, princess? I just saw your friends at the arcade ying games some time ago. Do you want me to show you the way?" He asked, staring at the beautiful princess in front of him.

    "I''m fine, thanks." Reba said the same reply again without even thinking.

    "Princess, I wanted to apologize for how I behaved back then at your birthday, I shouldn''t have ��" Leon, who wanted to apologize and sort things out with Reba about how he tried to ask her for something on her birthday, when he was just a kid then and didn''t know any better, so he just thought to talk about it once.

    But just when he mentioned the birthday, Reba interrupted him and stopped him. "I get it, I was at fault too. And it''s been years since then, don''t worry about it." She said, while silently cursing him for not getting the hint and leaving her alone.

    Hearing that she didn''t care about it, Leon breathed a sigh of relief as what he wanted to say next could possibly anger her.

    He wanted to ask her if she still had that bracelet he gave her on her birthday, and tell her about the feeling he got from looking at the bracelet Rio bought. Because something told him that Rio knew that bracelet and didn''t destroy it, but just acted like he did.

    Since he couldn''t guess why Rio would try to hide and act that way, he at least wanted to inform the princess as a good samaritan.

    "Princess, there''s something else that I wanted to say, you remember the bracelet at the auction.." Leon had just started speaking about the auction when he heard some rustling sounds, and noticed the same guy whom he wanted to talk about, appeared in front of him.

    Rio looked at the frowning protagonist and frowned a little, but then a smirk came to his face as he probably guessed what was happening here.

    Ignoring Leon who was talking to her all this time, Reba pushed him aside and walked up to Rio and red at him. "Finally, do you know how long it''s been? You should''ve told me it was gonna take a while."

    Hearing her, Rio ignored Leon and looked at Reba and smiled. "If I told you the truth, would you be willing to wait."

    "Idiot." Reba said and chose to ignore this guy. "You were saying something about the auction and bracelet ��" She asked, looking at Leon, while Rio raised an eyebrow hearing it and nced at Leon, only to see him looking at him keenly too.

    ''Does he know?'' Rio thought, but then shook his head in dismissal. Both bracelets were safely stored in the system''s inventory and after dealing with old grandpa, his trust in the system''s skills had increased quite a lot.

    ''It should be the sixth sense of the protagonist, always smelling clues and finding treasures even faster than a dog''s nose.'' Rio thought and nodded his head as the system smiled in affirmation, confirming his theory.

    "That.. I''ll tell you about itter." Seeing Rio''s reaction as Reba mentioned the bracelet, Leon was sure he knew something, that''s why he decided to discuss this matter when he''s alone with the princess and away from this guy, who for some reason always brought an unknown unsettling feeling in his heart.

    "I''ll see you bothter." Leon wanted to turn around and leave, but stopped as he found Rio blocked his way.

    Leon frowned while thinking what excuse he could use if Rio persisted on knowing what he wanted to say. But to his surprise, Rio didn''t mention that point at all, he just pointed his hand at one side, and waited for his reaction.

    Leon looked in the direction from where Rio just came from earlier and saw a notice written on a signboard.

    [Students and staff below grade 3 clearance aren''t allowed to tresspasss further.]

    -"That area''s offlimits for the students." Rio said.

    "But you were just there." Leon couldn''t help but say as this scene directly reminded him of when he was insulted at the auction gate. People stopping him while this guy could just pass through without any interruption.

    "Cause I''m me. And you''re _ who again?"

    Rio said with a genuine expression like he really didn''t know who he was. But that only made Leon even more angry, so much so that Rio could almost hear the grinding noise of his teeth.

    "Let''s go, Ba. We''re alreadyte." Rio said and grabbed her hand and walked away, not even sparing another nce at the grinding protagonist.

    Insulted is what Leon felt at this moment, since the guy whom everyone in the world thought to be his challenge, didn''t even know his name. Just goes to show how he didn''t even care about him at all.

    [Lokiughs saying you''re way too weakpared to him. So stop dreaming.]

    [Skuld says ''wake up to reality.'']

    [Hughs at the ignorant ant who thinks it can challenge her chosen.]

    Leon read the couple of lines from the world system and felt even more annoyed. As he just turned around and walked away.

    Ignoring the subtle feeling that he lost something again..

 Chapter 318 heavenly food

    Chapter 318 heavenly food

    [Was that necessary?] System asked while Rio and Reba walked through the crowd to a silent ce somewhere.

    ''Stealing this chance? No, but I did say I want to hit 500k by tonight.''

    [I''m talking about poisoning the chef once you were done.]

    ''Come on, a guy who''s teaching others his legacy, just cause they gave a useless life advice that just happened to ignite an idea in his head - is better off dead.'' Rio said in his mind. ''Who knows, maybe leon would tell him to put some salt in some soup some day and that guy wouldugh and teach him everything too. Idiots like him are better to be silenced ASAP.''

    [Hmm] system who had no counter argument could just nod its head and be silent again.

    ording to novel, the day of the party leon would lose his way and walk into the kitchen somehow, and would meet a fat chef, who''s secretly Apollo''s fanboy.

    Leon would help this fatty, who was stuck thinking what should he make for hispetition by saying his mother is sick and he missed the taste of her cooking, and the feeling of home in academy''s food. - this stupid advice would cause the fatty to have a light bulb moment and he''d get his motivation clear for thepetition.

    In return for helping him, and thinking it was fate, he taught leon a cooking skill passed down into his family and left.

    And with this skill mastered to high and beyond level, Leon was able to cook up delicious food in the novel which boasted that the aroma of food could refresh people and spread for miles, and those eating it would fall in love with his cooking.

    There was even a side chapter which said his food can cause other people to be free from their clothes and even have an orgasm just by tasting a bite.

    What does the taste of sugar or chilli on tougue has to do with the fun things down there, author didn''t exin��

    Rio just went there and interrupted this meeting first by saying those same words, and giving the fatty his light bulb moment.

    Knowing this fatty was Apollo''s fanboy who''ll follow leon to death if it meant getting to see or hear apollo once, Rio also poisoned the guy and also made sure he loses thispetition before his death.

    [Poor fatty, he didn''t even see leon once, but is already dying due to him.] System said with sympathy in its voice, totally forgetting it was the one who happily suggested him various poisons when Rio had this idea.

    ___��-

    "Was that necessary?" Reba said, once they were away from all the crowd and she couldn''t even see anyone around.

    ''Just how far did he drag me out?'' She wondered, totally forgetting he let go of her hand ages ago, and she was the one who followed him willingly.

    "What?" Rio asked genuinely, getting out of his system''s conversation.

    "I''m me. And you''re _ who again?" Reba tried to say it in his style and tone, but made a puking expression "Urgh cringy much."

    "Come on, that was cold." Rio said seriously, "Did you see his face? The look in his eyes, hrious." Rio said and smiled as if reminiscing about Leon''s angry face.

    Reba just shrugged her shoulders, not really curious enough to ask why he wanted to pull his leg like that, and waste their precious time together. So she just changed the topic.

    "Anyway where are we? I haven''t been here before." she said, ncing around at the empty forest-like area, where lines of lush trees were all around her.

    "It''s my favorite ce in the academy." Rio said seriously, as he snapped his fingers, and tables, chairs and all kinds of cutlery appeared beneath the shade of a big tree at the side.

    "Is that��?" Reba asked as she looked at his arrangements and noticed therge green tree at the side, which had a big sword sh that nearly cleaved it in two from the middle. She looked around carefully this time and found that though all trees looked the same generally, upon close inspection as she traced her fingers over a nearby tree, she found some name and information carved onto their trunks.

    "Are we in the legacy garden?" She asked, recognizing the ce.

    "Yupp, and that''s the tree nted by our principal." Rio nodded his head and took her hand as he walked over to the sword marked tree.

    Zenith has a tradition of sorts going back to when it was first created centuries ago, called Chrono Blossom Pledge. Basically what it is, is that whenever a new principal is appointed at the academy, he would nt a tree in this garden and swear an oath about what he wanted to achieve in his lifetime for the academy.

    It was meant to symbolize that a person may die and be forgotten, but his past and what he nted remains. A fitting analogy for teachers who can basically nt anything into their students mind.

    "Aunt sure was really mad that day, huh?" Reba said, as she traced her finger over the deep sword mark, spreading from the top of the 25-30 meter long tree''s trunk to the roots below.

    "Well, shouldn''t she be?" Rio said with a genuine smile as he looked at the sword sh and felt the essence of a familiar mana within it.

    This attack was a sign of chaos his mother had caused when she first learned he was dead in that dungeon. When she forced her way in the academy and started killing every examiner who was present in that tournament yet failed to do their job.

    If not for the principal stepping up himself, she might as well have fought those staff to death that day.

    When he first came back and learned everything about what she did from Esme and Erza, he didn''t even know how to react.

    There''s a warm feeling in your heart after having someone care enough about you that they''d do anything for you without hesitation. Knowing that if someone tried to harm you, they''d get you justice or revenge, whatever you want.

    That''s what he felt at that moment. The love and care she had for him. And for that very reason he liked this ce the most in the whole academy.

    But that''s all for another day.

    "Come, let''s have breakfast, or you''ll spend your whole day roaming around like this." Rio said, pulling Reba towards the chairs, and forcing her to sit down, before pulling a chair and sitting next to her.

    "Here, I bought this all for you." He said as he ced a few dishes in front of her.

    "Bought this?" She asked doubtfully.

    "I mean, I got this for you." He corrected himself, or did he.

    Reba looked at the dishes in front of her with a sweet smile. She could see they were all her favorite, and just the way they looked and the aroma they had was enough to tell they were all perfect. "Thanks." She muttered under her breath.

    ''Though he lies more often than he breathes, at least he''s still caring.'' she thought as she lifted the te and a perfect aroma of heavenly food filled the air and making her mouth water, just imagining how good would it taste.

    "Did they really make it? Why does it taste��" She said after taking a bite and forgetting to finish her words in ecstasy.

    "Different?" Rio paused and passed her a second dish. "If that''s not to your liking, you can try this."

    "No, it''s okay. It''s.. Did the chefs really made this?" She asked doubtfully, not believing as what felt like heavenly food, could be made by mortals, and that too from the chefs working at her academy. "It''s too good." She finished.

    Rio coughed hearing her doubt, and chose not to answer, instead of speaking another lie. dly, Ba was more busy on her eating then to focus on him at this moment. Rio, who saw her eating like that in a rush and happy expression just smiled and thought - looks like Amy''s habits are brushing off on her.

    ''Would I need to spend my points on her too?'' He couldn''t help but think, feeling a little regretful getting Ba dishes arranged by the system. ''Well, I earn a lot from her, so I guess I''ll spend some back.'' He thought, while drinking a juice.

    "What''re you staring at?" Ba asked as she noticed her gaze.

    "Just another foodie."

    "No, I''m not." she replied instantly. "I''m just hungry." She said.

    "Now you can''t joke about how I gave you poison on your birthday." Rio seriously replied, remembering how many times she cursed him for that one thing, while passing her another dish. "I''m wondering how can you still look fine while eating like a fatso." He joked. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Reba who smiled sweetly hearing the first part ended up choking on her food as she heard him finish that sentence.

    "Tshmm hahaha" Seeing her coughing madly while ring daggers at him, he just burst outughing.

    "Y_you��"

    "Okay, okay. Don''t be angry, why don''t you try this?" Rio said, trying to calm her anger, but Ba just raised her hand in refusal and stopped him.

    "No, I''m full. It''s enough." She said, looking a little reluctantly at the dishes still left on the table, but thinking if she ate any more, she''d just be sitting in this ce and feel sleepy, ruining this alone time, so she gave up on her stomach''s desires to follow her heart''s wishes..

    "Enough eating, you said you''d follow mymands after I helped you steal all this?" She said.

    "But I did it for you. And don''t call it stealing, that''s a bad word." He replied. .

    "Ohh is that so?" Ba spoke in a teasing tone and started walking. "Come, you''ll have to apany me all day today. So you better not mess with my mood now."

    "Yes, your highness." Rio said doing the same messed up royal salute which only he could get wrong.

    "I told you not to joke around." Ba said, dragging him forward.

    #####

    Author''s info dump��

    Legacy garden is a public ce where anyone cane.

    The trees nted before have the person''s name, the year they were born and died in, and titles for the glorious deeds they did or dreams they achieved for the world.

    {Only titles, so if anyone wants to learn more, they can visit the library and check the records pertaining to that person and his life.}

    The tree nted for this ritual is a little special. Its name is Timeless Birch. Its specialty is that it never withers, it never dies, as long as its seeds keep on passing. Every tree gets stuck in their time and freezes in growth when the next generation of tree gets nted.

    So Artemis trying to chop the current principal''s tree down, also symbolized her resolve to cut the legacy of this academy and shut it down for good.

 Chapter 319 Haunted house

    Chapter 319 Haunted house

    ??"Well where do we go now princess?" Rio asked as Reba just stood at the entrance not sure which ce to visit first.

    "Wait, I''m thinking." She said ncing around at the crowd of students just enjoying their time, ying games or just sightseeing. Feeling confused over what to try first. She didn''t want to go somewhere which had too much crowd or some annoying idiots who could jump up to pester her or ruin their time together.

    Getting no response, Rio sighed and spoke up. "Come, I''ll show you something fun." He said and started walking in one direction.

    "Wait," Reba said as she followed him too.

    Rio took her to a small shop that was set up on one side of the garden, while rows of few students were already standing there and cheering happily from time to time.

    "What''s this ce?" She asked as they walked through the crowd who gave way seeing their appearance. (Being a high noble and known genius sure had its perks.)

    "A race game. Something like what we used to y when we were children." he said as he bought the tickets and walked inside.

    "The ones you always lost." Reba said jokingly which was also true.

    "Lost willingly, cause you were a sore loser and a crybaby." Rio teased back. "Do you know how many times aunt had to step up and ask me to go easy on you."

    "Lies and excuses, that''s all what you''re saying." She replied in total denial. "And I''ll prove it to you by defeating you today."

    �� . (Few minutester)

    "Hehehe I just let you win the first time as a trial, so you wouldn''t cryter on."

    "You just got lucky, I''ll beat you this time." ��2

    "You cheated on that turn by distracting me, let''s y again." ��3

    "My hand slipped, let''s try again." ��4

    "This game''sgging, I clearly turned right on time. Why didn''t my avatar change?" ��5

    "Sigh, it''s too boring, let''s go somewhere else." ��6

    After 6 consecutive losses Reba gave up on her luck and stood up to leave while silently cursing this guy for not even going easy on her once.

    ''Would he die if he lost once, what a show off.'' She said, ring at him as she noticed the students nearby holding theirughs seeing their matches.

    The whole row of shops in that line were just some random small games made by either using illusion magic or tech from the dungeons like video games. Affter trying a few other normal games, Ba got bored and decided to leave, and try something magical. (Or something where she could win.)

    "Come, let''s y that game." Ba said, dragging him to what looked like a casino.

    She always liked betting games, as the high lucky halo of heroine always made her win.

    �� (few minutester)

    "Hahaha you loser, do you need my help to win. Why don''t you ask nicely, and this generous princess would show some pity." Ba said whileughing at Rio who just sat there with a ck face.

    ''System, if you''re messing around with me, I''ll beat yo ass.'' Rio said to his system, not believing how his luck can be so bad to not guess anything right in like a dozen tries.

    "Come on, don''t be sad, I''ll teach you how to y." Ba said, patting him on the shoulder like coaxing a child.

    "This is definitely rigged, let''s go try something else." Rio said and walked out of that shop faster than eye could see.

    "Let''s go to that ce." Ba said, noticing a shop nearby from where she could see a big banner floating upside.

    [A dreamscape]

    Seeing the new name and feeling curious Rio followed her and went to check the new shop. But as soon as he entered through the open doors, a surprise awaited him as he felt he was pulled into an illusion. A stone monument was ced in the empty zone ahead with rules exining what this was about.

    But seeing that this game was a team match that required ten members to start, they both just got out without waiting.

    "What a sham, they should write it that it''s a team battle game, and more yers are needed." Ba said and left, while Rio just stared at the noticeboard at the side, which they both ignored while entrying.

    "That looks like fun." Ba''s voice came to his ears and Rio followed her gaze and found her pointing at a tent house which said ''horror house'' at the door.

    "You wanna go there?" He asked doubtfully.

    "Of course. Are you scared, big boy?" She teased hearing his hesitation.

    "I''m just worried about you, okay. Don''te crying to me when you see a ghost." Rio said jokingly, pointing at the rule board first this time, which said that this tent had spatial properties of a maze and there might be real ghosts trapped inside too.

    "Come on. I can purify them easily with my magic." Reba replied proudly after reading it.

    "Magic''s not allowed to be used inside." Rio said, pointing at the rule which said no magic so no one can damage anything or hurt anyone.

    "Well, anyway I''m not scared. Even if there are real ghosts, they''re probably just some little roaming spirits who''re harmless." Ba said, excitedly moving forward.

    "Remember, that''s what you said." Rio said and followed her with a mysterious smile lingering on his face.

    �� . [Few minutester]

    Phew huhh phew

    "Why the hell did all those damn ghosts swarm us?" Ba said, bent down with her hands resting on her knees as she breathed heavily to calm her racing heart.

    "Maybe they heard you saying you don''t fear them, so they took it personally." Rio said, passing her a bottle of water.

    "You_ you didn''t do anything, did you?" She asked while doubtfully ring at him.

    They had just entered the dark house when all of a sudden dozens of ghosts, real ghosts, ignored everyone else and swarmed onto them. Even the students nearby got a scare of their life with how they always followed and jumped onto them from every corner.

    "Who, me? I didn''t do nothing, swear." Rio said, controlling hisughter while hiding the video recorder that was still on.

    [When H gave you that cloak, she didn''t think you''d use it to lure ghosts in haunted houses and prank girls, host.]

    [And not only to take advantage of girls, but also recording it in video, what a pervy host I have.]

    ''Don''t twist my actions, you idiotic system.'' Rio said to his system, who made him sound so bad.

    I mean he did do those things, but just to scare Ba and record it to tease herter on someday, not to hug her or hold her or anything.

    ..

    "What''s up slowpoke, still cooking up excuses." Reba shouted flying on a Phoenix illusion, while Rio tried to catch her on a flying sword.

    "You''re testing your luck princess, stop hovering above the clouds or you''ll fall down faster when I chop those wings off your birdy." Rio replied.

    "Chop wings, using what? The broom you''re holding," Reba said and burst outughing.

    The game they were ying was simply a game of tag using magical creatures.

    When she rolled the dice itnded on the avatar of a top tier Phoenix, and as for Rio, he got to y the role of a knight in armor flying on a magic broom.

    Knowing he wouldn''t be able to even see the shadow of princess on that low grade magic broom, he just used the loophole and climbed onto the sword he was holding and used it to fly instead.

    Even though the speed didn''t increase, but the image did.

    Flying on brooms is for idiot children and old witches, both personalities not suitable for his handsome appearance.

    "You lost." Ba said, slowing down as the timer on the watch hit zero, and the ethereal form of phoenix disappeared.

    "Yeah yeah whatever." Rio said, walking through the crowd of students.

    "What now? We''ve been roaming around the games for hours." He said, thinking how many years had it been since he spent time so leisurely ying around.

    They''ve been going through the crowd clicking on every shop, checking every game or event nned for this party. Be it gaming, betting, haunted houses, small magicpetition, a fun duel, karaoke and dancing on beats, going through a maze and solving riddles or a treasure hunt. Not to mention the half an hour they wasted just taking various pictures in that one shop down the line.

    - it''s been like this nonstop cycle of walking from here to there excitedly from morning to evening now.

    Though he enjoyed herpany and his time of no worries very much so, it simply wasn''t him.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Something always felt missing, hollow, and he didn''t know how to fix it.

    Acting happy and actually being happy are such a different things.

 Chapter 320 His Funeral..

    <h4>Chapter 320 His Funeral..</h4>

    A/N - This chapter is about MC''s funeral back on earth. And a little bit about his past and friends he cherished.

    Those who''ve read my novel LOSS can skip this, as you would''ve seen it already.

    ###

    Character details -

    (1) Vikram - MC''s big brother back on earth.

    (2) Ali - Hisst and best friend and coworker at the ce he worked at before his death.

    (3) Rangaa - A friend and father figure, who trained him and taught him all about fighting and surviving in the power struggles he was thrown after siding with Shweta.

    (4) Hell - The house where Shiva and Shweta moved in together, aftter they killed Nirvaan.

    ###

    Ali stood opposite a ss wall, separating him from the morgue, where shiva''s body was ced. Looking at the unfamiliar number in his phone, he dialed the call button. But as the rings kept ringing, hesitation crept in his heart if he should just hang up before anybody answers.

    But his hesitation broke as he heard a sound from the other end of the call.

    "Hello, who''s this?"

    "Hi, my name is Ali Arya, I''m sh_"

    "If you''re calling to sell me something, I''m telling you I''m not interested in buying anything. I don''t need any loans, and I certainly don''t want a credit card. So I''ll hang up first."

    "Shiva''s dead."

    Not waiting for the other party to hang up, Ali just skipped his introduction and said his purpose. After some background checks, Emily found the contact details for Shiva''s family members. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Though the rtionship between Shiva and his family wasn''t good, but he still didn''t want to burn their son without informing them.

    "Who are you?" After a long silence from the other side of the call, a voice came to Ali''s ears, asking him his name.

    "I''m Ali, for the past 2 years he''s been working with me, we were friends and colleagues." Ali said patiently.

    "Where''d you get this number?"

    Ali heard another question but telling someone he did a major background check on them, and hacked a few government documents wasn''t actually nice, so he just skipped it, and fucused on the main thing.

    "There was an ident yesterday evening. Shiva_ he died. I''ve nned to held the funeral_"

    Ali was saying something when the other voice interrupted him. "I''m sorry, but you must''ve gotten a wrong number. I don''t know any Shiva. Now please don''t call us again."

    "Wait _you''re Vikram, right? His brother? How can you say that? Didn''t you hear he''s dead now. Is your personal issues so much bigger than his death." Ali ended up shouting as he heard the other party refusing to admit anything.

    "My brother that you''re speaking of died 3 years ago. An insane murderer killed him when he escaped his prison. Whoever it is that you know, that''s not my family. So do whatever you want with his body , bury it, burn it, I don''t care."

    "Tut tut"

    Ali heard the bitter replies from the other hand and crushed his phone in his hands in anger. "Fucking bastard." He said, as he dialed the number again but found it was switched off Or out ofwork coverage area.

    "I told you not to call them?" Shiva''s voice came to his ears as if his ghost was reprimanding him for not following his wishes.

    "If I die, just burn my body and throw my ashes somewhere peaceful. - that''s what I said, remember. Did you forget it already?"

    "I remember." Ali said and turned around to leave. As Emily signaled the doctors to wrap his body up and load it into some ambnce.

    While Ali went forward with the procedures for Shiva''s final rites and funeral, Vikram, the one he called some time ago just held the phone in his hand and stared at the empty broken and burned house all around him, which held all the memories of his childhood and married life.

    "Did you hear it, Babe. He''s finally dead. I''m sorry I couldn''t kill him with my own hands." Vikram said as a tear fell down his eyes, remembering the scene of carnage he saw three years ago with his own eyes.

    It was just three days after his marriage, when even all the rituals hadn''t been finished yet. When a barrage of gunfire and bomb sts destroyed everything around him.

    When he finally came to his senses, all he saw were signs of a bloodbath and corpses all around him, and the one whom he considered his brother snapping the neck of the girl he loved.

    He vowed that day that he''d kill him for killing her one day, but it seems fate had other ns. Before he got ready enough to face that murderer, someone else killed him first.

    "Thank you, God." Vikram said as he looked up at the sky and smiled.

    #

    After burning the body of his friend in a simple manner, Ali collected the remaining ashes in a small pot and stood up to leave.

    Since Shiva didn''t believe in any God, Ali didn''t hold any prayers or preachings for his soul. It was just a simple funeral with him, Emily, Aarvi, Liv and a few of his other colleagues at the office.

    After saying goodbye to everyone Ali asked Emily for an address and take him there.

    After a couple of hours long journey the car came to a deserted ce and Ali walked out of it.

    It was just an empty dialipated building in front of him. Dried out trees, cracked walls and broken windows - all the signs showing no one had been to that ce for years.

    There was even a full hour long documentary on this mansion, exining how a massacre had happened here some years ago, and nearly 50 people were found dead in the most horrific ways. The media said that it took police and CBI more than a week to identify the severed pieces of the various bodies found inside, and gather them to formplete corpses.

    That''s why some locals even called this building a haunted house, and refused to enter inside or get anywhere close to it. There were even rumors that you could hear the screams of ghosts and wailings of spirits from this house at night.

    Yet Ali walked in forward without any hesitation.

    His steps came to a halt as he reached the main gate of that mansion and looked at the name te outside.

    Removing the dust covering it from his hand, he read the stuff written there, and couldn''t help but smile.

    There was just one word, consisting four letters - HELL ��

    "Well I guess, I know who came up with this name." He said with a smile and shook his head and walked inside.

    He walked to a giant tree in the center of the garden , just in front of that mansion and stood there.

    The big tree waspletely empty, with nothing but dried sticks barely hanging with thest support of the deep roots.

    "I guess you did know him a little." A voice broke Ali''s peaceful thoughts. Turning around Ali saw a middle aged man he hadn''t seen in months.

    "Rangaa." Ali muttered, signaling his guards who were ready to apprehend this intruder.

    "What''re you doing here?" He asked, feeling a little wary of the underworld leader of their city who ran nearly a hundred of clubs, casino, bars and mainly fight rings.

    "I''m just here to say my goodbyes. I did know him longer than you, you know." Rangaa said and looked at the big tree which still had two small letters carved onto its dried shaft.

    S & S

    "He uprooted this tree from some park and then nted it here. I remember saying him that it won''t work, Or that it''ll dry down and die. But he insisted, saying it was special and he liked the shade of it." Rangaa touched the letters and started talking as if reminiscing about his past with a smile.

    "Did it work? Did this tree grew?" Ali asked curiosly.

    "Maybe it would''ve. But one day he got drunk and then set it on fire, along with this whole of HELL. So we''ll never know." Rangaa replied with a sigh, his expression unreadable. He watched as Ali pulled the cloth over the pot in his hand and scattered Shiva''s ashes near the tree.

    ''Maybe now you can rest in peace, son.'' He thought in his heart, burying the memories back before they surfaced on his face.

    "I heard you wanted to deal with the guy who killed him yourself." He said breaking the unsettling silence and added, "You have two months. After that, if I see him alive, I''ll burn this whole goddamn city if I have to. Starting with him and ending with Arya''s." Rangaa gave a warning and then turned back to leave.

    Emily, Ali''s assistant clenched her fists hearing someone threaten her employer so brazenly, but before she ordered the guards to teach this man a lesson, Ali raised his hand and stopped her.

    "Let him go." He said and all the guards gave way to Rangaa, who seemed unfazed by all the anger and annoyance those guards showed. Like he didn''t even put them in his eyes.

    And he really didn''t.

    After all, this HELL was once his home turf.. And if he got scared by some newborn baby bodyguards in his own home, then he''s really not worth his title of Kingpin.

 Chapter 321 A murderer

    <h4>Chapter 321 A murderer</h4>

    "Let''s go to that theme park." Ba said pointing at a castle in the middle of the garden.

    Rio, who was getting a little bored ying around, suddenly had his face lit up as he heard that, and agreed readily.

    [Howe you''re more excited about ruining the protagonist than being with her?]

    ''You''re just jealous of me earning points.''

    [You know host, if I don''t see you asionally smiling, I''d say you''re the biggest edgelord I''ve seen.]

    [Just don''t bully the poor kid too much, we still need to pass our time before killing him.]

    ''Of course, who do you think I am.'' Rio said, looking forward to the drama that was about to be unfolded in the grand castle.

    ''Let''s give you another title besides a genius and pervert, my dear protagonist.'' Rio said in his heart and smiled.

    "By the way, isn''t there supposed to be a beauty pageant or something in the fresher''s party for girls? I heard they put ranks for top 5 boys and top 10 girls." Ba asked while holding two sugar cones in her hands.

    Amelia''s influence really did turn her into a sweet tooth too.

    "That''ll happen tomorrow when seniors can participate too." Rio said nonchntly.

    "So do people like go on a stage and walk fashionably or perform, how do they judge?" she asked curiously.

    "You can, if you want to, but it''s not a necessity." Rio said and exined "Like everyone already knows you or me, so there''s no need to for us to show off. But some less famous students do that to increase their votes."

    "Hmm, let''s do that tomorrow then." Ba said suddenly, causing Rio to halt his steps, and look at her doubtfully. "You serious?" he asked.

    "Of course, I am." She replied "I don''t wanna lose to anyone else. It''d be bad if the Royal princess lost to some peasant, don''t you think?"

    "Tell me the real reason." Rio said after hearing her proud words. No way in hell would he believe that bullshit.

    "What_ do you mean? Hehehe _ look we''re already here, let''s go, from that gate." Ba said embarrassingly and then changed the topic when she couldn''t find any excuse.

    She couldn''t just tell him that she made a bet with Amy and A to win, right? Who knows, this guy might purposefully trick her somehow to make his sister win.

    After all, he is quite famous and got a lot of votes on his name too.

    Rio looked at her running back and shook his head and followed her. ''Everything''s changing for the better.'' He thought. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As he stepped in front of the grand castle, walking on the pathway made of snow, the lines from the novel echoed in his ears, as if he could imagine the scene described there like a vivid dream.

    The backdrop of the scene was the same castle as now, but the soothing music had stopped and the cheery scene of the event hade to a halt. There in front of a white haired boy were lying bodies of three students brutally murdered, with their flowing blood covering all the magical snow gathered around.

    "Did you kill them?" Reba asked with a sword drawn over the back of the white haired boy, whose body was trembling in cold fighting the frost spell still affecting him.

    "Answer me." She shouted again, pushing the tip of her sword on his exposed neck until a drop of blood trickled down his skin.

    "They tried to kill me first." The boy said calmly and turned around, his eyes empty and face emotionless as he raised his gaze to look at the crowd of students surrounding him. He raised his hand to touch his neck, only to show everyone his blood stained fingers that had just taken the lives of their fellow ssmates.

    "I gave them a choice to turn back and leave, they threatened to _."

    "They were just normal students, you could''ve knocked them out, captured them." Leon shouted in me, causing his words to stop as other students nodded their heads and dered their views in their whispers.

    "You''re a murderer." Reba said coldly as she sheaths her sword and turned around to leave. Followed by Amelia and Kevin who gave a long look at the dead students and then left without saying anything too.

    Rio looked at everyone''s leaving back and sat down on the bloody snow, waiting for the instructors toe and do their investigation. Taking a potion from his ring, he raised his suit and poured it onto the sword sh at his bleeding stomach andid back down. His empty eyes kept looking at the empty sky devoid of any stars until they slowly closed off with a tired breath.

    [No one would trust you. No one would listen. You''re just the devil they want you to be. Always have been, always will be. A murderer.]

    The words of his goddess echoed in his ears as he slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself locked in a small dark chamber, where he would be forced to stay for the next 7 days.

    "Hey, youing or what?" Ba''s words caused Rio''s train of thought to stop as she pulled his hand and dragged him in.

    Shaking his head with a smile, he pushed all his thoughts aside and walked in. None of those things happened yet, and they never will.

    Rio had just taken two steps when his eyes inadvertently nced at a ck haired boy walking with a brte girl, and a cold glint came to his mind.

    Kevin and Levi, the brother who took his ce in the novel, and the girl, responsible for Amelia''s sad future.

    He looked behind that duo and found Vanessa and Leon chatting in a corner, while a few nobles kept pointing fingers in their direction with hateful eyes.

    In one corner he noticed Edward and Lincoln bullying Damon, by sending him to bring them food and drinks again and again, whileughing at his embarrassed state.

    ''I''m gonna enjoy this party.'' he thought as memories of the novel kept ying in his mind reminding him of how all these guys yed some role in Rio''s suffering.

    ''Let''s start with you, my dear brother.'' he said, looking at Kevin, who suddenly felt a chill down his spine as he looked around carefully but found nothing suspicious.

    "What happened, master?" Levi asked as she ced her hand on his shoulder.

    "I told you not to call me master. You''re not my shadow at the academy, we''re ssmates. Friends even." Kevin said as he shook his head and looked at her with a gentle smile.

    "How can that be, I swore an oath for lifelong loyalty, so you''re my master and I''m your shadow as long as I live." Levi returned his gesture but dered her stance in a proud tone, causing Kevin to give a helplessugh, as he walked away.

    "Well then as your master I''m giving you an order, you can''t refuse me now."

    "But_"

    "No buts, as long as we''re in the academy you''re Levi and I''m Kevin. That''s it."

    "As you wish." Levi said with downcasted eyes like she was in a dilemma, but finally gave up, and agreed. "Kevin.." She muttered, causing her partner to smile sweetly, as he held her hand and led her on the dance tform.

 Chapter 322 Kevin and Levi

    <h4>Chapter 322 Kevin and Levi</h4>

    Kevin Shlok, one of the members from the Shalya n, which is a small ancient family affiliated with the Wandering Star Sect.

    <Aside from guilds, associations, nobles, elites and royals there also exists sects, schools or temples. You can name your organization whatever you want, just have to have enough strength to maintain that status.>

    In the novel, this guy was the one ke family adopted and gave Rio''s ce as an heir to once he was branded as the world killer and devil by everyone, after that one prophecy.

    This guy took his ce, his family and then bowed down to Leon. Giving all what his parents gave to him, to the bastard who wouldtere for their life.

    And the girl behind him, his current shadow, who''s also his future wife ording to the novel, Levi Alden.

    In the novel she was just a nameless orphan girl roaming the streets, who was picked up by some ve organization and sold to the maid markets in her childhood. She showed her talent and got chosen for the shadow training program at ke family.

    Sheter became Amelia''s shadow and filled her ears with all kinds of nonsense to fulfill her own ambition and greed for more power.

    Maybe Amelia didn''t like Rio in the novel due to how he always behaved and acted, or how everyone would make fun of her and avoid her because she was his sister, but still it was the words and actions of Levi that kept fuming the mes of dislike until it turned into anger and then into hatred.

    Turning the big brother in her eyes into Rio, and then Rio into the devil - it was all the doing of this pair of husband and wife.

    ''I''m gonna enjoy butchering you to pieces.'' Rio thought, gulping down a ss of wine as his eyes found the pair happily dancing on the stage, looking into each other''s eyes like none of the others existed in this party.

    Even though none of those things had happened in reality, like he stopped the prophecy, buried the links that tied Kevin to his family, making sure the adoption thingy neveres up, and made sure Levi never sets foot in his house - but still there was this undeniable hatred in his eyes as he looked at them. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Let''s give you a night to remember, my pieces.'' Rio said, walking down the stairs with ss of wine in his hand.

    "Where did you run off to?" Ba said as she finally found him again.

    "I was just getting you a drink." Rio said, showing her the ss of wine in his hands.

    Reba looked at the half ss and scoffed "Hah, lies. I leave you for one minute and you''re gone in the wind. Can''t you just stand in ce." She said, ring at the guy who disappeared when she got called away by one of the girls from her neighboring room.

    "Oohho, didn''t know you booked my brother so much, princess." A voice broke Reba''s lecture and her face, which was quite stern all this time, instantly turned into a blush of embarrassment as Amelia and A came near her.

    "Sigh, now I see why brother wasn''t picking up his phone the whole day, you probably had him walk around on your orders it seems. Poor him." Amelia said and walked over to her brother, raising her hand to touch his face with a sympathetic gaze.

    Rio, who saw her overacting, chuckled in response as he heard her words and saw her faking a pitiful expression.

    "Don''t be sad brother, you just had to bear through one day, imagine how I feel, when she''s always around me like a hungry ghost all day everyday." she said, making a pitiful and tired face.

    "I''m following you?" Reba asked, pointing at herself in disbelief.

    "Or, you even used uncle Max''s name to make sure to get me as a room partner, so you can ask me to help__." Amy said, causing Reba''s face to be covered in the haze of blush, until she finally couldn''t take it anymore and just turned around and walked away, pulling A with her hand too.

    "Wait, where are you going, princess, stop, my brother_ he''s here." Amelia shouted slowly, masking her words with mana so only Ba and A could hear them.

    "Amy," Rio said, stopping her as she wanted to run behind her bestie and tease her a little more before asking about her day.

    "Brother, let''s follow her. " She smiled and said, but Rio''s words came to her ears, causing her to stiffen up. "Stop."

    Amy had a bad premonition in her heart, and tried toe up with excuses to leave her ce, while cursing herself for being stupid anding here to tease Ba when her brother was here too.

    "Brother, I''ll_ I''ll go and _ ohh see that, Rubina is calling me, I''ll be back." She stuttered like a little kid who''s mistakes got caught by her parents. "Yes Reba, I''ming." She said and turned around to leave.

    But Rio ced his hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

    "What happened today?" He asked in a serious tone, and whatever doubt Amelia had of hiding her events, went up in smokes.

    "Brother, I was just _." She tried to say something but failed to find any words.

    "I think I told you not to do anything aggressive, then why?" Rio asked.

    "I wasn''t nning to, I just saw them yesterday and thought _."

    "That you''d lock me with Reba and go beat up those guys yourself." Rio interrupted her and finished her words for her. "I think I taught you better than that, didn''t I?"

    "You did." she replied, as she hung her head down.

    "Then why? Why''d you go and pick a fight with them?" Rio said remembering the news he got from one of the staff members, regarding how Amelia sneaked into the academy library and started an unnecessary fight with a few fourth year students.

    "If not for professor Ryuk interfering in this fight, you know what would''ve happened right? You could''ve gotten punished or suspended, is that what you want?" he said.

    "But you''re not doing anything." She said with clenched teeth "They nearly killed you, and you''re just doing _ nothing."

    "It''s not their time yet, Ames." Rio replied and moved closer as he opened his arms and hugged her. "I''ve told you before, I''ll give punishments to everyone who deserves it, so do not interfere." he said in her ear and let go of her with a smile.

    "Come, don''t be all sad and angry now, let''s enjoy the party." Rio said as he patted her head, when she just kept looking down.

    "I''m not in the mood, I''ll just go back to the room." She said, but stopped again as he grabbed her hand this time. "Stop acting like a brat, my bratty little sister. Come, there''s going to be a big drama tonight, you don''t wanna miss it."

    "You did something?" Amy asked as she raised her eyebrows.

    "No, but I know what someone else''s nning to do. We''ll just enjoy the show, I''ve brought popcorn too." Rio said and finally smiled as Amelia nodded her head and moved her empty hand forward, already asking for her price of staying.

    Rio just threw another bunch of stuff in her storage ring and smiled as she forgot everything and ran towards Reba.

    Rio looked at his phone, and sent a few text to his partners.

    [Ryuk - Handle the situation. Make sure no proof remains or reaches the ears of the elders or the principal. Use whatever methods necessary I don''t care.]

    [Riley - take care of the three students I''ve sent you the names of. Send Yorsvik to do this job, I want it as clean as possible. Tell him, he has one month''s time.]

    [System, delete all data of that fight. No video, audio, crystals, projections anything. Leave nothing behind.]

 Chapter 323 Dance

    323 Dance

    Amelia''s eyes sparkled with mischief as she confronted Reba about her day. "So you just yed around all day long?"

    Reba responded, "Yupp."

    "And you didn''t think it was necessary enough to call me even once huh, what a selfish friend." Amelia said with a pouting face,ining to Reba.

    "I mean_ I did try to look for you, but you weren''t there." Reba said in her defense.

    Well she didn''t lie, she did look for Amy and others, but only so she could turn around and walk in the opposite direction if she noticed them.

    "Where did Rio leave off to?" A asked as she noticed while they were all talking and taking a tour of the castle, Rio had slipped somewhere.

    Reba sneered as if it was expected, while Amy just smiled and said "Oh I_ caused a little bit of ruckus outside today, so he probably wanted to see if it was too much."

    Reba looked at her in surprise and noticing she was serious, she asked "What did you do?"

    "N_nothing, I just got into a little fight, that''s all."

    "And you didn''t hurt them or beat them half to dead?" Reba asked doubtfully, she knew all well of her friend''s anger. She''s literally chaos incarnate when she''s angry just like the goddess who chose her.

    "No, they''re fine. Some staff saw themotion and stopped it." Amelia replied, not telling they were actually 3 ss years above her, and she couldn''t beat them even if she wanted to. Not unless she showed all her skills and used all her artifacts.

    <Why did she still went to fight them, well she just saw themughing and living happily a few days ago, and it ticked her off about how her brother had to suffer while they just enjoyed their time in this safe academy. So she found a few weaker target and a ce where they couldn''t use mana freely and a time when they''re tired and least expect anything. But sadly just after a few fun punches, that idiot staff came and stopped the fight.>

    ''Now that I think, that guy is the one who told my brother probably. Stupid professor.'' Amelia cursed the staff and remembered his face to pay attention next time she does something like this.

    ''How did he know it was me behind the mask anyway.'' She thought suddenly remembering she clearly had a mask that covered her face and disrupted any identification.

    "What''re you zoning off about?" Reba asked and Amelia just shrugged her shoulder and pushed her thoughts aside for now.

    "Let''s go, the dance is starting now." A said bringing both girl''s focus at the open space in the hall below, where shinning lights illuminated everything, a soothing music was ying in the background, as one by one students walked up and started dancing on the stage, some with their friends, some with their partners. Surprisingly in just one month of academy time, there''ve been quite a lot of couples formed already.

    "Princess Reba, can I have a dance with you?" Another boy came up to Ba asking her hand for a dance.

    But got the same polite answer as what she gave thest dozen or so students. "I''m not feeling well."

    The young man looked at Amelia for a second and she just shook her head before he even opened his mouth, and he could just turn around and leave feeling embarrassed.

    "Where did that idiot run off too." Reba asked, looking around the hall and dancing couples with a sour mood.

    "Looking for me." Someone said, tapping her shoulder.

    "For thest time I don''t want to dance for God_." Reba said annoyingly as she turned around, only to stop midway as she realized it was him.

    "Wow, well if you don''t want to then I won''t ask, jeez. Just look at her attitude." Rio yfully said to princess, and pulled Amelia away, before she even came back to her senses.

    "Sorry princess, but brother''s busy." Amelia too, yfully teased before walking along Rio towards the stage.

    "Where did you go?" She asked as they both just stood close and started moving on the rhythm of the music.

    "Just handling your mess." He replied, as he grabbed her hand and moved away, before pulling back in.

    "Did you_kill them?" Amelia asked with some hesitation, making sure no one heard her whisper in the loud music.

    "Not for now, but it will be settled. Don''t worry." Rio said. "Don''t use Gauri''s chaotic blessings openly in the academy again."

    "You still haven''t told me why?" She asked hearing the same advice he''s given her multiple times now.

    "Just know that it''ll attract some attention that''s best not suited for my ns." Rio said, not rifying about how the church of Kali and a mid level boss viin had been looking for a suitable sacrifice to finish their ns, and Amelia is the one they ends up choosing in the novel.

    "Is their some enemy of hers in the academy? She asked talking about her goddess.

    "Not an enemy, but a blind follower who thinks he''s the only one worthy to be her champion." Rio said and added "I''ll handle it soon, in the meantime, you just focus on getting stronger and mastering her skills as soon as possible." Rio said leading her to the center of stage as a light fell on their dancing figurea before moving away.

    "The drama you said haven''t started yet, it''s getting boring." Amelia said after nodding her head for his previous suggestion.

    "Be patient." He said as he stopped since the music ended and a new melody started to y.

    "By the way, Ba looked quite happy with the star and the gifts you got her." She said changing the topic to something else.

    A small chuckle came to his lips hearing that as he replied. "Did she?"

    "Of course, she wouldn''t stop showing off, if I didn''t threaten to steal them away." Amelia teased with a smile.

    "If you''re done badmouthing me, can you stop now."

    A voice broke their happy conversation, but causing both of them tough as they realised who it belonged too.

    "Woah, see brother, she followed me here like a ghost too." Amelia said looking over her shoulder as she saw A and Reba behind her.

    Poor A, who didn''t know anything had her face burn red in shame as the princess pulled her to a dance all of a sudden, making her the center of attention. While Reba just ignored her partner''s failing moves and red at the pair of siblings with her big blue eyes.

    As the beat of the music shifted to a new tone, she left A''s hands and pushed Amy away, before taking her ce in front of Rio.

    Poor Amy just gave her an angry nce before taking A away, to save her from more embarrassment. She was probably the one of the very few who didn''t even know D of the dance.

    "I think you said you didn''t want a dance." Rio said, as he ced her hand on her waist and another on her shoulder.

    "And_" Reba said, ring at him as if to dare him if he can finish that sentence.

    "Nothing, just saying." Rio said barely controlling the urge tough at her antics.

    Reba just humphed in response and pinched him on the neck, causing him to wince in the sudden pain.

    "You broke your promise." She said, looking at his face.

    "Which one?" he asked, not sure what this girl wanted now.

    "When you said you''ll follow me for all day today." She replied.

    "And_"

    "I''m generous so I''ll forgive you if you apany me tomorrow too." She added as she rolled her body in a circle.

    "Isn''t that too big a punishment, I was just gone for 5 minutes." He replied.

    "And I had to deal with 20 boys in that period who came up and asked for a dance." she said and added "If anything, I''m being generous. And what do you mean punishment, it''s a reward half the academy would die for okay."

    "Is that so?" Rio said with a smirk "Well, since it''s an order from your royal highness, this noble heir shall oblige."

    Reba gave a charming smile as she heard his response, causing the students around her to forget their partners and just look at her momentarily.

    "You look pretty when you smile." Rio said as he raised his hand to fix her hair behind her ear.

    She really did look perfect, especially as the light from the party illuminated her face even more.

    Hearing the suddenpliment and feeling the heat near her ear, Reba froze for a second, missing her step and bumping into the girl behind her.

    Giving Rio a ring eye, she turned back to apologize, but found it was another princess, the elven one to be precise.

    "Sorry, it''s his fault." She said and turned back to grab his hand and walking away, not in the mood for any more dance, lest this guy says something like that again, causing her to make a fool of herself.

    While Saisha, who just came to the party some time ago and was dancing with Jaesin who asked for her hand, halted her movements and kept looking at their leaving back, feeling a little ufortable.

    She was wondering what she was feeling or why, when a sudden loud shout broke her thoughts, and everyone else''s too.

    "Ahhhhhhhh"

    "You _ what are you doing!!!! Let go of me. Let go�� .."

    The screaming voice belonged to a girl, and it sounded like she was_ being forced. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The music had just stopped all of a sudden as if on cue and everyone could hear it too now, ''Is this what he meant, when he said a big drama.'' Amelia wandered and looked at her brother''s direction, and noticed his face with a smirk.

 Chapter 324 Make me proud, my dear Kevin

    324 Make me proud, my dear Kevin

    In the dimly lit locked room at the second floor of the castle, the pleas of a girl echoed through the walls as she pleaded for mercy.

    "You��what''re you doing? S.. Stop it. Please." Levi begged, her voiceced with surprise and shock as she looked at the boy in front of him who seemed to not hear her pleas at all.

    "Please, it''s me. Levi, your friend." She said, struggling as the man tried to force herself on him.

    Tears streamed down her eyes looking at the once-familiar face of her master twisted into an unfamiliar, predatory expression that she never thought possible.

    The man, once gentle, now acted like a beast, tearing at her clothes with ferocity. His body pressed over hers, as she screamed and squirmed in vein struggles. While his hot, calloused hands roamed mercilessly on her skin, leaving her heart pounding in terror.

    "Control yourself! Let me go!" she cried, struggling in vain against the overpowering force that held her down. Each touch burned like fire, and her pleas were met with a cold, unresponsive gaze from the man she thought she knew.

    His mouth constantly tried to close in on her, to mark her, to taste her, eat her, yet was blocked every time as she raised both her arms in hope to keep him away.

    She felt her heart jolt in a shock as one of his hands made its way through her clothes and groped her chest ruthlessly, causing her to wince in pain.

    One of his hands had grabbed her neck and was slowly choking her, while the other constantly moved between both her mounds, pressing them hard, molding them in a shape his fists moved. His actions were far from the gentle personality she was ustomed to, leaving her bewildered and broken.

    And it hurt.

    "Why are you doing this,... Please.. Stop it." She begged again in between her sobs, her breath getting heavy and body exhausted as he grabbed her shoulder and turned her over. Sitting on her back before she could move and slip away from the bed, his nails dug deep into her skin when he tried to get her free from those bounds of clothes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Arghh.. please God no, don''t do it." She pleaded in her broken voice and teary tone hoping for a stop to all this madness.

    When Kevin had called her to this room alone, she never thought this is what it would lead to.

    She knew he liked her, and wanted her, she could see it in his gaze when he looked at her. When he''d sneak a few nces when she walked ahead, or touch her slowly when she tried to help him dress or get ready.

    And every time he''d blush hard and be embarrassed over those simple gestures. She thought he''d fall for her, even propose to her, but never did she think that this gentle boy whom she thought she had wrapped around her finger, would actually turn out to be a beast who''d want to ravage her at first opportunity he found.

    11:26

    "Please _ don''t��" She muttered, losing strength in her body and feeling limp. The dark room felt oppressive, and hope dwindled with each passing moment.

    But just then a voice sounded in her ears, breaking her chain of thoughts looking for apromise and igniting her spirit again.

    "Leave her alone."

    Levi''s eyes fluttered open, and hope flickered as a figure materialized in front of her walking through the solid door. His form was shining bright and ethereal to eyes, looking just like a holy spirit of light.

    For a second she even had an illusion like she was staring at an angel or a God. Until the light disappeared and the ethereal form started taking physical form of a young man.

    It was someone she knew, not particrly, but someone she saw in the academy and on her socialwork - the first ranker, and the femboy pervert, Leon Heartwell.

    Looking at the timely rescue before Kevin could rip her clothes from the back and ruin her chastity, Levi breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Help��" She wanted to ask for help as Kevin was still sitting over her thighs, when she felt some movement on her back, and the weight automatically disappeared.

    Kevin, who was like a blind horny beast all this time seemed to have finallye back to his senses at this moment. Confusion and disorientation clouded his expression.

    Seeing someone pressed below him battered and bruised, he gave it no thought and moved his body to the side on instinct.

    Getting off the bed he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and frowned. He held his head, as he tried to recollect his memories, while suppressing the worst hangover-like headache he was feeling.

    "Wh�� what happened? Where am I?!!!" He muttered to himself as he failed to remember anything about how he got here or what he was doing.

    Thest thing he knew was drinking a ss of wine in the hallway by the stairs, but what''s next? It was all so blurry to him, like shadows moving in a dense fog. He could see it here and there, but couldn''t make sense of anything.

    How did he end up here? Did he get drunk, or did someone drug him? And who was this girl? Was he about to �� ?

    As his thoughts reached to that point he himself shook his head in disbelief, he would never do such a thing.

    But then looking at the crying girl huddled into a ball, with her head held between her knees as she kept sobbing and shaking, it was clear. He did do her wrong.

    He looked at his hands and then at the girl''s torn clothes and felt ashamed of himself.

    Why? Why would he do that? What happened to him? Couldn''t he control himself? Shame on him. ..

    Anger, guilt, shame gripped his heart as the headache he felt intensified even more.

    Yet all these emotions and questions had to be pushed aside as a new feeling rose in his heart and took over everything when he heard the sound of footsteps rushing outside.

    ''My clothes _ the party..'' It took a moment for him to look out the window and realize he was still at the academy.

    ''I can''t get caught?'' He thought as he realized what kind of hell level scenario he was stuck in. Panic scared his soul as he imagined the repercussions of his actions.

    "Umm �� hello." He said with much hesitation, as he raised his hand to touch the girl, to see if he could somehow get out of this situation, but before his hands touched her, someone grabbed his wrist and punched him in the face.

    Only now did the pain make him realize that the ethereal ghost he considered nothing but his hallucination, had be a living person who could punch him.

    Leon, who saw this rapist still trying to get his dirty hands on that pitiful girl clenched his fist and stopped him.

    "Keep your dirty hands off her." He said righteously. Giving another nce at the crying girl who after hearing themotion moved back further, and grabbed whatever her hands could find to cover her exposed body.

    Kevin looked at the cornered girl on bed, her ck mascara mixed with lines of tears staining her face, with surprise and shock. His guilt increased by another degree as he recognized her.

    ''Levi��''

    His words stopped in his throat. Leaving him with a wide mouth but no voice.

    He could literally hear the sound of his heart breaking as he looked at her and then realized what he tried to do with her.

    But it all needed to be pushed aside as someone started banging the door of their room. Kevin looked at Levi who was still shaking in fear, while Leon, who ignored him and moved towards the bed to help her.

    With the urgency of the situation pressing in, Kevin grappled with the need to address the impending threat.

    ''I need to handle this.'' He thought, while flipping through his storage ring in a hurry trying to find something that could help him. Until his eyes finally found the one thing he was looking for.

    [Momento Matrix] - An old book with an hourss pattern on the cover. When looking at it closely one can always have the illusion that the sand was falling down slowly.

    [ve''s Silence] - A small iron chain used to ensure a ve''s obedience.

    Grabbing the two artifacts he gritted his teeth and rushed towards the duo. Cutting his hand with a de he pressed it onto the cover and breathed a sigh of relief.

    ''I did it.'' He thought with a small smile on his lips.

    Just outside the door,

    [The idiot took the bait, host.]

    [Congrattions on avoiding another future trap g.]

    ''Just show me a nice show, my dear brother. Make me proud.'' Rio said with a cruel smile in his mind. Getting ready to break down this door and lift the cover from the stage he prepared.

    ##

 Chapter 325 You’re the rapist? no, you are?

    <h4>Chapter 325 You''re the rapist? no, you are?</h4>

    "The voice came from here, right?"

    "Yeah, I can still hear some crying sounds."

    "Is it some idiot, don''t they know it''s the academy? How dare they try and do this here? That too when everyone is just outside."

    "Maybe someone got too drunk. The seniors did get some quality booze for the party."

    "Are you insane? Even if you''re drunk don''t you see what time and ce it is? And that too forcing a girl?"

    "Maybe it''s a kink, and they''re roleying. Who knows?"

    "Are you serious? Can''t you hear the screams of struggle all this while?"

    "Don''t look at me, there are all kinds of people out there."

    "Yeah, I once saw a girl getting whipped through my window. When I went there to check and help, I heard her moaning louder than the DJ ying outside."

    "Seriously you two�� Don''t talk to me."

    "What''s the punishment, you know, if he really is raping someone?"

    "Who knows, depends on who it is, if you ask me?"

    "Yeah, if it''s somemoner they''d be crippled or killed, but if it''s some noble or elite family''s child then it getsplicated, they''d just expel him in that case."

    "Shut your mouth, youmoner. No noble son would do something like this. Open your mouth to trash talk us again, and I''ll shove my shoes inside that shithole of yours."

    Outside the room a crowd had gathered and everyone was trying to push each other away and walk closer to see who was this daring to try something like this on a social asion.

    Hardly a few were worried about the girl, while most people were just curious about the idiot who''s this blind and brazen to create a drama like this so early on his stay in the academy.

    The door was locked from the inside and breaking it was gonna take a little while as every wall, window or any entrance was inscribed with runes and magical patterns to secure the academy.

    Rio, who knew and nned every step of this drama, had secured himself a front row seat of this stage as he stood at the front, watching as Amaya used her skill to guide a few students to bypass the formations and break the door.

    But just before she gave her final instruction to Valtor, the door crashed open as someone flew right outside the door.

    Some students fell down in a puzzle as they saw someone crashing into the front, while others moved closer to take a look at this sudden change.

    "Who''s that?"

    "He came from the inside right?"

    "He''s not from any noble family!!!" Amoner student said with some disappointment, as he was sure in his heart only those arrogant nobles could be this degenerate.

    "But he looks injured? Was there a fight? Why didn''t I hear any sounds of that?"

    Ignoring the chatter of those around him Rio just took a nce at the fallen student and smirked.

    ''So this is how you want to y huh Kevin'' He thought, already aware of what changes transcribed in the few moments time had been frozen without anyone''s notice.

    Kevin stood up slowly and coughed a mouthful of blood on the ground as he felt the burning pain on his chest. His clothes on the upper body were still leaving smoke signs as a few burn marks were visible on his chest.

    But before he could stand up someone grabbed his cor and lifted him up. He raised his face to see who it was when a punchnded on his face, knocking him down again.

    "What did you say to me, you bastard? Say that again?" Leon said as he bent down and grabbed his hair to make Kevin look him in the eyes, before giving him another solid punch that broke his nose.

    "Why aren''t you speaking so haughtily now huh.(punch) I''ll teach you a lesson so hard you''ll never forget your ce." He said, raising his fist for another punch when someone grabbed his hand.

    Leon tried to exert some strength but found it was futile, so he turned to look at the one who stopped him.

    "Get your hands off me." He said angrily, as he jolted his hand with mana and tried to free himself, but noticing his movement, Valtor also used his mana and pulled him away.

    Leon''s body crashed into the broken door and he fell down.

    "Stop." Valtor said, pointing his sword at Leon who instantly stood up after the fall and tried to fight again.

    Ignoring his warning, Leon had his eyes fixed on Kevin and rushed forward again. But this time, Amaya blocked his path instead.

    "He said stop." She said in a stern tone as her eyes glowed silver for a second, warning him of the consequences he would face if he took another step.

    The heroine''s words finally seemed to fall into Leon''s ears as he woke up from his angry state and looked around at the gathered crowd, all staring at him and Kevin with perplexed eyes.

    Taking a long breath to calm down he gave a final nce at Kevin, who slowly stood up and held his broken nose and bleeding mouth while staring at him with hateful eyes, Leon just scoffed and turned back to leave.

    But his steps came to halt as still shocked students refused to give way to him. "Move," He said, pushing the student at front with his hands, when someone grabbed his shoulder and turned him back.

    "What were you doing in that room?" Valtor said, looking at Leon.

    "What does it matter to you?" Leon said in annoyance before turning back to leave. "Just do your job."

    Leon took just one step and stopped as he felt the cold iron of a sword touch his neck. "I''ll ask again, what were you doing in that room?"

    The surrounding students, who also got out of their surprised states, pointed at Leon and started asking questions. Obviously his halo of protagonist made sure everyone thought badly of him and used him as the culprit even without any proof.

    "Were you the one forcing yourself on some girl?"

    "Trying to rape someone at the academy, you cheater." <cheater is the nickname some jealous students gave him cuz they say he won his rank by cheating.>

    "I knew he was no good after I saw that video on Whisper."

    "Yeah, first a pervert and now a rapist."

    "Just look at his face(pointing at kevin), that poor guy must''ve tried to stop this beast, that''s why he''s so angry."

    "I knew nobles were no good thing. Arrogant viins."

    One by one everyone started ming Leon and the voices only grew louder, causing Leon who wanted to silently leave after saving someone without taking any credit, and avoid any big drama to save the girl''s reputation, to stop and say his answer. "Shut up, speaking without any proof and judging people without even knowing anything, you all are really good."

    "None of you even asked about that girl or went to check up on her, just standing here like statues, watching drama from the sidelines, how dare you call me the viin." He said righteously, shaming everyone around him in vigorous words.

    He looked at Kevin and continued his words "He was the one who tried to force himself on the girl, and I was the one who saved her."

    He looked at Valtor still pointing his sword at him and said "And you, instead of punishing the one responsible for the crime, you point your sword at her savior just to settle your personal anger which clouds your judgment."

    Valtor too hesitated for a second hearing his sharp words, he obviously chose to ignore the part where this idiot said personal anger, cause if anything he was just suspicious of him for hiding his God, nothing else. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But that aside, Valtor turned his face at Kevin who was also ring at Leon with clear signs of anger in his eyes.

    "You �� don''t you have any shame." Kevin said as he limped and walked in front of Leon, until Valtor turned his sword on his face to keep them distanced. "You tried to�� .. Tried to do that to her and now you''re ming me, you fucking rapist."

    "What did you say??" Leon asked, feeling perplexed over this stupid allegation.

    "I don''t care if you''re a noble or a top ranker, I''d kill you, even if I get expelled." Kevin said, ring his mana as he brought a sword from his ring too, "How dare youy your hand on her. She''s my friend, my shadow, you damn bastard."

    ''hahahaha bravo performance my dear brother.'' Rio said in his heart as he heard the choking tone of Kevin with all those emotions he showed on his face and anger he expressed through his actions.

    ''If there was an Oscar in Arcadia, I''d be sure to give you one.''

    [How about a standing ovation hahaha]

    ''Sounds nice. A p for a p it is.''

 Chapter 326 idiots falling into trap one by one

    <h4>Chapter 326 idiots falling into trap one by one</h4>

    The crowd of students just kept exchanging nces between Kevin and Leon wondering which one of them was the viin and which one is the victim. They both had started an argument over who''s the rapist and the drama was just getting bigger.

    Themotion had attracted even the students who at first didn''t care and just focused on their eating and drinking for the party. And it was clear that soon enough someone from the student council or staff would be here too.

    ''Wonder what Lisa''s reaction would be when she hears her brother being called a rapist? Her whole reputation would be ruined.'' A sudden thought came into Rio''s mind as he looked at a camera crystal blinking bright in the corner and looked away as what happens in her life didn''t matter to him anymore.

    Rio looked at Vanessa, who was staring at Leon with frowning eyes lost in her thoughts, while Amaya as always was looking at everyone else closely trying to get a read on what''s going on in their mind.

    To her all this bs was her survival guide for the future. The knowledge that''ll help her in using, manipting and controlling all these people if ever a need arises.

    Katherine and Rubina, the two heroines advocating strength, stood there with a te of food in their head. Both probably thinking the same thing as to beat the one responsible instead of lecturing and wasting time.

    Saisha, along with her entourage of elves was staring at all this scene from a far corner, while the pure and kind hearted A just stood near him, with her fist clenched in anger.

    To her rape was the most vile act of crime anyone couldmit, as she had heard the screams and seen the consequences of such actions in the colony she grew up in her childhood. Despite her years of relish life with the ke family, a shadow of that trauma and those incidents still lingered in her mind.

    "It''s okay. He''ll be punished." Rio said, cing his hand over her shoulder, as she nodded her head with a deep breath.

    Valtor, who was calmly trying to assess the situation before judging anyone, was pushed aside, as a few nobles and rankers who were jealous and angry at Leon came forward to teach him a lesson.

    After all, Leon not only showed off that he''s better than them every time in spar battles, but also stopped them from bullying othermoners quite a few times too.

    Edward and Lincoln, who had a long standing feud with him, wanted to take this chance and cripple this bastard again, while Hermann, his childhood enemy was just throwing snarky remarks onto the ears of those around him, fuming their feelings tosh out at Leon.

    He hated the guy, but he was no fool. He knew Leon''s character best, and knew he was innocent, that''s why if he wanted to harm Leon he could only do it in the secrecy of a high crowd. Cause if he openly moved forward alone like those two idiot nobles, he''d be med or punished by the staffter on too.

    "Are you insane? Trying to put the me on me when I was the one who caught you and threw you out." Leon said as he tried to grab Kevin, but was held back by some students.

    "Shut the fuck up, you cheating noble. If I don''t cripple you today, I won''t sleep peacefully. Let me go." Kevin too, following the same ferocity and viciousness acted his part, giving his all to show his righteousness about how angry he was for his shadow.

    ''And_ he slipped.'' Rio said to himself as he noticed Amaya frowning as she nced at Kevin. His perfect acting may fool others, but to her it started to look sloppy the moment she started seeing teeny tiny hints through his clothes, through his speech and how he tried to sell his emotions by shouting MY shadow again and again.

    [She''ll turn this stupid into her ve if she ever found any proof.] System spoke, confirming his hypothesis about Amaya''s hidden grin behind her worried face. [You better hurry up if you want to take advantage of him.]

    ''That aside, is it just me or does Leon look extra angry to you?'' Rio asked, noticing something wrong with the protagonist''s over anger behavior.

    [Loki chuckles seeing the drama unfold. Saying the seeds of chaos are always flourishing when you sprinkle a little lie in the mix.]

    "...."

    ''H, what did your father do?'' Rio said as he heard Lokiughing through his connection with H. This pair of father-daughter duo was sure bonding better every day now.

    [H sighs and shakes her head, saying it''s his usual tactics, nothing new.]

    ??? Rio, not understanding anything, didn''t think anymore. Loki probably told some lies in Kevin''s mind causing him to confuse something. Or maybe he tricked Leon somehow.

    While Rio was busy in his thoughts, Edward and Lincoln were in front of Leon, ready to teach him a lesson while other students kept hold of Leon''s and Kevin''s hands.

    But just when Edward was ready to give a kick to Leon''s manhood after finishing his righteous speech about what should be done to rapists like them, who can''t control their sticks, - Vanessa came forward and pushed them away.

    "Stop shouting." She said while shouting herself.

    "Don''t start a fight if you don''t know the truth. Leon was with me, all this time. And only left after the sound of screams came to the hall. He couldn''t have done anything." Vanessa finished her words, causing the students to go silent over this sudden reveal.

    Color drained a bit from Kevin''s face hearing this, and Amaya smiled more, bing more and more sure of her doubts.

    Vanessa was right, Leon was with her just before Levi started screaming. But with this statement she just jumped into the hole Rio dug for her.

    ''Since you want to protect him so much, let''s see you fall too.'' He thought as he walked in front of her and started speaking with a smile that seemed gentle on the surface and mocking in the eyes of Vanessa.

    "Miss Belmont, I get that this guy is your new ''friend'' these days, but you don''t need to cover up his crime." Rio said, "Especially when the truth is out for everyone to see." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "What lies? He was with me��"

    "For a while, but then he left and never returned."

    Vanessa wanted to speak something, but Rio interrupted her and finished her sentence.

    "I wasn''t feeling well with the noise so he went to get me something to drink." Vanessa said honestly.

    "Drinks are on the opposite side of where we are, miss Vanessa. Or are you saying that he was not only faster than everyone else to rush here after hearing the screams, but also broke and bypassed the academy doors, locked from inside in a few seconds time."

    "Yeah, I bet he was already inside."

    "See, even my angel said so, he''s the culprit for real."

    "Let''s just drag him to the staff office and get him expelled. I don''t want to be in the same ss as a rapist. Who knows who''ll be his next target."

    "Fuck, just seeing his face disgusts me."

    "Hey wait, I saw him staring at Rio a few times, do you think he''s into boys too."

    "What? We need to get him expelled ASAP."

    Curses had started echoing like a chant as Rio stepped forward and talked against Leon.

    "He was inside the room too. Do you think he can do those things?" Vanessa coldly said looking at Kevin, who as if already prepared for this question, brought out a ck and white disc with a yin-yang pattern.

    "It''s a treasure that can help me bypass lower grade runes and ss 3 arrays and below." Kevin said, showing the artifact to everyone. Quelling their doubts about him even before they rose into words.

    "You see that Miss Vanessa, what now? Any other lie you want to speak for your friend, or maybe if he''s right, you can convince him to show us what he was doing in that room Or how he got inside." Rio said, smirking in his heart as he noticed Vanessa looking at Leon hopefully thinking he probably has a simr treasure which helped him bypass those things, but Leon, instead of answering or meeting his gaze, turned his eyes away.

    ''Was I wrong about him?'' Vanessa couldn''t help but think, seeing Leon''s hesitation. While Rio, who saw both their reactions, just smiled silently.

    ''How can a protagonist show his Trump card out in the open over little things like this.''

    Leon looked at Rio angrily for a few seconds before turning to look at the broken door of that room, through which he could hear the footstepsing out.

    "Who''s right and who''s wrong, why don''t you ask her instead. She''s the victim, she can surely identify her assant." Leon said, walking towards Levi with slow steps, whom Reba and Amelia brought out after calming down.

    [Hahahaha poor idiot. He doesn''t know how he got yed.] Systemughed as it enjoyed the naivety of Leon who failed to understand if his truth could so easily be ousted, then why would Kevin even lie for so much time.

 Chapter 327 Leon, the pervert and the rapist

    <h4>Chapter 327 Leon, the pervert and the rapist</h4>

    ''Brother, did you know about this?'' Amelia sent a telepathic message to Rio as she entered the room following Reba and saw the condition of everything.

    The broken stuff, burning candles, tattered clothes thrown around and the crying girl wrapped in a boy''s jacket - painted a grim picture of a sad reality in front of Amelia, and her anger was rising every second.

    Rio, who heard her words could already feel the emotions she might be feeling at this moment.

    Being the avatar of a goddess, who had a hard time controlling her anger, the rage was something that''s been passed down to Amy with all the blessings and support she received. That''s why she always tries to mask her persona with a happy, cheerful girl to better learn to control or suppress her anger.

    She''s done quite a good job of handling those blessings and mastering them without losing control, much better than how she did in the novel. Yet there are times when even her perfect persona cracks up and her rage takes over her thinking, like when seeing the enemies of her brother being happy and enjoying their life, or when seeing a girl going through something like this.

    To Rio, who had lost his sanity and care for the world lives before, this was just another crime and just another victim.

    He had seen the newspapers and victims of rapes and molestations back on earth, and he had seen it happening in Arcadia too. It was simply the nature of some people to be that twisted and no matter how many you kill or how cruel a punishment you announce, there''ll always be some insane idiots who''d still do it. So he simply stopped caring.

    Not to mention the bitch who was crying deserved all that came to her.

    Maybe she didn''t do anything in reality, but just imagining a scene where she could drive a wedge between him and his sister, causing them to fight against each other, and even going as far as to be hungry for each others lives, he couldn''t let her live.

    He wanted to kill her to make sure those plotlines never ever happen by any chance, but then there was still his idiot brother left, who also needed to be dealt with. That''s why he made some drastic changes in his ns.

    ''Brother��'' the voice of Amelia came to his ears again, but he let it be and didn''t reply. [You''re being hard on her, you know. She''s a girl too, so what you can shrugg off saying ''It happens'' she can''t. Not in the cases like this.] System said taking the side of Amelia andining to it''s host for being selfish and never thinking about others.

    Rio, who heard theining tone in his mind, just shook his head and replied ''She needs to learn system, not just controlling her anger after seeing the cruelty of this world. But also to make her own decisions, about what to choose between what''s right and what''s necessary.''

    [But she has time. And she has you. Then why pressure her.]

    ''Cause Fate is moving fast, extremely so, as all the plotlines and scenarios are getting pulled ahead.'' Rio said and continued ''Sooner orter, her events would start too. Those mad cultists would find her, and they woulde after her. And I don''t want to worry myself to death everyday if I get trapped somewhere and have to be away from her. She grew strong in magic, she just needs to steel her resolve over time too.''

    [Murder and rape arepletely different crimes, host. One is a mortal kill and other a moral scar.] System said and exined [Just take you for an example, you''d kill anyone and everyone without batting an eye, yet hesitate and back off if it''s raping someone.]

    ''Don''t try to drag me in the mud system. It''s not that I can''t do it, more like I don''t do it. And besides would Amy be cruel enough to use these tactics to win, you know how many battles would begin in the future and how many enemies would pop out with all kinds of ways and ns to kill her.''

    [And you think she can''t survive if she has a moralpass.]

    ''Morality is good to have as long as she''s not foolish enough to choose it over her life. Now shut up and let me watch.'' Rio said and silenced the system, which was getting annoying to be answered.

    Like bitch could read his mind and see his thoughts, but it has toe out and ask these stupid stuff just to annoy him.

    Shaking his head Rio turned his attention back to the scene where everyone was looking at Leon who was trying to convince Levi that he was the one who saved her, and after she just came out and pped him.

    "Y_you monster." Levi said and walked towards Kevin and hugged him.

    Leon looked at this scene in disbelief, not sure to what was happening. How proud he was when he saw hering out, thinking the truth will be out and he''ll be a hero, but who knows she just walked up to him and pped him.

    "You_ did he threaten you? You don''t have to be scared, just speak that it was him and the academy would kick him out."

    Leon said and without waiting for her response further added. "That has to be it, he''s the same as that Nishkal family''s bastard, he must''ve threatened your family right. But you don''t have to worry, I''ll protect ��"

    "I think you should worry about protecting yourself." Valtor said and looked at Leon with some disappointment. Not in him, but at himself for thinking this guy was a nice challenge or a rival to surpass.

    Leon just stood there hearing curses and taunts from all the students surrounding him,beling him as a pervert and a rapist. Simply a beast in human''s clothing. The word of cripple that he hated echoing again as their pointing fingers reminded him of all his past bullying and trauma too.

    The mark of sun on his forehead brightened for a small second along with his anger, but then disappeared again. Obviously somehow his halo and luck made sure no one could notice this abnormality, everyone except Rio, who just furrowed his brows in response.

    ''It still isn''t enough huh.'' He thought.

    Edward amd Lincoln, who wanted to take this chance to punish Leon, ignored Vanessa who was also surprised by this kind of reveal and stood there frozen, and tried to finish the job this time.

    But Leon, seemed to be out of his trance and trauma at this moment and before their kicks and punches couldnd on him he pushed both of them away and walked in front of Levi.

    "Get back." Valtor said as he pointed his sword at Leon''s neck until it left a shallow cut, but the protagonist ignored it and just kept looking at Kevin and Levi.

    "This is a truth seeker gu, when you hold it in your hand and bathe it in a drop of your blood, you won''t be able to lie for five minutes." Leon said, bringing a small round worm from his pocket.

    "So now you even want the poor girl to take this gu and torture her further." Rio, who saw this scene and knew Leon wanted to give this Gu to Kevin, directly interfered to change the course of events. "Is the fact that she came to p you and then went to him seekingfort not enough, or the fact that she''s still wearing his clothes to cover herself , a joke in your eyes."

    Kevin, who was also surprised and scared a little after seeing Leon passing him the Gu, breathed a sigh of relief hearing Rio''s words. The crowd started moring at Leon calling him a true evil bastard and a sadistic psycho, whocked even a pinch of sympathy for anyone. While his performance of still adamant on not epting that he was at fault also gave voice to some people who started taking his side. Yet all this was just a backdrop..

    Kevin turned his face to Levi, and held her shoulders "You don''t have to do it, if you don''t want to. I trust you, and that''s enough."

    Hearing the genuine words of her master Levi took a deep breath and took the Gu from Leon''s hands before he could evene back to his senses.

    After dropping a drop of blood on the worm, the white gu worm shone brighter for a second, showing the connection waspleted. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I''m here for you." Kevin said and grabbed her other hand, trying to calm her and himself down.

    Everyone waited to see what Levi was gonna say next, especially Vanessa and Leon, who had their eyes glued to prove something. Leon had full confidence in the worm as he had used it before, but Levi''s next words stunned him into silence.

    She looked at Leon with a tearful expression and gritted her teeth, as she announced "He''s the one who tried to..to force himself on me. And master was the one who saved me." As her words finished she crushed her fists, and killed the worm directly.

    Throwing whatever remains of it on Leon''s face.

    "Wha��???" Leon was too stunned over what she said that he didn''t even have time to be sad over the treasure he lost.

    He couldn''t understand what was happening, it was clear he saved her, but why did she me him instead. Why did she lie and how, when she was sworn to tell the truth. So many questions but no time to think of an answer.

    Cause that one sentence from Levi tilted the public opinion whole , and pushed Leon to the rapist category.

    Rio was gloating on sess, thinking what would Apollo do now to save Leon.

    Since the God''s main goal was to get Leon famous and earn reputation and followers through his help, but somehow this guy kept getting titles that were too shameful to speak for.

    [She''s here , host.]

    The system''s sudden notification stopped Rio''s thoughts. Looking up he saw a figure of an old friend standing there with a frown on her face, and a cold look in her eyes..

    [Looks like she''ll save him from being crippled by this crowd.] System said, watching as all of a sudden dozens of students followed Edward and Lincoln into attacking him.

    ''Not necessarily.'' Rio gave a smirk and looked up. ''Loki, isn''t it about time you do something.''.

    [Hehehe as you wish.] A chuckle came to his ears as the God of trickster chose to y another trick.

 Chapter 328 The girl who lost her all

    <h4>Chapter 328 The girl who lost her all</h4>

    Kevin finally breathed a sigh of relief as his n was sessful and he was saved.

    Just when the crowd started beating the door he pulled out his two artifacts, one which froze everything momentarily, giving him enough time to use his second artifact ve''s Silence, one which can be used to control their ves perfectly.

    The n of Kevin had the habit of marking their chosen maids by ve mark to make sure none betray their masters. This mark and control is then handed over to the person they''re assigned to.

    Though the naive fool Kevin had already freed Levi from ve duties and made her a shadow by his side, he couldn''t erase the mark applied on her soul. Atleast notpletely.

    That''s why by using the artifact that could control a bound ve perfectly, he altered a few things in Levi''s mind. Recing roles of his own and Leon''s. Leading to the current scene.

    "I''m sorry Levi. I didn''t want to do this either, but I had no choice'' He said in his heart knowing what kind of effects that artifact could have on her. He turned his eyes and kept watching Leon struggling against the mad crowd of students, as he kept hugging the beauty.

    [Lokiughs at your foolishness.]

    A sudden message on the world system broke his thoughts and got him thinking about why a God was paying attention to him here.

    [The little trick of yours would onlyst for about 12 hours before she gains back her memories, and then she''ll have you caught.]

    ''What? That''s impossible.''

    [Hehehe, me your naivety for removing the original ve mark. You idiot mortal.]

    ''Whattt?''

    As Kevin heard the words of Loki a shiver ran down his spine as he realized he really was a fool. He should''ve realized it when he felt the rejection during the memory spell.

    ''No, no, no, it can''t be. I can''t get caught. I still have to win my ce at the sect. Prove myself in the academy. Wait, do I need to�� kill her to�� No, what am I thinking, she''s mine..''

    While Kevin started spiraling down his own thoughts theughter of Loki kept echoing in his earsughing at hising misery.

    [Don''t worry about the punishments, mortal. The genius will kill you first before the academy does. Hehehe]

    Loki''s next word brought his focus back to Leon, who was ring daggers at him in hatred and anger, as he med him for all these insults and loss of reputation.

    As for ming Levi, well, how can a protagonist ever me a pretty girl.

    [Oh his sister is here to save him. Ahhhahaha you''re dead kid. Dead, done and dusted. Unless of course, you kill him first.....] Loki''s yful words came to his ears, as Kevin remembered who Leon''s sister was. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''No, I_I can''t let him live.'' A sudden thought was nted in his brain and the more he heard of Loki''s words andughter, the more sure he became that he needed to kill Leon to ensure his safety.

    ''Not just him, maybe I should kill her too.'' This thought also started growing in his mind as he nced at Levi. The hand holding her tightening its grip, until he heard her groan in pain and woke up again.

    ''No, no, no, what am I thinking, I can''t kill her. I love her. Yes, I''ll just talk to her and exin that someone drugged me and she''ll understand. She likes me too, right. She has to be.'' Surprised by his own thinking, Kevin hurriedly tried to push that thought away, as Loki silently whisked away as his job was done.

    [Loki, you know I''ve seen my fate right. These two guys are supposed to be best friends and that girl, his future wife.]

    That''s what Rio told Loki this morning, and it certainly felt exhrating for Loki to break the ns of fate.

    He loved this feeling. To show a middle finger to high heavens and say fuck you fate. To be a rebel and feel free of anyone''s constraints. It was almost addicting. Not to mention the free drama he gets to watch.

    ''I was right to choose him as my puppet.'' Loki thought in his mind while giggling to himself, over his decision to let H choose Rio years ago. ''I bet even the old man Odin and the arrogant Luci, won''t see himing, hahaha it''s going to be so much fun.''

    Rio, who closely watched all of Kevin''s changing expressions, was already aware that the idea of enmity between the hero and this idiot brother of his was nted sessfully, so he just turned back and prepared to leave.

    Already aware of what might happen next.

    "You''re leaving?" Reba asked as she followed him too.

    "Well, the council president is here, and I know from personal experience that she''s righteous and moral, so I''m sure she''ll be impartial and do the right thing." Rio said as he walked by Lisa who was moving ahead to save her brother from the angry mob. "Even though it ends up hurting those close to her."

    Lisa halted in her tracks as the words of Rio reached her ears, causing a distant memory to resurface again.

    .....

    The red sky spreading waves of corrosion mana, a seemingly infinite hordes of undeads surrounding them from all sides, while mages of Warzy kept showering them with spells to block their path and kill them. The echoing screams of wounded students, and the howling cries of the monsters calling more of their brethren to take their ce, while the heavy earthquakes that signaled the end of that dungeon and theirst chance to escape safely was about to crash- all the scenes painted a grim picture of a gruesome battle that some inexperienced first year students were forced to fight.

    "We don''t have any time. We should go while he''s holding them off." Alfred said, looking at Rio, who was fighting against Virgil and two other Warzy minions.

    Kendrick, who couldn''t even stand straight as ck marks of poison covered half his body and face, result of his battle against Rio whom he tried to kill, leaned on Alfred and spoke up too. "It already looks like they''re after him anyway, we should just take this chance and run towards the exit."

    "More than half the students have been killed, I don''t wanna die in this dungeon."

    "You''re the leader, aren''t you? Make a choice already."

    "Fuck leadership, I''m leaving. Prince Alfred let''s go. If she wants to die then let her die."

    One by one all the students started saying the same words, blocking Lisa who wanted to lead a team to help Rio, who already looked like he was about to fall down any moment now with how injured he got after protecting her, Bernhardt and half these people few hours ago.

    "We trusted you and followed you everywhere. Say something damn it. Don''t just stand there." Another student came up to her and grabbed her shoulders and shook her body to bring her focus back.

    "Lisa, they''re right. All of us have lost our mana and most of the weapons or potions we brought. We''ve been fighting nonstop for three days now, any more of it and we''ll all die. Save whoever we can, that''s what he would want too." Ethan, another ssmate of her came forward and spoke his point.

    "We can''t_ leave him to die. He just saved all your lives yesterday, why don''t you understand that." she said in almost a pleading tone, hoping atleast someone would still have their humanity and support her. Yet none did.

    Bernhardt was already in aa, his life and death hanging by a thread. And Dahlia, she was dead - and now no one left here wanted to help her at all.

    "You can''t save him, you idiot. Don''t you see. He''s already dead." Alfred said, pointing at Rio who got stabbed near his heart as Virgil plunged a sword on his back, pushing it all the way until it passed right through his chest.

    "What about the other viins, who''ll handle them, they''re still blocking the view." Kendrick said looking at the flying figures keeping their eyes on their group.

    "Don''t worry, I already have a n." Alfred said and looked at Lisa, a cold glint passing his eyes. ''Just one more push, and he''ll be dead. As for burnhard, I''ll handle him too. I can''t disappoint Zeus at any cost.''

    ...

    "Lisa, let''s go." The girl following behind her said and brought Lisa back to her senses in present.

    Lisa looked at Rio''s leaving back, joking with Reba, who seemed not so happy with his words. Her eyesnded on the shining star etched on Ba''s golden hair and she furrowed her brows as aplicated look passed through her eyes.

    Pushing the memories of their past aside, she just closed her eyes and gave a self deprecating smile to herself. Shaking her head to her friends she stomped her feet on the ground and red her mana, sending waves of air to pass through the crowd of students blocking her path. Directly sending few of the mob to fly and crash to the nearby walls.

    "Move" She said, as she grabbed the hand of Kevin who was about to give a solid mana coated punch to Leon''s chest, hoping to st his heart in one go and kill him.

    "The student council will do the justice. Now back off." She coldly said and just one look at her angry expression chilled Kevin''s heart, as he hurriedly backed away.

    ###

    A/N - Dahlia was Lisa''s bestfriend and roommate two years ago. She was a heroine in the original novel, a fairy princess with cute look, free personality and fancy wings on her back. After the year full of Rio''s changes in the academy, she became Bernhardt''s girlfriend and died in the dungeon event while protecting him and Rio.

    Cause of death - Zeus and Alfred.

    Altercations - her death is the reason why no fairies ever joined Zenith to study again.

 Chapter 329 end of day one

    Chapter 329 end of day one

    ??"So, the council president, you hate her?" Ba asked, as they both just walked by the garden.

    They had finished their games, the dance, the meals everything there was to do on the first day of this party (except socializing), so now it was just a simple casual walk under the moonlight.

    Rio, who heard her question thought for a second before shaking his head and replied "I hate that I failed to understand her. That''s all."

    "Angry..." (at what happened?)

    "I am."

    "Would you..." (kill her?)

    "Maybe, haven''t thought about her yet."

    "What about..." (my brother?)

    "You don''t wanna know."

    "..." (b_ but _ he''s _ )

    "Please don''t say anything."

    "Umm" (nods head)

    Reba wanted to ask if he wanted to kill Lisa or her brother for what happened back then, but due to her hesitation in whose side to pick she ended up starting her sentences openly but never finishing them through her words. But Rio knew her enough to guess these things and give her those answers.

    Though not clear enough, she was d he was at least being honest, instead of lying to her, like he did in front of her mom and dad. Saying Alfred made a wise decision to leave when he could, and h h h.

    Everyone knew he was lying, but the fact that HE WAS LYING, proved it enough that he won''t go against Alfred, and that was enough for now.

    "So how close were you two, there are rumors you were secretly dating each other?" Reba asked trying to change the topic, only to end up saying something even more stupid.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''She really needs to learn some serious lying game and fake socializing skills.'' Rio thought hearing her question.

    "You don''t have to answer if you don''t want to." She added, trying to salvage what she can.

    But Rio just shook his head and smiled at her thinking brain which probably started cooking up another weird question. So he just chose to answer this question and then take the charge for this drowning conversation..

    "We weren''t dating or anything else of that sorts." He said and Reba looked at him in surprise for a second before giving a subtle smile that she tried to hide but failed as her expression betrayed her.

    Acting as if he didn''t notice, Rio just kept speaking. "Those were all just rumors students started as a gossip and that stuck around since we both were at the top of the tournament and in a team as well."

    "She was just grateful that I saved her mother, and I was just happy to meet someone talented, that''s all."

    Reba nodded her head hearing his words, now back to her serious expression again. She wanted to speak something, but Rio interrupted her.

    "What about you? I heard you joined a sect and became a saintess candidate? Wasn''t the title of Princess not enough?" Rio jokingly asked, remembering the details of the sect Ba joined while he was in the dungeon.

    "I wasn''t nning on joining them. My goddess gave it to me as a task of sorts." Reba said and started exining, ignoring the little warning Selene sent through the world system. "The sectmaster of Aqua Spring Sect has a technique suitable for me, she said."

    "And he said he''ll only teach you if you be the saintess, or his disciple?" Rio guessed.

    "Yeah, something like that."

    "You know you can just ask your father and he''ll have the sect master begging on his knees with that skill written on his forehead the very next day." Rio joked, but spoke the honest truth regarding king Maximus''s capabilities.

    That guy had some serious skills. Well that was to be expected from a king and avatar of a God king.

    "Very funny, but I want to finish these tests on my own." Reba said proudly "And besides you were gone, and then Amy pushed herself into her mad training regimes, and I basically had nothing else to do. So I just thought "why not?"

    Hearing her words Rio smiled and shook his head, remembering the words from a plotline of the novel which would make Reba regret this very decision for the rest of her life, but now wasn''t the time to tell her that yet.

    "What happened? Why''d you get all serious?" She asked, noticing his silence.

    "Nothing, was just thinking that some sects have a rule that their saintess has to marry into the sect, mostly to the next sect leader." Rio joked.

    "Well, they can''t force me to do anything I don''t want to. Or as you said Father would kill them otherwise." Reba said in a joking tone too, yet her words caused Rio''s smile to stiffen as he heard the trust she had in her father.

    ''I wish I could kill that bastard.'' Rio thought in his heart, trying to suppress the raging anger in his mind the more he remembered about the future and the king.

    [You can''t. Killing Leon is much easier than killing him if you ask me.] System refused and said so, before going on to exining why. [The man practically has an army of Gods at his beck and call. While Leon only got Apollo and a handful of other supporters.]

    "Are you feeling tired?" Reba asked, bringing him back to his senses.

    "What, why?" He asked.

    "Then why are you so silent all of a sudden?" Reba said and added. "You always go silent either before a serious fight or when you go to sleep." She said pointing out her understanding of his personality. "And since you aren''t going to any war now, that only means you wanna sleep."

    "Well, now that you mention it. I do need sleep." Rio said while yawning inadvertently after hearing about sleep.

    He wasn''t sleepy, he was justzy.

    "Well, maybe this will jog you up then?" She said before bringing her hands to hold his face, and standing in front of him.

    Rio didn''t know what she wanted to do but he could see her face burned in a crimson blush and hear her heartbeat jumping wildly, before she broke into a big smile and covered his head into a water bubble, and ran away, muttering some nonsense he couldn''t make out of with water''s interference.

    "Idiot, idiot, Ba. What were you thinking? Did he notice? Would he care? No, I missed the chance again, it was such a perfect environment too. No noise, no crowd, a full moon and bright stars - fuck I wasted it all with that stupid spell. No, no, no it''s good I didn''t do it, it''d be so bad to ruin this perfect day with me doing something stupid. Amy would kill me. Should I just leave�� .?" One by one all kinds of thoughts, questions and doubts kept moving across the mind of our sweet royal heroine, unaware of the shadow growing in the darkness, until it covered her whole and froze her in ce.

    (The same spell he used in day one of the academy in Miss Freya''s training ss on the stage.)

    "Trying to drown me, Princess?" Rio said as he evaporated the water bubble over his head and walked towards Reba, who in turn also looked pleadingly at him. Already aware of what was gonna happen next.

    "I made a new spell, why don''t I try it out on you, for old times sake, and new ones."  Rio said, bringing a book from his bag out and showing it to the princess, who in turn shivered in horrible nostalgia. That diary of his where he experimented with magic was simply a nightmare recipe on whom he tried those spells.

    She red her mana as the silver ring on her finger shone and the shadow magic beneath her disappeared and got trapped into the crystal. Once the spell was broken and she was free, she directly started running away.

    "You''ll have to catch me first, youzy idiot." She said, poking her tongue out, making fun of him after running a safe distance..

    Rio chased after her half heartedly, enjoying the peaceful banter and her melodicughter, unaware that a shadow in the darkness was eyeing their figures with cold eyes.

    "She''s mine. She''s mine. She''s mine." The shadow muttered under it''s breath looking at Reba, before turning towards Rio and clenching its fist. "Kill you, kill you, will kill you soon."

    As if sensing something off Rio stopped and looked behind him yet found nothing strange. Just to be sure he even spread his mana and did a whole scan of the garden they were ying around in, yet found nothing.

    ''Was I wrong?'' He thought, but before he could ask his system, Reba threw him another ball of water, making all his skin and suit to get wet.

    "Did that wake you up, panda? Or do you need one more? Hehehe" Reba said, throwing another ball of water at his face. Turning their entire game into a waterball battle.

    Rio too shook his head and turned his attention back at this girl who couldn''t take a hint. And decided to teach her a lesson.

    His feet moving past the walls of windows where a shadowy figure stood behind a blocked curtain and watched their actions through the staff lodging, with gritted teeth. "Rio ke, you should die." The mysterious shadow said and walked away.

 Chapter 330 Whispering villain and Hero’s sidekick

    <h4>Chapter 330 Whispering viin and Hero''s sidekick</h4>

    "Where is he?" Kevin said anxiously, while walking back and forth on the rooftop waiting for the guy whom Loki promised could help him out of this situation.

    He had nearly managed to seriously hurt Leon, but the cripple was saved by his sister, who came in between all of a sudden. The ring look of anger she gave him when she realized his intention was enough proof how much she loved her brother, and that only made Kevin more worried that she''d somehow save him.

    After all, although the proof he had of witnesses and Levi using the truth gu, they were all inconsistent, and Leon could make simr proofs in his defense too. Swear a godly oath, sign a honest heart contract or use any karmic or past projection blessing to say he never did anything wrong for Levi.

    Not to mention even Levi would get her memories back in couple more hours and then there was even a chance she might spill the beans on him too. Feeling angry over not just for what he tried to do to her, but also at what he didter to cover it up -

    Though he was overthinking a lot as half these methods he cooked were too expensive and could only be used by elders or level 3 or above staff, who clearly don''t have time for things like this. But well, who can me him. Loki''s been whispering whispers all this time and Kevin was already head deep in a shitstorm.

    ''Should I call my master, he could solve things easily. '' Kevin thought remembering his old white beared teacher, but then shook his head. ''No, I can''t let master know all this, or he might... Fuck.''

    "Fuck. Who the hell drugged me?" He said, stomping his feet heavily on the ground in anger. After such a long time he was sure that someone must''ve drugged him and that''s how he lost his consciousness and control, but he couldn''t understand who would do this to him.

    Coming from a sect and belonging to a hidden family, he didn''t even know anyone here before the academy, or provoked anyone aftering here, so the fact that someone tried to frame him was really gnawing at his heart.

    [You''ll be caught. You''ll be punished, kicked out.]

    [Maybe the crippled Leon would kill you first to vent his anger and wipe his humiliation of today.] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [You''re totally fucked, unless....]

    And that''s why in that situation when he heard the words of Loki, who said he has a way to save him, Kevin readily agreed.

    "He said someone would be here by now, where is he?"

    "Quite anxious, Kevin."

    The sudden words broke Kevin''s focus as he turned around and noticed someone sitting on the edge of the rooftop, watching him intently.

    "Who are you?" Kevin asked, seeing that the darkness of night made it harder for him to recognize the man looking down on him.

    "Me, does it matter?" The figure said, jumping down from the height andnding in front of Kevin, smiling as he saw Kevin starting to channel his mana in defense. "Who I am doesn''t matter, just know that I owed the trickster a favor and he asked me to save your ass."

    "Quite the horny boy, aren''t you? Couldn''t even keep it in your pants till you were alone eh."

    Kevin watched as the masked figure stood in front of him and mocked him.

    Kevin tried to look through the masked man''s clothes, expressions or eyes to see if he could get any hint regarding the identity of the man in front of him, since it was clear that he was one of the students at Zenith too, as no one else coulde here from outside - but he couldn''t find anything.

    All he saw was just a ck robe that covered the man''s upper body and a ck mask that hid his face, with nothing but a pair of ck eyes leaving open.

    Giving up on guessing any clues and not waste his time, Kevin looked at him and spoke up. "How can you help me?"

    "Well, the simplest method would be to kill her and call it suicide, but I doubt your horny ass has that much courage." The masked man said and smiled as he watched Kevin''s face twisting in anger.

    "You cannot kill her." Ignoring the jest, Kevin said in a firm tone.

    Despite all that happened, Kevin still didn''t want to kill Levi. If anything, after this fiasco he seemed to be more determined to get Levi as his own.

    "If that''s all you can do then you can leave." He said.

    "What''s the rush, don''t tell me, you n to go back to the infirmary and finish what you started earlier." The masked man said in a joking tone pointing at his pants, while reminding Kevin of the sleeping Levi resting below.

    "I would never _ I was drugged." Kevin said with gritted teeth, trying to exin or calm himself that whatever he did wasn''t his fault. He would never do something so wrong if not for the drug''s effects.

    "Like I care." The masked man said scoffing at his exinations, "The second best thing would be to kill Leon, but even that is hard considering he''s in an isted cell protected by the student council and his president sister."

    "So the final choice would be _ if we just temper a little with your mind, and hers." The masked man said with a smile like it was no big deal.

    But hearing his words, Kevin immediately shouted "Impossible."

    But the masked man ignored him and continued his speech. "Nothing much, just alter the memories of this night, so none of you remember it the way it happened, and can happily swear, speak and shout anything you want believing it is the truth. I love this loophole." The masked man said ignoring Kevin''s dumbfounded expressions and fuming face.

    "A perfect lie is the only lie where liar himself is convinced that he''s not lying." The masked man said in a serious tone and circled Kevin, cing his hands on Kevin''s shoulders he continued- "That''s what I''m offering. A chance to leave your sins, your guilt behind. Maybe I can turn you into a hero in her memories who saved her, and then she''ll be deep in love with you. All your happiness, just a nod away. Say yes, and I''ll do it right now."

    [He''s right. Agree to it and I''ll take care of everything. Might even help you find who was responsible for drugging you. Say yes, and be free.]

    [Do it for her. Think of how much she cried tonight, girls take their reputation seriously these days. She might not even let you touch her again for raping her.]

    "Do you think your shadow will forgive you when the whole academy is talking about her and half the academy already saw her half naked in that condition. She would hate you. Say yes, and I can change everything for the better."

    The whispers of Loki and the words of the masked man in his ears echoed again and again, breaking past his walls of defenses and morals Kevin had set for himself. The more he listened the more he fell into the illusion that this was the only way.

    Behind the mask, seeing the expressions of Kevin, Rio smiled to himself and stopped using his modified mixed blessing called ''Whispering Viin'' .

    A blessing he made afterbining three separate blessings he got from different gods. Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord, Apate, the goddess of deceit and the daughter of Nyx, and Kali, the hindu mythos Asura King prophesied to end the era of creation.

    After he got the system he had merged the blessings given by these gods into one and made Whispering Viin. A blessing that has the same effects as Loki''s magic called master of maniption. It makes fooling others quite easy depending on their situation and mental state.

    Far away from the realms of mortal''s reach, Loki chuckled happily, enjoying the tricks that always work perfectly with just a few words, even without any mana or magic, while feeling even more happy with Rio, who could match his tone and tricks even without his guidance.

    ''What a useful mortal.'' Loki thought, his brain already cooking up various situations and events he could let Rio partake in and enjoy the drama while sitting in backseat.

    [H scoffs at her shameless father, who''s trying to snatch her avatar.] Rio read the notification and ignored it as always and focused back on his hesitating target.

    "What do you say, Kevin? I can help you. Save your image, make you a hero for the academy and even solve any and all the troubles & cover loopholes. Just trust me. It''ll only take a moment." He said.

    [Apollo scoffs at people''s tricks. Says only a fool would believe the words of a trickster.]

    [Dqire says not to trust the man in front of you.]

    [Kiuran says it''s not a big deal even if anyone learns what you did. Just tell them you were drugged.]

    [H scoffs saying the poisons are untraceable even by her. So stop fooling the poor mortal.]

    [Asura king Kaliughs at you saying fucker failed to fuck and still has the face to cry about it.]

    [Aphrodite says drugs only brings out the best of sex. Ohhhh yeah.]

    [Apollo thinks of helping you if you be his follower.]

    [Skuld says your fate seems bleak and dark no matter what you choose.]

    [Cassandra pities you after seeing the visions of your future.]

    Reading the various notifications from gods and their reasons and excuses, Kevin only felt even more confused and angry at his assant who drugged him, but he had to make a choice.

    "It''ll soon be the morning, Kevin. And that''s when the staff would call you and your little victim for your confessions, you don''t have much time. Choose fast, or regret in your home, since zenith would surely kick you out." Rio said again, as his system informed him of Apollo and other God''s interference. Fate was at its tricks again, trying to save this minion, sadly he also had his own gods and crowd to help him.

    "Fine. Do it."

    Finally under all the peer pressure and tension, the naive fool broke down and agreed to a situation he would soone to regret all his short life waiting for in the future.

    "But not me, I can handle myself. Just change the mind of Levi." Kevin said, thinking this was the best of the option.

    Unaware that from the beginning to end he was just in the palm of Rio''s hands, who knew all his tricks, hole cards and abilities even better than him.

    [Congrattions on avoiding another trap g host.]

    [Keep doing it, and we''ll be fine.]

    In the novel, Kevin and his master in their ns to control and overthrow ke family, had used the time freezing artifact to frame Rio for killing his grandfather, forcing him to run and hide for months while hunting squads trained by his father kept tracking him down every day.

    But now everything was different. His grandfather''s safe and sound, and Kevin''s on a speeding train with a ticket to hell on his back.

 Chapter 331 The literally oversmart Amaya

    <h4>Chapter 331 The literally oversmart Amaya</h4>

    After making a deal with Kevin, the idiot had him swear a couple of oaths on the name of Gods of businesses and dealers of truth, marking them as their witness that no one between them should break the rules, or they''ll be punished by the aforementioned gods.

    The oaths like these aren''t just random promises and pinky swears, but something spoken and signed on the contract of honesty made through the churches of said gods.

    Breaking these contracts meant sullying the name of that God and the church who issued these oath letters would know your sin and hold you responsible for sphemous punishment.

    As anyone can guess these things are extremely rare, and not something just anyone can take out at will, or order with money - how did Kevin get it, well no need to doubt since he''s one lucky bastard, and found it on some roadside auction stall, or the dead body of some random bandit.

    Kevin made sure to add dozens of conditions thinking of every possible loophole the masked man could use to harm him or Levi in the future.

    Making sure the masked man wouldn''t kill Levi, control her, alter her memories aside from this event or do anything else that can harm him or her in any way.

    Rio quite literally yawned while he kept nodding his head without even listening to Kevin''s words. Hisckluster attitude did make Kevin feel a little relief thinking it was as the goddesses said, and this man was just here to help him to return a favor for Loki.

    As for why Loki wanted to help him all of a sudden, Kevin couldn''t guess. As hecked the luxury of time to think over it clearly for now.

    After a long long while

    Rio and Kevin walked towards the nursing room, where Levi was resting. Though there were a few guards patrolling, and some extra staff cleaning the space for tomorrow''s party here and there, but both of them had enough means to hide their breath from misceneous people.

    Not to mention some students who were drunk and not clear in head were still roaming around or sleeping in weird corners, puking their lungs out. Making Rio''s disguise much less attention seeking than it was.

    "Remember the oath, or know your consequences." Kevin said and opened the door and walked a little close to the bed of his shadow and stood there.

    Watching her peacefully sleeping with that worryfree look, Kevin sat beside her and held her hand. "Everything will be fine, Levi. Just as it was before." He muttered with slow breath, afraid any noise might wake her up.

    Rio looked at Levi, and her entire plotline once again yed like a movie in front of his eyes.

    ''System, let''s do it.'' He gave amand to his system as he ced his hand over the unconscious girl and chanted some jibberish.

    Levi, who was fast asleep, frowned her brows as she felt a sting of memories in her mind, but with how Kevin drugged her to sleep for this spell to work, she couldn''t wake up.

    Rio could''ve simply controlled Levi with the means of his system, but doing it like this with Kevin''s help felt more exciting. Just the thought of how Kevin woulde to regret this decision and hate himself for everything was much more interesting to watch.

    After all, from his personal experience hating himself hurts a million times worst than hating someone else.

    ��

    ��

    ��

    "Is it done?" Kevin said, when the masked man finally took his hand away, and the shinning light disappeared from the room.

    "It''s done. The roles are reversed in her mind now. She''ll definitely fall in love with her savior." The masked man said and jumped through the window, disappearing in the night of darkness.

    As Rio''s feetnded on the empty pathways of the night, he threw the mask and the cloak called ''hide of theft'' in his storage and started walking back to his room while humming a song to himself.

    [Poor him. Why''d you even lie.] System asked, once Rio was alone. [She''ll forever be changed.]

    "What poor him, If not for the ve mark he has over Levi, and his own permission I wouldn''t be able to do this on my own at all." Rio said, disregarding Kevin''s brains. "Not to mention, I just did what should''ve happened in the novel anyway."

    "A bad plot or event for Levi, which would awaken her true personality and turn her into a bad bitch. If anything, I was generous enough to give her themand to fall in love with her savior."

    [Before you gave themand that reversed the roles. Meaning she might fall for her REAL savior too.]

    "Ohh well, the order''s mixed up but I did what I swore an oath for. Fault is his for trusting Loki and my help lol." Rio chuckled and walked away, until he saw someone standing there in his path.

    ''Amaya..'' Rio muttered looking at her, as a bad premonition came to his brain.

    "So, you already got him huh." She said, walking towards him. "I guess I waste." N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Or just waiting for me?" He replied.

    Her words got Rio thinking that he should''ve known Amaya woulde here to control or ckmail Kevin as soon as possible once she got a handle on him. It was just her sharp nature to take advantage of everyone and anyone she could.

    And since she already figured out Kevin''s actions earlier tonight, there was no way she waste. She was right on time, when and where she wanted to be.

    ''She just gave up on Kevin to get to me. What a smart bitch.'' Rio couldn''t help but praise and curse her at the same time.

    (Clearly whoever said dealing with smart people is easy, never met anyone smarter than him.)

    Amaya chuckled and didn''t answer, instead she just asked him another question. "Tell me, what did you get from him? Is it a favor, an artifact, any info...."

    Seeing Amaya throwing out guesses one by one recording his reaction to her eyes, Rio just directly interrupted her. "Nothing. I just helped the guy since someone else said so."

    "Is that so?" Amaya raised her eyebrows, trying to read his expressions before asking another question "Then tell me, why did you poison him in the first ce? The dress of a waiter really doesn''t suit the son of a Duke, don''t you think?"

    Rio looked at her for some time, not sure if she actually saw him at that time, or was she just shooting blind, trying to see through his emotions or expressions.

    And just as he thought, system exined.

    [She''s lying. She was with Valtor at that time.]

    ''fuck'' Rio cursed himself for believing this literally oversmart heroine and exined "I don''t know what you''re talking about?"

    "Don''t you now? Interesting." Amaya muttered under her breath and kept watching his face, then in another secondter, a silver dot of light shone deep in her eyes as she asked her next question. "Then just answer my curiosity. Why do you hate Kevin and his shadow? What''s the reason for choosing them out of everyone else you could''ve found to me the poor ranker."

    "Again, I don''t know what you''re talking about." Rio said, but Amaya ignored his words and continued on with her guesses.

    "Maybe it''s cause you hate Leon, but that''s unlikely, since you never met the guy before academy. As for his ranking and strength,well the difference is pitiful to perfection,so that can''t be.

    Is it cause you just want to trouble his sister over what happened and taking it out on him? or is it cause of that girl whom you''re wandering around these days, ording to rumors she was supposed to be his fiance.

    Or maybe for all of these reasons, and that''s why first the auction clip and now this. Going quite hard on ruining his reputation, are you?"

    "Maybe I just don''t like his face. Or maybe I just hate the righteousness he acts upon, or maybe I''m a psychopath, pulling on people for fun to keep myself entertained. - Cooking up weird theories is easy, Amaya. It''s a children''s game. Grow up, and go back, lest Valtor follows you here." Rio said and disappeared from his ce.

    Not in the mood to tell anything to this weird heroine any longer.

    ''Smart people sometimes are a pain to deal with.''

    [She doesn''t have any proof, she was just guessing wildly.]

    ''Well the fact that her guesses are close to the truth, is what makes her dangerous.'' Rio said, shaking his head.

    As he left Amaya on the other hand, just stood there and closed her eyes. Her mind calmed and just like a reverse button on TV had been pressed, all the conversation she had just noa, started ying from beginning again. Obviously with extra zoomed in focus on Rio.

    Finally after just standing there for several minutes, going through everything she noticed about them in this one month, she opened her eyes..

    "So you hate all of them , is that it." She said and smiled like she finally found a piece of puzzle she was looking for.

    But obviously this one conclusion wasn''t enough for her and she asked herself the next question. "But why? What''s the reason?"

    But before she had more time to think about it or do another mental dive of hers, Valtor''s voice broke her thoughts and pulled her out.

    "What are you doing here?" He asked and looked around the empty garden.

    "Well, I just needed some air." Amaya replied and started walking. "Come lets'' take a walk."

    danced

 Chapter 332 Bernhardt

    <h4>Chapter 332 Bernhardt</h4>

    Next day

    "What are you doing here?"

    Rio said as he just walked out his dorm and saw Bernhardt standing there..

    "Come on, I haven''t seen you for so long. Thought I''d drop by and say hi." Bernhardt smiled as he walked ahead and ced his hand over Rio''s shoulder. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Since Rio''s height was still a notch below the bastard prince, Bernhardt always did this just to annoy him.

    "Just don''t mess with my hair, I don''t wanna look like a golden haired bird who just left its nest." Rio said, looking at Bernhardt''s messy hair and slightly reddish eyes.

    "Hey, don''t me me, okay, this is a new style I just saw in a dungeon world." Bernhardt said, showing him a few images of other people with that same messy scattered hair style.

    "Yeah, the style ofzy people." Rio said and started walking ahead. "What''s going on with you? I heard some fancy rumors about you being caught roaming around the girl''s dormitory a few days back."

    Hearing the question Bernhardt looked surprised, before asking embarrassingly "Who told you that?"

    "Does it matter? Tell me, did someone catch your eye, or are you just messing around in yourst year." Rio said without answering his question.

    "I was just helping her with the training and the preparation for the party. It was the warden''s fault who misunderstood us." Bernhardt said, while shrugging his shoulders.

    "In the middle of the night, on the rooftop whose door you locked with three little formations. - sure, just simple training, right?" Rio said sarcastically before shaking his head at this prince who obviously left his weird sisterly obsession written in the novel, but then turned around and got the traits of a yboy.

    Rio couldn''t even remember how many times he had to leave his room or cover for this guy whenever they were out training or entering the dungeons, just cause Bernhardt had called for his ''friends'' into their room.

    Although all this yfulness did stop when Dahlia came to be at the academy, but that''s a love story that ended way too soon and here we are again.

    "Hey, are you keeping tabs on me?" Bernhardt asked, blocking his way.

    "Obviously, who''s gonna handle your shit if you cause a scandal likest time." Rio said, reminding him of the time when the dear brother Alfred had sent a girl into Bernhardt''s room and created arge drama to ruin this guy''s reputation at the pce. "Not to mention, aunt Beliana told me to beat you hard if you ever do something stupid again."

    Bernhardt was still smiling hearing his words, until he heard the mention of his mother and him getting beaten, then his face froze a little, but he smiled next second and replied jokingly. "Like you can beat me? I''m already two major ranks higher than you, you know. If anything, you should be careful lest I p you to death, hehehe."

    "Yeah, why don''t you give it a try and see who ps whom." Rio said, grabbing his hand before he couldnd a p on his back, before twisting it until he heard the scream from this golden boy.

    "Argh ok, ok, okay, I was just joking." Bernhardt said, pulling himself away, while trying to use thunder to get himself out of his grip. "Jeez, you''re dumb." he said, massaging his wrist as he could see red marks forming there.

    "So tell me, who''s the girl this time?" Rio ignored him and asked again.

    "Erina." Bernhardt said, "You know, the one with the brown hair and perky boobs. Dang, did she grew those melons in these two years? They''re huuge." He exined with his hand signs, going into details better left unsaid.

    "Idiot. She''s amoner right?" Rio asked, shaking his head and ignoring his weird smile.

    "Yupp, though she did join some sectst year, I think it was some absolute heaven or some other cringy name like that."

    "Absolute heaven''s beginning sect?"

    "Yeah that one." Bernhardt nodded his head hearing Rio mention the right name. "Wait, you know that sect, don''t tell me they''re some bigshot, I thought it was just some random roadside dojo, but a bit fancy."

    Rio shook his head and replied "I just heard the name in passing. Be careful though, I heard the sect leader has some screws loose."

    "Well, as long as he''s not blind, he''ll know his ce." Bernhardt said in dismissal but made a mental note to get a clear investigation done on his new ''girlfriend''.

    "How are things going for you huh? The girls in your batch are aamazing, I heard." he said changing the topic back to Rio.

    "Can you atleast behave like a prince? You sound more like a serial rapist on the loose." Rio replied.

    "Come on, don''t be like that. Tell me all the juicy gossip. Which beauty got paired up with whom. And did anyone catch your eye?" Bernhardt asked, again cing his hand over his shoulder and pulling him close.

    Shaking his head over this fool, Rio replied jokingly "Ba would kill you, if she heard you now."

    "Don''t change the topic, tell me everything. I gotta ce my bets right on who''s gonna win the first beauty rank tonight." Bernhardt said

    "You''re into betting again?" Rio asked.

    "What do you mean again, I''m not addicted. It''s just a hobby." Bernhardt defended as he pressed his neck by the shoulder for joking about the past.

    "Yeah, if you say so." Rio said, and replied back. "Nothing interesting is happening, the same old routine of boring sses, ''tiring'' training and a few spar and some light bullying here and there."

    "What do you mean nothing interesting, I heard Ken''s little sister was roaming around with the boy who got framed for rape attemptst night, who just also happens to be the first ranker and student council''s president''s little brother. Isn''t that juicy enough to share?" Bernhardt said as he let go of his hand and walked beside him.

    "You said framed? Is the staff''s investigation already over?" Rio asked, raising his eyebrows at this info.

    "Yeah, didn''t you check your watch. I think the staff even sent a ss wide notice to stop the rumors or any bad impact caused by this incident." Bernhardt said what he heard, watching as Rio shook his head and started flipping through his messages.

    [Dear ssman of first years, this message is to inform you regarding the findings of the incident that had happened at the partyst night.

    The staff had checked all the proofs and talked with all the students and many witnesses present there. And after everything, the conclusion was clear that all three of the involved students were just victims in this case. Their blood samples were all checked and found with the traces of high hallucinogenic drug particles.

    Whatever happened with them was nothing but an illusion they all fell into. It might''ve been a bad prank from someone or a trap to ruin their reputation, which is why a further investigation is still ongoing.

    But for now the academy requests you to not be fooled and rallied by some lies and misunderstandings, Zenith has and always will be a ce of knowledge and justice. So refrain from any sort of rumors and prejudice against the said students.

    May you all enjoy the unity of this event and work towards the goal to form a brighter future ahead Together.

    Xander Skyshaper

    Elder of the Judgement ]

    "Xander, so he called you out huh." Rio muttered after reading the whole passage written by the Hall of Justice, and that too by an elder level staff.

    ''Looks like you''re getting serious my littlemp. Taking no chances and all. But if it was that easy to solve the rumors, my original fate wouldn''t be so grim.'' He thought and smiled to himself.

    ''But since you''re out already, I guess it''s time for that viking fe to wake up too. It''s time to end your rivalry with your death.'' Rio thought, his brain already cooking up ns to kill the supporter apollo arranged for leon.

    "Oye, what''s that smile for?" Bernhardt asked, looking at him.

    "Nothing just read thest lines praising Zenith as righteous justice peak and all, and couldn''t help myself." Rio said, and changed the topic with his next words.

    "Well, if you want to bet on who''s winning the beauty contest, just pick Ba. I''m sure she''ll win." Rio said in a confident tone as he remembered it was Leon and Reba who won the respective contests of boys and girls in the novel.

    "You sure, what about that elven princess or the other girls from Noble''s and elite''s houses. I mean, not gonna lie it''s toughpetition this time. Some of them are barethttaking." Bernhardt said.

    "Are you saying Ba will loose?"

    A voice came from the back and without looking back, Bernhardt replied instantly "Well, maybe. That''s why I''m asking��"

    "Is that so. Not only are you betting, but also praying for your sister''s loss huh." A voice broke Bernhardt''s exnation as he looked up and noticed Rio''s smiling expression and had a bad feeling in his heart.

    ''She''s behind me, isn''t she?'' He mouthed the words and cursed as Rio nodded his head with a smile.

    "Who said that? I''m sure Reba will win, after all she''s the prettiest princess." Bernhardt tried to salvage his blunder as he turned around and saw Amelia and Reba standing there. Amelia with her teasing smile and Reba with her cold ring look.

    "But I just heard someone say Ba will have toughpetition, and what not?" Amelia teased.

    "What.. No. That''s_ that''s what Rio said. Not me." Bernhardt said, pushing the me onto Rio who just raised his hands in surrender clearly stating "Don''t drag me there. It''s your mess."

    Bernhardt turned to look at Ba and smiled embarrassingly, thinking how to just slip away, but before he could cook up a good enough excuse, Reba gave him a cold smile and spoke up "Well, I haven''t talked with aunt Beliana for a while now. Maybe I''ll call her tonight."

    "Wh_ what? No, that''s not necessary. She''s fine. She''s busy so there''s no need to trouble her, right, hehehe, I''ll_ just go." Bernhardt said in a nervous tone and hurried away in a rush.

    "Idiot" ��3

    All three of them said with different thoughts in their mind and shook their heads.

 Chapter 333 Familiar Faces

    Chapter 333 Familiar Faces

    ??"You read the news?"

    "Yupp, just did."

    "What''d you think? Is it true or ..?"

    "Who knows? Who cares."

    "If it''s true, then who do you think did it?"

    "How would I know? Maybe it''s their enemy or any idiot rival or some stupid suitor of the girls around them - the staff are still investigating this matter so maybe we''ll know soon."

    Reba and Rio kept talking about the public notice shared by the elder, while following the crowd towards the auditorium hall where everyone was called to gather by the student council.

    The reason for this was probably to address what happenedst night, to say the same stupid things like don''t discriminate, don''t spread any rumors or hate, or form a group to bully anyone or cause any other drama that might ruin the reputation of Zenith etc etc.

    Rio had no interest in listening to all this bs but since from today all the seniors could freely interact with the first year students, he had a hunch that a few of his old buddies would surely keep an eye out for him and would want to give him a warm wee.

    The least he could do after making everyone wait two whole years, was say hello to their face, after all, who knows which one of them might jump high on his list to be killed and then disappear from this world.

    ''Finally the fun begins.'' He said, walking into the grand auditorium filled with students from all the first year students of Zenith. While at the stage some staff members and a few high members of the student council and disciplinemittee stood straight.

    Elizabeth Heartwell

    Alfred Von Schott

    Heirchal Nidhan

    Orcsty

    Drona Stark

    Yeshua Joseph

    Millie Mahrendar

    BruckSin Takn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Fat piggy Pandya

    Norphieus Main

    Myenta

    And so many more�� .. .

    ''Ohh I''m gonna enjoy their misery.'' Rio said as the images of few people came to his mind, fueling the embers of hatred he''s been keeping buried in his heart.

    Unlike when he first watched Lisa at the entrance ceremony and lost control, his emotions were calmer now. At Least calmer enough to not cause any damage to anyone around him.

    "You fine?" Reba asked, watching as the shadows around her seemed to be trembling, causing the movement of their bodies a little harder. But since they were just sitting in ce, not many around her seemed to notice.

    "Perfect." Rio said and pped a mana restraining bracelet on his hand to stop this little leak of emotions.

    "Good morning everyone." A young staff member dressed in the normal suit and a purple academy cloak on top came on to the podium and started his speech.

    ''Ryuk'' Rio thought, looking at the familiar man for the first time aftering back.

    Ryuk VenDike , a grade two academy professor associated with teaching sses to the second year students and handling the affairs of the library ground floor.

    Someone whom Rio befriended and formed a business rtionship with when he first joined the academy.

    In return for all the help the professor could provide him at that time, Rio promised to help him get a promotion and an admission and protection guarantee to his talentless brother, Ryusuke in Zenith.

    Both the feats were considered hard for a lot of people, but he did it nheless.

    With the scandalous retirement of an old professor, Ryuk got his new promotion three years ago. And after Rio got back, with a little bit of backdoor donations and ckmail, there came an admission letter for his little brother too.

    He was the one who cleaned up the mess a few days ago when Amelia picked a fight with the fourth years.

    Obviously it cost Rio a special death magic skill, but whatever. No one''s doing freebor.

    Ryuk was never mentioned in the story and it was only chance that Rio found him and managed to befriend. Simply because the man wasn''t an idiot. Ryuk was smart, extremely so, as even aftering from amoner family without any background and support, he managed to get himself to the position he was.

    Though not totally trustworthy, as he wasn''t a ve but a partner. But that''s why they both liked to keep eyes on each other''s movements and weaknesses. Trying to get even more benefits from the other.

    Rio turned Ryusuke''s room partners into his ves, to keep better control over this chip called ''little brother'' and Ryuk just kept eyes on Amelia and Reba, every now and then.

    "Be careful, someone from your old ssmates wants to do something with you."

    Rio remembered the message he got from this guy and couldn''t help but smile to himself again. ''Wonder whichmb has outlived its life and is begging for death.'' He thought and smirked to himself.

    "If any of you has any clue regarding the incident that happenedst night, please inform any of the other staff or council members for that matter. If you''d like to remain anonymous to others, you can also send a message to the Hall of Justice privately. Your help and support are necessary to make Zenith a better ce for everyone.

    That''s all from me." Ryuk said and turned around, as the sound of a bell rang out, echoing everywhere in a loud but calm tone, and soon the doors of the grand auditorium were opened and students started appearing from all the doors.

    North side, which was the main entrance, where Rio and other first years were sitting around. On the right side of them, through a big door, second year students arrived and sat down. While from the left side came the third year students who also joined the seats.

    The fourth year students were little in numbers (since half of them died in the dungeon event) so most of them were still outside working and checking on the preparations of every other event and their safety measures. Few who came, just stood in the back and kept watching everything with little interest.

    Once everyone entered and sat upon their chairs, Ryuk left the stage to Lisa and backed away. While Lisa started yet another boring speech which was just exining the changes that would take ce after this party today.

    About how seniors could meet and train with first year students. If permissible, go on missions together and even form a party.

    About how first year students could join the various extracurricr clubs and groups made by their seniors. Or what role clubs could y in the overall performance of a student at end year tournaments.

    What rules and time tables were modified to go for sses, training rooms, libraries or the other public spaces etc etc.

    And finally she came to the topic of what kind of events they had nned for today. Instead of exining it bit by bit like she did yesterday, she just gave a short summary of games and events organized and their timing and rewarding patterns.

    Like how there will be a mass lunch for all the academy together at noon. Or the dance party at evening and beauty pagent at night followed by the final flyingntern and light show at midnight.

    Tomorrow will be a holiday from sses as they requested it very much so. But only for theories, training sses for every batch at evening would still follow the same routine.

    Alcohol of any kind after yesterday''s incident was removed from the party, so that caused a lot of students to boooo and feel sad. After all, many missed the chance to try free quality booze.

    It was just a long fucking speech that might have put half the academy to sleep, if only, the one saying it wasn''t pretty enough to keep their focus locked onto her.

    Like seriously,  the boys couldn''t take their eyes off of her. Some nearly drooling from their mouths as she walked over the stage and exined everything gracefully.

    "Enjoy the party." Lisa said and pped her hand as the big golden balloon hanging above at the center of auditorium burst open in golden wafers and the sound of music started ying.

 Chapter 334 Meeting some old friends

    <h4>Chapter 334 Meeting some old friends</h4>

    "Brother, let''s go y the treasure hunt, the reward for that one is a 4 star fist fighting skill."

    "You don''t even like close fighting."

    "Well, brother likes it. We''ll win it for him."

    "No, he already has enough skills. There''s no need to waste time on lesser ones."

    "You''re just scared thinking he''ll ask you to practice with him."

    "Yeah, then why don''t you take the turn this time. I''m sure he''ll go ''easy'' on you."

    Amelia and Reba stood at the side talking to each other trying to push the other for a beating session. When Rio interrupted their talks. "Why don''t you girls go and y around for a little while. I''ll join you after meeting a few old friends."

    Huh ��2 n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Amelia and Reba both looked at him in surprise, but saw that he had already disappeared from his ce.

    "Where''d he go?" Ba asked, while looking around but failed to find him in the crowd. Especially as half the boys had worn ck suits, making it hard for her to recognize him from afar.

    "Forget it, let''s just go ourselves." Amelia said and found that over the stage, council president had also disappeared some time ago. She couldn''t guess anything as she didn''t know any of his batchmates except Bernhardt who''s been missing since this morning, so she chose to do what he said and drag Ba away. "I''ll solve the puzzles and you handle the traps and other heavy lifting." She said while pulling Reba through the door.

    "What? Youzy glutton. Why don''t you just go and sleep if you aren''t even going to y properly." Ba pinched her hand andined.

    "What do you mean proper�� puzzles are very important and hard okay. .. Fine I''ll also find the clues and riddles too. Now that''s final." Ameliapromised in her work as she saw Ba''s ring eyes and then kept walking, without listening to reba who was stillining about changing roles or something.

    On the other hand, after disappearing from the auditorium, Rio''s figure appeared outside the corner room which was mainly for staff, but today given to the student council.

    Knock knock

    "Come in."

    Knocking on the door, he waited for a few seconds until he heard the voice from inside and saw the door opening automatically. Walking in Rio noticed Lisa standing there looking out the window, watching the crowd of students walking out in lines. Some students who didn''te for her lecture were already ying outside at this time.

    It was clear that some ss vs ss Or juniors vs seniors type of matches would also happen in this party and many students were actually looking forward to it.

    "It''s beautiful, isn''t it? Reminds me of when we first joined the academy." Lisa said with a small smile, her voice filled with nostalgia remembering her own fresher party, as she couldn''t believe its been years now, and now she was the one hosting this event for others.

    Instead of answering her question, Rio stood behind her and asked directly. "You called?" he said.

    He could hear an audible sigh as Lisa turned back and looked at him for some time without answering it. "Do you remember when we first joined. ��"

    "If it''s nothing important I''ll take my leave, my friends are waiting for me." Rio cut her off before she could continue her topic of a past reminiscing memory.

    "At least talk to me, will you?" She said with a little bit of annoyance in her voice.

    "There''s nothing to talk about. I''m gettingte." Rio said again, suppressing the jumble of happy memories ying back and forth in his mind, as the screams of monsters echoed in the background giving them music.

    Seeing he wasn''t going to answer anything, Lisa sighed again and walked to her chair and sat down. "I heard some students mighte to trouble youter. I hope _."

    "Is that all." Rio said, stopping her mid-sentence again.

    "I wanted to say you should be careful." Ignoring his words, Lisa finished her sentence. "It''s been two years now, none of them are the same as back then."

    "Me neither. I won''t show anyone any mercy this time." Rio said, "If they want a fight, all they''ll get is just defeat and shame, as simple as that."

    "Why''re you so stubborn?" Lisa said and looked at him worriedly, "Can''t you see what I mean? You aren''t alone now, there''s your sister here too. And you know it won''t do you any good after starting a fight which you can''t handle."

    "I''m not the one looking for it. You said it yourself, they''reing for me." Rio said, looking put the window "And as for Amy, humph, I won''t mind taking the lives I saved back then, if some idiot forgets his ce."

    "I''m trying to help you here. I know you''re angry at me and don''t wanna see me, but please listen to what I''m saying, fighting anyone now will only bring you more trouble and problems, it will lead to nothing." Lisa said feeling helpless trying to exin everything, as she stood up and held his shoulders.

    "You''re their leader aren''t you, keeping them in line is your job." Rio said, meeting her gaze before shrugging her hands away.

    "You know it''s not that simple." she said.

    "Is anything ever really is?" He replied back with a snear, causing her to close her mouth. Shaking his head in disappointment he just decided to leave.

    "I''ll be leaving this academy soon." Lisa said suddenly, her words causing him to stop and look at her in surprise.

    "I found some clues that might help in breaking the curse ced on my mother. If everything goes right, I''ll be back in a month or so, if not then��"

    She started exining and wanted to apologize again and say she was sorry for what she did back then, but stopped as she saw Rio walking away without listening or saying anything.

    [Host��]

    [You know what''s about to happen right.]

    [She will be in danger.]

    [You Cannot let her go there.]

    [You Have to stop her, if you want her to survive.]

    [Host�� are you even listening?]

    [Helloooo.. I''m talking to you.]

    [Can you daydreamter. She''s about to walk out on the road that''ll lead to her death. So can you stop and think for a second.]

    [....]

    Once he left the office, Rio kept walking away with his gaze down and fists clenched, while system kept speaking in his mind, reminding him of Lisa''s next plotlines and events continuously, but it all seemed to fall on deaf ears as he kept walking. His mana slowly leaking through his body, as his shadow trembled for a moment before taking on a much darker form.

    [Not again.] System said in its mind as it witnessed the familiar feeling of anger and hatred rising in its host''s mind, seemingly taking over his other senses.

    ###

    Author note - from next chapter starts the shback of events in a fast track way about when he first joined the academy three years ago. Events that slowly led up to his dreadful ''death'' in that dungeon.

 Chapter 335 glimpse of past - 1

    Chapter 335 glimpse of past - 1

    ??Three years ago

    "So this is the academy huh." The 15 year old Rio stood at therge gates of the academy watching as the name of Zenith made a shadow in sunlight covering the ground.

    "This is gonna be fun." He thought looking around with a smile at the crowd of students rushing past him.

    After years of staying at home and living with family, he had forgot all about his past and any sadness for that matter.

    He was happy, truly happy.

    No worries about the plot, protagonist or any prophecies - everything in his life was going just the way he wanted - smooth.

    It all felt like a dream that he wished couldst forever.

    And he felt grateful for the chance of his reincarnation, wholeheartedly. So he wanted to make the most out of it. Live every moment to make it best.

    ''School life, feels like a lifetime ago.'' He thought and couldn''t help but chuckle as he remembered the days back on earth.

    "You finally came?" The familiar voice of Bernhardt came to his ears, followed by a big hand over his shoulder, almost pinching his neck.

    "I thoughtdy Artemis would just knock you out and lock you up,  seeing howte you were." Bernhardt said, pulling him along towards the dormitory building, while chatting and checking out girls all the way.

    "We should''ve gone and taken my uniforms and shit. Now I gotta walk all the way back and collect themter." Rio said watching as he entered the room and found a bald guy arranging his stuff.

    Bernhardt and he were roompartners, his father (Agnes) had already arranged it so. But seeing a new guy present there already, Rio couldn''t help but feel curious.

    "Who''s that?" He asked.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "That is our room partner, Pandya." Bernhardt replied.

    "That''s his name?" Rio raised an eyebrow hearing this unfamiliar unusual name for a monk from Neisah.

    "No lol." Bernhardt chuckled hearing his question and exined. "I don''t know his name since he''s practicing some weird silent zen and doesn''t speak at all. Plus I wasn''t all that interested in knowing, so I just gave him a new one."

    "Idiot." Rio said and walked ahead to meet his room partner. After all, they were going to be living together for the next 6 months at least till exam rankings separates them.

    "Hello, I''m Rio. Your new room partner." Rio said and nced at his name batch ced on the table.

    "I''m Demir Mallys" Rio looked up and read the words being written in a golden hue in front of him like magic.

    "So you really do practice the talk no jutsu huh." He couldn''t help but joke seeing the closed mouth of the young monk, hidden behind a white mask.

    His figure as round as a ball that could roll down the stairs in circle shape without stopping if you just push it once. With a chain of beads in his hands and on his neck.

    "Do you like _ never talk? Or are there some exceptions?" he asked curiously.

    "Only for the prayers of the great God Buddha."

    ''Man talking to him is hard work huh.'' Rio said in his heart, reading the fancy letters forming in the air again.

    "Well_ I''ll see you around." Rio said and turned around, leaving, since as Bernhardt said conversation to this guy was useless.

    ''Mallys huh, the plotline rted to Darkened Buddha should be from his family then. Interesting.'' He thought in his mind, as he made a mental note to check his notes and read all about this family''s details and plotler again tonight.

    [Yes, as I mentioned before. Since the system had disappeared Rio made several notebooks recording the events of the novel, and all the stuff he could remember and guess, just so he doesn''t forget them over the years.]

    Leaving his thoughts back Rio frowned as the scent of heavy perfume hit his nose, almost giving him a headache in just a few breaths.

    "Where are you going?" he asked as he saw Bernhardt getting ready in front of the mirror. Fixing his hair, putting on an extra ring or two.

    "We. We are going to get your uniform." Bernhardt replied.

    "Then what are you doing?" Rio asked.

    "Getting ready. Cause after collecting your stuff, we are going on a tour around the academy." Bernhardt said and started dragging him away.

    "Can''t we just do that tomorrow. I''m tired as hell." Rio said honestly while feeling he really shouldn''t have sparred with his father yesterday, or ate so much of his mom''s cooking this morning, before traveling through the teleportation gates.

    His body was urhhhh.

    But Bernhardt being Bernhardt just ignored his words and dragged him away.

    �� . ��

    "Man, you sure are famous?" Bernhardt said as he looked at his new ssmates and nearby staff looking at Rio and trying to talk to him happily every now and then. "If I knew all this, I would''ve tried harder in the entrance exams too."

    Rio smiled and patted him on the shoulder "Wouldn''t change a thing. You can''t beat me, remember."

    "Oh yeah, just wait and see, I''ll take the first rank sooner orter." Bernhardt said in determination.

    "Keep dreaming bitch, you ain''t getting anything." Rio said, zapping the poor prince with just enough electricity through his hand that had his hair stand on arms.

    "You_" Bernhardt shouted as he turned around after he instinctively moved away earlier.

    He waved his hand, coating it in electricity just like Rio''s to give him a taste of the same medicine, but as he increased his speed to hit him, he failed to notice the changes happening on the ground.

    The moment he raised his foot, a ck hand made out of his shadow grabbed his other  leg and pulled him back, causing him to lose his bnce and stumble forward.

    "Fuck" He managed to shout noticing Rio waving his hand at him with a smirk on his stupidly handsome face.

    But Bernhardt wasn''t a fool either. Giving the same smirk back to Rio, he channeled his mana, causing blue sparks of thunder to appear on his feet, as his figure disappeared from the ce instantly. His heightened speed made everything else slower in his eyes, thus giving him enough time to survive falling face first on the ground.

    Rio raised an eyebrow as he didn''t expect this guy to move so fast that even he couldn''t catch his movements.

    ''Looks like the Royal legacy is doing him quite a few favors.'' He thought, remembering the gift Bernhardt inherited a few months ago, something which was meant for Alfred in the novel, of course.

    �C Arghhhh -

    But just as Rio was thinking all this, a loud scream broke his focus. Turning around in the direction of noise he saw his dear friend Bernhardt lying there on the ground.

    Looks like he did fell face first somewhere.

    "Get up, you idiot."

    A voice came from there, and only then did Rio notice a girl lying below Bernhardt.

    ''Guess this guy on speed run bumped into her huh.'' Rio thought and shook his head and started walking towards them, but stopped as he heard the sound of a loud p that sent Bernhardt rolling down the ground, until he stopped just near his feet again.

    "Ooooh, that oughta hurt." Rio said, looking at his dear friend near his feet, still not in his senses as he just stood up touching his cheek with a lost look and cheeky smile, watching as the girl whom he collided with tried to stand up with the help of her other friend.

    "Bro, you okay?" Rio said, watching Bernhardt still staring at the girl. "That p didn''t break your brain, did it?" he whispered slowly as he turned his head to look at this guy''s right cheek with the five finger printed skin.

    "It wasn''t that hard. She went easy." Bernhardt said, smiling as his eyes still fixed on her.

    "Bruh I heard the sound, that was literally the type of p that wanted to knock your teeth out." Rio joked.

    But Bernhardt ignored him and walked towards the girl instead.

    Watching him going to her with a stupid smile on his face, Rio''s teasing expression finally changed and turned serious.

    In the novel, this guycked attention and thus loved Ba, the only one who gave him that.

    But now with Rio''s help the attention issue was never a problem for our poor bastard prince.

    ''So don''t tell me this idiot viin got some new weird kink and thus fell in love with the one who pped him'' Rio thought and smiled in his heart.

 Chapter 336 glimpse of past 2

    <h4>Chapter 336 glimpse of past 2</h4>

    "Blind idiot." The girl said as she stood up from the ground. She closed her eyes and a shine swept over her body. Erasing all the dust from her clothes and fixing her appearance back to perfection.

    ''A fairy huh.'' Rio thought as he noticed a glimmer of ethereal wings forming on her back with the sweeping light, before they disappeared next second.

    It took him another careful nce at the girl dressed in silver attire with every matching jewelry or essories she wore being an auxiliary artifact of at least the unique rank, to realize who she was.

    And when he did remember her, it was already toote. As his idiot buddy was already standing against her.

    "Hi." Bernhardt said his face still giving that lost in love smile and caught in a trance vibe perfectly. "You''re beautiful." He muttered, after watching her ''shine''.

    The fairy girl, or precisely Dahlia Luminara, the fairy princess, widely known as Titania in her realm and in novel, just stood there staring at this flirting fool before ring her mana again, trying to p this shameless man again, before her friend nearby stopped her and pulled her away.

    "Hey, calm your magic." She said and Dahlia nodded her head and took a few deep breaths.

    Rio, who caught up to save Bernhardt from another embarrassing p, looked at the mark of fire that appeared on Titania''s forehead and raised an eyebrow as details of hers from the novel came to his mind.

    The Fairy race in Arcadia is mainly known for two things, first their amazing talent in light and purifying magic, and second, their ability to form contracts with elemental spirits and pixie''s.

    [Obviously the zeroth and most renowned reason is their amazingly striking perfect appearances, that just look lovely. ]

    Basically fairies were summoner or healer type magicians of Arcadia, who could call forth the spirits of elementals and tiny pixies to do their deeds. The downside of this summoning trait was that the contractual spirits would need to be subdued first, before they be your summon. Otherwise they could affect their master''s mood, emotion and spirit too. In some extremely exceptional cases even take over their bodies.

    And Dahlia or Titania being the princess of this rare n obviously had the supreme talent and power to boost her status as a heroine.

    Rio remembered a famous scene from the novel where Titania along with Saisha and Reba entered the hell towers and ughtered their way up to the Count rank demon''s floors, all in the time frame of one week just to safeguard Leon, who fell into the trap of Lucifer and Loki.

    It was a chapter called *Princess''s to the rescue* that apparently had received the mostments and teases, 3 princesses from different races all teaming up to save one guy. Quite a sensation..

    "Dude, wake up already or she''ll p your ass again. And you''ll ruin your reputation on day one."

    Seeing that though Dahlia was all calm now but Bernhardt was still staring/ogling at her, Rio pped his shoulder and sent a telepathic message.

    Finally the idiot prince seemed to wake up and realize his mistake. He looked at Dahlia who was staring at him in anger and started smiling to hide his embarrassment.

    "Stop smiling." Dahlia finally couldn''t take it anymore and spoke up again. "Don''t you have the decency to apologize if you bump into someone like that."

    "Oh that _ sorry." Bernhardt stopped smiling and exined immediately "You see it wasn''t my fault it''s his. (Pointing at Rio) He''s the one who caused me..."

    "What? Using mana outside is not allowed, but you were using your spells here so brazenly, you could''ve hurt someone, you know that?" The girl standing beside Dahlia also spoke up.

    "Yeah, tell him Lisa." Dahlia nodded her head, and looked at Rio, "And you, are you guys ying around on campus?"

    "What, no, no way, he''s just ming me for his mistake. I didn''t even do nothing." Rio said, taking no me from anyone, and pushing Bernhardt out.

    Bernhardt turned around and gave him a look that was saying "Bro, seriously..."

    But Rio turned his face away and acted like he did nothing.

    Getting no help from his friend, poor Bernhardt turned his attention back to the pair of girls ring at him and apologized sincerely. "I''m sorry."

    "Humph" Dahlia scoffed and turned around to leave, instead of talking to him, but Lisa beside her spoke up, stopping her.

    "You_you''re Rio, right?" She said, looking at the young white haired boy, who kind of looked a little out of ce as the most of the others were a little older than him.

    Hearing someone call his name, Rio turned his face and nced at the other girl and recognized her too.

    "Hello, Miss Elisabeth." He said to the protagonist''s sister with a smile and nodded his head.

    It had been a couple of years since he hadst seen her at his birthday celebration where he promised to help her unconscious mother after seeing her sad and silent in a corner.

    [Elizabeth didn''te to the entrance ceremony of Zenith as she was busy with her dungeon trip where she met Dahlia and became friends.]

    "You are him." A smile came to Lisa''s face as she confirmed his identity. "Thank you, for everything that you''ve done." She said from the bottom of her heart, talking about how the ke family had been supplying constant medicines and potions to help improve her mother''s condition over the years.

    "It''s nothing really, I promised, didn''t I?" Rio said lightly.

    "You still remember that?" Lisa asked in surprise, noticing now that he not only recognized her but also understood what she was talking about.

    "Don''t you?" Rio asked.

    "Yeah." Lisa replied and smiled.

    She wanted to tell him thanks several times over the years but never got the chance. As after his first massive celebration in Arcadia where little Rio had to meet and greet nearly a thousand people, he raised his hands in surrender and refused directly to ever celebrate his birthday or other functions so grandly again.

    Though it was tough getting others to agree, he finally coaxed Artemis to always host that small family-only party for him that he very much enjoyed over therge gatherings and fake guests.

    And whatever little events he went to for other nobles and stuff, either Lisa wasn''t there at that time or didn''t get a chance to personally meet him alone.

    But now seeing him again, after thanking him from all her family''s side, she felt like a stone was finally pushed aside and she wasfortable again.

    While the two of them were catching up, Bernhardt and Dahlia just stood there looking at them with confused eyes, thinking the same thing ''Was this still their same friend?''

    "Hey, why didn''t you tell me how you know this guy?"

    "Why didn''t you tell me you had a girl already, you bastard?"

    Dahlia and Bernhardt asked their friends the question in their own style once they pulled them aside, but while Lisa gave a short exnation to Dahlia, Rio just looked at Bernhardt like looking at a fool and ignored him.

    "You don''t have the watch yet, did you just arrive at the academy?" Lisa asked, noticing Rio didn''t have the zenith signature student identity watch on him yet.

    "Yeah, I was just going to collect them." Rio replied.

    "We''re going there too. Let''s go together." Dahlia, who was silent all this time suddenly spoke up and then added, "We were also nning to go on a tour around the academy, you can join us too." Her expression was clearly a little friendly as she had a good impression of Rio after talking with Lisa.

    "Is that okay?" Rio looked at Lisa and asked, and nodded his head after she agreed.

    "Hey, what about me?" Bernhardt, who was feeling left out interrupted their conversation, sounding a little annoyed.

    "This perv is your friend?" Dahlia asked Rio, pointing at Bernhardt.

    "Hey, I told you that was a mistake alright." Bernhardt defended himself and soon started another banter with Dahlia, who was shouting at his face pointing fingers, calling him perv with how weird and creepy his smile was.

    While Bernhardt just called her a leftover ghost with how angry and white she was from head to toe, except for her brownish hairs and the fiery aura her spirit exuded when she got angry a little.

    Lisa and Rio looked at this duo fighting and arguing and just smiled, as they ignored them and started talking about themselves.

    "You made a record in the entrance exams, how?" she asked,

    "You were just 9 seconds behind me." Rio replied.

    "That''s what I''m asking, how''d you beat me?"

    "I don''t know, maybe cause I''m a better genius."

    "Not for long."

    ��

    �� n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The friendship of four that had started just like this at the gates of academy, with lively and happy expressions on everyone''s faces at this moment, didn''t know what was in store for them in the future. Where just a simple exam and a dungeon trip would change their whole lives for forever.

    ----

    "No, no, no, no, nooooooooo Da_ Dahlia open your eyes. Please, please just once, please open your eyes." Bernhardt begged as he stared at the girl lying lifeless in his arms, her once vibrant eyes now closed forever. Blood stained his hands, mingling with his tears as he pleaded with her to wake up, his voice raw with desperation and disbelief.

    His face was paled due to a serious injury on his shoulder, constantly bathing him whole in blood, yet the physical pain or poison of that cut didn''t affect him one bit.

    He just held her tightly, his heart breaking in pieces as he felt her body getting colder every passing moment.

    "Riooo, tell her, naa, tell her to get up and stop acting. Help her, you have something that can help her, heal her right, she''ll be fine. Tell me, she''ll be fine. Please, she has to be." His voice choking with tears as he changed nces between Rio and Dahlia. His expressions keep changing between guilt, pain and a helpless hope that refused to ept her loss.

    "This can''t be happening.... It''s not... It''s not real, right.... She can''t, she can''t right..... Aarrgghhhhhhh"

    "....." Rio, who witnessed the death of one of his close friends and saw the scene of other''s breakdown - just closed his eyes and buried all the emotions down his heart. Inside the deep dark corners where he put every other sad thing that he never wanted to remember in this life again.

    There was only one thought echoing in his mind at this point as he opened his eyes again, his pupils turning into a darker shade of ck as every obstacle cleared and he finally noticed a pair of students standing side by side on an empty rooftop.

    The perpetrators of everything.

    Never before in Arcadia did he ever wanted to kill someone so much. Never before in this world, did he hated someone so much. And for that he swore in his heart.

    ''I''ll kill you, all of you. Even if I have to burn down whole of arcadia, I .. Will.. Kill You.''

 Chapter 337 Glimpse of the dreaded dungeon 1

    Chapter 337 Glimpse of the dreaded dungeon 1

    ??Scenes before the dungeon event for the year endbined academic tournament

    "Hey, that Kendrick guy is ring at you quite intently, I think you broke his pride." Bernhardt said, pointing at a red haired boy wrapped in bandages, while walking with Rio towards the stage below the glowing gray portal through which students were to enter the vastnd of the dungeon.

    "Like you''re any better, just look at that guy, his face is screaming that he wants to give you a tight ''brotherly hug'' and squeeze the life out of you." Rio joked pointing at Alfred walking ahead, a metal hair band wrapped over his head, as Bernhardt''s electricity left quite the static on the poor prince''s shiny stylish hair.

    "You both reallyck the finesse and elegance that the nobles and royalty should have. How can you even fight like that? So inadequate." Dahlia, who was walking beside them said as she pped Bernhardt on the head ''for fun''.

    "Says the girl who nearly made barbecue out of her opponent. I can still smell the burnt meat in the air." Bernhardt said as he pped her back, while mockingly staring at a girl covered in a green hue, walking just few rows ahead him.

    "Th_that was Pyro''s fault, not mine." Dahlia said, defending her ''fairy'' image while ming it all on her ''violent'' contracted spirit.

    "Yeah, me it all on the poor pixie, who can''t defend herself." Bernhardt joked.

    "Well, why''re you talking about just me? Lisa defeated two of her opponents after embarrassing them too." Dahlia said, trying to change the topic, before Pyro went mad in another mood swing and burning down this thick skinned prince. Again.

    "Don''t drag me into your lover''s quarrel." Lisa, who was walking on the side, flipping through a pamplet that exined the rules for tournament, couldn''t help but muse as she saw her roommate using her name as a shield.

    "It''s not a lover''s quarrel." ��2

    But just as Lisa said that, a surprised voice from both of them came out. Before they went and made a disgusting and disbelieving expression looking at each other and turned their faces in opposite directions. Next second, realizing that they mirrored the looks and started disrespecting each other for ''copying'' again.

    "Only someone blind or really really stupid would fall for this idiot." Dahlia said, scrunching her nose, while she was swatting the air away from her hands, afraid to breathe it in the same ce with him.

    "ohh yeah, well I''m still better, unlike you, whom even idiots can''t stand." Bernhardt said, before suddenly grabbing her hands and towering over her petite figure.

    Causing Dahlia to blush in embarrassment for a few seconds before she snapped out again and started insulting him again even more, while Bernhardt just kept smiling at her trying to hide her bright red face.

    Lisa and Rio looked at them fighting and teasing each other and shook their heads, ignoring it like it was an everyday thing, which it was by the way.

    Lisa turned to look at Rio and smiled slightly. "You should still be careful about him and them. The professors this time aren''t exactly happy with you either." she suggested, looking at some of her ssmates and then at the few flying figures staring intently at their direction.

    "The professors can''t interfere now or the matches would be canceled and they''d be suspended. And once this exam is over, it''s not clear how many of them can retain their posts at Zenith." Rio said nonchntly while smirking at an old man with long white hair and golden mark between his eyebrows, whose only disciple jumped out the window and killed himself a few weeks ago. Leaving behind only a suicide note, saying that he couldn''t take any more of his master''s abuse, causing the old man''s reputation to drop down to the bottom instantly.

    (A/N - Totally not Rio''s fault. Removing Leon''s supporters and future brothers one by one.)

    "Just be careful and don''t jump into battles without thinking. The council president mentioned that many of the other academies would group together and target Zenith, and especially you." Lisa further added, hoping this guy would forget his fun and games, and take this tournament more seriously.

    "You should look out for yourself. I already have my ns prepared." Rio said with an inexplicable smile as he nced at the stage where he noticed many familiar and unfamiliar faces from the novel.

    "Man, look at them, practically drooling at the sight of you." Bernhardt too, stopped teasing Dahlia and spoke seriously once they reached the open stage below the portal, where he could see representatives of other academies already sitting in silence and staring at them.

    It''s just that the vocabry of this bastard prince had been a little dirtytely, and what he wants to say and what he says are sometimes twopletely different things.

    "Fuck off." Rio said the moment he heard his words and looked at all the boys at front with eyes burning withpetitive and fighting spirit, instead of the ''drooling'' his friend spoke of.

    "So how many do you think would challenge you?" Dahlia asked, looking at the groups of students who started talking amongst themselves. While a few leading ones started ordering their minions and lower rankers.

    "He''d be sure to break the record, along with their bones." Bernhardtughed looking at the poor fellows lining up to test Rio''s strength, before they go ahead and enter the dungeon world.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Well, since stupid people keep jumping forward, asking for a beating, then I can onlyply and help them openly." Rio said, turning his head at the red haired boy with bandages wrapped around his forehead and wrists. Mocking the guy for being an idiot and challenging him for the final battle at the Zenith ranking tournament.

    Though there was a lot of chatter from students and audience all around them, Kendrick who was walking by the side couldn''t help but clench his fist in anger as he heard Rio''s remarks.

    Yet he couldn''t refute him at all.

    As the difference in their rank and skill was just demonstrated in front of the whole academy a few days ago.

    Challenging Rio was just asking for another beating, as he phrased it.

    ''Just you wait, once this tournament is over, I''ll have your head on a spike and turn your body into a skewer, you bastard.'' Kendrick thought in his heart nning to kill Rio once he left the floating inds.

    Simr thoughts were in the mind of many people, all in one way or another hating on Rio or nning revenge on him somehow, be it Alfred who lost to Bernhardt in an open and fair battle, or Pandya who was bullied and one pped by Rio, Heirchal and Millie who were kicked out by Dahlia, or Orcsty and Myenta who were defeated by Lisa.

    Every one of the top ten representatives from Zenith were hating the group of four friendsughing and joking together. Their eyes burning in hatred and displeasure over their sess and smiles.

    Rio, who noticed all of this, finally put aside his funny andid back attitude for a second and looked at everyone. His eyes sweeping over the crowd of students and the few staff members lined up nearby with a cold smile on his face.

    ''I wonder how many of you would live to tell the tale once this exam is over.'' He said in his heart, praising his n that would spell all of his future troubles'' doom in one full sweep.

    Experiment number 101

    If I kill all the important characters that would grow up to y important roles in the future and the ns of destiny, before the plot even begins, would fate rece them silently, or restart another story?

    Or I finally feel the bacsh of fate that so many novels talked about.

    ''Nyx, you with me, right?''

    [Always]

    ''Good. That''s all I need then.''

 Chapter 338 ××××

    338 ��������

    Scenes of the dungeon for the year endbined academic tournament

    "Hey, that Kendrick guy is ring at you quite intently, I think you broke his pride." Bernhardt said, walking with Rio towards the stage below the glowing gray portal through which students were to enter the vastnd of the dungeon.

    "Like you''re any better, just look at that guy, his face is screaming that he wants to give you a tight brotherly hug and squeeze the life out of you." Rio joked pointing at Alfred walking ahead, a metal hair band wrapped over his head, as Bernhardt''s electricity left quite the static on the poor prince.

    "You both reallyck the finesse and elegance that the nobles should have. How can you even fight like that? So inadequate." Dahlia, who was walking beside them said as she pped Bernhardt on the head.

    "Says the girl who nearly made barbecue out of her opponent. I can still smell the burnt meat in the air." Bernhardt said mockingly as he pped her back.

    "Th_that was Pyro''s fault, not mine." Dahlia said, ming it all on her contracted spirit.

    "Yeah, me it all on the poor pixie, who can''t defend herself." Bernhardt joked.

    "Well, why''re you talking about just me? Lisa defeated two of her opponents after embarrassing them too." Dahlia said, trying to change the topic, before her spirit went mad again in another mood swing again, burning down this thick skinned prince. Again.

    "Don''t drag me into your lover''s quarrel." Lisa, who was walking on the side, couldn''t help but muse as she saw her roommate using her as a shield again.

    "It''s not a lover''s quarrel." ��2

    But just as Lisa said that, a surprised voice from both of them came out. Before they went and made a disgusting and disbelieving expression looking at each other and started disrespecting each other again.

    "Only someone blind or really really stupid would fall for this idiot." Dahlia said, scrunching her nose, while she was swatting the air away from her hands, afraid to breathe it in the same ce with him.

    "ohh yeah, well I''m still better, unlike you, whom even idiots can''t stand." Bernhardt said, before suddenly grabbing her hands and towering over her petite figure.

    Causing Dahlia to blush in embarrassment for a few seconds before she snapped out again and started insulting him again even more, while Bernhardt just kept smiling at her trying to hide her bright red face.

    Lisa and Rio looked at them fighting and teasing each other and shook their heads, ignoring it like it was an everyday thing, which it was by the way.

    Lisa turned to look at Rio and smiled slightly. "You should still be careful about him and them. The professors this time aren''t exactly happy with you either." she suggested, looking at some of her ssmates and then at the few flying figures staring intently at their direction.

    "The professors can''t interfere now or the matches would be canceled and they''d be suspended. And once this exam is over, it''s not clear how many of them can retain their posts at Zenith." Rio said nonchntly while smirking at an old man with long white hair and golden mark between his eyebrows, whose only disciple jumped out the window and killed himself a few weeks ago. Leaving behind only a suicide note, saying that he couldn''t take any more of his master''s abuse, causing the old man''s reputation to drop down to the bottom instantly.

    (A/N - Totally not Rio''s fault. Removing Leon''s supporters and future brothers one by one.)

    "Just be careful and don''t jump into battles without thinking. The council president mentioned that many of the other academies would group together and target Zenith, and especially you." Lisa further added, hoping this guy would forget his fun and games, and take this tournament more seriously. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "You should look out for yourself. I already have my ns prepared." Rio said with an inexplicable smile as he nced at the stage where he noticed many familiar and unfamiliar faces from the novel.

    "Man, look at them, practically drooling at the sight of you." Bernhardt too, stopped teasing Dahlia and spoke seriously once they reached the open stage below the portal, where he could see representatives of other academies already sitting in silence and staring at them.

    It''s just that the vocabry of this bastard prince had been a little dirtytely, and what he wants to say and what he says are sometimes twopletely different things.

    "Fuck off." Rio said the moment he heard his words and looked at all the boys at front with eyes burning withpetitive and fighting spirit, instead of the ''drooling'' his friend spoke of.

    "So how many do you think would challenge you?" Dahlia asked, looking at the groups of students who started talking amongst themselves. While a few leading ones started ordering their minions and lower rankers.

    "He''d be sure to break the record, along with their bones." Bernhardtughed looking at the poor fellows lining up to test Rio''s strength, before they go ahead and enter the dungeon world.

    "Well, since stupid people keep jumping forward, asking for a beating, then I can onlyply and help them openly." Rio said, turning his head at the red haired boy with bandages wrapped around his forehead and wrists. Mocking the guy for being an idiot and challenging him for the final battle at the Zenith ranking tournament.

    Though there was a lot of chatter from students and audience all around them, Kendrick who was walking by the side couldn''t help but clench his fist in anger as he heard Rio''s remarks.

    Yet he couldn''t refute him at all.

    As the difference in their rank and skill was just demonstrated in front of the whole academy a few days ago.

    Challenging Rio was just asking for another beating, as he phrased it.

    ''Just you wait, once this tournament is over, I''ll have your head on a spike and turn your body into a skewer, you bastard.'' Kendrick thought in his heart nning to kill Rio once he left the floating inds.

    Simr thoughts were in the mind of many people, all in one way or another hating on Rio or nning revenge on him somehow, be it Alfred who lost to Bernhardt in an open and fair battle, or Pandya who was bullied and one pped by Rio, Heirchal who was kicked out by Dahlia, or Orcsty and Myenta who were defeated by Lisa.

    Every one of the top ten representatives from Zenith were hating the group of four friendsughing and joking together. Their eyes burning in hatred and displeasure over their sess and smiles.

    Rio, who noticed all of this, finally put aside his funny andid back attitude for a second and looked at everyone. His eyes sweeping over the crowd of students and the few staff members lined up nearby with a cold smile on his face.

    ''I wonder how many of you would live to tell the tale once this exam is over.'' He said in his heart, praising his n that would spell all of his future troubles doom in one full sweep.

    Experiment number 101

    If I kill all the important characters that would grow up to y important roles in the future and the ns of destiny, before the plot even begins, would fate rece them silently, or restart another story?

    Or I finally feel the bacsh of fate that so many novels talked about.

    ''Nyx, you with me, right?''

    [Always]

    ''Good. That''s all I need then.''

 Chapter 339 The hunting game

    339 The hunting game

    After the open challenge where few students from all the academies challenged each other to test the strength and skills of toppetition without revealing too much of their own strength and skills, the tense atmosphere calmed down a little.

    No one wanted to reveal too much of their skills by showing off in a battle just before the main tournament began. Not to mention the opponent could also refuse the challenge if he didn''t feel like fighting.

    Obviously Rio was very happy toply with all the requests. Beating the crap out of dumbasses who thought it''d be wise to challenge him and see what he can do, was good for his health, after all.

    As for spending his mana or showing his skills before the match up and all the other primitive stuff, it didn''t bother him. He was confident he could beat all the students his ss year easily after all.

    Not to mention mentally scarring these children and leaving a shadow of a mountain, kinda freshens up his mood a little. After all, hurting their ego in front of such arge crowd in a one-sided crushing is always a year long trauma for these young arrogant idiots.

    "Silence." Professor Maleatus, the guy whose disciple offed himself, floated in the air, and gave amand.

    His raspy voice amplified by mana echoed in the empty forest they were in and drowned all the chatter of every student. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I''m sure everyone already knows how important this event is for you all. Not just to show your skills and prove to everyone about what you learned in this one year, but also to get the chance of entering the Ascendant Tower."

    As the professor mentioned the tower , the crowd of students erupted into loud cheers and happy discussions amongst themselves. Their faces flourishing with their hopes and dreams to enter the tower and rise beyond their peers and leave their names in the history of world association.

    Ignoring the loud cheering, professor Maleatus amplified his voice even more and continued his speech.

    "Out of more than 10000 students who get enrolled at our academies every year, only the top 100 of them get the chance to enter the trial grounds of Tower.

    And any one of you, who''s here at this time, representing your academies, can be one of them."

    "But to reach the dungeon test which would decide the top 100, you all would have to go through one final challenge." Professor said, looking at the groups of top 250 students from each academy sitting in front of him.

    "You''ve all studied hard, trained harder and proved yourself by reaching here, but now, this round we have to shorten the numbers even more.

    Out of 1250 of you from everywhere, only 500 students can enter the dungeon exam.

    The hunt - The culling - The root out�� whatever you call it, is here.

    So be ready for your final challenge. The rules have been sent to your watches. If you have any doubts, ask the instructors and guides assigned to your batch.

    You have 15 minutes to go through everything. Pray, n, strategize, and get ready for thisst hurdle.

    I wish you all the very best luck."

    "Man, does this guy love to talk?" Rio said while yawning by the time the long speech finished and the professor disappeared from the ce.

    "Rio." Freya Morgan, the student council president of Zenith, looked at him trying to doze off and shouted his name, causing his eyes to instantly widen get back in rity. "The rules." she said, signaling how everyone else was checking the rules, and he was busy wasting time.

    "Yes mam." Rio said, clicking on his watch as the square holographic screen popped up and lines of text became visible to his eyes.

    He took a rough nce, before looking around to see Bernhardt, who was scratching his head smiling like an idiot, while Dahlia was exining him something. On the other side, Lisa was seriously reading everything one by one, he could even hear her mumble some stuff but he didn''t pay attention.

    He looked ahead at the differently dressed students from other academies and saw everyone was busy with their head hung down, staring at those screens like their lives depended on it. Which actually kinda did, but who cares.

    "Ummmm" Rio, who was busy staring at the birds flying in the air, counting feathers, thinking which unlucky student would get shitnding on their shoulders, was interrupted by a cough as a shadow loomed over him and soon a figure blocked his sight.

    "Rio, have you read the rules?" Freya asked, with a slight smile that looked kinda cold for her hot figure and the fiery temperament she''s known for.

    ''Already did. Before even you, if I''m right.'' Rio said in his heart as his partner professor Ryuk had been a very helpful person in his n this time.

    But since he couldn''t say that, he just smiled and nodded his head. Thinking to boast his genius brain in front of this girl who''ll be the professor two yearster and teach the protagonist.

    But who knew, she''d y her cards wrong and instead of asking questions about rules, she gave that same professor-like reply. "Then read again."

    Rio clicked his tongue on the wasted opportunity to show off and buried his head back into the transparent screen again.

    [Rules for ''The Hunt'']

    The game of hunt would be held in the Frighenart forests. The students would be teleported randomly with the sole goal to hunt the monsters upying the forest.

    15:20

    {The trick, not every monster will get you points, only those marked by a golden seal over their body would add on for your points.

    So be sure to check your prey before jumping into a fight, or you might end up wasting your energy and not score anything.}

    Point distribution scale

    -�C F rank monster - 1 point

    E rank monster - 10 points

    D rank monster - 50 points

    C rank monster - 250 points

    B rank monster - 500 points

    (The one whonds the final blow is the one who gets the points.)

    Other than the killings, finding the various herbs listed in the next image can be exchanged for points too.

    The forest here has been affected by a spatial crack opened 10 years ago. And the creatures and nts inside have been constantly going through mutation ever since then. Find the source of these changes and solve the trouble.

    �� 10000 points

    Fighting and stealing between students is allowed. But kill points once obtained cannot be transferred to anyone in any case.

    The match would go on until only 500 students remained, or someone solved the final challenge.

    There are mystery elements, traps, treasures and surprises in the forest too. So always be on your guard.

    ...

    ''Man, they really forgot to mention they threw in the death penalty criminals caught by world association inside the forests to die too huh. Promising freedom in return for how many students they eliminate.'' Rio said in his heart and added "Along with the fact that you will be without any potions, any artifacts and other defensive measures of the academy too." He said to himself and smiled in his heart over why these old office guys liked surprising children so much.

    ''But that''s only better, I got a surprise of my own too.'' Rio thought and looked at the bright sun in the sky. ''Eclipse ising.''

 Chapter 340 Frieghenart Forest

    Chapter 340 Frieghenart Forest

    ??Frieghenart Forest, a flourishingnd that was home to 3 tribes of Tanaeki. A forest filled with theughter of those tribesmen, chirping of birds and the love of nature.

    Yet it all changed 10 years ago when a spatial crack opened on top of this peaceful forest. By the time news of this sudden incident reached the ears of the World Association or the Adventurer''s Guild, it was toote. And when the help arrived, this forest was all empty and everyone inside dead or missing.

    Some said that everyone was pulled into the spatial crack and died there, while some said a few monsters managed to jump out the crack and killed and ate everyone. The end result was obviously a whole lot of nothing, as after solving the open gate, no one thought important enough to use their treasures to track the people killed below.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The primitive tribes had refused the World Association''s advice to move near the cities several times before and chose to stay in the same ce away from everyone, believing in just their own God and their own culture of prayers and sacrifices for safety, so when shit happened and they disappeared, the World association didn''t care about them either.

    After that incident the once lively forest had turned into an empty ruin that no one cared for. Yet it all changed again 4 years after when a team of nomads disappeared near the forest.

    The adventurer and investigators who came to check this ce also disappeared mysteriously, and finally after some more small idents, the anomaly inside this ce came into the light .

    Mutation

    The trees, animals, birds - or anything else inside this forest seemed to be going through a strange mutation that made them crazy and bloodthirsty. All kinds of atrocities and anomalies have been born into this ce ever since then.

    It had been quite a famous hunting ground for a few years until the world association bought this ce and secured it for private purposes.

    As for what that purpose was doesn''t need to be said - host these kinds of exams and tests for students.

    "Pity these idiots have no idea what this ce actually is, and what''s so scary about this forest." Rio thought and sighed to himself.

    Maybe it was fate''s fault for keeping the truth hidden until the protagonist appears in academy, or maybe it was just theziness of the staff who didn''t check the forest carefully and just assumed that it was just a normal case of mutation.

    Anyway it was good for him.

    ��

    Five dayster

    In arge cave-like pattern many students gathered as everyone felt the raging mana fluctuations here and heard the loud roar that shook the ground for miles.

    After five days of fighting though the forest of nightmares where fog was filled with illusion, and every tree was a monster in disguise - most of the students have been eliminated. Some by themselves, some by other students.

    Many students have hoarded a lot of points, and stole a lot of herbs all the while ''killing'' many students from other academies and getting them eliminated - but Rio didn''t do those things.

    Ever since he entered the forest and got teleported away, he had been wandering around the forest keeping an eye on everything though the spells like deadman''s eyes, birds eye view, sight of night etc.

    He did kill a lot of monsters, but keeping his image as the Angel in mind, he didn''t eliminate a single student. Hell he even made sure to jump into fights and save some people every now and then.

    "It''s too high level. We can''t kill her."

    "How about we all work together to injure it first. The final blow can depend on whoever takes the shot."

    "You''re just saying it cause your academy has the highest manpower left."

    "Got any better ideas, idiot. Or do you want to just keep hiding behind this rock and wait to get killed."

    Currently all the students inside the cave patterns were facing what looked like the boss monster of this forest.

    In front of them was arge broken statue, 20-25 meters tall, standing in the center of this cave pattern. Crafted from cold, gray y, the statue bore the likeness of demihumans or halflings, with exaggerated features that seemed to twist and contort in the dim moonlight.

    Though motionless and lifeless, it exuded an aura of dread that sent shivers down the spines of all who watched it. Its empty eyes, devoid of any discernible emotion, always seemed to be watching everything from and far away.

    In front of this statue was floating a Howling Banshee who was controlling her army of abominations.

    A spectral figure cloaked in tattered robes of midnight ck. Her ethereal form seemed to flicker and waver in the faint light, giving her an otherworldly appearance. Strands of ck hair cascaded from beneath a hood that obscured her face, leaving only a glimpse of piercing red eyes that glowed with an otherworldly light.

    Beneath the Banshee''smand, a horde of abominations walked through the cavern, their twisted forms casting grotesque shadows upon the rocky walls.

    Among them, tree monsters known as Rootbinders prowled with gnarled limbs outstretched, their bark-like skin crackling with a dark energy. With each step, they sent tendrils of roots snaking across the entire cavern floor, capturing victims and dragging them to the feet of the y statue for the grisly fate of a sacrifice.

    Above, Giant mutated birds soared through the air, their rotten wings casting ominous shadows across the ground below. Their blood-red eyes, which gleamed with malevolence as they swooped down to catch their prey. Their razor-sharp talons and broken beaks glistened in the dim light as they swooped down to snatch up the hopeless prey.

    Some birds weren''t even alive as they looked more like corpses or skeletons flying above with empty eye sockets. Their piercing screeches echoing off the cavern walls. With each p of their wings, they unleashed sts of wind that sent debris flying everywhere.

    Among the chaos, Nightmarrow creatures emerged from the very ground itself, Their shifting forms were made from the swirling sands. Just like sandworms, they slithered and slunk through the caves, leaving a trail of destion in their wake. These monsters would dissolve and spread their magic in a wide area causing everyone trapped inside the sand to fall into crippling nightmares.

    Normal animals that were peacefully living in the forest before like lions, elephants, hyenas & some pets like cows, buffalos, dogs or even cute rabbits - all of these had also mutated and had turned into grim abominations. Some grew extra pairs of limbs, some had weird glowing eyes and twisted mouths. Some puffed up like a balloon, waiting to burst at slightest touch, while some jacked up like they went to gym and took steroids for decades.

    Combined they all looked nothing short of some failed Frankenstein experiment. Making proud of the Forest''s name.

    But obviously the most terrifying of all was still the Banshee herself, her presence suffused with an aura of dread that sent shivers down the spines of all who watched her. With a mere flick of her cloak, she released billowing clouds of fog that seeped into the minds of her victims, twisting their perceptions and driving them to madness.

    After days of fighting amongst themselves and the criminals trapped inside these forests, the students were already little worn out and less on mana and supplies to maintain their peak abilities, and now they had to fight this boss level bs creature for the final points.

    Unsurprisingly everyone who managed to survive all this time is a known person or a genius talent of their academies, so no one wanted to give up on this chance to get those highest points.

    Even the criminals still alive were looking at the Banshee like it was their ticket to freedom. Not aware that even if they won and did everything as ordered, even then they''d only get death after this tournament.

    Rio moved his gaze from one corner to other, watching as he realized basically all the elites and noble heirs currently studying in first year were here, along with the no name known students who''d grow up to y important roles in some future arcs and events - he couldn''t help but nod his head and smile to himself, that saving all these idiots the past five days and making sure they all get here safely wasn''t a waste of his efforts.

    The trap was ready, the bait was awoken, and the prey had finally stepped inside. All he needed now was the signal to close the door and capture it instantly.

    He turned his attention to the statue in the middle and then at the light of the moon sweeping slowly through the open stone spaces..

    ''Could Leon ever guess that the treasure that can spell doom for all his story and ns of fate, was something he handed it out himself.'' Rio said, bringing out a simple small white stone from his storage ring.

    Smiling as it started to shine as he channeled his mana and the moonlight reflected upon its surface.

    ###

    Author note - anyone remember what Rio''s talking about? What stone, what leon, when did that happen?

 Chapter 341 Canaanite Deities - Baal, Moloch and Yarikh

    Chapter 341 Canaanite Deities - Baal, Moloch and Yarikh

    ??Moonstone, a mysterious stone with no detailed description in the novel. Sometimes the moonstone was termed as a part of a dead moon''s core. While somewhere it was mentioned that every moonstone once held the essence of a moon God. While some believed moonstones were used to store their God''s faith, prayers and powers, to be given as a blessing to his most devout followers in their time of need.

    The truth never rified as the author clearly didn''t put so much focus on an artifact when he had to write a shit ton of others too.

    But one thing that the author highlighted every time was that the moonstone could attract the light of the moon and was best to be used by those who had moon gods as their backing.

    In the novel, this same frighenart forest was used for the exam ground for the protagonist and his ssmates too.

    During this exam, Warzy had attacked the academy and many students were killed, but just when the situation was most desperate, this moonstone, which was wrapped around Reba''s hands, yed a crucial role and saved Leon and everyone else.

    As this particr moonstone held thest essence of Yarikh, the moon god of Canaanite pantheon, who was seriously injured during the war of gods thousand year ago, and died a couple hundred yearster since his power of faith couldn''t heal his injuries.

    The day of the tournament when the event of the crisis happened, and everyone was about to be killed by Warzy viins, Reba used this moonstone after her goddess Selene taught her how, and it teleported everyone away from that ce.

    Sending them all to the nearest temple of Yarikh.

    This sudden shift caused Warzy to lose their advantage of numbers and prior traps, and thus the main characters were able to survive and shine once more.

    Obviously Reba felt grateful for Leon and gave him all the credit since he was the one who gave her the moonstone, causing the protagonist''s prestige to rise even more. And the distance between them to decrease again.

    Why she as a princess who had thousands of essories and received millions of gifts, kept this one on her all these years, but also remembered about it''s origins - can only be exined by the protagonist halo, simply meaning author''sziness.

    ��

    Rio nned to do something simr with this stone too. Obviously not to save anyone, but to kill all his ssmates who could grow in future and y a role in the crusade against the ke family.

    His team of Eclipse was already waiting at the temple of Yarikh, and all he had to do now was to teleport everyone he wanted dead into the trap.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He couldn''t kill students here in the open or at the duwhen the academy was watching, that''s why he made sure to save as many of his targets from getting eliminated these days and then lured them all here into this cave for the final showdown.

    Obviously after his many experiments he knew fate would surely pop up, trying to save them, or sending them help faster than possible, so as Shiva, he also made a deal with another deity of demons, promising on giving them a show worth watching and shit ton of sacrifices, in return for their help in killing as many students as soon as possible.

    And that''s where the Banshee and her army of abominations came from.

    A help from the deity of sacrifices, Moloch.

    ###

    History of Frighenart Forest

    The tribes used to living in this forest liked to pray to Baal, the Canaanite deity, god of storm and fertility.

    Ten years ago when the spatial crack opened, Baal, who was bored, saw a chance to better entertain himself and decided to interfere in the event.

    He was the one who caused the spatial gate''s restrictions to copse for a second , causing a higher amount of differential world energy to pour outside. Causing the mutation that every creature suffered from.

    All the tribesman followers who were waiting for their God''smand were drowned in the unknown energy. Their mortal bodies, failing to handle the essence of a new world, suffered a severe case of EMMSY like radiation that caused all of them to wither and disappear in the wind.

    Their screams of agony echoed in the empty forest, as the demonic deity justughed on their misery and his entertainment. Crushing them and feeling nothing.

    The priestess of Baal who called everyone to the temple, watched her fellow tribesman dying in pain and asked her God to help? To mercy - but got no response. It was like Baal had given up on them and ignored their existence.

    It was then that some other gods mocked her, telling her that it was Baal himself, who killed her tribes. Since having such weak followers disgusted the great god of storms.

    The shocked and despairing priestess ran to the temple, jumping over the sea of blood and mountain of corpses of her loved ones, and looked at the golden statue of God and asked why he did this? Why would he kill them? They were his own followers'' heart and soul, They weren''t any avatars or champions of anyone else, but just some weak mortals, so why would he kill them so cruelly.

    And the answer she got from her god was just a few simple words - "Because I can."

    Feeling betrayed and abandoned, the priestess begged every other god she could remember or who was watching that scene, for help and mercy to save someone, anyone, Yet none came forward.

    And she could just watch as everyone died one by one. As she kept crying on their corpses before they turned to dust and disappeared too.

    Knowing she could do nothing, all her pain turned to anger, and in her dying breath she destroyed the statue of Baal and cursed the god she always prayed to, so much so that it stopped Baal''sughter and earned her his wrath.

    Knowing this mortal had no fear of death anymore, the demonic deity ced a curse on the priestess, turning her into an undead creature, who could never die, and be with the people she wished to be.

    And that''s how the Banshee of Frighenart forest came to be.

    Banned inside the forest to live and suffer alone for eternity, by the very god she worshiped all her life.

    At the beginning, even after turning into an undead Banshee, she was sane. Trying different ways to free herself from this curse and die, so she can find her fellow tribesman again in the afterlife. But over time with the corrosion of dark magic and mutation happening all around her, she started losing her sanity too, slowly turning into just another monster, who''s out for blood.

    Seeing her ferocity and heart of vengeance, Moloch, the bull headed Canaanite deity of Sacrifice, who always had an enmity with Baal, made her an offer.

    "Pray to him, sacrifice to him, and he will fulfill all her wishes."

    The poor priestess, who had no other choice, chose to agree and finally became the nightmarish monster she is today.

    She made a y statue of Moloch at the very ce where Baal''s temple used to be, and started sacrificing everyone who entered the forest ever since then.

    With each 100 people she sacrifices, Moloch would bring back one spirit of the deceased for her.

    Obviously the god of sacrifices also only lied and tricked her. As he didn''t bring back shit. The spirits he talked about were just the abominations born out of mutation, with little intelligence..

    Due to her dark magic and curse of Baal, all these newly mutated monsters liked to stay around her and followed her will. Giving the Banshee an illusion that every monster was her fellow tribesman, as they liked to listen to her simrly to before when she was a priestess.

    But the priestess now was too far gone to know or notice this obvious difference, and could only keep killing people and sacrificing their blood, bones and souls to Moloch, in exchange for these monsters.

    A truly pitiful existence through and through.

    ##

    She was supposed to keep on doing this until obviously our protagonist leon learned the truth of this forest and freed her from the curse and gave her the freedom of death. Promising her soul that he''ll get justice for her one day.

    Thus the dude earned himself another enmity from two gods. Baal and Moloch - both who felt leon went against their wishes, and ruined their good deeds.

    But Rio obviously wasn''t that generous. Though he felt pity for the creature, he also felt the feeling that she''d make an amazing pawn , one which he could use perfectly in a few situations.

    After all, he needed a scapegoat for all the deaths he was gonna cause very soon. And who''s better to take the me, than a crazy cursed Banshee who''s also believer of a demonic god.

    ##

    Everything was just going smoothly and perfectly, with all the nning, preparations, people - all of them under Rio''s control.

    Yet one thing he failed to take into ount was - ''No matter what knowledge he had of the future and the past, how could the mind of a mortalprehend what a God''s gonna do.''

    And dear Lord, did he pay a hefty price for this mistake..

 Chapter 342 Time to die

    Chapter 342 Time to die

    ??Inside the cave patterns all the students were desperately struggling against the raging monsters, the mutated corpses and the unrealistic creatures. Showing their all in the struggles to win the final points and get the chance to earn their prestige and secure their ce for the dungeon entrance.

    While many top rankers, who were already ahead of their peers, were focusing on eliminating their opponents and making sure more and more of their own ssmates survive this battle, as everyone knew that higher numbers would be an advantage in the dungeon trialing next.

    Hundreds of young students rushing to fight against waves after waves of monsters made the scene look nothing short of spectacr.

    "Avengers - assemble."

    Rio, who was watching everything while floating high in the sky, couldn''t help but whisper to himself as a chuckle came to his lips. This was the firstrge scale war type battle he had seen or been part of ever sinceing to this world. It kinda pumped up his blood.

    "What''s avengers?" Bernhardt asked as he appeared behind him in a sh, before disappearing again the next instant.

    "You didn''t answer, what''s avengers?" He asked again, as he appeared on the other side of Rio, who just kept watching arge crow type monster pping his left wing wildly as his dear friend was holding the other one in his hand.

    "Nothing. Just finish the job will you?" Rio said, shaking his head and waving his sword. His simple movement was followed by a streak of golden light which shot straight towards the bird, cutting his other wing too.

    They both watched and smirked as the fat ck birdy fell onto some pitiful students'' head out of nowhere.

    "You know, I already got more points than you. So does Lisa and Dahlia too. Are you nning to lose.." Bernhardt asked, staring at Rio''s wristband which counted points ording to the monsters killed in these five days.

    "I''m wearing white. I don''t wanna stain it with all the smelly blood and gooey remains of these monsters. I''ll just solve the Banshee and defeat you all in one swoop." Rio replied nonchntly, while removing the mana from his feet and falling down in the middle of the battle.

    The monsters cornering a student below him, looked up and felt an increase in gravity on their shoulder. Feeling a pressure that cracked the ground below their feet and didn''t stop until all their bodies were turned to meat paste.

    "Show off."

    Bernhardt looked down and scoffed as he saw Rionding swiftly, as the blood of everyone on the ground looked like a perfect pretty blooming flower in the center of a warzone.

    "Stopzing around, will you?" Dahlia''s words came to his ears before arge fireball went past his ears making a sizzling sound of burning the air itself.

    Bernhardt followed the ball of me and watched as it disintegrated the vines of arge treeing towards him.

    The fightsted for quite a while and the few rankers were finally able to cross the sea of monsters and reached the center stage. Where under the statue of Moloch, the figure of Banshee was still standing there with the same look. Like the fight and chaos all around her, didn''t affect her at all.

    In one corner many dozens of students were thrown around randomly or knocked unconscious by some magic. Probably used as a sacrificeter on.

    "She''s almost at A rank. We''ll only get eliminated if we fight her separately. So let''s attack her together." Lisa said and those around her nodded their heads in approval.

    As for those who overestimated themselves and wanted to fish in muddy waters and something, they were also pushed into the frey and forced to fall in line very soon too.

    Cause just now they had all realized two things - one, they couldn''t get out of this cave without defeating the Banshee, as she set up a closing barrier. And second, the longer the fight drags on, the more they''ll lose.

    Cause Rio had just started his massacre. Unlike the previous five days when he chose the gentle approach and didn''t act at all, now he was literally moving around the battlefield, killing students on sight. Even the ones of Zenith itself, weren''t safe, as they became a backdrop of his ughter.

    Every second you could hear the pings of elimination and students were teleporting out of this forest and back to the stage entrance. The crowd of monsters was backing away from his way as if afraid to get in the way of this ''monster''.

    Some rankers who wanted to fight him even ignored the Banshee, and turned to attack him, but knowing it would drag him down Rio would just ignore the battle and teleport away before continuing his twisted elimination spree.

    In just five to ten minutes when all the strongest rankers fought to kill the Banshee, he had dropped the number of students in the cave patterns by nearly half.

    It looked like a random killings he did to earn as many points as possible, but it wasn''t. He could see the moonstone in the sky was almost ready to teleport everyone out, and this way he dropped the extra baggage beforehand.

    Now whoever was left was on his kill list, well most of them at least. Some casul casualties have to be there to confuse others.

    Just when the ranker from Tristen academy, Marcel was about tond a frightening blow on the wounded Banshee, a silvery glow illuminated the cave.

    Everyone looked up in surprise only to see a shadow of a full moon shining brightly through the open ceilings. The light was almost blinding and covering the whole cave.

    "What the hell is that?"

    "Is it her spell, some kind of final struggle?"

    "No banshee''s can''t use light magic or anything simr. It''s _ this magic it''s definitely not her."

    "Did you notice the air''s getting cold with the light."

    "That''s not a new moon I''m looking at, right?"

    "Shit, shit, shit, she''s healing. The Banshee''s healing."

    "Fuck, the monsters too.. What the hell is happening?"

    "It''s some kind of artifact, not a moon. But didn''t the academy staff check everyone and took all these things first."

    "Then did_ did someone attack us at this time."

    "I know it''s these criminals. They must''ve done something."

    "Yeah, let''s kill them before whatever this is, attacks us first."

    "Group together. If you don''t want to get eliminated."

    "Fuck. Just when we were this close to ending this match too."

    "Why isn''t the academy staffing here yet, is this a part of their tests too?"

    All the students were thrown into a disarray with the changes happening in their surroundings. The sudden change in environment, the cries of Banshee that started calling back her fallen soldiers to fight again. The army of abominations which was dwindling under the pressure from students but suddenly started rioting.

    The criminals who were just hoping to earn their freedom became the scapegoat and everyone''s target as they started getting killed left and right by frenzied students. Yes, getting killed, as these poor fellows didn''t have the teleportation mark of elimination. For them this was from the beginning a death game.

    [Loki chuckles at the massacre that''s about to fall on thesembs.]

    [H nods her head in pride for her avatar''s work.]

    [Skuld says this will surely earn him the enmity of several gods.]

    [Cassandra gives a sigh for the dark and bloody future she envisioned.]

    [Nyx hopes you''ll be careful.]

    [Selene looks at the moonstone that was her avatar''s and curses you for taking it away.]

    [Chandra raises his eyebrows, feeling interested in the fallen God''s legacy.]

    [Khonshu scoffs at everyone, asking you to fulfill your end of the deal as soon as possible.]

    [Moloch looks at his followers and you, and hopes you create a good show of ughter for him.]

    [Baal hopes you end that Banshee''s life and remove this gue from this.]

    [Molochughs at this fool''s foolish requests, trying to trick youngsters.]

    Rio floated high in the air, overlooking everything happening below. The sound from the gods talking to him or sending their messages in the world system was constantly buzzing.

    He closed off everything, and looked at his surroundings, which started to change in front of his eyes slowly, when the moonstone finally teleported them out of this forest and into thend of ughter he prepared.

    As the figure of Rio emerged in the temple, a shadownded near him, handing him a mask and a storage ring.

    By the time other students started appearing in the temple of Yarikh everything about him was changed. There was a red demon mask on his face, as his clothes were changed into an all ck armor and hood too.

    There were more than a dozen people standing behind him , wearing the same mask and same clothes.

    The students looked all around them in surprise, watching the unfamiliar scenery and statues around them. Before their focus finallynded on the masked figure surrounding them.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Let the ughter begin." Rio said, his voice changed by the mask, sounding cold and hoarse in everyone''s ears.

    There were already dozens of formations and array patterns ced in this temple that blocked all sounds,munication, perception and mana signals from anyone. A barrier blocking everyone from entering or leaving this ce.

    Even S rankers would have difficulty finding this ce, and getting past all the traps, barriers and illusions Rio had set up here. He''s been working on this ce for months, and been extra careful micro-managing everything to make sure nothing goes wrong. And finally it was time.

    Before the students could make any sense of the situation, he gave anothermand and the members of Eclipse all dispersed. Attacking everyone from every side.

    "Time to die." Rio said, his figurending right next to Marcel, who was still held by the Banshee. He suddenly appeared in front of Marcel, before a ck sword pierced his heart and took his life.

    No pings, no elimination and certainly no teleportation - his one death, gave all the rity any student needed.

    It was an ambush, and they were trapped. And if not careful then killed too.

 Chapter 343 Plans in action - call of chaos

    Chapter 343 ns in action - call of chaos

    ??"Who are these people?"

    "Is this still the test?"

    "Where are we? Where are the staff?"

    "Fuck, they''re killing us. It''s not the test anymore."

    The students screamed in horror, their faces paled and palms got sweaty as chills went up their spine seeing the bloody massacre taking ce in front of their eyes.

    Marcel was just the beginning as before his body even hit the ground the rest of the masked man had already killed more than a dozen students already.

    Rio looked around and nodded his head at Nirdayi, Cersei and everyone. Though the students here were much weaker than every one of them, but he had warned them not to take it easy and not to y around. His n was simply to kill everyone as soon as possible.

    With each passing second more and more students appeared in the deserted temple. And the moment they saw the scene unfolding they''d have the same question - How? Why?

    But sadly no one was here to answer them. From the beginning to end, none of the attackers spoke a word. Neither did gods who were watching all this silently.

    "Which organization do these people belong to?"

    "Damn it, we don''t even have any artifacts or defensive treasures either."

    "Fuck, even the gods are silent. Are we still on the floating inds?"

    "Doesn''t matter. Stop trying to run, we''re trapped inside by a barrier. Knowing they dared to attack us openly, they should have confidence that we can''t escape and help doesn''t arrive."

    "It''s not the exam anymore, so there''s no need for any infighting. Let''s all fight them together."

    "He''s right, Let''s group together, even though our ranks are low, we have the advantage in numbers. As long as . .."

    "You sure you have the numbers."

    Though confused, soon enough some rankers and nobles got their senses straight and started gathering their followers and grouping together, making ns to fight back. Yet just when their words caused a little hope and fighting spirit to appear in others'' eyes, the same cold voice amplified by some device to hide any kind of tracking modtion, echoed from the masked man who started it all.

    "You sure you have the numbers."

    As his words ended he looked up with a chuckle. Alfred, Kendrick, Kasnia, Erbil, Murica, Quinton, Grant, Frank, Jay, Thor - every ranker followed his gaze and felt the ground beneath their feet slipping.

    The banshee, which all of them together couldn''t defeat, was floating up there. Her hands stretched out and the veil lifted from her face. Everyone could see the perfect face and young figure of the creature, yet none had the mood to appreciate that beauty, as before their eyes could process her appearance, a loud scream reached their ears.

    [Soul scream of the Banshee]

    An attack that transforms her cursed power and pain into a sound wave that attacks not only the physical forms, but souls too.

    Arghhhhhhhh

    Aaaaaaaaaaaa

    Half the students rolled on the ground covering their ears to block the heavy noise, yet even their hands, mana, aura - nothing seemed to be working as the scream synced with their souls, making it near impossible to block or defend against unless they had some kind of soul technique or treasure.

    Which obviously only nobles and rich people had the ess to.

    Before the students could calm from the shock of Banshee''s scream, the same cold voice came to their ears again.

    "Time for round two."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Call of Chaos]

    Rio took out a loudspeaker from his storage and screamed as loud as he could. Putting the blessing of goddess Kali on full disy.

    As soon as Kali''s blessing came into y, the whole deste ce turned deathly silent for a moment, before a roar echoed in the sky, seemingly able to tear through space itself. As the originally empty sky took a chaotic form, and turned bloody red.

    The red fog that permeated from the clouds took the form of a broken human skull and opened its bony mouth, letting out another scream that resonated with Rio''s call.

    Hearing this response even the ones who survived Banshee''s attack, held their heads and fell to the ground in pain.

    Many students lost themselves and passed out directly. Their souls destroyed and bodies remaining just as a dried husk. Some who survived, started banging their heads on the ground or digging their nails into their hearts or ripping out their ears - trying to ease the pain.

    "Still think you got the numbers? Think again."

    Finally when the screams died down, Rio''s voice came to everyone''s ears again and people couldn''t help but gulp in fear looking at their surroundings.

    The cracked floor, the empty hallways, the barrennd - everything which gave the feeling of destion before, was now bloodied red. Corpses scattered around and men squirming and rolling on the ground like worms.

    [Return to nature]

    Another masked man brought out an artifact that acted like a wand, and with just a wave of his hand, the ground cracked open and pulled all the corpses and dead students inside. Leaving no sign of their bodies or existence anywhere.

    While Rio was enjoying the sess of his ns, storms were raging on the other side of the ce he was in.

    As all the students had guessed, currently they were on the floating inds too.

    Knowing that killing so many students, many gods could pop up to interfere with him for various reasons, that''s why Rio made a new temple of Yarikh near the Frighenart forest andid out his traps. Making sure he could make it as hard as he possibly could to secure his chance.

    Currently all the staff responsible for exams were racking their brains and pulling their hair as in front of their eyes more than 90% of students had suddenly disappeared. And only five people were left on the exam ce. Rio, Lisa, Bernhardt, Dahlia and Yohan.

    The four students were obviously surrounded by a shiny darkness that the staff could only think of as the Nyx''s blessing performed by Rio.

    While Yohan, who was the next supreme for the demonic sect called Death God''s sect - had his whole body shining in red. Staff could think of it as some kind of forbidden art that helped him block whatever caused the others to teleport. Veins on his body were visibly burning bright, as the red blood seemed to turn intova. Smoke wasing out his pores and before the staff could take actions to help him, the skill broke and the bacsh became too much for the young supreme to bear, and his body got sted into pieces, before disappearing in thin air.

    Causing blood rain to pour into the ce real Rio was fighting next moment.

    Even his corpse got teleported out.

 Chapter 344 Failure

    Chapter 344 Failure

    ??As soon as Yohan''s body disappeared, the blinding light of the moon disappeared from the cave and the view became clear for everyone to see without using their mana or blessings.

    Lisa, Dahlia and Bernhardt were standing by with worried faces, surrounding Rio''s unconscious body.

    They were all just fighting the Banshee, killing the monsters, when all of a sudden Rio appeared behind them and pulled them close, before their shadows rose from the ground and formed a cocoon that covered them.

    "Stay." He said seriously, while the darkness became too much for anyone to see anything. And before they understood what was happening at all, he passed out.

    The cocoon of darkness covering them disappeared when he lost his consciousness.

    "What happened to him?" Lisa asked, as their professor suddenly appeared and pushed them aside to check on him.

    "He''s _ fine." The professor replied with some hesitation, and then added "He just depleted all his mana, and got a little bacsh for using whatever spell he used."

    "Thank god." Lisa breathed a sigh of relief, before looking around and finally noticing the empty caves.

    "Huh, where is everyone?" she asked and looked at the flying drones and staff members checking the ground and the pirs on the cave for any proof or markings, "Did something happen?"

    Dahlia and Bernhardt also looked around and noticed something amiss. A bad feeling rose into their hearts seeing the sudden silence and noticing the disappearance of every man and monster previously present there.

    But before they could ask what was going on, a senior professor from Zenithnded near them.

    "Uncle Graham, what''re you doing here, what''s happening?" Dahlia asked worriedly.

    The middle aged man with shiny hair and golden eyes just waved his hand as fairy dust scattered from his fingers and all three of them fell unconscious instantly.

    The space behind professor Graham cracked open, showing the gates of the academy on the other end. The fairy professor waved his hands and the bodies of Rio, Lisa, Bernhardt and Dahlia floated inside.

    "What happened?" Graham, a grade 4 professor of war ideology for third year students came up and asked the other staff who were still looking around like headless flies.

    Trying to find a clue for missing students in every corner, yet getting nothing.

    "There was this sudden light in the sky, like some kind of artifact gathering the mana and life force from all the forest to here. Causing the other trees andnd to dry down outside.

    We noticed the changes and came here to check on students, but there was some kind of barrier blocking entry. By the time we found the barrier pattern''s eye and broke it - the students had disappeared from here." A staff member replied. His forehead was already filled with sweat and a tired face, which had just aged several decades and became wrinkled and pale.

    They were responsible for watching this tournament, making sure nothing happened. Yet they failed miserably.

    Now even if they found the rest of the students, the Death God''s sect who lost their next supreme wouldn''t let him go. Not to mention ke family, when they learn the news that their heir and the genius angel isatose now.

    "It has to be Warzy, right? They''re the only ones who can do an attack on floating inds."

    "Yeah, the principal even had the warnings from them."

    "I told everyone not to host the exams at this time."

    "But why would Warzy teleport everyone out? Don''t they like to use poison first?"

    "Who knows, what those bastards are thinking? It might as well be their new invention that they want to show off."

    "Some of the staff members are also missing. Did they disappear too?"

    "We should''ve canceled or shifted the exam dates, as other academy''s suggested this morning, but principal...."

    "Silence." Hearing the chatter from the staff members, Graham shouted as he red his S rank aura.

    The pressure enveloped everyone, causing them to gulp their words back.

    "Stop wasting time and ming others. It''s no use now. Go and search the whole inds." He said before golden fairy wings appeared behind him and he flew up in the skies.

    On the other end��

    [Lokiughs at the massacre.]

    [H gives you the nod of approval, saying you aren''t that bad for an avatar.]

    [Moloch smiles as the blood shines upon his altar.]

    [Baal res at you in anger for using his puppet.]

    [Indra''s eyes follows you everywhere, trying to pierce the veil of darkness covering you.]

    [Odin shakes his head for all the lives lost.]

    [Verdandi reports your massacre to Zeus, who frowns upon your actions in displeasure.]

    [Kali summons you into her temple, curious to learn where you got her blessing from.]

    [Jesus prays for every soul losing their life and walking the path of light.]

    [Cassandra smacks her tongue seeing the failure of all her previous visions, cursing the God of sun who cursed her.]

    [Skuld shakes her head seeing the strings of fate getting broken and entangled with each passing moment.]

    [Lucifer and Lilithughs.]

    A barrage of notifications passed in front of Rio''s eyes, yet he ignored all of them. He didn''t even read the names of all the gods watching him, as all his focus was on eliminating the students in front of him.

    "Save the students."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Lead them to the southeast side. I''ll hold them back."

    Suddenly his attention was brought up as he noticed a few staff members who were close to the cave patterns or those monitoring everything from hiding, appeared with the new group of students.

    ''So some did slip inside huh.'' Rio said and nodded his head at the Banshee floating near him.

    Though his ns were perfect, he knew fate would send some help now and then to save these people, so he was already prepared.

    The Banshee raised her hands and used the skill of Moloch, Deceased Damon,

    A skill that brought back all her fellow mutated spirits and dead people back to life at hermand.

    The students who had finally gotten hope to rush out and survive with the help of the instructors, instantly froze in ce, as the ground cracked open and everyone who died in this battle till now, rose up again as undead.

    "Who got the numbers now, bitch." Cersei said with augh as she shed her short sword and a head rolled down which she crushed beneath her bloody shoes.

    "Follow the n. Hold back the staff and kill the midgets." Rio said again, and hearing his order, a few members of eclipse left their ce and went to drag the instructors away, while the army of monsters took their ce in the massacre.

    ''What else do you have in store, fate?'' Rio thought to himself, proudly grinning at the people dying in his hands.

    From the original 1250 students participating in exam, he had pulled a little over 600 students inside this ce, and one third of them were already dead and dusted, killing their fellows after joining his ranks.

    ''All for the future.'' He said and shook his head, his brain silencing any thoughts of remorse or guilt after seeing the innocents crying and dying under his hands.

    The whole scene of blood and gore reminded him of the chaos he had unleashed in ''Hell'' on Nashi''s orders back on earth, the only difference being now, is he took the initiative instead of being forced to ughter.

    But his smiles weren''t something this story needed, and thus the fate finally pulled an uno reverse.

    The barrier that he had ced his high hopes on. The barrier that cost him billions and months of preparations, the one he made a deal with Egyptian God Khonshu to maintain - cracked and disappeared in shambles.

    A ray of light pierced the chaotic sky, pushing away the clouds of darkness and blood, and giving way to the shining sun.

    Arge group of people dressed in white appeared out of nowhere, like angels descending from the heavens and stood between the retreating students and the army of monsters.

    [Apollo shuns your actions and is here to save the world from demons.]

    "May the light of Apollo bring judgment upon you."

    A voice echoed in the sky as a person''s silhouette became visible in front of the blinding sun.

    ''Andreas'' Rio muttered to himself as he recognized the voice and the person. (Andreas was the priest who healed him in his childhood when he was cursed.)

    But before Rio could amodate to all the changes happening around him, the ''angels'' brought forth the fire of purification that nullified the army of monsters and undead Rio had just raised. Causing the Banshee to howl in pain and madness, watching her ''nsman'' dying again.

    So much so that even he , who was closest to her, had to cover his ears and fall down to the ground.

    ''Damn it.'' Before he could stand up again, a notification popped up in front of him that stunned him again.

    [Baal and Molochughs at your idiocy in thinking you can fool around with Gods.]

    [Khonshu smiles saying he provided for what he was paid. The fault is yours for being cheap.]

    [The soul of Yarikh sneers at your attempts to use his temple and legacy for such acts.]

    [A curse is ced upon you with the authority of Yarikh, - moon God''s banishment.]

    [Your strength will keep disappearing the longer you stay in his temple.]

    A wave of weakness covered his body as a mark of iron chains appeared on his wrists. Rio tried to make sense of situation yet theughter of Gods and their increasing presence stunned him again.

    [Apollo hopes to kill you and cleanse this world.]

    [Lucifer and lokiughs�� .]

    [The mother of monsters, Lilith shakes her head and res at Apollo, for killing so many of her ''children''.]

    [Shani looks at your karma and deres you unworthy of his righteous powers.]

    [Jesus prays that you can confess to your sins, the Lord will absolve it and guide you to the light.]

 Chapter 345 Cards crumbling down

    Chapter 345 Cards crumbling down

    ??The arrival of Apollo''s followers changed the tides of war instantly as the students and staff took the chance and started retreating in a corner. The monsters chasing them, were all evaporated under the holy spell casted by Andreas, turning into dust and disappearing in air.

    The Banshee which was one of the biggest reliance for Shiva and team, went nuts and started attacking everyone.

    ''Moloch, handle her.'' Shiva said to her God, as he held his ears in pain to block the crying screams but streaks of blood constantly trickled down his neck.

    [You shouldn''t have yed with gods kid, you failed.] Nyx''s message came to his ears, followed by a wave of weakness that swept over his entire body due to the curse of Yarikh.

    "You okay?" Ryan came near him after noticing his abnormality, to shield him from the followers of light.

    Shiva bit his tongue heavily until he could taste the iron of his blood in his mouth, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his senses for better thought. His mana spread to the entirety of temple and the boundary barrier, his senses following the steps of students who were starting to run or fight back now, to the chants of praises spoken for Apollo as one by one holy spells attacked the mad priestess, to the staff who were forcing his partners to retreat, andstly, Andreas, the high priest of Apollo, who was just standing there, looking at him.

    "Boss, this was not a part of the n."

    "That bastard''s strong. S rank at least."

    "Damn it. Oyee emo guy, can you handle him?"

    "He''s S+...The best I can do is hold him off for a minute."

    "That''s all. We can''t even escape in that little time."

    "How''d they find this ce so fast anyway?"

    "Probably some God. Seeing how these bastards are boasting about it, bets on Apollo."

    "I swear, I''ll trample his temple when I get outta here."

    "If, we get out of here. With the barrier gone, it won''t be long before all of Zenith and world association is here."

    "Chances are looking slim boss, if anyone got any hole cards, y them now."

    Shiva heard what every one of his partners were saying and his expression only turned more grim every passing second.

    ''H, Nyx, will you help?''

    [...]

    ''System?''

    [...]

    ''Fuck..'' Shiva cursed and breathed out. (Phew)

    "Fall back." He opened his eyes and spoke up, his voice echoing in every member of Eclipse through their link. The core members all retreated and circled around Shiva, waiting for his next orders.

    "Zero, take this pill and hold him off." Shiva said, throwing a small red medicine bottle at a masked man, the one who replied to Cersei about holding Andreas off for a minute. "Aegon, you''ll cover him. Go berserk, the best you can."

    "Freya, Jel, Henry,y the greenwitch formation, with rain of runic illusions as the base." Shiva said, looking at the next 3 members.

    "Rain of what now?"

    "Freya."

    Henry, who had turned back to ask his question, instantly felt a rush of information pouring into his brain after Shiva''s reply. He looked at the girl beside him whose eyes shone in golden and nodded his head.

    "Cersei, Desalter, Nirdayi, Urahime, handle the staff members. If you can''t kill them, try to drag out this battle as much as you can."

    "Noted." Cersei replied and looked at a staff member with a lean body and hunched back, who flipped his long braid of hairs as a whip, at a speed that caused sparks to fly in the air. "I like his hair." She said with a killer smile and directly ran towards him, her partners following behind her.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As soon as Cersei and others blocked the high ranking staff members back, Freya and others also left. Their figures flying in different directions.

    "Killian, Jonah, make sure the kill count doesn''t stop." He said and watched as the two of them nodded their heads and started walking towards the students who were running away through a teleportation gate one of Apollo''s churchists opened.

    Once he finished giving out orders to everyone he brought the moonstone out. The pearl instantly started to shine, pulling everyone''s attention back to him. Even Andreas, who was just standing like a statue till now, raised his eyebrow and looked at him.

    But before anyone could make a move to snatch it, Shiva just clenched his fists and shoved it down his throat.

    The silver pearl tried to escape his control, causing havoc inside his body, trying to rip his veins open and fly towards the small statue of Yarikh outside, but next second, an insatiable hunger creeped in Shiva''s stomach as he started channeling the blessing of gluttony.

    The power of an original sin''s blessing was no joke that a small moon God who already died and disappeared could handle. And momentster, the silver pearl calmed down, and stopped moving near his heart.

    Though even now the shine of it was visible through his dark clothes.

    "Boss, what about me?" A man with a chubby figure who was still left behind asked.

    "Can you heal?" Shiva said, looking at the gruesome cut on his shoulder. Courtesy of the light magic.

    "Don''t think so. The bastard''s magic has some kind of corrosion effect. Potions are useless." The fat man called Iroh Costana replied.

    Shiva sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "Kill the Banshee."

    "But in this condition, I''m no match for her?"

    "I''ll distract her, you just have to break her neck."  Shiva replied.

    The chubby man nodded and started running towards the Banshee, who was surrounded by the followers of Apollo from all sides. The ground thumped in response to his heavy steps. His speed started slow, but as he got a little momentum, his figure turned into a big ball-like shape, which started rolling towards the crowd. Crushing all obstacles in his path under his heavy weight.

    "Boss, you should leave this ce." Ryan, who was still near him said. Knowing if the real identity of Shiva got out, the chaos it could cause would burn the whole Damascus, engulfing even Schi empire.

    "Wait," Shiva said, his eyes kept fixed on Iroh, the moment he broke through all the crowd and reached the Banshee, Shiva brought a music yer from his ring and ced it on the ground.

    A loud melodic song started echoing in the surrounding, confusing everyone about what he was doing.

    But soon everyone got the answer, as the moment the Banshee heard the song, she froze and stopped screaming. Her madness filled eyes got a little rity as she started looking around with a smile.

    It was the music of her tribe, a song their whole n sang together at every celebrations and weddings.

    Her eyes frowned in confusion when she found the music''s source, but before her brain could process what was happening, Iroh took the chance and grabbed her by the neck.

    She tried to scream a few times, but Iroh increased his grip, breaking all the bones in her slender neck.

    [Moloch sneers at you for ruining his puppet''s y button.]

    [Baal says the curse on her isn''t so easy to solve.]

    Shiva ignored the notifications from these two bastard gods and opened his fist. A yellow talisman paper appeared on his hands, which slowly started burning.

    Iroh, who was about to rip the heart of Banshee topletely kill her, stopped his movements as he felt a burning sensation on his back. He looked back in Shiva''s direction and seeing the burning talisman, he realized everything.

    "What? Motherfuc��" He shouted and dropped the Banshee to the ground and started looking everywhere on his body, but before his hands found the marked talisman on his back, a loud explosion halted his curses.

    A big kaboom, like someone set a freaking nuclear bomb on the horizon, happened all of a sudden, sting everything within half a few hundred meters to sky high. The banshee, the followers of Apollo, all of them who were close to the range, didn''t even have their shadows and ashes remained as they directly evaporated.

    ''Nether''

    That''s the only word everyone could mutter seeing the explosion.

    The heat wave caused by theher st spread in circles knocking back everyone a few steps. The mana for a few miles all started acting weird, spells lost control and artifacts failed and fell down. Many students suffered from the bacsh and spewed out blood. Their bodies melting under theher''s chain reaction.

    Even the teleportation gate which Apollo''s minions had created crashed and the students who had just stepped into it died instantly. Their bodies getting spaghettified in the turbulent space tunnel.

    Shiva looked up at Andreas and saw him perfectly fine, still fighting with Zero. Motherfucker used the body of Aegon to block the wave ofher.

    "I WILL KILL YOU." Shiva mouthed the words as their eyes met for a second, before turning around as a new portal opened behind him and he stepped into it and left the ce.

    ##

    A/N - and this is how our mc''s carefully crafted n crumbled down and failed due to our dear Apollo and his minions.

 Chapter 346 Wake up to reality

    346 Wake up to reality

    At the Zenith academy, ''Rio'' who was recuperating (sleeping) in the nursing rooms, raised his eyebrow when the voice of Shiva came to his mind.

    "Nina , is there anyone with you?"

    "The Baron''s daughter."

    "Send her away, I''m back."

    "So soon boss, everything okay?"

    "Do as I say."

    Hearing the cold tone, though a bad premonition came to Nina''s head, but she didn''t spend much thought on it now and looked to her side and slowly opened her eyes.

    Lisa who was just resting by his bedside, opened her eyes as she heard him groaning and coughing lightly.

    "You''re awake." She excitedly said as she took some kind of healing potion and forced him to drink directly.

    cough cough

    "Don''t move a muscle, I''ll call the healers." She said and ran from the room.

    ''Rio'' stared at her back for a few seconds and after being sure he was alone, he tapped on his watch a couple of times.

    A sort of mana dampner effect started taking ce which acted as some magicalwork jammer for a few seconds, blocking the recording crystals ced in the ceilings.

    "I''m ready, boss." ''Rio'' said, before a ring on his fingers started to shine and then there was just a sh of light.

    Shiva appeared on the bed next second, his form already changed to his original appearance, with no sign of his previous bloody aura and dark clothes.

    While Nina, the demihuman fox girl who yed the part of Rio all this time with the help of her illusion magic and Loki''s mask, appeared in the halls of Eclipse''s mansion.

    As she took of the mask of deception, her appearance changed back to her original. Five snowy white tails appeared on her back and two fluffy small fox ears on her head.

    "What happened?" She asked as she looked around and saw a few members of eclipse with downcast looks. "Did the n fail?"

    "See for yourself." Killian looked at the front where on a big screen the footage from Yarikh''s temple was being broadcasted live.

    Nina walked ahead and stood by Riley, before cing at the holographic screens in the air.

    After Shiva left the ce, the fight only became more fierce. Andreas wanted to catch the leader and follow him through the spatial link, but just then many ces started exploding. Creating a chain ofher explosion that destroyed the temple and everything else too.

    Taking this chance when staff and churchist''s were busy saving the students, many of the eclipse members disappeared from that ce too. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Though some of them were already toote to leave and were surrounded or injured, this in the end, it came to the scene of now.

    Riley typed a fewmands on her tabs and with just a few more keys, whoever was captured, injured and unable to run away - had their brains fried open.

    {Yes, Shiva took a little inspiration from the Suicide Squad and dear ol'' amanda Waller, and nted little triggers in every core member of Eclipse. Just so their lives remain in his control and he could make sure that even after death, no secrets of his gets out from their mind, body and soul.}

    "We failed huh." Nina muttered as she saw her colleagues dying one by one.

    ...

    Back at academy

    Offsetting the effects of spatial discement artifact, Rioid down on the bed and closed his eyes. His mana was drained and mind was tired. His thoughts constantly reminded him off the scenes at the temple, about how close he was to sess and a peaceful future with no enemies for his family and friends inter years, and how it was all ruined by Apollo.

    He never thought Apollo who had always remained idle and was supposed to be sleeping with Leon, would suddenly choose to wake up and guide his minions to ruin his ns.

    Years of nning, months of hardwork, shit ton of resources, everything , all of it, gone to waste.

    [You can never predict everything, mortal. ns are always supposed to fail. The only thing real and supportive is your own personal strength. Something which YOU very muchck.]

    ''Fuck off, Nyx.'' Hearing the lecture from the goddess Rio couldn''t help but curse at her in anger. ''You knew what was gonna happen, didn''t you? You would''ve definitely sensed their thoughts, felt their presence, but you chose to stay silent and watch, cause you want to fucking train me and bullshit.''

    [Know your ce, mortal.]

    As Nyx''s cold voice came to Rio''s ears, his anger disappeared and only one thought remained in his mind. ''Fuck.'' "Tskk ..fuck fucking fuck arghhhhhh"

    A burning pain came from his hand where the mark of Nyx suddenly turned into a chain and started corroding his hand. Darkness left the sign of moon and flowed in his hand, breaking every vein and vessel in his right arm.

    [Weak.]

    The voice of Nyx came to his ears again before the pressure on his body disappeared. His whole body was sweating profusely, making even the bedsheet wet. His right handy limply on the side, covered in ck veins like lines of tattoos.

    There was this itching and annoying feeling like ants crawling on some open wound, eating at his hand ing from deep within, and when he tried to channel some healing or purifying blessing, it only made his condition worse.

    ''Fuck this bitch.'' He cursed the goddess in his mind, not daring to voice his thoughts openly again.

    "Weak huh, just you wait..." Rio said, before giving in to his pain and tiredness, falling asleep.

    By the time Lisa rushed back after calling the academy''s healers he was already in deep sleep, and the staff could just check his pulse and shake their heads.

    "As we guessed, he''s probably suffering from some kind of bacsh of Nyx''s skill." One staff member couldn''t help but mutter as they watched his hand.

    "There''s nothing we can do, light magic are all nullified directly as soon as they enter his blood, Let''s just wait for him to wake up and the bacsh to be over." The healer said, and looked at the two assistants behind him. "You two, stay here and watch him closely. If there''s any change in his condition, inform me directly."

    As the main healer said this, he turned around and left the room. They had just received the news that the missing students were found again and academy had just sent a team to bring them back.

    ording to the report, many of them are suffering from serious injuries and effects of Nether, so he had to make preparations for their treatment too. And couldn''t just stay watching Rio.

    "Evil''s Scion are the worst lunatics." He sighed, thinking he''ll probably have to work overtime a couple of days to save the kids exposed toher.

    Cases like these makes him hate his job. Cause students at these ces don''t get hurt normally, and when they do, it''s some serious shit like this, which will ruin his sleep for weeks toe.

    "Fuck these cultists." He cursed and left the room, thinking he should take a sip or two before anyonees, so he doesn''t lose his marbles after hearing all the screams and shit.

 Chapter 347 How hell feels

    347 How hell feels

    "Hahaha did you see that, why aren''t youughing now huh, little bastard." Virgil said, grabbing Rio by his neck and lifting him up.

    Rio struggled to free himself, iling his hands and feet to get back to the ground. But to crush his opposition, sharp nails grew on Virgil''s fingers, directly digging themselves into Rio''s neck, puncturing his veins and blood vessels.

    "Quite the cocky tone you had when you were mocking me earlier, taunting me, that my partners were cowards and ran away, leaving me behind. So where''s that arrogant look go now?" Virgil said, turning Rio''s figure around so he could see the running backs of his ssmates and friends.

    He moved behind Rio''s back and started whispering in his ears. "See how they ran? Didn''t even look back to see you struggle. Pathetic."

    Rio with his body battered and bruised, mana depleted beyond levels that made his entire self go numb looked at everyone''s disappearing back into the spatial portal and a tear slipped out of his eyes.

    For the first time aftering to Arcadia, he cried for something new.

    The feelings of betrayal, of being left behind, all brought back the traumas he thought he had moved past with the love he received here. The familiar voices of Shweta, Ria and Nashi - whom he hasn''t heard for years echoed in his ears again.

    {You and me, we are cursed Shiva. We hurt the people closest to us just by breathing the same air.}

    {Give up already, what''s the point, of all the pain you endured, of all the pressure you''re wielding on your shoulders. What is the point?}

    {In the end, you''ll always be alone, Shiva. That is your destiny.}

    With every passing moment, his heart was beating ever the slower as blood constantly dripped through his wounded chest and formed a pool beneath his feet.

    "What happened, no words of wisdom, witty remarks, snottyeback - ahahaha - Do you regret it now. Saving them, running here to fight me. If you had just epted my proposal and joined the Warzy, none of it would''ve happened." Virgil increased his strength, gripping Rio''s neck tightly, watching as his face turned red and blue with theck of air. "If you had just listened to me, we both would''ve left already, but you had to be the hero and jump forward to save that bastard of a prince."

    "Look at us now, two idiots left to die in a crumbling world, by the very people we fought to protect." Virgil said, his voice dripping with unquenchable anger ncing at the cracking ground and crumbling skies around him.

    He wasn''t much better than Rio, knowing that the n to kill everyone in this dungeon failed and the principal of Zenith was about to enter this ce forcefully to wipe them out, the leaders who were still left alive till now directly destroyed the dungeon''s core as thest means and escaped on their own. Leaving minions like him to die or hold back people to buy them enough time.

    Virgil could''ve escaped a while ago instead of torturing Rio and beating him to a near death state now, but he was too angry and mad at this guy. After all, this little bastard took him by surprise and cut off his arm right when the dungeon started crumbling. He could feel the spreading poison on his open wound, which felt like ants were crawling all over his skin, and every bite of their brought a firey touch of hell and unimaginable pain.

    And as a qualified viin, the only way to suppress that pain was to inflict it back as revenge. So he stayed and tortured Rio to this extent.

    "I''ll be leaving now, you , just wait for your death here, and mourn over the moment you chose to be a hero, my ''fallen'' angel." Virgil said as he threw Rio''s body to a nearby boulder and turned around and disappeared in a sh.

    Rio forced his body to be straight as he supported his back on the broken stone behind him. Though this movement took all his strength and he ended up coughing a mouthful of blood mixed with little pieces of broken bones and internal organs, which also fell over.

    He blinked his eyes groggily, trying to see something, but the blood was probably covering his pupils as everything around him looked so blurry and red.

    Flinching hard, he moved his head to the side where his eyes could still see a little shadow of a golden pir reaching high into the skies far away. "The porta_ klegh" He wanted to speak but ended up spurting blood again.

    He pressed his hand over his heart, as he felt it might just fall down through the open sword sh mere inches above it.

    ''I can''t die here. I can''t''

    {You can rest now. It''s all over.}

    ''Ria, Amy, she''s _ ali..''

    {Shh, it''s fine now. I''m here, you can sleep peacefully.}

    ''I need to_ t_to go back.''

    {Don''t think of anything. Just close your eyes and rest.}

    Words seemed to echo in his mind as he tried to hold back his dizziness. Darkness seemed to be covering his eyes, and the feeling of drowsiness finally caught up to him. For a second he had an illusion that he was back in the darkness where he went after his death, and he could finally sleep in peace again.

    ''May be all of it was just a dream, and he just had to sleep again.'' He thought in his mind, as darkness drowned everything of his existence.

    Urghhhhh (heavy gasps)

    Yet next moment, as if a bolt of current passed through his body, he woke up with a heavy gasp again. Little rity came to his eyes again as he looked down and found his hand clutching his heart through the open wound. The soft touch of rubbery meat gave a warn feeling to his fingers.

    A red light shone through his chest as he felt his heart beating again. And soon streaks of mana started to pass through his body continuously.

    Mana suction method, a technique he first used when he was going through his awakening and wanted to impress Nyx. Where one person forcefully drags the mana mixed in their heart and uses it for a small boost.

    It wasn''t anyone''s help, neither H, nor Nyx''s - it was simply a safehand he had prepared himself for the worst case scenarios. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    For Rio now, this method acted just like a shock therapy and a heavy adrenaline shot that brought him back from the doors of hell.

    (A/N - Ohh yeah no way in hell, he''s ever going to heaven with the amount of bad karma and bloodshed he''s been dragging around.??)

    Channeling whatever mana he could gather in this situation, he raised his arm and bit the skin from his wrist open and spit the bloody chunk away. A small metal storage ring fell down to the ground along with the blood stream when he turned his hand over.

    (A/N- You guessed it, his original storage ring was taken away by Virgil, after the torture. And this was just another backup he had for cases like these.}

    Rio grabbed the ring and poured all the remaining mana he had left. Potions, pills, weapons, artifacts, clothes all kinds of things piled up on the ground in front of him, and after another few seconds of arduous struggle and painful grunts he finally picked a few pills and stuffed them in his mouth.

    A warm current passed through his body like a raging wave when a dam broke out. His body was burning red as smoke came out his ears, yet he didn''t care about the pain and picked up other pills and potions one after another and kept chugging them down.

    Finally after what felt like a damn long eternity in a burning hot cauldron his body calmed down. His health restored to a better state and his mana reserves were slowly rising back up again.

    Looking at the golden pir of light in the distance, his eyes shone silver and his gaze pierced through all the obstacles. Staring at the portal through which everyone was leaving this dungeon. He wanted to take back his skill as his eyes started to hurt, and whatever mana he got back was almost depleted again, when his sight noticed a girl in ck hair standing by the portal staring in his direction.

    Standing in the deste where deafening roars and screams of monsters continued to echo heavily, where purple lightning danced upon the ground sting holes as big as basketball fields, while shing beautifully like dragons among the red sky. All the monsters of that world went bloodthirsty and mad as their instincts screamed danger and death when the world of dungeon started separating from the binds of Arcadia.

    10:09

    Though he couldn''t hear her, he could understand what she said before stepping into the open portal and disappearing forever. The shining portal closing behind her and the golden pir losing its luster and fading away.

    "What a joke." Rio said andughed a little self-deprecatingly.

    He waved his hand, collecting all the resources back into his ring and forced his body to stand up. He had lost a lot of his blood making his whole skin pale and dead like a vampire, but there was nothing he could do about that.

    Standing in the deste where deafening roars and screams of monsters continued to echo heavily, where purple lightning danced upon the ground sting holes as big as basketball fields, while shing beautifully like dragons among the red sky. All the monsters of that world went bloodthirsty and mad as their instincts screamed danger and death when the world of dungeon started separating from the binds of Arcadia.

    Thousands of monsters, undead, zombies and mutated beasts were all running rampant as far as the eyes could see. Crashing and destroying into whatever came into their path like blind unstoppable moths to a me.

    Some students and viins of Warzy, who were still trapped and left behind like him, were running like headless flies here and there, while some gave in to despair and killed themselves to save the horrible ending that awaited everyone in the next few moments.

    "What a glorious ending huh." Rio said and sighed as he felt the changes in the air around him.

    Far in the corners of the world, the shouts and screams suddenly turned to silence for a moment and he knew the moment was here. A wave of turbulent spatial fluctuation swept over the ground, destroying all life amongst its path.

    "This is gonna hurt much worse than a truck hit."

    Rio joked and closed his eyes as the hellish pain of being torn apart in thousands of pieces and then ripping those pieces into millions of parts and then stretching them into billions of distance all hit his brain at once, and a scream that seemed to echo throughout the void escaped his mouth.

    Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 Chapter 348 Hell and Devil

    Chapter 348 Hell and Devil

    After the wave of ripping and shredding pain that seemed tost for eternity, where he wished for that sweet second of peace and rest in darkness at every moment, passed on, Rio finally opened his eyes and silently hoping in his heart that it was all just a nightmare, and he''d now wake up in the softp of his mother and see theughing face of his little sister, ��. yet what greeted him was the harsh reality his actions and the gods had carved for him.

    In front of his eyes were the same corroded clouds floating in the sky apanied by the big red sun.

    "I''m_   I''m _ I''m alive." He finished a little sentence in between his rugged breaths and pained throat.

    He tried to move his body, yet couldn''t feel a thing, then came the worst feeling of jitters of his life.

    Let me paint a picture of how exactly did he feel or what he witnessed probably.

    Imagine lying on a roller coaster, not sitting, lying, sleeping with eyes wide open, at the front row seat, staring at the changing scenery, motions, twists and turns, and getting your hardest to wrap your head around it. Ohh all the while, getting thrown here and there on the whole ride, crashing everywhere, breaking everything.

    One moment you''re on ground zero sleeping soundly like it''s your baby''s bed, then you''re floating and flying till a giant building falls on your face, and now you''re on gravity 10g with a mountain on your chest, but next you''re suddenly freefalling from paradise and can see the fires of hell down below.

    You pass through a cloud, catch its fog and feel the moisture and foam wash over your face, but next you''re underwater, drowning at the deepest darkest parts of the ocean. Just when you try to catch a breath in struggle and il your hands and feet, you''re suddenly in outer space, watching stars explode and moons disappearing into pebbles.

    And this journey goes on and on and on and on, for what felt like eternity to him, were just a few mere moments to the whose parts were getting detached from the bonds of Arcadia.

    He didn''t know how he was alive, about how he managed to bear through that pain and survive the process ofary disalignment, but that didn''t matter to him anymore.

    He was alive, and that was all.

    ''The worst is over, I just need to survive and find a way back home.'' He said to himself as he clenched his fists, while channeling his mana to fuel the blessings of gods, and trying to heal himself.

    The extent of his injuries somehow took an entire day and night to heal, despite him pumping his mana constantly through the help of mana recovery potions and healing rations he had gathered for such life threatening scenarios.

    Finally after two days of just lying in ce, watching the sky changing colors and clouds turning shapes, he could finally feel himself capable enough to leave the ground and stand on his feet.

    The detachment process had killed all the monsters and remaining people in entirety of the dungeon world, other than him, there simply was no other life present on that anymore.

    So in the beginning of his ''lone survivor'' days, all he had to do was just roam around in the sea of corpses and carcasses, surviving the nausea of bloodbath, and the wrenching putrid smell of pus and meat scattered everywhere.

    But obviously his luck wasn''t good enough that this situation wouldst forever. Just after a couple of weeks, the red sun and its inexhaustible corrosive energy finally started to heal all monsters and bring them back to life.

    Rio had seen the signs of this recovery on his first day, so after he walked in the academy''s escape portal''s direction and found there was no way back home. He never chose to rest or find a house and sleep, all he did in those days was to roam all over he could, trying to find everything he can, that could help him in his fight to survive.

    He gathered all the resources he could, sorted them out, made armor, weapons, and secured them in his rings. He made a map and looked for every corpse of students and teachers, to find their storage rings and steal other precious stuff. N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He knew since the worlds broke apart and separated, it may take a while till someone finds him.

    "Zenith, wouldn''t let me die, I''m the angel, the Duke''s son, the genius of a century and the hero of legends. It''ll be a loss to the world and a p to their faces and reputation to announce me dead. So the principal should get some help and ask the elders and leaders to try and find me."

    The gods were bound to Arcadia and couldn''t leave its boundaries, but he knew from the novel''s knowledge that there were exceptions too. One such example of it, primordials.

    "Nyx will find me, and she''ll get me out. I just have to hold on till then."

    "She loves me after all, she can''t just sit back and watch me disappear from her game. She''ll find me."

    The days turned to weeks and weeks to months, the original empty world of silence and death, had turned lively now, once again filled with death and demons (monsters).

    The undead creatures born from corrosion and mutation, chased after him every moment of every day, no matter where he hid, they would find him. Whatever he built, they would destroy. No walls, no boundaries, no amount of traps and tricks, were ever enough to stop the endless pursuit of death chasing him.

    No matter how many he killed, yed, captured or burned alive and reduced to ashes, the next hour of the next day, more of them would be after his life.

    It was like his breath of life was a beacon of light, attracting their attention.

    "An infinite number of hungry wolves after a single standing lion. - what a fucking reality." Rio cursed as he stood atop a mountain of corpses and felt the heat of smoke hit his nostrils as the air changed directions.

    It had been six months since he had been trapped here. The hope of help from Zenith was something he gave up a long time ago.

    He could feel a gaze upon him, following his every movement, heughed for days thinking it was Nyx and she''d bring him out once she was ready. But after such a long time of solitude survival time, he had also started to doubt if Nyx wanted to save him or not at this point? Or was it even Nyx watching him and not someone else?

    Or how was he even sure there was someone else here, and he wasn''t just imagining them and going insane slowly.

    Too many thoughts, too many doubts - yet never an answer and not a free moment to ponder on one for long.

    Food and water were almost getting over these days, and despite what little and crude ration routine he prepared for himself, he knew they''d hold on for at best two month more. And then he''d have nothing left to help him live.

    If not for his habits of always being prepared, or ckmailing his enemies, or looting their corpses after killing them, he''d already be dead from hunger.

    The constant battles required him to always be on guard and battle ready, every time he even closed his eyes, he''d need to set several traps and barriers for hours to get some sleep. And this routine would have to be done on regr periods randomly, as he could never stay at one ce for long, or he''d be surrounded and killed after attracting everyone together.

    Mana and aura, the two energies he could control for now, were always getting used up at a swift rate everyday. And he needed to consume all the resources slowly to recover them.

    Though the battles honed his senses, gave him experience, made his skills sharper and control better - he forgot to care about those things.

    He used tough when his aura mastery broke through, when he reached a new level of perfection over some technique and skill, when he came up with some magic spell and it worked wonders against monsters - but over time everything became dull for him.

    He hasn''t even opened that page of the world system anymore, as the constant calendar and timer of arcadia on it, always dampened his mood.

    His original clothes were all gone, armor broken and cracked in several pieces. Nowadays he himself didn''t know what he was wearing anymore. As it''s always just covered in some monster''s blood and entails. The soft fabrics had ages ago turned hard afteryers uponyers of dried blood and sweat.

    Was he even wearing armor at this point, he didn''t know.

    Did I mention he can''t hear anything from his left ear nowadays, some stupid mutated snake sprayed its crooked teeth like poison at him. One of them ended up passing through his eardrum, rupturing it and getting etched in God knows whates after that. Anyway yeah, he was deaf to the side now.

    He wasn''tpletely blind tho, as after a couple of near death experiences he managed to find a way to spread his mana through his ears to act like a sonar.

    It was a pathetic toned down disgusting version of his overall all epassing mana sense. But whatever, with the amount of mana he had, this became another useful tool to survive. Though it was annoying to always hear so much without a filter, but he wasn''t sure he actually hated it.

    Maybe the unfiltered noise upied his mind so much that it gave his soul a break from all the negative thoughts of loneliness.

    Finally the day of cmity came, food was finally gonna be over tomorrow. He tried several methods to look for something edible on this rotten several times, yet never found anything at all. Whatever belonged here was always dead and cruel towards him. And whatever he tried to grow, always died under corrosion.

    The rotten food ced in this broken failed apocalyptic world always brought the energy of corrosion to his body. Making chances of him being afflicted with EMMSY much higher.

    At first he used to be picky, experimental, he tried to mix stuff, cook, fry, grill, burn and barbeque things - all in tries to finding a method that can at least reduce the rate of corrosion, yet everything failed and turned to waste.

    Sense of taste was something he felt he lost for a while now. Probably don''t even remember what that originally felt like to be honest. The tongue was just there to wet his lips when he''s thirsty at this point.

    Yet the energy he got from the corroded food was nowhere near enough, he needed more of it, yet in a failed world, where could he find a storage of food. All he could find were one stick here and one pick there, a dried up fruit here and a cracked seed there.

    Thus by the end of the tenth month of his trapped alone time, for the first time, he ate a monster to satiate his hunger.

    When he started his fight for survival he told himself, that he''ll never cross the limit, that he''ll never lose himself, that he''ll live, that he''ll be sane and the same, that he''ll go home to his family, to his sister, and at that time everything will be just the way how it was used to.

    Yet at that day, at that moment, he realized nothing was ever gonna be the same, cause he will never be.

    "So you finally feel it too huh, Shiva. The hunger for power, the feeling of fear, the need deep in your heart, that begs you, to do everything to increase your chances of victory. It''s maddening, isn''t it? We''re finally one and the same, my dear friend. ept your true self, like I always knew you should."

    "You built the hell you''re living in, so why not be the devil too."

    Rio looked ahead at the illusion of Nashi and felt the mind of Shiva take over his thoughts.

    ####

    A/N - the ending line between Nashi and him was just an analogy as Shiva had a house called Hell, where he lived with Shweta,,while Nashi always saw him as the devil pretending to be human. As for his transformation from Rio to Shiva, well that was just his thoughts shifting from Rio, who''s lively and loved, to Shiva who''s lost and dead inside.

    Simply like a shift of character who hit a realization and found his goal.

 Chapter 349 Trouble magnets

    Chapter 349 Trouble mas

    ??"Hey, you listening.." Bernhardt said as he shook Rio''s shoulder, bringing him back from the trip down horrorne.

    Rio opened his eyes, and instantly the sky that was dark red in color haunting him, cleared up and turned to bright blue again. Looking around he noticed he was lying on the rooftop of academy ss buildings, their private ce.

    "Your sister and mine,  were looking everywhere for you, saying they needed you for some kind of game match." Bernhardt said and helped him sit straight. "What kind of dream were you having, your whole mana was just��"

    Hearing his words and seeing him showing handsign for an explosion, Rio raised his eyebrows and touched the floor filled with cracks spreading everywhere like spider webs. "Sorry." He said and waved his hand and everything returned back to normal.

    "Are you okay?" Bernhardt asked and added. "You know you can tell me anything, right!!"

    Hearing it, Rio just chuckled and snapped his fingers, as a gust of wind cooled down his body and cleared off all the sweat he''d been drowning in. "I''m fine." He said.

    Bernhardt looked at him for a few seconds and then shook his head. After a few moments of silence, he looked up at the sky and said. "I dream about it too, sometimes. You know, the dungeon, the deaths, Dahlia."

    Hearing his words Rio turned his face in surprise and looked at him. To know this was the first time he had heard him mention Dahlia''s name ever since he came back from the dungeon. Even when he asked him if He wanted to join him to visit her grave in the fairy forests, the guy just stayed silent and said nothing.

    Ignoring the surprised look of Rio, Bernhardt kept speaking. "I would dream of what happened, and then think about what could''ve happened if we never entered that dungeon. How different our lives could''ve been."

    "Bernhardt��"

    "But there''s nothing we can do about it now. She''s gone and that''s it. Mementing on past and thinking about it, won''t change a thing." Bernhardt said in a serious tone.

    "Wouldn''t it?" Rio asked and added, "If you were to drive a sword right through Alfred''s heart, wouldn''t that make it a little bit better."

    Hearing Rio''s words Bernhardt stopped for a second, as he imagined the scene, but then he just shook his head and smiled self deprecatingly. "I''ve long given up on impossible dreams, my friend. We can''t change the world we live in."

    "Then I will just _ _"

    Rio was about to say that he''ll just burn it all to the ground, but Bernhardt interrupted him, "I''m really d that you''re back, Rio. That''s why I think it''d be a shame to lose you again. Don''t let what happened in that dungeon define you. You still have everything left."

    Hearing his words Rio didn''t know what to say, so he could just smile and m his shoulder. "Idiot."

    "Hey, I was being all nice and kind, so that was totally uncalled for." Bernhardt said, massaging his shoulder, his words only making him smile more.

    "You know what, I miss her too." Rio said as he stood up and looked around at the academy and students, which looked so small from up there.

    It was a ce Dahlia had idently found, when she was training her flying magic two years ago. A ce where he used toe with everyone, whenever they bunked a ss or wanted to hide and gote just to tease or annoy some teacher.

    This ce was special, as it was theirs, away from everyone and everything, something filled with just the most perfect and happiest memories of his previous academy time.

    Even more for Bernie , as this is where he proposed to Dahlia and got his first kiss.

    That''s why the fact that he nearly destroyed it due to his dreams and inner darkness was just making him aggrieved.

    Shaking all his thoughts away, he remembered something and turned to Bernhardt. "So what kind of game are they ying?" He said, walking to the edge of the rooftop.

    "About that..." Bernhardt''s face suddenly turned serious and he walked close to him and told him what he heard.

    Turns out his old ssmates who were bound by academy''s rules till now, finally couldn''t take it anymore and decided to act against him openly this time.

    A ss match for first year students against the final years.

    And the game these seniors suggested was something called Ragball. A stupid ripoff merger of rugby and baseball.

    The match is to take ce in air, where two teams would be divided and spread into their moving courts in open sky.

    The courts here took a little inspiration from football and golf, where to win, the teams would have to track the ball and pass it into the small holes inside their courts. Obviously as football there was a guy simr to a goalkeeper guarding the post to block for points.

    It''s a 15v15 game thatsts for 3 rounds with each game ending with the first team reaching 25 points. Two rounds of victory secures you a win.

    Ragball is one of the most brutal and fun games allowed under the academy walls. Fun, cause the teams were restricted from using their mana and aura at all, and victory just depended on physical strength and skill alone. And brutal, as you could literally wave your bat and beat the crap out of your opponent openly with no shame.

    "Alfred, I guess." Rio said after hearing about the game challenge.

    "No, it was Pandya and Millie actually." Bernhardt replied, shaking his head as Rio looked at him in surprise, in response he just shrugged his shoulders, silently saying ''I don''t know, man.''

    "So what excuse did they pick?" Rio said curiously. Since they prepared a game like this they would have to have an excuse that could pull him and other 14 people in.

    "There was some kind of conflict with Reba and Millie, but then Amy chimed in, and then one thing to another and things escted to this." Bernhardt replied, not going into details about how their old fat room partner tried to attack Amy but was stopped by him at thest moment.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Cause he knew, if this guy learned about that, then the academy wouldn''t even find the corpse of that fat pig tomorrow morning.

    Rio obviously didn''t notice anything and focused on other things. "Who''s the supervisor?"

    "Professor Hakan."

    "That fucker." Rio said with a tinge of displeasure in his voice.

    "Yeah, so you better be careful." Bernhardt suggested, remembering how professor Hakan''s son, who was in a team with them for a training mission, was killed by some ''monsters'' in an ident. His corpse never found for any burial or inspection, as it was eaten whole.

    "He''ll try to get in your way, or tip the scales to annoy you, so just be chill, okay." Bernhardt said, but Rio just shook his head in response.

    "He''s the one who needs to be careful. These dreams of mine, they mess up my whole anger management system." He finished his words, and jumped down the roof.

    After a few seconds of free falling, a pair of white feathered angelic wings appeared on his back and with a p of those, his figure turned into a sh of light and flew away, causing bursts of exmation from the students gathered below.

    "Show off." Bernhardt sneered seeing his appearance as ''angel'' and jumped down too. His figure turning into a streak of blue lightning, leaving a purple streak of sparks circling the air behind him.

    By the time Rio and Bernhardt reached the open grounds where games were taking ce, a challenge between first years and third years was already getting started. Rio raised his eyebrow andnded in the crowd, his wings disappearing in light particles, as the crowd parted and gave way for him.

    After asking a few guys standing around, he finally learned the news about what happened, and couldn''t help but shake his head afterwards.

    Somehow our protagonist managed to pull the aggro of some seniors who wanted to tease him about the rumors of being a pervert and a rapist.

    Though Apollo''s minion elder came forward to clear his name and closed the case legally, but his participation had highlighted the matter and now the whole academy knew about it. After all, it''s not everyday when one of the higher ranking staffes forward for small incidents like these.

    (And as the world is, people say and believe what they want to or what''s useful to them. Leon being innocent is no fun for anyone, him being a crazy criminal on the other hand, now that''s great gossip and interesting. So here we are.)

    Before things got heated up between the bullies and our protagonist, a wandering instructor popped out and saved the poor guy.

    And as anyone who read more than one cliche novel can guess, the small minions who failed, felt insulted over nothing and went back to fill the ears of a new bigger viin.

    In this case, the minion were those bullies and the viin was Nexus Vaidya.

    The brother of Sunaina Vaidya, the heroine who was apanying Leon at that time and ording to rumors got quite a close rtionship with recently.

    "Trouble mas," Rio chuckled and ignored their match and started walking towards the ce where Amy and others were awaiting him.

    ''Since you guys have started causing trouble, I should cause a little chaos too.'' Rio said as his perception found his old buddies floating in front.

    ''The whole ordeal with trip down memoryne really red up my mind, fucking them up should calm me down a little.''

    [Just tone down their torture a little bit. We''re open in public after all.]

    "We''ll just call it angelic punishment then. When God gets angry, he smites."

    [Rip]

 Chapter 350 Youre gonna regret coming out of daddys balls, bitch

    Chapter 350 You''re gonna regreting out of daddy''s balls, bitch

    ??"Where were you? Can''t you answer your phone when I call!!" Reba said, the moment she saw Rio walking towards them leisurely, ncing all around like he was on a stroll here.

    "Sorry, was a little busy so didn''t hear the ring." Rio exined and nodded at Amy who had a smile on her face staring at the fourth year students standing ahead.

    He nced at the opposing team and recognized four of them instantly -Millie, Pandya, Greta and John..

    Pandya and Millie gave him a mocking smile andughed in their hearts. One his old roompartner and future viin, other an arrogant narrow minded secondary heroine.

    Behind them stood a middle aged man with sunken eyes and paleplexion with a forehead filled with lines of anxiety and old age, Hakan Samyor. The umpire and supervisor for this match.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio turned his attention away from them and looked back at his other teammates.

    Since these games weren''tpulsory and challengers had to find their teammates themselves. It was Ba and Amy who had chosen the other 12 members for this match. Though half the ss came here to watch the show, many had refused to y this game so as not to offend any seniors in their first meeting. Some wanted to join for the opposite reason, like showing off in front of their seniors and woo the hotties in other sses or atleast leave an impression -

    (After all, seniors at college are always hot.)

    But knowing their limits and gap of skill, Ba had refused all those who didn''t satisfy her quota. And now whoever was left were people who, ording to her logic, were people who could take a solid hit and throw the ball back.

    Valtor, Amaya, Rubina, Moksh, Heath, Katherine, Zirrix, Qingyue, ric, Takashi and two more people whom Rio didn''t recognize.

    Rio had a brief conversation with Valtor and chatted a few words with Katherine, before giving a nod of eptance to everyone else.

    Not surprisingly his team had many rankers, as Amy and Ba herself had called for them.

    When Rio came, the professor had already walked forward and started talking about the rules and penalties, while his assistants flew in air, setting up the boundaries and barriers for this game.

    "I leave for a few minutes and you already got yourself in trouble." Rio said teasingly, ignoring the serious atmosphere.

    "Humph, they came looking for it." Ba snorted and replied "And besides, it was your sister who agreed to the challenge on my behalf, so don''t lecture me."

    "So you decided who''s gonna do the defending job." Rio said looking at the small portal-like holes which worked as goals for this game.

    "Amaya." Reba replied, causing Rio to raise his eyebrows in suspicion. After all, the goalkeeper would constantly be attacked and with no mana blockade Amaya was gonna be an open target.

    "She said, she has the highest perception and passive skills among us, so she can trace and block everything."

    Rio turned his face and saw her smiling at him, he didn''t know what she was up to, or for what reason picked that part of the job, so he could just ignore her for now.

    Soon the professor''s lecture ended and he gave everyone 5 minutes to wear the flying shoes and the bracelet that blocked the energies and then reach their positions.

    Some students were wearing these shoes for the first time, so it was worth augh watching them trying to bnce themselves and trying not to fall.

    One idiot was literally hanging upside down in the air and screaming with a pale face, making a joke out of him.

    "What a great team." Rio said sarcastically making Ba re at him in anger.

    The game was to take ce a hundred meters above the ground, where the stage was already set. The lines of boundary were already prepared and fourth years had already taken their positions. Looking down on them from their height.

    Rio grabbed the wooden baseball type bat and swung it around to feel the weight and bnce. These bats were covered in lines of runes and symbolic patterns that made sure they can handle the hit of a high speeding ball and the strength behind it.

    He took a gray ball from the table and yed with it in his arms. Though the ball looked small, only a little bigger than normal ones. But it was several times more heavy, like it was made from some big metal or stone and thenpressed into this tiny shape.

    The ball also had a few fancy patterns all around it. Covering all the surfaces. These patterns were filled with curses and magic too.

    Every time a ball hit a person sessfully, not only would it cause pain from the hit, but it would also bring a little curse that would target that yer for the next two minutes. The curses can be anything randomly - like drowsiness, blindness, blocking senses, frozen in space etc etc.

    The same was true after the ball collided with a bat, even then some simr functions could be triggered. Like the ball could speed up, slow down, turn heavy or light, erge orpress etc etc.

    Randomly it could even create illusions between the game like splitting up or multiplying in several balls, making it harder for yers to find the real ball and defend against it.

    No healing of any kind was allowed between the game and there was no time limit either. So one can imagine how tough someone gotta be to take all those high speeding hits and keep ying the game.

    "Let''s go." Reba said and with a tap of her shoes on the ground, they lit up and took her to air. Rio followed behind her too and took his position at the forefront.

    Two rows of students stood there facing each other, while a ball was ced in the center of them.

    Amaya had already taken her position as the goalkeeper with confidence, while Marcus, the experienced fourth-year student, stood ready to defend his team''s goal.

    The goaling portals or courts as everyone calls them weren''t fixed in ce too, and would constantly keep moving or switch ces randomly, so the goalkeeper also needed to focus and follow that pattern too. It was like keeping an eye at your front and the back both. Or you''ll either get a hit or end up defending nothing.

    The courts were divided in two colors, blue for first years and red for fourth years.

    As the game was about to start, the audience watching from the stands below or those enjoying it from their own mounts and magic in air were all excited too. Conversations of this challenge were happening everywhere , with many people cing bets and spending money on every swing and yer''s performance.

    Almost all the first year students and half the fourth years were present there watching this game. Even many staff members were present as audience. At some point even the student council and disciplinarymittee also came forward to handle the crowd for this match, knowing the traction and pull of public would only be higher as game went on.

    The moment professor Hakan waved his hand to signal the start of the game, the little round stand beneath the ball disappeared, and the ball was released high into air. While the yers sprang in action, flying across the sky.

    Rio''s eyes followed the ball watching as Pandya took a swing with his bat and sent it hurtling towards his head.

    "Fat bitch" Rio said and raised his hand to catch it. (Though any contact meant a curse, but it was toote for him to dodge and move out.)

    But the moment his hands were about to catch the ball, the fat figure of Pandya blocked the sunlight and appeared in front of him, swinging his bat with a haughty smile on his face.

    As if magic, the ball curved in air and changed the direction, causing his bat to directly smash onto Rio''s hands.

    "Sorry buddy, you know the game." Pandya said with a sneer and swung his bat again. This time diagonally, hitting the ball perfectly and sending it straight to Rio''s head.

    "You should''ve stayed in that dungeon." He said arrogantly.

    But next second the scene where Pandya imagined the speeding bullet like ball would hit Rio''s head from the side and knock him down, didn''te to pass, but what greeted him, was a sudden hit on his chin, that felt like a hammer knocked half his teeth into his brain - causing him to draw a parab in the air and fall back.

    "And you should''ve stayed in your daddy''s balls. You''re gonna regreting to this world fatty." Rio said and directly flew away.

    (Pandya shouted something behind his back, but Rio couldn''t hear it as a curse blocked his sense of hearing. That''s why what he thought was a whisper on his part, ended up being a full blown taunt that the whole audience cheered for.)

 Chapter 351 A real face slap

    <h4>Chapter 351 A real face p</h4>

    "Bastard." Demir (the guy nicknamed Pandya by Rio and Bernhardt) cursed and red at Rio angrily and chased after him.

    The ball was constantly getting passed around the teams and though this game was about scoring a goal, no one from the fourth years were interested in doing that, as almost all their strikes were one way or another directed at Rio.

    It didn''t even look like a match between students, but mirrored a street gang fight with how brutal everyone started to be mere minutes into the game.

    People were literally trying to bash each other''s head in with their balls.

    Even the staff watching all this from the sidelines raised their brows over this situation and frowned in displeasure, yet there was nothing they could do. The rules never dictated that a team couldn''t gang up on one person alone.

    Not to mention though Rio''s face did look ugly getting surrounded by everyone, he wasn''t alone or losing. Amelia was smiling like a viiness with how happy she was when shended a hit on a girl''s face, who blocked her and Reba earlier.

    The game continued with every minute more people getting battered and bruised, the fun curses this game provided seemed to look horrifying to the public below. And could cause parents to change channels and hold that awkward silence stature in front of their children for two minutes.

    The people watching the match were only increasing every second, and just after 10 minutes in, the crowd outside had literally doubled in numbers.

    (Rio even doubted if Leon was just fighting against third years alone with no audience to show off at.)

    The audience was enjoying the match, cing bets, cursing and shouting loudly, almost shaking the barriers with the sound intensity. Some were concerned, some were curious and some afraid, but one thing, no one could take away their eyes from the aerial stage. Even when it became too much to watch.

    Like when Rio was hit and cursed with paralysis, thus frozen in ce, he literally got hit 4 more times in a row, and every penalty only superimposed with each other. If it wasn''t for Katherine and Valtor to block him, while the idiot Zirrix, who felt insulted for being ignored, steal the ball away, Rio even had the feeling he was gonna be stoned to death in public.

    But thankfully the ball finally reached Amaya''s range, and she kept ying with it until his curse disappeared and he nodded his head at her to restart the y.

    The sharp heroine was noticing this match very closely, watching Rio and his old ssmates without missing a single detail. Listening to their taunts and mocking words continuously, hoping to learn some secret.

    One look at her eyes and Rio knew exactly what was happening, "No wonder she became a goalkeeper, she''s literally chilliny in background." He said in his heart , but there was nothing he could do about her.

    She didn''t do anything bad to him, at least not yet. And he didn''t want to kill her without any reason for Valtor''s sake.

    The rival of the hero is actually quite a nice guy and friend to have. And Rio didn''t want to ruin his little love story and turn him into a broody emotionless robot for now.

    So she lives. Unless of course she poked her nose and dared to crossed the limit.

    After half an hour, finally the first goal happened. Obviously, no surprise, it was from first year students, since seniors had no interest in going anywhere away from Rio''s range.

    Fuckers were literally swarming him like flies the moment they secured the ball.

    Though Amy, Ba, Katherine and Valtor were ying their roles in the game and helping him share the burden, but there''s actually nothing to do when their opponents just outright ignore them and turn around.

    And when anyone did jump forward to block their ''seize'' , someone woulde out and block them or distance them.

    Hell, the stupid monkey even went nuts and got on a rampage after getting ignored for the Nth time. Thinking it was a hit on his pride. Like for real the match was getting boring for others too, hell Rio literally saw Amaya yawning a couple of minutes ago.

    "You okay?" Valtor asked, stopping near Rio.

    "Never been better." Rio said, wiping the blood from his mouth while smirking at the guy whose hand was lying limp on a side, with a bone protruding out from his wrist.

    Since when Rio was about to hit the ball few moments ago, he predicted it may change directions suddenly and swung his bat ordingly, but his prediction was wrong, and he ended up hitting this guy''s hand, breaking his bones.

    Though it meant Rio got a penalty and their opponents got one point for free, but who cares about that in a match like this.

    Current score -

    [ Blue team = 10 points ]

    [ Red team = 7 points.]

    This was the score after the first goal which had given the first years 5 additional points,while the rest were just because the other team broke some rules. As for seniors, they currently had 7 points, all of which for the rule breaking scene from Rio''s side.

    "Can you even hold on like this for all 3 rounds?" Katherine asked worriedly looking at the line up staring at Rio like hungry wolves ready to pounce on food. She was really curious about why these guys seemed to hate him so much. But it wasn''t her ce to ask.

    "Just focus on getting the goals, l''ll handle these fuckers just fine." Rio replied before dodging to the side as the ball covered in mes passed through his cheeks, almost like a shooting star or apressed meteorite.

    "Why''re you running away, Rio?" A mellow tone came to his ears as Rio looked up and noticed Millie standing there blocking his path.

    She was pretty, not at the level of main heroines, but someone considered above average from arcadia''s top beauty standards. Meaning almost scoring 90/100 or 9/10 from an author''s / observer''s style.

    She had this viiness vibe around her and an evil kinda smirk on her face with a cold glint in her eyes that seemed to look down on everyone and everything. Like she was standing at the top of the world and others were just ants crawling on the ground.

    Only an idiot protagonist can look at this level of superiorityplex chick, and think she''s just tough on outside but soft on inside. To others, she''s like those annoying ex girlfriends who always think your next is definitely worse than her.

    "Hiding behind others backs while not even fighting back, now that''s not the proud genius I remember from two years ago. Where''s your arrogance that crushed all the students under your foot huh? Don''t tell me you lost it. After all, that was the only thing charming about you."

    "You know what Millie, your memory''s pretty bad." Rio said, raising his hand to block the ball about to hit him from the back. "What did I tell you, the next time I see that pride''y smirk, I''m gonna p you so hard, your jaw will fall off."

    ��-kasshs-hhhh n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Argggghhghhhhh

    "Maybe this will help you remember it in the future. Do Not Cross Me Again, and don''t ever block my way."

    As Rio''s words finished he turned around and left in another direction, while Millie just stood there, covering her face with both her hands, as blood slowly dripped through her fingers.

    The audience cheering and chattering all this time suddenly turned silent and all focused on Millie, while cursing Rio for being cruel. Even many first year students pointed their fingers and stood up for their pretty senior, yet Rio himself ignored all this and was thinking back on his attack while frowning heavily.

    ''lucky bitch.'' he cursed, as he looked at his palms shaking in pain.

    He had used a grappling technique while blocking the ball from his back, which used the air pressure generated through his speed and strength to change the ball''s direction without actually making contact with the runes on its surface and getting a penalty.

    He wanted to get the ball towards Millie''s face and then have it move sideways just before it was about to touch her, resulting in a perfect p. But the bitch seemed to notice it and raised her defenses.

    But that wasn''t all,

    ''System, which bastard was it? Who interfered?''

    Rio asked, as he had clearly felt a resistance from the ball which gave Millie enough window to save herself. Not to mention, the ball didn''t move out of the way as he wished, ending up in Millie only getting some puny penalty and not his p. Even the blood dripping through her hands wasn''t hers, but his. Bitch was perfectly fine, except a little scared maybe.

    ''Who the hell messed up my shot?''

    [The professor did.]

    [The ball''s rigged. And so is this game.]

    [You''re fucked, host. Get ready for a beating.]

    [The real game starts now.]

 Chapter 352 sound of screams is a sunny song that sets the mood

    Chapter 352 sound of screams is a sunny song that sets the mood

    ??"Do you think we should help?"

    "We should stop this match."

    "He had just came back and this�� if news reaches out, there''ll be chaos."

    "I mean they''re clearly not even ying anymore. Or trying to hide their enmity."

    "Fourth year students fighting first years, or others bullying Rio, no matter which news leaks, it''ll only tarnish the reputation of Zenith."

    "Humph, they should''ve thought of all this before choosing to y this game. Ragball had always been a gritty game. It''s their own arrogance that brought them shame."

    "Yeah, not to mention if fourth years went easy on them, they''d be defeated and solved just like those third years. Seniors losing to juniors, urgh, just what I needed to see in Zenith."

    "They are golden gen for a reason, after all. Have you seen that first ranker, before today''s match I always thought he was just lucky, but the kid has some skills."

    "Yeah, he''s the one who secured the win."

    "What skills, he''s an idiot. If it was a real battle, we''d be collecting pieces of his corpse by now, not celebrating his victory. He just used the game''s loophole to cheat his way."

    "And isn''t that a skill in itself? Using situations to your advantage is what makes a great warrior."

    "Forget the chicks, tell me, what do you guys think, is professor Hakan a little weird today?"

    "What''s weird, he''s probably enjoying this match the most. Man''s been chasing ghosts thinking Rio killed his son and now he''sughing in revenge. I bet he even gave those seniors some incentive to be extra cruel."

    "And what do you think, about his son''s death I mean?"

    "Who cares, that guy was a weakling weirdo anyway. Remember what we found in his room after the search. Urgh, perverted bastard, it''s always the silent ones with the weirdest hobbies."

    "Be careful, lest professor Hakan hears you."

    "Who cares, man''s a dead man anyway."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Nothing."

    "..."

    "How long has it been since the game started anyway?"

    "One hour and thirty eight minutes."

    "He really does have a thick skin. No wonder he could hold on in that dungeon."

    "Boy''s a monster."

    "Or a Messiah. Angel I mean."

    "Hahaha maybe."

    The professors watching the game were all talking amongst themselves, chatting about various things they noticed or remembered, giving their suggestions about stuff - but despite the arguments or hesitation from many, none came forward to interfere in the game.

    Hell a few professor even noticed something wrong with the ball, as it always seemed to miss or dodge whenever Rio wanted to hit someone back, but none spoke of it out loud.

    First, because as someone said, both parties had agreed to the terms of the game. And second, because the one with the highest authority and perception amongst the staff present, Elder Xander, never said anything.

    The audience watching all this too had chilled and been silent for a while now. Many of them even left this ce as the game became too broody and boring to watch.

    The seniors had divided themselves into two groups, one which blocked others ignoring the game and the rules, and second, which just followed and focused on Rio.

    ''Brother, I''m��'' Amelia said as she mmed the bat on a senior''s face for no reason just in anger, damn the penalty. ''I''m going to kill them all.'' She said as the aura of chaos started permeating from her body, causing the shackles of mana restraining bracelet to shine even brighter.

    ''Calm down Ames, let''s wait for a few more minutes. And then we can kill them.''

    Despite what everyone thought or witnessed through their eyes Rio wasn''t having much of a tough time. Though he did get beaten up every now and then, but having so many points in his pocket and a system to back him up, it wasn''t hard to block these puny hits and handle the pain and cure of any major injuries.

    Except for a few close hits that were hard to fake in front of so many professors he hadn''t taken much injuries himself. And even those injuries were healing slowly due to the amount of passive blessings he had. Not like these little hits could hurt his body with how much tempering he had to go through in the dungeon, but he wasn''t a masochistic idiot who enjoyed pain for no reason.

    But not getting hurt didn''t mean the constant pressure and penalties didn''t annoy him. Even a lion would roar if a dozen mosquitoes kept biting him for nearly two hours.

    And all he was doing was just waiting for that opportunity to strike back.

    [Red team wins.]

    [Current score 1:1]

    [Third match begins in 5 minutes.]

    The bell sound rang in the air, and all the students breathed a sigh of relief. This sound marked the second round ending.

    The first round was won by first years as seniors ignored the ''goal'' part of the game and kept breaking the rules thus giving first years extra points. This second round however they took a little focus back and scored a few goals too, so they can drag this match to round 3 and not lose to first years and bring shame to themselves.

    Rio looked at his teammates and couldn''t help but smile, despite the disparity in match and gap in strength none of the first year rankers siding with him left the match halfway. Heath, Moksh, Zirrix, Valtor, Qingyue, Ba, Amaya - everyone was in a way giving their all in this match. Some of them were friends with him and wanted to help him, while others just wanted to take this chance to see the strength and understand the gap between their sses, to hone their skills and temper their senses.

    After all, all the seniors fighting them now were in and around A rank, so getting a chance to train with them was a nice opportunity for them too.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    After a brief rest just when the match was about to begin again, Rio left his seat and walked towards the professor overseeing this match.

    "I have something to say."

    "Speak." Professor Hakan said, his voice calm and without any ripples. He had a muscr build and his body was towering over Rio''s figure, shadowing him due to the sun hanging high.

    "The match should stop." Rio said, his words causing many to raise their eyebrows in confusion." The ball , there''s something wrong with it."

    "Exin." The professor didn''t get angry or annoyed for being questioned, his face didn''t even show a change of expression at all. He just asked for an exnation and rity.

    "The hits and penalties are much higher than what should be allowed in the game between students." Rio replied, his words amplified by the little amount of mana he could muster, reached even the professors standing outside the barriers and some audience members watching close by.

    "The runes and patterns on the ball are random, they''re triggered just by chance and no one can control them. Using this sudden shift and adjusting to these instant changes is what the game is all about. When you''re fighting a war or challenging towers, only your control over your senses and instincts can help you, and that''s what this game teaches." Professor Hakan replied. "If you''reining over the loss and hurt you feel, it simply means youck the skill and calm to handle these situations."

    "Is this what the elder sees too?" Igmoring professor Hakan, Rio loudly said, raising his head to look at Xander, who was staring at him too.

    His words made many professors frown, as questioning an elder was something even they wouldn''t dare. But they didn''t want to interfere in this talk, as they themselves were curious about what the elder thinks.

    "If you want, we can change the ball, but if you don''t have any proof of other things, I suppose you either y the game or surrender in defeat." Xander replied in a normal tone, his words calming the chatter of audience, who got excited by what Rio announced.

    Hearing the answer from the old man, Rio wasn''t disappointed or angry, he just nodded his head and replied back. "Well, if the elder Xander and professor Hakan says nothing''s wrong, then I guess nothing is wrong."

    As his words finished he turned his back and started walking back towards the gaming stage. He looked at Amy and could see a cold smile on her face, his sister was more than happy to let loose now.

    As for seniors they had no idea of what wasing. Till now they were all protected by Professor Hakan''s backhands, and thought they were invincible. Seeing Rio taking the chance to voiceints many evenughed out loud and mocked him.

    "Don''t worry Rio, we''ll go easy on ya. So don''t cry to teachers."

    "Hahaha I can''t believe you did that. Such a sore loser."

    "Why don''t you just give up and admit that you''re no match for us anymore."

    Hearing the chatter and ridicule Rio only responded with a smirk as he chatted with his system, preparing the coffins to ce their corpses in.

    ''System, how about we try the runes we developed a few days ago.''

    [You hate them that much huh.]

    ''Well, it''d be a pity to give them a quick death, no. After all, these are the firstmbs to line up after meing back. They got a lot of fat in my absence, how about we grill it nice and slow.''

    [ording to my guesses most of them don''t even know about the cheating part of the game, they''re just here to win favors from others or following orders.] System exined.

    ''Doesn''t matter, just cause they''re puppets and their strings are in someone else''s hands , doesn''t mean I should go easy on them.''

    ''Especially that fat bitch and the female viiness, I''m gonna savor the vor of their torture.''

    [She''s a heroine.]

    ''Not for me. Now stop the chatter and start printing.''

    [As you wish.]

    nkkk (the bell rings) ??????

    Round 3 starts

    In 3  2  1...

    The second the timer hit the clock and the ball floated up from its central stage, a loud scream echoed in the surroundings instantly that seemed to shatter the ear drums of the listeners.

    Before anyone could even notice , a fourth year student lost control of his floating magic and fell down to the ground with a heavy thud.

    His body whcih fell from hundred meters of heights had broken bones sticking out of his skins and blood gurgling through his nose and mouth. Yet despite the pain and nausea, the man''s screams never stopped, as he kept rolling in dirt. Banging his head on the ground like a madman.

    Someone from the staff wanted to jump forward to help the guy, as it looked quite serious from a nce, but before he could pass the barriers, a voice stopped him.

    "The game is to hone their instincts and control and calm and wada nada, he''s crying like a baby after just one hit and a single penalty, pussy.   He''ll be fine in a minute, don''t you think so Xander."

    The staff, who was about to interfere turned back to look who it was, and when he noticed the man standing side by side with Elder Xander, his body froze and he hurriedly backed away from the barrier. Hiding behind the crowd to hide his face and erase his presence.

    "Ragnar" Xander said with a visible frown on his face after seeing the man who had a simr authority as his.

    "This game''s fun. I can''t believe you didn''t invite me, Xander. I hope that wasn''t intentional." The man named Ragnar, who was dressed in a viking type uniform with a bear head skin on his shoulder smiled and spoke while patting the heavy ax hanging on his waist.

    "What a good show to watch just after waking up." Ignoring the clear displeasure of Xander, Ragnar still maintained his smile andughed out loud as the screams of that one guy kept echoing in the background.

    The sound of screams was like the sunny song for a viking that just sets the mood.

 Chapter 353 Game over

    Chapter 353 Game over

    ??Reminisce, a rune that once activated, lets the target feel the feelings and sensations the castor/user is reminiscing about.

    A special something Rio had his system prepare, just to let anyone who left him to die, experience his pain atleast once before he kills them.

    The guy who was screaming his lungs out, banging his head on the concrete floor, hoping to pass out and survive the torture, was currently going through how it feels when you''re surrounded by hundreds of monsters in a stampede, when you couldn''t move, couldn''t dodge and can only hold your head and bow down as blind beasts run all over your body and crush you from all side.

    Every moment a new hit, a new injury, getting inflicted on your body, so much pain in so little time that even an awakened human''s brain start legging and failing toprehend.

    That''s what Rio reminisced about as he closed his eyes.

    The heartwrenching screamssted for a full whole minute and no one dared to move during this time, all staring in shock at the guy who seemed to have gone mad. And when finally the cries of agony stopped, the ''madman'' didn''t even have the heart to lift his fingers, let alone participate in the game again. If not for the little movement of his chest moving up and down every few seconds, people would''ve even doubted if he was still alive or not.

    Opening his eyes, Rio took a nce at the student lying limp below, and then turned to look at the professors. "Humm, I told you something was wrong with the ball, you don''t listen. Guess this is normal now, right?"

    His words were met with silence as no one knew how to answer.

    Professor Hakan had a ferocious expression like someone just forced him to eat shit, while Elder Xander had a frown on his old heroic face.

    Unlike the eerie silence and doubtful eyes of staff, the viking elder had a bright smile on his face. And looking at everyone''s expression, he just burst outughing.

    "Ahahahha hahaa what a good match." He said and walked towards the barrier.

    He flicked his hands and instantly theatose student got pulled from the barrier and flew outwards, finally falling in front of the team of medics standing in a corner, like a dead dog.

    "Why did the match stop, keep ying."

    Seeing that everyone was just standing frozen and staring around dumbly, the viking elder seemed a little dissatisfied and shouted. His heavy tone instantly bringing everyone back to their senses.

    Rio looked at the elder dressed as a barbaric viking, with the aura of a primitive hunter radiating from his body, and then nced at the other elder, dressed in clean white clothes looking like a big immortal from a cultivation world manhwa - and couldn''t help but smile in his heart.

    ''Big helps pull bigger opponents, my dear Apollo. You might be a God, but you don''t know the taste of authors writing novels.'' Rio said andughed heartily imagining the scene where Apollo is biting his nails in depression over the exaggerated changes happening here.

    Ignoring them, Rio turned his attention back to the game and smiled at Pandya, who was staring at him in confusion. This guy probably knew their cheating failed or something this serious wouldn''t have happened to their team.

    As one member was down and out from this game, another stand in yer from fourth years took his ce and the game began again.

    "Make a pair and grab a guy, I''ll handle the rest." Rio said to his team and flew away, ignoring the sneers of dissatisfaction from the monkey''s chosen. Apparently everything is always about pride for him.

    Unlike him, others weren''t so high on arrogance, knowing the difference in levels and physique few members did follow his orders and formed a pair of two to hold back and interrupt a senior.

    Obviously Valtor, Moksh, Amelia and Heath were alone, while though a little annoyed Qingyue paired with Reba and chose to hold back Millie.

    Rio was still surrounded by five students, led by Pandya, but this time they weren''t as arrogant or aggressive as before. They clearly had their guards up since now there wasn''t professor Hakan saving their asses.

    Rio didn''t disconnect the professor''s control from the ballpletely, he just chose to change the runes and trajectory every time the ball was passed to him. Surprisingly each time he hit someone, the same scene of madness would follow.

    Reminisce, Resonance and Revenge - these 3 runes were getting used at every turn and his old buddies were banging their heads heavily trying to hold on for a minute till the penalty passes.

    Professor Hakan had a twisted expression on his face, as he tried to fight for the control of ball, yet failed again and again, while Pandya was sweating buckets on his back every time he saw the smile on Rio''s face.

    This time the tides seemed to have finally changed a little as the match didn''t look like a one sided bullying now. Rules were getting broken every passing minute from both teams and screams were echoing through the skies every now and now.

    Though the previous roundssted for more than half an hour each, this time the scores were already 10:13 in the first five minutes.

    After losing 4 more members of his team Pandya finally couldn''t take it anymore, as he could feel some of his teammates were even thinking of losing the game so they don''t have to suffer whatever their friends went through. New members even stoppeding in now, after seeing that the ones who entered before only left the game looking like a corpse.

    So Pandya gritted his teeth and charged forward, ignoring Rio and going for the goal. Hoping to score points fast so they won''t lose the game at least. And shame themselves any further.

    But bad luck, as Amaya who seemed like azy lump thrown into a pile of energetic sheep finally got serious. The ball which was shooting towards her like a speeding bullet seemed to be as slow as a snail in front of her eyes.

    She just waved her hand, sending the ball away, and before the fat fuck could even follow the track of the moving ball, a wooden bat smashed onto his head, knocking him back a few steps, as a streak of blood slid down his cheeks.

    "That''s for earlier." Amelia said and stepped back, waving the bat in her hand, sshing the few droplets of blood and hair still stuck on its edge. "And this is for my brother." She said, hitting the ball with her feet like a football.

    She got a little penalty of blindness for the next minute, but it was better for her to not see what happened next.

    As Pandya, who saw the ck streak of shing straight to him, ducked and jumped away. But the ball still hit his leg, breaking the magical shoes which helped him float all this time, and shattering his soles into meat paste.

    Like a kite whose strings had been cut or a bird who lost his wings, Pandya iled around in the air like a headless fly, trying to bnce himself on one foot, while constantly moving away from the enemy court.

    He even had the urge to curse out loud and break his zen of silence due to the immense pain he was feeling. The penalty he got seemed to be something like enhanced senses or feelings, since with every passing second he felt everything even more clearly. The gusts of winds felt like des cutting his skin and the imbnce from his left leg felt like someone tied a mountain down there and asked him to keep dragging it. All the while the veins and bones in his bleeding leg felt like being frozen in ice and burning in fire.

    "What happened fatty? Don''t tell me you lost your edge." Rio said as he walked slowly towards him, waving his hand as the ball in hands of Katherine, changed direction and moved towards fatty''s shoulder. Changing its shape to a thin scale in mid air, before hitting him, causing arge straight wound that went straight from his shoulder to the tip of his nails.

    Blood spurted out like a fountain, dying his entire arm red, a scream like a dying pig escaped from his mouth, as Pandya held his hand and started crying in pain.

    Ignoring the eyes of everyone, Rio kept walking towards him and said something coldly. "Do you remember what I told you two years ago?"

    [Don''t ever go after people close to me, or I''ll send you straight to sunlight.]

    Pandya remembered a warning Rio had given him, during a simple mission exam after he fought with Lisa two years ago, and a chill went up his spine. If before he was pressured and afraid of pain, then now looking at Rio walking towards him with a cold look, he was afraid for his life.

    He tried to speak, to shout surrender, to seek help, but something seemed to be holding his neck, as not a single words escaped his mouth.

    Seeing no chance he hurriedly tried to back away, running on the limp leg while holding his broken hand,he kept pushing his teammates in front of Rio to give himself some time to run away.

    But every time someone tried to block Rio, the ball being passed around others would change directions mid air and hit that person. Giving them a penalty that brought endless pain. One guy was penalized with ''hunger'' and he literally started chewing on his fingers until he tore it off and gulped it down.

    This rune was called ''Recollect'' and Rio the caster based it upon the feeling of hunger he felt when he used his gluttony to survive in the dungeon. It wasn''tplete nor real, just a fraction of what he felt after a year and half in the dungeon, when he lost all his food resources and had to starve and find ''other'' methods to survive. A simple recollection of that one passing moment for him in the dungeon, was enough for the guy in front to turn into a cannibal.

    Next one who appeared started suffering from thirst so high, he simply turned around and plunged his teeth into his friend, drinking his blood like a mad hungry vampire.

    The guy getting drained of blood till his face paled, didn''t even scream or bat an eye or showed any expression as he just stood there like a lost man, staring at the sky with hopeless sighs. His head going through the feeling ofplete loneliness, where his soul simply gave up on everything.

    Simr scenes appeared again and again, no matter who hit the ball, no matter where it was targeted or where it was headed, the moment someone appeared to block Rio, an invisible force would trigger some mechanism that pulled the ball to help clear his path.

    Although professor Hakan tried his best to snatch back the control of the ball and save his minions, he couldn''t do anything except watch from the sidelines. Rio couldn''t feel any struggle or notice any changes, but he could see the effects the professor used after noticing the increase in his points disappearing every second. System was working hard to handle these idiots while he yed his game.

    Rio knew the whole fiasco of torture wouldn''tst longer, as even the audience who just joined could tell something was wrong with this game. No matter how you see it, final year students who had gone through dozens of missions and finished hundreds of training programmes, losing their cools and screaming in pain after just one hit was no ordinary situation.

    So he just decided to end it.

    Rio turned his attention back to the professor Hakan and swung his bat. He was just hitting the air, but all of a sudden, the ball which was dozens of meters away from him appeared in front of the bat and made contact on itself. The force behind the swing was too much that even the preservation runes of the bat failed and the artifact broke in pieces.

    "I told you something was wrong with this ball, why won''t you listen." Rio said again, throwing the broken wooden handle in his hand down and walking away.

    Behind his back was Pandya, kneeling on the ground with a giant hole on his chest, and pieces of his heart and the gaming ball sshed across the floor. Disbelief and horror still written clear on his face as he kept looking at Rio''s back, remembering the words from two years ago.

    [Don''t ever go after people close to me, or I''ll send you straight to sunlight.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    He cursed himself for the attempt to attack Amelia earlier, yet there was no medicine for regret.

    He was dying now.

    Before hepletely closed his eyes for forever, he noticed a streak of sunlighting towards him at high speed. Pandya raised his hands trying to reach the light, but sadly darkness engulfed him sooner.

    Drowning his entire existence in a shadow of death and taking his soul for eternal slumber.

    [Game over]

 Chapter 354 Deaths knocking with a whistle tone

    Chapter 354 Death''s knocking with a whistle tone

    ??"What kind of penalty runes are making the fourth years scream like that? Rio was hit a hundred times and he didn''t bat an eye and they''re bawling their lungs after every hit."

    "Is this a game, I think something''s wrong?"

    "Is the match fixed? Are those seniors just acting, it seems so real though?"

    "I don''t understand what''s happening but it''s so cool,... Ahem humm cruel, I mean, it''s so cruel."

    "Hey, do you think it''s some kind of illusion or spiritual rune magic, that would exin the sudden shift of screams after the penalty."

    "Will the staff stop the match? I feel something''s wrong. Look at those seniors, those who fell down didn''t even wake up again."

    "What do you mean stop? Those seniors are just pampered chicks. They bullied our ssmates for so long, but now it''s their turn and they''re crying louder than a bitch giving birth. That''s what you get when you mess with the golden generation bitch."

    "Yeah, right. I bet they''re just used to funny spars and sitting on their asses and ordering stuff. Their minds and bodies are so weak lol. I wish I was there to hit em a few times."

    "Me too."

    The students standing around the barriers watching this game as the audience,  were happily discussing the recent changes happening. All the fourth years had a ck face filled with confusion and anger while the first years were cheering so loud their throats dried up.

    The same was the case for the group of professors and academy staff watching this game too. Except the elders and the professor Akio Yoshida, who excelled in runes and linguistic arts, no one could understand what was happening.

    "Professor Akio, can you see something? What''s the penalty those students are going through?" The young man asked his mentor in confusion.

    "Past presentation" The professor replied, his voice a little heavy and hoarse like someone had a hold of his throat, but everyone ignored it as it was normal. Instead they all focused on his words yet failed to understand anything.

    "Meaning?" One of the staff standing nearby couldn''t hold back his curiosity and asked him.

    Professor Akio nced at his female colleague and then gave it some thought, like he was forming his words to exin the phenomenon in simple terms. "They are simply living through the past of Rio like it''s their present."

    Just speaking these few lines seemed to take all the energy of the old professor and he ended up coughing a few times. His assistant hurriedly walked forward and helped by massaging his shoulder and passed him a white medicinal cloth that worked simr to asthma inhaler for the old man.

    "Wait, so it''s just an illusion rune?"

    One of the staff said in surprise feeling a little disappointed that that''s all it took to break the students ready to leave Zenith this year.

    "Yes, but you should know they can''t use their mana right now." The assistant replied, helping his mentor to a chair in the back.

    "Still some students should still have the passive blessings of their gods, right? Why''re they all just getting down so easily like that?" The man asked in doubt again. Clearly not satisfied with that answer.

    If removing mana is all it took to make everyone so helpless, then they can all just leave their hopes to ever reach S rank in their lives. Hell even touching the boundary of limit rank might be difficult for them.

    "Breaking through an illusion depends on what you''re seeing or feeling inside. Looking at how they''re crying and screaming, do you think their minds can even build the thought to struggle or focus. Let alone harden their hearts and calm their minds" Professor Ryuk replied ording to what he learned from the library and basic books.

    "They should be d that the penalty onlysts for one minute, or our psychiatrists might have to start being busy." Professor Myth, the echo empress, spoke up too.

    Hearing Myth speak up, the trickster teacher Arabe, who was watching the game with an ever enchanting smile, also shared her thoughts. "Makes you wonder what he actually went through to project a pain soooo _ delicious, you know?"

    But as always, her words only caused others to nce at her weirdly and then take a step away from this crazydy. Sometimes she''s less of a sexy trickster and more of a sadistic torturer.

    The shades of her personality keep shifting.

    "But how is it possible that everyone is getting the same kind of penalties now?" A handsome staff with elvish ears and dark features asked.

    "Ragball, as the name suggests, is just a game of ball made of rags." A professor of PT and gaming started speaking and exining, "The rags used for making these balls however are all marked with runes and disc formations. So the penalties are always random and outside control from anyone."

    "Some of these runes and penalties can only be used once and after being triggered, they''ll disappear. Like a one time use skill card.

    But some higher grade mystical runes could be reused many times depending on their creation level and difficulty."

    "And Since the game has been going for so long and we have had so many penalties, it''s not surprising some higher ss runes which hadn''t appeared before would start being repeated now."

    The other time silent like a statue, gaming teacher, had a fanatical / overly excited expression while talking about the games and their making, causing the staff to take a step away from him too.

    The academy was simply filled with so many weirdos.

    While the staff was talking, the elders however were just silently witnessing the match. Their eyes only focused on the mystery magic they both noticed.

    Cheating.

    From the moment they entered the vicinity of sight, they both had already realized what professor Hakan was doing. Yet they said nothing for their own reasons.

    Elder Xander simply had no good sights for Rio as Apollo didn''t like him. And as for Elder Ragnar, that guy was a viking through and through, so this kind of brawl was just icebreak talk between buddies in his eyes.

    But when the third round started something finally seemed to have changed. Elder Ragnar, who was busy strolling the skies of academy like a ghost, sensed something and appeared there openly.

    "Did you see it?" Ragnar asked curiously, watching as the ball seemed to have its own will that wanted to help the first years at every turn in this round.

    Xander, who noticed the changes in the ball and professor Hakan''s struggle, shook his head and answered his rival with the same question. "What did you see?"

    "I asked first." Ragnar replied.

    "Does it matter?" Xander asked.

    "Of course it does." The Viking said straightforwardly and asked again "Now tell me, what do you see?"

    "The runes, they''re changing every second. New letters and symbols, recing the old ones, creating a new pattern for penalties." Elder Xander gave half the exnation and asked for the other half. "Now you tell me, what''s changing them? A skill, blessing, or a god?"

    Hearing the witty question Ragnar smiled and gave his answer. "No one."

    "But�� .."

    "Ohe on, you sensed it too. They''re changing by themselves." Ragnar replied and took a step forward as the ball flew in his direction, just in range that he could touch it by raising his hand, before doing a 180�� swift and hitting the back of the head for a senior.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Beautiful." Ragnar said, not sure talking about the ever changing runes or the bloody spectacle happening near his feet.

    Where Millie was lying on the ground staring at the sky, counting clouds and imaginary stars like a caveman, while blood kept dripping through her skull, until the moment she lost consciousness and fell into aa.

    Professor Hakan, who watched his ''minions'' break down one by one, while their supposed ''leader'' kept backing away like a scared little baby , had a ck face. His forehead couldn''t help but form an extra wrinkle over the tension he felt, watching everything unfold before his eyes and spiral out of his control.

    The elders were never supposed to be there watching this game. And even though they didn''t say anything, he was sure they knew his little tricks. He literally saw Elder Ragnar smiling at him like he saw a funny toy around a yhouse.

    He knew something was wrong when Rio suddenly questioned him before the final round, and that bad feeling only skyrocketed when the first boy went down. And ever since then, it''s just been a huge constant tugging and pulling for the ball''s control in his mind. He could only watch everyone struggle and fail. After a while when everyone fell down and the match was just about to be over, he saw Rio coldly smile at Demir (Pandya) , who was running towards the barrier, towards him.

    He could see the horror in Demir''s eyes like he felt absolute fear of something primal, the struggle on his face like he wanted to speak something but couldn''t, and this gave professor Hakan a very very bad feeling.

    Not taking any chance he wanted to jump in and stop the game, call it quits and dere the winner, before his premonitions came true.

    But before he even took a step forward, he felt a pressure lock him in ce.

    He turned his face and nced around, his eyes stopping on the muscr tribal man wearing a wolves skin like a freaking trenchcoat, and then he noticed the same yful teasing smile on Elder Ragnar''s face.

    ''Fuck fuck fuckkkk'' Professor Hakan cursed and tried to break through the binds of pressure and enter the gaming stage where Rio was about tond his final hit, but failed.

    He could just watch as the ball made contact with the bat and like a lightning sphere escaping the white hole, it speeded away.

    The pressure on him disappeared that moment, and professor Hakan ran through the barrier, his token allowing his entry, yet it was toote. By the time he reached over, the game was already over and all he heard were Rio''s mocking words.

    "I told you something was wrong with the ball, why don''t you listen?"

    Professor Hakan ignored Rio and looked behind him and saw Demir hanging on the verge of death.

    Knowing the consequences of someone''s death during a game he supervised and ''controlled'', without wasting a second professor Hakan used his ultimate healing skill, a blessing of Pien Chueh, the Chinese God of medicine, called ''Light that brings life'' - yet before his illuminated hands could reach the mortally wounded Demir, the dark clutches of death pulled him in its embrace.

    [Game over]

    A mechanical voice sounded along with a heavy tone of ringing bell, but professor Hakan just stood there, his hands raised high, while silently staring at the corpse of Demir.

    Once known as the champion of Neisah, a talented monk, the silent buddha or the sinister satori - yet all that remained of him now was just a fat corpse with a giant empty hole in the ce where his heart used to be.

    It didn''t take long for the audience to erupt in the loud shock after a brief silence since witnessing a death too, which brought professor Hakan back to his senses. Dozens of medics and other guards and staff , all rushed in once the barrier disappeared, surrounding the perimeter, checking on the dead body and calming the crowd.

    In between all this he looked up and saw the perpetrator of this crime, the killer, walking away. Hands in his pockets and a rxed demeanor.

    Ignoring the chaos ensuing behind his back, Rio just looked at the sky where the elders were present and started whistling.

    Soon the sound of a mortifyingly beautiful and captivating tone reached into the professor''s ears, like the sound of death knocking on his door in the form of a whistle.

    And all he could do is just stare at that person walking away and his shadow growingrger by the second through sun''s refraction, until the shape of shadow from his raised arms moved through his body like a sickle of death that marked his soul.

    �� [I wanted to type words but fuck that''s weird, so just imagine the whistle tone from kill bill here.]

    [System says those idiots who don''t know that tone, should better die and burn in hell for missing that masterpiece.]

    [Author says fucking go and listen to it beforeing back.]

 Chapter 355 Meeting her again

    Chapter 355 Meeting her again

    ??"Hehehehe, I like that kid." Elder Ragnar said looking at Rio walking away whistling a tone and not caring at all that he had just killed someone in full public''s eyes.

    This cruelty, this indifference to life, now isn''t that something perfect for a Viking.

    Elder Xander, who noticed Ragnar''s expression had already understood his intentions, but chose to ignore it. Instead he asked a question about Professor Hakan. "Why did you stop him?"

    "Why didn''t you stop me?" Ragnar replied with the same question.

    "You just helped someone kill one of the student, that''s not good."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I just stopped someone from cheating." Ragnar replied with a smile and turned around to leave. "As for the deaths in a game, well, as that kid said, something was wrong with the ball. Fault''s YOURS for not listening to him."

    Elder Xander looked at the leaving back of Ragnar and frowned.

    "This isn''t good." he muttered as he clearly sensed the interest , this guy was showing in Rio.

    Deaths during tournaments, missions and exams is a normal thing for Zenith, but a death like this, in a friendly game, under strict supervision of a high ranking professor and elders present - now this was something unexpected and unburiable.

    This news would soon break out everywhere and reach the ears of every authority present there, so Elder Xander knew there was no need to save the idiot who dared make a move so openly.

    Even if he hid the fact about cheating, and luckily no one else realized it, even then for such a big failure , the rted professor would atleast be suspended till the investigation clears, or directly get the culprit''s punishment as scapegoat.

    And any idiot with half a brain cell can guess what would happen to professor Hakan once he left floating inds.

    Xander didn''t know how, but Rio seemed to know about the cheating and tricks being yed, and knowing the reputation of ke''s, Xander was sure Professor Hakan would be killed by some secret guard or shadows from their family, minutes after leaving the world association control area.

    Hakan himself seemed to have realized this truth, hence the fear of death on his face.

    The poor guy probably wanted to vent his anger on Rio after a whim, but never realized he''d be trapped like this.

    "Sanctions, take professor Hakan into custody."

    While the students and staff surrounding the scene were talking or checking the ''crime scene'' Elder Xander''s sudden words shocked everyone.

    Some people had various questions written on their faces, yet no one dared to voice them out in the open, as that''ll be like disrespecting an elder which is not a wise decision.

    Not to mention Xander had already disappeared after giving his order and now there wasn''t anyone left there.

    But soon guards dressed in white clothes, with the logo of the punishment team came into the gaming zone and surrounded professor Hakan.

    [A/N �� The judicial system had 3 teams regarding any serious crime/vitions in the academy. Law group called Judgement team, which is just based on some elders and a few other chosen people to act as judges.

    The Punisher team called Sanctions, which mostly maintains the punishment part system. Maintaining the prisons and teaching the troublemakers,es into their control.

    Last part is a clearance team called Errsan, as the name suggests they''re the best for erasing problems. If you meet them, that means the academy has issued a death sentence for you, and you''re basically dead.]

    "Please cooperate with us till the judgment investigation, professor." One of the white clothed men came forward and said, holding the hilt of his sword, ready to take it out on the slightest sign of opposition.

    Seeing this, professor Hakan had no choice but to follow the group. Thinking hopefully that if he''s in prison he''ll be safe and not kicked out of academy.

    Idiot, didn''t even know, Rio submitted a copy of the match''splete footage to Judgement hall first thing after leaving the game. Even Xander wouldn''t dare meddle in affairs or act partial so openly, when proofs were clear. So his death was just a matter of academy''s judgement hall efficiency.

    Not to mention, a team of Alphas was already standing guard outside the inds, sharpening their swords while blocking every path and portal leaving this ce.

    ��

    After the match Rio just paid his system another bunch of points and healed himselfpletely.

    But that didn''t stop him from going to the infirmary tough at the idiots lying there still stuck in the trauma of torture he showed them.

    Bad taste you can call it.

    Watching the arroagant heroine, Millie, with now a real ''empty head'' covered in white guize as thick as a melon, Rio just smiled and walked away.

    But he had just walked through a few hallways when he saw someone standing there, leaning on a pir. Blocking his path, like waiting for him toe back.

    ''Saisha'' Rio thought and shook his head.

    He preferred ignoring her when he was in Rio''s form so as not to cause any drama or misunderstandings for anyone, but here she was, ruining his ns as always.

    "Can I help you?" He asked coldly after meeting her gaze.

    But ignoring his tone, Saisha just looked at him up and down, noticing his messed up clothes and then asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

    Hearing the question Rio frowned and looked at her in confusion, before nodding his head and walking away.

    "Those students, you hate them for leaving you in the dungeon, right?" she asked and walked alongside him.

    "None of your business." Rio replied, not looking at her.

    "It is actually. After all, there are a few elves alive who were in the dungeon at that time too." Saisha said, her words causing Rio to blink as his brain shed the faces of his past elven ssmates. "I asked them what happened in the dungeon, I just wanted to say thanks and sorry for everything that...."

    She was saying something when Rio turned around and interrupted her words. "I will kill them."

    "I __"

    "And your apology won''t change a thing. Not for now, nor for the past. It''s a little toote now."

    He started speaking about the dungeon but his words and thoughts forgot all that and remained about her again.

    Damn, was she like a parasite in his brain sometimes. He hated how he always lost control of his thoughts around her. On earth, he fell in love with her after this feeling, thinking she was the one, the sole special, yet now, this same feeling that borne love was bringing nothing but anger and hate in his heart.

    Though surprised about his words, Saisha didn''t linger on it and changed the topic. "They said you saved them, that you were an Angel who risked his own life to save everyone else. Luring the enemies away so they can get a chance to leave.."

    "Is that so?" Hearing the lousy way of saying we pushed him into a trap and ran while he was getting hunted down, Rio just sneered in his heart.

    Saisha frowned hearing his words and then nodded her head in an expression that went like ''thought so''. Her face took a frosty turn as this realization dawned on her and then a coldness swept through deep in her eyes.

    "You can do what you want with them. My race won''t pursue the matter." She said suddenly, before turning around and leaving without waiting to see his response.

    Leaving Rio frozen in ce staring at her back in confusion about her words and actions.

    "What is wrong with her?" He asked himself, as the Saisha he saw now and the Saisha he knew were from the novel, were slowly bing pr opposites.

    He waited for some time, looking for a quirky exnation from the system, hoping for some insight, yet got nothing, as if system itself was probably pondering over the same thing in silence.

    [....]

    (Humn how did he know?)

 Chapter 356 Arena challenge and records of Rio

    Chapter 356 Arena challenge and records of Rio

    ??"You ruined the whole event for everyone." Reba said looking at Rio who was busy eating his food.

    Currently they were all sitting at a small restaurant which changed its scenery and themes ording to seasons every 15 minutes.

    Not just two of them, but on therge table were a lot of other students present too. Mostly the ones who yed with them.

    Ba had a look of annoyance on her face as she looked around and saw everyone in the restaurant looking at them trying to be sneaky.

    A few first years wereughing and feeling proud over the fact that their ss had defeated both third year and fourth year seniors openly. While others were still stressed and stuck over the ''ident'' thinking the bullying now would be much worse.

    Before waking up today, Ba had so many things nned for the day, so many ces to visit, things to experience or memories to make, yet they all ended with Rio''s impulsive fiasco.

    The white haired panda had promised to follow her and apany her throughout the day, yet she didn''t even see him half the time.

    If that wasn''t bad enough, she along with everyone who yed that game had to sit in the empty judgment hall and recount everything that happened in the game and answer dozens of weirdly stupid roundabout questions for a full many hours.

    Wasting their precious time till the sun shifted from the early noon tote evening.

    "It wasn''t brother''s fault, that fatty deserved it." Amy said in defense of her brother. "He used to call himself a monk, can you believe it? That guy was simply a big fat bully."

    "Yeah, and your brother''s a saint." Reba sneered and said sarcastically while looking at Rio, who just smiled back at her.

    "I heard he was, in fact, quite an aplished monk two years ago, who had practiced his silent zen to a high level, but it was your brother and his friends who broke his practice and ruined his career cultivation path." Amaya spoke up while looking at Amelia and then at Rio, who didn''t respond or reply to clear his name.

    Causing Amaya to suspect that the rumors were indeed really true.

    During her little investigation, she heard that the fat monk was previously Rio and Bernhardt''s roommate and they often bullied him for fun. Until ''Pandya'' as they called him couldn''t take it anymore and switched the room on his own.

    She wanted to talk about this bullying point too, hoping to see Rio''s reaction again, but Reba''s words cut her off.

    "What nonsense? That guy probably failed in his understanding and suffered a bacsh on his own, and to hide his shame, he put the me on others." She said, defending the samezy panda herself this time, causing Amelia to chuckle slightly.

    "Can you girls not talk badly about a dead man? It''s bad manners." Valtor, who was silent all this time couldn''t take it anymore and spoke up.

    His words, silencing both Amaya and Ba to give up on their next thoughts.

    "Let''s talk about something else," Amy said excitedly, changing the topic.

    "Like what?" A, who was sitting beside her asked subtly.

    "Sparring," Rubina, who was sitting a little far away, said in a lively tone and then turned to Heath on the side. "You, dragon boy, why don''t you fight with me from tomorrow?"

    "Why?" Heath asked in confusion.

    "What do you mean why? I saw in the match that you''re good, so let''s fight." Rubina replied, her battle hungry look bringing a different glint of light in her in brownish eyes. "I may look mid, but I think I can handle you." She added, thinking carefully and nodding her head.

    "I''d _ rather train by myself." Heath replied, thinking he should stay away from this battle hound in the future. Though he couldn''t help but wonder in his heart ''Is she really on my level?''

    "Humph, then _" After the rejection, Rubina turned her face at Qingyue, who was literally amazing in the match. The metal maniption she hold is awesome.

    But sadly before she even voiced her thoughts, the t chested heroine red at her and Rubina swallowed her words back. Sliding the shaking silver spoon a little away from her te.

    "Fine, then I''ll just train with you, icy girl." Though surprised by the open rejections twice in row, Rubina didn''t mind and turned her attention on Katherine instantly, who from beginning to end hadn''t opened her mouth to speak one word yet.

    "Humm" Hearing the weird nickname Katherine turned her face to look, but before she could say something, Rubina''s next words cut her off.

    "See, she even nodded her head." Rubina said, and afraid that even Katherine might reject her too, she further added "If anyone else is interested they can join too."

    Katherine, who didn''t even have time to respond just nodded her head to herself and then focused back on her food again. It''s just training anyway.

    Rio smiled seeing her reaction, wondering how far would these two training maniacs push each other when they startpeting against each other.

    "We can all just train together." Reba suggested, looking at everyone. "I mean in a way, except a few others who aren''t here, the dozen of us are all at the top rankers level. So wouldn''t it be more beneficial to train and spar against each other than training alone orpeting against clones."

    Everyone at the table was looking at her, thinking about what she proposed, but ignoring their eyes, Ba continued her pitch.

    "Not to mention, I heard there''s this group challenge arena mode in one of the training rooms, where we can select the difficulty and challenge different bosses."

    "To clear a group battle arena, we''d need extreme coordination and teamwork. Not to mention, the difficulty there is like a dozen times harder than the VR monsters we''ve faced in matches before." Qingyue said seriously with a reprimanding tone.

    Though she phrased it nicely, to Ba and Amy, who saw her mocking eyes, it sounded like this "Don''t bite more than you can chew, bitches. Know your limits and don''t overestimate yourself."

    Well, how can the two girls take this insult silently, so the first to jump in this pit dug by Ba, was as always, her best friend Amy.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Humph, what''s so tough about it? We didn''t ever train together before and we still defeated the fourth years today, didn''t we? We can clear it, no problemo." She said and then mocked her back "But if you''re too scared to lose, you can back out."

    "Humph, ghosts will be scared of you." Qingyue said in anger. She hated this duo who always made her blood boil.

    Listening to their bickering, Ba smiled in her heart while thinking - three posts secured.

    "Those rooms should be expensive, like very expensive." Moksh said talking about the huge amount of Merit Points those services would require in Zenith.

    "Yeah, I doubt anyone can even afford that many points." Valtor agrred too. He had heard of this challenge room at the guild, so he didn''t doubt or ask questions about it, just talked about price.

    "Well, we can all divide and share the points for now." Ba said instantly as if already prepared for the question. "Those points are only a little scarce now anyway, after the first semester, all rankers would get tons of them for free every month, so no need in saving them."

    Her words sounded with the guarantee that all of them can secure a ranker''s status, but among the people present here, who would refuse it and give up his pride so openly anyway.

    [A, who was about to raise her hand, however hissed and looked down to see Amy kicking her feet and telling her to stay silent.]

    "And besides, these training rooms maintain a record list from the past, if we can break the previously set records, we can not only leave our names behind, but also get ten times the points we spent earlier.

    So that''s like a big win-win."

    With that bomb, Ba finally finished her pitch and turned her attention to everyone. Already aware of their decision after seeing the shining stars in their eyes.

    10 times the points, just imagining that amount made many students willing to take the risk. I mean even if they lost a few times, they''d at least get learning experience. But if they won, then with that many points they can use a whole lot of other academy resources freely, be it training rooms, rare exercises and skills, or special guidance from an advanced staff - they can get everything.

    And so just like that, one by one all agreed to the proposal.

    Once that was done, Ba turned her attention to Rio, who just looked at her and shook his head, while thinking ''I shouldn''t have boasted about that to her..''

    [[[ 3 days ago, when Ba defeated a batch of golems faster than him during a training ss, and proudly announced that the day where she can beat him isn''t far behind. Rio absentmindedly replied that half the records in this academy are in his name, good luck breaking all of them.]]]

    ��---- and so here we are ��----

    ''Sigh, when did my serious princess heroine turn into such a scheming viin.'' Rio thought, wondering about how she pulled all these pitiful souls into the arena challenge and how they''d all only be left penniless if they try to break his, Dahlia, Lisa and Bernhardt''s team record set there.

    Unaware of his thoughts and seeing him sighing, Ba justughed heartily and puffed out her chest in pride, as for nning about the challenge arena, ''Well, how tough can it even be.''

    Qingyue, already aware of her ''fall'' after seeing the smirking expressions on Amy and Ba, had a sour look on her face. But since she already agreed, she didn''t back out and added something else.

    "We can''t challenge the arena anytime soon. We''d need to prepare and improve our teamwork first, so we don''t just throw our points for waste."

    Her words made others nod their heads too. After all, it''s good to prepare to win first, instead of jumping in blindly and making a fool of themselves on the first try.

    "Sure, sure, as you say." Amy said with a chuckle, trying hard to control herughter after seeing Qingyue''s face morphing in anger.

    ''God, why are they so hateful?'' Qingyue cursed this annoying duo in her heart again.

 Chapter 357 Pedo MC

    Chapter 357 Pedo MC

    ??"Brother, you think I can win this?" Amy asked, while checking the red tiara on her head.

    Though she didn''t like to wear it normally, as it gave her a light headache every time she uses mana, but it quite matched with the dress she was wearing tonight, so she chose it.

    Not to mention, it was a gift her brother gave her after he came back from the dungeon, saying "This one for the two birthdays I missed."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Ba would be so jealous after seeing it.'' Amy thought and smiled in her heart. Her mind, already cooking up jokes and ways she could show it off to her.

    As for the fact that it was an ancient artifact called ''Crown of the Maelstrom Queen'' that can help her channel and control the power of chaos easily, and slowly turn her mana pool into the sea of chaos, now that was something she forgot about already.

    She was wearing a red gown with silver lining on the edges. The bodice of the dress featured a unique design, with one sleeve cascading down her arm normally while the other remained bare, exposing a glimpse of smooth skin adorned with a red slithering tattoo, that seemed to be a mark came alive.

    Her hair were swept to one side, framing her face in soft waves that matched her youthful features, and the bright smile she always had.

    "Couldn''t you find this in red, this is messing up my whole get up." She said after looking at her fingers, and seeing one simple ck ring sticking out like a sore thumb. That was the one with themon storage space for them.

    Well, mostly hers, as she upies 90% of space inside, but whatever.

    She quite liked it when she first got it, but today it wasn''t pleasing to her eyes. But since Rio had her promise not to take it off unless necessary, she couldn''t do anything.

    "For the tenth time, you''re looking perfect." Rio replied and sighed in his heart.

    He wanted to shout that that ring was a one of a kind treasure, that''s rare for a millenia, and she shouldn''t disrespect it just cause it couldn''t change colors to match her outfit, but his sixth sense told him that''s not a wise decision.

    So he just kept silent and changed the topic.

    "Why''re you even so hyped up about this pageant anyway? I clearly remember you saying ''this setup is stupid'' two days ago." he asked while imitating her voice.

    "Shut up. And answer me, which one is better?" Silencing her idiot brother, Amy turned around and showed him two golden bracelets.

    And Rio had to focus real hard for a few seconds to even notice what difference they even had.

    "I wish Aina was here." He said silently while pointing at the ''best'' one.

    While watching his sister throw the bracelet he chose into her ring and putting on the other one, Rio looked at the time on his watch and sighed again.

    ''That girl is sote.'' he said thinking about Reba.

    After the evening brunch they all just roamed and yed a few games together before a loud bell rang in the central castle , announcing that it was now time for the grand ball and the beauty pageant many of them had been waiting for.

    After that they all separated to get ready for this event, hoping to meet here soon and then head there together.

    What a mistake.

    Rio was the first to arrive here as he just changed his clothes and left everything else to Aphrodite''s blessing and his high charm stat.

    Valtor and Amaya soon joined him, surprisingly they chose to form a pair. Which was a happy surprise for Rio, as he remembered that didn''t happen in the novel, but whatever.

    Amelia came next all dressed up and ready, but is still standing in front of a window and doubting or debating over little changes.

    Rio looked at Amaya and saw her staring at Amelia''s hands, especially at the ''tattoo'' she had on her left arm, and had the urge to p this girl.

    ''Can she ever stop observing stuff so carefully? That shining glint in her eyes gives the impression she''s into her or something, so weird.'' He said and heard his system chuckle in response.

    While Amaya suddenly turned her head and looked at him weirdly, making him doubt if she could read minds now.

    Rio hurriedly looked away but ended up staring at Valtor, who was standing there in one of his handsome silent side view styles , his eyes focused and sharp, matching his serious look, all the while he just stared at air, thinking nothing.

    ''Urgh cold president CEO much Valtor.'' Rio said in his heart and chuckled to himself.

    [This pair really looks like a crossover where Chinese jade beauty meets Korean drama mc.] His system quipped seeing a chance to tease.

    ''Sounds like poison.''

    [Poison that''s pleasing to the eyes.]

    ''Well, _ that it is.''

    "What''re you doing here, let''s go." Reba said as soon as she came out.

    Rio, who had to wait the longest for her, wanted to point her out and ask what she was doing, which took nearly a one full hour, but his words got stuck in his throat as he turned around and saw her. "You....."

    Reba stood there in front of him, a vision of an unreal beauty in her long white gown, magically matching his. Her dress hugged her slender frame, the slim straps on her shoulders entuating her neckline and the V-cut adding a touch of allure to her chest.

    As she moved, small chips of graffiti-like touch-ups on her arms caught the light, shimmering with an otherworldly glow. A minimal makeup which enhanced her features, yet still highlighting her natural beauty. And a beautiful smile on her angelic face.

    Wait, that''s not a smile, that''s a smirk....

    As that thought came to Rio''s mind, a sharp pain hit his head, jolting him awake. He turned his head to see Amy ring at him, her irritation palpable as she pinched him again, while Amaya raised an eyebrow in curiosity and Valtor still maintained his usual stoic expression.

    ''God, does anything even faze him.'' Rio wondered and turned to look at Ba again, who was still smirking at him. Seemingly proud of herself after seeing his reaction.

    Ignoring Amy''s attempts to draw him intoining about her roommate''s tardiness, Rio simply muttered, "Let''s go. We''re gettingte," before hurrying away, unable to shake the image of Reba from his mind.

    ''Well, that''s dangerous.'' Rio thought while trying to remember something bloody and horrifying from the dungeon to take his mind away.

    Just when he was about to seed, his arch nemesis called the viin system cast the same spell to charm him again.

    Rio stared at the holographic projection in front of his eyes and smiled slightly, seeing the way Ba''s face glowed after seeing him.

    [Pedo.]

    ''Fuck'' poor Rio almost stumbled and fell down face first when he heard the system''s words mocking him.

    [She''s a kid you know, and you''re nearly 3 times her age. Have some decency.]

    ???

    Hearing the usations, Rio had a ck face and frowned to himself after calcting their age gap afterbining both his lives.

    [Pedo host.] System said againughing heartily at his expression.

    ''Okay, just cause I have no refusal to that title doesn''t mean you get to call me that.'' Rio said, trying to silence this voice of rebellion.

    [Pay me 10000 and I''ll choose to ignore it. Or I''m changing your username in my history forever.]

    ''Fine, but not a word.''

    [Wait, you agreed. Fuck, should''ve asked for more. Pe..]

    ''Say it one more time, and I''ll mute your ass.''

    [Tsk.]

    (I don''t believe I won''t get another chance in the future. I''ll be sure to cheat all those hefty points.) System thought in its head and smiled to itself, watching the strings of zeroes on its hosts status page.

    ####

    Author note - No, the ending wasn''t a joke, system really did take away his points. But who cares. Me, mc earns taht amount everyday just by breathing and waking up with a smile, so no biggie.

    As for future, not like Rio''s points are gone for good, the system''s such a friend he''ll always help it''s host with a loan if ever a need arises.

 Chapter 358 Beauty Pageant

    Chapter 358 Beauty Pageant

    ??The grand hall of Zenith Academy was alive with excitement as students, staff, and even some famous locals of floating inds gathered for the annual Freshers'' Party and Beauty Pageant.

    The beauty pageant wasn''t anything rewarding, but just a fun game where anyone can vote to choose the most perfect boy and girl from the new joinees. Over time it had be a tradition of sorts at Zenith.

    The castle-like building was adorned with shimmering lights, and the stage at the center of the room awaited the arrival of more contestants.

    Around the central stage was a lot of open space for everyone to enjoy other activities like slow dancing, drinking, eating or just interacting with the crowd and enjoying the rich atmosphere and heritage style.

    The whole castle was filled with students, and people were watching from stairs and balconies and everywhere, staring at the entrance gate and at the stage.

    Not all first years needed to perform or show off on stage, as some people just didn''t even need anything, they were already widely known. But few choose to perform. Like dancing, singing, showing a little trick of magic or talent at poetry or something, all just to increase their votes and chances to win.

    Few girls even turned the stage into a ramp and did a catwalk on it. (And with the number of ps they received, it was clear, the audience sure as hell loved that.)

    Aftering to the party the group broke up, Amelia as usual directly went to where the dinner was. Instantly forgetting her purpose ofpetition after smelling the sweet smell of sweets.

    Amaya and Valtor were just roaming around, chatting with people they recognized among the crowd. (The crowd of girlies and nerds sure lit up in different emotions when they saw the pair. All wishing to switch ces and match their crush. The heroine and hero''s rival sure were a heartthrob.)

    Reba on the other hand was still eyeing the stage with shining eyes. Eliminating rows of girls one by one as they were no match for her.

    Ignoring the hushed whispers and hundreds of eyes staring at him, Rio just held her hand and pulled her on the stage.

    "Let''s get you a victory." He said and ced her hand on his shoulders and his on her waist.

    "You''re gonna make me lose by making all those girls jealous." She said and smiled as she felt her ''ssmates'' ring daggers at her back.

    After all, the poprity of a handsome genius and immortal angel were in high demand amongst everyone.

    "Same is true for me too, you know. I can count a hundred boys who forgot to blink after seeing you."

    "Is that so? You weren''t much better if I recall correctly?" Ba said teasingly.

    "Well, you did outdid yourself." Rio replied making Ba proud, before adding "with makeup, if only you were this pretty without them."

    Reba, who heard his final words, pinched his shoulders. "It''s natural beauty, I''ll let you know."

    "Yeah, yeah, as you say." Rio said in an exasperated expression, totally non-beliving her.

    Reba looked at him and pped his neck with her hand. "Stop messing with me." She said in a serious tone, making Rio smile again.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "I''m serious, if I miss a step and make a fool of myself, I''ll kill you."

    "Then when won''t you be a widow?"

    "We''re not married yet."

    "Your mother''s rushing it though. I think she might just capture me and tie our knots next time she sees me."

    "Hahaa, very funny." Ba sneered and ignored his words, and changed the topic (She was really embarrassed to talk about it so openly.)

    "You won thest title 2 years ago right?" She asked.

    "Yupp, along with the council president." Rio said, a little reminiscing about the past.

    Ba saw his lost expression and shot her next question in her sour tone. "Is she prettier than me?"

    Her words making Rio smile as he looked at her andughed, "Why, jealous?"

    "Jealous my ass. I just asked to see what are the standard for winning?"

    Rio had a hard time controlling hisughter, as he almost stumbled when he heard her cursing, but seeing her ring eyes, he gave up.

    "Nah, she''s much worse than you." He said, pulling her close after a swift roll on the heels.

    Ba looked at his face up close and his serious eyes as he praised her sincerely, and for a moment the thought ''Should I just kiss him?'' came to her mind again.

    Obviously until the moment this idiot of a guy ruined her mood and romantic thoughts all over again.

    "At dancing, dressing up and makeup too."

    The teasing words instantly put out the fire in her heart, as she just red at him in anger and pinched his neck with her fingers, until her nails dug deep in his skin.

    "I told you stop messing with me." She said again, as she let go.

    The duo kept slow dancing on the melodic music tone in the background, arms on each other, teasing and making jokes about random things, ignoring everyone and everything, as the performances from others kept happening around them.

    Few blind and courageous ones dide forward to interrupt them a few times, but the duo ignored their existence, treating them like air, so slurping the embarrassment they just stayed away now.

    Below the stage, at one side, a couple was sitting together in silence, Levi and Kevin.

    Levi still had a little lost look and barely noticeable dark circles around her eyes as she still couldn''t wrap her brain around all that had happened to her. Every now and then, she kept staring at Leon on the side with aplicated expression on her face, not aware of her own thoughts.

    While Kevin on the other hand just kept thinking about their future together. He was happy inside as Levi did forget what he did to her. The masked man kept his promise and now Levi looked at Leon, like looking at her ''rapist''. Everything was back to normal, and he just had to wait for her to get over this trauma to win her heart slowly.

    As for Leon, well the guy made an enemy out of third years, Kevin was sure they won''t let him go that easily. At that time maybe he''ll soon get a chance to kill him from the back, and then he can finally put all this dirty matter behind him.

    Leon, who had won the match against third years, was enjoying his few hours of fame, as many first year students surrounded him, asking him about the game Or praising him for the way they heard he defeated the seniors.

    (After all, barely a few had watched his game, as everyone was more curious about the bloody game happening with Rio.)

    But despite all this praise, Leon''s face didn''t have that bright smile of the past today. He did look handsome in his white suit, but the weing gentle appearance of his was reced by a distant silent sun.

    He looked in a corner where Vanessa was chatting with her entourage and then at the other where Sunaina was standing silently behind her big brother, Nexus.

    Looking at her fearful appearance or how she followed her brother, he was doubtful if she''d ever even talk to him again.

    He challenged the third years and defeated them to gain the recognition that he wasn''t a cheater or a cripple anymore, but it seems it only made Nexus dislike him more, and pushed Sunaina away.

    He had only made a few friends at the academy till now, and somehow most of them are distant to him now.

    "What''re you looking at?" Seraphina, the cute little medic, spoke up cherrily as she noticed Leon lost in thoughts.

    "No, nothing," Leon replied and smiled, ''At least I still have her.'' He thought and raised his hand to pat her head.

    He couldn''t help it, as it became a habit and doing this somehow made him happy.

    (It''s a protagonist kink.)

    If someone else dared to touch her head like this, her lofty pride would surely re up, but since it was Leon, she just gave a charming smile and a shy blush, before shaking her head, holding his hand.

    "Let''s go for a dance too." She said and pulled him on the stage too.

    (The beauty and her smile sure did wash away all the troubles of our hero, as he forgot everything and enjoyed his time.)

    Watching them, a few couples and students formed pairs and joined the stage.

    After a little more time, Alfred came forward to announce the start of voting for the game.

    His appearance causing squeals of excitement in the new first year girls, who nearly shouted their dream prince and drooled from their mouths seeing his smile.

    (The handsome prince, simply the dream fucking role for any teen girl.)

    His voice andughter stabbed Rio''s ears like a needle, causing his attention to break for the first time this evening, but noticing his change, Ba justughed and covered his ears with her hands.

    "There, you can''t hear anyone but me now." she teasingly said in her telepathic message, causing him to smile at her.

    "Sing a song."  Rio said jokingly.

    "What?"

    "You can pick a simple one, doesn''t matter?"

    "Don''t overdo it."

    "Come on."

    "Nope."

    "Just one. I''ll sing er too."

    "...write me an original, and I will."

    ".... Fine."

    "????"

    After a couple of minutes of their jokes, the annoying voice came to Rio''s ears again, ruining the atmosphere Ba''s sweet melody had built up.

    "It is time to announce the winner of this year''s beauty pageant. To announce the perfect pair from our newly joined first years." Alfred stopped in the middle of the stairs and started his announcement.

    "The perfect girl, who''s the prettiest, most talented, and most famous amongst you all ording to the votes, is�� ��"

    ####

 Chapter 359 Leon and Saisha, the pair of perfection

    Chapter 359 Leon and Saisha, the pair of perfection

    ??"The perfect girl, who''s the prettiest, most talented, and most famous amongst you all ording to the votes, is ��. the princess _ of elves and daughter of nature as she''s called, Saisha Ellsworth." Alfred spoke, and as his words finished a spotlightnded on the figure of Saisha, who was sitting on a windowsill near the first floor balcony, looking just like the perfect work of art God himself had created after spending a lifetime..

    The whole hall fell into a momentary silence as everyone who looked in her direction froze for a second appreciating the picture.

    She had zero presence till now as she preferred the silence over sound, and other than the few elves from all the sses who came to greet her and chat with her, she didn''t meet or talk with anyone else. But now she was the center of attention.

    "Hey, you won the contest." A said excitedly, tugging at her room partner who still seemed unaware of what was happening.

    "What..?" Saisha turned her head and asked, only to see the smiles on every elves face and hear the sound of ps and congrattionsing her way.

    "Congrattions princess, for winning the pageant."

    "Now we know these votes aren''t faulty, after all, princess deserves the top spot."

    "I already knew the result. How can these humans and halfbreedspare to royal elven bloodlines?"

    "Congrattions, Saisha."

    It took a moment for Saisha to realize what they were all talking about, but even after knowing it, unlike them, she didn''t show any pride or arrogance, she just nced at Alfred, who announced the result and gave a courteous nod before turning her face back to the starry sky and dark clouds outside, her thoughts still rummaging through something else.

    "Bastard." on the other hand, Rio couldn''t help but mutter curses after hearing the announcement.

    "Hey, he''s my brother, you know." Ba said, pinching him again for cursing Alfred openly.

    Hearing theint, Rio turned his attention back to Ba, and though she acted normal, he could tell she felt a little down by the results.

    After all, she prepared a lot for this pageant, even setting a bet with Amelia, and was really looking forward to winning it.

    But s. .

    "He should''ve given you the win." He said, ring at Alfred, not sure how the plot changed for this event. Since in the novel, it was clearly her who won this thing.

    "It''s not in his hands, it''s decided by votes from everyone." Ba defended her brother.

    "Well, he''s the one who''s announcing it. Pretty sure no one would go up and check the envelope if he just lied." Rio said with somewhat serious expression before throwing another doubtful nce at Alfred.

    "That''s _ _ not how�� ." Reba tried to speak but didn''t know what to say, as in some wrong weird roundabout way, what he said did make sense.

    But before she could ponder on it further, Rio cut her off. "Okay, I''m just joking. Forget it."

    "Whatever." Ba said and looked at the stairs, where Alfred was annoucing the results for boys.

    "  __ _ and the winner with the most votes is, Leonard Heartwell."

    . _ .

    . �C .

    A few moments of silence appeared everywhere, and even the music seemed to go ''shush'' mode as everyone heard the unexpectedly unfamiliar name.

    "Did I hear right?"

    "He said that the perverted rapist won?"

    "Who''s Leonard?"

    "He''s the one who challenged Nexus today, right?"

    "Yeah, he beat the third years in the game, I was wondering where I heard that name."

    "Why''d he get the most votes though? People didn''t even see his performance."

    "This guy is one hell of a cheater, he can cheat everywhere, lucky bastard."

    "Well, top ranker being chosen as the winner isn''t something new, anyway. Not to mention I heard council president is his sister."

    "Heartwell, wasn''t their son a cripple, when did he be a genius and join our academy?"

    All kinds of whispers and voices roamed into the crowd, churning with confusion and questions, and the man, who won himself, wasn''t any better.

    Leon looked at Alfred confusinhly and then at the crowd around him.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Seraphina grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his thoughts, "I knew you''d win it." She excitedly said, not at all sad over the fact that she didn''t.

    Leon gave a small smile and nodded his head slowly, before gaining his confidence and looking at the crowd with a calm and confident expression.

    ''System'' Rio, who heard the announcement said in his heart, and just like magic the answer to his questions sounded in his ears.

    [He didn''t lie. The result both times was right.]

    ''Real'' he asked again, wondering to himself that if Alfred didn''t lie to mess with him, then how did he loose. Cause even if some fourth years hated him and also boycotted Ba because of their friendship, there are still a lot of idiots left who think of him as their savior and angel, so they should''ve voted for him.

    [He didn''t lie or mess with results, host.] System said again.

    ''Then why did I loose?'' Rio said before adding another question, ''And how the hell did Leon win? He shouldn''t have many votes from first years with his reputation, and none of the third years should vote for him since he defeated their leader and hurt their superiority.''

    [Sigh��]

    [You''re willing to waste your points on these stupid questions but not on buying something useful.] System sighed heavily and jested him, reminding that every question of his it answers, he loses a few points depending on the information they contain.

    ''Just enlighten me.'' Rio said wondering that even if someone from fourth years wanted not to vote for him, they should''ve atleast chosen someone else, like Valtor Or Moksh Or Heath or something.

    So how did Leon win? Just by relying on second years????

    [One of these days your curiosity will have your wallet of points empty, host, I tell you.]

    '' �� ''

    [He is an underdog.]

    [Right or wrong, his every action had built an image of him , crushed it, and then rebuilt it again. From a cripple to genius, from pervert to righteous, from rapist to innocently wronged, or from a lucky ranker to rising star�� he is always in limelight.]

    [He pulls their attention unwantingly and holds it, making people feel curious about him. And that''s why he''s won it. ]

    [Plus he has a halo and you murdering a senior didn''t sit well with most guys.]

    Hearing all the lengthy exnations Rio nodded his head and frowned, he felt it made sense, and then it didn''t.

    But whatever for system''s sake or his own point''s sake, he didn''t get a chance to ask anything again, as Ba pped his forehead and woke him up.

    "You lost too huh." She said with a smile, making Rio doubt if she was feeling happy over that fact.

    So he asked.

    "Why do you look rxed after my loss? Shouldn''t you at least act the part like I did?"

    Hearing him, Ba felt like she got caught cheating or something, and had the root of her ears getting red in embarrassment or shame, so she just coughed like a sage to hide her face and changed the topic.

    "Let''s just go outside before your sisteres to poke fun at us both." She said, before pulling him out, and sticking her tongue and shaking her head at the girl who walked towards their previous position.

    While Amy, who saw them leaving just frowned for a second before smiling and showing a thumbs up sign to her bestie and silently mouthing some words of encouragement that made Ba run faster.

    (Tonight''s the night. Don''t chicken out.)

 Chapter 360 Wishes and lanterns

    Chapter 360 Wishes andnterns

    ??"The moon''s beautiful." Ba said walking with his hands in hers, enjoying the scenery of silent night and the moon''s shadow in theke around them.

    Rio looked up and instead of the moon and clouds, all his eyes saw were the magical patterns and drones drawn in the sky, covering the real stars and sky.

    "Academy sure opens up their pockets for these stupid events." He couldn''t help but say as he remembered how on earth some students had to contribute money themselves for any festival or celebrations, since the college counselors were all cheap as fuck.

    "Can you stop ruining the moment?" Reba said and clicked her tongue as she looked away, clearly she too now couldn''t help but wonder how much it would cost.

    "Let''s go there." She said pointing at the rows of students on the shore, lighting a candle and watching it float.

    When they reached the shore Ba noticed a small round metal golem going around and handing out a paper to every student.

    "That''s the Norman tradition." Rio said, noticing her curious gaze.

    "What?" Reba turned her face and asked.

    "The thing with the paper, that''s the Norman Tradition." Rio said again, but seeing she had no clue what it meant, he shook his head and exined, "Basically you write a wish on that paper with your mana and then wrap it around the candle before lighting it up and letting it fly freely.

    If the paper doesn''t burn as long as the candlests, then it means your wish is epted by the gods and would be fulfilled."

    Hearing the exnation somehow brought a smile to Ba''s face, as she grabbed the passing golem and snatched two papers from its hands.

    Feeling the texture of sheet, she frowned and looked at him, and without waiting for her question, Rio exined.

    "It''s normal paper, hence the tradition. If every wish gets epted, and doesn''t get fulfilled, why''d people pray to gods."

    "So it''s cheating. Of course this paper''s gonna burn if you light it up." Ba asked and was ready to throw this shit away, when Rio''s words stopped her.

    "Well, some say you just gotta pour your heart while writing the wish, and then it wouldn''t burn. Let''s try it." He said and waved his hand, pulling two candle and cover tops floating on the ground andkeside with magic strings.

    After saying it Rio sat on the ground and started writing down his wish. It was the first time he was doing it, so he was kind of curious.

    "No peeking, or it wouldn''t work." He said, pushing Ba''s head away as she tried to read what he wrote.

    "Humph," Ba hummed and turned around and looked at her paper seriously.

    ''Doesn''t hurt to try.'' She thought and smiled as she looked at his back and wrote down her wish.

    "What''s with that smile, you didn''t write something weird, did you?" Rio said looming over her figure with a smile.

    "Arghh, you��" Ba, who nearly screamed looked up and red at him, before punching him.

    Rio just grabbed her hand and pulled her up, helping her stand. Ba bumped into him and just stayed like that for a few seconds, staring at his face with a flushed expression.

    Her heart nearly stuck in her throat and jumped out through her open mouth, as Rio raised her hand and carrased her cheek, fixing a lock of hair behind her ears.

    ''Is he going to��'' A wild thought came to her ears, making her blush and close her eyes in expectations, but after waiting for a long few seconds, the sensation she was waiting for didn''te, so she opened her eyes,   only to see himughing at her.

    For a second, she really wanted to rush ahead and p that heavenly handsome face and kiss the life out of him, but as always, her sanity won and she just took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

    Unaware what effects his casual actions had on the young princess, or what kind of wild fantasies he survived being a part of, Rio just turned around and spoke up.

    "Let''s set our wishes on fire, shall we?" He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the river bed.

    The cold touch of water washed over their feet, giving a chilling feeling to their bodies. Maybe it was due to dread of night and open air, or just some random magic spell underwater, but the water really felt cold enough that people wanted to jump out of it instantly, but then miss the touch and dip their feet in again. A oddlyforting sensation.

    They both walked like that along the waves, ignoring the whispers from the students who recognized them and talked about their rtionship like it was some hot topic gossip. When they reached away from the crowd, from where the previous people had just turned into little shadows and dark figures, they both stopped and nned to light their candles.

    "What did you write?" Reba asked, making a small me with her mana and igniting the candle carefully.

    "What did you write?" Rio shot the same question back at her, chuckling amusedly as she snorted at his response.

    They both looked at each other and counted to three before letting go of their candles together. Rio made a small table behind their backs, where they both sat down, their eyes following theirnterns floating together amongst others below the shimmering stars.

    As the distance grew more the view they could witness started getting smaller and smaller. Until they both started using their mana to amplify their sight.

    A small smile was lingering on Ba''s face, while Rio had an amused expression, noticing the mes didn''t burn either of their wishing papers.

    Even though Ba knew it was nothing but a hoax, or maybe luck, wind, fog or moisture in the air saving it, seeing her wish safe and sound, still made her feel happy.

    "Do you think gods would listen to us?" Ba said, before slightly leaning against his arms and resting her head on his shoulder.

    Rio didn''t seem to mind as he too bent his head against hers and kept staring at the stars.

    "Maybe who knows." He replied thoughtfully remembering the note of arrogance he had written.

    [I want to rule over all the dungeons and towers one day.]

    There may be many who wished for clearing them, erasing them, but he was sure, there''d be very few , if any, psychos who''d want to keep these dangers and instead wishes to cover them as their territory.

    He didn''t really think that much about it, he just thought randomly about what would be cool and boss viin worthwhile. As for if there was any truth in the tradition or not, he wasn''t sure.

    "I hope they do." She replied.

    "Well, it''s your wish so you might as well fulfill it yourself, why even ce your hope on some God to help you anyway." Rio said nonchntly, his eyes following the papers falling down to the river like graffiti, once the mes died down.

    Ba, who heard his words raised her head to look at him, "Rio, I_��" She tried to say something but started hesitating about the words.

    Rio turned to look at her as she called him, but widened his eyes, as he saw her staring at him, before closing her eyes and�� .

    ''Did she just��'' Rio stared at Ba''s face so close and didn''t know how to react. Thousands of thoughts trestled through his mind, hundreds of scenarios and memories shing fast, yet in the end he shelved all of them aside and closed his eyes as he responded to her kiss.

    A smile came to Ba''s lips and she opened her eyes for a second after seeing his reaction, but then she ignored everything too and just let her heart enjoy the sweet feeling of her first kiss, and the taste of his lips.

    On the other side of the riverbed, Saisha who came outside for fresh air after getting bored listening to everyone just praising her and pleasing her, looked at the scene in front of her and a wave of uneasiness coursed through her heart.

    Her eyes nced through the darkness of night, which didn''t seem to affect her vision at all, and stayed on their figures. She didn''t know what she was feeling or why, but she felt anger.

    Her mana which she had always been in full control of started a havoc inside her body, a broken dam hammering her veins, just waiting to be released. And when she finally saw Rio taking the initiative to kiss Reba back, she lost it.

    Ground beneath her feet cracked in an irregr pattern which spread outward like spiderwebs, making way for the vines crawling from the''s core anding out. But unlike her pretty skills which brought forth nature''s greenery and signified life, the vines forming now were withered and empty, filled with nothing but malice and darkness.

    Unconsciously she ended up using another skill of her goddess Gaya, called "Nature''s Nash". (Nature''s death.)

    The vitality surrounding the whole river started to disappear, as the trees withered and branches turned to ashes. The calm water of river surged into a turbulent wave and formed a violent surge in current, scaring the students still lighting candles nearby.

    Their screams breaking her rage mode and bringing a little sanity back to her head.

    Thus not in the mood to stay in this ce any longer, she just turned around and nned to leave. But just as she moved, a simple paper fell on her head, sliding along the skin of her arms. She raised a hand and pulled it, noticing it was one of the wishing papers every student used.

    [I wish we both stay together forever. R & R ?]

    She read the simple line and looked over her shoulder at the ''adulterous'' pair behind her, and the same feeling of frustration welled up in her heart again.

    ''If the paper doesn''t burn then the wish wille true.'' She remembered the words Jaesin told her about this tradition, and couldn''t help but sneer inwardly.

    A small me appeared on her fingers, burning the wishing paper to ashes. After doing it she just walked away, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips for no reason at all, while the nature everywhere, returned to calm and restored itself with her departure.

    Rio suddenly opened his eyes and turned around sensing the changes around him, but before he turned to look back, Reba who lost the feeling of kiss, grabbed him and pulled in for another one.

    She was inexperienced, extremely so, as Rio could still taste the blood on his lips when she tried to nibble on it lightly, not to mention the awkward movement of her tongue. He smiled thinking how embarrassed she''d beter, or how many days she may avoid him to hide her embarassment and blush, but ignoring those thoughts he held her head and gently guided her, trying to teach her how a kiss worked. Which she seemed not at all interested in noticing, as she had that high on addiction expression.

    The pair, not aware that just their one kiss, had started a chain reaction that would be enough to ignite the heavens and burn down empires very very soon.

    But that''s a saga for future me to write.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

 Chapter 361 Party ends but the story starts

    Chapter 361 Party ends but the story starts

    ??[Congrattions host on getting your third kiss from an Arcadian beauty.]

    "Henna*** doesn''t count. Since that was just to distract her."

    [Whatever third times a charm, and she''s so charming, I''d say you hit the jackpot.]

    [I think you were really lucky tonight, so wanna bet on it and try the lotteries, let''s hit the games and have some fun.] System said and brought out dozens of roulette and rolling wheels with all kinds of prizes and items listed in sections. [I got a feeling you''ll win something real good tonight.]

    As soon as Rio reached his dorms after dropping Reba at hers, the system started babbling constantly, interrupting his thoughts as he stood under the cold shower to clear his head.

    "Something''s off," He said after hearing the constant chatter from the system, which magically didn''t consist of a single joke or teasing remark at all. Not even the pedo threat for which he even paid points for as fun.

    [Nothing''s off. Stop being edgy and let''s hit the casino.]

    "What''s wrong? Don''t y games and tell me?" He asked directly, aware that though this system liked to talk due to its changing personality, it wouldn''t be like this ever.

    "Did something happen? You noticed something, right?" He asked and remembered about the uneasiness he felt out there in the river, before being ''interrupted'' by Ba. "It felt..."

    [That _ that was probably the gods.] System who can read his mind, hurriedly tried to exin and throw the me away. [Yeah,the gods, they''re all boiling in excitement over your rtionship development, especially Loki and Indra. Their eyes haven''t left you for a moment ever since then.]

    [You''re safe now though, no one can peek inside the system space.] System said and proudly promoted its homeground.

    Hearing about the gods, Rio didn''t ponder much on it and opened the notifications to read everything the gods had to say and show.

    As the system said, Indra looked happy after seeing him and Ba together, and even wished them well. While Loki was just chuckling heavily, God knows what yful ns he was cooking.

    H and Nyx didn''t respond, not caring about such silly matters,, while other gods had simr thoughts and reactions.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio skimmed through them, scanning their talks randomly, until his eyes stopped on few messages that caught his attention.

    [Cassandra asks you to visit her church. She has noticed some changes in the original future she envisioned.]

    ["Sound of screams will shatter the world, and pain will swallow the pleasure.

    Rain of blood will drown the ground, and only grief and sadness will be left around.

    A new dawn, a new day, and a new devil, will all appear, when the hell descends." she mumbles a prophecy.]

    [Skuld asks you to be careful as the storms of silence are passing by. And threads of fate are changing colors.]

    [Khonshu asks you to fulfill your deal as soon as possible, or else...]

    The first two messages were from the goddesses who could see the future, making Rio doubt what their words meant.

    ''Seers, and their ridiculous riddles. What the fuck does sound of screams in the sea of silence even means anyway?'' Rio said and shook his head. Not knowing why they couldn''t just talk like normal people.

    He ignored them for now, hoping to decipher these thingster, and read the final message which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

    ''It''s good that I don''te after you to settle ounts from our past, and you still have the gall to ask for your payment.'' He cussed the traitor who backed out and took away his support two years ago, causing Apollo''s minions to break the barrier and block his n.

    "System, let''s put him on the kill list too." Rio said and smiled as he stared at the big whiteboard hanging below the giant world tree, and noticed a new name appearing on the bottom.

    The kill list of Rio was something he prepared when system came online, and he''s been adding names on it every day since then. Currently the list was in 2 parts. One for mortals and one for gods.

    And our dear Alfred and Apollo were sitting on top positions, awaiting their doom.

    "How many points do I have now?" Rio asked remembering the goal of 500k he set for himself.

    [VP = 603040]

    Reading the numbers Rio had a look of surprise, "System, I know making him a rapist was a big thing, but that''s like nearly 150k points in what two nights. Even I don''t dare to think I''m that good yet."

    [It''s not just cause of Leon. There''s also Kevin, Levi, the two elders, that fatty you killed and that chic you pped,...]

    "It''s still a lot tho"

    [Yeah well, 30k are from Reba with whom you shared the public disy of affection and kiss with, attracting all kinds of attention, enemies and plotlines ahead.]

    [The rest is from Sai��] The system who started exining all the point distribution in detail couldn''t help but mutter and stop when it reached the final part and noticed it''s blunder.

    (No way, if this guy learns how strongly she reacted just to see him kiss someone else, would he simply go to shove that memory crystal in her mouth for answers, or dive into another nightmare phase.

    It''s better to keep it a secret for a while.

    Besides if I don''t tell him, and knowing her, she wouldn''te to say she peeked, won''t this secret be safe forever.) System thought and changed the topic before Rio noticed anything strange.

    "Now that you mention it, being with Ba would really put me in the crosshairs of a lot of people and their ambitions." Rio said, remembering how many fools are infatuated with her and woulde at him soon. "But it''s better this way, my hands have been itching for blood for a while now. A massacre is all I need to calm my madness." He said and started going through her plot lines again just in case.

    He was always aware of Ba''s affection, and he always knew unless he wanted to kill her or break her heartpletely, one day he would have to make this choice and y this game of lovers. So the ns to deal with the aftermath had always been in his mind.

    Now, he just needed toy them out, and kill whoever jumped into it.

    Just as Rio and system had suspected earlier, the news of their kiss soon spread to the whole academy and even outside cities. Some stupid idiot from some corner clicked a photo and posted it on Whisper , terming them the most sensational couple.

    Though their faces weren''t clear due to night''s cover, anyone who saw them during the party could identify them through their clothes, especially Ba.

    King Maximus stared at the crystal in his wife''s hands, who excitedly showed off the picture to him, telling how the kids were all grown up now, and how Ba may soon wish to marry and even leave them, and how fast did the time slipped, as just yesterday she used to change her diapers or wipe her nose when she was little and now....

    There was no order or meaning to her words, Athena was just happy and excited seeing the picture and hearing the report about their progress she received from a student, and wanted to share it with her husband, who just kept nodding his head.

    Not noticing that the King wasn''t even listening to her, but to his God.

    [We can finally start the next phase of our n, there''s no more need for any games and tricks behind the scenes. The time hase to make the world chaotic and tilt the tides in our favor.]

    [Your daughter, she can finally be of use to us from now on.]

    Indra gave a few moremands and suggestions, while King Maximus nodded his head from time to time and listened carefully.

    (I''ve been waiting for so long. This peace of people has really worn me out, and I can finally find some toys to y with.)

    (But who''ll be the first fish to jump out and die, so their blood can call for the sharks and the hunters. The feel of fight��) "I really missed it."

    "Husband, you say something?"

    "Nothing, just that I miss our daughter. Let''s call her home when the holidays startter." He replied and smiled watching his wife''s face brighten in joy.

 Chapter 362 No more slow dramas, now we start serious business fr

    Chapter 362 No more slow dramas, now we start serious business fr

    ??''System, do you think she''s fine? She kinda looks angsty.''

    [Eh _ I don''t know host. They''re both girls, you know. So maybe some show off thing.]

    ''If you say so.''

    A month had passed since the fresher''s party and everything was back to normal now. The sses, the training, spar matches and stupid VR games - everything exactly like before. At least for Rio that is.

    Cause currently he was sitting in the crowdnes watching a match between Saisha and Reba, which had long crossed the time limits allowed for a spar and this game, but both girls seemed hellbent on not stopping before defeating the next one. And the professor enjoyed it so here we are.

    Rio watched as the two different properties of mana water and nature battled against each other. Both considered gentle on first nce, yet showing their most deadly side for this match.

    As soon as the match had started 15 minutes ago, Saisha had been into attack mode, surprising everyone. Which forced Ba to go serious if she didn''t want to lose against  anyone.

    ''Huh maybe it is about their pride.'' Rio said, handing the popcorn bucket to Amy who was sitting around, cheering happily for her best friend. On the other end were some elves and other students cheering for Saisha.

    "Brother, 50 on Ba."

    Hearing the sudden words from Amy as she sat down near him, Rio joked. "Feeling confident, are we?"

    "Of course. Now, deal up, or are you scared?"

    "Fine, she''s slowly losing by the way." Rio replied watching the match and guessing the result.

    "Tsk tsk tsk betting on your girlfriend''s loss, brother. Bad thing. Ba would be sooo sad." Amelia teased and shook her head in disappointment.

    ".... If you ckmail meter and use this to not pay up, I''m gonna take away all your sweets that Tanya sent." Rio looked at her for two seconds before replying again, his words causing his pretty sister to stutter.

    "What�� .that''s cheating." she said, already thinking she should ce all her sweets in Ba''s or better Rubina''s storage ring so her brother doesn''t steal them.

    "So is not paying when you lose." Rio replied with a smile.

    "Humph, whatever, I''m sure Ba would beat that sharpe looking pointy." Amy snorted and replied.

    "Are you _ making fun of her elven lineage? That''s racist you know." Rio said, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

    "Shut up." Amelia ignored her brother and stood up from her seat and started shouting again, "Come on Ba, you can do it."

    Rio just shook his head and turned his attention away from the match, he nced at one side and watched Katherine training with Rubina and Vanessa, while on the other end were Zirrix, Leon, Heathe and Moksh fighting each other in a four way match.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Valtor was sitting on the chair ahead, his eyes closed and meditating, trying to recover his mana, after losing to Rio. While Qingyue just snorted and red at Amelia who simply gave up on her training and epted defeat so she can watch Ba''s match easily.

    Amaya was fighting against Levi and Kevin in a three way match, enjoying her time essing their rtionship and trying to understand their thoughts.

    The effects of Rio''s tricks had beginning to show signs of fruition as Levi started feeling of admiration for Leon and even took the chance to apologize to him once few days ago, while Kevin could just re at everything.

    He did call Loki about what was happening, or why wasn''t she falling in love with him, but instead increased her distance.

    But s neither loki nor the masked man ever appeared in front of him again.

    Every main character was beginning to interract with each other and learn more about each other''s strength and weaknesses. The plot was progressing smoothly and signs of different arcs had already started appearing in the background.

    The bullying arc from noble bloods, which had been gathering the highest momentum is like a powder keg at this time, waiting for a spark to go kaboom. Themoners in first years were getting suppressed and bullied on a regr basis, as seniors joined the fray too. So unless someone had some backup, they could only act as a cow and monkey, and keep their heads low trying to act blind and survive the day.

    As always teachers seemed to ignore the bullying, same as idiots did on earth.

    Leon had made an enemy out of couple of viins with his righteous interruption and heroic entrance to save his fellow students many times. He also got a few followers and friends too, but well, as novels go, they''re the most pitiful, since a partner of protagonist is just a tool for fate to torture..

    Aside from bullying and blood discrimination arc, which Rio didn''t n to interfere, another event was happening which actually included him.

    Quin Tempus, Reba''s childhood professor, who had been obsessed with her from as early as when she was 12 years old.

    "A fucking pedophile." Rio couldn''t help but curse again, as he remembered this disgusting viin.

    [Ahem humm]

    ???

    ''Fuck you system.''

    Rio cursed this bitchying in his head and ignored the shamelessughter he heard back.

    Quin, who held the research from his mentor in his hands, and ording to fate is being groomed to hand it all over to Leon, is going bonkers ever since the rumors of Rio and Reba being together caught fire again.

    (Read Ch 201 "A dead man''s chances" to jog your memory about this professor and his plotline)

    Ohhh, yeah they were officially together now. Like proper boyfriend and girlfriend.

    Rumors spread in whole academy and that picture became the best proof, so their was no denying it.

    Plus Ba''s been on cloud 9 since that day and after their ''talk'' about what she wants and how she feels, Rio agreed to give this a chance.

    Obviously not as blindly and believing in promises of love as he was two or twenty years ago. What he looked for now were things he could get and profits he could exploit. He would never, NEVER, be in any helpless situation like that ever again.

    Lisa had left the Zenith and went on the mission to find a cure for her mother''s curse. She tried meeting him onest time, but Rio simply didn''t want to visit another trip down memoryne and see signs of how foolish he was and why he failed because of friendship, so he ignored her.

    Only a protagonist can win by relying on power of love and friendship,, cause when a viin believes in those things, he gets betrayed and left to suffer.

    Lesson fucking learned.

    Since the council president left, the whole student council fell into Alfred''s hands, who had been happily enjoying the thrill of power and control he has now.

    Under Alfred''s orders most of the fourth years didn''te to trouble him again, except one or two idiots now and then, who either got insulted by him, or suffered what we call a proper facep moment, and then left being broken and battered.

    (Their bodies filled with the poison specially brewed by system shop under Hell''s personal guidance, undetectable and uncurable. Their death nearly awaiting them just around the co.)

    Aside from them, second year students had been bugging him for a while now, just yesterday an idiot heir of some stupid guild dared to interrupt his research in the library and ended up being burned alive as he ''lost control'' over a spell he was trying tobine and create..

    Poor fellow didn''t even have a handful of ashes left to finish his resting rites.

    Rio knew which fellow viin was behind these minions, but he didn''t care. After all killing these idiots was also a good thing that gave him lots of points, since every idiot he killed was supposedly an experience package manufactured for protagonist.

    "From now on, no more games, no more drama and no more build up, now we start business. Serious fking business." Rio thought in his heart as he nned to end all these plotlines before the first holidaysing in three weekster.

    He had ton of other things to do and steal in that free time, so solving these petty backdrops would have to be fasttracked.

    "Saisha wins."

    A background announcement broke his thoughts, and as he looked up he found Reba lying on the ground, thrown out the stage, while Saisha standing there, looking down upon her.

    ''She really does seem angsty.'' He thought again, as she turned around and left. Their eyes locking on each other for the sh of a moment, and he saw a smile.

    ''There''s definitely something wrong with her.'' He thought with a frown, as he stepped forward to help Ba.

    [.....]

    (Fuck this bullshit man. When will I get a break. It''s been a month.

    Can''t she just take a break and chill, it was just a kiss anyway.) System cursed and directly decided that the next time something like this happens and this mentally possessive princess is around, it would just chug it''s host''s points and create a fucking barrier to block her sight.

    (Urgh, let''s hope she gets sane soon.)

 Chapter 363: The troubles of Saisha Ellsworth

    After the match was over Saisha directly left the spar grounds and started walking towards her next ss.

    Her mood which was slightly better after giving Ba a beating, instantly turned sour again after seeing her guard, Jaesin standing there by the door, with the same downcast look.

    "Have you still not found anything about that guy?" She couldn''t help but ask about the task she had given him.

    "I asked people to investigate, but the results are��"

    "It''s been over a month now."

    Hearing the same response, Saisha cut him off and spoke in an angry tone. Her calm face was filled with a touch of annoyance that gave her a cold appearance.

    "Can''t you even find the background of some local no name gang?" She asked again.

    "Princess, it''s not just us who are investigating the Eclipse, even the world association and various other guilds are also doing the same." Jaesin raised his head to respond, "But so far other than a few names and hints about their small activities, nothing about them has been found by anyone."

    Seeing that Saisha was listening and didn''t interrupt him again, he carefully chose his words and kept exining.

    "Before making a move against Evil''s Scion and Wrath at that time, no one even knew of their names or had taken them seriously, but now��"

    "I don''t care about their business and goals, I asked you to find out information about their leader and all you''ve given me are useless excuses. If you can''t do your job, then ask the seniors and others for help, instead of bringing me the same stupid response."

    Jaesin, who was trying to exin that he had been trying hard, but even after using all their resources and connections he couldn''t track them, was interrupted again by Saisha, who gave him a cold response before walking past her ss without turning back.

    Jaesin, who was left behind just kept staring at her back with some confusion and questions, but it was obvious that she didn''t want to talk to him, and nowadays he didn''t have the guts to voice them out like before.

    Ever since the day of the freshers party his princess had been acting cold and weird for some reason. She started skipping sses and had been in a constant bad mood ever since then.

    Not long after that day, she suddenly asked him to investigate the group of viins who suddenly appeared in that auction, especially about their leader.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At first he just thought she was curious and wanted to punish them, but his illusion was soon broken, when he mentioned their leader''s name in the first report.

    Saisha, she seemed to ''hate'' that guy for some reason.

    But he did his job without question, thinking she was angry as he saw that man trying to kill her that day, but even that illusion was broken during his next report, where he showed her a few clips of Shiva''s past appearances and actions on floating inds.

    Seeing him killing innocents and burning people alive for no reason but just to increase his fear and fame, when he called him a rotten criminal and nothing else, for the first time he saw her getting mad at him.

    And now, it had be a constant for her.

    Her calm nature which earned her the nickname of daughter of nature, had been long gone, and she seemed to always be on edge.

    "Fuck, if I ever see that bastard, I''ll kill him with my own hands." Jaesin didn''t know why the princess was so interested in that man, but that didn''t stop him from hating that guy. He swore he''ll kill him and clear out all this Eclipse as soon as he found the hole they''re hiding in.

    How dare they ruin his rtionship with the princess. Simply courting death.

    ..

    Unlike Jaesin, who was fuming over the mysterious leader of Eclipse, Saisha was walking around the hallways with a lost look, mumbling something iprehensible.

    "Who are you?

    Do I know you?

    From where though?"

    On the eve of freshers party after she let loose and lost her mana, she walked back to her room, whole way thinking why she did what she did, or what exactly was she feeling at that moment?

    Yet even after pondering on it for a long time she couldn''t figure out anything.

    Was she angry?

    Of course she was, otherwise she wouldn''t use one of her ace spells subconsciously.

    But why was she feeling angry?

    She didn''t know Reba, had never even met her before? Then why did burning her wish made her smile?

    Was she feeling jealous of her?

    But why?

    She didn''t like Rio, she only ever met him once or twice before that night. So how can she love him?

    Just entangled in thoughts like these, coupled with her mana low state, she fell asleep on her bed.

    And that night she had a dream.

    A dream which she couldn''t even remember clearly next morning, which was all just covered in fog and shadows of darkness. Where everything just seemed so blur and broken. Yet at the same time so familiar. Like going through a deja vu.

    "I''m leaving first, I''m sorry I broke our promise, and your heart." A voice said this in her dream.

    Was it hers? It sounded like her.

    But when did she say it?

    To whom?

    This routine kept happening to her for the next few nights. Ruining her whole mood and behavior.

    But whenever she woke up the next day, all the memories of this ''dream'' would be gone. Except the clear sign of tears that remained on her cheeks, always a reminder of some unpleasant feeling.

    She tried hard to remember something from her dream, but couldn''t find anything. No familiar people, ces, names, nothing. Everything was so different and difficult to recall in the morning.

    Just that she always had this feeling of familiarity and security in her heart.

    If not for this feeling of safety, she might have even doubted whether she was cursed or effected by some ck magic.

    And then she remembered, she had felt this feeling before.

    Not in dreams, but in reality.

    When she saw Rio for the first time.

    She didn''t know why she ignored it, why she forgot about it, yet now she knew. And she couldn''t help but question herself. ''Was it him in my dream?''

    But the same doubt gued her heart again, but why? Why was he there?

    It was all just giving her a one big headache and upying her attention so much so that she wasn''t even in the mood to attend any sses or even leave her room.

    Until she saw a piece of news on her phone which showed some monthly report highlights, and she heard the talk about ''Eclipse'' which had massacred the group of viins from Evil''s Scion and Wrath, and saved everyone at the bloody auction event, as they termed it.

    "Eclipse _ that man_ .." She remembered the man whom she saw and fought at the auction without even recognizing his alliance, and remembered she felt the same feeling from him too.

    ''Maybe _ he knows something.'' She thought and remembered that despite having the chance to kill her easily, that man just knocked her out and left.

    "I need to find him." She said and finally left her room after days, to order her guards.

    ..

    And here we are. Nearly a monthter

    After such a long time she hasn''t gotten a single clue about that man, just his name, a face, and that''s all.

    Over thisst month Rio and Reba had officially confirmed their rtionship publicly and she''d often see them walking together, holding hands andughing at each other''s jokes. Even if she tried to avoid them , the rumors about them would reach her ears to annoy her every hour or so.

    Making her head confused and heart itchy for reasons unknown.

    That''s why when she saw them just sparring together, ying games and teasing each other, she couldn''t even hold back and challenged Reba for a spar and went out of her way to defeat her.

    Urgh the satisfaction�� .

    She thought with a smile after remembering the scene of kicking Ba down the floor.

    But her smile stiffened as she realised something and couldn''t help but stop.

    "No, what''s wrong with me? I wasn''t like this? Fuck? No, why am I cursing? I don''t curse, I''m a princess? Fuck."

    Saisha kept walking, mumbling to herself in an angry mood, as students just watched and gave her the way since she looked pissed.

    Few weeks ago, many roadside romeos would havee forward to strike a conversation and ask her for her well being, but after seeing a series of her actions this past month, many have learned it''s better not to pester this princess.

    Saisha didn''t notice the strange eyes she was getting, or heard the silent whispers behind her back.

    She just kept walking.

    Until she found herself standing in an empty hallway, and in front of her was the source of all her problems, Rio ke.

    She did want to talk to him many times before tooo, but he was always with his sister, or Ba, or Katherine, or some other girl, and she just couldn''t swallow her breath and start a conversation.

    Hence her obsession with Shiva. But since Shiva''s nowhere to be found, there''s no other option.

    "If I can''t find the answer myself, I''ll just ask you directly." She said after much thought and pep talk preparation, and stepped forward to call his name, when she saw whom he was talking to and stopped.

    ''Is that _ ?''

 Chapter 364: A serious talk after a lifetime

    Rio, was talking to Ryuk about how to deal with the pedo professor who''s been making things ''difficult'' for him in the ss.

    Trying to point him out on stupid things, asking him questions way out of bounds just for trying to make a fool of him in front of Ba, giving lengthy assignments or just being annoying to look at - after a month of patience and hints that if you don''t want to die, back off. - Rio finally gave up on everything and chose to deal with this guy for real.

    He hoped to wait a little longer till somehow Leon helps this guy finish the research of his mentor, but this annoying pest doesn''t seem to learn, and that stupid Leon is just too busy with trying to win over Vanessa, Sunaina and Seraphina, to actually care about the plot.

    ''That idiot is too unreliable.'' Rio thought before making this decision.

    "Are you sure you want to do this? A lot of people have their eyes on you? Especially since that elder has epted you as his disciple." Ryuk, who heard Rio''s n to deal with another professor called Quin, couldn''t help but ask in doubt.

    He couldn''t even help but wonder if this guy simply lost his brain inside the dungeon, he just got back, and still haven''t fully received his ''okay'' mental certificate from the therapist, but he had already killed a student openly and now ns to kill a teacher.

    What''s next on his list, assassinate the principal and nuke the academy.

    ..... (How did he know? -system''s thoughts.) ...

    "Plus your n is too risky, if anything goes wrong, I''ll be the one who gets kicked out." Ryuk said anxiously.

    "Don''t worry, you''re more useful here then outside. I won''t fail again. Just follow the n and use _ " Rio was saying something but stopped when he heard something behind his back and through the corner of his eyes, he found Saisha standing there with a surprised expression.

    ''System��''

    [Don''t worry, she just came here.] Before he could ask, the system responded and calmed his doubts.

    "Thank you for your help professor, I''m sure I can find the right books with your guidance." Rio said and bowed a little, shaking his head to signal Ryuk, it wasn''t safe to speak and not to worry about anything.

    Ryuk, who heard his message and saw his expressions, also calmed his nerves and smiled in response.

    If anyone saw him plotting murder and building schemes against the academy, he would have to kill them too to survive, even if it is the elven princess.

    "I am just doing my part of the job. But I''d still suggest you think over your choice, there are other books in the library which are more suitable for you. You can take your time and think about it again." He said, hinting to halt their n in a roundabout way.

    But Rio just shook his head and replied "I''ve decided, professor. Don''t worry."

    By this point Saisha hade close to their position and they could see her, so Ryuk just smiled and then left the ce after wishing his ''student'' best luck.

    Rio wanted to avoid Saisha, so without even looking at her, he turned around and chose to leave in the opposite direction. Thinking hering here was just a coincidence, so it''s best to leave silently.

    s�� he thought beautifully.

    "Can I talk to you?"

    "..."

    She said, but got no response from him, so she further rified, "I need to talk to you, it''s something important. I think... I don''t know."

    Seeing that she was adamant on stopping him, Rio still shunned her out. "It''s time for sses, Miss Saisha, if you have anything, you can find meter." He said.

    "But you always avoid me." she replied almost subconsciously. Her tone, a little curious and wronged, like she wanted to ask Why, but didn''t know why?

    "We don''t know each other, Miss Saisha, but if it is something important as you said, you can tell it to your room partner, she has my number."

    "Then can I have it?. .Your number��"

    "As I said, we are strangers. So no. You can''t."

    "But we''re not strangers, are we?"

    "I don''t know what you mean."

    "I had a dream."

    Rio, who was about to leave the ce after giving her cold replies all this time, suddenly halted his steps and turned to look at her in surprise hearing his words.

    ''Does he know something?'' She couldn''t help but have doubts in her heart again, but seeing Rio didn''t say anything and just stared at her with questioning eyes, like he didn''t understand what she meant, Saisha shook her head and exined again.

    "I had a dream, and _ and I think you were there." Saisha said, trying to see his expression for anything, not even aware what she was hoping to find. But all she got was a one word response.

    "And.."

    "And I feel _ weird, when I''m around you. Like there''s this_ this _ feeling _ that  _ I _ I don''t know how to describe." Saisha tried to say what she felt when she was with him, like how it calmed her nerves somehow, and how she felt safe, like home, yet when the words came to her mouth, they all stopped and turned into silence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    It annoyed her mind cause she didn''t know the reason behind these feelings, but it soothed her heart since he was there. So contradictory.

    "Do you feel it too, is that why you''re always avoiding me?" She asked thinking it must be so, otherwise why would he ignore her so much..

    Hearing her questions, Rio''s little brain was hit with tons of theories and doubts about what the fuck was happening with her, but he shoved them all aside for a few second, as he realized he needed to solve this girl first, or she''d always gonna be after him.

    He knew her personality all too well, if she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her, so he had to be blunt and stop this curious cat before it gets him killed.

    And so he lied through his teeth,

    "I have zero idea of what you''re saying, miss Saisha. Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call the nurse, the medics..."

    But who made the women''s intuition so powerful? He just finished two lines and was interrupted directly. "Don''t lie to me, I can see it on your face." She said and blocked his path. "Who are you?"

    Hearing the question and seeing her dejected and almost depressed expression, Rio froze for a second, not knowing how to handle her.

    Should he just tell her the truth and shove that memory crystal in her mind, hoping she''ll live afterwards and he''ll finally have his answers, or should he just,..

    ''No. Shut up you stupid brain. '' Rio cursed and shut off all his thoughts, removing every memory lingering of their past and being calm again.

    "You''re just acting stupid, miss Saisha. If you have a dream about me, that doesn''t mean we got some secret connection."

    "It''s just fancy hormones, acting out on a teen girl. So stop thinking about useless things, and focus on your studies." He said shamelessly and before Saisha could say something he interrupted her by adding. "Now if you''ll excuse me, my girlfriend''s still in the infirmary, so I''ll take my leave."

    Saying that, Rio just turned around and left, not looking back at Saisha who didn''t believe a word he said. But watching him leaving, a thought crossed her mind and she couldn''t help but voice it out.

    "Shiva..." She shouted for some unknown reasons, calling him from the back.

    But Rio didn''t respond at all.

    Forget turning around, even his walking posture and speed didn''t change or falter at all.

    ''What was I thinking? Maybe I really am being stupid?'' She said and held her forehead. Thinking she should just go to her room and rest. Or go for a medical check up. And maybe after that, she''ll also apologize to Reba and himter for her odd behavior.

    While on the other hand,

    Rio, who kept walking ahead, had his face covered in dark lines and question marks, with surprise written all over his face.

    He didn''t turn back when she called him, as he wasn''t some stupid third ss idiot.

    He nearly got shot in the head back on earth, when he wasst tricked by this y, so he had already learned his lesson to control his actions for such situations.

    Yet Saisha''s sudden call still gave him a surpise.

    ''System, for fuck sake, tell me you have a fucking exnation for all this fuckry.'' He asked and pulled his system out, who just ate popcorns in his head and chilled watching his drama unfold.

    [Argh,,, burp..]

    "... If you don''t exin, what''s going with Saisha and what kind of dreams and thoughts is she having, I''d really butcher your ass. So exin." Rio said in anger after seeing this bastardly teammate, and pulled out a sword, ready to hack at system.

    (Can you not pull me in for your weird problems. I''m already angry okay.)

 Chapter 365: Rio, Rebecca and pedo professor

    "System, for fuck sake, please tell me you have an exnation for all this fuckery. Cause if You don''t tell me what''s going on with Saisha, and what kind of dreams or thoughts she''s having, I swear on my life I''ll Billy Butcher your ass." Rio said in anger, losing his patience over system''s silence.

    [.....]

    "Do not test my patience, system. I''ll mute and lock you forever, and still survive in this shitty world. So speak up."

    [I think she''s having seizures.]

    ... ???

    " Okay. That''s it. You''re so fucking blocked��"

    [No wait, I''m serious. It''s what we call memory seizures.] Seeing its host really getting angry and ready to block it, the system hurriedly tried to exin things in detail.

    "Keep going."

    [Memory seizures are like mental callbacks from your subconscious telling you about your past life.

    After the death, a person''s soul gets cleaned in the darkness and then sent to light when it''s ready to reincarnate. So the cycle of rebirth keep going on and on until thest bit of energy in soul gets eaten by the darkness.]

    "I know this bullshit, get to the point."

    [Well,... How do i exin this��ahhh��deja vu..dreamwalking...astral zone..]

    "You have no idea, do you?" Seeing the system just zoning on and off in thoughts, mumbling weird iprehensible bullshit on repeat, Rio interrupted it and asked a question.

    [What, of course I have an idea. It''s simple, you heard nothing''s ever perfect right, same is the case for this cosmic scale of life and death cycles. So in some very rare cases , you know, like one in a infinite years, a soul gets sent out after all the data on it gets deleted, but.. You know there''s still a stache of cache left somewhere deep in folders, right. So��]

    "Yeah, so the Almighty creator forgot to create a cache scanner, install a 360 cleaner and check the storage in settings�� mother fucker, if you don''t know anything, don''t show off. Useless bitch." Rio said and cursed this bastard system and muted it''s ass without saying anything else.

    "It''s probably '' That Being''s '' fault. He''s the only one who''s been overly interested with my life. Sending souls left and right into arcadia to follow him." Rio said and cursed his luck for not knowing anything about him.

    ''Did he do this since I decided not to use the crystals?'' He thought, but then shook his head, "But that''s not right, if he wanted Saisha to remember these things herself, why would he give me her memory crystal."

    And why isn''t the case simr for Katherine or Amelia? They never had some ''feelings'' or ''dreams'' ?

    "Fuck, why is shit always soplicated when ites to her." Rio cursed and stopped thinking over these things as he reached the nursing rooms and heard Amy''sughter from inside. He just stood there and took a few deep breaths to calm his head down and then entered inside.

    "Hey brother,e check this out, see��" As soon as he entered, Amy rushed at him and dragged him to Ba who was lying on the bed at front. She had her right hand''s wrist wrapped in some white guaze, as while she was casting a spell during the match, Saisha used earth to bury her hand and interrupt her chant, causing three of her fingers to break due to her struggle and bacsh.

    It wasn''t anything a single potion couldn''t fix, but academy couldn''t allow it for various reasons.

    First, policy of self healing. (Too many potions can harm the body, so don''t use them for smaller things.) Second, cost effectiveness, (Little injuries like this happens every day couple of times to everyone, it can be very pricey.

    So unless it''s something serious, let wounds be healed naturally.) Third, Natural healing is the best, it can improve your body and bones, while giving you time to rethink things so you don''t make these mistakes again in next spar.

    And something else, maybe, but wada nada bullshit, so they don''t matter.

    "What''s that? Some kind of formation pattern or just doodles?" Rio said showing ''confusion''  as he stared at the designs on Ba''s hands.

    But hearing his remark, Amy pinched his waist, and red at him. "That''s my masterpiece, you dimwit." she said, drawing a long random line on his shirt, "and this is doodling."

    Rio shook his hand as he raised his hand and dusted his arm, removing all traces of ink and making his clothes clean and perfect again.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Humph, I''ll just leave you two guys alone." Seeing that her joke failed, Amy just pouted and left the room looking ''angry''.

    Once they were both alone, they both just stared at each other, waiting for the other person to take the initiative to speak.

    But seeing that Ba was just being Ba, Rio just shook his head and sat near her, and broke the silence. "Hey,"

    "Hi,"

    "Got beaten huh?"

    "She was serious."

    "You got serious at the end too."

    "I was careless."

    "Maybe..."

    "What, you think I would''ve lost otherwise. I''m stronger than her."

    "Maybe." Seeing that she didn''t understand what he meant, and started feeling bad and angry, he just shushed her and rified.

    "You''re stronger...But youck experience, and the will the win."

    Ba who smirked with pride hearing his first words, froze as he continued to add moreter.

    "You''re too scared to attack openly, and too prideful to take advantage of others'' distraction. Not to mention how you''re always holding back, it''s naive and idiotic.."

    "You hold back too." Ba said, feeling a little aggrieved over being called an idiot.

    "I hold back cause I know they can''t handle it. And mainly cause they can''t defeat me either way." Rio exined and fixed her hair, "You, my dear Ba, on the other hand, is just trying to be nice everywhere, and shit like that, would get you killed someday."

    "It''s not that serious, it was just a spar." Ba said and held his hand, "All I did was just ask why was she always using trees to attack, when nature also has means to control other things��"

    "And then she used gravity and stones to break your fingers." Rio interrupted her and finished the sentence, "You see my point now."

    His words made Ba to frown, as she just looked down dejectedly. "Look, I know being good is kind of your thing, but try to do that only when it doesn''te back  to bite you in the ass, okay."

    "This was just a lousy spar, no need for a lecture."

    "A lousy spar where your loss gave wind to the rumors that the Schi''s princess isn''t as good as that of the elves." Rio shook his head and pped her hand, which was starting to tickle him, "I don''t want to see you loose again, or getting hurt."

    "Aww, worried were you?" Ba said, with a teasing smile. All her previous worries and grievances gone with that single sentence.

    "Tsk, take some rest, I''ll bring you lunchter." Seeing that his words had no effect anymore, Rio said something casually and turned around to leave.

    Watching him stand up, Ba said with a smile, tugging at his hand. "Aren''t you forgetting something?"

    Rio looked at her smile and shook his head. He bent down and gave a kiss on her forehead, "Rest." He said seriously, before leaving Ba, who just frowned for a second seeing him running away without a proper kiss.

    ''Well, I better not lose next time.'' She said in her heart, thinking a victory celebration should deserve a nice kiss on lips, than this little peck on forehead right.

    ''She''s so high on love, it''s almost affecting her brain now.'' Looking at Ba''s determined expression through the mirror, Rio sighed and said to his system.

    [Happens to everyone, buddy. Remember yours.]

    ''Come on, I was shot, in my stomach, that''s fucking more serious than a few broken fingers, you know.''

    [Yeah, and you also got more serious rewards I remember. So pamper her too.]

    ''Tsk traitor.''

    Cursing the system for taking her side, Rio just decided to ignore this mute traitor and walk back to his sses, when he bumped into someone while turning the corner.

    "Sorry, my bad,..." He said knowing he didn''t look ahead while walking, but stopped his words after seeing who it was standing in front of him.

    Quin ...

    ''System, was this pedo, perving on my girl?''

    [....?? .. Yupp. He was. T_totally. ]

    ''Okay, now I definitely gotta kill him.'' Rio thought and met the gaze of professor, and without any magic or blessings, he could see the same thoughts of murder on his mind too.

    There wasn''t the killing intent or bs like that lingering in air, but just that glint of coldness in his snake like eyes was all the proof one needed.

    ''Guess the pedophile couldn''t see me close to her and wanted to silence me too huh.'' Rio thought and decided to speed up the n to wipe this guy out.

    Unaware, that his constant title names caused system to go into contemtion.

    (Host, can stop saying other people pedophile, when you''re mentally thrice the age of your girl, bro) system thought in its head, but dared not utter those words, lest it gets cursed and blocked for real.

 Chapter 366: Confronting the thief

    "Professor Quin," Rio said with a smile meeting his gaze. His bloody thoughts perfectly hidden behind his charming face and sweet smile.

    "Rio, isn''t this the time for your ss? Skipping lectures isn''t good."

    "Well, I was just going there. But don''t you also have a lecture at A-4 now."

    "I just came to check on Reba�� ."

    "She''s fine and resting. It was a minor injury anyway." Rio said and pointed ahead "No need to dy a ss of 200 students just for one, is there?"

    "... I suppose so." Quin said and turned around to leave too.

    His face had a cold expression as he looked at Rio''s back walking ahead and he clenched his fists when he remembered the scene of this annoying bastard kissing his sweet and cute princess.

    He wished to kill him for daring to get close to her, just like how he killed the others, but he just couldn''t find any perfect chance.

    Noticing the oozing anger behind him, Rio just smiled and chose to ignore it. Anyway this guy was already a corpse in his eyes. So might as well as tease him a little more.

    "By the way professor, did I do something wrong?" Rio asked.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Cause you seem angry at me. Extra lectures, homework, assignments, yesterday you simply didn''t even allow me to attend your ss, when I was just 2 minuteste. Is there a reason for all that?"

    Hearing his questions, Quin froze and frowned for a second. Since he couldn''t see Rio''s face at this point, he didn''t know what expressions he had when asking him that, so he could just take it as a kid''s curiosity and lie about it.

    "The extra attention on you is just cause everything we teach is something you''ve already been taught, by my mentor nheless. So if I don''t teach you something new or ask you about something that''s beyond first year quota, it''ll simply just be a waste of your time."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "That so, and here I thought it had something to do with all those rtionship rumors that''s been going around." Rio said as he turned around and casually continued, "You see a lot of people have been giving me cold shoulder these days because of that."

    "What do you��" Quin wanted to ask him if they were just ''rumors'' or real, but Rio interrupted him directly.

    "Talking about your mentor, I remember he was doing a research on various dungeons and spatial gateway cracks, about how the otherworldly energy can create monsterization effects on creatures of Arcadia and how we can control it. He even had some thoughts about curing EMMSY."

    "How do you��"

    "Poor him, man never got a chance to finish that. Cause it would''ve been a real gift for Arcadia if he did." Rio interrupted him again and finished his words with a question, "Do you know anything about that professor, maybe the old man told you something, passed on his knowledge, or maybe you just found a book in his luggage, since you were his assistant and moved into his room."

    "... ��"

    "Nothing, well, I guess sad for the world then." Seeing his silence, Rio smirked and finished his words, before moving away.

    Quin, who felt like a thief who got caught stealing redhanded, hurriedly moved and stopped Rio. "Why did you ask about that?" he said, trying his best to sound and act as casual as possible.

    "Cause my family and angel are also working on a theory and a research like that, from what I heard, we are kinda close to a major breakthrough these days, so maybe we will finish it and honor the old man''s legacy for him." Rio replied and smiled, before patting the still shocked professor on his shoulder. "You should be happy, professor.

    Worry not, as the student you pay oh so attention to, you''ll be the first I''ll show it off to, now goodbye professor."

    Quin stood there frozen like a statue, not even caring about the friendly pat from his ''enemy'' he just stared at Rio''s back in surprise and a little fear, as seeing that smile, he felt his secret wasn''t so safe anymore.

    Stealing his mentor''s research and not handing it over or telling a soul about it for over 2 years now, anyone can tell what his intentions were. If he ever got caught at best he''d be kicked out of Zenith, but for worst, he''ll be thrown into some dark prison or dungeon of world association, never to see the sky of Arcadia ever again.

    "No, it was just a coincidence. No one knows about that diary. Not even the principal and elders. That guy he was just asking, he doesn''t know anything either." Quin tried to cheer him up, to control the rising stress levels, yet couldn''t find anything working in his favor.

    "Yeah, if he had proof he won''t threaten me like that." he said to himself, ring daggers at Rio''s figure moving further and further ahead.

    No matter how roundabout they talked, he could feel that bastard wasn''t being friendly with him.

    Maybe Rio suspected something, or maybe he just overdid the punishments to annoy this ''angel''. But he could feel the sense of enmity from him.

    ''I need to kill him fast. I have to.'' He said determined to kill Rio even more now.

    At first it was just because of his obsession with Reba, but now it was about his own life and freedom too.

    Rio needs to die.

    "But what he said about his family and Angel, having a simr research, if that''s true then all my efforts to decipher those gibberish codes all this time, would be wasted.

    Two years of sleepless nights and countless hours of brainstorming hardwork down the drain."

    As Quin remembered how much effort he had invested in trying to decipher his mentor''s secret diary and understand all that research and principles, he couldn''t ept the fact that now someone was about to steal it all away from him.

    "No, no no, no no, no, That research is mine. MINE, All that glory and praise will be mine too.

    I am the savior of Arcadia. No one, can take it away."

    "I have to finish that research first," He thought and added "and then, I''ll finish him too."

    He swore and fastened his pace, ignoring the route to his ss and moving towards his dorms to secure his future.

    Not aware that as his figure left the hallways, Rio stood in his ce with a smile on his lips. "Be fast, my little monkey, get ready to dance on my palms, I got a little surprise for ya." He said, before disappearing from his ce.

    On the other hand, Quin, who reached his room, had an expression filled with fear and anger, as he watched the door open and all the stuff cropped and thrown around here and there. Like a storm had passed through his room, when he wasn''t here.

    Ignoring all the damage and destruction, he moved towards a brokenmp on the ground and picked it up.

    He broke the string which was used to light it up, and then walked to the South side, and inserted it on solid wall. As if magic, the cotton string turned into a silver key and disappeared into the wall, before a sound of click came, and a secretpartment opened.

    Rummaging through the dozens of papers, he breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes finallynded on an old leather diary.

    "It''s here. They didn''t find it," He said and finally calmed his nerves. Taking a deep breath to rx his restless heart.

    "Thank you for opening that." But just when he rxed, a voice sounded behind him that nearly scared him to death. "Now hand it over."

    Turning around he saw a man covered in dark clothes and mana of shadows lingering around his body. Stepping out from the cover and blocking the doorway.

    "Who are you?" Quin said, noticing the fluctuations of aura that belonged to a Limit ranked awakener. Cold sweat formed over his forehead and a feeling of uneasiness swept over his spine.

    But still as if to maintain that sense of superiority and strength, he still seriously spoke while pulling a magic wand from his suit. "I asked who you are?"

    "Your shadow, your death." The masked man said, before disappearing from his ce and rising behind Quin, through his shadow. Hand holding a dagger ready to stab the professor''s heart.

 Chapter 367: Bloodlines and bullying

    "Are you sure your room was locked? Cause the formations on it weren''t triggered or broken?"

    "I''m sure."

    "Then did you give someone the key, or permission to enter?"

    "No."

    "Was anything stolen from your room?"

    "No."

    "Can you identify your opponent?"

    "No."

    "Any idea what he was after?"

    "No."

    "Was he here to kill you then?"

    "I don''t know."

    Standing in front of the people from thew and punishment hall, hearing their questions, Quin kept telling them answers and getting annoyed by their constant chatter and presence in his room.

    After the masked man appeared, they fought for a minute before the security personnel took notice of noise and came to check.

    Since his mentor Professor Caelum, whom this room previously belonged to, was a weeb and loner, who preferred silence and being away from everyone, his room wasn''t with other staff and their buildings, but at a separate cabin away from dorms. Thus he didn''t have any ''neighbors'' so to speak or help with the intruder.

    Thus the masked man came and left, and no one noticed him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Well, it seems we have no clue then. Inform us if you can remember anything else, or find something strange, we''ll send a runemaster to renew the locks and patterns."

    Saying this the head of guard teams turned around and left, his followers who recorded the confession and crime scene, also left one by one behind him..

    When everyone was gone, and the door was locked, Quin finally threw away his facade of calm and screamed in anger.

    "Arghhhhh" He shouted as he kicked the table, causing everything on it to tter and fall down.

    His rage of anger was about to continue when he moved his hand to throw a vase, but stopped after feeling the sharp paining from his shoulder.

    "Which bastard was it?" He cursed as he took off his jacket and stared at his bleeding shoulder.

    The shadow magician, though simr in rank, was superior in skills and experience, thus managing to catch him off guard andnding a critical hit.

    If not for those guards, Quin was sure the masked man could kill him too.

    "Did that bastard send this guy?" He thought, remembering about his conversation with Rio. "But it''s the academy, he can''t do something like this."

    "Then who was it? That man was clearly after the diary."

    Does someone else knows about that too?

    "Fuck��"

    ��

    Different from how our pedo professor was having his day, Rio was leisurely chilling and sipping on some cold drinks.

    "I knew I could count on you." Rio said with a smile, as the same masked man who fought Quin, appeared in front of him.

    "I was this close to getting caught." The man said, removing his mask and sitting on the sofa heavily.

    Rio looked at the man, as he threw his cap away and started fixing his hair, tying them in a single braid again. He was Umbra, or Elvis rk, the warden of boy''s dorms called Mirage Manor.

    Instead of answering or worrying about him, Rio just asked his questions.

    "How bad did you hurt him?"

    "A little cut on his shoulder, nothing big."

    "And no proof?"

    "None."

    "Good, here, your price." Rio said while throwing him a skill scroll.

    Elvis caught and threw it into his storage ring without looking. Not doubting that he would try to cheat him after this event.

    "Well, since it''s done, I''ll take my leave." Rio said and stood up to leave the office.

    "You still haven''t told me what was in that book he held, or how you managed to bypass the security locks on his door?" Elvis asked, but Rio just smiled and left without answering.

    "Knowing too much can be harmful, shadow yer. Better be calm, lest you call for chaos."

    Leaving behind these words, Rio disappeared from his view as the door closed behind him. Making Elvis doubt about what he meant or what his goal was. So he started to analyze everything that happened ever since Rio returned.

    He was after all a spy and double agent by habit, his whole survival depended solely on making the right bet and choosing the right partner.

    . ..

    While Rio was busy nning details andying theyout to kill the viin professor, Leon on the other hand was having his adventures too.

    Damon Cryptorn, the favorite target for bullying in their ss, the one whom Rio refused to save even after Nyx''s suggestions, was getting beaten in a corner by Lincoln and Edward.

    The sight had been too frequent and famous, that everyone else just simply chose to ignore it. Whatever righteousness people had left and wanted to help, was also suppressed after the freshers party.

    Since now these arrogant nobles had the backing of Supremacy club members and senior students.

    As any fantasy world and academy plotlines in online novels go, this one also had a group of viins which believed in nobility being superior, andmoners being trash and their ves, used only to serve and please them.

    The group had been present for forever, and their acts of bullying and crimes going back several decades or even more.

    A few staff members also had this personality and were guarding this club from shadows, so despite all theints and challenges, it had never truly been rooted out.

    Hell after Alfred became the vice president of student Council he had been leading this group of racist fuckers from the back, promoting their hate crimes even more.

    To him the lives ofmoners and weak chickens didn''t even matter, he just wanted to win the favors of as many noble and elite houses as he possibly could during his academy time. Thus the club kept flourishing under his reign.

    Before two years, it was just a name uttered behind close doors of academy walls, but now with a royal prince leading them, the Supremacy group had even formed an open activity club and garnered many many followers.

    Obviously to keep his image safe and secure, Alfred never supported it openly, but every core member and staff knew who their leader was.

    Anyway back to Damon, the dude was bullied by Lincoln and Edward for a month, before the staff finally epted his request to change rooms and he moved out. For a day or two, he thought now he''ll be free from the constant insults and bullying, but it only got worse.

    Without him to vent his anger on every minute of the day, Lincoln felt like he had lost his favorite toy, so since then he had upped his game and cruelty, so he doesn''t miss him.

    As they say if I can''t beat you 24 hours a day, I''ll just beat you so much in 1 hour that you cry for the rest of 23.

    "We haven''t seen you for a few days, and you''ve grown wings, have you?" Lincoln said, grabbing Damon''s dark hair and pping his cheeks.

    "Where''s our lunch? Where''s the usual salute and the shoe licking?"

    "You think by shutting yourself in the room, hiding below the bed, you''ll be safe, will you?"

    "Where you gonna hide now?"

    "The only ce safe might be your mom''s pussy, you might as well crawl back under her legs, hahahhaha"

    "How''s that safe, when she''s literally spreading her legs at every pub. Ahhaha"

    One by one the group of minions surrounded him and kept making fun of him and taunting him to get angry. Just so beating him can be even more fun.

    "Come, crawl over here and lick my shoes. They''ve lost their shine a little I think." Lincoln said before kicking Damon down and cing his shoe on his shoulder..

    The pitiful soul of the depressed teenager cried and begged for mercy, but gagged as his words got interrupted when the leather shoe got stuffed into his open mouth.

    "No, no, no, if you dare bite on it, and leave a mark of your dirty teeth on them, I''mma chop your body in pieces and sell you outside to buy a new pair." Lincoln said before shoving his feet further,ughing as the idiot rolled his eyes and started crying and spitting like a brainless retard.

    "Now be a good dog and lick em clean." He said before pulling his shoe and cing it on Damon''s shoulder again, not before wiping all that saliva on his face off course.

    Damon took a nce around the empty ssroom and a few students, who hurriedly looked away, pretending like they saw nothing, and wiped his tears. He was about to bow his head and do their bidding once more, when a voice broke the evilughter and smirking viin''s constant chatter.

    "Stop��"

    Leon finally made his entry. And looking at his fuming face, one could tell this time he meant business.

 Chapter 368: Leons enemies and saviors

    "I warned you that the next time I saw you bullying someone, I won''t let you go." Leon said as he pped Lincoln''s feet away and helped Damon stand up.

    "Stop butting into our matters, cripple. We''ve already tolerated your ass enough."

    "Don''t think just cause you''re ranked higher, you''re some hot shot, I''ll beat yo ass and teach you a lesson right here right now. So fuck off."

    Ignoring the angry res and taunting threats from the viins, Leon just looked at Lincoln calmly and said just one word. "Apologize"

    "What?"

    "I said _ apologize to him."

    Hearing his haughty words the group of goons broke intoughter, as Lincoln and Edward held their stomachs to hold them back, "This idiot."

    "Looks like whatever pills he used to boost his rank for exams, affected his brain too. Dude''s officially a retard now."

    "A pervert, a rapist and now a retard - what''s next, a eunuch."

    "That sounds nice. Ed, you''re a seer now. Lol,"

    "Ahahaha, for real, now look, you dumb bitch, we''re the same magic rank now, and even if we weren''t, we have the numbers. So how about, You, apologize _ to us."

    "Yeah, I''ll give you a better option, how about you_ take his ce, and we, let him go."

    "It''s your chance to be a hero kid, wanna take it. Then bend over._ _ _ down, I mean down, bend down."

    Ignoring all the mocking words and taunts, leon just kept his eyes at Lincoln and spoke again. "I won''t ask again, so if you don''t want to be beaten in front of this whole ss, and maybe the whole academy, then apologize, and swear that you won''t trouble him again."

    "You _ " while Lincoln was angry and shocked over where this bastard got the courage to threaten him, a minion behind him couldn''t take it anymore and rushed to punch Leon. "I''ve had enough of your bullshit. You''re dead today." The minion shouted.

    With the first move in, others followed suit, and after Leon pped one guy, one by one, by one, next idiots all lined up to fight with him and started getting beaten by him.

    The students though angry and aggrieved after the fight, still had the rity to not use magic and break the important rules of Zenith, so they all fought with just their physical strength, and for God knows the reason, Leon was having it easy. No one could tank his punches and kicks without taking a few steps back and wincing in pain.

    Their brawl broke a few tables and chairs, while Lincoln was thrown out the window and was currently lying in the open hallways, where everyone passing by could see him getting beaten up. Looking all embarrassed with bloody and battered state.

    In the end, just when Leon was about to force Lincoln to apologize to Damon after a thorough beatdown, someone interrupted him again.

    "Fights are not allowed inside the teaching grounds. If you have any disagreements ask for a dual or issue a challenge. Do not disturb the rest of the sses."

    The voice came from behind him, and when Leon turned around, what greeted him was a hard p on the face.

    Nexus Vaidya, the vice leader for the disciplinarymittee, the guy whom Leon tricked and defeated in the freshers party games.

    "Come with us, you''ve broken around a dozen rules set by the disciplinarymittee, let''s get you a taste of freedom."

    Hearing the words, Leon knew there was no other choice, he wanted to struggle and say why was he the only one getting detained, when the fight included more than 5 others, but seeing Sunaina''s face filled with worry as she stood aside, gathering her courage trying to stand up for him against her brother, he gave up on speaking for himself, leaving the stage for her.

    After Nexus counted a few charges and the respective punishments, theirmittee could throw on rebellious students, mocking him with days of confinement, whips of thunder, writing Buddha''s scripture for weeks, poor heroine finally couldn''t take anymore of her brother''s cruelty and stood up for the hero.

    Officially going against her family for an outsider so openly. (Totally a heroine''s behavior.)

    "T_th_They were in the wrong, brother." Sunaina, a beautiful girl with the most gentle and kind face you will ever see in Arcadia, stood in front of her brother. Her expression filled with fear and hesitation, hidden behind a thinyer of determination, finally found courage to speak up for her friend.

    She liked to be silent, so much so, that probably not many of her ssmates even heard her sweet soothing voice till now. So imagine the shock of Nexus, who saw his shy sister not only letting go of her shame, but also being confident enough to stand against him..

    "What did you say?" He asked coldly, his eyes staring at her intently, like they''ll freeze her soul over a nce.

    ''How dare she undermine his authority and question him, in front of everyone.'' Nexus thought and as he looked at the crowd and noticed their shining eyes begging for drama and expressions of eating melon seeds from the sidelines, his anger only contorted his face even more.

    "I_ I _ "

    Seeing her brother''s anger, instantly the castle of courage Sunaina built in her heart crashed down and crumbled in sand. Her words once again got stuck in her throat and hands started shivering, as she tried to hide them by clinching on her clothes.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Seeing her like this, Nexus just sneered and pushed Leon ahead, where 2 othermittee members grabbed his hands and tied them up with restrains. But before they could take a step away, another girl''s voice interrupted them.

    "She said you''re wrong and thinks that everyone else is a coward."

    This time it was Seraphina, the lively girl, who wascking a little in height. As all the food she ate, helped her grow somewhere else instead.

    She came ahead and patted the shoulder of Sunaina, calming her down, before looking at Leon and nodding her head in approval.

    "What do you want?" Nexus said, once again ring at Leon, wondering why this bastard is always surrounded and getting saved by girls whenever he gets a chance to bully him.

    Last time it was Vanessa, before that it was Miss Freya, and the one time before that was Lisa.

    ''What do they even see in this bitch ass, pathetic punk.'' Nexus cursed and turned to hear what this new girl was mumbling about.

    " �� �� . So if you want to capture someone, catch these bullies who are ruining the name of Zenith."

    "Whatever." Nexus said and looked at Edward and shook his head in disappointment. Before turning to look at Lincoln and sneered slightly. "He''s hurt, take him to the infirmary first," He said, noticing his bloodied face and shoe print on his clothes.

    Then ignoring Lincoln and Edward, he grabbed the other low level thugs and threw them out too. Taking them for getting the punishment as scapegoats.

    "Stop," As soon as Nexus wanted to take leon and give him a glimpse of the torture chamber, another voice came and broke his momentum.

    Alfred walked alone dressed in the red academy suit with golden pin of authority etched on his chest. The crowd of students watching drama all this while gave way instantly as soon as they saw him. Looking at him with eyes full of reverence and appreciation.

    With most of the students from fourth year dead during the dungeon event, Alfred, who led the remaining ones to escape had became a hero at that time. His story of bringing the wounded Kendrick back had termed his as a dutiful friend and righteous leader.

    Plus his influence amongst nobles and elites has been rising ever since then as he befriended every heir and important figure at Zenith in thest 2 years.

    And with Bernhardt who was rumored to be more talented than him before, now turning into a drunkard and a yboy cassenova, theparison of two only worked in his favor.

    "Let him go." Alfred said again,ing close to Leon and standing beside him.

    Seeing his aura, the disciplinemittee members holding Leon, let go and stepped back instantly without question.

    "This is themittee''s business. They broke the rules, we have the _ "

    "Are you okay?" Ignoring Nexus''s words, Alfred broke the bindings on Leon''s hands and asked him.

    "I''m fine." Leon replied, his face a little wary and confused, instead of being thankful or grateful.

    Before leaving, his sister had warned him to stay away from Alfred and never trust the man due to hisughing facade. So Leon who previously had a good impression of this prince, now had a little animosity towards the guy. Cause no way his big sister would badmouth someone behind their back for some small reason.

    ''He must have done something to make her angry.'' He thought, and decided to stay away from him.

    Alfred noticed his little thoughts, but didn''t care. Lisa was gone now, meaning this academy was his to rule, and sooner orter he''ll clear all the remaining pests too.

    "Alfred _." Nexus, who saw everyone ignoring him, spoke in anger, only to be interrupted yet again.

    "The fight was started by them for bullying weaker students. Leon just did what you should''ve done. And instead of thanking him or praising his courage to stand up for the weak, you''re throwing him in prison." Alfred said with great fanfare, showing care and kindness on his face. Causing glees of appreciation from the nearby freshers.

    Seeing the scene, Nexus just sneered inwardly and replied. "Whatever the reason, if we ignore him today, then everyone will start to raise their hands tomorrow. Let me handle these matters."

    "They''ll be charged with a fine since it''s their first offense. And you should make sure that nothing like this happens again." Alfred gave his results and looking at how he was determined to save Leon through his eyes, Nexus took a step back and left the ce with an angry expression and some empty threats.

    "One more rule break, and I''ll.... "

 Chapter 369: Call from Elders

    "Have you heard, the two elders who appeared during the freshers party asked every top ranker to gather at the training area?"

    "Rankings? Based on what?''

    "Remember the spar sessions we had a few days ago, apparently they weren''t normal spars, but a test for this thing. The homeroom professors all chose the top 10 students from their sses and gave their names to the elders."

    "What? Why didn''t anyone announce it first? I didn''t take that spar seriously at all."

    "Me neither, I just yed around afraid to waste my mana and get hurt, who would''ve thought I''ll regret it now."

    "s it''s our own loss."

    "What do those elders want anyway?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Who knows, maybe it''s to give them personal guidance or start a seperate training program? I just know whatever they teach would surely be beneficial."

    "There''s no doubt about that, even fourth year students would have toplete several missions and spend many thousands of merit points to get an elder to teach them personally."

    "Yeah, why are these rankers so lucky?"

    "Maybe it''s because of Rio, you know? I heard that Elder Ragnar asked him to be his disciple."

    "What, weren''t those just rumors?"

    "Maybe, but there''s no smoke without fire, right? I bet he already epted the elder as master, and this is why the elders did this."

    "You mean others are just an excuse since the elders wanted to train Rio?"

    "Maybe, who knows? That''s just my guess."

    "Man, why is he so lucky, the Duke''s family at birth, a primordial at awakening, and now an elder at academy. He''s literally God''s favorite child at this point."

    "Angel, tsk��"

    Rio walked ahead with Katherine by her side, they had just finished their usual training at the private rooms. He heard the whispers about him, yet showed no expression and ignored the crowd looking at him.

    "They really like to talk too much huh, how can they be so free?" Katherine said as she nced around.

    "Ignore them, they''re idiots anyway." Rio replied, not minding how some faces froze and frowned at his words of contempt.

    "Is that true, about the elder?"

    "What?"

    "That he asked you to be his disciple?"

    "He did, _ but I refused."

    "_ why?"

    "Cause he didn''t give me any gifts."

    "..."

    Hearing Rio''s reply, Katherine looked at his face in surprise and thought '' Isn''t a personal guidance from an SS ranker already enough.'' But remembering who his parents and grandparents are, she gave up.

    What can an elder teach which the renowned Sword God himself doesn''t know?

    She could just stay silent and think about the vast disparity in this world.

    How fate favors one and ignores the other. The mortals, gods, this world, and even heaven itself - it seems everything is always selfish for something.

    "Do you know why we are called?" Katherine asked subconsciously. But Rio just looked at her and shook his head, much to the doubt of her.

    After two months of training and spending time with him, she too like Ba and others, got this little sense that he knew about everything. After all, whatever questions she asked, doubts she had or technique she showed and practiced, he could always answer everything easily and guide her better, like he knew it all from beginning to end.

    At first it kind of used to annoy her as she thought he was just showing off, so she would try to even ask about stuff she had no idea about just to test him, and frown when he''dugh and exin them too, but now, after this long a time, she got used to it.

    ''Tsk'' And this thought brought the feeling of being lesser once again in her mind.

    On their way, Valtor and Heath also joined them together. Reba, Amy and Amaya were all waiting for them at the entrance already.

    After that freshers party event, Rio also made friends with these few eople. Despite his, Moksh and Valtor''s families always fighting over the dungeon rights and tower profits as the top 3 guilds, their sons have formed a friendship.

    Obviously not the kind where you''d die for others or give up profits for free, but good enough to have a helping hand ready if other needed it.

    Heath and ric''s case was much special, as they weren''t aware of each other prior.

    But Rio had already won over ric, turning him into a loyal supporter for himself. The vamp-wolf hybrid had been in a limelight for a while, and this clearly didn''t sit well with the pure blood vampires or the royal wolves. So when the two super ns sent their minions to suppress him and cause troubles for him, Rio came forward to save him. Obviously after he let the guy suffer a while.

    Only after knowing pain, can one know the value of someone who brought peace and pleasure.

    As for Heath, he was a smart man who despite being born a dragon, believed in his own strength instead of the dumb pride and arrogance of blood.

    Thus knowing the difference in skill between Rio and himself, he chose to befriend him, all in hopes to surpass him one day. He''s much like the monkey Zirix in that regards.

    The quartet of boys had quite a few training sessions and sses together too, thus further improving their friendship.

    On the other hand, Zirrix whom Rio had defeated openly a couple of times, seemed to have given up on him, and started pestering Leon these days. Maybe it was Sun Wukong''s y or fate''s n, but Rio didn''t mind, a stupid monkey wasn''t something he needed anyway.

    "Late, as usual."

    As soon as they reached the empty space where other chosen students were waiting for Elders, Reba stepped forward and grabbed his hand. Hugging it in her arms, before moving towards Amy who was giggling happily.

    She quite enjoyed the expression of her brother who obviously wanted to be more ''conservative'' in this rtionship, but also didn''t want to push his new ''girlfriend'' away when she started clinging to him. It was her favorite scene these days.

    As Ba walked away she gave a nce to Katherine and nodded her head with a smile. Though she did feel a little bit angry, learning that he was busy with another girl all this time everyday , but knowing him for this long, she trusted him enough to believe when he said she was just a friend.

    Plus not to mention that muscle head Rubina also apanies them.

    (Ba definitely didn''t force Amy to fill the ears of Rubina and ''suggest'' that Rio is a good trainer, so she can have a ''spy'' watching them.)

    Unlike Ba''s teeny animosity, Amelia quite liked the cold silent girl. Somehow Katherine''s dead personality and emotionless look, reminded her of how she used to be when her brother wasn''t around those two years. The silent anger, the thirst for power, that rage filled heart but nowhere to vent - it was all so very familiar to her.

    So Amy kind of made it her mission to make this ice beauty smile again.

    Not surprisingly, her progress is still zero till now.

    But Amy wasn''t the one to give up easy anyway.

    "Did he beat you again?"

    "Hmm"

    "How many times?"

    "Four"

    "Used mana?"

    "Nope, just a sword with his left hand�� .. And I know he''s right handed."

    "Tsk, don''t worry you''ll get him someday."

    Hearing the conversation between the two, Rio, who just turned around had a nk look on his face. He raised his hand to pinch Amy''s ears. "Are you my sister or hers? You''re betting on my loss again, right."

    "Wh_what no. Definitely not." Amy who heard his words, instantly shied away, as if a cat''s tail had been stepped on while cheating, she was on a run.

    "Silence,"

    After chatting a few words with Ba and Amy, Rio looked up as the stern voice of elder broke their chatter.

    At the stage at front were both the elders standing together side by side, their awe inspiring auras colliding with each other in a visible contrast of purity and gentlesness, with chaos and cruelty.

    Just one word from them turned the entire ss into mute muttons and made everyone focus at front. All awaiting the grand announcement that they eagerly waited for.

 Chapter 370: Meru dungeon

    "You should all be curious about why we have called you here? So instead of going around in circles and wasting your time, I''ll tell you the answer directly." Elder Xander stepped forward first and started speaking, "The world association has recently assigned all the academies a few dungeons, so the senior students can train and get used to fighting in different environments and worlds.

    We''ve called you all here because we hope our first years can train in dungeons too."

    "As you all know, the first year sses mainly consist of tutoring theory and friendly training battles, coupled with VR events, but after much thought the principal has decided to change some rules."

    "You should know that this isn''t a necessary test, or something that may affect your reputation or rankings in the long run, it''s just an experimental thought for now.

    You should all know the risks involved in a dungeon trip, the injuries, the fatalities and what not, so we can understand if someone wants to_ "

    "And you said you won''t waste time, tsk,." Hearing the whole lecture continuing, the Viking elder lost his patience and directly interrupted Xander.

    "Listen up, you little twats, you''re all going to a dungeon. If you''re scared, getting cold feet, turn around and leave right now. Otherwise, raise your feet and go sit in that ship over there. You have half an incense of time to decide."

    As soon as his words finished, the clouds in the sky parted ways and a huge mechanical ship appeared in the air.

    Hearing the words of the elders, all the 50 top students were surprised. None dared to voice their thoughts out loud for elders to hear, so some discussions started amongst people through telepathy. Whatever friends and groups they had formed started discussing things amongst themselves.

    Hearing the announcement Rio also looked at the stage and frowned.

    ''The plot of dungeon trainings should''ve only been started after the first semester.'' He thought in his heart, wondering what change led to this situation.

    [ording to the novel, the principal always wanted to employ this method, but the academy council never approved it. It was only after the attack from Sin guilds during the semester exams which led to many deaths, that this idea was widely epted. But now�� .]

    ''Things are changing.'' Rio said and closed his eyes, trying to guess what kind of dungeon he could be sent next.

    Will it be something from the plot, or something new and never mentioned. An opportunity for Leon written in the novel, or something that''s been made now just to amodate his current situations. Thousands of thoughts raced into his mind in a matter of moments, yet none could give him a satisfying answer.

    When he opened his eyes, the discussions around him were over, the half an incense of time that the elder allowed was soon over too. Rio watched as everyone looked at each other and after some hesitation and thoughts all the rankers started boarding the flying ship.

    It was clear from their strength and expressions that no one wanted to back down, as for risks of dungeons and the rewards in return, no one dared to ask a question.

    If the academy gives them something it''s better, if not, it''s just nice to have another dungeon experience. Plus many still had the illusion academy staff guarding in shadows, will save them if something happened.

    "Let''s go." Reba said as she held his hand and walked ahead. Her face brightened in a happy smile, after thinking it was their first adventure after two long years.

    "See, you don''t need to babble so much." Once all the students were gone from the ground, Elder Ragnar said and started walking on air in steady steps. His feet leading towards the deck of the ship.

    Elder Xander looked at everyone''s back and focused on the setting sun in the sky before turning to look at Leon walking away with broad shoulders, smiling as Vanessa exined something to him and he quietly listened.

    Apparently this was his first dungeon trip. He had never set a foot outside the original Arcadia till now. All the adventures he had, all the strength he received was just honed by the guidance of Apollo and various runes and lucky encounters he could take part in.

    He always wanted to clear the dungeons and towers, root out the threat of monsters from this world, and bring about a new dawn of peace, but somehow he was never able to do anything till now.

    Looking at Leon''s excited and carefree attitude, Elder Xander sighed and looked at the sky again, ''God Apollo, are you really sure it''s him?'' he couldn''t help but give birth to a doubt in his heart, before shaking his head and pushing that rebellious thought aside.

    The God of sun had prophesied years ago, that he will bring about a champion who will finish this war of emergence once and for all. And now Leon bears this responsibility on his shoulders.

    ''I will follow yourmands and keep my faith in him too, god of sun. Let me train him to be the sharpest sword of justice this world has ever seen.''

    . ��

    On the deck of the ship, Rio watched as Elder Xander disappeared into his private cabin, leaving only students in the open, who marveled at the methods of this magical artifact.

    The flying ship was moving high above the clouds, turning the world at bottom into tiny dots and simple chunks ofnd.

    The appearance of the airship was simr to whates into one''s mind hearing these words. Most of the parts were made out of high quality wood, parts of sanite tinder andid with markings of runic inscriptions.

    The edges of ship all had a covering of smooth metal that looked like simple iron or aluminum , but actually was an alloy called Dresta, carved and mined from the cores of materialistic dungeons and worlds of primitives.

    ording to archaeologists Dresta was something found only in the newly born worlds ors who still haven''t tapped into their original richness and resources. It''s like the world had too much energy and too few people and too weak a vessel to hold it, thus it started mutating the metals andnds of ground. Hence came Dresta.

    A marvel for metallurgy, which holds one of the highest magical conductivity and least mana resistance properties.

    Other than this, at the head of the ship was a statue of an old man pointing forward with his cane, probably the man who owned this ship, or made it.

    Flying artifacts aremon in Arcadia, which can be bought with money at will around the various markets. But ships like these which can apany so many people, plus have the functions of protection, mana gathering, aura refining and much more, are something very rare. These things can only be custom made with rich resources and trickier requirements.

    Making only the rich and nobles afford to have them.

    Ignoring everything around him, Rio walked at the front and stood beside elder Ragnar who was resting with his eyes closed. Feeling the cold wind brushing past his figure and clouds parting in fog after hitting the ship''s structure, bringing a little moisture to skin''s touch.

    "Was it you?" Rio asked in a slow whisper, afraid to let anyone else hear his words.

    Hearing the blunt and questioning tone by a youngling, elder Ragnar didn''t frown or get angry, he just opened his eyes and smiled.

    "What if I am." He replied, and looked at Rio with some interest in his eyes.

    This kid was the first that actually dared to refuse him , in so so many years.

    "Why?" Rio raised his eyebrows and asked again.

    He was really curious about how this dangerous idea got epted by the whole council without any opposition so soon.

    "No reason." Elder Ragnar replied nonchntly.

    "The students can die in dungeons.."

    "We didn''t force them to enter."

    "The academy hasn''t informed anyone''s parents yet, that''s breaking a rule."

    "We''re the one who made them in the first ce."

    "What if something happens, a dungeon break, spatial shift, copse - or anything else. Everyone here can die."

    "They all know it, and they all still agreed toe."

    After going back and forth in conversation with the professor, Rio couldn''t help but frown even deeper. If it was just elder Ragnar nodding to a fight and death, he could ept it. The Vikings weed death with open arms.

    But other elders and council members also agreed to let dungeon training happen for no reason so suddenly, there has to be something in shadows that he didn''t know.

    And that annoyed him.

    "What''s special about that dungeon?" He asked after some more thought.

    But hearing his question the elder who was carefree till now gave a surprised look and then burst outughing.

    "Hahhaha hahaha you _ you''re good, kid. Really good."

    Hearing his answer, Rio looked at him and frowned, there was only one possibility and he didn''t like it, not one bit. But just to confirm his doubts he opened his mouth and asked slowly, "An age restrictor��?"

    "Meru dungeon."

    Without waiting for Rio to finish his words, the elder interrupted and gave him an answer that stunned him for  a few seconds.

    "...You all are really greedy, aren''t you?" Rio said and turned back to leave with a dark face. He already got the answer to why those old foggies in the academy council agreed to let freshies enter this time so suddenly.

    They simply had no other choice.

    The gains of conquering a meru dungeon were much too heavy to ignore just because of a little risk.

    "Doing this for students, training the future generations, what a load of bullshit."

    Rio couldn''t help but curse as he looked below at the slowing down ship and noticed a portal emanating with green light ahead of them.

    ''He''s mad, Something''s wrong.'' Not far away Amaya, who saw him leaving the ce with an angry look, frowned and followed him.

    No one else found anything wrong with this sudden new training method and epted it easily, but just like Rio, she did. And it sure as hell bugged her even more after seeing him now.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Should I ask him?'' Amaya thought, but remembering that they weren''t that close yet, she chose to wait a little and observe him more first.

 Chapter 371: First dungeon trip

    After the emergence various types of dungeons have appeared in Arcadia.

    And after a long time they have been ssified into various types, depending on what kind of threat they possess, what kind of opportunities and qualities they hold, or changes they''ll bring to the surrounding area once they''re cleared. Will they remain open and hidden, like a separate secret realm, or will theypletely merge and be a part of Arcadia etc etc and etc.

    There are literally so many things and so much to exin and experience when ites to dungeons, towers, and outer worlds. That it could take up entire arcs.

    So we''ll delve on that some other time. For now let me tell you about one of the most important things Arcadians have found in thest few centuries. -Meru Dungeons.

    Simply exined, dungeons are parts of different worlds pulled into Arcadia through the hole in nes of existence, created by the sealing of Ditail. So depending on the world and the parts pulled inside, the dungeons all get different too.

    Meru Dungeons are special since they hold the core of their previous which got pulled into Arcadia.

    This world core, like an orb of infinite energy, is the source of life on that. One can even call it theary soul, without it no life would ever exist in that world .

    This core is what gave birth to the will of the world andter began the process of evolution and existence, bringing the cycle of life into y.

    So one can assume how much power this seemingly simple thing holds. The more advanced, dangerous, or upper level the world, the more its core would be prosperous and powerful.

    Even the weakest ofs like earth which hold no trace of any evolving energy, has a core that can salivate some of the strongest people in Arcadia.

    This core of a has infinite uses and various purposes. It can be absorbed to fuel your energy and act as a power bank, it can be used to deepen one''s knowledge about rules,ws, daos, dharmas (whatever u call it). It can also be used to directly trade with gods themselves. In return, getting favors, blessings or skills.

    Or if it''s a unique dungeon, it can also be sold to world will of Arcadia directly, getting blessing of luck and protection in return.

    All these reasons are why Meru dungeons are extremely sought after by the whole world.

    And now Zenith had found one such dungeon.

    "You all want to use me to get more benefits, even after everything that you''ve done." Rio thought and hissed in anger as he clenched his fists. "Dream on."

    Ignoring the anger from the academy''s dirty politics, he started thinking about the dungeon shining ahead. Meru dungeons are always the trickiest to conquer, as they have various limitations for everything.

    And since the Meru dungeon only stays on Arcadia for a limited time before the original pulls it''s core back and the whole dungeon copses, there''s always that race against time too.

    The one in front, probably had the limitations where only people around or below 18 can enter, and that''s why the principal who always had the idea of training first years in the dungeon, used this chance and got the approval from every old foggy sitting in the council.

    There could also be some other requirements as well, like power levels or race restrictions or number of people participating in raids.

    There was even a Meru dungeon which held a requirement that only virgins older than age 100 can enter, or only those whose beauty level can be 9/10 can enter. (It all depends on the preference of the core sitting inside the dungeon.)

    Rio looked at everyone around him getting ready, changing their clothes or equipping themselves with armor and weapons the academy had prepared for them.

    Since in the message they got, it was exined they had to leave their magical artifacts behind, everyone just came here empty handed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    So after they all got an empty storage ring which they were allowed to take inside, they all started stocking up on things they thought they needed to survive and secure victory.

    The elders have given them free reign to choose from stuff, but even after looking at everything it was hard to find any clue about what kind of environment this dungeon had.

    His eyes stopped at Amaya, who for the first time ever looked serious. He could already tell her brain had caught onto some hints.

    ''Fuck, I hate her.'' Rioined.

    [Cuz she''s smarter than you.]

    ''No, cause her top floor isn''t upied by some stupid ghost.''

    [I''m system, not a ghost.]

    ''Same thing''

    Shaking his head, Rio nced at elder Xander, who was walking around randomly giving a few students some insights on survival, just so when he stops at leon and teaches him something no suspicion arises, and shook his head.

    ''Apollo and his minions, always so shady.'' Rio said and ignored them.

    Calming his emotions and changing his expression, he walked towards his group of friends with a smile. Amelia, who was stocking up on food supplies like crazy, filling her whole ring with them, and Reba who was scolding her foodie roommate.

    "Can you take this seriously, we''re going inside a dungeon, not some theme park. What are you going to do if some monsteres after you, throw him some cupcakes and hope it goes away?" Reba said as she snatched the packets Amy was stuffing into her ring, and pushed a pair of armor and sword into her arms.

    "I already have a sword, and not like a C rank green grade dungeon is any difficult to conquer. Brother can solve it all by himself." Amy said and dropped the heavy armor from her hands to the ground.

    "You_" Reba wanted to pursue her lecture, when she saw Rioing towards their direction with a smile and stopped talking. ''This guy will probably take his sister''s side again.'' She thought.

    "She''s right, Amy."

    ''Humph just as I thoug_ wait did he say Amy.'' Reba, who started shaking her head hearing his words, stopped in surprise when  he uttered the name.

    "It''s a dungeon, just cause it looks harmless from the danger level, doesn''t mean you should take it easy and let down your guard. Stop being silly and start being serious." Rio said in a stern tone, causing Amy to frown and then nod her head.

    ''Is something wrong, brother?'' she asked instantly via telepathy.

    ''Just be careful. And don''t use chaos magic inside.'' Rio gave a reply without exining much and walked away.

    Leaving Amy and Reba, lost in thoughts over his behavior.

    Ignoring the two, Rio walked across the whole rack of supplies, and started picking everything.

    After another fifteen minutes, the elders gave a signal that time was over, and they could all enter the dungeon now.

    All the students gathered in front of the portal connecting two worlds and clenched the hilt of their weapons. Their faces filled with excitement and nervousness, some wanting to show off their prowess, some feeling a little scared at the precipice.

    Rio, who was standing at front closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing the memories and horror shaking his soul with the feelings of pain he went through in hisst dungeon trip.

    ''It''s not the same, it''s not a dream��I''m outside, I''m safe, it was over. it''s not the same.'' He whispered in his heart, as the familiar feeling of spatial discement came to his mind.

    He couldn''t help but clench his fist and close his eyes even harder as his body started shaking nheless remembering the scenes of suffering from thest dungeon copse.

    He felt someone pressing his shoulder, before tightly holding his hand, as if to tell him he was fine, that he wasn''t alone.

    Rio slowly opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of Katherine, who looked at him with that same expressionless expression. He didn''t know why but seeing her there, like that, suddenly made him forget everything and smile.

    He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, before giving her a nod and slight smile. Their fingers interlocked and held together, before their bodies got pulled away and disappeared into the light.

    [She''s perfect.] System, who was watching everything, couldn''t help but mutter in its heart, wondering how this host ignored all the messages it sent to calm him down, yet woke up all fine, the moment she held his hand.

    It remembered the bits of pieces and scenes from Shiva''s mind about their past life rtionship, and then shook its head.

    (She is perfect, but I still don''t know why this guy chose to forget her.) It thought in silence...

 Chapter 372: Planet of Phronesia

    By the time the blinding light disappeared, Rio opened his eyes to a clear sky. No longer on the of Arcadia, but somewhere else.

    The air was purer here, without mana for sure, but without any pollution or dirt too. There was this smell of flowers wafting the waves, hitting his nostrils that could calm anyone''s senses and make them rx their guards.

    The scent of nature is such a magical thing.

    Looking around he found himself alone at a grasnd. His hand resting on his sword''s hilt, let go and rxed as he spread his mana and found no trace of monsters or any strange creatures around a hundred meters.

    He tried to trace the connection with Amy through their telepathic link, yet failed to find her too.

    "Out of range or is something blocking it?" He said to himself and shook his head.

    Ignoring that thought first, he sat down to the ground, letting the waist length grass cover all his traces.

    "System, give me the details, buddy?" Rio said in his heart, as the world system of Arcadia always gave the adventurers little details and background of the world of dungeon after entrance.

    This is also one of the advantages awakeners have, which non-awakeners can never ovee without the gods'' help.

    These details often also include what is needed to clear this dungeon, like a mission but without any penalties.

    Though that changes after the second wave of emergence.

    Shutting his thoughts, Rio nced at the strings of letters forming on the transparent screen and focused.

    [Dungeon - Phronesia]

    [Inhabitant ruling races - Sapinsar and Simir.]

    [Ruling God - ????]

    [Difficulty level - Peak of C rank.(temporary)]

    [Clearance goal - Secure the core of dungeon.]

    [Story - The Phronesia was built thousands of years ago, and gave birth to life and sentience a couple of centuriester. The is filled with life and the energy of nature blooms in every cell of it.

    The world is currently in its building years, rising with the trend towards the peak of spirituality.

    The ruling inhabitants Sapinsar and Simir, who grew up here, have a higher affinity to nature. Their power lies not in the strength they possess, but the wisdom they hold and the senses they sharpened. Both races are peaceful by nature, but are practical by heart.

    Few centuries ago, due to an ident in space time continuum the shell surrounding the had weakened. Giving entry to few outsiders thus starting a war of invasion and incursion.

    The situation since then has never been the same.]

    [Suggestive note - Be practical.]

    Rio looked at the details in front of him and noticed two things. First, this world wasn''t tough to clear.

    How did he get that idea, simple? The more details the world system shares, the less dangerous a is. With this much information about the races and background present here, Rio could guess this world was probably another lower level or at best at top lower limit world.

    (But that''s just his guess as world system too is a selfish bitch who knowingly hid the fact about this one being a meru dungeon.)

    Second thing, this wasn''t a world which appeared in the novel, meaning it was something that either wasn''t important enough to be a highlight of the world inside the novel, or something new which has just been arranged by fate for the protagonist.

    "Whatever happens, we can''t let Leon shine bright. Anything good done by him now, and that elder of Apollo would take this chance to pick him up as disciple."

    "System, you there?" Rio asked as he stood up, taking a mask from his inventory and putting it over his face.

    [Yupp. Want some help?]

    "Nah, just let me exercise a bit. My bloodlust is making me angsty." Rio said remembering how he couldn''t even control his body from shaking when he entered the dungeon.

    Weakness is a sin. Be it of any kind.

    "Just watch over Amy, and make sure there''s no danger to her life."

    [Gotta train her too huh.]

    "Yeah, something like that."

    Taking a deep breath, Rio picked a direction randomly and started walking there. From where he was, he couldn''t see anything except grass and random trees here and there. So there was no point in staying here.

    Few feet further his steps increased in speed, and he soon started running, rushing ahead like an arrow let loose from the string. His mana senses spread thin to the limits as he kept searching for anything interesting.

    It didn''t take long for him toe across a few residents of this.

    He changed directions and hurried into the forests, jumping over trees without making a sound, until he reached the point where he could hear the sound of fighting from up ahead.

    Rio stared intently as he saw Valtor fighting with a group of green colored monsters, who possessed traits simr to a chameleon. Able to change the color of their skin and blend into the surroundings easily. Making their attacks sneaky and hard to detect.

    Valtor''s shadow magic was useful to dodge as there were a lot of shadows where he could jump and travel into. Yet the reptile-like monsters with their long tails and sharp tongue, were also quite smart too. They also figured out that frontal attacks on this weird ''monster'' were useless, so they surrounded him and started sneak attacking him from time to time.

    The various towering trees in forests also made it easier for the monsters to hide and attack from.

    Rio kept following their escape and attack fight, watching with interest as he saw Valtor struggling to battle for a first few minutes before he figured out their tricks and adapted to their attacks.

    Valtor could''ve finished the battle easily too, but just like him, he wanted to learn more about this dungeon and its creatures too. And after noticing that the reptiles were just a weaker bunch, he tried to test their attributes and attack methods.

    ''Smart guy indeed.'' Rio couldn''t help but praise him even more after he saw Valtor kill everyone, but instead of leaving the ce and running away, staying to check their body for any monster core or other skeletal differences in making, via pouring his mana inside.

    The reptiles didn''t use any magic type spells and their bodies didn''t have a trace of mana inside, so it was clear something else was fuming their skill of transformation.

    Soon Valtor found a small stone near the back of their neck, and after making a shallow cut, he pulled it out.

    ''Is that the energy core for this monster?'' Rio had the same doubt as Valtor and when he saw Valtor shing at a trapped monster''s neck and watching it die instantly, without healing slowly like before, they both got the answer.

    "Nature''s bnce." Valtor said as he looked at the dead monster and raised an eyebrow as he poured his mana but found no crystal inside this time.

    "The attack on the crystal can kill them instantly, but it would also destroy the crystal, leaving the hunter with no gains." He muttered to himself in realization and stood up after dusting his clothes.

    He nced at his back and threw the stone like crystal in his hand to a nearby tree. "Are you going to just hide and watch, or will youe out now?"

    Rio, who heard his words and knew he was noticed, just caught the crystal in his arms and jumped down from the tree. "Hey, Valtor. Good to see  you''re safe."

    "Rio," Valtor muttered after seeing the friendly face, and let down his guard, "You could''ve helped?" Heined before turning around and walking deeper into the forest.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "They were just small squirrels, you didn''t need me." Rio said and started following him side by side. ying with the crystal in his hand, thinking if there was any way to absorb it, like every other novel has.

    And if there is, then what would be the aftereffects.

 Chapter 373: Photosynthesis aliens

    One dayter,

    "The monsters here are quite tougher." Valtor said, shaking the dual short swords in his hands, rinsing the blood and sttering it onto the piles of corpsesying at his feet.

    Rio, who was beside him, did the same before putting his sword in a sheath and breathing heavily.

    The pair of boys had been roaming the forest for several hours today too, looking for a way out. Yet the forest seemed to be infinite, and no matter how many times they rushed out, they never saw the end of it.

    The deeper they went, the tougher the monsters they faced against, and as the sun got brighter, the number of them increased several times too.

    The night here was a little peaceful, as the monsters seemed to be weaker and less sensitive in darkness, but as the dawn breaked the next day, the creatures of the forest had started to fight again, full of life and energy.

    They both didn''t see any other students, or find any clue about anyone''s whereabouts yesterday, so after the whole hours of hunting, when they got tired, they just found a cave and usurped it. Roasting and eating the lion king living inside.

    After that they just had a few talks where Rio asked him about his training and things about the guilds while he was gone, and Valtor asked him about some skills and techniques.

    Since darkness and shadow elements were simr, they both had a lot ofmon methods too.

    Though Valtor mainly used shadows to hide his trace and amplify his speed, acting like an assassin. Rio liked to use darkness as more of an attack mode or mage style. To trap, bind or catch someone off guard,  and even kill or torture them.

    It was their own choice, and their own paths, but still the insights they both had for their skills were good to hear. Especially Rio, whose every word and thought seemed to be inspiring something in Valtor''s mind.

    Like learning me magic, not just to counter your opposing element, but also to use it to create your own different shadows and have a backup.

    Or using shadows not just as medium to travel but to fight instead too. (Solo leveling style)

    Rio also told him and taught him about ways to property use Shani''s blessing, gaze of hatred, and how he could control and upgrade itter on.

    After all, that blessing was something that caused a lot of trouble for the protagonist, so Rio had to teach it well to the protagonist''s rival.

    Anyway the duo who originally had apetitive spirit in their childhood, were now slowly bing good friends.

    Rio also asked him about Amaya, and what''s going on with the talks of their engagement, causing Valtor to stammer on his words and cough embarrassingly.

    The poor guy can be stoic and stern all his life, not phasing or frowning for a second in the face of danger and monsters, yet mention Amaya, and suddenly he''s all tongue tied.

    "Do you think it''s a dead world, with nothing but monsters and nt life inside?" Valtor asked, staring at the ground below from the mountain top and noticing nothing but greenery.

    "The world system didn''t say so, maybe we are just sent to some lonely or forbidden ce, I''m sure life exists somewhere." Rio said after some thought and decided to use flight magic to take a look around.

    He had shut off his system since he wanted to train himself normally, but now it was enough roaming around. He didn''t want to waste his time anymore, since he already got all the answers he needed about this.

    First, Monsters here had excellent nature element''spatibility. No matter who he met, they possessed skills utilizing nature for their survival.

    Second, he could absorb the crystals after killing them, and recover a bit of his mana. But that was all.

    Third, all the monsters possessed spirituality, they all had wisdom to think. They could n and predict the danger, and they were practical in their actions.

    If losing your leg means getting the opponent''s head , they took the chance. If losing a hand and ''crying'' means survival, they did that too.

    Fourth, every monster had a high defense against spiritual attacks, like mind control or memory search were not at all effective against them.

    Finally, fifth and the most important thing is that the monsters grew stronger ording to the sunlight they received. Something like a photosynthesis effect maybe.

    "Stay here, I''ll take a look." Rio said, as wings of white formed on his back, and a p of them brought forth an angelic light to his feet that propelled him upwards, streaming through the air and above the clouds next second.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Valtor watched him fly away and clicked his tongue. ''Show off.''

    While Rio went around to look for a way outside this strange forest, Valtor just closed his eyes and started absorbing the crystals from creatures he hunted to recover his mana. When he opened the eyes again, his pupils had an extra tinge of green inside them, before turning normal next second.

    Valtor himself didn''t notice yet but all the killings he''s been doing in this forest, and crystals he''s eaten or absorbed, had started eroding his mind, slowly on a scale where it never aroused any suspicion.

    "Hey, Valtor, I think I saw a town or a camp somewhere, let''s go." Rio''s voice broke his meditation, as hended beside Valtor and started walking towards the North.

    While Valtor behind him had a green vein popping on his forehead, before itpletely merged into his skin and disappearedpletely. "Coming," He said and started following Rio.

    They both soon started running, their mana strongly getting sucked away, as they both started using shadow walking and teleportation to move faster and faster.

    Once they were gone to a safe distance, the silent dead tree trunks parted from the middle and faces made out of wood peeked outside. Until the whole tree turned into a man-like creature with its branches turning into his long green hairs.

    The creature had a humane appearance by face, same two eyes, one nose, one mouth, though they didck ears.

    The several tree-man looked at each other and nodded their heads. Talking to each other in sheldom mood.

    "The outsiders have appeared here too."

    "They''re everywhere these days."

    "Their appearance will effect the great war."

    "The mother also said these people were dangerous."

    "Should we intercept them?"

    "But they hold that dreaded dark magic. Is there a chance that the prophecy of the cursed one...." ( fear causing his voice to tremble, making next words hard to speak)

    "We don''t need to fear, mother, she has ns for these people. We don''t need to handle this pair, she''ll kill them herself."

    "Besides we already got more than half of them, it won''t be long till they''re all at our mercy."

    "Once they''re dead, we''ll finally be free from the terror of his prophecy."

    ###

    Author note - A poetic snippet for the widespread prophecy of phronesia, talking about the arrival of eternal doom.

    "When nights are long and stars are few,

    The cursed one wille for you.

    His magic born in death''s domain,

    Will leave the world in endless pain."

    Is Rio really the cursed one? Or is it someone else? Who said this prophecy, how and why? Throw me ur theories...

 Chapter 374: Sapinsar and Simir

    "Do you think we''ll find the others here?"

    "Guess we''ll know when we enter." Rio replied and stopped running.

    After running for several hours, both the students reached the edge of a town.

    They both stood over a mountain staring down at the vige kinda settlement made below. The whole town was surrounded by towering mountains from all sides, with lush trees and heavy forest to provide nature''s shield and cover.

    The living settlement was also surrounded by arge wall from all sides, with only one entrance in the middle on sight. Guards dressed in clothes made out of furry animal skins and leather, or tree raisins and leaves, stood on perimeters.

    The guards all had humanic features for body structure, other than the skin colors. People here had brownish skin at their feet and torso, while green skin on their face, chest and hands. Most of them had ears simr to elves, pointy and sharp at the edges. The dark red kind of long loose hair falling over their shoulders, tied in braids of different styles.

    One look at this alien species and one word came to Rio''s mind, - Sapinsar.

    The original rulers of this.

    These people just stood at the walls, and roamed the city like guards, but Rio noticed several other races walking around into the town too. Living in harmony as it seemed that racial discrimination didn''t even exist here.

    "Hey, look at that tree, does it look like the whole town was made around it, or was that grown at the exact center?" Valtor said, pointing at arge tree in the middle of the town whose height reached higher than the houses and walls around it.

    Even from the peak of the mountain they were both standing on, that one tree looked like a watchtower of the highest kind, while surrounding it were a boundary of simr but smaller trees, as if they all shared the same roots.

    Rio channeled his mana in the eyes, till a glint of light shed into them and his vision increased by dozens of times. Instantly the blurry image cleared and he could clearly see things inside that town.

    "Everything looks normal from here," Rio said and frowned, "But no way, is that normal."

    "Is it something like the world tree that elves have?" Valtor asked, after noticing the same thing, "Do you want to capture a guard and then ask him?" he suggested. Though worried about Amaya a little, he was not willing to enter the town blindly and take unnecessary risks.

    He was just thinking about ways on how to catch a guard without arousing suspicion or getting in the range of that watchtower ''tree'' that always gave him a weird feeling. But before he could leave, Rio stopped him.

    "Wait, let me check something else." He said and closed his eyes.

    When he opened his eyes again, they were clearer than before, a glint of silver shone in the center of his pupils, like a ray of light passing through that pierces everything, even the darkness around it.

    ''True eyes'' A skill he bought from the system andter upgraded it, one that could let him see the truth of everything, break illusions, check barriers, surpass even the realms and runes of every kind.

    Instantly the world around him seemed to turn into ck and white, and the only thing in light became the one he focused on.

    He was just taking a nce but suddenly a sharp pain shot through his eyes, causing him to close them instantly and suck in a breath of cold air.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Aye, you okay? What happened?" Seeing him flinch, Valtor turned his head and asked him worriedly, as he ced a hand on his shoulder.

    But instead of answering anything, Rio just kept looking at the tree in front of him with surprise in his eyes, whichter turned into a cold smile.

    ''Simir, so that''s what it means, huh, interesting.'' Although he couldn''t see everything from so far, he saw enough. For rest, he just nned to enter the town and check again.

    "Hey, I asked what you found?" Unaware of his thoughts, Valtor shook his shoulder and asked him again.

    "Those trees, they''re the second race of this, Simir. They''re simr to Treants we have in fairy forests or dryadnds." Rio exined a little, causing Valtor to frown.

    "You mean spirits trapped inside a tree?"

    Hearing the question, Rio just shook his head and exined, "They''re trapped in our world, here, maybe it''s just how they''re born and bred."

    "Treants are always the tenacious ones." Valtor said and then looked at his dual swords that had chipped from the edges with cracks appearing here and there. "If there''s a fight, we''ll need weapons, and theirs seems to be a part of their body."

    Rio looked at the guards standing close to the entrance door, whose handscked fingers, since their palms were sharp and edgy like a sword. "Then we''ll just have to chop them. But let''s try the peaceful approach first, who knows maybe we''ll be epted."

    "We''re outsiders, aliens even. You think they''ll just let us in?" Valtor asked.

    "I saw some humans inside their camp, meaning either there was some other entrance to this dungeon, or there are already humans on this." Rio said, and added "In any case, since they don''t have problems with them, they shouldn''t have it with us too."

    After saying that Rio''s figure disappeared in a sh, leaving just a gust of wind behind. Valtor hesitated for a moment, before following him too.

    ''Is everything alright, why do I feel like something''s wrong?'' Valtor thought and after shaking his head in dismissal, he followed him too.

    When they both reached the edge of town, they restrained their mana and started walking forward like normally.

    They had faced a lot of monsters on their way here, leaving a bloody stench on their body. But the scent of nature was covering it up pretty neatly..

    "Did you notice, there isn''t a single monster in the vicinity?" Rio said, standing in the small line, consisting of no more than a dozen people entering the town.

    "Yeah, I don''t know why though?" Valtor nodded his head and then asked back, "Do you think it has something to do with that giant tree? Maybe like a barrier or suppression effect?"

    "You think they''re scared of it?" Rio raised an eyebrow and asked, while ncing at the towering tree, reaching well over 100 feet.

    "Maybe, it''s been giving me a weird feeling?" Valtor said, his eyes getting cloudy as he stared at the tree. The tint of green deep in his eyes, started to shine and slither a little, yet disappeared instantly.

    His words caused Rio to frown as he didn''t feel anything ''strange''.

    "Hoomans, ppay tol and anter."

    The husky tone from one of the guards interrupted Rio''s thoughts, as he noticed the line was over and he was up next.

    Without saying anything he pushed his hand into the pocket and pulled a bunch of energy seeds he got from hunting monsters, and threw them to the guards.

    The guards looked at him and his ''weird'' clothes for some time and then opened the door, letting him pass.

    ''Theirnguage is simr to humans, and methods too. Is it a coincidence or  ��'' Rio was thinking something when an old elf rushed towards his direction and blocked his path.

    "Weltum to da Terum city. The battle will begin three dayster, recht and recover." The elf said and pointed towards the South where small camps were made and many people were gathering.

    Once Valtor joined him, they both started following the elf silently.

    (Did he say war?) Valtor sent a message telepathically.

    (Yeah, three dayster. Let''s just follow him and gather information first. Then we''ll look for everyone else too.) Rio replied and continued.

    While the two of them were safely entering the city after roaming around for nearly 3 days, others from the academy had long been teleported to different locations and some even gathered in groups.

    In one such group, Leon was currently sitting on a tree, watching a group of monsters (Sapinsar) chasing and hunting a young girl of full human features except green skin (imagine Gamora but greener)

    "You can''t run anymore, cursed one. Today''s the day you die."

    "You''ve gued ournds for thest time, you''ll pay the price for going against the great Etum city."

    "You called yourself a guide and have nothing but the graves following you. No more."

    "You and your dark magic will end all life. Surrender and let us take you to the spirits. Let the godmother will cleanse your soul."

    The group of sapinsar''s taunted the girl before jumping forward, their hands turning into weapons themselves as one of them, probably their leader, shed at her neck.

    Bht just then, Leon who was silent till now, waiting and watching, seemed to understand the little something and jumped down to save the alien beauty.

    Only when a hero saves someone when they''re desperate could a heroine fall for him.

 Chapter 375: War

    After safely entering the camp, Rio and Valtor parted ways, Valtor went to interact with other humans and see if he could find anyone from the academy, or get any clues about them. While Rio went to investigate the so-called war and the origin of people from different races wandering into this camp.

    Contrary to the tense atmosphere which a ce who''s about to go for a war should have, the people living here all seemed rxed and calm. Making one doubt if they were so sure of victory, or did they all just treat their lives as nothing.

    ''This ce is weird, and so are its people.'' Rio thought walking around between the several camps.

    With the memory magic he had learned from the system, he could mildly hypnotize someone, confusing their brains for a little while and gather some information. Though it didn''t work on monsters before, it was working fine on the different races here. Making Rio doubt if whatever protection method was blocking his magic, only applied on natives.

    From what he learned till now, this has 2 main races, Sapinsar and Simir. (Like earth''s main race can be called humans) But other than these two, there are several lower races too, which got derived from them over the years of evolution.

    Not many, namely a few. Like Dark Sapin, a race simr to dark elves of Arcadia. Since they look just like Sapinsar, except they don''t have a tinge of green on their body, and the whole physique matches the brownish color of tree trunks.

    These people have muscr forms and are proud of the physical strength they hold.

    Next one, would be Ersion, a race born from Simir, simr to fairies, they have small green wings on their back and hold the position simr to priests and prophets in this.

    Next one would be Nefir, which simply means halfbreeds. Their looks and appearance vary from birth to birth, generation to generation. The thing that doesn''t change however is the fact that they''re all born with a mark of a vein tattooed near their necks. Like a chain.

    As for the humans living here, they''re called ounders.

    Humans had entered this when their spaceship cracked the sky open and crashed down.

    They probably passed through a wormhole.

    The natives of this epted the humans on the spaceship and weed them into their cities.

    After ages, the humans had be a part of this world and integrated into their culture perfectly too.

    This world is divided into 7 cities, four cities which had been governed by the original races of sapin and simir,,, and three which are controlled solely by the monsters here.

    [Etum, Detum, Tetum, Chetum - cities ruled by originals.

    Por, Sol, Faul - cities infested/controlled by monsters.]

    Every 10 years these two factions would have a war. And this war would keep on going until one of the cities from one sidepletely falls, and gets controlled by the other faction.

    This way, every 10 years one city would fall and change rulers.

    As for the reason why this war happens, Rio couldn''t find out. Whoever he asked or controlled, always gave him different answers. Not that they were hiding it, people simply didn''t know.

    They just know that if ever the war stopped or got dyed, all 7 cities would face a cmity so big, the whole could wither and die.

    Thus the battle always happens. It canst upto days, to weeks, to even months or whole years. Until a city falls, even if everyone on your side is dying, you have to fight.

    As for what signifies a city''s fall, it''s simple. When the other party can reach the towering tree nted in the middle of these cities. And control it.

    There is no neutral city or neutral people who can sit by and not join the war, since being neutral meant being attacked by all the other factions together.

    Rio already confirmed that none of his ssmates were in this city.

    So were they sent to some other city of originals, one of monsternd, or somewhere else entirely?

    He didn''t even know how big of the world''s part had been turned into a dungeon, how many cities existed inside this dungeon, and how many people were trapped here?

    What if it''s just the only city which got pulled here, what if the cities of Simir are the only ones here, then who will they fight. And what will happen if there''s no fight?

    Also what happens if their city lose? Would they die? Killed? Trapped or turned into the ves of the opposing party.

    There were so many things that weren''t clear, about which Rio had no idea about, but that was to be expected. He had only roamed around the outer areas and got information from low level men.

    Foot soldiers can only give random information, only the real leaders or their core members can tell the whole truth.

    ''This is so fucking weird.'' Rio said again and frowned as he kept thinking about where his sister and others could be.

    "I''ll just have to wait for this war to start. If everything is as these people said, then whoever is alive will have to choose a faction and participate in the war." Rio said, thinking he''ll see them on opposing sides.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    With nothing to do, he chose to look for Valtor. To see if he found something useful.

    But he had just taken 2 steps when someone blocked his path and stopped him.

    "Aye, huuman, why don''t u bow when you see us?" A burly muscr man with brownish skin blocked him and ced his hand on Rio''s shoulder.

    Rio looked at the dark Sapin trait guy and chose to ignore him. Trying to leave without causing amotion.

    But the burly man who saw his actions, just sneered and put pressure on his hand.

    Rio felt the increase of weight on his shoulder, like someone reced a small school bag with arge wooden log, and frowned. Looking up, he noticed the man''s skin on his hand had turned a little darker now.

    ''Interesting'' seeing this weird way of energy flow, a funny idea came to his mind, igniting a spark of inspiration in his mind.

    Yet while he was busy in his ''epiphany'' the burly man who saw him still smiling, frowned and increased the weight once more. His skin near his wrist turned brownish even more, reaching the tinge of lower red. He looked at Rio with a smirk, imagining the scene where this human kid, fell down to knees as his hand broke down under pressure, yet the scene he imagined never came.

    But what greeted him instead of Rio''s crying face, was a cold re.

    "Never interrupt my idea." Rio said and clenched his fists, his aura gathering near his knuckles, before a shade of darkness covered itpletely.

    Without saying anything else, under the surprised eyes of that burly man, he directly punched out, his fist hitting the stomach of that man. His hand felt like hitting a mountain with how hard his skin felt, before cracks started forming on that trunkish skin and his hand broke right through that armor and passed directly making a hole into his body.

    "Huh, it doesn''t work." Rio said, something under his breath, before pulling his hand back, and watching as a corpse fell right over his feet.

 Chapter 376: Crushing battles

    As the pressure on Rio''s shoulder kept increasing, he kept his eyes on the opponent''s body, scanning the flow of energy and trying to understand this method of channeling.

    ''System, scan the core principle of this technique and see if you can find me something better.''

    [Why? It''s a rubbish art.]

    ''For no reason. Just doing what the Romans did.''

    [You really do have too many points, don''t you!..]

    ''That''s why you shouldn''t ask too many questions and take what I give.''

    [Humph. Scanning the art of sapin��]

    [Searching the database library for an upgraded simr version..]

    [....]

    [...]

    [12 matches found.]

    [Do you want me to list them all?]

    ''Nah, just pick me the best one. Obviously the cheaper it��.''

    Before Rio finished his words, a surge of memories appeared in his head, while a copy of an art book called ''Elemental Infusion Art'' got thrown into his inventory.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [ Elemental Infusion Technique

    Description: This technique involves channeling elemental energies (earth, water, fire, air, darkness) into specific body parts to increase their weight and pressure.

    eg.-- Earth Infusion: By channeling earth energy into their fists, the practitioner can make their fists as heavy as boulders. This involves grounding oneself deeply with the earth, drawing its dense energy upward, and infusing it into the desired body part.

    The infused body part then bes denser, harder, and heavier. Muscles swell with energy, skin takes on a rocky texture, and the weight significantly increases.

    Effects: Enhanced striking power, the ability to shatter stone, and increased resistance to physical attacks.

    Duration: Infusion of nature''s energy can onlyst for 30 seconds. And cannot be superimposed forever.

    Mana cost - 0

    Efficiency - Depending on the surrounding aura or energy.]

    ''Humm, no mana needed, that''s kinda cool.'' Rio said after reading all the detailed information on system panel.

    [Special Note - To channel the energy of elements into their body freely, the user must have atleast the master level control over that element first.]

    ''Hmm, so for now I can only use darkness huh''

    [Normally yes, but with how abundant the energy of nature that exists here, plus the number of passive skills and blessings you have, you can barely manage the few basic elements like earth, air and water too.]

    [So do you want to learn it.]

    ''Sure.''

    [55000 points deducted.]

    ''You''re a real bitch, aren''t you.'' After seeing the notification, Rio said instantly remembering this technique was probably the most expensive one listed earlier.

    [You''re the one who said take when you give.] System said with a cheekyugh, before closing the search panels.

    [Do you want me to increase it''s mastery by a couple of levels? It''ll only take a hundred thousand or so..]

    ''Leave it, you already sucked enough points for the day.'' Rio said and shook his head, ''And besides, we got a few practice dummies in front of us, right now, I might as well practice my hand on them.''

    [Cheapskate..]

    The whole scene of conversation between Rio and systemsted only for a little fraction of a second, but this sudden scene of silence and his calm eyes still managed to piss off the ''alien'' creature.

    But when the poor thing increased the pressure on Rio again this time, what greeted him was not a scream of painful grunts, but a fist coated in the energy of earth with elements of darkness mixed into it.

    A fist that shattered all his defenses and broke his heart , literally.

    Pulling his right hand back, Rio frowned and waved it lightly, shaking off all the gooey parts of his forearm.

    The sudden death caused a shocking scene resulting in gulps of surprise and wide eyes, whichsted for a few moments. Until another burly man standing few feet back broke out of his stupor and screamed in anger.

    "Aiiiiyyyyyyyy, yunta chuse. Karthre. Buda deda."

    Rio looked at the screaming man shouting in some nativenguage that he couldn''t understand a word of, and simply waved his hand.

    Following his signal, a thin thread of mana spread in the air at high speed, slicing at the sapin''s neck instantly.

    The words of anger and grief which were still stuck into the burly alien''s neck came to a halt, as his head slipped over his bones and fell down to the ground with a thud.

    His body followed soon after standing still for a few seconds without any support or response to the death, except the fountain of blood oozing from his open neck.

    The same shock swept over once again, but this time the scene of murder attracted the attention of everyone.

    The group of dark sapin who first lost their leader and then his younger brother in front of their eyes, raised their arms and charged towards him after giving a battle cry.

    Rio watched as they started surrounding him. Analyzing the changes their bodies produced after listening to that sonic cry from one guy, which gave everyone some sort of hardness buff.

    He watched green lines popping here and there like veins on their brownish skin, and their eyes glowing with a fierce primal light.

    "So no more looking down on me eh." Rio joked as he readied his stance too, ignoring the slight trembling on the ground he stepped over.

    He dodged to the side and punched forward, hitting the sapin in front of him in the chest. But instead of his hand passing through their muscles ripping their heart, all it did was to break a shell of brownish bark.

    The sapin stepped back and coughed a little green blood, but ignoring the pain, he still charged and punched Rio in the face.

    At thest moment, Rio managed to raise his arm infused with the toughness of ground to block the hit. But it still gave him a numbing sensation.

    ''Humm so these idiots do pack a punch. That guy from earlier must be quite dumb to be solved in a sneak attack.'' He thought, jumping sideways to dodge a kick and then kicking the air and flying high to dodge a sweep.

    Another Dark Sapin reached Rio, swinging his massive arm like a battering ram. Rio sidestepped, barely avoiding the blow, and countered with a quick burst of wind-infused punches. His fists connected with the creature''s tough skin, but the Dark Sapin barely flinched. While another alien lunged at him from behind, and Rio barely managed to roll away, the creature''s ws grazing his back.

    Rio clicked his tongue as he saw the flying pieces of his torn suit, which was engraved by the academy''s defensive runes. But he still had that shining glint in his eyes which showed he was not at all sad, but rather satisfied with their battle skills.

    ''They can use wind to sharpen their hands, turning every nail into a sharp w. Interesting.''

    He kicked his feet and jumped up, using their ''air des'' as his stepping stone and reaching onto a nearby tree branch.

    But before he could figure out his next n of attack, the solid branch beneath him turned into a muddy liquid, trapping his feet.

    Taking advantage of his distraction, a Sapin appeared right next to him and grabbed his neck.

    "And this should be your racial trait. You merge well with trees." Rio said, pulling the alien''s hand from his cor before swinging his head back and giving him a headbutt.

    The sound of crack spread in the air like the collision of two heavy objects.

    Rio looked at the sapin in front of him, watching as green blood slowly trickled over his forehead as visible cracks appeared onto his skin.

    "You guys are tougher than you look." Rio said before pulling all the energy of ground he could gather and swinging his hand like a hammer, onto the head of Sapin like crushing a whack-o-mole.

    The whole tree got sted by the shockwave and splinters of wood flew into the air.

    As the branch copsed, the trap holding Rio in ce disappeared too, and he was free to move yet again.

    As he fell down, he was yet again surrounded by the dozens of them. They coordinated their attacks, striking from multiple angles at the same time. Rio blocked a heavy punch from one Dark Sapin with his arm, feeling the shockwave ripple through his body, while another alien struck his side, causing him to stagger. A little pain shot through him, but he just smiled even crazier.

    The more fiercer and tougher a fight these aliens could give him, the higher the potential of skill he had spent over 50k points for.

    Rio once again took to the air, jumping over solid air tforms. He looked over at the bodies of his prior victims, watching as they moved to the background of his siege and were absorbing the energy of elements to heal themselves.

    ''Cool..'' Instead of disturbing them or killing them, he just kept observing them while fighting the others. Copying the method of healing in his mind.In which pattern the energy moved, or how much effect it could bring him.

    The only Dark Sapin responsible for magical skills, like trapping him or giving buffs to his allies, roared in anger after noticing this and ordered everyone to kill him instantly.

    The Sapin charged at him once more. But this time, Rio felt like it was enough. He had already gathered whatever information he needed, and watched the practical potential of his newly acquired skill firsthand.

    So he just infused his fists with a tint of hellfire, the air crackling with heat as he struck out. His every punch ignited on contact, burning the tough skin of his enemies. Leaving nothing but ashes and cinders flying in the air.

    "Trees and fires huh," After a second of confusion,a smile came to Rio''s face, watching as his hellfire started spreading outward at a fast pace. Ignoring the spells of water and barriers of magic these aliens formed in defense.

    He finally figured out the plot of this dungeon and our dear Leon''s role in the victory and his rise to fame.

    ''Fate really is a doting mother, isn''t she system?''

    [Yupp, halo effects.] System replied and added, [You stole his fated opportunities, so she created this new one for him.]

    [Pffffttt poor protagonist.]

 Chapter 377: Drain Domain skill tree

    Rio looked at the army of aliens surrounding him with a smile, his sword gleaming in the fiery breath of hellfire that burned and vaporized all the blood it had absorbed in this massacre.

    Since the fight started a few minutes ago, he had killed two groups of dark sapin aliens, making up a body count of around 20-30 people.

    Their charred corpses and sshed organs littered the ground, giving the peaceful forest a peek of hungry battlegrounds.

    "Did you have to kill them?" Valtor asked, his back pressed against Rio as he sliced the neck of another alien and kicked the corpse away.

    The proud rival had just returned after taking a look around the camp when he saw the crowd and noticed the ongoing bloody battle.

    He wanted to stand by and just pretend not to see it, but some idiot identified him as Rio''s friend and attacked him too, hence pulling another fighter for their already losing battle.

    "We could''ve just searched around and left the town without anyone noticing, but you had to start a riot, didn''t you?"

    Rio heard theint from the shadow assassin but gave no response, and focused on his battle.

    From his understanding this world was a battle hungry.

    The Will of the World, which required its natives to fight wars every couple years, was nothing but a viin for the plot and the protagonist.

    So him being the top viin, he decided to help this poor peasant from the primary arcs.

    How?

    By giving it what it wants. More blood, more wars and even more deaths.

    (Since protagonist will probably kill the final viin, stop the wars and settle for peace, why not let him leave no one alive for that said peace.)

    "Kill da hoomans."

    "Taraiter."

    "Fuck Ounders."

    "Murdar him."

    Shouts and curses came to his ears constantly during the battle, with more people just surrounding the scene thaning forward to stop him or help the darks.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    (Dark Sapin was too messy, so I simply changed it to darks now.)

    ''Guess even if they formed an alliance for this war, not everyone''s friendly.'' Rio thought after looking at the surrounding Sapin and other races just standing by

    The tenacity of darks to tank the damage and passively heal themselves using nature''s energy had be a curse for many during this battle.

    As Rio''s hellfire constantly burned them whole nonstop, and Valtor''s Drain chain started to suck away all their energy with each inflicted wound from his daggers.

    The deadrades in this case were considered luckypared to the ones who survived, but had to live for many minutes in hellish pain.

    Rio watched as Valtor tied an alien with shadow magic, making him unable to escape or dodge, before slicing him with the double daggers.

    As his knife took the first kill for its owner, the shadow behind Valtor wiggled, like it came alive and morphed into the shape of a sanctum tree**. Its branches moving in all directions with Valtor as the center, tying all the targets in ce for him to ughter.

    If this was a game, one would be able to see red damage pings flying over everyone''s heads every couple of seconds.

    This was the ability from Valtor''s main skill set, called Drain Domain.

    Once it''s activated, anyone within 5 meters of Valtor''s distance is basically a fish on the chopping board. Unless they possessed extreme agility to dodge the shadow tree branch''s attack effects, or had enough health and mana to oust the skill duration.

    ''You sure you can''t get me this skill set?'' Rio couldn''t help but question his system again. God knows he really loved this..

    [Do you want a whole pantheon on your back? With elder godsing for your head and taking you on a trip down the shadow realms.] System replied by usual list of consequences.

    "Forget it. Nyx''s Nera Nightmare is a much better skill set." Riopromised, making system throw another snarky teasingment at his face.

    [Grapes are sour.] Angoor khatte h miyan.

    ''...''.

    While Rio admired his skills, Valtor on the other hand was fully focused on the massacre.

    With his current rank and mana, he could barely maintain this domain skill for 30-40 seconds. Hence to make the most out of it, he couldn''t make a slightest mistake.

    For the next half a minute, he fully reflected how dangerous the avatar of an assassin God and disciple of the Dark Knight can be.(Will tell u in detailter on.)

    When his mana started to run out, he started using the second ability of his skills, Drain chain.

    As the ck blood of dark sapin touched the dagger in his hand, it slowly started glowing.

    "Here ites." Riomented in anticipation.

    Watching as the light on the dagger intensified, how in a few mere seconds the alien with over 7 feet tall height and muscr physique was sucked dry and left on ground as a shriveled corpse with nothing but twitchy bones and loose skin.

    [It really is scary.]

    System spoke the words in Rio''s mind before he could.

    By the time both the drain skills went into cooldown Valtor was already backed to a tree, panting heavily. The ground all around him, covered with the mummified corpses of the aliens he killed.

    Nearly 30 .

    "And you said I''m cruel." Rio teased as he kicked a Sapin trying to sneak out from the tree and attack Valtor.

    "Aren''t you?" Valtor replied, looking back at Rio. Watching as the whole forest behind him seemed to be dyed in red and ck. Pieces of monsters scattered like meat thrown at a butcher''s shop.

    Bloody threads were vibrating in the air, cutting the aliens in several parts as they spoke this very instant.

    Poor fellows with high healing factors were thrown into a cocoon of threads, where they suffered torture of getting ughtered over and over again, until their bodies gave up and they perished for good.

    His mastery over threads was getting better and better, and soon it will be time when he could go and meet his favorite norn fate goddess again.

    "Here, drink this." Rio said, throwing a high level mana recovery potion at Valtor.

    "How many of these do you even have?" Valtor said in surprise, wondering how this guy even sneaked in so many expensive potions with two elders watching, before remembering some rumors about him and raising his hand and interrupting him. "No, don''t answer. The less I know the better."

    ''Is that viking elder really going this far to get him as his disciple?'' Valtor thought to himself.

    Rio looked at him with a cheeky proud smile before turning around and closing his fist. Making all the threads moving with his fingers disappear instantly.

    "We''ve been killing for such a long time, why do you think no one came to stop us, or save them?" Valtor asked in a serious tone.

    "Probably cause we did what they wanted to do but couldn''t do." Rio replied, looking at a man dressed in noble clothes, and staring at them from a distance. "Big wars forces us to make allies out of lower enemies, but it doesn''t mean their enmity is over."

    "Yes, but don''t you think, us killing their partners and roaming free is bad for the unity and the morale before any war." Valtor said in confusion, making Rio smile.

    "You''re right, and that''s probably why we''ll be hunted and captured now.."

    Before Rio''s words finished a group of soldiers appeared and started surrounding them. Their hands holding a formation g and a mage''s staff.

    "Drop your weapons. Raise your hands and surrender. Refusing to obey any order will be seen as an act of disrespect towards the Shin army and met with critical punishment."

    "And here we go." Rio said staring at the army of nearly 200 hybrid people standing in front of him with their weapons drawn.

    (Hybrids here meants Nefrats, a race of Phronesia, which is mixture of 2 or more separate origins. Like simir+sapin.. Or simir+human.. Or human+monster... Xyz - they alle under one race here. No higher halfbreed,no lower halfbreed, just Nefrat...)

    Valtor looked at Rio''s expression which showed half calmness and half excitement and knew what wasing next.

    "Please tell me you''re not thinking of... I have a teleportation scroll, we can...."

    "Nothing like a massacre to start the morning." Rio said, as he opened his arms and the buzzing sound rang all over again, followed by ear piercing screams that shook the ground.

    Zrrrrrrrrrrrr---- Arghhhhhh aaaaaaaaa aarghh

    "Fuck" (Valtor)

    ###

    *** exnations

    Sanctum Tree - A sacred tree found in realms of sinners. Something which is said to be a medium connecting mortals and gods, yet needs sacrifices to survive. A tree which gives life to it''s owner/devotee/believer - yet takes life away from it''s enemies/opponents/non-believers.

    A tree whose flowers and fruits hold healing abilities, yet branches birth a deadly poison. A perfect match between good and bad.

    Take away the flowers and the branches will rot, take away the branches and there''ll be no fruits.

    It represent the same coin different sides theory, about one needing the other, yet never epting other or coexisting together..

 Chapter 378: Being in prison is also a plan, right

    "It''s all because of you." Valtor said, kicking a pebble towards the opposite prison cell from where he was locked in.

    Rio raised his hand to catch the stone, before crushing it to powder with his fingers. "I''m sorry, but I don''t recall stopping you from fleeing."

    "That''s cause I didn''t have enough time." Seeing him still calm, Valtor stepped forward andined, "First you started the war and then they locked the space with those weird tree tes. I even wasted my teleportation scroll trying to save you."

    "I already told you I had everything under control." Rio replied and added further, "And besides, it was all part of a n."

    "So getting caught was in your n too?"

    "No." Rio replied honestly, but then shook his head, "But it doesn''t change a thing. It still led me right where I wanted."

    "Where? Locked in a 4��4 prison cell?"

    "No, in the heart of this enemy camp. And probably soon, in front of some higher ups who may actually know something about this and our people."

    "Wait, what?"

    "We needed some inside information and now we''re here." Rio answered, voicing his thoughts, "This dungeon''s bugging me off ever since we set foot inside, and since normal folks here don''t know the right answer, we might as well just meet their leader and ask him, ''nicely''."

    "..." Hearing his exnation, Valtor looked at him for a few seconds. His eyes turning from questions to confusion, and then to understanding.

    "So you finally got it." Seeing him frowning, Rio said with a smile.

    Instead of answering, Valtor shot a question. "So you killed those darks just to cause amotion, and to attract the camp leader''s attention?"

    "Yeah. I mean I also wanted to taste my skills and their strength first too, but they''re all pretty much the same thing."

    Valtor nodded his head and then thought about something. "Since we just needed the information, why the bloodshed? I mean after all ''that'' I don''t think this leader here would just let us go free."

    A smirk came to Rio''s face as he heard his question, but before he could answer, some guards came knocking on their cells.

    "Well, whatever your n is, I hope it works." Valtor said as he walked out of his prison cell in handcuffs. "We can''t waste too much time here. I have something else that''s more important."

    "Ohh, missing the miss already." Rio teased talking about Amaya, but Valtor just speeded off.

    [Something''s off host.] System voiced out the thought for its host. Making Rio nod his head in approval. ''I know.''

    ''How''s Amy?''

    [She''s safe for now. But I sensed the aura of chaos earlier while you were locked.] System informed Rio, making him sigh heavily, [I''m sure she didn''t do it willingly, someone probably made her angry.] System spoke for her favor, making Rio nod his head.

    ''Well, Kali will handle the chaos. But just in case, lock this dungeon for me. No divinations are allowed.'' Rio said, making preparations as there''s a whole mad cult waiting outside, always looking for the sessor of Kali''s chaos.

    [As you wish.] System said excitedly as soon as his words ended.

    The instant response made Rio raise his guard as he remembered something and added instantly. ''Wait, use that 30% buy off coupon I got in lotteryst time, instead of hogging all the points I have.''

    [Tsk, cheapskate.] System made a sound of clicking its tongue, before gobbling the price. [70000 points deducted.]

    ''Phew, saved 30k.'' Rio said breathing a sigh of relief.

    [Don''t be so happy I''ll take them next time.]

    ''Yeah yeah whatever.''

    While Rio was busy bickering with his system, they were led to a grand hall made in an open ground under open skies. The trees and forest around that ce had been cleaned up neatly. The entire state was surrounded by gs and small camps and markings of the tribal logos flying in the air.

    One thing that Rio had previously noticed was made clear yet again, there were no animals, beasts or monsters in this camp.

    In the center of the open ground, there was a stage made out of a dead tree''s shaft. Arge chair carved from the same wood in the middle.

    A man with his face covered in a white veil was sitting on that chair. His withered body and the exposed wrinkled skin showing signs of old age. Yet Rio could feel a gaze as sharp as his father from behind the veil. Making him doubt the difficulty of clearing this dungeon.

    Aside from him, around the throne seat, were 4 gs etched in the ground, one person standing in front of each of them.

    Rio identified 2 of them. One who was the leader of the Nefrat army which captured them, and one who was present during their battle but never stepped forward to interfere.

    From the other two, one burly man especially looked at him with hatred. Barely controlling his anger and stopping himself from rushing out to kill him.

    ''Kill the young, andes old for revenge. Kill the old, and thenes older.'' Rio said in his heart as he showed a smirk at the darks helplessness.

    Thest man was surprisingly a human. His face showing that smile which was the one thing Rio hated most in the world. The smile which seems friendly, harmless and kinder on the surface, but hides the cruel calctions of an old maniptor.

    [He really should''ve invested more time in his acting.] System said in agreement, already aware who''s gonna be the first to die when the real fight breaks out.

    While Rio was looking around taking in the presence of everyone, the ''council'' had already been set up. Everyone had reached their positions and took their ce. With a hefty crowd and standard soldiers standing guard.

    A soldier came and hit Rio''s knees with a wooden spear, forcing him to bent down. Rio red back in anger, surprising the poor soldier who dropped his weapon and fell down choking.

    After coughing a few times while holding his throat, the poor fellow stopped breathing. Not understanding what happened until the moment he died.

    With just his sight a soul was sent straight to sky.

    "You dare��" Seeing his actions, the leader from darks who already hated him, instantly stood up shouting. Only to stop as he met Rio''s gaze.

    Cold sweat formed over the dark''s forehead as he felt like he was staring straight at a demon. To him the whole world was covered in darkness and all that was left was just a gaze filled with cold intent and indifference staring straight through his soul, as if a God judging an insignificant mortal.

    (Thup��)

    "Enough." The old leader who was silent till now, tapped his staff on the ground and spoke up. His hoarse tone breaking the silence of fear that had spread in the area, bringing the dark leader out of his illusion and back to reality.

    (Phew huhh phfffhhhh) The leader of darks sat back on his seat with his head down. Others couldn''t see his expressions, yet everyone could hear the heavy breaths the man was taking.And shaky hands he was trying to hide.

    ''What the hell happened?'' This thought reverberated through everyone''s head.

    Their brains wondering, how could a little kid scare the mighty dark''s leader into this state by just a nce, but only one guy here knew the answer.

    Valtor turned his head and stared at Rio. It was a skill he knew, a blessing he held too. He knew its effects, and he knew its limits too. And that''s why looking at Rio now, for the first time his eyes showed fear.

    ''Just what kind of hatred is he brewing inside him?'' Valtor wondered remembering the blessing of Shani and what it''s description said.

    [The effect of ''gaze of hatred'' directly depends on the hatred held in the holder''s heart.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 379: Kill order

    Seeing everyone''s silence, the leader of this camp turned his head to the side, signaling his guard to start the trial. The man stepped forward and started speaking.

    "You are now standing in the presence of chief Baani, leader of camp Ahida, and one of the 7 sons of Godmother.

    As per thews of Phronesia, before the trial for prisoner ''Rio ke'' and prisoner ''Valtor Shade'' officially starts, the Guilt Keeper will now list all their crimes.

    If anyone has any questions, you can speak once the list is over."

    As the bodyguard''s words were over, an old man with his body covered in white strings and barely supported by a wooden staff, came forward holding a scroll in hand. Yet all that weakness visible to eyes, had no sign of effects on his thunder-like voice.

    "Sins of these humans are as following, murder of 276 people from the dark tribe. - Killing of 20 soldiers along with intentional injuries on 37 others from the Shin toon. - Damage to the n''s property and resources amounting up to 2 million. - As the war for mother''s gracees near, their attacks have inflicted extra damage on the morale of everyone else.

    Causing riots and distress amongst our people who believe their arrival a sign of bad omen."

    �� "You can all discuss the punishments amongst yourself now." Once done with his list the oldie turned around and then slowly walked away. His each step giving Rio a sense that it might be hisst.

    [He''s not gonna fall host, stop staring.]

    ''But he looks��''

    [He had his life energy drained by the mark over his chest. He''s a puppet. So technically he''s not even alive to begin with.]

    ''So is that why everyone here respects him?''

    [Not him, but maybe the one who controls him.]

    ''Hmm''

    "Forgive my impudence, but it seems the guilt keeper has forgotten to add the crime of them having ess to the forbidden dark magic."

    "Yes, as we''ve all seen, these two hold the cursed energy banned by the godmother."

    "We should kill them. Sacrifice their bodies and use their blood as offering for the spirits."

    "Yes, maybe the spirits will be pleased and we may receive their protection in the oing war."

    All the representatives except the dark leader spoke in line and showed their stance. In their opinion killing these ounders was the best option to appease the spirits.

    The leader''s guard stepped forward again and asked for a vote, and started announcing the crime sentence. From beginning to end of trial, the leader kept his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Yet just when the decision was about to be announced, he opened his eyes in confusion and stared at Rio, who in turn raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.

    "Is something the issue, chief?"

    "What happened?"

    "Did that human do something again?"

    Hushed whispers rang through the five men who noticed their leader''s abnormality, yet received no response.

    The leader, Baani disappeared from his ce and appeared in front of Rio the next instant, making everyone even more confused.

    Rio and Baani both looked at each other, each trying to measure up the tricks and threat of other.

    A small golden dot appeared deep within Rio''s dark pupils as he activated his ''True Sight'' skill. Making the whole world in his vision turn ck and white.

    When he was outside the city he couldn''t see things clearly, as his sight was blocked by a barrier soon, but now he could finally see everything clearly.

    Tiny invisible particles started appearing in front of his eyes, gathering together, forming chains, veins all over the atmosphere.

    The sky, the ground, the people - all of it was like covered in a big chain, connecting this whole _ together.

    As Rio''s pupils turnedpletely golden, Baani who was staring right at him, couldn''t help but avert his eyes, feeling a tingling pain that ran through his nerves.

    He looked down at the ground in confusion, and next second, all the calm on his face disappeared, reced by a sense of shock and horror.

    "You dare��" Baani shouted, his voice filled with anger, burned the veil on his face until it disappeared in tiny particles.

    Rio, who was staring at the sky following the movements of the mysterious chains, turned his head back and was finally able to take a clear look at this leader''s face, his skin covered in wrinkles, was filled with green liquid, like there were living worms wiggling underneath.

    "Urghh" Despite everything that he''s seen and witnessed, Rio still couldn''t help but look away in disgust.

    But this action of his only made the famed chief even more angry, as he directly grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up from the ground.

    The intensity of anger in his eyes, broke the protection armor before it even properly formed around Rio.

    "So you noticed huh." Rio said as he raised his hand and moved it downward. His sword appeared directly in his palms, and swiftly followed its master''s movements.

    Under Baani''s mocking eyes, the sword lit up in ck mes of hell right before chopping his hand like slicing butter.

    "Hell mes, so you really are the cursed one." Baani said as he stepped back, his cut off arm regenerating at unbelievable speeds.

    Everyone around the trial grounds who just woke up from their shock after seeing their leader getting attacked, instantly went into another frenzy, hearing the words ''cursed one''.

    In thends of Phronesia there''s an old saying that''s been passed from one generation to another. Despite their constant wars which causes camps and ns to be erased at every turn, that doom foretelling prophecy is what remains forever.

    [ From realms of death, a spawn will rise,

    The cursed one with burning eyes.

    His magic dark, his soul a me,

    All life will fall beneath his name. ]

    There are a million different ways to speak about it, as every poet gives it his own tone and words. But the meaning remains the same.

    That one day someone wille holding dark magic and mes of hell, who will burn the world and end all life.

    Surprisingly Rio here ticked all those boxes.

    "Is it really him?"

    "Is the world really about to end?"

    "God, he''s gonna kill us all."

    "Call the spirits, wake up the godmother, we need to kill the cursed one before he wipes everyone out."

    "It''s over. No one can save us."

    "I''m_ I_ don''t wanna die."

    "Isn''t the cursed one weak? The Shin army caught him. I knew that prophecy was fake. I''ll prove it after killing him."

    "The prophecy it''s true. The ancestors didn''t lie."

    "We''re doomed."

    All kinds of voices rang in the crowd, some filled with awe, some in confusion, while some trembling in fear.

    Hearing their murmurs Rio turned his head in confusion, forgetting to close his true eyes, he saw a surprising scene.

    The chains over every person''s head started shaking in the air, before disappearing slowly.

    Wherever his gaze passed, people started falling down, unconscious, dead, no one knows.

    His act causing riots among the army, igniting another wave of fear in the hearts of natives.

    ''What''s happening here?''

    A question came to everyone''s eyes, including Rio''s.

    Before every ''dead'' woke up and rushed towards Rio. Their eyes bloodshot, minds in frenzy. Only one voice echoing in their heads constantly, asking them to kill him.

    The whole seemed to suddenly turn silent for a second, as a kill order was ced directly on Rio''s head by the world''s will.

    ####

    Author note -

    Prophecy poems

    "From realms of death, a fire will rise,

    The cursed one with his burning eyes.

    His magic dark, his soul a me,

    All life will fall beneath his name."

    ----"When nights are long and stars are few,

    The cursed one wille for you.

    His magic born in death''s domain,

    Will leave the world in endless pain."

    ---- "When fire rains from heavens highN?v(el)B\\jnn

    His arrival is on the nigh

    Cursed by gods, his magic grim,

    All life will burn from fear of him."

    ...

    Hell me poem

    --- "From molten pits where demons dwell,

    Rises a fire , born in Hell.

    A crimson ze, a burning crown,

    To sear the heavens and cast them down. "

 Chapter 380: The hungry shadow

    As soon as the kill order was issued, system''s anxious tone sounded in Rio''s head. [Host, something''s wrong.]

    ''Good guess, how''d you know.'' Rio joked, staring at an armying at him.

    System ignored it''s host''s teasing tone and exined what it found.

    [...They don''t have a soul now. I mean even before their soul was shrouded in that green cocoon but now they''ve lost it whole...If before they were just hypnotized, then now they''re full-on puppets. Much like how a necromancer controls dead soldiers.]

    ''Can you track who''s controlling them?''

    [Who else but that tree.]

    ''Can you find out what that is?''

    [It''s __ confidential information. System level requirements not met. Hostcks authority.]

    ''What the fuck???''

    [Well, we can''t do nothing about that. Just be careful when you''re facing it.]

    [Sayonara host. See you outside.]

    ''Hey system, what do you mean see you outside, where''d you go you fucker, answer me�� .''

    [.. I''m not here ..]

    ''???''

    Rio ignored this damn system who went into silence mode refusing to give him any more information or help, and looked at the hundreds of puppetsing towards him from all sides.

    "Kill him."

    "Must kill him."

    "Cursed _ kill him."

    "Mother order _ I follow."

    "Killllllllllll "

    Rio was getting prepared to fight as he broke the chains binding him, and pulled unique ranked swords in both his arms.

    Valtor stared at his swift actions, silently wondering in his heart where did these magic swordse from? And how''d he break restraints that seized mana.

    Though curious, now wasn''t the time to ask questions.

    Both of them stood their back facing each other, staring at the oing soldiers from all over.

    "Rio, what did you do?" Valtor asked, feeling a little irritated about how this so called angel always started wars as his first solution.

    "I didn''t do anything, look at them, they probably lost their minds." Rio said in defense.

    Just when the confrontation between both parties was about to start, a wall made out of roots rose from the ground, separating the two sides.

    The mad puppets had lost their wisdom and couldn''t form any proper words, so they just growled and grunted in anger, trying their best to get past the wall.

    Rio turned his attention to Baani, the n leader, who made the move and raised the sword in his direction. "What do you want?" He asked.

    "Call back your shadow, and I''ll hold back these soldiers long enough till you can escape into the grand forest." Baani said, his words making the rest of the representatives stare at Rio and then at ground�� .

    In time when the sun is right on top of them, when everyone else had a shadow, behind him on the ground was nothing.

    "You will never get past the spirits and reach the sacred tree. So just call it back and you can leave this city alive." Baani said again, intentionally making a hole in his wall from where mad soldiers rushed in like crazy before closing it.

    Rio raised his left hand to block the attack and used the other sword to sh the 3 idiots in two pieces.

    "If I couldn''t even get past those spiritual trees, you wouldn''t be talking like this." Rio said with a smirk and walked towards Baani. "Tell me, what happens if I control that tree, if I chop it down or burn it to the crisp."

    "Spirits will never allow��"

    "My mes can burn them, and you know it." Rio interrupted Baani and finished his words.

    As his words finished the sound of a loud explosion rang in the distance. Causing a heat wave that swept even them so far away.

    "Someone so strong, yet such an obvious weakness. Simir, they''re literally trees, they burn when facing mes." Rio said, ying with an orb of hellfire in his hands.

    "You have no idea of what you''re doing? The sacred tree is not something you should disrespect. It''s anger will wipe out you and everyone else."

    Ignoring the threat Rio just extinguished the hellfire and ordered his shadow to eradicate anyone who tried to stop it. "Guess we''ll find out, won''t we?"

    In the center of the forest, a figure, entirely made out of dark fog stood in front of a dozen floating trees. His hands holding a me that threatened to vaporize even itself.

    Faces formed on the trunks of those trees as they started talking in anger. "This damn cursed magic, we should''ve killed him when he first entered the dungeon."

    "We shouldn''t have allowed him to enter this city..."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Mother pulled him here and now look where we are?" Another one said, looking down at the ground wherw ck splinters were scattered around, still emitting smoke.

    "What is mother even nning? Is this how she''s supposed to secure our victory."

    "You''re still thinking about the war, I doubt the demon in front of us will end us before those monsters do."

    Though their hearts were chilled for the oing battle, the stance they pulled against the shadow was that of a brave soldier who''d rather die fighting than falter for a second.

    ''Burn anyone whoes into your way.'' Rio''s voice came to the shadow''s ears, making it smile. "Kekeke."

    The sound of cracklingughter could be heard even though the dark figure had no mouth, just fog. Making it look even more eerie.

    The shadow moved again, it''s feet forming a domain of darkness for 3 meters all around it, which pulled anyone and anything in range into itself. Leaving only some screams and some chewing and gobbling sound.

    The more ''life'' his shadow ate, the more hungrier it seemed to be, and the more stronger too.

    [A/N - To those who forgot Rio had used a forbidden spell to give his shadow the blessing from the sin of gluttony in the dungeon he was trapped in. If u wanna know more read previous chaps again or just ask me]

    Since this shadow had no physical form all the attacks thrown at it from the Simir''s, which just used roots to stab, entangle and form traps, had no effects.

    The illusiory shadow just walked through everything, showing no sign of injury or hurt, except causing slight distortion in its form for a few seconds upon contact, which were covered by darkness almost instantly again.

    "Kill him. We can''t let him reach the sacred tree."

    "Did the Ersion priestess said what mother wants next?"

    "I just heard the priestess''s voice, I think she ordered all the others to attack their real bodies and kill them."

    "Great, so we just have to hold on until those musclehead sapin kills him."

    "Yes, so we can''t cower. We must never let the cursed one go near the sacred tree."

    "But this damn me, if I had known about it before, we could''ve guided him to some other camp, instead of bringing him here on our home."

    "Where would we even take him, we already lost contact with 2 of our cities, and Cetum city is just�� not right."

    "We needed the rewards and protection, and now we''re paying the price for it." Another tree spoke, watching as his ''friends'' rushed forward and burned slowly in front of his eyes.

    Just when the shadow had burned thest of the cannon fodder and reached the perrifery of garden, where 12 floating trees surrounded the big so called Sacred tree, forming ast line of defense, it disappeared from its ce.

    Taking along all the darkness, mes and depression too.

    "What happened?" A floating tree moved forward after much courage and looked around in confusion. "Did the spell end? Or.."

    "maybe he''s dead." another tree said, seeing no trace of the shadow anywhere near again.

    "Hahaha I knew those musclehead bastards won''t be so useless."

    "Finally the cursed one is dead. There''s no more prophecy."

    "I wonder who killed him, was it the camp chief Baani, Shin leader Nefrat Shi, or someone else?"

    While the faces on floating trees were celebrating their victory, back in camp''s square, Rio turned his face and stared at Valtor, the man who was still holding the sword stabbed through his back.

    "W_why?" Rio said as he grabbed his friends cor, who just stared at him with no emotions and a green glint moving in his eyes.

 Chapter 381: Rios dead... again

    20 minutes ago,

    "Guess we''ll find out, won''t we?" As soon as Rio finished his words and gave his shadow the order to annihte the guardian Simir n, Baani felt the tremors on the ground and sensed the peril of his men.

    "Remember, I gave you a way out." He said in anger before lifting the wall and disappearing from his ce.

    "Still saying you have no idea?" Valtor said, staring at Rio, before opening his shadow domain once more.

    Without the blockage, the whole army of Etum city rushed towards them like mad zombies. Pushing each other, running over their fallenrades, with only one thought in mind.

    "Whatever your n is, I hope it works. Or you should know I''m not saving your ass." Valtor said, raising his hand as shadows behind the ''zombies'' at forefront twisted their forms, turning into long swords and finally impaling their own makers.

    The scene looked nothing sort of scary but none of the puppets batted an eye and just jumped over their buddies and kept charging.

    Rio waved his hand as a buzzing sound born in air, and soon a dozen of puppets fell down with their heads severed.

    "Here, for you." Rio said as two bloody arms shaped in the forms of daggers floated in front of Valtor.

    Valtor looked at the ''arms'' and noticed thin ck threads chipping away at the ages slowly to sharpen it''s skin and form a grip for him to hold from.

    Valtor turned his head to stare at the magic swords in Rio''s hands and then at the bloody arms in front of him, and felt the urge to curse this guy. Atleast ask if he wanted a real sword, maybe he''d say yes. But��

    Seeing more and more of puppetsing close, Valtor just grabbed his newly made daggers and started fighting.

    If the previous fight where it was 2 vs 200 , then now it was 2 vs almost a thousand. Though odds increased the difficulty, ''aliens'' being a puppet without wisdom erased their instincts. Like clearly now they lost all their feelings and fears, but they also lost the survivor''s voice asking them to dodge or prioritize safety.

    Rio formed several circles of hellfire all around them, making puppets lose their health by half the time they arrived to face them. And they just had to kill them easily or just wait until the inextinguishable me did its magic.

    Though the fight looked easy from sidelines, it was a real mess for both the students.

    Like Valtor, who was draining his mana at speeds that would put even normal A rank awakeners intoa after a few minutes, yet he was fighting side by side with Rio. Trying his best to keep up with the kill count. This was his pride, the pride of someone who couldpete with the hero for all his life.

    On the other hand, Rio was burning his health controlling hellfire at two different ces across such distances and serious battles, that put a strain on his mind so high where it felt like it''ll burst apart. He could feel his own body getting burned from the inside out, yet his damned ego refused to let him make a scream.

    One kept using all his mana reserves, drinking, absorbing, refilling and then draining it again for several times. While other kept churning out blessings upon blessings to heal his body and keep his sanity.

    In this regard they were both kind of simr, they hated failing, losing and especially, being left behind.

    There even came a time when there bodies were pressed tightly from all sides, where it became even harder to move their hands freely or get a full breath in, even burying their voices that tried to chant a spell or ask for some help, but that''s what a true battle is, never a moment''s peace.

    Rio''s eyes looked up only to see the sky getting covered by mindless mob, iling their arms and mouth over his body, trying to eat him whole. No pattern for their attack, no skill, no spell, nothing, just pure hatred and hunger driving those monsters that wanted nothing else but his death.

    It was all so familiar, so damned simr.

    Images shed in front of his eyes reminding him of his time in the draided dungeon. And the familiar voice he grew to hate spoke slowly in his ears yet again.

    "Told you, you''ll never escape the hunt. You''ll never be free. You''re still trapped, just as you were before. Give up, and just let me win."

    This voice filled with scorn, mocking his efforts to survive, belonged to no one else but him. It was something that apanied him, no, haunted him, in that dungeon, and after so much time, it was here again.

    "Did you think if you leave the dungeon you can live freely, find happiness and enjoy life�� humph, morblesh**."

    ''Aargghh shut uupppp''

    Rio cursed loudly and in his anger, released a st of darkness that exploded nearly a hundred puppets in the air, sttering their organs from the sky like it was raining blood and hailing meat.

    His ears started ringing, or they just probably lost any sensation, but he couldn''t hear a thing except the buzzing sound of wind and feel the thumping on ground made by fallen pieces.

    Slowly standing up with the support of ground, Rio panted heavily for a few seconds and drank a top quality recovery potion to regain his mana which was at an all time low now.

    Only about 2% left.

    ''This damned spell.'' Rio cursed as he shook his head to shirk the splitting headache, and ignore the memories & the hallucinatic voice.

    Valtor slowly stood up from his ground, his clothes turned into tatters, showing his exposed skin covered in scratches and scars, blood trickling down like tap water.

    "Next time, fucking warn." Valtor cursed as he red at Rio, before turning around and taking out a fist full of core crystals and shoving them down his throat.

    "That''s not how��" Rio was saying how it''s not the right way to absorb them, when suddenly he was attacked yet again. This time by the four representatives and Baani. As for Baani''s guard, he was nowhere to be seen.

    "Why won''t you die?" Baani cursed as he watched how even after this long a battle, Rio could still fight seamlessly with all of them, while Valtor held back the mob, which had finally thinned out and were feeling ''scared'' to enter the st zone. A ce where the ground still had spider cracks oozing the spell''s darkness.

    The representatives wereplimenting each other''s skills and had a fighting style which showed their team work perfectly. But it was no problem to handle them. Their strength was either limited by the dungeon rules, or they were just this weak before, but whatever the reason their strength was just around A rank awakeners, Baani however was giving pressure of peak limit rank.

    After hearing the voice which could distract him so easily, this time Rio didn''t hide anything and used all his skills to end this damn battle. He could already sense how his shadow was crushing the damn spirits with total advantage.

    As he had guessed before, this dungeon was truly made to highlight Leon, who could use mes of sun to wipe these enemies out.

    After all, his hell mes weren''t real, just a cheap mimic spell taught by H. But Apollo wasn''t that cheap. He would give Leon ess to everything topnotch whenever he was against an enemy he couldn''t handle.

    And seeing fate, she''d help big time.

    The fight against the four representatives didn''tst long, just under five minutes all four of them were on the ground, bodies filled with poison that ate their insides to ashes.

    As for Baani, who wanted to sneak attack in middle, Rio responded with the eyes of hatred, before slicing his sword straight to his neck, which the fucker managed to dodge at end time.

    Argghhhhh

    A nasty scream echoed in the air as Baani stepped back several steps and covered his face with both his hands. Green blood was dripping through the gaps in his fingers, spreading a foul smell in the area.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Did you say I''d regret it?" Rio said, stepping forward to end this leader''s life instantly and then help his shadow share the burden.

    "Wait _ wait, I gave you a way out, we have no enmity right. _ You already killed my n, I''ll die in the war 3 dayster anyways, so just let me live some more. _ I''ll give you all the treasures of my city. It''s buried somewhere else, you won''t get anything if you kill me."

    "I don''t need tree junk and smelly potions." Rio said, waving his hand to kill the puppets who came near him.

    "Then _ then what do you want, your friends, I know where they are, I''ll take you to them. Just leave me alone.." Baani tried his best toe up with things to beg with, yet nothing seemed to work.

    His begging seemed to do nothing�� up until the moment when while his words distracted Rio and a sword passed straight through his chest, and a smile came to Baani''s face.

    "Told you, you''d regret it." Baani''s words came to Rio''s ears, when he turned his head and found Valtor was the one who stabbed him.

    (Hahaha what an idiot.) The voice appeared again in his mind,ughing at this sudden turn of events.

    "Whhyy�� .." That''s all Rio managed to say before his tired body finally fell down with a thud. His heart stopped beating and turned silent, yet his head kept echoing theughter of the voice.

    His shadow-less body till now finally showed a dark shadow near his feet, telling the survivors that everything was finally over.

    �� .

    The scene Now.

    Baani slowly stood up and stepped forward, his face covered by a new thin veil, which was trying in vain to hide the gruesome scar the ''cursed one'' gave him, before finally being put down by the Mother''s new puppet.

    His steps were slow as he looked around only to see death and destruction everywhere. Just in that 20-25 minutes of their fight, he had lost nearly half of his nsman. So much bloodshed all so mother''s wishes can be fulfilled. Her n can work.

    "But it''s worth it." Baani said, looking at Rio fallen at his feet, with Valtor standing over his ''friends'' corpse with an emotionless face filled with wiggling green veins.

    "The prophecy is finally over. There''s no need for any more bloodshed. The war _ the war can finally be stopped." Baani muttered slowly with a rare sign of real emotion in his eyes.

    -----

    **** exnation - Morblesh is a vampirguage word on Arcadia, which means ''A mind clouded by mortal ignorance'' .

    It''s something the Drac often uses to insult other vamps and humans. Simply implying that their puny brains can''tprehend the great reality, and learn the height of things he knows and speaks about.

    ###

    A/N - Daggers really were made to kill humans, not monsters. - maybe Rio''sst thought before sleep.

 Chapter 382: Demon who doesnt die

    "Take his body to the altar. And tell the Ersion''s to prepare for the rituals. Godmother should be happy today." Baani said, and little pixie-like creatures flew from the various trees and started chiming and chirping in excitement.

    Though they lost his army, their leaders and many men, there wasn''t a single trace of sadness over anyone''s faces now.

    The soulless ''puppets'' had regained their sanity back and without any question,int, or confusion, stepped forward to pick Rio''s body and started walking towards the big tree in the center.

    Valtor took his ce next to Baani, like his guard without saying anything. A mark made out of green veins grew from his navel and flowed towards his chest and etched itself in a tree''s pattern.

    "Have you found Dyaem?" Baani turned his head and asked the man who was earlier counting crimes for Rio and Valtor. The guiltkeeper, who was busy admiring Valtor into his ranks.

    "No, the dark representative had run away as soon as the battle started. I tried tracking him, but he''s out of range." The guilt keeper shook his head and replied.

    "So he already left the city huh. Damn traitor." Baani cursed and turned around, "Tell the spirits to issue a hunting order on his name. I want his head hanging on my gate before the gathering of ns starts."

    "And send a notice to every city, camp and colony you can find, inform them that the prophecy is over, the cursed one is dead."

    "As you wish, chief." The man bowed and disappeared from his ce.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ��

    On the other hand away from the city of Etum, a forest was set aze as rain of mes fell from the sky, incinerating everything it touched. The clouds turned hot in an abysmal color, moving along the air as ground shook with screams of the living.

    Smoke and heatwaves turning everything blurry. The ce could remind anyone of pits of hell where souls would be tortured for all eternity after death, never getting a moment''s rest.

    And in this chaotic hellish ce, a girl was standing alone, surrounded by monsters who hovered in air holding spears and tridents.

    "Lost your way, ounder. You shouldn''t havee here and meddled in the affairs of Sol city."

    "Guess the dinner after war served itself on the tter 3 days earlier eh."

    "She smells delicious. She''s acting cold, and it''s making me so hot."

    Excited chatter broke in between monsters as they all dropped their guards and started teasing her. Making fun, spoiling all the fun things they''ll do with her, until a sharp voice broke theirughter and silenced everything.

    "Be careful idiots. Don''t forget she was able to infiltrate the Kurami''s (leader) den and slip away after causing a mess that big."

    A man walking on ground stood in front of the girl and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up. "She has some skills too. Or we wouldn''t have lost so many of our brothers while tracking her."

    "Now tell us, where is the treasure you stole from Kurami?" The half demon-half human spoke in a murderous tone.

    "For thest time, I don''t know what you''re talking about? I''ve said it before he''s not your leader. I killed him. But someone took his ce and is fooling you idiots"

    "Plus I didn''t steal anything. But someone else will, if you all just keep chasing after me, and not that imposter." Vanessa said, her face filled with anger, as she pped the monster''s hand away.

    If she had any more mana left, she would''ve killed all these creatures. Yet she couldn''t. After days of running away and fighting tirelessly with these tracking beasts, she had finally exhausted herself today. Hence the situation.

    ''What kind of damn dungeon did the academy even send us?'' She cursed in her heart as she remembered her experience ever since shended here.

    3 days ago, she was transported not far from here, in the hills outside the city of Sol. A ce controlled and ruled by the monster tribes. After a few hours of hunting monsters outside, she found her path and managed to sneak into their territory.

    At first she thought it was a dungeon where she just needed to kill all monsters till the boss appeared and then kill him too, to clear this. But when she witnessed the sight where these monsters showed signs of intelligence, of wisdom beyond normal, she chose to stay put and investigate first before taking any action.

    After all, hunting a hundred mindless monsters is easy, but getting surrounded by a few dozen intelligent monsters will get risky.

    So she chose to stay put and investigate first before taking any action. Or at least wait until she found a few other students first for safety.

    After searching around for the whole day, she finally got some information. A rumor was going around in the city that a group of humans and Nefrats (halfbreed/mutatee) had sneaked into the city and were captured by Kurami, the leader of this city, known for his cruel nature and twisted habits.

    Thinking they were her ssmates, Vanessa chose to rescue them. So she dressed as a maid and sneaked in the ''castle'' .

    Yet she was toote.

    By the time she bypassed the guards, and reached the prison cells at night, all her ssmates were killed.

    The sight she saw in those closed walls chilled her heart, their dead bodies hanging through the chains and blood still slowly slipping past the iron walls and reaching her feet.

    Signs of severe torture were evident on their bodies, their fingers, teeths and nails missing several pieces, with tongues forked in two.

    She was d as these corpses didn''t include anyone she was friends with, but she was angry nheless as few of them had been herrades and party members during several school activities.

    While she was collecting their corpses in her ring, hoping to take them back and give a proper funeral, she noticed a familiar magic ring on one of the girl''s fingers. A ring equipped with a diamond shaped image recording crystal, which were famous for quite a while in Arcadia, a few years ago. ***

    Vanessa pulled the ring and poured her mana in it, next second a holographic disy appeared in front of her.

    A man with demon-like features, two small horns on his forehead, a tail behind his back, was chuckling while holding a bloody knife in hand.

    "Arcadia, Dungeon, and me a boss monster, hahaha ahaha. What a funny little story, but I''ve heard better."

    "Throw their corpses in a corner, and search for their other partners. I want all of them chained in my cells before the war starts."

    "We''ll use their bodies to light up the pyre, godmother should be happy." The demon said before turning around and leaving, while soldiers just bowed their heads and replied shakily, "Yes, Kurami."

    "What''s the progress on tracking that cursed girl?" On his way out, Kurami stopped in his tracks and asked while looking over his shoulders.

    "We sent a team to catch her kurami, but _" The soldier started hesitating, wondering how to exin, before Kurami''s shout broke his courage. "But what?"

    "S_some ounders interfered and rescued her._ We''re tracking them now. They''ll_ they''ll be caught soon."

    "They better. She''ll help me defeat those damned rebels, so do it fast,  or you''re next on that chain." Kurami said in a cold tone and left the cell.

    ...

    "What are you doing still standing here, fuck these corpses, they''re not going anywhere." The soldier shouted, cursing his minion who was loosening the chains, "Go and inform everyone to speed up the search for the cursed girl, and take more people out to hunt those ounders. I want them found as soon as possible or I''ll kill you all before kurami kills me..."

    The recorded scene ended, and Vanessa found many clues for her next actions.

    "If I''m not wrong, the ounders these guys are hunting are probably another group of ssmates. I need to find them first." Vanessa thought.

    But before going on a search outside the city, she chose to cause a littlemotion inside, just to keep these monsters busy and give her friends some time.

    And what better way to cause chaos in a capital than to kill its king.

    Vanessa, dressed in maid''s clothes, sneaked into Kurami''s room after knocking out a couple of guards, and after a hectic fight, she finally managed to kill the monster leader. Turning his corpse to a kebab with her fire magic.

    Through her n she would kill Kurami, who was around a C ranked awakener''s strength, and then disappear in darkness. Next morning a whole drama over death would be staged and then there''ll be disarray, infighting, and chaos.

    But somehow none of that happened. As soon as she left the castle, a hunting order was ced on her head, her picture held in every guard''s hands.

    And then there is this scene now. After nearly 3 days of constant running , she finally lost her breath today.

    ''Damn it, I clearly killed that bastard, so how is he still alive?'' Vanessa cursed as she still couldn''t understand how someone coulde back from the death.

    Though she said that these monsters couldn''t identify their leader and were following a pretender, but that was just to cause distrust, a seed of doubt just in case, cause she knew, that man, was the real Kurami.

    Her magic was impable, her spells doomworthy - she carefully identified it wasn''t a clone, shadow or a puppet either before dealing the final blow, and burning him to a crisp. So how�� ..How did hee alive again?

    "Grab her, we''ll take her back." The walking demon (Nefir/halfbreed race) said as flying demons floated down and grabbed her hand.

    Vanessa tried to struggle, to summonst of her mana to give the final fight, but before she could do anything, a force struck the back of her neck and she started losing consciousness.

    "You''ve wasted enough of our time, Leita dy), Kurami will get the truth out of you." The Nefir said, as he turned around and disappeared.

    Two flying demons grabbed Vanessa by hands and started pping their wings, flying with her in arms. But before they could take off higher than a few feet, something happened and they all fell down with a thud on the ground.

    Vanessa slowly opened her eyes, and in her hazy vision she saw a silhouette she remembered.

    "Leon," She muttered slowly as the blurriness cleared a little and she became sure it was him.

    A smile came to her face, as the stress of captivity and fear of death disappeared for some reason in her heart, and she felt rxed. Like she was safe now, with him being with her.

    ####

    [*** exinations --- The Memoir rings were made by the magic tower for the Sentinels and the Guardians.

    These rings looked normal from an outsider''s perspective, but what made them unique was the feature they were engraved with. A mana connection method.

    These rings could sense mana inside the blood flowing in the finger, so as soon as someone died, or lost their connection to mana, the crystal on the ring would start recording the scene 360�� for the next 30 seconds.

    This feature allowed the rings to be a major sess as it promoted safety for the popce, and the merchant association went crazy over it. As the threat of dacoits and bandits was solved much easily with proof and faces recorded. Making many cases of thefts and homicides very easy to solve.

    Obviously after some time the news of this feature was leaked, making the effect and demand of these rings much lesser, but they could still be found in some market shops being sold easily.]

 Chapter 383: The rebels

    When Vanessa opened her eyes again, it was already morning next day, the sky was clear and there was no sign of screams or howling monsters anywhere near her.

    "You''re awake." Leon''s loud voice came to her ears, sounding very excited, causing her to flinch in displeasure. Before turning her head to see him sitting by her bedside. "How are you feeling? You were a little injured, so does it still hurt?"

    Ignoring Leon''s questions, Vanessa took a look around as she grunted in pain and tried to sit up. "Here, let me help." Leon came forward to help her, but Vanessa just raised her hand to stop him.

    "Where are we?" She asked a little warily. Noticing the unfamiliar background through the open windows, which just screamed in and peaceful, a scenery that obviously couldn''t be possible in the monster city of Sol.

    "Ohh that we''re outside the city, in the deep forests. It''s actually a camp of survivors and rebels who want to fight against those monsters, so you don''t have to worry about those demon guardsing here." Leon answered and thenforted thinking maybe she was feeling scared after her near death experience.

    "I''m not worried, and if I had mana, I would''ve just�� anyway, thanks for saving me." Hearing his caring tone, Vanessa felt unsettled for a moment as it was so against something she had seen these past 2 years, so she tried to show her brave front, only to fail midway, and then say what she actually wanted to say.

    "Oh that''s nothing, I''m sure you would''ve handled yourself." Leon said after noticing her mood, before changing the topic, "I mean I saw the signs on the ground, that me magic, you literally rained fire back there."

    "It was just a spell for multiple fireballs." Vanessa responded, a little less awkward but still feeling weird and a little happy hearing praise from him.

    "Yeah but still it was amazing. Even I can''t do anything like that. Plus seeing those fires is how we found you."

    "We?" Vanessa asked in doubt. As she didn''t see anyone else at that ce before she passed out.

    "Ohh you don''t know her yet, wait, I''ll just call her." Leon said excitedly and walked out. Only toe back in a few secondster with a young girl following him. "Let me introduce you two, Kami, she''s Vanessa, my ssmate and a friend . . And Vanessa, she''s Kami, leader of the rebels here. But everyone else here calls her the guide."

    "Kami?" Vanessa said and stared at the half monster girl who bore an odd resemnce to the demon who''s been hunting her thesest two three days.

    "Hello. Leon here saved my life some time ago, so any friend of his my guest. You can rest here with peace of mind, I assure you no soldier would ever find this ce? And if you need anything, just _"

    "What''s your rtionship with that him?"

    Kami was talking about her hospitality, when Vanessa suddenly stood up and drew her spear at her neck, interrupting her chat with a question.

    "Vanessa?" Leon, who took two seconds to ease his shock, shouted and rushed forward to stand between both girls.

    His face showing expression of confusion, yet a tiny part deep down in his heart wondering if Vanessa got angry seeing him & Kami together. Feeling so jealous that she directly asked about their rtionship.

    However this funny fantasy of Leon was broken by Vanessa''s sharp response.

    "Get out of here Leon. She''s probably fooling you. Rebel leader, the guide, humph, it''s probably a joke between her and that bastard in the castle."

    "Wait, what, I don''t understand. Is there some misunderstanding? I know Kami, she''s not a bad person..."

    "Ohhe on Leon, you met her what, two days ago, maybe three. She''s probably been fooling everyone in this city for months, years maybe. It''s not that difficult to lie." Vanessa said, and remembering the sight of that prison cell, she shed her sword, aiming to end this monster duo''s power y.

    But at the end time, while Kami just raised her arms to cover her head in fear, Leon jumped in again to block the sword. Stopping it with his arms. "Vanessa, will you exin what happened? Kami''s been with me all the time these few days, I''m sure you must have some misunderstanding. Whoever you think she is, she''s not. Please exin to me, if you''re right,I''ll _ I''ll stop.

    Okay. Just��"

    "You _fine" Vanessa put her sword into her storage ring, seeing Leon''s hand bleeding as he held it tightly. "I was in the city, the castle where the monster leader, called Kurami, tortured 8 of our friends and killed them."

    "What???"

    "Yeah, I tried to rescue them, but I was toote. I just know that through them, he learned everything about our expedition. So to stop him from hunting our other ssmates, I killed him, or at least tried to. But he somehow survived, and has been hunting me since then. Those monster guards that came after me, they were his minions."

    "I_ I''m sorry but _ what does it have to do with Kami?" Leon asked again, suppressing his emotions over his ssmates'' death.

    "See for yourself." Vanessa said, pulling the memoir ring and showing Leon the photo of Kurami. "I heard someone say that Kurami has a daughter who''s missing, and no one has seen her for quite a while now."

    "Humph a reign where the rulers and rebels are working for the same party, will obviouslyst longer." Vanessa sneered at Kami, who just seemed shocked over this reveal.

    "Is that true, Kami?" Leon asked as he turned back to look at his new friend with aprenhension , but was treated like air as Kami pushed him aside and came near Vanessa and grabbed her shoulders.

    "You met my father?" she asked, her voice a little shaky..

    "So, he is your father.."

    "No, answer me first, did you kill him?"

    "Didn''t you hear, he''s alive."

    "No, that''s now what I mean, did YOU kill him?" Kami asked again, making Vanessa feel that something was wrong.

    "I did, I think. I burned him to a crisp, thrusting a ming spear right through his heart, but somehow he''s still alive."

    "Fuck."

    That''s the only thing Kami could say as she slumped on the floor with a feared look, making Leon and Vanessa doubt what happened.

    "Kami, you okay?" Leon said worriedly as he tried to help her, before turning towards Vanessa andining, "Vanessa, we''ll talk about thister, but I know, Kami''s not like her father. I''m sure you''re wrong, we''re all really safe here."

    "No, we''re not." Kami cut off Leon with a depressed remark, as a tear slipped through her eyes, "No one''s safe."

    "What?" Leon asked before feeling a tremor in the ground, forcing him to almost stumble and fall.

    Soon sounds of screams and explosions came from the outside, like a war had erupted all of a sudden.

    Vanessa and Leon both looked at Kami who sighed heavily and closed her eyes, like giving up. Before looking out the window to see tiny dots covering the sky,ing closer and closer, until it became clear what they were. An army of monsters flying in the air,ing straight for their camp.

    "He''s here." Kami said, as a monster''s sharp roar signaled the start for a massacre.

    Vanessa ran out the door and looked up at the sky, only to see a snake-like monster with rotten wings on it''s back flying through the clouds, spreading poison in the air with its every breath.

    And on top of this posisonous atrocity stood a humane monster over 8 feet tall.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Kurami," Vanessa muttered as her eyes met with his smirk, before getting pulled back inside by Leon, as the ce she was standing suddenly got porcupined, when the stone ground turned to dozens of sharp swords that suddenly shot up.

    A few people also rushed into their room, guards for Kami and the few students Leon found along the way.

    . The war of Sol starts�� .. Two hundred rebels and eight ounders vs nearly a thousand monster army led by the unkible Kurami himself.

    The eight students here were Leon, Vanessa, Seraphina, Heath, Zirrix, Cecile, and 2 no name needed NPC''s lol.

    ###...

 Chapter 384: Battle of Sol -1

    "Guide, you need to leave this ce. If you get caught, the rebellion will be over."

    "How did they find this ce? I thought the barriers protected our traces."

    "It must be because of these ounders, one of them must have brought Kurami here."

    "I knew we shouldn''t have weed them in."

    "What do you mean, if not for that ounder Kami would''ve been captured days ago."

    "Well,.. Maybe not him, but one of his friends betrayed us. I''m sure, otherwise Kurami will never attack us with his whole army."

    "Why didn''t our spies in the castle say anything? Did they switch sides or get killed?"

    "My son��"

    In a matter of mere moments the carnage had covered the whole settlements, and wherever Leon passed with Kami and Vanessa, he would hear whispers like these.

    ''Did they bring this cmity?'' The thought came to his mind, and haunted his righteous soul. If he was really responsible for all this death and destruction, he really wouldn''t be able to cope with it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Hey, wake up already, your men are dying as we speak, how long are you going to just feel fear?" Vanessa shouted as she shook Kami''s shoulder, waking her up from her trance.

    Her father, Kurami, has always had a monstrous effect on her body. So much so that no matter how she trained her heart to stand up to him and rebel against him, she could never face him straight up.

    The haunting experiences of her childhood never allowed her to move on.

    "We can''t defeat him. No one can. He''s _ he''s blessed. It''s over." Kami said in a trembling voice, as she watched the poisonous snake flying through the clouds.

    The guards of her father who recognized her, ignored everything and started surrounding her. Forcing Leon and Vanessa to rush ahead and protect her.

    The pair of hero and heroine really showed their heroic powers as they walked through the monster army like a tsunami.

    Leon had wings made out of white light on his back as he started flying amongst the demons and swinging his sword like a lightsaber. His attacks focused more on disabling these demons and taking away their advantage of flight as he cut off their wings.

    Vanessa on the other hand was holding a ming spear in her hands, slicing up demons like crazy. Her spear cutting their bodies like hot knife slicing butter.

    While the duo of ''heroes'' were held back by the army of flying demons, Kurami looked at his daughter, still shocked and hiding in fear behind a wall, and ordered his mount to rush down.

    The poisonous snake gave a loud roar that split open the nearby clouds, before it flew down like a loose arrow splitting the winds.

    "Kill her." Kurami said with no hesitation, as he watched the serpent open his mouth and shoot a mass of poisonous gas straight towards her.

    But before the poison could reach Kami, a silvery ball-like barrier lit up around her protecting her.

    "Sorry, I waste."

    The voice came through the smoking poison, until Kami saw arge silhouetteing towards her. Only to be surprised soon after seeing, the blurry shadow was actually the cute loli girl ounder she saved.

    "Killing your daughter, now that''s not nice." Seraphina said as she waved her hand, shooting all the poison straight back to the snake.

    Kurami waved his hand, dispersing everything, and only to see 3 new ounders standing in front of his daughters.

    Leon, who was restricted and worried about Kami''s safety, gave a smile as he watched his friends joining this battle.

    Heathe looked at Seraphina panting heavily while healing Kami, and turned to stare at the snake in anger. Somehow the smart draconian had developed a little liking to this cute and innocent loli girl.

    While Zirrix, ever the battle hungry challenger, set his sights on the biggest boss, demon Lord Kurami himself.

    "I''ll take the cocky king, you handle the worm." Zirrix said and Heathe happily obliged.

    Zirrix moved his staff in a pattern until it lit up in runes, before throwing it directly at his target.

    Kurami saw the flying staffing straight at him, and without taking it to heart, just waved his hand to throw it off track.

    Only to be surprised as the staff gained weight so high that his unserious strike couldn''t even shake it a little bit.

    The blow directlynded on his chest, causing him to fall down his ''high horse''.

    The snake roared in anger, only to be met with a shock as it felt a tyrannical aura press down upon it.

    Heath turned on his skill of dragon''s might and rushed to face this lowly serpent head on. The shadow of a sea blue dragon floated behind Heath as he walked on air.

    Heath raised his hand and punched out. Causing the dragon mirage behind him to follow the same movement. The hitnded directly on the serpent''s head, breaking half of its teeth down.

    The poisonous serpent couldn''t even raise its head to fight against a superior race, as it felt the suppression effect on his bloodline.

    But after hearing Kurami''s order that asked him to charge ahead, it still stoned its resolve and roared angrily, spewing a cannon of poison through its mouth.

    "Haven''t you heard, a snake''s poison can''t hurt the dragon, it can only piss him off." Heath taunted the serpent as he ignored the treacherous poison and raised his ws to grab the snake''s wings, before digging his nails and ripping it apart.

    Without wings the serpent fell down heavily with a thud, killing many flying demons under his heavy weight.

    The dragon shadow opened its mouth wide and bit off the serpent''s body. Shaking its head wildly, until ck blood started raining down the ground. Forming pits of poison that could kill anyone on touch.

    Heath raised his hands as the dragon behind him roared, its voice gathering the clouds above their head and forming lightning in the fog show.

    Heath gave hismands as two illusory arms grabbed the snake''s mouth wide open towards the sky. As blue lightning struck down on the dragon''s call and charred the open mouth.

    The poisonous dder exploded by the strike and the serpent started squirming on the ground, just like a worm.

    "That''s where you belong." Heath said, before raising his hand and stomping hard, causing the snake''s head to explode in white and red pieces under the dragon''s feet.

    As the job was done, Heath fell down to the ground, overexerted and panting heavily, before Seraphina ced her hand on his shoulder and passed her mana into his body. "You shouldn''t use skills with such strong drawbacks on enemies you can handle without them too." She said with a little concerned tone, as she had never seen him use this skill before. Not even against Rio at the academy.

    "It''s not as serious as it looks, I just learned it some time ago, so my control is low." Heath exined the truth with a smile, before drinking a potion and rushing for battle once again.

    On the other hand, while he was fighting against the poisonous snake, Zirrix was up against Kurami.

    Kurami was the type of boss who perfectly defined the characteristics of ''practitioner of thousand, yet master of none.''

    The man could use all kinds of magic, spells and weird techniques, making him an annoying and unpredictable fellow to fight against.

    But sadly, he was up against a simrly annoying fellow.

    Zirrix, the guy chosen by Sun Wukong had blessings to offset every negative effect and way to get out of every trap. Plus his magical staff blessed with monkey King''s magic was able to change its size and weight ording to his wishes. Making it also very hard to guard against.

    Like how when Zirrix took out a fake staff and threw it at him and when Kurami tried to block the bigger staff, a small toothpick prated his armor and formed arge hole in his guts as it suddenly erged and passed through.

    And when Heath finally killed the serpent, causing Kurami to suffer a little bacsh due to their connection, Zirrix just grabbed his head and pushed his toothpick staff down his throat, before raising his arm and backing off.

    Kurami coughed a few times violently and tried to vomit, but before he could be sessful, Zirrix just snapped his fingers, causing his whole body to explode in pieces, as the erged staff grew out from inside him.

    "Easy peasy." Zirrix said as he cleaned his staff from the bloody mess and turned around, hoping to see the shocked faces of everyone about how he killed the final boss all alone.

    But even with his thick skin, he couldn''t handle the frozen faces and wide eyes, so he justughed and teased, "Hahaha it wasn''t that hard guys, you don''t have to be so surprised, I am a ranker after ..."

    "Look out, you idiot monkey."

    But before he could finish his words he saw Heath running towards him while shouting something, which was hard to hear on this battle ground.

    But he soon got his answer, as he turned his head, only to see Kurami alive again, shadow over his body and sh a sword right at his head.

    Zirrix dodged and jumped back on instinct, only to be shocked yet again, as the sword grew in size and caught up with movement and slicing his chest up. Leaving arge open cut that started bleeding like crazy. And if that wasn''t all, the cut that should''ve healed almost instantly after the potion and his blessings, started heating up and burning his skin. Nullifying every recovery effect.

    "What the fuck?" The words escaped the mouths of Zirrix and Vanessa both who saw the demon use their skills.

    ###

    Note - Seraphina isn''t exactly a Loli loli, she got height 4.5 feet. While others are all at 5-6 . So to then she is a shortstuff. Well maybe she is still growing I guess. (Growing somewhere ??)

 Chapter 385: Battle of Sol -2

    The battle scene after that wholeing back from dead surprise was very repetitive. The flying army was already half dead during Heath and snake''s poison battle and hulking body falling down. As for the other half, it was cleaned off by Vanessa and Leon together.

    This only left them vs Kurami. Who by now had died at least seven times in this battle yet came alive in seconds over and over again. And each time more powerful, and more trickier to deal with thanst time.

    Through this loop of a battle the students learned about how this demon Lord could copy one skill of the person who killed him. And how he could track and sense his killers no matter where they hide or what illusions or magic they use to trick him.

    "Damn it, why is he not dying?"

    "Is this dude fucking immortal or what?"

    "There has to be some weakness to him right, maybe like cats he has nine lives."

    "Yeah well, cats don''t copy skills."

    "Maybe we should just keep on killing him until whatever this weird op healing skill is, goes into cooldown."

    "No, what if we''re wrong. Cause if that''s not true and we just blindly keep killing him, he''ll only get more and more stronger."

    "Then what do you suggest?"

    "Well you better think of something fast, cause nearly everyone who survived the demons before, is now already getting caught in crossfire. If we don''t do something sooner, he''ll kill every rebel."

    "Hey, Celia, you love magic right, don''t you have any fancy trick to trap him or something?"

    "He already copied my banshee magic, spirit sleep, I don''t wanna give him my main skills and make the fight even harder."

    "Not gonna lie, before today I didn''t even know you were that good at fighting. Why didn''t you show your talent at academy matches and all?"

    "Cause my life wasn''t on the line. And I prefer doing research in secret and silence more, instead of showing my spells in crowds for the world to see and forget in a few seconds."

    "Wow, that would almost make us look like fools to you huh."

    "Noment."

    "Can we lure him away?"

    "He has wisdom, you monkey. Why''d he fall for something stupid like that?"

    "I told you not to call me that."

    "But that''s what Rio calls you. And I don''t see you objecting then."

    "Well, you''re not Rio, are you? So just call me by my name."

    "I wish he was here, he''d surely have a way to kill this guy for good."

    "Humph, stop praising that narcissist, what he can do, we can do better."

    "You know I still don''t know what''s your problem with him, you''re always at his throat, even when he ignroes you like air."

    "Shut up you monkey."

    "Not you too."

    Vanessa, Heath, Zirrix and Celia kept talking and arguing as they fought against Kurami.

    While Leon walked up to the one person who might know what''s actually going on with Kurami, his daughter, Kami, who was still lost in her traumatic experiences and shuddering in a corner whenever she heard her father''sughter.

    Leon sat near Kami and held her trembling body in his arms, "Kami, I don''t know what you''ve been through. I don''t know what that monster must have done to you, to make you so afraid, but you''re not alone now.

    You have the rebels, people who willingly chose to follow you. People who called you the guide to their new life.

    Those people, who trusted you, who believed in you, they''re dying now.

    My friends and I are trying to save them, but unless we kill that demon, it''s not possible. So please can you help us save your people. Help us defeat him."

    "You can''t." Kami spoke in a hushed whisper as she looked up and saw her whole ''army'' dead on ground. She thought if she had enough power, if she had enough man, maybe she wouldn''t be afraid of her father, that maybe she''ll finally be free of fear, yet now she knows it was all a lie. She''s simply not capable herself.

    And as those demons once said, she calls herself the guide, but where has she led her people, except a gruesome death and a nameless grave. It all meant nothing.

    "You can''t kill him. No one can. He''ll alwayse back."

    Hearing the given up coward''s answer, a trace of annoyance shed in Leon''s eyes, before it got reced by gentleness again. He fixed her hair and forced her to look into his eyes.

    "Kami, did I tell you I was abandoned once, weak and helpless, bullied and hated by fate, just like you may feel now. But you know what, I never gave up, I kept trying, and trying, and trying, until I finally seeded. You can seed in your dreams too.

    You told me you wanted freedom for your people, you told me you wanted those who wanted peace to live in peace, you can do that now. Tell me, how to kill your father. And I will end this war once and for all."

    Hearing his genuine words, seeing the emotions of care and kindness in his eyes, a little hope finally came to Kami''s eyes. She started crying as she hugged him tightly.

    Only she knew for how long has she waited for someone toe and save her, to save this world, only to realize now, she was wrong. If she wants to be saved, she''ll have to do it herself.

    "Help me, bring a better future for this world. A future of love and peace, like the one you envisioned. I promise you, trust me once, and I''ll make that dream a reality." Leon said as he caressed her back gently, calming her trembling body and flowing tears against his chest.

    Kami finally stopped crying and looked up at him, "I''ll help you kill him. Not just him, but her too."

    "Her?" Leon asked in confusion.

    "The godmother, she''s the one who''s�� . . ."

    "Kami, kami, what happened? What were you saying? Godmother who?"

    Kami tried to exin the mystery behind this, behind her father who''s known as the chosen son of godmother and the sacred tree, yet before her words could spill anything big, her heart stopped beating and her body fell lifeless into Leon''s arms.

    "She''s dead." Seraphina said, bringing Leon out of his shock, as he couldn''t believe what happened.

    One moment she was hugging him, pouring her heart out and taking the leap of faith over his trust, and then��

    Seeing his broken state, Seraphina ced her hand on his shoulder and said, "It''s not your fault. Maybe it''s her dad, or this godmother she spoke of, but it''s not you��"

    Yet whatever she exined meant nothing as Leon knew, the reason Kami died, was him. Had it not been for him, she wouldn''t have. Had it not been for him, Kurami wouldn''t have followed Vanessa here and killed everyone. Had it not been for him, none of it would have happened.

    The guilt of being responsible for such chaos and bloodbath, caused his heart to break as he felt his chest tighten and throat swell up. Only to be interfered in this thought train by the loudughter of Kurami, who sensed his daughter''s demise.

    "So that bitch finally died huh. It''s sad I couldn''t be the one to kill her."

    The heartyughter of Kurami and the disrespect he showed towards his daughter, seemed to have flipped a switch in Leon''s mind, as all the guilt from earlier turned into anger.

    Leon raised his eyes and stared at Kurami who was trapped by a ming rope and was trying to free himself. Staring at hisughing face, that showed no emotion of a father''s love, Leon just pointed his hand at the sun and clenched his fist. Before pulling it down strongly.

    As if his fists had pulled a me straight from the sun, a ball of fire fell directly on Kurami''s head, sting his body to smithereens. Along with a ten meter radius.

    "God damn, what was that?"

    "Was that you Vanessa?

    "Why didn''t you use it earlier?"

    "It wasn''t me."

    "Well, whatever, this spell was so big, he should be dead now right. After all, there shouldn''t even be anything left to heal at this point."

    The students talked amongst themselves, feeling relieved that this shit was finally over, only to be surprised yet again, as through the deep pit on ground, an illusory soul on fire walked out, before the air seemed to distort around it''s ghastly form, putting out the fire and creating a body for it.

    "Ohh fuck no."

    "Even that doesn''t do it."

    Zirrix and Heath cursed as they prepared to fight again, only to be pushed aside, as Leon tapped on their shoulder and walked towards Kurami.

    "Don''t worry, I''ll handle him now," he said. before without any exnation just grabbed the demon by the neck and pped his light wings to shoot straight into the sky.

    "Wait, he''s not gonna Icaris this demon, is he?" (zirrix)

    "Can he even fly till the sun?" (Heath)

    "He''s not flying towards the sun, he''s going towards the city." (Seraphina)

    "The city, but why there?" (Celia)

    "Sera, you heal the injured survivors, Celia, stay and help her. And you two, let''s go and help him." Vanessa ordered and dashed from her ce, leaving the other students in shock.

    "Who died and made her the leader." Zirrixined before following Heath towards the towards the city of Sol for the final epic showdown.

    An enraged leon who just lost his ''would be lover''   vs   the Godmother who''s backed up by the world will.

    . .......

    Note - But wait, since even the children chosen by godmother are so hard to kill like Baani, Kurami and next Serium, then how hard to kill must be the Godmother.

    These camps all have a sacred tree and everyone prays to it like it''s the version of Godmother. Then are there 8 of them or just one? And if it''s just one where is she? If it''s 8 , how do you kill it whole? Also 2 cities are missing if u remember, they''re not part of dungeon, so is Godmother also unkible in dungeon?

    Also what''s the n my dead mc cookin? Did he dreamwalk somewhere? Or did he make a clone as corpse and went himself somewhere else?n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Throw some theories my way, u dumb silent readers. Stop justing and going like ghosts.

 Chapter 386: even the genius falls

    In the opposite direction of Sol, is city of Cetum, a city ruled by a subrace of Nefris called Sirus.

    Sirus are nefirs born from the marriage of simir and sapinsar, the originals.

    As hybrids born from both ruling races, one can imagine the social standings of Sirus. In the beginning, they were considered the purest blood offspring.

    Hence over time, as everyone around them respected and loved them, they started getting spoiled. So much so that an ego that others are lower beings, made just to serve them, starteding into their hearts.

    Obviously the more this superiorityplex grew, the more their racism and hate crimes against others started.

    Thus leading them to be hated by everyone over time.

    The proud Sirus couldn''t ept this ''rebellion'' of lower caste, so they tried their best to cull it in the curb, by causing senseless killings in the name of punishments. Making others to hate them even more.

    Fast forward a few decades, Sirus are now ousted by everyone and forced to live in a small camp they upied deep in the dark forests. Weak in strength, less in numbers, and not friends with anyone - That''s how the original bully turned into the bullied rabbit.

    Though ever since the new leader of Sirus, called Serium took charge and was chosen as the 2nd son of godmother, their situation had shown signs of improvements.

    In this city were thrown - Amelia, Saisha, Kevin, Levi, Hermaan, Amaya, and many others.

    Currently all of them were living the life of luxury in the castle of Serium, as he weed everyone as his champion and hero sent by godmother to assist in this oing war.

    The treatment these students received was higher than any other in this camp. Making many loose their guards against this alien race.

    "Do you believe what that guy said?"

    "What''s there to doubt, we''ve been here for 3 days, we''ve all read the books in library, done our research outside,  seen the peaceful city and the prosperous crowd firsthand. We should just help these guys win this war."

    "Yeah, and besides, Sirus have always been targeted by everyone due to the gifts they receive at their birth, and having pure blood, so maybe if Sirus defeats all the cities and end this constant war for good, we''ll clear the dungeon too."

    "But we still have no idea where the dungeon''s core is? The mission was to secure the core?"

    "As princess Siri said, when there''s no more war, when all the cities are united and the altar for godmother bes whole, we can get our core and finish the mission."

    "Talking about princess Siri, ��"

    "Ahh not again. We all know how pretty she is."

    "But yesterday she was wearing red, and that''s just... Ahhhh man my heart still flutters remembering that scene."

    "But didn''t she wear white yesterday."

    "..."

    Students were talking amongst themselves, talking useless things, when a girl who could be said as literal definition of beauty, to whombeling 11/10 would also be a disrespect, appeared in the room.

    Her form, no different than that of a royal elf with long green hairs. Figure, as if God took a holiday from other affairs and carved it carefully. Her personality, filled with elegance & kindness, paired with a smile that could melt hearts cold as ice at first sight. If someone said she was the goddess of beauty personified, no one in Cetum would have any doubt. Hell even the students wouldn''t.

    "Heroes, should we leave for our mission?" Siri said, her voice as if ringing of bells that could hypnotize a heart, broke everyone''s reverie and brought them back.

    Embarrassed that they all stared at her for so long again, boys and girls alike, just coughed to hide their faces, and changed the topic. Picking up their weapons to go on the hunt.

    The students have been clearing the monsters in the dark forest for days now, so when the war starts 3 dayster, they can atleast have a smooth journey and not get surrounded from both ends.

    Obviously no one forced these ''heroes'', they all took the initiative themselves the moment they learned Siri was leading the charge.

    ''During the hunt, maybe I can save her some time and be her hero, and then _censored r18 fantasy_.'' That''s probably what everyone thought.

    Saisha looked at Amelia who was standing in a corner, zoning out while staring at the ring in her hand, and walked forward. "Thinking about your brother?"

    "Ummm" Amy nodded her head, while thinking about the dozens of messages she dropped through their shared storage ring, yet got no response from him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I''m sure he''ll be fine, he''s much stronger than any monster here anyways. And besides, he survived worse, didn''t he?"

    "Survived, is the main_ (phew) how many times have I told you to not talk to me. Stop butting your head where it doesn''t belong."

    Amy, who at first just replied out of habit for sharing everything with Ba, finally looked up to see that it wasn''t her best friend, but the ''bitch'' whom she least wanted to see.

    Saisha, who heard the rude response, showed no anger, as she got a little used to it after being together for these three days, just raised her hand to pat her on the shoulder. "He''ll be fine." she said, before turning around and leaving.

    Amy stared at Saisha leaving and clicked her tongue in displeasure. She didn''t know why but everytime she saw this elf, she''d get this weird urge to just p her face.

    Obviously she never acted upon that urge, but still. It was super weird.

    "I swear if Ba and him are together, and just having a honeymoon while ignoring me like this, I''ll kill them both." Amy thought in anger and disappeared from her ce.

    Unlike others, she never went out to hunt or help these natives. Since she had no obligation, she never bothered. She just roamed around the forests using her space magic, teleporting here and there, trying to find Rio and Reba.

    Though she didn''t find them, she did save many students who were dropped in these forests and brought them back to the city.

    After dropping another wounded student at the infirmary, Amy just stood there with a satisfied smile, savoring this feeling of being a savior.

    "No wonder brother likes being called an angel, it feels quite good." She said, watching the gratitude in the student''s eyes,  before turning around and leaving with a smile.

    Not knowing that behind the ss room where students she previously saved were supposed to be treated, were being tortured and killed right this moment.

    A man covered in blood from head to toe, like a  butcher chopping meat in a ughterhouse, came out from that room. His feet were still soaked in warm blood, leaving footprints on the ground as he walked away.

    If any of the students running outside saw this man now, they''d be shocked to match this ''animal'' with the ''kind'' leader they''ve met before. But that is the truth.

    Serium''s eyes stared at the dispersing traces of mana and the space tunnel Amy traveled with, and gulped heavily. A glint of hunger and desire shing through his eyes,  "Few more hours, and then I''ll finally be able to have you on my side too." Serium said, raising his hand and taking the white cloth from his new maid and wiping his hands and face.

    "Let''s hope she''s as tasty as you, my dear." He said, lifting the chin of the girl andughing loudly, staring at those green eyes. "Amaya, was it? Go and clean up the corpses first, and then hang the new guy she just brought back." Serium said and left the ce for his breakfast, beforeing here again for dessert.

    Amaya lifted her face as he left, her eyes still fully green, yet fists clenched heavily in anger. Blood trickled down as her nails dug deep in her palms, yet she felt nothing.

    Deep in her brain, in an endless library, an ethereal shining form of Amaya''s soul stood still, staring in hatred at the shadow of therge tree, suppressing her conscious and controlling her actions.

    "You put up a good fight, but you''re no match for me. Surrender and I''ll ept you as one of my own." A voice came from nowhere, and everywhere, all at once, making the open space tremble, and books to fall down the shelves.

    "I''m going to kill you." Amaya roared as she waved her hands and dozens of books opened  behind her and spells as morous and dangerous that could only bebeled godly appeared and shot towards the tree.

    If any of these attacks were truly shot in the real world, it could wipe half a city in one hit, yet now here, in her brain, a dozen of them disappeared in silence, doing nothing. Not even causing a gust of wind that shook off the tree''s leaves.

    "Your mind''s quite strong for a weak human, but that''s all it is. You won''t be able to hide in this library for forever, little girl. Give up." The voice came again, silencing all the efforts of Amaya, while dozens of branches shot towards her.

    ''Damn it.'' Amaya cursed in her heart, as her ethereal form disappeared from that ce and appeared far away.

    "I underestimated this damn tree." She said, thinking back about yesterday night when she learned the truth about the true face of Sirus, and how they showed fake history books to students while hiding the real truth about why they were hated and ousted.

    Her brain even solved the puzzle of this and how it worked around by making people puppets, but she failed in the confrontation against this tree, the link as she called it to clear this dungeon.

    "Who knew this damn tree could reach this rank and have such power�� damn this academy and their greedy politics." she cursed yet again, before going into deep thoughts.

    ''''It''s clear that I can''t hold on much longer.'' She thought, looking at her inner space and noticing how small the library on her corner had gotten and how big a space that damned tree had covered through its roots and branches. "Guess I''ll just have to use thest resort." She said, remembering a conversation in the book that unfolded before her, ying as a scene for her to see.

    {"Nice drama, isn''t it?" Amaya said, pointing at the fights happening below between half the dorm residents. It started with a ssic food snatching and throwing soup over a nerd''s head bullying scene, to increasing several folds with spitting in tes, and then to short scuffle for rich vs poor, and now to a full on brawl for satisfying male ego.

    - Amaya sitting in silence at the balcony, had orchestrated everything, making puppets out of everyone.

    "I told you to not use her in any of your games." Rio said,ing to her side as he grabbed her hand, and forced her to look at him. "She''s not to be disturbed."

    "Ohe on, you take her to watch a rape event, but I can''t even let her witness a bullying ident." Amaya said, pulling her hand back.

    Remembering the sour conversation with Amy over the kevin-levi event, Rio frowned and increased his grip.

    "You''re hurting me, let go already." Amaya said, wincing in pain.

    "I''m warning you, don''t ever do it again. Or you''ll regret it." Rio said and let go, before turning to look downstairs, watching as Leon jumped in the chaos to save some pitiful weak chickens. Before turning his head towards Amy who was fighting against some vampire n members. "As for this fight, you better work hard so she doesn''t get hurt."

    "What?"

    -snap- Rio''s words made her confused, but before she could voice her doubt, a sound of finger snap was heard, and next second Amaya found herself, standing just behind Amy.

    "Not a scratch." Amaya heard Rio''s voice in her head, before looking up and seeing him smile while enjoying this drama from her seat, with her coffee.

    "..." } The book folded back and the scene ying for Amaya''s brain like a video ended.

    "I''m sorry Rio, but there''s no other option." The ethereal Amaya said to herself.

    ''Let''s just hope you cane here before I die. At this point maybe only you have the power to st this thing. and get me out.''

    As she made final preparations in her brain, nning to y thest card, to free herself and defeat the boss of this dungeon, Amelia who was far away, seemed to have heard a broken message.

    [Come to the city. _ Save them. _ He''s killing._ Sirus eat _Siri is _ the tree. Come back.]

    Amy stopped midway and stood in the air, over a static space tform. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she tried to make some sense of what she heard.

    "That voice was Amaya''s. She usually stays in the city, did something happen?" Amy thought for a second and then directly turned around towards the city.

    Taking first step towards the path that would bring about the beginning of her journey on the path of chaos, that destiny had in store for her.

    Her adventure finally starts.

 Chapter 387: avatar of chaos

    While Amelia was on her way to the city, she kept trying to contact Amaya through themunication crystals given by the academy, but still got no response. But when she got closer to the city, another message appeared in her head, though just likest time, it too was broken, like something was interfering in it.

    [Come fast _ hide _ secret_get caught_call _ Rio_tree_ very dangerous_ will die.]

    Amaya''s voice this time sounded much duller than normal, making Amelia increase her speed many times. While taking out a magical cloak that reduced her presence to a minimum. She even passed over some students hunting in the forests but she paid it no heed.

    Saisha looked up at the empty sky and frowned after sensing something.

    "Miss Saisha, are you okay? Did you notice something?" Siri came near her, waving her hand as roots rose from the ground and pulled the boar-like monster about to attack her.

    Finding nothing, Saisha shook her head and turned her attention back to Siri, "I told you, you don''t have to act like this. Just treat me like you treat them." She said pointing at the group of students fighting a little distance away, sneaking nces to their ce from time to time.

    But hearing her words, Siri just raised her hands and shook her head in hurry, "How can that be, you''re the first to be chosen by Godmother in so many years. If you were a native, my father would''ve named you his heir or even handed his crown by now."

    "It''s not that exaggerated, that pearl just shone as I have a perfect affinity for nature, that''s all. And besides I''ve already told you my answer, I have no interest in getting any blessing  from your godmother or being part of any ritual."

    "But _."

    "There''s no but, you give us refuge and provide information and manpower to help find our friends, and we help you win this war. That was the deal your father made with Amaya, and that stays in effect." Saisha said and walked away.

    Siri stared at Saisha leaving and then took out a green orb from nowhere. "Don''t worry Godmother, she will be your vessel before this war starts."

    ��

    Back in the city, Amelia entered the premises over the walls and found that there wasn''t any danger, any chaos as she assumed, everything was fine. Pedestrians were still walking around and roaming in markets as usual.

    ''Did I misheard the message?'' Amy thought as she walked in the clouds, moving towards the castle to find Amaya. Only to see her standing in front of the nursery building where students were sent to get treatment.

    "There she is, but she looks just fine." Amy said to herself, taking the entire surroundings in view to see if there was any enemy or anything suspicious, but still found nothing.

    "Amaya, is this another one of your games,_" Amy started speaking as she directly appeared in front of Amaya, after putting the magical cloak away. "I think my brother told you to not mess around. Also what''s with that message, did you do that? Why?..."

    Amy was throwing her questions like she was on a 15 seconds rapid fire, not noticing the expressions changing on Amaya''s face. From the initial surprise, to sudden shock, and then to hostility.

    "Also what''s happening to your eyes?" Amy said as she looked at Amaya''s pupils changing colors and turning green.

    "You came _ Is this your final struggle?" ''Amaya'' spoke, her tone switching between two voices. One excited and relieved, while the other angry.

    Amy stepped back, sensing something wrong, "Who are you, where''s Amaya?" she asked warily, raising her sword and pointing it directly.

    "I''m Amaya." ��2 Both voices spoke together, like something straight out of a horror movie possessed scene.

    "Amaya, what''s happening?" Amy asked, as she waved her hand and dozens of trap talisman appeared all around Amaya from invisible space and started burning at the same time.

    "You shouldn''t havee back." ''Amaya'' said, as she raised her hand and Amelia felt like someone grabbed her head and pressed it between two squeezing walls.

    She tried to struggle to use her mana, bring on any treasures and artifacts to free herself, but felt her body being trapped. A pressure simr to what she only ever felt in the presence of Gods whenever she got a blessing directly, came over her shoulder. Pressing her directly on her knees.

    With her physical body, spiritual thoughts and magic powers all rendered useless, she could just stare at the ground, as the concrete slowly ripped apart and a sharp wooden tip rose from it. Slowlying for her heart.

    Some barriers appeared automatically trying to protect her, but just like before, none of them could be helpful.

    "me her for your death so early." ''Amaya'' said and clenched her fists, as the sharp root broke all the shining barriers in its wake and prated the ck armor on her chest.

    "Goodbye, _ don''t ignore me you damned tree." Two intepped voices sounded through Amaya''s throat again, before something happened and Amaya just grabbed her head and started screaming in pain, before her body went limp and she fell to the ground with green eyes still wide open, staring at the sky.

    The spell and pressure over Amy''s body disappeared instantly and she felt life return to her lungs with the next breath. She coughed a few times as she crawled further back and started panting heavily.

    ''What the hell is happening?'' Amelia thought, staring at Amaya who seemed to have gone into aa. Except for the slight movement of her heaving chest, there wasn''t even a sign that she was still alive or died already.

    [Call Rio _ inside_ they''re _nothing''s real_everything _ a lie. I can''t_ hold much longer.]

    A final message came to her ears, Amaya''s tone sounding much more desperate than ever before.

    A bad premonition came to her heart, as she remembered the pressure from earlier and wondered who they might be facing against.

    She looked at her hand and tried to call her brother again, yet nothing. Feeling anxious she even pulled out the emergency contact methods they had, yet still nothing.

    "I hope you''re okay brother, you have to be." She said to herself, trying to calm her racing heart that was causing waves in her mind, making signs of chaotic red mist appear around her body.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Is she possessed?" Amy asked, looking at the mark of a skull on her wrists.

    (Not really. But she''s not exactly in control of her body either.) A hypnotic voice rang directly in Amelia''s mind.

    The peaceful voice of Goddess Gauri immediately calmed her anxious heart. And seeing that after entering this dungeon, Gauri was finally talking to her, she immediately asked- "My brother?"

    (He''s fine.) Gauri''s reply came, making Amy smile slightly, before her next words thwarted it. (But you may not be.)

    "What?"

    (Be careful my little avatar, and always remember, you control chaos, don''t let it control you.)

    After giving a piece of advice, Gauri once again went into watcher''s mode and stopped answering Amelia''s calls.

    ''Gods and their twisted words.'' Amy cursed gods like her brother, before stopping in her tracks as she saw a streak of blood flowing on the road. She raised her head to follow the tracks, only to see iting from inside the nursery.

    With warriness she stepped forward to open the door, only to be hit with a bloody stench that caused her to turn her head to the side. When she finally covered her nose and looked back in, what she saw was a sight that would send chills down the spine of any sane being.

    The peaceful Sirus who seemed epitome of elegance, were eating on living humans like some feral monsters. The sight was nauseating to look at as those humans struggled, tried to fight back, yet those Sirus like hungry wolves just barred their fangs and dug their ws in their bodies.

    "Sa_save me."

    "Kill eee"

    "Arghhh"

    "Noooooo".

    Sounds of screams, begging for mercy, pleading for death echoed in the room suppressed only by the grunts, growls and munching sounds of those royal natives.

    The moment someone was about to die, a healing circle would light up beneath him and heal him back to prime condition, so some other native coulde forward and feed on him again.

    Amy looked at the ground, feeling her throat go sour at the horrible sight, only to see a torn piece of bloody cloth with Zenith''s logo on it lying there.

    "Urghhh"

    She finally couldn''t hold back and ended up puking as she realized the fate of her ssmates.

    "You_ it''s you." She heard someone''s voice, turning around only to notice it belonged to the student whom she saved just half an hour ago. "You did this." She watched as the student surrounded by four Sirus''s crawled towards her, his body below waist eaten by these creatures. "You brought me here, you did this. Why? Why?"

    The man cried and cursed as he crawled further, his face covered in blood, snot and tears. Halfway through, he finally couldn''t hold back and took his final breath in agony.

    Yet the next second, the ground lit up again, and his body slowly healed itself. But instead of being happy, the man started crying and screaming even harder, as he knew what wasing next.

    Amy had just taken a step forward after seeing him heal, only to be pushed away by Sirus who jumped over that man''s body and started notching at his face, gouging out his eyeballs.

    "You damned bitch, you did this. You killed us all. You did this. Why? Why did you do it? Whyyyyy?" The man''s voice got silenced as a Sirus grabbed his tongue and pulled it out, before gobbling it up with great taste.

    "Yaaa aaaaa raaaaaa laaa"

    Amy just stared at the student crying in pain making hoarse sounds as he got eaten up by these monsters.

    (Thank you for saving me. You''re the best. I''m so lucky to meet you.)

    (Thanks Amy)

    (You really are just like your brother, an angel.)

    (If not for you we would''ve died.)

    (I''m really d we found you. Now we can clear this dungeon together.)

    (You''re awesome. I really wanna be just like you.)

    Words of gratitude that the students she saved these past few days said to her yed in her mind yet again, but soon all those faces filled with admiration, love and respect got reced by pain, anger and hatred - and started screaming at her. Asking her why she handed them over to these monsters. Why did she save them, only to suffer torture like this?

    A Sirus who finally noticed her presence rushed towards her and knocked her over. Only this shock brought her out of her inner turmoil and back to the real world.

    Arghhhhhhhhhh

    All the sadness, guilt, anger burst out with a scream from her mouth as red mist gathered over her tongue in a ball, before being released like a cannon st, incinerating that Sirus till not even his ashes remained.

    Chaos spewed from her mouth as her body started floating in the ground, with her hairs flying behind her. Her face filled with an anger that could burn the whole, and eyes filled with hatred that could reap even a reaper''s soul.

    For the first time, this world was about to witness the power of pure chaos.

 Chapter 388: Rising ground and crumbling sky

    The air seemed to have frozen everywhere as clear clouds of a sunny morning suddenly floated away, reced by a haze of red that prated the empty space. The sun, the light, the air - anything of nature, of creation, seemed to have met its natural enemy and hid in fear.

    Amelia''s body above the city, her raging scream still echoing in the sky. The shockwave caused by her "Call of Chaos" skill literally destroyed half the city in one attack. Wherever her voice passed, the monsters didn''t even have time to scream in pain or cover their ears, they died before even noticing anything.

    At the centre of the city, arge area had be a in open ground. Not leaving any sign of anything behind. The houses, buildings, forests, people or monsters, whatever came into her path of pain, disintegrated from this world, leaving no sign of ever even existing before.

    Thunderclouds formed in the sky as abysmal red lightning flew among the clouds. Whenever the lightning fell to the ground it left a charred mark of nearly a mile after burning everything, before the soul shattering crash could even be heard.

    Her madness increased again as scenes of people whom she saved getting tortured appeared in her head again, causing her to scream yet again.

    The anger finally took full hold of her sanity, as she raised her hand and caught a lightning strike shing nearby in her palms, and started dancing madly.

    Thunderstorms acted as a beat for her in the background, while each thumping of her feet and wave of her hand caused the clouds around her to break and pour a rain of blood in the city. Forming a tsunami of blood that swept away all the sins and sinners alike.

    The sight of her doing Taandav (dance style name) while holding thunder in ce of a Trident, was enchantingly horrifying to stare at.

    Something that could cause one to fall into an illusion before falling to his death. As their brains simply couldn''t handle the chaos dancing at her fingertips.

    In a matter of minutes the lively city which hosted over several hundred Sirus turned into ruin.

    Amy''s eyes shone even deeper in red as she noticed how therge tree far away started sucking away all the souls of Sirus still alive in this city. Saving these cruel murderers from her wrath.

    "You_you will pay." She said, as the space cracked in front of her, forming an unstable space tunnel.

    Unlike other space channels she opens which shine in golden light blue colour, this particr space channel was filled with a chaotic light.

    Like she wasn''t just using space to manipte the distance between two points, making a door for her to enter, but using force to crack the very fabric of the cosmos, causing space between those two points to just shrink back and get swallowed in chaos, leading her to reach everywhere with a thought.

    Amy raised her hand and with a heavy swing threw the lightning ''trident'' directly in the tunnel, watching as the space shrank back and next second arge lightning fell straight on that tree.

    The whole city shook several times as the ground seemed to be overturned as an invisible barrier managed to protect the tree by dispersing all of the attack power to the ground.

    Watching as her attack failed Amy''s anger seemed to have risen another level as she roared once again before directly running towards the tree.

    Her steps fell once every couple of hundred metres as space cracked upon contact failing to hold her power. She waved both her hands as lightning gathered in her arms like a long whip.

    With each swing of the whip the city below kept getting destroyed, every Sirus getting liberated in chaos. She finally reached within range to that tree and swung both lightning whips directly at the barrier.

    The whips would appear and disappear midway, seemingly turning invisible for a second before appearing a little far yet again. This wasn''t a spell or skill, it was just the power held in those whips that would crack the space automatically, entering the void, beforeing out again under Amy''s control.

    Chaos, an element said to be created even before the creation of cosmos, was finally showing its full power on this which had never even heard of such power.

    If not for the barriers made by Rio''s system, world system of arcadia around the dungeon, or the goddess of chaos Kali herself, this attack at full disy would''ve rmed every cultist of chaos, causing them toe after her.

    Several floating trees with man-like faces on their shafts came to cover the barrier, and block the attack, but they all died instantly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The barrier around the sacred tree was shaking violently before the whips even touched it, and when the attack finallynded, as expected it cracked like an eggshell.

    A shrill scream echoed in the whole city of Cetum, causing pain in every resident''s ears, as an order echoed in the heads of everyone within a 50 mile distance of the city.

    (Come home. Rescue. Protect.)

    As Amy pulled her hand to swing the whip yet again, every living being in and around the city seemed to have gone insane, rushing towards her at unbelievable speeds.

    Souls of dead sirus that the sacred tree absorbed earlier, were sent inside many trees outside the city, which in turn turned them into treant monsters who ran with their roots.

    Even the students who went out hunting monsters far away earlier, and wereing back now after feeling the tremors on the ground, had to find a hiding ce and protect themselves, as hordes upon hordes of monsters rushed past them, running towards the city in a mad frenzy.

    Even Siri, the generous princess, or her entourage of followers and guards, all of them were in a crazy state too. Their eyes filled with tints of green as they all dropped everything and started running towards the city with all their .

    The students who tried to be a hero, trying to ask Siri what happened or block her path by ''protecting her from monsters'' were killed by her hands without any hesitation. Making them confused, scared and nervous over such a sudden change.

    One moment she was smiling like a shy girl, and the next moment she bit a student''s arm off when he grabbed her shoulder and asked what happened, before running away while still munching on that meat piece.

    Saisha rushed ahead, waving her hands to clear a path and protect her ssmates who were still in shock. But even she felt her powers being suppressed.

    The connection with nature''s element which she always felt proud of , was failing her right when she needed it. Whatever control the sacred tree had over this world, it suppressed her spells, making her unable to exert her full strength. Resulting in the deaths of many students in front of her eyes.

    Their deaths and the feeling of helplessly struggling in a losing battle that refuses to end kept bringing snippets of memories in her brain mid battle.

    Snippets about her fighting against many humans holding guns and knives, while trying to protect someone who was already on death''s door.

    She couldn''t remember that scene clearly nor see that someone''s face past a fog, but she could feel that same feeling of helplessness, the fear of losing someone she loved, and the raging anger in her heart asking her to destroy the world before destroying herself for destroying him.

    "I love you, Queency��"

    A voice finally came to her ears from the past, as tears trickled down her eyes uncontrobly, she fell to the ground on her knees, before letting out a heartful scream staring at the sky.

    For a second the day seemed to have turned into night, and as Saisha''s tears touched the ground, it caused a chain reaction that seemed to suck the life out of the whole.

    Nature all around her started dying. Trees withering until their leaves, branches, and even roots rotted away and flew in the air as dust and ashes.

    The army of treants that the sacred tree raised with great difficulty and heavy sacrifice was instantly turned to ashes.

    Yet the remaining Sirus''s and monsters paid it no heed, as they just kept walking away ignoring the death following their footsteps.

    Saisha, in the state of a trance, raised her hand, forming a cocoon that protected the few remaining students inside. Before turning her head to the city''s side. Her dark eyes staring right through the distance of dozens of miles and watching the battle happening there.

    With steady steps she started walking towards the city, as whatever came into her range of "Nature''s death" kept dying in her wake.

    By the time she reached the city''s gate, only one person was left alive in the iingrge puppet army. Siri, the daughter of tribe, who too was now panting heavily and had lost all the energy and shiny lustre of her youth.

    Her body had nearly aged a hundred years, with wrinkled skin barely hanging over her weak bones. Yet she seemed to still feel nothing, as her steps and gaze had never left Amelia who was now fighting against her father, the king Serium.

    Serium''s whole form had changed, from the original 5 ''5 feet handsome elf, he was now like a giant reaching the height of nearly 15-20 feet. His whole body was covered in green veins from head to toe. His arms and legs, chopped off so many times during this battle that he couldn''t even restore them to their original condition even with his unbelievable regenerative abilities.

    The moment Saisha entered the city, the domain of nature''s death came into y, suppressing the seemingly immortal Serium for Amy to ughter.

    The lightning whip tied the giant Serium, making him fall down to the ground with a heavy thud. His great weight causing whole city to tremble in aftereffects.

    Amy ignored everything and pressed her feet over Serium''s chest, her mastery over space tying him in ce, stopping him from getting up again. As sheughed heartily like a mad demon and raised her hand to the sky.

    With a sound of thunder, a burning trident made out of chaotic lights heeded her call and appeared in her palms.

    "Dieeeee." Amy shouted as she stabbed the trident on Serium''s neck, before pulling it up forcefully with both her arms, till the monster''s giant head got ripped from his body and flew in the sky.

    She let go of her palm with a sneer, watching as the lightning trident followed the cut off head trying to regrow and heal, before colliding together and sting it to pieces.

    Along with the Serium''s reluctant scream, his blood poured down , dying amy''s whole body red.

    Agggayyaa

    Amy screamed with her tongue out and shook her head, making her hair which stuck to her skin after being wet with blood and sweat to shake along like crazy, giving her the look perfect for the avatar of chaos.

    Though her body was dead tired, worn out over limits after this hectic battle, as blood flowed from her eyes, ears and nostrils, while her throat felt heavy and hoarse after using call of chaos all this time, but her face showed no sign of wisdom or sense to stop this transformation.

    Since she finally killed all the enemies, and everyone who took part in this betrayal & messed up event, Goddess Kali, who saw everything from the beginning to end, tried to calm her down.

    But just when the clouds of chaos were about to be cleared up, ��

    (Tap - tap - tap)

    Amy turned her head as the sound of slow footsteps became particrly evident in a ce where all life got erased from existence.

    The chaos which was just about to calm ignited once more, and maybe due to her prejudiced anger which rose in her soul after seeing that face, or her just misunderstanding Saisha as another enemy in her madness, but she raised her hand once more and started running towards her.

    The cityscape literally cracked fully this time and tes of grounds started floating away from each other.

    On the other hand, Saisha too, who was still in her trance, fighting a battle against experimented human subjects who had no emotions and felt no pain, misunderstood Amy and walked forward to face her.

    The battle between chaos and nature finally starts. Guess who''ll win?

    ###

    Author note - not gonna lie I feel like I outdid myself in this chapter. And damn did I feel good when I was writing this, while picturing this whole fight scene in live action in my head.

    .

    Also what do u think happened to Amaya lol? Where did she disappear to. Did she die too. ????

 Chapter 389: Arena and animals

    ozhe other side of Cetum is the city of Por, ruled by monsters. In this city no one race or tribe ruled, in fact there was no rule in this city. Only one truth, strength reigns supreme.

    And not the strength in numbers, or strength in family, but just pure raw strength.

    If you could beat the leader, you could be the leader.

    The whole city was just filled with criminals and cannibals, where these creatures just killed each other on regr bases.

    That''s why anyone who wasn''t epted by the world, was weed here. The freedom granted in this city to people was beyond measure if one had strength, hence it had arge number of monsters from every race and n.

    This city also had near top fighting power when ites to war of ns. Cause that''s the only time when a grandw is passed and no infighting is allowed in any way. Making these monsters who are used to seeing bloodshed everyday, hungry for battle.

    Much like how hungry hounds be better hunters, they be better warriors.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    And in this city of hellscape were dropped -Katherine, Morphius, Firsjen, ric, Lucille, Damon, Takashi and few more.

    Maybe by luck, but all of them had one thing inmon, they all had an attribute of craziness buried inside them.

    Like Katherine, a cold killer who when going crazy could freeze a whole continent in the novel. OR Lucille, who with her calling powers called for the eldritch horrors into Arcadia while having a nightmare. Or Firsjen and Morphius, who would wage war between their ns over some petty ego.

    Or ric, the hybrid who would cause massacres in both vampire and wolf tribes, so much so that these eternal enemies had toe together just to stop his hunt.

    All these characters had some crazy feats about them in the novel. Where they stopped using their brains and just gave in to their primal desires of killings.

    And maybe that''s why fate brought them here together, it wanted to help them awaken that craziness ahead of time.

    And it seeded too.

    The moment these students appeared in the city, by some twisted magic they started losing their sanity and caused mayhem for littlest things. Attracting attention from people they alone couldn''t handle.

    As there were only a few days left in the war, the infighting stopw had already been applied. Making these bloodthirsty hounds hungry for blood. So when these natives noticed new ounders appearing in their city, the leader here just threw them into the battleground arena.

    If we can''t fight each other, can''t we just enjoy killing them.

    Hence the colosseum was set up.

    "Kill them."

    "From the right, you sick bastard, your right."

    "I''m next, that girl is mine ahahha."

    "I''ll drink her blood and rip her to pieces."

    "Someone catch that dog and tie a leash around his neck."

    "Look at that bloodsucker, sucking the life out of him, I bet he could suck my cock just like that too. Ahahah ahhaha,"

    "Who threw the baldy in, his head''s so shiny I can''t see shit. Lol"

    "That dog, he''s standing up, he''s gonna take a piss, fuck, he''s not pissing, he''s running. The dog''s running on two damn legs."

    "Ahh that cute silent girl, I bet she''ll look real pretty lying beneath me."

    "What the hell, who turned on this stinking smoke machine, oh fuck, it''s not smoke, its poison urgh."

    "Damn it''s that emo kid, I knew he was hiding some mojo. Poison these fuckers saste Sasuke. Kill em all."

    "Fuck, someone stop that icy girl. This cold is making my balls shrivel up."

    "That idiot looks lego, but is actually a damn giant, you go musky. Kill that bastard."

    "Argh so goood. I haven''t felt this satisfied in months."

    "Eh, is it raining��fuck, nigga you jerked off? Point that gun to the arena not at my damn head you horny bastard."

    "Ohh man, she''s making me hard again."

    "Fuck, I''m changing seats�� on the other hand, forget it, let''spete, whoever cums less loses. Let''s test that manly power."

    The audience roared continuously as they watched the ongoing battle in the arena. The stands would shake and quake the louder their excitement got after each kill. It didn''t matter if they saw their friends and family members getting killed, all they felt was just entertainment and a rush of adrenaline filling their crazed bodies as they kept thinking they''re next to face these prisoners.

    It had been 4 days since the prisoners started fighting in this arena, and the time they rested was just one hour between each round of criminals they cleared up.

    At dawn every morning, they will be thrusted into the arena to fight against the monsters. Once those were cleared up, the students were given one hour of time, where they could either rest, recover or restock on their weapons and armor by stealing from the corpses.

    When the time was up, a bell would ring and the doors would open all around, weing the next batch of warriors.

    At the beginning, the leader of this tribe, Tauba, sent one monster per person, but with each round he kept increasing the difficulty slowly. Where now these 9 students left alive were up against 63 monsters.

    "Fuck, is this whole world like this? Are people here fucking nuts all over?"

    "Maybe we''re the unlucky ones."

    "Damn this academy."

    "I swear if I learn they knew something about this dungeon and didn''t tell us, I''ll sue their asses."

    "Why is this dungeon so hard to clear?"

    "Forget clearing, we don''t even know where we are? How we''ll get out from here? Or if we''ll even survive the next waveing?"

    "I told you something was wrong with this dungeon the moment we entered, but you didn''t listen, and now we are trapped."

    "Where are the other students, why isn''t anyoneing to look for us or answering our signal?"

    "We''re all gonna die here, I can see it. The reaper''s standing on that wall, waiting��"

    "Shut up, you idiot, stop spouting depressing shit or I''ll kill you first."

    "We just have to hold on a few more times and then all of these mobs will be dead."

    "What then? You see that guy, if he can be their leader, it proves how he''s the strongest, so even if we kill everyone here, we''ll have to fight him next."

    "Vinashkale viprit buddhi. I should''ve just refused and turned back like others when the elders told us about the dungeon."

    "Would you stopining and help me make a n? Everyone, report what skills of yours are on cooldown and what you can use next?"

    "What''s the point, we''ve been at it for 4 days now. Sooner orter we''ll all lose, so why struggle and stretch our suffering."

    "You��"

    The students were all chatting andining while recovering their mana, some had given up, while some were still making ns to group together and fight in a team against the oing wave so they could survive.

    Lone wolfing was good in the beginning but as the number of enemies increased, gearing up together and watching each other''s backs became a better option for survival.

    Katherine looked at the sky that started to darken and couldn''t help but remember him. ''Where are you, Rio?'' She thought while asking herself, ''What would you do if you were trapped here along with us too?''

    "Believers always say when a door closes, a window opens. That God will always leave a way out for his people. .. .You wanna know what I think, I believe it doesn''t matter if the window''s open or closed, the point is, why should I bend myself, just to go on a path he created, I''ll just fucking st the wall and walk straight out. .. .

    Does that make sense, I don''t know, it sounded cooler in my head though."

    "haha" She couldn''t help but chuckle as she remembered something Rio said to her during one of their training sessions. It really didn''t make much sense to her back then, maybe even now, but atleast it gave her an idea. And for now, that was enough.

    "Tauba," She said as she stood up and pointed her sword at him. "Are you scared?"

    "Katherine, what are you doing?"

    "Is she crazy?"

    "What does she want?"

    The students whispered and tugged at her clothes to pull her back, but she just ignored them and walked towards the stage. "Cause if you''re not, then why are you just sitting there like a wet cat, holed up in your mommy''s nest (godmother tree''s branch) and not joining the battle yourself."

    "What��"

    "And stop sending these chickens one by one like fish to ughter, they''re all useless bastards anyway, so just send them all, together. My sword''s feeling thirsty for their blood."

    "....."

    Silence, pin drop silence. That''s what spread to the whole arena and the audience as they heard her sharp words.

    "As you wish." Tauba''s words broke everyone''s shock, bringing them all out of their surprises.

    His words causing a heavy cheer of excitement in the audience, as every living monster picked up their weapon and roared in hunger. Laughing as they could now finally taste blood, and teach this ignorant bitch a lesson.

    Ahahah ahahahhah ahaha�� .. ������

    Their eyes were filled with madness as they pushed each other and started jumping down the stands.

    The sight maddening like hordes of zombies ran and fell down a rabbit hole, or hundreds of ants crushed each other and raced to reach that one sugar piece.

    Katherine ignored the questioning gaze of her ssmates, and the horrified eyes of those who were just now ready to die, - she just looked at the sky, staring at the dark clouds covering the moon and smiled, seemingly hearing Rio''s voice as he said, "You got it, right?"

    "I do." She said while taking a deep breath and swinging her sword with all her strength.

    An icy blue line extended from the top of a monster''s head to his crotch, and then separated his body from left and right, splitting into two. Katherine stepped across the open space between the two halves of the corpse. And only after she took a few steps, did the frost covering that monster''s split body melted and red blood started spurting out heavily.

    The future goddess of frost finally shows her true might for the world to witness.

 Chapter 390: The final stand

    "Are you fucking insane, why did you do that for?" Firsjen said as he grabbed kath''s hand and pulled her back, "We just had to stay in the arena, wait for backup while dwindling their numbers in regr fights."

    "You know damn well we could''vest another 2 days with our current pace."

    "And then what?" Katherine pulled her hand back and asked coldly.

    "What?"

    "Even if we manage to kill everyone in the audience stands, we''ll be too tired to face against Tauba and that Godmother these guys are speaking about. We''ll have no mana or any energy left for any further fight. And by luck even if some backup arrives at that point, we''ll be killed before anyone reaches us."

    "That still doesn''t exin why you just called the mad king here, we could''ve still lived 2 days, but now��" Firsjen said and stopped talking as he stared at Tauba simply walking towards them and causing tremors in the ground.

    Tauba''s power seemed to be something thatnd into mud, the solid ground would turn and twist like liquid at hismand. His each steps causing waves in this ''sea'' grounds, sending shockeaves to spread far and wide.

    (Remember animation from one piece when luffy unlocks gear 5, yeah something like that.)

    The question that the noble vampire asked, was something lingering in everyone''s mind. If this city was normal they could even guess that maybe killing the king can stop his army, but these people were just animals. Even if they managed to kill Tauba somehow, these monsters would still ughter them nheless.

    But Katherine was in no mood to exin anything, while they were talking 2 of the students had already been killed by the crazy crowd and one hadmitted suicide in front of them. The sight did send a shock to her heart, but now wasn''t the time.

    "Ice prison"

    Katherine said as she thrusted her sword into the ground, watching as a square prison rose up, separating the students and the mob, who just kept banging the ice pirs which refused to budge. The monsters which were too close to be forced out, were soon killed by everyone else, giving the surviving students a rare moment of rest.

    "Damon spread out all the poison you can muster up. Elroy, I need illusions as realistic as you can. I don''t care what kind. Firsjen, call for the bats and crows you control, and cause as much a distracting havoc as you can. Takashi, start chanting prayers that can affect their brains and souls. Morphius, start howling, bring out their inner animals to extremes."

    "Don''t tell me what to do, you lowly bloodbank?" Firsjen refused immediately.

    "Yeah, we''re not following your orders, right after you got us in this mess, so you better shut up." Morphius shouted in anger, "And you, emo fucker, don''t you know some better poison that doesn''t stink like you shat yourself and didn''t wash for ages."

    "S_sss sorry. I''ll_ tta�� try. " Damon said, stuttering in his words as he saw the ring eyes. The guy had suffered so much bullying in the past months, that he had lost all the confidence and courage he held close. He even forgot how to speak properly without apologizing to anyone every two words. And then following theirmands on third.

    "Useless bitch." Firsjen said as he kicked him away.

    "If you want to survive and get out of here alive, you''ll do as I say." Ignoring the ring eyes and distrust of others, Katherine spoke and without exining more, turned to look at the other three remaining students.

    "Rubina, ric, Lucille - you three, stop anyone from interfering as I kill their king."

    "No way, I''m gonna fight that king guy first." Rubina immediately refused before running towards Tauba. Her eyes shining in the battlehungry glint, pumping her body with adrenaline.

    Katherine looked at Rubina, who touched the ice prison before phasing through it directly, ignoring any blockade and charging in the monster mob headfirst, and remembered their training sessions together. "Fool." She muttered, what Rio used to call her.

    "You two, protect them." Katherine said, as cracks began to form on her ice prison.

    "No one''s doing anything, so stop shouting, once this prison breaks, I''ll just go, talk to the king and ask for the previous settlement again. Maybe we can still set the arena battles�� ."

    Firsjen was speaking when he got interrupted by Lucille, who pushed him aside and stood in front of Katherine.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Are you sure about what you''re doing? Can you guarantee our survival?" she said, staring at her face.

    "I can''t." Katherine said honestly, causing Firsjen and Morphius to sneer at her response, "But I can tell you that this is our best bet. God''s swear."

    "... Good. I''ll hold off these idiots, while you do you." Lucille said and turned around to stare at everyone. Showing them her stance.

    Firsjen sneered in response as his eyes started glowing red and two pairs of teeths grew in sizes as vampiric fangs, ready to drain her blood, when ric stood between them and pressed his hand on the vampire''s chest, his nails growing in a wolves ws as they scratched over his bloody armor.

    "Katherine says she can save us, and I trust her, so you better not try and do anything to mess this up, or I really might act on my instincts and rip you to pieces."

    The vampire noble and the half breed both red at each other, their eyes sparking with hatred flowing in their blood, but before the duo could really duke it out, Katherine''s prison shattered and monsters swarmed in, attacking them from all sides.

    "Now." Katherine said as she swung her sword, a wave of chilly air shing in the space as monsters started freezing and falling to pieces at the slightest touch..

    As her words finished, Lucille grabbed Damon with his cor, jolting him awake from the shock, "Do what she said or die." she said, increasing his grip until she literally pulled him up from the ground and the bullied boy had to step on his toes to stay on ground.

    Damon nodded his head in a hurry as he waved his hand in the air, taking out small balls from his storage rings, before pping them together and crushing them. In an instant a five colored poison gas spread in the air. Rising up slowly under Damon''s control.

    Lucille instantly let go of her hand and stepped back with her nose frowning, "It''s really disgusting." She muttered while slicing her sword in a 360 manner, cutting anyone who came within attacking range.

    As for what would''ve happened if her teammates didn''t back out first, what does her yandere hot ass have to do with it? Their fault for being a bitch who didn''t know how to fight.

    Awooooooooooo

    A shadow of the moon seemed to appear visibly even in the peak daylight, as Morphius transformed into a werewolf and howled while looking at the clouds.

    The horde of monsters around him seemed to have lost their sanity, their eyes filled with a clouded sense of animalistic nature.

    On the other side, clouds above a nearby forest seemed to turn dark for a second, before the fog seems to be lifted off and the clouds spread thin showing their real form, a swarm of bloodthirsty bats, who literally turned burly monsters into pile of wet bones, and cowing crows whose beaks could break the skulls of monsters they attacked.

    A long neck cloak appeared behind Firsjen''s shoulder, as he rushed into the horde. As the monster''s ws and swords attacked him, before they could touch him, his body turned into bats and disappeared from his ce. While on the previous ce a magical circle lit up on the ground, trapping everyone in ce.

    Flying bats would rush straight down entering the eyes, mouths and ears of monsters trapped there, controlling their brains and turning them into vampires for the next five minutes.

    The monsters suddenly turned around and started attacking their partners, sucking their blood and turning others too. Increasing their numbers slowly and steadily.

    A little far from Firsjen and Morphius was Takashi, sitting with his legs crossed. His body floating in the air like an enlightened monk. Three beads of light floated behind his back like an angel''s halo.

    "Why are you fighting? Why do you hold so much anger, so much hatred? Life is given to spread love and light of Lord, so stop this barbaric battle and join me in his praise, let us sing his prayers and cherish this blessing." Takashi said and thumped his staff on the ground, setting a shockwave of sound causing shockwaves on ground. Forming a circle of ahimsa in the middle of this battleground.

    All monsters within 5 meters of him stopped their actions and stood still like statues.

    For those monsters who had higher mental intelligence and some soul protection skills, Takashi just shook his head and chanted his next prayer (skill).

    "May the Lord have mercy on you, may the gods absolve your sins and ept your soul into eternal heaven. As the great God''s prophet, the pope Narrator has said, drop thou weapons and wee peace_ in death."

    As his words reached their ears, their souls seemed to have been pulled out from their bodies, before being attracted to those light beads and merging into them.

    Lucille looked at this method of soul sucking, and stepped further away. ''Fucking followers.'' she cursed in her mind and became even more violent in her attacks. Wherever she passed, pieces of monster body parts would fly in the air, leaving wailing crippled corpses in her wake.

    Elroy took out his wand and pointed it in the sky,plex magic circles lit up at its tip in line, before he released them. The clear clouds turned in rainbow colors as flying birds changed into unicorns and started neighing and running amok in the battlegrounds.

    His illusions were so detailed and clear that monsters couldn''t even distinguish them from reality. Friends turned into foes, as monsters started seeing everyone around them as the students. Attacking these ''ghosts'' and ended up killing their own teammates.

    Elroy was sort of providing backup for everyone, protecting them from any mishaps and sneak attacks.

    As for his own safety, it was left to ric. The vamp-wolf hybrid was truly showing why he''s considered the anomaly, a true horror of nature, as he seamlessly started using spells and bloodline abilities of both apex predator ns.

    He held a red dagger in his hands that seemed to shine brighter the more enemies it yed.

    ''No matter how many times I use it, it always feels weird.'' ric thought as the dagger cut through a hard shelled kraken monster like cutting through butter. Not just the extreme sharpness, the dagger also had the effect of sucking the yed creature''s health and mana, healing his own injuries in return.

    The only drawback of it was the increased bloodlust it brought in the user''s mind, but that didn''t affect his senses much, as his vampire traitsplimented the same.

    (The dagger was a gift he received from Rio, when he epted the hybrid as his follower.)

    On the other hand, away from this hellish battleground, in the center an open space was formed, where no one dared to enter. Or better could not enter. A ce where Katherine stood in front of The tribal chief, Tauba.

    "You are smart enough to realize that you would have never survived if you kept the arena battles open. Even if you killed everyone in my city, I would''ve still sacrificed you before the war starts." Tauba said as he looked at Katherine, while he held Rubina by her throat and lifted her up from the ground.

    Her dominant hand was twisted with elbow bone sticking out from her skin, her face swelled from one side as she kept coughing blood. "But you were foolish enough to challenge me."

    "The only ending that awaited you and your friends from the moment you entered this dungeon, was just death."

    "We''ll see." Katherine said as she swiped her hand over her sword, turning its metallic luster to be covered by a dark frost.

    Crackkkk

    The cracking sound rang in the air as the shadow behind Tauba turned into a spear and rose up to stab him, but was grabbed by the monster king at thest moment. "Shadow magic," Tauba said as he broke the ck spear with his brute force, only to be shocked as he felt a sensation of danger in his heart.

    Turning his head, only to be surprised as Rubina in his grip was reced by Katherine, who shed her frosty sword at his neck.

    "Nice trick." Tauba said, instantly backing away, dodging the hit by a hair''s margin. He looked back and noticed Rubina panting heavily where Katherine was standing previously.

    Tauba stared at Katherine, his eyes shifting towards her left hand where he noticed a crystal crumbling in powder, "What a waste of such a gem." He said, before raising his hand as the ground turned muddy beneath their feet, swallowing them till waist down.

    Unfazed by the trap, Katherine just channeled her mana and used all the skills in her arsenal. From the main blessings to experimented thoughts, honed techniques to spells with massive bacsh.. She was ready to show her final stand, her final struggle.

    "Realm of ice"

    "Frost floor"

    "Transformation magic - Nevermore"

    "Heartless reign of a killer"

 Chapter 391: Heartless reign of killers

    The muddynd instantly got frozen in ce as the realm of ice and frost floor increased her mastery over her element. Helping her nullify the effects of Tauba''s earth magic and getting out of his trap.

    A sword made out of pure ck ice came into her hands, as Nevermore came into effect.

    And finally her eyes turned colder still as the reign of killers blinded her judgment, and removed every other distracting thought except killing Tauba. It was a skill that only focused onpleting her goal, no matter the price she had to pay for it.

    It was a skill she had taken from a God in return for a favor, something which she had yet to pay back.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ��

    If Rio had to name a few reasons about the change in personality of Katherine, from the novel''s innocent girl to the current cold one, this skill that made her emotionless would also be ced at the top along with Noah''s murder by his hands.

    When her cute little brother Noah was murdered, it left an indelible mark on her mind.

    Her heart filled with guilt over why she always treated him bad and bullied him, or why she med him for killing their mother when he was just a baby being born, - true, they were all things done by a naive child who understood the world no better, but eventually somehow these were the things that led to his death too.

    Her brother should''ve been safe at home that day, but he didn''t, as she was there at that time. He was so scared of her that he sneaked out alone, roaming in the market, and that''s how he got killed.

    Had she been a better sister, had she loved or cared for him like Amelia does for Rio or basically any other sibling does, maybe, just maybe, Noah would still be alive now.

    The guilt was killing her and it only increased even more when she visited the church of goddess Cassandra.

    [Your brother died because of you. And his killer will one daye for your whole family, your whole world. Mortals will die and Gods would perish under his wrath.

    Their falling blood will turn the oceans red, that''ll cover the wholend. Their screams so loud, it''ll shake the very foundation of this.]

    [When only pain, agony, darkness and blood is what remains in this world, remember, you are the reason for everything. Your ignorance started it all.]

    This was what the Seer Goddess Cassandra, who supposedly wanted to choose her brother as an avatar, prophecised to her. And when she asked about the killer, the only response she ever got was just one word �� [Devil.]

    When the guilt, responsibility and the heartbreak was too much to handle for her childself, she made a deal with someone for this skill.

    Heartless reign of killers - a skill which only existed so she could turn her heart to cold ice, and kill the Devil.

    ..

    "You''re wasting your time, little girl," Tauba said while raising his leg and stomping hard, the force causing a deep quake beneath his feet, as the ice cracked and steam rose from the moltennd. His magic not only turningnd into liquid, but changing that liquid into burningva. "You think ice can stop the heat of a thousand suns?"

    Katherine narrowed her eyes, her mind was calm as a killer, but the pulse quickened in her veins, realizing the seriousness of this battle. "As they say about mes, the brighter it burns, the sooner it dies."

    Tauba growled in irritation as the floor of frost crackled and spread beneath him, slowing his movements. With a grunt, he bent down and punched hard, sending a shockwave of heat that shattered the ice in an explosion of steam.

    Katherine rushed forward, her movements as steady and swift as a floating snowke in the wind. She shed her sword, releasing a wave of frost that cut through the steamy air , but before it couldnd on the monster king, he just raised his hand as a heavy mace made carved out of wood from the scared tree appeared in his hands, blocking the attack.

    Tauba charged instantly, his mace swinging with deadly force, forcing Katherine to leap backward, her boots skidding against the frozen ground she''d created. A drop of sweat trickling down her forehead, as smell of burnt hair wafted in the air.

    She parried another strike, her de catching against his mace with a deafening ng. Sparks flew as frost met his molten mace. The force of the blow sent her staggering back, her arm vibrating with the impact. Before she could fully recover, Tauba was on her again, his fist swinging at her like a hammer.

    She ducked low, sliding across the frozen ground on one knee and shing at his legs, hoping to cut his bnce.

    Her sword connected, slicing through the leather of his boots and drawing a hiss of steam as ck frost bit into his flesh. Tauba howled in rage, but instead of retreating, he stomped down with full force, the ground beneath Katherine liquefying instantly.

    With a gasp, she felt her footing give way as the frozennd became molten. She pushed off, leaping to the nearest patch of solid earth just as the fireyva surged upward in a geyser where she had been standing moments before.

    "You''ll drown in the pits of fire, ice witch." Tauba bellowed, mming his mace into the ground. As sharp spears of magma shot towards her, only to be blocked by the wall of ice.

    While the wall of frost held back his attacks, Katherine jumped over it, using gravity to increase the force of her next attack. Tauba, blinded by the rising steam, swung his mace wildly. But Katherine ducked sideways using ice crystals as standing tform before slicing down.

    The de met flesh, and this time, the ice magic embedded within the strike froze his side, turning part of his flesh into brittle, frost-bitten skin.

    Roaring in pain, Tauba swung backhanded, his mace grazing her shoulder, sending her flying across the field. She hit the wall of ice hard, the breath knocked from her lungs as she rolled through before stopping.

    "You think you''ve won, you''ll die just like everyone else. Like the girl who uses scrolls and books, or the white haired boy who uses shadows and darkness." Tauba roared in anger as he stabbed the mace into his stomach, stopping all the spreading frost and healing his injuries instantly. "Your puny attacks are no match for the mercy of godmother."

    For the first time since their battle started, Katherine''s eyes showed a rare trace of emotion, a slight hesitation, a chance which the tribal chief didn''t miss.

    "So you know him?" Tauba said and smiled as he kept attacking her using his feets and fists, "Do you wanna know how he died, what hisst words were as we thrusted a sword right through his heart. Or maybe, I''ll catch you and let you watch as we sacrifice his corpse as godmother''s fertilizer."

    Katherine didn''t say a word, her brain already numbed from her skill, but a surging anger could be seen in her eyes, as the air around them seemed to have be much colder.

    The pits ofva that had been shooting spears at her, or acting as traps every time she jumped or moved, started freezing midair. The fire inside them, dying to her magic.

    "You''re dead." She said coldly, swinging her sword in mad shes causing the fights happening around them to be interrupted.

    The students all who were forced into dire straits facing the endless hordes of monsters, halted their actions and looked at her with surprise as the whole arena started to freeze down.

    The ce seemed to turned into a castle of ice, like she had opened her domain and only the element of ice could reign supreme in it.

    Crows and creatures flying in the air froze and started falling down like hailstones. Firsjen coughed a little blood as bacsh but all that came out of his mouth was frosty wind.

    "Amitabha, looks like she has lost herself."

    "She''s crazy strong, but why do I feel like she''s gone into mana frenzy."

    "She''s buying us time, let''s just leave this godforsaken city."

    "Are you insane, Firsjen?"

    "Fuck off wolfie, no one asked for your opinion."

    "I just heard Tauba say they killed someone who match the description of Amaya and Rio. Is this true?"

    "Humph, so that guy is really dead."

    "This idiot''s probably lying to get to her head, I know Rio''s strength, he''s much tougher than this guy, and besides we''ve been here since day one, and we saw no signs of anyone else."

    "Rubina''s right, if Rio was here, and they really fought, we would''ve sensed their battle."

    "Who cares, let''s just kill as many monsters as we can till they''re frozen, we don''t know how long this state of Katherine canst." Lucille said. Her heart little at peace over Rio''s death since it meant her secret was safe once more.

    "This bastard, he ran away."

    "..."

    The students all gathered together and talked, while Firsjen the noble vamp just used this chance to slip through this city. He didn''t feel any guilt over leaving his ssmates behind as none of them meant anything to him. He hated the wolf and the hybrid, he hated the stinky emo nerd, the bald monk, and the tricky illusion guy, and mostly he hated the girls who were close with that ke bastard.

    "It''s best if she falls and that Tauba guy kills all of them too." Firsjen said standing over the city walls, while wiping the blood off his lips as he stared in the arena''s direction.

    ''How dare that bitch kill his crows, she deserves it.'' He thought and left the city in a bloody mist.

    . ..

    Back in the arena, the rest of the students were fighting against the monsters who were nerfed by the frozen ground and lost most of their agility.

    Rubina and ric tried to help Katherine fight against Tauba but they couldn''t even get close. They couldn''t even see what was happening at the center of arena, as the whole area was surrounded by frost and steamy fog.

    A sizzling sound as frost and fire fought for dominance and loud crashing sound every few seconds were all they could hear outside, telling them, that the fight was still ongoing.

    ��

    Katherine stood up from the ground with her sword''s support. Her peerless beauty, perfect skin and the crystal clear ice, all marred with red blood, courtesy of the various injuries she suffered.

    Yet her face showed no sign of hesitation or will of backing down, her eyes still firm in belief that wanted Tauba''s death. Be it for Rio''s revenge or her own skill''s effect.

    With a flick of her wrist, shards of ice erupted from the ground, sharp and jagged, shooting toward Tauba like bloody arrows. He smashed through them with his hands, molten wooden chips dripping from his skin as it sizzled against the frost. But for every shard he broke, two more took its ce, her magic growing stronger the more relentless she became.

    As the barrage of ice continued, Katherine charged once more, her body moving in sync with the storm she had summoned.

    Tauba swung his fists forward, hoping to crush her skull in one hit, but this time she was faster, she ducked under his strike, spinning low, and brought her sword up in a sharp, deadly arc.

    Her de pierced his chest, frost spreading from the wound as his flowing blood started freezing in his veins.

    Tauba howled in pain, as he dropped to one knee and gripped his heart. "You�� can''t kill me." he growled in anger, struggling to stand up as his body started freezing from the inside out.

    Katherine stood over him in silence, her chest heaving up and down as the exertion of battle caught up to her. With her goal nowpleted, the killer''s reign skill ended, and her emotions came back to her mind.

    Yet she showed no change of expression, she just stared at the struggling viin and with a final burst of her magic, the ice sculpture broke in pieces. Shattering the mighty king into shards of ice scattered to her steps.

    "He''s alive, you idiot." She said, staring in the direction of the floating sacred tree, before darkness covered her vision and she fell unconscious. Not aware of the frenzy of notifications from the gods, swarming her system.

    [Goddess Mara celebrates your victory. Your strength and determination soothes her heart.]

    [God of killers ??? smiles as he sees the effect of his skill. He''s counting the days when you''ll be ready to return his favor.]

    [Goddess Mara frowns in displeasure causing a star to freeze and die.]

    [Indra nods his head in satisfaction and smiles mysteriously.]

    [Apollo pays attention in your direction.]

    [Nyx and Kali stares at you, wondering your ce in the battle of avatars.]

    [Den of devils notes down your name as a potential threat, or a potential recruit.]

    [Goddess Cassandra looks at your heart''s resolve and sighs in regret over the fate that awaits you. "May God give you strength to handle the pain that''s about toe."]

 Chapter 392: Godmother appears

    Back in Etum city,

    Under the floating sacred tree, the resident of the so-called Godmother, the ruler of this Phronesia, was lying Rio''s cold corpse.

    [Wakey wakey host.] System''s voice echoed in the peaceful silence of darkness where his mind rested. [Enough sleep, it''s time to work now.]

    The sound came again, and under thezy grunts of his thoughts, a blue orb of light shone over his eyes, forcing him to wake up, as the whole scenery changed around them.

    The pitch ck darkness, cker than the abyss disappeared, and in its ce was the scene of hanging heavenly castles and heavys on the branches of Yggdrasil.

    "So... they''re all done?" Rio asked groggily, his voice still thick with lethargy.

    [Yupp, all the children of godmother are dead, except Baani of course.] System replied happily, [But the bombs will go off in two minutes.]

    "Then why''d you wake me so early?" Rio said as he yawned and turned over to sleep again. Only to be stopped by the hovering system''s disco orb.

    [2 minutes host..(sigh) .. And I woke you up so you can kill.. Forget it. I''m the idiot here.] (Rio chuckles)

    System was speaking something, when it did a scan outside, only to see his ''corpse'' surrounded by corpses of every other alien in the city. Valtor standing there, two short daggers in his hands, dripping crimson onto the ground. His once pristine clothes were now torn and soaked in blood, highlighting his godly physique under the dim light.

    In front of him was Baani, on his knees, holding his chest painfully and coughing ck blood, with disbelief written all over his face.

    The poor fellow couldn''t believe how all his soldiers lost their strength suddenly, how he was poisoned, or how the puppet, godmother controlled, broke free and started attacking them. And his shock only surpassed the seventh sky as he saw Valtor turn his head, and smile.

    Baani watched as a dark sapin came out from the shadows of the forest and walked towards them.

    "D--Dayum?" Baani said slowly, as his voice cracked in happiness.

    But before a thought of hope shed by, celebrating that at least his loyal general hade back to help him, -  he watched Dayum kicking the corpses like discarded toys, and walking over them, without as much as changing his expressions. Even when a dead soldier''s skull came beneath his shoes and cracked in pieces.

    "We meet again, Baani. Hope I''m not toote." ''Dayum'' said as he ignored his leader''s confused eyes and walked over to the sacred tree in steady steps.

    Baani kept looking in his direction, though the mysterious poison in his body had nulled his magic, he could still sense something was off with his runaway subordinate. And as he saw him raise his sword and chop at the sacred tree''s root branch that tied the cursed one''s corpse, a chill swept up his spine.

    "Noooo..." He shouted and tried to run towards them, only to stumble and fall as Valtor kicked him in the back. And pressed his feet over his head, forcing him to watch the ''ceremony''.

    Baani helplessly watched as Dayum freed the cursed one''s body and then ... fell down with a heavy thud. Like his soul had left his body all of a sudden.

    Phe.. Phwoooooo

    There was nothing but silence in the city, so much so that even the sound of a long breath seemed to echo in Baani''s ears.

    He watched with horror in his eyes as Rio''s corpse started moving slowly. From the subtle movement of his feet and fingers, to him sitting up and then standing straight.

    "Soul travel sucks, system." Rioined as he rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. His whole body feeling like it had just finished the toughest joyride and longest ferris wheel together.

    [Well, then it''s good that you can''t do it again for the next 100 days, right.]

    "Whatever, I still feel like you cheated my money on this one though."

    [If you don''t like it, I''ll dly take it back. Want to sell it?]

    "Fuck off."

    After cursing his system, while he just moved his arms and legs to let himself be familiar with his body again, Rio slowly rolled up his sleeves, as his gaze drifted to Dayum''s empty shell of a body before settling on Baani, who was struggling beneath Valtor''s foot.

    "Miss me?" Rio said with an ''innocent'' smile, giving the poor fellow a mild heart attack.

    "How? We killed you? He pierced your heart, I saw it with my own. Then ... how?" Baani asked, coughing heavily as veins of poison spread all over his body. Working their way to his heart. But despite the heart wrenching pain he still asked, "How are you still alive?"

    Rio looked at his shallow struggle on the deathbed and smiled sincerely, "You see, I want to tell you,... But I don''t wanna ruin your suspense for the sauna in hell. Think there, k?"

    Before Baani could respond, Rio''s hand plunged into his chest, fingers curling around his poisoned heart. And with a swift yank, he ripped it free, the organ still beating faintly in his grasp. Baani''s body convulsed violently for a few seconds, before finally going still. His eyes ssing over as thest of his life drained away.

    As soon as Baani died, the whole dungeon started shaking violently. The sacred tree which looked harmless and lifeless till this point, seemed to be possessed by some spirit as all the branches of it started hovering in the air, writhing and twisting like serpentine tendrils or floating hairs.

    The root branches attaching this tree to the altars of the city''s center, let go of their ground. And it started to truly float freely in the air, rising higher and higher until it hovered nearly 1500 - 2,000 meters above the city.

    The branches pierced the clouds, breaking their fog apart, giving everything an eerie look among the heavy downpour and thundering storms. The day had turned to night, the sun swallowed up by the darkness and horrific weather.

    This was no ordinary thunderstorm--it was like drums of war sounding the herald of destruction.

    The same scene happened in the other cities simultaneously too. The ce where Leon killed Kurami for Kami''s revenge, or where Saisha and Amelia''s battle directly destroyed everything, or where Katherine killed Tauba, and the next city where only shriveled up skeletonsy motionless, tied up in spider silks, or covered in water bubbles.

    And as if to challenge the might of Phronesia, and reply to its call of thunder, huge sts started happening around all the wastnds.

    Rio''s work, oh no, Dayum''s hard work ever since he ran away from the Etum''s massacre on day one, started showing its results.

    The air grew heavy with energy, as heat waves and thundering roars kepting from the clouds. Every raindrop hitting the ground was like a sharp splinter shot from a shotgun.

    All the major cities started cracking in pieces and crumbling apart, as their sacred trees tethered to this, broke free from their anchors and started hovering in the air.

    Next moment everything starteding together like pieces of ma pulling each other. The whole dungeon seemed to be crashing into a ck hole, as space started shrinking. Especially as wholends, forests and volcanoes between cities disappeared and turned to trash.

    Like someone had crumbled a piece of paper and now all corners were mixed up in the center.

    Surrounded in a golden barrier, Rio and Valtor watched as four shadows of trees gathered in the air, surrounding the original sacred tree from all sides, before being pulled by its branches and merging together into one.

    All five sacred trees gathered and formed one.

    Its height, shadows and the aura it exuded, reminding Rio of the visions he saw of the world tree whenever he talked to Skuld.

    "I hope your n works?" Valtor said to Rio, before turning around and leaving without waiting for a response.

    "Of course it will, you''re free, I''m alive, and everything''sing together, isn''t it?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio, who turned to answer, but only saw a helpless Romeo running towards his Juliet,.. (Cough cough) I mean, he just saw Valtor going towards the towering mountain where he could see a group of students gathered together, shrouded in a shell of trees, under a shining light of several protection scrolls, a signature move of his soul mate, Amaya Stormswill.

    [Stop feeling jealous, host. Your girls are there too, you can go and check on them too if you want.] System quipped as it saw its host staring at Valtor and Amaya hugging each other and chatting happily in relief.

    "... . First of all, I wasn''t feeling jealous, and second, you said, girls, as in plural. I hate that, and you know it. And Third, I don''t need to ask, as I know Ba''s okay."

    [Yeah yeah, as if I didn''t just read your mind and was lying.]

    "...Weren''t you going into silence till I leave this dungeon, saying it was my test and wada nada, it''s good, so you''re muted now."

    [Wait, wait that was just... . ]

    "I''ll unmute you outside, okay buddy." Rio said and silenced the voice in his head with a smile, and ignored the floating texts on panel.

    Rio took a final nce around the new forming mountain peaks and grasnds where groups of students started appearing slowly. To the ces where Amy and Saishay unconscious under Amaya''s care, to where Katherine was getting treatment with Rubina, ric and Lucille, to where Reba was meditating near a masked student with gray eyes who stood guard.

    shhh_thud

    "A sneak attack doesn''t suit someone of your level." Rio said as he shed a couple of branches shooting in his direction without looking. He turned his attention towards the floating tree, where a female figure with an imposing but graceful aura stood in front. Regal, terrifying, and filled with murderous intent.

    "Godmother, let''s dance." He said, holding a sword in one hand and controlling invisible mana threads from the other, while rushing forward, sliding and jumping between the dozens of sharp branches and hundreds of falling leaves acting like loose arrows on his way.

    The prophecy is real, and it''s about to be fulfilled.- Ahead of time and in an unexpected way.

    The final fight between the Godmother and the cursed one had started.

    One that''ll determine not only the fate of this world, but also the hundreds of others, where simr prophecies of doom brought by a devil''s hands echoed as legends and myths throughout the different eons and the eras.

    Will everything really end under the darkness of the dark spawn? Who knows?

    ... ...

    Been a while since I did this "who knows?" thing right.. Old days

 Chapter 393: The prophecy is real, and youre here to fulfill it

    Rio looked at the physical form of Godmother, as he stood in front of her, mes of hell burning all around them, setting whatever was left of this dungeon world on fire.

    Ashes and smoke drafted the air, along with the putrid smell of burnt meat and sap.

    Since the godmother merged with the sacred trees, she also sucked the life out of all her followers. The blind believers of this had their souls already controlled by her magic, and to increase her strength she consumed them all.

    This method of controlling people was also what inspired Rio to make his n and pretend to be dead, going as far as to risk his own body and doing soul transfer into a native.

    As an entity created up by the world''s will, tasked to protect the core of it, godmother had everything this world was possibly possible of. She could go anywhere, see anything, control anything, - she was literally the overseer of this.

    Nothing and no one could go against her wishes. She could change the rules andws of this world at hermands. Giving things properties and permissions they normally wouldn''t have.

    Like how seeds of fruits or crystals of monsters which are used to heal and recover, turned into beads of magic that can enve someone''s consciousness, turning them into mindless puppets.

    That''s how she controlled the original ounders, humans who came here through the spaceship, or other invasive races which came through portals and wormholes - over time everyone alive here turned into her ve, same thing with Valtor.

    If not for Rio''s twistedly broken mind or a little help from the system staying there, he too might have been turned into a puppet.

    After all, he and Valtor were the primary targets of godmother from the moment they stepped foot on this. Their dark magic was a thing of prophecy that''s been scaring godmother for eons after all.

    That''s why they were both teleported directly into deep forests, away from all the other students. Surrounded by monsters who''ll keep wearing them out for days and nights, so she can start controlling them when they eat those seeds.

    Her n did fail and she had to change her method when she noticed that even after Valtor was in her bag, there was no abnormality in Rio.

    Whatever he ate was just gobbled down by gluttony, and no magic trace or control could be left behind in his body for her to take root.

    "I gotta say, figuring out your tricks was tough. Took me a while to uncover how this world works, how you work." Rio said, a little genuine appreciation in his voice as he crossed hands with the godmother.

    "When did you notice?" she asked, taking a couple steps back.

    "At the beginning, I mean a floating tree in the middle that everyone prays to in a fanatical method, it''s kind of a dead giveaway don''t you think?"

    "So you sent your shadow to check things out?" Godmother finished his words.

    "Yupp, after all, I didn''t know what you were capable of, and I''m no fool who''ll pick a fight with a Meru dungeon''s protector without any gurantee."

    "But I still killed you? I made sure it was you, no clone, no magic, it was the real you." Godmother said in confusion, their curiosity about each other''s trickspelling them to halt their fight and talk it over first.

    "Hmm no, you killed my body." Rio replied with a chuckle and exined, "You see people born in Arcadia have a different way of dealing with souls and afterlife. When we die, our souls don''t just disappear into heaven or hell, light and dark, or rebirth and regression cycles, our souls get sent somewhere else, somece magical."

    "Where?" Godmother asked, raising an eyebrow, but Rio just started shaking his head

    "To answer that I''ll have to exin all about creation of arcadia, gods, demons, deals - it''s tooplicated , so I''ll skip that one."

    "However the crux of the matter is, if we die in a dungeon that isn''t fully connected to arcadia yet, we linger, until the moment it does docked in, and then we get sent straight through the veil** and to the other side."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "I''ve checked every one of your friends'' memories, no one else knows that."

    "Yeah, well, I''m special." Rio just shrugged his shoulders, smiling over the perks of being the only reincarnated reader.

    "So you sensed something off with Valtor, but how''d you know my hive mind, or the fact that I can see everything?"

    "Ohh that one was easy actually, as I said, floating trees, simr in seven cities, the only constant in this war torn world. Plus the chains wrapped over every native''s head connected to the branches of sacred trees, whose roots know no ends. - dead giveaway."

    "The skill of soul travel I have only works on targets I kill, for only five minutes since their deaths. And they shan''t be a part of arcadia.

    So I killed Dayum, waited until you finally couldn''t hold back and ordered Valtor to kill me, and right before the sword pierced my heart, I hopped into his body and slipped away." Rio exined his ''rebirth'' answering the question before godmother even asked it.

    "I''ve been controlling these natives for ages, always watching their every move by controlling their souls,..."

    "Yupp, and that''s why when you saw my lifeless soulless corpse, you gotx, didn''t check anything else and started focusing somewhere else." Rio said and shook his head, "Though I don''t me you, eons of being in power, of being in control of everything, of course you''ll be overconfident."

    "Hmm, but what would''ve happened if I destroyed your original body?" The godmother asked curiously, "Instead of saving it for the sacrifice, what if I just burned it to the ground, or ate it all, what then?"

    "That would''ve been bad. Cause then I''ll forever be stuck in Dayum''s form. That burly bouncer body really isn''t my style." Rio said honestly, "As for why I was ready to take the risk, well, that was just a guess."

    "A guess?"

    "Yeah, well, people in power often tend to hang the heads of those they hunted. And the head of the cursed one who''s been haunting you for ages is kinda the best trophy ever. It was obvious you wouldn''t just let it disappear."

    "A bold move." Godmother said and nodded her head.

    After all, he was right, she did n to preserve his body and give it to the world''s will of Phronesia once this dungeon raid was over and their link to Arcadia gets severed.

    "Yupp." Rio nodded his head, hiding the fact that it''s not that easy to destroy his physical formpletely. After all, his body is the prized possession for Nyx, Erebus, Apollo, Lucifer, and to top it all, the demon lord Ditail.

    "Now your turn to answer." Rio said, speaking his mind in this game of doubts. "Tell me, why the wars? Why let these natives fight and kill each other over and over again?"

    "I thought you already knew that." Godmother replied with a smile.

    "Enlighten me."

    "It''s cause I was bored."

    "...."

    "Were you expecting a grand reason behind this?" Seeing his silence, godmother chuckled and asked.

    "I don''t know. May be. These were natives. People born here, raised here. They praise you, pray to you, then why the disregard?"

    "Cause they''re weak." Godmother replied.

    "Were you afraid that if you let them be, they''ll grow stronger than you?" Rio asked, refusing to believe things could be that simple.

    "A little in the beginning. As the world kept developing, they kept getting stronger and stronger and stronger. I knew if I didn''t limit them, I''d be crushed. Someone will surpass me, take my ce or I''ll be gone."

    Godmother exined, "But don''t look at me like I''m insane, it''s not just me, every World Will does this in their own way. Some split their continents apart, turning natives into opposing factions. Some pour down nature''s wrath and erase everything to wipe the te clean. And some just form thunderstorms and cmity clouds in the sky and call it tribtions.

    These are all excuses, moves made by the so - It Stays Strong."

    Rio kept listening as the godmother exined how a world will actually thinks and works. His system had told him simr things before, about how they were made to control world wills, so they don''t just ruin the creation of the creator, and bnce keeps existing in the universe.

    But at that time he just joked andughed imagining his funny little system as a supervisor, - but he understood it a little now.

    Just a little.

    A mortal''s brain wondering about how Immortals, Eternals and Neverends works - isn''t easy after all.

    "So you turned them all into your ves, then what? What''s the fun in watching puppets fight, whose strings are in your hands?" Rio asked to change the topic.

    Godmother replied, "Do you have any idea how long is an eternity? Or how old I am, how I have to stay in one ce, guard this world and just watch as the time passes by?"

    "Love, hope, kindness - it''s all a facade that fades in the long rivers of time."

    "Wow,. Truly the words of a viin." Rio said and shook his head. This killed millions, maybe billions over the years, basically all just because it was bored. That''s some next level crazy shit.

    No wonder this unmotivated psycho fuckfest was put by fate in front of the beginner Leon, who''s head deep into righteousness. Cause the Leon ofter parts might even agree and sympathize with the Godmother at some point.

    '' Of course as a hero he''ll kill her in both cases nheless, but still.. ''

    "Anything else you wanna ask, before I kill you?" Godmother said, bringing his attention back to reality.

    "Nice joke, but you''re right. Let me ask something else, something that doesn''t dive into your psychotic philosophy, how''d you survive?"

    "You mean those bombs you nted, or the mes of sun and the frosty ice, or maybe the death of nature and birth of chaos. -  Each of my children possessed a part of my abilities, one who could control souls, one life and death, one mind and imagination, one thend and other the sky - yet all of them died in your friends'' hands. They really brought me many surprises."

    "But as you said, souls. As long as I have enough nutrients, I can give them power, heal them, and bring them back over and over again."

    "Then why didn''t you do that? And why''d you kill everyone now?" Rio asked, noticing not a single trace of life was left in this dungeon except the surviving students.

    He was cruel, but this godmother was crueler. She herself pulled the triggers on them, before even him.

    "To kill you of course. I''ve realized the prophecy is real, you are real. And that ''d only lose if I don''t take you seriously, so here I am, in my real form, face to face with the one destined to spell my doom. It''s kinda making me nervous actually." Godmother said.

    "Talking about destiny, any idea where this prophecyes from?" Rio asked the main question, something which had been bugging him ever since he heard it.

    This prophecy about a devil ending worlds, destroying everything in his wake, was something Noah was supposed to say years ago, something he stopped in the cradle. Yet here it was.

    In a way which wasn''t written, in a dungeon which didn''t exist in the novel, was it really fate''s work, trying to put things in ce, or is this something else?

    "I''m barely 18, and from what I found, it''s been going around for centuries, maybe even longer back in history. You''re the godmother, you should know better than Baani, Dayum or anyone else I hunted."

    "Who knows?" Godmother replied honestly, her eyes showing signs of mncholy as she thought about her past, "I just know it''s the one thing that''s been with me ever since I was born. Maybe it''s the only thing I inherited from the world''s will of Phronesia along with my mission."

    "Humm, well, then I''ll guess I''ll find out the truth once I kill you and take that crystal home." Rio said confidently. And the Godmother responded with the same tone. "You can''t kill me."

    "Ohh yeah, and what makes you think that?"

    "You sted my whole world, killed my children, snatched my puppet, and burned thousands of my toys with those weird bombs.." Godmother said, and as she spoke her figure shrunk to his height, and the aura on her body doubled instantly. "So I''m angry now."

    "Humph, Lot of good your anger will do." Rio sneered and raised his sword again. "I''m about to whoop your ass.."

    "But before we fight, let''s y a game. A game between us viins. Its name is Guess who?"

    Before Rio''s raised sword could sh at the godmother''s body, she disappeared in the cloudspletely, leaving no sign or trace of her anywhere.

    "I''ve taken a page out of your travel book, my cursed one, let''s see if you can see the souls as clear as I do."

    The faint voice echoed along the air, and Rio watched as all the surviving students stood up, their bodies fully healed in tip top conditions.

    Everyone''s eyes were filled with confusion, as if they had all woken up from a long sleep.

    "System, any guess what this guessing game is all about?"

    [I would answer, but _ I remember someone muted me earlier.]

    "... You happy, now tell me, what''s this godmother nning? She didn''t just talk to me for so long, just to disappear and y games?"

    [That''s exactly what she did. While you were busy chatting, she was setting up this stage, so just watch and learn.] System said, without exining anything, [ohh, and one more thing, before you sh someone, make sure to guess right.]

    "What?" System, exin, what you mean guess right?

    [.... ]

    ''Bitch'' seeing that the bastard went silent again, Rio just turned his attention back to the students. Wondering what tricks godmother pulled now.

    ''She said a page out of my book, so something I did, or do, but what?'' Rio wondered thoughtfully, only to be stunned by the scenes unfolding in front of him next.

    He watched as Valtor suddenly turned over and tried to stab Amaya, how Amelia stood up and tried to assassinate Reba. ric grew his fangs and attacked Seraphina, how Kevin started trying to force himself on Vanessa. And the Heathe was attacking Leon with a sinister smile on his face.

    "Ohh fuck no..." Rio cursed as a terrible guess came to his mind seeing everyone''s weird, out of character behaviors.

    [Ohh fuck yes.] System replied instantly, as it realized its host had grasped the main setting of this game, [She couldn''t transfer souls, but consciousness, now that''s right up her alley.]

    [Better be careful, host. You don''t wanna slice up your girlfriend in someone else''s body.] System joked, barely controlling itsugh, looking at the weird expression on Rio''s face as he saw his bald monk virgin roommate on his knees with a rose and a ring in his hand, trying to propose to Saisha, who just stared back at him.

    "I hate this game."

 Chapter 394: Friends, family, foe, or a fool?

    Rio looked at the people around him, friends whom he had known for years, people with whom he studied for months, acting out of their characteristics. Blind to the world around them which kept shifting and shrinking, - the empty space always making sure he stayed in the middle of it all.

    The upgrades godmother got after sucking everyst soul had heightened her powers to a level, where even his true sight couldn''t track her down.

    "Fuck, this is worse than when Ria forced me to watch those soap operas all day long." Rioined as he pped his wings and kicked Hermann who seemed to hate him all of a sudden.

    "That was definitely Firsjen or Lincoln." He said. Turning around only to be stumped by the sight of Amelia and Reba engaged in a catfight. "I so wanna record it and poke funter, but not now girls." he said, using his threads to pull them apart.

    "You''re a dragon for god sake." Rio said, interrupting Heath who was getting burned by Leon''s light mes.

    "Kevin, just cause the rumors say you''re a rapist, you don''t have to prove it to the audience, buddy." Rio said, not epting his part even now, just for any off chance any of them were still seeing or hearing it in their head.

    "Normally you can''t utter a single sentence without stuttering twice in front of her. And now you''re chanting spells nonstop." He said, blocking Valtor''s mouth and interrupting his drain domain, "Believe me, if this gal was really Amaya and she saw it, you''re gonna have a heartbreak, literally."

    "Oh you''re definitely Lucille and Celia, the craziness is astounding." He said, looking at the two boys with the most maniacalughter ever. He didn''t even wanna guess what these psychos were dreaming about.

    ''Lucille''s probably burning the world, and Celia is spanking every archmage atop magic tower.'' ... "And yeah I thought about it nheless."

    "ric, I know you''re a half breed buddy, bute on, wolves don''t piss with their legs high. That''s what dogs do." He said covering the half naked hybrid with clothes and hanging him in the air, "Your mom would whoop your ass, seeing you disrespecting her ancestry."

    "And why the fuck is a werewolf throwing meat aside and licking blood, and please stop eating those bones....Man, does anyone not teach you guys, wolves and dogs are two different breeds."

    "God what have you done?"

    [It''s godmother, not god.]

    "System," Rio said excitedly and hurriedly asked, before everyone''s restraints disappeared and they were switched into different roles yet again. "Please tell me you can track her. So I can kill her."

    [You know the answer host. It''s your trial.] System refused again, [But I will tell you that you need to crack this thing fast, as godmother, she may just slip through your fingers and escape with that crystal safely]

    "I knew she did this to waste my time. How much do I have?"

    [Well, originally this dungeon raid would havested for 10  days or so, but with all that you and everyone else has done here, destroying everything, I''d say you have about half an hour. 28 minutes and 17 seconds to be exact.]

    "Fuck. ...  phew... fine I can do it. Easie peasie..."

    [No host, sting what remains of this world won''t force Godmother to appear again. It''ll only shorten your countdown.] System said, watching its host pull a missileuncher from his ring.

    "Tsk..." Rio clicked his tongue and turned around, only to bump into Takashi who was back on his knees with a ring, "And why is he even doing that again and again, even I didn''t do it."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [Really? You were together for almost five years and you never went on your knees,...To propose I mean.]System said feeling surprised, before adding something with a flushed face.

    "Not the right time to talk romance, system. And besides, we both weren''t exactly the type to snowball love scenes, I was shy, and she was.. silent."

    [Wow, no wonder she never said it back.] System said in flow what came to its mind, before realizing it''s mistake, [No, host, I _ I didn''t mean it, like that. Like she didn''t need to right, we know it_ it was just...]

    "Go to sleep system." Rio said and blocked the system out of his mind for a while. His face cold as ice, and breathing short as memories shed by of every ''I love you'' he ever said to her. And received either a smile, a hug, kiss or sex in return.

    His heart felt a burn like someone just scraped an old wound and blew cold air on it.

    (Fuck.) System cursed its loose mouth and actually felt a little bad over it.

    "....." When Rio opened his eyes again, and saw Takashi chasing after Saisha, something clicked in his mind, as he just teleported between them and grabbed him by the throat.

    -cough urghh uch

    The bald monk tried to struggle, iling his arms and legs, pping his face with that thorny rose in hopes to free himself, but Rio''s grip only tightened around his throat.

    [Host, there''s a chance that killing their bodies now, might kill them for real. You can''t just bet their lives on godmother''s mercy rule of healing.] System typed in a worried tone, but Rio didn''t even see it.

    "Night, roomie." He said, nearly choking the life out of the poor fellow, until...

    _Swishhh

    An attack came from behind, throwing him back a couple steps.

    "What are you doing, he''s not himself." Saisha said as she stood between them, ignoring the dying monk, who healed instantly and was pestering her again. "You could''ve killed him. Or whoever that is." She said again.

    Rio looked at her angry face wondering if it was another act of godmother or was she really herself.

    "Nah, fuck it, get away before I kill you too." Rio said and disappeared from his ce, appearing with a sword in hand, over Kevin and Vanessa, ready to end both of them with one swing.

    Only to be stopped with Saisha again, who covered the duo with a cocoon of roots.

    "I told you to stop." She said, swinging a root, and pushing him away from the students.

    "And I told you to get out of my sight." Rio said, burning the branches. "Remember what I saidst time, you hurt me again, and..."

    "And elves would have to find a new queen. I know." Saisha finished his words, her hand on his chest, stopping him from leaving, "But I can''t just watch as you kill our ssmates. Which not to mention also include your sister and your girlfriend." She stopped for a breath at that mention, before ending her speech with a question. "Are you gonna kill them too?"

    "I''m not killing them." Rio said, backing away from her, as he realized she really was Saisha.

    Saisha looked at his reaction, and pulled her hand back, "Then what''s the point? As long as any one of them is alive, that woman will just keep on hiding."

    "Well, at least I''m doing something. Unlike you, who just kept walking around with a lover boy chasing you this whole time." Rio said, staring at the monk trying to butt in between them.

    "I''m not enjoying this too, okay." Saisha said, taking the flower and throwing it back on his head. Watching as it grew in size and swallowed him whole. "I just needed time to think."

    "So you figured out something." Rio said excitedly as he walked forward and grabbed her hands, "Tell me. What''s the right way?"

    Saisha looked at him and shook her head, "Well, _ I don''t know. I''m still thinking... but if you just give me some time, or if we work together, I''m sure we can figure it out."

    "We don''t have the luxury of time." Rio said, flicking his hands back, "This dungeon is about to copse, and I for one, don''t want to have that experience a second time."

    "Me neither. But..."

    "No buts, princess. You try the peaceful methods of holding them back and waking them with kindness and care, while I beat them up until their survival instincts kick in, and they can wake up.." Rio said, kicking Takashi on the chest, and before he flew far, grabbed his leg and smashed him on a tree.

    "Wait, so you weren''t actually going to kill them?" Saisha asked confusedly.

    "What, are you insane?" Rio said, looking at her with a shocked face, "I''m an angel, not a demon." He said while breaking the hands and fists of another guy.

    "An angel. Devil''s more like it." Saisha muttered to herself, watching as Rio moved from one student to another, showing her different kinds of torture scenes in order.

    "This isn''t going to work." She shouted, though her words were probably drowned in the screams echoing in that direction.

    After giving a beatdown session to every student a couple times, (obviously except his sister, girlfriend, and pupil) he looked back in Saisha''s direction, who was still trying out different spells and blessings which can break some illusion or charms or simr effects.

    "That''s not gonna work either." He replied back with a little smile.

    (And _ he''s calm now.) System said to itself, thanking the heavens that she was there, or its inventory might have to house a dozen more corpses. (One''s enough already.) It said, staring at the expensive coffin lying in the center of the storage, housing the body of his once dear friend, Delh.

    (Should I ask him to unmute me? ... nah that''ll probably trigger him again. Let''s just watch from the backstage.)

    (They do make a nice pair though.) System thought in its mind, watching as Rio and Saisha finally gave up their attitudes, and came together to talk about a better n. Two minds being better than one and all, - only to feel a shiver run down its spine.

    Darkness crept into the mindscape, as the blue orb of energy started wobbling around in despair, feeling an aura behind it, something that gave it PTSD years ago.

    "Better watch your mouth bluey, words have consequences." A cold whisper came into the system''s ears out of nowhere, yet it dared not turn back and see the mysterious entity or voice into those eyes.

    ..

    ..

    ..

    System spent the longest 2 minutes in silence, calming the racing heart and fear rising in its head, (Fuck, I should just help my host, and get out of here.)

    ..

    [Umm host, how about I help you buddy.] System said, trying to sound as normal as possible, [Don''t worry, it''s free. Call itpensation.]

    "Should''ve done it sooner." Rio said and turned around, disappearing directly from his ce, leaving Saisha just staring at his back in confusion.

    "Why''s he keep running away?" Saisha sighed and gave up calling him back.

    "I love you. Will you marry me?"(Takashi)

    "...And, you''re back again." Saisha said and threw the rose back at him again, this time, turning it into a vine whose thorns pierced his skin, "Get a hint you idiot, if a girl doesn''t say it back, it usually means, no."

    "Fuck, thinking about it is just making me even more angry."  She cursed and just buried the fellow a hundred meter underground. "Crawling out should keep you upied for a while."

    ''Wonder where''d he go though, I hope he''s okay?'' She thought, before she felt tremors in the ground. She looked down in wonder thinking Takashi wasing back again, only to stop and raise her head as sounds of explosions rang in a far distance, followed by an angry roar of a women and floating shadow of a tree in the sky, "Guess you found her.".

    She looked at the students who all stopped their actions and started running towards that direction, only to be stopped by Leon and Amaya, who seemed to have woken up from Godmother''s control.

    "Hmm, team up." She said, looking at the duo working to block everyone as Rio started his fight with godmother.

 Chapter 395: end draws near

    This time it didn''t take long for Amaya to break free from godmother''s control and take back her body, as she already learned her lessonst time.

    So instead of fighting against someone who was clearly way beyond her league, she just asked help from Saraswati and Mnemosyne, the goddesses of mind and memories watching over her.

    As for Leon, it goes without saying. With a part of Apollo residing in his head and the blood of gods sealed in his veins, - this kind of control trick was always a losing game.

    Apollo could easily solve godmother''s skills and spells with zero effort, even the little time he took was probably just so he could train Leon and teach him something.

    As for Saisha being normal, well that''s a different story altogether. One filled with nothing but spoilers.

    The trio of them stood against the students, blocking their charge as they tried to go where the battle was happening.

    ...

    Saisha was blocking Amelia, Katherine and Reba. Maybe the godmother sensed their importance in his heart or whatever, but the three girls seemed especially affected by the calling magic.

    Though lost in a trancest time, she knew of Amelia''s limits through their battle, hence she did all she could to stop her from ever bringing out that red crown or element of chaos into this battle again.

    Not when Rio and godmother''s battle was already destroying everyst inch of this this very instant.

    Luckily for her, the godmother didn''t dare meddle with chaos and anger a primordial either. So their second fight was all about magic and melee.

    Saisha exhaled heavily, brushing strands of white hair out of her eyes, her body aching from the constant movement. "Why are they all so good at fighting?" she muttered under her breath, parrying another iing strike from Katherine, whose raw strength was overwhelming her.

    It wasn''t as much a strain on her body, as much on her brain, as even unconscious, Amelia and Reba seemed to be in perfect sync. Adding Katherine into the mix, was just the cherry on top.

    Luckily for her, all three of them liked closebat and she was well taught by elves all her life on how to avoid just that.

    She had a plethora of restraining skills, not to mention the surplus of nature''s presence on this, adding just the right buffs to her element and overall strength.

    "I''d really like to be your friend and fight together side by side, but for now, this will do."

    ....

    As for Amaya, she was literally in hell mode.

    her body stiff with fury, her eyes glowing with an intense, golden radiance. Her hands tightly gripped the Book of Rebellion as an angelic halo started circling over her head.

    The book was a Mythical grade soul bound artifact which had records of battle between the army of heaven and demons of hell.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Twice," she muttered, her voice low and dangerous, her golden pupils staring at the mark of godmother inside everyone''s heads. A small tree shadow suppressing their consciousness, like a serpent coiling around their brains. Its mere presence made her blood boil. "You tried to control me twice."

    Knowing godmother was getting killed by Rio, she just chose to pour her anger out on these puppets. As even if that bitch could only feel 1/1000 of what she''s gonna make them feel, it''ll still bring her some sort of satisfaction.

    Without hesitation, she tore a page from the Book of Rebellion, the sound of ancient parchment ripping through the air like thunder. The page dissolved into shimmering light, and as the mana from her body poured into it, the scene drawn there began to materialize above her head.

    Heavenly soldiers, each draped in gleaming silver armor with massive, majestic wings of pure light, began to emerge from the tear in reality she''d created.

    Though looking mighty beautiful, their forms were ethereal, flickering between the nes of reality and imagination. Like some VR projection on the verge of copse.

    But their purpose was clear. These angels, each armed with long spears and sharp swords, were manifestations of remnants for the divine judgment, and they awaited only hermand.

    "I''m really pissed." She cursed and swung her hand, signaling the start of battle.

    Over a dozen angels descended upon the battlefield like vengeful deities, blocking the mad charge of all the rankers instantly. Beating them into submission, even worse than when Rio tried his hands.

    Anytime one of the controlled students dared to advance, they were met with divine retribution--shes of lightning splitting the air, long spears striking with pinpoint uracy, or thunderous smites that forced the students to their knees. Those unlucky enough to be hit directly by the angels'' weapons found their limbs severed, their wounds taking longer and longer to heal with each strike.

    Some didn''t heal at all.

    "You''re going to pay for this," Amaya growled, watching as the vine serpent writhed in pain and started screeching and burning under the heavenly might.

    ... .

    [You need to go and defeat that godmother, Leon. Don''t forget what she took from you, have your revenge.]

    Apollo''s words were the first thing Leon listened to since waking up, and after seeing that Amaya and Saisha could handle everyone, he rushed towards the main battle.

    To Leon''s knowledge, he broke free from the Godmother''s control after seeing the face of Kami smiling at him, asking him to avenge her, - and hence his mind was only clouded by thoughts of revenge.

    Poor protagonist, always thinking that the power of love and friendship is what''s helping him.

    He could see the Godmother''s body in the sky, which seemed to glow with a dark, celestial energy, her form shifting between reality and something far more terrifying.

    And thus his own body moved forward on instinct, weaving through the wreckage of the battlefield, while avoiding sts of energy and shes of divine light falling here and there.

    ... .

    Rio vs Godmother

    A violent storm was rising in the far distance  where sounds of explosions and shockwaves rippling through, had kicked the dark clouds away.

    The sacred tree hung freely above the ruined metropolis, its colossal branches piercing the heavens and roots stabbing the hells. An ominous power radiated from the tree''s core, a nexus of nature and soul energy. Something that felt both holy and ominous at the same time. This was the seed of Godmother''s strength, and she would protect it at any cost.

    Standing before this twisted marvel, Rio stared into the heart of the storm. The fierce winds whipped at his body, rippling against the shiny armor protecting him.

    As the Godmother stretched out her hand, the world seemed to bow before her.

    "Rio..." her voice echoed through the empty space like a melodyced with venom, "Your death shall be the catalyst for the rebirth of my world."

    With a single gesture, the tree responded. Thousands of razor-sharp leaves detached from their branches and shot toward him like a storm of daggers.

    In response, angelic wings unfurled behind Rio''s back. His eyes shone in a golden hue that shunned the illusion of time and space. (True eyes) , covered with illusory sses further highlighting those effects. (Watchman''s sses - Heimdall''s blessing.)

    The mark of white U and a red dot in the middle appeared on his forehead, and he felt his head getting calm. A feeling where everything was so clear, so silent and so focused, filled his brain, where he felt everything that is, was just for him to witness. (Vishnu''s Tk - a blessed mark obtained by the devout followers of the Lord of preservation, Vishnu, or those favored by his favorites.)

    His movements were fluid, almostzy, as he dodged the onught of deadly foliage. Each step was calcted, each pivot a dance, as he narrowly avoided the lethal projectiles.

    "Too slow," he muttered, swiping his hand through the air. Invisible threads of mana trailed his fingers, slicing through the iing leaves. "I expected more from a world''s guardian."

    The Godmother frowned, her grace momentarily broken by a sh of irritation. With a snap of her fingers, the very earth beneath Rio''s feet began to split and rupture, moltenva spewing from the cracks, as pirs of me shot toward him, bending to the Godmother''smand.

    "Come on, show me something I haven''t seen before." Rio said, flipping backward to avoid a burst of magma. "Is this how you''re nning on wasting your final moments."

    With a flick of his wrist, Rio summoned his sword. Its de, as ck as the night sky, seemed to drink in the surrounding light, leaving only shadows in its wake.

    Every swing of his met with resistance as the Godmother manipted the environment around her. Air formed barriers, the space started freezing, and the distance between them kept flickering, one moment a meter, next a mile.

    Though no matter how she tried to escape or disappear, hoping to buy herself time, Rio would appear right on her tail next instant. (System had locked her position on his mark for easy teleportation)

    The sh between them was unlike any battle the students had seen, and something no one would ever expect from a C rank awakener, or normal dungeon boss.

    One made newws and propositions, and the other sliced them to pieces. Every step, every move, every swing, was an art form. Something worthy of praise and appreciation.

    "Stop running and face me fair and square." Rio shouted as godmother disappeared once more, "You have god in your name for godsake. Atleast show respect for that." (Apna nhi to apne naam ka to khyaal rakhle, amma)

    But after taunting her, instead of chasing her like he did many times before, this time he disappeared and teleported directly on top of the sacred tree. A tiny ball of me falling down his feet, like a slithering raindrop.

    Yet as it came into contact with the tree, like it touched gasoline, it started spreading to every corner instantly.

    "Fire in the hole, bitch." Rio said in a snarky tone after setting it aze.

    Noticing his movement and heat of hell, the tree bent and twisted, dropping all chances of attack and just cutting and dropping all the branches which came into contact with mes.

    As the sacred tree was set on fire, the cloudless sky suddenly darkened once more. As sounds of screams starteding from everywhere. The whole dungeon shook heavily in an earthquake, like the itself was protesting against this attacknding near its heart.

    Suddenly the sky cracked open, andrge amounts of water poured down the tree. Covering it in a cocoon of liquid, yet even this freezing state could not put out the tiny ambers of mes burning here and there. Spreading slowly.

    The godmother appeared behind Rio with a roar, a scream that broke the barrier around his soul and nearly shattered his eardrums.

    The Godmother''s control over the was reaching its peak. And so was her anger. She no longer held back. In over many millenniums when has she ever sufferer such a scene. She even forgot about the running time, or securing the core, she just wanted to kill him now.

    "That''s more like it." Rio said, ignoring her razing anger, still taunting her. "Now show me what you really got."

    "You are nothing, human," she hissed, her voice dripping with malice. "You are a mistake--a cursed child of a lost world. Destined to be destroyed, and destroy everything else, Your presence alone is an affront to everything light, life, and nature stands for."

    "I will end you, Rio. And show those beings hiding above the stars, that there is no prophecy that cannot be broken. No man that cannot be killed."

    The Godmother unleashed her true power, and the sky above them exploded into a maelstrom of chaotic energy. Stars themselves seemed to fall from the heavens as meteors rained down upon the battlefield.

    The sun started melting, and the moon began freezing, as the godmother raised both her arms and pulled the whole sky crumbling down on him.

    [Host, this is getting out of hand. If you don''t finish her soon, we''re looking at aary copse.]

    "Rx, system,I''ve got this." Rio said with a grin. "And besides I haven''t used my sword techniques for so long. Let''s see if I still remember it right."

    [You do know who''s recording and watching this battle right. The more you show, the more they''ll know.] System said, looking at a student with grey eyes staring in their direction, from behind the army of angels Amaya summoned.

    "That''s why I''m giving him a show." Rio said without turning his head, "Let him see the sword strike which will cut his core in half too."

    "Silence star , Starfall strike." (I know you all forgot, but I have told you about this technique in chapter 194) Rio muttered and with a burst of speed, his figure disappearedpletely. Leaving only the sound of breaking through the speed and space barriers.

    Face to face with a falling star Rio muttered the final term, "Obliteration" And swung his sword. The striking de slicing through the meteors, cutting them in half.

    "So cool." he said, staring at the two halves falling down, from his left and right. Passing through them, "I always wanted to do this." He said with a smile and rushed towards the next meteor, and then to the next... and so on.

    The dangerous move of godmother, supposed to frighten his heart and crush all his hopes, could only fuel his sword fantasies and anime mc hobbies.

    "Damn no wonder, Sasuke, Zoro, Saitama and Kenpachi all do this. It''s so freaking cool."

    [Wasn''t Saitama the bald guy who one punched the meteor, and not sh at it.]

    ".... U deserve being muted mfer."

 Chapter 396: death of the godmother

    When Leon finally reached the ce where Godmother and Rio were facing each other, their battle had already entered the second stage. The period where the godmother showed her true might, channeling the power of the world''s will directly into her vessel.

    The pressure that she gave off was almost simr to that of a god back on Arcadia, and Rio was face to face with this insurmountable entity.

    "Is this the gap between us?" Leon whispered to himself, his feet rooted to the ground as the weight of the Godmother''s power pressed down on him, crushing him with its sheer magnitude. He could barely move, barely breathe. Every stone beneath him seemed to crack, as if the itself was trying to swallow him whole.

    - all the while watching Rio, who expertly dodged and ran through the rain of burning stars falling over his head, unfazed by the pressure.

    [Stop doubting yourself. How many times have I told you to have faith in me, in yourself.] Apollo said with a little annoyance and anger in his voice, [Where did all that talk about reaching the pinnacle of power, erasing the towers, or leaving a mark on the endless streams of time and history go.]

    [Is this it, one talented boy, little ahead of you at the first crossroads of life, and that''s all it took to crush your spirit.]

    "No, god Apollo it''s not that... I trust you. And I trust myself too, but I _ am I _ can I really_do all that?"

    [Humph, maybe you deserved being a cripple. Others were right to leave you, and maybe I should have too.]

    Apollo left a few harsh words and averted his gaze, ignoring the pleading and praying words of Leon that followed next.

    The word cripple seemed to have triggered the years of struggle and torment he went through both publicly and privately, like how despite being a noble he had to hear taunts from homeless goons, how he''d get shunned and kicked out of every gathering, every function.

    How his parents had to bow their heads and keep silent as others showed off their kids and mocked him indirectly, - all these things shed in his head like voices whispering in his ears, that he''ll always be just that. Never be enough, never be the one. - this trauma, Apollo''s words, plus godmother''s influence - alling together it just thrusted him into despair.

    All until he saw an ethereal shadow raising its hand towards him.

    [You''re amazing Leon. I can''t tell you how much I admire you.

    You have strength and you have heart, I wish I could be just like you.

    I''ve never been free, no one on this is, so would you help me see that freedom? Will you save our world?]

    The words of Kami echoed in his head, and a few tears rolled down his cheeks as he realized that neither could he save her, nor her home.

    "I failed you. I failed everyone." He muttered, falling to his knees.

    [It''s okay. It''s not your fault.] The soul of Kami said as she wiped his tears and hugged him, [You killed my father and avenged my mother , now avenge me too.]

    [Godmother has all our souls trapped in her body, so until you kill her, we''ll never be free. So help us.

    Fulfil your promise, and show me what real freedom looks like.]

    ...

    "System, is that the power of love I''m feeling buddy?" Rio said, as two eyes formed behind the feathers of his angelic wings, and he saw the surging aura and scorching wind in a corner.

    [I think so.] System agreed and added, [Apollo gave him a spell simr to yours. Which let him control the Light mes during the battle with the godmother''s immortal child. Making Leon rank up and defeat that dude.]

    [Since two continuous power ups might inte the protagonist, so I''m guessing now it''s more of a heart tempering thing. A trip down memoryne or fancy ghost visions, You know, unlocking your true potential with powerful emotions and speeches kinda thing.]

    "Humm," Rio nodded his head, before breaking into a smile, "You wanna see a joke, system?"

    [Host, no.] System refused immediately.

    "A small prank wouldn''t hurt." Rio insisted.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [We don''t need to show our cards now, host. There''s no need toplicate things.]

    "But it''ll be very funny."

    [Why even ask me, when you''ve already made up your mind.] System said sourly and went silent.

    Secretly bringing out popcorn and watching as Rio pulled out all the brakes and stopped ying around.

    The task of taking the battle till thest second, giving the enemy hope of winning safely, before crushing it, can be left for the next time. (Dhoni, this was u btw)

    [Time till crash 4 minutes 17 seconds.]

    ... .

    "First, let''s take away his light." Rio uttered, channelling his element to the best of his abilities.

    The surrounding area instantly turned darker to a degree where even the mes of hell burning sacred tree lost their lustre and forgot to shine. Yet his body moved in this realm with ease, the ck tendrils of darkness swirling around him like liquid smoke.

    The gluttonous avatar took a form simr to a dark demon born in abyss, and jumped into the water balloon godmother made to protect the core of the tree. It opened its mouth and started munching on the magic. Slowly but surely eroding and erasing its healing properties.

    Eighteen ethereal reapers appeared behind his back. Covered in clocks with scythes in their hands. They all charged behind the shadow avatar, striking strongly at the core.

    Their magical scythes ignored the barriers and directly reaped the souls godmother had gathered together. Sending them straight to the pits of hell, where eternal torture awaited them.

    Rio''s eyes gleamed in the darkness, he didn''t speak--there was no need. He just enjoyed the screeching sound of hunger and silence of the night.

    A slither of light passed in the darkness at unimaginable speeds, like a shooting star. (StarTrail - sword skill)

    Godmother raised her hand, her tree-like arm shooting forward like ance to block the iing sword. But Rio''s body dissolved into shadow, dodging the attack with ease, and reappeared behind her with a single step.

    For a moment, it was as if time itself had paused. Then, a thin line of darkness split the air in front of the Godmother, severing a part of her form--but instead of bleeding, her body morphed. The tree bark twisted, vines and flowers erupting from the wound as she turned the damage into blooming life.

    "This is my world, Rio. The rules,ws and the truth all bend to my will. What I say, is what is." she said, her voice echoing with an cosmic resonance, as thews of universe shifted.

    The reality around her flickered, and suddenly, the battlefield changed.

    Where once there was the wreckage of battle, now there was a lush meadow filled with vibrant flowers. Rio''s deadly sword strikes became a gentle breeze, just enough tob her hair. His reapers turned into butterflies that fluttered harmlessly around the sacred tree.

    Each time he teleported and attacked, the godmother swapped ces. Causing his attacks to break his own barrier.

    The night sky turned to noon, and the dark void around Rio flickered with sunlight. Melting his armor and burning his skin.

    "That was a birthday gift by the way." Rio said, as he pulled his hot armor sticking to his skin and dropped it to the ground. "And now I gotta hear a long lecture from mom again."

    "Again with your jokes." Godmother sneered and clenched her fists.

    "Come on, just ept your death and bow your head already. You can''t defeat me." Rio taunted, beforeuncing another attack.

    "Arrogant brat, let''s see how you survive this." Godmother said and pointed to the sky.

    Rio''s eyes narrowed as he looked up only to close his eyes under the blinding light, that threatened to burn him whole.

    ''Was that the..?'' Rio said, covering his eyes tightly.

    [Yupp, she pulled the freaking sun on you.]

    ''She can do that?''

    [She is the de facto leader of this ce, of course she can.] System replied and exined, [Though due to the limitations of the dungeon and on her strength, it''s not the real sun, just a part of it.]

    "God, I hate suns." He cursed and was contemting whether to use his system trapping skill he used when dealing with ring ghost grandpa , or pull the scroll which recorded the power from a full sh of his father, or sacrifice a high grade defensive artifact to contain the damage - when the mark of moon on his wrists lit up, and system messages popped up one after another.

    [Goddess of darkness grants you her second blessing. - Reversal Night.]

    [Reversal Night - A skill which allows the wielder topletely invert the properties of light within a given area, turning all sources of illumination--whether natural (like sunlight), artificial, or magical--into pure darkness.

    Skill breakdown

    -1) Total Darkness: All light within the skill''s radius (100-meter area) is extinguished, rendering enemies blind unless they possess special abilities to see in darkness.

    -2) Siphon - Enemies trapped inside lose 10% of their mana or stamina every minute as it is siphoned into the darkness.

    -3) Endless - Debuffs the enemies senses, making any attempt to leave or charge at user futile as the night seems endless like infinity. (Currently a 20% chance to cancel out any teleportation skillpletely.)

    -4) Dissonance (locked) - Enemies experience disorientation, fear and paranoia, hearing whispers from the void that reduce their mental fortitude.

    -5) Nightmare (locked) - Castor can pull the nightmares of his enemies into reality. Forcing them to face their worst horrors.

    -6) Sleep (locked) - Can cause enemies to fall into deep slumber. Lasting duration of it depends on their mental and spiritual strength.

    Note - The darkness treats everyone equally. Hence the blessed one be careful, lest they lose themselves for forever.

    Higher amounts of luminosity can improve the skill range and duration.

    Type - Active skill. (AOE effect + Elemental maniption.)

    Consumption - 35% of total mana pool. (Current duration 2 minutes, Current skill range 30 meters.)

    Cooldown - 7 days. ]

    "Now this is what it means to be pampered by a primordial." Rio said andughed out heartily, before stopping suddenly and turning serious. "System, you''re seeing this too, right? I''m not imagining it."

    [Nope. Little Nyxi really came through this time.]

    ''She must be in a good mood to empty her pocket like this, eh.''

    [Yupp, I think so too.]

    "Well anyway, let''s just end this fight and then we can have a chat and ask her directly." Rio said and looked at the falling sun with a smile.

    "Reverse" He muttered under his breath, and instantly the whole world turned into darkness. (Not the whole world, but since he couldn''t see what''s outside the range, so for him, the distance wasn''t 30 meters, but infinite.)

    The sun that had nearly burned his protective barriers and made him sweat buckets, disappearedpletely. As if it was never there in the first ce.

    Even as the castor all Rio could see was just endless darkness, but he didn''t need vision, he could track godmother on his map, and that was enough.

    He appeared directly in front of that red dot and used his strongest sword sh.

    The godmother who was looking around in surprise as she lost control over the sun and felt the effect of siphoning and dissonance, and failed every attempt to control the space andws of her world within, was shocked shortly as she felt her hair stand on end.

    But despite the best of her abilities she couldn''t see or sense where Rio was. So she just used all her strength to save herself. Forming a cocoon of energy, using souls as cover to hide her aura. While spreading dozens of seeds in the area, which turned into her clones and either started running away or kept repeating her actions.

    Yet it was all a useless struggle. Perhaps she too had realised it, but was too stubborn to ept it.

    "You can''t kill me, Rio. _ I control your friends." Godmother shouted, hoping to buy herself time, or find a way to escape, "If I die, they die too. Let me go and I swear their safety..."

    "You''re funny, you know that." Rio interrupted her with a smile, as he heard Amy''s voice in his ears, telling him that Amaya saved everyone.

    Godmother too coughed out a little blood and sensed every seed of her being burned under angel''s purification magic.

    (As for why Amaya didn''t just directly freed them and took this much time, Rio could also guess the reason. The photogenic heroine has a memory of loss forever etched in her mind now, so she had to vent that anger somewhere.)

    "I can even bring back those who died before. You said their souls would linger in wait right, so let me go and as the ruler of this world, I can bring them to life."

    "Maybe you could do that, but this isn''t your world now. It''s mine." Rio''s cold voice came from everywhere, echoing in the enclosed darkness.

    A heavy thumping sound echoed in the empty space, like a hammer hitting a thin metal sheet, followed by a crackling noise as every barrier blocking his sword broke and disappeared.

    The tiny sparks dissolving in darkness almost instantly.

    Thest thing godmother ever saw, were two ck eyes staring back at her, their pupils reflecting red as sparks flew in front of them.

    "You really are _ _ ."

    Before her words finished, a sword pierced her heart, ending her life once and for all. The aftereffect of this hit also sted all her internal organs to pieces. Making a big hole on her back.

    Cracks started forming on her body as it started to shatter in small pieces. Thin green vines grew here and there, trying to hold her parts together, trying to revive her slowly, but before anything could work, darkness siphoned it all.

    [H sneers at Nyx''s tricks, saying she was about to help you too.]

    [Loki chuckles silently, his eyes showing greed over this skill. He asks you to sell it to him and you can choose something else.]

    [H punches her father, asking him to stop being so shameless, lest he ends up angering another primordial.]

    ...

    ...

    Rio nced through their messages and ignored it, this duo was acting just like their usual selves. Many other gods who were paying attention to his fight also said some words, either praising him or asking him questions and things, but Rio just ignored them all.

    "Time to gather my loot." He said as he slowly walked forward aimlessly. Going towards the ashes of the sacred tree which had now fully burned under hell mes.

    Opening his true eyes, he rummaged in the wreckage and picked out a small green core from the ground, and pocketed it in his inventory.

    Though he wanted to study this thing, after all, it''s not everyday that onees across something as rare as a world''s core. But now wasn''t the time.

    Reversal domain would justst about half a minute more, and in this time, he not only had to set some bait and covers to hide his loot, but also had to prepare himself to y the part of a wounded hero.

    Not to mention, the most important part, he needed to be stern so he doesn''t break intoughter when he sees Leon''s bewildered face outside, whose enlightenment, fancy speeches, and power of love didn''t do jack shit.

    [Petty.] System replied, while pulling out the camera function secretly, to capture the protagonist''s expression.

    "Say that after you swallow the popcorn stuck in your throat."

    [Heh, it''s melon seeds, the popcorns ended a while ago.]

    "...."

    [....]

 Chapter 397: The end of dungeon event

    By the time Leon woke up from his dose of love after taking thatst speech of Kami, and chose to enter the battleground.

    "I will kill her and free you, Kami." He said and stepped forward, taking his sword out and charging forward to help Rio, who was ''struggling'' against the godmother, and was ''about to get burned'' by the sun.

    But he had just taken two steps when a boundry of darkness rose from nowhere, separating the two. And no matter what method he tried to break it, or get in, nothing worked.

    Not the spell of sunshine, nor the mes of light, on the contrary the more he tried, the stronger this weird spell seemed to be.

    "What kind of spell is this?" Leon asked himself, hoping to hear from God Apollo, who just ignored him at this point.

    "Was it Rio''s doing or godmother''s?" He thought, before dismissing this idea. Thinking ''It must be godmother as it''s literally her world''.

    He pulled out a broken bead from his storage ring, flew to the center of this dark circle. Aiming to drop it down from the top.

    "The system description said that the boundary breaking beads can break any domain or array barrier boundaries, it should be able to break whatever this is too."

    But just when Leon''s *protagonist special item to break out of every situation* item was about to show it''s magic, the space rippled behind him, forming a portal, through which Amelia stepped out.

    Leon took a step back and directly attacked her with a ming spear, (to keep her at distance), thinking she must have slipped past Saisha.

    But Amy just took a nce at his actions and ignored him. Staring strongly at the sun-less sky and the circle of darkness floating in the middle of nowhere.

    "How did you..." Seeing that Amelia had no intent of attacking him, and no longer had those green eyes, Leon tried to speak, to hide his embarrassment, only to be interrupted by her. "Amaya helped everyone. They should be on their way."

    "Oh, well that''s good, the dungeon isn''t looking so good, so we probably don''t have much time. Now we can all just work together and defeat that godmother..."

    "No need, knowing him, she probably won''t survive long inside." Another voice came from behind.

    "Ba.. I mean princess Reba, you''re fine too." Leon said in surprise as he turned around and saw her. Before the reality of her words, drowned the happiness he felt seeing her safe. "Wait, you mean, this spell is Rio''s?"

    "Of course it is." Ba replied in a matter of fact tone, while walking towards her friend, "It is his element, you know."

    "But _ the godmother, she_."

    "Probably dead." Ba said, before engaging in a conversation with Amelia in whispers he couldn''t hear.

    ''Is the godmother really dead?'' He asked himself, and as if to answer his question, rain started pouring from the sky. The weeping for its loss.

    The cocoon of darkness disappeared too, and what walked in front of him was the winner.

    Rio with his bare upper body covered in blood, sweat and ashes came out of there, his perfect wings had turned bloody and filled with many injuries.

    "Told you, he''ll be fine." Reba said, holding Amy''s hand, who seemed nervous.

    "We won." Rio muttered under his breath, his face filled with a sense of relief and satisfied smile. ___ before his tired body gave up and he started falling down the sky.

    One wing of his stretched out and fluttered violently, trying to steady him, but his speed only kept increasing the closer he got to the ground.

    "Or maybe not." She said again, looking at him fall.

    Amelia disappeared from her ce,ing out of portal right beside him, as she caught and helped himnd safely.

    "Idiot." She cursed as she hugged him, her eyes getting moist as she stared at her hands covered in blood behind his back.

    The group of students surrounded the duo, gathering around them, asking about his well being, or helping him heal. Thanking him for defeating the godmother and praising his bravery.

    "Can you take care of yourself a little? Who asked you to fight that women alone?"

    "What if something happened to you huh? Couldn''t you just wake me up and let me help you too."

    "But no, you have to go up and be the hero, right? Prove you''re still an angel? Guess what, a one winged one now.."

    Though so far away, Leon could still hear the sound of Baining, and the othersughing as Rio tried to coax her.

    And he just stared at this scene from the background, feeling like he lost something, but not quite sure what.

    Rio stared at Leon''s direction from the corner of his eyes, and seeing his lost look, nearly broke his character andughed out loud.

    "You_ you can still smile huh, see if I don''t tell my aunt and get your head straight."

    "I told you I''m fine." Rio said, pushing her hand away from his ears.

    "You know, I''d believe you, if I couldn''t see arge see through hole in your belly, where your kidney used to be. Idiot."

    "Hey, that''s just mean, okay, and besides, it''ll heal in time." He replied, before taking a deep breath, as a warm feeling of calm washed over his body.

    He turned his head and saw Saisha''s hand on his back, as she poured her mana into his body, healing some of his bigger injuries and stopping the bleeding. "Thanks." He said with a little smile as their eyes met, before being pulled away again by Amy and Ba.

    "We should all leave this dungeon before it copses." Katherine said in her usual indifferent tone, breaking the little harmonious scene in the ruins.

    "Yeah, she''s right. This world won''tst much longer."

    "But how?"

    "Shouldn''t a portal open up after the dungeon boss dies? I can''t see one."

    "Do we have to go back from where we entered?"

    "Are you a fool, we all dropped here on different ces, most of them which have already been turned to dust and disappeared when she shrunk the cities."

    "So how are we going to leave?"

    "No idea. But I can fly, so I''ll take a look around. See if I can spot any portal."

    "..."

    "Nope, can''t see anything for miles."

    "Are we sure that godmother is dead? What if she''s alive and is just hiding somewhere?"

    "I watched her body being burned. Her ashes are still lingering on my chest. So yeah, I''m sure I killed her."

    "I''m not doubting you, _you know, I''m just saying?"

    "Well, whatever it is, we don''t have much time now."

    "We have toe up with a way out fast, cause these apocalyptic signs and gloomy air are freaking me out."

    "Amelia, can you teleport us out?"

    "That''s not how space magic works you dimwit."

    "You.."

    "Guys, we don''t have time to fight or argue between ourselves, does anyone here know any way that can get us all out. Or are we on epting death terms now."

    "Oh my god, I''m gonna die. We''re all gonna die."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Fuck the elders and their academy, what kind of shit dungeon did they send us in. No way in hell any of it was normal?"

    "I sensed it on day one, how can a normal dungeon be so dangerous. So many of us died here. And now maybe.. .."

    "Stop with the depressing talks, I''m sure we can figure something out if we work together."

    "Yeah, and besides, being trapped in a dungeon doesn''t mean we''ll die, I mean, we do have someone who was trapped for two years and still survived right."

    "Are you mocking me?"

    "If you have a deathwish vamp, I will kill you right now."

    "You can try."

    "... Amy, not the right time."

    The students all talked to each other, their faces filled with worry and fear as they tried to find ways to get out of an impossible situation. Few even started searching the city for any trace of godmother, saying maybe there''s some other sacred tree somewhere and she''s hiding there...

    But soon enough, everyone just came together and sort of like started feeling trapped and lost. Cursing their fate and that of the academy.

    After this long time, and some ''close'' talks with Vanessa, Leon too got out of his depressed mood. He looked at the beed in his hand, wondering if he could break the barrier of this dungeon and help everyone.

    But just when he was about to step up and speak, Rio walked towards him with Amy''s help and asked, "Are you still going to hesitate and not help us out?"

    "No, I was just _" Leon was ready to use the bead yet again, but stopped when Rio patted him on the shoulder and walked past him.

    "How long are you going to hide and y your part? Haven''t you acted enough already?"

    His words confused everyone , and they all turned to stare at one inconspicuous student in the background. Someone who had been silent till now.

    "Who is he talking about?"

    "Do you know him?"

    "Isn''t he in your ss?" Ba asked.

    "What, no, I thought he was in yours." Saisha replied.

    "But I clearly remember, he said he was from A-5 when he helped me defeat the son of godmother."

    "No, that''s impossible. I know everyone''s faces. Especially someone whose strength reaches that high."

    "Well, that''s weird."

    "Fuck, is he a shape shifting monster? Is that why the portal didn''t appear."

    "Yeah, that can be. Let''s just kill him ASAP and leave this ce."

    "What? You''re not killing him. He saved my life." Ba said, standing in front of the mad crowd and looking over her shoulder at Rio, wondering what he was doing.

    ...

    "Are you still going to just stay silent, cause if that''s your answer, then I''m happy to stand aside and watch as they kill you." Rio said, staring into the gray eyes of this mysterious student.

    The student ignored the chatter of everyone around him and stared at Rio, finally after seeing that he wasn''t bluffing, the student clicked his tongue and asked, "When''d you find out?"

    "You want an honest answer?" Rio asked back.

    "...." They both locked eyes, and anyone with half a brain cell could see the oozing animosity in the air.

    "Brother, who is he?" Amelia asked, mana already lingering over her fingers, ready to teleport Rio and sh this guy''s head off, if he tried anything.

    "This is the backup. The help from our elders and the academy. Though he sucked at his job." Rio said with a  sneer, his words causing everyone to gasp and get angry even more.

    "What?" A group exmation could be heard all over the ce. As everyone gathered over him, shouting and asking why he didn''t say so earlier or why he didn''t save anyone.

    Even Reba who fought side by side with this guy ever since she entered this dungeon, stood aside in silence. Trusting Rio for what he was doing.

    Amaya looked at her, then at Rio, and then at the mysterious student -and shook her head.

    "Will you just keep standing there, wasting our precious escape time, or would you show us your real face now and get us out of here.."

    As Rio''s words finished like thunder, the mysterious student shredded his skin, changing back into his real appearance. A face that shocked everyone present.

    "I knew the academy wouldn''t let us in without any supervision."

    "So they did send a professor in."

    "But where was he all this time, why didn''t he help us fight the godmother? If he showed up earlier, we could''ve won easily."

    "Hello, Professor Quin." Rio said, his eyes filled with a mocking smile over the pedo professor''s annoyed displeasure.

    His head filled withughter over what this guy was going to face when the elders waiting outside learned he failed both his missions. Neither did he find the world''s core, nor was he able to save any students.

 Chapter 398: Holidays, home and happiness

    "Hello, professor Quin."

    "I''ll open up a portal, so you can all gather together, and we''ll leave soon." Quin said, looking at everyone.

    But before he turned around and started flipping his hands to jump start his mojo, a sword was pointed straight to the back of his neck.

    "Miss Lionheart,.." Quin said, using thin spider threads to push Lucille''s sword away. "You do know pointing a weapon at a professor is kind of a capital crime. You can get suspended, or expelled."

    "Yeah well, I''m known to be crazy like that." Lucille replied, pointing her sword again. Her face, showing no change of emotion or expression to his direct threat. (Something which Rio really gotta praise. - crazy indeed.)

    "I am trying to help you." Quin exined, raising his hands in peace.

    "Where were you earlier? This whole time? _ with your strength you could''ve helped us defeat her, save a lot more students. Why didn''t you?" Lucille asked again.

    But Quin just stuck to his theory. "I did help where I could. I was with Reba''s group, and she can testify about how helpful I''ve been to her and those who were in that city."

    "Yet only you and her were the only survivors there. I mean I get that each of godmother''s children were strong, but they shouldn''t be at your level. So I''ll ask again, why didn''t you help?"

    "I excel in theory, Miss Lionheart, plus I had my orders." Quin exined, "This dungeon was your test. A trial for you guys to clear. When you all entered, the elders told you about the risks and you entered nheless. The academy, or elders, or I, aren''t at fault for your bad decisions?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "So you''re telling me, us saying yes to an academy curriculum was a bad decision?"

    "You know what I mean, miss Lionheart..."

    "Were you also controlled by godmother earlier, or did you just y a part, acting like everyone else did, so you wouldn''t arouse any suspicion?" Lucille asked again, her words causing Amaya to raise an eyebrow, as she remembered how she bombarded everyone in her anger to ''free'' them.

    (Don''t tell he''s masochistic?) She wondered, not even bothering to look back in her mind and see that memory again.

    But to her glee, Quin just shook his head and answered, "That''s not true. Her magic was effective against me too."

    But just when everyone''s suspicions were getting less, Rio''s words interrupted him, "But you broke free from it much sooner didn''t you?_ the godmother told me during our fight."

    Quin stared at Rio, his pupils getting bigger until they covered his whole irises, and then his whole eye. A sign of his single ocellis spider traits. But Rio just leaned over Reba and ignored him.

    "You''ll be surprised at how much one is willing to talk when they know they''re about to die. _ So do you wanna talk now, _ professirrrr?" He asked mockingly, only to feel a pinch on his newly healed bare skin, and seeing Ba looking at him questioningly.

    "Sorry, I was just trying to help Lucille get answers, that''s all." He said and then backed away. Pulling Ba along as to support his ''weak'' body.

    Quin stared at their backs, until his view got blocked again by the angry students, each asking angrily about his affiliation, motives and moves.

    ... .

    [Did you have to do this? Poor guy''s now cornered and hated by heirs of nearly 20 powerful families. Not counting how he''s ousted now and would probably turn into a scapegoat.] System said, once they were a little distance away, watching drama y out.

    "Two reasons, first, he loses support from the academy, nobles and elites all at once. So even if he cracks the form for his mentor''s research and work, by the time he''s out looking for partners or posting it legally, we''ll have plenty of time to steal it, and kill him.

    Second, if he dies now, the list of suspects is gonna be very long. Making tracking us harder. And by some off chance, even if we do get caught, we have a valid reason for serving justice." Rio exined in his heart, talking deets about the n he made with Ryukst time, before Saisha interrupted them.

    [You think too much.] System repliedzily and added, [A bullet which isn''t made on Arcadia, shot through his head, sting him and his soul apart - case closed, no proof, no witness, just in and simple, THE END.]

    "And how much do you charge for such magical bullets?"

    [Just 20k.]

    "..."

    [But the gun costs around a hundred thousand so.]

    "Yupp, that''s what I thought. My n''s cheaper."

    [Just like you.] System sneered, before cheekily adding, [by the way, you forgot the third reason, cause he was tailing your girlfriend and you got jealous.]

    "I''m not jealous. I''m angry. There''s a difference there."

    [Yeah, _ not so much, though.]

    "Pretty biggg much, when we''re talking about pedophiles, and not your regr romantics." Rio replied honestly, before adding further, "And besides, I was gonna deal with him during exam times anyway, it was his bad luck that he got dragged into this dungeon and couldn''t handle his obsession..."

    [Forgetting to do his job and just roaming around Reba - got it.] System finished his words and replied with a chuckle, [Though you gotta give him some points, the man putting extra effort by taking Amaya''s beatings for her, was a nice touch.]

    "Just cause he cares a little, doesn''t mean what he feels is right._ and besides, if I didn''t have to walk on thin ice and eggshells all this time, nning and plotting my moves, I would''ve had his head hanging on a pike at the castle doors of Schi. _ so I''d say he''s pretty lucky."

    [You don''t like pedophiles, do you? I wonder why?]

    "Urgh, shut your disgusting brain, my bitchy system." Rio said with a disgusted expression, "No one touched me okay, I''m as purer as theye. _ it''s just, some issues, they just trigger me sometimes."

    [Hmm, a deja vu maybe.]

    "Yeah, well who knows." Rio just shrugged his shoulders before silencing the system, "and now I''m feeling Ba staring at me spacing out like I''m crazy, so I''m just gonna head on out. And you should sleep, _ after you''re done counting my points and sorting out my rewards."

    [I''m a system, not your ve, you know.]

    "Yeah, well, get to work."

    ... .

    While Rio was chit chatting with his system, Quin had to handle a crowd of angry teens who had multiple near death experiences and have seen way too many deaths in way too many ways that a counsellor wouldn''t call age appropriate.

    Lucky for him, the dungeon didn''t have that much time left, so he managed to hold them off at threats of opening a portal or everyone dying - and thus with his mojo work came a portal, and through that  everyone left one by one.

    Ending the arc of this dungeon and their first trial in the long long story of LOAN behind them.

    Leon turned to stare at this ce a final time before stepping out. His heart, still not satisfied with the results or his performance. But as fate would have it, this setback only fueled his determination to grow stronger and surpass Rio much higher.

    ...

    When everyone stepped out of the portal what awaited them was the same forest they entered from. Though now, a lot of new crowd and ships were hovering in the air.

    A lot of med staff walked in, holding different kinds of tools and medicines, checking in on everyone one by one.

    For safety reasons, everyone was ced into a separate camp - staff just testing and checking everyone for any infection, any alien lifeform hitchhiking a ride, or any other abnormality in their system.

    (There was a past case a decade ago where a parasitic alien worm slipped through, and just in a week multiplied at enormous speeds. Destroying well over a hundred people before anyone even sensed the abnormality. Hence the extra precautions.)

    Obviously with the resources of world association it didn''t take much longer to clear everyone. Though they still asked a lot of questions about the godmother''s powers and her death, as she sounded scary and somewhat slippery.

    After going through lies and exaggerated battle descriptions a dozen times, Rio was finally left alone. (As always, he''s thest to be let go every time.)

    Surprisingly no one saw professor Quin after they came out. ording to the elders, the professor took off for the academy, to present his report directly to the council and the principal.

    After everything that happened, and hearing what they all have been through, elder Xander ying his role as a concerned good guy, informed everyone that their sses would be cancelled for two weeks.

    They can all either go back to the academy and rest in their rooms, or take the first train home and visit their parents.

    "Spending some time with family and friends where you feelfortable and safe, would help them better cope with everything." - were his words.

    Then came a speech from the viking elder Ragnar, about how this world is cold and cruel, or how life isn''t fair, and the weak get squashed every day, so if you wanna survive just stay strong... . .. And h h - they were all free to go.

    "Hey, aren''t you guysing back to the academy?" Rubina asked, seeing that everyone had left but Amelia was still standing there.

    "Yeah, I''m just waiting for my brother, he''s talking with that old elder." Amy replied.

    "Still.. Didn''t he already give his report along with us?" Amaya pointed out.

    "Yeah, no, apparently they had some new questions about how godmother died and so, you can go, we''ll catch up." Reba replied, and waved them goodbye. Watching as everyone left their own way.

    Some had called their family to arrange their transport, some boarded the med ships and left for academy, few just walked on foot to the nearest town for a drink and waited till their arrangements arrived.

    "So, who''sing to pick you up?" Ba asked once they were the only ones left outside.

    "Brother called father, and since he was nearby, he said he''ll pick us up. You?" Amy replied.

    "Well you know, the same as always. Dad wanted toe, but due to some kingship work and all, _"

    "So he arranged some guards?"

    "Nope." Reba replied and started shaking her head with a smile, "Mom was way too happy toe here and meet everyone. Her words, "I can''t wait to hear the gossip, tell me everything that happened."

    "I''m assuming, she didn''t mean that about the dungeon." Amy added with a controlled chuckle.

    "Yupp, turns out she''s more interested in my dating life than my safety." Ba replied in a snarky tone, making Ameliaugh out loud.

    "Now you''re just exaggerating it. We all know Aunt Artemis loves you."

    "What are you gals talking about?" Rio''s voice came as he walked towards them, "Just so you know, I could hear you twoughing all the way in the back room, what happened? Ba finally learned a good joke?"

    "Phmma  ahahha ahaha mmmm"

    "Haha very funny," Ba just pped Amy''s shoulder to shut her up and then looked behind them, "What did they ask you?"

    "The same questions."

    "And what did you tell them?"

    "The same answers."

    "They don''t look so good."

    "Yeah, well, they got a riot of angry parents to handle back at the academy, so their headache... us, let''s just go grab something to eat, I''m starving." Rio said, and as if to acquisite to his words, his empty stomach grumbled loudly.

    "Wow, you really must be hungry for this to do that. Were you on a strike or something?" Amy said, pointing at his t tummy.

    "Simr, _ had to y dead for a couple of days, so _"

    "Wait , what?" x 2

    "ahmm long story, tell you at the table, yeah." Rio said and walked away, leaving two girls just staring at each other in confusion.

    "What''s with him and ying dead?" Ba asked.

    "You''re asking me, who do I ask?" Amy replied.

    "Well, he''s your brother."

    "And your boyfriend."

    "Hey, you girlsing,?" Rio''s words broke what could''ve been another friend''s silly back and forth between them. "Or you just gonna stand there and pull each other''s hair like you did in the dungeon."

    "Hey.."

    "I think I told you, not to mention that."

    "Yeah, well, it was a good show, and everyone says my memory''s better." Rio replied.

    "He''s gonna milk it, isn''t he?" Ba said, looking at Amy.

    "Yupp, we can forget poking him for a few months without getting a shot of this in return." Amy replied.

    "Damn, that Godmother.." x 2

    "And you''re still standing there. Fine, I''ll just eat by myself then. Ba, don''t cry on my shoulderster, and Amy, don''t you dare tell dad about it."

    "What _ wait stop, we''reing." x 2

    . ...

    ... .

    Back in the clouds, the two elders stared at the trio sitting by a river and just having their brunch near a bonfire. Their jokes andughter echoing through the calming winds and evening sky.

    "You trust him?" Xander asked.

    "Not really." Ragnar replied with an honest look, "The kid''s too sharp for his age. Too cocky too."

    "That''s what I thought. But we did the polygraph, we gave him the truth serum, the seeker''s gu, the sinner''s blessings  - nothing." Xander said, mentioning the bunch of tests they went through just now, "We even checked his and everyone else''s rings and storage bags too, nothing there either."

    "You think Quin was lying that he didn''t find the world''s core?"

    "I mean, the man did bring back a fake and tried to fool us, so maybe, _ anyway, I left all this theatrics to the council and principal. It''s their idea, their headache. But one thing I''m sure of, is that this sure costs us a lot." Xander said with a sigh and disappeared from his ce. Going back to his chambers at the world association.

    "Yupp, we just suffered losses. Something which who hates us would surely enjoy." Ragnar said to himself and disappeared too.

    Two secondster, Rio looked at the clouds and his lips curled into a smile. ''You''re right, I will enjoy this.''

 Chapter 399: Reunion - I

    "You all seem to be enjoying yourselves." A voice broke the chatter amongst the trio who seemed to have started fishing for some time now. "Left something for me, or did Amy finish everything."

    Rio turned his head and smiled upon seeing arge ship hovering in the air, not artistic like the one academy had, but more majestic. There was this aura of danger lingering around it, making the first instinct of those who saw it to not appreciate, but turn tail and run away.

    There were guards stationed at a few ces, a g of house ke and sigil of Shade guild carved onto the wood outside, indicating who this ship belonged to.

    A man stepped out of the ship, two swords hung at his side: one heavy, strapped across his back, and another slimmer, sheathed at his waist.

    He didn''t wear any armor, or those shiny fancy suits of elites, just in clothes, a white loose shirt tucked into beige pants and a long ck overcoat, fluttering ever so slightly in the wind. Yet that simplicity couldn''t hide the aura of superiority or nobility oozing out of him.

    There was something about him, like a palpable aura of danger that just rolled off his broad shoulders like mist. The kind that made people instinctively step aside, avoid his gaze, and shrink back in reverence--or fear.

    "Father," Amelia shouted, her voice thick with joy, giddy even, as she immediately dropped the fishing rod in her hands and raced toward him. The space crackled and sizzled as she opened a portal in her excitement, disappearing from her spot only to reappear in the next instant, throwing her arms around the man. "I missed you." she said, her voice muffled as she hugged him tightly.

    "I missed you too." Agnus replied, gently patting his daughter on the back. His face,

    showing a rare sunny smile that millions in Schi could never imagine the scary sword saint, a man known and feared across the whole continent for his cold behavior and cruelty, to have.

    Agnus always had the straightforward personality, a man of few words, who showed his emotions by his actions, not by some sweet promises or anecdotes. The only time when he lets his soft side show is when he''s with his family, especially his wife Artemis, and daughter Amelia. The two were the stars of his eyes.

    Everywhere else, he was simply a sword, a deadly weapon in a human form.

    He walked by following Amy who grabbed his hand and pulled him, nodding his head in soft hums as she kept talking about various things.

    Rio saw the familiar scene, and couldn''t help but smile sweetly. Behind him, Reba stood awkwardly, her body stiff as a board. She shifted uneasily from foot to foot, her fingers tugging nervously at the hem of her sleeve, her gaze locked onto the ground as though the lines in the dry leaves were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

    Her usual sharpness, her confident, no-nonsense demeanor, cheery personality, they had all evaporated the moment Agnus appeared, leaving behind a young girl who was clearly out of her depth.

    When Amelia caught sight of her best friend''s difort, her lips quirked into a mischievous smile.

    "And it was brother who ate everything, not me," she announced with a mocking tone, eyes twinkling as she released her father''s hand. Herining words earned a soft chuckle from Rio, who took it all in stride. Reba, on the other hand, seemed to retreat further into herself.

    Her eyes followed the path of an ant scurrying across the leaf, anything to avoid meeting the piercing gaze of the Sword Saint.

    Rio noticed her sudden change in demeanor and, with a sly grin, leaned over and lightly pped her hand. "Rx," he whispered, his voice full of teasing warmth, though the amusement in his eyes couldn''t be any more clear.

    "Hello, Father," Rio greeted, his tone respectful yet warm. He dipped into a small bow, but before he could finish, Agnus had stepped forward and pulled him into a hug.

    "Don''t do that again," Agnus muttered in a low voice, his arm firmly around his son''s back.

    For a moment, Rio felt a pulse of mana course through his father''s hand, scanning his body, checking for injuries or anomalies.

    He didn''t ask or refute, after what happenedst time in the dungeon, he pulled the dead body and soul travel thing this time, probably scaring everyone outside, so he just gave a soft response and held the broad back with his hands. He could finally do that now. Closing his eyes as all thoughts cleared in a calm sense of safety.

    [Aww my baby host finally grew up. I''m sooo proud.] System chimed in, speaking with the mock sentimentality.

    ''STFU system.''

    Though after hearing the system''s words, the peaceful moment Rio felt in his heart, disappeared, being reced by that awkwardness, as he gently pulled away from his father.

    As despite everything, he still couldn''t be fully open orfortable around his father. It wasn''t anything bad, orck of love, trust, or respect -but just his own stoic personality.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He had never been open to emotions neither here nor on earth, nor did he have an overly expressive father both times, so the rtionship was kinda like, you ask him to take a bullet for his dad he''ll take it, ask him to sell his kidney, donate the house, heart and head _ he''ll do it.

    But ask him to hug him in public and say how much he loves or looks up to him, now that''s something he''ll start hesitating about.

    It just wasn''t him.

    But dly neither was it Agnus.

    It wasn''t that they didn''t care--it was just that neither of them were the kind of people who openly expressed it.

    "Well, are youing with us?" Agnus''s voice was directed at Reba now, pulling her out of her silent stupor.

    Reba blinked in surprise, her mind still fogged with nervous thoughts. "U-uh, yes. I mean, no! _uh Athena_ My mother--she''sing to pick me up." The words stumbled out of her like an overclocked machine, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Before stopping the rattle and looking down again, frowning as even the little ant disappeared from there.

    Before she could recover herself, she heard the light chuckling sounding from beside her. She red at Rio, pinching his hand to cut it out, only to be stumped as Amy just broke out in a much louderughter while holding her stomach and pointing to her face.

    "What''s gotten into you, Ba?" Amy teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It''s not like this is the first time you''ve met my dad. Or is it because you two are--" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

    "N-no, it''s not like that," Reba mumbled, her voice barely audible. She nced around nervously, hoping the ground would just swallow her whole.

    "Really, I mean, it''s no secret in academy, I''m sure father_"

    "Shut up!" Reba hissed hearing Amy''s words, her face growing redder by the second. Without thinking, she reached over and covered Amy''s mouth with her hand. "If you don''t stop right now, I swear, you won''t live to see tomorrow." she said telepathically, warning her.

    She was already nervous enough thinking about what to say when her motheres, or when she reaches home,- now if you add Rio''s parents on top, her silly heart probably wouldn''t be able to handle so much embarrassment in one day.

    "Since Athena hasn''te yet, why don''t you wait on the ship." Agnus asked, looking at the duo of girls just messing around.

    "N_no, uncle, I''m fine. You can go, mother should be here any moment now." Reba answered, but Amelia didn''t listen and just pulled her away. Leaving a squeal behind as she teleported them both to the ship.

    Rio looked up, hearing the excited tone from his sister, reporting various events in a fancy manner, as she met the few aplices of their father from Shade or Duchy.

    People whom they would both see at home, or people who were their instructors or guards when they were young.

 Chapter 400: Reunion - II

    "So _what do you have to say?" Agnus asked, once they were both alone. Holding a fishing rod and just sitting down at the makeshift wooden table.

    Rio joined him and sat beside him, "I''m sorry about the whole soul travel thing, but mother knew I had this skill, so I thought��"

    "I''m not talking about that." Agnus cut him off with a raised hand, "You and Reba, _ are you serious?" He asked clearly.

    "We are just _uh giving it a try. See if it works out or not." Rio replied, mildly exining the talk he had with Ba before making anything official.**n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ��-(Ps- I know it sounds like why is he discussing such a small thing in detail at first sight, but considering their identities, public rtionships can''t be ignored as just puberty things. They matter, and they stick like a scar, lifelong.)

    Agnus took in Rio''s words, nodding as if mulling over what he said. He didn''t respond right away, letting the silence speak before he did. "Your mother likes that kid, don''t break her heart."

    Rio blinked, unsure of whom his father was referring to �� Ba or his mother. But he nodded his head nheless, they were both very important to him after all.

    "How''s the academy?" Agnus asked, changing the subject so naturally it caught Rio off guard.

    "Same as thest time."

    "Well, that''s what happens when you choose to repeat a whole year." Agnus said, his words choking Rio''s thoughts.

    "..."

    [Phumm muha haha here we go again.] System startedughing, hearing the beginning of the same talk they''ve had a couple of times before. And every time it was Rio just listening like a good kid who made a bad decision, with Agnus still having the same expression that says, ''You''re an idiot.''

    Rio shutted down the system''s voice quickly, his focus returning to his father, who had now moved into full rare ''dad lecture'' mode speeches, before ending it with the same sentence he does every time. "I still don''t know how you convinced your mother to let you waste a year."

    "It was important for me, father, plus I''m in the same ss as Amy, so I can keep her safe." Rio replied in a sincere tone.

    "She would''ve been safer at Sunshine, with your grandmother looking after her." Agnus replied and shook his head.

    "..." Rio stayed silent for a moment, knowing this was another discussion they had gone over more than a few times already.

    He felt a pang in his chest, he wanted to tell Agnus everything, things that he told his mother years ago, and things he never did too - but he simply couldn''t. Not with the majority of the Egyptian pantheon hovering over his head.

    ��

    Though unspoken, but Agnus also understood that he may have his reasons, so he never pushed him for answers. Anyway, Artemis knew him better, and she trusted his decision, so��

    "Coming back to this dungeon, I heard she lost control and used that crown again." Agnus said, his face for the first time turning to see his expressions.

    ".... She''s safe, father. She can do it. I know she can. She just needs some practice. And I''ll be there to help her, _ ."

    "You were the one who told me about the dangers of chaos, of that crazy cult following her goddess, and about what could happen if she lost her controlpletely."

    "And I will do Everything in my power, so that that never happens." Rio met his gaze and answered confidently. "You can trust me."

    Agnus looked at him for a few seconds, before turning his attention back to the river, "Good. So tell me, what exactly happened?"

    Rio exhaled slowly, and to answer that question, started exining everything from the very beginning, from the principal''s intention to train freshies, to the elders guiding them, him learning about the association''s real goal, and then what they saw or went through in the dungeon, before finally solving the godmother with Nyx''s help.

    "Saisha? That''s the elven princess, right?" Agnus asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

    "Yes, father," Rio replied.

    "And she managed to calm Amy''s anger and bring her back?" Agnus'' voice had a note of surprise, though it was subtle.

    "There are some things different, but yeah, that''s what happened. She managed to get through her chaotic state." Rio replied.

    Agnus chuckled, shaking his head lightly. "She beat our Amy, huh? Guess she''s as strong as the rumors say."

    "She is chosen by Gaia, father." Rio said as a matter of fact.

    Agnus'' eyes flickered with interest. "Is she a friend?" He asked, this sudden question catching Rio off guard, who himself hadn''t figured out this answer yet.

    ".... I_uh_ I don''t think_ know, I mean, I don''t know._ We''re just_ batchmates, yeah_just that��"

    Seeing Rio stutter a dozen times in a single sentence, Agnus raised an eyebrow and then changed the topic. While making a mental note to ask the Alphas to get him everything they can on that girl.

    "Well Ravens have had a cooperative rtionship with the elves since ages, I guess I''ll send a word, what do you think?"

    "As you wish, father." Rio replied, d for the change in topic. He always felt just not thinking about that girl was the best move for his heart''s health.

    "You''ve grown taller." Agnus said, ending the questioning session / ''interview''.

    "Have I? Maybe it''s cause I''m getting thinner, so it may seem like that." Rio replied, holding up his wrist to show it got slimmer. How he has to tie the watch on the 4th hole back now. His actions just making Agnus smile in response.

    "So 2 weeks, want toe by the guild?" Agnus said suddenly, "We can have some training together, you can show me your sword technique, see how much you improved? Maybe take on a mission together."

    "Mother probably wouldn''t let me leave." Rio replied, instantly refusing the offer.

    "I don''t think she''ll let me leave either. Let''s just train at home."

    "Fair." Rio replied, and took the initiative to ask a question. "How are things at the guild?" He said, his voice casual but his eyes focused, searching for any reaction.

    Agnus didn''t nce away from the river as he reeled in his line slowly, as if giving the question some thought.

    "Same as always, busy, not much has changed." He replied.

    "Any news from grandpa?"

    "Father''s still at the border, ording to the reports, and the intensity of attacks, he''ll have to be there for a while." Agnus exined, making Rio sigh at the repeated response.

    "I haven''t properly seen him for years." He said.

    "Yeah, me neither." Agnus said, throwing some more baits and flipping the reel even longer.

    For a moment, they both stared out at the river, lost in their own thoughts, before Rio coughed and asked something else again.

    "_ um, any news about Warzy or Sin guilds, or something?"

    "Nothing much. The Sins are still in the shadows, as they always do. And Warzy, is recovering_ steadily."

    "They may attack Damascus when they''re ready," Rio mused, "A show of power after the damage they took, plus revenge now that I''m back and all."

    "Your mother can handle them." Agnus replied confidently. Showing no doubt for the safety of the city, with his wife ruling over it.

    Rio nodded in agreement, though he nned to make some back ups. Just in case.

    "About the churches we couldn''t get before," Rio began, the words tumbling out before he could stop himself. "I''ve made some ns, and I''ve been working on some more potions. We could try to buy their loyalties now. Expand our��"

    A sharp p on the back of his neck cut him off mid-sentence, jolting him forward with such force that his brain rattled in his skull. Rio winced, rubbing the spot where his father had just whacked him. It wasn''t the first time Agnus had done this, but it always caught him off guard. And it always freaking hurt.

    "How many times have I told you not to worry about things above your age." Agnus said, his voice filled with reproach. "We are your parents, and we''re still alive and fine, so stop always acting like a grown-up, and just be a normal kid, for once."

    Rio opened his mouth to protest, to exin himself out of habit, but the sharp look his father gave him made him pause. "I was just trying to help, _ sorry, I won''t do it again."

    Rio turned his head and saw Agnus raise his hand slowly again, so he instantly changed his words, faster than the sh, and further added. "I promise."

    "Good." Agnus nodded his head with a satisfied smile and looked at the sky, "So, you made any new friends?"

    "Some." Rio replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

    "Enemies?"

    "Some." Rio repeated, his grin widening in response.

    "Good."

    �� .

    "Your aunt''s here," Agnus said suddenly, his eyes still fixed on the river, though Rio noticed the tiny dot in the sky, getting bigger the closer it got, until it turned into arge ship, steering the clouds. "Let''s go back." Agnus said, already starting to walk on air as if it were solid ground.

    Rio stood up, stretching his arms and legs, which had grown stiff from sitting for so long. He nced back at the river and the basket of fish they''d caught. Well, technically, only he had caught.

    Reba''s magic was still keeping them alive in a shimmering ball of water, each fish darting around as if they were in their natural home. Her words, "Fishing is all about catching them, not killing them."

    He smiled again, thinking about how seriously she said that line.

    Then his eyes fell on his father''s basket, still dry and empty as it was over an hour ago when they first started talking. He couldn''t help but smile as he added under his breath, "Who''d believe the genius sword saint can''t learn fishing even after a decade."

    A split secondter, he yelped as another sharp pain shot through his skull. "Ow!"

    ''System, you bastard, it''s all your fault.'' Rio said in his heart, putting me on the innocent silent system for his loose mouth. ''Stop spreading this habit of speaking nonsense.''

    [....] At this point, the system just gave up exining itself. Though it started wishing everyday, that it would very much like to leave this body. For nothing serious, but just to p some sense into it.

 Chapter 401: Reunion - III

    After having a short talk with aunt Artemis, who seemed way too pleased whenever she looked at Rio, and had the happiest smile he had seen for years now, they reluctantly parted ways.

    Ba said her goodbyes before following her mother and departing for the Royal castle. While Rio, Amelia and the rest of the entourage left for Damascus.

    By the time they reached Damascus, it was already near midnight, the lively city was covered in a shadow of silence under the twinkling stars in the sky, as people just slept peacefully in their homes.

    Some songs and chatter could still be heard from the open pubs, bars and other ces, but it all passed and ended the closer they got to their home.

    "Home sweet home." Amelia said excitedly, leaning over the railing of the ship and looking at the familiar walls and the gardens of their estate. "I can''t say how much I missed it."

    "Yeah, Cause you didn''t at all." Rio replied with a chuckle, "I can count on one hand about the times you mentioned this ce while we were at the academy."

    Amelia gasped, before turning to face him with mock indignation. "Hey, that''s not right!" she protested. "Remember the fresher''s party? Or the time we went shopping outside? Oh, and don''t forget the VR match where I kicked your ass. We talked about home then.."

    Rio rolled his eyes, a smirk ying at his lips. "Yeah, pretty sure those times were just you missing Mom and Tanya''s cooking, saying that''s the secret to your energy, and not the actual ''home sweet home'' thing."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Having no response to that, Amelia just turned her head over to shoulder and shouted, "Father, look he''s picking a fight again."

    "..." Hearing herin, Rio just gave her the look, ''Seriously'' , and in return she just poked her tongue and mocked him, before running towards the stairs where their father was standing.

    ��

    Ignoring thisining snitcher, Rio just looked back down, staring at the rows of maids and guards standing in the garden, surrounding the ce where this ship was about tond.

    Despite the darkness he could still see many familiar faces, - Esme, Erza, Tanya, Aina, Asher, Ariosh, Myra, _ and many more�� . All their faces filled with anticipation awaiting their arrival.

    But Rio just took a nce and turned his head again, scanning everyone to find the one person whom he was searching for, until a charming voice sounded behind him.

    "You looking for someone?"

    Rio turned back with a smile, but before he could even open his arms, he was held tightly and squeezed together. The familiar scent ofvender and fresh rain filled his senses, and his initial joy at seeing her turned into a mild sense of panic as the pressure around his ribs intensified.

    "Hello, Mother," Rio said, his voice strained as he tried to wiggle free from her death grip, before giving in and just gently hugging her back. "I see you haven''t changed a bit."

    Rio was feeling happy in his heart, thinking home really does feel like heaven, until he felt a stinging pain though his ears.

    "Mother, what are you doing?" Rio said, twisting his head in an attempt to escape, while asking her to let go. "We haven''t evennded yet, and you''re already beating me?"

    "That''s what you get for scaring me, did you know how worried I was when I heard there were cracks on your life crystal. How dare you pull this kind of prank on me." Artemis said inint, before raising her other hand and pping his cheeks.

    Rio''s screams echoed as he tried to wiggle his way out of her grip, while everyone around them just looked at his helpless state andughed at his misery.

    "ow ow ow, mother, please, see everyone''s watching, can we do thister?" Rio begged with what he thought was his cutest expression to date, he even pulled out some fake tears in his eyes to improve the impact.

    But s what greeted his innocence, was yet another p. And he swore this one was twice stronger than thest one.

    Amelia, who had been watching with barely-contained glee, finally decided to throw her two cents in. "Yeah, Mother! Beat him! He''s such an idiot. Acting all innocent now, like he didn''t know what he was doing."

    "Give him two ps from me too." She said as she left her father''s side and pointed at her brother. Not realizing that in excitement of drama, she left the safety zone and stepped too close to the line of fire.

    "And you. How many times have I told you to not pick a fight, you can''t finish without using chaos." Artemis said as her attention shifted to her daughter, her hand, already moving before Amelia could retreat, a step. And then, a loud smack echoed through the air as Artemis delivered a sharp p to the back of Amy''s neck.

    Amelia''s hands shot up to cover the back of her head, her expression filled with pure shock as she whined, "Ow, ow, Mother, not me too."

    "Three months outside and both of you have grown wings, haven''t you?" Artemis said, twisting her ear.

    "Mother, _mom, _mamma, atleast go inside please, you''re ruining my image." Amelia begged, looking at her brother, who even dared to pull out a magic crystal and record this scene.

    "Your image huh, what about mine, you know how haggard I look, worrying all day about you two. What if I get wrinkles and the white hairs huh, what then?"

    "Wait, you''re worried about getting old, _ cause I have a potion that can.. Ow ow sorry, I was joking. Brother, save me." Amelia joked as she tried to free herself, wiggling as her mom grabbed her cor and rotated 360�� while pping her skull.

    "Forgetting everything I told you and taught you. See if I don''t drill the lesson into your head this time." Artemis said, before turning to Rio.

    "And don''t think you''re off the hook." she scolded as she grabbed him by the cor, pulling both of them closer before bumping their heads together with a solid thunk. While swiping the recording crystals from both their hands, and putting it into her own ring.

    Finally Artemis looked at both of them who fell to the ground, staring back at her with real teary eyes, with puffy red cheeks, and aggrieved expressions with their hearts feeling wronged, and finally ended her assault with pping hands,

    She gave a charming smile and bent down to their heights, cing one hand on each of their swollen cheeks, gently caressing it. Switching personalities faster than Aparichit and Kevin ever did in the movies of earth.

    "Let''s go, I''ve made all your favorite dishes." She said softly and gave each of them a light forehead kiss, "You must be tired, so let''s have a quick dinner together, and then you can go rest." Artemis finally released them, but not before giving their arms a yful squeeze that bordered on being painful.

    The ship hadnded some time ago when they were getting beaten, so Artemis just stepped down and walked away, so did Agnus and everyone else. Leaving only the duo behind on the deck.

    "Brother,." Amelia whispered, her face pale as she watched their mother disappear into the estate.

    "Yes." Rio muttered, already dreading what was about toe.

    "She made dinner."

    "I know."

    "But I already��"

    "It''s your own fault, I warned you.."

    "I''m sorry. But can you_ ."

    "No. Definitely no. I can''t get any more ps today, or my teeth will fall out." Rio refused immediately.

    "Please_" Amelia said, turning her head with a pleading expression. But Rio just pushed her face away. "I''m really full. I don''t know if I can eat another bite."

    "Me neither." Rio replied, reminding her that he was there on the same table too.

    Both siblings stared at each other, before sighing to their luck.Maybe staying at academy wasn''t so bad, after all.

    ".... Let''s just cover each other, so she doesn''t focus on one okay." Amelia suggested.

    "Just like back then?"

    "Yeah. When I get scolded you y defense, and when it''s your turn, I save you." She exined..

    "You''re not gonna turn tail and run to father, leaving me to bear the brunt will you?"

    "I would never. I promise."

    "Fine. We''ll just say we''re too tired and have no appetite, before slipping into our rooms." Rio said, making a n to escape.

    "Good." Amelia nodded her head vigorously, while wondering, since she already had dinner, maybe a small bite of dessert before going to bed, won''t hurt. Plus if it''s her favorite then��

    Rio looked back at her, only to see her lost in thought about her favorite sweets, with stars in her eyes and a little drool lingering at the corner of her lips.

    "...."

    [....]

    After a long silence of speechlessness, he just resigned himself to fate. Until he saw a bunch of messages popping up in front.

    [Pain relievers - 1000 points per pill.]

    [Swelling reducer - 1111 points per pill.]

    [Digestion enhancer - 2000 points per pill.]

    [Tear inducer - 10000 points per lens.]

    System saw a chance and it took it. Opening a shop and listing the items of public demand on disy, like a proper businessman looking for profits.

    "...."

    ''Traitors, just surrounded by traitors.''

 Chapter 402: Reunion - IV

    After the dinner thatsted longer than it possibly should have, which ended with Amelia lying on the table with a bloated tummy, and Rio with his back to the chair and face to the ceiling- meaning just like how it did when they were little.

    Like they literally stayed there while the maids cleared the table and started putting out the lights, and even then to leave, had to get help from their respective shadows.

    "I''m never trusting you again." Rio said to his sister, who for the first time was without any energy to respond.

    ��

    Luckily they got to sleep peacefully in their beds, and next morning, no rms rang to wake them up, and no staff came to disturb and drag them out.

    When the duo of siblings finally left their beds, the sun was already over their heads. And time for breakfast was changed tote lunch time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    (3pm)

    ��

    The first few days at their home got spent very fast, I mean all they did was meet people they haven''t seen for months, greet them, have a talk, see some sights, and there, the day was gone.

    Rio stood by the balcony, watching his sister training against her shadow, Erza, with little Tanya just sitting by the sidelines cheering for her friend.

    She was just 15 years old now, but due to her innate blessings, the food she cooked far surpassed those who spent their whole lives in a kitchen.

    The saying that taste is in the hands and not the dishes, recipes, or ingredients _ yeah that was probably made just for her.

    I mean, Rio had yet to taste a single dish which she made and wasn''t magical. Though she had yet to find the effect where she can give people buffs, or attributes, or anything_ but the taste...(slurp)

    Every time Rio ate something she made, he couldn''t help but praise his decision to save her mother and get her under his care.

    Just like in the novel, her father was a dick who left them after stealing all their savings and ran away. Selling even his house in a gambling game, and getting them kicked out. _ If not for the strict rules of human trafficking and illegal very in Damascus, Rio could bet, the man would''ve sold his wife and daughter too. That''s how much of a jerk he was.

    But due to his timely interference, the pair of helpless mother-daughter didn''t have to suffer a single loss.

    In the novel, Tanya''s father came back into their life to trouble and emotionally ckmail them when she became famous on the floating inds due to her restaurants, giving Leon who was her regr customer, a chance to shine through and save her.

    But that event is never gonna happen, as years ago, Rio buried that deadbeat dad''s body a thousand miles deep in the sea, and watched as sharks ate him up. He hated cliches, and he hated even more, those people who repaid love with a betrayal.

    So Tanya and her mother were now fully free from the shadows of their past, giving them a life of happiness and a ce for fresh start.

    Tanya found her obsession with food and fan-girling over her ''big brother'' Rio as a way of living, and if he believed what Esme reported, then her mother, Irene, had found love in A''s father, Augustus.

    Two kindred spirits he saved to secure the heroines, found their happiness in each other.

    This was also the reason why Tanya stayed behind at the castle, and didn''t follow him, or Esme, to floating inds, dying her tutge under the Dorsian magic chef called gourmet wizard. (Introduced in ch 223)

    She wanted to make sure her shy mother doesn''t mess up her happiness overthinking things. And protect her if Augustus ever broke her heart. _ a really good daughter she was.

    "So A and Tanya are gonna be sisters now huh?" Rio asked with a smile.

    For all the calctions, cruelty, and coldness he harbored in his heart, somehow, somewhere, a part of him always felt happy seeing the happiness of others around him. Maybe he wasn''t as heartless as he thought himself to be, after all.

    "Not really." Esme spoke, bringing him out of his thoughts, "I mean, Tanya has no problem with her mom''s second marriage or anything, I suppose nor would A. But the single parents are too shy and scared to start the talks for their future, and risk losing what they have now."

    Rio chuckled in response, but didn''t n to interfere in any way. The duo had their hearts broken once before, so it was understandable why they''d hesitate to tie the knot for that kind ofmitment again.

    ��

    Rio walked towards Erza once her spar with Amy ended. The sick and frail looking vampire girl from childhood whom he saved from death and very, had now grown quite sturdy and strong. _ Her talent however was still the same as before, somewhatcking, like something binding her from ever reaching the heights her big sister did.

    "It was a good fight." Rio said, sitting beside her, watching Amelia and Tanya just chatting a little distance away, fighting as Amy ate the cookies she made for him too.

    "I still lost." Erza replied, her tone as calm and distant as ever.

    "You''ll always lose to her." Rio said as in a matter of fact, as she hated roundabout talks, "The point is how long can you dy the defeat."

    "And for that I''d say you did pretty good." He said pointing at the timer on his watch. [7 minutes 32 seconds] "Don''t you think it''s much better than your initial 2 minutes time?"

    "It''s not enough." Erza replied.

    "I see." Rio said and nodded his head, "Then I''d suggest you start working on your bloodline abilities and bloodlust."

    "When was thest time you had a full drink, or truly let yourself go?" Rio asked, pausing as Erza looked down and started thinking hard.

    ''Ohh God, mother,..'' Rio said to himself, already aware of his mother''s hard training and challenges for her. Letting a vampire live without fresh blood was obviously something she or Myra would do. ''Kill, but don''t drink'' The same rules which were made for Esme too.

    But then again it was necessary too, as bloodsuckers always betray their masters when they''re drained dry. So this training can enhance their limits and test their loyalties.

    "When you join Esme on floating inds, I''ll give you a list of people. Take care of them for me, and no need to hold yourself back." Rio said and sorted out a mission for her in his mind.

    "As you wish." Erza nodded, her beautiful red eyes shining in a haze of thirst.

    Rio looked at it and then ignored it. "So how was your final mission? Heard you had a near death experience."

    "It was tough." Erza exined, "Zorkswishnds are hard to navigate, and there''s just so many weird things." (This mission was mentioned in ch277)

    "Yeah, like what?" Rio casually asked, and carefully listened to every word she said next. From her entrance, to the way she survived there for two months, and then found a way out with a hair''s breadth. What traps she encountered, or what monsters she faced, and how she dealt with them. Everything.

    "You seem awfully interested in that ce." Erza said after a period of silence. Her tone, still the same straightforward and to the point.

    "There''s something waiting for me at that ce, so I''ll go there in the future. Call it early preparation." Rio replied and smiled upon seeing her just nod his head.

    Zorkswishnds holds the entry point for a ce which leads directly to a mysterious space where a monster whose strength surpasses even the rank of Zenith is resting. One of Arcadia''s top monster bosses before the army of Leviathan, Fiends of hell, beasts of heaven, and Pronze of purgatory appeared in the mortal nes.

    Of course this beast was still something Rio wanted to purge himself. It was in a way, his son of sorts...

    [Erza is one odd bunch, isn''t she?] System said, stopping his thoughts.

    ''That''s what makes talking to her more interesting, right.''Rio replied to his system and then ignored it again.

    "Here, I didn''t know we''d meet this sooner, so I couldn''t buy anything good for you." Rio said, handing her a skill book, "But I found this in the house''s treasury this morning, it''ll suit your personality, so you can try to learn it."

    Erza looked at the thin skill book, whose papers seemed to be drenched in dry blood, with a title [Path of Blood] written in witchy handwriting, and then looked at him emotionlessly again, "Why?" She asked.

    Rio chuckled hearing her question before replying, "Let''s call it a gift, a reward for you clearing your final mission, and officially being my sister''s shadow."

    "Protect her well." He said.

    "I will." Erza replied, putting the book away.

    Rio was going to ask her about some other things, when Amelia''s voice interrupted him.

    "Brother, are you bribing my shadow?"

    ".... Okay, that''s my cue." Instead of replying back, Rio just said that and stood up to leave.

    "Hey Erza, he didn''t bully you, did he?" Amy asked, after seeing his leave.

    "No, he gave me a gift for clearing my final mission." Erza replied stoically, showing her master the skill book.

    While Amy just ignored that skill and stared at her with a rich expression, before turning around and rushing into the house.

    Erza just stayed outside with confusion, until she heard her master shouting and fighting with her brother, over why he didn''t tell her sooner so she could prepare a gift too, and how he made her look stingy, and feel embarrassed in front of her shadow now.

    �� .

    Back at night, Rio stood outside his mother''s room with a box in his hands, hesitating to knock and enter inside. Preparing himself slowly for the conversation toe next.

    Until the door opened on its own, with his mother looking his way with a weird expression.

    "You know whenever you just stand outside and don''t speak, I start getting these bad vibes. So tell me, what request do you have now?"

 Chapter 403: I Am The Devil

    "You know," Artemis said, not looking up from the documents on her desk, "whenever you stand outside in silence like that, it''s always because you''re about to ask me for something stupid."

    She finally nced up, just in time to see Rio exhale deeply before stepping inside. His demeanour, dull and quiet, nowhere near the charisma and confidence he carried normally.

    Artemis sighed and dropped her work, moving toward the sofa as if preparing for the talk she knew would be a tough one. "Tell me, what request do you have now?"

    Rio heard her words and took a deep breath before walking towards her. His hands now empty of the gift he had prepared earlier.

    Instead of sitting beside her on the sofa like he usually would, he just sat down on the floor. His sudden move startled her, causing her to pause, but before she could react further, he gently took her hand and gestured for her to sit back down.

    He rested his back against her legs, while leaning his head on her knees. Artemis, though momentarily surprised, softened as her hands instinctively began tob through his hair, massaging his scalp gently as she used to when he was just a little boy.

    He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, as though finally feeling peace after years of struggle.

    "When did father leave?" He asked, without opening his eyes.

    "Few hours ago." Artemis confirmed, "He had some urgent work that couldn''t be dyed any longer."

    "A dungeon?"

    "Yeah." Artemis answered and exined, "If the guild didn''t clear it soon, it''ll crash or evolve out, so he had to go."

    Rio nodded his head and stayed like that, enjoying the rare tranquillity of peace.

    He didn''t know how much time had passed, but after a while, he finally found the courage to start talking about his entry at thiste hour.

    "I brought you a gift." He said, taking out the box, without opening his eyes.

    "Yeah, what is it?" Artemis asked, taking the box from his hands. She looked at its design and woodwork, wondering where her son found it, as it felt ''unique''. But ignoring the cover, moved on to what was stored inside. Only to widen her eyes in surprise after seeing its content.

    "A world''s core?" She muttered, feeling the boundless power ofws still lingering in the air, even though she just opened the box for literally half a second, before closing it immediately.

    "The dungeon we entered wasn''t normal, mother. It was a Meru dungeon." Rio exined before she could ask anything.

    "I know," Artemis replied, suppressing her surprise, before turning her eyes to look at him again, "But what I don''t know is why you felt the need to lie to your father?"

    "Why did you tell him that it was a professor who got the core and then handed it over to the elders of the academy?" Artemis asked, but despite pestering him for an answer, she got no response from him. Much like the time when he refused to let her tell his father about his fate''s blessing, or the dozens of other secrets he kept from everyone over the years.

    "...."

    Seeing no answering, Artemis sighed to herself.

    "Whatever it is, this is yours, so I''m not taking it." She said, and pushed the box back into his hands.

    "I''ve brought it for you, mother." Rio said, turning his head and meeting her gaze. "And besides, I''m still a lot of years away from being able to use this thing, so just keep it."

    "It''s not a random equipment or skill you found, son, that I can ept easily and not question you about it. This is a world''s core. You don''t just give something like this away because you think you can''t use it. " Artemis said, still adamant on her answer. "Plus Meru dungeons are rare, very rare. There''s no guarantee if they''ll appear once a year, a decadeter, or a centuryter.

    You could wait a lifetime and never see another. _ Not to mention finding one in thisrge empty space of arcadia, securing it among the heavypetition, and then clearing it with all kinds of limitations on time and power."

    "Since you managed to get this core, you should use it. If not now, then when you''re able to." Artemis replied, and added, "I''m not gonna be selfish and do something for a little strength that can have arge effect on my son''s path in the future."

    "It won''t change a thing, mother. You know how talented I am, and how Amy is blessed. Both of us are also very lucky. We''ll manage just fine, so this_ is for you." Rio tried to reason, only to be stumped as Artemis shot back a remark.

    "So, what, I''m not talented enough for you?"

    Rio groaned, rolling his eyes. "Don''t twist my words, Mother. And Don''t change the topic, either."

    He shoved the box back into her hands. "This is my gift to you, and you''re not allowed to refuse, or return."

    "I also don''t want you to store it away or leave it in the treasury for ter.'' I want you to use it, as soon as possible, and grow stronger than ever before." Rio said in one long breath before turning his head to avoid her piercing gaze.

    Artemis stared at him for a long moment, before she thought of something and bit her lower lip in anger. "_ Is it still about the vision from your fate?" She asked, her voice losing the luster of softness and turning chilly for some reason.

    "...."

    "A simple p of wings from a butterfly can change the weather and bring forth storms that can shatter the sky. Changing the destinies and bringing destruction to many. Not to mention the hundreds of things you''ve changed and removed over the years." Artemis tried to reason, to exin that if fate was too obsolete, the gods controlling it wouldn''t be dead and buried in the history of time.

    "You''ve already left that fate behind, son."

    Hearing her words, Rio just smiled deprecatingly and answered. "Not this one, mother. Not this one."

    Her answer causing Artemis''s actions to stop for a second, as her hands froze.

    "..You''ve been running around all these years, asking me to prepare for a fight, yet never satisfied with my current strength. _ Who am I supposed to fight , that you have so little faith in my victory, son?" Artemis asked, her fists getting tightened and breathing heavier. "Who is it that can shake away all the confidence I''ve given you?"

    He flinched at her question, yet still prepared himself to speak.

    "You know I can''t answer you that, mother." Rio replied, still hiding behind the cover of limitations of fate''s blessing. "Just promise me that you''ll do everything to win, mother, and will never hesitate."

    "... And how will I know which fight you''re talking about?" Artemis asked, opening her hands and caressing his head.

    "You''ll know. Trust me, _you will." Rio said, as he grabbed her hand for a second, before standing up and leaving the room without looking back.

    Artemis stared at him speeding steps, not averting her eyes until he disappeared from her sight.

    [Phonoi says you''ve given birth to a good son. Not everyone is as loyal or dutiful as he is. He''ll surely _ .]

    ''Shut up.''

    [...]

    After silencing her God with a shout, Artemis finally withdrew her gaze and stared at the mysterious box holding the world''s core in front of her. She couldn''t sense a single scent of aura outside of it, nor could her spirit prate the shell and gaze inside.

    But the power ofws she felt some time ago was real.

    "No matter who it is that scares you, son, but I promise you, I''ll make sure he pays its price with his life." Artemis swore and then ced the world''s core into her storage ring.

    Her mood, already too sour and angry to go back to the duchy and guild''s paper work again, so she just looked out the window and disappeared from her ce.

    As for where she went, well, the newspaper next morning reporting sightings of several corpses at all the dark corners of Damascus would be the answer.

    ��

    After leaving his mother''s office, Rio just walked towards his room and stared out at the night sky. Lighting a cigarette and getting lost in thoughts.

    [Host, you don''t have to worry, we CAN change the event of you two fighting each other. Just like the multitudes of events we already did.]

    "And that''s exactly what I''m worried about, system." Rio replied, taking a puff, "Of the things we changed."

    "We''ll never know which one would turn around to bite us in the ass and mess up our ns." Rio said and stared at the blurry shadow shing by the secret passage, "She was supposed to live until muchter in the story, as fate needed her alive so I never loose myselfpletely."

    "The only guiding light for the otherwise doomed devil, _ but we don''t know that now? Maybe it''ll be her, or Amelia, or Katherine, or Saisha _ we don''t know who fate thinks is needed for me, and who else is receable." He spoke closing his eyes, as death scenes of everyone even remotely close to the original Rio shed in his mind.

    The two dimensional lines of novel, ying in his head, like a life he had lived. Like memories burned into his soul.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    System watched its surroundings, feeling the aura of dread covering the mindscape, something which was a sign of his arrival. The mysterious entity living in the darkness of his mind, with a hollow heart filled with hatred and hunger, and red eyes asking nothing but blood and death.

    [I can protect her, host. As long as you have enough points, I can protect everyone.]

    "You couldn''t even protect yourself and had to go offline for years. How am I supposed to trust you with their lives?" Rio said and smiled contemptuously. "I just need to prepare them all myself, so they are all ready for what''s toe."

    [Host�� .] System tried to speak, but felt it''s mouth covered by a hand.

    ''Shhhh,'' The voice echoed near its ears, a hissing sound freezing him in ce. "Didn''t I tell you little light ball, Words _Have _Consequences. So don''t ever make promises, that we both know you can''t keep."

    [.... �� .. Who are you?] System asked, gathering its courage for one question that''s been haunting it for the past 4 months every now and then, [You''re not Erebus, nor are you the demon Lord, so who are you?]

    "A brave little one, aren''t you?" The voice said yfully, removing its control anding in front of the system. "So listen carefully to who I am.." As the voice spoke, the heavenly mindscape started cracking and breaking at several ces, leaving empty space for the endless darkness to seep in.

    Until the only things visible in the infinite void were a blue ball of light, and two red eyes staring back at it.

    "I _Am _THE DEVIL."

    [...]

    ########

    Author note -

    So for those dum dums who haven''t understood it yet, the entity in his head with red eyes is called "The devil."

    As shown thest 3-4 times, it''s super strong. Can whoop the system''s ass, and thinks gods are ants.

    And as Rio mentioned before, there''s a voice which he''s been hearing ever since he was trapped in the dungeon alone. Appearing to mock him, asking him to give up, whenever he was at his most vulnerable and weak death-like states. The same voice he heard when he entered the Phronesia dungeon and was surrounded by the army of godmother. --- That''s also the devil speaking.

    As for where he came from, why''s he in his head, how''s he so op, or what he wants from mc and what''s their rtion etc etc etc - all these questions along with mc''s past, him getting isekaid into Arcadia, other girlsing here behind him, and the overall story of LOAN, who wrote that novel, who''s story are we really in, Leon''s, Rio''s, or Devil''s -- all these kinds of questions will soon be answered.

    Devil is a patient person (not really) so he''ll exin everything clearly (meaning author will make him break his character for plot purposes) - so by then you will understand everything.

    It''s not actually much far now. We are at chapter 400+ something, and every mystery haunting and hinting all this time, will be answered one by one, by one, in the next 100 chapters.

    When we reach chapter 500 you will have all the answers, and know the true meaning and path this novel is going to take in the future.

    So just hold on a little more.

    Adios

 Chapter 404: Let them live

    After spending a peaceful week at his house, a piece of news reached Rio''s ears.

    [The Heartwell family''s heir Leonard rushes into the Eisjer domain to save the people trapped inside due to a copse of an ore mine.]

    "And so it begins." Rio said, remembering the plotline of this open dungeon, and the godsent gift awaiting the protagonist.

    "Esme," Rio said, and a momentter his shadow stepped in through the door, "We''re going to Harendale. We''ll stay there for 2 or 3 days, make all the preparations."

    "_ Yes, master." Esme froze for a second, hearing the suddenmand, but still answered and steadily stepped out. Going back to contact the guild, inform the guards, prepare the teleportation circles, arrange the carriages, check security on his route, and whatever else is needed.

    While she was busy, Rio walked towards his mother''s office to get her permission. As he said to Agnus, no way was she willing to let him go away in the rare holidays he received from the academy,

    It took a bit of a convincing and many minutes of acting cute and innocent, but finally his hard work paid off.

    While he was walking back to his room, arguing with system who started repeating all the ''cringe'' sentences he said to get Artemis''s approval, a sharp voice reached his ears, before a tiny frame rushed his way and crashed into him. "Rio brother, is it true?"

    Looking at the little bundle of joy acting all sullen, Rio bent down and spoke gently, "Calm down, my foot soldier, and tell me what''s true or not?"

    "Sister Esme said you''re leaving again?" Tanya spoke, taking deep breaths with her mouth, making her words a _ little bit harder to understand.

    Though she was 15 and almost a teen, who''s almost the same age as them give and take a few years, but she still had that childlike innocence in her life. Something which none of them had.

    Amelia, Reba, Esme, Erza, A, Aina - these were all kids educated and trained since their childhood. Being forced to learn everything and experience many challenges to maintain that societal image of nobility and perform their duties to perfection.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But she didn''t have that.

    She was simple, shy and silent most of the time. And for the rest she was either in the kitchen experimenting with her dishes with no restraints, or hearing and telling Rio''s stories to and from the maids she met.

    With little to no outside contact or suffering the selfishness of society, her heart remained pure. And since she was just a cook, safe at his home, Rio didn''t force himself to educate her on ways of viins either. Giving total freedom to her and fate to control her life.

    And that''s why everyone liked her. Her mother even going as far as to say, "The sweets Tanya makes are so sweet, just because she, herself is so sweet." cringey words, but maybe true too.

    As Tanya''s innate talent route does have a simr skill. And how in an event in the future of the original novel, when Rio/Devil attacks Leon''s house and tries to kill his mother in front of her, she ends up cooking a poison so deadly, it puts him to sleep for seven days. And by the time he woke up, he was already thrown into the towers of hell as a prisoner, sentenced for a lifetime of misery.

    (Why am I so bad to exin stuff and merge plot lines into realtime story paragraphs.??)

    "So are you really going back?" Tanya asked again.

    "I''m not going back to the academy, just going out for some work. I''ll be back in 3 days at most." Rio replied.

    "Take me with you na," Tanya said in an innocent way, while tilting her head to make her request more impactful. "I''m so bored at the house now, and there''s no one to y with me, or taste my dishes."

    "Plus I haven''t even shown you half the things I learned in this time, you remember the book master gave me, I''ve remembered almost half the recipes listed there. So I cane with you and make you eat everything all day."

    "Tanya, I''m going for work, not a pic trip." Rio said, refusing her request as he patted her head, "As for the food, well how about we try all those recipes once I''m back, okay."

    "But��"

    "No buts, Tanya. Now go and help your mom in the kitchen, I''ll bring you some gifts when Ie back."

    "But mom''s not in the kitchen. Nowadays she''s always at theb. Helping mister Augustus with his studies." Tanya replied,

    "Then get Amy to help you out. She always told me how much she missed those sweet cookies you made at the academy." Rio said, trying to coax her away.

    "Big sis Amy is going to meet sister Reba, she probably left already." Tanya replied, "that''s why, I''m saying take me_"

    "Wait_ Amy''s not here?" Rio interrupted her and asked in surprise. "When did she leave?"

    "Sometime ago. She said she''ll be back a couple days before going to the academy." Tanya exined.

    Rio stood up and called his sister telepathically, only to realize she was already outside of its range. He checked theirmon storage ring, and found a letter thrown onto the messaging board.

    A trick they use tomunicate when they''re distant. And to make sure their letters or hints don''t get buried or mixed into the hundreds of other things piled into that ring, they deliberately set a small area in the center just for this massage table.

    While Rio took out his letter and started reading it, Tanya hurriedly sneaked away. Going back to pack her luggage and all her lucky instruments and ingredients. As for permission from Rio, didn''t you guys hear Rio say yes when she called him at the end..

    (Big brother, can Ie? she said slowly, tugging at his clothes, and then Rio, who was busy reading the letter, nodded his head before getting lost in thoughts like always.)

    ��

    {Brother, I''m going to meet Ba at Haven. It''s a girl''s only secret, so don''t cry over why we didn''t tell you.

    Ps Erza''s also with me, so don''t worry about anything, we''ll be careful and safe. Be back in a few days.

    Amy.

    ooh, and also we''re nning a hiking trip together so maybe we''ll get somework issues, so don''t try to call me. Or her, especially at night, you know.??}

    Rio read the letter and then shook his head with a smile.

    [You were right, the tricks of godmother affected her more deeply than she showed outside.] System spoke what its host had predicted a week ago. [You sure, you wanna let her out of your sight. She may do something stupid.]

    "If I want them to be strong, I can''t control their lives all the time." Rio said, "Gauri was right, my shadow will only make them more dependent on me, my overprotectiveness is only hindering their potential. So I''ll just let them live freely now."

    "Let them make their own decisions, their own mistakes, so when I''m upied or not around, they can better control themselves."

    [What if she messes up one of your ns? Endangers not only herself, but all you''ve worked for all these years?]

    "_ If that happens, we''ll just have to step up and handle things. Only when the sky crumbles, we''ll show up to lift up the clouds." Rio replied and looked at the clear sky outside, "Plus she''s not the same Amy she was 3 years ago, she''s changed. She''ll take care of herself now."

    [Host, if you''re worried about the nightmares, or the voice in your head resurfacing again now, then _ ]

    "They''re my memories, and my trauma to handle, you said so yourself, right, that no amount of potions or pills can heal my broken psyche, so don''t worry, I''ll be fine." Rio said, reminding system of their previous conversation when he started remembering bits and pieces about Kajal, or Katherine. (ch 205 & ch 276.)

    [...] System, who wanted to tell him about the dark entity living in his head, swallowed its word and went silent. Clearly now wasn''t the time. He''s not ready to handle the truth yet.

    ��

    While Rio started making preparations for his adventure to steal Leon''s chance, and interrupt the ns of Apollo to gain power, _ Amelia on the other hand was nning an assasination in the capital.

    "You sure you want to do this?" Reba asked, looking at the mission tag from the adventurer''s guild Erza picked up for them.

    "You know I have to." Any replied, memories surfacing of her past as she clenched her fists in anger.

    When godmother took control of her body, her consciousness just stayed there, struggling to free itself _ that feeling of helplessness was horrifying. And she never ever wanted to feel that again.

    And since she wants to train her mind to be clearer and calmer, what better way than to solve out some unfinished business from her past.

    "He was the first one who made me feel how ignorant and weak I am, so if I want to grow beyond that, that''s where I''ll start." Amy said, taking a look at the profile on mission notice.

    {Mission - The infamous Gyandel

    Wanted - Dead/Alive (To collect reward for his death, proof must be submitted first.)

    Target rank - ???

    Target strength - ???

    Target''s main God - Apate, the goddess of lies and deceit.

    Criminal Record - Crimes against royalty, charged with murder of over 30 noble and elite family members. Causing public distrust and riots, conspiracy for promoting terrorism, 12 recorded counts of theft and arson at merchant routes leading outside Schi.

    Mission history - 18th draft. (All 17 previous challengers who took this mission have been missing, presumably dead.)

    Mission difficulty - High.

    -- To ept, pour your mana and sign your name at the bottom.}

    Reba looked at Amy''s anger, and ced her hand on her shoulder. "Have you talked to Rio about it? You know it can make thingsplicated for him and you?"

    "Nyx and Kali, they were always going to fight anyway, me killing her daughter''s avatar won''t change a thing." Amelia said sternly, and poured her mana into the letter to sign her name on it.

    "Ria" The name appeared in the corner for a second, before the page started burning and turned to ashes.

 Chapter 405: Amys adventure

    Few years ago, when Rio was still trapped in the dungeon, and the whole world had announced him dead, - Amy was going through the toughest time.

    Because she believed it was her fault he got trapped in the dungeon.

    Her brother went into a battle without the support of his goddess who always looked after him, and it was all because of her stupid mistakes. (Hinted and talked about in ch160 & ch163)

    After all, before the battle of the dungeon was going to take ce, he hade to meet her once. Cause she messed up.

    To get more experience about the world and be helpful to her brother, whose high talent and record breaking academic performance was putting him in danger every other day, with different talented heirs and students ganging up against him_ Amelia chose to join the adventurer''s guild in secret.

    So when she joins the academyter on, she is not a drag to him. But someone who actually knows how to handle herself. _ At Least that was her intention in the beginning.

    Until she started to enjoy this newfound freedom of hers, and all the responsibilities, restrictions, expectations andparisons_ brought by being born a noble became a burden to her. Something she started to hate and avoid at all costs.

    One can say her rebellious teen phase had started off a bit early.

    For a whole year while Rio was busy in the academy, making ns and preparations for her safe future, she started sneaking out every now and then doing small guild missions. Nothing dangerous as she was afraid to get into trouble, so she always joined some other groups, circling between different teams and gangs while hiding her name and appearance with a gift she received on her birthday.

    With the rare element of space, blessing of chaos improving her physique, and being an avatar of a primordial - despite being newly awakened she had some strength. Plus her unlimited supply of pills, potions, armors, weapons and everything else, kept her safe. - so she had a smooth journey of sorts for some time.

    She''d go to some lowest level of dungeons, do some guard missions for merchants, or pick some tasks which taught her something new. She made a few friends, made happy memories, and etc etc.

    What she didn''t know however was that she only saw light in the world, as her mother erased all the dirt in darkness.

    Whoever dared to have any idea about her due to power, greed, lust, or any other twisted desire, was secretly killed even before making a move on her.

    And just like that after tasting sessful missions, handling all kinds of jobs away from anyone who knew her, _ she started to enjoy this freedom, enjoy living her own little adventure. And over time, her confidence in herself only increased further and further.

    The things she used to check dozens of times, the ns she used to prepare over careful consideration, the research she''d do before taking on a job or joining a party _ it all became irreverent.

    As the feeling of being invincible, being favoured by fate, and belief that everything will work out just fine filled her heart.

    And that''s when she slipped.

    Making a mistake by trusting someone''s lies which resulted in her perfect little adventure toe to an end.

    During a certain mission, the group she joined would enter the controlled open dungeon and be on guard duty, while miners woulde and mine the ores from that world.

    That''s where she met a boy, an unawakened porter who was tasked with handling their luggage and items while they patrolled the mine for any remaining monsters, and protection against thieves.

    Over time this boy quickly became her friend, and she started toe there daily, forgetting her rule which wanted anonymity and not staying at one job for a long period due to safety reasons.

    But she did it for him.

    Her overgrown confidence and the boy''s sweet words and funny little jokes were the reasons behind everything.

    Amy liked how he''d rely on her protection when entering the dungeon, how he''d praise her every time she yed even the smallest of monsters, or how he''d pester her to show him some small trick of mana or space magic any chance he got.

    It was all new to Amy, the feeling where she wasn''t on the back row, the one being protected and looked after by everyone, being treated as a kid - with him, she felt like being the most important. The role model, the idol, the Angel - the rush when someone looks up to you and wanna be just like you, it was a high that brought her a smile no matter how many times she heard it.

    It made her feel just like Rio, and how he''d smile when being called an angel.

    (Trust me sister, whatever u think he was smiling at, is definitely not the reason. Rio was probably going crazy in heart over how easy it is for the devil to be an angel just by giving some freebies to weak, poor, and homeless dudes.)

    "Ria, where were you yesterday, I looked everywhere?" The boy said, looking at the ''18 year old'' Amy who entered the dungeon.

    (Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Ria is the name she gave at the adventurer''s guild when applying for this job. As for the reason for choosing it, well her brother would call her by this name some time by mistake, and it kinda just stuck to her.)

    "I was busy." Amy replied, and parted from her team and followed the boy. "So what did you want to show me? I don''t have much time, I need to go back home early today or my mother will catch me."

    The boy''s face shifted slightly, as he looked at her a little gloomily and asked, "What? But you just came here?"

    "I know, but I told you that my brother''s taking part in a tournament, right, so we have to go there to cheer him on." Amy replied.

    "You said he''s in Zenith, right?" The boy turned around and asked her, "He must be really talented to make it there?"

    "Of course, he''s a genius. You know, he''s the one who taught me magic, not the master mother hired. That old man''s sses are so boring, unlike when my brother used to help me." Amy replied, her voice filled with happiness as she recounted her childhood, and how she could sleep and Rio would do her homework.

    "What rank do you think he''ll get?" The boy asked.

    "Rank, of course it''s first. He''s the best." Amy replied instantly without any doubt.

    "First? But I heard people say Rio ke is first?" The boy spoke, raising his head to look at her reaction.

    "Duh, that''s my _ I mean, yeah, but _ uh, that _." Amy realized her mistake, but failed to salvage it.

    "Ohh, I get it. They must not be in the same ss then. I heard big academies have 10 or 20 different sses each year." The boy spoke, interrupting her embarrassment with his witty answer, before she turned tail and ran away to avoid any more questions likest time.

    "Huh, yeah, that''s_ what I was saying. Exactly _ different ss." Amy replied immediately and agreed with him.

    And to make sure she doesn''t make the same mistake again, she just took a deep breath and changed the topic, "So what did you want to show me? This isn''t the path to the ore mine?"

    "Ohh yeah, I wanted to show you a beautiful ce I found yesterday, trust me, you''ll like it." The boy said and increased his speed. "It''s not that far, we''ll be back in a few minutes, so don''t worry."

    Amy looked around and found they were walking through the thick trees, going deeper into the forest, but ignoring her instincts once more, she followed the boy.

    Walking right into the ambush awaiting her..

    The boy kept ncing over his shoulder, his gaze flickering between anticipation and a controlled grin.

    "Here we are," the boy said, gesturing around them. "Isn''t it beautiful?"

    Amy looked around, confused. The ce was�� fine, she supposed, but it wasn''t anything special. The flowers were sparse, and the trees here looked a little picturesque, but that was it. "This is what you wanted to show me?"

    Before she could voice her disappointment, a sharp whistle cut through the air, followed by a sh of silver. _ "Shinnn"

    Amy barely had time to react. Her body moved on instinct, dodging the metallic star that whizzed past her cheek. Her heart pounded as she turned to face the direction of the attack.

    From the trees emerged a group of masked men, their ck robes blending seamlessly with the shadows. Showing no mark of any special organisation or gang''s affiliation. They moved with precision, surrounding her in a matter of seconds. Knives, stars, and other weapons gleamed in their hands, like ninjas brought to life.

    Metallic stars flew around, along with small sharp knives, attacking the duo of children from all sides.

    Seeing the ambush and number of enemies, Amy''s first instinct was to run away, but seeing the unawakened boy being injured by a knife and his hand nailed to a tree,_ she couldn''t bear herself to leave him.

    Thus she ignored her defence, and started focusing on protecting him. Wasting her mana, trying to heal his injuries, and setting up a barrier for his safety, while facing those trained assassins herself.

    Not aware that as she turned her back on the bleeding boy, his painful expression disappeared, being reced by a crazy smile watching her struggle.

    "You''re gonna fetch a good price, little princess. Took me over a month, but my lies finally worked their magic." The boy muttered, pulling a knife out of his storage pouch.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But before he moved to stab her in the back, a bloody mist rose in the air, and out of nowhere a sneaky vampire rushed at his men. Sucking their blood and turning their bodies to meaty husks.

    "Esme, you''re here." Amelia shouted excitedly watching her shadowing out to protect her.

    "Don''t worry master, I''ve informed the Reapers and Alphas, they''ll be here soon enough." Esme said and unlocked the whip from her waist. Swinging it with a force that crackled in the air, moving freely like a serpent, before coiling around a man''s neck, whom she pulled close and drained dry. "You can run now, leave these guys to me." She said, in between her drink.

    While Amy was hesitating about what to do, the boy started shouting too. "She''s right Ria, run away. Leave me and go. I''m already injured but you can run. Gooooo."

    He shouted like a loyal friend, while silently cursing her in his heart, ''dont you dare run, you bitch. You''re my ticket out of this hellhole. So don''t you dare leave.''

    The boy cursed in his mind, over the mess up, before adjusting his n and issuing a new order to his group.

    "We can''t take them alive, kill them all." A masked man said, and rushed with a katana at the boy''s direction, while all the others ran to block Amy and Esme.

    "I''m sorry, Ria, because of me, you��But you''re really my best friend." The boy said in indignation as he closed his eyes and raised his hand in fear.

    But after a while when he didn''t feel any hit, he opened his eyes, slowly, only to see Amy standing in front of him, blocking the attack.

    The emotional influence of seeing her friend dying in front of her, finally solved the mystery of space travel she always struggled with. And she teleported with her magic for the first time.

    Albeit all it did was a whole lot of nothing.

    She lost all her mana afterwards and was hardly in any strength to stand straight, not to mention with no mana the magic barrier around her became ineffective, giving open ess to the masted man''s sword to her body.

    Knowing her fate, Amy looked over her shoulder, giving ast warm smile to her friend, as her body shrunk in size, and the shapeshifting illusion trick started to wear off.

    She wanted to exin, to speak, to speak she cherished their friendship, but there was no time, so she just smiled gently to the boy, who stared right into her eyes, as he wiped his tears, and his lips curled into a cruel smile.

    Under her confused eyes, his body shifted, growing taller, older��his true form. He was no longer the sweet, innocent boy she had befriended. He was a man, dangerous and twisted, with cold eyes that gleamed with malice.

    And if this transformation wasn''t enough, then she heard him give an order gave a that shocked her to the core,

    "Kill her." The boy said with a crazy look, his eyes filled with mockery he felt for how shocked she looked.

    "Sorry, kiddo. But mommy says you gotta die." The boy said while licking the dagger in his hands. Stepping forward to plunge it in her heart.

    But something strange happened right that instant, the earring Amy wore in her right ear, started glowing brightly in a blinding light, and when the effect wore off, and the man opened his eyes again, in front of him, he saw _ death.

    (The earrings were Rio''s first gift to Amy, an artifact called Call Of Duty, introduced in ch 65.)

 Chapter 406: Apates chosen

    Author note -If anyone didn''t get the obvious hint, or forgot this story, I''d remind you clearly, this Amelia shback is happening simultaneously when Rio is taking part in the tournament and preparing for the dungeon event exam. (So whatever happens now is after the event of ch346 and before the opening scene of ch347)

    _Meaning after his n to kill the students failed, and before he entered the dungeon for the final exam where he got trapped.

    __ personally I''d suggest you re-read chapter 346 for better understanding and immersion.

    ###

    Rio who was lying in the academy''s nursing room, resting in bed while waiting for the effect of Nyx''s curse to be over. (Given in ch346)

    Since he couldn''t leave the bed and the academy was busy collecting the corpses of students who died in the attacks of Evil''s Scion (Eclipse) _ he just stayed there, thinking about how his n failed and everything he worked for a year turned to ashes.

    He walked to the window and stared at the sun outside, his fists clenched in anger.

    "I left my home early, I left my family and friends behind, stayed in this shitty school for a year, pretending, and ying the role of a perfect student _ all just to prepare for this one goal, this one n �C and just to buy a few followers, you decimated everything."

    "I didn''t want to trouble you, or your protagonist puppet, but know That YOU started this. And I swear on my name, I will destroy you." Rio muttered, challenging Apollo in his heart, "For messing with my one year of hard work, I will destroy everything you''ve worked for since thest era."

    "Your followers, your partners, your puppets, I will kill them all, and then_ when you''re lonely, forgotten by mortals and banished by the gods, when no one even knows your name anymore, that''s when I wille for you, and give you the death you deserve."

    [Big words for a weak human.] Skuld, who heard his boasting scoffed in her heart, while Nyx just stared at his outburst and the growing darkness in his heart and just smiled to herself.

    �� .

    But just then, something strange happened.

    A piercing light erupted from the small earring Rio wore, bathing the room in its brilliance. His body stiffened for a second, before it vanished into thin air.

    rming the staff and students waiting outside the ss doors, hoping to meet him when he was ready. Raising their heartbeats as questions came, did like other students earlier, he got teleported into Evil''s Scions trap too.

    ��

    It took a moment for Rio to understand the situation he was in when he appeared on the other end of the light''s tunnel, and when he did, only rage filled his heart.

    His sister, whom he hadn''t seen for months, was standing there with tears in her eyes, and a sword mere inches away from her neck.

    Madness blinded his judgement as his mana surged uncontrobly despite the controlled curse of Nyx, and a sword appeared in his hands. Stabbing the man''s heart instantly who was shing at Amy.

    Darkness seeped into the from his shadow and every assassin still in touch with the ground, had their bodies nailed to the earth, as ck spears rose from the ground and stabbed them with a sickening squelch. Pouring tons of corrosive morfid mana into their bodies, burning them inside out. (Nyx + H''s blessingbo move)

    But before they could even utter a single scream feeling the unimaginable pain, invisible threads, fine as a spider''s silk, tied around their necks, and with a simple tug of Rio''s hands, everyone''s heads slipped off their shoulders, rolling on ground like discarded toys. Their headless corpses spraying a fountain of blood on the dry leaves, bathing them in red. (Skuld''s blessing)

    When the man with the knife finally opened his eyes again, all he saw around and in front was just�� _Death.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    His heart felt fear for a few seconds, before greed took over and filled his head with fantasies of the prize he could get for killing not one, but two of the top noble talents.

    While Rio just looked at his expression and sneered in his heart. The anger of his n''s failure, and then an attempt on his sister''s life, this dude just couldn''t have picked a better time to let him vent.

    "Brother��" Amy shouted with relief and tears in her tone after seeing him there, and rushed to hug him, but Rio raised his hand, gently pushing her behind him, and raised his leg to kick the man away.

    Sending his body crashing into a nearby tree with a heavy thud.

    "Erza, take her away." He ordered, and walked towards the man who stood up again without suffering any injury.

    "You must be the famous, Rio?" The man said and smiled happily, while picking his dagger from the ground again. "Didn''t know it was a catch one, kill two _kind of offer. Must be my lucky day." He said before charging towards Rio.

    "I''m not so sure about that." Rio said and shed his sword.

    The nking sound of metal rang in the air, as sparks wafted between them. The man brought out another dagger from his back and shoved it straight, hoping to stab Rio in the stomach, as the genius noble seemed to be wearing no armor, just a simple hospital gown.

    But Rio grabbed his hand mid-strike by the wrist, before twisting it to a degree, until the man was forced to roll over and drop the knife to the ground.

    The man kicked Rio, sending him two steps back and getting some space to get a proper breath in.

    "What''s with the dark lines, you fancying a tattoo these days?" He spoke, pointing at the dark veins spreading from Rio''s left arm to half of his chest. Now exposed to light as the kick set the robe loose.

    "Dead guys don''t deserve answers." Rio answered and moved his fingers, threads of magic moved invisibily, chopping off the man''s wrist which he twisted earlier straight from the rest of his arm.

    Argghhhhhh

    The man screamed in sudden pain, not even realizing what happened? Until he saw Rio wave his fingers again, and feeling subtle cracks forming on the de of his dagger, before it shattered in pieces too.

    "You_ ." The man cursed as he looked at the handle of his favorite dagger.

    But before even his curses could start, he felt thin threads roll over his body, like a serpent coiling over from his hand to his neck and then to his back. Tightening slowly, ripping his armor with a crunching sound, and digging into his skin.

    "Aahhh, what kind of magic is this?" The man cursed, waving his hand all over his body, trying to grab and pull the illusive threads away with his remaining fingers, But it all seemed futile.

    "You _you can''t kill me." The man said, as his heart felt cold and fear of death gripped his soul.

    "No, I''m sure I can." Rio said and cut his wrist, imbuing the threads with his poisoned blood. (H''s idea, to get poison resistance is to simply be poison. Told and talked about in chapter 231.)

    The man felt his skin burn as a new kind of pain shed through his mind, nullifying all his efforts to heal himself.

    "You _you don''t know who I am? Who''s behind me?" The man said and seeing Rio give zero fucks about it, he still added further, "I_it''s Apate."

    "...." Hearing the name, Rio''s hand stopped for a second, as he looked at the man''s features and tried to remember his role in the novel. But The man, seeing his actions, seemed to find thest straw of hope, as he hurriedly started speaking again.

    "Apate, you know her, right? She''s famous for being cruel, I''m telling you, you don''t want to mess with her, man."

    "She''s the goddess of deceit so you have no idea how many followers she has, how much power she holds. She''s also the daughter of Nyx, the primordial deoty of mi..So just let me go and I''ll forget everything, I promise." The man proposed with honesty.

    "Thanks for the pitch buddy, but you see, this is the problem with guys who have the blessing of making their lies more believable, _ people start doubting their truths." Rio said coldly and waved his hand, his threads slicing the man''s heels (achilles tendons) , forcing him to fall to his knees.

    "No, no, Apate _ save meeeee." The man shouted, "I swear to be your ve and follow yourmands, just save me." The man screamed on top of his lungs, hoping she''ll hear his prayer.

    "Still think it''s your lucky day?" Rio said, while looking into his eyes and shed his sword, _ but just then a tightness gripped his chest and he ended up coughing violently, spilling a mouthful of ck blood on the dirt below. His cursed hand became limp, as the sword fell down to the ground.

    "Brother," Amy shouted in panic, as she tried to rush forward seeing him fall to his knees, but Erza moved quicker, she grabbed her master and pulled her back.

    And though the little girl devoid of mana tried to free herself, kicking and struggling wildly, the emotionless vampire didn''t budge from her ce. Pulling her further away, so the battle''s aftermath doesn''t hurt her. Or she gets caught by the few assassins who gathered their courage and started surrounding Rio.

    "Brother, please�� ."

    "Erza, save him."

    "Go, I''m your master, go there. _ Save him. I''m ordering you."

    Amy begged as she punched her shadow with shallow fists, as tears streamed down her eyes, but the vampire just seemed devoid of emotions. As she focused just on protecting her, following the order he gave her.

    "Ha haa ahhaha, you''re cursed, aren''t you?" The man who was feeling fear of death a moment ago, backing away restlessly, stopped and startedughing maniacally as he saw Rio gripping his chest and struggling to breathe, as dark veins crawled under his skin.Now even spreading to his neck and covering half of his face.

    The man watched with glee as Rio struggled to fight against the 3 remaining ninjas barely. Using not his skills, not his mana, nothing. Not even the whole of his body.

    "That''s a curse mark, right?" The man said, stopping his retreat and picking up a dagger from a dead body. "I knew it was my lucky day."

    "I''ll kill you with my own hands, you bastard." The man said and slowly started dragging his injured body forward.

    While Rio, who finally managed to y an assassin, stared at the moonlit mark of Nyx shining on his useless arm, and cursed the goddess in his mind. "Let me go, Nyx."

    [He is telling the truth, Rio.] Nyx replied, her voice echoing in his mind, [He is chosen by my daughter, and she asked me to protect him.]

    "If she wanted him alive, she should''ve warned him not to mess with my sister." Rio cursed loudly, while kicking a man and twisting his neck between his legs.

    "If she sends her dogs after my family, I''ll y them, and then I''ll y her too." Rio said while falling back to the ground, avoiding the man''s dagger at thest moment, before kicking him in the legs and having him fall over his own body.

    [Rio, nooo!] Nyx''s voice echoed in his mind, filled with anger as Rio''s hand closed around the man''s throat. She tried to amplify his pain, flooding his senses with darkness, making every breath harder than thest. But he ignored herpletely. His mind already numb to the physical pain.

    "Weak, right?" He repeated the words she said to him some time ago, as he tightened his grip, his nails digging into the man''s neck. The enemy''s eyes bulged in panic, hands wing at Rio''s face, but it was all useless.

    With one final grunt, Rio''s arm flexed, crushing the man''s windpipe in a sickening snap. The man''s desperate gasps were cut short, as his body started twitching and turned into a dead body.

    "Never _mess _with my family." Rio muttered through clenched teeth as he shoved the corpse aside, his chest rising and falling heavily, as he stared at the sky that suddenly seemed to darken at an rming rate.

    [..... ]

    After a few seconds of silence from Nyx, the curse affecting his body, seemed to have disappeared suddenly, as all the dark veins covering his body got swallowed back into the mark of moon near his wrist.

    Erza and Amelia returned to his ce, along with some other guards of their family, who started securing the ce and collecting the corpses to perform a brain checkter, to see if they can track which organisation or group these people belonged to.

    "Brother, are you okay?" Amelia''s voice was shaky as she rushed into his arms, holding him tightly. "I... I was so scared."

    Rio wiped her tears and gently hugged her back, trying to calm her down, while his focus remained on a corner, where Erza reported everything that happened today, and how it came to be.

    And when he listened to how Amy has been roaming around ying paw patrol all this time, risking her safety in dungeons just for fun, and how she got fooled into believing that liar''s lies and nearly got herself killed _ well, that was it.

    The balloon called anger in his brain, finally burst apart.

 Chapter 407: Guilt and Gods

    "Are you an idiot?" Rio said as he pushed Amy by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Amy stood frozen, her small frame trembling under pressure.

    "B_brother, that_."

    "That what, Amy?" Rio cut her off, "Do you have any idea what could have happened if Erza or I weren''t here? You could have been kidnapped, killed, or worse. Do you know what that would have done to our family?"

    Amy''s lip quivered, and she looked down, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I know," she whispered, the words barely escaping her throat. "But�� I knew you''d save me. You always do." she said, looking up at him with confidence.

    Her response seemed to remind Rio of something he thought he had long forgotten.

    He let go of her shoulders and stepped back, as he turned around, his hands ran through his face to his head, as if doing that would calm him a little. He ced his hand on his knees as he felt the long lost feeling of panic setting in his heart, before turning around and looking in her eyes.

    "Look Amy, I''m not some hero from the fiction you read. And you''re not a character in a book. This is the real world. Out here, when you''re in trouble, there''s no prince in shining armor riding in to save you. If you can''t protect yourself, you get killed. End of story." He said, fighting back tears as her young face seemed to merge with that of Ria''s back on earth.

    Amy looked up at him, her face flushed with guilt and tears seeing him choke up. "I�� I''m sorry."

    Rio shook his head, his voice softer now but no less stern. "Why did you even leave the estate huh? How did mother let you out of her sight?"

    "She didn''t, I sneaked away. I _ I just wanted to be like you" Amy looked down and answered. She could already expect his angry reaction, and that''s what happened.

    "Well, then you clearly failed. Cause I''m not naive enough to trust some strangers words and follow him into deep forests. Nor am I the type to ditch my security and risk my life." Rio said in anger, his loud tone attracting the eyes of guards and soldiers all over the ce.

    Amy''s face was streaked with tears now, and her voice cracked as she tried to defend herself. "I thought he was my friend!"

    "Friend? Is that why you gave him your armor, and sacrificed your mana making barriers to protect him, and not yourself?"

    "No, that mana _ that''s when I teleported to save.."

    "The fuck?" Rio cursed as he grabbed his forehead, "You teleported in front of him to help him block that sword? Are you out of your mind?"

    "I _ uh."

    "God Amy, there''s a limit to childishness. Grow up."

    "But I am a child. So stop shouting at me." Amy said in anger as she wiped her tears and looked at him with her puffy red eyes.

    "Shouting_ after what you did, you deserve a p and not a shout." Rio said, not even the least affected by her cute emotions.

    "You��" Amy was surprised to hear that as it was the first time her brother ever said about punishing her. But before she could say something Rio''s words cut her off.

    "We are not like your regr children, Ames. We don''t get to y around in fairs, or roam on the streets, or dance and sing like nobodies on a stage - we are nobles. Being born into families like ours we get a lot, but we loose that.. We have expectations, responsibilities, an image, a respect_ that we need to maintain at all times.

    Something that all would''ve been tarnished today if we were a step toote."

    "Stop preaching me. You''re not father." Amy said in anger, her tiny hands clenched in fists over his lecture.

    Rioughed bitterly, a sound void of any humor. "Father? Father would be furious if he knew what happened here today. But more than that, he''d be disappointed. Disappointed that his precious pearl could be so careless."

    "You,__ what about you, you go out all the time? Remember how many times you asked me to cover the maids so you can sneak away." Amy said, pointing a finger at him with trembling hands.

    "I can go out cause I can protect myself. Unlike you.."

    Tears flowed freely from Amy''s eyes seeing his mocking look, "I''m not weak, brother��"

    Rio''sugh turned cold. "Do I need to spell it out for you? Just look around, Amy, some low level assassins and an idiot who''s only power lies in his lies, _ and you couldn''t even handle a single one of them."

    "I don''t like killing."

    "Well if you can''t kill, then don''t try to be a hero to someone and jump into battle. Run away."

    "That��"

    "Tell me why didn''t you run, I have given you an artifact to escapest time I remember, I''m sure mother and father would have given a lot too. So why didn''t you leave?" Rio asked a question as he sat on his knees in front of her.

    "... I didn''t bring them."

    "Hahaha you didn''t bring them." The answer was so unexpected that he didn''t even know how to react exceptugh at her, "You left your life saving artifacts at home. For what? To meet that guy? So he doesn''t realize you''re a fancy noble and not some patrol guard is that it?"

    "It''s not like that��I just wanted a friend." Amy''s voice was small, fragile, like a child''s.

    Rio shook his head, his anger turning into exhaustion. "Friend, friend, friend _ your friend nearly sliced a sword through your head and plunged a knife in your heart. What part of that don''t you understand?"

    (Sics and sobs)

    "Acting like a savior who can''t even save himself."

    Amy, unable to hold back anymore, stomped her foot. All that sadness, fear, and guilt, turning into anger for her to vent.."Don''t mock me, Rio. I was just doing what father would''ve wanted��protecting someone."

    Rio''s expression softened, he held her face and replied. "Father would want you to stay alive, Amy. I want you to stay alive."

    "And what would you have done? If it was Bernhardt or Dahlia, or even Lisa, would you leave them behind? To die?" Amy asked, naming all his best friends she could remember, as she pped his hand away.

    Rio''s face darkened. "Maybe I would."

    "Then that makes you a selfish, bad guy," Amy muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, but the words still reached Rio.

    "Selfish? If I was selfish I wouldn''t kill that man for you knowing it''ll ruin the perfect rtionship I built with my primordial."

    "What? I_ I didn''t know." Amy''s eyes showed surprise as she remembered her brother''s condition during the fight. "Brother, I really didn''t know."

    "Yeah, well, you not knowing, doesn''t change a thing, does it? And now I gotta go into a dungeon with a curse on my hand and two goddesses in a bad mood. What''s the worst that could happen right?".

    Rio said and turned around as he saw Artemising there.

    Sensing the tension between the siblings , Artemis didn''t say anything, she just bent down and wiped Amy''s tears with a soft cloth, before kissing her on the forehead and picking her up from the ground. Holding Amy close to her chest, as if to protect her from the world.

    "Don''t ever take your anger out on her," She said coldly to Rio, thinking he was stressed over the attack on his ssmates. And since aware of his safety, without saying anything else, she just left.

    "...." Rio was left alone, thinking if he went a bit overboard on his sister? Or how he''ll have to apologise when he sees her next time at the academy. When a message from Gauri stopped his thoughts.

    [You''re a fool.]

    Rio''s eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

    [That you''re a fool if you think you''re protecting her.] Gauri spoke, her voice echoing in his mind. [Your overprotective nature had blinded her true potential. She could''ve found a dozen ways to survive and fight today too, but she didn''t cause she believed her foolish brother woulde up like always and save her.]

    [You being there, acting like this, it''ll never give her the reason to grow. She''ll never unlock her true element and control chaos if you''re smooth-lining every path she walks in life.]

    "She could''ve died today. And all you did was just watch from your skies? So don''t try to lecture me." Rio snapped at her. "And don''t think for a second that I don''t know what you want. You don''t care about her. You never did."

    [She is my chosen, my avatar. I care more than you''ll ever know.]

    "Ohh yeah?" Rio sneered and said mockingly, "And if something happened to her today, how long will you wait, before choosing a new avatar?"

    [....]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Seeing her silence, Rio just sneered at this hypocrisy, before adding - "Don''t ever think that we want the same thing, or that we''re on the same team. Cause we''re not. You want her strong, I want her safe."

    [As I said, a fool.]

    .. Rio ignored Gauri''s words and turned his head away, his eyes falling on to the mark of Nyx on his hands..

    "Are you happy now?" He asked without context.

    [....]

    "Come on, you think I can''t tell the difference between a clone and a real body?"

    [..]

    "You wanted him safe, and that''s why with your curses, you bought him enough time to run away." Rio said as he walked over to the man''s corpse and kicked it away.

    [I just helped my daughter.] Nyx''s voice echoed softly in his ears.

    "Yeah, well, then tell her that if she wants to live peacefully, then don''t mess with my family ever again. Or I''d be very d to tell my father about who actually gave the order to kill his precious daughter." Rio threatened Apate and finished it with a cold smile, "Trust me, he''ll have a fun time ughtering her puppets."

    [Apate sneers at your threats, saying mother''s protection is making you arrogant.]

    Her presence made Rio''s smile widen, turning colder even, as he looked at the sky and started speaking. "36th street, Sone restaurant, third floor, corner room with the flower-patterned window." Rio spoke each word of his surprising Apate to the core, "That''s where your followers always gather, don''t they?"

    [You��]

    "Purple house, 12th street, the meat shop at the back of Power''s casino�� Haven central park, the cave behind the waterfall, Damascus borders the shallow mountain, Harendale Crone family��.Shall I go on?"

    [You dare threaten me?]

    Rio''s eyes gleamed dangerously. "It won''t take me longer than a few seconds to tell all these locations to my father, and within hours, all your followers will be rotting in cells so dark they''ll forget what sunlight looks like."

    "Now do you want to be a goddess who wants to spend the next century just watching your promised followers trapped in dark cells, getting tortured, or will you just give me your word to nevere after my family, and friends ever again."

    [You''ll regret this.] Apate threatened him, showing her pressure on his shoulders, yet Rio just pulled out a token with his family insignia and everything disappeared instantly.

    "I''ve had a very very bad day today. And your attitude is only making it worse. So just give me your word, or I''ll show you exactly why your mother chose me." Rio said coldly.

    Seeing his actions without any hesitation, and her mother''s attitude where she didn''t interfere at all, Apate gave in momentarily. [...My followers won''te after you, or anyone around you.]

    "Good," Rio nodded his head, feeling satisfied. "Now, how about a blessing of lies for my troubles?"

    [Don''t push your luck, mortal.] Apate refused.

    "I''m not asking for free. Give me your blessing, and I won''t hunt down your avatar for what he did to Amy." Rio spoke and looked in a certain direction, dark mana ring at his fingertips, as a thin thread became visible to naked eyes, "We both know he''s not that far yet." Rio said, as his threads started turning poisonous the further they travelled.

    Apate hesitated for a moment, but after thinking of all that she had invested in her avatar, she finally gave in.

    [Apate grants you the blessing of believable lies.]

    [Skill effect - Makes your opponent more susceptible to believe in your lies.]

    After suffering a loss, and hearing threats from a mortal, Apate left the ce. Going back to shift all the locations of her temples and followers. And to find, how exactly this guy knew all about them.

    [You made her angry. That''s not a good move.] Nyx said, once they were alone.

    "Humph, I didn''t see you step in to interfere, so I assume I was still in the safe zone." Rio replied confidently. Though Nyx was a doting mother, and Apate was petty, - he was far too important a piece to sacrifice just for pleasing her daughter''s tantrum.

    [Manipting a God, and manipting your sister - why didn''t I know you could do that?] Nyx said with a smile.

    "Amy needs to know there are consequences to actions, to our mistakes. Me lying about you being angry for a while because of her, is just enough to scare her for now."

    [You''re making her feel guilty for something that never happened.]

    "Well, what''s the alternative, I do nothing, say nothing. And she never learns."

    [...]

    "If a little guilt now can save her a lifetime of misery, and teach her to never repeat such foolishness, then I''m okay with it." Rio said and jumped into the ship waiting to take him back at academy.

    If only he knew the little guilt he gave his sister, won''t justst for a few days, but for two whole years and maybe her whole life _as he got trapped in the dungeon days after.

    And with his fate in the dark, all she ever wondered was that if Nyx wasn''t angry with him, would she have saved him? Would he have been back home safely, if she didn''t call him selfish, and told him to save his friends?

    �� .. The answer she''ll never know.

 Chapter 408: Finn and Nera

    Rio looked at Tanya standing by his carriage, with a backpack that looked thicker than three of herbined, and shook his head.

    "You''re not staying behind, are you?"

    "Noo."

    "Will follow me even if I refused?"

    "Yes."

    "Umm, and you won''t cause me any trouble?"

    "Noo."

    "Will do as I say, without asking or making demands?"

    "Yes."

    "... You brought something to eat?"

    "No��I mean yes." Tanya replied like in previous order, before understanding the question, and changing her answer hurriedly.

    She ced her bag on the ground, pulling it forward with both hands, until it budged a few centimeters before giving up in embarrassment.

    "Here, see I made thisst night, and this one this morning, this one I haven''t tasted yet, as I was in a hurry to pack my stuff, but it smells nice. Wanna try it?" She spoke as she pulled out one packed box after another and started showing him her work, her eyes shining with stars as she pushed them into his hands, hoping he''ll eat and praise her like always.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Umm, Tanya, you do know where we''re standing right?" Rio said with a smile, as he held her hands and stopped her actions.

    Hearing his words, she looked around, only to see the guards and soldiers standing near the carriage all looking her way with a smile on their lips, even the horses turned their faces and neighed, as if telling her, ''Seriously? In front of us? Where''s our box?''

    "Ah haha ha" With a sheepish smile, she took the boxes back and shoved everything back into her backpack, burying her head down fiddling with the chain in embarrassment.

    Seeing her like that, Rio couldn''t help but poke fun at her further, as he circled around the bag, before clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

    "Tch tch tsk, pity." he said, his words making Tanya confused, "huh?"

    "Oh, I''m just thinking how will we fit this big a bag into our small carriage. It looks quite heavy, right?" Rio said, as Tanya too looked at her bag, and couldn''t help but nod. "Unhh"

    Rio turned to his shadow and asked, "What do you think, Esme, do you think our horses can carry this heavy bag too?"

    "I _ um, we are going far so it must be very tough." Esme though surprised for a second, still understood and responded smartly, "They''ll be tired."

    "You''re right. Plus our Tanya probably packed half the kitchen''s utensils in it, so it''ll also make loud noises on the road," Rio said, pping his hand randomly, hitting a steel and making a clunking sound, "Yeah, with this we probably won''t be able to sleep or rest either."

    "Yes, master. _ how about we _just leave it here." Esme suggested and looked at Tanya whose face went from rich expressions of confusion to understanding, to horror, and then to sadness in a single second.

    The poor her took a second to coax her heart, before looking up sincerely, willing to sacrifice her hard work for their smooth sailing, only to see faces of both master and shadow looking at her jokingly, barely controlling theirughter.

    It took another few seconds for her innocent head to process what they said, or how she reacted, and when she looked back up in anger, the duo only broke up inughter even more.

    "Bad brother." Tanya said sourly, and started dragging her bag to the carriage. Tears welled up in her eyes which she tried to hide by turning around, only to feel the weight behind her disappear, and herself getting picked up.

    "Come on, you can''t me us forughing when you act like that?" Rio said, helping her enter the carriage, "And besides how do you even forget that storage rings exist? All that salt, sweet, and spices really must be messing up with your mind? We''ll have to get it checked by a healer."

    Rio joked again cing his hand over her head, which she so wanted to p away, but couldn''t find the courage to. ''Forget it, it feels nice anyway.'' She thought and just stayed like that.

    "So Tanya, will you follow me back to the academy too this time? Or will you still stay at home with your mother." Rio asked, changing the topic, lest this kid really gets angry. Cause then he''ll have to be hungry for the next few days.

    "I don''t know." Tanya replied honestly, she wanted to follow him, but she didn''t want to leave her mother behind either. Her thoughts, "Who knows what she''ll do when I''m not around?"

    "Well, there''s no rush." Rio replied, and added, "And besides, if you want you can stay for a few more months here, join us after my exams end. As for your master, don''t worry, I''ll talk to him."

    "You met master?" Tanya asked excitedly.

    "I went to his restaurant once." Rio replied.

    "Then _ did he say something about me? Did he give you some new book of recipes? Or any secret tips? Or wait, some special spice?"

    "... Woah easy there," Rio spoke, interrupting the girl who gets possessed when ites to making food, "I did went there, but we didn''t talk. _ he was unconscious and I was under attack."

    "Huhhh what?" Hearing his words, Tanya made a big ''O'' before turning her face to him and asked excitedly, "Then? Then what? Tell me everything? It sounds fun, tell me."

    "..." (Rio''s silent stare, wondering what''s fun about her master falling unconscious, and him fighting for his life.)

    [You''re surrounded by weirdos.] (System''s speech)

    "..." (And Rio''s silent approval)

    "Huh, what happened? Why are you silent?" Tanya asked as she grabbed his hand, "Tell me what happened? I haven''t heard this story yet. _ ohh and speak slowly so I remember it, I have to go back and tell all my friends too."

    "....."

    Esme looked at the scene unfolding in front of her, and silently smiled to herself.

    ''Life is perfect.'' She thought, her mind wandering back to the day years ago, when she was in prison, charged with treason, waiting to be killed, and the little Rio came to see her, _ save her.

    Who would''ve known the day she thought she was gonna lose everything, was the day she actually started gaining everything.

    Rio raised his head and stared at Esme smiling at him with a lost look on her face, and couldn''t help but agree with the system once more. ''He really was surrounded by weirdos.''

    ��

    The journey to Harendale city didn''t take long, Rio and group first went to their guildhouse ''Shade'', and after meeting a few familiar faces like Luke who trained him physically in childhood, or Asher, who led the Alphas to search for him when he was in the dungeon, and Myra, his mother''s shadow, who stayed in guild for some work _ they took the teleportation directly to the next branch at their destination.

    {Ps teleportation between cities is allowed freely, though always monitored by the nobles and guilds ruling there.}

    Rio stepped out of the portal and in front of him were another bunch of familiar faces.

    "Hello, Finn." Rio said and bowed his head a little, before hugging his cousin with a smile.

    "God, you''re growing great, what are you eating?" Finn said, as he patted Rio''s back, a little harder than what''s considered normal.

    "I see your childish habits haven''t changed?" Rio said, before pushing him away and shaking his hands.

    "You know, I was justing to meet you in Damascus, but you came here first." Finn said, cing his hand over his heart, "It''s like we''re connected."

    "Urghh," Rio sighed in disgust as he pushed it away.

    "Come on, you don''t trust me now. I''m really telling the truth." Finn said in all sincerity, "Wait, I''ll show you the tickets and bookings and�� ."

    Rio looked at the man pushing his hand into his pockets while looking at him, before into another and then in another��

    "Bro, I''m telling the truth, I forgot my card at home, youe with me there, and I''ll show you then, okay." Finn said, giving up on the fake search, knowing Rio had no intention of stopping him, but was more interested in his acting.

    His open lies making Rio smile, as he shook his head, "I''ll trust you when you pay me back my money. It''s been what, four years now?"

    "Come on," Finn said exaggeratedly, hearing him mention old debts, "I thought you forgot that, or wait, didn''t we cancel that out when I gave you that one gift on your birthday?"

    "Nope. You''re talking about the one before that," Rio said and added, "You still owe me five and a half million, pay up soon."

    "Wait_ you didn''te here on your holidays to collect some money from me, did you?" Finn said with a hurtful expression.

    "When did you turn so cheesy, don''t your face hurt with all that acting?" Rio said, not buying a single word from him.Dude was a genius with a talent and skills like no other, yet this stupid acting skill ruins his whole serious setting.

    "Ohe on, I''m a merchant. Acting is in my blood." Finn replied proudly, with a fist on his chest like an army salute.

    "God, you''re worse than Nera." Rio said and pped him on the shoulder to cut it out.

    "Talking about Nera, she quite missed you." Finn said, turning serious as he mentioned his little sister. "She made me swear I''ll bring you home, or she''s gonna drop a water bucket on my bed every night for a week, so I can''t sleep."

    "Tough punishment." Rio joked.

    "Yeah." But Finn nodded rigorously, knowing his sister''s personality, he couldn''t be sure when that water will turn into fire, as she may explode his bed and body in sleep.

    He could feel chills just imagining the scene of little Nera standing by his bedside in the middle of night, with a bomb in her hand, as she threw it onto his face with a smile, saying "Brother, catch."

    ''Urghhhhh rhrh''

    "She scares you that much?" Rio said, looking at this guy acting like he saw his death, with goosebumps standing on his hands.

    Hearing his words, Finn just looked at him like looking at a fool. "She''s Nera." That''s it. His answer was just this. As if her name is all the exnation needed.

    "She''s not that bad, she''s a cute kid." Rio said, remembering the 8 year old little girl from his memories.

    "Come on, everyone just pampered her too much, and now I get to pay the price." Finn sighed, looking at the sky, as if cursing his fate andining to gods about it.

    Until of course he heard something behind him, and turned his head.

    "Umm, Esme sister, who is he?" Tanya said as she tugged at Esme, after seeing Rioughing and chatting so happily with a stranger.

    "He''s��" Esme was answering when Finn stepped forward and stopped her.

    "Allow me to introduce myself, me''dy. My name''s Finn Raven, The heir to the Elite Raven family, and the maternal cousin brother of this one, Rio ke." Finn said seriously in a nobalistic behaviour, with a straight face and a gentle heroic expression, causing Tanya to just freeze in the moment.

    "You idiot, don''t scare her like that." Rio said, as he pped Finn''s head and pulled Tanya away, who for the first time met someone this shameless and this frank. Someone who changes his face and tone at a moment''s notice.

    "Don''t worry about him, he just likes to act too much." Rio said, his words calming the girl, who started remembering rumors that say if you don''t greet some nobles right, they will kill you.

    "Hey,e on, at least introduce me to our guest." Finn said and followed him, "So who is she, the alchemist, the healer, or the priestess?"

    Seeing the dude just spilling out all the girl characters Rio gathered from the protagonist group, he interrupted him, "Tanya, that''s her name."

    "Ahh, the genius chef." Finn said and looked at Tanya again, "You know, he and Amy praise you a lot, always saying you cook the sweetest sweets in all of Arcadia, though these two have never given me a taste yet so��"

    "He said that.." Tanya interrupted him slowly.

    "Huh?"

    "About my sweets, he s_said that?"

    "Oh that, of course he did." Finn replied, before looking up to see Rio staring at him sharply, and changing his words, "I mean, those weren''t exactly his words, _ but I could feel that that''s what he meant,."

    "So_ about what I was saying, me not getting a taste��" Finn was speaking again, shamelessly asking for what he wanted, when Rio interrupted him,

    "Ohh look, the car''s here. We''rete for a meeting, so Tanya say goodbye to my cousin. We''ll probably see him next year, if he survives the seven explosions under his bed."

    Rio said as he sat in the car and then signalled Esme to drive them away. Leaving Finn behind with a confused face.

    "Wait, what do you mean, explosions? You''reing to our house, right?" After waking up, he shouted behind the vehicle but Rio just raised his hand out the window and waved him goodbye.

    "I''m dead." Seeing him leave, Finn said to himself, already feeling the shadow of death lingering behind his back, until a phone call broke his thoughts.

    He changed his expression, smiled and picked up to answer, only to hear a tone that sent his soul into a cold freezer.

    "Brother, are you there? Did hee? You saw him?... You''re bringing him back right, I already told grandpa.. Grandpa said, if Rio brother doesn''te, you don''t need toe home either�� anyway, I''m going to y in your room now, call me when youe home��booomm booomm�� ''Nera, you okay?''.... I''m fine grandpa, nothing happened.

    Everything''s fine here��Bye bye brother, I''ll call you backter. (Cough cough)"

    ".... My rooom????"

    ....

    Author note -

    Finn''s real name is Finnley Raven. But he doesn''t like that, so he introduces himself as Finn. And much prefers others call him that too. (Current age - 20.) (A third year student at Sunshine academy.)

    Nera''s Real name is Cristine Raven. But she merged both and chose Nera for herself. And as perks of being the youngest and most pampered princess, her wish is everyone''smand. (Current age - 10) (A sting* cough cough, I mean, a budding engineer in making.)

    She was born after a lotta years of hard work, cough cough, i mean, ... , plus she was very sick in childhood too, so she got some extra special ce in everyone''s heart.

 Chapter 409: Visiting Harendale - a trip

    "Master, young master Finn''s shadow just contacted me, saying we are free to enter Eisjer domain by tomorrow morning." Esme reported as she drove out thepound of Shade''s branch office.

    "By tomorrow? I think I told them to hurry it up." Rio replied with a frown.

    "Yeah, but with the mining ident that happened a few days ago, and all the public outrage happening around those trapped miners and their families, clearing everyone out forcefully is taking longer than usual." Esme said, passing him a device which yed several footages from the dungeon entrances holographically.

    Rio took a look at the roaring mob and how people were all riled up and angry, and just closed it.

    "Fine. Contact Finn and tell him if he''s taking extra time, make sure there are no disturbances when I''m in. No pesky reporters, no funny little sneaking guy who wants to be a hero, or a random nobody with a camera - I want a blockade around the whole dungeon." He ordered, while passing her the ''phone'' back.

    "As you wish, master." Esme answered and then looked at her screen which lit up with another message, "..."

    "Is he asking about that dinner n again?" Rio said after noticing her helpless gaze and the hesitation to speak.

    "Yes master." Esme nodded her head and exined, "He''s saying I should drive through the shortcuts and bring you to the teleportation ce without telling you anything. His words, ''Just drive the car through the tele-circle, and he can handle the rest.''

    "...." It took Rio 3 seconds to process what kind of stupidly weird deadass n it was, even in the matter of texting, before he just shook his head and gave up trying to understand what Finn might have thought Esme''s response to it would be.

    "Just ignore him." He said, something which Esme happily obliged, as she really couldn''t think how to respond.

    "Where are we going next?" She asked, looking in the mirror at the following cars behind them. One from the guild and another from Ravens, both tasked with his security and safe stay in this city.

    "Let''s go and say hi to the Heartwell''s. It''s been a while since I''ve visited them." Rio said and looked out the window, his eyes staring at the signboards of the increasing number of casinos and small gambling shops around every corner.

    The scene of drunkards fallen into dumps and ditches, while small brawls and drug deals happening in hushed whispers of the dark alleys_ somehow brought a smile to his face.

    ''I wonder what the poor protagonist''s father has to say for himself seeing the increase in crime and criminals in his city.'' Rio thought in his mind, remembering the proposition the Barons proposed to his family years ago.

    Where the righteous foolish father of hero supported the idea of allowing casinos and gambling into the city to increase the revenue and tourist attraction for the rich and powerful, hoping it''ll attract more elite families to invest in this city to help maintain peace and reforms everywhere.

    He was half right as more elite families did join Harendale and opened their business branches here to promote their products, but none of them cared about maintaining peace as a whole.

    As they say the kind of garden it is, the kind of birds and bees it''ll attract.

    And by opening their garden gates for more powerful people/animals to settle in, the Barons only shot themselves in the foot.

    No one who came here came with nicer intentions. And with the powers behind them, the barons now couldn''t even force them out or do something extreme to keep them in check.

    ''Truly a fool who couldn''t see far from the nearest profits.'' Rio sneered to himself, ming the Barons for their own downfall, before the thought that maybe it was all fate''s work to muddy the waters, so Leon can finally be the one to clean up the dirt and shine some more, _ came to his mind.

    ''Hmm that sounds about the same too.

    By this route, Leon can get all of Harendale in one go, gathering all the power in his grasp, while also offending a bunch of other elite families who''ll keep sending him timely experience packages for his future development scheme.'' As Rio thought of this, making a mind map where events and enemies kept lining up one by one over Leon''sp, he couldn''t help but praise fate.

    "Damn, nice job fate. You really cookin some masterss shit here."

    [Host, there''s a kid sitting right beside you. So do you mind minding your words a little bit. At Least not voice out your dirty thoughts in open.] System spoke suddenly, making Rio realise his mistake just in time to see Tanya staring at him with a weird look.

    "..." _ "You didn''t hear a thing." Rio said before Tanya could speak anything. And pulled out a kitchen recipe book for her, which she grabbed immediately and lost herself in.

    [Good, now you''re even bribing her.]

    ''Shut it, system. It''s not a bribe, it''s a gift.''

    [...]

    ___

    It took them about two hours to reach the Heartwell family vi. Mostly because Tanya saw a meat dish at a street stall in the middle and stopped to taste and learn how to make it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The curious case of an innocent kid, who can say no.

    Esme had already notified the Baron family of his arrival, so it wasn''t surprising to see the open gates or the maids and staff weing him in with due respect and reverie in their eyes.

    After all, as Rio''s shadow, she knew he hated any form of cliched stuff where he went uninvited andwless people who didn''t recognize him, pick a fight.

    Plus she didn''t want to cause another innocent soldier who thought he was doing his job properly, loose it, after they stopped him.

    (No, you idiots, Rio wasn''t the young master type guy who goes about kicking people off their jobs, others did it for him even if he didn''t say anything, just in some off chance to please him.)

    "The security seems higher than usual, anything important happening around the house, or is it for my wee too?" Rio asked, noticing every guard focused on his job with nonezing around, or acting serious while standing still on the wall counting clouds..

    The butler leading him in nced around, praised his sharp senses for a second before replying back, "With all the happenings in the city, tighter security is a norm these days. Plus Baron Heartwell is entertaining some guests so everyone was ordered to be extra careful."

    "The guest and their discussion should be quite important if he couldn''t evene forward to wee the master in." Esme chimed in with a snarky remark.

    "Esme.." Rio said as he looked at her, before turning to the butler again, "Forgive my shadow. She''s blunt in her speaking manners, andcks a noble''s tongue."

    "... Oh I would never. What Miss Esme said is right, and from the Heartwell family''s side, we''re sorry if you felt somethingcking in your wee." The butler replied and bowed his head in apology.

    "Please, we are both noble families in the end. And by the rules, the baron holds the higher rank than an heir, so even youing forward to greet us is respectful enough. Asking for more, would only be bad on our side." Rio said, helping the guy stand straight.

    The old butler, who heard his response and saw his facial expressions, couldn''t help but praise him again in his heart. To him, Rio never showed the attitude of a rich generational young master, or the arrogance of a Duke''s heir, but each word and act of his, yed the part of a proud noble and his high status to the letter.

    Noring off as bad or double standard, but neither surrendering to society.

    ''If only young master Leon could also learn something from him.'' He thought in his mind, remembering all the trouble their young master causes everywhere he goes. The people he offends and the norms he drops every day saying while acting generous and saying ''he doesn''t like them.''

    Saying everyone in the family should sit together for dinner and enjoy the sweets is good, but then jumping up, and saying everyone in this city is his family, even when people out there are dying of hunger, is just hypocrite.

    "Forgive me asking, but our young master Leon is also in the same ss as you. He often praised your talent and skills, so I was wondering if you two are friends?" The butler spoke, as rumors of bad rtions between Leon and Rio were circting everywhere some time ago.

    With people oftenmenting that the Heartwell family has lived for too long, and would soon perish after Rio takes over his house.

    Though exaggerated, but with what happened between their young miss and Rio two years ago, it''s normal if he holds a grudge.

    Rio looked at him for some time, before replying with a slight smile, "He''s too nice to be my friend. His ideals are _ well how do I put it nicely, idiotic in my eyes."

    "Well, the young master is still young and naive yet. He''ll grow with time and experience." The butler responded with passion, but Rio cut him off.

    "He''s a lot stubborn too, so I think it''ll take something extreme to change his views and personality." Rio said with an all knowing smile, before adding with a chuckle, "But then again, we can only pray for a miracle, hoping the God would listen."

    "....." The butler watched as Rio left him behind and entered the grand hall, his eyes staring at their backs lost in thoughts, until the guards closed the door, blocking his sight.

    ''Pray for a miracle�� .. Ravens, do they know something?'' The butler thought in suspicion over Rio''s mysterious words, before shifting the me onto Ravens, who are known for digging into other people''s secrets for their living.

    (Everyone has a pair of two eyes, and one of them is working for the Ravens.) The saying entangled with the Raven family, came to his mind, and he couldn''t help but frown.

    "I''ll have to contact the organisation and tell them to be wary of these crows'' poking eyes." The butler said and disappeared from his ce.

    _

    While on the inside, seeing the grand stature of the long hall leading to a garden in the back, and the sentries stationed in the shadows of pirs and the ceiling, Tanya held Esme''s hand and stepped closer to her.

    "Baron Heartwell, it''s been a while." Rio said as he walked through the inner corridors and reached the courtyard. Only to have his courteous smile stiffen at the sight in front of him.

    There at the table were sitting two people whom he never expected to be here _ Baron Misha Winston, the ambitious father of a past prophet, and his daughter, Katherine. Rio''s ssmate and somewhat of a pupil/friend.

    ###

    Author note - As the cliches go, there''s always a traitor in the hero''s house. The one who''s too done with their righteousness and sees the world with cruel eyes. Always nning something behind everyone''s back. The butler here is just that.

    ..

    By the way I know you lot forgot everything, so do read chapter 123 again, to help jog your memory about the origin of gambling and the barons'' previous conversation. I''m serious about it.

    Also once you''re done with re-reading that, do tell me if I''ve improved my writing style from back then, I feel like I''m doing quite better these days, don''t you too??

 Chapter 410: Engagement

    Darren Heartwell had a very busy day today. At the morning he had to go and visit various Elite families and contact several guild offices to send a rescue team inside Eisjer domain to help fish out the miners safely.

    After that he personally went to calm the families rioting outside his estate _ promising them that his son is also trapped inside, and he''s doing everything he can to bring everyone back alive. Once that was done he heard the news that Baron Misha Winston wanted to meet him.

    Truth be told, he hated the guy. This man was the one who introduced him with the idea of setting up the Gale market for gambling, and he''s also the one who profited the most out of normal public''s suffering. By joining hands with various elite families, guilds, and rich people while being theirckey, _he just filled his pockets and turned a blind eye to all that those people did.

    And if tricking him once wasn''t enough, this man whom Darren Heartwell considered a friend, left him all alone after his son became a cripple, ignoring all pleas for help or finding him a cure.

    And now when Leon was a world renowned genius surpassing even the likes of Valtor, Moksh, and even Rio, this guy was back with his smiling face again, shamelessly initiating the talks about marriage and engagement that he himself had annulled years ago.

    But s, now was the time when Heartwell''s needed their support the most, _ with Lisa now gone for a secret mission, not sure of her safe return. And Leon provoking powerful enemies left and right everyday, having one more ally to help share the burden is exactly what hecks.

    Plus this man''s daughter is a genius who''s calm, cold, and controlled, someone who can be a nice influence on his otherwise stubborn son.

    ''Why am I so unlucky in the family department��'' The heroic Baron couldn''t help but sigh as the topic once again got diverted to hisatose wife, who showed no sign of recovery for years now.

    His wife, daughter, and now son _ all were fighting on the verge of life and death, and he could do nothing except just sit at home. Could a man be any more helpless?

    But just when he was dealing with his guests, another news interrupted their talks.

    "Master, Rio ke is in the city, and he requested to meet you?" The butler reported.

    His sudden interruption caused everyone present to shoot res, but only until the moment they heard his point.

    "If the heir from ke''s ising then what are you doing here, go and prepare for his wee. Don''t mess up a single thing, or.." A man sitting beside everyone ordered and left the hall without asking any permission from their patriarch.

    Darren watched his big brother leave, and couldn''t help but frown, _ the rtionship between them had already stretched far too thin.

    "Do we know why he''s here? Or did he say what he wants to talk about?" He asked, changing the topic.

    "It was his shadow who informed us, master. And she didn''t say anything." The butler replied, "But as for his purpose, I think it''s rted to what''s happening at the Eisjer domain.

    Our sources said aftering here he had a talk with Finn Raven, who''s supervising this incident from their side, and ording to the reports, Raven''s are now clearing the areas around the dungeon, getting everyone out."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Are they nning on sending their elite team in?" Misha Winston, who was silent all this time, asked subtly.

    The butler looked at him, and after seeing his master''s eyes wondering about the same question, he replied, "We don''t know for sure? But that seems to be the most usible option."

    "You should go and greet him, we will finish our talks and join you there." Darren answered and turned his face to Misha, whose fat head and hanging chin with no neck in sight, had already gears running at rolling speed trying to see if he can get any benefits from this new situation.

    Darren shook his head, and ignored the man, turning his attention to Katherine who from beginning to end spoke no more than three words. ''Greetings, yes, and okay.''

    "So Katherine, you''ve heard everything, what do you think?" Darren asked, talking about the engagement, "You''ve known Leon since childhood, and you''re both in the same ss too now, _ is there anything you want to say?"

    Katherine, who was lost in thoughts wondering about why Rio came here at this time, looked at him and then shook her head.

    "I''ll agree to whatever decision my father makes." She responded before going silent again, her words more precious than the gold.

    "...." Darren didn''t feel bad about her cold response, as her personality had been known throughout the circle for years, so he just turned to talk with her father again.

    "I have noints about her, and am fully willing to ignore our past and talk about this proposal now. Once Leon is back, we can host a little banquet and announce their pairing."

    "As for any grand celebrations or engagements, we can wait till they finish their studies or have more time on their hands after these holidays." Darren kept speaking, his mind already nning the future parties and weddings, "Maybe when the first exams are over and they get a few months rest, or something. It''ll also give us enough time to sort everything and make suited preparations..."

    "What''s the hurry about that?" Misha suddenly spoke, interrupting his speech, "They''re both children now, and marriage is a lifetimemitment in our higher circle. So it''s best we let our children get to know each other first and see if they''re perfect for each other."

    "..." Darren looked at him in surprise, wondering how fast this guy changed his words, when two days ago he was the one shamelessly talking about his deteriorating health and how his final wish was seeing his daughter''s marriage before dying, and all that.

    Misha saw his shock, but chose to ignore it, as he continued his words, "Engagements and everything can put certain pressure on our children. We don''t want to ruin their future happiness in a haste. So how about we just hold onto any announcements and just wait."

    "But that''s not��"

    "Come on Darren, even king Maximus and Duke Agnus gave their children time to connect, I think we can do the same too." Misha spoke clearly, after seeing that this dumb fucker refused to listen, "Let these kids know each other as they spend more time togethet."

    "..." It took a few seconds for Darren to understand what was happening, or why Misha changed his words so suddenly, and as he did, he couldn''t help but see him in a new light.

    This man''s ambition knew no bounds, how dare he covet something the royal family had their eyes on for years.

    He had heard rumors about Rio being close to Katherine too, but everyone knew his rtionship with the princess, so no one cared. But seeing Misha change his colors so soon after hearing Rio came here at this time,.... Even he couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.

    ''Was it really just a coincidence? Or is there something��'' Darren thought with a ck face looking at Katherine, but before his brain could get any rity, the door to the halls opened and a voice interrupted his thoughts.

    "Baron Heartwell, it''s been a while."

    #####

    Author note - Katherine''s dad, Misha Winston is a proper profiteer through and through.

    With Leon''s talent rising and his fame increasing every other day, he thought of connecting this marriage to secure his future. But after seeing Rio here this time, he shoved Leon as backup and shifted his focus on an even higher branch.

    As for him being wrong, well, knowing the foolish personalities of Heartwell''s, he didn''t care that he couldn''t fool them againter if he failed.

    He''ll just have to act shameless and propose marriage once more like he did earlier today , he''s 1000% sure he can fool this father-son duo easily again.

    As for offending royal family, taht doesn''t exist. Their princess can be the duchess, the legal wife, the first one _ he just wanted to tie Katherine to Rio and make a bigger connection.

    After all, between the wife of a future baron and the concubine of a future Duke _ the difference in power is clear as day.

 Chapter 411: Nyx- the cheating goddess

    Rio looked at the trio of people and their different reactions to his sudden arrival, and the gears in his mind started turning at a fast speed. Until his wild guesses stopped onto the truth.

    [Host�� calm down.]

    [She''s not being forced, it''s her own decision.]

    [Plus we always knew about her dad and his dreams, this is what he does in the novel, so stop overthinking it.]

    System spoke seeing his reaction, calming him by reminding him the plotlines of the original novel, where Noah and Misha got together to pair Katherine with Leon once he started showing his superior talents. Noah wanted life, and Misha wanted luxury - it''s still the same despite all his changes.

    "Rio, it truly has been a while since west saw you. Wee." Darren said with a smile as he stood up and walked towards him.

    His voice waking Rio from the cruel thoughts where he just murdered Katherine''s father for the seventh time.

    "Thank you for agreeing to my request, Baron Heartwell. I know it was a short call. And I apologise for that." Rio said with a smile, his handsome facade hiding the anger bubbling within.

    "No, no, don''t worry about it. You cane anytime you wish." Darren spoke with a smile, pointing at an empty chair, gesturing him to sit.

    After greeting the fat baron and giving a nod to Katherine, Rio turned his attention back to her father. "I hope I didn''t disturb your talks baron Winston? I didn''t know you''d be here or I would''veeter."

    Misha smiled hearing his polite words, his hanging chin resembling a dude''s balls jiggling as he swayed his head, "No, don''t worry about us heir ke. We were just catching up as old friends, not talking about anything important. Plus we were already finished."

    "Is that so?" Rio said and nced at Darren whose face couldn''t help but frown at this tant lie.

    "Well, in any case, I won''t take much of your time." Rio replied and looked at Darren, "Baron Heartwell, I''m sure you would''ve guessed my purpose foring here, so I won''t beat around the bush."

    "This whole incident at the mine is ruining the reputation of both you and Raven''s. And as part of their family, I''m nning tond a helping hand." Rio said, going straight to the point.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You should''ve seen the reports, Raven''s are getting everyone out, blocking every entry, so I''ll be blunt and tell you, _ I am going to enter that dungeon. And I want you to clear out your areas too."

    "What?"

    "I will go in, and get everyone out safely, that includes the miners and your son Leon too. So you don''t have to worry." Rio replied.

    "You''re going in alone?" Darren asked in surprise. His face frowning as he thought about the consequences of what would happen if anything happened to Rio in his dungeon. Thest thing he wanted was an angry Artemis charging into his estate with a sword.

    Rio saw his worries at a nce and shook his head in response. "No, I have my partners." He said as the system nodded its head proudly, "But we won''t be taking anyone else."

    "But what if..."

    "Worry not, if anything wrong happened inside, the responsibility will fully be of Raven family. And not a touch of me will fall on your shoulders." Rio said interrupting him, but Darren didn''t care and just shook his head.

    "That''s not what I mean?" He said and added, "I mean, the Eisjer domain is a dangerous ce, and you don''t even know anything about it. At Least take someone from our _."

    "I have a map." Rio said, surprising Darren, who couldn''t help but ask again.. "What?" as no one knew Eisjer domains better than him, and even after decades of clearing and controlling them, he couldn''t perfectly draw a map.

    "Maybe you don''t know this Rio, but Eisjer isn''t like other dungeons. The locations, the areas, the monsters - nothing inside is fixed in a ce or a pattern, so that someone can go in and draw it out.

    Whatever map you have, is probably useless as everything inside would''ve been shifted among miles by now." Katherine spoke a lengthy line much to the surprise of her father, and possible future father inw, _ exining the situation to Rio.

    But Darren didn''t care, and looked at Rio again, "She is right. Eisjer domains are dangerous. Especially as we had reports of several unusual sightings of new mutation in monsters and barren areas in the past few weeks.

    The dungeon is probably evolving or some new powerful monster is waking up somewhere, shifting the bnce inside_ this is why we were trying to raise a bigger elite team of awakeners to gather and enter, so we can solve the mystery and get everyone out safely at once."

    Instead of answering or exining anything, Rio justid a scroll on the table. Where different locations were marked with clear titles, details and all the trap locations, and how routes and monsters changed their hubs mysteriously randomly. The Barons could even see little dots which showed the copsed mine and the people trapped underground.

    It was like someone stationed a satellite over this dungeon and started drawing every corner of it on the map in real time.

    "Nyx gave it to me." Rio said, before any of them could raise their heads and ask the question.

    [Bruh, it was mine. Why you giving credit to lil Nyxi?]

    ''Cause they''ll believe in a generous primordial watching everything from her high heavens, then in an invisible ball of light called system, living rent free in my head.''

    [...Point.] System nodded its head, [Though Nyx is quite shameless for taking free credit every damn time despite doing anything right? Like every time it''s me or H helping you, but there she is, hogging all the praise and faith just cause she famous.]

    ''Tell that to her face, and maybe she''ll give you an answer?''

    [Come on, you think I''m scared of her. I can whoop 10 Nyx in a single p. I just don''t want to.]

    ''....'' And you call me a boastful bbermouth.

    [I can still read your thoughts, remember. ]

    ''...''N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ___

    Even by the time Rio was busy arguing with his system, the trio of people were still hovering their heads over the map, their faces still full of awe and surprise. All of them probably wondering when did a goddess get so generous? Or that the rumors were right, and Nyx really does dotes on Rio. _ but whatever it was, Rio stopped it all, as he closed the scroll.

    "As you''ve seen, now you know I can handle it, maybe I''m the only one who can handle it. So _ will you clear my path now?" Rio said, looking at baron Heartwell.

    Darren looked at his confident face and then tried to remember the details shown on the map, and after a long silence, he gave in. "Atleast take some of our people in, this domain is my family''s responsibility too, and I wouldn''t be able to rest assured if we just let you take care of everything?"

    "I''m not doing it as the heir of ke family, I''m doing it as half the me lies on Ravens too." Rio replied, "And as for taking your people in, I''m sorry, I can''t."

    "But��"

    "This dungeon is a test Nyx gave me, baron Heartwell. And I intend to solve it on my own. I don''t want to y it safe and risk losing her rewards." Rio replied, his words surprising the barons, as they wondered what kind of reward would entice a duke''s son to risk his life like that.

    [And she silently takes credits again.] System chimed in, seeing no response or rebuttal from Nyx.

    "I''lle with you."

    Katherine spoke suddenly while the barons were still contemting their responses.

    "I''ve been to Eisjer domain a few times, and I may able to help you."

    "You''ve seen the map, right?" Rio raised his eyes and looked at her.

    "Which only showed locations of the monsters, I''ve hunted them during several raids and clearance missions, take me with you." Katherine exined.

 Chapter 412: Take me with you

    "Take me with you." Katherine said, her words bringing a smile to her father''s face, who couldn''t help but show an expression that his guess was right.

    "Yes, Rio. I can''t count the number of times she has been to these dangerous ces, despite the many warnings and rebuttals I gave her, _ she''s perfect to help and guide you." Misha said with a ttering smile.

    Rio ignored the baron and turned to look at Katherine, and asked. "If it''s just to learn about monsters, I can take just about anyone from Raven''s guild, and that''ll be better?"

    "But you won''t. You said so yourself." Katherine cut him off, "You can''t take someone stronger than you as you want the credit from Nyx, and you won''t take someone weaker, as they''ll just drag you down."

    "I remember we''re not an even match either. I beat you, remember?" Rio said with an amused smile.

    "Yes, but I learn fast, don''t make mistakes, and we make a good team." Katherine replied without stopping, mentioning even the rows of VR matches they won together at the academy.

    "I''ll be in a hurry." Rio suddenly said and continued, "I don''t want to waste my precious holidays stuck in a dungeon, so I''ll just speed run this thing.."

    "If I hold you back, you can leave me behind." Katherine spoke, interrupting him again and finishing his words herself.

    "..." Rio looked at her eyes for some time, seeing no sign of backing down, and turned his head to face her father, who seemed quite surprised at his daughter''s willingness to speak so much. "What do you think, Baron Winston? Kath''s being stubborn, I''m sure you''d want her to stay back."

    Mishaughed hearing this, waving his hands on his meaty chin as he spoke, "Hehehe, when has this girl ever listened to me, since she wants to go there, I''m sure I can''t stop her. If I try, she''ll just sneak out on her own."

    "Ohh? And here I thought she''ll do everything her father decides." Rio replied, his words making all of them frown a little, as they asked themselves if he knew about the arranged marriage talks or something else, but ignoring their frowns and eyes, Rio chuckled and continued, "But since you want to jump into the fire pit yourself, who am I to stop you."

    "..." ��3 _his words making all of them ufortable yet again, as they tried to understand his meaning.

    "Be ready at dungeon entrance by tomorrow morning, I''ll set off at dawn''s first break of light." Rio said and finished this discussion.

    "Umm_well, if you''ve made up your mind to enter, then at least find Leon and take him with you too." Finally Darren, who''s been as silent as an introverted guest at a gathering, spoke his heart. "Though he''s not experienced or familiar with the monsters and the dungeon like Katherine, but he can help you too."

    "Plus if you''re all together, chances of everyone getting back safely would only increase."

    "...." Rio took a moment to answer as he wondered if this guy was really worried about Leon and them, or just wanted to use him and put Leon on Nyx''s radar,... But whatever it is, it didn''t matter.

    "Don''t worry, I''ll try to find him first after we enter." Rio replied honestly.

    "Also if we can have a copy of that map, _ so we can monitor your location and ensure you''re safe, you know_ send backup or help if something happens immediately." Darren spoke again, his words and expressions showing the genuine worry of an old man.

    Yet his words caused both Rio and Misha to look at him weirdly. Both thinking in their hearts, ''Damn, this guy could finally think brightly now. A map of a domain that they''ve been ruling and sharing with others for a lifetime, a ce whose resources haven''t run out even after half a century''s digging, _ is this guy nning to finally understand and hog it all to himself.''

    [Not everyone''s like you two, host. Darren is the hero''s father, he''s the fool who filled Leon''s head with all that honesty and righteousness. Stop judging him by what you would do. He is simply just worried about everyone.] System spoke, stopping Rio''s wild guesses, [Even if you give him the map, my money''s on the fact that he''ll return it, the second youe out safely.]

    ''..... You''re right.''

    [And besides, even if he does break his character and be greedy, there''ll be nothing left to loot in that ce when we''re done.]

    ''... Right.''

    [And unlike Leon, he remembers your deeds and helping hand. He''s still grateful for what you did for his wife, and his daughter. Chances are he can even take a sword for you and still smile so brightly.]

    ''....Right.''

    [Are you even listening to me?]N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''.... Right.''

    [...]

    After messing with his system for a few seconds, Rio turned his attention back to the baron awaiting his response, and nodded his head. Making him sigh with relief.

    At Least now, he won''t have to worry blindly, and can rx seeing his son''s location live.

    "Since you''ll enter the dungeon tomorrow morning, why not stay here for the night? Let us host a dinner?"

    "There''s no need for that, baron Heartwell." Rio shook his head and refused the offer, "Since I''m here, I''ll just visit a few more people and then rest at Raven''s. Some other time maybe." Rio exined politely.

    "That''s _fine." The baron sighed and nodded his head, before adding, "Then at least stay for some time, I''ll arrange the tea and some brunch for you and your friends outside."

    "There''s no _."

    "I insist." Rio was saying something when the baron cut him off, "I heard you came here directly aftering to this city, so just for some time, rest and rx for a bit. I''m sure the little girl outside must be tired too."

    Baron''s words this time caused Rio to hesitate for a second, and after thinking for a few seconds, he nodded his head.

    "Wonderful." Darren said and pped his hand on the table. Next second, the door opened and the butler entered the hall respectfully, stopping a few feet away from the table and standing with one hand behind his back and one on his chest, with a bowing expression.

    "Take heir ke and his associates into the resting hall, and make arrangements for their food and drinks." Darren said, smiling at Rio as he pointed to follow him.

    Rio nodded his head and stood up to leave, but before he could take two steps over, Misha''s voice reached his ears, "Katherine, why don''t you apany him too? You''ll only get bored sitting here with us old people here."

    Rio turned his head, only to see Misha pushing his daughter away, much to the displeasure in Darren''s eyes, who only felt anger in his heart seeing this scene.

    The protagonist''s father had probably already epted and imagined Katherine as his son''s future bride, so seeing Misha pushing her away like this,.... Yeah Rio could understand the sentiment.

    Though Katherine too followed her father''s words and left the ce with him. Leaving the two barons to stare at each other with conflicting thoughts.

 Chapter 413: Celeste Lightborne - The sleeping beauty

    While the butler was guiding Rio and others to a separate hall, the barons behind them had started their own talks. With Darren questioning Misha about his thoughts and ambitions, while Misha just shamelessly talking in circles and refusing everything.

    His answer always being ''I just want my daughter to be happy, and to have freedom and no pressure to make that choice herself.'' _ noble words, which the Heartwell head couldn''t refuse.

    On the other hand, Rio''s steps paused as he reached an intersection. He nced at the other side of the hallway, where lines of guards stood in security, with a bunch of maids standing by holding pots and tes in their hands.

    "Is that wheredy Celeste is resting?" Rio asked, taking a deep breath as the scent of medicinal aroma wafted in the air, filling his nostrils.

    Surprisingly it didn''t make him feel sad, depressing or bad like normal_this scent had a positive calming effect of sorts. Even smelling sweet like waves of wind from a flowery garden.

    The butler nced his way, and then nodded his head, "Yes."

    "Her room shifted? I remember it was in the inner courts." Rio said and turned his head towards the butler, waiting for a response.

    "... There''s some construction going on in the inner courts, lining up new patterns of arrays and foundations, so��"

    Hearing the butler''s response, Rio frowned and clicked his tongue.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [It seems the plotline of Heartwell brothers'' inner conflicts had started already. And seeing as Darren moved his wife away from the main house, _ things are getting serious.]

    ''This fucker really can''t do anything right in his life.'' Rio thought and cursed the useless man who couldn''t protect anyone around him because of his foolish ideals and emotions.

    "I want to see her. Alone." Rio spoke firmly and walked towards the silent hallway. Leaving his shadow and Tanya behind.

    The guards blocked his way, stopping him, but only for a few seconds as the butler nodded his head after getting permission from Duke Heartwell through telepathy.

    The guards stood aside and Rio entered the room. The maids and healers surrounding the cursed baroness looked at him in surprise, before the butler signalled them to leave the room and wait outside.

    "We''ll be right outside." He said as he too stepped back. Though the doors remained open, so they could see everything.

    Rio ignored everything, and walked towards the bed in the middle of the room, his eyes focused on the women lying motionless on it.

    Celeste Lightborne, the baroness of House Heartwell, mother of the hero, and the cursed sleeping beauty as she was called in the original novel.

    Rio sat beside her bed on a chair, with only a thin veil of sheet separating them. He just stared at her for some time, trying to judge her condition through his skill of True Eyes, watching how much corrosion had covered her body, and how much pain her mind and soul would be under right this instant.

    She was one of the few characters in the original novel who actually made him feel bad when reading about their pov''s and past. About the trauma they go through and the ending they receive after everything.

    "Hello aunt." Rio said with a sigh and soft smile, "It''s me, Rio. I''m alive. (Chuckle) Been a while since Ist saw you."

    "..." There was no response from her side, but unlike others he knew for sure that she could hear him. So he just continued speaking.

    "You know, I don''t like that sad smell of medicine either, but this is nice�� I''m sure the jasmines were your favourite once too. That''s the only reason Baron Heartwell would choose them, right?"

    "..."

    "Leon and I are ssmates now. Did he tell you that? He''s stubborn just like his father. _ He''s also grown quite strong and talented now. Though not quite at my level yet." Rio said with a chuckle.

    "My mother told me a few stories about you some time ago. And I couldn''t help but wonder, what would''ve happened if you were here.. . I''m sure the city would''ve been much safer and peaceful then. She praised you, and that''s something she doesn''t do for many people."

    "I heard what happened while I was gone, and I''m sorry that she did that�� But you should know she was just grieving for my loss and angry at Lisa foring out alone. She never meant you or anyone else any harm."

    "But I''m back now. And her anger is gone. So I just wanted to tell you that I''ll talk to her, and make all the necessary arrangements. We may not be able to cure you fully yet, but I''ll try my best to help reduce the pain."

    "...Before Lisa left the academy she said she''s going on a mission that could help her find a cure for you, and that it''s gonna be very dangerous and she may note back....She must have told you about that before leaving too, right?"

    "....And I just don''t know what to feel anymore. I can''t _ can''t forgive her aunt. I''ve tried, really, but I just can''t. _ I know she did what she thought was right, but I just can''t forget that scene where she just turned her back on me and left me dying."

    "... And now every time I see her, all I remember is just that betrayal and not the friendship we had."

    "A part of me just wants revenge on her, asking me to make her understand what I went through while being trapped there�� but there''s also that voice down somewhere in my heart, that just says to give her another chance. To forget the past, and think about a beautiful future��What would you do aunt?"

    "If you were in my shoes, and someone broke your trust like this_ what would you do?" Rio asked and looked at her hopefully.

    The room was silent, as it had been since the moment he stepped inside. But this time, the silence felt heavier. A cold aura seemed to be released from her body, a sign that her curse was acting up again, but next second it was gone with his words.

    "... Forget it." Rio said and shook his head, changing his tone and topic back to the present. "In all these talks, I even forgot to tell you why I''m here."

    "Don''t worry about Leon, I''m entering that dungeon tomorrow too. I''ll make sure hees out safe and without a scratch."

    "Take care of yourself, aunt. And hang in there, your family''s gonna be just fine."

    After making a promise of Leon''s safety and wishing her well, Rio stood up and left the room. His slow steps, erasing the signs of barrier system had set up.

    ..

    "Give this ring to Baron Heartwell, and tell him from now on all the treatment costs for Aunt Celeste would be spent by Angel corp..He just needs to focus on handling safety and security measures around her." Rio said as he held Tanya''s hands and started walking away.

    Leaving the butler surprised by his words, as he couldn''t help but wonder if Rio guessed about the assassination attempt on baroness that happenedst week.

    But his surprise only turned to shock as he swept his mana into the ring, and saw the mountain of magical elixirs and rows of healing pills and potions stored inside, as well as a bunch of jasmine flowers and perfumes.

    "Heir ke, this��" The butler started speaking, but Rio cut him off.

    "Tell the baron that I ept his hospitality. That Tanya and Esme will be staying here for the night." Rio said, before his figure merged in the shadows and disappeared from the vi.

    His words and actions, surprising not only the butler but the duo of assistants he brought along and left behind too.

    Esme, who''s been used to his sudden whims and mood swings just sighed and shook her head. While Tanya, who wanted to show her skills and talent to him, just looked around in shock after seeing him disappear, before pping Esme''s hands.

    "Esme sister, Rio brother _ he gone? He didn''t even take us with him." She said inint, her happy face already diving down 180�� and turning sullen.

    "Don''t worry, he must have remembered something important, he''ll be backter." Esme said, coaxing the little girl, before pulling her along the way the old butler guided them.

    (I have some idiots to deal with, watch over Tanya and protect her till then. Don''t trust any of these fools in this ce, they''re all a bunch of sloppy bastards.) Rio''s voice echoed in Esme''s ears who just kept walking without changing her expression.

    From Rio''s tone she could guess he was angry about something, and that surely wasn''t a good sign for someone. Pity the fools who''ll have to suffer now.

    On the other hand, away from the main house of Heartwell''s, Rio''s figure emerged from the shadows in a dark room. In front of him stood a man who immediately stepped forward and bowed to wee him with smiles and excitement.

    "Mister Rio, I was just waiting for your arrival. Wee back." The man said as the falling light shined on his face. It was Charles, the big brother of Baron Darren Heartwell. The man who left the engagement talks soon after hearing news of his arrival.

    "Everyone said you were dead, but I knew you''d be fine. After all, how can someone like you fall in some normal dungeon." Charles spoke tteringly, trying to butter him up. "If it weren''t for that bastard''s daughter who betrayed you, .. But don''t worry, ever since I learned about her dark deeds, I''ve made sure to never make anything easy for her in this house...

    And her cripple brother, how dare he cheat andpare himself to you, don''t worry, I''ll help you punish him too..."

    The man was speaking in flow, trying to fuel his anger and hatred over his little brother''s family, but a sudden grip around his neck stopped his train.

    "_ cough cough�� What? What are you doing? Why are you __ urgh ohh, let go��" Charles struggled, failing to free himself as a ck chain tied the whole of his mana core and refused to allow a single trace of mana to flow out.

    "How dare you go against my orders?" Rio said coldly, increasing his grip tightly and watching as Charles''s face turned red and ck under pressure. "I told you to never mess with Celeste. Never attack her, and never eveny a hand on her. Yet you dare try to kill her."

    "urghhh I was _ just _ helping you to get revenge on that bitch Lisa." Charles said, struggling to get a breath in as he felt the world around him getting blurry, as his eyes felt like popping out.

    "I made you a ve instead of killing you like your stupid men, so you can help me watch them. I didn''t keep you to think and make decisions for me." Rio said and threw the man to a nearby wall before he died in his arms.

    "Phooo whooo, I_just thought..." Charles was speaking when Rio cut him off coldly.

    "Don''t ever use your shit brain to think anything. Just do as you''re told or I''ll bury you in the same hole where I buried the rest of your bastards."

    The man clenched his fists, his eyes sheathing with anger at the mention of his dead son. But ignoring his rage, Rio just grabbed his chin, and forced him to look up.

    "Don''t forget, whatever bloodline and family members you have left are alive because of my mercy. Test my limits again, and I''ll happily give you a death that not even Gods of underworld would ept your crying souls."

    Rio''s words echoed in empty darkness as his figure disappeared again, leaving behind the breathless man rolling in pain, as the ve mark on his heart started burning and strangling him from inside out.

    That whole night the ambitious Charles, coveting his brother''s seat in secret, cried in agony in that dark room. While memories from nearly 3 years ago where Rio stopped an attack on Lisa, killing his two bastard sons in the process. And then came back with his followers to trap him and turn him into his ve forcefully _kept flooding his brain.

    The man never regretted anything more than that attack in his life. If only he didn''t attack Lisa at that time, then this demon wouldn''te after him and turn him into this _ this puppet.

    After learning about what Lisa did to him, after overhearing as she cried and told everything to her mommy, Charles finally thought he could have his revenge on this bitch and Rio wouldn''t mind.

    But it seems this bastard is still focused on protecting this bunch��

    Charles hated Rio, the man who killed half his family and controlled his life, but he hated his brother Darren even more. If Darren hadn''t taken the seat of barony that rightfully belonged to him, if Darren hadn''t married a beautiful woman who made butterflies in his heart too, if Darren hadn''t had talented children like Lisa and Leon _ all of this, all of this should''ve been his.

    It should''ve all been his, HIS _and Darren should be the one who turns into a ve and works for others. Not him.

    "Arghhhhhhhh" The man screamed as all the pain he felt only fueled his jealousy and hatred for his brother even more.

    "I will kill you, Darren." Charles shouted before fainting once the dawn broke and the first sunlight fell into the room.

    Rio looked at the man from his shadows and sneered at him, "This should help his memory and keep his petty thoughts in check for a while."

    [The man is blinded by his hatred. The only reason he''s even alive at this point is just to kill his brother.] System responded scanning the unconscious man''s mind, feeling pity for this fool, just a teeny tiny bit.

    But Rio didn''t feel that too. He just kicked his body onest time, and walked away.

    "I don''t care what he does to Darren, and what tricks and ns he makes to make Darren suffer , Celeste shouldn''t be disturbed, by anyone."

    [If you''re really that worried about her plotlinesing forward, or her waking up early _ you should also stop Lisa. The longer you wait, the closer she''ll get to the truth of this curse.]

    [We are changing ns of fate every day, maybe her event will change and she may actually seed in finding a cure too.]

    System suggested, making Rio go silent in response, with no clear answer. Stopping Lisa now meant saving her from a certain death, and his broken heart didn''t want that.

    ".... Let''s go to the dungeon, and deal with Leon first." Rio said, changing the topic once more as he disappeared from his ce.

    ####

    ####

    Author note - Protagonist''s mother and her curse were first introduced in chapter 132. If u want better understanding, u can check it again.

    ***To anyone who still doesn''t understand my mc''s personality, I''ll say it in clear words.

    As said in chapter 1, he''szy and he''s an overthinker. He thinks too much before deciding anything. Especially when ites to his emotions, heart, and rtionships.

    If it was someone else, Rio would''ve sentenced them to death instantly. Without wasting a single thought, like he did for Alfred. The man will die a horrible death in his hands.

    But for Lisa, his emotions gets in the way. (As the cringey saying goes, he doesn''t open himself to many, but the ones he let''se close, he cherishes wholeheartedly.)

    As he told to Celeste, a part of him wants to give Lisa punishment more severe than all the others as her betrayal hurt more than their open attacks, _ while another small tiny part of him wants things to go back to normal again, as he should''ve expected her righteous response and shouldn''t me her for his failure.

    This conflicting feeling is what stops him from making a decision. His personality is toozy to overthink on their past ande to a sure decision which he won''t regret in future.

    _ so he just ignores this problem. Leaving it for the future him, or fate to decide.

    This is the same reason why he avoids Saisha, cause if he didn''t _ he might just do something in his anger that he maye to regretter on.

    [System says, pity for the future self of host, as this present time host is toozy to make any decision, and leaves all the hard work to him.]

    {Devil smiles and whispers, worry not, when hees, he''ll literally solve everything. No person means no problems.}

    [.....]

 Chapter 414: Entering the dungeon

    When Rio came back to the Heartwell vi, the daylight was slowly creeping in, and people were just waking up from their slumber. He first went to have a talk with Esme, giving her somemands about what to do while he''s in the dungeon.

    As the hero''s home ground, Harendale ys a very important and recurring role in the original novel. That also means it has many named characters and plots stored here. From silly face pping scenes, to some pick pocketing, or market bullying, or some sea side restaurant with a nice view _ too many ces and too many events start here.

    So to earn more points from his system, Rio just ordered Esme to deal with some of them. Either ruin them, kill them, or finish them early.

    As for Tanya, he didn''t want to keep her in the protagonist''s house, as who knows what fate might do to get its heroine back on track. So he just talked with Finn and told him to arrange her transport, sending her to Raven estate. It''ll take him around 2 or 3 days to get what he wants and solve the mystery of Eisjer domain, so till then Tanya can stay safe.

    Plus with Nera there in Raven house, Tanya can also make a friend and not be so bored, or grow introverted who''s just chatty in front of him or the kitchen maids.

    He already has A for that. The silent alchemist really doesn''t know much outside of her field and family.

    Once that was done, Rio started walking towards the dungeon entrance, the ce where Katherine was already waiting for him.

    As he reached the ce he saw people being pushed back and a barricade keeping them out, guards stationed in a line, patrolling the area so no one could sneak past the boundary.

    The 2 barons were also present at the scene. While Darren was trying to calm the crowd and tell them everything will be fine, beingpassionate and kind as always. _ Misha on the other hand, was chatting with Katherine. Subtly dropping hints in his conversation that his cold daughter either failed to understand, or felt too foolish to respond.

    There were also a few people from other elite families and businesses present, who rushed here after hearing the news of his arrival, but Rio ignored them. Leaving the politics and connections for Finn to handle.

    Seeing hime alone, Darren stepped forward and asked, "Master Rio, I thought you said you''ll be entering with your partners, but I don''t see anyone here?"

    "They''re here." Rio said with no worries, watching to a side where a masked man fully covered in a dark robe stepped out from the crowd and stood in front of him.

    "Greetings to the chosen one." The man said as he bent down on one knee. His gaze to the ground and demeanour full of respect and reverence. "This servant of night is at your service."

    Rio looked at the hooded figure and nodded his head, giving him permission to stand up.

    "Is he_ from the cult��?" After seeing the cloaked figure and the mark of stars and moon etched on his robe, the baron couldn''t help but stutter in his words.

    "Yes, he''s from the Temple of Nyx." Rio replied, before Darren could even finish his question. "He''s here to supervise my performance and ensure my safety."

    (Also they don''t like being called the cult of night anymore. ) Rio left a word in whispers and then started walking towards the crowd, who started cheering and rioting after recognizing him.

    While Rio was talking with the crowd, waving his hand and distributing food and drinks for everyone, answering their doubts while maintaining his angel persona _ The baron behind him kept staring at the group of dark cloaked figures standing in a corner, yet despite their shady get ups, no one seemed to focus on their presence.

    His mind kept remembering the rumors and myths surrounding Nyx''s chosen followers. And the strength they had shown during thest war of avatars.*1

    Cult of Night was an organisation built around die hard followers of Nyx. Unlike other cults or churches, this one was different as every member of it was personally epted and baptised by Nyx herself. Not just any random follower or nobody could join it through pyramid schemes.

    That''s why though they were much less in numberspared to the cults of other primordials and gods, their strength and loyalty to Nyx was unquestionable.

    Less people meant less faith and less promotion, but when had that ever been a problem for a primordial.

    "She really does dotes on him." Darren couldn''t help but mutter, his worried heart already feeling a little rxed as he felt sure about Rio''s safety and other people''s too.

    Though a part of his heart couldn''t help but wonder what exactly got Nyx suddenly so interested in Eisjer dungeon that she even called her cult members out in the open.

    [Darren''s taking this pretty chill. If anyone else saw an outsider backed with a primordial''s army going into their territory like this, they''d want their own people in too. Curiosity, greed and all that...] System spoke, after noticing that even now Darren didn''te forward to pressure him into taking his trusted aides to keep an eye on him.

    Rio took a nce over his shoulders and just sneered, "He''s just scared that if he sent his best men in, Charles would seize the house or his enemies would attack his wife again."

    [And sending rabble would do no good as you can either ditch them or kill them. Not to mention there''s a chance it could anger you and Nyx too.]

    "No gain, but only losses."

    [I''m really surprised how the dude can see and sense all this, yet somehow falls for the stupidest of lies and trickery.]

    "Plot convenience bruh. Plot convenience."

    Rio and the system kept chatting with each other, finishing each other''s thoughts and responding before the words of others even finished. Every bit of conversation showing just how in sync they had both be.

    [So what are your thoughts about the elephant in the room?] System asked, it''s robotic AI-like voice turning serious, [You think it''s here to help you?]

    Rio looked at the hooded figures who suddenly appeared to serve him, saying it was Nyx''s orders, "I don''t know. She refused to answer my calls, but knowing the original plot we do know this cult is basically my ve factory so.."

    [She won''t let you die, host. Doesn''t mean she''ll help you survive.]

    "I know that." Rio said from experience, but shook his head nheless, "Don''t worry, if she messes up again likest time, I''m gonna start our n The Godless Night*2 much earlier."

    System heard his response and peeked around his diaries, and searched the details of the said n. A n to summon and trap Nyx using a ritual Devil performs to ughter gods in the novel.

    [You don''t have nearly enough points to begin that stuff.] System replied after checking everything.

    "Guess I''ll just have to do something drastic to earn them then.."

    As the talks between the system and Rio came to an end, so did the time to end his facade in front of the people. He turned around, away from the crowd, his smile disappeared all of a sudden and face turned serious, as he took a long breath in, and started walking towards the entrance.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Let''s go." He said to Katherine, who without question, followed him through the portal.

    The group of hooded figures entered soon behind them. Their sights, still clear of the order given by their goddess.

    [Make sure he''s safe, and single when he starts his final battle. And don''t interfere until he''s on hisst breath of life.]

    _

    As everyone disappeared in the shining hues of therge portal, focus of the gods watching their moves shifted too. Some weaker ones who just wanted to see drama left to find something else entertaining, while the stronger or persistent ones paid their prices and followed him through the barriers of the dungeon.

    Indra, Odin, Apollo, Apate, Ares, H, Loki, Mara, Phonoi, Anubis, Raizel Cthulhu, Tsukoyomi, Izanagi, Sun Wukong, Fuxi, Dagda, Morrigan _ and a whole lot of other notable figures from various religions and mythos all stared fixedly at the follower of Nyx whom their avatars are possibly going to face during next battle of chosen ones.

    ###.

    *1 - battle of avatars/battle of chosen ones

    Apetition sort of event that happens every 25 years, where avatars chosen by various gods get together to fight against each other.

    The opponents for this can be chosen by both, god and mortals alike. They pick the gods/people they want to defeat and fight in front of the whole crowd.

    It''s a tournament happening every generation which kind of establishes the power gaps between chosen ones, and the strength and respect of a God.

    This is also why many gods groom new avatars from the beginning to prepare them for this challenge, so their chosen one can help them bash the arrogance of their enemies. As battles between gods are banned, defeating and insulting their opponents chosen in front of the whole world is kind of the next best thing for a God to settle grudges.

    (Also the reason why when Nyx picked him, Kali immediately started the search for someone new at the same time so she can defeat her. _ many opposing gods choose avatars at the same times, so they can start this battle at equal line and prove their vision and superiority during the next battleground.)

    ###

    *2 Godless Night

    _ A backup n of Rio to deal with Nyx, where he just throws the table where she''ve been setting up the pieces for her game. Ruining all her efforts for thest era.

    He started cooking it up after she stayed on the sidelines and watched him struggle in that dungeon, instead ofing forward to help him get out.

    If_ no, no if _when he implements this n, the world of Arcadia can say goodbye to their goddess of night as she won''t being back to the surface anytime soon. A trap powerful enough to hold the primordial in ce, until she learns her lesson and begs him to be let out.

 Chapter 415: Battling monsters

    The world Eisjer Domain dungeon originally belonged to was something of an Mesozoic or Paleozoic era type of world. Meaning it had no intelligent life form living in it, only wild animals, crazed beasts, and instinctual monsters - something akin to a time period when dinosaurs used to roam on earth.

    It was a budding high level of world barely in its diapers, still struggling to grow through the norms of evolution. _when it was pulled by the holes of nes and turned into a dungeon.

    As one can take a wild guess with his half dead braincell, the energy of life/evolution stored in such dungeons is super super high. And the unexplored unused resources, infinite.

    So when Eisjer first appeared it caused a lot of noise in Arcadia, but due to the suppression of the royal family andbined power of all nobility, the infighting with elites and high guilds came to an end, _Later this dungeon was given to the 2 barons to control.

    (As for why barons, and not counts or dukes, it''s easy to exin, royal family wanted to keep a bnce of power. To make sure no one grows stronger enough to surpass orpare with their influence. Barons were too weak at first, so giving them this dungeon with low risk and high returns, meant they could grow strong over time.)

    Obviously the native monsters and beasts didn''t take likely to the invading humans and would cause many beast tides and wars from time to time, attacking and killing many people, but the rich minerals ripe in every mountain or mine, rare herbs growing like weeds at every corner, _ overall it was well worth it.

    As time passed, the monsters living there witnessed these humans movements and started to learn and mimic them. Bringing forth the age of mutation in their bodies. They started getting intelligence, and learned ways to channel nature''s energy to elevate their strength.

    Plus they had the home turf advantage where they could instinctively feel the changes taking ce in their, meaning they could use the shifts of tectonic tes to sense and follow movements ofnd''s teleportation and gravity shifts _ thus nning their attacks urately. Making them more dangerous.

    ��

    When Rio stepped out of the portal, all he saw in the front were empty pavements. The forest area near the entrance was ttened to make camps, resting grounds, and security barriers.

    But with both Ravens and Heartwells pulling their people out, now it was all just empty decoration.

    He spread his mana to scan the area himself, and paid his system to do a new scan for any living or sneaking idiots, but when both came out satisfactory, he breathed in relief and turned around to face others.

    "Katherine, you''ll follow me." He said, and then stared at the others, "As for you, stay here. And protect our exit point."

    "That''s not what the goddess requested of us." The leader of them came forward and replied, their long hoods covering their faces, making it hard for Rio to judge their expressions.

    So he just gave up on trying.

    "I don''t care," He said. "I don''t know you. And I don''t want someone I don''t trust following my every move."

    "We are here just to protect you."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "And you can do that by staying here." Rio said and threw them a token, "It''s a calling token, I''ll call you if I need you."

    "..."

    [You should focus on your own mission, instead of wasting time on them. And besides they''re yours tomand, they''ll do as you say now.]

    [Let him go for now. Just keep a distance. Also if he provokes, don''t pick a fight, _ or he will kill you. Don''t give him a reason.]

    Messages from Nyx popped up, one for Rio and another for her follower. Her response, surprising both parties. Rio for her willingness to give in, and Akun for the warning.

    He looked at Rio, wondering why her goddess gave him such a high opinion when he was already limit ranked, but trusting hermand, he nodded his head nheless.

    "We''ll stay here." Akun said, his words surprising the rest of his buddies in ck too.

    "Good." Rio said as his figure dashed in a deeper direction.

    Katherine, who was silently watching everything, saw him leave, and after giving a nce to the cultists, she left behind him too.

    "I thought they were here to help you clear this dungeon?" Katherine asked, once they were alone.

    "I don''t trust them." Rio responded normally.

    "But they''re sent by your goddess.." Katherine asked.

    "And I don''t trust her either." Rio replied, slowing down as he reached in the middle of the empty camps.

    "Why? The rumors says she dotes on you?"

    "And yet I was still trapped for two years." Rio replied and turned his face to look at her, "Gods don''t care about anyone. And if you think otherwise, you''ve yet to learn a lot."

    [Mara sneers at this guy''s baseless talks. Saying you shouldn''t listen to his nonsense.]

    Katherine looked at him and then at her goddess''s response, and then nodded her head in understanding.

    [...]

    While the duo of them were standing there, a smell of blood and decay wafted in the air like a tidal wave. Soon screeching sounds of hoofs and neighs could be heard from every direction. Moving closer and closer.

    Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled, and from the shadows emerged their first foe��a Gravorg, a creature with a hulking, boulder-like body, its skin coated with jagged stones and razor-sharp shards of rock. Its glowing, red eyes fixated on them, and without warning, it charged forward, its sheer size causing the ground to quake.

    Rio leaped to the side just as the Gravorg smashed its body into the spot where he had stood. The ground splintered under the force of the impact, sending debris flying in every direction. Katherine rolled to her feet and spun her sword in hand, slicing through the air.

    An icy wave of energy followed her move and hit the rocky monster, causing some stones to fall down and the brownish skin to be visible.

    "They''re not golems. They''re living monsters who mutated and formed an armor to protect themselves. Unlike a core, or heart, or head, you need to attack their limbs. The only way they die is from blood loss." Katherine exined about the monster, telling Rio on how to deal with them, as she saw a group of theming their way.

    The camps have been empty for hours and these monsters have already infiltrated it all.

    "Blood loss huh, that''s easy." Rio said, waving his hands as the open injury from Katherine''s attack erged and blood started gushing out from the monster nonstop.

    "How many elements have you mastered?" Katherine said in surprise seeing him use blood magic.

    Rio smiled as his threads pulled her back, "My shadow is a vampire, remember." He said in a matter of fact tone.

    As his words finished the rocky monster fell down with a thud.

    "Easie peasie." Rio said and pped his hands over the monster''s corpse, before being pulled away by Katherine suddenly.

    "What..?" Rio asked in surprise.

    "That''s a female Gravorg." Katherine said as Rio nodded his head hearing that.

    He turned back and looked down, as jagged rocks on the monster''s body began to glow in an ominous red color, and with a thunderous crack, they were sent flying all over the ce.

    Katherine erected a wall of ice in time, to block the barrage of molten stone flying toward them. The heat and force behind them was intense, as Rio could feel the rising temperature and hear the sizzling sound of melting ice.

    Once the sound died down, Katherine made the wall disappear, giving him a clear view to the monster''s original skin and skeleton which had all been dried up.

    "Even after they die, they don''t let their killer off easy huh." Rio spoke.

    "A trait of females only." Katherine replied nonchntly, before charging in to face other Gravorgs, while Rio just stared at her back, wondering if her response was supposed to be her way of telling a joke.

    [She''s too monotonous to joke, host.]

    "... You know it''s all your fault. By copying her voice and cheering personality in my head for months, you''ve just ruined my mind. Now her cold tone just feels fucking off."

    [You do know I have feelings too, right. Stop ming me for everything. You''re the one who said to pick the voice.]

    "And you just had to pick hers."

    [.... I didn''t know she was gonna pop up here, okay.]

    "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It''s your fault anyway."

    [.??.]

    Whileining and arguing with his system, Rio didn''t forget to pay attention to his surroundings. He raised his sword and shed it in a wave. Charged with mana, the de cut the iing stone debris like butter, sending hot fragments skittering across the ground.

    "And this is a male Gravorg." Katherine said, pulling his attention towards her.

    Rio looked up to see her hanging on a monsters shoulders. Her fingers sping the rocky exterior, before she thrusted her sword in the little gap. As she pulled her sword out, a stream of hot molten blood followed suit.

    The monster howled in pain, trying to shake her off like a bug, but Katherine just moved from one side to another using her legs, and ced her hand over the open wound. Pouring her ice cold mana into the hot body, freezing the monster from inside out.

    "So girls here be hot after dying and the boys are hot already. Quite the pairing, isn''t it?" Rio thought in his mind, while wondering silently in his heart that the creator of this world must be a necrophiliac.

    [....]

    ####

    Author note -

    Eisjer domain was first introduced in ch123 and thenter in ch217. If you want to know more read them and ask any questions inments.

    Next thing, Rio knows a lot, but he doesn''t know everything. So himing across a monster whom he can''t recognize or remember from the novel is normal, as in the novel it can be written as "xxx character faced various different type of monsters and defeated them all."

    How, why, or what they looked like _ weren''t exined exclusively for every dungeon. Especially one that was as vast as Eisjer domain.

 Chapter 416: Battling monsters 2

    As Rio and Katherine were dealing with the second group of Gravorgs, sttering stones and hot blood all over the ce, another creature burst out from the shadows and attacked them��a Vorrath. This beast was far more terrifying, and hideous than something akin to a stone golem.

    Vorrath resembled a twisted fusion of a lion and a scorpion, its elongated tail tipped with a glowing stinger that dripped with venom. Its skin was a mottled, deep purple, pulsating with sickly energy. Its fangs were long and serrated, designed to tear through flesh and bone with ease.

    It lunged at Katherine, its scorpion tail whipping forward like a spear. She barely managed to duck, the tip of the stinger grazing her cheek, leaving behind a searing burn. She flipped backward, but the monster was relentless, pressing the attack with a series of quick, venomous strikes.

    "Get back." Rio shouted, his sword swinging in a wide arc as he grabbed a dead female Gravorg and threw its corpse using threads at the Vorrath. Causing it to fall down.

    "Heat won''t hurt them with that much of a thick skin." Katherine spoke, and rightfully so, as Rio watched the Vorrath just roll over from the molten Gravorg''s stones unscathed.

    "You okay?" Rio said, looking at her bleeding cheeks.

    Katherine raised her palm to wipe the blood and gritted her teeth as she cleansed the cut with mana. "I''m fine, just a skin injury." She said with gritted teeth, as she took her stance again. Her eyes, getting more colder and focused this time.

    "He looks pissed." Rio said, staring at the monster, who mmed its tail on the stone pavement, creating a shockwave that sent both of them stumbling back.

    "Fuck, I thought he was gonna charge or swing that, not m it like a hammer." Rio said as he twisted his body midway, and turned to kick the stone monster who was sneaking from behind.

    Taking advantage of their disorientation, the Vorrath opened its mouth and let out a low, gurgling growl before expelling a cloud of noxious, green gas from its maw.

    "Poison." Katherine yelled as she quickly conjured a shield of mana around them, but the Gravorg, still raging with pain from the mana kick, barreled through the shield, shattering it with its sheer mass and momentum.

    The two very different types of were monsters working together in an instinctive, predatory fashion. A sort of tacit understanding between them.

    Rio''s eyes started glowing and the world around them turned silent all of a sudden, small red dots seemed to appear on the poison beasts, highlighting his weak points.

    "Katherine, his tongue, that''s the weakness." Rio said, as he grabbed his sword with both hands and threw it at Grovarg. The forced sword went straight through the monster''s body, sending it crashing into the background tree and keeping it stuck there.

    Without looking back he moved his fingers, thin threads swirling smoothly, tying the Vorrath''s tail, giving Katherine an opening.

    Katherine waved her left hand, making a long ice crystal and stabbed it into its mouth.

    Rarr

    Vorrath growled in pain. Swinging its tongue against the ice, trying to break it.

    Katherine stood in front of its lionic mouth, the loud angry roars made his hot breath hit her face, yet she stood there unfazed by the predatory rage and those bloodshot eyes. She looked at its open mouth, watching a dder of poison ball hung near it''s throat.

    "Freeze." She said, cing her hand in between those sharp teeth and freezing it''s tongue and shattering the poison ball. Before stepping back as the stabbing ice melted and its mouth closed instantly.

    The monster rolled and howled in pain, struggling and screaming madly for a few seconds, before it all came to an end.

    Rio, who looked at her number of actions and couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.

    [Man, it''s good she doesn''t know that you''re the one who fucked up Noah. Or you''d be fucked too.]

    ''...''

    "Is it over?" Katherine asked as she wiped the freezing sweat from her forehead.

    Rio surveyed the battlefield, his eyes sharp. The cavern was littered with the remains of their enemies, but he knew this was just the beginning. The howls and roars had attracted a lot more of other animals. "For now," he replied, his voice grim. "But there''s moreing."

    And as if on cue, the ground began to shake again, and from the depths of the dungeon, the chilling howls of even more monstrous creatures echoed through the forest, growing louder with each passing second.

    Rio conjured up a pair of ravens and let them fly. He closed his eyes and soon pictures from the bird''s eyes appeared in his head. (Odin''s blessing)

    {If you forgot , Odin is the chosen God of his maternal grandfather, Servirous Raven.)

    "Get ready." Rio said without opening his eyes, staring at a horde of monsters, each more grotesque and deadly than thest, converging toward them.

    "We need to move, now," Katherine said, her voice low but urgent. The glint of determination in her eyes never faltered, despite the visible strain from thest encounter.

    The shadows from trees ahead contorted, and from them emerged a towering creature, unlike anything Rio had ever seen. It was a Mirekin, a monstrosity covered inyers of sinewy muscle with thick, oily skin that reflected the dim sunlight. Its head, or rather heads, were located at its knees��two eyeless, gnashing faces that opened their grotesque mouths to reveal rows of uneven fangs.

    "What the fuck." Rio said, once more questioning what the fuck was creator thinking when making these beasts.

    "Don''t aim for the heads." Seeing him stunned, Katherine warned, already on the move to intercept the beast. "The heart''s in its gut, but it has a super self-healing factor. So keep it immobilised."

    The Mirekin came in a pair, so while Katherine fought with one, Rio rushed to its partner.

    He clenched his fist, his dark magic swirling as fog around his knuckles. While his other hand weaved strings that pulled his sword right back into his palms.

    The monster raised its arms to block the sword, making a clicking sound. The sword didn''t cut through the hand and reached for its neck like Rio expected, but got stuck into the bones. Unable to go any further.

    "Kekeke" The monster teeth crackled as if mocking his effort, but only for two seconds, as Rio''s other hand went for its legs, coiling around them like chains. With a forceful tug, Rio yanked the threads, causing the beast to topple down to the ground.

    But as it fell down it managed to raise one of its knee-heads and bit onto Rio''s arm.

    "Got you now. Got you now." It snarled with a sickening growl, followed by that same mocking ''kekeke'' ttering of teeth.

    Rio ignored the burning pain, or bleeding injury, but curled his lips in a cruel smile. "That should be my line." He said, and as if magic, the red blood that was as sweet as nectarst second, instantly turned darker and salty.

    The monster clicked it''s tongue in disgust, hoping to pull it''s knee-head back, but Rio pressed it''s head into his arm with his other elbow. Pumping the monster''s mouth with his poisonous blood. (H''s blessing)

    In only a few seconds, the one leg of Mirekin seemed to have fallen limp. The eyeless head turned sideways as if a dead animal with his tongue out.

    Kyaggghhh

    Seeing half of his body go down, the mouth on the other leg screamed in anger. iling the limb as if trying to kick and bite him. But Rio dodged the attacks and jumped back. His sword, easily falling into his arms now.

    When the monster tried to kick him again, Rio just swung it straight,_ cutting that leg from its knees. Chopping that mouth in two.

    The creature convulsed, with its half mouth but without its tongue and teeth, it could make no noise, it could just il around in misery as its life drained away.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    But something magical happened the next second, as both heads started getting back together, it''s injuries healing at a fast pace. The poisoned mouth started coughing out ck tar, vomiting the poison in it''s system, while the other leg started attaching itself back together.

    "Not so soon, deadpool." Rio said as he walked behind the monster, waving his head and controlling a wooden branch by magic. Threads rolled over the stick, sharpening it and turning it into a thick spear. And then he just shoved it straight up the healing Mirekin''s butt. Ripping its back entrance in pieces.

    The wooden stick punctured what seemed to be its heart and a few secondster, the monster was finally dead for good.

    ''This was so fucking weird.'' Rio couldn''t help but mutter again before looking away in disgust, as the ground beneath the Mirekin turned empty and swallowed it whole. Erasing the gooey gruesome sight from their eyes.

    Rio turned his head and saw Katherine had also dealt with her part already, a ice pir stabbed into her Mirekin through and through.

    The duo had just taken a few breaths of calm when new creatures caught up with rushing Mirekins.

    "They just never stop, do they?" Rio said and pulled out one more sword from his storage ring. It was time to get serious.

 Chapter 417: Battling monsters - 3

    Holding a sword in both his arms, Rio charged ahead in a straight dash, rushing right into the oing horde of monsters. His speed, unparalleled, and movement of his arms, unpredictable.

    The metallic edges left a shadow of red lightning streak as they swept the blood of monsters and sliced their bodies in swift strikes. Katherine couldn''t help but freeze for a few seconds, her gaze fixed upon the dance of death in front of her.

    In a matter of mere minutes he had littered the ttened forest with corpses of creatures who kepting nonstop after smelling blood and hearing the howls.

    She had never quite seen a sight like this. Even amongst the hundreds of arena battles she''d been part of, or various other tournaments and rankers she had seen on recordings. There was just something different.

    The way he moved, unimpeded amongst the dozens of beasts surrounding him. Dodging their attacks with a hair''s breadth, and changing between his skills and spells every now and then without showing a single opening - it was all just so mesmerizing for her.

    It made her wonder just how many times he must have practiced or fought in situations like these to get so good at it.

    His body didn''t feel tired, there was no hesitation in his attacks, _ there were moments when he didn''t even look and jumped on instincts, dodging death with a smile. It wasn''t even about strength or skills anymore, it was like he could sense his whole surroundings, predict how these hungry beasts would react, and what method could y or slow them down.

    "You gonna stand there looking all pretty, or you gonna help?" Rio''s voice came, suddenly breaking her trance.

    She looked at him onest time, before rushing forward to help him. Sun was going down slowly, and they needed to wipe these animals and find a shelter too.

    While Rio yed the horde of Hermies, Katherine took the lead in fighting against another batch called Pyareha.

    When these two groups died, the ground trembled once more. But this time, it felt different.

    Rio watched asyers of floors started cracking and were sent flying as corpses of creatures he yed started getting sucked into something. Disappearing in a straight line, before a crackling munching sound came behind _ signaling something just ate them all.

    "It''s Varsha." Katherine said, right as Rio grabbed her by the waist and pped his wings, jumping high in the air.

    Right that moment, the floor between their feet cracked and turned into a giant hole. And then like magic, it started rising to, trying to catch up with the prey that had flown away. It''s speed, making Rio feel a breath of hot air against the soles of his feet.

    Rio looked down and saw a disgusting sight, _ down there a centipede-like creature was following him like a worm wriggling on the ground. But unlike a normal centipede, its exoskeleton was translucent, meaning all its organs were visible to the naked eye. And so were the barrage of bones and beasts it had swallowed just now.

    Rio watched as all those corpses were crushed to pieces as part of its stomach rotated in circles, like a ring with sharp spears attached on corners, acting as teeth. Slicing up the food and tearing it into smaller pieces.

    Once the cutting and chopping was done, all this food was then pushed further back, in arge sack of liquid where it probably melted and got digested.

    And whatever waste and pieces of bones this beast couldn''t handle, they were turned into fine powder and sprayed from its back like shit. And something even more weird, this shit show had a speed high enough that could propel the body''s whole movement up and forward. It was literally jumping up and diving down like a fish in water by spraying shit. (Like what the fuck)

    Overall the sight of this whole fucking process was pretty noseaus to look at. So to save his stomach, and stop the taste of vomit lingering in his throat, Rio just threw a ball of hell mes into the monster''s portal-like mouth. Watching them travel down into its transparent stomach and melt everything from inside out.

    "You''ve dealt with them before?" Katherine asked, seeing Rio use the right way to kill this monster without her help.

    "Nah, I''ve just seen something simr." Rio said remembering the days of the dungeon when he was sleeping once after being dead tired, only to wake up to being swallowed into some beast''s mouth. And how he had to cook it''s inside, eat them to regain some mana, and then crawl out.

    [... Bruh can you not remember all the shitty things you did to survive. Even Benders and Bear Grylls would vomit hearing them.]

    [I already cleaned my head after scanning your memories once, so shut the shbacks will you.]

    ???n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio clicked his tongue and cursed the damn system who jumped up with aining tone.

    "Ahemm humm"

    Rio was about to teach his system some lesson, when Katherine''s coughing sound pulled his attention. He looked at her face, which didn''t seem all that colder and deadpan up close _ wait, close _ fuck.. It was only now did he realize he was still holding her in his arms.

    "Sorry." He said and let go of her, shaking his head to clear out whatever thought came into it.

    [She smells nice, doesn''t she?]

    ''...'' Fuck telepathy

    Rio cursed and muted the damn system, who had no sense of privacy and is always snooping and sneaking around in his head.

    "Let''s be careful, Varsha always walk in groups. So since one attacked us, the rest won''t be far behind." Katherine said, her face and demeanor back to being emotionless, though if one could hear closely, they would notice her heart beating wildly like never before.

    The duo looked away from each other, turning their backs to face the other _ and without saying anything, just started ughtering the sucking centipedes. One who burned their insides, and the other who froze it whole.

    "There''s the leader." Katherine said, pointing her sword and shing at a tendril that shot in her direction.

    Unlike others of its tribe, the leader of Varsha didn''t just have a sucking hole like an empty mouth, it had a dozen or so tendrils flying over its edges. They worked simr to tongues of a toad as they could stretch and stick against the surfaces.Pulling what they held, right into it''s mouth.

    Katherine tried to freeze them, while jumping and dodging them swiftly as she moved over and under them. Her hands constantly shooting a fog of ice that slowed their movements so she could sh them with her sword and cut them down.

    Rio looked at her and wanted to help, but just then another monster blocked his path. It fell straight from the sky, creating a heavy crater on the ground.Sending dust and debris flying everywhere.

    Rio looked up and saw an enormous, beast-like creature with bulging muscles and a grotesquely oversized chest, with two sharp hands. It was cracking its knuckles and licking its lips looking his way.

    Its skin was as pale as snow and appeared soft��almost too soft. The moment it moved, though, a ripple passed through its cotton or jelly-like exterior, as if its entire body absorbed all force and stored it within.

    "Why am I even surprised at this point." He said, already used to the twistedbinations of this. Like the hell was this thing, king Kong meets barbie. A berserker plus slime.

    Who the fuck made these abominations. Cause sure as hell they weren''t born normally. (Okay, guess he couldn''t stop himself after all.)

    "That''s Rthulk. Physical attacks won''t work on him. The more you hit him, the tougher he''ll get. Try magic." Katherine''s voice came from nowhere, as she introduced the monster.

    Not like she needed to, as Rio already understood these things when the monster fell from the heavens and just rippled and absorbed the impact of it all with a smile.

    ''hmm wait, why does this remind me of that ck superhero in a leopard suit?''

    [Panther, it was a panther suit.]

    ''Yeah that one.'' Rio said and looked at the monster with a ''gentle'' smile, which somehow caused it to stop in it''s track as a bead of sweat rolled down it''s forehead for some reason.

    [Host��]

    ''Say system, if I peel off its skin, can you make me that armor too?''

    [...]

    The Rthulk seemed to have sharp instincts and suddenly wanted to run away from this tiny two legged animal, who was smiling like crazy, but s it was twote.

    Rio just pped his hands, forming ripples in space that swallowed the beast. Directly transporting it into the underground headquarters of Eclipse, with a note sticking on its head.

    [Peel off the skin. _ Shiva.]

 Chapter 418: Battling monsters - 4

    "Need a hand." Rio said as he appeared beside Katherine, surprising her as she looked back and saw no sign of the monster anywhere.

    Somehow after spding all this time together and seeing him use so many types of magic these past few months, _ she didn''t ev bother herself to ask what he did to deal with such a troublesome fe, who not only could not feel physical attacks, but after falling down to half health, could ev reflect magic ones back at it''s castor.

    Together with Rio who held off all the other Varsha ctipedes, Katherine easily dealt with the leader. Though it cost a lot of mana, and made a giant ice statue in the middle of the t forest.

    "Let''s head out before other monsterse. I don''t want to fight all night." Rio said, and rushed into the direction where the system map showed the location of Leon.

    His pair of ravs kept flying in the sky, helping them avoid the monsters who were either living or resting nearby.

    "The sun will go down soon, do you want to look for a cave or a hiding ce?" Katherine asked him.

    Since she agreed to follow hismand in the dungeon, so ev though, she wanted to rest and recover her mana, she still tried to keep up with him and request his permission first. She didn''t want to be a burd or be left behind so soon..

    "In darkness there''ll be too many monstersing out to hunt, _ ev if you can see clearly and handle the big ones. We''ll have trouble facing off against hordes of smaller bugs, worms, or flying birds." Seeing him silt, she further exined, while siltly wondering in her heart, ''How the hell was he running in a freaking forest with his eyes closed, and sight set on differt skies?

    And that too, faster than her?''

    Rio didn''t know her thoughts, or he''d point at the system''s 3d live map that showed his front view in fpov on disy too. Obviously for 00 points per minute.

    Suddly Rio oped his eyes and stopped in his tracks, surprising her. He bt down and ced his hand on the g, trying to feel something. Only to stand up with a frown.

    "Get ready." He said and started throwing balls of mes to the nearby trees. Lighting them up to act as torches.

    "For what? I don''t see anything." Katherine asked, though she still pulled her sword out.

    "For this, Jump." Rio said and jumped over a high tree''s thick branches.

    It took a second for Katherine to do the same, but that differce in momt was ough to let her get a clear nce at what wasing.

    She looked ahead and saw a wave of stones rolling in their direction. For a long distance all she could see behind them was ruins, like a sheet of paper had be swiped over the forest, removing all the dust and dried leaves in its wake.

    But as she jumped to a height and looked down again, the torches clearly showed her it wasn''t a sheet of stones rolling their way, but a group of spiders rummaging a.

    Hundreds, no probably thousands, of small spiders were running in a race, each pushing and falling over one another, forming a of sorts. Wherever they passed through, nothing remained but a web of  on the g.

    "Thanks for the save." Katherine said, once the wave of spiders passed from beath them without stopping. She really couldn''t face or freeze so many of them together.And if she got tangled in that sticky webs, well that would be ev worse. As though every single one string was thin as a string, but roll together a thousand of them, and one can imagine the strgth of it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "It''s not over yet." Rio said as he pointed in the direction from where these spiders came from.

    There a dust cloud had ris from the forest, and screeching sounds of birds and creeks of crawlers could be heard clearly.Some screaming and some howling in pain.

    "It''s the web." Katherine said, looking down at the slithering , "They''re pulling the web behind them."

    Just as her words finished, Rio could see the web below them rolling together, tying and gathering all the trees and stones it attached itself to in a ball, and pulling them until they broke from their roots and followed the horde.

    Not only that, due to the high speed of spiders, and the slope behind them, the ball of web only gained more speed and rolled faster and faster. Destroying everything and attaching everything together in it''s wake.

    "Dammit." He cursed seeing the variety of ways he never ev imagined these monsters to have. "Hold me tightly." He said as he grabbed her hand and jumped from the tree, before getting tangled in the web and getting sucked and trapped into it like those other monsters.Last thing he wanted was to be pressed against brok trees, sharp stones, and mad monsters.

    Wings of  appeared behind his back as he flew high in the sky. The airwaves caused from pping them breaking whatever invisible single threads got attached to them earlier.

    The sudd pull and jolt of speed caused Katherine to lose her bnce, making her raise her arms and grab his cor to steady herself.

    It felt kind of weird being so close to him, looking at his face in front of hers wh she pulled his shirt. _not bad though. There was this warm feeling to it that she couldn''t clearly idtify yet. But it felt _ soothing.

    "We should be out of their range by now." Rio said as hended on the g after some time.

    Forming wings and maintaining them continuously was taking too much mana, and was quite taxing on his head, so he didn''t like to use them very oft. Plus they were mostly for trump card and escape help, he didn''t want to be in a situation where that skill was on cooldown and he got trapped.

    While Rio was checking how much more mana he had left, or should he just start eating pills or paying system to pump it up again, wh Katherine''s tse voice pulled his atttion.

    "Not really." Katherine said, replying to his previous statemt and pointed in a direction.

    Rio followed her finger, and saw 8 red dots shing in the shadows of the trees. They would appear and disappear every few seconds, making one wonder if there was actually something there, or was it just a reflection or refraction of light ying tricks on them.

    "Are those blinking eyes?" Rio asked, trying to make out of those dots getting closer.

    "It''s Vorilks." Katherine said a name, and descriptions of it appeared in Rio''s head too.

    A monster who was writt in the novel too. Someone whom Leon had defeated. And remembering this _ Rio couldn''t help but curse.

    ''What the fuck is this protagonist doing? There''s only one Vorilks in a forest, and he st it to me? Can''t he ev kill this now?"

    [Amm Host, it was going Leon''s way. And so were you. So in a way, you''re the one who interrupted it midway, and attracted it''s atttion by your angelic wings.]

    "I swear the momt I unmute you, you start saying shit like this, that just screams MUTE ME."

    [I speak truth, and nothing but the truth.]

    "..." Muted again.

    Vorilks, otherwise known as the que of crabs. Meaning, she''s never alone and can summon her army wherever she wishes.

    How? Cause she carries them with her.

    Like a kangaroo has a pouch to store it''s baby, Vorilks have one too, but thisdy, she stores her whole army in it.

    Her tummy is like the pocket of Doraemon, it looks small, but dear god, is it deep and filled to the brim.

    Vorilks look like an abomination which is born after a crab fucked a spider, or vice versa.

    It looks huge, has  legs, and small red eyes on its back, shining in the darkness like radium.

    They''re very very ssitive to mana, chugging magic is their favorite dish. And me their adversary, high temperature their natural emy.

    With this trait one can guess why author of the original novel pitted this beast against Leon. (Easy fight right.)But as the dead young masters of literature had taught us anything, it''s that if mc has an easy fight, it means that the beat character got big backing.

    And vo, Vorilks has one too.

    And now this abomination is standing in front of him. He was just wondering if he should leave and fly away, wh the monster made the decision for him.

    "Perfect. Left one army of bugs behind, and another is here." Rio said, and looked at hundreds of small crabs rushing towards him. Like a wave thrusted them to the beach with a force.

    These small beasts moved as one, their legs skittering over the wood and stones with terrifying speed. Worse yet, their bodies were covered in hard, reflective shells.

    "They''re ssitive to mana. Hit them with magic and they''ll reflect it right back at you. And their eyes, try not to look into them for a long time, it can cause you to go crazy or fall unconscious." Seeing his sighing look Katherine chose to exin the army of monsters, "Ohh and physical attacks are mostly useless too.

    They may look like small ants that you can crush with your shoes, but their shells are super hard."

    "Their eyes are a weak spot but due to this amount of numbers, we''ll never wipe them all. Our best option is to kill the que and th use the momts wh her army is disordered to escape from here."

    Katherine was speaking wh Rio just cut her off with a _ "Fuck it. The book said their meat is tasty unlike other monsters here, so let''s just cook them."

    "Heh?" Katherine looked up at him in doubt, but Rio started his n to wipe them all out and earn his free points anyway.

    Killing these idiots the same way it was writt in the novel. Just the one killing them was differt.

 Chapter 419: Battling monsters -5

    "You hold off the que, I''ll cook the swarm and join you." Rio yelled, already moving forward to nk the swarm.

    The Vorilks army poured out like a flood, their clicking growing louder as they closed the distance. Rio moved fast, using his thread magic to create webs behind him, just like what he had se the spiders use earlier.

    He was alone so he couldn''t get them all in one trip, so he just zig-zagged betwe the swarm. The art of rebound creating a thin mana barrier a his body, protecting him from those sharp teeths and swinging ws. Once he felt the weight of threads being too heavy to pull, he simply swung his arm, throwing whatever crabs he caught into air. Followed by a ball of hellfire that ignited it all.

    Though their bodies could reflect the magic, threads of fate and Hellfire were two spells way above their league. Maybe their que could do it, but not these small minions. So in a few seconds, all that remained of those crabs was flying ashes that poured down like rain.

    After doing this trick twice or thrice, he formed a small oping in the cter where these crabs seemed to feel the danger and avoid the webs. Going back towards their que who was facing an onught of ice and sword against Katherine.

    Seeing them trying to run away, Rio just smiled and started forming barriers of ice all a them. Not to trap the army inside, but to funnel it. With nowhere to go but forward, the swarm surged back at him in a single line.

    Some of them crawled against the wall, eating at the walls, munching on the mana within, _but their dinner was cut short as Rio threw another ball of hell mes inside.

    The screeching sound echoed heavily and the gloom of death, smell of burnt shells and charcoal filled the air. The icy walls started to melt and copse under the heat of hell, but Rio kept supplying his mana and making newyers to support them.

    It didn''t take long for the screaming and cluttering to stop, as the army was cooked crispy.

    In the novel, this is how Leon had killed this swarm. With barriers of light and mes of sunshine to help him.

    "A little help." Katherine''s yelling voice reached his ears, over the sound of shing sword and Vorilks''s mad screeching.

    It seemed the mama que bear wasn''t happy that her army got wiped out.

    "Thought you could handle it." Rio said, as he sat down on the g. Pouring a healing potion on his burned hands, and joying the cool ssation.

    Fucking Hellfire, it always burns his skin.

    His response seemed to surprise Katherine, who couldn''t help but turn her head and look at hiszy appearance.

    "I would''ve killed her easily, if you hadn''t wiped her swarm and started her mad second phase. Now she''s crazy." She couldn''t help but throw the me at him back. No wonder she''d say she''s struggling.

    Rio smiled as his eyes lit up for a second, giving him a view of the monster''s anatomy and possible weaknesses. "Turn it over and stab the pouch on its stomach. I don''t know about death, but it should hurt her a lot."

    Seeing that he really had no inttion of helping, Katherine stopped dodging and turned her atttion back to attack it.

    [You''re crazy.]

    "What?"

    [You want her to kill Vorilks knowing she''ll be marked and hated by Arachne.] System said, talking about how Vorilks was a favorite creature/mount of spider demoness Arachne.

    "Come on, I have ough demons to worry about, I don''t want one more." Rio exined, "And besides, ording to the novel''s prophecy, Arachne can only be killed by someone she doesn''t see as an emy. If I kill Vorilks now, I''ll never be able to kill her in the future."

    "And if I don''t kill her, th how will I update my blessing of threads." Rio exined everything, "I''m not Leon, who can cause a change of heart in her cold heart and get her gifts as she willingly epts death. If we be emies, chances of her dying after cursing my 7 gerations are much higher."

    [Still a piece of shit move. She''s a frid, you know.]

    "You''re making it sound like I''m pushing her to die or something. Mara is more powerful than a doz Arachne , she can protect her avatar."

    [Whatever helps you sleep at night.]

    ''Motherfucker, I shouldn''t unmute you at all.''

    (Like your ever running head can stay sane without my chitchat. You''ll be bored to death.I''ll just stay silt for two more minutes.)n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    After muting the system for the 5th time since tering this dungeon, Rio turned his atttion back to Katherine.

    "She''s stronger." He muttered watching her fight, andparing her progress with her counterpart in the novel. He was sure she could ev rival or beat ev Leon if Apollo didn''t sneak his nose in.

    Her des shing sparks as she cut through the Vorilks from behind, avoiding it''s reflective shells, and attacking only the shining eyes. Her movemts were a blur, each strike more lethal and precise than thest.

    She was controlling over a doz ice crystals continuously. Stabbing them straight if the Vorilks oped its eyes.

    Since she couldn''t see them, she forced the monster to keep them closed.

    The second monster oped it''s eyes to stare at her, trying to target her mind, a sharp ice crystal woulde down to prick it out. Forcing the monster to blink and close them again.

    It was almost like a race of instincts betwe them. To see who was faster. Katherine, who felt the brunt of headaches, or Vorilks, who had to dodge shooting spears.

    ''Guess all that hard work and training wasn''t a total waste.'' He thought. Wondering how it was funny and marvelous that every character he came across could get stronger under his influce. Not just frids, ev extras and emies too.

    Sometimes it made him wonder if someone out there was doing it to increase the difficulty at the ding. Maybe for him, or maybe for this whole world.

    [...]

    Rio was lost in thoughts wh a heavy screech broke his focus. Looking forward, he saw Katherine panting heavily as she stood over the monster''s corpse. Barely bncing herself onto her sword, so she doesn''t fall into this bloody mess she had made all a her.

    "Not bad." Rio said and wt forward to help her. Giving her a high grade healing and mana recovery potion. "Call it a gift." He said, shoving them in her hands, as he noticed her reluctance.

    The girl was nearly on verge of mana depletion and falling down, yet still had the pride to y games.

    He helped her move away from all the chaos and freezing forest floors, and helped her sit down. "You can rest and recover now. I''ll look for a cave or something." Rio said and closed his eyes next to her.

    Sharing vision with the ravs once more. The vision felt hectic and heavy on mind. Making him wonder how Indra and Maximus could manage a thousand eyes simultaneously, wh he couldn''t handle two.

    It had just be a few minutes of silce, wh a sudd earthquake woke them up instantly. The sudd jolt of movemts shook their bodies, making their stomach churn in displeasure. It was like someone suddly pulled the rug beath their leg, and th set jets on their back and st them flying before they ev got any bnce. All done in one swift motion at the same second.

    Wh the jets ded, they oped their eyes, it was one freaking surprise awaiting them.

    Katherine hit the g and fell first. The sudd pain, jolting her sses to kick in. She found herself kneeling on a t stone tform. She nced to her side, seeing Rio standing there with a frowning expression. Staring at the nk space in front of him. Though his unkempt hair and clothes showed that the sudd teleportation had rattled him too.

    She looked a and found that the surings a them had changed. There was no op forest, burning woods, or froz floors _ all that she could see were damp humid walls of stone, covered in moss and muckus.

    Eisjer was known to havend shifts randomly, and it can only be considered their bad luck that they countered it on the first day.

    "I guess we found a cave." Katherine spoke, slowly standing up and readying her sword.

    Though Rio''s response was much grim, "We need to leave. Now."

    His words carried a sse of urgcy in them, and arge shadow covering their bodies, the hot breath hitting their backs, and th the angry roar that shook them and st them flying across the cave_ yeah, that was the answer why.

    "Fuck.." Katherine cursed for the first time as she tried to steady herself and turned a to stare at the monster whoseir they were thrown into.

    It had to be one of the boss level one.

 Chapter 420: Face to face with boss monsters

    The first thing Rio noticed after thend shift beneath him, was he was in a cave. And that it smelled like sulfur here.

    Good news, it was pretty big and open.

    Bad news, that meant that''s how big a monster lives here.

    His mana spread thin on instinct and he breathed a sigh of relief as he found no living sign in the cave. But this trip sensing also gave him an idea about where they were.

    Deep in the center of Eisjer, far away from where they were, and even further away from where they should be.

    "We need to leave." Rio said to Katherine as he traced his hand on the wetrvae on the stone walls. "Now."

    Sadly however before he even turned around, a shadow loomed over his body, before a shockwave of hot air sent him crashing against the corners.

    "Damn it. It just had toe back now." Rio said, staring at the giant monster standing at the entrance. It''srge body blocking their only way out.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Towering nearly twenty feet tall, the monster was called Typhoress, a chimera-like beast with twin heads of a dinosaur, and a body covered in jagged, obsidian scales like that of a dragon. The only thing itcked were those wings that could scare everyone. But not having them in a closed space battle like this, was only giving it another advantage in disguise.

    One of it''s mouth dripping with moltenva, and the other spewing cool air and jelly liquid when it breathed.

    Fangs in their open mouths couldn''t even be counted, but they just looked sharp and scary.

    Their eyes wide open with arge iris and vertical pupil like that of serpents, stared at the two invaders who barged into its house.

    If dealing with this two-headed chimera wasn''t scary enough, from the Typhoress''s back a serpent sleeping across it''s spine like a parasite slithered into the cave.

    Therge snake stared at them and hissed heavily, raising the bar of difficulty and differences as two pairs of small wings appeared on its back.

    It was dark inside the cave, making it harder to make them out. But Rio''s vision had always been better in darkness. (Perks of being with Nyx.)

    "Aikyaa too?" Katherine said in wonder as she looked at the winged snake hissing at her.

    Rio looked at Katherine and he could already judge her condition without using any of his skills. She was already worn out from their earlier battles, and even though she downed the mana potion, it hadn''t fully done it''s job yet.

    Now, suddenly faced with a two-headed chimera and the winged serpent, things had gone from bad to worse.

    He kind of missed having those cloaked idiots who were always watching his fights from shadows around. But sadly they weren''t teleported together, and looking at the map, even if they tried their all, it would take them more than a few minutes to get here and be of any help.

    Meaning it was up to him now, to either find a way to survive and slip away, or y these two. He took a deep breath with closed eyes, and when he opened them again, a clear n was already forming in his head.

    "Run." He said and grabbed her hand , pulling her to follow him further back into the cave. Putting a bigger gap between the monster and them. But the Typhoress wasn''t going to let them off that easily.

    The chimera''s molten head opened its maw, spewing a wave ofva across the cave floor. The molten liquid sizzled as it advanced toward them, and the cave was instantly filled with the pungent stench of sulfur. Rio leaped back, grabbing Katherine and rolling both of them behind a pir of sorts.

    "That was close," Katherine huffed, wiping sweat from her brow.

    Before Rio could respond, the other head��let out a high-pitched screech. As it exhaled, a sticky, jelly-like substance sttered across the cave floor, hardening almost instantly as it came into contact withva. Forming the floor into a slick, icy surface that made maneuvering nearly impossible.

    If that wasn''t enough, the bigger giant also punched the wall and started throwing crushed stones like bullets so they couldn''t jump out and run here and there.

    "Great, it''s smart too," Rio growled, calcting their next move.

    Katherine conjured a weak wall of ice between them and the serpent, who taking advantage of their hiding, the Aikyaa began to slither closer. The snake''s hisses echoed, its eyes glowing a dull green. It slithered faster than anything Rio had ever seen, zigzagging between the chimera''s legs with unnerving speed.

    The pair of monsters covered each other''s weaknesses perfectly. One held off the height, and the other watched the ground.

    "Just hold off the beast for some time, I''ll kill the snake." Rio said, surprising Katherine who responded back immediately, "You sure, Aikyaa are trickier to deal with. I''ve seen a whole group of adventurers getting wiped out by that slippery snake."

    "Trust me, I got it." Rio lied, and peeked out the pir, "On three." He said as he raised his fingers and started counting on his hands.

    Once that was done, the duo both rolled out from different directions, Katherine backed off and started shooting shards of ice towards the giant monsters. While two shields of ice floated in front of her, blocking the rocky stones.

    Rio, on the other hand, rolled over and started throwing his threads all over the cave walls. Unlike their normal color of bluish mana, they were covered in ck blood dripping from his fingers.

    As though poison has little effect on snakes and dinosaurs, every second mattered.

    The snake soon hissed in response, thrashing violently as Rio''s threads dug into its scales. With a sharp pull, Rio yanked the creature off bnce, sending it crashing into the side wall.

    But the Aikyaa was far from finished. Its wings fluttered, and it let out a venomous hiss as it shot toward Rio with rming speed, almost resembling an arrow let loose.

    He dodged just in time by turning his body sideways, but still feeling the rush of wind as its fangs snapped inches from his face.

    "Fast bastard��" Rio muttered. He ducked low, coating his hand into mana, before punching sideways. His fist connected with the side of its head. And though the impact felt satisfying, the snake barely flinched.

    As he prepared for another strike, the cave trembled again. The Typhoress had grown impatient. Katherine was doing her best to hold it off, but her ice magic couldn''t even prate it''s skin. Each of her strikes was just making it more annoyed.

    The moltenva head roared, spewing another wave of fiery death at her. She defended herself by conjuring a desperate ice barrier, but the strain of it showed clearly on her face. And though she tried to act tough and stand straight, her steps fumbled and she nearly fell in the way of fire.

    "Tsk." Rio clicked his tongue in displeasure, throwing a golden disc in her direction that hovered over her body. Forming a golden light barrier that covered her whole.

    "Recover." He said, and turned to face both the monsters himself.

    ''Skuld, a little help.'' he said in his heart, but the goddess of fate seemed too busy watching him with a sour nose, thening forward to help him.

    ''How dare you call her a bratty kid, now suffer the mighty Skuld''s wrath.''

    Yupp, that''s what the petite valkyrie probably thought watching him struggle.

    Rio clicked his tongue again, and lit his fingers on mes of hell.

    The hungry hellfire seemed to have found it''s dinner as it spread to every thread, following the movements of his mana, soon reaching the mouth of serpents where his threads got tied when he punched.

    "Got you," Rio said with a smirk, watching the snake il in midair trying to put the mes on it''s head out. But hellfire kept burning like a crown on that head. Making those scales shine in red, before they too began to melt.

    Though the taste of victory was short lived as the Typhoress seemed to have identified his magic, and already figured out a way to show him the middle finger.

    It opened its second head and spewed out the jelly like substance onto his threads, slowing the ascent of mes. And then it turned even more shameless as it grabbed the snake''s body and started waving it around like a mace.

    The hard skin and scales of the serpent worked better than normal rocks which failed to break his threads. And soon the trap was broken.

    His threads just hanging along the walls, broken in pieces.

    Rio looked down at his fingers which had all but burned, and took his spell back with a frown.

    "I don''t want to kill you big fe. Let us go, and I''ll let you go too." Rio said, cracking his knuckles as the passive blessings of healing started taking effect.

    He wasn''t sure if the monster understood what he said or not, but seeing at the monster rear it''s head back and suck in a heavy breath, he got his answer.

    "As you wish," Rio said as he stood between Katherine and the Typhoress and pulled his sword out.

    "Silence Star Art _ shooting star." Rio muttered holding the sword in front of his eyes, before shifting it sideways and swinging forward.

    A zing force of light released from the sword, colliding against the burning blow ofva and ripped it in two.

    The heatwaves passed along sides of his body and Rio couldn''t help but stagger, as he looked at the towering monster, who was still on it''s two feet.

    All that his strike did was break two of it''s scales, causing them to fall down, and form thin cracks on the other few.

    "..."

    [...]

    Fuck��

    That''s all Rio thought as he merged into the shadows and disappeared from his ce. Right before the super angry monster swung the burning serpent onto his ce.Forming a raveen of the hard floor.

 Chapter 421: Killing bosses

    ''What the hell kind of rank is this bastard?'' Rio cursed while panting heavily as he appeared right underneath the monster, cing one hand on the ground, forming a shadow and another on the monster''s ankle.

    The ground instantly turned dark and muddy as the giant felt itself getting swallowed into the shadows.

    It looked down and noticed the ''bug''. Tyrothess tried to shake him off, or kick him away, but Rio put all his strength into that grip. Pouring heavy mana just to press it down and keep him locked in ce. Until the shadowpletely swallowed him.

    Seeing that the bug refused to let go after much struggle, the monster threw the ming serpent in it''s hand like a stick right down.

    This time, Rio failed to dodge as the dead monster hit his chest heavily, causing him to go flying, until his back crashed against the wall.

    A stone broke and pierced his armor, stabbing a side of his stomach. Causing him to flinch in pain.

    The monster and the mc were both incapacitated, unable to stand up and walk away. One trapped in shadows, and another in stones.

    While Rio patted his chest to put out the hellfire, a hissing sound came from his left. The seemingly dead serpent, seemed to have shed it''s scales and skin, and was standing in front of his face, with burning anger and rage in it''s eyes.

    Staring right into those eyes and poisonous fangs ready to bite his neck, Rio''s eyes didn''t show any fear. If anything, they didn''t show any emotions. They turned dark, empty,_ almost inhumane.

    [... Shouldn''t have done that beasty. You made him mad.] System said in sympathy for the snake, who halted it''s actions and just hovered along his body, probably sweating buckets in it''s heart, wondering where this sense of dread and tsunami of bloodlust was oozing from.

    For a second, the serpent hesitated. Cowering as though he was locked by the gaze of a predator. But then it took a gamble and hissed heavily.

    And then it lunged, its fangs bared and dripping with deadly venom, aiming directly for Rio''s throat. It was fast, far too fast for any human to track at this close distance, but Rio''s body moved even faster.

    His hand broke the stone shrapnel stabbing him, and plunged it upward.

    Though the stone couldn''t even break past the scales of Aikyaa, it made the snake miss it''s mark by mere inches.

    The hit at throat caused the snake''s head to tilt up and before it could understand what hit him or look down, a firm grip tightened around it''s head.

    Rio held the snake in his left hand, his grip, along with threads of magic, keeping it''s mouth closed.

    The Aikyaa screeched, writhing and coiling around his arm, trying to crush him with its immense strength. Rio''s face twisted in pain, but his eyes remained cold, empty, and devoid of mercy.

    "You won''t be slithering out this time." He said as the tip of his fingers turned darker, and corrosive mana started eroding the newly grown scales. Perhaps due to his mastery or madness, the effect of his abilities rted to darkness had grown stronger.

    Aikyaa hissed in pain as his fingers cracked the scales and plunged deep into it''s skin. Threads escaped from his fingers, easily ripping apart the inside veins and tendons for Aikyaa.

    The snake tried to wiggle it''s tail toward his throat, trying to choke him to death, but Rio pushed his hand outward, causing it to miss before turning his face down and bit on it first.

    Clenching the edge of it''s tail in his teeth. He felt pain in his gems, but ignoring it he channelled his mana into the blessing of sin, gluttony.

    His normal teeth suddenly turned sharper, their grip firmer. Strong enough, that it could even crack the tough scales now.

    Poison mixed in the blood of Aikyaa dripped into his open mouth, some going down his throat and some slipping through his neck and then further down, dying his clothes. His throat felt like it was on fire, his head heavy and vision blurry, yet none of it, could force him to let go.

    After all, how can the gluttony let go of a food stuck in it''s teeth.

    Without looking at the struggling worm in his hand, Rio ced his other palm on the stone floor, his aura shifting through his body and slowly manifesting into reality. The cave suddenly fell into an eerie horror as his shadow extended, creeping toward the Typhoress still trapped in the mud, but that wasn''t all. From within the swirling shadow, something else began to take form too.

    The darkness crept up, wriggling as if trying to stand up. And soon it loomedrge. It''s form was humanoid, just like Rio, but distorted. Shifting constantly as though it could never fully solidify in one shape. The dark figure had no eyes, but its gaze was piercing, locked onto the Typhoress with ravenous hunger.

    "Kekeke," Though the figure had no mouth to speak from, the sound of it''s teeth ttering against each other sent shivers across the spines.

    The mutant chimera looked at the shadow in front of it, and reared both it''s head, getting ready to bath it in magic.

    Theva-headed beast spat molten fire, causing the aura avatar to flicker and distort like it would be burned away any second now. The Typhoress''s other head sprayed its freezing jelly, but the end result was something it never expected�� In front of stood the ever hungry avatar, even darker than before.

    It gave the same cracklingugh and then charged forward blindly. Showcasing a barrage of punches and kicks on the trapped monster.

    The bastard had tough skin, almost impregnable, but that didn''t stop the aura avatar. It''s form shifted again, its hands transforming into jagged ws. As it shed at the Typhoress''s stomach and thighs, leaving deep white gashes in the monster''s obsidian scales.

    Typhoress waved both it''s arms and shook its head violently, still trying to break out from the shadow restraints, and squash this bug. But the avatar was relentless.

    It ignored the monster''s deafening roars and dodged the swaying fists that shook the entire cave upon collision. The beast had arge size, but was beaten in agility.

    When the monster bent it''s body to push it''s arms against the ground, in a way to pull it''s lower body out _ the shadow jumped over its arms and climbed on top of its shoulders.

    One of its hands was holding onto an antler tightly, while the other kept punching and shing the back of its neck. From where the two heads got divided.

    The chimera howled in pain, its struggles growing more desperate, making the attacks even more fiercer.

    The monster turned its ming head, trying to bite the bug _ and when the shadow backed off to dodge, it''s eyes showed a tinge of wisdom, before opening it''s other mouth to spray the bone chilling jelly.

    But just as it opened it''s mouth, someone else came from behind and wrapped his arms around it''s throat and pulled it upward. Causing the energy beam to hit the roof of it''s cave.

    Rio, who already killed the serpent by chopping his entire inside body into minced meat, hung himself on the Typhoress.

    "Not so easy, bitch." He said, his mind forming a ball of ck mes that floated right above its open mouth and fell straight down its throat.

    The shadow avatar also let go of the antler at this time and properly grabbed the freezing head from both sides, closing the mouth of it tightly.

    The giant howled in misery, shaking it''s head wildy to throw off the bug, or trying to look down and cough out the mes burning its throat, yet Rio waved his hand, tying a chain ankle around its neck, and then grabbing the other end of it in his arms as he pped his wings and pulled back.

    His other arm stretched outward where another chain rose from the tail-back of this monster and came into his palms.

    "Arghhhyaaa" He screamed as he held both the ends of chains and kept pulling them closer. One tied to the monster''s neck, and the other to it''s tail.

    His own body hung sideways on the giant monster''s back like an arrow, while his arms were holding those chains like pulling on the bowstring.

    If someone were to paint this scene for easy imagination, it would be like an angel with wings holding both ends of a curved moon and forcefully pulling them together. Trying to form a full circle.

    (Ps of course it would crack, and that''s exactly what Rio''s doing now.)

    Aahharrrooorrrrr

    The monster head howled in pain and agony as it felt the burns in his throat, and an unbreakable chain choking it and breaking it''s scales. It''s hands iling between trying to break the metal chain or trying to reach the bug whose strength was breaking the bones on it''s back.

    Rio saw an arming his way and kicked his body away, narrowly dodging it. Small jets formed on his shoes when he was falling back, and next second, the monster felt a powerful kick that nearly broke it''s spine in two.

    Aeghhhhhhhhah

    It screamed madly before turning it''s other head back and sprayingva on the bug who was getting ready to kick on it''s spine again.

    But before the burning mes could reach Rio, arge mirror appeared between them, blocking the attack and reflecting it back in full force..(Spell - Reflection _ introduced in chapter 178)

    "Die.." Rio shouted as he folded his legs and jumped high, before hitting the same spot with his jet propelled kicks.And then again, and then again.

    Arggggghhh

    This time the monster''s back finally couldn''t take all the pull and pressure anymore, and with a heavy creaking sound, it''s body broke apart.

    It fell down with a heavy thud andy there on the ground with a broken spine. It''s feet still trapped in muddy darkness. It''s freezing head twisted in a weird angle with foaming out from between its teeth. It''sva head burned by the mes it itself spewed out. Damaging both of its eyes. Nearly melting them, as tears of blood slipped through them.

    It''s hands were the only body part which weren''t broken or burned in this fight, something which it could still move or feel, albeit the cracks and scratches from shadow ws. But what use were those hands, when it couldn''t even crawl out.

    Rio''s body fell down over the monster too. He slipped andid there, looking up at the frozen rooftop. His body feeling battered and tired beyond limits.

    Yet the job wasn''t done yet.

    So he cancelled his aura avatar, making his shadow return to darkness, before forcing himself to sit up.

    His ring shed and a sword appeared in his hand, that he thrusted into the monster''s broken back.

    With it''s scales gone, and skin torn to shreds, bones sticking out, the poisonous sword slipped right through those insides.

    He felt the beast squirm beneath him, yet he didn''t care. Turning around, using the sword''s hilt, he forced himself to stand up, before slowly walking towards it''s mouth.

    "You should''ve listened _ when I asked you to let me go." Rio said, as he wiped the snake''s blood off his lips, and conjured another sword. Thrusting it deep into the freezing head from behind the chain.

    He poured his mana into the sword, and the magical artifact ebbed into the beast''s body, started morphing into a new shape.

    "Rest in piece." Rio said, as he pulled the handle up with both his arms, a weird jagged L shaped weapon broke both it''s heads, and appeared in his hands.

    A fountain of blood sprayed from the monster''s necks, bathing him in red from head to toe.

    With both it''s head cut off, the headless monster shook for a few seconds, before turning into a corpse.

    Rio, who was standing on top of it, felt the tremble, but his body was also too tired to bnce itself. So he too fell down face first. The shifting sword in his hands came back to it''s original shape as it lost its connection to mana.

    [Rest easy host. You''ve earned it.] System said in his mind, eliciting him to give in and fall unconscious as it erected a barrier around the cave to ensure his safety.

    Not far away from the cave, hidden amongst the dark clouds, a man covered in ck cloak looked at his battle with fixed eyes. The unbelievable expression of shock+surprise still marring his mask.

    [Still think he can''t kill you?]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Nyx''s words echoed in his ears once more, and the follower of night couldn''t help but turn silent as he doubted the answer.

    ###

    Author note - how was the fight? I might have had few gaps but overall I think it came out pretty good right? I kind of imagined it all in my head, happening in front of me, so maybe that affects me, but it was vivid, or was it not?

    ��

    Also all this happened while Katherine is still meditating to recover herself, while being protected in a defensive artifact he threw at her.

    So imagine her surprise when she wakes up, and sees his body drowning in the pool of blood, right between the two chopped off heads of dinosaurs. ??

 Chapter 422: Sickness of someone

    Back in the outskirts of Haven

    Amy stood over a mountain top, looking at the valley below, now littered with the corpses of dacoits with a frown.

    This was the sixthir of Apate''s followers she had cleared since yesterday. Yet there was still no sign of the man she was trying to track. Gyandel Moffiosa, the noble killer, the favored chosen of the goddess of lies, seemed to have gotten the news and went into hiding, all his traces disappearing in the wind.

    "Did you get him to talk?" She asked when she saw 3 petite figures walking towards her.

    "We did." Erza replied, and passed her a map with a few new circles marked on it, in the middle of the ones which were already crossed out. "This group of his is too thinned out. They don''t gather, they don''t meet. Whenever there''s a new order or mission, or a new task or y they have to be a part of _ they get notified through one time tokens."

    "That''ll give them the location and details about the mission, and once they finish it, they get their rewards and a new token for the next time."

    "And even he doesn''t know how to track it?" Amy asked.

    Erza nodded her head, and pointed towards the twin girls standing by silently, "I made sure he wasn''t lying, and they acquisted to his truth."

    Amy turned her attention to Cassie and Massie, the twin shadows of her best friend Ba, and seeing them nod their heads, she just clicked her tongue in displeasure. "So we still have nothing?" She asked.

    "Not really." Erza shook her head, and passed her a token, "This is the new mission these guys were given."

    Amy grabbed the token and poured her mana in, and started reading the details magically bing visible now.

    [Go to Harendale. Tell our friends it''s time to pay their dues to the demons. Tell them it''s time. _ GM.]

    "Harendale, so that''s where you''re hiding." Amy said, as she stared at the familiar initials at the end, and turned her head, "Make the preparations, we''ll be going there."

    Erza nodded her head and walked away to make the arrangements for their travel.

    "Harendale? Are we going there?" Reba, who was standing aside with a calling crystal in her hand, heard something and suddenly spoke up.

    "Yes, after we finish the pests hiding here." Any replied, giving her the map.

    MVLeMpYr-unofficial-chapter

    But Reba threw it in her ring without looking, "He''s there too, you know?" She said, walking side by side to Amy, while her shadows followed them from a little distance.

    "Brother? Why?" Amy asked, her expression getting a little confused andplicated as she remembered what happened 2 years ago and what she was doing now.

    "He said there was some incident at the Eisjer domain, and Finn asked for his help." Reba replied, and seeing her best friend shake her head, she added confidently, "And before you say it, I know he''s lying too."

    "Well, I''m sure whatever it is, brother can solve it soon." Amy said and added, "Anyway looking at all the scattered groups here, it''ll still take us more than a couple of hours to clean them. We''ll reach there by noon tomorrow if we''re lucky."

    "By noon? No, that''s toote, we need to hurry."

    "Meaning?"

    "Rio said he''ll enter the dungeon by dawn, and that it''ll take him 2 to 3 days toe out again."

    "That''s understandable, since it''s Eisjer." Amy replied while asking herself if she should still go with her revenge n and anger Apate or Nyx, when he''s in a dungeon again.

    [I told you before and I''ll say it again, what happened back then had nothing to do with you. Nyx isn''t that petty. As for Apate, your brother can handle her.] Gauri''s soothing voice rang in her ears, calming the storm of thoughts in her mind.

    Yet that wasn''t enough for Amy, as she asked again, "But what if some ident.."

    Gauri, who had exined the situation back then seventeen times already, sighed hearing this. And knowing that she would give up halfway and stop her own growth_ too afraid to risk his safety, after few seconds of silence, was forced to give another proposal.

    [If he''s in any mortal danger, I''ll protect him this time. Just this once.]

    Hearing the promise, Amy finally let go of her worries. Even though her rtionship with her goddess had been strained in the past due to her refusal to interfere in Nyx''s affairs, they had been growing close since he came back safely from the crash.

    Plus she knew Gauri wasn''t the cheating type. If she didn''t want to help, she would''ve just said it directly. Instead of lying to her now and then going back from her wordster on.

    "Thank you." She said gratefully, and then steeled her resolve for revenge again.

    "Hey, are you even listening to me? Ground to Amy?" Reba shouted as she pushed her shoulder, and woke Amy from from her thoughts, "Seriously, you''re getting the same disease as him nowadays. Can you two siblings stop your thought trains of silent dreams and focus on reality instead?"

    "I feel like an idiot sometimes just talking to you two, only to realise you don''t even listen."

    Amy heard her best friend''sints and couldn''t help but chuckle, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

    "... You''re worse than him."

    Hearing her question, Ba snorted, hunting atleast Rio doesn''t ask her to repeat anything.

    "Well, if you don''t want to tell me again, then let''s just hurry." Amy straightforwardly replied as she moved her mana and chose to run.

    She looked over her shoulders at the speechless princess, and added confusingly, "Didn''t you just say that we need to rush and reach Harendale by morning. Don''t worry, I''ll let you two lovers meet before he charges in for the dungeon raid."

    "Stop guessing, I''ll just tell you again." Reba said, hearing her words. "I told you about how he''s nning to enter the dungeon alone as some test given by Nyx. And before you go on all worried and silent again, he said not to worry, as some followers of hers will follow him to assist and monitor his progress."

    Seeing Amy''s frowning look go away, Reba just shook her head and continued speaking, "And how he met that ice-machine girl again and is taking her with him as a guide."

    "You mean Katherine?" Amy asked hearing the new nickname this ''jealous'' princess came up with.

    "Yeah, that one." Reba replied, and pped her best friend''s shoulder after seeing her weird expression as she looked at her.

    "So now you want to rush to Harendale before he enters the dungeon, just to interrupt their date?"

    "It''s not a date. It''s a dungeon raid." Ba rified immediately, before realising this girl was just making fun of her. So she just raised her hand to p her, _how dare she make fun of her like this.

    Amy chuckled as she dodged and jumped away, "Yeah, yeah, dungeon raid." She said and grabbed Ba''s hand so she''ll stop beating her, "Though when was thest time he took you for one, I can''t remember.."

    "You�� ."

    "Hey, I was really asking about a date.. Ahhaha."

    "Don''t run, you foodie rat, let me catch you and see, if I don''t spank you till you''re swollen." Ba shouted angrily as she saw Amy running away whileughing at her.

    "Don''t worry, since you agreed to help me with my mission, I''ll arrange a date for you." Amy''s voice came from afar, making Ba smile in relief, only for it to freeze, after hearing her next remark. "Sigh, I''m pimping my brother out. I really am the best friend ever."

    Reba clenched her fists in anger, cursing her element for not being space so she could rush and p this snotty brat. Though as she stood there in ce, her thoughts couldn''t help but remember Amy''s previousment and wonder, when was thest time they went out on some date _ cough cough, mean dungeon together.

    "And you said, I''m the one who got his sickness."

    Suddenly the voice appeared behind her, as Amy ced her hand on her neck and basically lied her head on her shoulder.

    The extra weight pressing on her did wake up the princess from her thoughts, and she couldn''t help but smile sweetly and think, ''Thatzy panda really is a bad influence.''

    But then she looked at Amy, and couldn''t help but remember how she made fun of her few moments ago.

    "I didn''t quite hear what you said after going far, why don''t you say it again. What was it about pimping and being best friend..." Ba said, while cracking her knuckes and rolling up her sleeves.

    "Hey, hey, hey, I was just joking. I didn''t say anything." Amy hurriedly said as she stopped her movements and fixed her sleeves again for her.

    "Humph." Reba humphed in response, her anger just for show, as it quickly disappeared.

    They both started walking together again, and after some steps further, Amy broke the silence. "Stop feeling insecure about other girls, or him. I know my brother, and if he didn''t like you, he wouldn''t have said yes to you."

    Hearing the serious words, Ba froze for a second, before shaking her head with a self disappointed look, "But he didn''t say yes, he just said he''ll give it a try, and see if it''s working or not."

    "And the fact that he did that alone is a proof enough." Amyforted her best friend and exined, "You know how he''s like, you''ve always known. You said me yourself that it was going to be hard winning his heart, so why are you mulling over your first big step notnding like how you hoped it would."

    "..."

    "In my eyes, all I see is progress. You can talk freely now, spend time together, smile all you want, and act how you like around him, _ without overthinking if it was too direct, or what his reaction would be."

    "Hell, you even got a perfect kiss that''s like whole world famous with those pretty pictures at the party. In my opinion, you''re the top contender, the number one in this race."

    ��

    Reba kept listening to all that her best friend had said attentively, her emotions going up and down like a wave, her expression changing from sadness, to understanding, and then to smile and a blush when it reached the kiss part, "Yeah, she''s right.

    That was a perfect kiss." she thought to herself, her eyes gleeing in the joy of a high, as she tried to remember the warm taste of what it was like. Having him so close, her lips on his, his tongue on hers.. She was feeling hot just reminiscing about it, when like a bucket of cold water, Amy''s next words poured over her.

    "In my opinion, you''re the top contender, the number one in this race."

    Her expression changed back to her usual, and she turned to look at Amy, "Wait, wasn''t the whole point of you starting this pep talk supposed to be that there was no race, or no contender for his heart. That I should just have confidence?"

    "...." Heh, __ now it was Amy''s turn to be silent. Did she say that? Fuck.

    "Uhmm umm, (cough cough) yeah, you''re right. That''s what I mean. Of course there''s no race. That Lisa, or Katherine, or Saisha _none of them are your opponent. You go girl. This sister shall support you on."

    Amy tried to cheer her up and cover her mess so she doesn''t get beaten, only to spout something that made Ba raise her eyebrows once more.

    "Saisha? The elf one? I get Lisa and Katherine, but why her? Where''d shee from?" Ba asked, looking at Amy with face filled in confusion.

    ''Ahh fuck, did I say that.. Again.'' Amy couldn''t help but slump down, wanting to p her bbermouth, thinking she really should punish it by giving it no sweets for a week. _ a week is too long though.. How about half _ a day. _ yeah, half a day sounds nice�� ..n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Hey, I asked you something? Does she like him too? Did she tell you that?"

    Ba''s question broke her thoughts, and she couldn''t help but curse herself again, she really was getting the sickness of her brother. Why was she thinking so much. Seriously�� .. No, shut it, brain. Stop thinking.

    "Ohh look, a rainbow." Amy suddenly said as she pointed her hand at the sky, and then disappeared from her ce once Reba looked away.

    "..." Ba looked at the empty space around her, and the figure speeding away hundreds of meters far, and couldn''t help but curse her element once more. She really should''ve gotten space instead of water. Then she could teleport right next to him, no matter where he went.

    Maybe even hug him from the back, or better surprise him by a kiss out of nowhere, _ as this thought came up she couldn''t help but imagine it in her head and then blush inwardly, _ only to stop and shake her head violently.

    "His disease is really infectious. It''s all his fault I think too much." She said, throwing all the me of her wild fantasies onto the poor Rio, and then speeded away to follow Amy.

    ��

    Far away in Harendale, Rio, who was sitting on a chair, watching dear protagonist''s viin uncle suffer painfully under his torture, couldn''t help but sneeze.

    ''"The hell, who''s cursing me behind my back. They don''t want their life or what." He said, before looking at the angry eyes of the idiot in front of him, and then kicking him one more time, "Or is it you, how dare you look at me like that. I''ll gouge out your eyes and feed it to my ravens believe it or not."

    "....." The poor fellow rolling around in pain, could only response with silence. It wanted to tell, it was just staring at the ceiling and not him, but before he could do that, the intensity of his torture increased suddenly, and he could just cry and scream even more.

    [.....] <The system> munch munch <is feeling speechless> munch munch ummm.

    ###

    Author note -  the twins first appeared in chapter 133 during birthday event

 Chapter 423: lies and illusions

    In a dpidated building that was all broken and battered, covered in cracks and spiderwebs, a ce where every step left a mark of footprints on the dusty floor.

    "Why do viins always gather in shady buildings like these?" Reba said while waving her hand to push the wooden door open without touching it. Only to feel speechless when with a heavy thudding sound it fell down.

    "This is thest one of their camps, let''s be careful." Amy said while using her bloody sword to clear the hanging webs. "Apate must have known and warned her pets by now. We should hurry."

    "I can''t believe she called the guards on usst time. What kind of criminal ys thew and legal card? Can''t they fight fare. Now I''m worried my parents are gonna know all about our little escapades." Rebained with a sour tone, remembering how to avoid trouble with the city guards, she had to use her identity to leave.

    "Apate must have known it wouldn''t work, but she did it anyway. My guess is to buy her puppets more time." Amelia voiced her thoughts.

    "So either they ran away. Or we''re likely to walk into a trap, or an ambush?"

    "Yes, so let''s just be careful." Amy replied, without caring at all, "Apate''s too prideful to ask for help from others, and her own followers are all known for their mental strengths and their maniption tricks."

    "With ourst ughters, she should know normal magic or low level skills won''t work against our treasures, let alone break our defenses, so what would she do now?" Ba pointed out.

    Amy took the lead, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she took a step forward. "Something like this.."

    Her words had just finished as her feet touched the ground again, and instantly a barrier rose from the ground and covered the entire building. A fog rose from nowhere and covered the entire surroundings, throwing everyone into a frenzy of blindness.

    "A formation." Reba''s voice sounded as she tried to summon her element of water and spread tiny droplets into the area around her. Turning the cold air into mist. Every shallow drop, enhancing her senses.

    But she was surprised to find that she didn''t find anyone around her.

    "Amy?" Reba shouted, calling her friend and shadows one by one, yet got no response in return.

    The blinding fog from the barrier seemed to have a blocking effect that nullified allmunication magic, while dampening the effect and presence of mana, making the circle simr to a null/zero zone.

    Despite the unexpected situation and dulled senses, she didn''t lose her calm. Instead the more something unexpected happened, the more she seemed to be focused.

    "I would love to wander in this fog and find the core myself, but I''m in a rush, so _." Reba said, not in the mood to waste more time being trapped here and miss meeting Rio. "Let''s end this." She said, bringing a shield from her ring and pouring her mana into it. Before throwing it away like a frisbee.

    The shield gleamed in a golden light, before cracks began to appear on it, and then with a loud explosion, it sted the fog around her. But the next second, the fog floated back in, filling itself instantly.

    "Well, if one won''t do the trick, how about a few more. Let''s see if your barrier''s endurancests longer, or a princess''s pocket money." Reba said and next second various kinds of magical artifacts poured out from her ring, before floating further and self exploding.

    The chain of sts soon started causing ripples among the barrier and the fog around her started taking longer and longer to gather again.

    ''Still nothing, looks like her followers really spent a lot of effort on setting this barrier.'' Ba thought and frowned. If not for the fear of hurting her fellows in coteral, she would have brought out more expensive and destructive equipments and set them aze.

    "Fuck it, they can handle it. If not, I''ll just give them a few pills." Ba muttered and brought out a small bead from her ring, preparing to explode it, _ when a familiar voice sounded in her ears.

    "Tsk tsk tsk, quite rich, aren''t you? I''ll have to eat soft rice all my life since we''re together, right?"

    Reba looked up in confusion as a figure walked out from the fog, with wings on his back, which released an angelic light with a fluttering move and cleared out all the fog surrounding her.

    As the fog disappeared, and her vision cleared, she could finally see the person standing in front of her. "Rio?" She muttered under her breath.

    "One and only." Rio said, waving his hand with a smile.

    Reba looked at him up and down for a few seconds, while seeing her actions the cheeky narcissist just started giggling and posing in arrogance.

    "I gotta say, these guys really outdid themselves. This thing_ it looks just like him." She said, raising her hand in an effort to touch his cheek.

    But as the distance between them closed, she just shook her head and increased her speed, intending to give him a solid p.

    "But he''s not here." She said to herself. Her other hand, already gathering a wave of water arrows, ready to stab this illusion.

    "Hold it, princess. It''s really me." Rio said as he pulled his head back, dodging her p narrowly. Before grabbing her other hand and interrupting the skill.

    "It even has a physical form. I''m impressed." Reba said her hand turning into a stream of water as she slipped from his grip and raised her leg to kick him. "But as I said, I''m not in the mood to y."

    Rio dodged her kick with a smile by stepping sideways, "Hey, stop it. It''s really me."

    "I was really worried that you girls would get hurt so I came to check on you." Rio said, constantly dodging her attacks or redirecting them, while making sure not to hurt her at all.

    "Nice try." Reba said and backed away all of a sudden. Her hand holding the magical hand now empty. "But it''s over."

    After her words finished, she waited for a few seconds, as if expecting something to happen, only to feel stumped as nothing did.

    "I told you, it''s me. Don''t forget who taught all these tricks. They won''t work on me." Rio said, waving his hand, where a silver bead was vibrating violently. Trying to break free.

    Reba could see it struggle under his grip, feel the energy which gathered and was on the verge of copse, but just before it could explode, small threads of darkness covered it all and swallowed it whole.

    "Now do you trust me?" Rio said, throwing the bead back at her once it was stable. "Now, let''s go, and search for my stupid sister." Rio said and turned around and started walking away. Not at all worried that she''d stab him in the back.

    Reba looked at him, and couldn''t help but doubt herself, ''Is it really him?''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Tell me something only he knows?" She shouted hoping to solve her doubt.

    "You''re a terrible kisser."

    "No, I''m not." Hearing his answer she protested immediately, before shaking her head and stopping him, "I''m serious. Tell me something only the two of us know. Otherwise I''m not following you."

    Rio chuckled and without looking back, he started speaking, "Before saying yes to your proposal, and announcing us being together, I made you swear that you wouldn''te between my and Alfred''s hatred. That you''d be free to pick a side, plead for him, support him, and even try to save him_ but never at the cost of betraying me."

    "..."

    "That when the day finallyes, you''d say what you want to my face, instead of stabbing me in the back."

    Reba kept staring at his back while he answered, his words making her face darken, before she took a deep breath and rxed.

    "Idiot." She said as she started following him.

 Chapter 424: Capturing chaos

    Rio had just taken two steps before stopping all of a sudden. His face paled and he couldn''t help but cough out a little blood from his mouth. He looked down at his chest where a sharp sword pierced his heart, and raised his trembling hands to stop the bleeding.

    "Why?" He said and couldn''t help but gurgle on blood again as Reba twisted the sword before pulling it out. "I told you it''s me. Then _ why?"

    "You were good. Whatever you did, it was perfect. The acting, the promise, the dress up _ you matched everything." Reba said and flicked her sword, sshing blood on the ground. "But you couldn''t match his hate."

    "..."

    "You see, I''ve had a lot of conversations with him where either directly or indirectly, I tried to soothe the rtionship between my brother and him, so I know, just how much he hates Alfred. How despite all his control, his expression changes subtly and the tone gets colder. It''s actually quite minute, and he tries his best to hide it. But as someone who''s just been looking at him crazily all these years, wouldn''t I notice that."

    "..."

    "This formation of yours, this foggy magic, it might have helped you copy my memories, or get a peek in my mind to create this illusion_but that''s the problem. It copied me. What I want to see, what I''d like to see. _ �� so overall, just die."

    As Ba finished her words, she swung her sword again. Breaking the illusion and turning it into the fog that surrounded her earlier.

    She opened her eyes and found she was still standing at the entrance of the building. Not a step further.

    She looked around and found Erza and her shadows trapped in the same illusion. Their eyes closed and bodies frozen in ce, like a statue.

    "Cassie. Wake up._ Massie, can you hear me._ It''s an illusion, snap out of it. _ Erza..why are you crying? Wake up."

    She tried to wake everyone up, shaking their bodies, hoping a jolt of mana could shock them out, but got no response. Everyone seemed to be too immersed in their ''dream'' and unable to hear her call.

    She walked past them and looked around, but found no trace of her best friend. "Amy?" She shouted, but still got no response.

    She could feel the chaotic traces of mana and the lingering smell of blood in the air, not to mention, see the obviouslyrge pits and littered corpses on the ground. It was clear there was a battle that happened here some time ago.

    But aside from the aftermath, there was no sign of Amy.

    "Where did she go?" Ba muttered as she tried to remember the infrastructure of the building before the fog came in, and started walking forward blindly.

    ..

    Away from the calm and silence in fog outside, a fierce battle seemed to have taken ce inside the building.

    Amy, who had broken through from her illusion a long time ago, was surrounded by the goons and started the ughter she promised them. But the more she killed, the more these followers seemed endless.

    It looked like Apate had really pulled all her nearby puppets in one ce, to stop her streak, and put an end to her.

    "Get out and face me, you cowards." She shouted, staring at the figures jumping up and down across the walls.

    "You look tired already, Amy," sneered one of the followers, stepping out of the darkness, his grin sharp and mocking. He wore the symbol of Apate proudly, a twisted emblem of a face covered by mask, meant to convey deceit and fear. "You''ve been killing our friends, hunting us down like prey. But here�� here, you''re the one caught in our web. Today''s the day you die."

    Amy ignored the man''s taunts and rushed to fight him, her thin sword already covered in blood and coated in red. "Even if I die, you won''t live long, you idiot." She cursed as she shed her sword, while her other hand made a throwing gesture.

    The hooded follower raised his sword to block her swing, but next second an invisible dagger pierced his thighs, forcing him to flinch and cry out in pain.

    The moment of distraction was enough for Amy who directly sh her sword, leaving a thin streak of red on the man''s neck, where two secondster, litres of blood started pouring out.

    "Where''s Gyandel?" she demanded shing with the attacker sneaking on her back. Before disappearing from her ce and appearing a few steps further, behind another follower''s back.

    She grabbed his neck, and ced the tip of her sword on his neck. "Tell me, and maybe I''ll give you a swift death."

    The man struggled, trying to break free, but the sudden piercing pain forced him to stay still.

    The leader of these followers, the bearded man who stood in the back, whose eyes never left the sight of Amy, just chuckled, feeling amused. "Gyandel? As if I''d tell you. Not that it matters��you won''t live to see him anyway."

    Amy heard his answer and directly pushed her sword into the man''s neck 180��. To stop the blood from spilling on her face, she turned her hand sideways, and kicked the corpse away.

    "Cough gruullgg" The man felt his body slip over the cold edge of the sword and fell down with a thud. Struggling to breathe, as he kept coughing up blood.

    Amy didn''t even look at the dying man. She just lunged forward, her de shing in a precise arc aimed at the leader''s throat. But he was quick, sidestepping with ease and dodging her attack. Around her, the other followers emerged, closing in on her like wolves circling prey. The leader''s smile twisted as he gestured for them to attack.

    They rushed her in waves, forcing her to sidestep and weave between blows, her sword moving in a blur. She deflected a series of strikes from a tall woman wielding a wicked, jagged dagger, feeling the vibration shudder down her arm with each parry. Amy twisted, kicking out andnding a solid hit to the woman''s side. The follower stumbled back, cursing, but two more took her ce, swinging blunt weapons aimed to break bones.

    Amy''s breathing grew ragged as she danced through their attacks, sweat trickling down her brow. Her sword felt heavier with each strike, until the moment it slipped from her bloody palms in a nking sound. The leader watched from the back, a smirk on his face as he called out inmentary, "That''s not good. I thought the ke''s were famous for holding their swords. Yours fell. Tsk tsk tsk."

    "Maybe we ought to hunt your brother to see the real swordsman. After all, he''s on our list too."

    The leader''s words seemed to get under Amy''s skin, as wisps of chaos swirled on her fingers. She tried to calm herself, to control this chaos, but a blind idiot begging for death jumped at her at this moment. His aura coated fist came straight for her head, intending to burst it like a balloon. Yet her instincts kicked in and sensing the danger, she raised her hand to block the hit.

    Her open palm touched his closed fist. The chaosing in direct contact with his skin. And like a cluster of mes touching the cloud of lpg gas or gasoline, _ it instantly ignited.

    The man felt his body heating up at an rming rate, before his mana, aura, and even life energy_ all of it got swallowed and disappeared in smoke. Just a secondter, what was left in his ce, was a shrivelled corpse, empty of everything.Before that too turned into dust and disappeared.

    The man couldn''t even properly scream in pain before death imed his soul, but the horrified expression on his face was enough to show what kind of pain he must''ve felt in that mere moment.

    This sight caused the other few who also wanted to take advantage of her being unarmed, to halt their movements and stop in their tracks. Silently being d they weren''t the first.

    Death is eptable, but like this _ not so much.

    While everyone else was surprised over this sudden attack, feeling confused or scared. The leader of them had no such expression. His face even brightened up in excitement as he stared at the disappearing corpse on the ground.

    He looked at Amy, and her glinting red eyes and the wisps of smoke lingering around her hands and raised the corners of his mouth. "Losing control already? Gyandel said you''d break eventually, but so soon _ I''m a little disappointed."

    "At least give me a challenge so my goddess can reward me more."

    His taunts and mentions of Gyandel only fueled her anger more, causing her control over chaos to flicker further. But remembering what Rio always used to say to her, she forced herself to calm down.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Do not use chaos in public.''

    She didn''t know why her brother was always so adamant on hiding her secondary element, or the fact that she was goddess Kali''s avatar_but looking at this man who seemed to be provoking her from the beginning of this battle to bring forth chaos _ she chose to suppress it even further.

    She can''t let whatever Apate or her puppets nned seed anyway.

    The leader looked at her dodging those attacks, and fighting his followers without using chaos, and couldn''t help but click his tongue in displeasure.

    "Looks like the task of my goddess won''t be so easy this time." The man muttered under his breath and shook his head. His eyes inadvertently stopping mildly over the corners where recording crystals were ced to capture this battle.

    Apate didn''t want to kill Amy. Not that these little followers could do it, with a primordial backing Amy. She just wanted to reveal Amy''s secrets to the world.

    As for the rest, The chaotic Kali had enough enemies and blind cults waiting outside who''d happily merge heaven and hell to sacrifice this avatar.

 Chapter 425: Apna time aaega

    "If you tell me where that bastard is hiding, and what he''s nning in Harendale, I can give you a swift death, otherwise.."

    "Bold words. But let''s see if you can fulfil them first."

    Amy was speaking when the leader interrupted her with a snort. His tone and attitude making it clear that neither her strength nor her threats made him fear her.

    Perhaps if it was her brother, Rio, the blessed angel, maybe then he''d have a different expression. But for this little girl, _ humph, he didn''t take it seriously at all.

    After all, how can he, cause when she wasn''t even born, he was already fucking 16 sexies like her with a single shot.

    Men may not be the superior strength race in this world of fantasy, but that didn''t change the pride and ego that came with having a dick. As a wiseman on twitter once said, Balls Breeds Bravery. And women don''t have them.

    (Cough cough definitely not my thoughts. I swear upon the heavens.) _ zrrrrrr ?�� )

    "As you wish." Amy said as she raised her hand, and with a twist of her fingers, she bent the space around her. The nearest follower stumbled, disoriented as the walls and floor warped, starting to twist in unnatural angles. Amy lunged forward, her invisible dagger shing as she drove them into her opponent''s chest, piercing his heart. The man gasped, his hands wing at the air as he crumpled to the ground. Disbelief written all over his face.

    Another follower attacked from behind, and Amy turned, her movements erratic but powerful. She swung her sword in a wide arc, the tinge of elemental mana enhancing it''s edges. Her de collided with the woman''s weapon, shattering it with a burst of energy that sent the woman staggering back, blood dripping from a cut across her cheek.

    "You know, I heard your brother''s in Harendale too. Perhaps it''s fate that both ke siblings will die in our hands. End the story that began years ago."

    "You dare��"

    "He''s going in the Eisher domain. I gotta say he''s gutsy considering what happened thest time he entered a dungeon. Tsk tsk tsk, it''ll be a real pity if he got trapped this time too, right."

    "Tell me, if this dungeon crashed, _ can he survive, or will his good luck finally run out?"

    The leader ignored the massacre of his teammates, he was entirely focused on taunting Amy, fueling her anger. Trying to disrupt her emotions and let her go mad.

    At first he was just mocking her, trying to add fuel to her insecurities and weakness, hoping to overwhelm her with numbers and numb her down with enough adrenaline rush. As they say a warrior often loses himself in a war_ but hearing the sound of continuous explosions happening outside he could guess that the princess and her friends would soon wake up ande here too, so he upped his game.

    Since he couldn''t hit her self esteem in a short time, he simply started going after her soft side.

    "You hear your friends struggling outside? They''ll die too. Tell me, are you the legendary pig teammate? Cause every time you jump out, people around you pay the price. Thest time it was your brother, and now these three."

    "You don''t have the guts to kill her. Not even your goddess would save your ass if youy a hand on Ba."

    "You''re right. Perhaps. . But if our leader''s n works fine, maybe this kingdom won''t have enough time to look for us. After all, will you put out the fire in your house first, or chase the one who lit it up?"

    The leader''s tone felt fully confident, and his rxed expression making Amy doubt what Apate had nned that fooled these fools so much.

    "What are you nning?" She couldn''t help but ask. Her mind said out loud that things this time were perhaps much bigger than she thought.

    Apate thrived in lies and deceit, unlike other gods she didn''t get powers based on normal believers and belief. No, it was different for her. She got more power whenever people fell for her lies. The more chaos she ensued, the more treacherous her schemes, and the more people who fell for them_ all of that fuels her faith.

    Like a God of death who thrives on death, and gets power from deceased souls. No matter if he killed them himself or not.

    Conceptual gods were always more difficult to deal with than other fantastical or elemental ones.

    "Hehehe, won''t you like to know? But don''t worry, I''ll satisfy your curiosity�� after I kill you."

    The leader spoke in a teasing tone, first raising Amy''s hopes before crushing them with a smile.

    "Hum, you just made your death a million times more painful." Amy said disappearing from her ce, wisp of red lingering in the air behind her. "I''ll be sure to have you spill it all."

    The mellow voice came from behind the leader, like a cold whisper of death, _but the leader of lies just smiled, suddenly turning around and tapping his finger on her forehead.

    "Beep, and you''re dead." He said, gently patting his finger again.

    Blood dripped from Amy''s forehead to her nose in a streak as the leader''s finger got ripped and a nail resembling a monster''s w grew out and scraped her skin. Leaving a shallow cut.

    Amy seemed to have been thrown into another illusion, her eyes nk and empty.

    "Let''s see if you can hide your element now." The leader said, and stepped back. His figure had half morphed into a demonic form. A small horn grew under the cape that hooded his head, as one of his hands turned animalistic filled with furs and ws, with his eyes glinting in an extreme yellow with bloody and ck veins visible near the lids. Discover more content at m,v l''e-NovelBin

    "Is this really necessary? That skill of yours is of limited use type. Why waste it on her?"

    "Goddess Apate said that if we can''t force her to seed, we can just kill her?" The woman from earlier came forward and spoke as she sharpened her dagger, ready to kill Amy while she was defenseless.

    The leader raised his hand, grabbing her neck till his nails pierced her skin and then threw her back.

    The woman staggered back as she tried to stop herself, a low hoarse growl escaping her throat as her wounds healed instantly. She red at the leader, her eyes turning into dangerous slits.

    But the leader just snorted and met her gaze without backing down.

    "Your hole down there will only get you so far Gina. Gyandel isn''t here to cover your ass, so don''t forget your ce. Goddess Apate gave me the lead, so if you don''t wanna die, you''ll bettery in line." The leader spoke, his tone mocking, filled with undisguised disgust.

    His words made the girl grit her teeth, her chest heaving high and low as the levels of anger made her suffocate. But knowing that this bastard was mocking her to force her into making a move, so he can justifiably kill her, she just clenched her hands and forced her anger down.

    Seeing that his provocation failed, the leader just clicked his tongue, "Go and hold back that princess and her maids. I''ll handle her myself." He said and turned around without waiting for an answer.

    "Humph, you''ve even shown her your true form, now if she lives, or somehow escapes to foil the goddess''s n,_ I''ll be sure to rip your heart and gift it to Gyandel." The woman, Gina said coldly before stomping on the ground and leaving.

    Gyandel, Gina, and Rhodes - these were the 3 of the favorite young people for goddess Apate. Talents whom she groomed personally and gavemand of her cult to.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Years ago when Gyandel finished his mission to hunt down 30 elite talents first and became Apate''s avatar, this had caused a rift in the trio who were as close as siblings otherwise. Andter when, Gina and Gyandel got together secretly, it only fueled the jealousy of Rhodes even more.

    Rhodes didn''t care about Gina''s threat and looked back at Amy, seeing the changing expression on her face, sometimes sad and sometimes angry, and then as the illusory shadow of chaos crown started flickering on her forehead _ a smile came to his face.

    ''See this Gyandel, the one whom you failed to kill, is now entirely at my mercy.''

    ''Goddess Apate, I''ll soon finish my mission. Don''t worry, I''ll be sure to raise your glorious name even higher when you choose me tomorrow.''

    Rhodes dreamed of the moment when he''d kill Gyandel and fuck Gina over his corpse, and be Apate''s avatar afterwards. His thoughts filled with the dreams of a beautiful future ahead, not at all aware that the goddess whom he trusted so much was never known for being honest.

    To Apate everything was for entertainment. And everyone was a puppet who danced over her whispers to make herugh.

    [Don''t be so rxed. Don''t make any mistakes.]

    Apate''s words woke Rhodes up again, as he nodded his head hurriedly on the surface, but his heart still couldn''t take Amy seriously at all.

    "My time ising soon." He said and smiled heartfully. (Apna Time Aaega)

 Chapter 426: Reality is a dream

    Few moments ago, when the leader of those thugs, Rhodes transformed into his half monster form, Amy had a bad feeling. Her senses were screaming to back off and leave. But her body seemed to be frozen in ce, trapped in a trance of those shinning eyes. She could just watch as Rhodes raised his ws and scratched her forehead. Marking her mind.

    As the blood trickled down her skin, she felt a trace of different mana into her calm mindspace. It was like a drop of dye thrown into a clear sea of conscience. Color merging and mixing together, it''s effect setting waves and making changes far and wide.

    And then there was nothing��

    ��

    When her sea of conscience finally calmed down, her eyes shot open to a totally different scenery.

    The first thing she saw was a white spotless ceiling, and a familiar dreamcatcher hanging on top of her head.

    She raised her hand trying to reach for it, only to feel herself being covered in a soft nket. As she threw the nket off, she saw another familiar teddy bear plushie lying beside her.

    "It''s�� mine." Amy said as she sat up and nced at everything around her.

    It wasn''t just the dreamcatcher, or the teddy that were familiar. They were hers to begin with.

    "My room? But I was just��" Amy muttered under her breath as she jolted from her bed. Her head, feeling heavy, and body numb, like she just woke up from a long sleep. She had to grab the corner of her bed stand to stop herself from falling.

    She closed her eyes trying to remember how she got here. But the memories or scenes she saw all felt foggy and groggy,like bits and pieces of an early morning dream. Familiar, yet not clear at all.

    "I was fighting Apate''s minions, is it them?" Amy said, remembering her fight from earlier.

    Apate was famous for her cunning and cruel ploys, and selfishly praying on people''s weaknesses. So her thinking was reasonable.

    She tried to channel her mana, trying to use her blessings to clear her head, to break the illusion like earlier, but when she opened her eyes again, she was still in the same room.

    She grabbed her head in confusion, only to remember the scene of a w carving something on her skin. She tried to feel something, and then turned around and ran towards the mirror.

    Yet..

    She ran her fingers again and again on her forehead in confusion, but only ever saw the clear reflection looking back.

    "Did I heal?" She couldn''t help but ask herself, but then another voice in her mind couldn''t help but ask, "Or was that just a dream?"

    As soon as this question came up, Amy herself was surprised and stepped back from the mirror in horror.

    As if on cue, just then an rm sound rang off in the room, along with a recorded reminder.

    [Tring ringggg _ Wake up youzy ass. Today''s your exam, you''re not allowed to sleep in. _ ring ringgggg]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As soon as Amy heard the message, she nced back at the magic calendar, only to see the red circled date, _ the sight caused her face to pale like a thirsty vampire.

    "No, it wasn''t a dream. It was real." She muttered, trying to convince herself and the reflection, which she felt wasughing at her.

    She couldn''t help but throw in a burst of pure mana onto the mirror, cracking it in pieces. Only to see several of her reflections mocking her in turn.

    [Why are you angry?]

    [It''s not like you didn''t have dreams like this before?]

    [He alwayses back and you both hug, andugh, and joke, and then�� .. Then you wake up.]

    [So what''s the fuss? Why the anger? Haven''t you epted it already.]

    [He''s dead. D E A D - dead.]

    "Shut up." Amy shouted. Her fists gathering spatial mana in hues of blue, yet if noticed carefully a few ambers of red still floated within it.

    Just when she was about to burst out blindly, a voice suddenly broke her thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

    "Ohh, you''re awake." Erza''s voice sounded behind her, as the petite vamp ignored her manic mood and walked towards the broken mirror. Collecting it''s pieces with a wave of her hands and then throwing them out.

    Her stoic personality and cold heart didn''t know how to talk nice,or givefort, or make jokes, _ so she could just choose to ignore it.

    "Esme sis is training today, so I came to help you out." Erza said and then without waiting for her answer, she further added, "The bath is ready, Aina already picked out your clothes, and maids are keeping breakfast in the hall. I''ve checked the car and the route, so that there''ll be no dy. But just to be safe, it''s best if we leave 15 minutes prior."

    "Princess Reba also called��"

    Erza was still speaking when Amy suddenly ignored her and ran out of the room.

    "It''s not real. Apate, you bitch. Come out if you dare. Stop ying tricks." She shouted as she ran towards Rio''s room, only to see it empty, with no trace of him.

    Her mother had Aina personally clean everything, every day, to keep it just the way he liked it. Though it hurt her, she always believed he was alive and wille back.

    "Gauri, you there? Get me out of this illusion right now. I don''t care if you think it''s a test or training or not, it''s not funny. So stop this." Seeing that all her blessings and skills were working perfectly, yet failed to break her out of this reality, she pleaded to her goddess with moist eyes as she roamed her house yet found everything exactly like how it was when he was gone.

    She raised her hand to touch the wall and watched tentatively as different projections lit up on various holograms all around her. All of them showing letters, articles, and clips about various things in trend from all over arcadia.

    It was a weird mechanism Rio had set up for timepass, as he called it the live TV.

    (Agnus ke _ the man on a mission. Leading the first war that did not benefit Warzy.)

    (Massacre upon massacre _ were they really all people from Warzy? Where''s the proof? Has the angry Duke finally stopped caring? The question is who will stop him now.)

    (Tensions between the borders are at an all time high, as the natural cmity of the continent approaches.)

    (Excitement regarding the entrance examinations from the world association is at an all time high. Various talented students have already gathered at the school gates. Not only from the noble or elite houses, or various sects or guilds, evenmon people have produced amazing talents this year.)

    (Talking about talents, will we finally see someone who can break the records of the ''fallen'' Angel this year, or will he reign like light even after death.)

    (Angel corp. _ the behemoth of alchemy.. Visit our nearest intel store to see a detailed report on the history of this business. How it came to prominence, ruled the industry, and then became just another shop down the line.)

    (Earlier today we met with people from fairy forest, and as expected this year too, they have all boycotted the Zenith academy. Guess some losses are hard to forget.)

    (To honor the memories of every student they lost two years ago, the world association had proposed a two minute silence for peace prayers before the start of their exam at the memorial building.)

    (''Rio ke - The angel that was'' - Gather at Damascus park to be a part of this year''s best selling book''s open reading session ceremony. The story, about a man who started the era of awakeners, with his miraculous discovery of Pura Corpus and various other potions which made failure to awaken a thing of the past. While everyone knows about his noble birth, record breaking talents, and shocking strength _ let''s all take a nce at the kindness and generosity he lived by.)

    (Rio first got into limelight for his shocking awakening which brought forth a primordial into y, and then next is history. Be it him forming Angel, or donating half his profits, starting various charity and help organizations, or finally sacrificing himself while fighting for the lives of his fellow ssmates against the terrorists of warzy in the dreaded dungeon.)

    (People say action speaks louder than words. And well, his actions reverberated through this whole globe. The world system may not have recognized his title, but he very well earned it.)

    (It can only be called the cruel y of fate that gave someone as good as him such a gruesome death.)

    (Well, that''s contradictory. Cause if what house Belmont''s said is to be believed, then he was the reason Warzy attacked their academy in the first ce. So in a way, he didn''t save anyone, but only endangered everyone. Had he not been selfish and given them what they wanted, not only would he have been alive, so would hundreds of others. _ if he''s still called an angel, then the devil may feel shy over it.)

    (You''re right. If he was so good, and so simple _ why wouldn''t Nyxe forward to help him. Forget Nyx, why wouldn''t any other Gode forward to help him. Their inaction shows that we humans may be deceived by his facade and false act of heroism, but gods are not. He wasn''t an angel. He was just a selfish self righteous brat.)

    (Well, the question remains, why didn''t Nyx take action to save her beloved avatar?)

    Amy covered her ears as the sound of regret, pity and mockery echoed all around her in different screens. While her heart kept getting torn between the reality she saw clearly now, versus the ''dream'' she remembers hazily.

    "Please, help me."

    She begged on her knees as she heard the question about why Nyx didn''t do anything. It felt like a thousand ants were eating at her heart, notching a piece of it with every breath she took.

    She had steeled her heart, epted the fact that he was gone, mourned him, and made arguments with her mother who didn''t - but somehow all of that had crumbled at this moment.

    All she remembered was just the regret and guilt for causing his death. For calling him selfish. For asking him to be a hero. For having him kill Gyandel and making Nyx angry. - It was all her fault.

    Her mind even forgetting the fact that she hadn''t taken the initiative to talk to her goddess ever since she refused to save her brother.

    "You were silent back then, don''t you dare be silent now. Wake me up."

    [... But you''re already awake. This_ is the reality.]

    "..." Amy, who was hanging by a thread, instantly felt the world copse as Gauri''s voice echoed in her ears. Cementing the truth she refused to ept.

    ###

    A/N - To rify, she''s not crazy or nuts, or dumb, _ it''s the skill of Rhodes affecting her mind subtly. Slowly giving hints and nting the idea that what she remembered was a dream, and his illusion is a reality.

    You''ll know it once in detail when she breaks out of it, and Gauri exins what it was and which God''s power was behind it all.

    As for why she didn''t use chaos, first_ she''s not proficient in using it. Second_ it''s easy to lose control and go nuts likest time in dungeon against Saisha happened. Third_character development. Fourth_I need drama.

    Cough cough

    Adios

    . ...

    Also do u remember about the teddy bear, I mentioned it in the beginning chaps of the story. When Rio first wakes up in arcadia.

    There was a joke there, that Rio fooled all her pocket money and gave her this cheap teddy, calling it some super saiyan gift which will protect her or something like that..

 Chapter 427: The dream differs

    [But you''re already awake. This is the reality.]

    The voice of Gauri instantly shattered all the hopes Amy had, thrusting her into an abyss.

    She broke down in tears, her body falling limp as she lost all her strength and sat on the ground.

    (See, I told you it was real. How can you be so foolish to not even listen to your inner voice.)

    "You''re lying." Amy ignored her heart and held the golden ne near her heart. "I clearly remember he was back. _ he was hurt,_ badly, but he was back. And then he was fine."

    [...]

    (Sigh,e on, you know better than to ce your hopes on her.)  Amy was waiting for Gauri''s response, when the same voice spoke in her mind again, (Knowing how much she hates Nyx, she probably threw a party when he died.)

    "She wouldn''t." Amy muttered under her breath, her words barely above a whisper. Yet the response she received in her heart seemedpletely opposite.

    (And you believe that? Humph, what a joke.) Her voice sneered as if she was disappointed with herself. (I am you, remember. There''s no need to lie to yourself.)

    "Gauri, tell me you didn''t?"

    After continuously listening to the chatter in her head, where bad things and guesses about Gauri kept sprouting nonstop like branches of a tree. One thing leading to another and then another, and then another.

    A suppressed part of her soul was warning her that all of this was wrong. All lies. That she was getting influenced, _yet she still couldn''t help but fall for it. After all, deep down, she always knew what Gauri wanted, and yet she still agreed to be her chosen.

    Years ago, when Gauri chose her during the awakening ceremony, she agreed without hesitation. She thought only with a primordial backing her, can she grow stronger like her brother. That only with Kali''s chaos can she match her brother''s talent in darkness. Stand by his side and help him. Share his burdens and never be a drag, or a weakness.

    She knew the history between Nyx and Gauri, yet the naive little girl she was, thought she won''t be influenced by it. That the hatred between these goddesses won''t affect the rtionship they had.

    That chosen gods were like tools, like swords in her hand. They couldn''t act on their own too. They can help her, make her strong, but in the end, she''ll be the one controlling them. That she''ll be the one in charge.

    "Heh" As soon as Amy remembered this, she couldn''t help but smile at her past self. She really was a fool.

    Her heart was breaking and her mind getting submerged in negativity. She sat on the floor, her eyes red from crying making her look pitiful, and the remaining moist of tear stains on her pretty cheeks and chin looked just like the drops of water floating on the petals of a lonely lotus blooming in the muddy sea.

    But just when she was about to lose herself in the difference between the reality and illusion, forever being trapped inside _ a familiar voice broke her attention, and pulled her out.

    [Come on, sis. Are you gonna give up just like that? You barely even climbed the first mountain, you still have 2 more left, remember.. Now hurry up, pat your butt and start walking.]

    [Your brother''s right, my little angel. You''re the one who epted the challenge, so you can''t stop before you finish��Come on, you can do this. I trust you.]

    [You tan do it, Ami tich. Don''t mat me lutch my money. I only have two_four_ten_twenty gold coins.]

    The voices belonged to her brother and father respectively. As for the broken child-like mumble, that was her cousin, Nera. The youngest in their family generation.

    As if some memory got triggered by the voices, Amy felt her mind getting pulled back to the scene from years ago.

    She remembered it was on the day of her 12th birthday. When she most wanted to go out and celebrate with her brother and Ba. Visit the city, do shopping, spend their money to buy all kinds of sweets and gifts for herself, and just y all day. But couldn''t do it as Rio was grounded.

    She didn''t know from where but her stupid brother got some injuries around that time, making mother so angry that she banned him from leaving the mansion and increased his already hellish training even more.

    So in an effort to get him out, she cried to her father while acting cute, and when that didn''t work,_ she went and argued with her mother, even going further and making a bet with her.

    A bet that she could finish her training, break brother''s record time.

    And hence here she was. Climbing the mountains which wouldn''t end even if hundreds of her stood over each other''s shoulders.

    [Leave it, kiddo. Crush the token and we''ll take you back. Even though you''ll lose the bet and would have to apany your brother in his grounding days, but at least you''d be able to eat those sweets and cake I made in the morning.]

    While the young Amy was gathering her courage under her supporter''s motivation, the teasing tone of her mother came from the clouds.

    Artemis was hovering there, with lil Nera sitting on her shoulders, still busy counting how many coins she had with her tiny fingers.

    Though at that moment Amy felt aggrieved and angry at everyone. ming her brother for leading her in this bet, her father for not stopping it, and her mother for teasing her, and ''torturing'' her on her own birthday.

    She even med Ba who didn''te to call her as nned earlier. And even the ''brat'' Nera who was making money from her loss.

    Yeah, she knew this little trouble ma definitely bet against her, unlike what she says so cutely..

    (Heh) The current Amy couldn''t help but smile among her tears watching how the younger her still persisted in her struggle and climbed the mountains without giving up. Until she lost all her strength to continue after resting for a while. The littlefort she longed for, only made her body feel more sore and painful.

    The young Amy justy on the second mountain top, hazily staring at the floating cloud where her parents were sitting. She tried to focus on her mother who wasughing while counting coins for Nera.

    Amy wanted to see from her expression what new teases and jokes were going toe her way next, _but just then a shadow blocked her sight.

    Rio, whose head was still covered in bandages, stood near her and stretched out his hand.

    [Come on, we''re both grounded now. So let''s just celebrate in our room.]

    Amy raised her hand to catch his, a smile forming on her face as the face of the young Rio started to morph and change into the one she saw in her ''dream''.

    "You''re here." She said while forcing herself to stand up. "So it really wasn''t a dream. You''re really, really back." Amy whispered over his shoulders as she hugged him tightly.

    Her tired spirit which had just earlier seemed to be drowned in negativity, was lifted high in happiness, as the thought about reality and the illusion changed ces once more.

    s  _��_ her trial was far from over.

    As Amy''s hands let go of him, what came into her sight wasn''t Rio. _but the face of her mother.

    Artemis stood there, her face expressionless, and aura cold and silent much like the lonely shadows she controlled. Despite the pretty skin and perfect charm blessings to heighten her appearance, Amy could still see the sea of sadness storming in those dark eyes of hers.

    The depressed look of her mother, living in denial for her son''s death, immediately pulled Amy back from her fantasy, thrusting her into believing what her reality was.

    �� ######

    Author note - Next chapter is a little extra sneak shot I wrote just for fun. (Call it background or ''behind the scenes'' scene. A blooper.

    (It''s about the birthday celebration thing mentioned in this chapter. Though I bet you''ll like it.)

    Talking about bloopers, had to dig deep in docs and pull this one out. I shared it on discord once, but forgot to give you''ll at wn app. So here read it for a fun convo between system and Rio.

    ...

    [Hey sleepyhead, still lost is your dreams.]

    ''I''m wide awake you know.''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Then why the sour mood? Missing home already.]

    ''You know what, I kinda do actually.''

    [Earth?]

    ''Nah, the one here. I should go and check up on Artemis or something.''

    [She would freak out if you ran away from the academy.]

    ''Yeah she would.''

    [And if she learned you cane and go freely through the academy barriers. I am pretty sure she''d call you home for every dinner. Especially on the weekends.]

    ''Yeah,..that would be bad.''

    [So no going home then.]

    ''I guess so.'' Rio said and sighed. ''Fuck it, let''s just continue watching our movies.''

    [You know you''re the first host to waste his precious points on buying a copy for some recordings of tv shows and movies.]

    ''What? You''re the one who advertised them, saying there are so many ssics in the other universes that''ll blow your mind away.''

    [I only said it cause you couldn''t stop boasting about everything you watched on earth.]

    ''Well, earth did make some good arts.''

    [Come on, just look at the graphics in this one, it can beat the best sci-fi movie you ever saw by miles, and it was a daily soap opera in that world. Comapring the two in itself is an insult.]

    ''Yeah, yeah got it. Now rewind thest 20 seconds, you didn''t let me hear a thing.''

    [Seriously. We watched it 3 times already.]

    ''It''s not my fault if you don''t shut up. Now rewind it and go to sleep.'' Rio said and swiped the system screen from blocking his view. ''Ohh, and before you doze off, get me some of those popcorns too. The one with the��''

    [Got it. Sigh, what am I even doing.] System thought to itself, doubting it''s life. Before giving up and trying to sleep. Only to have its nket pulled off, as it''s hostined about something random.

    "God dammit. Can''t believe there are so many versions of GOT out there in other worlds too. But we, on earth had to settle with the one with the worst ending."

    [Yeah, earthian''s does that.] As if an aunt hearing gossip, system too changed it''s mood and became wide awake and started replying, [Remember how your Harry didn''t even get Hermione, lol.]

    "Urgh, don''t even remind me of that. Shit was traumatizing." Rio said, rewinding the footage 20 seconds back again, and pping the system screen, "also why are you not sleeping yet."

    [... Can I log out from this host?]

 Chapter 428: Party and celebrations

    �C The shback for Amy''s 12th birthday. .

    It had been over two months since Amy had her awakening ceremony, yet the storm caused by goddess Gauri''s arrival was still causing waves in every part of Shi''s continent.

    The ke family''s influence was growing year by year, and though it meant more strength, more profits, and more charades of generosity_ it also brought forward more prying eyes, intense jealousy, and even more enemies,n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    How could it not be, when the name of ke''s was seemingly on such an upward trend in every area. Strength, economy, alchemy, influence, fanaticism _ there was hardly even a child who didn''t know their name.

    The effect of their renowned magic potions which turned poor and hopeless populous into powerful awakeners was beyond words. Hell, if Arcadia was the world of democracy, ke''s would win every election with a heavy margin even against the ruling Royal Family.

    It itched the nobles and elites that themoners they always ruled and controlled were getting more devoted to theirpetitors. But they were all also helpless.

    No matter how hard they tried they couldn''t recreate or retrace the form of those potions. And those who tried to bring gods or blessings into this suffered bacsh fromevery side.

    There were even guilds razed and houses destroyed overnight who didn''t know their ce. How could any spy hide the lines of karma floating over his head from the heart of Patricia ke. So all those enemies could just all wait in patience for a fortunate chance to strike.

    But Amy''s firey awakening which despite the limitless efforts and impregnable barriers of ke''s made so much noise, was kind of like thest straw on the camel''s back. Making everyone anxious and desperate.

    The restless enemy ignores the consequences and attacks blindly. And that was how people were starting to behave at that time. After all, no one wanted Rio and Amy to grow up any more, and be even more troublesome in the future.

    _

    [Experiment number 87

    After many trials and efforts, I''vee to the conclusion that as the system said, I am an anomaly. I am beyond fate''s control. Hidden from the threads of destiny which is following the novel''s pattern.

    I''ve realized it after seeing that if I''m not around to alter the plotlines, the chances that fate would y tricks and my ns and minions would fail are much higher, pared to the time when I''m actively present there to handle the situation.

    If I''m not around, the fate can actively influence my minions, make them arrogant, ignorant, or even downright foolish experience packages. The severity of this_ depends on the importance of plotline or character concerned.

    This result also raises concern if I can ever fully trust anyone except myself.

    If a plot is important enough and fate is desperate enough, would something drastic happen?

    Would my teammates whom I fooled and won over suddenly have a change of heart and follow the hero?

    I don''t know.

    Need further experiments. ]

    ..

    "I think I told you to rest."

    A sudden voice broke Rio''s private journal time, as he hurriedly hid his ''survival'' diary into his ring and pretended to sleep.

    Artemis walked to his bedside, a loving look and gentle smile on her face as she ignored his act and sat beside him. Her fingers ran into his hairs, gently caressing his head, until they reached the skin of his forehead where a bloody cut was visible, covered in medicine.

    Rio, who was ''sleeping'' couldn''t help but groan and make a hissing sound.

    "Does it still hurt?" Artemis asked, as she used her sleeves to carefully wipe his sweat mixing with the medicine.

    Knowing his sleepy act was over, Rio opened his eyes and simply rested his head in herp. Shamelessly acting childish to save himself from the earfuling next.

    "Just a small cut. It won''t even leave a scar." Rio said as he held her hand and guided it back to his hairs. The massage is nice, after all.

    The duo stayed like that in silence, and when Rio rxed his guard and was about to fall into sweet dreams, Artemis''s voice came again. "How many times have I told you to stop sneaking out on your own? The whole Damascus is so tense these days and you''re out there picking fights against random nobodies."

    "If you want something done, you can just ask Myra or me, why do you have to go out yourself, and risk getting hurt. If I didn''t have Alphas following you today.. I _ ."

    "I''m fine, mother. I really am." Rio spoke as he opened his eyes and looked at her face lost in thoughts. "I promise I won''t do it again."

    "No, you won''t." Artemis said as she shook her head, "Cause you''re grounded. And until you break through to a major rank, you''re not stepping a foot outside this mansion."

    "Mother, that would take me like 3-4 months at least."

    "And?"

    "Please�� ."

    "No, and I''m serious."

    "But it wasn''t my fault. Really. I was just going to quickly deal with a small shop owner. Who knew there were still people sneaking in Damascus to attack me?"

    "That doesn''t change the fact that you got careless, and surrounded by so many of them."

    "I had ns to teleport and break out of it. I even had the armor, and talismans, and the heir token too. I would''ve survived anyway."

    "Survival and being safe, are sometimes two very different things, my son. So until we deal with all those guild delegations and sneaky spies, you''re not going anywhere."

    "Arghhh. What about Amy''s birthday? I can go out for that day, right? She''s so excited about it. She wants to show off her magic so bad at the party. (Chuckles)"

    "We''re cancelling the celebrations." Artemis said, stopping Rio mid sentence, "I don''t want any more noise near my house any time soon now. And until your father finds a way to hide Kali''s aura and the signs of chaos from Amy''s body, she''ll stay at home too."

    ".... She''s not gonna like it." Rio said after hearing his parents'' arrangements. He had half guessed it already before, but that didn''t mean he shouldn''t speak for his sis. "She made so many ns. She even has a list longer than her own height."

    "Her safety''s more important. Even though we blocked the news, just the rumors of her sessful awakening and a primordial popping up had caused enough unrest, I don''t want any more targets on her back."

    "Tch, she''s gonna cry if you tell her the truth."

    "That''s why I''m gonna lie."

    "... Oh. Uohhh" Rio said and looked at his mother''s ''evil'' sneaky smile, and couldn''t help but pray for his sister.

    ''I tried my best, Ames.''

 Chapter 429: Guilt trip

    "What are you doing here?" Artemis asked, looking at her daughter''s eyes. "I thought you had an exam to attend."

    "Mother.." Amy muttered, still reeling from the sudden change, "Is he_ is he really gone?"

    Hearing her question Artemis''s eyes flickered, just for a second, with something that Amy couldn''t decipher. Pain? Anger? Grief? But her response was swift, sharp as a de. "Don''t."

    But Amy was too confused to notice the changes in her emotions and still kept speaking. Exining. Hoping her mother will answer her and help her.

    "Please, Mother," she pressed on, her voice rising, desperate. "You have to listen to me. I had a dream��no, it wasn''t a dream. It felt real. Rio��he was alive. I saw him. You were there too. I don''t know what''s happening. My mind��it''s all so��" Her voice cracked, and she pressed her hands against her temples, trying to piece together the fragments of memory slipping through her fingers.

    Her tone was sometimes high and sometimes low. Sometimes happy and then confused. She was holding her mother''s shoulders, and then her own head. It seemed like whatever happened with the memories of her previous shback, had triggered something, making her already fuzzy ''dream'' even more foggy. Making her confused even more.

    She was trying hard to make sense of anything, yet failed to do so.

    "I was fighting someone, I don''t know who, but I was. And then, _then _then I woke up here. Rio isn''t dead, right?"

    Snapppp

    Amy was struggling with her memories when a pnded on her face. Leaving a stinging red mark on her cheek. Her head snapped to the side, and her wide, tear-filled eyes met Artemis''s zing ones.

    "Is this a joke to you?" Artemis spat, her voice shaking with barely contained fury. "First, you begged me to let go. And when you couldn''t seed, you try this?"

    "Mother��" Amy stammered, but Artemis''s words came like a tidal wave, drowning her.

    "Is this another one of your ways to let me forget him? To put a gand on his frame, light a candle,and mourn him. He''s not dead. MY SON, is not dead."

    "He isn''t. Then where is he?" Amy said subconsciously. Her words making Artemis even more angry.

    "Get out." Artemis said and grabbed her hand and pushed her out of Rio''s room. "Don''t ever, set foot in this room, ever again. You don''t deserve it."

    "No! Mother, listen to me!" Amy pleaded, her voice breaking. She clung to the doorframe, refusing to leave. "It''s not real. None of this is. Brother, he _he''s still trapped in that dungeon. He''s suffering there. We_ we have to go. We have to get him out."

    "Enough." Artemis''s roar shook the walls, her aura ring with anger. The pressure was suffocating, choking the air from Amy''s lungs. Stopping the next words in her throat.

    "Now you care about his suffering?" Artemis asked coldly as her words couldn''t help but mock Amy. Her tone, dripping with disdain. "Where was this concern when you gave up on him?"

    "I didn''t give up." Amy cried, tears streaming down her face.

    Artemisughed bitterly. "Didn''t you? You were the first to call a funeral. The first to tell the others to stop searching. The first to mourn him and move on." Her words were like daggers, each one cutting deeper than thest. "You never believed in him._ You never believed me."

    "Mother��"

    Hearing the painful words from her mother, Amy trembled as waves of guilt hit her heart. It hurt, cause it wasn''t a lie. She did do those things, but she just wanted to�� .. She watched her family falling apart, and she just didn''t want to lose them too.

    But Artemis, who saw her silence, only felt even more angry.

    "You never cared about your brother. Whether he''s alive or not. Cause the moment you heard the reports you gave up. You cried and cried, and then,_ that was it."

    "I told you he was alive. And you called me crazy. So why are you acting now? Is this fun torturing me this way?"

    "..."

    "Your brother, he loved you. More than anyone else. Yet you didn''t care. Hell, if it weren''t for you, my son would still be alive."

    As Artemis finished speaking, those words fell like a bolt of thunder on Amy''s heart. Making her face pale and stagger. She looked up at her mother, her heart breaking in pieces as she met those cold eyes.

    She carried this sin, she knew it herself. Perhaps the reason why she gave up was also because of her own guilt. But never, not once, had anyone med her for it. Even after everyone learned about their fight and it''s consequences.

    "I loved him too." Amy spoke, her words raw but barely above a whisper. Yet Artemis, who heard it, only sneered back.

    "Did you?" She said with a humph, "Cause if you did, then you wouldn''t be so selfish. You were always jealous of him, right?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Jealous that he was so good. So talented. And so famous. That''s why you teamed up with that bitchy primordial and hurt him like this."

    "I DIDN''T." Amy shouted, blocking the baseless usations. Yet Artemis ignored her and continued.

    "No, you did. You wanted to take his ce. You even said so yourself when you proposed to be the heir."

    Artemis spoke, her words reminding Amy of the joking words she said years ago at the dinner table while fighting with Rio for sweets.

    "That was just a joke, mother." Amy said, losing strength in her words.

    "Was it?" Artemis spoke coldly while pointing her finger at Amy''s face, "Cause while your father and I are doing everything for him even now. Looking everywhere to get him back. You''re busy hoarding things that belonged to him. His reputation, his shadow, his maid _ you''ve literally taken everything. You''ve been hoarding every piece of him like a vulture, picking at a corpse."

    "No! This isn''t real. You''re not real. Mother _ my mother would never say these things." Amy pped her mother''s hand away and stepped back, pointing her sword at Artemis with trembling hands, "Tell me, who are you? Where''s my mother? What did you do with her?"

    But Artemis, who saw her actions, ignored her threats and burst outughing.

    "Hahahaha hahaha. Wow. You''re still ying the victim, while you''re attacking me. (Kakaka) What a white eyed wolf I have raised." Artemis spoke, dodging the sword and grabbing Amy''s wrist and throwing her away.

    "It would''ve been better if it was you who died instead."

    "..." Those words hurt Amy more than any physical blow. Her knees buckled, and she coughed up blood, her body shaking as she clung to the wall for support. She looked up at Artemis, at the cold, unrecognizable face of the woman who had always been her pir of strength.

    "Mother��" Amy whispered, her voice barely audible. But there was no warmth in Artemis''s eyes, no hint of the love she once knew.

    Amy staggered to her feet, her heart breaking with every step she took away from the room. To go far from this ce of pain.

    Amy didn''t know where she was going, or how long had it been, but she only stopped walking when someone blocked her path and she bumped into them.

    She stepped aside and was leaving further without raising her head, when someone grabbed her hand and pulled back.

    "Where are you going, little fe? The sweet shops are on the other side."

    The familiar voice made Amy turn around and look up. Right now, her world was blurry and eyes empty without any hope. So when she saw the radiant face and the pretty smile in front of her, she just rushed and hugged her best friend tightly.

    Her throat was dry or maybe she was just too tired with tears, so she didn''t cry, and just hugged her. Holding her tightly, too afraid to let go, thinking she''ll disappear like her brother too.

    Reba raised her eyebrows seeing her friend''s unusual behavior, before patting her back and pulling her to a side. Helping her sit on the chair.

    "What happened, Amy?" Reba asked, her tone already cold and serious. "Who hurt you?"

    ##

    Author note - Just a little bit more. Tis guilt-trip is kinda important for her journey and the arc that''lleter for her own. She needs it. It''s all for the character development.

    {Plus Shiva lived for years with her ghost haunting him, ming himself for her death back on earth, so it''s kinda fair, she goes through it a little too. Don''t you think so?}

 Chapter 430: angry gods*

    "What happened Amy?" Reba asked while erecting a barrier around them to block the curious gazes of strangers from disturbing them.

    "Who hurt you? Did someone say something?" Seeing her sobbing in silence, Ba asked again. "Did you have another fight with aunt Artemis?"

    "..."

    Seeing Amy dodge her eyes and cry harder, Ba knew that her guess was right. So she could just sigh and hand her bestie another tissue.

    "Look, Ames, how many times have I told you that you don��t need to pressure her. She��ll let go, when she��s ready. You poking that mama bear part is not helpful at all."

    "..."

    "I know that you want them to forget about Rio andugh again, so you don��t have to see their tears and feel guilty for it. But this _ this isn��t the way."

    "That��s not what I want." Amy, who was slowly leaning towards calming down, suddenly lost her control when she heard her bff��s fimal words.

    "Really?" But her words caused Reba��s sincere expression to disappear and turn into a sneer.

    "The best lie is the one we tell ourselves. _ your brother told me that line." Reba spoke calmly, "It suits you. You��ve built this picture in your head that your acts aren��t selfish. That you��re doing everything you do, so those around you can be happy. But that��s not the truth."

    "The truth is, you��re trying way too hard to take his ce, knowing, you never can._ And that��s making you anxious."

    "I��m not." Amy shouted.

    "Really? Then prove it." Reba replied calmly, "Prove me wrong. Prove that you aren��t selfish."

    "I will. Is it selfish to hope that my parents can be happy? They��re trapped in misery of his memories. Father is hellbent on revenge. He hasn��t been home for months, and whenever hees, he��s covered in blood and bones. I��ve seen him getting more injuries in the past year than in the past decadebined."

    "As for my mom, she��s even more crazy. Her love had made her blind and she��s still refusing to ept the truth. She��s picking fights against the academy, the avatars, even the gods _ and each of them can get her killed."

    "So forgive me if I��m trying too hard to please them, cause I can��t sit back and just watch them die. I��ve lost one family member already, I don��t wanna loose another."

    Amy finished her speech, her tone resonating with the determination she felt in their favor. Yet her high sounding words only caused a sneer in Reba��s lips.

    "It��s funny. How you talked for so long, for so many things, yet you never mentioned your own mistakes. It was your foolishness that got him killed."

    "And that guilt is mine to bear for life." Amy replied, stopping her mid-sentence.

    "Lot of good that would do." Reba sneered mockingly, "You know there was a time when I was jealous of you. About how he treated you. How no matter what I do, or how I behave, he��ll always choose you over me. He taught you, trained you, helped you_ the same way he did to me. But the matter in which he reacted to our failures was different.

    When I��d make a mistake, he��d sigh in disappointment. Shake his head and wonder if he should just give up. But not on you. Never.

    Even when you made such a big blunder as to force him against a goddess and his own primordial, he still had the heart to smile."

    "I��m sure if he lived a little bit longer, he would��ve forgave you easily. But you killed him." Reba spoke, her tone leaving the calmness behind and fuming in anger. "It wasn��t Nyx, or Warzy, or his ssmates and friends, or my brother and the Belmont heir _ it was you. His dear sister."

    Hearing the same words which were forcing her to ept the guilt and sin, Amy couldn��t help but feel tremors in her heart. But unlike when facing her mother, this time she didn��t lose her cool.

    The voice in her head earlier which was telling her that she was in an illusion and that her dream was the reality, seemed to be clear again. And together with it became clear another bunch of new memories.

    "You��re just like her. you��re not real. None of you are real." Amy shouted after analysing everything and stood up from her seat. Even if she didn��t hear the voice, she would refuse to believe this was her best friend speaking.

    "Mother said the same words, and now you too. _ It��s Apate, I remember now. I was facing her followers, and then he marked my forehead. I��m still at the abandoned warehouse. It��s all in my head."

    "Hmm, is it though?" Reba spoke calmly after seeing her outburst. "God, I never realized that you can be this delusional. Why can��t you just ept your sin and get it over with. Living in pain is also considered living right. That��s better than that dead bastard."

    "On another note, maybe I should thank you. After all, in a way I��m considered lucky that the boy I liked died before we got engaged, and I saved myself from beingbeled as an unlucky widow or a second hand leftover." Reba said with some gloating, but then her expression flip changed 180�� and a tear fell from her eyes. "But then again, because of you I��ve never even gotten the chance to tell him that.. There were so many things and so many dreams that died alongside him, _ all because of you. So why are you still alive? Why can��t you die and disappear forever too."

    Reba kept shouting in a heartbreaking tone, asking her to die and apany him in afterlife, but Amy ignored her and rushed out of the barrier without looking back. She raised her head to look at the clear blue sky and floating white clouds, and then shouted at the top of her lungs.

    "Apate.. I know you��re behind this. And I know you��re watching me right now._ Stop this game this instant or I swear once I break out of it myself, my ughter won��t just stop with Gyandel��s death."

    "I swear on my chaos that I will wipe out your entire church and kill everyst one of your believer." A crown made out of chaotic mist appeared on her forehead, with a blood red jewel shining bright under the sunlight in middle.

    The world around Amy started to crash and crumble, bloody lightning streaked like serpents in the sky, and her surroundings broke here and there like pieces of mirror, showing the world behind the curtains. Giving people a glimpse of the abandoned warehouse.

    But Amy wasn��t focused enough to track those traces which healed almost instantaneously. She was still staring at the sky, hoping to anger the goddess of deceit and prove her dream.

    "You��re forcing me to ept my sins, but I��m telling you to let go of yours. Do not tempt my anger. Or the armies of ke��s, and the assassins of Raven��s will hunt your hunters."

    "The fate of warzy months ago will be the future of your entire religion, Apate. Rats hiding in the holes underground, waiting to be crushed when they poke their heads out."

    Amy was still going on with her threats amid the bspered gazes of the crowd, when a voice echoed from the sky, as the world froze around her.

    [Big words for someone so small.] A feminine voice came from the clouds which started moving at rapid speed, gathering to form the figure of a goddess, shroded in fog.

    [Your brother said something simr to me two years ago, and look where that got him.] Apate spoke calmly, yet the cold tone of hers caused the temperature all over the streets to drop till a freezing point. Amy could feel the mist bellowing out with her breath, yet she refused to back down,

    [I was going easy on you, hoping you��d learn your lesson and leave me alone. But you��ve taken my pity and mistook it for cowardice.

    An ant crawls on an elephant and seeing him silent, it thinks he��s afraid of her. But that��s not the truth, is it?

    Your constant ignorance has really annoyed me, ant��So let me give you a taste of what really happens to those who forgets their ce.]

    As Apate��s words finished, everything around Amy disappeared in dust. Amy raised her hands, trying to rip the space apart with her own mana, forcing her element to expand the cracks forming under Apate��s anger.

    She just had to get out of this illusion, and then she��ll have a hundred ways to handle this goddess. If nothing else, she��ll just crush her token and call her father.

    But how could her thoughts avoid the eyes of Apate.

    Apate looked at the ant gaining hope of escape and then raised the corners of her mouth in an evil grin.

    [You want to go back. To see your brother so bad? _ here, let me give you a hand.]

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    As her voice finished, she waved her hand. The clouds rolled, the pressure crushing whatever gateway Amy had formed. Burying it, alongside her in the heavy sheet of white fog.

    Sparks of red flew in the clouds as Amy tried her level best to channel the chaos and get out of it, but by the time she stepped out of the fog, the world around her hadpletely changed.

    There in the skies was no goddess, or clear clouds of blue, _there was but a red moon hanging overhead and the clouds churned in hues in red. Like someone soaked the fog and mixed it with blood.

    Rain fell from the skies, but it wasn��t water, but something akin to blood. And when it touched her skin, it made a sizzling sound and melted a piece of her armor in seconds.

    Amy looked around in confusion at the apocalyptic world with no sign of life and covered in ruins and doomsday aura of death, destruction, and dread. _ and a guess came to her mind.

    She finally realized what Apate��s final words meant. She knew where she was._ And as if to confirm her thoughts with reality she was now trapped in, tremors rose in the ground. And as Amy turned her eyes around, she saw the murderous gazes of a monstrous tsunami of undead creatures, all rushing towards her like an unstoppable tidal wave.

    When you��re in a world with no sign of life, your heartbeat bes the beacon which will attract the most attention. _ and safe to say, after seeing this horrific sight, her heart, was beating pretty fast.

 Chapter 431 Dreams and visions

    Minutes turned to hours, hours into days, and then days into weeks _ Amy didn''t even know how long she had been fighting against the horde of monsters which never seemed to end.

    They were like unkible immortals, on whom no matter what method she used, cutting, shing, chopping, strangling, storing body parts in different spaces- all it took was just the shining light of the red rising sun, and then they were back again.

    The only saving grace was that overall their strength and habits always remained the same.

    She was covered in blood from head to toe, her armor hanging on her body just for the namesake. Even the crown of chaos, which was her strongest cheat, seemed to be suppressed by something. Probably Apate''s magic. And she couldn''t even sense it anymore.

    She didn''t know if it was a special gift from Apate, or there always was a different breed of undead in this dungeon _ a small creature who could use illusion magic when she was asleep.

    So every time she slept a wink these days, she''d be thrusted into different dreams which challenged her sanity.

    So she''s trying hard to stay awake now. Cause her dreams are often disappointing and destructive.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Plus waking up with new injuries and an even worse mood and more tired mentality than before was no good sign.

    It was the longest she had ever gone without sweets, without any food honestly. Her stomach growled in hunger, and then churned in disgust and protest at the idea which seemed to be blossoming in her mindtely.

    She could never resort to that.

    It was here in this creator''s abandonednd of a failed creation, that she learned how much she relied on her cheats. Howcent she was for having a superior element she couldn''t even control. How fake and fickle was her confidence in the strength and talent she always boasted about. And how one wave of someone''s hand could wipe her out.

    She was angry at Apate, but soon she started to feel more angry at herself. A voice which she never heard before, started asking if she even deserved to live.

    She was weak. Naive. And useless. A selfish self righteous brat who only relied on others to survive. And wasn''t even grateful for it. Much like a parasite.

    She always judged others. Even though she never spoke or talked openly about it. She did it in her heart.

    Her father, for mindlessly starting a war with evil''s scion and warzy without thinking of consequences. Leading to the death of many innocents and bystanders. (Both cases of Rio''s curse in childhood and then death in dungeon)

    Her mother, for swarming into the academy and ughtering innocent teachers and students. (Rio''s death)

    Ravens, who used every dirty trick in the book to raise their business and dealing with theirpetition (basically always lol)

    And even her brother, for always ying mind games and plotting a rape scene just to scare others. (Angel persona & Kevin and Levi scene at party)

    Hell, she even judged the gods on how selfish they were, and how mortal life didn''t matter to them.

    ___ She always thought she was better than them. That if she was in their position she would never do that. That she''d be different.

    But would she?

    The experience in these past few weeks taught her just how cruel she can be. How ignorant her beliefs were.

    She was like every poor person who thought if he was rich he''d make lives better for others living in poverty. Like every wanna be politician who yed the card that if I was in power I would change everything for better - but just like them, she too was a hypocrite.

    She didn''t even realize it herself, and now she felt nauseating at her own past self. She even wondered if others ever saw her like she saw herself now?

    Would they be disappointed? Disgusted? Enjoy more content from empire

    She wanted to kill herself, end her life _ but a part of her evencked the courage to face death.

    She had a dreamst night where she met Rio in this dungeon. But when monsters swarmed from everywhere she left him there and ran away herself. (Rio told her to run.)

    When she felt guilty and wanted toe back, Rio''s face morphed into a stranger and she happily watched him die.

    Even though this dream of hers was different, a living lie constructed under the effects of a psychic monster''s poison, but now when she was awake and thinking about it. Would the situation be any different if it wasn''t a dream?

    She recalled the scene of her childhood when they wereing back from the capital in disguise, and were attacked by some assassins, and how she just waited in the carriage while her brother fought alongside those guards to protect her.

    The memories may be hazy under her thirst and hunger, but she was sure she didn''t talk to her brother for a few days afterwards because she was angry at how he used the ignorant coach driver to block a sword.

    She was a little innocent kid, first time seeing her idol big brother fighting and killing. Witnessing the theory of cruelty and death written in books and scrolls manifesting into reality.

    Yet even then she judged him to be wrong cause he used an innocent man''s life who didn''t even know anything to save himself.

    "Heh" The current Amy couldn''t help but sneer as she remembered she evenined to her father during their bedtime story session. Saying her brother was no hero but a viin.

    But the truth is, what right did she had? She was there hiding in secret when it was happening? But when it was all over, she came out to throw me.

    She always thought Rio was the big brother, that he was older and that''s why he could do what he does. But was he?

    Her brother hated working hard, he was a properzy slug, who could stay in bed for days, if someone just gave him food to eat. Yet he trained and tried the hardest every day to get stronger _ but all in all, all she saw were his shorings.

    The shade of love covering her always protected her from the burning mes, and all she did was me the ''tree'' for blocking the light.

    .

    .

    In a locked room of academy halls, after the events of the freshers party.

    "Did you do it?"

    "Do what?"

    "Then you knew about it?"

    "Again. What?"

    "Don''t joke with me, brother. About that incident at the party. You begged me not to leave, saying there was something important. Something entertaining�� A drama to watch." Amy spoke in his tone, and then seriously added, "Is this what you were talking about? Cause this _ this was in no way entertaining, brother."

    "Ohh that." Rio said, as in just now realizing what she was talking about. "I didn''t do it."

    "Then why.."

    "I just had a guess." Rio said, interrupting her.

    Amy breathed out in relief after hearing his answer. Butter couldn''t help but question him again. "Why didn''t you tell anyone? Why didn''t you stop it?"

    "Cause they''re not our people. And why should I?" Rio replied.

    "Cause she was innocent. Have you seen her? She''s in shock, brother. Scared. She was trembling in my arms when I brought her out." Amy said, remembering the terrified face of Levi. "Who did this? You must know who was behind it, right? Tell me, I''ll bring that bastard to justice. Fucking monster." She asked in anger. "Was it Leon? Or that Kevin?"

    "..."

    "It must be Kevin. I can feel it."

    Seeing his sister just fuming in anger, and righteousness, Rio just sighed in his heart. As for how she ignored Leon who was caught red handed and with Levi''s confession too, he ignored it as the unreasonable plot or protagonist effect. (Fucking fate)

    "How dare hey his hands on her. That too in the academy at such an event. Isn''t he afraid? Damn these sects and their useless disciples. Those idiots would ept just about anyone topete with guilds. Characterless bastards."

    Rio just watched from the side, staring at his sister venting while walking left and right. While contemting if he was too hasty to let her be a part of any rape event.

    (I should''ve listened to the system and kept her out of it. Men really do desensitize these things.) He thought seeing her angry expressions.

    "I''m going to tell father to teach them a lesson. And mom too, I''ll tell her to stop doing any business with such people." Amy was going on and on, when she noticed him silent and carefree, and couldn''t help but feel angry again. "Brother, do you even care? Does it even matter to you?" She asked, remembering he knew about it, but didn''t act to stop it.

    "They''re all our enemies, Ames. Maybe not now but soon enough will be. So don''t worry about it." Rio replied,ing out of his thoughts. "And besides, I can guarantee that after a few days no one would even care about this event. They''d just forget it, and move on."

    "Move on? Do you think it''s that easy?"

    (It is. Since Leon''s involved.) {Rio''s thought)

    "And what''s that about them being our enemies? You always find people whom we''ve never even met and then use this excuse after being a dick." Amy said and sighed. "I miss my angel brother. The one who''s a savior, a hero, not this��"

    "Viin." Rio finished her words after seeing her stopping mid sentence.

    She was afraid their argument would turn into something like 2 years ago, so she stopped, but Rio still finished her quote.

    Amy sighed and turned around to leave. She needed to calm her mind. Maybe brother was right and she was just too angry. Or maybe she was still feeling guilty aboutst time and wanted to give him a free pass. So she just left without saying anything.

    ��

    ..

    "Arghhhhh" Amy suddenly woke up from her sleep, only to see a flying insect with a pointy needle hovering above her forehead. "Not again." Amy cursed as she chopped the creature in two and disappeared from her ce in a portal, just in time to avoid another monster''s attack.

    Just how long does Apate wants her to suffer? Just how many more visions and waves can she go through, before she finally snaps?

 Chapter 432 Godslayer?

    After spending another month in the dungeon, Amy looked like a wraith, a pale ghost resembling her former self. Her face was gaunt, her cheeks hollowed out, and her eyes were sunken deep into her skull, ringed by dark, bruised circles. Her normally vibrant hair were matted and tangled, filled with dirt-dust, and sweat n blood.

    Her lips, cracked and bleeding, were proof of the relentless thirst that gnawed at her. She licked them involuntarily, but the gesture of touch only brought a sting of pain.

    Her body was a map of her suffering. Sore muscles ached with every movement, and her throat felt raw and heavy, each swallow a painful ordeal. Her mouth was like a desert, parched and empty, devoid of any moisture. Her armor, once rich and gleaming, was now a patchwork of crude repairs, fixed together with strips of monster hide. Dried blood stained her clothes, leaving a grim reminder of the constant struggle.

    Open cuts and scrapes marred her skin, some infected, others simply gaping wounds. A depressing aura clung to her, a palpable sense of exhaustion and despair that seemed to seep from her very pores.

    She was walking in the forest, tired and weary when a burnt smell hit her nostrils, making her stomach growl in response. She raised her eyes and saw smoke floating behind the trees, and as she focused, she could even hear the crackling of a fire.

    "Is someone there?" She shouted with hope surging in her eyes, and rushed forward, only to see an open campfire and a few pieces of meat grilling on top.

    Growl _ her stomach spoke in hunger again, reminding her she really needed something.

    "Hello?" she called out, her voice hoarse. "Is anyone here?"

    Silence.

    Amy cautiously approached, her eyes scanning the clearing. No one was visible. Still, the smell of grilling meat was intoxicating. It wasn''t the refined cuisine she was ustomed to �C no delicate spices, no fancy seasonings, or an artful presentation. But hunger, the most primal of drives, overruled her usual picky pte.

    She sank to the ground, her gaze fixed on the sizzling meat. It looked��unfamiliar. Dark, almost charred, with an almost reptilian texture. But hunger trumped hesitation. She picked up a piece, the bone surprisingly light, and began to chew.

    The taste was��odd. Gamey, almost sour, with a slight metallic tang. But to her starving body, it was heaven. Each bite was a victory against the gnawing emptiness in her stomach.

    A voice with a low chuckle broke through her reverie. "Giving in so easily, sis?"

    Amy jerked her head up, startled. Rio stood a short distance away, an amused glint in his eyes.

    "What��?" Amy stammered, confused.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rio chuckled. "That ''delicious'' meal you''re enjoying? It''s monster meat. Smells like shit, tastes sour, and looks freakish as fuck. But the satisfaction you get with a bite in your stomach? Way better than any five-star meal in those fancy pces."

    Amy stared at the meat in her hand, her jaw dropping. She wasn''t holding chopsticks or a knife. She was gnawing on a monster''s tailbone, the raw, uncooked flesh still clinging to the bone.

    If that wasn''t enough, the ''dead'' monster slowly turned it''s head and looked at her with feared, pitiful and questioning eyes, as if to ask her, why would she do that? Why would she eat him?

    The realization hit her with the force of a tidal wave and she dropped the small creature, and crawled back in shock. She had just eaten��a live monster.

    (It''s not that she hadn''t eaten meat before. But eating cooked food, and eating it raw while it''s looking into your eyes are two very different things.)

    A wave of nausea washed over her, and she coughed out the bite she had just eaten and then started retching. Spewing out the bits and pieces of meat still hung near her throat on the forest floor. While carelessly wiping the blood trails on her teeth and lips with the back of her sleeves.

    Tears streamed down her face, along with a mixture of disgust and despair.

    "Doesn''t feel good, does it?" Rio''s voice wasced with amusement.

    "We humans, we are creatures all about appearances. We take pride in our intelligence, our imagination, our thinking ability,_ but deep down we are no different from animals.. .Our morals are as stic as rubber. We bend, break, and stretch them however we like. However they suit us." Rio sat down in front of Amy, while passing her a white cloth to clean her mouth. "But when shit hits the fan, and survival is our only necessity. Then_ only then do we sever our hide and show ourselves."

    "Just like you''re doing now." Rio finished his words with a chilling smile.

    Amy wiped the blood from his lips with the cloth and then stared at him, "Who are you?" she asked, taking out her sword and pointing it at him.

    She remembered the reality and Apate''s magic, so she was sure it wasn''t her brother who was speaking. And since it''s not him, she had no reason to listen to his nonsense.

    Rio didn''t make any measures to dodge her attack and let the sword reach his heart. Like he didn''t fear death, or her.

    Urghh

    He grunted in pain and looked Amy in her eyes, "You''re so weak. Even knowing I''m a fake. That it''s all just an illusion, and yet you still hesitate."

    Amy twisted the sword stabbed in his shoulder with ring eyes, but ''Rio'' still remained that smile.

    "I was originally going to y the emotional card. Show you how your brother suffered for your foolishness. How he lived here in misery, while you enjoyed the mansions. Drive you to the brink of madness in istion, and then turn into a wild animal living just for the sake of survival�� And keep the guilt trip train running long."

    "But seeing as all it took were mere 2 months in this ce for you to resort to this�� I lost my appetite.(chuckles)"

    "Who are you?" Amy asked again, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and rage. The threats of this guy really scared her. Would she really survive if she was forced to go through all that?

    "I actually wonder what Gauri saw when she chose you?" Rio mused, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling light. "Such a pathetic disy. You''re nothing but a waste. Was she that desperate of suffering defeat from my mother, that she picked you, the sister of her champion. Betting on his emotions for victory, or a draw?"

    "But then again, that is something a hindu goddess could do? Sentimental fools."

    "Apate?" Amy questioned after hearing this arrogant tone that didn''t even take a primordial and a whole pantheon of gods in her eyes.

    Anger surged in her eyes, but soon got reced by pain when a dagger plunged into her stomach.

    "See? I was in your ''care'' for so long? And you couldn''t even see a dagger in my hands? God, I feel bad for my mother. Imagine having such ame rival?" Rio spoke while pulling the sword from his shoulder. The wound instantly healed and not a drop was left visible.

    Fog gathered around him and his form started morphing, changing into a more feminine shape. Though Amy couldn''t see any appearance past the mist, she could feel the aura of divine superiority suppressing her cells. And the mark of Gauri resisting it''s effects automatically.

    Amy grunted and pulled the dagger from her stomach, and charged at Apate. shing and kicking at her at the same time.

    Only to feel a surge of pain in her mind and then fall down on the ground. She looked at her hands which missed the dagger and then at her kicking feet, only to see blood gushing out from down her knees, and the other half sliced clean off.

    "Useless." Apate''s voice filled with contempt came to Amy''s ears. And when she raised her head, she only saw a broken foot erging in her vision, until it hit her forehead and knocked her out.

    (Yupp, Apate took Amy''s dagger, chopped off her feet which she used to kick, and then pped her with that sliced part. _ all in one swift motion.) Damnn

    "You''ve killed a lot of my minions these past few days. And just cause I don''t care about their lives, and I didn''t interfere, it doesn''t mean you can dance on my doorstep." Apate spoke as she grabbed Amy''s hair, pulling her up.

    The stinging pain woke Amy up, and she started shaking her head in a struggle to free herself. "What did you say, that you will kill all my followers, end my religion, and then wipe me out.. ME.. Apate.. The goddess of deceit. The spirit of Pandora. The first evil to ever rule the mankind�� and you dare threaten me? Who gave you the courage?"

    Each word Apate spoke was apanied by an illusion where Amy felt her body being torn apart, assembled, and then dismembered all over again. It wasn''t humanely possible, but that''s what she felt like.

    "You want to be a godyer, right? Then let me show you what happens to the mortal fools who forget their ce." Apate spoke, her words filled with magic, making Amy''s blood surge in sharp currents. Which shed the veins, arteries, bones, and finally broke free from her skin.

    In a matter of moments, every cell of her being was yed and ughtered over dozens of times. A pain so immense that it broke her brain swept through her soul. Yet worst of all, she couldn''t scream, couldn''t move, couldn''t even breathe.

    She was a puppet, a toy in the hands of a merciless god. And Apate, smiled.

    ###

    Author note - Next chapter is the one where Amy breaks her limits and truly shows her power. And the second meeting between Nyx and Gauri in this novel, who appears to save their darlings, and stop this madness.

    ...

    Side note - As you know Amy suffered (a lot).. So what do you think Rio would do when he learns about this? Right answer wins prize

    1) Nothing, cause he knows it''s her character development arc.

    2) He goes crazy protective big bro mode and starts ughter.

    3) He epts bribes and looks the other way.

    4) He feels down and then have dinner with a beauty and sleeps.

 Chapter 433 Torture and sea of Styx

    433 Torture and sea of Styx

    "You can torture me all you want. But we both know you don''t have the guts to kill me." Amy spoke, her calm words among the tears surprising even Apate.

    "Have you ever thought that you''re not even worth the effort of mine to kill you?" Apate joked with a teasing smile, and then added, "You didn''t realize a single thing from all my previous illusions, did you? You''re nothing. Not even an ant in my eyes."

    "Then why don''t you let me go? And we''ll see about that." Amy spoke arrogantly, her body slowly getting used to the pressure under Gauri''s passive primordial aura. "I would." Apate spoke and chuckled, but then shook her head, "But you see, my men outside are quite busy creating an art piece. And I don''t want you to ruin it."

    "You''re dying me?"

    "Don''t act so surprised. I''m the goddess of deceit, remember." Apate said, sneering at her pitiful acting skill, and fake realization look. Knowing a viin dies by talking too much, Apate stopped talking and started her torture again. .. Amy didn''t know how long she had been trapped here. She didn''t even know if the concept of time was something that even existed here.

    Her realm of illusion started from the simple guilt trip, mainly focused on attacking her psychological defenses _ but just when she saw the truth and was about to break out of it, Apate appeared and changed the game. Amy''s constant disregard and over the limit threats seem to upset the pride of Pandora''s top spirit, and she appeared in the open and started torturing her herself. It began with suppressing her space element, shattering her cells, burning her body, and hearing the screams echo in the sky. _ to painful methods of torture inspired from the various legends of her era. One time Amy watched the red sky turn into a yellowke, thend turning intova, and then every piece of sand morph together to form serpents. Apate called it a trip down underworld, andughed as the snakes rolled over her body and bit her endlessly. Poisoning her with those sharp fangs and double slitted tongue. Just when Amy felt like she couldn''t resist the burning sensation and cold poison, and that her body couldn''t take it anymore, Apate waved her hand and pulled her back. Amy felt everything around her disappear and found herself standing face to face with the goddess again. Her body had no marks of burns or snake bites, making one doubt if everything she suffered from was real or not. If not for the soul protection bell, and the God level earrings which passively had a calming and healing effect, Amy was sure she wouldn''t be able to hold on. (These two were her soul bound artifacts so even Apate couldn''t strip them away, not unless shepletely wiped out her soul.) But even though these artifacts helped Amy share the burden, the illusive pain still felt too real. "Was that enough, or do you need more?" Apate spoke mischievously, her face showing no remorse for her actions, only ecstasy. "The moment I step out of this shitty illusion realm, you better count your days." Amy spoke in between rugged breath, not giving in to the pressure or pain. "I''m going to enjoy killing your minions."

    The goddess was prideful, and stubborn. And Amy was even more crazy. Her body begged for the sweet release from pain, yet like a masochist, who was taking pleasure in punishments, she seemed psychotic too. Make no mistake, Amy was in no way enjoying it. She was literally hanging on herst thread of sanity here. But as her brother once said, that when pain reaches a certain threshold, your body bes numb, and then everything else just fuels your anger. If before today Amy just hated Gyandel, then today all that hatred, and more, were transferred on Apate''s head. She may have spoken many threats before, but only now, did she really feel the resolve to fulfill them. After the initial torture, Amy''s brain simply became numb. Now the more Apateughed at her screams and suffering, the more she swore she''ll enjoy killing her people. A double, a dozen, _no, a hundred times.. She''ll make sure Apate and all her army feels a thousand times worse than what she went through just now. Just like how Gauri was always kind and gentle until someone touched her bottom line. Cause then, her calming nature disappears and chaos takes reigns in the form of Kali. Same was the case with her chosen avatar. And be it the wish of fate, or foolishness of a goddess newborn, Apate was forcing her luck. "I don''t like the look in your eyes." Apate said, staring at the eyes of Amy and not seeing any fear, only anger. Apate flicked her palm and waved her hand again. This time Amy found herself nailed on arge cross and as she looked up, she saw the red sun turning into a crow which poked her eyes and blinded her. "I call it the Prometheus treatment." Apate spoke watching as Amy''s eyes got healed and then the bird ate them again. For the next dozen, hundred, or maybe thousands of time every time Amy healed, and had her vision restored, the crow woulde and prick them useless. As the value of anger and hatred rose in Amy''s heart, the seal of Apate which sealed her chaos began to loosen. Though she still couldn''t channel chaos yet, but the world all around Amy had already turned red. Only unlike the corrosion of red sun, this time it was more bloody, more pure. But Apate in her streak of torture, busy being thoughtful about which myth or legend she should pick her next punishment from, didn''t sense these changes.

    Apate herself didn''t know, but at this time, the gears of her destiny and strings of her fate, had turned in a different direction. A direction spelling doom. .. "For someone so small, your resilience is remarkable, mortal." Apate said with a genuine appreciation in her voice. "But it''s useless. You think numbing your brain and enduring pain can make you strong, but it''ll only make your end even more miserable."

    "I''ve been around since the dawn of mankind, for over an eternity I''ve watched your kind from mount Olympus. And that''s why, you should trust me when I say, I will break you." Apate finished her words and waved her hand to start another illusion. This time the clouds in the sky fell down to the ground. The red mist and fog mixing with the dry sand and turning into a thick muddy mixture. Amy felt herself being sunk into the swamp, she raised her hand, trying to grab onto something and climb back up. But the sand in her hand got squeezed and turned into water, slipping right through. The sand and the swamp instantly turned into the styx river, and she felt herself being drowned bit by bit. It felt like countless hands crawled from the abyss and started pulling her in. Before she was pulled fully underwater, she raised her head and took a deep breath so she doesn''t die fromck of air. Just in time to see the smirking expression of Apate, and hear her final words. "This is my masterpiece. It took me a lot of time, research, and favors to get all the details and mojo right. But let''s see if you can survive this?" Apate said as she watched Amy getting drowned and finally named her punishment. "I call it the Swim in Styx. Simple right?"

    Amy couldn''t hear the title, but watching that sneer and smirk on Apate''s face, she was sure this won''t just be another painful torment she can bear with gritted teeth.

    As Apate said, this was her masterpiece. and that''s why she needed to avoid it. Apate was right. No matter how many passive blessings of protections she had been equipped with, or how high her own endurance or mental stability was, somehow soon, this vengeful goddess would find a way to break past her defenses, _ and that''s why she needed to break this illusion and get back to reality. She didn''t know how Apate appeared to torture her, or why Gauri didn''t interfere to protect her. Now wasn''t the time to think orpare notes. She just needed to figure out a way to get out. With the world system in check and the realm barrier limitations, Apate wouldn''t dare act openly outside, and as for those minions _heh.

    As Amy thought upto that point, mad rage filled her heart and her pupils turned dark red fuming in the chaos burning within. (In reality, Rhodes, who was watching and recording the video of Amy struggling under his illusion magic, feeling proud for his achievements and hopeful for the future, suddenly froze and had shivers run down his spine for some reason. He didn''t know if it was an illusion or not, but he suddenly had a death premonition.) On the other hand, Amy was trying hard to feel the measure of chaos in her body, that feeling was like seeing something in the clear reflection and trying to touch it. Something which seems so close to the touch, yet so far apart, you could never reach it. She just needed one push, one sign, _ one amber of anger, and then she could break this mirror and merge with her chaos. Finally putting an end to this trial. But this ''wall'' was like a limit which binded her abilities. Blocking her freedom. "Give up little girl, struggle is useless in this domain. The sea of Styx will wash over your sins and cleanse your soul inside out. You''ll be a clean te,...and my new ve" Apate''s voice echoed in Amy''s mind. She started all serious, but then seeing her struggle, ended up making jokes and mocking her with yful teases. But Amy wasn''t focusing on her words. She was staring at the ck river water and the bunch of corpses floating freely in it. This wasn''t the surprising part as she had already seen the pyramid skeletons and ghost hands pulling at her feet. But the real surprise happened when one of these corpses got turned over by a wave and came face to face with her. It was her. The same face, the same body, just a little older, and dressed in different clothes. That''s why despite the situation she was stuck in, Amy couldn''t help but raise her hand to touch the gaping wound on her ''doppleganger''s corpse forehead. It all felt�� �� familiar. #### N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Styx River �� Is the ck river in Greek mythos which is like the pathway between thend of living and thend of dead. One can also say this river is what separates both realms. This riveres under the territory of the underworld, which is ruled by Hades.

    ording to legends, the water of Styx has properties of forgetfulness, curses, bindings, acid, poison, potion, and death. It''s one of the few things which is considered both divine and demonic at the same time. Hence it''s revered and feared all together.

    ####

    Author note - Sorry lols, I was nning to keep it short yesterday but when I started writing and exining stuff, I got too into detailing the torture methods that this chapter became lengthy. So I guess Amy and Apate face off will have to wait for the next chapter. .. Also tell me what do you think about the punishments. I n to do this more often. You know, use torture ways from myths, legends, and rumors(new and old) to preach the impact. Suggest me some cruel ways, if u know them? And which character do u want them to go through?

 Chapter 434 visions from a past life

    In the myths of Greek legends, when a person died, his soul would then wake up near the shores of styx. If the deceased soul had a small coin called obulus with them, then a single boat would appear in front of them. And a ferryman would take them across the river.

    This coin wasn''t something extraordinary, unique, or karma rule based currency like other religions _ it was a normal coin ced in the mouth, or eyes, or chest of the deceased during the burial rights. Usually parents of family members do this easily as it costs nothing.

    But if one had no coin to speak of, his soul would then forever wander the shores of styx. They will never be able to cross the realm of living, and over time turn into vengeful spirits, wraiths, or ghosts.

    The same was the fate of people who jumped into water and tried to swim their way across it, they''ll be burned and buried in the endless stream. Turning into the undead skeletons whose only purpose of existence is to pull other souls down the same fate.

    The river of styx had many functions it was known for, but one of it''s main purpose was the journey to forgetfulness. It was said that while crossing the stream, souls would slowly start to forget their mortal affection and lifelong memories. Thus epting their fate, and epting their death by the time they reach the underworld.

    How? No one knows.

    (A/N - To be honest, I don''t remember which tv show or movie I heard this one line from, but I''ve remembered it like a dozen times while writing this chapter - it goes like this - "The journey ahead starts when you ept that your journey has ended." - I just thought it kinda fits well here.)

    ..

    Myths, legends, rumors -whatever Amy knew or ever heard about the Styx flew in her mind as she stared at the corpse in front of her in confusion.

    She felt sure that the corpse in front of her was real, (as real as it can be in an illusion) and that it was her _ but what she couldn''t understand is what was it doing there.

    After spending such a long time in Apate''s illusions, she had learned a few things about the goddess. And one of them was that Apate thought of herself as a prideful artist.

    And one thing every proud artist has inmon, is that they can never ept their art is worse than others. Even if they''re unoriginal and copycats by nature, their pride wouldn''t say we are stupid andck creativity, instead they''d say that they just took inspiration and perfected things further.

    Apate was the same.

    That''s why even though her punishments were pulled from others, she added her touch to make it ''perfect''.

    Be it the cell stream shes instead of a thousand cuts, or burning underworld filled with serpents, or body nailed to a cross and getting picked out by crows _ she took inspiration from others and added her touch.

    So Amy was sure that even though Styx now was an illusion, it must have simr effects as the myth, or even worse.

    "Who are you?" Amy spoke to the corpse again.

    Was it her? But how''d she die? Where? When? Why didn''t she remember it? And mainly, why was she seeing it now?

    As if to answer her question, the pale corpse of her ''doppleganger'' opened her eyes and met her gaze.

    The first thing Amy noticed was that her eyes were empty. And as she looked further, she felt being pulled deeper. Those vain holes were like pathways filled with darkness. Like two tunnels walking side by side, merging at the end where the light shines.

    Amy didn''t even realize when the world around her disappeared and changed into something else.

    When she did, she noticed she was floating above thend, like a ghost. Her body was ethereal, and she couldn''t touch a thing. She could phase through solid objects like air, and she didn''t feel anything except a chilling cold.

    "Am I dead?" The doubt couldn''t help bute to her mind, but then Amy hurriedly shook her head. "Apate wouldn''t dare to kill me. Not for no reason at least."

    "Then this must be an illusion, but where am I?" Amy spoke and roamed in the unfamiliar house, among the unfamiliar faces.

    She was in a house filled with decorations scattered around for a birthday party. There was no crowd, or cake, meaning it was already over. She floated towards the windows to look outside, yet couldn''t see anything. She roamed the house and nced at the photo frames and albums yet the photos inside them were a blur.

    Uncertainty and confusion gnawed at her heart and she couldn''t help but curse again about why she couldn''t channel her chaos yet�� .

    She was still limited by the ''mirror'' and couldn''t cross it. So she just gave up on solving this problem, and decided to _ kill herself.

    Even if Apate saw and chose to ignore her suicide, Gauri, who''s missing God knows where, would be forced to show up and save her. _ . And even if Gauri is unreliable, with her life in danger, her earrings can be triggered and pull her brother to rescue.

    And though she felt guilty doing this to him again, but it was the only option. After all, if this styx river really works, she might really lose herself here.

    (Ps she realized quite a while ago, that even though the pain was real, and she was on the brink of death dozens of times _ her earrings never shone in light.. Meaning these illusions were probably just spiritual attacks, which served no danger to her life.)

    Amy was getting ready to st her soul bound artifacts, when she saw her own familiar face again. She was standing by the door with a smile, watching a couple flirting and ying games with each other.

    {I won.}

    {No, you didn''t. It''s best of three.}

    {Youuu.. Fine. But this is final.}

    Your next read awaits at empire

    {Of course. Now close your eyes and turn around.}

    {.. Umm. _ you know that''s cheating right?}

    {What? I''m just drawing, that''s the game isn''t it?}

    {Yes, but your fingers are��}

    {Tshh, don''t disturb me, or I''ll have to start over again.}

    {Anhh�� .. Stopughing. I can''t help it, it tickles.}

    {I know I''m a little rusty at romance but, aren''t you supposed tough at tickles and not moan?}

    {...shut up.}

    Amy looked at her doppelganger''s smile and then floated towards the loving pair who didn''t seem to notice her presence and were busy in their world of two.

    From where she was standing she could just see the back view of a man hugging his girlfriend from behind and tracing his fingers over her t stomach under her clothes.

    The pair who served dog food to her single heart, seemed to be ying a children''s game, where the boy drew something with his fingers, and the girl tried to guess what it was just by sensation.

    ***

    (Humph, children''s game, my ass.)

    [What the fuck, who''s speaking? _ Is that you, author? I think I told you not to meddle in the story openly again. Don''t write your thoughts for these readers to see.]

    (I can''t help it. How is this_ this_ just look at where his fingers are going.. How dare she call it a children''s game. If this bastard doesn''t stop, and I let them continue, they will make new children right there.)

    [.. .. .. Umm anyway, I understand. But whatever. Don''t do this man. Don''t jump into this novel bro. Let them read the chapter, or they''ll think you''rezy and don''t want to write so you''re increasing word count like this.]

    (What? How dare those ungrateful bastards..)

    [Anyway, it was my job to inform you. I''ll erase their memories this time, but please don''t do it again, okay.]

    (Fine, you do that. I''ll just start the chapter again.)

    ***

    Amy walked to the front of this pair, and stared at their faces. Only to see them covered in fog, just like the photo frames.

    She tried to look down and see their bodies, hoping to find some identifiable feature, but after seeing their game just getting carried away, she just gave up and floated back to her doppleganger.

    ''Damn it. What is this duo doing? In the kitchen no less. Dirtied my eyes for real.'' Amy cursed and tried to wipe her eyes, only to curse Apate when her hands passed through her body.

    ''What bad luck.''

    While Amy was busy wondering what Apate wanted to achieve by showing her this.. when her doppleganger who was a silent spectator all this time started coughing and walking towards the pair.

    Her coughs were followed by a heartyughter which was probably when she saw the embarrassed looks of the dog pair as they got away and turned their faces away from each other.

    "I was just looking for ate night sweet snack, but _ you two continue, I''ll just go back and order some ice cream or something." Her doppleganger spoke with a cheeky smirk and then pretended to turn around and leave.

    Amy knew these antics, and expressions well, cause she often uses them too��And she was right.

    Just as she guessed, her doppleganger just took two slow steps before turning around and speaking again. "But I''m new to the city and don''t know much. Brother, do you mind��"

    ''She has a brother too?'' Amy muttered in doubt while staring at the blurry man''s figure.

    The man was about to reply and agree to her demands, (like her brother always does) when the girl pped his shoulder, pushing him back and walking over.

    "Forget this, idiot. He lost so let him do the dishes, we''ll go get ice creams."

    Her doppleganger was stunned for a second, but then smiled when she saw the girl taking her hand in her arms.

    "Hey, I didn''t lose.. And dishes weren''t even in the bet."

    "They are now."

    The man spoke loudly from behind, but the girl''s reply shut him up.

    The doppleganger smiled while staring at her brother, raising her free hand to grab her ear as in apology, and then let herself be pulled outside.

    "Don''t worry, bro, I''ll bring your favor too." She said as the door closed behind them.

    Amy, who was still floating at home, still staring at the so called ''brother'' , trying to see past his fog, suddenly felt a force pull her body away. By the time she reacted, she was somewhere else.

    She was now floating on what looked like an open road. She looked around in confusion for a second, before a light blinded her eyes, she noticed a caring her way.

    "Fuck." Amy cursed and closed her eyes, while raising her arms to block her head.

    But after a few seconds passed, and the expected collision didn''t happen, nor she felt any pain _ she opened her eyes. Only to see a row of strange vehicles passing through her body.

    "Ohh yeah, I''m a ghost now." Amy thought and chuckled in relief , before looking over and frowning at the sight.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    There few steps apart, on the roadside, her doppleganger was standing with the foggy girl, giggling andughing every few seconds, while holding arge cup of ice cream in her hands.

    ''Is it weird that I want to p myself(her)? Or more weird that now I want to steal her snack?''

    *******

    (Foodie Amy strikes again.)

    [Damn it, author. Not again.]

    (Ohh, sorry sorry. My bad. I won''t do it again. Promise. God swaer)

    [... I feel something''s wrong, but I can''t see it.]

    (....cough cough, why are you thinking so much about it? Erase their memories and let''s focus back on our chapter.)

    [I would. But isn''t the word count enough? It''s over 2k words now. That''s double the size of many small dick authors.]

    (Fine. We''ll continue tomorrow.)

    [Wait.. Wait. Author. Come back for a second.]

    (What happened? Why''d you call me back.)

    [Ummm aren''t you forgetting something?]

    (What? You want me to wish them good night? But I don''t do that.)

    [What? Why?... Wait, that''s not what I was asking about.]

    [I wanted to ask about the Apate and Amy face off you promised two chapters ago. Nyx vs Gauri too. It''s been 3 chapters now, Where is it?]

    (That _ . . Umm ahmm that..wait, First you tell me, What''s my name?)

    [Why? Isn''t it devildarkness?]

    (It is. And as the bible said, don''t trust the devil.)

    [... Wow, you''re not even refusing it now huh. Real life getting to you, it seems.]

    (Good night buddy.) Tut tut tut

    [He''s gone, just like that huh. The fucker even said he doesn''t do wishes. What''s good night then, your nan''s naughty word.]

    (...)

    *******

 Chapter 435 Goddess Cassandra - the failed prophet and fallen priestess

    435 Goddess Cassandra - the failed prophet and fallen priestess

    "So what''s your n?"

    "For what?"

    "For today." Emily said, watching him eat breakfast alone, as Aliya and Shashi were as always sleeping till now. "I know you can''t sit still for a whole day, so what''s the n?"

    "I can sit still at home. No biggie." Ali replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Will just y some games, read some stories, pass some time and it''ll be over."

    ".. ��"

    "Fine, I was nning to go at Natasha''s home and take the chubby kid for a trip to the yground." Watching as Emily just kept staring at him, Ali gave a little smile and answered honestly.

    "No. Madam''sing back in next week and I don''t want anyints on my name." Emily replied, taking away the tes and dishes as he was done. "So just stay here and no funny business."

    "What a buzzkill." Ali said and shook his head, but with her refusal he also canceled his ns. "At least join me in gaming, till the others wake up will you?Or we can watch those anime that you like."

    "Okay." Emily replied, before she disappeared from his view, into the kitchen.

    Ali too stood up and left the hall, walking towards the guest house where the guards were staying.

    "Hey, Juliet, how are the boys?" Ali asked as he stepped out of his house and found Juliet standing by the pir, staring at the garden and the clear sky.

    Juliet, the girl with blonde hair and perfect body structure and face to rival the models ramp walking on TV shows, turned around and answered. "They''re fine. All of them are used to training and a little beatings."

    "Good. Call Beta, Charlie, Echo, Fox, Hotel, Lima over. I got a few tasks for them."

    . ..

    Looking at the guards lined up in front of him as he stood behind the railing, Ali checked their eyes and noticed the way they looked at him and behaved around him now had changed a little from the way they were yesterday.

    ''As someone said nothing beats a good old beating to get people in line.'' He thought and shook his head.

    "Here, the files.." Emily came behind him with a few folders in her hands and passed them to Ali. After that she stood behind him like Juliet and kept watching.

    "I called you here since the six of you aren''t needed here." Ali started his speech with the first sentence that caused all of them to stiffen up and look at him confusedly, but ignoring their eyes he continued. "All of you are to follow a few people I found for you. You don''t need to do anything, except keep an eye on them. 24��7 , whatever they do, wherever they go, whoever they meet, I want all the details to be clear and monitored."

    "Charlie, Echo - These are the details of your target." Ali said, showing them a folder with Kevin''s photo at top. "He looks like a dumb fucking idiot, but he''s sharp and he can kick your ass. So don''t you dare mess up cause you were feeling arrogant and got sloppy."

    "Bravo - Aarvi, Hotel - Natasha, Fox - Kiara and Lima - Meher." Ali said, handing them the folders of the girls they were told about. "These girls are for you to watch. Pay attention to their every movement and anyone high profile or weirdly low profile around them. If they''re in any trouble, you are to inform me at any given time."

    "I don''t want any mishap or dyed information when it''s about them." He said, his gaze staring at everyone till they nodded their heads in understanding.

    "Do your job right, and we can all be happy." Ali said and without exining anything else, he turned around and walked back inside.

    Through their doubtful eyes hearing about all the girls and Kevin, he could see their weird expressions and thoughts like a book, but he didn''t think there was any need to give them details on how to do their job, or why he was asking them to do it.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week. So he could just call her stupid and ignore her.

    "Wait, you said you''ll kill him? As in yourself?" Emily asked,ing to her senses in a few breaths of silence. Do your job right, and we can all be happy." Ali said and without exining anything else, he turned around and walked back inside.

    Through their doubtful eyes hearing about all the girls and Kevin, he could see their weird expressions and thoughts like a book, but he didn''t think there was any need to give them details on how to do their job, or why he was asking them to do it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    If they can''t do it, someone else will. They know it, he knows it. And that''s all there is.

    "You forgot one girl?" Emily said while following him.

    "Who?" Ali asked without thinking.

    ''Since she''s a police heroine, her plot line should only include criminals and gangsters and stuff. Since there''s no running psycho on a loose or secret mission going on which Kevin can solve, she should be on the harem sideline for a while.'' Ali thought and didn''t worry about her.

    Plus he didn''t want to do anything with her, as from the first time he met herst year she always gave him that judgy look that he had no idea where it came from.

    "The police one. The one who put you in prison." Emily said.

    Hearing the little sour tone in her voice Ali raised his eyebrow and turned back to look at her.

    "What.. Is she not to your liking?" Emily asked, looking at him with those big eyes of hers.

    "Wait, are you thinking I''m interested in them cause they''re pretty?" Ali asked.

    "Nooo" Emily replied doubtfully.

    Ali smiled, nudging her nose, causing her to be embarrassed and step back, "All those girls have something to do with that guy I''m nning to kill. I just don''t want him to die peacefully and get any happiness, that''s all."

    "Isn''t the police girl rted to him too, then?" Emily asked, trying to hide the feeling of warmth on her face.

    "She is. But as they say, the police always only appearte for stuff. Plus I got someone else watching her." Ali said, remembering Ghost who had hacked the whole station Sophia worked at.

    ''Since she''s a police heroine, her plot line should only include criminals and gangsters and stuff. Since there''s no running psycho on a loose or secret mission going on which Kevin can solve, she should be on the harem sideline for a while.'' Ali thought and didn''t worry about her.

    Plus he didn''t want to do anything with her, as from the first time he met herst year she always gave him that judgy look that he had no idea where it came from.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week. So he could just call her stupid and ignore her.

    "Wait, you said you''ll kill him? As in yourself?" Emily asked,ing to her senses in a few breaths of silence. Since she''s a police heroine, her plot line should only include criminals and gangsters and stuff. Since there''s no running psycho on a loose or secret mission going on which Kevin can solve, she should be on the harem sideline for a while.'' Ali thought and didn''t worry about her.

    Plus he didn''t want to do anything with her, as from the first time he met herst year she always gave him that judgy look that he had no idea where it came from.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week.

 Chapter 436 lets dance

    436 let''s dance

    "Mom, I''m fine. I told you not to worry about it."

    ��

    "What��it was just a little bleeding, Mom. The doctor just changed the bandage and now I''m already discharged, aren''t I?"

    ��

    "What..No, no, no..You don''t have to rush back or anything, just finish your work and I''ll just stay at home. I promise okay."

    ..

    "Yes, Alia''s at home too. So just don''t worry."

    ..

    "Yeah, about the bodyguards I asked for�� done already, you''re the best, mom."

    .

    "Ohh, one more thing, I wanted to leave sky ultima and focus on star corp now. Just wanted to let you know."

    ..

    (Chuckles) "Very funny, mom. But yeah, something like that."

    ..

    "Love you too, mom. Take care."

    Ali cut the call with a sigh and turned his face to the side as his lips curled into a smile. "I really was a fool." he muttered under his breath, looking at his phone''s wallpaper with his and Aarvi''s pic in the background.

    "You said something?" Emily asked, as she turned to look at him.

    "Nothing, just that I''m stupid." Ali replied, while pushing her head to the front to keep an eye on the road, as she looked at him confusedly.

    It was already around 9 o''clock for the night and the road ahead was dimly lit under the full moon and the flickering streetmps. The traffic at this time wasn''t high but the roads weren''tpletely empty either.

    "And what makes you say that?" Emily said as she slowed the car a little to finish their conversation.

    "Well, I just realized I wasted more than 10 years of my life chasing ghosts. Even when everyone around me kept telling me it was just an illusion, an unattainable dream." Ali said, exining his licking dog routine of a lifetime.

    "So you''re all awake now?" Emily asked, following his words which didn''t mention anything clearly.

    "I''m getting there. But I can see things clearly, and my eyes aren''t closed, so that''s a start." he replied with a chuckle, throwing his phone to the side.

    "Well, I''m happy for you then." Emily said with a genuine smile which brightened her face, causing Ali to momentarily lose his focus as he stared at the air entering through the open window making her hairs fly around, while the light from themps fell on her face giving a stark contrast between her bright smile and the darkness around her.

    Truth be told, it was probably the first time he looked at her so closely. I mean they were close, and she had been helping him with everything for years now, but this was the first time he actually noticed her like this. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "You''re quite pretty, huh, Em. Did you ever fell in love?" Ali asked, while pressing the button that closed the windows, as her flying hair ruined the view of her face, and obviously burdened her driving.

    Emily, who heard his sudden question, got surprised and ended up pressing her feet on the elerator a little stronger, causing the car to suddenly gain a little speed, resulting in a shock that sent both of them to stick to their seats.

    "Careful there." Ali said, as he used the seatbelt this time.

    "Sorry." Emily said too, breathing a sigh of relief that there was no other vehicle in front.

    "Haven''t answered my question yet, got someone special?"

    "Why.. Are you asking?" She said a little hesitatingly as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment while her thoughts started running wildly without any breaks.

    "Just curious." Ali shrugged his shoulders and continued "I mean you''ve been with me for three years now, and I hardly know anything about you."

    Hearing his answer calmed the mind of the young girl, but also brought a little bit of disappointment in her heart. But pushing those unnecessary thoughts aside, she showed a small smile and replied back.

    "Well you know that I grew up at an orphanage running under your mom''s NGO, andter started working for her. After that, she sent me to help you and that''s it." Emily said honestly and added "So other than the little kids at the orphanage, you and your family are the only people I have in my life. I don''t need no one else."

    Ali, who heard her answer and saw her appearance clearly with his ''enlightened'' eyes, had a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm, you aren''t one of those girls who want to repay kindness with life or something, are you?" He asked subconsciously as he remembered about some basic storylines for heroines. Wondering if she was one too.

    "What..?" Emily looked at him with surprise as he said that but Ali shook his head and stopped her.

    "No, nothing. I''m just babbling." he said, and looked out the window.

    "I''m happy that you''re happy, Ali." She whispered under her breath as she kept her eyes on him for a few seconds but as he didn''t say anything else again, she turned her attention back to driving again.

    Ali, on the other hand, looked at her after some time and said in his mind ''System, use appraisal on her.''

    [ Name - Emily Hendal

    Age - 27 Years old

    Parents - Pranay Hendal and Tina Bishop

    Role - Extra

    Type - Orphan, Loyal, Viin''s Assistant

    Destiny - Gray

    Emotion - Love. (+81) ]

    [System note - The GVS 2.0 hates the plotlines of adoption where someone spends thousands of years looking for his parents, only to learn they weren''t even his real parents, and his uncle was his true father. Or a dense guy routine, where a host is too dumb to notice any feelings of others and act oblivious, like the blind guy who can''t see the light even if the sun shines on his face. That''s why the system made a new function for itself to save itself from watching cringe.]

    Ali, who saw Emily''s details and read the system''s exnations, had a new understanding of a few very important things.

    First, this system was smart.

    Second, he was dumb.

    And third, his assistant freaking loved him.

    ????

 Chapter 437 Fighting barons

    437 Fighting barons

    Rio looked at the army of aliens surrounding him with a smile, his sword gleaming in the fiery breath of hellfire that burned and vaporized all the blood it had absorbed in this massacre. Since the fight started a few minutes ago, he had killed two groups of dark sapin aliens, making up a body count of around 20-30 people. Their charred corpses and sshed organs littered the ground, giving the peaceful forest a peek of hungry battlegrounds. "Did you have to kill them?" Valtor asked, his back pressed against Rio as he sliced the neck of another alien and kicked the corpse away. The proud rival had just returned after taking a look around the camp when he saw the crowd and noticed the ongoing bloody battle. He wanted to stand by and just pretend not to see it, but some idiot identified him as Rio''s friend and attacked him too, pulling another fighter for their already losing battle. "We could''ve just searched around and left the town without anyone noticing, but you had to start a riot, didn''t you?" Rio heard theint from the shadow assassin but gave no response, and focused on his battle. From his understanding this world was a battle hungry. The Will of the World, which required its natives to fight wars every couple years, was nothing but a viin for the plot and the protagonist.

    So him being the top viin, he decided to help this poor peasant from the primary arcs. How? By giving it what it wants. More blood, more wars and even more deaths. "Kill da hoomans."

    "Taraiter."

    "Fuck Ounders."

    Murdar him."

    Shouts and curses came to his ears constantly during the battle, with more people just surrounding the scene thaning forward to stop him or help the darks. (Dark Sapin was too messy, so I simply changed it to darks now.) ''Guess even if they formed an alliance for this war, not everyone''s friendly.'' Rio thought of looking at the surrounding Sapin and other races. The tenacity of darks to tank the damage and passively heal themselves using nature''s energy had be a curse for many during this battle. As Rio''s hellfire constantly burned them whole nonstop and Valtor''s Drain chain started to suck away all their energy with each inflicted wound from his daggers. The deadrades in this case were considered luckypared to the ones who survived, but had to live for many minutes in hellish pain. Rio watched as Valtor tied an alien with shadow magic, making him unable to escape or dodge, before slicing him with the double daggers. As his knife took the first kill for its owner, the shadow behind Valtor wiggled, like it came alive and morphed into the shape of a sanctum tree. Its branches moving in all directions with Valtor as the center, tying all the targets in ce for him to ughter.

    If this was a game, one would be able to see red damage pings flying over everyone''s heads every couple of seconds. This was the ability from Valtor''s main skill set, called Drain Domain. Once it''s activated, anyone within 5 meters of Valtor''s distance is basically a fish on the chopping board. Unless they possessed extreme agility to dodge the shadow tree branch''s attack effects, or had enough health and mana to oust the skill duration. ''You sure you can''t get me this skill set?'' Rio couldn''t help but question his system again. God knows he really loved this.. [Do you want a whole pantheon on your back? With elder godsing for your head and taking you on a trip down the shadow realms.]

    "Forget it. Nyx''s Nera Nightmare is a much better skill set."

    [Grapes are sour.]

    ''...''

    While Rio admired his skills, Valtor on the other hand was fully focused on the massacre. With his current rank and mana, he could barely maintain this domain skill for 30-40 seconds. Hence to make the most out of it, he couldn''t make a slightest mistake. System spoke the words in Rio''s mind before he could. As the ck blood of dark sapin touched the dagger in his hand, it slowly started glowing. "Here ites." Riomented in anticipation. Watching as the light on the dagger intensified, how in a few mere seconds the alien with over 7 feet tall height and muscr physique was sucked dry and left on ground as a shriveled corpse with nothing but twitchy bones and loose skin. [It really is scary.]

    System spoke the words in Rio''s mind before he could. By the time the both skills went into cooldown Valtor was already backed to a tree, panting heavily. The ground all around him, covered with the mummified corpses of the aliens he killed. Nearly 30 more. "And you said I''m cruel." Rio teased as he kicked a Sapin trying to sneak out from the tree and attack Valtor. "Aren''t you?" Valtor replied, looking back at Rio. Watching as the whole forest behind him seemed to be dyed in red and ck. Pieces of monsters scattered like meat thrown at a butcher''s shop. Bloody threads were vibrating in the air, cutting the aliens in several parts as they spoke this very instant. Poor fellows with high healing factors were thrown into a cocoon of threads, where they suffered torture of getting ughtered over and over again, until their bodies gave up and they perished for good. "Here, drink this." Rio said, throwing a high level mana recovery potion at Valtor. "How many of these do you even have?" Valtor said in surprise, before raising his hand and interrupting him. "No, don''t answer. I don''t wanna know."

    Rio looked at him with a cheeky proud smile before turning around and closing his fist. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Thanks for reading

    While Rio admired his skills, Valtor on the other hand was fully focused on the massacre. With his current rank and mana, he could barely maintain this domain skill for 30-40 seconds. Hence to make the most out of it, he couldn''t make a slightest mistake. For the next half a minute, he fully reflected how dangerous the avatar of an assassin God and disciple of the Dark Knight can be. When his mana started to run out, he started using the second ability of his skills, Drain chain. As the ck blood of dark sapin touched the dagger in his hand, it slowly started glowing. "Here ites." Riomented in anticipation.Here ites." Riomented in anticipation.

 Chapter 438 Bye bye baron

    438 Bye bye baron

    One dayter,

    "The monsters here are quite tougher." Valtor said, shaking the dual short swords in his hands, rinsing the blood and sttering it onto the piles of corpses lying at his feet.

    Rio, who was beside him, did the same before putting his sword in a sheath and breathing heavily.

    The pair of boys had been roaming the forest for several hours today too, looking for a way out. Yet the forests seemed to be infinite, and no matter how many times they rushed out, they never saw the end of it.

    The deeper they went, the tougher the monsters they faced against, as the sun got brighter, the number of them increased several times too. They hadn''t met with a single student yet and that was worrying too.

    The night was a little peaceful, but as the monsters seemed to be weaker and less sensitive in darkness, but as the dawn breaked the next day, the creatures of the forest had started to fight again.

    They both didn''t find anyone yesterday, so after the whole hours of hunting, when they got tired, they just found a cave and usurped it. Roasting and eating the lion king living inside.

    After that they just had a few talks where Rio asked him about his training and things about the guilds while he was gone, and Valtor asked him about some skills and techniques.

    Since darkness and shadow elements were simr, they both had a lot ofmon methods too.

    Though Valtor mainly used shadows to hide his trace and amplify his speed, acting like an assassin. Rio liked to use darkness as more of a mage style. Just to trap, bind or catch someone off guard.

    It was their own choice, and their own paths, but still the insights they both had for their skills were good to hear. Especially Rio, whose every word and thought seemed to be inspiring something in Valtor''s mind.

    Like learning me magic, not just to counter your opposing element, but also to also use it to create your own different shadows and have a backup. Or using shadows not just as medium to travel but as fight instead too. (Solo leveling style) Rio also told him and taught him about ways to property use Shani''s blessing, gaze of hatred.

    After all, that was something that caused a lot of trouble for the protagonist, so Rio had to teach it to the protagonist''s rival.

    Anyway the duo who originally had apetitive spirit in their childhood, were now slowly bing good friends.

    Rio also asked him about Amaya, and what''s going on with the talks of their engagement, causing Valtor to stammer on his words and cough embarrassingly. The poor guy can be stoic and stern all his life, not phasing or frowning for a second in the face of danger and monsters, yet mention Amaya, and suddenly he''s all tongue tied.

    "Do you think it''s a dead world, with nothing but monsters and nt life inside?" Valtor asked, staring at the ground below from the mountain top and noticing nothing but greenery.

    "The world system didn''t say so, maybe we are just sent to some lonely or forbidden ce, I''m sure life exists somewhere." Rio said after some thought and decided to use flight magic to take a look around.

    He had shut off his system since he wanted to train himself normally, but now it was enough roaming around. He didn''t want to waste his time anymore, since he already got all the answers he needed about this.

    First, Monsters here had excellent nature element''spatibility. No matter who he met, they possessed skills utilizing nature for their survival. Second, he could absorb the crystals after killing them, and recover a bit of his mana. But that was all. Third, all the monsters possessed spirituality, they all had wisdom to think. They could n and predict the danger, and they were practical in their actions.

    They both soon started running, their magic slowly getting used up, as both started using shadow walking and teleportation to move faster and faster.

    Once they were gone to a safe distance, the silent dead tree trunks parted from the middle and faces made out of wood peeked outside slowly. Until the whole tree turned into a man-like creature with long green hairs. The creature had a humae appearance by face, same two eyes, one nose, one mouth, though they didck ears.

    First, Monsters here had excellent nature element''spatibility. No matter who he met, they possessed skills utilizing nature for their survival. Second, he could absorb the crystals after killing them, and recover a bit of his mana. But that was all. Third, all the monsters possessed spirituality, they all had wisdom to think. They could n and predict the danger, and they were practical in their actions.

    If losing your leg means getting the opponent''s head , they took the chance. If losing a hand and ''crying'' means survival, they did that too. Fourth, every monster had a high defense against spiritual attacks, like mind control or memory search were not at all effective against them. Finally, fifth and the most important thing is that the monsters grew stronger ording to the sunlight they received. Something like a photosynthesis effect maybe.

    "Stay here, I''ll take a look." Rio said, as wings of white formed on his back, and a p of them brought forth an angelic light to his feet that propelled him upwards, streaming through the air and above the clouds.

    Valtor watched him fly in the air and clicked his tongue. ''Show off.''

    While Rio went around to look for a way outside this strange forest, Valtor just closed his eyes and chanted something in his heart. When he opened the eyes again, his pupil had turned green for a second, before turning normal.

    He himself didn''t notice but all the killings they''ve been doing in this forest, and crystals they''ve been gathering or eating, had started eroding their minds, slowly on a scale where it never aroused any suspicion.

    "Hey, Valtor, I see a town, let''s go." Rio said, as hended beside him and started walking towards the North. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    While Valtor behind him had a green vein popping on his forehead, before itpletely merged into his skin and disappeared. "Coming," He said and started following Rio.

    They both soon started running, their magic slowly getting used up, as both started using shadow walking and teleportation to move faster and faster.

    Once they were gone to a safe distance, the silent dead tree trunks parted from the middle and faces made out of wood peeked outside slowly. Until the whole tree turned into a man-like creature with long green hairs. The creature had a humae appearance by face, same two eyes, one nose, one mouth, though they didck ears. While Valtor behind him had a green vein popping on his forehead, before itpletely merged into his skin and disappeared. "Coming," He said and started following Rio.

    They both soon started running, their magic slowly getting used up, as both started using shadow walking and teleportation to move faster and faster.

    Once they were gone to a safe distance, the silent dead tree trunks parted from the middle and faces made out of wood peeked outside slowly. Until the whole tree turned into a man-like creature with long green hairs. The creature had a humae appearance by face, same two eyes, one nose, one mouth, though they didck ears.

 Chapter 439 Plan of demons

    439 n of demons

    "So what''s your n?"

    "For what?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "For today." Emily said, watching him eat breakfast alone, as Aliya and Shashi were as always sleeping till now. "I know you can''t sit still for a whole day, so what''s the n?"

    "I can sit still at home. No biggie." Ali replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Will just y some games, read some stories, pass some time and it''ll be over."

    ".. ��"

    "Fine, I was nning to go at Natasha''s home and take the chubby kid for a trip to the yground." Watching as Emily just kept staring at him, Ali gave a little smile and answered honestly.

    "No. Madam''sing back in next week and I don''t want anyints on my name." Emily replied, taking away the tes and dishes as he was done. "So just stay here and no funny business."

    "What a buzzkill." Ali said and shook his head, but with her refusal he also canceled his ns. "At least join me in gaming, till the others wake up will you?Or we can watch those anime that you like."

    "Okay." Emily replied, before she disappeared from his view, into the kitchen.

    Ali too stood up and left the hall, walking towards the guest house where the guards were staying.

    "Hey, Juliet, how are the boys?" Ali asked as he stepped out of his house and found Juliet standing by the pir, staring at the garden and the clear sky.

    Juliet, the girl with blonde hair and perfect body structure and face to rival the models ramp walking on TV shows, turned around and answered. "They''re fine. All of them are used to training and a little beatings."

    "Good. Call Beta, Charlie, Echo, Fox, Hotel, Lima over. I got a few tasks for them."

    . ..

    Looking at the guards lined up in front of him as he stood behind the railing, Ali checked their eyes and noticed the way they looked at him and behaved around him now had changed a little from the way they were yesterday.

    ''As someone said nothing beats a good old beating to get people in line.'' He thought and shook his head.

    "Here, the files.." Emily came behind him with a few folders in her hands and passed them to Ali. After that she stood behind him like Juliet and kept watching.

    "I called you here since the six of you aren''t needed here." Ali started his speech with the first sentence that caused all of them to stiffen up and look at him confusedly, but ignoring their eyes he continued. "All of you are to follow a few people I found for you. You don''t need to do anything, except keep an eye on them. 24��7 , whatever they do, wherever they go, whoever they meet, I want all the details to be clear and monitored."

    "Charlie, Echo - These are the details of your target." Ali said, showing them a folder with Kevin''s photo at top. "He looks like a dumb fucking idiot, but he''s sharp and he can kick your ass. So don''t you dare mess up cause you were feeling arrogant and got sloppy."

    "Bravo - Aarvi, Hotel - Natasha, Fox - Kiara and Lima - Meher." Ali said, handing them the folders of the girls they were told about. "These girls are for you to watch. Pay attention to their every movement and anyone high profile or weirdly low profile around them. If they''re in any trouble, you are to inform me at any given time."

    "I don''t want any mishap or dyed information when it''s about them." He said, his gaze staring at everyone till they nodded their heads in understanding.

    "Do your job right, and we can all be happy." Ali said and without exining anything else, he turned around and walked back inside.

    Through their doubtful eyes hearing about all the girls and Kevin, he could see their weird expressions and thoughts like a book, but he didn''t think there was any need to give them details on how to do their job, or why he was asking them to do it.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week. So he could just call her stupid and ignore her.

    If they can''t do it, someone else will. They know it, he knows it. And that''s all there is.

    "You forgot one girl?" Emily said while following him.

    "Who?" Ali asked without thinking.

    "The police one. The one who put you in prison." Emily said.

    Hearing the little sour tone in her voice Ali raised his eyebrow and turned back to look at her.

    "What.. Is she not to your liking?" Emily asked, looking at him with those big eyes of hers.

    "Wait, are you thinking I''m interested in them cause they''re pretty?" Ali asked.

    "Nooo" Emily replied doubtfully.

    Ali smiled, nudging her nose, causing her to be embarrassed and step back, "All those girls have something to do with that guy I''m nning to kill. I just don''t want him to die peacefully and get any happiness, that''s all."

    "Wait, you said you''ll kill him? As in yourself?" Emily asked,ing to her senses in a few breaths of silence. Do your job right, and we can all be happy." Ali said and without exining anything else, he turned around and walked back inside.

    Through their doubtful eyes hearing about all the girls and Kevin, he could see their weird expressions and thoughts like a book, but he didn''t think there was any need to give them details on how to do their job, or why he was asking them to do it.

    If they can''t do it, someone else will. They know it, he knows it. And that''s all there is.

    "You forgot one girl?" Emily said while following him.

    "Who?" Ali asked without thinking.

    "The police one. The one who put you in prison." Emily said.

    Hearing the little sour tone in her voice Ali raised his eyebrow and turned back to look at her.

    "What.. Is she not to your liking?" Emily asked, looking at him with those big eyes of hers.

    "Wait, are you thinking I''m interested in them cause they''re pretty?" Ali asked.

    "Nooo" Emily replied doubtfully.

    Ali smiled, nudging her nose, causing her to be embarrassed and step back, "All those girls have something to do with that guy I''m nning to kill. I just don''t want him to die peacefully and get any happiness, that''s all."

    "Isn''t the police girl rted to him too, then?" Emily asked, trying to hide the feeling of warmth on her face.

    "She is. But as they say, the police always only appearte for stuff. Plus I got someone else watching her." Ali said, remembering Ghost who had hacked the whole station Sophia worked at.

    ''Since she''s a police heroine, her plot line should only include criminals and gangsters and stuff. Since there''s no running psycho on a loose or secret mission going on which Kevin can solve, she should be on the harem sideline for a while.'' Ali thought and didn''t worry about her.

    Plus he didn''t want to do anything with her, as from the first time he met herst year she always gave him that judgy look that he had no idea where it came from.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week. So he could just call her stupid and ignore her.

    "Wait, you said you''ll kill him? As in yourself?" Emily asked,ing to her senses in a few breaths of silence. Since she''s a police heroine, her plot line should only include criminals and gangsters and stuff. Since there''s no running psycho on a loose or secret mission going on which Kevin can solve, she should be on the harem sideline for a while.'' Ali thought and didn''t worry about her.

    Plus he didn''t want to do anything with her, as from the first time he met herst year she always gave him that judgy look that he had no idea where it came from.

    Hell she almost put him in prison twice and sessfully did sost week.

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